The visitors were intrigued by the narrow streets and sidewalks, the ancient shops and restaurants, and the homes with their heavy wooden doors and iron hinges and locks.
The two- and three-story buildings looked delightfully quaint with their lovely wrought-iron railings. Boxes of bright-colored flowers dotted the porches. Here and there were open gates leading to charming old-fashioned courtyards.
"Visitors are welcome to walk in and look around," Donna Mae announced as she led the way into one of the gardens.
"Oh, how artistic!" Bess exclaimed.
The flagstone courtyard was decorated with tubs of flowering bushes in full bloom. In the center, a fountain played and at the far side a curved stone stairway led upward to a flower-decked balcony. The warm tropical sunshine lent an air of tranquility to the scene.
"It's heavenly, simply heavenly!" Bess sighed.
As the sight-seers left the quaint spot, Donna Mae said, "Nancy, you and the girls will surely want to see the haunted house. It's famous in this area."
"What makes it haunted?" Bess asked quickly.
"Well," began Donna Mae, "a long, long time ago there was a fire in the old house. The owner and his wife were not there when it happened, so firemen and neighbors broke in and saved what furniture they could. To their horror they found slaves chained in the attic.
"When the owner and his wife heard that their dreadful cruelty had been discovered, they ran away. But it's said that the ghosts of those slaves haunt the place."
"I don't think I want to see that house,” Bess said with a shudder.
Alex suggested that they would probably be more interested in the pirates. To Donna Mae he said, "How about showing the girls the place where Pierre Lafitte was a prisoner?"
Donna Mae led the way to Jackson Square, the heart of the Vieux Carré. In the center of this grassy esplanade stood a statue of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. The general sat astride a rearing horse.
When George remarked that it was amazing how the forelegs of the horse remained in space with no support, Donna Mae said that this had been accomplished by making the statue perfectly balanced. "An unusual and difficult feat in this case."
Donna Mae went on, "The government of New Orleans has been in the hands of different ruling groups five times. Sometimes it was the Spanish, sometimes the French, sometimes the United States, and once the city was independent."
Around Jackson Square were numerous public buildings and apartment houses. Alex, who had been on the tour before, led the way to the Cabildo. This large, many-arched building had originally been the municipal hall for old New Orleans. Now it was a museum.
Off the center courtyard around which the Cabildo had been built was the small cell in which Pierre Lafitte, the pirate, had been jailed. At the moment there was little in it—the most interesting objects being two ancient safes with decorated crosspieces of a hobnailed design.
"Are these what the pirates kept their gold in?" George asked with a twinkle in her eyes.
"So the legend goes," Donna Mae answered. "Pierre and his brother Jean had a blacksmith shop a few blocks from here. They didn't do much blacksmithing, though. They were too busy smuggling in slaves from Africa and selling them.
"Jean and Pierre Lafitte were in trouble with the law most of the time," Donna Mae continued, "but somehow, they were always able to get out of it. But, strange though it seems, they turned out to be very patriotic citizens during the War of 1812 in the Battle of New Orleans."
"Well, I'm glad they made up for their miserable deeds," said Bess.
"Let's walk up Pirates' Alley," Alex suggested. "That's the street where the pirates carried on their nefarious schemes."
As the group walked across Jackson Square to Pirates' Alley, the girls became interested in the many sidewalk artists. The men and women lined one side of the square. Many wore smocks and jaunty berets. Some sat on stools, sketching portraits of tourists, and all had pictures on display to sell.
One aggressive man smiled at Nancy, "May I paint your portrait, miss?" he asked. "Your face would be lovely on canvas!"
Nancy laughed. "Not today, thank you," she answered.
Alex led the way into the narrow street nicknamed Pirates' Alley. It was so attractive, with its quaint architecture and flowering plants, that it was hard for the girls to think of sinister plans once being made there by scheming pirates.
Just as the sight-seers emerged from the alley, Nancy grabbed George's arm. "I turned round just now and saw a man who looks exactly like the one who stole my car! He must be following us!"
