Chapter 4 The Mystery of the Fire Dragon by Carolyn Keene
A Disappointing Wait
“We must call a doctor at once,” Aunt Eloise said. She asked Grandpa Soong who his physician was, but the elderly man was too weak to answer. Miss Drew turned to George and requested, “Please telephone my physician, Dr. Gordon.”
Meanwhile Aunt Eloise, Bess, and Nancy gently lifted Grandpa Soong onto his bed. Then Nancy ran back through her aunt’s apartment and out into the hall to see if the attacker were in sight. The young sleuth knew it was a vain hope, and as she had expected, no one was there.
Nancy realized that by the time she waited for the self-service elevator to come up from the first floor and take her down again, the thief would have made his escape.
Quickly Nancy ran down the stairs. She stopped at each floor and looked around for any sign of the thief. Finally, reaching the lobby without having seen anyone, she dashed to the front door and gazed up and down the street. No one carrying papers under his arm or a bundle or suitcase was in sight.
Nancy hurried back to Aunt Eloise’s apartment, and using the kitchen phone, immediately called police headquarters. She was switched to Captain Gray, who was on duty at the nearby precinct. The officer said he would send two of his men at once to investigate.
Then Nancy returned to Mr. Soong’s apartment to do a little investigating of her own. She found that everything had been stripped from the archaeologist’s worktable except the lamp. A bottle of Chinese ink and brushes lay on the floor and near it an exquisite hand-painted metal vase.
Every drawer in the room was open and the contents were strewn about. Bookshelves were in disarray. Apparently the thief had made a quick but thorough search of Grandpa Soong’s workshop for all papers, notes, and photographs pertaining to the manuscript.
The buzzer interrupted Nancy’s investigation and she went to open the door.
“I’m Dr. Gordon,” said the smiling young man.
Nancy led him to Mr. Soong’s bedroom. Aunt Eloise and the girls withdrew while the doctor made an examination of the victim. As they waited for his report, the buzzer sounded again.
Two police officers had arrived. They introduced themselves as Brady and Reed. Upon hearing that the doctor was in the bedroom, the two men said they would start in the living room to search for a clue to the intruder.
Presently Brady said, “He didn’t force an entry, so he must have had a key.”
Finding nothing to help identify the thief, Officer Reed added, “Apparently the thief went immediately to the bedroom. From what you tell me, Miss Drew, Mr. Soong was working at his desk when he was attacked.”
Just then Dr. Gordon appeared. He shook his head. “Mr. Soong’s condition is the result of fear as well as a hard blow. He will have to be removed to the hospital at once.”
“I’ll call an ambulance,” Officer Brady offered, and went to the phone.
Nancy asked the doctor if it would be possible for her to talk with Grandpa Soong before he was taken away. “Yes,” Dr. Gordon replied. “But make it brief.”
Both officers followed her inside and introduced themselves. The elderly man gave the girl a warm smile. “I am very grateful to you, my friend,” he said in a whisper. “I—I do not know why my manuscript was stolen.”
Officer Reed asked him for a description of his assailant.
“The man was masked,” Mr. Soong said, “and wore a hat pulled low, so I could tell nothing about his face or hair. He was rather small, but very strong.”
At once Nancy wondered if he might be the same person she had seen running away after the firecracker explosion. That person was small, too. She told this to the officers.
At that moment the door buzzer sounded. Two ambulance attendants carrying a stretcher entered the apartment. As they carried Mr. Soong from the room, his friends gave him their best wishes for a quick recovery.
As soon as the attendants and their patient had left, the two police officers went toward Grandpa Soong’s bedroom. One of them carried a little kit which Nancy knew was a fingerprinting outfit.
“Do you mind if I watch you work?” she asked.
“No, come along,” Officer Reed replied.
As she started to follow, Nancy was detained by Bess. “Don’t you think we should tell the officers about Chi Che and our suspicions that she’s in danger?”
George tossed her head. “Certainly not. Chi Che asked Aunt Eloise not to.”
“Just the same—”
Miss Drew spoke up. “Bess has a point, but so has George. Let’s take a vote.”
Nancy and Aunt Eloise sided with George. Resignedly, Bess said, “Okay. But if Chi Che is still missing by tomorrow I’ll probably ask the same question again.”
Aunt Eloise smiled. “A lot can happen in twenty-four hours,” she said. “You’ve already found that out since you came to New York.”
Nancy went into Grandpa Soong’s bedroom to watch the police officers. They had already opened their kit. One man was holding a camel’s-hair brush and a bottle of gray powder.
“This must be one of the thief’s hand marks,” said Officer Brady, who was shining a flashlight on the desktop and looking through a magnifying glass. “The finger spreads indicate a larger hand than that of Mr. Soong’s. And shorter fingers.”
Officer Brady dusted the prints with the powder. Then, as his co-worker held the flashlight, he picked up a camera and photographed the prints.
Officer Reed turned to Nancy. “We’ll get these prints two ways,” he said. “Now we’ll use lifting tape.”
