CHAPTER V.

The Stolen Parchment "A BURGLAR!" Nancy whispered into Ellen's ear. "Don't make a sound! Maybe we can catch him."

Remaining motionless, the girls waited until the man had nearly reached the base of the ladder. Then, at a signal from Nancy, they made a concerted rush for him.

After the first moment of surprise he began to struggle. With one push he sent Ellen reeling backwards into a clump of dwarf evergreens. Nancy held on, but the muscular man was too strong for her.

"Let go!" he ordered harshly. "If you don't, I'll get rough!"

Headlights from a pa.s.sing automobile momentarily focused on the struggling pair, and in that second Nancy caught a clear glimpse of the man's partially bearded face and angry eyes.

"I won't let go!" she defied him.

In the wild struggle the ladder was pushed away from the wall. It toppled, narrowly missing Ellen, and struck the garage with a loud crash.

"Help! Help!" screamed Nancy, hoping that her cry would awaken the neighbors.

Instantly the prowler clapped his hand across her mouth. Shaking free from her grasp, he lifted her bodily and threw her down on the gra.s.s.

Nancy fell so hard that the breath was knocked from her, but she struggled to her feet. By this time the man had run across the lawn and disappeared beyond a hedge.

"Are you all right, Nancy?" Ellen gasped, limping toward her friend.

"Yes, but it's too bad that intruder got away."

"Oh, I hope he didn't steal anything," Ellen said.

In the house next door lights were being snapped on. The upper floor of the Smith home suddenly was illuminated. Ellen's mother raised a window and called to ask what was wrong.

"h.e.l.lo, Mother," said Ellen. "I'm afraid our home has been robbed. Nancy and I just tried to capture a man who was coming out of the house!"

"Oh, goodness me!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed.

"We couldn't hold him. Is Dad all right?"

There was no answer. The girls guessed that Mrs. Smith had run downstairs to her husband's room. A few minutes later she unlocked the back door. By this time several neighbors had arrived to find out the cause of the commotion. Nancy explained what had happened, and one man summoned the police. Ellen and Nancy found Mr. Smith in a state of nervous alarm.

"Probably my desk has been rifled!" he cried out. "I'm sure the parchment map is gone!"

"Now don't get excited, Tomlin," Mrs. Smith said soothingly. "Maybe the girls got here in time to prevent a robbery."

"If I were you I'd check to make sure," Nancy urged. "The man may have ransacked several rooms in your house."

While she and Ellen counted the silverware, Mrs. Smith hastened upstairs. In a few minutes she returned and one glance at her stricken face told the girls that the precious map was gone.

"I was afraid the map was what the prowler came for," Nancy commented. "Maybe that man Rorke sent him."

"That's what I call a low-down trick," Mr. Smith fumed. "Now who could that scamp be, and why should he want the map?"

"Obviously to obtain the treasure!" exclaimed Ellen. "Oh, Dad, the parchment must have genuine value! And to think we've lost it!"

"You forget that I made a copy of the original," Nancy reminded the others. "It's crudely drawn but fairly accurate and I have it with me."

Mr. Smith said gratefully, "You're a lifesaver."

To Nancy's embarra.s.sment he introduced her to the neighbors who had gathered on the front porch and told them how brave she and Ellen had been.

As soon as the police arrived, a Sergeant Holmes introduced himself and Officer Mentor. He asked the girls to describe the intruder. Ellen could remember nothing about him but his surprising strength. Nancy, however, not only provided the police with an excellent description of the heavy-set thirty-year-old prowler, but drew a rough sketch of his face.

Nancy had recognized the close resemblance between the intruder and the "apparition" of Ship Cottage but did not mention this.

"Say, you're something of an artist!" the sergeant said admiringly. "A good observer, tool This fellow looks like one of our old friends."

"Spike Doty!" the other policeman added, studying the sketch.

"The same Spike Doty who burglarized Rocky Edge a few years ago?" Nancy asked.

