Nancy Clue Mysteries 2 - The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend (14 page)

She next emptied her jewelry box onto the bed. She held up her sparkling emerald pendant and earring set. "These were my coming-out present from Great Uncle Cedwick Clue, the industrialist and railroad magnate. I'll bet we'd get a pretty penny for them. Just as a last resort," she added quickly when she saw the frown on Cherry's face.

Her late great-uncle, a lifelong bachelor with exquisite taste in clothing, had been particularly fond of his great-niece and showered her with many lovely things, including frocks and shoes it had been his pleasure to select.

The thought of parting with Uncle Cedwick's gems brought tears to her eyes. Still, she would do whatever she had to do to get home to Hannah. "I may very well have to sell these come morning," Nancy realized. She separated her truly good pieces from her costume accessories, wrapped the genuine gems in a clean handkerchief, and put the bundle on the bedside table. "Later I'll polish each piece; that way, I'm sure to get more for them," she schemed, taking care not to let Cherry see what she was doing.

Midge next emptied her small, beat-up leather valise onto the bed. "One tee-shirt, my leather jacket, a pair of government-issue handcuffs, an ace bandage, and a can of Butch Wax." A quick search of her pockets revealed one worn fivedollar bill, two dimes, and a rumpled man's white cotton handkerchief smeared with lipstick.

Cherry giggled when she saw the soiled handkerchief. "Midge, I didn't know you wore lipstick," she teased.

"Only inadvertently," Midge explained, a grin lighting up her handsome face.

"Let's see what I've got in the bank," Velma said, reaching into her bra for her folding money. "Unfortunately, it's not much," she sighed, producing four one-dollar bills. She shook out her purse. Two lipsticks, a cake of black eyeliner, a small tin of eye shadow, a small vial of luscious smelling perfume, and a compact tumbled out.

Cherry dumped the contents of her purse on the bed. "I don't think I have any money left," she said. "But it's worth a look. Goodness, my purse is a mess!" she cried, as she sifted through the jumble of objects that had come pouring out of the smart patent-leather bag.

Lauren immediately pounced on a small, red vinyl zippered case. "This looks keen-what is it?"

"That's my sewing kit," Cherry explained. "Phew! I thought I had lost it yesterday after I finished sewing a rip in Velma's blouse. Midge, I don't know if you realize it, but you've lost a button," she told her chum. "Luckily, this kit has white and black thread, a little scissors, a seam-ripper, and a jar of shirt buttons. I'll fix it later. And here's my trusty Girl Scout compass! " Cherry cried in delight, picking up a little leather case and snapping it open. "I always keep it in my purse, just in case I get lost or someone asks me directions.

"I've got a spool of dental floss and a whole bag of travel toothbrushes. I purchased five of them yesterday in case any of you lose yours. So don't be shy!" she cautioned them. "Dental hygiene is an important key to good health!" she cried, staring directly at Lauren.

"Let's see what else I have," she said. "I've got a glasses repair kit; I don't wear them but so many people do. Here's the stylish manicure kit my mother gave me for Christmas. It's got everything you need for a professional manicure, all contained in this nifty brown leather-look case. If anyone wants to borrow it, you may. Just warn me, so I can sterilize it later," Cherry added. "Oh, look!" she cried, holding up a can of White-ola Shoe Polish. "Nurses must look their best at all times; it inspires confidence and trust in our patients," she declared. "That's why I always carry a bottle of all-purpose stain remover, too, which has come in handy many a time in the last two weeks.

"Here are my stamps in case I ever get any time to write to my nurse chums," she sighed. "I promised practically every nurse I know a postcard from San Francisco, and I've been so busy I haven't had time to send even one to my roommate, Nurse Cassie Case, an attractive girl with a winning smile and a ready grin."

"What's this?" Lauren asked, picking up a small pink plastic envelope the size of a comb.

"That's my collapsible plastic rain bonnet. See?" Cherry took the bonnet out of its cover and showed Lauren how it unfolded to make a nifty full-size hairdo shield.

