“I can’t wait to dig into this,” Nancy said as she glanced over the contents.

Fortunately the late-afternoon sun was drying the ground quickly. Mr. Drew’s good humor returned as he walked with Nancy to the park. Upon arriving, they found a group of River Heights lawyers and their daughters.

The Drews were given an enthusiastic welcome but teased about being late. When the men heard the story of the stolen wallet, they became concerned.

“During the past two weeks,” declared one of them, “River Heights has had an alarming increase in petty thievery. It’s time something was done.”

“You’re right,” Mr. Drew agreed. “Well, my daughter says she’s going to catch the pickpocket who took my wallet.”

“And she probably will,” said Ida Trevor, who greatly admired the young detective.

Nancy smiled, then said, “At any rate, I’d like to get back the money for the Boys Club.”

Following the picnic supper, there were games of competition for the fathers and their daughters. Victory crowned the efforts of the Drews in several contests.

They lost a short race, however, to Judge and Marian Howells. As the Howells crossed the finish line, a compact that the judge was keeping for his daughter fell from his pocket. The enamel cover broke in half.

“There, I’ve done it!” the man exclaimed. “Why can’t our girls have pockets large enough for their beauty gadgets?”

“What we need is an enamel which is noncrackable,” said Mr. Drew.

The judge replied, “Many years ago such an enamel was developed. But unfortunately the process is not known today.”

Launching into the history of various enamel processes, he told of its early use by the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Romans.

“There was a revival of the art in the nineteenth century, and beautiful, unbreakable pieces were made. But that method has been lost, too.”