The Secret of the Wooden Lady

by Carolyn G. Keene

  “Did anyone ever learn anything about the ship?” Nancy asked. “Was the Melissa wrecked?”

  “No one knows, Miss Drew. from that day to this, nobody has ever found a trace of the ship or her cargo.”

  The old lady rocked gently, looking into space. She pursed her lips and gave a little smile. Nancy felt she was about to be let in on a secret.

  “Captain Rogers made Mother a promise.”

  “What sort of promise?” Nancy prompted.

  “He said he would bring her back a priceless gift. She didn’t know what it was. But Captain Rogers was a rich man. He made many profitable voyages to the Orient.”

  Nancy asked eagerly, “Didn’t your mother ever guess what the gift might have been?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. At any rate, in the stories I heard, the treasure was always something mysterious.” She smiled wistfully. “Perhaps if the Melissa had returned, and Captain Rogers had married Mother, there would be money today to pay the taxes on this house. It’s the old Witherspoon homestead, and I’m afraid I’m going to lose it.”

  Nancy longed to tell Mrs. Smythe of the Bonny Scot—that it was almost certainly the long-lost Dream of Melissa. But she did not want to raise the woman’s hopes of finding Captain Rogers’ fabulous gift.

  She did tell her, however, about the snuffbox with the initials P. R., and how it had led her to the story of Captain Rogers and his ship.

  “If I ever find that snuffbox again,” Nancy promised Mrs. Smythe, “I’ll bring it here to show you.”

  She said good-by and hurried to catch a bus back to meet George. She could scarcely wait to tell her and the others aboard the clipper that there really had been a treasure on the Dream of Melissa.

  “And no doubt it’s still there!” Nancy finished telling George as the two girls rowed back to the ship.

  “And if we don’t look out, the thieves will find it before we do,” George said seriously. “Listen to this.”

  She said that through the owner of the grocery-hardware store, she had located the boy who had delivered the lizard. At first he had not been willing to answer George’s questions. But after being told that Captain Easterly thought there was a poisonous lizard in the box, the boy had talked freely, assuring George he had not known what was in the box.

  “Big, tall guy I’d seen in the drugstore when I was gettin’ a soda, come up to me on the beach,” the boy said. “Told me he wanted to play a joke on a girl on the Bonny Scot. Paid me well for taking the box.”

  George said he had not learned the name of the man who had been hanging around town, so she had accompanied the boy on a tour of the streets to find him. Having no luck, they went to the drugstore. George had learned from the description that the suspect had had a prescription filled under the name of Lane.

  “Lane!” Nancy exclaimed. “The man who kidnapped Captain Easterly!”

  “I’m afraid so,” George said. “Our enemies are closing in!”

  When Captain Easterly heard all the stories, he became very much excited. “Those pirates won’t get the better of us!” the skipper shouted. “Nancy, that treasure is still on the clipper. Rogers hid it so well nobody could locate it. We’re going to search her from stem to stern to find it!”

  The skipper had no suggestions about where the treasure might be hidden. It would be an every-man-for-himself hunt.

  “But first, I’m going ashore and hire a guard for the night, while you girls rustle up some supper,” he told them.

  He was not gone long, and when he returned, Captain Easterly said a detective would arrive about ten o’clock and cruise around in a boat during the night.

  As soon as the supper dishes were washed, the girls were ready to start their search for Captain Rogers’ treasure. The captain already was poking around in the hold.

  “I was thinking,” Bess said, “we haven’t ever really taken the chart room apart.”

  “Now that’s an idea I could work on!” George said. “Bess and I will take the chart room, Nancy, while you help the captain.”

  It seemed to Nancy that the likeliest spot for Captain Rogers to hide his treasure would be in his private quarters. When she reached the cabin, the door was ajar. She was tempted to hook it open, since it was a hot, still evening, but she had an uneasy feeling that someone might sneak up behind her while she was working. So Nancy closed the door behind her and snapped the catch.

  With a sense of security, Nancy approached the built-in bookcase and began to remove the volumes from one section. Behind a South Sea Island manual she found a half-filled tobacco can. Not very exciting, she thought.

