“Here we are, directly below,” Nancy shouted. “George has been hurt.”
“Oh!” Bess exclaimed.
“I’m all right now,” George insisted.
“Bess,” said Nancy, “step inside onto a narrow ledge. See if you can find a light switch.”
Nervously Bess entered and stood motionless on the tiny platform. Her fingers probed the wall until she felt a knob and turned it. Suddenly the room was flooded with light.
An amazing sight met their gaze. The house was indeed “without insides.” The floor had been torn away. From the rafters of the ceiling hung several swings and trapezes, similar to those used in wild-animal acts, as well as many entangled ropes.
“What do you make of it, Nancy?” Bess asked in awe, as she descended the steps.
Nancy said she was puzzled. “This could have been a gym or even a place to train wild animals to do tricks.”
George chuckled. “I can just see an elephant on a trapeze.”
The other girls laughed, then Bess said, “Tigers can climb.”
“Yes, tiger climb,” came a voice from the open window.
Nancy glanced up. “Rishi! Step in and take a look.”
While Rishi marveled at the strange sight, Nancy bound up George’s cuts with a clean handkerchief and rubbed her bruises.
“Rain hard outside,” Rishi said.
“Then we’ll stay here until the storm’s over,” Nancy suggested.
Rishi began to test the ropes and swings. Bess uttered a little cry of alarm as the boy swung through space, hanging by his knees from the bar of a trapeze.
“He’ll be killed!” she exclaimed.
Nancy warned him to be careful. “The safety net is broken,” she cautioned. “And some of the ropes look very old and insecure.”
“Rishi not take chance,” he promised.
Outside the old house rain fell in torrents.
“While we’re waiting, I believe I’ll do a little investigating,” Nancy said.
“We may as well go along,” George added. “I feel okay now.”
Leaving Rishi to amuse himself, the girls entered the secret tunnel. George found a light switch and clicked it on.
“One thing is sure,” Bess remarked. “People come here. Otherwise the power would have been shut off. Why was this tunnel built, do you suppose?”
“That’s what I’d like to find out,” Nancy replied. “I have a feeling that so far we haven’t delved very deeply into the mystery of this place.”
As they moved down the tunnel, the girls came to a turn-off. Nancy paused a moment.
“I’m sure I must have taken the main branch before,” she said. “Let’s explore this one.”
The passage she indicated was very narrow and so low that the girls were forced to stoop. It was dimly lighted. Suddenly Bess halted, gripping Nancy’s arm. “What was that?” she said.
“I heard nothing.”
“It sounded like a groan.”
“You must have imagined it, Bess,” George scoffed. “Not that I blame you. So much has happened I could start hearing things myself.”
Unwillingly Bess moved forward again, slightly ahead of the others. She had taken less than a dozen steps when she stumbled over an inert figure stretched across the tunnel floor.
“Water! Water!” a man mumbled.
Bess wanted to turn and flee but could not do so with Nancy and George directly behind her, blocking the path. They, too, were startled, yet both realized that the man had been injured and needed attention.
Nancy knelt beside him, raising the victim to a sitting position. In the dim light she could distinguish only the faint outline of his face.
“Where are you hurt?” she asked gently.
“My head—I think it’s broken. I was struck by a robber and dragged in here. But I’ll get even! I’ll fix him!”
Tired from speaking, the man dropped back against Nancy, a heavy weight in her arms. It was a full minute before she could rouse him again.
“Who are you?” she questioned. “Tell us your name and why you are in this house.”
“I’m Jasper Batt. Old Batty, some folks call me. I look after the property.”
“You mean you’re the caretaker?”
“Yes, I’ve been here since the other guy was fired.”
“Can you describe the person who struck you?”
“No,” the man muttered. “He sneaked up behind me. I have a good idea who it was, though.”
“Tell me his name,” Nancy urged.
“No,” Jasper Batt muttered. “I’ll track him down myself. And I’ll get my papers back, too!”
“Papers?” Nancy inquired alertly.
