“Oh, Bess Marvin, cut out that terrible accent,” Nancy laughed, instantly recognizing her friend’s voice. “What on earth—?”
Giggling, Bess stepped into view. “I had to come. Hi, Midge! I assume this is your loyal assistant, Midge?”
“Yes,” said Nancy, “this is Midge Watson. But what are you doing here?”
“I came to get you back to River Heights before the fourteenth because if I don’t, that snobby Kimberly van Rensselaer will drive me out of my mind.”
“What did she do now?”
“Would you believe she’s bossing around everybody at the bicentennial office, even the chairman of the committee? And yesterday she wanted to call a meeting of all the ladies-in- waiting to be sure we know how to curtsy to the queen! Only she slipped and didn’t say queen. She said ‘curtsy to me.' I tell you, I can’t stand it.”
Nancy smiled and put her arm around Bess. “For now let’s forget all about Kim, and Midge and I will take you to dinner.”
“You can take me to dinner but I can’t forget her. She haunts all my nightmares.”
Nancy made arrangements with the manager to have a cot put in the room so that Bess could stay the night, and then they went to a recommended Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of town. When they were comfortably seated in a booth, Nancy told Bess what had happened so far, knowing that her friend could be trusted with the information.
Bess was happy about Nancy’s progress but worried about the fact that Ivan Foster was still loose. “He’ll try to get you, no doubt,” she declared.
“I know,” Nancy replied. “We’ll have to be extra careful.”
As they were driving back to the motel, the young detective felt a peculiar chill up her spine that warned her danger was near. She glanced in the mirror and saw the reason. A car was bearing down on them at very high speed!
“Stay calm, you two,” she said. “I think we have an unfriendly visitor behind us.” As she spoke, a gray car passed them on the left and then cut ahead. Nancy was ready, having slowed down in anticipation. She braked to a stop as the gray car came to a screeching halt in front of them and two men leaped out wearing stocking masks and gloves, black sweaters and slacks.
“Oh, Nancy, help,” Bess squeaked.-
“Take it easy,” said Nancy.
The men didn’t speak, but roughly pulled the girls out of their blue sports sedan.
On a hunch, Nancy said, “What happened to your green car, Mr. Foster?” The thinner of the two figures grunted nastily and his big, heavy- set companion snapped, “Shut up!”
Suddenly Nancy became aware that Midge was not with them. She tried to look around but was shoved into the back seat of their assailants’ automobile, along with Bess. Somehow Midge had escaped! And the two crooks hadn’t even noticed.
The thin man, who Nancy was certain was Ivan Foster, quickly blindfolded the girls and taped their wrists together, as the fat man drove back away from town.
To Nancy’s surprise, the car had barely started when it slowed down and turned left. After a short time, it stopped. The girls were pushed out and guided along a dark, quiet gravel path to an old house. They were led up three wooden steps, through the front door, and into a sparsely furnished room. There each was tied to a chair and their blindfolds removed.
Then the two men took off their masks. Nancy saw that she was right. The thin man was Ivan Foster. To her surprise, the big one turned out to be Bull Tolliver, the crook who had given the girls such a bad time in his new occupation as boat rental manager!
“Okay,” Bull leered. “Now you know who we are. Maybe you remember me, eh? You recall the burglary ring . . . ?”
“Never mind, Mr. Tolliver,” Nancy said. “I recognized you the minute I saw you at the boat dock. The police had shown me some very good pictures of you.”
Bull Tolliver turned red. “Very smart, Nancy Drew. But you won’t be laughing for long. We know you found the safe and you got the stuff out of it. And we want it!”
Nancy sighed. “You can’t be serious. Obviously, if we had found the safe, we would not be walking around with the money and documents that were in it! Don’t you think that by this time we would have gone to the police?” “No! You’d want to look it over first to see if you could use it to get John Ford off the hook. You wouldn’t go to the cops.”
“You’re wrong, gentlemen. But anyway, we didn’t find the right safe in that church. It was the church safe.”
“Don’t try to kid us!”
“If you don’t believe me, go out to the church again. The name’s on the safe.”
