Part 4 (1/2)
In the morning Nancy awoke feeling greatly refreshed. Her back was not so sore as she had expected, though her hand still hurt. She needed her friends' a.s.sistance to dress and had just slipped on her shoes when a telephone call came from Mr. Drew.
”How would you like to take a ride with me this morning? That is, if you feel all right.”
”Of course. I'm much better,” Nancy answered promptly.
Intuition told her that the ride might have something to do with her father's mysterious case.
”We girls will be down to breakfast in five minutes.”
They were about to leave their rooms when a porter appeared with a box of flowers for Nancy. She a.s.sumed that her father had sent them. As Nancy tore away the tissue paper from a dozen red roses in a container, a card dropped to the floor. She picked it up.
”Martin Bartescue!” Nancy exclaimed as she read the name. She left the flowers in the box and walked away.
”Wait a minute!” Bess cried out. ”Even if you don't like the man, don't punish the poor flowers.” She rescued the roses and got water for them in the bathroom. ”I've never seen a more attractive arrangement.”
”They are pretty,” Nancy admitted reluctantly. ”I suppose he sent them because he feels responsible for my falling off the terrace.”
”Wear one of the roses down to breakfast,” Bess suggested.
”I'd rather not, but you girls are welcome to them.”
”No thanks,” said George. ”I don't like that man any better than you do.”
”I don't either,” Bess added.
Nancy looked at Bartescue's card once more. Turning it over, she saw that he had written a brief note of sympathy on the back.
”Girls, look at this handwriting! ” she called.
”It's different from the signature on your scorecard,” Bess observed.
”And from the one on the hotel registration card,” Nancy told her.
George remarked, ”I can't help but feel there's something suspicious about Martin Bartescue!”
Knowing that her father was waiting for her in the lobby, Nancy dropped the card into her purse without further comment. The three girls hurriedly locked their doors and went downstairs.
Directly after breakfast Nancy and Mr. Drew drove away. Bess and George decided to play tennis and do some letter writing.
While the Drews were riding along, the lawyer revealed to his daughter that for the past week he had been working on the legal angles of a smuggling case involving an international ring of jewel thieves.
”It has baffled New York detectives. For many months the customs authorities have been trying to round up the gang. Now the work has spread out all over the country. It's believed that one of the members is a woman who frequents the summer resort hotels in this particular area. Unfortunately no description of her is available.”
”Then how can you hope to trace her, Dad?”
”There is one good clue.”
”What is that?”
”Detectives have learned that the woman carries an expensive jeweled compact set with diamonds and precious stones. In the case is a small picture of a child.”