The Case of the Clever Secret Code

by Cindy Vincent

  I finished my second treat. “Um . . . okay. Sounds good. But how will we get her there?”

  Bogey grinned and passed out another round of treats. “Easy, kid. We’ll jump in our pet carriers before our Mom is ready to go. But we’ll sneak the Princess into your carrier first, and hide her under the blanket. Once we get to the library, we can let her run with us. Because our Mom won’t have time to take her back home.”

  I nodded. “I like it. That way we won’t worry about her while we’re gone.”

  Bogey grinned. “Exactly, kid. So tell me, what had you so fired up when you came flying in here?”

  Now the same excitement that I’d felt earlier came rushing back into me. And I could barely hold still. I started to pace from side to side, and swished my huge tail back and forth. I finally understood why Gracie danced around when she got excited.

  I smiled bigger than I think I’ve ever smiled. “I have a hunch.”

  Bogey’s eyes went wide and a huge grin crossed his face. “Good job, kid! I knew you had it in you! Like I keep saying, you’re going to be a great cat detective one day.”

  He did? That made me stop pacing for a moment. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a great cat detective or not. But it sure made me feel good to hear Bogey say that.

  Bogey kept on grinning. “Okay, kid, spill it. What is your hunch?”

  I grinned back at my brother. “I think I know where the key to crack the code might be.”

  Bogey gave me a paw bump. “Pretty good first hunch, kid! Care to fill me in on the details?”

  Now I started to pace again. “Well . . . it’s like this. The Princess took pages out of a magazine to drop hints to Gracie. And that got me thinking about things like dropping hints. And that made me think about Mr. Fartheringston and how he might have dropped some hints about how to crack his secret code. And then I thought, hey, what if he used a page from a magazine, too . . .”

  I paused and looked at my brother.

  His eyes were huge. “That’s brilliant, kid! But instead of using a page from a magazine . . .”

  I nodded my head really, really fast. “He probably used a page from those books in the library. The ones he wrote.”

  By now Bogey was up and patting me on the back. “It was a set! The Complete Works and Diaries of Arthur J. Fartheringston!”

  Bogey was still grinning when he headed back to the computer. “I think you’ve cracked this case wide open, kid! Now, let’s take a gander at that stone again. I seem to remember some numbers up in the corner.”

  So did I.

  Bogey didn’t waste any time finding his enhanced picture of that stone. Then he zoomed in on the upper left hand corner. And there they were, those same symbols that we had seen before. Roman numerals for the number three, and then the number twenty-four.”

  He pointed to the picture. “I’ll bet the number three is for the third book in his group.”

  I scooted closer to the computer screen. “And maybe the number twenty-four is for page twenty-four in that book.”

  Bogey grabbed a couple more cats treats from the bag. “I think you’ve nailed it, kid. And I’ll bet your hunch is right. Let’s sneak off when we’re at the library tomorrow. And find this book. We’d better tear out that page, so Bronson an his bunch can’t get their filthy paws on it.”

  Suddenly my heart started to pound inside my chest. I could hardly believe it! Here I was, still practically a rookie. And my hunch might turn out to make a huge difference in solving this case! Provided that page turned out to be the key we were looking for. Still, I was so excited I almost forgot about the paper I’d found in Taffy’s suitcase.

  Bogey held up a cat treat. “A toast, kid. To you! For figuring out such an important clue.”

  I held up a treat, too, and we clinked our treats together. Sort of like people sometimes clink their glasses together.

  I munched on my treat. “Um . . . Bogey . . . there might be more. I think I found another clue while Taffy was giving you a bath.”

  Bogey choked on his treat. “Way to go, kid! You’ll be ready to take the lead in some of our cases pretty soon.”

  Well, I didn’t know about that. But I did tell Bogey all about the other clue. Seconds later, we were headed to the sunroom to find the Princess. We found her sitting with Miss Mokie and Lil on the purple velvet couch. Together they were looking at a crumpled, partly torn piece of paper.

  It was the paper that I’d found in the pocket of Taffy’s suitcase!

