The next instant he grabbed it from Bess’s arms and made a dash for the front door. He did not get far. George, quick as a flash, stepped forward and with a neat flip tossed him over her shoulder. He landed backward on the carpet and lay there in utter astonishment.
Bess began to giggle and picked up the plaque, which had fallen to the floor. But Nancy was worried. She might be in trouble over what had happened. Suppose the man really was a police detective!
She helped Wallace up and escorted him to the front door. He went out meekly, saying nothing more about taking the plaque with him.
After the door was closed, George remarked, “Well, there wasn’t any cliff, but I hope you liked the way I tossed that villain out of our lives.”
Bess looked scared. “He may take revenge instead.”
Nancy said, “Wallace might even be the man who has been following Carla recently.”
“And sent that warning note about ‘the cat’?” Bess queried.
“Could be.”
Nancy immediately telephoned her friend Police Chief McGinnis. After telling him what had happened, Bess and George saw Nancy nodding her head in agreement as she listened. Finally she said, “He’s about thirty, dark-complexioned, has close-cut black hair, and is extremely thin.”
Presently the young sleuth said good-by and put down the phone. Turning to her friends, Nancy said, “Harry Wallace is a phony. He’s not on the detective squad. Chief McGinnis is going to put out an alarm for him at once. By the way, George,” she said with a grin, “the chief thanks you for using a little judo on that impostor.”
“Hypers!” George cried, rubbing her hands together gleefully. “The first villain in this mystery. I wonder how many more we’ll encounter.”
Bess quickly spoke up. “I hope he’s the only one. I want to help solve the crossword cipher mystery, but I can get along without people like him!”
Later that day Bess and George telephoned Nancy to tell her they had received permission from their parents to go to Lima. Carla was overjoyed when she heard the good news.
“We will have a marvelous time,” she promised.
Fortunately, Nancy and the cousins had passports. Mr. Drew made the arrangements for the flight. The girls would leave early the following morning from River Heights and fly to New York City. From there they would take a jetliner to South America.
“With Harry Wallace at large,” he said, “I think it would be best if you girls leave River Heights unobtrusively.”
“How can we do that?” Nancy asked.
“By staying at the airport motel tonight. Bess’s and George’s families can drive them separately and should be sure they’re not being followed. Carla’s uncle can take her to the motel and you—” Mr. Drew grinned. “I believe Ned Nickerson is coming here this evening?”
Nancy blushed. Ned was a special friend who attended Emerson College.
“Yes, Ned is coming to have dinner with us. He’ll be glad to take me to the airport.”
The tall, good-looking football player arrived at six o’clock. After warm greetings he said to Nancy, “So you’re taking off again to solve another mystery. Can’t you fix things so I could go along?”
Nancy smiled. “I wish I could. Now I have to depend on George and her judo to take care of troublemakers.”
She had already packed for the trip and was free to spend the entire evening with Ned until it was time to join her friends at the motel. He tried his hand at deciphering the puzzle on the plaque but finally gave up.
“If you can solve this one, and keep out of trouble with Carla’s pursuers and ‘the cat,’ ” he remarked, “you ought to get a vote of thanks from the Peruvian government!” Nancy laughed.
At ten o’clock she said good-by to Hannah Gruen and her father. The housekeeper begged Nancy to be careful and the lawyer said, “No instructions from me, my dear, but you know that I wish you success and I’ll be looking forward to your return.”
When Nancy and Ned reached the airport motel, he carried her two bags into the lobby. One contained the plaque and Nancy said that she would carry that suitcase. “I’ll check the other one.”
As Ned bid her good-by and looked straight at her, Nancy detected a wistful look in his eyes. He said, “My thoughts are repetitions of your father’s and Hannah’s combined.” He took both her hands in his and added, “You will come back safely, won’t you?” He kissed her.
“I promise,” Nancy answered, and waited until he drove off. Then a porter carried her bags to the room which she would share with Carla.
