The Phantom of Pine Hill (5 page)

Ned said quickly, “I can’t believe that Mrs. Holman is guilty.”

“I don’t either,” Nancy replied, “but you’ll admit that I must try to find out. There is a possibility that she might even have had a confederate phone this evening to throw us off the scent.”

Nancy went on to say that if the money had not been touched, she planned to spend the balance of the night hiding in the library to see if anyone entered it.

Ned looked worried. “Nancy, I don’t want you to do that alone. It’s too dangerous. How about letting me keep watch with you? If the phantom comes, I’ll give him the old football rush!”

Nancy hesitated before answering, but finally said, “Bess and George may be hurt if I don’t ask them.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Ned. “I’ll talk to them.”

The dance number ended, and as they went back to the table, Ned called Bess and George aside and explained what he proposed.

“It’s a good idea,” said Bess. “I’ll feel safer with a man in the house. And no sleuthing for me tonight. I’m too tired.”

George liked the plan, but Nancy thought she detected a gleam of mischief in her friend’s eye.

“I’d better watch my step,” Nancy thought. “George has some trick up her sleeve, I’m sure.”

It was in the small hours of the morning that the dance ended and the six young people finally returned to the Rorick home. Bess suggested that they have a snack in the kitchen and in a short time she was scrambling eggs and making toast and a huge pot of cocoa.

When they finished eating, Dave threw out his arms and yawned. “I’m ready to call it quits. Any extra beds in this old house?”

George said quickly, “I’m afraid not, but how about the floor? That’s free!”

“Gosh, but you’re hospitable,” said Burt. “Just for that I won’t help wash the dishes.”

A few minutes later Burt and Dave drove off. The others tidied the kitchen, then Bess and George went upstairs.

Nancy opened the padlock on the library door, and she and Ned went inside. Before turning on the lights, she drew the draperies close together so no one could look in to see the searchers. This done, she went for the book
The Roaring Twenties.
To her relief, the hundred and forty dollars was still on page 140.

Next, she went to the volume
The Roaring River.
A twenty-dollar bill was gone and the balance of the bills had been placed twenty pages lower. Nancy quickly picked out book after book with the word
roar
in the title. Ten dollars had been taken from each of them and the bills shifted to a page which corresponded to the remaining amount!

“The phantom has been here!” Nancy exclaimed.

Ned frowned. “I think the rest of the money should be removed from this room and put in the bank. It’s certainly not safe here!”

Nancy agreed. Then Ned asked her if she had any theories as to who the phantom could be. “Surely not Mrs. Holman?”

“Probably not, but to make sure she wasn’t faking, I’m going to call the hospital,” Nancy said.

She learned that Jill Ball was indeed a patient there. Her frantic husband was by her bedside, but the head nurse was very reassuring. Their children were being cared for by an aunt.

“That completely exonerates Mrs. Holman,” Nancy told Ned in relief as she came into the library and closed the door. “As far as a solution to the mystery goes, I’m right back where I started.”

“Well, I guess there’s no use in our staying here any longer. I’m sure the phantom won’t come back again tonight.”

As the couple gathered all the money and made notations on a pad of the amount taken from each book, Ned produced a theory. “Didn’t it ever occur to you that Uncle John might be more than just forgetful?”

“What do you mean?” Nancy asked.

“I mean,” Ned replied, “that Uncle John might be having a little fun at the expense of you girls. He probably has a duplicate key to this padlock.”

The young sleuth was astounded by the remark. “Uncle John?” she said. “I can’t believe it! He didn’t know until you telephoned him that we were coming here. According to Mrs. Holman, the mysterious happenings had been going on for a couple of weeks before that.”

Ned said it was possible Uncle John was having fun at Mrs. Holman’s expense.

A determined look came over Nancy’s face. “There’s an easy way to learn if he came here tonight,” she said. “Tomorrow morning I’ll find a pretense for phoning Uncle John at his college reunion, and find out where he was tonight.”

