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

The girls stumbled along through the dark

passageway from the inner room to the mouth of

the cave. Men and women followed them with an-

gry, menacing threats.

Al and Hank pushed the girls to make them

hurry. Nancy and her friends exchanged hopeless

glances from time to time. George held her head

up contemptuously, but Joanne was white as a

sheet and Bess was on the verge of tears.

“Guess this’ll teach you girls to mix with the

Black Snake Colony!” a raucous voice said as the

group made its way toward the exit.

Nancy held back a retort, but her icy look told

the man she did not appreciate the remark.

Their walk seemed interminable. Finally, how-

ever, moonlight could be seen. In a moment they

were approaching the mouth of the cave.

Nancy took a few halting steps and then paused

as if she had turned to stone. Her eyes were riv-

eted upon the entrance. There stood Mr. Ab-

bott’s son, Karl Jr.!

“Oh, Karl!” Nancy cried out. “These men are

counterfeiters! Don’t let them capture you too!

Run!”

CHAPTER XX

A Final Hunch

Karl Abbott did not run. Instead, he signaled

with his hand. At once seven armed men sprang

from the darkness of nearby bushes.

“Secret Service agents,” Karl explained

quickly to the girls.

“Stand where you are! Don’t anyone move!”

ordered one of the federal men.

So unexpected was their arrival that the coun-

terfeiters were stunned. For an instant no one

moved. Then, with a cry of rage, Maurice Hale

darted into the cavern. He had taken only a few

steps when one of the other agents grabbed him

firmly by one arm.

“None of that! We have you right this time,

Hale. You won’t try any funny stuff with Uncle

Sam again!”

Some of the counterfeiters who had not yet

come from the cavern had turned back.

“They’ll get away through the other exit!”

Nancy cried out.

Karl smiled. “We have that covered too.”

He now introduced the four girls to Secret

Service Agent Horton who was in charge of the

group. The federal man gave Nancy Drew a

quick word of praise for revealing the head-

quarters of the counterfeiting ring.

“Outwitted-by that snooping kid!” Maurice

Hale screamed.

The thought seemed to unnerve the man com-

pletely. He did not protest when handcuffs were

put on his wrists. Other members of the syndi-

cate submitted to the agents without resistance,

although Yvonne Wong vehemently protested

her innocence.

“I didn’t know what it was all about until to-

night,” she cried angrily. “It isn’t fair to arrest

me! I’ve worked for Mr. Snead only a few

days-”

“You’ll have to think up a better story than

that!” she was told bluntly. “Your name has

been mixed up in underhanded deals before, but

this is the first time we’ve been able to get any

evidence against you.”

While the prisoners were being rounded up,

Karl Abbott rushed over to the girls and quickly

freed their hands.

“Are you all right?” he asked anxiously.

“Yes,” Nancy told him, “but if you hadn’t ar-

rived just when you did, it might have been a dif-

ferent story!”

She was on the verge of asking what had

brought him to the cave at the psychological mo-

ment when she saw that two federal agents were

placing handcuffs on the wrists of Maurice Hale’s

wife. Breaking away from her friends. Nancy

darted to the other side of the room.

“Oh, don’t arrest Mrs. Hale,” she pleaded.

“She isn’t like the rest. She tried to save us, but

they wouldn’t listen to her.”

“Sorry,” Horton returned, “but we’ll have to

take her along. If you want to intercede for her

later, we may be able to have her sentence light-

ened.”

After the prisoners had been herded out of

the cave to waiting government automobiles and

the printing plates used in the making of the

counterfeit bills had been collected. Nancy felt

explanations were in order from Karl.

“How did you know we had come here?”

Nancy asked him.

“From Mrs. Byrd. She was greatly worried.

When I came to see Father tonight she told me

that after you’d gone she found evidence of your

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