Drew 17 - The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene Page B

she told herself. “Who knows, there may even be a clue in The New York Times!”
    She reached out to take the paper. “Thank you so much,” she said, smiling at the crewman, then once more she hurried to cabin one twenty-eight. She laid the newspaper on her bed and began to look at the headlines. Most of the articles were familiar to her because she had seen them in European newspapers.
    After she had turned several pages, Nancy suddenly stopped and gazed at a sheet. Something had been neatly cut out of one column!
    “Mr. August must have done this!” the girl reflected. “I’ll have to find out what the missing clipping said.”
    She decided to go to the ship’s library and see if a duplicate of the newspaper was available.
    The woman in charge told her, “I’m sorry, hut we don’t have it.”
    As Nancy turned away, disappointed, a passenger who had been reading nearby glanced up. “I have a copy of the Times of that date in my cabin,” he said. “You’re welcome to it. I’ll get it for you.”
    Nancy thanked him. While he was picking it up, she looked among the books that were available to passengers. “This looks interesting,” she thought. “Life of a Waterfront Detective.”
    In a few minutes the man returned with the newspaper Nancy wanted. “Here it is,” he said. “I don’t need it any more, so you can keep it.”
    “Thank you very much,” Nancy replied, putting the book back. “You’ve been very kind.”
    She spread the paper on the library table and turned to the page she wanted to see. In the spot that Otto August had cut out was an advertisement. As Nancy read it, her heart began to beat faster. “What a clue!” she thought, studying the ad. A New York company desired to acquire precious flawless stones in or out of settings! “Mr. August may be already trying to find buyers for the stolen gems!” Nancy reasoned. “I wonder if that company is legitimate?”
    She decided to go and tell her friends about this latest find. On her way she stopped at the purser’s desk.
    “What’s new?” Rod asked her with a smile.
    “I believe Otto August cut out an ad from The New York Times that was placed by a company wanting to buy precious stones,” she whispered. “Here, look at this!”
    The young man read the advertisement. “That figures,” he said. “August is planning ahead!”
    “He sure is! By the way, can you do me a favor and see if there is a crew member or an officer named Dan or Daniel? I couldn’t find anyone by that name on the passenger list.”
    Rod thought for several seconds, then said, “I know of just one. I’ll find out what I can about him.”
    As Nancy went off, she recalled the finger alphabet message: CREW CAN HELP FIND NECKLACE. Was Dan the crewman referred to?
    She went down the stairs and walked around a corner toward her cabin. As she turned, she noticed a man in the distance standing in front of a cabin door. He seemed to either lock or unlock it. Nancy tensed. Was it cabin one twenty-eight or one thirty?
    She quickened her step. The man glanced over his shoulder in her direction, then walked away in a hurry. Nancy followed, and as he turned a corner she began to run. But when she reached the cross corridor where the man had turned, no one was in sight!
    “I wonder if it was August,” Nancy thought and returned to her cabin. “Perhaps he was trying to get into our room again!”
    She found one twenty-eight locked. She opened it and went in. No one was there, but Bess had left a note for her. It said:
Nelda, George, and I are going up to the Ping-Pong tables. George is going to play in the tournament. When you have a chance, come and join us.
But first go down and see Lou, the locksmith. He came up to the cabin and is eager to see you. He has something that will interest you very much.
    Nancy folded the telltale newspaper and put it in a bureau drawer, then she locked the cabin again and hurried off to the locksmith’s shop.
    “You wanted to see