II
Rising to an Occasion
Leaving the telephone booth, Nancy Drew hurried back to where she had left Emily Crandall and quickly explained that she must start at once for River Heights.
“Can’t I drop you off at the nearest garage?” she offered. “You can find a mechanic and go back after your car.”
“Won’t it be out of your way?”
“Not at all. There’s a garage about three miles from here.”
“Then I’ll certainly accept your offer, because I don’t want to camp on the road all day.”
Nancy led the way to the roadster. Skillfully turning in the narrow parking space, she drove down the lane to the main road and soon left Lilac Inn far behind. Presently sighting a roadside garage, she stopped the car and Emily alighted.
“Don’t forget you’re to see the Crandall jewels next Friday,” she reminded Nancy as she said goodbye.
“I won’t.”
As Emily stepped back, Nancy shifted gears. The roadster moved slowly away, and then gathered speed. Nancy Drew drove rapidly, for she was eager to reach home, knowing that much work was awaiting her. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was after two o’clock. She must hurry if she was to get there before Hannah left.
It was exactly two-thirty when she reached the outskirts of River Heights. Following the boulevard, she came within sight of her own home and was relieved to see her father’s automobile standing at the door. That meant that he had not yet taken Hannah to the railroad station.
Swinging into the driveway, Nancy Drew halted the roadster and sprang out, but before she could reach the house her father, suitcase in hand, came out the front door, followed by Hannah Gruen. The housekeeper was the first to catch sight of Nancy.
“Oh, Miss Nancy,” she began apologetically, “I’m dreadfully sorry to leave you in a mess like this; but my poor sister—”
“Of course you must go,” Nancy told her quickly. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get along somehow.”
“You’re so kind, Miss Nancy. I’ll come back just the first minute I can, but it may be several months.”
“Stay as long as your sister needs you.”
“We must hurry if you’re to catch your train, Hannah,” Carson Drew interrupted. “It’s a long way to the station.”
He rushed the housekeeper to the waiting automobile and started the motor.
“Better get in touch with an employment agency right away,” he called back to Nancy as the car moved away. Nancy watched the automobile until it was out of sight and then walked slowly toward the house. She knew that Hannah had indeed left her in a “mess.”
Since the death of her mother many years before, Nancy Drew had managed the household. On the whole she had engineered everything so skillfully that her father little dreamed of the heavy responsibility which rested upon her shoulders.
As a famous criminal and mystery-case lawyer, Carson Drew found it necessary to maintain a certain social position, and accordingly Nancy was frequently called upon to entertain noted professional men.
She had often been present when Carson Drew discussed important cases with detectives and police officials, and as a result had become interested in detective work herself. Her first fame came when she uncovered The Secret of the Old Clock.
Later she solved the mystery of a troubled household, discovering a hidden staircase and having no end of creepy adventures in an underground passageway.
Undaunted by this experience, she risked her life to help Laura Pendleton. Nancy’s unusual adventures in this connection are recounted in the third volume of the series, The Bungalow Mystery.
Now, as Nancy Drew walked slowly toward the house, she was considering the problem which Hannah Gruen’s departure had created. Her father confidently expected that by the time Judge Graham arrived for his weekend visit the household would be moving as smoothly as before, but Nancy, who had tried many servants before she had secured Hannah, was beset with doubt.
“I’ll telephone the agency right away and see what they can do for me,” she decided.
Having looked up a number in the directory, she repeated it to an operator and after a brief wait was connected with the manager of the best employment agency in River Heights. She stated her wants briefly, trying not to appear too exacting.
“We’ll do the best we can for you, Miss,” came the not too comforting response. “But right now we have only one servant on hand—a colored woman.”
“Send her out this afternoon,” Nancy ordered in despair. “I must have someone immediately.”
Replacing the telephone on the stand, she went to the kitchen to take stock of affairs there. As she had feared, everything was in confusion. In her haste Hannah had not even ordered the groceries for the following day.
Nancy set about putting things in order. While she was making out the grocery list, she heard her father’s car on the drive.
“Well, did you get a maid?” he questioned a few minutes later when he entered the living room.
“Yes, the agency is sending out a colored woman this afternoon.”
Nancy, observing that her father looked tired, refrained from adding that she feared the worst.
“I’m mighty glad you found someone,” Carson Drew responded in relief. “You’re a wonderful little manager. By the way, I suppose you delivered those papers to Judge Howell all right.”
“Yes, I found him at the court house and had no trouble. On the way back I stopped at Lilac Inn for luncheon and ran into Emily Crandall. She’s celebrating her eighteenth birthday this week. According to her grandmother’s will, she’s to inherit the famous Crandall diamonds.”
Carson Drew whistled softly.
“Quite a windfall, I must say. I remember the Crandall jewels very well. They were very quaint and beautiful.”
“I’m so glad they were willed to Emily. She’s never had many pretty things, especially since the death of her mother.”
“I hope she’ll manage to hang on to them after they fall into her hands,” Mr. Drew commented.
“Oh, I’m sure Emily won’t let them slip through her fingers. She’s not in the least extravagant.”
“I wasn’t thinking of that. It merely occurred to me that unscrupulous persons may be interested in those jewels.”
Nancy nodded thoughtfully.
“I believe she intends to place them in a bank vault immediately.”
“A very wise precaution.” Carson Drew lowered his voice as he heard a heavy step on the porch. Nancy sprang up from the davenport where she was sitting and rushed to the door.
“It must be the new housekeeper,” she cried hopefully.
As she opened the door her heart sank within her. It was indeed the colored woman sent by the employment agency, but a more unlikely housekeeper Nancy had never seen. She was dirty and slovenly in appearance and had an unpleasant way of shuffling her feet when she walked.
Inviting her into the house, Nancy asked a few questions which the woman answered in unsatisfactory manner. She was unable to produce references of any description.
“I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid you won’t do,” Nancy told her at last.
It was with a feeling of mingled disappointment and relief that she watched the woman depart. As a housekeeper, the Negress was impossible, and yet she wondered if she had been unwise to let her go. She must find someone!
Rushing to the telephone she called a number and was quickly connected with another employment agency. After a long discussion with the manager she finally secured a promise that a woman would be sent out early the next morning.
“I certainly hope she’ll be better than the colored woman,” Nancy sighed to her father. “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling this servant problem will prove my undoing.”