Chapter 19 The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene
Word from Home
Dinner at the Purdy home was always a formal meal, requiring a full hour and a half. Nancy and her chums found it somewhat boring to spend so much time at the table, yet the conversation never failed to be stimulating. Upon this particular evening they deliberately tried to induce Mrs. Purdy to speak of Harold Sand. Scarcely had the topic been introduced when the doorbell rang. In a moment Manuela came into the dining room and handed an envelope to Nancy.
“A cablegram,” said George. “Oh, dear, that must mean bad news from home.”
Nancy shared her chums’ uneasiness as she slit the envelope and read the message, but in a moment she relaxed again.
“It’s from Dad,” she told the group. “He’s at River Heights again.”
“I hope nothing is wrong,” murmured Mrs. Purdy.
“Oh, no, but Dad makes a rather strange request. He wants me to send him Henry Washburn’s address.”
“Have you it?” asked George from across the table.
“No. I didn’t ask him where he would stay while in Buenos Aires.”
“Mrs. Trenton and Doris might know,” suggested Bess.
“Yes, but I’m uncertain where they are staying. They acted so queer when I asked them for their address, I didn’t press the matter. Oh, dear, Dad wouldn’t have cabled for the information if it wasn’t important.”
“What will you do?” inquired Mrs. Purdy anxiously.
“Nestrelda might possibly know.”
“That’s so!” cried Bess. “Henry Washburn paid her a great deal of attention on the boat. She’ll surely know his address.”
To journey back to the city that evening was out of the question. After some discussion the girls decided they would wait until the following afternoon before visiting Nestrelda. As Nancy expressed it, she then would be able to kill two birds with one stone, since the interview with Mr. Halifax had been set for two o’clock. In her cable to her father she could ask him about the man.
The girls arose late, and enjoyed a substantial breakfast. No other members of the household were about, so they had the dining room to themselves.
“Have you seen Mr. Sand this morning?” Nancy questioned Manuela who came to take the dishes to the kitchen.
“Senor Sand—He went early to the city in a taxi.”
Nancy was disappointed at the information, for she had hoped to find a means of becoming acquainted with the elusive young man. However, she was convinced that Doris Trenton had not eloped with him yet. The morning passed quickly, and immediately after luncheon the girls set off for Alonzo Street.
“What is it you wish George and me to do?” asked Bess as the taxi drew near the house where Nestrelda was staying.
“Just remain in the cab. When Mr. Halifax leaves the building drive after him. Learn where he goes and report to me.”
“That shouldn’t be a hard assignment,” said George. “I hope the man doesn’t keep us waiting long.”
Scarcely had Nancy disappeared inside the hotel when Harry Halifax arrived. He was a dapper man of fifty with iron gray hair. His immaculate clothes were of the latest cut and he swung a cane jauntily.
Nestrelda and Nancy were waiting for him in the parlor. If the man were dismayed to see the Drew girl, he did not show it. Instead, as he was introduced, he bowed low and held Nancy’s hand somewhat longer than was necessary.
“I would have known you anywhere,” he said, cocking his head sideways the better to look at her. “You are the very picture of your father.”
“Do you know him well?” Nancy asked quickly.
“You mean your father never spoke of me to you?”
“Not that I recall, Mr. Halifax.”
“He has often mentioned you, Nancy. When I last was in the States, which would be nearly twelve years ago, you were only a little girl. You had the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen and you wore it tied with a pink ribbon!”
“I can’t remember that far back,” Nancy smiled. “Were you a client of my father?”
“Not exactly, my dear. I helped him with a case which involved a South American firm. Now and then when your father requires special information he writes to me.”
“I see,” said Nancy, feeling mortified to think she had doubted the man’s honesty.
“You will give me your address?” Mr. Halifax asked, taking out his notebook. “I should like to keep in touch with you while you are in Buenos Aires. My wife no doubt will invite you to our home to dinner.”
Nancy could not refuse such a reasonable request without appearing to be rude. Accordingly she wrote down Mrs. Purdy’s address, then he left the hotel.
From the window Nancy saw him enter a taxi. She tried to signal to Bess and George that there was no need for them to follow, but they did not see her. The second vehicle sped in pursuit of the one in which Mr. Halifax was riding.
“Perhaps it’s just as well they do check up on him,” thought Nancy. “His story sounded convincing enough, yet I know Dad never mentioned a Mr. Halifax to me.”
Now that the man had gone, she realized that his personality had influenced her. Actually he had given her no information about himself.
“Was I too careful, Nancy?” inquired Nestrelda a moment later. “I suppose I should have told Mr. Halifax where you live.”
“I wanted to meet him, Treldy. You weren’t a bit too cautious. Oh, by the way, have you Henry Washburn’s address?”
Nestrelda’s pretty face clouded. “No, I haven’t. I thought he surely would telephone me before this. I gave him my address but I didn’t ask for his.”
“Then you have no idea where he might be staying?”
“He mentioned several places. Let me see, he might have gone to the Hotel Nacional. He spoke of that place.”
“It’s vitally important that I reach him,” Nancy said, explaining about the cablegram she had received from her father.
