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Chapter V. Instantly Nancy seized the house telephone and pushed the signal button






Strange Numbers

 

INSTANTLY Nancy seized the house telephone and pushed the signal button. “Help! ” she screamed into the mouthpiece.

To her amazement, the thief flung himself away from her and jumped across one of the tables. He opened a mirrored door in the wall and fled, banging it after him.

Still shouting for help, Nancy pursued him. The man evidently knew every inch of the rambling house. He ran along a back hall, through a door, and directly to the servants’ stairway.

Nancy followed him down the stairs, crying, “Stop, thief! ”

Reaching the foot of the stairs, she found he had locked the door. Nancy pounded on it and presently the door was opened by a startled maid. In a moment the place was in an uproar with everyone trying to locate the fugitive. No one had seen him come through the stairway door.

The shouts had attracted Detective Ambrose and the other plainclothesmen. At once they made a search for the thief. Nancy listened to the voice of every man wearing summer formals, hoping to discover the one who had spoken to her upstairs. But apparently the thief had escaped.

“Maybe I can learn something from that old servant, ” Nancy said to herself.

She went upstairs and found that her first cry of help on the telephone had brought a maid to aid the elderly man. By now he had revived and was seated in a chair in the bedroom.

“I don’t know how it happened, ” he said. “I never even saw the person who hit me. He sneaked up from behind.”

Detective Ambrose came in at that moment. He reported no success in apprehending the would-be thief.

“At least he didn’t get away with anything this time, ” the officer remarked. “Our quick work saved the wedding silver.”

“Yes, we were lucky, ” Nancy replied, smiling at the detective’s use of the word our.

Since the servant guard could offer no clues, she returned to the reception. The gaiety which had prevailed half an hour earlier was gone from the party.

Nancy remained awhile, departing when the bride left. At home she was surprised to find Bess Marvin and George Fayne. They explained that they had come, hoping to hear about her experiences at the reception.

Nancy laughed. “Who said I had any? ”

“Why, it’s written all over your face, ” George declared. “Come on. Tell us. Did you have another encounter with the man in the mask? ”

“I did, ” Nancy said, and went on to relate how the thief had eluded her.

“Wish I’d been there, ” George remarked, her eyes dancing. “I’d have helped you hold him, Nancy.”

“I could have used a little of your muscle, George. He’s a slippery rascal! ”

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll try to get even with you? ” Bess asked nervously. “After all, you wrecked his plans tonight, Nancy, and he won’t forget that.”

“I’m not worried.”

“You and Mrs. Gruen will be in the house alone tonight, won’t you? ”

“Yes, Dad is still away on a trip. I’m not the least bit afraid, though.”

At that moment the telephone rang. In the quiet house the sound was startling.

“It’s probably Dad calling long distance, ” Nancy said. “I’ve been expecting him to phone.”

Excusing herself, she went to the hall and picked up the telephone. At first there was no reply to her hello. Then a man’s voice spoke precisely and with a sinister inflection:

“Nancy Drew, keep out of affairs that aren’t your own! If you don’t, be prepared to pay the consequences. Another warning. Get rid of that hooded mask. Drop it within twenty-four hours over the wall of Hillside Cemetery.”

The receiver clicked, indicating the end of the one-way conversation. Bess and George had joined her, aware that something was amiss.

“Was it a threat? ” George demanded.

Nancy nodded. “I’ve been ordered to get rid of the black mask I picked up at Gloria’s home.”

“Oh, Nancy! ” Bess exclaimed. “Didn’t I tell you? Why did you ever keep the mask? ”

“I intend to hold on to it until the police ask me for it.”

“Good for you, Nancy! ” George approved. “Don’t let that man bluff you! ”

Bess sighed. “Well, if you’re not afraid, I guess we may as well run along. It’s getting late. But do be careful, Nancy.”

After the girls had gone, Nancy locked the screen door, but left the front door open, for the night was very warm.

She sat for a while in the living room, thinking about the new developments in the case. Then, abruptly, she went to a desk drawer and took out the black hooded mask.

As she was gazing at it, Mrs. Gruen came downstairs from her room.

“Nancy, I think you should go to bed, ” she remarked. Then noticing the mask in the girl’s hand, she added with a shudder, “Mooning over that sinister thing again? ”

“It’s my most valuable clue! This might be the very thing I need to track down the thieves.”

Nancy revealed to the housekeeper that she had been ordered to get rid of the mask.

“Well, obey their orders. I heard you telling Bess and George about your adventure tonight. The whole thing sounds dangerous to me.”

“Now, Hannah, don’t get so upset. Please. You know when I’m caught in a tight spot I can usually manage to get out of it.”

“Just you wait, Nancy Drew. Someday you won’t be able to find a way out. I worry all the time about you and your father. Two of a kind! ”

“Well, then, ” Nancy replied, “there’s no need to worry if I’m like Dad. He has never failed to crack a tough case! ”

The housekeeper realized that it was futile to urge Nancy to stop work on a mystery, once she had started.

