Laura gave a slight sob, then went on, “But no answer came from our lawyer’s letter to Mr. Aborn, who was traveling.”
“How strange!” Nancy remarked.
“Finally I wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Aborn myself at the Melrose Lake address,” Laura said. “The truth was I needed some money as a down payment on tuition at the boarding school I attend.”
“And they replied?” Nancy asked.
“Yes. Mr. Aborn told me to come here and he and his wife would meet me.”
Helen interrupted. “Then everything’s settled, so you should be happy.”
The girl shook her head. “I feel I’m not wanted. The letter wasn’t cordial. Oh dear, what shall I do?”
Nancy gave Laura a hug. “You’ll be at school and during vacations you can visit friends. And you have a new friend named Nancy Drew!”
“Oh, Nancy, you’re sweet.” Laura smiled for the first time, but in a moment her mood became sad again. “Living that way isn’t like having your own home. Mother and I had such wonderful times together.” She brushed away a few tears.
Nancy wanted to learn more but saw by her waterproof watch that it was six o’clock. Laura would have to hurry off to meet her guardian. The sky was getting lighter and the rain had almost stopped.
“We’d better leave,” she suggested to Helen and Laura.
The girls washed the cups and saucepan, dressed, and put the blankets where they had found them. Before leaving the bungalow, Nancy wrote a note of thanks to the owner, signing it “Three grateful girls.”
As they were parting, Laura said, “If my guardians don’t arrive I’ll call you and arrange a date for tomorrow.”
“Please do!” Nancy and Helen urged, and waved good-by.
When they reached the Pinecrest Motel, the two girls went at once to talk to Mr. Franklin, the manager. They told him about the sunken motorboat, expressing extreme regret, and assured him that their parents would pay for the craft.
“Don’t worry about that,” the manager said. “We have insurance which takes care of such accidents. I’m just glad you girls are all right.”
At that moment a short, thin woman swaggered into the office. Her print dress was mud-splattered and she had lost the heel to one shoe. Her wet, bleached hair clung to her head in an unbecoming fashion.
Ignoring Nancy and Helen, who were still conversing with Mr. Franklin, the woman said bluntly, “Is there anyone here who can change a tire for me? I just had a flat half a mile away.”
“I’m afraid not,” Mr. Franklin apologized. “I’m busy in the office and most of the help are off this evening.”
“That’s great!” the woman said angrily. “What am I supposed to do—walk to the Montewago Hotel? I’m late already!”
Although Nancy thought the stranded motorist was being extremely rude, she, nevertheless, suggested that the woman telephone a nearby service station. “I’m sure they’ll send someone out to help you.”
This idea was received with a snort as sparks of annoyance flashed in the woman’s pale-blue eyes. “I’ll think about that!” she said sarcastically, and, turning, limped toward the telephone booth. She banged the door shut behind her.
The three spectators looked after her with disgust and Helen said, “Some people don’t deserve a helping hand.”
The irate stranger was still in the booth when Nancy and Helen went off to their room on the ground floor. After a bath and change of clothes the girls felt better. A tasty dinner in the restaurant restored their energy and they played shuffleboard under the floodlights.
The next morning, as the two friends dressed, Helen asked, “Do you think Laura Pendleton will call us?” Helen was putting on Bermuda shorts and a candy-striped blouse.
“I imagine so,” said Nancy, “unless her guardian and his wife took her to Melrose Lake last night.”
“How far is that from here?” Helen inquired.
Nancy consulted a road map. “About twenty-five miles,” she replied. Then, as she was putting on loafers, someone knocked on the door. Nancy went to see who it was.
Laura Pendleton stood in the doorway. She looked very pretty in a becoming pink cotton dress. But the girl’s eyes were shadowed and she seemed highly distressed.
“Oh, Nancy—Helen!” Laura exclaimed. “I just had to come see you as soon as I could!”
“We’re glad you did,” Nancy said. “Come in.” Before she could continue, Laura flung herself on Helen’s bed and started to sob.
“What’s wrong, Laura?” Nancy asked in concern, going over to her.
