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TableofContents

TitlePageCopyrightPageChapter1-ASpookedHorseChapter2-TheWildcatChapter3-MountainMishapChapter4-Trixie,LifesaverChapter5-TheSpyingStrangerChapter6-SignLanguageChapter7-OldJoe’sSecretChapter8-PyramidofRocksChapter9-TheBlackDelugeChapter10-SpaceTripChapter11-HumanBirdsChapter12-Where?What?Chapter13-ADiscoveryChapter14-AValuableClueChapter15-LabintheForestChapter16-TheEerieCaveChapter17-Fire!Chapter18-ARewardingFindChapter19-AStrangeReunionChapter20-UFOCapture

WHEN Nancy and her friends ride deep into the Shawniegunk Forest insearchofaflyingsaucer,theyfindthemselvesinthemiddleofmorethanonemystery.Wildcats, runaway horses, deadly snakes, a disappearing Indian, and a

loveableoldnaturalistinsearchoftreasurehiddenbyhisfatheryearsbefore,keepthesleuthstangledindangerandsuspense.Finally,duringa frighteningwindstorm, the spacecraft arrives.Nancyand

Nedexperienceanunforgettable journeybeforetheyreturntosolvenotonebuttwospectacularmysteries.

Thescanning,uploading,anddistributionofthisbookviatheInternetorviaanyothermeanswithoutthepermissionofthepublisherisillegalandpunishablebylaw.Pleasepurchaseonlyauthorized

electroniceditions,anddonotparticipateinorencourageelectronicpiracyofcopyrightedmaterials.Yoursupportoftheauthor’srightsisappreciated.

Copyright©1980bySimon&Schuster,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Publishedin2005byGrosset&

Dunlap,adivisionofPenguinYoungReadersGroup,345HudsonStreet,NewYork,NewYork10014.NANCYDREWMYSTERYSTORIES®isaregisteredtrademarkofSimon&Schuster,Inc.

GROSSET&DUNLAPisatrademarkofPenguinGroup(USA)Inc.S.A.

eISBN:978-1-101-07759-7

http://us.penguingroup.com

1

ASpookedHorse

“Good-bye!Goodluck!Andbecareful,Nancy.Thisnewmysteryyouwanttosolvesoundsdangerous!”The words of farewell were spoken byMrs. Hannah Gruen, the Drews’

housekeeper. She kissed the eighteen-year-old, titian-blond girl and huggedheraffectionately.“I’llbeverycareful,”Nancypromised,addinglightly,“Hasanyonegotthe

bestofyourfavoritedetectiveyet?”“No,butthere’salwaysafirsttime!”HannahrepliedasNancyjumpedinto

herfather’scar.Withoutfurtherdiscussion,CarsonDrew,adistinguishedlawyer,headedfor

theRiverHeightsairport.Astheypulleduptotheterminal,twogirlssteppedoutofasedan.“BessandGeorge!”Nancyexclaimed.Bess Marvin and George Fayne were cousins and were Nancy’s closest

friends. The three girls, who were going on a camping trip in theShawniegunkForest,nowsettheirlargebackpacksandsleepingbagsonthesidewalkinfrontoftheterminalentrance.Mr.DrewandMrs.Faynesaidtheywouldparktheircarsandcomebacktoseethegirlsoff.“Ihadtoleavesomuchathome!”complainedBess.ShewasNancy’sage

andpretty—butslightlyplump.“Well,Ibroughtlotsofraingearandnotmuchelse.”Georgegiggled.She

wasanattractiveslimbrunette.“Ifitdoesn’train,I’llbeoutofluck!”“Ifitdoes”—Bessfrowned—“I’llbewetterthanaguppy.”“Youmeanawhale!”Georgelaughed.“Thanksalot,George!”hercousinreplied,narrowinghereyes.That wasNancy’s signal to lead theway to the ticket counter where the

girls’campingequipmentwasweighedandcheckedin.Theyeachpickedupaticketandseatassignment,andwalkedtothedeparturegate.Mrs.FayneandMr.Drewarrivedjustafewminutesbeforetakeoff.Asthe

boarding announcement was made, Mr. Drew kissed Nancy. “I hope yousolvethemystery,honey,”hesaidasatwinklecameintohiseyes.“Butbeonthelookoutforstrangecreaturesintheforest!”Bessshuddered.“Whatdoyoumean,Mr.Drew?”Nancy’sfatherrefusedtoexplainfurther.“You’dbetterhurry,oryou’llmiss

yourplane.”Thegirls scootedquickly through thecheck-inareaand soonwere seated

sidebysideintheplane.“Ihadno idea this tripwouldbedangerous,”Besssaid.“I thought itwas

goingtobefun.”“Itshouldbe,”Nancyreplied.“Afterall,Ididpromiseyouamystery,and

isn’tsolvingmysteriesfun?I’lltellyoumoreaboutthisonewhenwejointheboys.”The triphadbeen arrangedbyMr.Drew.Athis suggestion, thegirls had

askedtheirboyfriendstomeettheminalittletownatthefootofthewoodedShawniegunk Mountain where the small plane would land. Jan and HalDrake,theirguides,weretobetherealso.Duringthetwo-hourflight,thethreeteenagershardlyspoketooneanother.

Eachwaswonderingwhatlayahead.BessandGeorgeknewtherewasboundtobedanger—aswellasathrillingadventure—onatripwithNancy.Bythetimetheplanelanded,theboyswerealreadythere.Tall,athleticNed

NickersonwasNancy’sboyfriend.BurtEddleton,ashort,huskyblond,wasGeorge’s friend,andBess’s special companionwasblond,green-eyedDaveEvans.TheboysintroducedtheDrakes,anattractivecouplewhohadlivedinthe

areasincetheirmarriageafewyearsbefore.“I’msureallofyouaregoingtohaveasmuchfunhereaswedo,”saidJan,

avivaciousblondwithstreaksofgrayinherhair.“Welovetocampoutandridethroughthismagnificentforest.”“Soundswonderful,”Nancyreplied.“Iseverythingsetforgo?”Halsmiled.“Atyourservice.Followme.”The young people picked up their backpacks and sleeping bags and

followedJanandHaltoalongshedwhereseveralhorsesweretiedup.“Here’syourmeansoftransportation,”saidHal.Hewasatall,slenderman

witharuddycomplexionandafirmjaw.Hismouthturnedupatthecomersinanengaginggrin.

“Oh,howmarvelous!”Georgeexclaimed,droppingherthingsinaheapandadmiringthelineofhorses.ShepattedandspoketoeachonewhileHalandtheothersconferredoverwhichanimalstheyoughttouse.“What’sthenameofmyhorse?”Nancyasked,asshemountedeasily.“SusanB,”Haltoldherassheleanedforwardtohugthebeautiful,young

baymare.“YouandIaregoingtosolveabigmystery!”shewhisperedtoSusanB.Ned mounted his horse and rode alongside Nancy, saying, “This is

Goalpost.Appropriate?”“Appropriate, but I don’t believe it.” Nancy smiled. “Somebodymust’ve

knownthecaptainofEmersonCollege’sfootballteamwascoming.Evenso,I’msureyou’renotgoingtofindanygoalpostsintheforest.”“ButIcanrunforatouchdown!”Nedquipped.“Thesolutiontothemystery

mayberightthere.”Withinminutes the stringof riders andhorses startedoff. Itwasnot long

beforetheycametotheforestandfollowedJanupasteeptrail.Theyhadriddenaboutanhourwhenthestonypathledthemtoapleasant

spotbyamountainbrook.“Oh, doesn’t it smell wonderful here?” Bess said, breathing in the pine

scent.“Andlookatallthewildflowers.”Sweet-smelling woodbine was entwined around stately trees and white

flowerspeekedthroughgroundshrubbery.Jansignaledfortheprocessiontohalt.Theridersdismounted,allowingthe

horsestorestwhileJanunloadedasackofpicnicfoodfromoneofthetwopackhorses.Beforelettingthehorsesgraze,Halandtheboysledthemtothebrookfora

refreshingdrink.Aftertetheringtwoofthehorses,everyonesatdownonthegroundtoenjoyavarietyofsandwiches,aswellastomatojuiceandnutcake.“Now, Nancy, let’s hear about the mystery we’re going to solve,” Ned

suggested,aftertastingahamsandwich.Nancy leaned forward and spoke softly. “Dad receivedword—secretly of

course—that several people in the vicinity of Shawniegunk Mountain hadseenaUFOcomedownanddisappear.Someofthemevenhuntedforit.”“Wasitfromouterspace?”Bessquivered.“Everyone thought so,”Nancy said, causingher friend’s lookof alarm to

changetofright.“Didn’ttheynotifytheauthorities?”Burtasked.Nancyshookherhead.“Apparentlynot.Theywereafraidofbeinglaughed

at.Anyway,theyfailedtofindtheUFO.Nevertheless,theyweresureithadlanded.Therewasasimilarrumorabouttenyearsago,butnothingcameofit.”“Andwe’resupposedtofindthisflyingsaucer?”Georgeinquired.“Yes,weare,”Nancyreplied.“Notonlyfind itbut try to learnsomething

aboutthecraftandwhereitcamefrom.”Davegrunted.“Thatsoundslikeabigorder.”“Butarealchallenge,”Nedadded.ThewordswerescarcelyoutofhismouthwhenBessscreamedloudlyand

jumpedtoherfeet.“What’sthematter?”Georgeaskedhercousin.Too frightened to answer, Bess merely pointed. A snake was wriggling

awayfromher!Hal ran to see if the snakewaspoisonous.Hecalledback, “Itwon’thurt

us.”Bess was still shaking. “It cr-crawled r-right across my b-boot!” she

stammered.“Ithoughtsnakesdidn’tlikepeople.Ithoughttheystayedawayfromthem!”“That’s usually true,” Hal agreed. “But even snakes have an appetite for

goodhomecooking.”“Soyouscaredoffyoursoulmate!”Georgeteased.Ignoringtheremark,Bessdeclaredthatfromnowonshewasgoingtoeat

standingup.“AndIplantowalkaroundalot,too.”Herfriendslaughed.AsBessspoke,hereyesfastenedontheslitheringreptile. Itwascrawling

towardthehorses.“Thesnake’sgoingformyhorse!”Georgegasped.“Imuststopit!”Before she could, however, the snake paused in back of the animal, then

slowlywriggledupherrearleg.Instantlyitspookedthehorse,causinghimtothrowoffthesnakeandrunoffatbreakneckspeedintothedenseforest.“Oh!”Georgeexclaimed.“Burt,comequickly!”

Together they raced after the galloping horse but could not catch it.Meanwhile, the rest of the riders were trying to calm the other agitatedanimalsandkeepthemfrombolting,too.NedandDaveofferedtotaketheirhorsesandgoaftertherunaway.Nancy clung toher horse’s bridle and talkedgently to themare.Shewas

havingtroublewithSusanB,whoappearedtobeterrified.Finallythehorsesettleddown.

Burtwasshamefaced.“Itwassostupidofmenottotietherunawayhorsewhenshefinisheddrinkinginthestream.”“She’ssogentleandobedient,”Georgeremarkedquietly,almostunawareof

Burt’sarmaroundhershoulder.“Ihopeshecomesback.”JanandHaltriedtocomfortthedistraughtgirl,too.“Horseshatesnakes,”

Halsaid,“andwithascarelikethat,yourswouldhavepulledfreeanyway.”“Whatwouldyoudoifasnakecrawledupyourleg?”Janadded.ThismadeGeorgeandtheotherssmile.“Ithinkwe’dallrun!”shesaid.Whilethecamperswaitedforthetwoboystoreturn,theypackedup,ready

tomoveon. In twentyminutesNedandDave reappeared, leadingGeorge’smount.Excitedly,thegirlrantoherhorseandgotastride.Oncemorethegroupwasonthemove.Janledthemhigherandhigherup

themountain.AtonepointBessremarked,“I’llbettheviewfromherewouldbegorgeous

ifwecouldseethroughthetrees.”Janagreedandsaid thatbeforedark theywouldreachanareawhere they

could see formiles. “Haland I think someonecampedat the spot forquitesome time, even cleared a little section of the forest and grew a vegetablegarden.Inanycase,itwillbeagoodplaceforustocamp.”When the riders arrived at their destination, Jan suggested, “Why doesn’t

everyoneunpackforthenight?I’llstartcookingsupper.”“MayIhelp?”Bessaskedeagerly.“Ifyoulike,”Jansaid,removingasackfromoneofthepackhorses.Afewminuteslatershecriedout,“Oh,weleftourcookingutensilsatthe

picnicspot!HowcouldIhavebeensoforgetfulandleftoneofthesacksontheground?”Nancyofferedtogoback.“Notalone,”Janansweredquickly.“I’lltellyouwhat:we’lldrawlots.I’ll

getfoursticksandmarkone,thenwe’llchoosebycouples.Whoevergetsthemarkedstickwillgo.”NancywasdelightedwhensheandNeddrewtheluckystick.Instantlyshe

mounted Susan B and Ned mounted Goalpost, and they set off down thenarrowtrail.Thetrip,JanandHalfigured,wouldtakeatleastanhour.When two hours had gone by and it was dark, the riders still had not

returned.Everyonewasworried.

“NancyandNedaregoodhorsemen,”Besssaid,“but lotsof thingscouldhavehappened.”A little while later Jan lay down and put her ear to the ground. “I hear

horsescoming,”shecalledout.Asshestoodup,thecamperswerestartledbyeeriescreamsinthedistance.

2

TheWildcat

Thecampersfrozewithfearwhentheyheardthescreamsinthequietforest.Bess criedout frantically, “NancyandNedmusthavebeen attackedby a

wildanimal!Oh,what’llwedo?”“Wemustfindthem!”Georgeshouted.“I’msure,”saidHal,“thosescreamswerecomingfromthenorth.”“I’dsayjusttheopposite,”Georgecountered.“Whatdoyouthink,Burt?”“West,”heanswered,“andDavethinkseast.”Everyonefelthelpless.FinallyJanspokeup.“Ibelievethosescreamswere

fromawildcat.I’veheardsimilaronesbefore.”Besswasevenmoreterrified.“Oh,NancyandNedmayhavebeenclawed

topieces!”sheexclaimed.Georgelookedseverelyathercousin.“Don’tsaysuchthings!”sheflashed

back.“Let’shopeNancyandNedarenowherenearawildcat.”Asamatteroffactthecouplewasnotfarfromthemenacingcat.Theyhad

found themissing bag of kitchen utensils, fastened it to Ned’s saddle, andstarted back to camp.Unfortunately, they had taken thewrong branch of atrailwhichledthemawayfromtheirdestination.Unawareoftheirmistakeatfirst,theykeptriding.Finally,however,thesunsetandasdarknesscameon,thetworidersstoppedandlookedateachother.“AreyouthinkingthesamethingIam?”Nancyasked.“We’relost!”“I’mafraidyou’reright,”Nedconceded.“We’dbetterturnaroundandhead

fortheothertrail.”SusanBandGoalpoststartedoffintheoppositedirection.Afewfeetbefore

they reached the fork, Nancy caught sight of two glowing eyes and theshadowyoutlineofananimalonabranchofapinetree.“Ned!”shecalled.“Lookupthere!Somecreatureiswatchingus!”Astheboygazedupward,theanimalhissed,thenbrokethestillnesswithan

unearthlyscream.Chillswentupanddowntheriders’spines.Thefrightenedhorsesrearedandwhinnied.

“We’dbetterrunforit,”Nedsuggested,urgingGoalposttogofast.“It’sawildcat!”Thegleamingeyes in the tree fascinatedNancy.Asshe rodepast thecat,

shewondered if the beastwould spring at her and SusanB.Nancy’s heartpounded.Suddenly she and Ned were startled by the sound of a sharp whistle

followedbythesoothingvoiceofaman.“Now, Kitty, behave yourself!” he said coaxingly. “Stop trying to scare

folks!”Atoncetheglowingeyessankback.Evidentlytheanimalhadjumpedout

ofthetreeanddisappearedintothedarkforest.“Who’sthere?”Nedcalled,asheandNancystopped.“OldJoe,”camethereply.Alightwasshonein theriders’direction.Acoupleofminutes latera tall,

slendermanofaboutseventyappeared.Hishairwasgrayandhehadabeardthatwasasunkemptashisclothes.Washeoneofthe“strangecreatures”herfatherhadwarnedherabout?Nancywondered.The man’s friendly smile, however, and his kindly blue eyes made her

dismisstheidea.“Howdy!”hegreetedthecouple.“Whatareyoufolksdoingridingaround

inthedark?You’restrangershere,aren’tyou?”QuicklyNancyexplained,thenintroducedherselfandNed.“We’recamping

withagroupoffriendsalittlewayupthetrail.”Ned added, “You calledyourselfOld Joe.Will you tell uswhat your full

nameis?Anddoyoulivearoundhere?”“MyfullnameisJosephAustin.Folksinthevillagegavemethenickname

ofOldJoe.Ikindoflikedit,soIkeptit.Irarelyusemylastname.”“Bytheway,manythanksforscaringoffthathissingcreature,”Nancysaid.

“Whatwasit?Awildcat?”“Yes.”“Weweresurehewasgoingtoattackus.”“Oh,Kitty,asIcallher,wouldn’tattackunlesssomethingbotheredher.”“Well,shesurewasn’tfriendlytous,”Nancygrumbled.OldJoelaughed.“Oh,ithadnothingtodowithyoudirectly.Ihaveadog,

Trixie.ShewasteasingKitty.Isuspectedthat,andcameupheretoseewhatwas going on.Then I heardKitty scream, and hurried. Imust say itwas asurprisetomeetyoufolks.”“Youmentionedadog,”Nedsaid.“Oh,TrixieistoosmarttoletKittygetthejumponher,”OldJoereplied.

“She likes to teaseKittybutwhen thewildcatgets enoughof it, shehissesandspitsat thedog,evenscreamssometimes.KittyandIhaveknowneachother for a long time. In fact she was just a kitten when we first becameacquainted. Hermothermust have abandoned her and she kind of broughtherselfup.Ileavefoodoutforherupnearmycabin.It’ssomedistancefromhere.Youmustcomeandvisitmethere.”OldJoeexplainedthathewasanaturalistbypreference.“Iwasinbusiness

onceinthecitybutIdidn’tlikeit.AssoonasImadeenoughmoneytoretireIcameupherewhereIusedtospendmysummersasaboy.“Now all I do is study the behavior of wild animals toward man. Most

won’tattackunlessthey’reextremelyhungry,orareprotectingtheiryoung,orarefrightenedorthreatenedbyahumanbeingoranotheranimal.“Of course, this doesn’t apply to tigers,” the naturalist added. “They’ll

attackfornoreasonatall.”Nancyremarked,“Wildcatsandtigersarerelated,though,aren’tthey?”“They’re distant cousins. I’m glad there aren’t any tigers in the United

States.Youknow,”hewenton, “so far as isknown,man isnot thenaturalsourceoffoodsupplyforanyothercreature.Ibelievethatman’sworstenemyismanhimself.”Nancy andNed liked the elderly gentlemanmore andmore. Hewas not

onlyanaturalistbutaphilosopheraswell.“We’reheadingforourcamp,”Nancysaid.“Wouldn’tyouliketoridealong

andmeetourfriends?”OldJoechuckled.“I’dlikethatverymuch,buttotellyouthetruth,Iprefer

walking.”HeandtheridersfollowedthetrailwhichNancyandNedhadmissed,and

shortlytheyarrivedatthecamp.“Oh,thankgoodness,you’reallright!”Besssaid,huggingNancy.EveryonewasoverjoyedtoseethatsheandNedandthehorsesweresafe.

They also were delighted to meet Old Joe, who captured their heartsimmediatelywithhisquietsenseofhumorandevidentloveofnature.

Thecampershadbuiltafireandnowtheyallsataroundit,listeningtothecomfortingcrackle,whilesupperwasservedtothelatecomers.“I don’t buymuch food from the store,” Old Joe said. “I get practically

everythingIeatfrominthewoods.”Bess’seyesopenedwide.“Youmeanyoumighteatwildcatmeat?”Theman’seyestwinkled.“No,butIdocatchrabbitsandgroundhogs.One

ofthebestdishesyou’deverwanttoeatisgroundhogstew.”ThatdidnotsoundappealingtoBess,butshekeptsilent.OldJoesaidthere

wasgoodfishinginthemountainstreamsandallsortsofdeliciousberriesandplants.“Oneofmyfavoritedishesisstewedwildroseleaves.”AlthoughBessknewshewasbeingteased,theplumpishgirldecidedthatif

sheatesomeofthisnaturalfood,thescalemightreflectthebenefits.Shewasalways making promises to herself to modify her eating habits, but neveractuallyfollowedthrough.The rest of the campersweremore interested in hearing aboutOld Joe’s

adventures in the forest.Heentertained themwithwildlife stories includingoneabouthisrescueofabearcub.“Gothimself caught in somebody’smakeshift trap. I sethim freebutyou

knowwhat?Hefollowedmehome!CraziestbearIevermet.Well,Ifiguredhewashungryso I fedhimand toldhim to scat.Butnextmorninghewasscratchingatthedoorjustlikeapuppy.”“Doeshestilllivewithyou?”Bessaskedinamazement.“Oh,no.Heonlystayedwithmeuntilhewasoldenoughtogooutintothe

forestandforageforhimself.Neverdidseethatbearagain,soIimaginehesurvivedonhisown.”Now the elderlyman stoodup and saidhemustgetback tohis cabin. “I

expectallofyoutocomeoverandvisitme.Mylittlecabinandeverythinginitishandmade,”heremarked.“I’mratherproudofmyaccomplishmentsandI’d likeyou tosee them.You’vesharedyour foodwithme, sonow it’smyturntofeedyou.”The campers thanked Old Joe for the invitation, then said good night.

SuddenlyGeorgestoppedhimandasked,“Haveyoueverseenaflyingsauceraroundhere?”Thecamperswaitedbreathlesslyforananswer.

