Mystery of the Glowing Eye (14 page)

“We found nothing dangerous,” Tim Rooney reported, “so it will be all right for you to go up there, Miss Drew. But be very careful just the same.”

“I have something to show you,” Nancy spoke up. “It’s outdoors. Please follow me to the side of the house.”

She led the policemen to the spot where she had discovered the heel print. The men stared at it, perplexed.

One said, “This is very strange. I’ll call headquarters and see if they have any data on a similar mark.”

They all returned to the museum lobby and he made the call. After listening for over five minutes, the officer said, “I’ll pass along the information. This is most interesting.”

He put down the phone and explained that a long time ago a band of wizards was reported to have lived in Europe.

“These men pretended to be magicians. Actually they were a gang of thieves. They mesmerized anyone who got in the way of their activities.”

“Perhaps,” Nancy commented, “the wizards were able to cause a temporary paralysis in people, and that’s where Crosson got his idea for the paralyzing eye.”

The officer looked directly at Nancy. “Do you think your friend Ned Nickerson had anything to do with inventing the glowing eye?”

“No,” she answered quickly. “I suspect that Ned was working on something else which he was keeping a secret, but Crosson found out what it was and tried to steal the invention. But so far Ned has refused to give it to Crosson.”

Before anyone could comment, they heard a loud knock on the front door. One of the officers went to answer it. The caller proved to be Tim Rooney. He laughed and said, “You all look as if you expected a monster. I’m just plain old Tim Rooney.”

George spoke up. “It wouldn’t have surprised us if a monster had arrived. Actually we thought the caller might be a wizard.”

“Where did you get that idea?” Mr. Rooney laughed.

Nancy told him what had been discovered during his absence. He was intrigued by the story of the ancient gang of wizards.

“I’m not one of them,” he said, smiling, “although I have a reputation for being able to open any locked door with my special keys. Miss Drew, here’s the key to the museum attic. Hope you catch your man real soon!”

The officers made a moulage of the strange heel print, and left after they had warned the group not to take any chances. The girls talked with Professor Titus for several minutes, then he walked into the room where the glowing eye had shone on the wall.

“Listen!” Bess said suddenly. “I hear a car coming!”

The girls wondered who was arriving. They felt sure it was not Crosson nor one of Cyclops’ pals. A few seconds later there was a loud knock on the door. Nancy asked who was there.

Two male voices said, “Your guards for the night.”

The girls burst out laughing. Burt and Dave!

Bess quickly pulled open the front door and the boys walked in.

Burt was grinning. “We thought you girls needed more protection.”

Just then Professor Titus returned to the group. “So you boys didn’t trust me to take care of them alone?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Burt and Dave knew he was teasing them, but they were a little embarrassed.

Dave said, “Sorry, Professor. Of course you could have done the job, but we’d kind of like to hang around.”

“That’s a lame explanation,” the man replied, pretending to be as critical as he was sometimes known to be in his classroom.

Nancy spoke up. “Now that you boys are here, we’ll put you to work. First, we’ll tell you all about this evening’s events, then give you jobs.”

The two boys were astounded at the latest developments and Dave said, “As usual more things can happen to Nancy Drew and her friends in two hours than might happen in two years to somebody else.”

The young detective smiled, then said, “Let’s watch this museum closely. I suggest we divide forces and spread out.”

“Good idea,” Burt said. “Where do you want to station me?”

“Suppose you and I go to the attic,” Nancy answered. “Wait until you see that fabulous laboratory!”

She went on to assign jobs to the others. Professor Titus and George were to station themselves near the panel where the glowing eye had been seen. “Bess and Dave, how about guarding the front door?”

The group quickly dispersed and went to their individual posts. Nancy and Burt hurried upstairs to the second floor, then Nancy opened the attic door with the key she had just received. She flicked on the light switch and closed the door. Burt followed her up the steps and in a moment he was gazing in awe at the equipment.