Slowly the girl sat up and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. She apologized for her behavior, then said, “I don’t think I’m going to be happy living with the Aboms—at least not with Mrs. Aborn!”
Troubled, Nancy asked Laura whether the guardian and his wife had arrived the evening before.
“Only Mrs. Aborn,” Laura replied. “She came to my room about an hour after I left you girls. She was wet and in a very nasty mood. Apparently she’d had a flat tire on the road and was delayed in getting help from some gasoline station.”
Nancy and Helen exchanged significant glances. Mrs. Aborn sounded like the woman they had met in Mr. Franklin’s office!
“What does your guardian’s wife look like, Laura?” Helen asked with interest.
“She’s blond, small, and thin. And I guess she was terribly upset about all the trouble she’d had. I understood this and tried to make her comfortable in the extra bedroom, but—”
Laura went on to say that Mrs. Aborn, instead of calming down, had become even more unpleasant, blaming the girl for making it necessary for her to drive to Twin Lakes in the bad storm.
“She said that Mary, my mother, had spoiled me and that I was going to have to toe the mark in her home—Oh, what will I do?” Laura asked.
Nancy did not know, but said Mrs. Aborn’s behavior was inexcusable. Then she asked whether Laura’s mother had known the guardian’s wife well.
Instead of replying to the question, Laura said absently, “Mrs. Aborn called my mother ‘Mary.’ But, Nancy, Mother’s name was Marie!”
CHAPTER III
Strange Guardians
NANCY was almost certain now that she and Helen had met the unpleasant Mrs. Aborn the night before. The woman’s quarrelsome mood had extended to Laura.
Aloud Helen said, “But don’t forget it’s no fun to have car trouble on a bad night. That is apt to make anyone cross.”
“I suppose so,” Laura conceded.
“How was Mrs. Aborn this morning?” Nancy asked.
Laura’s face brightened somewhat as she admitted that the woman had been pleasant and charming. “Mrs. Aborn apologized for her actions last night and said both she and her husband could hardly wait for me to come and live with them.”
“I see,” said Nancy, but with inward reservations.
“I guess I’m being foolish to worry.” Laura smiled. “Mrs. Aborn did say she had met Mother only once, so that could explain the name mix-up.”
“Where is Mr. Aborn?” Helen asked.
“He’s arriving after lunch today. He was detained on business.”
Nancy was puzzled. The Aborns’ behavior was unusual and thoughtless, she felt.
“Mrs. Aborn is having her hair set at the beauty parlor in the hotel,” Laura explained. “She suggested that I take a taxi here this morning if I felt I had to see you two—which I insisted I did,” Laura said, grinning cheerfully.
Suddenly Nancy smiled. “I’m starved.” She asked Laura to have a second breakfast with her and Helen in the motel restaurant.
“And afterward,” Helen went on, “let’s ask Marty Malone—the girl we met yesterday, Nancy —to make a foursome in tennis.”
“Great!” said Laura to both suggestions.
When the three girls stepped outside, Nancy took a deep breath of air. She loved the earthy smell of the forests surrounding the lake resort, particularly the scent of the tall pines.
?
??What a day!” she exclaimed. Only a few fleecy white clouds broke the clear blue sky.
“The weatherman must be on our side.” Helen chuckled.
A little later Nancy lent Laura tennis clothes, and the girls went to meet Marty Malone. Soon the four were playing a lively set on the courts located behind the motel. Laura and Nancy, who were partners, won. Helen and Marty took the second set.
“You’re a terrific player, Nancy!” Laura exclaimed, as she scored a point during set three.
“Thanks,” Nancy said, as they changed courts for service. “Where did you learn to play so well?”
“Private lessons.” Laura grimaced. “At boarding school. Mother insisted. Before her illness she was a great sportswoman.”
When Nancy and Laura had won the third set, Laura called for time out. “I must go back to the hotel now,” she said. “It’s almost noon.”
After Laura had changed her clothes, Nancy offered to drive her to the hotel. The three girls piled into Nancy’s blue convertible. Ten minutes later they drew up in front of the spacious Montewago Hotel. It was several stories high and stood a long distance back from the main road. In front stretched a green lawn bordered by beds of multicolored gladioli, dahlias, and giant asters.
