Chapter 4 The Phantom of Pine Hill by Carolyn Keene
Mysterious Thumbprints
Smack! Nancy and Ned hit the water and disappeared beneath the surface for a few seconds. Then both clawed their way to the top.
“You okay?” they asked in unison.
Each nodded Yes, but declared that they certainly had had a fright.
They swam toward the overturned canoe which was badly scraped on one side. The paddle Ned had been using was smashed and the extra one that had been in the bottom of the canoe had floated away.
“What a mess!” Ned said in disgust.
Treading water, the couple talked over what to do. Since they were close to shore, they decided to swim in and tow the canoe. Then they would climb the embankment and trek through the woods to the Rorick home for dry clothes.
“Do you think that pilot hit us on purpose?” Ned asked as he beached the canoe on the gravelly shore. “You were facing him. What did he look like?”
Nancy said she had been unable to see his face. “Maybe he was just a bad pilot,” she added.
Ned shook his head doubtfully as he and Nancy began to climb the bluff. Upon reaching the woods, both looked left and right for a sign of the man who had been spying on them. No one was in sight.
“That guy with the binoculars certainly took my mind off my job,” Ned said ruefully. “When I first heard that motorboat I should have paddled out of the way.”
Nancy said thoughtfully, “I can’t figure out why that pilot didn’t see us.”
“Meaning that you think he meant to run us down,” said Ned. “You’re coming around to my point of view.” He grinned.
Nancy made a wry face but did not answer. It was cool in the woods and she began to feel cold and clammy in her soaking wet clothes.
“Let’s hurry!” she urged, and started on a dogtrot. Ned followed.
Mrs. Holman answered their ring at the back door and looked at the couple aghast. “What in the world have you been doing?” she asked.
Quickly Nancy explained and the woman’s face took on a worried look. At once she had a solution. “That phantom was watching in the woods and he has a confederate with a motorboat!”
“Maybe,” Nancy said, shivering.
The housekeeper became solicitous. She told the young detective to go up and change. Mrs. Holman herself would find some of Mr. Rorick’s sport clothes for Ned to wear. “Follow me,” she directed.
As Nancy paused at her own bedroom, she said, “Mrs. Holman, have you a paddle here?”
The housekeeper nodded, saying that there were several in the cellar and Ned could help himself.
“I’ll walk back to the shore with you, Ned,” said Nancy. “I’d like to look for clues to the person who was spying on us.”
In a few minutes the two young people were ready. Nancy had put on slacks and a sport shirt.
She tried hard to keep from smiling as she looked at Ned. Mr. Rorick certainly went in for vivid sports clothes! She knew that Ned would be the victim of a lot of teasing when he reached the fraternity house, so she refrained from any of her own.
The couple walked through the woods slowly, keeping their eyes alert for footprints or any other clues to the man who had been watching them, but saw none.
“If that was the phantom he has winged feet,” Ned said finally, as he started down the embankment. “Be careful on your way back. I need you for the dance tonight. Burt and Dave and I will pick you girls up at seven.”
After he had paddled off, Nancy studied the edge of the embankment.
“Let’s see. That spy was standing over near those birches.” From the water she had noticed a clump of white birch next to the pine trees which the man was using for a shield. She went to the spot and picked up his footprints. The short spaces between the small-sized shoe marks indicated that he was a slight man of medium height.
The prints led along the top of the bluff for a short distance, then went down through thick bushes to the water. Nancy guessed the man had been hiding among the brush until the couple had left the area.
“Someone must have met him in a boat, unless he had one hidden among the bushes and Ned and I didn’t see it.”
The young sleuth retraced her steps up the embankment, looking for further clues. She saw nothing and with a sigh headed for the house.
The shadows were long as Nancy hurried through the woods. Suddenly she stopped short. Floating down toward her, seemingly out of nowhere, was a small white paper. As it fell almost at her feet, she looked up in the trees to see where it had come from. There was no person, bird, or animal in sight.
“I could almost believe there is a phantom in these woods,” Nancy murmured to herself as she stooped to pick up the piece of paper.
Her eyes grew wide in astonishment. On the paper were two large, very black, well-defined thumbprints!
For several seconds Nancy did not move. There had been a few times in her life when she had been utterly confounded by some event which seemed to hold no explanation except a supernatural one. This was one of those times. But presently she shook off the mood, telling herself this was nonsense. Someone had put those prints on the paper. But where and why? And how had it come to float down to her? Were these the phantom’s thumbprints?
Nancy took a handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wrapped the paper in it. Holding it in her hand, she continued to walk toward the house, hoping to find someone on the way. But there was not a sound in the grove.
When she reached the house she found Bess and George in the kitchen with Mrs. Holman. The housekeeper had just finished telling them what had happened to Nancy and Ned.
George looked at Nancy. “Hypers!” she said. “We let you out of our sight for two hours and whamo!”
Nancy laughed. “Wait until I show you something else,” she said, and opened the handkerchief.
Bess gave a little cry. “That’s creepy! Where did it come from?”
Nancy told the girls and Mrs. Holman. George insisted that someone was playing a trick on Nancy, but Bess and the housekeeper were worried.
“This is a bad omen, Nancy,” Mrs. Holman remarked. “I don’t know how much more I can stand of this phantom!”
Nancy put an arm around the woman. “Please don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this yet.”
“All right,” the housekeeper conceded. “I’ll try to keep calm, but my dear, be careful.”
After Nancy promised, George said, “Come on now, girls. Time to make ourselves beautiful!”
“This is really dress-up night,” Bess remarked as they hurried to their rooms. “The dance is going to be a honey, I know. Dave was telling me about decorating the gym.”
As usual, Bess had chosen a fluffy dress with a full skirt, while George’s pale-green silk was quite simple and fitted her boyish figure admirably. Nancy was wearing a yellow linen formal, embroidered in white with birds and flowers. It was a one-piece dress with a slightly full skirt. She secretly hoped that Ned would like it. He had never seen it.
Nancy was a quick dresser and was ready before the other girls. She called into their room, “See you downstairs. I’m going to do a little sleuthing while I’m waiting for you.”
As she came down the stairs, Fred Jenkins walked across the hall from the living room. He stared at her in complete astonishment and admiration.
“M-Miss Nancy, you look positively—super!” As Fred spoke he let a vase of flowers he was carrying crash to the floor. He looked down in dismay. “See what you made me do! You shouldn’t be so beautiful! You take my mind off my work!”
Nancy wanted to smile. Instead, she said, “I’m terribly sorry.”
Just then Mrs. Holman came bustling from the kitchen. She took in the scene at a glance.
“Oh, Fred,” she said angrily, “that was one of Mr. Rorick’s favorite vases.”
Fred Jenkins said, “I couldn’t help it.”
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Mrs. Holman said. “Go get the dustpan and broom and a clean cloth to wipe up this mess.”
Nancy came on down the stairs and Mrs. Holman beckoned her to come into the dining room. “You mustn’t mind Fred,” she said. “He just can’t seem to hold onto things. I keep him because it’s hard to get help and he’s the soul of honesty.”
Nancy, recalling his standing behind the tree while she and Ned were talking, asked, “Does he know about the phantom?”
“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Mrs. Holman replied, “or he’d never work here. He’d be too scared!” She smiled broadly and winked at Nancy.
Quietly Nancy told the housekeeper she was about to do some sleuthing. Just then Fred appeared in the doorway to report that he had swept up the broken vase, picked up the flowers, and mopped the floor. Now, he said, he must leave.
After he had gone, Nancy went to look at the wall on either side of the library door. Was one of the panels a secret entrance to the room? She stepped close to tap for a hollow sound.