Drew 17 - The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk (15 page)

“There is no charge and we’re not arresting you,” replied Mr. Carson. “But the Dutch police have informed us that they have reason to believe that you, Nelda Detweiler, smuggled a diamond bracelet into Holland and sold it there with the help of Nancy Drew!”

“But that’s ridiculous,” Nancy put in. “Nelda and I didn’t even meet until we were aboard ship!”

“Miss Detweiler,” the FBI man went on, ignoring Nancy’s outburst, “didn’t you get in trouble with a jewelry store in Johannesburg?”

“I was falsely accused of stealing a diamond bracelet. But it was straightened out before I left,” Nelda was close to tears.

Nancy put an arm around the distressed girl, and said to Mr. Carson, “This is a dreadful mistake, and I think I know who’s behind it!”

“Suppose you tell me your side of the story,” Carson said.

“Nelda and I met on board the
Winschoten
and shared a cabin with two other friends of mine,” Nancy began. “A trunk was delivered to us with the initials N.D. on it, but it belonged neither to Nelda nor me. Since it had no tags, the captain and we opened it, trying to find out which passenger it belonged to.”

“And did you?”

“No, there were no clues. But meanwhile we have a strong suspicion. Also, we found lots of gems and diamond jewelry hidden cleverly in concealed compartments of the trunk. They’re now in the captain’s safe.”

The FBI men looked at each other. “Well, that’s interesting news,” Carson said. “I suppose the captain notified customs authorities here in New York?”

“Yes, he did,” Nancy continued. “And the state department. There were stolen secret papers in the trunk too.”

“What secret papers?”

“Reports on a new diamond mine that was found in South Africa,” Nelda explained.

The FBI man whistled. “You made quite a discovery! Go ahead with your story, please.”

“There are two men on board,” Nancy went on, “who have been after the mystery trunk ever since we left Rotterdam. They did not claim it officially, probably because they were afraid. They used the finger alphabet to communicate with each other, obviously because they wanted to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. One is named Otto August, but I don’t know the name of the other man.”

“Are they still aboard?” Carson’s assistant questioned.

“Yes. My two friends who shared our cabin are watching them.”

Nelda said, “It must have been Otto August or one of his confederates who tried to get Nancy and me in trouble with the FBI.”

“Of course,” Nancy agreed. She told the agents about the man who saw Otto August off in Rotterdam and signaled to him in finger language to beware of Nancy Drew and NE.

“He probably informed the Dutch government of this trumped-up charge to get us out of the way, so August could claim his trunk without interference from us.”

“Of course he didn’t know that we had already found all the jewels and papers,” Nelda added.

“I believe you’re telling the truth,” Mr. Carson said. “But you understand that we’ll have to stay with you until your story is proved.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to wait long,” Nancy said. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you where the mystery trunk is.

She led the men toward the unloading dock. After some searching, she found the strange trunk in the D section.

“There it is,” she pointed. “And mine is over here. You see how much alike they are?”

“You’re right,” Carson admitted.

“August is coming down the gangplank,” Nelda said. “Bess and George are right behind him.”

“I think he should not see you two girls until he has claimed his trunk,” Mr. Carson said. “We won’t be able to nab him without proof, and he might be afraid to go ahead if you’re here. Come on, let’s get behind that pillar over there. Quick!”

He pulled the girls with him, and his assistant followed. From their hiding place they observed Otto August and his friend reach the end of the gangplank and glance around the pier. Then they walked directly to the D section.

“This is my trunk,” August announced to the customs inspector, laying his hand on the unmarked piece.

“Do you have a claim check?” the customs man asked.

“Of course,” August said and produced the ticket.

“But this trunk has no identification,” the man objected.

“I have the key for it. Here, I’ll prove it to you.” August produced the key and unlocked the trunk.

“Okay,” the man said. “What are you declaring?”

“Nothing. All I have in there are old costumes. I sometimes do amateur acting.”

At this moment Nancy, Nelda, and the two FBI men walked up. Bess and George also arrived at the scene.

“Good morning, Mr. August,” Nancy said.

The suspect looked startled, but returned the greeting. Then he said to the customs official, “The initials on the trunk are my wife’s. It’s an old one and she never bothered to have them changed.”

“Is she with you?”

“No, I’m traveling alone.”

“What is your name, sir?”

“Otto August.”

“Mr. August, would you please open your trunk?”

The man produced the key again and did as he was told. When he threw back the lid he gasped. “Someone has been in here!” he screamed. “All the lining has been torn off!”

“We know, Mr. August,” the customs man said evenly. “We also know what you had hidden in there. You’re under arrest for trying to smuggle diamonds and other jewels and stolen government papers into the United States!”

August paled, and his friend, who had been standing behind him, tried to sneak away unobtrusively. But the customs officials arrested him as an accomplice and snapped handcuffs on both men before they had a chance to escape.

“This is ridiculous,” August exploded. “If there were smugglers on board, you should have investigated them. I have nothing incriminating in my trunk, and you can’t pin this rap on me!”

