The Moonstone Castle Mystery (9 page)

After the girls had paid their lunch checks, they went back to the waiting room. Mrs. Hemstead was not there and Nancy wondered how soon she would return. George learned from the woman’s daughter that she was having her midday meal and a rest in her room upstairs.

“But Mother will be down in a little while,” she said. “Would you like to wait?”

Nancy decided to do so. The girls sat down for a few minutes, then arose and began to look at the various articles in the old-fashioned room. Nancy examined the antique map on the wall which designated the local area as Moonstone Valley. Deep River was shown as a place with only a few houses and stores. There were two side streets and at the end of one, at the river, stood a large mill.

“What a picturesque town this must have been!” Nancy thought.

At that moment Mrs. Hemstead returned to the room and took her place in the old rocker.

“Did you enjoy your lunch?” she asked.

“Yes, indeed,” Bess replied. “If I ate here very often, I’d put on pounds and pounds!”

“My daughter has established a good reputation,” the elderly woman said proudly. “Folks come from miles and miles away.”

Nancy asked, “Did you ever hear of a man named Mr. Peter Judd?”

“Indeed I have,” Mrs. Hemstead replied quickly. “Queer old fellow.”

“Queer?” Nancy repeated.

“That’s what folks say. Peter Judd used to be a train conductor. Now he’s retired and lives across the river in a little cottage. Won’t have a soul help him—he does all his own cooking and laundry work. Has his place full of railroad posters. The dishes and silver he uses are all from railroad dining cars.”

The girls giggled. Encouraged by their interest Mrs. Hemstead added, “You couldn’t mistake his house. Right on the front lawn he has an enormous bell that was taken from an old-fashioned locomotive. Sometimes boys sneak in there and ring it. You can hear it clear across the river!”

“I’d like to see it,” said Nancy. “Just where is his house?”

Mrs. Hemstead said that if they went directly across the river and turned downstream for a mile, they would come to a dock with a string of railroad cars painted on the overhang.

“That’s his place.”

The girls thanked the elderly woman and said good-by. They went at once to a boat rental service and hired a small runabout. Nancy took the wheel and the little craft skimmed across the river. Some two hundred feet from shore, she headed downstream, planning to turn in toward Mr. Judd’s dock.

On the way, George showed Bess Mr. Wheeler’s half-submerged motorboat.

Bess shuddered a bit. “You had a narrow escape,” she said.

“I wonder when the authorities are going to take the boat away?” George mused. “I’d think it would be a hazard to other boats.”

Nancy chuckled. “Not so much as that rock we hit!”

“Nancy, who do you think kidnaped Mr. Wheeler?” Bess asked.

The young sleuth had a ready answer. “The same persons who kidnaped Joanie Horton. I think they were afraid Mr. Wheeler might reopen the case, bringing a fraud to light. In fact, they may think Dad had asked Mr. Wheeler’s assistance, even though he is retired.”

They located Peter Judd’s dock and moored alongside it. As they walked up an incline to his little white cottage, they saw the retired railroad conductor working in his garden near the great engine bell. Nancy spoke to him, admiring the bell and his beautiful roses.

Mr. Judd was cordial and invited the girls inside his home. They found it interesting, despite Mrs. Hemstead’s remarks. And Peter Judd certainly did not seem queer!

“How did you happen to know about me?” he asked.

At once Nancy told him about Mr. Wheeler, the accident, and the kidnaping.

“What a low-down trick!” Mr. Judd cried, incensed. “What do you think is the reason?”

“We can only guess,” said Nancy. “Possibly you can help solve the riddle. Do you know why Mr. Wheeler was bringing my friend George and me here? He hinted that it had something to do with the settlement of Mrs. Horton’s estate many years ago.”

Peter Judd was thoughtful for several seconds, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell these strange girls something he knew. Finally he said:

“I believe I do. After that young lady Joan Horton got all her grandmother’s money, she went away—nobody knew where. Suddenly I remembered something that had happened on my train a little over six months before old Mrs. Horton died. I went to Mr. Wheeler and told him about it, but he just laughed at me. But now I think maybe he has decided there was something to it.”

Eagerly Nancy asked, “What is the story?”

