The Message in the Hollow Oak Read online

  The deputy spoke up. “How long is it since you’ve seen Kadle and his pals?”

  A.C.E. told them one or another of the men came to feed him three times a week. “Someone’s due today so maybe you can catch him.”

  “I’ll radio the State Police,” Wooster said.

  Ned asked A.C.E. if he knew Kadle was bothering the people at the dig, especially Nancy, and that he had planned to kidnap her.

  “Yes, I was aware of all that,” he replied. “I felt so helpless here when all I wanted to do was escape and expose Kadle.”

  “Did you know,” Nancy queried, “that one of the boys at the dig disappeared and we suspect he too was kidnapped by Kadle and another man?”

  A.C.E. said he had not heard the men say anything about this. “Ordinarily they talked freely in front of me and I have a feeling that sooner or later they were going to kill me so I couldn’t expose them.”

  As Armstrong stopped speaking, Jimmy came pounding up the attic stairs. He, Ned, and the deputy helped the weakened man down to the car. On the way to town he expressed his thanks to Nancy and Ned for rescuing him.

  “We’re glad you’re safe,” said Nancy. She promised to call her Aunt Eloise, who would pass the news on to his family and friends.

  After A.C.E. had been taken to the doctor, Nancy hurried off to make her call to New York. Miss Drew was thrilled to hear what had happened. Then Nancy met Ned, Ben Wooster, and Jimmy outside the physician’s office.

  “Mr. Armstrong will be okay,” the deputy reported. “He’ll rest here a couple o’ days, then fly home. I’ve reported his car stolen. You young people did a great job today. Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

  Nancy glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly six o’clock,” she said. “We have to get back to the towboat. But there are eight of us. We can’t all fit in your car, I’m afraid.”

  “We’ll take two cars,” Jimmy offered eagerly. “I’ll get mine!” He raced away.

  Ned hurried to the waterfront park to round up the rest of their group. Nancy and Ned explained what had happened, then the group set off for the quarry dock.

  When they reached the towboat, Nancy and her friends thanked Wooster and Jimmy and hurried on board.

  “Just in time!” called Captain Boge from the pilot house. “The engine’s fixed and we’re ready to go!” The boat got under way.

  After freshening up, the young people hurried to the dining area adjoining the galley. The table was set with a red-checked cloth and loaded with delicious-looking food.

  “Oh!” gasped Bess. “It’s like a beautiful dream! I had such a skimpy sandwich for lunch!”

  The captain appeared and seated himself. Immediately the others did too. While the steaming bowls and platters were being passed around the table, Nancy and Ned told Captain Boge about finding the kidnapped man.

  The captain was impressed. “So I have real detectives on board,” he said. “That calls for extra big helpings of strawberry shortcake.”

  When Mattie brought in the heaping desserts, everyone praised her excellent cooking.

  “I really can’t eat another bite,” said Bess, starting on the whipped cream.

  They had just finished the dessert when there was a loud crash of glass and a log whizzed through a window, sailed over their heads, and landed against the far wall.

  “Oh!” screamed Bess and everyone ducked.

  The diners sat frozen to their chairs, and Mattie came to the door, pale and speechless.

  Dave exclaimed, “What a narrow escape!”

  Everywhere lay broken glass, some of which had showered those at the table. Burt had a small cut on one hand, but otherwise there were no injuries.

  “We’re lucky to be alive,” George murmured. When the shock of the incident passed, everyone jumped up and carefully shook off the glass. Captain Boge said he was sorry about the accident, but glad his passengers were all right.

  The log sailed over their heads

  “Sometimes,” he explained, “a floating log gets caught beneath a barge and is carried along underwater. When it breaks loose, the log is propelled upward with great force. It sometimes angles for the boat and crashes onto the deck.”

  George said grimly, “There was great force all right. If that had hit—”

  Dave finished her remark.“—Lil ole me, Emerson would have lost a great football player. And it certainly couldn’t afford that.”

