The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk

by Carolyn Keene

  The boy answered promptly, “Because you told me to and paid me to do it.”

  “I never told you to hurt the girls, just to tease them,” Otto August went on, glaring at the small boy angrily.

  Bobby looked a little frightened, but said, “You didn’t say anything about teasing. You told me to run into them!”

  Otto August turned to Nancy and Nelda. “I hope you don’t believe what he’s been telling you. My friend and I were trying to have a private conversation, but couldn’t because this child came up and kept talking and talking. We wanted to get rid of him, so all I said was, ‘Why don’t you go find Nancy Drew and her friends and tease them?’ ”

  Bobby’s eyes flashed. “You did not! You never said anything like that! You told me to run into them!”

  “That’s not true!” Otto August shouted. “You are a wicked little liar!”

  The girls were amazed at Bobby’s defiance. Instead of being frightened any longer, he was defending himself very well. He looked at the two men in disgust. “You know what you are?” he asked. “You’re just like the bad men on TV!”

  Mr. August blinked at this accusation but flared back, “And you know what I think about you? You’re a fresh little kid who talks entirely too much!”

  The two men rose from their chairs and hurried off. Nancy and Nelda were puzzled.

  “Who was telling the truth, August or Bobby?” Nelda asked.

  The girls were inclined to believe the boy was.

  “Can I go now?” Bobby wanted to know.

  “Okay,” Nancy said. “But don’t hurt anyone else with your skateboard!”

  “I won’t,” Bobby called back over his shoulder as he ran off.

  Nancy and Nelda returned to their cabin. Bess and George were there and reminded the girls that this was to be the night of the captain’s dinner.

  “Is anybody going in costume?” Bess asked. “You know the notice said that you could come in costume if you wished.”

  George grinned. “Can you imagine eating dinner with a mask on?”

  Nancy felt that the masquerade they had already had was enough for her. All the girls decided to wear long evening dresses. When they walked into the dining room, each found a note at her place.

  “Oh!” Nelda exclaimed. “An invitation to a date!”

  “Really?” George picked up hers. “What does it say?”

  “I’m to meet Al on the top deck at nine o’clock,” Nancy announced.

  “Chipper wants me to come up at nine-ten,” Nelda said.

  “And Bruce says nine-twenty!” Bess said.

  “They must be playing a joke on us,” George decided. “I’m supposed to see Tubby at nine-thirty!”

  “I wonder what the boys have in mind,” Bess said with a giggle. “Maybe a surprise!”

  After a delicious dinner, Nelda said, “Nancy, since your time and mine aren’t far apart, why don’t we go up together?”

  “You might spoil the boys’ surprise,” George suggested.

  Nancy thought it would be a good idea for the girls to go in twos. “I don’t like the sound of this. The whole thing is a little strange. Suppose the invitations aren’t from the boys but are a trap?”

  George laughed. “Nancy, you’re getting overcautious. Of course the notes are from the boys. As a matter of fact, I heard Chipper mention something about dates after nine tonight.”

  “Well, that makes me feel better,” Nancy admitted. “But I’d rather go with Nelda anyway.”

  When the girls arrived at the top deck, no one was in sight. Soon two figures appeared, however, and walked up to them. They were dressed as fishermen and wore stocking masks. They gesticulated in a funny way and made little dancing steps in between. The girls laughed. Which of the boys had thought up this clever disguise?

  When the fishermen reached the girls, they both made a little bow. Then they each grabbed a girl and picked her up.

  Only when the fishermen pushed them close to the railing did Nancy and Nelda realize that these people were not their friends, and that they intended to throw both girls overboard!

  “Oh, they mustn’t!” Nancy thought desperately and mustered up every ounce of strength to fight off her attackers.

  She and Nelda struggled frantically, but they were no match for their strong enemies. The men had a good grip on them, and seconds later they went over, their screams drowned out by the waves!

  In the dining room a few minutes before, Al and his three friends stopped at the table where Bess and George were still sitting.

