“What have you done with the ones that are missing?” Nancy broke in.
“Out with it!” Captain Dudley commanded sharply. “It will go harder with you if you try to keep anything back.”
“We pawned several of the diamonds,” Mary admitted grudgingly.
“Where?” Nancy demanded.
“At a pawnshop Tom Tozzle knows about in Winchester. It’s a place on Bond Street.”
“I know the locality,” Nancy told the captain. “It’s possible that we’ll be able to recover the jewels. I believe it’s a law that pawnbrokers must not accept stolen goods.”
“The first thing to do is to land our prisoners in jail,” the captain suggested. “If you’ll take charge of the jewels, Miss Drew, I’ll step out and call the police.”
Within fifteen minutes the authorities had arrived at the dock and the three prisoners were handcuffed and hustled into the patrol wagon.
“We’ve been on the watch for this jane nearly a year,” one of the policemen told Nancy. “She’s wanted for half a dozen smaller thefts. You’ve done a good night’s work, young lady.”
“I live in River Heights,” Nancy returned, with a smile. “If you need me to testify, I’ll be at your service.”
After the patrol wagon had departed, the crowd began to disperse. For the first time Nancy Drew realized that the hour was late.
“Why, it’s after four o’clock,” she said in astonishment, as she glanced at her wrist watch.