“I’m sure that he is the man who stole my car!”
George suggested getting a policeman, but Nancy said, "No. I'd like to follow him if possible. We may learn something. Suppose you and Bess and I duck into the first antique store we come to and let him pass us."
George whispered directions to Bess, as Nancy glanced over her shoulder to be sure the man was still following. He was!
Coming to a gift shop, she announced quickly to Donna Mae and Alex, "Bess and George and I are going to do a little shopping. Suppose we meet you later at Antoine's."
Without further explanation, the three girls ducked into the shop. Donna Mae, looking impatient, followed them, but Alex remained outside. When the proprietor came forward, Bess and George engaged him in conversation about a flowered plate. Nancy pretended to examine a miniature vase on a table near the window while watching to see if the suspect passed.
To her complete astonishment, the man stopped and spoke to Alex. It was nearly a full minute before he moved on. Nancy signaled to Bess, who said to the proprietor:
"Thank you very much. I'll think it over."
Quickly Nancy left the shop, followed by the other girls. The suspect was not far ahead of them. Nancy started off at a brisk pace to speak to him and perhaps find a policeman.
“What’s the hurry?" Alex asked, catching up and taking her arm.
"I want to talk to someone," Nancy replied hastily. "By the way, what did the man who stopped to speak to you want?"
"That fellow! Why, he—uh—wanted to paint your picture."
"What did you say to him?" Nancy asked.
Alex laughed. "I told him there wasn't a ghost of a chance of painting you."
Nancy gazed straight at Alex to determine if he was telling the truth or teasing her. But there was only an amused look in his eyes which gave her no clue.
"I'd like to speak to the man myself, anyhow," Nancy declared and hurried on.
Alex and the other girls quickly followed, but by this time the suspect was out of sight. Nancy was annoyed at herself for letting him get away. "I'm sure he just pretended to be an artist!" she said to herself.
Alex led the way to Antoine's restaurant. Here the group walked through several crowded rooms before being shown a table. Nancy and the cousins observed with interest the walls that were covered with autographed photographs of famous persons.
"Now, Alex," Donna Mae said gaily, "let's have some of those scrumptious dishes you and I adore."
As her fiancé nodded and beckoned to a waiter Nancy said, "Please order something special for me." She rose from the table. "And please excuse me a few minutes. I have to make a phone call."
Closing herself into a nearby booth, she got in touch with police headquarters, told her story about the stolen convertible, and the fact that she thought she had seen the suspect in town.
"We'll look into the matter at once, Miss Drew,” the officer in charge promised.
"Thank you. I'm staying with Colonel Haver at Sunnymead," said Nancy and gave him the number.
The young detective hung up and started to open the door. Outside stood Alex Upgrove, staring at her intently!
CHAPTER VII
A Swamp Accident
As NANCY stepped out of the telephone booth, Alex Upgrove's eyes bored into hers. She stared back. Neither would waver, but Alex was the first to speak.
"Nancy, why didn't you tell me what was going on, so I could help you?" he chided. "I'm sure you're all wrong about that man being the car thief. But we can investigate the used-car lots in the city and see if we can find your convertible."
"Thank you, Alex, but I'll leave that to the police," Nancy replied. She was angry that Alex had followed her and deliberately listened to her conversation.
"Well, have it your own way," he said, escorting her back to the table. "But I wish you wouldn't be so mysterious. I could be a big help to you, really I could."
"No doubt," Nancy said in an off-hand way.
The young people thoroughly enjoyed their luncheon in the famous restaurant which had been operating in this same building since 1868. The lunch included the famous oysters Rockefeller, served in the half shell on hot salt, and garnished with a secret garlic sauce. Then came "chicken in the bag". The waiter tore off the paper covering, revealing a succulent rice-stuffed bird. Dessert was pecan pie.
As they left Antoine's, Bess declared she could not eat another morsel until the next day!
"Well, that's fine," said Donna Mae, laughing, "because I want to put on a rehearsal of the play and we won't be able to take time off for dinner."
