Nancy struggled, but was no match for her two strong opponents. She was bound and gagged, then made to slide down the steps. The trap door was closed and a heavy piece of furniture pulled across it.
CHAPTER XX.
Amusing Confession
THE attack on Nancy had been so stealthy and unexpected she had not had a chance to see the faces of her a.s.sailants. She was sure there had been two men.
"Who could they have been?" she thought, puzzled. "Anyway, neither of them was Gus Woonton. So I have other enemies-possibly even Mr. Bunce!"
Suddenly a frightening idea came into her mind. Had the men harmed defenseless Miss Carter ?
"Oh, I hope not." Nancy almost sobbed. "I must get out of this prison."
Nancy worked at the gag in her mouth and the bonds around her wrists and ankles but could not budge them. She was about halfway down the stairway. By lying on her back, and using her elbows and feet to propel herself, she managed to inch her way up to the door.
"I"d better not try standing, I might lose my balance," she decided.
Carefully Nancy switched herself around. Now, with her head pointed downward, she tapped her heels loudly on the attic door. She waited a minute, then tapped again. Silence.
"Oh, why did I let myself get into such a fix!" Nancy chided herself. "But I musn"t give up."
The strong movement of her feet helped to loosen the bonds on them a bit. Hopefully she banged on the door again, but in vain.
"It"s no use," she thought. "Even if Miss Carter wasn"t injured by those men, she couldn"t possibly get up here to help me. But when she finds I"m not in bed and hears the noise up here, maybe, just maybe, she"ll telephone the police or drag herself up the stairs by using the railing."
Nancy continued to tap violently on the door. By this time she was nearly exhausted and had to rest a moment before doing anything more.
Then suddenly she heard voices. They were indistinct, but Nancy was sure they were not men"s. With all the strength she had left she tapped again furiously.
In a moment she heard running footsteps on the attic stairway.
A voice came to her distinctly. "I don"t see anyone," Bess Marvin called.
Nancy"s heart leaped with relief. She hit the trap door again. Within seconds the heavy piece of furniture had been moved away. The trap door was lifted up. Five faces stared down at her in disbelief. Bess, George, Ned, Burt, and Dave stood there.
Nancy was quickly lifted into the attic and the gag and bonds removed. Bess flung both arms around her friend, completely blocking off any affectionate hugs the others might have wished to give her.
George"s face showed anger. "Who did this to you?" she demanded.
"Two men came up behind me while I was investigating this stairway."
"I"ll call the police," Ned said, but Burt said, "You stay with Nancy. I"ll do it."
Ned could see that Nancy was pretty shaken. He swooped her up and carried the exhausted girl to the second floor.
As they pa.s.sed Miss Carter"s door the young people heard her call out, "What"s going on? Come in and tell me."
Nancy was relieved that the woman had not been harmed. Bess opened the door and the actress gave a little scream.
"Oh, what has happened to Nancy?"
"I"ll be all right, really I will," Nancy insisted.
Ned carried her to the couch and sat down beside her. Holding one of her hands, he said, "It would help if you could tell us the story, but if you don"t feel up to it, we can wait."
"My mouth is dreadfully dry from that gag," Nancy said. "I"d appreciate a gla.s.s of water."
When she was ready to tell her story, the first thing she said was, "Did one of you have a hunch that I was in trouble?"
George replied, "Oh, you mean what brought us back here? Bess left her handbag."
Bess smiled. "Thank goodness I did."
Nancy said, "I suppose those two men aren"t in the house any longer, but it wouldn"t hurt to search."
At once the three boys went off and made a complete investigation. Just as they were reporting to the others that the intruders were gone, the telephone rang. Ned answered it.
"Police headquarters calling," a voice said. "Who is this?"
Ned identified himself and said he was a friend of Nancy Drew.
"This is Captain Healey," the officer told him. "Fred Bunce is under arrest here with a pal of his. We caught them running out of Miss Carter"s driveway.
"I didn"t call you until we had a complete confession. Bunce talked William Woonton into making him sole executor and administrator of the estate. He has stolen a good deal of it, but declares there"s plenty left for Gus."
"I"m glad to hear that," said Ned. "Officer, if you can wait a moment, I think Nancy Drew should come to the phone and talk to you. She may have some questions."
Quickly Ned went upstairs and relayed the message. Nancy picked up the extension in Miss Carter"s room and identified herself.
"I"m so happy you caught Bunce. Is his companion the person who stole the cats?"
"That"s right," Captain Healey replied. "He"s the one you saw sneaking away across the Bunces"s yard. He disappeared into his friend"s house until the search for him was over."
Healey also said that Bunce had kept a close watch on Gus even inside the house. In this way he had learned of the secret room and the diary, which he planned to steal, but Nancy had taken it before he had a chance. He had sent the cat thief to her house to get it. Bunce had also used this man to go to his home after the couple had left to pick up articles. Nancy, Bess, and George had nearly caught him.
"Bunce suspected that Gus was hunting for hidden treasures and planned to get the secrets out of you, Miss Drew. But the arrival of your boy friend upset that scheme."
"How did he find Gus?" Nancy said.
"From things Gus"s parents said, Bunce figured that if Gus ever escaped from the Beverly he might come to his old home."
Nancy asked if Bunce and his companion were responsible for various attempts to harm her. They included putting the bomb under her car, knocking over the scenery on the stage, starting the fire under the school stage and imprisoning her in the secret stairway.
"They did those things to you?" the officer cried out. "Hold the phone a minute."
There was a very long minute before he came back to say the men had confessed.