After they flew without seeing any sign of life, they wondered what kind of creatures might be able to live in this environment. The place was entirely unpolluted.
Nancy smiled. People at home would like it here. There’s no smoke, no streams of water containing trash, no debris or poisonous chemicals.
Ned thought-waved to her, If anyone does live here, how do they survive? Nothing at all seems to be growing here except grass.
His flying companion speculated, Maybe it’s a planet of intelligent birds. But what do they live on? Everything needs air, food, and water.
Ned suggested with a grin that maybe the birds imported it all in capsules from another planet.
Nancy giggled at this idea. Bird importers!
After a long flight, the couple finally saw a cluster of buildings ahead. Was it a settlement?
They’re all shaped like flying saucers, she remarked, and Ned nodded.
Surely somebody would be around. But as the two friends flew over the extensive terrain, there was no sign of movement anywhere in the city.
After flying some distance out of the area, the travelers came to a large section of green grass. Ned thought-waved to Nancy, Let’s go down. I’m getting tired of flying.
I am too. Can you help me retract my wings?
Ned drew alongside her, reached out to hunt for some kind of gadget on her back. He could find none. Nancy also tried to locate a similar device on Ned’s wings, but she, too, came up with nothing.
The couple panicked. Were they doomed to fly throughout eternity?
Nancy tried to overcome her fear. It suddenly dawned on her that maybe the wings were thought-controlled.
She closed her eyes tightly and concentrated on Ned. Suddenly his wings retracted. He plummeted to the ground.
Within seconds she had drifted beyond him. She tried to retract her own wings but could not.
I must do something—and fast! she told herself. I mustn’t fail!
Nancy pleaded for Ned to help her. He anwered, Turn around and fly back toward me.
Nancy dipped her left wing but found herself flying in a circle. Next she tried to stop by lifting the wings so they were parallel to each other. The flying girl wobbled uncontrollably. Was she going to fall?
Again Nancy was headed away from Ned and flying alone very, very fast!
12
Where? What?
Nancy was desperate as she soared above the uninhabited terrain. How could she retract her wings and glide back safely to the ground?
I mustn’t let myself be stranded out here, she thought anxiously. I have to get back to Ned. But how? Oh, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me!
Once more the young sleuth tried to gain control of the situation. By maneuvering carefully, dipping one wing, then the other, she managed by an erratic course to turn herself around. Relieved, she headed in Ned’s direction.
I hope he’s safe. Nancy sighed. He has to be. Finally she spotted glints of silver far below her. There he is! Nancy thought excitedly.
She sent him a mental message: Please help me get down! My wings are out of control. Even when I stop pumping my arms, I keep going.
In reply, Ned suggested that Nancy hold her arms back as far as possible. She complied and gradually began to descend. As she neared the ground, Ned caught hold of her to break her fall and pinned her down to keep her from taking off again.
The entire experience had exhausted Nancy. The sky, the landscape, even Ned began to spin in front of her eyes. “Ned, Ned, I’m afraid I—” she mumbled before blacking out.
It was some time later when Nancy awoke. To her astonishment, the girl detective was lying in Dismal Swamp of Shawniegunk Mountain, U.S.A. Ned was nearby. He too was regaining consciousness and stirred slightly.
Through hazy vision Nancy thought she saw the Indian Shoso kneeling beside her. Then she became aware that there was a large leaf in her mouth. It tasted bitter.
How did this get in my mouth and why? she wondered.
As Nancy started to take it out, Shoso shook his head vehemently and pushed the leaf back inside. He pretended to chew, indicating she should do the same. Too groggy to refuse, Nancy obeyed and was surprised that she soon felt much better. Now she sat up and looked around her. The flying saucer was gone!
Had the spaceship brought Nancy and Ned back to the swamp, then flown off again? Maybe Shoso could tell them.
Using sign language, she asked him if he had seen it leave. He held out his arms in a circle, then pointed to the sky. Next, he fluttered his fingers up and down, implying that rain or rays of some sort had begun to fall. Shoso pointed to the sky again, then finished by making another circle with his arms.
