Chapter 18 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene
Discouraging Days
Snatching up the precious documents from the ground, Nancy raced back to the fence. George and Bess aided her to crawl through the wires.
“I guess those cows weren’t as vicious as they looked,” Nancy laughed shakily, as she carefully placed the papers in her jacket pocket. “Anyway, I had a bad fright about the documents, and it served me right for being so careless.”
The girls were soon on their way back to River Heights. In approaching the Allison property Bess drew attention to an oncoming auto which had turned into the side road leading to the burned house.
“Few persons ever travel that way,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “Do you suppose Miss Allison was in the car?”
“I couldn’t tell so far away,” Bess returned.
“Now that I know she is involved in the plot against Coya I must do everything in my power to locate her,” Nancy continued. “Miss Allison ignored my letter and is making every effort to avoid me.”
“It will only take a minute to stop and see who this person is,” George suggested.
Nancy turned into the side road and soon drew up beside a sedan which had been parked near the burned house. The girls walked rapidly along the well-worn path until they came to the familiar clearing. There two men could be seen talking with Jasper Batt.
“I’ve never seen either of them before,” Nancy commented. “I wonder why they are here?”
With one accord the chums moved forward until they could catch snatches of the conversation. It developed that the strange men were agents of the Reliance Insurance Company, sent by the local office to investigate the cause of the recent fire.
“Miss Allison is eager to have the claim settled as soon as possible,” the girls heard Jasper Batt say urgently.
“I can well understand that,” one of the agents replied dryly. “Unfortunately for Miss Allison the claim will not be settled, and she may consider herself fortunate if she avoids prosecution.”
“What do you mean by that?” Batt demanded gruffly. “What has she done?”
“Our investigation discloses that this house did not catch fire accidentally. It was deliberately burned.”
“You can’t prove it!”
“Yes, Mr. Batt, our evidence will stand up in any court.”
“You can’t show that Miss Allison or anyone connected with her set fire to the house. It was probably done by a prowler.”
“We are not through with the case,” the insurance man replied grimly. “By the way, Mr. Batt, we have come here today to ask you a few questions. Where were you at the time the fire started?”
“Look here!” the watchman cried furiously. “You can’t hang this thing on me. I don’t know anything about it. I told you my idea of the fire—the house was burned by a prowler.”
Chancing at that moment to glance up, Jasper Batt observed Nancy and her friends. His ruddy face became kindled with the light of an evil inspiration.
“Question those girls if you want to know who started the fire!” he exclaimed. “They are always snooping about this place. I suspect that they were the ones who struck me over the head and stole my papers!”
At mention of the word papers Nancy glanced uneasily at her companions. How well she knew that should the lost documents be found upon her person after such an accusation, explanations would not be easy to make! However, she walked boldly forward to speak with the insurance agents.
“Mr. Batt is not telling the truth,” she said coolly. “My chums and I have no knowledge of how the fire started. The day before the house was destroyed we found Mr. Batt in an unconscious condition inside the building. He told us then that he had been struck over the head by an assailant who took his papers.”
“That’s the truth,” Bess added earnestly. “Later, Mr. Batt began to accuse everyone of stealing the documents.”
“Incidentally, he mentioned an old enemy,” Nancy supplied adroitly, “a former watchman at this house named Peter Putnam. The two, I am told, were bitter rivals, and there was some bad feeling between them because Putnam was discharged by Miss Allison.”
“It’s a trumped up story!” Batt cried furiously.
The two insurance men had been impressed by Nancy’s straightforward manner. They had dealt with persons of Jasper Batt’s type before, and did not place great stock in the man’s tale.
“What is your name, Miss?” one of the agents inquired.
“Nancy Drew. You may have heard of my father—Carson Drew.”
“We certainly have! If you’re his daughter there’s no need for explanations.”
“Then we are free to return home?” Nancy smiled.
“Certainly. We may need you later to offer evidence in the case, but in that event we’ll call at your home.”
“Thank you,” Nancy said.
“You certainly walked out of that trouble adroitly,” George praised, when the girls were on their way to River Heights. “I was afraid it might be discovered that you had the missing papers in your possession!”
“Jasper Batt was too stupid to think of such a possibility,” Nancy chuckled.
After taking George and Bess to their homes she halted at her father’s office to report to Mr. Drew the adventures of the day. He was deeply impressed with the documents which she spread before him and suggested that she show them to Professor Stackpole.
“That’s an excellent idea,” Nancy agreed. “I’ll telephone now for an appointment.”
After a brief wait she was connected with his residence, only to be informed that the man had left the city for a week-end visit.
