Free Mystery of the Invisible Thief by Enid Blyton Page A

Frinton Lea,” said Fatty. “And what’s more he’ll probably go and snoop outside Rods now, wherever that is.”
    “Do you think it’s much good snooping round either Frinton Lea or Rods, wherever that is?” asked Larry.
    “No, I don’t think I do,” said Fatty, considering the point. “But we can’t afford to leave any clue unexplored. If we do, it’s bound to be the only one that might lead us to the solution! Anyway, I had a bit of luck this afternoon, just before you came to talk to me, Larry and Daisy.”
    “What?” asked Larry. “You’re a lucky beggar, Fatty - you always have any bit of luck that’s going.”
    “I was sitting fishing, when the artist woman came by,” said Fatty. “I expect you saw her. My hat blew off at that very moment and she picked it up for me. I began to talk to her - and it turned out that she lived at Frinton Lea!”
    “Golly!” said Larry. “So you asked a few leading questions, I suppose?”
    Fatty grinned. “I did! And I found out that the only man staying at Frinton Lea has been very ill and is only just allowed to get up. So we can rule him out as the thief, who must be an agile fellow, to say the least of it!”
    “Oh - well, that’s good,” said Daisy. “Your day hasn’t been wasted, Fatty. You didn’t see the thief, but you did find out he wasn’t at Frinton Lea.”
    “Your day wasn’t wasted either,” said Fatty, beginning to laugh again. “I hope I don’t think of you telephoning old Goon when I’m having dinner with my parents tonight. I shall choke if I do.”
    “What about tea?” said Bets. “I’m getting hungry.”
    “You’ve just had two ice-creams and a lemonade!” said Pip.
    “Well, they don’t make any difference,” said Bets. “You don’t eat those, you just swallow them. Anyway, we’d better go home quickly, or we shall be too late for tea.”
    “I’ll treat you all,” said Fatty generously. “I’ve got enough money on me.” He pulled out a handful of change and examined it. “Yes, come on. We’ll go to Oliver’s and have meringues and chocolate slices - in celebration of finding the thief-who-wasn’t.”
    Everyone laughed. Bets took Fatty’s arm. Dear, generous Fatty - he always seemed to have plenty of money, but he always shared it round. Bets squeezed his arm affectionately.
    “The mystery’s getting on, isn’t it?” she said. “We’ve ruled out Frinton Lea. Now we’ve got to find out what Number 1 Rods is, and rule that out too.”
    “Well, we shan’t be much further on with the mystery, silly, if we keep examining our clues and finding they’re no good,” said Pip, exasperated with his small sister. “Anyway, Number 1 Rods sounds more like a note made by someone going fishing than anything else.”
    “It’s an idea,” said Fatty, taking them all into Oliver’s. They sat down and ordered lemonade, egg-sandwiches, meringues, chocolate eclairs and chocolate slices. Bets’ mouth began to water.
    “I never know whether to eat as quickly as possible so as to enjoy everything before I stop feeling hungry, or to eat slowly and taste every single bit,” said Bets, eyeing the pile of delicious-looking cake.
    “Idiot,” said Pip scornfully. “You stop feeling hungry as soon as you’ve eaten a certain amount, whether you’ve eaten it quickly or not.”
    “You eat how you like, Bets,” said Fatty, who always stuck up for Bets when her brother ticked her off. They all began on their tea, having a friendly argument as to whether the meringues were better than the eclairs. The dish was soon empty, and Fatty, after examining his money again, called for a fresh supply.
    “About this Rods place,” said Fatty. “It’s either the name of a house, shortened - or else it’s the name of a family, either complete or shortened. I’ve never heard of anyone called Rods though.”
    “How could we find out?” wondered Larry. “We could look in the telephone book for names beginning with Rod or Rods.”
    “Yes, that’s a good idea,” said Daisy, taking her second eclair. “And we’ve got a street directory at home,