I believe Shoso is trying to tell me that it rained hard, but after the sun came out the flying saucer took off.
Nancy looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly and it was hot. The swamp was steaming and the rank, nauseating odor was stronger than ever.
Ned sat up. He was chewing a leaf. As he swallowed it, the couple looked at each other and smiled.
“What an incredible trip we had!” Nancy exclaimed.
“We?” Ned gulped. “You weren’t with me.”
“Part of the time I was,” she told him.
The boy shook his head. “You must have been dreaming,” he said.
Nancy’s blackout scene was so vivid in her mind she found it hard to believe him. She glanced at the backs of Ned’s hands: neither was scorched. Nancy looked down at her own; they were all right, too.
“But I was so sure—”
The girl detective next noticed that she and Ned had on their rain gear—their own clothes! What happened to the fantastic bird-flying suits they had worn? And what about the grotesque bird’s claws that had covered their feet?
Nancy shook her head and laughed. “Ned, I’ve just awakened from the most incredible dream I’ve ever had. I still can’t believe that it was all my imagination.”
“Tell me about it,” Ned requested.
As she related the story, Nancy kept including him in it. He roared with laughter when she described the two of them in flight through the windless air of an unknown planet.
“Human birds, eh?”
However, he sobered when she mentioned that at one point she wondered if they had died and gone to heaven.
“Too bad you didn’t bring back a pair of angel wings,” he teased.
She chuckled and took a deep breath. He told her that in his dream he had not left the forest. “But I became some kind of knight, slashing a sword at wild beasts. I knew what some of them were, but others looked strange—prehistoric.”
Nancy and Ned decided that gas from either the swamp or the flying saucer had put them to sleep.
“It’s a shame the flying saucer left before we had a chance to investigate it more thoroughly,” Nancy remarked.
“It may come back,” Ned told her, trying to cheer up the young sleuth. “I’d say the ship was in some kind of trouble when it landed. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have stayed so long and put up with our hammering, trying to learn its secret.”
“Don’t forget that the ship may have been programmed. Maybe it landed and took off exactly when it was supposed to,” Nancy suggested. “Who knows what its owners planned to do with it?”
Ned suggested that Shoso might know when it left. “Let’s ask him.”
The couple stood up and looked around. The Indian was not in sight. They called his name again and again, but he did not appear.
“Too bad,” Ned commented. “Now what?”
Nancy suggested that they search for any evidence that the ship might have left. In the center of the swamp was a badly scorched depression which she and Ned noticed for the first time.
Nancy said, “When the flying saucer took off, its antigravity rays may have been so hot they burned the ground. Let’s dig up a little of the soil and take it back to camp for a lab analysis.”
“Good idea,” Ned replied.
/> Nancy headed for the saddlebags on her horse. Susan B, she was relieved to find, was safe. Apparently the gas from the swamp or flying saucer had not reached the animals. She hugged Susan B and patted Goalpost.
“I’m glad nothing hapened to you,” Nancy said affectionately and unfastened one of her saddlebags. She took out a trowel and a small plastic bag.
When Nancy returned to the swamp, Ned dug up a chunk of scorched soil and dumped it into the bag, which Nancy held open. Then she took the mysterious sample back to Susan B, placed it in the saddlebag, and fastened the flap tightly.
She said to Ned, who had followed her up the slope, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if chemists found something in this sample different from anything known on earth?”
“Boy, would it ever!” Ned replied. “It might revolutionize our whole concept of the universe!”
The couple mounted their horses and set off for camp. They had not gone far, when suddenly Susan B sunfished.
“Easy, girl!” Nancy cried out.
She barely managed to control the horse and stay astride. The saddlebags nearly fell off as the animal dropped down on her forelegs and then lay down on one side. Nancy jumped off. The horse kicked viciously, trying to reach the saddlebag containing the soil sample.
