ledge they hesitated. The dogs had come back and
began to growl fiercely.
“Maybe if we feed them-” George said. She
got the rest of the sandwiches from the car. At
the sight of the food the hounds became friendly,
but the instant they had gobbled it up, they lay
down on the ground, panting. Again and again
George tried to descend, but each time the dogs
rose menacingly.
Bess would not even try to re-enter the grounds.
“It’s no use,” she said.
“I suppose you’re right,” George said, and
jumped down on the outside.
“Tell you what,” Bess said. “You stay here and
I’ll go for help!”
CHAPTER IX
Trap Door
For hours Nancy had refused to acknowledge that
there was no means of escape from the tower. She
had pried at the lock with a nail file from her bag.
She had tried to break the door panels by sheer
force, but their strength had defied her.
Now she wandered aimlessly about the dimly
lighted circular room. Hungry and thirsty, she
grew more and more desperate. What had become
of George? And Bess? In utter dismay Nancy
realized that she had the car keys with her.
She sank down on the bottom step of the wind-
ing iron staircase to try to figure things out.
Staring straight ahead at the dusty wooden floor,
she thought, “This is the worst trap I’ve ever been
in!”
Suddenly she became aware of something in the
floor. A tiny crack outlined a space about three
feet square. Because of the gloom and dust, she
had not noticed it before.
“Speaking of traps,” Nancy muttered, “maybe
this is a trap door!”
Quickly she dropped to her hands and knees
and inspected the crack. Obviously it marked the
outline of an opening, but there was no ring or
handle with which to pull up the wood.
Nancy pried at first with her fingers, then with
the nail file. The slender bit of steel snapped in
her hands!
“Oh, how can I get this door open?” she
thought, looking for something heavier.
There was not a single object in the tower
room. After a while she sighed in despair. The
room seemed to be growing stuffy. Or was it be-
cause she felt almost ill from hunger? Her tongue
parched and her head aching, she slowly climbed
the stairs and went out on the parapet for some
fresh air.
The sky became overcast. In a short time it
would be almost dark. Except for the occasional
hoot of an owl and the intermittent croaking of
frogs, there was no sound.
Then suddenly Nancy heard approaching foot-
steps. Her first impulse was to shout, but intu-
ition warned her to remain silent.
Cautiously she looked over the parapet. A man
was unlocking the door far below her! He
snapped on a flashlight and entered the tower.
Nancy’s heart pounded. Should she walk boldly
down the stairs and try to bluff her way out?
“No,” she decided. “I’m sure something sinister
is going on at Heath Castle, and this man proba-
bly is involved. Maybe I can get out of here while
he’s busy. He may have opened that trap door and
gone below.”
Nancy tiptoed across the little balcony room.
Suddenly a light flashed through the open door-
way. The beam missed her by a fraction of an
inch!
As she shrank into the shadows, Nancy heard
the man coming up the iron staircase. With sink-
ing heart, she stepped in back of the door and
pressed herself against the wall.
The intruder went directly to the parapet. As
Nancy peered out, he began to flash his light
slowly as if he were signaling. The backward re-
flection of the rays dimly revealed his face. Nancy
had never seen this cruel-looking man before.
Though the young detective longed to watch
what he was doing, she dared not linger. Silently
she slipped through the door and darted down the
steps. Upon reaching the courtyard garden, she
hurried to the arched doorway. Luckily it was still
unlocked.
Nancy groped her way through the dark corri-
dor in the castle. A moment later she bumped her
knee into a piece of furniture and struck it so