The Secret of Red Gate Farm - Carolyn Keene [31]
“But aren’t the members of your colony permitted to use any of the cars I’ve seen around the camp?” Nancy questioned, watching her companion closely and hoping that she might tactfully glean some information.
“We aren’t allowed much freedom,” the woman answered.
“You shouldn’t be walking on that foot yet,” Nancy protested. “You’re apt to injure your ankle permanently.”
“It’s nearly well now,” the woman told her, avoiding Nancy’s eyes. “They didn’t know at the camp that I was going to town. I—I left in a hurry.”
Again the stranger cast an anxious glance over her shoulder. “She obviously thinks she’s being followed,” Nancy thought to herself. “Perhaps she’s even running away!”
Nancy wanted to ask her companion a number of questions but the woman’s aloofness discouraged her. Deciding on an entirely different course, the young sleuth pretended not to pay particular attention to the woman. For some time they drove along in silence. Nancy could see that her passenger was gradually relaxing and losing her fear.
“Am I going too fast for you?” Nancy inquired, thinking the time was right to launch the conversation.
“Oh, no,” the woman returned quickly. “You can’t go too fast for me.” She hesitated, and then added, “I have an important letter to mail.”
“Why don’t you drop it in one of the roadside mailboxes?” Nancy suggested casually. “The rural carrier will pick it up and save you a long trip.”
“I want to get it off this morning if I possibly can.”
“I’ll be glad to gro to the post office and mail it for you,” Nancy said, purposely drawing the woman out.
“Thank you, but no,” the woman mumbled. “I—I’d feel better if I did it myself.” As Nancy did not reply, she said, “I don’t mean to be ungrateful for all you’ve done—really I don’t. It’s only that I mustn’t get you into trouble.”
“How could I get into trouble by helping you?” Nancy asked with a smile.
“You don’t understand,” her companion replied nervously. “There are things I can’t explain. The leaders of the colony will be very angry with me if they find I have left even for a few hours, and especially that I’ve mailed this letter to my sister. The cult forbids communication with the outside world.”
“I can’t understand why you tolerate such rigid supervision,” Nancy said impatiently. “Why, the leader of the cult must treat you as prisoners!”
“You’re not far from wrong,” the woman confessed.
“Then why don’t you run away?”
The question startled the woman. She glanced sharply at Nancy, then as quickly looked away.
“I would if I dared,” she said finally.
“Why don’t you dare?” Nancy challenged. “I’ll help you.”
“No, you mustn’t get mixed up in this. Perhaps later I can get away.”
“I don’t see what anyone can do to you if you decide to leave the colony,” Nancy went on. “Surely you’re a free person.”
“Not any more,” her companion returned sadly. “I’m in it too deep now. I’ll have to go on until Fate helps me.”
“I wouldn’t wait,” Nancy advised bluntly. “Let me help you—right now!”
CHAPTER XIV
Disturbing Gossip
THE strange woman in Nancy’s car seemed to waver for a moment, as if about to accept the girl’s offer of help. Then she shook her head.
“No, I won’t drag you into it!” she said with finality. “You don’t know what you’d be getting into if you helped me. Why, if they even learn that you’ve aided me in mailing this letter—”
Nancy saw the woman shudder. For one fleeting instant she, too, felt afraid—afraid of something she could not define.
The young sleuth realized that the woman was trying to warn her of danger. Nancy knew the wise thing to do was forget all about the nature cult and the strange things which apparently went on in the hillside cave. Yet, she felt that she was on the verge of discovering an important secret.
Nancy’s companion was obviously relieved when the car rounded a bend and brought them within sight of town. “If you’ll just drop me off at the post office, I’ll be most grateful,” the woman said.
“May I take you back with me?” Nancy asked. “I’ll be returning in less than an hour.”
“No, I’ll walk