Dusty Fur

When Nancy reached Rainbow Ranch, she left her car in the drive and rang the front door bell. The maid who answered said Tina had taken a book outdoors. " She's probably reading somewhere in back. Shall I come out and help you look for her? "

" No, thanks, " Nancy said and smiled. " I'm sure I can find her."

As she expected, the little girl was ensconced in the pavilion, deeply absorbed in a story. But at the sight of Nancy, she jumped up eagerly and let the book fall from her lap. " Hi, Nancy! Did you come over just to see me? "

" How did you guess? " Nancy chuckled. She was relieved to find Tina in such a bright, cheerful mood. This might make a difference in her willingness to answer questions.

Nancy sat down on the ledge of the summerhouse and waited until the little girl was settled comfortably beside her. Then she took her hand and said, " I've come to tell you something, dear."

" Tell me what? "

" That I know what scared you about that iodine bottle this morning." Nancy paused before going on gently, " It was that skull and crossbones on the label, to warn people that iodine can be dangerous, wasn't it? "

Tina nodded without speaking.

Nancy slipped an arm around her. " And I think that reminded you of a live skeleton you once saw that scared you. Am I right? "

Tina's eyes had widened fearfully and her lower lip trembled as she murmured, " Y-Y-Yes."

" Believe me, honey, that wasn't a real skeleton, " Nancy said quickly. " It was just a man in a black Halloween costume with a white skeleton painted on it! "

As if an emotional dam had broken, Tina burst into tears. In a moment, she was sobbing out the whole story. The little girl related that she loved her grandma's opal pendant and had tried it on one day when her grandpa was not at home. He knew of her

fondness for the beautiful gem, and had warned her never to take it away from the dressing table where it was kept. But Tina had disobeyed him.

" I w-wore it out in the woods, " she confessed between sobs.

Worse yet, she had decided to visit the old mansion that day, even though he had told her sternly never to play by herself in such lonely places. Tina, however, loved to indulge in make-believe, and the Grimsby Mansion with its courtyard and outlying stables and coach house seemed a marvelous place to imagine herself as queen of the castle.

On this particular day, much to her surprise, the front door of the mansion was partly open, and she heard a noise inside. Peeking in the window, Tina saw a stranger. " And he saw me, too! " she said shakily. " I was so scared, I ran away! "

Nancy guessed that the child had probably been as much embarrassed at being caught peeking as she was frightened. At any rate, as she turned and darted into the woods, the opal pendant had snagged on the bush and been torn off her neck!

Later, Tina lay awake all night long, feeling guilty over her double disobedience and worrying about what would happen when her grandfather discovered the jewel was missing.

" It was awful! " Tina said tearfully. " I just couldn't stay in bed. Finally, I got up and dressed real quietly. Then I tiptoed downstairs and sneaked out into the woods."

" You went back to the old house to get the pendant? All alone, in the dark? " As Tina gulped and nodded, Nancy hugged her close. " What a brave little girl! "

" B-B-But I wasn't brave! And that's when it happened! " Tina’s voice broke.

" You saw the skeleton? "

" Y-Y-Yes! With an awful skull head! It came galloping up on a horse, right toward me! I was so scared. I screamed and screamed like anything, and ran home through the woods! "

The little girl's body was racked with sobs. Nancy rocked her back and forth, patting her soothingly. No wonder the poor little thing was so upset, the young detective thought, when I came galloping toward her that first day!

Aloud she said, " Just remember, dear, that wasn't really a skeleton. It was only a bad man dressed in a spooky costume just like boys and girls dress up on Halloween! "

When Tina was able to talk again, between sniffs and gulps, she related that after crawling back into bed and under the covers, she had had a terrible nightmare about the skeleton on horseback. And ever since, she had lived in constant fear of the day when her grandfather would discover her naughtiness.

" And maybe then the skeleton would come after me again! " Tina ended with a few more convulsive sobs.

