The Mysterious Mannequin Read online

  QUICK as a flash Ned sidestepped the flying scimitar which missed him by an inch. It embedded itself in the wall near the front door.

  “Wow!” he cried out. “What’s going on here? Some welcome!”

  “Thank goodness you’re all right,” said Nancy. “I wish I knew what’s going on.”

  At that moment they heard a key turn in the front-door lock and they both stiffened. Was the burglar returning?

  Ned got ready to jump him and Nancy moved away. To their relief the door was opened by Hannah Gruen. She looked in surprise at the positions of Nancy and Ned. Then she spotted the scimitar protruding from the wall.

  “Oh my goodness!” she said. “Where did that thing come from?”

  “It was rolled up in the rug,” Nancy replied.

  “Hannah, did you by any chance bring the rug down here?”

  “No, I didn’t. I thought we had agreed to hide it in your closet.”

  “We did,” Nancy said, “so apparently the burglar brought it down. But how did he know where we had hidden the rug?”

  Hannah interposed, “And assuming it was the same intruder, why didn’t he take the rug when he had the chance?”

  “Can’t answer either of your questions,” Ned replied. “But one thing’s sure—”

  “Arik isn’t our man,” Nancy finished Ned’s sentence.

  Briefly they explained to Hannah that Arik was at work when the intruder came to the Drew house.

  As Hannah started to take the scimitar from the wall, Nancy suggested that they not touch it. “It may have fingerprints useful to the police,” she said.

  Ned chuckled. “You sure have been contacting the police lately,” he teased, and told how he and Nancy had captured the robber down at the Bedford Carpet Factory.

  Hannah was astounded but shook her head resignedly. “Ned,” she said, “you should have learned by this time that adventure comes Nancy’s way even when she’s not looking for it.”

  “That’s one reason it’s so interesting to be with her,” he replied.

  Nancy and Hannah made a search of the house but found nothing missing. The young detective headed for the phone to call her friend Chief McGinnis. The two discussed the whole case for some time. He said to leave the scimitar where it was until a couple of his men could pick it up.

  “They are pretty busy right now,” he said. “It will probably be near suppertime before anyone comes.”

  Meanwhile Ned and Hannah had started to examine the rug to see if it had been damaged. Fortunately it had not been.

  When Nancy joined them, he said, “Maybe it’s an old Turkish custom to leave a scimitar as a warning.”

  Mrs. Gruen looked worried and remarked, “It gives me the creeps to think that somebody can get into this house despite all our excellent locks.”

  The three went all around the place, checking windows and doors and finally concluded that probably the burglar on his second trip had come in through the front door.

  Suddenly Nancy looked around and said, “Hannah, where’s Togo?”

  “I took him to the Dog Beauty Parlor,” the housekeeper said. She glanced at her watch and added, “It’s about time to pick up our little dog.”

  “I’d do it,” Ned said, “but I must leave now to keep my appointment.”

  “Thanks, Ned, for coming along today,” Nancy said.

  “You know I don’t mind,” he replied. “I’ll let you know if I make my sale.”

  Nancy wished him luck, then drove downtown to get the dog. He frisked about, not only glad to see her, but acting as if he were proud of his new appearance. He had been pedicured, shampooed, and his coat brushed until it shone.

  “You’re beautiful!” Nancy said, scooping Togo up in her arms.

  She carried him to the car and drove home. No sooner had Togo bounded into the living room than he spied the scimitar in the wall. He growled at it loudly, then jumped up and knocked it down.

  “Oh!” Nancy cried out. “Get away! You’ll cut yourself!”

  She picked up the scimitar and laid it on top of the piano. Then Nancy realized what she had done. Her own fingerprints, might have blotted out those the burglar may have left!

  “Oh, Togo, sometimes you’re good and sometimes you cause a lot of trouble!”

  The terrier merely looked at Nancy and wagged his tail.

  “You’re hopeless!” she told the dog.

  The phone rang and Nancy went into the hall to answer it. To her amazement and delight Aisha was calling.

  “Nancy, will you ever forgive me?” the girl said. “I was so rude to you this morning. I am extremely sorry.”

