The Strange Message in the Parchment Read online

  “Well, it seems to me they did leave those containers behind. Maybe we can find some clue to where they came from—a brand name or some other kind of identification. Let’s look!”

  Overhearing Nancy’s comments, Mrs. Flockhart spoke before her daughter could. “Those men could still be on our property. They could be lurking behind the summer house.”

  “Oh, Mother,” Junie said, laughing. “They ran off.”

  “I know you said that. But if Nancy is right about the paint cans, perhaps they returned for them.” She paused a moment. “No, I would prefer that you remain here.”

  The girl detective, however, was not willing to let such a valuable clue slip past her so easily. “Mrs. Flockhart, would you go with us? I’m sure that two men would not want to tackle three women.”

  Reluctantly the woman agreed. “All right, but let’s be quick about it.”

  Nancy and Junie hurried outdoors with Mrs. Flockhart behind them and headed for the summer house. Not far from it lay the two empty cans.

  “These are the Acme brand,” Junie said. “Maybe that will be a clue.”

  “I think it’s a good one,” Nancy replied.

  She and Junie picked up the two cans and the three went back to the house. At Nancy’s suggestion, Junie telephoned each store in town where paint was sold. The first one did not carry this brand.

  Nancy waited expectantly, but as someone in each shop said he did not sell the Acme brand, she became more and more discouraged. Her beautiful clue was coming to nothing!

  When Junie finished telephoning, she turned to Nancy. “What’s the next move? I’m determined to find out who threw that paint at us and ruined your picture!”

  “I’m just as determined,” Nancy told her. “As you know, Junie, I have never trusted Mr. Rocco from the beginning, and I trust him less now that I know he entered this country under an assumed name or sneaked in. I suggest that we go to his place and look around his barns while avoiding him. Maybe we can find some Acme paint cans.”

  Junie looked at her friend in astonishment. “That’s the last thing in the world I thought you would say, but I agree it’s a good idea. I’ll get the car.”

  In a short time Junie parked far from the entrance to Rocco’s farm and the two girls walked across the fields toward the barns, which were outside the fenced-in area. They entered one building, which was empty. There were many tools hanging up and shelves on which stood cans of various products, including paint. The girls tiptoed forward to examine them.

  “Acme paint!” Nancy whispered. “And, Junie, look! Here is one of blue and one of red in exactly the same shades that were thrown at us.”

  “So two of Mr. Rocco’s workers are guilty!” Junie said in a low tone. “Maybe we’d better hurry away and report the incident before we get caught.”

  The girls were about to walk outside when they heard voices close by. Two men were speaking in Italian, and they seemed to be arguing.

  This went on for a few minutes, then suddenly one of them spoke English. The girls did not recognize the voice that cried out in a snarl, “If they won’t join, they won’t! And don’t ask me to pull any rough stuff to make them do it!”

  CHAPTER XIV

  Important Information

  ASTOUNDED at what they had just heard, Nancy and Junie stood stock-still, staring at each other. They had not recognized the voice of either man.

  Instead of tiptoing away at once, the girls waited to hear more conversation by the two unseen men. There was none, however, and their footsteps faded away.

  Nancy at once thought of Eezy and Mrs. Potter, the shopkeeper. Were they being coerced to join some association they wanted to have nothing to do with? Nancy signaled Junie, and the girls walked quickly out of the barn and returned to the car.

  As they drove away, Nancy told Junie her suspicions and said, “Let’s stop at the general store and see what we can find out from Mrs. Potter.”

  When they arrived, several people were going in and out of the store, so Nancy suggested that they wait. “I’d rather talk to Mrs. Potter when no one else is around,” she told Junie.

  Ten minutes later there seemed to be fewer customers, so the two girls walked into the country store. Mrs. Potter greeted them cordially and asked, “What can I do for you?”

  Nancy did not hesitate to tell her the whole story. She asked if her guess had been right about what the two men wanted her to do.

  The woman suddenly blushed. “How did you ever figure that out? The whole matter was supposed to be kept secret, otherwise we’d be harmed.”

