diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/50604-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/50604-0.txt | 5291 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 5291 deletions
diff --git a/old/50604-0.txt b/old/50604-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9f0ef77..0000000 --- a/old/50604-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5291 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Phantom Friend, by Margaret Sutton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Phantom Friend - A Judy Bolton Mystery - -Author: Margaret Sutton - -Release Date: December 4, 2015 [EBook #50604] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM FRIEND *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - _The Famous_ JUDY BOLTON _Mystery Stories_ - By MARGARET SUTTON - _In Order of Publication_ - - THE VANISHING SHADOW - THE HAUNTED ATTIC - THE INVISIBLE CHIMES - SEVEN STRANGE CLUES - THE GHOST PARADE - THE YELLOW PHANTOM - THE MYSTIC BALL - THE VOICE IN THE SUITCASE - THE MYSTERIOUS HALF CAT - THE RIDDLE OF THE DOUBLE RING - THE UNFINISHED HOUSE - THE MIDNIGHT VISITOR - THE NAME ON THE BRACELET - THE CLUE IN THE PATCHWORK QUILT - THE MARK ON THE MIRROR - THE SECRET OF THE BARRED WINDOW - THE RAINBOW RIDDLE - THE LIVING PORTRAIT - THE SECRET OF THE MUSICAL TREE - THE WARNING ON THE WINDOW - THE CLUE OF THE STONE LANTERN - THE SPIRIT OF FOG ISLAND - THE BLACK CAT’S CLUE - THE FORBIDDEN CHEST - THE HAUNTED ROAD - THE CLUE IN THE RUINED CASTLE - THE TRAIL OF THE GREEN DOLL - THE HAUNTED FOUNTAIN - THE CLUE OF THE BROKEN WING - THE PHANTOM FRIEND - -[Illustration: “The film will not be shown again!” Mr. Lenz said] - - _A Judy Bolton Mystery_ - - - - - THE PHANTOM - FRIEND - - - By - _Margaret Sutton_ - - - Grosset & Dunlap - PUBLISHERS NEW YORK - - - © GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC. 1959 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - _To_ - Alice Thorne - _Understanding Editor - and Real Friend_ - - - - - Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I The Empty Chair 1 - II Clarissa Valentine 8 - III Tour Thirteen 15 - IV Strange Questions 22 - V Impossible Answers 30 - VI An Unfortunate Gift 37 - VII A Hidden Danger 43 - VIII The Witch’s Curse 51 - IX Into the Mist 59 - X The Wrong Direction 66 - XI On the Train 73 - XII A Night of Terror 80 - XIII Before Daylight 88 - XIV Serious Trouble 94 - XV The Wrong Girl 101 - XVI The Name on the Calendar 107 - XVII A Wanted Thief 113 - XVIII Thieves of the Mind 118 - XIX Uncovering the Facts 125 - XX Identified 130 - XXI Explained 136 - XXII Real Phantoms 143 - XXIII A Curious Letter 149 - XXIV Trapped! 155 - XXV Real Friends 161 - XXVI Talking Pillows 169 - - - - - The Phantom Friend - - - - - CHAPTER I - The Empty Chair - - -“I’ve had enough,” exclaimed Irene Meredith, ducking to protect her face -from a biting wind that was blowing across the skating area at Radio -City. “Wouldn’t you like to go inside now, Judy? It’s really too cold to -enjoy ice skating.” - -“It _is_ cold,” Judy agreed. “What a difference from the way it was in -the summer! They had chairs out here then, and there were flowered -umbrellas over the tables. But with the big Christmas tree up, Radio -City is still beautiful in spite of the cold. Don’t you wish—” - -Judy did not finish the sentence. - -“What’s the matter with you two?” Pauline Faulkner demanded as she -stopped short, almost colliding with Judy and Irene. “You can’t just -stop skating and gaze at the sights. Other people will bump into you. -There, I knew it!” - -“Watch it!” someone called out just too late. - -Florence Garner, the fourth member of the skating party, turned sharply -on her skates and went sprawling. But she was soon picking herself up. - -“Are you hurt, Flo?” Irene asked solicitously. - -“We’re sorry,” Judy added. “We didn’t mean to upset you.” - -“I’m upset in more ways than one,” Florence replied as the four girls -skated off the ice. “Nothing is turning out the way I planned it. -Pauline said—” - -“Never mind what I said,” Judy’s dark-haired friend interrupted. “We’ll -discuss it at lunch.” - -Ten minutes later the rented skates had been returned, and the four -girls were sitting around a table in a nearby restaurant. The waiter -served steaming hot soup. - -“This will warm us up,” Irene commented over her soup plate. “Remember, -Judy, I promised you we’d skate by the golden statue the next time you -came to New York, and now we’ve done it.” - -“It was fun, but watching your television show will be the real treat,” -Judy told her. “When do you have to be at the studio for rehearsal?” - -“Not until two. There’s lots of time.” Irene looked at the girl she had -first known as Judy Bolton. She herself had been Irene Lang then, a -timid little mill worker with a secret ambition to become a singer. Now, -although her ambition had been realized and she was also a happy young -wife and mother, she still looked to Judy for advice. - -“I have a big decision to make,” Irene confessed. “If you were in my -place, Judy, you’d know what to do. I don’t want your little namesake to -think of her mommy as one of the ‘naughty’ people on television. That’s -what she calls the people who do the commercials. We even have a little -song we sing about it. Dale and I made it up to amuse little Judy. Of -course, I’d never dare use it on my show,” Irene added with a laugh. -“The sponsor would never get over it.” - -“Sing it, Irene,” Judy urged her. - -“Right here?” The Golden Girl of TV and radio looked about the -restaurant as if she had been asked to commit a crime. “I couldn’t!” - -“You could if you sang it very softly. Come on, I’d like to hear it, -too,” Pauline urged. - -“Oh, very well,” Irene gave in. “We call it ‘_When I Grow Up_,’ and it -goes like this: - - “_When I grow up I’ll be a teacher or a hostess on a plane, - Or perhaps I’ll be the weather girl and know about the rain. - I might sing and play like Mommy on TV or radio, - But I wouldn’t do commercials, - No, I wouldn’t do commercials, - No, I_ wouldn’t _do commercials and interrupt the show_.” - -“I don’t like them much either,” agreed Judy after the song was over and -she had stopped laughing. “Especially when you see the same thing over -and over. It makes a person wonder—” - -“Wonder what?” asked Pauline. - -Irene laughed. “Judy is always wondering about something,” she explained -to Florence Garner. “Her husband, Peter Dobbs, calls her his wonder -girl. Peter is—” She paused. “Shall I tell her, Judy?” - -“She’ll find out anyway. He’s an FBI agent. It isn’t something you can -keep from your friends. Of course,” Judy added, “there are times when -it’s better if people don’t know.” - -“Criminals, you mean?” - -“I mean anybody. Right now Peter is away on an assignment. I don’t even -know where he is. But let’s talk about you, Flo,” Judy suggested to -change the subject. “Is it all right if I call you by your first name?” - -“Of course. I know we just met today, but I feel as if I’d known you -always,” the brown-haired girl returned warmly. “Pauline has told me so -much about you. I work for an advertising agency on Madison Avenue not -far from the office where Emily Grimshaw holds forth.” - -Judy laughed. Pauline’s employer was a literary agent who peddled the -works of busy authors like Irene’s husband, the detective story writer, -Dale Meredith. - -“She knows how to get contracts from publishers. Getting advertising -accounts isn’t easy, either,” Florence continued. “I’m afraid a good -many people share Irene’s feelings about commercials and with reason. -You should hear those ad men when they’re in conference.” - -“I’ve read about them,” declared Judy. “Is it true that advertising -agencies employ psychologists to probe into people’s minds and find out -how to make them buy certain products?” - -“Of course it’s true.” Pauline, the daughter of a psychiatrist, was -indignant about it and said so. - -“I don’t see any harm in that,” Flo said defensively. “They push the -items they’re paid to put across. Take the golden hair wash people, for -instance. It was pure inspiration when they thought of Irene to sponsor -their product. Golden Girl—golden hair wash! Can’t you just see it on -the TV screen? Their hair wash will sell like crazy—” - -“And every girl will be a golden girl. I just can’t agree to it,” Irene -interrupted. “I’d have to say I use the stuff when I don’t. My hair is -naturally this color.” - -“Mine is naturally this color, too. So help me!” put in Judy. “I dyed it -once to disguise myself, but never again! Anyway, Peter likes redheads.” - -Pauline, a blue-eyed, black-haired beauty, seemed to be studying the -others at the table. Each girl had her own distinctive coloring. Irene, -with her naturally golden blond hair, wore it in a short bob. “To keep -little Judy from pulling it when we romp,” she said. - -Judy wore her curly auburn hair in a long bob, while Florence Garner had -her brown hair pinned high on her head. It, too, was curly and would -have hung in ringlets if she had let it loose. - -A fifth chair at the table was vacant. But Judy, suddenly a little -homesick, could imagine Peter’s sister sitting there to complete the -picture. - -“Honey’s hair is darker than yours, Irene,” she spoke up unexpectedly. -“I call it honey colored. I hope she never uses that golden hair wash to -change it. Honey simply wouldn’t be Honey without her lovely -honey-colored hair.” - -“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Pauline quoted airily. “Honey’s -hair is actually just plain dark blond.” - -“Our advertising will be directed toward dark blonds. Naturally they -want their hair to be golden. Who is Honey, anyway?” asked Flo. “You -keep looking at that empty chair as if she were sitting at the table -with us.” - -“She is—in spirit.” This was Irene. Judy laughed and added, “Honey is -Peter’s sister. We all love her, especially my brother, Horace. He’s a -newspaper reporter, and she’s supplied him with plenty of news. There -was a time when we didn’t know she existed—” - -“No wonder!” exclaimed Flo, laughing. “She’s invisible now.” - -“Judy is trying to tell you about one of the mysteries she solved,” -Pauline explained, “but it’s no use, Judy. There have been so many. -Phantoms just follow you around waiting for you to pull off their sheets -and show them up for what they are.” - -“And what are they?” asked Florence. - -“Illusions, usually.” Judy found the word a little difficult to define. -“People think they see things that are really something quite different. -Or else they’re imaginary—” - -“Like our phantom friend in the chair,” Irene interrupted with a laugh. -“Shall we ask the waiter to bring an extra order—” - -“Are you expecting someone else to join you for lunch?” the waiter -paused at the table to ask. - -He had overheard only part of the conversation. Judy could hardly stop -herself from laughing. She was about to tell him it was only a joke when -a commotion at the cashier’s desk drew her attention. - -“I gave you a twenty-dollar bill,” a tall girl with a country twang in -her voice was insisting. “I know it was a twenty. But you’ve given me -change for only a dollar. Where’s the other nineteen dollars?” - - - - - CHAPTER II - Clarissa Valentine - - -“Isn’t that the girl who was sitting alone at the next table?” asked -Judy. “I noticed her watching you and smiling when you were singing that -song, Irene. She seemed to be enjoying it.” - -“I knew I shouldn’t—” - -Irene stopped. The girl at the cashier’s desk was really in trouble. Her -voice had risen to a wail. - -“You’re a thief!” she cried out melodramatically. “Daddy warned me -against people like you.” - -“Your daddy should have warned you to be more careful of your money,” -the cashier retorted sarcastically. “If you’ve lost twenty dollars—” - -“I didn’t lose it,” she insisted. “You took it from me!” - -“Poor girl! She really thinks she’s been cheated,” Irene whispered. - -“She’s beautiful,” said Flo, “especially when she’s angry. That girl -ought to be in advertising. She’s just the unspoiled type of beauty -we’re looking for. Of course, she ought to do something about her hair.” - -“Shampoo it with golden hair wash, I suppose? Please, Flo, don’t try to -make her over,” Irene pleaded. “She’s in enough trouble as it is.” - -“It looks as if the cashier is going to win the argument,” observed -Judy. “I feel sorry for the girl if he really is trying to cheat her.” - -“More likely she’s trying to cheat him. She could be putting on an act,” -declared Pauline. “There, I told you so. Now she’s turned on the tears.” - -In a moment the weeping country girl was surrounded by a little knot of -concerned people who had left their tables to try and settle the matter. -As they pressed toward him the cashier flung open the cash drawer. - -“You see!” he pointed out. “There’s no twenty! I haven’t changed a -twenty-dollar bill all day. She’s made a mistake—” - -“I did not,” the girl retorted tearfully. “I know what I gave you. It -was a twenty. Now I don’t have money enough for my fare home.” - -“Where do you live?” he asked as if concerned. - -“If I tell you, will you give me my nineteen dollars?” - -“No!” he snapped. “You can’t get away with a trick like that.” - -“Then I’ll call the police,” she threatened. “I won’t let you cheat me -out of all the money I have.” - -“Do you think the police will believe you?” the man inquired in a lower -tone. - -“I don’t know!” cried the girl. “I don’t know what happened to my twenty -dollars if I didn’t give it to you.” - -“There!” he exclaimed triumphantly. “You’ve admitted you lost it before -you came into this restaurant.” - -“I did nothing of the kind. Doesn’t anybody in New York care about the -truth?” The girl seemed to be asking this question of the other people -in the restaurant. “Please, mister,” she began to plead, “give me back -my change so I can go home.” - -“I’m sorry.” The cashier seemed almost sympathetic. Yet he remained firm -in his refusal to give the girl any money, insisting that she must have -lost the bill she thought she gave him. - -“Come, sit with us and tell us all about it.” Judy offered on impulse. -“We care about the truth.” - -“Then you’ll look in that man’s pockets,” declared the nearly hysterical -girl. “He took it—” - -“We would report him to the manager,” Florence Garner suggested. - -“And make him lose his job? Mistakes happen,” declared Pauline Faulkner. -“We have no way of knowing which of you is in the right.” - -“That’s true.” The girl controlled her sobs and said, “It’s kind of you -to take an interest in me. I needed that twenty—” - -“If we each chip in five dollars, you’ll still have money enough to take -you home. You may consider it a loan,” Irene said. - -“Thanks.” The girl smiled for the first time. “You’re a genuine Golden -Girl. I’ve seen you on television. I recognized your voice, too, when -you sang that funny song. You’re Irene Meredith!” - -“Indeed I am.” Irene introduced the other girls and offered the newcomer -the vacant chair at the table. - -“Now our phantom friend is real,” declared Judy. - -The girl looked startled. “I hope I’m real. Once,” she confessed, “I -looked in the mirror, and there was no reflection. It scared me half out -of my wits. Why do you call me a phantom friend?” - -“We were pretending we had a fifth girl at the table. It was just a -joke. You do have a name, don’t you?” Judy asked. - -“It’s Clarissa,” the girl replied. “Clarissa Valentine.” - -“That sounds like a stage name,” declared Pauline. “You aren’t an -actress, are you?” - -“No, but I’d like to be. That’s why I came to New York,” Clarissa -admitted. “At home we had a little theater group for a while. But -they’re old-fashioned down there. Some of the people in my father’s -parish didn’t think it proper for a minister’s daughter to act on the -stage. We had to give up the little theater, so I coaxed Daddy to let me -come here. I thought I could get a little part on TV, but I was wrong. I -couldn’t get any kind of a job. I was all out of money when Daddy sent -me that twenty dollars for Christmas. He said he hoped I’d spend it for -a ticket back home to West Virginia. I was going to take the train -tonight.” - -“You can still take it if you let us help you. Meantime,” Florence -Garner suggested, “why don’t you join us for a tour of Radio City, my -treat?” - -“Do you mean it?” asked Clarissa, obviously surprised. “Touring Radio -City was one of the things I especially wanted to do. Will we see -ourselves on television?” - -“We certainly will.” - -“Are you joking?” asked Judy. “How could we—” - -“You’ll see,” Irene promised. “There’s a live show you may catch if you -hurry. But perhaps you’d rather wait and see mine tonight. Francine Dow -is playing the Sleeping Beauty. You’ll love her in it. I’m lucky to have -her as a guest on my show. She can really act.” - -“So can you, Irene.” - -The Golden Girl of TV and radio tossed Judy’s compliment aside. “I can -sing and tell stories. That’s about all. A part like this takes real -talent. When you see the show you’ll understand. Notice the equipment -and don’t be afraid to ask questions of the guide while you’re taking -the tour,” Irene continued. “You’ll enjoy my show more if you know the -types of cameras being used and understand what the men on the floor are -doing.” - -“Who are the men on the floor?” asked Clarissa. - -“I haven’t time to tell you now. The guide will explain it. I must dash, -or I’ll be late for rehearsal. Our studio is way uptown. Here’s the -address.” Irene handed Judy a card on which she had written, “Admit -four.” “That includes Clarissa if she wants to come. You know I’m not on -one of the big networks.” - -“You could be,” Florence began. - -“Please,” Irene stopped her. “I won’t be on anything if I’m late for -rehearsal. Turn in your contributions, girls, and let’s go.” - -Clarissa seemed almost too eager to accept the four bills the girls -offered her. They paid the cashier, counting their change carefully, and -left the restaurant together. - -Outside, the wind had increased, sending swirls and flurries of snow -ahead of them as they crossed the street. They could scarcely see each -other through the whiteness in the air. - -“I’ll leave you here. Cheer up, Flo. I’ll let you know my decision in a -day or two,” Irene promised as she hurried off. - -“Talk her into it, Judy,” urged Pauline. - -The four girls had entered the RCA Building, glad of the warmth they -found inside. - -“Talk her into _what_?” asked Judy. “I’m afraid I don’t know the -language. Do you have a new sponsor for Irene?” - -“Yes, the golden hair wash people.” - -“Oh,” Judy said and was suddenly silent. - -“Would she be on one of the big networks?” asked Clarissa. - -“Yes, the biggest. You’d see her on your TV at home, Judy. Isn’t that -worth thinking about? You can talk her into it if anyone can,” Flo -urged. - -“I’ll discuss it with her. How do the rest of you feel about it?” asked -Judy. - -“I think she ought to accept the offer,” Pauline volunteered. “There’s -nothing wrong with commercials if they’re in good taste. Lots of stars -do them.” - -“It’s a selling job like any other. The sponsor pays for the program,” -put in Flo. “I wish Irene could see it that way. She could sell golden -hair wash.” - -“She doesn’t believe in it,” Judy objected. “If she used the stuff -herself it would be different.” - -“I’d use it. I’d do anything,” declared Clarissa. “I’d dye my hair green -to get on TV.” - -“That’s hardly ever necessary,” laughed Flo. - -“Do we really see ourselves on television when we take this tour?” -Pauline questioned. - -“I think so.” - -Judy asked at the information desk to make sure and came back all -excited. “It’s true!” she exclaimed. “The guide just told me.” - -“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Clarissa. - -Taking Judy’s arm, she pulled her on down the concourse until they came -to a high desk where tickets were being sold. Judy found herself paying -for them although Florence Garner had been the one to suggest the tour. - -Clarissa clutched her ticket eagerly and whispered, as if to herself, “I -hope I _show_. It would be terrible if I just faded away.” - - - - - CHAPTER III - Tour Thirteen - - -“Did you say _faded_ or _fainted_?” asked Judy. “People don’t faint away -unless they’re ill. You feel all right, don’t you?” - -“Just a little trembly,” Clarissa confessed. “I’m excited, I guess—” - -“There’s nothing to be excited about,” Pauline told her. “I’ve taken -this tour before. You just see behind the scenes in the different -studios. It’s a little dull, really.” - -Apparently Clarissa did not think so. - -“Dull? How can you say that? If we see ourselves on television—” - -A voice from a loudspeaker interrupted. - -“Tour Thirteen leaves in five minutes.” - -“That must be us!” exclaimed Judy. - -About a dozen people were waiting at the top of a short flight of -stairs. Some of them were watching TV as they waited. Judy and her -friends joined them. The set had been tuned to one of the local -channels. - -“It’s Teen Time Party!” exclaimed Pauline. “Wouldn’t you like to be -there dancing?” - -“They’re high school students, aren’t they?” asked Judy. - -“Most of them, I guess. There are probably a few professionals among -them,” Pauline added. “This one, for instance.” - -A lovely, golden-haired girl and her partner were caught by the camera -in a close-up. The announcer turned to the audience and said, “Isn’t her -hair beautiful? You, too, can be a beautiful golden blonde. Shampoo -glamorous new beauty into your hair with golden hair wash.” - -“I use it. Why don’t you try it?” asked the girl on the television -screen. - -In a moment she was dancing again, mixing with the other teenagers as if -she were one of them. She wasn’t a star. Judy had never seen her on -television before. - -“This,” she was thinking, “is all Irene would have to say. ‘_I use it._’ -Three little words, but they’re not true. Irene doesn’t use it. Maybe -she should. Her hair is dull and drab. Why am I thinking that?” Judy -asked herself. “It’s _my_ hair that’s dull and drab.” - -“Yours?” Florence asked. Judy had not realized she was speaking her -thoughts aloud. Florence went on, “That’s funny, Judy. You wouldn’t want -your hair any brighter than it is.” - -“No,” Judy admitted, “I guess I wouldn’t. I always thought it was too -bright before. I don’t know why I said that.” - -“I do,” Clarissa spoke up. “You read my thoughts. I was just thinking my -hair is dull. I could be beautiful if I didn’t have this drab, dull -hair. It was lighter when I was small. It was really golden then. But -all at once it began to get darker. I changed in other ways, too. Mother -says I must be a changeling—” - -“Changelings aren’t real,” Pauline stopped her. “They’re what witches -were supposed to leave when they snatched real children.” - -“There’s a witch in Sleeping Beauty,” Flo put in. “Irene says her dance -is the best thing in the whole show. This tour is nothing compared to -what we’ll see tonight, but it will kill time until seven o’clock.” - -“You mean six-thirty,” Judy corrected her. “We have to be at the studio -half an hour before the show begins, and I would like to be there even -earlier than that so Irene can explain things. There’s so much I don’t -know.” - -The guide, overhearing Judy’s remark, smiled and said, “So you’re going -to visit the Golden Girl show?” - -“It’s treason,” Pauline whispered. “Irene’s show is on another channel. -So is Teen Time Party. One of the tourists must have turned it on.” - -It was off now. In its place a gay crowd of young people were singing -the praises of a popular cigarette. - -“That’s one of our accounts,” Flo said proudly. - -“It’s wasted on me. I don’t smoke,” laughed Judy as the tour moved on to -a large room lined with pictures of television stars appearing on the -big network. People were pointing and exclaiming, each one seeming to -have his own favorite. - -“Irene’s picture should be up there,” Flo remarked, “but she wouldn’t do -commercials, no, she wouldn’t do commercials, no, she _wouldn’t_ do -commercials—” - -“Please, Flo, don’t make fun of Irene,” begged Judy. “She’s only -standing up for what she believes is the right thing.” - -“How right is it to throw away money you could be making?” Flo -countered. “Judy, you must talk her into accepting this offer. Tell her -you think it’s right.” - -“I’m not sure what I think. If she really used golden hair wash then she -wouldn’t have to say anything that wasn’t true, would she? I think I’ll -buy a bottle and ask her to try it,” Judy decided. - -“Should I try it, too? Brown is a dull color,” Flo began, but was -interrupted. The guide, a brown-haired girl herself, stepped to the head -of the line and announced that the tour was about to begin. The group -followed her to an elevator that whisked them up to one of the smaller -studios. They had just missed the show Irene had mentioned. - -“Would you like to watch a set being dismantled? There aren’t any live -shows being televised at present,” the guide said as she ushered the -group to a row of seats behind what she told them was soundproof glass. -A small television set that she called a monitor was at the left of the -seats. In front of it, on the other side of the glass, the studio floor -was alive with activity. Cameras and microphones were being pushed out -of the way. The walls of what had been an indoor scene were rolled back -and replaced by a huge weather map. The weather girl would be the next -person to use this studio. - -“Will we see her?” asked Judy. - -This was a program she and Peter often watched at their home in Dry -Brook Hollow. She thought of watching Irene, and the wish to see her -dearest friend on television became so strong she could think of nothing -else except, “She should use golden hair wash.” - -“Judy! We’re going to the control room now.” - -Judy came out of her trance to realize that Pauline was speaking to her. -She was the last one on the line that wended its way toward the -glass-enclosed control room where the engineers sat before rows of -monitor screens awaiting word from the director. - -“He says ‘take one’ or ‘take two,’ and in a split second the picture he -wants is on the screen,” the guide explained. “When a live show is on -the air, the cameras are working all the time.” - -“What about the lights?” asked one of the strangers taking the tour. - -“Lighting a show is an engineering feat in itself.” And the guide went -on to explain the flashing red and green lights as well as the other -technical equipment being handled by the crew on duty in the control -room. On the wall above their heads were clocks that told what time it -was all over the world. - -“Wonderful, isn’t it?” everyone agreed. - -A wall chart farther down the corridor explained the inside story of -color television. It was complete with push buttons and flashing lights. -The men taking the tour were especially interested. Pauline said she -recognized one of them. - -“I recognize him, too,” Florence agreed. “He works for our agency. It’s -funny he didn’t speak to me.” - -“He’s too interested in what the guide is telling him to speak to -anybody,” Judy observed. - -The man was interested. He was young with straight brown hair that kept -falling over his forehead as he leaned forward to examine this or that -gadget. The guide was giving him most of her attention. - -“When do we see ourselves on TV?” Clarissa whispered. - -“Patience,” Pauline told her. “We’re coming to that. We stand in front -of a camera, and the guide interviews us, but I think we go up to the -sound-effects room first.” - -“That’s radio, isn’t it? I watched the sound-effects man once on a radio -broadcast,” Judy remembered. “It was right here in Radio City, but I had -a mystery to solve and didn’t take the whole tour.” - -The others asked her about the mystery, and she began to tell them about -what happened before she and Peter Dobbs were married. “Irene had a -radio show then. It was the summer before little Judy was born. Honey -was just out of art school. Peter and I drove to New York to bring her -home.” - -“Who is Honey?” asked Clarissa. - -For the second time that day Judy explained that Peter’s sister had been -in their thoughts when they pretended at the table in the restaurant. -“We called her a phantom just for fun. And then you came and sat in her -chair,” Judy continued. “It did seem a little weird. You’re like Honey -in many ways. You’re taller, of course, and your hair is darker—” - -“It won’t be much longer,” declared Clarissa. “I’m going to buy a bottle -of that golden hair wash with some of the money you girls lent me. Then -I’ll be beautiful.” - -“You _are_ beautiful,” Flo insisted. “Didn’t I say so, girls? There’s -nothing wrong with the color of your hair.” - -“It’s drab. It’s dull.” - -“Oh, stop it, Clarissa!” cried Judy. “We lent you that money for your -fare home, not to waste on shampoo.” - -“It won’t be wasted. You’ll see.” - -“What will your folks say?” asked Pauline. “You’re the daughter of a -country minister, aren’t you? People will talk—” - -“Let them! I won’t care if I’m beautiful.” - -“You’re impossible!” Flo exclaimed. “How old are you, anyway? You ought -to be at home going to school.” - -Clarissa wouldn’t tell her age. She wouldn’t tell anything more about -herself or her plans. Judy was looking forward to the TV interviews. The -guide might ask Clarissa some leading questions. