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  Nancy spoke up. “What did the man look like?”

  She rather expected Jim to describe Edgar Nixon, but was told that the fake plainclothesman was tall, heavy-set, and had blond hair. Nancy assumed he was a pal of Edgar Nixon.

  The Lonely Hearts Club suspect probably did not want to take a chance on being identified and had sent someone else. He was probably an out-of-towner, not known to the Emerson police.

  Nancy and her friends returned to the dance, but they did not wait until it was over. Though Nancy hated to admit it, she was exhausted. The day had been a strenuous one for Ned and he also was pretty tired.

  Everyone slept soundly, but was up in time the next morning to go the special chapel service arranged for students and their dates. As soon as it was over, Nancy and Ned returned to the Omega Chi Epsilon House. The telephone was ringing and the call proved to be for Nancy.

  “It’s from a Mrs. Gruen,” she was told by the student on duty at the time.

  Nancy picked up the receiver and said, “Hello. Is everything all right?”

  “I’m fine and your father is too,” the housekeeper said, “but things are not well with Ira Nixon. His brother came last night and robbed him!”

  CHAPTER XVIII

  Skakespearean Puzzle

  HANNAH Gruen explained to Nancy that after church she had taken some food to poor Ira Nixon.

  “He was in a bad state,” she reported. “The theft occurred late last night. Edgar came there and pounded on the door until Ira let him in. He never so much as asked how Ira was feeling, or when he was going back to work or anything. That dreadful Edgar started right in demanding money.”

  “You mean part of the inheritance?”

  “No, no. Edgar said Ira always had been a miser and he was sure he had money hidden in the house. When Ira wouldn’t answer him, Edgar started hunting for some himself.”

  Nancy was shocked at the story. She asked if Edgar had found any money.

  “That’s the dreadful part of it,” Mrs. Gruen went on. “Ira did have some in the house—lots of it. He was very foolish not to have put it in a bank.”

  “How did Edgar get hold of the money?” Nancy queried.

  “He stole it,” the housekeeper said. “Edgar Nixon practically tore the house apart. He ripped sofa cushions, bed pillows, and emptied every drawer in the house.”

  “How dreadful!” Nancy exclaimed. “Do you know how much money he got?”

  The answer stunned her. “One thousand dollars!”

  “Oh no!” Nancy cried out. “Poor Ira! How was he feeling when you left him?”

  “Pretty bad,” Mrs. Gruen replied. “I warmed up the food I took and made him eat some of it. This quieted him a bit, but I kept telling him he should notify the police. He refuses to and wouldn’t let me.”

  Nancy was incensed. But she could see that Ira, despite his family misfortune, did not want any unfavorable publicity about his half brother. After all, they did have the same mother.

  “I thought I’d better call you, Nancy, and tell you right away,” Mrs. Gruen said. “What do you think should be done?”

  Nancy asked the housekeeper if she had spoken to Mr. Drew about it. “No, I haven’t had a chance. After church, your father went out into the country to see a client. He was planning to have dinner there.”

  For several seconds Nancy sat lost in thought. Finally Mrs. Gruen said, “Nancy, are you still there?”

  “Yes. I’m just thinking. Wait until I get back before doing anything. We girls are heading home this afternoon.”

  She quickly told Hannah Gruen what had happened at Emerson and said that actually she was no closer to finding either Edgar Nixon or Nancy Smith Drew than she had been days ago.

  “Well, Hannah dear, I guess I’d better hang up now. Ned and the others are waiting for me to have lunch. I’ll see you around suppertime.”

  At the lunch table Nancy told her friends about the latest twist in the mystery. Her friends were dismayed, and Dave remarked, “Edgar Nixon is one of the slipperiest crooks I’ve ever heard of.”

  Nancy said, “Before we girls leave Emerson, I’d like to call on Mrs. Roderick once more. It’s just possible she has heard from Nancy Smith Drew but hasn’t bothered to telephone me about it.”

  Bess and George offered to do Nancy’s packing while she was gone. In a little while she and Ned rode off in the convertible.

