Phantom Intruders

The footprints did indeed stop at the rocks. Nancy looked at them carefully. “She must have walked on the rocks, ” she murmured, stepping up on the nearest boulder and standing on it to look around.

“But where did she go from here? ” George asked.

Nancy shook her head. “I have no idea, ” she admitted.

“Maybe we should just go back along the rocks toward the resort, ” her father suggested. “She couldn’t have gone the other direction, could she? ”

They all followed his gaze. The rocky shore extended a hundred yards, curving around to the entrance of the cove. The trees and brush ended nearby, and there was a clear view of the protective rocks.

“I’ll walk on the rocks, ” Nancy said, “and the rest of you watch for footprints.” The plants on this side of the arm of land were much less lush, and she was sure that Bess would be plainly visible if she’d left the rocks.

Nancy moved toward the resort, hopping as easily from rock to rock as she assumed Bess had. At first it was simple enough, since the rocks were close together and fairly smooth on top. Then however, the coastline grew rougher. Nancy made a long jump from one rock to another, and her foot slipped.

“Careful, honey, ” her father said, catching her arm as she stumbled to the sand.

“Bess would never have been able to make that jump, ” George commented firmly.

“There’d be no reason for her to, ” Nancy agreed. “I was trying to stay out of the sand just to see if I could.”

“But where could she have gone? ” Penny asked, looking back the way they’d come. “We didn’t find any more tracks, Nancy.”

Nancy followed her gaze, trying to find another explanation or another way that Bess could have gone, but there was nothing. Areas of crusted sand separated the rocky outcroppings and there were no tracks to mar them.

“Would she have gone into the water? ” Carson Drew asked, his gaze directed to George.

George shook her head without hesitation. “Penny warned us about the tides on this side of the island, ” she replied. “We swam only in the cove where it’s safe. Besides, Bess wouldn’t be swimming in her clothes—her bathing suit is still hanging on the balcony rail drying out.”

After several more minutes of looking around the area, they all followed Penny through the screening growth of hibiscus and other plants and back along the beach to the path that led up to the resort. There Nancy paused.

“Isn’t there somewhere else we could look? ” she asked.

Penny sighed. “Not around the cove, ” she replied. “We can search the resort area and look in the cabins again and along the paths to them, but that’s really about all there is on this end of the island—and I did just search them.”

“What’s on the other end? ” Carson Drew asked.

“Well, there’s a small road that leads along the ridge, and at the far end of it is a little village. The regular dock is there. That’s where the inter-island ferry stops when it has a passenger for Anchor Island.”

“When will it be stopping again? ” Nancy asked quickly.

Penny shrugged. “The next time someone wants to come here, or if they have a delivery for us. In the winter, they come three times a week; but in the off-season, they might not come for weeks.”

Nancy looked at her father, reading the same worry in his face that she was feeling.

“Are you sure there is no one else on the island, Penny? ” Mr. Drew asked.

The redhead considered for a moment, then shrugged. “We haven’t seen anyone, Mr. Drew. And there’s really no reason why anyone would be here. The village is just the houses the staff stay in during the winter, and there’s no one at the resort but us, of that I am sure.”

George nodded. “We explored this end of the island today, ” she said, “and we didn’t see anything or anyone but Penny.”

“Well, then I guess we’d better go back to the resort, ” Nancy conceded with a sigh. “Maybe Bess is waiting there.”

The rest smiled at her words, but she sensed that they had no more confidence in that than she did. Bess wouldn’t have waited quietly for them to return. If she had come to the resort and found it empty, she would have been looking for them just as they were looking for her.

“You didn’t find anything in the resort grounds, did you? ” George asked Penny.

The older girl shook her head. “No footprints, nothing. I checked the cabins, too, and they’re all still locked up.”

“Then where can she be? ” George asked. “Could we check the other end of the island? ” Mr. Drew asked.

“Not till morning, ” Penny answered.

“Why not? ” Nancy inquired, startled by her words. “If Bess is there—”

“We can go, ” Penny amended quickly, “but there’s no electricity going to that end of the island now, so I don’t know how much searching we could do.”

“What do you mean there’s no electricity? ” Mr. Drew asked.

“The two ends of the island are served by separate generators, ” Penny answered. “Luckily, my grandparents left the generator on here. I have no idea how to turn them on.”

“Dad, do you think you.. Nancy began. Her father chuckled. “I could try, but I doubt that I could manage it in the dark. Besides, ” his grin deepened. “I can’t imagine that Bess would have taken such a hike. This island must be close to a mile and a half long.”

Nancy had to nod, knowing that he was right about Bess. Long hikes were not her favorite exercise. Her smile faded, however, as they reached the top of the path and she looked up at the main resort building.