" Don't worry, dear. That won't happen, " Nancy said, trying to soothe her. " That bad man was a burglar, and the police are after him. When they catch him, he'll go to jail for robbing houses all around Brookvale Forest."

Now that Tina’s crying had ceased, her curiosity was aroused. She looked up at Nancy with an expression of keen interest. " I d-didn't know burglars rode horses."

" This one did." Nancy smiled.

" Why? "

" Because there are police cars on the road at night, looking for robbers like him. That's why he always rode through the woods on horseback whenever he robbed a house—so the police wouldn't see him! Then he would stable his horse at the old mansion until the next night when he went out to rob another house."

" Oh! " Tina said anxiously. " Was the poor horse inside when the stable burned down? "

Nancy shook her head. " No, I'm sure it was taken away beforehand, because the robber found out a movie was being filmed there. Remember, I was going to take you there to watch? "

As the little girl nodded, Nancy went on, " As a matter of fact, I think Shooting Star was also kept in that stable after he was stolen. But he was taken away, too."

" Where? " Tina asked, wide-eyed.

Nancy shrugged regretfully. " I don't know yet. But I intend to find out! Meantime, let's wash those tear stains off your face, honey."

As they walked back to the house, Patches, the tortoise-shell cat, wandered past them. She sat down by the brook and began grooming her fur.

Nancy stopped short, her brain suddenly busy again. Another piece of the jigsaw had just clicked into place!

If Patches lived in the stables, perhaps she had actually seen the theft of Shooting Star! And on the day that she startled Bess's mount, she could have been on her way home from Grimsby Mansion! She had certainly been coming from that direction. In fact, if the horse or horses were still in the mansion stable that Saturday afternoon before the fire, Patches might have gone there on purpose to visit her old pal, or if she had not yet discovered where the thieves took the thoroughbred, perhaps she had been hunting for him and had just succeeded in snooping out his hiding place!

" What's wrong, Nancy? " asked Tina.

" Honey, do you have any idea where Patches was coming from just now? "

The little girl shrugged. " Gosh, I don't know. She wanders all over. Why? "

" I was told that she and Shooting Star were good friends and liked to be with each other. Is that right? "

Tina brightened and smiled. " Oh, yes! The stablehands used to say they could almost talk. It was fun to watch them! "

Nancy said earnestly, " You know what, Tina? I feel sure that Shooting Star wasn't taken very far away from here. If I'm right, maybe Patches knows where he is."

The little girl gasped excitedly. " Do you really think so? "

" Yes, dear, I do. Look at that white dust on her fur. Have you any idea where it might have come from? "

As they walked closer to the cat, Tina stared at it, then shook her head. Patches paused from licking her fur and regarded them with topaz-bright eyes.

" Wait! " Tina exclaimed suddenly. " I think I do know. I’ll bet she got that at the old mine! "

" You've been there? " Nancy asked.

" Sure, lots of times until Grandpa told me not to go anymore, cause it might be dangerous. But I remember now, whenever I went there, I’d always come back with that funny dust on my shoes! "

Nancy knew about the mine Tina was referring to. She recalled Carson Drew mentioning once that zinc had been mined there. But she had never actually visited the site.

" Would you show me the mine? "

" Oh, yes! Especially if you think we might find Shooting Star! "

" How do we get there? " Nancy asked. " Just walk? "

Tina hesitated. " Well, we could but it's kind of far to walk. I only went there on my pony."

" Then suppose I drive us."

On their way to Nancy's car, they passed Kurt Ellum. The trainer gave them a curious stare, but only nodded curtly without stopping and touched his cap to Nancy before continuing on to the paddock.

The young sleuth did a sudden doubletake. She had just remembered what Ned found in the tree after the smoke bomb went off. And wasn't Ellum wearing green trousers?

Nancy shot a glance over her shoulder. Yes, she was right! But the trainer was too far away for her to see if there was any tear in them. Of course, the strand of material Ned had found snagged on the branch was fairly small, so the damage might be hardly noticeable. For that matter, Ellum might have had it mended by now. Nevertheless, Nancy decided to mention the matter to Police Chief McGinnis.

