The Strange Message in the Parchment Read online

  “So you are the woman in one painting!” Junie exclaimed, and Mrs. Bolardo nodded.

  Nancy said she was sorry she could not show the parchment to the woman because it had been stolen. “I made some rough sketches in imitation of it,” she said. “But the real clues to finding you were the initials on the back of your picture.”

  Mrs. Bolardo suddenly stood up. “Please take me to my boy!” she pleaded. “Where is he?”

  Everyone felt convinced that the woman was not an impostor. It was decided that she and Nancy would go alone to Eezy’s cabin.

  Mr. Flockhart added, “I think it best if we form ourselves into a group of guards. We can station ourselves around the hillside among the sheep, so that if any of Mr. Rocco’s men follow Mrs. Bolardo and Nancy, we can head them off.”

  Nancy said, “Wouldn’t it be a good idea also to inform the police of what has happened and to send men out to keep track of Mr. Rocco?”

  The farm owner thought this was a very good suggestion and went at once to phone the police. He talked to Officer Browning, who promised to take care of all the details.

  Junie spoke up. “Dad, wouldn’t it be a good idea to try getting Mr. Rocco into his own house and to be there when we all come with Tony and his mother?”

  “I’ll mention that to Officer Browning,” her father agreed.

  Several cars were to be used in the operation. Nancy and Mrs. Bolardo rode in one, in the center of the line. Each car parked at a different place, and the group walked up the hillside in twos and threes.

  “This is lovely country,” Mrs. Bolardo remarked to Nancy when they got out. “I guess it has been a good healthy place to bring up Tony. But it is dreadful that he has never been to a school or made any friends.”

  Most of the sheep were lying down, and the two climbers walking among them did not seem to disturb the animals. It was so quiet that Nancy mentioned it to her companion.

  “I don’t see the shepherd either,” Nancy said as she gazed around, realizing the man was not at his usual station in front of the cabin. They walked up and called out his name, but there was no answer.

  Nancy peered inside the cabin. No one was there! The girl thought this was very strange, and suddenly began to worry that something had happened to the elderly man. And what about Tony?

  Without showing the agitation she felt, the girl detective told Mrs. Bolardo that Tony worked and studied in a well-hidden bower behind the cabin. Carefully they proceeded, parting branches of trees and shrubbery as they went.

  Finally they reached the arbor and looked in. Mrs. Bolardo screamed and Nancy caught her breath. Eezy and Tony had been trussed up, and were lying inert on the ground!

  “Oh, how dreadful!” Mrs. Bolardo cried out. “My son! My beloved boy! What have they done to you?”

  Nancy jumped forward to remove the gags and ropes that bound the two tightly. Before she could reach them, strong arms came around her and yanked the girl backward. Mrs. Bolardo received the same treatment.

  “Let me go!” Nancy cried out, struggling to pull free of her captor.

  “Be quiet or you’ll get something worse!” her unknown assailant hissed into her ear.

  Nancy glanced at Mrs. Bolardo. A man was holding one hand tightly over the woman’s chest and was stuffing a gag into her mouth!

  CHAPTER XX

  Found Money

  THE men who had captured Nancy and Mrs. Bolardo were masked and wore dark coveralls. She could not identify her assailants.

  They trussed up Nancy and the Italian woman as they had Eezy and Tony. No doubt they had just finished their work on the shepherd and the boy when they heard voices and spotted the girl and her companion coming up the hillside.

  Nancy could hardly wait for the two men to leave. Surely the boys would capture the attackers somewhere among the sheep as they hurried away. Besides, she wanted to try untying some of the knots that bound Eezy’s wrists.

  There was a moment of panic for the prisoners when one of the captors lifted Tony and swung the boy over his shoulder. He was going to take him away! The other captor whispered something in his ear, however, and the man laid down his victim. “We’ll come back for you after dark,” he told Tony.

  “Evidently they’re afraid to go any farther at this time,” Nancy thought.

  Finally the dark-clothed figures left. At once Nancy wiggled over to Eezy’s side. He understood what she wanted to do, and rolled over. It took her several minutes to free his hands. In turn, he untied the knots of the ropes that bound her wrists. After that it did not take long to remove all the gags and untie their ankles.

  Mrs. Bolardo had been so frightened she seemed speechless, but Nancy said, “Tony, I have a wonderful surprise for you. This is your mother!”

  The boy stared, unbelieving, but Mrs. Bolardo rushed to him and hugged her child. “Tonio! Tonio!” she exclaimed, and then went on, speaking rapidly in Italian.

