Tina nodded without speaking.
Nancy slipped an arm around her. "And I think that reminded you of a live skeleton you once saw that scared you. Am I right?"
Tina's eyes had widened fearfully and her lower lip trembled as she murmured, "Y-Y-Yes."
"Believe me, honey, that wasn't a real skeleton," Nancy said quickly. "It was just a man in a black Halloween costume with a white skeleton painted on it!"
As if an emotional dam had broken, Tina burst into tears. In a moment, she was sobbing out the whole story. The little girl related that she loved her grandma's opal pendant and had tried it on one day when her grandpa was not at home. He knew of her
fondness for the beautiful gem, and had warned her never to take it away from the dressing table where it was kept. But Tina had disobeyed him.
"I w-wore it out in the woods," she confessed between sobs.
Worse yet, she had decided to visit the old mansion that day, even though he had told her sternly never to play by herself in such lonely places. Tina, however, loved to indulge in make-believe, and the Grimsby Mansion with its courtyard and outlying stables and coach house seemed a marvelous place to imagine herself as queen of the castle.
On this particular day, much to her surprise, the front door of the mansion was partly open, and she heard a noise inside. Peeking in the window, Tina saw a stranger. "And he saw me, too!" she said shakily. "I was so scared, I ran away!"
Nancy guessed that the child had probably been as much embarrassed at being caught peeking as she was frightened. At any rate, as she turned and darted into the woods, the opal pendant had snagged on the bush and been torn off her neck!
Later, Tina lay awake all night long, feeling guilty over her double disobedience and worrying about what would happen when her grandfather discovered the jewel was missing.
"It was awful!" Tina said tearfully. "I just couldn't stay in bed. Finally, I got up and dressed real quietly. Then I tiptoed downstairs and sneaked out into the woods."
"You went back to the old house to get the pendant? All alone, in the dark?" As Tina gulped and nodded, Nancy hugged her close. "What a brave little girl!"
"B-B-But I wasn't brave! And that's when it happened!" Tinas voice broke.
"You saw the skeleton?"
"Y-Y-Yes! With an awful skull head! It came galloping up on a horse, right toward me! I was so scared. I screamed and screamed like anything, and ran home through the woods!"
The little girl's body was racked with sobs. Nancy rocked her back and forth, patting her soothingly. No wonder the poor little thing was so upset, the young detective thought, when I came galloping toward her that first day!
Aloud she said, "Just remember, dear, that wasn't really a skeleton. It was only a bad man dressed in a spooky costume just like boys and girls dress up on Halloween!"
When Tina was able to talk again, between sniffs and gulps, she related that after crawling back into bed and under the covers, she had had a terrible nightmare about the skeleton on horseback. And ever since, she had lived in constant fear of the day when her grandfather would discover her naughtiness.
"And maybe then the skeleton would come after me again!" Tina ended with a few more convulsive sobs.
"Don't worry, dear. That won't happen," Nancy said, trying to soothe her. "That bad man was a burglar, and the police are after him. When they catch him, he'll go to jail for robbing houses all around Brookvale Forest."
Now that Tinas crying had ceased, her curiosity was aroused. She looked up at Nancy with an expression of keen interest. "I d-didn't know burglars rode horses."
"This one did." Nancy smiled.
"Why?"
"Because there are police cars on the road at night, looking for robbers like him. That's why he always rode through the woods on horseback whenever he robbed a house—so the police wouldn't see him! Then he would stable his horse at the old mansion until the next night when he went out to rob another house."
"Oh!" Tina said anxiously. "Was the poor horse inside when the stable burned down?"
Nancy shook her head. "No, I'm sure it was taken away beforehand, because the robber found out a movie was being filmed there. Remember, I was going to take you there to watch?"
As the little girl nodded, Nancy went on, "As a matter of fact, I think Shooting Star was also kept in that stable after he was stolen. But he was taken away, too."
"Where?" Tina asked, wide-eyed.
Nancy shrugged regretfully. "I don't know yet. But I intend to find out! Meantime, let's wash those tear stains off your face, honey."
