Carolyn Keene - The Clue in the Jewel Box

“Just as I thought!” she exclaimed. “You are not Mrs. Alexandra’s long-lost grandson! You are an impostor!”

“That’s not true,” the young man whined. “Why are you looking at my feet?”

“If you actually were Michael Alexandra, you would know the answer without asking!”

“You’re just trying to cheat me out of my inheritance.”

Nancy was stern as she faced the captive. “You’ll never obtain another penny from Mrs. Alexandra! Your little game has ended.”

Michael stared sullenly at the group.

“Okay, I’ll admit I’m not Michael Alexandra.”

“Where did you obtain your so-called credentials?” Nancy asked sharply. “I mean the letter and picture and toy?”

“Found ’em on a train seat coming into River Heights.”

“Then the real Prince Michael may be somewhere near here!” Nancy exclaimed. She asked the impostor, “Where is he?”

“I DON’T know who the guy is, or where he went,” the man insisted sullenly.

“Did you see him?” Nancy persisted. “What did he look like?”

Michael shrugged. “Don’t remember.”

“What’s your real name?” Nancy asked.

Michael did not reply. Suspecting that the police would be summoned, he sat down on the ground, waiting for a chance to escape.

Nancy went into the inn and telephoned headquarters. Then she spoke to the others at the table, asking two of the young men to locate Michael’s companion. He could not be found anywhere, and Nancy assumed he had learned about what was going on and had left. A police car soon arrived and took away the prisoner.

“Let’s go inside,” Helen said. “Then you can tell us, Nancy, how you found out about the mark that will identify the lost prince.”

“I’ll tell you about it later,” the young detective replied. “In this public place someone might overhear me.”

Nancy followed the others toward the inn. After going a short distance she paused.

“Something else wrong?” Ned inquired.

“I can’t help being worried about Mrs. Alexandra and Anna,” she confessed, frowning.

“With the impostor in the hands of the police,” Ned answered, “they should be safe.”

“That’s the point, Ned. The prisoner is a clever thief, and he may have accomplices.”

“But his pals wouldn’t be likely to make trouble for Mrs. Alexandra without a go-ahead from him.”

“I’m not so sure of that. He’s the one we know so he’d have to establish an alibi. Ned, I heard him talking on the phone a while ago.”

“What did he say?”

“ ‘Everything’s fine. I’m with Nancy Drew now. How’s my dear grandma?’ He asked that mockingly, almost as if he knew she might be in trouble.”

“Do you think any of his pals are at the Alexandra house tonight?”

“That’s just what I’m afraid of, Ned. When I learned what the clue in the jewel box was, I advised Mrs. Alexandra not to give Michael any more jewels or art objects to sell. If she acted on my suggestion, then he probably realized his little game was nearing an end.”

“And figured he had to clean up fast,” Ned stated.

Nancy nodded in reply. “He may have arranged for his pals to rob the house tonight. I overheard Michael tell Anna he probably wouldn’t be home. When I asked him if he’d be there tomorrow, he seemed uncertain at first.”

“I see what you mean about establishing an alibi!” Ned exclaimed. “Say, his pals may be robbing Mrs. Alexandra at this very minute!”

“Let’s go to her house!”

“I’ll ask Jim to come with us,” Ned said.

Jim was more than willing to accompany the couple, and Katherine insisted upon going along. They found an empty taxi parked near the inn.

“Take us to the ferry right away!” Ned urged the driver.

“If we miss the next boat, there won’t be another along for half an hour,” Jim added, glancing at his watch.

Ten minutes later the taxi arrived at the dock. An instant before the gates were lowered, the cab was driven aboard. The ride across the river took its usual time, but to Nancy it seemed hours before the boat docked.

“Now to 47 Downey Street!” she urged the driver as the taxi rolled off the ramp.

The car sped through the streets, drawing up at last before the darkened house.

Jim paid the driver, and the young people went up the walk. Ned rang the doorbell but no response came from within the house. Again he pressed the button, holding his finger on it a long while.

“That’s enough to wake anybody,” he declared.

“I’m going inside,” said Nancy. “I wonder if all the doors are locked.”

“This one is,” Jim reported, testing the knob.

The young people circled the house and tried the rear door. It too was locked, but Ned scrambled up a trellis to a window. The sash raised without difficulty. Ned crawled through and unlocked the back door.

“The house is certainly quiet,” he reported in a whisper. “If the neighbors see us, they may report us as burglars.”

“We can explain why we’re here,” Nancy replied, switching on lights as she walked through to the living room.

When the young people reached it, they were appalled by the sight before them. The expensive tapestries had been stripped from the walls. Many of the silk chair coverings had been slashed. All the art objects were missing.

“The house has been ransacked!” Nancy cried.

“What has become of Mrs. Alexandra and Anna?” Katherine cried, picking up a torn white apron.

“I’ll look upstairs,” said Nancy.

She started up the dark stairway, calling the names of the women. There was no answer.

Jim and Ned followed close behind her, groping for an electric switch.

“There must be one here somewhere,” Nancy murmured, inching her way along the upper hall.

The next instant she stumbled over a body lying on the carpet.

“Ned! Jim!” she called, bending over the form.

Just as Nancy shouted that she had found someone lying on the floor, Ned’s groping fingers located the electric switch at the top of the stairs. He pressed the button.

Recognizing the motionless figure, Nancy gasped, “It’s Anna! She’s bound and gagged!”

Katherine raced up the stairs. With a penknife Ned severed the cords, while Nancy removed the handkerchief from the woman’s mouth. But she showed no sign of regaining consciousness.

Leaving the others to look after Anna, she hurried into Mrs. Alexandra’s bedroom. Her worst fears were confirmed. The woman lay helpless on the bed. Her hands and feet were tightly bound, and a cloth had been stuffed into her mouth. Nancy removed the gag.

“Mrs. Alexandra, speak to me!” she pleaded.

The woman’s eyelids fluttered open and then dosed again. She lapsed into unconsciousness.

“We’d better call a doctor,” Nancy said as Ned quickly cut the leg and arm cords.

Jim appeared in the doorway, carrying Anna. Carefully he laid her on the bed beside her mistress.

Nancy ran downstairs. Fortunately the telephone wire had not been cut, and she was able to summon a doctor. He arrived ten minutes later. The physician examined Anna briefly but spent a much longer time with Mrs. Alexandra.

“She’s in serious condition,” he said soberly. “I advise hospital care. I will make the necessary arrangements now.”

While the physician made a telephone call, Nancy asked Jim to summon the police. She and Katherine remained with Mrs. Alexandra and Anna, while Ned looked through the house. Nancy quickly searched the bedroom for the chest containing the Footman jewel case. It was gone! Presently the doctor came back upstairs. “The ambulance will be here soon,” he reported, pulling a chair to the bedside.