There was the sound of approaching footsteps. Ned walked in and Nancy signaled him not to act too startled.

Jacob Sidney, apparently mistaking Ned for a plainclothes police detective, said, "I had a right to be here, Officer. I've inherited part of this property."

As Ned leaned over and untied the man's bonds, Nancy said, "This is Mr. Jacob Sidney."

"Well, Mr. Sidney," Ned remarked, "I advise you to leave at once and not come back."

"I will, I will," the crestfallen intruder said.

He got up stiffly, went down the stairs, and out the front door. Not until he was outside did Nancy and Ned burst into laughter.

Ned remarked, "I guess that snoopy beneficiary won't be back in a hurry."

"Not with you around, Officer," said Nancy.

"I got your father," Ned reported. "He certainly didn't dismiss the guard, and is sending the man back. A repairman from the phone company will be here to replace the cord. Probably the person who cut the cord is responsible for the dismissal of the watchman and the knockout blow to Jacob Sidney."

"Let's see what other damage he may have caused," Nancy suggested.

They opened closet doors and Nancy even investigated the camouflaged back stairway, but found nothing suspicious. She showed Ned the hidden ornate music box before they began a hunt for other treasures.

"I'm to look for the sign of a twisted candle?" Ned asked.

"Uh-huh," she answered.

Every panel in the ceilings, walls, and floorboards was carefully examined. The couple became separated and there was not a sound for nearly half an hour.

Then Ned cried out, "Nancy! Come here! I think I've found something!"

She ran to his side in the rear hall. "Look! The gra.s.s cloth on this wall is a little different from the rest and a twisted candle has been carefully worked into the design. Do you think it means anything?"

Nancy ran her fingers over the rough fabric. "It's lumpy underneath!" she said excitedly. "Ned, we should investigate!"

For a moment Nancy wondered if they should tear off the wall covering. "It's old and faded, anyway," she told Ned.

He agreed. "We'll use my penknife and be as careful as possible," he said.

Inch by inch he felt the lumpy area and cut around it. Then he peeled off the gra.s.s cloth.

"A safe!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Right," said Ned. "And how are we going to find out the combination to it?" He grinned. "One thing I haven't learned is how to be a safe-cracker."

Nancy laughed, then reached up and tried the recessed k.n.o.b. To her amazement it turned!

"Oh, Ned, the safe isn't locked!"

In a moment the door was open. The couple peered inside.

"Swords!" said Ned.

He lifted one out. It was encrusted with jewels and evidently very old and valuable. Five others were examined, each one ornate.

"Well, your Asa Sidney was a collector," Ned remarked, "and I must say he had good taste. What are you going to do with these?"

Nancy did not know. "I suppose they shouldn't be moved, but I'm afraid to leave them. They may be stolen."

"Perhaps we can put back the gra.s.s cloth so the cuts won't be noticeable," Ned suggested.

The swords were replaced and the safe shut. Putting back the frail gra.s.s cloth was a tedious job. Nancy had noticed a jar of paste in the room Carol had occupied. She went to get it, then worked with Ned for some time. Finally Nancy felt that the repair would suffice until the authorities came to appraise the estate.

"Where do we look next?" Ned asked. "This is a lot more exciting than my job was as camp counselor."

"Please don't tell anyone what you found," Nancy cautioned.

"Why, Miss Drew," Ned said, "do you think you should address an 'officer' that way?"

The two burst into laughter, recalling Jacob Sidney's mistaken impression. Then they became serious.

"I think we've done enough for one visit," Nancy said. "But before we leave I want to go upstairs and see if the lock is intact on the door to the tower room."

She went up the steps, followed by Ned.

"This sure is a spooky old house," he remarked. "I wouldn't want to live in it."

"But great for a mystery," Nancy said. "Well, n.o.body has managed to remove this seal, but I'm sure it has been tampered with. I must-"

At that moment a frightful howl echoed through the old inn. Then came a reverberating crash!

CHAPTER XVI.

The Ruse THE crash and ear-piercing yell startled Nancy and Ned.

"What was that?" he asked. "It sounded right outside!"

They both went to the stairway window and struggled to lift the stiff, warped sash.

Nancy leaned out. "Oh!" she cried. "A man's on the porch roof with a ladder on top of him!"

Ned looked down. "It isn't the guard," he said. "Who can he be?"

"We'd better run down," Nancy suggested, "and help the poor man."

The couple raced down the steps to the second floor and made their way to a front room, whose windows opened onto the roof of the porch. The man lay unconscious beneath the ladder. Nancy and Ned climbed out to the roof and pulled the ladder off the prostrate form.

"I never saw him before," Nancy said. "Evidently he was trying to get into the house."

