The Sign of the Twisted Candles Page 9

  “I don’t know.” His description of them fitted Jacob Sidney, Peter Boonton, and the Jemitts. “They all wanted to look in the tower room.”

  “Is the other guard still at the tenant house?” Nancy asked.

  “Why no. Didn’t you hear that your father dismissed him?”

  Nancy was astounded. She had a strong hunch this was not true. As soon as the front door was opened, she dashed to the telephone to call Mr. Drew. To her dismay she found that the cord had been cut in half!

  “Ned, come here!” she called.

  He gazed at the severed cord critically. “Vandalism all right. Whom do you suspect?”

  Nancy said she was sure Jemitt was responsible. “When the guard was around the corner, Jemitt let himself into the house. To avoid arrest if detected, he made it impossible for anyone to phone.”

  “What about the other guard?” Ned asked. “Do you think Jemitt faked a note to get rid of him?”

  “Yes.”

  Ned suggested that they report the damage to the telephone company at once. “Let’s drive to the nearest phone right now.”

  “You go,” Nancy said. “I’d like to look around here.”

  Left alone, Nancy went from room to room. Nothing on the first floor seemed to have been disturbed. She figured that probably the Jemitts had already removed any visible expensive objects. She hurried to the second floor and peered into one room after another. When Nancy reached the room she had occupied, the young sleuth stopped short.

  On the bed lay a man bound and gagged! His eyes were closed. Apparently he was asleep, because he did not move.

  Nancy tiptoed over. He was Jacob Sidney! Quickly she pulled off the gag. The motion aroused the man, who seemed to be dazed. But finally his eyes fastened on the young detective.

  “You!” he said in a hoarse whisper. “How did I get here?”

  “I don’t know. I just found you. What happened?”

  “Untie me and I’ll tell you.”

  Nancy did not trust Jacob Sidney. Why was he in this house that he was not supposed to enter? She would wait until Ned’s return.

  “First tell me how you got in here,” Nancy said.

  Grudgingly he admitted trying the door when the guard’s back was turned. “I found it unlocked and slipped in. I thought I’d better come here and —and protect my inheritance,” he added lamely. “Suddenly somebody hit me from the back and that’s all I remember.”

  There was the sound of approaching footsteps. Ned walked in and Nancy signaled him not to act too startled.

  Jacob Sidney, apparently mistaking Ned for a plainclothes police detective, said, “I had a right to be here, Officer. I’ve inherited part of this property.”

  As Ned leaned over and untied the man’s bonds, Nancy said, “This is Mr. Jacob Sidney.”

  “Well, Mr. Sidney,” Ned remarked, “I advise you to leave at once and not come back.”

  “I will, I will,” the crestfallen intruder said.

  He got up stiffly, went down the stairs, and out the front door. Not until he was outside did Nancy and Ned burst into laughter.

  Ned remarked, “I guess that snoopy beneficiary won’t be back in a hurry.”

  “Not with you around, Officer,” said Nancy.

  “I got your father,” Ned reported. “He certainly didn’t dismiss the guard, and is sending the man back. A repairman from the phone company will be here to replace the cord. Probably the person who cut the cord is responsible for the dismissal of the watchman and the knockout blow to Jacob Sidney.”

  “Let’s see what other damage he may have caused,” Nancy suggested.

  They opened closet doors and Nancy even investigated the camouflaged back stairway, but found nothing suspicious. She showed Ned the hidden ornate music box before they began a hunt for other treasures.

  “I’m to look for the sign of a twisted candle?” Ned asked.

  “Uh-huh,” she answered.

  Every panel in the ceilings, walls, and floorboards was carefully examined. The couple became separated and there was not a sound for nearly half an hour.

  Then Ned cried out, “Nancy! Come here! I think I’ve found something!”

  She ran to his side in the rear hall. “Look! The grass cloth on this wall is a little different from the rest and a twisted candle has been carefully worked into the design. Do you think it means anything?”

  Nancy ran her fingers over the rough fabric. “It’s lumpy underneath!” she said excitedly. “Ned, we should investigate!”

