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Suspicion






 

NANCY looked at her father in surprise, but did not argue the point. She knew he would not have asked her to turn down Terry Scott’s case without good reason.

The young man showed his disappointment, but smiled politely. “Well, you can’t blame me for trying, sir, ” he said, getting up from his chair. “Your daughter seemed to be the very person I needed to help me.”

Nancy gave the mysterious drawing a last-minute look. “Have the other professors any idea what these signs mean? ” she asked.

“No, none, ” Terry replied. “Well, I guess I’d better get back to my hotel.”

“I must go, too, ” Bess added, rising.

After saying good-by to the callers, Nancy followed her father upstairs to his study.

“Dad, if I can’t work on Terry’s case, ” she said, “shouldn’t I give back the half-key? ”

The lawyer smiled quizzically. “That depends on something. I know one thing Terry Scott may or may not know. And that’s why I asked you not to continue trying to solve the mystery until certain things can be proved.”

Her father explained that Joshua Pitt’s will left everything he owned to Terry Scott, and it was a sizable sum of money.

“Dad! How did you learn that? ”

“Because, ” he replied, “I drew up the will. Dr. Pitt and I have a mutual friend who recommended me to him last year.”

Nancy was astounded. Instantly she guessed what was in her father’s mind. There was a chance Terry’s whole story was a fake. The truth might be very ugly. For some reason best known to Terry, Dr. Pitt might never return and the young man would inherit the money!

“Oh, Dad, I just can’t believe Terry’s that kind of person, ” she declared.

“He probably isn’t, ” her father said. “But it’s something to keep in mind.”

Nancy nodded. “Why did he come to you for help, Dad? ”

“Terry quoted old Pitt as saying, ‘If you’re ever in trouble, go to Carson Drew. He’ll get you out of it if anybody can.’ ”

“And you would, ” Nancy remarked loyally.

Her father made a mock bow. “Don’t misunderstand. I like Terry, too. But my first interest is to protect Dr. Pitt. That’s why I want you to take on a little investigative job.”

Nancy leaned forward expectantly.

“I want you to go and see the other members of the team—Dr. Graham and Dr. Anderson, ” Mr. Drew proposed. “Find out what you can about the expedition, and what they think of Terry.”

Nancy was eager to begin her work. “I’ll start with Dr. Graham. Terry says he’s at Jonsonburg College. Maybe George will drive over there with me this afternoon.”

Nancy telephoned Dr. Graham’s office to arrange an appointment. Next, she asked George to accompany her.

“Hypers, Nancy, I don’t know how to talk to a doctor of archaeology! But I’ll go.”

A few minutes before three fifteen George and Nancy knocked at a door marked Professor Graham. A small, stooped man with wrinkled, leathery cheeks opened the door. He eyed the two girls briefly. When Nancy introduced herself and George, the professor looked at his watch.

“I see you’re punctual, Miss Drew. I like young people to be on time.” He stepped back from the door and invited them in.

Nancy told Dr. Graham that she was acquainted with Terry Scott, and through him had learned of the expedition to Mexico and the disappearance of Dr. Pitt.

“My father is a friend of Dr. Pitt and is much concerned about him, ” Nancy added. “He suggested that I come and talk to you.”

The little man fixed his sharp, calculating eyes on the girl. “I suppose young Scott told you he found the cipher stone, ” the professor remarked coldly, ignoring the reference to Dr. Pitt.

“No, ” Nancy replied. “He said, ‘Dr. Pitt and I.’ Terry has a very high respect for your work, too, Professor, ” she added hastily.

She could see the old man relax under this compliment. “Humph! He’s an arrogant young fellow. But he has a good mind. I suppose you want my opinion of the case.”

Nancy nodded.

“About Pitt, now.” Dr. Graham leaned back in his chair. “I don’t mind saying his disappearance hardly surprised me. I like Pitt, but he’s secretive. He’ll listen; he’ll find out what others have on their minds, but he’ll never tell what he has found out.”

“Do you believe, Dr. Graham, ” Nancy spoke up, “that Dr. Pitt went off by himself to find the treasure? ”

Graham shrugged. “It’s possible. Then he added, a half-smile on his face, “Some of us scientists are a bit selfish, not in acquiring money, but we want recognition; we want to discover things for ourselves. We’re not always generous when we work together.”

“But I’ll give credit where credit is due, ” he added testily. “Terry Scott found that half-key and I agreed to let him take charge of it.”

“Where do you think the lost keys are? ” Nancy asked.

“Where do you think the lost keys are? ” Nancy asked the professor

 

The professor said he was working on an idea. He did not care to reveal it then. “But Terry will never be able to solve the mystery alone.”

“Have you any theories about the drawing he found in Dr. Pitt’s tent? ” Nancy asked.

Dr. Graham compressed his lips and shrugged. Did he know something he was not telling? Or was he too proud to admit that he could not explain the secret message?

Nancy knew it would be difficult to find out whether or not he had any suspicion about Terry in connection with Dr. Pitt’s disappearance. At last she broached the subject. Dr. Graham stood up dramatically and pounded his desk.

“The idea! ” he stormed when he got the full import of her question. “Maybe we four did have our differences about what we ought to do on that expedition, but I want to tell you this: not one of us would harm another for all the treasure in Mexico! ”

“That’s just what I wanted to hear, ” Nancy said, rising. “Thank you for letting me come.”

Much relieved, she and George left Dr. Graham’s office. On the way home, George suggested with a sly grin, “Ned will be surprised when he learns about your interest in professors. When are you seeing him again? ”

Nancy grinned back. “This weekend.”

After supper that evening Ned Nickerson telephoned from his fraternity house at Emerson College.

“You’re not forgetting our date this weekend? ” he asked anxiously.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten, ” Nancy assured him. “I’ve a marvelous memory for dates—especially when they’re for house parties. Bess and George are just sunk because they couldn’t accept Burt’s and Dave’s invitations.”

“Yes, it’s too bad. Nancy, I have a favor to ask of you. There’s a professor visiting River Heights —a fraternity brother of mine. He needs a lift to Emerson.”

Nancy laughed. “Why, Ned, are you asking me to drive over with another man? ”

Ned snorted. “That stuffy codger? He’s probably sixty if he’s a day. He’s due to give a lecture here, and you know those weekend trains. I thought you wouldn’t mind bringing him with you Friday.”

“Glad to. Where’s he staying? ”

“At the Claymore Hotel. The professor’s name is Terence Scott.”


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