I am so thrilled! It won't be long before I'll be in the arms of the man fate has sent met

I am counting the hours!

Martha' "

There was no return address on either the letter or the envelope.

"What is your suspicion, Nancy?" Bess asked. "That Edgar Nixon is a bigamist-or even a trigamist?"

"More likely," George put in, "he promises, for sums of money, to marry a whole bunch of women, and when things get too hot, he just skips out. This time, with Nancy learning too much about him, he had to leave before he had a chance to pick up the last bunch of letters. I'll bet there's twenty-five dollars in every one of these!"

"Shall we find out?" Bess asked eagerly.

Nancy shook her head. "To read an open or half-open letter is one thing. But to open the whole thing and snoop inside is illegal."

"Nancy, you haven't told us your theory yet," George reminded her.

The girl detective laughed. She said teasingly, "I haven't had a chance! I suspect that Edgar Nixon has been running a Lonely Hearts Club and gets money for promising to find a husband, or a wife, for the person who is foolish enough to put his or her trust in Edgar."

George snorted. "Do you think the silly people believe they are going to get a mate for twenty-five dollars?"

"Oh no," Nancy replied. "I would judge that the whole thing is done on an installment plan. These two letters which we have read are probably the last installment."

"So that's why Edgar had to skip out!" Bess suggested, and Nancy nodded.

"The scheme is positively revolting!" George exclaimed.

"And more than that," Bess said, "it's heart-breaking. A Lonely Hearts Club turned into a Hopeless Hearts Club."

George had several uncomplimentary things to say about Edgar Nixon. Then suddenly she paused in the middle of a sentence. Her eyes flashed. "Do you suppose Nancy Smith Drew is one of Edgar's victims?"

Bess said, "If she is, and he didn't intend to marry her, why did Edgar let her come here?"

Nancy looked thoughtful. "I still think he intends to marry her. He knows about the inheritance, but she doesn't, and he isn't going to let her find out until after they're married. Then, through some clever scheme, he plans to get the money away from her."

"We mustn't let him do that!" Bess cried.

George looked hard at her cousin. "And just how can we stop him? We don't know where he is. Miss Drew came here and went away with him and-"

"And what else?" Bess asked her, a bit miffed by George's gruffness.

Her cousin did not answer, but said, "Nancy, what do you intend to do with these letters? Are you still going to take them to Ira Nixon?"

Nancy shook her head. "I don't think that would be wise. In the first place, the poor old man would probably collapse again. I'd hate to be responsible for that. If his brother is a swindler, I feel that the authorities should inform Ira, not me."

The other girls agreed.

"I think we should go at once to the postmaster here and explain everything."

"Will you tell him your suspicions about the Lonely Hearts Club?" Bess questioned.

"I think I will," Nancy answered. "Even if I'm wrong, it won't hurt for the post office to make an investigation. Men don't just disappear without leaving any forwarding address unless they have something to hide."

Nancy declared that she felt much better now. She got up and trudged down the hill with the girls to her car. She inquired from some children where the post office was and drove directly there. Unfortunately the building was closed.

"Now what?" George asked. "Don't tell me we have to stay in this town all night!"

Bess grinned. "I'm sure Mrs. Hemmer would be glad to accommodate us in Edgar's vacated room."

The other girls laughed, then Nancy replied, "Since the letters were entrusted to my care, I'll take them home and tomorrow morning take them to the River Heights post office."

It was late by the time the girls reached River Heights. Nancy took her friends home, then started for her own house. She was eager to tell her father and Hannah Gruen the latest developments in the mystery.

Nancy was mulling over the case as she turned into the Drews' driveway. One thing was a complete puzzle-the part about the American detective agency getting in touch with Malmsbury and Bates-Jones in London.

She put the car away and walked slowly toward the kitchen door. Just before she reached it, a startling idea came to her. Could Edgar Nixon, to throw suspicion from himself, have gone to a shady detective agency and said he knew where the missing Nancy Smith Drew was? He could have asked them to contact Malmsbury and Bates-Jones. Then his own unsavory schemes would never be suspected.

CHAPTER XII.

A Fresh Puzzle

MR. DREW was waiting for Nancy in the kitchen and she thought she detected relief in his expression.

"Dad, were you worried about me?"

"I certainly was. The storm didn't hit us very much, but I heard on the radio it was heavy over in Ridgefield."

"It was, and this accounts for a few adventures I had," she said.

Hannah Gruen, vigorously whipping potatoes in a pot, turned with questioning eyes. "Were you in an accident with the car? Did you get hurt?"

"Only a little accident, but not with the car. I have a few bruises on one leg where a boy on a sled ran into me. Don't worry," she added, as the housekeeper stopped her dinner preparations and came over to examine the injury.

"If it hadn't been for the sled, the letters wouldn't have opened and we wouldn't have found the money in them nor known that Edgar Nixon is probably running a Lonely Hearts Club-"

Mr. Drew held up his hand to interrupt. "For Pete's sake, Nancy," he said, "please take off your heavy clothes and we'll sit down at the table. Then you can tell your story from beginning to end. It sounds interesting."

Mrs. Gruen had prepared a delicious roast beef dinner, which they all enjoyed. During the meal, Nancy told about her adventures. The others were amazed and agreed that no doubt her conclusions about Edgar Nixon were correct.

Mr. Drew approved the idea of the letters being taken to their local postal inspector first thing in the morning. "But you'll have to tell Ira. Suppose you say how the letters got damaged and you thought the post office should have them."

"All right, Dad. That should satisfy him. I certainly don't want to hurt poor Ira at this time."

Nancy asked her father if any further word had come from Mr. Bates-Jones in London. Her father shook his head.

"In a way," Mr. Drew added, "I'm glad there is no news. Tomorrow you and Bess and George go to Emerson, don't you?"