#1 The Secret of the Old Clock

10/7/2016 The Secret of the Old Clock
A Desperate Situation
CHAPTER XII
FOR A moment Nancy stood frozen to the spot, positive that the man who was coming to the Topham cottage
was one of the thieves.
But she hesitated only an instant. Then she turned and ran back into the study. Too late she realized that she
had trapped herself, for this room had no other door.
Nancy started back toward the living room. But before she had taken half a dozen steps she knew that escape
had been cut off from that direction. The man had reached the porch steps.
"It won't do a bit of good to talk to him," she reasoned. "I'll hide, and when he leaves, I'll follow him in my car
and report him to the police!"
Frantically the young sleuth glanced about for a hiding place. A closet offered the only possible refuge. She
scurried inside and closed the door.
Nancy was not a second too soon. She had scarcely shut the door when she heard the tread of the man's heavy
shoes on the floor just outside. Peeping cautiously through a tiny crack in the door, she saw the heavy­set man
come into the study. His face wore a cruel expression.
As he turned toward the closet where she huddled, Nancy hardly dared to breathe, lest her presence be
detected. Apparently the man noticed nothing amiss, because his eyes rested only casually on the door.
Nancy's hiding place was anything but comfortable. It was dark and musty, and old clothing hung from nails
on the walls. As dust assailed her nostrils, she held a handkerchief to her face.
"If I sneeze he'll surely find me," she told herself.
She felt around and once came close to ripping her hand on a sharp nail. Then she came upon something soft
on a shelf and imagined it was a sleeping cat. She drew back, then touched it more cautiously.
"Only an old fur cap," she told herself in disgust. "Ooo, now I feel like sneezing more than ever!"
She held one hand over her mouth hard and waited in agony. But presently the desire to sneeze passed and
Nancy breathed more freely.
When she dared to peep out through the crack a second time, she saw that two other rough­looking men had
come into the room. One was short and stout, the other taller. Nancy was sure that neither of these two men was
the caretaker, because Helen Corning had mentioned that the man was skinny.
The heavy­set man who had come in first seemed to be the leader, for he proceeded to issue orders. "Get a
move on!" he growled. "We haven't got all day unless we want to be caught That girl you saw, Jake, may be
back any time from the shore. And she just might get snoopy."
The man addressed as Jake scowled. "What's the matter with you, Sid? Going chicken? If that girl comes
around, we'll just give her a smooth story and send her on her way."
"Cut out the yaking," said Sid. "Parky, you and Jake take that desk out of here."
There was no doubt now in Nancy's mind. She was trapped by a clever gang of thieves! She could only
continue to watch and listen helplessly from her hiding place.
The two men lifted the heavy piece of furniture and started with it to the door. But they did not move swiftly
enough to satisfy the leader, and he berated them savagely.
Jake turned on him. "If you're in such a hurry, why don't you bring the van back to the driveway, instead of
leaving it hidden on that road in the woods?"
"And have someone driving past here see us!" sneered the leader. "Now get going!"
Little by little the men stripped the room of everything valuable. Nancy was given no opportunity to escape.
Sid remained in the room while the others made several trips to the van.
"Well, I guess we have all the stuff that's worth anything now," Sid muttered at last.
He turned to follow his companions, who already had left the room, but in the doorway he paused for a final
careful survey of the room.
At that same moment Nancy felt an uncontrollable urge to sneeze. She tried to muffle the sound, but to no
avail.
The thief wheeled about. "Hey! What"
Walking directly to the closet, he flung open the door. Instantly he spotted Nancy and angrily jerked her out.
"Spying on us, eh?" he snarled.
Nancy faced the man defiantly. "I wasn't spying on anyone."
http://www.goanwap.com/ebook­download­ndms1.html 34/58