All this while Ned had been conducting his own examination of the grounds. He pointed out that there were no tire tracks except those made by Oscar’s station wagon.
“The kidnapper must have come and left on foot. Maybe if we look some more, we can find out which direction he took.”
Again the officers played their searchlights over the area. Nancy’s and Merv’s footprints were picked up and led the searchers to the old barn. As they drew closer to it, all the lights went out.
The rescue party listened. Then from within came the hoot of an owl—the secret distress signal used by Nancy, Bess, and George!
“She’s in there!” Bess cried out.
At once the police turned all their searchlights on the barn. People in weird costumes began scurrying from every exit.
“Nancy! Nancy!” Ned cried out, dashing toward the barn, with the others at his heels.
A moment later Nancy appeared. Seeing her friends, she ran toward them.
“You’re safe!” Ned exclaimed as she fell into his outstretched arms.
Nancy looked for the police. Finding an officer, she said to him, “Come quick! You must arrest the Grand Master. He is a fake and cons money out of all these people. Merv Marvel is one of the victims. Besides, I think he needs psychiatric treatment. You’d better take him along.”
She and her friends now left and the police took charge in the barn. Nancy and the others slowly walked back across the fields to the Thurston farmhouse. As they entered it, the phone was ringing.
Mr. Drew was calling Nancy to say that sufficient evidence had been collected against Ramsey Wright and the other executives in his company to bring about their arrest for fraud and coercing people into selling to him cheap the property they owned.
“Incidentally, he financed the witchcraft setup as a little private moneymaking project.”
“This really is news!” said Nancy.
Oscar had come to say a word himself. “Mr. Drew, could you join us out here? I think the successful conclusion of this case calls for a celebration.”
Mr. Drew agreed. While they were waiting for him, Mrs. Thurston, apparently fully recovered and gay and happy, helped Bess and George prepare a snack.
Nancy had gone off to wash her face and hands, comb her hair, and sit down to rest for a few minutes. The various angles of the mystery ran through her mind like a kaleidoscope.
Then suddenly she sat up straight, thinking, “The part involving Kammy hasn’t been solved!”
She went at once to find the Eurasian girl. Kammy was in her room saying something softly to Petra in her native tongue.
“Kammy,” said Nancy, “you once promised to tell me a story about yourself and your life. Could you do so now? It may explain some of the points in the mystery which haven’t been cleared up.”
Kammy smiled and the two girls sat down on the bed side by side.
“The wryneck in our country,” Kammy began, “is almost a sacred bird. In ancient times it was used to try bewitching people who were interfering with royalty. My ancestors belonged to the royal family, and even though the country is no longer a kingdom, we descendants have always kept a wryneck with us.”
The Eurasian girl said that after arriving at the university she had become acquainted with an American boy. “He turned out not to be a friend, and I was too embarrassed to talk about it. He liked to play jokes. After I told him I did not care to see him any longer, he began to annoy me in all sorts of ways.
“One time when we were studying together I had idly drawn the magical symbol of the circle with the wide cross inside it. He thought this was very funny and later whenever he saw a chance teased me about it.”
Nancy asked, “Was he the one who put the jinx symbol inside Ned’s car and in your theme papers?”
Kammy nodded. “And he is the one who stole Petra and also took my ring, which he taped underneath the bird’s wing.”
“Did you ever speak to him about it?”
“Indeed, yes,” Kammy said, her dark eyes flashing. “His reply was that he was sure the bird would come back to me. He was only playing a joke.”
“Kammy,” said Nancy, giving her new friend a kiss, “please forgive us all for having been suspicious of you from time to time. I realize now why you felt you could not tell us your story.”
The two girls stood up, smiled broadly at each other, then went downstairs. Mr. Drew had just arrived and the whole group sat around the living room enjoying the snack and swapping stories about the mystery. As often happened when Nancy finished work on a case, she began to wonder what the next one would be. It proved to be a highly exciting adventure, Mystery of the Glowing Eye.
She was brought back to the present as her father surprised everyone by an announcement. “Just before I left the house,” he said, “I had a phone call from Chief Pepper. He told me that each of the five councilmen wanted Nancy Drew to know that they had voted to award the building contract to another company and to accept her plan for the complex of apartment houses.
“Oscar, you are to stay here. Your property will not be condemned and you will not have to sell.”
A great shout of delight went up from the listeners and tears of joy filled the eyes of both Oscar and his wife Martha.
“You are such wonderful people,” Oscar said. “I—we—”
He found it difficult to finish. Nancy relieved him of having to say anything more. Grinning, she declared:
“I forgot to tell you all that the Grand Master at that strange barn actually dubbed me a witch. Somebody had better unjinx me double-quick!”
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