Read Online (#20) The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page A

street and stopped.
    “There he is now!” the lawyer muttered.
    “I was just ready to go to bed when you called,” Baum complained as he reached the Drews. “Couldn’t you handle Rudy without bothering me?”
    “I could have turned him over to the police,” the lawyer retorted testily.
    Francis Baum called the dog, who responded readily to his master. He loaded the animal into the taxi and left without a word of apology.
    “Dad, I’m afraid you weren’t very polite to the prince,” Nancy said teasingly.
    “I’ve had enough of that young man,” Mr. Drew replied. “In fact, if I never meet him again, I will be pleased.”
    Mr. Drew yawned upon entering the house. “Think I’ll turn in immediately. I’ve had a big day.”
    “Me too,” Nancy added wearily. “Those hours on the Ferris wheel wore me out.”
    Going at once to her room, Nancy undressed and tumbled into bed. She did not even hear Mrs. Gruen, who arrived home only a few minutes later. Nancy slept until nine o’clock the next morning, when the housekeeper entered the bedroom.
    “Good morning, Nancy. I didn’t expect to see your picture in today’s paper.”
    “What!” Nancy asked, sitting bolt upright.
    “Just look at the front page.” Hannah handed her the newspaper.
    The River Heights Gazette carried a three-column picture of Nancy and Ned, their heads lowered, as they obviously fled from photographers. A headline proclaimed:
NANCY DREW SAVES CHILD FROM FALL
    “How horrible!” Nancy exclaimed. “With the fashion show starting Thursday, people will think I’m looking for publicity.”
    “Not those who know you,” Mrs. Gruen said kindly.
    With the show almost at hand, Nancy had no time to think more about the incident. Immediately after breakfast she attended a rehearsal at the Woman’s Club with Katherine, Helen, Bess, and George. Beautiful paintings hung on the walls and many gorgeous ensembles were on display.
    “But there’s not an entry to compare with the Kovna-Drew combination,” Helen Archer assured the girls confidently.
    “I hope you’re right,” Nancy replied. “The competition will be keen.”
    Although Katherine had declared the gown finished, she kept adding touches.
    “I think I make loops of the dress material to swing gracefully from the back of your head,” she explained.
    “I’ll feel like a young queen!” Nancy said, laughing.
    To complete the elaborate headdress, Katherine needed the ornament that Mrs. Alexandra had promised to lend. Bess and George offered to accompany Nancy to get it.
    “We’ll make sure that no thief outwits you this time!” George promised.
    On the way to Mrs. Alexandra’s home, the girls stopped at Mr. Faber’s shop to say hello. He said that on the previous day he had been told by the police how the imitation ruby-and-diamond headpiece had been snatched from Nancy and decided to do some investigating. The girls were startled when he placed the ornament on the show counter.
    “Why, Mr. Faber, where did you get this?” Nancy asked in astonishment.
    “From a pawnbroker just a little while ago.”
    “Then the man who snatched it from me must have pawned it!”
    “Yes. The police are trying to track him down.”
    Smiling, Mr. Faber placed the hair ornament in a padded case and gave it to Nancy.
    With the imitation ornament once more in her possession, Nancy remarked that it would not be necessary for her to borrow the original.
    “You make a mistake if you do not wear the genuine piece,” Mr. Faber advised. “This one does not sparkle as much as the original.”
    The girls left the shop and continued to Mrs. Alexandra’s house. Nancy gave her the headdress and told how it had been recovered.
    “I am glad for you,” the former queen said with a smile. “Now you will not be worried about it.”
    The girls had hoped to talk with her alone, so they were disappointed to find Francis Baum there. He explained that he now had much leisure time.
    “It’s not fitting for a