  When Mrs. Roderick opened her front door, she exclaimed, “You’re just the people I want to see! I was going to call you, Nancy, but I couldn’t remember which fraternity house you said you were in.”

  “You have news of Miss Drew?” Nancy asked.

  “Indeed I do. Please come inside and sit down. I’m so weak from the shock I just had that my knees are still wobbly.”

  They all went into the living room and sat down. Mrs. Roderick explained that she taught a Sunday-school class and then went to church service afterward.

  “I thought for a change I’d stay out to dinner, so I went to a tearoom that’s open on Sunday. This was the reason I didn’t get home until a a little while ago.”

  So far, there was nothing about Mrs. Roderick’s story to upset her. Nancy and Ned waited patiently for her to go on.

  “As soon as I came into the house, I went upstairs to change my clothes. To get to my bedroom, I had to pass Miss Drew’s door. When I glanced into the room, I saw something on the bureau. This seemed funny to me so I went in to look at it.”

  Mrs. Roderick went on to say that lying on the bureau was two weeks’ room rent but no explanation by Miss Drew as to why she had left it.

  “I thought I’d better investigate to see if her clothes and jewelry and everything were gone.

  Sure enough they were. There’s no question but that she moved out.”

  Nancy asked Mrs. Roderick if Miss Drew had left any kind of a message.

  “Oh yes,” the woman said, “but it didn’t say anything personal—wasn’t even addressed to me. In fact it really wasn’t a note. Just a lot of words scribbled on a piece of paper.”

  Neither Nancy nor Ned was sure this was the case but hesitated to ask to see the note.

  “You know how eager we are to find Miss Drew,” Nancy said. “If you have no idea where she’s going, do you mind if I look around her room for a clue?”

  “No, go ahead,” Mrs. Roderick said, and led the young people upstairs.

  She watched in interest as the couple made a thorough search of the place. Finally they admitted defeat.

  Nancy turned to Mrs. Roderick. “Are you sure that Miss Drew came here herself?”

  The woman looked startled. Then she answered slowly, “No, I’m not. And nobody else around here would have seen who it was. We’re church-going folks on this street, so everyone would have been out.”

  “Then it’s just possible,” Nancy said, “that someone else could have used Miss Drew’s key and come in.”

  “I suppose so,” Mrs. Roderick agreed. Suddenly she turned and looked straight at the couple. “Are you two detectives?” she asked.

  The young people began to laugh, then Ned said, “I’m not, but Nancy Drew is the best girl detective in the whole world!”

  “Don’t you believe him,” Nancy said quickly. “I have solved some mysteries, I’ll admit, and I enjoy it, but I’m sure there are many other girls who could do the same.”

  Mrs. Roderick was silent a few moments, then she said, “I think I’d better show you that paper with the funny notes on it. I put it in my room. See what you can make out of the thing.”

  She went to get it and soon returned, holding a sheet of white paper on which several verses were written in small handwriting. Nancy and Ned read them quickly.

  “These are quotations from Shakespeare,” Nancy told Mrs. Roderick.

  “Shakespeare? Then I suppose it’s not so funny,” the woman remarked, “since Miss Drew was coaching the Shakespearean play.”

  Ned requested that Nancy read the various lines aloud. She did so, p
ausing between each quotation and puckering her brow. They said:My mind is troubled, like a fountain stirr’d;

  And I myself see not the bottom of it.

  Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.

  We that are true lovers, run into strange capers.

  Prosperity’s the very bond of love.

  ... so we profess

  Ourselves to be the slaves of chance.

  Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.

  Travelers must be content.

  It is the stars,

  The stars above us, govern our conditions.

  When Nancy finished reading, Mrs. Roderick remarked, “If that was meant to be a message to me, I can’t make head or tail of it.”

  Ned admitted that he could not fathom the meaning of the conglomeration of quotes. Since Nancy had said nothing, he asked her, “Have you any idea what this means?”

  Nancy smiled. “Yes. I think I know.”

  CHAPTER XIX

  A Trap

  MRS. RODERICK and Ned waited breathlessly for Nancy’s interpretation of the Shakespearean quotations.

