Mystery of the Glowing Eye - Carolyn Keene [5]
“Dooley got a severe blow on his head. We’ll take him to the hospital at once. Probably have to operate.”
“That’s dreadful!” Mrs. Gruen spoke up.
“Indeed it is, ma’am,” said one of the remaining men, who introduced himself as Erman. “And so is all crime. Suppose we go into the house and you tell me what happened here.”
Hannah quickly made hot chocolate. As the group sipped it and ate some cookies, Nancy, her father, and the housekeeper told what they knew about the case.
“This sure is a strange one,” Erman said. “Of course the thing to do is track down the take-off point of the copter. I’ll check with the chief to see if he’s put anyone on that angle. Otherwise we’ll start right on it.” The two men arose, thanked Mrs. Gruen for the hot chocolate, and said good night.
After Mr. Drew had closed the front door, he smiled fondly at Nancy. “That plan to track the copter was your idea too, wasn’t it?”
Nancy nodded. Then, on a hunch, she changed the subject. “Dad, you never finished telling me about the glowing eye.”
“No, but I will. It’s too late now. We must all get to bed.”
Nancy went to her room, but she kept thinking, “Did Dad mean it was too late because Marty is working on the case?”
The young detective found it impossible to sleep. Finally at six o’clock she dressed and drove to Mr. Drew’s office to which she had a key. Quickly she made a photostat of Ned’s note and put it in her purse. Then she left the original at police headquarters for Chief McGinnis and went home.
No one was up yet. Using the telephone extension in the kitchen, she called George, then Bess.
“Will you drive up to Emerson with me today?” she asked. “I want to try getting a lead on Ned. Could you be ready in an hour?”
Both girls promised to hurry. Nancy ate a cold breakfast, left a note for her father, then hurried from the house to pick up George and Bess.
As they headed toward the highway in Nancy’s convertible, Bess asked, “What’s the big rush? Did you pick up a clue?”
Nancy briefed the cousins on the night’s happenings. They were thunderstruck and George asked, “Do you think the copter took off by remote control, or did whoever attacked the police guard fly it?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy replied. “Probably the police will come this morning and investigate.”
The girls were silent for nearly two miles as they enjoyed the early morning with its twittering birds and hide-and-seek sunshine.
Finally Bess spoke up. “What is Cyclops, anyway? I remember something from school about it being a one-eyed monster.”
“I looked it up to make sure,” Nancy replied. “The story comes from Greek mythology. There was a race of giant shepherds. Each man had only one eye. It was in the center of his forehead. The Cyclops made weapons and armor for the gods, and also thunderbolts. One of these thunderbolts killed Aesculapius, so his father Apollo had all the shepherds put to death.”
“What a gruesome story!” Bess commented. “But what in the world did Ned mean by Cyclops?”
George had no answer, but presently Nancy said, “I have a hunch that maybe the glowing eye is a present-day Cyclops.”
Bess’s eyes opened wide. “You mean there’s a one-eyed monster man loose somewhere? And he kidnaps people?”
“Yes,” George replied. “And his main diet is plump young ladies who like to eat sweets.”
Bess made a face at her cousin, then said, “Nancy, are you suggesting that Ned is being held by some monster man?”
“With one eye?” George added.
“Seriously,” Nancy answered, “Ned may have stumbled upon a clue in the glowing eye mystery. I did mention it to him. Oh, I wish I knew what his note means!”
By eleven o’clock Bess began to complain of being starved. “Let’s stop for a bite in Martin City,” she suggested.
Though Nancy would have liked to push on and had not thought of food, she suddenly realized she was hungry. “Okay, Bess.”
When they reached the turnoff, Nancy took the downhill road that led to the industrial city on the Wimpole River. “What do they manufacture here?” she asked.
George said, “Fresh-water fishing equipment and small boats. My dad