Nancy asked Ned to put the roll of money into his pocket. Then the lamps were turned off and the draperies opened. As Nancy pulled aside one to a rear window, she cried, “The light! See it out there in the woods!”

Ned could detect a small moving light among the trees near the river. “So that’s the phantom,” he remarked.

“Come on! Let’s investigate!” Nancy urged.

As they hurried toward the door, they heard a low moaning sound.

“Stand back!” Ned ordered Nancy.

He whipped open the door and stepped into the hall. The next second a hood was thrown over his head and he was borne to the floor!

WHEN Nancy heard Ned’s muffled cry, she rushed into the hall. It was dimly lighted by a lamp on the second-floor hall. She could see no one but struggling Ned. Quickly she pulled the hood off him, then snapped on the switch to the ceiling light. She found herself holding a pillowcase!

She returned to Ned, who was on his feet now. Suddenly he thought of the money. He ran his hand into his trousers’ pocket. The roll of bills was still there!

He said to Nancy, “Anyway, my attacker didn’t intend to rob me—unless he had no time, with you arriving on the scene so soon.”

Nancy was already hunting around the floor for evidence. Suddenly the young sleuth giggled as she came across a pale-blue ribbon sash. She picked it up and walked close to Ned.

“This is from Bess’s robe!” she whispered. “She and George pulled this trick!”

The couple searched and found the two culprits hiding in the dining room.

“Okay, girls,” said Ned. “You just wait! When I tackle you with a pillowcase some day, it’ll be full of feathers!”

Before locking the door to the library, Nancy looked out the back window again. The light in the woods was gone.

“I was afraid of that,” she said. “George Fayne, you and Bess made me miss my chance to go after the phantom.”

The two girls said they were sorry and Nancy remarked that she would keep her eyes open for another opportunity. The group went upstairs and Ned was shown into Mr. Rorick’s bedroom.

“Thanks. And, by the way, I’ll probably leave here before you girls are up. Everyone in the pageant is due for an early-morning rehearsal.”

“But where will you have breakfast?” Bess asked solicitously.

“Oh, I’ll grab a bite at the fraternity house.” Ned took the roll of bills from his pocket. “Nancy, I’d better leave this money with you. I think you should ask Mr. Rorick’s or Mrs. Holman’s permission to remove it from the house.”

Nancy agreed. The following morning Mrs. Holman returned just before breakfast. She reported her niece was out of danger and that the young woman’s mother had arrived to take care of the children.

“I’m glad to hear Mrs. Ball is better,” Nancy said. Then she told Mrs. Holman about her discovery that money was missing. The woman said she would feel better if it were in safekeeping.

“Would it be possible for you to call Uncle John at his college reunion and ask him about it?” Nancy queried.

“That’s a good idea,” the housekeeper agreed. “I’ll do it right now before he goes out.”

She hurried to the telephone in the hall. When she reached her employer, she beckoned Nancy to come and talk with Mr. Rorick. Laughingly, the young detective asked if he had enjoyed himself the previous evening and he went into a long explanation of the party for the old-timers at his fraternity house. Nancy was satisfied that he was really there.

She thought, “He’s definitely not the phantom.”

When Nancy told him that the girls had discovered the money in the books and that it was being stolen, he became alarmed. “You must catch that phantom thief!” he said.

“I’m doing my best, but it may take a while,” Nancy answered. “In the meantime, may I have your permission to put the money in a safe place—your bank for instance?”

“Suppose you take it to the college bursar.”

“Fine, I’ll do it right away,” Nancy promised.

Twenty minutes later the three girls drove up to the administration building on the campus. Nancy found the bursar to be a very understanding man and a great friend of Mr. Rorick. “I’ll mark this money with John’s name and keep it in the safe,” he said.

Nancy thanked the bursar. She got a receipt and left his office.

As she rejoined Bess and George at the car, Nancy said, “Let’s walk over to the college library and see what we can find out about the
Lucy Belle.”

Having been to Emerson several times before, the girls were familiar with the campus. As they walked to the library building, Nancy told her companions about the riverboat book Ned had seen and the men he had overheard talking behind a stack of books.

