Mystery at the Ski Jump Read Online Free PDF Page A

motioned the girls to get out of the car. For several seconds they sat still, too astonished to speak. Then Nancy faced the men and said calmly, “Suppose you tell me who you are and why you’re making this ridiculous charge.”
    The stout man opened his coat. A police badge gleamed on his inside pocket. His companion showed one also.
    “We’re plainclothesmen,” he explained. “We were told to pick up a car with this license number and a Nancy Drew who owns it.”
    “You can’t arrest Nancy!” Bess asserted.
    George spoke up indignantly. “Nancy’s a detective herself. You’d better be careful what you say.”
    The stout man looked grim. “Well, somebody detected her when she entered a fur store here and stole two expensive mink stoles.”
    “I did no such thing,” Nancy declared quickly.
    “Oh, yes, you did,” the slim man insisted. “After you showed your license and charged a cheap fur piece, you took two expensive furs that you didn’t charge! What did you do with them?”
    Nancy realized that the woman who had her driver’s license was pretending to be Nancy Drew! If it were Mrs. Channing, she probably had altered the age and personal data on the card.
    “Let’s go to headquarters, girls,” Nancy said. “We’ll clear this up in no time.”
    At headquarters a sergeant took down Nancy’s name and address. “Any relation to the lawyer in River Heights?” he asked.
    “He’s my father,” said Nancy.
    “Good grief!” Sergeant Wilks said, shaking his head. “You never know where these juvenile delinquents will come from!”
    Nancy turned scarlet and George sputtered with anger. Neither noticed that Bess no longer was with them.
    Suddenly the door was flung open. A distinguished-looking man hurried in, followed by Bess.
    “Judge Hart!” Nancy cried, rushing forward to greet her father’s old friend. “You’re just the person I need!”
    “That’s what Bess tells me.”
    “You—you know the judge?” Sergeant Wilks stammered.
    “Very well,” said Nancy.
    Judge Hart turned to the sergeant. “Why are you holding this young woman?”
    The officer repeated the charges.
    “There’s a mistake somewhere,” the judge insisted.
    “It’s because my driver’s license was stolen two days ago, Judge,” said Nancy. “I’ve been telling these officers someone evidently is using it, but they won’t believe me.”
    “I see.” Judge Hart frowned. “Let’s call in that fur-shop owner and settle this matter properly.”
    The man was summoned to headquarters. He looked at Nancy and shook his head. “No, this is a different person. The thief was older.”
    “Was the woman wearing a mink coat, and did she have blue eyes and blue-black hair?” Nancy asked.
    “Why, yes,” the man said. “That describes her.”
    “Well, Sergeant,” said Judge Hart, “is Miss Drew free to go now?”
    “Certainly. Miss Drew, can you tell us where we might find the woman you spoke of?”
    “I wish I could,” said Nancy. “I only know that sometimes she calls herself Mrs. Channing. Besides being a shoplifter, she sells fake stock.”
    “We’ll be on the lookout for her,” Wilks promised.
    The girls walked with Judge Hart to his nearby office. Nancy thanked him for his help and told of the stock swindle.
    “I’ve spent many summers in Vermont,” the judge remarked, “but I’ve never heard of Dunstan Lake. Let me make a phone call and find out where it is.”
    The judge placed a call to the Vermont capital. When he finished his conversation, he declared, “There is no such place as Dunstan Lake anywhere in the State of Vermont. You have a real mystery on your hands, young lady. Let me know if I can help you.”
    “I surely will,” Nancy promised.
    As the girls walked back to the car, Bess asked, “Nancy, how do you suppose Mrs. Channing got her hands on your license?”
    “Well, Mrs. Martin and I left her alone on the sofa after the accident. When Mrs. Channing regained consciousness and saw