The Clue of the Broken Locket (4 page)

“Toward the road to town?” Nancy asked herself.

She discarded this idea because the girl had not taken her luggage along. “And I don’t see her along the lake front.”

Suddenly the young sleuth recalled how fascinated Cecily had been by the large stone house near which they had heard the strange humming sound.

“Maybe Cecily went back there out of curiosity. Anyway, that’s where I’m going to look.”

There was the semblance of a path through the woods, a short distance above the water, leading toward the foot of the bluff. Nancy followed this, keeping her eyes open for the missing girl and calling her name. She did not see Cecily, nor was there any reply.

Nancy went on and on and in a short time the path curved away from the lake and went directly up the steep embankment. The thick woods shut out the brilliant moonlight and Nancy turned on her flashlight. Again she paused, undecided whether to go on. The path led up to the big house, and if this were Cecily’s goal, perhaps she had taken it.

“I’ll try it,” Nancy determined.

She was about halfway up the slope when suddenly her heart gave a thump and she nearly stopped breathing. Off to one side of the path, the missing girl lay in a crumpled heap!

“Oh, Cecily!” Nancy exclaimed as she rushed over to the still figure.

She felt Cecily’s pulse and found that she was alive. The unconscious girl had a large swelling on her temple. Had she fallen and hit her head? Or, worse, had she been struck by some unknown assailant?

Cautiously Nancy looked all around and listened. At the head of the steep path she noticed a short, thick log, blocking the exit to the top of the bluff. But there was no sign of life.

“I must revive Cecily,” Nancy thought. She hastened down to the lake where she wet a clean handkerchief, then hurried back. As she was bathing the injured girl’s face, she heard a twig crack on the bluff above her.

Nancy looked up quickly. To her horror, the heavy log was rolling at breakneck speed down the path directly toward them!

THERE was not a second to lose. Nancy seized the unconscious girl and rolled off the path with her. The log sped past, grazing Nancy’s shoulder. Moments later, she heard it thud to the beach below and then splash into the water.

As Nancy breathed a sigh of relief, her companion stirred and opened her eyes. “Cecily, are you all right?” Nancy asked anxiously.

For a moment the girl looked bewildered, then she said, “Yes,” and sat up.

“I’m certainly thankful for that!” Nancy exclaimed.

The young detective rubbed her bruised shoulder and looked thoughtfully up the path. She wondered why the log had started rolling and remembered the twig she had heard crack. Had someone deliberately shoved the log down on them? No one was in sight and right now there was no chance of her finding out the answer to her question.

“Oh, Nancy! You’ve saved me twice!” Cecily said weakly. “Pl-please help me back to the cottage, and I’ll tell you why I came here.”

The injured girl found it difficult to walk, but with Nancy’s arm firmly supporting her, they slowly made their way through the woods. Dawn was breaking when the two girls reached the cottage.

In the meantime, Bess and George had been awakened by the miaowing cat and had become frantic over the missing girls. “What on earth happened?” Bess demanded. “You both look awful!”

The cousins were horrified upon hearing that Cecily had been knocked unconscious.

“Of course I’m not sure that it was a person who did it,” Cecily said quickly. “I—I just remember hearing a noise and—” Her voice trailed off.

Bess, realizing how exhausted the girl was, advised her not to talk any further. “You and Nancy sleep. When you wake up, I’ll have breakfast all ready.”

Everyone agreed and in minutes the foursome were sound asleep. It was after nine o’clock when the girls sat down to the excellent meal Bess had prepared. Cecily said she felt fine, regardless of the bump on her head.

After they had eaten, she smiled and said, “You all have been wonderful to me. I know I can trust you completely, so I’m going to tell you two big secrets of mine. The first one concerns an iron bird.”

Nancy, Bess, and George leaned forward eagerly. Cecily explained that her story dated back to the Civil War. Her father’s family had been wealthy at that time, and was reputed to have hidden a fortune just before hostilities started.

“I don’t know much about my great-great-grandfather, except that he was a Northerner and his first name was William. He and his wife were drowned trying to escape from New Orleans at the outbreak of the war. Their three-year-old daughter, Amelia, was rescued and placed in an orphanage. An official there said the child had remembered only her first name and the fact that she used to live ‘in a big pudding stone house on a lake!’

“Also, Amelia was wearing on a chain around her neck half of a gold locket with a thin paper rolled under the picture rim. The paper had a message—
‘Will, I hid your half of fortune. Directions in the iron bird. Your brother Simon.’ ”

Cecily went on to say that as Amelia grew older, she tried without success to trace her background, as well as the fortune. “Of course lots of records in those days had been lost or destroyed. Later, Amelia married Robert Curtis. Their grandson was my father.”

Cecily looked wistful. “I can just barely remember Daddy telling Mother the story which Amelia had learned from the orphanage official. He had tried to find the fortune, too, but no luck!” Cecily explained that her own parents had died when she was seven. From then on, she had been under the guardianship of an elderly cousin of her mother’s. Upon the cousin’s death several years ago, Cecily had been left on her own.

“At least,” she said, “I still had my great-grand-mother’s half of the locket and made up my mind to find the fortune myself, if possible.”

“And you came here to search for the iron bird?” asked Nancy, greatly intrigued.

“Yes. I studied loads of maps, trying to dig up some clue. Finally I came upon a really old map, and found the name Pudding Stone Lake. I went on hunting, and learned that Misty Lake here is the very same place. The name was changed.”

“How fascinating!” Bess said.

George added, “And you believe the iron bird may be connected with the stone house Amelia remembered? And that they’re both in this vicinity?”

