Mystery of the Glowing Eye - Carolyn Keene [2]
As Nancy and Bess emerged from the house, there were shouts from the crowd. “What happened?” “Was anybody hurt?” “Nancy, is this a publicity stunt?”
Many times since she had solved her first case, The Secret of the Old Clock, until her most recent one, The Double Jinx Mystery, the young detective had been in the public eye. But she herself tried to avoid publicity.
A police officer began to question her about the helicopter. Nancy answered that she had no idea who the owner was. She did not mention the note she had found because she wanted to discuss it with her friend Chief McGinnis and also her father before revealing its contents.
Another officer came up and reported there was no clue to the owner in the helicopter. The only identification was the registration number under the tail rotor. He said he would have headquarters find out from the FAA the name of the person to whom the number had been assigned.
As he went off to use his car radio, George emerged from the house. She took Nancy aside and said, “I did some checking by phone at Emerson. Ned wasn’t at any of the usual places he goes, and an Omega Chi Epsilon brother at his fraternity house said there was a rumor that Ned had been kidnapped the day before!”
“Kidnapped!” Bess shrieked. At once all eyes turned on her.
“Sh!” Nancy cautioned. “What exactly did you find out, George?”
“I asked to speak to Burt.” Burt Eddleton was a special friend of George’s. “Ned told the boy on duty at the house he was taking a drive. When he didn’t return, Dave and Burt went looking for him.” Dave Evans was a boy Bess dated. “They found Ned’s car abandoned on a road near Emerson. Thinking that possibly something had gone wrong with the car and Ned had left to get help, the boys had looked it over. The car seemed to be in perfect condition.”
Nancy went into the house and sat down in the living room. She felt weak. Ned kidnapped! But why?
Suddenly a thought came to her and she pulled his note from her pocket. “This may be a forgery!”
Nancy examined the writing carefully. If it was forged, the writing was a clever imitation. The words had been hastily penciled. Another thought came to her. Had Ned written “Beware of Cyclops” of his own volition or had he been forced to do so?
Many fantastic ideas ran through Nancy’s mind. Was Ned warning her about a possible gang called Cyclops, or was someone trying to scare her?
“The message could have been telegraphed,” Nancy said to herself. “If Ned wanted to reach me in a hurry, a telegram or phone call would have been faster—unless he was confined in some way.
“It’s even possible,” Nancy thought, “that if Ned is being held somewhere, this is a clue to his whereabouts.”
Just then Mr. Drew walked in with Police Chief McGinnis. The tall, handsome lawyer and the rugged, ruddy-faced officer looked concerned.
“Nancy, what’s happened?” her father exclaimed.
Before answering, Nancy turned to Bess and George. “Will you girls keep everyone away from here while I talk to Dad and the chief?”
The cousins hurried outside. The police were already ordering curious men, women, and children from the front lawn of the house. There was a short confrontation with a photographer who insisted upon entering to take Nancy’s picture, but the girls were firm.
“No pictures, please,” George told him and finally the young man agreed. He turned and followed the crowd to the street.
Meanwhile, Nancy had started to tell the story of the helicopter, the strange note, and Ned’s disappearance to the chief and her father. She showed them the envelope and its contents, and said she was sure the handwriting was Ned’s.
“Chief McGinnis,” she asked, “have you ever heard of a person or an organization called Cyclops?”
The officer shook his head. “Never. But I’ll call headquarters and check on it.” He went to the phone and came back in a few minutes to report there was no such name on record.
“Nancy,” said her father, “what’s your