"I'll go down and get the guard," Ned offered.

In a few minutes he was back to report that the guard was not in sight.

"That's strange," said Nancy. "Anyway, I think this man should go to the hospital. Ned, will you drive to a phone and call the police to send an ambulance?"

"I hate to leave you alone here, Nancy."

"Oh, I'll be all right," she a.s.sured him.

Reluctantly Ned hurried to his car and drove off. Nancy decided to hunt for the guard.

As she neared the hall, she heard a step behind her and turned. The man whom she had thought to be unconscious stood there, an evil grin on his face! Nancy started to run, but he caught her in an iron grasp.

"Let go of me!" she demanded.

He gave a mean laugh. "I got my orders to get rid of you!" the man mumbled. Nancy now realized he had been faking unconsciousness all the time.

"Who gave you the orders? Frank Jemitt?"

"You know too much," the man answered.

As she struggled to get away, the man pulled a small bottle from his pocket and waved it under her nose. Nancy held her breath, all the while fighting like a tigress. She heard a car drive in. If she could only hold out until help came!

But the room began to reel. Nancy couldn't breathe. Then she blacked out. When the young sleuth revived, she was lying underneath a bed. Its deep-fringed spread hid her from view.

"I guess that's why no one found me," she thought. Her head ached. "I need fresh air."

Staggering, she made her way to the window. Vaguely she noticed that the ladder was still there.

"Where is everybody?" Nancy wondered. Suddenly she noticed that Ned's car was not in sight. "Hasn't he come back yet?"

A sudden fear gripped her. Had the powerful stranger knocked Ned out when he returned, hid him some place, and then taken his car?

Feeling stronger now, Nancy decided to investigate. Going from room to room, she called loudly for Ned, but received no answer. Panic-stricken, Nancy began to search under beds and in closets. Ned was nowhere in sight.

Sitting down on the steps of the front porch, Nancy tried to imagine what had happened during her blackout. "I must think," she told herself. "This is dreadful! What'll I do? No phone, no car-"

Her eyes were suddenly attracted to a startling sight. A pair of men's feet protruded from beneath the porch! Ned's? Sick with fear, Nancy jumped up, seized the man's ankles, and pulled him out.

"The guard! He's been drugged too!"

Almost at once the man's eyelids flickered open and presently he was able to tell Nancy what had happened. He had been knocked out by the same man who had drugged her.

"I shouldn't have trusted that guy."

Nancy told the guard that she was alarmed over the safety of the young man who had come there with her.

"I wish I could help you," the guard said.

Just then a car turned into the driveway and Nancy's heart leaped. It was Ned's! She rushed to meet him.

"Nancy! You're all right! Where did you go?"

"I was under a bed asleep."

"What!"

She told what had happened to her and the guard. Ned was astounded.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said, stepping from the car and putting an arm about her shoulders. "The police and I thought you'd been kidnapped. They're still looking for you."

"And I thought you had been knocked out also. What did happen?" Nancy asked.

Ned explained that soon after he had returned from making the phone call, the ambulance had arrived, only to find that the "patient" had vanished.

"I immediately called the Inlet Village police and they sent three men out here right away. You were well hidden, Nancy. When you didn't answer our calls, we figured that fellow kidnapped you.

"I had to go to headquarters and give a description of you along with his. The police are now combing the highway and turn-offs. Nancy, I came back here just in case-"

Before he could finish, a small truck pulled up in front of the inn. It belonged to the telephone company and in a short time their man had the service restored. At once Ned called police headquarters to brief the captain on the situation. He said efforts would be doubled to find the stranger.

"Tell Miss Drew we haven't picked up any information about the Jemitts," the captain said.

When Ned relayed the message, Nancy remarked, "I have a hunch the Jemitts sent that stranger who knocked me and the guard out. If we could find him, he might lead us to them."

"But not tonight." Ned was firm about Nancy returning home.

"On one condition," she answered. "That you stay to dinner."

"Agreed."

Nancy telephoned her father and suggested another guard be sent out to relieve the one who had been drugged.

"I'll attend to it at once, Nancy."

"There's a lot more to tell you, Dad, but let's wait until dinnertime. By the way, when will I be able to go into the tower room? I'm sure the answer to many secrets is right there."

"You may go in tomorrow afternoon," the lawyer replied. "Men from the courthouse and an appraiser will be there in the morning. The door to the tower is to be kept locked even after the appraisal is completed. But I'll give you my key."

"Great. Ned and I are coming home now. See you later."

Nancy explained to the guard that he would be relieved in a short time, adding, "Will you be all right if we go now?"

"Oh yes. I have a slight headache but otherwise I feel okay."