The Hidden Window Mystery by Carolyn Keene Page B

tiptoed across the driveway and continued to the studio. The young detective was just about to take her flashlight and paper pattern of the footprint from her bag when she became aware of a figure inside the studio.
    At that instant the door opened and a flashlight was directed toward Nancy! Quickly she dodged behind the building and by a fraction of a second avoided detection. She heard the door close and footsteps inside.
    For an instant Nancy was tempted to run back and get Ned. Then she realized that the intruder in the studio might leave and she would not be able to find out who he was. Cautiously she moved up to one of the windows.
    By the time Nancy reached it, the light inside had been extinguished. For several seconds all was silent and dark. Then the light went on again. Nancy gasped!
    Alonzo Rugby!
    “What in the world is he doing here at this time of night?” Nancy asked herself.
    Suddenly Rugby reached inside the fireplace and withdrew a crumpled paper. It was the sketch of the peacock Nancy had made that morning!
    Rugby smoothed out the paper on the floor and studied the drawing.
    “Why is he so interested in my sketch?” she mused.
    As she watched, Alonzo picked up the drawing and slipped it into his portfolio, which he tucked under his arm, and left the studio. To Nancy’s amazement, he turned left and headed toward the woods.
    “I’d like to know where he’s going,” Nancy thought, and she began to follow him.
    She crept quietly behind the man. This was not difficult because the path among the trees was fairly smooth and Rugby’s flashlight, which he held close to the ground, was powerful enough to light her way. She remained a reasonable distance behind the man, who did not turn once.
    Presently the path forked. Rugby took the righthand turn and in a few minutes reached the bank of Eddy Run. He pulled a canoe from the shadows and shoved it into the water. He laid the portfolio on the bottom of the craft, then picked up a paddle and set off upstream toward Ivy Hall and Cumberland Manor.
    “He must live up there somewhere,” Nancy told herself as she turned back.
    Clicking on her own flashlight, Nancy started back through the woods to look for a clear impression of Rugby’s footprints. At the intersection of the two paths she found a deep one. She compared the paper pattern with it.
    “It’s the same length and width!” she exclaimed.
    Nancy knew it would be difficult to identify a suspect from just a shoe size. And there were no distinctive marks on the soles or heels of the shoes Rugby had been wearing. In contrast, the pair worn by the man who had pitched the stone at her had contained a small circle in the heel.
    “Just the same, I believe that person was Alonzo Rugby,” Nancy concluded. “And I’m going to find out all I can about him to prove either his guilt or his innocence!”
    The young sleuth had just made this decision when the stillness was shattered by the loud barking of a dog. Nancy soon realized that it was searching for her.
    Worried, she decided to take refuge in a tree. Beaming her light around, she quickly shinned up a medium-sized oak tree. Just as she reached the first limb, a large Doberman pinscher bounded into view. He jumped up angrily, pawing the tree.
    “Go home! Shoo!” Nancy commanded, but the dog showed no signs of leaving and growled loudly. “I’m literally treed!” she murmured ruefully.
    The dog stopped growling long enough for Nancy to hear approaching footsteps. Someone was running in her direction.
    “This beast’s owner, no doubt,” Nancy decided.
    The pinscher, intent on his quarry, apparently was not aware that someone was coming. Nancy flashed her light as a guide. A moment later Ned appeared.
    “Look out!” she exclaimed in warning.
    At the same moment, the pinscher noticed Ned and lunged at him. But the football player neatly sidestepped the dog, Then, with a grip of steel, he grasped the animal by the collar with one hand. The dog