Chapter 12 The Clue of the Broken Locket by Carolyn Keene
Rodney’s Queer Actions
Rodney murmured something to the druggist which Nancy and her friends could not hear. However, not an action escaped their keen eyes as the old pharmacist went into the back room. While he was gone, Rodney moved nervously about.
The druggist returned a moment later with a package of baby food and a bottle of medicine. Rodney quickly paid for the articles and left the store.
“Do you suppose he bought that baby food and medicine for Jay and Janet?” Bess questioned anxiously.
“It looks that way,” Nancy agreed.
“But why did the druggist say the things he did? It worries me.”
Nancy was troubled, too. She felt at a loss to explain Rodney’s actions. However, the incident confirmed her suspicion that he had a secret interest in the twins.
“I believe Colleen would call us if the babies were seriously ill,” she said thoughtfully.
After bidding her friends good-bye, Nancy went home and lingered about the yard, half expecting a message from Jolly Folly. When none came she felt relieved, yet at the same time anxious. To ease her mind, she put through a telephone call of her own.
“No, the babies aren’t ill,” Colleen assured her, “but Mr. and Mrs. Blair are in an awful state. They can’t decide what to do about the twins.”
Two days elapsed before Nancy saw or heard anything from Jolly Folly.
On the morning of the third day, while at breakfast, she opened the newspaper. A large picture of Mrs. Blair and the twins met her eyes. The photo revealed her holding the babies in her arms, gazing upon them rapturously.
With an exclamation of annoyance, Nancy handed the sheet over to her father.
“How disgusting and hypocritical that is,” said Nancy in a tone that betrayed her true feelings.
“It seems to come natural for Mrs. Blair,” Mr. Drew smiled, studying the pose. “Yesterday I was reading of a case quite different. A noted actress had given up her career because she preferred to devote herself to her home and children.”
Nancy turned over the sheets to the classified advertisements section, and scanned the columns from force of habit. One notice stood out from the rest, and immediately caught her eye.
“Listen to this, Father,” she exclaimed. “ ‘Wanted—Responsible woman to act as babies’ nurse. Experienced only. Apply at the Selkirk Babies’ Foundling Home.’ ”
“You’re not going after the job, are you, Nancy?”
“No, Father. But it gave me an idea!”
“What sort of an idea?”
“A good one, I hope! Doesn’t it occur to you to wonder why there is a vacancy for a nurse at the Home?”
“Can’t say it does, Nancy. But immediately after breakfast is the hour I am usually half asleep.”
“Oh, please try to be serious! I really think I have a worth-while hunch! You recall this mysterious woman we’ve been hearing so much about.”
“I hear about her every morning at the table,” Mr. Drew returned, trying hard not to smile.
“And I’m afraid you’ll hear about her until I learn who she is,” Nancy said gaily. “Father, it occurred to me that possibly she has been employed at the Selkirk Home, and while there cared for the twins. Then, when they were taken away, she left, too!”
Mr. Drew’s face grew sober as he meditated over this theory.
“That’s not in the realm of the impossible. It seems to explain why the woman suddenly turned up to protest the adoption.”
“My theory exactly! While the babies were under her care, she was content to allow them to remain at the Home. I believe I’ll run out there today and see what I can find out. That is, if you’ll give me an advance on my next week’s allowance so that I can buy gasoline.”
Mr. Drew stripped several bills from his wallet.
“Here you are. We’ll charge this item to the expense account of the Blair baby case!”
Nancy did not want to make the twenty-five-mile trip alone. As Bess and George were always eager for adventure, she called them up, and was overjoyed to learn that they would be ready in half an hour.
By ten o’clock the girls were speeding toward Selkirk, located on the Muskoka River below River Heights. The route took them past Jolly Folly.
“Let’s drop in for just a minute and look at the babies,” Bess suggested wistfully. “George hasn’t seen them yet.”
Nancy was more than willing. Despite Colleen’s telephone message, she did not feel entirely at ease about the twins. It was actually a relief to see the nursemaid out in the garden with the perambulator as they drove up.