Cecily nodded. “I have a strong hunch they are. The house on the bluff is all of stone, and looks pretty old. So last night I decided to go out by myself and get a good close-up view of the place.” She smiled ruefully. “But I didn’t get very far.”

Cecily arose and went to her suitcase. From it she brought out the half of a small heart-shaped locket, and Simon’s note.

Nancy’s mind was racing. She mentioned the other red-haired girl and asked Cecily if she had a relative who resembled her closely. “Maybe that girl we saw is hiding here because she’s searching for the same thing you are!”

“I don’t know anyone who looks like me,” Cecily replied. “I have no close relatives, but I may have distant cousins whom I don’t even know.”

Suddenly Cecily changed the subject. “Now that I’m here and all these strange things are happening, I admit I’m afraid to be alone. Would it be possible for you girls to stay here and help me solve the mystery?”

The three grinned and Nancy said, “I’d love to. How about you, Bess and George?”

“I’m too intrigued to leave now,” Bess answered, and George said, “I think, Cecily, that you and Nancy need a strong, athletic person around to help keep guard. Maybe I can fill the bill!”

“Wonderful!” said Cecily. “And now I’d like to tell you my other secret.”

She explained that she was engaged to a young man named Niko Van Dyke. “He’s a pop singer and leads his own combo which is called the Flying Dutchmen.”

“Oh, I love their music,” said Bess, exchanging glances with Nancy and George. Now they understood why the young man who had been with Cecily had seemed familiar. They had seen Niko’s picture in newspapers and magazines.

Cecily went on, “Niko is just starting to become famous, mostly because of his latest record. Polls show it to be a hit number, but the mystery is that his royalty payments don’t match its popularity. Niko is suing the record company for withholding his rightful share of profit.”

“Well, I should think he would,” George said indignantly.

Cecily said that the company denied any dishonesty. “I feel that Niko and I shouldn’t get married while the lawsuit is pending. He has little money, what with paying off loans he got for his college education and his music instruction. I have a job in New Orleans, but of course when I marry Niko, I’ll want to travel with him, and at present we just can’t afford it.”

“That’s a shame!” Bess remarked.

Cecily nodded. “Perhaps it’s foolish of me to be too hopeful, but I thought if I could only find that treasure, then everything would be fine and Niko and I could get married.”

“Where is he now?” Nancy asked.

“In Baltimore. He asked me to meet him at the White Mill restaurant.” Cecily’s eyes filled with tears. “Then he begged me to go with him to Baltimore and get married. When I wouldn’t, he became angry and blamed everything on the iron bird. I was dreadfully upset. I’d like to try to reach him on the phone. Will you drive me to town, please?”

“Yes, indeed,” Nancy replied. “If we’re going to stay here, we’ll need food supplies and fuel. Also, I’ll have to call Dad and let him know where we are.”

After tidying the cottage, the girls set off. When they reached the lane that led to the village, Nancy stopped. “What say we take a few minutes and drive up to the stone house?”

The others were eager to go so she drove straight along the top of the bluff. As they neared their destination, Cecily suddenly cried out, “Look! That sign ahead!”

ALL the girls stared excitedly at the sign. It said:

“Pudding Stone!” Nancy exclaimed. “Perhaps it’s called that after the lake’s original name—which would mean that it dates back many years.”

“Oh, let’s talk to the owner!” Cecily urged.

The girls peered ahead eagerly as Nancy drove on. In a few moments they came to a large, open garage in which two trucks were parked. On the side of each was painted:

About an eighth of a mile farther on they came to the bluff house. It was built of stones of various shapes and sizes.

“That must be why it’s called Pudding Stone Lodge,” George said.

“It’s certainly old-looking.” Bess pointed to the roof. It was irregular in design, with sloping sides broken by peaks and turrets.

Cecily was excited and wanted to rush up to the door at once. Nancy held her back, reminding her that she had been injured on the grounds of the lodge only the evening before.

“I’ll go.” Nancy got out of the car and went up to the front door. Her ring was answered by a short, burly man with heavy black hair.

“Mr. Driscoll?” Nancy asked pleasantly. “Do you own this house?”

“No. I rent it. What’s that to you?”

“It’s so attractive, we girls thought we would like to look around the grounds a little. Do you mind?”

“Yes, I do,” the man said in a surly tone. “Get out of here and don’t return!”

Nancy was taken aback. She did not argue and turned away, deciding that they had better not tarry. What was the reason for the man’s belligerence? “Very odd,” she mused, “to act like that. Could he possibly be responsible for Cecily’s injury or know about it?”

As she drove off, Nancy explained to the girls what the man had said and her suspicions. Cecily looked worried. “Oh, dear! How am I ever going to hunt there for the iron bird if we’re not to be allowed on the property? It might even be in the house.”

George grinned. “Nancy will think of a way, I promise you that!”

The others laughed and then became quiet until they reached town. Here the girls separated. George offered to go and order bottled gas from the fuel company. Cecily went to telephone Niko. Nancy and Bess headed toward the general store to shop for supplies.

The proprietor, Mr. Joplin, was an inquisitive person. “You’re newcomers around here,” he said.

“Yes, we are,” Nancy answered. She introduced herself and Bess. Noticing two other men in the store, she felt it wiser not to give any more details.

Bess, however, was not so cautious. She blurted out that the four girls were staying in the Baker cottage, and that it certainly was a scary place. At this remark one of the two men, tall and pale with hard eyes, stared intently at the girls.

The shopkeeper chuckled. “You mean you’ve been scared by the loons?”