“Oh, how exciting!” Bess burst out. “Did they return to get them?”
“Not that anyone ever knew,” Mrs. Farwell replied. “As a matter of fact, some very disparaging remarks were made about my wonderful grandfather—people said that he was in league with the pirates.”
“Why, how dreadful!” said Bess.
“It certainly was,” Mr. de la Verne agreed. “Well, now that my sister has told you of our family skeleton, I’ll finish the story. I myself looked for that pirate gold many times before the River Princess was abandoned, but it never came to light.”
Nancy was convinced now that at last she had discovered the reason for the showboat’s being “haunted.” At the present time, someone who had learned of the old story was trying to find the pirate gold—and did not intend to have anyone interfere with his endeavor!
“Just today,” Nancy said aloud, “I asked Uncle Rufus to watch the River Princess at night and report to me anything strange he saw going on there. He overheard a remark in which I think you’ll be interested.”
The young detective told about the two men in the canoe and their mention of pirate gold.
“I’m sure they’ll never find it,” said Henry de la Verne, “because the whole story probably was made up by some showboat rivals of my grandfather’s.”
Louvina backed up her brother in this theory. Then, suddenly, she said, “I am very tired. If the girls will excuse me, I think I’ll go to my room and lie down.”
“Oh, please do,” said Nancy quickly. “But Mr, de la Verne, may we stay a little longer and talk to you? I want to ask you some questions about Oxford University.”
“I shall be happy to answer them,” the elderly man said with enthusiasm. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He assisted his sister from the room but returned shortly.
Briefly, Nancy told about Alex Upgrove, and that his engagement to Donna Mae Haver was to be announced at a ball the Havers were giving.
“Here is a picture of Alex taken at Oxford. I was wondering if you could find him in your directory of graduates.”
The elderly man took the photograph. Then he ushered the visitors into an adjoining room which was lined with bookshelves, and pulled out several volumes. Presently he announced to the girls that an Alex Upgrove from New York City was indeed a graduate of Oxford University.
Mr. de la Verne then looked through a volume of pictures. This book was put back on the shelf, and he took down another. Presently he exclaimed:
“I’ve found what you’re looking for!”
The girls eagerly crowded around him and looked at the group photograph. It was exactly like the one which George had borrowed from Alex Upgrove. But the face of the man who stood in the place indicated for Alex was not that of the man they knew at Sunnymead.
“George, you were right about Alex being a fake!” Bess cried out.
“This is very unfortunate,” said Mr. de la Verne.
Nancy raised her head thoughtfully. As she stared out a window, she was startled by a face framed in one of the panes.
Alex Upgrove!
When the young man realized that Nancy had caught him spying, he took to his heels and sprinted out of sight. Nancy alerted the others and the three girls dashed from the house after him. A few minutes later the roar of a car some distance away told them that he had escaped.
“I’ll bet he’ll never show up at Sunnymead again,” George predicted.
“Well, that’s fine with me,” Bess declared. “And I’m glad for Donna Mae’s sake that he’s been found out. Maybe now she’ll come to her senses and be her former self!”
They returned to the house and apologized to Mr. de la Verne for their hasty exit.
“I’m sorry you didn’t catch up with that pretender,” he said. “I will notify the university of what has happened. While you were gone, I studied the photograph you brought, under a magnifying glass. There has been a very clever photographic substitution.”
“This Alex Upgrove, if that’s his name,” said George, “must be after big stakes to have gone to so much trouble.”
“I’ll bet he’s after the pirate gold,” Bess ventured.
The girls thanked Mr. de la Verne for his help, then said good-by and hurried back toward Sunnymead.
“How in the world are we ever going to tell Donna Mae the truth?” Bess asked apprehensively.
“Maybe we won’t have to,” Nancy suggested. “She may find out about Alex herself.”
