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Zero Hour






 

There was no escaping from the man's Iron grasp. With her captor's fingers firmly gripping both arms, Nancy stood helpless, while the other man ran over from the statue. Roughly he stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth, tied her hands behind her, and bound her ankles together. Then the two men carried her swiftly toward the woods.

" If only Ned or Chuck had seen me! " Nancy thought. " Here I am with friends so close by and I can't even call for aid."

Although Nancy could not see the men's faces, in a few minutes she knew who her abductors were, for they began to talk freely.

" Say, Jacques, how much farther is it to that cabin? " the shorter of the pair asked.

Jacques Fremont! The man whose other name was Channing! The man at the skating exhibition in Montreal! If only the police had not been obligated to release him!

" Just a little ways, Lake, " he replied.

Nancy caught her breath. So Dunstan Lake was a man, not a place!

Channing gave a sardonic laugh. " All we need to do is dump the Drew girl inside and lock the door. The place probably won't be opened again until summer."

" What a relief to have her out of the way! " growled his companion. " We had an airtight racket until Miss Detective began snooping around, asking for the Channing’s and Dunstan Lake. Although how she found out where we were, I'll never know."

" She's clever, " Channing admitted. " But too clever for her own good. Now Miss Nancy Drew is going to pay for her smartness.

" Well, Lake, here we are. Suppose we see if this girl detective can solve the mystery of the locked cabin with both her hands and feet tied, " Channing continued with a harsh laugh.

The cabin was bitterly cold, even worse than outdoors, Nancy thought, as her abductors flung her down on a bare cot. Then, in the glare of a flashlight, Dunstan Lake, a squarish man with a bulldog face and beady eyes, made a mocking bow.

" Good-by, Miss Drew." He smirked. " Happy sleuthing! "

" Come along! Let's get out of here, " Channing snapped impatiently. " It's time we picked up Mitzi at the camp. She'll be tired of waiting."

Nancy shivered and closed her eyes despairingly as she heard the door slam and the padlock snap. She struggled to get out of her bonds, but it was useless. Already her fingers were becoming cold. With every passing minute the cabin grew more frigid. Nancy wondered desperately how long she could survive.

She knew that her only hope lay in exercise. She raised and lowered her bound ankles as high as she could until she was puffing with exhaustion. As she rested a moment, the fearful cold took possession of her again.

Nancy decided to try rolling on the floor. She managed to get off the cot, and in doing so loosened the gag in her mouth. Crying loudly for help, she waited hopefully for an answer. None came.

She rolled, twisted, and yelled until she was bruised and hoarse. Finally her voice gave out completely. Her strength was gone. She became drowsy, and knew what this meant. Her body was succumbing to the below-freezing temperature!

Meanwhile, back at the slope, Ned and Chuck had completed a futile search for the mysterious jumper and were now walking to the spot where they had left Nancy. " I can't figure out why that fellow took off at night, " said Chuck. " He could be arrested, you know. It's against all regulations."

" It was probably some crackpot who wanted to prove how brave he is." Ned shrugged. " Say, Nancy's gone! "

" I wouldn't worry." Chuck smiled. " She probably was chilled and went back to the hotel."

" Not Nancy! " Ned retorted. " She never gives up! If Nancy's not here, it's for a good reason. She probably spotted one of those swindlers she's been looking for and is trailing him alone! "

Nevertheless, Chuck persuaded Ned to go back to the hotel to look for Nancy. She had not come in, Bess reported. " What's going on? "

" Tell you later, " Ned called as he and Chuck dashed off.

When they reached the ski slope, Chuck cried out, " Look, somebody's coming down Big Hill again! Two men with flashlights."

" But those fellows are descending like sane men, " Ned observed. " They aren't taking any jumps."

The newcomers were state troopers. They said they were searching for the thief who again had stolen some mink pelts from the Wells Ranch. Chuck told them about the foolhardy jumper and they shook their heads in disgust. The men were about to go on when Ned stopped them.

" Have you seen a girl in a ski outfit? " he asked. " She was out here with us when we were looking for that crazy skier. Now she has disappeared and I'm afraid she's trailing the same thieves you are."

" Thieves? " the troopers echoed.

" Yes, thieves, " Ned went on. " The girl is Nancy Drew, the one who captured that swindler, Mitzi Channing, this afternoon. But the woman got away."

" I heard about that over the police radio, " one of the men said. " We'd better help you hunt for your friend. She may be in danger."

" We haven't much chance of trailing anyone, " the other remarked. " There's been such a crowd around here, the place is full of tracks. How long has it been since you saw the young lady? "

" About twenty minutes, " Chuck answered.

" Then she can't be far away, " said the younger trooper. " Why not divide our forces so as to cover as much territory as possible? "

It was quickly agreed among the four that Chuck would search the hotel grounds while Ned followed the shoreline along the lake. The two troopers would examine the surrounding woods.

" Let's arrange a signal, " said one of them. " The first man to find the girl will turn the beam of his flashlight toward the sky and wave it in an arc. In case of emergency, he will blink the light rapidly until help arrives. Is that clear? "

" Perfectly, " Ned said impatiently. " Let's go! "

The next hour was torture for the searchers.

The heavy snow made the going difficult, and a keen, arctic wind developed that knifed through their stout woolen clothing and sent the tears down their smarting cheeks. Added to this, then-spirits were becoming low.

At the end of the hour the four met. No one had found a trace of Nancy. The troopers went back to their headquarters to report, while the two boys returned to the hotel. A frantic Aunt Eloise and the remainder of her house party rushed to meet them at the door.

" Where's Nancy? " Miss Drew demanded. " When none of you came back for the dancing, we all became worried and tried to find out what happened. But nobody knows a thing."

The two boys told the story of the strange skier and their separation from Nancy. Everyone listened in shocked silence. Then Bess offered a ray of hope.

" If John Horn is still upstairs, why don't we get his advice? " she suggested. " He knows more about the woods than all of us."

" Say, that's a great idea, " Chuck agreed, rushing to the stairway. " I’ll ask the old fellow—" The rest was lost as he bounded up the steps.

In a few minutes he was back. With him was John Horn. The bandage on the old trapper's head was awry. He looked pale, but he insisted upon joining them in a new search.

" If those swindlers nabbed Nancy Drew, they wouldn't 'a' dared take her far off, " he said. " I’ll bet they took her to that empty cabin in the woods. Yes, sir. That's where they've left her. It's the only place around here where they could hide her without bein' found out."

" Oh, why didn't I think of that? " Ned chided himself, starting for the door. " If anything happens to Nancy—"

" Hold on! " Dave objected. " Burt and I are fresher and we can strike out faster. George and Bess can follow us with a Thermos bottle of hot coffee and a blanket. But you and Chuck are in no shape to go."

" What do you mean? " Ned glared. " Maybe I can't go as fast as you, but what if there's trouble? I want to be there to help! "

" So do I, " Chuck said firmly.

Nancy's friends and Aunt Eloise hurried through the night, determined to make a rescue.

 


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