Read Online The Haunted Carousel by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online

mere toddler. But the little girl had enjoyed a fond, close relationship with her father. Otherwise, she had been brought up by a succession of housekeepers and governesses until recently, when Mr. Trent’s sister—Joy’s Aunt Selma—became widowed and moved in to live with them.
    Nancy was still intrigued by the identity of the mystery woman, whom she had first seen at the park talking to Leo Novak, and then driving away from the Trents’ house this morning. Could Joy’s own visit to the park have had something to do with all this? Nancy wondered.
    In view of Aunt Selma’s harsh attitude toward the woman, she decided it might be better to probe for information in a roundabout fashion, rather than ask a blunt question.
    “By the way,’’ Nancy remarked, “I’m sorry I didn’t respond when you waved to me at the park the other day.”
    “I’m surprised you even noticed me.” Joy
    grinned. “You seemed in quite a hurry.”
    “That’s one way of putting it,” Nancy said with a chuckle. “Actually, I was chasing a crook.” She told the other girl about her adventure with the pickpockets and then asked casually, “Do you often go to the amusement park?” “Not really, though I did when I was little.” A reminiscent smile came over Joy’s face as she went on, “I loved to ride the carousel! Daddy took me there whenever he could. In fact he even bought me my favorite steed on the merry- go-round.”
    “Really?” Nancy was startled; her sleuthing antennae instantly shot up. “How did that happen?”
    “Well, at one time, the carousel moved away from River Heights.”
    “Yes, I know.”
    “There was one particular horse on it that I always used to ride,” Joy explained. “It was the lead horse—the most beautiful creature you ever saw! When I found out the merry-go-round was about to be taken away, I was brokenhearted. So Daddy made a deal to buy the horse from the carousel owner and wrote him out a check then and there!”
    Nancy’s blue eyes twinkled. “You must have been a very pleased little girl!”
    Joy laughed merrily. “Oh, you’ve no idea! It nappened that the next day was my birthday. Daddy ordered a van to come and pick up the horse in time for my party, and my birthday celebration started right there at the park. It was quite an occasion!”
    “I can imagine.” So this, Nancy reflected, was why the lead horse had to be replaced! Why had Leo Novak told her a different story?
    Aloud, she asked, “Do you still have the horse?”
    “Oh, yes! I’m too fond of it to ever give it away, though right now it’s at the River Heights Day-Care Center. I lent it so the children who stay there while their parents are working can have the fun of riding it.”
    Joy told Nancy that before her father became head of his own machine-tool company, he had started out as a lathe hand in a machine shop and was an expert handyman and machinist. “He mounted my horse on a special hobby- 'norse s'tandx ‘tlnat ’ne macie ’ti'imse'lt, so it would jog up and down when I rode it. The stand even has a music box inside that winds up and plays when the horse gallops!”
    “Sounds wonderful!’’ Nancy said, dimpling. “I’d love to see it.”
    “I’ll take you to the day-care center some
    time and show it to you,” Joy promised. “Anyhow, it wasn’t until I heard about the haunted carousel on the TV news that I realized the Wonderland Gallop was back in Riverside Park—so naturally I had to go see it again. And then, of course, I read in the paper how you had agreed to try to solve the mystery—which is what gave me the idea of asking you to solve one for me.”
    “You’ve got me terribly curious,” said Nancy. “Tell me about your mystery.”
    “Maybe ‘riddle’ would be a better word for it,” Joy began slowly.
    Before she could go any further, the butler announced lunch. So Joy continued her story at the table. “Just before my father died,” she related with a slight catch in her