As they walked back to the house, Patches, the tortoise-shell cat, wandered past them. She sat down by the brook and began grooming her fur.
Nancy stopped short, her brain suddenly busy again. Another piece of the jigsaw had just clicked into place!
If Patches lived in the stables, perhaps she had actually seen the theft of Shooting Star! And on the day that she startled Bess's mount, she could have been on her way home from Grimsby Mansion! She had certainly been coming from that direction. In fact, if the horse or horses were still in the mansion stable that Saturday afternoon before the fire, Patches might have gone there on purpose to visit her old pal, or if she had not yet discovered where the thieves took the thoroughbred, perhaps she had been hunting for him and had just succeeded in snooping out his hiding place!
"What's wrong, Nancy?" asked Tina.
"Honey, do you have any idea where Patches was coming from just now?"
The little girl shrugged. "Gosh, I don't know. She wanders all over. Why?"
"I was told that she and Shooting Star were good friends and liked to be with each other. Is that right?"
Tina brightened and smiled. "Oh, yes! The stablehands used to say they could almost talk. It was fun to watch them!"
Nancy said earnestly, "You know what, Tina? I feel sure that Shooting Star wasn't taken very far away from here. If I'm right, maybe Patches knows where he is."
The little girl gasped excitedly. "Do you really think so?"
"Yes, dear, I do. Look at that white dust on her fur. Have you any idea where it might have come from?"
As they walked closer to the cat, Tina stared at it, then shook her head. Patches paused from licking her fur and regarded them with topaz-bright eyes.
"Wait!" Tina exclaimed suddenly. "I think I do know. Til bet she got that at the old mine!"
"You've been there?" Nancy asked.
"Sure, lots of times until Grandpa told me not to go anymore, cause it might be dangerous. But I remember now, whenever I went there, Id always come back with that funny dust on my shoes!"
Nancy knew about the mine Tina was referring to. She recalled Carson Drew mentioning once that zinc had been mined there. But she had never actually visited the site.
"Would you show me the mine?"
"Oh, yes! Especially if you think we might find Shooting Star!"
"How do we get there?" Nancy asked. "Just walk?"
Tina hesitated. "Well, we could but it's kind of far to walk. I only went there on my pony."
"Then suppose I drive us."
On their way to Nancy's car, they passed Kurt Ellum. The trainer gave them a curious stare, but only nodded curtly without stopping and touched his cap to Nancy before continuing on to the paddock.
The young sleuth did a sudden doubletake. She had just remembered what Ned found in the tree after the smoke bomb went off. And wasn't Ellum wearing green trousers?
Nancy shot a glance over her shoulder. Yes, she was right! But the trainer was too far away for her to see if there was any tear in them. Of course, the strand of material Ned had found snagged on the branch was fairly small, so the damage might be hardly noticeable. For that matter, Ellum might have had it mended by now. Nevertheless, Nancy decided to mention the matter to Police Chief McGinnis.
Meanwhile, there was a much more promising lead to follow up!
Moments later, Nancy's car sped away from Rainbow Ranch. The large estates borde
ring on Brookvale Forest were all situated on one side of the road. The opposite side was undeveloped—hilly and almost wild in places.
"Turn here!" Tina said. A rough, rutted dirt path led off the paved road. Nancy turned onto it as the little girl directed. But the path was so bumpy, she stopped.
"Is the mine much farther?" she asked.
"No, you can almost see it from here."
"Then let's get out and walk."
A large wooden door had once closed off the mouth of the mine. But it had rotted and fallen into disrepair over the years since the mine was abandoned, leaving an opening big enough for a person —or for that matter a horse—to get through.
Nearby was an ancient railroad siding. Nancy guessed it had once led to the smelter. But that*had been torn down long ago or perhaps lay out of sight beyond the hills. The entire area was now overgrown with tall weeds and brush.
As the two girls approached the mine, a slight breeze must have carried their scent ahead of them. A faint whinny suddenly sounded!
Tina gave a cry of excitement. "He's here!"
"It certainly sounds like it!" Nancy agreed.
