The Flying Saucer Mystery Read online

  Old Joe’s eyes bulged. “An Indian brother! Shawnee!” he cried. “Now I’ll never know who he was.”

  When exclamations of astonishment ended in murmurs, Nancy went on reading the letter.

  Two years later you were born. Tragically, your mother died a few hours later. You showed no Indian traits. You look like me. I thought I never wanted you to find out about your mother and brother, but now I believe that in all fairness to you the truth should come out.

  Old Joe interrupted to ask, “Does it say what my brother’s name was?”

  Nancy felt a lump in her throat. As she had been reading, a suspicion had entered her mind. She went on:Your brother’s name was Shoso.

  “What!” Old Joe exclaimed. Everyone in the room except Nancy was stunned by the revelation.

  Nancy said, “Come to think of it, Shoso and Old Joe do have the same build, and I noticed that their hands are almost identical. The main difference is in the color of their skin and Shoso’s Indian face and hair.”

  Excitement ran high as everyone wondered if perchance Shoso knew the Austin family secret. Was this why he stayed in the forest?

  “We must find him at once!” the naturalist announced.

  Ned spoke to him calmly. “But how? We have no idea where he may be. We’ll make a search, but he has never left a trail we could follow.”

  While Ned spoke, Nancy noticed another paper folded at the bottom of the box, and said, “More of the secret about your family may be revealed in this.”

  The elderly man leaned forward to pick it up and spread the paper on his lap. He looked at it for several seconds without speaking.

  George, eagerly awaiting an answer, asked him, “What does the paper say?”

  Old Joe explained that his father had written down a number of Shawnee Indian words. “Opposite them is the English translation,” he said. He ran his finger down the list and exclaimed, “Here’s the word for older brother! It’s Ntheetha!”

  He repeated the word several times as if trying to memorize it. “I hope I’m pronouncing it right,” he said.

  At this moment they all heard a noise outside the cabin. Slowly the door swung open. To their amazement Shoso was standing there!

  At once Old Joe got up from the bed and hobbled across the floor, his arms outstretched in greeting.

  “Shoso! Ntheetha!”

  20

  UFO Capture

  A touching scene followed as Old Joe, forgetting his injured foot, hurried toward his newfound brother.

  “Shoso!” he exclaimed happily.

  The Indian in turn held out his hand, then pointed to himself, and said, “Ntheetha!”

  None of the young people spoke as the men clasped each other around the shoulders and touched cheeks, first on one side, then on the other. Finally they backed apart, staring at each other in silence. Old Joe’s face broke into a great smile and in response his blood brother grinned, too.

  All this time Trixie stood quietly, her ears bent forward as she watched the reunion. Now, apparently feeling it was her turn to greet Shoso, the dog barked and jumped around. First she licked Old Joe’s hands, then those of Shoso. Then she sat up between the two, waving her front paws.

  The brothers patted the dog while Nancy and her friends laughed. Ned noticed a bone lying on a shelf. He picked it up.

  “Okay to give this to Trixie?” he asked.

  “Go ahead,” Old Joe replied.

  He went back to the bed and sat down with a sigh of relief. Nancy and George helped him ease back against his pillow.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes, yes,” he insisted. “I guess the news kind of took my breath away for a minute.”

  Old Joe now picked up the sheet with the translated words. Using them, he spoke to Shoso. The Indian smiled at him and bobbed his head understandingly.

  “Look how happy Shoso is,” Bess whispered to her cousin. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  “It’s great,” George said.

  Nancy lowered her voice as she motioned to her group. “I think we should let these two brothers become better acquainted.”

  Everyone agreed. The young people said good-bye to the men.

  On the way out Nancy stopped to speak to Old Joe. “Please thank Shoso for bringing us those healing leaves. Ned and I and the scientists at camp are grateful to him. He may well be responsible for some wonderful new medical discovery.”

  The naturalist smiled. “It’ll be hard to get your message across using the few words on this paper, but I promise to try,” he said. “Good luck to you in solving the mystery of the flying saucer. Just remember—if I or Shoso can be of any help, let us know.”

