The Phantom of Pine Hill (13 page)

With their headgear lights turned on full, the two swimmers went inside. As they had expected, they were in the engine room where the fatal explosion had taken place. They swam through blown-out walls into the area beyond. There was no question but that this was the hold of the ship. However, there was nothing in it. They both wondered what had happened to the contents.

Ned was thinking, “Probably divers in recent years have taken whatever was here.”

Nancy had the same thought, but she still had a strong hunch that the chest of gold coins and the valuable Rorick cargo had been removed from the sinking ship by one or more persons who had escaped the wreck.

The couple swam out of the hold and once more Ned pointed upward. Again Nancy shook her head. It had occurred to her that possibly the water in the tributary was higher now than it had been back in the 1700’s. There might be caves along the coast where the chests had been hidden for safekeeping.

“If something happened to the survivors before they had a chance to come back for the treasure,” Nancy reasoned, “then it could still be here!”

She led the way toward the shoreline and began swimming quickly, searching for caves. There was nothing in sight. Finally Ned, indicating that their time for safety underwater was up, insisted that they surface.

In a few moments they came up at a spot not far from where they had parked the car. They removed their scuba gear and sat down in the warm, late-afternoon sun to dry off.

“I’m disgusted,” said Nancy. “I didn’t learn a thing.”

Ned laughed. “You surprise me, Miss Detective. You’ve always taught me that false clues do prove certain things.”

The young sleuth smiled. “I stand corrected.

We know that the treasures we’re looking for are not in the
Lucy Belle
or hidden underwater along this shore.”

As soon as the couple had dried off, they walked back to the car. Nancy slipped her dress over her head and put on her slippers while Ned donned shirt and trousers.

He glanced at the car clock and reminded Nancy that it was nearly suppertime. “Weren’t we going to meet the other four?” he asked.

“Yes, if we could make it. But before we go back to the house, I’d like to drive to police headquarters and find out if they’ve picked up any safecrackers.”

When they reached the police building, Nancy hurried inside. The chief was not there but a sergeant on duty answered her question. Two known safecrackers, now on parole, had been picked up for questioning. Both were tall men. They did not fit the description of the phantom thief.

“Thank you,” Nancy said. When she reached the car, she relayed the message to Ned. “I have been suspecting a short, slight man of being the phantom. Now the question is, am I wrong or is the phantom someone who does not have a police record?”

Ned chuckled. “Nancy, you certainly can pose the most unanswerable questions. I plead ignorance.”

He started the car, but had gone no farther than the next corner when Nancy said, “Please turn left.”

“But why?” Ned asked. “We go the other way to Uncle John’s.”

Nancy explained that it was only a short distance to the guest house where Fred Jenkins lived. “I suspect he’s involved in this case, not as the thief necessarily, but in some way is connected with the mystery. We might just happen to be able to learn something.”

Ned turned left and Nancy directed him to the street where Fred lived. As they neared his house, Nancy suddenly exclaimed, “Here he comes out the door! And look who’s with him! The man that Bess and George and I have caught glimpses of in the woods. We think he may be the phantom!”

“But who is he?” Ned asked.

“I believe he’s Fred’s father. Oh, Ned, maybe we’re going to learn something really worthwhilel Let’s follow them!”

FRED JENKINS and the man with him proved to be fast walkers. They apparently were in a hurry to get somewhere and did not turn once, so Nancy felt sure that they had not spotted her car following them.

After walking two blocks the men went into a garage. Ned parked some distance down the street and they waited. Soon a battered old car was driven out of the building by Fred Jenkins. The slight man sat beside him.

“Let’s go!” Nancy urged. “But try to keep at least two cars behind them.”

The trail led a good distance out into the country. As Ned watched the road, Nancy kept her eyes on Fred and the other man. So far as she could judge, they took no particular notice of the couple. Presently the men turned left on a narrow dirt lane which led toward the river.

“Shall I still follow?” Ned asked, stopping at the turnoff.

“Not with the car,” Nancy replied. “How about parking it over there among the trees? Then we’ll follow on foot.”

“Okay.”

After Ned had put the top up, locked the car, and pocketed the keys, the couple started down the lane. There had been no rain for several days and the roadway was extremely dusty. The tire tracks of Fred Jenkins’ car were easy to see.

Nancy walked in the grass along the side, explaining that it was less dusty and also it might be just as well if the two of them did not leave footprints.

The lane was long, and as they came near the river, there were trees on both sides. They were so close together that it was difficult to see anything beyond them.

Suddenly Nancy stopped short. “I hear a car. It sounds as if it’s going from the river in the direction of the main road.”

“Do you think Fred left his passenger at the river front and has taken another lane back?”

Nancy shrugged, but quickened her step. A few minutes later she and Ned could see the water. The lane turned right and ended in a small clearing where a ramshackle cabin stood. Fred’s car was nowhere in sight.

“He went that way,” Nancy said, pointing to a field of tall grass beyond the shack. A wide track of broken weeds showed where the car had been driven into it.

“They must have spotted us,” Ned remarked, “or they’d have gone back up the lane.”

“I wonder if they had business at this cabin,” Nancy pondered.

As she started toward it, Ned caught her arm. “Better let me go first.”

He knocked on the door. There was no answer.

After several knocks the couple concluded the cabin was vacant. Ned tried the door, which opened easily. There was only one large room and no one was in it.