They hurried forward. Nancy took a flashlight from her shoulder bag and led the way. She stepped through the opening, shining her beam of light into the dark mine tunnel. Not ten yards away stood a horse, tethered to one of the mine timbers. He neighed again, seeing his two visitors.
The horse was a dark chestnut stallion, obviously a thoroughbred. But as the girls came closer, they stopped in disappointment.
"That's not Shooting Star!" exclaimed Tina.
"I know. He has no white marking," said Nancy. Thoroughly puzzled, she walked up to the spirited animal, which gave an eager whinny and pranced several times with its forelegs. Nancy patted his neck to calm him.
Frowning, she said, "Could this be the horse that man in the skeleton suit was riding, Tina?"
The little girl shook her head decisively. "Oh, no!
That one wasn't a thoroughbred. And it was a pinto, I think. This one looks almost like Shooting Star except for the markings."
Suddenly, Nancy caught her breath. "You've just given me an idea, Tina!" Pausing for a moment, she went on, "Look, honey, do you feel brave enough now to ride this horse with me if I keep my arms around you?"
"I guess so—maybe," Tina replied in a small, squeaky voice.
Nancy hugged her. "Trust me, dear, please! Well have to ride bareback, but I'm sure this fellow won't give us any trouble."
"All right."
Nancy untethered the thoroughbred and led it out of the mine. Then, standing on a rock ledge, she sprang nimbly onto the horse's back and lifted Tina up in front of her.
"Where are we going?" the little girl asked.
"That depends on the horse. I'm going to let him go his own way and hope he goes home. It may take a while, though. Are you still game?"
"I guess so," Tina replied. She sounded as though she were getting over her initial nervousness. "But what about your car?"
"It'll be safe for the time being, I hope." Nancy nudged their mount with her heels, clinging to his mane with both arms around Tina. The horse moved forward calmly as if sensing the person on his back was an experienced rider.
At first he meandered along, stopping from time to time to nibble on vegetation. But gradually he picked up speed and began to pace more steadily. "He's got his bearings now, I think," Nancy murmured.
Fifteen minutes later, he carried them onto the grounds of the Morston estate and headed for the stables! A groom emerged from the doorway. He was thin and sharp featured. Nancy recognized him as the man she had seen Morston talking to on her first visit to the estate.
He stopped in open-mouthed astonishment at the sight of the two bareback riders. Then his expression hardened. "What do you want?" he snapped as Nancy dismounted lithely and lifted Tina down.
"I've brought one of Mr. Morston's thoroughbreds home. Til just see if his stall is open."
Before the groom could stop her, Nancy had darted past him into the stable! Tina followed. Most of the stalls were vacant, their occupants still outdoors. But in one stood a tall, dark chestnut stallion.
"That's him!" cried Tina. "That's Shooting Star!"
20. Star Bright!
"You're crazy!" the groom snarled. "Do you see any white markings on him?"
By this time, Nancy was close enough to the thoroughbred's stall to check with her own eyes. And the groom was right: his coat was a solid dark chestnut on both sides!
From the look on Tinas face, it was apparent that the little girl had just made the same discovery. The name sign on the horse's stall was benbow.
The groom said roughly, "Are you satisfied now?"
"No, we're not!" Nancy retorted.
He strode angrily toward the young sleuth, looking as if he were about to eject her by force. "Get out of here, both of you! Right now!"
Nancys heart was pounding but she stood her ground. "Don't be absurd!" she said coldly. "I'm a friend of Mr. Morston. He told me I'm welcome here at any time. And I'm also a friend of Police Chief McGinnis!"
Her words brought the groom to a sudden stop. His face expressed his baffled rage. With a muttered oath, he turned and strode out of the stable.
Nancy, meanwhile, stroked the thoroughbred's neck and spoke to him soothingly. She could see that he was a high-spirited animal, but he responded at once to her calm, confident manner.
When she saw that he had accepted her, she opened the door to his stall, slipped inside, and began to take something out of her shoulder bag.
"What are you going to do, Nancy?" Tina asked anxiously.
