Nancy
stirred and opened her eyes. It was as if she'd never opened them.
Whether it was day or night she could not tell because the room was
so dark. She wondered what time it was. Later, around the table with cookies
Hannah had made, Nancy and Ned talked over what had happened. As
their conversation came to an end Nancy said, "I guess there's
only one mystery left now."
The floor she now lay on
was hard, cold, and damp. The room smelled musty.
"Where am I?"
She wondered. She sat up very slowly. Pain thundered at the back of
her head.
She heard something... a scurrying across the
floor.
She gave a gasp as something fury scrambled over the hand
that she was using to support herself and jerked it back
quickly.
"Rats!" She exclaimed. She heard more scurry past,
startled by her voice. Then she heard another sound.
Footsteps.
"Wh-whose there?" She called out, but her throat
was so dry that her voice could barely be heard. The footsteps
stopped. In the dark she sensed that someone was standing near her.
She began to remember what had happened to her. She had been walking
to the store... on an errand for Hannah... something had hit her hard
and she blacked out.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice
growing stronger as she spoke. "Why have you brought me
here?"
Suddenly a bright light was in her face and her eyes
stung at the sudden change. Nancy threw her hands in front of her
face to fend off the brightness.
"Hello,
Nancy Drew,"
a man's voice said, though she couldn't see him behind the light.
And then answering her question added, "I think you know why you've
been brought here."
"No, I don't," Nancy said
impertinently, "And I would like an explanation."
The man
chuckled. "Really, don't play games, Drew, because I am not a man
to tolerate them."
"Well I'd like an answer to the one
you're
playing at right now!"
"Impudent remarks like that could get a
young lady into a lot of trouble, Miss Drew!"
"You're going
to be in even more trouble when the police find me! Now I demand to
know why you've brought me here!"
His voice became harsher.
"Stop with the playing innocent, Drew. You know what we want and
you're going to give it to us. You've got one hour to think it
over." The light clicked off and she heard him turn.
"Wait!
You can't keep me here! Someone will find me!"
He chuckled
again. "You're more than three stories under ground. No one will
be able to find you here, even if you screamed yourself hoarse."
She heard him walking away again and this time he would not turn, no
matter what she said.
It was silent in the basement. Even the rats
could not be heard.
"One hour," she told herself. "One hour!
I've got to find a way out of here in one
hour!
How am I ever going to do that!?"
Nancy pulled out her pocket
flashlight and shined it around the room. It gave off a more
yellowish light than usual. Nancy realized that her battery was
dying.
"Why didn't I replace the batteries sooner?" She
muttered to herself with an exasperated sigh. But then... that had
been one of the things she had planned to get at the store today...
or was it yesterday? Nancy had no idea how long she had lain
unconscious on that floor and wondered if Hannah and her father would
be in a panic about her being missing. Then Nancy had a terrible
thought: What if only an hour or so had past? Her father wouldn't
be home yet and Hannah wouldn't be expecting Nancy back for maybe
an hour more. And if that were the case Hannah might only just be
getting worried when the hour was up and her captor came back! Then
what would happen to her? Nancy wished she had remembered to wear her
watch so that she could look at the time, but she had taken it off
earlier in the day and forgotten to put it back on.
Nancy took a
deep breath.
"Now is not a good time to panic, Nancy," she
reminded herself. "Now pull yourself together and find a way out of
here!"
She walked over to the wall and began to feel over it to
see if there was someway to open a door. She tired to remember which
way her captor had gotten out before, but in the darkness she had
gotten all turned around and couldn't tell which way he had
gone!
Her light began to flicker now and seconds later went out
completely. She sighed and slid down against the wall. How would she
ever find anyway out of there without a light? She stood again and
began to feel along the wall again, this time moving more slowly
without the aid of light. For fifteen minutes she carried on like
that and suddenly jumped as her fingers touched something. It felt
like hard cold metal.
"Hmmm..." Nancy wondered what it was and
wished that her light would turn on for just a moment more. She
flipped it on and off a few times. It still did not turn back on.
Beginning to feel desperate she tried taking the batteries out and
putting them back in.