  Next, Nancy removed the second section of books, and beamed her flashlight closely against the paneled wall. Something caught her eye; a small knot in the wood which stood out a quarter of an inch.

  Quickly she removed it, inserted her forefinger in the knothole, and pulled gently on the panel. With a loud scraping sound it came loose. Behind the panel lay a carved box!

  Nancy’s heart was beating wildly. Was the treasure inside? She lifted the box. It was very heavy. Setting it on the bunk, Nancy lifted the lid and gasped.

  Gold coins!

  Excitedly she dumped the contents of the box on the bunk. As she did so, she heard a click behind her, then a footstep.

  Nancy wheeled—and stood speechless. Flip Fay was standing there!

  He smirked, evidently pleased at the young detective’s dilemma. The door was still closed and locked. It seemed as if The Crow had come through the wall!

  “Let out one peep and it’ll be your last!” Flip leered, shaking a fist.

  With his eyes leveled upon Nancy, he quickly crossed the cabin and stood with his back against the door.

  “Now before I take that treasure,” he said, “I have a thing or two to say to you, Nancy Drew.”

  His impudent, drawling voice brought Nancy to her senses. She was more angry now than frightened. And she was determined to outwit him.

  “I don’t intend to let you take anything,” she said coolly.

  Nancy tossed her head in a gesture of defiance, but she was really looking desperately around the tiny cabin. If there were only a way of summoning help!

  The man’s lips curled in a crafty smile. “Don’t act too smart, Nancy Drew. Because I got a little deal to make with you. If you and your friends don’t squeal on me, I won’t hurt you.”

  “And if we do?”

  Flip Fay made an angry sound. “You’ll regret it. Now move, so I can get that money.”

  In that moment Nancy had seen something which made her heart leap. Hanging inconspicuously against the wall, near the desk, was what looked like a bell cord!

  As if obeying Flip Fay’s command, Nancy moved away from the bunk. She leaned against the desk and pulled the cord. Was it in working order? Would it summon the captain—somebody —to her aid?

  Flip Fay pawed through the coins as if he were looking for something else. He eyed Nancy once more.

  “Open your hands!” he commanded. Seeing they were empty, he cried out, “You must have dropped it! You’ve tried to get the best of me for the last time!”

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked, sparring for time.

  Fay glared at the girl, hate in his eyes. “Maybe you think I don’t know who told the police about me in River Heights, and again in Boston. You found my ring.”

  “You stole Mrs. Marvin’s jewelry,” Nancy retorted.

  “What if I did? That’s peanuts compared to the prize on this old tub.”

  Fay hurriedly put the coins into the box. He seemed to be thinking, trying to decide on something. How Nancy wished she could read his thoughts! Once more she pulled the old bell cord.

  “No,” Flip Fay said aloud, as if answering a question in his mind. “You’re smart, Nancy Drew, but not smart enough for me. You’ll never find out how I come and go on this ship.”

  “Why not?”

  Nancy wished she could trick him into telling.

  “You and your blu
ndering old captain are going to be left with your mouths hanging open,” Fay bragged.

  Nancy answered quietly, “Even if you don’t tell me, it won’t do you a bit of good. You think you’ll escape, but that’s where you’re wrong. The police are after you, Flip Fay—in River Heights, in Boston, and here on Cape Cod too.”

  She saw his fists tighten. He made an ugly sound.

  “The police know you’re wanted for West Coast robberies,” she continued. “You’re The Crow, and they’re combing this state for you. Maybe they won’t get you today. But they’ll get you tomorrow or the next day.”

  Nancy would have kept on talking—anything to gain time. But there were quick footsteps in the passageway outside. Fay clamped a heavy hand on Nancy’s shoulder. The other hand closed against her throat.

  “Not a word—d’you hear?” he whispered hoarsely.

  Someone tried the locked door, then knocked. “Nancy, are you all right? Nancy—?”

  It was George. She had come in answer to her friend’s summons! If only Nancy could speak to her! But Fay’s hand tightened threateningly.

