The Strange Message in the Parchment

by Carolyn G. Keene

  After making Nancy feel very much at home in the roomy, comfortable house, which was furnished with beautiful antique furniture, Mr. Flockhart tweaked Junie’s chin. “It’s high time you got home, young lady,” he said. “The lambs are crying for you.”

  Junie laughed and explained to Nancy that she worked for her father. Her job was to look after the newborn sheep. These were kept in a special barn with individual stalls, so they would not be endangered by other animals.

  As the group walked into the living room, Nancy noticed a framed, glass-covered picture hanging over the fireplace mantel. It measured about twelve by twenty inches.

  “Is this the mystery picture?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Mr. Flockhart replied. “Nancy, it’s all yours to solve. We’ve given up.”

  “But let’s not start now,” Mrs. Flockhart begged. “Dinner is ready.”

  After the meal was over, Nancy looked at the parchment paintings again. The first of the four was of a beautiful woman; the second a young man with his back to the viewer. Nancy was intrigued by the third picture. It portrayed a group of angels surrounded by clouds. The figure in the center was holding an infant. The last painting depicted a collision between a steamer and a sailing vessel.

  Junie and her father had walked up behind Nancy. “What thoughts are going through your mind, young lady?” Mr. Flockhart asked. “I’ve never had the pleasure of being this close to a detective in action before. I’d be interested in hearing your ideas.”

  “I’m afraid I haven’t much to offer at the moment,” Nancy said. “My first reaction is that the picture tells a story about a family. There was happiness in the beginning, but then tragedy struck. I think there is a connection between the second and last paintings. Perhaps something happened to the man at the time of the accident.”

  “Do you have an inkling of what the strange message might be?” Junie queried.

  “I haven’t the faintest notion,” the girl detective replied, “but give me a little time. When I’m on a case, the facts are foremost in my mind. I refer to them off and on. My best thinking hours seem to be late at night or early in the morning.

  “By the way, Mr. Flockhart, have you met an artist named Vincenzo Caspari, who lives in this area?”

  The answer was no, and Junie’s father asked why Nancy wanted to know.

  “Ned Nickerson thought he might be able to help us,” she said.

  Mr. Flockhart went to the phone and called the artist. A woman who answered said Mr. Caspari would be out of town for a few days.

  “I’ll call again,” Mr. Flockhart said.

  Nancy and Junie were weary from their long ride and retired early. The following morning they dressed in shirts and jeans, had a quick breakfast, then went to the barn where the newborn lambs were. Nancy fell in love with each baby as she came to it.

  Suddenly she exclaimed, “Why, here’s a pure black one lying down! Isn’t he darling?”

  The man in charge walked up to the girls, and Junie introduced him as Finney.

  “Something happened to this poor little fellow,” he reported. “Maybe he got stepped on. Anyway, he can’t stand up. I guess we’ll have to send him over to the slaughterhouse.”

  “Not yet,” said Junie quickly. “Let me look at him.”

  She entered the stall. As Nancy and Finney watched her, she manipulated the lamb’s legs, massaging them, then rubbing the little animal’s body. To the onlookers’ amazement the little black lamb stood up and bleated “Baa!”

  “Well, I’ll be—he’s gonna be all rightl” Finney exclaimed.

  “I think he will be,” Junie said jubilantly, watching the black lamb closely. Then she explained to Nancy that she had had some training in animal massage.

  Nancy had noticed that outside there was a great deal of activity, carts and trucks going in both directions. Most of them contained full-grown sheep. Wishing to watch this part of the operation more closely, she walked out of the barn. Junie followed.

  Just then a high-powered car roared around the corner of the barn, put on speed, and headed in the girl’s direction. The driver made no attempt to swerve out of their path.

  Horrified, Nancy and Junie jumped back against the wall to avoid being hit!

  CHAPTER III

  Plaintive Bleating

  THE big car whizzed past Nancy and Junie, missing them by inches as they braced themselves against the wall of the barn. On the passenger side stood a sassy little dog, who leaned out the window and gave quick staccato barks.

