Blackbeard’s Skull

“Good morning, ” Nancy Drew called out cheerfully as the park ranger walked up the sandy path. Nancy and her two girlfriends, Bess and George, had rented a cottage on the harbor of a small island off North Carolina.

“I hope you’re ready for your private viewing of pirate gold, Nancy, ” pleasant, middle-aged Ranger Lane said with a chuckle. “Most people vacationing here on Pelican Island don’t get out of bed this early.”

“I’m wide awake and eager to see the doubloons! ” Nancy assured him.

As they walked around the harbor to the ranger station, Lane told the attractive titian-haired eighteen-year-old that a local clammer had dredged up the doubloons off the northern coast of the island.

“Pelican, ” the ranger explained, “was a pirate hideout as were other islands in the area. Blackbeard was killed not far from here in 1718. The Governor of Virginia financed a ship with his own money and sent it down here with the sole purpose of putting an end to the pirate.”

“It must have taken a clever and brave man to kill Blackbeard, ” Nancy commented.

“He had help, ” Ranger Lane replied. “Lieutenant Robert Maynard needed five bullets and twenty stabs of his sword to kill Blackbeard. Maynard cut off Blackbeard’s head and stuck it on the bow of his ship. Or so the story goes. You should hear old George Habab sing the song he made up about Blackbeard’s death.”

“Could the doubloons on exhibit have belonged to Blackbeard? ” Nancy asked.

“It’s possible, ” Ranger Lane answered. “If so, I’d better watch out, ” he added with a wink. “Blackbeard left a deadly curse for anybody who stole his loot.”

The ranger slowed down his walk. “Here’s the station.” The ranger station lay by the island’s main docks. A flat, wooden building, it looked like a small warehouse with no windows and only one large door.

“The Coast Guard built this during World War II to house naval equipment, ” Ranger Lane explained in response to Nancy’s puzzled expression. “Someday we hope to put up a real station.”

Ranger Lane unlocked the heavy, wooden door and pushed it open.

“Here’s the old chest, ” he began to say, then gasped.

Nancy followed his blank stare. A skull rested on an old piece of ship’s bow in an otherwise empty corner. “The doubloons! They’re gone! ” the ranger exclaimed. He glared at the skull, then whispered, “Blackbeard! ” The ranger began to look around. “I don’t see how anyone could have gotten in.”

“When did you last see the gold? ” Nancy asked.

“Yesterday evening, ” the ranger replied. “I checked it before I locked up for the night. Maybe this is part of the curse! ”

“Did anyone else have access to the room after you left? ” Nancy gently questioned the agitated man.

“No, I have the only key, ” Ranger Lane answered. “Wait, ” he added suddenly. “My assistant, Arthur Huber, ran back in for a minute to get his glasses, but he didn’t carry anything out. There was a strong clear plexiglas cover bolted to the chest to safeguard the coins. Besides, I trust Arthur, ” Ranger Lane concluded firmly.

“Are you sure the door was locked behind him? ” Nancy asked.

“I double-checked it myself, ” the ranger declared, “and it was locked this morning.”

Nancy glanced around the station. Nothing except the gold seemed to have been disturbed.

“I’m afraid headquarters won’t be too pleased with this, ” Ranger Lane sighed.

“I’m sure you protected the gold as well as anyone could have, ” Nancy comforted the ranger.

She examined the station while Ranger Lane went to alert the Coast Guard and sheriff. She found no clues near the skull or elsewhere in the building, and decided to have a look outside.

Nancy walked along the edge of the dock next to the station. Peering into the water below, she suddenly collided with an elderly man, teetered back and forth for a moment and almost tumbled off. Gaining back her balance quickly, she just managed to catch the old man before he fell.

“I’m so sorry for bumping into you, ” Nancy apologized breathlessly.

“I fear I was asleep at the helm myself, ” the man volunteered in a strong British accent. “No harm done, thanks to your excellent footwork.”

Nancy introduced herself.

“I’m Colin Hudson, ” the white-haired gentleman responded. “I just arrived from England.”

“What brought you to Pelican Island? ” Nancy asked.

“I served off the island in a trawler during World War II, ” Mr. Hudson replied.

“Off this island, ” Nancy exclaimed. “I didn’t realize the war got that close! ”

“U-boats picked off a number of your merchant boats before we arrived to help, ” Mr. Hudson said. “Your navy wasn’t used to fighting submarines.”

“I would guess that’s a pretty tricky business, ” Nancy ventured.

“Deadly tricky, ” Mr. Hudson agreed. “Indeed, ” he added sadly, “a U-boat sank my ship, the Lancaster. Some of my mates may lie in the graves at the British cemetery here.”

