The Hidden Window Mystery (14 page)

Quickly Nancy’s and George’s baggage was examined. Their suitcases, too, were in disarray, and several new articles of lingerie were missing.

Officer Hanley frowned. “That’s strange burglarizing,” he remarked. “Why anyone would hack up a house and then steal women’s clothes doesn’t make sense. But there’s one answer. Two intruders—a man and a woman—may have been here.”

The policemen examined the room for clues to establish this. Finally Officer Hanley admitted that there were none.

“We’ll report our findings to the chief,” he told the girls.

After the men left, Nancy and George boarded up the window the intruder had smashed. Then they made sure everything was locked tightly before going to their room. Bess, already in bed, asked if Nancy had any theories as to the person who had been in the house.

“Well, Luke Seeny is exonerated,” Nancy replied, “which pinpoints the suspect as Alonzo Rugby.”

“Do you think there was any reason for rifling our suitcases, except to steal the lingerie?”

“Yes, I do, Bess. I believe Rugby was looking for letters I might have had from Lord Greystone regarding the peacock window.”

“Then you don’t think a woman was here too?” George inquired.

Nancy shrugged. Suddenly she smiled. “Maybe one of these days Alonzo Rugby’s loving sister will be wearing our brand-new lingerie!”

“Ugh!” Bess said.

George turned out the light and soon the girls were asleep. The next morning they found Sheila feeling well and in complete control of her emotions. She said that damage to the house was covered by insurance, and she would attend to having repairs made as soon as possible.

After breakfast Nancy announced that she was going to make an even more exhaustive search of the house. “First I’m going to look for clues to the hidden window. Then I hope to learn, if possible, whether or not the burglar discovered the window and took it away.”

All four girls joined in the search, but two hours later they admitted defeat. They sat down in the living room with Sheila to discuss what to do next.

“Well, I know what I’m going to do,” said George, rising. “Go upstairs and wash my hair. It’s so full of dust, I can’t stand it.”

She left the others and climbed the steps. Halfway up she stopped short, leaned down, and picked up a small piece of oblong-shaped dark-red glass. Excited, George hurried down the stairs and showed it to the others.

“Do you suppose the burglar dropped this?” she asked.

Nancy took the piece of glass and held it up to the light. The glass was wavy and looked very old. “Probably someone familiar with leaded windows dropped this,” she said.

Sheila burst into tears. “Oh, that dreadful man did find our stained-glass window! Now there won’t be a reward for any of us or a chance to sell the window!”

Nancy had to admit it would be pretty difficult to prove that the old window had been stolen from Ivy Hall. The finder could easily say it had been found someplace else. Then, suddenly, a new thought came to her. Maybe the red glass was not part of the window they were searching for!

“There’s still hope, Sheila,” she said kindly, and told then what she suspected.

“You think this man Rugby dropped the piece of glass?” Annette asked.

Nancy nodded. “I’m going to find out, if I possibly can, where Rugby is staying and where he was yesterday.”

“How are you going to do that?” Sheila questioned.

“I’ll enlist my cousin Susan’s aid,” Nancy replied. “I’ll ask Sue to call Mrs. Bradshaw and casually ask if Rugby is their house guest.”

Going to the phone, she called the Carr home. When Susan answered, she told her what had happened at Ivy Hall.

“How dreadful!” Susan said. “That lovely old house! I’ll find out right away what you want to know and call you, Nancy.”

The return call came ten minutes later. Alonzo Rugby had not been staying with the Bradshaws and had not slept in the studio, either. Mrs. Bradshaw did not know where the man had been the day before, because she and her husband had gone on a tour of gardens, and assumed that Rugby had worked in the studio all day as usuaL

“Thanks, Sue,” Nancy said.

“Glad to help, Nancy. And let me know if I can do anything else.”

Nancy returned to the living room and said, “Rugby had a marvelous opportunity to spend hours here yesterday. I think we should do some sleuthing and see if we can find out where he’s staying.”

She outlined her plan. The girls would get a canoe and hide it on Eddy Run near Bradshaw’s studio.

“If Alonzo leaves in a car, we’ll follow him with ours. But if he goes off in a canoe, we’ll trail him on the water.”

Once more Susan Carr’s aid was enlisted. She borrowed a canoe for Nancy, and Cliff brought it over in the station wagon. The girls carried it Indian-style down to the stream and paddled it up near Waverly. They hid the canoe among some bushes, then walked back to Ivy Hall.

“What time do you think we should start our spying?” George asked Nancy.

The young sleuth felt that there was no necessity to do anything before five o’clock, the time that Rugby normally left the studio. Sheila prepared an early supper for the girls; then they set off in the car.

After parking near the driveway into Waverly, they walked through the woods bordering the road, down to the studio. From among the trees they could easily look into the building. Rugby was moving about but showed no signs of leaving.

“We may have a long wait,” said Nancy. “I really hope he doesn’t leave until after dark.”

As if acceding to her wish, Rugby stayed inside the studio. As hour after hour went by, Bess became tired of the “vigil and suggested that they leave.

“I wouldn’t think of it,” said George firmly, and Nancy agreed.

As darkness came, the girls moved closer to the studio. The windows were open and they could hear Rugby mumbling to himself. There was only one small light in the studio. This was near the telephone.

Presently Rugby consulted his watch. Then he picked up the telephone and gave a number in New York City.

“Whom do you suppose he’s calling?” Bess whispered.

The other two girls did not reply, for just then the operator made the connection and Alonzo Rugby began to speak. “Is this Sir Richard Greystone?”