"Try using some nail-polish remover and see what happens." As Nancy rubbed with a piece of tissue, a darkish stain began coming off the horse's left side. Underneath was a white marking!
"It's Shooting Star!" Tina squealed gleefully. "Oh, Nancy! You're so smart!"
"Yes, isn't she?" said a voice from the stable doorway. "Too smart for her own good, I'm afraid!"
As both girls whirled toward the speaker, they saw that Hugh Morston had just come in. He looked as trim as ever in a blazer and slacks with his suavely styled fair hair and pencil-thin mustache. But there was a nasty look in his eyes.
"I'm afraid you've made a bad mistake, my dear," Morston went on with a cold smile. "Now we cant let you leave here and tell your story to the police."
Nancy whispered something to Tina. The next instant, the young detective burst out of Shooting Star's stall and ran toward an open doorway at the far end of the stable!
"Stop her, Nate!" Morston yelled to the groom. He himself dashed down the alleyway between the two rows of stalls in pursuit of the fleeing girl.
Nancy came running out of the stable doorway and started around the corner of the building only to run straight into the arms of Nate! "Not so fast," he said, grabbing her arm.
Nancy struggled fiercely, calling on all the self-defense moves that her father and Ned had taught her. But when Hugh Morston joined in the fray, the two men soon overpowered her, each pinioning one arm!
"Where's the little kid?" Nate asked, staring all around, then blurted, "Hey, there she goes!" and pointed toward the woods. Tina could be seen disappearing among the trees in the direction of Rainbow Ranch.
Mors ton was furious when he realized that the child had seized her chance to escape during Nancy's dash for freedom. "Never mind!" he snapped. "Tie up this redhead while I go call Karp and Ellum! We can still handle this so there'll be no evidence or witnesses. But we'll have to work fast!"
Ellum! So Mr. Harlow's trainer was involved in the theft of Shooting Star! The news did not come as a total surprise to Nancy. She had already begun to suspect his role in another aspect of the mystery.
Nancy's wrists were quickly taped behind her back. Then Nate took her into the stable to guard her while his employer made two quick phone calls.
Morston returned grinning smugly.
"Any luck, boss?" Nate asked.
/> "Couldn't be better! Our problem will be over even sooner than I hoped!"
"Be sensible," Nancy said, looking Morston coolly in the eye. "Let me go at once or you'll end up in even worse trouble than you are in already!"
His answer was a chilling laugh. "Sorry, my dear. I have other plans. Kurt Ellum is about to start out through the woods on horseback from Rainbow Ranch. Hell pick up that little brat on the way and bring her back here to my place. Then, his friend Karp will dispose of you both."
"And who is Karp, may I ask?"
"You may," Morston chuckled, "since you'll never have a chance to tell your friend, the police chief. If you really want to know, Karp is a trucker and a close pal of Ellum's. They had a nice litde racket going not long ago. But now they both take orders from me."
Nancy said shrewdly, "Did their racket, as you call it, happen to be country-house burglaries?"
"My, my! You are a smart girl, aren't you?" said Morston. "Yes, as you've rightly guessed, they're the ones who've been pulling all those robberies around here. Or rather Ellum was. Karp transported the loot to New York and fenced it. But Ellum made one bad mistake."
"Which put him in your power, I suppose."
"That's right. The fool tried to rob my house one night, just after I had it equipped with all the latest alarms and security devices. As a result, I caught him red-handed!"
Nancy's keen mind, skilled at unraveling mysteries, was already two jumps ahead of Morston's explanation. "And in exchange for not turning him in to the police," she said, "I presume you forced him to steal Shooting Star for you."
Hugh Morston looked astounded. "My dear, you really do impress me," he said. "No wonder you've gained such a reputation as a detective. When I saw you in the library the other evening, I thought I could mislead you by pointing the finger of suspicion at Harlow's old business enemy, Howard Ains-lee. But apparently my plan didn't work.''
"Not for long, anyhow. And your plan for getting rid of little Tina and me won't work, either!" Nancy added defiantly.