The Clue Of The Velvet Mask Part 27

If only she and Bess could escape and bring state troopers there in time to thwart their plan! But the girls' bonds were secure and there was no chance of loosening them.

"And maybe no one will find us," Nancy reflected despairingly as she heard Harris's car leave.

Only George Fayne knew where she and Bess had gone. Formerly their failure to return to River Heights in a reasonable length of time would have signaled trouble. But now George was not herself. Could she possibly be depended upon to send help? Nancy wondered.

Twenty minutes elapsed, then the girls heard footsteps on the cellar stairs. Their ankles were unbound and they were pulled roughly to their feet.

"Come along," a man said gruffly. "You're going to be moved."

The girls' hearts sank. Their one chance of rescue was vanishing!

"Unless," Nancy thought, "our rescuers could pick up our trail."

As the girls were prodded up the stairway, Nancy pondered how she might leave a clue. She thought of the b.u.t.tons on her dress. Could she possibly get one off?

Stumbling sideways against the wall, she deliberately tried to tear one off. Luck favored her. A protruding nail ripped her dress. She heard a b.u.t.ton drop on the step I

"It's a slight hope," she thought as her captor yanked her around again.

"Keep goin'," he ordered. "No stallin'." When they reached the main floor of the inn, he said, "Okay, Pete."

"You two get those girls out of here," Tombar ordered. "And make it snappy."

The girls' ankles were bound again. Their arms still tied behind them, and with gags and blindfolds in place, they were lifted into a vehicle and put on the floor. The driver started the motor and pulled away at high speed. Nancy and Bess wondered if they were in the Taylor truck they had seen backing out of the driveway.

As they rode along, the girls could hear the couple in the front seat talking. Nancy was sure they were speaking in disguised voices.

"If I can catch them off guard," she thought, "maybe they'll speak in natural tones."

Nancy thumped her feet up and down.

"Florence, what's that?" the man cried.

"The detective's up to her tricks again."

Florence Snecker's voice! Was the companion her husband? He did not sound like the man whose voice she had heard in the apartment.

"You girls keep quiet or you'll be sorry," the woman warned. "We don't want no trouble with you!"

Nancy smiled inwardly. She had achieved her purpose, but as to making trouble, what chance did she have?

"But I mustn't give up hope," Nancy chided herself.

She wondered about Bess who had made no move. Had she fainted?

The two girls were at opposite ends of the truck. Nancy tried to reach Bess but the effort was too painful. She longed for the journey to end.

Presently the truck slowed down. They must be in a town. After turning several corners, it finally stopped. The motor was switched off. Apparently the truck was in some back alley, for there were no street noises. Nancy heard the woman remark to her male companion:

"I'm glad our friend's going to Harris instead of waiting for him at the inn. He used good sense to unload on Harris and pull out. This town's getting too hot for all of us."

Nancy felt certain that Mrs. Snecker was speaking of Peter Tombar. If so, it meant that he would flee the city as soon as he had collected the cash from the real-estate agent. The police would not find him, even if it occurred to George Fayne to send them to the inn to investigate.

The girls were hauled out of the truck, untied, and forced to walk into a building. There they were made to sit on the floor while their ankles were rebound.

"Good-by, snooper," Mrs. Snecker said, giving Nancy a vicious prod with her shoe. "Now let's see you tell the police what you know!"

The man added, "We'll soon take you away to a place where you'll never squeal!"

A heavy door was rolled shut and locked. The room became silent.

Nancy squirmed and twisted but she could not loosen the cords which held her prisoner. Seldom had she been in a more hopeless situation!

She was certain now that Peter Tombar and the Sneckers were working together in the Velvet Gang. They meant to pull one final robbery and flee.

But what good was this knowledge? She was unable to notify the police or even to free herself and Bess.

"Oh, why did I let myself get caught!" Nancy scolded herself.

CHAPTER XVIII.

A Threat Revealed

IN River Heights the long absence of Nancy and Bess had begun to cause alarm. Hannah Gruen knew something had gone wrong because Nancy had not returned to dress for her date with Ned, Frantic with worry she had telephoned the Marvin home several times but had always received the same answer-there had been no word from Bess.

At seven o'clock Ned arrived. Hearing that Nancy had not come home, he frowned in concern.

"I was afraid of this. She becomes so completely wrapped up in a mystery. Now something's happened." He began pacing the floor.

"Mr. Drew won't be home until late," Hannah informed him. "I've tried to reach him by phone but I can't. I don't know what to do about Nancy and Bess."

Tearfully she disclosed that the two girls had been seen last at the Fayne home. At that time they had told George that they might drive out to a place called the Blue Iris Inn.

"But n.o.body seems to know where it is. The inn's not listed in the phone book."

"I never heard of the place until Nancy mentioned it," Ned admitted. "And she didn't say where it was."

"Oh, Ned, can't you think of something we can do?" the housekeeper pleaded.

"I'll go out to the inn as soon as I find out where it is," the young man promised. "Maybe George can give me a clue."

He drove at once to the Fayne home. George was up and dressed, but in a near state of collapse from anxiety over the girls' disappearance.

"Oh, I knew this would happen!" George moaned. "I warned Bess and Nancy not to go, but they wouldn't listen to me. Now the dreadful threat may be carried out."

"Threat?" Ned demanded. "What threat, George?"