“It’s beautiful!” Nancy commented, as Laura stepped from the car.
Helen pointed to an attractive outdoor swimming pool to the right of the hotel. It was filled with bathers. Laura said that there was also a riding stable behind the Montewago.
“There are a lot of families here,” Laura said wistfully. “I wish I could stay.” Then hastily she thanked Nancy for driving her over.
“I loved doing it,” Nancy replied. “I hope we see each other again, Laura.”
“So do I,” Helen added.
Laura snapped her fingers. “I have a wonderful idea! Why don’t you girls come back around three o’clock? You can meet my guardians. And if there’s time, we can join the other young people at a tea dance scheduled for four.”
“Fine!” Nancy said at once.
“Come directly to my room.” Laura waved good-by.
Nancy detected a worried expression on Laura’s face, and knew she hated the thought of meeting her strange new guardian.
The young sleuth was so quiet on the return trip that Helen said, “Penny for your thoughts, Nancy.”
Her friend smiled. “I’ve concluded that the Pendletons must have been wealthy.”
“What gives you that idea?”
“It’s very expensive to live year round in New York hotels where Laura lived and she also mentioned boarding school. In addition,” Nancy enumerated, “Laura’s clothes have that simple but expensive look—you know what I mean.”
“Yes,” said Helen. “Well, if you’re right, Mr. Aborn will control a great deal of money while he’s managing Laura’s affairs.”
“In the case of a minor,” said Nancy, “an inheritance is held in trust until she is twenty-one, Dad says. That’s five years for Mr. Aborn. I hope he’ll be a wise guardian.”
She turned onto Lakeview Lane, a long, straight road bordered by woods. There were no homes along the way but a sign ahead advertised Sterling’s real-estate office. Suddenly Nancy stopped.
“I think I’ll run in here for a minute,” she said, “and ask who owns that bungalow we helped ourselves to.”
She walked into the office, introduced herself to Mr. Sterling, an elderly man, and told him the purpose of her call. The realtor grinned. “Any port in a storm is all right, I’m sure.”
He said that the bungalow was owned by one of his clients. He had rented it a week before to a Mrs. Frank Marshall from Pittsburgh.
“I guess she fixed up the second floor,” Mr. Sterling added. “She and her husband plan to use the place week ends. I’ll pass the word along to Mrs. Marshall that you were there.”
“I left a note but didn’t sign it,” Nancy said. “Perhaps some time I’ll stop in person and thank the Marshalls.”
Returning to the car, she told Helen what she had learned. “Just for fun let’s go out to the bungalow now.”
A quarter of a mile farther on Nancy made a right-hand turn which brought them out on the lake drive. Below them, the girls could see the bungalow they had visited.
Suddenly a black foreign car pulled out of the lane that led down to the bungalow. Gaining speed, the automobile came toward Nancy’s convertible.
“Watch out!” Helen yelled, jerking to attention as the vehicle passed and nearly sideswiped them.
Nancy slowed down and stopped. She looked back at the car which was almost out of sight. “Some drivers don’t deserve a license,” she said. “Do you suppose that was Mr. Marshall?”
Helen shrugged. “He wore a straw hat pulled low over his forehead. All I could see was the sleeve of his tan-and-white jacket.”
“That’s quite a bit,” Nancy teased, “in so short a time.”
Helen laughed. “Close association with you is making me more observant,” she said.
When the girls reached the Pinecrest Motel, Helen exclaimed, “There’s Aunt June!” While Nancy parked, the dark-haired girl slipped from the convertible and hurried to the porch outside the room they occupied.
“Hello, Helen dear.” The slim, stylishly dressed woman, with softly waved black hair, smiled at her niece.
Helen returned the greeting and gave her father’s younger sister a kiss. “When did you arrive?” she asked. “Have you been waiting long?”
“No. I got here half an hour ago.”
The attractive-looking woman was a buyer for a River Heights department store. She told Helen of a retailing problem which had prevented her departure with the girls, then turned to greet Nancy with enthusiasm.
