CAPTURING THE ROBBERS
Eagerly, Nancy Drew tore the little notebook from the hook. The light
was dim, but by holding the book directly under the dash-light, she
could make out the words on the cover: "The Property of Josiah Crowley."
"I've found it at last!" she cried.
Quickly turning the first few pages, she saw that they were yellowed
with age. The writing was fine and cramped, and the ink had faded.
These pages were crowded with business notations, but in the poor light
it was next to impossible to make out the words.
Nancy was excited, for she was positive that the notebook would
disclose what Josiah Crowley had done with his will. Yet, she realized
that she could not hope to read through the book without a considerable
loss of precious time. If she were to report the whereabouts of the
robbers to the police, she must not delay another instant.
"I'll read the notebook later," she decided.
Hurriedly replacing it on the hook inside the clock, she tacked on the
face again. Then dropping the timepiece on the seat beside her, she
covered it with a blanket.
Starting the engine, she skillfully backed the roadster and headed for
the main road. Reaching the highway, she cast an anxious glance in the
direction the robbers had taken. There was no sign of a light on the
road. The moving van had disappeared.
"I must travel some now," Nancy told herself grimly. "Those robbers
have at least ten minutes start, and I may have trouble finding the
marshal and his deputies."
Bending low over the steering wheel, she deliberately stepped hard
on the accelerator. The roadster leaped forward as though it, too,
comprehended the need for haste.
"If those men reach Garwin before the marshal overtakes them, there
won't be one chance in a hundred of capturing them," Nancy thought. "It
was foolish of me to take time to look at the clock."
Presently reaching the fork in the road, she selected the right hand
turn, and with undiminished speed rushed on. She had gone several
miles beyond the fork when far ahead she caught sight of an automobile
headlight. Nancy promptly reduced the speed of the car.
"The marshal and his deputies may have given up the search and are
coming back," she reasoned. "I must be careful not to pass them."
As the automobile approached, Nancy slowed her roadster practically to
a standstill. Then as she recognized the police car, she brought her
own automobile to a halt. As the marshal and his deputies flashed by,
she cried out for them to stop.
There was a loud screeching of brakes as the police car came to an
abrupt halt. Springing from the roadster, Nancy ran forward.
"Quick!" she called to the marshal. "The robbers have taken the road to
Garwin! If you hurry you can overtake them! Go on and I'll follow!"
Without waiting for more, the marshal and his deputies drove off at top
speed. The automobile rounded a bend and was lost to view.
For an instant Nancy Drew stood looking after it. Then, springing into
her roadster, she, too, was off.
Following close behind the police car, the girl sped down the road in
pursuit of the robbers. The two automobiles passed the roadhouse beyond
the fork and raced toward Garwin.
"We should have overtaken the robbers by this time," Nancy told herself
anxiously, after a number of miles had been traversed and still there
was no sight of a moving van. "They can't have gone very far."
Ten minutes passed. Then, unexpectedly, she caught a glimpse of a red
tail light on the road far ahead.
"It must be the van!" Nancy thought. "The light doesn't appear to be
moving fast enough for an automobile."
Evidently, the marshal and his deputies were of the same opinion, for
at that moment the police car slowed down.
"Don't fire unless it's necessary," the marshal ordered his men. "But
if they resist, pepper them!"
Cautiously, the police car approached. As the headlight played upon the
rear of the van, Nancy saw the license plate clearly and recognized the
numbers.
Then as the van pulled over to the side of the road, the police car
drove alongside.
"Halt!" came the order.
The van did not stop. Instead, it put on additional speed and crowded
the police car toward the ditch. Nancy's heart was in her mouth as she
watched, for it seemed certain that the marshal and his deputies were
doomed.
At the very edge of the road, the police car by a sudden spurt of
speed forged ahead and averted disaster.
"Halt!" rang out the warning cry a second time. "Halt or we'll fire!"
There was a sharp crack of a revolver as the robbers fired the first
shot.
The marshal and his deputies answered with a quick volley. One of the
shots found its mark--the front tire. The van swerved in the road, and
as the two side wheels went off into a steep ditch, toppled over.