The Peruvian girl, as well as Bess and George, were already there. Bess teased Nancy. “I thought maybe you’d change your mind about going to Peru when Ned showed up.”
Nancy smiled. She did not reply, because at that moment the telephone rang.
Carla’s heart sank. “Oh, somebody has found out where we are! Maybe El Gato!”
Nancy answered the phone, disguising her voice. A man at the other end of the line said, “Police headquarters calling. Is this Miss Drew? Chief McGinnis wants to talk to you.”
Nancy did not admit who she was but merely said, “Please put him on.”
The next instant Chief McGinnis’s familiar voice said, “Nancy, I want you to come to headquarters immediately. It’s very important.”
CHAPTER III
Strange Cancellation
WHEN Nancy told her companions about Chief McGinnis’s request, George remarked, “Maybe they’ve caught Wallace.”
Bess added, “I suppose you’ll have to go to headquarters, Nancy. But how are you going to get there? We have no car.”
“A taxi will do,” Nancy replied. “Carla, I think you’d better come with me. After all, you know more about this case than I do.”
The two girls reached headquarters forty minutes later. Chief McGinnis had the prisoner brought into his office.
“Is this the man who came to your house and pretended to be a police detective?” the chief asked Nancy.
“Yes, he is.”
Harry Wallace’s eyes flashed. “I never saw this girl before in my life!” he shouted.
Nancy went on, “He tried to steal a valuable antique plaque. It belongs to this young lady.” On purpose Nancy had not introduced Carla by name, hoping that perhaps the prisoner would give himself away by identifying her.
The man became sullen. “I’m not going to talk,” he said. Turning to Chief McGinnis, he added, “You have no right to hold me. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Again Nancy spoke up. “If you need any witnesses, Chief, I have two friends who were there at the time.”
At this, Harry Wallace seemed to change his mind about talking. “Oh, all right,” he said. “I didn’t recognize Miss Drew at first. She looked different when I saw her.”
Chief McGinnis stared at the prisoner hard. “Then you admit trying to steal the plaque?”
“No, I don’t,” Harry Wallace replied. “That plaque belongs to me!”
“What!” Garla cried out. “It does not!”
The prisoner made one more effort to clear himself. “I’m an importer in New York City. I buy articles from all over the world. That plaque was sold to me in South America. It was taken from my shop. Ever since then I’ve been trying to trace it. First I found out Miss Ponce here had it right in River Heights. And then I learned she gave it to Miss Drew.”
There were faint smiles on the faces of Nancy and Chief McGinnis. The prisoner had indeed given himself away. The officer said, “I’m afraid, Mr. Wallace, that you have tripped yourself up with your story. Now suppose you tell the truth.”
The prisoner refused to say another word. Nancy whispered to Carla, “Is this the man who has followed you several times?”
“I think so, but I cannot be absolutely sure.”
Nancy walked forward and whispered this information to the chief. She added, “Miss Ponce also received an anonymous warning note. Maybe Harry Wallace sent it. The note was in Spanish. Translated, it said
, ‘Beware of the cat.’ Does that mean anything to you?”
Before answering, Chief McGinnis went to a bookcase and pulled out a loose-leaf ledger. He ran his fingers down the index, then turned to a page near the back of the book.
“Hmm!” he murmured, beckoning Nancy to take a look at the notation.
She leaned over his shoulder and read that there was a mysterious man in Peru who was known to the police there as El Gato. His name and whereabouts were not known, but he was listed as a “wanted person.”
Chief McGinnis turned to the prisoner. “Things will go a lot easier with you if you tell us who El Gato is.”
Startled, Harry Wallace jerked his shoulders uncomfortably and began to speak, then dosed his lips tightly. After a few seconds he said, “You trying to pin something else on me? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The officer ordered the prisoner taken away, telling him he could have a lawyer of his own choosing or the court would get one for him.