“I noticed a British flag over one of the cemeteries and wondered why it was there, ” Nancy said.

“The people of Pelican very kindly donated a graveyard for my countrymen who were killed at sea off the island during the war. I wanted to see that cemetery and visit the wreck of the Lancaster, ” the elderly man told Nancy.

“I’m sorry your ship was lost, ” Nancy said softly. “But I’d love to hear some of your stories of those times, and so I’m sure would my friends. Would you like to come to our cottage and have dinner with us tonight? ” Nancy asked.

Mr. Hudson’s face brightened. “I’d be delighted, ” he said, smiling.

“I have a special island recipe I’d like to try, ” Nancy continued. “If you don’t mind, I’ll test it out on you. Is seven o’clock a good time? ”

“Perfect, ” Mr. Hudson replied.

Moments later, Ranger Lane returned, and Nancy quickly explained about the theft to Mr. Hudson. Then, politely excusing herself, she added, “See you at dinner.” Swiftly she followed the somber-looking Ranger Lane into his office.

“I’m afraid I can’t report any leads, ” he said in a low tone. “I just can’t figure out how anybody got in the station. It almost makes me believe it was Blackbeard’s ghost. The Coast Guard is searching all the boats in the harbor. That’s the best we can do for now.”

“Maybe they’ll find something, ” Nancy said soothingly.

“I hope so, but I doubt it, ” the ranger replied. “I certainly appreciate your help, Nancy, whether we find the gold or not.”

Nancy decided to take another look around the exhibit room. Kneeling on the rough-hewn wood floor, she scrutinized the skull. Peering at it from an angle, Nancy noticed an odd dark patch on one of the skull’s back teeth. It had a filling in it!

Keeping this observation to herself, Nancy returned to her cottage.

Bess and George listened wide-eyed as she told them about her morning.

“I think our sleuth has found herself another mystery, ” boyish George teased Nancy.

Plump, pretty Bess shivered. “I don’t like that skull being left there, ” she declared. “I hope Blackbeard’s ghost doesn’t try to get me! ”

“Don’t be so superstitious, ” George chided her cousin.

“I found a clue that should make you less worried about Blackbeard’s ghost, ” Nancy said, her eyes twinkling. “The skull has a filling in one of its teeth.”

“Couldn’t Blackbeard have had cavities? ” Bess interrupted.

“I’m sure he did, ” Nancy chuckled. “But I doubt he ever visited a dentist! ”

“The whole thing must be a hoax, ” George frowned.

“I think you’re right, ” Nancy agreed. “But we still haven’t figured out how anyone but a ghost could have broken into the ranger station.”

“Now that you have a mystery, Nancy, are we still going to the beach this afternoon as we planned? ” Bess teased her friend.

“You bet, ” Nancy replied smiling. “Pelican Island has a lovely beach and I don’t want to miss having a swim.”

The girls spent a pleasant day in the water and sunbathing.

“I’m going to need help gathering dinner, ” Nancy announced mysteriously when the afternoon was almost over. Bess and George looked puzzled.

“I’d like to make coquina chowder tonight, ” Nancy explained, “and we need a bucket of coquina clams.”

“They’re the shells that look like tiny butterflies! ” Bess exclaimed. The three friends dug for coquinas in the wet sand as the waves washed back and forth around them. Soon they had filled a bucket.

Afterward, George and Bess dropped Nancy off at the ranger station on the way back. Ranger Lane had no news. He introduced Nancy to a young, slightly built, spectacled man.

“Nancy, I’d like you to meet Arthur Huber, my assistant, ” Ranger Lane said. “Nancy here has been helping us try to solve the burglary, ” the ranger informed Huber.

“How did you become involved? ” he asked her curtly.

“Nancy was with me when I discovered that the gold was gone, ” Ranger Lane interjected.

“I appreciate the young lady’s curiosity, ” the assistant snapped. “But I think we can handle this problem ourselves.”

Embarrassed by his subordinate’s rudeness, Ranger Lane hastily escorted Nancy out of the station.

“Arthur’s been very jumpy lately, especially today since the gold disappeared, ” he apologized. “Please excuse him.”

Nancy felt that the young man’s behavior had been uncalled for, but kept her thoughts to herself.

Somewhat ruffled by the encounter with Arthur Huber, Nancy was thoughtful as she walked back around the harbor to the cottage. Once she reached the cottage, however, she busied herself preparing the coquina chowder with her two friends.

