(#44) The Clue in the Crossword Cipher (2 page)

“The center carvings are parts of words,” Nancy deduced. “I can barely make out some of the letters reading from the top down. They seem to be part of a crossword puzzle. Here, Carla, see what you can make out of it.”

The girl from Lima took the glass and gazed through it. Excitedly she exclaimed, “The first four letters down are
mono!
That is Spanish for monkey. I cannot make out anything else. The markings are too indistinct.”

“My precious heirloom!” Carla cried out. “It will be lost!”

Though Nancy felt she had made a start on solving the mystery, she realized there was a long way to go before discovering its real significance.

Hannah asked Nancy to set the table. Dinner was to be early because the housekeeper had a date to attend a nearby movie theater with a friend.

A few minutes later Mr. Drew came in. He was a trim, handsome man and a successful lawyer. After greeting Carla and hearing about the mystery, he smiled. “I knew it wouldn’t be long before Nancy would become involved with some enigma. This one sounds like a real challenge.”

“I believe the clue to it,” said Nancy, “is in the crossword cipher.”

Later, when it was time for Carla to go home, she suggested that Nancy keep the plaque and work on it.

Nancy’s eyes twinkled. “You have a lot of faith in me,” she said. “I’ll help you all I can before you go back to Lima. But please don’t be too disappointed if I don’t succeed.”

Suddenly Carla’s beautiful big brown eyes lighted up. “Nancy, I have an idea. Will you and your friends, Bess and George, come to South America with me? Then you would have more time to work on the mystery.”

“I’m sure I’ll need it. This is a marvelous invitation. Thank you. When do you leave?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

Nancy looked inquiringly at her father, but before he could speak, Carla went on, “Even if there were no mystery to solve, I would love to have you all visit me. Peru is a fascinating place. We have ancient Indian ruins, Spanish palaces, exotic things to buy and eat. Do come!”

“It certainly sounds exciting,” said Nancy. “I’d love to accept. What do you say, Dad?”

Mr. Drew looked at his daughter with amusement in his eyes. “How could I refuse? And I hope Bess and George can go along.” Nancy promised to call the girls early the next morning.

Presently she and her father left the house with Carla. They took the Peruvian girl back to the Renshaws, and after talking with them a few minutes, the Drews drove home.

“I’m going to work on that plaque a little more before I go to bed,” said Nancy. “But first, can I get you something to eat or drink, Dad?”

“No thanks,” he said. “I’d like to take a look at those strange markings myself.”

They walked into the dining room and turned on the light. Both stopped short. They had left the plaque on the table. Now it was gone!

CHAPTER II

A Bit of Judo

“CARLA’s precious plaque!” Nancy exclaimed. “It must have been stolen!”

As she berated herself for leaving the object in plain sight, Mr. Drew said, “Maybe Hannah put it away.”

“No, Dad. Hannah left the house first and I know the plaque was right here on the table when you and I went out.”

The lawyer patted his daughter on the shoulder. “This is more of a mystery than I thought it was going to be. I suppose it will delay your trip to Lima.”

“Oh, how can I tell Carla?” Nancy said, a catch in her voice. “But I’ll have to do it.”

As she started for the telephone, her father said, “Perhaps we should call the police first. But before we do that, let’s look around and see if anything else has been stolen.”

He and Nancy examined the drawer of silver-ware. Nothing was missing. They searched the rooms downstairs and those on the second floor. Nothing seemed to have been stolen.

Nancy and her father were about to telephone the police when they heard a key in the front-door lock and for a moment the two tensed. They were relieved when Hannah Gruen walked in.

“Hello,” she said cheerfully. “The movie was excellent. You must see it.” As she noted the glum faces of her employer and his daughter, she asked, “Is something the matter?”

“Oh, Hannah, the plaque has been stolen from the dining-room table!” Nancy told her.

