Carolyn Keene - The Hidden Staircase

A look of alarm came over Helen's face, but she tried to shake off her nervousness and asked, "Nancy, do you think the radio could have been turned on by remote control? I've heard of such things."

Nancy said she doubted this. "I'm afraid, Helen, that the thief has been in the house all the time. He and the ghost are one and the same person. Oh, I wish we had looked before in the cellar and the attic. Maybe it's not too late. Come on!"

Helen, instead of moving from the room, stared at the fireplace. "Nancy," she said, "do you suppose someone is hiding up there?"

Without hesitation she crossed the room, got down on her knees, and tried to look up the chimney. The damper was closed. Reaching her arm up, Helen pulled the handle to open it.

The next moment she cried out, " Ugh! "

"Oh, Helen, you poor thing!" Nancy exclaimed, running to her friend's side.

A shower of soot had come down, covering Helen's hair, face, shoulders, and arms.

"Get me a towel, will you, Nancy?" she requested.

Nancy dashed to the bathroom and grabbed two large towels. She wrapped them around her friend, then went with Helen to help her with a shampoo and general cleanup job. Finally Nancy brought her another sports dress.

"I guess my idea about chimneys wasn't so good," Helen stated ruefully. "And we're probably too late to catch the thief."

Nevertheless, she and Nancy climbed the stairs to the attic and looked behind trunks and boxes to see if anyone were hiding. Next, the girls went to the cellar and inspected the various rooms there. Still there was no sign of the thief who had entered Twin Elms .

After Miss Flora had heard the whole story, she gave a nervous sigh. "It's the ghost—there's no other explanation."

"But why," Aunt Rosemary asked, "has a ghost suddenly started performing here? This house has been occupied since 1785 and no ghost was ever reported haunting the place."

"Well, apparently robbery is the motive," Nancy replied. "But why the thief bothers to frighten you is something I haven't figured out yet."

"The main thing," Helen spoke up, "is to catch him!"

"Oh, if we only could!" Miss Flora said, her voice a bit shaky.

The girls were about to pick up the luncheon dishes from the table, to carry them to the kitchen, when the front door knocker sounded loudly.

"Oh, dear," said Miss Flora, "who can that be? Maybe it's the thief and he's come to harm us!"

Aunt Rosemary put an arm around her mother's shoulders. "Please don't worry," she begged. "I think our caller is probably the man who wants to buy Twin Elms ." She turned to Nancy and Helen. "But Mother doesn't want to sell for the low price that he is offering."

Nancy said she would go to the door. She set the dishes down and walked out to the hall. Reaching the great door, she flung it open.

Nathan Comber stood there!

CHAPTER V A Puzzling Interview

FOR SEVERAL seconds Nathan Comber stared at Nancy in disbelief. "You!" he cried out finally.

"You didn't expect to find me here, did you?" she asked coolly.

"I certainly didn't. I thought you'd taken my advice and stayed with your father. Young people today are so hardhearted!" Comber wagged his head in disgust.

Nancy ignored Comber's remarks. Shrugging, the man pushed his way into the hall. "I know this. If anything happens to your father, you'll never forgive yourself. But you can't blame Nathan Comber! I warned you!"

Still Nancy made no reply. She kept looking at him steadily, trying to figure out what was really in his mind. She was convinced it was not solicitude for her father.

Nathan Comber changed the subject abruptly.

"I'd like to see Mrs. Turnbull and Mrs. Hayes," he said. "Go call them."

Nancy was annoyed by Comber's crudeness, but she turned around and went down the hall to the dining room.

"We heard every word," Miss Flora said in a whisper. "I shan't see Mr. Comber. I don't want to sell this house."

Nancy was amazed to hear this. "You mean he's the person who wants to buy it?"

"Yes."

Instantly Nancy was on the alert. Because of the nature of the railroad deal in which Nathan Comber was involved, she was distrustful of his motives in wanting to buy Twin Elms . It flashed through her mind that perhaps he was trying to buy it at a very low price and planned to sell it off in building lots at a huge profit.

"Suppose I go tell him you don't want to sell," Nancy suggested in a low voice.

But her caution was futile. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to see Comber standing in the doorway.

"Howdy, everybody!" he said.

Miss Flora, Aunt Rosemary, and Helen showed annoyance. It was plain that all of them thought the man completely lacking in good manners.

Aunt Rosemary's jaw was set in a grim line, but she said politely, "Helen, this is Mr. Comber. Mr. Comber, my niece, Miss Corning."

"Pleased to meet you," said their caller, extending a hand to shake Helen's.

"Nancy, I guess you've met Mr. Comber," Aunt Rosemary went on.

"Oh, sure!" Nathan Comber said with a somewhat raucous laugh. "Nancy and me, we've met!"

"Only once," Nancy said pointedly.

Ignoring her rebuff, he went on, "Nancy Drew is a very strange young lady. Her father's in great danger and I tried to warn her to stick close to him. Instead of that, she's out here visiting you folks."

"Her father's in danger?" Miss Flora said worriedly.

"Dad says he's not," Nancy replied. "And besides, I'm sure my father would know how to take care of any enemies." She looked straight at Nathan Comber, as if to let him know that the Drews were not easily frightened.

"Well," the caller said, "let's get down to business." He pulled an envelope full of papers from his pocket. "Everything's here—all ready for you to sign, Mrs. Turnbull."

"I don't wish to sell at such a low figure," Miss Flora told him firmly. "In fact, I don't know that I want to sell at all."

Nathan Comber tossed his head. "You'll sell all right," he prophesied. "I've been talking to some of the folks downtown. Everybody knows this old place is haunted and nobody would give you five cents for it—that is, nobody but me."

As he waited for his words to sink in, Nancy spoke up, "If the house is haunted, why do you want it?"

"Well," Comber answered, "I guess I'm a gambler at heart. I'd be willing to put some money into this place, even if there is a ghost parading around." He laughed loudly, then went on, "I declare it might be a real pleasure to meet a ghost and get the better of it!"

Nancy thought with disgust, "Nathan Comber, you're about the most conceited, obnoxious person I've met in a long time."

Suddenly the expression of cunning on the man's face changed completely. An almost wistful look came into his eyes. He sat down on one of the dining-room chairs and rested his chin in his hand.

"I guess you think I'm just a hardheaded business man with no feelings," he said. "The truth is I'm a real softy. I'll tell you why I want this old house so bad. I've always dreamed of owning a Colonial mansion, and having a kinship with early America. You see, my family were poor folks in Europe. Now that I've made a little money, I'd like to have a home like this to roam around in and enjoy its traditions."

Miss Flora seemed to be touched by Comber's story. "I had no idea you wanted the place so much," she said kindly. "Maybe I ought to give it up. It's really too big for us."

As Aunt Rosemary saw her mother weakening, she said quickly, "You don't have to sell this house, Mother. You know you love it. So far as the ghost is concerned, I'm sure that mystery is going to be cleared up. Then you'd be sorry you had parted with Twin Elms . Please don't say yes!"

As Comber gave Mrs. Hayes a dark look, Nancy asked him, "Why don't you buy Riverview Manor? It's a duplicate of this place and is for sale. You probably could purchase it at a lower price than you could this one."