3

MountainMishap

OldJoelookedatthegroup,startled.“You’veheardabouttheflyingsaucer?”heaskedinsurprise.“Ithoughtonlyafewnativesknewaboutthat.”Nancytoldthenaturalistthataclientofherfather’shadcontactedhimand

divulgedthesecret.“Dadisalawyer.Hesaidpeoplearoundherewhoknewabouttheflyingsaucerwereafraidtoreportitforfearofbeinglaughedat.”OldJoesmiled.“Ithinkthat’spartiallytrue.Asformyself,Inevercouldbe

surewhetheritwasarealunidentifiedflyingobjectfromouterspaceorsomegovernmentexperimentalaircraft.”“Thenyou’veseenit?”Nedasked.Thenaturalistsaidindeedhehad.“Thesaucerusuallyappearsatnightand

hasverybrightlights.I’veseenonlywhitelights,butsomefolkssayattimesthey’rered,othertimesgreen,andevenyellow.“Onemanreportedseeingthewholesaucerturnbrightred.Itlookedasifit

werereadytoburnup,butthethingflewawayanddisappeared.”Old Joe’s listenerswere intriguedby the strange story.Allof themhoped

thatthemysteriousflyingsaucerwouldreturnsoonsothey,too,mightseeit.Daveasked,“Dothepeoplewhohaveseenitthinktherearehumanbeings

aboard?”Thenaturalistsmiledandshrugged.“Nobody’severseenanyonecomeout.

ButI’dsayonething.Ifhumansareaboard,theymustbethebestpilotsinthewholeuniverse.”Burtaddedwithachuckle,“Andthey’reflyingasupercraft.”OldJoesaidhereallyhadtoleave.Againheinvitedthegrouptocometo

hislogcabin.“I’llshowyousomecrudedrawingsImadeoftheflyingsaucer.“That’s great!” George remarked. “It’s too bad you didn’t take any

photographsofit.”Thenaturalistsaidthatsomeofthelocalpeoplehadtriedto,buttheirhigh-

speedcamerashadbeenunabletocaptureanythingbutablur.“That’sstrange,”Nancyremarkedunderherbreath.

“I’llgiveyoudirectionstomyplace,”OldJoesaid.Heaskedforpaperandpencil,anddrewamapoftrailstohiscabin.Whenhefinishedthezigzaggingline,helookedsquarelyatNancy.“IhaveamysteryofmyownthatI’dlikeyoutosolve,”hesaid.“I’lltellyouaboutitwhenyoucometoseeme.”Intrigued by the prospect of another mystery, Nancy wondered what it

mightbe,butOldJoegavenohints.Thecampersdecidedtheywouldcallonhimthenextmorning,andthenaturalistwasdelighted.After he had gone, Nancy thought excitedly, maybe Old Joe’s mystery

concernshiscabin.Hedidmakeapointoftellingusthateverythinginit ishandmade.Thefollowingmorningthecamperspackeduptheirbelongings.Janmade

surethistimethatnothingwasleftbehind.“Allset!”shecalledatlast.Everyonemountedahorse.Halrodeinfront,carryingOldJoe’smap.Itled

themontoanarrowsidetrailwhichapparentlywasadrybrookthatbecameatorrentofwaterwhentherewerecloud-burstsormeltingsnow.Nowthepathwasfilledwithsmallstones.TheridershadnotgonefarwhenNed,whowasfollowingNancy,suddenly

criedout,“Goalposthasgonelame!”At once, Nancy reined in Susan B and dismounted quickly to examine

Goalpost’shooves.“There’s a stonewedged in this one,”Nancy said, as she carefully lifted

Goalpost’srightforeleg.Shehurriedback toherhorse,opened the saddlebag,and tookoutahoof

pick.WithNed’sassistance,shemanagedtodislodgethestone.Shepattedthehorse’snoseandgavehimalittlehug,saying,“Nowdoyou

feelbetter,youniceoldthing?”Nedsmiled.“Thanksforyourhelp,Nancy.”He,too,pattedtheanimal.Bythistimetheirfriendswereoutofsight.WhenNancyandNedcaughtup

withthem,thegrouphadstoppedtodiscusswhattheyshoulddonext.“Theforestisbecomingmoreandmoreimpenetrable,”Halannounced.“It’s

impossible for the packhorses to get through because the trees are so closetogether.IsuggestwetiethemhereandgoontoOldJoe’swithoutthem.I’llcheckourwalkie-talkiesincasewegetsplitup.”Heexaminedthecompactradiotelephonesthatwerebeingcarriedinhisand

Jan’ssaddlebags.“They’reokay,”Halsaidafewminuteslater.“Let’sgoon.

If any place is too narrow to pass through, pull your legs, saddlebags, andstirrupstothebackofyourhorse.”Besscalledoutfromtherearoftheline,“Wherearewegoing?Idon’tsee

thetrailanymore.”“That’s true,” Hal replied somberly. “From here on it seems to be just a

seriesofdeertracks.Let’shopethey’llleadusrighttoOldJoe’scabin.”Ten minutes later George, who was riding directly behind Hal, pointed

ahead.“Nowwhatdowedo?”sheinquired.As the others drew near, they could see an enormous fallen tree trunk

blockingtheirpath.Itsdiameterwashigherthanthebacksoftheirhorses.“Whatamonster!”Daveexclaimed.“Iwonderhowtallthetreewas.”Thegroupdismounted,tiedthehorses,andspreadoutalongthegianttrunk.Nedremarked,“Myguessisthatthisoakmustbeoverfiftyfeetlong.”Bess stoodback to admire it, saying, “What a gorgeous tree itmust have

beenwhenitstood.Howolddoyouthinkitis?”“Anybodyknowhowtoreadtreerings?”Nedasked.Jan made her way to the end of the trunk where it had broken off.

Unfortunately the tree had splintered apart and the rings could not be readaccurately.“Sorry,”shesaid.“ProbablyOldJoecantellusbecauseitlooksasthough

thetreetrunkhasbeenlyingherealongtime.”“One thing is certain,” Hal added. “It wasn’t sawed down. The tree fell

eitherbecauseitwasdiseasedorbecauseitwasstruckbylightning.”Burthadwalkedtotheotherendofthetreeandannouncedthatitwouldbe

impossibletogetthroughthelimbsandbrancheswithoutalotofhacking.“Wemust have taken awrong turn,” the boy said. “If Jan’s right, then I

doubtOldJoewouldhavesentusthisway.”Janconsultedthehand-drawnmap.“Let’sclimboverandgotherestofthe

wayonfoot,”shesuggested.“Yes, let’s,”Bessagreed.“We’vebeenridingforhoursandI’mstarved. I

betOldJoewillhaveagoodlunchforus.”HercousinGeorgeteased,“Ihopeyou’lllikethemenu.Remember,helives

on goodies from the forest. You’ll probably have a broiled bullfrog, tastywormsalad,andfordessert,persimmonstopuckeryourtongue.”

Everyone except Bess laughed. She made a face. Now the campersscrambledupthetrunkandsatastrideitthebesttheycould.Totheirdismaythegroupdiscoveredtheywereattheprecariousedgeofa

steepdeclineatthefootofwhichtherewasarushingstreamfilledwithrocks,someofthemlargeandtreacherous.Janasked,“Whatdoyousay,everybody?Dowegoaheadorturnback?”Forseveraluneasysecondsnooneanswered.ThenNancysaid,“Ithinkwe

shouldtryit.OldJoeisexpectingusandremember,hewantstotellusabouthis personalmystery. I’m dying to learnwhat it is so I can try to solve it.Besides,IwanttoseehissketchesoftheUFO;don’tyou?”Nedconcurred.“Isn’tthatthepurposeofthistrip?”Theothersagreed.Jansuggestedtheygoinpairs.“Takeitslowandeasyon

the descent. Remember the saying, ‘Haste makes waste,”’ she cautioned.“Let’shopewecanwalkalong the stream,which I think is theoneonOldJoe’smap.”Ned jumped down first and caughtNancy’s hand as her feet touched the

ground.TheDrakeswentnext,followedbyGeorgeandBurt.Noneofthemhadmishaps.“Our turn,”Dave toldBess. “There’s nothing toworry about. I’ll go first

andcatchyou.Okay,partner?”Beforehejumped,Davepausedforananswer.SuddenlyBesssaid,“Wait!I—I’msodizzy.”Instantly she lost her balance and rolled off the trunk down the

mountainside. There were fewer trees and bushes on the slope, evidentlybecauseofloggingoperations.Bessbegantotumblefaster.“Oh,no!”Davecriedout,jumpingoffthetrunk.Hedashedafterherandcaughthisfootinatrailingvinethatalmostcaused

him to plunge headfirst. By now, Bess was far ahead of him and rollingrapidlytowardtheturbulentrock-filledwater!

4

Trixie,Lifesaver

QuicklyDaveregainedhisbalance.HedugbothheelsintothemountainsideasherantorescueBess.Shewasonlyafewfeetawayfromthedangerousstream!Toofarawaytoassistthehelplessgirl,theothercamperswatchedinhorror.

WouldDavereachBessbeforeshe fellamong the jaggedrocksand injuredherselfbadly?Shemightevendrown!Withoutanywarning,alargeretrieverboundedfromamongthetrees.With

lightning-fast leaps, the dog got to Bess. She grabbed the girl’s belt in herteeth, braced herself against the hillside, and stoppedBess’s descent in thenickoftime.“Oh,thankgoodness!”Georgemurmured.

WithinsecondsDavewasbendingoverthegirl.Shewasunconsciousandbadlyscratched.“Bess!Bess!”hecriedout,pattinghercool,clammycheeks.Thedognowstoodalongsideher,whiningandlookingatDavefororders.By then, Nancy, Ned, and the other campers had hurried back along the

stream. Jan, who said she was a nurse, examined the unconscious girl forbrokenbonesandconcludedtherewerenone.

Meanwhile,NancyandGeorgetookwadsoftissuesfromtheirbackpacks,dipped themin thecoldwater,andapplied themtoBess’s foreheadand thebackofherneck.NedandBurtdaubedmorecoldwateronherscratchedfaceandarms.PresentlyBessopenedhereyesbutsaidnothing.Nancy whispered to her, “I’m so glad you aren’t badly hurt, Bess.Why

don’tyoulierighthereuntilyoufeelbetter?”For nearly tenminutes, Bess rested, then opened her eyes again. Finally,

withDave’shelp,shesatup.“Idon’tthinkI’dbetterwalkanyfarther.Youallgoalongwithoutme,”she

saidquietly.Justthenshenoticedtheretriever.“Wheredidyoucomefrom?”sheaskedthedog,whowaswagginghertail.“Shesavedyourlife,”DavetoldBess,andexplainedwhattheanimalhad

done.“Idon’tknowwhereshecamefrom.”Besshuggedthebeautifuldogandthankedher.Inreply,thelovelyanimal

leapedoutofhergrasp,thenranbackandforthalongthestream,barking.“Whyisshedoingthat?”Bessasked.Nancy guessed that the retriever wanted them to follow her. “Are you

Trixie?AreyouOldJoe’sdog?”thegirldetectiveasked.Theanimalwaggedhertailbrisklyandgaveanumberofshortbarks.Nancy laughed. “I think this is Trixie and she wants to take us to her

master’scabin.”Shepatted theanimal.“Okay,Trixie.Waituntilweget thehorsesandthenyouleadustoOldJoe.”JansaidshewouldstaywithBessuntiltheothersreturned.“Isuggestthat

youleaveoneofthewalkie-talkieswithussowecancommunicatewithyouifnecessary.”Burtreminded,“It’sgoingtobetoughgettingthehorsesdownhere.They

can’tclimboverthattreetrunk.We’llhavetobypassitsomehow.”“Right,”Daveagreed.“Wedon’twantanybrokenlegs.”Ittooksomedoingtobringthehorsesdownthemountainside.Whenthey

allarrived,oneofthewalkie-talkieswasunpackedandleftwithBessandJan.The other campersmounted and followed Trixie. She stayed close to the

bankofthestream.Thegoingwasroughbutuneventful.As a crudely built log cabin came into view, Trixie hurried on alone,

barkingwildly.OldJoecameoutside immediatelyandwelcomed thegroupwithabigsmile.

Aftercountingthenumberofvisitors,heasked,“Wherearetheothertwo?”NancyexplainedandaddedthatTrixiewasindeedaheroine.Thenaturalistpraisedhispet.“Isenthertofindyoufolks,”hesaid.“Iwas

afraidyoumightgetlost.Evidentlyshemetyouattherightmoment.”Heinvitedthegrouptotieuptheirhorsesandcomeintothecabin.Ashe

had told them, it was very unusual. It consisted of a single room witheverythingheneededinit.Inonecornerstoodahand-carvedwoodenbed.Thecoverlethadbeenmade

fromwildgoathide.Severalbearskin rugs layon the floor.Thewallswerecoveredwithdeerheads,andstuffedchipmunksandmountedbirdsadornedthewindows.Therewasahugestonefireplacenexttowhichstacksofwoodwerepiledhigh.A largewooden dresser stood along onewall of the room.On topwas a

smallwoodenbarrelholdingabeautifulbouquetofwildflowers.“Thisislovely,”Nancyremarked,leaningovertosmellthem.Old Joe opened the top drawer to display thewooden forks, knives, and

spoons he hadmade. Some of themwere short and others very long. Thelatter,heexplained,wereusedforholdingmeatoveranopenfire.Were the blunt-looking knives sharp enough to cut meat? the onlookers

wondered.Thenaturalistreadtheir thoughtsandsuggestedthat theboystrythem out. Ned picked up one and examined the edge. He almost cut hisfinger!“It’ssharpallright,”hecommented.OldJoelaughed,thensaid,“Iguesswe’dbettergetsomelunchready.”He

called to Trixie. “Go fetch us some fish from the stream,” he ordered,explainingtohisguests,“Sheisanexpertatcatchingtroutinherteeth.Whenshebringsthemuphere,howaboutyouboyspreparingthemforcooking?Doyouhavehuntingkniveswithyou?”“Yes,”theychorused.“Good.Thenyougirlscansetupa three-leggedspit tohangthefishon,”

OldJoesuggested,“whiletheboysgathersomedrywoodfromtheforesttomaketheoutdoorfireforcookingit.”“Allright,”Nancysaid,“butfirstIwanttocheckonBess.”She soon made contact with her walkie-talkie. Bess said she was better.

“ButIgotreallyscaredwhenwesawagiantstaringatusfromamongsometrees.”

“Awhat?”Nancyaskedindisbelief.“Agiant.He’sareal tallIndianwithhishairpulledoverhalfhisface.He

hadonsomekindofsuitmadeofleaves.”“Soundsstrange,”Nancycommented.“Didhetalktoyou?”“Sort of,”Bess said, “butwe couldn’t understand him.”Nancy suggested

thatperhapsthemanwasspeakinginhisnativeIndianlanguage.“Probably,” Bess replied, adding, “He didn’t hurt us. In fact he gave us

somelunch.Hethrewahandfulofdeliciousnutstous,thendisappearedintotheforest.”Whentheconversationfinished,NancyaskedOldJoeifheknewwhothe

giantIndianwas.“I’mnotsure,”herhostanswered,“butifhe’swhoIthinkheis,theIndian

is harmless. Evidently he has lived in the forest all his life. I rememberhearingabouthimwhenIwasayoungman.Theauthoritiestriedtocapturehimbutnevercould.Sincehewasharmless,theyfinallygaveup.”Georgeasked,“Didyouevercatchaglimpseofhim?”“Notformanyyears,”theelderlymanreplied.GeorgenextaskedthenaturalistifanyotherIndianslivedinthearea.Old

Joeshookhishead.George giggled. “Then maybe he doesn’t belong here. Perhaps the

spaceshipdroppedhimoff!”Nedgrinned.“Sonowwehaveanewkindofspaceman.AnUnidentified

FlyingIndian!”Astheotherslaughed,Trixieboundeduptothemwithalargetroutinher

mouth.“Gooddog,”OldJoepraisedher.“Ithinkthere’senoughfoodhereforallof

us.Youwon’thavetogetanymore.”Nedtookthefish.Hecutofftheheadandtailandthrewthemaway,then

expertlyslitthefishopenandremovedallthebones,thencuttherestofthetroutintosmallpieces.Soonthespitwasputupandthefirestartedunderneathit.OldJoehooked

thechunksoffishontothespursofthethree-leggedrig.Thewelcomearomaofcookingfishfilledtheair.Uptonowtherehadbeenagentlebreeze,butsuddenlythewindblewhard,

toppling over the spit and the fish. The burning wood scattered. Nancy

quicklygrabbedanearbybucketofwateranddousedtheremainingflames.“Arewegoing tohaveacyclone?”Georgeasked,gazingat thedarkened

sky.OldJoe lookedworried.“Idon’tknow,”heanswered,“but this isexactly

whathappenedoncebeforewhentheflyingsaucerappeared.”

5

TheSpyingStranger

Theskybecamemoreovercastand thewindblewstrongerby themoment,whippingleavesoffthetrees.Everythingthatwasnotstationarywasthrownhelter-skelter.OldJoecriedout,“Watchforabrilliantlightinthesky!”Every few seconds the campers gazed upward as they scurried around,

trying to savewhat theycould.The tripodhadcollapsedandscattered.Thepiecesoffishhadsailedthroughtheairanddisappeared.“Thefireisspreading!”Daveexclaimed.QuicklyheandBurtstampedoutbitsofburningwoodthathadblownfrom

theembers,whileNancyandGeorgerescuedseveralhandmadebirdfeedersfromvarioustrees.In the meantime, Ned had gone to quiet the nervous horses, who were

whinnyingandstampingexcitedly,tryingdesperatelytobreakloose.“Whoathere,Goalpost!”hecommandedfirmly.Theanimalobeyed.Thishadacalmingeffectontheothersuntilsuddenly

Nancygasped.“Thelight!”sheexclaimedandpointedtothesky.“Herecomestheflying

saucer!”The whirling object hurtled through the sky, its two headlights flashing

brilliant beams across the treetops. Almost instantly the UFO disappearedfromview,andthewindstoppedblowing.“Wheredidtheshipgo?”NancyaskedOldJoe.“IreckonitlandedinDismalSwamp,”hereplied.“That’swherethesaucer

wentlasttimeitcame.”“Where’sthat?”theyoungdetectivequestionedhim.Thenaturalistpointed.“Theswampisbetweenthismountainandthenext

—way down in the valley.” The other mountain, he noted, was calledTeepeeskunk.“AlongtimeagoatribeofIndianslivedoverthere.Theyusedtocatchskunksandsellthefurintown,sothenativesgavethemountainthat

name.”Thecamperslaughed.“AndIsupposeDismalSwampisprettydismal.”Georgegrinned.“Verydismal,”theelderlymanreplied.“Nooneevergoesneartheplace.It

smellsmightybad.Ifyou’replanningtotakealookatthemysteriousflyingsaucer,you’dbetterwearagasmask!”Nancy held her nose and giggled. “I don’t care what it smells like,” she

said. “Imust go there and investigate.Otherwise, howwillweknow if thespacecraftreallycamefromouterspace?”George said she wondered how Bess and Jan had gotten through the

windstorm.“Ithinkweshouldcallthemrightnowonthewalkie-talkie:”Ned pulled it out of his backpack and tried to signal Bess and Jan. He

pushedthebuzzerbuttonagainandagain,buttherewasnoresponse.“Maybe something happened to them,” George remarked in a worried

voice.Nancy,too,wasveryconcerned.“Wemustfindthemrightaway!”shesaid

andturnedtoOldJoe.“I’msorrytoleaveinsuchahurry.Ipromisetocomebacksoontohearaboutyourmysteryandhelpyousolveit.”“Thankyou.There’snorush.Themysteryhasbeenwaitingalongtime.”Hal,acapablewoodsman,offeredtoleadthesearchforhiswifeandBess.

“Icanmakeexcellenttimealone.Justfollowmytrail,”hedirected.“I’llleavebluechalkmarksontrees.”Old Joe said he certainly hoped the missing campers were all right.

“Perhaps they found shelter from the wind inside a cave or among sometrees,”hesuggestedhopefully.“I’msorryaboutlunch.Butwaitaminute.I’llgiveyouallsomethingtoeatontheway.”Hescootedintohiscabinandreturnedinafewminutes,carryinghandfuls

ofsomethingwrappedinhugegrapeleaves.“Ithinkyou’llenjoyeatingthispheasant meat I cured. I bagged the little fellow right here in front of thecabin.”The campers thanked him, then Hal trotted off on his horse. Before the

otherscouldcatchuptohim,hewasoutofsight.ApparentlyHalhadchosenashortcutbacktowhereJanandBesshadbeenleft.Theridersfoundthemselvesjumpingoversmallfallentreesandsplashing

throughrivulets.AlthoughHal’spathwasfairlyvisible,thegrouprealizeditwashardonthehorsesandstoppedtorest.

Admitting shewas as tired as her horse,George sighed. “I thought Iwasprettytough,”shesaid,“butthisforestalmosthasmebeat.”Burt laughed, tweaking her chin affectionately. “Coming from you that’s

quiteanadmission.”For a few moments no one had much to say. Finally, Ned stood up.