When the girls drove into the parking area of the Havers’ estate, they gave gasps of surprise and delight. On the patio with Donna Mae were three boys—tall, athletic, brown-eyed Ned Nickerson; blond, heavy-set Burt Eddleton, and rangy-built, green-eyed Dave Evans. The girls hurried to greet them.
“We convinced the university we ought to look over the football situation down here for next year,” Ned said with a laugh after greetings were over.
“And it happened to coincide with a midyear vacation.” Burt grinned.
In the conversation which followed, Nancy noticed that Donna Mae was unusually charming and gracious. She exhibited such happiness that the other girls were sure she had heard nothing adverse yet about Alex Upgrove. And how they hated to tell her!
Suddenly Donna Mae announced, “Dinner will be served soon. We won’t wait for Alex. He had to go out and said he might be detained.”
The girls exchanged quick glances but made no comment. Excusing themselves, they hurried upstairs to change into flowered bouffant dresses.
“For the sake of Ned, Burt, and Dave,” said Nancy, as she and the others started downstairs, “I suggest that we be as gay as possible during dinner. If Alex doesn’t show up later on, then we’ll have to tell Donna Mae what we’ve learned about him.”
Though at times it was difficult for the three girls to play their lighthearted parts, they succeeded very well. But later, on the terrace, Colonel and Mrs. Haver brought up the subject of Alex.
“Where did he go?” they asked their daughter.
Donna Mae said she did not know. Another hour went by. Still he did not come.
Nancy took Ned aside and whispered the news about Alex. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to tell the Havers privately what I know.”
Ned chuckled. “I can take a hint,” he said, grinning. “I might have known you’d have a big mystery to solve. Okay, we fellows will hit the sack.”
Presently he and his friends excused themselves and went upstairs. Donna Mae fidgeted, then said worriedly, “I can’t understand where Alex is.”
Nancy decided not to wait any longer in revealing what she had discovered. She walked over to Donna Mae and her parents. “I’m afraid that Alex is not coming back,” she said gently. “Bess and George and I learned earlier this evening that he has been misrepresenting his background. He was there when we found it out and he ran away.”
“What do you mean?” Donna Mae asked quickly.
Nancy told about the substitution in the photograph. Colonel Haver’s jaw set firmly. Donna Mae went white and the others thought she was going to faint. But. suddenly she began to cry.
“That d-dreadful, that deceiving, that horrid man!” she burst out.
Mrs. Haver, who was seated beside Donna Mae, put an arm around her daughter. “This is hard, I know, dear, but think of the disgrace and unhappiness for you if you had married a person like that. We all have probably been spared a great deal of embarrassment, too.”
Her mother’s words made little impression on Donna Mae. She could think of nothing but the overwhelming chagrin of the moment. As she alternately wept and laughed hysterically, her father asked Nancy if she thought Alex was in any way connected with the mystery of the showboat.
“I’m afraid that he is,” the young detective replied. “In fact, I am convinced Alex is in league with the man who stole my car. And that many other strange things which happened were meant to keep me from coming here to solve the mystery.”
“But what is the mystery?” Colonel Have
r asked.
Nancy told him of the rumor about pirate gold being hidden on the River Princess. The Havers were amazed to hear this. They eagerly discussed the possibility of the ancient coins being on the showboat. Donna Mae momentarily forgot her troubles and even joined in the conversation.
But as the group started for bed, she again broke into another fit of hysteria. Nancy went to Donna Mae’s room with her and tried to soothe the agitated girl.
To the young detective’s wonder, Donna Mae revealed a new worry. “Nancy, I’ve just realized what a dreadful thing I’ve done to Charles, and he didn’t deserve it.”
Although Nancy felt sorry for the girl, and was sure Donna Mae still loved Charles, she was a little irked at her fickleness. Nevertheless, she endeavored to comfort Donna Mae, who finally fell asleep.
The next morning Donna Mae appeared quite composed. She talked very little during breakfast, but later asked the three girls to come to her room. To their surprise and relief, Donna Mae seemed to have a more mature attitude.