  The girl detective smiled. “Junie and I heard it from one of Mr. Rocco’s men. Please tell us more.”

  Mrs. Potter heaved a great sigh and then told the girls that their guess was half right. “There’s a lot more to it. Those men who I suspect are tools of Mr. Rocco, found out that I knew the scheme was phony, and threatened me if I told anyone.”

  “What is the scheme?” Nancy asked.

  “They are secretly trying to organize farm workers and employees in small businesses to form a vast association. They are going to fight for higher wages and fringe benefits and all sorts of advantages for the workers.”

  Junie looked amazed. “Does it include my father’s workers?”

  “I don’t know but I think not. What made me suspicious was that the men demanded money in advance. I suspect they have collected a good bit already. This part I couldn’t agree to. But I don’t mind telling you that at times I’m afraid those men or some of their pals will come in here and injure me.”

  Nancy and Junie looked at each other, their thoughts on the attack of Flockhart’s shepherd Eezy. As two customers walked into the shop at this moment, the girls quickly purchased some sugarless chewing gum and said good-by to Mrs. Potter.

  “Let me hear from you if you find out anything,” she called, as they started for the door.

  “We will!” Junie replied. After she and Nancy had climbed into the car, she added, “Next stop Eezy’s cabin.”

  As usual they found the elderly shepherd seated in front of his little cabin. He was not playing his Irish harp, but gazing intently over the large flock of sheep he was tending. Near him was the little lamb Nancy liked so much.

  Eezy saw the girls trudging up the hillside and waved to them. He spoke to the lamb and apparently it understood what he had said. The animal loped down the slope to meet the girls. They stopped to pet and hug it, then the lamb trotted alongside as they went up the rest of the way to speak to Eezy.

  “Cheerio, you get cuter every day,” Nancy told the lamb.

  When they reached the top of the hillside, Eezy had a treat for them. He had brought out some crackers and glasses of iced lemonade. His visitors thanked him and declared it would taste good after their long hike. As soon as Nancy had finished hers, she got to the subject she had come to quiz him about.

  The shepherd listened intently, then suddenly slapped his thigh. “It beats me how you found out, but every word you say is true. I don’t go along with the proposition and I don’t think anybody else should. I too suspect those men are working for Rocco. I don’t trust him and I don’t like the idea of collecting money in advance—bah!”

  Nancy asked him if he had any idea how far the proposition had succeeded. Eezy said he did not know, but he thought many people had paid and signed up to join his organization.

  “But nobody’s supposed to talk about it, and I guess that’s why no news gets around. The thing that bothers me most is that I think those men may be making progress with some of Mr. Flockhart’s workers. He pays us all well, and we’re happy at what we’re doing. Why should somebody come in here and upset things?

  “Besides,” he went on, “you know it says in the Good Book, ‘Keep thee far from a false matter: for I will not justify the wicked.”’ 6

  Junie was alarmed by Eezy’s theory that many of Mr. Flockhart’s workers had been approached and had already secretly joined the organization, giving them an advance pay
ment. She suggested that the girls return at once to the house to talk with her father. The girl detective agreed and the two hurried down the hillside.

  Junie’s father had just come in. Together the girls told him the startling news.

  The man’s face became grave. “We can’t let this go on!” he declared. “But I must admit that at the moment I don’t know exactly how to cope with the situation. I wish I had more data on the subject. Then I’d know how to approach my men.”

  Nancy had been thinking hard. Now she said to him, “I have a suggestion, Mr. Flockhart. You know my friends are coming here soon for a visit. No one in this neighborhood knows them. How would it be if Ned, Burt, and Dave act as undercover men and find out what they can for you?”

  Mr. Flockhart smiled. “That sounds like an excellent idea,” he agreed. “I will welcome your friends and ask them to do this detective work, but on one condition.”

  “What is that?” Nancy asked.

  The big man looked intently at her and said, “I will permit it as long as the work is under the direction of Detective Nancy Drew!”

  Nancy laughed. “It’s a bargain,” she said, and he went off.

