The Mystery at Lilac Inn - Carolyn Keene [47]
Then the cabin door opened and Gil entered. “What’s the matter with you, Gay?” he said roughly. “C’mon. We’re headin’ for shore till this blows over and the fog lifts.”
“Oh, leave me alone!” Gay said irritably. “I’m ill.”
The next moment there was a crash and the sound of splintering wood. Nancy was hurled headlong across the cabin, and Gil and Gay were flung to the floor. They heard cries from outside and someone shouting, “About, Bud! About!”
Gil was the first to recover from the crash. He dashed out of the cabin. In a minute he was back with Simon.
“We struck a log!” Simon gasped. “We’re sinking! And there’s a fire in the engine!”
“Besides, some boat’s approaching!” Gil added. “Might be a patrol. Frank and the others have jumped over. We’re scramming too, in the sub.”
“Get up, Gay!” Simon ordered.
But the former actress, chalk-white, seemed unable to move. Simon rushed over and yanked the actress to her feet.
“The diamonds!” Gay screeched. “We can’t forget them!”
“We can’t be caught with loot,” Simon argued. “We’ll skin-dive for the diamonds later.” He glanced toward Nancy. “I’d better cut her loose.”
The man groped in his pocket for a knife, but Gay stopped him. “Don’t be a fool!” she hissed. “If she drowns, we can’t be blamed. Good-by, Nancy Drew!”
The trio raced from the cabin. Nancy, bound and helpless, was left alone in the sinking ship.
CHAPTER XX
Nancy’s Citation
UNTIL now, Nancy had not fully believed that her captors would let her perish. But she was left, bound hand and foot, aboard a sinking vessel!
Suddenly Nancy sniffed the acrid smell of smoke —the fire was spreading! She screamed for help until her throat was hoarse. Then, about to faint, Nancy heard an answering shout, and the sound of a boat pulling up outside the porthole.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she breathed fervently.
Shortly, two men in River Police Patrol uniforms hurried into the cabin. They quickly untied Nancy and carried her on deck. She saw that the fog had thinned and that the cruiser’s stem was aflame. Desperately she tried to tell the men of the escaped gang, and what had happened.
“No time to talk now!” one of them urged.
The patrol boat stood near the bow of the cruiser, which was almost submerged. Nancy and the men quickly transferred to the other boat.
As the patrol craft pulled away, giant searchlights played over the surrounding waters. Captain Morgan, head of the patrol, came up beside Nancy in time to see the burning cruiser go under. Emily Willoughby’s precious diamonds would soon be on the river bottom.
Nancy identified herself, and quickly explained about being taken prisoner and left in the sinking ship to drown. “You must capture the five men and Gay Moreau! Some of them are probably swimming to shore. The others went in the sub.”
To her astonishment, the captain asked Nancy to look through a nearby porthole into a cabin where three men sat. “Recognize them?” he asked.
“Yes!” Nancy gasped. “Bud Mason, Frank, and the skin diver!”
Captain Morgan nodded. “We fished them out of the water just before rescuing you. They said they had jumped overboard after colliding with a fallen log—but nothing about any prisoner on the cruiser.”
“Naturally!” said Nancy. “Hurry! You might still spot the sub if it hasn’t submerged.”
Captain Morgan looked dubious. Nevertheless, he barked an order. A high-beam searchlight was played over the water.
A moment later Nancy cried out, “Look!”
A shark-shaped object could be seen floating above water in the distance. Captain Morgan picked up binoculars.
“You’re right, Miss Drew. It is a small sub!” he exclaimed. “Full speed ahead!”
Nancy waited tensely as the patrol craft pulled alongside the submarine. Gay, Gil, and Simon were inside it, with the hatch open.
Captain Morgan and his men gave the actress a startled look, then glanced at Nancy. The girl’s heart sank. No wonder the men were confused! Gay still wore her Nancy Drew disguise!
“Gay Moreau has been impersonating me,” explained