“Everybodyset?”He led theway, stopping frequently to identifyHal’s trail.Thebluechalk

marksseemedratherfaintandfarapartasunderbrushtrampledbyHal’shorsehadbeguntospringback.Whenallofthemwereatlastconvincedthattheywerelost,Nancynoticed

asmallgougeonatree.“Thisisnew,”sheobserved.“MaybeHalranoutofchalkandmadethisnickasamarker.”Followingthedirectionitindicated,theridersfinallyreachedthespotabove

theriverwheretheyhadleftBessandJan.Halwasthere,talkingwiththem.NancyandGeorgedismountedatonceandranuptheshortslope.Bothgirls

criedout,“Bess,areyouallright?Thewindstormdidn’tinjureyouandJan?”Besssmiledweakly.“Iwouldn’tsayI’mallright,butIfeelbetter.”Hal suggested they leave theirhorseson some levelgroundhehad found

beyond the slope.While the boys took the animals there, Jan explained toNancyandGeorgethatthestrongwindandovercastskyhadfrightenedbothof them.“Wewerefearfulwemightbeblowninto that rockystreamsowedecided to climb a little higher up the mountain. We found shelter in anoverhang.”Shesaidtheirhorseswerenervousbutwereallright.“I’msorelieved,”Georgesaid.When the boys returned, Ned asked, “Is your walkie-talkie broken? We

couldn’treachyou.”Besssaidtheyhadnotheardit.“Iguessthewindmadetoomuchnoise,or

maybethesounddidn’tcarryintotheoverhang.”Nedexplainedthattheyhadn’ttrieduntilthewinddieddown.Heexamined

the set and found a loose wire that he immediately reattached. He askedNancytotrycallinghim.Nowthebuzzerworkedperfectly.Bess told theothers that the Indianwith the longblackhairhad spiedon

themagain.“Thistimehewasn’twearingthesuitofleaves.Hehadonashortdeerskin

jacket and long pants made of the same material. I’ve decided he’s rathernice-lookingafterall.IjustwishhecouldspeakEnglish.”Dave pretended to be jealous. “I’m very glad the Indian doesn’t,” he

muttered,causingablushtocreepoverBess’sface.“Oh,Dave,”shesaidshyly.Burt cleared his throat, equally embarrassed. “Iwonderwhere the Indian

comesfromandwherehehidesout.”Hal replied, “Possibly he’s a descendant of the Indians who used to live

aroundhere.”“Youmean,”Davespokeup,“thatthetribelivessomewhereelsenow,but

hehasreturnedheretoseewherehisforebearslived?”Halnodded.“Maybetheguy’sahermit,”Davesuggested.“Youcan’ttellwhetherornot

heunderstandsEnglishjustbecausehewon’tspeakit.”Burtconcurred,adding,“Hecouldbedeafanddumb.”“Couldbe,”Bessagreed.Janhadpickedsomedeliciouswildstrawberries.Asthecamperssatonthe

groundtoeat them,theconversationturnedto theflyingsaucer.NancytoldJan and Bess about their visit with Old Joe and his story of the spaceshiplandinginDismalSwampbetweenthemountains.George addedquickly, “According toOld Joe the swamp smells horrible.

Maybeithasgasinit.”“ThenI’mgoingtokeepaway,”Bessannounced.“Well,I’mnot,”Nancysaid,“andthesoonerIgo,thesoonerIcansolvethe

mysteryoftheflyingsaucer.”“WhereisDismalSwamp?”Janasked.“IneverheardofitandI’vebeenin

thisforestmanytimes.”Nancy pointed in the direction thatOld Joe had indicated. “I guesswe’ll

havetoreturntoourothercampsite,thentraveldownthemountainsidefromthere.”“It’stoolateinthedaytogototheswampnow,”Nedtoldher.“Howabout

goingearlytomorrowmorning?”Nancynodded.“But,”sheadded,“supposetheflyingsaucertakesoffinthe

meantime?Wemaymissanopportunitytosolvethemystery.”

“We’lljusthavetotakethatchance,”hesaid.Besssuggested,“Whydon’tafewofyoustartoutnow?I’llstayhereuntil

morning. Ican’twalk toofarandIstilldon’t feelup to ridingahorse.Toomanybruises,”sheaddedwitharuefulsmile.“I knowwhat youmean,”Nancy said kindly.Undecided aboutwhatwas

besttodo,shethenappealedtoJanandHal.“We’reinyourhands.Youknowmoreaboutthisforestthanwedo.Whatdoyouadvise?”Sincealltheirsupplieswerestillwiththepackhorses,thecouplesuggested

theysetupcampatthespotwheretheyhadleftthetwoanimals.“Thatwaywecanallsticktogethertonight,”Janadded.Bessgroaned.Jan saidquickly, “Youwon’thave towalka step if it bothersyou.These

huskyboyscancarryyou.Ionlyhopethehorsesandthefoodaresafe.”Nedgrinned.“Shallwedrawlots?”“Notonyourlife!”Davereplied.“I’llcarryheralone.”“Piggyback?”Bessgiggled.When the group was ready to leave, Bess suddenly shrieked. The others

whirledaroundandstaredather.“Nowwhat’swrong?”Georgeasked,alittleannoyedatafurtherdelay.Terrified, her cousinmotioned toward the trees. “There he is again!” she

said.“TheIndian!”Alleyesturnedtowardtheclumpoftrees.Indeed,themysteriousmanwas

standingthere,motionless,staringatthem.“Oh!”thecampersgasped.Hisrighthand,heldhigh,claspedahugerock.Washeabouttothrowitat

them?

6

SignLanguage

TheIndianstoodquitestill.Hedidnot lowerhisupraisedarmor throwtherockheheld.“He’sweird,”Besswhispered.Forafewsecondsthecamperscontinuedtostareathim,fearfulofhisnext

move.Hewasmuscular, and though theEmerson football players felt theycouldputupastrongbattle,theywonderedifhemightdefeatthembysomeunusualstrategy.Nancy was the first to make a suggestion. “Let’s try to be friendly and

approachhimwithourhandsoutstretched.”Besswasnot so sure thiswasagood idea. “Suppose—supposehe’s from

outer space,” she said. “There’s no telling what magnetic power he mighthave.Hecouldmesmerizeallofus.”

ThisstruckGeorgeasafunnyidea.Shesaid,“Oh,sure,andakillingboltofelectricitymaycomeshootingoutfromhisbodyatanyminute—z—z—z—lookout!”Burtmuffledachuckle,adding,“Doyouthinkthat’shisspaceshipdownin

theswamp?Helookstoobigtoliveinit.”Bess knew theywere teasing her but ignored it. She had seen the Indian

before the saucer arrived. Then a thought struck her:Maybe the spaceship

camebackforhim.Hemightevenbeplanningtokidnapusandtakeusawayinit!As the Indiancontinued to stareat thegroup,DaveglancedatBess, as if

readingherthoughts,andexclaimed,“Watchout!Hemayhypnotizeyou!”BessmadeafaceatDave,thensaid,“Okay,Nancy.Whydon’tyouandNed

approachtheman?”The couplewalked forward, slowly.Nancy held a shining gold disc on a

chainwhichshehadremovedfromherneck.Perhaps,shethought,theIndianwouldbeinterestedinthenecklace.Inch by inch, she and Ned continued toward him. The Indian remained

immobile.Hestaredatthejewelrybutdidnottakeit.Finallyhelettherockdroptotheground.Nedsighedinrelief.“Maybeheintendstobefriendly,”hemurmured.AsNancysteppedcloser,shesmiledandsaid,“Hello.”ThegirldetectiverepeatedthegreetingseveraltimesassheandNedcame

rightup to theman.Hestilldidnotmove,but just lookedstraightat them.Wouldheattack?Theonlookerswatchedwithbatedbreath.NowNedpointedtohimself,sayingoverandover,“Ned.Ned.Ned.”Finally the Indian gave a slight smile and then pointed to Nancy. Ned

compliedwiththesignlanguage.“Nancy.Nancy.”Everyonewasdelightedandstartedtoapplaud,butJansignaledforsilence.Ahushfelloverthegroupasthemanpointedtohimselfandsaid,“Shoso.”The camperswere thrilled.Again theywanted to clap, but Jan shook her

head. She was afraid that loud applause might frighten the man away andsendhimracingoffintotheforest.NowShosolaidafingergentlyonNedandrepeatedhisnameseveraltimes.

Inturn,heandNancypointedattheIndianandsaid,“Shoso.”Henoddedandsmiledbroadly.Helookedupattheskyandsaidsomethingunintelligibletothem.“What’shetryingtotellus?”NedaskedNancy.Theyoungsleuthadmittedshewaspuzzled.“Maybehe’lltellussomemoreinsignlanguage.”Presently Shoso twirled quickly with his arms above his head. Still the

couplelookedpuzzled.Shosorepeatedthemotion.

“IthinkIgetit,”Nedremarked.“He’stryingtoimitatethewindstorm.”Nancyagreed.“ButIjustcan’tfigureouthismessage.”Shoso seemed disappointed and thought a few seconds. Then he leaned

down,puthishandsontheground,andgallopedabout.Suddenlyheranoffashortdistanceintothetrees.Nancy snapped her fingers. “Ned, I think Shoso is trying to tell us

somethingaboutourhorses.”“We’ll soon find out,” he replied, “if we use some sign language of our

own.”HeleanedoverthewayShosohaddoneandtoldNancytohoponhisback

asifshewereridingahorse.AsNancydidthis,shelaughedandsaid,”Isurefeelsilly,butifitworks,I

don’tmind.”Bythistimetheothercampers,nolongerafraidoftheIndian,begantoroar

withlaughter.“Youtwooughttojointhecircus,”Burtcalledout.Georgescoffed.“Akindergartencircus.”Ned andNancy played their partswell, ignoring the jibes. Shoso nodded

happilyandpointedinthedirectionwheretheboyshadleftthehorses.“Somethingmust have happened to them!Maybe they’ve been injured!”

Nancyexlaimed,jumpingoffNed’sback.“Orperhaps they ranaway,”he replied. “Wedidn’t tie themall.We let a

fewgraze.”“Yes,”Burtagreed.“Theymayhaveinjuredthemselvesbeinglooseinthis

forest.I’venoticedplentyoftrailingvines.”“Don’tsaythat,”Besspleaded.“Ican’tstandtoseeananimalhurt.”Withoutwastinganotherminute,all thecampersandShosorushedtoward

thespotwherethesaddlehorseshadbeenleft.Twoofthemweregone!“Oh,what’llwedo?”Besswailed.“I blame myself,” Dave said. “I suggested we let some of the animals

graze.”“We’reallguilty,”Burtadded.“Wedidn’thavetotakeyouradvice.”Nancy noticed with relief that her lovely Susan B was still there with

Goalpost standing next to her.Unfortunately the horsesBurt andDave had

beenridingweremissing.Halsuggested thatpossibly theanimalshadgonebacktotheoriginalcampsite.Jansaid,“Ihaveahunchtheymayhaverejoinedthepackhorses.”“Oh,Ihopeyou’reright,”Bessanswered.“TheyhaveallthefoodandI’m

starved.”Halsaid thathewaslessconcernedwith theirsupplies.Hehopedthat the

greatwindandtheblindingbrightlightsofthesaucerhadnotfrightenedthepackhorsessomuchthattheyyankedthemselvesloosefromthetieropes.Although thecampershadhad little toeat thatday, theyknew theirmain

jobwastofindthehorses.Shososeemedtofeelsorryforthegroup.Hebeckonedthemtofollowhim.

BurtandDaverodedoublewithGeorgeandBess.The Indian led themdirectly toward the campsitewhere theyhad left the

packhorses.TheroutewasmuchshorterthantheonethegrouphadtakenthatmorningwhileheadingforOldJoe’s.“Oh, thank you,”Bess called to him, then remembered that he could not

understandherwords.Hewavedanddisappearedfromview.Nancy and her friends rushed to the areawhere the packhorses had been

tied. To everyone’s dismay, the missing saddle horses were not there.Moreover,bothpackhorsesweregoneandsowerethesupplies!

7

OldJoe’sSecret

“Fourofourhorsesgone!”Georgeexclaimed,sighingdeeply.“Andallourfoodandclothes!”Bessmoaned.Thecamperswerenonplussed.Whatweretheygoingtodowithoutthem?Hal remarked, “Judging from the frayed ropes, I’d say the animals went

wild.”“Then there’s no telling how far away they went,” Nancy commented.

“MaybeShosoknows.”TheIndian,however,wasnotinsight.“He’sthemostelusivemanI’veevermet,”Besscommented.Nancyvisualizedthetall,erectfigurestalkingthroughtheforest.Exceptfor

the deeper color of Shoso’s skin, his black hair and dark eyes, hewas thesame type of outdoorsman as Old Joe. The girl wondered if all naturalistsweresimilarinstature.Hal,inthemeantime,wastryingtoreassurethecampersabouttheirhorses.

“Sometimestheyreturntotheirriders.”“That’sright,”Janagreed.“We’llmanagesomehow.IfOldJoecansubsist

inthisforest,socanwe.Nevertheless,Nancywasdisappointed.“Iwassohopingallofuscouldgo

to Dismal Swamp. After all, my main reason for coming here was toinvestigatetheflyingsaucer.Bynow,itmayhaveleft.”“Idoubtit,”Nedremarked.“I’msurewewouldhaveseenittakeoff.”Nancywas not so certain of this. Perhaps themystery ship had unknown

powersthatallowedittodepartsilentlyandinvisibly.“We’llgettotheswampsomehow,”Nedassuredher.Theyboth lookedforhoofprints toseewhichway themissinghorseshad

gone.Thesearchindicatedthatthepackanimalsandridinghorseshadrunoffin separate pairs. But the hoofprints of all four led to the bank of a smallstreamwheretheprintsended.Evidentlythehorseshadwalkedthroughthewater.Itwasgrowingtoodark,however,tocontinuethehunt.

Jansaid,“Let’sfixagoodmeal.Thatwilllivenourspirits.”“Fixitoutofwhat?”Bessasked.“Theforest,”Jan replied.“I suggestwesplitup incouplesandforage for

food.InanhourIwouldbetwe’llhaveagreatdinner.”Georgelaughed.“I’llfeellikeaforagingcow.Moomoo.Comeon,Burt.”Jan asked Bess andDave to stay nearby in case any of the horses came

back.Shesmiled.“Thistime,pleasetiethem.”“Youbet,”Davepromised,stillupsetaboutbeingpartlyresponsibleforthe

tworunawayanimals.Hal and Janwent off in one direction,Nancy andNed in another.To the

youngsleuth’sdelight,shediscoveredahugepatchofwildblueberries.“ButwhatcanIputthemin?”sheasked.Nedpulledalargebrownhandkerchiefoutofhispocket,filledit,andtied

the four corners together.Before the hourwas up, the couple had gatheredwildscallionsandgrapesaswell.Whentheyjoinedtheirfriends,NancyandNedwereamazedatthevariety

of food the others had brought back. George and Burt, both mushroomexperts, had collected and peeled a large quantity of mushrooms. Hal hadchasedandcaughttworabbitswhichhehaddressedandcutintopieces.HehadskeweredthemontoasturdybranchbrokenfromasaplingandwasnowcookingthemeatoverasmallfireDavehadbuilt.HeandBesshaddiscoveredasassafrastreeandchippedoffpiecesofbark

which theymixedwithwater in a camper’s abandoned canteen.Bess set itoverthefiretobrewintotea.The meal was enjoyable and satisfying. The group discussed the day’s

eventsandfinallytheconversationturnedtothemissinghorses.George said, “I thinkwe shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that theywere

stolen.”The remark shockedeveryone. If thiswere true, theymightneverget the

horsesback!“But who would steal them?” Ha! asked. “Very few people roam this

mountain and I saw no footprints where the horseswere tied. Besides, thefrayedropesseemedtoindicatethattheyyankedthemselvesloose.”Bess asked, “Even if you found footprints, how could you tell that the

personwhomadethemhadriddenaway?”

Halsmiled.“Youdon’tstepoverahorse’sback.Youhoistyourselfupsoyou’dmakemoreofadepressionintheground.”Bessgiggled.“IguessIstillhavealottolearnabouthorsedetectivework.”ItwasdecidedthatHalandBurtwouldstarttohuntforthemissinganimals

after breakfast the next morning. Hal said they would pick up the searchwherethehoofprintsended,ridethroughthestream,andtrytofindoutwherethehorseshadleftthewater.“We’ll takeoneof thewalkie-talkiesalong,”Burtsaid,“soyoucan letus

know if any of the animals return, or ifwe find any of themwe’ll contactyou.”Davecalled,“Biggamehunters,bring’embackalive!”“Shush!”saidBess.“Youmakemeshiver.”Thatnightthegroupcollectedpineneedlesandsleptonrefreshingbedsof

pine.Thenextmorning,asdaylightfiltereddownthroughthetrees,BurtandHalrodeoff.Thecamperswhowereawakewishedthemwell.“Watchoutforwildcatsandsnakes!”Besswarned.Burtlaughed.“Idareanysnaketotrybitingthroughthesehikingboots.”The searcherswere gone several hours but did not call in a report. Then

suddenlyGeorgeexclaimed,“Listen!Ihearhoofbeats.”Tobesure,shelaydownandputhereartotheground.“Yes,Ihearatleast

twohorsescoming,”sheannounced.Everyone expected to see Hal and Burt, but to their amazement Old Joe

appeared.Hewasleadingthetwolostsaddlehorses!“Howwonderful!”Nancycalledoutassherantopatthem.“OldJoe,where

didyoufindthehorses?”Hernewfriendgrinned.“Theycametomycabin.Guesstheywerehungry

for something sweet and thoughtmaybe I’d feed them,which I did. I gavethemmaplesyrupcandy.How’dtheygetawayfromhere?”NancyandNedtoldhimthestory,addingthatHalandBurthadgoneoffto

lookforthefourrunawaysandthesupplies.OldJoebecamephilosophical.“Horsesarefunnycreatures.Younevercan

besurewhatthey’rethinking.Sometimestheydon’tdoanythingunusualforalong,longtime,thensomethingwillfrightenthemandthey’lltakeofflikethey’dgonecleanbeserk.”As the campers crowded around the kindly man, Bess asked him if he

wouldlikeadrink.“Wehavewaterandcoldsassafrastea.”Shegiggledandtoldaboutthecampers’supperthenightbefore.Thenaturalistchuckled.“You’llbeforestfolkbeforeyouknowit.”Thenhe

thanked them and said he had had a good breakfast. “But I brought yousomething.Ikeepafewhensinacagenearmycabin.Trixiestandsguard,ofcourse.Shechasesthewildanimalsaway.Ihavesomehard-boiledeggsforyou.”Aseachpersontookaneggtoeat,Georgeremarked,“ToobadBurtandHal

aren’there.Ithinkweshouldtrytocontactthemonthewalkie-talkieandtellthemthatthetwosaddlehorsesareback.”Nancy tried tosignal the twosearchers,but therewasno response.Again

and again she called in vain and finally asked Dave to examine theinstrument.“Itseemsokay,”hereported.“I’mpuzzledwhyHalandBurtdon’tanswer.”OldJoespokeup.“Maybeyourfriendshavegoneoutofrange.Ormaybe

therearetoomanytreesinthewayofthesignal.”Whentheoldnaturalistsaidheoughttobeleaving,Nancyrememberedthat

theyhadnotyetheardabouthismystery.Sheaskedhimaboutit,andhewasdelightedthatsheremembered.Hebeganby explaining that he andhis parents lived in the citywhenhe

wasaboy.“However,myfatherwasagreatnatureloverandusedtobringmetothis

forest.Igrewtoloveitasmuchashedid.Aftermymother’sdeathmyfatherand I came here more often. In fact, we once spent several months in theforest.Thatwaswhenthemysterybegan.“Onedaysoonafterwearrived,myfatherseemedworried.WhenIasked

himwhatthetroublewas,hetoldmethathewascarryingalotofmoneyandvaluablesecretpapersinhiswallet.“Hesaid tome, ‘Son, there’samanwho isanenemyofmine.Hewould

likenothingbetterthantogethishandsonallofthis.ButIdon’tintendforhimtodoso.Hemustneverlearnthesecret.’“Thatnightwewerevery tiredandwent tobedearly. Isleptsoundlyand

whenIwokeupinthemorning,myfatherwasgone.AtfirstIfiguredhewasfishingorpickingberriesormaybetryingtocatcharabbitforsomestew.Buthedidnotcomebackforhours.Ibecamealarmed.“Whenhe finally returned, Iaskedhimwherehehadbeen.Hesaid, ‘Oh,

justoutforalonghike.’“I was puzzled, but he didn’t explain. Then suddenly one morning he

announcedthatweweregoingbacktothecity.Iaskedhimwhyandhetoldmehehadbusinessaffairstotakecareof.“Weneveragaincameheretogether.Soonafterreturningtothecity,hehad

a stroke. He wasn’t able to walk, talk, or write. He lived only three moreyears.“Justbeforehediedhelookedupatmeandmanagedtosay,‘F-forest.Mon

—b-bur—’”Spellbound,OldJoe’slistenersnowbegantoaskquestions.“Do you think your father was saying he had buried the money in this

forest?”Nancyasked.OldJoenodded.“Icameheremany,manytimesandsearchedbutneverhad

anyluck.FinallyIdecidedtoleavethecityandliveherepermanently.Thisforest is more like home to me than any other place. All these years I’vehopedtofindthewalletandmyfather’sgreatsecret.”Nancywastinglingwithexcitement.Ifshecouldonlyfindthatwallet!The

girldetectivewondered,however,whatconditionitmightbein.I hope for Old Joe’s sake it’s intact, she thought. Aloud she suggested,

“Let’stalkaboutclues.”

8

PyramidofRocks

AllthecampershadquestionsforOldJoe.Bessaskedhim,“Didyourfatherhaveanyspecialplacesintheforesthelikedtogo?”“NonethatIrecall,”thenaturalistreplied.“Helovedeverythinginit.”NedinquirednextiftheelderMr.Austinhadanyfavoritetrees.Afterthinkingoverthisquestionforacoupleofminutes,OldJoesaid,“The

tallerthetree,themoreheadmiredit.I’dsayperhapsthesky-reachingpineswerehisfavorites.”“Thenwe’llexaminethosefirst,”Nancytoldhim.Jansaidshewondered ifOldJoe’s fatherwouldhavebothered tomake it

difficult for his son to find thewallet. “Perhaps your father had some cozynookwherehelikedtospendtime.Doyouknowofany?”Theoldmantoldhertheforestwasfullofwonderfulsmallhideaways.“But

sofarasIknow,therearenodeepcavesoroverhangsofrock.I’mafraidI’mnotmuchhelptoyou.”Nancywasnotdiscouraged.SheaskedOldJoewherehehadlookedforthe

wallet.Hesmiled.“Hundredsofplaces,”hetoldher,“buttherearethousandsmore

justwaitingtobeexplored.”NancyhadastronghunchthatMr.Austinhadhiddenhisvaluablewalletin

awell-protectedplace.ShesuggestedthatOldJoeaccompanythegrouponanewsearch.“I’dcertainlyliketofindthatwallet,”hesaidlongingly.“Okay,I’llgowith

you.”Beforethegrouphadachancetostartoff,however,theybecameawareof

prolonged,franticbarkingfromTrixie.Shehadbeenlefttoguardthecabin.“Uh-oh,trouble,”OldJoesaidworriedly.“Someunwantedvisitor,I’llbet.I

mustgorightback.”Nancyofferedhimoneofthesaddlehorses.“Thanksalot,butIcanmake

bettertimeonfoot,”OldJoerepliedandhurriedoff.

