The Secret of the Golden Pavilion Page 8

  “I wonder if he’s Jim O‘Keefe, alias Tim O’Malley,” she mused.

  The girls returned to the picnic spot to find Hannah and Kiyabu extremely upset. Nancy tried to soothe them, while George asked what the caretaker had called out.

  “‘Auwe’ means ‘alas!’ Woe is met And ‘wiki wiki,’ you were to ‘hurry.’ Oh, I am so glad you did.”

  “Thank you for the warning, Kiyabu,” Nancy said solemnly, then added that she was going to report the matter to the police at once.

  Sergeant Hawk was greatly concerned upon learning what had happened. He did not mention sending anyone to guard the place, however, and Nancy did not bring up the subject. The detective seemed to be in a hurry to report the matter and try to have the getaway car apprehended.

  Soon after Nancy returned to the garden, the three boys arrived. All were wearing very gay Aloha shirts which they said they had purchased in the city after delivering the receipt to Mr. Dutton.

  “These shirts are in honor of the luau,” Dave announced.

  “I suppose we should be wearing muumuus or hula costumes,” Nancy reflected aloud.

  Hannah smiled. “I have a surprise for you girls,” she said. “Come upstairs.”

  Nancy and her chums followed Hannah Gruen to the second floor. There she handed each of the girls a muumuu—a white one for Nancy, a blue for Bess, and a pale green for George.

  “How lovely!” said Nancy. “Where did these come from?”

  “Emma sent them over,” the housekeeper revealed. “She thought you might want to wear them tonight.”

  “How very sweet of her!” said Bess.

  The girls put on the muumuus and went to thank Emma. Then they joined the boys and told them about the vicious tongs thrower.

  “I’m going to stick around after this, so I can take care of you!” Ned declared, and Nancy smiled appreciatively.

  A short time later Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong and their Polynesian maid arrived with the food for the Hawaiian feast and leis for the mainlanders.

  “May we help with the luau?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “I think you girls would enjoy setting the table.”

  “But first,” Mr. Armstrong spoke up, “I think our guests should watch the preparation of the Pig.”

  Kiyabu produced a huge piece of chicken wire which was then covered with banana leaves. The pig was laid on them. Next, he picked up one of the hot lava stones with the tongs and placed it inside the animal. Then sweet potatoes and pieces of fish which had been wrapped in ti leaves were placed around the pig.

  Slowly the wire tray, with its luscious load, was lowered into the pit lined with the hot lava rocks. More banana leaves were spread over it, then large wet sacks. Finally, dirt was heaped on the top.

  “This is called the imu, or oven,” Mrs. Armstrong explained. “The pig cooked in the imu is called puaa kalua and will be left for four hours to steam.”

  While waiting for the food to cook, the young people told Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong about the recent mysterious happenings. Next, they took them on a tour of the house and showed them the table where the valuable old statuettes had been found. They all did some further searching, but nothing came of it.

  “Let’s gather flowers for the luau now,” Mrs. Armstrong suggested.

  She and the girls walked around the extensive grounds, gathering red, orange, pink, yellow, and purple hibiscus flowers. Next, long tapa mats were brought from the Armstrong car and spread on the ground, not far from the roasting pig.

  Their hostess had also brought a basket of ti leaves and she now sprinkled them on the mats. Among these, the girls dropped the hibiscus blossoms.

  Presently Emma appeared with luscious-looking pineapples and bananas which were interspersed with the flowers. “I never saw a prettier table decoration,” Bess murmured.

  At each place the Armstrongs set a coconut shell filled with poi. Bess gazed at the sticky, pastelike porridge, which she was told was made from the root of the taro plant, and wondered if she dared to eat it.

  Mr. Armstrong was amused. “Poi is rather flavorless, but you should at least taste it,” he urged.

  Meanwhile, the Armstrongs’ maid was busy in the kitchen, grinding coconut and pounding squid. This fish would be roasted brown with sea salt and served with crushed kukui nuts. Emma was filling coconut shell dishes with salmon and onion and tomatoes. Dessert, she said, would be white squares of delicious coconut pudding.

  By the time the pig was ready to eat, dusk had fallen. Mr. Armstrong stuck several kukui-nut torches into the ground and lighted them. As the young people gathered around the table with the others, Mrs. Armstrong smiled broadly.