“I’ve been very stupid,” she said. “All this has taught me a good lesson. I know now that I still love Charles—and have all the time. I shan’t go running after him. But if he’ll take me back, I’ll be very happy.”
The girls had no chance to comment, for just then Mammy Matilda knocked on the door to say that Captain Runcie, the towboat owner, was downstairs. “Colonel Haver would like you all to come and talk with him.”
When they reached the first floor, Colonel Haver said, “Nancy, you and Bess and George have done such a wonderful job so far in solving the Sunnymead mystery, I want you to take over the final part. I suggest that you three and Ned, Burt, and Dave go with Captain Runcie to the River Princess. He will see what he can do about moving it.”
The girls were delighted with this arrangement and three canoes were brought to the dock. Nancy and Ned stepped into the first craft and took Captain Runcie with them. When the group reached the River Princess, the towboat owner said he would remain outside and make some calculations.
The three girls began showing their escorts around the showboat. Ned, poking into various crannies with his flashlight, said laughingly, “I’m not going to give up until I find that pirate treasure.”
In their search he and Nancy finally reached the hold of the old vessel. Walking on the dry part, they beamed the light back and forth.
Suddenly Nancy stooped down and said, “Ned, here’s something interesting I missed before. They may be a clue.” She pointed to a series of knotholes on one of the wide boards in the center of the deck.
“But this isn’t under a bulkhead, as the legend said,” Ned objected.
Nancy smiled. “Those pirates were clever. Do you realize we’re standing under a bulkhead of the theater on the upper deck? Ned, let’s try lifting up this board.”
“Okay. But with what?” Ned asked, looking about.
Not far away Nancy spotted a crowbar which she had seen Charles use the day she had visited the boat the first time. Ned hurried to pick it up, then started to pry up the section of floor.
Nancy waited breathlessly. Would her hunch pay off? Suddenly, with a ripping sound, the floor board came up.
“Oh!” she exclaimed excitedly.
Beneath the board was another board, old and rotted, and below this, a metal chest!
Nancy and Ned, after a few tugs, lifted the lid, revealing a mass of gold coins!
“We’ve found it! We’ve found it!” Ned cried out. He ran his hand through the coins. “There must be fifty thousand dollars’ worth!”
As he and Nancy did a little dance together to express their glee, they were completely unaware of two sinister figures who suddenly arose from behind a pile of crates and rags nearby. The two men held stout sticks in their hands. Quietly and stealthily they leaped toward the couple and brought the sticks down full force on their heads. Nancy and Ned slumped to the deck.
Above, Bess and Dave were just completing a tour of the first deck. A few minutes later they came toward the entrance to the hold. Bess suddenly yelled in alarm:
“Smoke’s coming from the hold. The showboat’s on fire! Nancy and Ned are down there!”
CHAPTER XX
A Masquerader Unmasked
FEARFUL that Nancy and Ned were trapped in the hold of the River Princess, Bess cried out their names in terror. There was no answer.
“We must do something!” the girl wailed.
At this instant George and Burt arrived. Quickly Bess and Dave told them of their fears for Nancy and Ned. The two boys tied handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths, turned on their flashlights, and rushed down the steps. Reaching the smoke-filled hold, Burt and Dave peered around frantically.
“There they are—over there!” Burt pointed. Nancy and Ned lay on the floor, unconscious. Quickly the two boys swung the prostrate forms over their shoulders, covered Nancy’s and Ned’s mouths and noses with their hands, and dashed up the steps. The injured couple were laid on the deck.
Bess knelt down beside them. “See those lumps on their heads! They’ve been hit.”
As George and Bess began to try reviving their friends, Burt, Dave, and Captain Runcie grabbed fire buckets still hanging on the deck and rushed down into the hold.
“Oh, do be careful!” Bess called after them.
In a few minutes Nancy and Ned regained consciousness. Both sat up and asked groggily, “What happened?”