“Isn’t this a lovely spot?” Nancy remarked, and Aunt June Corning agreed that the view of the lake was superb.
After learning that Aunt June had not had lunch, the three went into the tearoom. When they had given their order, Miss Corning said, “I have some slightly bad news for you, Nancy.”
“What’s happened?”
“Well, just before I left River Heights, I phoned your housekeeper to see if she had any messages for you. To my surprise Dr. Darby answered. He said that Mrs. Gruen had sprained her ankle early this morning, and she must not walk for a couple of days.”
“I’ll call Dad right away and talk to him,” said Nancy with concern.
“Wait!” Aunt June said. “Dr. Darby mentioned that your father left on a business trip today before the accident occurred.”
“That means Hannah is all alone,” Nancy said, rising. “I’ll have to go home at once. Will you both excuse me for a minute, please?”
She went to a telephone booth and dialed the Drews’ next-door neighbor, Mrs. Gleason. Nancy was relieved to hear that the woman’s sister was taking care of Hannah for the afternoon. The housekeeper was in no pain and resting comfortably.
The young sleuth did some rapid thinking. If she left for River Heights late that afternoon she could still fulfill her promise to Laura to meet her guardian and arrive home in time to cook Hannah’s supper.
“Will you please tell Mrs. Gruen I’ll see her at six o’clock,” Nancy requested, and Mrs. Gleason agreed to do this.
When Nancy returned to the others, Helen was telling her aunt of the adventure on the lake and Laura Pendleton’s story.
“How dreadful for the girl!” exlaimed Miss Corning. “I feel very sorry for her.”
Nancy now told of her plans to return home, and although Helen and her aunt were disappointed, they agreed that it was the right thing to do.
“But before I leave,” said Nancy, “I want to meet Mr. and Mrs. Aborn.”
After lunch Nancy packed her suitcase, put it in the car, and paid her motel bill. Soon it was time for her and Helen to leave for the Montewago Hotel.
“Are you sure you won’t accompany us, Aunt June?” asked Helen.
Miss Corning shook her head. “I’m a little tired,” she said, “a
nd besides, I must unpack.”
A short while later the two girls entered the Montewago lobby. Nancy made her way directly to the desk and after a brief wait was informed that Miss Pendleton would receive the girls in her suite. An elevator took them to the third floor.
Scarcely had they knocked on the door when Laura opened it. “Oh, I’m so glad you came,” she cried out, smiling with relief.
Laura led the girls into a well-appointed living room with a bedroom on either side. As Nancy stepped inside, she saw a man and a woman seated in chairs near a picture window. In a glance Nancy realized that she and Helen had been right about Mrs. Aborn being the woman they had met the night before. Right now she looked more friendly.
Jacob Aborn arose and smiled graciously. He was a well-built, somewhat stocky man in his early fifties. His face was square, and his small brown eyes were shifty.
When Laura introduced the girls, Mrs. Aborn rushed toward them. “Darlings!” she said, giving Helen and Nancy a butterfly peck on their cheeks. “You’ve been so good to poor Laura.”
“Perfect bricks!” Mr. Aborn said gruffly. He extended a hand first to Nancy, then to Helen. “The reason I’m late in getting Laura is that I want everything to be perfect for her arrival at our Melrose Lake house.”
Nancy was sure Mrs. Aborn recognized the callers and was embarrassed to admit it. They said nothing. There was an awkward silence until Laura said, “Well, let’s all sit down.”
For a few minutes everyone chatted generally, then Helen asked, “When are you leaving, Mr. Aborn?”
“In half an hour,” was the reply. “Laura is tired and I want to get her settled before suppertime.”
Mrs. Aborn broke in, “Yes, the poor child needs a lot of rest and good care.”
Laura Pendleton seemed annoyed to be treated as a child and an invalid. “I’m fine,” she stated defiantly. Turning to Nancy, she said quietly, “I’m afraid that we can’t attend the hotel tea dance.”
“That’s all right,” Nancy replied. She told of Hannah’s accident and the fact that she must soon head for home.
“Are you all packed, Laura?” Mr. Aborn asked.