“What’s the matter with her?” Ned asked, puzzled by the strange behavior.
Furiously the horse kicked her hooves as the couple watched, helpless.
“She seems to be trying to get at that saddlebag,” Nancy observed, keeping a safe distance from the animal. “I’m sure something inside it is bothering her. But what?”
13
A Discovery
Ned jumped from his horse and hurried forward to help Nancy and the distressed mare.
“Thank goodness you weren’t hurt, Nancy,” he said. “Susan B is really acting up.”
“The poor thing’s beside herself,” Nancy said.
The riders urged the animal to stand up. Then quickly they pulled off the saddlebag.
“Look!” Nancy exclaimed, staring at the horse’s flank.” Her skin is badly scorched here.”
Quickly they flipped over the saddlebag. A large hole had burned through the leather.
“It must have come from the sod we dug up,” the young sleuth remarked, alarmed. “Oh, Ned, maybe it’s radioactive!”
She unbuckled the saddlebag and dumped the contents on the ground. The plastic bag containing the sample also had burned through.
Nancy and Ned stared at each other as the same thought ran through their minds: Susan B might be contaminated!
“Ned, you and I might be contaminated, too!” Nancy cried out in alarm.
Other articles in the bag did not appear to be damaged, including a jar of healing salve. Quickly Nancy dipped her finger into the ointment and spread a generous amount over the scorched area on Susan B’s flank.
She remarked, “Ned, if we’ve been exposed to radioactive material, I wish this salve alone could cure us. What do you think we should do?”
Ned advised that they bury the chunk of scorched earth, the saddle, and the saddlebag and everything in it.
“Good idea,” Nancy agreed.
Using the trowel, Ned dug a deep hole. Nancy dropped in the suspect pieces one by one. After piling dirt over them and marking the spot with a heap of twigs, the campers started off again.
Nancy sat behind Ned on Goalpost, her own horse’s lead rope in hand. “As soon as we get to town,” she said, “I think we’d better get in touch with some scientists and a vet. Why don’t we phone my dad? He might be able to fly up here right away and bring help with him.”
“Good thinking,” Ned replied.
When the couple rode into camp, they were bombarded with questions by their friends. Before they could answer them, Hal and Burt arrived, leading the two missing packhorses.
“I’m so glad you’re back!” Jan exclaimed. “Now we have all the horses again.”
“But mine is injured,” Nancy announced and told the fantastic story of what happened to her and Ned.
The possibility that she and Ned might be contaminated by radioactive material really horrified everyone.
Dave spoke up. “It’s not catching, thank goodness, so we don’t have to isolate you two. But we shouldn’t use any of the same eating utensils.”
Jan offered to ride into town with Nancy, Ned, and the injured mare. “Nancy, you can take one of the other riding horses.”
The group ate a light meal, then started off. When they reached the little town at the foot of the mountain, Nancy called her father and told him the amazing story.
“What!” he exclaimed. “Tell me everything. How are you and Ned?”
Nancy gave him all the details, and he replied, “I’ll get a plane and scientists and doctors to come up there at once. I’ll be with them. Wait right there for us. If we’re going to be delayed, I’ll phone you in about an hour.”
Mr. Drew took the number of the telephone Nancy was using. “By the way, dear,” he said, “an excited young woman phoned and wants you to solve a mystery for her. Something about strange identities. I told her you’re tied up on another mystery right now, but she begged me to get in touch with you and call her back. What shall I tell her?”
“Oh, I wish I could help.” Nancy sighed. “Dad, why don’t you suggest she contact our friends the Dana Girls? They’re great at solving mysteries.”
“I’ll do that,” Mr. Drew promised. Then he hung up the phone, and Nancy returned to Ned and Jan.
“We’re going to have a fairly long wait,” she remarked. “Can we take Susan B to a vet?”
Jan nodded. “Follow me.”