  George tried the door again, hesitated, then hurried away.

  Flip Fay stepped back. “See what I mean?” He gave Nancy a leering smile. “You girls are no match for Flip Fay. So you’d better think over what I told you. Call off the police. Tell ’em you made a mistake—or take the consequences!”

  “I’ll—I’ll do as I please,” Nancy gasped. “This ship is being guarded. If you try to escape—”

  “You’ll do as I tell you, Nancy Drew, and give me the ruby!”

  Desperate, the young detective had been edging toward the door. She must distract his attention and get out.

  “The treasure!” she cried suddenly, pointing toward the gold coins.

  Fay whirled around. In that split second Nancy turned the key in the lock.

  CHAPTER XVI

  A Trap Door

  THE next moment Nancy turned the door handle and darted into the passageway.

  “Captain Easterly!” she yelled at the top of her voice.

  George came running. “What’s the matter? I heard a bell before, but I—”

  “Get the captain—quick!”

  But the skipper had heard Nancy’s frantic cry, and now appeared, panting for breath. Suspecting trouble, he had picked up a belaying pin.

  “Flip Fay’s in your cabin!” Nancy exclaimed.

  “In my cabin, eh? We’ll soon fix him!”

  The captain flung open the door and poised the belaying pin.

  “All right, Fay!” he growled. “Come out peaceably.”

  There was no answer.

  “Stay here,” the skipper ordered the girls. He strode in. “Empty!” he exclaimed.

  Nancy and George hurried inside the cabin. Nancy opened the wardrobe. No one was hiding there. The captain opened his locker. That, too, was empty. The portholes were fastened shut on the inside.

  The old mariner stood in the middle of the cabin, rubbing the side of his face. Nancy looked about the room with growing excitement. There must be some secret means of escape from the cabin. Flip knew about it.

  Nancy’s sharp eyes traveled over the paneled walls, along the floor. She could see no sign of a trap door. Her glance fell on the mahogany wardrobe with renewed interest.

  “Captain,” she said, “have you ever moved this wardrobe?”

  “No. It was built in that position, nailed down. Why do you ask?”

  “I wonder what’s under it.”

  Nancy poked her head inside, examining the sturdy floor.

  “Look!” she exulted, putting her finger through a small metal ring and raising the entire wardrobe floor, which was hinged from underneath.

  “Well, I’ll be hornswoggled!” Captain Easterly cried, reaching for his flashlight. The glow revealed a ladder leading down into complete darkness. “This must go to the hold,” he said, “but I don’t understand how we missed it.”

  “Maybe Fay’s hiding down there,” Nancy suggested. She listened and thought she heard a creaking noise. “I’m going after him!”

  “Not so fast,” Captain Easterly said. “Remember, Fay is a criminal, and if he’s at the foot of this ladder he has the advantage of anyone coming down.”

  At that moment Bess came running along the passageway. “Captain Easterly,” she cried, “my ruby’s gone!”

  “Ruby?” the captain repeated. “What ruby?”

  “She means that pendant with the imitation ruby,” Nancy explained. “Are you sure it’s not in the cabin, Bess?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I took it off a little while ago and laid it on the chest. I just went back there, and it’s gone.”

  “Well, what of it?” George scoffed. “We have something more important to think about.”

  “It might all tie in,” Nancy said excitedly. “Tell you my idea later.”

  As Bess stared openmouthed, Nancy followed Captain Easterly down the ladder. It was short, and at the foot was a narrow passageway. Ten feet ahead was a sliding panel, cleverly concealed in a thin wall. It opened into the forecastle.

  “Watch yourself,” the captain said as he slid the panel back. “That rat may be waitin’ for us.”

  But Fay was not in sight, and an open porthole ahead gave mute evidence he had made his escape from the ship. Nancy ran to the front of the crew’s quarters to look out the opening. In the dusk she could see no one.

  “If he’s swimming, we ought to be able to catch him in the dinghy,” Nancy said excitedly. “Come on, Captain Easterly!”

