Mystery of the Glowing Eye - Carolyn Keene [34]
George complied at once. She had learned some physiotherapy techniques through a course in gymnastics. Within minutes Nancy was asleep.
It was nearly ten o’clock that evening when she awakened. Nancy opened her eyes to see Bess, George, Burt, and Dave in the room. They had not made a sound and were watching Nancy carefully to make sure she was all right.
With vigor that startled her friends Nancy sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Hi, everybody!” she said. “You all can stop worrying. I’m fine.” She grinned. “I’m hungry. It must be very late, but is there any chance of getting something to eat?”
Her friends were so relieved to hear this good report that each one offered to prepare something for her. Burt and Dave waved Bess and George aside. “We know what Nancy likes,” Burt said. “We’ll get her something to eat and maybe we’ll bring a snack for the rest of us.”
The boys brought an excellent meal of hamburgers on buns and a fancy fruit-and-ice cream parfait. It was a relaxing end to a trying day. Relieved and happy that Nancy was all right, the group finally said good night.
The following morning Bess and George drove Nancy out to the airfield to meet Glenn. They took off at once and were in Martin City before ten o’clock. Glenn inquired the way to Main Street and found Mr. Schneider’s office. Fortunately he was not in conference and said he would see the callers at once.
Henry Schneider was a good-looking, pleasant man. “Please sit down,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
Nancy began her story by saying she was interested in the Anderson Museum, and its mystery. In trying to solve it, she herself had had a frightening experience.
“A mystery you say?” the insurance officer asked.
“Don’t you know anything about it?” Nancy queried in surprise.
The man shook his head. “I must admit I seldom go to the museum. I depend on Miss Wilkin to keep me posted.”
“And you haven’t heard about what happened yesterday afternoon?” Glenn spoke up.
“No, I haven’t,” Mr. Schneider replied. “Please tell me everything.”
Nancy gave him the details of her first visit to the museum when the glowing eye had appeared on a wall. Then she told about going there the previous day, after learning from Mr. Fayne that the glowing eye had been removed.
Nancy went on. “Miss Wilkin assumed that students from Emerson who had been working there had taken it. When she showed the list of names to Professor Titus, he said that not one of them attended Emerson.”
“This is amazing,” Mr. Schneider remarked. “A small group of young men headed by a somewhat older man with red hair came here a few months ago and asked if they might rent a small corner of the museum to carry on some harmless experiments.”
Glenn smiled. “They’re far from harmless.” He told the insurance man what had happened to Nancy.
Mr. Schneider’s eyes opened wide. “This is criminal!” he said. “I’ll certainly try to track down these people.”
He turned to Nancy. “In the meantime, I’ll warn Miss Wilkin not to let anybody into the museum without proper credentials. By the way, Nancy, you haven’t told me how you first became interested in it?”
The young detective explained that her father was a lawyer and had a case which indirectly involved the museum. “I don’t know what it is specifically, but Dad asked me to try to find out something about the mystery, so I came up here.”
At that moment Mr. Schneider’s phone rang. He excused himself and answered the call. He listened a moment and then declared, “You can’t do that!”
He listened a few minutes, frowning deeply. Finally he said, “Well, if you insist, but I’ll have to figure it out. I’ll send you a check for the amount I owe you.”
He said good-by and put the phone down. “That was Miss Wilkin,” he explained. “She has resigned!”
“What!” Glenn exclaimed.
Nancy told the insurance man that Miss Wilkin had complained