Bandits On Microbuses

Anyone who wants to buy a bird is expected to be vigilant, because many are being scammed. For example, Mrs. Ti was angry because the bird she bought at the mikrolet (public transport in Jakarta, Indonesia) when she got home the bird didn't want to sing. In fact, while in the car the bird was very diligent in chattering.

"What a parrot? This is only a dove that has been painted by fabric dye!" her husband said, Mr. Jo, so furious.

"So I've been tricked?" cried Mrs. Ti. "I think with the bird, Nin can be happy when we just have to work, after all, the bird can also talk."

Mr. Jo grumbled endlessly, because the hundred thousand rupiahs just flew away. "So you have to be careful, don't easily trust people in this big city. Many people act criminally in various ways."

Snot laughs when Nin tells him about the scam. "The wriggling dove, hi-hi so cute," said Snot.

"Then the bird was released by my father, let it fly freely," said Nin. Snot repeated the story to Vista. Vista laughed too, but with pity and fury. Fraud with the modus operandi of selling birds is now rife again. Not only in microbuses, but also in bird markets. Their cousin, Cuk, who buy bird at the bird market was also "eaten" by the bandits. Arriving at the house, the bird that was wrapped in a cardboard used for cement turned out to be a pigeon. Not a poksay bird like the dealer said.

That's strange, you know, Cuk, who is usually stingy, makes it easy to spend money. "Because the sound is very melodious," Cuk argued, not wanting to be called stupid because he could be tricked.

"That's called buying a bird in a sack," Vista mocked.

"Not sacks, but cardboard," said Cuk. Two hundred and fifty thousand rupiahs floated for a bird puter. The price is very disproportionate, puter is the cheapest bird, maybe only slightly above the price of sparrows.

"There is no bird in the box that wants to sing," said Mr. Ri, the neighbor behind the house. "In the past I was also hit by them, in fact the bird I bought was a dead bird."

Snot was so worry by the gang's actions, he invited Vista to investigate. But they must be vigilant because the gang of fraudsters is also often forced, especially if the potential victim is alone. "How about on Sunday we take walking by microbuses. Who knows if we can find any trace of them."

Vista agrees. "Shall we take the microbuses back and forth?"

Snot laughed, "It's okay. The Red Hat Detective won't give up just because of that."

"Fine, but prepare a lot of ice lolly so that I don't ask for snacks," said Vista.

"Yes, I'll bring a thermos of ice," said Snot. "But you asked permission from Mom and Daddy." "Okay." Their permission, of course, was just a walk, not looking for criminals. Sunday morning Snot and Vista were ready, each carrying a small backpack containing a drink holder and some cookies. Also some bills because they have to go back and forth to take the microbus. From the Red Hat Post they took Metromini 46, heading for Pulo Gadung - Kampung Melayu, got off at Matraman Church and then crossed and intercepted Mikrolet 01 heading for Kampung Melayu - Senen Terminal, heading for Senen. Until Terminal Sene nothing happened.

"Are you sure they're on Mikrolet 01?" asked Vista.

"Yes, I think so, but this is the only route that passes through the bird market. They must be shopping for birds first, right?" replied Snot. "So it's still a genius estimate."

"Proud!" said Vista, poking Snot in the stomach with her elbow. They boarded again Mikrolet 01 again, now in the direction of Kampung Melayu. There was also no result, so they returned to Senen. At that time, after the intersection of Raden Saleh Road, there was a frizzy middle-aged man with curly hair riding in the car they were traveling in. In his hands was a cardboard box with holes in it. Fifty meters later, two men got up, one of them tried to sit in front of the door, but the driver told him to just go inside because it wasn't full yet. Not long after that someone came up again, now sitting on a bench near the door, facing the back.

Crackles! The cardboard in the man's hand moved making quite a noise. The man sitting near the door asked, "What is it, sir? Are you bring the baby monkey"

The man carrying the bundle replied, "No, it's a bird. I happen to want to move house, but I'm confused about this bird." Then, there was a very melodious bird's voice, the sound of a poksay bird. Snot quietly stepped on Vista's toe, which he stepped on responsively. They were silent to see the progress.

There seemed to be some suspicious passengers, but they kept quiet for fear. However, those who have no experience will not think that the car carrying them has been infiltrated by a gang of fraudsters.

"What bird?" asked the one at the door of the mikrolet.

"Parrot, it's done," said the crib.

"Can I borrow it for a moment?"

"It's okay," then the frizzy handed over the box.

