The discussion was interrupted by a knock on the front door. The professor opened it and admitted a man who said he was Ben Farley from the telephone company.
“We’ve received complaints from people who have tried to call here. Apparently your line’s out of order.”
Nancy pulled out the map of the museum’s first floor and looked carefully for the main telephone-box location. She found it and the repairman suggested that the incoming line was probably underground in a basement not shown on the directions. Professor Titus and the girls went with him. They found the box.
“Uh-uh,” the repairman said, “someone cut the line!”
After examining the break carefully, Farley asked, “Did you have a burglary?”
Professor Titus said he did not think so, but they had just discovered that an intruder had slept on the second floor.
The telephone man went out to his truck to get special wire and tools. The others returned to the lobby and continued to read the book of poems by Cyclops. There were many items which seemed to identify Cyclops as Zapp Crosson. One was a poem in which the words “cross” and “on” were used to describe an ill-tempered little boy with fiery red hair.
“He must have been describing himself as a child,” George declared.
Nancy said she was sure Crosson would return to the museum and perhaps bring his pals with him. “I feel this place should be guarded,” she said.
At once Professor Titus offered to stay.
“But not alone!” Nancy said. “I certainly think Bess and George and I should remain with you.”
Just then the telephone repairman came back to the lobby and reported that service on the line had been restored.
“That’s good,” said Bess. “It’s kind of eerie being in a place like this without a telephone.”
Ben Farley smiled and said if there was any further trouble to contact the company. He drove off.
“The first person I should call,” said Nancy, “is my dad.”
Professor Titus said he would like to let his wife know the change of plan and why he would not be home.
Bess spoke up. “I think Burt and Dave should be told, too.”
“Yes,” George agreed, “and besides, we should find out if they have had any news of Ned either from him or from the authorities.”
The calls were made. Burt and Dave were surprised and concerned for their friends’ safety but thought the girls’ plan to keep an overnight watch was a good one.
“We haven’t heard anything from or about Ned,” Burt added.
When all the phoning was finished, Bess glanced at her watch. “Do you know it’s dinner-time?” she asked. “Suppose I phone a restaurant in town and see if they’ll deliver some food to us?”
Hopefully she tried one place after another and was beginning to think the group would have to go all night without eating, when she found a roadside restaurant that did deliver meals. The food arrived within an hour. They sat on chairs in the main lobby to eat. After they finished, each one began to nod and close his eyes.
They took turns walking around, trying to stay awake. But by ten o’clock everyone was back in his chair and getting into a comfortable position for a nap.
All the lights had been turned out and the watchers remained silent until sleep overcame them.
No one knew how long they had dozed when suddenly the group was awakened by a strong, penetrating searchlight flashed in their faces. As the startled group concentrated on it, everyone realized that the light seemed to be emitted from a huge glowing eye.
Nancy’s first thought was to make a dash for the person holding the searchlight. To her amazement she found herself unable to get up. She stared stupefied at the others. Each one sat paralyzed!
Suddenly a voice that seemed to come from far away said, “Don’t try to follow me even after you can move again!”
“Don’t follow me after you can move!” the stranger ordered.
At once the huge light went out and the immobile group could vaguely hear the front door open and close. The person with the glowing eye searchlight had left!
It was fully five minutes before anyone could move or speak. Slowly Nancy arose and made her way to the telephone on the desk. As she lifted the phone, a light went on showing up the numbers. She dialed the police emergency number and got headquarters. A sergeant on duty promised to send men out right away.
Nancy turned on the lights in the lobby and asked the others how they were feeling. Fortunately no one had suffered any bad effects.
“That was a strange experience,” Professor Titus remarked.
“Have you any explanation for it?” Nancy asked him.
“Not exactly,” he replied, “but it reminds me of something I read about medical students studying the brain waves of a person who had been put to sleep under hypnosis. It was discovered that his wave pattern could be imprinted upon another brain by using a laser beam of a certain wavelength. Of course the original brain waves had to be programmed in order to be modulated. This in turn produced a ‘paralyzing’ sleep.”
Nancy was thoughtful. “What happened to us must have been done some other way because nobody hypnotized us and the programming would have had to be different for each individual in the group.”
“That’s right,” Professor Titus agreed. “The phenomenon we experienced will take a good deal of study.”
Bess’s eyes were wide open. “Who would ever think of such a horrible invention?”
Professor Titus smiled. “Criminals conjure up many things that ordinarily seem beyond their capabilities. I think I’ve made a discovery. The person who gave us the warning a few minutes ago sounded exactly like Zapp Crosson.”
“Maybe he has been on the third floor all this time,” George suggested. “I’ll run up and see if that door leading to it is unlocked.” In a couple of minutes she reported that the door was still tightly locked.
Bess looked frightened. “Are you saying that Zapp Crosson is up there with his paralyzing searchlight and may come back any time to use it on us again?”
Nancy said she doubted this because they had heard the front door close. “I don’t think he’ll return here for a while.”
