(#26) The Clue of the Leaning Chimney by Carolyn Keene

Masonville. His description of the man who collected the money tallies exactly with that of Mr. Soong.”
    The Chinese turned despairing eyes on Nancy. “I know nothing about it,” he said. “Surely you believe me?”
    “Of course!” Nancy said emphatically. “Chief McGinnis, does the report give a description of the vase?”
    The officer scanned the paper. “Yes, it does.”
    The young detective’s pulse quickened with eagerness. She was playing a hunch. If it worked, everything would be straightened out!
    “Does it say that the vase is brown,” Nancy rushed on, “with a pattern showing an old Chinese sitting beside a deer under a peach tree at the edge of a blue lake?”
    Chief McGinnis stared. “Why, yes!”
    “And does it say the Chinese markings on the bottom of the vase mean ‘Made for the hall of fragrant virtue’?”
    The police officer’s jaw dropped. “How did you know all that?” he demanded.
    “Because that vase,” Nancy replied evenly, “is the one stolen from the Townsends’ home. I saw it there the night it was taken!”
    “Well,” Chief McGinnis said, “this is a new angle.”
    “What’s more,” Nancy continued, “Mr. Soong couldn’t have been the thief because I measured the thief’s footprints in the flower bed. They were short and wide. And as you can clearly see, Mr. Soong’s feet are narrow!”
    She paused for breath, and McGinnis wiped his forehead. He sat for a moment, considering, while Nancy watched him anxiously.
    “That puts a different complexion on the case,” the officer said at last. “But how do you explain the fact that the postal clerk’s description of the man who cashed the money orders fits Mr. Soong?”
    Nancy deliberated. “The thief probably wore a disguise so he could pass as Mr. Soong,” she said finally. “It wouldn’t be difficult—a pair of spectacles and a tiny goatee. He must have stolen some means of identification and forged Mr. Soong’s signature to the money orders.”
    “You may possibly be right,” the chief said, “but just the same I think I’ll drive Mr. Soong over to Masonville, to see that postal clerk. Want to come, Nancy?”
    “Yes, indeed.”
    “We’ll go there in my car.”
    Late that afternoon Nancy, Mr. Soong, and the chief arrived at the Masonville post office. At Nancy’s suggestion, the two men stayed out of sight while she went to the money-order window.
    Nancy introduced herself to the clerk, then listened carefully as he described the man who had collected the money for the fake vase. His description corresponded exactly with that of Mr. Soong.
    “You’re quite sure you would recognize the man if you saw him again?” she asked.
    “I’m positive!” the clerk told her confidently. “It isn’t often that I cash orders for five hundred dollars, so I pay particular attention to anybody collecting that amount of money.”
    Nancy beckoned to Mr. Soong and had him stand facing the clerk. Chief McGinnis looked on approvingly.
    “Is this the man?” she asked.
    The clerk stared at the Chinese gentleman.
    “That’s the one, all right!” he declared. “I’d know him anywhere!”
    Nancy thought quickly. There had to be some way in which she could prove to the clerk he was mistaken. She took a money-order application form and gave it to Mr. Soong, together with a pen.
    “Please fill it out,” she told her friend. Then she said to the clerk, “Perhaps you’ve overlooked something. Some small detail—”
    She broke off as the clerk’s eyes widened in watching Mr. Soong write.
    “Hey, wait a minute, there is something wrong!” he said. “The Chinese I gave the money to signed his name with his right hand. This gentleman writes with his left hand.”
    “Then he can’t be the same man!” Nancy stated triumphantly.
    The clerk shook his head. “No, he can‘t,” he admitted slowly. “In fact,” he added, “this man speaks better English. I hadn’t thought of that before. But the two of ’em look