more careful.”
Mr. Drew said, “I think you’d better stay away
from Heath Castle.”
“Oh, Dad!” she protested.
“Why not forget the whole affair for a few
days?”
“But time is so short-”
“As it happens, I’m going away on a little trip,
Nancy. I thought you might enjoy coming along.”
Nancy shook her head. “If you’ll excuse me,
Dad, I believe I’d rather stay here and try to solve
the mystery of Juliana.”
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Drew said, his eyes twinkling.
“I thought Hampton might prove of interest to
you, especially since it was the town where Juli-
ana Johnson was advised to go.”
Nancy could scarcely believe her ears. “Say that
again, Dad!”
“I was talking with Dr. Gibson in Henryville
today,” Mr. Drew revealed. “I learned he was Juli-
ana’s physician. In fact, he told her to take the
trip from which she never returned.”
“Tell me more!”
“There’s not much to tell. Juliana was thin
and run-down, so the doctor advised her to take a
vacation. He suggested she slip off to a quiet
place without letting anyone know where she was
going.”
“Did the doctor know where she went?”
“No, but he had suggested Hampton. At the
time of her disappearance, the police tried to lo-
cate her there, but were unsuccessful.”
“Oh, Dad, I give in,” Nancy said excitedly.
“I’ll go with you!”
“I rather thought you would,” Mr. Drew said
with a smile.
“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning. Better pack tonight!”
CHAPTER X
In Search of a Clue
When Nancy appeared in the kitchen the next
morning, Hannah Gruen said cheerily, “Good
morning. There’s a letter for you I think you’ll
want to see right away.”
Nancy went to the hall table to get it. A glance
at the handwriting caused her pulse to quicken.
The letter was from Ned Nickerson!
Nancy eagerly opened the envelope. She missed
her special friend who had gone to South America
on a school project.
Ned wrote, “I’m doing some interesting work,
but I miss you and the fun we had solving mys-
teries. I’ll bet you’re head over heels in one this
very minute!”
“Right you are, Ned!” Nancy smiled happily
as she tucked the letter away for another reading.
Mr. Drew came downstairs and said they
should eat at once and then leave. Nancy sug-
gested that they stop at Mrs. Fenimore’s house.
She wanted to ask a question about Juliana.
“All right,” Mr. Drew agreed.
Mrs. Fenimore said she was happy to see Nancy
again and pleased to meet her father.
“We’re en route to Hampton,” Mr. Drew ex-
plained. “I’ve given your sister’s strange disap-
pearance considerable thought. Apparently she
abandoned her career very suddenly.”
“Oh, Juliana loved her work!” Mrs. Fenimore
protested. “Of course, she was tired, but a few
weeks’ rest should have restored her to good
health.”
Nancy remarked. “But after leaving here, Juli
ana never danced again-at least not under her
own name. She may be doing some other kind of
work. Did your sister have any special aptitudes
for something besides dancing?”
Mrs. Fenimore shrugged. “She loved garden-
ing.”
There was nothing more the woman could tell
the Drews, so Nancy and her father said good-by.
“You know,” the lawyer commented as he led
the way to the car, “Juliana may have married.”
“But, Dad, she was engaged to Walter Heath!”
“True. Well, perhaps in Hampton we’ll find a
clue to her disappearance.”
Mr. Drew got into the car. Nancy was about to
follow when she observed a thin, sharp-faced
woman with unkempt hair hanging clothes in the
yard adjoining the Fenimore house.
“That must be Teddy Hooper’s mother,” she
thought. Her attention was not centered on the
woman, but on the clothes she was pinning to the
line. A blue shirt looked familiar to Nancy.
“If that isn’t George’s stolen shirt, it’s just like
it!” she decided. On impulse she ran over to the
yard. The woman saw her coming and eyed the
girl suspiciously.
“Is Teddy here?” Nancy inquired.
“No. He’s at school, same as every day.”
Nancy asked Mrs- Hooper if Teddy liked to go
boating on the river.
“All boys play around the water,” the woman