NANCY, Bess, and George pulled chairs close to Mr. Peter Judd so they would not miss one word of the story he was about to tell.

Suddenly Nancy jumped up and commanded, “Wait!” She turned and dashed toward the front door, calling as she went, “Girls, run out the back way and stop that man!”

Mr. Judd was amazed. He did not know what Nancy meant, but he hurried to a window and looked outside. He was just in time to see Nancy take off full speed after a man who was fleeing down the embankment toward the dock. Before she could reach him, the man jumped into a motorboat tied alongside the girls’ rented runabout and roared off.

Nancy came to a full stop on the dock. It would be useless to try to pursue the man; he had too much of a head start. Bess and George ran up to her.

“Who was he?” Bess asked. “Why were you chasing him?”

The young sleuth explained that as Mr. Judd was about to start his story, she had seen the top of the head of an eavesdropper just outside the window. “I got a better look at him as he jumped into his boat. I think he’s the man you said followed me in River Heights—the one who was following George here in Deep River. He’s the man I said looked familiar.”

“He seems determined to find out what we’re doing,” Bess remarked.

“I’ll say he is,” George agreed. “So far as I’m concerned, he’s definitely an enemy.”

“And maybe he’s one of the kidnapers,” Bess suggested. “Why don’t we follow him? He might lead us to Mr. Wheeler.”

George scoffed at this idea. “That’s exactly what he wouldn’t do,” she said, laughing. “Anyhow, we wouldn’t be able to overtake him now.”

Nancy nodded. “Let’s go back and hear Mr. Judd’s story,” she suggested.

Inside the cottage once more, she described the eavesdropper and their past encounters with him. “Have you any idea who he might be?”

Mr. Judd shook his head, and Nancy begged him to tell the story which had been interrupted.

“While I was on a train running direct from New York City to Deep River some fifteen years ago,” he began, “I specially noted three passengers in one of the cars—a man, a woman, and a very pretty little girl between two and three years old. When I had some free time I stopped to talk to her. She said her name was Joanie and she was going to stay with her other granny.”

Nancy, Bess, and George listened intently. This was indeed interesting!

“Joanie made a remark that I have never forgotten. She said her granddaddy and grandmommy she was with were going far away to tell people about God.”

“Missionaries?” Bess queried.

“I suppose so,” said Mr. Judd. “Well, the little girl and her grandparents got off in Deep River and I never saw any of them again. Months later, when I heard about Mrs. Horton and her grown-up granddaughter named Joanie, I remembered about those folks on the train. I kept thinking about that grown-up girl getting all the money and thought I ought to tell Mr. Wheeler the story.”

George blurted out, “You told this to Mr. Wheeler all that time ago and he didn’t do anything about it?”

“As I said before, he just laughed at me. I felt kind of silly and never mentioned the story again to anyone. Now, maybe, Mr. Wheeler has changed his mind and wants to hear about it in more detail.”

“No doubt,” Nancy agreed. “Can you give us the details?”

“The little girl had big, blue eyes and blond curls.”

Nancy excitedly opened her purse and took out the picture of young Joanie Horton at the age of two. “Is this the child?” she asked.

It was now Mr. Judd’s turn to look astounded. “It certainly looks like her,” the ex-conductor said. “Of course it was a long time ago, but this is just about the way I remember little Joanie.”

Mr. Judd asked Nancy to explain her connection with the Horton family. “Actually, it’s my father’s case,” she replied, knowing that it might be unwise to reveal her part in the investigation. “I expect my dad to come to Deep River in a little while. He’ll probably come to call on you very soon.”

This evasive answer seemed to satisfy Mr. Judd, and before he had a chance to say anything more, Nancy arose, thanked him, and said the girls must leave.

“I certainly hope they find Mr. Wheeler soon,” Mr. Judd called, as his visitors went toward the dock.

When the girls were seated in the runabout, Nancy’s face wore a broad grin. “This is the best clue yet!” she exclaimed.

“It’s simply marvelous!” said Bess. “How are you going to develop it?”

