“Several years,” Pietro answered. “Not since Dad retired. You’ll like him,” the young man went on. “My father is one of the kindest and most humorous men I have ever known.”
The couple discussed the history of the circus at great length—in fact, until Mr. Drew came to invite them to take a stroll with him. They toured the great plane, had dinner, and then decided to have a long night’s sleep. The next morning Nancy watched excitedly as they approached the London airport. It amazed her that so little fuss was being made in connection with their arrival. To her the trip had been wonderful and unusual. She realized that to those at the airport the arrival of an overseas plane was an hourly occurrence.
When they landed, Nancy and her companions were among the first to leave the ship. After going through the customs, they walked toward the exit gate. Pietro looked eagerly for his father. Suddenly he saw him and started to run.
Nancy enjoyed watching the joyful reunion as the two men clasped each other in their arms. When the Drews walked up, Pietro introduced his father.
“This is the young lady I wrote you about,” the down said, “the one who is trying to straighten out everything so that Lolita and I can be married.”
“Then I am doubly glad to meet you, Miss Drew,” the older man said, smiling. He shook her hand warmly.
“I’m very glad to meet you,” Nancy said. “And you know you’re involved in this mystery, too. It was because you thought you saw Lola Flanders in Tewkesbury that we’re here.”
“But I didn’t turn out to be a very good sleuth,” Pietro’s father said. “Well, let us be on our way. I have made reservations at a quiet hotel.”
They took a taxi and soon were riding through the narrow, busy streets of the city.
Pietro told his father what had happened to Nancy just before they took off. A frightened look came over the older man’s face and he remarked that he hoped Nancy would be perfectly safe in England.
“Oh, I’ll be all right,” Nancy insisted. “But you men will have to be patient with me while I do some shopping. That awful man and his acid ruined some rather vital parts of my wardrobe.”
After breakfast, the group set off for the shopping trip and a visit to the pawnshop from which Nancy’s bracelet had come. When they reached the door of Liberty’s Department Store, Mr. Drew suggested that Nancy be given half an hour for her shopping.
“We men will look around and meet you here,” he suggested, as he handed her some English currency.
Hurrying from one counter to another, Nancy not only bought the necessary articles for which she had come but several others as well.
“And I ought to pick up a few souvenirs while I’m here,” she told herself. “I must get something for Hannah. And George and Bess, too. They were certainly wonderful, helping me on the mystery.”
Nancy actually forgot the time, and when she rejoined her companions was profuse in her apology for having kept them waiting twenty minutes.
“You did pretty well at that,” her father teased. “Most girls would have taken half a day to do what you did,” he said, looking at her many packages.
The pawnshop was not far away. The owner proved to be very helpful. Though it had been three years since the woman who had signed her name as Laura Flynn had visited his shop, he remembered her well.
“I felt so sorry for her,” he said. “She seemed frightened and ill at ease. Apparently it was very hard for her to decide to part with the bracelet.” When he described her, Nancy was at once reminded of Lolita. Apparently mother and daughter strongly resembled each other.
“She’s the one I saw in Tewkesbury, all right!” Mr. Pietro cried.
Nancy wanted to set off at once to look for Lola Flanders. But the others insisted that she should do some sight-seeing in London. And Mr. Drew wanted to call on the lawyer with whom he had communicated. The following morning they set off, however.