The Phantom of Pine Hill (11 page)

“Does he look like Fred?” Bess asked.

“No, he’s a little fella compared to his son. Fred’s got good muscles. I think one time he did a little boxing.” The woman laughed softly. “Maybe he got punched in the head and that’s what makes him simple sometimes.”

After thanking the landlady for the information, the girls said good-by. Bess and George noticed that Nancy did not leave her name and address. When they had crossed the street and were back in the convertible, Bess asked her about this. “Did you really mean that about Fred washing your car?”

“You’ll admit it could stand a wash and we needed an excuse for coming. The reason I didn’t leave my name and address is that I’m sure Fred’ll figure out who was asking for him. I’m convinced his stupidity and forgetfulness is an act. He’s plenty smart enough to be working against us in this mystery ”

“And what about his father?” George asked. “He sounded like a mysterious person. Do you suppose he could be the digger?”

Before Nancy could answer, the girls saw a short, slight man walking toward the house.

“He’s the man we saw in the rowboat this afternoon!” Bess cried.

He looked at the girls a second, then turned suddenly and hurried down the street, almost on a run.

“I’ll follow him,” Nancy said.

This meant turning the car around, which lost precious time. The other girls saw the man turn a corner, but by the time Nancy reached the intersection, he was out of sight.

“Why would he run away unless he’s guilty?” Bess mused.

“Good question,” George answered. “But guilty of what?”

If Nancy came to any conclusions, she kept them to herself. During the rest of the drive she was silent, preoccupied with her own thoughts. This had certainly been an eventful day.

“But what have I really learned from it?” she asked herself. The mystery seemed as baffling as ever, but she felt sure that the man who had eluded them was mixed up in it somehow. “And he certainly fits the description of Fred’s father,” she decided.

When the girls reached the Rorick home they found Ned, Burt, and Dave sprawled out in comfortable chairs in the living room. As they rose to greet the girls, they pretended to be weak-kneed and dizzy. “Oh, all that studying today!” Dave said. “I’m only half-alive!”

The other two boys looked equally exhausted. “But you can help us,” Burt said weakly.

“How?” George asked suspiciously.

“By taking pity on us,” Ned said, and added, “Just go out into the country with us for supper and some dancing. You’ll be surprised how soon we’ll revive.”

Everyone laughed. In unison, the three girls said, “We accept.”

“Chuck Wilson and his date are coming too,” Ned said, “so we rented a large car.”

Nancy went to tell Mrs. Holman where they were going. The woman said she hoped the young people would have fun. Then Nancy went to her room to put away her car keys.

The evening was wonderful indeed, not only because of the animated conversation, good food, and excellent music, but because of plans Nancy was able to make.

She announced to the others, “Ned and I have made a date to go diving for the
Lucy Belle!”

“That’s neat,” said Chuck. “What do you hope to find?”

Nancy chuckled. “Treasure!”

Since the boys had to study the following morning, the girls insisted they all return home at a reasonable hour so their escorts could get up early. Ned took the wheel, and after dropping off Chuck and his date, finally turned into the Rorick driveway. The headlights shone brightly on the front of the house.

Suddenly Nancy gasped and exclaimed, “My car is gone!”

AT Nancy’s announcement the six young people jumped from Ned’s car and began searching for Nancy’s convertible.

“Did you leave the key in the ignition lock or somewhere else in the car?” Ned asked.

“No, I didn’t, Ned. I made a special trip to my room to put the car keys away.”

He suggested that Nancy run upstairs and find out if they were still there. In a few minutes she returned, waving her keys. “Here they are. No thief took them.”

Bess stated flatly, “The phantom must have stolen the car!”

“Then he’s pretty clever at starting a motor without keys,” Dave remarked.

“Oh, Nancy, what will you do?” Bess wailed.

Nancy said she would call the police immediately and went into the house. Mrs. Holman, extremely nervous over this latest occurrence in the mystery, declared she felt responsible.

“I should have kept my ears open,” she said. “But I admit I had the TV on and didn’t hear a sound from out-of-doors.”

