Arghh!” Nancy screamed as the big dark blue thing came out of the closet toward her.
“Grrrrr! Arghghh!” the blue monster growled.
As Nancy backed up, she saw what it was.
Someone had a coat over his head and was trying to scare her.
“Stop it!” Nancy cried out.
All at once, the monster tossed the coat off his head and started laughing.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha,” Derrick cried, doubling over. He pointed at Nancy and started giggling again. “Look at you! You were really scared!”
“I was not,” Nancy said, putting her hands on her hips. She even smiled.
“I’m sorry,” Derrick said. He sounded as if he meant it, although he was still laughing. “I just couldn’t resist. I saw you coming up the walk, and I thought, Here’s a good chance for a laugh. Don’t be angry with me. Please?”
Nancy didn’t answer. She wasn’t too angry about this prank. But she didn’t like his other tricks at all. She was still mad about the milk spilling all over her bathrobe. Now she wouldn’t be able to wear it until Hannah washed it.
“Just stay out of the closet,” Nancy said. Then she hung her jacket up quickly and ran toward the kitchen without another word.
In the kitchen, Nancy found Hannah basting the turkey. She let Nancy have a turn. It was fun. Nancy liked to squeeze the rubber baster and watch the turkey drippings go up into the glass tube. Then she squirted the juice all over the golden bird.
“How long till dinner?” Nancy asked when they were finished basting.
“Oh, five or six more hours,” Hannah said. She put the turkey back in the oven. “We won’t eat until five o’clock.”
Oh, no! Nancy thought. Six more hours alone with Pamela and Derrick? That didn’t sound too good.
Nancy ran to the living room to see if her father could play a game with her. But he was too busy talking to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan.
She hurried back to the kitchen. “May I invite Bess to come over?” Nancy asked Hannah. “To help me keep Pamela and Derrick company,” she added quickly.
“Well. . . ,” Hannah said slowly. “Okay. As long as you all promise to play together. I don’t want you and Bess going off by yourselves all day.”
Nancy nodded quickly and hurried to call her friend. But Bess said she could come over for only a little while.
Nancy waited by the front door till Bess arrived. Then the two of them ran up to Nancy’s room.
“We can’t stay up here long,” Nancy whispered. “We have to play with them.”
“Did you find the ring yet?” Bess asked.
“No,” Nancy said. “And I still don’t have any clues. But I went to the D’Angelos’ today. Greg said his mom saw the ring on the kitchen counter, so I don’t think Hannah lost it.”
“Pamela probably took it,” Bess said. “She’s so nasty.”
“I know,” Nancy whispered. “She’s my first suspect. But I don’t have any proof. So all we can do is keep an eye on her.”
“Right,” Bess agreed. She seemed just as eager to catch the thief as Nancy was.
Then they went downstairs. Carson Drew had made a big fire in the living room fireplace. He set up some board games for them to play on the floor. Then he and the Morgans moved into the den to talk. Nancy and Bess flopped down on the floor.
For a while they played Parcheesi with Pamela and Derrick. Then they played a game called Mazes. Then Nancy’s favorite—Clue. Nancy was good at games. She was especially good at Clue. She liked solving mysteries.
After three games of Clue, though, Bess was getting tired. She put her cards on the couch cushions. Then she leaned back.
“It’s almost time for me to go,” Bess said.
“You can’t skip this turn,” Derrick said. “That wouldn’t be fair.”
“Why not?” Bess said.
“Just go on,” Derrick said. “Roll the dice. You have to take your turn.”
Bess sighed. “I don’t even remember what cards I have,” Bess said. She reached behind her to the couch, but the cards were gone.
“Look there,” Nancy said, pointing. “I think they slipped down between the couch cushions.”
Bess put her hands into the crack between two cushions and dug around. But she couldn’t find all of her cards. Finally, she lifted one cushion up.
“Hey!” Bess cried, turning around and smiling at Nancy. “Look what I just found!”
7
After-Dinner Tricks
Is it the ring?” Nancy cried, leaping up. “Did you find Hannah’s ring?”