  His facetiousness made everyone relax. The boys offered to put new glass in the window, while the girls sorted out the debris from the dishes and table linen. A deck hand would clean the floor, the captain told them.

  When the work was finished, the young people gathered on deck and talked over the day’s adventures. Nancy said that now she knew Kadle had not found the message in the hollow oak, she wanted to get back and pursue her search.

  “I’m all for that,” Art spoke up.

  So much had been going on that the subject of jealousy between him and Ned had been forgotten. Nancy was happy over this and hoped the good relationship would last.

  She approached Captain Boge and asked when they would get back to Cairo. He looked at her understandingly.

  “I know you want to return to the dig soon but you’ll have to be patient. During the night I’ll be dropping off these barges at various stops. In the morning I’ll pick up some at Uniontown, Kentucky, and start downstream. We’ll be back in Cairo late the following day.”

  He smiled. “Then I’ll go on down the Mississippi to New Orleans where I came from and you’ll go back to your mystery.”

  During the evening the young people sat around the pilot house eating snacks and listening to Captain Boge.

  “Lots of places on the Ohio have odd names,” he said. “Like Dead Man’s Island or Tobacco Patch Light or Lovers’ Leap Light.”

  “That last one is romantic,” said Bess, who was finishing her second apple.

  Next morning the travelers gathered in the pilot house after breakfast to watch the new barges being put into place.

  The captain pointed to a big one loaded with coal. “It’s the last,” he said. “When that jumbo is in place we’ll be on our way.”

  “I’d love to get closer and watch,” George said.

  “Let’s all go,” Burt urged.

  “Okay,” said the captain. “But be careful.” With George in the lead, the young people hurried down the iron steps, across the deck and stepped out onto the middle barge. They walked quickly along from one to the other until they came to the front. A tugboat was maneuvering the loaded jumbo toward a bow barge. Several men stood at the end of it ready to rope the oncoming one into place.

  George was already at the brink, leaning forward so as not to miss any of the procedure. At that moment they all felt a great jolt. George lost her balance and went down between the barge on which they had gathered and the oncoming one!

  Julie Anne screamed. “Oh, George will be crushed!”

  CHAPTER XIV

  Bess’s Scheme

  NED had noticed a long boat hook lying on the deck. He picked it up quickly and with Dave’s help held the two barges apart. It was hard work and they strained every muscle. Meanwhile the shouts of the boatmen had alerted the tug operator to cut his motor. The others looked around anxiously for George.

  “There she is!” Nancy exclaimed in relief as her friend surfaced some distance away. George had swum underwater to safety.

  “She’s coming this way!” Bess cried.

  The young people rushed to the side of the barge. George was an excellent swimmer and managed to get back despite a strong current. Luckily the barge was heavily loaded and rode low in the water. The boys reached down and hauled her aboard. George’s clothes were dripping and her hair was as flat and shiny as a sleek cat’s.

  The girl grimaced. “Wasn’t that stupid of me?” The others made no comment, but Bess exclaimed, “Thank goodness you’re all right!”

  “Yes,” added Burt. “You had a narrow squeak.” The
men on the two barges involved set up a cheer upon seeing that George was safe. One of them called, “You’re some swimmer, young lady!”

  George held up her two hands in a thank-you gesture. Accompanied by Bess, Nancy and Julie Anne, she went to her cabin for dry clothes.

  The boys stayed to see the rest of the operation. Soon the two barges were lashed together. The journey back to Cairo began.

  About noontime they entered a lock beside the Kentucky shore. Intrigued, the young people stood at the rail watching the towboat slowly and skillfully push the triple line of barges between the concrete walls.

  “The captain has to be good,” said Ned. “He doesn’t have much clearance on either side.”

  “That’s for sure,” said a man, standing on the wall. He wore a yellow hardhat.

  “You’re an Army Engineer, aren’t you?” Art asked him. “I know your Corps is in charge of dams and locks.”

  “That’s right,” the man replied.

  As they all chatted with the engineer, the Sally O and her tow slowly sank lower between the walls.

