The Three Investigators Fast step (1)

The Three Investigators  Fast step (1)

BOB ANDREWS parked his bike outside his home in Rocky beach and entered the house.

As he closed the door, his mother called to him from the kitchen.
" Robert ? Is that you ? "

" Yes, Mom. " He went to kitchen door. His mother, brown-haired and slender, was making doughnuts. 

" How was the library ? "she said.

" It was okay, " Bob told her. After all, there was never any excitement at the library.
He worked there part time, sorting returned books and helping with filing and cataloguing.

" Your friend Jupiter called."
His mother went on rolling out the dough on a board.
" He left a message for you. "

" A message ? " Bob yelled with sudden excitement.
" What was it ? "

I wrote it down. I'll get it out of my pocket as soon as I finish with this dough. "

" Can't you remember what he said ? he may need me. "

" I could remember an ordinary message, " his mother answered,but jupiter doesn't leave ordinary messages. It was something fantastic. "

(1/15) 
The three Investigators は著作権の現存する著作物です（当然、写してはいけません）が、その第１巻The Secret of Terror Castle の、最初のイントロ部分だけ(165ページ中の最初の数ページ)を、人物紹介ならびに、本＆物語の英文ご紹介のため、少しだけお出ししてみたいと思います。実際の３人の活躍部分は、まだほとんど出て来ませんが・・・。

The Secret of Terror Castle (Three Investigators Classics)

• 作者: Robert Arthur
• 出版社/メーカー: Random House Books for Young Readers
• 発売日: 1991/05/21
• メディア: ペーパーバック
  

• では。

The three Investigators (2)

" Jupiter likes unusual words, " Bobs aid, controling his impatience.
" He's read an awful lot of books and sometimes he's  a little hard to understand. "

" Not just sometimes ! " his mother retorted.
" He's a very unusual boy. My goodness, how he found my engagement ring, I'll never know. "

She was referring to the time the previous fall when she had lost her diamond ring.
Jupiter Jones had come to the house and requested her to tell him every move she had made the day the ring was lost.

Then he had gone out to the pantry, reached up, and picked the ring from behind a row of bottled tomato pickles.
Bob's mother had taken it off and put it there while she was sterilizing the jars.

" I can't imagine, " Mrs. Andrews said, " how he guessed where that ring was ! "

" h didn't guess, he figured it out, " Bob explained.
" That's how his mind works...Mom, can't you get the message now ? "

" In one minute, " his mother said, giving the dough another flattening roll. 

(2/15)
また遅くなりまして、ごめんなさい、です。
明日の分はこれから直ちに打ちますので、定時（８時）と思います。
かわゆい動物の出てきます新story 開始予定です。

The three Investigators (3)

The three Investigators (3)

" Incidentally, what on earth was that story on the front of yesteday's paper about Jupiter's winning the use of a Rools-Royce sedan for thirty days ? "

" It was a contest the Rent-'n'-Ride Auto Rental Company had, " Bob told her.
" They put a big jar full of beans in their window and offered the Rolls-Royce and a chauffeur for thirty days to whoever guessed nearest to the right number of beans.
Jupiter spent about three days calculating ow much apace was in the jar, and how many beans it would take to fil that space.
And he won...Mom, please, can't you find the message now ? "

" All right, " his mother agreed.
She began to wipe the flour from her hands.
" But waht on earth will Jupiter Jones do with a Rolls-Royce sedan and a chauffeur, even for thirtydays ? "

" Well, you see, we're thinkingー" Bob began , but by then his mother wasn't listening.

" These days a person can win almost anything, " she was saying.
" Why, I read abou a woman who won a houseboat on a television program.
She lives up in the ountains, and she's almost frantic, not knowing what to do with it. "

While she was talking, Mrs.Andrews had take a slip of paper from her pocket.

" Here's a message, " she said.
" It says ' Green Gate One. The presses are rolling.' "

(3/15)

The three investigators (4)

The three investigators (4)

" Great, Mom, thanks, " Bob yelled, and was almost out the front door before her voice stoped him.

" Robert, what on earth does the messeage mean ?  Is Jupiter using some kind of fantastic code ?"

" No, Mom. It's plain, ordinary English. Well, I've got to hurry. "

Bob poped out the door, awung onto his bike, and started for The Jones Salvage Yard.

When he was riding bicycle, the brace on his leg bothered him hardly at all.
He had 'won the brace,' as Dr.Alvarez put it, by foolishly trying to climb one of the hills near Rocky Beach all alone.

Rocky Beach is built on a flat spot, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Santa Monica Mountains on the other.


AS mountains, they might be considered a bit small, but a hills they are very big.

Bob had rolled down some five hundredfeet of slope and wound up with his leg broken in umpteen places.
A new record, the hospital asured him.

However, Dr.Alvarezsaid that eventually the brace could come off and he would never know he had once worn it.

