(#15) The Haunted Bridge (12 page)

She suggested to her father that she, Bess, and George buy the necessary supplies and cook dinner for Ned and the others at the cabin.

“That’s very thoughtful, Nancy. It will cheer them up a little. The boys haven’t had much fun since they arrived.”

Bess and George were still not in their room. Nancy searched the lobby and other places in and around the hotel where the cousins might be but could not find them.

She returned to Mr. Drew’s room and told him that she could not locate Bess and George. “Would you like to go shopping with me?” she asked.

“Be glad to,” the lawyer agreed. “I’ll give you two minutes to change your clothes.”

Ned was alone with Mr. Haley when she and her father reached the cabin. He explained that Burt and Dave were down at the ravine working on the footbridge. A short time later they returned, tired and hungry, but pleased to report that they had finished the repairs.

“Bess and George came down and watched for a while,” Burt said. “They had planned to visit us at the cabin but couldn’t get across the ravine. Nancy, they were concerned about you until we told them you were here during the storm. They went back to the hotel to find you and have dinner.”

“And I came here to cook dinner for you!” Nancy chuckled. “I was so preoccupied with my shopping list I didn’t even think to leave a note for Bess and George. They’ll be disappointed when they find out.”

Nancy began preparing a warm meal. Later the boys declared that it was the first really good cooking they had tasted since they had arrived.

After the dishes had been washed and put away, Mr. Drew said, “How would you fellows like to have the evening off? I’ll be glad to stay here with Mr. Haley.”

“That would be great!” Ned exclaimed. “Is there a dance at the hotel tonight, Nancy?”

“Yes. I imagine Bess and George would like some dates for it, too.” She grinned.

“Then let’s go!” Ned exclaimed. “Come on, fellows. We’ll change our clothes right away.”

While they were getting ready, Nancy and her father sat with Mr. Haley in the adjoining room.

“How are you feeling?” Mr. Drew asked him gently when he saw that the patient’s eyes were open.

“Better,” he replied. “Only weak.”

“That’s to be expected,” Nancy said soothingly. “You have been very ill. Later Dad will bring you some broth and toast.”

She did not wish to excite Mr. Haley by further conversation, but he seemed to want her to talk. Finally Nancy went to the kitchen and took Miss Judson’s photograph from the cupboard drawer, then returned to the sick man.

“Would you like me to place this picture near you where you can see it?” she inquired.

“Yes, please do,” Mr. Haley answered. “Is Miss Margaret here now?”

“She does not know you’ve been ill.”

“Then it was a dream-I thought she was seated beside me, holding my hand.”

“Perhaps you confused me with Miss Judson,” Nancy said quietly. “Tell me, did you work for her at the mansion?”

“Oh, yes. I took care of the trees and the garden and the flowers about the place. After Miss Margaret’s parents died she didn’t have much money but kept me on anyway.”

Tears glistened in Mr. Haley’s eyes and several moments elapsed before he spoke again.

“Miss Margaret was good and kind,” he told his listeners. “She never once spoke a harsh word to me in all the years I knew her. That’s why it hurt me to see her so unhappy.”

“She was unhappy?” Nancy prompted as he fell silent again.

“Yes. After her parents died Miss Margaret was very lonely. She was to have been married, but the awful fire happened and all her plans were changed.”

“In what way do you mean?” Carson Drew inquired.

“I don’t know—” Mr. Haley murmured wearily.

“And you haven’t seen her since the fire?” Nancy questioned softly.

“She came to my cabin twice—once to ask me to search for something she had lost. But I couldn’t find it. I hunted everywhere. I told her that later and she never came here again.”

Mr. Haley closed his eyes and turned his face toward the wall. Nancy and her father longed to ask him other questions but refrained. It was dear that the man was exhausted from talking.

Before Carson Drew and Nancy had a chance to discuss what Mr. Haley had told them, Ned, Burt, and Dave came into the bedroom.

“We’re ready to leave, Nancy,” Ned announced in a whisper.