The visitors reluctantly acquiesced. But each was thinking that she could not become too excited about appearing in the fairy costumes. Nancy writhed inwardly at the thought of further delay in starting her investigation of the showboat mystery.
When they reached home, Donna Mae announced to her parents that rehearsal in full costume would take place in half an hour. Colonel Haver puckered his lips and frowned.
"I was going golfing," he said.
His wife smiled. "Time is getting short, dear. Maybe we'd better have the rehearsal."
As George, a few minutes later, was zipping herself into the winged fairy costume, she suddenly burst into laughter. "If you girls think these wings will hold me up, I believe I'll fly away and escape this rehearsal."
Bess giggled. "You'd better not, or you may have Donna Mae or Alex flying after you."
When the three guests appeared on the first floor, they found the others already assembled. Colonel and Mrs. Haver looked very regal in their king and queen costumes. Donna Mae and Alex, attractive in the prince and princess garments of a bygone era, smiled graciously.
"Oh, you look adorable!" Donna Mae exclaimed, but her mother gasped. "Why, I thought the three girls were going to be ladies in waiting."
"Want to see how a winged fairy acts?" George asked impishly.
Instantly she bent double and began to do a dance step that resembled that of an Indian ceremonial. Then Bess began to chant a song in the manner of a three-year-old reciting a nursery rhyme. All but Donna Mae burst into laughter.
"I'm afraid," said Colonel Haver, "that these fairy costumes are not appropriate, Donna Mae."
"Then what are we going to do?" cried his daughter who was on the verge of tears.
Her mother said she thought something more regal would be suitable. She herself would select new costumes for the girls.
Nancy sighed. "I had hoped to wear my mother's beautiful shawl and fan to the ball. The suitcase they were packed in was stolen, you know."
"That was most unfortunate," said Mrs. Haver. "But I'll plan your costume so that you can wear the shawl and fan that evening if you should get them back in time."
Nancy flashed her a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Haver."
After the three fairies had unsnapped their wings and laid them on the sofa, the rehearsal began. Earlier Pappy Cole had brought in several boxes to make a platform on which the actors could perform.
"When we're acting on the showboat, we'll have a real stage," said Mrs. Haver.
"I wouldn't count on that too much, my dear," Colonel Haver remarked, "unless Nancy Drew solves the mystery."
Any reply Nancy might have made was interrupted by Bess who at that moment made a misstep on top of one of the boxes. As she fell backwards onto the floor, everyone rushed forward to help her.
"Are you hurt, Bess?" Nancy asked solicitously.
"Oh, my arm!" Bess exclaimed, tears coming to her eyes. "I guess I wrenched it!"
Mrs. Haver insisted that Bess go upstairs and lie down. Nancy offered to massage the arm and George said she would get cold compresses.
"But what's going to happen to the rehearsal?" Donna Mae wailed.
"We'll have to postpone it," her mother replied.
Donna Mae continued to complain peevishly that everything would be ruined, and had her friends and family forgotten that her engagement was to be announced on the night of the ball?
"Everything just must go smoothly!" she exclaimed.
Nancy and her friends were disgusted with the girl's attitude. Ignoring her, they climbed the stairs to George's and Bess's bedroom.
"What's the matter with that cousin of ours?" George burst out.
"Oh, don't pick on her, George," said Bess. "I think Donna Mae is nervous and irritable because her conscience bothers her."
"You mean about Charles Bartolome?" Nancy asked.
"Yes."
Bess decided to spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening in her room. Nancy and George had supper with the family on the terrace. Shortly afterwards, Nancy announced she was going to her room and planned to retire early.
"I've had a lovely day. Thank you so much. Good night, everyone."
As Nancy walked into the house, Alex hurried after her. "Wait a minute, Nancy. Don't leave yet," he pleaded. "I want to talk to you. Won't you please tell me what your plans are for solving the mystery?"
"Truthfully, I haven't any," said Nancy.