Nancy rushed over to the couch. She couldn’t wait to see what was in Bess’s hands.
If it’s the ring, Nancy thought, then maybe Pamela took it. She could have hid it in the couch cushions.
“No,” Bess said, quickly turning around. “It’s just money. A bunch of coins. And look—I even found a fifty-cent piece!”
“Oh.” Nancy’s shoulders slumped. She was so disappointed.
“May I see?” Derrick said. “I’ve never seen an American fifty-center.”
“Okay,” Bess said, handing it over to him.
Just then Carson Drew stuck his head into the room. “What’s all the excitement?” he asked. “Did I hear someone say she found Hannah’s ring?”
“No, Daddy,” Nancy answered. “Bess just found some money in the couch.”
“Oh.” Carson looked disappointed, too.
I know how you feel, Nancy thought. I wanted it to be the ring.
Then Nancy thought: I’ve got to hurry if I’m going to catch the thief. The Morgans are going home tomorrow. If I don’t catch Pamela by then, she’ll leave—taking the ring with her.
Carson Drew got a twinkle in his eye. “Well, finders keepers, Bess,” he said. “You may keep the money. Most of it probably fell out of my pockets. So you’ve won a nice prize for your visit today.”
“Really? Gee, thanks,” Bess said happily.
Then Carson Drew said it was time for Bess to go home. Her mother had called. Their Thanksgiving dinner would be ready soon.
“Will we eat soon, too?” Nancy asked. Her stomach was growling.
“Yes,” Carson said. “Hannah said the turkey is done early. So why don’t you go help her put the food on the table? Everything is just about ready now.”
Soon Nancy and her family were sitting down to dinner with their guests.
Nancy was seated between Pamela and Derrick.
“Would you like some cranberry sauce?” Nancy asked as she passed the bowl of sauce.
“Ew,” Pamela said. “No, thank you. It’s too sour for me.”
It’s not sour now, Nancy thought. Hannah had cooked the cranberries with sugar. The sauce was sweet.
“Just try some,” Julie Morgan said to her daughter. “Take a small bit of each thing.”
Nancy piled her plate high with turkey, gravy, candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.
But Pamela took only a teaspoonful of each thing. Except for the turkey. She took three big slices of it.
Then she tasted the cranberries.
“Mmmm!” Pamela said. “This is delicious. May I have some more, please?”
“Sure,” Nancy said as she passed the bowl.
Maybe now she’ll like our Thanksgiving more, Nancy hoped.
“I wonder what’s for dessert?” Derrick said with a sly grin.
“My goodness. It’s too soon to talk about dessert,” Derrick’s father said. “We haven’t eaten dinner yet!”
Derrick laughed. “It’s never too soon to talk about dessert,” he said.
Nancy glanced at Derrick. He had that sneaky look in his eye.
He’s got some kind of prank planned, Nancy thought. I wonder what it is?
Finally dinner was over. Nancy helped clear the table. Then Hannah brought in the pumpkin pie.
“I didn’t bake it, so I’m not sure how it came out,” Hannah said as she cut slices for everyone.
“Oh, it looks marvelo
us,” Charles Morgan said. “I’m sure we’ll love it.”
“I’m sure you’ll love it especially, Hannah,” Derrick said with a twinkling smile.
Uh-oh, Nancy thought. Big trouble. He probably poured pepper on the pie while we weren’t looking!
Nancy took one bite carefully. “It tastes okay,” she said, surprised.
Derrick leaned forward and watched her eat. He stared at Nancy’s plate. Then he stared carefully at everyone else. “Eat up!” he said happily.
“Derrick, what are you up to?” Julie Morgan asked her son. “Have you played another one of your very nasty pranks?”
“I’ll never tell,” Derrick answered mischievously. “But chew your pie carefully, all right?”
Something’s going on, Nancy thought. But what?
And why did he say that Hannah would especially like the pie?
Then all of a sudden Nancy thought about Hannah’s ring.
“I know!” Nancy blurted out. “I’ll bet this has something to do with Hannah’s ring.”