  A few minutes later a car drove up to the house. Dan White jumped out. Junie rushed outside to greet him, but in a few minutes called to Nancy to join them.

  “Danny has a surprise for us,” Junie said. “Dan, you tell her.”

  The college student who was majoring in Italian said that since seeing the girls he had delved into a study of the dialects used in various parts of Italy. “I particularly worked on those spoken by many peasants over forty-five years old, living in different areas of the country. I finally found one that I think Mr. Rocco’s workers use. I thought maybe we could run over there and I’ll talk to some of the men.”

  Nancy was thrilled with the idea, so the three set off in Dan’s car.

  “Let’s go to see Tony first,” Nancy suggested. “I’d like to know how he’s making out with his uncle.”

  Dan parked the car. He and the girls walked across the fields to the spot where Tony had been hoeing and drawing pictures. He was not there. They looked all over, but did not see him.

  “I wonder where he is,” Dan said.

  “His uncle must have moved him to another field,” Junie suggested.

  Dan said he could see one of the workmen in the distance and suggested that they walk over so he could talk to him. It was a long trek but finally they reached the man. This time Dan did not say good day in his college Italian, but instead spoke in the dialect he assumed the farmhand might use.

  The laborer turned quickly and looked in amazement at the young man. Then he began to speak in a torrent of words. Nancy and Junie wondered how much of it Dan understood. To their delight, he seemed to understand a good bit and answered the man intermittently.

  Presently Dan turned to the girls. “What questions do you want me to ask him?”

  Nancy said, “Ask him first if he knows where Tony is.”

  Dan did so and as he listened his brow furrowed. Nancy and Junie wondered what he was being told. Finally Dan turned and translated for the girls.

  “This man tells me some very unfortunate news. Tony has run away!”

  “Run away!” the girls exclaimed.

  Dan said Mr. Rocco had discovered the boy early that morning with a drawing pad and pencil, making sketches instead of hoeing rows of corn.

  “His uncle became enraged. He tore the pad to bits and then gave Tony a terrible beating.”

  “How awful!” Junie said. “I don’t blame the poor boy for running away!”

  Nancy asked Dan to inquire of the man if he knew where Tony had gone. In response the laborer lifted his arm and pointed toward the Flockhart property.

  “We must go after him!” Nancy declared at once. “I’ll walk in the direction this man pointed out.”

  Junie said, “Not alone! After what has happened it would be too dangerous! Dan, how about your going with Nancy? I’ll return to your car and drive it home. May I have the keys?”

  Dan agreed. He and Nancy set off at a fast pace. They began to run in the direction where Tony was supposed to have gone. Presently the two searchers crossed the boundary between the Rocco farm and Triple Creek.

  It seemed to Nancy that there were sheep everywhere but no sign of the boy Tony. Once they stopped to ask a shepherd, but the man declared he had not seen the child.

  The couple walked on and presently came to a small ravine with a stream of water at the base. There were no animals in the area, and Nancy assumed that the shepherds tried to keep their flocks away from the dangerous spot.

  Suddenly she stopped short. Dan looked at her and said, “Is something the matter?”

  “Listen!” she urged. “I heard something.”

  They both listened and Dan said, “It could be a lamb crying.”

  Nancy replied, “Yes, it could be. But it sounds more like a child sobbing. Let’s head in that direction!”

  By listening carefully, the couple decided that it was a human cry coming from near the water at the foot of the ravine. Carefully they descended the steep embankment. In a few minutes they found Tony huddled in a heap and sobbing beside a large rock.

  “Tony! Tonyl” Nancy exclaimed as she ran toward the boy.

  He lifted his tear-stained face and blinked as if he could not believe that Nancy Drew had found his hiding place. He smiled wanly first at her and then at Dan. Then politely he got up and shook hands with each of them.

  Dan spoke to him in Italian, repeating what he had heard from the workman on the Rocco farm. Tony replied and Dan translated for Nancy.

  “The story is true. Tony says he cannot stand any more of his uncle’s cruel treatment. He wants to go to Italy to find his own family.”

