Read (#20) The Clue in the Jewel Box for Free Online

happening again?”
    “Why not arrange a set of signals?” Dorrance suggested, grinning.
    “If I ever mistake you again for the thief, wave a handkerchief,” Nancy said. “Then I’ll know who you are.” The young man agreed.
    A moment later he left. Nancy went at once to retrieve the ice cream and placed it in the freezer, then returned to her father.
    “What do you think of David Dorrance?” she asked.
    “I wasn’t impressed,” the lawyer replied. “However, I must say he took your accusation in a rather sporting way.”
    Nancy perched herself on an arm of her father’s chair. “I dislike him,” she said. “I’ll always remember that man pointing a gun at you!”
    “I’m as grateful as if you’d actually saved my life, Nancy,” Mr. Drew told her. “Well, here’s Hannah, so dinner is ready. Let’s forget this unpleasant episode,” he added, tucking Nancy’s arm under his own and walking to the dining room with her.
    The following afternoon Nancy took Helen Archer and her house guest, Katherine, to call on Mrs. Alexandra. To Nancy’s delight, the girls made a favorable impression. More than that, Katherine soon realized who the woman was, and an animated conversation between the two began at once in a foreign tongue.
    “Mrs. Alexandra and I—we are from the same country,” Katherine announced to the girls. “Please excuse—we have much to talk about.”
    The other two did not mind being excluded. They were pleased because Katherine was so happy. Nancy pointed out the various art objects in the room to Helen, who was fascinated.
    Before they left, Anna, who had served tea, took the gold-encrusted Easter egg from the curio cabinet and pressed the tiny spring. The nightingale sang its strange little song.
    Katherine listened attentively, but offered no comment other than polite admiration. When the three girls were on the street, Nancy eagerly asked Katherine if the bird had sung any words in her language.
    “He use words of my native tongue, but they are not clear,” the girl answered, frowning.
    Katherine paused a moment, then she smiled. “It sound silly, maybe, but the little bird seem to say, ‘clue in jewel box!’ ”

CHAPTER VI
    True Credentials?
    “YES, the nightingale say, ‘clue in jewel box!’ ” Katherine Kovna repeated in her halting English. “But that mean nothing.”
    “It may mean something very important!” Nancy corrected her excitedly.
    “Of course the people of my native land—they have many secrets.” Katherine smiled.
    The remark brought back to Nancy’s mind what Mr. Faber had told her about the royal lady’s escape from revolutionists with only the enameled Easter egg and a jewel box.
    “There may be a connection between the two!” she said to herself. “The question is, does Mrs. Alexandra know that or not? Is the clue a political secret the woman can not reveal?”
    The young detective silently considered the unexplained bits of the strange trail she was following. A pickpocket with a double had accidentally given her a clue to a lost prince. The missing man’s grandmother, in turn, knowingly or unknowingly held a carefully guarded secret, judging from the trouble someone had taken to make the nightingale sing.
    Nancy wondered why she had not heard from Francis Baum. If she could talk with him, some of the pieces of the puzzle might fall into place. Had Baum’s landlady failed to deliver her message?
    “Nancy,” said Helen, breaking in on her friend’s thoughts, “how would you like to model a new gown at an art and fashion show at the Woman’s Club?
    “Katherine has agreed to help with the fashion part of the exhibit. A special prize is to be awarded to the designer of the most original and attractive dress.”
    “Of course I’ll do it,” Nancy promised.
    “It starts next Thursday. There will be three afternoon showings and one on Saturday night.”
    “Can you design and make a dress so soon, Katherine?” Nancy asked.
    “I can try,”