Carolyn Keene - This Side of Evil

Silently, Nancy edged along the wall, behind the crates. She was careful not to make any noise that might attract the dog’s attention. Halfway to the door she saw that the two guards were totally preoccupied with fighting the fire. Maybe she was close enough to make a run for it. Cautiously, she stepped into the center aisle.

But there was another loud bark. She threw a quick look back over her shoulder. A large black form about waist high emerged from the shadows. It charged after her with incredible speed, its teeth bared. It was a police dog, the largest one she had ever seen. And she’d never get to the door before it got to her!

Nancy dived behind several cardboard boxes and crates, pulling three or four down around her. The dog stopped and glared at her with slits for eyes, growling low in his throat. There was nothing between her and the dog but a half dozen flimsy boxes. Would they hold him back? The dog bared his teeth and growled again, the hair rising along his neck. Still it didn’t move toward her as long as she stayed perfectly still. Spike must be trained, she thought as she watched him, to corner people until his master arrived.

Nancy took a deep breath. The palms of her hands were clammy with sweat. She was safe from the dog as long as she didn’t move—for a few moments at least, until the guards put the fire out. But if she tried to make a break, the dog would attack her for sure. And from the looks of those sharp teeth, she’d be cut to ribbons in minutes. What could she do?

Just as Nancy was beginning to feel truly frightened, the silence was broken by the hum of a large electric motor. From overhead came the creaking sound of something. It sounded like a piece of machinery moving along a rail.

Nancy looked up. Above her, she could see a heavy rail suspended, like the track for a monorail train. It ran the full length of the center aisle, all the way down to the huge double doors at the end. Attached to the rail was what looked like a small cab. In the dim light, Nancy could still see that Ned was inside the cab. And from the bottom of the cab swung a large hook. Ned had come to rescue her!

“Hey, what’s that?” one of the guards shouted. Spike bared his teeth and began to growl again.

“It’s the crane!” the other one yelled. “Come on! We’ve got to cut the power!”

Nancy fixed her eyes on the hook as it swung down the aisle toward her about four feet above her head. Could she reach it? She pushed over a wooden crate and stood up on it. The hook was coming within reach now, and she grabbed it—just as Spike lunged toward her. To her relief, the hook began to pull her up out of the dog’s reach, until she dangled just above his head. And Ned was taking them straight for the door!

Shouting loudly, the guards were running down the center aisle. They were too far away to get off an accurate shot, but the crane also seemed to be moving incredibly slowly. Then Nancy turned to see the huge double doors just ahead! They were closed tight. She and Ned were going to crash into the doors!

Then a warning horn began to blare loudly. Slowly, just as the crane reached the opening, the enormous doors slid open, just wide enough for the crane to pass through. A blast of cold, wet night wind hit Nancy in the face, nearly taking her breath away. The rush of air came from the helicopter, which was hovering noisily just outside the building. Its landing lights were on, and its marker beacon flashed bright against the darkness. It was raining lightly.

“What in the world is that!” Nancy heard one of the astonished guards shout. She saw them duck behind one of the containers.

“Nancy! Get in the helicopter!” Ned shouted as he slid down the ladder from the cabin of the crane. “I’ll take care of the dog!”

Nancy let go of the hook and dropped to the ground with a thump. As she raced toward safety, Ned wrapped his jacket around his arm, holding it bent in front of him like a shield. Crouching low, he ran straight at Spike.

“Look out, Ned!” Nancy yelled. She ran toward the helicopter, hovering three feet above the dock, and hoisted herself into the copilot’s seat. George was slumped in a backseat, breathing in great gulps.

Growling ferociously, the dog charged Ned. It sunk its teeth into the jacket he had wrapped around his arm. Stubbornly, the dog held on as Ned began to back toward the helicopter, dragging the fighting dog with him.

One of the guards ran to the open door. “Stop!” he shouted. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

“No!” the other one yelled. “It’s a company helicopter! Don’t shoot!”

“Hold on, kids,” the pilot commanded. “We’re getting out of here!”

“Wait for Ned!” Nancy shrieked as the pilot began to rev up the engine. The helicopter rose another couple of feet.

As the copter began to rise higher, Ned lunged for it and hooked his free arm over the landing skid. Just as his feet were dragged free of the ground, he straightened out his other arm. His jacket peeled off his arm, and the dog dropped with a splashy thud into a puddle on the dock below. Ned crawled over the skid and into the backseat of the helicopter as the dumbfounded guards stared at him, their pistols hanging at their sides.

Leaning over the back of the front seat, Nancy cheered and flung her arms around Ned. “Oh, Ned!” she cried. “You’re safe!”

“Are you all right?” Ned asked anxiously, gently brushing her cheek with his hand.

Nancy kissed him quickly. “I’m fine,” she said. “What about George?”

George looked up, dazed. “Where are we?” she asked. “What happened?”

“We’re on our way back to the Cherbourg Building,” Ned told her, pointing to the lights on the rain-slicked streets below. The wiper blades on the helicopter made a comfortable thunk thunk . “You’re safe now.”

Nancy looked at George. “Did you see the person who kidnapped you?” she asked eagerly.

George frowned. “No, I didn’t see her,” she said slowly. “But I—”

“Her?” Ned broke in.

George nodded, looking pleased with herself. “I couldn’t see her face, but it was a woman. I’m sure of it. I could tell by her voice.” She grinned. “I got even, too—at least a little,” she added smugly. “I bit her, right on the hand.”

“You bit her,” Nancy repeated, in a wondering tone. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she still wasn’t sure what it was.

“Yes,” George said, “she came to bring me something to eat, and when she took the gag out of my mouth, I—”

But George didn’t get to finish her sentence. The helicopter engine had begun to sound funny, as if it had to work harder to keep going. Then, suddenly, there was just silence—a terrifying silence.

George grabbed Ned’s arm. “What’s going on?” she cried.

“Engine failure,” the pilot said tersely, snapping switches on the control panel in front of him.

Nancy stared at the panel. The gauges were all falling toward zero—all except the altimeter. It was spinning counterclockwise, faster and faster. Nancy’s stomach felt the way it did in an elevator, when it went down too fast. And then from behind her, she heard George’s thin, high-pitched scream.

“We’re going to crash! We’re all going to die!”

Chapter Sixteen

“We’ve got to find a clear spot to put down—and fast,” the pilot told Nancy. “I’m going to have my hands full. Get on the radio!”

Nancy looked at the radio doubtfully. “How does it work?” she asked.

“Pick up the mike. When you want to talk, press the button on the side. I’ll tell you what to say.”

Nancy picked up the large black microphone clipped to the instrument panel, the flexible cord dangling beneath it.