“I thought you’d never leave those two,” Brenda said when Nancy sat down on an empty swing.
“Tell me about the dress,” Nancy said. “Did you take it home?”
“No way, José!” Brenda said.
“Then what was in that plastic bag I saw you with yesterday?” Nancy asked.
Brenda stared at the ground. “What bag?” she asked.
“I saw it, Brenda.” Nancy narrowed her eyes. “You don’t really have a mystery, do you?”
“I do!” Brenda said.
“Then tell the truth!” Nancy insisted.
“Okay, okay.” Brenda looked away from Nancy. “I was thinking of taking the dress and the cape home, so I sneaked them into the bag,” she admitted. “I put the bag down when I went to sign George’s cast. When I came back, the bag was gone.”
Brenda continued. “It’s not like I wanted to steal the dress. I just wanted my parents to see how pretty I looked.”
“Why didn’t you tell Ms. Frick right away?” Nancy asked.
Brenda’s eyes opened wide. “I couldn’t tell her I was trying to take the dress home. Especially now that it’s missing.”
The swing creaked as Nancy began to rock back and forth.
“Well? Will you help me find the dress or not?” Brenda demanded.
“Why should I?” Nancy asked.
“If you help me solve this mystery,” Brenda said slowly, “I promise to write in my newspaper that Nancy Drew is the greatest detective in the whole world.”
Nancy stopped swinging. “The greatest detective in the whole world?” she repeated.
“Front page,” Brenda added. “Think of it, Nancy. Everyone reads the Carlton News. You’ll be famous!”
Nancy didn’t care much about being famous. But she would like Brenda to admit in print that she was a good detective.
“I’ll do it,” Nancy said with a sigh.
“Great, but you have to promise me one thing,” Brenda said seriously. “You can’t tell anyone about the missing dress. Not your father. Not your housekeeper. And most of all, not Bess and George.”
Nancy glanced over at her two best friends. They were still watching her.
“I never keep secrets from Bess and George,” Nancy said. Then she thought for a minute. “But the princess dress is important.
“Okay,” Nancy said. She hooked her little finger with Brenda’s and made a pinkie promise.
“You won’t be sorry, Nancy,” Brenda said.
Nancy wasn’t so sure. From the corner of her eye, she saw Bess and George march away in a huff.
Nancy pulled out a shiny blue notebook from her knapsack. Her father had given it to her for solving mysteries. She turned to a fresh page and wrote:
“The Pumpkin Princess Mystery.”
“What are you doing?” Brenda asked.
“I’m going to make a list of suspects,” Nancy answered.
Brenda jabbed at the page. “Good. Write down the girls who wanted to be the Pumpkin Princess,” she ordered.
“Brenda, all the girls wanted to be the princess,” Nancy said.
“Then put down Bess’s name,” Brenda said. “She was mad at me and wanted to wear the dress more than anyone.”
“Bess couldn’t have taken the dress,” Nancy said. “She was with me the whole time.”
Nancy thought for a minute. Then she wrote down Cheery Charlie’s name.
“Charlie was angry that the princess dress didn’t come from his shop,” Nancy explained. “He might have taken the dress to get even.”
“What about the spies from River Street Elementary?” Brenda asked. “They might have sneaked back while everyone was busy signing George’s cast.”
“Good thinking, Brenda,” Nancy said. She added the Barnyard Brigade to her list of suspects.
“This mystery business is a piece of cake,” Brenda said.
Nancy shook her head. “Not always. Sometimes it’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” she said. Then her eyes lit up. The haystack made her think of Jason Hutchings.
“Jason never wanted the Pumpkin Princess in the parade,” Nancy thought out loud. “He was also the first to return to the float after signing George’s cast.”
“So?” Brenda asked.
“He was working on the haystack when everyone was leaving,” Nancy said. “Maybe he buried the dress underneath. Come on, let’s check it out before school starts!”
Nancy and Brenda hopped off the swings and ran to the float.
As they climbed up to the haystack, Nancy saw a scarecrow lying on top. It had a huge orange pumpkin head made out of papier-mâché and mean-looking eyes.