  “You really look like Hawaiians,” she said. “Now, everyone find his place, please.”

  Her guests discovered that place cards had been set among the flowers and leaves.

  “Why, our names are in Hawaiian!” Bess exclaimed. “Oh, dear, how can I ever find mine?”

  Nancy was the first to discover hers. She declared it was not too hard to figure out. “Ane is a little like my American name,” she said, smiling.

  Hannah was next to find her name. It was Ana Palani. “I presume that stands for Hannah Frances,” she said, turning to Mrs. Armstrong. “I wondered why you asked me earlier what my middle name was.”

  The other young people found it impossible to figure out their cards. Finally their hostess led them one by one to their places. Bess’s Hawaiian name was Elikapeka. George’s was Keoki. “Yours, Ned,” said Mrs. Armstrong, “is Eluwene.”

  Eluwene was glad to be seated next to Nancy. Burt, called Topaka, was next to George, and Kawiki, meaning, ‘Dave,’ was placed next to Bess.

  “Oh, this is such fun!” Nancy exclaimed. To herself she added, “And I hope nothing happens tonight to mar this beautiful party!”

  Everyone seated himself on the ground at the luau table and Mr. Armstrong proudly carried the crisply brown steamed pig to the table on a wooden platter.

  “Kiyabu was going to do this,” he said, “but he has elected himself a guard of the grounds tonight.”

  The feast was pronounced by everyone to be most delicious—and filling. While the group was eating dessert, they suddenly heard the soft strains of a guitar. Looking up, they saw a man in a gay yellow-and-brown satin suit walking toward them. Four hula dancers followed him.

  “A little surprise we planned for you,” Mrs. Armstrong told her guests.

  “How absolutely divine!” Bess burst out.

  The guitarist bowed and smiled, then began to sing. The four dancers started to sway in time to the music, moving a few steps to left and right, and gracefully raising their arms.

  “This is a dance welcoming you to the Islands,” Mrs. Armstrong told the mainlanders.

  All too soon the party ended with the mainlanders declaring that they had never had a more festive meal nor a more enjoyable evening.

  “And so romantic!” Bess declared dreamily. “Oh, I just love this place!”

  Nancy was happy that her chum apparently had forgotten her fears about dangerous happenings at Kaluakua. Before going to bed, she and Ned took a stroll around the grounds and spoke to Kiyabu. The caretaker insisted that he was going to stay up all night to patrol the estate.

  “How about me spelling you?” Ned offered, but Kiyabu refused.

  At breakfast the next morning the caretaker reported that there had been no disturbance during the night, and he hoped that all intruders had now been discouraged.

  “Ane, are you ready to do some skin diving?” Ned asked an hour later, his eyes twinkling. “Eluwene awaits you.”

  Chuckling, Nancy went upstairs, put on her bathing suit, then joined Ned on the beach. After he had adjusted a transparent helmet over her head and strapped an oxygen tank on her back, Nancy slipped her feet into flippers.

  Then Ned donned his equipment and the two walked into the surf. Upon reaching deeper water, they both swam downward.

  “How fascinating this
is!” Nancy said to herself, as myriads of small fish of various colors swam past her.

  The couple presently came to a cave and paused to watch a small octopus-type creature waving its tentacles about the opening. Nancy was so intent on its maneuvers to collect food by reaching out at passing small prey that she did not notice a very large fish swimming toward her.

  As she turned to swim off she was struck with horror. The huge fish, its jaws wide open, was only a few feet away. A man-eating shark, she thought!

  Ned, who had become aware of the shark at almost the same moment, gave Nancy a tremendous push upwards. Then he followed her. The two twisted and turned to get out of danger, diving and rising until they eluded the shark and came to the surface. They raced toward shore, constantly looking back over their shoulders to see if they were being followed.

  Exhausted and their hearts pounding, the two finally reached the beach. As they dropped down, panting, and telling each other what a narrow escape they had had, Kiyabu came walking toward them. A short distance behind him were Burt, George, Bess, and Dave. When they had all gathered around, Nancy and Ned told them about their harrowing experience.

