She had just finished applying make-up when the telephone rang. Mr. Lee Soong was calling Nancy to say that two taxis were waiting. He requested that George come downstairs alone, and casually hold a scarf so that her face would be partially covered.
“Miss Drew,” Mr. Soong went on, “ask your friend to bow to me, and act in every way as if she were Chinese, and indeed my great-niece. She and I will take the first taxi. Will the rest of you follow in the other?”
“Certainly,” said Nancy. “We will be down immediately.”
“That is excellent.” Mr. Soong added, “It is my great hope that someone at the party tonight will be startled upon seeing Miss Fayne’s disguise and reveal a clue as to where Chi Che is.”
Ned joined the girls and a short time later the two taxis drew up at the gate of a beautiful estate facing the harbor. Hundreds of lighted lanterns hung from among the trees in the gardens, and haunting Chinese music was being played.
The group alighted. As Mr. Soong and George walked on ahead, Bess whispered to Nancy, “George seems even more convincing as Chi Che than she did in New York.” Nancy nodded in agreement.
Presently the guests heard firecrackers being set off. “That means the celebrations are about to begin,” Ned explained. “Every Chinese function starts with firecrackers.”
“Let’s go watch,” Bess urged.
There were many paths and little arched bridges over ponds and brooks. One of the paths, which everyone seemed to be following, led through an attractively carved, horseshoe-shaped arch. Beyond, in the center of a clearing, Nancy and her friends could see a series of large metal frames for the display pieces of the fireworks.
All the guests had gathered to observe the display. George was alone, having preceded Mr. Soong. Among the onlookers just ahead was Mrs. Truesdale! The ex-police chief spread out his arms. Nancy sensed that Mr. Soong’s move might be a signal for her group to separate, and suggested that she, Bess, and Ned take up different positions nearby. She herself remained at the rear in back of the arch.
Some of the fireworks were in the form of floral pieces, one more beautiful than the other. Finally the center one was set off. As one section after another of it blazed into the night sky, Nancy gasped.
It was a huge fire dragon!
“It is magnificent, but frightening!” the girl detective thought.
Nancy glanced about to see Bess’s and Ned’s reactions. She could not discern her friends in the crowd ahead of her. But her gaze fastened on something else that almost made her heart stop beating.
Mr. Stromberg was sneaking up behind Mr. Soong. Was he going to attack the Chinese?
At that very instant George stood in the full glare of the fire dragon. Mrs. Truesdale turned and stared at the girl. She suddenly shrieked:
“Chi Che! You got off the junk!”
Nancy’s attention had been diverted for the moment from the scene nearer her. Now she saw that Mr. Stromberg was about to strike Mr. Soong. At the same instant, Ned appeared from among some bushes and leaped on the bookstore owner.
Swiftly Nancy started toward Mrs. Truesdale, but advanced only three feet. Someone behind her clapped a hand over the girl’s mouth and, with strong arms, dragged her away.
Nancy struggled and fought, but to no avail. The man who had seized her was suddenly aided by another, who lifted up her feet.
As she was carried off, the girl detective became aware that a Eurasian woman was accompanying the two men. Her strange captors took a path which was isolated and almost dark. No one came to Nancy’s rescue.
CHAPTER XX
The Escape
AS THE great fireworks dragon continued to crackle and emit fire and smoke, George and Bess dashed forward and grabbed Mrs. Truesdale.
“Take your hands off me!” the woman ordered.
At that moment Mr. Lee Soong and Ned came forward dragging Mr. Stromberg. The ex-police chief told the prisoners, “As you Americans say, I think your little game is up.”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Mrs. Truesdale asked airily. “Just because I said something to this impostor? I don’t know why she’s dressed up like a Chinese. For a moment I thought she was a wash-amah I know named Chi Che. She works for a friend of mine.”
By this time most of the guests had gathered around. Four men pushed their way through the crowd, nodded to Mr. Soong, and took charge of the two prisoners.
“These men belong to the colony police,” Mr. Soong explained.
“This is an outrage!” Mrs. Truesdale screamed. “I am just a tourist, not a criminal.”
All this time Mr. Stromberg had been glaring at Bess and George. Finally he said, “Officer, you have made a great mistake. Mrs. Truesdale and I have been friends a long time, and would swear to the honesty of each other.”
George faced the man squarely. “If you are honest, why did you run away from your bookshop? And where are you keeping Chi Che Soong?”
“I can only guess what you’re talking about,” Mr. Stromberg said icily. “A girl named Chi Che Soong worked in my bookshop for a short while. I understand she has disappeared, but why should I know where she is?”
“Take these people away!” Mr. Soong ordered the detectives.
As the group moved off, Bess suddenly asked, “Where’s Nancy?”
“She was standing by that archway back there when the trouble started,” said Ned.
Mr. Soong and the young people searched the estate gardens thoroughly. Nancy was not in sight.
Bess closed her eyes in terror. “I just know the gang has kidnaped Nancy again!”
