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The Kachina Doll Mystery |
Chapter 1 - A Friend's Plea
Nancy receives a letter from former River Heights resident Heather McGuire, a friend who moved to Arizona with her brother and grandfather and who is in the process of refurbishing an old ranch in Arizona into a fitness resort. There have been some problems and Heather feels they might be related to a curse of the Kachinas which decorate the main building. She invites Nancy, Bess and George down to investigate. Nancy does some research on Kachina dolls and receives a warning note at home telling her to stay away from Arizona.
Chapter 2 - The Kachina's Curse
Nancy, Bess and George are greeted at the airport by Heather
and Chuck, who are feeling low as their grandfather has had an
accident the previous night. He had seen a ghostly Kachina
figure and had tripped in the hallway while attempting to
pursue it. They also explain that the housekeeper's 12-year
old nephew, who is half-Vietnamese and half-Hopi is staying
with them. He had accidentally set a fire when trying to make
smoke signals, and since then has been suspected of causing
the further troubles. As the group gets close to the ranch, an
oncoming car forces them off the road.
Chatper 3 - Horse Thief
They are able to continue on to Kachina Ranch where the girls are delighted by the architecture, gardens, swimming pool and tennis courts. Maria, the housekeeper tells Heather that a neighbor has had a horse go missing, and that Ngyun has been spotted with a similar horse. He returns with the horse and claims he was found wandering loose and so the boy retrieved him.
Chapter 4 - Dangerous Warning
Heather takes the girls on a tour of the main house and shows them the corridor whose walls are decorated with a variety of Kachina spirits. They meet the neighbor rancher Mr. Henry. The girls return to their rooms to get ready for dinner. Nancy discovers that her suitcase is already unlocked and as she unpacks, she discovers a scorpion hiding in a shirt.
Chapter 5 - A Scary Apparition
She manages to kill the scorpion with one of her riding boots
and realizes that it was probably planted in her suitcase.
Later that evening, Nancy is awakened by distant sounds and
looks in the hallway to see an apparition of a Kachina float
by and turn into the wall. Maria arrives on the scene and she
and Nancy have a snack in the kitchen and discuss the story of
Kachina 
House. She
describes that the original builder, Big Jake Harris, was a
friend of the local Hopi tribe. He had died unexpectedly and
locals claimed he was cursed when he betrayed the tribe by
stealing their treasure. The tribal chiefs (one of whom was
Maria's great-father) were blamed for the death and banished,
where they lived and died in disgrace. The tribe's treasure
never turned up.
Chapter 6 - First Clue
The next morning, Nancy tells the girls about seeing the Kachina ghost. They then go out on horseback to investigate the scene of the cactus fires. Nancy notices that, at the first one, to which Ngyun had admitted setting fire, there were matches and evidence that the boy had tried to extinguish the fire. But at the other cactus, the setting of the fire appears to have been more deliberate. The cactus falls over and nearly crushes the girls.
Chapter 7 - A Bolting Mare
That evening, a campfire has been planned and the group is joined by some friends of the McGuires. Everyone goes out on horseback and they discuss the legend of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. After a delicious cookout and some fireside singing, the group starts back to the ranch. Nancy's horse is spooked by the sound of a rattlesnake and runs away out of control.
Chapter 8 - The Rattler
It is discovered to be the disembodied rattle of the snake only which was thrown in her horse's path. The McGuires realize that the troubles are not the results of a Kachina curse, but the deliberate actions of a person and ask Nancy to stop her investigating as they feel she is in danger. Nancy refuses. Later, she is awakened again by the sounds, which she realizes is chanting. She follows the spirit his time to a specific Kachina on the wall, which she realizes is holding a pencil. She follows to the spot where the pencil is pointing and discovers a loose brick, behind which is hidden Jake Harris' journal.
Chapter 9 - A Wonderful Discovery
Nancy reads the journal and learns about the offer made to the tribe for their Kachina by a collector named Winslow. Harris feels that the offer is much too low and offers to hide the dolls in case Winslows attempts to steal them. He says he has hidden them and marked the hiding place with a painting of a Kachina, but then the last few pages of the journal have been removed. After drifting off to sleep, Nancy is awakened a second time by the warnings that a fire is burning on the property.
Chapter 10 - A Raging Fire
One of the guest cottages is on fire and the girls help put it out. Afterwards, everyone is discussing how the fire may have started and Ngyun runs off after declaring his innocence. When Nancy returns to her room, she finds that Jake's diary is missing.
