Read Online (#23) Mystery of the Tolling Bell by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Carolyn Keene
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Ned. That would explain why she hurried away so fast. Where was she in the hotel?”
“She was coming down from the third floor as I was on my way up, and told me you had left the hotel. I didn’t reveal that you had just signaled to me from the window. But she must have sent the clerk up after me. They didn’t want me to find you and your father!”
“It looks as if you’ve hit upon a good clue to locate the Mon Coeur swindlers,” Mr. Drew reflected. “Let’s take the car and see if we can find the woman with the cart.”
For an hour the three searched through Candleton, asking for Madame. No one had seen her for several days.
“She probably left town after she saw us, Ned,” Nancy said. “Maybe she went back to Fisher’s Cove.”
“And you’d like to go there to find out,” Ned remarked, smiling. “How about you both having dinner with me in Fisher’s Cove?”
Mr. Drew declined, saying he expected a phone call from his young assistant who was in New York.
The three returned to the Chantrey house. While Nancy showered and changed her clothes, Ned chatted with Bess and George.
Later, as he and Nancy drove off, he asked, “Shall we eat along the way or wait until we get to Fisher’s Cove?”
“To be truthful, I’m dreadfully hungry,” Nancy confessed. “I haven’t eaten for hours. There’s an attractive place about five miles from here.”
“I know the one you mean,” Ned answered. “They have good music and we can dance. We’ll stop there.”
It was nearly nine o’clock when they finished eating. Ned and Nancy were reluctant to leave the pleasant atmosphere, but finally they went on to Fisher’s Cove and parked near the old hotel.
“Don’t get into another fuss with the clerk,” Nancy teased her companion as they went inside.
The interview with Mr. Slocum, who was on duty, started badly. When Ned asked if a woman answering the description of Madame had registered there, the man was as uncommunicative as before.
“I don’t know whom you’re talking about,” he retorted, “and furthermore, I don’t care. All I ask is that you two quit bothering me.”
“It should be of importance to you to know the kind of people who frequent your hotel,” Ned said.
“You’d better watch what you say about this hotel!” the clerk cried out.
Ned bristled, but Nancy restrained him, saying, “We’re not accomplishing a thing this way. Let’s go.”
“Slocum knows more than he’ll tell,” said Ned as they walked away from the desk.
Nancy told him that she had another plan for getting the information, and they left the hotel. From a nearby telephone, she called her father and told him of Slocum’s attitude.
“How about having a plainclothesman stake out the hotel to watch everyone who enters or leaves the place?”
“A good idea,” Mr. Drew agreed. “In fact, since we don’t know the woman’s name, it seems about the only way to spot her. I’ll arrange it.”
Nancy was not too hopeful that the plan would bring results. She remarked to Ned on the way back to Candleton that if the Mon Coeur swindlers ever had made the Fisher’s Cove Hotel their headquarters, they certainly could have moved out by this time.
“Isn’t it possible Madame is peddling her products in other small towns around?” Ned speculated.
“Very possible. I mean to do some investigating.”
“And I’ll make a date with you right now to help!”
Nancy laughed. “But I want to start out soon after breakfast tomorrow.”
“That’s okay with me,” Ned replied.
“There’s no putting you off, I see.” Nancy chuckled. “All right. Nine-thirty in the morning. First we’ll attend church,” she added, “then look for Amos Hendrick. He owes us an explanation for running off with the boat.”
Ned arrived promptly and they set off. After the service they went to the boat rental docks and boarding houses to inquire about the man but did not find him. Then, in search of Madame, they drove to one
“She was coming down from the third floor as I was on my way up, and told me you had left the hotel. I didn’t reveal that you had just signaled to me from the window. But she must have sent the clerk up after me. They didn’t want me to find you and your father!”
“It looks as if you’ve hit upon a good clue to locate the Mon Coeur swindlers,” Mr. Drew reflected. “Let’s take the car and see if we can find the woman with the cart.”
For an hour the three searched through Candleton, asking for Madame. No one had seen her for several days.
“She probably left town after she saw us, Ned,” Nancy said. “Maybe she went back to Fisher’s Cove.”
“And you’d like to go there to find out,” Ned remarked, smiling. “How about you both having dinner with me in Fisher’s Cove?”
Mr. Drew declined, saying he expected a phone call from his young assistant who was in New York.
The three returned to the Chantrey house. While Nancy showered and changed her clothes, Ned chatted with Bess and George.
Later, as he and Nancy drove off, he asked, “Shall we eat along the way or wait until we get to Fisher’s Cove?”
“To be truthful, I’m dreadfully hungry,” Nancy confessed. “I haven’t eaten for hours. There’s an attractive place about five miles from here.”
“I know the one you mean,” Ned answered. “They have good music and we can dance. We’ll stop there.”
It was nearly nine o’clock when they finished eating. Ned and Nancy were reluctant to leave the pleasant atmosphere, but finally they went on to Fisher’s Cove and parked near the old hotel.
“Don’t get into another fuss with the clerk,” Nancy teased her companion as they went inside.
The interview with Mr. Slocum, who was on duty, started badly. When Ned asked if a woman answering the description of Madame had registered there, the man was as uncommunicative as before.
“I don’t know whom you’re talking about,” he retorted, “and furthermore, I don’t care. All I ask is that you two quit bothering me.”
“It should be of importance to you to know the kind of people who frequent your hotel,” Ned said.
“You’d better watch what you say about this hotel!” the clerk cried out.
Ned bristled, but Nancy restrained him, saying, “We’re not accomplishing a thing this way. Let’s go.”
“Slocum knows more than he’ll tell,” said Ned as they walked away from the desk.
Nancy told him that she had another plan for getting the information, and they left the hotel. From a nearby telephone, she called her father and told him of Slocum’s attitude.
“How about having a plainclothesman stake out the hotel to watch everyone who enters or leaves the place?”
“A good idea,” Mr. Drew agreed. “In fact, since we don’t know the woman’s name, it seems about the only way to spot her. I’ll arrange it.”
Nancy was not too hopeful that the plan would bring results. She remarked to Ned on the way back to Candleton that if the Mon Coeur swindlers ever had made the Fisher’s Cove Hotel their headquarters, they certainly could have moved out by this time.
“Isn’t it possible Madame is peddling her products in other small towns around?” Ned speculated.
“Very possible. I mean to do some investigating.”
“And I’ll make a date with you right now to help!”
Nancy laughed. “But I want to start out soon after breakfast tomorrow.”
“That’s okay with me,” Ned replied.
“There’s no putting you off, I see.” Nancy chuckled. “All right. Nine-thirty in the morning. First we’ll attend church,” she added, “then look for Amos Hendrick. He owes us an explanation for running off with the boat.”
Ned arrived promptly and they set off. After the service they went to the boat rental docks and boarding houses to inquire about the man but did not find him. Then, in search of Madame, they drove to one
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