The Flying Saucer Mystery by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

along with him.
    As the barking continued, George said, “Ned and Dave may be gone a long time. Nancy, if you want to start the search, I’ll be glad to go with you.”
    The young sleuth was eager to begin. She mentioned the idea to Jan and Bess, who felt that they should stay behind to guard the camp.
    “We don’t want any more trouble with the horses,” Jan said.
    “Please watch your step,” Bess added.
    Nancy and George took flashlights to explore the hollows of trees and other possible hiding places. They had been searching half an hour for Mr. Austin’s wallet when George found a tree with a deep hole in the trunk.
    Excitedly she flashed her light inside, then exclaimed, “Nancy, there’s something at the bottom that looks like leather.” She laid down the flashlight and reached in. Almost immediately George cried out in pain and yanked out her hand.
    “What happened?” Nancy asked, running to George’s side.
    “Something bit me! Oh! Ow! It hurts!” George replied. She danced around, shaking her hand.
    Quickly Nancy flashed her light on the tree. The beady-eyed head of a small snake was visible at the top of the hollow in the trunk. Blinded by the brightness, the reptile instantly slithered down into its den.
    Was it a poisonous species? Nancy had no idea but decided not to take any chances. She whipped out a handkerchief and tied it tightly around George’s wrist. Then she grabbed a sharp-pointed twig and made a tiny hole in the end of her friend’s thumb. By now George’s hand was swollen.
    “I’m sorry I’ll have to hurt you a little,” Nancy told her friend, “but we must get that poison out before it spreads.”
    She hunted for a sharp stone. After cleaning it off with a green leaf, Nancy drew it across the end of George’s thumb. Blood flowed out and, she hoped, all the poison as well. Soon the swelling subsided, and George said the severe ache was gone.
    “Thanks a million, Nancy,” she said gratefully. “I was really scared.”
    Now that George felt better, Nancy removed the tourniquet. “Do you want to continue the search?” the girl detective asked. “Or would you rather go back to camp for further first-aid treatment?”
    George said she was feeling fine. “The bleeding has almost stopped. Maybe we can find a stream where I can bathe my thumb.”
    The two girls went on, looking intently for places where the Austin wallet might be hidden. Shortly they came to a babbling brook. While George swished her hand in the icy water, Nancy looked closely at the surroundings. She noticed an extremely tall pine tree, perhaps one admired by Old Joe’s father. There was no opening in the trunk, however.
    “Before we leave,” she said to George, “I think I’ll climb the tree and see if there’s anything ahead.”
    Hugging the thick trunk, Nancy started to shinny up the tree. George merely looked on, chiding herself for her sore thumb, as Nancy climbed higher and higher. She was examining every inch of the main trunk and looking at each limb and branch. Nothing indicated that a wallet was hidden among them.
    Finally at the top Nancy scanned the surrounding countryside and shouted down to George, “I can see Dismal Swamp from here. Oh, no, I can’t believe it. The flying saucer is gone!”
    “What a rotten break!” George said. “Let’s hope it’ll come back while we’re still here.”
    Nancy felt miserable because she had lost her chance to see the flying saucer close up. Was her trip in vain?
    I should have gone to the swamp as soon as the UFO landed, she thought. It was little consolation to her that the missing horses, Bess’s accident, and darkness had compelled her and the others not to ride to the swamp.
    Nancy descended the tree. When she reached the ground, George said, “Don’t feel too bad. That flying saucer is bound to come back.” She grinned. “I just had one of your hunches.”
    Nancy smiled wanly. “I hope it won’t take a hundred million light years,