The girls gazed at the jack-in-the-box. It was a toy down fastened in a wooden chest about a foot square and was well constructed. “An expert made this,” Nancy commented. “I wonder if it could have any connection with the puppet.”
She examined the jack-in-the-box thoroughly but could find no similarity to the witch figure in the barn. “Let’s continue our hunt,” she suggested.
“I guess I’d better get back to my post,” said Bess, and she returned to the top of the stairway.
Nancy and George were intrigued by the contents of the trunk. It contained a crude set of hand puppets and a miniature stage with a long curtain draped below it to hide the puppeteer.
“I just can’t get it out of my mind that there is a tie-in between the old Van Pelt family and the present mystery of the puppet,” said George.
“If you’re right,” said Nancy, “no doubt the mysterious puppeteer has found some clue to a valuable possession of the Van Pelts’ and is trying to find it.”
“You mean,” said George, “that he is using the dancing puppet to scare people away from here so he can hunt for it?”
“Possibly,” Nancy answered. The thought of Tammi and her latest move to keep the girls out of the attic occurred to her. Was Tammi in some way connected with the mystery? Were she and Emmet Calhoun in league with each other?
For the next half hour the three girls took turns guarding the stairway and searching the other trunks, boxes, and cartons. They came across nothing suspicious.
Finally Bess said, “It’s way past lunchtime and I’m starved. Let’s get something to eat.”
At that particular moment Nancy was staring at the far wall of the attic. She began to walk toward it, saying, “I have a hunch there’s a hiding place up here that we haven’t found yet. Wait until I examine that wall.”
It took several minutes’ close scrutiny of the old wooden wall to find a concealed latch.
“Here it is!” Nancy said, excited at the prospect of what she might find.
George started to walk toward her, while Bess remained at the top of the stairway.
Nancy had a little trouble discovering just how the latch worked, but in a few moments she felt it turn. Gently she started to pull and a door opened.
Suddenly she became aware of a movement inside the closet and the next second the life-size puppet of a Pierrot stepped out! As Nancy stared in astonishment, the puppet’s left arm, which had been held upright, now lowered menacingly.
“Oh!” screamed Bess.
George leaped forward, but Nancy had already dodged out of the way. The three girls watched fascinated as Pierrot continued to walk jerkily straight ahead. After it had taken several steps, the figure turned and crashed into a trunk. It fell over with a clatter.
The next instant Bess called out, “Here comes Cally old boy!”
“He mustn’t see this!” Nancy said tensely. She and George grabbed the puppet, dragged him back to the closet, and just managed to close and latch the door when Emmet Calhoun appeared at the top of the stairs.
“What crashed?” he asked.
George gave a loud laugh. “Haven’t you ever noticed how clumsy I am?” she asked.
The actor received no further explanation. Instead, Nancy said to him, “Have you ever been up here before?”
Emmet Calhoun shook his head. “I detest attics. They’re usually full of spiders and dust and make me sneeze.”
The girls grinned, and Bess added, “I haven’t sneezed yet, but on the other two counts I agree with you.” She showed smudges on her slacks.
“These trunks contain lots of interesting old things,” Nancy said. “But nothing too unusual.” She did not add that there were three boxes of books which the girls had not examined. “We’re all starving, and we’re just about to go down for something to eat. Would you like to join us?”
“That would be delightful,” Calhoun replied, and followed the three girls down to the kitchen.
While Nancy washed lettuce for a salad, she said to him, “We found a big jack-in-the-box and some hand puppets in one of the trunks. Are you interested in puppets?”
“No more than the average person,” Calhoun replied, “though I have read a good deal on the subject.” There was no sign that he was not telling the truth.
Nancy thought, “I didn’t get anywhere on that lead,” and suppressed a smile.
“Has it ever occurred to you,” the actor asked, “that people are really puppets in this world? As Shakespeare says in As You Like It:“‘All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many
parts.’ ”
Bess spoke up. “I don’t know much about puppets. When did they come into vogue?”
