She paid no attention when Nancy and Ned walked through the open door. Wondering if the woman were ill and needed help, Nancy went closer. The old lady was mumbling in a sing-song voice.
Ned grabbed Nancy’s arm. “She’s nuts!” he whispered. “If I were you, I wouldn’t get too near her. You never can tell what people like that will do. She may attack you!”
Nancy heeded Ned’s warning but listened carefully to the muttering. Finally she managed to distinguish a few words. “Sacred nacre, moon, high tides.”
The woman was not only rocking, but rolling her eyes from one side to the other. She repeated the same words over and over and added, “Full moon, beautiful shell, lovely pink.”
Nancy whispered to Ned, “These terms were used in ancient times in the pearl cults.” Quickly she explained a little about this to him then added, “Maybe this woman belongs to a modern pearl-worshipping cult!”
Ned looked disgusted. “She belongs in a funny farm!”
Nancy hardly paid attention to what he was saying. She wondered if the woman was in a trance, or for some reason, was she acting? The stranger finally stopped muttering and began to moan, her voice rising and falling.
Ned said, “I can’t stand any more of this. It’s driving me off my rocker!”
Nancy consented to leave. When they walked out of the bedroom, an American man in evening clothes came up to them. He smiled and said, “Mrs. Rossmeyer would like to see you in her private quarters.”
Ned hesitated, looking at Nancy. He felt they might be walking into a trap. Nancy nodded almost imperceptably, then started to follow the man. Ned went along reluctantly.
The stranger led them down the long hallway to a door. He clicked on a wall light, then opened the door. Nancy and Ned saw a narrow corridor in front of them. Did this lead to Mrs. Rossmeyer’s private quarters?
The young couple entered the corridor and the door behind them locked itself. Their guide suddenly began to sprint toward a door at the far end of the narrow hall. Before Nancy or Ned could catch him, he had slipped through the door and pushed it shut.
Ned tried to open it, but the door was locked. Then the light in the hallway went out and they stood in total darkness! Together they groped their way to the other door. It, too, was locked.
Nancy and Ned were trapped!
For a moment the young people stood motionless, thoughts racing through their minds. Suddenly Nancy grabbed her friend’s arm. “Ned—the keys!” she whispered. “Let’s try all those keys Dad gave us.”
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all night,” Ned murmured and pulled out his key ring. As silently as possible, he tried one key after another. None of them fit!
After he had fumbled with the last one, he sighed. “That’s it. Now let me have yours, and hope we have better luck!”
Nancy handed him her set, and patiently the young man tried again. Finally one of the keys went into the keyhole. Ned maneuvered it carefully, gritting his teeth. Tensely he turned it, but the key stuck! Ned jiggled it back and forth and then turned it again. This time it worked! He opened the door a crack.
Nancy and Ned were trapped!
“Wow!” he said, wiping his wet forehead in relief.
The young people tiptoed out into the larger hallway. No one was in sight, but weird-sounding Asiatic music drifted from the first floor. The couple listened for a moment. There were no other sounds.
“What’s going on?” Ned asked.
“I don’t know, but I mean to find out!” Nancy replied with determination. “It’s evident that whatever is taking place, Mrs. Rossmeyer and Mr. Moto didn’t want us to see itl”
Carefully Nancy and Ned made their way to the stairs. They saw that no one was in the downstairs hall. Apparently all the guests had assembled in the living room.
The young sleuth stood in silence for a few moments, then motioned for Ned to follow her. Cautiously the two sneaked down the steps to the first landing. From this vantage point they could see everything clearly. Both gasped!
Ned whispered, “I can’t believe itl”
In the center of the living room a small red velvet and gold throne had been set up. Mrs. Rossmeyer was seated on it, a pearl tiara on her head. The electric lights had been turned out, and hundreds of candles illuminated the strange scene.
The guests had put on long, white ceremonial robes over their evening clothes and formed a long line. They began marching around Mrs. Rossmeyer. As each one approached her, he or she bowed and then kneeled.
