Kidnapped!

After the Drews had said good-by to Emily Foster, they drove toward Milton. At a service station near the edge of town, they stopped and inquired where Clover Farm was.

«Never heard of it,» was the attendant's disappointing reply. He also did not know of a Julia Flower or Juliana or Julie Johnson. The local telephone book had no listing for any of the names.

«Oh, Dad,» Nancy said, «have we run into another dead end?»

She had never felt more frustrated. Her father went into two shops to make the same inquiry, but had no better luck. A distressing thought came to Nancy that maybe the former dancer had moved to another part of the country or was no longer alive. Mr. Drew, trying to cheer his daughter, suggested that the elusive woman might be living in the area under another name. At once Nancy took heart. «Let's drive all over this place. Maybe we'll pick up a clue.» Silence followed as they rode up one road and down another. About a mile out of town Nancy suddenly exclaimed, «Look!»

On one side of the road was an attractive white arched arbor at the entrance to the grounds. Fields of flowers, shrubs, and a nursery of trees lined either side. A neatly painted sign on the arbor read:

Jardin des Fleurs

Juliette Fleur, Prop.

«I'm sure this is the place!» Nancy cried excitedly. «Julia Flower translated her name into French, and calls her place Garden of Flowers.» It was a quarter of a mile to the house, which was surrounded by a high white picket fence with a locked gate. A terrier with a staccato bark raced from the building toward the callers. «There's no bell or knocker,» said Nancy. «How does one get in?»

Her question was answered when two gardeners hurried from the rear of the enclosure. «No visitors allowed here!» one of them said curtly.

«We came to see Miss Fleur,» Mr. Drew explained, then introduced himself and his daughter.

«Did she send for you?»

«No,» Mr. Drew admitted, «but if she's the person we're looking for, we have important information for her.»

Nancy pulled out Juliana's photograph, and showed it to the men, who stared at it. Finally one of them said, «It's her, all right-when she was younger. But she's not here!» «Where is she?» Nancy asked.

«Well, usually she never leaves the place on account of being such a cripple. But when that government man came for her last night, she had to go. He took her away in a car.»

«What government man?» Mr. Drew asked quickly. «Did he give his name?» «He probably told Miss Fleur. We didn't hear it.»

«Did she say why she had to go with him?» Nancy asked.

«It was something about income tax. Miss Fleur always thought she paid the government every penny she owed. She's very honest. But the man claimed she'd made a false report and might have to go to prison.»

«This seems very irregular to me,» Mr. Drew commented. «Even if Miss Fleur made a mistake in the amount of her tax, she would not be sentenced without a hearing. The usual procedure is to notify the accused by letter and have the person call at the tax office to explain his or her side of the matter.»

«Dad,» Nancy said, «it looks as if someone was very eager to get Miss Fleur away from here. We must find her!»

«First of all, we'll check with the Internal Revenue Service; that is, if I can use a telephone.» The two gardeners, sensing that Nancy and her father were sincere, invited them into the farm-house. Mr. Drew called. When he finished, he looked grim.

«Just as we feared,» he revealed. «The Internal Revenue Service has no case pending against Juliette Fleur, Juliana Johnson, or Julia Flower.» «Then it was a hoax!» Nancy exclaimed. «Yes. The man who came here was an impostor.»

The gardeners suddenly looked alarmed. One of them said, «Are you saying Miss Fleur maybe was kidnapped?»

«Possibly,» Mr. Drew replied.

The two workmen were speechless. «Oh, find her!» one said. «We think an awful lot of her.» «Have you any idea where she may have been taken?» Nancy asked. Both men said they had told her everything they knew.

They spread the news of the incident to Miss Fleur's other two employees who came in from the fields. Their faces became sad. «Those kidnappers may hurt her!» one of the gardeners said.

«I wouldn't worry about that,» Mr. Drew said to comfort the man. «Miss Fleur probably will receive good treatment. But unfortunately she will lose a fortune unless she can be found.» «But how? Shall we call the police?» the man asked.

«We'll stop at headquarters on the way home,» Mr. Drew said, and promised the gardeners he would do everything he could to find Juliette Fleur.

«Tell me, what did the alleged government man look like?» he asked.

The gardeners' description was not very helpful.

«He was tall and slender,» one said, «and wore dark glasses. He had a beard and a mustache.» «Probably a disguise,» Nancy concluded. After the Drews had told their story to the local police, they returned to the Hampton Motel. On their way to the dining room, Carson Drew purchased a copy of the River Heights newspaper.

A startling headline caught his eyes:

FAMOUS DANCER RETURNS IN TIME TO CLAIM HEATH FORTUNE

The article stated that after a long search, Daniel Hector had found the missing Juliana, who now was staying at the Riverview Hotel in River Heights. For many years the famous dancer had been fulfilling professional engagements in South America under another name. «So that's what Hector has been up to!» Nancy said hotly. «He had the real Juliana kidnapped to be able to present this impostor!» «It certainly seems that way,» Mr. Drew agreed. «If Daniel Hector can establish the impostor as the heiress, he will probably pay her well and then take over the estate.»

«Let's hurry back to River Heights,» Nancy suggested.

After hastening through lunch she and her father checked out of the motel, and soon were driving along the road toward home. «I wonder where the abductor has hidden Juliana,» Nancy said.

