As Nancy and Bess emerged from the house, there were shouts from the crowd. “What happened?” “Was anybody hurt?” “Nancy, is this a publicity stunt?”
Many times since she had solved her first case,
The Secret of the Old Clock,
until her most recent one,
The Double Jinx Mystery,
the young detective had been in the public eye. But she herself tried to avoid publicity.
A police officer began to question her about the helicopter. Nancy answered that she had no idea who the owner was. She did not mention the note she had found because she wanted to discuss it with her friend Chief McGinnis and also her father before revealing its contents.
Another officer came up and reported there was no clue to the owner in the helicopter. The only identification was the registration number under the tail rotor. He said he would have headquarters find out from the FAA the name of the person to whom the number had been assigned.
As he went off to use his car radio, George emerged from the house. She took Nancy aside and said, “I did some checking by phone at Emerson. Ned wasn’t at any of the usual places he goes, and an Omega Chi Epsilon brother at his fraternity house said there was a rumor that Ned had been kidnapped the day before!”
“Kidnapped!” Bess shrieked. At once all eyes turned on her.
“Sh!”
Nancy cautioned. “What exactly did you find out, George?”
“I asked to speak to Burt.” Burt Eddleton was a special friend of George’s. “Ned told the boy on duty at the house he was taking a drive. When he didn’t return, Dave and Burt went looking for him.” Dave Evans was a boy Bess dated. “They found Ned’s car abandoned on a road near Emerson. Thinking that possibly something had gone wrong with the car and Ned had left to get help, the boys had looked it over. The car seemed to be in perfect condition.”
Nancy went into the house and sat down in the living room. She felt weak. Ned kidnapped! But why?
Suddenly a thought came to her and she pulled his note from her pocket. “This may be a forgery!”
Nancy examined the writing carefully. If it was forged, the writing was a clever imitation. The words had been hastily penciled. Another thought came to her. Had Ned written “Beware of Cyclops” of his own volition or had he been forced to do so?
Many fantastic ideas ran through Nancy’s mind. Was Ned warning her about a possible gang called Cyclops, or was someone trying to scare her?
“The message could have been telegraphed,” Nancy said to herself. “If Ned wanted to reach me in a hurry, a telegram or phone call would have been faster—unless he was confined in some way.
“It’s even possible,” Nancy thought, “that if Ned is being held somewhere, this is a clue to his whereabouts.”
Just then Mr. Drew walked in with Police Chief McGinnis. The tall, handsome lawyer and the rugged, ruddy-faced officer looked concerned.
“Nancy, what’s happened?” her father exclaimed.
Before answering, Nancy turned to Bess and George. “Will you girls keep everyone away from here while I talk to Dad and the chief?”
The cousins hurried outside. The police were already ordering curious men, women, and children from the front lawn of the house. There was a short confrontation with a photographer who insisted upon entering to take Nancy’s picture, but the girls were firm.
“No pictures, please,” George told him and finally the young man agreed. He turned and followed the crowd to the street.
Meanwhile, Nancy had started to tell the story of the helicopter, the strange note, and Ned’s disappearance to the chief and her father. She showed them the envelope and its contents, and said she was sure the handwriting was Ned’s.
“Chief McGinnis,” she asked, “have you ever heard of a person or an organization called Cyclops?”
The officer shook his head. “Never. But I’ll call headquarters and check on it.” He went to the phone and came back in a few minutes to report there was no such name on record.
“Nancy,” said her father, “what’s your theory about the whole thing?”
“Frankly, I have none yet,” she replied. “I’m too worried about Ned. Was he held up? Drugged? Or enticed away by a phony message?”
Chief McGinnis looked grave. “If no one gets word of him soon, I’ll report this to the FBI, unless the Emerson police have already done so. I’ll find out.”
Nancy spoke up. “May I keep the note?”
The officer smiled. “Since it is a personal message addressed to you and found on the premises of your home, which is private property, I guess the note belongs to you. But I’d like to have it for a while, at least.”
Mr. Drew put in, “Suppose I make a photostat in my office, then give you the original.”