Nancy, in the meantime, heard what sounded like a helicopter. Was it Crosson? She quickly turned off the light and told Burt to look out the window with her.

They could see a helicopter descending in the field behind the museum!

“Burt, I’ll bet it’s Crosson!” Nancy exclaimed.

Together they watched the whirlybird. Both had the same thought: Was it the robot craft which had landed on Nancy’s front lawn in River Heights?

“Maybe Crosson and Ned are in it!” Burt suggested.

The helicopter settled to the ground but instantly went up again. It circled for a few minutes, then took off.

“Maybe someone dropped out,” Nancy remarked.

“And he may come into the museum!” Burt added.

Just then they heard a scream from the first floor!

WHO had screamed? Someone in their group or an intruder?

Nancy was torn between two theories: the cry might have come from Bess who had been frightened, but on the other hand an intruder might have screamed purposely to lure Burt and herself from the attic. Regardless, she felt that they should investigate.

“Suppose I go,” Nancy suggested. “You wait here in case Crosson or one of his pals climbs in a window or comes out of a secret hiding place.”

Nancy tiptoed down the attic steps. She opened the door warily and gazed into the dark hall. There was not a sound and to her this seemed ominous.

As she stood debating whether or not to descend to the first floor, she noticed a small flicker of light. In a moment she realized that someone was coming up the steps. She could not see the person’s face, but she could distinguish the outline of a man. In one hand he held the paralyzing glowing eye searchlight. Its beams had been turned low.

“I’d better make up my mind what I’m going to do,” Nancy thought.

A moment later a distressing thought came to her. Maybe her friends on the first floor had been paralyzed again by the glowing eye searchlight!

“The same thing will happen to me if I go near it!”

Quickly she stepped back onto the attic stairway and closed the door. Ascending on tiptoe as rapidly as possible, she went at once to Burt’s side and whispered:

“Cyclops may be on his way up here with his paralyzing light. We’d better hide.”

“And also try to figure out how we’re going to capture him,” Burt said, “without being paralyzed ourselves.”

Their flashlights turned on, the two moved quietly around the lab looking for something they could use to capture the man. Nancy noticed a long black cloth in one corner of the lab and picked it up. It proved to be a perforated sack.

“That is just the thing to pull over that villain’s head!” Burt remarked. “It’ll stop him but it won’t smother him.”

Nancy agreed and said she thought their best hiding place would be somewhere behind the door of the closet where bottles of chemicals were kept. By leaving the door ajar, they could watch the person’s actions. By now someone was climbing the steps to the attic. Nancy and Burt waited breathlessly.

When he reached the lab he at once turned up the beam of his searchlight and cast it over the room. Nancy and Burt could not be seen and were safe from its harmful rays. Burt clutched the sack and watched the intruder dim his searchlight.

In the crack of light shining into the closet, Burt held up a finger and crooked it to form the letter C. He followed with an R. Nancy realized that he was spelling Crosson!

She and Burt waited for their chance. Crosson walked closer and closer to the closet. Just before reaching it, he turned his back on the door. This was Burt and Nancy’s opportunity to capture him!

Like lightning they sprang from the closet. Burt pulled the sack over the man’s head, while Nancy held his arms tightly to his sides. The movement startled Crosson so much that he fell and dropped the searchlight. Fortunately its beams had been diverted from Burt and Nancy. Nancy reached out and with one foot shut off the power.

By now Burt had managed to tie the lower part of the sack around the man’s waist. The prisoner struggled to get away. His muscles were strong. Nancy realized that he must be bound more securely. She snapped on the ceiling light and looked for something with which to bind their prisoner. She found a coil of electric wire and tied the man’s ankles tightly, while Burt tried hard to keep the sack over his head and his arms pinned down. Next, Nancy wound the rest of the wire about his body so he could not free himself.

“Let me out of here!” the prisoner screamed.

Burt looked at Nancy who nodded, and the sack was taken from Crosson’s head. Nancy thought she had never seen an angrier, more calculating smirk on anyone’s face. The man’s fiery red hair was sticking out in all directions. His eyes were like two gleaming coals, as hatred shone in them.

