Free (#22) The Clue in the Crumbling Wall by Carolyn Keene

room to her. Finally Nancy rang the doorbell of the last place on her list. After a few minutes a small, gray-haired woman appeared.
    “If you’re looking for a room, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you,” she said before Nancy could speak. “I don’t take guests any more.”
    “I don’t want a room,” Nancy replied with a smile. “I came to ask about someone who might have stayed with you at some time.” She showed the photograph.
    “Come in,” the woman said cordially. “I think I can help you!”
    Nancy’s heart leaped. Could it be true?
    “I’m Mrs. Delbert,” the woman said as she led her caller into a neat, old-fashioned living room. “You are—?”
    “Nancy Drew. I’m a stranger in Hampton. What name did your guest give you?”
    “Let me think. I remember now. She was Miss Flower. Julia Flower. Is she a friend of yours?”
    “Mrs. Delbert, if she really was the person in this picture, she was a famous dancer who disappeared ten years ago. I know her sister.”
    It was Mrs. Delbert’s turn to look shocked. “My, my!” she said. “How dreadful! It was ten years ago that she was here.”
    “Just one more question: Did Miss Flower say where she was going after she left here?”
    “Yes, she spoke of staying on a farm between Hopewell and Plainville, but she didn’t tell me the name of the people.”
    “Is it far from here?” Nancy asked.
    “About thirty miles. Miss Flower said she’d take the bus and walk into the farm from the main road. All she had was a purse and a small suitcase.”
    “You have a terrific memory,” Nancy said.
    Mrs. Delbert smiled. “Julia Flower was the most beautiful guest I ever had!”
    Nancy got up and put an arm around the woman. “Thank you so much,” she said. “You’ve been a great help.” After saying good-by, Nancy hurried back to the motel and told her father what she had learned.
    “You’ve done well, Nancy, and picked up an excellent clue. You should have a reward for that good bit of detecting.”
    Nancy grinned. “As a reward, will you take me to Plainville when you finish your work here?”
    “Yes, indeed. I’ll be through by noon tomorrow.”
    The Drews checked out at twelve o’clock the next day and drove toward Plainville. When they came to Hopewell, Nancy suggested they inquire at police headquarters about the missing dancer.
    She spoke to a middle-aged sergeant and showed him Juliana’s picture. He looked at it thoughtfully and finally said:
    “I don’t know that this will help you, but about ten years ago another officer and I were called on an accident case. A young woman had been struck by a car on a side road and was found unconscious and badly bruised. Hit-and-run driver and no witnesses. She was taken to a hospital in Plainville. No identification or purse or luggage.”
    “Probably stolen,” Mr. Drew commented.
    “She looked a little like the person in this photograph,” the officer went on. “A funny thing about the case was, when nurses undressed her at the hospital, they found several thousands of dollars on her.”
    “Did the police find out why?” Nancy asked.
    “No. She insisted she had drawn it from her savings account because she was traveling. Why don’t you stop at the hospital? Maybe they can answer your questions.”
    Nancy said she was grateful for this good lead. She returned to the car and told her father. They set off at once for the hospital.
    The superintendent received them courteously. After hearing their story, she showed them some old records. No one by the name of Juliana or Julie Johnson had been a patient at the institution, but a Julia Flower had been!
    Only the word “traveler” had been written in the space for the home address.
    The superintendent anticipated Nancy’s next question. “Where did she go after she was released from here? I don’t know.”
    Seeing the girl’s disappointment, she said, “You might talk to Joe. He’s been our maintenance man for twenty years. A