“I agree,” Nancy said. “I believe you know one of the men as rom Wilson.”
Roscoe looked surprised. “Is that so? But Wilson limps. How come you couldn’t catch him?”
Art chuckled. “He had a limp until he was cornered and then he could run like a deer.”
By this time the copter was coming in for a landing at a private field outside of Cairo. Roscoe borrowed a pilot friend’s car and drove his three passengers to town. When he pulled up to the entrance of the Delta Motel, they said good-by and went inside.
Art and the girls checked their luggage, then had a light lunch. Nancy suggested that they take a taxi to the airfield and meet Ned and the others. During the ride Art did not say a word. When they reached the field he walked off by himself.
“What’s eating him?” Julie Anne asked.
“Competition,” Nancy replied. “Julie Anne, I think you’ll have to cheer up poor Art.”
The girl beamed. “Do you think I ran do it? He’s been tagging after you ever since you arrived.”
“Of course you can,” Nancy said. “Why don’t you start in right now by walking over to him?”
Julie Anne liked this idea and set off at once. Nancy strolled up and down but kept an eye on the couple. Pretty soon she was delighted to see that Art was actually laughing. When the helicopter from St. Louis hove into sight he took Julie Anne’s arm and brought her over to where Nancy was standing.
There was wild enthusiasm as Nancy greeted Bess and George and the boys. Julie Anne, meanwhile, had rushed up to her cousin Ned and hugged him. Then she introduced him to Art. The two shook hands and Ned was most cordial, but Art seemed aloof.
There was a lot of chatter on the way to the motel. The newcomers were shocked when they heard about the mysterious happenings at the dig, and the two disappearances plus the at tempted kidnapping of Nancy.
Burt, blond and husky, said, “I wish I’d been here to capture those two guys.”
Dave, a green-eyed rangy blond, added, “Pretty bold guys!”
Both Bess and George expressed their deep concern for Nancy.
“Maybe you’re not safe anywhere around here,” Bess added.
Nancy, happy at being reunited with her friends, laughed it off. “Kit Kadle would have to be the world’s best swimmer to get out to the towboat. I understand swimming in the Ohio is dangerous because of step-offs and strong undercurrents.”
Presently the group reached the motel and the new arrivals added their bags to the other luggage. Together the eight visitors strolled around the small town. Many of the houses were modest frame structures, but on a lovely tree-lined street they found several Victorian mansions.
One stately red-brick house was open for inspection and they took the tour. As they walked through the handsome high-ceilinged rooms, Bess kept her eye on Art. It had not taken her long to realize that the young man had become very fond of Nancy and resented Ned’s being there. She was intrigued at the way he found excuses to speak to Nancy whenever Ned was not nearby.
At first Ned did not seem to notice this, but he soon realized the situation. From then on the two boys did not say a word to each other.
“Hm!” Bess thought. “Here’s a problem in jealousy!”
She decided to do something about it. While they were admiring the silver tea service in the dining room, Bess said to Art, “Julie Anne is a great girl, don’t you think?”
“Why—uh—yes,” he answered.
Nancy overheard the remark and was fearful something unpleasant might happen to ruin the trip. Quickly she interrupted.
“Art likes everybody, so it’s hard for him to be nicer to one person than another.”
The young man paused a moment. “I guess that’s right,” he replied and walked off.
Nancy took Bess aside. “Please don’t say any more. Apparently you’ve seen a little tension here. I’m hoping Art will pay more attention to Julie Anne, but I can’t rush it.”
Bess nodded “I wouldn’t want to start anything for the world.”
Nancy and her friends had an early dinner at a small restaurant, then hailed a taxi. They picked up then luggage and the boys’ sleeping bags, and rode to the rivertiont. A tugboat took them out a short distance to a white towboat with red trim. How spick and span it looked!
A broad-shouldered man with a ruddy face met them on a narrow deck and helped the girls aboard. “Welcome to the
Sally O,”
he said. “I’m Captain Boge.”
Ned introduced the visitors, and the captain led them into a galley. A pretty, middle-aged woman in a pink housedress was taking a pan of hot rolls from a shiny oven.