  For a moment Nancy wondered if they should tear off the wall covering. “It’s old and faded, anyway,” she told Ned.

  He agreed. “We’ll use my penknife and be as careful as possible,” he said.

  Inch by inch he felt the lumpy area and cut around it. Then he peeled off the grass cloth.

  “A safe!” Nancy exclaimed.

  “Right,” said Ned. “And how are we going to find out the combination to it?” He grinned. “One thing I haven’t learned is how to be a safe-cracker.”

  Nancy laughed, then reached up and tried the recessed knob. To her amazement it turned!

  “Oh, Ned, the safe isn’t locked!”

  In a moment the door was open. The couple peered inside.

  “Swords!” said Ned.

  He lifted one out. It was encrusted with jewels and evidently very old and valuable. Five others were examined, each one ornate.

  “Well, your Asa Sidney was a collector,” Ned remarked, “and I must say he had good taste. What are you going to do with these?”

  Nancy did not know. “I suppose they shouldn’t be moved, but I’m afraid to leave them. They may be stolen.”

  “Perhaps we can put back the grass cloth so the cuts won’t be noticeable,” Ned suggested.

  The swords were replaced and the safe shut. Putting back the frail grass cloth was a tedious job. Nancy had noticed a jar of paste in the room Carol had occupied. She went to get it, then worked with Ned for some time. Finally Nancy felt that the repair would suffice until the authorities came to appraise the estate.

  “Where do we look next?” Ned asked. “This is a lot more exciting than my job was as camp counselor.”

  “Please don’t tell anyone what you found,” Nancy cautioned.

  “Why, Miss Drew,” Ned said, “do you think you should address an ‘officer’ that way?”

  The two burst into laughter, recalling Jacob Sidney’s mistaken impression. Then they became serious.

  “I think we’ve done enough for one visit,” Nancy said. “But before we leave I want to go upstairs and see if the lock is intact on the door to the tower room.”

  She went up the steps, followed by Ned.

  “This sure is a spooky old house,” he remarked. “I wouldn’t want to live in it.”

  “But great for a mystery,” Nancy said. “Well, nobody has managed to remove this seal, but I’m sure it has been tampered with. I must—”

  At that moment a frightful howl echoed through the old inn. Then came a reverberating crash!

  CHAPTER XVI

  The Ruse

  THE crash and ear-piercing yell startled Nancy and Ned.

  “What was that?” he asked. “It sounded right outside!”

  They both went to the stairway window and struggled to lift the stiff, warped sash.

  Nancy leaned out. “Oh!” she cried. “A man’s on the porch roof with a ladder on top of him!”

  Ned looked down. “It isn’t the guard,” he said. “Who can he be?”

  “We’d better run down,” Nancy suggested, “and help the poor man.”

  The couple raced down the steps to the second floor and made their way to a front room, whose windows opened onto the roof of the porch. The man lay unconscious beneath the ladder. Nancy and Ned climbed out to the roof and pulled the ladder off the prostrate form.

  “I never saw him before,” Nancy said. “Evidently he was trying to get into the house.”

  “I’ll go down and get the g
uard,” Ned offered.

  In a few minutes he was back to report that the guard was not in sight.

  “That’s strange,” said Nancy. “Anyway, I think this man should go to the hospital. Ned, will you drive to a phone and call the police to send an ambulance?”

  “I hate to leave you alone here, Nancy.”

  “Oh, I’ll be all right,” she assured him.

  Reluctantly Ned hurried to his car and drove off. Nancy decided to hunt for the guard.

  As she neared the hall, she heard a step behind her and turned. The man whom she had thought to be unconscious stood there, an evil grin on his face! Nancy started to run, but he caught her in an iron grasp.

  “Let go of me!” she demanded.

  He gave a mean laugh. “I got my orders to get rid of you!” the man mumbled. Nancy now realized he had been faking unconsciousness all the time.

  “Who gave you the orders? Frank Jemitt?”

  “You know too much,” the man answered.

