The Mystery of the Fire Dragon - Carolyn Keene [27]
“But I caught one thing he said that might have something to do with your case. He said to the other person, ‘You have your ticket? No one will ㅡwith all those students.’ I didn’t catch the one part of the sentence.” Lily Alys asked Nancy what she thought the missing word might be.
“It could be any number of things,” Nancy said slowly. “Of course it might be something completely innocent. But if Mr. Stromberg were talking to one of the gang, the missing part might have been ‘recognize you’ or ‘suspect you.’ ”
“It probably was,” the Chinese girl agreed. “I wonder who the person could have been?”
“And I wonder,” said Nancy, “what the ticket is for. It might be for travel, for the theater, for some sports event—”
“That is one reason I called you,” Lily Alys broke in quickly. “I said maybe I could help you. On a certain flight to Hong Kong from New York, the whole tourist section of the plane has been reserved for Chinese and American students from Columbia University.”
Nancy was excited over the information. “Only I doubt that any students are mixed up in this racket of Mr. Stromberg’s.”
Lily Alys said she was not thinking of the tourist section of the plane. “The first-class section is open to all passengers. I thought the person Mr. Stromberg was talking to might possibly be among those people.”
Nancy was thrilled. “Lily Alys, I believe this is a stroke of genius on your part. How soon does this plane leave?”
“In three days. It’s for a ten-day vacation in Hong Kong.” Lily Alys chuckled softly. “I understand that the tourist section has not been entirely filled. Perhaps, if you care to go to Hong Kong yourself, I can arrange for you to have one of the seats.”
Nancy felt a surge of excitement over this possibility. She thanked Lily Alys and said she would let her know if she wanted a reservation. “As a matter of fact, my father and I were planning to go to Hong Kong sometime soon. Maybe we could take this flight!”
“But the tourist section is only for students,” Lily Alys reminded the young sleuth.
“My father could go first class,” Nancy told her. “He might spot the suspect without being recognized. I’ll try to obtain a list of the passengers who have signed up so far.”
“Do you think Mr. Stromberg may be one of them?” the Chinese girl asked.
“Possibly,” Nancy replied. “But if so, I’m sure he’ll be traveling under an assumed name and I would have to see him to identify him. But I can alert the police, anyway, and also tell them other members of the gang may be aboard.”
She thanked Lily Alys for the helpful informamation, then at once called Captain Gray. He too felt that perhaps Nancy had picked up an important clue. “I’ll call you back and read you the list of first-class passengers,” he promised, “as soon as I get them.”
Hardly half an hour had gone by when he telephoned. The passengers’ names were in alphabetical order and none was familiar to Nancy until he came to the T’s.
“Mrs. Horace Truesdale!” Nancy exclaimed.
“You know her?” the officer asked quickly.
“Well, no, not exactly. But twice I saw her in Stromberg’s Bookshop. She seemed to be a regular customer.”
“That doesn’t prove anything, of course,” Captain Gray said. “Nevertheless, I will find out more about her and let you know.” He read the rest of the list of passengers but none was known to Nancy.
Within a short time the officer once more called Nancy, this time to report that there was nothing suspicious about Mrs. Horace Truesdale. She was a widow who lived alone in a middle-class apartment house. “She’s reputed to be a great reader and often goes on trips to visit friends.”
The officer finished his conversation by telling Nancy that there still was no news on any of the suspects in the Chi Che Soong case. “But members of the force will be on hand to watch everyone boarding the plane to Hong Kong.”
Later that evening Nancy telephoned her father and asked him how soon he was going to Hong Kong. The lawyer chuckled. “ ‘Fess up, my dear. What’s on your mind?”
His daughter laughed, then quickly related the entire story regarding