Nancy took a breath and squeezed her eyes
shut, hoping that the light would work just long enough. With her
eyes still shut she flipped the switch and when she opened them...
yes! The light was on! Nancy quickly shined it over the metal object.
It was what looked like a door; almost like an elevator door... yes,
the more Nancy looked at it the more she began to think that it was
the door to an elevator.
She frowned in thought. "If I really am
three stories below ground, my captors would have to have a way down
here... the fastest way down would be some sort of elevator. Now
Nancy was sure that that was what it was. Her flashlight now gave up
on her entirely and Nancy stood there at the door wondering if there
was any way to open it from that side. First she felt the wall next
to the door for any buttons or other ways to open it. Finding none
she began feeling the door itself.
Suddenly she jumped back with
a small cry as the door began to open! Had Nancy unknowingly hit
something that triggered it to open? But no, to Nancy's dismay in
the light of the elevator stood three men each wearing a mask. On the
floor was another person with his hands tied behind his back and a
hood covering his head
Two of the men lifted the fourth man and
set him onto the ground outside of the elevator.
They stepped back
into the elevator and the man, whose voice Nancy recognized from
before, said, "You've got less than forty-five minutes, Drew."
And the doors slid shut leaving the room in darkness again.
Nancy
wondered now why the three men had brought another person down there
and as she thought the person his voice muffled by the hood said,
"Can you untie me? I have a flashlight in my back pocket."
Nancy
hesitated. She knew that she recognized that voice... but it was
muffled so that even someone she knew well she probably wouldn't
have recognized their voice.
She took a step forward and paused
again. What if this person was in on whatever these people wanted
from her? Should she untie him?
"Nancy, please untie me!"
Nancy!
He had used her name! But them again... so had her captor when he
came in. But that voice she knew it... and suddenly... yes! She knew
whose voice that was! Quickly she rushed over, grabbed the
flashlight, turned it on, and yanked the hood off.
"Ned!" She
cried. Her words came out in a rush. "I'm so sorry! I didn't
recognize your voice with that hood and with all that's been
happening I didn't know what to do and... and..."
"Shh,
Nancy, it's okay. I understand," Ned said soothingly. "I would
have felt the same way. It's alright."
Nancy smiled. "Thanks,
Ned."
"Now, if you don't mind I'd kind of like to have my
hands back," Ned joked and grinned, despite their situation.
Nancy
quickly set to work at trying to untie is hands, but the knots were
tied too tight.
Nancy paused a moment, her fingers
cramped.
"They're tied too tight, Ned! By the time I get these
knots undone the hour will be up!"
"The hour?"
"Whoever
that man that kidnapped us is told me that I had one hour to make a
decision. The problem's is that he didn't tell me what it is I
had to decide. Said I already knew, but that's just it! I
don't!"
"Nancy!" Ned suddenly said, abruptly changing the
subject. "I just remembered. I've got a penknife in my back
pocket! Try using that, Nancy. Then I'll tell you my side of the
story. I also want to hear the rest of yours."
Nancy nodded
eagerly and began cutting through the ropes. As she did Ned
explained, "See, I was walking when this van pulled up beside me. I
ignored it, but suddenly two guys jumped out, grabbed me, threw a
hood over my head, and pulled me into the back. Then, I arrived here
with you."
"Did they say anything on the drive?" Nancy
asked.
"No, they stayed pretty quiet. At one point I insisted on
knowing why they'd kidnapped me. At first they wouldn't answer,
but as I persisted one said something like, 'You both know that,'
and wouldn't say anymore. Kind of the same answer he gave you, I
guess."
The knife cut through the ropes just then and Ned
stretched his arms, grateful that they were free.
"So what do
you think it is that they want from us, Nancy?"
"I don't
know, Ned. I've been trying figure that out since I came to down
here, and I don't know. I'm not working on any mysteries right
now that would explain anything like this, strange as that is for
me."
"Well, it looks like we've both been pulled into a
mystery now, Nancy."
"Yeah, literally pulled."
They
shined Ned's flashlight around the room, trying to see if there was
anyway out. As they did so Nancy told Ned exactly what had happened
to her. As she finished she suddenly asked, "Ned, what time is
it?"