“What do you think this means?” Ned asked Nancy, a puzzled look on his face.
“It’s some kind of weird cult,” Nancy replied. “I think I know what it is. Tell you later.”
Behind the woman seated on the throne stood a Japanese man. He held up a large, purple velvet banner with a beautiful open pink shell painted on it. Attached to one corner was a huge white pearl.
The thought flashed through Nancy’s mind, “Could this be the thirteenth pearl stolen from Mr. Moto’s shop?”
After the last guest had paid obeisance to Mrs. Rossmeyer, everyone began to dance to the weird music. The performers moaned and cried and rolled their eyes as the woman on the bed had done.
“This is crazy!” Ned declared. “We must call the police!”
Nancy nodded. “Let’s get out of here. I hope no one sees us.”
The two young people tiptoed down the stairs as fast as they could. Nancy held her breath and kept her eyes on the open living room door, hoping no one would notice them going past.
No one did, and when they reached the front door, the uniformed man was not in sight. Nancy and Ned breathed sighs of relief and slipped quietly out into the darkness.
They ran to Ned’s car, and he started it. As he drove along the rutted lane, Nancy put a hand on his right arm.
“Ned, before we notify the police, let’s go to the newspaper office!”
CHAPTER XIX
The Thirteenth Pearl
“THE newspaper office?” Ned asked, puzzled.
“Yes,” Nancy replied. “I believe that the real Mrs. Rossmeyer is still in Europe and that the one who was at the party is an impostor!”
Ned was amazed. “You mean she just borrowed the house?”
“Yes,” Nancy replied.
“I didn’t realize that you had never seen a picture of Tanya Rossmeyer,” Ned commented.
“Unfortunately I haven’t, but the Gazette must have plenty of them.”
When they arrived at the newspaper office, a young man at the front counter asked, “You wish to place an ad? It’s too late for the morning paper. That has just been put to bed.”
Nancy and Ned looked puzzled, and he explained, “That means the forms have been locked in place and the paper put on the press.”
Nancy spoke up. “We didn’t come about an ad. There may be a big story breaking for you people. May I see some photographs of Mrs. Tanya Rossmeyer?”
The young man, who said to call him Jim, went to an inner room to look through the files. A few minutes later he came back with a folder containing several photographs of the well-known socialite.
“Here she is,” Jim said. “I hear the woman’s loaded.” He grinned. “That means she has a lot of money.”
Nancy ignored his facetiousness. After she and Ned had looked at three different photographs of the striking brunette who appeared to be in her late thirties, they were convinced that the woman at the party had indeed been an impostor.
Ned thanked Jim, and the young couple left. When they were outside, Ned remarked, “So that ‘goddess’ was just a cheap fake!”
“Yes.” Suddenly Nancy thought of something else and turned back to the newspaper office. “I wonder if there were any recent articles telling exactly where the real Mrs. Rossmeyer is,” she said.
Jim was surprised to see them again. “Did you bring the big story you promised?” he asked.
Nancy smiled. “Not yet. I’d like a little help first. Will you check recent pape
rs to see if there have been any recent articles about Mrs. Rossmeyer?”
Jim went off and came back with a copy of the morning paper. “Maybe there’s something in here,” he said.
Nancy and Ned turned the pages and ran their fingers down the various columns. Suddenly Ned stopped.
“Look at this!” he said, and he began to read aloud:Mrs. Tanya Rossmeyer of River Heights is giving a dinner party on Tuesday for Count and Countess Sorrentino.
Nancy interrupted. “Tuesday! That’s today! Where is the item from?”
“Paris,” Ned replied.
“That settles it. Mrs. Rossmeyer is in Paris and not in River Heights.”
“Is that the big story?” Jim asked.
Once more Nancy smiled enigmatically. “No. But I believe you will have it very soon.”
