“It would be most helpful to us, Mr. Hitchcock,” Jupe said quickly, “if we could see this film. I would like very much to see for myself how a real dragon is supposed to look and act. Could you arrange it?”

Mr. Hitchcock didn’t hesitate a moment. “Be at my studio in an hour. I shall be at Projection Room Four.”

The phone went dead. Jupiter put it down on its cradle slowly. He turned to Pete and Bob.

“Remember,” he told them. “We will be looking at what is supposed to be an authentic dragon. Pay close attention to the film when we get there. Perhaps you may notice something that might save our lives later.”

“What could that be?” Bob asked.

Jupiter got up and stretched, “I’ve been going on my theory that the dragon at Seaside is a fake. Perhaps I’m wrong. In that case, our dragon is real!”

Promptly on time, transported by Worthington in the grand old Rolls- Royce, The Three Investigators arrived at the bungalow on the Hollywood studio marked as Projection Room Four. Mr. Hitchcock, seated at the rear with his secretary, nodded hello.

“Lads, take those seats down front,” rumbled Alfred Hitchcock. “I’m just about to signal the projectionist, and we’ll get started.”

He pressed a button on the seat near him, and the room went dark. Light flickered from a small opening in the booth behind the director, followed by a whirring sound.

“Remember,” warned Mr. Hitchcock, “this picture was made a very long time ago. The print we are showing is perhaps the only one available. It is underexposed and will be dark and murky in spots. That cannot be helped.

“That is enough introduction. On with the film!” Soon, the boys forgot where they were, Mr. Hitchcock had not exaggerated. The film was as suspenseful as he had indicated it would be. The story held their attention, and little by little they were led along the path of horror by the skill of the old film director who had made it.

The next scene on the screen dissolved to a cave. The next moment they were in it. And then, as their hearts pounded wildly again, they saw it once more — the dragon!

It filled the screen as it entered the cave, a grotesque creature, huge and frightening. Its short wings lifted, showing long muscles rippling and writhing like live snakes under its wet scaly skin. Then the small, dark head turned on its long, swaying neck to face them.

The long, powerful jaws opened as it roared.

“Wow!” Pete whispered. He shrank back in his seat involuntarily. “That’s real, all right!”

Bob stared at the monster moving closer on the screen, and his hands gripped the arms of his seat tightly.

Jupiter sat quietly, concentrating on every move the screen dragon made.

Spellbound they watched the film until the finish. When the dark projection room was flooded suddenly with light, they were still tense and shaking from the film’s impact.

As they walked to the rear of the room, their legs were rubbery.

“Whiskers!” Bob exclaimed. “I’m beat. It was just like last night, all over again. I forgot it was a movie!”

Jupiter nodded. “There’s the proof of how a master of horror can achieve his effects. Mr. Allen had the skill to make us accept and believe anything he wanted. He scared us all out of our wits with a make-believe dragon on a celluloid film. That was his intention and we let him. That’s something we must always remember.”

“Well?” asked Alfred Hitchcock. “Can you see now why my friend Allen was once regarded as the master of horror films?”

Jupiter nodded. He had a lot of questions to ask the mystery director, but he saw Mr. Hitchcock was busy and his secretary waiting to take notes. Instead, he thanked him for providing the film.

“You’ve seen your film dragon now,” Alfred Hitchcock said. “I shall await with great anticipation your solution of the mystery of the one in Seaside ”

He ushered the boys out and they headed for the gleaming Rolls-Royce where Worthington waited.

They settled back against the leather seats as the tall chauffeur drove slowly towards the gate.

“You told us to watch the dragon closely,” Bob said after a moment, “and I did. I couldn’t see any difference between this dragon and ours. Could you, Pete?”

Pete shook his head. “The only thing different was this dragon had a better roar than ours.”

“I don’t think it had a better roar,” Bob replied. “It’s just that ours seemed to cough a lot.”

Jupiter smiled. “Exactly,” he said.

“What do you mean, Jupe?” Pete asked.

“Apparently our dragon in Seaside is more susceptible to bad weather. It seems to have developed a cold.”

Bob looked intently at Jupe who was sitting back looking quite content. He didn’t trust that look. It meant as he had learned from the past, that Jupe was on to something. Something that had eluded both Pete and himself.

“How could a dragon catch a cold?” he asked.

“They’re supposed to live in damp caves and water.”

Jupiter nodded. “My thoughts exactly. And in a few more hours when we return, we shall be able to expose the mystery of why our cave dragon coughs. If my theory is correct, it might explain why we were allowed to leave the cave, and are still alive.”

Pete thought about this and frowned. “That sounds pretty good, Jupe. But what if your theory isn’t correct?”

Jupiter blew out his cheeks. “It had better be,” he said. “After all, I’m betting our lives on it.”

Pete suddenly exploded. “Maybe it’s time you stopped being so mysterious, Jupe, and told us what’s going on. We became The Three Investigators to solve riddles and unexplained mysteries. Nobody said anything about becoming Kamikaze suicide pilots. I like my life. Bob probably likes his, too. How about it, Bob?”

Bob nodded, smiling. “I do, I do! And if I lose it, who will you get to do your research and keep your records? Pete’s right, Jupe. What gives?”

Jupe shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, yet. Naturally I wasn’t intending to risk our lives needlessly. But there are times when it becomes necessary to take a chance.”

Pete shook his head. “Oh no you don’t. You’ll have to convince me first. I saw a film the other night that my Dad brought home. One with a lot of his special effects. The scientist hero in it took a chance, too, and I’d hate to tell you what happened to him.”

Jupe frowned. “I’d forgotten your father was a special-effects man for pictures, Pete. What was it about?”

Pete grinned. “About bugs.”

“Bugs?”

“Ants and beetles that take over the world,” Pete explained. “One of those science-fiction films. And believe me, it was as scary as that old picture we just saw with the dragon. These insects were fifty to a hundred feet tall — as high as buildings.”

“How did they do that?” Jupe asked.

“They used real insects,” Pete replied.

“Come on, Pete,” Bob said sarcastically. “Real insects as high as buildings?”

Pete nodded. “My Pop explained it to me. It’s a different process from the ones Mr. Hitchcock explained to us.

“They photograph real insects through a prism — like a monocle — and then blow them up and superimpose them — photograph them again next to pictures of buildings. Naturally they look real, and scary because they are real! That’s how they do a lot of these pictures about monsters that come from outer space.”

Jupiter was pinching his lower lip again, his eyes thoughtful. “Do you still have the picture at your house?”

“It’ll be there for at least another week,” Pete said. “My Pop even suggested that you and Bob might like to see it. You’re invited over, any night. Also, it’s free!”

Jupiter looked impatient. “I’m afraid we’ll need it sooner than that, Pete.” He glanced at his watch, then turned to Pete again. “Is your projector battery operated?”