Nancy could hear George stifling an angry comment.
"You've been here how long?" Nancy asked Marcy.
"I don't know . . . days. He said, don't think of it as minutes and hours, think of it as the rest of my life."
A tense silence fell over the girls.
"My nose itches," George said miserably.
"Rub it on the chain," Nancy suggested.
"No, thanks," said George with a shiver.
The chain. It was swaying gently as the ship made its way toward port. How much time did they have left, Nancy wondered. An hour? Perhaps less?
I'm going to look up and see Frank at the door, Nancy told herself, forcing herself to think positively. "Frank is going to find that confetti. He's going to follow it down here. Then he's going to find us," she told her companions as convincingly as she could.
But even she was thrown off balance when the ship's horn let out a powerful blast and the winch motor roared into gear. That meant the ship was pulling for port even sooner than she had thought. The motor idled in neutral, making the anchor chains vibrate.
A Nancy Drew &> Hardy Boys SuperMystery
Nancy and George stretched their arms as far as they could so that they could hold hands. "You know something, Nancy?" George said. "These summer jobs can be a real drag."
"You're wonderful," Nancy told her brave friend with as much of a smile as she could manage. "I'm only sorry I got you involved in all this."
"Hey," George said with a shaky laugh, "it beats spending the summer sitting around the pool and watching Bess flirt."
"Liar," said Nancy affectionately.
The ship let out another long blast. This is it, thought Nancy. Once more she struggled with the rope that tied her, but it only rubbed her wrists raw.
At that moment the door to the chain locker banged open.
"There they are!" A masculine voice shot through the semidarkness. Frank Hardy was running toward them with Connor close behind him. But the chain was inching upward now, lifting the girls onto their toes.
"We're going to die!" Marcy began screaming. "We're all going to die!"
"Frank, hurry!" Nancy gasped. She felt her feet leaving the floor as Frank began tearing at the knotted rope.
"This army knife better do the job," he said tensely.
Double Crossing
Frank sawed frantically at the rope with the small blade. Marcy's bonds were the first to give way. She fell to the floor, where she lay in a sobbing heap. Connor dropped to his knees by her side and cradled her in his arms.
Seconds later George was free too. But by now Nancy was dangling more than a foot off the floor. Her heart was hammering so hard she could barely breathe. "Frank—" she said, her voice cracking.
"Pull, Nancy!" he shouted. "The ropes are almost cut through. You can break loose!" He grabbed her around the waist and held her against the tug of the winch. "Come on, fight!"
Nancy thought her arms would come out of their sockets as she strained to break the frayed ropes. The winch engine whined as it labored against the extra resistance.
"Pull, Nancy!" George was screaming. "Pull!"
Suddenly Nancy felt the last strands of the rope give. She slid down into Frank's arms and he held her tightly. Then George was hugging them both, laughing and sobbing at the same time. Behind them the anchor chain made its way up and around the winch with a terrible grinding noise.
After a moment Nancy pushed herself shakily away. "There's still work to do, guys," she said in an urgent voice. "The baron is
A Nancy Drew &> Hardy Boys SuperMystery
Bessmerkov. We've got to stop him before he leaves the ship!"
Frank nodded. "Joe's at the gangplank. Passengers will be getting off in about five minutes," he said. "Can you run?"
Nancy was already halfway up the stairs. "Do you know how eager I am to get out of here?" she called back to him.
As they ran, Frank explained how he had found them. "Joe and Connor and I went to the photography studio. It was pretty obvious that the photos were missing. I thought maybe you had them, so we went to your cabin. Of course, when we saw the mess we figured you'd been kidnapped.
"I tried to think the way a killer would, and I decided to search the lowest part of the ship. It took a while, but when we finally found the confetti we knew we were on the right track. Joe's up on deck now, trying to delay the passengers from leaving."
When the daylight hit Nancy's eyes, it almost blinded her, but she kept running toward the gangplank. Passengers were going down one ramp and luggage down another. The deck was crowded with people milling about. Had the baron and baroness already gotten safely off the ship?
Nancy looked over the rail. There he was, casually strolling down the gangplank with his
Double Crossing
wife on his arm. There was no way they could get to him in time!
Suddenly she saw a familiar blond head by the top of the gangplank. Joe was standing with a bunch of other crew members, watching the passengers leave. Nancy ran over to a second mate, who was leaning against the railing, and grabbed the megaphone he used to give orders to the sailors.
"Joe Hardy!" Nancy shouted. "It's the baron. He's Bessmerkov! Stop him!"
Chapter Twenty-One
o
nly a few people near the top of the gangplank saw exactly what happened next. Joe nodded to Nancy, then went flying through the air and came down on the back of Baron von Hoffman.
The two of them rolled partway down the gangplank while passengers dodged to get out of the way and the baron's wife stared in horror.
Nancy watched as Bessmerkov got to his feet at the bottom of the ramp and raised his walking stick over his head. He started to bring it down on Joe.
But Joe stopped him just in time with a
Double Crossing
quick kick in the chest. Bessmerkov doubled over for breath and fell onto his back. In an instant Joe pulled the walking stick out of the spy's hand.
In the act of pulling it away, he must have twisted it. To his surprise, the silver blade jumped out of its tip and stopped—one inch from Bessmerkov's neck.
That's when the agents appeared. They seemed to come from everywhere, swarming around Joe and Bessmerkov until Nancy couldn't see the two anymore. Pushing people aside, she flew down the gangplank to help.
She got there just in time to see the agents put the cuffs on Bessmerkov and his wife and lead them away.
