Nancy and Ned went into the Drew’s house through the back door and put their picnic basket on the kitchen counter on their way into the living room. Ned pulled Nancy into his arms and kissed her for a few moments.

When they broke apart, Nancy said, "I really missed you."

"That was just the start to make up for all the time I’ve been away."

"It was a good star," she said as they sat down on the loveseat.

"So, how have you been keeping yourself busy while I’ve been away?" Ned asked as he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Just a couple easy cases," Nancy replied vaguely. Nancy was an amateur detective who constantly found herself working on cases for her father. "But let’s not talk about that."

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Ned questioned.

At that moment the telephone rang and Nancy said, "Somehow I knew this would happen." Nancy reached for the phone. "Drew residence."

"Well, if it isn’t River Heights own detective." Nancy immediately recognized the voice as Frank Hardy’s.

"Hi, Frank," Nancy said. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. How about you?"

"I’m doing fine. But for some reason I get this feeling this isn’t a social call."

"No, it isn’t," Frank admitted. "We’re having a problem here at our school with some vandalism and several thefts. Unfortunately, Joe and I can’t investigate because we go to school with these people. As soon as we start asking questions, the culprits will disappear.

"So, you want me to come to Bayport to investigate," Nancy finished looking at Ned.

"I know you’ll need to check with your dad, but I, no we, need your help."

"Okay, Frank. Let me check with my dad. If he gives the okay, how soon do you need me there?"

"By Sunday afternoon at the latest," Frank answered.

"All right, Frank. After I talk to my dad, I’ll give you a call back tonight."

"Thanks, Nancy. I should be home later."

"Then I’ll talk to you later. Bye." Nancy hung up the phone. She turned to Ned. "Sorry about that."

"It’s okay," Ned said. "So, what did Frank want?"

"He wants me to come to Bayport to find out who is stealing things from the school and doing some vandalism."

"Why don’t they just handle the investigation themselves?"

"As soon as they start asking questions, the vandals will know about it and never be caught."

"But why you?" Ned asked in an annoyed tone getting to his feet. "And why now?"

"Ned, they’re my friends. I’ve helped you any number of times when you’ve asked and besides, I owe them one."

"But this is my spring break. And now you’ll be spending it in Bayport."

"We could still spend it together." Nancy got to her feet and moved closer to Ned. "What if you came with me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I’ll be undercover and if you came along it could help support my cover story."

"And what is your story?" Ned asked pulling Nancy into his arms.

"I’m not sure," Nancy replied. "But before we worry about that I need to check with my dad."

"If you go, I will keep you company," Ned said. "Besides, you’ll need someone to keep those high school boys away."

"My hero," Nancy said and gave Ned a kiss.

*****

Sunday morning, Nancy and Ned walked into the lobby of Bayport Hotel. Frank had given her a brief run down of the case when she called Friday evening to let him know she was coming.

Nancy told Frank that Ned was coming along and she was posing as Nancy Nickerson, his younger sister. Frank gave them the name of the hotel and agreed they would not acknowledge they knew one another.

Ned signed them in. As the desk clerk was handing them their keys, he said, "Oh, by the way, there is a letter here for Miss Nickerson."

"Thanks," Nancy said taking the envelope. She slid it into her jacket pocket and one of the bell hops led them up to their rooms. Ned’s room was next to Nancy’s on the second floor.

The room was furnished with a queen sized bed with a full chest of drawers across from it. There was a television set on top of the chest. Next to the window was a round table with two chairs.

As Nancy put her clothes in the closet, she wondered if the clothes she had brought were suitable for high school. She knew trends changed quickly and hoped the changes weren’t real drastic in the two years since she had graduated. She brought a bunch of short skirts and matching tops, along with some slacks.

There was a soft knock on the door and Nancy looked through the peephole. It was Ned. She quickly opened the door. As soon as he was inside, she closed the door and jumped into his arms.

Ned leaned down and kissed her. He pulled her close. When they finally broke apart, Ned said, "I’ve been waiting for that."

"So have I. That’s the only problem with going undercover as your sister. We can’t act as though we are engaged."

"I know," Ned said sitting down on the edge of the bed. "But at least we’re together."

"That’s true," Nancy said and pulled a rectangular box from her purse. She handed it to Ned.

"What’s this? It’s not my birthday?"

"It’s not that kind of a gift."

"What do you mean?"

"Just open it."

Ned opened the box and saw a wide gold chain like the ones usually holding an arrowhead at the end. But this chain had Nancy’s engagement ring set in the middle.

"Why do I have your engagement ring?" Ned asked in a hurt tone.

"It would blow my cover," Nancy said apologetically sitting down beside him. She grabbed his hand reassuringly and gave it a squeeze. "I figured it would be better if you held onto it just until I finish this case."

"All right," Ned said reluctantly. "But as soon as this case is over, the ring goes back on your finger."

"Absolutely," Nancy promised.

As Ned put the chain around his neck, he asked, "What was in the envelope?"

"I don’t know," Nancy said pulling it out of her pocket. She opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. "Welcome to Bayport. Once you get settled, talk to Chief Collig at the Bayport Police Station. He’ll be waiting for you. Good luck. Frank and Joe."

"Frank knew when we were arriving, didn’t he?" Ned asked.

"I told Frank it would be sometime this morning."

"I guess we should head over to the police station," Ned said. "The sooner we get this case over, the sooner we can back to our own lives."

"I agree," Nancy said and gave Ned a quick kiss. "Come on. Time to go see the Chief."