"He's the one. Has a record a mile long, and is wanted for another robbery."

Sergeant Holmes said, "He's a sailor, and a fairly good one when he's willing to work."

The officers went outside to make an investigation. Just before they left, Nancy walked out on the front porch. She saw a man and a woman dart from the side of the house and hurry to a car which had been parked up the street. The automobile was too far away for her to distinguish either the make or the license.

"That's queer," she thought. "I wonder if they were just curious bystanders or if they had some part in the robbery."

In the morning she and Ellen had breakfast about nine o'clock, helped with the dishes, and then drove to Blackstone College. They a.s.sisted in setting the stage for the operetta and had luncheon. At four o'clock Nancy said she must start for Emerson College to attend the dance with Ned Nickerson.

"I'm staying there only one night," she said to Ellen in parting. "On my way home I'll stop at Rocky Edge and investigate some more."

"Thanks so much. I do need a salary comparable to the one Mrs. Chatham offers so I can come back here next fall," Ellen said wistfully.

Nancy drove leisurely along a winding country road. A gray automobile followed some distance behind. She did not give it a second thought until she had gone several miles.

"Why doesn't that car pa.s.s me?" Nancy wondered.

Deliberately she slowed up, but the car behind also slackened pace. With increasing uneasiness Nancy remembered that she had the precious copy of Tomlin Smith's half map in her purse.

"It's time that I find out what's what!" she thought. "We'll play a little game of hide-and-seek."

Again Nancy slackened her pace, turning into a paved side road. She felt certain that unless the occupants of the gray car were trailing her they would not make the turn. Watching in the mirror, she was alarmed to see the automobile leave the main road.

"I am being followed," she thought anxiously. "And they're gaining on me, too!"

By this time the gray car was so near that she could see two persons in the front seat, a man and a woman. Nancy recognized them as the couple who had hurried out of the Smith driveway the night before! She tried in vain to read the license plate which was covered with mud. Gradually, so as not to reveal her concern, Nancy speeded up but was unable to lose her pursuers.

"They mean business," she thought grimly. "If I don't lose them quickly, they'll probably try to stop me when we come to the first lonely stretch."

Directly ahead was a dirt road which Nancy knew led to the town of Hamilton, two miles away. Without hesitation she turned into it, even though she realized it would take her away from Emerson.

Another burst of speed put her far ahead of the pursuing car. Nevertheless, as she entered the town of Hamilton she saw that the man and woman had not given up the chase.

Nancy looked in vain for police headquarters. Finally she parked in front of the bus station and ran inside. Entering a telephone booth, she called Ned Nickerson at Emerson College and told him of her predicament.

"I am being followed!" Nancy thought anxiously "You stay there until I come," Ned advised. "A bus leaves for Hamilton in fifteen minutes. If I hurry I can catch it. Whatever you do, don't give that couple a chance to approach you."

"I'll be safe enough until you get here," Nancy said to rea.s.sure him. "There are several people around and I doubt the couple would try anything out in the open."

Even as she hung up the phone, the gray car parked some distance behind her own. Uneasily Nancy sat down in the waiting room. Recalling that she had failed to leave a copy of the half map with Mr. Smith, she took a notebook from her purse and began to sketch.

Nancy became so absorbed in her work that she did not glance up until a woman sat down beside her. The newcomer was about thirty-five years old, stout, and had a cold, steady gaze which rested on Nancy's notebook.

"She's the one who was in the gray car!" the young detective said to herself.

Getting up abruptly, Nancy thrust both drawings into her handbag and hurriedly left the bus station. A glance revealed that the woman's accomplice was waiting nearby, so she started walking in the opposite direction.

"I'll be safe if I stay within sight of other people," Nancy reasoned, clutching her handbag. "If it's the half map they want, I must finish the second copy quickly and put it somewhere."

A block away Nancy came to a large department store. Turning into it, she made her way to the third floor. She located a telephone booth and closed herself into it.

