Chapter 6 The Clue of the Velvet Mask by Carolyn Keene
An Anonymous Demand
Without realizing that she might be running headlong into danger, Nancy rushed from behind the drapery.
The man in the black velvet hood whirled around. Startled, he dropped a dark cloth bag into which he had been stuffing pieces of wedding silver.
“So it’s the great girl detective!” the man hissed at her.
The same voice as that of the thief who had mistaken her for someone else at the Hendricks’ masquerade!
He made a lunge for her. But she side-stepped him and blocked the exit. Picking up the telephone, she screamed “Help!” into it.
Then, to Nancy’s amazement, the thief leaped onto one of the tables, opened a door in back of it, and fled.
Still shouting for help, Nancy took up the pursuit. The man evidently knew every inch of the rambling house. He ran down a back corridor, through a door, and directly to the servants’ stairway, which had a door at the foot.
Nancy followed him down, crying, “Stop thief!”
But reaching the foot of the stairs, she found the door locked.
Nancy pounded on it and presently it was opened by a startled maid. In a moment the place was in an uproar with everyone trying to locate the thief. No one had seen him come through the stairway door.
The shouts had attracted Detective Ambrose and the other plain-clothes men. While they went on a search for the thief, Nancy listened to the voice of every man wearing summer formals, hoping to discover among the guests the man who had spoken to her upstairs. She did not find him.
“I’m sure the thief’s gone,” she reflected. “Maybe I can learn something from that poor old servant.”
She went upstairs and found that her first cry of help on the phone had brought a maid to aid the elderly man. Now he had revived and was seated in a chair in the bedroom.
“I don’t know how it happened,” the servant said. “I never even saw the person who hit me. He sneaked up like a cat from behind.”
Detective Ambrose came in at this moment. He reported no success in apprehending the would-be thief.
“At least he didn’t get away with anything this time,” the policeman remarked. “Our quick work saved the wedding silver.”
“Yes, we were lucky,” Nancy replied, smiling at the detective’s use of the word our.
Finding that the servant had no clues to offer, she returned to the reception. The gayety which had prevailed half an hour before was gone from the party.
Nancy remained awhile, departing when the bride left. Reaching home, she was surprised to find Bess Marvin and George Fayne there. They explained that they had waited, hoping to hear her experiences at the reception.
“Who said I had any?” Nancy laughed.
“Why, it’s written all over your face,” George declared. “Come on. Tell us. Did you have another encounter with the man in the mask?”
“I did,” Nancy said with emphasis, and went on to relate how the thief had eluded her.
“Wish I’d been there,” George remarked, her eyes dancing. “I’d have helped you hold him, Nancy.”
“I could have used a little of your muscle, George. He’s a slippery rascal!”
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll try to get even with you?” Bess asked nervously. “After all, you wrecked his plans tonight, Nancy, and he probably won’t forget it, either.”
“I’m not worried.”
“You and Mrs. Gruen will be in the house alone tonight, won’t you?”
“Yes, Dad is still away on a trip. I’m not the least bit afraid, though.”
“Well, you should be,” Bess insisted. She glanced fearfully out into the dark street. “Even now that awful man may be—”
“Oh, stop it, Bess!” her cousin George cut in. “You’ll give Nancy the jitters with all that silly talk. She’s right! There’s no need to worry—”
At that moment the telephone rang. In the quiet house the unexpected sound was startling.
“It’s probably Dad calling me long-distance,” Nancy said. “I’ve been expecting him to phone.”
Excusing herself, she went to the hall and lifted the receiver. At first there was no reply to her hello. Then a man’s voice, which was not her father’s, spoke precisely and with sinister inflection:
“Nancy Drew, keep out of affairs that aren’t your own! If you don’t, be prepared to pay the consequences. Another warning, get rid of that hooded mask. Drop it within twenty-four hours over the wall of Hillside Cemetery.”
The receiver clicked, indicating the end of the one-way conversation. Nancy tried frantically to trace the call but was told that it must have been made from a dial phone. Bess and George had joined her, aware that something was amiss.
“Was it a threat?” George demanded.
Nancy nodded. “I’ve been ordered to get rid of the black hooded mask I picked up at Gloria’s home.”
“Oh, Nancy!” Bess declared, glancing again toward the dark street. “Didn’t I tell you? Why did you ever keep the mask?”
George, intrigued by the mysterious telephone call, eagerly offered her services.
“Let me go with you to get rid of the mask, Nancy! Or won’t you obey the order?”
“I most certainly will not! I intend to keep that mask unless the police ask me for it.”
“Good for you, Nancy!” George approved. “Don’t let that man bluff you!”
“Oh, George, what dangerous advice,” protested Bess, always fearful that Nancy would involve herself in real trouble. “I think we should stay here with Nancy tonight.”
“That’s right,” agreed George promptly. “With Mr. Drew away, and after that threatening phone call, anything might happen.”
“Not with the doors locked and Hannah Gruen in the house.” Nancy smiled. “I wish you both would stay tonight, but not to protect me or Mrs. Gruen. We’ll be snug and safe in our beds.”
“You hope,” Bess sighed. “Well, if you’re not afraid, I guess we may as well run along. It’s getting late. But do be careful, Nancy.”
“Don’t make any rash moves without consulting us,” George added with a chuckle. “We want to be in on the fun, you know.”
After the girls had gone, Nancy sat for a while in the living room, thinking over details of the case. Then, abruptly, she went to a desk drawer and took out the black hooded mask.
As she was gazing at it, Mrs. Gruen came downstairs from her room.
“Nancy, I think you should go to bed,” she remarked. Then noticing the object in the girl’s hand, she added with a shudder, “Mooning over that sinister thing again! Why don’t you burn it up?”
“Burn up my most valuable clue! Oh, I couldn’t do that. Anyway, the police might ask for it. This might be the very thing I need to track down the thieves.”
Nancy then revealed to the housekeeper that she had been ordered to get rid of the mask.
“Well, obey their wishes. I heard you telling Bess and George about the fracas tonight. The whole thing’s too dangerous.”
“Now, Hannah, don’t get yourself so upset. Please. You know I’ve never run into a situation yet that I couldn’t find a way out of.”
“Just you wait, Nancy Drew. Some day you won’t be able to find a way out. I worry all the time about you and your father. Two of a kind!”
“Well, then,” returned Nancy, smiling, “there’s no need to worry if I’m like Dad. He’s never failed to crack a tough case yet!”
The housekeeper merely shook her head. She realized that it was futile to dissuade the girl from pursuing work on a mystery, once she had started.
“What is it now, Nancy? Why are you staring so hard at that mask?” Hannah asked, noting how intently she was looking at the hood.
“It just occurred to me,” Nancy replied, “that the thief must have a good reason why he wants this returned. Perhaps it contains some clue he doesn’t want me to find.”
“How could it?”
“The mask has a thick, padded, white silk lining,” Nancy mused.
“Yes, it has.”
“Draw the curtains!” Nancy said suddenly. “I have an idea! One which I hope will pay off!”