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believe when I thought about it. But even before then, I wondered if someone
besides Sam wanted our photographs. When Mr. Andrews was attacked,
there hadn t been time for Sam to view the pictures in the afternoon paper
and then summon the two masked men.
I began thinking that Sam s wanting to conceal the existence of the gold
couldn t explain all the interest in the photos. So when Bob and Pete left
Headquarters to get clothes for our second night on the Rock, I studied all
the pictures again. He took four photographs from a manila envelope and
laid them in front of Mr. Sebastian. If you look carefully, you can see a
face at the base of the great rock as the Ragnarsons march down after the
battle.
Mr. Sebastian peered closely, then took out a magnifying glass and studied
the pictures further. It s not obvious unless you look very carefully, but
there s a very surprised face peering out from behind a bush!
Right, Jupiter said. It suddenly struck me what if Mr. Manning
were alive out on the Rock? What if he had seen Bob take his photograph?
A Visit to Mr. Sebastian
And what if he couldn t afford to have anyone such as a life insurance
company see those photos and know that he was alive? That would
explain a lot of things that had happened.
Pete groaned. I still don t understand what life insurance is all about.
It s protection for a person s family in case he or she dies explained
Mr. Sebastian. You pay a small amount every month for the insurance.
Then if you die young, the insurance company will pay a big sum to your
family a lot more money than you ve paid in. They pay whatever you ve
arranged for.
For Mr. Manning, it was $500,000, Bob put in.
Wow! exclaimed Pete. It s sort of like gambling, isn t it? Except you
have to die to win.
That s a crude way of putting it, said Mr. Sebastian, but yes, you
could say both sides are gambling. The insurance company is betting that
you won t die young, because very few people do, and that you ll keep paying
them month after month. You re making sure that if you do die young, your
family won t be left penniless. Mr. Manning wanted his money without dying
first. I assume he was in some sort of financial difficulties?
Yes, replied Jupe. He and Mrs. Manning were big spenders, but car
sales had really slacked off in the last few years. And their scheme seemed
so simple. Fake the accident with a little blood on the boat and his hat, and
toss a ripped and bloodied jacket overboard. Then hide on the Rock until
night, when the Grubers would pick him up.
But the Ragnarsons reunion and Bob s photos ruined it, Pete finished,
grinning.
Manning saw Bob take the photos, said Jupe, so he called the Gruber
brothers on their fishing boat with his two-way radio and told them they had
to get those photographs from us. And also that he couldn t leave the Rock
with the Ragnarsons there. He hadn t planned to camp there, so he had to
start stealing food and clothing from the reunion to survive.
Why did it take the Grubers so long to rescue him? asked Mr. Sebas-
tian.
It was clear and bright the first two nights, Pete answered, and they
didn t want to risk having the Ragnarsons see them.
But on the third night, Bob went on, it was foggy and most of the
Ragnarsons had been scared away by Sam. So Manning took a risk and
signaled his friends with a flashlight. It was a mistake. We saw him, and so
did Sam.
Ah, yes, that brings us to Sam, said the mystery writer. Was he part
of the insurance fraud?
No, he wasn t, said Jupiter, at least, not exactly. At the start he
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A Visit to Mr. Sebastian
just wanted to scare everyone away from the Rock so he could dig for gold
in private. So he dressed up as a ghost and played that wolf tape. But
then he saw William Manning on the Rock and realized who he was. Sam
decided there was more money in blackmail than in gold. He went back to the
mainland and called on Mrs. Manning just before I did. Mrs. Manning was
forced to give in to his demands, and he started working with the Grubers
to make sure Mr. Manning could be picked up unseen from the Rock. That s
why he sabotaged the other Ragnarson boats. Then he returned to the Rock
with the Grubers.
A foolish move for that greedy young man, commented Mr. Sebastian.
It sure was! exclaimed Pete. Because Manning and those guys didn t
need a leech like Sam around. They were taking him off the island by force,
and I bet anything they were going to feed him to the sharks!
No wonder he was so grateful to see you arrive, said Mr. Sebastian.
And where is the bare-foot gold digger now?
Jupiter grinned. Stuck at home. The judge put him on probation for
aiding the Mannings and forbade him to go out to Wreckers Rock.
All the other Ragnarsons have been out there digging for days, Pete
added, laughing. And he won t get anything they find. He must really be
steamed.
Not that they ve found much gold, Bob put in. A few more coins,
that s all.
So Captain Coulter and his murderous crew really did stop on the island
and leave some gold, Mr. Sebastian concluded. But their fate, and that of
the rest of the gold, is still the secret of Wreckers Rock.
The Three Investigators nodded.
And the Mannings and the Grubers what is their fate?
Just what you ve seen in the newspapers, said Jupe. They were all
arrested on various charges of fraud, assault, conspiracy, even kidnapping.
They re going to be busy with their lawyers for a very long time. The only
person who isn t in big trouble in that group is Mr. Manning s brother. He
didn t know anything about the scheme and really thought William Manning
was dead. He s even madder at the Mannings than the insurance company
is.
So once again the good guys win, the mystery writer said. Then he
went on with a twinkle in his eye, How did Karl Ragnarson reward you
three for successfully solving the case? I recall you nobly declined his offer
of payment, Jupiter.
The First Investigator turned a bright shade of pink. Yes, sir, you re-
member correctly. Uh, actually, Mr. Karl was very pleased with the outcome
of the case. His brother s mind was relieved, the reunion could continue
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A Visit to Mr. Sebastian
undisturbed, and his nephew Sam came through unharmed.
Then what s the problem, Jupe? Mr. Sebastian asked.
Mr. Karl thought it fitting that we accept a token of his appreciation,
since we re unable to accept money. Jupiter dug around in the knapsack
sitting next to his chair while Bob and Pete exchanged mirthful glances.
And here it is. Jupiter pulled out of his bag none other than the
Chumash shaman s mask that had been part of his costume on the rock
the heavy wooden mask that had irritated him at every step. Pete and Bob
collapsed with laughter. Even Mr. Sebastian had to hide a grin with his
hand.
I m sorry Don isn t here to see it Mr. Sebastian said. He was referring
to Hoang Van Don, his Vietnamese houseman and cook.
Yes, where is Don today? asked Bob. Mr. Sebastian looked like the cat
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