he’s in some shady deal around River Heights,
he’d be glad to have our young sleuth out of the
way.”
Joanne looked a bit worried, but all she said
was, “I think we’d better be on our way. I have
to be there before that man comes to buy the
farm. I must talk Gram out of it!”
The girls finished the sundaes and picked up
their checks, but Nancy insisted upon paying.
“I want to break this twenty-dollar bill Dad
gave me,” she said. “I’ve spent most of my smaller
bills.”
The waitress changed the bill for her without
comment and the girls left the lunchroom. As
they climbed into the car. Nancy glanced anx-
iously at the sky. There was a dark overcast in
the west.
“It does look like rain over my way,” Joanne
observed. “And we leave the paved road and take
a dirt one about five miles from the farm.”
“I’m afraid it’s going to be a race against time,”
Nancy warned, starting the car. “A bad storm on
a dirt road won’t help matters at all!”
The girls now noticed a change in the country-
side. The hills had become steeper and the val-
leys deeper. The farms dotting the landscape
were very attractive.
Nancy made fast time, for she was bent on
beating the storm. The sky became gloomier and
overcast. Soon the first raindrops appeared on
the windshield. “We’re in for a downpour all
right!” Nancy declared grimly, as she turned
onto the dirt road.
Soon there was thunder and lightning, and the
rain came down in torrents.
“Listen to that wind!” Bess exclaimed. “It’s
enough to blow us off the road!”
The next minute everyone groaned in dismay,
and Nancy braked the car. Across the road stood
a wooden blockade. On it was a sign:
Detour
Bridge Under Repair
George read it aloud in disgust. An arrow on
the sign indicated a narrow road to the right. As
Nancy made the turn, Joanne gave a sigh.
“Oh, dear,” she said, “this back way will take
us much longer to reach Red Gate.”
The detour led through a woodland of tall
trees. Daylight had been blotted out entirely,
and even with the car’s headlights on full, Nancy
could barely see ahead. Again she was forced to
slow down.
Suddenly a jagged streak of lightning hit a big
oak a short distance from the car. It splintered the
tree.
“Oh!” screamed Bess. “This is terrible!”
Nancy pretended to be calm, but she really was
very much worried. She decided it would be safer
to get away from the dangerous line of trees, any
one of which might crash down on them!
“How long is this stretch of woods?” she asked
Joanne.
“Oh, perhaps five hundred feet.”
“We’ll have to chance it.” Nancy drove as
quickly as she dared in the darkness. The girls
breathed sighs of relief when open country was
reached.
But Joanne’s fears were not yet over. “Watch
out!” she advised. “There’s a sharp, treacherous
curve very soon, just before we take the turnoff
for the farm.”
By now the brief storm had moved off to a dis-
tant sky and it was easier to see the boundaries of
the slippery road. Nancy rounded a curve, but as
the car took the turn, the wheels on the right side
sank into the thick mud of a ditch, bringing the
car to a lurching halt.
The unexpected mishap stunned the girls for
a moment. Finally Bess found her voice. “Now
what?”
Nancy endeavored to drive the car out of the
ditch, but it was useless. “Well”-she sighed-
“we may as well jump out and examine the car.
Keep your fingers crossed.”
They found the convertible at a lopsided angle.
The right wheels, however, were firmly anchored
by the mud. The four girls attempted to push the
car, but without success.
“I’ll look in the trunk,” Nancy said, “to see
if there’s something to help us.”
Nancy found two pieces of heavy burlap. Bess
and George put them in front of the two back
wheels for traction. Then they gathered and
broke up some brush to make a mat for each tire.
“I hope this works,” Joanne said, taking her