Chapter 14 The Phantom of Pine Hill by Carolyn Keene
Puzzling Characters
Horrified, Bess looked down the embankment at the rolling, tumbling girls. She managed to pull back in time to keep from being carried down herself.
“Oh, I hope Nancy and George didn’t break any bones!” she thought worriedly.
Both girls had been able to halt their descent just before reaching the little beach. They sat up and clawed dirt from their faces and eyes.
“Are you all right?” Bess called down anxiously.
George looked up at her cousin. “All right, but I’m furious. Why did that earth have to give way just when we were on the trail of the phantom?”
Nancy smiled, despite her disheveled condition and several scratches. “George, you can make any awful situation seem funny. Just the same, I’m sorry too we lost that man.”
The two girls stood up and shook dirt from their clothes. Then, choosing a more solid section of embankment where bushes were growing, they started to climb upward.
Suddenly Bess warned in a hoarse whisper, “Look out there on the water! There’s Fred Jenkins in a rowboat!”
Nancy and George turned, but could not see the boat very clearly through the brush. They wondered if Fred had seen them tumble. One thing was sure—he had made no effort to help them. He was far from shore and going past the spot where they were.
As the two girls reached the top of the embankment, Bess said, “The rowboat Fred was in looked just like the one we saw that mysterious man go off in!”
“The boat wasn’t marked and there may be many others like it,” George said. “Personally, I think Fred Jenkins is too stupid to be mixed up in this mystery.”
“Well, I’m not so sure he isn’t in it,” Nancy declared. “Doesn’t it strike you as odd that very often he is around where we are? I admit he seems stupid, but someone else may be having him spy on us. It’s even possible he personally faked that telephone call about Hannah Gruen.”
George was indignant. “I vote we find out at once.”
Bess looked at her cousin and asked, “And how in the world are you going to do that? If Fred is guilty, you don’t suppose he’s going to tell us?”
George had no answer to this and the three girls walked along in silence for several minutes. Then Nancy said, “I think I have a solution. We’ll ask Mrs. Holman where Fred lives and quiz some of his neighbors about him.”
When they reached home, the housekeeper looked in astonishment at Nancy and George. “You really meant it when you said you were going digging. Did you find anything besides the skeleton?”
Nancy showed her the ribbon with the word Belle on it and explained where she had found it. “That’s our whole score,” said George, “plus some beads and arrowheads. No wedding gifts, no gold.”
The girls bathed and put on fresh clothes. They came downstairs and asked Mrs. Holman for Fred Jenkins’ address. She gave it to them and inquired, “Do you want to see him?”
Nancy told her what she had in mind, but pledged the housekeeper to secrecy. “I won’t say a word,” the woman promised.
It was late afternoon when the girls set off in the convertible with the top down. Fred lived in a section of old, small homes. The guest house where he had a room was respectable but run down.
A pleasant woman answered Nancy’s ring and said that Fred was not at home. She smirked broadly. “Three attractive young ladies coming to visit him! And him kind of simple at times.”
Bess and George were about to reveal that they were not personal friends of Fred’s, but Nancy gave them a warning look. A sudden idea had come to her.
She laughed. “Fred is simple only at times?” she asked the landlady.
“That’s right,” the garrulous woman replied. “He’s as bright as the next one when he sets his mind to it.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” said Nancy. “Otherwise, it would be hard for him to earn a living, I suppose.”
The guest-house owner stared at Nancy. “You’re a bright one yourself. You’re right. Fred couldn’t hold down a job if he wasn’t bright sometimes.”
Nancy went on quickly, “That’s why we’re here—to see about giving Fred a job. I want my car washed. But I’ll be in touch with him.”
The woman assured her that she knew Fred would be delighted to do any kind of a job for such an attractive girl. Nancy ignored the compliment. Secretly she wondered if the woman were trying to pump her. She asked, “Oh, by the way, does Fred have a family?”
“The only one I know about is his pa. He lives here with Fred.”
“I see,” said Nancy. “I suppose he’s employed too?”
