The Ransom Clock

A two-day deadline transforms the recovery of the sculpture into a timed contest between the burglar’s instructions and Jupiter Jones’s preparations.

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The Ten-Thousand-Dollar Call

The Ten-Thousand-Dollar Call A deadline imposed John Murphy calls Fenton Prentice and offers to return the Hound for ten thousand dollars. Prentice says he will raise the cash within two days. A dangerous bargain Prentice avoids notifying police because he fears the sculpture will be destroyed. Jupiter Jones warns that the offender has already shown willingness to use violence.

A Disguised Camera

A Disguised Camera Watching the courtyard Jupiter Jones places closed-circuit television equipment in a potted plant, aiming it toward the courtyard. The concealed camera offers a way to observe without alerting the neighbors. False calm The monitor records routine movement, including residents’ habits. That ordinary observation becomes important when the pool and its users emerge as part of the plan.

The Pool Stakeout

The Pool Stakeout A hidden object as bait After finding the Hound, the boys return it to the pool and watch from above. They hope the thief will return to collect it. The plan changes Sonny Elmquist retrieves the sculpture first. Although that does not catch the burglar, his action confirms that the object was hidden in the water and keeps the investigation alive.

The Written Instructions

The Written Instructions A public drop A letter directs Prentice to leave the money in a park waste-paper bin at exactly five. The location appears exposed, but the offender expects to collect unseen. A prepared decoy Jupiter Jones coats newspaper pieces and the parcel with Investigative ointment. He plans to identify whoever takes the package even if the police do not catch the person at the scene.

The Timed Arrest

The Timed Arrest The escape A disguised man takes the decoy package and runs past the police stakeout. The handoff appears to have failed, but Jupiter Jones understands that the man cannot be the true collector. The clock points elsewhere Jupiter leads the police to John Murphy at Belvedere Medical Clinic. The deadline ends not in a park arrest but in the exposure of the hospital alibi.

The morning after the church incident

Late afternoon on the first ransom day

The evening before the ransom deadline

The morning of the ransom handoff

Five o’clock on the final ransom day