Chapter 1 The Whispering Statue by Carolyn Keene
TOGO’S PRANK
Nancy Drew, her hands thrust deeply in her sweater pockets, paused in front of the Marvin residence. She gave a soft call. Almost at once the door flew open and two girls came outside. One was Bess Marvin, the other a girl cousin of Bess named George Fayne.
“Am I late?” Nancy inquired as her chums joined her. “I hurried as fast as I could but everything seemed to delay me.”
“Oh, we’ll be in plenty of time for the opening ceremonies at the park,” Bess replied carelessly. “The program isn’t scheduled to start until two o’clock.”
“I’d just as soon miss the speeches anyway,” George laughed, falling into step with her companions. “I’m mostly interested in seeing the grand new park.”
The three girls, who lived in River Heights, were walking toward Harrison Park, to attend the formal opening exercises. The property itself, comprising many acres, was located on the outskirts of the city along the banks of a small lake. It had been willed to River Heights by the late Mary Harrison, a wealthy old lady who had set aside ample funds to maintain the grounds as a place of beauty and recreation.
“It will be the very nicest park in the city,” Bess remarked enthusiastically as she walked swiftly on. “I hear too that part of the lake is to be cemented off for a swimming pool.”
As they approached the arched entrance gate the girls heard band music and hastened their steps. It was Saturday afternoon, and the streets were crowded with cars while the walks were thronged with men, women and children in a gay holiday mood.
“Oh, isn’t that garden gorgeous?” Bess murmured a moment later, catching a glimpse of red, lavender and yellow flowers directly ahead.
Neither Nancy nor George replied, for they had heard a soft pad-pad behind them, and had turned to see who was following so closely at their heels.
“Why, it’s a little dog!” Nancy exclaimed in delight. “Isn’t he cute?”
She did not need to coax the bull-terrier to come closer, for he trotted up to be petted. As the Drew girl stooped to pat his well-shaped head he leaped at her in friendly fashion and pawed her dress.
“What is your name, doggie?” she asked, pushing him from her. “And where is your collar?”
“Evidently he has run away,” George declared. “Of course he’s not a stray. You can tell he’s a thoroughbred.”
“Yes, he looks like a valuable dog,” Nancy agreed, glancing about the park in search of the animal’s owner. “But he seems to be lost.”
“Oh, come along, girls,” Bess urged impatiently. “Time’s going and there’s so much to see.”
“I suppose the dog’s master is somewhere in the park,” Nancy remarked as the three friends walked on again. She glanced over her shoulder. “Why, the little scamp is following us.”
“He seems to have adopted you, Nancy,” George chuckled. “I hope he doesn’t trail us all around the park.”
Nancy halted and sternly ordered the dog to go home. He retreated a few feet and the girls continued on their way again. A moment later the terrier was trotting along beside them. Nancy tried once more to send him away, but was unsuccessful.
“You don’t say ‘go home’ as if you really mean it, Nancy,” George criticised her chum. “I’ll show you how to get rid of the little scamp.”
She picked up a small stick and lightly touched the dog. He regarded her reproachfully but would not retreat.
“Oh, let him follow us if he likes,” Nancy urged. “He’s such a friendly little fellow, and we may run into his master somewhere in the park.”
“I wish we knew his name,” Bess remarked. “We might call him Togo.”
Togo trotted along contentedly at Nancy’s heels, and presently the girls forgot about him as they paused to admire a fountain. Suddenly they were startled to hear a man shout angrily:
“Say, get your dog out of that flower-bed!”
In horror the girls whirled around to see Togo digging furiously for a bone he thought was there. Plants and dirt were flying in every direction.
Nancy and her chums called sternly to the dog but he paid no heed. Finally George caught the mischievous little fellow in her arms and yanked him out of the bed. He had made several ugly holes in the soft earth. Broken flowers were scattered over the grass.
“You have no right to bring a dog into a park unless you keep him on a leash,” said a bystander to the girls. “The flower bed is now practically ruined.”
“He’s not our dog,” George replied, flushing deeply.
She put the squirming Togo down on the ground. As the three girls scurried away, conscious that many persons were regarding them with disapproval, the terrier followed them again.
“Oh, what shall we do with the dog?” Bess moaned under her breath. “Everyone thinks he’s our pet.”
“A park policeman will be after us if we’re not careful,” Nancy said uneasily. “Please go home, Togo; or if you don’t know where ‘home’ is, go somewhere.”
The terrier stared at her almost impishly. After a while he moved away, and the girls hoped that he would leave them. The next instant they were dismayed to see him dart toward the lake where three swans were gliding serenely along close to shore. Barking excitedly, Togo ran along the bank, making little dives at the frightened birds.
“Oh, capture him before he swims in,” Bess wailed. “That dog will cause our arrest before he gets through!”
Nancy and George cornered the animal, pulling him forcibly away from shore. They scolded him severely, but their words were only wasted. The mischievous terrier barked, frightened children by wild little darts toward them, and cast a wistful eye at every flower-bed they passed.
Soon the girls felt that everyone in their vicinity was regarding them with disapproval. Over and over they explained that Togo was not their dog; but with the little fellow following so worshipfully at their heels they could not expect to be believed. Several times Nancy and her chums tried to sneak away, but the alert Togo always found them again.