Emmet Calhoun said they were one of the most ancient forms of play acting. In the days of the Greek and Roman theaters they were used in plays. “And in this country the North American Indians used puppets in their ceremonies,” he added.
Emmet Calhoun explained that there had been little change in the method of making puppets perform since the early days of their use.
“And there’s a fascinating story about how marionettes came into vogue in Venice in the year 944,” he went on. “Toymakers there fashioned tiny figures of brides which they called little Maries.’ When the French toymakers imitated them, they changed the name to marionettes. By the way, did you know it is thought that Shakespeare’s plays Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar at one time were performed by marionettes?”
The three girls admitted that they had never heard this. Emmet Calhoun also told them that during the reign of Queen Victoria in England puppets were made larger than ever before. At times, he said, they were used on the stage with live actors.
Nancy asked the actor if he had ever heard of a puppet or marionette being worked in any other way except by strings. Calhoun shook his head. “I don’t see how they could be,” he said.
Nancy was satisfied now that Emmet Calhoun knew nothing about the dancing puppet, the witch, or the Pierrot which she had found.
As the group was finishing their luncheon, Margo and Hamilton Spencer walked into the kitchen. They said hello, then at once began to speak of their distress over the forthcoming play.
“Those amateurs have got to work hard in the rehearsal this afternoon,” Mr. Spencer declared severely. “Bess, do you remember your lines and gestures?”
Bess looked a little frightened. “I—I think so,” she faltered.
The whole group went over to the theater, and one by one the young actresses straggled in. Some of them held jobs but had managed to get a few hours off from business.
Nancy and George sat in the front row. Soon all but Tammi had arrived. Mr. Spencer, not to waste time, took sections of the play in which she did not appear and coached the other players.
Suddenly he walked out onto the stage, his face red with anger. Stalking up and down, he said, “What’s the matter with everybody? We can’t put on a performance like this! You say the lines, but you don’t put any vitality into them!”
“I’m sorry,” Kathy Cromwell spoke up. “It’s hard for me to act natural when I’m supposed to be talking to a man—and a girl is reading his part.”
“That’s no excuse!” Mr. Spencer shouted. Then he thought better of his remark. “I’ll play the part myself.” He walked over and took the proper position on the stage, telling Kathy to come on and start again. This time she played the role very convincingly.
“Maybe there’s something to what you said,” he conceded. “We’ll have to have more full rehearsals together. Tonight everybody will stay after the show and go through the lines for this play.”
There were groans from the girls, and the coach was reminded that it would be about three o’clock in the morning before anyone would get home.
“Well, I’ll decide after I see how you make out this afternoon,” Mr. S
pencer said. “By the way, is Tammi here yet?”
“No,” George called up to him.
Tammi Whitlock never did arrive for the rehearsal. Finally Nancy told Mr. Spencer of her conversation with the girl’s aunt. “Apparently Tammi expected to come,” Nancy said.
Suppertime drew near and still there had been no word from Tammi. Mr. Spencer announced that he was going to telephone her house.
George, her eyes sparkling with an idea, followed the actor. She stood off at a little distance while he made the call. It was easy to guess what was being said on the other end of the line. Tammi’s aunt was telling Mr. Spencer that she had tried to phone, but found the line busy. Her niece had lost her voice completely and would not be able to perform that evening!
Mr. Spencer put down the phone and sat staring into space. George knew what was running through his mind—what was he going to do? Kathy simply was not ready to take on the part which Tammi had been playing!
George walked up to the actor. “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation,” she said. “Perhaps I have a solution to the problem.”
Mr. Spencer stared at her. “A solution?” he repeated.
“Yes,” said George, and she told him how Nancy had learned Tammi’s lines in the play. “She has been rehearsing in secret and imitating every gesture of Tammi’s.”
