The Red-Handed Thief

by Stan

  Chapter 3

  The Disappearing Baseball Cards

  The next day at lunch, Brother, Sister, Freddy, and Lizzy were talking about the new teacher. They had just finished their second class in Foundations of Democracy.

  “I like Mr. Dweebish,” said Brother. “He isn’t boring like the other social studies teachers.”

  “Yeah,” said Sister. “And he lets us DISCUSS.”

  “I really like the way he goes after Too-Tall,” said Freddy.

  “As compared to the way you went after Too-Tall yesterday?” teased Brother.

  “Cool it,” said Freddy. “I just lost my temper for a minute.”

  “Well, you better not let it happen again,” said Brother. “I don’t think Too-Tall is too happy with the way we’ve been laughing at him in Mr. Dweebish’s class. I have a sneaky feeling that Too-Tall is just waiting for a chance to get back at us.”

  “And I bet I know who’s going to get it first,” said Lizzy. “Barry’s been laughing at Too-Tall harder than anyone else.” Suddenly Lizzy stopped eating. She frowned and looked around the lunchroom. “By the way, where is my brother?” she said.

  Just then Barry Bruin burst through the double doors of the lunchroom and rushed over to the cubs’ table. He was breathing hard. And he had a wild look on his face.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Lizzy.

  “Yeah, what happened?” asked Brother.

  “You look like you just lost your favorite thing in the whole world.”

  “I did!” cried Barry. “A stack of my best baseball cards!” He was near tears.

  “Where did you lose them?” asked Freddy.

  “I didn’t lose them,” said Barry. “They were stolen!”

  “Who did it?” asked Sister.

  “I don’t know!”

  “Where were they stolen?” asked Freddy.

  “From my locker,” said Barry. “I brought them to school this morning to trade at lunch. I put them in the top part of my locker. They were right under my baseball cap.”

  “Maybe you left your locker unlocked,” said Freddy.

  “No,” said Barry. “I locked it for sure.”

  “But nobody can get into a locked locker,” said Brother. “Those combination locks are break-in proof. And the combination list is kept in Mr. Honeycomb’s office with the test forms and other important secret stuff.”

  “Maybe you forgot to bring the cards to school this morning,” said Lizzy. “You’re always forgetting stuff. I’ll bet they’re at home lying on top of your dresser.”

  “No way!” said Barry. “I had my Grizzly Koufax and Yogi Grizzwell cards in that stack! I was gonna make a great trade! I’d better go report this to the principal’s office.”

  “Better have some lunch first,” said Brother.

  Barry looked at Brother with surprise. “Lunch?” he said. “Could you eat lunch if your Grizzly Koufax card was stolen?”

  Brother thought for a moment and shook his head. “You’re right,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t be able to eat for a week.”

  Barry hurried off to Mr. Honeycomb’s office, and the cubs went back to their lunches.

  “Who do you think did it?” Sister asked the others.

  “I’m still not sure it happened at all,” said Lizzy. “I’ll bet he just left those cards on his dresser with all the other junk he wants to bring to school and never does.”

  “But Lizzy,” said Freddy, “aren’t you forgetting what you said just before Barry came running in?”

  “What?” asked Lizzy.

  “Don’t you remember?” said Brother. “I said that Too-Tall was going to try to get back at us for laughing at him in Mr. Dweebish’s class. Then you said Barry would be the first one to get it because he laughed the hardest.”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Lizzy. “So you think Too-Tall did it?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” said Freddy.

  “I think it is,” said Sister. “But I still don’t know what Barry is so upset about. It was just a bunch of stupid baseball cards.”

  Brother shook his head. “Sis,” he said, “how could anyone with as good a fastball as yours not know how much a Grizzly Koufax card means to a guy?”

  “Maybe it’s because she’s not a guy,” said Lizzy.

  “Shush,” said Sister. “I don’t need your help with this, Lizzy.” She turned back to Brother and said, “Maybe it’s because I’m not a guy.”

  Brother rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “Never mind,” he said.

  Chapter 4

  More Thefts

  The next day, Brother, Freddy, Lizzy, and Barry sat at their regular lunchroom table. Barry was still upset about his loss.

  “Were there any other valuable cards in the group that was stolen?” asked Brother.