  As she struggled to get away, the man pulled a small bottle from his pocket and waved it under her nose. Nancy held her breath, all the while fighting like a tigress. She heard a car drive in. If she could only hold out until help came!

  But the room began to reel. Nancy couldn’t breathe. Then she blacked out. When the young sleuth revived, she was lying underneath a bed. Its deep-fringed spread hid her from view.

  “I guess that’s why no one found me,” she thought. Her head ached. “I need fresh air.”

  Staggering, she made her way to the window. Vaguely she noticed that the ladder was still there.

  “Where is everybody?” Nancy wondered. Suddenly she noticed that Ned’s car was not in sight. “Hasn’t he come back yet?”

  A sudden fear gripped her. Had the powerful stranger knocked Ned out when he returned, hid him some place, and then taken his car?

  Feeling stronger now, Nancy decided to investigate. Going from room to room, she called loudly for Ned, but received no answer. Panic-stricken, Nancy began to search under beds and in closets. Ned was nowhere in sight.

  Sitting down on the steps of the front porch, Nancy tried to imagine what had happened during her blackout. “I must think,” she told herself. “This is dreadful! What’ll I do? No phone, no car—”

  Her eyes were suddenly attracted to a startling sight. A pair of men’s feet protruded from beneath the porch! Ned’s? Sick with fear, Nancy jumped up, seized the man’s ankles, and pulled him out.

  “The guard! He’s been drugged too!”

  Almost at once the man’s eyelids flickered open and presently he was able to tell Nancy what had happened. He had been knocked out by the same man who had drugged her.

  “I shouldn’t have trusted that guy.”

  Nancy told the guard that she was alarmed over the safety of the young man who had come there with her.

  “I wish I could help you,” the guard said.

  Just then a car turned into the driveway and Nancy’s heart leaped. It was Ned’s! She rushed to meet him.

  “Nancy! You’re all right! Where did you go?”

  “I was under a bed asleep.”

  “What!”

  She told what had happened to her and the guard. Ned was astounded.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, stepping from the car and putting an arm about her shoulders. “The police and I thought you’d been kidnapped. They’re still looking for you.”

  “And I thought you had been knocked out also. What did happen?” Nancy asked.

  Ned explained that soon after he had returned from making the phone call, the ambulance had arrived, only to find that the “patient” had vanished.

  “I immediately called the Inlet Village police and they sent three men out here right away. You were well hidden, Nancy. When you didn’t answer our calls, we figured that fellow kidnapped you.

  “I had to go to headquarters and give a description of you along with his. The police are now combing the highway and turn-offs. Nancy, I came back here just in case—”

  Before he could finish, a small truck pulled up in front of the inn. It belonged to the telephone company and in a short time their man had the service restored. At once Ned called police headquarters to brief the captain on the situation. He said efforts would be doubled to find the stranger.

  “Tell Miss Drew we haven’t picked up any information about the Jemitts,” the captain said.

  When Ned relayed the message, Nancy remarked, “I have a hunch the Jemitts sent that stranger who knocked me and the guard out. If we could find him, he might lead us to them.”

  “But not tonight.” Ned was firm about Nancy returning home.

  “On one condition,” she answered. “That you stay to dinner.”

  “Agreed.”

  Nancy telephoned her father and suggested another guard be sent out to relieve the one who had been drugged.

  “I’ll attend to it at once, Nancy.”

  “There’s a lot more to tell you, Dad, but let’s wait until dinnertime. By the way, when will I be able to go into the tower room? I’m sure the answer to many secrets is right there.”

  “You may go in tomorrow afternoon,” the lawyer replied. “Men from the courthouse and an appraiser will be there in the morning. The door to the tower is to be kept locked even after the appraisal is completed. But I’ll give you my key.”

  “Great. Ned and I are coming home now. See you later.”

  Nancy explained to the guard that he would be relieved in a short time, adding, “Will you be all right if we go now?”

  “Oh yes. I have a slight headache but otherwise I feel okay.”

  When Nancy and Ned were about halfway home, he looked at the gasoline gauge and said, “I couldn’t make it to River Heights without filling up. Is there a station near here?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “Take the next road to the right to Maywood.”