  Miss Mokie waved us on in and told us there was no need to bow. Then she got right down to business.

  “The Princess Alexandra has informed me of recent events around here. And apparently this paper might serve as a clue in your case, Detectives. Well, I am more than happy to share my wisdom and give you a summary of this paper. It is apparently an article about an ‘Old Broad.’”

  Right about then, I think my jaw practically hit the floor. So did Bogey’s. For a moment I thought Miss Mokie was using mean words that might describe herself. But nobody spoke badly of Miss Mokie. Especially not Miss Mokie!

  She blinked her eyes and shook her head. “Fear not, young ones. I would never use such a horrible phrase to describe an older female. Of any species. It’s only humans who don’t respect females as they gain in age. And naturally, in wisdom, too. But of course, us cats know better.”

  Bogey and I both let out a huge sigh of relief.

  The Wise One held her paw above the paper. “No, in this case, the term ‘Old Broad’ is used to describe a Dunlap Broadside.”

  “A Dunlap Broadside?” Bogey and I asked at the same time.

  Miss Mokie nodded. “That is correct, Detectives. The Dunlap Broadsides were the first printed copies of the Declaration of Independence. But the copy that was written by hand, the one that was later signed by the fifty-six delegates of the Continental Congress, is in Washington, D.C.”

  “Wow,” I sort of breathed. “That means a Dunlap Broadside would be really old. Almost two hundred and fifty years old.”

  Miss Mokie smiled down at me. “Correct again, young Detective. To uncover a Dunlap Broadside is the find of the century. It is believed there were about two hundred copies printed on that night in 1776. But only twenty-five are known to have survived until today.”

  “Ooooh . . .“ the rest of us kind of murmured.

  Now Miss Mokie spoke in a low, quiet voice. “Picture it, young ones. It was July 4th, 1776. A group of delegates from all thirteen colonies had just adopted the wording on the Declaration of Independence. There was excitement and tension in the air. Since they had just declared that they were going to be a free nation. And they were going to separate from England and King George. Naturally, they knew England would not release its control without a fight. In fact, by declaring their freedom, these delegates had just committed high treason in the eyes of the King. So they chose freedom at great peril. Their very lives and all their possessions were at risk.”

  “Ooooh . . .” we all said again.

  The Wise One held her paw above us. “Then five men, along with John Dunlap, raced to his print shop in Philadelphia. There, he and the others set the type for the first copies of the Declaration to be printed off. As I said before, they printed off 200 copies of these broadsides. ‘Broadside’ was the word they used back then for a large sheet of paper that was printed only on one side. Then these broadsides were sent throughout the colonies, declaring freedom for this young nation. Freedom from a king who oppressed them. And freedom for the people to make their own choices. Yes, it was quite an event when those first copies of the Declaration went out. It would have been such great danger for those people riding on horseback across the land.”

  “Wow . . .” the rest of us whispered.

  Miss Mokie sat back and blinked her eyes a few times. “The few broadsides that exist today are mostly owned by libraries and museums and such.”

  Bogey crinkled his brows. “Very old and very rare. That sounds like an expensiv
e combination to me. I wonder what kind of dough one of those old broadsides would bring today.”

  Miss Mokie sat up as straight as she could. “There was one that sold at an auction not long ago. It sold for over eight million dollars.”

  We all gasped.

  “Did you say ‘million?’” I sort of sputtered.

  Miss Mokie nodded her head. “That is correct, young Detective.”

  Bogey grinned and glanced at me. “Well, that adds up then, doesn’t it, kid?”

  It did? For a moment, I didn’t want to answer, since I wasn’t exactly sure how things added up. And I sure didn’t want to look bad in front of all the other cats. A good cat detective would have figured things out, just like Bogey had.

  But instead of giving up and being so sure I couldn’t figure it out, I decided to try working through the situation. One step at a time.

  “Well . . .” I started slowly. “If I found that paper in Taffy’s bag . . . and it had Frank Jefferson’s handwriting on it . . . that means he probably gave that paper to Taffy . . . and Frank told us that he was related to both Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson . . .”

