Free The Case of the Two Spies by Donald J. Sobol Page B

Fanchon answered, “First he laughed and said little girls shouldn't play with fireflies. That burned me good, I lost my temper,”
    “Go on,” Encyclopedia said,
    “Like a dope I told him the fireflies were worth a penny apiece,” Fanchon said, “That's when he grabbed the can,”
    She laid a quarter on the gas can beside Encyclopedia,
    “I want to hire you to get back my fireflies. Bugs must still have them. He wouldn't have had time to mail them off before the post office closed.”

    Til go see him,” Encyclopedia said. “But you'll have to come along.”
    “Not me,” Fanchon protested. “I don't want to get rid of my health.”
    “You have to come with me,” Encyclopedia insisted. “Otherwise I won't know your can if I see it. Don't be afraid. I've handled Bugs before.”
    “All right,” Fanchon muttered uneasily. “But I could use something for the headache I'm about to have.”
    The Tigers’ clubhouse was an empty toolshed behind Mr. Sweeney's auto body shop. On the way to it Fanchon and Encyclopedia talked fireflies.
    “The male lights up to let the female know he's around,” Encyclopedia recalled. “The female waits in bushes or in tall grass and flashes her light to show she's interested.”
    “Right,” Fanchon said.
    “I read about the company that sends you the cans,” Encyclopedia said. “When the cans are full, you mail them back. The part of the firefly that lights up is sold to hospitals and laboratories for medical purposes.”
    “Good golly, Encyclopedia!” Fanchon gasped. “Is there anything you don't know?”
    A minute later they reached the Tigers’ clubhouse. Bugs Meany was alone. Beside him on an orange crate was a can.
    “That's my can,” Fanchon murmured. “I'm sure of it.”
    Bugs saw them and snarled, “Look what's come down the beanstalk. Make like a bumblebee and buzz off.”
    “I wish he wouldn't talk like that,” Fanchon whispered.
    “Fanchon says you stole her can of fireflies, Bugs,” Encyclopedia said calmly.
    “Fan her head!” Bugs roared. “This kid's been sniffing too-many gumdröps.” He advanced on Fanchon, teeth bared.
    Fanchon turned pale and she took off. Encyclopedia was left to face the Tigers’ leader alone.
    “That's her can on the orange crate,” he said.
    Bugs sneered. “You must have a leak in your think tank. Me and my Tigers caught those fireflies.”
    Therewith he closed his eyes, raised his eyebrows, and gently sniffed the breeze.
    “Everybody takes me for an unfeeling roughneck.” He sighed. “Fact is, me and my Tigers are nature lovers at heart.”
    “Next you're going to tell me you caught those fireflies in the stadium last night,” Encyclopedia said.
    The stadium was in South Park. It was completely enclosed by a wooden fence, but the gates were never locked.
    Bugs smirked. “Good try, wise guy. It was raining last night. We caught the fireflies there Tuesday night after the girls’ softball doubleheader.”
    “Since when have you been interested in fireflies?”
    “Us Tigers are working to save energy,” Bugs declared. “We're going to turn fireflies into cheap light and earn the thanks of a grateful nation.”
    “The fireflies in the can couldn't light up a buttonhole,” Encyclopedia pointed out. “They're dead.”
    Bugs received the news like a camel with the staggers. He recovered quickly, however.
    “Those fireflies aren't for light,” he said. “They're for research. We're studying them. We have to move care-fully, step by step, like all true scientists. Thomas Edison didn't invent the lightbulb in a day, you know.”
    “Give it up, Bugs,” Encyclopedia said. “The fireflies belong to Fanchon. You didn't catch them.”
    What was Bugs's Mistake?
    (Turn to page 65 for the solution to
    The Case of the Fireflies.)

The Case of the Duck Derby

    B ugs Meany hated being outsmarted by Encyclopedia Brown all the time. He longed to get even.
    Bugs never used his muscles, however. Whenever he felt like