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The Great, Black Buzzard






Dare to read: Нэнси Дрю и Братья Харди

(https://vk.com/daretoreadndrus)

ПРИЯТНОГО ЧТЕНИЯ!

 

Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories: Volume Sixty Seven

 

The Sinister Omen

Copyright, 1982, by Simon & Schuster/ Wanderer Books

Cover artwork © 1985 by Hector Garrido

 

When Nancy and her friends head for spring vacation in Fort Lauderdale, they are in for more than just a sunburn! Before she even has a chance to have some sun in the sun, Nancy is asked to help a wealthy elderly woman. Burglars keep breaking into her home - but they never steal anything. Nancy has to figure out what they are looking for - before someone gets seriously hurt. Her father also has a tough case on his hands and Nancy would love to help him solve it. A gang of forgets and smugglers are counterfeiting valuable stamps. Nancy receives several warnings from the group that proves that they are somewhere in South Florida. This gang won't let anyone stop them from completing their pirating plans Battling two tough mysteries, Nancy persist in her search for a solution — and a vacation in the fun-filled atmosphere of sunny Fort Lauderdale!

 

The Great, Black Buzzard

 

Crash!

The home of Bess Marvin, still covered by the predawn darkness, was suddenly disturbed by the sound of something falling to the floor.

" Wha—? Gerv? Uh—" came the sleepy and confused voice of Bess as she struggled to get out from under her blankets to snap on the light.

" Nancy! " she cried out a moment later.

" What's the matter? " a second sleepy voice asked from the top of the double bunk bed. It was Bess's cousin, George Fayne, whose face now appeared over the side, eyes blinking and dark hair tousled.

" It's Nancy, " said Bess. " Look at her. She's fallen out of bed! "

She pointed to her disheveled friend in pale blue pajamas who was curled up on the floor across the room. Nancy was moving her legs in a running motion as she groaned and made little cries of distress.

" She's having a nightmare! " George declared. " Wake her up, Bess."

" Me? '' Bess cried, brushing her blond hair back from her face, her blue eyes growing wide with alarm. " Oh, no. I read somewhere that if you wake up somebody having a nightmare their heart might stop. Or they go into shock or something."

" Oh, Bess! " George looked at her relative with some exasperation. " Nancy's very healthy and she doesn't have heart problems. So you can wake her up."

Bess hesitated. " I'd feel better if you did it."

George climbed down and knelt beside Nancy. She took her friend's face gently in her hands. " Come on, Nancy, " she said. " It was just a dream. Wake up! "

Gingerly, Bess came over and knelt next to the two. She rubbed Nancy's hands until at last the girl opened her large, blue eyes. At first, they were still filled with fright, but Nancy quickly relaxed once she saw that she was safely in Bess's bedroom with her friends.

" Oh, where did it go? " she moaned.

.

" Where did what go? " Bess asked. " It was a nightmare, Nancy, a bad dream. But you're okay now.''

" Oh-h-h.'' Nancy shuddered. " It was awful. Awful. I never get nightmares. Why should I get one now? "

" Too much pepperoni pizza last night.'' George laughed.

" And too much pistachio ice cream with hot fudge and whipped cream, " Bess added.

" If that's so, " Nancy said, " how come you two didn't have nightmares? ''

" We're used to junk food, " George replied with a chuckle.

" Tell us about your dream, " Bess urged. " I’m dying to know what happened! "

" Hm, " Nancy said, feeling strong enough to get up and sit down on the edge of her bed. " Let me try and remember. It had something to do with our going to Fort Lauderdale to meet Dad and chase the stamp smugglers and all that."

" What stamp smugglers? " Bess demanded, looking apprehensive. " Don't tell me you're going to become involved in another mystery while we're in the middle of our spring vacation? "

" Well—" Nancy grinned. " It's really Dad who's involved in the mystery this time."

" You mean your father's in Florida trying to catch a bunch of stamp smugglers? " Bess asked.

" Right. He's working with his long-time friend and client, Señ or Ricardo Segovia, on a case."

" The same Señ or Segovia who invited us to stay in his house? " George inquired.

" Yes."

" That figures, " Bess complained. " She tells us all about her father's wealthy friend who wants us to stay in his twenty-two room mansion for our spring vacation, but she never mentions that our host and Mr. Drew are working on a mystery! "

" And we don't believe for one minute that you won't help, Nancy! " George added. " And that means we'll be caught up in it, too."

" And here I thought we'd just have a good time! " Bess grumbled.

