Book 20 in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, 1943

“No, a silver pen isn’t exactly what I’m looking for,” Nancy Drew explained to the jewelry salesman in the department store.

The slim, attractive girl with lovely reddish-blond hair waited while he reached beneath the counter to get another item.

“Here’s something perfect,” he declared. “This handsome jewelry box is very new. It’s a clever reproduction of one owned by a ruler in Europe two centuries ago.”

Nancy was disappointed to learn that it was a reproduction. She had hoped to find something original and unusual for her father’s birthday.

“It’s lovely,” she said, “but-”

“The original box has a strange history,” the salesman went on. Knowing of Nancy’s reputation as an amateur detective, he hoped to capture her interest with hints of mystery. “Its first owner was a king disliked by his subjects. One night he was spirited away, and-”

Before he could finish the romantic tale, he was interrupted by a woman customer who was tapping on the glass counter for attention.

“I’d better not make a hasty decision,” Nancy said politely to the man. “Thank you very much.”

She walked off and took an elevator that would take her to the restaurant floor. Nancy thought, “That jewelry box certainly looked genuine. Maybe Dad would like it for his birthday after all.”

She was going to have luncheon with Bess Marvin and George Fayne, who were cousins and Nancy’s closest friends. The girls had not arrived, so Nancy sat down in the lounge to wait for them.

“Oh dear!” murmured a voice nearby.

Turning her head, Nancy saw that the chair beside her was occupied by an attractive, elderly woman in a dark-blue dress. The pallor of her creamy skin held the girl’s attention. Obviously the woman was ill.