A Suspicious Stranger

Nancy drove frantically toward the burning house, honking the automobile horn incessantly in the hope of attracting the attention of persons residing along the road. As they passed other vehicles, Bess and George shouted and pointed toward the house on the hill.

" We'll need all the help we can get, " Nancy said grimly. " There's a strong wind and the fire has made considerable headway! "

The roadster swerved on two wheels as Nancy swung into the driveway and headed np the hill toward the burning building. In a glance it was apparent to the girls that the house could not be saved.

" Someone may be trapped inside! " Nancy exclaimed as she stopped the car with a jerk and sprang to the ground.

She scanned the windows anxiously but could see no one. Without waiting for her chums, who were slow in getting out of the automobile, she raced toward the building. Already the smoke was thick and the heat warned her that she could not enter—at least, not from the front.

" I'll try the back, " Nancy told herself. " The smoke may not be so dense there."

She quickly rounded the house, only to be met by a heavy cloud of smoke being carried by the wind. It made Nancy cough and choke and for a moment her eyes burned so that she could not see.

She started on again and then abruptly halted. She caught sight of a man crawling through the back hedge. He seemed to be running away from the burning house.

" Stop! " Nancy cried.

The man turned his head but ran on. He vanished behind the hedge as suddenly as he had appeared.

Nancy did not know what to think. Had the man deliberately set fire to the house? Who was he? She had caught only a momentary glimpse of him, but had had a good look at his face. He was tall and gaunt and poorly dressed. He might have been just a tramp, but his expression indicated a man of a different type.

Nancy was glad that she had caught a glimpse of his face, for something told her that identification might be vitally important. She had a natural instinct for anything mysterious, and seldom forgot a person's looks.

Nancy had always lived an exciting life, for she was the only daughter of Carson Drew, the famous criminal and mystery case lawyer. The motherless girl had assumed heavy responsibilities early in life, but she had never permitted her duties to take up all her time. It seemed to her friends that she had more good times than they.

At any rate, Nancy had the reputation for " making things happen." She had taken a keen interest in her father's mystery cases and often helped him round up valuable clues. Only recently Carson Drew had declared that it was Nancy who helped him, not the reverse.

In the first volume of this series entitled, " The Secret of the Old Clock, " Nancy had quietly taken upon herself the task of discovering what had become of the Josiah Crowley will. After she had settled the mystery to everyone's satisfaction, other cases fell into her hands. A bungalow mystery, a queer secret staircase, a strange happening at an old inn, a mystery centering about a western ranch—such were the varieties of Nancy's existence.

Perhaps her most unusual experience resulted from a summer vacation spent in the country. Nancy's engrossing adventure with a strange white-robed clan is told in the volume, " The Mystery at Red Gate Farm." By cleverly untangling a maze of evidence she caused the arrest of a daring band of scoundrels and saved Red Gate Farm for its owner and her charming young granddaughter.

As Nancy stood staring after the stranger who had disappeared into the woods behind the hedge, it did not occur to her that she was about to be plunged into another adventure.

Should she report the man's actions? His hasty leave-taking looked suspicious, yet it was a serious thing to accuse a person of deliberately setting a building on fire.

Nancy had no time to waste in meditation. George and Bess came hurrying up, breathless from running.

" It's too late to save the house, " George gasped. " Lucky no one was caught inside."

Neighbors were coming from all directions, some on foot, others in automobiles. The sight of the burning building had attracted passing motorists, and the drive and grounds were quickly jammed with cars.

Men ran to and fro, shouting and making a great ado about rigging up a hose which, when put into operation, shot only a feeble stream of water on the blaze. The bucket brigade was equally ineffective. The three girls were pushed and shoved about by the excited fire fighters who considered them in the way, but after all it was Nancy who had the presence of mind to hurry to a neighboring house and telephone in an alarm to the town fire company.

The engine came in record time but even then it was too late to save the house. The firemen contented themselves with keeping the blaze under control, by playing several heavy streams of water on the building.

" What a shame such a beautiful home had to burn, " Bess remarked as the girls watched the firemen work. " I wonder what started it, anyway? "

" It looked like an explosion to me, " George said. " The whole place seemed to be on fire at once."

Nancy said nothing but gazed thoughtfully toward the hedge.

" I wonder who owns the place? " Bess inquired aloud.

" I don't know, " replied Bess. " By the looks of the house, I guess nice people live here."

Nancy smiled. " You can't tell much from the outside. Let's ask someone."

A woman who was standing nearby turned to answer.

" A man by the name of Raybolt. The house has been closed np all summer, I have heard."

" Then he doesn't know of his loss? " Nancy asked in surprise. " What a blow it will be."

" Oh, I guess old Raybolt can stand it, " the woman returned indifferently. " He has plenty of money."

" You know him then? " Nancy questioned.

The woman shook her head.

" Only by reputation. I live near here but the Raybolts never were very neighborly."

" They have a large family? "

" No, there's only the two of them, and they're a pair! Mrs. Raybolt thinks she's a bit too good for anyone else."

Nancy and her chums quickly gathered that the woman took a mild satisfaction in watching the Raybolt home burn to the ground, and from overheard snatches of conversation they guessed that few persons in the crowd were very sympathetic toward the owners of the house.

In spite of the desperate work of the firemen it was next to impossible to keep the blaze under control. Nancy noted with alarm that the wind was steadily rising and veering to the north.

" The entire place will be a wreck, " Nancy observed. " Look! The roof is falling in now! " she added excitedly.

A wave of heat drove the girls a few steps back, but they were reluctant to leave the scene until they were certain that the danger was over. With the wind changing, the out build­ings might catch at any moment.

Unexpectedly a thick cloud of smoke was blown toward the girls. Nancy strangled and choked, and when the smoke did not clear away ran to escape it

Bess and George scattered in opposite directions and when Nancy looked about for them they were nowhere to be seen. Before she could call to them the wind brought another cloud of dense smoke swirling down upon her. Blindly she stumbled toward the road.

She ran straight into a small wooden structure, and the impact nearly knocked her over. As the smoke cleared away, she was forced to laugh. She had stumbled into a dog-house.

" Lucky there's no watch dog to gobble me up, " she thought.

She was starting on again when her eye fell upon a small leather-covered book lying a few feet from the dog-house. Eagerly Nancy snatched it up.

She saw at once that it had been dropped that day, otherwise the covers would have been ruined by inclement weather. She was struck with a sudden thought. In running away from the burning house, the mysterious stranger must have passed this very spot. Could he have dropped the book?

" Perhaps I've stumbled upon a clue! " Nancy thought excitedly.