(#15) The Haunted Bridge (5 page)

“The lid on this mystery chest is stubborn,” Nancy remarked

Nancy explained that the girl in the flower shop had written the note which accompanied her roses.

“Barty seems to be afraid someone will recognize his handwriting,” Bess remarked. “Do you suppose he’s a fugitive?”

“He seems to have plenty of money and apparently doesn’t work,” Nancy replied. “Still, it never occurred to me that he might be a criminal.”

“Why don’t you wear one of Barty’s flowers, Nancy?” Bess suggested. “It would set off your dress beautifully.”

“But I don’t like him,” Nancy protested.

“Oh, probably he won’t even be in the dining room. Flowers are flowers, Nancy. Here, let me pin a rose on you,” George insisted.

Nancy finally gave in. She hid the chest under the bed, and the girls left their rooms, each wearing a rose.

Since Mr. Drew had not returned to the hotel the girls planned to eat alone. They were led by the headwaiter to a pleasant table near a window.

“Oh, there’s Barty,” Nancy murmured to George as she noticed him seated alone at a table nearby. “Don’t let on you see him.”

It was impossible to avoid the man, however, because he immediately got up and came over to them. When he saw that Nancy was wearing one of his roses, the glance he bestowed on her was more than just friendly.

“May I join you?” he asked. Then, without waiting for a reply, he seated himself in the empty chair beside Nancy.

During dinner Bartescue enjoyed himself thoroughly. He idled over his food as he recounted his fantastic adventures in Africa. Nancy suspected that he had never been there.

Finally the meal came to an end. With feelings of relief the girls left the dining room. Bartescue followed.

“Of course you’re staying downstairs for the dancing,” he said to Nancy.

“No, I must see the doctor. He’s going to examine my hand again and give his verdict on whether or not I can play in the tournament.”

“You are very courageous. Few players would attempt it with such an injury.”

Nancy made no comment. She gave a polite smile of farewell and moved away.

As Dr. Aikerman examined her injured hand, the three girls waited in anxious silence. He asked Nancy a question or two regarding the pain.

“Only one finger is stiff now,” she replied. “Please say I can play.”

CHAPTER VI

The Caddy’s Clue

“WELL, young lady,” Dr. Aikerman said to Nancy, “I see you’ve set your heart on playing.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll permit you to play on one condition. You must not remove this bandage.”

Nancy frowned slightly. How could she hope to make a low score with one hand bandaged?

“I agree,” she replied reluctantly.

“And another thing,” the doctor added. “If your hand begins paining after you’ve started to play, you must default the match. Otherwise I won’t be responsible for your case.”

“I promise,” Nancy murmured.

The girls were rather subdued as they went to their rooms.

“I don’t think you should try to play in the tournament,” Bess declared. “If you don’t participate, people will realize it’s because of your injured hand. It’s no disgrace to default.”

“But I want to play,” Nancy replied. “My mind is made up.”

“Then,” George said, “if you’re determined to do it, the best thing is to go to bed and get all the rest you can.”

“I have work to do before I go to sleep,” Nancy announced. With a nod she indicated the carved brass chest under the bed.

“Let Bess and me try to open it,” George urged. “Here, give me that spiked shoe, Nancy. You’re apt to hurt your hand again.”

Eagerly the cousins took turns prying at the stubborn lid of the mysterious chest.

Finally Bess exclaimed, “It’s loosening! Yes, it’s coming! Nancy, you shall have the honor of opening the chest.”

“It may be filled with worthless things.” Nancy laughed, but her hand trembled with excitement as she slowly raised the lid.

The girls stared into the interior, their eyes fastened in awe on the amazing contents. Nancy was the first to recover from her astonishment.

“It’s almost unbelievable!” she murmured in a half-whisper. “I never dreamed that the chest contained anything like this!”

The carved brass case was filled to the top with jewelry. Even a casual glance assured Nancy and her friends that the pieces were genuine. There were necklaces of rubies, emeralds and turquoise, also rings with unusual settings and many other gold and silver pieces.