  As Nancy continued to study the words, Mrs. Roderick said impatiently, “If Miss Drew left that paper for me, how in the world did she expect me to get any message out of it? I’m not familiar with Shakespeare’s plays.”

  “I can’t answer that,” Nancy replied, “but this is what I think she was trying to tell you. First of all, Miss Drew believes she has fallen in love but she has some doubts.”

  “I should think she would,” Mrs. Roderick said, “if the man she thinks she has fallen in love with is as bad as you picture him.”

  Ned, interested in Nancy’s findings, begged her to go on.

  “Well, Miss Drew is about to take a chance anyway,” Nancy said.

  The others nodded and waited for her to proceed.

  “The bride and groom, or the couple, are going traveling, probably by air. I think that was the reference to the stars. And it will be a night flight.”

  “Why couldn’t it be on a ship?” Mrs. Roderick asked.

  Ned grinned. “I think I can guess that one. The quotations mentioned that the stars had governed the condition. That could mean weather. If it’s a bad night, their plane wouldn’t be able to take off.”

  Mrs. Roderick looked at the list again. “Here’s one you haven’t told us the meaning of. It says, ‘Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.’ ”

  “That is puzzling,” Nancy admitted, “but my guess is that Nancy Smith Drew, having some real doubts about the whole thing, wishes that you, Mrs. Roderick, could come to the plane before she flies.”

  A frightened expression came over the woman’s face and she threw her hands into the air. “My goodness, I couldn’t go to New York! I’d like to help Miss Drew. She is a lovely person and if she is in trouble she needs help. But I must say she could at least have left me a note I could understand and say good-by and make her request in plain English.”

  “I have a hunch,” said Nancy, “that Edgar Nixon was with her when she came here and the poor girl had no chance to write you an explanation. The next best thing she could do was to put a message in the form of a code and the first thing that came to her mind was Shakespearean quotations.”

  Mrs. Roderick shook her head. “This is too much for me. Well, I just hope that whatever Miss Drew is going to do she won’t be sorry for it. I’m afraid I can’t help her, though.”

  Ned spoke up. “If Edgar Nixon is as slick as you think, Nancy, I bet I know what his next move was. When he got to thinking about the quotations, he’d deduce that you’d come here and find out they had a special meaning. My hunch is that he has already canceled their flight reservations.”

  Nancy agreed and asked him to telephone the airline and find out. In a few minutes he learned that the reservations for Mr. Nixon and Nancy Smith Drew for the Monday night flight to London had indeed been canceled.

  Mrs. Roderick was very upset. “Do you think they are still around here?” she asked.

  Nancy shook her head. “By this time Edgar Nixon knows the police are after him. He has probably changed cars again and left Emerson. It’s likely he sold his red one to the pal who nearly ran us down.

  “He probably went to Ira Nixon’s in the new car, stole the thousand dollars, and will meet Miss Drew in New York. Or, if they’re already married, she’s with him now.”

  Nancy asked Ned to call other airlines and this time he had good news. He located a new reservation for Nixon and Miss Drew.

  “I think,” he said, “that Miss Drew couldn’t get her passport changed in a hurry, so she’s using the one with her maiden name on it.”

  Nancy sighed. “Even though I may be too late to prevent a wedding, I can alert the New York police where to nab Edgar Nixon.”

  As Nancy and Ned got ready to leave, tears came to Mrs. Roderick’s eyes. “You people are very kind and I do hope you can do something for poor Miss Drew. I’m afraid she has lost her head and has no relative or anybody in this country to help her.”

  “She has friends,” said Nancy, “but I imagine she’s too proud to ask their advice.”

  Ned suggested that they stop at Emerson police headquarters, to see if there was any news of the elusive couple and to ask the chief to notify the New York police.

  They were told that there were no leads and the officers were glad that Nancy had one to suggest. Word would be sent to New York immediately.

