As Vicki stepped to her side, she pointed out a huge emerald, the size and shape of a bluebird’s egg, suspended on a woven cord of spun gold. But it was not the emerald that made Vicki gasp with astonishment when she looked into the case. It was a heavy gold chain in the tray beside it.
The souvenir ship gleamed like pure gold
Hung on the end of the short gold chain was a large gold coin. It was the exact duplicate of one of the stolen coins that had been pictured in the Tampa newspaper. There was the profile of the queen wearing a high crown, the laurel wreaths that encircled the head, and the ring of stars around the rim.
Vicki was sure of it! Then she remembered the picture she had torn from the paper. She put her handbag on the top of the case and began to explore its contents. She finally found the clipping under a pile of loose change, bobby pins, lipstick, nail file—and all the other assorted odds and ends with which girls clutter up their handbags. She unfolded the piece of paper and compared the picture with the coin in the display case. There was no question about it. It was the same coin!
“Vicki,” Louise exclaimed, “what in the world are you doing?”
“Look at the coin on that heavy chain, Louise. Isn’t it the same one that’s in this picture?”
Louise looked at the coin in the case and then studied the newspaper clipping.
“Why, yes,” she gasped. “It certainly is. But where did you—”
“Sh-h-h!” Vicki cautioned.