10 Password to Larkspur Lane

CHAPTER IX
Surprises
As Nancy hit the water the prow of the
speedboat loomed overhead. Swiftly she put
one arm around the floundering child, and
placed the palm of her hand over Marie’s
face. At the same time Nancy plunged below.
Down, down, down! The little girl squirmed,
but Nancy held her firmly. Looking up
through the green water, she saw the black
keel of the speedboat whiz past in a froth of
bubbles.
Instantly Nancy shot to the surface. Barely
thirty seconds had elapsed but it seemed like

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an eternity. Sunlight dazzled her eyes as the
strong arms of Bess and George reached
down and lifted the child to the dock.
“Marie!” Nancy panted. “Is she—is she all
right?”
“She’ll be okay,” said George as the child
began to cry. “Marie swallowed some of the
lake, that’s all.”
By this time the two women had rushed over.
“Mommy!” cried Marie. Mrs. Eldridge
scooped up her small daughter and hugged
her.
“My baby!” the woman murmured. As she
fondled the sobbing child she looked at
Nancy.

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“How can I ever thank you?”
“Please don’t,” Nancy replied softly. “I’m so
glad I was here.”
“I want to do something for you,” said the
grateful woman. “I live in the white cottage at
the north end of the lake.”
Nancy smiled. “Perhaps you can, Mrs.
Eldridge. I would like to ask you something.”
“Anything—anything,” the woman said
warmly. “Come sit down.”
She led the girls to the beach chairs and
settled down comfortably with Marie on her
lap.

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The little girl had stopped crying and cuddled
up drowsily.
The girls introduced themselves, and Nancy
said, “Tell me, are you from St. Louis?”
The woman looked amazed. “Why, yes, I am.
How did you know?”
“I’ve heard that an Eldridge family settled in
Missouri many years ago,” said Nancy. “They
were originally from New York.”
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“That could have been my husband’s
people,” the woman said, looking puzzled.
“What’s the matter?” she added quickly, for
there was a strange half-smile on Nancy’s
face.

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“I just can’t believe it,” Nancy said. “This
must be my lucky day.”
“What do you mean?” Mrs. Eldridge asked.
“A short time ago,” Nancy began, “under
rather unusual circumstances, I came into
possession of an old-fashioned gold bracelet
with a coat of arms on it, which I traced. It
belongs to the Eldridges.”
“A gold bracelet!” the woman exclaimed, her
cheeks flushing. “Was there an inscription on
it?”
“ ‘To my darling Mary from Joe,’ ” Nancy
replied.
The woman grew pale. “Where is the bracelet
now?”

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“Safe in my home in River Heights,” Nancy
replied reassuringly.
“It must belong to my husband’s Aunt
Mary!” Mrs. Eldridge exclaimed. “How did
you get it?”
As Nancy told the story, the woman listened
intently, then said, “I must call my husband at
once.” She explained that he was in
Richmond, Virginia, searching for his aunt.
“She has been missing since early spring. Our
aunt is a very wealthy woman, rather
eccentric at times. Several months ago she
disappeared from her home, leaving a letter. It
said she was on the verge of a nervous
breakdown and was going to a sanatorium for
a long rest.

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Aunt Mary asked us not to try finding her.”
“I’m sure she is being held not far from here,”
Nancy said. “I, too, am trying to find her.”
“And Nancy will!” George declared. She and
Bess told Mrs. Eldridge of their friend’s
success as an amateur detective.
“Miss Drew has already done me one great
service,” Mrs. Eldridge said with a smile. She
shifted the drowsy child to her shoulder and
rose. “I can never thank you enough,” she
said as she started to leave.
Suddenly Mrs. Eldridge stopped and looked
back. “I forgot to tell you: Aunt Mary has a
necklace which matches the bracelet. She
wore the set almost constantly from the

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moment Uncle Joe gave it to her sixty years
ago.”
“I’m glad you told me,” said Nancy. “It may
be a helpful clue.”
As Mrs. Eldridge walked away, Nancy said to
her friends, “This has been a day of
surprises!”
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George grinned. “You haven’t seen anything
yet.” She pointed out to the lake. “Take a look
at that!”
A long canoe with three young men was
heading toward shore. A shrill whistle split
the air as one of them waved.