Nedremarked,“Ihatetoseethatoldmangobyhimself.IthinkI’llfollowandseeifIcanhelp.”Davedecidedtogoalongwithhim.Asthebarkingcontinued,Georgesaid,“NedandDavemaybegonealong

time.Nancy,ifyouwanttostartthesearch,I’llbegladtogowithyou.”The young sleuthwas eager to begin. Shementioned the idea to Jan and

Bess,whofeltthattheyshouldstaybehindtoguardthecamp.“Wedon’twantanymoretroublewiththehorses,”Jansaid.“Pleasewatchyourstep,”Bessadded.NancyandGeorgetookflashlightstoexplorethehollowsoftreesandother

possiblehidingplaces.TheyhadbeensearchinghalfanhourforMr.Austin’swalletwhenGeorgefoundatreewithadeepholeinthetrunk.Excitedly she flashed her light inside, then exclaimed, “Nancy, there’s

somethingatthebottomthatlookslikeleather.”Shelaiddowntheflashlightandreachedin.AlmostimmediatelyGeorgecriedoutinpainandyankedoutherhand.“Whathappened?”Nancyasked,runningtoGeorge’sside.“Somethingbitme!Oh!Ow!Ithurts!”Georgereplied.Shedancedaround,

shakingherhand.QuicklyNancyflashedherlightonthetree.Thebeady-eyedheadofasmall

snake was visible at the top of the hollow in the trunk. Blinded by thebrightness,thereptileinstantlyslithereddownintoitsden.Wasitapoisonousspecies?Nancyhadnoideabutdecidednottotakeany

chances.ShewhippedoutahandkerchiefandtiedittightlyaroundGeorge’swrist.Thenshegrabbedasharp-pointedtwigandmadeatinyholeintheendofherfriend’sthumb.BynowGeorge’shandwasswollen.“I’msorryI’llhavetohurtyoualittle,”Nancytoldherfriend,“butwemust

getthatpoisonoutbeforeitspreads.”Shehuntedforasharpstone.Aftercleaningitoffwithagreenleaf,Nancy

drewitacrosstheendofGeorge’sthumb.Bloodflowedoutand,shehoped,allthepoisonaswell.Soontheswellingsubsided,andGeorgesaidthesevereachewasgone.“Thanksamillion,Nancy,”shesaidgratefully.“Iwasreallyscared.”NowthatGeorgefeltbetter,Nancyremovedthetourniquet.“Doyouwant

to continue the search?” the girl detective asked. “Orwould you rather gobacktocampforfurtherfirst-aidtreatment?”

Georgesaidshewasfeelingfine.“Thebleedinghasalmoststopped.MaybewecanfindastreamwhereIcanbathemythumb.”Thetwogirlswenton,lookingintentlyforplaceswheretheAustinwallet

might be hidden. Shortly they came to a babbling brook. While Georgeswishedherhandintheicywater,Nancylookedcloselyatthesurroundings.She noticed an extremely tall pine tree, perhaps one admired byOld Joe’sfather.Therewasnoopeninginthetrunk,however.“Beforeweleave,”shesaidtoGeorge,“IthinkI’llclimbthetreeandseeif

there’sanythingahead.”Huggingthethicktrunk,Nancystartedtoshinnyupthetree.Georgemerely

lookedon,chidingherselfforhersorethumb,asNancyclimbedhigherandhigher.Shewasexaminingeveryinchofthemaintrunkandlookingateachlimbandbranch.Nothingindicatedthatawalletwashiddenamongthem.Finallyat thetopNancyscannedthesurroundingcountrysideandshouted

downtoGeorge,“IcanseeDismalSwampfromhere.Oh,no,Ican’tbelieveit.Theflyingsaucerisgone!”“Whatarottenbreak!”Georgesaid.“Let’shopeit’llcomebackwhilewe’re

stillhere.”Nancy felt miserable because she had lost her chance to see the flying

saucercloseup.Washertripinvain?IshouldhavegonetotheswampassoonastheUFOlanded,shethought.It

was little consolation to her that the missing horses, Bess’s accident, anddarknesshadcompelledherandtheothersnottoridetotheswamp.Nancy descended the tree. When she reached the ground, George said,

“Don’tfeeltoobad.Thatflyingsaucerisboundtocomeback.”Shegrinned.“Ijusthadoneofyourhunches.”Nancy smiledwanly. “I hope itwon’t take a hundredmillion light years,

though,”shereplied.Thegirlswalkedoninsilence.Despitetheirkeenobservanceofmanytrees,

shortand tall, theyfoundnothing inanyof themto indicateahidingplace.Georgeremarkedthatperhapstheywouldhavetostartdigging.Nancynodded.“Nexttimewe’llbringspadesandpicks.Youknow,George,

wearen’tverygoodwoodsmen,nottohavebroughtevenatrowel!”Inashortwhiletheycametoanothermountainstream,widerthantheother

androcky.Waterwasrushingrapidlyoverthestones.“Isn’t that pretty?” George remarked. “It looks like a picture for a

calendar!”“Itreallydoes.”AsNancystoodonthebank,shenoticedapyramidofrocksabouteighteen

incheshighinthemiddleofthestream.“That’sstrange,”shesaid.“Iwonderwhatit’sfor.Amarkerofsomesort?”“Amarkerforwhat?”Georgeasked.Nancyshruggedanddidnotreply.Shedecidedtoinvestigate.Shetookoff

her hiking boots and socks and waded in. Not only had the stones beencemented together, shediscovered,but the foundation reacheda footbelowthebedofthestream.Veryexcited,Nancyaskedherself:CouldOldJoe’s fatherhavemade this

pyramidofrocks?Werehisvaluablewalletandsecretpapersinside?

9

TheBlackDeluge

Eager to communicatewithOld Joe, but having no ideawhich direction totaketohiscabin,NancyandGeorgedecidedtoreturntocamp.BessandJanweregladtoseethem.“We’vebeensoworriedaboutyou.Youweregonealongtime,”Jansaid.SuddenlyBess saw her cousin’s finger. “George,whatever did you do to

yourself?”“A snake bit me,” George replied, and she told them about her painful

encounter.Jan took a protective plastic finger from her first-aid kit and gave it to

George to wear over her thumb. Then she said, “Now tell us about yoursearchforOldJoe’streasure.Anyluck?”“Yesandno,”Nancyresponded.ShetoldBessandJanaboutthepyramidofrocks—apossiblehidingplace

forthevaluablewallet.“Itcertainlysoundslikeagoodguess,”Bessremarked.KnowingJanwasknowledgeableaboutwood-lore,Nancyaskedherif the

pyramidmighthavebeenusedforsomethingelse—perhapstowardoffsomesuperstitiousfear.Jan shrugged. “Possibly.Ormaybe someone erected it as an art object. It

musthavebeenprettywiththestreamsplashingaroundthepyramid.”“Itwas,”Georgereplied,thenasked,“Jan,doyouthinkitcouldhavebeena

markerforfishermen?”“Couldbe,”Janreplied.“ButIdoubtthatanyonewouldplaceonewayout

thereinthiswilderness.”JansaidshefeltNancy’sguesswasalikelyone.“YoushouldtellOldJoe

soon.”ThenNancydescribedhowsheclimbedthetreeandlearnedthattheflying

saucerwasgone.“Didyouhearittakeoff?”

“No.”“Feelanywind?”“No.”“Seeanylights?”“No.”“It’sgone,”Nancysaidsadly.“Iwonderifitwillevercomeback.”“Let’shopeso,”BesssaidandgaveNancyahug.WhenNedandDavereturnedashorttimelater,Trixiewaswiththem.She

jumpedaround,delightedtoseethecampers.Nancyaskedwhathadhappenedatthenaturalist’scabin.Toherdismayshe

learnedthattheinteriorwasalmostwrecked.“Old Joe found footprintsof abear thatgot in somehow,”Dave reported.

“EvidentlyTrixiecouldn’tscarehimaway.Thebearatemostofthefoodhefound.Besidesthat,heemptiedthecontentsofajarofhoneyandanotherofmaplesyrup.“Hemadeashamblesoftheplace,”Davewenton.“WehelpedOldJoefix

thingsupasbestwecould.We lefthim repairing thecabindoorwhich thebearapparentlybrokedown.Hemusthavebeenhungry.”NancyandGeorgerelatedtheiradventures.WhenNancyfinished,shesaid,

“I’ll write a note to Old Joe about the pyramid of rocks and have Trixiedeliverit.Thatmightmakehimfeelbetter.”Hastilyshewrotedownwhatthegirlshaddiscovered,thentiedthenotetoa

smallpieceofropewhichshesecuredaroundthedog’sneck.“Take this right to Old Joe,” Nancy instructed the animal. “It’s very

important.”Trixieunderstoodandhurriedoff.Withoutwarningabriskwindsprangup,anditstartedtorain.Thecampers

putontheirraingear,wishingthatthetentswerewiththemandnotwiththemissingpackhorses.“Thisismorethanarainfall,”Bessremarkedpresently.“It’sadeluge.”“Ablackdeluge!”Daveadded.The campers huddled together under amaple tree as heavy drops of rain

peltedthroughthespreadingbranches.“I’m really beginning to worry about Hal and Burt,” Jan remarked.

“They’relongoverdue.Andthisweatherwon’thelpthemany.”

“Probablyit’stoodarkforthemtoproceed,”Nancysuggested.“Ihopethey’vefoundthehorses,”Bessremarked.“Thenatleasttheycould

havesomethingtoeatanddrinkfromthepacks.”The conversation was interrupted when the forest suddenly lit up with a

strange,brightglow.“Maybetheflyingsauceriscomingback!”Nancyexclaimed.“Oh,Ihope

so!”Ned offered to shinny up a tree to find out. Before he reached the top,

however, the mysterious light was gone. Once again it was pitch dark.Gingerlyheclimbeddown.“Thisispositivelyspooky,”Besssaid.Nancystatedfirmlythatshewasnotgoingtomissanotherchancetoseethe

flyingsaucer.“Ned,”sheasked,“areyougametogodowntoDismalSwampwithme?”“Sure,”hereplied.“Let’staketwolanternsearchlightswithus.”Janbeggedthecouplenottowalk.“Youshouldride,andtakesomecandy

in caseyougethungry.”Quickly she took twochocolatenutbars fromherpack.“IalmostforgotIhadthese,”shesaid.Nancy put a poncho over her rain gear while Ned took one out of his

backpack.Theyswungthesaddlebagsacrosstheanimals’flanks,thenputonthe saddles and vaulted into them, covering the saddles as best they couldwiththeirponchos.“Keepclose,”NedadvisedNancyandnudgedhishorsetostartoff.Nancypulledher rainhoodsnugly forwardand followedhim. Ifonly the

rainwouldstop,shethought,wecouldmakebettertime.But itcontinuedtobeathard,creatingslipperycratersofmudthroughthe

unbrokenforest.WhentheridersreachedasmallclearingGoalpostpickedupspeed.Hekickedupmud,splashingSusanB’sforelegsandcausingNancytoreininsharply.Themare,however,didnotobey.Shedugherhoovesfasterthroughthewetgrass,sinking,thenskiddingandalmostthrowingNancyoutofthesaddle.“Whoa,SusanB!”thegirldetectiveordered.“Whoa!”Ned heard Nancy’s frantic cries. Instantly he swung Goalpost in her

direction. The horse whinnied and stumbled toward Susan B. By now themarewasreluctantlyunderNancy’scontrol.

“Areyouallright?”NedshoutedtoNancy.“Yes,I’mfine,”shereplied,thoughstillabitshaken.“Let’sgoon.”Asthecouplestartedoutagain,aslightmistbegantorise.Oh,no,Nancy

thought.Wedon’tneedthis.Imustseethemysteryspaceship.It was only a short time later that she and Ned, shining their lantern

searchlights ahead, picked up the dim outline of the flying saucer. It wasrestinginthecenteroftheswampincompleteblackness.“ItreallysmellsashorriblehereasOldJoesaid,”Nedremarked.“Doyou

wanttostay?”“I suredo,”Nancy replied.“Let’sgo the restof thewayon foot.Wecan

leavethehorsestiedtotreesuphere.”Bynowtherainhadalmoststopped,althoughitcontinuedtodripsteadily

fromthetrees.ThegroundinDismalSwampwasspongybutpassable.Whatalmost stopped them, though,was the rank, gaseous odor. Theywondered:How much of it was from the swamp and how much emanated from theflyingsaucer?Thecraft itselfwascompletely silent.Nancywhispered, “If anycreatures

areaboard,they’reeitherasleeporkeepingquiettoavoiddetection.”Ned agreed. “And we’d better watch our step so we don’t run into any

surprises.”He and Nancy sloshed through the swamp, shining their powerful

searchlights on the mysterious craft. They walked around it, but saw nowindowsordoors.“Howdoesanybodygetinoroutofthissaucer?”Nedasked.“Itseemsto

besealeduptight.”Nancy suggested that perhaps no one was aboard. “The craft may be

operatedbyremotecontrol,”shesaid.“Just the same,” Ned remarked, “I’d like to go inside.Who knowswhat

we’dfind—maybesomeonedead!”Nancywas as curious as her companion to find out. “Let’s pound on the

hull,”shesaid.“Maybewe’llgetaresponse.”

10

SpaceTrip

The rain had started to fall again andwithin secondswas coming down intorrents.NancyandNed,however,paid littleattention to thedelugeas theypoundedontheflyingsaucer.Thoughtheyknockeduntiltheirknucklesweresore,noresponsecamefromtheinteriorofthemysteriouscraft.Finally Ned remarked, “Maybe we ought to try communicating by

mathematicalsignals.SupposeItryafewthatI’velearnedinmycourses.”Hetookakeyfromhispocketandtappeditagainstthespaceship.Firsthe

indicated a simple triangle. There was no response. Next he tried a morecomplicatedgeometricformula.Againtherewasnoanswer.Nancywasastounded that although thehull seemed tobemadeofmetal,

Ned’stappingmadenometallicsound.That’sstrange,shethought,andmentionedittoNed.“You’re right,” he agreed. “This ship has some kind of soundproof shell.

Even if there’s an intelligent being inside, it probably cannot hear mysignals.”Wonderingwhattheshipwasmadeof,Nedtriedtoscrapethesurfacewith

hiskey.Hewasunabletochipoffanything.“This is incredible!” he exclaimed. “I’d like to knowwhat kind of outer

materialthisis.Possiblysomesubstancefromadistantplanet.”Hesighed, regrettinghehadnotbroughtchemicalsand testingequipment

withhim.“Evenifwecouldgetintouchwithsomescientistsnearby,theymightnot

beabletoreachherebeforethesaucertakesoffagain.”HeandNancyspeculatedonthespaceship’ssourceofenergy.“Whether it’s programmed or remote-controlled,” she remarked, “I’m

inclinedtothinktheshipissolar-powered.Perhapsthereasonit’sstuckhereintheswampisthatwe’vehadsomuchcloudyandrainyweather.Thesaucermaynothavestoredupenoughsolarenergyto lift itselfoffthegroundandbackupintotheair.”Nedsaidhewonderediftheswampitselfexudedspecialgasthatgavethe

ship buoyancy. “It smells bad enough around here to launch anything.”Hegrinned.“IhopeyouandIdon’tsuddenlytakeoff!”Shelaughed.“Inthismud?Nochance.”Suddenly aware that they were standing in a deep quagmire ofmud and

water,NedaskedNancyifshewerereadytogobacktocamp.“Areyoukidding?”shereplied.“Iwanttoseewhathappens!Whoeveror

whatevercontrolstheshipmaydecidetoleavesuddenly.”“Inthatcase,”Nedsaid,“whydon’twegetthosechocolatenutbarsoutof

oursaddlebags?”“Goodidea,”Nancyagreed.First, they retethered the animals so they could reach down to nibble on

grass and roots, and even sleep until the couple was ready to leave. Theyremoved their rations from the saddlebagsand returned to the flying saucerwheretheyatethechocolatebars.“Amazing how satisfying one large piece of candy can be,” Nancy

commented,leaningagainsttheship.Sheyawned.“Ifeelbettertoo,”Nedremarkedsleepily.SuddenlyNancyfelt thespaceshipvibrate.Shewasstartledandnoticeda

sidedooropeningslowly.AmechanicalhandreachedoutsideandbeckonedherandNedtocomeaboard.“Shallwego?”shewhisperedtohim.He did not reply. To her surprise, he walked, as if dazed, toward the

doorway.Shefollowed.When they reached the spaceship, themechanical hand helped them step

inside,thenretracted.Thedoorslammedshut.Theinteriorof thecraftwasbrightly illuminatedbutnotbylights that the

couplecouldseeandtherewasnosignofanyone—humanorhumanoid.The walls were lined with flashing lights and many kinds of buttons,

gadgets, and tools. Some of them Nancy recognized as hammers,screwdrivers,andwrenches;othersweretotallyunfamiliartoher.She tried to ask Ned what some of the unusual ones were. To her utter

astonishment,nosoundcamefromherthroat.We must be in a void, she surmised, but we’re not having any trouble

breathing.Howstrange!More baffling was the fact that all her rain gear was gone. Ned’s was

missingalso.Whathadhappenedtoit?Diditevaporate?sheaskedherself,completelypuzzled.A feeling of fear crept over the young detective. Was she locked in the

flying saucer?Were she and Ned about to be kidnapped by unseen spacebeingsandtakenawayfromtheearthforever?Ned,lessfrightened,begantoexaminetheoddgadgets.Nonewaslabeled

togiveacluetoitsuse.Curious,hepushedabuttonononewall.SparksflewtowardbothhimandNancy,slightlyscorchingthebacksoftheirhands.Ouch!Nancycriedout,butagainshemadenoaudiblesound.The flying saucer vibrated convulsively and lifted from Dismal Swamp.

Instantly it turned intoaglasscage,climbinghigherandhigherata terrificspeed.Withinsecondsitsoaredabovethemountaintopandspunintospace.Although the flying saucer twirled rapidly as it flew, Nancy and Ned

managedtostandwithease.Strangely, theyforgot theirfears.Bothof themtriedtofigureoutwhathadcausedtheshipsuddenlytobecometransparent.Astheygazedoutside,themistyskychangedtocleardarkblue.I’m—I’mgettingdizzy,Nancysaid,reachingforNed’shand.Ofcourse,hedidnothearher,andshenoticedthathiseyeswereclosing.

Hetoowasbecomingdizzy.Wasitfromtheheightorthespeed?Inamomenthelosthisbalance.PoorNed!Nancythought.I—Ihope—Bothofthemtoppledontothedeck.Astheyfell,theflyingsaucerswirled

jerkily.Theyrealizedthatitwasdescending.Wherewasitabouttoland?NancyandNed tried to stayawakeand togetupand lookoutside to see

whatwashappening.Theireffortswereinvain.Theycouldnotmove.Withinsecondsbothofthemblackedout!

11

HumanBirds

Nancy andNed had noway of knowing how long theywere blacked out.Whentheybecameconscious,theywerenolongerintheflyingsaucer.Instead,NancyandNedwerelyingonlusciousgreengrass.Thecloudless

skyabovethemwasabeautifulblueandthesunwasshining.The spaceship was not in sight. Where did it go? Nancy asked herself,

feelingachillsweepoverher.Sherealizeditwasverycoldwheretheywere.Nancyturnedonhersideto

speaktoNed.Wheredoyouthinkweare?sheaskedhim.Toherutterdismaysheknew

thatstillnosoundcamefromherthroat.NedsatupandlookedatNancy.Heaskedwithconcern,Areyouallright?Theidenticalphenomenonhadhappenedtohim.Hewasutteringathought

butnotoutloud.SuddenlyNancybecameawareofwhatNedwasthinking.Thetwoofthemwerecommunicatingbythoughtwaves!Thisisfantastic!Nancydecided.Thecouplestoodupandgazedaround.AgainNancyaskedsilently:Where

doyouthinkweare,Ned?Heshruggedandreplied,Maybewe’resomewhereonearthormaroonedon

anotherplanet.Myguessiswe’reoutinspace.ForafewmomentssheandNedwereterrified.Theyhadenjoyedtheirlives

on earth so much that they were not ready to say good-bye to parents,relatives, and friends.Nancy chided herself for being so eager to solve themysteryoftheflyingsaucerinthefirstplace.Nedthought-wavedtoher:Don’tpanic!Itmaybenicehere.Aloneandnotknowingwhatelsetodo,thecouplewalkedaround,tryingto

warm up. The ground was spongy, and for the first time Nancy and Nedlookedfullyateachother.Theywerenolongerwearingtheirownclothes!Bothof themhadon tight-fittingmilitary-typepants and coats in a silver

color, with a matching helmet that fit snugly. There were no buttons or

zippers.Howdoesonegetintoandoutoftheseclothes?Nancywondered.Neddidnotspeak,buthesmiledbroadly.Nancycouldnothearhimlaugh,

butunderstoodwhathewasthinking.Thisisweird!hewassayingtohersilently.Therewasnothinginsight.Nobuildings,notrees,justarubberlikeexpanse

ofgreengrass.Nancy thought-waved toNed: Ifwe’re not in heaven, but on some other

planet,doyouthinktheflyingsaucerwillcomeback,pickusup,andtakeushometoearth?Nedshrugged.I’mfreezinginthissillycostume,heresponded.Ifeellikea

personactingapartinsomeplay,likeEarthManLostinSpace.Nancysmiled.Idotoo,shetoldhim.Theeeriesilencehadbeennerve-racking.Bychancethecouplehappenedto

lookupatthesky.Notfarabovethemahugebirdwasflying.Itlookedlikeacombination eagle and airplane. As it passed overhead, the bird dipped itswings as if signaling to the couple below, then turned and repeated thegesture.Wasthatamessageforus?Nancywondered,glancingatNed.At the same time she looked down at her feet. To her amazement the

military-typesilverpantsendedinfootgearthatlookedlikebird’sclaws.Ican’tbelieveit!Bird’sfeet!Shewaspuzzledbythewholething.Ned grinned.Maybewe’ve become birds!Human birds!You look pretty

niftyatthat,hetoldNancy.Arewesupposedtofly?sheresponded,stillamazed.Automatically she pictured Ned as a bird and looked at the back of his

broadshoulders.Thereweretworetractedwings!Wearesupposedtofly!shethought-wavedtohim.That’swhatthebirdwas

tryingtotellus.Shepulledoutthewings.TheyopenedwideandinafewmomentsNedwas

readytofly.HereIgo!heannounced.Wait!Nancy pleaded.Don’t leaveme here alone. She felt her own back,

foundapairofwingslikeNed’s,andaskedhimtopullhersout.

