Flaming Rescue

But George paid no attention to her cousin’s warning. Instead, with a decisive motion, she slid her hand around the latch and lifted it noiselessly, opening the door a crack.

George peered through, then pulled back with a gulp. “Oh, my goodness! ”

“What is it? ” Bess whispered.

“Racks of clothes. Here, see for yourself! ”

Bess pressed her face against the crack, then said under her breath, “I bet the gang converted this old building into a warehouse, or ‘drop’ for garments, before distributing them.”

“Looks like it, ” George agreed.

“What are we going to do? ” Bess asked.

“We’ll have to go in! Nancy might be tied up somewhere! ”

“But you know the gang’s in there! The people who came with the van, and I bet Woody and Frank arrived in that car! Also, Rosalind might be around.”

“Look, we’ll have to take that chance. It’s a big place, and if we’re careful, they’ll never realize we’re here.” Silently, George crept through the door, not giving Bess another opportunity to object.

Together they ducked behind the nearest rack and listened. Everything was quiet, and after a minute or so, George signaled for her cousin to follow her.

The young detectives tiptoed between racks that contained mostly imported merchandise, searching anxiously for a sign of Nancy or their enemies. But all they found was clothing!

Suddenly, George came to a sudden halt. “Hey! ” she called in a whisper, and pointed to a gown that was hanging on a hook without plastic covering. “Isn’t that the dress Nancy wore tonight? ”

Bess bobbed her head as she noticed a smudge of makeup on the ivory neckline. “It‘s—”

She was interrupted by the shuffle of feet some distance away.

“Over there! ” George said, indicating a stack of cartons along the wall.

The girls edged forward, careful not to clack their heels on the cement floor. Their blood was pumping hard and fast as they heard Frank’s voice.

“Hey, Woody! I heard a noise. Someone’s in here! ”

Another set of footsteps approached, then Woody replied, “Did you see anyone? ”

“No, but I heard something rustle.”

“All right. You take one side and I’ll take the other. We’ll check it out.”

Bess and George had reached the stack of boxes and squatted down, each girl pulling a large carton over herself.

I hope they don’t move any of this stuff, George thought fearfully. Bess almost gasped when one of the men walked past the box she was in, but then the footfalls died away again.

“Must’ve been a rat, ” the girls heard Woody say. “Come on, let’s finish the inventory and count the stuff that just came in so we can go home.”

The two men moved away to another part of the warehouse, and the cousins slowly extricated themselves from their hiding places.

“What’ll we do now? ” Bess asked. “We can’t stay here. Those guys might come back any minute.”

George had spotted a door straight ahead. “Maybe Nancy’s in there.” She surveyed the narrow path between the wall and a pile of paraphernalia lying near it. There was enough room for her to walk through without touching anything, but Bess wore a crinoline under her taffeta skirt, and any contact would make more noise!

“Bess, take your slip off, ” she advised. “Otherwise you’ll hit a million things with your skirt and they’ll hear us.”

Glancing down the row of boxes, mirrors, and rolls of seamless paper commonly used as backdrops by photography studios like Zanzibar‘s, the girl knew she had no choice. It was an obstacle course she would have to clear unhindered.

As quickly as she could, she unhooked the waist of her slip and let it fall. Then carefully, she tiptoed after her cousin. George reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly.

To her relief, the door opened without resistance, and they found themselves in a small, windowless room illuminated by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. On the floor were more storage cartons and some empty racks. And, beside one of the large boxes lay Nancy Drew, wearing a plain cotton dress. Her hands and feet were bound, and she was gagged!

“Nancy! ” Bess cried out, falling to her feet and struggling to free the girl.

George was looking for a pair of scissors to cut Nancy’s bonds, when suddenly she heard footsteps again. They sounded like a woman’s and were coming closer!

She motioned for Bess to be silent, then flattened herself against the wall, waiting for the door to swing open.

The footsteps stopped in front, as if the person were reluctant to enter. Then the door opened and Rosalind stepped in!

Instantly, the cousins grabbed her, and George clapped a hand over the stylist’s mouth before Rosalind could utter a scream. At the same time, she kicked the door shut.

“Let—me—go! ” Rosalind managed to whimper through George’s hand.

“Not yet! ” the girl said, while Bess snatched a wad of material from one of the boxes and stuffed it into the woman’s mouth. George removed her rope belt, using it to tie Rosalind’s wrists, and forced the stylist to the floor.

Bess sat on her legs, letting George tackle the bindings on Nancy that were only partially loose. George ripped at the thick knot behind the girl’s head, splitting a fingernail as the tight loops opened and the gag fell away.

“Thanks! ” Nancy said hoarsely. “What happened to the two guys who dumped me here? ”

“I don’t know, ” George replied. “All I know is that our ex-dates are here, Woody Haskins and Frank Vanderveer.”

“Your ex-dates? ” Nancy asked, bewildered.

“And they seemed so nice, too, ” George grumbled. “Woody was so handsome, with a bit of gray in his hair, even though he was only in his twenties—”

“Was the rest of it dark and did he have small features? ” Nancy asked excitedly.

“Why, yes—”

“He must be the guy I saw snooping around the dressing rooms after the fashion show! ” Nancy exclaimed. “Apparently, he came back for some reason after the clothes had been stolen. Maybe he lost something. How did you meet these people? ”

“I think we should explain later and get out of here as fast as we can, ” Bess advised.

Rosalind, meanwhile, tried to kick her legs out from under Bess, but to no avail.

“Quit it! ” Bess told the woman, who grunted angrily.

By now Nancy was free and she swayed to her feet, still feeling a twinge of pain where the cord had been tightened against her skin.

“Can you walk? ” Bess asked anxiously.

“I think so, ” Nancy replied.