  Nancy and Nelda were no match for their enemies.

  “We were finished eating early, so we thought we might as well pick you up here,” Al said. “Where are Nancy and Nelda?”

  “They went up to the top deck,” Bess replied. “You left these notes here saying you wanted to meet us there ten minutes apart, but Nancy and Nelda went together. Why did you stagger the times of our dates?”

  “What are you talking about?” Al looked puzzled. “We put nine forty-five on all our invitations!”

  George stared at him. “Something’s wrong! Let’s look at the notes again and try to figure this out!”

  The young people studied the writing. “It’s been altered!” Chipper blurted out. “The times have been changed.”

  “We’d better get up to the deck quickly,” George said. “Come on, everybody!”

  The six young people raced up the stairs. They had just reached the top deck when they heard Nancy and Nelda cry out for help as they were tossed overboard. The two fishermen sped away and were lost to view within seconds.

  Bess screamed. Al ran to the railing, saying he would jump in after the girls. George grabbed his arm and held him back.

  “You’ll never find them and would probably drown yourself!” she exclaimed. “We must notify the captain at once!”

  While Bess stood there, paralyzed with fright, George ran to a wall phone and picked it up. As soon as a man’s voice answered, she cried out, “Stop the ship at once! Two girls were thrown overboard. Quick! Do something!”

  “Just a minute,” the man said. “Stay on the line.” He gave orders through his intercom, then spoke to Bess again. “Who are the girls?”

  “Nancy Drew and Nelda Detweiler,” George replied. She was shaking by now. “Please, don’t let them drown!”

  “We’re holding the ship,” the man told her in a reassuring voice. “Don’t worry. Just stay by the phone for a moment. The captain might want to talk to you.”

  Within seconds, the great ocean liner slowed and finally came to a stop. Then the wall phone rang and George picked it up. Captain Detweiler was calling. “Who is this speaking?” he asked.

  “George Fayne. Nancy and Nelda were just thrown overboard by two masked men dressed as fishermen, but they disappeared.”

  “Which side of the ship are the girls on?” the captain asked quickly, trying to keep his voice steady and calm.

  “Starboard,” George replied.

  “We’ll lower a rescue launch at once,” the captain promised and hung up.

  George joined the five young people who stood at the rail and watched. A motor launch was let down from the deck to the water, and a great searchlight on it beamed ahead as the boat set off toward the rear of the ship.

  Meanwhile, Nancy and Nelda, expert swimmers, had twisted their bodies and dived correctly into the ocean. They had come to the surface unhurt, and had begun to swim in the direction of the Winschoten. However, they soon realized it was too far away already for them to reach it, and their strength was giving out.

  Horrible thoughts raced through Nancy’s mind. A shark might be on the prowl! A floating log might ram into her and Nelda! Perhaps no one noticed that they were missing and they would be left to drown!

  “I mustn’t lose my nerve,” Nancy thought. “It would be best if Nelda and I stick together, and maybe we’ll be rescued.”

  She shouted the girl’s name several times, but there was no answer. Nancy’s heart
sank. Had something happened to Nelda?

  CHAPTER XVIII

  Telltale Shoes

  NELDA swam furiously toward the Winschoten. Every few moments she would pause and shout Nancy’s name, but she received no response.

  The girls were not within hearing distance, and their shouts were drowned out by the roaring waves. Each hoped fervently that the other was all right. Both were shaking with cold and fear. Suddenly their hopes were revived. The ocean liner had stopped! Someone had missed them after all!

  In another minute, they spotted the strong searchlight of the oncoming launch. It was headed in their direction! Both girls managed to hold up their right and left arms alternately while staying afloat, so that they might be seen. The move was enough to signal their rescuers.

  First the launch stopped to pick up Nelda, who was a little closer. A crewman dropped a rope ladder over the side and the weary swimmer grabbed it. As she climbed up helpful arms extended to her and pulled her into the launch.

  “Are you all right?” a young officer asked anxiously as Nelda dropped onto the floor of the small vessel.