  “Some okay ones, but Koufax and Grizzwell were my biggies,” said Barry. Just then Sister Bear came racing through those very same lunchroom double doors that Barry had burst through. She hurried over to the table where Brother, Freddy, Lizzy, and Barry were sitting.

  “There you are,” said Lizzy. “We were just wondering what happened to you. Well, what happened to you?”

  Sister was breathing hard and almost ready to cry. She looked just the way Barry had looked the day before.

  “I’ve been ROBBED!” she cried.

  Barry’s mouth fell open. “You too? What did they take?”

  “My Bear Scout flashlight! I brought it in for show and tell this afternoon and left it in my locker. And when I went to put my books away at lunchtime, it was gone!”

  “That’s awful!” said Lizzy.

  “Horrible!” said Brother and Freddy.

  “Rotten luck,” agreed Barry. “But at least it was just a flashlight.”

  “Just a flashlight?!” cried Sister. “You call an official Bear Scout flashlight JUST A FLASHLIGHT?!”

  “Well, it isn’t as if it was a Grizzly Koufax baseball card,” said Barry.

  “It sure isn’t!” said Sister. “It’s a MILLION times more important than some dumb Kizzly Growfax card!”

  “Grizzly Koufax,” said Barry.

  “Quit fighting,” said Brother. “This is serious.”

  “Sure it’s serious,” said Barry. “But what are we supposed to do?”

  “First,” said Brother, “Sister should do what Barry did yesterday. She should report the theft to Mr. Honeycomb. Then we’ll leave it up to him. He’ll know what to do.”

  The cubs decided to go along with Sister to the principal’s office for moral support. Mr. Honeycomb listened as Sister told him what had happened. When she was finished, he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Hmm,” he said. “That’s the second locker theft in two days. I’ll have to do something about this.”

  “Call in Chief Bruno,” said Barry Bruin.

  “No, I don’t think this is serious enough yet for the chief to be bothered,” said the principal. “Starting tomorrow morning, we’ll set up hall patrols.”

  As the cubs walked down the hall toward the schoolyard for recess, they discussed their meeting with Mr. Honeycomb.

  “Hall patrols,” said Freddy. “That might help.”

  “But why won’t he call in the police?” asked Sister. “My Bear Scout flashlight is missing. It’s a disaster!”

  “And my Grizzly Koufax card!” added Barry. “That’s even more of a disaster!”

  “Those may seem like disasters to you guys,” said Brother, “but not to Mr. Honeycomb. Let’s give him a chance. At least we’ve got the hall patrols.”

  But that afternoon, while the hall patrols were still being set up, there were two more thefts. Not only were some baseball cards stolen from Bernie Barr. But a piece of petrified wood that Cousin Freddy had brought in for geology was also missing.

  Chapter 5

  Guilty or Innocent?

  The next morning, Mr. Dweebish started Foundations of Democracy class by asking the cubs what they thought of the l
ocker thefts.

  “Rotten. Terrible. Awful,” they answered.

  “I understand that Mr. Honeycomb has set up hall patrols,” said Mr. Dweebish. “Is that a good idea?”

  Babs Bruno raised her hand. “Sure it’s a good idea,” she said. “But it’s not enough.”

  “How would you handle this problem, Babs?” asked Mr. Dweebish.

  “I’d bring in my dad and Officer Marguerite. And I’d have them search every cub and locker in the school. And that would be the end of it.”

  “Yes,” said Mr. Dweebish, “that might well be the end of it. But wouldn’t it also be the end of privacy in Bear Country School?”

  Sister raised her hand. “I don’t buy that privacy stuff, Mr. Dweebish,” she said. “Chief Bruno can search my locker any time he feels like it. I don’t need privacy, because I’ve got nothing to hide.”

  But some of the other cubs were already thinking about things in their lockers that they wanted to keep private. The trouble was, they didn’t want to talk about their private things in class.

  Finally, Queenie McBear came to the rescue. “I disagree with Sister,” she said bravely. “Sometimes I keep my diary in my locker. And my diary is my business and nobody else’s.”

  “Now there’s something worth stealing!” said Too-Tall. Queenie pretended to give him a nasty look. Then she winked at him. Too-Tall grinned and winked back.

