Nancy Drew and The Mystery Of The Ghost Maiden

Chapter Thirty-three

After Nancy had shared the picture of a man with Ned, she found herself sitting on the lush green grass enjoying the fresh air. The two love birds. Nancy and Ned stole glances at each other and held hands. To Nancy, this felt blissful. After a moment, Ned looked down at her, who was resting on his lap with her eyes closed. Ned lightly shook her before asking, "Have the photos developed from our trip into the woods?"

Nancy blinked her eyes sleepily and yawned. "Yea, I have them right here in my purse." she said while pulling them out. Ned put his arm around her to pull her close as they looked at the photos.

"This is a really good photo of you." Nancy said wearing a cheesy grin. "You are such a hottie, my love."

Ned took hold of the photo to have a closer look. "If you say so. I think I look little pissed off though." As Ned look through the photos, something caught his attention. Then he added, "In the corner of the photo, I think I see something in the bushes."

Nancy's eyes went wide, and she spoke in almost a whisper. "Ned, this looks just like the girl from the house. The very same one, whom we chased into the locked room."

Ned sat there silent for a moment as he studied the picture, before saying "I think you are right. The image is blurry, but it sure does look like her."

Nancy scratched her head, "I guess we will just have to turn this new evidence into the police when we get back to town. I do not think there is anything else we can do with it for now."

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Nancy noticed a small bright green hummingbird darting around. "Be quiet," she said as she gestured towards the small bird. They marveled at the tiny bird darted from flower to flower drinking nectar as it hovered in mid-air. Not long after another hummingbird appeared and started to call the other one.

"Are they a mated pair?" Ned asked but before Nancy could answer the two birds flew away.

"That is strange," she commented, as the birds disappeared out of view behind the nearby waterfall.

"What is, Nancy?" Ned asked.

"Come on Ned, my gut tells me that there is something off about that waterfall. I want to take a closer look at it." Nancy replied as she took off in that direction. Ned just scrubbed his wide shoulders and got to his feet to follow his girl. Nancy had an eye for anything special and made life an adventure for those all around her, this was just one of the many things he loved about her.

The waterfall became louder as they came closer to it. Once the teens got within a few feet of the waterfall, they noticed a small entrance hidden behind its curtain of water. Carefully the two squeezed through to find a large space behind it. It was about the size of an advantage living room. It was dark and damp inside. Nancy spotted the missing hummingbird nearby, darting around before it flew away again.

It was a beautiful sight to look through the waterfall and onto the rest of nature's beauty. This place was truly amazing, but Nancy knew they would have to leave soon. She wished to visit this place again one day with her camera. They explored the rest of the hidden area and found old rusted metal jugs and barrels with tubes coming out. "Must have been used to make moonshine during the probation times before it was abandoned." Ned mused as he leaned against a bare wall.

"Yeah, I have heard stories of an old timer making the moonshine up in the hills and hiding it in usual places," Nancy said before taking Ned's hand in hers and heading back out into the open. Ned was getting ready to leave when Nancy begged him to explore the area just a little bit more before leaving. She remembered seeing an old bridge on the hike earlier that looked very interesting. There was no way Nancy could leave before getting a better look at it.

It turned out to be more of a ruin than anything else but was still beautiful in a unique way. Nancy wondered how old it was and if Heather and her love had once met upon this very bridge many years ago.

An hour later, Ned drove along the dirt country road at a slow pace. Nancy had pulled out the old diary they had found hidden in Heather's old bedroom. She began going through starting on the last entry. It spoke of the early effects of scarlet fever and Heather missing her lover.

He had not come back yet, and she worried about him. A lot of the other pages spoke of her father's many house guests and servants. She seemed very depressed in many of the later entries. Nancy continued to read the book and came upon a vague poem. It spoke vaguely of "Loves Symbol" and a "walk along with a budding garden in the moonlight with my love." It also said, "If only Monte knew his collection was the place."

So, the symbol was either a wedding ring or a necklace. But was the garden once at her aunt's mansion? Who was this "Monte" of which Heather spoke? There were still a few loose ends to tie up here.

Bonus Files

I have blessed enough to have gone and visited a few falls in North Carolina, two I even got to walk behind. There is no way to describe the experience except calming and beautiful. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a video to do this scene justice, however, I have still attached the best one I could find. In hopes of giving my readers a better idea of what it is like. 

For my readers that have visited a waterfall in real life, please comment below on your experience and what it was like. I would love to read about it. Thanks, from the author.