The Secret of Red Gate Farm - Carolyn Keene [41]
Hale turned menacingly to Nancy. “You’ll wish you’d taken Pete’s advice when he called your pal”—he indicated George—“and warned her that you’d better mind your own business.”
“Oh, Maurice, please don’t be too harsh with the girls,” a timid voice pleaded. “They didn’t mean any harm.” As she finished, the speaker removed her mask.
Nancy turned quickly to see the woman she had helped in the woods and later had taken to town.
“So she’s a counterfeiter!” Nancy told herself incredulously. “I can’t believe it!”
“Didn’t mean any harm?” Maurice drawled sarcastically. “Oh, no, of course not. They only wanted to land the whole Hale Syndicate in jail! Not that you would care! If I had known what a whiner you are, I’d never have married you! Mind your own business and let me take care of this!”
In spite of the seriousness of her own situation, Nancy felt pity for the woman. Undoubtedly as the wife of such a tyrant as Maurice Hale she had stayed with him against her will. She had hated the life that he had forced her to lead, but evi dently she had been powerless to escape from it.
“No wonder the poor woman took a chance and slipped away from time to time,” Nancy thought.
Frightened by the harsh words of her husband, Mrs. Hale moved back into a far corner of the room. Nancy wished she could help her in some way, but realized that the woman dared not say more.
“What’ll we do with these girls?” the leader demanded. “We can’t let’em go. They know too much!”
On all sides angry mutterings arose. Yvonne Wong heartlessly proposed that the girls be tied up and left prisoners in the cave. But Maurice Hale ruled down that suggestion.
“We’ll have to get ‘em out of here,” he said. “They’ll be missed and a searching party might visit this joint. How about the shack at the river? It’s in such a desolate spot no one would think of looking there until after—”
He did not finish the sentence, but from the sinister expression on his face, Nancy and her friends guessed his meaning. He intended to lock them up in the cabin and leave them without food!
A cry of anguish came from the leader’s wife. Rushing forward, she clutched her husband frantically by the arm.
“Oh, Mauricel You couldn’t be that cruell”
Mr. Hale flung her away from him with a force that sent the woman reeling against the wall. She uttered a little moan of pain and sank to the floor.
“Oh!” Bess screamed.
Even the cult members were startled.
“Be quiet!” ordered their chief.
The cruel action aroused Nancy. For an instant all eyes were centered on the woman, and Nancy thought she saw her opportunity. Quick as a flash she made a rush for the exit. Bess and George, equally alert, darted after her.
Al Snead, who stood in the opening, was taken completely by surprise. He tried to hold his ground but the girls were too strong for him. He managed to detain Bess and George, but Nancy wriggled from his grasp. She hesitated when she saw her friends had failed.
“Go on, Nancy!” Bess shrieked. “You must escape!”
Nancy darted into the next room, while George and Bess struggled with their captor, trying to block the door and give their friend more time.
“Stop that girl!” Maurice Hale shouted angrily. “If you let her get away, I’ll—”
Nancy plunged into the tunnel and was swallowed up by darkness. She ran for her life and for the lives of her friends, realizing this probably was her only chance.
The long white robe hindered her, but there was no time to tear it off. She held it high above her knees. Once she stumbled, but caught herself, and rushed on frantically.
“Go on, Nancy!” Bess shrieked,
“You must escape!”
The tunnel seemed to have no end. Behind her, Nancy could hear pounding footsteps and angry shouts. She thought the men must be gaining. If only she could reach the mouth of the cavel
The tunnel wound in and out and several times Nancy brushed against the rough stone wall. The route was so circuitous that she began to