Rescue in the Caves

In the silence that followed her words, the sound came again. For a heartbeat she thought it might be the singing sounds they’d heard at the entrance, but it wasn’t. This was a human wail of despair and it wasn’t far ahead!

“You stay here, Penny, ” Mr. Drew called. “At least where you can see the end of the string and guide us back in case we have to pass any side tunnels.”

Nancy plunged down the tunnel, shouting, “We’re coming! Keep calling! ”

The echoes of her words were confusing, but once they’d died away, she heard voices again, this time more than one, and louder, much louder. She followed the sound as best she could, passing two side tunnels, then turning to the left when the cavern split.

The search ended abruptly as she came to an ancient heavy, metal-banded, wooden door that blocked an opening in the side of the continuing passage. The sounds came from behind it and Nancy had no trouble recognizing one of the voices.

" Bess, ” she called. “Are you all right? ”

“Nancy, oh, Nancy, get us out, please. Please hurry before we drown! ” Bess’s voice was high with terror.

“We’re opening the door, ” Carson Drew assured her as he put his shoulder to the heavy wooden bar that secured the door. The dampness had made the dry wood swell and it was hard to lift it, but with Nancy and George adding their strength to his, it finally popped free of the metal brackets that had held it.

The door burst open and Nancy screamed as icy water swept over her, nearly washing her down the passageway. As it was, she held out her arms and caught a stumbling figure, pulling an older woman out of the rushing flood. Two more figures were caught by Mr. Drew and

George, after which the racing water subsided to a light flow that barely reached the tops of their shoes.

“Who…? ” Nancy began, and then her mind supplied the answer. “Mrs. DeFoe? ” she asked.

The slightly haggard face was instantly split by a warm smile. “You must be Nancy Drew, ” she said. “Bess told us that you’d find us, but I’m afraid we were beginning to lose faith.” “Oh, Nancy, we would have drowned in another hour, ” Bess wailed from her cousin George’s arms. “The water started coming in from the walls and the roof and it couldn’t get out around the door, so it got deeper and deeper and...” She dissolved into tears again.

“She’s right, young lady, ” the man said. “We couldn’t have lasted much longer. But how in the world did you find us? I’ve lived on this island a good bit of my life and I didn’t know this area existed.”

“We’ll explain everything when we get you safely back to the resort, ” Mr. Drew told them. “Right now we’d better get back to Penny. She must be frantic.”

The climb back out of the system of tunnels proved to be much quicker than the exploration had been. Penny’s joy at finding her grandparents alive and safe made Nancy feel even better, though her mind was spinning with questions.

When they reached the upper cavern, they all stopped, shocked by what had happened. The wind no longer sang through the hollowed areas of rock: it now roared and screamed in frustration, driving great sheets of rain against the headland of the island.

“So that’s why the water was pouring in, ” Mr. DeFoe murmured. “With this much wind the waves must be very high—and it’s raining hard, too.”

“Who put you in there, Grandpa? ” Penny asked. “How long have you been there? ”

“Since just a few days after we closed, ” he replied. “We were getting ready for your visit when two young men stopped by. They seemed nice enough, so we invited them to have lunch. They were interested in the history of the islands.”

“They seemed awfully interested in our plans for the summer, ” Mrs. DeFoe continued, shivering even though she was sandwiched between her husband and Penny. “That made me suspicious. They didn’t like it when I told them that we were expecting guests.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Mrs. DeFoe looked at Nancy. “I guess I should apologize for having tricked you into coming here, ” she said with a gentle smile, “but at this moment, I’m just glad you did.”

Nancy laughed. “Then the contest prize was just to tempt us to come? ” she asked.

Mr. DeFoe nodded. “I suppose I could’ve called you just as easily, but I wasn’t sure you’d come right away, being such a busy young lady. I figured you wouldn’t be too busy to refuse a contest prize.”

“We’d read so much about all the cases you and your father had solved, ” Mr. DeFoe continued, “so we thought… well, we thought if you came to the island and heard all the legends about the pirate treasure, you might be interested in looking for it.”

Mrs. DeFoe sighed. “Of course it’s too late now. The young men will take it all as soon as the storm is over. There’s no way to stop them, since they did something to one of the rowboats to keep you on the island. They told us that.” “Have they found the treasure? ” Nancy asked.

