Sneak Attack

IN the meantime Nancy and her friends were enjoying the picnic lunch under the trees. Bess had reported the balky lock on the car door.

“I’ll have to get it fixed, ” Nancy said, then smiled. “Don’t worry, Bess. There surely aren’t any thieves in this lovely place.”

Bess reached for a second helping of potato salad. “Isn’t it wonderful! We’ve found the map and it may lead to buried treasure! ”

“Providing Mrs. Chatham doesn’t change her mind about financing the trip, ” George reminded her cousin. “What do you think, Nancy? Will she go through with it? ”

“Oh, Mrs. Chatham is very enthusiastic. If we succeed in piecing the map together, she promised to ask both of you, and also Burt and Dave if you like, ” Nancy added with a twinkle in her eyes. “And Ned, Ellen, and Bill Tomlin.”

“Terrine! ” Bess exclaimed gleefully. “Four couples. What a houseparty! ”

“Four couples and Trixie, ” said Nancy.

It was growing late, so after Bess had consumed the last sandwich, the girls gathered up the picnic debris and returned to the car.

“I’d like to look at that map again, ” George remarked.

Bess, who was a few steps ahead, swung open the car door. She gasped in astonishment at the empty seat.

“Oh, no! We shouldn’t have left the ship model in here! ” she wailed.

“What’s happened? ” Nancy asked.

“Someone stole it while we were eating! ” Bess exclaimed. “Nancy, will you ever forgive me? ”

George eyed her cousin disapprovingly. “Think of all the hours we spent trying to find that map.”

Nancy gazed carefully about the clearing but could see no one. The thief was gone.

In a tranquil voice she said, “Fortunately it’s not too serious.”

“Not serious! ” Bess cried. “We lost the treasure and our wonderful vacation trip and you say it’s not serious! ”

Smiling, Nancy opened her handbag and displayed the missing section of the parchment map.

“I took it with me when we left the car, ” she explained. “As for the little ship, it’s not a great loss.”

“Nancy, I’m so happy I—” Bess laughed and cried, giving her friend an affectionate hug.

“There’s only one thing that bothers me, ” Nancy said. “I can’t recall the wording which was on the bottom of the Warwick! ”

“Wording? ” George asked in surprise. “I didn’t notice any.”

“Neither did I, ” Bess declared. “What was it, Nancy? ”

“I can remember just one word-‘Little.’ No doubt it will come to me when I study the two pieces of map at home.”

The girls had made only a casual inspection of the parchment, for even in a strong light the writing was difficult to make out. Nancy was eager to return home so she could look at it under a magnifying glass.

“Shall we start for River Heights? ” she proposed. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”

“And make no attempt to trace the person who stole the ship? ” George asked in surprise.

“It wouldn’t do any good. We don’t have a single clue, ” Nancy replied. “Let’s head back.”

After loading the picnic hamper into the car, the three girls crowded into the front seat. Out of habit, Bess reached for the button lock and pressed it down. “It does work! ” she exclaimed. George frowned at her cousin but refrained from making a comment.

“On second thought, ” Nancy interposed, “I’d like to stop and talk with Ellen’s father. I have a photograph to show him and he’ll want to hear the good news about the map.” She turned in the direction of Wayland.

Mr. Smith was saddened to learn that his brother was dead. He readily identified the picture, saying, “John looked exactly like my dad at the same age.”

Mr. Smith expressed great pleasure over the recovery of the long-lost section of the precious map and stared at it eagerly. “This is my brother’s torn piece, ” he declared positively. “Now if only I had my own half! ”

“Just as soon as I get home, ” said Nancy, “I’ll compare this with my copy of your section.”

“Has Mrs. Chatham actually promised to pay for the expedition? ” Mrs. Smith inquired. “I don’t like to think of her spending so much money on something which may turn out to be a disappointment.”

“Mrs. Chatham wants to do it, ” Nancy assured her. “The trip will not only be an expedition but a vacation for her and Trixie.”

Before leaving the house, the girls learned that the police had not caught the thief who had burglarized the Smith home. Although Nancy did not need the stolen parchment, she feared that Spike Doty might get to the buried treasure first. That evening her father voiced a similar opinion.

“After what happened to the model of the Warwick you must be on your guard more than ever, ” he warned her. “The Browns and the others have demonstrated their ruthlessness. They will not give up, Nancy, until the fortune is theirs.”

For a couple of hours she and her father studied the two sections of map, fitting them together and trying to decipher Captain Tomlin’s writing. Directions for reaching the southern Atlantic island were fairly clear, but one vital section of a word was missing.

“It would be part of the island’s name, ” Nancy commented ruefully. “Plainly it says, ‘Little—Im Island’, but it’s easy to see more letters appeared on the original.”

“Little Island as a clue means nothing, ” Carson Drew remarked, glancing up from an atlas.

“Mr. Smith said the island was uncharted, ” Nancy reminded her father.

“That was a long time ago, ” Mr. Drew replied. “No doubt it’s on the big maps today. Anyway, I’ll take another look at all the islands. Here’s one. Little Palm—”

“That’s it! ” Nancy cried out. “Little Palm Island! ”

“How do you know? How can we be sure? In this expedition a wrong guess could prove to be very costly.”

“I’m not guessing, Dad. The name was carved on the bottom of the ship model which was stolen from my car today.”

“Then everything seems to be cleared up, ” Mr. Drew declared in satisfaction. “If Mrs. Chatham gives her approval, we can charter a ship.”

Upon learning that the lost half map had been recovered, Mrs. Chatham was even more enthusiastic than Nancy had dared hope.

“By all means have your father engage a captain, ” she instructed. “And invite the Smith family and any friends you wish. We’ll have a marvelous time.”

Nancy telephoned to Bill Tomlin, Ned, Burt Eddleton, and Dave Evans. They all instantly accepted and in a whirl of excitement Nancy began to plan her cruise wardrobe.

On Monday her hopes were suddenly deflated by her father. “I’m afraid there’s not a single charter boat available now, ” he announced at lunch.

“Oh, Dad! ” Nancy exclaimed. “Are you absolutely certain? How about a plane? ”

“I’ve tried everywhere and everyone. No chance. I’m sorry, Nancy.”

“But the Browns or Spike Doty may get to Little Palm before we do and find the buried fortune! ”

That afternoon Carson Drew made several more unsuccessful attempts to find a suitable yacht. The few that were offered to him were either too large or much too small.

“Remember, dear, the thieves don’t have Captain Tomlin’s section of the map, ” Nancy’s father said encouragingly.

“No, ” she agreed. “But don’t forget that a copy of it was stolen by a member of the crew.” She reminded him of the letter found in the New Kirk bank.

Days went by and Nancy chafed at the delay. She made frequent trips to Rocky Edge to discuss the situation with Mrs. Chatham. Ellen had finished school for the year and come to the estate as piano teacher. Already Trixie was much better behaved.

One afternoon the child was not in sight when Nancy arrived. Ellen ran down the walk to meet the young detective, who sensed at once that something was wrong.

“Trixie has disappeared! ” Ellen cried. “I’m sure she has been kidnapped again! ”