Bess said someone must have knocked them out in the hold. “And there’s a fire down there, too. Do you know anything about it?”
“We didn’t see any fire,” Ned replied.
Down in the hold, Captain Runcie and his two companions were busily sloshing water from the listed side of the deck onto the burning section. In a short time they had the flames out. When they returned, Dave asked Nancy and Ned how they felt. Reassured they would be all right, he asked if the couple had seen anyone in the hold.
“No,” they replied. Then suddenly Nancy said, “The treasure—is it still there?”
“Treasure!” Dave repeated.
“It was an authentic pirate chest filled with old gold coins,” Ned explained. “We found it in the hold.”
“Then whoever knocked you out must have stolen it! declared Burt. ”We didn’t see a chest.”
No one had seen any strangers leave the showboat and so much time had elapsed since the attack that the group knew it would be futile to try finding Nancy and Ned’s assailant.
“He must have set the fire, then run up the stairs, and got away when no one was looking,” said George.
To make sure he was not still aboard, a careful search was made. The thief, or thieves, had vanished!
“We must return to Sunnymead and report this to the police at once,” Nancy decided.
As Captain Runcie and the young people were about to leave the River Princess, the gentle sound of paddles came from two directions. In a few moments they saw Charles Bartolome approaching from one entrance to the pond, Uncle Rufus from another. The new arrivals were amazed to hear what had taken place on the showboat.
“I’m sorry that you two were hurt,” said Charles grimly. “So the legend about the pirate treasure was true!”
Uncle Rufus said he had news for Nancy. He had seen nothing suspicious at the River Princess the evening before. But he had been making some inquiries among his neighbors. One, a Negro boy, had secretly watched two men at work in the showboat late one night. The younger man had carried tools, the other a “talkin’ machine with records.” While there, they had played tom-tom and calliope records. “They also played some hymns,” Uncle Rufus added. “The men called each other Alex and Spike.”
“Not Alex Upgrove?” Charles asked.
Bess motioned the young man aside and quickly told him the unfortunate story and their further suspicions about Alex. Charles’s face became grave, and he said softly, “I’m sorry for Donna Mae.”
“She’s just crushed,” Bess told him. “She realizes how foolis
h she was to think that she was in love with Alex.” Bess smiled. “You know, Charles, despite what you may think, Donna Mae has always been very fond of you.” Charles looked thoughtful, but made no reply.
As Bess turned back to the others, she heard Uncle Rufus say that he thought Spike was hiding out in an empty shack in the bayou.
“Let’s go get him!” Ned urged.
Captain Runcie insisted upon going along. But he added, “I’m much older than the rest of you and I offer this advice. Girls, don’t go on this man hunt. Those fellows are too dangerous.” Nancy reluctantly conceded that he was right.
Being familiar now with the bayou, the three girls set off alone in one of the canoes to return to Sunnymead. When they told their story, the Havers were astounded. While the group were excitedly discussing the new developments, Captain Runcie and the Emerson boys returned.
“We caught one of the men!” Dave announced. “But the other one got away with the pirate chest just before we arrived.”
Ned said that the man they had caught was Spike Lander, who had many aliases. They had driven him to police headquarters and he was now in jail. If he had any idea where Alex had gone with the pirate gold, he had refused to admit it. But the Louisiana police and those of Mississippi and other adjoining states had been alerted.
“Alex ought to be caught soon,” Ned prophesied.
Colonel Haver said he certainly hoped so. Then, turning to Captain Runcie, he asked about the possibility of moving the showboat to the Sunnymead dock.
“I can move the River Princess with very little trouble,” the captain stated. “I’ll get men to clear out the rest of the stream and fetch that showboat down here in no time.”
Two days went by and still there was no word of Alex. Spike Lander had confessed to stealing Nancy’s convertible. As the young detective had suspected, he had attempted by several sinister methods to keep her from coming to New Orleans. Other than that he would tell nothing.