(#20) The Clue in the Jewel Box (6 page)

“OH, Madame Marie!” Anna protested. “We have no room prepared for Prince Michael.”

“That is true,” agreed Mrs. Alexandra. “When my grandson comes, we must show him every consideration. We will have a dinner in his honor.”

“Would it not be better to wait a day or two at least?” pleaded Anna.

“Very well,” Mrs. Alexandra consented. “But prepare for my grandson’s arrival quickly. I shall write him a letter of welcome.”

Nancy ventured to suggest that it might be advisable to put away some of the most valued antiques. Anna nodded approvingly, but Mrs. Alexandra seemed displeased by the idea.

“I am sure my grandson is to be trusted,” she said coldly.

“Your grandson—yes,” Nancy replied. “As for this Francis Baum, you are not certain yet that he is the missing prince. His credentials seem authentic, but they might not be.”

“I shall reflect upon your suggestion,” Mrs. Alexandra said, her good humor restored.

Nancy was fearful that the woman would not have the treasures removed. She tried to bring up the subject of the singing nightingale and its strange message, but Mrs. Alexandra showed no willingness to discuss the matter. All her thoughts were centered upon her grandson.

“I will do what I can with Madame,” Anna whispered to Nancy as the girl left the house. “But she is very determined once she makes up her mind.”

The day was unusually sultry. Nancy walked slowly down the elm-shaded street. Reaching the business section, she paused to look in the window of a small shop. Suddenly the excited cries of a woman came from the next corner.

“My pocketbook!” she wailed. “That man snatched it! Stop him, someone!”

Pedestrians turned to see a young man in a brown suit running down the street, but no one acted quickly enough to stop him. Nancy saw the thief enter a department store.

“He looks like the one who stole Francis Baum’s wallet—and probably Dad’s!” she thought. “This is my chance to catch him!”

Confident she could have the pickpocket arrested, Nancy followed him into the department store. Although the young man mingled with the crowd, she was able to spot the thief and keep him in sight. Then, to her surprise, he turned and looked at her.

“Good afternoon, Miss Drew,” he murmured. He waved a white handkerchief and smiled.

Nancy was so chagrined that she went on without a word other than a perfunctory greeting. Again she had mistaken David Dorrance for the pickpocket! She wondered if she would ever be able to make a positive identification of the thief.

The chiming of a clock reminded her that she had an appointment with Katherine to try on the blue gown. She hurried to the Archer home.

“This is the last time you’ll come here for a fitting,” Helen told Nancy. “Katherine’s rented a shop in the arcade of the Hotel Claymore.”

“It worry me,” Katherine declared as she brought out the evening dress for Nancy to slip on. “The shop—Helen and Jim pay the rent.”

“Now don’t start all that over again,” Helen said teasingly. “As soon as you’re established you will be able to repay us.”

The fitting proceeded. Katherine worked nimbly and seemed pleased with the Renaissance gown.

“It is perfect for you,” she announced, sitting back on her heels to get a better view of Nancy. “But for your hair you need some touch—a lovely jeweled ornament.”

“I don’t own one,” Nancy replied.

“But the dress requires it,” Helen said.

“I mean a simple ornament, which fit across hair—so!” Katherine explained, holding a pair of scissors across Nancy’s head to illustrate.

“Where can we get one?” Nancy asked.

“In my country it would have been so easy,” declared Katherine. “Here I do not know.”

“I understand what you want,” Nancy said. “It’s possible Mr. Faber has one.”

After leaving the Archer house, she went to Mr. Faber’s shop. Before explaining that she wanted to purchase a headdress, she told him that Mrs. Alexandra’s grandson had been found.

“Ah, this is the happiest day of my life.” The man beamed. “Ask any favor, and it is yours.”

Nancy told of her need for a special hair ornament. Immediately the antique dealer searched the shelves of his little shop.

“Oh, don’t put yourself to so much trouble,” Nancy protested at last.

Mr. Faber pondered a moment. “You wait!” he said, moving to his desk. “I will write a note for you to take to Madame Alexandra. She has just the piece you want, and will lend it to you.”

Nancy protested that she could not ask such a favor, but the shopkeeper paid no heed.

“Deliver this to Madame Alexandra,” he urged. “She will gladly let you borrow the headdress. Did you not find her lost grandson?”