Darkness was coming quickly now, and the lovely building no longer looked warm and welcoming as it had earlier. No light burned inside and the silence seemed threatening.

“I guess I’d better get to the kitchen and start dinner, ” Penny began, looking guilty. “I’m afraid I’m not much of a cook, but...”

“We’ll come with you, ” Nancy assured her. “Whatever is going on here, it’s obvious that we really aren’t supposed to be guests here.”

“Oh, but if my grandparents invited you…” Penny said, looking uncomfortable. “Where are they, Mr. Drew? Nancy? ” she asked.

Nancy looked at her father, not sure how to answer the question.

He sighed. “I’m sure George and Bess told you about the contest prize letter that Nancy received, ” he began.

Penny nodded.

“Well, the reason that Nancy and I didn’t come here immediately was because we were asked to look at an abandoned boat in Florida, a boat that we now believe belongs to your grandparents.”

“The Polka Dot? ” Penny looked shocked. “But they would never have abandoned it, Mr. Drew. And why would they be in Florida? ”

“I really don’t know the answers to any of that, ” he admitted. “We were called in because there was a folder of clippings about Nancy found on board. All other identification of the boat was removed.”

“Then how did you know that it belongs to my grandparents? ” Penny asked.

“We aren’t positive, ” Nancy admitted. “The sheriff made the identification, but—” “Couldn’t Penny identify the boat for him? ” George asked. “I mean after we get off here.” “She probably can, ” Nancy agreed. “Only the boat disappeared sometime last night. The sheriff blamed us at first. He didn’t even want to let us come here to look for you and Bess.” The mention of Bess stopped the conversation for a moment, then Penny spoke. “But where are my grandparents? ” she asked. “They must be somewhere.”

“I’ll tell you everything we know, ” Carson Drew said, a fatherly arm resting on her shoulders as he led her to one of the couches.

“We’ll go start dinner, ” George said, drawing Nancy away.

The lights they turned on as they passed from the lobby area through the handsome dining room and on into the spacious kitchen helped lift a little of the gloom, but Nancy was still conscious of Bess’s absence. “What do we have to work with? ” she asked, looking around the room.

“Most anything you want, ” George answered. “There’s a big freezer full of meat and fish, and there’s loads of canned stuff. Fresh fruit and vegetables are about all that we don’t have. Penny says they have to come in by boat. What do you think is going on? ” she asked.

Nancy shrugged. “Well, if the boat is the Polka Dot, I’d say that the contest prize was definitely meant to get Dad and me to come down here. Someone read about us in the papers and thought it was the perfect way to attract our attention.”

George grinned. “And got us instead.”

“I think it’s more than that, ” Nancy continued. “I mean, if it was the DeFoes, why would they go to Florida if they were expecting us and Penny, too.”

George nodded. “You’re right about that. And that note that Penny found. She says it’s her grandmother’s handwriting all right, but the message seems strange. What kind of a note is that to leave for someone you’ve invited to spend the summer? ”

“Could I see it? ” Nancy asked, aware that she was grasping at straws.

“As soon as we get something started for dinner, we can ask Penny where it is.” George moved to the huge old freezer with confidence. “Now, do you want to cook something or shall we just heat one of the casseroles? ”

“Casseroles? ” Nancy asked, arching an eyebrow.

“The freezer is full of them, and they’re good, too. Penny says that the resort chef fixes them from the leftovers every day during the season.

They eat some of them and so does the staff, but the rest they freeze for the summer.”

“That sounds fine to me, ” Nancy said. “I’m so worried about Bess, I’m not really hungry.” “I just don’t know what could have happened to her, ” George admitted. “It was just kind of hot in the office where Penny and I were working, so Bess said she’d go out and take a little walk to cool off.” She looked miserable. “I guess I should have gone with her.”

“Oh, George, don’t blame yourself, ” Nancy responded quickly while she helped her take things out of the freezer. “You certainly couldn’t know that she was going to disappear.” “But I should—” George began, then stopped as a scream came from outside the well-lit kitchen. “Penny? ” she shouted.

Nancy ran through the door into the dining room, then followed the sounds across to the lobby and into the small room behind the big resort desk. There she found both Penny and her father.

“What in the world…” Nancy asked, then stopped as she followed their horrified gaze to the sturdy table in the corner. “What was that? ” she gasped.

“The radio-phone, ” her father answered, his eyes leaving the wreckage to meet her gaze.

“But what…? ” George began. “Who wrecked the radio-phone? ”

“It would seem, ” Carson Drew said, “that we are not alone on this island.”