  “Queenie made a very good point,” said Mr. Dweebish. “In our Bear Country democracy people have a right to privacy. That’s one of the rules that are the foundations of democracy. The police can’t search everyone just because they feel like it.”

  “They don’t need to search everyone,” said Babs. “Just Too-Tall. Because we all know he’s the thief.”

  “Aw, come off it, Babs,” groaned Too-Tall. “What would I want with a stupid flashlight and a nerdy piece of petrified wood?”

  “My flashlight isn’t stupid!” cried Sister.

  “And don’t call me nerdy!” Freddy yelled.

  “I didn’t call you nerdy,” said Too-Tall with a laugh. “I called your wood nerdy.”

  “Quiet!” said Mr. Dweebish in a firm voice. “I think it’s time we return to something we discussed the other day.” He went to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote once more: “Innocent until proven guilty.”

  The cubs all groaned. “Not again,” said Barry.

  “Now wait a minute,” said Mr. Dweebish. “A few days ago, you all seemed to like the idea of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ That was when I argued with Too-Tall about it. But now I’m using it to protect Too-Tall. And suddenly you don’t like it anymore! What’s going on here, class?”

  Freddy spoke up. “What’s going on, Mr. Dweebish, is that we all know that Too-Tall and the gang are the thieves.”

  “How do you know that?” asked Mr. Dweebish. “Isn’t Too-Tall right when he says that he has no reason to steal a flashlight and a piece of petrified wood?”

  “But he does have a reason,” said Brother. “He wants to get back at us for laughing at him in class.”

  “And it wasn’t just a flashlight and petrified wood that he took,” said Barry. “He took baseball cards too. And we all know how much Too-Tall loves baseball cards. He’s got one of the best collections in Bear Country.”

  “That’s right!” said Too-Tall. “So why would I want your crummy Grizzly Koufax and Yogi Grizzwell cards? I’ve got five of each already!”

  “Maybe you wanted SIX of each!” said Barry.

  “Yeah!” said Sister. “And you’ve been mixed up in most of the other trouble here at school ever since I can remember!”

  “Calm down, class,” said Mr. Dweebish. “These are all interesting questions and arguments. But they don’t prove anything.

  “The fact that Too-Tall and the gang have been in trouble before doesn’t mean they’re guilty this time. And the fact that some of you think Too-Tall wants to get back at you doesn’t mean that he really does. And even if he really does want to, he may not have done anything about it yet.

  “What I’m hearing from you cubs is just a lot of interesting ideas and opinions. To prove that Too-Tall is guilty, you need more than that. You need…what’s the word I’m looking for, class?”

  Queenie’s hand shot up. “Evidence,” she said.

  “Exactly,” said Mr. Dweebish.

  “That’s my girl!” said Too-Tall. “You tell ’em, Queenie!”

  Too-Tall had the last word in Foundations of Democracy that day. Because just then the bell rang for lunch.

  Chapter 6

  Grizzmeyer Grills the Gang

  The hall patrols didn’t seem to be doing much good. More lockers were robbed over the next few days. No one had a clue as to who was doing it or how it was being done. All kinds of things were stolen. A special comb with gold trim was stolen from Lizzy Bruin’s locker. An arrowhead was taken from Gil Grizzwold’s locker. And more baseball cards were stolen.

  The school’s vice principal, Mr. Grizzmeyer, had a theory about the locker thefts. He was Too-Tall’s baseball coach and knew all about how much Too-Tall loved baseball cards. So he believed that Too-Tall, or one of his gang, was stealing the cards. And he figured that Too-Tall was stealing other things so that people would think someone else was the thief. Mr. Grizzmeyer decided it was time to talk to Too-Tall and the gang about the thefts.

  Too-Tall and the gang were shown into the principal’s office. They were not surprised to find Mr. Grizzmeyer there standing beside Mr. Honeycomb.

  “Hi, Coach,” said Too-Tall.

  “Just sit down,” snapped Mr. Grizzmeyer.

  “Sure, Coach,” the gang said all together. They sat in chairs in front of the principal’s desk.

