پلیس و خبرنگاران

Chapter seven

Policemen and Reporters

At the police station, the policeman told his chief everything that he knew. Emil added more information. He also had to give his name, date and place of birth, and address. The police chief wrote everything down.

‘And what’s your name?’ he asked the thief.

‘John Turner,’ the man answered.

When they heard this, Emil, Paul and the Captain laughed loudly. Even the bank assistant laughed.

‘First his name’s Green,’ Paul said, ‘then it’s Miller. And now it’s Turner. So what’s his real name? Why don’t you ask him?’

‘Silence’ said the police chief.

Mr Green-Miller-Turner gave the date and place of his birth. He was staying at the West End Hotel. No, he couldn’t prove who he was. He didn’t have any papers with him.

‘And where were you before you came here yesterday?’ the police chief asked.

‘In Greenfield.’

‘That isn’t true’ cried the Captain.

‘Silence’ the police chief shouted. He turned to the thief. ‘Mr Turner, did you steal seventy pounds from the schoolboy Emil Fisher of Newton yesterday?’

‘Yes,’ said the thief sadly. ‘I don’t know why I did it. The boy was asleep in the corner of the carriage. I saw the bag with the money in it fall out of his pocket.

So I picked it up. I only wanted to see what was in the bag. But because I didn’t have any money ‘This isn’t true,’ Emil said. ‘The money didn’t fall out of my pocket. There was a pin through it.’

‘And he did have some money,’ the Captain said. ‘He paid for food and a taxi yesterday. And today all Emil’s money was still in his pocket.’

‘Silence’ the police chief said again. ‘I didn’t ask you to speak.’ He wrote everything down.

‘Can’t I go, sir?’ the thief asked. ‘I made a mistake and I’m sorry. You know where I’m staying. I’m in the city on business and I’d like to finish it today.’

The police chief didn’t listen to him. He phoned the main police station for a car to take the thief away.

‘When can I get my money back?’ Emil asked.

‘I don’t know. They’ll tell you at the main police station. You must go there now and report to the chief detective.’

The police car arrived a few minutes later and took the thief away. The other boys were standing outside the police station.

Emil gave them the news. He asked them to telephone Little Tuesday with the news, too.

Finally, he said: ‘Thank you, everyone, for all your help. Soon I’ll be able to pay back the money that you lent me.’

The boys were happy to help, they said. They didn’t want the money back.

Only Emil, Paul and the Captain went to the main police station. A policeman took Emil to see the chief detective. The others waited outside his office.

The chief detective was a pleasant man. He listened to Emil’s story and then gave him back the money.

‘Look after it now,’ he said.

‘I will,’ said Emil. ‘I’m going to take it to my grandmother.’

‘You and your detectives did a very good job,’ said the chief.

‘Thank you, sir,’ said Emil. ‘Can I ask a question?’

‘Of course.’

‘What will happen to the thief?’

‘We’ll take his photograph, and his fingerprints. Then we’ll check on our list of criminals. We’ll see if he’s there.’

‘List of criminals?’

‘Yes. It’s a book. We keep photographs of all the people who’ve been to prison. It also has the fingerprints of thieves that we’re trying to catch. Perhaps your thief is one of the men that we’re looking for.’

The telephone rang.

‘Just a minute,’ the chief said. He spoke into the telephone. ‘Yes. Come up to my office.’

He turned to Emil. ‘A few people are coming up to see you. They’re reporters from the newspapers.’

‘Oh. Are they going to write about me in the newspapers?’

‘I think so.’ The chief smiled. ‘When a schoolboy catches a thief, he becomes famous.’

The door opened and four reporters came into the room. The chief detective shook hands with them and told the story of Emil and the thief. The four reporters wrote everything down carefully.

‘This is a wonderful story,’ one of the reporters said. ‘A boy from the country becomes a detective!’

‘He should join the police,’ said another man.

‘Why didn’t you go to the police at the beginning and tell them everything?’ asked a third reporter.

Emil suddenly felt afraid.

‘Yes, why didn’t you do that?’ asked the chief detective.

‘Because,’ Emil began slowly, ‘I painted a red nose on the statue in the station square at Newton. Do, Do I have to go to prison?’

The reporters and the chief detective all laughed.

‘Of course not, Emil,’ said the chief. ‘We aren’t going to send one of our best detectives to prison.’

‘Oh, I’m very happy about that,’ Emil said. He turned to one of the reporters. ‘Don’t you remember me?’ he asked. ‘We were on the same tram yesterday. You paid for my ticket because I had no money.’

‘Of course,’ said the reporter. ‘And you asked me where I lived. You wanted to come and give me back the money.’

‘Can I give it to you now?’ said Emil, taking some money out of his pocket.

‘Of course not,’ said the reporter. ‘I’ve got a better idea. Come with me and I’ll show you the offices of our newspaper. But first we’ll go and have some tea and cakes.’

‘I’d like to go with you very much,’ said Emil. ‘But Paul and the Captain are waiting for me outside.’

‘Then they must come too,’ said the reporter.

But they had to wait a few more minutes. The other reporters wanted to ask some more questions. Emil told them everything that they wanted to know. They wrote it all down.

‘Is this the first time that Mr Green has stolen anything?’ one of them asked the chief detective.

‘I don’t think so,’ he replied. ‘Phone me in an hour. It’s possible that I’ll have a big surprise for you.’

The reporter from the tram put Emil, Paul and the Captain into a taxi, and they all drove away for tea and cakes. Paul sounded his horn on the way.

In the cafe, the boys ate a lot of cakes and told the reporter about their exciting adventure.

They told him about the meeting in the square and how they followed the taxi. They told him how Paul dressed as a lift boy, and about the fight in the bank.

‘You are three of the finest boys that I’ve ever met,’ the reporter said at the end.

They all felt very proud of themselves.

After tea, the reporter took Emil to the newspaper office. It was a very large building. People were running in and out of rooms all the time.

Everyone seemed very busy. The place was filled with the sound of people typing.

They went into a room where a young lady was sitting. The reporter walked up and down, telling her Emil’s story. Emil watched as she typed it all.

Then the reporter telephoned the chief detective’s office.

He listened for some time. ‘Really? Is that true?’ Emil heard him say. ‘You don’t want me to tell him? Thank you very much. It will be a wonderful story for the newspaper.’

The reporter turned to Emil and said: ‘Come with me, quickly. We must take your photograph.’

‘Why?’ asked Emil in surprise.

The reporter smiled.

They went up in the lift and into a large room. Emil tidied his hair and someone took his photograph. Then the reporter took Emil down to the street. He called a taxi to take Emil home.

‘Goodbye,’ the reporter said. ‘And don’t forget to read the newspaper this afternoon. I think you’ll be very surprised.’