The Clue of the Velvet Mask Page 12

  Mr. Lightner smiled and from a box took two identical masks. It was evident that one was very old, the other a new copy.

  “How lovely!” Nancy exclaimed. “Thank you very much, Mr. Lightner. But why two of them?”

  “One to treasure, one to wear at a masquerade.”

  “And that may be sooner than you think,” Ned spoke up, grinning. “The fellows decided on another summer party—this time a masquerade. You’ll go as an Egyptian queen.”

  “What fun!”

  “Nancy ought to go as the Queen of Mystery,” Bess remarked. “I’ll bet it won’t be long before she’s in the midst of another case.”

  Bess’s prophecy was to come true when Nancy set out to solve one of the most puzzling cases of her career, The Ringmaster’s Secret.

  “What are you girls going to wear to the masquerade?” she questioned Bess and George.

  “You know me—always Bopeep.” Bess giggled.

  “I’ll have to think it over,” George replied. “But there’s one person I know I’ll never try to imitate.”

  “Who’s that?” Bess asked.

  “The well-known detective, Nancy Drew.” George pretended to shiver. “I tried it once and found it too dangerous!”