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - Strange Questions - - -“We’re supposed to be finding out things on this tour,” complained Judy -as they stopped to look in on another studio, “but I keep thinking about -my hair. I’m like you, Clarissa. I want to rush right out and buy a -bottle of that golden hair wash. But why? I’d never use it.” - -“Maybe you want to buy it for Irene,” Flo suggested. - -“I don’t really. That’s just it. I don’t want to buy it at all, and yet -I feel compelled to try it. Why?” - -“I know why I want to,” Clarissa insisted. “If I had beautiful golden -hair I might not go home at all. I might stay here and get a job doing -commercials. See that girl on the floor now? I could do what she’s -doing. I could demonstrate a magic cleaner as well as she can. I did -plenty of cleaning and scrubbing at home, and I didn’t have any little -fairy to help me, either. Look, girls! See that little fairy dancing -around the sink. It isn’t there, but you can see it on the monitor. How -do they make it look like that?” - -The guide explained it. A cartoon film was placed in a camera she called -a balopticon so that the fairy appeared to be helping the girl clean the -sink, dancing about in the powder and waving her magic wand. Little -specks of stardust seemed to fly from the end of it until the whole -kitchen was spotless. - -“Interesting, isn’t it?” she finished. - -Some of the people found it so. Questions were asked about the -properties set up to make the studio look like a kitchen. The floor was -a design of squares painted on with water colors. It would be washed -away when the set was changed. - -Others were beginning to act bored. Judy noticed several women stopping -to take mirrors out of their purses and look at themselves critically. -One of them asked, “Will we need stage makeup? I’ve heard the stars use -plenty of it.” - -“Not at all,” replied the guide. “We will appear as we are.” - -“Oh dear!” wailed Clarissa. “I look terrible. My hair is dull. My hair -is drab—” - -“Turn her off, somebody!” Pauline interrupted. “We’ve heard that record -before.” - -“She has my head spinning like a record,” declared Judy. “I hope I -remember some of the things we’ve learned on this tour. A balopticon is -one kind of camera and a dolly is another—” - -“It isn’t the camera. It’s the truck that’s called a dolly,” Pauline -corrected her. “You see, it takes two men to work it. That’s the camera -man up there on the funny little seat.” - -“Why is he wearing earphones? Did the guide say?” - -“She did say something about the men on the studio floor hearing -directions from the control room. It is complicated,” put in Flo. “You -can’t be expected to remember most of it.” - -“Well, anyway, I know that big fishing-line thing is the mike boom. If I -remember that much, Irene won’t think I’m too ignorant,” Judy concluded. -“I wonder how they keep all that equipment from showing on a live TV -show.” - -The guide took time to explain it, telling them how accurately the -cameras had to be focused so that the mike boom which dangled its -microphone right over the heads of the performers was always just out of -the picture. - -“It does look like a fishing line, doesn’t it?” she agreed. “Are there -any more questions before we go up to the sound room?” - -Clarissa started to ask something and then changed her mind, saying, “It -doesn’t matter.” - -The guide gave a little performance of her own to demonstrate the sound -effects. Rain was rice falling on waxed paper. Fire was the crackle of -cellophane. There were blocks of wood for marching soldiers and other -sounds equally amazing. - -“And now,” she announced, emerging from the glassed-in sound room, “we -are ready to see ourselves on television.” - -A little ripple of anticipation went down the line that now followed the -uniformed guide to another studio containing a pedestal camera and a -television set. - -“It’s a closed circuit,” she explained. “Your friends at home won’t see -you, but you will see yourselves and each other. You will each have a -chance to say a few words—” - -“What will we say?” Clarissa inquired. - -“I’ll ask you questions. You just answer them. Most of you are from out -of town, I presume. People taking these tours usually are. You, sir?” -She spoke to a tall gentleman with a thick mustache. “Step up here -before the camera and tell us a little about yourself. Can you see -yourself on the screen?” - -He smiled, showing white teeth that looked even whiter as his face was -framed in the TV set. - -“I see. I look good. I am here from Rio de Janeiro on business.” - -The man talked about his business which was manufacturing plastic caps. -It was hard to understand him because of his accent. The others taking -the tour waited their turns, standing along a wall at the side of the -room. As the line moved up, Clarissa became more and more nervous. - -“I may not show,” she kept insisting. - -“Of course you’ll show,” Judy reassured her. “You see how clear the -picture is. Everybody else shows.” - -[Illustration: As the line moved up, Clarissa became more and more -nervous] - -“I didn’t show in the mirror.” - -Pauline turned to her in surprise. - -“Weren’t you joking when you said that?” she asked. - -“I was never more serious in my life,” replied Clarissa. “It’s the -truth. Once I really did look in a mirror, and there was no reflection. -I’ve been afraid of—of something ever since it happened. My brother -noticed it first and said, ‘Clar, you don’t show!’ He always calls me -Clar. It rhymes with jar the way he says it. I thought he was teasing -me, but then I looked, and sure enough, my face didn’t show at all.” - -“Was the mirror broken?” asked Flo. - -“No, it wasn’t broken. I’m sure, because I noticed my brother looking in -it afterwards, and his reflection was as plain as anything. My younger -sisters looked, too. They saw themselves all right. There are six of us, -including Mother and Daddy,” Clarissa explained. “It was Mother’s -mirror. She still uses it. I was the only one who didn’t show. Mother -laughed and said I must be a changeling, but I didn’t think it was -funny. It still scares me. How could a thing like that happen?” - -“There must be an explanation for it,” Judy replied. Here was another -mystery for her to solve. But, instead of concentrating on it, her -thoughts kept returning to her hair. Would it look dull and drab on -television? - -The brown-haired man Pauline and Flo thought they knew stepped up before -the camera and announced that he was from Hollywood. - -“No wonder he didn’t recognize me!” Flo exclaimed. “He isn’t the young -man who works in our office and yet he does look like him. Maybe he has -a twin brother.” - -“Or a double. Lots of people have doubles—” - -“No, Judy, only a few people have them,” Pauline objected, and Judy had -to agree with her. One of the wonderful things about people, she -thought, was that no two of them were exactly alike. Even identical -twins could be told apart by their fingerprints, and usually there were -other important differences. Judy found herself watching for individual -characteristics as, one by one, the people stepped before the camera. A -photograph of skyscrapers on the backdrop behind them made it appear to -be a sidewalk interview. - -“Are you from out of town?” was the question most frequently asked by -the guide. - -Most of them were. Some came from as far away as Brazil or Switzerland. -Two were from Texas, and two said they were from the state of -Washington. When Judy replied that she lived in Pennsylvania she felt as -if she were practically at home. - -“Your hair looked lighter on TV,” Flo told her when she stepped back in -line. - -“Did it?” asked Judy. “I kept worrying for fear it would look dark. I -don’t know why. Dark hair is pretty. I like the color of yours.” - -“I don’t. It’s drab—” - -“Please,” Judy stopped her. “You’re next, Clarissa. What’s the matter? -Are you afraid to go up?” - -“Yes,” Clarissa admitted, suddenly all a-tremble. “I’m afraid—” - -“Come on. Take a good look at yourself,” advised Pauline, giving her a -little push. - -“All right. I’ll do it.” - -Unwilling and still trembling, Clarissa stepped up before the camera. -She stood in the exact spot where Judy had been standing. The guide -began to ask questions. - -“You’re from West Virginia, aren’t you? What town? Look into the camera -and tell me—” - -A long drawn-out wail from Clarissa interrupted her. - -“I am looking,” she cried, “but I don’t see anything! What’s the matter -with me? Why don’t I show?” - - - - - CHAPTER V - Impossible Answers - - -An exclamation went up from the people taking the tour. “She’s right. -There isn’t any picture?” - -“What’s that bright spot of light?” asked Judy. - -She had never seen anything like it before. The picture on the -television screen seemed to be closing in on all sides. Instead of -Clarissa’s face, an eerie, wavering light danced before her eyes. - -“There must be something wrong with the set,” the guide began. “Step -back a moment, and I’ll see—” - -She stopped. Clarissa’s face had become waxy white. She would have -fallen if Judy hadn’t rushed to her side. - -“It’s all right,” Judy said soothingly. “Some little technical thing -probably went wrong—” - -“No, Judy. It wasn’t that. I am a phantom. I saw myself the way I really -am. Oh, help me!” wailed Clarissa as she slumped forward and slipped to -the floor. - -“I’m sorry,” Judy gasped. “I tried to hold her.” - -“It’s all right, Judy,” Pauline told her. “You did save her from a hard -fall.” - -“She’s ill. We must get her to the first-aid station at once.” The -guide, obviously a little shaken herself, took charge. Two of the men -carried Clarissa to a door with a red cross and the words: FIRST AID, -lettered on it. Here she was left with an efficient, white-uniformed -nurse who assured Judy that her friend would be all right, but that she -must rest for half an hour. - -“May we stay with her?” asked Flo. “I think she was frightened.” - -“In that case,” replied the nurse, “it might be better for her to be -alone until she’s fully recovered from the shock. What happened? Was the -guide in any way at fault?” - -“No,” Judy hastened to assure her. “In fact, she was very efficient. It -was probably something technical. I don’t understand the inside workings -of television very well.” - -The nurse smiled. “Neither do I. The inside workings of the human mind -are even more mysterious. This girl should see a doctor or a -psychiatrist—” - -“No-oo,” came a sob from Clarissa. - -The nurse quieted her, breaking a capsule for her to inhale. She asked -the girl for her name and address, but all Clarissa said was, “I’m not -real. I’ll fade away altogether pretty soon. Please, just leave me -alone.” - -“Perhaps that’s best.” Quietly the nurse escorted Judy, Pauline, and Flo -into the next room where she began to ask questions. - -“You say the girl’s name is Clarissa Valentine?” - -Judy nodded, and the nurse wrote it down. - -“Where does she live?” was her next question. - -The three girls looked at each other in bewilderment. “She said West -Virginia, didn’t she? We don’t know the name of the town.” - -“It’s all right. I’ll get the rest of the information from her as soon -as she’s feeling better. Now,” said the nurse, “if you will leave your -names and tell me where I can reach you, I think it will be all right -for you to go back and finish your tour. Give our patient half an hour, -and I think I can convince her she isn’t in any danger of fading away.” - -“We forgot to tell the nurse that Clarissa’s father is a minister,” Judy -said suddenly when they were halfway down the hall. - -“Maybe he isn’t. I still think she’s putting on an act,” declared -Pauline. “She’s the sort that craves attention.” - -“How do you know what sort she is?” Flo asked. “She’s practically a -stranger.” - -“I was beginning to think of her as a friend,” objected Judy. “Everybody -craves attention in one way or another. If she’s in trouble, isn’t it up -to us to help her?” - -“We have helped her,” Pauline reminded Judy. “We each gave her five -dollars, didn’t we? I should think that was help enough.” - -“Maybe money isn’t what she needs.” - -Flo laughed at that. “Isn’t money what everybody needs? Quit dreaming, -Judy. Why do you think all these people are rushing about like ants in -an ant hill? If it isn’t to get money, it’s to spend it.” - -“It’s more than that.” Judy wanted to explain, but the right words -wouldn’t come. They had just entered the room where the closed circuit -TV set was being viewed by the tourists. - -“There’s nothing wrong with it now,” observed Pauline. “The picture is -just as clear as ever. We’ll bring Clarissa back here—” - -“If she’ll come.” - -Flo, who had not yet seen herself on TV, stepped up before the camera. -She frowned at her image framed in the TV set against the background of -tall buildings. The picture was clear. - -“If you hadn’t scowled at yourself you would have looked all right,” -Judy told her. - -“But my hair looked dull—” - -“That’s Clarissa’s complaint, not yours, Flo. I do believe she’s -hypnotized you into saying it,” declared Pauline. - -Judy wondered if that could be possible. Afterwards she wished she had -asked the guide what went wrong with the picture when Clarissa fainted. -For when they went back to get her she did refuse to come and see -herself. - -“Anyway,” Clarissa added, “the tour is over, and I’m all right now. The -nurse gave me some capsules to break and inhale if I feel faint during -Irene’s show.” - -“Maybe you shouldn’t go,” Pauline began. - -“But you invited me—” - -“Of course we did,” Judy broke in. “Irene is expecting all four of us.” - -“You’re so good to me!” exclaimed Clarissa. She glanced about the small -room with its first-aid equipment as if in doubt about something. Then -she said, “The nurse went out for a minute. We don’t need to wait for -her. Shall we go?” - -Judy was glad to leave. There was something oppressive in the air. The -closed-in cubicle was left for the next emergency patient. As soon as -they were outside in the wintry air, the color came back to Clarissa’s -cheeks, and she appeared to be quite herself again. Swirls of snow were -still blowing about, now hiding, now revealing the street ahead. - -They stopped in a drugstore and had coffee and a quick sandwich. As they -were about to leave, Judy remembered something. - -“I was going to buy a bottle of golden hair wash!” she exclaimed. - -“I was, too,” Flo said. “This looks like as good a place as any.” - -“Golden hair wash,” breathed Clarissa. - -“Make it three bottles,” Judy heard herself saying to the druggist. - -He regarded her curiously. - -“You aren’t going to use that stuff on your red hair, are you?” he -inquired. - -“No,” replied Judy, feeling uncomfortable under his puzzled gaze. “It’s -for a friend.” - -He shook his head. “I can’t understand it. This is the thirteenth bottle -I’ve sold in the last half hour. Ordinarily the stuff doesn’t sell too -well. You have to be careful how you use it. Follow the directions, and -don’t let any of it get into your eyes or your mouth. It will gradually -change the color of your hair. Is that what you want?” - -“It’s what I want. I want to change everything about me,” declared -Clarissa. - -Hugging her bottle of shampoo as if it were a magic potion, she followed -the others out of the store. - -“Now I’ll be beautiful,” she kept saying. “Now I’ll be a golden girl -too.” - -Flo agreed with her. “I’ll have golden hair, too. It’s bound to make me -look better. Don’t you think so, Judy?” - -The wind blew harder. Judy could scarcely make herself heard above the -weird whistling noise it was making. - -“You won’t be Flo,” she shouted. “You’ll look so different without your -pretty, brown hair.” - -“Who will I be?” Flo asked, glancing at Clarissa just as the wind caught -her scarf and sent it flapping. “Will people call me a changeling?” - -“Now you’re laughing at me,” Clarissa charged. “Well, you can joke if -you want to, but I still have a feeling I’m not real. You must have felt -there was something different about me when you called me a phantom -friend.” - -“We were talking about the empty chair,” Judy began. - -“People say things sometimes without knowing why they say them, and they -turn out to be true,” Clarissa insisted. “Mother didn’t mean it when she -called me a changeling, either, but she made me feel like one. You -know—as if the real me is hidden somewhere under this dull, drab hair.” - -“Did your mother call it dull and drab?” asked Flo. “Is that why you’ve -hypnotized the rest of us into buying this golden hair wash?” - -“Me? Hypnotized you? I thought it was the other way around.” Clarissa -seemed genuinely distressed. She turned to look at Flo, and at that -moment the thirteenth bottle of golden hair wash fell and broke, -spilling all over the snow. - -“Look what you made me do!” With a sound that was more of a sob than a -laugh, Clarissa added, “Now I can never be a golden girl. I can never -find the really, truly me!” - - - - - CHAPTER VI - An Unfortunate Gift - - -Judy acted on impulse. She thrust her own bottle of shampoo into -Clarissa’s gloved hand. - -“Take it,” she urged the surprised girl. “I don’t know why I bought it -in the first place. Irene doesn’t need it. I’m sure she’d never use it. -She’d probably think I was out of my mind to buy it for her.” - -“Take mine, too. I don’t like the looks of the stuff when it’s spilled. -And I’d be afraid to use it after what that druggist said,” declared -Flo. “I wish—” - -“Wait!” cried Clarissa before Flo could finish. “See what it does to me -before you condemn it. I’ll be a glamorous new person because of this -shampoo. You just wait and see what happens to me!” - -Fear seized Judy. Suddenly she was afraid of what would happen. Already -she felt herself in the grip of something she could neither explain nor -understand. Was Clarissa in its grip, too? The girl’s mood had changed -so suddenly it was alarming. Had the gift of two bottles of shampoo -worked the transformation? Judy considered it unlikely. - -“You’ve changed already. You don’t need to change the color of your -hair,” she began. - -“It’s drab.” - -“No, it isn’t, Clarissa. I don’t know what makes you keep saying that. -It’s just your imagination.” - -The girl smiled impishly and tossed her head. A white scarf covered her -hair except for a few stray wisps that were blowing in the wind. The -ends of her scarf fluttered like white wings behind her. - -“I do have an imagination,” she admitted as if revealing a secret she -had meant to keep. “Sometimes it plays tricks on me.” - -“That’s what it was when you thought the cashier stole your twenty -dollars,” Pauline said. “You just imagined you gave it to him.” - -“Did I?” Clarissa seemed ready to admit it. “You don’t suppose the wind -could have picked the money out of my hand, do you? It’s fierce today, -isn’t it? It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if it picked me up and carried -me away.” - -Judy laughed at that. - -“I can just see you being swept up into the clouds with that white scarf -trailing behind you. Like the witch who rides through the sky on -Hallowe’en.” - -“She’s the thirteenth fairy in Sleeping Beauty,” replied Clarissa, and -she was laughing, too. “It was always my favorite fairy tale. I can -hardly wait to see Irene—” - -“She isn’t playing the part of Sleeping Beauty,” Flo interrupted. “She -just introduces the show and sings.” - -“I know. She told us. Sleeping Beauty is being played by a guest star, -Francine Dow. I’ve seen her on television, and she’s lovely. I wonder if -she uses golden hair wash.” - -“Of course she doesn’t. Her hair is dark,” Flo said. - -“No, it’s light,” Pauline contradicted. - -Pauline and Flo were actually arguing about it. - -“We’ll see what color it is when we reach the studio,” Judy told them, -“not that it matters. I’m tired of all this talk about hair.” - -“How much farther is it?” asked Clarissa. “It seems to me we’ve been -walking forever in this wind.” - -“We’re there,” announced Pauline as they rounded the next corner. “See -the sign, GOLDEN GIRL SHOW. The theater looks a little sad, doesn’t it? -They’ve turned an old movie house into a TV studio.” - -Judy was eager to see how the cameras and other technical equipment were -arranged inside the theater building. - -“It’s warm, thank goodness!” she exclaimed as they entered, showing -their pass to a man in the lobby. He waved a tired hand toward the left -side of the theater. - -“You’re early. Take any four seats,” he said with an uninterested drawl. - -“Don’t we get a chance to see the dressing rooms?” Clarissa asked. “I’ve -always wanted to see the dressing rooms of the stars.” - -“We’ll see them afterwards, I guess. I wonder where the control room is. -I think I’ll look around and see if I can find it.” - -“Wait, Judy!” said Pauline. “I don’t think we should go exploring.” - -But Judy didn’t see any reason why she shouldn’t leave her seat if the -others saved it for her. She shook the snow from her coat and left it -there so people would know the seat was taken. - -Most of the folding seats had been removed from the theater to make room -for the TV equipment. Those that remained were directly under the -balcony. Judy hesitated a moment, looking around. Then she walked down -the aisle between the rows of seats until she came to what was called -the studio floor. Immediately she recognized the different kinds of -cameras and microphones. The big mike boom, mounted on its three-wheeled -platform, stood to one side. So did the dolly, its funny little -up-in-the-air seat now empty. Judy gazed at it for a moment. Then she -turned around. There on the balcony was the glass-enclosed control room -with its monitors and flashing lights. - -“I learned more than I thought I did on that tour,” she told the others -when she returned to her seat. “The control room is just over our heads -on what used to be the balcony of the old theater. There’s a movie on -this channel now.” - -“We’ve been watching it. Probably it’s being shown for the second time -in this theatre,” Pauline said. “It’s so ancient I’m sure it must have -been one of the pictures shown here before this building was made over -into a TV studio.” She pointed. “See it! They have another one of those -monitors suspended from a beam just over the middle aisle.” - -“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Judy. “We can watch Irene’s show on TV at -the same time we’re seeing it on the stage. Oh, there she is!” - -Judy broke off with this exclamation as the people in the surrounding -seats began to clap. She joined them, clapping so enthusiastically that -her hands smarted. Under the blazing overhead lights, Irene looked -lovelier than ever. She had appeared from somewhere behind the -star-studded curtain. - -“Hi, everybody!” she said brightly when the clapping had subsided. -“Welcome to the Golden Girl show. In the half hour before we go on the -air there’s time to make you acquainted with some of the people -important to the show.” - -One by one they were introduced. Irene knew all the technicians and -called them by their first names—the manager with his walkie-talkie, the -boom man, the camera men and their helpers. One was adjusting the seat -on the dolly. - -“I’d get dizzy up there,” Judy whispered. - -She had never before realized how many other people besides actors were -needed to put on a TV show. The sound man, the lighting engineer, the -director and his assistants in the control room—each had his own part to -play. - -“You people out there are part of the show, too,” Irene continued. “When -the hands of the studio clock point to seven we will go on the air. In -the meantime, I’d like to present four of my best friends to the studio -audience.” - -“She means us. How sweet of her!” exclaimed Judy. - -“Me, too?” asked Clarissa, holding back a little as the others left -their seats. “She can’t mean me. I only met her today.” - -Judy laughed. “It doesn’t take Irene long to decide who her friends are. -Come on!” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - A Hidden Danger - - -The area between the first row of seats and the Golden Girl set was -filled with a complicated maze of technical equipment. Judy nearly -tripped over a trailing cable on the way to join Irene on the studio -floor. - -“Come on,” Judy urged Clarissa a second time. - -Irene was waiting for them. She seemed completely at home on the studio -floor, moving through and around the pieces of equipment as easily as -she moved about in her kitchen at home. The girls were introduced. It -was all very informal and nice. Afterwards the floor manager suggested a -quick tour behind the scenes. - -“I know you want to show your friends around, Irene,” he said with an -understanding twinkle in his eyes. “You have ten minutes.” - -“Thank you, Si. I won’t take more than that. This doesn’t compare with -Radio City, of course,” Irene apologized, turning to Judy, “but perhaps -I can show you something you haven’t already seen.” - -“What about the dressing rooms?” Judy thought of Clarissa’s request and -explained that they hadn’t seen them on their other tour. “It was -interrupted,” she began and then stopped as there was too much to tell -in ten minutes. - -“How did that happen?” Irene asked. - -“We’ll explain it later,” Judy promised. “Is there time to see the -dressing rooms?” - -“They’re small and crowded tonight, but I guess we can take a quick -peek,” Irene agreed. “This way, girls! Be careful and don’t fall over -anything.” - -The dusty, cluttered space behind the glittering curtain was a -disappointment to Clarissa. Judy could tell by the look on her face. -Backgrounds were folded one against the other. Props waited to be placed -inside make-believe rooms that were nothing but painted canvas stretched -on wooden racks. Beyond, a narrow corridor separated two rows of doors. - -“Will we see Francine Dow?” Clarissa asked suddenly. - -Pauline looked at Flo and said pointedly, “We had a little argument over -the color of her hair.” - -“You can settle it when you see her,” Irene told them as they entered -the crowded dressing room. The girls who were to be good fairies on the -program were fluttering about in their filmy dresses. Two of them were -seated before a long dressing table putting on make-up that gave their -faces a yellowish tinge. A third girl, made up to look like an old -woman, was dipping a sponge into a bowl of green stuff and then applying -it to her face. - -“She must be the witch,” Pauline whispered to Judy. “Doesn’t she _scare_ -you?” - -“Her hair is green, too,” Flo observed with a giggle. “How about washing -your hair with _green_ hair wash, Clarissa? You said you’d do anything -to get on TV. Would you play the part of an old witch?” - -“I—I don’t know,” she faltered. “I’d hate to make myself any uglier than -I am.” - -Obviously the witch could hear the whispered conversation behind her. -Making her voice sound old and cackling, she said without turning her -head, “So you think I’m ugly, my pretty? Wait until you see the curse I -put on the child! I hope I don’t scare any little kiddies who may be -watching—” - -“You scare me,” Clarissa interrupted. “I can see your face in the -mirror.” - -“It’s bad luck to look into a mirror over anyone’s shoulder,” the witch -warned her. “Why don’t you go away?” - -“I’m sorry.” Clarissa, her eyes still fixed on the mirrored face of the -witch, was backing out into the corridor toward a closed door. - -“Is that another dressing room, Irene?” asked Flo. “We didn’t see your -guest star, Francine Dow.” - -“Would you know her?” asked Judy. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t. She’s appeared -in so many different roles. I don’t even know what color her hair is.” - -“I’m afraid I don’t either,” Irene confessed. “She wore a black wig in -the _Mikado_ and looked quite like a Japanese schoolgirl. She is late, -but I’m sure she’ll be here in time to play the part of the Sleeping -Beauty. She doesn’t appear until the show is half over. Maybe she -planned to be late so she would have the dressing room to herself. We -had to rehearse without her this afternoon,” Irene continued, a worried -note creeping into her voice, “but she assured me, over the telephone, -that she knows the part.” - -“The play would be ruined without Sleeping Beauty, wouldn’t it?” -Clarissa asked. “I hope I haven’t brought bad luck.” - -“Of course you haven’t. That’s just a silly superstition,” Irene -declared. “Actually, it makes an actress nervous to have anyone look -over her shoulder when she’s applying make-up, so she’s apt to tell you -it brings bad luck.” - -“I see.” - -Judy wondered if she did. “You say this isn’t a dressing room? What is -behind this other door?” she asked curiously. - -She could hear voices that made her even more curious. “It’s forbidden!” -someone was almost shouting. “This thing is still in the experimental -stage. It may be as dangerous as an atom bomb!” - -“I don’t know what all the excitement is about. This is our film storage -room,” Irene explained, tapping on the door before she opened it. “Most -of our programs are on film or on kinescope, and they’re kept here. Mine -is one of the few live shows that originate in this studio.” - -She was calm as she entered the small room that was still charged with -emotion. Rows of shelves and pigeonholes lined the walls. Two men were -glaring at each other across a high desk. - -“You look like a couple of roosters ready for a fight,” Irene told them -amiably. “Can you forget your differences long enough to meet some -friends of mine? This is Mr. Lenz, our projectionist.” - -“How do you do,” the older man said in an agitated voice as he was -introduced to the four girls. - -Judy recognized the younger man as the one with the unruly lock of brown -hair. - -“You were on the tour with us!” she exclaimed in surprise. - -“You _are_ from our agency! Why did you tell the guide you were from -Hollywood?” Flo demanded. - -“Usually,” said the brown-haired young man with an easy smile, “I tell -people what they want to hear. You want me to be Blake van Pelt, a -native New Yorker. Yes, my dear Miss Garner, that is my name. I already -know yours because, you see, I do work on Madison Avenue just as you -do—and for the same agency, so I think we understand each other. The -guide, another charming young lady, wanted me to be from out of town so -I gave her a line.” - -“Did you say line or lie?” Flo was angry now and justifiably so, Judy -thought. Without in the least understanding what was going on, she felt -herself on the side of truth. Something Clarissa had said back in the -restaurant flashed across her mind. “Doesn’t anybody in New York care -about the truth?” Apparently there were a number of people who did, -among them the white-haired projectionist, Mr. Lenz. - -“The word is lie,” he said icily. “So you tell people what they want to -hear, do you, Mr. van Pelt? I think the purpose of your agency is to -make them dissatisfied with what they have so they’ll buy what you have -to sell.” - -The young man flashed another smile. - -“You’ve put it very well. Advertising is a selling job. We’re not in -business to entertain people or to make them contented as they sit in -their living rooms watching TV. Contented people are like cows. It’s our -job to make them discontented. That’s no crime, is it, Mr. Lenz?” - -“No, but this is! None of the other networks allow it. I have my orders -from the director of this program,” the projectionist declared. “Now, -suppose you take your film out of here.” - -Young Blake van Pelt picked up a round gray can about an inch thick and -a foot across, and sauntered out of the room. Did it contain a roll of -film or something more sinister? Judy found herself wondering what Mr. -Lenz meant when he had shouted, “It may be as dangerous as an atom -bomb!” After he had calmed down a little the projectionist opened a can -similar to the one the younger man had taken away with him and said to -Irene, “This is the ad we’ll run on your show, Mrs. Meredith. It’s for a -tooth paste approved by dentists, and features a cute little girl -cleaning her teeth.” - -“It may inspire little Judy,” Irene began and then stopped. “What was -the other ad?” she asked. “Why were you so angry about it, Mr. Lenz?” - -“An old man’s temper,” he replied. “Don’t mind me, and good luck with -your show tonight.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - The Witch’s Curse - - -“I’ll need more than luck if anything is wrong in the film department,” -Irene said later when they were back on the studio floor. - -She was worried about something. Judy could see that. She took the seat -Pauline was saving for her. Flo was already seated next to Pauline with -Clarissa occupying the chair next to the aisle. An usher was seating -people in every available place. - -“No empty seats! No empty seats!” he kept on repeating as the crowd -surged in. - -Two pedestal cameras were stationed directly in front of the curtain -where Irene stood waiting. At one side, mounted on a large three-wheeled -platform, rode the man who operated the mike boom. The man on the dolly -was sitting in his funny little seat with the operator ready to raise or -lower him. - -The hands of the big studio clock over the exit door moved slowly toward -the hour of seven. The camera men and the boom man, all wearing -headphones, stood ready before their equipment. The floor manager also -waited for the directions he would receive through his headpiece. - -“All set?” asked the announcer. - -“All set,” Irene replied, smiling. - -Did Judy imagine it, or was her smile a little forced? “Nothing must go -wrong,” Judy caught herself almost praying. “Please, don’t let anything -go wrong.” - -“One minute ... stand by!” sounded over the loudspeaker. - -Were the other girls as tense as she was? Judy found it hard to read the -expressions on their faces. The lights over the Golden Girl set made -everything else look dim. - -The television set suspended over the middle aisle was showing the end -commercial from the previous show. As soon as it was over red lights -flashed above the exit doors, and Judy knew Golden Girl was on the air. -The announcer stepped to one side, out of camera range, and clapped his -hands as a signal for the audience to clap. - -“Isn’t she lovely?” whispered someone in the audience as the bright -spotlight shone down on Irene. Quick tears came to Judy’s eyes as Irene -began to sing: - - “_My own golden girl, there is one, only one, - Who has eyes like the stars and hair like the sun._” - -It was her theme song. Judy’s thoughts took her back to the first time -she had heard it on a roof garden while she danced with Dale Meredith. - -“Irene is a golden girl tonight,” he had said, and from then on her -happiness had become his chief concern. Judy thought of him now, at home -in their new Long Island house, probably holding a sleepy baby on his -knee as he listened. - -“That’s Mommy,” he would be saying to little Judy. Or perhaps there was -no need to say it. By now Judy’s little namesake must be well acquainted -with the mysteries of TV. - -“Better acquainted than I am,” Judy thought ruefully. - -She couldn’t overcome the fear that something would go wrong with the -show. Little Judy wouldn’t see the microphone dangling over her mother’s -head. She wouldn’t see the cameras being moved in like menacing -monsters. She wouldn’t know, as Judy did, that somewhere back in the -film room there had been something “as dangerous as an atom bomb.” - -“If Peter were here I could ask him about it,” Judy thought. - -“The advertising is over, and the show is about to begin,” Pauline -whispered. - -Judy glimpsed the little girl cleaning her teeth on the TV set. Since -the advertising was all on film, it did not seem to interrupt the play -that was now beginning. - -“Look!” she heard Clarissa whisper. “It’s the palace scene with the king -and queen. I wonder if that’s a real baby in the crib.” - -On the television screen the king and queen seemed to be crooning over a -real baby, but Judy suspected the crib was empty. The throne room was -only a painted scene on a wooden frame with a few props in the -foreground to make it appear real. The spotlight rested on the royal -family for a moment and then moved over to Irene. Dressed as one of the -fairies, she sang to summon the others: - - “_Fairies! Fairies! Now appear - Bringing gifts for baby dear. - One will give a pretty face, - Two a body full of grace, - Three the love light in her eyes. - Four will make her kind and wise._” - -In danced the fairies bringing their gifts and waving their wands over -the crib. On the screen flecks of stardust could be seen swirling about. -Remembering the tour, Judy knew how this effect was achieved. - -More gifts were bestowed on the little princess as the next seven -fairies danced in. Irene’s song was as beautiful and tender as a -lullaby. A film strip of a real baby made it seem as if the audience had -been given a glimpse of the little princess in her crib. - -It was almost too real when the witch whirled in. A gasp went up from -the audience as she interrupted the fairy song with a hoarse shriek: - - “_I was not invited. Why? - For punishment I’ll make her_ die!” - -“No, oh, no!” Judy almost forgot it was a play and found herself crying -out with the fairies. All had given their gifts except Irene, who was -playing the part of the twelfth fairy. - -The queen, rising from her throne, began to explain that there were only -twelve golden plates for feasting. - -“That is why you weren’t invited, dear, good fairy,” she said to the -witch. “Please take away your curse.” - - “_For shame!” cried the witch. “I’ll make it worse! - She shall live to age fifteen, - But she shall_ never _be a queen. - While spinning she shall prick her hand. - There’ll be no cure in all the land._” - -“Have pity! Have pity!” cried the poor queen, wringing her hands and -sobbing so realistically that Judy almost cried with her. - -“I will have every spinning wheel destroyed,” the king declared. “This -cruel pronouncement must not come to pass.” - -“Can’t you help us, dear fairies?” sobbed the queen. - -They drooped like wilted flowers. “I’m afraid not,” one after another of -them replied. “She is not one of us. She is a witch. Her powers are -greater than ours, but we will try.” - -At that they began dancing around the witch, trying to touch her with -their wands. The music played wildly as the witch whirled and danced, -always eluding them and finally dancing off the set. - -“She’s gone!” exclaimed the king. “She’s left her curse on all of us.” - -“You good fairies, is there nothing you can do?” The queen turned to the -dancers with a pleading gesture. Eleven of them shook their heads. -Irene, the twelfth fairy, danced into the spotlight and began to sing: - - “_A twelfth gift I have yet to give. - The princess shall not die, but live. - A fairy mist will change the spell - From death to sleep. She shall sleep well - A hundred years. Yes, all shall sleep. - Change, curse, from death to slumber deep!_” - -With a wave of her wand, Irene stepped out of camera range and stood -smiling and bowing to the studio audience as the curtain descended. Judy -forgot to look at the advertising. She was seeing only Irene. - -“She’s the star of this show. Francine Dow can’t be any more wonderful -than she was,” Judy whispered. - -“I hope she’s here.” - -Was Pauline worried, too? Clarissa was heard to whisper, “Oh dear, I -left my two bottles of shampoo back there in the witch’s dressing room.” - -“You can get them after the show,” Flo whispered back. She turned to -Pauline and said something about the commercial. Several people left -their seats during the intermission, but Judy stayed where she was. She -didn’t want to miss anything. - -As soon as the commercial was over, the cameras were again on Irene. She -stood in front of the curtain. - -“The king has issued a decree commanding that every spindle in the -kingdom be burnt, but it is no use,” she said sadly. “Fifteen years have -passed. The witch’s curse is almost forgotten, but look what’s hidden -away in a dusty old room at the top of the castle!” - -The curtain opened on the set she had described. There, before an old -spinning wheel, sat the witch spinning flax. For a time nothing was -heard except the whir of the spinning wheel. Then a door opened, and a -lovely young girl tiptoed in. Judy breathed a sigh of relief. - -“It’s Francine Dow! Her hair is golden just as I knew it was,” Pauline -whispered. - -“It could be a wig,” Flo whispered back. - -The princess stood behind the old witch, not saying a word until she -turned her head. Then, appearing frightened, she said, “Good day, my -good lady, what are you doing here?” - -“I am spinning,” said the witch, nodding her head. - -“What thing is that which twists round so merrily?” - -“It is a spindle. Want to try it, my pretty?” - -It was the same evil voice Judy had heard back in the dressing room. - -“I—I’m afraid.” - -The princess did sound afraid as she took the spindle. Her long golden -hair fell almost to her waist. Were those real tears in her eyes when -she pricked her finger? She fell, almost immediately, in an undramatic -pose with her face turned away from the audience. The witch, chuckling -softly to herself, began to chant: - - “_My curse is done. The sleep of death - Shall take away the princess’ breath!_” - -Judy drew a breath of her own that was almost a gasp. She knew the old -fairy story by heart, and yet there was a moment when the play seemed so -real that she wasn’t at all sure the curse wouldn’t come true. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - Into the Mist - - -“Isn’t it spooky?” Pauline whispered, breaking the spell that was upon -Judy. The theater was so dark she couldn’t see her friend, but she could -hear her voice. She was about to answer when the sound of a wailing -siren reached her ears. - -“What’s _that_?” she questioned fearfully. - -Pauline touched her arm. “Judy! You’re all goose-flesh,” she whispered. -“It’s only an ambulance. Probably there was an accident outside. But -don’t worry about it. We’re safe enough in here.” - -“I hope we are.” Judy had thought, for just a fleeting moment, that -something might have happened back in the film room. Maybe an explosion -or a fire. But common sense told her Pauline was right. Her attention -was drawn back to the set where the fairies were now singing: - - “_The witch! The witch! Her curse came true. - Pray tell us, what can fairies do?_” - -“Nothing, my pretties!” chuckled the witch. She nodded her head so that -the green hair fell in straggly wisps across her ugly face and repeated, -“Nothing, my pretties. You can do nothing at all.” - -“Not so! Not so!” cried all the fairies, rushing at her in a wild dance, -their feet flying faster and faster as the music increased in tempo. - -Judy and her friends sat in rapt attention as did the entire audience. -The siren outside could still be heard wailing above the music, but -nobody paid much attention to it. Irene, leading her train of fairies, -drove the witch into the wings and returned to where the princess had -fallen. - - “_She only sleeps. She is not dead. - We’ll take her to her royal bed_,” - -the fairies sang softly. Making cradles of their arms, they lifted the -sleeping princess and carried her to another set where she was placed in -a canopied bed to sleep for a hundred years. - -“Isn’t she beautiful?” Judy whispered. “She looks—” - -“Watch!” Pauline interrupted as the cameras turned quickly on another -set showing the kitchen of the castle. Here the cook fell asleep just as -she was raising her hand to box the ears of the kitchen boy. In still -another room the king and queen fell asleep on their thrones. Finally -the audience was given a glimpse of the castle itself. It was only a -background painting pulled down to hide the various sets, but it looked -real enough on the television screen. Irene, standing in front of it, -waved her wand and began to chant: - - “_Arise, oh misty vapors, rise - To hide from all beneath the skies - The place where Sleeping Beauty lies._” - -“Look!” whispered Judy. “Now I know why everything is so misty. Steam is -being blown from a big black kettle over there to the right.” - -The mist was now very dense. A fan was blowing it across the set. When -it cleared away the castle had changed. A thick growth of weeds and -brush made it seem as if a hundred years had passed during the brief -pause for the commercial. - -All this time Irene had been standing to the left of the set. She -introduced the prince, now seen in a puzzled pose before the forsaken -castle. - - “_What’s this?” he cried. “A lovely castle now appears. - The mist has hidden it for years._” - -Parting the thorny bushes, he made his way toward it. Suddenly, to -Judy’s surprise, the whole background scene went up like a window shade, -revealing the rooms inside the castle. - -“There’s Sleeping Beauty again! Isn’t she lovely?” a voice behind Judy -whispered. - -“And so young looking!” another whispered. “Isn’t it wonderful that -Francine Dow can still play the part of a fifteen-year-old girl?” - -The face of the actress was turned a little away from the viewers. A -veil covered it. She lay as still as death until the prince lifted the -veil and kissed her. Then quickly, almost too quickly, it seemed to -Judy, the play ended and Irene was before the cameras singing her -closing song. She sang it all the way through. When it was finished, she -blew a kiss to the children in the audience, adding, “And here’s one for -you, Judykins.” Little Judy was always Judykins to her adoring young -mother. - -“Francine Dow wasn’t really the star. Irene was,” declared Judy as the -red lights flashed off. Almost immediately the prop men began -dismantling the set. Fairyland backgrounds disappeared. Cameras were -pushed aside. The magic spell that had held the audience was over. - -“Where’s Clarissa?” Pauline Faulkner asked suddenly. - -Judy looked around for the girl they had met in the restaurant, but she -was nowhere in sight. The seat next to Flo was vacant. Judy tried to -think when she had last seen Clarissa or heard her speak. A shivery -feeling came over her. - -“Didn’t you see her leave?” Pauline was asking Florence Garner. - -Flo shook her head. “I wasn’t looking at anything except the play,” she -replied. “Wasn’t it beautiful when that fairy mist covered the castle -and made it vanish?” - -Judy waved her hand in front of Flo’s eyes. “The play’s over. Come back -from fairyland,” she told her. “Clarissa has vanished. You were sitting -right beside her. You must have seen her when she left her seat.” - -“She didn’t leave it. Anyway, not that I noticed,” Flo protested. “Maybe -she was a phantom after all. Maybe she disappeared into the mist.” - -“If she did, she disappeared with the money we lent her,” Pauline -declared. - -“Good heavens!” This statement brought Flo out of her trancelike state. -She stared at the empty seat and then at Pauline. “Well, what do you -know?” she said at last. “I think all four of us, including Irene, have -been played for suckers. We should have known better than to trust a -stranger. We don’t even know where she lives.” - -“I thought she was a phony. What do you think, Judy?” asked Pauline. - -“I still can’t believe it,” Judy declared. “Clarissa was our friend.” - -“Our phantom friend,” Pauline reminded her. - -“It is sort of weird, isn’t it?” agreed Judy. “We called her a phantom -and then she—well, she just vanished. I can’t think how or where. Was -she there when we heard that siren, Flo?” - -“What siren?” - -Apparently Flo had been so engrossed in the show that she hadn’t heard -it. - -“It was an ambulance we heard outside the theater right after the witch -put her curse on Sleeping Beauty. An ambulance!” Judy exclaimed, a new -possibility dawning upon her. “Do you suppose Clarissa—” - -“Of course not,” Pauline interrupted. “She was in here watching the -show, not outside on the street.” - -[Illustration: “Who was in that ambulance?” Judy inquired] - -“We don’t know that,” Judy objected. “We don’t know how long her seat -has been vacant. She could have slipped outside, for some reason, and -been hurt in an accident. Come on, girls! We have to find out for sure.” - -Grabbing their coats, they hurried outside to see what had happened. -They were just too late. The ambulance with its wailing siren had -already disappeared down the street. At the curb a taxicab with its rear -fender smashed in was waiting to be towed away. The crowd that had -gathered around the scene of the accident was beginning to thin. Judy -spied a policeman and rushed over to him. - -“We can’t find our friend. We think she may have left the theater and -been hurt or something. Who was in that ambulance?” she inquired all in -one breath. - - - - - CHAPTER X - The Wrong Direction - - -Judy knew a moment of panic. When she tried to describe Clarissa all she -could remember was her hair. She called it honey colored while Pauline -and Flo described it as dark blond. - -“She was pretty,” they all agreed. “She looked a little like—well, like -Francine Dow. She’s the guest star who played Sleeping Beauty,” Judy -added. - -“She wasn’t that pretty,” Flo objected quickly. “Her hair was dull, and -she had a rather drab look about her. She was young—” - -“How young?” the policeman asked. - -“About sixteen.” - -“The woman they took away in the ambulance can’t be your missing friend -if that’s the way it is,” the policeman said reassuringly. “No one could -call her sixteen. Besides, she was hurt on her way to the theater—not -coming away from it. The taxi driver says she kept after him to hurry. -He turned the corner too fast and skidded into another car. Fortunately, -no one in the second vehicle was hurt. But here’s the cab driver,” he -ended abruptly. “He can tell you about it himself.” - -Judy was introduced to the cab driver, who was a little shaken up, but -not hurt. More than anything else, he seemed concerned about his -passenger. - -“Friend of yours?” he inquired. - -Judy didn’t know what to say. Was Clarissa a friend or wasn’t she? Had -she deceived them as Pauline and Flo seemed to think? It was Pauline who -described the missing girl and took down the name of the hospital where -the victim of the accident was taken. - -“She couldn’t have been Clarissa. She was going in the wrong direction,” -Flo told Pauline. - -“Where did she hail your cab?” Judy asked finally. - -“Grand Central Station,” he replied. “She said she’d just arrived in -town and had to get to the theater in a hurry. She didn’t say why. Just -gave me the address and a big tip and told me to step on it as she was -already late—” - -“She certainly was if she expected to see the Sleeping Beauty show. -She’d already missed the best part of it.” - -“Do you mean the witch dance?” the cab driver asked. “She said something -about that.” - -“What else did she say?” Judy asked eagerly. - -“Don’t know. I don’t listen much,” the cab driver confessed. “I got my -own problems. If this dame don’t come to—” - -“Was she badly hurt?” Pauline interrupted. - -“Out like a light. Couldn’t give her name or anything. I wish you girls -did know her. It would be a help. She was what I’d call the theatrical -type,” the cab driver continued. “Older than you, but sort of young -looking—if you get what I mean.” - -“What color was your passenger’s hair?” asked Judy. - -The cab driver’s answer startled her. “Red,” he replied. “But not -natural looking like yours. Think you know her?” - -“I’m sure we don’t. It’s funny she mentioned the witch dance, though,” -Flo said thoughtfully as the three girls turned away. “If there’s any -truth in that story Clarissa told us—” - -Pauline broke in with a laugh. - -“You aren’t entertaining the idea that she might really be a changeling, -are you?” - -“No, but it did frighten her when that witch whirled in.” - -“You remember that? You know she was sitting beside you then?” Pauline -questioned. - -“I remember it, too,” put in Judy. “I heard her say she’d left her two -bottles of shampoo back there on the witch’s dressing table. Maybe she -went backstage after them.” - -“If she went anywhere,” Pauline said grimly, “it was for the reason I -mentioned. She had our twenty dollars, didn’t she?” - -“She said her father is a minister. I’ll bet he is—not!” scoffed Flo. -“And Irene was telling me she didn’t think some advertising was honest! -I wonder what she’ll say when she hears that our phantom friend -disappeared with the money we lent her.” - -“But Flo, maybe she didn’t,” Judy protested. “Maybe she’s back there in -the theater looking for us.” - -“That could be exactly where she is,” agreed Pauline. “Let’s ask Irene -if she knows what happened to her. I’m sure our phantom friend didn’t -disappear into the mist.” - -Judy shivered at the way she said it. Remembering the film storage room -and the secret it held, anything seemed possible. A real chill went -through her as they reentered the theater. The overhead lights had been -turned off, and the seats were all empty. The cameras, idle now, looked -more like monsters than ever in the semidarkness. Most of the -technicians had gone home, but there was some activity backstage where -props were being put away. Voices came from the dressing room. Irene was -saying, “I wonder where they went.” - -“We went outside if it’s us you’re wondering about,” replied Judy, -popping in at the door. Her entrance was so sudden that Irene jumped. -The witch, who was just removing her green make-up, dropped her -artificial nose. Pauline and Flo laughed, but their faces sobered when -they attempted to describe the accident and their fears for Clarissa. - -“We thought at first she might have taken a cab, but the cab was coming -from Grand Central terminal and it had a redheaded woman in it. She was -taken to the hospital—” - -“You’re sure it wasn’t Clarissa?” Irene interrupted. - -“We’re not sure of anything,” Flo replied with a shiver. “Clarissa is a -strange girl. One minute she was there beside me, and the next time I -looked she was gone. She probably sneaked out with the money we lent -her. I was under the spell of the play and didn’t see her leave.” - -“You see how good you were,” Irene said to the girl who had played the -part of the witch. With her make-up removed, Judy could see that she was -quite an ordinary-looking person. Her cackling voice, too, had been an -act. - -“Most people enjoy being frightened,” the girl said. “But I hope I -didn’t upset your friend.” - -Clarissa was not in the dressing room. Neither were the two bottles of -shampoo she claimed she had left there. - -“She must have taken them. Did you see her come back here?” Judy asked. - -Irene shook her head. “I thought she was out there with you watching the -play. I looked for you afterwards. I wanted to introduce you to Francine -Dow, but her aunt hurried her away as soon as we went off the air. I’m -not sure, but I don’t think she was quite well. Maybe she had a sore -throat or something. She didn’t sing to the prince—” - -“Was she supposed to?” Pauline interrupted to ask. - -“Yes, at the end. I sang my whole theme song to fill in. Was it very -noticeable?” - -“It was beautiful, Irene. _You_ were the star,” Judy declared warmly. -“Francine Dow played her part well, of course, but I liked best the part -where you danced around the baby.” - -“Did it look like a real baby in the crib? It wasn’t,” Irene explained. -“It was only one of little Judy’s dolls. She knew we were going to use -it. I told her we’d make it look like a real baby, but she didn’t -understand about the film strip.” - -“Will she think her doll came to life?” - -“Perhaps. When she’s older I’ll explain it. To her television is a magic -box where just about anything can happen.” - -Judy thought about this a minute. The thought troubled her. Anything? -She had a feeling something had happened—something she didn’t like at -all. The film storage room was searched but yielded no clue to the -disappearance of Clarissa. - -“There’s nothing dangerous here, is there?” asked Judy, remembering the -argument between the projectionist and the man from Flo’s agency. - -Irene opened one of the waffle-shaped cans to show her the roll of film -inside. - -“This is a spot commercial for the golden hair wash people,” she said. -“You couldn’t call that dangerous, even though young girls who use it -would look so much lovelier with their own natural shade of hair.” - -“I didn’t mean that. I’m not sure just what I did mean.” - -The can of film looked innocent enough, but the fear that had gripped -Judy stayed with her. Mr. Lenz had been justifiably angry, and the -danger, whatever it was, had been real. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - On the Train - - -“I guess we’ll just have to go home and forget Clarissa,” Pauline said -finally after they had searched the whole theater and questioned -everybody—technicians as well as actors who were still there in the -cast. Some had already left, but those who remained could tell them -nothing. - -“She fainted before,” Judy remembered. - -Irene heard, for the first time, how Clarissa had looked into a mirror -and seen no reflection. “And then,” Flo went on telling her, “something -went wrong with that closed circuit TV set where we were supposed to see -our pictures, and she didn’t show. That was when she fainted. We took -her to the first aid room and then went back and finished our tour. The -TV set was all right. All the rest of us showed. We forgot to ask the -guide if she knew what went wrong with it. Clarissa wouldn’t go back -there. She was afraid.” - -“Of what?” asked Irene. - -“That she wasn’t real, I guess. I’m beginning to be afraid of it -myself,” Flo admitted. “The doorman said nobody left the show early, and -nobody left by the stage entrance except a few people who were in the -cast.” - -“Francine Dow was one of them, wasn’t she? What about her aunt?” asked -Judy. “You said she left with her.” - -“That’s right. I forgot about her,” Irene admitted. “She left by the -stage entrance, too. I know what you’re thinking, Judy, but she was an -old lady. Well, anyway, middle-aged. She was a plump, motherly looking -woman with gray hair. I noticed her earlier in the studio audience.” - -“When Clarissa was still there?” - -“Yes, it was before the show went on the air. I guess Francine had -planned to meet her aunt afterwards and go home with her. They probably -left in a hurry because Francine wasn’t feeling well and wanted to avoid -meeting people. I heard her aunt say something about a week end in the -country. We could find out where they went and question them, I suppose, -but I’m sure it wouldn’t do any good.” - -“It might,” Judy said hopefully. “They might have seen Clarissa.” - -“I doubt it,” Pauline replied. “If she deliberately ran off with the -money we lent her, she would have made sure she wasn’t seen. Obviously, -that’s what happened.” - -It did seem obvious. - -“We never should have trusted her in the first place,” Pauline went on. -“That story she told must have been part of her plan to trick us and -make us sorry for her. It isn’t possible for a girl to look in a mirror -and see no reflection. Things like that only happen in ghost stories.” - -“This is a ghost story,” Flo said in an awed tone, “only it’s happening -to us. Maybe she wasn’t real. She didn’t show—” - -Pauline turned to her friend. “Flo, you aren’t going to believe—?” she -began. - -But Irene cut in, “In phantoms? Of course she isn’t. What’s your theory, -Judy? You always come up with something.” - -“I will,” Judy promised. “Just give me time. It would help if we knew -exactly when she disappeared.” - -“Wasn’t it just about the time that misty haze covered the set?” Flo -questioned. “What was it, anyway, some new kind of vapor to make people -vanish?” she asked nervously. - -“It was only steam,” Irene reassured her. “I couldn’t see what was going -on backstage from where I was standing, but I had a good view of that -steam kettle. There was nothing unnatural about it.” - -“No?” Flo sounded dubious. “Maybe not, but there was something strange -about Clarissa. Vanishing like that—it’s utterly fantastic!” - -“I have a few fantastic theories of my own,” Judy admitted. “If she’d -had time to use that golden hair wash—” - -“What do you think’s in it? Vanishing cream?” Pauline was laughing. Her -theory was really the only sensible one, Judy decided. She was eager to -talk it over with Peter. He knew so much more about the workings of the -criminal mind than she did. There were patterns of behavior. Would -Clarissa’s behavior fit one of them? Somehow Judy doubted it. - -“I suppose we shouldn’t have trusted her,” she said at last. “Her -innocent appearance didn’t fool the cashier in the restaurant. But I’m -not sorry if it fooled us. Peter might not agree with me, but I believe -in trusting people. Clarissa may be involved in some sort of confidence -game. And yet, somehow, I believe she is a friend. I mean a real one.” - -“You’re a real friend to her, Judy.” Irene shook her head. “It’s beyond -me. I suppose she’ll go home, wherever her home is, and we’ll never see -her again. It was an experience, anyway.” - -Judy found she couldn’t dismiss it that lightly. Too many experiences -had crowded in to make her vacation in New York not at all what she had -anticipated. First there had been her discovery that Tower House was no -longer standing. It appeared to have vanished but, in reality, it had -only been torn down to make room for a new apartment building. Irene and -Dale were now living in a more modern house farther out on Long Island. - -Weird things had happened in Tower House as they had in Judy’s own home -both before and after her marriage to Peter Dobbs. She would never -forget the time she saw the transparent figure floating about in her -garden. Blackberry, her cat, had provided the clue to that mystery as -well as to the latest one she and Peter had solved. Always there had -been a solution. The only real ghosts, Judy had discovered, were such -things as suspicion and fear. Some fear could be haunting Clarissa. - -“She must be somewhere,” Judy said as they left the theater. They took a -taxi, not without misgivings. - -“Don’t ask the driver to hurry,” Flo warned them. “The streets are still -slippery. Remember what happened to the woman with the red hair.” - -“Like mine,” Judy recalled thoughtfully, “only not as natural looking. -We don’t know what happened to her. I’d like to meet her and ask her a -few questions. I wonder if she has regained consciousness.” - -“I’ll call the hospital tomorrow and find out,” Pauline promised. “Drop -me off first, please,” she told the driver. “Then the others want to -drive on to Penn Station.” - -“That’s where we take the Long Island Railroad,” Irene explained. “Flo -goes home by train, too, but on a different line.” - -Judy found the railroad station confusing. People were hurrying this way -and that. There was an upper level and a lower level and ever so many -turns before they reached a crowded section of the station where Flo -bade them good-by and left them to join another line of people. It -seemed to Judy that half the city must be commuting to Long Island by -train. - -“I like to watch all the different faces, don’t you?” she whispered to -Irene. “Clarissa could be in this crowd—” - -Presently a man in uniform opened a gate, and the crowd surged through. -Judy and Irene found seats on the train, but not together. A man, -concealed by his open newspaper, occupied the place next to the window. -All the seats were soon filled, and the train started on its way. Irene, -who was sitting just behind Judy, tapped her shoulder. - -“We can’t talk much. The train is making too much noise,” she said above -the creaks and rattles. - -“That’s all right. I’m a little tired, anyway,” Judy confessed. “It’s -been a long day.” - -“Why don’t you lean back and close your eyes?” Irene suggested. “I will, -too. It’s an hour’s ride—” A yawn came, interrupting the sentence. - -“I won’t sleep,” Judy told herself when she saw that Irene was resting. -“I’ll have to keep my eyes open to watch for our station.” - -The conductor, she discovered a little later, was calling the stations. -She roused herself to listen, dozing between stops. But it was only her -conscious mind that slept. The thoughts she could control were at rest, -but other thoughts came unbidden. _My hair is dull. My hair is drab._ -But those were Clarissa’s thoughts! They rushed on with the train. -_Dull! Drab! Dull! Drab!_—faster and faster. - -As the unwanted thoughts pounded in Judy’s head the train swayed, first -this way and then that way. A frail old lady making her way down the -aisle changed suddenly to a young girl with golden hair. Judy stared at -her. Then she looked at the girl sitting beside her and saw that she, -too, had golden hair. Her face was blank like the face of a -department-store dummy. _It was a man before! He had been reading a -newspaper!_ How had the strange transformation taken place? Had it -happened this way to Clarissa? - -Behind Judy sat another girl with a blank face and golden hair. Another -one was in front and still another across the aisle. The train, moving -backwards now, seemed full of golden-haired girls with identical faces. -Judy’s thoughts, too, were moving in a reverse direction. Now she was at -the station backing through the gates. All the golden-haired people -surged forward, pressing closer and closer until she could scarcely -breathe. She tried to call to them in protest. At last, as if from a -great distance, she heard her own voice whispering Irene’s name. She -tried desperately to speak louder and presently the cry came. - -“Irene!” - -With that she swayed and would have fallen sideways if the man with the -newspaper hadn’t caught her. Irene was at her side. Unaccountably, they -were back in the train. - -“How—where—what?” Judy stammered. She was awake now, but the feeling -that a crowd of golden-haired people were suffocating her still -lingered. - -“What happened? Where are we?” she managed to ask. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - A Night of Terror - - -Irene’s reply was hurried. “We’re _here_. Come on, Judy! Wake up!” - -“I am awake. What happened to all the golden-haired people? They were -suffocating me. They—” - -“Come _on_!” Irene interrupted, pulling Judy to her feet just as the -train lurched to a stop. People began to get off. Judy saw now that they -were all kinds of people—men, women, even a drowsy child on one man’s -shoulder. The hair that showed below their hats was black, brown, -straight and curly. Their faces were no longer blank. Each had its own -individuality. Dark faces, fair faces—how beautiful they suddenly were, -and how different! - -“I dreamed,” Judy managed to say, “that they were all alike. It was a -terrible, a frightening dream. I never have nightmares, especially on -trains. What happened?” - -“Nothing,” Irene replied, laughing, “but something will if we don’t -hurry. The train will take us past our station. I was asleep, too. We -nearly missed it. Wait!” she called to the conductor. - -“You getting off here?” he inquired. “Hurry up. I’ll hold the train.” - -It started again with a jolt almost as soon as Judy and Irene stepped -down to the platform. - -“That was close. People have been killed getting off moving trains,” -Irene said with a shudder. - -Bewildered, Judy looked around her. “Isn’t anybody going to meet us?” -she inquired. - -“Dale didn’t know which train we were going to take. We’ll go home by -taxi,” Irene announced. - -She hailed a cab that was just about to pull away from the station. She -and Judy were crowded in along with other passengers who lived in the -same suburban town. Again Judy had that elated sense of being glad—glad -that they were different. - -“How terrible it would be if we were all alike,” she said to Irene as -they huddled together in the crowded taxi. “Our faces, our hair, our -thoughts—everything. Would you like it if everyone in the whole world -had golden hair and a face like yours?” - -“I’d hate it,” Irene replied. “It’s bad enough when I buy a dress and -find out someone else has one like it. Why do you ask such a question?” - -“It was that way in my dream. I told you—” - -“I wasn’t listening. You’ll have to tell me again when we’re home. After -all, it was only a dream.” - -“Was it?” - -“What do you think it was?” Irene inquired. - -“A prophecy, maybe. People used to have prophetic visions. Maybe, some -time in the future—” - -The cab stopped to let two of the passengers out. Irene lived in a -beautiful neighborhood. The houses, like the people who lived in them, -were all different. Behind them were tall trees, outlined against the -night sky, and a brook that reminded Judy of Dry Brook at home. An -innocent brook and yet, when it had poured its flood waters into the -pond above the Roulsville dam ... Judy shuddered at the memory. - -“Horace dreamed the dam would break—and it did!” she said suddenly. “I -can still hear the roar and feel the horror—before I knew the people -would be saved. Irene, there could be another flood—” - -“What flood?” - -“A flood of advertising. Don’t laugh. Flo asked me to talk you into -accepting that offer—” - -“There’s no need,” Irene broke in. “I’ve already decided. Flo’s right. -It’s silly of me to feel the way I do about commercials. If I can get a -sponsor there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be on the big network. Dale -thinks I should. There he is at the window motioning for us to hurry,” -Irene observed as the cab stopped to let them out. “Oh, I do hope little -Judy is all right. There’s a light in her room.” - -There were lights all over the house. Dale’s anxious face told Judy that -something was wrong. He started to say something to her, but Irene broke -in. - -“It’s little Judy. I know it.” - -Saying this, she hurried into the baby’s room with Judy close behind -her. Little Judy was awake. Apparently she had reached over and turned -on the light by herself. - -“I heard Daddy on the tefelone,” she announced solemnly. Then, with a -little jump, she landed in Irene’s arms and began to hug her. Judy could -see that she was perfectly all right. But something was wrong. She could -feel it. - -“You comed out of the TV. I saw you, Mommy,” the baby continued her -chatter. “I saw the bad witch, too. She _skeered_ me!” - -“Did she, lamb? I’m so sorry.” - -“Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I like to be skeered.” - -“Were you thinking about the witch? Is that why you couldn’t go to -sleep?” asked Judy. - -“I did sleep. Daddy woke me up. He was talking on the tefelone.” - -“Don’t you love the way she says _telephone_?” Irene exclaimed, hugging -little Judy again. “I was so sure something had happened to her, but if -it was just the telephone—” - -“Maybe Peter called up. We didn’t give Dale a chance to tell us—” - -Dale, in the doorway, interrupted Judy. - -“It was the hospital. I tried to call you, but you had already left the -theater. We can be thankful it isn’t any worse—” - -“What isn’t?” asked Judy. “Why did the hospital call? What hospital was -it?” - -Dale mentioned the name of the hospital. - -“Judy, isn’t that where you said they took that red-headed woman?” Irene -questioned. - -“Yes, but they wouldn’t call Dale about her. She’s a stranger. If -someone we know was hurt. If Peter—” - -“It _is_ Peter. I tried to break the news gently,” Dale said in so grave -a tone that Judy found herself staring at him in silent terror. - -“Dale, what has happened?” she cried when she could find her voice. “Why -is he in the hospital? What are they going to do to him?” - -“They’re going to operate—” - -“But why? Why? Peter is never sick. He must be hurt. Was he—was he—” The -word wouldn’t come. Judy knew Peter’s work was dangerous. She knew, too, -that his latest assignment was one of his biggest. He couldn’t discuss -it, but he had said, just before he left, “Wish me luck, Angel. This is -something really big.” - -To an FBI man, something big was usually a raid. Peter carried a gun but -seldom used it. “Criminals carry guns, too,” thought Judy. Aloud she -said, “Tell me the truth, Dale. Was Peter—shot?” - -Dale nodded, adding quickly, “It could have been worse. They’re going to -operate to remove a bullet from his shoulder. There’s not much danger—” - -“But there is a little. He came close to being killed, didn’t he? How -soon can I see him?” Judy questioned breathlessly. - -“The hospital will call—” - -“When? When?” - -“When the operation is over. Meantime, why don’t you try and get a -little rest? You can stretch out here on the sofa, Judy, until the -telephone rings,” Dale suggested. - -Judy shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep. I’m going back to New York—I -want to be at the hospital—” - -“In the middle of the night?” Irene shook her head. “You’ll do Peter -more good if you’re not exhausted when you see him.” - -This silenced Judy. She knew it would be better to try and get some rest -as Dale suggested. “I won’t sleep,” she told herself when Dale and Irene -had left her alone in the dimly lighted living room. She remembered -thinking the same thing just before she fell asleep on the train. The -sofa was long and low—like a train. Again she could hear the clanking -wheels as they rumbled out the words, “Dull, drab, dull, drab ...” -faster and faster. Once more she was crowded in, almost suffocated by -the throng of golden-haired people. She was looking for Peter. But she -could see nothing but blank faces topped by golden curls. - -“Peter, where are you?” came the voiceless cry. - -Judy awoke from her dream of terror to hear the telephone ringing. She -sprang toward it, half asleep, jerked the instrument from its resting -place, and asked breathlessly, “Is this the hospital? How is he?” - -“It’s Honey.” The voice of Peter’s sister seemed to come from very far -away. “They called us, since they couldn’t reach you. How is he, Judy? -And how are you taking it? I couldn’t sleep. I just had to call and find -out how everything is.” - -[Illustration: “Is this the hospital?” she asked breathlessly] - -“Everything’s terrible,” wailed Judy. “I don’t know how Peter is. I -couldn’t find him in the parade of golden-haired, faceless people. -Honey, promise me!” - -“I’ll promise anything,” came the sympathetic voice over the wire. - -“Then promise—” Judy paused, trying to shake off the web of sleep that -seemed to be holding her prisoner. Then, to her own surprise and Honey’s -horror, she finished, “Promise me you won’t do anything to change the -color of your hair!