  When the young people reached camp, Mr. Drew, Jan, Hal, and the scientists crowded around to hear the results of their search. All were amazed to learn not only of the treasure hunt but also the surprising story of the two brothers. “I must remember to call my friends the Dana Girls and tell them the outcome of all this,” Nancy said, making a mental note.

  “This is all absolutely fantastic,” Jan remarked.

  Hal added, “It certainly is. As a matter of fact, it’s probably the greatest secret this old mountain has ever had!”

  Professor Hendricks, the botanist, spoke up. “I’m not so sure that’s true, however.”

  The scientist told his spellbound audience that Shawniegunk Mountain was filled with secrets. “We have men searching all over the place. This is a very special forest, indeed. It is a natural pharmacy filled with rare, unspoiled medicinal plants.”

  Nancy asked, “What is there besides the leaves Shoso gave us?”

  Professor Hendricks replied, “The place is brimming with roots, plants, and leaves that are found sparsely in various parts of the world. Some are nerve medicines. The sap of one tree, if swallowed, is known to give instant relief for heart palpitations. We plan to take samples of these curative plants and herbs and grow them in quantity in other places.”

  Hal remarked, “It seems incredible that nobody has developed all this stuff.”

  This gave Nancy an idea. She said to Professor Hendricks, “I’m sure Shoso knows a lot about these plants. He might be a great help to you. Probably Old Joe will teach him to speak English and also keep him from disappearing all the time.”

  The botanist said he would appreciate the Indian’s help. “I doubt, though, that he would ever want to leave this place. From what you’ve told me, I assume this is his ancestral home.”

  The day’s happenings continued to be the topic of conversation throughout the evening meal. The group had just finished their supper when suddenly a glow of lights flashed brilliantly across the darkened sky. Then came a tremendous rush of wind that shook everything in sight.

  “The flying saucer is coming back!” Nancy gulped. “I don’t believe it! Oh, how wonderful!”

  Bess was fearful. She had experienced one similar windstorm and did not relish another. She cried out, “Be careful, everybody!”

  The others in the camp paid no attention. They were too eager to watch the landing of the mystery ship. Everyone grabbed a flashlight or big camp lantern, and all made their way down the path to Dismal Swamp. They decided, however, not to use the horses and draw attention to themselves.

  By the time the group reached the vicinity of the marsh, they saw the flying saucer overhead. It was vibrating convulsively and did not descend at once.

  “The saucer must be in some trouble!” Nancy exclaimed.

  As the campers watched, all the lights on the ship went out.

  “Something is certainly wrong,” Ned remarked. “Maybe it’s antigravitational beams aren’t working.”

  Within seconds the flying saucer dived for earth and crash-landed in the swamp. The next moment the craft turned on its side.

  Dave said, “I hope it won’t explode. Maybe we’d better get out of the way.”

  Everyone except Nancy and her father took his advice and ran into the woods a short way. The gir
l detective and her father did not move but watched the ship more curious than ever. It did not explode.

  Bess, in the meantime, though still wary, edged back toward Nancy. “All we need is for it to catch on fire,” she told the others. “Or rather, that’s all we don’t need.”

  Nothing happened to the spaceship and the campers descended once more to play their flashlights and lanterns on the mystery craft. It seemed as if the ship had died.

  “Now what do we do, Nancy?” George asked.

  Before the girl detective could reply, they heard another aircraft coming. Was it a backup flying saucer trying to help its sister ship out of trouble?

  As the new craft appeared, the onlookers were puzzled. It was not the shape of the traditional round flying saucer, but was cylindrical, and on one side in large letters the word OPTIMUM was painted. The ship came down like a helicopter next to the disabled flying saucer.

  “Wow! What a sight!” Ned exclaimed.

  All the onlookers turned their flashlights on the ship. They saw the outline of a door. In a few seconds it opened and steps were lowered to the ground.

  A man appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a uniform and the silver eagles of a United States Air Force colonel.

  Mr. Drew stared at him, then exclaimed, “Colonel Aken!”

  Nancy was dumbfounded. “You know him, Dad? The aircraft belongs to our country?”

