The Clue In The Old Stagecoach Part 22

"Neat," said Burt, and the three boys hurried off.

After the promised swim was over, the six young people sat down at a large table beside the pool. As they sipped lemonade and munched pretzels and nuts which the camp always served at this hour, Nancy brought the boys up to date on the mystery.

Ned whistled in amazement. "It's sure a dilly. Sounds as if it has about six parts to it."

Burt laughed. "Maybe each of us should take one part. We'll do it in s.h.i.+fts. One hour on, and two hours off-in couples, of course."

"That's a great idea," Nancy conceded. "But I think that before starting, you boys should become acquainted with the people and places involved in the mystery. We still have time this afternoon to go to the deserted village at Bridgeford. Then we could stop at Mrs. Strook's. What say?"

"Good enough," Ned agreed. "Let's get dressed and go right away." A short time later they all set off.

The boys were intrigued by the restoration of the old-time village. John O'Brien was there and Nancy introduced her friends to the trucker. They discussed the old stagecoach and the hijacking, then the young people left.

When they reached Mrs. Strook's home a little while later, Nancy rang the front doorbell. There was no answer.

"Mrs. Strook must be out," the young sleuth commented, "but it's strange that she would leave her front door open. I want you boys to see this quaint house. I'm sure Mrs. Strook wouldn't mind. Let's go in and look around."

She led the way into the living room and then gasped. The place had been ransacked! The desk drawers were open, with papers scattered over the floor. Sofa cus.h.i.+ons had been thrown helterskelter, and books tossed from wall shelves.

"Oh, how dreadful!" Bess cried out.

Nancy's next thought was for Mrs. Strook's safety. Had the burglars harmed her? The young sleuth began running through the various rooms of the first floor to see if the woman were there.

"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly.

Nancy had just entered a first-floor bedroom. On the bed lay the elderly Mrs. Strook, bound and gagged!

CHAPTER XVIII.

Whirring Cameras

Nancy's friends crowded into Mrs. Strook's bedroom. "Oh!" Bess exclaimed. "Has she been hurt?"

"I think not," Nancy replied.

Before she untied the knots with which Mrs. Strook had been firmly bound and gagged, she said to Ned and the other boys, "Aren't these nautical knots?"

"They sure are," Ned answered emphatically. "Some sailor or ex-sailor tied Mrs. Strook up with clove hitches."

He helped Nancy release the elderly woman from her bonds. Gently Nancy advised Mrs. Strook not to sit up. "Just take it easy and tell us what you can," she said.

"I'll get you some hot tea," Bess offered, and hurried to the kitchen.

Nancy introduced Ned, Burt, and Dave. The stricken woman nodded to them but seemed too shocked to reply. But after she had sipped the tea which Bess brought, Mrs. Strook insisted upon getting up and sitting in a chair. Then she began her story.

"It was awful-just awful," she said. "Two men came to the door and the moment I opened it, they rushed in. One of them said 'We're not goin' to fool around. We want a quick answer. What was Langstreet's secret?' "

"How in the world did they find that out?" George interposed.

"I have no idea," the elderly woman answered. "When I told them I didn't know, they said they'd find out themselves. That's when they tied me up and gagged me so I couldn't yell. They searched this house thoroughly, I'm sure, from the racket I heard. Oh, I hate to think of going outside this room and looking!"

"Please don't do it," said Nancy. "We'd offer to clean things up for you, but the police never want anything disturbed. I must call them. But first, tell me what the men looked like."

Mrs. Strook said she did not know. Both wore masks and hats pulled down so far over their foreheads that she could not tell the color of their hair.

"By any chance, did one have a scar on his wrist?" Nancy asked.

"I don't know that, either. Both men wore long gloves."

"But we do have one possible clue," Nancy said. "The nautical knots. I think I can give the police a good tip as to who the thugs might have been."

Mrs. Strook became very pale again, and Nancy insisted upon her lying on the bed. The boys left the room and went to look around for any other clues to the intruders.

"Perhaps you should go to the hospital, Mrs. Strook," Bess spoke up. "At least until the mess here is straightened out."

The woman shook her head. "I don't feel bad enough to go to the hospital," she insisted. "A little rest will fix me up, I'm sure. Anyway, I want to be here to answer any questions the police may have."

Nancy had felt Bess's suggestion a good one but could not go against the woman's wishes. Now she said, "Perhaps you have some friend or neighbor who will be able to stay with you for a few days?"

Mrs. Strook said she would like this. She gave Nancy a list of names to call. The third one on it, a Mrs. Grover, said she would be happy to help.

Nancy now phoned police headquarters and told her story to Sergeant Hurley. He promised to send a man to Mrs. Strook's as soon as possible. At present most of the force was investigating the explosion.

It was fully an hour before two officers arrived. They were the sergeant himself and Detective Takman.

Mrs. Strook repeated her story, then Nancy told of her suspicion as to who the two thugs might have been.

"This is amazing," Sergeant Hurley remarked. "Those hijackers have eluded the police so far." The officer smiled at Nancy. "You wouldn't have any idea where they are right now, would you, Miss Drew?"

"I wish I did," she answered. "I'd like to ask them a few questions myself!"

During most of this conversation, only Nancy and the officers had been in the room with Mrs. Strook. Bess and George had joined the boys outdoors. They found that Ned had traced the intruders' footprints around the house and through a hedge to the next property. Burt had gone into the kitchen for some string and had "roped" off the footprints.

"Aren't you boys clever!" Bess praised them. "Any more clues?"

"Yes," Dave spoke up. "I'll show you one."

At that moment Nancy came from the house with the police officers. When the roped-off area was pointed out to them, Sergeant Hurley said, "Are all of you detectives?"

"The only real detective among us is Nancy Drew, but we all go to her training school," Burt Eddleton spoke up with a grin.

"Well, I can see that she teaches good courses," the officer said. "Did you find out anything else, young man?"

Dave led them to a spot near the hedge. A man's dark-brown glove lay on the ground. "Mrs. Strook said the thugs wore gloves. Perhaps this is one of them."

From his pocket Detective Takman took a paper bag and a pair of tweezers. Carefully he lifted the glove up and dropped it inside the bag. "We'll have it tested for fingerprints at headquarters," he said.