cret which I am hiding
in a wall may make me
famous. Then I shall be
worthy of you. Love,
Walt
The young sleuth concluded that Walter Heath
had not sold the formula on which he had been
working. Instead, he had hidden the dyes some-
where in the old estate walls to keep them safe
from men like Biggs.
“Do you have the other half of the note?”
Nancy asked Senora Fernandez.
“No, I lost it years ago.”
“What does the C stand for?”
“Oh-Walt used to call me Carita. It was a
nickname he gave me when we first met.”
“You are not my sister!” Mrs. Fenimore cried
out again. She could hardly control her anger.
“And this note proves nothing!”
Nancy took her arm. “Let’s go now. And don’t
worry,” she said as the three left.
Back on the street, Nancy said, “Daniel Hector
did a good job. Senora Fernandez does resemble
your sister, doesn’t she?”
Mrs. Fenimore nodded. “So much so that at
first I wasn’t sure myself.”
“I noticed the woman had rather large feet,”
Nancy said. “She must wear at least a size nine or
ten shoe.”
“And Juliana had extremely small feet,” Mrs.
Fenimore remarked. “That should help prove
Mrs. Fernandez is a phony.”
“Yes. Please don’t worry about it. Right now
all I’m concerned about is finding your sister!”
Nancy dropped the Fenimores off at their house
154 THE CLUE IN THE CRUMBUNG WALL
and drove home. On the way she passed Bess’s
house and noticed that George’s car stood in
front.
“I’ll stop to tell them the latest news about the
case,” Nancy decided.
Bess invited both girls to stay to dinner. Nancy
accepted after calling Hannah Gruen.
“Your father won’t be back until late, any-
way,” the housekeeper said.
By the time Nancy arrived home, it was dark.
As she pulled into the driveway, the young detec-
tive noticed that there were no lights on in the
house.
“That’s funny,” she thought, stopping. “When-
ever Hannah goes out, she leaves a lamp on.”
Nancy hurried to the front door. With a surge
of alarm she found it standing slightly ajar. Cau-
tiously she pushed it open but saw only the dark
hallway.
“Hannah!” she called out, reaching for the hall
switch.
Before she could turn on the lights, a powerful
arm seized her and a hand was clapped over her
mouth. At the same time the assailant yanked
her into the hall and slammed the door shut!
CHAPTER XVIII
Tower Trouble
The man held Nancy in an iron grip, and though
she struggled, she could not break away. Did she
know him? He kept in back of her, so she could
not see his face.
Frightening questions raced through her mind:
Where was Hannah? Had the housekeeper been
harmed!
“We’re going to take you for a little ride now,”
her captor said in a whisper. “You’re through
meddling at Heath Castle!”
“Will you shut up!” a harsh voice put in. The
second man tied a scarf over her eyes. “Let’s get
her out of here before her father comes home.”
Suddenly Nancy had an idea of how to throw
the men off guard. With a moan she slumped into
her captor’s arms and dropped her purse.
He exclaimed angrily, “She’s fainted!”
“So what?” snapped the other. “We follow the
orders. I’ll get the car and bring it up the drive-
way. You carry her out when I signal.”
Her body limp, but her senses sharply alert,
Nancy waited for her chance to escape. When the
other man left, her captor released his grasp. In-
stead of crumpling to the floor, Nancy pulled off
the scarf and dashed up the stairs to her father’s
room.
The man gave a startled cry and ran after her.
But Nancy locked the door before he reached it.
“I’m calling the police!” she shouted, and raced
to the telephone.
For a few moments the intruder pounded on
the door wildly, and banged himself against it,
then suddenly stopped. Nancy had just finished
dialing when she heard him run downstairs and
slam the front door.
Quickly she reported the incident to head-
quarters, then went to look out the window. She