The Triple Hoax Read Online Free

she said.
    “Don’t they use a pillow?” Bess asked.
    Their hostess answered by producing another item from the closet. It was cylinder-shaped, about six inches in diameter and covered with black material.
    “This is very heavy because the pillow is filled with sand,” Mrs. Richards explained.
    “That’s a pillow?” Bess asked in disbelief.
    “Yes. However, many Japanese have adopted our Western ways and use beds, mattresses and somewhat softer pillows now.”
    Bess giggled. “They’re smart.”
    “The reason Japanese women years ago needed to sleep on this type of pillow is rather interesting,” Mrs. Richards went on. “Having their full-length hair professionally set was a long, costly process. To keep their hairdos intact between washings, the women slept with their necks against the hard pillows.”
    George grinned. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that sort of thing,” she said and shook her short, plainly combed hair.
    Mrs. Richards led the girls through other rooms. Heavy silken drapes ornamented the windows and Oriental rugs lay on the floors.
    The last room they came to was decorated in Florentine style. Everything was ornate, from the heavily carved furniture to the slatted, painted wooden blinds. In one corner stood a mannequin dressed in a Florentine soldier’s uniform.
    George remarked, “He looks pretty fancy for someone going into battle.”
    Mrs. Richards smiled. “I doubt that anyone wearing an outfit like this did much fighting. It probably belonged to a general.”
    Nancy walked closer to the figure and surveyed it from all angles. Suddenly she noticed a partially concealed pocket with a slight bulge. She put her hand inside and felt a small object.
    “Something’s in this pocket,” she said to Mrs. Richards.
    “Really?” the woman asked. “I didn’t know that. Let’s see what it is.”
    Nancy pulled out a small glass vial with a gold filigree covering. Mrs. Richards read an Italian inscription on the bottom. A startled look came over her face.
    “Where in the world did this come from? I never saw it before!”

    “Perhaps the vial was in the uniform for centuries and no one ever noticed it,” George suggested. “Does it contain anything?”
    “A deadly poison!” Mrs. Richards replied.
    Bess shivered. “Did the soldier carry it to use on an enemy?”
    Mrs. Richards shook her head. “In the days when Florentine intrigue was at its height, nearly every member of the army carried a vial of poison in case he was captured. Rather than go to prison or be tortured, he would kill himself.”
    “Ugh!” Bess said. “That’s terrible.”
    The others did not comment, but Nancy suggested they take the vial to a medical laboratory for testing. “We should find out if it’s still potent,” she said.
    “There’s a medical lab not far from here,” Mrs. Richards said. “I’ve known the owner for years.”
    Since the lab was located nearby, she and the girls walked over. On the way, Nancy asked Mrs. Richards if she had had any news about Roscoe and her car.
    “Oh, yes. He had a very trying adventure. He was parked not far from the terminal waiting for us, when suddenly two men jumped into the back seat. They ordered Roscoe to take them to a certain address. When he told them his car was not a taxi and they must get out, the men refused. One said Roscoe would be harmed if he did not follow their orders.”
    “Poor Roscoe!” Bess exclaimed.
    Mrs. Richards went on. “There was nothing he could do, so he started for the place the men indicated. But they never got there.”
    “What happened?” George wanted to know.
    “They told him suddenly to stop and get out of the car. Then one of the men jumped behind the wheel and drove away. Roscoe yelled at them but they paid no attention. The police never did locate my stolen car, and poor Roscoe was a wreck after he hiked back to town.”
    “That’s a shame,” Nancy said sympathetically.
    “Roscoe blamed himself,” Mrs.