As Nancy turned to leave, she was startled to see a tall, bushy-haired man wearing a dark jacket standing in a shadowy corner of the shop. He was quietly examining an old print. “I wonder how long he’s been there,” she thought.

The following afternoon Nancy delivered Mr. Faber’s message to the former queen. She read it, smiled, and then spoke rapidly to Anna in her native tongue. The servant vanished, to reappear with a sparkling ornament on a purple velvet cushion.

Nancy caught her breath. She had not expected anything so beautiful. The rubies and diamonds twinkled brilliantly.

“It is yours to keep,” said Mrs. Alexandra, smiling.

Nancy protested that she could not accept such a valuable gift. It was not until she realized that her refusal was offending the woman that she agreed to wear the hair ornament in the fashion show.

“But immediately after the final showing on Saturday night I shall return it.”

“Then I must find some other way to express my appreciation,” Mrs. Alexandra insisted.

While Anna wrapped the jeweled hair ornament, Mrs. Alexandra eagerly talked of her grandson. What was the young man like?

Nancy was far too kind to give her true impression of him. That morning Francis Baum had phoned her to ask some questions about his grandmother. He had seemed more interested in Mrs. Alexandra’s wealth than in anything else.

“Your grandson should be very happy here,” she said finally.

“Everything is nearly ready now for his arrival. Anna and I will welcome him tomorrow night with a grand dinner to celebrate. I am glad that you and your father are coming.”

Nancy gazed about the living room with troubled eyes. A few of the art treasures had been put away, but many remained. Fragile glass stood on small antique tables. The slightest push against them would cause disaster.

“I can’t help wondering what Mr. Baum’s German shepherd dog will do to this room,” she remarked.

“My grandson has a dog?” Mrs. Alexandra asked.

“Yes, he has. And it isn’t very well trained.”

“Oh dear! I’m afraid of large dogs. What shall I do about it?”

“I’ll handle the matter for you, if I may,” Nancy offered. “I am certain I can induce your grandson to give up his dog.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” the woman said.

Relieved by Nancy’s reassuring answer, the woman now spoke of Mr. Faber. She explained that his grandfather had been a distinguished personage in her country.

“Not only was he a great jeweler, but he perfected a formula for noncrackable enamel.”

“But I thought no such method exists todayl” Nancy exclaimed, astonished.

“Unfortunately it was lost. You must ask Mr. Faber to tell you all about it.”

Mrs. Alexandra suddenly seemed weary. Nancy had intended to speak of the singing nightingale and his strange song, but decided to do so another time.

As soon as Anna appeared with the jeweled hair ornament in a paper bag, Nancy rose from her chair and said good-by.

As she left the house, the young sleuth thought, “I’m afraid Mrs. Alexandra will be disappointed when she meets her grandson.”

Nancy was so busy thinking about him that she failed to observe a tall shadowy figure watching her from around the corner of the building. He nodded in satisfaction at sight of the paper bag in her hand.

Waiting until she had gone a short distance down the street, he stealthily followed Nancy.

CHAPTER VIII

Nancy Is Robbed

UNAWARE that she was being followed, Nancy walked on, deep in thought. Presently she approached a lonely section of the street, where there was an old cemetery with a high, vine-covered wall. No one was in sight, except the lone man and the unsuspecting girl toward whom he drew closer.

Suddenly the tires of a speeding automobile screeched on the roadway. Startled, Nancy turned her head to see why the driver had stopped so abruptly. As she stared at a green sedan which had pulled up at the curb, the man behind her brushed past. He jostled Nancy’s arm, knocking the paper bag from her hand.

“Excuse me,” he muttered. He stooped and fumbled for a moment with the bag.

“I’ll get it,” said Nancy quickly. Though the man kept his head down and his face turned away, she could see he had bushy hair. Like the customer in the shop, he was tall and wore a dark jacket. Could it be the same man?

Nancy feared that he meant to steal the precious package, but he dropped it at once and hurried away. The driver of the green car alighted and picked it up for her.

“Don’t you remember me?” he asked as he returned the bag. “Why, I’m an old friend!”

“You’re Mr. Dorrance,” Nancy said.

“That’s right and I didn’t even have to wave a handkerchief, did I?”

“Not this time. That pickpocket wouldn’t be likely to speak to me.”

“How about a lift home?” the man inquired.

