Nancy Drew 12: The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Girls & Women, Thrillers & Suspense
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 1935-10-01T05:15:55+00:00

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.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.