In an instant the marshal and his men were out of the police car and
had covered the three robbers. So easily had the van tipped on its side
that the men were not injured, but the unexpected jar had thrown them
off their guard.
"Take their guns!" the marshal ordered.
A deputy relieved the three men of their revolvers and searched their
pockets for other dangerous weapons. Another deputy handcuffed them.
By this time Nancy, who had stopped her roadster at the side of the
road, reached the scene. As she came running up, the marshal turned to
her.
"Can you identify these men?"
As a light was flashed upon each of the robbers in turn, Nancy nodded.
"There is the man who locked me up and left me to starve," she
declared, pointing to the leader of the robber band. "And the stolen
goods are in the van."
"They'll get ten or twenty years for this," the marshal promised.
"We'll hold them on several charges. You are willing to testify against
them, I suppose?"
"Yes, if it is necessary," Nancy promised reluctantly. "But I don't
live in this county and I'm anxious to get home right away. It seems to
me you have enough evidence to convict them."
"Well, if you don't want to I guess there's no need for you to go back
with us," the marshal admitted. "I'll take your address and if your
testimony should be required later I'll get in touch with you."
As Nancy told the marshal her name and address, he glanced at her with
new interest.
"So you're the daughter of Carson Drew! I see you're following in his
footsteps. Starting in young, aren't you?"
Nancy laughed.
"It was only an accident that took me to the Topham bungalow at the
critical moment," she protested modestly. "I don't deserve any credit
for the round-up."
"Not many girls would have used their brains the way you did," the
marshal observed. "Unless I'm mistaken, these robbers are old hands
at the game. They have been plying their trade around Moon Lake for
a number of seasons. The residents will be mighty grateful for what
you've done. And that Mrs. Topham you spoke of--she ought to give you a
liberal reward for saving her household goods."
Nancy shook her head.
"I don't want a reward."
"Just the same you've earned one," the marshal insisted. "If you're
shy about blowing your own horn, I'll take it up with this Mrs. Topham
myself."
"You don't know her as well as I do," Nancy remarked. "She'll not offer
a reward, and even if she did I wouldn't accept it. In fact, I must ask
you not to mention my name to her at all."
"You don't want any credit for capturing the robbers?" the marshal
gasped in astonishment.
"No, I would prefer that my name not be mentioned in connection with
the affair. I have a particular reason for making the request."
"Well, you're a queer one," the marshal remarked. "You're the first
person I ever saw who didn't want to take all the glory that was coming
to him."
"You'll not mention my name?"
"No, I'll keep it mum," the marshal promised. "And if you're anxious
not to figure in the case, I guess we can get along without your
testimony." He turned toward the moving van. "I'll just have a look
inside and see if everything is here."
Taking the keys which one of the deputies had turned over to him, the
marshal unlocked the rear doors of the van and carelessly glanced
inside.
"It's all here," he announced.
Nancy smiled and thought of the clock which at the moment was hidden
under a blanket in her roadster less than a dozen yards away.
"Let's be getting away from here," the marshal directed briskly. He
singled out one of the deputies. "You stay here and guard the stolen
goods until we can send another truck after it. I'll see to it that
these robbers land behind bars, and then I'll come back."
"Just a minute," Nancy interposed as the marshal was about to escort
the three robbers to the police car. "I want to ask a few questions."
She turned to the leader of the robbers.
"It was you who stole the keys from Jeff Tucker after getting him
drunk, wasn't it?"
"What if I did?" the robber growled. "I wish I'd finished him!"
Unceremoniously, the three prisoners were crowded into the police car.
One of the deputies took the steering wheel and another stood on the
running board, covering the robbers with his revolver. There was no
room left for the marshal.
"Are you going back through town?" he asked Nancy.
"Yes, it's right on my way to River Heights," she responded without a
thought as to the purpose of the question.
"Then if you don't mind I'll ride back with you. There isn't room in
the police car."
"Why--why, of course," Nancy stammered.
At once she thought of the clock which she had left on the seat of the
roadster. What if the marshal should discover it?
Even as the thought came to her, the marshal started toward the
roadster.