The Flying Saucer Mystery (9 page)

“Quick thinking,” the veterinarian complimented her.

“What worries us in particular is that part of Dismal Swamp may be contaminated by radiation and could have affected Susan B. My father is flying here with some chemists to analyze it.”

Dr. Doyle looked surprised. “How could Dismal Swamp become contaminated?” he inquired, puzzled.

Nancy shrugged. After the veterinarian had examined Susan B’s wound, he said, “I suggest you leave the horse here. This is a pretty bad burn .”

“All right,” Jan said, adding that the animal had been rented in town. “But our group will be responsible for your fee.”

Before Nancy left the office, she put her arms around the horse that she had grown to love. She whispered in Susan B’s ear, “I’m so sorry I got you into this. I hope you’ll be okay soon.”

After they left, Jan said they would need to rent horses for the new arrivals, a replacement horse for Nancy, and two more packhorses to carry whatever equipment the party might bring. “And we’ll buy a lot of food to take back to camp,” she added.

By the time the extra horses were collected and all purchases made, Nancy and her friends heard the whir of a helicopter overhead. It did not go to the airfield, but came down in a field on the outskirts of town. Nancy, Ned, and Jan hurried to meet its passengers.

As soon as Nancy saw her father step out of the copter, she ran ahead of the others. Then she stopped short. If I’m contaminated, perhaps I should not kiss him, the girl thought. She blew a kiss from a distance. He laughed, came up, and gave her a hug.

“Let’s not be overanxious about this,” he said. “I’ve brought two doctors and two scientists with me. Others will arrive later. Right now the doctors are going to test you and Ned for radioactivity.”

After introductions had been made, one of the doctors took from his bag a strange-looking instrument with all sorts of dials and indicators on its face. He held the end of a tube with a knob against Nancy’s heart, lungs, and the back of her neck. Was he testing her brain?

“So far everything is negative,” Dr. Caffrey reported. “Now, young man,” he said, “it’s your turn.”

Ned, too, was pronounced all right. The doctor shook his head and remarked, “You’re lucky.” He put away his instruments and the group stowed their gear on the packhorses and set off for camp. They had barely started when Nancy rode up beside Jan and asked if she would please stop the string of riders.

Without questioning Nancy’s reason, the leader called out, “Halt!”

Everyone reined in. Nancy said, “It just occurred to me that perhaps we should have Dr. Caffrey examine Susan B for contamination. After all, she was burned by the sod in the swamp, but Ned and I didn’t touch it with our bare hands, or get any mud from the scorched area on us.”

“You’re right,” Jan agreed and called out to the doctor, “Can you give the horse with the burn a radioactive test?”

“Sure. Glad to.”

Jan told the others, “Wait here for us. Nancy and I will ride to the vet’s and have Susan B examined for contamination.”

Everyone agreed to the plan and the three riders galloped off. Twenty minutes later they were back.

“The horse is okay,” the doctor reported. “She has a nasty burn but no contamination symptoms. Nevertheless, I think that swamp definitely should be investigated.”

“It will be,” Nancy said, then added, “Let’s go!”

The riders urged their horses up the mountain. When they arrived at camp, their anxious friends were delighted to hear the results of the tests. The newcomers were introduced and they all sat down to a hot supper.

Nancy and Ned asked Hal and Burt to explain how they had found the lost packhorses. According to the boys it had not been easy, but after a fruitless search, they had finally heard a whinny.

“One horse caught a front hoof in a bear trap,” Hal said. “Of course he couldn’t move, but we managed to get the trap off. Fortunately it had snapped around the colt’s hoof, not in it, so he wasn’t really injured.”

Now it was Nancy and Ned’s turn to relate their adventure. The doctors and scientists laughed.

Mr. Drew chuckled also. “I like the part where you two couldn’t talk, but were able to communicate by thought waves. From now on I’ll have to be careful what I think!”

“That’s right, Dad,” Nancy said with a mischievous wink.

Early next morning Nancy was awakened by a barking dog. That sounds like Trixie, she told herself, and jumped out of her sleeping bag. She slipped on her jeans over her pajamas and went outside.

George joined her as Trixie bounded into camp and rushed up to the girls.

“Trixie has a note tied to the rope around her neck!” George exlaimed.

Quickly she removed the message and opened it for her and Nancy to read.

The two girls read the note aloud. It had been signed by Old Joe.

George exclaimed, “How wonderful!” She and Nancy read on:

“What a shame!” Nancy remarked. “I hope it’s not bad. Well, let’s see what else Old Joe has written.”

The note continued:

Nancy and George looked at each other, then grinned. George said, “Would we!”

“It’s an exciting challenge,” Nancy admitted, but added, “You know that we won’t be able to go immediately.”

“Why not?” George asked, eager to take up the hunt.

Nancy reminded her that more scientists were arriving and would probably want to ask questions of the campers, especially Nancy and Ned. “I think I should stay here.”

George agreed. “Have you any idea when the rest of the experts are coming?”

Nancy shook her head no. “I’m sure it’ll be soon. In the meantime, I ought to get some paper and a pencil and answer Old Joe.”

In her reply she said that the young sleuths would do their best to find out where the arrow led.

Then she added:

She explained briefly what had happened to her and Ned and how Shoso had put restorative leaves in their mouths.

She signed the note, attached it to the dog’s rope collar, and said, “Trixie, take this back to your master.” The dog bounded off.