“You stand guard at the door, Nancy,” Ned suggested. “I’ll just take a look around to see if I can pick up any clues.”

Nancy looked out at the lane and the field, then turned to see what progress Ned was making. He was opening cupboards. All proved to be bare. Ned began to sing out:

Nancy laughed heartily. She was about to remark that perhaps they had better go, when Ned slid back a panel under the sink. Forgetting that Nancy was standing guard, he cried out, “Nancy, look at this!”

She darted across the room as he began dragging out a heavy machine. Nancy stared at it in utter astonishment.

“It’s a key-making machine!”

“It sure is,” said Ned. He reached farther back under the sink. “And here are boxes and boxes of blanks. This is a locksmith’s secret workshop!”

“And I suspect,” Nancy said, “that the locksmith is Fred Jenkins’ father! If I’m right, he could make keys to open many locks.”

Ned looked at her. “Are you trying to say that he opens any door he wishes to in the Rorick house? In other words, he’s the phantom thief?”

“I have a strong hunch he is,” Nancy replied.

“In that case,” Ned said, “I think we should take this machine and the blanks to the police and you should report your suspicions to them.”

“I agree about taking the machine to the police, but I haven’t a shred of evidence that Fred or his father have anything to do with it.” She decided not to mention their names until she had proof of their guilt.

Since the key-making machine was heavy, Ned said he would bring the car down. He asked Nancy to keep out of sight behind some trees in case the men returned. No one came, however, and in a little while the machine and the blanks were loaded into the car.

Ned drove at once to police headquarters. Chief Rankin, on duty now, was very much interested in the couple’s story, and was glad they had brought in the machine. “I’ll have some of my men watch the cabin to see who goes there.”

As Nancy and Ned finally drove toward the Rorick house, Nancy had an idea. “Are any hardware stores open this late?” she asked.

“One is. What’s on your mind?”

“I was just thinking,” said Nancy, “that if the key-making machine we found belongs to the phantom, he won’t be able to make any more. So if we put a new padlock on the library door, he can’t get in there!”

“That’s right,” Ned agreed, and turned down a side street to a hardware store. The new padlock was purchased, this one with an alarm on it, then the couple left.

When they reached the Rorick home, Mrs. Holman told them where the other young people had gone. She and Uncle John were just about to sit down to dinner and asked the young couple to eat with them. “Then you can tell us all that has happened,” the housekeeper said.

Smiling, Ned sniffed the air and said, “I smell roast beef! How could we refuse?”

The others laughed. A few minutes later the four sat down at the table. Nancy and Ned both laughed and shuddered upon hearing the story of Dave’s fall into the chimney. Then they related all of their adventures and why they had bought a new padlock.

“This is a brand-new type,” Ned said, showing how it worked. “The clerk told us they just came in and his store is the only one in Emerson to carry them.”

“It has an alarm on it,” Nancy explained. “If anyone tries to pick it tonight we’ll certainly know it!”

“Very good,” said Mr. Rorick.

Mrs. Holman added, “I’m sure I’ll sleep better now.”

Nancy said that she had a plan to put into operation after dinner. It would prove whether or not the phantom did enter the library by way of the door.

“Uncle John, would you mind going in there as soon as it’s dark and turning on all the lights? Don’t draw the curtains. Take all the bills from your wallet and place them in a couple of the books with the word
roar
in them. Be sure to put them on the pages which match the amount of money.”

Uncle John smiled. “You want to trap the phantom?”

Nancy laughed. “That’s right. If he’s watching, I’m sure he won’t be able to resist the money.”

Mrs. Holman remarked, “It’s deliberately inviting a burglar into your home. But I suppose it’s worth the risk if it will trap the thief.”

About ten o’clock Bess and George and their dates arrived and the whole group talked for some time. Uncle John had played his role of planting the money in the library, the old padlocks had been removed and the new one installed. Everyone felt sure the mystery was about to be solved. Ned, Burt, and Dave offered to keep watch, but Mr. Rorick insisted that he could handle the situation.

The boys left at eleven o’clock. Windows and doors were securely locked, then Uncle John, Mrs. Holman, and the three girls went to the second floor.

Bess and George soon fell asleep, but Nancy was restless. She kept getting out of bed and walking to the window. About twelve o’clock, as she gazed toward the woods, she saw a flickering light spring up among the trees.

“The phantom is here!” she murmured to herself.

She watched for some time, then the light went out. Was the mysterious person on his way to the house? Would he soon let himself in and find the new padlock? Nancy tensed, waiting for the alarm to sound.

The minutes crept by. All was silent. Nancy began to feel chilly and went back to bed. She listened intently but could hear nothing downstairs. Finally, in sheer exhaustion, she fell asleep.

In the morning everyone compared notes. No one had heard the alarm go off!

“But how about the money in the library?” Mrs. Holman asked. “If it has been stolen, then we’ll know that the thief is a phantom and goes through walls!” But the others were certain that the money would still be in the books.

The group watched while Nancy opened the padlock, then they marched into the library. Everyone waited excitedly while Mr. Rorick went to examine the hiding places in the books.

He picked up one and looked inside. A peculiar expression came over his face. He did not speak. Instead, he turned the book upside down and shook it. No bills fluttered out!

THE whole affair took an unexpected turn. Nancy went up to Mrs. Holman and hugged her.