The guest-house owner crossed her arms and leaned forward so that her face was very close to Nancy’s. She spoke as if she didn’t want anyone to hear her except the girls.
“Kind of funny about him. He’s a strange man. Don’t talk much, and as far as I know he don’t work neither. But you know what? The last month or so, every single clear day he leaves here in the morning and don’t come back until night.”
“What makes you think he’s not working?” Nancy asked.
The woman shrugged. “Oh, you can tell. I’ve had enough renters in this place to know when somebody’s got a regular job and when they ain’t. But I just can’t figure out what that man is doing with himself all day.”
A silence followed which George broke by grinning and saying, “Maybe he’s sitting in the park feeding the birds!”
The woman laughed, but said, “Not him. He’s got a gleam in his eye, like he’s got something to do. I try to talk to him sometimes, but he always cuts me off.”
“Does he look like Fred?” Bess asked.
“No, he’s a little fella compared to his son. Fred’s got good muscles. I think one time he did a little boxing.” The woman laughed softly. “Maybe he got punched in the head and that’s what makes him simple sometimes.”
After thanking the landlady for the information, the girls said good-by. Bess and George noticed that Nancy did not leave her name and address. When they had crossed the street and were back in the convertible, Bess asked her about this. “Did you really mean that about Fred washing your car?”
“You’ll admit it could stand a wash and we needed an excuse for coming. The reason I didn’t leave my name and address is that I’m sure Fred’ll figure out who was asking for him. I’m convinced his stupidity and forgetfulness is an act. He’s plenty smart enough to be working against us in this mystery.”
“And what about his father?” George asked. “He sounded like a mysterious person. Do you suppose he could be the digger?”
Before Nancy could answer, the girls saw a short, slight man walking toward the house.
“He’s the man we saw in the rowboat this afternoon!” Bess cried.
He looked at the girls a second, then turned suddenly and hurried down the street, almost on a run.
“I’ll follow him,” Nancy said.
This meant turning the car around, which lost precious time. The other girls saw the man turn a corner, but by the time Nancy reached the intersection, he was out of sight.
“Why would he run away unless he’s guilty?” Bess mused.
“Good question,” George answered. “But guilty of what?”
If Nancy came to any conclusions, she kept them to herself. During the rest of the drive she was silent, preoccupied with her own thoughts. This had certainly been an eventful day.
“But what have I really learned from it?” she asked herself. The mystery seemed as baffling as ever, but she felt sure that the man who had eluded them was mixed up in it somehow. “And he certainly fits the description of Fred’s father,” she decided.
When the girls reached the Rorick home they found Ned, Burt, and Dave sprawled out in comfortable chairs in the living room. As they rose to greet the girls, they pretended to be weak-kneed and dizzy. “Oh, all that studying today!” Dave said. “I’m only half-alive!”
The other two boys looked equally exhausted. “But you can help us,” Burt said weakly.
“How?” George asked suspiciously.
“By taking pity on us,” Ned said, and added, “Just go out into the country with us for supper and some dancing. You’ll be surprised how soon we’ll revive.”
Everyone laughed. In unison, the three girls said, “We accept.”
“Chuck Wilson and his date are coming too,” Ned said, “so we rented a large car.”
Nancy went to tell Mrs. Holman where they were going. The woman said she hoped the young people would have fun. Then Nancy went to her room to put away her car keys.
The evening was wonderful indeed, not only because of the animated conversation, good food, and excellent music, but because of plans Nancy was able to make.
She announced to the others, “Ned and I have made a date to go diving for the Lucy Belle!”
“That’s neat,” said Chuck. “What do you hope to find?”
Nancy chuckled. “Treasure!”
Since the boys had to study the following morning, the girls insisted they all return home at a reasonable hour so their escorts could get up early. Ned took the wheel, and after dropping off Chuck and his date, finally turned into the Rorick driveway. The headlights shone brightly on the front of the house.
Suddenly Nancy gasped and exclaimed, “My car is gone!”