Wallace said, “I’ll let you know tomorrow.” He followed the guard out of the room.
Nancy and the chief discussed the case a few minutes longer, with Carla looking on wide-eyed. Finally she said, “Oh, I am so sorry to be such a lot of trouble.”
Chief McGinnis gave her a fatherly smile. “We will probably end up thanking you for having the police of two continents looking for this mysterious El Gato. I hope, Nancy, that you solve the mystery of the crossword cipher and have time for some fun on your trip.” He shook hands with both girls. Then they went back to their waiting taxi.
When they reached the motel, Bess and George were eager to hear what had happened. After Nancy and Carla had told of the episode at headquarters, George snorted, “If that Harry Wallace is an importer, then I’ll bet a cookie he’s a smuggler!”
Bess gave an involuntary shudder. “Already everything’s getting complicated.”
The following morning the girls had breakfast in their rooms, then hurried to the check-in counter at the airport. At noontime they arrived in New York City and went directly to the apartment of Nancy’s aunt, Miss Eloise Drew. She was delighted to see them and happy to meet Carla. The four girls briefed her on the mystery and their plans.
“They sound very intriguing,” Miss Drew commented. “Since you girls are going to Lima, you might be interested in the Peruvian exhibits here in New York. There are some at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, others at the Museum of Natural History and a special exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art. On the other hand, perhaps Carla would prefer doing a little sightseeing in New York City.”
“I think I would,” she said. “I have seen very little of it and this city is such an exciting place.”
Aunt Eloise had a suggestion. “Suppose I take Carla with me and you other girls go to the exhibits. They will give you a good idea of the history and customs of ancient Peru.”
After luncheon Nancy, Bess, and George set off. At the Metropolitan they were fortunate enough to join a group with a guide. During his lecture, he said, “The Indians of ancient Peru, particularly the Incas, had a religion in which they worshiped the sun, thinking of it as a god.
“They also had a succession of human rulers, called the Inca, who were supposed to have received divine powers directly from the sun god. As you look at the exhibits, you will note that the decorations on many of them illustrate this fact.”
The three girls were intrigued by the various effigies, most of them made of clay. Many were hunched-up figures, seated with their knees near their chins. “This was also the position in which they usually buried their mummies,” the guide explained.
The young visitors stayed so long at the Metropolitan that they had time only to visit the special exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art. Here all the ancient objects from Peru were gold. They included various kinds of jewelry. Many of the necklaces and earrings were studded with turquoise or other semiprecious stones.
“Goodness, what are those things over there?” Bess asked. “They look like golden Halloween masks.”
The girls walked to the cases and read the cards on the wall back of these objects.
“Funerary masks,” Nancy said.
A man standing nearby told them that the mask was not put over the mummy’s face but laid down just above the head. “Nobody had figured out why.”
Suddenly George chuckled. “Look at that mask over there. It looks just like a llama’s face. Do you suppose someone had it made for his pet llama that died?”
The man grinned. “Perhaps, or else for some important person who looked like a llama.”
The object in the exhibit which interested Nancy most was a large pair of hands and arms made of solid gold. The stranger explained that these were gauntlets, probably worn by a priest at a religious ceremony. The pieces had one imperfection—the fingernails were dark and corroded looking. “Those nails were made of silver,” the man said. “They tarnished, then disintegrated.”
Bess had been staring at one thumbnail which had not disintegrated. She remarked, “Some of the old Incas must have worn their nails mighty long.”
Nancy glanced at her watch and told the other girls it was time to leave. They thanked the man for his help and hurried from the building.
When the girls reached the apartment house, Aunt Eloise and Carla had just arrived, so they all rode up in the elevator together. As Miss Drew unlocked her door, the telephone began to ring. She hastened to answer it.
“Oh, Hannah,” she said. “It’s good to hear from you. The girls got in all right and they’re going to leave in a little while.”
