Nancy leaned over to whisper in George’s ear. “Hank Morley intends to sink the Lady Jane—with us on board. Do you know whether Ned was able to send the distress call?” she asked.
George shook her head. “I’m not sure,” she muttered. “He was still tinkering with the radio when Marcus stormed the ship.”
Nancy was thinking fast. She scanned the ocean. She wanted to spot Sean as soon as he surfaced.
Hank Morley headed toward the Lady Jane in the motorized dinghy. As he boarded their ship, Nancy could see that he was carrying a small wooden crate.
Opening the crate, Hank pulled out a mass of wires attached to a lump of putty.
Talia’s face blanched when she saw Morley’s contraption. “He’s got plastic explosive,” she said in a trembling voice. “They must be planning to blow us up.”
Bess closed her eyes and moaned softly.
“He’s not going to blow up the ship if I can help it,” Nancy muttered. She leaned back to whisper to Talia. “When Sean surfaces, Hank and the others will be distracted. That may be our best chance to make a move.”
Nancy noted the locations of each of their three captors. Marcus Morley and Zach were conferring several feet away from her. Hank Morley stood farther down the side of the ship, gingerly examining the explosive device in his hand.
“Tell me one thing, Zach,” Talia said, glaring at him. “Did you kill my brother, Jaime?”
Zach shook his head. “No. I didn’t have anything to do with that. There really must have been something wrong with his tank,” he replied. “To tell the truth, his death set the stage for this whole scheme,” he continued. “People wanted to believe in a curse—so we created one.”
Nancy suddenly spotted Sean’s head surfacing in the water near Hank Morley. Sean was still clutching Zach’s fishing spear.
Hardwick and Marcus Morley were the next to spot Sean. They turned toward him and started to fire their guns.
“Now!” Nancy yelled.
She, George, and Talia charged forward. Nancy’s foot shot out with a lightning-quick karate kick that folded Zach in half.
At the same moment Talia and George sent Marcus Morley sprawling with flying tackles.
Nancy whirled around, looking for Hank. He had dropped the plastic explosive, she saw, and was reaching for his gun.
Nancy sprinted across the deck toward him. With another deft kick, she sent the gun skittering away. Bess came up behind Nancy and helped her grab his arms.
Hank twisted away from them and dove overboard. For a moment it looked as if he might make it to the other boat. Then Sean swam up behind Morley. He held him at bay with the spear, preventing his escape.
Nancy checked back to see what was happening with the other two. Talia and Bess had jumped on Zach and were pummeling him. Marcus Morley was still sprawled across the deck, knocked out cold.
Then Nancy heard a low, vibrating noise in the distance. She heaved a sigh of relief. A huge helicopter was making its way toward them across the water.
“Look, guys. It’s the Coast Guard!” Nancy exclaimed. “Ned must have been able to send that SOS, after all.”
“Nancy!” Her heart soared with joy at the sound of a familiar voice behind her. It was Ned! Nancy whirled about and saw him approaching from the rear, rubbing his head. Before he even reached her, she threw herself into his arms.
• • •
“Here’s to you, Nancy,” Sean said, raising his glass. “You saved my life and the treasure.”
It was late afternoon the following day. Nancy, Sean, Bess, George, Talia, and Leif Dorning were celebrating in Sean’s favorite restaurant, the Skipper’s Loft.
Leif Dorning took a sip of his soda. “I can’t believe everything that’s happened,” he said, reaching over to hug Talia. “I’m glad we were able to bury the hatchet,” he said, smiling at Sean.
“Me, too,” Ned said with a grin. “What’s in store for Zach and the Morleys?”
“They’re going to get a long, long vacation in prison.” The satisfaction was evident in Sean’s voice. “They were arraigned this morning on a bunch of charges—including Rusty’s murder. Thank goodness I was cleared of it.”
“And you’re rich!” Bess squealed happily. “I heard a reporter saying the treasure will be worth millions when it’s brought to the surface.”
Sean nodded. He looked at George and smiled shyly. “Speaking of things to treasure—I have something for you, George,” he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a jewelry box and offered it to George.
George blushed and shook her head. “I can’t accept anything expensive, Sean,” she protested.
Sean smiled. “Just open it,” he insisted gently.
George opened the box. Inside was a delicate seashell attached to a silver cord.
George gasped. “It’s the shell we found when we were walking on the beach the other day!” she exclaimed. She leaned over and hugged Sean. “Thank you,” she said.
Nancy watched the two of them. She and George had talked about Sean earlier that day, and Nancy felt good about the way her friend was handling things. George had decided to spend time with the treasure hunter during the rest of the vacation, but she knew that neither she nor Sean was in any position to make a commitment.
“Hey, Drew,” Ned said, touching Nancy lightly on the shoulder. “Come outside with me. I want to show you something.”
The two of them strolled through a side door onto a deck that overlooked the peaceful ocean. They stood at the railing, silent for a moment.
“So what was it you wanted me to see?” Nancy asked finally.
Ned grinned. “That was just a clever ruse to get you all to myself.” He put his arm around her and drew her close. “And now that I’ve got you, I don’t plan to let you go.”
“We still have a little more time together,” Nancy said. “Think of all the fun things we can do.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Ned replied. “And if any new mysteries turn up, they’ll just have to wait, because Nancy Drew is on vacation.”
Nancy laughed softly and leaned back against Ned’s chest. She raised her eyes as a sea gull wheeled overhead. The bird spread its wings and glided gently downward until it vanished against the setting sun.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Simon Pulse
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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Copyright © 1993 by Simon & Schuster Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
ISBN: 978-0-6717-9477-4 (pbk)
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NANCY DREW and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
THE NANCY DREW FILES is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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