Chapter 11 - A Flying Arrow
When Ngyun returns from his ride, Nancy tries to strike up a friendly conversation with him. Later Chuck tells Nancy that some buildings on Mr. Henry's property have burned down, and the neighbor is getting very angry and wants Ngyun sent away. Nancy goes to search for clues regarding the cottage fire, and while investigating, someone shoots an arrow at her - it misses and lodges in a tree.
Chapter 12 - Trapped!
The arrow is identified as Ngyun's, but Maria admits that he has lost some during his explorations. A few nights later, Nancy notices a black and white pinto headed toward a wash; thinking it might be Ngyun, Nancy quickly follows on another horse. A thunderstorm starts suddenly and Nancy is almost washed away in a flash flood.
Chapter 13 - A Stormy Night
The storm stops, and George and Chuck appear in the jeep - they explain that Ngyun has been back at the ranch the whole time. Nancy suspects that she was led into a trap. The next day she returns to the scene of the washout and finds a bit of red cloth which has been torn from a shirt. Nancy feels that this is evidence which clears Ngyun of all wrong-doing.
Chapter 14 - Ngyun's Trouble
Back at the ranch, the sheriff has been called in and Ngyun
has been taken in to Apache Junction for questioning. Some
jewelry has been stolen from a nearby mobile home, and one of
the pieces found in the stable. When the sheriff brings Ngyun
home, Nancy talks to him about the strange happenings at the
ranch and says she believes someone is trying to frame the
boy. Ngyun is upset that no one believes he is innocent, and
he rides off on his horse; Nancy sees him leaving and follows.
He stops at some hills near the Superstition Mountains, called
Leaning Tree Ravine and Canyon. 
When Nancy approaches him, he
quietly points out that two men are digging in the canyon
below.
Chapter 15 - Caught!
Nancy also sees a small cabin, and a corral with a pinto in it. Ngyun believes the men are prospectors, and is surprised when Nancy indicates that they are still on the resort's land. He admits that the men saw him spying once and volunteers to distract them so that Nancy can search the cabin. Inside she finds the stolen jewelry and Jake's diary, but is trapped inside when the men return. She overhears the men talking about finding gold and that their boss is the neighbor, Mr. Henry.
Chapter 16 - A Great Shock
Nancy hides under a cot until nightfall, but is eventually caught. Mr. Henry arrives; Nancy attacks him an escapes from the cabin, hiding in a small hole in a nearby rock formation. George, Bess, Heather and Chuck , Ward and the sheriff arrive and capture the culprits (Ngyun had returned to the resort to get help). Mr. Henry admits that he had found some gold on his own land washed out during recent rains; he tried the buy the McGuires land believing it to be the source of the gold, but they had refused to sell. Ngyun had spotted the men working and Mr. Henry had contrived to get the boy sent away.
Chapter 17 - Celebration
A barn dance is planned to celebrate the end of the mishaps,
and much energy is spent in planning an decorating. Bess and
George witness the Kachina ghost that night. Grandfather
McGuire is released from the hospital and talks to Nancy about
Jake's diary and the spirit.
Chapter 18 - Barn Dance
The party draws friends from all around and everyone has fun. As the evening begins to wind down, Nancy slips outside for breath of fresh air and sees the Cloud Kachina spirit on the ridge, motioning to her. She follows it to the main resort building, where she is directed to an area behind some mesquite and cactus. A painting of a fierce Kachina is painted at the bottom of the wall.
Chapter 19 - A Ghost Beckons
The next morning, Nancy clears the area around the painting
and Maria identifies it as Hilili, a 
witch Kachina who serves as a
guardian, perhaps to a treasure. Chuck begins digging and
discovers an old metal trunk.
Chapter 20 - Hilili's Treasure
Nancy opens the lid of the trunk to find Kachina dolls and the last few pages of Jake's journal inside. The papers explain that the unscrupulous collector Winslow was pursuing the tribe, hoping to steal the Kachina, so the chief asked Jake to conceal them. The McGuires agree that the Kachinas should be returned to the tribe, to be delivered by Maria and Ngyun.
6 grayscale pictures by Paul Frame © 1981 by Simon & Schuster, New York. 5 line drawings drawings by Jean-Louis Mercier © 1984 by Hachette, Paris.
© 2001, Lea Shangraw Fox