Thwarted Search

As rain heaved itself in waves across the canal, Ned and the other boys ran back toward the hotel from where the last boat of the evening had just left. They tried to attract the driver’s attention but it was no use. The rain was beating harder now and blurred their vision.

“Hurry, ” Ned said in a panting voice. “Maybe the guy at the dock can radio the boat back.” But when they reached the man in uniform, he was huddled behind the door talking to someone else.

“Scusi, ” Burt said, attempting unsuccessfully to cut into the conversation. Dave cast an impatient glance at Ned who was equally dismayed.

At last, however, the man turned to them, and, hearing their predicament, said he would call a water-taxi as soon as the storm lifted.

" That could take hours, ” Dave said pessimistically.

" Boy, I hope not, ” Ned replied. “I’m exhausted—”

The rest of his comment faded quickly, though, as a young, titian-haired woman in a green silk dress trailed down the stairway carrying a large umbrella. She paused briefly at a display of clothing in a window, then turned, aware of Ned staring at her.

“Look, ” he whispered to his friends, “that’s the girl we saw upstairs.”

" And it isn’t Nancy, ” Dave remarked sheepishly. “Now what? ”

“Well, before we do anything else, let’s call the Gritti and see if the girls are back.”

" Good idea, " Burt agreed, following the other two to the main lobby.

After a brief explanation to the concierge, Ned was offered the use of a nearby phone. The call went through immediately despite an interruption of static, but to his disappointment, the answer was the same as before. His American friends had not returned.

“Oh, but—yes—wait a moment, ” the night, clerk said. “There is a message here for you. Shall I read it? ”

“Yes, please” Ned answered, waiting anxiously while paper rustled out of an envelope at the other end.

“It says— Are you listening? ” the clerk inquired.

“Yes, yes, I’m here, ” Ned said. “Go on.”

“It says, ‘Sorry we weren’t able to see you today. Something unexpected came up and we had to leave Venice. We’ll try to be back by tomorrow, but if we can’t, we’ll see you at home.’ It is signed, ‘Your friend, Nancy Drew.’ ”

“That’s all? ” Ned asked.

“Si.”

“Please put it in our box then, ” he said. “We’ll pick it up when we return.”

“As you wish.”

With that, Ned hung up the receiver. He was troubled as well as mystified by the contents of the letter, which he related to Burt and Dave.

“It’s not only the formality of the signature, ” he stated.

“You can say that again, ” Dave interposed. “At least, Bess would’ve signed ‘Love, Bess.’ I mean, does Nancy always add her last name? ”

“No, never. But what bothers me more is the fact she didn’t say where they all went.” “Obviously, they’re on a secret mission, ” Burt concluded.

“Hmph. Since when is a secret mission a secret from us? ” Dave answered, eliciting a nod from Burt.

“And what’s all this business about seeing us at home if they don’t get back to Venice? ” Ned added in a tone of disbelief.

“That is a bit much, ” Burt agreed, “but I guess we’ll have to take a look at the handwriting to make sure it’s from Nancy—”

Another crash of thunder ended the discussion, however, and the threesome returned downstairs, determined to press the man on duty for a taxi. But he remained adamant.

“I am sorry, ” he said. “I cannot do anything for you. No one will come.”

“But what if it was an emergency? ” Dave asked.

“What can I say? Look at the rain now. It’s worse than ever.”

As he spoke, gusts of wind spilled angrily across the canal, churning the water into high waves.

“Too dangerous, too dangerous, ” the man repeated. “You sit, or go upstairs and dance. Enjoy yourselves—inside! ”

If only the boys could, but they felt trapped and helpless, wondering where Nancy, Bess, and George had disappeared to.

The time passed slowly as the threesome wandered through the hotel again, looking in display windows that lined the corridors while hoping for a letup in the weather.

“Hey, check this out, ” Dave said, drawing his friends’ attention.

“What is it? ” Ned replied absently, then focused on a shelf of crystal. These things look very similar to the piece the customs man found in my suitcase! ”

“Don’t they, though? ”

The boys noted the signature under the manufacturer’s sign. It was an unusual design of the famed winged lion followed by the name Filippo.

“He sure makes some beautiful stuff, ” Burt commented, “and judging from the fact there aren’t any prices on it, I bet it’s pretty expensive, too.”

Although they anticipated finding more samples of the artist’s work, they didn’t and finally gave up their search.

“I was just thinking, ” Dave said. “Suppose Nancy’s note isn’t legitimate? The night clerk told us they mentioned going to the Lido. What if they’re still here? ”

“Well, I’m sure they wouldn’t have missed the last boat back to the Gritti, ” Burt said.

“Unless they did by accident or were forced to, ” Ned replied. “Weather permitting, we can still make a search of the beach and every hotel.”

But there had only been a temporary break in the storm, which now grew stronger than ever.

“It looks as if we’ll have to book ourselves in here for the night, ” Ned continued, “and postpone our investigation until tomorrow.”

“That’s fine with me, ” Burt said, glancing at Dave who nodded also.

Despite the fact that it was peak season at the beach hotel, the boys were able to obtain a room. It was considerably more expensive than they had counted on, but they took it anyway.

“What’s a few lira more or less when our friends may be in danger? ” Dave said as they registered their names.

“Exactly, ” Ned agreed. “But remember, I don’t have a wallet.”

The other boy smiled limply. “In that case—” he sighed—“I guess we’ll have to settle for cold rolls in the morning.”

“Could be worse, ” Burt said, as they followed the porter to the elevator and their room, which proved to be a small suite.

“Maybe we ought to stay up to really appreciate all this, ” Dave quipped, gazing at the velvet furnishings and tasseled drapes.

“You go right ahead, ” Burt said, “but I’m going to bed—immediately.”

A deep yawn emphasized his intention.

“Me, too, ” Ned added, collapsing against his pillow. Dave followed suit, but only after one more sweeping glance.

With the steady downpour of rain thudding against the windows, he barely imagined next morning’s sunlight.

But the next day, it burst across the boys in a blaze of warmth, jolting them awake.

“Close the drapes, ” Dave mumbled as he pulled the sheet over his head.

Ned had already dived into the shower, leaving Burt to pry Dave out of bed.

“Get up, ” he said. “It’s after nine.”

“Okay, okay, ” Dave answered but made no attempt to move.

“Don’t you want to find Bess? ” Burt went on, stretching to his full frame.

“Sure, sure. Just give me five more minutes.”

However, by the time they all reached the dining room, it was well past ten o’clock. Ned had made one final call to the Gritti to see if there was any further message from Nancy; but as he suspected, there was none.

During the course of the night, the girl detectives had been carried to another room within the basilica. It had happened while they were sleeping. Their gags had been doused with something sweet, to assure their abductors there would be no struggle. When the prisoners awoke, they felt light-headed, aware of the sickening odor that still clung to their nostrils.

They must’ve drugged us, Nancy surmised. But why?

She stretched her legs out groping for the familiar wall but it wasn’t there, and the young sleuth realized they had been moved. No doubt they had been secreted away in a room where there was no chance of anyone finding them!

Her only consolation, though, was that Ned and the other Emerson boys were probably out of jail by now.

When they don’t find us at the hotel, they’ll know something happened, Nancy thought, and they’ll start searching right away!