“Oh, let me do it!” Nancy said quickly. She had a mental picture of Marty King seeing the note and asking Mr. Drew about it. If he told her of the strange events connected with it, she might try to involve herself in the case. Nancy’s father looked surprised, but she added hastily, “I want to keep this a secret, Dad.”
“All right. You drive down to the office and make the copy yourself.”
One of the policemen came in to say a message for the chief had been received over his car radio. “A report just came in that no parachutists have been found in the area.”
After he went outside, Chief McGinnis said, “What puzzles me is how the copter was flown here.”
Nancy made a guess. “Maybe it’s a robot copter. And someone deliberately sent it here to deliver the message. Of course that’s quite an elaborate way to do so.”
“And how is the owner going to get back his copter?” the chief asked. “We don’t know where it came from.”
“Wherever the place is, I’ll bet that’s where Ned is being held,” Nancy answered. She looked grim. “Let’s go out and see if we can get a soil clue from the tires.”
By this time the crowd in the street had dispersed and only the police were left. Nancy had brought her magnifying glass. An examination of the dried mud on the tires indicated that the take-off spot was probably near a swamp of black muck. She found tiny shreds of wood in it. “A lumber camp, or some other kind of forest area,” the young detective murmured to herself.
Without warning the engine burst into life and the rotors began to whir.
“The copter’s getting ready to leave!” Nancy cried out. “I must go with it. Maybe it will take me to Ned.” She began to climb aboard.
Mr. Drew jumped forward and made a grab for his daughter. “No!” he shouted. “It’s too dangerous! If the copter is controlled by an enemy, the operator could kidnap you and even kill you!”
Chief McGinnis agreed with Mr. Drew and added his caution. Before Nancy could step down, the rotors suddenly stopped whirring and the engine became silent.
“Something went wrong!” George exclaimed.
“Thank goodness,” said Bess. “Otherwise Nancy might be up in the air and off on a dangerous mission!”
Nancy nodded, but was more interested in the helicopter. “It must be remote-controlled,” she commented, “and can take off and land at any time.”
“But why did its engine stop?” Bess asked.
Nancy assumed that the operator had used a sensitized gadget which let him know whenever there was added weight in the helicopter, indicating that someone was aboard uninvited.
“We’ll prevent it from flying away,” said the chief. “Tomorrow the police will take it. Girls, would you find some heavy pieces for my men to pile inside? I want to keep the copter here if possible until we can check on its ownership and move it.”
While the husky police chief and a few of his officers clung to the craft, Nancy and her father hurried into the garage and brought out a heavy tire rim, an iron bucket left by a painter, and part of an unused steel fence as ballast.
“That should help,” the chief said.
George had a suggestion. “Why don’t we tie the copter down? I saw a lot of strong, thick rope in the garage.”
The others agreed and the craft was securely anchored to a tall, sturdy-looking tree. Bess and George said they must leave but would be back in the morning to help Nancy on the case. Chief McGinnis ordered one man to stay on duty. He and the rest drove off.
As Nancy and her father started for the front door, their housekeeper, Mrs. Hannah Gruen, arrived in a taxi. She alighted and stared in astonishment at the helicopter, then at the Drews. Mrs. Gruen, middle-aged, and adored by Nancy, had lived with the Drews since the death of Nancy’s mother when the girl was only three years old.
Mr. Drew smiled. “We had a robot visitor,” he told the housekeeper. “Nancy will tell you the whole story. I must run back to the office, but I’ll be home by ten tonight. Please call Miss King and tell her I’m returning.”
Nancy made no comment. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was talk to Marty King. She turned to Hannah. “Will you do it, please?”
Unaware of Nancy’s reason for the request, the housekeeper made the call, then went to the kitchen to start dinner preparations.
Nancy followed. “Don’t cook much for me. I’m not hungry.”
“Why, what’s the matter, dear?” Hannah asked.
“Lots of things. But worst of all, we think Ned has been kidnapped.”
“What!”
Nancy explained and ended by saying, “I want to find Ned, but I don’t know which direction to go.”
