The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene Page B

playing a lively game of ping-pong with Helen, Emily, and John. Around eleven o’clock everyone said good night. John walked with the two girls to their cottage and warned them to secure the new inside bolt on the door, as well as the bathroom window. “I’m within calling distance if you need me.” He smiled.
    “Thanks, John,” said Nancy. “Every window sill in the bedroom will have a book on it. If any intruder tries getting in, I hope he won’t notice the book, and will knock it off and wake us!”
    Before going to sleep, Nancy thought happily that her father would soon be home. How much she had to tell him!
    Helen, in the meantime, was wide awake. She tossed and turned restlessly. Finally, at midnight, she got up and put on her bathrobe and slippers.
    “Maybe some fresh air will help me sleep,” Helen thought.
    Despite John’s warning, she slid the bolt and left the cottage, closing the door quietly. The grounds were dark and silent. Helen turned toward the lilac grove.
    Suddenly she saw a flickering light ahead, near the grove. Curious, she drew closer. A veiled figure with black hair and wearing a glowing white gown confronted her. The next instant Helen was struck on the back of her head and fell unconsciousl

CHAPTER IX
    The Search
    BACK in the cottage, Nancy was awakened by an insistent ticking. She sat up and glanced in annoyance at her alarm clock. It certainly seemed noisy.
    Suddenly Nancy realized that her friend’s bed was empty. “Helen?” she called, thinking that perhaps the other girl had gone to get a glass of water. There was no reply.
    “Where can Helen be at one-thirty in the morning?” Nancy asked herself. Hurriedly she put on robe and slippers and picked up her flashlight. When she found the front door of the cottage unbolted, she felt a pang of alarm.
    Outside, Nancy searched the cottage area, calling her friend’s name again and again. No response. Finally, thoroughly alarmed, Nancy decided to ask John for help. She knocked on his door. No answer. Perplexed, Nancy was about to leave when a twig crackled a short distance away. She turned off her flashlight and crouched behind a low shrub. Who was approaching? She was relieved a moment later to discern the familiar outline of John.
    “Oh, thank goodness!” Nancy exclaimed, hurrying toward him. “Have you seen Helen?” she asked. “I woke up and found her gone.”
    “No, I haven’t seen her,” John replied. “I couldn’t sleep so I walked down the road. Come on. We’ll both look.”
    They started across the lawn.
    “Let’s check the inn first,” Nancy proposed. “Maybe Helen’s there.”
    The grounds seemed eerie in the moonless night as the couple walked quietly, beaming their flashes ahead of them. They circled the inn. The place was completely dark, with the exception of the tiny night light in the main lobby.
    Nancy suggested they try all the doors. “If one is unlocked, it may mean Helen is inside.”
    The front, rear, patio, and kitchen doors were securely bolted from the inside.
    “Perhaps Helen couldn’t sleep and went for a walk near the river,” John suggested.
    Quickly he and Nancy went to the waterfront. Starting with the area near the dock, they proceeded along the bank, calling Helen’s name. As they came to the lilac grove, John said:
    “I don’t think—”
    He was interrupted by a low moan which came from beyond a lilac bush. The couple hurried toward it, with Nancy focusing the beam of her flashlight on the ground.
    “Helen!” she exclaimed in horror.
    Before them lay her friend, unconscious.
    Quickly Nancy and John knelt beside Helen. John held the flashlight while Nancy made a rapid examination. Helen’s pulse was normal, but there was an ugly lump on the back of her head.
    John looked grim as Nancy chafed Helen’s wrists. “She must have been struck by a blunt instrument,” he said.
    Helen’s eyelids flickered open. For a moment the girl looked terrified, then smiled feebly as she