The Bungalow Mystery (2 page)
Read The Bungalow Mystery Online
Authors: Carolyn Keene
Tags: #Embezzlement Investigation, #Women Detectives, #Detective and Mystery Stories, #Girls & Women, #Children's Stories, #Adventure and Adventurers, #Guardian and Ward, #Juvenile Fiction, #Bungalows, #Detectives, #Mysteries & Detective Stories, #Inheritance and Succession, #False Personation, #New Books March 2002, #Mystery Fiction, #Adventure Stories, #Drew; Nancy (Fictitious Character), #Theft, #Orphans, #Mystery and Detective Stories
Just then Nancy thought she detected a voice above the roar of the wind. Was it her imagination or had she really heard someone call?
“Help!” she screamed.
This time there could be no mistake, for she distinguished the words:
“Hold on! I’m coming!”
Through the blinding rain Nancy caught a glimpse of a dark object. A rowboat! If only she could hold out until it reached her!
“Over here!” Nancy cried loudly, waving.
As the boat approached, she fully expected to see it swamped. The boat swept safely toward the two girls, barely avoiding a crash, however. To Nancy’s surprise, there was only one occupant in the boat—a slender, auburn-haired girl of about sixteen.
Twice she tried to bring the boat alongside the swimmers, but failed. The third time, as the craft swept past, Nancy lunged forward and caught the side of it. She dragged Helen along, supporting her with one hand until she, too, secured a hold.
“Can you climb aboard?” their rescuer asked. “I’ll balance the boat while you get in.”
Nancy explained about the submerged motorboat and Helen’s useless arms.
With the strange girl and Nancy working together, they managed to get Helen into the craft. Then Nancy pulled herself over the side.
“Safe!” Helen said in relief. “I don’t know how to thank you,” she told their rescuer.
“Are you both all right?” asked the strange girl. “We’re not far from the beach—otherwise, I couldn’t have heard your cries for help in this wind.”
“You were very brave to come for us,” said Nancy. “I’m Nancy Drew and this is Helen Corning.”
The girl at the oars stared at Nancy with keen interest. “I’m Laura Pendleton,” she said. “I read in a newspaper about one of the mysteries you solved. I may need your help some day soon, Nancy.”
Without another word Laura bent over her oars again.
“I’ll help you row,” Nancy offered, snatching up an extra oar from the bottom of the rowboat, and wondering what Laura Pendleton’s mystery was.
Using the oar like a paddle, Nancy attempted to keep the boat on course. As she and Laura made some progress against the wind and waves, Helen took new hope.
“I think we’re going to make it!” she said in relief. “Oh!”
A vivid flash of lightning illuminated the water. Directly ahead, through the rain, she and Nancy caught a glimpse of the rocky shore line.
“The rocks. Laura! Be careful or we’ll be dashed against them!” Helen cried out, as the rowboat was tossed and slapped by the crashing waves.
Another zigzag streak of lightning disclosed the shore line more distinctly. A short distance out from the land and directly in front of their boat stood the ugly protruding nose of a jagged boulder!
CHAPTER II
Uninvited Guests
FOR an instant Nancy panicked. Would the girls be able to steer clear of the menacing rocks? A collision seemed unavoidable!
“We’ll be killed!” gasped Helen.
“Row to the left, Laura!” Nancy commanded. “It’s our only chance.”
With a burst of energy the rowers turned the boat and deftly avoided the jagged boulder. An oncoming wave pushed them farther out of danger.
“There’s a cove ahead!” Laura shouted above the wind. “We’ll try to make it.”
In another five minutes they reached the cove. Here the water was comparatively quiet.
“Thank goodness!” Helen murmured. “Oh, you girls are wonderful!”
As Nancy’s oar struck a sand bar, she dropped it and quickly stepped out into water up to her knees. Laura followed and the two girls pulled the boat up onto the beach. Then they helped Helen Corning step onto firm sand.
“How do your arms feel now?” Nancy asked her.
“Better,” Helen replied. “But I’m freezing.” Her teeth were chattering.
Nancy herself was cold. She squinted through the darkness and rain, trying to see where they were. It seemed to be a desolate spot.
“Where are we?” she asked Laura. “Is there some place nearby where we can sit out the storm and get warm?”
“The only place I know,” Laura replied, “is a bungalow I passed a while ago as I was walking along the beach. It’s to our right, secluded among the trees.”
