Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

footsteps behind them.
    “I hope we gave batty Mr. Batt the slip this time.” George chuckled.
    “Don’t laugh until we’re safely out of here.” Bess shuddered. “What if the door in the rock won’t open?”
    This suggestion erased the smile from George’s face, and she said no more until they reached the passageway exit. She groped about in the dim light and found a knob. The door opened easily, swinging slowly on huge iron hinges that had been drilled into the rock.
    “Strange, the rock door can be moved only from inside,” Nancy mused as they all emerged.
    The storm had abated. Now, as they assisted Rishi to Nancy’s automobile, the girls realized that a light rain was falling.
    “How are you feeling?” Nancy asked the injured boy as she helped him into the car.
    “Much better. But Rishi not try trick on ropes again.”
    “I should hope not! Only a miracle saved you from death. If we had found you even five minutes later—”
    “No miracle,” Rishi insisted firmly. “Ivory charm save life.”
    “If I were you I wouldn’t trust this piece of ivory too far,” Nancy said. “As soon as we reach home you’re going straight to bed, and maybe have a doctor.”
    By the time Nancy and Rishi arrived at the house, he had made such a noticeable improvement that it seemed unnecessary to call in a physician. Hannah helped the boy to bed and gave him some hot broth. He immediately fell into an untroubled sleep.
    “I declare, Rishi has wound himself around my heart,” the housekeeper confided to Nancy as they met in the kitchen. “I didn’t realize how much he meant to me until this accident.”
    “We must plan for him to continue his schooling,” Nancy said.
    That night after dinner she brought up the subject of engaging a tutor to help Rishi with his English as long as he remained at the Drews’. As she had expected, Carson Drew instantly agreed.
    “Select someone suitable and it will be perfectly satisfactory,” he said. “I’ll leave the matter entirely to you.”
    “By the way, Dad,” Nancy said after a moment, “did Mrs. Allison ever call at your office?”
    “No, she never did.”
    “I heard her name mentioned today in connection with Rai,” Nancy told her father.
    He glanced up with interest, and she told him the strange tale that Jasper Batt had related about the stolen papers.
    “You’re certain you heard the names correctly?”
    “Yes, I’m sure I did,” Nancy replied. “I suppose Batt must know Mrs. Allison well if she employs him to guard her property. It’s possible, of course, that Jasper Batt was completely out of his head about stolen papers,” Nancy admitted. “He certainly talked and acted wild enough.”
    “Even so, he must have heard Rai’s name mentioned, or he wouldn’t have repeated it.”
    Nancy nodded. “And another thing: when Batt first spoke of Mrs. Allison and the valuable papers he seemed fairly rational. It was later that he talked so strangely.”
    “Perhaps the old man’s mind will clear and he can explain what he meant,” the lawyer suggested.
    “I think I’ll give him a chance to settle down. Then I’ll run out there tomorrow and talk with him again,” Nancy said.
    “If you do, be sure to take someone with you,” her father cautioned. “Batt may be harmless enough in his normal state, but if he hasn’t recovered from the blow on his head, he may give you some trouble.”
    “I’ll be careful, Dad.”
    As it turned out, Nancy did not make the trip to the abandoned house on the following day. Another matter occupied her attention. Later the previous evening Ned Nickerson had phoned. Nancy had briefed him on her exciting day and mentioned her plan to provide Rishi with a tutor.
    “I know just the teacher for you,” Ned said. “Professor Lowell Stackpole.”
    “It seems to me I’ve heard of him.”
    “Well, I should think so! He taught for years at Emerson College and is now retired. He’s a traveler and art connoisseur. He has made