The Girl Detective Megapack: 25 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls

by Mildred A. Wirt

  Madge thought of what she and Rex had done, and for a moment her conscience troubled her. Was it possible that the substitution had been a mistake? If the abductors were honest in their intentions, then her act might actually hinder the rescue of Mr. Burnett.

  “I must go now,” Enid declared resolutely. “It will take me at least ten minutes to walk to the point.”

  She picked up the package which she believed to be the Zudi Drum. Madge resisted the temptation to confess everything. More keenly than before, she realized that Enid was walking straight into danger—perhaps into a trap.

  “I wish you the best of luck,” she said quietly. “Be on your guard every instant, and if anything goes wrong, scream for help.”

  “I shall.”

  They clasped hands and Enid turned away. She walked a few steps, hesitated, and looked back. Then she plunged into the forest.

  Madge cast an anxious glance out across the water. She could see no light nor was there any sign to indicate Rex was near.

  “It looks as though I may get to handle this job alone,” she thought uncomfortably.

  Enid’s footsteps were rapidly dying away. Madge no longer dared delay. Moving with extreme caution, she left the boat, and noiselessly followed her friend.

  CHAPTER XIV

  A Call for Aid

  The trail leading to the promontory was overgrown with weeds and brush. For a minute after she plunged into the forest Madge feared that she had lost her chum. She could not see Enid and only a faint crackling of sticks far ahead convinced her that she had taken the right path. At the risk of being heard, she hurried faster.

  Soon she caught a glimpse of Enid’s white dress through the trees and slackened her pace. Apparently, Enid had sensed that she was being followed, for unexpectedly, she wheeled about and looked intently toward the very spot where Madge stood.

  She observed nothing amiss and went on again, walking faster, as though eager to be finished with an unpleasant ordeal. Madge exercised more caution in trailing her, for she did not wish to ruin her carefully laid plans by being detected.

  Enid walked directly to a large white birch tree. She glanced sharply about but there was no other person within sight.

  Madge approached within fifty yards and secreted herself in the bushes. It was too dark to see her watch but she knew it must be midnight. Would the kidnappers fail to keep the appointment?

  Enid was obviously ill at ease. She moved about, looking first in one direction, then another, and clutched her package tightly in her arms.

  Madge felt none too secure in her own hiding place. She could well imagine what might happen to her should she be discovered. The very silence was disturbing. She could almost feel that hostile eyes were watching her every move.

  She waited five minutes, ten, and then from among the trees a tall figure suddenly emerged. Enid was so startled that she uttered a smothered scream and nearly dropped her package.

  Madge could not see the man’s face but she noted that he wore a turban on his head and knew that he must be a native of India.

  “Did you bring the Zudi Drum?” she heard him demand in a guttural voice.

  “I will give it to you when you assure me that my father is safe and will be released,” Enid responded.

  Madge failed to catch the man’s reply, but from the tone of his voice, she inferred he was threatening Enid. He advanced a step as though to take the package by force. Enid retreated. Then, apparently realizing that resistance was useless, she halted.

  “I’ll give you the drum but you must promise to release my father immediately.”

  The man took the package from her, roughly grasping her arm as she pulled away.

  “Not so fast,” he muttered. “Think I’ll let you get away and bring the police down on us? You come with me!”

  Enid uttered no cry, but she struggled frantically to free herself. Involuntarily, Madge started forward to aid her friend, then checked herself. Undoubtedly, the kidnapper was armed and likely other companions were hiding nearby. To expose herself might ruin every chance of a rescue. Deliberately, she waited.

  “Come along quietly and you’ll not be harmed,” she heard the man tell Enid. “Resist and it will be the worse for you.”

  He held her arms so that she could not have escaped had she tried. She permitted him to lead her away.

  “Where is he taking her?” Madge thought, torn by indecision. “Shall I follow or try to get aid?”

