Read Online Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online

“The place sounds dreadful. You had better not go there again.”
    Bess said, “You can bet I’m not going to.”
    She pulled the orange from her pocket, and told Hannah she had taken it from a tree at the strange house.
    “This isn’t the same kind as Mr. Billington’s,” Bess said. “Do you suppose it’s a Hamlin, the same as the oranges that were delivered to the Space Center?”
    The thought intrigued Nancy. On a bookshelf she had noticed a volume marked Oranges and went to get it. The book was filled with color pictures and one by one she compared Bess’s orange with those in the book.
    “This is not a Valencia,” she said, “because it’s the wrong time of year for that kind of tree to be bearing. The fruit’s ripe in the spring. Mr. Billington’s, as you know, are Pineapple Oranges. Remember their bright-orange skin and pineappley shape?” Nancy turned the page and exclaimed, “Here it is! The oranges at the moss-covered mansion are not Hamlins but Parson Browns. Hamlins have a smooth skin while the Parson Browns are pebbly-skinned.”
    George sighed. “I guess we’ll have to ride around looking for Hamlin groves to see if we can pick up any clue to the ones that were brought into the Space Center.”
    The girls decided to start their search directly after luncheon. They hurried upstairs to take baths and put on fresh clothes.
    By the time they came down again, Tina was in the kitchen helping Hannah. The three girls winked at one another and began to set the table.
    The menu called for baked chicken with a special kind of cream sauce. Tina said she had never heard of it and did not know how to make the sauce.
    “Nancy does it very well,” Hannah said proudly, and called, “Nancy dear, will you come and make cream sauce for the chicken?”
    Smiling, Nancy hurried to the kitchen and prepared it.
    When everything was ready, Hannah and the girls went to the dining room. They invited Tina to eat with them, but the woman refused, saying she was not hungry. Perhaps by the time Antin came in, she would be ready for her lunch.
    Instinct told Nancy not to talk about the moss-covered mansion within Tina’s hearing. The group were relieved when she went outdoors and walked into the grove.
    The telephone rang. Nancy answered it. Mr. Datsun, the lawyer, was calling. He wanted to know if Nancy had anything to report. She gave a quick account of her sleuthing but admitted she had learned little about the explosive oranges.
    “No one has been able to track down any clue except to Mr. Billington,” the lawyer said.
    On a hunch Nancy told him about the old mansion. “Do you know who lives there?”
    “No,” the lawyer replied. “Why?”
    Nancy explained about the possibility of her father buying the Webster place and the strange behavior of Mr. Scarlett. “Are you acquainted with him?”
    “I know there’s a realtor of that name,” said Mr. Datsun, “but I can’t tell you anything about him. I’m afraid I’m no help to you, but I’m hoping you can help me.
    “Nancy, a very odd note was left under my office door. Maybe you can figure it out. This is what it says:
    “‘Can a mouse with a brain of jelly capture a lion with nerves of steel?”’
    “How strange!” Nancy remarked. “Would you mind repeating it?”
    Mr. Datsun read it again and Nancy quickly wrote down the words and read those numbered 1, 5, 9, 13. Neither the words nor the first letters of them made any sense.
    “Are you still there?” Mr. Datsun asked.
    “I’m sorry,” said Nancy. “I was trying to see if there might be a code in this message. I think not. But it occurs to me that it could have been written by some sarcastic person interested in the case of the explosive oranges. The message might imply that you and my father are as helpless as a mouse against a lion.”
    “That’s a very good guess,” the lawyer remarked.
    Nancy went on, “Whoever the lion is, we’ll catch him!”
    “Indeed we will!” Mr. Datson