Nancy Clue Mysteries 2 - The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend (17 page)

"I'm bored," Lauren complained as she surveyed the long stretch of unending fields before her eyes. "Aren't we ever going to get out of this flat place?" she scowled. "There's nothing to look at here besides miles and miles of stupid corn and boring wheat!"

Cherry gasped indignantly. "Nebraska is the heart of our nation, Lauren," she admonished. "Look all around you-see that wheat growing tall and proud?" Her voice cracked with emotion. "See it glistening gold in the sun? I'll tell you who lives here, Lauren. People who feed hungry folks with the toil of their hands." Cherry swelled with pride when she thought of the vast and rich resources of her country. "Despite heat and hail and dust storms and insects, hearty Nebraskans keep going! " she cried. "And why? To nourish people just like you and me, Lauren. To grow wheat so you can have your morning sticky bun, and the roll around your frankfurter, not to mention corn on the cob and other favorites.

"Look above you, Lauren," Cherry said as she threw her head back and squinted into the brilliant sunlight. "Have you ever seen a sky so radiant and rich in color? Have you ever seen such cottony clouds, racing across the prairie swells?"

Lauren had to admit that the sky was awfully blue.

"It will be dark as we drive through Iowa," Cherry warned as she checked her travel itinerary. "So soak up these broad fields, deep skies, waist-high wheat, fields of golden corn, and brilliant sunshine while you can, Lauren."

She was excited to realize they would reach River Depths right on schedule! They would cross the state line into Iowa at approximately six o'clock, stop for a yummy supper, then drive swiftly but carefully across Iowa, arriving at the Illinois border at approximately one o'clock in the morning. From then on, it would be a mere matter of hours before they arrived in River Depths. "And Nancy will see Hannah and finally put all her worries aside."

Cherry was a little disappointed that they would drive through most of corn country under cover of darkness.

"Iowa-now that's a most important state in the exciting story of our nation's food production," she declared. "Did you know, if you put Iowa's corn crop for one year in freight cars, the train would stretch from New York to California?" Cherry cried excitedly. "Nobody, however, would really do this," she was quick to assure them. "It's a good thing, too, because then we would have to do without things like corn syrup and penicillin and cornsilk for our face powder."

"Or corn chowder," Velma piped up. "Yum."

"And popcorn," Lauren added.

"Corn fritters," Nancy licked her lips.

Cherry settled into the cushy leather back, closed her eyes and soon was dreaming of rows and rows of silky golden wheat swaying in the gentle breeze. A few hours later, the crack of thunder, then the soft splashing sound of summer rain on the canvas convertible top roused Cherry from her restful sleep.

"Are you feeling refreshed?" Velma asked softly, handing her chum a cup of cool water. Cherry was pleased to see that Velma had remembered to fill their travel thermos. She took a generous gulp of the cool liquid and smiled her thanks.

"Have I been asleep for long?" Cherry asked Velma, who was sitting in the front seat next to Midge, who was still at the wheel.

"We're almost to Iowa," Velma replied.

"But Nancy's supposed to take the second leg of the Nebraska excursion'" Cherry cried. "Didn't you check the schedule?

"Nancy's sleeping," Velma whispered.

Cherry realized with a start that Nancy was stretched out in front of her on the floor of the back seat and was sound asleep.

"We stopped for lunch about an hour ago. You were sleeping peacefully, so we left you in the car. I'm afraid that Nancy overdid it a little and passed out," Velma explained.

"Good Midwestern cooking can have that effect on many people," Cherry remarked.

Velma made a funny face and passed Cherry a brown paper sack. "Er, yeah," she said. "Here's a meat loaf sandwich, some stewed tomatoes, and a nice piece of raisin pie for you."

Cherry hungrily downed the tasty lunch, then wiped her hands on a hankie. She settled back to enjoy the ride.

"Don't you think it's exciting to be in the middle of a storm, watching the sky turn all sorts of colors? Look over there! Is that lightning?" Cherry squealed as a flash lit up the sky.

Midge cracked a smile. Around Cherry, it was hard not to. "When I was a kid and it stormed, my grandmother and I would take the kitchen chairs outside and sit under the old oak tree and watch the sky light up," Midge remembered fondly. "You're not really supposed to," she chuckled. "But as my grandmother would say, there're worse ways you could go."

Cherry's eyes grew big with alarm. She could see now was as good a time as any for some weather-safety tips!

"Never stand under a tree or fix your television antenna during a thunderstorm," Cherry cautioned. "Stay away from sailboats and water as well. And if you come across a tornado, run to the nearest basement! A tornado is a whirlpool of air so violent that houses in its path may fly apart like matchsticks, and trains can be pulled right up off their tracks," she explained helpfully. "Did you know that next year, the United States Government has plans to launch weather satellites which will circle the globe every one hundred fifteen minutes at an average height of nine hundred miles, and report back threatening weather conditions, thus saving countless lives?" Cherry said in awe. "Imagine! Three times a day, the satellites will make snapshots of the entire earth!"

"Do you think weather is all they're interested in?" Midge wondered.

