Medallion Mystery

“I wonder what the lion’s crest means, ” Bess said, pondering Ted Henri’s message.

Nancy was thinking about the variety of architecture she had seen throughout the city, especially the pair of stone lions that flanked the entrance to the New York Public Library. Was it possible that a lion’s crest existed somewhere on a building where Ted might be hiding out?

“How about the auction houses? ” George put in. “Do any of them have a lion’s crest on the canopy? ”

“Not to my knowledge, ” Chris said, “but it’s possible.”

As he spoke, Bess picked up a thick telephone directory and began to scan the classified section.

“Look at all the auction houses! ” she exclaimed in discouragement. “There must be a hundred of them! ”

“Not quite that many, ” Nancy said, snatching a glance at the list.

“Even so, ” George said, “it will take more than a few days to visit all of them.”

Nancy noticed a newspaper lying on a desk. “Chris, may I look at that? ” she asked.

“Of course, ” he replied, sensing what was on her mind. “Maybe you’ll find something under ‘galleries.’ I was just about to suggest it myself.”

Nancy quickly located the page filled with announcements about various auctions. One in particular drew her attention.

“There’s an interesting sale scheduled tonight at Speers, Limited, ” she pointed out, adding that among the items being auctioned off were heraldic shields and medallions. “Maybe we’ll find something bearing a lion’s crest among them! ”

“And perhaps Ted! ” Jacqueline added excitedly.

“It’s a shame we missed the preview exhibition, ” Nancy said. “That was this morning. But if we try, we can make the auction at 8 P.M.”

“By the way, ” George said to Jacqueline, “what does your brother look like? In case he happens to be there, we’d like to tell you.”

“Oh, well, he’s taller than I am and he has dark wavy hair and hazel eyes. His face is rounder than mine. It’s ruddier, too.”

“Do you have a picture of him? ” Bess asked.

“No, unfortunately—only a childhood photograph, and I assure you we both have changed a lot since then.” The model laughed, tossing back her mane of hair, letting the lamplight pick up highlights.

Before the girls left, Bess whispered to Jackie out of earshot of her friends and then jotted something on a piece of paper.

“What’s up? ” George asked her cousin when they stood on the sidewalk again.

“You’ll see, ” Bess replied, mysteriously. “I have to run now. See you back at the apartment. ‘Bye.”

Like a bolt of lightning, she flashed down the street and disappeared into a taxi that had stopped to let off a passenger.

Nancy and George gaped at each other, breaking into giggles as they realized that Bess’s admiration for the glamorous model was probably at the root of her latest adventure. The afternoon passed quickly at Aunt Eloise’s and when the doorbell finally rang, Nancy and George ran to answer the door together!

“Bess, is that you? ” Nancy asked, gaping at her friend, while George put a hand over her mouth, biting her lips to keep from laughing out loud.

Bess looked hurt. “What do you think? Of course, it’s me! ”

She had obviously gone to a hair and makeup artist who had changed everything except the color of her eyes. Her hair was swept upward in small fine ringlets, a few of which dangled over her ears and around the base of her neck.

“Well? ” Bess said, noting that her friends had fallen into total silence.

“The hair isn’t bad, ” George said, “but those eyes! Wow! ”

Nancy, too, was spellbound by the transformation. False eyelashes, curled thickly over Bess’s own, appeared to be half an inch long! One had loosened and Bess had carelessly stuck it back above the lid, making her look like a Paul Klee painting.

“Did Jacqueline recommend this? ” Nancy inquired.

“Not this. Him, ” Bess said. “He’s a wonderful hair stylist and makeup man. All the models go to him.”

She marched to a mirror in the living room, quickly observing the lopsided eyelash. Embarrassed, she hurried to adjust it, but it drooped down over the lower lid and came loose, leaving her with one set on and the other off.

George roared as Bess turned around. She grimaced angrily at her cousin.

“You’re just jealous! ” Bess charged.

“Jealous! ” George laughed, and grabbed her camera which she had left on a small table in the foyer. “I can’t miss this one. Dave will love it! ”

“Don’t you dare! ” Bess cried, tearing off the other set of lashes.

But it was too late. Her cousin had already snapped a picture. “Here she is, folks. The new model of the year! ” George said gleefully, taking the finished print out of the camera.

All through supper neither of the cousins spoke to each other, which made Nancy and her aunt feel uncomfortable.

“I like your hair, dear, ” Aunt Eloise complimented Bess, causing her to smile briefly.

“Thank you very much, ” she said. “Please pass the salt, Nancy.”

That was the extent of Bess’s conversation until they reached the auction house of Speers, Limited. They noticed that most of the audience were holding catalogs, and Nancy hurried to a desk to purchase one.

“Ooh, there are some gorgeous things in that book! ” Bess said to the others, after glancing at someone else’s brochure.

Nancy quickly leafed through hers, pausing now and then to look at stunning color photographs of Old English silver and Oriental porcelain.

“Go back a few pages, ” George said shortly.

Nancy did so and, to her amazement, discovered the entry of a medallion that bore the head of a lion! It had belonged to a man named Galen Kaiser.

Was this what Ted Henri was referring to in the mysterious message he sent to his sister?

The girl detectives were careful not to discuss their find openly. Instead, they scanned the audience, looking for someone who matched Ted’s description. A couple of men came close to it, but one had a bulbous nose and the other a ring of pock marks under his eyes. Jackie had not mentioned either of those characteristics.

Then the auction started and the girls’ attention was drawn to a number of fine gold tea-cups. They were displayed on a velvet table that swung into view on a moving platform.

“Shall we bid? ” George asked teasingly as the auctioneer called out successive bids.

“I have five hundred dollars. Do I hear more? ” he said.

“Well, I’m not really looking for gold tea-cups, ” Nancy responded lightly.

One after the other, items from the estates of several wealthy people passed in and out of sight. Nancy and the cousins eagerly awaited the medallion.

“Here it comes! ” Bess murmured as it appeared on the table, glittering under the spotlight.

From where the young detectives sat, they could not see it fully. Then, the auctioneer covered the microphone with his hand and turned sideways to speak to his assistant, completely obscuring the table from the girls’ view. When he addressed the audience again, the young detectives were surprised to see that the medallion was gone. A small gold dish with a stand-up rim stood in its place!

“Do you suppose the medallion was stolen? ” Bess whispered to her friends, who did not reply.

The auctioneer soon announced that the order of entries had been changed and the medallion would go up for bid shortly.

“Maybe somebody is switching the real one for a fake, ” Bess continued.

“That would be too obvious, ” George declared.

When the medallion came into view again, Nancy leaned forward. She didn’t want to miss anything that was about to happen!

The bidding started. One hundred, two hundred, up to five hundred dollars!

“It’s only estimated at one hundred fifty, ” Nancy informed the cousins. She held up her hand, signaling an offer.

“Are you crazy? ” Bess cried under her breath, as the auctioneer announced Nancy’s bid of five hundred fifty.

“I’m just curious, ” the young detective replied, waiting for one of two other bidders to respond.

Both of them had seemed unusually eager to buy the piece, but now they were silent.

“Going once, twice, ” the auctioneer said slowly. He held his mallet ready to pound on a desk.

Panic-stricken, Nancy realized that she was about to become the proud owner of something she really didn’t want. Not only that, she would have to drain her savings account to pay for it!