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - Before Daylight - - -“Judy, are you well?” Honey’s voice held a note of deep anxiety. She was -calling all the way from Farringdon, Judy knew. Judy hadn’t meant to -worry her. But how could she explain what she had just said when she -didn’t understand it herself? - -“I mean—” Now Honey was floundering for the right words. “Was it too -much of a shock—about Peter? Or were you just trying to change the -subject? This is certainly a strange time to be asking me about my -hair.” - -“I know. I was half asleep. Forgive me,” Judy said. “I was dreaming, I -guess. This is the second time I’ve had the same dream. It still seems -horribly real. I am worried, of course. I’m still waiting for the -hospital to call.” - -“Then I’ll hang up so they can.” - -“Wait a minute. Talk a little more,” Judy begged finally. “I need the -reassurance of your voice.” - -“That’s more like the Judy I know. Don’t worry. Peter will be all right, -and then you’ll stop dreaming.” - -“But I had the dream before I knew he was hurt,” Judy protested. - -“Don’t ask me to explain it. I’m no good at that sort of thing. Remember -that old dream book, Judy? I’ll hunt it up, if you want me to, and find -out what it means to dream of faceless people—” - -“With golden hair.” Judy stopped herself quickly and said, “Don’t -bother, Honey. The dream doesn’t matter any more. It’s Peter—” - -“I know, dear. Call me back when you have news.” - -Judy promised that she would. She felt better after talking with Honey. -Now she was wide awake. Irene, hearing her up, tiptoed out into the -living room. - -“Any news?” she asked. - -“Not yet,” replied Judy. “That was Honey on the phone. It seems ages ago -that we were pretending she was at the table with us. So much has -happened since then—Clarissa’s disappearance, and now Peter. I want to -go to him, Irene. I’m not tired any more. I can sit in the hospital -waiting room and be there when he wakes up. The Long Island trains run -all night, don’t they?” - -Irene consulted a timetable that was tacked to a bulletin board beside -the telephone. “We just missed the two fifty-eight. This is Sunday -morning. The trains don’t run very often. There isn’t another one until -five o’clock. But we can drive in if you want to. We can bundle little -Judy into the back seat, and she’ll never know the difference. Want to?” - -“Yes, I do want to,” Judy replied gratefully. “I can’t stand this -waiting.” - -“You poor dear!” Irene sympathized. “We hoped you would get a little -more sleep. Dale!” she called to her husband. “Judy wants us to drive -in.” - -“I rather thought she would.” - -He appeared all dressed and ready. Irene had not undressed. Little Judy -was carried to the car, blankets and all. She stirred once, said, “Go -way, witch!” in a sleepy voice and then cuddled down to sleep again. - -“That witch did scare her,” Irene began in a worried tone. - -“Of course she did. She was meant to,” Dale broke in with a reassuring -grin. “I wish you could have seen little Judy’s eyes when you came in -with your magic wand to chase the witch away. It was symbolic of hope -chasing away fear, and beautifully done, my dear. I was very proud of -you. Sleeping Beauty herself was something of a disappointment.” - -“She was?” - -“Oh, I don’t mean she wasn’t beautiful and all that. Francine Dow is a -girl of many faces. She did manage to look young and frightened if that -was the effect she was trying to achieve. You could hardly see her face -for that golden wig.” - -“Was it a wig?” asked Judy. “I thought it was the natural color of her -hair. I’m afraid I still don’t know whether it’s black, brown or -golden.” - -Irene laughed. “Very few actresses can keep the natural color of their -hair. They’re the real changelings. They change their hair and even -their faces to suit the various parts they have to play.” - -“It may be all right for actresses, but for the rest of us—” - -“Don’t worry about it,” Irene advised. “I know that dream upset you, but -can’t you see that it wasn’t real? It couldn’t happen that way.” - -“If everybody listened to the advertising on TV there’d be a lot more -golden-haired people than there are now. There’d be too many. You’d see -yourself coming and going just like the parade of golden-haired people -in my dream. Everybody whose hair wasn’t golden would be thinking, ‘Your -hair is dull. Your hair is drab!’—just the way I did.” - -“Why?” asked Dale, looking past Irene’s golden head to Judy’s mop of -curly red hair. “How anyone could say a thing like that about either of -you is more than I can understand.” - -“I can’t understand it either,” Judy admitted, “but it’s true. I kept -hearing _dull_, _drab_, until even the train wheels seemed to be -repeating it. If I didn’t have red hair and if I hadn’t been teased all -my life about how bright it is—” - -“Well, what would you do?” asked Irene when Judy hesitated. - -“I’d wash my hair with that golden hair wash. I did buy some for you,” -Judy confessed when Irene made no comment. Dale was busy with his -driving, and Judy sat between them in the front seat of the car. There -was hardly any traffic this early in the morning, but there was a heavy -fog that made it hard for Dale to see more than a few feet ahead. - -“For me?” Irene asked incredulously. “Why on earth would you buy that -stuff for me?” - -“I don’t know,” Judy confessed. “I don’t like the way I’ve been thinking -things without knowing why I thought them. Peter never lets anything -turn him from his convictions. I had a feeling, on the train, that -something was wrong, while I was dreaming. I couldn’t know about Peter. -But I did know something was wrong.” - -Judy had been trying to hide her worry, but it was no use. They talked -of many things as the car sped on toward the hospital. But their -thoughts were with Peter. New York’s skyline could be seen but faintly -as they crossed Manhattan Bridge. The fog had lifted a little, but it -was not yet daylight when Dale stopped before a large building. It -loomed, gray and forbidding, against the cold night sky. - -Inside, the scrubbed stone floors and bare walls gave Judy the -impression that they had entered a fortress instead of a hospital. A -uniformed guard at the door directed them to a desk where Judy learned -that Peter had been taken to a private room in the new wing. The -operation was over, but he was still under sedation, the nurse said. She -added brightly, “You can see him in about an hour.” - -It would have been a long hour if another nurse, on night duty, hadn’t -suddenly recognized Irene. Irene had come in with Judy, leaving Dale to -mind little Judy, who was asleep in the car. - -“You’re the Golden Girl, aren’t you?” the nurse asked, stopping Irene as -they entered the luxurious waiting room in the new wing. “One of our -patients has been asking for you—” - -“Clarissa!” Judy and Irene exclaimed in the same breath. - -The nurse looked a little puzzled. - -“We have to wait here anyway. Could we see her?” asked Irene. “We were -awfully worried. Was she badly hurt? We looked all over the theater. How -and where did it happen?” - -“It was a street accident,” replied the nurse in a brisk, professional -manner. “She was in a cab. Her doctor can give you the details. I’m -afraid you can’t visit her at this hour. It would disturb the other -patients. Except in extreme emergencies, visitors are never allowed -before daylight.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - Serious Trouble - - -Judy wanted to tell the nurse that this was an extreme emergency. But -was it? A girl had vanished. Still the fact remained that she might have -slipped out of the theater on purpose. - -“Peter will help us figure out what really happened,” declared Judy. -“Oh, I hope he’s well enough to be—interested. Right now I’m more -concerned with what happened to him.” - -“Will he be allowed to tell you?” Irene asked. - -“I don’t know. So much of his work is secret. That’s the hardest part,” -Judy continued, a little break in her voice. “I never know what dangers -he’s facing. Usually he tries to make a joke of it when I ask him. But -this time I can’t help thinking—” - -Irene’s hand closed gently over Judy’s. “Don’t think of what might have -been. Just be glad he’s here with good nurses to take care of him.” - -“I am glad. I’m glad Clarissa’s here, too—if that patient is Clarissa. -I’d like to think she didn’t trick us, but how could the accident have -happened?” Judy wondered. “And where was she going in a cab?” - -“It almost makes a person believe in phantoms, doesn’t it?” Irene asked. -“Clarissa was so—naïve is the word. And now if she’s hurt—Oh, Judy! Why -are we always getting mixed up in other people’s troubles? We have -enough of our own.” - -“The way I look at it, other people’s troubles are our troubles. Peter -feels that way, too,” Judy continued thoughtfully. “He says what hurts -one of us hurts all the rest. We can’t isolate ourselves and pretend -trouble doesn’t exist. We have to fight the good fight with fidelity, -bravery, and integrity. That’s the motto of the FBI, and if anybody has -those three qualities, it’s Peter. He’s faithful, brave, and I never -knew anybody as honest and sincere and—and—” - -Judy was in tears, suddenly. The strain of waiting had been too much. A -nurse, hurrying in, reassured her that Peter’s condition was not -serious. - -“He is asking for you,” she added in the usual composed manner of -hospital nurses. “Will you come?” - -Would she come? Judy wondered how she kept her feet from flying down the -corridor. At the door of Peter’s room she paused, a nameless fear coming -over her. - -“You go in first,” she begged of the nurse, who had preceded her. “I’m -not sure I look all right.” - -“You look fine,” the nurse interrupted with a smile. “He’s seen enough -of me. It’s you he wants. Go in to him just as you are, Mrs. Dobbs. I -think it would be better if you went in alone.” - -Irene was quick to understand. “I’ll go out and tell Dale—” - -“Tell him not to wait,” Judy said. “I’ll be here all day. I’ll come out -to Long Island this evening—by train.” - -The slight hesitation in Judy’s voice did not betray her. She dreaded -that train ride. But she felt she had to take herself in hand. Peter was -depending on her. - -A hospital attendant spoke to Judy as she entered the large, cheerful -room where Peter was lying flat in bed with a bottle of transparent -liquid suspended above his bed. “Watch the intravenous. He mustn’t move -his arm.” - -“I understand,” Judy replied. “My father is a doctor. I’ll see that -nothing goes wrong.” - -Her voice was determinedly cheerful. The young attendant left, closing -the door softly. Judy was alone with Peter. For a moment she was all -choked up with emotion and didn’t know what to say. He smiled a little, -wryly, and glanced toward the bottle that was feeding liquid nourishment -into his veins. - -“Careful there,” he warned as she bent over to kiss him. “That’s my -breakfast there in the bottle. A funny way to eat!” - -“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll sit on the other side of the bed. -Which shoulder was it?” - -“The left.” - -“Then I’ll sit on the right. You want me to stay here, don’t you?” - -“Yes, I want you.” Peter’s strong fingers closed over her outstretched -hand. “Judy, it was my big chance, and I muffed it. I let him get away.” - -“Don’t try to talk about it—unless you want to,” Judy told him gently. -“You’re still very weak. You must save your strength.” - -“You’re right.” He was quiet for a moment just looking at Judy as if he -could never see enough of her. - -“You’re always—so brave,” he said at last. - -Judy didn’t feel very brave. She felt like bursting into tears again. -Little by little she heard how Peter had been brought to the hospital -unconscious from loss of blood. They had given him a transfusion before -the operation. That was why it had taken so long. Removing the bullet, -he said, was a simple matter. It had been imbedded in the flesh close to -his shoulder blade. - -“I’ll be as good as new in a day or so,” he assured Judy, who sat beside -his bed, ready to listen whenever he felt like talking. “My partner -cornered most of the gang. They were better organized than we thought. -We trailed this man—” - -“What man?” Judy asked when Peter paused. - -“His name’s Clarence Lawson. I can tell you about it now. It’s public -knowledge. The public has to be warned against such characters,” he -continued. “It all started when a woman came into our New York office -and said her church had never received a donation she had given a man -who claimed to be on the Ways and Means Committee. He’d enlisted her -sympathy and talked her into donating quite a substantial sum to what -she thought was the building fund. Lawson had joined the church and -gained the confidence of a number of influential people.” - -“That’s what you call the confidence game, isn’t it?” asked Judy. “Did -you catch up with this—this Lawson?” - -“Well, almost. We trailed him and overheard some of his plans. Then we -made some quick plans of our own. Did you ever hear the story of the -three little pigs?” - -“Of course,” Judy replied, puzzled. “Are you joking? What do the three -little pigs have to do with it?” - -“The third pig, if you will remember, got to the orchard ahead of the -wolf. Well,” Peter continued, “that was what we planned to do. We were -there, but the wolf was early, too. So he huffed and he puffed and he -blew the house in, and he shot up the poor little pigs.” - -“Where was this house?” asked Judy. “Or aren’t you allowed to tell?” - -“I can tell you where it wasn’t—” Peter sighed tiredly. - -“No need,” Judy told him gently. “Stay quiet for a while, and I’ll tell -you a story. We met a girl, and Pauline thinks she was playing the -confidence game, too. Anyway, she made us sorry for her, and we each -gave her five dollars so she could take the train home to West -Virginia.” - -“Did she take it?” - -“The train? I don’t know. She took the money, if that’s what you mean. -She also accepted our invitation to Irene’s show. I wish you could have -seen it, Peter. Irene was marvelous as the good fairy, and her guest -star, Francine Dow, made a beautiful Sleeping Beauty. The witch was a -little frightening, though. She swooped in and seemed to cast an evil -spell over the audience. Then Clarissa—” - -“Clarissa?” - -“She’s the girl I was telling you about,” Judy said. “She’s here in the -hospital, I think. Peter, would you like to rest while I find out if the -patient they brought here really is Clarissa? If I speak to the nurse -who recognized Irene, I’m sure they’ll let me see her.” - -“Is Irene here?” Peter questioned, pain as well as puzzlement in his -blue eyes as they searched Judy’s face. - -“She was. Oh, Peter! I hope I’m not tiring you, talking so much!” Judy -exclaimed. “One of the nurses stopped Irene on the way in and said a -patient had been asking for her. We thought of Clarissa right away. You -see, if she met with an accident, it would explain her disappearance. I -did tell you she vanished, didn’t I? We never saw her leave the theater, -but I suppose she could have slipped out during the show and afterwards -changed her mind and tried to come back.” - -“She could have slipped out with no intention of coming back. I doubt if -you’ll find her here in the hospital,” Peter said, “but it will do no -harm to try. I can see you’re deep in another mystery. I wish I could -help you solve it.” - -“You can, Peter. You’ll be well soon,” Judy told him hopefully. “Then we -can help each other.” - -“I wish you wouldn’t try to help me this time, Angel.” Peter’s voice was -grave. “I’m in trouble—serious trouble, and I’d rather you kept out of -it.” - - - - - CHAPTER XV - The Wrong Girl - - -Just outside the door to Peter’s room, Judy paused, trying to think. -Serious trouble! What did Peter mean? Had the man, Lawson, the wolf in -sheep’s clothing, discovered his whereabouts? Would he be waiting for -him when he was released from the hospital? - -“Oh, please! Keep him safe,” Judy said to the walls which seemed, -suddenly, to move dizzily before her eyes. The activities of the -hospital day were beginning. Night nurses were going off duty. Day -nurses were busy with breakfast trays. Carts were being wheeled—up and -down. Up and down. In a moment Judy feared she would find they were -being wheeled by golden-haired nurses with identical faces. - -“Do you feel faint?” a voice asked quietly. - -Judy turned to see one of the nurses standing beside her. The dizzy -feeling had passed. - -“Thank you, nurse. I’m all right—now. I was looking for the night nurse, -but I guess I’m too late. Could you direct me to the patient who was -asking for the Golden Girl?” - -“The patient is awake,” was the quiet answer. “But you must have a -permission slip to see her. Tell the guard you think you can identify -the patient in Room 334, and you will be allowed to go up.” - -“Oh!” exclaimed Judy, catching her breath in an exclamation of surprise. -“Isn’t she identified?” - -“Not yet,” the nurse replied. “She’s in a semi-coma. Sometimes we can -make a little sense out of what she says, and sometimes we can’t.” - -“If she’s Clarissa, I don’t wonder. Didn’t she give her name?” - -“No, not her own name. All she would tell us was that she had to see -Irene Meredith. Mrs. Meredith didn’t leave, did she?” - -“I’m afraid she did. But I know her. I can identify her.” - -“Good!” exclaimed the nurse. “The guard will probably let you go right -up.” - -Five minutes later Judy was standing beside a bed with crib sides around -it. The next thing she saw was a white face—white and wholly unfamiliar. -Flaming red hair fanned out on the pillow. The woman looked at least -thirty. Judy gazed at her a moment. Then she turned to the nurse who had -escorted her to the room. - -“I’m sorry,” she said. “My friend, Clarissa Valentine, disappeared. I -thought this patient might be Clarissa, but she isn’t. I never saw her -before in my life.” - -“Can’t you tell me anything at all about her?” the nurse asked -anxiously. - -“Nothing except what you probably know already. We talked with the taxi -driver after the ambulance drove away from the scene of the accident. He -told us what little we know about it. Apparently this woman was on her -way to the theater to see Irene’s—I mean the Golden Girl show. I’m -sorry,” Judy finished. - -“Sorry,” mumbled the patient. “Everybody’s sorry.” Then, suddenly -grasping the crib sides, she cried, “I’ve got to get out of here. -Please, let me out.” - -“And then?” the nurse prompted Judy. - -“Well, then we heard the ambulance siren. The show was nearly over so we -waited until afterwards to find out what it was. That’s all I know. I’m -afraid it won’t be of much help.” - -“No, I’m afraid not,” the nurse replied sadly as Judy turned to go. - -Peter was sleeping when she returned to his room. He looked so peaceful -she decided not to awaken him. She’d help, though. Later on they’d talk -it all over. There was sure to be some way she could help. - -“I’ll go out and have breakfast,” Judy told the new nurse who had just -come on duty. The day nurse assured her that there was no need for her -to come back until visiting hours that afternoon. - -“You’ll notice a big change in your husband by then. He will probably -sleep most of the morning.” Judy tried to hide a yawn and the nurse -added, “You could use a little sleep yourself, Mrs. Dobbs. You must have -been awake most of the night.” - -Judy didn’t say so, but she had rested more when she was awake than when -she had been dreaming. What had caused those terrible nightmares? Judy -dreaded sleep because of them. She ordered two cups of coffee in a -nearby restaurant, hoping to keep herself awake. Then she telephoned -Pauline Faulkner and told her about Peter. - -“You poor girl! Why don’t you come up and rest at my house until -visiting hours?” Pauline suggested. “I expect Flo. It’s Sunday, or had -you forgotten?” - -“I do need some sleep,” Judy admitted. “But I keep dreaming the same -dream every time I close my eyes. I’d never dare—” - -“That’s funny,” Pauline interrupted. “So do I. And just now when I spoke -to Flo she said she’d had a rough night, too. She didn’t say why but, to -use an old expression of yours, I’d like to bet something precious that -it was because she had nightmares, too. Come up and we’ll compare notes. -I feel—” Pauline lowered her voice almost to a whisper. Judy could -hardly hear the word “bewitched,” but she knew the feeling. - -When Judy arrived at the tall stone house which was Dr. Faulkner’s -combined home and office, she said, “Pauline, as you said, it’s Sunday. -Let’s go to church.” - -“All right.” Pauline hesitated a moment. Then she said, “You may not -like my church, Judy. It isn’t at all like the one you attend.” - -“Which one?” asked Judy. “The little white church in Dry Brook Hollow -isn’t like the one I used to attend in Farringdon, but I like them both. -I think it does a person good to learn different ways of believing, -don’t you? How is your church different, Pauline?” - -Pauline shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a little more formal. But if -you watch other people and do what they do you’ll get along all right. -The order of service is printed on the church calendar. They’ll give you -one as you come in. It’s a little church crowded in between two tall -buildings. They’re going to tear it down and build a new one farther -uptown. I’m rather sorry. But I guess it’s best.” - -“In other words, you bow to the inevitable.” - -Pauline laughed. “You sound like your brother Horace. Does he know about -Peter, Judy? It isn’t going to be in the newspapers, is it?” - -“I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway. I telephoned home right after -breakfast. Horace will put something in after he checks with the -authorities. Publicity could be dangerous. That’s what I told him. -There’s nothing about Peter in the New York papers. I did find this, -though.” - -Judy pointed to a review of _Sleeping Beauty_. A columnist, known for -his sarcasm, had called the play a triumph of youth over experience. - -“As for the star, if that was Francine Dow, she has certainly discovered -the fountain of youth. She has lost her voice and gained the fragile -beauty of a china doll. This reviewer couldn’t believe his eyes.” - -“There are others like it,” Pauline spoke up as Judy paused in her -reading. “Here, I’ll show you. This paper calls her a changeling.” - -“No?” Judy stared at the paper. “That’s what Clarissa called herself. I -don’t get it at all. She was right beside us—” - -“Was she?” - -“I don’t _know_. I certainly thought she was. Here’s Flo. Maybe she can -explain it,” Judy finished as the doorbell rang. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - The Name on the Calendar - - -Flo was flushed and excited. - -“Have you seen the papers?” was her first question. “The reviewers don’t -think that was Francine Dow on Irene’s show. They say—” - -“We saw it,” Pauline interrupted. - -“But those were the very words Clarissa used. Is there any word from -her?” - -“Not yet. Perhaps there never will be. Peter says she could have slipped -out of the theater with no intention of coming back. He’s in the -hospital, Flo. I’m so upset!” - -“What happened to him?” Flo was immediately all sympathetic concern. - -Judy started to tell her and then thought better of it. Florence Garner -was a stranger, too. Judy had met her only a few hours before she met -Clarissa. “I shouldn’t trust strangers,” she told herself grimly. Aloud -she said briefly, “He was hurt. He’s in the same hospital where they -took that redheaded woman. She was asking for Irene. I don’t know why. -We both thought she might be Clarissa—” - -“But she wasn’t? Then who is she?” - -“She doesn’t know,” replied Judy. “It’s all so confusing, I need a -little peace and quiet to make any sense to what’s happening. We thought -we’d go to church.” - -Flo looked from one of them to the other. - -“You’re not telling me everything,” she charged. “Something’s happened. -Something terrible has happened, and you’re keeping it from me. Do you -think dreams warn people of tragedy? I dreamed—It’s still so real I can -hardly tell you about it. But I dreamed that my hair—” She touched her -head and seemed relieved upon discovering she was wearing her hat. -“Well, never mind about that now.” - -“Clarissa hypnotized us. We’re all under her spell. Maybe church—” - -Judy stopped Pauline before she could finish. - -“Religion isn’t magic,” she said quietly. “It’s—something inside.” - -Judy’s sudden sincerity seemed to confuse Flo. - -“Well, I—I thought you were keeping something from me, but if you want -me to go—” - -“Of course we want you.” Pauline decided the question for her. “Shall we -go?” - -Judy found Pauline’s church even more formal than she had described it. -The minister and the people in the choir wore black robes. Judy’s -prayers were all for Peter and his work that had been so cruelly -interrupted. Thoughts of what he must have suffered took possession of -her mind and would not leave her. - -“And so it is, my friends,” the minister was saying, “we love each other -and think that is enough. But were we not commanded in the fifth book of -Moses, ‘Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the -land of Egypt.’” - -Now Judy was more confused than ever. Clarissa was a stranger. Judy had -followed her heart and loved her as a friend. But had she done the right -thing? Was she a friend or a phantom? Should she have trusted her? What -of the confidence game? - -The words of the church service were printed on the calendar Judy had -received at the door when the usher had handed her the hymnal. On the -back, as she turned the calendar over in her hand during the long -sermon, she noticed a list of names. Trustees of the church and the -chairmen of various committees were listed. The names meant nothing to -her until, all at once, she saw the name, _Clarence Lawson_! He was -listed as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. It seemed -impossible. Could he, a man wanted by the FBI, be sitting quietly in the -congregation? Peter had trailed him and lost him. - -“Peter said it was public knowledge,” Judy thought. “But surely these -people don’t know the name of a confidence man is printed on their -church calendar!” - -Pauline, sitting on her right, touched Judy’s elbow. She was the last -one to stand up when the congregation rose to sing the closing hymn. Flo -gave her a look that asked, wordlessly, “What’s the matter?” Pauline -whispered something to Flo as they filed out of church, and Judy knew -Pauline had told Flo that Peter had been shot. - -“That’s the name of the man he was trailing.” Judy pointed to the name -on the back of the calendar. “Do you know him?” - -“Of course,” Pauline replied, puzzled. “Everybody in the church knows -him. He’s conducting our building fund drive.” - -“Is he here?” asked Judy. - -Pauline looked around. “I don’t see him. That’s funny. He never misses a -Sunday. His wife isn’t here either.” - -“Is she an actress?” - -“Heavens, no! She’s a typical clubwoman, if you know what I mean. They -haven’t been here long, but already she’s at the head of everything. I -don’t know where she is this morning.” - -“She doesn’t—have red hair, does she?” - -“What are you thinking, Judy? Her hair is gray. If you’re trying to -identify that patient in the hospital you ought to ask Irene about her. -They must know each other if she was asking for her. Maybe she’s an -actress. Irene knows a lot of theatrical people. Authors are my -specialty,” Pauline finished with a laugh. - -“Ad men are mine. They would change the minister’s text around to make -it read, ‘_Sell_ ye therefore the stranger,’ but that’s today’s world,” -Flo said with a sigh. “Nobody cares much about the kind of love they -tell you about in church.” - -“I care about it,” Judy said. - -Flo gave her an odd look. “You sound like Clarissa. She said she cared -about the truth, but what happens? She disappears—with our money. I -guess you just don’t know what anybody is these days.” - -Pauline agreed. “The people in our church certainly don’t know who -Clarence Lawson is. Why was Peter trailing him, Judy? Is he wanted by -the FBI?” - -“Yes, he is. It’s about some money for a church building fund. He was -supposed to turn it over to the treasurer of the church, but he didn’t.” - -“Didn’t he? Oh dear!” Pauline exclaimed. “We didn’t give much, because -we weren’t very enthusiastic about the new building, but a lot of people -did. It’s supposed to be a real community center when it’s finished. Mr. -Lawson knew an architect who drew up the plans and made an estimate. -There was talk of bringing in professional fund raisers before Mr. -Lawson took over. He said there was no need to pay people to raise money -among us if we’d give it freely without pledges. Then he passed a plate -around, and people threw in big bills and checks made out to him as -chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He talked people into giving -just the way Clarissa did. He was like her in a way. Even his name is a -little like hers—Clarence, Clarissa—” - -“That’s probably just a coincidence.” In spite of the evidence against -her, Judy found herself defending Clarissa. “It’s the way I feel about -her. I have no other reason,” she admitted. “You girls are probably -right.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A Wanted Thief - - -“Judy!” The exclamation came from Pauline, very suddenly as if she had -just thought of something. “I know what we ought to do. We ought to -visit Mr. Lawson. If he really is the thief I’d like to know about it. I -could pretend I wanted to make a donation or something. Shall we try -it?” - -Judy hesitated. She didn’t like that sort of pretending, though -sometimes it was the best strategy. Also, Peter had asked her to stay -out of trouble, and this would be walking right into it. But it could -very easily be her chance to help him. - -“How do we get there?” she asked. “Is it very far?” - -“I’m hungry. Let’s eat something first,” Flo suggested. - -The three girls had lunch in the same restaurant where they first met -Clarissa. They asked the cashier about her, but he claimed he remembered -no such scene as they described. - -“No one goes away from this restaurant angry,” he told them. “Do you see -that?” He pointed to a decorated sign bearing the words: Our Aim is to -Please the Best People in the World, Our Customers. - -“But this girl tried to cheat you,” Pauline protested. - -“She was a customer. She was still one of the best people,” he replied -without a change of expression. - -“You might as well talk to a statue,” Flo whispered. “Come on.” - -“It’s only a few blocks to the house where Mr. Lawson lives,” Pauline -told them. “It isn’t as cold and blustery today as it was yesterday. We -can walk.” - -On the way, Judy and Flo began comparing their dreams of the night -before. - -“I know it sounds ridiculous,” Judy said, “but I can’t help feeling that -my dream was a warning of some kind and that we ought to heed it. I’m -not just sure how.” - -“What about you, Pauline? Did you dream about hair, too? That may be a -clue to what’s happening to us, if you did,” Flo said eagerly. - -The dark-haired girl shook her head. “My dreams are never very clear. I -can’t remember them well enough to tell them afterwards. I only know I -cried out in my sleep, and Mary came up to see what was the matter. She -said I was calling for my mother. I never do that. I hardly remember -her. Mary’s kept house for us ever since I was about little Judy’s age. -But Mother did have golden hair. I take after Father. I wish—” - -“Don’t say it,” Judy stopped her. “You’re going to wish you had golden -hair.” - -“Could we have been hypnotized?” Flo began. - -“I don’t know. Ask your father about hypnotism, Pauline,” Judy urged. -“He’ll know. He may use it on his patients. Dr. Zoller, a sort of uncle -of mine, is a hypnotist, and Dad approves of it when it’s not misused. -Of course, if hypnotism was part of a confidence game Clarissa was -playing—” - -“It was! I’m sure of it,” Flo interrupted. “She said we read her mind, -and she talked us into buying that shampoo, didn’t she?” - -“I’m not sure. I thought it was your idea,” Judy began. - -“Well, I’m sure. She talked us into lending her the money, too. Then she -left the theater when we were all so interested in the play we didn’t -notice. It was all a trick,” declared Flo. “Can’t you see it? Clarissa -did it all.” - -“She even vanished on purpose,” Pauline agreed. “It’s clear to me—” - -“It’s clear to me, too,” Judy interrupted. “It’s perfectly clear that we -haven’t found out a single thing. Isn’t it about time we started using -our heads? Peter doesn’t jump to conclusions without examining the -evidence. If he’s willing to risk his life to turn up a few facts to -present at preliminary hearings, the least we can do is discuss this -with him before we decide who’s guilty.” - -“Guilty of what?” asked Flo. “Making us dream?” - -Suddenly all three girls began to laugh. It seemed ridiculous for them -to be taking their dreams so seriously. But their laughter died in their -throats when they reached Mr. Lawson’s house. Judy was the first to -notice the shattered glass in the door. It was broken in a peculiar way. -Several round holes with cracks radiating from them told the story. - -“Bullet holes!” she exclaimed. “This was the place where it happened. -You’re too late, Pauline. You won’t find Mr. Lawson—” - -Meantime Flo had rung the bell. A heavy-set woman came in answer to it -just in time to hear the name. She peered at the girls through the -shattered glass before she opened the door. - -“So it’s Mr. Lawson you want, is it?” she inquired. “And what would you -be wanting with the good man?” - -Good man! Judy could hardly contain herself. Did the woman know what -sort of man he really was? Or had he fooled her just as he had fooled -the people in Pauline’s church? He had even outwitted Peter. - -“We did want to see him,” Pauline began, affecting a timid voice. “We -came to make a donation—” - -“Indeed!” the woman interrupted. “I’ll take it, if you please, and -forward it to him. He’s away for a couple of weeks.” - -“Far away,” thought Judy, “and not likely to come back.” Aloud she said, -with perfect control, “We prefer to send the money ourselves. Could you -give us his address?” - -“Well, now, I could.” She hesitated a moment and then went inside, -returning with a piece of paper on which a post office box number was -written. “You can reach him there,” she said briefly and closed the -door. - -“Now what do we do?” asked Flo. “Shall we write him a letter and invite -him to come back home and be arrested? We aren’t really going to send -him any money, are we?” - -“He doesn’t need our money. He has plenty,” Judy began when Pauline -interrupted heatedly. - -“He certainly has. People were generous. There was all of fifty thousand -dollars in the building fund. With that much on hand he can stay in -hiding for a long, long time. Are you going to tell Peter where we -were?” Pauline asked suddenly. - -“Eventually,” Judy said. “It bothers me when I have to keep things from -him. He won’t like it, of course. Maybe I ought to wait until he’s -feeling a little better before I say anything.” - -“I think you’re right,” Pauline agreed. “Just stay cheerful for Peter, -and don’t worry about a thing.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - Thieves of the Mind - - -Judy found Pauline’s advice hard to follow. - -“Don’t worry about a thing,” she had said when they parted on Sunday. -But the words had meant very little. In church, in the restaurant, in -front of the bullet-riddled door, on the subway returning to the -hospital, and especially on the train going back to Long Island—wherever -Judy went a vague worry went with her. - -“What’s the matter with me?” she wondered. “Why can’t I clear my head -and think straight the way I used to?” - -Judy spent a restless night, haunted by the faceless golden-haired -people of her dream. Again she was looking for Clarissa. But now she had -a clue. They had all dreamed about hair—Pauline, Flo, and herself. But -why? If they had been hypnotized as part of a confidence game, Peter -ought to know about it. The next day Judy told him. - -“You’d almost think someone had taken possession of our minds. All three -of us had nightmares. What do you suppose caused them?” she asked when -she was visiting him in the afternoon. - -Peter shook his head. He was sitting up with his shoulder in a cast and -feeling very much better. She hadn’t wanted to tire him the day before. -But now it was different. There were a number of things she knew she -mustn’t keep from him any longer. - -“Nightmares are sometimes caused by something hidden in the subconscious -mind,” he replied. “I’m sure I don’t know what you have hidden there.” - -“Oh, Peter! I’m not hiding it on purpose. I feel silly telling you about -it after all you’ve been through,” Judy burst out impulsively. “Will you -forgive me?” - -“On one condition,” he told her. - -Judy thought he was serious until she saw the twinkle in his eyes. - -“And what is that condition?” - -“That you tell me more. You told me yesterday that the patient you -visited wasn’t Clarissa, but you didn’t tell me much of anything else. -What happened to this phantom friend, as you call her?” Peter asked -curiously. “Begin at the beginning and tell me exactly how you met her.” - -“We met her—in a restaurant. We went back there yesterday but didn’t -find out anything.” Judy sighed. It was good to be telling Peter about -it. She had so much to tell him that she thought she might as well dish -it out in small doses. The big surprise would come when she handed him -the post office box number of the thief he had been trailing. But that -could wait. She told him about church first, and how the minister had -said, “Love ye therefore the stranger.” - -“It was easy to like Clarissa,” she continued in answer to his first -request. “You asked how we met her. Well, the four of us were having -lunch when there was a commotion at the cashier’s desk, and this -stranger—we found out later that her name was Clarissa Valentine. Well, -anyway, she claimed that she had given the cashier a twenty-dollar bill. -He opened the cash drawer to prove that her bill wasn’t in it, but she -insisted and we believed her. Was that wrong, Peter?” - -“Not at all,” he replied. “I might have believed the girl myself and -suspected the cashier of palming the bill.” - -“Then I’m glad we believed her. Not that it makes what happened -afterwards any easier to explain,” Judy added. “Pauline thought she had -tricked us, but that was after she disappeared with the money we lent -her. I don’t know how she could have vanished the way she did if it -wasn’t a trick. Besides, the things she said—” - -“What things?” asked Peter, more interested in the story than Judy had -expected him to be. “If you can remember exactly what she said it may -help us find out what happened to her.” - -“Oh dear, no! I’m afraid not. So much happened! This is going to sound -unbelievable to you,” cried Judy, “but she said things that made it seem -almost as if she—she didn’t exist. Things like telling us she looked in -a mirror once and saw no reflection. And then—you won’t believe this at -all, but when we toured Radio City and looked at ourselves on -television, all the rest of us showed, but Clarissa was nothing but a -big white light closing in until it disappeared just the way she -did—without a trace. We called her a phantom friend for a joke at first, -but after that it seemed so real it wasn’t funny any more. Peter, what -do you think happened?” - -“Well, for one thing, a tube probably blew out on the TV set. That would -cause the picture to close in and disappear. I’ve seen it happen myself, -and it is weird—” - -“It certainly was that,” Judy agreed. “I suppose a tube could have blown -out. We didn’t wait to see what was wrong with the set, because Clarissa -fainted. She wasn’t faking, either. She was really frightened. We went -back and saw ourselves after the set was fixed, but she wouldn’t go near -it. She said her hair was dull and drab and then we all started saying -it—as if we were hypnotized or something. Was that a trick? Was Clarissa -playing some sort of confidence game?” - -“Someone was. I’ll have to look into this myself,” declared Peter. “It -may tie in with what we found out. There are all kinds of thieves, you -know. That cashier is probably a petty thief and should be reported. A -thief like Clarence Lawson plays his confidence game for bigger -winnings. But the most insidious kind, I think, are thieves of the mind. -Do you follow me, Angel?” - -“No, I’m afraid I don’t,” Judy admitted. “I’ve heard of brain washing, -of course. I wish someone would wash those golden-haired people out of -my brain, so I could stop dreaming about them and think straight. Is -that what you mean?” - -“I mean they may have been deliberately put there by the enemies of our -most precious possession. You know what it is, don’t you? It’s our -freedom to think our own thoughts.” - -“You mean—oh, Peter! I do see what you mean!” cried Judy. “I don’t know -how it was done, but someone has been doing things to our subconscious -minds—to frighten us—and make us dream. Clarissa was frightened, too. -She couldn’t have done it. But who was it, Peter? How do we find out who -did this horrible thing to us?” - -“One way,” said Peter, “is to review the facts. Judy, I’m serious. I -want you to go back over everything that happened Saturday.” - -“But we’ve been doing that. We haven’t come up with very many answers, -only more questions. You said what happened to Clarissa might tie in -with what you found out. What did you mean?” asked Judy. - -“I told you we overheard some plans,” Peter began. “Mind manipulation -could have been part of them. If only we knew the name of the missing -actress—” - -“Is some actress missing? Maybe Irene knows her,” Judy suggested. “She -could give you the names of all the people who appeared on her show. -There was the witch. She could have cast some sort of hypnotic spell -over us, I suppose. Hypnotism is one sort of mind manipulation, isn’t -it?” - -“Yes, but there are other sorts. There’s a machine, for instance, called -the tachistoscope. It’s sort of a magic lantern with a high-speed -shutter—” - -“There were a lot of machines,” Judy interrupted. “The studio floor was -filled up with them. I tried to remember their names when we were on the -tour, but I couldn’t possibly remember them all.” - -“What else happened on that tour?” asked Peter. “You haven’t told me -everything.” - -“There’s so much to tell. I can’t think of it all at once. Irene invited -Francine Dow to be her guest star. Did I tell you she didn’t arrive -until the last minute?” asked Judy. “Then she left hurriedly with her -aunt before we had a chance to meet her.” - -“Did you meet the aunt?” Peter questioned. “A phony aunt would fit in -very nicely with what we already know.” - -“What do you know? I can see you’re not free to tell me,” Judy added -when Peter was silent. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not free to think -about it. These thieves of the mind may invent machines to make me -dream, but when I’m awake I intend to do my own thinking, and right now -I think Francine Dow may be in danger. She didn’t sing. Irene thought -she had a cold. But maybe something else was wrong. I didn’t tell you, -but there was an argument in the film storage room. The projectionist -was very angry. I heard him say something might be as dangerous as an -atom bomb. I had no idea what the danger was, but if Francine Dow is -missing—” - -Judy stopped. It wasn’t Francine Dow, it was Clarissa Valentine who was -missing. The two girls, as she remembered them, were somewhat alike. The -absurd idea came to her that one of them could have been real and the -other a changeling. But Peter didn’t want fairy tales. He wanted facts. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - Uncovering the Facts - - -“Peter,” Judy said after a little silence, “you’re looking for facts, -and I do have something that may help you uncover them. It’s—right -here.” - -She handed him the slip of paper she had been saving and told him what -it was. - -“Lawson’s post office box number!” exclaimed Peter. “I can’t believe it. -You should be working for us—” - -“For you, Peter,” she interrupted quietly. - -“Where did you get this little piece of paper?” - -“It was handed to me by a fat woman who peered at me from behind a -shattered glass door—” - -“Judy, you didn’t—” - -“I did,” she confessed. “I found his name on the back of the church -calendar, and Pauline told me where he lived. He was gone, of course. -The people in the church don’t know their building fund money went with -him, do they?” - -“They do now,” Peter said, handing her the paper he had been reading -when she came in. An item on the second page told only part of the -story. - -Boy Held in Shooting of FBI Agent Pleads Guilty in Kidnap Plot, the -headlines ran. Underneath it told how Frederick H. Christie, sixteen, of -New York, arrested for the shooting of an FBI agent, pleaded guilty but -refused to give any information that would lead to the apprehension of -Clarence Lawson, who was wanted in a dozen states for extortion and -robbery. - -“Won’t the box number I gave you lead to his apprehension?” asked Judy -when she had finished reading the newspaper account. - -“We can have the box watched. Maybe we can nab him when he comes for his -mail. I’ll be out of here in a day or two. Then we can really go to work -on it. In the meantime perhaps we can uncover a few more facts. The -so-called plot never got beyond the talking stage, the boy said. We may -have scared them off. Since it didn’t happen I guess I’m at liberty to -tell you about it,” Peter continued. “I think Lawson planned to bring -the victim to his home and then changed his mind. We heard him say, -‘We’ll hold the actress until her husband comes across with a donation.’ -That’s the way Lawson operates. His charities are all legitimate. People -are asked to make donations on the theory that they may be helped -because they have been helpers. Someone is missing. A donation is made, -and the missing person promptly returns. It’s one of the slickest ransom -schemes anybody has yet devised. Somehow they work it so that the victim -is never held against his will. Some worried relative donates money to a -worthy cause. No law is broken until the money disappears. By then -Lawson or one of his business partners is off for parts unknown. We -would have nabbed him this time if bedlam hadn’t broken loose in the -street outside his house. It was staged to look like a rumble between -two rival street gangs in which we were just accidentally involved.” - -“Oh, Peter!” exclaimed Judy. “Nobody will believe that.” - -“People do believe some surprising things. I’m no prophet,” he said -grimly, “but I predict the boys will get long sentences and Lawson will -go scot free. It’s happened that way before. He’s one of the slickest -criminals in the United States. I don’t know who this actress was or how -they planned to make her disappear, but they were counting on the fact -that her husband would be worried.” - -“Her husband? Oh dear!” Judy exclaimed. “Irene is married. I ought to -warn her—” - -“No, please, don’t alarm her,” Peter interrupted. “It didn’t happen the -way they planned. I’m sure of that. It was supposed to take place -Saturday night—” - -“It was Saturday night that Clarissa disappeared. But she isn’t an -actress, and she isn’t married.” - -“And she isn’t a phantom,” Peter added. “Whatever else we know about -her, we can be perfectly sure she’s real. She may be in real danger, -too. If I can’t find Lawson I want the confidence men who are working -with him. This is no small outfit. It appears to be a nationwide -organization. We want the top men, not just the tough kids they hire to -do the shooting for them.” - -“Do you really think they were hired?” Judy asked. - -“We know they were following orders. Their minds, in some way, had been -taken over by the minds of the criminals who gave those orders.” - -“I see.” Judy was quiet a moment. Did these mind manipulators have, in -their possession, some fiendish machine more dangerous than an atom -bomb? It was a terrifying thought. - -“Peter,” she asked, “what about Irene? Why didn’t she have a nightmare -like Pauline and Flo and me? Irene told me this morning that she hadn’t -dreamed an unpleasant thing.” - -“Was she on the tour with you?” - -“No, she’d gone to her rehearsal. We didn’t see her again until it was -time for the show. There were a lot of people we didn’t know on the tour -with us,” Judy remembered. “There was an ad man from Flo’s office, too. -He was the one who quarreled with Mr. Lenz.” - -“Mr. Lenz?” - -“The projectionist. Irene’s show isn’t all live, you know. Sometimes -they run film strips. Nearly all the commercials are on film. The show -is sponsored by a tooth paste company now, but she’s thinking of getting -a new sponsor so she can be on one of the big networks. It would be -almost like having her visit us every Saturday evening in our home. She -was against it at first,” Judy went on. “Flo asked me to talk her into -it.” - -“Did you?” - -“No. Irene knows what’s right,” declared Judy. “I still can’t imagine -her saying she uses a product when she doesn’t. And she’d never use -golden hair wash. She hates the idea of everybody being blond as much as -I do. Imagine it, Peter! No more black or brown hair. No more dark -blondes like Clarissa and Honey—” - -“And no more redheads. We couldn’t let _that_ happen!” Peter exclaimed. - -Judy gave him one of her special smiles. Gray eyes met blue ones in a -moment of understanding. Then she said, “I want to help. I’ll begin by -making a list of the things we did Saturday.” - -“Ask Pauline and Flo to go over it with you,” Peter suggested. “Then -call up Irene. I would call her myself. They’ve given me a telephone -right here at my bedside. But it would be better if you made the call -from the booth outside.” - -“What’ll I say? I’m so mixed up at this point I’m not sure what I’m -trying to find out. Am I supposed to ask her about Clarissa or this -unknown actress?” - -“You’re trying to find out about that redheaded patient upstairs, for -one thing,” Peter told her. “Ask Irene to come in and pay her a visit. -She may know who she is.” - - - - - CHAPTER XX - Identified - - -Judy’s list, when she finally had it completed, was as long as Santa’s -list of good boys and girls. That was what she told Peter when she -presented it to him. - -“Pauline and Flo helped me. We put in everything we could think of in -the order it all happened. But still I have a feeling there’s something -important that we left out. Irene’s coming this evening,” Judy added -hopefully. “Maybe she has something to add to the list.” - -Much later, when Peter was being interviewed by one of the agents from -the New York office and Judy had stepped outside his room for a moment, -she almost bumped into Irene. For a moment they stared at each other. -Then both of them said, in the same breath, “You’re here!” - -“Dale’s here, too,” Irene told her. “He’s outside in the waiting room -with little Judy. We’ll take turns minding her so both of us can visit -Peter.” - -“You’ll have to wait. He has a visitor. Very confidential,” Judy said, -lowering her voice. “They’re looking over a list that I gave them. -Nobody is allowed in there until they’ve finished exchanging top -secrets.” - -“Then I’ll go up and visit Clarissa and find out what happened—” - -“Wait, Irene!” Judy stopped her. “I should have told you. That patient -isn’t Clarissa. I don’t know who she is, but you may be able to identify -her. She keeps calling for you.” - -Irene looked her disappointment. - -“She could be someone who’s seen me on television—someone I don’t know -at all. Doesn’t she