  The driver yelled at him, “Shut up!” But the dog paid no attention.

  The man stopped abruptly and jumped out of the car. He was short and stocky and had a swarthy complexion. He walked back to the girls, and without a greeting of any sort he said to Junie, “Where’s your father?”

  Before replying, Junie asked, “What was the idea of almost running us down? We might have been killed!”

  When the man ignored her question, she went on, “Mr. Rocco, this is my friend Nancy Drew from River Heights. Nancy, this is a neighbor of ours from across the hill.”

  Rocco did not acknowledge the introduction. His beady black eyes stared into Nancy’s blue ones for a few seconds, then he said, “I’ve heard your name somewhere. In the papers, maybe? Have you ever been in jail or in some other kind of trouble?”

  Nancy was taken aback by this rudeness. She merely said, “No.”

  Junie squeezed her friend’s hand and indicated she was to say no more. She herself addressed the man. “Mr. Rocco, I think my father is at the factory. At least, that’s where he usually goes in the morning.”

  Without another word, the crude visitor turned on his heel, went to his car, and jumped in. He drove off rapidly, his dog still yapping.

  Junie said to Nancy, “Isn’t he horrid? But we have to be nice to him because he’s one of my father’s best clients. By the way, would you like to go to the factory and see how parchment is made?”

  “Yes, I’d like that very much,” Nancy said and the two girls got into the Triple Creek jeep and went off.

  As they approached a string of one-story buildings, Junie said, “Some of these places are pretty smelly from the animals. Think you can take it?”

  Nancy assured her she could and in any case, she would put up with it in order to learn about parchment making.

  The first place was the shearing room. Several men were cutting the thick wool from the sheep’s bodies. They were using electric knives, which operated very quickly. Now and then one of the sheep bleated pleadingly and Nancy realized that a knife had gone too close and nipped the skin.

  As soon as all the wool had been taken off, the sheep were driven into the next building through a fenced-in alleyway. The girls left the shearing room and walked to the slaughterhouse.

  “I see what you mean by smelly,” Nancy remarked, holding her nose for a moment. “When Bess and George get here, I’ll bet Bess won’t come near this place. She not only can’t stand bad odors, but she can’t watch any living creature being killed.”

  Before the sheep were slaughtered, they showed great fright and their bleating caused a terrific din in the place. Junie told Nancy that after being killed, the animals were hung up to drain. Nancy nodded silently, not looking too happy.

  “I guess you’ve had enough of this,” Junie said understandingly. “Let’s go in the next building. That’s more civilized!”

  Here the skins of the animals were skillfully removed so that the meat underneath would not be damaged. As soon as the carcasses were ready, they were carried to a waiting refrigerated truck.

  “From here they go to wholesale meat plants,” Junie explained. “My father is not involved with that part of the business.”

  “Now what happens?” Nancy asked.

  “I’ll show you how the hides are treated before it is possible to make them into parchment,” her friend replied.

  In the next building men were busy shaving and scraping the tough hairs from the skins of
the sheep.

  “When these are ready,” Junie said, “the hides will be covered with lime. This is done to absorb excess fat. The next step is to douse the hides in a pure water bath, then hang them up to dry. You can see some of them over there being stretched on frames. This is to make them smooth.”

  “There’s a lot of work involved,” Nancy remarked.

  “You’re right,” Junie agreed. And the farm girl made Nancy laugh by reciting an original ditty:Junie had a little lamb.

  She kept it in a stall.

  But Daddy took the lamb away;

  Now it’s a parchment on her wall.

  “Junie, you’re a great poet!” Nancy said. “Let’s see if I can do as well. Nancy thought for a few seconds, and then she recited a rhyme of her own:

  Junie had a little lamb.

  It really got her goat

  When Daddy took the pet away

  And made her friend a sheepskin coat!

  “Very clever!” Junie praised. “We’re so good we should go in the poetry business.”