“What is it now, Nancy? Why are you staring so hard at that mask? ” Hannah asked.

“It just occurred to me, ” Nancy replied, “that the thief must have a good reason why he wants this returned. Perhaps it contains some clue he doesn’t want me to find.”

While Mrs. Gruen watched, Nancy ripped out the white silk lining of the velvet mask. To her disappointment, nothing had been hidden inside.

“I guess I was wrong, ” she admitted ruefully. “I thought jewels or something valuable might have been tucked under the padding.”

“I’ll sew the lining back in, ” the housekeeper offered. “Not tonight, though. I’m too sleepy.”

As Nancy started to tuck the lining back in, she noticed some numbers written on the reverse side.

“What’s this? ” she said.

Carrying it to a brighter light, Nancy studied the numbers. They read: 621 626 628 71 75.

“What do they mean? ” Mrs. Gruen asked.

“I wish I knew, ” Nancy replied.

“The ink appears fairly fresh, ” Mrs. Gruen remarked. “Not faded as it would be if the cloth were old.”

“The numbers may be a code. I wonder—”

“The numbers may be a code, ” Nancy said

 

At that moment the telephone rang and Nancy hastened to answer it. This time it was her father.

“I’m so glad to hear from you. How’s everything? ” Nancy asked cheerily.

“Fine on this end. How about you? ”

She reported what she had been doing on the case, then told him of the numbers on the mask’s lining.

“Read them to me, ” Mr. Drew suggested.

After Nancy did so, he said, “Very interesting. They sound like dates.”

“You mean 621 is June twenty-first? ”

“Yes. And the last one’s the day after the Fourth of July.”

“Oh, Dad, you’re wonderful! That’s probably exactly what they are—dates for planned thefts! The woman in the Javanese costume put them in, or someone wrote them down before giving her the mask so she wouldn’t forget them.”

“Nancy, here’s a suggestion. Call the Lightner Entertainment Company in the morning and find out if they coincide with parties they’re arranging. But be discreet in asking questions.”

“I will! ” Nancy assured him. “And Dad, when are you coming home? ”

Mr. Drew said that unless something unexpected came up he would return the following evening.

“We miss you, ” she said. “By the way, you’re at the Excelsior in Amstar, aren’t you? ”

As Nancy said good-by she heard a sound on the front porch. Thinking someone was arriving, she went to look out, but no one was there.

“My imagination, I guess, ” she decided. She closed and locked the front door, then went up to bed.

Nancy telephoned Linda Seeley at nine o’clock the following morning. After explaining where she had obtained the dates, she asked if Lightner’s had any parties scheduled for them.

“Yes, we do have for the first three you mentioned, ” Linda answered without hesitation. “I know, because I’ve worked on them myself. Wait, I’ll check the others.”

In a moment she returned to say that July first was on their books, but the office had no record of a party for the fifth.

“I’ll contact the social editor of the newspaper, ” Nancy said. “Someone may be giving a big party without Lightner’s services.”

“Nancy, if you’re still working on the theft, you’d better be wary, ” Linda advised hurriedly. “After what happened last night at the reception, I’m getting scared.”

Nancy wanted to ask more questions, but Linda suddenly warned her that she must end the conversation.

“Mr. Tombar is coming! ” she said nervously. “I’ll get in touch with you later.”

“Just one thing, ” Nancy interposed. “Has a masquerade party been scheduled for any of those dates I told you about? ”

“No, only other types of parties, ” Linda whispered. “Good-by! ”

Nancy next called the newspaper. The social editor, a friend, said she knew of no large parties scheduled for July fifth. “If I hear of any, Nancy, I’ll call you.”

Nancy thanked her. Putting down the phone, she sat still, absorbed in thought. Her reflections were interrupted by the excited barking of Togo, her small terrier. He had jumped up on his hind legs and was scratching at a window sill.

“Togo, what’s wrong? ” Nancy demanded.

Mrs. Gruen had gone to the window and was peering into the sunny side yard. Nancy joined her. No one was in sight.

“Togo, you were really fooled this time, ” Nancy scolded him. “No one’s out there.”

The little terrier, however, continued to bark. He ran to the front door, jerking his head and scratching frantically with his paws to tell Nancy that he wanted to be let out.

“What can be the matter? ” she said, frowning. “I’ve never seen him so persistent.”

She ordered the dog to come away from the door and lie down. To her vexation, the usually obedient Togo paid no attention to her command. She started toward him, but whirled around at a sharp exclamation from Hannah.

“There was someone lurking near the window! ” the housekeeper whispered. “Nancy, I just saw a long shadow move across the porch.”

Nancy dashed for the door, recalling the sound she had heard the night before.

“Someone’s eavesdropping on us! ” she exclaimed.






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