As she started to walk on, Alex took her hand. "If you have no plans, may I suggest some?"
Nancy was annoyed, but she did not want to be rude. "What kind of plans?" she asked.
"Well, first of all, I think you ought to see the showboat. What say you and I get up early tomorrow morning and take a canoe out there together?"
"How early?" Nancy asked, parrying for time to think up an excuse not to accept the invitation.
"Oh, before the others are up," Alex said with a sly smile. "We'll get back for breakfast."
By this time Nancy had an answer. "Alex, I understand the bayou is very dangerous. Neither of us is familiar with it. Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't go with you."
With that, she went up the steps two at a time and hurried to her room, closing the door.
"What a pest he is!" Nancy said to herself. Then she smiled. "One thing I can do without is his company to the showboat."
Nancy sat down in a chair by the window, lost in thought. Suddenly she arose. "I'll find out right now about a guide to take me through the bayou."
The young detective decided that Mammy Matilda and Pappy Cole might know a trustworthy guide.
Nancy peered into the hall to be sure Alex was not in sight, then she hurried to a back stairway leading to the kitchen and went down. Mammy Matilda and Pappy Cole were just finishing their supper.
"That was a delicious meal," Nancy said, sitting down on a high stool. "I've never eaten anything that tasted better than that Creole rice."
The elderly couple smiled and thanked her. Then Nancy changed the subject. "I'd like to visit the old showboat. Could you recommend a good guide?"
The two servants looked frightened, and Mammy Matilda said, "Miss Nancy, you mustn't go near that there showboat."
"Why not?" the young sleuth asked. "I'm hoping to solve the mystery in connection with it."
Pappy Cole frowned. "I guess you haven't heard that there's a ghost on board. It's a haunted showboat."
"What does the ghost do?" Nancy asked.
"Oh, all kinds of things, Miss Nancy," Mammy Matilda replied. "Every time a workman goes there an' tries to fix the boat up, that there ghost comes along an' ruins all that he's done."
"Hm," said Nancy, thinking that such destruction sounded more like the work of a human being than a ghost!
"To tell you the truth," Mammy Matilda went on, "I think our folks here are makin' a big mistake tryin’ to move that there boat."
"Why do you think so?" Nancy asked her.
The old couple looked questioningly at each other. Then finally Pappy Cole said, his voice rising excitedly, "The River Princess was sent into the bayou by a great flood. It's Providence that did it. Providence. We got no right to change things. Mammy an' I think that boat should rest there in peace."
Nancy was amazed at this point of view. Instantly she wondered if there were others in the neighborhood who felt the same as Mammy Matilda and Pappy Cole. If so, they might be responsible for what was happening!
"Well, whether the old boat is moved or not," Nancy said, "I'd love to look at it."
"Well, if you insist, Miss Nancy," said Pappy Cole, "I think there's no better man than Uncle Rufus. He knows that there bayou like the alligators do an' he's as wise as the old owls in it, too.”
Nancy asked Pappy Cole if he would arrange for Uncle Rufus to come to Sunnymead so that she might talk to him.
"I'll have him here directly after breakfast," Pappy Cole promised. "Just come to the kitchen, Miss Nancy."
Delighted, she thanked the couple for the information and went back upstairs. Nancy stopped at Bess's and George's room to tell them about her plan and ask them to go along. George at once accepted. Bess said she would go if her arm felt better in the morning.
By breakfast time Bess insisted that while her elbow was still sore, it did not bother her very much and she would like to see the old showboat.
At nine o'clock they went to the kitchen. A white-haired Negro immediately stood up. He was tall and slender, and his face had the look of a trustworthy, helpful person.
"This is Uncle Rufus," Mammy Matilda introduced him. "Uncle Rufus, these here girls are the ones who want to go to that showboat. Miss Drew, Miss Fayne, and Miss Marvin."
The elderly man made a low bow and said he would be very happy to take them.
"I got my ka-noo outside," he said. "When you all is ready, Uncle Rufus will paddle you up the stream."