  At first Tony could not believe what he had heard, but as his mother talked and told him about his own kidnapping and his thieving uncle, he believed her story and put his arms around her.

  All this time Eezy had stood by, speechless. He swung his head from side to side, and kept mumbling, “I can’t believe it!”

  Mrs. Bolardo heard him. She let go of Tony and addressed herself to the shepherd. “It is true! And the main part of the credit goes to wonderful Nancy Drew!”

  Tony now surprised them all by saying in per-feet English, “Thank you. Thank you very much. This is a very happy day for me and my mother.”

  Nancy asked if she might use Eezy’s walkie-talkie. “I’d like to tell the good news to everyone down at Triple Creek.”

  The little group walked back to the cabin and Nancy called. Mrs. Flockhart answered and was thrilled to hear that mother and son were together after all these years. She was not happy, however, to learn that the four of them had been attacked by men who apparently were in Mr. Rocco’s employ.

  “I’ll notify the police at once about what has happened,” she said.

  Nancy had just finished the conversation, when she saw Bess, George, Ned, Burt, Dave, Dan, and Junie coming up the hillside. They waved gaily and Ned called out, “We captured your attackers! They’ve confessed!”

  When the group drew close, Ned explained that the young people were hiding at various posts behind the sheep and trees, and saw the two coveralled men racing down the hillside. They were speaking in Italian but Dan could understand them.

  “We realized from their conversation what had happened up here, so we ran after them,” he said. “Right now they’re in the hands of the police.”

  “That’s great!” Nancy exclaimed, then properly introduced those present.

  Mrs. Bolardo and Tony stood together, arm in arm, looking delighted at the turn of events. Then a walkie-talkie message came from Mr. Flockhart, advising that everyone except Eezy was to proceed at once to the Rocco home. He did not explain why, but everyone assumed that Rocco had been arrested.

  Tony, excited, said in Italian, “I know a shortcut.” He bid Eezy good-by and thanked him for his good care and fine meals. Then the boy led the others down a different section of the hillside.

  It was not long before the Rocco farmhouse was in sight. Ned, who had been walking with Nancy, had been very quiet, but now he said, “See all those people down there? Burt, Dave, and I got hold of the farmers and others who had joined the association. We suggested they come to Rocco’s place.”

  Now the farmers and other residents of the area were milling around, talking. As Nancy and her companions came closer, she noticed that some of the crowd looked angry and a few were trying to get into the house. Police guarded the door and kept them out. By the time Nancy and her friends reached it, Mr. Flockhart was there and told the guard to admit them.

  They found Mr. Rocco seated on his living-room couch, being quizzed by a police officer. He had denied every accusation.

  Suddenly he looked up and blinked as he saw Tony and Diana Bolar
do, arm in arm, standing before him.

  Without speaking to them, the man jumped from the couch and dashed for the door. He was caught by a policeman and escorted back into the living room.

  Finally he managed to say, “Diana! Diana! How did you get here? How did you find me? I meant no harm taking your baby. I felt that you would not be able to take care of him.”

  “That was because you stole all my money!” the woman cried out. “Salvatore, you are a wicked man. How glad I am that these good people here were able to bring Tony and me together again so you can’t do him any more harm!”

  Rocco looked defiant. “I did not harm him, and have brought him up right. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me for taking Tony.”

  His sister-in-law made no response. At this moment there was a great shout from outside, and voices calling, “We want Rocco ! We want Rocco!”

  “I’m not going out there!” the man declared.

  “Oh yes you are,” one of the police guards said.

  He took Rocco by the arm and walked him onto the porch so that he could face his accusers. Rocco still denied any wrongdoing, but they insisted upon his returning their money.

  Rocco, livid, shouted, “All right! You can have your money back if you can find it!” He turned and went back into the living room.

  Ned whispered to Nancy, “It’s my guess that the money is hidden on the premises. How would it be if the other boys and I help these farm workers find it?”

  “Good idea,” Nancy said, and the great search started.

  She went inside, where Rocco was again seated on the couch, with police guards on either side of him. He looked sullen and angry. His black eyes kept darting toward his sister-in-law as if he could not believe she was really there.

  Nancy noticed that between glances, the man’s eyes kept roving toward a table with a large drawer in it. The girl detective wondered if there might be something in it that he did not want anybody to see.