The two thieves looked at each other. Then Ivan Foster motioned to Bull Tolliver. “Come on,” he said, “let’s go in the other room. I want to have a drink and talk this over.”
The men left. Nancy heard them go into the next room and sit down against the wall. It was so thin that Nancy could tell they were not talking. Her guess was that they were listening, waiting for the girls to speak. She decided to play into their hands.
“Bess,” she whispered.
“Yes?” Bess replied, startled.
“Listen,” Nancy said, winking at her to signal her trick. “Listen, when the men come back, I’ll make a fuss and say I have to go to the bathroom. They’ll have to untie me, and I’ll go in there. As soon as I close the door, you stage a screaming fit. Scream loud enough to make them both come to you. Then I’ll get out and run.”
Bess hadn’t caught her friend’s wink. “Nancy,” she said, “that won’t work. They won’t fall for it. One will stay and guard you.” “I don’t think so,” Nancy insisted, winking so hard she thought her eye would pop out. “As soon as I get loose I’ll grab their car and head for the police. We know the real safe is hidden in the basement of the old sporting goods factory at Elm and Main, so we’ll have the whole case wrapped up and—”
“Okay, smart girl,” came Bull Tolliver’s booming voice from the other room. “Thanks for the tip.”
The two came back in, with Bull looking triumphant and Ivan looking suspicious. “I don’t trust her,” said the thin man. “I think she wanted us to hear her. It’s probably a trap. I’ll go and you stay here to guard them.”
Nancy’s heart skipped a beat. It was easy to fool Bull Tolliver, but Ivan Foster was more crafty. Fortunately for the girls, Bull was a bully and Ivan seemed afraid of him. “Nah,” the big man said, “I say we both go. You know the combination to the safe and I don’t trust you to come back.”
“Then you go!” snapped Ivan.
“You expect me to lift a three-hundred-pound safe? Are you crazy?”
Bull turned to the girls. “You just sit tight. We’ll be back. But if that safe isn’t there, some real bad things are gonna happen to you. And don’t bother screaming. Nobody’s within five miles of here.”
The two men departed, with Ivan still looking sullen. Nancy waited until she heard the car pull out, then she laughed. Bess joined in hesitantly, then stopped abruptly. “Nancy, what are we laughing about?”
“I sent them to the building right next to police headquarters!” the girl detective replied.
“That’s funny, but what are we going to do
when they come back here? They won’t be thrilled.”
“We’ll be gone,” Nancy said, “because guess whose little face I saw at the window?”
“You mean—”
“Yes, Midge! I don’t know how she did it, but she not only got out of the car without their seeing her, but she followed us here!”
“Hello!” Midge cried, as she suddenly bounded into the room. “Miss me?”
“Watson, as I’ve said before, you are brilliant,’’ Nancy declared. “How did you do it this time?”
As Midge untied them, she explained that as soon as the men’s car had started to pass them she had crouched on the floor. When the car stopped, she opened the door, closed it quietly, rolled down the bank, and hid in the high grass.
“When those guys took off with you, I was re
ally scared,” Midge said. “But then I saw the brake lights come on and the car turn off the road. So I just ran like a fool up the long path until I found the driveway to this old place — and here I am.”
“Well done, Watson!” Bess exclaimed. “Now let’s get out of here!”
The girls started down the gravel path. Suddenly Nancy stopped. “Wait,” she said, “if we go out on the highway and try to flag somebody down at night, it could be dangerous. And if we try to walk back to our car, we might meet the crooks on their way back here.”
“Then what will we do?” Bess asked, a little nervously.
“We’ll wait for them.”
“Wait for them?” cried Bess and Midge together.
“We’ll hide in the woods,” Nancy said and pointed. “Back there. When they find we escaped, they’ll think we’ve gone to the police, and they’ll get out of here as fast as they can.” “Are you sure?” Bess asked.
“Sure I’m sure. Come on.”
Nancy led the two girls into bushes at least a hundred yards from the house. There they waited. A half hour went by and Midge and Bess were growing fidgety.
Bess giggled. “Suppose by some crazy coincidence they find the safe where you said it was?”
Midge and Nancy laughed. “If they do,” Nancy said, “we’re in big trouble!”
Suddenly, the girls heard the angry squeal of brakes and saw headlights approaching. “Here they come,” Midge whispered. “Let’s hope our plan works!”
16. The Villain Unmasked!
The big gray sedan skidded to a halt and, without turning off the lights, the two criminals leaped out and ran into the house.
“There they go,” said Nancy. “Hold your ears.”
Sudden shouts of rage could be heard from inside, then the men came running out again. But instead of jumping in the car as Nancy had predicted, they pulled out flashlights and began shining them into the bushes.
“You said they’d run away as fast as they could,” Bess whispered, her teeth chattering slightly.
“Let’s hope they’ve just panicked and will soon come to their senses and run,” Nancy said in a low tone.
The words were scarcely out of her mouth when the girls heard Ivan Foster’s voice. “What are we doing? They’re probably in the police station by now. Let’s get out of here.”
“If I ever get my hands on that Nancy Drew I’ll . . . I’ll . . Bull Tolliver was so choked with fury he couldn’t finish the sentence.
The two jumped back into their car, backed around and took off with gravel flying. Quickly, Nancy ran out to see which way they would turn. “Good,” she said with relief, “they’re going in the opposite direction from our car and I don’t think they’ll return.”
The three friends jogged down the road to Nancy’s blue sports sedan. When they arrived, they found a police car next to it with its light flashing. It had stopped to investigate the abandoned car.
At once, Nancy told the officers what had happened. She furnished a description of the two men and the squad car drove away with its siren screaming.
Exhausted, the girls drove back to the motel and flopped into bed, too tired to do anything but make a quick call to Carson Drew. To Nancy’s disappointment, he had not heard from John Ford.
The next morning Nancy rousted her friends early and after breakfast said good-bye to Bess, who was driving back to River Heights.
“I had a wonderful time,” Bess grinned. “Just think, in a few hours with you I managed to be kidnapped—and escaped. Just imagine what could happen if I stayed a week!”
Nancy and Midge laughed, then Bess waved and drove away.
Nancy and Midge called the AAA but had no luck. The man on vacation had taken an extra day. He was driving in from Canada and might make it by late afternoon.
“Delays, delays,” Midge fumed. “Now what do we do?”
“Let’s check the Calishers. Something bothers me about what’s been going on there,” Nancy decided. When they arrived, Nina was still glowing from her victory over Marie Jonescu, but Mr. and Mrs. Calisher were their old, unhappy selves.
“Did you receive any more threats?” Nancy asked.
“Yes,” Nina replied. “Last night the same man called and said that if I won again the day after tomorrow, when I play Patty Winston, I d never play tennis again.”
“Yet you’re smiling,” Nancy noted. “I guess you’ve learned not to take these threats seriously.”
“That’s right,” Nina said. “I think he’s bluffing.”
“He’s not bluffing,” Mr. Calisher cried. He was breathing hard. “These people mean business. You’re looking for trouble, Nina. I promise you that these people are dangerous!”
He coughed and fumbled in his pockets. “Out of cigars,” he mumbled. “Have to get some. Excuse me.” With that, he put on his hat and went out the door.
After he had left and Mrs. Calisher gone upstairs, Nina asked if there were any new developments in the hunt for the safe. Nancy told her of what had happened the previous night and that she wanted to check out the old highway.
“Have you heard any more from Daddy?” the young tennis star asked, biting her lip.
“No,” replied Nancy gently, “but don’t worry. He’ll call us. I know.”
“Can’t I talk to him?” Nina’s eyes were pleading.
“I’ll try to arrange it with him when he contacts me.”
Suddenly the phone rang and Nancy looked at Nina. “Is there an extension?” she inquired.
“In the kitchen,” Nina said.
As Nina picked up the living room phone, Nancy ran into the kitchen. Softly she lifted the receiver and listened.
“This is your last warning, Nina Ford,” came a rasping voice. “You have to lose this next match. There’s too much money riding on it. You win and I promise you, you’ll never walk again. I promise you that.”
There was a click and the caller was gone. Nancy rushed in to Nina. “Isn’t there something familiar about that voice?” she asked.