The customs official paid no attention to his outburst. He proceeded to remove the clothes from the trunk. First came a pair of overalls with paint spots on them. He was about to lay them aside, when something caught his attention. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a wig and a black curly beard.

“Wait a minute!” Nelda cried out. She stared at the beard, then at Otto August. “Would you please put this disguise on the suspect?” she asked the customs man.

He held the beard against August’s face while Nancy slipped the wig on his head. The infuriated prisoner tried to prevent them from doing it, but without success.

“Now I recognize him!” Nelda exclaimed. “He’s the thief who stole the diamonds from the jewelry shop in Johannesburg. Oh, Nancy, all this time he was right on board the
Winschoten
with us!”

“And he didn’t know whether you recognized him or not,” Nancy added. “That’s why he didn’t claim his trunk. He saw it brought into our cabin, and noticed you standing there when he looked in the open door. So he complained to the porter, and when the porter asked August to identify his piece, the suspect disappeared because he would have to do it in your presence!”

“Did you find the bracelet you were accused of stealing in this trunk, Miss Detweiler?” the FBI man Carson asked.

Nelda shook her head. “No, we didn’t.”

Nancy had a sudden hunch. She knew it was a wild idea, but she asked the customs man to pull the brass trimmings off the mystery trunk.

“That’s one place we didn’t examine,” she said. “It’s possible something is hidden under them.”

Despite Otto August’s protest the customs official took a chisel from his pocket and slowly raised one of the brass trimmings. There was nothing under it.

“This is preposterous!” August shouted. “I insist you stop wrecking my trunk!”

The customs man paid no attention. He deftly inserted the chisel under the second brass binding. As it fell off, an exquisite diamond bracelet came with it!

Nelda picked it up and turned it in her hands. “This is the one!” she cried out. “The one I was accused of stealing. Oh, Nancy, now I’ve been exonerated.”

Otto August’s face had become very pale and his friend was so weak he had to sit down on a nearby packing box. Nancy examined the tag on the bracelet. It was from a Johannesburg jeweler! She showed it to the FBI and customs officials.

Carson said, “This is the most important find we’ve made in a long time. We’ll dub it the finger-language gang heist.”

“These people also broke into our cabin and wrecked it,” Nancy said. “And they threw Nelda and me overboard two nights ago.”

August and his companion did not confess, but they did not deny the accusation either.

“Just tell me one more thing,” Nancy asked the jewel thief. “On deck one day I picked up another part of a finger language message, ‘Crew can help find necklace.’ Whom did you refer to?”

August looked thoroughly beaten. “That had nothing to do with the
Winschoten,”
he mumbled, but would say no more.

At this moment Rod Havelock walked up to the group. He asked Mr. Carson to accompany him to the captain’s quarters. “We’ll have to get the jewels and the documents out of his safe,” Rod said, “and turn them over to the customs people.”

“Of course,” Carson replied.

Nancy turned to the FBI men. “I suppose this is all the proof you need to let us go?”

“Certainly. And let me commend you on having done a terrific job, Miss Drew.”

The men said good-by and left just as Otto August and his friend were led away. A police officer went to collect the other luggage of the two men, who would be taken to headquarters.

Nancy’s trunk was now examined along with her friends’ luggage and okayed. A few minutes later the girls followed two porters who were wheeling their bags to the exit.

Directly on the other side of the visitors’ fence stood three smiling boys, Ned, Burt, and Dave!

The girls received warm hugs and kisses, then Nelda was introduced. She said, “You boys are very lucky to have such marvelous girls as friends. They have done me a tremendous favor and cleared me of a false-theft charge, and they captured two criminals.”

Ned laughed. “This doesn’t surprise me in the least,” he said. “Wherever Nancy goes, intrigue follows.”

“I hope we will see one another soon,” Nelda said. “But now I must leave you. I see relatives over there who have come to meet me.”

Nancy, Bess, and George were sorry to see Nelda go. Would they ever have such an exciting time again with a roommate who started out as a stranger to them?

It was not long, however, before Nancy and her friends were involved in another case, later called
Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion.

As the young people walked toward the new Nickerson station wagon, Nancy said, “There’s only one thing we haven’t been able to find out.”

“What’s that?” Bess asked.

“Who ripped the stickers off August’s trunk?”

“Maybe they came off in handling,” George suggested.

“I doubt that,” Nancy said. “Usually they’re pasted on quite firmly. But I have a theory. What do you think about this? The two trunks are standing in the loading area. Along comes someone with mischief on his mind. He sees the similarity in the luggage and figures if he takes the stickers off he can cause some confusion.”

“But then why did he remove them from one trunk and not the other?” George asked.

“Perhaps he was interrupted and had to run off.”

“That’s possible,” George agreed. “And whom do you suspect?”

For a moment there was silence, then all three girls broke out in laughter. “Young Bobby. Who else?” Nancy chuckled.

“And you’re right! Ha, ha!” said a little boy’s voice as the mischievous youngster ran past them, swinging his skateboard.