Read The Secret in the Old Attic for Free Online Page B

Seeing Nancy, he paused in surprise.
    “Tro—” He stopped, then went on, “What is the meaning of this? Why have you allowed a visitor here?”

    “Water,” Nancy murmured. “Water.”
    “It’s none o’ my doin’, Mr. Dight,” his employee muttered. “She came in herself—said she was feelin’ sick.”
    “Then a little fresh air will help you, miss,” Mr. Dight said stiffly.
    Taking Nancy firmly by the arm, he assisted the girl to her feet, and escorted her down the stairs into the main section of the factory.
    “Who are you?” he asked.
    Nancy explained she had brought Diane from the station, but did not give her name.
    “It’s dangerous for you to wander about this building by yourself. You must never do it again,” he remarked in an icy tone of voice.
    Nancy thought Lawrence Dight seemed to be frightened. Had she stumbled upon his secret?
    When they approached the main entrance, he left her and Nancy headed for the parking lot. Diane was waiting beside Nancy’s car.
    The two spoke little on the way to Diane’s house. After accepting the girl’s thanks, Nancy said good-by, then drove at once to her own home.
    “Dad!” she greeted her father as she ran into the house. “I had some real luck today! I think I’ve found Bushy Trott!”
    Mr. Drew dropped his newspaper. “Say that again!” he requested.
    Nancy repeated her statement and quickly related the entire story of her visit to the Dight plant. Mr. Drew readily identified the suspect from Nancy’s description of him. He was deeply impressed with his daughter’s work, and smiled when he heard of her ruse.
    “Nancy, you’re a fast worker and a thorough one!” he complimented her. “If that man actually is Bushy Trott—and you say Mr. Dight started to speak his name—then my case seems to be shaping up.”
    “What’s the next move?”
    “I’ll arrange to have the man watched. We’ll learn everything we can about him.”
    “Is there something else I can do?” Nancy asked.
    “You’ve already helped me a lot,” Mr. Drew replied. “If there’s anything more, I’ll let you know.”
    What she had discovered in the factory had increased Nancy’s interest in her father’s case. She hoped that soon she would be able to follow up more clues for him. In the meantime she must tackle the problems surrounding Mr. March’s mystery.
    “Watch your step in that old attic,” Mr. Drew warned his daughter. “No telling what’s there.”
    “I promise, Dad,” she said, smiling.
    The following afternoon Nancy returned to the mansion. Susan and her grandfather were listening to the radio in the little girl’s bedroom. As Nancy entered, the orchestra was playing a gay, new melody. As the sweet strains continued, Mr. March cried out:
    “That’s it! That’s one of my son’s compositions! I can’t remember the name of it, but I certainly recall the tune.”
    “It’s called ‘Song of the Wind,’ ” Nancy said.
    “Who do they say wrote it?” he demanded.
    “I can’t recall,” Nancy confessed. When the composer’s name was not announced, she said, “Suppose I run downtown and buy a copy of the sheet music?”
    Mr. March urged her to hurry, and could hardly wait for her return.
    “The composer is Ben Banks,” she told him as soon as she got back.
    “Ben Banks! Ben Banks!” Mr. March shouted angrily. “Who’s he? The man is a thief! That song was Fipp’s!”
    Nancy promised to try locating Ben Banks. She would get in touch with the publisher of “Song of the Wind,” and ask for information about the so-called composer.
    “I’ll never rest until that rascal is found and exposed!” Mr. March stormed. “Why, the upstart! Not only does he rob the dead, but he cheats Susan out of her rightful inheritance!”
    The elderly man’s tirade went on and on. To quiet him, Nancy offered to play the selection on the piano, so the two went downstairs to the music room.
    The old piano was badly out of tune and she soon gave up. Nancy