" We will, " Nancy said placatingly. " You see, Señ or Segovia often does undercover and consulting work for the U.S. government. At present, he's tracking down a network of international crooks who specialize in stealing and smuggling rare stamps. Now, he didn't ask me to help him, but if there's something I can do—"

" Of course, " George said.

" Doesn't the case intrigue you? ''

Bess looked skeptical. " I’ll tell you when it's all over. But you seem so intrigued that you're having nightmares."

" Oh, yes, " Nancy said. " The nightmare."

" I know." George grinned. " You dreamed you were being chased by an Emerson College Señ or in a gorilla suit."

" Be serious, " Bess begged. " I want to hear."

" Well, " Nancy began, " I imagined that I was in Fort Lauderdale and I was being chased, you're right about that. It was night, and I was followed by cars, boats, and helicopters. They even had guard dogs after me."

" They? " Bess asked.

" Well, in nightmares you never seem to recognize who it is that you're afraid of. The only thing I can remember is a great, black, shadowy outline of something. A bird. A bird of prey. No, that's not right. A bird that eats carrion, dead bodies. A vulture or a buzzard or something like that."

" Ecch." Bess shuddered.

" Oh, I don't know, " George quipped. " It could have been worse. It could have been an Emerson College Señ or in a gorilla suit."

All three girls broke up laughing. Then Bess said, I'm sorry, Nancy. It must have been horrible, but it's over now and you woke up and we didn't give you a heart attack so let's all go back to bed and get some sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us in the morning."

" Right, " Nancy agreed. " Everybody back to bed and my apologies for my vulture or whatever it was."

The girls were just getting settled under the covers again, when they heard an auto horn honking under their bedroom window.

" Oh, it couldn't be, " George cried out. " It's the middle of the night! "

" No, it isn't, " Nancy said. " It's five o'clock! " The horn honked again. Bess chuckled. " It's them, all right. It's the boys."

Nancy and George had stayed at Bess's house overnight in order to get an early start to Florida the next morning. The " boys" they referred to were three Emerson College Señ ors, Ned Nickerson, Dave Evans, and Burt Eddleton. They were driving to Fort Lauderdale in Ned's father's Land Rover, assuming the girls were making the trip in Nancy's blue sports sedan.

The girls popped their heads out the window and saw the three young men smiling and waving at them.

Ned, who had long had a fondness for Nancy, stood up tall in the front passenger seat. His dark eyes were teasing as he called, " Don't tell me you're still in bed. We're going to be south of Washington, D.C., before you even get started."

Burt, who was driving, called to George. " You want me to save you a shady space under a beach umbrella? It's going to be awfully crowded in Fort Lauderdale by the time you get there."

The girls hooted back at their friends, a bit weakly because they were still half asleep.

" Never mind, Bess, " called Dave Evans, a rangy, blond boy with green eyes who lounged in the back seat, making a bed of the duffle bags stuffed with the boys' possessions. " You'll probably show up by the middle of next week. I mean, half a week's vacation is better than none."

At that point, the front door of the house opened and Mrs. Marvin cried out, " Boys, boys, you should know better than to make such a commotion at this hour of the morning. You'll wake up all the neighbors! "

Ned and his friends promptly quieted down, looking a little abashed. " We're sorry, Mrs. Marvin, " Ned apologized.

Mrs. Marvin, who could never be stern for too long, smiled. ''All right. Now get going. And here, I made you some sandwiches and cookies. You'll just have to pick up milk or soft drinks along the way."

Thanking her, the boys took the food, called out quiet good-byes to the girls, and pulled away with a minimum of engine roar.

" Oh, dear, " George said, hugging a pillow and flopping on Bess's bunk. ''Oh, dear, the poor dears. They don't know."

Nancy laughed. " No, they don't know we're going by plane and we're going to beat them by two full days."

" Yet, " Bess said, a worried look creasing her pretty face, " I feel kind of mean, doing that to the boys."

" Mean? " George challenged. " Didn't you just hear them gloating about getting there first? Don't you think it would be good for their souls and make them more modest and humble if we three girls arrived ahead of them? "

Bess giggled. " I suppose so."

The three girls dressed and went down to breakfast. They had packed the night before and were ready to leave as soon as they had finished eating. After fond good-byes and hugs and kisses from Mrs. Marvin, they piled into Nancy's car and were on their way to the airport. But they had not even driven a dozen blocks when Nancy said very quietly, " Don't look back. Don't do anything. But there's a car following us! "

 






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