“It’s not your fault,” Nancy said kindly, slipping an arm around the woman’s shoulders.

Nancy phoned police headquarters and gave a description of her car, the license, and engine number. “I’ll alert our men at once,” the sergeant on duty told her.

A few minutes later Nancy was thanking Ned for the fun-filled evening.

“I’m sorry it had to end this way,” he said. “But cheer up! The Emerson police will locate your car, even if they haven’t found the phantom!”

Nancy was awakened the next day by a tap on her door and called, “Come in!” Mrs. Holman stood there, a broad smile on her face.

“You won’t believe it, Nancy, but your car is back!”

“What!” Nancy cried. “The police found it this quickly?”

Mrs. Holman said she did not know who had found it. When she had looked out her bedroom window which faced the front of the house, there stood Nancy’s car! “Come see for yourself!”

Nancy flew into the housekeeper’s bedroom and gazed down at her lovely convertible. Impulsively she hugged Mrs. Holman. “Isn’t this marvelous!”

“It’s like a miracle,” the woman said.

“I must call the police at once and ask them where they found it,” said Nancy.

She hurried into Mr. Rorick’s bedroom and dialed the number. Chief Rankin answered the phone. As the girl bubbled over with thanks at the prompt police action, he broke in, saying, “Miss Drew, I’m as amazed as you are to learn that the car is back. My men did not pick it up.”

“They didn’t!” Nancy exclaimed unbelievingly.

“That’s right. When the night patrol went off duty, they reported no luck. And none of the day men have called in yet.”

Nancy said if she learned the answer to this puzzle, she would let the chief know. She hung up, went back to her room to dress quickly, then sped downstairs and outdoors.

Curious, she looked first at the ignition lock. There was no key in it! Nancy blinked. “If I hadn’t had witnesses,” she thought, “I’d think I had dreamed the whole thing!”

Now Nancy noticed that the car had been washed and polished! Instantly her mind flew to Fred Jenkins. Had the guest-house owner told him what Nancy had said? Did he know how to start a car without a key?

“But this is crazy! If Fred knew I wanted him to wash the car, why didn’t he just come here today and do it?”

Nancy strode back into the house. By this time Bess and George were up. They were amazed to hear what had happened. Bess shook her head in complete puzzlement. “Nancy, this is the craziest mystery you ever asked us to help you solve!”

Nancy laughed. “I guess you’re right.”

After breakfast Fred Jenkins arrived to cut the grass on the front lawn. She rushed outside and asked him point-blank, “Fred, did you take my car away from here last night and wash it?”

The youth, instead of being startled, grinned. “Yes, Miss Nancy, I did. Guess you were surprised.”

“Surprised!” exclaimed Nancy. “I was greatly alarmed. Why did you do it?”

Fred looked at her as if he were hurt. “You wanted your car washed, didn’t you?”

Nancy stared at the young man. “But how did you move it? I didn’t leave the key in it!”

Fred looked blank. “Yes, you did, Miss Narcv. Otherwise, I couldn’t have started it.”

The two stared at each other, deadlocked on the subject. Nancy had a strong hunch Fred was lying. But what was the point of it all?

Fred looked around uneasily and said in a low voice, “You say you didn’t leave the key in the lock, but still I found one. Besides, I left it there. That’s kind of spooky, isn’t it?”

Nancy eyed him thoughtfully. “It’s gone now,” she said, then asked, “How much do I owe you for washing the car?”

Fred answered loftily, “I wouldn’t think of taking any money. It was a pleasure to do something for you and I’m sorry I frightened you.”

“That’s all right,” Nancy said, smiling warmly. “Thank you so much.”

Later, when she was talking to the other girls about the strange episode, George said, “Don’t let him fool you, Nancy. He meant to steal the car, but somehow he heard the police had been alerted, so he washed it to have an alibi, and brought it back.”

Bess was sure George was right. Nancy did not commit herself. She changed the subject and said, “Let’s investigate the library and see if the phantom has been here again. Last time I was in there I switched two books with the word
roar
in them. I’ll be curious to see if they’re still where I left them.”

