(#16) The Clue of the Tapping Heels (15 page)

Nancy asked if Bunce and his companion were responsible for various attempts to harm her. They included putting the bomb under her car, knocking over the scenery on the stage, starting the fire under the school stage and imprisoning her in the secret stairway.

“They did those things to you?” the officer cried out. “Hold the phone a minute.”

There was a very long minute before he came back to say the men had confessed.

“They have a lot to answer for,” he said. “And now perhaps you could answer a question for me. Do you know who hit Bunce over the head and knocked him out?”

“It was Gus Woonton. When Gus was climbing down from one of his nightly trips, he saw Bunce sneaking out of the Carter house. Gus hit him over the head to scare Bunce from entering again.”

“You mean Bunce had a key to Miss Carter’s house?”

“Yes, and to the garage also. Even after the locks were changed, he apparently made wax impressions and got a new set of keys.”

The officer chuckled. “Tomorrow morning Bunce and Gus will meet here. It will be an interesting introduction.”

Captain Healey promised to let Nancy know of any further developments. He said good-by and hung up.

Suddenly it occurred to Nancy that there was one part of the mystery which had not yet been solved. She said to the others in the room, “When I was questioning Gus Woonton about the tapping, he declared that he had never done any of it on the second floor, yet I distinctly heard tapping there last night.”

Suddenly Miss Carter gave one of her trilly little laughs. She reached over and pulled open the drawer in a night table beside her bed. From it she took out a pair of tap shoes.

“I danced in these on the stage years ago,” she said. “Sometimes, for memory’s sake, I like to play with them.”

She inserted her hands into the toes, raised her arms over her head, and began to tap on the head-board of her bed.

Nancy and her friends burst into laughter. The actress’s eyes sparkled as the audience began to clap. Finally she stopped and put her arms down.

“I’m sorry I became part of that mystery, Nancy. I never dreamed that anyone could hear me tapping.”

The young detective got up from the couch and went to hug Miss Carter. “I’m glad you have fun with your tap shoes. Now that the secret is out, I guess the whole mystery really is solved.”

The other young people had risen too. They said good night for a second time and left for River Heights.

The following day Bess and George brought Mrs. Bealing back. She declared that now she did not mind staying alone with Miss Carter. Even the chore of taking care of the cats would not seem so hard. In a little while the three girls said good-by to the two women and went out to their cars.

“I just can’t wait to see the play,” Bess called to Nancy. “It’s day after tomorrow, isn’t it?”

On the night of the show, there were two whole rows of people who had come to see Nancy perform. Mr. Drew and Hannah Gruen were among them, as well as the Marvins and the Faynes and the three boys.

As a surprise Toby Simpson had brought Miss Carter and Mrs. Bealing. When Nancy came out for her first number, she was so surprised to see them that she almost forgot one of her lines.

The play went smoothly and was loudly applauded. When it came time for Nancy’s final number, she decided to make it her best. She received a tremendous ovation and had to come back for an encore.

Suddenly Nancy decided to try something new. She waved to the orchestra leader not to play the music again. Then she began to tap.

The audience listened attentively, puzzled looks on their faces. Many of them caught on to the fact that the tapping sounded like a coded message but they could not decipher it.

Actually she was tapping out, “If anyone can read this, tell me if you have a mystery for me to solve.”

When she stopped dancing, and before anyone had a chance to clap, a young soldier stood up and waved an arm.

“You were tapping in code and I know what you said.” He repeated her question. “I have one. It’s
The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk.”

Her eyes twinkling, Nancy tapped back in code, “I’ll take your case. Come backstage and tell me more about it after the show.”

Nancy now motioned to the orchestra leader and she did an encore to the last part of her regular number. The audience laughed and began to whisper, wondering what she had said to the young soldier.

As Nancy came to a whirlwind finale, there was tremendous applause and whistles from her listeners. Then a “Yea, Nancy Drew!”