Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch by Donald J. Sobol Page B

and huff and puff like a steam engine till it’s blown up. He always makes funny faces so the kids will laugh.”
    “All right, son,” said Chief Brown. “I’ll accept three facts. One, Izzy is a funny fellow who always blows up balloons with his mouth for laughs. Two, children love him and he loves children. And three, Sam Potts saw him kidnap little Bobby Tyler this afternoon.”
    “There was an eyewitness?” Encyclopedia asked.
    “Mr. Potts came down to headquarters when he heard little Bobby was missing. He gave me a complete statement,” said Chief Brown. “I made some notes to bring home to you. Want to hear them?”
    Encyclopedia closed his eyes as he always did before using his brain at full power. “Go ahead, Dad.”
    Chief Brown took his notebook from his breast pocket. He looked it over a moment. Then he repeated what Mr. Potts had told him.
    “This morning Izzy made a stop near Bobby Tyler’s house and drove off—or so it appeared,” Chief Brown began. “Later Sam Potts and Reverend Bevin were in Sam’s back yard, which is right behind the Tyler’s walled back yard.
    “Sam saw a green and pink balloon—the kind Izzy gives away—rise into his oak tree,” continued Chief Brown. “The balloon stuck high among the branches. Because there was no breeze to blow the balloon loose, Sam got a long ladder and climbed into the tree.”
    Chief Brown paused as he turned over a page in his notebook. He went on.
    “From up in the tree, Sam could see over the Tylers’ twelve-foot wall. Sam says that as he freed the balloon, he looked down in the Tylers’ yard. He saw Izzy put Bobby into his truck and drive off. Sam told Reverend Bevin what he had just seen. Both men took it for granted that Bobby’s mother had said he could go for a ride in Izzy’s truck. Later, when the Reverend learned that Bobby was missing, he advised Sam Potts to see me.“

    Sam climbed into the tree.
    Chief Brown closed his notebook.
    “An hour after Sam Potts had told me what he had seen, Bobby’s father telephoned. He had received a note. It said he must pay sixty thousand dollars or never see Bobby again. He would learn where to leave the money tomorrow.”
    Chief Brown stopped talking. Both he and Mrs. Brown looked at Encyclopedia.
    Idaville’s ace detective kept his eyes closed in thought a long time after his father had finished talking.
    At last he opened his eyes. He asked two questions—it seldom took more than two to solve a mystery when his father gave him the facts.
    “How does Mr. Potts earn his living?” he asked first.
    His father frowned. “Why, I don’t know. He’s only been in Idaville two months. He doesn’t own the house behind the Tylers’. He just rents it.”
    Encyclopedia’s second question was, “Did Reverend Bevin see the balloon fly into the tree?”
    “No,” said his father. “But Sam Potts did, and the Reverend saw it stuck in the branches. What difference does the balloon make?”
    “It solves the case,” answered Encyclopedia.
    “Do you know where Bobby is?” asked his mother anxiously. “Is he unhurt?”
    “I don’t know that, Mom,” said Encyclopedia, realizing that he had spoken too quickly. “But I know who kidnapped Bobby.”
    “We already know that,” pointed out Chief Brown. “It was Izzy the balloon man.”
    “No, Izzy has probably been kidnapped too,” said Encyclopedia.
    Chief Brown sat back and stared.
    “The guilty man,” said Encyclopedia, “had to find someone to blame Bobby’s kidnapping on. Izzy was chosen. So Izzy has to be kept hidden or he’ll deny the crime.”
    “What makes you so all-fire certain Izzy didn’t kidnap Bobby Tyler?” demanded Chief Brown.
    “Because Mr. Potts kidnapped Bobby,” answered Encyclopedia.
    “Sam Potts may be a stranger in Idaville, but that doesn’t make him a kidnapper,” said Chief Brown angrily. “And don’t forget Reverend Bevin was right there with him.”
    “Mr. Potts wanted him there,” said