CHAPTER IV. A Baffling Caller

CHAPTER IV

A Baffling Caller

NANCY moved swiftly toward the stricken woman, but halted uncertainly as the front doorbell rang. She would have ignored it entirely had she not observed someone looking through the small glass pane. Had the person seen Mrs. Allison faint? At least the caller might offer aid.

Darting to the door, she flung it open. Without waiting for an invitation to enter, a tall, athletic-looking man strode into the hall. He was the one who had brought the woman.

“I am Steve Roach, ” he announced quickly, “Mrs. Allison’s escort. ”

“You’re just in time to help. She has fainted. ”

The stranger moved quickly into the living room and walked to the chair where the woman lay in a crumpled heap. To Nancy’s amazement he lifted her up in his arms.

“I’m very sorry this happened, ” he said apologetically. “Mrs. Allison is subject to fainting spells. ”

“Will you please carry her up to a bedroom? ” Nancy requested.

“Oh no, I’ll take her to my car. She’ll be all right in a minute or two. ”

“But she’s as white as a ghost. You shouldn’t move her in that condition. ”

Mrs. Allison stirred slightly in the arms of her escort.

“You see, she’s coming around now, ” Mr. Roach said quickly. “Please let me handle this my own way. I understand Mrs. Allison far better than you do. ”

Nancy realized that it would be useless to protest. She held the door open for Mr. Roach, and with troubled eyes watched him carry the limp figure to a car parked in front of the house. He placed Mrs. Allison on the rear seat and drove away.

A few minutes later Nancy decided to go to the garage and see how Rishi was getting along with his work.

“Rishi almost finish, ” the boy said.

Nancy praised him for his excellent job, then asked, “Did you ever hear of a Mrs. Allison or a Mr. Roach? ”

Rishi thought for a moment, then said, “Not hear of Mrs. Allison, but Rishi hear name Roach at animal show. ”

“You mean he’s one of the performers? ” Nancy questioned. Here was an interesting clue!

“Not perform, ” the boy replied. “Rishi hear Rai speak name Roach over phone. ”

“Do you know whom Rai was talking to? ” Nancy put in.

Rishi shook his head. “Maybe Mr. Roach, maybe not. ”

Nancy’s mind was leaping from one idea to another. Was Mrs. Allison looking for Rishi? Had she guessed Rishi might be at the Drew home? Had she fainted before broaching the subject? Had Roach also intended to ask questions but found his plans thwarted? And last of all, had Rai sent the couple there?

Suddenly a totally different possibility entered Nancy’s mind. Mrs. Allison had fainted directly after seeing the ivory charm Nancy was wearing. Did its significance overcome her? Furthermore, Roach had probably noticed it. Would he tell Rai about it? The thought worried Nancy, but she decided not to mention it to anyone except her father.

She did, however, phone Mr. Strong to find out whether or not Rai had returned or if there was any news of him.

“No, unfortunately. How’s Rishi? ” the show owner asked.

“Very happy, ” Nancy told him.

Mr. Strong said his troupe would be moving soon to a new location. “But I’ll keep in touch. ”

That evening Nancy talked privately with Mr. Drew about what had happened. He frowned and said, “You have a right to be worried, not only for Rishi but for yourself. I don’t trust those people if they’re friends of Rai’s. Please, Nancy, be very careful. ”

His daughter smiled and nodded. “Are you going to contact Mrs. Allison? ”

“We don’t know her address, but I’m certain we’ll hear from her again. ”

The following noontime the lawyer phoned Nancy. “Hi, ” he said, “I have a bit of information that may interest you. It concerns your new acquaintance—Mrs. Anita Allison. ”

“She came to see you? ” Nancy asked in surprise.

“No, but a real-estate dealer friend of mine, Mr. Howard, dropped into my office this morning. I gleaned a little information about the woman from him. She owns a house and grounds, which she had listed with him at a very high price. I learned its location. The property was left to her by her husband, but they never lived there. ”

“Where is it? ”

“You remember the old Dawson farm east of River Heights? ”

“Yes. ”

“Well, Mrs. Allison’s property adjoins it. The land includes several acres of forest, a creek, beautiful rolling hills, a ravine, and nearly everything essential to a good golf course. I think it might be sold for that purpose. ”

“I remember the place, ” Nancy replied. “Maybe Bess and George would drive out there with me. And Rishi, too, if you’re willing. ”

“By all means take him along, ” her father urged. “The boy deserves an outing. But don’t let him be seen in public, or Rai may spot him. ”

Shortly after lunch Nancy and Rishi picked up the cousins. Nancy drove directly east through the city.