know who she is?” - -“I’m afraid not.” - -“Is she out of her head? I’ve never been able to overcome my fear of -people who weren’t—rational,” Irene confessed. “Couldn’t someone else -identify her?” - -“She wants you, Irene. She keeps asking for the Golden Girl. She was -hurt on the way to see your show, and the idea seems fixed in her mind. -She may calm down the minute she sees you,” Judy said. - -“I hope so.” Irene paused, glancing back toward Peter’s room. His -visitor, portfolio in hand, had just come out. “We can go in now,” she -told Judy. “I’d rather not visit that woman upstairs until I’ve seen -Peter.” - -“Wait a moment, Mr. Blake!” Peter called from his room. “Here are a -couple of young ladies I want you to meet. They may have something to -add to that list I just gave you.” - -He introduced the man to Judy and Irene. They greeted him cordially, and -then Judy said, “I have nothing to add, Mr. Blake. If anything else -happened I can’t think of it, but Mrs. Meredith may have something for -you. She’s on her way to identify that red-haired woman who was hurt in -the taxicab.” - -“I am going up, but I probably won’t know her from Adam,” Irene said. - -“From Eve,” Peter corrected her with a boyish grin. “Is Dale here? Maybe -he might have a clue to her identity.” - -“If I had somebody to mind the baby in the waiting room, we could both -go up,” Irene began. - -“I’ll mind her,” Judy said. “Is it all right, Peter? I won’t be long.” - -“Of course it’s all right. I’ll go with you,” Peter surprised Judy by -saying. “I’m supposed to walk around and get used to this cast. It makes -me feel a little top-heavy right now. You’ll have to help me on with my -robe.” - -Judy smiled. It was so good to see Peter up and walking. She escorted -him to the waiting room where little Judy had to be stopped from -pouncing on him. The baby stared at the cast and then said sorrowfully, -“Peter all broke.” - -“How does she mean that?” asked Dale. “Good to see you so chipper,” he -added, shaking the hand that Peter extended. “I’ve always heard that you -can’t keep a good man down.” - -Mr. Blake was introduced and invited to accompany Dale and Irene to the -room in the old building where the red-haired woman was. They left -quietly just as Peter was saying to little Judy, “I guess I must look -something like a broken dolly to you.” - -“Baby,” little Judy corrected him. Irene had brought along one of little -Judy’s “babies” to keep her amused. - -“A dolly can also be a truck used for television cameras,” Judy -remarked. “You learn a whole new language. A chair becomes a prop, and a -log is no longer something to throw in the fireplace. It’s a complete -record of everything that happens on a station from sign-on in the -morning to sign-off at midnight. I might remember what I forgot to put -on that list if I looked at the station log.” - -“Do that,” advised Peter. “There may have been something to make you -dream—” - -“On television?” Judy laughed. “I don’t know what it was unless that -witch gave me nightmares.” - -“Funny witch!” spoke up little Judy. - -“You see,” Judy pointed out, “she was a funny witch. She wasn’t -frightening even to a baby. The whole play was delightful. Did you see -the reviews of it? Nobody seemed to recognize Francine Dow. Little Judy -is holding the doll—excuse me, I mean the baby, that played the part of -Sleeping Beauty during the first part of the show. They also used a film -strip of a real baby.” - -“The advertising was on film, too, wasn’t it? That’s one thing you did -omit from your list,” Peter pointed out. “You forgot to list the -commercials you watched.” - -“The commercials! Who could list them? There are so many of them. -Anyway, they aren’t important. But maybe they are,” Judy quickly amended -her first statement. “That golden hair wash commercial started us -worrying about our hair. We watched it when we were waiting for the tour -to begin.” - -“At Radio City?” - -“Yes, but it didn’t originate from there. It was on a local channel. You -know, the same one that features the Golden Girl show. I wish you could -have been there, Peter.” - -“Perhaps that’s where I should have been. There are federal controls to -keep advertisers in line. If I had known—” - -“Where Mommy Daddy gone?” little Judy interrupted, suddenly realizing -that Dale and Irene were no longer in the room. - -“They went to call on a patient,” Judy explained hurriedly. She was -eager to hear the rest of what Peter had started to say, but again the -baby interrupted. - -“Wanna see patient!” - -“I’m a patient. You’re visiting me,” Peter told her. - -“You’re not sick,” she replied. “You’re mended.” - -“Beautifully mended,” Peter agreed, kissing the top of her curly head. -“It’s no use, Judy. We’ll have to explore the possibilities another -time.” - -Little Judy chattered on. Peter let her examine his cast. “It’s _hard_. -Who did ’at? Scribbles on it,” she observed. - -“Autographs,” Peter corrected her. - -She tried to say the word and made such a funny _o_ with her mouth that -both Judy and Peter had to laugh. It wasn’t easy for a two-year-old to -say a big word like _autograph_. Any attempt at serious conversation was -abandoned. All three of them were laughing and saying funny words when -Dale and Irene returned. Mr. Blake was with them. They looked so serious -that even little Judy stopped laughing. - -“What’s wrong?” Judy asked at once. “Did you know the patient? Is she -all right?” - -“She’s—she’s—Oh, Judy! I can’t believe it,” Irene burst out. “She must -have been hurt right after the show.” - -“No, Irene. It was during the show.” Judy remembered it distinctly. “We -heard the ambulance siren right after Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger -on the spindle and the witch pronounced the curse.” - -“Francine Dow played the part of Sleeping Beauty, didn’t she?” Peter -inquired. - -“I certainly thought she did,” Judy began. - -“But that’s impossible,” Dale blurted out when Irene could only gasp in -disbelief. - -“You see,” Mr. Blake pointed out, “we identified the patient. She’s -better. She knows her own name, and Mrs. Meredith is sure of it. _She is -Francine Dow!_” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - Explained - - -The silence that followed Mr. Blake’s announcement was like the moment -after lightning strikes, when a clap of thunder is expected. It would -come with the whole explanation. But at first Judy couldn’t believe it. - -“I don’t understand this at all,” she heard herself saying. “You -couldn’t have made a mistake, Irene?” - -“No, Judy. Irene identified her. There’s no mistake unless Clarence -Lawson made it when he snatched the wrong girl. Do you think that could -be what happened?” Peter asked the other FBI agent. - -“It’s worth an investigation,” Mr. Blake replied. “This woman is -Francine Dow all right. She was on her way to the theater when she was -hurt.” - -“Do you mean—you can’t mean that she never arrived! Then who was that up -there on the stage? Someone played the part of Sleeping Beauty. Did you -know it wasn’t the guest star you invited?” Judy asked, turning to Irene -in bewilderment. - -“No, I didn’t,” she admitted. “I did think she’d kept her youth and -beauty amazingly. But the right make-up can make a person look very -young. I couldn’t see what was going on backstage from where I was -standing. Afterwards, when I saw the reviews, I suspected there had been -a last-minute substitute. But I still don’t know who she was.” - -“Doesn’t anybody know?” - -“The substitute does. Whoever she was, she played the part beautifully -except for the last song. I did wonder why she didn’t sing. There was an -unscheduled wait when the witch was spinning,” Irene said, “but I never -guessed Francine Dow wasn’t there. The show would have been ruined if -someone hadn’t stepped in to play the part.” - -“But who was that someone?” Judy wanted to know. “And how did she know -the lines?” - -“There were cards,” Irene explained. “Cards are often used to prompt -busy stars. Francine missed the rehearsals so we had the cards ready for -her. The man on the dolly held them up.” - -“Baby,” little Judy corrected Irene drowsily from Dale’s arms, and -promptly fell asleep. - -“I wish I could sleep like that without dreaming,” Judy said with a -sigh. “My dreams are so real I keep thinking things that are actually -happening are part of them. If I could only think—” - -“You did all right when you compiled that list your husband showed me. -That shows some pretty clear thinking,” Mr. Blake complimented her. - -“But this! If I could think back to the exact time—” - -“That’s it!” exclaimed Peter. “Now you’re on the right track.” - -“Am I? It doesn’t seem possible. But if the lines Francine had to say -were on the cards, and the wig and costume were ready, it _could_ have -been played by some other actress. But who was she? Who took the part of -Sleeping Beauty?” - -“We know it wasn’t Francine Dow,” Irene said thoughtfully. “It wasn’t -one of the fairies. They were still in costume. I don’t see who it could -have been unless—” - -She paused, and Peter said one word: - -“_Clarissa!_” - -“You’re right, Peter!” - -This was the clap of thunder Judy had been expecting. Somewhere in the -back of her mind she had known it all along. Clarissa, in the golden wig -and the princess costume, had shown her real beauty for everyone to see. -There could have been no doubt, even in her own mind, that she was a -vision of loveliness on TV. - -“She said she’d do anything to get on television,” Judy remembered. -“Could she have planned all this?” - -“I don’t see how she could,” Irene replied. “Nobody possibly could have -known Francine Dow would have an accident. The whole show could have -been spoiled!” - -“But it wasn’t. Clarissa played the part so well that everybody thought -she was Francine Dow. But what happened afterwards?” asked Judy. -“Francine’s aunt must have known she wasn’t the real Francine—” - -“_If_ that woman was her aunt,” Peter put in, and suddenly, just as the -realization had come that Clarissa had played the part of Sleeping -Beauty, a new and more terrifying fact became apparent. - -“Peter!” cried Judy. “Those plans to hold an actress until her husband -gave a ‘donation’ were meant for Francine Dow. But if they’re holding -Clarissa—” - -She stopped, aghast at the thought of what terror the girl, so easily -frightened, must be feeling in the hands of Clarence Lawson and his ring -of criminals. They had been desperate enough to use bullets to keep -their plans from being discovered. Peter was aware of the danger. - -“We must proceed with caution,” he told Mr. Blake. “It’s our job to see -that the girl isn’t hurt—” - -“And that she’s returned to her own people,” his partner added. “Where -can we get hold of them?” - -That proved to be the big question. A minister somewhere in West -Virginia was pretty vague. But it was enough to trigger the field office -there into action. An ordained minister by the name of Valentine ought -not to be hard to find. - -Mr. Blake was ready to leave. He said he would get back to the office -and set the machinery in motion. Meantime Peter decided to call up -Washington, since every case investigated in the field had to be -supervised and coordinated from FBI headquarters there. - -“We’ll get fast action on this,” he promised a short time later, -returning from the telephone booth just outside the waiting room. - -Judy could see how difficult it was for him to move about with the heavy -cast on his shoulder, but the urgency of his case seemed to give him new -strength. She turned to Irene, who still seemed a little baffled by all -that was happening, and said, “Poor Peter! I know how much he wants to -get out there in the field, as he calls it, and do the investigating -himself, but he can’t. We mustn’t let him try until he’s stronger.” - -“Is Clarissa in danger? I don’t understand what’s going on at all,” -Irene admitted. - -“None of us do. But we have to find out. There seems to have been a plot -to kidnap some actress. It sounds like something out of one of my -stories,” Dale said, “but I’m afraid it’s only too real.” - -He glanced at the sleeping baby he was holding, and Judy knew what he -was thinking. Until Clarence Lawson and his ring of criminals were -caught, none of them could be sure who his next victim would be. - -“Peter’s afraid they’ve snatched Clarissa, thinking she was Francine -Dow. I don’t know how a thing like that could happen. Why would she have -gone with them without a protest? Let’s go back over everything that -happened,” Judy suggested. “Mr. Lenz knows something—” - -“You can’t blame him for anything. He’s the kindest, best man,” Irene -began to defend him. - -“I’m not questioning his character,” Judy told her. “I’m just -remembering what he said. Something in that film storage room was -dangerous. ‘As dangerous as an atom bomb,’ he said, and I think that -something, whatever it is, may be a clue to what happened to Clarissa.” - -“What about Francine Dow? Why wasn’t she reported missing? Didn’t -anybody care about her? She has a husband. She does try to conceal her -age. She used to look a lot like Clarissa when she was a movie star. -Now, with her hair dyed that weird shade of red and her face—Judy, it -was a yellowish color. She looked terrible. I asked the nurse and she -said Francine is in bad shape. I guess it’s something pretty serious,” -Irene finished. - -“And worry never helps. I’ve heard Dad say that,” Judy remembered. - -“I tried to tell her the show wasn’t spoiled. It did quiet her a -little,” Irene said. “I suppose, now that they know who she is, the -hospital will get in touch with her husband. Everything is out of our -hands, Judy. We may as well go home and get a little rest.” - -Judy hoped she could rest without a whole parade of faceless -golden-haired people swarming in to haunt her dreams. Flo had dreamed. -So had Pauline. But what of Clarissa? Was there really something in that -golden hair wash commercial to make them dream? - -“You started to tell me something, Peter,” Judy began. “You said there -were federal controls to keep advertisers in line—” - -“There aren’t enough, I’m afraid. The big networks have banned this kind -of advertising, but some of the local channels may be using it,” Peter -said. - -“Advertising? But Mr. Lenz said, ‘as dangerous as an atom bomb,’” Judy -objected. “I thought he was talking about something that might blow up -in our faces.” - -“Mind control is equally dangerous. Think about it,” Peter advised. -“Talk with this projectionist if you have a chance. We want to know -exactly what you four girls saw on television.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - Real Phantoms - - -“So these are our suspects?” Judy looked about at the array of machinery -in the area just in front of the studio floor. It was the next day. She -had come with Irene to rehearsal. To all appearances she was simply an -interested friend, but Mr. Lenz knew, the moment he saw her, that she -had come for another purpose. - -“I’ve seen the papers,” he said to Irene. “I know your friend is -missing, and I can tell you something about what happened backstage last -Saturday. I was standing at the door to the film storage room and saw it -all. She came back here during intermission. Your guest star hadn’t -arrived, and everybody was all excited. When they saw this girl you call -Clarissa Valentine they jumped to the conclusion that she was Francine -Dow and brought out the wig and costume.” - -“I see.” It was clear to Judy what had happened. “Clarissa said she came -to New York hoping to get a little part on TV. That was the way she put -it. The part she got wasn’t so little.” - -“She was there when she was needed,” Irene put in, “but how did she -happen to go backstage in the first place?” - -“I think I can answer that question,” Judy said. “She went back for -those two bottles of shampoo she left in the dressing room, and when she -saw Francine Dow wasn’t there, she stepped into the part because she -didn’t want the show spoiled and because—well, it does happen that -sometimes one person’s failure is another’s opportunity.” - -“I guess that’s the way of it,” agreed Mr. Lenz. “That girl can really -act. With all the publicity she’ll get when she is located, she’s sure -to be in demand, and I don’t mean just for spot advertising.” - -“Speaking of advertising,” Judy began as if it had just come up casually -in the conversation, “there was a commercial on this channel last -Saturday—” - -“If you mean the golden hair wash commercial, it won’t be shown again. I -can promise you that,” the projectionist went on, becoming excited. “I -know why you’ve come. I could see you were curious. Well, that young ad -man had talked somebody here into showing that film, phantoms and all—” - -“Phantoms?” The word burst from Judy’s lips. “What phantoms, Mr. Lenz?” - -“That,” said Mr. Lenz, perching on his counter like an angry bird, “will -take a little explaining.” He waved his hand toward the pigeonholes -behind him, where rows upon rows of film were stored for future use on -the program. “It’s my job to bring the contents of those cans to life. -There’s everything there—spot commercials, feature films, half-hour -shows—everything. People who watch these films know what they’re -watching. If they don’t like the program they can turn it off. If the -commercial displeases them they can always walk out of the room until -it’s over. - -“But here,” he went on, “is something being fed into your mind without -your knowledge and without your consent. You can’t turn it off because -you don’t know you’re watching it until, suddenly, you feel compelled to -buy some product or, worse yet, you’re plagued with guilt because you -didn’t buy it. This is called subliminal advertising, and it’s -forbidden—just as it should be. Only once has it been used on this -channel—” - -“Was that last Saturday, Mr. Lenz? Was it shown on Teen Time Party?” - -“Yes. Superimposed on the picture of the golden-haired girl you saw was -another picture—a shadowy, faceless figure which the advertiser wished -you to imagine was yourself. This phantom was flashed on the screen too -fast for your conscious mind to be aware of it. But your subconscious -mind recorded it. And a desire was planted. You began to want to be like -the beautiful golden-haired girl rather than the faceless shadow.” - -“I dreamed of faceless people,” cried Judy. “They had golden hair, and -they were all alike. They frightened me, Mr. Lenz. I couldn’t get them -out of my mind.” - -“Did you associate them with such words as _drab_ and _dull_?” he asked. - -“That’s what Clarissa kept saying about her hair. I thought—we all -thought she’d hypnotized us in some way. Why? Were those words flashed -on television, too? Were all those queer feelings we couldn’t explain -the result of that program we watched?” - -“I’m afraid they were, my dear. But the film will not be shown again. I -can promise you that. Erase it from your memory, if you can. But -remember! Those faceless phantoms could be real if we once lost our -freedom to think!” - -He stopped, as if spent by his outburst, and Irene said, “We’ll -remember, won’t we, Judy? This has certainly been a lesson for me.” - -“What do you mean, Irene?” asked Judy. - -“Because I’d just about decided to do the golden hair wash commercial. -That is, I thought if Clarissa used the stuff, she could do the -commercial for me. And with all the publicity she’ll be getting, people -will be eager to see her. But now that I know that sponsor uses -subliminal advertising, I wouldn’t think of working for those people,” -Irene exclaimed. - -“What’s more, Mrs. Meredith,” Mr. Lenz observed, “if the golden hair -wash people don’t give up the use of subliminal advertising, no major -network will have anything to do with them.” - -“That’s right,” Irene sighed. “And I did so want to be on one of the big -networks. It isn’t just the extra money. It’s being able to entertain so -many more people—especially you,” she confided with a fond look at Judy. -“You won’t see me on your TV at home until I do.” - -“It’s a shame,” Judy sympathized. “But you’ll get there sooner or later. -And when you do, I hope you’ll repeat _Sleeping Beauty_.” - -“I’d like to,” Irene said, “but how can I unless we find Clarissa?” - -Judy shook her head. “We haven’t anything, not even a picture of her for -the papers, and so far they haven’t been able to locate any minister -named Valentine in West Virginia. Peter says it’s probably not her real -name.” - -“You’ll find her,” Mr. Lenz said. “But if she goes on the air for golden -hair wash, she’ll be giving up more than she can possibly gain.” - -“Peter said there were thieves of the mind,” Judy said, “and I’m -beginning to understand what he meant. You wouldn’t know it if they -flashed those faceless phantoms on a film you had made. It would be -their film, wouldn’t it? They could do that—” - -“Not without warning the viewers,” Mr. Lenz interrupted. “The public -does have that much protection. The technique has been used in horror -films, but the viewers have been warned.” - -“Warned of what?” asked Judy. “Were they told that the film would give -them nightmares?” - -“Yes. As I told that young ad man, it’s still in the experimental stage. -It’s dangerous—” - -“As dangerous as an atom bomb. That’s what you said,” Judy reminded him. - -“And that,” declared the projectionist, “is exactly what I meant. The -day a man’s thinking can be controlled without his knowledge will be the -day that marks the end of freedom.” - -“No!” cried Judy. “We won’t let that happen!” - -Mr. Lenz gave Judy’s hand such a grip that she winced, but afterwards it -was good to remember. And there were no more nightmares, for Judy at -least. After she had talked it over with Peter she knew exactly what had -happened and what they had yet to do. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - A Curious Letter - - -Shortly after Peter was discharged from the hospital, a letter came, -addressed to Irene and postmarked Roulsville. It bore no return address. - -“That’s funny. It was forwarded to me from the studio,” Irene said, -turning it over in her hand. “My show is on a local channel. I don’t -have any fans in Roulsville.” - -“You know some people there, don’t you?” Judy asked. - -Irene shook her head. “Only you and your family. But they live in -Farringdon.” - -“Horace could have been driving through Roulsville,” Judy said, “but it -isn’t his handwriting. Anyway, he usually types—” - -Peter interrupted, his blue eyes twinkling. - -“The best way to find out who the letter is from is to open it,” he -suggested. - -Dale laughed. “Why make such a mystery out of an ordinary letter?” - -“Did you say an ordinary letter? This isn’t—it can’t be, but it is!” -Irene exclaimed as she tore open the envelope. - -“You aren’t making any sense,” Judy began. - -“Does this make sense?” Irene waved four crisp five-dollar bills before -her face. “Clarissa sent them! She returned our money. Oh, Judy! I can’t -believe it!” - -“I can’t either,” Judy agreed. “How does Clarissa happen to be in -Roulsville?” - -“Wait till I read the letter,” Irene said. “It’s directed to all four of -us.” - -Judy’s bewilderment grew as Irene read: - - “Dear Irene, Judy, Flo, and Pauline: - - Enclosed are four five-dollar bills. Thank you for helping me, a - perfect stranger. Do good and gain good, my father always says. Trust - people and you will be trusted. Please tell the police and the FBI - that I am safe at home and they can stop looking for me. I saw it all - in the papers. Dad thinks I ought to give up the idea of a career on - TV until I’ve finished high school here in Roulsville. I am sorry I - had to leave the theater in such a hurry, but Francine Dow’s aunt - mistook me for her. I convinced her of her mistake and went home only - to find that my parents were moving. I told you Dad used to be a - minister, didn’t I? He doesn’t have a pastorate at present, but hopes - to become active in church work. What church do you attend, Judy? I - remember hearing you say you lived somewhere in the vicinity of - Roulsville. We’ve bought a beautiful home here....” - -“I’ll bet they have,” Peter commented, reading over Irene’s shoulder. -“Clarence Lawson has enough cash to buy a real beaut—” - -“Clarence Lawson!” exclaimed Judy. “What are you saying, Peter? -Clarissa’s with her father.” - -“So the letter says. But did Clarissa write it?” - -“It does sound a little stilted,” Judy admitted. “And I’m not familiar -with her handwriting.” - -“Well, I am familiar with some of those sayings she attributes to her -father. _Do good and gain good_, for instance. Lawson’s overworked that -one. Those were the very words he used when he approached Francine Dow’s -husband for a donation. Dow and Francine had quarreled over her comeback -on TV, and she’d left him to live with an aunt who had just come east -from California.” - -“Did you interview the aunt?” asked Dale. “Or aren’t you at liberty to -say?” - -“I didn’t. I checked with our field office there. The real aunt is still -in California. Lawson had found out about her, some way. The ‘aunt’ who -called at the stage door and left with Clarissa really did mistake her -for Francine Dow. That’s one fact that is straight in the letter.” - -“But the others? She says she’s living with her parents in Roulsville. -Aren’t these people really her parents? It is odd she didn’t mention her -brothers and sisters. Didn’t she say she was one of six children?” Judy -asked. - -“I didn’t hear her say that. I didn’t hear her say a lot of the queer -things you girls said she said when you were on that tour of Radio -City,” Irene replied. “I didn’t hear her call herself a changeling, for -instance, or say she looked in the mirror and saw no reflection. Maybe -she is trying to trick us after all.” - -“It isn’t Clarissa. It’s Lawson who’s trying to trick us,” declared -Peter, “but this time he won’t get away with it. He’s picked you for a -sucker because you lent money to a stranger. I can’t wait to