He shined the flashlight onto his watch.
"Uh... it's
three-thirty-seven."
"Oh, no!"
"What, what's
wrong?"
"I only left to go to the store at about one o'clock.
Maybe one-thirty. Hannah will only just be getting worried. She might
call Dad, but who knows how long it will be before they call the
police and even longer before they find us!"
"Well, let's
not think about that now, Nancy. We're going to just have to keep
looking for a way out. If there is one, we're going to find it."
"I
have an idea!" She said after a moments thought. "Look, we're
can breath down here, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And we're
not running out of air, right?"
"Yeah..."
"So if we're
really three stories below ground, where's the air coming
from!?"
"Oh, your right, Nancy! There must be an air shaft or
something!"
"Right! Can I borrow your flashlight a
moment?"
Nancy took the light from Ned and shined it on the
ceiling. A minute later she spied in the far corner an air vent! Both
dashed over to it, rats hurrying out of the way.
Nancy and Ned
looked up at it.
"Do you think if you stood on my shoulders you
could reach it, Nancy?"
"I think so..."
"Okay..." Ned
crouched low so that Nancy could climb up. Slowly he stood to his
full height.
"Yes, I can reach it!"
"Great! Is there
anyway to get it open? If not you can use my penknife again and try
to unscrew it."
"There isn't a way to open it... but, even
if we did get this cover off there's no way I could fit it there
and from the looks of things it only gets narrower as it goes."
Both
sighed and Nancy got back down.
"Now what?"
"The rats!"
Ned exclaimed. "Look at them! They're everywhere!"
"Yeah,
I know."
"No, no. I don't mean just that there are rats, I
mean, how did the rats get down here? They couldn't have come
through the vent; the grating over it's too small."
"Right,
Ned! And I don't think they could have taken the elevator down
either. So there's got to be another way to of here!"
"Well,
maybe not. Maybe the rats are geniuses and figured out how to run the
elevator." Ned joked.
"Yeah, that must be what they did,"
Nancy said sarcastically. "But seriously, let's look for a way
out."
They decided that since they'd looked over the room
before and not found anything that they would try following a rat.
They saw one and as they watched it ran along the wall and up into a
hole. Going over to it Nancy and Ned shined the flashlight into it.
Ned put his eye up to the hole and looked through.
"Nancy!" He
said excitedly. "The hole widens out inside. If we can somehow dig
out this entrance we may find a way to escape in there! Come
on!"
Both got down on their knees and, being the only tools they
had, used their hands to begin digging out the dirt wall.
They
didn't know how long they worked but they knew that it was a long
time. The hole kept growing wider and wider until at last it was
enough to easily crawl through and, once they were inside it would be
enough to stand up.
"Ned?" Nancy asked, wiping the back of her
hand over her dirt and sweat covered face. This was one of the first
times either of them had spoken since they had discovered the hole
and began digging. "When those guys grabbed you, what color did you
say the van they were in was?"
"I didn't say," Ned
answered. "But I'm pretty sure that it was a white one."
"A
white van..." Nancy murmured as her forehead creased in thought.
"Where have I seen a white van recently?"
"I think I saw one
like it..." But their conversation was suddenly interrupted as the
elevator doors opened!
Both jumped to their feet, blocking the
hole they'd created. Their hour was up!
The three men made their
way toward Ned and Nancy, their leader holding a flashlight, trained
on the two.
Ned stepped in front of Nancy. "Stay behind me,
Nancy." He murmured.
"But, Ned!"
"Nancy!"
Ned said sharply, "Listen to me! Stay
behind me."
Ned's
tone of voice told her to listen because he had a plan.
"Have
you made a decision, Drew?" The leader asked.
"Before we give
you
any answers, we'd
like some of our own." Ned said firmly. "Like why have you
brought us here?"
The man holding the flashlight chuckled. "Both
of you are still pretending you don't know? Well, this may be more
difficult then I thought."
"Maybe." Ned nudged Nancy back a
little. Catching on to what he was doing she placed her foot into the
entrance of the hole. Ned kept talking. "Whatever you want must
mean an awful lot." Ned put his hand against the wall and,
un-noticed by their captors, got a handful of dirt.