"What's in your firstaid kit?" Lauren wondered, quickly bored with the rain bonnet.

Cherry opened the white metal travel kit with its striking red cross emblazoned on the front. "Here's my lightweight cartrip uniform and a spare nurse's cap in case I'm called to duty. This is my snake-bite kit," she said, opening a cardboard box to reveal razor blades and a pamphlet describing the deadly vipers. "According to my Nurse's Guide to Snakes, there are many different kinds of deadly reptiles in Wyoming," Cherry shivered.

"Lauren, don't open that package of wooden tongue blades! " Cherry cried, snatching the paper package away from the young girl just in the nick of time. "They're sterile! And put down my blood-transfusion kit!" she cried, taking two small plastic bags that resembled deflated hot-water bottles away from Lauren. Attached to each was a slender rubber hose.

"These are not toys," Cherry admonished her. "This is specialized equipment that could save numerous lives! Nurses aren't required to carry blood-transfusion kits, but I always do," Cherry explained. "In case we come across a highway accident, I want to be fully prepared.

"This is a rectal thermometer, Lauren," she said, showing her a glass tube encased in protective plastic. "It's been a godsend in the medical world. Its accuracy can't be beat." Lauren's brown eyes grew big with wonder. Cherry could see she had really made an impression on the girl.

"What else do you have in there, Cherry?" Midge wanted to know.

Cherry was pleased that all her chums were paying close attention to her little lecture. She felt downright important as she explained all the items in her well-stocked firstaid kit. "Here's an ice bag, good for bringing down high temperatures or providing cooling relief for a headache."

"Or a hangover," Midge half joked, looking Nancy's way.

Cherry frowned and ignored her. "Here's a pad of paper and pencil for making patient notes, sterile gauze and tape, an assortment of bandages, bottles of tannic acid, a small supply of rubbing alcohol in case anyone wants a refreshing rubdown later," she looked longingly at Nancy, who was too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice. Cherry continued her inventory. "I've got milk of magnesia for stomach upsets, mercurochrome for cleaning scrapes, spirits of ammonia for fainting spells, table salt and baking soda used in treating shock and as a protectant against radiation, too, and water purification pills.

"This is a bar of strong soap for scrubbing one's hands squeaky-clean," Cherry pointed out, holding up a small, paper-wrapped rectangular bar. "A good scrubbing, and then on with the rubber gloves, and you're ready for any physical examination! "

She showed them a little plastic kit containing a vial filled with clear fluid, and six small, sharp syringes. "This is precious bee-sting serum," Cherry said. "We owe a debt of gratitude to the hearty bee, who works so hard to pollinate our beautiful flowers, but one prick to an allergic person could spell certain death!"

"Oh!" the girls chorused.

"What's this?" Midge wondered, picking up a small vial of pink pills.

"That's Valium, Midge. It works wonders!" Cherry replied. She smiled when she saw Midge's eyes light up. "Sorry, Midge, I can only dispense this under the instructions of a doctor," she warned.

"Shouldn't these be in your sewing kit?" Lauren asked, pointing to a small packet of needles. "Those are for closing a deep gash," Cherry explained. "Oh!" she cried when she came across a stray razor blade. "This should really be in my snake bite kit," Cherry mused. "In case someone is bitten, I'd use this blade to make a series of shallow cuts in their skin and suck on the wound for at least 30 minutes," she explained.

"Nursing is really keen!" Lauren cried.

Cherry beamed with pride. She took pleasure in her profession, with its many selfless acts. She hoped that she could lead many young girls into her rewarding way of life. Maybe Lauren would be one of them!

Nancy sifted through the objects on the bed. "If we need to operate, we're in luck," she joked. "But we still need money. Lauren, what's in your purse?"

Lauren scowled. "I wouldn't be caught dead carrying a purse," she said scornfully, "especially with this cool pocket in the front of my overalls." She leaned over the bed and a handful of objects spilled out.