“That’s astounding,” said Mr. Spencer. “Are you recommending that I put Nancy on tonight, when she’s never been over the part with the rest of the cast?”
“Wish me luck, girls!” Nancy begged
George smiled. “That’s up to you, of course,” she said. “But I suggest, before you turn down the idea, you go through the lines with Nancy herself.”
Mr. Spencer, ready to grab at a straw to save the situation in which Tammi had placed him, agreed to do this. “Go get Nancy and meet me on stage. I’ll take Bob Simpson’s part.”
When George made her announcement to Nancy, the young sleuth was stunned. “Why, George—” she began.
“I think that’s a simply marvelous idea!” Bess spoke up. “Come on, Nancy!” she urged.
With trepidation, Nancy and the cousins hurried out to the barn theater. Mr. Spencer met her, holding a Civil War ball gown in one hand and a wig with long curls in the other.
“Put these on,” he directed, “and see how they fit.”
Excitedly, Bess and George went into a small room at the side of the wings with Nancy and helped her into the costume.
“You look simply darling!” Bess said admiringly.
Nancy’s heart was pounding as she walked toward the stage. She turned and said to her chums, “Wish me luck!”
CHAPTER XV
Curtain Call!
GEORGE held her breath as Nancy began speaking her lines. Mr. Spencer, taking the part of Bob Simpson, gave no sign that he was either pleased or displeased with Nancy’s performance.
Whenever there was a scene between the leading lady and another girl character, he called Bess to read the lines. “But don’t do any acting,” he said.
George, now seated in the auditorium, kept her fingers crossed. She noticed that the only time Mr. Spencer stopped Nancy was to drill her on stage directions. Nancy spoke the lines without once forgetting them, and imitated Tammi’s movements to a point where George at times could hardly keep from chuckling.
The rehearsal went on and on. Presently an idea came to George. She left the theater but returned about twenty minutes later. She was smiling and saying to herself, “Nancy will certainly be surprised.”
Presently Mr. Spencer said he wouldn’t need Bess to read the lines any longer, so she came down to sit beside George. In a few moments the two girls quietly went out together.
Nancy thought, “They’ve gone to cook supper, I’ll bet.”
She herself felt a slight twinge of hunger, but she was too excited about the rehearsal to pay further attention to it.
“I suppose I should give you a breather,” said Mr. Spencer finally. “Nancy, I didn’t want to say anything before, but now I will admit to you that I am absolutely amazed at your ability. I had heard that you performed very well in school plays, but I had no idea you could do this well.”
Nancy smiled. “Don’t forget I’ve been watching Tammi intently and trying to imitate her.”
“Well, you’ve certainly done a remarkable job. Now, if you’re ready, I’d like to go over the scene where you’re seated on the couch reading a letter and Bob Simpson comes in unexpectedly to bring bad news. Please be very intent while reading the letter. Then, as you become aware of his entrance, start to rise and let the letter flutter to the floor.”
As Nancy crossed the stage toward the couch, she thought, “That’s not the way Tammi does the scene. Mr. Spencer must think his way is better. I wonder if her personal interest in Bob made her interpret the scene differently.”
Nancy went through the lines and motions exactly as she had been directed, and Mr. Spencer smiled his approval. “Please be sure to do it just that way tonight. It was perfect.”
Three more short scenes were rehearsed, then Mr. Spencer looked at his watch. “My, it’s seven o’clock!” he said in amazement. “Nancy, will you please take a warm shower to relax, have a short rest period, then eat a very light supper. Tell Margo I’ll be in shortly.”
Nancy delivered the message, then went to the second floor. Surprised to find that Bess and George were not around, she returned to the kitchen to ask Margo where they were.
“I don’t know,” the actress replied. “But I did see them go off in your car.”
Wondering where the cousins had gone, Nancy returned to her bedroom, took a shower, and lay down for twenty minutes. Then she went to the kitchen. After eating a sandwich and drinking a cup of tea, Nancy went over to the theater. Bess and George still had not returned.
