Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew Read Online Free PDF Page B

of the camera.
    All through supper neither of the cousins spoke to each other, which made Nancy and her aunt feel uncomfortable.
    “I like your hair, dear,” Aunt Eloise complimented Bess, causing her to smile briefly.
    “Thank you very much,” she said. “Please pass the salt, Nancy.”
    That was the extent of Bess’s conversation until they reached the auction house of Speers, Limited. They noticed that most of the audience were holding catalogs, and Nancy hurried to a desk to purchase one.
    “Ooh, there are some gorgeous things in that book!” Bess said to the others, after glancing at someone else’s brochure.
    Nancy quickly leafed through hers, pausing now and then to look at stunning color photographs of Old English silver and Oriental porcelain.
    “Go back a few pages,” George said shortly.
    Nancy did so and, to her amazement, discovered the entry of a medallion that bore the head of a lion! It had belonged to a man named Galen Kaiser.
    Was this what Ted Henri was referring to in the mysterious message he sent to his sister?
    The girl detectives were careful not to discuss their find openly. Instead, they scanned the audience, looking for someone who matched Ted’s description. A couple of men came close to it, but one had a bulbous nose and the other a ring of pock marks under his eyes. Jackie had not mentioned either of those characteristics.
    Then the auction started and the girls’ attention was drawn to a number of fine gold tea-cups. They were displayed on a velvet table that swung into view on a moving platform.
    “Shall we bid?” George asked teasingly as the auctioneer called out successive bids.
    “I have five hundred dollars. Do I hear more?” he said.
    “Well, I’m not really looking for gold tea-cups,” Nancy responded lightly.
    One after the other, items from the estates of several wealthy people passed in and out of sight. Nancy and the cousins eagerly awaited the medallion.
    “Here it comes!” Bess murmured as it appeared on the table, glittering under the spotlight.
    From where the young detectives sat, they could not see it fully. Then, the auctioneer covered the microphone with his hand and turned sideways to speak to his assistant, completely obscuring the table from the girls’ view. When he addressed the audience again, the young detectives were surprised to see that the medallion was gone. A small gold dish with a stand-up rim stood in its place!
    “Do you suppose the medallion was stolen?” Bess whispered to her friends, who did not reply.
    The auctioneer soon announced that the order of entries had been changed and the medallion would go up for bid shortly.
    “Maybe somebody is switching the real one for a fake,” Bess continued.
    “That would be too obvious,” George declared.
    When the medallion came into view again, Nancy leaned forward. She didn’t want to miss anything that was about to happen!
    The bidding started. One hundred, two hundred, up to five hundred dollars!
    “It’s only estimated at one hundred fifty,” Nancy informed the cousins. She held up her hand, signaling an offer.
    “Are you crazy?” Bess cried under her breath, as the auctioneer announced Nancy’s bid of five hundred fifty.
    “I’m just curious,” the young detective replied, waiting for one of two other bidders to respond.
    Both of them had seemed unusually eager to buy the piece, but now they were silent.
    “Going once, twice,” the auctioneer said slowly. He held his mallet ready to pound on a desk.
    Panic-stricken, Nancy realized that she was about to become the proud owner of something she really didn’t want. Not only that, she would have to drain her savings account to pay for it!

7
    The Fake Bidder
    The auctioneer held the mallet a moment longer, glancing at the men who had bid first on the medallion. Nancy’s heart pounded as she prayed that one of them would raise his hand.
    She didn’t see the signal, but the auctioneer suddenly said, “Six hundred dollars. I