The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene Page A

gone. When Carol did not come out to greet Nancy, apprehension seized her. Had something happened?
    She shook off the feeling and ascended the stairs. After all, she had a right to be here—this was a public restaurant. At the top of the stairway she met Carol.
    “Nancy!” the girl cried. “Oh, I’m so glad you came back. I have something marvelous to tell you. Right after you left I heard Mr. Sidney’s bell ring and rushed up there. He said he’d asked you, Bess, George, and me to do some searching, but that you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, so he wanted me to start. The Jemitts have gone to town.
    “Mr. Sidney remembered a false drawer in the bottom of a bureau in the empty master bedroom and had me look there. What do you think I found?”
    “Clothes?”
    “No.”
    “Jewelry?”
    “You’re getting warm. Nancy, it was a diamond bracelet!”

CHAPTER X
    A Shocking Summons
    “A diamond bracelet!” Nancy gasped. “What did you do with it, Carol?”
    “I gave it to Mr. Sidney.” She chuckled. “He hid the bracelet under the seat of his chair. Oh, Nancy, it was beautiful lying there in its velvet box.”
    “What did he say?” Nancy asked.
    Carol laughed softly. He said, ‘Keep going and bring everything to me before those vultures get my fortune!’ Nancy, nobody’s in the house. Let’s search right now.”
    Nancy did not need to be urged. First they scoured the master bedroom where the bracelet had been cached. Neither the walls, floor, nor closet yielded any clue to where there might be a camouflaged safe or other kind of hiding place. Next the bed, wardrobe, and other pieces of furniture were searched. They revealed nothing.
    “Let’s try another room,” Carol urged.
    Nancy glanced at her watch. “It’s four o’clock. By any chance did Mrs. Jemitt ask you to prepare food for dinner—like putting a roast in the oven?”
    Carol clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my goodness! I was supposed to put a leg of lamb in the stove.”
    Nancy chuckled. “Then you’d better go do it quickly. If Mrs. Jemitt returns and finds you haven’t done it—”
    Carol fairly flew from the room and down the stairs. Nancy continued the search alone. She walked into what had been the adjoining dressing room. As she gazed around, her eyes were attracted to an ornate wooden panel directly above the mirror of a walnut dressing table. At first glance one might mistake the small square as part of the furniture below it.
    At once Nancy noted two unusual features about the panel, which she suspected might be a door: it had no visible way to open it and a series of connecting loops was carved on its face. On a hunch Nancy bent over so she could view the pattern sideways.
    “I’m right!” she thought. “It is a twisted candle! Something must be hidden behind there. But how do I open that door?”
    Nancy gazed at it for fully a minute. Then she concluded that if a particular spot on the door were pushed, it might release a hidden lock.
    Not wishing to be disturbed and fearful the Jemitts might rush in, Nancy went into the bedroom and turned the key in the door to the hall. Then she hastened back and pulled the dressing table aside.
    “Oh, I hope I can get this open!”
    Nancy was breathing excitedly now. Inch by inch she pressed a thumb over the entire surface. Nothing happened.
    “It’s tricky,” she thought.
    Next Nancy tried both thumbs, experimenting with various combinations. Still nothing happened.
    “I’m sure I’m not wrong,” she murmured. Suddenly she smiled. “The candle, of course. That’s the clue!”
    This time she ran a finger over the whole design and finally felt a slight protrusion on one of the swirls. She pushed it hard and the panel with the carved candle dropped into her hand. At the rear of the opening was a latch. Quickly she lifted it and a door swung open.
    To her surprise a music box inside began to play. Now she could see that it was a highly ornate —and, she guessed, priceless