The Secret of the Forgotten City Read Online Free PDF Page A

has broken,” the officer added. “We’ll hold him here. By the way, he still refuses to give the name of his boss.”
    “I have a suggestion,” Nancy said. “Will you ask him if he was supposed to do an errand after sunset today for his boss.” She held the phone for a full five minutes before the chief returned.
    “I’m afraid my report is not much help,” he said. “Mozey still refuses to tell the name of the man for whom he’s been working. But when I asked him your question, he did look scared. I have a feeling he’s afraid of the boss, whoever he is, and that if he says anything, he’ll be punished by him.”
    Chief McGinnis promised to call Nancy if there were any new developments in the case.
    “And good luck on your project tonight,” he added, chuckling.
    Nancy returned to chipping, which she fin-. ished hours later.
    “Now comes the tricky part,” she announced to her friends.
    Bess giggled. “I’d say the whole thing is pretty tricky. What’s this little thing down in the corner?”
    “You remember the tiny lizard that I thought lighted up at one point?” Nancy answered.
    “Oh, you think that’s some kind of an identification mark?” Bess queried.
    Nancy nodded. “That’s why I didn’t change it from the original. If it’s on the other tablets, the ‘boss’ would notice at once that it was missing or changed.”
    “I see,” said Bess. “Is the stone ready to be delivered now?”
    “Oh no,” Nancy replied. “Next comes the aging process.”
    Bess looked puzzled. “But you have to deliver it this evening. That doesn’t leave much time for aging.”
    Nancy laughed. She called to Ned, who had just finished watching the final scene of an exciting western movie.
    “Yes?” he said, reaching her side.
    Nancy asked if he would mind doing an errand. “I’m not sure where you can find gypsum, but try the lumberyard first. I want a little bit of it.”
    Ned grinned. “I won’t return until I have it.”
    The others asked what they could do to help.
    Nancy’s eyes twinkled. “Want a real dirty job?” she asked.
    “No thanks,” Bess replied promptly. “I have on one of my best suits, and I don’t want to ruin it.”
    George gave her cousin a sidelong disapproving glance and said to Nancy, “How dirty is the job and what is it?”
    Nancy told her she needed some lampblack. “Since we don’t have any kerosene or oil lamps here, we’ll have to use something else. I suggest black soot from inside the fireplace chimney.”
    Burt stepped forward. “That sounds more like a man’s job,” he said. “How much do you need?”
    “Oh, three or four tablespoonfuls. Ask Hannah for an old dish and the scraper.”
    Burt went off to get the articles, then returned, took off his sweater, and rolled his shirtsleeves up to the shoulder.
    At that moment Hannah Gruen appeared in the doorway with a large cover-all apron. “Put this on,” she told the young man. Burt burst out laughing but obeyed.
    At once George said, “Nancy, where’s your camera? This picture is too good to miss.”
    “Up in my room,” Nancy replied. George rushed off to get it.
    Bess came forward. “Nancy, I don’t want to be a quitter. Isn’t there some clean job you can give me?”
    “Yes. Take some of this chalk out to the kitchen and crush it to a fine powder with a rolling pin.”
    By the time the chalk and the lampblack were ready, Ned returned with some finely powdered gypsum. The young people trooped into the kitchen. Nancy was carrying the tablet with her. Now she spread a newspaper on the kitchen table and mixed the three powders together. When they were well blended, she added lukewarm water, about a quarter of a teaspoonful at a time.
    George heaved a sigh. “Nancy, your patience is beyond me. Let’s get this job over with.”
    Nancy smiled but said nothing. When she had what she thought was the right consistency of paste, she smeared it over the top of the tablet, temporarily obliterating the