  “Not so fast, partner,” Nancy cautioned. “First we will have to solve the mystery of your father’s parchment.”

  “Righto. Well, back to my duties as a guide. The last process in making parchment is again scraping the hides and then sandpapering them. By that time they will look like your father’s diplomas.”

  “What if a sheep has real thick skin?” Nancy asked.

  “Then it’s possible to separate the outer from the inner layers. Very fine vellum is made from the inner layer. That’s the most expensive kind of what we normally call writing paper, but it’s really not paper at all because it’s not made from the wood of trees. Can you imagine going into a fine stationery store and asking for a box of sheepskin to use for letters?”

  Nancy chuckled. “Right. The salesclerk would think you’d escaped from a funny farm. By the way, can you make parchment and vellum from other animal hides, too?”

  “They use the hides of calves and goats, but they’re coarser than sheepskin, so my dad doesn’t bother with them.”

  Nancy said it had been a very interesting and enlightening tour.

  “Oh, the sightseeing isn’t over yet,” Junie replied.

  “Really? What else is there to visit?”

  “I want you to meet a very interesting character who works for my dad. He has nothing to do with this factory, though. He’s an elderly shepherd who lives high on one of our hills and takes care of a large flock of sheep. His name is Ezekiel Shaw, but everyone calls him Eezy. I won’t tell you any more about him now, but you’ll like him. I have a walkie-talkie in my car for him.”

  Junie drove the jeep partway up the hill, then parked it. “We’d better walk from here. Sometimes the engine of this jeep disturbs the sheep. They’re timid and scare easily.”

  Almost immediately a beautiful sheep dog came to meet them. “Hello, Rover!” Junie said to him, ruffling his thick fur. “Rover, this is Nancy Drew, who is visiting me. Make her welcome to Triple Creek Farm.”

  Rover sat down and put up his right paw to shake hands. Nancy responded and patted the dog lightly on the back of his head.

  “I’m glad to meet you, Rover,” she said. “I take it you guard the sheep.”

  The dog seemed eager to be off. Junie said he probably felt he should get back to Eezy, his master. The girls followed him as quickly as they could, but could not worm their way among the sheep as easily as the dog did.

  Nancy and Junie finally reached the top of the hill. Before them stood a small cabin with trees around it. The place was quiet and well kept.

  “Is that where Eezy lives?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes. But when the weather is good, as it is today, he’s usually outdoors. He must be around here somewhere. Often he’s seated on that big rock over there. From that spot he can look all around and see if any of the sheep need attention, or if there are any prowlers.”

  “What kind of prowlers?” Nancy asked.

  “Oh, rustlers who come to steal sheep, or sometimes wild dogs.”

  Junie began calling Eezy’s name. There was no response from the elderly shepherd.

  “This is strange,” Junie said. “I wonder where he is.”

  Suddenly Rover began to bark wildly and to zigzag quickly among the sheep. He headed down the slope at a different angle from the direction the girls had taken to come up.

  “Let’s find out where Rover’s going,” Junie suggested. “I suspect trouble.”

  She and Nancy hurried down the hillside. By now all the sheep seemed disturbed. They began to move around, and a few started to run. Had the dog caused this, or was there some other reason?

  Far down the hillside the girls could hear both Rover’s bark and the sheep’s loud bleats.

  Junie looked worried. “Now I’m sure there’s trouble of some kind down there. We’d better find out what it is—and fast!”

  CHAPTER IV

  Eezy Shaw

  NANCY followed her friend as fast as she could. The sheep were everywhere. Some were standing, others were lying down. In her haste to keep up with Junie, Nancy decided to hurdle some of the animals. Once, while jumping across an old sheep that was lying down, she stepped on the tiny tail of a younger one. Immediately there was a loud baaaaa.

  “I’m sorry,” Nancy called back, as she sped on.

  When the girls neared the lower end of the hill, they noticed two men running as fast as they could toward a road at the foot.

  “They must have caused the disturbance,” Nancy called. She asked, “Do you know who they are?”