  “Of course,” Nancy replied. “I figured you knew some secret in connection with the mannequin that you didn’t want to tell me.”

  “That is true,” said Aisha. “But I do want to talk to you. I am alone. My aunt and uncle just went out and will be gone for a while. Could you and your friend come?”

  Nancy said that Ned had already left but she would be glad to drive over. She told Hannah where she was going and went out the door, her mind in a whirl.

  What was the Turkish girl going to tell her? Did she know the whereabouts of the mannequin? Would she reveal more about Farouk? Nancy finally reached Aisha’s street, parked her convertible, and went up the walk to the porch steps.

  The Turkish girl opened the door before Nancy had a chance to ring. Impulsively she put an arm around Nancy as they walked into the living room.

  The girls sat down and Aisha began her story. “As I told you, I know where Farouk’s mannequin is. But you’ll never find her unless Farouk himself tells you where she is.”

  “Why not?” Nancy asked, bewildered. She wondered why Farouk would have asked her father to bring the mannequin to Turkey if he would not reveal where she was.

  Aisha said that he had made her promise she would not reveal the secret.

  “I can’t understand why,” Nancy told her quite frankly. “By keeping it a secret, it sounds as if there was something dishonest about the whole thing.”

  Aisha looked a little frightened to hear this. “I assure you there was nothing dishonest about the mannequin or about Farouk wanting to keep her whereabouts a secret.” She changed the subject. “Nancy, tell me why you want to find the mannequin.”

  “I suppose I’ve been as mysterious about this whole thing as you,” the young detective replied, laughing.

  Nancy divulged the story of the rug, all the time watching Aisha’s face closely. The girl’s expression kept changing from one of happiness to one of puzzlement. She made no comment even when Nancy finished.

  “Would you like to see the rug?” the young detective asked her.

  “Very much.”

  “Then let’s go over to my house. Perhaps you can find more words or symbols in it that will reveal the entire message.”

  As soon as they reached the house Nancy introduced Aisha to Hannah. Then the two girls sat down to study the rug. Aisha was intrigued by all that Nancy and her friends had found so far.

  Industriously they continued to examine the border. Minutes went by, then the Turkish girl exclaimed that she had found something. She pointed it out to Nancy.

  “Look there among the leaves!” Aisha exclaimed.

  Woven in among them was a fancy and unusual-looking object.

  “It’s a shoeshine stand,” Aisha explained.

  “I’ve never seen one like it,” Nancy remarked.

  “They are fairly common in Istanbul,” the Turkish girl went on. “I cannot figure out why Farouk added this to the border. Nancy, can you guess?”

  “Not right now. Surely a rug dealer wouldn’t be shining shoes!” she declared. “But there’s another angle I must investigate.”

  In reply to Aisha’s puzzled frown, Nancy added that when it was possible she would try to trace Farouk through rug shops in Istanbul.

  “Oh, you’re marvelous!” her friend exclaimed.

  “Maybe there’s another symbol that will be more
of a clue,” Nancy said.

  The two girls searched diligently but found nothing more. They decided to rest and have a cool drink. While sipping cherry soda, Nancy told her visitor about the burglar’s intrusions and the scimitar and showed it to her.

  The Turkish girl shivered a little. “That is horrible!” she cried out.

  “One thing is certain,” Nancy said. “Arik didn’t leave it, and if the man who did is the one who was here before, then Arik is innocent. I was sure I had identified him as the burglar—I didn’t want to tell you this before—but during the time someone sneaked in here today he was at work and talking with Ned and me.

  “The burglar that we suspect,” Nancy went on, “is a man who looks very much like Arik, is a super-duper locksmith, and wears a gold filigree bracelet with turquoise in it.”

  Aisha said she knew no one like that and now she must leave. “I’ll take the bus home,” she said. “I want to stop off and do a little shopping. Nancy, I am so glad to be friends with you and truly I wish I could tell you where the mannequin is, but I cannot break a promise until I receive permission.”

  “I understand,” said Nancy.

  Aisha had been gone only a few minutes when two policemen arrived. Nancy showed them the scimitar and said they would find her fingerprints on it as well as those of the intruder.

