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Smoke Scare






 

Ned stared in the direction Nancy was pointing.

The reddish rays of the setting sun shone right in their eyes, silhouetting the treetops and leaving the trunks and underbrush in gloom. But he could make out the shape of a large black object half-hidden among the trees.

" You're right! " he exclaimed suddenly. They both got out of the car and hurried to investigate more closely. It was, indeed, a black van.

" Good thinking, Nancy, " Ned said, giving her a quick hug. " This has got to be the one the police are looking for."

" Let’s check and see if the fan belt is missing, " Nancy said.

Ned lifted the hood and confirmed this fact. There were also rust stains on the engine and the front of the van as though the radiator had boiled over. This further bore out Nancys theory, which had led to the discovery of the abandoned vehicle. Apparently, the driver had turned off onto the shoulder of the road and then plowed through the underbrush to a spot well in among the trees, where the van would not be too noticeable to passing motorists.

" If we hadn't come along this way looking for it, Nancy, I'll bet the van could have sat here for months! " Ned declared.

Nancy glanced into the driver’s compartment. " Look, " she said, opening the door to show Ned. " The crooks didn't even bother taking the keys. They're still in the dash."

" If the van was stolen, they probably didn't care." As he spoke, Ned started around to the rear of the vehicle, intending to look in back. But the door handle would not turn.

" That's strange, " Nancy murmured.

" What is? "

" They would have had to open up this loading door, wouldn't they, to let the horse out after they got stuck here? "

" Sure." Ned looked puzzled. " But so what? "

" They didn't lock the front doors. They even left the keys behind. So why bother locking this door? "

" Hmmm, that is odd now that you mention it." Suddenly, a startled look came over Ned's face. " Good night! You don't suppose Shooting Star is still in there? "

" I hope not, for his sake! "

Ned hastily got the keys from the ignition and unlocked the back of the van. As the doors swung open, he and Nancy stared in combined relief and surprise. The inside of the van was filled with tools and old, discarded auto parts. Used tires and mufflers, old batteries, rusted bumpers, and hubcaps were strewn carelessly about or stacked in piles. It looked like a junk shop on wheels. Certainly, no horse could have been in this van on the night of the Fourth of July!

" What do you make of it, Nancy? " Ned asked with a puzzled frown.

" I'm not quite sure but I'm beginning to have a deep-down suspicion, " she replied, dimpling mischievously.

Going back to her own car, Nancy took a notepad and pen from her purse, then wrote down the van's make and license number. " Let’s lock it up and call the police, Ned."

Her friend hesitated. " Shouldn't we take the keys to the police station so they can send someone out here and get the van moving again as soon as possible? Those tools in there are valuable, especially to their owner."

" You're right, of course, " Nancy agreed. " Come on. It’s a little out of our way, but it won’t make us late for Hannah's dinner."

When they stopped at police headquarters, both Chief McGinnis and Detective Hart were out. The young people left the keys and information about the van with one of the officers on duty and drove on to Nancy's house.

The Drews, Hannah Gruen, and Ned were just finishing their dinner when the phone rang in the hall.

" I'll get it, " Nancy said, jumping up. " It's probably Bess." But she was wrong.

As she walked thoughtfully back into the dining room a few minutes later, three pairs of eyes were fastened on Nancy's face.

" That was Chief McGinnis, " she reported, " with news of that black van Ned and I were telling you about. He said that its license number matched that of the van stolen from Keanesville just hours before

Shooting Star disappeared. Undoubtedly, it's the van that was seen parked on the edge of the woods the night of the theft."

" Nancy, I still don't get it." Ned frowned. " We know that it was never used to carry a horse, so why should we assume that it had anything at all to do with the theft? "

" Because in my opinion it was used to mislead the police, " Nancy replied with a twinkle. " In other words, that black van was just a red herring all along."

" You mean they never intended to use it for transporting Shooting Star? "

" That's right. I believe they just wanted the police to think that's how the thoroughbred was taken away."

" By George, that would certainly fit the facts, " Carson Drew remarked thoughtfully.

Ned slapped the table and exclaimed, " If you're right, Nancy, that means Shooting Star may still be somewhere in this area! "

" Exactly, " Nancy said and nodded.

The next morning, she arose earlier than usual. She was due to meet Tony Traynor and his crew for the next TV commercial to be shot at Rainbow Ranch. While dressing, Nancy decided that she would have enough time to drive to the stable where she kept Black Prince and ride him to Mr. Harlow's estate. Prince needs the exercise, she reflected, and it will give me a chance to show him to Tina. The little girl had been quite curious when Nancy told her all about him.

When the young detective arrived at Rainbow Ranch, Tony and his assistants had just gotten there. Stormy, the black stallion, had not yet been saddled and brought out of the stable.

