been fearful of trouble when the lights went out.
“What happened?” Mr. Lightner demanded.
Mrs. Dwight who looked faint said nothing.
“Well, I guess we’ve got to give Miss Drew credit,” the detective said. “She caught the thief!”
“Very fine,” said Mr. Lightner. “What I want to know is how this woman got in here.”
Nancy held up the wig. “She was wearing this. Did you admit a white-haired lady?”
Mrs. Dwight hastened to explain about the invitation to the woman she had never seen.
“Help!” cried Nancy, trying to hold the thief
“It was this way,” she said apologetically. “Miss Wilkins, one of the invited guests, called me early this morning to ask if she could bring her elderly aunt and uncle. I told her yes, but explained the necessity for them to have properly marked invitations.”
“You sent the extra ones?” Nancy asked.
“Yes, by special messenger. I marked the invitations myself,” Mrs. Dwight admitted. “It was a mistake, I realize now, but I know Miss Wilkins well. I had no reason to distrust her.”
Mrs. Dwight at once sought Miss Wilkins among the guests. The young woman immediately denied knowing the prisoner. Furthermore, she asserted she had no aunt nor uncle who had requested invitations.
“Just as I suspected,” Ambrose declared. “This woman is a smart cooky. She used Miss Wilkins’s name to get marked invitations.”
During the questioning of the prisoner, plainclothesmen had been searching the grounds. Now one of them reported to the detective that none of the gang had been found.
Nancy spoke up. “This woman wasn’t working alone. A man was with her. He was probably the ‘uncle.’ I talked to him. Oh, where did he go?”
Suddenly the group was startled by the unexpected appearance in the hallway of a disheveled Ned Nickerson. His uniform was torn, his face bruised, and his hair mussed.
“Ned!” Nancy cried in dismay. “You’ve been in a fight!”
“And how! That fellow you assigned me to follow proved to be a tough customer.”
“He got away?”
“Yes,” Ned admitted. “I could have held him, but I had a choice between turning the lights on or letting him go. I thought by switching them on I might stop a robbery up here.”
“And you did,” Nancy informed him. “If the lights hadn’t gone on just when they did, I’m sure this woman would have escaped.”
Ned told of the fight in the basement. His story was interrupted by Detective Ambrose.
“That’s funny! We had a man posted down there to watch the lights. What became of him? Mack wouldn’t leave his job.”
Alarmed, Detective Ambrose turned his prisoner over to a plainclothesman and dashed to the basement. Nancy, Ned, Mr. Lightner, and Mrs. Dwight followed him.
The detective entered every room. As he opened the door of the cold-storage section, he uttered a startled exclamation. On the floor, unconscious, lay the missing Mack.
Though apparently the man had not been struck on the head, it took the detective a long while to revive him. When the plainclothesman recovered his senses, he said he had been attacked from the rear. Before Mack could fight off his assailant he had been drugged. Evidently this had been some time before Ned’s arrival.
“That’s the Velvet Gang’s method,” Nancy said to Mrs. Dwight.
“It’s perfectly dreadful!” the woman said.
While waiting for the police car to arrive, Detective Ambrose said to his prisoner, “You’re entitled to a lawyer, of course, while being questioned, but you may as well come clean and tell us how many are in the gang.”
The woman’s lips curled insolently. “Try and find out.”
After she had been taken away, both Mrs. Dwight and Mr. Lightner complimented Nancy for her quick thinking and prompt action. They also thanked Ned for his part in the affair. Due to the efficient work of the young couple, not a single valuable object had been stolen.
“I only wish I’d caught that man,” Ned said
“What happened?” Mr. Lightner demanded.
Mrs. Dwight who looked faint said nothing.
“Well, I guess we’ve got to give Miss Drew credit,” the detective said. “She caught the thief!”
“Very fine,” said Mr. Lightner. “What I want to know is how this woman got in here.”
Nancy held up the wig. “She was wearing this. Did you admit a white-haired lady?”
Mrs. Dwight hastened to explain about the invitation to the woman she had never seen.
“Help!” cried Nancy, trying to hold the thief
“It was this way,” she said apologetically. “Miss Wilkins, one of the invited guests, called me early this morning to ask if she could bring her elderly aunt and uncle. I told her yes, but explained the necessity for them to have properly marked invitations.”
“You sent the extra ones?” Nancy asked.
“Yes, by special messenger. I marked the invitations myself,” Mrs. Dwight admitted. “It was a mistake, I realize now, but I know Miss Wilkins well. I had no reason to distrust her.”
Mrs. Dwight at once sought Miss Wilkins among the guests. The young woman immediately denied knowing the prisoner. Furthermore, she asserted she had no aunt nor uncle who had requested invitations.
“Just as I suspected,” Ambrose declared. “This woman is a smart cooky. She used Miss Wilkins’s name to get marked invitations.”
During the questioning of the prisoner, plainclothesmen had been searching the grounds. Now one of them reported to the detective that none of the gang had been found.
Nancy spoke up. “This woman wasn’t working alone. A man was with her. He was probably the ‘uncle.’ I talked to him. Oh, where did he go?”
Suddenly the group was startled by the unexpected appearance in the hallway of a disheveled Ned Nickerson. His uniform was torn, his face bruised, and his hair mussed.
“Ned!” Nancy cried in dismay. “You’ve been in a fight!”
“And how! That fellow you assigned me to follow proved to be a tough customer.”
“He got away?”
“Yes,” Ned admitted. “I could have held him, but I had a choice between turning the lights on or letting him go. I thought by switching them on I might stop a robbery up here.”
“And you did,” Nancy informed him. “If the lights hadn’t gone on just when they did, I’m sure this woman would have escaped.”
Ned told of the fight in the basement. His story was interrupted by Detective Ambrose.
“That’s funny! We had a man posted down there to watch the lights. What became of him? Mack wouldn’t leave his job.”
Alarmed, Detective Ambrose turned his prisoner over to a plainclothesman and dashed to the basement. Nancy, Ned, Mr. Lightner, and Mrs. Dwight followed him.
The detective entered every room. As he opened the door of the cold-storage section, he uttered a startled exclamation. On the floor, unconscious, lay the missing Mack.
Though apparently the man had not been struck on the head, it took the detective a long while to revive him. When the plainclothesman recovered his senses, he said he had been attacked from the rear. Before Mack could fight off his assailant he had been drugged. Evidently this had been some time before Ned’s arrival.
“That’s the Velvet Gang’s method,” Nancy said to Mrs. Dwight.
“It’s perfectly dreadful!” the woman said.
While waiting for the police car to arrive, Detective Ambrose said to his prisoner, “You’re entitled to a lawyer, of course, while being questioned, but you may as well come clean and tell us how many are in the gang.”
The woman’s lips curled insolently. “Try and find out.”
After she had been taken away, both Mrs. Dwight and Mr. Lightner complimented Nancy for her quick thinking and prompt action. They also thanked Ned for his part in the affair. Due to the efficient work of the young couple, not a single valuable object had been stolen.
“I only wish I’d caught that man,” Ned said
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