The Secret of Red Gate Farm - Carolyn Keene [34]
George stoically had not made a sound, but finally she said, “Thanks, girls. Your quick first aid probably made it possible for me to go to the ceremonies tonight—if they have them.”
“I think you’d better not step on your foot, or stimulate circulation,” Nancy advised. “Suppose Bess and I carry you.”
George started to protest but finally consented. Seated on a “chair” made by the intertwined hands of Nancy and Bess, George was carried toward the farmhouse.
The trip, though awkward and slow, went at a steady pace. George maintained her Spartan attitude. She not only refused to complain but teasingly asked Bess, “Aren’t you glad I don’t eat as much as you do?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Bess replied, puzzled.
“Well, if I loved desserts as you do,” George teased, “I wouldn’t be such a featherweight to carry!”
Bess gave her cousin an indignant glance. “How do you like that for gratitude! Next time I lug you all the way home—!”
Nancy interrupted with a grin, “I guess we all do our share of eating dessert. Anyhow, we’ve made it, girls. Red Gate Farm is just ahead!”
As they came up to the house, Mrs. Salisbury, who was in the garden, exclaimed, “Oh, gracious! What happened?” Mr. Abbott and Mrs. Byrd hurried from the house.
“Just a precautionary measure,” Nancy explained, and told of the snake incident.
George was carried indoors and laid on a couch. Mrs. Byrd quickly called the family physician. He arrived shortly, and examined George’s wound.
The doctor nodded approvingly as he bathed it with an antiseptic and removed the tourniquets.
“Excellent first-aid treatment,” he announced. “You’ll be fine, young lady. I’d advise you to rest for several hours.”
“Thank you. That’s good news.” George gave a relieved grin.
For the remainder of the afternoon she was made to lie inactive. When dinnertime came, George got up, declaring, “I never felt better!”
“But take it easy in case we go out tonight,” Nancy pleaded with her.
To allay suspicion on the part of the other boarders, Bess and Joanne were posted as guards across the road. If they saw the beginning of rites on the hill, the girls were to give birdcalls. In the meantime, Nancy and George waited in George’s room, the costumes ready to be picked up at a moment’s notice.
Suddenly Nancy leaped from her chair and flew into her own bedroom. “What’s eating you?” George called.
“Oh, why didn’t I think of it before? How stupid of me!” Nancy said, returning with a piece of paper in her hand.
“What are you talking about?” George demanded.
“That snake today. The way he wriggled. It looked just like the mark over the numeral 2 in the coded message!” Nancy cried excitedly. “The 2 we think means B!”
George sat up. “You mean the B with the wavy line over it might signify the Black Snake Colony?”
“Yes. Oh, George, this connects the Hale Syndicate with the nature cult here. Now the message reads: ”Maurice Hale calling Black Snake Colony meeting—”
“And the 18. How about that?” George asked.
“Not too hard to guess, George. The 18 is the letter R, and could stand for Red Gate Farm.”
“Nancy, you’re a whiz, as I’ve often told you,” her friend declared.
The young sleuth smiled, then said wistfully, “If I could only have had another second to copy the next few numbers, I might have known the exact time.”
“What happens now? Will you notify the police?”
At that instant Nancy and George heard soft birdcalls. “No time to phone now,” Nancy said.
She grabbed two of the costumes and dashed from the room. George followed with the others. As prearranged, the girls left by the kitchen door to avoid the boarders. Mrs. Byrd had been told that the girls might go up the hillside to watch if the nature cult put on a performance.
Nancy and George joined the other girls and they all scurried toward the woods. It was very dark beneath the dense canopy of trees, and Bess gripped Nancy’s arm. Joanne was familiar with every path and led the way toward the hillside.
A weird cry broke the stillness.