The housekeeper, instead of looking shocked, remained calm. “I’m sorry I upset you,” she said. “During intermission I got to worrying that you might not have put the plaque away. Since Carla was followed and received that strange note about a cat, I hurried home and hid the plaque.”

She went directly to the bottom drawer of the dining-room buffet and pulled the object from beneath a pile of table mats.

Mr. Drew sat down in a chair and burst into laughter. “Hannah, you’re wiser and more sensible than either of us. Here I’m a lawyer and Nancy has quite a reputation as an amateur detective, and you’re the only one who thought of hiding this valuable old object.”

His laughter was so contagious that Nancy and Hannah joined in. Finally the housekeeper said, “I think this calls for a little celebration—a midnight snack. How about chocolate frosted apple-sauce cake and glasses of milk?”

“Sounds good,” said Nancy. “I’ll help you.”

The family lingered for half an hour, watching the late news on TV, then went to bed. Nancy slept soundly but was up early, determined to work on the crossword cipher. Using a Spanish dictionary, she tried to figure out what the missing letters might be, but finally gave up.

Nancy had just gone into the kitchen to start breakfast when Hannah Gruen came downstairs. By the time everything was ready, Mr. Drew appeared. Nancy told him of her fruitless attempt to solve the cipher.

He said with a smile, “But you won’t stop work on it yet!”

“No indeed,” Nancy replied.

After the lawyer had left for his office, she went to the phone to tell Bess Marvin and George Fayne of Carla’s invitation. Both girls were thrilled and said they would come as soon as possible to get more details.

George added, “I may be a little late. You know this is my morning for a judo lesson.”

Nancy laughed. “Be sure to learn something that will be useful in our detective work!”

George chuckled. “You mean like tossing a villain off a cliff?”

Two hours later Bess and George, who were cousins, arrived. Bess, a blond with attractive dimples, was slightly overweight and always being teased about it. Her slogan was, “I’ll start dieting tomorrow.”

George was the antithesis of her cousin. She was an attractive brunette with a slender figure, and was interested in many sports.

The two cousins were intrigued by the ancient plaque. Bess giggled. “I love that monkey on it—he’s so nice and awkward.”

“I’m more interested in the other side,” said George. “I wish all those letters weren’t missing.”

Nancy was about to hand her the magnifying glass when the front doorbell rang. She went to answer it. A man about thirty years old stood on the porch.

“Are you Miss Drew?”

“Yes.” At once the stranger turned back one side of his coat. Pinned to the lining was a badge, saying, “Detective, River Heights Police Department.”

“May I come in?” he asked.

As Nancy admitted him, he said, “My name is Harry Wallace. I have a court order for the plaque which you have.” From a pocket he produced a piece of paper to confirm his statement, but did not hand it to her to read.

Bess and George, overhearing the conversation, walked into the hall. Bess was carrying the plaque.

“But I don’t understand,” said Nancy. “Why would the police want this private property?”

Harry Wallace shrugged. “How should I know? When I get an order I just carry it out. Give me the plaque and I’ll be going.”

Nancy’s suspicions were aroused. She did not like the man’s looks nor the abrupt manner in which he was demanding the plaque.

Looking him straight in the eye, she said, “I’m not giving this to you without further proof. Please sit down while I telephone Chief McGinnis.”

Wallace’s eyes flashed. “Young lady,” he said angrily, “you’re entirely too fresh for your own good. You give me that plaque and no back talk!”

The next instant he grabbed it from Bess’s arms and made a dash for the front door. He did not get far. George, quick as a flash, stepped forward and with a neat flip tossed him over her shoulder. He landed backward on the carpet and lay there in utter astonishment.

Bess began to giggle and picked up the plaque, which had fallen to the floor. But Nancy was worried. She might be in trouble over what had happened. Suppose the man really was a police detective!

She helped Wallace up and escorted him to the front door. He went out meekly, saying nothing more about taking the plaque with him.

After the door was closed, George remarked, “Well, there wasn’t any cliff, but I hope you liked the way I tossed that villain out of our lives.”

