The Clue of the Tapping Heels

by Carolyn G. Keene

  “Oh dear!” Nancy exclaimed. “Does this mean he stole them?”

  The lawyer shrugged. “It certainly makes everything harder to figure out.”

  Nancy knit her brow. “If Bunce stole them, why did he take a chance on getting caught by ignoring the Beverly? It seems to me it would have been smarter if he had paid Gus Woonton’t board. Then no one would have become suspicious.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Nancy,” her father agreed. “And this also doesn’t explain why, if Miss Carter’s neighbor is W. F. Bunce, he came to live in Berryville where the old Woonton house is. According to the reports, there was a lot of money in the estate and I should have thought he would have gone as far away as possible.”

  The discussion was interrupted by loud banging on the kitchen door. Nancy opened it. Her young friend Tommy Johnson was standing there. His eyes were large and he was so excited he could hardly talk. He stuttered and stammered something unintelligible.

  “What is it, Tommy?” Nancy asked. “Say it slowly.”

  The little boy pointed toward the garage. “I just saw a man sneak out of there, and now I can hear something ticking!”

  CHAPTER XVIII

  Spikes of a Human Fly

  As the Drews raced toward the garage, Nancy’s father cried out, “It could be a bomb! You’d better stay here!”

  “Oh, Dad, please!” she begged. “You mustn’t run into danger either.”

  The two reached the garage at the same moment. The ticking was loud. It was definitely coming from beneath Nancy’s car. Mr. Drew grabbed a rake and began to pull the ticking object from beneath the automobile.

  “It isn’t worth risking your life, Dad,” Nancy cried out.

  With a deft sweep of his arms, her father swung the bomb onto the lawn. It rolled away.

  “The ticking is dying down,” he said. “I’m sure the bomb’s not going to explode. In rolling it over, I probably partly deactivated it.”

  A few seconds later the ticking stopped entirely. Mr. Drew walked over and began taking the object apart.

  “Why, Dad—” Nancy began, alarmed.

  The lawyer laughed. “A few years ago I took some instructions in deactivating bombs,” he explained. “I thought it might come in handy some time, but I admit I never thought it would be right in my own garage.”

  Mr. Drew confirmed his guess that by rolling the bomb he had moved a switch on the inside. It had slowed the ticking.

  “Dad, if you hadn’t disarmed the bomb, when would it have gone off?”

  “I can’t be sure, of course,” her father replied, “but from this timer in her I’d say in about ten minutes.”

  Suddenly Nancy remembered Tommy who had given them the warning. Where was he? Just then he came out the back door with Mrs. Gruen.

  The little boy began to complain about Hannah. “She wouldn’t let me come out and see the fun,” he said.

  “And she did the right thing,” Mr. Drew spoke up. “Tommy, it’s a good thing you noticed the ticking sound or Nancy’s car would have been blown to smithereens.”

  “What!” Tommy cried out. “Was it a bomb I heard?”

  “It sure was,” Nancy replied. “Tommy, you said you saw a man sneaking away from the garage. What did he look like?”

  Tommy could not give a very detailed description of him, but it tallied closely with that of Fred Bunce. If it was he, what had he hoped to gain by blowing up her car?

  Upon reflection Nancy told herself, “It would be a little hard for me to get around without a car. But then I could have rented one. I believe Fred Bunce had some other reason for coming here.”

  She could think of none and turned to Tommy. Putting her arms around him, she said, “You’re a brave little detective, Tommy. Keep it up and maybe someday you and I can solve a big case together.”

  “Really? You mean it?” the little boy asked. “That would be groovy.”

  While Mr. Drew was still working to dismantle the bomb completely, he asked Nancy to get in touch with the police and request that an officer drop over as soon as possible.

  “Anyone who plants a bomb should be listed on the police blotter and a hunt for him started,” the lawyer said.

  Nancy had just finished making the phone call when Ned Nickerson arrived. She said lightly, “We almost didn’t have a car to ride in.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Nancy briefed him on the recent happening.