Nancy’swingsspreadaparttoo.Shewonderedwhatsheshoulddonextinordertofly.Ned solved the problem by indicating that she should run her fingers

throughtheendsofthewingsandholdon.Hehelpedherdothis,thenputhisownfingerstohisfeatherygear.Ready!Set!Go!hesignaled.The couple ran as fast as they could over the uneven ground stumbling

several times, then began to pump their arms. Within seconds they wereairborne!Nancylovedhernewfoundfreedom,assheandNedsoaredoverthelandscape.Isn’tthisfun!shethought-wavedtoNedwhoflewalongsideher.He replied, I wonder if I’d everwant to be an earthling again.Maybe it

wouldbebettertoflythantowalk.It dawned on Nancy that the two of them were moving at an incredible

speed.Sheexpectedherarmstotire,buttheyhadnofeelinginthem.Shepumpedherwingsalittleharderandgatheredspeed.Strange!Shedid

notfeelwindrushingacrossherface.Therewasnosensationofanykind.ThisisreallycontrarytoeverythingIlearnedinscience,shethought.Ned

noddedthathe,too,waspuzzled.Aftertheyflewwithoutseeinganysignoflife,theywonderedwhatkindof

creaturesmight be able to live in this environment. The placewas entirelyunpolluted.Nancy smiled. People at homewould like it here. There’s no smoke, no

streamsofwatercontainingtrash,nodebrisorpoisonouschemicals.Nedthought-wavedtoher,Ifanyonedoeslivehere,howdotheysurvive?

Nothingatallseemstobegrowinghereexceptgrass.His flying companion speculated,Maybe it’s a planet of intelligent birds.

Butwhatdotheyliveon?Everythingneedsair,food,andwater.Nedsuggestedwithagrin thatmaybethebirds importeditall incapsules

fromanotherplanet.Nancygiggledatthisidea.Birdimporters!Afteralongflight,thecouplefinallysawaclusterofbuildingsahead.Was

itasettlement?They’reallshapedlikeflyingsaucers,sheremarked,andNednodded.Surely somebodywould be around. But as the two friends flew over the

extensiveterrain,therewasnosignofmovementanywhereinthecity.After flying some distance out of the area, the travelers came to a large

section of green grass. Ned thought-waved to Nancy, Let’s go down. I’mgettingtiredofflying.Iamtoo.Canyouhelpmeretractmywings?Neddrewalongsideher,reachedouttohuntforsomekindofgadgetonher

back.Hecouldfindnone.NancyalsotriedtolocateasimilardeviceonNed’swings,butshe,too,cameupwithnothing.Thecouplepanicked.Weretheydoomedtoflythroughouteternity?Nancytriedtoovercomeherfear.Itsuddenlydawnedonherthatmaybethe

wingswerethought-controlled.Sheclosedher eyes tightly andconcentratedonNed.Suddenlyhiswings

retracted.Heplummetedtotheground.Within seconds she had drifted beyond him. She tried to retract her own

wingsbutcouldnot.Imustdosomething—andfast!shetoldherself.Imustn’tfail!NancypleadedforNedtohelpher.Heanwered,Turnaroundandflyback

towardme.Nancy dipped her leftwing but found herself flying in a circle.Next she

tried to stop by lifting the wings so they were parallel to each other. Theflyinggirlwobbleduncontrollably.Wasshegoingtofall?AgainNancywasheadedawayfromNedandflyingalonevery,veryfast!

12

Where?What?

Nancywasdesperateasshesoaredabovetheuninhabitedterrain.Howcouldsheretractherwingsandglidebacksafelytotheground?Imustn’t letmyselfbestrandedouthere,shethoughtanxiously.Ihaveto

getbacktoNed.Buthow?Oh,thisistheworstthingthathaseverhappenedtome!Once more the young sleuth tried to gain control of the situation. By

maneuveringcarefully,dippingonewing,thentheother,shemanagedbyanerraticcoursetoturnherselfaround.Relieved,sheheadedinNed’sdirection.Ihopehe’ssafe.Nancysighed.Hehas tobe.Finallyshespottedglintsof

silverfarbelowher.Thereheis!Nancythoughtexcitedly.Shesenthimamentalmessage:Pleasehelpmegetdown!Mywingsareout

ofcontrol.EvenwhenIstoppumpingmyarms,Ikeepgoing.In reply,Nedsuggested thatNancyholdherarmsbackas faraspossible.

Shecompliedandgraduallybegantodescend.Asshenearedtheground,Nedcaughtholdof her tobreakher fall andpinnedher down tokeepher fromtakingoffagain.The entire experiencehad exhaustedNancy.The sky, the landscape, even

Ned began to spin in front of her eyes. “Ned, Ned, I’m afraid I—” shemumbledbeforeblackingout.Itwas some time laterwhenNancy awoke.To her astonishment, the girl

detectivewaslyinginDismalSwampofShawniegunkMountain,U.S.A.Nedwasnearby.Hetoowasregainingconsciousnessandstirredslightly.Through hazy vision Nancy thought she saw the Indian Shoso kneeling

besideher.Thenshebecameawarethattherewasalargeleafinhermouth.Ittastedbitter.Howdidthisgetinmymouthandwhy?shewondered.As Nancy started to take it out, Shoso shook his head vehemently and

pushedtheleafbackinside.Hepretendedtochew,indicatingsheshoulddothe same. Too groggy to refuse, Nancy obeyed andwas surprised that shesoon felt much better. Now she sat up and looked around her. The flying

saucerwasgone!

HadthespaceshipbroughtNancyandNedbacktotheswamp,thenflownoffagain?MaybeShosocouldtellthem.Usingsignlanguage,sheaskedhimifhehadseenitleave.Heheldouthis

armsinacircle,thenpointedtothesky.Next,heflutteredhisfingersupanddown,implyingthatrainorraysofsomesorthadbeguntofall.Shosopointed

totheskyagain,thenfinishedbymakinganothercirclewithhisarms.IbelieveShosoistryingtotellmethatitrainedhard,butafterthesuncame

outtheflyingsaucertookoff.Nancy lookedupat the sky.Thesunwas shiningbrightlyand itwashot.

The swampwas steaming and the rank, nauseating odorwas stronger thanever.Nedsatup.Hewaschewingaleaf.Asheswallowedit,thecouplelookedat

eachotherandsmiled.“Whatanincredibletripwehad!”Nancyexclaimed.“We?”Nedgulped.“Youweren’twithme.”“PartofthetimeIwas,”shetoldhim.Theboyshookhishead.“Youmusthavebeendreaming,”hesaid.Nancy’s blackout scene was so vivid in her mind she found it hard to

believehim.SheglancedatthebacksofNed’shands:neitherwasscorched.Nancylookeddownatherown;theywereallright,too.“ButIwassosure—”Thegirl detectivenext noticed that she andNedhadon their raingear—

theirownclothes!Whathappened to the fantasticbird-flyingsuits theyhadworn?Andwhataboutthegrotesquebird’sclawsthathadcoveredtheirfeet?Nancyshookherheadandlaughed.“Ned,I’vejustawakenedfromthemost

incredible dream I’ve ever had. I still can’t believe that it was all myimagination.”“Tellmeaboutit,”Nedrequested.As she related the story, Nancy kept including him in it. He roaredwith

laughterwhenshedescribedthetwooftheminflightthroughthewindlessairofanunknownplanet.“Humanbirds,eh?”However,hesoberedwhenshementionedthatatonepointshewonderedif

theyhaddiedandgonetoheaven.“Toobadyoudidn’tbringbackapairofangelwings,”heteased.Shechuckledandtookadeepbreath.Hetoldherthatinhisdreamhehad

not left the forest. “But I became somekind of knight, slashing a sword atwild beasts. I knewwhat some of themwere, but others looked strange—prehistoric.”

NancyandNeddecidedthatgasfromeithertheswamportheflyingsaucerhadputthemtosleep.“It’sashametheflyingsaucerleftbeforewehadachancetoinvestigateit

morethoroughly,”Nancyremarked.“Itmaycomeback,”Nedtoldher,tryingtocheeruptheyoungsleuth.“I’d

say the ship was in some kind of trouble when it landed. Otherwise, itwouldn’thavestayedsolongandputupwithourhammering,tryingtolearnitssecret.”“Don’t forget that the shipmay have been programmed.Maybe it landed

and took off exactly when it was supposed to,” Nancy suggested. “Whoknowswhatitsownersplannedtodowithit?”NedsuggestedthatShosomightknowwhenitleft.“Let’saskhim.”Thecouplestoodupandlookedaround.TheIndianwasnotinsight.They

calledhisnameagainandagain,buthedidnotappear.“Toobad,”Nedcommented.“Nowwhat?”Nancysuggestedthattheysearchforanyevidencethattheshipmighthave

left. In thecenterof theswampwasabadlyscorcheddepressionwhichsheandNednoticedforthefirsttime.Nancysaid,“Whentheflyingsaucertookoff,itsantigravityraysmayhave

beensohottheyburnedtheground.Let’sdigupalittleofthesoilandtakeitbacktocampforalabanalysis.”“Goodidea,”Nedreplied.Nancyheadedforthesaddlebagsonherhorse.SusanB,shewasrelievedto

find,wassafe.Apparently thegasfromtheswamporflyingsaucerhadnotreachedtheanimals.ShehuggedSusanBandpattedGoalpost.“I’m glad nothing hapened to you,” Nancy said affectionately and

unfastenedoneofhersaddlebags.She tookouta trowelandasmallplasticbag.WhenNancyreturnedtotheswamp,Neddugupachunkofscorchedsoil

and dumped it into the bag, which Nancy held open. Then she took themysterioussamplebacktoSusanB,placeditinthesaddlebag,andfastenedtheflaptightly.She said to Ned, who had followed her up the slope, “Wouldn’t it be

wonderfulifchemistsfoundsomethinginthissampledifferentfromanythingknownonearth?”“Boy, would it ever!” Ned replied. “It might revolutionize our whole

conceptoftheuniverse!”Thecouplemountedtheirhorsesandsetoffforcamp.Theyhadnotgone

far,whensuddenlySusanBsunfished.“Easy,girl!”Nancycriedout.Shebarelymanaged to control thehorse and stayastride.The saddlebags

nearlyfelloffastheanimaldroppeddownonherforelegsandthenlaydownononeside.Nancyjumpedoff.Thehorsekickedviciously,tryingtoreachthesaddlebagcontainingthesoilsample.“What’sthematterwithher?”Nedasked,puzzledbythestrangebehavior.Furiouslythehorsekickedherhoovesasthecouplewatched,helpless.“Sheseemstobetryingtogetatthatsaddlebag,”Nancyobserved,keeping

asafedistancefromtheanimal.“I’msuresomethinginsideitisbotheringher.Butwhat?”

13

ADiscovery

Ned jumped from his horse and hurried forward to help Nancy and thedistressedmare.“Thank goodness you weren’t hurt, Nancy,” he said. “Susan B is really

actingup.”“Thepoorthing’sbesideherself,”Nancysaid.The ridersurged theanimal to standup.Thenquickly theypulledoff the

saddlebag.“Look!”Nancyexclaimed, staringat thehorse’s flank.”Her skin isbadly

scorchedhere.”Quickly theyflippedover thesaddlebag.A largeholehadburned through

theleather.“Itmusthavecomefromthesodwedugup,” theyoungsleuthremarked,

alarmed.“Oh,Ned,maybeit’sradioactive!”Sheunbuckledthesaddlebaganddumpedthecontentsontheground.The

plasticbagcontainingthesamplealsohadburnedthrough.NancyandNedstaredateachotheras thesamethoughtran throughtheir

minds:SusanBmightbecontaminated!“Ned,youandImightbecontaminated,too!”Nancycriedoutinalarm.Otherarticles in thebagdidnotappear tobedamaged, includinga jarof

healingsalve.QuicklyNancydippedherfingerintotheointmentandspreadagenerousamountoverthescorchedareaonSusanB’sflank.Sheremarked,“Ned,ifwe’vebeenexposedtoradioactivematerial,Iwish

thissalvealonecouldcureus.Whatdoyouthinkweshoulddo?”Nedadvisedthattheyburythechunkofscorchedearth,thesaddle,andthe

saddlebagandeverythinginit.“Goodidea,”Nancyagreed.Usingthetrowel,Neddugadeephole.Nancydroppedinthesuspectpieces

onebyone.Afterpilingdirtoverthemandmarkingthespotwithaheapoftwigs,thecampersstartedoffagain.

NancysatbehindNedonGoalpost,herownhorse’sleadropeinhand.“Assoonaswegettotown,”shesaid,“Ithinkwe’dbettergetintouchwithsomescientistsandavet.Whydon’twephonemydad?Hemightbeabletoflyuphererightawayandbringhelpwithhim.”“Goodthinking,”Nedreplied.When thecouple rode intocamp, theywerebombardedwithquestionsby

their friends.Before theycouldanswer them,Hal andBurt arrived, leadingthetwomissingpackhorses.“I’m so glad you’re back!” Jan exclaimed. “Nowwe have all the horses

again.”“Butmineisinjured,”Nancyannouncedandtoldthefantasticstoryofwhat

happenedtoherandNed.The possibility that she and Ned might be contaminated by radioactive

materialreallyhorrifiedeveryone.Dave spoke up. “It’s not catching, thank goodness, so we don’t have to

isolateyoutwo.Butweshouldn’tuseanyofthesameeatingutensils.”Jan offered to ride into town with Nancy, Ned, and the injured mare.

“Nancy,youcantakeoneoftheotherridinghorses.”The group ate a lightmeal, then started off.When they reached the little

town at the foot of themountain,Nancy called her father and told him theamazingstory.“What!”heexclaimed.“Tellmeeverything.HowareyouandNed?”Nancy gave him all the details, and he replied, “I’ll get a plane and

scientistsanddoctorstocomeupthereatonce.I’llbewiththem.Waitrightthereforus.Ifwe’regoingtobedelayed,I’llphoneyouinaboutanhour.”Mr.DrewtookthenumberofthetelephoneNancywasusing.“Bytheway,

dear,” he said, “an excited youngwomanphoned andwants you to solve amysteryforher.Somethingaboutstrangeidentities.Itoldheryou’retieduponanothermysteryrightnow,butshebeggedmetogetintouchwithyouandcallherback.WhatshallItellher?”“Oh,IwishIcouldhelp.”Nancysighed.“Dad,whydon’tyousuggestshe

contactourfriendstheDanaGirls?They’regreatatsolvingmysteries.”“I’lldothat,”Mr.Drewpromised.Thenhehungupthephone,andNancy

returnedtoNedandJan.“We’regoingtohaveafairlylongwait,”sheremarked.“CanwetakeSusan

Btoavet?”

Jannodded.“Followme.”The threewalked to the office-hospital ofDr.Doyle. Fortunately, hewas

abletoexaminethestrickenanimalatonce.Nancytoldhimabouttheswampbutdidnotmention the flying saucer.Thiswas to remaina secretuntil themysterywassolved.“We thought it might be interesting to have the soil analyzed,” she said,

“and decided to bring some of it back to camp. The sample was so hot itburnedaholethroughmysaddlebagandinjuredmyhorse’sflank.Iputsalveonit.”NancygaveDr.Doylethenameoftheointment.“Quickthinking,”theveterinariancomplimentedher.“What worries us in particular is that part of Dismal Swamp may be

contaminated by radiation and could have affected Susan B. My father isflyingherewithsomechemiststoanalyzeit.”Dr. Doyle looked surprised. “How could Dismal Swamp become

contaminated?”heinquired,puzzled.Nancyshrugged.AftertheveterinarianhadexaminedSusanB’swound,he

said,“Isuggestyouleavethehorsehere.Thisisaprettybadburn.”“Allright,”Jansaid,addingthattheanimalhadbeenrentedintown.“But

ourgroupwillberesponsibleforyourfee.”BeforeNancylefttheoffice,sheputherarmsaroundthehorsethatshehad

growntolove.ShewhisperedinSusanB’sear,“I’msosorryIgotyouintothis.Ihopeyou’llbeokaysoon.”Aftertheyleft,Jansaidtheywouldneedtorenthorsesforthenewarrivals,

a replacementhorse forNancy,and twomorepackhorses tocarrywhateverequipmentthepartymightbring.“Andwe’llbuyalotoffoodtotakebacktocamp,”sheadded.Bythetimetheextrahorseswerecollectedandallpurchasesmade,Nancy

andherfriendsheard thewhirofahelicopteroverhead. Itdidnotgo to theairfield,butcamedowninafieldontheoutskirtsoftown.Nancy,Ned,andJanhurriedtomeetitspassengers.AssoonasNancysawherfatherstepoutofthecopter,sheranaheadofthe

others.Thenshestoppedshort.IfI’mcontaminated,perhapsIshouldnotkisshim,thegirlthought.Sheblewakissfromadistance.Helaughed,cameup,andgaveherahug.“Let’s not be overanxious about this,” he said. “I’ve brought two doctors

andtwoscientistswithme.Otherswillarrivelater.Rightnowthedoctorsare

goingtotestyouandNedforradioactivity.”Afterintroductionshadbeenmade,oneofthedoctorstookfromhisbaga

strange-lookinginstrumentwithallsortsofdialsandindicatorsonitsface.HeheldtheendofatubewithaknobagainstNancy’sheart,lungs,andthebackofherneck.Washetestingherbrain?“So fareverything isnegative,”Dr.Caffrey reported.“Now,youngman,”

hesaid,“it’syourturn.”Ned, too, was pronounced all right. The doctor shook his head and

remarked,“You’relucky.”Heputawayhisinstrumentsandthegroupstowedtheir gear on the packhorses and set off for camp. They had barely startedwhenNancyrodeupbesideJanandaskedifshewouldpleasestopthestringofriders.WithoutquestioningNancy’sreason,theleadercalledout,“Halt!”Everyone reined in. Nancy said, “It just occurred to me that perhaps we

should haveDr.Caffrey examineSusanB for contamination.After all, shewasburnedbythesodintheswamp,butNedandIdidn’t touchitwithourbarehands,orgetanymudfromthescorchedareaonus.”“You’reright,”Janagreedandcalledout to thedoctor,“Canyougivethe

horsewiththeburnaradioactivetest?”“Sure.Gladto.”Jantoldtheothers,“Waithereforus.NancyandIwillridetothevet’sand

haveSusanBexaminedforcontamination.”Everyone agreed to the plan and the three riders galloped off. Twenty

minuteslatertheywereback.“The horse is okay,” the doctor reported. “She has a nasty burn but no

contaminationsymptoms.Nevertheless,Ithinkthatswampdefinitelyshouldbeinvestigated.”“Itwillbe,”Nancysaid,thenadded,“Let’sgo!”Theridersurgedtheirhorsesupthemountain.Whentheyarrivedatcamp,

their anxious friends were delighted to hear the results of the tests. Thenewcomerswereintroducedandtheyallsatdowntoahotsupper.NancyandNedaskedHalandBurttoexplainhowtheyhadfoundthelost

packhorses.According to theboys ithadnotbeeneasy,butaftera fruitlesssearch,theyhadfinallyheardawhinny.“One horse caught a front hoof in a bear trap,” Hal said. “Of course he

couldn’tmove,butwemanagedtogetthetrapoff.Fortunatelyithadsnapped

aroundthecolt’shoof,notinit,sohewasn’treallyinjured.”NowitwasNancyandNed’sturntorelatetheiradventure.Thedoctorsand

scientistslaughed.Mr.Drewchuckledalso.“I like thepartwhereyou twocouldn’t talk,but

were able to communicate by thoughtwaves. Fromnow on I’ll have to becarefulwhatIthink!”“That’sright,Dad,”Nancysaidwithamischievouswink.Early nextmorningNancywas awakened by a barking dog. That sounds

likeTrixie,shetoldherself,andjumpedoutofhersleepingbag.Sheslippedonherjeansoverherpajamasandwentoutside.GeorgejoinedherasTrixieboundedintocampandrusheduptothegirls.“Trixiehasanotetiedtotheropearoundherneck!”Georgeexlaimed.QuicklysheremovedthemessageandopeneditforherandNancytoread.

14

AValuableClue

Thetwogirlsreadthenotealoud.IthadbeensignedbyOldJoe.DearNancyandFriends,Iamstillamazedbyyourfindingthestonepyramid.Itwasavaluable

clue.Iwenttothebrookmyself;belowthewaterlineIfoundamarker,andtomyamazementmyfather’sinitialswereonit.

Georgeexclaimed,“Howwonderful!”SheandNancyreadon:Therewas also an arrow on themarker. I followed its direction for

somedistance,thenIinjuredmyfoot.“Whatashame!”Nancyremarked.“Ihopeit’snotbad.Well,let’sseewhat

elseOldJoehaswritten.”Thenotecontinued:

Iknew Ihad togiveup the search. Itwasonlywithgreatdifficultythat Igotback tomycabin.NowIhaveafavor toaskofyou:Wouldyouyoungpeopleliketotakeupthesearch?

