Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day (8 page)

Solution to The Case of the Foot Warmer

Encyclopedia knew Melvin was the thief.

The fact that he was holding Mrs. Hall’s baby in his arms at the back of the store gave him away.

In order to pick up the baby, Melvin had to be able to bend over.

So he was not wearing the foot warmer in the store. Remember, the tubes of the foot warmer were “hard and stiff as iron.”

Melvin confessed.

He had got the rifles out of the store by sticking one in each trouser leg, as Mr. Archer suspected.

After hiding the rifles, he had put on his hot air foot warmer. Then he had gone to the Brown Detective Agency. He had hoped to make Encyclopedia believe that he had walked out of the store stiffly because he wore the foot warmer.

Encyclopedia returned the two riHes.