She picked up the phone once more and contacted police headquarters. This time she asked them to send out a detective, who was also a locksmith.
Ten minutes later a car with several officers reached the museum. One of them was Dr. Marcus, the police surgeon. He insisted upon examining each victim of the paralyzing searchlight.
He tested their responses and announced that the whole group was in good health. He asked them how they had felt during the immobile period. Professor Titus and the girls said they had had no unusual sensations except being unable to move.
“May we please go upstairs and watch you open the door?” Nancy asked the locksmith detective.
“Certainly,” he answered. “My name is Tim Rooney.”
The whole group trooped up the stairway and watched as the detective tried one key after another. Finally he was able to unlock the door.
The girls wanted to rush up to the top floor but Dr. Marcus said, “No, not until we find it’s safe.”
A few minutes later he came down. “It’s okay. You’re in for a surprise,” he remarked. “There’s a fully equipped electrical and electronic lab up there.”
“How amazing!” said Professor Titus.
By this time Nancy had surmised as much. She led the way up the steps. What particularly drew her attention in the spacious attic room were a series of pictures on the walls. They depicted gruesome scenes of battles, both between individuals and groups, and the slaughter of animals.
“How ghastly!” Bess exclaimed.
By now everyone was staring at the pictures of persons and animals about to have one eye gouged out with various kinds of hand weapons.
Bess covered her eyes with her hands just as Dr. Marcus said, “The man who owns these pictures is an unusual and dangerous killer type.”
CHAPTER XVIII
Weird Heel Mark
“WHY, Nancy, you’re white as a sheet!” Bess exclaimed. “What’s the matter?”
“I was just thinking about what Crosson could do to Ned!”
George put an arm around her friend. “Please don’t think the worst. I’m sure we’ll capture that villain before he has a chance to do anything drastic.” She went on to say that if Crosson were trying to get information out of Ned, he was not likely to kill him.
“But he might maim him,” Nancy said with tears in her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and took a long, deep breath.
A few seconds later she raised her head and said, “You’re absolutely right, George. I mustn’t let my feelings overshadow my good sense.”
She changed the subject by turning to Tim Rooney and asking if he would supply her with a key to the door leading to the attic.
He smiled and said, “You hope to trap the kidnapper right here in his own laboratory?”
Nancy nodded and Detective Rooney told her he would have a duplicate key made at once and bring it to her.
One of the other officers now asked Professor Titus and the girls to leave the attic. “We want to search this place thoroughly for the glowing eye searchlight,” he said. “Also, there may be other dangerous gadgets here which we should remove.”
Nancy and the others went to the main lobby. George asked Nancy, “What’s our next assignment?”
The young detective replied, “I’d like to do some old-fashioned sleuthing. While Professor Titus guards the museum, how about the rest of us taking flashlights and magnifying glasses outdoors to search? We’re pretty sure that Crosson was here tonight. Perhaps he left footprints.”
The professor agreed. The girls took sleuthing equipment from pockets and handbags, then went outside to examine the grounds.
A few minutes later Nancy’s eyes were fastened on a trail of footprints which her flashlight and magnifying glass had revealed.
“Look!” she cried out.
The cousins came to her side. They saw the prints and presently found an identical one deep in a soft spot.
“The heel mark is a copy of Cyclops’ glowing eye!” Nancy exclaimed as she pointed to it.
Clearly pictured was the ugly face of a Cyclops, with an eye in the center of his forehead.
George asked, “Do you think this is a mark Crosson uses just for himself or is it the insignia for his pals, too?”
Nancy admitted she did not know. “But I’m going to tell the police about this mark.”
The girls went back into the museum. They were just in time to meet the police officers coming from the attic.
“We found nothing dangerous,” Tim Rooney reported, “so it will be all right for you to go up there, Miss Drew. But be very careful just the same.”
“I have something to show you,” Nancy spoke up. “It’s outdoors. Please follow me to the side of the house.”
She led the policemen to the spot where she had discovered the heel print. The men stared at it, perplexed.
One said, “This is very strange. I’ll call headquarters and see if they have any data on a similar mark.”
They all returned to the museum lobby and he made the call. After listening for over five minutes, the officer said, “I’ll pass along the information. This is most interesting.”
He put down the phone and explained that a long time ago a band of wizards was reported to have lived in Europe.
“These men pretended to be magicians. Actually they were a gang of thieves. They mesmerized anyone who got in the way of their activities.”
“Perhaps,” Nancy commented, “the wizards were able to cause a temporary paralysis in people, and that’s where Crosson got his idea for the paralyzing eye.”
The officer looked directly at Nancy. “Do you think your friend Ned Nickerson had anything to do with inventing the glowing eye?”
“No,” she answered quickly. “I suspect that Ned was working on something else which he was keeping a secret, but Crosson found out what it was and tried to steal the invention. But so far Ned has refused to give it to Crosson.”