NancyandGeorgelookedateachother,thengrinned.Georgesaid,“Wouldwe!”“It’sanexcitingchallenge,”Nancyadmitted,butadded,“Youknowthatwe

won’tbeabletogoimmediately.”“Whynot?”Georgeasked,eagertotakeupthehunt.Nancyremindedherthatmorescientistswerearrivingandwouldprobably

want to askquestionsof thecampers, especiallyNancyandNed. “I think Ishouldstayhere.”George agreed. “Have you any idea when the rest of the experts are

coming?”Nancyshookherheadno.“I’msureit’llbesoon.Inthemeantime,Iought

togetsomepaperandapencilandanswerOldJoe.”Inherreplyshesaidthattheyoungsleuthswoulddotheirbesttofindout

wherethearrowled.Thensheadded:

But Iwill have towait at camp a littlewhile before starting. Somescientists are coming here to examine Dismal Swamp. Ned and Idiscovereditwasscorched,apparentlybytheflyingsaucer.Incidentally,I’msorrytosaythattheshiptookoffagain.

She explained brieflywhat had happened to her andNed andhowShosohadputrestorativeleavesintheirmouths.

OldJoe,doyouhaveanyideawhatthoseleavesare?Shesigned thenote,attached it to thedog’s ropecollar,andsaid,“Trixie,

takethisbacktoyourmaster.”Thedogboundedoff.Soonafterward theothercamperswereawake.Nancyshowed thenote to

BessandJan.“Oh!Thepoorman!”Besssaid.“I’dliketohelphim.Wouldsomebodygo

overtohiscabinwithme?”Jan offered to accompany her. “I’ll pack some medical supplies and see

whatIcandotorelieveOldJoe’spain.”ForafewminutesJanandthegirlsdiscussedwhethertheyshouldaskone

ofthevisitingdoctorstogoalong.“They would probably prefer to wait for the rest of the scientists to

investigateDismalSwamptogether,”Nancysaid.AsBessandJangatheredsupplies,theyoungdetectiveaskedherfatherto

take a walk with her. When they were out of hearing range of the othercampers,heasked,“What’sonyourmind,dear?”“IwaswonderingifweshouldnotifytheFBIoranothertop-secretagency

about the flying saucer. I have a strong hunch the ship will come back.Wouldn’titbewonderfuliftheU.S.couldcaptureit?”Mr.Drewstaredathisdaughter, thengrinned. “It’s agreat ideabut abig

order.We don’t know if the saucer is from outer space, or the property ofsome rival country that’s spying on us. In any case, I’ll ride into town andmakesomephonecalls.”He andNancywalked back to camp. They learned that Bess had packed

somefoodforOldJoe.Assoonasbreakfastwasover,sheandJansetoffforthenaturalist’scabin.OnthewayShososuddenlyappeared.Hewasmutteringunintelligibly.Was

hetryingtotellthemsomething?Jan said, “I have an idea he’s speaking his Indian dialect. It’s so strange

because,asyouknow,therearenoIndiansinthisvicinityanymore.”

“Maybehe’sawanderer,”Besssuggested.“ButIndiansusuallystayinbandsortribes,”Jancountered.Shoso was gesticulating with his arms, and finally motioned the two

camperstofollowhim.“Shallwedoit?”Bessaskedhercompanion.“Oh,sure.Whynot?”Janreplied.“Besides,I’mcurioustofindoutwhere

hewantstotakeus.”Shoso seemed to know every inch of the forest. To their surprise he led

themtoOldJoe’scabinbyacompletelydifferentroute.“It’sabouthalf thedistance,” Jan remarked.“Ihopewecan findourway

backtocampthesameway.”The IndiandroppedbehindJanandBess.Before theycould turn to thank

himhehad,asusual,disappeared.Bessremarkeddreamily,“IfIhadn’tseenShosoinperson,I’dthinkhe’sa

spirit.Heappearsandvanishessofast,it’slikemagic.”Janlaughedandsaid thatwasagooddescriptionof theIndian.Theynow

approachedtheopencabindoorandcalledinside.“Comein!”OldJoeresponded.Hewassittingupinbedwithahugebandagewrappedaroundhisinjured

foot.“Hello,”hesaid.“Isn’tthisagreatwayforaforestdwellertotreathimself?

AndI’djuststartedonanexcitinghunttosolvemymystery.”Besssmiledandshookhandswithhim.“Everybodyhasanaccidentoncein

awhile,”shesaidsoothingly.Jantoldhimshewasanurse.“Whathaveyoubeendoingforyourself,Old

Joe?”“Don’tyougirlssmellwhat’scookinginmyfireplace?”Jan and Bess nodded. The delicious aroma of pine filled the room. Jan

peeredintothepotwhereacombinationofpinebark,sapfromthetree,andcrushedpineneedleswasbrewing. It had cookeddown to a thick, jellylikeconsistency.OldJoesaidhehadputthismixtureonhisfootandankle,thenbandagedthewholething.Jan smiled. “I couldn’t have done bettermyself. Pine is one of themost

healingremediesthatexist.Irememberanoldsaying—ifanythingailsyou,gointo theforestandlieonabedofpineneedles. Itwillcurecoldsorany

other type of respiratory disorder.Moreover, itwill pep up circulation, andthisinturncancurealmostanytypeofillnessapersonhasexcept,ofcourse,brokenbones.”Thenaturalistbobbedhishead.“I learned thesame thing frommyfather.

Andletmetellyou,itworks.”OldJoebroughtupNancy’snote.“PleasetellNancythatIdon’tknowwhat

kindofleavesShosogaveherandNed.ButifyouseetheIndianaskhimtoshowyouwherehegottheleaves,andgiveafewtothedoctorstoanalyze.”Bessand Janprepared the food theyhadbrought andOld Joeaccepted it

gratefully.Whenhe’dalmostfinishedeating,hecalledtoTrixie.Withatwinkleinhiseye,OldJoesaidtohisvisitors,“Don’tyouthinkshe

deservesalittleofthisgoodfoodfordoingmyerrandsopromptly?”“Wesuredo,”Bessagreed.Thedog lappedup the remainsof thecanned

beefandwaggedhertailinappreciation.Thecallerssaidgood-byeandstartedforcamp.BessandJanfollowedthe

trailwhichShosohadshownthem.HalfwayalongtheysawtheIndianagain.Hestoodbeforethem,armscrossed.FirstJan,thenBess,askedhimabouttherestorativeleaves.Whatplantor treedid theycomefromandcouldhegivethemsomemore?Shosostaredatthemblankly.Hedidn’tunderstandaword.“I’lltrysignlanguage,”Besssaidhopefullyandstartedalittlepantomime

forhimtowatch.First she raised her arms then flapped them to show that something was

comingdownfromthesky.She said to Jan, “I hopeShosowon’t think that it’s a bird.But howdo I

indicateaflyingsaucerdescending?”“Ihaven’tthefaintestidea,”Janreplied.TheIndianwatchedBessverycarefullyasshelaydownonthegroundand

closedhereyes,pretendingtobeasleep.Jancaughtontothelittleact.Shepulledaleafoffanearbyaspentreeand

putitinBess’smouth.Thegirlcheweditandopenedhereyes.Shestoodupand looked hopefully at Shoso. If only she could get her urgent messageacross!Apparently the Indian understood. He nodded and picked several of the

sameleaves.ThenShosogaveBessafaintsmileandhurriedoffthroughtheforest.Janremarked,“You’requiteanactress,Bess.Hecaughtonfast.”

“Ionlyhopemymessagewascleartohim,”thepantomimistreplied.Thenshegiggled.“ImagineplayingcharadesouthereintheforestwithanIndianwhodoesn’tspeakawordofEnglish!”Jangrinned.“There’salwaysafirsttimeforeverything.”Bess laughed, then she and Jan continued their ride.As they neared their

campsite, theyheardtheloudnoiseofahelicopter.Theylookedupbutsawnothing.Reiningin,theypausedtolistenandkepttheireyesskyward.“Iwonderifthepilot’stryingtofindus,”Jansaid.“Thatcertainlywouldbe

difficultinthisdenseforest.”“Youmean,”Bessasked,“that ifhe’s trying to locateus,he’ll landat the

footofthemountainandwalkorrideupheretotalktous?”“Probably,”Janreplied.“Whatdoyousupposehewants?”Bessasked.“Listen!”Janorderedsuddenly.“Thecoptersoundsasifit’sintrouble.”“Oh,Ihopenot,”Bessgaspedinfrightastheenginesputtered,died, then

caughtagain.Withinsecondsitrepeatedtheworrisomesound.“Itwouldbedreadfulforthatpoorpilottocrashintheforest!”

15

LabintheForest

The helicopter continued to make strange, faltering noises over the camp.Everyoneonthegroundwasafraiditwouldcrashontopofthem.“Why doesn’t the pilot try to fly away? Surely hemust see us,” George

complained.Burtsaid,“MaybeIcancommunicatewiththepilotbywalkie-talkie.”He

triedtotuneinbuthadnosuccess.“Thepilotcan’tpickupourwavelength,Iguess,”hesaid.“Toobad.”The craft dipped and rose,made a large sweeping circle, then flew back

overthecamp.AgainBurtattemptedtomakecontact.Finallyhemanagedtogetafaintresponse.“Comeinwhoeveryouare.“IthinkIhavehim!”Burtexclaimed.Heyelledintothespeaker,“Standing

byintheforestbelow.Areyouintrouble?Over.”“No,butI’mgladIcontactedyou.Wehavepermissiontolandintheforest,

butcan’tfindaplace.Anysuggestions?”Nancy,whohadbeenlistening,nowspokeup.“Askthemhowmuchroom

thecopterneeds.”“Not much,” the pilot answered when Burt questioned him. “If we send

toolsdown,canyoucutsomesmalltreestomakespaceforus?”Burtconsultedtheotherboysandthescientistsinthegroup.“Wecandoit,butitwon’tbetoosmooth,”Nedwarned.Burtrelayedthistothepilotwhosaidhewouldmanage.“I’llmakesurewe

avoidanyleftovertreestumps.”Nedandthemengatheredinasmallclearingbetweenclumpsoftreesand

bushes.The copterhungoverhead and loweredbagson a rope cable.Afterseveralofthemhadreachedtheground,thecablewaspulledup.Thecoptercircledagain.Thebagswereopenedandaxes,saws,andotherequipmenttakenout.The

mendividedintoteamstotacklethesaplings.“Can’twegirlsdosomething?”Nancyasked.

Mr.Drewsuggestedthattheypullupthebusheswhilethemenworkedonthetrees.Soonthestillnessoftheforestwasbrokenbythechoppingsoundofaxes,thecrashofsmalltrees,andthebuzzofsawsasstumpswerecuttotheground.Wheneveraheaviersaplingneeded tobe removed, themenslicedoff the

branchesforthegirlstolugaway,theneitherdraggedthetrunksbeyondtheimmediateareaorquicklysawedthemintolengthsthatwereeasiertocarry.Withinashorttimealandingareawasreadyforthecopter.As soon as it settled down, men poured from the doorway. First they

introduced themselves toMr.Drew,who in turnpresented Jan,Hal, andalltheyoungpeople.Among the new arrivalswere a botanist, a zoologist, three chemists, and

twoaerospaceexperts.“Thiscopterisnotastandardmodel,”saidDr.Halpern,oneofthechemists.

“It’s reallya flying lab.Wewanted topark itasclose toDismalSwampaspossible.”Daveremarked,“Iguessyoudon’toftenlandinaforest.”“That’sforsure.”Dr.Halpernnodded,smiling.“Whatwehaveaheadofus

areperhapsthemostunusualexperimentswe’veeverundertaken.”Themenbrought theirowncampingequipment and setupnear their lab.

When they finished, Dr. Halpern asked Nancy and Ned to tell them abouttheiramazingadventure,includingtheirdreams.Thecoupletookturnsfillinginthedetails.WhentheymentionedtheeffectoftherestorativeleavesthatShosohadfed

them,Bessspokeup.“He’sbringingusmore.AtleastIthinkso.”The scientists were intrigued. “We’ll analyze them,” Dr. Halpern said

promptly.“IhopeShosobringsthemsoon.”Besssighed.Thenewcomerswere ready togo toDismalSwamp.Theybroughtmasks

and heavy gauntlets which they slung over their shoulders. A few carriedtrowels,othersspades,andtherest,acid-proofbags.Theyborrowedavailablehorses.ToNancyandtheotherswhostayedbehinditseemedlikehoursbeforethe

group returned, but in fact, they were not gone long. As soon as theyreappeared,however,allbutoneofthemwenttotheirlaboratorytoanalyzethescorchedsod.

OneyoungmanstoppedlongenoughtosaytoNancy,“Yousurewererightaboutthehorribleodorfromtheswamp.I’mgladwehadgasmasks.I’lltakemydreamsinmorepleasantsurroundings!”Hehurriedafterhisco-workers.Theyoungsleuths, togetherwithMr.Drew,waitedimpatientlytohearthe

resultsofthetests.Itwasmorethananhourlaterthatthescientistsrejoinedthecampers.Dr.Halpern said, “I assumeallofyouareeager toknowwhatwe found.

Franklywehavedividedopinions.Someofusthinktheswampproducedtheacid.OthersfeeltheUFOlefttheacidwhichmayhavescorchedoneareaoftheswamp.”Nancyasked,“Haveyoudecidedyetwhatthechemicalis?”Dr.Halpernsaidthatthescientistswerestillpuzzled.“AllIcantellyouis

thatwe’vedetermineditisastrong,nonflammableacid,butverypenetrating.Onequestion is, if the flying saucer is responsible, did the acid come fromsomeotherplanet?”Dr. York, another scientist, spoke up. “If it’s fromDismal Swamp itself,

thenwehavequiteachemicalmysteryonourhands.Tomyknowledge,thisacidisnotfoundinsuchconcentratedformanywhereelseintheworld.”Thediscussion turned to the possibility that the flying saucer sprayed the

acidasittookoff.NancyandNedremindedthementhattheywereovercomebythefumesbeforethesaucerleft.“That does complicate thematter,”Dr.Halpern admitted. “Well,we have

many more experiments to make. I hope we come up with some definiteanswerssoon.Dr.Caffrey,whoarrivedwithMr.Drew,toldtheotherscientiststhathehad

tested Nancy and Ned for contamination by radiation. “Thank goodness, Ifoundnosignofit,”hedeclared.Dr.Halpern asked ifDr.Caffreywouldmind repeating the radiation test.

“I’dliketoseehowyourmachineoperates.”Asbefore,Nancywasgivenacleanbillofhealth.Nedwasabouttoenter

the tentwhere the testwasbeingheld,whenhecalledout,“Doyouexpectsparkstoflyfrommyhead?”The others laughed. “Not only sparks,” Dave replied, “but a pair of

antennas!”When Ned and the doctor failed to appear within a reasonable time, the

campersbecameanxious.HadDr.Caffreyfoundsomethingthistime?

Nancyfeltthatshecouldnotwaitanylongerforananswerandwasreadytoburstintothetent,whenthepairemerged.Bothweresmiling.“Everythingisokay,”Dr.Caffreyreported.“Whattookyousolong?”Burtasked.“Youhadallofusworried.”“Sorry,”Nedreplied.“Weweretalkingaboutwhatmighthavehappenedto

Nancyandmewhilewewereunconscious.”Mr.Drewasked,“Youhaveanewtheory?”Nedwonderedifpossiblysomecreatureintheflyingsaucercommunicated

withthecouplewhiletheywereasleep.“Howcouldhedothat?”Georgeasked.Ned answered, “Perhapshehypnotizedus—tolduswhat hewantedus to

think,see,anddo.”Bessshiveredalittle.“Youmeansomeonecontrolledyourmind?”“Isupposeit’spossible,”Nedreplied.“Even—even to make you believe you died and went to heaven?” Bess

queried.“Oh,sure,”Nedansweredwithachuckle.BynowBesswas absolutely terrified. “Doyou realize that thoseweirdos

maycomebackhereandworkonallofus?”WhenNednodded,tryingtoteaseher,shesaid,“Oh,don’tsaysuchthings!

You’vescaredmesilly!”Davefeltsorryforher.HesatdownnexttoBessandlaidacomfortinghand

onhershoulder.“Don’tbeafraid.Nedisonlykiddingyou.”“Oh,yes?”Nedasked.Mr.Drewsuggestedtheydropthesubjectinfavorofpreparingtheevening

meal.Thenewlyarrivedscientistswenttotheirownquartersinthelab.TherestateadelicioussupperwhichJanprepared.Therewasmoreconversationuntilaboutnineo’clock,wheneveryonestartedtoyawn.Finallythecamperswenttobed.ItwasaverywarmnightandNancy,Bess,andGeorge,whoweretogether

inonetent,decidedtoleavethesideflapshalfwayup.Therewasnotasoundanywhereexceptthehootofadistantowl.MuchlaterNancy,soundasleep,thoughtavoicehadcalledhername.She

rousedbutdidnotopenhereyes.Thenshehearditdistinctly.

“Nancy!Nancy!”

16

TheEerieCave

Nancy managed to pull herself out of her deep sleep. She saw a figurestanding over her. Instinctively she grabbed the flashlight from under herpillowandshoneitintothemysteriousface.“Shoso!”shecalled.Withoutawordhehandedherabunchofleaves,thenturnedandvanished.

Nancybeamedherlightonthem.TherestorativeleavesBesshadaskedfor!Great!shethought.Hopingnot todisturbher friends, theyoung sleuthgot upquietly, took a

plastic bag from her backpack, and put the leaves inside it. Finally shecrawledbackintohersleepingbaganddozedoff.Thenextthingsheknewitwasmorning.Thesunwasshiningthroughthetrees,andbirdsweresinging.Whenthethreegroupsofcampersassembledtoplantheday’swork,Nancy

showedthebagofleavestoeveryoneandtoldthemabouthernightvisitor.Bess gaped at her friend in amazement. “Andyoudidn’t callGeorge and

me?Weren’tyouscared?Oh,I’dhavediedifI’dseenthatman’sstonyfacestaringatme!”Theotherslaughed.ProfessorHendricks,thebotanist,askedfortheleaves.“We’llanalyzethem

thismorning.”“Theyareunusual-looking,”Dr.Caffreysaid.“Idon’trecognizethem.”“If you professionals don’t recognize them,”Mr.Drew remarked, “then I

guessnobodywould.Doyousupposethismountainforestistheonlyplaceintheworldwheretheplantgrows?”“Maybeit’satree,”Besssuggested.“Let’sfindoutfromShoso.”Georgehadanidea.“Wedon’tknowwhereShosolives.Perhapshehasa

gardenandtheleavesgrowinit.”“Or,” Jan said, andpausedamoment, “maybe the tribe thatonce lived in

thisforestcultivatedtheplant,knowingitsmedicinalvalue.”“That’s very possible,”Dr.Caffrey agreed. “I’m curious to seewhat you

chemistscomeupwith.”

Thebotanistsmiled.“Imayeveneatoneoftheleavestosampleitspositiveeffectformyself!”SinceNancy’s group could do nothing to help, she suggested that the six

youngpeoplecontinuetheirhuntforOldJoe’streasure.“Whereshallwestart?”Daveasked,“andwhatshallwetake?”“I suggest you take hunting knives and that we begin at the pyramid of

rocks I told you about,” the girl detective answered. “We should see forourselveswherethearrowpoints.”Theyoungsleuthsputonwaterproofhikingboots,packedalunch,collected

diggingtools,andstartedoff.Halcalled to them,“Bringus some fish!”He ranup toDaveandhanded

himabucketwithapuncturedlid.“Suppercomingup,”Daverepliedwithagrin.“Awholebucketfull.”Nancysaid,“Let’sridetothestream.”Thegroupmounted.NancyandGeorgeledthewaytothemarkerinscribed

withtheinitialsofOldJoe’sfather.Theytetheredthehorsesandwadedintothewater.Theboystriedtocatchtroutwiththeirhands.Theythoughtitwouldbeas

easy for them as it was for Old Joe’s dog, Trixie, but the slippery fishwriggledoutoftheirgrasp.“There’sabigonecoming!”Daveshoutedeagerly.“AndI’mgoingtoget

it!”Hewasabouttograbthefish,whenheslippedonarockandfell,splashing

waterineverydirection.Thegirlsburstintolaughter.“Whydon’tyoutryit?”Davesaid,disgruntled.NedandBurtweremoresuccessful.Theyputseveral fish into thebucket

andfastenedthelid.ButasNeddivedforanotherspeckledtrout,hekickedover the bucket by accident. The lid came off and all of the fish they hadcaughtswamdownstream.“We’reprettypoorfishermen,I’dsay,”hechidedhimself.Again the three girls giggled. “Maybewe’re bad luck,” Bess said. “Why

don’tNancy,George,andIgoonandletyouboyscatchfishbyyourselves?”The other girls agreed. They stopped to look at the pyramid.By pushing

somestonesasidetheyuncoveredtheinitialsandthearrow.Itpointeddirectlyacrossthebubblingstream.

When they reached the opposite bank, the searchers decided to separate.“Let’sreturnintenminutestothissamespot,”Nancysuggested,“andreportwhateverclueswefind.”Thefirst timetheymettheywerediscouraged.“Youdon’tsuppose,”Bess

said, “that we’re on a wild goose chase? Maybe Old Joe’s father was ajokester.”“I think not,”Nancy said. “I have an idea hewas serious, butwanted to

keephissecretwellhidden.Let’sinvestigatebeyondtheimmediateareathistime.”Oncemoreeachgirlwentonherown,carefullyexaminingeverytreeand

rock.Whenthetriometagain,Georgewasgrinning.“Ifoundsomething!”sheexclaimed.“Followme.Hurry!”Bess suggested that theywait a fewminutes for theboys. “We’realready

aheadofthem.Ifwegotoofar,wecouldeasilyloseoneanother.Idon’twantustogetlostinthisforest.”“Heretheycomenow,”Nancysaid,glancingbackontheirtrail.Thethreeboysweretrudginguptheshortpaththegirlshadmadeleading

fromthestream.Burtwascarryingthebucketgingerly.“Any luck?”George asked, then added teasingly, “Or did all those small

speckledcreaturesslipawayfromyouagain?”Burtsmiled.“I’llshowyou.”Heunfastenedthelidpartway.Thegirlsgazedinside.Totheiramazement

thebucketwasfulloftrout!“There’s enough fish for everybody at camp,” Bess remarked. “What a

yummysupper.Icantasteitnow.”George led the group to a tree onwhich another arrow had been carved.