“That scarecrow is ugly,” Brenda said. Her voice was shaking.
“Yeah,” Nancy agreed. “It would scare me if I were a crow.”
Just then the pumpkin head turned slowly. It was looking at them!
“Do you see what I see?” Brenda asked, grabbing Nancy’s arm.
Nancy gulped when she heard the scarecrow growl. “I—I think it’s, it’s—alive.”
Nancy and Brenda screamed.
The creepy scarecrow was coming straight toward them!
4
The Bess Mess
Nancy and Brenda jumped off the float.
“Leave us alone, you ugly pumpkin-headed beast!” Nancy ordered, beginning to run.
The scarecrow leaped down and reached out to grab the girls. He laughed an evil laugh.
“Wait a minute.” Nancy turned to face the scarecrow and grabbed the pumpkin head with both hands. “I know that laugh.”
She yanked the mask off. “Just as I thought,” Nancy said. The scarecrow was Jason Hutchings!
Jason laughed again. “You dared me to come up with a better idea to replace the Pumpkin Princess.”
Nancy and Brenda exchanged glances.
Jason struck a karate stance. “I’m the super pumped-up Power Pumpkin!”
Jason climbed to the top of the haystack and began to rap:
“I’m a pumped-up Power Pumpkin machine,
My talk is tough and my walk is mean,
I’m king of the patch,
And that’s the way it should be,
That princess priss is history!”
“What do you think?” Jason asked when he had finished. He jumped down from the haystack.
“I think you hid something under that haystack,” Brenda yelled. “That’s what I think!”
Jason smiled slyly. “There’s only one way to find out,” he said. “Take it apart and see for yourself.”
Nancy stared at the towering haystack. “No way,” she said.
“Why not?” Brenda asked.
“Jason probably didn’t hide the dress there,” Nancy whispered. “Or else he wouldn’t dare us to go through it.”
“I’m taking that haystack apart, whether you like it or not!” Brenda said. She climbed onto the float.
“This is going to be good.” Jason snickered.
“Brenda, don’t,” Nancy pleaded.
But Brenda was already tearing through the haystack, making a big mess.
Soon the hay was scattered all over the float. There was no Pumpkin Princess dress anywhere.
“What is going on here?” a voice demanded.
Nancy looked up. Ms. Frick was standing over them, frowning.
“Hello, Ms. Frick,” Nancy said shakily. “We were just, um, working.”
“Ms. Frick, they took apart my haystack.” Jason pretended to cry. “I worked really hard on it, and now it’s ruined! Waaaaaa!”
“Is that true, girls?” Ms. Frick asked, her ice-cream cone earrings swinging.
“Sort of,” Nancy said slowly.
“Well,” Ms. Frick said, “I suppose you’ll have to build it again, won’t you?”
Jason pumped his fist. “Yessss!”
“But . . . but . . .” Brenda said.
Nancy gave Brenda a look. “Yes, Ms. Frick,” Brenda told the teacher.
“And don’t be
late for the bell,” Ms. Frick warned. She headed toward the school. Jason ran after her.
“Ms. Frick,” Nancy heard him call. Then he started to tell her about his Power Pumpkin idea.
“The haystack was all your idea, Nancy,” Brenda snapped, grabbing bundles of hay. “Some detective you are.”
Nancy glared back. Maybe helping Brenda was a big mistake.
The two girls put the haystack back together as fast as they could. Nancy was picking up the last bit of hay when she found something near the edge of the float. Cheery Charlie’s spring glasses!
This is a clue, Nancy thought. She slipped them into her pocket.
Nancy tossed the hay onto the stack. She and Brenda ran into school just as the bell rang.
Nancy saw Bess and George walking down the hall to Mrs. Reynolds’ class.
“Hi, Bess. Hi, George,” Nancy called as she hurried to join them.
Bess frowned at Nancy. “You spent a long time out there with Brenda.”
“What were you doing?” George asked. “Taking princess lessons?”
Nancy took a deep breath. “I . . . I can’t really tell you,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Bess said. “Best friends never keep secrets from each other.”
