Aunt Eloise looked amused. “I’d say this stroller is about fifty years old, but hasn’t been in the water over six months. Someone probably threw it out as junk.”
The girls decided they had searched enough for this session and everyone went to dress, disappointed at another failure. They came outside again just in time to witness a gorgeous sunset across the water.
“Let’s take a sunset sail,” Bess proposed.
“Great idea,” Nancy agreed. “Suppose you and George go out first, then I’ll take Aunt Eloise while you cousins get supper!”
“That was a neat trick,” George commented. “Nevertheless, I’ll say okay. Come on, Bess, let’s gol”
She and Bess returned in about twenty minutes, then Nancy and Aunt Eloise set off. Miss Drew worked the stick while Nancy manned the sheet. Enough breeze had sprung up so they were able to sail almost halfway to Cooperstown. They tacked back and pulled up to the dock of Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee.
“Something smells wonderful!” Aunt Eloise remarked. “Bess must be preparing one of her favorite recipes.”
The appetizing dish turned out to be cheese soufflé served with tiny ham sandwiches, corn on the cob, and tomato salad.
After everyone had eaten, Bess called out, “Anyone for dessert?”
“I’m stuffed,” George admitted.
Aunt Eloise smiled. “I’m sure whatever you have planned will be delicious. Why don’t we wait until later in the evening—maybe an early midnight snack.”
All agreed but Bess refused to divulge what the dessert was. A little later they went to sit on the porch. By this time it was dusk and as usual the fireflies began to flit about.
“Have you ever noticed,” Aunt Eloise asked, “that most of the fireflies turn their lights on and off in unison? These are the males. The females refuse to follow this practice and flash on their little lanterns whenever they please. It’s sort of a flirtation.”
The girls laughed and Aunt Eloise went on to explain that entomologists say that this custom makes it easy for a male to find a mate.
Nancy spoke up. “What a perfect night for trying to find luminescent mushrooms for Karen! Why don’t we climb the mountain right now and see if we can find any? They might even be in a cave. I’ve read that mushrooms thrive in damp caves.”
George added eagerly, “I just remembered something I learned about luminescent mushrooms or some kind of fungi growing in the jungle. It seems that during wartime Japanese soldiers used to rub the palms of their hands with this phosphorescent material and could read a letter or military order by holding their hands over the sheet.”
“How amazing!” Bess said.
She was not particularly keen about going on the trek because of the green man, but since her friends were making the climb she felt compelled to go along. Nancy felt no alarm and tried to reassure Bess.
The trekkers took flashlights but did not turn them on. The fireflies lighted their way. Aunt Eloise suggested that they not talk and attract attention, so the group climbed in silence, looking for the luminescent mushrooms. They saw none.
In a little while Nancy and her friends approached the area where they had encountered the green man. There was no sign of him and they heard no voice. Bess had just begun to feel secure against danger when suddenly she grabbed Nancy’s arm in a gesture of fright.
CHAPTER VIII
Bess’s Fright
QUIVERING with fear, Bess could not speak but she pointed to the girls’ right. Some distance away, in the dark forest, they saw the green man enveloped in his weird green light! His face looked more ghoulish than ever. Nancy and her companions stood rooted to the spot, waiting for his next move.
Nancy was asking herself, “Does he know we’re here? If so, is he hoping to scare us away? But why?”
The green light suddenly went out. The man vanished.
“He couldn’t have gone far,” the young detective said to herself. “I’m going to find out where he is.”
She signaled the others to follow her as she made her way along swiftly but noiselessly. Everything went smoothly for about a hundred feet. Then Bess, who was reluctantly bringing up the rear, stumbled over a tree root and fell down.
Involuntarily she gave a little cry. The others stopped walking and looked back. Bess was picking herself up and waved that she was all right. Nancy hoped that if the green man had heard the sound, he might think the cry had come from some night animal.
“It did seem like an owl,” she told herself.
Nancy’s hopes were in vain. A few seconds later the same voice the girls had heard the evening before called out, “Who’s there?”
