Read Online The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online

Nancy, who was deep in thought. Suddenly she said:
    “I think we have another stowaway on board!” Bess and George were astounded at Nancy’s statement. Finally George asked:
    “How did you figure that one out, Nancy?”
    “I think there was someone in the galley stealing food about the time the fire started in the hold. When he heard me call ‘Fire!’ he unlocked the closet door, Bess, so you wouldn’t be caught in a burning ship.”
    “What about the man who went overboard?” Bess asked.
    “I think when I caught him down below deck he had just come up from the hold,” Nancy continued. “He may have set the fire either on purpose or accidentally, and was escaping.”
    George voiced the opinion that the other stowaway must still be on the ship.
    “And I mean to find him!” Nancy said.
    “Not without me,” a voice behind her advised. It was Captain Easterly. “While George and Bess get supper, you and I will make a thorough search, Nancy.”
    They went about the hunt methodically, first in the cabins and crew’s quarters, then in the hold, and finally in the old sea chests and cupboards. There was no sign of a stowaway or of the food that had vanished.
    “Our thief must have been the fellow who jumped overboard,” the captain concluded.
    Nancy was not satisfied with this explanation. He certainly had no food with him when he dived in. Aloud she said:
    “I wonder if the fellow who jumped overboard got to shore safely.”
    “Likely he helped himself to a ride on the fireboat,” Captain Easterly suggested.
    “Of course!”
    Nancy berated herself for not having thought of this. The man might have been caught! Now it was too late, because the fireboat would have long since docked.
    Captain Easterly suddenly chuckled. “That snooper thought he was going to find out where we’re heading. But we fooled him. Now we can sail and enjoy ourselves. No more worries.”
    Nancy wished she could agree with him—espe—cially since they had outridden the fog bank, and the cool evening with its freshening breeze was ideal for the voyage.
    “But we must be watchful,” Nancy determined. The boys took turns eating supper. While Ned was off watch, Nancy asked him to do a little further exploring with her.
    The young detective had decided to take one more look in the hold where the fire had been. The person who caused the fire might have left a clue.
    Descending the narrow wooden steps, she walked carefully through the dark space, swinging her flashlight here and there. The heavy smell of smoke and wet timber still hung in the air. Reaching the spot where the fire had been, Nancy leaned over to examine the charred timbers.
    “Ned, see what’s here!” she called excitedly. Near the burned area was a deep, newly cut hole in the wall. It had not been there when she and Captain Easterly were searching half an hour before!

CHAPTER X
    An Unusual Box
    About three feet from the charred flooring, beneath the newly made hole, lay a hatchet. Nancy and Ned had the same thought. They had surprised someone at work! The stowaway had felt safe to search while the ship’s passengers were busy elsewhere.
    “Where can he be?” Ned asked, looking behind the piles of boxes and crates.
    Nancy examined every inch of the old walls, which were full of markings of a bygone day. She hoped that among them might appear the outline of a secret door. She found none. Ned was no more successful.
    “Your guess about two stowaways was right, Nancy,” he said as he gave up the search. “And one of them is still aboard.”
    It was maddening—and ridiculous—that he and Nancy could not catch him, Ned added. The stowaway seemed to be able to come and go as easily as a ghost.
    “We must tell Captain Easterly at once,” Nancy said.
    They went directly to his cabin, but he was not there. Nancy, seeing a small object on the floor near the captain’s desk, bent over and picked it up.
    “An old snuffbox,” she said. “Isn’t it pretty?” On the