The Mystery of the Fire Dragon by Carolyn Keene Page B

published.”
    “Oh, I don’t mind if it’s old,” said Nancy disarmingly. “I love to read about Asia.”
    By this time Mr. Stromberg’s face was red with anger and he once more vehemently refused to sell the book. Nancy was sure now that the book held some clue to the mystery of the fire dragon. The question was how much did Mr. Stromberg know about it? Was he shielding someone else? Had he been asked not to sell the volume and had it inadvertently been put on the shelf?
    Nancy shrugged. “If you won’t sell it, you won’t sell it,” she said. “Well, I’ll just pay for the other book I bought.”
    Mr. Stromberg accompanied Nancy to the desk. He wrapped the book on geology himself and took her money. There was no chance for Lily Alys to tell Nancy any more, but the young sleuth was determined to find out later that day if the Chinese girl had come across additional information.
    As Nancy walked along the street toward Aunt Eloise’s apartment, she decided to try another bookshop for a copy of the book on Asia. She found one without any trouble, then hurried home.
    “Hello, everybody,” Nancy called, entering the apartment. Seeing only Aunt Eloise and George in the living room, she asked, “Where’s Bess?”
    “She went marketing for me,” Miss Drew replied.

    “That book is not for sale!” he informed Nancy
    Nancy told about her experience in the bookshop and the others agreed that something strange was going on there. Next, Nancy turned to the chapter on Hong Kong in the book on Asia. First came the history of the city, then suggestions to tourists on what to see, and finally a list of shops known for fine jewelry, linen, furniture, and clothing of all kinds.
    “Hong Kong is the place for expert tailoring and dressmaking,” Nancy remarked. “My, and listen to these prices. Things cost about one third what they do in this country!”
    “Me for Hong Kong.” George chuckled, taking the book. Presently she said, “There doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary in this chapter. Maybe the contents of the book had nothing to do with the piece of dragon stationery inside.”
    “Then why wouldn’t Mr. Stromberg have sold me his copy?” Nancy argued. “I think perhaps some phrase or sentence was underlined and he didn’t want anybody to see it.”
    George suggested that perhaps they should have the police keep a watch on Mr. Stromberg. Aunt Eloise shook her head. “He might be innocent of anything underhanded. A customer may have asked him to reserve that particular volume, and not being a very diplomatic person, he practically lost his head because Nancy wanted to purchase it.”
    Nancy said that as soon as Lily Alys was back in her dormitory at Columbia she was going to phone her. She looked at her watch. “By the way, how long has Bess been gone?”
    “Too long,” Aunt Eloise replied. “She should have been back an hour ago. I can’t understand it.”
    Nancy was concerned too. “Perhaps we should go out and try to find her.”
    At that moment the telephone rang. It was Lily Alys. “Oh, Nancy, I’ve lost my job!” the Chinese girl said worriedly.
    “I’m not surprised,” Nancy told her. “And I’m sure it’s all my fault. Mr. Stromberg became suspicious after the book episode. Isn’t that it?”
    “Yes, partly,” Lily Alys replied. “After all the customers had gone, he called me to the desk and handed me a few dollars. He looked at me hard and said, ‘Young lady, I don’t know what your game is, but I want a clerk I can trust—not someone that brings customers in here to cause a scene.’ ”
    “He meant me!” Nancy exclaimed. “I believe that Mr. Stromberg must suspect you and I know each other.”
    “I’m afraid so,” said Lily Alys.
    Nancy asked if the Chinese girl had had a chance to look at the pages between which she had found the piece of fire-dragon stationery.
    “Yes, I did. In the list of shops it mentioned ‘mah-jongg sets.’ Those two words were