“Good-by, Miss Drew.” He smirked. “Happy sleuthing!”
“Come along! Let’s get out of here,” Channing snapped impatiently. “It’s time we picked up Mitzi at the camp. She’ll be tired of waiting.”
Nancy shivered and closed her eyes despairingly as she heard the door slam and the padlock snap. She struggled to get out of her bonds, but it was useless. Already her fingers were becoming cold. With every passing minute the cabin grew more frigid. Nancy wondered desperately how long she could survive.
She knew that her only hope lay in exercise. She raised and lowered her bound ankles as high as she could until she was puffing with exhaustion. As she rested a moment, the fearful cold took possession of her again.
Nancy decided to try rolling on the floor. She managed to get off the cot, and in doing so loosened the gag in her mouth. Crying loudly for help, she waited hopefully for an answer. None came.
She rolled, twisted, and yelled until she was bruised and hoarse. Finally her voice gave out completely. Her strength was gone. She became drowsy, and knew what this meant. Her body was succumbing to the below-freezing temperaturel
Meanwhile, back at the slope, Ned and Chuck had completed a futile search for the mysterious jumper and were now walking to the spot where they had left Nancy. “I can’t figure out why that fellow took off at night,” said Chuck. “He could be arrested, you know. It’s against all regulations.”
“It was probably some crackpot who wanted to prove how brave he is.” Ned shrugged. “Say, Nancy’s gone!”
“I wouldn’t worry.” Chuck smiled. “She probably was chilled and went back to the hotel.”
“Not Nancy!” Ned retorted. “She never gives up! If Nancy’s not here, it’s for a good reason. She probably spotted one of those swindlers she’s been looking for and is trailing him alone!”
Nevertheless, Chuck persuaded Ned to go back to the hotel to look for Nancy. She had not come in, Bess reported. “What’s going on?”
“Tell you later,” Ned called as he and Chuck dashed off.
When they reached the ski slope, Chuck cried out, “Look, somebody’s coming down Big Hill again! Two men with flashlights.”
“But those fellows are descending like sane men,” Ned observed. “They aren’t taking any jumps.”
The newcomers were state troopers. They said they were searching for the thief who again had stolen some mink pelts from the Wells Ranch. Chuck told them about the foolhardy jumper and they shook their heads in disgust. The men were about to go on when Ned stopped them.
“Have you seen a girl in a ski outfit?” he asked. “She was out here with us when we were looking for that crazy skier. Now she has disappeared and I’m afraid she’s trailing the same thieves you are.”
“Thieves?” the troopers echoed.
“Yes, thieves,” Ned went on. “The girl is Nancy Drew, the one who captured that swindler, Mitzi Channing, this afternoon. But the woman got away.”
“I heard about that over the police radio,” one of the men said. “We’d better help you hunt for your friend. She may be in danger.”
“We haven’t much chance of trailing anyone,” the other remarked. “There’s been such a crowd around here, the place is full of tracks. How long has it been since you saw the young lady?”
“About twenty minutes,” Chuck answered.
“Then she can’t be far away,” said the younger trooper. “Why not divide our forces so as to cover as much territory as possible?”
It was quickly agreed among the four that Chuck would search the hotel grounds while Ned followed the shoreline along the lake. The two troopers would examine the surrounding woods.
“Let’s arrange a signal,” said one of them. “The first man to find the girl will turn the beam of his flashlight toward the sky and wave it in an arc. In case of emergency, he will blink the light rapidly until help arrives. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly,” Ned said impatiently. “Let’s go!” The next hour was torture for the searchers. The heavy snow made the going difficult, and a keen, arctic wind developed that knifed through their stout woolen clothing and sent the tears down their smarting cheeks. Added to this, their spirits were becoming low.
At the end of the hour the four met. No one had found a trace of Nancy. The troopers went back to their headquarters to report, while the two boys returned to the hotel. A frantic Aunt Eloise and the remainder of her house party rushed to meet them at the door.
“Where’s Nancy?” Miss Drew demanded. “When none of you came back for the dancing, we all became worried and tried to find out what happened. But nobody knows a thing.”