  One of the officers remarked, “This is a cheap, handmade scimitar. But that might make it easier to find the person who left it than if it were an imported expensive one.”

  He took a cloth bag from his pocket and slipped the scimitar into it. Then he and his companion went off.

  Nancy, her mind full of many things, began to open her mail which had been delivered earlier in the day. To her delight the travel brochure which Mr. Simpson had promised to send was among her letters. She glanced at the itinerary excitedly, then curled up in a living-room chair to open the rest of the mail. There was nothing interesting and she fell to daydreaming about the mystery.

  The front doorbell rang twice but Nancy did not seem to hear it. Hannah answered and accepted two packages from deliverymen. The bell rang a third time and once more Mrs. Gruen came into the front hall. She glanced into the living room and looked at Nancy, thinking she had perhaps fallen asleep. But the young detective was staring up at the ceiling and counting on her fingers. Hannah shook her head and went on.

  She opened the front door and Bess and George came in. Seeing their friend in the living room, they walked in. Nancy came out of her reverie.

  “Hi!” she said, uncurling herself. “Oh, girls, I’ve been working and working on the mystery and now I think I’ve solved part of it!”

  “You have!” the cousins said.

  Nancy smiled and looked directly at the two of them. “Yes, but I’ll have to go to Istanbul to prove it. Could you two go with me?”

  CHAPTER XV

  Travel Plans

  NANCY’S announcement about the trip to Turkey came as a complete surprise. Bess and George stared at her, speechless.

  Nancy grinned at them. “I mean it. And it would be great if Ned and Burt and Dave could go too. And also Aisha. I have the itinerary.”

  George was the first to recover from her surprise. She exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you’ve found the mannequin!”

  “No, but I did learn this. There’s a big secret connected with the mannequin. Aisha knows where she is. But she says Farouk made her promise not to tell it.”

  Bess frowned. “I’m all mixed up over this whole thing. Please somebody straighten me out. Please!”

  “I figured,” said Nancy, “that since we’re sure Farouk sent the rug and he’s in Istanbul and he has been declared innocent of the smuggling charge, and he and Aisha were in love, what we have to do now is to help the two of them get together.”

  “But after we all get to Istanbul, how are we going to find Farouk? It’s a big city. Just walk the streets until he shows up?” George remarked.

  Nancy revealed the latest clue in the border of the rug. “It’s a special, highly decorated shoeshine stand. I believe Farouk expects Dad to show up near one of them.”

  “I can imagine how many there must be.” Bess sighed, then asked, “Do you suppose Farouk will be awfully disappointed if you don’t bring the mannequin along?”

  Nancy shrugged and George remarked, “If he’s not planning to come back to America, and wants the mannequin badly enough, he can tell us where it is and we’ll ship it to him.”

  Bess and George were enthusiastic over the idea of going to Turkey. “Where’s the itinerary you mentioned?”

  Nancy picked it up from the table near the wing chair, and handed it to the cousins.

  “Hypers!” George exclaimed as she gazed at the colorful pictures of mosques and caiques.

  Bess said, “George, let’s phone our parents right now for permission!”

  “Wait!” Nancy cried as Bess started toward the phone.

  She had heard her father’s car pulling into the driveway. As soon as the lawyer had greeted everyone, she put her proposal to him.

  He looked startled, but after thinking over the matter, remarked, “It sounds like a good idea. But what about the expense? Where would all you young people find travel money?”

  Nancy reminded her father about Mr. Simpson, the travel agent. “You recall he had arranged an inexpensive trip for a group to Turkey. Perhaps we could take advantage of the low plane fare without going on the rest of his tour.”

  As she spoke, Nancy indicated the round-trip fare at the bottom of the brochure. “We could stay in Istanbul and search for Farouk.”

  “Well,” said Mr. Drew, “phone Mr. Simpson and see if he has eight reservations left. But don’t get your hopes too high.”

  Nancy invited Bess and George to stay to dinner, then hurried off to make the call. The travel agency’s line was busy. She sat waiting, tapping her fingers on the telephone table. She tried again. Still no luck.

  “Somebody must be arranging a trip around the world,” she thought.

