no time in having Hector and the other men
prosecuted, and also brought charges against the
woman who had impersonated the dancer.
“Hooper and Biggs admit having found several
bottles of dye and a formula marked, ‘Perfected
Formula,’ hidden in the cloister walls,” Mr. Drew
told Nancy. “They’ve surrendered them and I’ve
had an analysis made. The dye has dried up but
a newly made liquid would be of great value
commercially if produced under the same condi-
tions that Walter Heath used.”
“What were they?” Nancy asked.
“Sea salt was mixed with the spring water in
the pond. Marine whelks, which are a huge type
of mollusk, were imported and put into it. They
exude a beautiful purple dye. After Heath’s death
the whelks vanished.”
Nancy was thoughtful. “It would take a good
bit of money to start up that business, wouldn’t
it?”
“Yes,” her father replied. “But it would be
profitable for Juliana. The special shade of pur-
ple is difficult to imitate synthetically.”
Nancy had been hoping that Hector’s dire
statement regarding the estate would not be true,
but part of it was. Mr. Drew had learned that the
total Heath assets were twenty dollars, the walled
grounds, and a ruined castle with a few pieces of
furniture. The debts, however, were illegal loans,
which Hector had made against the estate and
which he would have to pay back.
Account books had been falsified to show that
huge sums had been paid to various detective
agencies, supposedly for the purpose of conduct-
ing a search for the missing Juliana. But the wily
lawyer had kept the money.
“Unfortunately we can’t recover it,” Mr. Drew
remarked to his daughter. “Hector has spent it all
and has little of his own left.”
“How about the Heath pearl, Dad? You didn’t
find it?”
“No. I’ll keep on trying, of course. Frankly,
I don’t feel hopeful.”
“Somewhere on those grounds,” said Nancy,
“there must be something of value hidden. After
all, Walter Heath told Sam Weatherby there was
another treasure.”
“I’ve had the place searched, Nancy. Workmen
even removed the imprinted block of cement be-
low the wall fountain, but there was nothing be-
hind it. Heath Castle will have to be sold.
“But I’m afraid,” he went on, “the sale price
won’t be much, considering its present condition.
Juliana wants to keep the property, but she can’t,
She has barely enough funds to operate Jardin
des Fleurs.”
It was some consolation to Nancy that she had
brought the sisters together, but she felt as if she
had failed in one of the most vital tasks of her life.
“Even if I did find Juliana, I wasn’t able to
save the estate or help the Fenimores financially.
And they need money so badly.”
Unwilling to give up. Nancy drove out to the
estate one day after lunch to try to find the treas-
ure which Walter Heath had mentioned.
“What can it be and where?” she asked herself.
“It’s supposed to be in plain sight.”
Nancy worked her way doggedly through the
neglected grounds and examined the statuary.
Though not an expert, she could tell that none of
it was unusual. She looked at a grove of fruit trees
which might become a source of profit. But the
trees were too old.
Finally the young detective, hot, thirsty, and
discouraged, arrived at the little garden off the
cloister. As Nancy walked toward the fountain,
she suddenly stopped short and stared at the
sparkling stream of water.
“That’s it!” she exclaimed softly. “Spring
water! Cold, clear, delicious, and probably pure.
It might even have minerals in it!”
Nancy could visualize the estate as a health
resort where people came to rest and drink the
water.
“Or it could be bottled and sold!” the thought.
Excited by the idea. Nancy quenched her
thirst, then hurried home to telephone her father.
He promised to have the spring tested in the
morning.
The next afternoon the Drews were delighted
to learn that the water was pure and rich in
minerals. A further search of the grounds revealed
several more beneficial springs.
“The supply is plentiful,” Nancy told Bess and
George. “Dad will probably make arrangements
with a bottling company to market it.”