Nancy, George, and Bess peeled potatoes and onions and threw them in with the boiling coquinas. The percolating soup smelled delicious, and the friends couldn’t resist a taste.

“Mmmm, ” George commented as she gingerly sampled a hot spoonful. “I can see why the islanders like to eat this stuff.”

Bess made some grilled tomato, cheese, and onion sandwiches to round out the dinner. She and George sat on the porch to wait for Mr. Hudson while Nancy changed out of her dungarees.

“I love the pink light on everything, ” Bess sighed as she watched the evening sky. “The sailboats look especially pretty.”

“What a gorgeous sunset! ” Nancy agreed, stepping onto the porch.

Mr. Hudson still had not arrived when the sun was completely gone.

“I wonder why he’s late, ” Nancy remarked in a somewhat worried tone. “I think I’ll go look for him.”

“We’ll stay here in case he shows up, ” George volunteered.

Nancy walked all the way around the harbor in the rapidly fading light but saw no sign of the Englishman. Realizing she was near the British cemetery, Nancy decided to look there for the elderly man.

The absence of street lamps made it difficult for Nancy to see, but she moved ahead slowly. Soon a dimly lighted lamp post and a British flag waving in the breeze appeared by the side of the road. Nancy picked her way to the small fenced-in plot. Mr. Hudson was not there, but Nancy caught sight of a plaque listing the British sailors who had died. Suddenly she started. One of the names was Colin Hudson!

Spooked, Nancy headed back along the dark road toward the harbor. As she reached it, the young sleuth heard a banjo being played and a voice singing. Nancy caught the words, “British boys.” Following the sound, she came upon a weatherbeaten-looking old man sitting on the front porch of a store. He was the singer and banjo player.

“Hello, ” Nancy called out.

The old man jumped.

“You scairt the livin’ daylights outta me, ” he growled.

“I’m sorry, ” Nancy apologized. “You must be George Habab. Ranger Lane told me you compose your own songs.”

“Ranger Lane considers me a historic landmark of sorts, ” he commented, pleased that Nancy had heard of him. “Made up that song I was just singing, ” he admitted. “I felt powerful sorry for those English boys who kept washin’ up in ’42.”

Nancy asked Mr. Habab about her British friend, but the banjoist could not recall seeing him.

“Reckon dinner just slipped his mind, ” he said.

Nancy doubted that but thanked the islander and secured a promise that he would play her his Blackbeard song before she left for home.

Nancy hurried over to the Coast Guard station. A young man sat at the night desk. He could supply no information about Mr. Hudson. As Nancy walked out the door, however, the coast guardsman called her back.

“Have you talked to Gerald Curran? ” he asked. “He’s a World War II buff who’s always scuba diving around wrecks. Curran owns that big catamaran moored in the harbor, but he spends nights in a cottage he rented.”

Nancy thanked the young man and got directions to Curran’s cottage, which was not far from her own. He also insisted that Nancy borrow his large flashlight.

“It gets awfully dark and a little scary here at night, ” he said. “You can bring the flashlight back tomorrow.”

Guided by the powerful beam, Nancy hurried back to her cottage. “Nancy, where were you? ” Bess called out as her friend neared the cottage, “Did you find Mr. Hudson? ”

“No, ” Nancy reported ruefully, “but I have one more lead to investigate.”

“Mr. Hudson must have forgotten he was to eat dinner with us, ” George suggested. “Maybe he fell asleep.”

“He seemed so excited about coming I can’t believe he could have, ” Nancy replied, frowning. Secretly, she was beginning to think he had had an accident.

“I wish we knew where he was staying, ” kindhearted Bess sighed. “Well, I might be able to find out, ” Nancy said hopefully. Quickly she told her two friends about Gerald Curran.

“If I don’t learn anything from him, we can start to check hotels and cottages in the morning, ” she said.

George offered to accompany Nancy to the scuba diver’s cottage, but Nancy, knowing that Bess would be afraid if left alone, insisted on going by herself.

Nancy strode toward the diver’s cottage. The sandy lane was as dark as the coast guardsmen had warned her it would be. The flashlight she carried was the only light besides those in the cottages. Reaching what she thought was the right cottage, she walked up to it shining her flashlight in front of her. A light shone from the back porch. “Hello. Anyone home? ” Nancy called out.

“Who is that snooping around here? ” an unfriendly male voice demanded.

Taken aback, Nancy identified herself and explained why she had come.

“I’m sorry, ” the voice apologized. “I thought you were some nosy kid or tourist. I’m Gerald Curran. I’ll let you in. Just a minute.”