“Let me go!” he shouted.

Nancy looked at him and asked, “Where’s Ned Nickerson?”

Instead of answering, Crosson cried out, “You’d better release me or you’ll all die!”

Since the man was unable to use either his arms or legs, Nancy and Burt were sure that the threat was only an idle one. Nancy said she would go to the first floor and get Professor Titus to identify Crosson. Upon hearing this, Crosson’s eyes closed to a mere slit. Nancy thought he looked like a tiger about to spring upon its prey.

She hurried from the room and ran to the lobby. The scene before her startled the young detective. It was evident that Bess, George, Dave, and Professor Titus had received a dose from the paralyzing searchlight. Fortunately they were all regaining their ability to move.

“Zapp Crosson is our prisoner in the attic!” Nancy exclaimed. “Professor Titus, will you go up there with me to identify him?”

“Yea!” shouted Dave.

“Hypers!” George said. “You’ve done it again, Nancy Drew!”

The young detective still looked sober. “He won’t answer my question about where Ned is, but I’m going back to see if I can find out anything.” Then she asked, “Tell me exactly what happened down here.”

Bess explained that she had seen the front door open silently and the red-haired Cyclops had come in with his paralyzing searchlight and immediately beamed it on Dave and her, but she had managed to scream. George and Professor Titus had come running, and in turn had received an electrical shock.

Not only Professor Titus, but Bess, George, and Dave accompanied Nancy to the attic. The professor took one look at the prisoner and said, “It’s Zapp Crosson all right.”

Then he glanced at the turned-off searchlight which was still lying on the floor. He picked it up and examined the strange gadget. It would no longer switch on and he declared that the mechanism had worn out.

Nancy went to stand in front of the prisoner. Again she asked, “Where’s Ned Nickerson?”

Crosson eyed her skeptically. “Let me loose and I’ll tell you a lot,” he replied.

The others waited for him to give an explanation about the kidnapping. Instead he suddenly began to laugh.

“I know you’re going to have me arrested but the authorities have no charge on which to hold me. You have no proof of anything. I had permission to stay in this museum and to work in this laboratory. That’s not against the law. I’ll deny everything else I’m accused of. That goes for your boy friend, Nancy Drew. I happen to know he’s safe, but he’ll never be able to leave the place where he’s being held unless I give the word.”

The red-haired man stopped speaking and refused to answer any further questions. When Nancy realized that for her to continue was hopeless, she decided to call the police and turn the whole matter over to them.

She hurried to the first floor and dialed the number. Tim Rooney answered.

“Don’t tell me you’ve caught the intruder!” he said.

“Yes, I’m reporting just that,” Nancy replied. “But he won’t tell where Ned Nickerson is. Can some of your men come to the museum at once and take charge?”

“They’ll be there shortly,” Tim Rooney told her, then said how astounded he was that Nancy Drew had caught the kidnapper.

When two other officers arrived, they were equally amazed. Nancy led them at once to the third-floor laboratory. Crosson glared at the officers and instantly told the men that they had no case against him.

“I demand that you release me!” he said.

“There’s already a warrant out for your arrest,” one of the officers told him. “And if we need any proof, I think there are several witnesses right here in this room who will testify against you in court.”

The men searched the prisoner’s pockets. When they found nothing, they untied the electric cord which had bound him, slipped on handcuffs, and let Crosson stand.

“We’ll lock him up,” one officer said. Turning to Nancy, he asked, “Just how did you solve this case?”

“By two 1923 pennies,” the young detective replied. Crosson gave a start and cast an ugly look in Nancy’s direction.

The officer asked, “Where will I be able to find you people?”

Professor Titus said he thought the group should return to Emerson at once for a good night’s sleep. Everyone agreed and the police were given the telephone number of the fraternity house.

By the time they reached Emerson it was day-break. The whole group tumbled into bed, exhausted.