The Hidden Inheritance by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

9

The Chase Is On

“What’s happening?” Sassy shouted. “Nancy! We’re falling! We’re falling through the bridge!”

“Wait! Don’t panic,” Nancy said. The car was tilting toward the right. “I think it’s just the front right wheel that’s gone through. Don’t anybody move. Don’t anybody even breathe! Maybe I can roll out of it.”

Barely breathing herself, Nancy shifted into reverse. She lowered the gas pedal a fraction of an inch, then a little more. The car lurched farther to the right, with another ominous creak. She lifted her foot off the pedal and shifted the car into neutral.

“Okay, I want everyone to ease out of the car, one at a time,” Nancy said. “George, slide over carefully to the left, as close as you can to Bess. Then both of you get out on the left, Bess first.”

Nancy could feel the car shift as George inched over toward the left. Then Bess opened the door slowly and climbed out of the car. With each movement, boards creaked beneath them.

George followed Bess out of the car and edged around the front to look at the right wheel. “Nancy, it’s bad up here,” she called. “The wheel’s halfway through the bridge floor. And the boards around it don’t look too stable.”

“How does it look around Sassy’s door?” Nancy asked George. “Is it safe for her to get out on that side?”

“There’s a seam in the bridge right behind the wheel,” George reported. “The boards along Sassy’s door look newer—they’re not in such bad shape. I think it’ll be okay.”

“How about it, Sassy?” Nancy asked. “You ready to try?”

“The sooner I get out, the better,” Sassy said with a tight smile. Carefully, she opened her door and eased out.

Nancy felt the car shift again and the whole bridge seemed to shake. Sassy tiptoed alongside the car to the rear, then over to where Bess stood against the bridge wall.

“Come on, Nancy,” Bess said. “You’ve got to get out now.”

Nancy felt like a captain leaving a sinking ship. “I want to try to roll out again,” she said. “The car’s lighter with all of you out of it. Maybe it’ll work this time.”

“Nancy, be careful,” George said. “If we have to lose the car, we lose it. But we don’t want to lose you, too. It’s a long drop to the bottom of that ravine.”

“You said the boards looked newer and stronger just behind the hole,” Nancy said. “If I can get the car out of the hole and onto those boards, we can just roll it back off the bridge. Maybe you could give me a push.”

The girls picked out solid boards to stand on. Bess and Sassy took the front of the car, and George leaned her strong, athletic legs into the back right corner. Nancy turned the steering wheel so that the car tires pointed to the left. As she did, she heard more boards crack and splinter.

“I say let’s give it one more try, Nancy,” George called from the rear of the car, “and if it doesn’t work, give up.

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