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Show 26 Even Cap felt the threat of the gun. Head down, muttering, he joined Josh near the doorway. But then he turned. 'You better be awake, you detectives," he called across the room so loudly that everyone turned to look, "'cause last night the owl hooted three times. You know what that means, don't you?" Annoyed, the detective with the gold teeth shook his head. "No, Smart-Alec, what's it supposed to mean?" With a long bony finger Cap pointed toward the gold bar. "It means somebody's gonna get robbed of somethin' big-that's what it means. And that gold there's the biggest thing in this town right now." The detectives exchanged nervous glances. "Says who??" demanded the barrel-chested one. "My poo, that's who? Don't you know nothin' about signs?" Mr. Bixby forced a smile, showing those two gold teeth again. His voice was deep and ominous as he called, "Now, you boys get on out of here! We'll take care of this gold, all right." The detective turned then to give a deep nod to those waiting in line, as if to assure them that everything was all right. Nevertheless Cap tilted his head and grinned wide, showing the space between his two front teeth. "Don't say we didn't warn ya!" he called. "Them three hoots is never wrong." With an angry growl, the stocky detective named Rollins jerked his thumb toward the door. There was no mistaking his meaning-get our quick, or else. Outside on the steps, Josh gave a shake of his head. "Hmmph, some detectives. They sure got mad, didn't they?" |