“You all look handsome in your new outfits,” she commented. The boys wore different colored striped sports jackets and dark-brown pants. “It’s hard to tell who is the handsomest,” she added.

“You’d better say Ned,” Dave teased.

As the young people were driving away from the cabin in Ned’s car he observed that Nancy was strangely silent.

“Is your hand bothering you?” he inquired anxiously.

“Not much,” Nancy replied. “There’s really nothing wrong with me, Ned. I was just thinking about Margaret Judson again. Ned, I
must
find her!”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“Yes, but I believe she’s near here.”

Ned glanced curiously at Nancy. Her next words astonished him even more, as with a quiet intensity in her voice, she added:

“It may sound silly to you, Ned, but I have a strange feeling—call it intuition if you will—that tonight I’ll find Margaret Judson!”

“You seem very positive,” Ned commented. “I certainly hope your hunch is right.”

“Can you help me?” Nancy asked.

“I thought you didn’t need my assistance,” he replied impulsively.

“Oh, Ned, it was just that I couldn’t explain everything to you about Mr. Wardell, and I’m afraid I can’t even now. But sometime I’ll be able to.”

“That doesn’t matter, Nancy. Just tell me what to do and I’ll try to carry out orders.”

“Ned, are you willing to substitute sleuthing for dancing tonight?”

CHAPTER XVI

The Hidden Note

MEANWHILE, at the Deer Mountain Hotel, George and Bess were wondering what had become of Nancy. They were pacing the lobby waiting for her. Finally she came in, and to their delight the three boys were with her.

“I didn’t mean to worry you,” Nancy apologized to the cousins. “I jumped from one thing to another so fast I forgot to leave word where I was going to be.”

Bess and George were enthusiastic tc have their favorite dates take them to the dance, and promptly forgave Nancy for the anxiety she had caused them.

The two girls hurried to their rooms to change. Ned, Burt, and Dave sat down in the lobby, while Nancy went to the desk to inquire for mail.

“Any letters for me?” she asked.

The desk clerk handed her two envelopes. One was plain, the other bore the hotel insigne. Nancy decided instantly that the latter was from Bartescue. She opened it and was not mistaken. It said:

I won my golf match today and hope the rain did not cause you to lose yours. Important business calls me away from the hotel, but I hope to see you before you return home.

“Important business,” Nancy mused as she tucked the letter into her pocket. “I wonder if it concerns Margaret Judson!”

She opened the second letter, and was astonished to learn that it was from the young woman she hoped to find that night. The typed message and signature read:

The bearer of this note said that you wish to see me. Please write your message and leave it tonight before nine o’clock in one hand of the fountain statue.

Margaret Judson

Nancy read the note a second time to be sure that she had fully absorbed its amazing contents, then turned to the desk clerk.

“Can you tell me who delivered this letter?”

“I was not on duty at the time, Miss Drew.”

Nancy wondered if the messenger could have been Bartescue. She would have to wait and ask the day clerk when he came on duty.

By this time Bess and George had returned. Before they went off with Burt and Dave, Nancy told them about the two notes. Afterward she showed Ned the one from Margaret Judson.

He grinned. “It looks as if your hunch is correct, Nancy. You may meet the mysterious lady before the evening is over.”

“Ned, let’s walk into the garden. I need a moment to figure out what to do. I’m not certain which statue Miss Judson means. It’s probably the large one at the rear of the hotel. I think that’s the only statue connected with a fountain.”

“Let’s look,” Ned suggested.

Without appearing to be particularly interested in the surroundings, the couple walked slowly about the hotel grounds. Finally they stopped at the fountain, pretending to watch the goldfish in its basin.

“I’ve decided to leave a blank sheet of paper here, Ned. I would write a note but I’m a little suspicious Margaret Judson didn’t send me that letter.”

“You think it’s a forgery?”

“It could be. I’d like to compare Miss Judson’s signature with the one on Mr. Haley’s photograph, but I won’t have time now to go back to the cabin.”

Ned looked at his watch. “No, I guess you won’t. It’s almost nine o’clock.”

“We must work quickly. Wait here, Ned, please.”