  After a moment of frantic debate, she decided upon the latter course. Slipping quietly through the brush until she was a short distance away, she raced madly toward the beach. She reached the motor boat and groped for the rockets which she had stored under the seat.

  The first match was wet and went out. She struck a dozen without success. Then as she was about to despair, one lighted and she touched off the rocket. It shot into the sky, leaving a trailing arch of fire which disintegrated into a shower of stars and vanished.

  Madge tried to touch off a second rocket but could find no match which would light. Fearful of delaying so long that she would lose track of Enid and her captor, she gave it up and darted back into the woods.

  At the white birch she found the trail which the two had taken. Before following it, she dropped her handkerchief as a clue for Rex, should he find it difficult to discover which way she had gone.

  She had hurried some distance before a crashing of bushes directly ahead, warned her that she was overtaking Enid and her captor.

  She followed more cautiously, taking pains to mark the trail well. At one turn she dropped her scarf, and a little farther on, broke twigs and placed stones in such fashion that they indicated the way she had gone.

  “Rex may not notice,” she thought anxiously, “even if he has a flashlight. If it were Jack, he’d be looking for signs, but Rex hasn’t been trained to it.”

  It was well that Madge had marked the trail, for the kidnapper was leading her deep into the forest. She wondered where he could be taking Enid and was fearful for her chum. If only Rex brought aid in time!

  At last she beheld a clearing just ahead, and reaching the edge of it, dared not leave the security of the trees. She noticed a small, tumbledown cottage which stood at the edge of a ravine. The kidnapper led Enid toward the house and tried to force her to enter.

  “No! I’ll wait here for my father!” she cried. “Keep your promise. You have the Zudi Drum—now free my father.”

  “He is inside,” the man told her. “If you wish to see him, you must enter.”

  Enid hesitated, beside herself with doubt and suspicion. Then the desire to find her father overshadowed all else, and she reluctantly entered the house. Instantly, the door slammed shut.

  “They have her now!” Madge thought in alarm. “She walked straight into their trap.”

  For a full minute she stood at the edge of the clearing, trying to decide what was best to do. Should she return to the beach there to await Rex and the authorities or attempt to find out what was transpiring inside the house?

  “Rex may not have seen my signal rocket,” she told herself anxiously. “In that case, help will never come. If it comes to the worst I must make an effort to save Enid myself.”

  Convinced that it would never do to leave the scene, she stealthily moved across the clearing. Once she paused to look back toward the forest, feeling that someone was following her.

  The windows of the house had been darkened and in only one room was there a sign of a light. Madge tiptoed across the porch and tried to peer inside. The crack between the bottom of the curtain and the window sill was too small to permit even a glimpse. She could hear a faint murmur of voices inside but was unable to distinguish a word.

  “It’s possible the men really mean to release Mr. Burnett,” she considered. “If they intend to keep their promise, Enid should be coming out in a minute or so.”

  Then she thought of the Zudi Drum Bowl and the substitution she and Rex had made. If the package were opened, Enid
would be involved in even more difficulties.

  “I’m partially responsible,” Madge charged herself. “It’s up to me to get her out of this.”

  She waited a few minutes upon the porch until she was convinced that Enid was not to be released. Then, as her fears gained the upper hand, she made a tour of the cottage, hoping to find some aperture which would permit her to see what was going on inside.

  The windows were all above her head save for the one opening off the porch and the curtains had been carefully drawn. However, at the rear of the house, she found a door which seemed to lead down a flight of stairs to the cellar. She tried the door and found it unlocked.

  Without an instant’s thought for her own safety, she cautiously raised up the door. It creaked alarmingly on its rusty hinges. After waiting a brief space to make sure that the sound had not called attention to her presence, she quietly slipped inside and lowered the door after her.

  It was pitch dark within and the cellar gave off an unpleasant, damp, musty odor. Madge crept down the stairs one at a time taking care not to make the slightest sound. At the bottom she found a second door which opened readily at a turn of the handle.