  The two rowed to shore, but Flip Fay had outwitted them. Furthermore, he had taken the box of coins with him. Angrily the captain reported the incident to the State Police, then he and Nancy started back to the Bonny Scot. On the way, Nancy said to him:

  “That box of coins was very heavy. How could Fay dive overboard with it?”

  “I noticed a life preserver missing from my cabin,” the captain replied. “Guess he tied the box to it and threw it overboard, then dragged it along as he swam.”

  Nancy was discouraged. The treasure was gone and the thief had escaped.

  But there was one gleam of hope. Surely Captain Perry Rogers had not been bringing his sweetheart a box of gold coins. Mrs. Smythe had said the gift was fabulous. Flip Fay had acted as if he thought Nancy were holding a ruby in her hand. The fabulous gift, no doubt! He certainly had not had time to search for it before leaving the ship!

  “Pretty clever, whoever designed the Bonny Scot,” Captain Easterly observed. “I mean, that secret ladder and passageway leading down from my quarters to the fo‘c’sle. The floor of the passageway was a false ceiling in the hold and was never discovered.”

  When Bess and George heard the captain repeat his remark a few minutes later, as they all seated themselves in comfortable chairs on deck, Bess asked why the secret compartment had been put there in the first place.

  Captain Easterly thought perhaps the early captains of the clipper liked to spy on their crews. A captain could leave his cabin by this ladder when the crew thought he was sound asleep, and see what they were up to.

  “I’ll bet he was surprised at some of the things he heard about himself.” George laughed.

  “The captain could get wind of a mutiny in time to stop it,” Easterly went on.

  “Oh, Bess,” said Nancy as he fell silent, “did you find your pendant with the ruby?”

  “No. I’m sure that awful Fay took it.” Nancy said she thought Fay had been watching his chance, and when Bess laid the pendant down, he had taken it.

  “He must be pretty silly,” George remarked. “Surely he must know it’s not a real ruby.”

  Nancy wondered if Flip had not had some other reason for taking the synthetic gem. While she was trying to figure it out, a voice from the water called, “Ahoy up there!” For a moment the group was startled, but the newcomer proved to be the detective reporting for guard duty.

  “Fine, fine!” Captain Easterly boome
d over the rail. “Now we can have a good night’s rest. But blow that whistle of yours if you need any help.”

  The night proved to be peaceful, however. Refreshed and eager to start work, Nancy announced at breakfast that she had a hunch Captain Perry Rogers’ fabulous gift was still hidden aboard ship. She was sure if there had been anything else in the box of coins, except money, she would have seen it.

  “If you don’t mind, Captain Easterly, I want to search your cabin further,” Nancy said.

  “Go right ahead. It wouldn’t surprise me if the place is full of treasures. I’ll keep guard on deck so none of those scoundrels can climb aboard again.”

  Bess and George wanted to continue their search of the chart room. Nancy went off to the captain’s quarters and set about making a thorough investigation of the old, built-in desk.

  The mellowed wood, the type of hardware, the many old marks and scratches, and the well-worn edges made Nancy feel sure that this was the original desk. Perry Rogers, captain of the Dream of Melissa, must have used it.

  The desk was built with shelves at the top on which Captain Easterly kept a few books. Beneath them was a broad cover which could be lowered for a writing surface. When this was closed, it concealed many small compartments. The lower part of the desk had three large drawers.

  Nancy’s attention was attracted to these drawers, which she pulled out and measured along the side of the desk.

  The desk, she found, was several inches deeper than the drawers. Excited, Nancy reached to the back of the dusty openings. She felt the wood here and there.

  In the back of the center drawer space, her fingers located a tiny panel. It moved!

  CHAPTER XVII

  The Long-Lost Clue

  PUSHING the chair back from the desk, Nancy dropped to her knees and looked into the opening.

  She could move the little panel back and forth, but behind it was a solid piece of wood. No secret compartment? This was disappointing. She had been almost certain she had uncovered the hiding place of Captain Rogers’ fabulous gift.

  As she slid the panel again, feeling carefully for a hidden spring, Bess and George burst into the room. Their faces were smudged. Bess sneezed.