“I don’t know why Henry hasn’t tried to get in touch with me,” Treldy said unhappily. “He was so attentive on board ship. I—I thought he might be falling in love with me.”
Nancy spared the girl the pain of learning that the man she admired was supposed to be engaged to someone else. Instead, she changed the subject by asking her if she had heard from her mother.
“Not a word,” answered Treldy, turning away.
While Nancy did not approve of the way the girl had acted, she thought that Mrs. Joslin had only herself to blame. Yet she could not understand why the woman had not tried to contact her daughter after she had left the boat.
“I believe I’ll taxi over to the Hotel Nacional,” she told Nestrelda as she turned to leave. “Would you like to go with me?”
“Why yes,” the other accepted eagerly, “if I can be of any help in locating Henry Washburn.”
Nancy was not deceived. She understood perfectly that the girl longed to see the young man again. As it developed, the searchers were doomed to disappointment, for although they taxied from one hotel to another, they could not locate him.
At length Nancy ordered the driver to return to Nestrelda’s home. They were traveling down a narrow side street when the cabman suddenly slammed on the brakes. Peering out the window, the girls saw that he had stopped to avoid striking a woman who stood in the middle of the road.
“Go on!” shouted the driver wrathfully in Spanish.
The young woman moved uncertainly, turning into the path of a car which was coming from the opposite direction.
“Miss Brownley!” cried Nancy, horrified.
Swinging open the taxi door, she darted to the confused blind person and seized her by the arm. “I’m Nancy Drew,” she said, guiding her toward the cab.
Miss Brownley sobbed in relief. “I’ve lost my dog somewhere,” she told the girl. “Those street urchins unfastened his leash and took him away from me.”
“I’ll find him for you,” said Nancy grimly. “Please step into this taxi where you will be safe with a friend of mine.”
She helped the young woman in, then looked about for the missing dog. The urchins, observing the result of their mischief, had darted into a nearby alley. The police dog, angered by the treatment his mistress had received, longed to take up the pursuit. Instead, being well trained, he tried to locate the blind woman.
At the risk of being attacked, Nancy seized the leash. The dog, remembering her as a friend, allowed her to lead him to the taxi.
“I’ll be glad to take you where you live,” the Drew girl said to Miss Brownley.
“You are very kind, but I don’t like to cause you so much trouble.”
“No trouble at all. Treldy and I have plenty of time.”
“I don’t know what I should have done if you hadn’t rescued me,” the sightless girl declared as the cab sped over the pavement. “I might have been killed. Those boys did not mean to be so cruel, I’m sure. They may not have realized that I am blind.”
“I hope they are thoroughly ashamed of themselves,” said Nestrelda feelingly.
“Have you found work since reaching B. A., Miss Brownley?” Nancy presently inquired.
“Yes, I am to have a part in a show which opens here next week. If my act is a success I’ll have no difficulty in getting along from now on.”
Nancy was relieved to learn of the young woman’s good fortune. In parting she wished her the best of luck, promising to attend the opening of the show if she were still in Buenos Aires.
At Alonzo Street, Nancy bade good-bye to Nestrelda and motored alone to Mrs. Purdy’s home. Bess and George had not arrived yet.
“I hope they didn’t run into any trouble,” Nancy thought anxiously. “The more I consider it, the more inclined I am to think that Mr. Halifax will bear watching. I shouldn’t be surprised if he’s trying to get his hands on Treldy’s trunk!”
As she dismissed the cab and ran up the walk, Mrs. Purdy opened the door of the house.
“Oh, Nancy, I am so glad you are back!” the lady exclaimed.
“Is anything wrong, Mrs. Purdy? Bess and George——?”
“No, but a young man came here not twenty minutes ago. He said you had telephoned that you wanted your brass-bound trunk repaired.”
“You didn’t allow him to take it away?” Nancy gasped.
“Manuela was just going to let him carry it off when I interfered. I didn’t like the appearance of the fellow.”
“It was a ruse to get the trunk away from me,” Nancy declared with conviction. “You saved the day, Mrs. Purdy!”
“I was afraid afterwards that I might have made a mistake.”
“You certainly didn’t. I wonder who the person could have been?”
“He looked like an ordinary repairman to me, but he talked very glibly. That was what made me suspicious of him.”
“An agent for another person, no doubt,” Nancy said, frowning. “Maybe Mr. Halifax sent him,” she mused.
“Mr. Halifax?”
“He’s no one you know, Mrs. Purdy. I met the man for the first time today and gave him my address.”
“Oh, Nancy, was that wise?”
“Apparently it wasn’t, but at the moment he seemed like a very pleasant gentleman, who insisted he knows my father.”
“All this trouble you’ve been having over your trunk worries me,” confessed Mrs. Purdy. “I think you should return Miss Darlington’s luggage before something happens. I have such an uneasy feeling—I can’t explain it.”
“I hope to clear up everything in a day or so, Mrs. Purdy. Just as soon as I learn about Mr. Halifax——”
Nancy broke off speaking, for a taxi had drawn up to the door. Bess and George leaped out and hurried toward their chum.
“They’re here now!” cried Nancy. “From the way they act, I’m sure they have news for me!”