Although it was sometimes a nuisance, it didn't really bother him most of the time.

(4/15)

The Three Investigators (5)

The Three Investigators (5)

Getting outside the main section of town, Bob reached The Jones Salvage Yard.
It had been called Jones's Junkyard until Jupiter persuaded his uncle to chnge the name.

Now it handled many unusual items in addition to ordinary junk, so that people came from miles away when they needed something they couldn't foind elsewhere.

The yard was a fascinating spot for any boy, and its unusual character was obvious from as far away as one could see the board fence that surrounded it.

Mr. Titus Hones had used a number of different colors of paint, aquireed as junk, to paint the fence.

Some of the local artists had helped him, because Mr. Jones was always letting them have some little piece of junk they needed, free.

The whole front section was covered with trees and flowers and green lakes and swans, and even an ocean scene.

The other sides had other pictures.

It was probably the most colorful junkyard in the country.

(5/15)

The Three Investigators (6)

The Three Investigators (6)

Bob rode past the front gate, which consisted of two enormous iron gate from an eatate that had burned down.

He went on almost a hundred yards farther and stopped near the corner, where the fence showed a green ocian with a two-masted sailing ship foundering in a raging storm.

Bob dismounted and found the two green boards Jupe had made into a private gate.

That was Green gate One.
He pushed against the eye of a fish that was looking out of the water at the sinking ship, and the boards swung up.

He shoved his bike through and closed  the gate.

Now he was inside the junkyard, in the corner which JUpiter had arranged as his outdoor working shop.

It ws outdoors except for a roof about six feet wide that ran around most of the fence on the inside of the yard.

Mr.Jones kept his better junk under this roof.

(6/15) 

The Three Investigators (7)

The Three Investigators (7)

As Bob entered the workshop, Jupiter Jones was sitting in an old swivel chair, pinching his lower lip, always  a sign that his mental machinary was spining in high gear.


Pete Crenshaw was busy at the small printing press which had come in as junk, and which Jupiter had labored over until it would operate again.


The printing press was going clink-clank, back and forth.

Tall, dark-haired Pete was busy putting down and picking up white card.

That was what Jupe's message had meant ー simply that the press was working and he wanted Bob to come meet them through Green Gate One.

No one could see the boys from the main part of the junkyard where the office was ー especially Jupiter's Aunt mathilda, a large woman, who really ran the bisiness.

She had a big heart, and was endlessly good-natured, but when she saw a boy around she had only one idea: Put him to work !

(7/15)

The Three Investigators (8)

The Three Investigators (8)

In self defence Jupiter had, bit by bit, arranged the piles of various types of junk in the yard so they hide his workshop from sight.

Now he and his friends could have privacy when he was not acutyally needed to help his uncle or his aunt.

As bob parked his bike, Pete shut off the press and handed him one of the cards he had been printing.

" Look at that ! " he said.

It was a large business card.
And it said:

     THE THREE INVESTIGATOERS
       "We Investigate Anything !
                  ?    ?    ?
    First Investigator..........Jupiter Jones
    Second Investigator......Peter Crenshaw
    Records and Reseach...  Bob Andrews


" Wow ! " Bob said admiringly.
" That really looks great. So you decided to go ahead with it, Jupe ? "


(7/15)

The Three Investigators (9)

The Three Investigators (9)

" We've been talking for a long time about starting an investigation agency, " Jupiter said.

" And now my winning the use of a Rolls-Royce sedan for thirty days of twenty-four hours each gives us freedom to seek mystery wherever we may find it.

For a certain time, anyway.

Therefore we are taking the plunge.

We are now officially The Three Investigators.

" As I First Investigator, I will be in charge of planning.
As Second Investigator, Pete will be in charge of all operations requiring athletic prowess.
As you are at present somewhat handicapped in shadowing suspects or climbing fences, and similar duties, Bob, you will handle all of the research our cases may need.
You also keep complete records of everything we do. "

" That's fine with me, " Bob said.
" With my library job it will be easy for me to do reseach."

(9/15)

The three Investigators (10)

The three Investigators (10)

Modern Investigation requires extensive research, " Jupiter said.
" But you are staring at our business card in an odd manner. May I ask what is troubling you ? "

" Well, it's these question marks, " Bob said.
" What are the for ? "

" I was waiting for you toask that, " Pete said.
" Jupe said you would. He says everyone will. "

" The question mark, " Jupiter sai impressiely, " is the universal symbol of something unknown. "

" We are prepared to solve any pazzle, riddle, mystery,enigma, or  conundrum which may be bought to us.
Hence the question mark will be our trademark.
Three  question marks together will always stand for The Three Investigators. "

(10/15)   

The Three Investigators (11)

The Three Investigators (11)

Bob thought jupiter was finished, but he should have known better.

Jupiter was just warming up.

