Hidden Talkers

The young people stared back and forth from one end of the alley to the other as the menacing figures moved in closer.

Ned quickly took charge. " Nancy, Bess, George. Over here, quickly, against this wall. Burt, you and Dave take those two." He indicated the men closing in from the east. I’ll tackle the other one."

" Wait a minute, " Nancy objected. " We don't even know who they are."

" That's true, " Ned agreed. " But we should be ready for anything."

''Right, " Nancy said. " However, let's try peace talk first."

She stepped up next to Ned. " Hello, " she said to the stranger who had now reached them.

" If you had gotten here a few minutes earHer, we could have offered you some food. But now it's all gone because of that truck. Did you see him tear through here? ''

There was a moment of tense silence as the man shoved his hat out of his face. Then came the drawling, familiar voice of Albert, their bodyguard. ''We saw him, all right. That's why I shouted."

''Oh-h-h! " Bess exclaimed in relief. " Albert, you scared us almost as much as the truck, but I'm glad you did! "

" Yes, " Dave added. ''And here we were getting ready to take you out with an end sweep! " He referred to one of the especially successful plays the boys had run as members of the Emerson College football team.

Ned gave Dave a playful shove. " If we had tried that on Albert and his friends here, we'd all wake up tomorrow and our first words would be 'Good morning, nurse.'"

Everyone laughed, then Albert said, " I don't want to alarm you, but there are at least four or five suspicious-looking characters who have stayed fairly close to you."

Nancy gasped. " Are you sure? "

" Yes. But I have a feeling all they're trying to do is scare you. Like this. Excuse me, Miss Drew, but would you turn around so that your back is in the Height? "

Nancy was puzzled but did as Albert asked. When George saw her back, she gasped.

''What is it? '' the titian-haired detective inquired anxiously, then she felt something being pulled off her T-shirt. She whirled around and saw that Albert was holding a six-inch-square piece of cloth with a shiny adhesive back. It was the dreaded omen of the Brotherhood of the Vulture!

Nancy was angry that someone had dared to stick the decal on her clothes. " It must have happened when we bought our food, '' she said. " If it had been on my shirt longer than that, someone would have noticed it."

" Well, " Albert said, " don't worry. We'll be around in case the gang's trying to play tough."

" Does that mean we can't split up? " Ned asked.

" No, " Albert said. " You can go your separate ways, but always in pairs. This way we three can keep you covered."

" Good, " George spoke up. " Then I vote that we go over to that ice cream parlor we saw about a block up the road."

“I’ll buy that" Burt agreed.

" You heard him" cried Dave. " He said he'll buy. What a nice guy."

Laughing, Burt, Dave, Bess, and George started for the ice cream parlor but Nancy held back. Ned nodded knowingly. " Yes, " he said, almost reading her mind, ''Good idea. I would like to find out more of what's going on with these bodyguards and people following us."

They walked away from the crowds in a northerly direction, glancing back casually every once in a while.

" I think we have a shadow, " Ned said suddenly. " This guy's been with us for two blocks."

" Let's go around the corner and see if we can shake him, " Nancy suggested.

Quickly, the two changed direction. They noticed a dimly lit restaurant to their right. " In there! " Nancy said and pulled Ned inside. They slipped all the way to the last booth, then watched the entrance to see if the man would follow. A few moments later, someone did come into the restaurant, but the young detectives recognized him as Albert, their protector.

" That's definitely not whom we saw before, " Nancy whispered.

Ned nodded. " You know, it's strange that nobody is in this place. With all these people on the beach—"

Nancy giggled. ''Maybe the food's no good. You see—'' She interrupted herself when voices drifted through the thin partition that separated them from a room in the back. The very first words made her eyes pop open. She signaled frantically to Ned not to speak. Someone had mentioned Penny Black, the rarest and most expensive stamp in the world! The same stamp that had been found in Argentina and was then stolen by Stroessner's gang!

Nancy and Ned listened attentively, but only small snatches of the conversation came through the wall, even though they put their ears directly against it.

" The machines will be ready today, Bigley—" " Got to get the other big ones...'' " We know they're there. Hit 'em tomorrow night."

Nancy's mind began piecing the words together, disconnected though they were. Machines. That could refer to the counterfeiting equipment that Carson Drew and Señ or Segovia were trying to find. But, " the other big ones"? What could that mean? More machines? Or other stamps? ''We know they're there, " and " Hit 'em tomorrow night." Did that refer to a planned theft? Or could it mean a shipment was being brought into Florida?

If only she could find out who was talking behind that wall! Wanting to communicate with Ned but hardly daring to breathe for fear the crooks on the other side would hear her, Nancy looked for something to write on. She rummaged in her bag, but found her note pad and pencil gone, along with her wallet! She motioned to Ned that her purse had been picked, then gestured to ask if he had paper and pencil. He shook his head.

Nancy took Ned's hand into hers, and tapped out a message in Morse code.

These are the men who steal stamps, she signaled.

Ned nodded.

Got to go out back.

Ned nodded again.

Nancy was about to stand up, when a word came from behind the partition that electrified her. A man whose voice appeared vaguely familiar addressed his partner as Otto! And Otto was Stroessner's first name!

