Quickly the situation was explained to him.
“Stolen!” he cried out. “Well, we’ll just overtake that thief! Climb in here!”
Nancy and Ned got aboard and the search began. They had no idea which way to go.
“Yo,” said Nancy, “if you were trying to hide a sailboat on this lake what spot would you pick?”
He answered instantly, “Where Shadow Brook empties into the lake.”
“Then let’s go there,” she suggested.
Yo proved to be right. When they reached the brook, there was the half-sunken Crestwood. But the sleek craft did not look as it had when Nancy and Ned were ready to set sail. The sheet was torn and the craft was covered with mud.
“Some people’s idea of a joke is pretty foul,” Yo spoke up. “I don’t know whether we can get this afloat or not.”
“We can try,” Nancy said.
The three of them waded into the muddy water. In moments it had turned their white attire brown. With Yo’s assistance they tugged and yanked first on one end of the sailboat, then the other.
The trio finally righted the Crestwood, but it could not float with the heavy mud and debris in it. Using their hands as shovels they finally cleared away most of the muck.
“I’ll tow you,” Yo said.
The rope was attached to the back of the motorboat. Then Nancy climbed in beside Yo, and Ned sat in the rear of the craft to keep the sailboat from bumping into the outboard motor.
The group finally reached the Bide-A-Wee dock. Their friends had been watching for them and now rushed down to hear the story.
Everyone thanked Yo so profusely he became very much embarrassed. He said over and over again, “Oh that’s all right. I’m just sorry you all missed the race.”
He went off and Nancy and Ned changed into swimsuits for a dip in the bay. While the couple was in the water they saw Miss Armitage arrive and go inside the cottage. For this reason Nancy and Ned took only a short swim. Then they pulled themselves up onto the dock and wrapped big towels around them. The next moment the caller stepped onto the porch with Bess and they waved to her.
Bess called down excitedly, “Nancy and Ned, come up here quick! Wait until you hear what happened to Miss Armitage!”
CHAPTER XVI
A Valuable Witness
“IT happened today,” Bess announced.
Nancy and Ned listened carefully as Miss Armitage began to speak excitedly.
“It was dreadful—dreadful! I had been on a shopping trip and arrived home, with my arms full of groceries. I quietly put the key into the door and opened it. Suddenly I became aware of a slight sound in my bedroom.”
The woman closed her eyes as if the recollection were painful. Nancy asked quietly, “Did you investigate?”
Miss Armitage nodded. “The result was both good and bad. I found a man rummaging through my desk drawer. He was the homeliest human being I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t even describe his face. It was grotesque. He looked like an animal.”
“Probably,” Nancy suggested, “he was wearing a rubber mask.”
“Perhaps,” the woman conceded. “Anyway, I was horrified to see that in one hand he had the precious valentine! In the other he held the pieces of the torn letter telling about the child’s royal coach.”
“Then what happened?” Ned prompted her, as she paused.
“The man turned and looked at me. I said, ‘Put those down and get out of herel’ All he did was glare at me for a few seconds. I had a sudden inspiration and threw all my packages at him hard.”
“Good for you!” George burst out.
“He was taken off guard,” the woman went on, “and I was able to grab the valentine and slip it under my pillow when he wasn’t looking. Then I tried to get the letter. By this time he had recovered his wits. He knocked me down so hard I fainted.”
“How dreadful!” Nancy said. “While you were unconscious, did he take anything else?”
Miss Armitage shook her head. “Fortunately no. I had only a little money with me. It was in a pocket. More money and credit cards were safely locked up. I have a feeling that the man was not a regular burglar; rather, that he had come to steal only the valentine and letter.”
“Then in some way he’s connected with the secret of Mirror Bay,” Nancy remarked. “I wonder if he’s the person who burglarized our cabin.”
This possibility was discussed pro and con. Aunt Eloise told Miss Armitage they suspected the girl who resembled Nancy of being part of a gang.