George tossed her dark curls. “Maybe Nancy has a new best friend.”
Nancy shook her head. But Bess and George ran ahead to catch up with Jennifer.
“Tonight’s my cousin’s costume party,” Nancy heard Jennifer say. “And I’m going to eat three slices of my aunt’s cherry pie.”
Then Nancy felt someone shake her shoulder.
“Look at Bess’s knapsack,” Brenda hissed. “There’s something orange sticking out of it.”
“So?” Nancy asked.
“It’s got to be the cape from the Pumpkin Princess dress,” Brenda insisted.
Nancy watched Bess stuff the knapsack into her cubby and walk into the classroom.
“I told you,” Nancy said, “Bess isn’t a suspect.”
Brenda charged over to Bess’s cubby.
“Don’t you dare go through Bess’s things, Brenda,” Nancy whispered, following her.
It was too late. Brenda had tugged the orange fabric from Bess’s knapsack. She held up the cloth and scowled. It was a bright orange scarf.
“Phooey!” Brenda hurled it onto the floor.
Nancy picked up the scarf and started to stuff it back into Bess’s knapsack. As she struggled with the zipper, a dark shadow slowly fell over her.
“Uh-oh.” Nancy peered over her shoulder. Standing behind her—and looking very mad—was Bess!
5
The Dress Turns Up
H-hi, Bess,” Nancy said.
“You and Brenda were going through my stuff, weren’t you?” Bess said. She sounded really angry.
“I’m sorry, Bess,” Nancy said. “I’ll explain everything. One of these days.”
“Don’t bother,” Bess told Nancy. Her long blond hair flipped out behind her as she turned to go into the classroom.
“Bess, wait!” Nancy cried.
“Let her go,” Brenda said. “Who needs her anyway?”
Nancy faced Brenda. “I do! Bess was my best friend. She still would be if you hadn’t made me keep this stupid secret!”
Brenda stuck out her chin. “You can’t talk to me like that. I’m still the Pumpkin Princess!”
Nancy shook her head. “You don’t even deserve to be princess, Brenda Carlton.”
Suddenly, their teacher, Mrs. Reynolds, appeared at the classroom door. “Nancy, Brenda, class is about to start.”
Nancy walked into the classroom.
I don’t care if Brenda ever finds the dress, Nancy thought. Ever!
• • •
That evening Nancy tried to call Bess. But Bess wouldn’t come to the phone.
What if she never speaks to me again? Nancy wondered as she hung up. She lifted the receiver and dialed George’s number.
“George, I’m so glad you’re home,” Nancy said when George answered.
“Why were you going through Bess’s cubby?” George asked. “She told me all about it.”
Nancy was just about to tell George everything when she remembered the pinkie promise. Nancy didn’t like it, but she was stuck helping Brenda.
“I can’t explain now, but I will soon,” Nancy said.
“You and Brenda have a secret together,” George said.
Nancy didn’t answer.
“That’s what I thought,” George said. “Bess is right not to talk to you.”
“But, George,” Nancy said, “what about Friends Till the End?”
“Maybe this is the end,” George said. Then she hung up.
Later, at dinner, Nancy was so sad she didn’t even feel like talking to her father.
“Pudding Pie, you’re hardly eating Hannah’s cherry cheesecake,” Carson Drew said during dessert.
“Oh, Daddy,” Nancy said, “I’m just not very hungry.” She spilled a drop of cherry sauce on her white sweater.
“What’s bothering you, Nancy?” her father asked, dabbing Nancy’s stain with a napkin.
Carson Drew was a lawyer and often helped Nancy with her mysteries. But today Nancy needed help with her friends.
“Well, I promised Brenda I would keep a secret for her,” Nancy said. “Now Bess and George are mad at me because I can’t tell them.”
“Sounds serious,” Mr. Drew said.
Nancy hung her head. Her father lifted her chin with his hand.
“Don’t worry, Pudding Pie,” he said. “If Bess and George are really your friends, they’ll come around.”
• • •
The next morning Nancy was awakened by Hannah knocking on her bedroom door.
