The Secret of Red Gate Farm - Carolyn Keene [29]
Nancy said she did not know, but certainly he had not acquired them dishonestly.
One of the Secret Service men said, “Suppose you tell us who you are, and—”
“I’ll tell you who she is!” came an authoritative voice from the doorway.
CHAPTER XIII
A Hesitant Hitchhiker
UNOBSERVED by the girls, an automobile had driven up and parked near the filling station. A tall young man had alighted and started for the lunchroom. Upon hearing the amazing conversation inside, he had halted. Then, realizing Nancy was in need of help, he had stepped inside.
“Karl!” Nancy cried out. She had never before been so glad to see anyone!
“It looks as if I just got here in the nick of time.” Karl Abbott Jr. smiled.
“They’re trying to arrest us!” Bess exclaimed.
“You’re kidding!” Karl cried in astonishment.
“It’s no joke,” Nancy returned earnestly, then told him of her predicament.
“Look here,” Karl said bluntly, turning to the two Secret Service agents, “you can’t hold these girls.”
“Who are you?” one of the agents demanded.
“My name is Karl Abbott, and these girls are friends of mine. As it happens, my father is living at Red Gate Farm in Round Valley, where they also are staying. I was on my way there when I thought I’d stop for a bite to eat. Lucky I did, too!”
“These girls may be friends of yours,” the unpleasant woman spoke up shrilly, “but this girl had better explain why she gave me counterfeit money!”
“If you’re accusing these girls of deliberately trying to pass counterfeit money, you’re crazy!” Karl Abbott cried out.
“You’re willing to vouch for the honesty of this young lady’s father as well?” the agent asked.
“Most definitely. This is Nancy Drew. No doubt you’ve heard of her father, the famous lawyer. If you haven’t, you soon will!”
“Not Carson Drew of River Heights?”
“Yes,” Karl replied.
“Why didn’t you tell us who you were?” the restaurant owner asked.
“You didn’t give me a chance to tell you anything!” Nancy retorted. “And you didn’t seem ready to believe what I did have to say.”
The two agents looked at each other. One asked to see Nancy’s driver’s license, then with a smile he said, “Too bad you have such a loss because of the counterfeit money. The outfit which is distributing the twenty-dollar bills is a clever one.
“The money is turning up in many places. I’ll get in touch with your father to find out where he was given the bills. Incidentally, we understand a few women are mixed up in the racket. That’s why we detained you.”
“Let’s get out of here!” George urged.
The girls hurriedly left the lunchroom with Karl. The government agents leisurely followed them outside.
As Nancy was about to step into her car, she thought of something. It occurred to her that by some remote chance the investigators might be interested in the phony message which she had brought with her.
“This may or may not have anything to do with the case,” she told them, handing over the scented note. “But the signature is a forgery, and the perfume has some mystery to it.”
She gave a brief account of her own involvement with the mystery, beginning with her encounter on the train with the man who had mentioned “the Chief,” and ending with the code.
“If the rest of the code can be deciphered,” Nancy concluded, “that might give us the answer to everything, including the Hale Syndicate’s whereabouts.”
“So you’re the young detective Chief McGinnis mentioned in his reports to us,” one of the agents said admiringly. “What you’ve done so far is really astounding. Chief McGinnis didn’t mention you by name. He probably figured you would prefer him not to.
“Your deductions seem very sound, Miss Drew, and I’d advise you to be careful. That Hale gang may think you know too much already. I’ll take this note and pass it along to a handwriting expert. Perhaps Yvonne Wong was the person who delivered it.”
Nancy shook her head. “From what I could see of the woman, I know she wasn’t Yvonne.”
After the