Nancy heard metal objects being pushed around. Then Gerald Curran opened the screen door. He was a blond, heavy-set, muscular man. Nancy guessed that he was in his late thirties. Rusty pieces of naval equipment cluttered the porch. Nancy almost banged her shin on an old propeller blade.

“Sorry to bother you, ” Nancy said, “but I hoped you might have seen Mr. Hudson.”

“No, ” the scuba diver replied, shaking his head. “I can’t think of anyone like that.”

“He might have been out at the Lancaster, ” Nancy remarked.

The skin diver seemed startled but quickly collected himself.

“I’m sure I would have seen him if he had been, ” he said firmly.

“I pass the Lancaster every day. As a matter of fact I was near it most of the day today. Hudson couldn’t have visited it … Why are you looking for him? ” Curran concluded.

“He’s a friend, ” Nancy replied simply. “He was supposed to come over to dinner tonight at our cottage.”

“Is he a close friend? ” Curran asked sharply.

“Close enough that I keep an eye on him, ” Nancy announced curtly, annoyed by the man’s manner.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about him, ” Curran advised smoothly. “Most people like to wander around on their own when they visit this island. He’s probably asleep. Or maybe he saw all he wanted to and took the ferry back to the mainland.”

“Maybe you’re right, ” Nancy said, but was unconvinced. “How did you become interested in World War II? ” she asked in a friendly way.

“Hobby, ” Curran answered. “Also, I’m an expert scuba diver and it seemed like a good way to combine both interests.”

“I noticed your catamaran out in the harbor, ” Nancy continued. “It’s a beauty. Does it have living quarters? ”

“Yes, ” Curran replied, “but too cramped for my tastes. I prefer the conveniences of a cottage.”

Nancy nodded. “I’m sure the cottage is more comfortable, but I’d love to see your boat sometime.”

Curran seemed somewhat irritated.

“It’s not very interesting, ” he muttered, “but perhaps I’ll show it to you sometime when I’m not busy. Where are you staying? ”

“In the Monroe cottage on the harbor, ” Nancy informed him.

“Are you here alone? ” Curran asked her.

“No, with friends, ” Nancy replied. “But I could easily be diverted for a look at your catamaran or at a World War II wreck.” The girl felt that Curran knew more than he was volunteering, and she wanted an opportunity to interrogate him further.

“If I find time, I’ll come by, ” Curran said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Thank you for your help, ” Nancy called as she walked out the screen door. Curran muttered something in reply.

That night Nancy had troubled dreams. She was glad to be out of bed at dawn and decided to take the motorboat they had rented with the cottage and visit the wreck of the Lancaster. She left a note for the sleeping Bess and George and quietly put her scuba-diving equipment in the boat in case she needed it. Navigating by a map of wrecks which Ranger Lane had given her, Nancy motored out to the Lancaster.

To her surprise, she found Gerald Curran already at the wreck despite the early hour. He wore scuba-diving equipment and seemed not at all pleased to see Nancy. After barely waving at her, he jumped into the water. Nancy decided to go after him.

She dropped the anchor, set up the ladder, and put on her scuba gear. She jumped in next to the anchor line and climbed down it to the Lancaster.

The wreck looked blurred and ghostly in the dark gray water. Nancy saw no sign of Curran. As Mr. Hudson had explained, the Lancaster was not a real ship, just a small, converted trawler. Nancy thought admiringly of the British sailors who chased U-boats in these makeshift warships. Swimming around the trawler, the girl sleuth discovered a large hole in the hull where the submarine torpedo must have hit. Cautiously, she eased her way in. Then suddenly, without warning, something sharp fell on her head. It was a headless skeleton!

Never losing her composure, Nancy surfaced along the anchor line quickly and deliberately. Curran had not returned to his boat. Nancy was convinced that the unpleasant man had something to do with the skeleton. She wondered why he was so determined to scare her away.

Nancy swam to her ladder, took off her fins and climbed up. She lifted the heavy air tank off her shoulders, then motored back into the harbor. The boat slapped up and down on the choppy early morning waves.

Bess and George stood on the dock of the cottage.

“Nancy! ” Bess greeted her friend with relief. “I was afraid you might have bumped into a ghost at the wreck.”

“Actually, a ghost bumped into me, ” Nancy reported wryly. She told her friend about the skeleton.

Bess flopped down weakly in a chair on the dock, but George spoke up angrily. “That man Curran is no good, ” she declared. “I’ll bet he was responsible for this ’ghost.’ ”

Nancy agreed. She sat down in a chair next to Bess and looked thoughtful for a moment. Suddenly she jumped to her feet.

“I think our detective has a hunch, ” George said knowingly.

