Тайна загадочной лестницы [with w_cat]

[209] "In that case he really must be a ghost," said Helen lightly. "There's not a piece of furniture in the house."

[210] The two girls returned to the Twin Elms mansion and reported their lack of success in picking up a clue to the intruder. Nancy, recalling that many Colonial houses had secret entrances and passageways, asked Miss Flora, "Do you know of any secret entrance to your home that the thief could use?"

[211] She said no, and explained that her husband had been a rather reticent person and had passed away when Rosemary was only a baby. "It's just possible he knew of a secret entrance, but did not want to worry me by telling me about it," Mrs. Turnbull said.

[212] Aunt Rosemary, sensing that her mother was becoming alarmed by the questions, suggested that they all have lunch. The two girls went with her to the kitchen and helped prepare a tasty meal of chicken salad, biscuits, and fruit gelatin.

[213] During the meal the conversation covered several subjects, but always came back to the topic of the mystery. They had just finished eating when suddenly Nancy sat straight up in her chair.

"What's the matter?" Helen asked her.

[214] Nancy was staring out the dining-room door toward the stairway in the hall. Then she turned to Miss Flora. "Did you leave a radio on in your bedroom?"

[215] "Why, no."

"Did you, Aunt Rosemary?"

[216] "No. Neither Mother nor I turned our radios on this morning. Why do—" She stopped speaking, for now all of them could distinctly hear music coming from the second floor.

[217] Helen and Nancy were out of their chairs instantly. They dashed into the hall and up the stairway. The music was coming from Miss Flora's room, and when the girls rushed in, they knew indeed that it was from her radio.

[218] Nancy went over to examine the set. It was an old one and did not have a clock attachment with an automatic control.

[219] "Someone came into this room and turned on the radio!" she stated.

[220] A look of alarm came over Helen's face, but she tried to shake off her nervousness and asked, "Nancy, do you think the radio could have been turned on by remote control? I've heard of such things."

[221] Nancy said she doubted this. "I'm afraid, Helen, that the thief has been in the house all the time. He and the ghost are one and the same person. Oh, I wish we had looked before in the cellar and the attic. Maybe it's not too late. Come on!"

[222] Helen, instead of moving from the room, stared at the fireplace. "Nancy," she said, "do you suppose someone is hiding up there?"

[223] Without hesitation she crossed the room, got down on her knees, and tried to look up the chimney. The damper was closed. Reaching her arm up, Helen pulled the handle to open it.

[224] The next moment she cried out, " Ugh!"

[225]    "Oh, Helen, you poor thing!" Nancy exclaimed, running to her friend's side.

[226] A shower of soot had come down, covering Helen's hair, face, shoulders, and arms.

[227] "Get me a towel, will you, Nancy?" she requested.

[228] Nancy dashed to the bathroom and grabbed two large towels. She wrapped them around her friend, then went with Helen to help her with a shampoo and general cleanup job. Finally Nancy brought her another sports dress.

[229] "I guess my idea about chimneys wasn't so good," Helen stated ruefully. "And we're probably too late to catch the thief."

[230] Nevertheless, she and Nancy climbed the stairs to the attic and looked behind trunks and boxes to see if anyone were hiding. Next, the girls went to the cellar and inspected the various rooms there. Still there was no sign of the thief who had entered Twin Elms.

[231] After Miss Flora had heard the whole story, she gave a nervous sigh. "It's the ghost—there's no other explanation."

[232] "But why," Aunt Rosemary asked, "has a ghost suddenly started performing here? This house has been occupied since 1785 and no ghost was ever reported haunting the place."

[233] "Well, apparently robbery is the motive," Nancy replied. "But why the thief bothers to frighten you is something I haven't figured out yet."

[234] "The main thing," Helen spoke up, "is to catch him!"

[235] "Oh, if we only could!" Miss Flora said, her voice a bit shaky.

[236] The girls were about to pick up the luncheon dishes from the table, to carry them to the kitchen, when the front door knocker sounded loudly.

[237] "Oh, dear," said Miss Flora, "who can that be? Maybe it's the thief and he's come to harm us!"

[238] Aunt Rosemary put an arm around her mother's shoulders. "Please don't worry," she begged. "I think our caller is probably the man who wants to buy Twin Elms." She turned to Nancy and Helen. "But Mother doesn't want to sell for the low price that he is offering."

[239] Nancy said she would go to the door. She set the dishes down and walked out to the hall. Reaching the great door, she flung it open.

Nathan Comber stood there!