Troublesome Discovery

Nancy’s other hope was that her father would be arriving in Italy, too; and he would join in the search, unless, of course, he became immersed in his own case and did not try to call Nancy until later in the week!

As these troublesome thoughts continued to plague her mind, she dragged herself backward, bumping into George and Bess who also realized they were in a new location. They, like their companion, had begun to explore it. But Nancy was the first to discover an old radiator with a thin metal pipe that jutted out from the base.

She slipped her wire cuff over it and rubbed back and forth until her bonds snapped in half, freeing her hands at long last! Then she reached for the gag around her mouth, removing it just as quickly.

“The wire’s off, ” she told her friends happily, “and I’ll get rid of the ankle rope any minute. Just be patient.”

But her words fell short as footsteps in the distance echoed along the marble floor.

“Someone’s coming. Uh-oh, ” she said, putting back her gag.

The footsteps stopped momentarily, and the young detective wondered if the person was one of their captors. But before she could think about it further, she heard men’s voices, muttering Italian in low, growling tones. Still, Nancy understood a few of the words, among them the name Dandolo!

Filippo’s kidnappers! she gasped. But what arc they saying about him?

Instantly, she freed herself and her friends, signaling them to remain quiet as she peered through the door lock. But a lug was in it and she could not see the men.

“What if they find us like this? ” Bess whispered nervously.

“Sh, ” George warned her. “Nancy’s trying to listen.”

But the girl detective was not having much success. She strained to hear the words passing between the two, catching only a few that made no sense to her at all.

“What are they saying? ” Bess asked.

“Be-ess, ” George chided her again.

“I’m not sure. Something about ‘Roma’ and ‘Murano', ” Nancy replied.

“Rome and Murano—hmph, ” George repeated. “I wonder—”

The sound of footsteps interrupted again, and Nancy slid away from the door.

“Quick! Put everything back on, ” she warned. Fast as lightning, the girls obeyed, holding their breath as the shuffle of feet stopped on the other side of the wall. The men spoke again, but in low, indistinct voices that faded as their steps unexpectedly changed direction.

“Whew! ” Nancy sighed moments later when it was clear the men had left.

She tried pushing the lug out of the lock but it wouldn’t give.

“Now what will we do? ” Bess asked, showing the same fearful expression that usually drew a word of comfort from her friends.

This time, however, George said, “I’m not sure.”

“Neither am I, but—” Nancy started to say.

“But what? ”

“Well, it seems to me we have two choices. We can either wait here like three sitting ducks or try to get out.”

“But we already tried, ” Bess countered.

“Oh, I know, but I have another idea.”

While the young detective revealed her plan of escape, the Emerson boys were working on their own investigation. They had checked out of the Hotel Excelsior and walked up the beach, observing the long rows of cabanas that obscured their occupants from view.

“Maybe we ought to ask if the girls signed up for one, ” Ned suggested.

“Just lead the way, ” Burt said, leaping down the terrace steps to a small entranceway.

There they found several guests from the Gritti Palace who had arrived only minutes before. They were eagerly awaiting the cabana assignments listed on a large sheet of paper bearing columns of names.

“That’s what we want to see, ” Dave whispered to his friends.

Although they were impatient, they waited politely for the other people to finish and leave, then made their inquiry. Unfortunately, it led to a negative response.

“Of course, they could be using a cabana at another hotel, ” Burt offered.

“Not if they’re guests of the Gritti, ” Ned replied. “It has a reciprocal arrangement with the Excelsior regarding cabanas. Come on, let’s go.

The boys continued their walk, pausing briefly to admire the deep azure water that lapped in gentle waves against the shoreline.

“It’d be nice just to lie out there and bake.” Dave sighed, turning his face up to the sun.

“Okay, beach boy, that’s all the tan you’re going to get today, ” Burt teased, picking up his pace. “It’s hard to believe there was a storm last night, isn’t it? ”

Upon closer observation, though, he realized it had done more than leaf damage to the trees. A telephone line had come down, along with a traffic light that lay splintered in the road.

“How far do you want to go? ” Dave asked Ned.

“Just up to the Hotel Des Bains. I figure if the girls got stuck here overnight they’d probably want to get back to the Gritti to change, and they’d have to take the boat from the Excelsior.”

“What if they were on the trail of something important? ” Burt asked. “You still think they’d rush back to the Gritti? ”

“Let’s put it this way, ” Ned said. “We haven’t passed them yet, so there’s a chance we may.”

But the trip to the Des Bains proved as fruitless as everything else, and the boys decided to take the next boat back to the Gritti. As soon as they arrived, they requested to see Nancy’s message.

To their amazement, it wasn’t in their mailbox.

“But the night clerk said he was going to leave it for us, ” Ned insisted.

“You will have to ask him, then, ” said the man behind the desk. “I know absolutely nothing about it.”

“Well, perhaps you can send someone up to open the door to 124, ” the boy went on, glancing at the key in front of him. “This didn’t work for me last evening.”

A look of puzzlement greeted the statement. “Then how did you get in? ” the man inquired.

“We didn’t, ” Dave said. “We got stuck in the storm at the Lido.”

“Oh, I see. Well, just a moment. Let me call someone to help you.”

The clerk disappeared into a back office and a porter soon picked up the troublesome key. The boys followed him upstairs, and stood watching as he inserted it into the lock, turning it gently until it clicked open.

“Now how is that possible? ” Ned said, utterly astonished, as the porter nodded and left. “Maybe I dreamed I—”

“Old cheapo here thought he’d save a few lira by leaving his wallet behind.” Dave laughed teasingly.

“That’s me, all right.” Ned grinned and opened a dresser drawer, pulling out the wallet and a few coins inside. “Here you are.”

“Huh? ” the other boy replied in bewilderment. “I mean, what’s this for? ” he said, as Ned dropped the coins in his palm.

“I think it’s important to keep one’s reputation intact, ” the boy said briefly, allowing a long silence before he broke into laughter. “If you could only see the look on your face! ”

“Mine? ” Dave gulped, catching a glace in the mirror. “Hey, what’s that? ”

He pointed to a thin crack along the bottom of the glass.

“I wonder how that happened, ” Burt said. “It looks as if someone threw something at it.” “Like this, perhaps? ” Ned said, holding up his penknife which he had picked up from the floor. “It was in the top drawer.”

He pulled open the drawer, the contents of which were in complete disarray.

“Somebody’s been in this room, all right! ” Ned declared. “Check the other drawers and your luggage.”

The boys wasted no time examining their things.

“All my stuff is here, ” Dave announced shortly.

“Mine too, ” Burt added.

“Well, I’m not missing anything either, ” Ned said, staring at the mirror crack. “It seems to me someone must’ve been awfully frustrated to do that—just because he didn’t get what he was looking for.”

“Maybe, or else he was in a big hurry. He started throwing things out of your drawer and the penknife hit the mirror.”

“But if that’s the case, then why isn’t everything else all messed up? ” Ned asked. “It just doesn’t make any sense unless—he was here when I came back for my wallet, stopped his search, and shoved the stuff into the drawer.” “But why go to all that trouble? ” Burt commented. “It seems to me that regardless of his habits, a stranger who was caught in this room by you or any of the hotel staff wouldn’t have much of a defense.”

“True—but suppose he was one of the hotel staff? ” Ned proposed, letting the full weight of his deduction sink in.

“Okay, Nancy Drew, ” Dave said with a smirk, “who’s your suspect? ”