The Swami's Ring by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page B

were there and wondering what to do next.
    “Let’s call the police,” Bess declared nervously.
    “Good idea,” George said, dashing to the hall telephone. But she picked it up and put it down instantly. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” she said. “After all, there’s no sign of a break-in anywhere, and Hannah, you locked all the doors before you left, didn’t you?”
    “Yes—oh, certainly.”
    “Well, then, it seems to me that Cliff may have simply decided to go for a walk.”
    Somehow, though, that did not seem likely to Bess.
    “I suggest we wait a little while before calling the police,” George went on.
    “But what if you’re wrong?” Bess replied anxiously.
    “If I’m wrong, then I’m wrong.”
    “That’s the craziest logic I ever heard,” Bess said, racing to the telephone.
    “Okay, suit yourself,” George said, stepping away from her cousin. “But you’re going to feel really foolish when Cliff walks in the door.”
    Hannah, in the meantime, had paid little attention to the banter between the girls. She sat frozen in her chair, hearing Nancy’s earlier request repeat itself in her mind.
    “No matter what,” the girl detective had told the housekeeper, “please don’t leave Cliff alone while I’m gone today.”
    But the refrigerator needed replenishment and Hannah had attended to the errand as quickly as she could, when she was unable to persuade the local store to make a delivery.
    “The police are coming over right away,” Bess said now, drawing Hannah out of her stupor.
    “Thank goodness,” she answered vaguely. “Someone must find Cliff before Nancy comes home.”
    The young detective, however, lay bound on the damp floor of a cabin, near an old iron stove. The odor of mildew that cloyed the air had replaced that of the insidious drug, and Nancy’s eyes flickered open.
    She was at once aware of the sweet, antiseptic taste in her mouth and the fact that the scarf had been removed. She lifted her head, then let it sink back as a dull ache thudded through her skull.
    Where am I? And where’s Ned? she wondered dizzily.
    The log ceiling dripped water now, sprinkling Nancy’s face unevenly and causing her to slide out from under the leak. As she moved, she noticed something dark and slippery crawling over a crack in the floor. It was moving slowly, steadily toward her. A water snake!
    Completely helpless, she shrieked in horror, but the sound caught in her throat and she continued to drag herself away from the creature.
    “Oh!” Nancy cried as the viper raised its head, poised for a venomous strike.
    Instantly, the girl swung her knees up, catching the rubber soles of her sneakers in a loose floorboard. To her amazement, it popped up and made the crack split wider. The snake plunged forward, tumbling into the pit of earth below.
    Despite her relief, Nancy shivered, gazing through a rain-spattered window overhead. The sky was dark now, and even if she could loosen the rope around her wrists and ankles, she wondered if she could escape.
    Her log prison was surrounded by tall trees, and without the benefit of the sun, she had no idea where she was nor how she could find her way to Swain Lake Lodge.
    The other, more troubling thought was, What had happened to her friend, Ned Nickerson? Where had their abductors taken him?
    I have to find Ned! I must! Nancy thought with determination.

10
    Ned’s Rescue
    At the same time, Bess and George were talking with a young policeman in the Drew living room. Although the River Heights Police Department had a description of Cliff on file, the officer requested additional information.
    “Since the young man has been staying here,” the officer said, “has he undergone any physical changes?”
    “Hardly,” Hannah remarked from a corner chair. “He came here only today.”
    “Oh, I see,” the policeman said, clearing his throat. “Well, did he say anything at all that might give a clue to where he went? Judging merely from the