Nancy ran back into the hotel, but soon reappeared with a folded paper in her hand. The couple sat down on a nearby bench and waited until the grounds were deserted. Then Ned leaned across the stone basin of the fountain and placed the sheet of paper in the upraised hand of the marble figure.

“Now we’ll act as if we’re returning to the hotel,” Nancy whispered.

“Later,” said Ned, “we can sneak back here to see if anyone comes for the message.”

They retraced their steps to the hotel, walked through the lobby, and left by a side door. Selecting a bench which was screened from the fountain by huge bushes, they stationed themselves to wait.

Nine o’clock came, and no one appeared to take the message. An hour later a couple strolled past the fountain, but did not reach for the note.

“I’m beginning to think my piece of paper will never be claimed,” Nancy said with a sigh. “Ned, will you do me another favor?”

“You know I will.”

“This may sound silly, but I’d like you to drive me to the vicinity of Hemlock Hall.”

Nancy was convinced by this time that Margaret Judson was not coming to the Deer Mountain Hotel. She suspected that the mysterious note had been written by Bartescue.

“Haven’t you searched for Miss Judson at Hemlock Hall before?” Ned asked Nancy as the two rode along.

“Yes, but tonight I have a new idea. Maybe Margaret Judson has rented a home near the hotel. But she comes to Hemlock Hall once in a while. I want to interview various real-estate agents.”

“But their offices will be closed, Nancy.”

“I know, but we’ll call at their homes. Oh, Ned, I
must
find Margaret Judson tonight!”

Nancy set out with high hopes of calling on every real-estate agent in the small city of Crofton. As they tried one man after another, she learned nothing. Finally Nancy interviewed John Spencer, the last agent on her list.

“Why, yes,” he replied. “I rented a furnished house only this morning to a Miss Judson but I can’t recall her first name.”

When Nancy convinced him that the matter was of vital importance the realtor obligingly agreed to accompany the couple to his office. He and Nancy went inside. Mr. Spencer checked his records.

“Yes,” he said, “the house at 508 Elmwood Street was taken by a Margaret Judson. She signed a six-months’ lease.”

Nancy thanked him as she wrote down the address and how to find it. Then she hurried back to the car. The agent had given such precise directions for reaching Elmwood Street that Ned had no difficulty in locating the house. To Nancy’s disappointment it was in darkness.

“Perhaps Miss Judson has gone to bed,” Ned suggested, halting the car on the opposite side of the street.

“It’s possible she hasn’t moved in yet,” Nancy remarked.

“Suppose I run across the street and try the bell,” Ned offered.

As he started to open the car door, Nancy suddenly tugged his arm.

“Wait!” she whispered tensely.

A car with brilliant headlights came slowly down the street. The woman driver swung into the gravel driveway at 508.

“That must be Margaret Judson!” Nancy said excitedly. “After she’s inside we’ll knock.”

They watched the shadowy figure leave the car and enter the large white house. Soon the lower floor was flooded with light. The young woman closed the window blinds.

“Shall we go now?” Nancy suggested.

She and Ned went to the front door and pressed the doorbell. Presently they heard footsteps.

CHAPTER XVII

Big Mistake

“HERE comes Miss Judson,” Nancy whispered. “If she proves to be the one we want, let’s not tell her the real purpose of our visit.”

The door opened, and the same young woman Nancy had spoken to at Hemlock Hall peered out.

“Miss Judson?” Nancy asked.

“Yes.”

As a beam of light fell directly on the girl’s face, the young woman added, “Oh, I remember you. We met at Hemlock Hall. Do come in.”

Nancy introduced Ned and herself. The three walked into the colonial furnished living room and seated themselves.

“I’m afraid I have rather distressing news to report,” Nancy said. “I’m staying at Deer Mountain Hotel and became acquainted with a man who formerly worked at your estate.”

“Not Joe Haley?” Margaret Judson asked quickly.

“Yes. Mr. Haley was injured in an accident.” Nancy told the woman what had happened. “He mentioned you and pleaded to see you.”