  Nancy suggested that Dan ask him if he knew who they were and if any of them were living. Dan did so and the reply was, “Somebody must be and wouldn’t be so mean to me!”

  Nancy was touched. What should she do? Take Tony home with her? Or perhaps she should deliver the boy to State Police headquarters. But they might return him to his uncle!

  Then Nancy’s eyes glistened as she thought of something. “Dan, I have an idea about what we should do about Tony!”

  CHAPTER XV

  Secret Notes

  “WHAT is your great idea about helping Tony?” Dan asked Nancy.

  Excited, she told him of a plan she had suddenly devised. “How would it be if we take him to Eezy for tonight?”

  Dan agreed that this would be better than leaving the boy out in the open. “Then what?” he asked.

  “We’ll get Tony to write a note to his uncle. He can assure Mr. Rocco that he’s safe and happy.”

  Dan urged Nancy to continue. So far he liked her plan.

  “I think the note should also say that Tony will return home if his uncle will promise to tell him where the rest of the boy’s family is and send him back to Italy.”

  Dan remarked that this sounded fair enough, but would Rocco keep his word? Then he added, “What about Tony’s desire to draw? Isn’t it wrong for Mr. Rocco to keep him from doing this?”

  Nancy agreed, but said, “I think that solution can come later. We’d better not overdo the request at this time.”

  Dan felt her decision was a wise one. He added, however, “I can’t help but feel that we’re letting Mr. Rocco off too easy. I think Tony’s note should also warn his uncle that if he doesn’t agree to the arrangement, the boy will go at once to the police and report him.”

  Nancy smiled. “That should throw a scare into the cruel man!”

  Dan asked if Nancy intended to take the note to Mr. Rocco herself.

  “Oh, no,” she replied. “This should be done secretly. He shouldn’t know I have anything to do with the case. When I was at the general store, I noticed an old oak tree across the road. It had a deep hollow in the trunk. A note would fit in there perfectly.”

  Dan wagged his head and grinned. “It’
s very refreshing and interesting to see a real live detective at work!”

  Nancy asked him if he would speak to Tony in Italian and tell him what they had been talking about. Before Dan translated the boy’s answers, there was a good bit of conversation between the two. At times Tony would shake his head, at others he would look up at Dan and smile broadly.

  Finally Dan was ready to translate. “Tony has agreed to everything,” he reported. “He likes the idea of staying with Eezy and knows he will be comfortable and safe there. The only thing he was not sure he wanted to do was threaten his uncle about going to the police. But finally he has agreed to do it. Shall we get started?”

  Nancy nodded. The three rose from the ground and walked up the canyon wall. This was difficult. Treacherous, loose stones skidded under their feet.

  Dan kept a tight grip on Nancy’s arm so that she would not fall. He tried to take Tony’s arm with his other hand, but the boy scooted up the precipice with the agility and speed of a mountain goat.

  They finally reached the top and walked quickly across the fields to Eezy’s cabin. The elderly shepherd was standing up, shading his eyes with one hand, and looking all around. The young people wondered if some of his sheep might have strayed away.

  As they drew closer, Eezy’s eyes grew large. When they were still a hundred yards away, he shouted at them, “Well, howdy! Howdyl And who is this boy with you?”

  Nancy shouted back, “Don’t you recognize him? Look closely.”

  The shepherd shook his head. As Nancy walked closer, she introduced Tony Rocco, then Dan White.

  The shepherd laughed. “Oh, Dan and I are old friends. Miss Junie often brings him up here to see me.” Then, looking straight at Nancy, he added, “I’ll bet you have something interesting to tell me. What is it?”

  The girl detective asked him, “How would you like a temporary guest?” The elderly man looked puzzled. Then Nancy explained the plan she and Dan had worked out.

  When she told Eezy how Mr. Rocco beat the child, the herdsman scowled. “Fits right in with what I’ve heard all along about that man. You know I don’t like him. I wouldn’t trust him a quarter of an acre away.”