The Case of the Exploding Plumbing

Table of Contents

 

 

Encyclopedia was finishing breakfast when Winslow Brant telephoned.

“You’d better get to my place quick!” he said. “I was nearly killed by my toilet!”

Winslow was waiting out in front when Encyclopedia arrived. Two fire trucks pulled up. Firemen raced into the building.

“We’d better use the back entrance,” said Winslow. He went around to the rear, through the parking lot, and into the service elevator.

“I flushed the toilet and it started to make funny noises,” he said. “Hot water shot up. So I ran. Then the toilet exploded.”

The elevator stopped at the sixth floor. Winslow opened the door of his apartment. “This way,” said Winslow. He walked into the bathroom. Nothing was left of the toilet but pipes and little white pieces.

“What about the toilet, Encyclopedia? Was it a bomb?”

“I don’t know yet,” answered Encyclopedia.

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Registered Offices: Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

 

First published in the United States of America by Dutton Children’s Books,
a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 1974
Published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2008

 

 

Text copyright © Donald J. Sobol, 1974
(Member of the Authors League of America, Inc.)

Illustrations copyright © Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers, 1974

All rights reserved

 

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE DUTTON EDITION AS FOLLOWS:
Sobol, Donald J
Encyclopedia Brown lends a hand.
Summary: The solutions to ten mysteries solved by Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown
are given in a separate section challenging the reader to match wits
with the ten-year-old mastermind of Idaville’s war on aime.

eISBN : 978-1-101-04237-3

[1. Mystery and detective stories] I. Shortall, Leonard W., illus. II. Title.
PZ7.S68524Erm [Fic] 74-10281

 

 

 

 

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

Across the length and breadth of America people were wondering:

“What is Idaville’s secret?”

For more than a year now, no one had gotten away with a crime in Idaville.

Aside from being a model of law and order, Idaville was a lovely seaside town. It had clean beaches and three movie theaters. It had churches, a synagogue, four banks, and two delicatessens.

The chief of police was Mr. Brown. He knew that nearly every American thought he was the best peace officer in the nation. He also knew the truth about Idaville.

The real brains behind Idaville’s war on crime was his only child, ten-year-old Encyclopedia.

Whenever Chief Brown had a mystery he could not solve, he put his emergency plan into action. He went home to dinner. At the table he told Encyclopedia the facts.

The boy detective solved the case before dessert. Once in a while, however, he had to ask for second helpings to gain more time.

Chief Brown hated keeping his son’s ability a secret. He felt Congress should award Encyclopedia a vote of thanks. But how could he suggest it?

Who would believe that the guiding hand behind Idaville’s police record could make a yo-yo loop-the-loop off a man-on-the-flying trapeze?

No one.

So Chief Brown said nothing.

Encyclopedia never let slip a word about the help he gave his father. He did not want to seem different from other fifth-graders.

But he was stuck with his nickname.

Only his parents and teachers called him by his right name, Leroy. Everyone else in Idaville called him Encyclopedia.

An encyclopedia is a book or set of books filled with facts from A to Z. Encyclopedia had read so many books he was really more like a library. You might say he was the only library in which the information desk was on the top floor.

One evening Chief Brown looked up from his soup. “Friday the thirteenth,” he muttered.

“You’re mistaken, dear,” said Mrs. Brown. “Today is Friday the twelfth.”

“I’m talking about seventeen years ago,” said Chief Brown.

“Does the date have something to do with a case?” asked Encyclopedia.

“Yes, with Mr. Hunt’s elephant, Jimbo,” answered Chief Brown. “The animal is causing a problem.”

Encyclopedia refused to believe his ears. Jimbo was the only pet elephant in Idaville. He never caused anyone a problem. Mr. Hunt kept him in the backyard.

“If Jimbo is in the middle of a mystery, tell Leroy,” urged Mrs. Brown. “It could be his biggest case.”

Chief Brown nodded. “It turns out that Jimbo may not belong to Mr. Hunt after all,” he began. “Mr. Hunt found him outside his bedroom window on April Fools’ Day seventeen years ago.”

“What a shock for him!” exclaimed Mrs. Brown.

“I imagine so,” replied Chief Brown. “Mr. Hunt opened his eyes, and there was Jimbo peeping through the window. He woke up Mrs. Hunt to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.”

“What did she say?” asked Encyclopedia.

“‘I hope he’s on a leash,’ ” replied Chief Brown, “according to Mr. Hunt.”

“Mr. Hunt has a great memory,” marveled Encyclopedia.

“So does Mr. Xippas,” said Chief Brown. “He came to my office today. He says he owns the elephant and wants him back. He claims Mr. Hunt never paid for Jimbo.”

“What does Mr. Hunt say?” inquired Mrs. Brown.

“Mr. Hunt insists that he mailed the money to Mr. Xippas,” said Chief Brown.

He waited while Mrs. Brown cleared the soup bowls. When she had served the ham loaf, he took his notebook from his breast pocket.

“I spoke with both Mr. Xippas and Mr. Hunt today,” he said. “I’ll give you Mr. Hunt’s side first.”

Encyclopedia and his mother listened as Chief Brown read from his notes.

“Mr. Hunt says that he thought the elephant in his backyard was a prank, since it was April Fools’ Day. He immediately called the police. It turned out that the elephant had run away from a little circus which had just arrived in town.

“An hour later Mr. Xippas came to Mr. Hunt’s house. Mr. Xippas owned and trained Jimbo. By then the Hunts had taken a liking to the animal. They asked Mr. Xippas if he would sell him.

“Mr. Xippas agreed. He also agreed to stay at the Hunts’ house a week or two. The couple wanted to learn how to care for Jimbo. Mr. Xippas, however, asked to see their money first. So that afternoon Mr. Hunt drew the cash from the Oceanside Bank and showed it to the animal trainer.

“After nearly two weeks, the Hunts felt they could handle the friendly Jimbo. Mr. Hunt offered Mr. Xippas the money. Mr. Xippas wouldn’t take it because it was Friday the thirteenth, which he said was bad luck for him.

“The same night Mr. Xippas left Idaville. He left a forwarding address, and Mr. Hunt mailed him the money.”

Chief Brown looked up from his notebook.

“That’s Mr. Hunt’s story,” he said. “Mr. Xippas insists he never got the money. The address was his sister’s house in New Jersey. He says she was sick and had telephoned him to come and be with her.”

“Why did Mr. Xippas wait seventeen years before coming back to Idaville to claim Jimbo?” asked Encyclopedia. “It doesn’t sound right.”

“He says his sister died shortly after he reached her bedside,” replied Chief Brown. “A day after her death, he got an offer of a job in India. He’s been overseas all this time. He only returned to the United States five days ago.”