The Message in the Hollow Oak (8 page)

At dawn they still had not found any sign of Bob. Everyone returned to the girls’ farmhouse for a quick breakfast, then they started out on another search, this time by bright daylight.

Art wrinkled his brow. “It’s odd. Bob would never go off without telling someone.”

By this time all the searchers were sure that something had happened to him.

“He may have been attacked and carried off into the woods,” Art suggested to Nancy and Julie Anne. “I et’s look there.”

The girls followed him onto an overgrown path among the trees. The three became silent as they looked intently for clues.

A few minutes later Art cried out, “Here’s something!”

A torn piece of bright-patterned material had been stuck into the crotch of a tree near the path.

“This is from Bob’s shirt, no doubt about it,” Art told Nancy and Julie Anne.

Nancy examined the scrap and said she was sure it had not been snagged off, but deliberately torn and placed there by Bob.

“I believe he left it as a clue to where he was being taken—straight ahead.”

Art went back to call the other searchers and soon the whole group was pounding down the trail. They could see various-sized footprints. Upon investigation, Nancy declared that besides Bob there had been two other men. The three had been together at first, then Bob had evidently dropped back, trying to escape. Unseen by them he had placed the cloth in the tree as a clue, in case he did not make it. His captors had run back and prodded him ahead.

“Poor Bob!” Julie Anne exclaimed. “He must have been overpowered.”

“And probably gagged,” Nancy added. “Otherwise he’d have yelled for help.”

All agreed and hurried along the overgrown path. It was easy to follow the trail because grass had been trampled where no footprints were evident. Nancy and Art had outdistanced the others. As they turned a corner in the woods both of them could hear water running. In a few moments they came to a deep stream.

“Now what do we do?” Art asked.

Nancy gazed left and right. No footprints or trampled grass were visible. Had Bob been taken away in a boat?

Holding her hands binocular-fashion around her eyes, Nancy focused on the opposite bank and tried to detect possible footprints. She could see none.

“I’m afraid we’re stopped for the time being,” she said in disappointment. “Let’s retrace our steps and keep looking for clues.” They found nothing and in dismay returned to the dig.

“We must notify the State Police,” Theresa remarked with mounting concern.

“I’ll be glad to do it,” Nancy spoke up. “That is, if Art will take me to town. And I want to phone home.”

“I’ll get the motorcycle.”

He brought the vehicle to the front of the house and said to Nancy, “Hop aboard!”

As they neared Walmsley, Art said he thought they should call Bob’s house before notifying the police.

“It’s possible that he escaped from his captors and is home by now.”

Nancy doubted this, but agreed it was a good thing to do. They went to the telephone booth they had used before and Art put in the call. Bob’s father was shocked to hear the news. Not only had his son not come home, but he and Mrs. Snell had not heard from him since he had left for the dig site.

“This is alarming,” Mr. Snell said to Art. “If I don’t hear from Bob or the police soon, I’ll notify the FBI. Bob may have been taken out of the state.”

Art hung up. Then he dialed State Police Headquarters and handed the phone to Nancy. She reported Bob’s disappearance and the fact that the farmhouse near the dig had been visited more than once by an intruder or intruders. “The one last night tried to steal a skeleton,” she said.

“We’ll look into this whole matter at once,” the officer promised. “Men will come to the dig. And if you get any more clues, be sure to let us know.”

Nancy agreed to do this and said good-by. As she paused before making her next call, Art asked, “Phoning your dad?”

Nancy shook her head. “I want to tell Ned about the arrangements for the towboat and barge trip.”

Art walked off a little distance looking very glum. There was no doubt about it—he was jealous! Nancy hoped there would be no trouble between him and Ned.

It was fully a minute before she reached Ned. “Everything’s set,” she reported. “Julie Anne and Art and I will meet you tomorrow afternoon at the Delta Motel in Cairo. Toward suppertime we’ll go aboard the towboat. It’s called the
Sally O.
”

“Sounds great!” Ned replied. “I’ll get in touch with the others right away. It sure will be good to see you again, Nancy. It’s been a long time.”