Before anyone could comment, they heard a loud knock on the front door. One of the officers went to answer it. The caller proved to be Tim Rooney. He laughed and said, “You all look as if you expected a monster. I’m just plain old Tim Rooney.”
George spoke up. “It wouldn’t have surprised us if a monster had arrived. Actually we thought the caller might be a wizard.”
“Where did you get that idea?” Mr. Rooney laughed.
Nancy told him what had been discovered during his absence. He was intrigued by the story of the ancient gang of wizards.
“I’m not one of them,” he said, smiling, “although I have a reputation for being able to open any locked door with my special keys. Miss Drew, here’s the key to the museum attic. Hope you catch your man real soon!”
The officers made a moulage of the strange heel print, and left after they had warned the group not to take any chances. The girls talked with Professor Titus for several minutes, then he walked into the room where the glowing eye had shone on the wall.
“Listen!” Bess said suddenly. “I hear a car coming!”
The girls wondered who was arriving. They felt sure it was not Crosson nor one of Cyclops’ pals. A few seconds later there was a loud knock on the door. Nancy asked who was there.
Two male voices said, “Your guards for the night.”
The girls burst out laughing. Burt and Dave!
Bess quickly pulled open the front door and the boys walked in.
Burt was grinning. “We thought you girls needed more protection.”
Just then Professor Titus returned to the group. “So you boys didn’t trust me to take care of them alone?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.
Burt and Dave knew he was teasing them, but they were a little embarrassed.
Dave said, “Sorry, Professor. Of course you could have done the job, but we’d kind of like to hang around.”
“That’s a lame explanation,” the man replied, pretending to be as critical as he was sometimes known to be in his classroom.
Nancy spoke up. “Now that you boys are here, we’ll put you to work. First, we’ll tell you all about this evening’s events, then give you jobs.”
The two boys were astounded at the latest developments and Dave said, “As usual more things can happen to Nancy Drew and her friends in two hours than might happen in two years to somebody else.”
The young detective smiled, then said, “Let’s watch this museum closely. I suggest we divide forces and spread out.”
“Good idea,” Burt said. “Where do you want to station me?”
“Suppose you and I go to the attic,” Nancy answered. “Wait until you see that fabulous laboratory!”
She went on to assign jobs to the others. Professor Titus and George were to station themselves near the panel where the glowing eye had been seen. “Bess and Dave, how about guarding the front door?”
The group quickly dispersed and went to their individual posts. Nancy and Burt hurried upstairs to the second floor, then Nancy opened the attic door with the key she had just received. She flicked on the light switch and closed the door. Burt followed her up the steps and in a moment he was gazing in awe at the equipment.
Nancy, in the meantime, heard what sounded like a helicopter. Was it Crosson? She quickly turned off the light and told Burt to look out the window with her.
They could see a helicopter descending in the field behind the museum!
“Burt, I’ll bet it’s Crosson!” Nancy exclaimed.
Together they watched the whirlybird. Both had the same thought: Was it the robot craft which had landed on Nancy’s front lawn in River Heights?
“Maybe Crosson and Ned are in it!” Burt suggested.
The helicopter settled to the g
round but instantly went up again. It circled for a few minutes, then took off.
“Maybe someone dropped out,” Nancy remarked.
“And he may come into the museum!” Burt added.
Just then they heard a scream from the first floor!
CHAPTER XIX
The Captive
WHO had screamed? Someone in their group or an intruder?
Nancy was torn between two theories: the cry might have come from Bess who had been frightened, but on the other hand an intruder might have screamed purposely to lure Burt and herself from the attic. Regardless, she felt that they should investigate.
“Suppose I go,” Nancy suggested. “You wait here in case Crosson or one of his pals climbs in a window or comes out of a secret hiding place.”
Nancy tiptoed down the attic steps. She opened the door warily and gazed into the dark hall. There was not a sound and to her this seemed ominous.
As she stood debating whether or not to descend to the first floor, she noticed a small flicker of light. In a moment she realized that someone was coming up the steps. She could not see the person’s face, but she could distinguish the outline of a man. In one hand he held the paralyzing glowing eye searchlight. Its beams had been turned low.
“I’d better make up my mind what I’m going to do,” Nancy thought.
A moment later a distressing thought came to her. Maybe her friends on the first floor had been paralyzed again by the glowing eye searchlight!
“The same thing will happen to me if I go near it!”
Quickly she stepped back onto the attic stairway and closed the door. Ascending on tiptoe as rapidly as possible, she went at once to Burt’s side and whispered:
“Cyclops may be on his way up here with his paralyzing light. We’d better hide.”
“And also try to figure out how we’re going to capture him,” Burt said, “without being paralyzed ourselves.”
Their flashlights turned on, the two moved quietly around the lab looking for something they could use to capture the man. Nancy noticed a long black cloth in one corner of the lab and picked it up. It proved to be a perforated sack.
“That is just the thing to pull over that villain’s head!” Burt remarked. “It’ll stop him but it won’t smother him.”
Mystery of the Glowing Eye Page 10