business. I got my own work.”
Nancy could see that she was not going to leam
any more from the man, so she left the building
and joined Bess and George, who were waiting
anxiously at the door.
“Well, what did you manage to find out?” Bess
queried, as the three girls walked toward the
car.
“Quite a bit,” Nancy answered meditatively.
She was certain that she could not have been mis-
taken. Yvonne Wong was the same girl who only
yesterday had waited on them in the Oriental
shop. Why had she changed positions?
“Well,” George broke into her thoughts,
“don’t keep us in suspense!”
Nancy answered all their questions as she
drove toward River Heights, explaining that the
young woman’s name was Yvonne Wong and that
she was a new girl in the office-the same office
Nancy and Joanne had visited.
“But what about Yvonne’s job at the Oriental
perfume shop?” asked George.
“I don’t know,” Nancy admitted, “and the
handyman wouldn’t give me any indication as to
the type of business it was I”
Nancy recalled the strange telephone call
which had been made while she and Joanne were
in the office. She distinctly remembered that
some mention had been made of a girl who had
been found for the position, and that the man
who called himself “Al” had said that one
“couldn’t be too careful.”
“I wouldn’t be so suspicious about Yvonne,”
Nancy added, “except I have a feeling she didn’t
get that job by chance. She must have been cho-
sen because she was especially suited to the situa-
tion-whatever that is.”
“There’s something underhanded about the
whole thing, but we haven’t much to go on,” Bess
declared.
Nancy agreed. “Some clue may turn up. Any-
way, we have Jo to think about for the time be-
ing.”
It was getting dark as Nancy dropped off Bess
and then George at their homes.
It rained so hard the following day that Nancy
stayed indoors and tried to figure out the re-
maining symbols of the code. Using the same
– ~
alphabetical key, 16 was M, 5 equaled H, 2 could
be B, and 18 stood for R.
—
“MHBR,” Nancy pondered. “That doesn’t
make any sense. Perhaps those marks over and
under the letters are a second code,” she reasoned.
“If only I could decipher them, I might know
who’s calling what meeting, and where.”
The next morning a bright sun shone. While
Nancy was busy with chores around the house,
the phone rang and she went to answer it.
“Hello, Nancy,” said a quiet voice. “This is
Jo. How are you?”
“Oh, Jo, I’m fine,” Nancy replied eagerly. “Did
you find a job?” she asked hopefully.
“Not yet,” Joanne answered sadly. “But I have
some other news.”
“I hope it’s good,” Nancy said.
“I just talked with my grandmother on the
phone. I must go home right away. She told me
that soon after I left, a man called and made an
offer to buy Red Gate. His price was so low, she
didn’t accept. He was very persistent, though, and
gave her five days to think it over.”
“Yes?” Nancy prompted.
“Well,” the other girl went on, “in the mean-
time, Grandmother decided to try raising money
by taking in boarders. She placed an ad in the
paper that same day.”
“Good for her!” Nancy exclaimed. “Has she
had any replies?”
“No,” Joanne said worriedly. “Even though
the ad hasn’t run very long. Gram’s discouraged.
I’m afraid she has changed her mind and intends
to take that man’s offer. She said he’s coming to
Red Gate tomorrow at five o’clock and bringing
papers for her to sign.”
There was a pause, then Joanne burst out,
“Nancy, I just can’t let Gram go through with
this, and if I’m not there, she’ll accept the
man’s offer. She mustn’t give up Red Gate Farm
yet! That’s why I must get home and persuade
her not to sell.”
“By all means,” Nancy agreed. “I suppose
you’ll take the train to Round Valley in the morn-
ing?”
“That’s the horrible part. Nancy,” Joanne said
dejectedly. “I’ll have only enough money for
train fare half the way after I pay my room rent.”