Nancy smiled. It had been only two weeks! But she was delighted that Ned felt this way and replied, “Yes, it has seemed like ages.”

After she had finished talking to him, Nancy phoned her own home. Her lather was not around, so she told Hannah Gruen the news, including the disappearance of Bob Snell.

“That’s dreadful,” the Drews’ housekeeper said, then gave a great sigh. “Nancy, every place you go, it seems as if mysteries just pile up one after another.”

“I guess you’re right, Hannah dear,” the young detective replied. “All of us are terribly worried about Bob. We think he was kidnapped, but nobody can figure out why. There’s been no ransom demand. His family hasn’t a great deal of money, anyway, and certainly Bob doesn’t.”

“I’ll be thinking good thoughts for him,” Hannah said. “Let me know the minute he’s found.”

Hannah also reported that Mr. Drew had been away overnight and would not return until that evening.

Nancy said to give him her love, then went to join Art. Riding back to the dig, he seemed lost in thought. She wondered if he was worrying about Bob Snell or just being foolishly jealous of Ned.

“Would you mind stopping at Clem Rucker’s farm?” she inquired. “I asked to have messages for me sent in care of him at the Walmsley post office. There might be one or two.”

Art turned onto a side road and the couple bounced along until they reached the elderly farmer’s house. He was just coming in from the fields.

“Howdy, folks,” he greeted them. “Nancy, I went to the post office this mornin’ and picked up a couple o’ letters for you. Figgered to bring ‘em over later. Wait a minute. I’ll get ’em.”

He disappeared inside the house but was back in a few seconds with Nancy’s mail. She asked if he and Art would mind if she read them.

“No. Go ahead,” Clem answered. “I reckon you’re curious.”

Nancy tore open one of the envelopes. The letter inside was from Roscoe Thompson, the helicopter pilot. He would come to the dig at eleven o’clock the next morning to pick up his three passengers. Nancy reported this to Art, who smiled feebly.

The other letter was from Mr. Drew. In it he told of a telephone conversation with his sister in New York. Aunt Eloise had given him some startling news.

The letter read:

“Boycey Osborne is very much concerned about one of his colleagues who was on the detective club trip. This man, A. C. E. Armstrong, left the group to go visit a brother in Rochester, New York. Now Boycey has learned that Armstrong never arrived there. No one has heard from him since he left his friends in Illinois. A search of hospitals has failed to reveal his whereabouts.

“Everyone is extremely worried that Armstrong met with foul play. If you come upon any clues, Nancy, get in touch with Boycey immediately.”

Shocked, Nancy read the letter aloud. Art and Clem were disturbed by the news.

“Do you suppose,” Art asked, “that he might have been kidnapped and there’s some connection between his disappearance and that of Bob Snell?”

“But they didn’t know each other,” Nancy replied, “and they were on different projects.”

Clem wanted to hear more regarding Bob Snell, so they told him the whole story. The farmer said he would certainly keep his eyes open for clues.

When Nancy and Art arrived at the farmhouse, the others were already eating lunch under the trees. The couple reported what they had learned. The girls were aghast at the story of the disappearance of A. C. E. Armstrong and a few of them hinted about going home before the situation became more dangerous.

“I can’t say I blame you,” Theresa replied. “But you couldn’t go before tomorrow. I suggest that hereafter we have guards at both houses day and night.”

“May I make a suggestion?” Nancy asked. “There must be some whistles in camp. Why don’t we use them to alert one another at a moment’s notice?”

“A very good idea,” Theresa agreed.

Only two whistles were found. At supper these were given to the two boys who would act as guards that night. Les Blake was to stand watch at the girls’ farmhouse.

“Don’t hesitate to whistle if you see anything suspicious,” Theresa told him as she and the girls went into the house at bedtime.

Nancy and Julie Anne packed their clothes in preparation for the take-off the following morning. Finally they got to bed and all the lanterns and flashlights were extinguished.

Some time later Nancy was awakened by the shrill sounds of a whistle. For a moment she could not figure out why it was being blown, then suddenly she remembered. Les Blake was warning them of danger!