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“Ned!” exclaimed Nancy.
“And Burt and Dave!” Bess added. “That
was our secret!”
“The boys called us last night,” said George,
“and when we told them we were coming
here, they decided to paddle over today. Ned
wanted to surprise you, Nancy.”
“He certainly did and it’s a grand surprise,”
she said with a broad smile.
The canoe grated ashore and the three
athletic-looking boys jumped out. All wore
dark-blue Bermuda shorts with white shirts
bearing the name Camp Hiawatha.
“Here we are!” husky, blond Burt Eddleton
exclaimed with a grin. “The world’s greatest

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camp counselors!” He was George’s special
friend.
Dave Evans was a rangy boy with fair hair
and green eyes.
Ned Nickerson, who was tall and handsome,
grinned. “Now with us at the lake you girls
can have some excitement!”
George and Bess burst into laughter and even
Nancy had to chuckle.
“Nancy’s way ahead of you today,” said
George.
“She usually is,” Ned remarked. “Tell us
about it. More mystery?”
“Two of them,” said George. “And a rescue!”

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Walking up the hill to the Comings’ house,
Nancy told the boys all that had happened,
passing lightly over the speedboat episode.
Ned gave a low whistle. “You’re on two
dangerous cases, I’m afraid, Nancy.”
“Don’t forget you can count on us,” Burt said
as they entered the utility room.
Through an open door straight ahead they
saw Mrs. Corning in the kitchen. She was
happy to meet the boys and at once invited
the three couples to the yacht club dance
across the lake the next night. “My husband
and I belong and would love to have you go
as our guests.”
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“I’m sure we can get time off from our camp
duties,” said Ned. “We’ll accept. Thank you.”
Presently the boys said good-by. “We have to
get back to our young charges,” Dave
remarked. “See you tomorrow.”
The girls dressed quickly and helped their
hostess prepare a dinner of steak, potatoes,
green beans, and watermelon. Afterward,
they insisted upon tidying the kitchen without
her assistance.
It was twilight by the time they finished.
Nancy excused herself and slipped out the
front door. Carrying a flashlight, she headed
for the spot in the woods where she and
Helen had seen the blue fire. After examining
the singed leaves, Nancy concentrated on the
ground beneath them. There were some bits

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of scorched brown wrapping paper. Picking
them up, she wondered if they might help to
explain the fire display. Nancy then hurried to
her room and put the pieces away in an
envelope.
“Maybe Ned can analyze them,” she said to
herself. “I’ll check with him tomorrow night.”
Though the group watched intently, the blue
fire did not appear that evening. Before going
to bed, Nancy told the Comings that she was
afraid Morgan might have been kidnapped.
“Perhaps you ought to inform the police.”
Mr. Corning shook his head. “Morgan asked
us not to,” he said. “I’ll give him another
thirty-six hours.”

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Next day there was still no sign of the missing
houseman and Nancy asked for permission to
search his room.
“Go right ahead,” said Mrs. Corning.
It was an attractive room with a large window
overlooking the lake. Quickly and efficiently
Nancy searched, but could find no clue to the
man’s whereabouts. She observed that the
servant could leave the house by going
through the utility room and out the side door
without anyone seeing him.
“Has he a key to the doors?” Nancy asked
Mrs. Corning.
“Oh, yes. He usually came and went by the
side door so he wouldn’t bother us.”

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“Did he have many friends?” Nancy inquired.
“None that we know of. He was a quiet man
and liked to stay by himself.”
Nancy looked thoughtful. “The friendship
card Morgan received makes me feel that an
old acquaintance is after him for some reason.
There may be a clue to this person in his
references. If you still have them, may I
examine the letters?”
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Mrs. Corning was not sure where the papers
were. “I’ll look for them tomorrow.”
After lunch Nancy, Bess, and George drove
to the eastern outskirts of River Heights to
search for the larkspur house. They were

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riding along a shady country road. Nancy
stopped in front of a small home where a
woman was trimming the hedge. Under a
nearby tree sat an old lady, shelling peas.
“Excuse me,” said Nancy, “we’re trying to
find a large house in this area that has lots of
larkspur or bluebells around it. Do you know
of such a place?”
“Can’t say I do,” the woman replied.
“What’d she say?” the old lady asked loudly.
“Nothing, Mother. Just some house they’re
looking for. She’s deaf,” the woman added to
Nancy.
“I heard that!” the mother said tartly. “And I
heard ‘house’ and ‘bluebells.’ They’re lookin’

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for the bluebell house. And I know just where
it is!”

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