Chapter 9 The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene
A Diamond Bracelet
Struggling to help herself and other passengers, Nancy Drew realized how many lives a locomotive engineer is responsible for in his daily run. Eager to learn the cause of the sudden stop, she and Ned went forward. They found that when a junction signal had failed and a collision had impended, the engineer had avoided a serious accident by his quick thinking.
Long after Nancy had retired to her berth she remained awake, reflecting upon many things; the near accident and the information the conductor had given her. If the key did not fit the trunk in the baggage car, then she could only agree with him that some other person had luggage similar to her own. Considering the queer circumstances surrounding her attempts to sail, she wondered if there could be any significance to the fact that a trunk like her own was heading in the same direction also. She determined to find out.
“I know what I’ll do,” she made up her mind. “When we get into New York I’ll leave the train early and find out who owns that other brass-bound trunk.”
In the morning Nancy and her chums were abroad long before the train crept into the station. But while they were among the first persons to alight, a disappointment awaited them. In vain they watched for the special piece of luggage to be removed from the baggage car. At last Nancy spoke to one of the trainmen about it.
“Oh, that trunk,” he replied. “Sure, I know the one you mean. We put it off early this morning at Crestmont.”
“Crestmont,” repeated Bess, who stood near by. “Why, that’s the town where Laurel Hall is located.”
“So it is,” Nancy agreed soberly. “The trunk may be owned by a girl from that place. How strange that it was put aboard the train at River Heights.”
“How about a little breakfast!” suggested Ned hopefully.
“A little would hardly satisfy me,” Bess laughed.
Nancy presented a claim check for Snowball, who had traveled in the baggage car, and gave the cage to Ned.
“I feel conspicuous carrying this animal,” the young man complained as he led the way to the station lunch room. “Everyone is looking at me.”
“Are you sure?” Nancy teased. “You know Snowball is very handsome.”
Ned made a wry face as the young people went to find a table in the crowded lunch room.
“Better not try to feed that cat in here or you’ll start a riot,” he warned as he saw Nancy gazing at her pet. “There’s a time and a place for everything.”
“Oh, all right,” the girl said sweetly. “But the trainman may have forgotten to give Snowball her milk.”
While the others studied the menu, Nancy glanced about the room. Observing Henry Washburn at the next table, she gave Ned a quick nudge.
“Why don’t you invite him to join us?” she suggested.
Ned arose and went to the other table. After talking with the young man for a moment they both returned. As the introductions were made, Nancy regarded Henry Washburn with deep interest. He was well dressed, his manner was pleasant, and he was better looking than the average, yet something seemed to be lacking in his personality.
“No force,” Nancy appraised him. “He seems like a weakling. I’ll warrant he’s under the thumb of Mr. Trenton.”
When she invited the young man to join the group he accepted politely, sliding into the empty seat beside her. At first Nancy was careful to keep the conversation general, but before long she managed to mention Miss Trenton’s name. Immediately young Washburn’s face lighted up.
“Oh, you know Doris?” he asked. “I plan to surprise her by sailing on the Patrician.”
“Indeed,” said Nancy, pretending to be astonished.
“Her father and I fixed it up together,” the young man went on. “Doris isn’t to know anything about it until the boat sails.”
“Your idea, I suppose,” Nancy commented, drawing him on.
“No, Mr. Trenton suggested it first. However, I’ll be glad to make the trip. Work never did agree with me,” he added with a laugh.
“I should think it would be interesting to manage a large luggage concern,” remarked George, studying him curiously.
“The novelty wears off pretty fast,” he replied. “I own half of the firm, but I can’t say that I manage it. Mr. Trenton handles all our weighty problems.”
“I’ll venture he does,” Nancy thought to herself. Aloud she said, “Well, it will be nice traveling in South America. Doris should appreciate having you for a companion.”
“She’ll probably lecture me for leaving the business,” Henry Washburn replied with a broad smile. “Doris is a wonderful girl but she has funny ideas. She thinks I should slave at a desk every minute.”
“And you don’t agree?” prompted Nancy.
“Oh, I believe in working now and then when I feel like it. But there’s no sense in tying myself down when Mr. Trenton is willing to do all the worrying. As long as he is satisfied, Doris should be too. But she says she won’t marry me unless I buckle down.”
“You are in a predicament,” Nancy said lightly. “Perhaps you should give in to Doris’s wishes.”