"Be careful, it maybe fly!" The birds singing very sweet.

The person at the door slightly opened the mouth of the cement cardboard, then peeked at it. "That's right parrot bird!" Then he whistled fishing for the bird to sound. It seemed that the bird had answered the whistle, so that the sweet chirping was heard again.

"Would you like to sell it? I'm interested in this fine bird."

The frizzy looked at the person and said, "Six hundred thousand only."

The person at the door was surprised, "It's very expensive, how about three hundred thousand."

"Not yet, bro! I still love that bird. How about five hundred thousand!" Birds chirping melodiously. Snot and Vista laughed inwardly. But their hearts shrunk a little, there was concern what if the thugs found out about their pretentious actions.

The person sitting in front of the frizzy also spoke, "Let me see the bird," The bird changed hands, still with a melodious chirping. "How about three hundred thousand, I pay now?"

The frigid said, "I haven't matched that price yet." The bird is given again to the frizzy. The frizzy stared intently at the veiled woman in front of him. "Would you like to buy this bird, madam?"

The woman replied, "No, I have no money."

"It's very cheap, you know, for the price of ready-made parrot," persuaded the frizzy.

"But I do not have money. That's right, there's only five thousand for the fare to Sunter."

Feeling unsuccessful, the frizzy turned his gaze to the other passengers. Parrot keeps singing loudly. "Hello, sir, are you want to buy this bird?" The man shook his head. The frizzy seduced but to no avail.

Then the frisky asked Vista and Snot. "You want to keep the parrot, it's a great bird. And the price is very cheap."

"I have no money, uncle!" replied Vista. The man thrust the bird in Snot's face for a look. But Snot shook his head with a smile. Then the frizzy returned to the person sitting in front of him. "Alright, so how much did you buy?"

"Now I want only two hundred thousand. If you don't want to, then I not sell it," said the person.

"Yes, pay now," said the frizzy. The person in front of him took out his wallet and handed over two hundreds of thousands of rupiah bills. In front of the Gatot Subroto Hospital, the frizzy got off, then at the bend near the Banteng Square the buyer came down. Then at the red light Jalan Gunung Sahari successively others descended.

"They didn't get any prey," Snot told Vista as he got off the microbus at Terminal Senen.

"Well, who bought it earlier?" asked Vista.

Snot of his lips quivered like a shrew. "Uh, that was his own friend. Since no one else was buying, one pretended to be a buyer."

"With real money?"

"Yes, but later the money returned again. After all, it's their money too," said Snot. Vista nodded. At the terminal, they accidentally met one of the mikrolet passengers. Snot asked him to speak, "It's a good thing you didn't want to buy the bird."

The man laughed, "I know they are swindlers. It's just a trick bird, at best just a painted dove."

"But the birds are singing all the time, sir," said Vista.

The person laughed, "Each one of them has a whistle hidden under his tongue. So when the bird changes hands it still sounds, because each one holding the bird sounds his whistle."

"But their lips pursed when the bird chirped, so they didn't whistle," said Snot, not believing the man's words.

"Ah, you guys have no experience. Anyway, how about we drink ice first, "said the person. Snot and Vista looked at each other. "Don't worry, I'll pay for it later. Let me tell you about the whistles they use." Snot and Vista then followed the man's footsteps, into the chicken noodle stall. While waiting to be served, the man took out a pack of cigarettes and tore it up and drew something. "Look, the shape of their whistle is like this. It is made of a very thin sheet of rubber or plastic stretched in zinc."

Snot and Vista take turns looking at the proffered image. "You can make your own with plastic. Try it, but the zinc has to be really smooth so you don't hurt your tongue." The person continued to give instructions on how to make the whistle.

From that person, Snot and Vista got new knowledge that whistles have been used by humans since ancient times. Starting with a trumpet provided by nature, for example a conch shell or clam. At first, maybe you know, because they blow on a whim and make a sound. Over time, the sound of the trumpet is processed to produce musical notes. "The trumpet is the first sound instrument used by humans, apart from wasps. And the whistles used by these bandits, in the past, were often sold by toy dealers during shadow puppet shows."

Snot froze, "So it's not the latest technology? Maybe we take this picture with us?"

"Of course," said the man, laughing heartily and patting Snot on the shoulder. "Tell the scammers, say, if the technology is outdated."

"I'll try to make it," said Vista.

