All this while George had remained silent. It was not because of lack of sympathy, but it had occurred to her that the whole procedure was almost irregular. If Mr. Drew were so ill, Hannah would have returned to River Heights and called Nancy direct. Or, her own or Bess's parents would have been in touch with the girls.

The more George thought about it, the more suspicious she became that the telephone call might have been a hoax. Mr. Drew's secretary was on vacation and a subst.i.tute was taking her place. Bess had never spoken to the girl, so she would not have been able to identify the voice. It would be very easy for someone else to pretend to be his secretary.

"Mrs. Glick," said George, "did the operator tell you the call was from River Heights?"

"Why, no," the Amish woman replied. "It was the secretary herself I talked to."

George now told them of her suspicions and suggested that they call the Drew home. If there was no answer, she would try her own house.

Nancy had paused on the stairway. Her heart leaped with hope! George's idea was very good. Nancy prayed the girl was right and that this was a hoax!

Everyone waited breathlessly while George placed the call to the Drew house. There was no answer. Nancy relaxed a little. This must mean that Hannah Gruen was still visiting her sister! But George wasted no time in trying her own home. Less than a minute later she was saying h.e.l.lo to her mother, and adding, "Is it true that Nancy's father is in the hospital and very ill?"

"Why, absolutely not!" Mrs. Fayne answered. "I was speaking with Mr. Drew only five minutes ago. He had returned home from the trip he told Nancy about, but was leaving for another overnight trip."

"Hold the line just a moment, Mother," said George. She turned and relayed the good news to everyone. Nancy's eyes filled with tears of joy and relief. She was sorry not to have spoken with her father. He had probably just missed the telephone call. George resumed talking with her mother, telling her about the fake message they had received.

"Why, how dreadful!" exclaimed Mrs. Fayne.

"It's wicked," said George. "Nancy has almost solved the mystery. The furniture thief is here. It was a pretty cruel method for him to use to get Nancy out of this area."

Mrs. Fayne felt that in view of what had happened, Nancy should not pursue the case any longer.

"Mother, you know how Nancy is," George replied. "She won't give up!"

"I suppose not," George's mother replied. "But do tell her to be careful, and you and Bess watch your step too."

George promised to do so, then hung up. Nancy came down the stairs and hugged George. She complimented the quick-witted girl for realizing the call might be a fake.

"Mrs. Roger Hoelt got the better of me that time," she said ruefully.

Nancy and the other girls, weary from their long day and the fright they had just had, went to bed early. All of them wanted to be fresh for the exciting detective work ahead of them.

The following morning, the girls were downstairs even before Mrs. Glick appeared. Not knowing what she had planned for breakfast, they walked outside. Henner was practicing nearby with his slingshot.

"Whom are you shooting now?" George asked him playfully.

"Goliath," the little boy answered. "I'm David."

The girls laughed, but Henner did not. He said he was perfecting his aim so that if any bad people came around to bother Nancy, he could use his slingshot as David had.

"Oh, Henner, you mustn't have such ideas," Nancy said. "If any bad people come around here, you let your dad handle them."

Henner was not convinced. He insisted that he was bigger than Nancy realized and was old enough to help if anything like that should happen. Nancy said no more on the subject. Deciding to pick some flowers for the breakfast table, she wandered off to the garden.

She had just gathered a large bouquet when suddenly she heard Bess shriek, "Look out!"

Nancy started to turn to find out what Bess meant. She was too late. At that moment something hit her in the back of the neck and she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Bess was at her friend's side almost immediately. "Oh, Nancy!" she wailed.

Behind her, Henner was saying, "I didn't mean to do it. Is Nancy bad hurt?" The little boy dashed over to the girls.

By this time, George had also run up and together she and Bess carried Nancy into the house and laid her on a sofa. Mrs. Glick, who was just coming downstairs, rushed to find out what had happened.

"I did it, Mama!" Henner cried. "Oh, Mama, maybe I've killed Nancy with my slingshot."

Before his startled mother could calm the small boy, Henner hurried up the stairs, weeping. Mrs. Glick immediately turned her attention to Nancy.

"This is dreadful," the woman said.

She inquired where Nancy had been hit with the stone, and upon learning it was in the back of the neck, said at once, "We must quick get the doctor!" She made the call, then returned to Nancy. She took hold of one of the girl's hands and began to murmur a prayer. Bess, meanwhile, had wrung out a cloth in cold water, which she now placed on Nancy's forehead. George began chafing her friend's wrists.

Nancy slowly regained consciousness but was still groggy when the doctor arrived twenty minutes later. He said that, fortunately, Nancy had received only a glancing blow, judging by the scratches on the back of her neck. The doctor a.s.sured her friends that she would be all right, but should be quiet the rest of the day.

When Nancy's mind cleared, she smiled wanly and asked what had happened to her. George related the details of the accident.

Henner, meanwhile, had quietly come downstairs. "Poor Henner!" Nancy remarked. "Please don't punish him, Mrs. Click. He meant no harm."

Mrs. Glick said she felt sure her son had learned his lesson but that she would take away the boy's slingshot. A few minutes later the doctor said he was sure Nancy would suffer no ill effects from the accident and that he must be going.

"I want you to rest today, Miss Drew. Don't even walk around-stay on this sofa until bedtime," he ordered.

He left at once, giving Nancy no opportunity to object. When she sadly mentioned having to postpone her sleuthing, Bess spoke up.

"Finding Roger Hoelt isn't worth risking your health," she said sternly. "Nancy, if you try to get off that sofa, I'm going to tie you down."

Nancy smiled. At the moment she entertained no such thought. Going to sleep was the only thing that appealed to her. For the rest of the day, Nancy napped a good bit and ate lightly. She went to bed right after dusk. To her own and everyone else's relief, she felt fine the next morning and ready to resume the search for Manda and her thieving employers, the Hoelts.

As soon as breakfast was over, Mrs. Glick playfully shooed the girls out of the house. They headed for the convertible. To their surprise, the car was not in its usual place by the barn.

"Did one of you move it yesterday?" Nancy asked.

The cousins shook their heads. "Maybe Mr. Glick put the car in the barn," George suggested. But he had not.

Then the girls went to the little stone building near the barn, where Mr. Glick had his cobbler's shop. They asked the kindly man where the convertible was.

"I, too, have wondered," he replied, "but I thought one of you girls had moved it."

Nancy, Bess, and George frantically searched everywhere, but the convertible was nowhere on the Glick farm.

"It's been stolen!" Bess cried out.

CHAPTER XVII.

Wheel Off!