The three girls gripped one another’s arms as the suspect went on, “You will? That’s great. I’m certainly glad you’re going to fly down. The old peacock window is in perfect condition, Sir Richard. Wait until you see it!”

The listeners were stunned. Apparently Alonzo Rugby had found the missing window. Had he stolen it from Ivy Hall? Would he get the reward for locating it, and perhaps even sell the window to Sir Richard Greystone?

“Isn’t this awful!” Bess exclaimed in a whisper.

As soon as Rugby had completed his phone call, he flicked off the light, came to the door, and walked outside. He locked the studio, lighted a cigarette, and set off for Eddy Run.

“Come on!” said Nancy.

Quiet as mice, the girls trailed him. Reaching the water, the man stepped into a canoe and paddled off. His pursuers broke into a run, launched their own craft, and climbed in. With Nancy in the prow and George in the stern they paddled after the suspect.

Rugby, familiar with the stream, zigzagged among the rocks. Nancy and George tried to follow his course but found this impossible.

Suddenly the girls’ canoe rammed a stone. There was a splintering sound and within moments water gushed into the craft!

 

 

 

“WHAT LUCK!” George exclaimed in disgust.

Further pursuit of Alonzo was impossible. He was already out of sight. The girls paddled their rapidly filling canoe as close to land as they could, then waded ashore, pulling the craft after them.

“This thing is a wreck,” said Bess. “We’d better win that reward so we can pay for it.”

Wet and discouraged, the girls plodded back to their car and returned to Ivy Hall. The Pattersons were overwhelmed by the news regarding the stained-glass window.

“I told you peacocks bring bad luck!” Sheila said. “No one ever had any worse luck than I’ve had recently.”

“Sheila,” Nancy said, “it is just possible Alonzo Rugby has not found Greystone’s window at all.”

The others stared at the girl detective in amazement and Sheila asked, “Whatever makes you think that?”

Nancy went on, “I shouldn’t be surprised if Rugby is pulling a hoax of some kind. He’s probably skillful at making stained glass and may know how to imitate the wavy effect of the old variety.”

George interrupted. “Then the piece I found may be a sample of his work?”

“Yes. It’s possible Rugby has put together a stained-glass window, planning to fool Sir Richard into buying the imitation—or, at least, getting the reward.”

“Oh, Nancy,” said Sheila, “you figure things out so magnificently. Can this mean the missing window may still be at Ivy Hall?”

“Yes, Sheila. And I suggest that we start early tomorrow on another search.”

Next morning the group had only a small breakfast, then the feverish hunt began. The girls separated. Nancy decided to study the outside of the house. She walked round and round it many times, gazing at the architecture from every angle. Seeing nothing unusual, Nancy next began carefully tearing off sections of the ivy to look at the bricks closely. Presently she came to the wall of the old library. Here the bricks seemed to be of a slightly different shade from those in the rest of the building.

The young sleuth was curious. Could the missing window possibly have been in this section and bricked over? Calling the others, Nancy pointed out her find.

“Let’s see what’s on the other side,” she suggested, excited, and they all rushed into the house.

As they entered the gloomy old library, Nancy said, “This time, Sheila, with your permission, I’d like to do a little hacking. I’ll try not to tear up the walls too much.”

“Go ahead,” the actress said. She hardly dared hope that Nancy was going to make an important discovery.

Picking up an old fire tong, Nancy swung the handle at the plaster. Pieces began to chip off and soon there was a hole large enough to reveal what was behind it.

“A brick wall!” said Sheila. Disappointment showed in her eyes.

But Nancy was not discouraged. “If there was a window here at one time,” she said, “it may have been bricked up on both sides. I can soon find out by comparing it with the wall in the next room.”

In the living room Nancy chipped away some of the plaster on the wall that adjoined the suspected one. Behind the plaster were studs and lathe, with a brick wall beyond. Feeling that she had practically proved her point about the house having an inner and an outer brick wall only in a section of the library, she requested Sheila’s permission to take out a few of the bricks.

“Go ahead,” the actress said. “I must know if you’re right.”

Annette found some tools. Very cautiously Nancy used a chisel and hammer between two of the bricks. Little by little the old sand cement came away and finally she was able to lift out one of the bricks. Now she shone her flashlight inside.

“The window!” Sheila cried out. “Oh, how thrilling!”

Nancy’s heart was thumping wildly. “We must go immediately and try to head off Rugby before he collects any money from Sir Richard.”

“How can we find Rugby?” Bess asked. “I’m sure he’s not at the studio.”

“I think he has a hideaway somewhere up Eddy Run,” Nancy replied. “So let’s get another canoe and try to locate the place.”

Sheila and Annette said they would remain at Ivy Hall and guard the hidden window. With victory so close, they did not want anything to happen to it.

“Let’s start!” Nancy said to Bess and George, eager to be off.

“But where are we going to find a canoe?” George reminded her.

For answer, Nancy hurried into the house and telephoned to Mr. Honsho. She inquired if he had a canoe, and learning that he did, Nancy asked if the girls might borrow it. The Indian graciously agreed. He would have Luke take it down to the water immediately.

By the time Nancy and her friends reached the spot, the young man was waiting. The three girls thanked him, climbed into the canoe, and started.

They paddled for nearly a mile without seeing a building that might be Rugby’s hide-out. Then, Nancy spotted a rather tumble-down farmhouse in a grove of trees. From the unkempt condition of the grounds, the place appeared to be uninhabited.

“Let’s look,” she urged. “This would make a good hide-out.”

The girls beached the canoe and started up a tangled, weed-choked path to the house. Reach ing it, they looked about. No one was in sight. Nancy knocked. There was no response.