Chapter 23 The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene
Night Prowlers
Leading the way to the bedroom across the patio, Nancy knocked boldly on the door. There was no response from within.
“He must be here,” whispered Bess.
Nancy determined upon a ruse. Disguising her voice and trying to speak as if she were the maid, she called:
“Senor Sand! Senor Purdy would like to see you.”
The door opened almost at once. Before the astonished Mr. Sand could protest, the Drew girl marched into his room.
“Good morning, Miss Trenton,” Nancy greeted, calmly seating herself in the nearest chair.
Bess and George stared at their chum in astonishment, wondering if she had lost her mind.
“You seem to have made a mistake,” began the young man.
Nancy cut him short. “It’s useless, Doris. I’ve known your identity a long time. Please remove your wig.”
The two gazed steadily at each other; then Harold Sand’s eyes fell.
“You win, Nancy. I might have known I couldn’t fool you.”
Bess and George were dumbfounded at the sudden change of voice, and were even more bewildered when Miss Trenton stripped a man’s wig from her head.
“I’ll have to find another way of hiding from Henry Washburn,” she said dolefully. “It was such a jolly little game.”
“Sorry to have spoiled your fun,” replied Nancy, “but from now on you’ll not need to hide from Henry. He has returned to the States.”
“He left without letting me know!” Doris cried, her voice revealing both relief and annoyance. “Why didn’t he tell me he was going?”
“Perhaps he’s found a new love,” Nancy suggested mischievously. “How would you feel about that?”
“I—hardly know,” Miss Trenton said slowly. “Father always insisted that I marry Henry. Perhaps that was the reason I felt so reluctant.”
“Why in the world did you come here in your disguise?” questioned Bess, who felt nothing had been explained.
“It was as good a place to hide as any other. Mrs. Purdy was my governess years ago, so I took her into the secret. I thought my disguise a very clever one.”
“It was,” said Nancy, smiling.
“Then how did you guess my secret?”
“The camera revealed it. I took a snapshot of you one day when you weren’t aware I was near. You sat just as you do now, with your hands folded on your lap.”
“A habit of mine,” laughed Doris. “I never dreamed that would betray me. I felt quite sure of myself after you failed to penetrate my disguise on other occasions.”
“We thought you were the person you were going to elope with!” blurted out Bess.
Nancy tried to cover this remark with a laugh, but it was no use. Deciding it would be better to tell the young woman what she knew, she related her so-called “commission” to try to keep Doris from a hasty marriage with some one other than Henry Washburn.
“I don’t know where anyone got an idea I planned to elope,” laughed the former Harold Sand.
When Nancy spoke of Mrs. Trenton’s telephone call, Doris sprang to her feet and began changing into feminine attire.
“I must go to her at once,” she declared anxiously. “Mother will be greatly disturbed to learn that Henry has returned to America.”
When Doris urged the girls to accompany her to the hotel they were glad to comply with the request, hoping they might gather additional information. They found Mrs. Trenton in tears. Nothing her daughter could say seemed to comfort her mother.
“No, no, there isn’t a thing you can do to clear up this dreadful situation,” wailed the distressed woman. “The entire story will come out and our name will be dishonored!”
“Mother, consider what you are saying——”
“I can’t go on this way another day, Doris. Everyone will soon know that the affairs of Trenton and Washburn have been in a bad state for over a year. The business had begun falling off even before Henry’s father died.”
“Mother, it isn’t as bad as you think! Please——”
“No, don’t try to quiet me, Doris. I have thought about this matter a long while. Now that Henry has been called back he will find out the truth. The entire story must come to light.”
“Mrs. Trenton, how did you learn that your husband’s firm was in financial difficulty?” Nancy inquired quickly. “He told you himself?”
“Oh, no, Doris discovered it. She is very clever with figures, not at all like myself. She examined my husband’s books and looked through his stock of luggage.”
“I learned that Father had tried to recoup some serious losses by selling inferior goods at standard prices,” Doris revealed reluctantly. “He had branched out into foreign trade. What troubled me was that he seemed to be involved with questionable firms, and that Henry had become a pawn in his hands.”
“Doris made up her mind to do a little detective work,” Mrs. Trenton resumed. “Naturally she feared my husband would guess what she was about. She adopted a disguise whenever she had special work to do.”
“Were you trying it out that day in River Heights when your car struck mine?” asked Nancy.
“Yes. I was getting Harold a passport. I was frightened lest you might guess that I was a girl. It worried me when you followed me to my hotel in New York.”
“I wanted to return the fifty dollars,” said Nancy, “and ask you some questions.”
