Mystery Of The Tolling Bell Part 16

"A good idea," Mr. Drew agreed. "In fact, since we don't know the woman's name, it seems about the only way to spot her. I'll arrange it."

Nancy was not too hopeful that the plan would bring results. She remarked to Ned on the way back to Candleton that if the Mon Coeur swindlers ever had made the Fisher's Cove Hotel their headquarters, they certainly could have moved out by this time.

"Isn't it possible Madame is peddling her products in other small towns around?" Ned speculated.

"Very possible. I mean to do some investigating."

"And I'll make a date with you right now to help!"

Nancy laughed. "But I want to start out soon after breakfast tomorrow."

"That's okay with me," Ned replied.

"There's no putting you off, I see." Nancy chuckled. "All right.Nine-thirty in the morning. First we'll attend church," she added, "then look for Amos Hendrick. He owes us an explanation for running off with the boat."

Ned arrived promptly and they set off. After the service they went to the boat rental docks and boarding houses to inquire about the man but did not find him. Then, in search of Madame, they drove to one seash.o.r.e resort after another. No one had seen the woman in days.

"At least we're following her trail," Nancy said, refusing to be discouraged.

She paused in front of a drugstore window which prominently displayed Mon Coeur cosmetics and perfume. "This shop is open," Nancy said. "We ought to warn the druggist not to buy any more of the products."

"These may be better than the stuff Madame sells from her cart," Ned suggested. "It's possible she gets good perfume and dilutes it to make a high profit for herself."

"I hadn't thought of that. Suppose I buy some of these and have them a.n.a.lyzed by a chemist."

"Good idea," Ned replied. "I have a college friend not far from Candleton who will make the report for us, and we can depend on it being accurate."

Nancy purchased a lipstick, a box of powder, and a small vial of perfume. Later that afternoon Ned took them to his friend, John Sander, who lived a few miles down the sh.o.r.e. Only two years out of Emerson College, which Ned now attended, the young man already had become well known as a chemist

"John promises us a report by tomorrow night," Ned told Nancy upon his return. "I suggested that he bring it over to Candleton. He's going to get hold of Bill Malcome-you remember him. We'll make it a sixsome for the yacht club dance. Okay?"

"Sounds like fun." Nancy smiled. "I'm sure Bess and George would love it, too."

When the cousins heard about the date, they were pleased. Both knew Bill, who had escorted George to several parties in River Heights.

"I won't be able to dance with this ankle," said George, "but Bill likes talking better than dancing anyway, so we'll catch up on the news."

The following evening the girls had just finished dressing when their escorts arrived. Nancy ran downstairs ahead of the others to greet the boys. They were talking with Mr. Drew. Ned introduced John, who seemed to be a pleasant person.

"Did you bring the report?" Nancy asked him.

"I can give it to you in a few words," the chemist replied. "The sample of perfume proved to be mostly water."

"I thought so!" Nancy exclaimed.

"The face powder contained chalk-the common schoolroom variety-mixed with a little ordinary rice powder to give it texture. The lipstick contains a cheap substance, which really is danger ous to the skin."

"We must alert the druggist who has been carrying these products," Nancy declared. "I'll call him tomorrow morning." With a sigh, she added, "Wait until poor Bess hears this! She bought a bottle of that perfume."

Bess came downstairs at this moment and met the chemist. The truth of his findings was not easy for her to accept. She was ashamed that she had not followed Nancy and George's advice.

"I'd like to know what the perfume is like," Mr. Drew spoke up. "Would you mind getting your bottle, Bess?"

She hastened to her room and returned with the bottle. As Bess uncorked it, a strange, not too pleasant fragrance permeated the air.

"That dreadful stuff gets worse the longer it stands!" George declared.

"Why, how funny-" the lawyer started to say, then sank into a chair, staring into s.p.a.ce. Alarmed, Nancy darted to his side.

"Dad!"

"I'm quite all right, my dear," her father said. "But that perfume-"

"Cork the bottle," George ordered her cousin.

"No, no, that's not necessary," said the lawyer. "The perfume doesn't bother me. But I connect it with something unpleasant."

"In what way, Dad?" Nancy asked.

Mr. Drew seemed lost in thought for several seconds. Then suddenly he snapped his fingers.

"I have it! I remember now!" he cried excitedly. "The woman in the taxi with me! She used that same perfume!"

CHAPTER XII.

The Candlemaker Helps

As the other young people went outside to get into the cars, Nancy and Ned lingered behind to talk further with Mr. Drew about the woman in the taxi.

"Are you sure she had on Mon Coeur perfume?" the young detective asked her father.

"Positive."

Nancy asked him to describe the woman again. The lawyer said he had not paid much attention to her, but recalled she was dark, had rather large features, and wore her hair so it covered a good part of her face.

"She could have been Madame," Nancy said excitedly. "Dad, you thought those Mon Coeur men in New York might have given you a slow-acting drug. Perhaps Madame was their accomplice."

"You're probably right," her father agreed.

"Maybe," Nancy said, "you weren't drugged in New York but by the woman in the taxi."

"But how?"

"With the perfume."

"You mean the woman may have mixed that sweet-smelling perfume with something to drug me?"