“Sounds fine,” Nancy said. “Let’s hurry!”
The three bedraggled girls stumbled along the beach. Water oozed from Laura’s sandals. Nancy and Helen had kicked theirs off in the lake and now slipped and slid in their soggy socks.
Presently the girls reached a small, concealed building, a one-and-a-half-storied weather-beaten bungalow which stood a short distance from the water’s edge. The upper level nestled into the steep, wooded hillside. Since there was no light inside, Nancy assumed no one was there. She knocked. No answer. Nancy tried to open the door. It was locked.
“Looks as if we’re out of luck,” said Helen.
But Nancy was not easily discouraged, and she knew it was imperative for the girls to get warm. Her father, a well-known lawyer, had trained her to be self-reliant. He frequently handled mystery cases, and Nancy had often helped him in unearthing valuable clues.
In addition, Nancy had solved some mystery cases on her own—one involving an old clock and another a haunted house. There, Nancy had aided its owners to discover a hidden staircase which led to the capture of the mansion’s “ghost.”
“I’m sure that the owner of this bungalow will forgive us for going in,” Nancy said.
There was a small window to the right of the door. She tried it and found to her relief that it was unlocked.
“That’s a lucky break,” said Helen, as Nancy opened the window.
Fortunately, it was low enough to the ground for the girls to hoist themselves through easily.
“Whew!” Laura exclaimed, as the wind almost blew them inside. She helped Nancy close the window.
It was pitch dark inside the building. Nancy groped around for a light switch, finally found one, and flicked it on. A small bulb in the ceiling disclosed nothing except two canoes and a wooden bench which stood against one wall.
“Maybe it’s only a boathouse,” said Helen, flopping wearily onto the bench.
The girls noticed a narrow flight of stairs leading to the second floor.
“I wonder,” Nancy mused, “if we might find something up there to wrap around us. Or maybe even some towels to dry ourselves off with. Let’s see.”
Laura followed Nancy to the rear of the building. Seeing a light switch for the upper story, Nancy turned it and the two girls climbed the steps. To their surprise, the second floor of the bungalow was furnished with two cots and blankets, a table and chairs, tiny refrigerator, a sink, and a two-burner electric stove.
“We’re in luck!” Nancy exclaimed happily. “Come on up, Helen,” she called.
Laura spotted an open closet in a corner of the room. It was well stocked with food. She held up a can of prepared cocoa.
“Under the circumstances,” she said, “I doubt that the owner of this place would object if we made something warm to drink.”
Helen and Nancy agreed. Within a short time the three girls had taken off their wet clothing and were wrapped in blankets. Laura had turned on one burner of the stove and made hot chocolate.
“Umm, this is good,” Nancy said contentedly.
Both she and Helen again thanked Laura profusely for coming to their rescue, and said they had been trying to get back to the Pinecrest MoteL
“Are you staying there?” Laura questioned.
“For a week,” Helen replied. “My Aunt June is coming tomorrow. She was supposed to ride up with us Thursday from River Heights where we live, but was detained. She’s going to help design my dress for my marriage to Jim Archer. He’s in Europe now on business for an oil company. When he returns to the States, we’ll be married.”
Nancy Drew asked Laura if she, too, was a summer visitor at the resort. When her question met with silence, Nancy was surprised to see tears gathering in Laura’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Laura,” Nancy said instantly. “You’ve been through a terrible ordeaL You should be resting instead of talking.”
“Of course,” Helen agreed.
Laura blinked her eyes, then said soberly, “You don’t understand. You see, my mother passed away a month ago and—” She could not continue.
Nancy impulsively put an arm around Laura’s shoulders. “I do understand,” she said, and told of losing her own mother at the age of three.
Helen added, “Nancy lives with her father, a lawyer, and Hannah Gruen, their housekeeper.”
“I’m an orphan,” Laura stated simply. “My father was in a boat accident nearly six years ago.” She explained that Mr. Pendleton’s sailboat had capsized during a storm. He had been alone and no one had been near enough to save him.
“That’s why,” Laura added, “I knew I had to save whoever was crying for help on the lake today. I love to walk in a storm.”
Nancy and Helen felt their hearts go out to the parentless girl. Not only was Laura brave, but also she showed great strength of character.
“With whom are you staying now?” Nancy asked Laura.
