Free The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene Page A

she stopped at a service station, had the gas tank of her car filled, and asked directions to the Donnell home. The attendant told her how to reach the place, and a short while later Nancy drew up before a lovely redwood house located well off the road.
    She got out and rang the front doorbell. There was no answer. Nancy walked around to the back of the house. A gardener was there, trimming the flower beds.
    “Howdy, miss!” the elderly man hailed her. “Looking for the Donnells?”
    “Yes. Are they away?” Nancy inquired.
    “Yep. They’re visiting relatives in Crescent Gardens ’til tonight. Any message?”
    Nancy said no, that she would call again, and thanked the man. As she drove away Nancy was disappointed that she had been unable to pick up any information regarding Mr. Aborn.
    “I don’t want to leave Melrose Lake until I have learned something to help Laura,” she thought. “Mr. Aborn may trace her whereabouts to our home and force Laura to return with him before Dad gets back to town. I suppose he has a legal right to do it.”
    At last an idea came to Nancy. “I’ll go to one of the hotels on the lake and engage a room. Then, after it gets dark, I’ll do a little more investigating.”
    Fortunately, Nancy always carried an overnight case in her car trunk. It contained pajamas and robe, two changes of clothing, toilet articles, and, this time of year, a bathing suit.
    Presently she saw a large white building ahead of her. Its green lawn sloped down to the sandy beach. On the stone pillar at the side of the driveway was the sign: Beach Cliff Hotel.
    “I think I’ll stop here,” Nancy decided. She parked her car and entered the pleasant lobby. In a few minutes she had registered and been taken to a comfortable room overlooking the lake.
    “I’ll telephone home,” Nancy said to herself, “and tell Hannah where I am.”
    As Nancy placed the call, a chilling thought suddenly popped into her mind. Perhaps the detective whom Aborn had engaged had already traced the runaway girl, and knew Nancy had not told all she knew about Laura. If so, Nancy might find that her guest had already been whisked away from the Drew home!

CHAPTER XI
    Trapped!
    WHEN Hannah Gruen answered the telephone at the Drew residence, Nancy at once asked, “Is Laura all right?”
    “Why, of course,” Hannah answered in surprise. “She’s upstairs setting her hair for the party this afternoon.”
    “Well, tell her to be very careful,” Nancy urged. “Mr. Aborn has a detective looking for her!”
    “Oh dear!” exclaimed Mrs. Gruen. “And when will you be home, Nancy?”
    The young detective explained where she was and that she planned to stay at Melrose Lake and do more sleuthing.
    “I think I may be on the trail of something big.”
    “I don’t like the idea of you prowling around the Aborns’ home in the dead of night,” the housekeeper objected.
    “I’ll be careful,” Nancy promised. “I may even get home tonight.”
    “Well, all right,” Hannah consented reluctantly. “By the way, Nancy, I had a repairman fix the window in Mr. Drew’s study this morning, and also requested the police to keep a lookout for anything suspicious going on in this neighborhood.”
    “Wonderful!” Nancy said, feeling relieved. “Any more news?”
    “Everything’s quiet here,” Hannah reported. “And Laura seems happy.”
    Laura came to speak to Nancy and was alarmed when she heard that a detective was looking for her. “But I won’t go back to those awful Aborns! They can’t make me! If they try it, I’ll—I’ll run right to the police!”
    “That’s a good idea,” said Nancy. “By the way, I’d like to do some sleuthing at the Aborn house. I may want to get inside without ringing the bell.” The young sleuth chuckled. “Since it’s now your house too, may I have permission to go in and look around?”
    “You certainly may,” said Laura with a giggle. “If no doors are unlocked, try my bedroom window. I left