"I'll be okay here for a few minutes," she thought, opening her purse. "Now to finish copying the map."

She completed the sketch in less than five minutes. Realizing that both drawings could be stolen, Nancy came to a sudden decision. She sealed her original sketch in an envelope which she addressed to her father, then discovered she had no stamp.

"I'll mail it at the post office. I may be followed, but I must take the risk."

Nancy hoped that she had not been observed entering the store, but when she emerged from the building, the woman and the man were waiting. As she walked hurriedly along the street they followed in their car.

"They're afraid to approach me now," she reasoned, "but if I'm alone for a minute I'll have trouble. I wonder if they're in league with Spike Doty."

Nancy entered the post office, bought a stamp, and mailed the map. She remained in the building for a few minutes, allowing herself exactly enough time to reach the bus station before Ned was due to arrive.

Her watch proved to be accurate, for as she came within view of the station she saw three buses coming down the street. With a sigh of relief she quickened her step and joined the crowd of pa.s.sengers waiting to get on.

The farthest bus finally came to a standstill. Nancy caught a glimpse of Ned alighting from the last bus and waved to him.

As the pa.s.sengers pushed toward the first bus, someone brushed against her. Nancy felt a slight tug on her arm. Startled, she whirled around in time to see a man running down the street.

"My purse!" she cried out. "My purse has been stolen!"

CHAPTER VI.

Sudden Danger AT Nancy's cry of distress a number of people turned around, but no one tried to stop the fleeing thief. He was soon out of sight. A policeman appeared on the scene and questioned Nancy about the purse s.n.a.t.c.her.

"His car's over there!" she exclaimed, pointing. "And the woman with him-" Nancy stopped speaking abruptly. "Why-it's gone!" She felt sick over the turn of events.

"Suppose you tell me the whole story," the policeman said kindly.

Nancy did not wish to disclose the details of her recent adventure and its connection with the current mystery. She stated simply, "A woman and a man followed me here in a gray sedan. I believe he was the same one who s.n.a.t.c.hed my purse. He's about six feet tall, sandy-haired, and very thin.

"The woman is about thirty-five, average height, and rather heavy. She has light-brown hair and hazel eyes."

Nancy paused, then added, "I'd say the man is older than she is. They both wore navy-blue suits."

"Did you have much money with you?"

"Practically none. There were a few personal articles, though, that I hate to lose."

As Nancy was talking to the policeman, Ned Nickerson, a handsome, athletic young man, came through the group.

"h.e.l.lo, Nancy," he greeted her anxiously. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you all about it in a minute," she promised.

Nancy thanked the officer for his help, then she and Ned went to a quiet corner of the waiting room where they could talk.

"Now tell me everything," he insisted.

When Nancy finished relating her afternoon adventures, Ned asked, "Do you have any idea what they are after?"

"This." From her dress pocket she removed a copy of Tomlin Smith's map and showed it to him. "When I was in the store's telephone booth, I transferred my money and this paper from my handbag to my pocket."

Ned studied the crude drawing. "It looks like a lesson in geography. Half a lesson at that."

"That's just what it is-half a map showing where a treasure is buried."

"Belonging to Captain Kidd?"

"I know it may sound fantastic, but this is a clue to an inheritance buried on some Atlantic island," Nancy declared.

Next, she told him the entire story of Rocky Edge, its eccentric owners, and the vanishing man in the music studio.

Ned grinned. "Guess I won't be seeing much of you for a while with two mysteries to solve-especially when you're off to some lonely island." Then, with a wide grin, he added, "Unless we go sailing for gold together!"

The two laughed and Ned glanced at his watch. If they were to reach Emerson College before dinnertime, they must leave at once.

"Do you mind delaying a few minutes longer while I buy a purse and a few things I must replace?" Nancy asked.

"Give you fifteen minutes," he conceded.

She completed her shopping, then they started off in Nancy's car. At the fraternity house, she was greeted by Mrs. Haines, the housemother, and several young women. All of them had been invited to spend the night.