“Oh, let’s sit down on this bench and try to keep the scamp out of mischief for a minute or two,” Nancy sighed, indicating a seat which offered an excellent view of the lake.
“Is it safe, do you think?” Bess murmured. “The swans may come sailing along.”
“Oh, I’ll keep my hands on Togo every second,” Nancy declared. “If this dog were mine I’d get a good strong leash for him.”
“He may be your dog if the owner isn’t found,” George chuckled. “I can see where your work is cut out for you.”
“Oh, no,” Nancy corrected quickly, “if the owner doesn’t show up he’s your dog, George. You saw him first.”
“We’ll let Togo decide for himself,” George laughed. “Of course he’ll choose you.”
Presently two women sat down on a bench near by. Nancy promptly tightened her hold upon Togo, for she could not tell what he might try to do. The newcomers were well dressed, and from their appearance and general conversation Nancy gathered that the older of the two might be one of the speakers on the dedication program.
“I am dreadfully nervous,” the silver-haired lady confessed to her companion. “You see, this is the first time I have ever addressed such a large audience, and the first time that I have faced a microphone. I’m so afraid I’ll forget my speech.”
“Oh, nonsense, Mrs. Owen,” the other replied encouragingly. “If you weren’t a capable speaker, the Federation of Women’s Clubs never would have selected you as their representative here today.”
“Oh, it is a high honor, and that’s why I am so uneasy. I have had no radio experience. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll just run through my notes again.”
The woman addressed as Mrs. Owen opened her handbag. She removed several folded papers and scanned them intently.
“I’ve heard my mother mention Mrs. Owen,” Bess whispered to her chums. “She’s a very prominent clubwoman who has made dozens of speeches around River Heights. I can’t imagine her being nervous.”
After scanning her notes for several minutes, Mrs. Owen glanced at her watch and arose.
“I am scheduled to give my talk in exactly thirty minutes so I think we may as well go to the stands right away.”
The women walked along slowly. Not until they had disappeared from view did Nancy notice that Mrs. Owen had left her handbag lying on the park bench.
“Oh, the poor woman will be terribly upset when she discovers her loss!” she cried. “We must give the purse to her before she makes her speech.”
The girls moved forward to pick up the bag. Before they could do so, Togo, who seemed to guess their intention, darted ahead of them directly for the bench.
“Togo!” Nancy called sharply, but she was unable to distract the dog.
He leaped upon the vacant seat, and to the horror of the girls picked up Mrs. Owen’s handbag in his mouth.
“Bring it here!” Nancy commanded firmly.
Instead, Togo jumped down, and with the purse still in his jaws he trotted playfully in the opposite direction.
“Oh, he’s going toward the lake!” Bess cried in alarm.
“Togo!” George screamed, starting to run after the terrier.
It was exactly the wrong thing to do, for Togo, thinking that the girl wished to frolic with him, leaped faster and faster to the very edge of the lake. There he hesitated only an instant before plunging in. With the pocketbook still grasped in his mouth he swam away, head held proudly out of the water.
“Oh, what shall we do now?” Bess moaned.
As she had feared, Togo, after swimming out a short distance, had dropped the purse. The mischief accomplished, he then swam back to shore. Shaking the water from his sleek coat, he looked at Nancy as if expecting praise.
“Mrs. Owen’s speech in the bottom of the lake!” George exclaimed in dismay. “Now what will she do?”
“Let’s get away from this park before anything more happens,” Bess shuddered. “Let’s go home.”
Nancy shook her head. “We must find Mrs. Owen and try to explain. There’s just a chance that the pocketbook can be brought up.”
“Not in time for her speech,” Bess replied gloomily. “The water is too deep for wading even if we should want to ruin our clothing. There’s nothing we can do.”
Nancy held a different opinion. She had marked the exact spot where the bag had dropped in the water, and she believed that if she could only find the park workmen in time, they might drag the lake and retrieve the purse within a few minutes.
“Wait here,” she commanded her chums. “Don’t take your eyes from the spot where Togo dropped the bag. I’ll be right back.”
Nancy darted away, hurrying directly to the speakers’ stand where Mrs. Owen was engaged in excited conversation with several of the officials.
“Oh, I don’t know what to do,” the woman was saying nervously. “I’ve just discovered my purse is missing and all my notes are in it. I can’t make a speech without them.”
“Oh, but you must, Mrs. Owen,” one of the men urged. “We are depending upon you to make the dedication. No one else is prepared.”
“It’s not merely the speech,” the woman continued in distress. “The bag also contained considerable money and a gift which I was asked to present today. It is from the Federation of Women’s Clubs.”
“We’ll do the best we can,” an official returned grimly, “but I’m afraid we’ll not recover your bag before the ceremonies start—if we recover it at all.”
Nancy had reached the platform in time to hear the last remark. She pushed through the group of men and reached Mrs. Owen’s side.
“I can tell you what became of your bag!” she cried.
“Oh, where is it? Where is my purse?”
Briefly Nancy revealed the prank played by the mischievous Togo. The woman sagged into the nearest chair.
“Then my notes—the gift—everything is gone.”
“I saw exactly where the handbag went down,” Nancy said eagerly. “If the park workmen will help, I think we can recover it in time.”
“In twenty minutes?” Mrs. Owen gasped, glancing at her watch. “Oh, it isn’t possible!”
“Yes, it is,” Nancy insisted firmly, “but there’s not a second to waste! We must act!”