“Valuable documents entrusted to me by Rai.”
“Rai?” the Drew girl exclaimed, believing that she had not heard correctly.
“I was to give the papers to Mrs. Allison when she came for them. If I don’t, I’ll lose my job.”
“I’ll help you recover them,” Nancy said soothingly when she saw that the caretaker was becoming excited. “Only you must tell me more about the documents.”
“Nothing to tell,” Batt murmured, shaking his head from side to side. “I’ll get the papers myself! I’ll get even with that crook!”
He struggled to his feet, only to fall back once more into Nancy’s arms, exhausted by the effort to rise.
“Leave me alone,” he muttered angrily, kick ing violently with his legs. “Leave me alone. Go away before I lose my job.”
“The poor old fellow is out of his mind,” Bess whispered. “What shall we do?”
“We must go for help,” Nancy decided. “Come on!”
The three girls hurried back to the main tunnel, then made their way to the apparatus room where they had left Rishi.
Seeing no sign of him, Nancy called his name. The only sound she heard was the steady downpour of rain.
Suddenly George gripped Nancy’s arm and pointed to the overhead web of ropes. Entangled among them, like a fly in a spider’s web, hung a limp body!
“Nancy, that’s Rishi!” George exclaimed.
The girls were stunned for a moment. They had no way of knowing how long Rishi had been hanging from the ropes. His face was so ashen-white that they feared he had strangled to death.
“We must go for a doctor,” Bess gasped. The others knew this would take a long time.
Nancy’s eye had been roving speculatively over the network of ropes. Several dangled from the rafters, one close to the entangled body of the boy.
If she could climb the adjoining rope she might be able to reach Rishi and cut him loose!
“See if you can find a knife or any sharp instrument!” she asked the girls. “Perhaps Mr. Batt has a pocketknife lying around here.”
In vain the cousins searched for a knife. They were about to give up in despair when George spied a rusty old saw in a dark comer and snatched it.
In the meantime, Nancy had managed to climb the tricky ropes. Now she was endeavoring to reach a crossbeam directly opposite the rope from which Rishi dangled. George and Bess watched nervously as the girl swung herself toward the structure. She secured a grip with her feet, then went up hand over hand until she was able to climb from the rope to the beam.
Without waiting to be told what to do, Bess and George tied the old saw to the end of the rope Nancy had released, and she pulled it up.
“Nancy, be careful,” Bess warned fearfully. “If you lose your balance it means instant death.”
Nancy did not need to be told to use caution. She knew that one wrong move would prove fatal. Yet if she was to reach Rishi she must take the chance.
Clinging to the rope for support and with her feet on the beam, Nancy leaned forward. She reached out until she was able to grasp the boy’s jacket. Nancy pulled the limp body toward her, lashing him fast to the crossbeam. Next she grasped the rusty saw and severed the rope that had entangled him.
“Is he still alive?” George called anxiously.
“I don’t
know.”
Using another rope, which Bess and George swung up to her, Nancy tied it securely around Rishi’s body. Next she severed those that held him to the beam, then slowly lowered the boy to the extended arms of Bess and George.
“Nancy, be careful,” Bess warned fearfully.
When Rishi was safely at the basement level, Nancy quickly slid down one of the ropes to join her friends.
“I’m sure he’s dead,” Bess whispered.
CHAPTER VII
The Tutor
NANCY kneeled down, felt Rishi’s pulse, and pressed her ear against his chest. She could hear the faint beating of his heart.
“Rishi is still alive, but he needs resuscitation and stimulants. If only we had some medicine!”
In their anxiety for the life of the little boy, the girls had forgotten Jasper Batt. They were startled to see him emerge from the passageway, staggering as he walked toward them. His eyes had a wild, half-crazed expression, but the girls hardly noticed this. They were glad he was on his feet.
“Ask Mr. Batt if he has any medicine on the premises,” Nancy urged her companions. She continued to work over Rishi, encouraged by the tiny bit of color that was returning to his face.