  “Yes,” Nelda gasped. “Yes, I’m fine. But I don’t know about Nancy. Please find her!”

  “Don’t worry, we saw her waving her arm. She’ll be okay,” the young man assured Nelda, and he covered the shivering girl with a blanket. “Just relax and rest for a few moments.”

  A minute later the launch spotted Nancy and soon she, too, had been hauled aboard. The young officer asked her if she felt okay.

  Nancy smiled wanly as she replied, “Yes, but I never want to have another experience like that again!”

  After Nancy had been wrapped in a blanket and the launch was headed back toward the Winschoten, the officer asked the girls, “Now tell me, how did you happen to fall overboard?”

  “Fall!” Nancy cried out indignantly. “We were thrown into the ocean by two masked men!”

  “What!” The officer was thunderstruck. “But who would do a thing like that?”

  “Well,” Nancy said, “it’s a long story but we have mysterious enemies on board. We suspect they’re international jewel thieves who are afraid we’ll expose them.”

  “Did you recognize the men?” the officer asked.

  “No. That’s just it. They wore fishermen’s suits and stocking masks,” Nancy said. “We can’t identify them because of their disguises.”

  By this time the launch was alongside the ocean liner. Each girl was put into a rescue chair and pulled aboard. There were hundreds of onlookers staring down from the various decks. Nancy and Nelda ignored all the questions that were shouted at them, and only waved briefly to their friends to let them know they were feeling all right.

  Bess, George, and the four boys followed the girls, who were taken to the infirmary. While their friends waited outside, Nancy and Nelda were examined by Dr. Karl.

  He could not find anything seriously wrong with them. “You’re pretty hardy girls,” he said when he had finished. “I’m just glad the water wasn’t very cold. I recommend hot baths, and then to bed. Better stay here overnight and get a good rest.”

  The girls did not object, and two nurses took charge of them. After they were tucked into beds, side by side, Captain Detweiler visited. He was very upset.

  “Too many strange things have happened on this trip,” he said. “But this last incident is atrocious. I have instituted a thorough search for the two phony fishermen.”

  After the captain had gone, Nelda fell asleep, but Nancy lay awake. She felt all right and wanted to get up to continue her sleuthing. It had suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she had a due to one of the fishermen.

  “Anyway, I have a two A.M. date with Rod to carry the mystery trunk to the hold,” she reasoned. When a nurse came in, she asked to see Dr. Karl. He came at once and she told him she felt perfectly well.

  “Please,” she said, “let my friends bring me some dry clothes. I want to go back to my own cabin.”

  The physician smiled and said, “I’m sure that’ll be all right. But you’ll have to promise me that you’ll take it easy!”

  Nancy laughed. “I’ll promise. One midsummer night’s swim was enough for me!”

  Nancy phoned Bess and George, who had gone to their cabin after being told that the girls would stay in the infirmary overnight. She asked them to bring dry clothes for her.

  “You’re going to get up?” Bess asked.

  “Yes,” Nancy replied.

  By this time Nelda had awakened, and when she realized Nancy was leaving, she indicated that she wanted to go, too. “Tell Bess to bring some things for me, too,” she said to Nancy.

  Bess and George arrived in a short time with fresh clothes for the two girls, and Dr. Karl released them both. They returned to cabin one twenty-eight and sat down.

  “One reason why I wanted to come back here,” Nancy explained to her friends, “is that I have a slight clue to one of the fake fishermen. He was wearing a pair of very unusual shoes. They were like Dutch wooden shoes, but made of leather.”

  Nelda was astounded to hear this. “I didn’t even notice what my attacker had on his feet,” she said.

  George asked, “How are you going to find out who owns them?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe Rod can help.”

  Nancy called Havelock’s number. Rod promised to come right down to their cabin.

  “You girls have made a lightning recovery,” he said when he arrived. “You’re amazing.”

  Nancy told Rod she wanted him to help her hunt for a pair of shoes, and described them.