see the -look on his face when he finds out who you really are, Angel.” - -“You mean when he finds out I’m married to an FBI man,” Judy laughed. -“Peter, when can we leave for home?” - -They had planned to return to Pennsylvania in a day or two, anyway. The -letter made their return more urgent. - -“Let’s leave tomorrow morning,” Peter suggested. “Maybe you’d better -call your mother and ask her to open up the house. Otherwise it will be -pretty cold. And I’m afraid you’ll have to do most of the driving.” - -The Beetle had come through the gun battle with one small dent in its -fender. That was repaired, and the car now looked like new. A few -telephone calls were made and then the packing began. The following -morning, Judy and Peter were on their way home. - -“I don’t like New York much,” Judy admitted when they were out of the -city, “especially Madison Avenue and what Flo calls the rat race to get -a monopoly on all the big accounts. I don’t want anything big. I guess -I’m just a country girl at heart.” - -“My love for you is as big as all outdoors,” declared Peter. “Don’t you -want that?” - -The car went into a wild skid. Judy righted it and said, “There! Of -course I want your love, but from now on I’m paying strict attention to -my driving. All outdoors is pretty big this morning. We have three -hundred miles of icy roads ahead of us with who knows what at the other -end. Peter, take care this time, won’t you? Please don’t be alone when -you meet Clarence Lawson.” - -He promised that he wouldn’t be alone. He had seen to that. He also told -Judy he would soon be leaving for Washington. “I need that refresher -course. A fellow has to keep in training to be able to defend himself -against such men,” he said grimly. “I know how Lawson works, but I want -to be prepared for his little surprises.” - -“How does he work?” asked Judy. - -“He makes people like him for one thing. He looks and acts like a -perfect gentleman. He and his wife are just the type of people you -expect to see in church on a Sunday morning. With a lovely young -‘daughter’ like Clarissa to cover up for him, nobody will believe he -isn’t the real Pastor Valentine. He may get himself elected treasurer of -the church as he did some years ago when he was known as David Barnes. I -see what his plans are all right, but this time,” Peter said with a -determined look on his face, “we’re going to nip them right in the bud. -It’s too bad Clarissa didn’t put her street address on that letter.” - -“Roulsville isn’t so big. Can’t you check with the real estate office -and find out who’s bought property?” - -“That’s the usual procedure,” agreed Peter. “I’ll check with the -churches, too. We’ll find him if I have to canvass every house. It looks -as if this case is going to wind up fast. Roulsville, of all places! -Lady Luck has certainly smiled on us for once.” - -“Was it Lady Luck or good clear thinking on Clarissa’s part?” asked -Judy. “She didn’t say what she meant in that letter, but I could read -between the lines. I know your work is secret and I shouldn’t talk about -it, but if Clarissa did happen to overhear our conversation in the -restaurant she may know you’re with the FBI. That letter could be her -way of asking for help without arousing the suspicions of her so-called -parents.” - -“You’re right, Angel. Clarissa isn’t the only one who’s been doing some -good clear thinking,” declared Peter. “Your nightmares haven’t affected -your thought processes in the daytime.” - -“I don’t have them any more. I wonder....” - -Judy’s wonderings went on for mile after mile of uninterrupted driving. -Were things falling into place too neatly? Certainly someone had planned -this. Could it be Clarence Lawson himself? Had he dictated that letter -and forced Clarissa to write it? - -As they neared home Peter expressed what Judy had been thinking. “I -wonder what Lawson is up to this time,” he said. “Does he really think -Clarissa will keep on pretending to be his daughter? He may have -threatened her into leading us right into his trap.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - Trapped! - - -With Judy still at the wheel, the Beetle crawled down the last hill and -into the valley that held the small city of Farringdon. They stopped at -Dr. Bolton’s house on Grove Street only to find it deserted. - -“Mother may have gone over to Dry Brook Hollow to get our house ready -for us, but Dad should be here. He has office hours from six to eight in -the evening,” Judy said in a worried voice, “and it’s almost six o’clock -now.” - -“We made good time. You must be tired. Let’s drive right home to Dry -Brook Hollow,” Peter suggested. “Someone is sure to be there. Tomorrow -I’ll report at the resident agency and get my assignment. Lawson knows -me. The SAC may want someone else to do the footwork.” - -The SAC, Judy knew, was the Supervising Agent in charge of the nearest -field office. There were fifty or more such offices scattered throughout -the country, and every one of them had been advised to be on the lookout -for Clarence Lawson as well as for Clarissa. In the smaller cities -surrounding the field offices the men worked out of resident agencies -like the one recently set up in Farringdon, but they were still -responsible to the SAC who, in turn, was responsible to the chief -himself. It awed Judy when she thought of all the complicated machinery -that had been set in motion to see that no harm came to one girl. It -made her proud, too, that Peter was part of it. - -“Would you mind?” she asked him as they drove on over the next hill and -down into Dry Brook Hollow. “I mean, would you mind very much if David -Trent or some other more experienced agent got the assignment?” - -“A little,” Peter admitted. “I’d rather like to bring Lawson in myself. -If only he hasn’t used Clarissa as bait for a trap—” - -“Oh, Peter! That’s what I’ve been thinking. Could it be—mind control? -There seem to be so many ways of doing it. There’s brain washing, and -hypnotic suggestion, and high-pressure selling, and all the frightening -new inventions for getting ideas into a person’s subconscious mind -without his knowledge or consent. It scares me when I think of the -possibilities—” - -“There are possibilities for good as well as evil,” Peter told her. -“Another type of mind control has been used to reform prisoners, and it -seems to work. Their pillows talk to them—” - -“What do you mean?” asked Judy. “Oh—” she interrupted herself, “there’s -a man turning down our road. Maybe it’s just as well he didn’t see us.” - -“We can drive down the North Hollow road, take that short-cut through -the woods, and head him off. Want to?” asked Peter. - -“It seems silly,” she admitted, “but I think I do want to. Look, Peter!” -Judy exclaimed a few minutes later, as she stopped the car and they both -climbed out. “Someone’s broken a path through here. It should be easy to -head him off. I’ll run ahead and meet him before he gets to the bridge.” - -“Wait!” Peter called, but Judy was already running. As she passed her -house she thought she heard someone else call to her. Lights blazed from -almost every window, so she knew her mother must be there. - -Just before she reached the bridge Judy slowed down and caught her -breath before she approached the oncoming stranger. He was taking his -time, apparently in no hurry to reach the house. - -“Hi!” Judy called out bravely. “Are you on your way to our house?” - -“Greetings and salutations!” said the stranger, bowing politely. “I’m -Pastor Valentine. You must be Judy. My daughter, Clarissa, has invited -me to your party. I believe you know her.” - -“Yes, I know her,” Judy said, “but I’m not giving a party. Or am I?” - -For a moment she almost believed the man was the real Pastor Valentine. -But in the next moment the terrifying realization swept over her. He was -Clarence Lawson! She smiled at him, trying to conceal her terror. - -“It must be a surprise party. Well, I’m—surprised. I’ll walk the rest of -the way with you, Pastor Valentine, and introduce you to my guests.” - -She didn’t ask if Clarissa was among them. She could only hope Peter had -reached the house in time to telephone for help. The man, walking beside -her, was the picture of gentlemanly dignity until, suddenly, a black -shape darted in front of them. - -“What’s that?” he exclaimed, losing a little of his dignity. - -“It’s my cat. Don’t you like cats, Mr. Law—I mean Pastor Valentine?” - -Judy had let the name slip out. She could have bitten her tongue for it. -The man dropped his polite mask and snarled, “I hate cats. They’re -unlucky, especially black ones.” - -It was a temptation to tell him that this particular black cat was -unlucky only for criminals, but Judy resisted the urge as Lawson, -recovering his poise, turned and said, “I’m sorry for the outburst, but -I’m allergic to cats.” - -“My cat’s the same way,” Judy retorted. “He’s allergic to some people.” - -“My dear! You will never make friends saying things like that. We do -want to be friendly, don’t we?” he asked in placating tones. “After all, -I am the father of a young lady who seems very fond of you.” - -“Is she?” asked Judy. “Then perhaps you can tell me where the young lady -is.” - -“She’s with her mother,” was his clipped answer. “Now, if you will -excuse me, I must be going—” - -“Aren’t you coming to my party? You must live near here,” Judy ventured. -“I notice you were walking.” - -“Good for the constitution,” he replied and began to walk away more -swiftly. - -“Wait!” cried Judy. She couldn’t let him escape. It had been a mistake -to run and meet him in the first place. And she should never have spoken -to him in the way she did. Now he was nearly to the bridge. Should she -turn back or follow him and try to persuade him to return? - -Judy had forgotten, for the moment, that Peter was part of an -organization far better equipped to deal with criminals than she was. He -was armed, for one thing, and she was not. She had just decided to -follow Clarence Lawson when suddenly, with a snarl of rage, he whirled -around toward her. Judy saw the gleam of a gun in his hand. - -“You’d never use that!” she gasped, terrified. - -He wasn’t given time to answer. It was growing dark, but she could see a -figure loom up behind him and whip the gun from his hand. Scuffling -sounds followed. Judy heard a thud and then a splash. - -“Peter!” she gasped. He had appeared from behind her. “That—that was -Lawson, the man you want—” - -“You mean the man we’ve got. There’s a good hiding place under the -bridge,” Peter continued as two policemen emerged with a dripping Lawson -between them. “We walked into a trap all right, but it was set for a -prisoner who can use one of those talking pillows I was telling you -about.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - Real Friends - - -“What next?” asked Judy. Things were happening so fast she could -scarcely keep track of them. “I thought you said—talking pillows—before -all the excitement began. Oh, Peter, I was so afraid!” - -“Judy, you’re shivering! There’s no need for you to be afraid now. Go -back to the house,” advised Peter. “I’ll join you there in a few -minutes.” - -“_She’s_ shivering! What about me?” Lawson snarled from between -chattering teeth. - -“You’re lucky we didn’t drown you,” one of the police officers told him. - -As he was led toward the barn where a police car was concealed, little -pools of water dripped from his clothing and left a trail behind him in -the melting snow. It had turned warm for January. Judy had not shivered -because of the cold. It was something else that sent chills through her. -Things were too quiet. Usually, when a man was arrested, there were -wailing sirens and a whole flock of police cars roaring in from all -directions. Here there was nothing but an ominous silence. - -The lights from the house looked friendly, but there wasn’t a sound to -prove that anyone was inside. Only Blackberry, on the porch now, yowled -plaintively, asking to be let in. - -Suddenly the door opened. Dr. Bolton was on his way out. He did have -office hours and had waited only long enough to greet Judy. Her mother -and Horace were just behind him. She heard Honey, somewhere in the -background, saying in a loud stage whisper, “She’s here, girls! All -together!” - -“Surprise!” came the chorus of voices as her friends rushed forward. -Clarissa was with them. She hugged Judy fiercely. “It’s good to see -you,” she said in a strange voice. “I told Mother and Father how I met -you. Mother’s here—” She indicated Blackberry’s favorite chair where a -motherly, gray-haired woman sat quietly rocking and smiling at the -assembled guests. - -“You haven’t met Mrs. Valentine. Let me introduce you,” Judy’s mother -began. - -Horace gave her a secret sign that meant he knew and had come, not only -as her brother but also as a reporter for the _Farringdon Daily Herald_. -But, obviously, Mrs. Bolton had been kept in the dark. - -Judy heard herself saying something polite instead of the questions that -were tumbling over themselves in her mind wanting to be asked and -answered. - -Lois and Lorraine were there. Arthur Farringdon-Pett hovered -protectively behind his sister and his recent bride. Judy’s young -neighbor, Holly Potter, said, “I like your friend Clarissa, Judy. I met -her at school.” - -“Did you?” One question was answered. “I introduced her to Horace and -Honey,” Holly continued, and the answer came to another question. Judy -felt more secure, suddenly, as she noticed another quiet guest. He was -David Trent from the field office of the FBI. - -“Everybody has been so friendly,” Mrs. Valentine was telling him. “We’ve -decided to join the little neighborhood church here until my husband has -a call. You know, of course, that he is a minister of the gospel?” - -“So I understand.” - -The gray-haired woman moved uncomfortably in her chair. - -“I wonder what is keeping him. He promised to stop in and meet some of -the young people. He has plans for a youth organization—” - -“His plans, whatever they are, will never be carried out.” Mr. Trent -brought out his credentials, and the conversation ended abruptly just as -Peter entered the room and took the woman firmly by the arm. - -“You’re G-men!” she gasped, looking from one of them to the other. She -was not looking for a way to escape. She could see that there was none. - -Afterwards, when Judy remembered the scene, the one thing that stood out -clearly in her mind was the fact that Blackberry had been insulted to -see a stranger sitting in his chair and that he had jumped into it and -settled himself to sleep before the excitement was fairly over. - -Peter had mentioned the charge against the Lawsons. Judy’s mother had -gasped, “Kidnaping!” and Clarissa had said quietly, “I wasn’t their -daughter, Mrs. Bolton. I don’t know what they would have done to me if I -hadn’t pretended. I led them here. I knew Judy would help me. You aren’t -supposed to tell people what your husband does for a living, Judy, but -I’m so glad—glad that you let it slip out in the restaurant. Did you get -my letter?” - -“We turned your letter over to the FBI,” Judy told her. “But who planned -this welcoming party? I don’t understand—” - -“I like parties. I like pretty girls, and I am especially fond of -getting exclusive stories—” - -“Horace! You did it. You perfect dear!” cried Judy, throwing herself at -her brother and giving him a resounding kiss. - -“Save the mush, Sis,” he said, embarrassed. - -“Well, it was a wonderful idea!” Judy exclaimed. “You’re all real -friends!” - -Clarissa’s laugh rang out. “Am I real? Am I really me? I’ve been -Francine Dow and Clarissa Valentine, but now I think I’d like to be just -plain old Clar Boggs and go back to West Virginia to my real folks. Pa’s -a preacher just like I said, but we’re real old hillbillies for a fact, -and I’m sick to death of pretending.” - -“Don’t you want to be an actress any more?” asked Judy. - -“Maybe later when things are cleared up and I understand—” Clarissa -said. - -“We’ll clear them up right now,” Judy interrupted. “Sit down, and we’ll -explain everything.” - -“While you’re explaining I’ll bring sandwiches and coffee. There’s cake, -too. I still can’t make tender pie crust,” Honey confessed, “but my -cakes are good, and Mother Bolton’s sandwiches are delicious.” - -Mother Bolton? Judy looked at her brother. Was it that serious? Honey -blushed and said hastily, “She’s your mother, Judy, and you and I are -sisters. She doesn’t mind if I call her that. Sit down, everybody, and -I’ll pass the stuff around.” - -Judy ate half a sandwich and drank a full cup of coffee cooled with -cream while she considered where to begin. It was a long story. But it -really started in the restaurant. - -“Clarissa, that cashier who tried to cheat you was arrested on some -other charge. Peter told me about it,” Judy said. “The police picked him -up. It wasn’t a federal offense, but the subliminal advertising that the -golden hair wash people put on is a different matter.” She explained to -Clarissa about the messages that had been flashed on the screen too fast -for their conscious minds to be aware of what was being suggested. -“That’s why you kept saying your hair was ‘dull’ and ‘drab’ and why we -all rushed out and bought that shampoo when we didn’t really want it.” - -“But I did want it,” Clarissa protested. “I went back to the dressing -room on purpose to get those two bottles I left there. I was going to -come right back, but the first thing I knew I was being rushed into a -costume and pushed out on the stage. Someone whispered, ‘Watch the -cards,’ and I read the lines, but I was never so scared in my life. If -my hair hadn’t been covered up with that golden wig I don’t think I -could have played the part at all.” - -“You played it beautifully,” Judy said. - -Clarissa smiled and tilted her head. - -“I could play Sleeping Beauty without a wig now. Did you notice the -change?” she asked. “I used that golden hair wash.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - Talking Pillows - - -Judy had noticed a change in Clarissa’s appearance. The shampoo had made -her hair fluffy and bright. - -“It’s like mine,” Honey said. “You sounded so strange over the -telephone, Judy, when you asked me not to change the color of my hair. -Why were you so afraid?” - -“I like it the way it is. I guess that’s why.” - -“Don’t you like mine?” Clarissa asked plaintively. “I didn’t use much of -the shampoo. It hardly changed the color at all. It just brought out the -golden highlights.” - -“It’s lovely,” Judy had to admit. “It isn’t the product. It’s the way -they advertise it that’s wrong. Peter calls ‘hidden sell’ advertisers -thieves of the mind,” she continued, “but he says mind control can be -used in another way.” - -“This is interesting,” Horace said. “What is this other way our minds -can be manipulated?” - -“I—I’m not sure. Peter said something about talking pillows, but he may -have been joking. I never heard of a pillow that talked.” - -“Maybe it works like a Mamma doll,” Holly suggested, and everybody -laughed. - -“You tell us, Peter,” urged Judy. - -“The pillows I spoke of,” Peter said, “are supposed to change a -prisoner’s outlook on life by what is called sleep teaching. They -contain taped messages that are fed into his subconscious mind while he -sleeps. ‘You are filled with love and compassion’ is one. For all I know -Lawson’s ‘Do good and gain good’ may be another. I don’t know how well -they work. A study is being made.” - -“What sort of a study?” asked Judy. “I wouldn’t want anybody -sleep-teaching me. I want to know what I’m learning.” - -Everybody agreed with Judy except Clarissa. She said she thought she’d -like such a pillow if it would make her stop dreaming. - -“I’ve had a terrible time,” she confessed. “I haven’t been able to draw -a peaceful breath. I found out right away that this couple had planned -to kidnap Francine Dow. They were so angry when they found out I’d -substituted for her that I knew my only chance was pretending I cared -for them and wanted them to be my mother and father. They thought they -had my mind controlled, I guess, but they didn’t. All the time I was -awake I was making plans. The nights were the worst because I did have -nightmares. Maybe they’ll stop now that I know what caused them. I -thought fear did. I was never so afraid.” - -“You aren’t afraid any more, are you?” Honey asked anxiously. - -“No,” Clarissa replied with a deep sigh. “I’m with friends now—real -friends. It’s all over—all the fear and the pretending. I know I can act -now, and I think I can take things a lot better, too. I mean little -things like my brother’s teasing.” - -“I used to find my brother’s teasing pretty hard to take, but I teased -him right back, and I guess there were times when it was harder on him -than it was on me,” Judy said with a glance toward Horace. - -“I’ll bet your brother wouldn’t remove the glass from a silver mirror on -purpose to make you think you didn’t show. They tell lots of witch tales -at home, and one of them is that if you look in a mirror and don’t see -your reflection, a witch has stolen the real you and you’re a -changeling. But now that I’ve really been stolen by a witch—That’s what -she is, Judy! That Mrs. Lawson or whatever her name is. She looks like -somebody’s mother, but she’s nothing but an ugly old witch.” - -“There aren’t any such things as witches,” Judy laughed. - -“I’ll never believe it,” Clarissa continued, “but I do know I’m no -changeling. My brother was just trying to play a joke on me when he took -out the glass and then put it back to prove he could see himself in the -mirror all right. I’m going to tell him I know, and then he’ll confess -to it. I thought it all out, but I still can’t understand why I didn’t -show on television. Everybody could see me when I took Francine Dow’s -place on Irene’s show.” - -“A picture tube blew out,” Judy started to explain. “That makes the -picture close in—” - -“Lawsy me!” exclaimed Clarissa, reverting to her mountain slang. “I let -a little thing like that scare me into a faint?” - -“You didn’t let the big things scare you. Now that you know how brave -you can be, I guess the little things won’t bother you so much, will -they?” Judy asked. - -“They sure won’t. I’ll write to you all and tell you how I’m doing and -I’ll see you—I mean, maybe you’ll see me on television one of these -days.” - -The party had been a little tiring, Judy realized, after her guests had -gone home. She picked up Blackberry and laid her head against his -velvety black fur. - -“Those prisoners can have their talking pillows,” she said to Peter. “I -prefer a pillow that purrs. For the rest of the evening we can just -relax and watch television. Oh, how I wish we could watch Irene!” - -Judy’s wish came true a few weeks later. A postcard came with the good -news. Or was it good? The card didn’t say who Irene’s sponsor would be. -Surely Irene hadn’t gone back on her decision! Would it be golden hair -wash? Judy was almost afraid to watch. - -Peter tuned in the set just in time for her to hear: “... bring you our -own Golden Girl, Irene Meredith.” And suddenly there was Irene as -natural as though she had just stepped into the living room. And Irene -was not alone on the stage. Little Judy was peeking out from behind her -skirt like a small pixie. Judy couldn’t believe it when she heard what -they were about to sing. - -“Oh, no! Irene can’t sing that!” she exclaimed, turning to Peter. - -“Listen!” Peter motioned for silence as the song began. Little Judy’s -small, piping voice could be heard on the second line. By the third line -she was singing all by herself: - - “_I might sing and play like Mommy on TV or radio, - - But I wouldn’t do commercials, - No, I wouldn’t do commercials, - No, I_ wouldn’t _do commercials - And innerup the show—_” - -It was Irene who interrupted, laughing. - -“We just couldn’t get that one word right. Judy Irene is only two and a -half. I wouldn’t interrupt the show either. But I do want to introduce a -very good friend of ours, Clarissa Valentine! She will appear on this -show regularly and will star again in _Sleeping Beauty_ two weeks from -tonight. Right now she has a message from our new sponsor.” - -The message was brief and in good taste. The sponsor turned out to be a -nationally known manufacturer of cereal. Clarissa opened a box and -poured out two servings of what she called crispy, crunchy nuggets of -golden corn. - -“That’s how they’re going to work it. Clarissa won’t mind doing the -commercial,” Judy began, but again Peter held up his hand for silence. -And suddenly, right there on the TV screen, was Judy’s own little -namesake doing a commercial and not even knowing it. For she sat down at -a table opposite her mother and began eating the golden nuggets as if -they were the tastiest things in the world. - -“They’re good, Mommy!” she said between mouthfuls. - -“I like them, too. Why don’t you try them?” Irene asked the TV audience -as the commercial ended. - -“I think I will,” Judy answered as if Irene could hear her. Then she -turned to Peter with shining eyes. “It was a joke!” she exclaimed. “They -sang the song just for fun, and the studio audience enjoyed it. Did you -hear the laughter? But it does prove truth can win if we stand up for -what we believe. Oh, I’m so glad Irene talked to Mr. Lenz that day. She -almost made the wrong decision.” - -“She didn’t if those golden nuggets really are as good as the sponsor -would have us believe,” Peter said. - -“Well, I’m sold on them,” Judy declared, laughing. “And it didn’t take -any ‘hidden sell’ to do it. Just watching little Judy sitting there -gobbling them up was enough. I’m going to buy a box tomorrow.” - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Phantom Friend, by Margaret Sutton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM FRIEND *** - -***** This file should be named 50604-0.txt or 50604-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/6/0/50604/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |