Ngyun’s Trouble

“What’s happened, Heather? ” Nancy asked.

“The sheriff was here, ” Heather replied, her own eyes filling with tears. “It was about an hour ago. He came for Ngyun. He said that some jewelry was stolen yesterday and a boy on a pinto was seen riding away from the area.”

“Well, don’t you listen, ” Nancy began. “I saw someone on a pinto last night, too, but it wasn’t Ngyun, so I’m sure we can prove that the thief was the same person who tricked me into that wash.”

Heather shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid no one will believe you now.”

“What do you mean? ” George asked. “We have a clue to the real culprit. ”

“It’s too late, ” Heather sobbed.

“Why? ”

“They found a stolen belt buckle in the stable. It was hidden in the saddlebags that Ngyun uses when he goes on an all-day ride and carries a lunch.”

“Was that all that was taken? ” Nancy asked after a moment of stunned silence. “Just a belt buckle? ”

Heather stopped crying. “Well, no, but that was all they found out there. The sheriff said they would get the rest when Ngyun tells them where he’s hidden it.”

“How much jewelry was stolen? ” Nancy continued her questioning.

“Quite a lot. The most expensive pieces were two matched squash-blossom necklaces. They were specially designed—a smaller, lighter one for the woman and a massive one for her husband. I guess they were done by a master designer, with lots of the best turquoise and the finest of silver work. There were also two or three bracelets and a couple of rings.”

“Whom were they stolen from? ” Nancy asked.

“From some winter visitors who have a mobile home in the desert a few miles from here. Their collection is worth a great deal of money.”

“To Ngyun? ” Nancy inquired gently. “What would a twelve-year-old boy want with a lot of jewelry? He’s not some little thug who could pawn it.”

Heather opened her mouth, but no words came out, and Nancy could see the dawning of understanding in her bright, green eyes. “That’s what Maria kept saying, ” she murmured. “She said it had to be a mistake, that Ngyun would never take a lot of jewelry—he’s not a thief.”

“Perhaps we should go and talk to the sheriff, Heather, ” Nancy suggested. “Maybe if we explain about what happened to me last night...”

“We can’t go anywhere till Chuck gets back with the station wagon, ” Heather said. “He’d already left for town before the sheriff came.”

“What about the jeep? ” Nancy asked.

“Ward and Maria were out with it getting supplies, so they weren’t here when the sheriff came, either. Ward took the jeep and went after the sheriff and Ngyun as soon as I told him what had happened.”

“Could we call the sheriffs office? ” Nancy suggested.

“They weren’t going there, I don’t think, ” Heather said. “The sheriff wanted to take Ngyun to see the people who were robbed. So they could identify him and the belt buckle, I suppose.”

“They’ll have to say it wasn’t him, ” Maria said from the doorway. “They’ll tell the sheriff he’s mistaken. It wasn’t Ngyun.”

“We know that, Maria, ” Nancy assured the woman.

Maria began to cry again. “I should have gone with Ward, ” she wailed. “I should be with Ngyun. He gets so frightened sometimes when he doesn’t understand things. People think that just because he speaks English he understands everything, but he doesn’t, and...”

“You were too upset, ” Heather reminded her. “You said yourself that you’d just frighten him more.”

Maria collapsed into a chair again and Bess went to the stove to heat a kettle of water to brew the poor woman some of her own soothing tea. “What am I going to do? Maria sobbed.

“We’re going to clear him, Maria, ” Nancy told her firmly. “Just as soon as the sheriff comes back, I’ll talk to him and perhaps we can get everything straightened out.”

The words calmed Maria enough that she was soon up and bustling around making preparations for lunch. While she worked, Nancy questioned Heather about the neighbors’ horses. “Several have pintos, ” was Heather’s answer, “and no one admits to riding one last night.”

Nancy sighed. “Well, I really didn’t expect a confession, ” she admitted. “Still, it would be easier if there weren’t so many. ”

Heather shook her head. “I just don’t understand any of it, ” she said. “Why would anyone go to such lengths just to get a harmless boy sent away? ”

“When we have the answer to that question, we’ll know who is doing it, ” Nancy assured her.

Maria set the table with places for Chuck, Ward, and Ngyun, but when the food was ready, the men hadn’t returned, so they ate without them. Though the food was excellent, no one had much of an appetite, and they were all relieved when they could busy themselves with clearing the dishes and tidying the kitchen. It helped the minutes drag by.

It was mid-afternoon before Ward drove up in the jeep. A moment later, he came in alone. Maria ran to meet him. “Where is he? ” she demanded. “Where is Ngyun? Why didn’t you bring him home? ”

Ward’s face was grim and stony, the pain showing only in his dark eyes. “The sheriff is coming with him, ” he replied. “He told me to go on ahead and talk to you.”