“I don’t know, ” Mr. DeFoe admitted. “All they said when they brought our food tonight was that they might never have to come back again except to let us out. I don’t think they’d give up without having found the treasure, not after all they’ve done.”

“I don’t think they have any idea where to look, ” George said, then described Nancy’s brush with Tom and Jack.

“You have the medallion? ” Mrs. DeFoe gasped, looking up at Nancy.

“Right here, ” Nancy admitted, producing it from her pocket. “That’s really how we found you.” She showed them the rubbing that Penny had made from the medallion and explained how the necklace had come into her possession.

“Do you think we can make it back to the resort? ” Carson Drew asked. “You three need dry clothes and some proper rest before we talk any further.”

“I’m sorry, you must be exhausted, ” Nancy agreed, feeling guilty about all the questions that still filled her mind.

“I think we should wait a little longer, ” Mr. DeFoe replied, moving forward to study the violent scene beyond the cave mouth. “Storms this strong usually have small breaks between the squalls. This one has been going on long enough to be weakening soon.”

“Where did you get the medallion? ” Penny asked her grandparents as they all moved to the rear of the cave and settled along the wall. “I never saw it before.”

“I found it, ” Mr. DeFoe answered. “The last big storm rearranged quite a lot of the land. It broke off the cliffs, tore out trees, and generally stirred things around. So I was checking the coast from one of the small boats when I realized that the storm had opened a cavern. I went in to look around and found this lying on a ledge.”

“We showed it to a few people, ” Mrs. DeFoe continued the recital, “and they all said they thought it might be the one in the pirate legend. That’s when I got the idea of asking Nancy Drew to help us discover what it meant.”

“Only the thieves got here first, ” Penny finished for them.

Mrs. DeFoe nodded. “They made me write that note for you, then took us on the Polka Dot. We spent a couple of nights on Seahorse Island, but they were afraid some fisherman might come by and see us, so they brought us over here and shut us in that horrible tunnel.” She shuddered.

“How long have you been there? ” Carson Drew asked.

The DeFoes shrugged. “It seemed like forever, ” Mr. DeFoe replied, “but I doubt that it was more than a day or two before Bess joined us.

“How did that happen, Bess? ” George asked. “I didn’t even know you were missing till after Nancy and Mr. Drew arrived.”

“I was walking on the beach, and I saw the boat, ” Bess said, speaking calmly for the first time since the rescue. “I didn’t think much about it till I recognized Tom on the deck. I guess they were afraid that I’d tell someone because they came over and offered to take me to see the cliff grotto. I thought it would be fun.” Her pretty face showed that it had been a far from pleasant experience.

“I thought it might be something like that, ” Nancy said.

“I was sure you’d find us, Nancy, ” Bess continued, “but when the water started to pour in, I was afraid that you wouldn’t be in time.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Don’t think about that now, ” George counseled.

Nancy started to ask a question, then stopped as she realized that the howling of the wind had eased a little and the pounding of the rain had almost stopped. “It sounds like the storm is breaking up, ” she said, moving at once to the cave entrance.

Mr. DeFoe came with her, the wind ruffling his gray hair as he peered out at the lashing trees, more visible now that the clouds were being blown away. “I think you’re right, Nancy, ” he said. “This could be the best time for us to go.”

“Lead me to a tub of hot water and a decent meal, ” Bess groaned as she scrambled to join them. “For that I’ll brave any storm.”

“We’ll make a run for it.” Mr. DeFoe moved back to take his wife’s arm, gesturing for Penny to take her other hand. “Let’s all hold on to each other, ” he suggested. “It’s not going to be an easy climb up to the road.”

His words proved prophetic, and after what seemed an eternity of scrambling up the soaked hillside, they were all moving along the mud- slick roadway toward the resort. The wind buffeted them roughly, and the misty end of the storm plastered their hair and clothes to their bodies as they strained toward the welcoming bulk of the building. They were all panting from exertion when they reached the kitchen. They dropped into chairs at the table, gasping, but Nancy went on through the swinging doors into the dining room and crossed to the big windows with their view of the cove. She was drawn there by the panorama of the sky as the storm clouds surrounded the moon. But as she looked out, she gulped in shock. Moonlight glinted on the Polka Dot as it drifted aimlessly on the wind-whipped waves!