There was a pause, then she exclaimed, “What? You say the airline called and said the girls’ flight has been canceled?”
Nancy and her friends stared unbelievingly. Nancy went to the phone to talk to Hannah Gruen. The housekeeper reiterated what she had told Aunt Eloise.
“A man called from the airline to say your flight has been canceled. He gave no reason but asked that I get in touch with you at once. I’ve been trying to do so for the past hour. You must have been out.”
“Yes, we were,” Nancy answered. “Oh, this is dreadful news!” She gave a sigh. “Well, we may be seeing you sooner than we expected.”
After Nancy had put down the phone, she suddenly frowned. Finally she said to the others, “This might be a hoax. There’s no reason to cancel a flight today. The weather’s perfect Something might have caused a delay, but not a cancellation. I’m going to call the airline and find out what’s going on.”
She spoke to the man at the ticket counter, then listened to his reply. Nancy said, “Thank you very much. We were told the flight had been canceled. I’m glad it’s not true.”
Everyone was relieved to hear this, but they wondered who the man was that had called the Drews’ house. Nancy said, “It couldn’t have been Wallace, because he’s in jail. He must have an accomplice.”
“Someone,” said Aunt Eloise, “doesn’t want you to go to Peru. Maybe it’s because he hoped to steal the plaque before you could leave the country with it.”
Nancy had a determined look on her face. “Well, this time he’s going to fail. But I’d like to know who he is.”
When the girls said good-by to Miss Drew, she begged them to take every precaution to avoid danger. They all promised and Nancy gave her aunt an extra hug of assurance.
It was late morning the next day when the great jetliner landed at the huge and attractive Lima airport. Bess exclaimed, “I can’t believe I’m here, and this far from home so soon!”
As the girls went through the customs section, Carla caught sight of her parents through a glass partition. She blew them a kiss and then pointed out Senor and Senora Ponce to the other girls. They waved and smiled. Finally the baggage was cleared through customs and the group set off in the large family automobile.
Carla’s parents proved to be delightful people. Both were tall, handsome brunets. Señora and Carla resembled each other.
When they reached the resi
dential section, the North American visitors were impressed by the large homes and beautiful gardens. The tree-shaded boulevards were wide and most of the lawns had tall iron fences around them.
The Ponces’ own home was extremely attractive. Inside the front fence was a lovely garden. On one side stood a very old and gnarled evergreen tree which rose about twenty feet into the air. When Nancy admired it, Senor Ponce told her it was a queñar.
To the right of the walk leading to the front door was a gilded life-size statue of an alpaca. “He’s handsome!” Bess murmured.
Señor Ponce explained that it was a duplicate of a golden alpaca which originally had stood in the great square before the Temple to the Sun in the city of Cuzco. “I am sorry to say that when the Spanish conquistadores came and conquered the Incas, they demanded so much gold that their capital, Cuzco, was ruined. One of its ancient nicknames was ‘The City of Gold.’ ”
A delicious luncheon was served in the beautifully furnished, Spanish-style dining room. Afterward, Nancy unpacked the plaque and Carla explained what the girls had learned about it so far.
“That is very fine,” Senora Ponce commended them.”
Carla and her mother, using Nancy’s magnifying glass, pored over the indistinct markings of the crossword cipher. Nancy, Bess, and George listened to Senor Ponce’s story about the plaque.
“It was lost in the family for several generations,” he said. “Then, amazingly, the plaque was found among my grandfather’s effects after he died. By this time it was in such worn condition that no one could decipher the message.”
Nancy asked, “Do you think that perhaps many years ago someone did figure it out?”
“I do not think so, or else the story would have been known,” he answered. “All we ever heard was that a young Inca Indian had come to the home of one of my ancestors and handed him the plaque. The Indian could not speak Spanish so they learned nothing from him. I presume he knew only the Quechua language used by the Incas.”
The telephone rang and Senor Ponce excused himself. Bess remarked, “What a fascinating story!”