  As Nancy and Ned left police headquarters, she glanced at her watch. “Oh, I didn’t realize how much time has passed. Bess and George and I will be dreadfully late getting home. Ned, would you mind calling Hannah and telling her that I won’t be there in time for supper after all?”

  “Glad to.”

  When they reached the fraternity house, George and Bess were waiting with their dates in the hallway. The girls’ luggage was piled up.

  “We began to think you had gone home without us,” George teased.

  The couple grinned and Ned said, “Wait until you hear what we’ve found out.” The story was quickly told about the quotations.

  Burt burst out laughing. “Say, how about sitting in for me, Nancy, in my Shakespeare class? You might pull an A for me.”

  It did not take long to load the car. After thanking the boys for a wonderful weekend, the girls jumped in. With a last wave, Nancy drove off.

  The journey was uneventful. The girls did not even stop to eat.

  “It’s so late,” said Nancy as they neared the outskirts of River Heights, “how about you girls spending the night with me?”

  They agreed, since they did not want Nancy to make the last part of the trip alone. As soon as they reached the Drew home, the cousins phoned their parents.

  Both Mr. Drew and Mrs. Gruen had welcomed the girls eagerly. Hannah had prepared some tasty chicken and lettuce sandwiches, a large bowl of fresh cut-up fruit, and a chocolate cake.

  As the girls ate, they related the latest items in the mystery. “Amazing!” said Mr. Drew.

  Finally Nancy changed the subject. “How’s Ira Nixon?”

  Her father answered. “I went over there as soon as I got home and heard about the theft. I urged Ira to inform the police, but he still steadfastly refused to do so. He seemed to be calmer, however, so I did not think it was necessary for me to stay or to ask a neighbor to come in.”

  The three girls began to suppress yawns and Mrs. Gruen suggested that they get to bed as soon as possible. They all slept soundly, but Nancy awoke early with a persisting thought in her mind. She proposed it to Bess and George.

  “Girls, if we can get permission, what would you say to going to New York? Nancy Smith Drew will need moral support when the police arrest Edgar Nixon.”

  George’s face broke into a broad grin. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better than to see the police nab that cruel man.”

  Bess said, “If you tell Nancy Smith Drew about her inheritance, maybe she won’t feel so bad ab
out having a husband in jail.”

  The girls came downstairs early and asked Mr. Drew what he thought of the idea.

  “It’s a good one,” he said, smiling. “You may as well see this mystery to its conclusion and you can stay in New York overnight with Nancy’s Aunt Eloise.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George had visited Mr. Drew’s sister several times. They adored the school-teacher and she was always delighted to have them visit her.

  “She hasn’t left for school yet,” said Nancy. “Suppose I call her right away.”

  Nancy had a long talk with her aunt, who was amazed to hear about the case and pleased that the girls were coming.

  “I’d love to see you,” she said.

  As soon as Nancy had eaten breakfast, she phoned the River Heights airport and made a reservation for the three girls on a flight to New York that afternoon. Bess and George went home to get their clothes and Nancy picked them up later. She planned to leave her car at the airport parking lot.

  After the girls had purchased their tickets and obtained seat reservations, they sat down to chat. Nancy said, “I’d like to find out how Ira Nixon is and tell him where we’re going.”

  She went off to a phone booth. To her delight she found that Ira Nixon was feeling better and decided not to disturb him with any worry about his brother.

  As she left the booth, a young woman walked up to her. “You’re Nancy Drew, aren’t you? I’ve seen your picture in the paper lots of times.”

  Nancy acknowledged that she was.

  “I’ve just come from the powder room,” said the young woman. “A friend of yours is in there. She saw you come into the airport. She is terribly ill and asked me if I’d go and find you and bring you back there.”

  Nancy looked at her watch. Only twenty minutes to plane time!

  “All right,” she said.

  The two hurried to the powder room. Nancy could see no one inside.

  “Over here,” her companion said, and led Nancy around a corner.

  The next instant the strange woman opened her purse and whipped a handkerchief from a plastic bag. She grabbed Nancy around the neck and held the handkerchief tight over the girl’s nose and mouth. It had a peculiar sickish odor.