"Mean an
awful lot?" The leader repeated. "It is
an awful lot. Worth a total of fifty-thousand dollars. And as soon as
you tell us where it is you can go."
"Right, you expect us to
believe that you would just 'let us go?' I doubt it!"
"Smart
b..." but Ned suddenly threw the handful of dirt at their
kidnapper's face!
As he stumbled backward, giving an angry shout
as the dirt made contact with his eyes, he dropped the flashlight and
Ned shouted, "Now, Nancy!"
Nancy, who had been waiting for
Ned's command now ducked down and shot into the hole. Once inside
she quickly turned around and stood up, having to bend low to keep
her head form hitting the ceiling.
"Go!" Ned shouted giving
her a push forward.
They heard the men all give shouts, having
now found the hole they'd dug. Soon they heard their footsteps
pounding the ground behind them in pursuit. Nancy and Ned kept
running, never pausing once, knowing that they would be caught if
they did. The ground began sloping upward and suddenly the straight
path they'd been following took a sharp turn to the left and
leveled out so that they were again on flat ground.
The path
seemed to never end, but then it suddenly did.
"It's a wall!
It's a solid wall!"
Nancy shined the flashlight up.
"Wait,
Ned!" She cried. "There's an opening above us!"
"Your
right!" Ned quickly stretched his arms out and jumped up. He caught
hold of the edge and pulled himself up with all his strength. Once up
Ned lay down on his stomach and stretched his arms toward
Nancy.
"Grab my arms, Nancy!"
Nancy reached up to her full
arm length, but her finger tips and Ned's could only just barley
touch. It was not enough to get a good hold.
Nancy jerked her head
back, hearing the footsteps nearing.
"Hurry, Ned! They're
getting closer!"
"Nancy! This is the farthest I can reach!
Just jump up and grab my wrists!"
Nancy bent her knees a little
and then jumped up as high as she could and grabbed Ned's wrists,
holding tight. She swung dangerously in air and dug her toes into the
wall, in effort to help Ned as he struggled to pull her up. At last
she was up and neither wasted a moment immediately began running.
They could hear the men attempting to climb up after them and doubled
their speed.
The ground sloped up again, more steeply this time.
Suddenly Nancy gave a shout. "Ned! There's a light up ahead!
We're almost there! Come on!"
Both had a new-found strength
and hope in the light and hurried onward.
Suddenly Nancy tripped
up and fell hard. The footsteps of the men behind them pounded
closer.
Ned grabbed her arm and helped Nancy quickly back to her
feet. The light was growing brighter now as they drew closer.
Suddenly they were directly below it!
"Climb out, Nancy! Hurry!"
Ned gave her a boost and in moment Nancy's head was poking out of
the hole and... Yes!! Into fresh air, real light, and freedom!
But
Nancy didn't have time to take it in or even notice anymore than
the fact that they were in the middle of a wood. She squirmed through
the hole and moved out of the way for Ned to follow her.
Soon his
broad shoulders were also squeezing through. Ned was starting to pull
out and was almost out up to his waist when he jerked downward. He
gave a cry. "Nancy, help me! They've grabbed my legs!"
Nancy
swiftly took hold of his hands and pulled hard.
"Come on, Ned!"
Nancy kept pulling, but she could feel the strain of the men below
them pulling in the opposite direction.
Ned kicked one of his legs
out and hitting one of the men freed his legs momentarily and, with
Nancy's help, climbed out of the hole in seconds. Both jumped up
and began running.
Now they could feel the burning pain in their
legs from constant, hard running, but they couldn't stop. No, they
couldn't stop as they could again hear the men in pursuit behind
them.
"Nancy!" Ned said excitedly. "The woods are ending!
We're coming up to a road!"
With another burst of speed Nancy
and Ned reached the end of the woods and found themselves on a paved
road.
"Ned, I know where we are!" Nancy exclaimed. "We're
on a road on the edge of River Heights!"
"Nancy! A bus!
There's a bus leaving right there! It's heading back into
town!"
"Come on, Ned! We've got to try and catch
it!"
"Right. We won't be able to run like this
forever."
