“Why was Rajah let loose, First?” Bob asked.

“To distract us, Records!” Jupiter declared. “When that old man failed to steal the crooked cat, he must have circled back and watched the shooting gallery. He saw Pete win the cat. While the rest of us were shooting, he went and got Rajah. When you two and Andy went back to the trailer, he released Rajah near you to distract Pete. Pete dropped the cat and forgot about it while we were all busy with Rajah. As soon as we were out of the way, the old man picked it up and left with it!”

“Wow, First,” Pete said, “he must have wanted that cat badly. It must be valuable and important.”

“Yes, it must be,” Jupiter agreed. “Andy, was there anything special about those crooked cats? Do you know why anyone would want one of them, or all of them?”

Andy shook his head. “I don’t know why, Jupe. There’s nothing special about them that I know of.” Jupiter pondered a moment while the others watched him. The stocky First Investigator chewed his lip.

“There are only three possibilities, fellows,” he pronounced at last. “First, that someone wants all those cats for himself, the way the ad seems to say. Some special reason for needing cats like that. Second, that the crooked cats, taken all together, mean something.”

“You mean like all the parrots in our ‘Stuttering Parrot’ case, First?” Bob said quickly.

Bob was referring to a case the boys had handled in which a group of parrots had each been taught part of a message that helped solve a mystery.

“Precisely,” Jupiter declared. “And third, there could be something on one of the cats, or inside it, that is valuable, and that Andy didn’t know about.” He turned suddenly to the carnival boy. “Andy, did the carnival go to Mexico? Or anywhere near the border?”

“No, Jupe,” Andy shook his head. “Only California.”

“Why Mexico, First?” Bob asked.

“I was thinking of smugglers, Records,” Jupiter explained. “Smugglers often hide things inside articles like those crooked cats. Where did you get those cats, Andy?”

“From Chicago,” Andy said. “Dad bought them straight from the prize supplier there.”

Jupiter frowned. “Well, there is something important about those cats, and we have to find out what. One thing puzzles me, though. Why did that old man try to steal only the last crooked cat? Andy, this is only your third day in Rocky Beach?”

“That’s right. We’ve played only two shows. We came here overnight from San Mateo after our last show there.”

“And just when did you give out the cats?” asked Jupe.

“Four the first night here,” said Andy, “and the fifth to Pete last night.”

“Why did you give out four cats the first night? Isn’t that a lot of first prizes?”

“We always try to have a lot of winners the first night,” Andy explained. “We want people to go home and talk about winning. It’s good advertising. Actually, I let some borderline winners take crooked cats.”

“The cats were always first prize?” Jupiter asked.

“Oh, no. I’m always changing the first prizes. I lost some of my best prizes in the San Mateo fire, so I made the crooked cats a first prize the first night here.”

Jupiter pondered. “You keep your prizes in that trailer? How safe are they?”

“Well, the trailer is always locked. When the show isn’t open, it’s attached to our trucks, and it has a burglar alarm on it — we get a lot of attempts to pilfer our stuff — kids mostly. Someone’s nearly always round our truck, and when the gallery is open, I keep the trailer locked behind the booth where I can see it”

“Then it would be very difficult to steal one of the cats from the trailer without being seen?”

“It sure would,” Andy declared. “I mean, someone could break it open easy enough, but at night and most of the day the alarm would go off, and when the alarm’s off, a thief would be almost sure to be seen. I guess a thief could break it open and run, but we’d know about it.”

“Yes,” Jupiter said slowly, and the boys could almost see the wheels turning in the First Investigator’s brain. “So you left San Mateo with five crooked cats… You came straight here. It would have been difficult to steal the cats between San Mateo and here. It would have been difficult to steal the cats from your trailer at any time without the theft being quickly discovered. You opened up here right away, and you quickly gave away four cats as first prize. Then, last night, that old man with the moustache and dark glasses tried to grab the last cat. He failed, and Pete got it. Rajah got loose, and Pete lost that last cat. Now someone is advertising for cats just like your crooked ones.”

“That’s how it all happened, all right,” Andy agreed. “But what does it all mean, Jupiter?”

The First Investigator’s eyes took on the gleam so familiar to Bob and Pete — the gleam that told them that Jupiter was about to hatch a theory.

“One fact stands out, Andy,” the stocky leader of the Three Investigators announced. “No attempt was made to steal any of your cats before last night, and no attempt was made to steal them from the trailer at all. To me, that suggests two strong probabilities.”

Jupiter’s eyes gleamed round at them all. “I’m convinced that the crooked cats became valuable only within the last few days. And I’m convinced that the man who wants those cats is a member of the carnival!”

“But Jupiter,” Andy protested, “no one in the carnival looks like that old man with the moustache.”

“A simple disguise, Andy,” Jupiter declared. “The moustache was thick, he wore a hat to hide his face, and wore dark glasses when it was almost night.”

“Gosh, First,” Pete pointed out, “a carnival member could have just grabbed the cats from the trailer any time.”

“He’s right, First. He’d just sneak up and steal the cats.” Bob added.

“No, Records. The very fact that no attempt was made to break into the trailer is what convinces me,” Jupiter pronounced. “An outsider would have just broken in and run. Even if he had known how hard it was to steal the cats, he wouldn’t have cared as long as he escaped. And he wouldn’t have to worry about being recognized.”

“Well?” Bob said.

“A member of the carnival would have to disguise himself or risk being seen,” Jupiter went on, “and he would know how hard it was to break into that trailer. He couldn't just grab and run — he’d have been missed! And if he didn’t run away, he’d risk being seen on the lot with the cats. On top of that, fellows, stealing cats from the trailer would reveal at once that they had some value to someone!”

“Gosh, Jupe,” Pete exclaimed. “You mean that the thief didn’t want anyone to know there’d been a theft!”

“Exactly, Second,” Jupiter said triumphantly. “I think he didn’t want any attention drawn to those crooked cats, because their value is somehow connected to the carnival! I’m sure the thief is afraid someone might guess their value if they were openly stolen, and that he would be in trouble. I don’t see how any of that would have hurt an outsider.”

“Jiminy, maybe you’re right,” Andy said, but he still looked doubtful.

“I know I am,” Jupiter stated flatly. “The fact that the thief waited until last night to try to steal even one cat also convinces me. Because he is a member of the carnival, he had to be careful, and because he’s a member, he could afford to wait! He wanted to pick exactly the right moment to get the cats in a way that wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Only a member of the carnival could observe Andy and the trailer closely enough to feel secure in waiting for a perfect chance. Only he waited too long.”

“Too long, Jupe?” Pete asked, perplexed.

“Yes, Second. You remember that Andy said the crooked cats weren’t first prize until here in Rocky Beach? Then he gave out four cats that first night. He caught the thief by surprise. Four of the cats were gone. The thief had to move fast. He grabbed the last cat, but lost it. That made him desperate, and he resorted to risky tricks like releasing Rajah.”