"This is our last chance to find something," Nancy said as she eagerly looked through Lauren's collection of assorted junk. "A slingshot. Marbles. Notebook and pencils. Two miniature plastic dogs-a collie and a boxer, I believe. One... two... three..." Nancy counted under her breath. "Seventy-seven cents. A crumpled pack of cigarettes-same brand Midge smokes. Matchbooks from every diner and soda shop we've been to. Plus three stainless-steel butter knives."

"You're not smoking, are you?" Cherry gasped. "Smoking is a disgusting habit that causes your teeth to yellow, not to mention the damage it does to fine fabrics." Although she was directing her comments to Lauren, she was glaring at Midge. "And why on earth do you have these knives?" Cherry picked up a utensil and examined it closely. "Why, these are from the diner where we had supper tonight. Lauren! You're smoking and stealing? What next? Mayhem and murder? Young lady, you are going to march right back to that diner and return these," Cherry commanded.

"Yeah, and exchange them for real silver ones we can sell," Midge joked. Midge quit kidding around when she saw the expression on Cherry's face. She could tell she was in for a scolding, too.

But before Cherry could light into Midge, Nancy noticed a bulge in Lauren's front pocket. "What's that?" she asked. Lauren took out a dull brownish yellow rock three inches in diameter. "That looks like gold!" Cherry cried in delight, momentarily diverted.

"That's just a junky piece of iron pyrite. I already have tons of it," Lauren explained. She tossed it into the metal wastebasket between the beds.

"That's it, then," Midge announced. "In addition to the twenty-four dollars in our travel kitty, we've got eighteen dollars and thirty-nine cents, Cherry's watch, and your gold compact, Nancy." But Nancy wasn't listening. She was staring at the wastebasket with the queerest expression on her face.

"Did you hear the thud that rock made when it hit the metal?" she asked, almost to herself. She got off the bed and fished it out of the wastebasket. "If I remember correctly, gold is heavier than iron pyrite," she murmured. Suddenly her eyes lit up with excitement. "This rock may be gold!" Nancy exclaimed. "Gold and iron pyrite look an awful lot alike; that's why pyrite is often called 'fool's gold.' I learned how to identify precious gems during The Case of the Genuine Gimcrack," she added.

"Cherry, do you have any aqua regia in that firstaid kit of yours?" Nancy half-joked. "Plus a high heat source, like a blow torch or a Bunsen burner?"

"No, but those are certainly excellent suggestions; I must remember to pick them up," Cherry replied.

Nancy furrowed her pretty brow. "If only we had a scale, or a way to fashion one out of nearby materials." Her keen eyes swept the room, searching for the raw materials necessary for her experiment. She grabbed a wire coat hanger from the closet and set to work fashioning a crude weighing device.

The girls gathered around as the determined sleuth worked feverishly on her contraption. What was Nancy up to?

Soon she had fashioned a makeshift scale. She then removed the powder from two compacts and attached them to the wire using clip-on earrings to connect the two.

"These compacts, when open, make handy measuring plates," she smiled. "And these will do for weights," she remarked as she twisted off the clasp of her opera-length strand of pearls and started piling beads on one side of the scale. While she worked, she explained her experiment.

"It's so obvious, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner," Nancy said with a smile. "It's simple. Since we all know the specific gravity of gold is nineteen point three, all we have to do is calculate the specific gravity of this rock, and if it happens to be nineteen point three, or close therein, we've found gold!

"We can determine the specific gravity by weighing the rock in the air and then by weighing it once again, this time submerged in water. All we really need is a uniform measure of weight. Luckily, I have this long strand of small pearls which will do nicely as a counterweight. See?"

"Oh yeah," Midge joked. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Sometimes the simplest solution is right under our noses, Midge," Cherry comforted her.

The girls watched breathlessly as Nancy piled pearls on the scale, then raced to the washroom to reenact the very same experiment in the sink. Would the rock reveal itself to be gold?