The Clue In The Old Stagecoach Part 14

"There's no question the same person made both of these," Nancy cried excitedly. She noted, however, that the one she had brought was very shaky compared to the other. When writing the "burial" notes Mr. Langstreet had no doubt been under a great emotional strain.

"Nancy," said Mrs. Strook, "tell me again where you found the notes."

The young detective brought out all thirty notes and turned over several of them. When the elderly woman read the messages, she gave an involuntary shudder.

"What do you think they mean?" she asked.

Nancy explained her theory about the old stagecoach being lovingly taken apart, the sections put into containers to preserve them, and with great ceremony buried box by box.

"I think it may have been right on the farm where he was living," Nancy explained. "But if so, there's one angle to it which worries me. The Zuckers can claim the coach and also anything valuable found with it."

Mrs. Strook was silent a few moments, then she said bravely, "We'll have to take that chance, Nancy. Perhaps it's just intuition, but I have a strong feeling that the clue my great-uncle mentioned has no connection with the Zucker property."

"But suppose the stagecoach is on somebody else's property?" George remarked. "Then the person who owns that place can claim it, can't he?"

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Strook. "Oh dear, what do you think we'd better do?"

"I have another idea," said Nancy. "Where else did any member of your family own property in this area? The old stagecoach may be there."

Mrs. Strook went to a desk and brought out a large old-fas.h.i.+oned map. It revealed that AbnerLangstreet's father had owned a tremendous amount of land in the vicinity of Francisville. He had divided it into parcels, giving one to each of his sons and daughters.

"And he had eleven children!" said Mrs. Strook.

She went on to explain that three of the sections were still owned by members of the family, but the other eight had been sold.

Nancy, seeing that Mrs. Strook was becoming downhearted, said with a smile, "Let's not worry about that just now. I believe we should keep on trying to solve the mystery. Don't you agree, Mrs. Strook?"

"Indeed I do!" the woman said with spirit. "And I do hope it will be soon. I can hardly sleep nights thinking about it."

On the way back to Camp Merriweather, Nancy was unusually silent and serious. Bess and George chatted but Nancy did not offer a word of conversation. She was mentally pursuing several new ideas, but always coming to a dead end.

When the three girls reached their rooms, Bess closed the door between them. Nancy was so intent with her thoughts that she did not notice.

"George," Bess said in a low voice, "Nancy's in the doldrums. We must get her out of them."

"I agree, but how?"

"Listen," said Bess, and with a giggle whispered something into George's ear.

Her cousin's face broke into a broad grin. "Swell!" she said. "We'll do it!"

CHAPTER XII.

Shadowing

IN HER own room, Nancy almost automatically took a shower and dressed for dinner. There was to be dancing that evening in the garden on a platform built at one side. She decided to wear a summer cotton of yellow and white and rather tailored in design. She put on white slippers with medium-height heels.

When she was ready, the young detective lay down on the bed while waiting for Bess and George to open the door between their rooms. Nancy mulled over the mystery from every angle.

"I hate to admit it, but it has me stymied at the moment," she told herself.

Just then someone knocked on her door. Raising herself up and swinging her feet to the floor, Nancy called out, "Come in!"

The hall door swung wide. Nancy's eyes popped in surprise, then she burst into laughter.

In walked Bess and George, rigged out to look like Audrey and Ross Monteith. Bess as Audrey had her hair pulled high and tight on top of her head with a mop of curls at the crown. She wore an extremely tight-fitting sports dress of George's. Her cheeks and lips were very artificially red and her fingernails looked as if they had been dipped in garnet paint. She swaggered in on her extremely high-heeled shoes.

George's outfit was even funnier. She wore baggy slacks, which belonged to Bess, a white s.h.i.+rt, and a very loud sports jacket borrowed from Jack Smith. She swung a cane and kept blinking her eyes at nothing, exactly the way Ross Monteith did when he was a.s.suming an affected pose.

"Beg pawdon, Nancy," said "Mr. Monteith," "but I'd be jolly pleased if you would tell me your plans for the evening."

"Oh, yes," added "Mrs. Monteith," "Rossy and I don't like secrets. We'd prefer being with you wherever you go."

Nancy was giggling merrily. She got up from the bed and gave the door a slight push to close it. Then she sat down again.

"Oh, Audrey," said "Ross," opening a little box in which Nancy kept her costume jewelry, "heah are some perfectly stunning earrings. I'm sure Nancy would be glad to lend them to you in place of the ones you lost in the woods." George spun the cane in a circle.

"Audrey" gave a sinister chuckle. "And maybe -just maybe-I shan't return them," Bess said. She took the earrings out of the box.

At that very moment Nancy's eyes traveled toward the door to the hall. She thought she had heard a sound outside. Eavesdroppers?

Nancy tiptoed across the room and yanked the door open. Ross and Audrey Monteith stood there! Nancy was not sure whether their look of surprise had been caused by her opening the door so suddenly or because they had been caught eavesdropping. Their look of amazement lasted only a couple of seconds, however.

Then Audrey bubbled, "We came to ask-" Suddenly she looked at Bess and George. "For Pete's sake, what-"

None of the three girls explained the little skit. If the Monteiths had heard themselves being ridiculed, Nancy and her friends hoped it would be a good lesson to them. If they had not, then there was no point in telling them.

When the callers realized they were not to be told what was going on, Ross Monteith changed the subject. "We came to ask you to help us get up a hayride. I think it would be a lot of fun, don't you? Audrey and I thought the five of us might take tomorrow off and drive around the countryside looking for a farmer who has horses and an old-fas.h.i.+oned hayrack."

"It sounds like a lot of fun," Nancy remarked. "But I couldn't possibly help you make any arrangements."

"You have a previous engagement?" Ross asked quickly.

The young sleuth was sure that the man was angling for information about her plans. She decided to give him none, and hoped that neither Bess nor George would speak up.

"I have so many things to do," Nancy said, "I don't know which ones to do first. With tennis and swimming and horseback riding here-" She did not finish the sentence and for a few seconds there was silence in the room.

George decided this was an opportune time to get rid of the visitors. She looked at her wrist watch. "My goodness, Bess, we'd better jump out of this gear in a hurry and get ready for dinner or we'll be late."

"Yes," Bess agreed. She giggled. "That wouldn't do at all because I'm starved."

As George opened the door between the two rooms, Audrey and Ross Monteith started to sit down. This was not to Nancy's liking!

Quickly she said, "Sorry I can't talk to you any longer, but I must help Bess and George."

"Oh," Audrey persisted, "they can help themselves. I wanted to ask you a few questions about your plans for-"