Before the young man could ask further questions, Nancy and Ned raced from the newspaper office. Their next stop was police headquarters. They burst inside and told the officer on duty that a fake Mrs. Rossmeyer had “borrowed” the socialite’s home and was having a big and very strange party there.
“What!” the officer said. “I’ll get some men with squad cars to investigate at once.”
Nancy suggested that the policeman follow her and Ned. “We’ve just come from the estate and know exactly where it is,” she added.
While the men were assembling, Nancy told the officer that she suspected the group who was at the estate were jewel thieves. “They’ve probably robbed Mrs. Rossmeyer’s house. Would you get in touch with my father and Chief McGinnis? I’m sure they’ll want to come along.”
When the young sleuth and her companion reached the Rossmeyer mansion, they found to their dismay that it was in darkness. The last car of guests was just pulling away. It was not coming toward them, but going out a back service road.
“Let’s follow it!” Nancy urged Ned.
“Okay. But we’d better not get too close or the driver will become suspicious.”
The chase led beyond the borders of River Heights, and Nancy was worried. Would the police go back now and perhaps notify the State Troopers to continue the hunt?
Nancy said nothing to Ned, but she wished she had brought her own car with its CB radio. Ned had driven his car to her home, and she had seen no reason to make a switch.
After they had traveled a good many miles, the driver ahead turned into a wooded area. The dirt road twisted and turned until it finally led to an encampment. The main house seemed to be a converted barn. For safety, Ned parked some distance away.
He and Nancy jumped out and quietly but quickly hurried forward. They encountered no one, since the people ahead of them had already gone inside. Cautiously the young people went up to the nearest window and peered in.
They recognized many of the people who had been at the party. They were standing around, still in their ceremonial robes, but the scene was not solemn. The cultists were talking and laughing loudly. One of them put on a record, and they began to dance singly or in couples, going through strange gyrations.
Presently two men walked near the window, which was partially open. They were Mr. Kampura and Benny the Slippery One Caputti!
Nancy and Ned dodged out of sight but remained close enough to listen. Benny Caputti laughed raucously. “We certainly pulled that one off all right. Good thing those kids didn’t see us and Rosina!”
“That’s right,” Kampura said. “Praise to the pearl and the lovely moon goddess.”
“Say, we brought so much food back, we’d better feed Moto,” Benny said.
Kampura chuckled. “Which one?”
“Not our Moto, of course. The sneaky little jeweler who caught on to us and is now sitting in the dungeon!”
“We certainly have to decide what we’ll do with him soon. I still think we should have gotten rid of him right away.”
Nancy and Ned looked at each other. Mr. Moto the jeweler was the prisoner of the cult people! But where was he, in the house, or one of the other buildings? They wondered if the thieves had harmed him.
Kampura and Caputti were joined by a third man who snickered. “It’s a good thing we locked up that girl and her boyfriend. The nerve of them to crash the party!”
The three men moved away from the window, and Nancy whispered to Ned, “They don’t even know we’ve escaped!”
“And they don’t know we were invited,” Ned added. “I wonder who called you.” Nancy admitted she had no idea.
At that moment two other men passed the window and stopped near it. One of them said, “We can’t leave that girl and her boyfriend in the hallway forever. Early tomorrow morning, you go back and quietly unlock the doors.”
His companion grinned. “And give them some pearl soup!”
Both men laughed uproariously but were interrupted by the “goddess.” She reprimanded them for their hilarity and suggested that everyone go to bed.
“There is work to be done in the morning,” she declared. “I have a new list of jewelry stores for you to work on.”
The woman clapped her hands. Everyone fell silent, and she commanded the cult members to retire to their rooms. Within minutes everyone had left, and the lights were turned out.
Nancy and Ned wondered where the police were. Had the River Heights men forgotten to notify them. Or had the replacements not been able to follow Ned’s car?
“Are you game to go inside the house and see if we can find a telephone to notify the police?” Nancy asked.
“Yes. Let’s see if we can locate a door that isn’t locked.”