Nancy smiled at her friend. “You’re right, George, but before I follow it, I think we should ask for Mr. Hudson at the hotels and cottages.”

“That will take a lot of asking, ” George commented. “This island is packed with places to stay.”

“Let’s get started, ” Nancy urged.

“Wait a minute, ” Bess interjected. “How about a little breakfast before we turn into ghosts ourselves? ”

George and Nancy laughed and admitted they were ravenous. Bess scrambled eggs, baked delicious corn-bread, and fried some bacon by the time Nancy had showered and changed out of her swimsuit.

“Smells heavenly, ” Nancy grinned when she entered the cozy kitchen.

After breakfast, Bess insisted upon washing the dishes despite the other girls’ protests.

“I love the view of the harbor through the kitchen window, ” she declared. “It makes me enjoy doing the dishes.”

“I’m eager to look for Mr. Hudson, ” Nancy conceded, “but I claim cleaning up after dinner tonight.”

Nancy and George divided the hotels and cottages for their hunt. “I’ll take the ones on the other side of the harbor, ” Nancy suggested. “Maybe you can get a look at Gerald Curran without his recognizing you.”

“I’d like to punch him in the nose, ” George announced stoutly. “Dropping skeletons on people! The nerve of him! ”

The girls’ thorough investigation took Nancy and George most of the day and netted nothing.

“Mr. Hudson seems to have vanished into thin air, ” George complained when they met back at the cottage late that afternoon.

Nancy remembered the list of names in the British cemetery that had included that of the missing Mr. Colin Hudson, but she kept it to herself. Nancy certainly didn’t believe in ghosts, and felt there was no point in alarming her friends.

Bess reported that Gerald Curran had dropped by the cottage during their absence.

“He said you had been curious about his catamaran and his diving, Nancy, but I thought he was the one who was curious. He kept asking me questions about where you were and what you were doing, but I just said I wasn’t sure and that I didn’t know when you would be back.”

Nancy praised Bess for her careful answers and the plump blond beamed. Then Bess exclaimed, “My goodness, it’s almost dinner time and you two haven’t even had lunch.”

“Your breakfast lasted me all day, ” Nancy teased her friend. Actually she had had little appetite because of her concern about Mr. Hudson.

Nancy offered to pick up some fresh fish from Mr. Habab’s store.

“That’s a marvelous idea, ” Bess agreed. “I leafed through a local cookbook while you were out sleuthing and found some great recipes.”

The cottage was equipped with bikes as well as a motorboat. Nancy chose one with a large wire basket in front. She started along the road circling the harbor at a leisurely pace. Musing on the stolen gold and Mr. Hudson’s mysterious disappearance, she occasionally turned her head and glanced at the boats rocking gently in the harbor.

Suddenly a truck swerved by Nancy and forced her into the soft sand off the side of the road. Struggling to keep her bike from falling, Nancy barely had a chance to glance at the vehicle moving away from her. She did notice, however, that the truck was the light green of the Park Service!

Furious, Nancy pedaled to Ranger Lane’s house. He was seated in a rocking chair on his front porch. Upset when Nancy told him of the incident, he promised to find out who had been driving.

“I’m sure you will, ” Nancy mollified the agitated man. “Fortunately I wasn’t harmed.”

“I can’t think of anyone in the service who behaves like that.” The ranger shook his head. “First the theft and now this.”

When the ranger mentioned the theft Nancy remembered something she had wanted to ask him.

“May I borrow the key to the ranger station tonight? ” she asked. “I’d like to take another look around.”

“Of course, ” Lane replied. “I’d be happy to come with you.”

“Thank you very much, but I think it would be better if I went alone, ” Nancy said. “I’d like to keep this trip secret and that’s easier with one person, ” she explained tactfully. “Could you do me another favor and not tell anyone that I have the key? ”

“Not a word, ” the ranger promised, “but I must admit you’re making me very curious. I suppose you’ll be safe.”

“I’ll give you a detailed report in the morning when I return the key, ” Nancy assured him. “I’d better hurry and buy the fish I promised to get for dinner.” She took the key and rushed to Mr. Habab’s store.

“I was just about to close, ” he announced as Nancy walked in. “Did you ever find your friend? ”

Nancy informed him of her unsuccessful search.

“Well, don’t worry, little lady, I’m sure he’ll turn up, ” the warm-hearted storekeeper soothed her. “Now, can I interest you in some fresh bluefish? ”

Nancy bought some of the fish, which he wrapped in newspaper. He refused to let her pay for it. “I’ll make you do a little singing for me sometime in payment, ” he declared. Nancy decided to buy him a gift before leaving the island and loaded the fish into the basket on her bike.

