Free The Strange Message in the Parchment by Carolyn G. Keene Page A

Junie were exuberant. They were sure they had tracked down the thief! But the question was, where was he?
    “You say you don’t know him?” Nancy asked the owner again.
    The man shook his head. “I’ve seen him hanging around town with some other tough guys, but I don’t know who he is. In fact, I don’t want to know who he is.”
    The girls felt that the least they could do for all this information was to buy a few articles from the shop. Junie selected a small hammer, an awl, and a package of assorted nails. Nancy found a new type of lawn sprinkler and purchased it to take home to her father. As soon as the articles had been wrapped and paid for, she and Junie left the store.
    As they got into the car, Junie teased Nancy. “Now I suppose you will ask me to drive around to where the tough guys hang out!”
    Nancy smiled and said, “You’re wrong this time. Take me to a drugstore in this neighborhood.”
    She explained that she wanted to find out where the young man with the cut hand bought the bandage he was wearing.
    “It’s a long chance, I know,” she added, “but, Junie, a good detective tracks down every possible little clue.”
    Junie said she was beginning to see that. “It amazes me how much trouble you have to go to for one itsy-bitsy clue.”
    The girls went into the drugstore and approached the counter where first-aid accessories were sold. A pleasant woman waited on them. Nancy asked her if a young man had been in that morning to purchase a fresh bandage for a cut hand.
    She was elated when the woman said, “Yes, there was. He was in early. Said he had been in a car accident but didn’t have to go to a doctor. He could bandage his own hand.”
    “Do you know who he is?” Nancy asked hopefully.
    “Of course I do. He comes in here a lot. His name is Sid Zikes. I’m surprised that girls like you would be interested in trying to find out about him.”
    Nancy thought it best not to explain her reason. She merely asked where he lived. This time she received an “I don’t know” for an answer.
    “But I understand he doesn’t have a very good reputation,” the woman said. “If you aren’t aware of that, I think it’s my duty to warn you to stay away from him.”
    “Thank you for the advice,” Nancy said, smiling. “Why does he have a bad reputation?”
    The woman said she had been told that upon several occasions when there had been a theft in town, young Sid Zikes had suddenly disappeared. “But the funny thing is that after a while he comes back and nothing ever happens to him. I guess he has been suspected many times but never arrested.”
    Nancy asked the woman if Sid Zikes ever wore gloves. She said she did not know. “But it wouldn’t surprise me. Sid, in his own flashy way, can be quite a dude.”
    Both girls thanked the woman for her helpful information. Then they bought some powder and perfume. Nancy decided that hers would go to Hannah Gruen.
    A few minutes later, as the young detectives were driving off, Nancy said, “Junie, I think we should report our suspicions to Officer Browning. Let’s stop at State Police headquarters and tell him or at least leave a message for him.” He was not there, so Nancy wrote a note to the absent officer.
    When she and Junie finally reached home, Mrs. Flockhart met them. After she had kissed the two girls, she said, “Nancy, you are to call home at once. Your father phoned and said he has some very special news for you!”

CHAPTER XII
    Telltale Glove
     
     
     
    WHEN Mr. Drew answered the phone, he asked how Nancy was, and how she was progressing with the mystery. Hearing that she was very enthusiastic about her work, he added, “Hannah Gruen and I are both very busy and we keep well, but I must say we miss you very much.”
    He now began to tell her about his interview with the United States Immigration Department. He said they had made a thorough search and could not find a Salvatore Rocco who had come into the United States from