Within twenty minutes the two arrived with a suitcase full of clothes. The Drews explained to Mr. Allen and Bobby that the boy, whose name was Rishi, had already gone to bed.

"He'll try these on in the morning," the lawyer said.

While the men talked in the living room, Bobby went home. Nancy helped Hannah with the dishes and silver, then called Bess and George to tell them about the ivory charm she was wearing. The cousins were amazed by the news, but both declared Nancy certainly deserved it.

Bess added, "I hope Rai doesn't show up and take it away from you and hurt you in one of his fits of temper."

"I'll watch my step," Nancy a.s.sured her.

Finally all the lights in the Drew household were put out. Mr. Drew went softly to the third floor to check on Rishi. The boy was sound asleep and lying so quietly that it was evident that he was relaxed and happy.

The lawyer thought, "Probably the first peaceful evening Rishi has had in a long, long time."

Nancy could not get to sleep as easily as Rishi had. The specter of the towering Rai, decked in his long gown and turban, kept reappearing in her mind. She had laid his ivory charm on her bureau and wondered how long she might be able to keep it.

Her next thought was, "With Mr. Tilak away and Rai gone, what do I do next to solve the mystery?" She could not answer the question and eventually fell asleep.

The following morning, Hannah Gruen rushed into the girl's bedroom. There was a look of fright on her face as she said, "Rishi is gone!"

Nancy sprang out of bed. "What!" she exclaimed.

The kindly housekeeper said she had searched all over for the boy and even called to him but there had been no answer.

"Did you look outdoors?" Nancy asked her.

Mrs. Gruen admitted she had not. "But what would Rishi be doing outside for so long? He's been gone over an hour!"

Nancy quickly put on her slippers and warm robe. She followed the housekeeper down the stairs and went out the rear door. Rishi was not in sight. Then suddenly she startled Mrs. Gruen by laughing aloud.

"There's Rishi!" she said, pointing into the garage. "He's cleaning Dad's car!"

Hannah laughed, too, as she realized how much time she had wasted searching for the boy. It had not occurred to her to check the garage.

As she and Nancy approached, Rishi gave them a big grin. "Good morning. Rishi not sleep after five. Hunt for work to do. Nothing in house. Rishi come out here." With a twinkle in his eyes, he said, "Two cars very dirty. Rishi clean. Soon look like new."

Nancy thanked him for doing this good and necessary job, but Hannah scolded him gently. "You scared me. I've been looking all over the house for you. You should not have come out here without telling us."

"n.o.body awake," the boy defended himself. "Rishi not write English. Could not leave note."

Hannah was sorry now for what she had said. She went to the boy and hugged him. "Forgive me, Rishi. I was so frightened I guess I became a little angry."

Rishi smiled. "Rishi forgive. Please, Mrs. Gruen, give Rishi breakfast. Very hungry."

"While we're waiting," said Nancy, "I'll show you a surprise."

She told him about the borrowed clothes. Rishi grinned and carried them upstairs to try on. In a few minutes he reappeared in pants, shirt, and a sweater that fitted perfectly.

"Now Rishi American boy," he announced, smiling broadly.

Soon everyone sat down at the table. There was orange juice and Hannah's special griddle cakes. Rishi enjoyed them.

In a little while Mr. Drew hurried away in his own car, saying he was going out of town for the day.

"Rishi go back to work, too. Wash Nancy's car now."

The boy stayed in the garage and once Nancy went to check on him. After he finished cleaning her car, he began to sweep the garage. Nancy thanked him.

She had scarcely returned to the house and started dusting the living room, when she glanced out a window and saw a green car turn into their circular driveway and stop in front of the house.

A woman alighted, and the man drove off. Nancy put the dustcloth away and when the front doorbell rang, she answered it.

A tall, willowy woman in her fifties with lots of blond hair stood there.

"I'm Mrs. Allison," she said rather brusquely. "I'd like to talk to Mr. Drew."

"Please step inside," Nancy requested. "My father is not at home. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'm afraid not," Mrs. Allison replied. "I must talk to him about a dream I had--Oh!"

The woman was staring at the ivory charm Nancy was wearing. "Where--?"

The next moment she slumped down in a faint!

CHAPTER IV.

A Baffling Caller NANCY moved swiftly toward the stricken woman, but halted uncertainly as the front doorbell rang. She would have ignored it entirely had she not observed someone looking through the small gla.s.s pane. Had the person seen Mrs. Allison faint? At least the caller might offer aid.

Darting to the door, she flung it open. Without waiting for an invitation to enter, a tall, athletic-looking man strode into the hall. He was the one who had brought the woman.

"I am Steve Roach," he announced quickly, "Mrs. Allison's escort."

"You're just in time to help. She has fainted."

The stranger moved quickly into the living room and walked to the chair where the woman lay in a crumpled heap. To Nancy's amazement he lifted her up in his arms.

"I'm very sorry this happened," he said apologetically. "Mrs. Allison is subject to fainting spells."

"Will you please carry her up to a bedroom?" Nancy requested.

"Oh no, I'll take her to my car. She'll be all right in a minute or two."

"But she's as white as a ghost. You shouldn't move her in that condition."

Mrs. Allison stirred slightly in the arms of her escort.