Bess and George questioned the elderly caretaker, and after explaining several times what they wanted, succeeded in making him comprehend them. He led the cousins to a medicine cabinet in a corner.
As George selected a stimulant, Bess said, “Mr. Batt, how are you feeling?”
“I kin walk, that’s about all,” he replied.
After Nancy had administered the stimulant, she was relieved to notice that Rishi’s heartbeat became stronger. Soon he stirred and his eyelids fluttered open. He murmured something in his native tongue. Gradually he became aware of the little group around him and smiled at Nancy in recognition.
“Nancy save Rishi,” he whispered weakly.
“Don’t try to talk yet,” she told him. “Just lie still and rest.”
Rishi did not obey the order. His eyes fastened on the ivory charm Nancy wore around her neck, and he took hold of it.
“Rishi’s life safe because of power in elephant charm!” he said.
“Please don’t try to talk,” Nancy advised again.
For some minutes Rishi remained quiet, gaining strength. Then, rousing, he indicated that he felt able to sit up.
The girls had paid little attention to Jasper Batt, knowing that he no longer needed their aid. They had actually forgotten his presence until he suddenly ran forward, waving a fist at Rishi.
“Now I remember! It comes back to me! He’s the one who struck me!”
“Impossible!” George exclaimed. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Mr. Batt.”
“Rishi is a friend of ours,” Bess added.
“Rishi,” the caretaker repeated. Obviously the name was unfamiliar to him. “No, he was the one!” he insisted wildly. “He told the other man to strike me.”
“Only a moment ago you said that Rishi struck you,” Nancy reminded him. “At first you declared you didn’t see your attacker.”
“This man was the person,” the caretaker mumbled.
“Why, he’s not a man at all—only a boy of twelve,” Nancy cried.
“You are in league with him. You plotted with him to steal my papers! Give them back to me or I’ll lose my job.”
“The man is completely out of his mind,” Bess murmured in an undertone. “Don’t pay any at tention to him.”
It was impossible to ignore Jasper Batt, however, for he was quarrelsome and determined to make trouble. No amount of argument or explanation could convince him that Nancy and her friends knew nothing of the mysterious papers that had been stolen from him.
“You’re all my enemies,” Batt accused belligerently. “If you didn’t come to trick and cheat me, why are you here?”
“We came to this house just to look around,” Nancy said soothingly. “We’ll leave immediately.”
“Oh, no you won’t!” the caretaker shouted. “Not until you hand over my papers. Give them to me.”
“I tell you I know nothing of your papers. Try to be reasonable, Mr. Batt.”
“If you won’t give them to me, I’ll take them!”
The caretaker seized Nancy roughly by the arm, and tried to thrust his hand into the pocket of her jacket. Bess and George, enraged, went to their friend’s aid. The struggle lasted only a brief time, as Jasper Batt had not fully recovered his strength. He fell back against the wall, gasping.
“As soon as he regains his breath he’ll be after you again, Nancy,” Bess warned. “What shall we do?”
“We must get away from here before he becomes more violent.”
Overhearing Nancy’s remark, Jasper Batt moved swiftly to the foot of the stone steps. He believed that the girls intended to escape through an upper window.
“Oh, no you don’t!” he sneered.
“We must slip out through the secret tunnel,” Nancy whispered.
She helped Rishi to his feet, and with George supporting him on the opposite side, the four moved stealthily into the passageway. Midway down the long tunnel, the girls paused to listen. They could not hear footsteps behind them.
“I hope we gave batty Mr. Batt the slip this time.” George chuckled.
“Don’t laugh until we’re safely out of here.” Bess shuddered. “What if the door in the rock won’t open?”
This suggestion erased the smile from George’s face, and she said no more until they reached the passageway exit. She groped about in the dim light and found a knob. The door opened easily, swinging slowly on huge iron hinges that had been drilled into the rock.
“Strange, the rock door can be moved only from inside,” Nancy mused as they all emerged.