  Lil smiled and turned my way. “And Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were both signers of the Declaration of Independence.”

  I smiled back at her. “Uh-huh. Plus, we also heard that Frank was writing a book about his ancestors.”

  Lil kept on going. “So he probably did a lot of research on them.”

  Now the Princess jumped in. “Which means he maybe learned a lot more from his research than he thought he would. Maybe he accidentally discovered the location of another Dunlap Broadside.”

  I turned to her and nodded. “Or maybe he found clues that could lead him to one that is hidden. Maybe he figured out some things, like the name of a town. Or a person who had it last.”

  Bogey tilted his head to one side. “And that led him straight to good, old St. Gertrude. A town with a big stone with a bunch of letters carved into it. Letters that we’re pretty sure are a secret code. Sitting right there in our library.”

  I felt my heart start to pound. “And that would be the real reason why Steele Bronson is here, though he claims he’s here to film a movie. Especially since we know he needs money. Maybe Frank let Steele Bronson and the whole bunch in on his secret. So they could help him. And they all came together in search of a hidden copy of the Declaration of Independence.”

  Lil let out a slow whistle. “A cool eight million plus would be a nice chunk of change. Even when it was split four ways.”

  I raised my brows. “I think we have a good idea what the code on the Fartheringston stone leads to. Maybe Arthur had one of the Dunlap Broadsides. Maybe it got passed down in his family. And maybe he hid it since he knew it was so important. Then he set up the code on the stone so someone would find it if he passed away. Maybe he thought his wife, Emily, would figure it out.”

  The Princess sighed. “But the sad thing is, she didn’t. Nobody did.”

  Lil nodded. “Not until now. Or, at least it looks like they must be pretty close.”

  Finally, the Princess’ big, green eyes went really, really wide. “So if Steele Bronson and his bunch find the Dunlap Broadside, what will happen to it?”

  The Wise One raised her paw above us. “I fear we might never know. Bronson and his gang would likely sneak it out of town and sell it on the black market. Alas, no one in St. Gertrude would be the wiser. Though in reality, it should stay in our library. Since Mr. Fartheringston left everything he owned to his beloved wife. And since she later left everything to the library, a Dunlap Broadside would belong there.”

  Bogey grinned and glanced around the room. “That’s why we’ve got to get to it first. And thanks to Buckley’s hunch, we’ve got a great lead on finding it.”

  Now the Princess danced around. “So it can be framed and hung in the St. Gertrude Library instead. For everyone to see. And maybe we can all go see it, too.”

  Suddenly all eyes were on me. Funny, but instead of feeling proud that I’d had my hunch, I now felt like squirming.

  What if my hunch was wrong, and it didn’t lead us to find the key to crack the code? Then again, what if it was right but it came too late? What if we didn’t find it before Steele Bronson and his bunch did?

  Secret codes and hidden documents. And hunches. They were almost too much for a guy like me!

  Holy Catnip!

  CHAPTER 21

  Holy Catnip!

  That night, I hardly got any sleep at all. For starters, we added our extra surveillance rounds to keep the Princess safe. Lil even lent a paw and helped us out. She traded off with Bogey and me, so we could take turns getting naps. But when it was my turn to sleep, I just kept wondering what we would find at the library the next day. Would we find the key to our secret code? Was my hunch right? Did I figure out what book had the right paper?

  Just thinking about everything was pretty much driving me up a wall. Especially after we told the Princess and the others that her former owners had escaped. Sure, the Princess didn’t make a big fuss about it. And she even said she was looking forward to going to the library the next day. But I knew deep down that she was scared. And it upset me to know that she was so afraid.

  I had to say, I was looking forward to the day when the Count and Countess were captured again. Until then, we would need to be on our toes. And being on my toes meant I was on edge.

  Maybe that was why I jumped a mile when the phone rang the next morning. It was Bravo calling, saying he’d be picking us up to take us to the library. To start filming the movie.

  If there really was a movie, that was.

