The Strange Message in the Parchment by Carolyn G. Keene Read Free Book Online Page A

cabin, they found him seated outdoors, strumming his harp. As soon as he finished the number, Nancy complimented him on his playing. “You’re like David in the Bible,” she said.
    The elderly man smiled. “Thank you,” he said. “You know it says in the book of Amos, ‘Chant to the sound of the harp, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David.’” 4
    The girls nodded and Nancy said, “Your small Irish harp is a good tuneful substitute for David’s lyre.”
    “That’s what I decided,” Eezy replied. “And to tell the truth, I think I can get a lot more music out of it than David did out of his lyre!” He chuckled.
    Nancy thanked him for helping her ward off a second attack by the ram. She begged for an encore of his harp playing. The shepherd obliged, then put down his instrument.
    He picked up his megaphone and called out, “Rest period is over, boys and girls. Stand up and get to work!” He winked at the girls. “The sheep’s only work is to eat grass!”
    Nancy unexpectedly asked Eezy if he had a pad and pencil in the cabin. The shepherd went to get them, and at once Nancy started sketching. In a few minutes she drew three streams with a woolly sheep superimposed over them. Under the sketch Nancy printed TRIPLE CREEK FARM.
    “How do you like that as a trademark?” she asked.
    “It’s great,” Junie replied.
    “Mighty good work,” Eezy added. “And it’s real picturesque.”
    Nancy said she hoped Mr. Flockhart would like it. She folded the paper and put it into her pocket. Then she and Junie said good-by to the shepherd and walked down the hill toward the car.
    As it carried them toward Triple Creek, Nancy asked, “Junie, do you know anyone around here who speaks Italian?”
    Junie said she knew no one in the immediate vicinity, but that her boyfriend, Dan White, was studying Italian at a nearby university. “Why do you ask?”
    Nancy replied, “Would he be willing to come here and secretly talk with some of Mr. Rocco’s farm workers?”
    Junie laughed. “There goes that detective mind of yours again,” she said. “I’m sure Dan would love the assignment. I’ll try to get him on the phone as soon as we reach home.”
    Fortunately Dan was in his room, studying. When Junie gave him the message, he expressed surprise. “If you think I can speak the language well enough, I’ll be over. I’d certainly like to try acting as interpreter.”
    It was arranged that he would arrive the next morning around ten o’clock, since he had no classes at that time. Nancy liked him. The tall, red-haired young man was intelligent looking and had a great sense of humor. He was intrigued to hear that Nancy was a girl detective.
    “Junie didn’t mention this to me,” he said. “I’ll never be able to match you in tracking down clues.”
    Nancy grinned. “You won’t find that hard.”
    Dan asked for instructions on the part he was to play. Nancy started by telling him they were becoming more suspicious each day of Mr. Rocco, who seemed to be carrying out some wicked scheme in the area and mistreating the little boy he said was his nephew. “Besides, we’re sure that the parchment hanging over the mantel, which Mr. Flockhart bought from Mr. Rocco, holds some special significance. If we could discover the meaning of it, we might solve a couple of mysteries.”
    Dan asked, “What makes you suspicious of Mr. Rocco?”
    Junie told him about the insolent men who had talked to Mrs. Potter at the store; how Eezy was attacked by two strangers who, they suspected, were henchmen of Rocco’s; of his reported cruelty to little Tony; and about his unwillingness to permit visitors onto his grounds or into his home.
    “Sounds complicated to me,” Dan said. “But if I can do anything to help unravel the mystery, I’ll be at your service. Shall we go to the Rocco farm at once?”
    “Oh yes,” Nancy replied. “All right with you, Junie?”
    “You bet.”
    The three set off. Junie took a route