tomorrow morning.”
Mrs. Gruen was a bit nervous about making the call, but she dialed the number and waited.
Mrs. Bunce answered the phone. “Hello?”
Hannah Gruen spoke in as deep a voice as she could and asked, “Is this the residence of W. F. Bunce?”
There was a startled cry from the other end of the wire, then Mrs. Bunce said, “Uh—no. You have the wrong number.” She hung up.
“Ah-ha!” said the housekeeper. “Nancy, I think you’ve hit upon something important. Do you suppose Fred Bunce really is the W. F. Bunce you’re looking for?”
Nancy thought this quite possible. The question was, Why had he moved next door to the Woontons’ former residence? Could he be the person who was entering mysteriously and hunting for some hidden treasures?
The housekeeper sighed. “This thing is getting so mixed up I can’t make head nor tail of who’s who or what’s what. When is it ever going to be straightened out?”
“I feel the same way,” Nancy agreed. “I can’t wait to follow up this new lead.”
Before Nancy started off for Miss Carter’s the next day, Mrs. Gruen said, “Do be careful. Put up the top of your convertible and lock yourself in.”
“All right and don’t worry. I hope the next time I talk to you, I can report that the mystery’s solved.”
Nancy packed a few extra clothes, then kissed Hannah good-by and drove to Berryville. Bess and George were waiting in the driveway when she reached Miss Carter’s house.
“Hi, girls!” Nancy called out. “I’m surprised that you’re still up. You should be getting some sleep. Tell me, did anything happen last night?”
“Not a thing,” Bess replied. “No cat thief, no tapper, nobody sneaking around.”
“The only thing interesting,” George put in, “were the lights in the Bunces’s house.”
“What do you mean?”
George said she doubted that the Bunces went to bed at all. “Lights were popping on and off in various rooms most of the night. I wonder what they were doing.”
Nancy told about her latest lead in the mystery which concerned a W. F. Bunce, whom she suspected might be Fred Bunce. The other girls were amazed.
“What are you going to do about it?” Bess asked her.
“You say the couple was up during the night?” Nancy replied with a faraway look. “Well, maybe they’re asleep now. All the shades on this side of the house are drawn.”
George told her that the shades had been drawn throughout the house. “A couple of times I went out of the garage and walked around for exercise. I noticed that every shade in the place was down.”
Nancy wondered how long to wait before going next door to learn what she could about the couple. It was now nine forty-five.
“I think ten o‘clock is late enough,” she decided.
Fifteen minutes later the girls knocked on the rear door. There was no response. They tried the front doorbell. The Bunces did not answer this, either.
Nancy used the door knocker. It resounded loudly. Still no one appeared.
“Do you suppose they’re still asleep with all this racket?” Bess asked.
Nancy shrugged. “George, would you go back to Miss Carter’s and phone the Bunces? That should wake them up.”
George hurried inside but returned in a few minutes, saying there had been no response.
“Maybe the couple has gone out,” Nancy said. “I’ll look in their garage.”
The doors were closed but she peered through a window. There was no car inside.
It occurred to Nancy that possibly Hannah Gruen’s telephone call to the Bunces the night before had frightened them and they had left. At that moment a neighbor on the other side of the house came out.
“Are you looking for Mr. and Mrs. Bunce?” she asked.
“Yes,” Nancy replied. “We’re staying with Miss Carter and wanted to speak to them.”
“Well, I’m afraid that’s impossible,” the neighbor said. “About six o‘clock this morning a truck came here. The driver loaded it with a lot of boxes and bags. The
Mrs. Gruen was a bit nervous about making the call, but she dialed the number and waited.
Mrs. Bunce answered the phone. “Hello?”
Hannah Gruen spoke in as deep a voice as she could and asked, “Is this the residence of W. F. Bunce?”
There was a startled cry from the other end of the wire, then Mrs. Bunce said, “Uh—no. You have the wrong number.” She hung up.
“Ah-ha!” said the housekeeper. “Nancy, I think you’ve hit upon something important. Do you suppose Fred Bunce really is the W. F. Bunce you’re looking for?”
Nancy thought this quite possible. The question was, Why had he moved next door to the Woontons’ former residence? Could he be the person who was entering mysteriously and hunting for some hidden treasures?
The housekeeper sighed. “This thing is getting so mixed up I can’t make head nor tail of who’s who or what’s what. When is it ever going to be straightened out?”
“I feel the same way,” Nancy agreed. “I can’t wait to follow up this new lead.”
Before Nancy started off for Miss Carter’s the next day, Mrs. Gruen said, “Do be careful. Put up the top of your convertible and lock yourself in.”
“All right and don’t worry. I hope the next time I talk to you, I can report that the mystery’s solved.”
Nancy packed a few extra clothes, then kissed Hannah good-by and drove to Berryville. Bess and George were waiting in the driveway when she reached Miss Carter’s house.
“Hi, girls!” Nancy called out. “I’m surprised that you’re still up. You should be getting some sleep. Tell me, did anything happen last night?”
“Not a thing,” Bess replied. “No cat thief, no tapper, nobody sneaking around.”
“The only thing interesting,” George put in, “were the lights in the Bunces’s house.”
“What do you mean?”
George said she doubted that the Bunces went to bed at all. “Lights were popping on and off in various rooms most of the night. I wonder what they were doing.”
Nancy told about her latest lead in the mystery which concerned a W. F. Bunce, whom she suspected might be Fred Bunce. The other girls were amazed.
“What are you going to do about it?” Bess asked her.
“You say the couple was up during the night?” Nancy replied with a faraway look. “Well, maybe they’re asleep now. All the shades on this side of the house are drawn.”
George told her that the shades had been drawn throughout the house. “A couple of times I went out of the garage and walked around for exercise. I noticed that every shade in the place was down.”
Nancy wondered how long to wait before going next door to learn what she could about the couple. It was now nine forty-five.
“I think ten o‘clock is late enough,” she decided.
Fifteen minutes later the girls knocked on the rear door. There was no response. They tried the front doorbell. The Bunces did not answer this, either.
Nancy used the door knocker. It resounded loudly. Still no one appeared.
“Do you suppose they’re still asleep with all this racket?” Bess asked.
Nancy shrugged. “George, would you go back to Miss Carter’s and phone the Bunces? That should wake them up.”
George hurried inside but returned in a few minutes, saying there had been no response.
“Maybe the couple has gone out,” Nancy said. “I’ll look in their garage.”
The doors were closed but she peered through a window. There was no car inside.
It occurred to Nancy that possibly Hannah Gruen’s telephone call to the Bunces the night before had frightened them and they had left. At that moment a neighbor on the other side of the house came out.
“Are you looking for Mr. and Mrs. Bunce?” she asked.
“Yes,” Nancy replied. “We’re staying with Miss Carter and wanted to speak to them.”
“Well, I’m afraid that’s impossible,” the neighbor said. “About six o‘clock this morning a truck came here. The driver loaded it with a lot of boxes and bags. The
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