“Unfortunately, yes,” he replied. “Madame Leblanc is at our house in the country. She did not feel well enough to attend.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Nancy. “I would have liked to meet her.”
She had the feeling he might have invited the group to do so, but at that moment they were interrupted by an announcement from the leader of a small string orchestra. He introduced a young woman soprano who had just joined the Paris Opera Company. The listeners were spellbound by her clear silvery voice, and after she had finished two solos, the applause was thunderous.
Directly afterward, Monsieur Leblanc murmured “Pardon” to the girls and Mr. Drew, and went off. The young opera singer graciously gave an encore, then said she must leave.
As the orchestra resumed playing, Nancy, Bess, and George began to talk in subdued tones to Mr. Drew about Monsieur Leblanc. “He seemed attentive to the music,” Nancy remarked, “but I did notice that once in a while during the singing he had a faraway look in his eyes.”
Bess said dramatically, “Maybe he’s been hypnotized and is being coerced into selling his securities!”
“At any rate,” George declared emphatically, “I have a hunch it won’t be easy to get information out of him!”
Mr. Drew nodded. “I’ve already learned that. But I really think you girls may have better luck.”
Some of the guests they had already met began introducing the River Heights group to others. Two debonair young men asked Bess and George to dance. Another young man was just making his way toward Nancy when Monsieur Leblanc returned.
Bowing low, he said, “May I have the pleasure?”
Nancy did not want to dance—her shoulder was aching—but she felt she should not miss this opportunity to talk with the financier. As they circled the floor of the ballroom, he began to query her about her trip to France. Instantly she wondered if he suspected something, but if he did, Leblanc gave no evidence of it.
She said, “Whenever Dad’s away from home he misses me very much. My mother died when I was a child and he and I have always been close pals. He asked me to join him here. Bess and George often go on trips with me.”
“I wish,” Leblanc said, “that I might have the honor of showing you and your friends around. But I am very busy and unfortunately have little time to myself.”
When the music stopped, the Frenchman escorted Nancy to a chair, then excused himself. A few minutes later George made her way to Nancy’s side, saying:
“I have something terribly important to tell you. I told my partner I’d be back in a few minutes. See that man in Arabian dress standing in the doorway?”
When Nancy nodded, George went on, “Well, what do you think of this? After Monsieur Leblanc left you, I heard him say to the Arab—in the doorway to the palm garden, where I was—‘I told you not to come here, or anywhere else, unless we were alone!’ ”
Nancy sat straight. “Go on!” she urged.
“The Arab replied, ‘But 9 is coming up. You must meet me.’ ”
“This is exciting!” Nancy remarked. “What else happened?”
“Monsieur Leblanc answered, ‘Tomorrow—99.’ Then the men separated.”
“Ninety-nine!” Nancy echoed softly, her eyes lighting up. “I’d like to follow the Arab!”
At that moment Mr. Drew walked over and Nancy repeated what George had told her. He too was extremely interested, but said he would not permit Nancy to do any more sleuthing that evening.
“Don’t forget you were banged up a while ago. You must get back to the hotel and go to bed. I’ll make a bargain with you, though. Tomorrow we’ll follow Monsieur Leblanc.”
“All right, Dad. Now, may I make a bargain with you?”
He smiled. “What is it?”
“I’d like to shadow the Arab here just for a few minutes and see what I can find out. Please!”
Mr. Drew agreed to give his daughter twenty minutes. “Be very careful,” he warned her. “We don’t want anyone becoming suspicious.”
Just then a young man, Henri Durant, came up and asked Nancy to dance. She accepted and as the music started he led her onto the floor. The young sleuth glanced about as casually as possible. Suddenly her gaze fixed on the far end of the ballroom which opened onto the indoor garden with palm trees and exotic plants. She spotted the Arab in the garden!
An idea quickly came to Nancy. “I hope it works!” she thought.
As they moved along to a lively tune, Henri complimented Nancy not only on her dancing but also on her ability to speak French so well.
