(#20) The Clue in the Jewel Box Read Online Free PDF Page A

pieces.”
    “You say Mrs. Alexandra was able to save a fortune?” Mr. Drew’s curiosity was aroused.
    “A small one. She had many jewels, and by selling them one at a time, she has been able to live comfortably.”
    Mr. Drew nodded and glanced at his wrist watch. “I must leave now for an appointment,” he said, and left the shop.
    Nancy lingered. “Mr. Faber, I hope that someday Mrs. Alexandra will show me her jewel case,” she said wistfully. “I did see the inside of the Easter egg. The singing nightingale is unique.”
    “Singing nightingale?” Mr. Faber echoed. “But the little bird does not sing.”
    “It sang for us. My friends heard the song too. However, we all thought it did not sound just right.”
    “That is very strange,” murmured the shop owner. “When my father made the enameled egg years ago the nightingale did not sing. I shall ask Madame Alexandra about—”
    At that moment there was a terrific crash against the front door. The cab of a truck burst into the shop, scattering wood and plaster. Nancy and Mr. Faber leaped to safety!

CHAPTER V
    Pickpocket’s Double
    A LOUD groan came from the street as the truck driver stopped in the doorway. Had he hit someone?
    Instantly Nancy hurried to his side. “You hurt?” Nancy asked him.
    “I guess not,” the man answered, “but what a mess I’ve made! My steering wheel went out of control.”
    Nancy did not wait to hear any more. She climbed over the debris to the street and glanced around to see if anyone had been injured. A woman stood looking at a ruined shopping cart of meats and groceries.
    “What I do?” she wailed in broken English. “No more money for food!”
    Nancy put an arm around her. “Be glad you weren’t killed,” she said kindly. “And I’m sure the truck driver will give you the money to buy more food and a cart. Come with me.”
    When the two climbed into the shop, the truck driver was asking Mr. Faber if he might use the telephone. Quickly Nancy explained the woman’s plight.
    “I’m sorry,” the driver said. “I’ll pay for the food and cart.” He took out his wallet and gave her money for the total loss. The woman went off smiling.
    Nancy felt she could be of no further use regarding the accident, and told Mr. Faber she would return another time. When she reached home, her thoughts reverted to Mrs. Alexandra and the singing nightingale. She decided to call on her that evening.
    After reporting that she had made a little progress in searching for Francis Baum, Nancy tact fully brought up the subject of the bird.
    “Oh, I think the little nightingale always has sung,” Mrs. Alexandra answered. “For many years I did not realize this. Then one day I accidentally touched the spring that controls the mechanism.”
    “Mr. Faber thinks that his father did not intend the bird to sing.”
    “I fear that he is mistaken.”
    “Then there’s no mystery connected with it?” Nancy’s voice showed her disappointment.
    “Not to my knowledge,” Mrs. Alexandra replied. “In my life there is only one mystery. The mystery of what became of my beloved grandson. Find him for me and my gratitude will be boundless.”
    Mrs. Alexandra’s plea stirred Nancy to greater effort in her search for the missing Francis Baum. She set off early the next morning with George and Bess to the town where the Eagle Home Service laundry was located. There she obtained the young man’s new address.
    “I hope he’ll be there,” George said excitedly.
    A few minutes later the girls arrived at 35 Cornell Avenue, a guest house covered with vines. In response to their knock, a stout woman, whose hands were red and puffy from work, came to the door.
    “You want to rent rooms?” she asked abruptly.
    “No, we are trying to trace a young man by the name of Francis Baum,” Nancy explained. “I understand he lives here.”
    “Yes, he rents a room upstairs,” the landlady said. “But he’s not here now. He had to go away for a few days