  She called one of the policemen aside and asked him to investigate. As the two walked toward the table, Rocco suddenly got up and tried to escape. He was soon stopped and brought back. The second guard rejoined Nancy, and they opened the long drawer in the table.

  Inside lay the stolen parchment picture!

  “Oh!” Nancy exclaimed. She turned to Rocco. “You had Sid Zikes steal this picture, hoping the secret it contains wouldn’t be found out!”

  Rocco shouted, “I never should have sold the picture! I should have destroyed it long ago! I never saw the initials on the back, but when I heard Nancy Drew was working on the case, I decided to steal it!”

  At this moment one of the men who lived in the house came into the room. He went over and addressed Rocco.

  “You fooled a lot of people, Sal, but you didn’t fool me, although I admit your threats frightened me into being your puppet. I haven’t forgotten how you cheated me and my family years ago, and I was determined to get even at some time. You knew the secret locked in the parchment picture and I knew it too! But I didn’t know where Tony’s mother was and whether she was alive or not. When you sold the picture I saw a good chance for somebody else to figure out the secret and bring you to justice.

  “After you sold the picture to Mr. Flockhart, I telephoned him that if he could decipher the meaning of the paintings, he would learn a great secret and right an old wrong.”

  No one in the room was more surprised at this revelation than Nancy Drew. Now. all the questions concerning the strange mystery had been solved.

  Nancy looked at the informer quizzically. “How much did you have to do with getting money from farmers to join an association?”

  “Nothing,” he replied. “My name is Hapgood. I have been telling Sal that he ought to get the association started or give back the money. But he wouldn’t pay any attention to me.”

  Suddenly Rocco screamed at him, “Hapgood, get out of here and never let me see you againl You are a cheat and a double-crosser!”

  Hapgood did not move. He turned to the police guard and said, “I am innocent and I hope to get some credit for helping to straighten out matters at this place and restore Tony to his rightful mother. Most of the field workers, as well as Sal, sneaked into this country illegally.”

  One of the policemen said, “That’s not for me to decide. You will be questioned with all the other men who work here.”

  Just then there was a great shout from outdoors. Everyone rushed to the porch except Rocco and his guards. Ned Nickerson ran up to Nancy.

  “All the stolen money and the names of the people have been discovered!”

  “Where?” Nancy asked.

  Ned told her that some of it had been found in an abandoned well, other cash in the hayloft, under the car seat of Rocco’s automobile, and the account book in one of the barns.

  Farmers and others involved had appointed Mrs. Potter their chairman. Now she was busy giving out the proper amounts of money to each person who had contributed to the fake association.

  Burt and Dave came up and said they had located a cage of mechanical birds, which had attacked Nancy and Junie on their first visit to the Rocco farm.

  “We understand from the man who worked the mechanism by remote control that Mr. Rocco believed the lifelike birds would drive off intruders. He would not be blamed, however, because the victims would think the birds were alive.”

  Finally the crowd outdoors dispersed, happy at the outcome. Mrs. Potter spoke for them all and thanked Nancy for her part in keeping them from losing so much money.

  Nancy was thoughtful for a moment as she realized this mystery was solved. Little did she know that she would soon become involved in the exciting Mystery of Crocodile Island.

  In the meantime, more police arrived. Every worker on the Rocco farm was rounded up and word came that other henchmen of Rocco’s were being sought.

  After everyone had gone, Mr. Flockhart came into the house and talked with Mrs. Bolardo about her plans.

  “Oh, as soon as we can get Antonio’s clothes packed and buy him some new ones, we’ll set off for Italy.”

  Mr. Flockhart insisted that they stay at his home until the woman and her son were ready to fly to New York and then to Rome. She accepted the invitation, then looked at her son lovingly.

  “Italy is where Tonio belongs,” she told the group, “but I promise you all that his English will not be neglected. I plan to send him to a special school where children learn many languages and talented young artists get fine training from the masters.”

  “That’s great,” Nancy said. “Tony, I’m counting on you. Someday I hope to see many beautiful paintings by Antonio Rocco Bolardo.”

  He tried to speak English, but gave up, and finished in Italian. His mother translated, then told Nancy the boy’s smiling answer.

  “I won’t disappoint you, I promise. But in the meantime, please keep up your own interest in art, Nancy. It helped you solve the mystery of the parchment and gave me back my lovely motherl”

  1 Ezekiel 34:16

  2 Hebrews 13:2

  3 Proverbs 11:17

  4 Amos 6:5

  5 Psalm 98:4

  6 Exodus 23:7

  7 Jeremiah 5:15