Underneathit,almostobliterated,weretheinitialsJA.“JosephAustin!”Nancyexclaimed.“Super!”“We’reinluck!”Davesaid.Thesearcherssetoff inthedirectionindicatedbythearrow.Theytrekked

forsometime,lookingcarefullyateverythingtheypassed,buttherewerenofurtherdirections.Theykeptonstraightahead,butbecamemorediscouragedbytheminute.Finally Nancy called a halt. “How about a rest period?” she suggested,

droppingtotheground.

“Great idea,” Bess replied. “And a good time to have that lunch webrought.”“Isthatallyoueverthinkabout—lunch?”Georgereplied.“No,”Besssmirked,“sometimesIthinkaboutdinner!”Withoutwaitingforanother teasingremarkfromhercousin,Besswent to

helpwithpreparations.Thesnackwasreadyinminutesandeatenwithgusto.Thenthetrekkersstartedoffagain.“Waitaminute!”Nancysaid.“Ithinkwe’regoinginthewrongdirection.”“Iagree,”Nedtoldher.They all returned to the luncheon spot, got their bearings, and started off

oncemore.Itwasnotlongbeforetheycametoagood-sizedtreewithanothercarved arrow on it. They looked carefully for initials but if there had everbeenany,theyweregonenow.“MaybeOldJoe’sfatherdidn’tputthisarrowmarkhere,”Burtsuggested.Nancy studied it closely. In her mind was a vivid picture of the other

arrows.“I’m sure this was made by the same person,” she said. “I counted the

number of little featherlike veins on the others. This one has the sameamount.”Nedlookedatheradmiringly.“Wedidn’tevensee them,muchlesscount

them,”hesaid.“Greatsleuthing.”George noticed that this arrow pointed to a steep rise of land.When the

climbers reached the top, they sawaheadof thema circular clumpof treesthatdidn’tseempartoftheoriginalforest,butlookedasthoughtheyhadbeenplantedbysomeone.“Doyousupposethatmeanssomething?”Daveasked.Everyone rushed forward and then the boys squeezed behind the trees.A

momentlater,Nedcalled,“There’sacavehere.Itlookslikeadeepone.”Hehadscarcelyfinishedspeakingwhentheyheardanastysnarlandahiss.

Theboysshrankback.“Another wildcat!” Ned cried out, as the animal appeared at the cave

entrance.

Nancyhadasuddenhunch.“Maybeit’sKitty,OldJoe’sfriend.Thismaybeherlair.”Shecalledout,“Kitty!Kitty!Whereareyou?”The snarling and hissing ceased and the wildcat stopped short. Nancy

continuedtospeaktoher.“Kitty,behaveyourself!We’renotgoingtohurtyou!”FinallyKittycametowardthem.DidsherecognizeNancyandNed?Taking

achance,theypattedthewildcat.

Besswasterrified.“Youshouldn’tdothat!”The animal looked up and for a moment they all panicked. Would she

springatoneofthem?Butthebigcatremainedpassiveandquiet.Nancy said to the others, “WhileNed and I keepKitty happy,whydon’t

youfourinvestigatethecave?”“Willdo,”Davereplied.The two couples walked behind the clump of trees and turned on their

flashlights. In themeantimeKittygotawhiffof the fish in thebucket.Shepawedatit,tryingtopushthelidoff.Nancywasafraidshemightoverturnthebucketandlet thewaterrunout.

Then the fish would die. “Why don’t we give Kitty one of the fish?” shesuggested.“Okay,”Nedagreed.Heselectedaplumptroutandthrewittothewildcat.

Shecaughtitinhermouthandranoffwiththefish.“Ihopeshedoesn’treturnformore,”Nancysaid.“Me,too,”Nedadded,withagrin.Kittydidnotcomeback,andeveryonegaveasighofrelief.Nedhungthe

bucketonahighbranch,hopingnootheranimalwouldtrytodisturbthefish.HeandNancynowenteredthecave.“Lookwhatwefound!”Bessexclaimed.Sheandtheotherswereexaminingpicturespaintedonthewalls.Theyhad

dustedthemoffsothesketchescouldbeseenplainly.Onescenedepictedawhitehunterstalkingtowardanenormoustree.AnIndianfacewascarvedonthetrunk.George asked the others if they thought Old Joe’s father had drawn the

pictures,orwhetheranIndianmayhavepaintedthemmanyyearsago.“It’s very hard to say,” Burt replied. “Whoever painted them was a real

artist.Thecolorsareperfectandhaven’tfaded.”“They’re great likenesses of Indians,” Bess murmured, studying the

paintingscarefully.In themeantime,Nancywas lookingatanotherpicturebeyond theoneof

thebigtree—ahalf-circleoffootprintsinfrontofacave.“I think thissketchrefers to thecavewe’re in,”shesaid,“andI think it’s

connectedtotheotherpictureofthehunter.Thehalf-circleoffootprintsmaylead from here to an enormous treewith an Indian head on it. So let’s get

going!IhaveahunchOldJoe’sfatherreallydiddrawthesepictures.”“Youmeanwemaybegettingclosetothetreasureheburied?”Bessasked.Yes,comeon!”

17

Fire!

UndecidedhowtostarthuntingforthebigtreewithanIndianpaintedonit,Nancy’s friendspacedaimlessly.Whichwayshould theygo?Therewasnoarrowtogivethemaclue.FinallyNed broke the silence. “We’rewasting time. I have a suggestion.

Afterall,thisisNancy’smystery.Whydon’twelethermakethedecisionandwe’llfollowit?”Theotherschorusedtheiragreement.Nancy smiled. “Thanks,” she said. “The pictures indicate that we should

halfcirclethecaveuntilwereachanenormoustreewithanIndianfaceonit.”“So,” said George, “we ought to begin with small half-circles and keep

makingthemlargeruntilwefindtherighttree?”Nancynodded.Thegroupspreadoutintoparallel,semicircularformations

andwalkedthroughtheforest,examiningeverytreealongtheway.“I think I found something!” Burt shouted excitedly. “Come here,

everybody!”Hisfriendsimmediatelyrantowardhim.Nancywasbeamingasshedarted

past the others, hopeful that the search had ended successfully. When shereachedhim,Burtwasonhishandsandknees,brushingdirtawayfromtherootsofatree.“Where’s the Indian’s face?”Nancy asked, as she glanced in puzzlement

aroundthetrunk.“No Indian,” Burt mumbled, still digging his nails into the soft ground.

“Here!”heexclaimedatlast.Proudlyhedisplayedtheblunttipofanarrow.“Oh,”Nancysaid,secretlydisappointed.“That’sverynice.”“Nice!”Burtrepeated.“Isthatallyoucansay?It’sgreat!”Bynow,theothershadgatheredaroundtheyoungman.“Sowhere’stheIndian’sface?”Georgeinquired.Nancypointedtothearrowhead,andGeorgesaid,“Isthatallyoufound?”

Gradually losing his own enthusiasm, Burt nodded. To ease his regret,Nancysaid,“IheardJansaythatHalpickedupafewoldarrowheadsnotfarfromhere.Maybeweoughttoaddthisonetothecollection.”BurtdroppedthearrowinGeorge’shand.“Bemyguest,”hesaid.“Actually,”George interrupted, “I’d like towear it on aneck chain.”She

winkedatBurt.“Ifyoudon’tmind,thatis.”“OfcourseIdon’tmind,”heanswered,evidentlypleased.The searchers continued their hunt for almost half an hour longer, but

returned finally to their starting point. No one had discovered anythinghelpful.AgainBesssuggestedtheywereonawildgoosechase,andoncemorethe

othersdisagreedwithher.“Well,whatdowedonow?”sheasked.Nancy said that perhaps the half-circle of footprints in the cave picture

mightbetheotherhalfofthecirclestheyhadmade.“We’llretraceoursteps,butinsteadofstoppinghalfway,we’llcompletethe

circle.”Georgeproposed that everyone changeplaces. “Maybe someone elsewill

spotwhattheothersmissed.”Thegroupdrewlotstodeterminewhowouldtakewhichcircle.Nancywas

assignedtotheonefarthestfromthecave.Thesearchcontinuedandnoonespoke.Theireyeswererivetedtoeachtree

theysaw.Withoutdiscoveringanythingunusualtheysoonreachedtheendofthehalf-circleandwentontocompleteitfully.Nancyhadalmostfinishedcirclingwhenshepausedtogazeatagiantaspen

tree.Apparentlyithadbeenstruckbylightning.Halfofitlayontheground.The lowerpart of the trunkwas still upright.Therewasno carvingon thispart.The eageryoungdetectivehurried to the fallen trunkwhich laybark side

down.Shecouldseepartofacarvingjustabovethebreak.That looks like thecarvingofanIndian!Nancythought,herpulseracing.

Shecouldnotseeitverywell.Ifonlyshecouldrollthetrunkover!Butthiswas impossible. She called loudly to the rest of the groupwho flew to herside.“Look!” she criedout, pointing. “Doesn’t that look like the carvingof an

Indian’shead?”

“It sure does,” Ned agreed, adding with an obvious twinkle in his eyes,“Somepeoplehavealltheluck.IknewIshouldhavestuckwithyou!”Nancyblushedhappily.“Icould’vetoldyouthat,”sheteasedback.“Come

onandhelpmeturnthetrunk,everybody.”Thesixyoungpeopletriedtopushthefallentree,buttheireffortswerein

vain.“This isaggravating,”Georgefumed.“EspeciallysinceIbelieveNancyis

abouttosolvethemystery!”Theyoungsleuthsuggestedthattheyexaminetheinteriorofthetreeincase

somethingwashiddeninside.Theycombedeveryinch.Thesplitwasclean.Therewerenobumpsordepressions.“It would take a derrick to lift even half of this tree,” Ned complained.

“Nancy,what’sournextmove?”“IthinkweshouldgotoOldJoe’scabinandtellhimwhatwe’velearned.”“Thisismaddening,”Besssaidindisgust.“I’msurewe’reabouttomakea

greatdiscoveryandcan’tdoitbecausewe’renotstrongenough.”Burtgrinned.“Thinkofalltheyearsthistreehaslivedherewithoutbeing

disturbed.Itmustbehundredsofyearsold.Infact,itmightdatebacktothedaysofgiantmenwhocouldliftitwithonehandtiedbehindtheirback!”Bessmadeafaceathim,thenturnedtogowithNancyandtheothersalong

atrailtheyhadmadetowherethehorsesweretethered.Theymountedand,followingthestreamthatBesshadalmosttumbledinto,headedforOldJoe’scabin.OldJoehobbledouttomeetthem.“Heardyouallcoming,”hesaid.“You

gotsomenewsforme?”“Excitingnews,”Nancytoldhim.Theyoungpeopletookturnstellingthenaturalistwhattheyhaddiscovered.

Attheendoftheirtale,hiseyesopenedwideinastonishment.“You’vedone amagnificent job,” he said. “I don’twant towait untilmy

foot is entirelywell beforewemove that tree.How about a couple of yougoingintotownandphoningsomelumberjackstocomeuphereandworkonit?”Nedvolunteered.“I’dbegladtogo.Tellmewhotocall.”OldJoelimpedbackintothecabinandwrotedownthenameandaddressof

atree-removalservicethatNedwouldfindlistedinthetelephonebook.

“I’llstartfortownassoonasIgetbacktocamp,”Nedpromised.Old Joe told Ned about a shortcut he could take from the cabin to the

village.“Whynot?”Nedreplied.Burtofferedtogowithhim.Beforethetwosetoff,Nancysaid,“OldJoe,

howmuchshouldNedtellthelumberjackstodo?”Theelderlymanpausedamoment.“First,heshouldletthemturnthetree

over so the Indian’s head shows up. Then the men ought to leave so youyoungfolkscanlookatit.”“Willdo,”Nedtoldhim.HeandBurtrodeoff.DavegaveOldJoeoneofthetroutinthebucket,andBesstoldhim,“The

boyscaughtthefishwiththeirbarehands.”Thenaturalistlaughed.“That’sprettyclever.AscleverasmyTrixie,eh?”Daveandthegirlssetoffforcamp.Whentheyarrived,Nancytoldonlyher

father,Hal,andJanwhattheyhaddiscovered.“Wehavegreathopesoflocatingthetreasure,”sheexplained,“butthere’s

nousespreadingtheinformationuntilwe’resure.”NedandBurt reachedcamp justas supperwas ready.Thescentof frying

fishwhettedtheappetitesofthehungrycampers.Nancy revealed more of the day’s adventure to the group. For a while

everyonepaidstrictattentionandaskedmanyquestions,but soonone, thenanother,begantoyawn.FinallyBess stood up. “I’m going to turn in,” she announced. “Anybody

coming?”Beforeshecouldleaveforhertent,someofthescientistsjoinedthegroup.

Nancyaskedthemiftheyhadfoundanythingneworunusual.Dr.Halpernanswered,“We’velearnedacoupleofinterestingthings.None

oftheacidinDismalSwamphasevaporatedfromthescorchedarea.It’sverystrongstuff.”Dr.Yorksaidthatthechemistshadworkedonthechunksofsodthatthey

dugup.Wehavecometotheconclusionthattheflyingsaucersentoutbeamscontaining a combination of natural substances we know about and somesecretingredient.Itisquiteadhesiveanddifficulttoseparateforanalysis.”His remarkaboutasecret ingredientgaveNancyan idea.Sheasked,“Do

you suppose the flying saucer came from some rival country and not from

outerspace?”Dr. York smiled. “I would hate to think that another country is more

scientificallyadvancedthanweare!”Dr.Caffrey also grinned. “Nancy, I thought youwere convinced that you

andNedreceivedthoughtwavesfromcreaturesinouterspace.Wouldn’tyouhatetothinkthatsomerivalcountrywasabletocontrolyourmind?”NancyandNedwerehorrified,andNedsaid,“Ifmenonearthdidsucha

thingtous,I’mgoingtofindthem!”“Anddowhat?”Nancypromptedhim.Nedposedlikeaboxer.“Fightthem,ofcourse!”Everyone laughed. Then the campers went to their tents and soon were

soundasleep.Inthemorningtheyawoketothebuzzofagiantmotorizedsaw.“Maybethelumberjacksarecuttingupthemysterytree!”Nancyexclaimed.“Howawful!”Besssaid.“Whywouldtheydothat?”“Idon’tknow,”Nancyreplied.“Nedtoldthemonlytoturnitover.”Georgejumpedup.“Buttheycouldruinthetreasure!”“Maybeevenstealit!”Bessadded,tearscomingintohereyes.Nancythoughtthecampersshouldgettothesiteatonce.“Comeon!”she

urged.“Everyminutecounts.”Thethreeboysjoinedthegirls.Allofthemjumpedontheirhorsesandrode

upthehilltowardthefallenaspentree.Georgecomplained,“Ithinkthisoversizedponyhadleadfeet.”Sheurged

himtowalkfaster.Before the riders reached the spot, Nancy, in the lead, detected wisps of

smokecurlingupfromtheforest.“Look!Upahead!Fire!”shecriedout.Theycouldhearcracklingandsmellburningwood.Sparkswereflyinginto

theairandbeingblownaboutbythebreeze;manyofthemfelltotheground.The fire, still somedistance away, neverthelesswasmoving rapidly towardthevaluabletree.“Oh,thisisdreadful!”Besswailed.“PoorOldJoe!Hemustn’tbeharmed.”Nancy’sheartsank.WereBess’swordsabouttocometrue?Wouldagiant

conflagrationsweepthroughtheforest,burnupOldJoe’streasure,hiscabin—andpossiblyeveninjurehim?

ThefiremightevendestroyDismalSwampandtheraremedicinalplantsintheforest,thegirlsleuththoughtwoefully.Aloudshecalledinpanic,“Wemusthelpputoutthefire!”

18

ARewardingFind

Astheridersdrewclosertothefire,theycouldhearmenshouting.Theyoungpeoplewantedtourgetheirhorsestogofaster,but theclimbwastoosteep.Nancyalsofearedthattheanimalsmightbefrightenedbythefire.Everyonereinedinnotfarfromthetreasuretree.“Fortunately the tree hasn’t been harmed,” Ned called to Nancy. He

dismountedandhurriedover to look.The lumberjackshadsawed thefallentrunkintosectionsandleftthembarksidedown.TheIndian’sfacewasbarelyvisible.NancyjumpedfromherhorseandrantowardNed.“Doyouthinkwecan

turnthepieceover?”“Sure,” Ned replied, watching a haze of smoke drift through the

surroundingtrees.“Butwhataboutthefire?”Ifitgetstooclose,itcouldburnupOldJoe’streasure.”Nancyadmittedthatthishadbeenherfearallalong.“You’rerightandwe

mustneverletthathappen.Wemusttrytohelpthefirefightersatonce.Theblazelooksbad.”Bythistimetheothershaddismountedandwerestaringatthethreegirls’

discovery.Theyallpeeredatwhatlittletheycouldseeofthecarving.George said, “We’d better drag this section far away. It’s too precious to

lose.Hearthecracklingofthefire?”Indeedeveryonecould.Howsoonwoulditbebeforetheflamesspreadin

theirdirection?Besssaid,“Oh,Ihopethefiredoesn’tgettoOldJoe’scabin!”Dave slipped an arm aroundBess’s shoulder. “A forest fire can really be

frightening,”heremarked.“WhenIwasalittleboyatcamp,onestartednearus.Wehadtoevacuateinthemiddleofthenightwithoutourdaytimeclothes.Wewere told to soak blankets in the nearby brook and put them over ourheadsaswewentthroughthesmoke.”Besschidedhim,“Doyouhavetotalkaboutsuchhorriblethingsnow?Isn’t

itbadenoughthatwe’repracticallyhelpless?”

“Sorry,”Davesaid.Alltheyoungpeopleworkedhardtostandtheprecioustreesectiononend.

Theyzigzaggeditasfarfromthefireaspossibleandlaiditdowncarefully.Forthefirsttimethemysteriouscarvingwasturnedfaceup.“That’sgorgeous!”Besscriedout.Nancybentdownforacloselookatthecarving.Sheexclaimed,“Herethey

are!TheinitialsofOldJoe’sfather!I’msurewe’vefoundthetreasure.”Shecutherexuberanceshort.“Butwecan’ttaketimetostudytheseclues

now.Wemusthelpthelumberjacksfightthefire.”Burtsuggestedthattheboysgobacktocampforshovelstodigtrenchesas

abackfire.“Andwe’llbringaxestocutdownunderbrush,”Daveadded.The smoke was thickening and the sound of burning wood grew

frighteninglylouder.Thefirewasspreadingrapidly.“I feel so helpless!” Nancy sputtered, coughing at the same time. “Let’s

moveourhorsesdowntowherewedraggedthebiglog.Theyshouldbesafethere.”“Oh,Ihopeso,”Besswailed.“Thisisawful!”Assoonasthatwasdone,thethreegirlshurriedbackupthehill.Thefire

wasdefinitelycloser.“I’mafraidthefireisgettingworse,”Georgeremarked.“You’reright,”Bessaddedinalarm.“Oh,wherearetheboys?”Inashorttimethethreeofthemreturned.Theytetheredtheirmountswith

the other horses, then the girls helped them carry the shovels and axes towheretheyweregoingtostartdiggingthebackfiretrenches.“Whatcanwedo?”Georgeaskedimmediately.Nedsuggestedthattheyusetheaxestochopdowntheunderbrushandcarry

itaway.“Theremaybeenoughdampnessundertheleavesonthegroundtoputoutsomeoftheflames.”“We’lltryit,”Nancysaid.Whilethegirlsworkeddiligently,theboysseparatedtospadeuptheground

intrenchessomedistanceawayfromthefire.Theylitmatchesanddroppedthemintothenarrowfurrows,ignitingablazethatsnakeditswaytowardthealreadyburningsection.

“That should stop some of the spread,” Burt declared, “but I think weshouldworkfaster.”Thegirlshadalreadycutdownandluggedawayheapingpilesofbrush.“That’sgreat!”Nedcalled.Atthesamemomenttheyheardahelicopteroverheadbutcouldnotseeit

throughthedensesmoke.Nodoubtthecraftwouldbeforcedtostayaboveorbehind thegraybillows. Ina fewmoments thegroup felt sprinklesofwhattheythoughtwasrain.ThenDavesaid,“Theremustbeaforestrangerinthatcopter.He’spouring

waterontheblaze.”Besssighed.“Ihopeitworks!”Theyoungpeoplecontinuedtoworkhardeventhoughtheywereexhausted

and filthy. The girls were scratched from the thorny undergrowth they hadbeendraggingaway.“I’ve never been hotter inmy life,” Bess said. “The firemust be getting

closer.”Unfortunately herwordswere true. The roar of burning treeswas louder

thaneverandmorefrightening.Wouldtheirworkhelpquenchtheblaze?As if in reply, the copter hovered directly overhead.Within seconds they

werealldrenchedwithwater.“Whee!”Bess exclaimed, running her hands through her soaked hair. “A

freeshampoo!”The others laughed, then Ned remarked, “I guess the pilot missed his

target.”“I’mhappyhedid,”saidGeorge.“NowIfeelcooler.Iwishhe’dcomeback

anddoitagain!”The pilot made no more misses, however, but continued to drench the

smolderingtrees.Afterwhatseemedlikehoursofhardwork,Nancy’sgroupnoticedthatthe

firewasbeginning tosubside.Thewelcomedelugefromthecopterand thejoint effort of the fire fighters had, at last, turned the conflagration into asoggymess.Nowtheycouldseehowlargeanareahadburned.“Itdidn’ttouchOldJoe’scabin,”Nancysaidwithrelief.Assheandherfriendslaidasidetheirtoolsandsanktothegroundtorest,

they saw two men coming toward them, threading their way among the

charredstumps.They introduced themselves as forest rangers. “We knew someone was

helpingfromthisend,”onemansaid.“Youyoungfolksdidagreatjob.We’remightythankfultoyou.”“Itwastough,”Nedreplied,“butI’mgladoureffortswereuseful.”Assoonastheforestrangerswerecertainthattheembershaddiedout,they

left.Nancyturnedeagerlytoherfriends.“NowwecancontinueourhuntforOldJoe’streasure.”TheyhurriedbacktothebiglogwiththeIndian’sheadcarvedonit.Nancy

pausedforseveralsecondsbeforesuggestinghowtoproceed.“Ithinkitwouldbesafetochiparoundtheheadandseeifwecanpryitup

intact.”The three boys pulled out their hunting knives and carefully dug a circle

aroundthecarvedpicture.Finallytheysucceededinremovingit.“Pretty neat,” George remarked. “Nice souvenir for hanging in your

bedroom,”shetoldNancy.Theyoungsleuthsmiled.“I’dlovetohavethecarving,butIthinkitshould

gotoOldJoe.”Nancyencouragedtheboystodigdeeper.ThechipsflewasNed,Burt,and

Dave took turnswith their strong,sharpknives.Suddenly theystruckmetalandstoppedchipping.“Ithinkwefoundsomething,”Nedtoldtheothers.Theirpulsesquickened

atthethoughtthatsomethingexcitingwasabouttohappen.Nancywatchedcloselyasmoreofthewoodcoveringthemetalwaschipped

off.Aboxwas revealed.Therewaswritingon it.Nancyquicklydustedoffthetop.Onthelidthesewordswerescratched:

FormysonJoeAustin“OldJoe’s treasure!” theyoungsleuthexclaimed,hardlydaring tobelieve

herownwords.Nedattemptedtoliftthemetalboxfromthedepressioninthetreetrunk.No

luck!“Wait!”saidDave.Heandtheothertwoboysburroweddownaroundtheboxwiththeirknives

untilNedcouldfixhisfingersaroundit.Toeveryone’ssurprisethecontainer

wasnotheavy.Nancywonderedwithasinkingfeelingifitmightbeempty!Oh,itmustn’tbe,shethought.