Nancy politely declined the invitation. “No, thank you. I prefer to walk.” She never accepted rides from persons she did not know well.

“Suit yourself.” The man shrugged. He jumped into his car and quickly drove off.

“I hope my car will be fixed soon,” Nancy thought and walked home without further incident. She went to the kitchen and told Hannah Gruen about borrowing the diamond-and-ruby headdress from Mrs. Alexandra.

“It’s beautiful,” she declared, opening the bag. “Why, it’s not here!”

Dumbfounded, Nancy pulled out a dirt-covered stone.

“The ornament was stolen!” she cried, collapsing into a chair. “I’ve been tricked!”

“How dreadful!” said the housekeeper.

The loss made Nancy feel ill. She knew that the piece had been inside the bag when she had left Mrs. Alexandra’s home. A daring thief either had substituted another bag, or else slipped the stone inside this one in place of the jewel case.

“It was either David Dorrance or that man who brushed against me!” she thought angrily.

Nancy believed that the act had been committed by the stranger who no doubt knew what she was carrying. She felt sure now that he was the man from the shop and that he had followed her. She recalled how he had shielded his face from her.

“I dread telling Mrs. Alexandra,” Nancy groaned, adding, “At least I can notify the police!”

She immediately called headquarters. The lieutenant on duty assured her they would do what they could. But without a good description of the thief’s face it would be more difficult to apprehend him.

“Now the next thing you must do is report the loss to Mrs. Alexandra,” Hannah urged.

“I just hate to!”

“You should do it at once, Nancy.”

“I know,” she answered. “But it’s the most disagreeable task I’ve ever had in my life.”

Leaden feet carried her once more to the home of Mrs. Alexandra. The woman listened in amazement to Nancy’s story.

“The piece did have great value,” the owner acknowledged. “A thief must have seen Anna put it into the bag. No doubt he was watching her through a window.”

Nancy’s spirits dropped lower, for she was afraid she might never be able to repay the great loss. At that moment Anna came into the room. Her mistress told her what had happened.

“Madame Marie,” she said quickly, “the stolen ornament was not the genuine one.”

“You wrapped up the imitation headdress?” the woman cried in relief. “The one Mr. Faber sold to me before he found the original family piece?”

“Yes, Madame, by mistake.”

“Anna, you are the brightest of all my jewels!” the gracious lady exclaimed.

Nancy felt so grateful that she could have hugged Anna.

“I am happy the real ornament is safe,” Mrs. Alexandra declared. “Since I meant you to have the genuine one, Nancy, you may take it now.”

“And risk another theft? Oh no!”

“Then Anna and I will keep the headdress for you until Thursday, if you prefer.”

Nancy rose to leave. “And when I come for it, I may bring a bodyguard!” Her eyes twinkled as she added, “As for your dinner party tomorrow evening, my father and I will bring only your grandson!”

Dinner was ready by the time Nancy reached home. Mrs. Gruen had prepared an excellent meal, but for some reason Carson Drew ate little.

“What’s wrong, Dad?” Nancy inquired, glancing up. “Aren’t you feeling well?”

“Oh, I’m all right.”

“Then you’re worried. Is it about that wallet you lost?”

“Well, I had hoped it would be returned,” the lawyer admitted. “At least the papers in it.”

“You ran an ad in the newspaper, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I offered a reward and no questions asked. Nothing came of it.”

“I’ve had no luck in tracing the pickpocket either,” Nancy said, sighing.

At that moment the discussion was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Nancy went to answer it. At the door stood a good-looking young man, broad-shouldered and deeply tanned.

“Ned!” Nancy cried jubilantly. “It’s great to see you!”

“And you.” He laughed, seizing her hand. “I just happened to be doing an errand near here and thought I’d drop over.”

Ned Nickerson and Nancy were friends of long standing. They enjoyed the same things and frequently went together to parties. Though she had many other admirers, Nancy admitted to herself that Ned was her favorite.

“Are you free for a date tonight?” he asked.

“I have one,” Nancy said with genuine regret. “Why didn’t you warn me you were coming?”

“How about tomorrow night?”

“Mrs. Alexandra, a new acquaintance, has invited Dad and me to a special dinner party. We are to take her grandson, Francis Baum, to see her for the first time. It’s thrilling, Ned! He’s supposed to be a missing prince—”