  “Now, cubs,” said Mr. Honeycomb. “We’ve called you here to discuss a very serious matter…”

  “Excuse me, sir,” said Mr. Grizzmeyer, “but these guys know exactly why they’re here.”

  “We do?” said Too-Tall. He looked at his gang with big question marks in his eyes. “Do you know, Skuzz?”

  “I dunno, boss,” said Skuzz.

  “Do you know, Smirk?”

  “I dunno, boss…”

  “Enough of that!” barked Mr. Grizzmeyer. “Just tell us how you’ve been doing it.”

  “Doin’ what?” asked Too-Tall. He turned again to Skuzz. “Do you know what he’s talkin’ about?”

  “I dunno, boss…”

  “I SAID COOL IT!” roared Grizzmeyer. “We know you guys have been robbing lockers!”

  “US?” said Too-Tall with a gasp. “How do you know that?”

  “Because you guys are always at the bottom of these stunts,” said Mr. Grizzmeyer.

  “Always?” said Too-Tall. “What about the time Gil Grizzwold dumped a can of trash all over Miss Glitch’s car?”

  “Nice try, Too-Tall,” said Mr. Grizzmeyer. “We also know you love baseball cards. And that you want to get back at the cubs for laughing at you in class…”

  “Now wait just a minute, Mr. G,” said Too-Tall. He held up a hand. “I’ve been listenin’ real careful to Mr. Dweeb—er, Dweebish—in Foundations of Democracy, and I know you need more than that to prove me guilty.”

  “That’s enough back talk, Too-Tall!” growled Mr. Grizzmeyer.

  “It ain’t back talk, Mr. G,” said Too-Tall sweetly. “It’s a foundation of democracy. Right, guys?”

  The gang members nodded.

  “Innocent until proven guilty,” said Too-Tall. “And with all due respect, Mr. G and Mr. H, you ain’t proven me guilty yet. ’Cause you ain’t got no…”

  Too-Tall turned to his gang with a puzzled look. “What was that word Queenie used in Dweeb’s class the other day?”

  “I dunno, boss,” said Skuzz.

  Smirk shrugged. “I forget, boss.”

  Vinnie leaned across and whispered something in Too-Tall’s ear.

  “That’s it,” said Too-Tall. “You ain’t got no EVIDENCE!”


  Mr. Grizzmeyer’s face was red with fury. “Why, I’ll have you all suspended…!” he yelled.

  But Mr. Honeycomb held up his hand to stop Mr. Grizzmeyer. With a tired look, he said, “I’m afraid Too-Tall’s right, Mr. Grizzmeyer. We ain’t got no evidence. I mean, we DON’T got no evidence…I mean, we don’t HAVE no evidence…I mean, we don’t have ANY evidence! Phew!”

  The way Mr. Grizzmeyer set his jaw when he was angry made him look a lot like a bulldog. “All right!” he barked at the gang. “Outta my sight! NOW!”

  When the gang had gone, Mr. Grizzmeyer turned to the principal and said, “We should suspend those bums anyway.”

  Mr. Honeycomb just smiled. “Suspend the whole gang during baseball season, Mr. Grizzmeyer? What would you do for a catcher? And a first baseman, and a third baseman, and a center fielder?”

  Mr. Grizzmeyer’s frown turned into a silly grin. “Just kidding, Mr. H,” he said.

  Chapter 7

  The Bear Detectives Rise Again!

  “Hey,” said Cousin Freddy to Brother and Sister Bear as they walked home from school that afternoon. “Did you hear what happened when Mr. H and Mr. G grilled Too-Tall and the gang today?”

  “What?” asked Brother.

  “Too-Tall told them he was innocent until proven guilty and that they didn’t have any evidence. And they let him go!” Freddy couldn’t help laughing. “Is that great or what?”

  Everyone laughed along. When the laughter died down, Brother said, “It’s funny. But it’s not funny too. Mr. G is right. Too-Tall is stealing baseball cards. And he’s trying to make it look like somebody else is doing it by stealing other stuff too.”

  “But Too-Tall is right too,” said Sister. “Nobody’s got any evidence.”

  The cubs walked along in silence for a while. Suddenly Sister got a funny look in her eyes and stopped. She was lost in thought. Brother and Freddy stopped too. “What is it?” asked Freddy.