Carolyn Keene
The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories 2:
The Hidden Staircase
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I: The Haunted House
CHAPTER II: The Mysterious Mishap
CHAPTER III: A Stolen Necklace
CHAPTER IV: Strange Music
CHAPTER V: A Puzzling Interview
CHAPTER VI: The Gorilla Face
CHAPTER VII: Frightening Eyes
CHAPTER VIII: A Startling Plunge
CHAPTER IX: A Worrisome Delay
CHAPTER X: The Midnight Watch
CHAPTER XI: An Elusive Ghost
CHAPTER XII: The Newspaper Clue
CHAPTER XIII: The Cash
CHAPTER XIV: An Urgent Message
CHAPTER XV: A New Suspect
CHAPTER XVI: Sold!
CHAPTER XVII: Through the Trap Door
CHAPTER XVIII: A Confession
CHAPTER XIX: The Hidden Staircase
CHAPTER XX: Nancy's Victory
CHAPTER IThe Haunted House
NANCY DREW began peeling off her garden gloves as she ran up the porch steps and into the hall to answer the ringing telephone. She picked it up and said, "Hello!"
"Hi, Nancy! This is Helen." Although Helen Corning was nearly three years older than Nancy, the two girls were close friends.
"Are you tied up on a case?" Helen asked.
"No. What's up? A mystery?"
"Yes—a haunted house."
Nancy sat down on the chair by the telephone. "Tell me more!" the eighteen-year-old detective begged excitedly.
"You've heard me speak of my Aunt Rosemary," Helen began. "Since becoming a widow, she has lived with her mother at Twin Elms, the old family mansion out in Cliffwood. Well, I went to see them yesterday. They said that many strange, mysterious things have been happening there recently. I told them how good you are at solving mysteries, and they'd like you to come out to Twin Elms and help them." Helen paused, out of breath.
"It certainly sounds intriguing," Nancy replied, her eyes dancing.
"If you're not busy, Aunt Rosemary and I would like to come over in about an hour and talk to you about the ghost."
"I can't wait."
After Nancy had put down the phone, she sat lost in thought for several minutes. Since solving The Secret of the Old Clock, she had longed for another case. Here was her chance!
Attractive, blond-haired Nancy was brought out of her daydreaming by the sound of the doorbell. At the same moment the Drews' housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, came down the front stairs.
"I'll answer it," she offered.
Mrs. Gruen had lived with the Drews since Nancy was three years old. At that time Mrs. Drew had passed away and Hannah had become like a second mother to Nancy. There was a deep affection between the two, and Nancy confided all her secrets to the understanding housekeeper.
Mrs. Gruen opened the door and instantly a man stepped into the hall. He was short, thin, and rather stooped. Nancy guessed his age to be about forty.
"Is Mr. Drew at home?" he asked brusquely. "My name is Comber — Nathan Comber."
"No, he's not here just now," the housekeeper replied.
The caller looked over Hannah Gruen's shoulder and stared at Nancy. "Are you Nancy Drew?"
"Yes, I am. Is there anything I can do for you?"
The man's shifty gaze moved from Nancy to Hannah. "I've come out of the goodness of my heart to warn you and your father," he said pompously.
"Warn us? About what?" Nancy asked quickly.
Nathan Comber straightened up importantly and said, "Your father is in great danger, Miss. Drew!"
Both Nancy and Hannah Gruen gasped. “You mean this very minute?" the housekeeper questioned.
"All the time," was the startling answer. "I understand you're a pretty bright girl, Miss Drew—that you even solve mysteries. Well, right now I advise you to stick close to your father. Don't leave him for a minute."
Hannah Gruen looked as if she were ready to collapse and suggested that they all go into the living room, sit down, and talk the matter over. When they were seated, Nancy asked Nathan Comber to explain further.
"The story in a nutshell is this," he began. "You know that your father was brought in to do legal work for the railroad when it was buying property for the new bridge here."
As Nancy nodded, he continued, "Well, a lot of the folks who sold their property think they were gypped."
Nancy's face reddened. "I understood from my father that everyone was well paid."
"That's not true," said Comber. "Besides, the railroad is in a real mess now. One of the property owners, whose deed and signature they claim to have, says that he never signed the contract of sale."
"What's his name?" Nancy asked.
"Willie Wharton."
Nancy had not heard her father mention this name. She asked Gomber to go on with his story. "I'm acting as agent for Willie Wharton and several of the land owners who were his neighbors," he said, "and they can make it pretty tough for the railroad. Willie Wharton's signature was never witnessed and the attached certificate of acknowledgment was not notarized. That's good proof the signature was a forgery. Well, if the railroad thinks they're going to get away with this, they're not!"
Nancy frowned. Such a procedure on the part of the property owners meant trouble for her father! She said evenly, "But all Willie Wharton has to do is swear before a notary that he did sign the contract of sale."
Comber chuckled. "It's not that easy, Miss Drew. Willie Wharton is not available. Some of us have a good idea where he is and we'll produce him at the right time. But that time won't be until the railroad promises to give the sellers more money. Then he'll sign. You see, Willie is a real kind man and he wants to help his friends out whenever he can. Now he's got a chance."
Nancy had taken an instant dislike to Comber and now it was quadrupled. She judged him to be the kind of person who stays within the boundaries of the law but whose ethics are questionable. This was indeed a tough problem for Mr. Drew!
"Who are the people who are apt to harm my father?" she asked.
"I'm not saying who they are," Nathan Comber retorted. "You don't seem very appreciative of my coming here to warn you. Fine kind of a daughter you are. You don't care what happens to your father!"
Annoyed by the man's insolence, both Nancy and Mrs. Gruen angrily stood up. The housekeeper, pointing toward the front door, said, "Good day, Mr. Comber!"
The caller shrugged as he too arose. "Have it your own way, but don't say I didn't warn you!"
He walked to the front door, opened it, and as he went outside, closed it with a tremendous bang.
"Well, of all the insulting people!" Hannah snorted.
Nancy nodded. "But that's not the worst of it, Hannah darling. I think there's more to Comber's warning than he is telling. It seems to me to imply a threat. And he almost has me convinced. Maybe I should stay close to Dad until he and the other lawyers have straightened out this railroad tangle."
She said this would mean giving up a case she had been asked to take. Hastily Nancy gave Hannah the highlights of her conversation with Helen about the haunted mansion. "Helen and her aunt will be here in a little while to tell us the whole story."
"Oh, maybe things aren't so serious for your father as that horrible man made out," Hannah said encouragingly. "If I were you I'd listen to the details about the haunted house and then decide what you want to do about the mystery."
In a short time a sports car pulled into the winding, tree-shaded driveway of the Drew home. The large brick house was set some distance back from the street.