  “No,” Junie replied. “Maybe they were trying to rustle our sheep.”

  “That’s bad,” Nancy remarked.

  The men were too far ahead for the girls to get a good look at them. Junie said she still did not recognize either one of them. A moment later the two intruders jumped into a waiting car that roared off.

  Rover had been after the men, but could only scare them away. When he realized the girls were coming down, he turned and trotted up to their side.

  “Good dog!” they both said, and Junie hugged him affectionately. As the three climbed the hill, Nancy asked, “I wonder where Eezy is?”

  “I do, too,” Junie replied. “It’s not like him to leave his station, especially if there’s any trouble and the sheep are disturbed.”

  As soon as the girls reached the top of the hill where Eezy’s cabin stood, they began to call the shepherd’s name. When there was no answer, Junie went inside the house. He was not there.

  Puzzled, she said to Nancy, “I can’t imagine what happened.” She leaned down to the dog and said, “Rover, where is your master? Go find Eezy. Take us to Eezy.”

  The beautiful animal cocked his head. Then, as if understanding what was wanted of him, he sniffed along the ground, apparently trying to pick up the scent of Eezy’s footprints. Presently he disappeared into a small copse of trees. Meanwhile, the girls looked all around the cabin and some distance beyond it. There was no sign of Eezy, nor any clue as to what had become of him.

  “This is really strange,” Junie remarked. “Eezy has never left this place since he became a shepherd here.”

  At this moment Rover began to bark wildly. Nancy and Junie followed the sound, which led them to an area in the copse of trees. The faithful dog was standing beside his master, who lay stretched out on the ground, unconscious!

  “Oh!” the girls cried out and knelt down next to him.

  The shepherd was just beginning to revive. He mumbled and presently Nancy caught the words, “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away.”1

  Nancy looked at her friend for an explanation. Junie said that Eezy was a very religious man, who often quoted the Bible to explain the philosophy behind some situation. “I think he’s blaming himself, perhaps for letting some of the sheep be rustled.”

  “It looks as if you and I got here just in time,” Nancy said.

  Junie nodded and gave the
stricken man some first aid to help him regain full consciousness. He did not respond at once, so Junie said, “Nancy, you try it.”

  Nancy did and in a short while the shepherd opened his eyes wide, then smiled wanly. Finally, with their help, he got to his feet.

  “This is no kind of reception at all,” the slender, elderly man said. “And, Junie, I see you’ve brought a beautiful young lady to meet me.”

  “Yes, this is my friend Nancy Drew,” Junie told him.

  “Sorry I was sleepin’ when you came up,” Eezy said. “Next time I’ll be wide awake, I promise.”

  The girls looked at each other, then Junie said, “Eezy, you were not just asleep. You were unconscious. What happened to you?”

  The shepherd hung his head. “I see I can’t keep anythin’ from you. Well, two men came up here to see me. We didn’t quite hit it off. They got mad and knocked me out. Never gave me a chance to fight back.”

  Nancy explained that she and Junie had seen two men running very fast down the hill with Rover after them.

  “But,” Junie added, “before we got close enough to identify them and see their license plate, they sped away in a car.”

  “That’s just as well,” Eezy said. “They’re tough, bad people. Take my word for it. And don’t get involved with ’em.”

  Junie begged the elderly shepherd to tell them why the men had been there. Eezy shook his head. “I’m not goin’ to say anything more about ’em ’cept that they wanted me to do somethin’ I don’t approve of. We had just better let it go at that.”

  By now Eezy seemed to have recovered his strength, and he walked back with the girls to his cabin. “May I invite you lovely ladies to join me in a glass of cool lemonade?” he asked. “This is the time of day I like to wet my whistle.”

  Nancy and Junie accepted and followed the shepherd inside. The place was immaculate and attractively decorated with furniture Eezy had made. He was pleased that the girls were interested in his handicraft.

  He did not refer to the unfortunate incident, except to say that he was mighty thankful to Rover for having run the men off the premises.