Mystery of Crocodile Island - Carolyn Keene [5]
CHAPTER III
Escape
ALTHOUGH Nancy felt a tight knot of alarm in the pit of her stomach, her mind was racing. Obviously she and her friends had been kidnapped, and what made it worse was that the three girls were locked in separate rooms! No chance to plan an escape!
Before the young sleuth could decide what to do, she heard Bess cry out, “Anne, Jackie, where are you?”
“Locked in, just like you,” George’s voice came faintly.
“This is awful!” Bess wailed. “What’ll we do?”
“Don’t panic,” Nancy advised. “That won’t get us anywhere.”
The girls realized that if they tried to discuss a plan of action through the walls, their captors would hear them and foil any attempted escape. Each one had to fend for herself!
While Bess and George began a minute examination of their prisons, Nancy looked through the keyhole. The key was gone, but she was sure the lock on this bedroom door was a common type.
“That’s a break,” she thought and opened her purse.
She took out a bobby pin and a nail file. First she inserted the file into the keyhole and held it tight. Next she pushed in the bobby pin. By manipulating first one, then the other, she finally managed to get the door open.
Silently Nancy stepped into the hallway and listened. She heard the front door slam, and tip-toed to a window just in time to see the sham Cosgroves get into a green sedan and roar out of the driveway.
Obviously Steven had left too, because his fancy gold-colored car was nowhere in sight. All was quiet, and Nancy was inclined to think they were alone in the house. But she could not be sure.
Quickly she went to Bess’s door and started to work with her makeshift tools. Bess heard the noise. “Nancy? George?” she called.
“Shhh!” Nancy whispered. “I’m trying to get you out.”
Within minutes she had released the lock and entered the room.
“You’re a doll, Nancy Drew,” Bess cried out, hugging her friend in relief. “Have you any idea where we are? This is a pretty grand-looking place. I can’t imagine that the kind of people who live here would imprison us in their own house!”
“I can’t either,” Nancy replied. “I have a strong hunch that our captors borrowed this place. By the way, I saw those people leave. But they could come back any minute. Let’s work on George’s door!”
The girls quickly went to their friend’s room and again Nancy inserted her nail file into the lock. There was no sound from inside the room. Had something happened to George? Finally the bolt snapped and Bess pushed the door open. The room was empty!
“George!” Nancy called out softly. There was no reply.
“Oh, dear,” Bess said. “Maybe those people took her out of here!”
“I doubt it,” Nancy reasoned. “We would have heard the commotion. Besides, we spoke to her just a few minutes ago.” She walked to the window, and a big grin spread over her face.
“Bess, come here!” she said, pointing to a large maple tree directly in front of her. A long branch extended almost to the window. Climbing down the last two feet of the trunk was George!
“Hi!” Nancy called softly.
George looked up and chuckled. “I’m an escapee!”
Nancy smiled as Bess reached her side and heaved a sigh of relief. George continued her descent. “Bess, do you want to come down the way I did? Or use the stairs? And how did you two get loose?” she queried.
Bess made a face, then smiled. “Nancy is a great lock picker.”
“Shh!” Nancy warned. “We don’t know for sure that everyone’s gone. Somebody could have been left to guard us!”
“So what do we do next?” Bess asked.
“I think you and I can risk tiptoeing through the house,” Nancy replied. “Quick! Grab your bag. I’ll get George’s and mine. We’ll meet her outside.”
She motioned to the girl below to wait for them and the two quickly got their luggage. They hurried down the stairs, trying to move as noiselessly as possible. They opened the front door and slipped outside. George was waiting for them.
“I don’t think we should take the road,” Nancy said. “The kidnappers could come back. Let’s walk through the backyard and see if we can get help at one of those houses in the