The library was well-stocked and Mr. Beecher, the head librarian, was a well-informed person.

When Nancy made her request, he replied, “Don’t bother with the books we have here. There is a woman in Emerson named Mrs. Palmer who can tell you more about the early history of this place than any book I’ve read.” He jotted down her address, and the girls started for her home.

The house was on the river front a short distance from the campus. Mrs. Palmer proved to be a delightful woman in her eighties. She was small in stature, with snow-white hair piled high, a delicate alabaster complexion, and a keen mind. Nancy introduced herself and her friends, explaining why Mr. Beecher had sent them.

“Do come in,” Mrs. Palmer invited cordially. When the girls were comfortably seated in the old-fashioned parlor, the woman said, “I can tell you many stories that have been handed down.” She asked how much they knew about the sinking of the
Lucy Belle,
and Nancy gave her what meager information she had.

“That’s all true,” Mrs. Palmer told her. “I always have felt bad to think of that gorgeous wedding gown and veil and the queen’s gift of a fan being ruined by mud and water at the bottom of the river.”

“Have you any idea what else was in the cargo?” Nancy asked.

“Well, rumor has it that there were two things aboard of particular value. One was the Rorick gifts. The other was a shipment of gold coins for the bank in Emerson. It’s said that there was a great effort on the part of local citizens at the time to retrieve the box of coins, but if anyone ever found them, it was not reported. In any case, they never got to the bank.”

The three girls were fascinated by this additional information about the
Lucy Belle.
George asked how much money was involved, but Mrs. Palmer did not know.

“I’m sure it was considerable, however,” she said. “There’s another old rumor that a couple of crewmen had caused the explosion, stolen the gold coins, and taken off in a boat.”

“Did the rumors mention any names?” Bess asked.

“I don’t know. I never heard any names.”

Mrs. Palmer seemed to be tiring, so Nancy said that the girls had to leave now. She thanked Mrs. Palmer for taking time to tell them the stories.

The elderly woman smiled. “It has been years since anyone has asked me about the early history of this place and I have been delighted to talk to you. Do come back sometime and let me relate what I have been told about the Indian raids. The old town of Emerson was plundered and burned several times, but the inhabitants loved it enough to rebuild it.”

“Are many of the old families still here?” Nancy asked.

Mrs. Palmer said sadly that she and Mr. Rorick were the only two descendants left of the original settlers’ stock. “But we helped to build the university,” she said proudly, “and though that has changed the town considerably, we’re glad to have done it.”

Bess smiled. “We thank you for doing it. We’re having a wonderful time during June Week. Will you be watching the pageant this afternoon?”

“Oh, yes,” said Mrs. Palmer. “A young friend is coming to take me.”

After leaving, Nancy drove directly to the Rorick home. She asked her friends to help her search the books in the library for further information on the
Lucy Belle.

“Not before lunch,” Bess stated firmly. “I’m starved!”

“That seems to be a perpetual complaint of yours,” said George. “What happened to that diet you were going to follow?”

Bess looked hurt. “You know I’ve lost seven pounds!”

“Which you’ll put right back on if you don’t stop stuffing yourself,” George warned.

When the girls were ready to go into the library, Mrs. Holman went along. As the door was swung back, the four gave startled cries. The room was a shambles! Books and pamphlets lay strewn about the floor and on the furniture.

“Mr. Rorick’s desk has been broken into!” exclaimed Mrs. Holman.

The drawers were open. Nearly everything had been taken out of them and thrown on the floor.

“It’s the phantom!” the housekeeper said. “Why would he want to do it?”

George had a ready answer. “Maybe the phantom was so angry at finding that the money had been removed he decided to get revenge!”

There was silence for a few seconds, then Nancy said quietly, “There might be another reason for someone doing this.”

STANDING in the midst of the untidy library, Mrs. Holman, Bess, and George waited for Nancy to give her own theory as to why the phantom had made a shambles of the room.

“Don’t you think,” Nancy asked, “that if the only thing the mysterious thief wanted was money he would have taken all of it at once?”