  “Yes, dear,” her father answered, then walked forward to greet the colonel. As he came down the steps, several other airmen appeared. The campers moved ahead and everyone was introduced to the special group of Air Force men chosen to fly the Optimum.

  Bess admired one young man who was blond and husky like Dave. “Isn’t he cute?” she murmured in George’s ear.

  Dave pulled Bess by the hand toward Colonel Aken and Mr. Drew.

  Nancy’s father admitted he was surprised to see his friend in Dismal Swamp. “How did you happen to come here?” he asked.

  Colonel Aken explained that when Mr. Drew had contacted the head of the Air Force and recounted Nancy’s work on the flying saucer mystery, he was chosen to investigate.

  “I also asked permission to try out this new American version of a flying saucer.”

  Nancy asked, “How did you know when the mystery ship was coming back?”

  The colonel smiled. “I guess I have to let you all in on a secret—a government secret, actually. This wounded vehicle belongs to the U.S. It was built and launched ten years ago as an experiment, but disappeared shortly after. At the time not much was known about programming this particular type of spaceship. Of course, since then we’ve learned a great deal. The flying saucer suddenly reappeared at our experimental grounds but gave no clues as to where it had been, and so far as I know no sightings were ever reported.”

  When Colonel Aken paused, Nancy spoke. “I believe your flying saucer landed here in Dismal Swamp.” She told him about the letter written by Old Joe’s father.

  The Air Force group was astounded. One of the young men, Major Tanner, remarked, “Mr. Austin must have been psychic to prophesy that our saucer would return to the same spot ten years later.”

  “Is this the identical ship?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes,” Colonel Aken replied. “It was worked on, reprogrammed, and sent out on a test flight. For a while it beamed back messages that all was going well. Then, as before, all communication ceased. We feared some rival country had captured our saucer.

  Bess cried out, “That would have been a—a catastrophe!”

  “I agree,” the colonel replied.

  “Where did you pick up the saucer?” Mr. Drew asked.

  “About thirty thousand feet almost straight up. Our radar finally detected it. We felt sure the ship would return here, but its flight pattern was so erratic, it was hard to follow.”

  “I’d like to ask a question,” George interrupted.

  “I’ll answer it if it’s not classified,” Colonel Aken replied, his eyes twinkling.

  “Before the flying saucer arrived, the wind blew like a cyclone. Everything that wasn’t tied down scattered.”

  “Yes,” Bess added, “it actually blew away our picnic, even the fish cooking over an outdoor fire.”

  The Air Force men laughed. Colonel Aken said, “Young lady, you did hit upon classified information. Yes, the flying saucer caused the windstorm. Sometimes rain follows. How and why, I’m obliged to tell you, must remain a government secret. Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “But your new ship, the Optimum, didn’t cause a windstorm,” Nancy remarked.

  Colonel Aken looked at her searchingly. “You have a very keen mind. It’s true. This newer ship was built from totally different plans and will accomplish more than the earlier model. Again, however, I am not at liberty to give you additional information.”

  Ned admitted he was puzzled about why the old flying saucer whirled as it flew.

  The colonel said with a knowing grin, “After you graduate from college, enroll in our technical training school. We’ll be happy to teach you some of our trade secrets.”

  Suddenly Nancy realized the mystery had been completed. The girl detective felt sad to think her work was over. In a short time, however, she would become involved in solving the mystery of The Secret in the Old Lace.

  She snapped out of her reverie and asked the officer, “Will the old saucer ever be able to fly again?”

  “We’ll try to find out very soon,” Colonel Aken answered, “but first, in honor of your helping us find her, I think we should reward you with a little trip in our identified flying object.” He smiled. “Tomorrow all of you will have a chance to ride in the Optimum. You’ll be the first civilians to do so.”

  Nancy and her friends as well as the scientists were thrilled by the prospect and applauded Colonel Aken for his invitation.

  He in turn held up his hand for silence. “Don’t give me any credit for recovering the mystery ship. I believe it all belongs to Nancy Drew, her father, and her friends. What do the rest of you say?”

  Professor Hendricks called out, “We say yes!”

  A great cheer rang through the forest.