“Hope you don’t get followed home by a parade of cats, ” Mr. Habab quipped as she set out. “They love my fish.”

After a delicious dinner prepared by Bess, Nancy pondered Mr. Hudson and the doubloons as she washed the dishes. The young detective decided to wait until the middle of the night before going to the ranger station.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right, Nancy? ” Bess asked anxiously before going to bed.

“I’ll be fine, ” Nancy reassured her friend. “No one knows I’ll be in the ranger station tonight.”

George offered to accompany Nancy, but the young sleuth preferred to go alone, as she believed it would be less conspicuous.

When Nancy left the cottage a few hours later, a thick layer of clouds covered the night sky. Without stars, the moon, or street lamps, the harbor was pitch black. Nancy chose not to shine her flashlight so as to avoid being noticed. She listened to the musical clanking of sailboat rigging as she stole around the harbor. None of the cottages had lights on. Everyone seemed to be asleep.

As she neared the ranger station, Nancy thought she heard footsteps behind her. She stopped and listened intently. A boat was rubbing gently against the dock, and Nancy decided that was what she must have heard. The ranger station looked black and spooky. She was glad there were no windows in the building so that no one could see her flashlight.

Nancy slipped the heavy iron key into the door and silently swung it open. After shutting the door behind her, the young sleuth shone her flashlight on the floor of the station. Squatting on the rough wood, she examined the area under the chest, but found nothing. Nancy inspected the entire floor with no more luck.

Then she went directly to Arthur Huber’s desk. Peering intently at the boards beneath it, Nancy discovered a latch cleverly hidden in the wood. She pressed it and a trapdoor opened to reveal water below. Suddenly a spooky shadow seemed to dance before her. “Blackbeard, ” she murmured softly, trembling despite her disbelief.

Moments later, something hit Nancy on the head from behind and pushed her into the water!

About an hour later, she awoke to find herself bound, gagged, and suffering from a terrible headache. The girl detective glanced around and guessed she was in the cabin of a catamaran, probably Gerald Curran’s, no doubt!

On the bunk across from her lay Colin Hudson! He smiled as best he could although his mouth, like hers, was gagged. Nancy winked back, determined that they both keep up their spirits. The elderly British gentleman looked pale and Nancy wondered angrily if Curran had bothered to give him any food.

Nancy felt the catamaran start to move. After a while it began rocking up and down and she knew they were out of the small waves in the protected harbor. The large hatch was shut and the cabin was stuffy and uncomfortable.

All I need now is to get seasick for the first time in my life, Nancy thought ruefully.

The sound of two voices came through a small open porthole, which was the only source of fresh air. Nancy recognized the voices of Gerald Curran and Arthur Huber.

“That blasted girl! ” Huber hissed. “The old man was bad enough. But then, after our months of planning, she has to butt in.”

“Cut it out, ” Curran said harshly. “No one knows she ever even went into the station, and they won’t be able to get in until they break down the door. Remember, the only key is down at the bottom of the harbor where we dropped it.”

“But her friends will raise the alarm and the whole Coast Guard will be out looking for her, ” Huber argued.

“They won’t know she’s gone until morning, ” Curran replied. “By that time she and the old man will be on a tiny island miles away. You’ll be at work in the morning as if nothing had happened. I’ll have the gold hidden in my World War II junk. By the time they find the girl and the old guy—if they do find them— I’ll have gone home on the ferry with my loot and you’ll have left too if you know what’s good for you.”

“They’ll search the country for me, ” Huber whined.

“Oh, shut up, ” Curran barked rudely. “You’re in it up to your neck now. So let’s see if you can help me.”

The men were quiet for some time as the boat sailed on. Then again Nancy heard their voices.

“The dawn’s coming up, ” Huber said anxiously.

Nancy heard the sound of the anchor being dropped.

“And we’re at the wreck just as I planned, ” Curran snarled back.

“I’ll have the gold up here in about fifteen minutes and then we can dump the girl and the old man. I hope it’s not too hard for you to guard a tied-up teenage girl and an old man while I’m gone, ” Curran called out sarcastically. Nancy heard a splash as Curran jumped into the water.

Huber muttered after him, “You brainless muscled monkey! ”

Nancy thought wryly that the slight ranger had probably waited until Curran was underwater and out of earshot before he insulted him.

Realizing she had no time to lose, Nancy looked around the cabin for some way to attract attention.

Back at the cottage, neither Bess nor George slept soundly. They met each other in the kitchen.