Seeing Black Prince, Tony immediately recalled the episode that had first given him the idea of using the sleek thoroughbred's attractive rider in the commercial. " That horse of yours is a beauty, Nancy! Would you mind if we used him instead of Stormy? "

" Of course not, " Nancy said. " If we do, everything will go very smoothly, just wait and see! "

And indeed, after Monsieur Philippe had finished making her up, everything went off with perfect precision. Nancy and Black Prince worked so beautifully together that Tony was amazed.

" That's a wrap, " he declared, using the expression for a satisfactory take. " We've got all that we need! "

He and his crew started to pack up, still marveling at how quickly they had finished shooting. Just before climbing into his car, Tony called out, " I'd like to do that last commercial Monday morning, Nancy. Can you make it? "

" I sure can, " she replied with a smile.

" And this time it'll be a horse of another color! " Tony drove off laughing.

Before she left, Nancy coaxed Tina into patting Black Prince and even feeding him a lump of sugar. Then she and the little girl strolled along the brook to a point where it widened into a pool. As they chatted, Nancy noticed a tortoise-shell cat on the other side of the pool. She was gazing down into the water intently, perhaps watching minnows.

Tina saw the cat, too. When Nancy asked if she belonged to her, Tina said, " Oh, that's Patches. She's not a house cat. She lives in the stables. But she's fun to play with! "

The pretty little creature seemed familiar, somehow, and suddenly Nancy realized where she had seen her before. Patches was the cat that had startled Bess's horse when the three girls were riding through the woods on the previous Saturday.

When Nancy arrived home and changed out of her riding clothes, she and Hannah sat down to a quiet lunch of quiche and a green salad. Later, as they were finishing dessert, Nancy put down her napkin with a sudden gasp of dismay.

" Oh, Hannah, I shouldn't have taken so long over lunch. Come on. I’ll help you with the dishes and then I must go to the Grimsby Mansion. I almost forgot. Ned and the film club are shooting this afternoon! "

She was about to start clearing the table when Hannah stopped her. " Nonsense, dear. These few dishes won’t take long. You go ahead so you won’t be late." The motherly housekeeper was very insistent, so Nancy reluctantly left.

When she arrived at the old mansion, she found the club members starting to unload their equipment and set it up inside. The last group pulled up in a car just as the girl was stepping out of hers.

" Hi, Nancy! All ready to emote? " Jack Billings grinned.

" Emoting's the word, all right, " Sara White chimed in with a smile at Nancy. " Were going to shoot that scary scene where you—"

She was interrupted by a sudden yell from Mike Jordan. " Hey, look up there! "

All eyes turned upward. Anxious gasps and exclamations followed immediately. Smoke was pouring from an upper-floor window on one side of the house!

" Oh, no! " Ned groaned. " Not another fire! "

Within seconds, it seemed, black clouds of smoke were billowing high above the treetops. Yet there was no sign of flames.

" No telephone! " Ernie Gibson exclaimed. " One of us had better go call in an alarm! "

Ned dashed toward his car, but before he had time to start the engine, fire sirens could be heard screaming in the distance.

" It sounds like the smoke's already been seen, " said Mike.

Springing into action, Nancy exclaimed, " But there are still no flames, and the smoke's only coming from one window! I'm going up and have a look! "

Over protests and warning cries from the others, she ran into the house and started upstairs. Ned and several others followed.

Reaching the third floor, Nancy could still see no sign of a fire, nor, as she cautiously touched the door to the room, could she feel any heat. Through the haze, she saw that the fumes seemed to be issuing from an object on the floor.

" I believe it's a smoke bomb! " Nancy cried.

Just then, they heard a fire truck rumble up outside the house, and soon the fire fighters came dashing up the stairs. Ordering the film group aside, they opened the door and saw the bomb.

" All right, what's the idea of playing such a prank? Haven't you kids got anything better to do than fool around causing trouble? "

Nancy realized that if any such suspicions got back to Ullman Realty, the mansion might be closed to the film club permanently. Thinking quickly, she turned to Ned. " When was that window opened? "

" Just before lunch, " he replied. " This place smelled so musty, I wanted to air it out a bit before we started shooting this afternoon."

" Well then, it must have happened during lunch-time." Turning back to the fire chief, she pointed out the window and said, " Someone must have climbed up that tree and tossed the bomb in while no one was here. We certainly wouldn't have planted it just to make trouble for ourselves. Surely you can see that."

One of the firemen spoke up to his chief, " She could be right, Bert. This bomb has a delayed-action timer on it."

The tree in question was growing so close to the house that its thick branches could easily be reached from the window. Ned climbed out on one of them to examine the trunk. Presently, he called, " Hey, people, look at this! "

As the firemen and club members crowded around the open window, Ned pointed to fresh scratches on the tree bark. Then he bent his head and peered closely at something among the leaves. " And here's a piece of evidence that the bomber left behind! " he exclaimed. " It snagged on one of the twigs! "

With a triumphant grin, he plucked it loose and held up a bit of greenish fabric!

 


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