Cherry was puzzled. "What could you mean, Midge? Why else would the government put cameras up there?"

"Maybe they like to look at what people are doing," Midge guessed.

"Golly, Midge, you've got to stop being so suspicious!" Cherry cried. "What a thing to suggest. Why, that would be snooping, and that's downright un-American!" She shivered at the thought of a big camera in the sky taking her picture. "Of course it couldn't see through roofs, so no one could see me when I'm undressing," she reasoned. Still, the idea made her nervous.

Silly Midge! Always seeing trouble where there wasn't any. True, during their recent San Francisco adventure, Midge had been right about many things, including the true nature of the evil priest who had tried to kill them, but that was an isolated case, wasn't it? Cherry thought Midge could certainly do with a more positive outlook on life.

She lay back on the comfy white leather seat. "We're almost to Omaha," she thought dreamily. She wriggled on her side so she could gaze into her sweetie's face. If only Nancy would awaken and realize I'm here, Cherry thought wistfully. She lightly touched the sleeping girl's cheek and wished her awake. But Nancy slept on.

Cherry hummed happily as they crossed the Missouri River into Iowa. Although the river wasn't nearly so glorious as the raging Mississippi-a secret and eccentric river full of thick trees, tall grasses, birds, mosquitoes, deer and turtles, and an industrial artery with a ceaseless flow of traffic, as well-it was a nice tributary just the same.

"And I do remember a nifty song that travelers often sing as they pass over the Missouri," Cherry suddenly realized. She sang out, clear and true.

She knew there were many more words, but for the life of her, those were the only ones she could remember. "Sorry, that's all I know," she said.

"That's quite enough," Midge grinned. She steered the car over the impressive concrete expanse that linked Nebraska and Iowa, stopping only to pitch a quarter into the box at the toll plaza.

"Midge, aren't you tired of driving yet?" Cherry worried. It occurred to her that Midge had spent an awful lot of time behind the wheel. "Next time we stop for gasoline, and have our tires and fluid levels checked, I'll revise the driving schedule so you get some time off," she declared.

"I don't mind driving," Midge said. "It gives me something to do besides just sit and think." She wanted to add, "and worry," but didn't.

"Thinking can be very wearisome," Cherry declared.

"Besides that, it causes those awful worry lines on one's forehead. I'll let you in on a little trick my mother taught me, Midge," Cherry shared helpfully. "Several times a day, for as long as you can, try to think of nothing at all. It works wonders! Oh, look!" she squealed, pointing to a roadside sign in the shape of a giant ear of corn.

WELCOME TO IOWA!

"We're finally here! Did you know, Midge, that the tallest corn ever grown was right here in Iowa? A farmer named Lawrence Flanders grew a stalk measuring twenty-three feet, two and a half inches tall!"

Midge grew wide-eyed in alarm. She said nothing.

Cherry checked her Travel Guide to Corn Country, which she had purchased at an earlier rest stop, listing all events and fairs throughout the corn belt. "If we were traveling only a few days later, we would get to see Plowing Day in Des Moines, where men compete on their tractors to see who is the best contour plower. The man who wins this is known for a year as the Contour King," she informed Midge. "For ladies, there is a slipper-kicking contest to see which lady can kick her slippers the highest. Oh, wouldn't that be fun to see, Midge?"

Midge was too busy chewing on a rope of red licorice to reply.

"It says here, this feature alone is worth traveling miles to see. Forty thousand people come each year to Plowing Day! I'll bet they need a lot of Fairground Nurses for that many people. Besides danger of sunstroke and hay allergies, people often overindulge on many delicious foods and get indigestion, I'll bet," Cherry dreamed happily.

"I can't wait to get to River Depths," she sighed. "Then all our troubles will be over. I'll bet Hannah's clad in a simple house dress and a crisp starched apron, baking up a storm while she awaits Nancy's return."

Midge didn't answer.

"She's probably too hypnotized by the miles and miles of corn fields, glistening crimson and orange in the light of dusk to respond," Cherry thought. "Don't you think so, Midge?" Cherry quizzed her. "Don't you think that soon all our troubles will be over?"

"I hope you're right, Cherry," Midge sighed.

Cherry unrolled her window and took a deep whiff of the rain-drenched fields. "There's nothing sweeter smelling than wet corn! " she cried out. She took another deep breath, intending to fill her lungs with the fresh country air, but found herself gasping and choking instead.

"Pew! What's that smell?" her traveling companions cried in unison as they jerked awake. They had unfortunately passed a pig farm!

"Where are we?" Nancy asked sleepily. She stretched her arms over her head and arched her back, stiff from sleeping so long on the floor of the car. "I could sleep forever," she yawned. "Maybe I will," she murmured. She lay back down and closed her eyes.

Cherry, checked the Iowa map which she kept stored, neatly folded, in her skirt pocket. "We're only a few miles from Kornville," she reported. She checked her Travel Guide to Corn Country so she could inform her chums of the many fascinating facts about the nearby town. "It's a farming community with a population of thirty thousand. It's also home to many worthy state institutions, like The Industrial Home for Problem Girls, for example.