Nancy Drew and her father did not forget their promise to call again at Jacob Aborn’s bungalow, and the following Sunday afternoon found them on the way to Melrose Lake.

They started directly after a midday dinner which had been a rather silent meal.

It had rained a bit during the early morning but now the sun was shining brightly and there was just enough breeze to make it pleasant.

Nancy was driving her roadster while her father sat beside her, an unlighted cigar between his lips. Neither said a word until the town was left far behind and they were drawing towards the country of the lakes.

“What are you thinking of, Nancy?” questioned her father at last.

“I was thinking of Laura and of Mr. Aborn,” she replied. “I was wondering if everything is turning out all right.”

“It ought to⁠—with Stumpy out of the way,” answered Carson Drew.

“So it would seem. But Laura is such an unusual girl⁠—and she went through so much. I’d hate to see her break down and have a spell of sickness.”

“Oh, joy seldom hurts anyone, Nancy. It’s real sorrow that pulls a person down.”

“I certainly hope the real Mr. Aborn proves to be all right.”

“I think I’m a pretty good judge of character, and he looked all right to me.”

A little later they passed the spot where Nancy had first met Laura during the awful storm⁠—when the terror-stricken girl was on her way to the Drew homestead. How many things had happened since then!

Then they came in sight of the bungalow.

As they drove up in the blue roadster, Laura Pendleton ran from the house and greeted them enthusiastically. She was dressed in a bright blue frock and seemed happier than Nancy had ever seen her. The change was remarkable. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were beginning to fill out a trifle.

“Oh, I’m so glad you came!” Laura cried eagerly, as she led them toward the bungalow.

As the two girls walked up the path arm in arm, Nancy lowered her voice.

“How do you like your guardian?” she asked.

“Oh, Nancy, he’s the kindest man in the world. He’s so good to me.”

“I’m glad that you are happy here, Laura,” and Nancy smiled. “You didn’t like the bungalow at first, you know.”

“Oh, it wasn’t the house! It was Stumpy Dowd! Everything has changed now. My guardian is planning so many wonderful things for me! But I’ll tell you about that later.”

“How is Mr. Aborn?” Nancy inquired solicitously.

They had reached the porch by this time, and Jacob Aborn himself opened the door. He had heard Nancy’s question.

“I never felt better in my life,” he assured her. “I’ve had a wonderful nurse.”

Mr. Aborn drew up comfortable chairs for the two guests and sat down beside Laura on the davenport. After the four had chatted for some time, a maid served tea. Over the cups, Mr. Aborn told of his plans for his ward.

“I want her to rest this summer and enjoy her friends,” he declared. “This fall, if I feel I can part with her for a few months, I’ll send her to a girls’ school. You’ll like that, Laura?”

“Oh, I’ll love it! I’ve always dreamed of going to a boarding school. But of course I shan’t want to leave you.”

“Don’t worry on that score, Laura. I’ll probably spend most of my time coming to visit you.”

“You’re spoiling me,” Laura laughed. She turned to Nancy. “Mr. Aborn is planning so many wonderful things for me. He’s building a tennis court in the yard, and I’m going to take swimming lessons!”

“I want to get Laura a motorboat,” Mr. Aborn explained. “But think she should know how to swim first.”

“And the nicest of all⁠—I’m to have a new roadster something like yours, Nancy.”

“Then you’ll be able to drive over to River Heights and see me often.”

“Indeed I will. And you and your friend, Helen Corning, must come here. We’ll have regular weekend parties!”

“By the way,” Jacob Aborn turned to Mr. Drew, abruptly changing the subject. “Have you learned anything about Stumpy Dowd?”

“Why, yes, I thought you knew.”

“I’ve heard nothing.”

“The Hamilton chief of police telephoned yesterday. You’ll not be bothered by that man again.”

“You mean⁠—he’s dead?”

“Oh, no,” Nancy broke in hastily. “His injuries weren’t as serious as the doctor at first thought. He has been removed from the hospital and sent to jail. He’ll probably get twenty-five years, eh, Dad?”

“Thirty, I believe,” her father corrected.

Jacob Aborn nodded in satisfaction.

“Well, he’ll receive his just due at that. When I think of the way that man tried to rob Laura⁠—”

“Oh, Nancy, we owe you so much,” Laura said earnestly. “You saved my guardian’s life and you recovered my fortune.”

