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Untimely Ruse






 

“I’m positive that man is after Cliffs ring! ” Bess exclaimed fearfully.

“Just keep cool, ” George said, turning off the ignition.

By now, the bearded man was standing next to the girl’s car.

“I am Dr. DeNiro, the anthropologist, ” he introduced himself.

George recognized the name immediately. Dr. DeNiro was a professor at Oberon College, a local university and had recently returned from field work in Asia. An article about him had appeared in the last issue of the River Heights Gazette.

“I’m George Fayne, and this is my cousin, Bess Marvin, ” George said.

“How do you do? ”

Bess smiled sweetly, lifting her eyes to the thin, almost invisible scar that traveled down the man’s cheek and disappeared under the ragged beard.

“We’re sort of in a hurry, ” George said.

“Well, I don’t want to hold you up, but—uh, ” the man stumbled, “I am interested in the ring you showed Mr. Jhaveri.”

The cousins remained silent, waiting for him to go on.

“May I see it? ” Dr. DeNiro said.

George hesitated, then dug into her purse, as earlier suspicions were replaced by curiosity. Perhaps the professor could provide some clues to Cliffs identity!

“Here you are, ” the girl said, handing the ring to him.

He studied it intently, turning it over several times.

“I have been doing some research on the area of India where this was made, ” the man said. “With your permission, I would like to photograph the ring. May I? ”

“It doesn’t belong to us, ” Bess replied.

“Oh, I see. Well, in that case, could you put me in touch with the owner? ”

The girls paused.

“Perhaps you could give me his name and telephone number, ” Dr. DeNiro continued.

“He’s in the hospital, ” George said. Her mind was racing as it occurred to her that Nancy might wish to speak with the professor as well. “We’re on our way to Rosemont Hospital now. Would you like to ride over there with us? ”

The man checked his watch. “Oh, ” he gasped, “I’m twenty minutes late for my appointment. I’ll have to call you.”

With that, he sped across the street to a parking lot, leaving the girls in complete baffle ment.

“The ring! He’s got the ring! ” George cried. She leaped out of her car and darted after the man, shouting his name at the top of her lungs. But he was already pulling out of the lot.

“What happened? ” Bess asked when her cousin returned.

“He’s gone.”

“And so is Cliff’s ring, ” Bess said. “We have to get it back before we see Nancy again.”

George agreed and suggested that they go to Oberon College.

“Maybe we’ll catch him on the way to class, ” Bess said hopefully.

The girls located his office in an old stone building near the student center. A note was tacked on the door: HOURS 1: 30-3: 00 P.M.

“He should be here in a few minutes, ” George observed with a sigh of relief.

The wait, however, seemed interminable, as a stream of students carrying notebooks filed through the corridor and stopped outside an instructor’s door at the far end.

“Where is he? ” Bess asked impatiently.

Then, as if in reply, the large, wooden, entrance door swung open and a young, brown-haired man, neatly dressed in a striped shirt and khaki pants, strode toward them.

“May I help you? ” he asked, pulling out a key.

“We’re looking for Dr. DeNiro, ” George said.

“You’ve found him.” The beardless man grinned. “Are you registering for one of my courses? ”

His listeners stared at him completely dumbfounded.

“Is something wrong? ” the instructor asked.

“No... I mean, yes, ” Bess said. “Do you have a brother who teaches here? ”

“No, ” he chuckled, “but I’m sure my department head would be pleased if I did. I’ve been away from campus for almost a month.”

The realization that Cliff’s ring was now in the possession of an unknown stranger made both girls shudder. They had been duped!

Instantly, George asked, “Are you missing any personal identification—driver’s license, credit cards, anything like that? ”

“No, not that I know of. Why? ”

George explained about their encounter with the man at the jewelery shop.

“He said he was you! ” Bess exclaimed.

“Me? ”

By now, the young man had opened his office and invited the cousins to sit down.

“He said he was doing some research on India and wanted to photograph the ring we gave him, ” George explained.

“Well, it’s true I am working on a government project related to India, but it hasn’t been publicized.” He paused for a long moment. “I do wonder, though, why someone would pretend to be me.”

“All we know is that the ring may have belonged to a maharajah.”

The young man slid back in his chair, staring at the girls, yet past them.

“It’s possible, ” he said, “that the fellow expects to gain access to information I’m after.”

“What kind of information? ” Bess inquired.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

She and George concluded that the professor must be involved in a highly confidential mission. The question was, Did the ring figure into it, and if so, how?

Before they could discuss it further, a student appeared at the door. She was holding several notebooks.

“I may need to talk with you both again, ” Dr. DeNiro said, signaling the cousins to leave.

“And vice versa, ” George said. She jotted down her phone number. “Will you be here tomorrow? ”

“Yes, I have a course in the morning and another one in the afternoon.”

The cousins said good-bye and hurried to the car.

“This whole thing is getting pretty weird, ” Bess commented.

“I’m beginning to think Cliff lost his memory on purpose, ” George said.

“What? You think he’s faking? ” Bess replied. “I don’t believe it.”

“I don’t either, really, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. After all, he could be in serious trouble and need a place to hide out.”

“I can think of nicer places than a hospital, ” Bess remarked.

“True, but maybe he was trying to escape when he fell. The next thing he knew he was in the hospital. Since he didn’t want anyone to know who or where he was, he conveniently forgot his name.”

“I still don’t believe it.”

“Well, it’s just a thought, ” George replied.

The girls said little else until they reached Rosemont, where they went to Cliffs room promptly. A curtain had been pulled around his bed and Lisa was talking with a doctor.

“Where’s Nancy? ” Bess asked when Lisa had finished her conversation.

“She went to see Dr. Anderson, ” Lisa said with evident concern in her voice.

The cousins glanced at the curtain.

“Is Cliff all right? ”

“Yes, he is now, ” the nurse replied. “But an hour ago he started screaming and choking.”

Had the bearded stranger returned to attack Cliff again? the girls wondered.

 






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