The Stolen Parchment

“A BURGLAR! ” Nancy whispered into Ellen’s ear. “Don’t make a sound! Maybe we can catch him.”

Remaining motionless, the girls waited until the man had nearly reached the base of the ladder. Then, at a signal from Nancy, they made a concerted rush for him.

After the first moment of surprise he began to struggle. With one push he sent Ellen reeling backwards into a clump of dwarf evergreens. Nancy held on, but the muscular man was too strong for her.

“Let go! ” he ordered harshly. “If you don’t, I’ll get rough! ”

Headlights from a passing automobile momentarily focused on the struggling pair, and in that second Nancy caught a clear glimpse of the man’s partially bearded face and angry eyes.

“I won’t let go! ” she defied him.

In the wild struggle the ladder was pushed away from the wall. It toppled, narrowly missing Ellen, and struck the garage with a loud crash.

“Help! Help! ” screamed Nancy, hoping that her cry would awaken the neighbors.

Instantly the prowler clapped his hand across her mouth. Shaking free from her grasp, he lifted her bodily and threw her down on the grass.

Nancy fell so hard that the breath was knocked from her, but she struggled to her feet. By this time the man had run across the lawn and disappeared beyond a hedge.

“Are you all right, Nancy? ” Ellen gasped, limping toward her friend.

“Yes, but it’s too bad that intruder got away.”

“Oh, I hope he didn’t steal anything, ” Ellen said.

In the house next door lights were being snapped on. The upper floor of the Smith home suddenly was illuminated. Ellen’s mother raised a window and called to ask what was wrong.

“Hello, Mother, ” said Ellen. “I’m afraid our home has been robbed. Nancy and I just tried to capture a man who was coming out of the house! ”

“Oh, goodness me! ” Mrs. Smith exclaimed.

“We couldn’t hold him. Is Dad all right? ”

There was no answer. The girls guessed that Mrs. Smith had run downstairs to her husband’s room. A few minutes later she unlocked the back door. By this time several neighbors had arrived to find out the cause of the commotion. Nancy explained what had happened, and one man summoned the police. Ellen and Nancy found Mr. Smith in a state of nervous alarm.

“Probably my desk has been rifled! ” he cried out. “I’m sure the parchment map is gone! ”

“Now don’t get excited, Tomlin, ” Mrs. Smith said soothingly. “Maybe the girls got here in time to prevent a robbery.”

“If I were you I’d check to make sure, ” Nancy urged. “The man may have ransacked several rooms in your house.”

While she and Ellen counted the silverware, Mrs. Smith hastened upstairs. In a few minutes she returned and one glance at her stricken face told the girls that the precious map was gone.

“I was afraid the map was what the prowler came for, ” Nancy commented. “Maybe that man Rorke sent him.”

“That’s what I call a low-down trick, ” Mr. Smith fumed. “Now who could that scamp be, and why should he want the map? ”

“Obviously to obtain the treasure! ” exclaimed Ellen. “Oh, Dad, the parchment must have genuine value! And to think we’ve lost it! ”

“You forget that I made a copy of the original, ” Nancy reminded the others. “It’s crudely drawn but fairly accurate and I have it with me.”

Mr. Smith said gratefully, “You’re a lifesaver.”

To Nancy’s embarrassment he introduced her to the neighbors who had gathered on the front porch and told them how brave she and Ellen had been.

As soon as the police arrived, a Sergeant Holmes introduced himself and Officer Mentor. He asked the girls to describe the intruder. Ellen could remember nothing about him but his surprising strength. Nancy, however, not only provided the police with an excellent description of the heavy-set thirty-year-old prowler, but drew a rough sketch of his face.

Nancy had recognized the close resemblance between the intruder and the “apparition” of Ship Cottage but did not mention this.

“Say, you’re something of an artist! ” the sergeant said admiringly. “A good observer, tool This fellow looks like one of our old friends.”

“Spike Doty! ” the other policeman added, studying the sketch.

“The same Spike Doty who burglarized Rocky Edge a few years ago? ” Nancy asked.

“He’s the one. Has a record a mile long, and is wanted for another robbery.”

Sergeant Holmes said, “He’s a sailor, and a fairly good one when he’s willing to work.”

The officers went outside to make an investigation. Just before they left, Nancy walked out on the front porch. She saw a man and a woman dart from the side of the house and hurry to a car which had been parked up the street. The automobile was too far away for her to distinguish either the make or the license.

“That’s queer, ” she thought. “I wonder if they were just curious bystanders or if they had some part in the robbery.”

In the morning she and Ellen had breakfast about nine o‘clock, helped with the dishes, and then drove to Blackstone College. They assisted in setting the stage for the operetta and had luncheon. At four o’clock Nancy said she must start for Emerson College to attend the dance with Ned Nickerson.

“I’m staying there only one night, ” she said to Ellen in parting. “On my way home I’ll stop at Rocky Edge and investigate some more.”

“Thanks so much. I do need a salary comparable to the one Mrs. Chatham offers so I can come back here next fall, ” Ellen said wistfully.

Nancy drove leisurely along a winding country road. A gray automobile followed some distance behind. She did not give it a second thought until she had gone several miles.

“Why doesn’t that car pass me? ” Nancy wondered.

Deliberately she slowed up, but the car behind also slackened pace. With increasing uneasiness Nancy remembered that she had the precious copy of Tomlin Smith’s half map in her purse.

“It’s time that I find out what’s what! ” she thought. “We’ll play a little game of hide-and-seek.”

Again Nancy slackened her pace, turning into a paved side road. She felt certain that unless the occupants of the gray car were trailing her they would not make the turn. Watching in the mirror, she was alarmed to see the automobile leave the main road.

“I am being followed, ” she thought anxiously. “And they’re gaining on me, too! ”