“They’ll be missed and a searching party might
visit this joint. How about the shack at the river?
It’s in such a desolate spot no one would think of
looking there until after-”
He did not finish the sentence, but from the
sinister expression on his face. Nancy and her
friends guessed his meaning. He intended to lock
them up in the cabin and leave them without
food!
A cry of anguish came from the leader’s wife.
Rushing forward, she clutched her husband fran-
tically by the arm.
“Oh, Maurice! You couldn’t be that cruel!”
Mr. Hale flung her away from him with a force
that sent the woman reeling against the wall. She
uttered a little moan of pain and sank to the floor.
“Oh!” Bess screamed.
Even the cult members were startled.
“Be quiet!” ordered their chief.
The cruel action aroused Nancy. For an instant
all eyes were centered on the woman, and Nancy
thought she saw her opportunity. Quick as a flash
she made a rush for the exit. Bess and George,
equally alert, darted after her.
Al Snead, who stood in the opening, was taken
completely by surprise. He tried to hold his
ground but the girls were too strong for him.
He managed to detain Bess and George, but
Nancy wriggled from his grasp. She hesitated
when she saw her friends had failed.
“Go on, Nancy!” Bess shrieked. “You must es-
cape!”
Nancy darted into the next room, while
George and Bess struggled with their captor, try-
ing to block the door and give their friend more
time.
“Stop that girl!” Maurice Hale shouted an-
grily. “If you let her get away, I’ll-”
Nancy plunged into the tunnel and was swal-
lowed up by darkness. She ran for her life and for
the lives of her friends, realizing this probably
was her only chance.
The long white robe hindered her, but there
was no time to tear it off. She held it high above
her knees. Once she stumbled, but caught her-
self, and rushed on frantically.
The tunnel seemed to have no end. Behind
her. Nancy could hear pounding footsteps and an-
gry shouts. She thought the men must be gaining.
If only she could reach the mouth of the cave!
The tunnel wound in and out and several
times Nancy brushed against the rough stone
wall. The route was so circuitous that she began
to think she had taken a wrong turn.
Then, just as she was giving up hope, Nancy
spotted a dim light far ahead and knew she must
be nearing the mouth of the cave. No one ap-
peared to be left guarding the entrance. Her only
chancel In a moment more she had reached the
open air.
“Saved!” Nancy breathed.
At that instant a dark figure loomed up from
the grass. Nancy felt a heavy hand on her shoul-
der!
CHAPTER XIX
Destroyed Evidence
“Not so fast there!” The man leered as he
clutched Nancy firmly by the arm and whirled
her around. “What’s the big rush, anyway?”
Nancy, staring into his hard face, saw that he
was the man who had been addressed as “Hank,”
one of the three men she had seen at the filling
station. Frantically she struggled to free herself.
“So-” he muttered in satisfaction, “the pretty
blond spy the boys were telling me about. I
thought you were warned by the guard to keep
away from here! This time, I take it, you’re
lookin’ for something besides a stray cow!”
“Yes, and I’m going to find it!” Nancy said
bravely.
“Oh, yeah? You’re going to find what? The po-
lice?” Hank looked at her costume. “You’re a spy.
But your little game is up.”
Nancy’s pulse was racing. How could she get
away? She could hear running footsteps coming
through the tunnel, and knew her chance of es-
cape would be over in another instant. In des-
peration she tried to jerk herself free from Hank.
But her captor gripped her more securely and
laughed as she cried out in pain,
“Let me go!”
Nancy twisted and squirmed, “but her efforts
Only made Hank tighten his grip. By the time the
others reached her, she had given up the struggle