  Ned was worried. “You don’t seem to be safe anywhere.”

  Nancy smiled. “Now, Ned, I always get out of these scrapes, don’t I?” Then she changed the subject. “We’d better start for Berryville. Ned, will you help carry out our supper?”

  When he saw the boxes of sandwiches and pie and the container of ice cream he laughed. “That’s enough food to feed an army.”

  Hannah Gruen spoke up. “I know you boys. I’ll bet there won’t be a crumb left of what’s packed in here.”

  “We’ll sure do our best to make your prediction come true,” Ned told her with a laugh.

  When he and Nancy reached Miss Carter’s house, they found Bess, George, and their dates walking out to feed the cats. They all stopped to look through the huge wire cage.

  “Aren’t the Persians marvelous?” Bess asked.

  “I guess so,” Dave replied without enthusiasm. He was a rangy athlete. “But give me a nice big dog for a pal.”

  Ned and Burt showed only mild interest in the pets. But when the girls took the three boys on a walk around the outside of the house and explained the mysterious happenings, they became intrigued.

  “You say one of the men who came here wore spiked shoes?” Ned asked.

  “Yes,” Nancy replied, “but we don’t know which one he was. There are now at least three suspects.”

  All the boys were interested in this particular fact. Burt remarked, “It’s obvious the fellow had some special reason for wearing spiked shoes and it wasn’t for stealing cats.”

  Suddenly an idea came to Nancy. She began to examine the wall of the house under the window where she had found the hand- and footprints.

  “Look here! ”she called.

  The others rushed over. Nancy pointed out deep gouges in the brickwork.

  “Do you suppose the person who wore those shoes used them as spikes to climb up here?”

  “He could have,” Ned conceded. “But I still don’t see how he could have kept his balance.”

  Dave had been examining the wall. Now he began to take measurements between the gouges. “Do you know what I think?” he asked.

  “What?” the others asked.

  “That the climber had something over his hands that he could use to dig into the brickwork, as well as the spikes on his shoes.”

  The six young people examined the wall closely and agreed.

  Burt shook his head. “Just the same, I wouldn’t want to try climbing up this wall with spikes or claws or anything else. Give me a real safe elevator.”

  His friends laughed. Bess, proud of her date’s discovery, tucked her arm into his and led him into the house.

  She and George had set the table earlier. Ned carried Miss Carter downstairs and then a merry supper party began.

  For a time the mysteries were put aside and only wisecracks and teasing remarks flew back and forth. Miss Carter was immensely amused and laughed heartily. The group had just finished eating their apple pie topped with ice cream when the front doorbell rang.

  Everyone looked questioningly at the others, except the actress. With a happy smile, she said, “I’m expecting Toby Simpson. He wants to inspect the mummy case and see if it can be used in the revival of The Dancer and the Fool.”

  The actor was introduced to the boys and talk resumed while the girls cleared the table. The Emerson trio found Mr. Simpson very entertaining.

  When the girls returned, the actor said he was ready to look at the mummy case in the attic. Miss Carter insisted upon going along and asked Nancy and Ned to accompany the couple. O
nce more the actress was placed on the old couch.

  Nancy chuckled. “The last occupant of that mummy case was alive,” she said. At Toby Simpson’s questioning look, she said, “One of Miss Carter’s cats got locked in there by mistake.”

  The actor laughed. Then, after examining the case, he declared it to be in very good condition and said, “Indeed I can use it in the revival. It’s pretty valuable so I’ll leave it here until we’re ready to go into rehearsal.”

  Engraved on the chest was the name Woonton!

  He looked around at all the other props, saying he was amazed at their good condition. He stopped in front of a large chest.

  “Was this used in one of your plays?” he asked Miss Carter.

  “No. But if you’re interested in borrowing it, help yourself.”

  The actor said he would like to use the chest in the revival, and would take it along with him right now.

  “I’ll empty it for you,” he said, raising the lid.