“I guess everyone worries about Jay and Janet,” Colleen laughed, displaying her charges for George’s benefit. “Rodney is the worst one, though.”
Nancy and her friends listened intently to her next words.
“He thinks I don’t know how to feed babies, I suppose!” Colleen went on, tossing her head contemptuously. “The idea of a chauffeur trying to tell me things like that! He’d give the kids automobile grease if he had his way!”
“Automobile grease!” Bess ejaculated, horrified.
“Well, maybe not quite that bad,” Colleen laughed, “but some stuff out of cans that looks just as bad to eat.”
“Prepared baby food,” Nancy suggested.
“Yes, some he bought at the store and from a woman pedlar.”
“Oh,” Nancy observed alertly, “did a woman pedlar stop here with some baby foods?”
“What did she look like?” Bess interposed.
“I didn’t spend much time looking at her, but Rodney did, all right. I saw him talking with her for nearly half an hour. When he came back to the house he carried an armful of baby foods!”
Unknown to Colleen, the chauffeur had overheard her remark as he was rounding the corner of the house. Nancy and her chums tried to warn the girl with signs, but to no avail. Rodney stepped forward, ready to defend himself.
“You may laugh all you like about the baby foods,” he snapped, “but you’ll notice that since they began using them the twins look better!”
“They do have more color in their cheeks,” Bess observed.
“The babies haven’t been getting the proper care and attention,” Rodney continued heatedly. “That’s why I interested myself in their food.”
Colleen’s face flushed angrily.
“I suppose you think you’re a specialist, Mr. Brown!”
“At least, when I don’t know what to do I’m wise enough to consult someone who does!”
Nancy glanced curiously at the man, wondering if that was why he had gone to the pharmacist at Jackson’s Drug Store.
“You’d do better if you’d attend to your automobile and let me look after the twins,” Colleen said crossly.
“You neglect them while you go running around with that red-haired young man of yours,” the chauffeur said accusingly. “The babies would have been poisoned if you had gone on with the silly idea of feeding that the Blairs insisted upon.”
A feeling of intense relief came over Nancy as she heard this declaration. She recalled the druggist’s strange exclamation, when Rodney had shown him something:
“Don’t give them that, man, for you’ll kill them!”
She was now of the opinion that Rodney had brought a sample of the baby food from the Blair household to the pharmacist for a chemical analysis. It was good to know that the chauffeur’s intentions had been of the best.
“I think he knows what he is talking about,” Nancy told Colleen. “You should take his advice about the baby foods.”
Colleen tossed her head impatiently.
“He only knows what that pedlar woman told him.”
“What did she look like?” Nancy asked again. “Do you remember how she was dressed?”
“In gray, I believe. He said something about red trimming on her hat.”
Neither Nancy nor her friends disclosed that this information was important, though they were inwardly thrilled. However, it was impossible to learn more of the woman’s appearance from Colleen, so they dared not jump to the conclusion that the pedlar and the individual whom George had seen in the drug store were one and the same person.
While they were talking, the front door opened and the Blairs, dressed in their flashiest clothes, and accompanied by Edwin McNeery, emerged. They paused to greet the girls.
“We’re so sorry to run away just when you are arriving,” Kitty gushed, “but Mr. McNeery insists that we go out for a drive with him.”
The producer smiled blandly. He seemed in fine spirits, but Nancy surmised that this was largely put on. Despite his boastful words, he really needed the Blairs in his new show, and their delay in signing the contract was causing him much anxiety.
She could see the papers sticking out from his coat pocket. Undoubtedly, McNeery’s plan was to take the couple away for a day of pleasure. Then, when they were in a gay, lighthearted mood, he would bring out the contract for them to sign.
Mrs. Blair bent over the baby carriage for an instant. As she did so, Nancy saw a scowl on the producer’s face. McNeery made no comment—his very silence was oppressive. He meant to do as he wished with the twins.
After the group had driven away Nancy stood gazing after the automobile.
“It’s a shame,” she murmured to herself. “Neither McNeery nor the Blairs have the slightest interest in the welfare of Jay and Janet! Unless someone takes a hand in it, their happiness will be sacrificed for the silly careers of their foster parents!”