  A heap of rubbish had been left just inside and in groping about, Madge stumbled over it.

  “Now I’ve done it!” she told herself.

  The flooring above was thin and the sound of masculine voices reached her ears distinctly.

  “What was that?” she heard some one ask. “Thought that sound came from the basement.”

  Madge barely had time to flatten herself against the wall before an inside door directly above her opened. The beam of a lantern was flashed about the room. It missed her by a scant two feet.

  “Guess it must have been a cat,” the man muttered and closed the door.

  Madge breathed a sigh of relief and for several minutes dared not move. Then she summoned her courage, and quietly crept up the stairs leading to the interior of the house.

  Suddenly she was startled to hear Enid’s cry:

  “Let us go as you promised! You have the Zudi Drum. What more do you want?”

  Unable to bear the suspense of not knowing what was transpiring within, Madge reached up and slowly turned the door knob. She pushed the door open a tiny crack and peered into the room.

  The sight caused her to gasp.

  Mr. Burnett, his face pale and drawn, lay upon a sagging couch at one end of the room. His arms and legs were bound. Enid stood beside him, facing the kidnappers defiantly.

  Besides the man who had met Enid at the white birch, there were three others in the room. Two of them Madge had never seen before. They were Indian natives, dressed in strange costumes befitting their race. The third man had his back turned to the cellar door. As he moved, Madge saw his face distinctly. It was the boatman who had taken her to The Flora on the day of her arrival!

  “I knew it!” she told herself excitedly. “The entire affair is clear to me now. Enid and her father are in very grave danger.”

  Madge was convinced that she was dealing with a fanatical group of Zudi Drum worshipers who sought retribution for the loss of their trophy. How an organization which was thought no longer to exist, had traced the drum to Mr. Burnett, she had no way of knowing. And matters at hand were too pressing to consider any question save a means of securing the immediate release of her friends. From the cruel faces of the kidnappers she read that the return of the Zudi Drum was not all they wanted. They intended to inflict punishment upon their victims.

  “Enid, dear, you shouldn’t have come,” she heard Mr. Burnett say to his daughter. And then to the kidnappers, “Let her go free and I’ll give you anything you ask.”

  “So you’re ready to come to terms now, are you?” was the cool retort. “It’s too late. We gave you your chance and you refused to turn over the Zudi Drum.”

  “I told you I would be willing to give up the drum, providing you could establish ownership. All this threatening and kidnapping and violence goes against my grain.”

  “You and your daughter shall both pay for taking the drum away from India,” came the solemn announcement.

  “Enid had nothing to do with it,” Mr. Burnett returned earnestly. “How was I to know the drum had been stolen? I purchased it from a reputable antique dealer and paid a good price for it. Will you let my daughter go?”

  The spokesman for the three smiled. At a signal from him, the other two fell upon Enid and before she could make a move, securely bound her hands and feet. Mr. Burnett struggled to free himself and only succeeded in drawing his bonds tighter until they cut deeply into his flesh. He groaned and fell back on the couch.

  “Now we’ll have a look at the Zudi Drum,” the spokesman declared.

  Madge held her breath as he picked up the wrapped package. What would he do to Enid and her father when the deception was discovered?

  The Indian cut the strings and the paper fell away. A cry of rage escaped him.

  “Tricked!” he exclaimed, his face convulsed with anger and hatred. “Ah, you shall pay for this!”

  “It’s a mistake!” Enid cried. “I had the drum when I left The Flora tonight. Don’t hold me responsible for something I didn’t do!”

  The men paid not the slightest attention to her excuses. They moved to the other end of the room and conversed in a tongue which Madge had never heard before, but from the vehemence with which they spoke, she guessed that they were plotting a cruel punishment for Enid and her father.

  “Oh, this is dreadful!” she thought. “I can’t bear it to stay here and do nothing. Why doesn’t Rex come?”

  Abruptly the three natives left the room above and a minute later, Madge heard them moving about on the second floor.

  “They’ve gone up there for something,” she told herself. “If I don’t save Enid and Mr. Burnett now, I’ll lose my chance. I can’t wait for Rex. He may not get here until it is too late!”

  With a courage born of desperation, she quietly opened the door and slipped into the room. At sight of her Enid stifled a scream. Madge held up a warning hand, and with a hasty glance directed toward the stairs leading to the second floor, snatched up a knife lying upon the table. Enid was nearest her and with several sharp thrusts with the blade, she had cut Enid’s bonds and set her free.

  She turned to aid Mr. Burnett. Just at that moment, she heard footsteps on the stairs.

  “Go!” Mr. Burnett whispered tensely. “It’s your only chance!”

  Madge wheeled about but already escape was cut off. The door was blocked by the three natives.

  CHAPTER XV

  Rescue

  At sight of the three men, Enid uttered a piercing scream. Madge made a wild break for the cellar door but half way across the room she was clutched roughly by the shoulder and flung backwards with such force that she fell to the floor.

  “So you thought you would meddle, eh?”

  She started to retort but the words froze on her lips. Distinctly, she had heard footsteps on the porch! It was too much to hope that rescue was at hand.

  Then the door was flung wide and two young men with drawn revolvers stepped into the room. Close behind were several policemen.

  “Rex!” Enid cried joyfully.

  “Jack French!” Madge exclaimed.

  She had no time to wonder how he came to be there, for in the next few minutes, everything was confusion. Undaunted by the odds against them, the three kidnappers dashed out the light. Furniture crashed to the floor and an occasional bullet flew. Through it all the girls clung tightly together and huddled in a corner.

  The kidnappers put up a desperate but losing battle and soon were subdued. Someone lighted a lantern. Madge was relieved to see that no one was seriously injured. The police lined the kidnappers up and took them away under close guard.

  At the first opportunity, Enid had gone to her father’s side, cutting the ropes which bound him.

  “Tell us everything,” she urged. “Who are these dreadful men and why did they want the
Zudi Drum?”

  “There are a number of things to be explained,” her father replied with a smile, “but first, I owe your friends my deepest thanks for their timely arrival.”

  Mr. Burnett knew Madge and Rex but Jack French was a stranger. Madge introduced him and he gravely shook the ranger’s hand.

  “Jack must tell us how he came to be here at the psychological moment,” Madge declared, “but first, you must relate your experiences, Mr. Burnett.”

  “There’s not so much to tell,” he responded. “I bought the Zudi Drum in India of an antique dealer. I suppose the fellow resorted to questionable means in obtaining it but at the time I thought him reliable. At any rate, the first intimation I had of trouble was when I received a threatening note, warning me to give up the drum or suffer the consequence.”

  “You didn’t tell me that,” Enid observed.

  “No, I didn’t wish to alarm you. If the men had come to me in a straightforward way and asked for the drum, I would have given it to them, but instead, they tried to force me. I placed the Zudi Drum in the safe at home.”

  “The house was entered,” Enid informed, “but they didn’t get the drum.”

  “I suspected they would ransack the place. They tried to force me to tell where I had hidden the trophy, but I refused. Then when all else failed, they tricked my daughter into coming here.”

  “I walked straight into the trap,” Enid admitted. “Madge tried to keep me from it but I wouldn’t listen. And it wasn’t my fault that I didn’t bring the drum. I can’t imagine what became of it.”

  Madge explained the substitution she and Rex had made, and likewise told of her visit to the jeweler.

  “You had the situation sized up correctly,” Mr. Burnett praised. “The kidnappers are Zudi worshipers, and are the last of a tribe that for years has been thought no longer to exist. As I understand it, the drum was formerly used for ceremonial dances and the like. Then it was stolen, or so these men claimed. The order is characterized by a particular symbol which appears on the drum and also on pins they wear.”

  “It was the jade pin that gave me my first clue,” Madge declared.