Chapter 18 The Clue of the Velvet Mask by Carolyn Keene
Nancy’s Disguise
The sun blazed overhead next morning when Nancy and Bess finally came within view of the rambling old Blue Iris Inn.
Far removed from surrounding farmhouses, the wooden building stood lonely and forlorn in a spot shaded by tall pines. Flower beds, including the iris from which the inn had taken its name, were choked with weeds.
Parking some distance from the inn, Nancy and Bess advanced cautiously in case Mr. Tombar should be around. Their attention was focused on the windows, all of which were boarded up.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Bess said. “I wouldn’t want to have even a picnic here.”
Nancy laughed. “It really could be fixed up quite attractively.”
The girls circled the inn, peering through chinks in the boards which covered the windows. To their amazement, they could see in the dim interior that most of the rooms on the lower floor were cluttered with boxes and crates, many of them with lids apparently tightly fastened.
“Looks like a warehouse,” Bess remarked.
“Or a department store shipping room,” Nancy added.
They speculated on whether the boxes had been brought to the inn for unpacking, or had been filled there and were ready for shipment.
“I wonder if these boxes came from Taylor’s,” Nancy said. “Snecker works in the receiving and marking room. And he’s a friend of Tombar.”
“Do you think they may contain stolen goods?”
“It looks that way, Bess. I wish we could get inside the inn and open up one of those cases.”
“We might be caught,” Bess shivered.
Nancy made a careful inspection of the windows, and tested every door. She quickly reached the conclusion that the inn had been effectively barricaded.
“We can’t get in without smashing some of the boards,” she decided. “And that might land us in jail.”
“Let’s return to town and notify the police, Nancy.”
“I guess we’ll have to,” Nancy sighed. “But I’d like to find a way inside. You know, Bess, this Chinese puzzle we’ve been working on is beginning to take a definite form.”
“Not for me it isn’t.”
“Remember the charge plate that I found on the railroad track?”
“Of course.”
“Well, it must have belonged to Snecker. Now, unless those boxes and cartons contain Blue Iris furnishings, I’m convinced there’s something strange about their being here.”
“I think so too, Nancy. But if it should turn out that they’re filled with goods from the inn, wouldn’t we look silly reporting it to the police?”
“Before I tell them, I’ll do a little more checking,” Nancy agreed. “Come on, Bess! We’ve learned everything we can here. Let’s get back to town. I want to find out about those boxes if I can.”
In River Heights once more, the girls had lunch, then Nancy went straight to her father. Through people he contacted she learned that at the time the Blue Iris Inn was sold, all the furnishings had been disposed of at auction. She asked his advice about telling the police her suspicions.
“Well, actually you haven’t much to go on,” he said. “Better do a little more investigating first. For instance, find out, if you can, whether Tombar himself bought some of the furnishings at the auction.”
Nancy set off for the office of the auctioneer. A short distance from it she met Mr. Lightner.
“I’m glad I ran into you, Miss Drew!” he declared cordially. “I’ve been trying to reach you by telephone all morning.”
“I’ve been for a ride in the country.”
“I was afraid you might have forgotten the day,” he reminded her.
“It’s July first.”
“And the third date listed on the lining of the velvet hood. Linda Seeley told me about your suspicions. I’d like you to attend the party if you can. It’s a dance at the John Dwight estate. At the last minute they decided to make it a masquerade.”
“I’d like to go.”
“I’ll arrange for a costume,” he offered. “How would you like to dress? As a French lady or another Spanish señorita?”
“As a sleuth.” Nancy laughed. “How about my being a maid in the women’s cloakroom?”
“Why, yes. A splendid place for scrutinizing guests. Come with me now and I’ll find an outfit for you.”
Nancy decided to postpone her call to the auctioneer’s office. At the entertainment company she selected a well-tailored black dress with white collar and cuffs and a dainty ruffled cap.
“I have some news for you,” Mr. Lightner said, walking with Nancy to the front door. “I’m taking Linda Seeley back.”
“Oh, I’m so glad!”
To have Linda reinstated in the firm was a great relief to Nancy. Nevertheless, she knew that Mr. Lightner had re-employed the girl largely on her recommendation. Should the thefts which had damaged the company’s reputation continue, Linda might be blamed again.
“That makes this party tonight an important one,” Nancy thought. “Oh, I do hope everything goes off without trouble!”
Arriving home with her big box, Nancy was pleasantly surprised to find Ned Nickerson lounging on the porch.
“Schoolbooks are locked up,” he joked. Seizing Nancy, he planted a kiss on her cheek. “You look wonderful!”
“Ned! The neighbors!” Nancy blushed. “But I’m glad to see you.”
“What’s in the box? A new dress for a date with me tonight?”