  Kiyabu all the while was looking off over the water. At last he said, “I do not wish to take away anything from your bravery, but in the waters of the Hawaiian Islands there are no man-eating sharks. They are all harmless.”

  The shark was only a few feet away

  “Boy, do I feel silly!” Ned exclaimed. “Well, live and learn!”

  Kiyabu said with a twinkle in his eyes, “Don’t you remember? Kaahupahau, the Queen of the Sharks, keeps the man-eaters away?”

  George now spoke up. “There may not be any man-eating sharks around here, but there are some human sharks.”

  She related that a man whom Kiyabu and Emma had never seen before had come to the estate right after Nancy left. He had said that Mr. Dutton had sent him because he was a dealer in antiques and was willing to buy some of the valuable objects.

  “But the sums he offered for them were perfectly ridiculous,” George reported.

  Burt declared that he was sure the man was not a dealer at all. “I think he was just a snooper, probably one of the Double Scorps.”

  Nancy was disturbed by the information. Jumping up, she declared, “I’ve been playing long enough. I must get back to work on the mystery at once!”

  Bess’s face broke into a broad grin. “Nancy, while you were gone, Dave and I did some sleuthing,” she announced proudly. “Wait until you hear what we found out!”

  CHAPTER XV

  The Silversword’s Secret

  AFTER Nancy had showered and put on a sports dress, the young people gathered in the garden and Bess began her story.

  “We decided to try surprising you,” she said. “Dave and I kept thinking about that woman who seemed to come from underneath the pavilion. So we decided to look for a secret opening.”

  “And we found one!” Dave told the young sleuth. “I feel now as though I really belong on your detective team, Nancy!”

  “There’s a cunningly concealed door in the foundation,” Bess continued. “It swings inward on a hinge. The door was left slightly ajar.”

  Nancy was thrilled. “Did you find anything underneath the pavilion?”

  “Yes, we did,” Dave replied. “There’s a three-foot space between the ground and the floor of the pavilion. I began digging in the dirt and this is what I came up with.”

  The young man reached behind a nearby bush and brought out a small metal chest. He opened the lid and took out a piece of paper on which were a drawing and two identical symbols that looked a little like men. They were joined at the base.

  Nancy stared at them. “Why, this a sketch of a silversword plant!” she exclaimed. “The only place in the world that it grows is in the Haleakala Crater over on the island of Maui.”

  “You’re practically right,” Burt spoke up. “There also are some silversword plants in desolate sections of the island of Hawaii.”

  “Anyway, it’s a marvelous clue, I’m sure,” said Nancy. “Did you find out what these symbols mean?” she asked excitedly.

  George grinned. “The translation is my contribution to this clue,” she said. “The symbol is na kanata and that’s Polynesian for men. I asked Kiyabu and he found an old book with ancient symbols of the Pacific islands.”

  Nancy was delighted with the additional find. “This is simply wonderful. Thanks a million!”

  When Bess asked what the next move would be, Nancy said, “I think we should go to Haleakala Crater and try to find out if this clue was Grandfather Sakamaki’s method of giving directions to whatever treasure he secreted.”

  “You mean,” George spoke up, “Kupunakane Sakamaki.” She chuckled. “That is Grandfather in Hawaiian.”

  Nancy laughed. “George, you’ve certainly been busy. All right, this is a clue, I’m sure, to Kupunakane Sakamaki’s secret.”

  “You mean, it’s a summons to the crater?” Bess asked and Nancy nodded.

  Ned had said little up to this time. Now he voiced the opinion that possibly the woman in the white muumuu who had crawled from beneath the Golden Pavilion had buried the chest and it was not connected with the secret at all.

  “But why would she do such a thing?” Bess asked.

  “To draw Nancy Drew away from Kaluakua,” Ned replied.

  “If that was her reason,” George spoke up, “surely she wouldn’t put it in such an obscure place.”

  “Remember, she left the door ajar,” Nancy said.

  The young people talked at length about the two ideas regarding the silversword plant and the symbols under it which meant men. Finally they appealed to Kiyabu for an opinion.

  “I am sure Mr. Sakamaki Sr. put the chest there himself,” the Hawaiian replied. “He was a man who was very learned and also full of fun. I believe he enjoyed scattering the pieces of the puzzle for his grandson to put together.”