Aunt Eloise and the others stood stock-still and did not reply. There was no further sound from the unseen man. A few seconds later Nancy decided to take a chance and go on.
George and Aunt Eloise followed, but Bess remained in one spot, paralyzed with fear. Just as she made up her mind to push forward, she was suddenly grabbed from behind and a strong hand clapped over her mouth.
Bess struggled to get away from her captor. She tried to scream but could make only gurgling sounds, which her friends could not hear. Her abductor began to drag her down the mountain.
Since there had been no outcry, Bess’s friends were unaware of the girl’s plight. A few moments later, however, Nancy heard scraping sounds behind her. Turning to find out what was making them, she realized that Bess was not with the group.
Aunt Eloise and George looked also and together the three began to retrace their steps. Bess was not in sight. Where was she?
Nancy whispered worriedly, “I think someone has kidnapped Bess! Those scraping sounds are being made by her heels as she’s dragged down the mountain!”
The searchers turned on their flashlights and hurriedly followed the sounds. The abductor stayed on the trail. In a few moments Nancy saw Bess ahead of them. A masked figure was clutching her around the arms and had a hand clapped over her mouth.
“Stop that!” Aunt Eloise shouted, running as fast as she could over the uneven ground.
At once Bess’s captor dropped her, turned, and ran pell-mell down the hill. As Nancy and the others rushed toward Bess, the young detective kept wondering why the man had taken that route.
“Could he be the green man, or someone in league with him?”
There was no time for further speculation. By now the kidnapped girl was sitting up and declared she was all right.
“But my legs are too wobbly for me to stand yet,” she confessed.
“We’ll carry you back to the cabin,” George offered.
“I’ll be all right,” Bess insisted. “That guy didn’t harm me. Give me a few minutes to collect my wits. I’ve had a pretty bad scare.”
“I’ll say you did,” Aunt Eloise agreed. “We’ll sit here for a while. When you feel like talking, tell us exactly what happened.”
Nancy spoke up. “I’m sure neither the green man nor his cohorts will expect any of us to go back to that area. I’d like to sneak up to it and see if I can learn anything.”
As Aunt Eloise started to object, Nancy added, “I’ll be careful, really I will. It isn’t far from here and you’ll know where to find me if I don’t return.”
Miss Drew finally consented but insisted that Nancy return within ten minutes. Otherwise they would investigate.
“I’ll be here,” her niece promised.
Nancy turned off her flashlight and disappeared among the trees. Instead of going up the regular path and turning right, she took a shortcut directly to the area where they had seen the green man. Within a short time she was at the spot and stood still to listen. Were her ears deceiving her or had she heard voices?
“Yes, I did,” she said to herself.
From somewhere nearby she could clearly detect a subdued conversation.
A man said, “I don’t want people coming around here, do you understand? It’s too dangerous. Sam, you’re in charge of security for this project. You’ve got to do a better job than just looking spooky.”
There was a long pause, then Sam replied, “Listen, Mike, your way would bring the police to our headquarters in no time, and you don’t want that.”
This remark was followed by a long silence. Nancy could not hear a sound. No lights, no men appeared from anywhere.
“I’ll investigate this place in daylight,” the young detective told herself. “It might be a good idea to mark the spot.”
She reached up to the tall pine alongside which she was standing and broke off a good-sized piece of bark.
“That should be enough identification when I return,” she decided.
Nancy quickly hurried back to her friends, who looked relieved, and excitedly whispered to them what she had learned.
“So there is something underhanded going on in this area,” Bess remarked as she stood up and started trudging down the hillside. “Well, I for one refuse to come here again and I advise all of you to stay away also. Let the police solve this mystery.”
The group discussed whether or not Bess’s near abduction was cause for getting in touch with the authorities that night, but after discussing it several minutes they decided to let the incident pass temporarily.
“Let’s make up our minds tomorrow morning,” Aunt Eloise suggested. “I’m sure everyone is exhausted. A good night’s sleep will do each of us a lot of good.”