As Nancy and George started upstairs to change their shoes, Bess walked out to the porch where the Havers were talking. Alex had gone out, they said. When Bess told them of the girls' plan, the Colonel said, "Fine. Perhaps you'll find some clues to help solve our mystery."
"But do be careful," Mrs. Haver cautioned.
When Nancy, Bess, and George met Uncle Rufus at the rear of the garden, they looked at the canoe in amazement. It was a handmade dugout, very old and fragile looking.
"Are you sure it's safe for all of us to go?" Bess asked nervously.
Uncle Rufus smiled. "This here ka-noo has taken me an' my nieces and nephews miles an' miles," he said proudly. "Don't you all worry about it."
The girls stepped in and the old man started paddling. Soon the house vanished from sight. For some time there was no conversation as the girls tried to accustom themselves to the eerie stillness. The dismal atmosphere of the swamp and its rank odor disturbed Bess.
Uncle Rufus, seeing her holding a handkerchief to her nose, remarked, "Pretty soon you all won't mind this stench. Right hereabouts it's scarce in moss. Deeper in the swamp there's plenty of it. You know, moss is one o' God's gifts to the swamp. It purifies the air."
Farther on, the girls noticed quantities of moss growing on stumps and stones. The air did seem purer!
The sight-seers also noticed that on both sides of the stream, among the trees, was thick coarse grass.
"That's crawfish grass," Uncle Rufus told them.
He explained that the natives let down net baskets on the end of a pole among the blades of grass.
"They puts in fish bait," he said, "an' in no time they gets themselves a basket full o' crawfish."
For some distance the cleared stream through the swamp was about thirty feet wide, then it suddenly narrowed. Uncle Rufus explained that this was as far as Colonel Haver had cleared it out.
As they entered the narrow part, Uncle Rufus pulled in his paddle and let the boat glide. "Want ol' Rufus to tell you 'bout the time—"
At that instant the canoe hit an underwater obstruction head on. The craft shuddered violently, then overturned, throwing its passengers into the murky water!
CHAPTER VIII
The Voodoo Preacher
UNCLE RUFUS and the girls came to the surface, shaking the mucky water from their faces. The four of them waded to the overturned dugout.
"There's a big hole in it!" George exclaimed.
Uncle Rufus shook his head in dismay, then, with the girls, began to look for the cause of the accident.
Suddenly Nancy cried out, "There's a barricade here!"
She had dived under the water. In its murkiness she had spotted a stout net of vines which had been strung across the narrow part of the stream and tied to trees on each side. The impact of the dugout had torn it apart.
"Hm!" said Uncle Rufus. "But that sure wasn't what put a hole in my ka-noo."
He went down under the water himself and felt around. A moment later he surfaced. He told the girls that several sharp-pointed stones had been used to weigh down the vine net. These had pierced his craft.
"Someone did this on purpose to keep us from going any farther!" George declared.
Uncle Rufus looked startled. "You mean you all got some enemies around here?"
"It looks like it," Nancy agreed. "But, Uncle Rufus, maybe you know of some other reason why the vine might have been put here."
The old man shook his head. "Nobody in this here bayou has got anything against Uncle Rufus." He changed the subject abruptly. "Well, I've got to go an' get another boat. You ladies climb some trees, else some hungry old alligator may bother you.”
Bess gave a little squeal and instantly started wading towards a swamp oak.
"Where are you going to find a boat?" Nancy asked Uncle Rufus.
The old man said a friend would lend him one. He knew a short cut to the man's cabin. With a smile Uncle Rufus added that he was used to sloshing through the swamp on foot. "I won't be gone more'n half an hour," he said.
"Half an hour?” Bess wailed. '"You mean I have to stay up in this tree all that time?"
“I’se afraid you do," Uncle Rufus replied.
As he was about to start off, Nancy suddenly said, "Listen! I think I hear a boat coming!"
They all remained quiet and presently a canoeist turned a bend just ahead in the narrow part of the stream.
"Alex!" Nancy exclaimed.