" In addition, " Jupiter said,
" the question marks will provoke interest.
They will make people ask us what they mean, just as you did.
They will help people remember us.
They will be good publicity.
Every business needs publicity in order to attract customers. "

" That's great, " Bob said, putting the card back on the pile Pete had alreadyprinted.

" Now  we'd be in business if we only had a case of investigate. "

Pete looked important.
" Bob, " he said, " we've got a case. "

" Correction, " jupiter said.
He straightened up a d set his jaw.
When he did so, his normally rather round face seemed longer, and he looked older.
Stockly built, Jupiter could look a little fat when he did not hold himself erect.

" Unfotunately, " Jupiter explained, " one small obstacle remains.
There is a case available for usーonr I feel we can easily solveーbut we have not yet been engaged."

(11/15) 

The three Investigators (12)

The three Investigators (12)

" What's the case ? " Bob asked eagerly.

" The famous English director Regnald Clarke is looking for a real haunted house for his next picture, " Pete said.
" Dad heard about it at the studio. "

Mr. Crenshaw was a special-effects expert who worked at one of the movie studios in Hollywood, a few miles away.

" A hounted house ? " Bob repeated, frowning.
" How can you solve a haunted house ? "

" We can investigate the haunted house and find out it is really haunted or not.
The publicity will get our name known and The Three Investigators will be launched. "

" Only Mr. Crarke hasn't asked us to investigate any haunted houses for him," Bob said.
" Is that what you call a small obstacle ? "

" We shall have to persuade him to engage our services, " Jupiter said.
" That's the next step. "

" Sure, " Bob said with rich sarcasm.
" I  suppose we are going to march into the office of one of the most famous movie directors in the world and say, "You sent for us, sir ? "

(11/15)

The three investigators (13)

The three investigators (13)

" The datail are not quite correct but the idea is roughly accurate, " Jupiter told him.
" Ihave already telephoned Mr.Clarke for an apointment. "

" You what? " Pete asked, looking as surprised as Bob.
" And he said he'd see us ? "

" No, " the stocky boy admited.
" His secretary wouldn't even let me talk to him. "

" That figures, " Pete said.

" In fact, she said she would have us arrested if we came anywhere near him, " Jupiteradded.
" It's tures out that Mr.Clarke's temporary secretary this summer is a young woman who used to go to school here in Rocky Beach.
She was a number of grades ahead of us but you will probably remember her. Henrietta Larson. "

" Bossy Henrietta ! " Pete exclaimed.
" You bet I remember her. "

" She used to help the teachers and boss all the little kids around, " Bob added.
" I'll never forget her. If Henrietta Larson is Mr. Clarke's secretary, we'd better forget it. Three armored tanks couldn't get past her. "


(13/15)

The Three Investigators (14)

The Three Investigators (14)

" Obstacle, " Jupiter replied calmly, " are what make life intersting. Tomorow morning we will all drive Hollywood and call on Mr.Clake in our new temparay car. "

" And have Henrietta get the police after us ? " Bob yelled.
" No way. besides, I have to work at the library all day tomorrow. "

" Then Peter and I will go. I will phone the Rent-'n'-Ride Auto Rental Agency and tell them I shall start my use of the car at ten o'clock tomorrow morning.
And you Bob, " jupiter went on, " as long as you are going to be at the library tomorrow, look in the old newspaper and magazine files information about this. "

He wrote two wordsーterror Castleー on the back of a bisiness card and handed it to Bob.

The other boy read it and gulped.

"All right, Jupe, " he answered, " if you say so. "

" The three Investigators are now in business, " jupiter announced, looking satisfied.

" Carry a supply of our cards with you at all times. They will be your credentials. And tomorrow every man will do his duty, come what may. "

(14/15) 

The three Investigators (15 ご紹介ひとまず完)

The three Investigators (15 ご紹介ひとまず完)

～　～　～　～　～　～　～　～

Bob had a good deal more information in his notes about Terror Castle, and Jupiter read it all carefully.

Pete kept saying wild horses couldn't drag him near the place, but when the time came to set out he was ready.

Dressed in some old clothes, he was carrying the portable tape recorder he had gotten from a boy in school by trading his stamp collection for it.

Bob had a notebook and a couple of sharp pencils.

Jupiter had his camera with the built-in flash bulb.


Both Pete and Bob had told their families they were going driving with Jupiter in the car he had won for thirty days.

Their parents seemed to feel that as long as Jupiter was with them everything would be fine.

And then, of course, they knew that Worthington, the chauffeur, went with the car.

(15/15  ご紹介ひとまず完)　
Terror Castle の謎解きはこれからですが、The three Investigators の活躍は見事だと思われます。
今回のご紹介は、これにて、ひとまず完とさせていただきます。

新しい物語につきましては、現在選定中ですが、Snow White and the Seven warfs を検討中。

昨日、急病（発熱）のため、アップを忘れました。お詫び申し上げます。