By the time they reached the cabin, Bess had revived completely from her frightening experience and insisted they eat the dessert she had prepared. It proved to be a generous helping of wild strawberry mousse heaped in the center of a ring of fluffy sponge cake.
“Is this ever yummy!” Nancy exclaimed. “I’m glad we waited.”
Everyone slept soundly, but early the next morning there was a loud knock on the front door. Nancy and Aunt Eloise put on robes and answered the summons. Miss Drew opened the door wide to find a state trooper standing there.
“I’m Officer Duffy,” he introduced himself. The trooper stared at Nancy. “Where were you last night?” he asked with a stern expression.
Nancy explained that the group in the cabin had taken a walk up the mountainside, then had gone to bed.
“Why are you asking?”
In reply he said, “Will you please come out on the porch? I can see you better here and I want to get a good look at you.”
Still puzzled, Nancy did as requested. Aunt Eloise followed her. He gave the girl a searching look.
Aunt Eloise frowned. “Just what are you getting at?” she asked the trooper.
To the surprise of the Drews, the officer said to Nancy, “You cover up very well, young lady. But this time we have some proof against you that identifies you as the guilty party.”
“Guilty of what?” Nancy asked in amazement.
“You know, all right. And there’s no use in denying it.”
With that the officer pulled a picture from his pocket, saying it had been taken the night before by an infrared camera.
“Where?” Aunt Eloise asked.
“In our largest jewelry store,” the trooper replied. “An invisible camera is set up there. Perhaps you don’t know what this young lady is up to. Instead of just being a sightseer, she’s been robbing jewelry stores and perpetrating other crimes.”
“Nonsense!” Aunt Eloise cried.
Duffy held the photograph so that Nancy and her aunt could see it. The scene revealed the burglary in the jewelry store. A man stood there but only his back showed, so he could not be identified.
The girl with him, however, was facing the camera which had taken a very clear picture of her. Undeniably the girl in it looked like Nancy Drew!
By this time Bess and George had come outside and asked what was going on. When they were shown the picture, both of them gasped.
Bess exclaimed, “This is horrible!”
Aunt Eloise turned to the officer. “We’ve had other problems because of this girl. She does look a lot like Nancy, but she’s someone else.”
George spoke up. “Officer, I should like to point out one difference. See that mark on the jewel thief’s face? It’s probably a big insect bite. Look at Nancy. She doesn’t have one!”
The trooper’s expression softened. Was he beginning to believe that Nancy was innocent?
“That’s a good point, Officer, don’t you think so?” Aunt Eloise smiled. “Won’t you join us for breakfast? We’d like to tell you what we know about the girl in the picture.”
Trooper Duffy consented and sat down on the porch. The others went into the cabin and while Aunt Eloise prepared coffee and bacon, scrambled eggs and toast, the girls dressed. The group ate picnic-style while Bess told of her harrowing experience the evening before and the appearance of the green man. The officer pulled a notebook from his pocket and wrote down a few facts.
Nancy said to him, “Would you have time this morning to accompany me to the area we’ve been talking about? I can find it easily and I have an idea that possibly the girl thief may be hiding there.”
The trooper nodded. “I’ll be glad to go.” About half an hour later he and Nancy started up the mountainside. The young detective headed for the tree from which she had torn the bark.
CHAPTER IX
Bat Attack
As Nancy and Officer Duffy trudged up the mountain she told him in more detail about last night’s episode and the conversation she had overheard between the two men.
“Sam and Mike?” he repeated. “As soon as I get back to headquarters I’ll see if there’s a combination of men with those names wanted by the police.” He shook his head, adding, “Pretty slim information to start with, though.”
Nancy agreed that the names were fairly common. She told him that the one called Sam evidently assumed horrible disguises to frighten people.
“Of course that’s no crime in itself,” the trooper reminded the young detective.
She confessed that she was more curious than frightened. “I’d like to find out where the men are staying, what they’re doing, and why they are scaring people away from the area.”