A bright blue roadster, low-swung and smart, rolled swiftly along the winding lake road to halt suddenly before a large signboard which boldly proclaimed to all who chanced that way: Lilac Inn: Chicke...

Leaving the telephone booth, Nancy Drew hurried back to where she had left Emily Crandall and quickly explained that she must start at once for River Heights. “Can’t I drop you off at the nearest gara...

“Oh, Dad, you don’t know what a time I’ve had!” Nancy Drew emitted a tired sigh as she emerged from the kitchen unfastening her apron. “This morning the agency sent me an Irish woman, but she was even...

A less enterprising and resourceful girl than Nancy Drew would have been hopelessly discouraged at the turn events had taken. In truth, after Mary Mason’s strange leave-taking Nancy was discouraged, b...

As Nancy Drew drove slowly back toward River Heights she tried to persuade herself that her fears concerning the Crandall jewels were groundless. She did not fully succeed in doing this. In fact, at t...

By this time a number of the diners, attracted by the strange actions and excited voices of the two women, had crowded about them. The manager came hurrying up to inquire what the trouble was. “My han...

“Ho-hum, but I’m tired tonight. Hard day at the office.” Carson Drew dropped his hat on the living room table and sank wearily on the davenport. “By the way, Nancy, I suppose you’ve heard the bad news...

The housekeeper vanished at Mr. Drew’s words to reappear almost at once followed by the elegant Mrs. Willoughby. Mr. Drew arose and politely offered her a chair. Mrs. Carter discreetly withdrew. “Oh, ...

“Since I talked with Mrs. Willoughby last evening, I’ve decided that I can’t take her case after all.” Carson Drew pushed back his empty coffee cup as he addressed his daughter who sat opposite him at...

Though Nancy Drew had learned little which shed light on the mystery at Lilac Inn, she had no intention of admitting defeat. On the following day she again set out in her blue roadster, visiting a num...

After leaving the Hidelberg shop, Helen Corning drove Nancy Drew home in her runabout. She declined an invitation to remain for dinner. “It’s getting late and I really can’t stop,” she said. “I’ll see...

The following morning Nancy Drew’s mood of despondency had fallen from her. She rose with new enthusiasm and eagerness to continue her investigations, yet she scarcely knew which way to turn. There we...

“Can it be that Mary Mason lives in this neighborhood?” Nancy Drew asked herself in surprise. There could be no question as to the identity of the girl, for she was now close enough for Nancy to see h...

It was not until late that evening that Nancy Drew was given an opportunity to tell her father what she had learned at Dockville, for he was detained at the office on a special case and did not come h...

“What’s the idea of having breakfast in the middle of the night?” Mr. Drew asked the question with good-natured gruffness as he yawned sleepily. “Why, look at that clock! It isn’t seven o’clock yet.” ...

Nancy Drew, hoping that she had hit upon a genuine clue at last, determined to lose no time in gathering evidence concerning Mary Mason. Yet, in considering her next move she scarcely knew how to proc...

It was late in the afternoon when Nancy Drew reached River Heights after her unsuccessful trip to Winchester. Finding her roadster where she had parked it in front of the grocery, she drove directly t...

In a frenzy of excitement, Nancy Drew crouched in her hiding place. She dared not move, scarcely breathe, lest she agitate the bushes or make a noise which would attract attention to herself. Mary Mas...

Carrying an oil lamp, Mary Mason entered the storeroom, and with only a casual glance about went directly to the window. As she passed the packing box, Nancy held her breath, fearful lest she be disco...

When Nancy Drew opened her eyes it was to realize that Mary Mason and the two men were bending over her. She was lying on an old couch and the gag had been removed from her mouth so that she could bre...

It was not until the motorboat was well under way that Nancy Drew received the slightest attention from her captors. Powerless to help herself, she lay where she had fallen in the bottom of the boat. ...

At the wheel of the motorboat, Tom Tozzle had failed to realize the danger until it was too late. Not until the bow of a large private yacht suddenly loomed out of the darkness did he attempt to bring...

As Nancy Drew cried out in alarm, several persons broke from the crowd on the dock and ran after Tom Tozzle. They chased him across the road and were rapidly gaining on him when he slipped behind a gr...

“Miss Drew, you may as well wait in one of the sheds where you’ll be out of the rain,” Captain Dudley said, addressing Nancy. “I’ll have the motorboat dragged up to the dock where it will be safe to b...

Even to the casual wayfarer who chanced to pass Lilac Inn on a certain evening late in July, it must have been apparent that an unusual affair was in progress. The inn was aglow with gay, twinkling li...