Keene, Carolyn – Nancy Drew 006 – The Secret of Red Gate Farm

Farm.

“There’s one thing certain,” she said to her-

self with a chuckle. “Now that the woman has

forbidden me to go near the camp, I can’t resist

finding out what’s happening there!”

Nancy was just approaching the farmhouse

when she heard the phone ringing. She hurried

inside and answered it.

“Yes, this is Nancy Drew,” she replied to a

strange man’s question.

“One moment.”

While Nancy waited, she wondered who the

caller might be. Was someone going to threaten

her to desist in her detective work?

“Oh!” she said as the next speaker announced

himself as Chief McGinnis. A sense of relief came

over the girl.

“I have some news, Nancy,” the officer said.

“It’s discouraging. Nothing on the code or the

missing men.” Then he chuckled. “We need an-

other clue from you.”

Nancy realized her old friend was teasing.

“Glad to help,” she said gaily. “What’s the as-

signment?”

“To find out where the Hale Syndicate moved

to after it left Room 305.”

“Then that was their headquarters!” Nancy

cried excitedly.

“Temporarily. But they left no forwarding ad-

dress,” the police chief said.

“If we could decipher the rest of the code we

might be able to trace them,” Nancy said. “Any-

how, I’ll be on the lookout for any clues. At least

it shouldn’t be too hard to find Yvonne Wong.”

Chief McGinnis agreed and assured Nancy he

would let her know if there were any new devel-

opments. Then he asked, “And what are you

doing? Any mysteries up your way?”

“There might be.” She told him the little she

had been able to glean about the mysterious na-

ture cult. She described the unusual moonlight

ceremony the girls had witnessed and the ap-

pearance of the unidentified car.

The police chief whistled in amazement.

“Sounds as though you do have another mystery

up your sleeve! Have you come across any pos-

sible clues to what the cult is worshiping,

Nancy?”

The girl detective hesitated a moment before

telling Chief McGinnis about her curious con-

versation with the woman she had assisted in the

woods. She decided to mention it, and added that

although the woman had readily admitted to

being a member of the cult, she had given Nancy

no reason for her firm warning to stay away from

the meeting place.

“Black Snake Colony, eh?” the police chief said

reflectively.

“Yes,” Nancy replied. “Have you ever heard

of it?”

“No, but let me look in a report we have here

on all cults. I’ll call you right back.”

Nancy waited eagerly for the phone to ring.

When it did she snatched up the receiver. “The

Black Snake Colony is not listed,” Chief Mc-

Ginnis told her.

“You mean it’s a phony?” Nancy asked ex-

citedly.

CHAPTER X

Plan of Attack

Chief McGinnis refused to comment on the pos-

sibility that the Black Snake Colony might be a

phony group.

“They may not have been in existence long

enough to be known,” he replied. “But you

might try to find out what you can and let me

know.”

“I’ll do that,” the young detective agreed.

After Nancy had put down the phone, she re-

flected for a long minute on the new twist to the

hillside mystery, then walked out to the front

porch, where Mrs. Salisbury, Mr. Abbott, and the

three girls were seated.

Nancy had not planned to tell them of her ex-

perience, but her face was so animated it revealed

her thoughts. They besieged her with questions

until finally she revealed her meeting with the

woman member of the strange nature cult.

“Told you not to come near, did she?” Mrs.

Salisbury cackled. “Well, I hope you intend to

follow her advice.”

Nancy laughed and shook her head. “I’m more

interested than ever in what’s going on up there

on the hillside. I’m ready for a little adventure

right about now!”

“So am I,” George chimed in.

Joanne nodded vigorously, while Bess, always

more cautious, agreed rather halfheartedly.

“Better stay away,” Mr. Abbott advised, for

once not contradicting Mrs. Salisbury. “You can’t

tell what may be going on there.”

Nancy was tempted to comment, but instead

she forced a smile and said, “It seems to me that

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