“Maybe.”
Nancy told him of her plan to play the part of a maid at the Dwight party.
“How about coming with me? I think I could get you in as a hat-check boy or something of the sort. Want to help me catch a couple of masked thieves?”
“Wel-l,” Ned weakened, “since you put it that way, the answer is, naturally, yes. But what do I know about checking men’s hats or coats?”
“It’s easy, and maybe you’ll spot one of the Velvet Gang. Come inside, and I’ll telephone Mr. Lightner.”
Arrangements were made for Ned to obtain suitable clothing and assist the regular checker from Lightner’s.
“Now bring me up to date on what’s happened,” Ned urged Nancy. “Remember, I’ve been buried in exams since I last saw you.”
Rapidly she related how the continuing thefts had threatened Mr. Lightner’s company with ruin. She told him about Peter Tombar and Burt Snecker, and their apparent association.
“I’m inclined to think that both of them are mixed up in the thefts,” she concluded. “The Velvet Gang may be working with them. At any rate, I’m investigating the Blue Iris Inn next.”
“I’m surprised that you and George haven’t been out there tearing the place apart board by board,” Ned remarked, grinning.
At mention of George, Nancy sobered and informed him of George’s unhappy state of mind.
“Her parents are worried and so am I,” she said. “We can’t understand what’s wrong.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ned said. “George is such a good scout.”
He went home to dinner but was back at the Drews’ by seven o’clock.
“You’re a very handsome checkroom boy!” Nancy declared when she saw him in his uniform. “How do I look?”
“Lovely, but not natural. What a hair-do!”
“I had to disguise myself as much as I could.”
Over her arm she carried an old loose fitting coat of Hannah’s and a large hat that could be pulled down low on her head.
“These are just in case—” Nancy laughed.
“Be careful tonight, both of you,” Mr. Drew warned as the couple left the house. “I’ll wait up until you’re safely home.”
Mr. Lightner, who had arrived early, was waiting for Nancy. He whispered that every precaution had been taken to avert another robbery and no trouble was expected.
“Six plain-clothes men are here to watch the guests. Nothing can go wrong.”
Nancy and Ned were assigned to separate cloakrooms upstairs. Nancy found herself paired with a rather indifferent maid named Hilda.
“All we have to do is stay here and help the ladies with their things,” the girl told Nancy. “Just don’t get the coats mixed up, that’s all.”
For the next hour Nancy checked guests’ belongings efficiently, and quickly hung them on racks. Many of the costumes worn were very lovely and she recognized some as having been rented from Lightner’s.
Masks were of every form and shape. The small black half-masks were by far the most popular, due probably to the warm night. Nancy could not recognize anyone.
“A mask really can change one’s appearance completely,” she remarked to Hilda during a lull in their work. “Did you know that George Washington ordered a velvet mask for his six-year-old stepdaughter and wife to wear on the street so they would not be recognized?”
“I didn’t know Washington had a stepdaughter,” Hilda said indifferently.
“Oh, yes. And fashionable ladies in Colonial days wore masks to protect their make-up from the sun and rain.”
“Yeah?” Hilda regarded Nancy with sudden suspicion. “Say, you do a lot of reading, don’t you. Been a maid long?”
“Only a short while.”
“You got a lot to learn,” Hilda told her. “You better quit mooning about masks and remember where you put things. When the women start comin’ for their coats, they’ll want ’em fast.”
“I’ll not let you down,” Nancy promised.
She said no more about masks and devoted herself strictly to her duties as maid. After the dancing had started in the ballroom below, Mr. Lightner came upstairs. He informed Nancy that no guest had appeared without a properly marked admission card.
Relieved that not a single suspicious-looking person had been observed in the home, Nancy relaxed a little. Hilda stretched herself comfortably on a lounge.
“We’ll have a couple of hours now with nothing to do,” she advised Nancy. “Take it easy before the rush starts.”
Nancy preferred remaining alert and was standing near the door when a tall man in a striking costume came up and presented a check.
“Madam needs her coat,” he said in low tones. “A long, dark-green one. Hurry, please.”
Nancy glanced intently at the stranger. She could not see his face plainly, for a white silk scarf that matched his Moorish costume served to mask the lower portion. His intense black eyes disturbed her, however.
She knew the coat he meant without comparing the numbered tickets, for there was no other like it. Deliberately she took her time, pretending she could not find the garment.
“Hurry!” the man urged again, speaking with a slight British accent.
More suspicious than ever, Nancy purposely turned her back and maneuvered to run her hand into the inner pocket of the coat. Instantly her fingers encountered something made of cloth and very soft to the touch.
She quickly took out the object. There was no mistaking what it was.
One of the masks used by the daring members of the Velvet Gang!