Nina shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said.
“Well, it’s obviously distorted. There’s something about the way the man speaks....” Nancy shook her head. “I can’t place it.”
“Say,” Nina suddenly said, “where’s Midge?”
Nancy looked around. “I don’t know. She wasn’t in the kitchen. Midge—Midge?” she called out, but there was no answer.
“Maybe she also went to the store,” Nancy said. “She was running out of bubblegum.”
At that moment, Mr. Calisher returned with his cigars. When asked if he had seen Midge, he shook his head and went upstairs to his study.
A few moments later, Midge came through the front door, whistling. “Hi,” she said, “just picked up some bubblegum and chocolate.” Nancy laughed, “Well, I’m glad. I thought you had vanished into thin air.”
At that moment, Nina excused herself to make a phone call. Once she had left, Midge turned her bright eyes on Nancy. “Holmes,” she said softly, “while I was out, did anyone call?” “Yes,” Nancy said. “How did you know?” “Nancy, I know who’s threatening Nina. It’s Mr. Calisher!”
Nancy sat staring at her. “That’s why the voice sounded familiar to me! Oh, this is awful. Poor Nina—betrayed by the very people who supposedly have been caring for her!”
“I followed him,” Midge explained. “Not because I suspected him. I was just practicing trailing somebody. But then I saw him go into a phone booth and take out his handkerchief and put it over the mouthpiece.”
“To distort his voice,” Nancy murmured.
“I sneaked up close, behind a tree, and I could hear him, Nancy,” Midge went on. “I heard everything.”
“Good work, Watson. But I wish it hadn’t been Mr. Calisher. Why in the world did he do it?” Nancy’s brain was working on the possibilities. The firm of Ford and Calisher had been prosperous. It didn’t seem possible that Mr. Calisher needed to win money by illegal gambling and fixing ten
nis matches. Yet that’s what he was doing.
“What are you going to tell Nina?” Midge asked.
“I don’t know. We have no real hard evidence
against Aaron Calisher that would hold up in court. To unmask him now could ruin everything. Yet, how can I allow Nina to stay in this house?”
At that moment, Nina came back into the living room.
“You two look glum,” she noted. “What’s the matter, has something happened?”
Nancy stood up. “Yes, something has happened, Nina, and I have to talk with you about it. It’s a break in the case.”
“About the safe?” said Nina, excitedly. “Or about Dad?”
“Neither,” Nancy replied. “It’s about the people threatening you. Let’s take a ride and I’ll tell you.”
“Well, shouldn’t we tell Uncle Aaron, too? It would relieve his mind.”
Nancy hesitated and looked at Midge. “He already knows,” Midge murmured.
“What?” Nina looked confused and Nancy put an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “He doesn’t exactly know, Nina, but it’s too complicated to explain here. Please, let’s take a ride.” Puzzled, the girl followed Nancy and Midge to their car. They drove to a nearby park and pulled up close to a lake on which swans were floating. Then Nancy turned to Nina.
“What I have to tell you will come as a shock to you. That’s why we had to talk in private. You see, we have found the man who’s been threatening you. It’s somebody you know.” Nina turned white and her lips trembled. “What do you mean, Nancy?”
“Aaron Calisher is the person threatening you,” Nancy went on. “Midge trailed him to a phone booth a little while ago. She heard him. She also saw him put a handkerchief over the mouthpiece to distort his voice.”
Nina was stunned. Then a tear forced its way from her tightly closed eyes. “I can’t believe it!” she cried. “I can’t believe it! Uncle Aaron. But why?”
Nancy put her arm around her friend. “That’s what we don’t know yet. Perhaps he’s in debt. Perhaps the company is failing. The answer, I suspect, is that he needs money, so he bet on the tennis games and is trying to fix them.” Nina took the tissue that Nancy handed her and wiped her tears. Then she took a deep breath. “Well,” she said, trying to get control over her voice, “what are we going to do?” Nancy sighed. “I don’t know,” she answered. “If you stay in his house, you could be in great danger. But if we move you out now, he’ll know we suspect him. And we can’t report him to the police until we have evidence. Bight now it’s
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