“Worried about our detective? ” George asked her cousin.

“Yes, ” Bess admitted. “She’s been gone for hours. I know she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s at the station, but I’m scared something’s happened to her.”

“I am too, ” George agreed. “Let’s walk to the ranger station. If we don’t find Nancy there, we’ll tell the Coast Guard she’s missing.” George found a flashlight in a drawer but the battery was dead.

“I’m afraid it’s going to be pretty dark out there, ” she warned Bess.

“I’m so worried about Nancy I don’t care if I run into every ghost on the island, ” Bess declared stoutly. “Let’s throw on some clothes and march to the station.”

The two cousins hurried as best they could in the total darkness. Once Bess heard a funny noise and clutched her cousin’s arm.

“It’s only a toad, ” George informed her.

Bess apologized, then declared, “Toads or no toads, I’ll make it to the ranger station or bust.”

When they reached the building, George knocked loudly and called Nancy’s name. There was no answer. The cousins rushed over to the Coast Guard station.

“I hate to think what might have happened to Nancy, ” Bess murmurred.

Bess and George encountered the same coast guardsman whom Nancy had questioned the night before about Colin Hudson. The young man started in surprise when they told him about Nancy.

“The night patrol is still out, ” he informed them. “I’ll alert Captain Doyle about Nancy immediately. Those on land duty will start to search around the ranger station and harbor. People seem to be disappearing on Pelican all of a sudden, ” he said in a puzzled voice. Then he called the night patrol on the large radio next to him.

“Why don’t you girls accompany the land patrol? ” he suggested. “I’m sure they’d appreciate any help you could give them.”

Craning her neck to see behind her, Nancy spied a boat horn. Wasting no time, the agile sleuth twisted her body until her hip pressed against the horn. While Mr. Hudson watched in amazement, she beeped out SOS. The horn blared so loudly it almost deafened her.

“What are you doing? ” a furious Huber yelled at Nancy as he scrambled down into the cabin. “You’ll be overboard with your hands and feet tied if you pull another stunt like that.” The man stiffened as he heard a Coast Guard siren off in the distance. Cursing Nancy, the ranger turned on the boat radio. He put it on a rock station playing very loud music.

“That’ll drown your screams, ” he sneered at Nancy. Then Huber clambered back on deck to await the Coast Guard.

“Ahoy there! ” a hearty voice called out in a few minutes. “I’m Captain Doyle of the Coast Guard. We picked up your SOS.”

“Sorry, Captain, ” Huber said smoothly. “I just wanted to make sure the horn worked. I figured no one would hear it.”

“Say, you’re one of the rangers, aren’t you? ” Captain Doyle asked.

“Yes, ” Huber replied, “I guess I’m sort of a landlubber. I didn’t realize I had sent out a message.”

“What are you doing on Curran’s catamaran? ” the captain questioned him.

“Gerald Curran said he found some World War II artifacts which he would let us exhibit at the station. I came out to have a look at the site, ” Huber said.

“Have you seen any sign of a reddish-blond eighteen-year-old girl? ” Captain Doyle asked.

“Sorry to say I haven’t, ” Huber answered. “Is somebody missing? ”

“We had a radio message to be on the lookout for a Nancy Drew, ” Captain Doyle explained.

Fearing that the Coast Guard boat would pull away momentarily, Nancy thought quickly. Huber had moved the horn out of her reach. Nancy calculated that if she maneuvered her body into a shoulder stand she could get one foot in front of the porthole.

Fortunately, a young sailor caught sight of Nancy’s foot. He went over to the captain and whispered in his ear.

“Could you come on board for a minute and sign some routine papers, Ranger Huber? ” the captain requested. “Regulations, regulations, ” he complained. “With all this paperwork, it’s a miracle I ever get to the open sea.”

Huber unsuspectingly boarded the Coast Guard boat. Two sailors took his arm as if to help him aboard but then held the ranger firmly in their grasp.

“What is the meaning of this? ” Huber protested, writhing in the grip of the burly sailors.

“One of my men caught sight of some unusual cargo, ” Captain Doyle said sternly. “Unless you can convince me that teenage girls are World War II artifacts, I think you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

Huber went limp. “It’s all Curran’s fault, ” he whined piteously.

“You must be quite a contortionist, ” Captain Doyle complimented Nancy as he untied her.

“I’ve learned a few gymnastics tricks, ” Nancy explained modestly to the attractive, bearded captain.

“I’m glad you did, ” he replied, “or we might never have found you. There are countless tiny islands around here where Huber and Curran could have abandoned you.”

