Bess pressed her ear against the steel door. She could hear a hum of voices. Then a man said, "It won"t be long now. I"ll be back in twenty minutes."
Now Bess could hear only one person moving around in the next room. She told Nancy.
"Good! My smoke preparation is ready. We"ll see if it works. Get some rope and turn out the light."
Bess s.n.a.t.c.hed up the cords, gag, and blindfold which had been used on her and then turned off the overhead light.
Crouching down on the floor by the locked door, Nancy began to blow smoke from the chemical set beneath the crack.
"We might yell "Fire," " Bess whispered, hopeful of quick action.
"Then he"d know we"ve taken off our gags, Bess. I want to surprise the guard."
Patiently Nancy kept blowing smoke under the door crack. Suddenly she was rewarded. From the other side of the door, the girls heard a startled exclamation.
"He"s noticed the smoke!" Nancy murmured to Bess. "Stand back!"
Scarcely had the two girls flattened themselves against the wall when the metal door was unbolted and pushed back.
As the guard rushed in, looking about in bewilderment and sniffing the smoke-laden air, Nancy extended her foot directly in his path.
Down he went, sprawling full length on the floor!
CHAPTER XX.
Unmasked
IN a flash Nancy and Bess seized the man"s arms and legs and held him down. As he struggled, they quickly stuffed the gag in his mouth.
"Now we"ll tie him up," said Nancy.
The girls bound the man"s hands and ankles. Then Nancy switched on the light for a moment to look at the captive.
"I"m sure he was one of George"s kidnappers!" she exclaimed. "Are you Ralph Snecker?" she asked him. "Nod yes or no!" He remained motionless, glaring at her.
She must find out! Nancy slipped one hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a wallet. Opening it, Nancy found a driver"s license issued to Ralph Snecker.
The clerk"s keys were handy. Nancy grabbed them.
"We must prevent the robbery if we can, Bess," she said. "Come on!"
The girls closed the heavy metal door behind them and tiptoed through an adjoining darkened room. Crossing the alley between the buildings, Nancy tried one key after another in the first door she came to. At last she found one that fit. She turned it and quietly let herself and Bess in.
"Do be careful," her friend urged. "There ought to be a night watchman around. Where is he?"
"I wish I knew."
The girls ascended a short flight of stairs and pushed a swinging door which opened into the first floor of the store.
Nancy and Bess moved forward in the dimly lighted building until the jewelry counter came to view. Two women and a man wearing velvet masks were looting the display cases of their valuable pieces!
"How dreadful!" Bess murmured. "What"ll we do? We can"t capture all three."
"With luck, we can," Nancy whispered. "We"ll find a phone and call the police."
Quietly retreating, the girls located a telephone booth in the rear. Nancy called headquarters. She had hardly spoken her name when Chief McGinnis said:
"Where are you? There"s a three-state alarm out for you!"
"In Taylor"s. A robbery"s going on. Come quickly! I"ll meet you at the employees" entrance in the alley."
"We"ll be right there!"
The girls crept back to see what was happening in the jewelry department. Time seemed to drag.
"I wish the police would hurry," Bess whispered uneasily. "If they don"t get here soon-"
Just then the girls heard the wail of a police siren. The sound also reached the ears of the masked thieves.
"The cops!" exclaimed one of the women shrilly. "We"ve got to get out o" here!"
In a panic the three rushed for the employees" entrance. But Nancy and Bess had hurried to it ahead of them and blocked their way.
Seeing that escape was cut off, the man wheeled and ran in the opposite direction. The women made the mistake of trying to overpower Nancy and Bess.
They were still engaged in a fierce struggle when the police, led by Detective Ambrose, rushed up. Handcuffs were placed on both women.
"The man with them got away!" Nancy gasped. "But another-Ralph Snecker-is tied up in the shipping room."
Two officers started a search while a third removed the masks from the two women.
"Florence Snecker!" Nancy cried, recognizing one of them.
The other was the woman who had costumed herself as a Javanese beauty, and otherwise disguised her appearance. Both scowled at Nancy.
Though the police searched the store from roof to cellar, the only person they found was the night watchman, bound and gagged in the freight elevator. Snecker was brought from the shipping room, and the three prisoners were taken to the office of Mr. Taylor, who had been summoned by Ambrose.
The missing thief had stolen a quant.i.ty of jewelry, but Mr. Taylor estimated that Nancy and Bess had saved the store a huge loss.
"I can"t thank you enough, Miss Drew. How did you ever trail these people?"
Nancy gave a brief account of the case, ending with, "I began to suspect Snecker when I found out he was a friend of Tombar. I wonder if the man who escaped could be Tombar."
Ambrose turned to his prisoners. "Is he?"