Bess looked scared. “He may take revenge instead.”

Nancy said, “Wallace might even be the man who has been following Carla recently.”

“And sent that warning note about ‘the cat’?” Bess queried.

“Could be.”

Nancy immediately telephoned her friend Police Chief McGinnis. After telling him what had happened, Bess and George saw Nancy nodding her head in agreement as she listened. Finally she said, “He’s about thirty, dark-complexioned, has close-cut black hair, and is extremely thin.”

Presently the young sleuth said good-by and put down the phone. Turning to her friends, Nancy said, “Harry Wallace is a phony. He’s not on the detective squad. Chief McGinnis is going to put out an alarm for him at once. By the way, George,” she said with a grin, “the chief thanks you for using a little judo on that impostor.”

“Hypers!” George cried, rubbing her hands together gleefully. “The first villain in this mystery. I wonder how many more we’ll encounter.”

Bess quickly spoke up. “I hope he’s the only one. I want to help solve the crossword cipher mystery, but I can get along without people like him!”

Later that day Bess and George telephoned Nancy to tell her they had received permission from their parents to go to Lima. Carla was overjoyed when she heard the good news.

“We will have a marvelous time,” she promised.

Fortunately, Nancy and the cousins had passports. Mr. Drew made the arrangements for the flight. The girls would leave early the following morning from River Heights and fly to New York City. From there they would take a jetliner to South America.

“With Harry Wallace at large,” he said, “I think it would be best if you girls leave River Heights unobtrusively.”

“How can we do that?” Nancy asked.

“By staying at the airport motel tonight. Bess’s and George’s families can drive them separately and should be sure they’re not being followed. Carla’s uncle can take her to the motel and you—” Mr. Drew grinned. “I believe Ned Nickerson is coming here this evening?”

Nancy blushed. Ned was a special friend who attended Emerson College.

“Yes, Ned is coming to have dinner with us. He’ll be glad to take me to the airport.”

The tall, good-looking football player arrived at six o’clock. After warm greetings he said to Nancy, “So you’re taking off again to solve another mystery. Can’t you fix things so I could go along?”

Nancy smiled. “I wish I could. Now I have to depend on George and her judo to take care of troublemakers.”

She had already packed for the trip and was free to spend the entire evening with Ned until it was time to join her friends at the motel. He tried his hand at deciphering the puzzle on the plaque but finally gave up.

“If you can solve this one, and keep out of trouble with Carla’s pursuers and ‘the cat,’ ” he remarked, “you ought to get a vote of thanks from the Peruvian government!” Nancy laughed.

At ten o’clock she said good-by to Hannah Gruen and her father. The housekeeper begged Nancy to be careful and the lawyer said, “No instructions from me, my dear, but you know that I wish you success and I’ll be looking forward to your return.”

When Nancy and Ned reached the airport motel, he carried her two bags into the lobby. One contained the plaque and Nancy said that she would carry that suitcase. “I’ll check the other one.”

As Ned bid her good-by and looked straight at her, Nancy detected a wistful look in his eyes. He said, “My thoughts are repetitions of your father’s and Hannah’s combined.” He took both her hands in his and added, “You will come back safely, won’t you?” He kissed her.

“I promise,” Nancy answered, and waited until he drove off. Then a porter carried her bags to the room which she would share with Carla.

The Peruvian girl, as well as Bess and George, were already there. Bess teased Nancy. “I thought maybe you’d change your mind about going to Peru when Ned showed up.”

Nancy smiled. She did not reply, because at that moment the telephone rang.

Carla’s heart sank. “Oh, somebody has found out where we are! Maybe El Gato!”

Nancy answered the phone, disguising her voice. A man at the other end of the line said, “Police headquarters calling. Is this Miss Drew? Chief McGinnis wants to talk to you.”

Nancy did not admit who she was but merely said, “Please put him on.”