Читать книгу The Mystery at the Ski Jump - Alma Sasse - Страница 3

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“Brr—r, it’s cold!”

Nancy Drew shivered and pulled the collar of her scarlet coat higher against the driving snow. Determinedly, she ducked her head and pushed along the darkening street.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a long, black car skidded across the sidewalk directly in front of her.

“Oh!” Nancy cried out, leaping back just in time to keep from being hit. A second later the car crashed into a porch.

As Nancy dashed forward to see if the driver were hurt, the door of the house flew open and the excited owner, Mrs. Martin, rushed out.

“What happened?” she demanded. Seeing the car, Mrs. Martin ran down the snowy steps. “Is someone hurt?”

Nancy was already twisting at the handle of the driver’s door. When she yanked it open they saw a slender woman in a fur coat slumped across the steering wheel. Together they carried the unconscious stranger into the house and laid her on a couch in the living room.

“I think she’s only stunned,” Nancy announced, pressing her fingers to the victim’s wrist. “Her pulse is regular and the color’s coming back to her cheeks.”

“Just the same, I think we ought to call Dr. Britt,” Mrs. Martin said nervously. “Will you do it, Nancy? The phone’s in the hall. I’ll get a blanket to put over her.”

Nancy called Dr. Britt’s office. The line was busy and it was nearly five minutes before she could get a connection.

“Dr. Britt is out,” she reported to Mrs. Martin, as the woman came down the stairs with a blanket. “His nurse said she would telephone him and ask the doctor to stop here as soon as possible.”

“Doctor! Who wants a doctor?” called an annoyed voice from the living room. “I have no need for a doctor.”

Nancy and Mrs. Martin were amazed to see the woman from the car sitting up on the couch. She was removing a gold make-up kit from the pocket of her coat. Now she calmly began to powder her nose, and dab on some exotic perfume.

Nancy appraised her quickly—a strikingly handsome woman about thirty-five, with blue-black hair, pale skin, and high cheekbones. An expensive mink coat was draped nonchalantly over her slim shoulders.

“Why, Mrs. Channing,” said Mrs. Martin suddenly, “I didn’t recognize you at first. I’m glad you feel better. Nancy, Mrs. Channing is from the Forest Fur Company.

“Mrs. Channing, I’d like you to meet Nancy Drew. She lives here in River Heights with her father—he’s a famous lawyer. And Nancy’s one of the best young detectives I ever—”

“Lawyer—detective!” Mrs. Channing interrupted. There was such a sharp expression in her dark-blue eyes when she looked at Nancy that the girl felt slightly embarrassed.

“At least Dad is a fine lawyer,” she replied, smiling. “Sometimes he asks me to help him on his cases. Your work must be interesting, too, Mrs. Channing. I’ve never heard of the Forest Fur Company. Where is it?”

“Oh, we have many branches, Miss Drew. All over the country.”

Mrs. Channing started to rise from the sofa but fell back weakly.

“I think you really should see a doctor,” Nancy suggested kindly. “You’re still shaky from the accident.”

“I’ll be all right!” Mrs. Channing answered emphatically. “Perhaps if I have a cup of tea—”

Nancy turned to Mrs. Martin. “I think I’d better run along,” she said.

“Oh, it’s so cold outside, do stay and have a cup of tea with us. It won’t take a minute.”

“Thank you, but I really can’t,” Nancy replied. “I’m leaving with Dad on a trip in the morning and have a lot of last-minute packing to do.”

Nancy was looking forward to helping her father on a case in Montreal. He had promised to tell her about it at dinner.

A few minutes later she was shaking the snow from her coat and boots on the back porch of the Drew home. Opening the kitchen door, she called:

“Hello, Mrs. Gruen. I’m back.”

“Well, I’m certainly relieved,” replied a motherly voice from the hall. “What a storm!”

The Drews’ middle-aged housekeeper walked into the kitchen and smiled affectionately at Nancy. Hannah Gruen had been with the family for several years—ever since Nancy’s mother had passed away.

“I was delayed by an accident,” Nancy explained. “Car jumped the curb. The driver wasn’t hurt, but I’m afraid Mrs. Martin’s porch will need a lot of repairing.”

The conversation was interrupted by a telephone call from Nancy’s friend, Ned Nickerson, asking for a date to a fraternity dance next month. She accepted gaily, then went upstairs to start packing. Five minutes later Hannah hustled into the bedroom.

“Look what I have to show you!” cried the housekeeper.

Nancy’s eyes danced. “A mink scarf!” she exclaimed. “It’s beautiful!”

“It was such a bargain, I couldn’t resist it,” Mrs. Gruen explained excitedly. “I’ve always wanted a fur scarf but dared not spend the money.”

Nancy took the lovely neckpiece and laid it around her shoulders.

“It’s a gorgeous scarf,” she said. “Where did you buy it?”

“From a very charming lady,” Mrs. Gruen answered. “She was from the Forest Fur Company. You see, she had already sold a scarf to my friend, Esther Mills. And Esther suggested—”

Nancy was not listening. At mention of the Forest Fur Company her thoughts went racing back to the mysterious Mrs. Channing.

“Nancy, do you think I was foolish?” the housekeeper asked as the girl frowned.

“I—I’m not sure,” Nancy answered absently. “It does look like a good fur piece. But it’s an odd way to sell expensive furs.”

“I hope everything’s all right,” said Hannah, a worried look replacing her former eagerness. “I also invested some money in Forest Fur Company stock. The lady, a Mrs. Channing, sold me ten shares. I gave her fifty dollars for it. But I’m sure it’s okay. I have the certificate in my bureau drawer.”

“Where is she staying?” Nancy asked.

“Why, I don’t know. She didn’t tell me.”

At that moment Nancy heard the front door close and the sound of her father’s firm footsteps in the hall. She laid an arm about Mrs. Gruen’s plump shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze.

“Don’t worry. I’ll run down and talk this over with Dad,” she assured the housekeeper. “Perhaps he knows the Forest Fur Company.”

“Dad!” called Nancy, reaching the bottom step. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Hello, dear.” Tall, handsome Carson Drew kissed her cheek. “Say, do I detect a worried look in those pretty blue eyes?”

“Well, something’s on my mind,” Nancy acknowledged, and told her father about Mrs. Channing and the Forest Fur Company.

“I’ve never heard of the company,” the lawyer remarked when she finished. “But I certainly don’t like the way they do business. No reliable company would peddle expensive furs and stock from door to door at bargain prices. Please ask Hannah to let me see her certificate.”

After reading it, he had to admit it looked all right, but added that he thought the company should be investigated.

“Mrs. Channing is still at Mrs. Martin’s,” Nancy said excitedly. “Suppose I go over there and talk to her.”

“Fine,” Carson Drew nodded. “I’ll go with you. We can’t let our Hannah be taken in by swindlers.”

The Martin home was only two blocks away. As the Drews reached it, Nancy cried out that Mrs. Channing’s car was gone. She dashed up the broken porch steps and rang the bell hurriedly. The door swung open.

“Mrs. Martin, is Mrs. Channing—?” Nancy began.

“She’s gone!”

“In her car?”

Mrs. Martin’s eyes blazed. “Yes. To put it plainly, Nancy, Mrs. Channing ran out on me. When I brought that tea she asked for, she was gone! Her car too! And not one word did she say about paying for the damage she did to my porch!”

“What’s her address?” Nancy asked quickly.

Mrs. Martin stared vacantly. “I don’t know.”