Suddenly Bess giggled. “Poor Uncle John! He’ll never know where to find his books again. They’ve been put back helter-skelter.”

Nothing in the library looked as if it had been disturbed since the girls’ last visit, but the two books Nancy had mentioned had been put back in their original places.

“Well,” said Bess, “if the phantom has been here again, he wasn’t so disorderly this time.”

Mrs. Holman, who had followed the girls into the room, heard the remark and a look of fright came over her face.

Nancy turned to her. “Mrs. Holman, have you been in this room since all of us were here together.”

“No indeed. I wouldn’t come in alone if I were paid to do so!”

“But somebody with bits of grass on his shoes has been,” Nancy stated.

The others looked at her blankly. “How do you know?” the housekeeper asked.

The young sleuth pointed toward the safe. In front of it was a sprinkling of shriveled-up grass clippings. There were no footprints to be seen, but Nancy rushed upstairs for her special magnifying glass and went over the carpet in front of the safe. She could find no prints. There were none anywhere else in the room except those made by Mrs. Holman and the girls.

Nancy continued to stare at the bits of grass. “Fred mowed the back yard yesterday,” she said, “so the phantom must have come through it last night. These cuttings are withered.”

“He got into the house through locked doors again,” Mrs. Holman said grimly.

Nancy decided to try once more to find an opening into the room. She would see if any of the built-in bookcases moved outward and perhaps reveal a secret entrance to the library. She asked the others to help her and together they tugged and hunted for hidden springs. They could find nothing.

Presently Mrs. Holman announced that she would have to be excused to get luncheon. She expected Mr. Rorick home by one o’clock. Bess offered to help her while Nancy and George continued to search.

“How do you figure anyone can walk around here without leaving footprints?” George questioned.

Nancy shrugged. “I presume he’s in stocking feet. Let’s look around outdoors and see if we can find any evidence.”

Nancy locked the library door and the two girls went outside.

“Let’s check the grass of the rear lawn first,” Nancy suggested.

They found small mounds of withered grass clippings cut by Fred, raked up but not carried away. One pile was partly scattered.

“I guess this is our answer,” Nancy said. “The phantom crossed the lawn here, and some clippings clung to the bottom of his trousers. They dropped off while he was kneeling at the safe.”

Very faint depressions were visible in the pile—not clear enough to be identified as anyone’s footprints. The girls could find nothing else, so now they began to scan the entire foundation carefully. There was not a single footprint near it. Finally the two searchers gave up and went into the house.

At exactly one o’clock Mr. Rorick drove up and came in. He was jovial and looked rested from his vacation.

“Well, how’s the mystery going?” he asked. “Have you solved it yet?”

Nancy admitted defeat, saying she really was baffled about the phantom. Uncle John praised her for what she had discovered so far and insisted she keep on.

“I don’t care if it takes all summer,” he said. “But just don’t leave me with an unsolved mystery .”

“All summer!” Nancy instantly thought of all the plans she had and knew she would not be able to stay at Emerson much longer. She set her jaw in determination. Before she left, she
must
find out who the phantom was and how he entered the library!

As soon as luncheon was over, she told Mr. Rorick about the pieces of grass in front of the safe. “Perhaps you’d better open the safe and see if everything is still there.”

“I’ll do that. But it would take a professional safecracker to figure out that combination.”

The whole group trooped into the library. Mr. Rorick knelt on the floor in front of the safe and began to dial the combination. In a few moments he grasped the handle and turned it. The door swung wide open.

Uncle John looked inside. A startled expression came over his face and he quickly began pulling out various envelopes. When they all lay on the floor, he turned to the others, his face pale.

“All the money that was in there is gone!”

“ALL your money’s gone!” Bess exclaimed in dismay.

The other girls expressed their sympathy and George suggested calling the police at once.

The elderly man shook his head. “They wouldn’t believe us about the phantom, so why should they believe me now?”