Nancy repeated his message to those about her. She helped people to their feet, and tried to comfort the children.

When it was evident that the vessel had not been damaged below the water line, the passengers calmed down. But they jammed the decks while the crippled boat glided slowly toward River Heights.

Recalling why she had come aboard, Nancy gazed about, searching once more for the suspected thief. She decided it was hopeless to locate him in the crowd. But just as the ferryboat grated against the dock, she saw him.

He was standing close to a man whose right leg had been injured. To her disgust, the suspect stealthily reached his hand into the other’s coat pocket and removed a billfold. Now she was convinced he was the man who had stolen Francis Baum’s wallet.

“Stop thief!” Nancy shouted, but amid the commotion her warning went unheeded.

She tried to force her way forward, but the crowd kept her from moving more than a few feet. By now the boat was ready to discharge passengers. The thief was the first to disembark.

By the time she reached the dock, he had vanished. Nancy was dismayed. “But at least I can supply the police with an accurate description of the pickpocket,” she thought. “He’s about thirty, medium height, has brown hair, and walks with short, quick steps.”

She saw an officer and told him about the pickpocket. He wrote everything in his report book and thanked her.

It was still raining, so Nancy took a taxi home. She rang the bell at the side door. Mrs. Gruen, middle-aged and kindly, opened the door and gasped at the girl’s appearance.

“Nancy, where have you been?” she asked. “Will you never learn to carry an umbrella?”

“Never.” The young detective laughed, kicking off her water-soaked shoes on the cellar stairway landing.

“Did you have a good lunch?” the housekeeper asked.

“No, just a sandwich,” Nancy replied. “But please don’t worry about that. It must be nearly dinnertime.”