“And have her lead me around by my nose after we’re married?” the young man chuckled. “Not much. I’ll win her over to my way of thinking while we’re on this trip.”
When breakfast was finished, Nancy and her friends said good-bye to Henry Washburn, voicing rather outspoken opinions of him after he had gone. They all agreed that he was pleasant but lazy, unquestionably dominated by Mr. Trenton.
Nancy’s first thought was to visit the express office, there to inquire for her trunk. She was told it had not arrived yet. A clerk assured her that it probably would reach the office some time that morning, but she could not feel easy in her mind.
“What will I do if it should be delayed?” she said anxiously to her friends. “Without a passport I’ll never be allowed to sail on the Patrician. And this delay gives me so little time to find out about it.”
Ned took the girls to the apartment of Bess’s aunt, Mrs. Miller, establishing himself in a hotel not many blocks away. At once the young people were made to feel welcome, as they had been on other occasions.
“Any new mysteries since I last saw you, Nancy?” the woman inquired with a smile.
“She’s trying to pick up a couple of them,” replied George, “but we hope she won’t get into a lot of trouble on this trip.”
To take Nancy’s mind from her troubles, Mrs. Miller suggested a shopping expedition.
“That’s a splendid idea, Aunt Helen,” Bess approved.
The girls did not buy many things but they enjoyed wandering about the great department stores. When it was time to return to the apartment house, they stopped at a jewelry store for a watch which Mrs. Miller had left for repairs several days before.
The shop was crowded with customers. While Bess and her aunt went to the repair department, Nancy and George sat down to wait. Almost at once their attention was drawn to a well-dressed woman with an expensive fur piece about her neck. She stood with her back toward them.
As the girls watched, she moved slightly so that they obtained a view of her face. She was Mrs. Joslin.
“We would run into her of all persons!” muttered George in disgust. “She must have come to New York to see darling Nestrelda off on the boat.”
It would have been easy for the girls to have avoided meeting the woman, but Nancy arose and with mischievous intent sauntered to the jewelry counter. As she pretended to look at a tray of rings she noticed that Mrs. Joslin was examining a diamond bracelet.
“Haven’t you anything better?” the woman asked the clerk.
“This is one of our finest bracelets, Madam,” replied the man. “The work on it is very intricate.”
“How do you do, Mrs. Joslin?” asked Nancy with exaggerated politeness.
As she heard her name spoken, the woman whirled about quickly. She looked not directly at Nancy but through her.
“I don’t believe I know you,” she said coldly.
“Why, don’t you recall?” Nancy returned wickedly. “I am your detective friend.”
“How dare you!” exclaimed Mrs. Joslin. “I—I never saw you before in my life!”
With an angry toss of her head the woman marched from the jewelry store.
“I hope I didn’t cost you a sale,” Nancy said to the man behind the counter.
“I doubt she would have bought anything,” he replied, shrugging. “Nothing seemed to be good enough to suit her.”
“This bracelet would please me,” Nancy remarked, holding up the piece of jewelry so that it reflected light. “Is it valuable?”
“Nine hundred and eighty dollars,” responded the clerk. “One of our nicest pieces.”
Nancy called George’s attention to the bracelet which was duly admired.
“Mrs. Joslin must have intended to buy it for Nestrelda,” the latter said somewhat enviously. “Lucky girl.”
“Anyway, she didn’t get it,” Nancy remarked. “How small of her not to recognize me. I wonder if she had any special reason for acting as she did?”
“She’s a very silly, self-centered woman,” said George feelingly. “The less I see of her the better I’ll like it.”
The arrival of Bess and Aunt Helen cut short the conversation. They too admired the diamond bracelet, then the party taxied back to the apartment house.
Although Nancy had tried not to speak of her troubles during the morning trip, she had worried constantly about the missing trunk. At the first opportunity she telephoned the express office to inquire if it had arrived. Her heart leaped as a clerk replied to her question.
“Yes, Miss Drew, the trunk came in at ten o’clock. You may examine it whenever you like.”
After hanging up the receiver, Nancy cried:
“The trunk is here! I’m going straight over to look in it.”
“And if the passport isn’t there,” Bess inquired quietly, “what will you do?”
A hopeful smile which had come over Nancy’s face now faded from it. “It has to be there,” she said grimly.
However, she again recalled the strange visit of the intruder who had sought to steal all her traveling clothes. There was great likelihood that he had taken the missing passport. Then what!