Chapter 3 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene
A Strange Visitor
The girls regarded the lad from India with troubled eyes. He was such an appealing character that they longed to help him, yet they wondered if they would be doing right to aid him in running away from the circus.
“Where do you wish to go, Coya?” Nancy inquired gently.
“Coya has no choice,” the boy smiled. “Wherever new friends go—that might be a nice place.”
“I live at River Heights. But if I should pay your fare there, then what would you do?”
“Coya work—cut grass, feed chickens, wash dishes. Oh, the hand of Coya is very willing. But I pray you, send me not to Rai, for he is cruel and his heart is black.”
Nancy held brief consultation with Bess and George. The three were agreed that they did not want to send the boy back to a man who whipped him so mercilessly. Finally they paid his fare to River Heights, inviting him to sit with them at the front of the car. In truth they were a little worried, for they knew they could not conscientiously abandon Coya when their destination should be reached.
“I’ll take him home with me for a day or two,” Nancy whispered. “Of course we’ll have to communicate with the circus, but perhaps Father can arrange matters so that Coya will be happier than he has been.”
Upon hearing the remark the Indian lad’s face grew troubled, and the girls correctly guessed that he did not approve of their plan of notifying the circus in regard to his whereabouts. However, he offered no comment save to thank Nancy over and over for paying his fare. Whenever her eyes chanced to rest upon him he would smile worshipfully.
Coya’s command of English was somewhat limited, the girls learned, and it was not easy to draw him into conversation. He seemed especially vague in answering their questions about his life in the United States. While his recollections of India were vivid, he could not recall when he had come to the United States or the age at which he had joined the circus. Rai had never talked to him of the past, nor had he permitted the lad to study English or talk with strangers. Although Coya did not say so, Nancy received the impression that Rai had been afraid the boy might learn too much concerning his former days.
Soon the River Heights water tower was sighted from the car window and the girls began to gather up their belongings. Coya, eager to show his appreciation for their aid, insisted upon carrying the heavy suitcases into the vestibule.
Nancy and her friends were the first passengers to alight when the train came to a standstill at the station. Scarcely had they stepped down to the platform when Nancy heard her name called.
Turning, she saw Ned Nickerson, a young man who attended Emerson University in a nearby city, coming swiftly toward her. He looked very handsome indeed in a well-pressed, gray suit of collegiate cut, and as always his eyes were for Nancy alone, although he greeted Bess and George perfunctorily.
“Why Ned!” Nancy exclaimed in delight. “I didn’t expect to see you at the station!”
“Your father told me you were arriving today,” Ned smiled warmly. “It’s surely great to see you again, Nancy. You’re looking like a million dollars!”
“I feel that way too, Ned. You don’t appear to be run down yourself!”
“Oh, I manage to bear up,” Ned grinned.
He stooped to grasp Nancy’s suitcase, when for the first time he noticed Coya, who stood guard beside the luggage. The girls hastened to explain the Indian lad’s presence.
“I don’t know what Dad will think when he learns I’m bringing home this visitor,” Nancy confessed uneasily. “Is there room for all of us in your car, Ned?”
“We’ll make room.” Ned was amused at this latest escapade of Nancy, and he could readily imagine that Coya’s unexpected arrival at the Drew residence might result in unforeseen complications, but he wisely refrained from expressing his thoughts.
Everyone squeezed into the automobile with Coya perched precariously atop the luggage. Ned stopped first at the Fayne residence and then at the Marvin house before taking Nancy home.
“Won’t you come in?” she invited the young man as he assisted her to alight at her own doorstep. “I may need you to help explain matters to Hannah about Coya!”
“I’m afraid I can’t stop this time, Nancy,” he replied as he and the Indian lad carried her bags up the walk. “I promised Mother I’d do an errand for her. I’m late now.”
Hannah Gruen, the housekeeper, had observed the automobile at the door. As Ned drove away she rushed joyfully out to greet Nancy.
“How glad I am to have you back home!” she exclaimed tremulously. “The house has seemed so quiet and empty——”
She broke off abruptly to stare at Coya. “Mercy upon us! Nancy, what does this mean?”
“Now don’t get excited,” the girl said soothingly. “Don’t say another word until I’ve had a chance to explain.”
“If this is another one of your jokes——”
“Coya is going to stay with us for a day or two. He ran away from the circus and when the conductor intended to put him off the train, I paid his fare.”
As the lad went back to the car for more luggage, Hannah spoke her mind.
“Nancy Drew, you’re talking in absolute riddles. But if you think I’ll take a brown-skinned boy to raise, you have another think coming! There’s enough work in this house without adding to it!”
“That’s exactly the point,” said Nancy, as the boy returned. “I thought Coya could help you. He could mow the lawn and take care of the garden.”
“Coya scrub floors, too,” added the boy with a winning smile, as he reached the porch. “Wash windows very clean.”
“Humph! You don’t look strong enough to do any real work,” the housekeeper replied sternly, but her face softened. “I declare, you’re nothing but skin and bones!”
“Coya has had a very hard life,” Nancy said quickly.
“As far as I’m concerned, he may stay,” Mrs. Gruen gave in, “but the matter isn’t settled until your father agrees.”
“I’ll win Dad over,” Nancy declared confidently.
While Coya was eating a substantial lunch in the kitchen, the girl told Mrs. Gruen in the living room everything she knew about the boy. As she had anticipated, the woman’s sympathies were aroused.