“This is our cook Mattie,” said the captain. The woman chuckled. “I’m everything,” she said. “Housemother and nurse, too. If you want anything let me know. And help yourselves to cake and fruit any time.” She pointed to the food on the side counter.
“Oh, my diet!” moaned Bess.
The captain led his passengers to an upper deck and showed them a deluxe double bedroom with its own adjoining lounge and bath.
“This is for the girls,” he said. “You boys will use your sleeping bags on the afterdeck.” He grinned. “If it rains you can duck into the engine room.”
“This is great,” said George. “I never knew towboats were so beautiful.”
After freshening up and changing to pants suits, the girls joined the boys in the pilot house. Captain Boge was there. Before they could speak to him, the boat was suddenly shaken by a terrific jolt.
“Nothing to worry about,” the captain assured them. “We’re shaping up, that’s all.”
From the wide front window he pointed to a tugboat maneuvering the huge barges into position. Fascinated, the visitors watched the sure-footed crew roping them securely together.
“We call this wiring ‘em up,” said the captain. “It takes a long time because we have to be sure they all fit together and will ride without bucking.”
At twilight the job was finished. The towboat started slowly upstream, pushing fifteen barges ahead of it, three abreast. Some were empty, others filled with grain and coal.
Looking behind, the boys noted where the blue-gray water of the Ohio met the muddy Mississippi. “That’s quite a sight,” Dave remarked.
Ahead were low tree-lined banks. Soon these vanished into darkness.
Here and there the young people saw the lights of small towns or a brilliantly lighted cement plant on the shore. Now and then the red and green lights of another boat approached and the captain blew a deafening blast on his horn. At midnight the weary passengers went to bed.
Around noon the next day Captain Boge said they were near Cave in Rock. He pointed out a quarry on the Illinois shore. “I’m leaving my bow barges off there, and taking on two others, so I’ll be tied up a couple of hours. If you want to visit the cave, go out to that first barge and jump off when it’s against the dock.” He gave them directions to the rocky cavern.
The visitors followed his advice and walked along the edge from one barge to another until they came to the end. When this barge was maneuvered into place, the passengers jumped off and started for Cave in Rock. They walked along the tree-lined bank. When it became rocky they climbed upward and soon emerged from the woods a few yards from the mammoth cave.
Nancy suddenly put up her hand for everyone to halt. “Listen!” she said. “I think I hear a cry for help.”
CHAPTER XII
Rewarding Search
As the eight friends stood listening, the cry was repeated.
“That sounds as if it came from up there somewhere,” said Nancy. She pointed to the top of the bluff above the cave.
The group hurried up a series of stone steps at one side of the huge opening to the cliff top. Nobody was around.
The searchers fanned out and looked in the surrounding woods but found no one, and finally met again at the foot of the steps.
“Somebody else may have discovered the person who needed help,” Nancy suggested.
Ned looked at her searchingly. “Do you suppose the cry was made to get us up to the bluff and keep us away from Cave in Rock until someone who didn’t want to be seen got out of there?”
Nancy agreed that this was possible. “But how could anyone know we were coming?” she asked.
Just then they saw a boy of fourteen racing across the top of the cliff and yelling. Apparently he was shouting to a friend.
“There’s the answer,” Nancy commented, then added, “Let’s have a look at the cave now.”
Following her and Ned, they all climbed up to the wide clearing in front of the huge cave mouth.
“I can see why this was a great place for pirates,” Dave declared. “It’s halfway between the bluff top and the river. With a lookout up on the cliff nobody could take them by surprise.”
When the young people entered the shadowy cavern, their voices resounded strangely. They walked up the gradually sloping floor toward the rear.
“I’ve read about this place,” said Julie Anne. “Prehistoric Indians used it, too. And in 1831 the cave was the hideout for a gang of counterfeiters.”
Bess shivered. “And now maybe Nancy’s enemies are staying in it.”
“They couldn’t have been here long,” Ned remarked. “After all, this is a public park and people come and go.”
“We seem to be the only ones around here right now,” said George.
