Mystery of the Glowing Eye - Carolyn Keene [14]
The officer nodded and said that he had been there earlier and talked to Burt and Dave who had explained their reason for trespassing. The officer grinned. “I found out they hadn’t had a meal since lunchtime yesterday so I took them to Campbell’s Diner in town. You’re to meet them there.”
The three girls heaved sighs of relief and Nancy told the policeman how frightened they had been that possibly the boys had been kidnapped.
Russo laughed. “It would be pretty hard to subdue those two huskies,” he said.
Nancy asked the officer if he knew who lived at the farmhouse.
“Nobody.”
“Do you think a tramp might be using the place?” Nancy queried.
Russo said he doubted this, although he had noticed a dirty dish and silverware in the sink. “I come by here fairly often and I’ve never yet seen anybody around.”
Nancy thanked him for bringing the message and said the girls would pick up the boys at once.
When they arrived at the diner, Burt and Dave were standing in front. “Hi!” they said cheerily.
Bess did not smile in return. “Why didn’t you leave us a note?” she scolded. “We’ve been beside ourselves with worry that you had been kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped!” Burt said, and burst into laughter.
He told them that the boys had found nothing at the farmhouse to connect Crosson with the place and had not been disturbed during the night.
George was unwilling to accept this statement without an explanation. “When did the clothes vanish from the chute?” she asked.
Burt and Dave looked blank. They admitted they had failed to look in the chute and had no idea when the clothes might have been taken out.
“But I’m sure it wasn’t after we arrived,” Burt declared. “Someone must have removed them between the time Bess and Dave were there and we guys went back to the farmhouse.”
On their return trip to Emerson, Bess and George continued to tease Dave and Burt. They accused them of sleeping so soundly that they did not hear the man, and worst of all of snoring so loudly that the man knew the boys were there.
“Enough! Enough!” Dave cried out, putting his hands over his ears. “I have to concentrate now on my next class.” He looked at his watch. “Burt,” he said, “you’d better speed up or we’ll both be late.”
Nearing the campus, Nancy told the boys about the mysterious phone call asking where they were. “I wonder if it was before or after the caller visited the farmhouse.”
Burt and Dave felt sure it was before. “On the other hand, if he came there after we arrived, he probably didn’t realize we were there,” Burt added. “We don’t snore!”
He drove directly to the classroom building and the boys got out. Nancy took the wheel and headed for the fraternity house. A student was on duty in the front hall.
“Any word about Ned yet?” Nancy asked him.
“Nothing,” he answered. “But say, there’s been some more excitement on the campus. A burglary!”
“Really?” George spoke up. “Where?”
“Over in the office and lab where the electronic and computer work is done. Ned and Mr. Crosson experimented there. Lots of things were taken.”
At once Nancy, Bess, and George wanted to know the full story of the theft. They jumped into the convertible and Nancy sped to the scene. Could there be any connection between the burglary and the mysterious disappearance of Crosson and Ned? Nancy wondered.
CHAPTER VII
The Explosion
WHEN Nancy, Bess, and George reached the laboratory, they found the entrance door wide open. Professor Titus, who was in charge of the department, and a policeman were at work hunting for clues to the burglar’s identity. The officer was taking pictures of fingerprints.
Nancy introduced herself and her friends and told the professor that they were trying to solve the mystery of Ned Nickerson“s strange disappearance.
“Oh yes,” Titus said, “and I understand you are being very thorough. No doubt that is why you are here.”
“We’ve been away on a sleuthing mission and just got back,” Nancy explained. “When we learned what had happened here, we came right over.”
Professor Titus took the girls to meet the fingerprint expert,