The other girls had also been awakened. With Nancy leading them, they hurried to the door, beaming flashlights.

As the girls rushed from the farmhouse, a bright light was turned on them, almost blinding the group. They could hear running footsteps.

“What happened?” Julie Anne asked excitedly.

At that moment the glaring light was switched away from them and focused onto two fleeing figures. All the girls beamed their own flashlights and now could see Les who carried a powerful electric lantern. He made no attempt to dash after the men so Nancy hurried up to him.

“Let’s catch them!” she suggested, and started to run.

Les held her back. “No, it’s too dangerous. Those men were going to kidnap you!”

“What!” cried Julie Anne who had rushed to their side.

Les explained that he had seen two figures approaching the house and hidden himself behind a bush to watch them. They had paused near him to talk in whispers.

Les went on, “I heard one of them say, ‘I’ve been casing the place. I know which is the Drew girl’s bed. You wait here. I’ll go in and put her in a deep sleep and carry her out.’

“‘Right,’ the other man said. ‘She’s been interfering with our plans long enough.’ Then the first man said, ‘Okay, Kit.’ ”

Nancy and Julie Anne gasped. The other girls had crowded around and were exclaiming how dreadful it was.

“This place is really getting dangerous!” Claire Warwick said, eyeing Nancy scornfully.

Nancy had to agree and was sure now that she was the cause of it all. Perhaps she should not come back here after the towboat trip, but instead find some secret place to stay while she worked on the hollow oak mystery.

She asked Les to describe the men. The one who was called Kit fitted the description of the man who said his name was Tom Wilson. As before, he did not limp.

“But who was his companion?” Nancy wondered.

Les said he had decided at first to jump out at the men with his lantern and scare them away, but then realized he would be no match for them in a fight.

“I’m sorry we lost those would-be kidnappers,” he remarked.

Nancy thanked him. Forcing a smile, she said to the others, “Tomorrow morning I’ll be leaving and all your worries will be over.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Claire Warwick said. “I mean no offense, Nancy, but after all you’re not an archaeology student and your detective work here has—”

“That will be enough,” Theresa spoke up sharply. “I suggest that all you girls go back to bed.”

Claire looked angry and mumbled something about being treated like a child. But she followed the others into the house and went to her room.

Julie Anne put an arm around Nancy. “Don’t let her worry you, dear. Nobody cares for Claire and I’m sure all the other girls like you. They’d be sorry to see you leave for good.”

Nancy smiled in appreciation. She slept a few hours, then was up before the rising bell.

When the boys arrived from their house, they were astounded to learn of the attempted kidnapping. Art said, “I wonder if the same two men took Bob Snell away.”

“If so, I’m pretty sure I know who one of them is,” Nancy told him, and mentioned Kit Kadle, alias Tom Wilson. “It’s a good thing we’re going on the towboat trip for a few days. Maybe Kadle will think I’ve gone home and the group here won’t be harassed by intruders.”

Art made no comment. As he looked off into space, Nancy wondered, “Can he still be sulking about meeting Ned?” They walked into the farmhouse and joined the line for a cafeteria breakfast. Art ate quickly and went back to his dormitory to pack. The others did not see him until a quarter to eleven when he trudged up the path carrying a suitcase.

Nancy and Julie Anne were waiting for the helicopter to arrive. As the three looked up, they could see it coming. In a few minutes the whirlybird settled down onto the field near the farmhouse.

The trio hurried forward to greet Roscoe Thompson. Nancy introduced Julie Anne, then the three passengers climbed the ladder into the cockpit. The pilot asked how everything had been going and was told there had been trouble at the dig.

Nancy reported the disappearance of Bob Snell. suggesting that while Roscoe was flying around the area, he might keep his eyes open for anything suspicious.

“I’ll do that. But why would anyone want to kidnap him?”

“Nobody knows,” Art answered.

Nancy did not intend to mention her own danger, but Julie Anne blurted it out.

Roscoe’s eyes opened wide. “This is pretty bad,” he remarked. “You’re lucky those two fellows didn’t succeed.”