"Did you find the ring in the ashes?" Nancy questioned with rising interest.

"No. The firemen and police won't let anyone go near the ruins. I found the signet ring near the hedge back of the house."

There was a brief moment of silence as Nancy mulled this over. Then she asked quickly, "Does that ring bear a Swedish inscription? If it does, I may have a clue to the owner."

She was thinking of the stranger she suspected of being the owner of the mysterious diary-the man who had vanished behind the Raybolt hedge.

"There is an inscription in a foreign language, but I can't read it," Ned told her. "Say! Would you like to see the ring?"

"Love to," Nancy confessed. "It may furnish a clue. But shouldn't the ring be turned over to the police?"

Ned did not agree. "I believe, at least for the time being, it's a case of 'Finders Keepers.' The ring was a good distance away from the fire area."

"All right, then. I am eager to see it."

"If you'll let me, I'll drop around tonight at eight and bring the ring along," Ned offered.

"Good."

After Ned had hung up, Nancy fairly danced back into the bedroom. She sent one slipper flying toward the bed, and the other into the far corner of the room. The young sleuth attempted to convince herself that her jubilant spirits were the result of Ned's discovery. The ring might be a clue to the ident.i.ty of the person who had set the Raybolt house on fire. Bess and George, she knew, would have interpreted her reaction very differently!

As soon as she had dressed, Nancy picked up the diary and placed it in her top bureau drawer for safekeeping.

"I wish I had time to go somewhere and have it translated right now," she thought regretfully, "but it's late and I must take my car to the garage."

Nancy hurried downstairs to the kitchen. Mr. Drew had already eaten breakfast and left for his office. Hannah Gruen uncovered a hot plate on the stove.

"Mm, blueberry m.u.f.fins," Nancy said. After biting into one, she added, "Oh, this is extra delicious." As she ate, Nancy told the housekeeper about wanting the diary translated.

"But kept confidential, I suppose," Mrs. Gruen remarked. "It's not often that I can help you on a mystery, Nancy, but this time I believe I can."

CHAPTER IV.

The Initialed Ring

"OH, HANNAH, that's wonderful!" Nancy exclaimed. "But don't tell me you can read Swedish."

"I wish I could. The person to translate the diary is our old Swedish bakery friend, Mr. Peterson. He has moved his shop to the other side of town."

"Oh, I remember Mr. Peterson," said Nancy with a chuckle. "When I was a little girl, and you and I went there, I used to wheedle tarts and cookies from him."

"And always get them," Mrs. Gruen replied, a twinkle in her eye. "You were his favorite customer. I'm sure that he'll be glad to translate the diary for you."

Nancy was delighted at the prospect of seeing kindly Oscar Peterson again.

"Hannah, that's a wonderful idea! I'll go to the bakery first chance I have. Right now, I must have my car fixed."

Nancy took the convertible to a garage downtown. The mechanic promised to have it ready sometime the following afternoon. Then Nancy walked slowly homeward. Suddenly Nancy heard her name called. Turning, she saw Bess and George hurrying to meet her.

"You must be daydreaming about Ned!" cried George as the cousins swung into step beside her. "We shouted three times."

"Sorry." Nancy laughed.

"'Fess up, now. Weren't you thinking about him?" Bess prodded.

An animated expression came over Nancy's face. Her eyes danced mischievously as she told her bit of news.

"Ned phoned this morning before I was up."

"I told you!" Bess exclaimed. "You did make a hit! Wish I had your technique!"

"Silly! Ned phoned me on a matter of business. This morning he found a ring near the hedge at the Raybolt grounds and he thought it might belong to me. It has a 'D' on it."

"That was just an excuse," Bess declared. "Of course, you didn't lose one."

"My guess is that the ring was lost by the man I saw running away from the fire. I can hardly wait to see it."

"And Ned, too," George added wickedly.

Nancy laughed at her friends' persistence, and was a bit surprised to find that she was blushing. A little farther on, the cousins said good-by and went to their separate homes. Luncheon was ready when Nancy reached hers. She ate with Hannah Gruen, who was very much interested in the ring Ned had found.

"Do you think it may be a clue?" she asked Nancy.

"Yes, to the writer of the diary. I'm going to study the little book thoroughly this afternoon and see if I can find a name beginning with 'D.'"

"But aren't you going to Mr. Peterson's?" Hannah asked.

"Later. I promised to be here for a phone call from the crippled children's home. I'm to help with their kiddie show next month. In the meantime, I think I'll call Mrs. Swenson to see how she and Honey are and if she has heard from her husband yet."

"Sorry," said the operator, when Nancy had dialed. "That number has been temporarily disconnected." Nancy surmised Mrs. Swenson had been forced to give up her telephone because of lack of funds.

"As soon as my car is repaired, I must drive to their house and see Honey and her mother," Nancy decided. "I only hope Mrs. Swenson will let me help."

Nancy spent the next few hours poring over the diary. But nowhere did she come across a name beginning with "D." She made one important discovery, however. At the bottom of a page written in Swedish, Nancy found a tiny ink drawing. She deduced that it was a diagram for some part of an electronic machine.

"I'll make no progress until I have Mr. Peterson translate this book for me," she thought.

Nancy was on the verge of going to the bakery by bus-but a glance at the clock told her the place would be closed. Besides, it was almost suppertime.

When Carson Drew arrived home, Nancy mentioned that her new friend, Ned Nickerson, was calling that evening.

"Oh, I see," her father drawled teasingly. "You want me to find it convenient to be away. Is that it?"

"Of course not. I particularly want you to meet Ned. He's bringing a ring that may interest you."