Not far from where they were standing was an open door. Nancy and Ned tiptoed inside. Before them was a flight of steps with another door at the top. Ned opened it, and they found themselves in a kitchen. It was in darkness, but a small flashlight Nancy pulled from her pocket illuminated their way to another door. It swung open noiselessly, and the two sleuths went into an elegantly furnished dining room.
No telephone was in evidence. Nancy thought, “Perhaps ‘Mrs. Rossmeyer’ keeps it hidden.”
The two young people proceeded through another door and this time stood stock-still, gaping in astonishment. They were in a small room with a large glass case in the middle of it. It stood on a pedestal, and in the center, swathed in purple velvet, was the form of a woman’s neck and shoulders. A light in the top of the case shone on an exquisite pearl necklace draped over the form. Nancy counted the pearls. There were twelve on each side of a huge, magnificent center one with a slightly pinkish cast!
Nancy and Ned were stunned. Was this the one stolen from the real Mrs. Rossmeyer? Was it the one her companion had brought to Mr. Moto for repairs?
In front of the glass case, three figures in white hooded robes were kneeling on the floor. They remained in that position and gave no indication that they had seen or heard the young people. Every few seconds they glanced up at the necklace with adoring eyes.
Nancy put her lips to Ned’s ear. “We must get the police!”
The two retraced their steps through the dining room and kitchen and went outside.
“Maybe the officers lost us and couldn’t find this place,” Ned suggested. “Why don’t we walk up the road and wave them down?”
Nancy agreed, and they started off. As they hurried along the dirt road, they were suddenly stopped by two men who appeared from the bushes and blocked their way like huge, looming shadows!
Nancy and Ned stood frozen to the spot. Before they had a chance to think, they were tackled by the two men. As the young couple fought desperately, they smelled a strong, sweet odor coming from cloths that their attackers had shoved in their faces. Nancy and Ned blacked out!
CHAPTER XX
The Captive’s Story
SOME time later, Nancy revived. She was lying on a hard, cold floor in total darkness.
Relieved that she was neither bound nor gagged, she sat up. “Ned?” she called out. “Ned, are you here?”
Ned tried to clear his head of the confusion resulting from his or
deal. “I’m here,” he replied. “Where are you?”
Nancy felt in her pocket for the flashlight. Fortunately it had not been taken from her. She played the beam around. “I think we’re in a barn,” she said, “and—”
A low groan interrupted her. It came from a prone figure lying near Nancy. The young people rushed up to the bound and gagged victim, and Nancy shone her light on him.
“Mr. Moto!” she cried out in dismay.
Quickly Nancy and Ned unbound the jeweler and removed the cloth from his mouth. “Are you all right?” Nancy asked anxiously.
“Much better now that the gag is off,” the man replied. As Nancy and Ned raised him to a sitting position, a smile crossed his face. “Miss Drew!” he exclaimed. “How did you find me? And who is this young man?”
“This is my friend Ned Nickerson. But before we tell you anything more, we must get away from here.”
“How did you come in here?” Mr. Moto asked. “I was asleep and didn’t hear anyone enter.”
“We were taken prisoners,” Nancy replied ruefully, “and gassed.”
“Oh, dear!” Mr. Moto cried out. “Then we will not be able to leave. The big doors are padlocked on the outside.”
Ned, who had gone to investigate, came to the same conclusion. “He’s right, Nancy. There’s no way to get these open.”
“We’ll figure out something,” Nancy said, trying to sound calm. “In the meantime, Mr. Moto, tell us what happened to you.”
“I found out about the cult and the jewel thieves, so they kidnapped me. Mr. Kampura did it. He left his sandals by mistake and was quite worried that they would be found.”
“We did find them,” Nancy said. “And we suspected they belonged to him, but we couldn’t prove it.”
Mr. Moto nodded. “In order to avoid any suspicion,” he went on, “they made me call my friend Mr. Kikichi and ask him to take over the store while I was supposedly in Japan.”
“Then Mr. Kikichi is innocent after all!” Ned exclaimed.
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