Nancy said she thought it might be a good idea to do a little sleuthing among the shopkeepers in town. “There may be some who were here fifteen years ago, and perhaps could tell us if any articles for a small child were sent out to the Horton home.” Nancy suggested that the girls divide up the shopping area and make separate calls on the storekeepers.

This bit of delving took until the latter part of the afternoon. They had about given up hope of any further clue, until Nancy entered a small toy store. It was run by an elderly man and woman. After learning that the couple had been in town for over thirty years, Nancy asked her question.

The man and woman looked at each other, then smiled. Finally the woman said, “I remember something about a child’s gift very well. The most beautiful doll and carriage we have ever sold were ordered over the telephone at Christmas time and delivered to the Horton home.”

“Did the person who delivered it see a little girl there?” Nancy asked.

“No. Our messenger saw no one. I remember clearly how he reported to us that a check and a note had been left on the Horton porch with instructions for him to leave the toys there.”

The man shopkeeper, curious, asked Nancy why she had made her inquiry. As nonchalantly as possible, Nancy answered, “My father is interested in the Horton family. My friends and I came up here on a vacation and he asked me to find out what I could about them.”

“I see,” said the man. “Can’t tell you anything more.” He turned and walked into a back room. At the same time, a boy came in through the front door and the woman went to wait on him. The girls left.

“This is our day for good luck,” said Bess. “Maybe the moonstone is bringing it!”

Nancy laughed, but agreed that they had picked up two valuable clues. “Right now I have so many trails to follow, I don’t know which to take. The one I’d like most to pursue would be the opportunity of talking to Jody Armstrong.”

“Then why don’t you?” said George. “She’s probably home by now.”

“No,” said Nancy. “If I seem like a friendship pusher, the Armstrongs may become suspicious and not let me see Jody at all.”

“You’re right,” said Bess. “Anyhow, don’t forget, the boys are coming today. I want to shampoo my hair before they get here—it’s a sight after all our trekking around and the wind blowing it in that boat.”

The girls took a taxi to the motel. As soon as they reached it, Nancy went to the telephone. She called police headquarters and asked if there was any news of her stolen car.

“Not a trace,” said the officer on duty. “I’m sorry, Miss Drew. We’re still working hard trying to find it.”

Nancy next asked whether Mr. Wheeler had been found. Again the answer was no. Nancy hung up.

In spite of this disappointment and worry over the whereabouts of the injured lawyer, the day’s new clues spurred Nancy on. She felt too excited to go to her room to rest or start dressing. “I think I’ll get the binoculars and take another look at that castle,” she decided.

She got the glasses and went out to the terrace. As she trained the binoculars on the distant building, the tower of the castle came into sharp focus.

Nancy gasped. A man, bewhiskered and unkempt, stood on the roof of the tower. He, too, held glasses to his eyes. They were trained directly on the motel and Nancy!

Instantly Nancy dodged behind a tree. “I hope he didn’t see me.” Though out of sight, she continued to focus her own binoculars on him.

The man put down his binoculars and began to make strange motions with his hands. Nancy watched him intently.

She asked herself, “Has that man gone crazy or is he trying to signal someone?”

“HI, SLEUTH!” a male voice called.

She lowered the binoculars and turned quickly. “Ned!” she cried out.

He kissed her, then asked how she was making out with her mystery case. For answer, Nancy handed him the binoculars and pointed toward the tower of the castle. “See if you can figure out what that man is doing,” she suggested.

Ned adjusted the glasses. Finally he said, frowning, “With that long beard and unkempt hair the fellow looks like some kind of a nut. But actually I think he’s doing his own version of a wigwag. Maybe he’s sending a message in code.”

Nancy took the glasses again and watched the strange man. He continued the same motions for another half minute, then disappeared.

“I guess he’s gone inside the castle,” she said.

Ned took the binoculars. “Suppose I watch to see if he comes outside the castle, and if so, where he goes and what he does. Meanwhile, you bring me up to date on the news.”

Nancy told him about the missing Joanie Horton, and her suspicion that Mrs. Horton’s servants were connected with the child’s disappearance. She outlined Mr. Wheeler’s part in settling the Horton estate, his disappearance from the hospital, Peter Judd’s story, and the mysterious men who had followed her and George.