"You see, she's coming around now," Mr. Roach said quickly. "Please let me handle this my own way. I understand Mrs. Allison far better than you do."

Nancy realized that it would be useless to protest. She held the door open for Mr. Roach, and with troubled eyes watched him carry the limp figure to a car parked in front of the house. He placed Mrs. Allison on the rear seat and drove away.

A few minutes later Nancy decided to go to the garage and see how Rishi was getting along with his work.

"Rishi almost finish," the boy said.

Nancy praised him for his excellent job, then asked, "Did you ever hear of a Mrs. Allison or a Mr. Roach?"

Rishi thought for a moment, then said, "Not hear of Mrs. Allison, but Rishi hear name Roach at animal show."

"You mean he's one of the performers?" Nancy questioned. Here was an interesting clue!

"Not perform," the boy replied. "Rishi hear Rai speak name Roach over phone."

"Do you know whom Rai was talking to?" Nancy put in.

Rishi shook his head. "Maybe Mr. Roach, maybe not."

Nancy's mind was leaping from one idea to another. Was Mrs. Allison looking for Rishi? Had she guessed Rishi might be at the Drew home? Had she fainted before broaching the subject? Had Roach also intended to ask questions but found his plans thwarted? And last of all, had Rai sent the couple there?

Suddenly a totally different possibility entered Nancy's mind. Mrs. Allison had fainted directly after seeing the ivory charm Nancy was wearing. Did its significance overcome her? Furthermore, Roach had probably noticed it. Would he tell Rai about it? The thought worried Nancy, but she decided not to mention it to anyone except her father.

She did, however, phone Mr. Strong to find out whether or not Rai had returned or if there was any news of him.

"No, unfortunately. How's Rishi?" the show owner asked.

"Very happy," Nancy told him.

Mr. Strong said his troupe would be moving soon to a new location. "But I'll keep in touch."

That evening Nancy talked privately with Mr. Drew about what had happened. He frowned and said, "You have a right to be worried, not only for Rishi but for yourself. I don't trust those people if they're friends of Rai's. Please, Nancy, be very careful."

His daughter smiled and nodded. "Are you going to contact Mrs. Allison?"

"We don't know her address, but I'm certain we'll hear from her again."

The following noontime the lawyer phoned Nancy. "Hi," he said, "I have a bit of information that may interest you. It concerns your new acquaintance-Mrs. Anita Allison."

"She came to see you?" Nancy asked in surprise.

"No, but a real-estate dealer friend of mine, Mr. Howard, dropped into my office this morning. I gleaned a little information about the woman from him. She owns a house and grounds, which she had listed with him at a very high price. I learned its location. The property was left to her by her husband, but they never lived there."

"Where is it?"

"You remember the old Dawson farm east of River Heights?"

"Yes."

"Well, Mrs. Allison's property adjoins it. The land includes several acres of forest, a creek, beautiful rolling hills, a ravine, and nearly everything essential to a good golf course. I think it might be sold for that purpose."

"I remember the place," Nancy replied. "Maybe Bess and George would drive out there with me. And Rishi, too, if you're willing."

"By all means take him along," her father urged. "The boy deserves an outing. But don't let him be seen in public, or Rai may spot him."

Shortly after lunch Nancy and Rishi picked up the cousins. Nancy drove directly east through the city.

"Where are you taking us?" Bess inquired with interest.

"To a new place." Nancy smiled enigmatically.

Rishi bubbled with enthusiasm and his gaiety was imparted to the others. He loved the outdoors and amazed the girls with his stories of country life in his native land.

He asked eager questions about the names of unfamiliar trees and birds he saw in the area. The girls were slightly embarra.s.sed when they could not always answer him, and they resolved to devote themselves to nature lore with new interest.

"I'm ashamed that I don't know the names of half the birds I see," Nancy confessed. "I'll find out. "

Presently the car pa.s.sed the Dawson farm. Following the directions given by her father, Nancy turned into a narrow, winding side road that led between rows of tall elm trees and a tangled growth of shrubbery.

"I never dreamed there was a place like this so near River Heights!" Bess gasped in awe. "Who lives here?"

"It's Mrs. Allison's land, but she doesn't live here." Nancy told Bess and George how she had met the woman.

Nancy parked and they all got out. As they gazed across a picturesque creek, Nancy said, "Can you imagine yourself standing here and driving a golf ball over the water?"

"I can't," Bess replied, "because my ball would certainly plop into it."

"I'd want half of the trees cut down," George added.

"But what made you think of a golf course?" Bess asked.

"A realtor told Dad some people want to buy the place for that purpose," Nancy told her. "I suppose the old house would be torn down too and replaced by an attractive club building," she added, pointing to a large, apparently abandoned homestead, barely visible through the woods.

Bess and George both turned to stare. "Do you suppose it belongs to the Allison property?" George asked.

"It must. I'd love to explore the house," Nancy said, "but of course we have no right to. We're really trespa.s.sing as it is."

"At least it will do no harm to look at the outside of the building," George said. "Let's walk over."

"All right," Nancy agreed. "What became of Rishi?"

"He walked up this trail," George answered.

The trail led through the woods directly to the abandoned homestead. They emerged into the tiny clearing. Rishi was standing on the front porch, apparently trying to raise one of the windows.

"Rishi!" Nancy called sharply.