  “I’ll ask each steward if he has seen such a pair in any of the passengers’ cabins,” Rod offered, and got on the telephone. He could not reach all the men and left messages for them to call him at cabin one twenty-eight.

  It seemed a long time to the girls, and the answer from each steward was negative. None of them had seen such an odd pair of shoes in any of the cabins they serviced.

  Rod Havelock, too, was disappointed. Instead of leaving he stood in the middle of the room, looking up into space. Finally he said, “I just thought of something. It seems to me that one of the crewmen has such a pair of shoes.”

  “Can we go and ask him now?” Nancy urged.

  “Yes. Let’s do that.”

  Again Nancy recalled the finger language message in which the word crew had appeared.

  When the two reached the crew’s quarters, Rod knocked on the door of the man he had in mind. The fellow opened and asked in Dutch what Havelock wanted.

  Rod replied in the same language, so Nancy had to wait for a translation. She was amazed and delighted when the crewman brought out a pair of shoes just like the ones she had seen on the phony fisherman!

  She wanted to ask questions, but knowing that the man could not understand her, she remained silent.

  Havelock listened carefully to the fellow’s explanation, then he translated for Nancy. “A passenger borrowed his shoes for the costume party. This man here set them outside his door and the passenger picked them up.”

  “Who was the passenger?”

  “He says he can’t identify him because he never saw him. The borrower had shoved a printed note under his door and requested that the crewman leave the shoes outside. Later the shoes were returned with several guilders in them.

  Nancy was disappointed and asked if the man still had the printed note. Unfortunately, he had thrown it away.

  Havelock thanked the man for the information, then he and Nancy walked back upstairs. For several minutes not a word was spoken between them. Finally Nancy remarked, “Those evil men are clever.”

  “Yes,” Rod replied. “Too bad we didn’t catch them in the act.”

  He left her at the door of one twenty-eight, saying, “I’ll be back for you at two A.M. In the meantime, you’d better catch a little sleep. You’ve had a harrowing evening.”

  Nancy had every intention of following his advice, but when she stepped inside her room she found the other gi
rls waiting for her. They wanted to talk.

  “Did you have any luck?” George asked.

  The young detective shook her head. “Not much,” she said and told them what the crewman had said.

  “This is so frustrating!” Bess said. “Too bad we don’t have any hard evidence.”

  “Couldn’t the captain arrest August for smuggling the jewels and documents?” Nelda asked.

  “He can’t be accused of smuggling the jewels yet. Only when he goes through customs without declaring them,” Nancy said. “I don’t know about the documents, but he might be able to talk his way out of that one. He could say it’s not his trunk!”

  Nancy decided not to undress, but the other girls did and got into bed. They found, however, that they could not sleep.

  Suddenly Nancy thought of something. “You know,” she said, “we forgot to put the paper back into the trunk!”

  “We’d better do it now,” George said. “Come on, girls, put on your robes and slippers.”

  They jumped out of bed and a few minutes later followed Nancy into cabin one thirty. Once more the strange trunk was taken from the wardrobe, set on the floor, and opened. After they had emptied the piece of luggage, Nancy said, “I really didn’t examine the sides as thoroughly as the bottom and the lid. Before we put the paper back in, let me check this out.”

  She ran her fingers all along the sides. When she came to one corner, she said, “The paper seems to come off here very easily!”

  “Why not remove it and see what’s underneath?” George suggested.

  Nancy did just that, and the girls stared at what she uncovered. It was a purple velvet cloth, and part of a diamond was sticking out through a small slit in it!

  Carefully Nancy lifted the velvet cloth. The girls were speechless at what they saw. Below the covering was a second matching cloth. To this had been sewn rings, pins, bracelets, and tiny velvet bags containing precious jewels!

  Bess sighed in awe. “Oh, these are beautiful! It’s a good thing we didn’t miss them!”

  Nelda ran her fingers over the stones. “I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!”

  Nancy spoke up. “Nelda, the bracelet you were accused of stealing—is it here?”