"Oh, don't do that!" said Bets, in alarm. "You wouldn't be Fatty any more, if you were thin. And I do like you just exactly as you are!"
Everybody Does Something.
Plans were laid for the next few days. "These may be very important days," said Fatty. "We may be able to learn a lot—right under Goon's nose, too, if he's going to do this watch-dog act of his!"
"What exactly are we going to do?" said Daisy, thrilled. "You're going to disguise yourself as that old man, we know, and take his place, hoping for a message from one of the gang. But what are we to do? We must have something interesting so that we can do our share as Find-Outers."
"Woof," said Buster.
"He wants a job too," said Bets, with a laugh. "Poor Buster! He can't understand why you have to dress up as somebody different, Fatty. You don't look or sound the same to him—you only smell the same. And when you go out as the Balloon-woman or the old man, we have to lock Buster up and leave him behind, and he hates that."
"Poor old Buster-Dog," said Fatty, and at once Buster rolled himself over on his back to be tickled. His tongue came out, and his tail wagged so violently that it wagged his whole body and made it shake from end to end.
"Now," said Fatty, taking out his note-book and opening it. "Let's just have a look at what we know. Then we'll make our plans—and you shall each have something to do."
"Good," said Larry. "I know you've got to do all the important work, Fatty, because you really are a born detective—but we do want something as well."
"We don't know very much yet," said Fatty, looking at his notes. "We know that Goon is watching the old man because he suspects what we do—that he receives messages to pass on—and we feel certain that for some reason or other the headquarters are here in Peters-wood. We have also seen one of the members of the gang—the fellow with a hooter on his bike—but that's about all we do know."