The worried group held a conference. Ned said, “Mrs. Truesdale mentioned that Chi Che was on a junk. Perhaps that’s where members of the gang took Nancy. Have you any suggestions on how to find that junk?” he asked Mr. Soong.
The Chinese thought a moment, then said, “Mr. Lung recently acquired a combination sail-and-motor junk. I will try to find out where he keeps it.”
Mr. Soong hurried off but was back in a few minutes. He had not only obtained the information by telephone but had received permission from their hostess to use her motor launch for a chase.
“Please to follow me,” the Chinese requested.
At that very moment Nancy was being pushed aboard the large, sumptuous junk. Quickly the pilot cast off and the powerful motors began to move the craft toward the sea. A handkerchief which had been stuffed into Nancy’s mouth was now removed, but she was warned by her captors not to make a sound or her life would be in danger.
At that instant Nancy caught sight of a Chinese girl prisoner kneeling in the roofed-over section at the rear of the junk. From the photograph she had seen in New York, she was sure this was the real Chi Che Soong!
“Let your prisoner go at once!” Nancy demanded. “And me too.”
Her captors paid no attention and shoved Nancy toward the Chinese girl. But they did untie their prisoners. In a very low tone Nancy introduced herself and told Chi Che how she herself had become involved in the mystery.
“I heard the gang talking about you,” the Chinese girl whispered. “Mr. Breen took my keys. He came back to the apartment house and from the hall overheard your aunt telephoning you to come and solve the mystery. He was frightened away by the arrival of the superintendent.”
Chi Che now began to relate the amazing story which had led to her capture.
“One day when I was in the bookshop I overheard Mr. Stromberg talking on the phone. I realized he was part of a gang smuggling gold from Hong Kong into the United States. Small pieces were hidden inside the ivories and in the chests of mah-jongg sets.”
Chi Che also confirmed Nancy’s other suspicions that Mrs. Truesdale, Mr. Stromberg, and Mr. Lung were the ringleaders. Because of Mr. Lung’s name the group had adopted the dragon as a password.
“Was the owner of the stationery-and-gift shop in Chinatown a member of the gang?” Nancy asked.
“No, he is innocent.”
The Chinese girl said that
after she had heard the phone conversation at the bookshop about the smuggling, she had not known what to do. “I decided to go home and talk to my grandfather about it. When I arrived, he was not there. I assumed he had gone out walking as he often did.... Nancy, how is my grandfather? This must have been a dreadful shock to him.”
Nancy told Chi Che about the stolen manuscript but skipped lightly over the fact that Grandpa Soong was in the hospital and not very well.
Chi Che caught her breath. “I must have mentioned the manuscript to Mr. Stromberg. How unfortunate!”
“Please tell me just how you were captured,” Nancy requested.
“While I was in the apartment trying to decide what to do, our buzzer sounded. I opened the door, thinking Grandpa had forgotten his key. A strange man pushed his way in and warned me to keep still. The man, who I later learned was named Breen, said Mr. Stromberg knew I had overheard his phone conversation about the smuggling.”
“He is in jail,” Nancy told her. “Also two men nicknamed Ryle and Smitty.”
Chi Che went on to tell how Breen, at gun point, had made her write the letter to Grandpa Soong on stationery which he had brought.
“Fortunately, there were two sheets,” the Chinese girl explained. “While Breen was pacing around—I suppose he was looking for the manuscript—he did not notice that I was writing the note to your aunt on the second sheet. But he told me to hurry up. I handed him the note for my grandfather, and while he turned his back a moment to put it in a prominent place, I slipped the other note under the adjoining door to Miss Drew’s apartment.”
Chi Che said she had then been taken to Mrs. Truesdale’s apartment and heavily guarded. Stromberg had tried to throw suspicion away from himself by his early-morning call at the Soong apartment. If anyone had answered the door, he would have said that he had come to find out if Chi Che was going to return to her job at the bookshop.
“When you and your kind friends and the police seemed to be nearing a solution to the mystery,” Chi Che continued, “my captors took me one night on a private plane going to Hong Kong. When we arrived, they brought me aboard this junk.
“We’ve been on the water most of the time, just putting in to shore once in a while for supplies and messages. Nancy, your capture was all planned this evening. Some of the smugglers sneaked into the party.”
Nancy now told of the imminent capture of Mr. Stromberg and Mrs. Truesdale just as she herself was dragged away. “Chi Che, we must escape from here. Can you swim?”
“Yes, I can.”
The young sleuth gave directions on how the girls would proceed. “Let’s stroll out on deck. When there’s a sampan not far away, I’ll give the signal. We’ll climb onto the side, and dive in together. We’ll head for the sampan.”
The two girls separated, Nancy going outside first. She drew in great breaths of fresh air and stretched as if weary from her cramped position. Chi Che followed and kept her eyes glued on the other girl. The woman and the men on board paid little attention to them.
Suddenly Nancy gave the signal. The two girls kicked off their shoes, leaped up to the top of the wooden side of the junk, and dived in. The woman on board screamed and at once the men rushed to the side.
Nancy and Chi Che were swimming toward the passing sampan as fast as they could. They reached it at the same time and pulled themselves aboard.