“You guessed it,” Derrick said, grinning broadly. “I put it in the pie.”
“You what?” Julie Morgan asked. Her mouth dropped open.
“I thought it would be fun to have a bit of our English traditions at this American Thanksgiving,” Derrick said.
“Ohhhh,” Julie Morgan said. She shook her head, but she smiled, too. Then she turned to Nancy to explain. “You see, at home we always bake small silver rings and prizes in our Christmas steamed puddings. It’s for good luck. Whoever gets a prize is supposed to have a whole year of happiness.”
“That sounds like fun,” Nancy said. “But what’s a steamed pudding?”
“It’s a dessert made with fruits and bread, baked in a mold,” Mrs. Morgan said. “But, Derrick—what did you do?”
“When we were playing hide-and-seek yesterday, I hid in the house,” Derrick said.
Nancy’s mouth dropped open. So that was it!
“Ann was baking the pie then,” Derrick went on. “That’s when I saw the ring. So when Ann wasn’t looking, I dropped it into the pumpkin pie.”
“That was a terrible thing to do!” Julie Morgan said.
“It certainly was, young man,” Charles Morgan said, shaking his finger at his son. “You’ve had Hannah worried sick.”
“Yes, I was,” Hannah admitted. “But let’s not fuss. There’s no harm done. At least we know where the ring is now. Eat up, everyone!”
Quickly everyone hurried to finish their pie. They chewed each bite carefully, to be sure they didn’t swallow the ring. But when the pie was all gone, the ring still hadn’t turned up.
“Oh, no,” Hannah said. “I can’t believe it. My ring is really lost now. I’ll never get it back!”
8
Lost—and Found!
But it can’t be lost!” Derrick said. “I put it in the pie. I know I did!”
“Well, it’s not here now,” Carson Drew said. “We’ve eaten every bite.”
“Oh, no,” Derrick said. “I’m really sorry. Really I am.”
Nancy saw Hannah put a hand up to her cheek. She looked as if she might cry.
“Oh, my,” Hannah said. “Do you suppose someone swallowed it?”
“No way,” Derrick said. “That was a big ring. And I watched everyone. No one took huge bites. I’m sure you would have chomped on it, if it had been there.”
“Then someone stole it from the pie?” Pamela said. Her eyes grew wide.
Maybe, Nancy thought. And maybe not.
“Excuse me,” Nancy said, jumping up. “I’ll be right back. I want to get my notebook.”
Nancy raced up the stairs to her room.
There must be some more clues, Nancy thought. Clues I didn’t notice at first and didn’t write down!
Think, Nancy told herself. What happened yesterday while Ann was baking the pie?
She sat down at her desk and opened her notebook. Then she started writing everything she could remember.
She wrote:
Got home at 1:00. Ate lunch. Played outside. Hide-and-seek.
Went inside. Pie smelled yummy. Played games.
Went to the kitchen. Was something burning?
4:00—Hannah came home. Ann left.
Hmmm, Nancy thought. It took Ann a long time to bake that pie.
Nancy scooped up her notebook and hurried downstairs.
“Hannah,” Nancy said as she bounced into the living room. “How long does it take to bake a pumpkin pie?”
“Oh, about forty-five minutes,” Hannah said. “Why?”
“Because I smelled it baking at about two o’clock,” Nancy said. “But Ann didn’t take it out until almost four. That’s long enough to bake two pies.”
“Nancy, you’re a genius!” Hannah said. “Do you think Ann baked two pies and took one of them home with her?”
“No . . . ,” Nancy said slowly, shaking her head. “She didn’t take a pie with her.”
“Well, what then?” Carson Drew asked. He turned and whispered to the Morgans. “Nancy has solved a number of mysteries around here. She’s our own detective.”
Then he turned back to Nancy. “Tell us, Pudding Pie. What do you think?”
Nancy smiled. Everyone was watching her. They were all waiting to hear what she would say. Even Pamela.
“I smelled something burning in the afternoon,” Nancy said. “I think Ann burned the first pie—so she had to bake another one.”