“Oh, Sleeping Beauty,” Hannah called. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Nancy rolled out of bed.
Maybe it’s Bess or George, she thought, running down the stairs.
“Good morning, Detective Drew,” Brenda called from the bottom of the staircase.
“Brenda,” Nancy said, disappointed. “What do you want?”
“Don’t tell me you forgot!” Brenda cried. “The dress rehearsal is this afternoon. We have to find my dress this morning, or else!”
“But, Brenda—”
“My bike is outside,” Brenda said. “While you get dressed, I’ll wait in the kitchen. I smell pancakes.”
Nancy trudged up the stairs. The last thing she wanted to do was help Brenda. But she had promised to solve the mystery.
Nancy sighed. “And a promise is a promise.”
After dressing, Nancy ate a quick breakfast. Then she headed outside with Brenda.
“So what’s next?” Brenda asked as they hopped on their bikes.
Nancy pulled the spring eyeglasses from her pants pocket. “I want to ask Cheery Charlie about these glasses. I found them on the float yesterday.”
Nancy and Brenda rode down Main Street. Nancy slowed down when she saw Cheery Charlie’s Costume and Joke Shop at the next corner.
“Why are we slowing down?” Brenda asked.
Nancy stopped her bike and pointed. Mrs. Marvin was coming out of Cheery Charlie’s store.
“Look at all that money she’s got,” Brenda whispered.
Sure enough, Mrs. Marvin was smiling and counting a wad of bills.
“That’s it!” Brenda said. “Bess stole the dress, and now Mrs. Marvin sold it to Creepy Charlie.”
“It’s Cheery Charlie,” Nancy said. “And he’s a suspect, not Bess.”
“I say we go inside and make him confess,” Brenda said. “We’ll put on those hand buzzers he sells and shake both his hands until he talks.”
“No,” Nancy said. “We’ll go inside and ask him nicely.”
Nancy and Brenda waited until Mrs. Marvin was out of sight. They parked their bikes and entered Cheery Charlie’s shop.
Charlie was near the counter. He was demonstrating a whoopee cushion to a group of cus
tomers.
“It’s a good thing he’s busy.” Brenda grabbed Nancy’s arm. “Now we can search the store.”
Nancy and Brenda walked through the shop. Brenda is so pushy, Nancy thought. She picked up a rubber spider and dangled it over Brenda’s head.
“Eeewwww!” Brenda quickly put a hand over her mouth.
Nancy giggled.
Soon the girls found an open door in the back of the shop. It had a sign on it that said Employees Only. “That’s probably the storage room,” Nancy said.
“Well? What are we waiting for?” Brenda asked, going through the door.
Nancy ran in after her.
Then the two girls froze. Their mouths were open.
Draped on a dressmaker’s dummy in the middle of the room was the Pumpkin Princess dress!
6
Barnyard Bandits
Look what he did to my beautiful dress!” Brenda wailed. “It’s ruined!”
Nancy stared at the Pumpkin Princess dress. The cape and sequins were gone, and it was stuck with a million pins.
“I’m taking it home right now,” Brenda said, tugging at the dress.
Nancy heard the sound of footsteps. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered.
Brenda stopped. “What do we do?”
“We have to hide.” Nancy looked around the room. Masks hung on the walls and from the ceiling. Dummies were everywhere, dressed in all sorts of costumes.
Brenda pointed to a nearby door.
“Let’s hide in there!” she said.
Nancy and Brenda ran to the door. Brenda put her hand on the knob and pulled.
“EEEEEEEK!!”
“AAAAAAAHHHH!”
Dozens of rubber worms poured out and slithered down their heads.
“What are you doing in my supply closet?” Cheery Charlie demanded.
Nancy shook a heap of worms from her hair.
Brenda spit a worm from her mouth and pointed to the orange dress. “I want my dress back!”
Charlie scratched his chin. “That can’t be yours.”
“Why not?” Brenda asked.
“Because Mrs. Marvin just started sewing it today,” Cheery Charlie said.
“You mean she’s sewing another Pumpkin Princess dress?” Nancy asked.