Mrs. Roderick looked at the list again. "Here's one you haven't told us the meaning of. It says, 'Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.' "

"That is puzzling," Nancy admitted, "but my guess is that Nancy Smith Drew, having some real doubts about the whole thing, wishes that you, Mrs. Roderick, could come to the plane before she flies."

A frightened expression came over the woman's face and she threw her hands into the air. "My goodness, I couldn't go to New York! I'd like to help Miss Drew. She is a lovely person and if she is in trouble she needs help. But I must say she could at least have left me a note I could understand and say good-by and make her request in plain English."

"I have a hunch," said Nancy, "that Edgar Nixon was with her when she came here and the poor girl had no chance to write you an explanation. The next best thing she could do was to put a message in the form of a code and the first thing that came to her mind was Shakespearean quotations."

Mrs. Roderick shook her head. "This is too much for me. Well, I just hope that whatever Miss Drew is going to do she won't be sorry for it. I'm afraid I can't help her, though."

Ned spoke up. "If Edgar Nixon is as slick as you think, Nancy, I bet I know what his next move was. When he got to thinking about the quotations, he'd deduce that you'd come here and find out they had a special meaning. My hunch is that he has already canceled their flight reservations."

Nancy agreed and asked him to telephone the airline and find out. In a few minutes he learned that the reservations for Mr. Nixon and Nancy Smith Drew for the Monday night flight to London had indeed been canceled.

Mrs. Roderick was very upset. "Do you think they are still around here?" she asked.

Nancy shook her head. "By this time Edgar Nixon knows the police are after him. He has probably changed cars again and left Emerson. It's likely he sold his red one to the pal who nearly ran us down.

"He probably went to Ira Nixon's in the new car, stole the thousand dollars, and will meet Miss Drew in New York. Or, if they're already married, she's with him now."

Nancy asked Ned to call other airlines and this time he had good news. He located a new reservation for Nixon and Miss Drew.

"I think," he said, "that Miss Drew couldn't get her pa.s.sport changed in a hurry, so she's using the one with her maiden name on it."

Nancy sighed. "Even though I may be too late to prevent a wedding, I can alert the New York police where to nab Edgar Nixon."

As Nancy and Ned got ready to leave, tears came to Mrs. Roderick's eyes. "You people are very kind and I do hope you can do something for poor Miss Drew. I'm afraid she has lost her head and has no relative or anybody in this country to help her."

"She has friends," said Nancy, "but I imagine she's too proud to ask their advice."

Ned suggested that they stop at Emerson police headquarters, to see if there was any news of the elusive couple and to ask the chief to notify the New York police.

They were told that there were no leads and the officers were glad that Nancy had one to suggest. Word would be sent to New York immediately.

As Nancy and Ned left police headquarters, she glanced at her watch. "Oh, I didn't realize how much time has pa.s.sed. Bess and George and I will be dreadfully late getting home. Ned, would you mind calling Hannah and telling her that I won't be there in time for supper after all?"

"Glad to."

When they reached the fraternity house, George and Bess were waiting with their dates in the hallway. The girls' luggage was piled up.

"We began to think you had gone home without us," George teased.

The couple grinned and Ned said, "Wait until you hear what we've found out." The story was quickly told about the quotations.

Burt burst out laughing. "Say, how about sitting in for me, Nancy, in my Shakespeare cla.s.s? You might pull an A for me."

It did not take long to load the car. After thanking the boys for a wonderful weekend, the girls jumped in. With a last wave, Nancy drove off.

The journey was uneventful. The girls did not even stop to eat.

"It's so late," said Nancy as they neared the outskirts of River Heights, "how about you girls spending the night with me?"

They agreed, since they did not want Nancy to make the last part of the trip alone. As soon as they reached the Drew home, the cousins phoned their parents.

Both Mr. Drew and Mrs. Gruen had welcomed the girls eagerly. Hannah had prepared some tasty chicken and lettuce sandwiches, a large bowl of fresh cut-up fruit, and a chocolate cake.

As the girls ate, they related the latest items in the mystery. "Amazing!" said Mr. Drew.

Finally Nancy changed the subject. "How's Ira Nixon?"

Her father answered. "I went over there as soon as I got home and heard about the theft. I urged Ira to inform the police, but he still steadfastly refused to do so. He seemed to be calmer, however, so I did not think it was necessary for me to stay or to ask a neighbor to come in."

The three girls began to suppress yawns and Mrs. Gruen suggested that they get to bed as soon as possible. They all slept soundly, but Nancy awoke early with a persisting thought in her mind. She proposed it to Bess and George.

"Girls, if we can get permission, what would you say to going to New York? Nancy Smith Drew will need moral support when the police arrest Edgar Nixon."

George's face broke into a broad grin. "I can't think of anything I'd like better than to see the police nab that cruel man."

Bess said, "If you tell Nancy Smith Drew about her inheritance, maybe she won't feel so bad about having a husband in jail."

The girls came downstairs early and asked Mr. Drew what he thought of the idea.

"It's a good one," he said, smiling. "You may as well see this mystery to its conclusion and you can stay in New York overnight with Nancy's Aunt Eloise."

Nancy, Bess, and George had visited Mr. Drew's sister several times. They adored the school-teacher and she was always delighted to have them visit her.

"She hasn't left for school yet," said Nancy. "Suppose I call her right away."

Nancy had a long talk with her aunt, who was amazed to hear about the case and pleased that the girls were coming.

"I'd love to see you," she said.

As soon as Nancy had eaten breakfast, she phoned the River Heights airport and made a reservation for the three girls on a flight to New York that afternoon. Bess and George went home to get their clothes and Nancy picked them up later. She planned to leave her car at the airport parking lot.

After the girls had purchased their tickets and obtained seat reservations, they sat down to chat. Nancy said, "I'd like to find out how Ira Nixon is and tell him where we're going."

She went off to a phone booth. To her delight she found that Ira Nixon was feeling better and decided not to disturb him with any worry about his brother.

As she left the booth, a young woman walked up to her. "You're Nancy Drew, aren't you? I've seen your picture in the paper lots of times."

Nancy acknowledged that she was.

"I've just come from the powder room," said the young woman. "A friend of yours is in there. She saw you come into the airport. She is terribly ill and asked me if I'd go and find you and bring you back there."

Nancy looked at her watch. Only twenty minutes to plane time!

"All right," she said.

The two hurried to the powder room. Nancy could see no one inside.