“How disappointing!” Nancy commented as she carefully placed the documents in her father’s safe. “Now I must wait until he returns.”
“In the meantime we’ll make every effort to locate Coya,” Mr. Drew said. “Unless we find him again your papers will not be of much value.”
Both Nancy and her father were confident that it would not prove difficult to trace Coya. Their first act was to communicate with the Bengleton Circus. They were disappointed to learn that Rai had not returned to his old position.
Thinking that possibly the man had sought work with another traveling troupe, they made a complete canvass of the state. No one had heard of Rai.
“The search will prove more difficult than I anticipated,” Mr. Drew admitted. “Obviously, Rai suspects that we may try to trace him and is hiding deliberately.”
When Professor Stackpole returned from his trip Nancy lost no time in calling at his home. After relating the details of Coya’s disappearance, she placed the important documents in the tutor’s hands. He pored over them for nearly an hour.
“This is indeed amazing,” he declared. “Amazing! Yet I cannot say that I am greatly surprised. From the first Coya impressed me as a lad of high caste and unusual ability.”
“Then you believe the documents to be genuine?” Nancy inquired eagerly.
“Yes, I do not question them. In securing these papers, Miss Drew, you have accomplished a remarkable bit of detective work.”
“I feel confident that Miss Allison is the person responsible for placing Iama Togara on the throne,” she said. “These papers practically prove it. However, I should like to obtain an admission from Miss Allison’s own lips.”
“But will that be possible?”
“I have a plan, Doctor Stackpole. Will you help me?”
“I’ll do anything in my power, Miss Drew. I am very fond of Coya, you know.”
“Then this is my scheme. By some ruse invite Miss Allison here to your home. You might pretend to consult her about Indian mysticism. She will feel flattered at the invitation and accept it, I am sure.”
“And if she does accept?”
“Try to gain an admission from her that she helped to place Togara on the throne.”
“I fear I haven’t your ability as a detective.”
“In this respect you will succeed where I would be certain to fail. Miss Allison would never talk frankly with me. She will be flattered by your interest.”
The scholarly man nodded thoughtfully. “The plan might be worth trying,” he said.
“With your permission I will hide near by and listen to the conversation,” Nancy continued. “If Miss Allison refuses to talk, then I’ll step out and confront her with the documents.”
“I shall attempt to make the appointment immediately,” the professor promised.
Two days elapsed, and when Nancy received no word from the tutor she began to fear that he had failed. Then one evening he telephoned her at her home.
“At last I have been successful in contacting Miss Allison,” he reported. “I made the appointment through my friend, Mrs. Winterhouse. Miss Allison has agreed to call at my home on Tuesday of next week at three o’clock.”
“Excellent!” Nancy approved. “I will arrive ahead of her.”
Impatiently she counted the many days which would have to elapse before the scheduled interview, and could not help but fret at the delay. During them she devoted all of her thoughts and energy to Coya’s cause, or so it seemed to Ned Nickerson.
“You need a little relaxation,” he insisted. “Why not attend the Omega Chi Epsilon house party and dance at Emerson this week-end?”
“I don’t feel a bit like dancing, Ned. Thank you for the invitation, though.”
“A day or so of fun would do you good, Nancy.”
“I’m not in the mood for it. I keep worrying about Coya. Why not invite another girl?”
“You know I’d never do that,” Ned answered reproachfully. “You’re the only girl I want to take.”
“There’s one place you may take me,” Nancy suggested.
“Where?”
“To the circus at Royalton. I saw it advertised yesterday.”
Ned groaned. “We’ve attended every circus now within ten counties. I’m just about fed up with animals.”
“So am I,” Nancy admitted, “but I keep hoping that sometime I’ll find Rai.”
“I’ll take you,” Ned promised reluctantly, “but I’m sure it will be another wasted trip.”
The prediction was a true one, for Rai was not located at Royalton or at any of the other circus towns which the couple visited. Occasionally, when Ned rebelled, George and Bess would accompany Nancy upon her searching tours. One afternoon as the three girls were returning after a discouraging day spent in a city some distance from River Heights, a large cross-country bus sped past them.
“Look! Look!” Bess cried, pointing toward a window of the vehicle. “Coya and Rai are in there! I caught a glimpse of them!”
Nancy did not question the identification. She quickly turned the car in the narrow road, but the bus had disappeared in a cloud of dust.
“You’ll never catch it!” Bess exclaimed anxiously.
“Yes, I will,” Nancy said grimly, pressing her foot firmly on the gasoline pedal. “I must!”