“Oh!” A small cry escaped from her lips as she stared at the signed Power of Attorney inside the folder. “Just what I wanted!” Quickly she put the document into her purse, then rolled the blank paper into a tight cylinder and set one end of it on fire. She climbed on top of the desk and held her torch under the alarm. Smoke curled up
from the burning paper and drifted into the device. But nothing happened!
Oh, no! Nancy thought. Maybe this one doesn’t work, either. She stood with bated breath, terrified that the door might open and Cordova would walk in.
Suddenly, a shrill noise pierced the still air. Nancy almost stumbled off the desk, then she quickly climbed down, extinguished her torch in the metal wastepaper basket, and ran out of the room. A moment later, she was back in the closet.
By now the siren on the roof had begun to wail loudly. I’d better get out of here, Nancy thought, and she hurried through the secret tunnel to the outside door. She opened it a crack and listened. She could hear men running toward the house, shouting in confusion. After a few moments, they had all disappeared, and Nancy slipped outside.
She waited a few seconds, then ran toward the stables as fast as she could. Several times she was caught in the beam of the moving searchlights, but no one noticed her. She found the path to the orchard gate and ran along it, when suddenly she heard a shout in front of her. She dived into a thicket of shrubs, hoping she had not been seen.
There was another shout, and then approaching footsteps. Two men raced past her, talking to each other as they went, wondering what had happened. A moment later, they were gone.
It’s a good thing I didn’t get to the gate any sooner, Nancy thought, or I would have run straight into their arms!
She stood up and continued along the path, this time more slowly and cautiously, just in case another guard was still there. Soon she saw the gate looming in front of her, with no sign of anyone near it.
She paused a moment and listened, but all was quite. Then Nancy shot through the gate. Her breath was coming in gasps and her right side throbbed with a sharp pain as she ran toward the landing strip.
She paused a moment and listened, but all was quiet. Then Nancy shot through the gate. Her breath was coming in gasps and her right side throbbed with a sharp pain as she ran toward the landing strip.
Suddenly someone yelled, “You there, girl. Stop!”
Nancy looked over her shoulder and saw a man chasing after her. He did not appear to be armed. All at once something shot out of the brush in front of him.
The man tripped and fell, hitting his head and yelling out in pain.
Nancy stared at the scene, frozen to the spot. Then she saw Maro running away from the man toward her, limping slightly.
Instantly Nancy scooped up the black cat and hurried on. She could hear the airplane engines before she saw the craft outlined in the moonlight. With a last spurt of energy, she raced toward it.
“Nancy!” Elena cried, waving from the cabin. The girl detective pushed the cat inside, then held out her hand for Elena to pull her in. A moment later the door slammed shut and the plane quivered before roaring forward. It bounced on the rough turf, gathered speed, and finally lifted off the ground.
Nancy lay on the cabin floor, panting. When she had finally recovered enough to speak, she told Elena how she had managed to escape.
“I’m so glad you made it,” the Spanish girl whispered. “We were worried about you.” She pointed to a row of seats. “Aunt Rosalinda never woke up. She must have been drugged so heavily that even though she didn’t take her sedative tonight, she’s sleeping like a baby.”
Nancy nodded. “What happened to the pilot and copilot?” she asked.
Ricardo, who heard her question over the din of the engines, chuckled. “I locked them in the office!” he called out. “They will have quite a bit of explaining to do when Cordova finds them.”
“Where do we go now?” Elena asked. Ricardo just headed northeast, waiting for further instructions.
“Will you get into trouble if you fly across the Caribbean Sea to the United States without a flight plan?” Nancy inquired.
“It is not allowed, and it’s very dangerous,” Ricardo replied. “But we have no choice. I did not want to contact any of the Colombian airports because Cordova will undoubtedly report the plane stolen. As soon as I get near one of the Caribbean islands, I will check in and explain what happened. If we are lucky, we will receive clearance to continue on to the United States. Where would you like us to land?”
“How about Phoenix?” Nancy suggested. “Do you have enough fuel to make it there?”
“I think so.”
“When you check in for clearance, just tell the authorities to contact my father. He will be able to arrange for us to land safely in Phoenix.”
“Then the nightmare will be over,” Elena said quietly.
Getting clearance and contacting Carson
i *
Drew was more difficult than they had expected, but finally they succeeded. When they arrived at the Phoenix airport, an ambulance was waiting for Rosalinda del Luz. The authorities had contacted the Colombian government regarding Cordova and his partners in crime.
Jules Johnson and his wife took the young people to their home in the suburbs, and the three slept until noon the following day. Mr. Drew had arrived by then, and at dinner they all discussed the trio’s adventure, while Maro, the cat, sat contentedly at Elena’s feet.
“A man named Juan contacted you,” Nancy said to Mr. Johnson, “and threatened you so you would drop the investigation, didn’t he?”