Both pounded onward and as they saw the bus pulling
away from the stop both began waving their arms and shouting.
"Stop,
please stop!"
Nancy
glanced back. The men were almost to the edge of the woods!
Nancy
looked again toward the bus. They heard the screech of brakes and,
yes! The bus was stopping!"
They pounded onward, though their
legs were beginning to feel like they couldn't support them much
longer.
"Come on, Nancy! We're almost there!"
The bus
doors were open and Nancy and Ned ran up the steps and as the doors
closed Nancy and Ned were at last able to stop running and, bent over
resting their hands on their knees, gasped, "Three men are chasing
us... we were... kidnapped... Don't let them... on the bus."
The
driver raised his eyebrows at their appearance, and didn't seem to
believe them.
"Please!" Nancy gulped for air. "This is very
important!"
The driver stared at them a moment more and again
looking at their dirt smudged faces and clothes. He nodded as if he
now trusted them and motioned for them to sit.
After a few moments
Nancy and Ned had caught their breath and asked the driver if he had
a phone they could use to call the police. The driver wordlessly
handed them a cell phone and continued forward.
As Nancy dialed
the police number Ned looked back. The men had just emerged from the
woods and were staring angrily after the bus. There were only a few
other passengers on the bus who were all looking very interested in
all the excitement that was happening up front, wanting to know what
was going on. Ned turned his attention back to what Nancy was saying
on the phone. A few moments later she hung up and told Ned that the
police were on the lookout for their captors and would meet Nancy
back at the house.
Now that they were safe both began to think
more about why they'd been kidnapped and what it was that was
wanted from them.
"Can you think of anywhere we've been
together in the last few days and something happening that might hint
to this?" Nancy asked.
Ned shook his head and then said, "Wait!
Do you remember when we went to that antique shop and how the clerk
there was acting strangely?"
"Yes..." Nancy said slowly. "We
went up to the counter to pay for that little statue and he kept
trying to tell us that it wasn't for sale and was only on display.
But then he called the manager and he said that their store was
closing and everything was for sale."
"Right. Ned agreed.
"When he tired to protest the manager got mad at he grudgingly sold
it to us."
Nancy nodded thoughtfully. "And there was a white
can parked outside! That's where I saw one! So do you think that
that may have to do with all this?" She asked.
Ned shrugged and
said with a laugh, "I don't know! You're
the detective! You tell me. Sure does sound like it, though."
Nancy
laughed too and both felt a sense of relief that they were safe yet
both also felt a little tense wondering if their captors would strike
again before they were caught.
Nancy finally answered Ned's
question. "I guess the only way we're going to find out is to go
to my house and take a look at that statue. It may... Oh! There's
our stop!" Nancy and Ned got off and thanked the bus driver. They
walked the rest of the way to Nancy's house and, unlocking the
door, went inside.
"Hannah!" Nancy called.
"I'm in the
kitchen, dear!" Hannah came hurrying into the room. "I was
getting worried about you, Nancy. Did you get the..." She stopped
seeing Nancy and Ned's disheveled appearance. "Nancy! Ned! What
happened to you? What ever have you been doing!?"
Nancy and Ned
explained what had happened, quickly reassuring Hannah that they had
already called the police and when they finished hurried upstairs to
check the little statue. Nancy pulled it out of the top of her closet
where she had hidden since she was going to give it to Mr. Drew for
his birthday and didn't want him to find it. Taking it downstairs
they sat at the table looking over it. Looking at the carved pattern
on it they wondered if there could be some kind of spring that would
make it open. Ned pulled out his pen knife and ran it along the
crack. Suddenly there was a click
and
the bottom of the statue began to open! Just then there was a knock
on the front door and when they opened it two police officers stood
there.
Nancy explained to them her theory about the statue and
said that they had just found a way to open it. The police followed
them into the kitchen and all watched eagerly as Ned opened the crack
widened. All gave gasps of surprise at what came out of the bottom.
Spilling onto the table were dozens of small diamonds! The glittered
beautifully in the afternoon light that filled the room and all that
were there were amazed.
"Do you think that these were stolen?"
Hannah asked in astonishment.