The three walked to the office-hospital of Dr. Doyle. Fortunately, he was able to examine the stricken animal at once. Nancy told him about the swamp but did not mention the flying saucer. This was to remain a secret until the mystery was solved.
“We thought it might be interesting to have the soil analyzed,” she said, “and decided to bring some of it back to camp. The sample was so hot it burned a hole through my saddlebag and injured my horse’s flank. I put salve on it.” Nancy gave Dr. Doyle the name of the ointment.
“Quick thinking,” the veterinarian complimented her.
“What worries us in particular is that part of Dismal Swamp may be contaminated by radiation and could have affected Susan B. My father is flying here with some chemists to analyze it.”
Dr. Doyle looked surprised. “How could Dismal Swamp become contaminated?” he inquired, puzzled.
Nancy shrugged. After the veterinarian had examined Susan B’s wound, he said, “I suggest you leave the horse here. This is a pretty bad burn .”
“All right,” Jan said, adding that the animal had been rented in town. “But our group will be responsible for your fee.”
Before Nancy left the office, she put her arms around the horse that she had grown to love. She whispered in Susan B’s ear, “I’m so sorry I got you into this. I hope you’ll be okay soon.”
After they left, Jan said they would need to rent horses for the new arrivals, a replacement horse for Nancy, and two more packhorses to carry whatever equipment the party might bring. “And we’ll buy a lot of food to take back to camp,” she added.
By the time the extra horses were collected and all purchases made, Nancy and her friends heard the whir of a helicopter overhead. It did not go to the airfield, but came down in a field on the outskirts of town. Nancy, Ned, and Jan hurried to meet its passengers.
As soon as Nancy saw her father step out of the copter, she ran ahead of the others. Then she stopped short. If I’m contaminated, perhaps I should not kiss him, the girl thought. She blew a kiss from a distance. He laughed, came up, and gave her a hug.
“Let’s not be overanxious about this,” he said. “I’ve brought two doctors and two scientists with me. Others will arrive later. Right now the doctors are going to test you and Ned for radioactivity.”
After introductions had been made, one of
the doctors took from his bag a strange-looking instrument with all sorts of dials and indicators on its face. He held the end of a tube with a knob against Nancy’s heart, lungs, and the back of her neck. Was he testing her brain?
“So far everything is negative,” Dr. Caffrey reported. “Now, young man,” he said, “it’s your turn.”
Ned, too, was pronounced all right. The doctor shook his head and remarked, “You’re lucky.” He put away his instruments and the group stowed their gear on the packhorses and set off for camp. They had barely started when Nancy rode up beside Jan and asked if she would please stop the string of riders.
Without questioning Nancy’s reason, the leader called out, “Halt!”
Everyone reined in. Nancy said, “It just occurred to me that perhaps we should have Dr. Caffrey examine Susan B for contamination. After all, she was burned by the sod in the swamp, but Ned and I didn’t touch it with our bare hands, or get any mud from the scorched area on us.”
“You’re right,” Jan agreed and called out to the doctor, “Can you give the horse with the burn a radioactive test?”
“Sure. Glad to.”
Jan told the others, “Wait here for us. Nancy and I will ride to the vet’s and have Susan B examined for contamination.”
Everyone agreed to the plan and the three riders galloped off. Twenty minutes later they were back.
“The horse is okay,” the doctor reported. “She has a nasty burn but no contamination symptoms. Nevertheless, I think that swamp definitely should be investigated.”
“It will be,” Nancy said, then added, “Let’s go!”
The riders urged their horses up the mountain. When they arrived at camp, their anxious friends were delighted to hear the results of the tests. The newcomers were introduced and they all sat down to a hot supper.
Nancy and Ned asked Hal and Burt to explain how they had found the lost packhorses. According to the boys it had not been easy, but after a fruitless search, they had finally heard a whinny.
“One horse caught a front hoof in a bear trap,” Hal said. “Of course he couldn’t move, but we managed to get the trap off. Fortunately it had snapped around the colt’s hoof, not in it, so he wasn’t really injured.”