As soon as Peter saw the man closely, he knew at once that he wasn't either of the men in the car. For one thing, this man had a big round head, and a face to match, and both the other men had had rather narrow heads, as far as he had been able to see.
The man looked a little surprised. "No," he said. "I'm not Mr. Briggs. I'm just a friend staying with him. Do you want him? I'll call him?"
Peter began to feel a little uncomfortable. Somehow this pretty garden and trim little cottage didn't seem the kind of place those men would live in!
"Henry! Henry, there's someone asking for you! " called the man.
Peter saw that the other Secret Seven members were watching eagerly, would " Henry " prove to be one of the men they were hunting for ?
A man came strolling out; someone with trim, short hair and a narrow head. Yes, he might be the man who had sat in the left-hand seat of the car, except that he didn't in the least look as if he could possibly take someone else's car!
" Still, you never know! " thought Peter.
The man looked enquiringly at him. "What do you want ? " he said.
" Er, is your name Mr. H. E. J. Briggs, sir ? " asked Peter, politely.
" It is," said the man looking amused. " Why?"
" Er... well, have you by any chance lost a spectacle case, sir ? " asked Peter.
All the rest of the Seven outside the garden held their breath. What would he say ?
" Yes. I have lost one," said the man, surprised. " Have you found it ? Where was it ? "
" It was in the front of a car," answered Peter, watching him closely.
Now, if the man was one of the car-thieves, he would surely look embarrassed, or deny it. He would know that it was the case he had dropped the night before and would be afraid of saying " Yes, I dropped it there."
" What an extraordinary thing!" said the man. "Whose car? You sound rather mysterious. Losing a spectacle case is quite an ordinary thing to do, you know! "
" It was dropped in my father's car last night," said Peter, still watching the man.
"Oh no, it wasn't," said Mr. Briggs at once. " I've lost this case for about a week. It can't be mine. I wasn't in anyone's car last night."
" It is the man we want, I bet it is!" said Pam in a low voice to Janet. " He's telling fibs! "
" The case has your name in it," said Peter, " so we know it's yours. And it was in my father's car last night."
" Who is your father ? " said the man, sounding puzzled. " I can't quite follow what you're getting at. And where's the case ? "
"My father lives at Old Mill House," began Peter, " and he's . . ."
"Good gracious! He's not Jack, my farmer friend, surely ? " said Mr. Briggs. " That explains everything! He very kindly gave me a lift one day last week, and I must have dropped my spectacle case in his car then. I hunted for it everywhere when I got back home, never thought of the car, of course! Well, well, so you've brought it back ?"
" Oh, are you the man my father speaks of as Harry?" said Peter, taken aback. "Gracious! Well, I suppose you did drop your case, then, and not last night, as I thought. Here it is, sir. It's got your name and telephone number in it, that's how we knew it was yours."
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He held it out, and the man took it, smiling. "Thanks," he said, "and now perhaps you'll tell me what all the mystery was about, and why you insisted I had dropped it last night, and why you looked at me as if I were somebody Very Suspicious Indeed."
Peter heard the others giggling, and he went red. He really didn't know what to say!
"Well," he said, "you see, two men took my father's car last night, and when we looked in it to-day we found this case, and we thought perhaps it belonged to one of the men."
Mr. Briggs laughed. "I see, doing a little detective work. Well, it's very disappointing for you, but I don't happen to be a car-thief. Look, here's a shilling for bringing back my case. Buy some chocolate and share it with those interested friends of yours watching over the hedge."
"Oh no, thank you, sir," said Peter, backing away. "I don't want anything. I'm only too glad to bring your case back. Good-bye, sir! "
He went quickly out of the garden, most relieved to get away from the amused eyes of Mr. Briggs. Goodness, what a mistake! He got on his bicycle and rode swiftly away, the other six following.
They all stopped outside the tea-shop.
" Whew! " said Peter, wiping his forehead. " I did feel awful when I found out he was a friend of my father's! Dad is always talking about a man called Harry, but I didn't know his surname before."
" We thought we were so clever, but we weren't this time," said Colin. "Blow! The spectacle case was nothing to do with those two men in the car, but perhaps the button is ? "
"Perhaps," said Peter. "But I'm not tackling anyone wearing macs with buttons that match the one we found, unless I'm jolly certain he's one of those men! I feel hot all over when I think of Mr. Briggs. Suppose he goes and tells my father all about this ? "
"Never mind," said Jack, grinning. "It was great fun watching you. Let's have tea, and look ... they've got macaroons today. Bags I three! "
In they went and had a wonderful tea, and now, what next? Think hard, Secret Seven, and make some exciting plans!