It was early afternoon when the Drews reached River Heights. The lawyer said he had to stop in his office for a couple of hours and that Nancy could use the car in the meantime. «I think I'll go see Mrs. Fenimore and find out whether she has heard the news,» Nancy decided as he got out of the car. She drove off and turned in the direction of the little house. Joan and her mother were happy to see her. They had not read the newspapers, however, and had not heard from Daniel Hector. When Nancy told them about the article, Mrs. Fenimore became excited.

«You mean my sister has really been found? Oh, I just can't believe it! Where is she?» «Mrs. Fenimore,» Nancy said, «I don't want to disappoint you, but I believe that the woman Hector claims to have located is an impostor!» «What do you mean?» Mrs. Fenimore looked bewildered.

Nancy told about the result of her investigation and of her suspicion that the real Juliana had been kidnapped.

«But that's terrible,» Mrs. Fenimore finally said. «It's an unscrupulous scheme to cheat my sister out of her inheritance, and who knows, she might be a prisoner of Hector's for years! We must tell the police!»

«I wish we could,» Nancy said. «But so far I can't prove anything. Unless we find your sister in time. Hector may get away with his crooked scheme.»

«But I can tell if the claimant is my sister, can't I?»

«I don't know whether your word against hers would be proof enough. Anyway, I think we should meet the dancer who claims to be Juliana.» Joan insisted upon coming along, and soon the three of them arrived at the Riverview Hotel. «You mean Senora Fernandez?» the desk clerk replied when Nancy inquired for the woman. «I'll see if she's receiving callers.» Mrs. Fenimore became more and more apprehensive as they waited. Finally the clerk told them to go up to Room 320. They knocked and a voice said, «Come in!»

A beautiful woman was reclining on the bed, her back braced by several embroidered pillows. She wore an exotic negligee which set off to advantage her dark hair and creamy white skin. «Vera! I am so glad to see you again!» she said and got up to embrace Mrs. Fenimore. «And this is Joan, isn't it?» She kissed the little girl lightly on the cheek.

Mrs. Fenimore was so confused that for a moment she could not speak. Nancy broke the silence by giving her name.

«Miss Drew?» the dancer looked perplexed but only for an instant. «Yes, I believe Mr. Hector told me about you.»

By now Mrs. Fenimore had relaxed. «Julie, why did you go away?»

«I-I eloped with my Mexican husband.»

«But how could you desert Walter Heath?» «I couldn't marry him, because I didn't love him. But I didn't want to hurt him either; that's why I disappeared.»

«But now you've come back to claim his fortune,» Nancy put in. «By the way, what are your plans for the estate?»

«I'll sell it. Mr. Hector has a buyer for it already.»

«Then you won't stay in River Heights?» Mrs. Fenimore asked.

«Of course not. I have my career and my home in Mexico.»

Mrs. Fenimore looked at the woman calmly. «Mr. Hector won't be able to sell the estate for you because you are not my sister!» The other woman blanched. «I may have changed in those ten years, but I can prove who I am!»

«How?» Nancy asked quickly.

«I have all necessary identification. And I also have this!» From beneath her pillow the dancer brought out a torn paper. Nancy instantly knew that it was the missing half of the note she had found at the Heath factory. She read the words:

day the sec-

am hiding

may make me

Then I shall be

of you. Love,

Walt

Nancy did not have the other half of the note with her, but she knew its contents by heart. The complete message would read:

Dear C,

Someday the sec-

cret which I am hiding

in a wall may make me

famous. Then I shall be

worthy of you. Love,

Walt

The young sleuth concluded that Walter Heath had not sold the formula on which he had been working. Instead, he had hidden the dyes somewhere in the old estate walls to keep them safe from men like Biggs.

«Do you have the other half of the note?» Nancy asked Senora Fernandez.

«No, I lost it years ago.»

«What does the C stand for?»

«Oh-Walt used to call me Carita. It was a nickname he gave me when we first met.» «You are not my sister!» Mrs. Fenimore cried out again. She could hardly control her anger. «And this note proves nothing!» Nancy took her arm. «Let's go now. And don't worry,» she said as the three left. Back on the street, Nancy said, «Daniel Hector did a good job. Senora Fernandez does resemble your sister, doesn't she?»

Mrs. Fenimore nodded. «So much so that at first I wasn't sure myself.»

«I noticed the woman had rather large feet,» Nancy said. «She must wear at least a size nine or ten shoe.»

«And Juliana had extremely small feet,» Mrs. Fenimore remarked. «That should help prove Mrs. Fernandez is a phony.»

«Yes. Please don't worry about it. Right now all I'm concerned about is finding your sister!» Nancy dropped the Fenimores off at their house and drove home. On the way she passed Bess's house and noticed that George's car stood in front.

«I'll stop to tell them the latest news about the case,» Nancy decided.

Bess invited both girls to stay to dinner. Nancy accepted after calling Hannah Gruen. «Your father won't be back until late, anyway,» the housekeeper said.

By the time Nancy arrived home, it was dark. As she pulled into the driveway, the young detective noticed that there were no lights on in the house.

«That's funny,» she thought, stopping. «Whenever Hannah goes out, she leaves a lamp on.» Nancy hurried to the front door. With a surge of alarm she found it standing slightly ajar. Cautiously she pushed it open but saw only the dark hallway.

«Hannah!» she called out, reaching for the hall switch.

Before she could turn on the lights, a powerful arm seized her and a hand was clapped over her mouth. At the same time the assailant yanked her into the hall and slammed the door shut!