“That’s not like you,” the housekeeper said kindly. “You’ve had a bad shock, dear. I suggest you eat a simple dinner and go right to bed. In the morning you’ll be refreshed and ready to start on the case.”
“But which case?” Nancy asked. “Ned, the robot copter, Cyclops, the glowing eye—”
“Stop!” Mrs. Gruen exclaimed. “That’s three too many. Nancy, do be sensible. Why not concentrate on Ned? Call Burt or Dave and see if there’s any news.”
Nancy took Hannah’s advice and went to the phone. Burt answered quickly, hoping the police were calling to report a clue to Ned’s whereabouts. He told Nancy there was no news from or about Ned.
“Have Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson been notified?” Nancy asked.
“Yes, and they haven’t heard anything. Apparently you’re the only one who received a message.”
During dinner Nancy and Hannah discussed the strange happenings of the day, but the young detective refrained from mentioning Marty King and her part in trying to solve the glowing eye mystery.
Later Nancy called the Nickersons, expressed her concern, and told them about the note signed by their son. “Do you know anything about Cyclops?”
“Cyclops? No,” Mr. Nickerson replied, and his wife on an extension phone said, “We never heard Ned mention it, so I’m sure it must be some new contact. Oh, Nancy, use your best detective instincts and find him,” Ned’s mother pleaded.
“I’ll do my best,” Nancy promised.
By nine-thirty Nancy felt so exhausted she decided not to wait for her father’s return, but to go to bed. She soon drifted off into a sound sleep. Several hours later she was awakened by a tremendous racket on the front lawn and jumped out of bed.
Nancy rushed to a window just in time to see the robot helicopter rising from the lawn!
CHAPTER III
A Glowing Eye
By the time Nancy had put on robe and slippers and had run into the hall, her father and Hannah Gruen were already there. Without a word all three rushed down the front stairway and out the door. Mr. Drew switched on a light that flooded the lawn.
The guy ropes which had held the helicopter down now lay on the ground. The craft itself was out of sight, but the moving lights in the sky indicated the copter had taken a northeasterly direction.
“That’s toward Emerson,” Nancy said. Then her thoughts turned to the officer who had been left by the police to watch the helicopter. “Where’s the guard?”
He was not in sight and Hannah suggested, “Maybe he was kidnapped too!”
“And possibly taken away in the copter,” Mr. Drew added.
Nancy had a different idea. “He may have been knocked out and left behind. Let’s look around.”
They did not have to search far. The guard was lying unconscious in the Drews’ garage. The officer did not respond to their first-aid treatment, so Nancy’s father phoned headquarters to report the incident and request medical help.
An ambulance with a police surgeon and a patrol car with two other officers reached the house within minutes. Dr. Tompkin quickly examined the injured guard.
“Dooley got a severe blow on his head. We’ll take him to the hospital at once. Probably have to operate.”
“That’s dreadful!” Mrs. Gruen spoke up.
“Indeed it is, ma’am,” said one of the remaining men, who introduced himself as Erman. “And so is all crime. Suppose we go into the house and you tell me what happened here.”
Hannah quickly made hot chocolate. As the group sipped it and ate some cookies, Nancy, her father, and the housekeeper told what they knew about the case.
“This sure is a strange one,” Erman said. “Of course the thing to do is track down the take-off point of the copter. I’ll check with the chief to see if he’s put anyone on that angle. Otherwise we’ll start right on it.” The two men arose, thanked Mrs. Gruen for the hot chocolate, and said good night.
After Mr. Drew had closed the front door, he smiled fondly at Nancy. “That plan to track the copter was your idea too, wasn’t it?”
Nancy nodded. Then, on a hunch, she changed the subject. “Dad, you never finished telling me about the glowing eye.”
“No, but I will. It’s too late now. We must all get to bed.”
Nancy went to her room, but she kept thinking, “Did Dad mean it was too late because Marty is working on the case?”
The young detective found it impossible to sleep. Finally at six o’clock she dressed and drove to Mr. Drew’s office to which she had a key. Quickly she made a photostat of Ned’s note and put it in her purse. Then she left the original at police headquarters for Chief McGinnis and went home.