“I hope you haven’t forgotten the night on Moon Lake when you rescued Helen and me,” Nancy reminded her, with a smile. “It isn’t all one-sided, you see.”

“But you’ve repaid the debt threefold.”

“Laura and I have been talking it over,” Mr. Aborn said quietly. “We have been trying to think of a way to thank you.”

“Oh, I don’t want any thanks,’ ” Nancy returned hastily. “I really enjoyed the adventure.”

“I can’t say that I did,” Mr. Aborn responded ruefully. “Two weeks in a dungeon!”

“Nancy, you must accept some reward for what you did,” Laura insisted, returning to the original subject.

Nancy shook her head stubbornly.

“But I have a fortune in my own name! Unless I give you money I don’t know how to reward you.”

“My reward is to know that you are happy, Laura.”

“It’s so kind of you to say that, but I don’t feel right⁠—”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Laura, but really I can’t accept a reward.”

“My daughter has solved a number of baffling mystery cases, and has made a point never to take pay for her work,” Mr. Drew explained, coming to Nancy’s rescue.

“It doesn’t seem right not to give her anything.”

“Nancy has accepted a number of souvenirs, as reminders of her various adventures.”

“Oh, I remember now!” Laura cried eagerly. “Helen Corning told me.”

“I did take an old mantel clock for solving the mystery of the missing Crowley will,” Nancy admitted. “And I accepted a silver urn for discovering the ghost of the Turnbull mansion.”

“Then it’s only right that you accept a souvenir for solving the mystery of the deserted bungalow. Will you?”

“Well⁠—” Nancy hesitated.

“Say, yes! It will make me feel so much better!”

“All right, I agree.”

Laura sprang from the davenport and hurried upstairs to her room. In a few minutes she returned, bearing a tiny jewel case.

“It isn’t half enough,” she declared, handing Nancy the box.

“Oh, Laura, I’m afraid you’ve given me something expensive!”

She lifted the cover of the box and gazed at the contents. The jewel case contained a beautiful pendant of precious stones.

Nancy gave a little exclamation of surprise and delight as she held the necklace to the light.

“Oh, Laura!” she breathed. “It’s gorgeous! But of course I can’t keep it.”

“Oh, you must! Why, you promised!”

“I said I would accept a souvenir, but I never dreamed you would give me anything so expensive. Didn’t this pendant belong to your mother?”

“Yes. But that is no reason for you to refuse to take it. She would want me to give it to you.”

“But it’s such a precious keepsake to give away.”

“It is precious,” Laura admitted quietly. “But I have other pieces that mother left me. There is no one in the world I’d rather see have it than you. If it were not precious I would not offer it. Please take it, Nancy.”

Laura’s expression was so earnest and pleading that Nancy Drew could not find it in her heart to refuse. After all, she had given her promise.

“I will keep it,” she said, with sudden decision. “And I’ll always prize it highly.”

After that, the conversation shifted to less personal subjects, and the afternoon passed quickly. Before Mr. Drew and his daughter departed, Laura escorted Nancy about the place, showing her the garden, the new boathouse, and the site for the tennis court.

“Only a week ago I fairly hated this place,” she said thoughtfully. “And now I love it!”

“A great deal has happened since that stormy night on Moon Lake when we first met,” Nancy returned musingly. “As I look back, it doesn’t seem possible we could have packed so much adventure into one short month.”

“No, it doesn’t, but the adventures were mostly yours.”

“I seem to have a way of getting into the thick of things,” Nancy laughed. “Oh, well, everything came out right, and the nicest part of all is that you have found a happy home.”

“And wonderful friends!”

An understanding silence fell upon the two girls, and for several moments they stood arm in arm, looking out across the lake. Presently, as they slowly moved on again, Laura Pendleton turned to her friend with a twinkle in her eyes.

“You’ve started quite a career for yourself, Nancy. I wonder if you’ll have any more adventures?”

Nancy gave a tired sigh.

“Oh, I think I’ve had enough to last me for the rest of my life!” But in her heart, she knew she had not. The love for mystery would always be with her.

And Nancy Drew’s adventuring days were by no means over. It was written in the annals of the future that before many months had elapsed she would be engrossed in a problem as puzzling as the bungalow mystery⁠—a problem which would tax her mental powers and ingenuity to the limit. It is revealed in The Mystery at Lilac Inn.

But for the present, Nancy Drew was not pining for excitement or adventure. The prospect of a restful summer with Laura Pendleton and Helen Corning satisfied her completely.