“We feel that she’s working with two of them who live or work up on the mountain.”
Ned asked Miss Armitage if she had called the police.
“Oh yes. They came at once. I didn’t want to tell them about the valentine and the stolen letter because I’m trying to keep that a secret—I just told them about the man in my house. They didn’t know of anyone around here who has a grotesque face such as I described and suggested, as you did, Nancy, that he may have been wearing a mask.”
Aunt Eloise asked Miss Armitage if she would have dinner with them, but she declined.
“I’m expecting some friends this evening.” She smiled ruefully. “I’ll really have something interesting to tell them!”
The caller stood up, and after warning everyone to be extremely careful, said good-by.
When she had gone, Nancy said, “I’m afraid that though Miss Armitage is trying to keep her mystery a secret, one or more persons besides us knows about it.”
“And I’m afraid you’re right,” Aunt Eloise added.
They had an early dinner. Then Dave announced that he wanted to put the sailboat in tiptop shape.
“I haven’t been much help since someone in the woods knocked me out,” he said. “Now it’s my turn.”
Bess joined him. Just as they reached the dock, Yo arrived in his little motorboat.
“Hi, everybody!” he shouted loudly.
Nancy had a hunch the young man was bringing a message to her and hurried down the porch steps and along the dock.
“I have news for you,” he said. “I found out more about the Water Witch that was rented to Mr. and Mrs. Michael Welch. They’ve turned it in.”
“What!” Nancy exclaimed. “Nothing else?”
The young detective was disappointed at Yo’s negative reply. She had hoped to find out if Mrs. Welch was the girl who resembled her and if her husband was the mysterious green man in the woods.
Aloud she said, “Thanks a lot for the information, Yo.” She grinned at him. “You’re really getting to be a detective. Well, keep up the good work. All clues are acceptable to Nancy Drew and company.”
Yo laughed. By this time Ned had joined Nancy on the dock. The Cooperstown boy looked at him and said, “Did you ever hear about the girl hitch-hiker who turned out to be a ghost?”
“Let’s hear about her,” Ned urged.
Nancy thought she detected a twinkle in his eyes. She had a hunch Ned knew the story but wanted to hear Yo’s version of it.
“Well,” Yo began, “this happened outside a town not too far from here. It was over a hundred years ago.”
Nancy spoke up. “Which means nobody can prove or disprove it now.”
Yo insisted the story was true. “A young man was driving along in a buggy. It had started to rain hard and he’d dropped the front curtain. As he passed a cemetery, he saw a girl dressed all in white standing at the roadside. She waved at him to stop. Of course he did and opened the curtain wide enough for her to get into the buggy.”
Yo said that she gave him an address in town and asked to be taken there. He wondered why she was dressed in such a filmy, evening-type dress. Then he thought perhaps she had been walking home alone from a party.
“She did not say another word and he asked no questions. When they reached the address, he stopped the horse, got out of the buggy, and helped her up the front steps of the house. He rang the bell, then turned around to see if his horse was all right.
“As a woman opened
the door he turned back to watch the girl go inside. To his surprise she was not there. She had vanished completely!”
“What a strange tale!” Nancy remarked.
Ned was trying hard to keep from grinning. “Yes, it is,” he agreed. “The fellow with the buggy was so amazed he could hardly speak.
“But finally he said to the woman, ‘At the cemetery I picked up a girl who wanted to come here but she suddenly disappearedl’
“He felt very foolish of course, but the woman smiled tolerantly and said, ‘This happens every rainy night. That was the ghost of my daughter. She was buried in that cemetery four years ago.’ ”
Yo’s eyes grew large. “Say, you beat all! I thought sure I had you stumped this time. Where’d you learn the rest of that story?”
Ned mentioned his study of folklore in a psychology course.
“As a matter of fact, it is one of my favorites. For your information, Yo, that particular ghost story has appeared in one form or another in almost every country of the world.”