Ted Henri and Pete Grover had left the Crystal Party shortly after Nancy did. On a lead that Mr. Belini had inadvertently revealed to them, they had driven to Gramercy Park. By the time they arrived, however, the small van with Nancy inside had left, and they saw Belini step into a car with another man. Neither Ted nor his associate recognized the stranger.

“Let’s see what they’re up to, ” Ted said, putting his car into gear.

The men ahead of them seemed unaware that they were being followed. They moved through the darkened streets, aiming toward an all-night diner on the West Side. As they pulled into the parking lot, Ted let his car hum idly a moment, then swung in behind.

“We’ll give them time to sit down before we go in, ” he told his companion.

“Belini will recognize us, ” Pete Grover warned.

“Well, I’m hoping he won’t see us.”

They sat in the car watching the two men slide into a high-backed booth near a window.

“Okay? ” Ted said. “Let’s go.”

He and Pete hurried inside and found a vacant booth behind Belini, where they strained to hear the conversation between Belini and his confederate. “Listen, Iannone, you shouldn’t have quit Millington, ” Belini was saying. “We need you there.”

“It wasn’t my idea, believe me. It was Rosalind‘s, ” Iannone said. “The minute Nancy Drew walked into the place, Rozzie panicked.”

“Oh, baloney, ” Belini grumbled. “Rozzie’s just overly worried about getting caught. Now she’s back with Reese and you’re out of a job.”

“Look, it’s only temporary. We worked a deal or two with Millington. Once I get situated with a new company, we’ll be able to create interest there, too.” Iannone paused, letting out a big sigh. “Meantime, I’m available to help you deliver the imported goods. They’re down at the pier now, right? ”

Belini nodded, then he let his fist fall on the table. “I still can’t figure out why you offered that snoopy kid a job to begin with.”

“I was trapped, that’s all. I tried to dissuade her from working at Millington, but she gave her reasons. They all had to do with collecting inside information, which would ultimately point the finger at someone and free the company from unjust attacks by Reese. What could I say? I was supposed to be a loyal, trustworthy employee! ”

Belini snorted.

“Anyhow, ” Iannone went on, “I figured, with Rosalind’s help, we could keep Nancy Drew in check. But Rozzie made a mistake. She rigged a blackout on the floor, and locked Nancy Drew in right after I hired her, hoping to scare her away.”

“That was dumb, ” Belini agreed.

“It was—because it made me look suspicious. I told Rosalind that, and she suggested that we both quit Millington permanently. When everything dies down, I could try to go back, but I don’t think it’s such a hot idea.”

“It isn‘t, ” Belini agreed. “Well, let’s finish our coffee and get out of here. It’s late.”

Quickly, Ted and Pete left the diner. They moved the car so it pointed toward the street, shut off the ignition, and waited for the men.

“Nancy Drew’s quite persistent, isn’t she? ” Ted said.

“I hate to say I told you so, ” Pete replied, “but I doubted right from the start that the fake auction scheme would keep her off this case.”

“My sister said the same thing. All I know is, it’s too bad that those crooks got to Jackie the night of the fashion show. Otherwise, I might never have had to introduce myself to Nancy as Chris Chavez.”

“What exactly happened? ” Pete asked.

“Well, one of these guys told Jackie that they had kidnapped me, and they’d let me go if she agreed not to be in the fashion show. They knew I was after a story involving them and that she was supposed to model clothes they intended to steal.

“Jackie, of course, is no idiot. She insisted they let her see me before she would make such an agreement. So they told her to go to some building and the next thing she knew, she was blindfolded and pushed into somebody’s basement.”

“Obviously, she got out unharmed, ” Pete commented.

“Obviously, but not before I turned up at the fashion show and discovered Nancy Drew in her place. Of course, I didn’t know who she was at first. I even thought she might have been planted by the crooks. So I asked her to dance, hoping to ingratiate myself enough to keep tabs on her in the future.”

Pete laughed. “Not an easy thing to do with Nancy.”

“Exactly. When I realized who she was, I knew I had to do more than that. A meddlesome teenager would not help my investigation.”

“And so you sent her off on a wild-goose chase.”

“That’s right, ” Ted concluded.

Back at the pier, the young detectives had managed to restrain Rosalind, but now they heard their captors’ voices outside the small room. Even though the men did not know what had happened, they were cutting off the girls’ escape route!

“I wish Rozzie would get over here to help us count this stuff, ” Frank grumbled. “Without some assistance, we’ll be here all night! ”

“Last time I saw her, she was going to check on Nancy Drew. Why don’t you see what’s holding her up? ”

Frank approached the door, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as police sirens sounded outside.

“The cops! ” he yelled. “Let’s get out of here! Roz, are you in there? ” he shouted toward the room. When he received no answer, he ran to the door and locked it. Then he darted after his companion.

Everything was quiet for a few minutes until Bess spoke up. “I don’t hear the sirens anymore, and the police haven’t come into the building, either. Do you think they just happened to drive by? ”

George shrugged. “Could be. There’s a phone on the wall over there. Why don’t we call the precinct? ”

Nancy instantly picked up the receiver, but the line was dead. Fighting a wave of panic, she realized they were locked up in an abandoned warehouse and might not be found for days!

“How about these? ” Bess asked, handing Nancy a pair of scissors.

She attempted to free the lock with them, but had no luck.

“Let’s try to break the door, ” she suggested, forcing herself to stay calm.

Nancy and the cousins threw their weight against the wood several times, but it wouldn’t even crack. Finally they stopped, rubbing their bruises and taking deep breaths.

“What are we going to do? ” Bess moaned.

“I suppose we’ll have to wait for someone to find us, ” Nancy said. “I—” She stopped suddenly, sniffing the air. Smoke was seeping in under the door!

“The building’s on fire! ” Nancy cried out.