“What happened? Maria asked, the relief she’d showed before draining away.“He didn’t do it, Ward, you have to believe that. ”

“It’s not up to me to believe or disbelieve, ” Ward replied. “They identified him, Maria. The people said he was the one they saw riding near their trailer just before they missed their jewelry.”

“But he admitted that he was in the area, ” Maria protested. “Heather told us that. He was on his way into the hills. Just because he rode by their mobile home doesn’t mean that he did anything else.”

“He had the belt buckle! ”

Maria pulled away from him. “Do you believe it? ” she demanded. “Do you believe that he took the jewelry? ”

For a moment, Ward glared at her, then his dark eyes dropped. “I don’t want to, ” he said, “but, Maria, what else can we believe?

Before anything else could be said, the sheriff drove up, and in a moment Ngyun was clinging to his aunt while he tried hard not to cry.

The sheriff looked sad but stern. “Ngyun refused to tell us where the rest of the stuff is hidden, ” he began. “The Bascombs won’t press charges if they get all their jewelry back. They had planned to leave tomorrow, so they don’t want to make a big thing out of it.”

“I not tell, Aunt Maria, ” Ngyun protested. “I not know! ”

“Of course you don’t, Ngyun, ” Maria said, hugging him for a moment. Then she held him at arm’s length and said, “You must be hungry. Did you have lunch? ”

The boy shook his head, and in a moment he and Maria disappeared through the archway toward the kitchen. Once they were gone, Nancy stepped forward and introduced herself to the sheriff.

With the help of George and Bess, she described her recent discoveries to him, including a full account of all that had happened to her since her arrival at the resort. She even showed him the letter she’d received before she left River Heights.

The sheriff was dubious at first, but with both George and Bess speaking up and listing some of Nancy’s past accomplishments, and Heather explaining that she and her brother had invited Nancy to solve their strange case, he had to take her seriously. Maria joined them and the hope returned to her face as she listened.

“You seriously believe that someone has done all this just to frame the boy? ” the sheriff asked when the young detective had finished.

Nancy nodded. “The person who rode away from the stable last night could have been there planting the belt buckle, Sheriff. Maybe my seeing him and following him was just a lucky coincidence.”

“But why would anyone frame Ngyun? ” The sheriff repeated his question.

Nancy swallowed a sigh. “I can’t answer that question till I discover who is responsible for all the things that have happened, ” she admitted.

The sheriff shook his head. “Well, your theory seems sound enough, Miss Drew, but until you can offer some proof, I’m afraid I can’t change my mind about the boy. If he doesn’t produce the jewelry by tomorrow morning, charges will have to be instituted.”

The young sleuth longed to plead further, but without proof she knew that she couldn’t convince the sheriff of Ngyun’s innocence. He talked for a few minutes with Ward and Maria, then the Tomiches and Heather saw him out the front door.

Nancy, sure that Ngyun must be feeling miserable, excused herself and went to the kitchen to tell him what she’d learned last night and this morning. However, when she reached the kitchen, she found it empty, the sandwich and glass of milk untouched on the table. Curious, Nancy walked to the back window and looked out across the garden just in time to see Ngyun heading toward the stable.

It took her only a moment to make a decision. She scribbled a quick note on the pad Maria kept beside the telephone, then ran out into the warm, sunny afternoon. By the time she reached the stable, Ngyun was already leading Cochise out the other side. Nancy didn’t try to stop him, preferring instead to follow him.

If the sheriff wanted proof, the answer had to lie with Ngyun, she reasoned. Since he didn’t seem able to explain what was happening to him, it was up to her to find the clues. Following him on one of his excursions seemed the best place to start. Nancy saddled Pepper Pot once again and set off in pursuit of the rapidly disappearing pinto.

The young detective rode for nearly an hour, catching only occasional glimpses of Ngyun and his hurrying mount. The boy never seemed to look back as he guided the pinto further and further into the low hills that marked the area of the resort closest to the Superstition Mountains.

They were practically in the shadows of the mountains when the boy finally stopped and slipped off Cochise. Leaving the pinto to graze in a small hollow, his trailing reins “ground-hitching” him so he wouldn’t run away, Ngyun began to climb up a nearby, rocky outcropping.

Nancy stopped Pepper Pot at the edge of the same small patch of grass, trying to decide what to do. She meant to talk to the boy, but she didn’t want him to think she was chasing him. With that in mind, she dismounted and let Pepper Pot join the pinto while she strolled across the grass and halted at the base of the rocky rise.

Ngyun turned to look at her when the horses snorted their greetings to each other, and Nancy could see the quick flash of fear in his dark, almond eyes. Then, to her surprise, he lifted a finger to his lips, cautioning her not to make any noise. When she nodded her understanding, he signalled her to climb up beside him. Curious, Nancy made her way up the steep incline, being careful not to create a landslide.

As they neared the top of the rugged hill, Ngyun again signalled caution, but this time Nancy had already heard the sounds coming from below. There were people somewhere beyond the rim above them, and it sounded very much as though they were pounding or digging!