  Ned drove there. As the tank was being filled, Nancy glanced at a car headed for Maywood. Her pulse quickened. The driver was the man who had drugged her and the guard!

  “Hurry!” she called to the attendant. As Ned looked at her, puzzled, Nancy whispered, “I just saw the man who knocked me out. We must follow him!”

  Ned called out to the attendant, “That’ll be enough.” The surprised man shut off the pump.

  Ned glanced at the price gauge and quickly paid for the gasoline. “Keep the change,” he said.

  “Where’d the man go?” Ned asked Nancy.

  “Toward Maywood. Oh, please hurry. He ought to be arrested, and besides, he may be going to meet the Jemitts.”

  The suspect was not driving fast and Ned soon caught up. “Now what do we do?” he asked.

  “See where he goes and then get a policeman.”

  Presently the man turned into an old area of Maywood where the houses were in a shabby state. He parked in front of one on which hung a sign: Mrs. Dilberry’s Guest House. The man let himself in with a key.

  “Ned, go for the police, will you? I’ll wait here in case he or the Jemitts come out.”

  “Promise me,” he said, cupping Nancy’s chin in his hand, “that you won’t disappear again.”

  “Not even to chase them?”

  “No.” Ned sat still until she gave her word, then hurried off. Nancy got out and stood back of a tall hedge so she could not be seen from the windows of the guest house.

  It was not long before Ned returned with two plainclothes detectives who he introduced as Manton and Wright. Manton said he would cover the rear door of the house while the others went inside.

  A woman in her sixties answered their ring. Detective Wright showed his badge and asked if she was Mrs. Dilberry. When she replied Yes, he said, “You have a guest here who is wanted for assault.”

  “Not here,” Mrs. Dilberry declared. “All my folks are respectable.”

  “If you don’t cooperate,” he said, “you will be liable for aiding and abetting a criminal. He just came in here. Where is he?”

/>   “You mean Mr. Krill?” A look of fright had come over Mrs. Dilberry’s face. “He’s in the room at the head of the stairs.”

  As Wright and Ned started up the stairway, Nancy paused to ask the woman a question. “Do you have any guests here named Jemitt?”

  “I did have but they moved out about an hour ago,” Mrs. Dilberry said. “Right after the husband got a phone call.”

  “Where did they go?” Nancy asked.

  “They didn’t say, miss.”

  “Tell me,” Nancy went on, “were they friendly with Mr. Krill?”

  “Oh my, yes! I could hear them walking back and forth to each other’s rooms all the time.”

  “Thank you,” Nancy said, then dashed up the steps to confront the suspect.

  CHAPTER XVII

  A Capture

  AT first Krill refused to open the door. But when Wright said he had witnesses to identify him as the person who had been at The Sign of the Twisted Candles that afternoon, and there was no sense in breaking down the door, the suspect unlocked it.

  “You got nothin’ on me,” he declared.

  Nancy stepped forward. “I accuse you of drugging me and the guard, and of being in league with the Jemitts to steal from the Sidney mansion.”

  Krill’s jaw dropped. “H-how did you know that? I was a nut to tie up with them.”

  The detective said, “You’d better tell us all you know.”

  “I ain’t sayin’ another word!” Krill shouted.

  “Okay, come along. Miss Drew, will you tell Manton to meet us at the car?”

  Nancy went downstairs ahead of the men and relayed the message. Manton joined the others at the curb.

  “Please follow us,” Wright requested Nancy and Ned. “Miss Drew, you will have to prefer charges against this man downtown.”

  They drove to police headquarters. Nancy signed the necessary papers and Krill was taken to a cell. Finally she and Ned set off for River Heights.

  Ned suddenly burst into laughter. “One thing that makes you so interesting, Nancy, is that I never know when I ask you to go out, what mystery will come our way!”

  Nancy chuckled. “And I never know myself. Now if I could only get hold of the Jemitts that easily—”

  “I’m betting on you,” Ned replied. Then, putting a hand over hers, he added, “But please be careful. They’re dangerous.”