XX
A Prisoner
When Nancy Drew opened her eyes it was to realize that Mary Mason and the two men were bending over her. She was lying on an old couch and the gag had been removed from her mouth so that she could breathe more easily.
“She’s coming around,” Bud observed in relief, as Nancy regained consciousness. “I thought for a minute I’d strangled her.”
“It would have been better for us if you had,” Mary said coldly.
“We’re in a mess, that’s sure,” Tom Tozzle agreed, peering intently down upon Nancy. “She’s the one that followed me to Winchester.”
“And you don’t know who she is?” Mary demanded.
“Never set eyes on her until today.”
“Then I’ll tell you. Nancy Drew! The daughter of Carson Drew, the famous criminal lawyer. Does that signify anything to you?”
“She’s been listening to everything we said,” Tom Tozzle muttered unpleasantly. He bent down and grasped Nancy roughly by the arm. “What did you hear? Out with it!”
Nancy knew that it would be useless to pretend she had not overheard the plot, so she boldly defied her captors.
“I heard enough to put you all behind the bars,” she informed them daringly.
“Not much you won’t!” Mary cried. “After we get through with you, you’ll not go snooping into other folk’s business again!” She turned to her brother and Tom Tozzle. “We’ve got to get rid of her. If we let her go she’ll tell the police everything she knows and they’ll be down on us in a jiffy.”
“That’s right,” Tom agreed. “We’ll see that she doesn’t get away.”
“Not on your life!” Bud put in.
Nancy realized that the situation was desperate. From what she knew of the character of her captors, she did not doubt that they would be merciless in their treatment of her. If only she could think of a way to escape! She must work quickly or it would be too late.
Suddenly she remembered a simple trick which her father had told her was used frequently by detectives. It was an old device, but she thought it might work in this instance. At least it was worth trying.
Half rising from the couch, she riveted her eyes on a spot directly behind her captors and gave a low cry of mingled surprise and joy. Thinking that Nancy must have left a helper outside who had come to her aid, the three confederates wheeled about.
Like a flash, Nancy Drew was up from the couch. She dashed across the room toward the door. With a cry of rage, the three were after her.
“Don’t let her get away!” Mary screamed.
Nancy grasped the handle of the door, but at the same instant Tom Tozzle reached out and caught her by the arm, giving her wrist a cruel turn.
“None of your tricks!” he snarled.
“Tie her up before she tries to get away again,” Mary directed.
“I’ll get a rope,” Bud cried.
He ran into the storeroom and returned a moment later with a heavy cord. Nancy’s hands were then tied securely behind her and she was again flung down on the couch.
“I guess you’ll not get away this time,” Tom laughed evilly.
As Nancy felt the cord cutting into her flesh, she realized that her chances of escape were slim indeed. Tom Tozzle had done his work far better than had Stumpy Dowd, the rascal who had once imprisoned her in an abandoned cottage. Then, by dextrous twisting and squirming, she had managed to loosen her bonds, but this time she felt that there was no chance of doing this. The cords would not give an inch, and the slightest movement on her part brought excruciating pain.
“What are we going to do with her?” Bud demanded practically.
“Leave her here and let her starve,” Mary suggested cruelly. “It would serve her right for meddling.”
“Somebody might find her,” Tom objected. “Then she’d be sure to set the police after us.”
“That’s so,” Mary agreed. “Maybe we’d better take her along in the motorboat.”
“She’ll be a nuisance,” Bud protested.
“We can drop her off at an old cabin I know of,” Tom put in. “No one would think of looking there for her.”
“How far is it from here?” Mary asked.
“About forty miles.”
“Maybe that’s as good a place as any,” the girl admitted, after a moment’s thought.
“Sure it is,” Tom urged. “We can leave her there until we decide what to do with her.”
“If we play our cards right there ought to be some extra money in this deal,” Bud observed slyly. “Old man Drew should come across heavily to save his only daughter.”
“My father won’t pay you a cent!” Nancy broke in furiously. “He’ll track you down and see that you all land in prison!”
“Not much he won’t!” Tom sneered. “He’ll be only too glad to fork over the cash when we get through with him.”
Nancy subsided, for she realized that she only wasted breath by arguing with her captors. How worried her father would be when he learned that she had been kidnapped! She did not doubt that in his anxiety for her safety he would turn over any sum demanded by the conspirators. She felt sick at heart to think that she had brought so much trouble upon her father. If only she had used more caution and had brought the police with her when she visited the Mason house!
“Well, let’s be getting out of here,” Tom Tozzle said to his two companions. “It’s late, and we ought to be on our way.”
Mary Mason glanced anxiously out of the window.
“It’s storming worse than ever,” she announced uneasily. “I don’t like to start now.”
“We’ve got to,” Bud insisted.
“But the river is so high. I can hear the water pounding against the dock.”
“It’s going to storm all night,” Tom broke in. “It won’t do us no good to wait.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Mary gave in reluctantly. “I’ll get the things ready.”
She went to the kitchen, returning in about ten minutes with a package which she dropped down on the table.
“There’s enough food to last us a couple of days if necessary,” she informed her companions.
“Then I guess everything’s ready,” Tom said with a critical glance about the room. “The motorboat is loaded with gas and is a raring to go. She’ll ride this storm like a bird.”
Now that the time of departure had arrived, Tom Tozzle was in high spirits. The storm held no terrors for the veteran riverman, but rather offered a challenge which he was eager to accept. Mary and Bud Mason did not share his enthusiasm for the adventure.
As Nancy Drew thought of what was in store for her, she shuddered. She knew that it was dangerous to attempt a journey on the river during the storm, and the reckless gleam in Tom Tozzle’s eye told her that he would probably prove a foolhardy pilot. Her unpleasant meditation was rudely interrupted as Bud grasped her by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet.
“Hold on there,” Tom cried. “We can’t take her that way. She’ll let out a yell the minute she gets outside.”
“Gag her,” Mary directed.
“Oh, please don’t put that thing in my mouth again,” Nancy pleaded. “I promise I won’t cry out for help.”
“Gag her,” the girl repeated coldly, paying not the slightest attention to Nancy’s plea.
Tom Tozzle brought out the hateful gag from his pocket, and, in spite of Nancy’s vigorous protests, it was jammed down her throat.
“Don’t put it in too tight,” Bud warned. “We don’t want her to pass out on us again.”
Tom Tozzle went to the back door and looked out into the storm.
“The coast is clear,” he announced. “Not a person in sight. We can make it now.”
A heavy shawl was thrown over Nancy and the two men grasped her firmly by the arms. She was half-dragged, half-carried down the steep path which led to the river. Reaching the dock, she was shoved unceremoniously into the motorboat. The others climbed in. Tom started the motor and Bud cast off the rope.
Nancy Drew heard the angry roar of the river as the boat moved slowly away from the dock. The dreadful journey had begun.