Theboxwastightlysealedandtherewasnowaytoopenitwithoutspecialtools.“Stymiedagain!”saidBurtwithasigh.“We shouldn’t open it anyway,” Nancy said. “Old Joe should. Let’s go

downtohiscabinasfastaswecan.

19

AStrangeReunion

WhenNancyandherfriendsreachedOldJoe’scabin, theyfoundhimlyingonthebed.Hecomplainedofsufferingalittlesetbackwithhisfootandsaiditpainedhimtowalk.“Itwasmyownfault,”hesaid.“IthoughtIwasstrongerthatIam.Itriedto

carrysomelogsin.”Suddenlyhechangedthesubject.“I’msogladallofyouescapedthefire.

Diditgetclosetoyourcamp?”Nancyassuredhimthattheareahadbeenmiraculouslysparedandnowthe

firewasentirelyout.Bessadded,“Theboysdugtrenchesforabackfire,andwegirlscutdown

brushanddraggeditaway.”Shedisplayedseveralscratchesonherforearms.Old Joe glanced at the tiny cuts. “You ought to put some salve on those.

Anyway, I’m glad nothing more serious happened to you. Personallyspeaking,I’mrightproudofyourgroup.Iwasreallyafraidmycabinmightburntotheground.”For the first time the naturalist noticed that Ned was carrying a rusty-

lookingmetalbox.OldJoeinquired,“What’sthat?”“Nancywillexplain,”Georgetoldtheelderlyman,whosatupontheedge

ofhisbed.Nedplacedtheboxalongsidehim.OldJoestaredatitunbelievingly.“Myname’sonit!”hecried,excited.“Wheredidyoufindthis?”HecradleditinhishandsaffectionatelyasNancydescribedtheirsearchin

detail.Old Joe shook his head. “To think I’ve searched this forest hundreds of

timesandneverseenthepyramidofrocksorthecavewiththeIndianpicturesinit!”A lookof fearglazedhiseyesashe staredat the smallbox.“What if the

forestfirehadruinedeverythingforever?”“Butitdidn’t,”Nancysaidsoftly.“That’stheimportantthing.”

Old Joenodded. “You’re right.Howcan I ever thankyou for saving thatpricelesslogandthecarvingonit,nottomentionwhat’sinside?I’llalwaysbegratefultoyou.”AllthistimeBessremainedsilent.Itwasclear,however,shewasbecoming

impatient.“Whydon’tyouopenthebox,OldJoe?”Thenaturalistfingeredthemetalcontainerlovingly.Hesmiledwithtearsin

hiseyes.“I’malmostafraidtoopenit,”hemumbledquietly.Nedtoldhimthattheboyswouldhelplifttherustedlid.Didhehavetools

they could use? Old Joe pointed to a drawer where Ned found a chisel, awedge,andahammer.Heused themtopryup the lidwhileBurtandDavepushed as hard as they could with their fingers to spring the cover loose.Finallyitgaveway.OldJoepeeredinside.“Money!”heexclaimedindisbelief.“Alotofit!My

fatherdidoutwithisenemy!”Nancy was staring too. “And there are a lot of papers. They must be

importantmessagesfromyourfather.”Theelderlyman’shand shookashe liftedout the firstone. Itwasa long

letter.HegaveittoNancy.“Pleasereaditforme.Allofyouhavebeensohelpfultometheleast—the

least—”Hebrokeoff,faintlywhispering,andslumpedbackontohispillow.“OldJoe!”Nancycried,lettingthepaperfalltothefloor.TheotheryoungpeoplecrowdedaroundthestrickenmanwhileNancyfelt

hispulse.“It’sveryweak,”shesaid.“Bess,pleasedampenthattowelonthesinkandbringittome.”“Sure,Nancy.”George, in the meantime, stroked Old Joe’s forehead. It felt cold and

clammy.“Pleasewakeup,”shemurmuredgently.WithinsecondsOldJoe’seyesblinkedopen.Asmilespreadslowlyacross

hisface.“I’mallright,”hesaidhoarsely.“Nowhelpmesitup,willyou?”“Maybeyouought to lie there a little bit longer,”Nancy said, pattinghis

facewiththewetcloth.“But I feel fit as a fiddle.” Old Joe grinned mischievously. “We’ll

compromise.YoureadtheletterandI’llsitback.How’sthat?”

“Okay,ifyouinsist,”Nancysaid.“ButpleasepromisetotakeanapwhenIfinish.”Themannodded.“Ofcourse.Afterall, Idon’thaveanyplans togowild

boarhuntingright thisminute,”heteased.“Nowdon’tkeepmeinsuspenseanylonger.”Withoutwaitinganothersecond,Nancypickeduptheintriguingletterand

read:DearSon:Thiswillcomeasagreatsurprisetoyou.Atfirstyouarenotgoingto

believeit,butIassureyouitreallyhappenedtome.OnceIcameupto theforestbymyself.Thatone time,anunearthly

lightsuddenlyappeared,approachingattremendousspeedfromfaroffinthesky.Ifinallyrealizeditwasaflyingobjectofsomesort.Tomyamazement it slowed down and landed in Dismal Swamp. It was aflyingsaucer!Irushedtotakeacloselookatit—thoughtheswampsmelledsobadit

was overpowering. I heard a voice insidemy head givingme orders.ThatwasallIcouldhear—nothingoutloud.Thecraftflewawayalmostassoonasitgothere.Iwasterrified.AtfirstIconvincedmyselfthatImustbedreaming.Thesilentvoicewarnedmenottorevealthesecrettoanyone.Then thevoicesaid the flyingsaucerwould return toearth intenyears!

OldJoeexclaimed,“That’sthisyear!”Theyoungpeoplecheckedthedateontheletterandconfirmedit.“Incredible!”Davesaid.“Goon,Nancy!”Georgebegged.Thegirlsleuthcontinued:

Myson,youmaywonderwhyIburiedthisinformationinatreeandcarvedanIndian’sheadonit.NowyouwillbeamazedtohearwhatelseIhavetosay.I never told you that your mother was a full-blooded Indian. She

belongedtoasmalltribeoftheShawneenationthatusedtoliveinthismountaintopforest.Youhadanolderbrotherwholookedjust likeher.Hewasmysteriouslykidnapped,and I amsurehewas takenawaybytheIndians,whodidnotapproveofme.

OldJoe’seyesbulged.“AnIndianbrother!Shawnee!”hecried.“NowI’ll

neverknowwhohewas.”When exclamations of astonishment ended in murmurs, Nancy went on

readingtheletter.Two years later you were born. Tragically, yourmother died a few

hourslater.YoushowednoIndiantraits.Youlooklikeme.IthoughtIneverwantedyoutofindoutaboutyourmotherandbrother,butnowIbelievethatinallfairnesstoyouthetruthshouldcomeout.

OldJoeinterruptedtoask,“Doesitsaywhatmybrother’snamewas?”Nancyfelta lumpinher throat.Asshehadbeenreading,asuspicionhad

enteredhermind.Shewenton:Yourbrother’snamewasShoso.

“What!” Old Joe exclaimed. Everyone in the room except Nancy wasstunnedbytherevelation.Nancy said, “Come to think of it, Shoso and Old Joe do have the same

build,andInoticedthattheirhandsarealmostidentical.ThemaindifferenceisinthecoloroftheirskinandShoso’sIndianfaceandhair.”Excitement ran high as everyonewondered if perchance Shoso knew the

Austinfamilysecret.Wasthiswhyhestayedintheforest?“Wemustfindhimatonce!”thenaturalistannounced.Ned spoke tohimcalmly. “Buthow?Wehaveno ideawherehemaybe.

We’llmakeasearch,buthehasneverleftatrailwecouldfollow.”WhileNedspoke,Nancynoticedanotherpaperfoldedatthebottomofthe

box,andsaid,“Moreofthesecretaboutyourfamilymayberevealedinthis.”Theelderlyman leaned forward topick itupandspread thepaperonhis

lap.Helookedatitforseveralsecondswithoutspeaking.George,eagerlyawaitingananswer,askedhim,“Whatdoesthepapersay?”Old Joe explained that his fatherhadwrittendownanumberofShawnee

Indianwords.“OppositethemistheEnglishtranslation,”hesaid.Heranhisfingerdown the list and exclaimed, “Here’s theword forolderbrother! It’sNtheetha!”Herepeatedthewordseveraltimesasiftryingtomemorizeit.“IhopeI’m

pronouncingitright,”hesaid.At thismoment they all heard a noise outside the cabin. Slowly the door

swungopen.TotheiramazementShosowasstandingthere!AtonceOldJoegotupfromthebedandhobbledacrossthefloor,hisarms

outstretchedingreeting.“Shoso!Ntheetha!”

20

UFOCapture

A touching scene followed as Old Joe, forgetting his injured foot, hurriedtowardhisnewfoundbrother.“Shoso!”heexclaimedhappily.The Indian in turn held out his hand, then pointed to himself, and said,

“Ntheetha!”Noneoftheyoungpeoplespokeasthemenclaspedeachotheraroundthe

shouldersandtouchedcheeks,firstononeside,thenontheother.Finallytheybackedapart,staringateachotherinsilence.OldJoe’sfacebrokeintoagreatsmileandinresponsehisbloodbrothergrinned,too.AllthistimeTrixiestoodquietly,herearsbentforwardasshewatchedthe

reunion. Now, apparently feeling it was her turn to greet Shoso, the dogbarked and jumped around. First she lickedOld Joe’s hands, then those ofShoso.Thenshesatupbetweenthetwo,wavingherfrontpaws.The brothers patted the dog while Nancy and her friends laughed. Ned

noticedabonelyingonashelf.Hepickeditup.“OkaytogivethistoTrixie?”heasked.“Goahead,”OldJoereplied.He went back to the bed and sat downwith a sigh of relief. Nancy and

Georgehelpedhimeasebackagainsthispillow.“Areyoufeelingallright?”Nancyasked.“Yes,yes,”heinsisted.“Iguessthenewskindoftookmybreathawayfora

minute.”OldJoenowpickedupthesheetwiththetranslatedwords.Usingthem,he

spoke to Shoso. The Indian smiled at him and bobbed his headunderstandingly.“Look how happy Shoso is,” Bess whispered to her cousin. “Isn’t it

wonderful?”“It’sgreat,”Georgesaid.Nancyloweredhervoiceasshemotionedtohergroup.“Ithinkweshould

letthesetwobrothersbecomebetteracquainted.”

Everyoneagreed.Theyoungpeoplesaidgood-byetothemen.OnthewayoutNancystoppedtospeaktoOldJoe.“PleasethankShosofor

bringing us those healing leaves. Ned and I and the scientists at camp aregratefultohim.Hemaywellberesponsibleforsomewonderfulnewmedicaldiscovery.”The naturalist smiled. “It’ll be hard to get yourmessage across using the

fewwordsonthispaper,butIpromisetotry,”hesaid.“Goodlucktoyouinsolvingthemysteryoftheflyingsaucer.Justremember—ifIorShosocanbeofanyhelp,letusknow.”When the young people reached camp, Mr. Drew, Jan, Hal, and the

scientistscrowdedaroundtoheartheresultsoftheirsearch.Allwereamazedtolearnnotonlyofthetreasurehuntbutalsothesurprisingstoryofthetwobrothers.“ImustremembertocallmyfriendstheDanaGirlsandtellthemtheoutcomeofallthis,”Nancysaid,makingamentalnote.“Thisisallabsolutelyfantastic,”Janremarked.Hal added, “It certainly is. As amatter of fact, it’s probably the greatest

secretthisoldmountainhaseverhad!”Professor Hendricks, the botanist, spoke up. “I’m not so sure that’s true,

however.”ThescientisttoldhisspellboundaudiencethatShawniegunkMountainwas

filledwithsecrets.“Wehavemensearchingallovertheplace.Thisisaveryspecial forest, indeed. It is a natural pharmacy filled with rare, unspoiledmedicinalplants.”Nancyasked,“WhatistherebesidestheleavesShosogaveus?”ProfessorHendricksreplied,“Theplaceisbrimmingwithroots,plants,and

leaves thatarefoundsparsely invariouspartsof theworld.Somearenervemedicines.Thesapofonetree,ifswallowed,isknowntogiveinstantrelieffor heart palpitations.Weplan to take samples of these curative plants andherbsandgrowtheminquantityinotherplaces.”Halremarked,“Itseemsincrediblethatnobodyhasdevelopedallthisstuff.”ThisgaveNancyanidea.ShesaidtoProfessorHendricks,“I’msureShoso

knowsalotabouttheseplants.Hemightbeagreathelptoyou.ProbablyOldJoewillteachhimtospeakEnglishandalsokeephimfromdisappearingallthetime.”Thebotanist saidhewouldappreciate the Indian’shelp.“Idoubt, though,

that he would ever want to leave this place. Fromwhat you’ve toldme, Iassumethisishisancestralhome.”Theday’shappeningscontinuedtobethetopicofconversationthroughout

theeveningmeal.Thegrouphadjustfinishedtheirsupperwhensuddenlyaglow of lights flashed brilliantly across the darkened sky. Then came atremendousrushofwindthatshookeverythinginsight.“Theflyingsauceriscomingback!”Nancygulped.“Idon’tbelieveit!Oh,

howwonderful!”Besswas fearful.Shehadexperiencedonesimilarwindstormanddidnot

relishanother.Shecriedout,“Becareful,everybody!”Theothersinthecamppaidnoattention.Theyweretooeagertowatchthe

landing of the mystery ship. Everyone grabbed a flashlight or big camplantern, and all made their way down the path to Dismal Swamp. Theydecided,however,nottousethehorsesanddrawattentiontothemselves.Bythetimethegroupreachedthevicinityofthemarsh,theysawtheflying

sauceroverhead.Itwasvibratingconvulsivelyanddidnotdescendatonce.“Thesaucermustbeinsometrouble!”Nancyexclaimed.Asthecamperswatched,allthelightsontheshipwentout.“Something is certainly wrong,” Ned remarked. “Maybe it’s

antigravitationalbeamsaren’tworking.”Within seconds the flying saucer dived for earth and crash-landed in the

swamp.Thenextmomentthecraftturnedonitsside.Davesaid,“Ihopeitwon’texplode.Maybewe’dbettergetoutoftheway.”Everyone except Nancy and her father took his advice and ran into the

woods a short way. The girl detective and her father did not move butwatchedtheshipmorecuriousthanever.Itdidnotexplode.Bess,inthemeantime,thoughstillwary,edgedbacktowardNancy.“Allwe

need is for it to catchon fire,” she told theothers. “Or rather, that’s allwedon’tneed.”Nothinghappened to thespaceshipand thecampersdescendedoncemore

toplaytheirflashlightsandlanternsonthemysterycraft.Itseemedasiftheshiphaddied.“Nowwhatdowedo,Nancy?”Georgeasked.Before the girl detective could reply, they heard another aircraft coming.

Wasitabackupflyingsaucertryingtohelpitssistershipoutoftrouble?

Asthenewcraftappeared,theonlookerswerepuzzled.Itwasnottheshapeofthetraditionalroundflyingsaucer,butwascylindrical,andononesideinlarge letters thewordOPTIMUMwas painted. The ship came down like ahelicopternexttothedisabledflyingsaucer.“Wow!Whatasight!”Nedexclaimed.Alltheonlookersturnedtheirflashlightsontheship.Theysawtheoutline

ofadoor.Inafewsecondsitopenedandstepswereloweredtotheground.Amanappearedinthedoorway.Hewaswearingauniformandthesilver

eaglesofaUnitedStatesAirForcecolonel.Mr.Drewstaredathim,thenexclaimed,“ColonelAken!”Nancywasdumbfounded.“Youknowhim,Dad?Theaircraftbelongstoour

country?”“Yes,dear,”herfatheranswered,thenwalkedforwardtogreetthecolonel.

As he came down the steps, several other airmen appeared. The campersmovedaheadandeveryonewasintroducedtothespecialgroupofAirForcemenchosentoflytheOptimum.BessadmiredoneyoungmanwhowasblondandhuskylikeDave.“Isn’the

cute?”shemurmuredinGeorge’sear.DavepulledBessbythehandtowardColonelAkenandMr.Drew.Nancy’s father admitted he was surprised to see his friend in Dismal

Swamp.“Howdidyouhappentocomehere?”heasked.ColonelAkenexplainedthatwhenMr.Drewhadcontactedtheheadofthe

AirForceandrecountedNancy’sworkontheflyingsaucermystery,hewaschosentoinvestigate.“Ialsoaskedpermission to tryout thisnewAmericanversionofa flying

saucer.”Nancy asked, “How did you know when the mystery ship was coming

back?”The colonel smiled. “I guess I have to let you all in on a secret—a

governmentsecret,actually.ThiswoundedvehiclebelongstotheU.S.Itwasbuilt and launched ten years ago as an experiment, but disappeared shortlyafter. At the time not much was known about programming this particulartypeofspaceship.Ofcourse,sincethenwe’velearnedagreatdeal.Theflyingsaucersuddenlyreappearedatourexperimentalgroundsbutgavenocluesastowhereithadbeen,andsofarasIknownosightingswereeverreported.”When Colonel Aken paused, Nancy spoke. “I believe your flying saucer

landedhereinDismalSwamp.”ShetoldhimabouttheletterwrittenbyOldJoe’sfather.TheAirForcegroupwasastounded.Oneoftheyoungmen,MajorTanner,

remarked, “Mr.Austinmust have been psychic to prophesy that our saucerwouldreturntothesamespottenyearslater.”“Isthistheidenticalship?”Nancyasked.“Yes,”ColonelAken replied.“Itwasworkedon, reprogrammed,andsent

outonatestflight.Forawhile itbeamedbackmessagesthatallwasgoingwell. Then, as before, all communication ceased. We feared some rivalcountryhadcapturedoursaucer.Besscriedout,“Thatwouldhavebeena—acatastrophe!”“Iagree,”thecolonelreplied.“Wheredidyoupickupthesaucer?”Mr.Drewasked.“Aboutthirtythousandfeetalmoststraightup.Ourradarfinallydetectedit.

Wefeltsuretheshipwouldreturnhere,butitsflightpatternwassoerratic,itwashardtofollow.”“I’dliketoaskaquestion,”Georgeinterrupted.“I’ll answer it if it’s not classified,” Colonel Aken replied, his eyes

twinkling.“Beforetheflyingsaucerarrived,thewindblewlikeacyclone.Everything

thatwasn’ttieddownscattered.”“Yes,”Bessadded,“itactuallyblewawayourpicnic,eventhefishcooking

overanoutdoorfire.”TheAirForcemen laughed.ColonelAkensaid,“Young lady,youdidhit

upon classified information. Yes, the flying saucer caused the windstorm.Sometimesrainfollows.Howandwhy,I’mobligedtotellyou,mustremainagovernmentsecret.Sorrytodisappointyou.”“But your new ship, the Optimum, didn’t cause a windstorm,” Nancy

remarked.ColonelAkenlookedathersearchingly.“Youhaveaverykeenmind.It’s

true. This newer ship was built from totally different plans and willaccomplishmorethantheearliermodel.Again,however,Iamnotatlibertytogiveyouadditionalinformation.”Nedadmittedhewaspuzzledaboutwhytheoldflyingsaucerwhirledasit

flew.

The colonel saidwith a knowing grin, “After you graduate from college,enroll inourtechnical trainingschool.We’llbehappytoteachyousomeofourtradesecrets.”Suddenly Nancy realized the mystery had been completed. The girl

detective felt sad to thinkherworkwasover. Ina short time,however, shewouldbecomeinvolvedinsolvingthemysteryofTheSecretintheOldLace.Shesnappedoutofher reverieandasked theofficer,“Will theoldsaucer

everbeabletoflyagain?”“We’ll try to find out very soon,” Colonel Aken answered, “but first, in

honorofyourhelpingusfindher,Ithinkweshouldrewardyouwithalittletrip in our identified flying object.” He smiled. “Tomorrow all of youwillhaveachancetorideintheOptimum.You’llbethefirstcivilianstodoso.”Nancyandherfriendsaswellasthescientistswerethrilledbytheprospect

andapplaudedColonelAkenforhisinvitation.He in turn held up his hand for silence. “Don’t give me any credit for

recovering the mystery ship. I believe it all belongs to Nancy Drew, herfather,andherfriends.Whatdotherestofyousay?”ProfessorHendrickscalledout,“Wesayyes!”Agreatcheerrangthroughtheforest.