Mystery of the Glowing Eye - Carolyn Keene [45]
“I know,” said Nancy. “It happened to me.”
“What!” Ned exclaimed. “That scoundrel! Well, I’m glad he couldn’t finish his invention. He needed mine to perfect his own for commercial uses.”
“Oh, I’m so glad he never got it,” Nancy said. “Ned, what about the eye that glowed on one of your notes? Who put it there?”
“The paper was from a pad of Crosson’s: ”
“And the drawing on the paper at your home that was eye-shaped and had numbers on it?” Nancy said.
Ned grinned. “That was my secret. Sometime I’ll explain it to you.”
“Tell me, how did Crosson happen to adopt the name Cyclops?” Nancy asked.
“He became interested in the origin of the word and made his invention in the shape of a huge eye. Then he decided to call himself Cyclops. When I sent the note to you, I didn’t dare use his real name in case he found it. I also thought Cyclops might be a good clue for you.”
By this time the couple had reached the fraternity house. Though it was early, several students were up. When Ned walked in the door, they stared at him as if he were a creature from another planet. Then a great cheer went up.
The noise awakened everyone else in the house and within minutes Bess, George, Burt, and Dave were surrounding Ned, shaking hands or kissing him and asking a hundred questions.
“Tell you what, fellows—and girls,” Ned said, winking at Nancy, George, and Bess, “suppose we have breakfast, and while we’re eating, I’ll tell you everything that happened to me. Now I want to call my parents. Nancy, will you call the police?”
“Yes, and tell them you’re safe.”
After assuring Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson he was all right, and promising to see them that evening, Ned went to his room and had the first really good shower he had taken since leaving Emerson. Refreshed, he came downstairs and all the students and visitors and Professor Titus, whom Burt had invited, assembled in the dining room. Ned ate some fruit and cereal, then got up and began his story.
“As you know, I worked next to Zapp Crosson in the lab. He proved to be a very inquisitive person and was always looking at my notes and watching my experiments. Quite accidentally I hit upon something which I think will be a worthwhile invention.
“Crosson thought so too and secretly determined to steal it from me. At one point I became a little suspicious, so I gathered up all my formulas and notes relating to my project and mailed them to my home.”
“But what about the helicopter sketches that were in the same package?” Nancy interrupted.
“Crosson used to draw copters all the time. He left a sheet of them on my worktable one day. It must have become mixed in with my own papers.”
Ned paused a moment before continuing his story. “He fooled me part of the time. Though I was suspicious of his intentions regarding my invention, I did not suspect he planned to kidnap me and keep me a prisoner until he could get my invention and market it.
“A week ago yesterday Crosson came to my room and told me he had a copter which he kept, with special permission, on a farm outside of town. He asked me if I would like to take a ride in it. He seemed so friendly that I was taken off guard and accepted. I had no time to write a note to Burt and Dave, because he insisted we leave at once.
“We drove out to the farm and I left the car parked at the side of the road. Everything went well until we got into the copter. Then Crosson suddenly pulled a gun and said I was his prisoner and he would not release me until I had given him a complete set of drawings and formulas for my invention. Of course I refused and he took me to that wilderness hideout.”
“How wicked!” Bess Marvin burst out. Other students agreed and there was a few minutes of bitter talk about the graduate student. Finally Ned went on to relate what else had happened to him.
“Every time Crosson got word from his pals that the police were on his trail, he moved me. I had an idea it was Nancy who was keeping