The Haunted Carousel (2 page)

George and the park policeman reached the scene within moments. “Oh, Nancy! Thank goodness we got here in time!” George said breathlessly.

The officer didn’t even stop, but just pounded on in pursuit of the fleeing crooks.

Meanwhile, the breeze was scattering the money. Nancy and George were hastily collecting it when the Trompels, Bess, and the three Custer children came hurrying up. Everyone joined in the scramble, and soon they had retrieved all the money.

“Better count it,” Nancy advised Konrad Trompel.

Trudi was crying quietly, but this time the tears were from relief. “Oh, Miss Drew, you’re an angel! How can we ever thank you enough?” “The money is all here,” Konrad told his wife with a happy smile. Then he shook Nancy’s hand earnestly. “God bless you, Miss Drew— and all the rest of you, my friends. Trudi and I are more grateful than we can say. You cannot imagine how bad we felt when it seemed we would have to go back home at once without seeing your country. But now we will enjoy our American tour more than ever!”

The Trompels wanted to reward the girls and their small companions, but Nancy, Bess, and George would not hear of it. “We just want you to have a good vacation,” Bess said, dimpling into her irrepressible, round-cheeked smile.

The young couple thought they should wait at the scene until the park officer returned.

If the police need my testimony for any rea-

son. they know where to reach me,” Nancy told the Trompels. Then the three girls took the Custer children and walked on to the carousel. Its gay music filled the air. The three children were jumping up and down in their eagerness to ride the merry-go-round.

Just as they reached it, the carousel stopped. Gary ran forward, shouting, “I want the black horse!” Janet and Billy also found steeds to their liking. Bess and George helped the two little ones on while Nancy bought the tickets. Then the three teenagers went over to a park bench facing the merry-go-round and sat down to watch as it started up again.

The carousel was certainly a beauty, with flashing mirrors and gilt cupids and other ornate decorations. Its name, Wonderland Gallop, was painted on the metal canopy in fancy gold-and-red letters. The horses looked spirited and realistic and were beautifully painted.

“Golly, I remember how much I loved to ride them!” Bess reminisced. “You did too, Nancy.” “So did I,” George put in with a laugh, “but my favorite ride was always the rollercoaster!” While her chums were talking, Nancy was watching the operator of the merry-go-round. A

dark-haired man with a lined face and a mustache, he looked about fifty years old. He had a tow-headed young assistant, who collected the tickets and helped the children off the horses when the ride was over.

The older man left his assistant in charge and began walking toward a refreshment stand. Nancy intercepted him and introduced herself. “You’re the owner of the carousel, Mr., uh . .

“Novak,” he said. “Leo Novak. Yes, I’m the owner. What can I do for you?”

Nancy explained that she had been challenged by a reporter to find out why the carousel turned on so spookily at night of its own accord. “Can you suggest any possible cause?” Leo Novak shook his head. “Beats me. The whole thing’s weird. I’ve checked over the motor, the operating machinery—everything. I can’t find anything out of order.”

“Could someone just be playing a prank?” Novak shrugged. “Search me. It’s possible, I suppose, but don’t ask me who or how.”

“Hm.” Nancy frowned thoughtfully. “Mr. Novak, you just moved the carousel back to this park recently, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. The Wonderland Gallop used to run right here in Riverside Park up till about eight years ago. Then old Mr. Ogden, the first

owner, moved it to another park out in the Midwest.”

‘Were you with the carousel then?”

"Yep, I worked for Mr. Ogden for a long time. When he died, I bought it.”

‘Why did you move it back here?”

'‘Oh, the place where we were was getting pretty run-down and seedy—business was falling off—so I decided it was time to find a better location. Besides, I always liked River Heights.” “Do you think anything could have happened to the operating machinery, or anyone could have tampered with it, while the carousel was being moved?” Nancy probed persistently.

“Nah. Anyhow, like I say, I checked the whole setup when it started acting funny, and I couldn’t find any bugs.” Novak spread his hands helplessly. “Just one of those crazy things, I guess.”

“How strange.” Nancy smiled. “Well, thank you for your help, Mr. Novak.”

“Anytime, Miss Drew. And good luck with your spook hunting!”