  Nancy was standing next to him. As he opened the chest wide, she gasped. On top of several boxes stood a smaller chest with a silver nameplate.

  Engraved on it was the name Woonton!

  “Is something wrong?” Miss Carter called.

  Nancy explained what they had found inside the big chest and asked if the actress knew anything about it.

  “Why, no. I have never locked that chest and haven’t looked in it since I moved here. Someone must have put the little chest inside.”

  The group speculated on who had put the Woonton chest inside and when.

  “It’s my guess,” said Nancy, “that Gus found his chest hidden somewhere in the house and planned to take it along. He was interrupted or couldn’t carry it at the time and quickly hid the chest in here.”

  Ned spoke up. “If it’s unlocked, don’t you think we should find out what’s inside?”

  “Indeed I do,” the actress answered. “Bring the little chest here please, so I can see what is in it.”

  Ned carried it over. The chest proved to be fairly heavy. Miss Carter lifted the lid and everyone exclaimed in surprise at the contents. There was a quantity of beautiful jewelry and several carefully wrapped, priceless figurines.

  “Maybe we should turn these over to the police,” Miss Carter suggested.

  Nancy requested that she not do so immediately. “I’m sure that somebody will be back here to get them. Why don’t we return them to your big chest and then set up a twenty-four-hour watch?”

  CHAPTER XIX

  An Unexpected Solution

  EVERYONE was eager to help Nancy trap whoever might come for the Woonton jewels. But Toby Simpson said he would have to be excused. He had been up late the night before and must rise early Monday morning for a rehearsal.

  “It’s rather a long drive to my place so I must go,” the actor told them. “But I wish all of you luck this time in capturing the thief. I’ll ask Violette to phone me the outcome.”

  After he had left, the couples talked over the vantage points where they would station themselves. George was so sure the secret room had something to do with the entry of the tapper that she requested a post there.

  “All right,” Nancy agreed. Then she said to Burt with a grin, “You’d better go with her and be sure nobody hits her over the head!”

  Since every door and window on the first floor was locked, Bess and Dave chose to stand watch on the second floor.

  “I wish we had enough people to patrol the outside of the house too,” Dave remarked.

  Nancy told him she was depending on the police to do this. Then she added, “Ned, how about you and I guarding the attic?”

  “Sure thing. Personally I’m sure that’s where our thief will be entering.”

  Miss Carter reluctantly went to bed. “I’m sorry I’m unable to act as a guard,” she said.

  The lights in the house were put out and the young people went to their various posts. All had agreed not to have any conversation—it might give away the plan of capture.

  Nancy and Ned had taken positions on opposite sides of the attic. Ned sat down on the floor near the window where the hand- and footprints had been found. Anyone entering by this means would be surprised with a hard football tackle. Secretly Ned hoped he would have the chance.

  Nancy stood near a chimney, From there she could watch the stairway and two other windows. Becoming weary, she sat down and leaned against the brickwork. As time dragged by, she found it more and more difficult to keep from falling asleep.

  “I’d better stand up for a while,” she said to herself. “It’ll be easier to stay awake that way.”

  A few minutes later she wondered if her imagination was playing tricks on her. She had felt a movement on the floor beneath her feet.

  “Am I standing on a trap door we didn’t discover?” she asked herself, and moved aside with utmost caution.

  To her astonishment a section of the floor next to the chimney rose slowly. There was a very faint squeaking sound which attracted Ned’s attention at once.

  In a moment the couple saw a pudgy man, flashlight in hand, emerge from a stairway! Nancy and Ned hoped that the light would not reveal them. They wanted to wait and see what the intruder would do before tackling him.

  “He must be Gus Woonton!” Nancy thought, hardly daring to breathe. “I’ll bet he’s after the jewels. And when he tries to take them away, we’ll pounce on him.”

  The suspect moved forward. He opened the chest and picked up the smaller box.

  Nancy decided it was time for her and Ned to act. In the now dimly lighted attic she waved at Ned, and within two seconds he had the pudgy man on the floor. The victim lost his flashlight and struggled furiously, but Ned held him down.

