The Clue in the Jewel Box

CHAPTER XX

As the weak cry for help was repeated, Ned switched on his flashlight, pointing the bright beam at the old boathouse. A man was standing on a narrow platform facing them.

“Ned! That’s Cordova-the pickpocket!” Nancy whispered tensely. “Dorrance’s double!”

“I’m going after him,” muttered Ned, putting out his flashlight and handing it to Nancy. “When I shout, train this right in his eyes!”

“Be careful,” Katherine warned anxiously.

Crouching low behind some bushes, Ned moved a little down shore. In the darkness the man on the platform could see only Nancy’s light, which she was playing over the trees.

Suddenly a board creaked, there was a shout, and a flashlight was turned full on his face. The pickpocket whirled, but Ned leaped on him, and the two went down together.

Bob ran to assist. The pickpocket put up a violent struggle, but the boys quickly subdued him.

Nancy said, “You hold him while I look inside the boathouse.”

Followed by Katherine, she opened the creaking door to the old building.

“Mr. Ellington?” she called softly.

Cautiously the girls moved forward, flashing their lights over the half-rotted flooring. The water was lapping against the posts of the building.

Giant, eerie shadows leaped at them as they flashed their lights into every comer. The beam from Nancy’s came to rest on an old overturned rowboat against the wall. From its stern protruded a pair of bare feet, bound with rope.

“We find someone!” Katherine cried in horror.

Nancy ran to the boat and turned it over. A glance told her that the limp figure lying on the floor was Richard Ellington. His hands were bound. A gag in his mouth had slipped a bit.

“We’ll have you out of here in a second,” she assured him, and worked at the knotted ropes.

Katherine already had removed the gag. “Oh, what have they done to you?” she exclaimed.

“Two masked men stopped my car,” the artist said hoarsely, “and brought me here.”

“Can you tell us more about them?” Nancy asked.

“Yes,” the man replied. “One was tall and had bushy hair. He called the other man Michael.” Nancy and Katherine exchanged knowing looks.

“Why did they kidnap you,” Nancy asked the artist.

“I don’t know,” he said, puzzled.

As Nancy untied the rope that bound his ankles, she stared at Mr. Ellington’s bare feet.

“Mr. Ellington! Your left foot!” she exclaimed. “It has a peculiar mark on the sole!”

“Oh, that. It was put on when I was a child. It was made by a doctor as a means of identifying me,” Mr. Ellington said. “What happened in my early life is so fantastic that I never speak of it.”

“Don’t move,” Nancy said. “I’ll take this rope to my friends, so they can tie up the prisoner.”

The captive was bound, then Richard Ellington was helped to his automobile. It was decided that the girls would drive him to the Red Lion Inn while the boys turned Cordova over to the police.

When they reached the inn, Nancy suggested that Katherine get a cup of hot soup for Richard Ellington. While she was gone, Nancy hurriedly asked him a few questions and was satisfied with his replies.

“Please do not tell Katherine yet,” Nancy begged.

“I promise.” Then he smiled and added mysteriously, “I have something special to ask her before I tell her this.”

All the next day Nancy went around with a happy smile on her face and humming snatches of songs. She was planning a birthday party for her father the following evening.

“Oh, I’m glad Mrs. Alexandra will be well enough to come,” she mused.

The doctor had said it would be all right for the former queen to come to the Drew home directly from the hospital. Anna would have to remain a little longer for treatment.

“I’m so happy that Mr. Faber found just the right gift for Dad!” Nancy said to Hannah Gruen.

“I am too.” The housekeeper grinned. “And I’m sure your father will enjoy the party. He hasn’t had a celebration in a long time.”

By eight o’clock the next night all the invited guests had arrived at the Drew home. Nancy’s young friends came in a group, and Mr. Ellington escorted Katherine. She proudly showed Nancy an engagement ring.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Nancy congratulated the couple.

Mrs. Alexandra and Mr. Faber were among the last to come, the latter bearing a gift-wrapped package. Introductions were made, and Mr. Ellington’s fine manners greatly impressed the former queen.

Then came the surprise of the evening. Nancy revealed that Richard Ellington was none other than the real Michael Alexandra.

She turned to Mrs. Alexandra. “He has the identifying mark on his foot.”

Everyone murmured in surprise. Katherine turned white. Mrs. Alexandra gave a start, but made no sign of being pleased.

“She wants further proof,” Nancy thought.

She explained that when rescuing the young man from the boathouse she had observed an A-shaped mark on his left foot.

“The incision was made by a doctor when I was a child,” Mr. Ellington disclosed. “I still remember that bushy-whiskered man who made the cut.”

“What else do you recall?” Mrs. Alexandra asked, still distant in her manner.

