Chapter 8 The Quest of the Missing Map by Carolyn Keene
Ghosts
Nancy held up her arms as a signal for the driver to stop. There was a scream of brakes. The automobile, an old model, drew up a few yards away.
“Don’t stop, Henry!” the woman who sat beside the driver cried tremulously. “Go on! It’s a ghost! Drive on!”
Nancy had forgotten that the white robe covered her from head to toe. Fearful that the elderly country couple would not help her, she called to them in a half-frantic voice.
“Wait! I’m not a ghost! Please wait!”
To her great relief the driver obeyed. Nancy ran to the car. Without waiting for an invitation, she climbed into the front seat beside an elderly farmer.
“Drive on quickly,” she urged. “The people in that car there are trying to kidnap me!”
The man and his wife regarded Nancy in blank astonishment.
“You’re not a ghost?” the elderly woman quavered as her husband shifted gears and the car moved forward jerkily.
“Far from it,” Nancy replied with a laugh. “I am supposed to be a queen.”
“You mean you come from a distant land!” the country woman asked in awe.
“Oh, no, I am only queen for a night. You see, I was chosen to preside over a dance being given at Emerson College. Unfortunately, I didn’t play the part very long. I was kidnaped by the people in that gray car.”
Nancy noted with satisfaction that the driver of the other automobile was making no attempt to pursue her.
“Shoo, you don’t say!” the farmer chuckled. “I might have known it was all a lot of high-jinks. What these college boys and girls can’t think of! I reckon the kidnaping was kinda like an initiation?”
“Oh, no, it had nothing to do with the dance,” Nancy started to explain.
Observing that the farmer and his wife were staring at her with renewed alarm, she decided to say no more about the matter.
“Will it be out of your way to take me to the gymnasium?” she requested in an altered voice.
“I’ll be glad to drop you there,” the farmer replied, obviously relieved that the uninvited passenger could be disposed of so easily.
Twenty minutes later the old car rattled to a standstill in front of the college building. Nancy thanked the old couple and jumped to the ground. As she ran up the walk, Ned and Bill Tomlin appeared from behind a clump of bushes.
“Nancy, is it you?” the former called, for he could not see her face in the darkness.
“Yes, the queen herself!” laughed Nancy. “Were you wondering if I had abdicated my throne?”
“We were worried sick,” Ned declared, hastening to her side. “Whatever happened to you?”
“I was kidnaped by that same couple who followed me this afternoon. But we must keep the matter quiet.”
“You mean you’re not going to notify the police?” Ned demanded disapprovingly.
“No, not until after I’ve talked to Dad. I don’t want anyone to guess that my disappearance was serious. We must pass it off as a prank.”
“Homer Garwin went inside just a minute ago to telephone the police station,” Ned told her. “If you think I should, I’ll try to stop him.”
“Please do,” Nancy requested. “It will ruin all my plans if this affair has any publicity.”
While Ned hurried into the building, she and Bill Tomlin walked at a more leisurely pace. Nancy related the highlights of her harrowing experience. Then, making the most of an opportunity, she reminded the young man that he had not answered her question about the missing Captain Tomlin.
“You were kidnaped before I could tell you,” Bill answered with a laugh. “Captain Tomlin died when I was just a youngster. I really don’t know much about him or his twin brother. My father could tell you a great deal more.”
“I suppose your parents live in another city,” Nancy commented thoughtfully.
“At Kirkland,” Bill supplied.
“Why, I pass through there on my way to River Heights!”
“Then why not stop and talk to my father? He owns the Elite Department Store and has his offices there.”
“I shouldn’t like to intrude——”
“He’ll be glad to see you,” Bill declared heartily. “For that matter, I’ll phone and tell him you may stop.”
Before Nancy could reply, a group of young men and girls swarmed into the hall to surround her. She answered all questions skillfully, giving the impression that her disappearance had been nothing more than a part of a merry adventure in connection with the festivity. Her explanation satisfied everyone and she was escorted back to the dance with great ceremony.
Until a late hour the party went on with increasing gaiety. Then the strains of “Home Sweet Home” marked the end. Weary but happy, the girls bade good night to their escorts.
In the morning Nancy was awake early, eager to start for Kirkland and River Heights. To her disappointment she did not see the Tomlin boy again, but Ned brought a message from him.
“Bill says he telephoned his father, and Mr. Tomlin will be expecting you.”
“That’s splendid,” Nancy declared as she stepped into her car. “I’ve had a wonderful time, Ned. Thanks for everything.”
“You might have stayed until after luncheon,” he complained good-naturedly. “Please don’t take any short cuts. Stick to the main roads and you won’t be kidnaped!”