He took what looked like a large rubber patch with a thin outer coating from the kit. First he peeled off the coating, and Nancy noticed that the rubber under it was very sticky. He placed this over the fingerprint, then gently took it off.
“Very good,” he said. “Come look, Miss Drew.”
Nancy took a few steps forward and studied the perfect reprint on the tape. She smiled up at the officers. “It’s fascinating,” she said. “And now I’m going to ask you a favor. If you should find that these fingerprints are on record, will you let me know to whom they belong?”
“I guess we can do that,” Officer Reed replied.
After the two men had left, Nancy and the girls returned to Miss Drew’s apartment. “I’m going to bolt this door,” Aunt Eloise announced. “I don’t want any thieves coming in here!”
Nancy gazed into space for several seconds, then said, “Aunt Eloise, I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. But I think there’s a good chance the thief or some accomplice of his may come back to the Soong apartment to try stealing something else. What I’d like to do is spend the rest of the night there and find out.”
Miss Drew shook her head. “It’s too dangerous,” she argued. “I’d never forgive myself if anything should happen to you.”
“George can stay with me,” Nancy said, by way of persuasion. “I’ll place a chair under the door handle so no one can possibly get in. If I hear anyone trying the door, I’ll call the police.”
George spoke up. “Why call the police? Why don’t you and I just go out and capture the thief?”
Before Miss Drew could comment, Bess remarked, “It’s just possible Chi Che herself will return and won’t be able to get in.”
“That’s true,” Aunt Eloise conceded. “Chi Che may have been held and her key to the apartment taken just so the thief could accomplish the job of taking the manuscript.”
Bess’s eyes sparkled. “And Chi Che will be released! Won’t that be wonderful!”
“I wish I shared your optimism,” said Aunt Eloise. “Just in case she should come home and try to get in, I’ll permit Nancy and George to finish the night in the Soong apartment.”
Bess went on, “Do you think the part of Chi Che’s note ‘Because I have found out that—’ meant the plan to steal the manuscript?”
Nancy shook her head. “Unless Chi Che returns home tomorrow morning, my answer would be ‘no.’ ”
Nancy and George slept fitfully the balance of the night. By seven o’clock they were wide awake. They were just about to go back to Aunt Eloise’s apartment when the Soongs’ door buzzer sounded. George jumped perceptibly. Without making a sound she formed her lips into the words, “Shall we answer it?”
Nancy shook her head. Beckoning to George to follow her, she led the way to the adjoining apartment, opened the hall door, and peered out cautiously.
Mr. Stromberg was standing at the Soong door!
Quickly and quietly Nancy Drew closed the door to her aunt’s apartment. In hushed tones she told George about the caller. “Just as well if Mr. Stromberg doesn’t find out where we’re staying,” she whispered.
Mr. Stromberg rang the buzzer again. Then, apparently deciding that no one was coming to answer it, he walked to the elevator.
“I suppose he came here to see why Chi Che hasn’t returned to work,” George remarked. “He sure gets around early in the morning.”
Nancy frowned. “I wonder how Mr. Stromberg got into the apartment house. He didn’t ring the downstairs bell to the Soong apartment.”
George shrugged. “Oh, well, someone was probably just going out the lobby door at the time he arrived, and that’s how he got in.”
Aunt Eloise and Bess were already up, and Nancy and George became conscious of the aroma of broiling bacon. They went into the kitchen and reported Mr. Stromberg’s visit.
“You were wise not to let him know where you are, Nancy,” her aunt praised her.
About an hour later the telephone rang. “Will you take it, Nancy?” Aunt Eloise requested. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you. I must go out to an all-day teachers’ meeting.”
Miss Drew paused by the door long enough to learn that it was a call from police headquarters. Captain Gray was reporting that the fingerprints of the burglar had been checked with FBI records. “Whoever the thief was,” he said, “he has never been arrested.”
The captain went on to say that his men had checked every tenant in the apartment house with the superintendent and also the renting agent in charge of the building. “We’re sure the suspect doesn’t live there,” he stated.
“Thank you for letting me know,” said Nancy. “And I am still very much interested in this case. If you have any further news, I’d appreciate hearing from you.”
The officer chuckled. “I understand you are an amateur sleuth, Miss Drew,” he said. “I heard this from Dr. Gordon when he called up to give a report on Mr. Soong. It seems your aunt had been telling him about you.”
Nancy laughed. “I see I can’t keep that a secret. Well, now that you know, I hope you won’t mind if I try to solve the mystery, too.”
“The department would be delighted to have your help,” Captain Gray replied.
After clearing away the breakfast dishes, the three girls tidied up not only Aunt Eloise’s apartment but also Grandpa Soong’s. Time dragged as they waited hopefully for Chi Che Soong to return home. Near noon Nancy finally said:
“I’m sure Chi Che is still either being held prisoner or is in hiding. Whichever is true, we must find her! Let’s have a bite of lunch and then start our sleuthing.”
She turned to George. “Are you ready to play the part of Chi Che?”