Yo scratched his thick hair. “I got to be going now, but I’ll have some more spooky stories for you next time we meet.”
Nancy and Ned waved good-by to the young man, then paused to see how Bess and Dave were progressing. Cleaning the mud from the sailboat was not an easy task but the industrious couple said they would keep on until dark.
When Nancy and Ned came up to the cabin porch, Burt met them. “The baseball museum in Cooperstown,” he said, “is open until nine o’clock tonight. Let’s go there and look around.”
Bess and Dave decided to finish their work and Aunt Eloise had seen the exhibit the previous summer. Matt accompanied Burt and the other young people in Nancy’s convertible. When they reached town, Ned, who was driving, parked the car along Main Street. The group crossed to the other side and entered the Baseball Hall of Fame.
After they had looked at various plaques and busts of outstanding players, Bess remarked, “I didn’t realize there were this many famous men in one sport!”
They paused at the showcase containing Babe Ruth’s uniform and Ned remarked, “I think he was the greatest of all time.”
“Why?” Matt asked.
“Because,” Ned replied, “he was equally good as a pitcher and a batter.”
The five sightseers walked along in silence for a while, reading the plaques and looking at the favorite bats of well-known hitters and famous balls that had won games.
Matt told the others that the player he most admired was Lou Gehrig. “What a record!” he said. “He played 2,130 consecutive games in fourteen seasons with the New York Yankees. His lifetime batting average was .340.”
“I believe he batted in 150 or more runs in seven different seasons,” Ned added.
Nancy smiled. “You’d never guess who I’m partial to. It’s not because of his record but something he said. A quotation from Leroy Satchel Paige.
“‘Don’t look back—something might be gaining on you.’”
The others agreed this was great advice, not only in a baseball game, but also in life.
Matt nodded. “Too many people waste time trying to see who’s behind them instead of advancing to the next base.”
When they finished their tour, it was nearly time for the museum to close. Matt and the young people left. As they were about to cross the street to her car, Nancy noticed a bus at the curb. The driver stood under a bright street light.
“Look!” she exclaimed. “There’s the man who drove the bus Aunt Eloise arrived in. Maybe that girl swindler has been on his route. I want to talk to him!”
She raced up the street.
CHAPTER XVII
The Girl Captive
BEFORE Nancy could reach the bus driver, he hopped aboard his vehicle and took off. She ran even faster, hoping to catch up to him. Fortunately he had to stop at a red traffic light.
He looked very much surprised to see Nancy. Hesitantly he opened the door and let her climb aboard. “I’m not going to New York on this trip,” he said. “Just to another town to pick up some folks at a conference.”
As the light changed and the bus pulled ahead, he said to Nancy, “So the police haven’t caught up with you yet! You know—” he paused-“I ought to turn you in myself!”
For a moment Nancy was taken aback, then realized he thought she was the girl who resembled her.
She said quickly, “I’m not the person you think I am. But evidently you know the girl who looks like me and is wanted by the police. A lot of other people are trying to find her, including me. She’s guilty of several things besides cheating those poor men and women who were stranded after the bus trip.”
The driver turned his head slightly to take a look at Nancy.
“I see now you’re a different girl. What else has the other one done?”
Nancy told him about the Water Witch episode on the lake when the boat had almost hit Bess; of the suspicion that the girl had been involved in the theft at the cottage; and the burglary at the jewelry store.
Noticing his name on an identification card above the dashboard, Nancy asked, “Mr. Patterson, did the girl ever mention her name to you?”
The bus driver said, “Yes. It’s Doria Sampler. At least that’s what she told me on the first trip she made up here. She came up several times, but I haven’t seen her in a long while.”
Nancy inquired if he could give her any other information which would be helpful in locating Doria.
“Not much,” Patterson replied. “She did say Sampler was her maiden name, but I noticed she was wearing a wedding ring. I asked her about it, and she admitted having a husband. Let’s see. She mentioned his name but I can’t recall what it was.”