“I’ll be alert, Ned. You may depend upon that.”
The trip to Kirkland required less than an hour and Nancy felt certain that she was not followed. Without difficulty she located the Elite Department Store. As soon as she gave her name to the office girl she was escorted into Mr. Tomlin’s presence.
“Good morning,” the middle-aged store owner said cordially, motioning her to a leather chair. “Bill telephoned me about you, Miss Drew. You are interested in the Tomlin family history, I believe?”
“Indeed I am,” Nancy responded eagerly. “If you aren’t too busy, may I ask you a few questions?”
“I’ll do my best to answer them.”
Nancy then inquired about Captain Tomlin, the third in his line to follow the sea. The store owner readily confirmed that the man had died many years earlier, having been stricken while on a voyage to Japan.
“Captain John Tomlin was a cousin of mine,” he remarked musingly. “A very hearty, kindly man. Everyone thought highly of him.”
“Can you tell me if he had a twin brother?”
“Yes, I am pretty sure he did,” the store owner replied without hesitation. “I believe the lad was lost at sea when the Sea Hawk sank.”
“Did Captain Tomlin leave a wife and children?” was Nancy’s next question.
“He married but had no children to my knowledge. I regret I can’t tell you what became of his wife. Mrs. Tomlin disappeared soon after her husband’s death and was never heard from.”
“What was Captain Tomlin like?” Nancy asked after a moment. “Did he have any hobbies?”
“Yes, he enjoyed collecting things, particularly rare sea shells. I still have one he gave me—I’ve kept it all these years.”
The store owner opened a desk drawer. After hunting through a pile of papers, he brought forth a small colorful sea shell.
“This is called a Lion’s Paw,” he said, offering it to Nancy. “Pretty, isn’t it?”
“Beautiful! Did the captain have other hobbies besides collecting shells?”
“He was considered an authority on old songs of the sea. He could sing dozens of them.”
“Then he must have had a good voice,” Nancy commented, much interested in the information.
“He did indeed.”
Everything Nancy had learned seemed to prove that Captain John Tomlin was Tomlin Smith’s missing twin brother. Feeling that she owed the store owner an explanation for her many questions, she mentioned her theory to him.
“I should like to meet Tomlin Smith,” he said at once. “Does he bear a resemblance to the captain?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Somewhere at home I have a photograph of Captain Tomlin,” the store owner said thoughtfully. “Would it help you to have it?”
“Yes, unless he didn’t look a bit like his brother or father or mother.”
“Then I’ll mail the picture to you if I can find it,” Mr. Tomlin promised. “Just write your address on this scratch pad.”
Nancy was highly elated by the successful interview, feeling that she had taken a long step forward in solving the mystery about the owner of the other half of the treasure map. As she walked lightheartedly through the store on her way to an exit, she espied a counter laden with fishing tackle. The merchandise was of exceptional quality but had been reduced in price for a quick sale.
“This is my lucky day!” thought Nancy, pausing to examine a rod and reel. “Dad needs a new outfit, and I know this is exactly what he wants.”
She chose a special one and paid for the purchase. While it was being wrapped, she entered a telephone booth to call Bess Marvin in River Heights.
“This is Nancy,” she began, forgetting that her chum never failed to recognize her voice. “I am on my way to Mrs. Chatham’s estate, but Dad doesn’t want me to go there alone. Would you and George be willing to meet me in about half an hour?”
“I’ll be glad to come,” Bess answered instantly. “No doubt I can get George too.”
“This is what I want you to do,” Nancy instructed, lowering her voice so that it would not carry outside the booth. “My plan is to investigate the Music Studio, and I wish you girls would keep Mrs. Chatham engaged in conversation so she doesn’t guess what I am about.”
“We’ll do it,” Bess promised. “I only hope you’ll be careful.”
After chatting for a moment longer, Nancy left the telephone booth. Receiving her package she carried it to the parked car and then drove toward Rocky Edge.
Even so, she arrived at the mansion ahead of her chums. As she glanced up the road, wondering how long they would be delayed, she was startled to hear a shrill scream. Unmistakably the cry had come from the direction of the building which Trixie called the Ship Cottage.
Nancy sprang from the car and ran down the path toward the spot. Emerging along the oak trees, she caught a glimpse of the little Chatham girl. The child was running away from the studio, her hair blowing wildly across her face.
“Ghosts! Ghosts!” she screamed. “I saw ’em! They’re in the cottage!”
The child did not see Nancy nor hear the girl’s soothing voice. In panic Trixie scrambled through a hedge, straight into the path of an oncoming car!