Nancy laughed. “You dance very well yourself.” Then, seconds later, she said, “Would you mind going into the garden and sitting out the rest of this dance? My shoulder is aching.”
Henri was most solicitous and at once led her to a bench in the heavy foliaged garden. At first she could not see the Arab. Then suddenly she spotted him among the palms. He was staring intently at her!
Did he know who Nancy was? Had he guessed that she was trying to solve the mystery of the 99 steps? Was this man a new enemy of hers?
Turning to her companion, Nancy asked, “Do you know who that Arab is?”
“No, but I’ll be glad to find out,” Henri answered.
He arose and started toward the man. But instantly the stranger turned and hurried off to the far end of the garden where there was another entrance into the ballroom.
Nancy caught up to Henri, thinking, “That Arab certainly acts suspiciously. I mustn’t let him get away without finding out who he is!” Smiling, Nancy said to Henri, “I want to speak to that Arabian man and I thought he might be leaving.”
This seemed to satisfy Henri and he accompanied her to the edge of the dance floor. Nancy caught sight of the Arab’s turban as he disappeared out the doorway which led to the hall. She and Henri made their way through the crowd of dancers as fast as they could.
By the time they reached the hall, however, the Arab was going out the front door. Apparently he had not bothered to say good night to the Tremaines. Hurrying to the doorman, Nancy asked him who the stranger was.
“I do not know the gentleman,” he replied. “He had a proper invitation, so of course I admitted him.”
“I must speak to Monsieur!” said Nancy, and the servant opened the door.
She ran outside and from the top of the long flight of steps gazed up and down. The Arab was striding quickly toward a small, dark car parked up the street. There was a driver at the wheel and the motor was running.
“Come on, Henri!” Nancy urged.
CHAPTER IX
Startling Headlines
TOGETHER, Nancy and Henri dashed down the steps of the Tremaine mansion. By this time the mysterious Arab had jumped into the automobile. The driver pulled away and the car shot forward.
Suddenly, in the glare of two street lamps in front of the Tremaine home, the Arab took off his turban. With it came a wig and false whiskers.
“Oh!” Nancy gasped.
The man was Louis Aubert!
“Is something the matter?” Henri asked.
“That man was in disguise. I have an idea he had no right to be at the party. We should tell the Tremaines.”
“Do you think he is a thief?” Henri looked perplexed. “Is that why you wished to stop him?”
Nancy hesitated, then answered truthfully, “I’m not sure. But I do have reason to suspect that the man is dishonest.”
Henri accepted her reply as if sensing Nancy did not wish to divulge anything else. The couple re-entered the house.
Monsieur and Madame Tremaine were at the back of the hall saying good night to several guests. Nancy waited until they had departed, then asked her host who the Arab was. He and his wife exchanged glances, then Monsieur Tremaine responded:
“We did not catch his name. He suddenly appeared and told us he was a friend of Monsieur Leblanc’s. Do you wish me to ask him?”
“He has already left,” Nancy told them. “He seemed to be in a great hurry.”
&
nbsp; The Tremaines frowned. Obviously the man had displayed very bad manners! Nancy was saved from explaining the reason for her query because Bess, George, and Mr. Drew joined them. The lawyer said he thought they should leave now.
Henri smiled at Nancy and said good night. Monsieur Leblanc then came up to the group. His manner seemed perfectly natural as he expressed the hope of seeing them all again some time in the near future.
Nancy’s brain was in a whirl. She wondered if the financier might be staying in town and planning to meet Louis Aubert early in the morning. Smiling, Nancy asked Leblanc, “Will you go way out to the country tonight?”
“Yes, indeed. I love it there. I sleep much better.”
George had caught on to Nancy’s line of questioning. She spoke up. “Do you commute to your office every day, Monsieur Leblanc?”
“Yes. I will be at my desk by nine o’clock tomorrow morning, as usual,” he replied.
Nancy had come to a conclusion. He would meet Louis Aubert either in Paris during the daytime or out in the country the next evening. “I can’t wait to follow him,” she thought.