The women manning it cried out in astonishment. Quickly Chi Che assured them in their native tongue that they would not be harmed. She said that the girls must get to shore immediately.
“Ch’ing hao.”—“Please okay,” the older woman said. She and her companion began to paddle furiously and fifteen minutes later Nancy and Chi Che were safe on land.
“I must get to a phone at once,” Nancy said. Chi Che translated this to the women and the younger one led them to a small shop which was still open. Smiling, Chi Che asked for her name and promised to pay the next day for the boat ride.
As she went off, Chi Che explained to the shop owner the reason for the girls’ bedraggled appearance. He looked startled but took them to the telephone in the back room. Nancy at once put in a call to the hotel, hoping that her father had returned.
Hearing his voice, she cried in relief, “Oh, Dad! Chi Che Soong is with me. We just swam the bay to get away from some of the smugglers. They’re on Mr. Lung’s junk. I was captured and taken aboard. I’ll be right home, but do what you can to round up those kidnapers.”
“You poor child!” the lawyer exclaimed. “Get here as fast as you can. In the meantime, I’ll follow through.”
During this conversation, Chi Che had been talking with the shop owner about getting transportation to the hotel. He said the girls were on the Kowloon Peninsula at a small town some distance from the city. “I will see what I can do.”
The helpful, excited man hurried to the street. He was gone for several minutes, then the girls saw him riding up in a dilapidated car.
A young Chinese man sat at the wheel. He smiled at the girls and said in English, “Please to pardon my old jalopy. I will be glad to take you to the hotel.”
When they reached the hotel, Nancy asked the driver to wait while she went upstairs to get money to pay him for his trouble, but the young man refused to accept any payment. “I am very happy to help you. From what I hear, you have solved a great mystery and benefited our colony. I am only a humble citizen, but I thank you.”
The girls smiled and hopped from the car. They waved as he went off, then hurried into the hotel and up to the Drews’ suite. As they reached the door to the living room, it opened wide. Nancy’s father clasped her in his arms. Then she broke away to introduce Chi Che not only to him but to Bess, George, and Ned. Mr. Lee Soong greeted his great-niece in Cantonese.
Nancy was hugged and bombarded with questions. Mr. Drew held up his hand. “Both these swimmers must take hot showers and put on dry clothes before they tell their story,” he insisted.
Chi Che was given the suit which George had worn to the party. When she put it on and combed her hair, there was indeed a striking resemblance between her and George!
“I have a fine American twin,” she said, smiling.
“This is part of the way we solved the mystery of the fire dragon,” Bess told her with a chuckle.
When the girls returned to the living room, stories were quickly exchanged. Nancy and Chi Che were thrilled to learn from Mr. Soong that he and Ned and some of the colony police had arrived at Mr. Lung’s junk soon after the girls had dived overboard.
“We caught all the men and the woman before they had a chance to get away,” the ex-police chief explained. “And also the man who drove off with the chests from Kam Tin. In them were mah-jongg sets containing hidden gold. Mr. Lung and several others who worked for the smugglers are also in jail.”
Presently Nancy said, “All of us here are so overjoyed that Chi Che has been found, I suggest we telephone overseas to Grandpa Soong and share the good news.”
The others nodded. Before Nancy could put in the call to the hospital in New York, the telephone rang. The police had a message for Mr. Lee Soong —his brother’s stolen manuscript had been found in Mr. Lung’s shop. It was now in the possession of the police.
Mr. Lung had confessed that it had been stolen from the New York apartment by Reilley Moot for Mr. Stromberg, Mrs. Truesdale, Breen, and himself as a private project outside the smuggling ring. Ryle, knowing the combination of Mr. Stromberg’s safe, had tried to double-cross his friends by taking the manuscript, but later had been caught by them. The others, unable to dispose of the manuscript themselves in Hong Kong, had asked Mr. Lung to try selling it.
The overseas call was put through and soon Grandpa Soong was saying, “Chi Che! I can hardly believe it! You are safe?”
When Chi Che told him the stolen manuscript had been recovered, the others could hear his gasp of astonishment and delight. When he and his granddaughter finished talking, Grandpa Soong asked to speak to Nancy.
?
??I am such a happy man,” he said. “And I must thank you for everything—you and your kind friends. If you’ll permit me to do so, I will dedicate my book to you three girls.”
Nancy was touched and said she could not imagine any greater reward for her efforts.
“Grandpa Soong, will you do me a great favor?” she asked. “Please get in touch with my aunt and tell her the good news.”
“I will do that at once,” Mr. Soong promised.
As Nancy turned from the telephone, she felt as if she had lost something. For a second the young detective looked about her. Then she realized why she felt this way. The mystery of the fire dragon had been solved—there was nothing more for her to do! But Nancy was sure that soon another case would come along. It proved to be The Clue of the Dancing Puppet.
Nancy’s eyes sparkled. Then she said to the others, “Dad told me a few minutes ago that he too has won his case. So all’s well that ends well!”
Carolyn Keene, The Mystery of the Fire Dragon
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