George tried to cheer up her friend. "I have a suggestion. Why don't we go back to Mrs. Hemmer's and ask if she would mind our looking for clues in Edgar's room?"

Nancy thought it was an excellent idea and once more the girls plowed through the snowy streets to the guesthouse.

"You're back?" the woman remarked. "Wouldn' t your car start?"

"To tell the truth, I haven't tried it," Nancy answered. "Mrs. Hemmer, it's very important that I locate Edgar Nixon as soon as possible. We girls thought possibly he left some clue to his whereabouts in his room."

"I don't mind you looking around one bit," the woman said. "As a matter of fact, I'm very glad you came back. Several registered letters came in for Mr. Nixon right after you left. Out of force of habit I signed for them. After the mail carrier left, I realize that I didn't know where to send the letters. Then I suddenly remembered something. Did you tell me before that your name is Nancy Drew and that you come from River Heights?"

"That's right."

"Did you ever hear of a man named Ira Nixon who lives there?"

Nancy smiled. "He's our mail carrier. As a matter of fact he's a brother of Edgar."

"I know that," Mrs. Hemmer said. "Maybe you could help me out with these letters. Some time ago Mr. Nixon said to me, 'In case of an emergency, get in touch with my brother Ira in River Heights.' "

The three girls were watching Mrs. Hemmer intently. What would she reveal next?

The woman went on, "If you could just prove to me that you're Nancy Drew from River Heights I'd give you these letters to take to his brother."

Nancy showed her driver's license, but said, "Suppose I give you Ira Nixon's telephone number, you can dial it and tell him I'm here."

The woman asked Nancy to make the call and she would talk with Ira Nixon. After a short delay Ira Nixon came on the line. Nancy identified herself, told where she was, and introduced Mrs. Hemmer.

"You take it now," she said, handing the woman the phone.

Mrs. Hemmer told him the story and he verified the fact that Nancy was really Nancy Drew from River Heights and that he had known her since she was a little girl.

"Your brother Edgar has moved away from here," she said. "He told me that in an emergency I should get in touch with you. I think these letters should be turned over to you. Shall I give them to Nancy Drew?"

"By all means," the girls heard him reply. "Nancy Drew is one of the most reliable persons I've ever met and she's trying to help me solve a mystery. Mrs. Hemmer," he asked suddenly, "you never had any reason to think my brother isn't perfectly honest?"

"Oh no," the woman answered. "He always paid his rent on time and came and went without any trouble to me. Of course he never told me much about himself, but then it's just as well not to have too much talk between a guesthouse owner and her roomers."

The bundle of letters proved to be too big for Nancy's purse or even coat pocket. Since it had stopped snowing, she decided it would be all right for her to carry them in her hand as far as the car.

Before leaving, the three girls searched Edgar's room but found no clues to where he had gone. Finally they said good-by to Mrs. Hemmer and hurried down Harrison Street. When they reached the street on which the convertible was parked, Bess suggested it would be easier to walk down the hill in the middle of the street rather than on the sidewalk.

They had hardly started when a boy on a sled whizzed around the comer. The next second he skidded into Nancy.

The impact knocked her sprawling into the snow. The bundle of letters flew from her hand and scattered in every direction.

CHAPTER XI.

The Strange Messages

BESS and George rushed to Nancy's aid. They helped her up and asked solicitously if she were hurt.

Nancy smiled ruefully. "Mostly my feelings," she said with a wry smile. "My leg does hurt a little, though. I'd like to sit down."

The girls a.s.sisted her to the porch of a house where the steps had been cleared of snow. Nancy sat down and rubbed the bruise on her leg.

Bess and George looked at each other. Nancy was very white and they kept asking her over and over again how she really felt and should they take her to a doctor.

"Oh no!" she replied. "I'll be all right in a minute. You girls had better go pick up those letters. They're getting soaked in the snow."

As the cousins started for the street, several children on sleds came speeding down the hill.

They ran over the letters, burying them deeper and mutilating them. Bess and George hurried to pick them up.

The girls returned to the porch and Nancy stared at the letters in dismay. Some of them were open, others were torn and two had the contents sticking out.

"Oh look!" George exclaimed. "This letter has money in it. Wow! Twenty-five dollars!"

She handed the envelope to Nancy, who immediately looked for a return address. There was none. "Maybe there's one on the letter inside," she suggested.

"I'm going to look and see," Bess declared, and began to read the already-opened letter. In a moment a broad grin spread across her face. "Listen to this:'Dear Guide,

I am so excited at the thought that I am soon to meet the man of my dreams. I can hardly work. Please don't keep me waiting.

Mildred' "

Now Bess's amus.e.m.e.nt turned to a serious mood. "We might be all wrong about Nancy Smith Drew," she said. "Maybe Edgar is going to marry this person Mildred."

"Is there an address on the letter?" Nancy asked.

"No."

George remarked, "What puzzles me is why twenty-five dollars is in the letter. Pretty soft, if Edgar can get twenty-five dollars out of his future bride!"

"Where was the letter mailed?" Nancy asked.

"Dorset."

Bess looked at Nancy. "You think maybe Edgar went to Dorset to marry Mildred?"

Nancy smiled. "Perhaps. Are there any more open letters with money in them?"

George looked through the dirty, rumpled mail. "Yes, here's another. And there's twenty-five dollars in it!"

Nancy asked her to read the letter, saying, "I'm beginning to be suspicious of something. I'll tell you in a minute."

" 'Dear Guide: