"What did you find out?"

The girls admitted that they had learned very little but suspected a certain place might offer a clue, so Burt and Dave were spending the night there to see what they could find out. This seemed to satisfy the boys, and the girls hurried off to the guest room.

"I certainly need a bath and a shampoo," Bess spoke up. "Anybody mind if I use the shower first?"

"Go ahead," said Nancy. She sat down in a chair and stared out a window, but her mind was not on the scenery. She was recalling the day's adventures and trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. She asked herself, "If Crosson goes to the farmhouse, does he bring Ned with him?

"Probably not," the young detective decided. "Oh, Ned, where are you?" she thought wistfully. "If you can't send me another message, concentrate real hard on transmitting a clue into this brain of mine."

A while later George tapped her on the shoulder. "Time's up for daydreaming," she said. "Bathroom's free. Your turn for a shower."

Almost absentmindedly Nancy got up and went to take a refreshing bath. After it, she felt less edgy and hurried to put on fresh clothes for dinner.

Ned's fraternity brothers were very kind and solicitous and tried their best to entertain the three girls, Nancy in particular. When dinner was over, a tall blond boy with deep-blue eyes, named Tom Rankin, put some hit records on the stereo. Nancy enjoyed the music, but before one alb.u.m had finished, she was called to the telephone.

"h.e.l.lo! Who is this?" she asked.

"Never mind who I am. What I want to know is, where are Burt Eddleton and Dave Evans?"

Nancy was instantly alert. Instead of giving the information, she said, "I won't answer your question until you identify yourself."

She waited for an answer but none came. There were several seconds of silence, then the caller hung up.

As Nancy came back to join the group, she began to worry about Burt and Dave. She asked the boy who had originally taken the call if the speaker had asked for either Burt or Dave.

"Yes, he did. When I said they were not here, he wanted to speak to you. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, but the man wouldn't give me his name," Nancy replied.

Bess and George were upset when they heard what had happened. Bess, who was frantic with worry, said, "I'm sure the caller was Crosson. He isn't satisfied with having kidnapped Ned. Now he's going to get Dave and Burt!"

George did not share her cousin's fears. "I'm sure Burt and Dave will know how to take care of themselves if he arrives."

"But suppose," said Bess, "that he brings along some pals and they overpower Dave and Burt?"

There was a discussion about whether or not the girls should notify the police, but they had confidence in their friends' resourcefulness and strength to meet any emergency.

George said, "Let's get some sleep and go out there early in the morning."

The girls said good night to Ned's fraternity brothers and went to bed. None of them slept well and were up at six o'clock.

The friendly blond boy Tom Rankin was also up. It was his turn to be on kitchen duty. Nancy, Bess, and George helped him and the four had breakfast together.

"Where are you off to?" he asked.

"To get Burt and Dave," Nancy replied, but gave no other information.

When the girls reached the farmhouse, it appeared to be deserted. Nancy opened the front door and called out. There was no answer. Quickly the three made a search of the place and George even got the ladder from the closet and went to the cellar. She looked in the clothes chute. Burt and Dave were not on the premises.

Moments later Nancy, Bess, and George stood in the middle of the living room, staring at one another, the same thought going through their minds. Had Burt and Dave been kidnapped?

"Oh, I can't stand it!" Bess wailed, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why did we ever let the boys stay here?"

"Shush!" George commanded. "Crying over the situation isn't helping any. Put on your thinking cap, Bess, and help us figure out-"

Nancy interrupted to ask a pertinent question. "George, were there clothes in the chute?"

George admitted that she had not noticed. Once more she climbed down the ladder to the cellar, then slid back the door to the chute. There was nothing in it.

"Now I know Crosson was here!" she thought.

George was not the kind of girl to give in to tears, but it was difficult for her to come back up the ladder and tell the others of her suspicion.

"I'm going outside and look around," she said.

Nancy and Bess began to hunt in the house for anything which might give them a clue to the boys' whereabouts. They hoped that Burt and Dave might have managed to leave some kind of message. But their search revealed no leads.

George, who had just finished scrutinizing the ground in front of the farmhouse for clues, saw a State Police patrol car coming. She was about to hail it, when the car pulled in and stopped. The uniformed driver opened the door on the pa.s.senger side and shouted to George, "Is Nancy Drew here?"

"Yes, she is," George replied, wondering whether the man was bringing bad news.

George rushed up to the front door and called to Nancy. She came downstairs with Bess at her heels.

"I'm Anthony Russo," the policeman said.

The girls introduced themselves and Nancy said, "Do you have a message for me?"

The officer nodded and said that he had been there earlier and talked to Burt and Dave who had explained their reason for trespa.s.sing. The officer grinned. "I found out they hadn't had a meal since lunchtime yesterday so I took them to Campbell's Diner in town. You're to meet them there."

The three girls heaved sighs of relief and Nancy told the policeman how frightened they had been that possibly the boys had been kidnapped.

Russo laughed. "It would be pretty hard to subdue those two huskies," he said.

Nancy asked the officer if he knew who lived at the farmhouse.

"n.o.body."

"Do you think a tramp might be using the place?" Nancy queried.

Russo said he doubted this, although he had noticed a dirty dish and silverware in the sink. "I come by here fairly often and I've never yet seen anybody around."

Nancy thanked him for bringing the message and said the girls would pick up the boys at once.

When they arrived at the diner, Burt and Dave were standing in front. "Hi!" they said cheerily.

Bess did not smile in return. "Why didn't you leave us a note?" she scolded. "We've been beside ourselves with worry that you had been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped!" Burt said, and burst into laughter.