LITMIR.BIZ

      “Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.” Nancy had brushed her trademark titian mane until it shone, but it did no good. She threw the silver-backed brush across her dressing table, knocking over some expensive perfume in the process, but Nancy didn’t care. The only thing she did care about—an attractive dark-haired nurse with a bubbly nature and a ready smile—had been gone now for five hours, and might never be coming back!

      “I musn’t dwell on those two,” Nancy told herself as she slipped into her luscious pale pink shantung silk pajamas and tied a pert bow around her hair. “It’s already midnight, and I’ve simply got to get some sleep so I will look my best tomorrow.” She knew she’d have to act fast to regain the advantage in the contest for Cherry’s hand.

      “But what shall I do, Gogo?” she asked the little terrier who was curled up in her usual place. Nancy felt a stab of pity as she remembered the terrified expressions on the faces of the kidnapped poodles when they popped out of the trunk. “I should really call Chief O’Malley at the Lake Merrimen Police Department and offer my services, seeing as how I’m so good at solving cases like these,” Nancy thought guiltily. “But going off on a case will mean leaving Cherry and Jackie alone, and I can’t afford to do that!” she quickly reminded herself.

      Nancy sighed as she threw back her snowy white chenille bedspread, slipped under the covers and turned off the small bedside lamp. Midge and Velma had gone to bed the second supper was over, so Nancy had spent the evening helping Hannah sew side darts in some new cotton blouses. As the hours dragged by, Nancy knew Cherry and Jackie’s dinner date must have turned into something more!

      Tortured by the thought of those two together, she tossed and turned, finally falling into a uneasy sleep. She awoke to the unmistakable sound of George’s old jalopy pulling into the drive. Nancy slipped out of bed and raced over to the window. Golly, Jackie and Cherry had finally returned!

      She watched with bated breath as Jackie helped Cherry from the car and escorted her to the front porch. She could hear hushed giggles as the two girls crept in the house. Nancy waited for the sound of footsteps on the landing, and when none came she threw on her quilted housecoat and fuzzy slippers and snuck down the stairs. “Where could they be?” she wondered as she peeked over the banister into the empty living room. She pulled her robe tight and crept into the kitchen.

      The squeak of the porch swing and more laugher reached her ears. Nancy checked the kitchen clock and was surprised to find it was three in the morning! “Why, it’s positively indecent to stay up this late,” she thought as she blinked back tears. She crept closer to the back door, taking care to keep in the shadows. Although she couldn’t make out what they were saying, the way Cherry was sitting, practically in Jackie’s lap with her face turned up in rapt adoration, told Nancy that she’d better do something fast!

      Nancy raced to the study and shut the door, then picked up the telephone and spoke urgently into the receiver. “Operator, please connect me with the Hardly estate in nearby Feyport—and fast!”

      Her chums Joe and Frank Hardly had just returned from their European vacation. “I was going to give them a few days to shake the wrinkles from their travel clothes and get their land legs back, but this is a genuine emergency!” Nancy thought.

      She tapped her fingers nervously on the mahogany desk while she waited for her connection to be put through. “I’ll ask Frank and Joe to luncheon tomorrow to meet the gang,” she schemed. “I’ll serve Joe’s favorite cheese-and-egg pie and wilted leaf lettuce salad, then I’ll ask Frank to step outside to the garden, and once there, ask him what to do about this romantic dilemma. I’ll wear my new sunflower yellow pique sunsheath—Frank’s sure to appreciate the careful detailing, especially the embroidered collar—”

      “Hello?” a sleepy lad’s voice queried at the other end of the line. Nancy took a deep breath and tried to steady her voice, but once she heard the masculine tone of her close chum Frank, her words came tumbling out all willy-nilly. “Oh, Frank,” she sobbed. “I need your help. I’ve got trouble—girl trouble—of the most terrible kind!”

       —— CHAPTER 11 ——

       The Mystery of Love

      “Get the paper, Gogo,” Midge commanded cheerfully. The perky terrier, who had taken up her post at Midge’s feet, hoping to catch a stray toast crumb, raced out the dog door and returned seconds later with The River Depths Defender in her mouth and laid it at Midge’s slipper-clad feet. “See how much she’s learned since we’ve been here?” Midge grinned at Jackie as she unfurled the paper and glanced at the front page. “Next I’m teaching her how to make the beds,” she joked, but her expression turned serious when she saw the news item at the bottom of the page. “Someone tried to snatch a teacup poodle from an elderly woman in nearby Battle Creek,” she gasped.

      But Jackie was too busy moping to notice. Too busy, really, thinking about Cherry and last night.

      Midge tried to push the distressing news out of her mind. She put down the paper and got her chum a hot cup of coffee.

      “Ugh!” Jackie cried after she took a gulp of the strong brew.

      “Good, huh?” Midge asked as she poured herself another cup and popped a piece of bread in the toaster.

      “Like rocket fuel,” Jackie grimaced. “Where’s Velma?” she wondered. “She makes great coffee.”

      “Out with Cherry,” Midge told her. “Cherry was desperate for some girl talk so they went downtown to window shop,” Midge paused and added dramatically, “The big news is that the latest fall fashions are in!”

      “Goodness,” Jackie replied. “And you didn’t wake me? I simply must order my fall tee-shirts!” she grinned. Then she groaned. She wasn’t in the mood to clown around this morning, not after two bottles of champagne and three hours’ sleep—alone! “Did Cherry mention what she needed to talk about so urgently?” Jackie pumped her chum.

      Midge shook her head. “I don’t know anything that goes on around here,” she admitted. “But I do know someone stayed up pretty late last night,” she teased, adding hastily, “not that I was eavesdropping or anything. It’s just that when I got up in the middle of the night to get Velma a glass of water I heard voices coming from the porch. Frankly, it sounded like an astronomy lecture out there—” Midge stopped kidding when she saw the glum expression on her friend’s face. “Didn’t the date go well?” Midge asked.

      “It was the best time I’ve ever had!” Jackie exclaimed, adding, “That is, until we got home. I don’t know what happened! We dined and danced and talked for hours—long enough to make me certain that Cherry’s the girl for me! When I brought her back here, we sat on the swing for an eternity, but each time I got up the nerve to kiss her, she’d start pointing out constellations,” Jackie lamented, adding, “Although last night wasn’t a total waste. I did learn everything a girl could ever want to know about the Big Dipper.”

      She put her head in her hands and groaned. “Now I want her more than ever,” Jackie admitted. She was beginning to think she would never get to Cherry, at least not while they were under Nancy’s roof.

      “You mean you two were together

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