  Finally, far ahead, the great gates swung open and the Sally 0 rode out into the river. As the towboat passed through the opening, several other engineers waved from the lock wall.

  Immediately afterward Nancy sought out Captain Boge. She asked if he could radio the Illinois State Police to find out if they had any word on Bob Snell or if Kadle or any of his gang had been caught at the old house.

  “I guess we’d all like to know,” Boge said.

  He turned to his radio and made the call. To Nancy’s disappointment, she heard the answering officer give negative replies to both queries.

  Nancy went back to the deck and relayed the depressing news to the others. “Hypers!” George exclaimed. “Where is Bob Snell?”

  A few minutes later luncheon was served. There had been no regular seating arrangements. The young people had moved around freely but Bess had noticed that whenever possible Art had placed himself next to Nancy. Later she mentioned this to Nancy, who laughed it off.

  “Don’t laugh,” Bess said. “It’s serious. I was hoping Art was going to stick close to Julie Anne but that didn’t last long. I’m going to do something about this!”

  Nancy begged her not to. Bess said no more, but Nancy noticed that all afternoon she made a point of searching out Art and talking with him.

  “Dave isn’t going to like this one bit,” Nancy thought. “Oh dear! Why can’t things run along smoothly?”

  Ned and Art stayed far apart. Nancy kept moving around to talk to everyone but little by little a strained air came over the whole group.

  Apparently Captain Boge noticed this. At suppertime he said, “I want an honest answer to a question. Have you young folks been bored with this trip?”

  “Oh no!” Nancy replied. “It’s been full of excitement. How could we possibly be bored?”

  The captain looked down at the table pensively. “You have all become so quiet I thought maybe something was wrong.”

  They all assured him he had nothing to worry about. The trip had been perfect. Apparently the captain decided to change the subject.

  “Did you know a ghost can sometimes be seen at night walking on this river?”

  George looked at him skeptically. “You’re spoofing.”

  “You can decide for yourself,” he said.

  He told them that many years ago a young man and his sweetheart were coming down the river in a small sailboat. In a sudden freak wind the mainsail shifted so quickly it knocked the girl overboard.

  “According to the story, she was never seen alive again, but her spirit appears on the water, hoping her lover will come back to her. If you watch the Illinois shore real closely, you might see her ghost tonight. Lots of folks say they have. I’ve never seen her, but tonight might be just the right time.”

  The young people did not believe a word of the legend, but they trooped to the deck in a more lighthearted mood than they had been in before. Nancy, Bess, and Captain Boge were pleased.

  The whole group stayed up until midnight watching for the apparition, but did not see it. The next morning, however, Julie Anne declared she had been the girl ghost in her dreams.

  “The young man in the boat who came to get me—was Art!” Everyone laughed and the other girls wondered if there were a double meaning in Julie Anne’s remark.

  The young people spent another pleasant day on the boat. At nightfall they saw the familiar shoreline of Cairo ahead.

  They had already packed their bags and began saying good-by to the captain and crew. As the tugboat drew alongside to take them off the Sally 0, the men gathered to wave.

  Nancy lingered a moment to speak privately to Captain Boge. “Please don’t worry about us. We honestly had a marvelous time and I assure you we’re all good friends.” The captain squeezed her hand understandingly and wished her well.

  As soon as they reached the dock, Nancy asked Ned if he would mind telephoning Roscoe Thompson, the helicopter pilot. “Ask him to meet us at Cairo. We can taxi to the airfield.”

  The others waited for him. He rejoined them, smiling. “Roscoe will be there.”

  By the time the group reached the field, he was waiting for them. Nancy introduced him to Bess, George, Ned, Burt, and Dave.

  “It’ll be a tight squeeze,” he said, “but we’ll manage. It’s not a long ride to the dig.”

  Before leaving, Nancy telephoned the State Police and learned there was no news of Bob Snell, and Kadle and his pals were still at large.

  “I suppose they’ll come to the dig,” she thought. “We must keep our eyes open.”