She felt her blood surge as suddenly someone started yelling at them. " What are you doing here? You're not supposed to sit back here! '' The speaker was a thickset man with greasy hair, who wore a tuxedo. Nancy thought he looked like a movie gangster.

At the same time, cries of consternation issued from behind the wall. Chairs scraped back. Obviously, Otto and his friend had heard the noise and realized that someone had been sitting next to the dividing wall.

" Didn't you see the sign? " the unpleasant man in the tuxedo shouted. " This restaurant is closed! And you come in anyway and sit in the back where nobody can see you."

Ned's blood pressure began to rise. " Now just a minute, sir. The door was open when we came in. We wanted some privacy so—"

" Never mind, never mind, " the man grumbled, waving his arms. " The restaurant's closed. We're not serving anybody."

Nancy heard the sound of feet moving rapidly in the back room. Then an outside door slammed. Stroessner and his friend were getting away!

" Excuse us, please, " she said. " We're sorry, and we'll go. Come on, Ned." She started to pull him by one arm, but he was now face to face with the tuxedo man and he wanted to settle the matter before leaving.

" No wonder your restaurant isn't more popular" Ned said angrily, " if this is the way you treat your patrons! ''

Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy could see Albert quietly get to his feet and advance toward them.

" Ned! " she urged. " It's not worth fighting about. Let's go. We have better things to do. Remember? "

She emphasized every word to break through the cloud of anger that was getting in the way of Ned's reasoning.

" Oh, right, " he said. " I'm sorry."

But as he and Nancy started to leave, a light flickered in the hoodlum's eye. " Just a minute, " he said, blocking their path with his bulky body. " You're in a terrible hurry to leave all of a sudden. What's going on here? Did you steal something? "

Nancy heard a car starting up in the driveway next to the restaurant. She decided that Ned and Albert could easily take care of " Tuxedo, " so she simply ducked under the hoodlum's outstretched arm and ran for the door. Then she heard a crash and winced. No doubt Albert, Ned, and the unpleasant man had all collided. She could tell from the sound of bodies smashing against furniture, but she had no time to turn around and watch what was happening.

She bolted through the door and ran to the sidewalk just as a black sedan came out of the driveway and turned onto the street. Luck was with her. She got a clear view of the license number, though the faces of the two men in the front seat were obscured by the darkness. Nancy paused a moment to memorize the number, then ran back into the restaurant. The struggle between Albert and Ned on the one side and Tuxedo and a short, ugly fellow on the other was just ending.

Nancy found that her friends had done extremely well. Each was sitting on one of the two subdued restaurant men.

" What should we do with them? " Ned asked.

Before Albert had a chance to comment, Nancy said, " Let them go. But we'll tell the police about them."

Reluctantly, Ned released his hold on Tuxedo while Albert allowed the short, ugly man to sit up. Tuxedo got to his feet painfully and started for the back of the restaurant. Then he turned and shook his finger menacingly at Nancy. ''You haven't heard the end of this, Nancy Drew."

Ned grinned at Nancy. ''Really, you have some pretty terrible friends. I didn't know he

knew you. I guess somebody has spread the word about Nancy Drew through the entire criminal community in south Florida"

" Apparently" Nancy said. " But much as I hate to tear us away from such charming company, I think we'd better go find the others and see what thrilling adventures they've had in the meantime."

Ned nodded. Then he turned to Albert and stuck out his hand. " I want to thank you, " he said. " You really know how to handle trouble like this. When you fell in the beginning, I thought for sure you were hurt. But you acted like a Hollywood stuntman and jumped right up again."

Albert laughed. 'Pretty good, wasn't it? I was a stuntman in films for many years. But my bones got too old for that, day in and day out. As a bodyguard, I don't have to work this hard more than once or twice a year."

The three left the restaurant, Albert again walking some distance behind Nancy and Ned. But the situation had now changed. He had become a friend and they regarded him as one of their crowd.

They went back toward the ice cream parlor where their friends had gone. When they arrived, they saw a long line of people winding out the door.

''Nancy! Ned! " came a voice from the head of the line.

''It's Bess, " Nancy said.

Bess, George, Dave, and Burt had obviously been standing in line since the friends had parted. Bess pantomimed thirst, and Nancy indicated that she and Ned would like sodas.

Within a few minutes, the group was together again, thirstily drinking their sodas. " Oh, " George said, sighing with relief, " It never tasted so marvelous."

" Yes, " Burt added. " There's nothing like standing in line for a week to whet your appetite for a common, ordinary old soda."

Later, they wandered back along the road leading to Señ or Segovia's house, breaking into song as they walked, entranced by the silver moon that made the street lights appear pale.

By the time they reached the mansion, their voices were worn out and everyoiie was yawning. The boys, in particular, were aching and tired after their experience with the Land Rover and their early morning flight. They parted company and went to their rooms.

As Nancy stood in the moonlight that flooded her balcony, she breathed deeply. I'd better get some sleep, she thought, because when I spend the night at Mrs. Palmer's, I certainly won't get any there!