  “Let me up! Let me go! You’ve got no right here. What do you think you’re doing?” the infuriated prisoner cried out. “This chest belongs to me!”

  Nancy had walked toward him. She picked up the flashlight and beamed it directly at the man.

  “You’re Gus Woonton, aren’t you? And you came for this little chest of jewels.”

  “So what if I am and so what if I did?” the man answered. “Those jewels rightfully belong to me. My grandmother gave me the whole chest but my parents wouldn’t let me have it. Or anything else she left me, either. Then they went away and left me with guardians, who were cruel. But I got square with them!”

  “That’s what you wrote in your diary,” Nancy remarked. “If you’ll promise not to fight any more and go downstairs quietly with us, we’d like to hear your story.”

  “All right,” Gus said solemnly. He gave a hollow laugh. “I thought one place nobody would ever find was the secret stairway I came up.”

  “Where does it lead?” Ned asked.

  Gus explained that originally it had opened into the kitchen but the entrance had been sealed off years ago.

  “I hid food in there,” Gus explained. “Whenever you went searching in the attic, I’d hide on the steps. One time you almost caught me, so I stepped out on the roof and stayed there until you went downstairs. Then I came back in and you never saw me.”

  “But three of us did last night,” Nancy said. “Tell me, how did you get into the house with all the doors and windows locked?”

  Gus smirked. “You’re so good at figuring things out, why don’t you try and guess how?”

  “That’s an easy one,” Nancy answered. “You wore spiked golf shoes and fastened spikes to your hands and climbed up the brick wall, then came through that window over there.”

  Gus was so amazed he stared in stupefaction at Nancy. “Girls aren’t supposed to be so bright,” he said sullenly.

  Nancy could not keep from laughing and Ned remarked, “Gus, I think you’ll have to change your mind on that one.”

  “Did you ever steal any cats?” Nancy questioned.

  “No. But I went to the cage once and looked at them.”

  “When you had on your spiked shoes?”

  “Yes.”

  So t
he cat thief had not worn golf shoes, Nancy decided.

  She asked Gus, “What did you do with all the papers in your secret room?”

  “Took them to the house where I’m boarding. But not the diary. That’s gone—stolen.”

  Nancy admitted she had removed it, but someone had taken it from her. She now asked another question.

  “Were you responsible for trying to harm Ned and me on various occasions?”

  Gus shook his head vigorously. “Tuesday I followed you in a car to see where you lived. But I lost the trail in a parking lot in River Heights. I thought it would be better if you stopped snooping around here. I overheard a lot while I was in the house, and decided to attack Ned so he’d make you stay away from here. I sent him a note and then tried to knock him out in the school corridor. That’s all I ever did.”

  By this time the three had reached the second floor. Bess and Dave came running forward, astounded.

  “You caught the tapper?” Bess cried out. “It was the one you suspected, Nancy!”

  Gus replied, “Yes, I’m the one who was doing the tapping. I took off my shoes and used the heels. But sometimes I used a hammer.”

  The group entered Miss Carter’s room. After she had been told what had occurred in the attic, Gus went on with his story.

  “As I told you, my parents went on a long trip and left me with two guardians, a couple named Gardner. They were pretty cruel—locked me in the secret room which they made from a storage area. Years ago you could only open the panel from the outside. But I fixed that lately.

  “At the time my guardians kept me there, they had an old man as kind of a guard whenever they went out. He used to fall asleep frequently and leave the panel open a little. Then I would sneak out and grab things which were my grandmother’s. For a while I hid them in the secret room. There’s a closet back of the bookcase, which moves. That’s where I hid myself sometimes and why I set the mousetrap so nobody could find out the way to swing open the bookcase.

  “I also made openings in wooden panels around the house and in the ceiling of the basement to hide my things in. After four years I forgot where they were and tapped trying to find them. By the way, the kitchen door to the basement was never locked until you girls came here. You made it hard for me to get around.”