Meanwhile, there was a much more promising lead to follow up!

Moments later, Nancy's car sped away from Rainbow Ranch. The large estates bordering on Brookvale Forest were all situated on one side of the road. The opposite side was undeveloped—hilly and almost wild in places.

" Turn here! " Tina said. A rough, rutted dirt path led off the paved road. Nancy turned onto it as the little girl directed. But the path was so bumpy, she stopped.

" Is the mine much farther? " she asked.

" No, you can almost see it from here."

" Then let's get out and walk."

A large wooden door had once closed off the mouth of the mine. But it had rotted and fallen into disrepair over the years since the mine was abandoned, leaving an opening big enough for a person —or for that matter a horse—to get through.

Nearby was an ancient railroad siding. Nancy guessed it had once led to the smelter. But that*had been torn down long ago or perhaps lay out of sight beyond the hills. The entire area was now overgrown with tall weeds and brush.

As the two girls approached the mine, a slight breeze must have carried their scent ahead of them. A faint whinny suddenly sounded!

Tina gave a cry of excitement. " He's here! "

" It certainly sounds like it! " Nancy agreed.

They hurried forward. Nancy took a flashlight from her shoulder bag and led the way. She stepped through the opening, shining her beam of light into the dark mine tunnel. Not ten yards away stood a horse, tethered to one of the mine timbers. He neighed again, seeing his two visitors.

The horse was a dark chestnut stallion, obviously a thoroughbred. But as the girls came closer, they stopped in disappointment.

" That's not Shooting Star! " exclaimed Tina.

" I know. He has no white marking, " said Nancy. Thoroughly puzzled, she walked up to the spirited animal, which gave an eager whinny and pranced several times with its forelegs. Nancy patted his neck to calm him.

Frowning, she said, " Could this be the horse that man in the skeleton suit was riding, Tina? "

The little girl shook her head decisively. " Oh, no!

That one wasn't a thoroughbred. And it was a pinto, I think. This one looks almost like Shooting Star except for the markings."

Suddenly, Nancy caught her breath. " You've just given me an idea, Tina! " Pausing for a moment, she went on, " Look, honey, do you feel brave enough now to ride this horse with me if I keep my arms around you? "

" I guess so—maybe, " Tina replied in a small, squeaky voice.

Nancy hugged her. " Trust me, dear, please! We’ll have to ride bareback, but I'm sure this fellow won't give us any trouble."

" All right."

Nancy untethered the thoroughbred and led it out of the mine. Then, standing on a rock ledge, she sprang nimbly onto the horse's back and lifted Tina up in front of her.

" Where are we going? " the little girl asked.

" That depends on the horse. I'm going to let him go his own way and hope he goes home. It may take a while, though. Are you still game? "

" I guess so, " Tina replied. She sounded as though she were getting over her initial nervousness. " But what about your car? "

" It'll be safe for the time being, I hope." Nancy nudged their mount with her heels, clinging to his mane with both arms around Tina. The horse moved forward calmly as if sensing the person on his back was an experienced rider.

At first he meandered along, stopping from time to time to nibble on vegetation. But gradually he picked up speed and began to pace more steadily. " He's got his bearings now, I think, " Nancy murmured.

Fifteen minutes later, he carried them onto the grounds of the Morston estate and headed for the stables! A groom emerged from the doorway. He was thin and sharp featured. Nancy recognized him as the man she had seen Morston talking to on her first visit to the estate.

He stopped in open-mouthed astonishment at the sight of the two bareback riders. Then his expression hardened. " What do you want? " he snapped as Nancy dismounted lithely and lifted Tina down.

" I've brought one of Mr. Morston's thoroughbreds home. I’ll just see if his stall is open."

Before the groom could stop her, Nancy had darted past him into the stable! Tina followed. Most of the stalls were vacant, their occupants still outdoors. But in one stood a tall, dark chestnut stallion.

" That's him! " cried Tina. " That's Shooting Star! "