“I do feel sorry for the poor little fellow,” the housekeeper admitted, “but somehow I don’t like the idea of taking him into the house. After all, you know very little about him, Nancy.”
“We could give him the room over the garage. It’s clean and nice. I’m sure it will be better than anything Coya had while he was in the circus.”
“Have you thought what may happen when the boy’s father learns we are keeping him here?”
“That’s the one drawback, of course. Rai has an ugly temper and I’m afraid he may make trouble.”
“You’ll be accused of kidnaping, Nancy. Talk the matter over with your father when he comes home, but I rather think he’ll decide that the boy must return to the circus right away.”
Coya, realizing that his position in the household was far from assured, attempted to make himself as useful as possible. He immediately set about washing windows, polishing them until they gleamed like diamonds, and when he had finished that task devoted himself to the garden.
“I never in my life saw such a good little worker,” Mrs. Gruen admitted.
Nancy was unpacking her suitcase when it occurred to her that she had not displayed her ivory charm to the housekeeper. She returned to the kitchen and began to relate the story connected with the carved elephant. Just then Coya chanced to come into the house for a drink of water. His alert eyes immediately fastened upon the trinket.
“Coya, do you believe that this charm has any of the powers Rai attributed to it?” Nancy asked curiously.
“Oh, yes, Missee! The ivory charm is wonderful—good luck will follow you. When Rai give it to you I tell myself it best I try to stay with new owner. That way good luck follow me too!”
“I hope you’re right,” Nancy laughed.
When Carson Drew came home that evening the girl gave him a detailed account of her meeting with Rai and was greatly relieved to find her father in sympathy with her desire to keep Coya.
“The boy is unusually alert and an excellent worker,” he commented. “If you wish, I’ll write his father and try to arrange matters so that we can employ Coya. It’s obvious that Rai isn’t a suitable person to look after him.”
“Write the letter now,” Nancy urged eagerly.
Mr. Drew obligingly complied with the request, but looked troubled when he was ready to address the envelope.
“The man must have another name besides ‘Rai’,” he said. “Mr. Rai doesn’t look very well in print.”
“I’ll ask Coya,” Nancy promised.
She returned a moment later with the Indian lad. When the matter was explained to him, he offered to address the envelope himself. Both Nancy and her father were surprised to note that he wrote a smooth, flowing hand.
“I will mail the letter, too,” Coya added hopefully.
“Why, thank you,” Nancy smiled. “The post box is at the corner.”
Coya took the envelope and departed, but no sooner had he disappeared from view than he paused and withdrew the letter from his pocket. He stared at it a moment, then tore it into a dozen pieces, which he dropped into the gutter.
“This way I make certain Rai never find me,” he reflected. “Now I stay always with my kind friends.”
Unaware that the important missive had been destroyed, Nancy hopefully awaited an answer. With the elapse of several days she grew anxious. Coya seemed not to mind the uncertainty of his future and appeared so care-free and happy that at times it occurred to her to wonder at his attitude.
When a week had slipped by and still no word was received from Rai, Mr. Drew attempted to trace the man. However, the Bengleton Circus had jumped from town to town, and for the time being could not be located.
One evening Nancy was sitting alone in the living room when the front doorbell rang. Hannah had left the house a few minutes earlier to visit a friend, so the girl arose to answer the summons.
Switching on the porch light, she opened the door. At first glance Nancy thought that the caller was a young woman. But a more careful survey convinced her that the stranger was at least fifty years of age, although she had skillfully disguised the fact by the use of stylish clothing and the clever application of make-up.
“Is Mr. Drew at home?” the newcomer inquired.
“No, he is not in just now. But I expect him any moment. Won’t you come in?”
“Yes, I believe I will wait. My name is Miss Allison—Anita Allison.”
The woman followed Nancy into the living room, accepting a chair which was offered. She glanced quickly, almost nervously, about the room.
Nancy tried to place the visitor at ease but she could find no subject in which Miss Allison appeared interested. She was considerably startled when the caller asked abruptly:
“Do you believe in dreams?”
“Well, in a way yes, and in a way no,” Nancy returned, purposely vague.
“I am dreadfully upset over one which I had a few nights ago. That’s why I have come to consult your father.”
“He isn’t exactly a specialist on dreams.”
“I want to talk to him about a legal matter—a property deal. You see, I inherited a large section of valuable land some time ago. Now a group of promoters wish to buy it for a golf course. They offered me an excellent price.”
“Then I should think you would find their offer tempting.”
“I do, but you see I had this dream. A strange man appeared to me and forbade me to go ahead with the deal. It upset me so that I decided to talk the matter over with Mr. Drew.”
Nancy sternly restrained a smile. She knew that her father would be amused, if not annoyed, at such a silly attitude.
Before she could make any response to Miss Allison’s remark, the woman uttered a choked little cry.
“What is that thing around your neck?” she demanded tensely.
Nancy’s fingers went swiftly to her throat to touch the ivory elephant charm. She had forgotten that she was wearing it.
“Why, it is an Indian charm, Miss Allison,” she explained, starting to remove the trinket from the velvet string. “Would you like to see it?”
“Would I like to see it?” the woman echoed, laughing hysterically. “You ask me——”
She arose from her chair, taking a step toward Nancy. Her thin hand reached out as if to snatch the trinket, then fell to her side again. The color drained from her face.
Before Nancy could move forward to assist her, Miss Allison sagged back into her chair in a faint.