Nancy rejoined Bess and George and the children, and they resumed their ramble through the park. After sampling the Monster, the Dodgems, the Ferris wheel, the Log Jam, and then, much to the delight of the three little

Custers, the Haunted House, George looked at the other two teenagers and sighed, “Wow, I give up. I’m bushed.”

“Anyhow,” her cousin Bess pointed out, “it’s time for dinner.”

As Nancy and George laughed, the plump girl—who was often teased about her appetite —blushed but chuckled good-naturedly. “Well, it is. And remember, we have to cook it on the houseboat.”

Bess and George’s uncle, Mr. Custer, had rented the houseboat during his vacation from his office job and had come downriver on it with his family to visit their relatives in River Heights. Tonight Bess and George were to stay with the three children on the boat while their parents dined with the Faynes and Marvins.

“Come on, Nancy! You’ve got to see the boat to believe it. It’s such fun to live on,” George said.

“You bet!” little Janet chimed in. “I wish we could live on it all the time.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” her brother Gary added. While they chatted, the group was walking out of the amusement-ride area and through the adjoining woodland on their way to the marina at the edge of Riverside Park. As they approached the dock in the late-afternoon sun-shine, Janet burst out, “Look, there’s someone on our boat! . . . It’s a man!”

Wide-eyed, the girls saw a figure silhouetted -against the lowering sun. As they watched, he disappeared on the other side of the houseboat. “I’ll go for help,” Bess said nervously.

“All right. And you three stay here, please, while George and I see what’s going on,” N ancy told the Custers. She picked up a small but hefty rock, while George found a broken tree branch.

Determinedly, the two girls began to walk out on the dock toward the houseboat, their hearts pounding!

The deck of the houseboat lay almost on a level with the dock. As they reached the craft, George shot a quizzical glance at Nancy, who put a finger to her lips. Then both girls stepped aboard.

With her lips close to George’s ear, Nancy whispered that she would tiptoe around the bow of the boat, while George went around the stern. “That way,” she added, “we’ll close in on him from two directions at once, and he won't be able to deal with both of—”

Nancy broke off with a start as a masculine voice suddenly shouted, “Boo!”

George screamed and clutched her friend. Nancy whirled around. Both girls shrieked,

“Ned!” at the sight of a tall, husky young man in a Western shirt and jeans, who had just leaped out at them from around a corner of the cabin. He was Nancy’s boyfriend, Ned Nickerson.

Seeing how startled the girls were, he put an irm around each of them reassuringly and apologized, “Sorry—I didn’t really mean to scare the wits out of you.” When he noticed the rock -nd tree branch they were clutching, Ned .huckled. “Guess I’m the one who should have been scared. It might’ve been lights out if I’d gotten beaned with one of those!”

When he had met the three little Custer children, and he and Nancy had been shown all over the houseboat, Ned said, “Actually, I didn’t just come down here to play bogeyman, Nancy. I went to your house first, and Hannah said I might find you here at the marina.”

Bess, who had happily rejoined her friends after seeing who the intruder was, cut in, “Well, now that you’re here, you can stay and have dinner with us!”

Ned, who had brown eyes and wavy, dark hair, replied with his usual ready smile. “It’s good of you to invite me after I played such a trick, but I really came to ask Nancy if she could switch our date from tomorrow night to tonight.”

Turning to his friend, he added, “You see, I have to make a quick trip back to Emerson College to straighten out my program for the fall semester. There’s been a computer mixup on the courses I signed up for.”

“Oh, tonight will be fine, Ned,” Nancy told him.

“Well, you two are still welcome to stay,” George said with a mischievous grin, “but if I were you, Nancy, I wouldn’t.”

Even Bess burst out laughing. “Neither would I, if you want the truth—especially because I know what we’ll be cooking tonight!”

“I made reservations at the Rustlers’ Inn,” Ned said when the laughter died down, “but if—”

“Say no more,” Nancy interrupted hastily. “Just lead the way!”

In his own car, Ned trailed Nancy’s back to the Drew house, so she could change.

“Gee, you look great just as you are, Nancy,” he protested as she started upstairs. “Everyone goes to the Rustlers’ Inn in jeans.”