“All this must be worth a fortune,” Bess murmured. “Nancy, you’ll be rich!”

“The jewelry isn’t mine just because I found it.”

“But the owner may never be located,” George said hopefully as she lifted a silver bracelet from the chest. “Isn’t this gorgeous?”

Nancy was attracted by an emerald necklace, but as she started to lift it from the chest she saw an object beneath it which was of far greater interest to her. The article was a jeweled compact!

Eagerly she picked up the gleaming container and opened it. A tiny picture was fitted into the lower half of the mirror! As Nancy showed it to her friends, Bess declared, “It’s the photo of a child.”

“Evidently it was ruined by water,” George observed. “This looks like the picture of a little girl.”

George and Bess could not imagine why Nancy should consider the discovery so important. She was tempted to tell them of her father’s search for the possessor of just such an article. But recalling that the secret was not hers to reveal, she remained silent.

“Nancy, you don’t seem pleased over all this treasure,” Bess remarked as she and George continued to examine the beautiful pieces.

“I was just thinking—” Nancy answered absently. “I must show Dad the chest as soon as he returns to the hotel.”

Shortly after eleven o’clock the girls heard Mr. Drew enter his room directly across the hall. Nancy lost no time in showing her father the carved brass chest. She threw open the lid, enjoying his look of amazement as he beheld the dazzling display of gems.

“Nancy, have you robbed a jewelry store?” he teased.

His daughter laughed and explained briefly how the chest had come into her possession. She climaxed the startling story by thrusting the jeweled compact into his hand.

“Dad, could this be the article we’ve been trying to trace?”

Carson Drew carefully examined the gleaming object.

“It certainly fits the description. And there’s no question about the quality of the jewelry.”

“Dad, the chest may have been hidden by a member of the gang of thieves.”

“Yes, that’s very possible. This discovery may change all our plans.”

“And to complicate them, it will be harder to track down the mysterious woman since she won’t be carrying the telltale compact.”

Carson Drew gave a sigh and suppressed a yawn. He said, “If this compact belongs to her—yes. We have no other clue. Suppose I keep this jewelry in my possession until I communicate with New York City detectives. I’ll telephone immediately and give a description of every piece in the chest. Possibly they can identify the jewelry as stolen property.”

Before saying good night, Nancy told her father that she was scheduled to play in the first round of the golf tournament the following day. Then she kissed him and went off to bed.

Nine o’clock the next morning Nancy was waiting at the first tee for Miss Amy Gray, whose name had been drawn with her own for the initial match.

Bess and George were on hand to see their friend’s first drive. They had decided against following her over the course, fearing that their presence might prove distracting. Nancy had arranged for Chris to caddy for her. He smiled encouragingly as she took a few practice swings.

“How does your hand feel?” George inquired.

“Oh, fine,” Nancy answered.

Amy Gray, about thirty and slightly plump, soon arrived with her caddy. She drove a ball which sped two hundred yards straight down the fairway. Calmly Nancy stepped to the tee and sent her own ball within a few feet of that of her opponent.

Bess and George were delighted at the beautiful shot. From the first tee, they watched the pair play the hole and were almost certain that Nancy had won by a stroke.

“She’s starting off pretty well even if her hand does bother her,” Bess declared gleefully.

Amy Gray was an able player and did not waste strokes. She took the second hole and the third, leaving Nancy on the defensive. After that, it was a grim fight with first one player having the advantage, then the other. Finally when Amy shot a ball into the river on the fifteenth fairway Nancy knew that she herself would win the match.

“You’re playing a beautiful game,” Amy congratulated her.

“I’m afraid my final score won’t be as low as I’d like,” Nancy replied. “That is, not unless I make pars on the last three holes. Number sixteen isn’t my favorite, either.”

She smiled significantly at Chris, who averted his eyes in embarrassment. He was still ashamed because he had refused to search for her lost ball near the haunted bridge.

Nancy sent a long ball flying down the fairway, and was glad it did not enter the woods. As she walked along with her caddy, she told him she had investigated the ravine.

“Your bridge has no ghost, Chris.”