"I'm not sure if these are the
ones," one officer answered, "But there have been several reports
of valuable diamonds stolen. These could be the ones, or some totally
different, but either way it is strange that they were hidden like
this and I can't see an honest person doing it."
They studied
the statue some more, but nothing else was found in it. The police
said that they'd like Nancy and Ned to come with them and show them
where they escaped in the woods and to bring the diamonds to police
headquarters.
Nancy and Ned agreed and said that they would be
back in time for dinner. They got into the police car and after they
had stopped at the police station and another squad car had been sent
to follow them they headed toward the place in the woods that Nancy
and Ned had escaped from. With some difficulty they found the hole
that they had come through. The police asked them if they had any
idea how far and in which direction they had been running. Nancy
pointed in the way she was sure they had gone. They walked in that
way for some time wondering what they would eventually come upon.
They walked for what seemed like an eternity when Nancy signaled the
others to stop. Pointing silently through the trees they saw an old
building.
The officers whispered to Ned and Nancy to stay outside
until they said it was safe just incase the men were
inside.
The police disappeared into the building and seconds later
they heard loud shouts.
Nancy started to run inside, but Ned
grabbed her arm. "Nancy, the police said to wait out here!"
"Ned!" Nancy exclaimed, yanking her arm back. "I'm not
going to just wait out here while those men are in there!"
"And
I'm not letting you go while those men are in there!"
Nancy
sighed reluctantly and waited.
After what seemed like a very long
time Nancy started to get worried and impatient. The sounds of a
scuffle had stopped, but the police were still not calling to them
that it was safe.
Nancy began to move around impatiently. "What
could be taking so
long!?"
"Nancy..."
But Ned was interrupted by sounds from
behind them. Both jumped and turned around, shocked to see the
police!
"H-how did you get behind us?" Nancy asked, taken
aback. "We never saw you come out."
One of the officers
grinned. "Chased them al the way through the tunnel! Caught them on
the way out and their in the car. They were in there packing up all
kinds of stolen goods in boxes! They're in the car now."
"So
did they say at all why we were kidnapped? Was it because they
thought we knew about the diamonds in the statue?"
"Yep, they
thought you knew about them and panicked. They kidnapped you, trying
to get it back."
"But why ever would they put it in the store
in the first place? Didn't they ever think someone might buy
it?"
"They said that the plan was for it to be on display and
the man they were working for would come in and buy it. It would look
totally innocent, but they would have their money and he would have
his diamonds. Seemed like a foolproof plan until..."
"Until
Ned and I came along." Nancy finished. "Was the shop keeper
working there in on it?"
"Yes he was. He was one of the men
who kidnapped you. We've now got an APB out for a fourth man, the
one they were working for."
They talked a few minutes more with
the police and then the officer who had first spoken said that they
would drive Nancy and Ned home.
Soon the police car was pulling up
to the Drew house and Nancy and Ned got out, glad that this was all
over.
The police told them that they would need to come down the
station later to make a statement. Then they drove off with the
arrested men in the back.
Ned groaned. "Nancy, please... I
can't take anymore mysteries!"
Nancy laughed. "Don't
worry! The only mystery I've got right now is what I'm going to
give Dad for his birthday since the police had to take the statue for
evidence!"
Ned laughed to and drained the last of his milk.
"Now
"Really? That'd be great!"
"Yeah, it would be
nice to relax a little after all this."
Nancy was opening the
front door when the phone rang. Nancy closed the front door and
picked up the phone. "Hello... Bess, hi!... what?... where?!"
Nancy listened a little more, nodding her head. "Alright... I'm
on my way!"
Nancy grabbed her car keys and ran out the door. Ned
ran after her calling, "Nancy, what's going on?"
Nancy
opened the car door and shouted back, "A mystery! I'll tell you
on the way! Come on!"
"Another mystery!?" Ned sighed and ran
over to the car, where Nancy already had the engine running.
He
sighed again, rolling his eyes. "There goes my peaceful
afternoon."
Nancy backed the car out of the driveway and hit the
gas, heading the opposite direction of the shops. Birthday shopping
could wait; she had a mystery to solve!
THE END