The girls went for their wraps, and after thanking the Tremaines for a delightful evening, left with Mr. Drew. Nancy, although bursting with her news, decided not to tell it until they were alone at the hotel. Once there, she asked her father to come to the girls’ room.
Nancy told about the Arab being Louis Aubert and added her suspicion that the invitation might have been obtained fraudulently.
“It could even have been forged,” she said. “Remember, his brother Claude is a wanted forger. Louis could be one, too.”
George in turn repeated the conversation she had overheard between Louis and Leblanc.
“These are excellent clues!” the lawyer exclaimed. “They may tie in with something I heard this evening from Monsieur Tremaine. He is one of the people who is greatly alarmed about Monsieur Leblanc’s irresponsibility in business affairs.”
Nancy asked eagerly, “Can you tell us why?”
“Oh, yes. Today Leblanc received a very large sum of money—thousands of dollars in francs—for the sale of certain securities. He had insisted upon having it in cash. I assume that he had the sum with him tonight.”
Bess’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “You mean that perhaps the poor man is being blackmailed by Louis Aubert?”
The lawyer smiled wryly. “I’m not making any definite statement yet, but what we’ve heard and seen tonight seems to add up to some kind of secret dealing.”
He and the girls continued to discuss every angle of the mystery for nearly an hour. In the end, all agreed that the whole thing remained very puzzling.
“I still can’t fit Mrs. Blair’s strange dream into the picture,” Nancy remarked, “yet I’m sure there’s a connection.”
One by one the foursome began to yawn. Mr. Drew stood up and said he was going to bed. “I’ll see you all at breakfast,” he added, then kissed each girl good night.
As Nancy undressed she looked woefully at her bruised shoulder. There was a large black-and-blue area. Bess asked if she wanted more ice, but Nancy shook her head.
“The doctor said I was all right and I think a good night’s sleep will help a lot.”
In the morning her shoulder did feel better, although it was very sensitive to the touch. Nancy smiled. “Just a little souvenir of Paris.”
When the girls joined Mr. Drew in the hotel dining room, they found him reading the morning paper. As he laid it down, a headline caught Nancy’s eye and she gasped.
“Monsieur Leblanc robbed on the way home!” she repeated. “And of thousands of dollars! It must have been the money he received from the securities!”
Her father nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Have you read the whole article?” George asked Mr. Drew.
“Yes. Leblanc’s car was waylaid by two men on a lonely stretch of road not far from his home. The bandits did not harm Leblanc or his chauffeur, but they did take every penny which both carried.”
“How dreadful!” Bess exclaimed. “Have the thieves been caught yet?”
Mr. Drew said No, and there was probably little chance the police could do so. After the holdup, there had been rain and any footprints had been washed away.
“Mr. Drew,” Bess asked, “could one of the holdup men have been Louis Aubert?”
“I confess I’m baffled,” Nancy’s father replied. “If that make-believe Arab is blackmailing Leblanc and was going to meet him today, why would he rob him last night? On the other hand, he may have feared Leblanc would change his mind so he decided to get the money right away.”
Nancy spoke up. “One thing we haven’t followed up about Louis is his being a scientist. My hunch is he’s a chemist.”
Bess sighed. “It’s going to be hard to find out about his work if nobody knows or will tell where Aubert lives. I’ll bet if Monsieur Leblanc has the address he isn’t going to reveal it.”
The others agreed and felt that pursuing this lead would have to wait. Nancy said, “I’d like to find out if Monsieur Leblanc plans to stay home because of the robbery.”
“Why don’t you call up and find out?” Bess suggested. “You can act terribly upset and sympathetic over what happened.”
“I’ll do that,” Nancy said. “I’ll phone his office.”
Shortly after nine, Nancy put in the call. She learned from the operator that Monsieur Leblanc was there, and appeared to show no ill effects of the incident. “He is busy in a conference,” the girl told her. “Would you like to leave a message?”
