Free Mystery Of The Missing Necklace by Enid Blyton Page B

him feel very sick. So he contented himself with putting the filled pipe in his mouth unlighted, and keeping it there.
    All the Find-Outers were glad when that day was over. It really began to be very boring, taking turns at sitting in the sweet-shop, and watching for something that didn't happen. As for Fatty, he was terribly bored.
    "Tomorrow I'm going to supply myself with plenty of newspapers to read," he said. "I simply can't spend hours filling pipes and coughing and sniffing. And all for nothing too. Not a soul passed me a message or anything."
    "We found out something interesting at the hooter-shop, though," said Bets, and she told Fatty about the two men who had bought hooters that week.
    "One who lives at Kosy-Kot, and one man with odd eyes," she said. "The boy didn't know where he lived. And the third person who bought a hooter was you, of course."
    "Has that shop only sold three hooters all these months, then?" said Fatty, surprised.
    "Well, they've only just got them in," said Pip." "That's why. So, if that fellow who spoke to you the other day on the bench is a member of the gang, he's either living at Kosy-Kot — or he's wandering about somewhere with odd eyes — one blue and one brown!"
    "We'd better try Kosy-Kot first," said Fatty, pleased. "You did well, Find-Outers. How did you get all this information?"
    "Well, Daisy did, really," said Pip and he told Fatty how it had happened. Fatty banged Daisy on the back.
    "Jolly good," he said. "Very quick-witted. Now — who's going to tackle Kosy-Kot?"
    "Isn't it a frightful name?" said Pip. "Why do people choose names like that? Can't we go down into the village and find it tomorrow morning? It's too late now."
    "Right," said Fatty. "We will. I shan't have to masquerade as that old fellow till the afternoon, so I can come with you. Meet at Pip's tomorrow morning, ten o'clock sharp."
    So, at ten o'clock, they were all there, Buster too. They set off to find Kosy-Kot. They met a postman and he told them where it was.
    They soon found it. It was a little bungalow set in a trim little garden. At the back was a shed.
    "I bet that's where they keep the bicycles," said Fatty. "Now — how can we get a peep inside?"
    "I know!" said Pip. "I've got a ball. I could chuck it into the garden, and then we could go and ask if we might get it back — and you could peep into the shed, Fatty. If a bike is there with a hooter on, we'll wait about for the man who lives here, and see if we recognize him as the one who spoke to you, and had a bike with a hooter. We might recognize the bike too, if we see it."
    This seemed a good and simple plan. So Pip proceeded to carry it out. He threw the ball wildly, and it
    flew into the garden of Kosy-Kot, actually hitting against the bicycle-shed.
    "Blow!" said Pip loudly. "My ball's gone into that garden."
    "We'll go and ask if we may get it," said Daisy. So into the gate they went and up to the front door.
    A woman opened it. "Please, our ball has gone into your garden," said Pip. "May we get it?"
    "Yes, but don't tread on any of the beds," said the woman, and shut the door. The children went round to the back of the house. To their annoyance they saw a man there, digging. He stared at them.
    "What do you kids want? "
    "Oh — excuse us, please, but your wife said we might come and get our ball," said Fatty, politely. "I hope you don't mind."
    "Well, get it, then," said the man, and went on digging. Fatty made for the shed and pretended to hunt round about. The door was open and he looked inside. It was full of garden tools and old sacks — but there was no bike there at all. How annoying!
    "Haven't you found it?" said the man, and came over to look too. Then Fatty gave an exclamation and picked up the ball. He looked at the neat little shed.
    "Useful sheds those, aren't they?" he said. "Jolly good for bikes. Wish I had one like that."
    "Oh, I don't use it for bikes," said the man. "We haven't any. I use it for my garden tools."
    "Oh," said