10 A MAMMOTH MYSTERY Or, Gustav Eggs Diana On While King Brady Turns Chicken “Curtis? Dead? In there?” Behind me, King Brady burst out laughing. “You’re joking!” His laughter stopped as suddenly as it had begun. “Aren’t you?” Diana and Gustav ignored him. “What’s going on up there?” someone shouted. “Yeah! Who won?” More such cries echoed up from the audience packed in around the Mammoth Cheese. “Pinkerton’ll be up here any second lookin’ for the winner,” Old Red said. “And you know what he’ll do when he finds out about our friend here.” Diana nodded. “We don’t count as real detectives. He’ll get rid of us as soon as he can.” “That’s right. So if either of us is gonna do any clue-huntin’, this is our chance … provided there’s a distraction.” He held the golden egg out toward Diana. She took it. “I can’t give you more than a couple of minutes,” she said. “Make the most of it.” Gustav popped his head and shoulders back down into the tub.