“Let’s look for the treasure,” Nancy urged, “and keep our eyes open for any clues to Kit Kadle, or anything pertaining to the hollow oak.”
Nancy and Ned took out flashlights and the intensive hunt began. There was no hidden treasure in sight.
“I’ve a hunch we’re wasting our time following up the legend Lightfoot told me,” Nancy said. “Maybe river pirates did rob Père François, but it seems unlikely any would have been around here in his day. I recall now that the only travelers were the Indians and a few explorers and trappers.”
Ned agreed. “It was more than a hundred years later that lots of pioneers headed westward. Many floated down the Ohio on flatboats with all their possessions. That was when piracy flourished.”
“Lightfoot,” Nancy remarked, “probably confused Père François’s story with some other legend.”
Nevertheless she beamed her light over the walls once more. Seconds later she caught sight of something just out of reach. It was a piece of paper sticking out slightly from a crevice between rocks. She called to six-foot Ned to pull it out.
“But be careful,” she said. “It looks fragile.” Ned reached up and little by little he pried out a folded sheet of paper, which he handed to Nancy.
“This sure is dirty and ready to fall apart,” he said.
It was evident the paper had been subjected to dampness and dirt and there were holes in it here and there. Nancy unfolded it gingerly and played her flashlight on the faint writing. The smudgy message was hard to read and part was missing, but the young detective’s heart leaped excitedly when she saw the signature.
“It says A. C. E.!” she exclaimed. “I’m sure this was written by A. C. E. Armstrong, Boycey Osborne’s friend.”
Ned asked, “What does the note say?”
Nancy read it aloud:
“ ‘Prisoner of Kit Ka
Tak me to cell
in El town.’”
By this time all the others in the cave had gathered around Nancy and asked if she could decipher the meaning. She studied the paper a few moments, then replied, “I believe the whole message is:
“‘Prisoner of Kit Kadle.
Taking me to cellar
in Elizabethtown.’ ”
“You’re a wonder!” Art exclaimed and immediately came close to Nancy.
She smiled but made no comment. Instead she said enthusiastically, “Now I have a real clue for Boycey!”
The whole group went outside and sat down to discuss the message.
Julie Anne asked, “How are we going to get to Elizabethtown?”
“Our towboat passed that town about seven miles back,” Ned spoke up. “We’ll probably have to leave the
Sally 0.”
“We’d better hustle to the boat or it will leave us!” Burt remarked.
“Oh, I’m sure Captain Boge wouldn’t abandon us,” said Bess.
“That’s true,” Nancy agreed, “but it’s not fair to keep him waiting.”
She tucked the precious note into a pocket and hurried with her friends to the quarry dock. As soon as Nancy was on board, she and Ned reported their discovery to Captain Boge.
“We should go to Elizabethtown, so I’m afraid we must end our trip now,” she said.
“That won’t be necessary,” the captain replied with a wry smile. “We’ve developed engine trouble and are going to be here quite a while, I’m afraid. You can have the rest of the afternoon for your search, but be back by six o’clock. I’m hoping to be able to take off then.”
“How’ll we get to Elizabethtown?” Ned asked.
“Maybe somebody from the quarry will be driving there,” he said. “I’ll see.”
Stepping out of the pilot house onto the landing of an iron stairway, the captain called down to a man on the dock. After a short conversation Boge came back inside.
“All set,” he said. “You can go in with that fellow in about ten minutes if you don’t mind riding in a pickup truck.”
“That’s okay with us,” said Nancy. “Is there anything we can do for you while we’re there?”
“You could pick up several chocolate bars at the general store,” the captain said. “The crew likes them.”
Nancy and Ned hurried off to tell their friends about the trip. Quarter of an hour later the young people were seated in the back of a green pickup truck bouncing along a narrow road toward Elizabethtown. When they reached the main street of the small town, the driver let them out.
“Where is the police station?” Nancy asked.
The man chuckled. “We don’t need one. There’s only one policeman—he’s the marshal. But he’s away on vacation. Go up this side street,” he said, pointing to a tree-shaded lane, “to the third house. That’s where Ben Wooster lives. He’s the marshal’s deputy right now.” The young people thanked the driver and he went off.