A Well-Baited Trap

WORRIED over the news about Lola, Nancy went without delay to see Mrs. White. She learned that the girl had departed very suddenly. Mrs. White was convinced her daughter had been kidnapped or had met with foul play.

“Have no fear on that score, ” Nancy said reassuringly. She told Mrs. White of her idea that a group of clever thieves might be mesmerizing or threatening their victims in order to get their money. “They’re too interested in Lola’s earnings to let anything happen to her, ” she finished.

After telling Mrs. White she was sure her daughter would realize her mistake and return home, Nancy left. She decided to walk in the park and thrash matters out in her own mind. Presently she seated herself on a bench and absently watched two swans in a nearby pond.

She scarcely noticed when a thin woman in black sat down beside her. But when the stranger took out a handkerchief and wiped away tears, Nancy suddenly became attentive.

“Are you troubled? ” she inquired kindly.

“Yes, ” the woman answered. Eager to confide in someone, she began to pour out her story.

“It’s my daughter.” The stranger sighed. “She’s causing me so much worry. Nellie works and makes good money, but lately all she does is complain she hasn’t a penny. She must be frittering it away on worthless amusements.”

Nancy listened attentively, made a few queries, and then suggested to the woman that she ask her daughter if she made a practice of leaving money in a certain black walnut tree.

“In a walnut tree! ” exclaimed the woman.

“Also, find out if she sends money through the mail, and if so, to whom, ” Nancy instructed. “Ask her if she ever visits a medium or is helping support orphans at a place called Three Branch Home. Find out if you can whether or not spirits mysteriously appear to her at night.”

“My goodness! ” the woman cried in amazement. “You must be a policewoman! ”

Nancy scribbled her father’s unlisted telephone number on a scrap of paper and gave it to the stranger. “If you need help or have any information, call me here at once, ” she added.

The woman pocketed the telephone number and quickly rose from the bench. “Thank you, miss. Thank you kindly, ” she murmured.

Only after the stranger had disappeared, did it occur to Nancy that she might have been unwise in offering advice so freely.

Definitely annoyed at herself, Nancy returned home, where she found a telegram from her father. It said that private detectives working for him in Chicago had traced some of Mrs. Putney’s stolen jewelry to a pawnshop there. But the ring belonging to her husband and her pearl necklace were still missing.

Her father’s mention of the Putney jewels caused Nancy to wonder anxiously what had become of the widow and of Lola White. Could there be any connection in their simultaneous disappearance? A panicky thought struck the young detective. Perhaps they were being held prisoners at some hideout of the racketeers.

Almost at once Nancy put this idea out of her mind. These people were too clever to resort to kidnapping. Since they knew that Blackwood Hall was under surveillance, it was logical to assume that the gang was operating in new surroundings. If she could discover where Mrs. Putney had gone, then perhaps she would be able to locate the men who were seeking to separate the gullible woman from her money.

From Mrs. Putney’s next-door neighbor Nancy learned that her late husband had owned a hunting lodge on Lake Jasper, across the state line, where he had spent a great deal of time each summer.

So far as anyone knew, his widow had not visited the place since his death. Nancy thought there was a good possibility that Mrs. Putney might be at the lodge now. Moreover, Lake Jasper was the place where Mr. Drew’s stolen car had been found!

Hannah Gruen did not entirely approve of Nancy’s making a trip to Lake Jasper, preferring that she wait until her father returned. In the end, the housekeeper agreed to the plan but only after the parents of Bess and George had consented to having their daughters accompany Nancy.

“If for any reason you decide to stay more than one night, telephone me at once, ” Hannah begged.

Taking only light luggage, the girls started off early the next morning. During the drive, Nancy confided to her friends that she suspected Lola had run away from home and did not intend to return.

“Those people who seem to have her in their control have probably found her a job in another town. I must do everything I can to trace her, as soon as I find out about Mrs. Putney.”

Lake Jasper was situated in the heart of pine woods country, and was one of a dozen beautiful small lakes in the area. Not knowing Mrs. Putney’s address, the girls obtained directions at the post office. They learned that the hunting lodge was at the head of the lake, in an isolated spot.

“No sense going there until we’ve had lunch, ” remarked Bess. “It’s after one o’clock now, and I’m faint from hunger.”