“I recall a long hallway with mirrors,” Mr. Ellington said with a chuckle. “How that place frightened me!”

“It is true,” whispered Mr. Faber. “He describes the Hall of Mirrors in the palace.”

“Come here,” Mrs. Alexandra bade the young man. “You resemble my son, but why then do you not address me in our native tongue?”

Richard Ellington laughed. Then, to the amazement of the guests, he began to speak to Mrs. Alexandra in words they could not understand. Presently she began to weep and clasped him in her arms.

Katherine, who interpreted for the group, assured them that the young man had convinced his grandmother he was the true prince. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, and Nancy was asked to explain many things.

The young detective said she had learned of the A-shaped incision from a note found in the Footman jewel box. The message had been written by Michael’s nurse.

“It said that she was taking the prince to America,” Nancy continued. “The faithful woman had left clues in various places, hoping his grandmother would find them upon her return to the palace.

“Only the other day Mrs. Alexandra and I discovered one of them by learning the secret of the little nightingale. The bird was made to sing the words ‘clue in jewel box’ by a creator of music boxes.”

“That man was Conrad Nicholas, brother-in-law of my nurse, Nada,” explained Mr. Elling ton. Turning to his newly-found grandmother, he added, “Nada was very, very good to me. She died only six months ago, and I have been very sad since then. Not until I met Katherine did I feel happy again, but now that I have a grandmother and a fiancée, I am doubly happy.”

“When did Nada write that letter which the impostor used?” George asked.

“She wrote it when I was still a little boy. Nada wanted me to have proof of my identity in case anything happened to her,” the artist replied. “She gave me the name Francis Baum so our enemies would not find us. Later I took the name Richard Ellington.”

“I like that much better,” said his grandmother. “And I do not mind if you keep using it. I shall never call you Michael, for it will bring up memories of that awful thief.”

“He’s a kidnapper, too,” said Nancy. She explained that he had confessed kidnapping Richard Ellington to keep Nancy and her friends busy searching for him. “With us out of the way he hoped we wouldn’t have time to investigate the robbery when it was revealed.”

The true prince spoke up. “After I lost my art portfolio on the train, I often wondered what became of my toy lamb. Nada warned me to keep it as extra proof of my identity. I was embarrassed to let anyone see it in my room, so I kept it in my portfolio.”

“It is waiting for you at your new home.” Mrs. Alexandra smiled gaily. “That is, if you will live with me until your marriage.”

After the thrilling reunion, still another surprise awaited the guests. Nancy arose, kissed her father, and said, “Happy Birthday, Dad! For a special reason I am asking Mr. Faber to present my gift.”

The antique dealer stood up. In a ceremonious speech he declared that it gave him great pleasure to present the gentleman’s box.

“It will now be in the home of the finest, most unselfish people I have ever met-Mr. Drew and his lovely, clever daughter!”

There was much handclapping as Nancy and her father acknowledged the compliment. Everyone crowded close as the package was unwrapped. Mr. Drew lifted out a handsome leather and silver box, its lid embossed with a scene of hunters on horseback. It bore the mark of the skilled silver-smith who had created it-Mr. Faber’s father.

“This is very fine and most unique,” Mr. Drew declared, his fingers exploring the intricate work.

Suddenly he gasped in astonishment. Somehow the lawyer had pressed a tiny, hidden spring along the side of the gentleman’s box. A false bottom was revealed, and in it was a slip of paper.

“Now what can this be?” Mr. Drew asked as he scanned the strange figures on the sheet.

“Until this moment I did not know that the box had a secret opening,” put in Mr. Faber.

“Hm! A formula of some sort,” Mr. Drew said.

“Perhaps the long-missing process of enamel making!” exclaimed Mr. Faber. “At one time my father had it in his possession.”

Mr. Drew offered the paper to the man, saying, “Then this belongs to you.”

Mr. Faber retreated a step. “No! No! It is yours too. I can take back nothing.”

Mr. Drew turned to his daughter. “What do you think, dear? After all, you are the one who solved this whole mystery.”

Nancy locked arms with her father. “I think you should remain a lawyer and I an amateur detective. The formula is Mr. Faber’s.”

Everyone applauded this idea. Now that the mystery had come to a close, Nancy began to wonder when and where her next adventure would take place. It proved to be an exciting one, called The Secret in the Old Attic.

Mr. Faber had started to speak. “Any profit I make I want to share with all of you. My gift will include a large donation to the Boys Club and a wedding present to the prince and his bride.”

Mrs. Alexandra smiled at everyone. “I sincerely hope for continued friendship among us all, and I give especially warm thanks for my great happiness and good fortune to our darling Nancy Drew.”