The two boys told the story of the strange skier and their separation from Nancy. Everyone listened in shocked silence. Then Bess offered a ray of hope.
“If John Horn is still upstairs, why don’t we get his advice?” she suggested. “He knows more about the woods than all of us.”
“Say, that’s a great idea,” Chuck agreed, rushing to the stairway. “I’ll ask the old fellow—” The rest was lost as he bounded up the steps.
In a few minutes he was back. With him was John Horn. The bandage on the old trapper’s head was awry. He looked pale, but he insisted upon joining them in a new search.
“If those swindlers nabbed Nancy Drew, they wouldn’t ’a’ dared take her far off,” he said. “I’ll bet they took her to that empty cabin in the woods. Yes, sir. That’s where they’ve left her. It’s the only place around here where they could hide her without bein’ found out.”
“Oh, why didn’t I think of that?” Ned chided himself, starting for the door. “If anything happens to Nancy—”
“Hold on!” Dave objected. “Burt and I are fresher and we can strike out faster. George and Bess can follow us with a Thermos bottle of hot coffee and a blanket. But you and Chuck are in no shape to go.”
“What do you mean?” Ned glared. “Maybe I can’t go as fast as you, but what if there’s trouble? I want to be there to help!”
“So do I,” Chuck said firmly.
Nancy’s friends and Aunt Eloise hurried through the night, determined to make a rescue.
CHAPTER XX
The Tables Turned
JOHN HORN trudged on as long as he could, then directed the others how to go. Dave and Burt, the first to reach the cabin, yelled Nancy’s name. There was no answer.
Eagerly they charged up to the door. When they failed to open it, Burt said, “Focus your flashlight here, Dave.... Padlocked, eh?”
“We’ll try a window,” his friend suggested. “If necessary, we’ll break the glass.”
“Hey, is she there? Have you found Nancy?” George called as she and Bess came hurrying up to join the boys. Chuck and Ned were close behind.
“We don’t know yet,” Dave said. “This door is locked. We’re going to try getting in a window.”
“All of them are boarded up,” Ned recalled. “But we’ll get inside if I have to tear this shack apart.”
George was using both fists to hammer on the unyielding door. “Nan-cy!” she shouted. “Nancy, it’s George. Can you hear me?” There was no response.
Meanwhile, Burt and Dave were working on a window. “Here’s a loose board,” Burt yelled excitedly. “Pull!”
Snap! It came off so quickly they nearly lost their balance.
Burt played his flashlight inside the cabin. He could not see much in the clutter of furniture.
Dave was already pulling at another board. Together the boys yanked it off and broke the locked window just as Aunt Eloise came up.
“Nancy!” she called fearfully, but the hoped-for response did not come. By this time Ned was through the opening and flashing his light around. Suddenly the beam revealed the girl, lying on the floor, numb with cold and barely conscious.
“Nancy!” Ned cried.
“I‘m—so—glad—you—found me,” she whispered faintly. “I’m—so—terribly—sleepy.”
One by one the others climbed through the w
indow. Seeing Nancy, tears streamed down Bess’s cheeks. “You’re—you’re all right, aren’t you?” she sobbed.
Ned and Dave untied the ropes that bound Nancy’s hands and ankles.
“Of course she is,” George told her cousin.
Aunt Eloise kissed her niece, saying, “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll get you out of here right away. George, where’s that Thermos bottle?”
Nancy was given a few sips of hot coffee then wrapped in the blanket and carried out through the window. Burt and Dave insisted upon riding Nancy back to the hotel on a “chair” they made by interlocking their fingers.
A sense of relief, together with the stimulant, brought some warmth to Nancy’s body. As the group neared the inn, she was able to talk again.
“As soon as we get inside,” she said, “call the police. Tell them it was Channing and his friend Dunstan Lake who kidnapped me. Lake is a man!”
“Oh no!” George groaned. “But don’t talk now. Save your strength.”