At an attractive tearoom nearby, the girls enjoyed a delicious lake-trout dinner. Later, as they walked toward the car, Nancy suddenly halted.

“Girls, ” she said, “do my eyes deceive me, or is that Lola White walking ahead of us? ”

The person Nancy pointed out was some distance down the street, her back to the three girls.

“It’s Lola all right! ” Bess agreed. “What do you suppose she’s doing at Lake Jasper? ”

“My guess is she’s here with Mrs. Putney, ” Nancy replied grimly.

“But I’m sure they don’t know each other, ” Bess said.

“Perhaps the gang arranged for her to come up here with Mrs. Putney, ” Nancy suggested.

The girls drove half a block ahead of Lola. Satisfied that they had made no mistake in identifying the girl, they alighted and walked directly toward her.

At an intersection the four met. Lola gazed at them, but her face was expressionless. She passed the trio without a sign of recognition.

“Well, of all things! ” said Bess as the three friends halted to stare after Lola. “She certainly was pretending she didn’t know us.”

“Maybe she didn’t, ” Nancy replied. “Lola acted as she did the time Ned and I found her wading out into the river. I suggest we follow her. Maybe she’ll lead us to the Putney Lodge.”

The girls waited until Lola was nearly out of sight and then followed in the car. Leaving the village, Lola struck out through the woods. Nancy parked and they continued on foot. A mile from town, near the waterfront, they saw a cabin constructed of peeled logs. An inconspicuous sign tacked to a tree read Putney Lodge.

“Your hunch was right, Nancy, ” Bess whispered as they saw Lola enter by a rear door.

Nancy hesitated. “Seeing Lola here complicates things, ” she said. “I’m afraid there’s more to this than appears on the surface.”

Just then Mrs. Putney came out on the porch. The girls remained in hiding. After she went indoors, Nancy said:

“Lola may be completely under the spell of those who have been getting money from Mrs. Putney. They may be using her services here.”

“You think Lola, in a hypnotized state, is expected to steal from Mrs. Putney! ” Bess gasped.

“Either that, or she may have been instructed to assist a member of the gang. I’d like to do a little scouting around before we let them know we’re here.”

When the girls reached town, Nancy stopped at the bank. Unfortunately it was closed for the day, but by making inquiries she located the home of the bank’s president, Henry Lathrop. Nancy introduced herself and learned that her father once had brought a case to a successful conclusion for Mr. Lathrop.

“And what can I do for you? ” the man inquired.

Nancy asked him if Mrs. Henry Putney had a safe-deposit box at the bank in which she might be keeping stocks, bonds, or cash.

“Her husband had a large safe-deposit box, and she has retained it.”

Nancy’s pulse quickened as the learned Mrs. Putney had spoken to the banker early that morning. The widow had been carrying an unusually large handbag. She had taken her box into a private room and been there some time.

“Something up? ” Mr. Lathrop asked.

“I’m afraid so, ” Nancy answered. “I hope I’m not too late. You see, Mr. Lathrop, a gang of thieves has made away with her jewels, and I suspect that they are now after her inheritance. I’ve been trying to catch up with these people—”

“If what you say is true, the police should be called in to protect Mrs. Putney, ” the banker said.

“I agree, ” Nancy replied. “I have a feeling that the people who are after Mrs. Putney’s money may show their hand tonight.”

Later, when Nancy related her story to George and Bess, they wanted to know what she was planning.

“A call on the State Police. The next job needs strong men! ”

At headquarters Nancy gave the police all the details of the case. The mob was obviously ready to strike and make a quick getaway. It was time that the law stepped in. The young detective made such an impressive presentation of the facts that she was promised that a cordon of troops would be assigned to the lake area that night.

Nancy and her friends obtained a large room at the Lake Jasper Hotel, where the police promised to notify them at once should anything develop. Nancy awoke several times during the night, wondering what might be taking place at the Putney Lodge. She had just opened her eyes again as it was beginning to grow light, when the telephone on the stand by the bed jingled.

Nancy snatched it up. She listened attentively a moment, then turned excitedly to call her friends who were still asleep.

“Girls! ” she cried. “The troopers have a prisoner! ”