"But don't abuse it, you know, okay?" the person said, laughing. After paying for the drink and chicken noodle they parted ways. Snot and Vista thanked them many times, not just for the chicken noodles. "Why did they choose the microbuses?" asked Snot, simply testing his sister. Vista did not immediately answer, thinking to find an answer. Snot was impatient and answered himself. "Because in the microbus the passengers sit face to face, so it is possible to persuade potential victims."

Vista immediately continued, "Also, because there are enough of them that they can frighten the hearts of the microbus passengers." That day the adventure was enough, they returned to the Red Hat Post. Major Dud wasn't there, somewhere.

Snot went to the shop to buy balloons, then looked for thin zinc, and found cans of used milk. Balloons and zinc cut according to the picture. He tried it, he sucked it under his tongue and blew it. "Why can't it sound?" He took it out again, and looked at it carefully. The stretch of the rubber balloon that was folded in zinc was not tight. "The rubber doesn't stretch," said Vista, who tried to ring it.

"Let's try to pull it even tighter!" With the help of Vista the whistle can sound, but not so perfect. They repeat again, to get a thinner and stronger rubber stretch. Well, the whistle sounded loud. They tried to imitate various bird sounds. Indeed, their lips and mouths do not have to move, but sound is produced. The thin whistle was placed under the tongue, until their tongues hurt a little from the zinc rub. The sound of the parrot, poksay, and also the prenjak was successfully imitated. "You made another one, yes, for me."

"As long as young coconut ice is provided," answered Snot. After all, without another whimper Snot made another one. They were both excited to imitate the sound of birds. "Wow, if we make a lot of friends definitely want to buy it."

"And we can soon be rich. Besides, if this whistle is played by a lot of people then the swindlers can't act anymore."

"When do we operate again?" asked Snot.

"But we have to report to Major Dud. If we are the only ones who move, without any follow-up, it's useless. In fact, we are in danger," said Snot. Snot immediately contacted Major Dud. "We will try to catch the fraudsters in the microbus. Please help, so that Mr. Dud's friends from the police can monitor us. They often operate on the Kampung Melayu - Senen route."

Major Dud heard his little intel report. Then he said, "There have been many reports that have been submitted to the police. But the police had trouble tracking them down, their team had disguised themselves as passengers many times but to no avail. They seem to be able to smell the officers, so the police will never catch them!"

"Could the microbus driver be involved?" asked Snot.

"I don't think so, they didn't dare act because they had been threatened," Major Dud replied. "The driver prefers to be safe." Snot hung up, but a moment later Major Dud called again. " I'll show you our findings."

"I am at the Jatinegara police station, longing to chat with friends. You're go here, please," replied Major Dud.

It wasn't long before Snot left the Red Hat Outpost. "I'm going to the police station first."

"Definitely going to glass the exhibition," said Vista. "Don't forget to say that the whistle is the result of the cooperation of the two of you and me, not the result of your own hard work."

Snot grinned, then left. When he got to the police station and met Major Dud he handed him the whistle, and was tried. "That's right, they are swindlers! What if we catch their action? Of course we can't do anything about it."

Major Dud turned to Inspector General Pol Joko, and the policeman answered. "Well, you guys just observe the characteristics. You don't take the risk."

Returning from the police station Snot was disappointed, feeling that he did not have enough support to roll up the gang. The following Sunday, Snot and Vista tracked the con artists again. They've been back and forth several times on mikrolet 01, but there is no sign of the impostor showing up. Around eleven o'clock in the afternoon they took the microbus again in the direction of Senen. No more passengers. In the back there were only Snot, Vista, and a middle-aged female passenger. Meanwhile, beside the driver sat two men who were busy talking.

In front of the Gramedia Matraman bookstore, someone came up carrying a black plastic bag. Immediately take a position in the corner of the mikrolet, right in front of Vista. In front of Fuji Film was another man who enter up. After the red light, in front of the Ministry of Social Affairs, another person went up. The back of the microbus wasn't quite full yet, but the person chose to sit on the door bench facing the back. The microbus driver who asked him to come in was ignored.

Snot nudged Vista with the toe of his shoe, which he nudged sensitively. They then pretended not to notice those who had just boarded. The plastic in the man hand moved and the person groaned in pain, "Ouch!"

Snot was taken aback and asked, "What is it, sir?" The man didn't answer Snot's question, as he was busy waving his right hand.

"What's the matter, sir?" another asked.

"Bird, sir!" replied the man. "I pecked, earlier I found this bird in a tree near the fire department. The security guard said, this is a parrot."

