The Haunted Bridge Part 21

So absorbed were both girls in their game that they scarcely noticed how overcast the sky had become. Black clouds rolled swiftly up from the west, blotting out the sun.

The ninth hole, marking the halfway point of the match, left the girls still even. Betsy Howard seemed as fresh as ever, and on the tenth tee drove out a ball which easily went two hundred and twenty yards.

"A beautiful drive," Nancy praised her as she stepped forward to take her turn.

She swung with all her strength, connecting squarely with the ball, but at the same instant a severe pain shot through her injured hand. Nancy was suffering intensely, and it was all she could do to grip the club. As a result, her next shot was a dismal failure.

Quick to seize an advantage, Betsy Howard took the hole easily. The eleventh also fell to her. Nancy, two down, feared the match was lost.

"I can't give up," she said to herself grimly.

As the girls teed off at the twelfth hole, a few drops of rain spattered their faces. Betsy Howard glanced anxiously at the sky.

"It looks like a hard rain coming," she declared nervously. "I'm afraid of thunderstorms."

By the time the two reached the twelfth green, it was raining steadily. In trying to hurry, Betsy Howard missed her putt and the hole went to Nancy, leaving her now only one down. She must make up that point!

The thirteenth and fourteenth, played in a drenching downpour, were halved, leaving the score the same as before. By this time a rough wind had sprung up.

"This is terrible!" Betsy exclaimed. "Surely the committee can't expect us to finish our match in this kind of weather."

She hesitated a moment, then abruptly handed her driver to the caddy.

"I'm going back to the hotel," she announced. "If the committee says we may continue the match tomorrow, fine. If not, then I'll default."

"No, we'll stop play by mutual agreement," Nancy replied. "No one would blame us for failing to finish under these conditions."

The rain began to fall in torrents. Betsy Howard, followed by the two caddies, ran as fast as she could toward the hotel. Nancy darted into the woods, and there, partly protected by the trees, made up her mind that the Haley cabin was closer than any other shelter.

The wind was rising steadily. As she ran through the woods, the tree boughs crashed together overhead. Near the haunted bridge, Nancy was startled to hear the same moaning and groaning sounds which the girls had noticed on their other visits. Then came a scream.

"That scream is from Mr. Haley's lion," she thought, "but what can be causing the other noises?"

Nancy approached the sagging bridge where the old scarecrow, wet and tattered, was dancing wildly in the wind. It seemed more ghostlike than ever. As the young sleuth hurried past, the spindly "arms" entwined themselves about her. But she shook herself free.

The bridge swayed in the wind. As Nancy reached midstream, it suddenly creaked. The underpinning had been torn awayl

As the structure swung around, Nancy clutched the railing for support, but the decayed wood gave way. She was plunged forward into the turbulent waters of the swollen creek!

The current was swift. Before Nancy could battle her way to sh.o.r.e she found herself carried far beyond the place where the haunted bridge had stood. Her clothes were muddy and torn. She pulled herself out onto the slippery bank and sat there for a moment in the rain, trying to regain her breath.

"Bess warned me I'd get into trouble if I insisted upon coming here," she said to herself. "The old bridge had the last laugh."

Nancy's clothes were thoroughly soaked and her hair was plastered tightly against her head. She scrambled up the bank and followed the ravine trail to the cabin. Her firm knock brought Ned to the door.

"Why, Nancy, what happened to you?" he cried in astonishment. "I thought you were playing your golf match-"

Nancy grinned. "I was, but I decided to drop in for a moment and borrow an umbrella. Did you hear a loud crash a few minutes ago?"

"Yes, it sounded as if the bridge went down."

"It did. And I went with it. You should have seen me sailing down the ravine!"

An expression of concern remained on Ned's face in spite of the girl's bantering tone. "Your hand, Nancy!" he exclaimed. "You've hurt it again!"

Nancy was plunged into the turbulent stream!

"It is swollen," she admitted. "But it'll be all right to finish the golf match tomorrow. We stopped because of the heavy rain."

Suddenly a thought came to Nancy. "Ned, I'm surprised to find you here. I thought you intended to stay at the hotel until the end of the golf match."

"I meant to, but just after you teed off, Burt came to tell me I was needed here again."

"Is Mr. Haley worse?" Nancy asked anxiously.

CHAPTER XIV.

Surprise Visitor

"MR. HALEY has been very restless," Ned reported. "Burt and Dave are outside now trying to look after the mountain lion. I should be helping them."

"I'll stay here with Mr. Haley," Nancy said quickly. "You go ahead."

Before Ned could protest she had moved quietly to the adjoining bedroom. The patient was sleeping peacefully.

After Ned had donned a raincoat and left the cabin, Nancy tiptoed to a closet in search of warm garments. The only apparel available were a pair of slacks and an old blue shirt.

While she was hanging her own wet clothes by a lighted oil stove to dry she heard Mr. Haley tossing and hastened back to him. The man's eyes were wide open.

"Who are you?" he asked in a whisper.

"I am Nancy Drew, and I have come to help you."

She tried to explain the situation to him but Mr. Haley was too restless to listen. He raised himself on an elbow, motioning her to a.s.sist him from the bed.

"No, you must remain quiet," Nancy told him firmly. "You must not get up until the doctor says you may."

"But I have to! My lion will starve. How long have I been ill?"

"Now don't get excited," Nancy said soothingly. "Everything is all right. Your lion is being cared for by friends of mine. Just lie back and try to rest."

Presently Mr. Haley fell into a peaceful sleep. By the time Ned and the others came in, Nancy was able to report that she considered the patient well on the road to recovery.

"That's good news," Ned said in obvious relief. "By the way, you look great in Mr. Haley's clothes."