  When the helicopter was airborne, Nancy asked Roscoe if he had done any searching from the air for Bob Snell.

  “Yes, but I didn’t spot anything suspicious. I sure hope somebody finds him soon.”

  As the helicopter set down, all the diggers heard it and ran out to greet Nancy and her friends. During the introductions and chatter that followed, Roscoe took off. Nancy immediately mentioned Bob Snell.

  “His father came out here the day you left to meet your friends,” Theresa said. “Mr. Snell is staying in Cairo and making his own investigation.”

  The newcomers were besieged with questions about the towboat trip and the treasure hunt.

  Julie Anne and Art joined in giving answers. Everyone was glad to hear A.C.E. Armstrong had been rescued and thought it was clever of Nancy to have tracked him down.

  “He was able to clear up a good bit of the mystery,” she said. “We can start all over again looking for the message in the hollow oak.”

  The group went to the girls’ farmhouse to hear the whole story over an evening snack. Afterward, Nancy saw Bess and Theresa walking up and down in front of the house together. The girl was talking animatedly and the director was nodding and smiling. Nancy wondered what the conversation was about, but Bess offered no explanation and Nancy did not prod her.

  When it was time for the boys to leave, Nancy noticed that Art did not invite her friends to go with him. He stalked ahead alone. Todd took charge of them and they disappeared along the path leading to the boys’ dormitory.

  There were two extra beds in one of the girls’ rooms. Bess and George were assigned to them.

  Early the next morning when the boys arrived Art was on his motorcycle. Nancy explained to Theresa that she had asked him to go over to Clem Rucker’s home and see if he would rent his farm truck to her. She planned on Ned’s driving it in her search for the special oak tree.

  Art roared off. He was back in a little while with the truck, the motorcycle lying in the rear. Sweet-smelling hay covered the board floor and Nancy was glad to see this, but knew it would hardly cushion the ride. It was not going to be a comfortable one.

  It was a beautiful day and the whole group had breakfast outdoors. While they were eating, Nancy saw Theresa approach Julie Anne and speak to her quietly. The young detective noticed a look of disappointment cross Julie Anne’s face.
/>   Next the director walked over to Art and began to talk. He scowled but seemed to agree with Theresa. A few minutes later he came up to Nancy and said, “Sorry, but Theresa won’t excuse me today. I have to dig.”

  Presently Julie Anne told Nancy their leader had made the same request of her. Nancy wondered if Bess had had a hand in this or whether Theresa had decided her students had had enough time off.

  “I’ll bet Bess is playing Cupid again,” Nancy thought.

  All her friends from home were intrigued by the excavation and went to watch the diggers at work. Julie Anne waved to them from below.

  “Show us how you do it,” Ned called to her.

  She showed him, then suddenly said, “I’ve found part of a painted skull.”

  It was a slightly curved piece of reddish bone about two inches long.

  “This is a good find,” said Theresa. “It still bears traces of the red clay with which the Hopewell Indians painted the skulls of their dead.”

  “It could just as easily be an Algonquin skull,” Claire said authoritatively. “I’ve heard they had some strange customs. Sometimes they mixed their bones into the burials of earlier people.”

  Theresa looked at the girl sharply. “That story is absolutely untrue. Where did you hear it?”

  Cornered, Claire admitted that she had forgotten. “Then,” said Theresa, “you should know better than to repeat such a story!”

  Claire turned on her heel and walked away. Julie Anne winked at Nancy as if to say, “Little Miss Know-It-All didn’t get away with it this time!”

  Nancy told Theresa she and her group should leave at once to start their hunt. A box was quickly packed with sandwiches, fruit, cake, and bottles of soda. The three couples rode off in the open-back truck, with Ned at the wheel and Nancy beside him. She pointed out the direction, retracing the route Clem had taken.

  Suddenly the sky grew dark. Large drops splashed against the windshield. There were cries from the riders in the back. A downpour followed and the narrow lane turned to slippery mud.