“Where are you taking us? ” Bess inquired with interest.

“To a new place. ” Nancy smiled enigmatically.

Rishi bubbled with enthusiasm and his gaiety was imparted to the others. He loved the outdoors and amazed the girls with his stories of country life in his native land.

He asked eager questions about the names of unfamiliar trees and birds he saw in the area. The girls were slightly embarrassed when they could not always answer him, and they resolved to devote themselves to nature lore with new interest.

“I’m ashamed that I don’t know the names of half the birds I see, ” Nancy confessed. “I’ll find out. ”

Presently the car passed the Dawson farm. Following the directions given by her father, Nancy turned into a narrow, winding side road that led between rows of tall elm trees and a tangled growth of shrubbery.

“I never dreamed there was a place like this so near River Heights! ” Bess gasped in awe. “Who lives here? ”

“It’s Mrs. Allison’s land, but she doesn’t live here. ” Nancy told Bess and George how she had met the woman.

Nancy parked and they all got out. As they gazed across a picturesque creek, Nancy said, “Can you imagine yourself standing here and driving a golf ball over the water? ”

“I can’t, ” Bess replied, “because my ball would certainly plop into it. ”

“I’d want half of the trees cut down, ” George added.

“But what made you think of a golf course? ” Bess asked.

“A realtor told Dad some people want to buy the place for that purpose, ” Nancy told her. “I suppose the old house would be torn down too and replaced by an attractive club building, ” she added, pointing to a large, apparently abandoned homestead, barely visible through the woods.

Bess and George both turned to stare. “Do you suppose it belongs to the Allison property? ” George asked.

“It must. I’d love to explore the house, ” Nancy said, “but of course we have no right to. We’re really trespassing as it is. ”

“At least it will do no harm to look at the outside of the building, ” George said. “Let’s walk over. ”

“All right, ” Nancy agreed. “What became of Rishi? ”

“He walked up this trail, ” George answered.

The trail led through the woods directly to the abandoned homestead. They emerged into the tiny clearing. Rishi was standing on the front porch, apparently trying to raise one of the windows.

“Rishi! ” Nancy called sharply.

The boy wheeled. “Yes? ”

“What are you doing? ”

“No harm. Rishi only look at old house. ”

“I thought you were trying to get inside, ” Nancy said. “You have no right to do that, you know. ”

“Rishi think nobody care, ” the boy replied.

Nancy said no more. She and the other girls walked slowly around the house. The windows were placed so high above the ground it was impossible to see any of the interior.

“It’s just an old, empty house, I guess, ” Bess remarked. “Let’s go! ”

The girls returned to the front of the building. Rishi had vanished.

“Where is he? ” Nancy asked. “Do you suppose he dared to climb in that porch window? ”

“Rishi had a mischievous look in his eye when he said he thought no one would care if he investigated, ” Bess reminded the others.

“He’s probably inside, ” Nancy acknowledged.

The girls sat down under a tree to wait for him, but minutes elapsed and Rishi did not reappear. At length Nancy grew impatient.

“I’m going in there to get him! It’s time we start for home. ”

She rose and walked briskly to the porch. Nancy knocked on the door but no one answered. Bess and George watched her raise the window and step through. Five minutes elapsed, then ten.

“What can be keeping Nancy? ” George asked. “I think it’s time I go after her. Want to come along? ”

“I’ll wait here. But let me know if there’s anything interesting inside. ”

“I’ll return soon, ” George promised.

Ten minutes later, Bess became convinced that something was wrong. Hurrying toward the house she called loudly, “George! Nancy! ”

Her cries went unanswered. A sudden fear gripped Bess. She was certain that Rishi and her friends were being held prisoners inside the old house. If she were to enter, she too might be captured!

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