XV
A Desperate Situation
“How silly of me to be afraid!” Nancy Drew laughed nervously. “Probably there isn’t a person within miles of here!”
As she glanced about the bungalow it was with relief that she assured herself the place was deserted. Yet, for some reason, she was unable to free herself entirely from the feeling that an unseen danger lurked in wait for her. The very walls seemed to smirk and grimace at her and there was an ominous something in the air.
Now that Nancy felt certain that the Crowley clock had been stolen, she was anxious to get away from the Topham bungalow as quickly as possible.
“I’ll drive to the nearest town and report the robbery to the police,” she decided. “Those men won’t be able to travel very fast with a heavy moving van. There’s a chance that they may be caught yet.”
Having made the decision, Nancy moved toward the front door. Passing a window, she chanced to glance out, and what she saw caused her to pause in sheer fright.
A heavyset man with a cap pulled low over his eyes was coming up the path toward the house.
For a moment, Nancy Drew was held in a paralysis of fear. She was positive that the man who was coming toward her was one of the members of the robber band.
Only an instant did the girl hesitate. Then she turned and ran back into the bedroom. Too late she saw that she had trapped herself, for this room had no outside door.
Nancy started back toward the living room, but before she had taken half a dozen steps she realized that her escape had been cut off from that direction. The man had reached the veranda steps.
Frantically, she glanced about for a hiding place. The bedroom closet offered the only possible refuge, and with scarcely an instant’s hesitation she stepped into it and closed the door behind her.
Nancy was not a minute too soon. Scarcely had she shut the door when she heard the heavy tread of a man’s hobnail shoes on the floor. Peeping cautiously out through a tiny crack in the door, she saw a rough-looking man come into the bedroom. His face was cold and cruel.
As he turned toward the closet where she huddled, Nancy Drew held her breath, scarcely daring to breathe naturally lest her presence be detected. Apparently, the man noticed nothing amiss, for his eyes rested only casually on the closet door.
Nancy’s hiding place was anything but comfortable. It was dark and musty and old clothing hung from nails. As dust assailed her nostrils, she held a handkerchief to her face lest she sneeze.
“If I sneeze they’ll be sure to find me,” she told herself. “They’ll know well enough it isn’t an animal, even a cat.”
She felt around and once came close to catching her hand on a sharp nail. Then she felt something soft on a shelf and imagined it was a sleeping cat. She drew back, then felt more cautiously.
“Only an old fur cap,” she told herself, in disgust, “and probably full of moths. Gracious, now I feel like sneezing worse than ever!”
She held her hand over her mouth hard and waited in agony. But presently the desire to sneeze passed and Nancy breathed more freely.
When she dared to peep out through the crack a second time, she saw that two other men had come into the room. From their appearance she knew that they must be members of the robber gang. The first man seemed to be their leader, for he proceeded to issue orders.
“Get a move on!” he growled. “We haven’t got all day unless we want to be caught. Take that dresser out of here first.”
The two men lifted the heavy piece of furniture and started with it to the door. But they did not move swiftly enough to satisfy the leader, and he berated them savagely.
“If you were in such a hurry why didn’t you back the van up to the door instead of leaving it hidden in the bushes?” one of the men retorted angrily.
“Yes, and have someone see us from the road!” sneered the leader.
“Well, carry this out yourself if you think it’s so light!”
From her hiding place, Nancy Drew watched the men as they deliberately stripped the room of everything valuable. Piece by piece they carried out the furniture, but the girl was given no opportunity to escape, for the leader of the gang remained in the room while the others made the trip to the van.
“Well, I guess we have everything now,” the leader muttered at last.
He turned to follow his companions, who already had gone to the truck, but in the doorway paused for a last careful survey of the room.
At that fateful moment there came a muffled sneeze from the closet.
The robber wheeled about. Walking directly to the closet, he flung open the door and exposed poor Nancy, who was crouching in the far corner. Angrily, he jerked her out.
“Spying on us, eh?” he snarled.
Nancy Drew eyed the man defiantly.
“I wasn’t spying.”
“Then what were you doing in that closet?”
“I came to see the caretaker.”
“Looking for him in a funny place, ain’t you?” sneered the man.
Nancy realized that she was in a desperate situation. The look on the robber’s face frightened her.
“I heard someone coming and I was afraid,” she explained lamely.
“Well, it was unhealthy business that brought you here,” the man told her sharply. “What did you hear in that closet?” Without giving her an opportunity to answer the question, he added with a scowl: “I warn you this will be the last time you’ll ever stick your nose in business that doesn’t concern you!”
As Nancy saw the expression on the man’s face, there was no mistaking the ugly threat. One glance assured her that she could expect no mercy. The hopelessness of her situation gave her the courage to defy him.
“I didn’t hear much, but I saw plenty!” she cried. “You’re nothing but a common thief, and if I get the chance I’ll turn you and your gang over to the police!”
“If you get the chance—that’s good.” The robber laughed mirthlessly. “I’ll do with you as I did the caretaker.”
“The caretaker!” Nancy gasped in horror. “What have you done with him?”
“You’ll find out all in good time.”
The man held Nancy’s wrists in a viselike grip. Her efforts to free herself were of no avail.
“It won’t do you any good to try to get away,” her captor informed her.
Nancy was desperate. Suddenly, utilizing every ounce of her strength, she gave her imprisoned wrists a quick upward jerk. As the action tore her hands free, she darted for the door.
With a cry of rage, the robber was after her. Almost in one long leap he overtook her, caught her roughly by the arm, and forced her against the wall.
“Not much you don’t!” he snarled.
Nancy Drew struggled this way and that. She twisted and squirmed. She kicked and clawed. But she was powerless in the grip of the man.
“Little wildcat! You won’t do any more scratching when I get through with you!”
“Let me go!” Nancy cried, struggling harder.
The man half-carried, half-dragged her across the room. Opening the closet door, he flung her roughly inside.
Nancy heard a key turn in the lock. The sliding of a bolt into place followed.
“Now you can starve for all I care!” the man laughed harshly.
Then the steady tramp of his heavy boots across the floor told Nancy Drew that he had left the house.