"Let me see!" said the man to the right of Snot.

"Why are birds wrapped in plastic without holes? Gave a hole, pity." The owner of the bird tore off the plastic, then saw a package made of cement paper. After that the bundle was handed over to the person beside Snot. The man opened the mouth of the package and looked at it. "It's a parrot! Not starlings, you have been tricked by the security guard!" cried the man, showing Snot and the others. Snot saw a bird with a slightly yellowish color. "Have you been chirping?" the man asked.

"Already. Just try whistling, it's definitely chirping," said the owner. The person next to Snot whistled and there was a sweet voice. "Wow, that's great, this must be an expensive bird that got loose. For sale or not?"

Birds move hands with a sweet sound, like a parrot. "Actually, I will take care of myself. But if someone wants to buy it expensive I will sell it."

"How much?"

"Five hundred thousand," replied the bird owner. As in the past, the fraudsters are involved in bargaining to lure potential victims. When the bird stopped chirping, Vista glanced at Snot, and then heard the chirping of a prenjak. All the passengers looked around, including Snot and Vista.

"He said parrots, why do you sound prenjak?" said one of the passengers. The owner of the bird's face was bright red. "No! This is a parrot, not a prenjak!" he said fiercely. But that's when I heard the sound of finches. Snot was surprised, if the prenjak sound earlier he was sure it was Vista. But chirping finches, is there another group? Snot and Vista don't know who's involved yet. But the final sound seemed to be from the front.

"So there are three kinds of birds? Parrots, prenjak, and finches?" teased the other passengers, laughing. The person sitting near the door immediately crossed his legs and closed the exit with ferocious eyes. Snot and Vista are confused. There was the sound of a parrot, then the sound of a finches was heard.

"Stop the car!" one of the passengers snapped at the driver. Microbus slowly pulled up in front of a bank. After stopping one of them got down and took out a penknife in a threatening tone. "Who is challenging us?" But before anything happened, the front passenger got down and brandished a gun.

"Throw away your weapon!" The geek was shocked and threw the knife away. "Passengers all out, one by one!" said the gun holder. "We're the police!" After all the passengers got off.

"Open your mouth and lift your tongue!" orders the police one, also holding a gun. The passenger opens his mouth and lifts his tongue. Those who hesitated were immediately handcuffed, and from them got four thin whistles hidden under the tongue. The four whistle owners were herded into the microbus again. The bird was taken over by one of the police.

"You guys come with us to the police station!"

"Red Hat Detective, thank you. This was given by Major Dud," said one of the police officers. Snot and Vista smiled.

"Fortunately there is a policeman, otherwise we would have been kidnapped by them," said Vista with her face still pale.

"We were indeed tasked with tracking down these criminals, it's also just a coincidence that we are in the same microbus with you," said the other policeman. "Are you coming to the police station?" Snot shook his head. "We just went straight home, to calm down."

"But are you ready to be called as witnesses?" asked the policeman with a smile. Snot and Vista nodded. The two policemen laughed. The microbus is running, and the door is immediately closed, a sign that it is not accepting passengers. Snot and Vista crossed the street, then headed back to the Red Hat Outpost. In the afternoon, a car approached the post, it turned out that Major Dud was with several police officers.

"Hey, Red Hat Detective, here's a souvenir!" cried Major Dud as he got out of the car. Vista and Snot who were reading a book came out of the post. Ha? Two small cages of ram wire, with sparrows in them. "This is a gift for you! Real parrot!" Then the parrots chirped.

"Well, if this is a blatant fraud!" exclaimed Vista. By them the sparrow was released, and flew off somewhere. "How about we sell the whistles to our friends?"

"Continue?" asked Snot.

"So we can have a bird chirping contest!" replied Vista.

Snot asked again, "Does those who enter the competition pay or not?"

Major Dud laughed at their words. "You guys deserve to be businessmen, not secret agents! Ha ha ha ha!" Did you know that there are birds that can indicate that the village is being invaded by thieves or unknown people. The bird in question is bence. This bird is a night bird and is feared by the village children because it is considered a friend of a thief. Even though its not a thief. On the contrary, because the bird will show the thief's position. If in the middle of the night there are people under it, the bence bird will sing loudly so that residents who are still awake must be careful because outside the house there are people roaming around. It could be that those wandering around have evil intentions or want to steal. Perhaps the bird chimed in surprise at the person's presence. Of course it didn't know if the person was a bad person or not. Now, the existence of this bird is very rare. (*)