“I must say this much,” Nancy persisted. “Explain to the police that those men were going to meet Mitzi at a camp somewhere. Dunstan Lake’s a short, ugly fellow with beady eyes.”
“I’ll tell them,” Ned promised.
Aunt Eloise would not hear of Nancy’s making the long trip to her house. Instead, she engaged a room for her niece and asked Bess to spend the night with her. Nancy was put to bed, and Miss Drew called in the house physician. After he had prescribed treatment, the doctor remarked:
“You had a narrow escape, young lady, but you’ll be all right in the morning. Lucky you knew enough to keep exercising, or you might have frozen to death.”
Nancy smiled wanly, and very soon was sound asleep. When she awoke the next morning, Bess, fully dressed, was seated beside her, and a breakfast tray stood on the bureau.
“I’m glad you’re awake,” she said. “How do you feel?”
“Fine. All mended.” Nancy hopped out of bed.
After washing her face and combing her hair, she sat down to enjoy some fruit, cereal, and hot chocolate.
“Are you all set for some simply marvelous news?” Bess asked.
“You bet. Don’t keep me in suspense.”
At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Aunt Eloise walked in with George. They were happy to see that Nancy had fully recovered, and said the anxious boys were waiting downstairs.
“I was just going to tell Nancy the big news,” Bess said. “Listen to this, Nancy. The police have captured the Channings and Dunstan Lake!”
“Honestly? Oh, that’s great! I was so afraid—”
“The troopers found their camp,” George interrupted. “Nancy, do you realize what this means? That you’ve rounded up the whole gang, just as you hoped to do.”
“With the help of all of you, including the state troopers,” Nancy was quick to say. “Did Mitzi and the others confess to everything?”
George shook her head. “They won’t own up to one single thing. Hypers! The way that Channing woman plays innocent makes me furious!”
As Nancy continued to eat, Aunt Eloise remarked, “This place is full of excitement. The Wells Ranch was robbed again last night.”
“What! Oh, my goodness!” Nancy cried.
She suddenly took the breakfast tray off her knees and jumped to her feet.
“That experience I had last night must have frozen my brains,” she wailed. “Why, I’ve forgotten the most important evidence of all!”
“What evidence?” George wanted to know.
“The snow statue. Bess, hand me my clothes, quick! And, George, bring the boys up here in five minutes. There’s not a moment to lose.”
When the youths arrived, Ned demanded to know what all the excitement was about.
Nancy took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you. Ned and Chuck, remember when we saw a man ski down Big Hill and wondered why?”
“I sure do. He was crazy.”
“Maybe not so crazy as you think,” Nancy replied. “When you and Chuck left me, I saw the man in a white sweater conceal a bulky pouch in one of those big snow statues.”
“You did?” Ned cried. “Nancy, why didn’t you mention—”
“I was so cold and tired I forgot about it until just now,” Nancy confessed. “Let’s run down to the lake. Oh, I hope the pouch is still there!”
Before they could leave the room, the telephone rang. Aunt Eloise answered.
“It’s police headquarters, Nancy. They want to speak to you,” she said, handing over the instrument.
“Miss Drew, this is Chief Wester,” came a man’s voice. “We have those three suspects in jail, but they’re a hard-boiled lot and refuse to admit a thing.”
“I can identify them,” Nancy said confidently.
“I know you can point out the men as your abductors,” said the police chief. “But Mrs. Channing demands her release and we haven’t any charge against her.”
“Just call Mrs. Clifton Packer at River Heights,” Nancy advised. “The diamond earrings Mitzi Channing is wearing were stolen from her. And the police at Masonville will tell you that Mitzi is wanted there for shoplifting.”
“Thanks. You’ve helped a lot,” said the chief. “And, Miss Drew, will you come to headquarters and be present when we question the trio again? I haven’t told them that you were rescued.”
“I’ll drive over this morning,” Nancy promised. She repeated the conversation to her friends and added, “Now, about the snow statue. I suspect that the Channing fur racket, which hasn’t been cleared up, will be revealed in about ten minutes.”
“How?” Bess asked, wide-eyed.
