"Arthur, Robert - The Three Investigators 002 - The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot" - читать интересную книгу автора (Arthur Robert)

“A lie?” Pete shook his head. “Why would he lie?”
“Because he isn’t Mr. Fentriss!” Jupiter said. “He’s an
imposter. That was Mr. Fentriss we heard calling for
help!”
2
The Stuttering Parrot
THE BIG ROLLS-ROYCE raced down the winding street.
When they had covered nine blocks, Pete and Jupiter saw
a small, black foreign car pull out of a driveway ahead
and turn towards them. It picked up speed swiftly and
raced past them. They just had time to see the figure of
the man at the wheel.
15
The driver was a very fat man, wearing large glasses.
They couldn’t see his face well because it was turned away
from them.
“That’s Mr. Fentriss!” Pete shouted.
“Correction. It’s the man who pretended to be Mr.
Fentriss,” Jupiter said. “Don’t let him get away. Worth-
ington! Follow to see where he is going.”
“Right, Master Jones,” the chauffeur said, and put on
the brakes. He started to turn round. Pete looked doubt-
fully after the fast-vanishing foreign car.
“What can we do if we catch him?” he asked. “We
haven’t any evidence against him. Besides, the real Mr.
Fentriss may need our help.”
Jupiter hesitated, torn between a desire to follow the
fleeing imposter and a desire to help someone who might
need their aid. Then he nodded.
“You’re right,” he said. “First we must discover if Mr.
Fentriss is unharmed. Continue to Mr. Fentriss’s house.”
he requested of Worthington.
The chauffeur continued on up the street until they
reached Mr. Fentriss’s driveway, from which the foreign
car had emerged. Worthington turned into it and eased
the big car along the narrow road, past palm trees and
bushes which brushed its sides, until they came to the rear
of the old house in which Pete and Jupiter had been a few
moments earlier.
“Pete,” Jupiter said, quietly. “Tell me—the foreign car
that passed us—did you notice anything about it?”
“It was a two-door sports model Ranger, a very good
English car,” Pete said. “Practically new. It had a Cali-
fornia licence plate. I didn’t get the number except I re-
member it ended in 13.”
“Did you get the licence number, Worthington?”
Jupiter asked.
“I’m sorry, Master Jones,” the chauffeur answered. “I
was intent on the road and failed to observe the car
closely. I did note that it was a Ranger, however, and had