Free (#15) The Haunted Bridge by Carolyn Keene Page B

thinks his autograph is just as important as Jimmy Harlow’s!”
    “Will you use the ball tomorrow?” Bess inquired mischievously.
    Nancy shrugged. Then, after a moment’s pause, she announced, “No, but I’ll keep it as a specimen of Mr. Bartescue’s handwriting.”
    “Why does he always use a different signature?” George asked. “His handwriting never seems to be the same twice.”
    “I have a theory that he may be a forger,” Nancy said in an undertone.
    “Then why not report him to the police?” George suggested.
    “Not yet. By playing a waiting game we may learn far more than we would if we were to expose the man immediately.”
    In her imagination she could see him linked with the jewel thieves. His acquaintance with the mysterious Margaret Judson, as well as his suspicious trick of altering his signature, perhaps to avoid identification, made it easy to visualize him as one of the gang.
    A few minutes later in her room, Nancy reflected soberly, “Through Barty I might be able to trace Margaret Judson. And I must find her.” Impulsively she looked at her watch, then sprang from her chair. Slipping into a coat, she said, “I’m taking the bus to town. Tell you why later.”
    There was no time to explain to Bess and George what she meant to do. The bus for town would leave the hotel in less than five minutes!
    Nancy was the last passenger aboard. When the bus pulled away, she wondered if she should have waited until she had consulted her father about her plan. At the village she alighted and entered a drugstore. After making a purchase, she stepped into a telephone booth.
    Summoning her courage, she called Deer Mountain Hotel and asked to speak with Mr. Martin Bartescue.
    “It will be just my luck for him to be out,” she thought anxiously.
    Half a minute later she heard the man’s voice at the other end of the line.
    “Hello, who is it?” he demanded, as Nancy, overcome by nervousness, remained silent.
    “This—is—Miss Judson,” Nancy stammered, trying to speak in a nasal tone.
    “Your voice doesn’t sound natural.”
    “I have a bad cold.”
    “What is it you wish, Miss Judson? You know it isn’t a good idea to call me here.”
    “I must speak with you about a very important matter. Can you meet me tonight?”
    Bartescue grumbled, “I suppose so. Where shall we meet?”
    “The same place and time as before.”
    “What’s the matter with 2 B X Gardenia?”
    Nancy was puzzled by the question, and for a moment could think of nothing to say. She did not have the slightest idea as to what 2 B X Gardenia could mean. In sheer desperation she mumbled into the telephone, “Nothing but the weather,” and hung up before the man could reply.
    As Nancy walked to the bus stop, she felt excited but also scared. Had Martin Bartescue guessed who was calling? Was 2 B X Gardenia a code for a meeting place? And if so, where was it?

CHAPTER XII
    Stranded!
     
     
     
     
    THE telephone conversation had served Nancy’s purpose—it convinced her that Margaret Judson and Martin Bartescue could be working together in some nefarious business.
    “I must follow Barty,” she said to herself, “and find out where he goes.”
    Nancy returned to the hotel and explained her plan to Bess and George. “I’ll borrow Ned’s car and trail Barty when he leaves for his appoint ment with Margaret Judson.”
    Ned had given Nancy his key in case she wanted to use his car. Fortunately it was parked near the hotel exit and was ready to be driven out at a moment’s notice.
    “How about coming along?” Nancy asked her friends.
    “You couldn’t leave us home,” George replied.
    The girls went to dinner. They were pleased that Bartescue was in the dining room so they could keep an eye on him. Before Nancy, Bess, and George were half through dinner, Barty abruptly rose and left.
    “No dessert tonight,” Nancy said hurriedly to the waiter. “We must leave now.”
    The three girls reached the lobby in time to see