“But I’ve seen the—the thing moving about,” the boy said defensively.

“What you saw through the trees was a white scarecrow.”

“A scarecrow?” He laughed. “Well, that’s a good joke on me and the other guys. We were sure it was a ghost because we could hear the thing screaming. How do you explain that?”

“I can’t yet, Chris,” said Nancy, “But I’m sure that the screams are not supernatural.”

The boy looked doubtful. “I’m sorry I wouldn’t look for your lost ball the other day,” he apologized. “If I were sure you’re right about the ghost I’d search for it later.”

Nancy smiled in amusement because she saw that Chris was torn by conflicting emotions. He wanted to find the golf ball, but he could not rid himself of the fear he felt about looking for it.

Nancy said, “I’d especially like to recover that ball because it was autographed by Jimmy Harlow.”

“Wow, no wonder you want to get it back,” Chris murmured enviously. “I’ll look for it.”

“Have you always lived near Deer Mountain Hotel?” Nancy asked him as they were walking together toward the last hole.

“Sure.” Chris grinned. “All my life.”

“Then you must know nearly everyone for miles around. Tell me, did you ever hear of a house near the hotel that burned recently?”

The caddy looked slightly puzzled a moment, then he smiled.

“Oh, you must mean the Judson mansion. It stood over there.”

With a sweep of his arm, Chris pointed back toward the woods. He said, “It was kind of close to the bridge—on the other side of the ravine. It burned more than two years ago in the middle of the night. No one knew how the fire started.”

“You say a family named Judson lived in the house?”

“Not a family. Only Miss Margaret Judson.”

“And is she an old lady?” Nancy inquired.

“Oh, no, she’d be about twenty-three or four now. Her parents died, and she was engaged to marry some guy—a professor at a college near here. But they never did get married. After the fire she ran away and no one heard much about her after that.”

“It was odd that she disappeared directly after the fire,” Nancy remarked.

“Yes, but the Judsons were strange. My mother could tell you a lot more about the family.”

Nancy was elated. This was the first tangible clue she had had to the identity of the young woman with whom she had talked at Hemlock Hall. Would Chris’s mother be able to tell her more regarding Margaret Judson—facts perhaps which would connect her with the brass chest discovered near her former home?

“Where do you and your mother live?” Nancy asked the caddy.

Chris gave his address and Nancy wrote it down. “I’ll go to see her,” she said.

CHAPTER VII

Ravine Riddle

NANCY played brilliantly on the eighteenth hole. Her hand had not pained her. Fortunately the bandage had not hampered the young golfer in driving the ball or using the putter to tap it into the cup.

Bess and George were waiting at the eighteenth green when Nancy and her opponent ended the round. They approached their friend the instant Amy Gray was out of hearing, and congratulated Nancy on winning the match.

“We knew you’d do it,” Bess declared proudly. “Tomorrow you’ll take the second round, and then you’ll be well on your way to the championship!”

“It won’t be easy,” Nancy replied. “The second match is always harder than the first, because you’re facing a better player.”

“How was your score?” George asked.

“Not very good. I came in with an eighty. I must get down into the low seventies or under to win.”

“You can do it, Nancy,” Bess said confidently. “How about lunch, girls?”

“Great,” Nancy agreed. “If we have it early maybe we won’t run into Barty.”

The three girls were relieved to find the hotel dining room practically deserted. After enjoying a leisurely meal they wandered out-of-doors. Nancy’s gaze roved toward the sixteenth fairway.

“You’re not considering more golf?” George asked in surprise.

Nancy shook her head. “Eighteen holes is enough for me today. Chris was telling me about an old mansion which burned a couple of years ago. Miss Margaret Judson, the owner, lived there. The place is over in the general direction of the bridge. Let’s hike to it.” She chuckled. “Maybe we’ll find another lost treasure.”

Though the idea of the trek did not appeal to Bess, she and George agreed to accompany Nancy. The three were cutting across the fairway of the eighteenth hole when they encountered Bartescue.

“Hello,” he called. “Where are you going?”

“Oh, on a little hike,” Nancy replied as he fell into step with them.