Read Online (#16) The Clue of the Tapping Heels by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carolyn Keene
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Nancy’s safe return.
The cat watched Nancy from a high beam. As the girl finally reached the beam on which the animal stood, she straddled it and started to inch her way along.
“Come, pussy,” she coaxed. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
The cat waited a moment. Then, instead of coming toward Nancy, it went the other way.
“Oh, you meanie!” Nancy exclaimed.
The crowd below watched tensely. Finally one of the men called to her.
“Hang on! I’ll toss a net up and you can catch the animal that way.”
The man dashed off. He came back in a couple of minutes with a fish net, which he threw upward. It did not reach the beam. Once more he gave the net a mighty heave. Still it did not reach Nancy.
“I guess it’s no use,” she called down.
A very tall man among the onlookers offered to try his luck. He rolled the net into a ball and gave a mighty heave. Nancy reached down to grab the net and caught it.
But the weight of the net and her sudden shift in position caused Nancy to lose her balance!
CHAPTER XI
Bess Plays Cupid
As Nancy slipped from the high beam, people below gasped, others screamed.
“Oh no, no!” George cried.
Nancy herself had been terrified for a fraction of a second. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she clung tightly to the beam by one arm. Then, with great effort, she swung her right leg over the beam and gradually pulled herself to an upright position.
“Bravo! Bravo!” cried several of the men below her and began to clap.
“Yea! Yea!” shouted several relieved children.
All this time Nancy had managed to hold onto the net. Now she unrolled it, and with a well-placed aim, finally snared the Persian. Its protests at being made a prisoner almost caused Nancy to lose her balance again.
There were gasps of dismay from the watching crowd and a flash bulb went off. Nancy looked down. A photographer had snapped her picture!
“Oh dear!” she thought. “This whole adventure has been such a mess.”
The cat had quieted down and now Nancy inched her way backward, pulling the animal along. Slowly she shinned down the rafter to the crossbeam.
“Bess! George! Will you catch the cat?” Nancy requested.
“Yes. Let it go,” George replied.
Besides the girls’ outstretched arms there were several other willing hands. Nancy dropped the net containing the animal. The Persian was immediately put back into its cage, and Nancy came down the rest of the way safely. The watchers showered her with congratulations.
“Thanks a lot,” she said, blushing. All she wanted to do now was to get back to Berryville.
A voice from among the onlookers called out, “I’ll buy the cat! I like spunky animals. How much is it?”
Before Nancy could answer, George spoke up. “The price is higher now.”
People laughed and the man called out, “You mean the higher the cat, the higher the price?”
“Exactly,” George said. “How about our having an auction? We’ll start with the original price and go up from there.”
Nancy was amused and wondered if the scheme would work.
“I’ll pay exactly the figure you named,” a woman said.
“And I’ll give you twenty-five dollars more,” a man called out.
“Anyone bid twenty-five more, twenty-five more?” said George, who began to enjoy her role as auctioneer.
As the bidding went on, Nancy and Bess became more and more astounded. The Persian cat finally sold for over three times what the original price had been!
When Nancy mentioned to Bess that she wondered if this had been the right thing to do, her chum said quickly, “I thought all along the price for a prize cat was too low. Besides, Miss Carter can certainly use the money.”
The girls said good-by to the lovely Persian which was now resting comfortably in the arms of a teen-age girl whose father had purchased it for her.
She smiled at the girls. “I just love my new pet.”
“I’m so glad you do,” Nancy said. “Be kind to Abatha.”
At that moment the young man who
The cat watched Nancy from a high beam. As the girl finally reached the beam on which the animal stood, she straddled it and started to inch her way along.
“Come, pussy,” she coaxed. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
The cat waited a moment. Then, instead of coming toward Nancy, it went the other way.
“Oh, you meanie!” Nancy exclaimed.
The crowd below watched tensely. Finally one of the men called to her.
“Hang on! I’ll toss a net up and you can catch the animal that way.”
The man dashed off. He came back in a couple of minutes with a fish net, which he threw upward. It did not reach the beam. Once more he gave the net a mighty heave. Still it did not reach Nancy.
“I guess it’s no use,” she called down.
A very tall man among the onlookers offered to try his luck. He rolled the net into a ball and gave a mighty heave. Nancy reached down to grab the net and caught it.
But the weight of the net and her sudden shift in position caused Nancy to lose her balance!
CHAPTER XI
Bess Plays Cupid
As Nancy slipped from the high beam, people below gasped, others screamed.
“Oh no, no!” George cried.
Nancy herself had been terrified for a fraction of a second. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she clung tightly to the beam by one arm. Then, with great effort, she swung her right leg over the beam and gradually pulled herself to an upright position.
“Bravo! Bravo!” cried several of the men below her and began to clap.
“Yea! Yea!” shouted several relieved children.
All this time Nancy had managed to hold onto the net. Now she unrolled it, and with a well-placed aim, finally snared the Persian. Its protests at being made a prisoner almost caused Nancy to lose her balance again.
There were gasps of dismay from the watching crowd and a flash bulb went off. Nancy looked down. A photographer had snapped her picture!
“Oh dear!” she thought. “This whole adventure has been such a mess.”
The cat had quieted down and now Nancy inched her way backward, pulling the animal along. Slowly she shinned down the rafter to the crossbeam.
“Bess! George! Will you catch the cat?” Nancy requested.
“Yes. Let it go,” George replied.
Besides the girls’ outstretched arms there were several other willing hands. Nancy dropped the net containing the animal. The Persian was immediately put back into its cage, and Nancy came down the rest of the way safely. The watchers showered her with congratulations.
“Thanks a lot,” she said, blushing. All she wanted to do now was to get back to Berryville.
A voice from among the onlookers called out, “I’ll buy the cat! I like spunky animals. How much is it?”
Before Nancy could answer, George spoke up. “The price is higher now.”
People laughed and the man called out, “You mean the higher the cat, the higher the price?”
“Exactly,” George said. “How about our having an auction? We’ll start with the original price and go up from there.”
Nancy was amused and wondered if the scheme would work.
“I’ll pay exactly the figure you named,” a woman said.
“And I’ll give you twenty-five dollars more,” a man called out.
“Anyone bid twenty-five more, twenty-five more?” said George, who began to enjoy her role as auctioneer.
As the bidding went on, Nancy and Bess became more and more astounded. The Persian cat finally sold for over three times what the original price had been!
When Nancy mentioned to Bess that she wondered if this had been the right thing to do, her chum said quickly, “I thought all along the price for a prize cat was too low. Besides, Miss Carter can certainly use the money.”
The girls said good-by to the lovely Persian which was now resting comfortably in the arms of a teen-age girl whose father had purchased it for her.
She smiled at the girls. “I just love my new pet.”
“I’m so glad you do,” Nancy said. “Be kind to Abatha.”
At that moment the young man who
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