Nancy asked him if the name Michael Welch sounded familiar. The driver shook his head. Next she inquired if it might have been Sam something.
“That’s it!” the driver replied. “Sam Hornsby.”
Nancy smiled broadly. “You’ve been a wonderful help. I suppose Doria didn’t tell you anything about her husband?”
Patterson laughed. “I guess that young woman is a great kidder. She said he was a green man. I asked her what she meant by that, but she just giggled and said, ‘Did you ever hear of male witches?’ ”
The driver was sure the girl was joking and said she seemed to be nice enough. When he had heard from the charter bus drivers about her cheating a lot of people, he was amazed.
“It’s hard to believe,” he muttered to himself.
Nancy asked, “Do you know where this Sam Hornsby is now?”
“No, I don’t.”
The driver said he had no more information. Nancy was delighted with what she had learned and thanked him.
“I’ll get off now,” she told him.
By this time they were some distance out of town. He asked in concern, “How are you going to get back to the village?”
Nancy had noticed that Ned and the others were following in her car.
“I see that my friends are right in back of the bus,” she answered, “so I’ll get off at the next crossroad.”
Mr. Patterson wished Nancy luck in her detective work. “I hope you track down this Doria Sampler Hornsby.”
Then he opened the door. Nancy said good-by and jumped off. She waved to him as he pulled away.
As she stepped into the car, Ned smiled at her and said, “I can tell from your eyes that you had some luck talking to that driver. What did you learn?”
Nancy told her surprising news and concluded by saying, “I’d like to go up on the mountain and hunt for the green man.”
George chanted:“Sam, Sam, the green man,
Avoid Nancy Drew if you can!”
The others laughed. Burt added, “And that goes for Doria too.”
Ned turned the car around and they headed back to Cooperstown. Presently Matt looked at his watch. He informed the others that it was ten o’clock.
“Do you think there’ll be any activity up in the woods at this hour?” he asked.
r /> Nancy shrugged. “Things happened pretty late the other times we were up there.”
She wondered if Matt were tired and this was a diplomatic way of coaxing them all home instead of climbing the mountain. By now they had rounded the curve into East Lake Road. Suddenly their headlights picked up the figure of a young woman on foot scooting up the hillside.
“That’s Doria!” Nancy exclaimed. “Now’s our chance to capture her!”
As soon as the car stopped they jumped out. Ned locked it, and the five pursuers started after the girl.
“This is a long way from where we saw the green man,” George remarked.
Nancy surmised that Doria was taking a direct line to the place where her husband was hiding.
“Could it be the lean-to where I had found the bobbie pins?” Nancy asked herself. “But she’s heading toward Natty Bumppo’s cave. Maybe she’s going to hide in there. I guess she knows that our headlights picked her up and she can hear us following her.”
They reached the cave made famous by James Fenimore Cooper in his Leatherstocking Tales. Their flashlights revealed no one inside. They hurried on through the woods. Here and there the searchers could see a fresh shoe print and kept on climbing.
“She’s fast,” Burt remarked. “We’d better double our speed or we’ll never catch her.”
There was no more conversation as Nancy and her friends dashed among the trees toward the summit. Nancy took the lead, beaming her flashlight in a great circle.
“I see her! I see her! We’ve caught up!” she cried excitedly.
The pursuers ran even faster and within another half minute they had surrounded Doria Sampler Hornsby.
“What’s the meaning of this?” she asked defiantly. “Get lost! All of you!”
Nancy and her friends closed in on the girl. When she tried to break away, Matt put a strong hand on her shoulder. But she wiggled loose.
“Don’t you dare touch me!” she screamed. “Go away! Leave me alone!”
Suddenly the captured girl began to fight like a tiger. She used her fingernails as claws and slashed at one, then another of her captors.
“Hey!” Burt cried in pain as her nails dug into his arm.