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

whispered to Nancy as the girl left the house. “But she is very determined once she makes up her mind.”
    The day was unusually sultry. Nancy walked slowly down the elm-shaded street. Reaching the business section, she paused to look in the window of a small shop. Suddenly the excited cries of a woman came from the next corner.
    “My pocketbook!” she wailed. “That man snatched it! Stop him, someone!”
    Pedestrians turned to see a young man in a brown suit running down the street, but no one acted quickly enough to stop him. Nancy saw the thief enter a department store.
    “He looks like the one who stole Francis Baum’s wallet—and probably Dad’s!” she thought. “This is my chance to catch him!”
    Confident she could have the pickpocket arrested, Nancy followed him into the department store. Although the young man mingled with the crowd, she was able to spot the thief and keep him in sight. Then, to her surprise, he turned and looked at her.
    “Good afternoon, Miss Drew,” he murmured. He waved a white handkerchief and smiled.
    Nancy was so chagrined that she went on without a word other than a perfunctory greeting. Again she had mistaken David Dorrance for the pickpocket! She wondered if she would ever be able to make a positive identification of the thief.
    The chiming of a clock reminded her that she had an appointment with Katherine to try on the blue gown. She hurried to the Archer home.
    “This is the last time you’ll come here for a fitting,” Helen told Nancy. “Katherine’s rented a shop in the arcade of the Hotel Claymore.”
    “It worry me,” Katherine declared as she brought out the evening dress for Nancy to slip on. “The shop—Helen and Jim pay the rent.”
    “Now don’t start all that over again,” Helen said teasingly. “As soon as you’re established you will be able to repay us.”
    The fitting proceeded. Katherine worked nimbly and seemed pleased with the Renaissance gown.
    “It is perfect for you,” she announced, sitting back on her heels to get a better view of Nancy. “But for your hair you need some touch—a lovely jeweled ornament.”
    “I don’t own one,” Nancy replied.
    “But the dress requires it,” Helen said.
    “I mean a simple ornament, which fit across hair—so!” Katherine explained, holding a pair of scissors across Nancy’s head to illustrate.
    “Where can we get one?” Nancy asked.
    “In my country it would have been so easy,” declared Katherine. “Here I do not know.”
    “I understand what you want,” Nancy said. “It’s possible Mr. Faber has one.”
    After leaving the Archer house, she went to Mr. Faber’s shop. Before explaining that she wanted to purchase a headdress, she told him that Mrs. Alexandra’s grandson had been found.
    “Ah, this is the happiest day of my life.” The man beamed. “Ask any favor, and it is yours.”
    Nancy told of her need for a special hair ornament. Immediately the antique dealer searched the shelves of his little shop.
    “Oh, don’t put yourself to so much trouble,” Nancy protested at last.
    Mr. Faber pondered a moment. “You wait!” he said, moving to his desk. “I will write a note for you to take to Madame Alexandra. She has just the piece you want, and will lend it to you.”
    Nancy protested that she could not ask such a favor, but the shopkeeper paid no heed.
    “Deliver this to Madame Alexandra,” he urged. “She will gladly let you borrow the headdress. Did you not find her lost grandson?”
    As Nancy turned to leave, she was startled to see a tall, bushy-haired man wearing a dark jacket standing in a shadowy corner of the shop. He was quietly examining an old print. “I wonder how long he’s been there,” she thought.
    The following afternoon Nancy delivered Mr. Faber’s message to the former queen. She read it, smiled, and then spoke rapidly to Anna in her native tongue. The servant vanished, to reappear with a sparkling ornament on a purple velvet cushion.
    Nancy caught