“Where could they be?” Nancy wondered. The cousins, meanwhile, had hurried to the River Heights airport. George, thinking that Nancy’s father and Mrs. Gruen, and also Ned Nickerson, would like to see the performance that evening, had telephoned Mr. Drew. Then she had called the camp where Ned, Burt Eddleton, who was her own favorite date, and Dave Evans were counselors. All of them told her they would like to see the show. The boys would come by plane.
“I hope it’s on time,” Bess fidgeted, as they sat waiting. “We’ll just about get back to the theater in time for the curtain.”
Over a loud-speaker they heard the plane’s arrival being announced. The girls hurried to the gate, ready to whisk the boys off as soon as they came through it. Ned and his friends, realizing what a tight schedule they had to meet, ran all the way from the plane to the gate.
“Hi!” five voices said at the same time, and everyone laughed.
“The car’s over here,” George explained, leading the way. The trio of college boys formed a most attractive group: Ned, tall and athletic, with brown hair and blue eyes; Burt, blond and a little shorter than Ned; and Dave, rangily built, with dark hair and green eyes.
“So Nancy’s trying to solve another mystery—with the help of you girls,” Ned said, as the car spun along the road.
“It’s a weird one this time,” George answered. “But I don’t know how much we’re supposed to tell, so perhaps we should wait and let Nancy do it.”
“Fine thing!” Burt complained. “After all the help we fellows have given Nancy on other mysteries!”
“Yes,” Dave added, “think of all the miles we’ve traveled and you won’t even let us in on the excitement.”
Bess and George knew they were being teased, but still refused to divulge any details about the mystery of the dancing puppet.
When the young people walked into the theater, Mr. Drew and Hannah Gruen were already there in seats next to those for the newcomers. Greetings were quickly exchanged.
“Sh!” George whispered. “Curtain time!” Mr. Spencer was walking out to the footlights.
He announced that Tammi Whitlock was suffering with laryngitis and woul
d be unable to play her part that evening. “The Footlighters are very fortunate in having obtained the services of Nancy Drew.”
As the curtain went up, Bess and George glanced around the theater to see what the reaction was to the change in leading ladies. Some of the audience looked surprised, others frowned. The girls felt that many residents of River Heights had heard what an excellent actress Tammi was and had purchased tickets just to see her.
But as the play progressed, the applause for Nancy between acts became very genuine. The young sleuth seemed to have become inspired with the part.
Bess and George were seated together, with their dates on either side of them. Bess now whispered to her cousin, “I’m glad Nancy isn’t overplaying the love scenes with Bob Simpson the way Tammi does.”
George suppressed a chuckle. “But look at Ned’s face,” she whispered. Ned Nickerson sat with a grim jaw and eyes straight ahead. He leaned forward slightly in his seat as Bob kissed Nancy. When the scene was over, he heaved a sigh and sat back, drumming his fingers on the chair arms.
As the final curtain came down, the applause was thunderous. All the members of the cast had played their roles unusually well, hoping to support Nancy in the best way they could. There was curtain call after curtain call, with Nancy and Bob Simpson commanding a major share of the crowd’s enthusiasm.
Mr. Drew was among those who were clapping the loudest. Hannah Gruen’s eyes were moist.
“I didn’t know Nancy was that good!” said Dave. “Boy, she ought to make the stage her career.”
“And give up sleuthing?” Bess exclaimed. “She wouldn’t do it in a million years!”
As soon as the audience began to leave, Bess and George took the others to the house. Nancy, waylaid several times and offered congratulations, had not yet taken off her Civil War costume nor her wig. Suddenly she saw her father and Mrs. Gruen, who promptly hugged her. Then, over Hannah’s shoulder she saw Ned, Burt, and Dave.
“Well, for goodness sake!” she cried. “Oh, it’s wonderful to see you! But how in the world did you get here?”