“Ah!” Hannah cried out. She clamped her hand over her mouth. “You’re right! I just realized I forgot to tell Ann about our oven. It isn’t working right. The temperature is nearly thirty degrees too hot.”
Nancy grinned from ear to ear.
“That’s why Ann was in the kitchen so long,” Nancy said. “And that’s why we didn’t have time to bake cookies.”
“Oh, but it’s my fault,” Hannah said. “I’m so embarrassed. I should have told her about the oven.”
“Just wait right here,” Nancy said. She hurried toward the kitchen door.
Nancy opened it and felt a cold blast of air as she stepped outside. But she didn’t care. She could hardly wait to look in the garbage can.
She lifted the lid quickly. Near the top, under another bag of garbage, was the orange plastic bag Ann had thrown away when she left the day before. The garbage hadn’t been picked up, since it was a holiday.
Nancy lifted the orange bag and brought it into the kitchen. Everyone was waiting for her there. Her cold hands fumbled as she opened the bag.
“Yes! Here it is!” she cried out.
There in the plastic bag was a squished and burned pumpkin pie. Nancy laid the bag open so that Hannah could see. Then she dug her hands into the mushy pie and felt around.
“Can you feel it?” Hannah asked.
Nancy shook her head. She kept pressing her fingers into the mush. Finally she found it. Something round. And hard like metal.
“Here it is!” Nancy cried, lifting up the pumpkin-covered ring.
“Oh, Nancy, thank you,” Hannah said. She grabbed Nancy and gave her a big hug. “I’m so grateful. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost this ring.”
“Any time,” Nancy said proudly. She went to wash her hands, smiling so hard that her face hurt.
For a moment Derrick just stood there looking guilty. Then he spoke up.
“Uh, Hannah,” Derrick said. “I’m really terribly sorry. I didn’t mean it to turn out this way. Honestly.”
Hannah stared at him for a moment. Finally she gave him a warm smile and ruffled his coppery red hair.
“Just remember,” Hannah said. “Some pranks are funnier than others. I hope you will learn from this how to tell them apart.”
After that, everyone went back to the dining room to sit and talk.
Everyone except Nancy. She wanted to be alone for a minute. Then she noticed that Pamela had stayed in the kitchen, too.
“That was amazing,” Pamela said. “I mean, how you figur
ed out about the pie. How did you do that?”
“Oh, thanks,” Nancy said. “I guess there are some things we Americans can do right.”
Pamela looked down and blushed. “I’m sorry I’ve been so mean,” she said. “It’s just that I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to act at your Thanksgiving. It’s so different. I guess I felt out of place.”
Nancy remembered how she had felt that morning at the D’Angelos’. “I know how you feel,” Nancy said.
Pamela looked surprised. “You do?”
Nancy nodded.
And I’m sorry I suspected you of taking Hannah’s ring, Nancy thought. I guess I wasn’t being very nice, either.
“Well, anyway, I hope we can be friends,” Pamela said. “I’d love to have an American pen pal. Especially one who’s a detective.”
“That would be fun,” Nancy said. “I’ve never gotten a letter from anyone in England.”
Both girls smiled. Nancy felt so happy. This was turning out to be a great Thanksgiving after all.
“Let’s ask Hannah if we can bake cookies tomorrow,” Nancy said. “I still want to use my turkey cookie cutter.”
“Cookies?” Pamela said. For a minute she sounded puzzled. Then she smiled. “Oh, yes! I like that word. It’s much nicer than biscuit.”
“I’ll say,” Nancy said. “I mean, in America, a biscuit is something you eat for breakfast. Unless it’s a dog biscuit. Then you feed it to your dog.”
Pamela laughed as the two of them walked back to join the others in the dining room. Then, for the rest of the evening, they talked and played in Nancy’s room.
But after Pamela went to bed, Nancy took out her special blue notebook again.
She opened it to the next clean page. At the top she wrote:
Today I solved the case of Hannah’s Missing Ring. I also learned that people have all different kinds of holiday traditions. But the nicest holidays are the ones where you try something new—like making a new friend.
Case closed.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.