Mr. Johnson looked sad. “Yes,” he replied. “I knew I was up against people who would stop at nothing. Juan told me that his group had my friend, George Rinaldo, in Cartagena, under close surveillance. If I didn’t drop my snooping, as he called it, harm would come to George and his family. There was nothing I could do about it, and I felt I had to protect George.”
“I understand,” Nancy said.
“I was really worried when you went to Los Angeles,” Mr. Johnson went on. “But Juan said
that if I told you and your father about him, my wife would be hurt. I had no idea how he learned that I called Carson, but since he had, I just could not risk any further communication with you. When we met in the restaurant, I knew he would be there, eavesdropping on our conversation.”
Mrs. Johnson nodded. “That’s why we tried to talk you out of continuing your investigation, Nancy. We were hoping Juan would hear us and leave us alone. We just had to end this night- mare!
“You did the right thing,” Mr. Drew assured his friends. “Unfortunately, Juan followed Nancy and finally kidnapped her. But he was no match for her in the end!” He glanced proudly at his daughter and squeezed her hand.
“Thank goodness he wasn’t!” Elena spoke up. “And even though it was horrible for Nancy to be kidnapped, it turned out great for us. She saved not only my aunt, but our property, from that evil Cordova!”
Nancy smiled. “I had some wonderful help from Elena and Ricardo,” she said. Then she bent down to pick up the cat. She stroked his sleek fur. “And Maro came to my rescue several times. I wouldn’t even have gotten on the plane without him!”
Several days later, Rosalinda del Luz was re
leased from the hospital. Elena and Ricardo went to pick her up, while the others prepared a luncheon celebration for her.
When the guest of honor walked into the room, Nancy stared at her in surprise. The lovely, self-assured woman bore little resemblance to the frail creature they had rescued in Colombia!
“So you are the brave girl Elena has been telling me about,” Rosalinda said, and embraced the young detective. “My! You do look like Mariposa, don’t you. When I was ill, I had a dream that my sister had come back to me—” Rosalinda stopped and stared at Nancy. “It wasn’t a dream, was it. It was you!”
“Yes, it was,” Nancy replied. “But at the time, you didn’t believe me.”
“It was horrible,” Rosalinda murmured. “They drugged me, and everything was so confusing. I knew they were up to no good, but there was nothing I could do about it.”
Elena hugged her aunt. “It’s over now. Try to forget all the terrible things that happened.” “They made me believe that you had turned against me!” Rosalinda went on, tears welling up in her eyes. “And Ricardo, too! And when you did not come to see me, I believed them!” “You had no choice,” Elena said. “We know you didn’t.”
Just then, Mr. Drew came into the room. After greeting their guest, he said, “I have good news from Cartagena. Cordova has been captured and much of what he took from you has been recovered.”
“What about my treasures?” Rosalinda asked. “The ones he stole before I hid the emerald-eyed cat from him?”
“If you mean the unicorn and the parrot, they have been found,” Mr. Drew replied. “There were also a number of paintings and several valuable antique clocks that a woman named Ciomara identified as belonging to you.”
Rosalinda smiled. “Cio was the only person who remained loyal to me during all this. But she was too old and sick to be of any help.”
She paused a moment, then said, “You have done so much for me. How can I ever thank you for it?”
“We could invite everyone to the hacienda for a real visit,” Elena suggested.
“Perhaps for our wedding,” Ricardo added, taking his fiancé’s hand.
“It would be an honor to have you,” Rosalinda said to the Drews. “Will you come?”
“We’d be delighted,” Mr. Drew replied, and Nancy agreed enthusiastically. “And now, listen to the last bit of news I have.”
All eyes turned to him expectantly.
“Among the papers that were found in Cordova’s files, the authorities discovered proof that he had begun to drill on your land, Señora.” Nancy stared at her father and saw the sparkle in his eyes. Before she could ask any questions, Mr. Drew continued, “They struck oil, and several companies are eager to bid for the right to develop the field. Senor Cordova has done you a very large favor in his greed!”
After the cheering had died down, Rosalinda said with an impish smile, “I hope he knows about it. But I don’t believe I’ll bother to thank him for his efforts!” She turned to Nancy. “You’re the one who deserves our gratitude.” The young detective blushed. She was thrilled that her adventure in Colombia had such a happy ending, but suddenly she wondered if there would ever be another case for her to tackle. She did not have to worry, because soon she would discover The Eskimo’s Secret.
“Oh!” she said suddenly, startled out of her pensive mood. Maro had jumped into her lap and stared at her with his big, green eyes. “Meow!” he said.
Nancy laughed and hugged the beautiful cat. “You’ve been wonderful,” she said to him. “I herewith bestow upon you the title of honorary detective!”
Carolyn Keene, The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery
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