“I know, but I’d like to get a little more Western-looking,” Nancy responded with a chuckle. “And I want to freshen up a bit, too.” A* short time later, having changed into a blue-and-white checkered shirt and tied a red

bandana around her neck, Nancy picked up her small shoulder bag and announced, “Ta-da! I’m ready.”

Ned looked her over approvingly and grinned. "Guess I should’ve worn my Western boots!” At the inn, over thick, sizzling steaks, Nancy told Ned how reporter Rick Jason had chal- .raged her to solve the mystery of the haunted carousel.

“I read about that in the newspaper,” Ned murmured, taking a forkful of crisp, green salad.

“There must be some perfectly natural explanation, and I intend to find it,” Nancy declared. “But first I’d like to see it happen with my own eyes.”

“Do you have any plan?”

“Well, I thought I might keep watch on the park tonight.”

“What if nothing happens?” Ned asked. “The carousel doesn’t go into its spooky routine every night, does it?”

“No, you’re right,” Nancy admitted. “Unless I’m lucky, I may have to stake out the park several nights in a row. You wouldn’t want to join me on watch tonight, by any chance?”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away! What’s more, I want you to promise me something.” “What’s that?” Nancy’s blue eyes twinkled.

“That you’ll never go there late at night, unless I’m in River Heights so I can go with you,” Ned said earnestly. “Okay?”

“Well . . . perhaps you’re right,” Nancy said as they started their apple pie and coffee. Ned didn’t realize that she had actually promised nothing.

Later, after deciding on the best time to arrive at Riverside Park, Ned and Nancy left the restaurant and drove to a movie theater that was showing a horror film they had chosen to see. It had gotten rave reviews as a spine-chilling thriller.

Two hours later, when the movie ended, they walked out of the theater laughing.

“It wasn’t really very scary, did you think, Ned?”

“Nope. Out of two hours’ playing time, there were about two minutes of shock. The rest was silly.”

Laughing, they linked arms and sauntered to Ned’s car.

“I’d like to stop home first and tell Dad where we’re going,” Nancy said. “And maybe pick up a sweater, too. Shall I bring one of Dad’s for you to wear, Ned?”

“Thanks, but I have one in the car, Nancy. It

might be a good idea to take along some night glasses, though. We can pick them up at my house on our way to the park.”

"You mean binoculars?”

Right. Mine are good for low-light and night

surveillance. They’re used by the navy and coast guard,” Ned replied.

Carson Drew was reading in his usual com- : fortable armchair in the living room when they arrived.

“Well! Good to see you, Ned. Enjoy the movie, honey?” He gave Nancy a hug.

“Mildly, Dad,” Nancy said, smiling at Ned. Then she told her father about the latest mystery she had undertaken to solve. “So, if it’s okay with you, Ned and I are going to the park tonight to see if the carousel goes on again when everything’s dark.”

The distinguished attorney had long since learned to trust his daughter’s good judgment and quick-witted ability to deal with emergencies. “Very well,” he nodded. “If Ned’s with you, I won’t worry. But you two be careful!” Nancy changed into a pair of sturdy casual shoes, then grabbed a sweater and an extra flashlight and left the house with Ned. The two stopped at his house to pick up the special

binoculars before driving on to the park. It was about ten minutes to eleven when they reached their destination.

“I think we’d better park the car in the public parking lot near the marina and walk back,” Ned remarked. “What do you think, Nancy?” “Good idea. It’ll be less conspicuous there after the park closes.”

Closing time for the amusement area of Riverside Park was eleven o’clock. Customers were drifting out as Nancy and Ned approached, and the rides were shutting down, one by one.

The amusement section was fenced off from the rest of the wooded park by a pipe-and-chain barrier. Nancy and Ned stayed outside this barrier and made their way along a darkened footpath to a clump of trees and shrubbery that afforded a clear view of the carousel.

“Let’s wait in there,” Nancy suggested.

The carousel was situated near the side of the park that overlooked the riverbank. Its lights were still on as the teenage sleuth and her companion made themselves comfortable in the hiding place she had chosen. The proprietor was busy counting his receipts for the evening, while his young assistant swept the platform and picked up candy wrappers and other debris with a spike.