Тайна загадочной лестницы [with w_cat]

[600] Nancy heard Helen go out the front door and suddenly realized that she was in the big mansion all alone. "That may bring the ghost on a visit," she thought. "If he is around, he may think I went outside with Helen! And I may learn where the secret opening is!"

[601] Nancy sat perfectly still, listening intently. Suddenly she flung her head up. Was it her imagination, or did she hear the creak of steps? She was not mistaken. Nancy strained her ears, trying to determine from where the sounds were coming.

[602] "I'm sure they're not from the attic stairs or the main staircase. And not the back stairway. Even if the ghost was in the kitchen and unlocked the door to the second floor, he'd know that the one at the top of the stairs was locked from the other side."

[603] Nancy's heart suddenly gave a leap. She was positive that the creaking sounds were coming from somewhere behind the attic wall!

"A secret staircase!" she thought excitedly. "Maybe the ghost is entering the second floor!"

[604] Nancy waited until the sounds stopped, then she got to her feet, tiptoed noiselessly down the attic steps and looked around. She could hear nothing. Was the ghost standing quietly in one of the bedrooms? Probably Miss Flora's?

[605] Treading so lightly that she did not make a sound, Nancy peered into each room as she reached it. But no one was in any of them.

[606] "Maybe he's on the first floor!" Nancy thought.

[607] She descended the main stairway, hugging the wall so she would not make a sound. Reaching the first floor, Nancy peered into the parlor. No one was there. She looked in the library, the dining room, and the kitchen. She saw no one.

[608] "Well, the ghost didn't come into the house after all," Nancy concluded. "He may have intended to, but changed his mind."

[609] She felt more certain than at any time, however, that there was a secret entrance to Twin Elms Mansion from a hidden stairway. But how to find it? Suddenly the young sleuth snapped her fingers. "I know what I'll do! I'll set a trap for that ghost!"

[610] She reflected that he had taken jewelry, but those thefts had stopped. Apparently he was afraid to go to the second floor.

[611] "I wonder if anything is missing from the first floor," she mused. "Maybe he has taken silverware or helped himself to some food."

[612] Going to the back door, Nancy opened it and called to Helen, who was now seated in the garden with Miss Flora and Aunt Rosemary. "What say we start lunch?" she called, not wishing to distress Miss Flora by bringing up the subject of the mystery.

[613] "Okay," said Helen. In a few moments she joined Nancy, who asked if her friend had received a letter.

[614] Helen's eyes sparkled. "I sure did. Oh, Nancy, I can hardly wait for Jim to get home!"

Nancy smiled. "The way you describe him, I can hardly wait to see him myself." Then she told Helen the real reason she had called her into the kitchen. She described the footsteps on what she was sure was a hidden, creaking stairway, then added, "If we discover that food or something else is missing we'll know he's been here again."

[615] Helen offered to inspect the flat silver. "I know approximately how many pieces should be in the buffet drawer," she said.

[616] "And I'll look over the food supplies," Nancy suggested. "I have a pretty good idea what was in the refrigerator and on the pantry shelf."

[617] It was not many minutes before each of the girls discovered articles missing. Helen said that nearly a dozen teaspoons were gone and Nancy figured that several cans of food, some eggs, and a quart of milk had been taken.

[618] "It just seems impossible to catch that thief," Helen said with a sigh.

[619] On a sudden hunch Nancy took down from the wall a memo pad and pencil which hung there. Putting a finger to her lips to indicate that Helen was not to comment, Nancy wrote on the sheet:

[620] "I think the only way to catch the ghost is to trap him. I believe he has one or more microphones hidden some place and that he hears all our plans."

[621] Nancy looked up at Helen, who nodded silently. Nancy continued to write, "I don't want to worry Miss Flora or Aunt Rosemary, so let's keep our plans a secret. I suggest that we go to bed tonight as usual and carry on a conversation about our plans for tomorrow. But actually we won't take off our clothes. Then about midnight let's tiptoe downstairs to watch. I'll wait in the kitchen. Do you want to stay in the living room?"

[622] Again Helen nodded. Nancy, thinking that they had been quiet too long, and that if there was an eavesdropper nearby he might become suspicious, said aloud, "What would Miss Flora and Aunt Rosemary like for lunch, Helen?"

[623] "Why, uh—" Helen found it hard to transfer to the new subject. "They—uh—both love soup."

[624] "Then I'll make cream of chicken soup," said Nancy. "Hand me a can of chicken and rice, will you? And I'll get the milk."