Carolyn Keene - The Secret of Red Gate Farm

"Who do you think he is?" George asked.

"Either the strange man on the train who followed me here, or some accomplice of his."

"I'm glad for your sake we're going away, Nancy," stated George.

"Let's not say anything about this to Jo," Nancy advised, as she and George walked back to the car.

"It's a perfect day for our trip to the country," Joanne said excitedly.

George could see by the expression on Joanne's face that a visit to Red Gate Farm with her new friends was far more important to her than any other plans the girls might have had.

"I agree one hundred per cent!" George answered happily as she stepped into the car.

"And I'll be so glad to get out of this heat," Bess chimed in with a sigh. "I spent practically the whole night dreaming about the cool, refreshing breezes in the country."

As Nancy steered the convertible in the direction of Round Valley, she said with an eager smile, "We're off to rescue Red Gate Farm!"

Nancy and her friends thoroughly enjoyed the scenic route to Round Valley. They stopped for a quick lunch and then continued their drive.

The winding roads led through cool groves and skirted sparkling little lakes. Each hilltop brought a different and beautiful view. Gradually the worried expression completely left Joanne's eyes, and color came into her thin face. She began to laugh heartily at the antics of Bess and George. As they rode along she told the girls a great deal about her home.

"You'll like Red Gate, I'm sure," she said enthusiastically. "We haven't any riding horses, but there will be plenty of other things to do. We can explore the cave, for one thing."

"Cave?" Bess questioned with interest. "How exciting! What kind is it? A home for bears or a pirate's den?"

Joanne laughed. "There's a large cavern located on the farm. No one knows how it came to be there, but we think it must have been made a long time ago by an underground river."

"You must have explored it before this!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Oh, yes, of course, though I'll admit I never did very thoroughly, and I haven't been near the cave for years. As a child I was always afraid of the place-it looked so dark and gloomy. Lately I've been too busy working around the farm."

"We'll have to put that at the top of our list!" George declared. "I love spooky things."

"Well, I'm not so sure I do," Bess admitted.

Nancy laughed. "We may even find hidden treasure in the walls."

"I wish you could." Joanne sighed. "It certainly would come in handy."

The hours passed quickly as the travelers alternately sang and chatted. "Why, it's almost four o'clock!" George announced in surprise.

"We've made good time," Nancy remarked.

Bess spoke up plaintively. "I'm half-starved. It's been ages since lunch. I could go for a gooey sundae."

The others laughed, but agreed they were hungry too.

"Let's watch for a roadside stand," Nancy proposed. "I'll have to stop soon for gas, anyway."

"We'll come to one soon," Joanne spoke up. "We're in Round Valley now."

A few minutes later she pointed out a combination filling station and lunchroom which looked clean and inviting. Nancy turned the convertible into the driveway and parked out of the way of other drivers who might want to stop for gasoline.

The group entered the lunchroom and took seats at one of the small white tables. They all decided on chocolate nut sundaes topped with whipped cream.

"Here goes another pound." Bess sighed as she gave her order. "But I'd rather be pleasantly plump than give up sundaes!"

Though there were few customers in the room, the woman in charge, who also did the serving, was extremely slow in filling the orders. Twice Nancy glanced at her watch.

"If you'll excuse me," she said, "I'll step outside and get the gasoline. It will save us a little time in getting started. Don't wait for me if our sundaes come."

She drove the car over to the pump and asked the attendant to fill the tank. Before he could do so, however, a large, high-powered sedan pulled up to the other pump, coming to an abrupt stop almost parallel to Nancy's car.

"Give me five and make it snappy!" a voice called out impatiently.

The attendant glanced inquiringly at Nancy Drew. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"Wait on them first if you like," she said graciously.

Nancy observed the passengers with interest. There were three rather coarse-looking men, accompanied by a woman.

Nancy could not see the face of the driver, for it was turned away from her. But suddenly he opened the door of his car.

"I'm goin' inside and get a couple bottles of ginger ale," she heard him grumble to his companions.

As he stepped from the automobile and turned, Nancy saw his face. He was the mysterious man who had spoken to her that day on the train!

In view of the telephone call George had received, Nancy did not wish to be observed. She turned her head quickly, leaned down, and pretended to be studying a road map. "I hope he doesn't recognize me!" Nancy thought, "or see my license plate!"

To her relief, the man walked in front of the convertible without a sideward glance. At that moment the woman alighted and walked toward the lunchroom, passing close to Nancy's car. She was tall and slender, with blond hair that was almost shoulder length. Nancy's attention was suddenly arrested when she detected on the stranger a familiar scent-Blue Jade perfume!

After the driver and the blond woman had entered the lunchroom, Nancy gazed at the two men who remained in the automobile. They were the sort Carson Drew would describe as "tough customers."

The blond woman soon reappeared and got back into the sedan. Then the driver came out carrying the cold drinks. Without looking in Nancy's direction, he addressed the attendant harshly.

"Say, ain't you finished yet?" He turned to one of the men in the car and handed him the bottles of ginger ale.

"Hold these, will you, Hank? I got to pay this bird!"

Nancy started. "That man in Room 305 called one of his friends 'Hank' over the telephone," she said to herself. "Could he be this person?"

Her attention was drawn back to the driver, who was paying the attendant. He took a thick roll of bills from his pocket, and with a careless gesture peeled off a ten-dollar bill.

"Aren't you afraid to carry such a wad around, sir?" the attendant questioned, gazing admiringly at the thick roll.

The driver laughed boisterously. "Plenty more where this comes from. Eh, Hank?"

"You bet! My roll makes his look like a flat tire! Just feast your eyes on this!" He flashed an even larger roll of bills in the amazed attendant's face.

The filling-station man shrugged. "I'll have to go inside to get. your change."

The moment he had disappeared, the third man in the car muttered to his companions, "You fools! Do you want to make him suspicious? Pipe down!" He spoke in a low tone but the wind carried his voice in Nancy's direction.

"Maurice is right," the driver admitted. "The fellow is only a cornball, but we can't be too careful."

The attendant returned with the change. The driver pocketed it and drove off without another word. Nancy instinctively noted the license number of the car. On impulse she went to a phone booth and dialed her friend Chief McGinnis of the River Heights Police Department.

"I'll ask him to let me know who owns both the sedan and the foreign-make car that slowed down at George's house," she determined. "Then I'll find out about the driver, the woman wearing the Blue Jade, the men named Maurice and Hank, and maybe the man in Room 305!"

CHAPTER VI A Worrisome Journey

"Some class, eh?" the attendant remarked to Nancy as she came back to her car. "Must be millionaires."

"Or racketeers," Nancy thought. As soon as her gas tank was filled, she paid the bill and hurried back into the lunchroom. The girls already had been served.