  This time she waited a little longer and was successful in reaching him.

  “Nancy Drew, how are you?” he asked. “All the Simpsons are fine, including little Tommy. He calls you his water wheel lady.”

  Nancy chuckled. “I’m glad he hasn’t forgotten me. Mr. Simpson, thank you for the itinerary of your tour to Turkey. By any chance, do you have eight places left? If so, could my dad and I and six friends just make the trip to and from Istanbul without taking the whole tour of Turkey?”

  “Let me take a look,” Mr. Simpson replied.

  He left the phone to consult his chart, but soon returned. “I have good news for you, Nancy,” he said. “Two people have just canceled and that makes exactly eight seats available. You know, of course, we leave in two days. Do you all have passports and vaccinations?”

  “Yes,” Nancy replied. “I haven’t asked all my friends yet, but I’m sure they’ll be able to make it. May I let you know tomorrow?”

  “That will be fine.”

  When Nancy came back into the living room with the good news, Bess and George each gave a “yea” and Bess hurried to call her parents. She returned in a moment, saying she had their consent to make the trip. Then George phoned the Fayne house and received her parents’ permission.

  At that moment Hannah Gruen came into the living room and was told about the exciting plan. “I’m glad,” she said. “Now Nancy and Mr. Drew can get away from people who break into houses and leave scimitars and throw rocks at cars.”

  “And don’t worry, Hannah,” put in Mr. Drew, “I’ll see that Chief McGinnis sends a patrol car out here regularly to make sure everything stays peaceful while we’re gone.”

  “Now that’s not necessary,” she said, then went on, “I came to tell you that dinner is ready. And since we’re having steak, you’d better come to the table at once.”

  Mr. Drew chuckled. “I’ll be with you in a jiffy.” He hurried off but was back in three minutes. Then they all went to t
he dining room.

  As soon as dinner was over, Nancy went to the telephone. The first one she called was Aisha. When Nancy mentioned the trip, the Turkish girl gave a little cry of happiness. Then she said she was not quite sure.

  “I’m thrilled, but I am a little fearful of meeting Farouk.”

  “Once you see each other, I’m sure everything will be wonderful,” said Nancy. “Aisha, could you go for a drive with me tomorrow morning? There are several things I’d like to discuss with you. One of them concerns arrangements for us to stay in places that would not be expensive.”

  “I’m sure my parents can find something,” Aisha replied. “And I’ll be very happy to meet you tomorrow morning. What time?”

  “Ten o’lock. By then I should know how many of us can go.”

  Sure that Ned would say yes, she put in a call to his home. She hoped he had made the insurance sale that afternoon. It would help pay for the trip!

  Ned answered. “Hello.”

  “Hi!” said Nancy. “Ned, do you still want to be my bodyguard?”

  “Nancy. You mean in Istanbul?”

  “Yes. Could you go in two days?”

  “Wow! Let me get my breath. You mean it?” Upon hearing it was a bona fide trip, he laughed. “You bet I’ll go. Wouldn’t miss it for anything. I sold a big enough policy today to pay all my expenses.”

  “Good for you,” said Nancy.

  Bess was the next one to come to the phone and tried several places to find Dave. She finally left word at his home for him to call her at Nancy’s.

  George had no better luck locating Burt. It was not until the following morning that both boys phoned Nancy’s house and heard of the exciting trip. Shortly before ten o’lock they called back to say they would be able to accompany the group.

  “Sounds cool,” said Dave. “I think I’ll pretend to be a sultan and you girls are some of my slaves! ”

  Nancy laughed and replied, “You just try it and I’ll cover your whole head with my Turkish veil!”

  Quickly Nancy dialed Mr. Simpson’s travel agency to confirm the number of plane reservations, then she hurried off in her car to meet Aisha. The two girls spent a very pleasant hour together, and Aisha said she would arrange for the whole group to have good accommodations in Istanbul. “I will cable my parents as soon as I get home.” As the Turkish girl was about to step out of the convertible she impulsively gave Nancy a tight squeeze. “You’re the most wonderful detective in the world,” she said. Nancy smiled and kissed her new friend, then she drove off.