(#24) The Clue in the Old Album Read Online Free PDF

read, “For one doll, $100—” The rest had been torn off, and the names of both buyer and seller were missing.
    “This certainly does interest me!” Nancy cried. “We must find the other part of the paper. Show me where you picked this up.”
    Ned led her to the dimly lighted parking lot.
    “The note was lying on the ground by this black sedan,” he pointed out. “There was no other paper anywhere around.”
    “This car looks like the one that stopped at the Struthers’,” Nancy said. “Maybe if we wait, we’ll see who the owner is. And if he should turn out to be Anton or Nitaka....”
    “Hey, not so fast.” Ned laughed.

    “We must find the other part of the paper,” Nancy said.
    He and Nancy searched the ground for the missing part of the receipt but did not find it. Presently they heard someone coming.
    “It may be Anton or Nitaka!” Nancy whispered.
    They slipped behind another parked car and saw a young man walk over to the sedan and unlock the door. Ned came out of hiding.
    “Just a minute, sir,” he said. “May we ask you a few questions?”
    Startled, the fellow whirled around. Then Ned burst into laughter.
    “Bill Jones!” he exclaimed, recognizing a college friend whom Nancy also knew.
    “From the way you spoke, I take it you thought I was a crook!” Bill grinned after he had greeted Nancy and her escort.
    “Something like that,” Ned admitted. “Is this your car?”
    “It will be when I finish the payments on it. What are you and Nancy doing here? Sleuthing?”
    “We came to see the carnival,” Nancy explained, “but now we’re looking for some thieves.”
    “Sorry I can’t oblige you,” Bill teased. “Want a lift to River Heights?”
    “No, thanks, Bill, we have a car,” Ned replied.
    He and Nancy waited for the owners of the other black sedans, but did not see Anton, Nitaka, or any other gypsies.
    “Well, I failed on all my clues tonight,” Nancy said as she and Ned walked to their car. “Or did I? Maybe learning who those suspects are will be worthwhile.”
    Nancy’s exciting visit to the carnival did not prevent her from sleeping soundly. At breakfast she said to her father, “Dad, have you a date tonight?”
    “No. Why do you ask?”
    “Will you go somewhere with me?”
    “With you?” Mr. Drew replied, chuckling. “I’d be delighted.”
    “Maybe you won’t be so pleased when you hear where it is. I’d like to take Rose to the carnival.”
    “Oh, no!”
    “Only to have her look at Anton and Nitaka to see if they’re the ones who stole the fan doll.”
    “That’s different,” said Mr. Drew. “All right.”
    Mrs. Struthers consented to the plan, and Rose was thrilled. When she and the Drews reached the fairgrounds, she insisted on trying all the rides. Nancy joined her on a few but soon begged to stay on the sidelines with her father.
    The carnival manager passed by as Rose was on The Whip. Nancy asked him where the gypsies had gone. To her disappointment he said the group had moved out early that morning.
    “That old fellow Zorus was a strange guy,” the manager remarked. “Never even said they were leaving.”
    “How about Anton and Nitaka?” Nancy queried. “Did they go with the others?”
    “I didn’t know any of them except their king.”
    “King?” Mr. Drew inquired. “Was Zorus their king?”
    “That’s what they called him,” the manager explained. “And treated him like one, too.”
    On the drive home Rose fell asleep in the back seat. Nancy reflected on the information she had received from the carnival manager. Were the couple she suspected of stealing Mrs. Struthers’ doll subjects of Zorus? Had he, perhaps, instructed Anton and Nitaka to take it?
    Mr. Drew broke in on his daughter’s thoughts. “Guess you scared the gypsies away,” he said.
    “I’ll keep on looking for Anton and Nitaka just the same,” Nancy replied.
    When the Drews delivered Rose to her home, Mrs. Struthers requested that Nancy attend a sale of