“I’m quite delighted myself that Nancy came along, ” Mr. Hudson spoke up as he vigorously rubbed his hands and feet where the ropes had been. “I never thought an old sea dog like myself would get sick of being on a boat, but this is one boat I’m eager to quit for good.”

“Did Curran give you anything to eat? ” Nancy asked.

“No, ” Mr. Hudson answered. “I think he was afraid that if he undid the gag I would yell—and I would have, too.”

“We haven’t seen Curran, ” Captain Doyle informed them.

“He dived down to the wreck, ” Nancy said. “He’s picking up the doubloons they stole from the ranger station.”

“Curran and Huber stole the gold? ” the captain gasped.

Nancy nodded. “Perhaps if I confront Huber he’ll confess.”

Captain Doyle approved Nancy’s plan. They climbed out of the hatch. Unassisted, Nancy jumped off the catamaran onto the Coast Guard boat.

Huber sat, sour and sulky, between the two sailors. They were so much bigger than the ranger that he looked like a naughty child.

“Curran and Huber were partners, ” Nancy began. “Working nights, Curran cut a hole in the ranger station floor from the water below. Huber drove thin spikes through the floor under his desk so Curran would know where to cut. The ranger also covered up any marks and made the latch for the trapdoor.”

“Why didn’t we see Curran? ” Captain Doyle asked.

“He submerged and surfaced in the middle of his catamaran, ” Nancy explained. “After the trapdoor was finished, ” she continued, “Huber pretended he had left his glasses in the station so he could run back in. Then he dropped the chest of gold through the trapdoor and replaced it with the skull.”

“Where did they get the skull? ” Captain Doyle questioned Nancy.

“From the Lancaster, ” Nancy replied. “Curran dropped the headless skeleton on me when I went down there.”

“The idiot! ” Huber cried out angrily.

Nancy continued to ignore the ranger. “Curran picked up the gold as soon as it got dark and hid it in the wreck at dawn. When the Coast Guard searched his catamaran the next day they found nothing.”

“That’s when I entered the scene, ” Colin Hudson volunteered. “I ran into Curran that morning after I talked to you, Nancy. He overheard me telling of my interest in the Lancaster and offered to take me to her.”

“You must have found the gold, ” Nancy commented.

“Yes, I did, ” the old sailor affirmed. “I know the insides of the Lancaster better than I know myself. After I found it, this chap Curran, who hadn’t bargained on me ever finding his loot, gave me rather a nasty knock on the head and, I guess, hauled me back to his catamaran.”

“We must have searched it already, ” Captain Doyle said.

“Curran tried to stop me from exploring the wreck by dropping the skeleton on my head when I went out there the following morning, ” Nancy added. “That gave me an idea about where the skull had come from. Then I thought of a trapdoor. I thought Blackbeard had come to get me for a moment there! ”

“You ruined everything, ” Huber exploded.

“Curran should surface any minute now, ” Nancy warned Captain Doyle.

“We’ll make sure to grab him when he does, ” the captain declared.

Caught red-handed after surfacing with the gold and seeing his partner in custody, Curran confessed his part in the theft and kidnapping.

“Caught by a girl, ” he muttered dejectedly.

That evening, Nancy, Bess, George, and Mr. Hudson enjoyed a tasty dinner prepared by the grateful Ranger Lane and his wife.

“If you’ll take a walk with me, I have a surprise for you, ” the ranger announced when they finished, his eyes twinkling.

He led his guests to George Habab’s store. The old fellow sat on the porch grinning, his banjo in his hands. Without saying a word, he began to play and sing. “Here’s the ballad of Nancy Drew, ” he began. The song went on to describe Nancy’s adventures on Pelican Island.

Captivated, she and her friends listened intently. When the islander finished, they clapped loudly.

“It’s even better than my Blackbeard song, ” George Habab claimed.

“You promised to play that for me, ” Nancy reminded him. The banjoist began, and Bess’s eyes widened as the song told the story of Blackbeard’s bloody death.

Nancy smiled and nodded her thanks, then asked, “Would you mind playing your British sailor song for Mr. Hudson? ”

“Where is Mr. Hudson? ” George asked. Everyone looked around. The old man had disappeared. Nancy finally told her friends how she had found the British man’s name on the list of deceased at the cemetery.

“Reckon he came back to help us out, to kind of return the favor for us building that British cemetery, ” George Habab whispered softly.

“Without him, no one would have thought to go to the Lancaster, ” Nancy commented.

Then she looked at Bess, whose face had turned pale. “That’s okay, ” Bess assured her friend, “I guess I can handle nice ghosts.”