The storm had abated. Now, as they assisted Rishi to Nancy’s automobile, the girls realized that a light rain was falling.
“How are you feeling?” Nancy asked the injured boy as she helped him into the car.
“Much better. But Rishi not try trick on ropes again.”
“I should hope not! Only a miracle saved you from death. If we had found you even five minutes later—”
“No miracle,” Rishi insisted firmly. “Ivory charm save life.”
“If I were you I wouldn’t trust this piece of ivory too far,” Nancy said. “As soon as we reach home you’re going straight to bed, and maybe have a doctor.”
By the time Nancy and Rishi arrived at the house, he had made such a noticeable improvement that it seemed unnecessary to call in a physician. Hannah helped the boy to bed and gave him some hot broth. He immediately fell into an untroubled sleep.
“I declare, Rishi has wound himself around my heart,” the housekeeper confided to Nancy as they met in the kitchen. “I didn’t realize how much he meant to me until this accident.”
“We must plan for him to continue his schooling,” Nancy said.
That night after dinner she brought up the subject of engaging a tutor to help Rishi with his English as long as he remained at the Drews’. As she had expected, Carson Drew instantly agreed.
“Select someone suitable and it will be perfectly satisfactory,” he said. “I’ll leave the matter entirely to you.”
“By the way, Dad,” Nancy said after a moment, “did Mrs. Allison ever call at your office?”
“No, she never did.”
“I heard her name mentioned today in connection with Rai,” Nancy told her father.
He glanced up with interest, and she told him the strange tale that Jasper Batt had related about the stolen papers.
“You’re certain you heard the names correctly?”
“Yes, I’m sure I did,” Nancy replied. “I suppose Batt must know Mrs. Allison well if she employs him to guard her property. It’s possible, of course, that Jasper Batt was completely out of his head about stolen papers,” Nancy admitted. “He certainly talked and acted wild enough.”
“Even so, he must have heard Rai’s name mentioned, or
he wouldn’t have repeated it.”
Nancy nodded. “And another thing: when Batt first spoke of Mrs. Allison and the valuable papers he seemed fairly rational. It was later that he talked so strangely.”
“Perhaps the old man’s mind will clear and he can explain what he meant,” the lawyer suggested.
“I think I’ll give him a chance to settle down. Then I’ll run out there tomorrow and talk with him again,” Nancy said.
“If you do, be sure to take someone with you,” her father cautioned. “Batt may be harmless enough in his normal state, but if he hasn’t recovered from the blow on his head, he may give you some trouble.”
“I’ll be careful, Dad.”
As it turned out, Nancy did not make the trip to the abandoned house on the following day. Another matter occupied her attention. Later the previous evening Ned Nickerson had phoned. Nancy had briefed him on her exciting day and mentioned her plan to provide Rishi with a tutor.
“I know just the teacher for you,” Ned said. “Professor Lowell Stackpole.”
“It seems to me I’ve heard of him.”
“Well, I should think so! He taught for years at Emerson College and is now retired. He’s a traveler and art connoisseur. He has made at least ten trips to India and collects all sorts of native art. Professor Stackpole speaks several languages, including various Indian languages.”
“Wouldn’t he want more than we could afford to pay, Ned?”
“I don’t know. But I think if Rishi interested him he wouldn’t expect a very high fee. Would you like me to talk with him?”
“Yes, I would, Ned.”
“I’ll call Professor Stackpole tonight, and if the project appeals to him, I can introduce you to him tomorrow afternoon. How will that be?”
“Fine,” Nancy agreed, immediately abandoning her plans to visit Jasper Batt.
Early the next morning Ned phoned to say he had arranged an appointment with the noted professor.
“He and I will come to your house at three o’clock,” he promised. “Professor Stackpole wants to talk with Rishi before he decides whether he’ll tutor him.”
Nancy was excited over the approaching interview and hastened to tell Rishi the news. The Indian boy expressed appreciation for her interest, promising that he would study faithfully.
Mystery of the Ivory Charm Page 4
