The Hidden Window Mystery by Carolyn Keene (1956, 1975) Part 2

After talking with the actress more, she tells Nancy there has been strange noises inside their home and believes it is connected to the home with the brick wall. The girls agree to go spend the night with her and her daughter. Just as everyone had fallen asleep they hear noises coming from the attic. So they make their way up to the attic and discover a ghost. Nancy and George are nowhere to be seen and everyone assumes the worst and gets out of the attic.

Nancy and George fell through a trap door, flew down a ramp and ended up in the cellar. With no way out through a door or back up the ramp they discover a tunnel which was probably used in the civil war for slaves. After walking through they fall into a pit of water, which they find is a well. They continue on their way and finally get out through a sliding door. Everyone reunites and go back to the house to explore the attic once again. They find the linen box which was probably where the ghost had borrowed one to make their appearance. The actress Sheila makes the discussion that she no longer wishes to spend another moment in the home. But the girls decide to stay because they believe that the ghost is after something valuable inside the home. So they all take turns watching the attic until morning.

The next night they all heard a terrible screeching outside. Nancy goes to find out what the noise was and they find a peacock. Its runs away and the girls decide to follow it. Following it into the woods they run into the ghost they saw in the attic. They decide to face the ghost head on and not run but it fled and they find that the peacock has returned to the house with the brick wall.

In the morning they decide to go and see if perhaps the ghost might have been Alonzo. So they go to where he is boarding. They meet the owner Mrs. Paget, but she tells the girls that Alonzo had not been there in quite some time and thought he might have been staying with Mr. Bradshaw his employer. She also speaks of his sister and says that she has a poor reputation

in Charlottesville as well, accusing others of things they never did. The girls head back to Susan's place but Anna is the only one home. After talking with her a bit, Susan walks in the door and they talk with her about all the happenings the last few night's at Sheila's place. They leave and go back to Sheila's and find that her daughter has received a gift from a young man whom works at the home with the brick wall. She tells them that he has been trying to date her for over a week but she does not like him. Nancy encourages her to invite him over so they might possibly find a way to get into the place and find out what all the noises are about.

Later the following evening the young man calls upon Sheila's daughter Annette. His name is Luke and he has been working for the owner of that estate Mr. Honsho for a few months. They show him around the house and after a small incident he agrees to take them to Mr. Honsho's and talk with him about his gardens.

After meeting with Mr. Honsho he explains that he kept people out because he had heard from townsfolk that they did not like peacocks and they were bad luck. Nancy assured him some people may not like the noises they make, but most find them to be a very beautiful bird. So he agrees to continue to participate in the garden shows again. He shows them his birds, and tells them that they mean a great deal to his culture. After saying their goodbyes they leave and return to Sheila's.

When they return they find that the home has been torn apart, items broken and even wallpaper coming off the walls. Sheila goes into a hysterical state and they decide to call the police to come over to report the damage and a doctor to help calm her down. Before heading upstairs the girl's find a small piece of red stained glass on the floor. They believe the thief was after a stain glass window in the home. Alonzo comes to mind and they decide to try and track him down that night.

Heading to Mr. Bradshaw's studio they wait, and find Alonzo there. He made a phone call to Sir Richard Greystone about the window and says that he has it and would like to meet with him. The girl's made too much noise in the bushes and Alonzo discovered them. Mrs. Dondo helps him tie the girls up. The two leave to go speak with Sir Richard Greystone about the stained glass window. With no luck struggling to to try and get out of the rope, Nancy moves over to a hanging scythe and carefully saws her rope on her wrists and frees herself. After freeing the other girl's they go to try and stop Alonzo from making the transaction. They are successful in doing so.

Upon returning to Sheila's they make a wonderful find and we also hear news that Sheila had just been offered a new roll in a Broadway show and her daughter would be able to attend college.

Nancy had a lot on her hands in this mystery, and several dangerous moments I might add. Between being knocked unconscious, being trapped by a ghost, and being tied up this was quite the adventure for visiting her cousin in Virginia. For only being about a stained glass window this book has some great characters and a rather enjoyable story line to read. The only corny thing that I did not like were the ghost sequences. Very much reminded me of the old classic Scooby Doo cartoon show from the 1970's. Yes it might be a tad alarming to see a white sheet that looks like a ghostly image, but nor do I find that scary or amusing. You certainly have the better advantage in that case and would have a very easy time capturing the person inside the linen. More of a rather silly disguise, a person wearing all black and a mask is much more scary, you can easily lose them in the dark and would have a hard time finding them.

But overall a great read, took only about four hours to read, so it could be easily read in an afternoon. Who knows, perhaps the next time I go out of town to visit family I might have so many mysteries laid at my feet that they all end up being connected and solved within a weekend just like Nancy.