  “That convinces me,” Nancy declared. “I’m going to Haleakala Crater. Who wants to come along?”

  Everyone wanted to make the trip, including Hannah Gruen. Kiyabu offered to make the hotel and plane reservations, and telephone to Maui for a guide with a car to take them to the crater.

  “This guide knows the mountains and the history of the volcanoes well,” Kiyabu said. “If anyone on the island can help you solve the mystery, I am sure he can. His name is Moki Kuano, but just call him Moki.”

  A little later the caretaker informed the group that he had secured reservations for the following day on the afternoon plane. This meant they would be able to see the gorgeous sunset over the crater.

  Luncheon was served in the garden. Nancy and her friends had just finished eating, when Kiyabu brought her a message. “The telegraph office phoned that your father will arrive by plane tomorrow morning. Would you like me to meet him?”

  “Thank you very much,” Nancy replied, “but I’d love to meet Dad myself.”

  Ned offered to go with Nancy to the airport. They left Kaluakua before breakfast the next morning, deciding to get a snack at the field while waiting for Mr. Drew.

  The great plane was on time, and the couple watched as it circled the field and landed smoothly. Nancy had purchased a lei of bright red plumiera blossoms and stood at the fence eagerly awaiting her father.

  The passengers began to disembark. As each one appeared in the doorway of the plane, Nancy looked hopefully for Mr. Drew. Finally the pilot, the copilot, steward, and stewardess alighted. It was evident that there was no one else aboard.

  “Dad didn’t come!” Nancy exclaimed to Ned. “Oh, I hope nothing has happened to him!”

  Ned was worried too, but said cheerfully, “Perhaps there is a message at the airlines office, or possibly your father sent another telegram.”

  He and Nancy hurried inside the building and made inquiries, but there was no word from Mr. Drew. Nancy telephoned to Kaluakua and asked if anyone there had heard from her father. The answer was no.

/>   Going to the airlines’ reservation desk, Nancy asked, “Could you find out if my father, Mr. Drew, made the reservation and then canceled it?”

  The clerk made two telephone calls, then said that the lawyer had first canceled, then reinstated his reservation. “But Mr. Drew never claimed the ticket,” he added, “so it was sold to someone else at the last minute.”

  “That’s not like Dad,” Nancy said worriedly to Ned as they walked away. “I’m going to telephone Mr. Sakamaki in River Heights and see if he knows why Dad wasn’t on the plane.”

  She put in the long-distance call from the airport, and fortunately Mr. Sakamaki himself answered. When he heard Nancy’s story, he was astounded. “I haven’t heard of any change in your father’s plans,” he said. “But I believe I can help you find out what happened. I’ll phone a private detective I know in Los Angeles and ask him to work on the case. As soon as I learn anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “Oh, please do,” Nancy begged. “I’m going directly to Kaluakua now and I’ll wait there until I hear from you.”

  She and Ned hurried back to the estate. The first person they met was Hannah, who became greatly alarmed upon hearing that Mr. Drew had not arrived in Honolulu. “He’s probably being detained by some of those Double Scorps,” she fretted.

  She and the others were relieved to know that a detective was going to start work immediately to find out what had happened. Despite this, a feeling of gloom settled over Kaluakua and all the mainlanders sat around talking in low tones.

  “Do you think we should cancel our reservations to Maui?” Ned asked Nancy, as noon approached.

  “Let’s wait until one o’clock,” she suggested.

  At that moment the telephone rang and she quickly picked up the receiver. The others had risen from their chairs and, with worried expressions, tiptoed forward. They were thunder-struck to hear Nancy cry out, “Dad!”

  There was a long, one-sided conversation. Finally the young sleuth said good-by to her father and turned to the others.

  “That Los Angeles detective is a whiz,” she remarked. “He found Dad very quickly, although he had moved to another hotel. And he also learned that there was an impostor, one of the Double Scorps, using the name of Carson Drew. This man passed himself off as Dad and canceled the cable to me saying my father’s trip had been delayed. He also reinstated the plane reservation, which Dad had canceled. Of course Dad never showed up to pay for it, so the fellow bought it at the last moment at the airport to use himself.”