The Mystery of the Fire Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page A

I’d appreciate hearing from you.”
    The officer chuckled. “I understand you are an amateur sleuth, Miss Drew,” he said. “I heard this from Dr. Gordon when he called up to give a report on Mr. Soong. It seems your aunt had been telling him about you.”
    Nancy laughed. “I see I can’t keep that a secret. Well, now that you know, I hope you won’t mind if I try to solve the mystery, too.”
    “The department would be delighted to have your help,” Captain Gray replied.
    After clearing away the breakfast dishes, the three girls tidied up not only Aunt Eloise’s apartment but also Grandpa Soong’s. Time dragged as they waited hopefully for Chi Che Soong to return home. Near noon Nancy finally said:
    “I’m sure Chi Che is still either being held prisoner or is in hiding. Whichever is true, we must find her! Let’s have a bite of lunch and then start our sleuthing.”
    She turned to George. “Are you ready to play the part of Chi Che?”

CHAPTER V
    A Convincing Disguise
    “OF COURSE I’ll play the part,” said George Fayne.
    “But I must admit that I’m getting butterflies in my stomach.”
    The three girls decided to look through Chi Che Soong’s clothes for the dress Chi Che was wearing in the photograph Grandpa Soong had shown them. As much as they disliked the thought of invading the Chinese girl’s wardrobe, Nancy and her friends felt it was quite necessary if they were to solve the mystery.
    Bess opened the door of a closet in Chi Che’s bedroom. “Here’s the dress.”
    As she removed the dress from its hanger she remarked how pretty it was. “And ummm, what a sweet sachet it’s scented with—like incense.”
    “And now to find Chi Che’s eyebrow pencil and rouge and lipstick, if she has any here.”
    George opened the drawer to Chi Che’s dressing table. “We’re in luck again,” she said. “And look, here’s a key. It might be a duplicate to the hall door. I’d better carry it, so I can let myself back in.”
    Nancy tried the key in the lock. “This is it all right. Well, let’s go back to our own apartment now and fix you up, George.”
    It was easy to apply the make-up and have George slip into the dress, but changing her hairdo proved to be a difficult task. The ends just would not turn forward and stay in position.
    “What do you put on your hair, anyway?” Bess chided her cousin. “Varnish?”
    “No, cement,” George replied impishly. Then she said the best thing to do would be to rinse her hair with water and set it while damp.
    “But that will ruin your make-up and this dress,” Bess objected.
    “Not necessarily,” said Nancy. “Come with me, George.”
    She led the way to the bathroom, put a towel around George’s shoulders, and told her to lean over the basin. Quickly and carefully Nancy rinsed her friend’s hair and partially dried it before George raised her head. Now Nancy found it easy to arrange a hairdo very similar to Chi Che’s.
    When she finished, Bess exclaimed in wonder, “I can’t believe it! You really do look like the girl in this picture, George.” Suddenly she made a low bow. “Delighted to meet you, Chi Che Soong!”
    The girls giggled for a few moments, then became serious and discussed the route George was to follow. She would leave the Soong apartment, take the elevator down, dawdle in the lobby until Nancy and Bess appeared, then stroll out into the street. She was to walk directly to the hospital, as if she were going to visit “her grandfather.”
    “But when you get inside the hospital, hide in the gift shop,” Nancy directed. “Bess and I will really call on Grandpa Soong and find out how he is. Wait for us to come back downstairs.”
    “Then after that,” said George, “I’m to stroll on to Columbia University and walk around the campus. If somewhere along the line a suspicious person speaks to me or follows me, you two girls will do the rest.”
    “That’s right,” Nancy replied. “Let’s go!”
    Almost from the