“No, thank you. I just wanted to make sure that Monsieur Leblanc is all right.” Nancy rang off before the operator might ask who was calling.
When Mr. Drew heard his daughter’s report, he decided to get in touch with Monsieur Tremaine and suggest that a private detective be retained to watch Leblanc’s office building that day and follow the financier wherever he might go.
Mr. Tremaine readily agreed and asked if the detective should continue his assignment that evening also.
“Thank you, no. The girls and I will take over then.”
Nancy was eager to pursue her sleuthing, but she went sightseeing with her friends and had lunch aboard a pleasure boat on the River Seine. Later, while buying some souvenirs, Nancy said, “Look! A musical coffeepot! I’ll buy it for Hannah Gruen!”
Late in the afternoon Mr. Drew and the girls picked up a car he had rented earlier. They drove to Monsieur Leblanc’s office building and parked nearby.
Immediately a man in street clothes walked up to them. Smiling and tipping his hat to the girls, he inquired, “Monsieur Drew? Monsieur Carson Drew?”
When Mr. Drew nodded, the man presented a card identifying him as the detective assigned to watch Leblanc.
“Monsieur Leblanc has not come out all day,” the detective reported. “Do you want me to stay longer?”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Mr. Drew replied. “We’ll relieve you now.”
Not long after the detective had left, the financier emerged from the building. He walked briskly to an automobile with a chauffeur at the wheel and got in.
A few seconds after Leblanc’s car started off, Mr. Drew pulled out and followed him easily, but for only half a block. Then the dense rush-hour traffic closed in, making it impossible for Mr. Drew to keep close to their quarry. In a few moments he had lost sight of the financier’s car completely.
Nancy sighed. She was very disappointed. “What if Monsieur Leblanc stops for a rendezvous at the 99 steps!” she thought. “We’ll miss a perfect chance to find out where they are.”
As the Drews were debating what to do next, Bess spoke up. “I’m absolutely famished. Couldn’t we stop somewhere for just a quick bite—and then look for Monsieur Leblanc?”
Nancy started to agree when a sudden idea struck her. “First let’s go back to Claude Aubert’s old apartment!” she exclaimed.
“Why?” Bess asked.
“Monsieur Leblanc
might be heading there right now—to meet Louis!”
CHAPTER X
A Sinister Figure
MR. Drew threaded his way through the Paris traffic to the Left Bank. When they reached the apartment house, the travelers scanned both sides of the street. Leblanc’s car was not in sight.
“I guess he didn’t come here after all,” the lawyer said.
Before leaving the area, however, Mr. Drew drove around the two adjoining blocks. Still no sign of Monsieur Leblanc.
“He probably went straight home,” Bess remarked. “Do we eat now?” she asked hopefully.
Mr. Drew chuckled. “Right away.”
Soon he pulled up at a small cheerful restaurant which was willing to serve dinner earlier than was customary in Paris. Bess regarded the menu suspiciously.
“Snails!” she exclaimed. “And fish served whole-I just can’t stand to look at the eyes of a fish on a platter!”
Mischievously Nancy pointed to another item. “Why not try this, Bess? It’s very popular here-raw beef mixed with chopped onions and an uncooked egg.”
Bess was horrified. “That’s even worse!”
The others laughed and George said, “Why, Bess Marvin, I thought you were a gourmet!”
“Sorry,” said Bess. “I’ll stick to good old cream of tomato soup, medium-well-done roast beef, potatoes, asparagus, salad, some cheese, and then fruit.”
George looked at her cousin disapprovingly. “You’ll be bursting out of your clothes within three days if you eat like that!” As a compromise, Bess said she would not have the soup.
The food was delicious, and everyone enjoyed the meal immensely. It was seven o’clock before they left the restaurant.
“How far away does Monsieur Leblanc live?” Nancy asked her father.
“About twenty miles outside of Paris.”
On the way, Nancy did not talk much. She was mulling over the various angles to the mystery. There was no doubt now but that both her case and her father’s revolved around the 99 steps. Her one clue to them so far had faded out.