“You are welcome to the money, Nancy. I have put you to so much trouble that I am sure you have earned it twice over. I never cared about the fifty dollars. I was more worried that you would discover the identity of your red-haired friend.”
“Yet you came to Mrs. Purdy’s home where I was staying.”
“I had no idea you would be there. After I had made all arrangements with Mrs. Purdy it was too late for me to change my plans. I avoided you as much as I could.”
“Doris has learned a great deal here in Buenos Aires,” Mrs. Trenton went on. “She visited several luggage firms, and by pretending to represent ours she gathered alarming data. In one place the owner actually looked frightened when she mentioned my husband’s name.”
“Halifax and Lopes?” asked Nancy.
“Yes. How did you guess it?”
“I’ve learned rather disturbing facts about them myself,” Nancy returned evasively. “Tell me, did Mr. Trenton ever have business dealings with a man named Joslin?”
“I’m not so sure,” answered Mrs. Trenton.
“He did, Mother,” broke in Doris. “I have seen Mr. Joslin’s name on Father’s account book.”
“Who is he?” questioned Mrs. Trenton anxiously. “Has he a bad reputation?”
“It is not of the best, I fear,” said Nancy seriously.
“Oh, dear, then my husband must be in deeper trouble than we thought him to be. When Henry learns the truth he may try to have him arrested.” Mrs. Trenton dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
“Father never meant to be dishonest, I know,” said Doris earnestly. “But if the story should appear in the newspapers, our reputation will suffer.”
“Other innocent persons will suffer too,” answered Nancy. “Treldy, for instance. She seems to have no idea that her stepfather may be mixed up in dishonest dealings.”
“And poor Mrs. Purdy,” added Bess sadly. “She and Mrs. Joslin are half sisters.”
“For that matter,” contributed George, “Senora Zola is related to the Joslins too. What a dreadful story if it all should come out!”
“What has Mr. Joslin done?” Mrs. Trenton asked between sobs.
“I can’t tell you now.” Nancy turned toward the door, motioning for her chums to come with her. “But I will promise this—I’ll do anything I can to keep the story from getting in the papers.”
“You are very kind,” Doris murmured gratefully. “I know we can trust you.”
“I’ll try in every way to keep the Trenton name from being disgraced. But don’t tell anyone what you have learned about your father’s affairs.”
With such valuable information in her possession Nancy knew exactly what she would have to do. Accompanied by Bess and George, she went to a telephone office and made a call to her father in River Heights. She told him of the latest developments in the case, pleading with him to interview Mr. Trenton and urge the man to take such action as would save his family name before it should be too late.
“But Nancy,” protested Mr. Drew, “I can’t make such a demand without evidence. I have learned a number of things, though hardly enough to warrant such interference on my part.”
“Dad, I have evidence, and I soon hope to obtain more. I’m almost certain Mr. Joslin is involved in the smuggling of jewels. We both know he is dishonest.”
“I’ll talk with Mr. Trenton and do what I can,” Carson Drew promised with sudden decision. “I only hope your evidence will stand up, Nancy.”
The telephone call being completed, the three girls returned to Mrs. Purdy’s home. Bess and George could not understand why their chum refused to notify the police.
“At least you could tell them about the diamond bracelet in your trunk,” argued Bess. “Then they would arrest Mr. Lopes.”
“He might claim the bracelet belonged to me since it was found in my trunk. No, I have another plan.”
She completely mystified her friends by moving Nestrelda’s brass bound trunk into an empty bedroom adjoining her own. She left the door open and did not lock the windows.
“You’re inviting a robbery,” declared Bess in protest.
“Perhaps I am. Let’s wait and see.”
Nancy was glad that with Treldy leaving the city there would be no occasion to involve the girl in her stepfather’s affairs. Sooner or later she would have to be told the truth, but at least her holiday would not be spoiled.
That entire evening Nancy was very tense. She tried to read but could not. At ten o’clock when members of the household were ready to retire she offered to lock up the place for the night.
Deliberately the girl left a rear door unfastened, then went to her room. Long after everyone else was asleep, she lay awake staring at a patch of moonlight which flooded the floor. She dared not let herself fall into a slumber. If she should doze off even for a few minutes all her plans might go awry.
The hours wore on slowly. In the hall Nancy heard a clock strike two. Presently she became aware of another sound—stealthy footsteps on the patio.
The girl remained still as the door of her room opened a tiny crack. A long moment of waiting, and it swung wider. Two shadowy figures glided across the floor, pausing not six feet from the bed. A flashlight played momentarily over Nancy’s face. Then the two men moved through the open doorway to the empty bedroom.