The young man looked up. Seeing the girls and Uncle Rufus, he called out, "What in the world is going on?"
Quickly Nancy explained. As Alex came closer he said, "A mat of vines, you say? That's strange. Apparently it wasn't here half an hour ago when I went up the stream."
"Did you see anyone else around?" Nancy asked him.
"No, I didn't," Alex answered. Then he added, "Well, all of you climb aboard and I'll take you home. I suppose you were on your way to see the showboat?"
Nancy confessed that they were. She expressed amazement that Alex had dared paddle up to the River Princess alone.
The young man laughed. "Oh, I'm not afraid of ghosts," he said. "These stories about that showboat being haunted are a lot of nonsense. But just the same, I'm convinced it would be foolhardy to try clearing out the rest of the stream and moving the showboat to the Havers' estate before Mardi Gras time. In fact, I think it would be silly to move the River Princess at any time. She isn't worth it."
"You mean the boat's in bad shape?" Bess asked.
"She sure is. Practically rotting away."
There was no further conversation on the subject until they neared the dock at Sunnymead. Then Alex remarked, "I'm going to advise Colonel Haver to call off all work and investigation. Nancy, I hope you'll back me up. Then you won't have to bother with any mystery and all of us can have a good time together."
Nancy did not reply. Instead, as the group stepped out of the canoe, she suggested to Uncle Rufus that he come inside the house. "You can bathe and borrow some clothes from Pappy Cole."
Uncle Rufus laughed. "Thank you kindly, miss, but, I'se used to the swamp mud. I got a little bathin' pond of my own at the cabin. I'll just amble along through the water till I git home."
He had gone only fifty feet when a new idea occurred to Nancy. Running along the shore, she caught up with him. In a low voice she said, "I'd still like to visit the showboat. Would it be possible for you to take the other girls and me some time today?"
"Why, yes, miss," Uncle Rufus answered. "Could you all come to my cabin when you git fixed up? I'll be ready an' I'll borrow that ka-noo I was tellin' you about."
Nancy asked directions and was told how to reach the cabin by car. "We'll be there in an hour," she said.
When Nancy returned to the rest of her group, Alex adroitly tried to find out about her conversation with Uncle Rufus. But the young detective side-stepped his questions.
"What's next on the program?" Alex inquired, as he and the girls walked towards the Haver mansion.
"A bath and a shampoo!" George announced firmly.
When the girls reached their adjoining bedrooms, Nancy whispered her plan about starting again for the showboat. Bess said that she would be glad to go but wondered how they could keep Alex from accompanying them or finding out where they were going.
"This time we're not going to tell anybody where we're going," Nancy said. "You remember Colonel Haver telling me I'd have free rein in solving this mystery and wouldn't have to report to anybody. Let's keep this trip a secret."
"Why the secrecy, Nancy?" Bess asked. "Surely you don’t suspect anyone in this house of being mixed up in the mystery?"
"I didn't mean that," Nancy answered. "If our plan becomes known, we may be interrupted again in our sight-seeing."
George chuckled. "Also, Bess, you don't have to be suspicious of people like Alex just because you don't like them. I suppose he means well, but I can't stand that man and I know Nancy can't."
"Well, I can't either," admitted Bess. "But, Nancy, surely you don't think he put that barrier rope across the river to keep us from seeing the showboat, do you?"
"No. But he's not very consistent. First, he wanted to join forces with me and solve the mystery—undoubtedly to make a hit with his future father-in-law. Now he says he's going to advise him to drop the whole proposition and even wants me to back him up!"
George laughed. "Talk about women changing their minds!"
The girls were ready in half an hour and went downstairs. Donna Mae and Alex were playing tennis on a court near the house. Colonel and Mrs. Haver, Nancy learned from Mammy Matilda, had gone to town.
Nancy and her friends left the mansion by a side door and walked to their car. Taking the service road, Nancy avoided the tennis court and drove off. Following Uncle Rufus's directions, she turned from the main road on to a bayou lane.