"Joe! Are you all right?" she cried.
"Fine, Nancy," he said, looking with wonder at Bessmerkov's cane, which he still held in his hand.
"Hey, Baron!" he called after the prisoner. "Hope you had a pleasant cruise on the Duchess —it's been my pleasure to serve you!"
"You can go," the CIA chief told the stenographer. "The rest of this is off the record."
The chief sat down and cast a steely glance around the room. There sat Captain Helgesen, Nancy, George, the Hardys, and the five friends.
A Nancy Drew <&= Hardy Boys SuperMystery
"Here's the good news, everyone. As far as I can tell, national security wasn't endangered during this little escapade. You're lucky.
"Nancy, Frank, Joe, and you, too, Ms. Fayne—congratulations. Your work was outstanding—courageous and effective. If you're ever considering a career in intelligence, please, come see us. You have everything it takes—brains and guts.
"Bagging Bessmerkov is one of the great intelligence coups of the decade, and you'll be well remembered for it."
He tensed a little and turned to the five friends, his face darkening. At first he looked at them without saying a word. Then he singled out Marcy and Connor. "Do you realize that you put a lot of lives in danger? That was incredibly stupid and selfish. No matter how badly you wanted to get back at someone, your personal desires aren't as important as the welfare of the American people. In this case, your judgment was worse than bad, it was criminal.
"Beyond that, you thought nothing of involving your three frie
nds here in your little scheme. Did it ever occur to you that you were endangering their lives? No. All you thought of was yourselves."
Marcy and Connor looked down at the ground. "Sorry, everyone," said Marcy.
Double Crossing
"Sorry," echoed Connor.
"It's all right," David assured them. "We're still friends."
"However—" the chief interrupted them. "For reasons of its own, the agency has decided to forget that this embarrassing incident ever happened. The last thing we need are headlines in the newspapers about agency brats selling their parents' CIA intelligence. So my advice to you is, watch your step from here on in—next time you won't get off so easy.
"Well, that's it. The government has some planes waiting at the airport. I want you all to go home now—fast," he said, standing up.
They left the hotel as a group—Connor, Marcy, Gail, David, and Demetrios, and Nancy, George, Frank, Joe, and Captain Helgesen. They stood around outside in the fresh air, trying to think of the best way to say goodbye.
"Thanks for everything, Frank and Joe," Captain Helgesen said, shaking hands with the Hardys. "Two thieves and a. top secret agent— not bad for a five-day cruise. Please, give my best to your father."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Frank said.
The captain extended his hand to Nancy. "Ms. Drew, I can't thank you enough." Then he turned to George. "I suppose I'm losing my ace assistant social director too?"
A Nancy Drew &> Hardy Boys SuperMystery
"Frankly, Captain, after this cruise I need a vacation!" George grinned.
"Nancy, you were great. I don't know what else to say—thanks for saving my life," Marcy said, clutching Connor's hand tightly.
"It wasn't just me," Nancy said, smiling at Frank and Joe. "These guys had something to do with it too."
"You really fooled me, you know," David said to Frank and Joe. "Detectives? I really thought Joe was a busboy."
"He has a natural flair for dishes," Frank said.
"All right," Demetrios said, walking over and standing in front of Joe. "Listen—I'm sorry, okay? I popped off on the boat, and you could have been killed. I can be a real jerk sometimes."
Joe and Demetrios looked at each other for a strange, silent moment.
"I can stand it if you can," Joe said, offering his hand.
"Thanks," Demetrios said, taking it.
"Are you feeling all right now, David?" George asked, going over to him.
"I'm fine," David said. He looked at George's hands. "Do you have any rope burns or— Well, I mean, are you okay?"
She nodded, smiling into his anxious eyes.
Double Crossing
"Do you ever get to Washington, D.C.?" David asked her offhandedly.
"Not often," George replied. "I'd like to go there more."
"Well, maybe we can get together sometime—"
"I'd love that." The look in George's eyes was pure magic. David gave her an unforgettable smile.
"Hey—" Gail stepped forward, for once looking unsure of herself. "I was thinking— maybe we could all do this again next summer. I mean, just a plain old cruise, without any spy stuff or secrets." She shot a glance at Joe, and Nancy watched his surprised expression change to a wide grin.
"Now, that's the best idea I've heard yet," he said, moving closer to Gail.
"It's settled," David said.
Nancy saw Frank looking at her, and she wondered, is he thinking what I'm thinking? An entire cruise together with no crime to solve. What was it George had said about the midnight swim? Risky—but romantic. Hey, she told herself, we really are friends, and we could keep it that way. "Sounds great!" she said at last.
"Wait a minute," said Captain Helgesen. "I don't know if my passengers could stand the
A Nancy Drew &> Hardy Boys SuperMystery
excitement. And, Ms. Drew—didn't you agree that the Concorde is a very exciting way to travel?"
"Demetrios," George said, "I've got a cousin you'd go nuts for. Her name is Bess. She's quiet, demure, very shy—and don't pay any attention to Nancy laughing like an idiot."
In fact, Nancy didn't stop giggling all the way to the airport. "Very shy? Bess?" she'd say. And then she'd begin laughing all over again.
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200 Old Tappan Rd., Old Tappan, N.J. 07675
Please send me tie books I have checked above. I am enclosing $ (please add 75* to cover
postage and handling tor each order. N.Y3. and N.Y.C. readers please add appropriate sales tax). Send check or money order-no cash or C.O.D.'s please. Allow up to six weeks fa delivery. For purchases over SI 0.00 you may use VISA: card number, expiration date and customer signature must be included.
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