“When we see what’s in that hidden pouch. Why, where are the boys?” she asked, starting out the door.
Aunt Eloise smiled and put a restraining hand on her niece’s arm. “They’re acting as your deputies, dear. Let’s sit here quietly until they return.”
It was hard for Nancy to wait, but she knew her aunt was concerned about her. Twenty minutes later they heard pounding footsteps in the corridor and the boys burst into the room.
“We found it!” Dave cried.
“Yes sir-reel Mission accomplished!” Ned said, grinning and waving a bulky, canvas-covered bundle at Nancy.
“Open it!” Bess urged. “I can’t wait to see what’s inside.”
Tensely, the group gathered around while Nancy loosened the cord and peered within.
“Furs!” George gasped. “Why, it looks like mink.”
“It is,” Nancy nodded, pulling several soft lustrous pelts from the bag. “We must turn these over to the police at once. I believe they belong to Mr. Wells.”
Nearing the bottom of the bag, Nancy gave an exclamation of glee. Sewn to one of the pelts was a small tag: Wells Mink Ronch.
“Oh, Nancy, you’ve done it again!” Bess shrieked.
Nancy hardly heard the remark. Her hand had touched a paper at the bottom of the sack. It proved to be one of the stock certificates to which was attached a note:Jacques:
Made a neat deal on the earrings. Send Bunny Reynolds a dividend to keep her from hollering when she finds out.
Sid
“This is all we need,” said Nancy, rising. “Ned, will you come to police headquarters with me?”
“You bet. I drove your car over here this morning.”
It took only half an hour to get there. Nancy handed the bag of mink pelts to Chief Wester at once and explained what it held.
“Fine work, Miss Drew,” he said as he shook hands with her. The chief suggested that she go into his office for the interview with the prisoners, and that Ned wait for the right moment to bring in the loot.
“I got in touch with Mrs. Packer and the Masonville police,” the chief went on as he closed the outer office door. “They both confirm what you told us about Mitzi Channing.” He called to a guard to bring in the prisoners through the rear-office door.
Upon seeing Nancy, the Channings and Dunstan Lake looked at one another nervously.
/> “Miss Drew is here to identify you men as her abductors last night,” the chief said. “What have you to say for yourselves?”
“Not a thing,” Channing managed to say in a tense voice. “I never saw her before.”
“Me neither,” Dunstan Lake added, moistening his dry lips.
“What about you, Mrs. Channing?” the officer asked.
“I could say a great deal about that meddlesome little sleuth,” Mitzi snapped, glaring at Nancy. “As for your outrageous charges, we deny every one of them.”
“Miss Drew has just brought something that may refresh your memories,” Chief Wester said coldly.
He flung open the front-office door. “Mr. Ned Nickerson, will you come in, please?” he called.
The chief took the pouch from Ned’s hands and laid it on his desk. The prisoners stared in stunned silence.
“The evidence in here is enough to convict you,” Wester said. “Nancy Drew saw you put this bag in the snow statue not long after the pelts were stolen, Channing, or Jacques Fremont, which I believe is the name you use in Canada.”
To Nancy’s surprise, it was Mitzi who broke down first. Sobbing, she advised the men to admit their part in the racket.
“It’ll go easier with us,” she said. “But someday I’ll get even with you, Nancy Drew, for what you’ve done.”
The men finally confessed. Lake was the leader and had thought up the scheme of stealing the furs from the various ranches and secreting them in the snow statue while going for another haul.
“Ned and I must be leaving, Chief Wester,” said Nancy. “Only I’d like to ask Mr. Channing a question first.” Turning to the dejected prisoner, she inquired, “Did you send me a telegram and sign my father’s name to it?”
“Yes. You were always on our trail and we wanted to get rid of you until we could make our haul and escape. We hoped to catch you alone on your way to the hotel before you phoned your father.”
“And one of you was eavesdropping at my aunt’s cottage to find out if I was going to the inn?”
“I was,” Dunstan Lake admitted as the prisoners were taken away.
Mystery at the Ski Jump Page 11