  Bogey glanced my way. “Look alive, kid. Be ready to zoom to our pet carriers. I’ll signal the Princess.”

  “Got it,” I meowed back. I crouched down, all set to spring into action.

  Our Mom told Bravo that we’d be ready to go soon. She sighed after she hung up the phone.

  “Here I am, taking another day away from my business,” she told our Dad.

  He grabbed his backpack, ready to leave for work. “Would you like me to take a day off and go with you? After all, I told Bronson I would be coming, too.”

  She kissed him good-bye. “No, but thanks anyway. There’s no use having both of us miss work. Not for something like this.”

  Our Dad left, and our Mom called Millicent and Merryweather. While she gave them instructions for the day, Bogey and the Princess and I made a beeline for our pet carriers. I let the Princess go into mine first. Then Bogey and I carefully arranged the blanket over her. Of course, we left her face partly uncovered so she had room to breathe. Then I scooted in on the front half of the soft-sided carrier.

  Bogey jumped into his, just as our Mom and Gracie walked up.

  Our Mom laughed. “Well, at least somebody is looking forward to this.”

  Gracie shook her head. “I think they’re they only ones.”

  Our Mom turned to Gracie. “It would be okay if we decide not to be part of this movie.”

  Gracie smiled. “I know. But we’ve already agreed to go along with this. Sort of.”

  Our Mom laughed. “Funny, but I don’t remember that we actually agreed to go along with any of it.”

  Gracie put her finger to her chin. “You know, Mom, you’re right. We didn’t agree to any of it. We just didn’t bother to disagree.”

  Our Mom grabbed her purse and keys. “That’s about right. We haven’t put our foot down at all, have we?”

  Gracie shook her head. “If someone had told me a month ago that I was going to be in a Steele Bronson movie, I would have fallen over. I would have been so excited. Now here I am, about to be in a Steele Bronson movie. And instead of being excited, I’m dreading it.”

  Our Mom put her arm around Gracie’s shoulders. “That’s the way it goes, honey. When fantasy and reality collide.”

  Gracie raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

  Our Mom smiled. “When you see Steele Bronson in a movie, it all looks re
al, doesn’t it?”

  Gracie nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  “But it’s not,” our Mom told her. “It’s nothing but a fantasy. The makeup, the lighting, the words that he says. It’s all a very carefully crafted fantasy. And the truth is, the character he plays in a movie may be very different from what he’s like in real life.”

  Gracie stared ahead, though her eyes didn’t really seem to be focusing. “You know, that’s true, Mom. Steele Bronson isn’t anything like I thought he would be.”

  Our Mom zipped up our pet carriers. “I know, honey. As you get older, you’ll learn to question things. Like they say, you can’t believe everything you hear.”

  Gracie picked up Bogey’s carrier. “Or see in a movie.”

  “Wise words from our Mom, kid,” Bogey meowed to me.

  Boy, he could say that again.

  Gracie took a deep breath. “Well, we’d better get going. They’re counting on us being there, and since we didn’t tell them otherwise, I suppose we’d better show up. But I want to leave around lunchtime. To finish getting ready for my party.”

  “Sounds good,” our Mom said with a smile.

  Then she picked up my pet carrier and let out a loud grunt. “My goodness, Buckley, have you grown again? I don’t remember you weighing this much before.”

  Minutes later, we were all riding in the back of that big black limo. The same one we had seen the day Steele Bronson had rolled into town.

  Bravo drove us to the library, and shortly after that, we were being carried inside. The library sure looked a lot different today. There were big, black cameras and big lights and all kinds of equipment all over. Plus I saw a few local people who seemed to be helping out.

  Steele Bronson was sitting in a red, director’s chair with his name on the back. And Frank was sitting next to him in the same kind of chair with his name on the back, too.

  Nadia spotted us the minute we came in. “Oh excellent, Abigail. And little girl . . . Gracie! So nice to see you! We’re almost ready for your cats’ first scene. So, if you’ll take a seat with Steele and Frank, we’ll get started shortly.”