"We Investigate Anything"

Boiry, 1981.     "Come on, Jupe, give me a hand," [Pete] gasped. "We haven't got much time. This fog is going to be a zinger."   Jupiter joined him and both boys started lifting stones from the centre putting them into a new pile farther from the wall, and going back for more. They were burrowing deeper and deeper into the heap of stones when they heard a voice with a French accent behind them. Jacques Poirier, 1967.   "I do like to see boys who don't mind working," the voice said.   They looked up from where they were working, crouched over the pile of stones. Out of the swirling fog came the debonair Mr. Huganay, followed by his two henchmen, Adams and the big bruiser, Lester.   "However," the art thief said, smiling down at them, "I think it is now time for us to take over. Men - grab them!"   Pete and Jupiter, coming to the same decision at the same moment, both bolted to get past the three men. Unfortun

Madeleine Prévost, 1977.   Suite à un échec cuisant, à savoir le vol de la majorité des perroquets par Huganay, nos trois amis détectives, enfermés dans leur Quartier Général, sentent le désespoir les envahir. Leur enquête semble se terminer là... lorsque Blackbeard, le mainate malicieux, se fait entendre: Jozef Cesnak (illustration slovaque).   "Another silence ensued, broken only by Blackbeard's noisy eating of sunflower seeds. At last Bob sighed.   "If only we could have made Captain Kidd, Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood talk when we had them all together," he said. "At least we'd have the whole message."   "Robin Hood." Blackbeard cocked an eye down at them. As usual, he seemed to be listening to everything. He flapped his wings.   "I'm Robin Hood!" he said clearly. "I shot an arrow as a test, a hundred paces shot it west."   Three boyish faces turned to stare up at the bird in his cage.   &qu

  Suite aux informations que Carlos leur a fournies, les détectives l'accompagnent dans le quartier défavorisé où il habite avec son oncle. Le jeune mexicain encore tout joyeux de son trajet dans la luxueuse voiture conduite par Worthington/Warrington tombe malheureusement sur un M. Claudius tenace et agressif. Jupiter/Hannibal et Peter viennent à la rescousse:   "As they were talking, they approached the rear of the house. In the road beyond the house they could see a car parked. It was an ordinary black sedan of popular make, but Carlos scowled.   "Who calls on Uncle Ramos?" he asked. "I do not like this."   He began to hurry, and Pete and Jupiter ran after him. As they came closer to the tumble-down shack they could hear a voice raised inside - a loud, angry voice.   "That's Mr. Claudius's voice," Pete said.   "Tell me!" Mr. Claudius was shouting. "Tell me, you old idiot, or I'll wring your neck!" I

  La première scène illustrée marquante de The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot / Le Perroquet qui bégayait est leur rencontre avec un homme à lunettes corpulent et armé dans le jardin de la maison de Malcolm Fentriss, l'ami d'Alfred Hitchcock qui est à l'origine de l'enquête: Jacques Poirier, 1967.   "[...] Fear robs the individual of the ability to make proper decisions. It destroys - destroys - Ulp!"   Looking at Jupiter, Pete had the impression that his partner was displaying all the symptoms of the fear he had just been talking about. He had suddenly turned pale. His eyes bulged. His jaw dropped. He seemed to be looking at something just behind Pete's back.   "You're a good actor, Jupe," Pete said. 'That's the best imitation of fright I've ever seen. But now what do you say we - we - "   He turned and he saw what Jupiter was looking at. And the words stuck in his throat.   Jupiter was not acting. Th

  On a vu dans The Secret of Terror Castle / Au Rendez-Vous des Revenants à quel point Jupiter/Hannibal était attaché à la crédibilité de l'agence qu'il a créée avec Peter et Bob. C'est ainsi que la carte de visite devient très vite une récurrence dans la série puisqu'elle est présentée systématiquement aux clients lors de leur première rencontre avec nos amis.   Dans les premiers chapitres de The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot / Le perroquet qui bégayait , la carte est utilisée à trois reprises. Dans un premier temps (Chapitre 1), elle se retrouve dans la main de Claude Claudius, le marchand d'art, qui joue à ce moment l'imposteur en se faisant passer pour Malcolm Fentriss, le véritable client, ami d'Alfred Hitchcock:   "You see, Mr. Fentriss," Jupiter exclaimed, "Mr. Alfred Hitchcock sent us here. He said you had lost your parrot and the police wouldn't help you find it. We're investigators, and we were coming to assist you

Jacques Poirier, 1966.   "[...] They were suddenly aware that someone was beside them in the darkness. Jupiter was taken totally by surprise, his camera still in his hand. Pete had just time enough to jam the "on" button of his torch into position. The beam of light revealed two men, one quite short, both dressed in the flowing burnouses of Arabs. Each of the men was casting something white into the air.   A large net came down over Pete's head. It knocked the torch from his hand, putting it out, and enveloped him all the way to his feet.   He tried to run, caught his foot in the meshes of the net, and fell to the carpeted floor. He rolled over, struggling desperately, and realised he was as thoroughly trapped as any fish in a landing net. The more he struggled, the more tightly he bound himself in the clinging loops of the net.   "Jupe!" he yelled. "Help!"   His partner did not answer. Rolling over and twisting his neck, Pete co

Harry Kane, 1964. Roger Hall, 1967.   "There seem to be several doors," Jupiter remarked. "I wonder which we should take?"   "As far as I am concerned - Ugh!" Pete let out a strangled exclamation as he half turned and saw a woman in long flowing robes looking at them. She wore clothes such as Pete had seen in pictures painted three hundred years before, and tied around her neck was a rope. The unattached end of the rope fell down across her robe to her feet. She had her hands tucked into her flowing sleeves, and was looking at the boys with an expression of sorrow.   Pete reached out and tugged at Jupe's jacket. "What is it?" Jupiter asked.   "L-look," Pete stuttered. "We aren't alone. We have company."   Jupiter turned an Pete felt him stiffen. That meant he saw her - the woman who was watching them, not moving, not breathing, just standing there watching. Pete guessed he knew

  Jupiter/Hannibal, s'étant bêtement blessé à la fin du Chapitre 10, ne peut temporairement pas poursuivre l'investigation sur le terrain. Au Chapitre 11, il envoie donc Peter et Bob pour une autre expédition au Château des Épouvantes. La séance photo effectuée au chapitre suivant par Bob tourne soudain à la petite frayeur:     "Let's look at the pictures," [Bob] suggested. "Which one looked at you with the living eye?"   "Over there," Pete pointed across the room to a picture of a one-eyed pirate. "One minute the eye was alive, and the next it was just painted."   "That's something we can investigate," Bob said. "Stand on a chair and see if you can reach it."   Pete pushed a carved chair underneath the picture. But even on tiptoe, he couldn't reach the painting.   "There's a sort of balcony up above," Bob said. "The pictures are hung by long wires from the balcony. Maybe if