The girl looked troubled. “I’m alone at the moment. I checked in at the Montewago Hotel just this morning. But my guardian Jacob Aborn and his wife Marian are to arrive some time this evening. They’re taking me to their summer home at Melrose Lake. I believe it’s near here.”
“Yes, it is,” Nancy said.
“Do you know the Aborns?” Helen asked.
Laura said that she did not remember the couple. Her mother had frequently spoken of them, however.
“Mr. Aborn is distantly related to my mother, and it was her request that he become my legal guardian in case of her death.”
Laura gave a slight sob, then went on, “But no answer came from our lawyer’s letter to Mr. Aborn, who was traveling.”
“How strange!” Nancy remarked.
“Finally I wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Aborn myself at the Melrose Lake address,” Laura said. “The truth was I needed some money as a down payment on tuition at the boarding school I attend.”
“And they replied?” Nancy asked.
“Yes. Mr. Aborn told me to come here and he and his wife would meet me.”
Helen interrupted. “Then everything’s settled, so you should be happy.”
The girl shook her head. “I feel I’m not wanted. The letter wasn’t cordial. Oh dear, what shall I do?”
Nancy gave Laura a hug. “You’ll be at school and during vacations you can visit friends. And you have a new friend named Nancy Drew!”
“Oh, Nancy, you’re sweet.” Laura smiled for the first time, but in a moment her mood became sad again. “Living that way isn’t like having your own home. Mother and I had such wonderful times together.” She brushed away a few tears.
Nancy wanted to learn more but saw by her waterproof watch that it was six o’clock. Laura would have to hurry off to meet her guardian. The sky was getting lighter and the rain had almost stopped.
“We’d better leave,” she suggested to Helen and Laura.
The girls washed the cups and saucepan, dressed, and put the blankets where they had found them. Before leaving the bungalow, Nancy wrote a note of thanks to the owner, signing it “Three grateful girls.”
As they were parting, Laura said, “If my guardians don’t arrive I’ll call you and arrange a date for tomorrow.”
“Please do!” Nancy and Helen urged, and waved good-by.
When they reached the Pinecrest Motel, the two girls went at once to talk to Mr. Franklin, the manager. They told him about the sunken motorboat, expressing extreme regret, and assured him that their parents would pay for the craft.
“Don’t worry about that,” the manager said. “We have insurance which takes care of such accidents. I’m just glad you girls are all right.”
At that moment a short, thin woman swaggered into the office. Her print dress was mud-splattered and she had lost the heel to one shoe. Her wet, bleached hair clung to her head in an unbecoming fashion.
Ignoring Nancy and Helen, who were still conversing with Mr. Franklin, the woman said bluntly, “Is there anyone here who can change a tire for me? I just had a flat half a mile away.”
“I’m afraid not,” Mr. Franklin apologized. “I’m busy in the office and most of the help are off this evening.”
“That’s great!” the woman said angrily. “What am I supposed to do—walk to the Montewago Hotel? I’m late already!”
Although Nancy thought the stranded motorist was being extremely rude, she, nevertheless, suggested that the woman telephone a nearby service station. “I’m sure they’ll send someone out to help you.”
This idea was received with a snort as sparks of annoyance flashed in the woman’s pale-blue eyes. “I’ll think about that!” she said sarcastically, and, turning, limped toward the telephone booth. She banged the door shut behind her.
The three spectators looked after her with disgust and Helen said, “Some people don’t deserve a helping hand.”
The irate stranger was still in the booth when Nancy and Helen went off to their room on the ground floor. After a bath and change of clothes the girls felt better. A tasty dinner in the restaurant restored their energy and they played shuffleboard under the floodlights.
The next morning, as the two friends dressed, Helen asked, “Do you think Laura Pendleton will call us?” Helen was putting on Bermuda shorts and a candy-striped blouse.
“I imagine so,” said Nancy, “unless her guardian and his wife took her to Melrose Lake last night.”
“How far is that from here?” Helen inquired.
Nancy consulted a road map. “About twenty-five miles,” she replied. Then, as she was putting on loafers, someone knocked on the door. Nancy went to see who it was.
Laura Pendleton stood in the doorway. She looked very pretty in a becoming pink cotton dress. But the girl’s eyes were shadowed and she seemed highly distressed.
“Oh, Nancy—Helen!” Laura exclaimed. “I just had to come see you as soon as I could!”
“We’re glad you did,” Nancy said. “Come in.” Before she could continue, Laura flung herself on Helen’s bed and started to sob.
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