Soon afterward the other campers were awake. Nancy showed the note to Bess and Jan.

“Oh! The poor man!” Bess said. “I’d like to help him. Would somebody go over to his cabin with me?”

Jan offered to accompany her. “I’ll pack some medical supplies and see what I can do to relieve Old Joe’s pain.”

For a few minutes Jan and the girls discussed whether they should ask one of the visiting doctors to go along.

“They would probably prefer to wait for the rest of the scientists to investigate Dismal Swamp together,” Nancy said.

As Bess and Jan gathered supplies, the young detective asked her father to take a walk with her. When they were out of hearing range of the other campers, he asked, “What’s on your mind, dear?”

“I was wondering if we should notify the FBI or another top-secret agency about the flying saucer. I have a strong hunch the ship will come back. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the U.S. could capture it?”

Mr. Drew stared at his daughter, then grinned. “It’s a great idea but a big order. We don’t know if the saucer is from outer space, or the property of some rival country that’s spying on us. In any case, I’ll ride into town and make some phone calls.”

He and Nancy walked back to camp. They learned that Bess had packed some food for Old Joe. As soon as breakfast was over, she and Jan set off for the naturalist’s cabin.

On the way Shoso suddenly appeared. He was muttering unintelligibly. Was he trying to tell them something?

Jan said, “I have an idea he’s speaking his Indian dialect. It’s so strange because, as you know, there are no Indians in this vicinity anymore.”

“Maybe he’s a wanderer,” Bess suggested.

“But Indians usually stay in bands or tribes,” Jan countered.

Shoso was gesticulating with his arms, and finally motioned the two campers to follow him.

“Shall we do it?” Bess asked her companion.

“Oh, sure. Why not?” Jan replied. “Besides, I’m curious to find out where he wants to take us.”

Shoso seemed to know every inch of the forest. To their surprise he led them to Old Joe’s cabin by a completely different route.

“It’s about half the distance,” Jan remarked. “I hope we can find our way back to camp the same way.”

The Indian dropped behind Jan and Bess. Before they could turn to thank him he had, as usual, disappeared.

Bess remarked dreamily, “If I hadn’t seen Shoso in person, I’d think he’s a spirit. He appears and vanishes so fast, it’s like magic.”

Jan laughed and said that was a good description of the Indian. They now approached the open cabin door and called inside.

“Come in!” Old Joe responded.

He was sitting up in bed with a huge bandage wrapped around his injured foot.

“Hello,” he said. “Isn’t this a great way for a forest dweller to treat himself? And I’d just started on an exciting hunt to solve my mystery.”

Bess smiled and shook hands with him. “Everybody has an accident once in a while,” she said soothingly.

Jan told him she was a nurse. “What have you been doing for yourself, Old Joe?”

“Don’t you girls smell what’s cooking in my fireplace?”

Jan and Bess nodded. The delicious aroma of pine filled the room. Jan peered into the pot where a combination of pine bark, sap from the tree, and crushed pine needles was brewing. It had cooked down to a thick, jellylike consistency. Old Joe said he had put this mixture on his foot and ankle, then bandaged the whole thing.

Jan smiled. “I couldn’t have done better myself. Pine is one of the most healing remedies that exist. I remember an old saying—if anything ails you, go into the forest and lie on a bed of pine needles. It will cure colds or any other type of respiratory disorder. Moreover, it will pep up circulation, and this in turn can cure almost any type of illness a person has except, of course, broken bones.”

The naturalist bobbed his head. “I learned the same thing from my father. And let me tell you, it works.”

Old Joe brought up Nancy’s note. “Please tell Nancy that I don’t know what kind of leaves Shoso gave her and Ned. But if you see the Indian ask him to show you where he got the leaves, and give a few to the doctors to analyze.”

Bess and Jan prepared the food they had brought and Old Joe accepted it gratefully. When he’d almost finished eating, he called to Trixie.

With a twinkle in his eye, Old Joe said to his visitors, “Don’t you think she deserves a little of this good food for doing my errand so promptly?”

“We sure do,” Bess agreed. The dog lapped up the remains of the canned beef and wagged her tail in appreciation.

The callers said good-bye and started for camp. Bess and Jan followed the trail which Shoso had shown them. Halfway along they saw the Indian again. He stood before them, arms crossed. First Jan, then Bess, asked him about the restorative leaves. What plant or tree did they come from and could he give them some more? Shoso stared at them blankly. He didn’t understand a word.

“I’ll try sign language,” Bess said hopefully and started a little pantomime for him to watch.

First she raised her arms then flapped them to show that something was coming down from the sky.

She said to Jan, “I hope Shoso won’t think that it’s a bird. But how do I indicate a flying saucer descending?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Jan replied.

The Indian watched Bess very carefully as she lay down on the ground and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Jan caught on to the little act. She pulled a leaf off a nearby aspen tree and put it in Bess’s mouth. The girl chewed it and opened her eyes. She stood up and looked hopefully at Shoso. If only she could get her urgent message across!

Apparently the Indian understood. He nodded and picked several of the same leaves. Then Shoso gave Bess a faint smile and hurried off through the forest.

Jan remarked, “You’re quite an actress, Bess. He caught on fast.”

“I only hope my message was clear to him,” the pantomimist replied. Then she giggled. “Imagine playing charades out here in the forest with an Indian who doesn’t speak a word of English!”

Jan grinned. “There’s always a first time for everything.”

Bess laughed, then she and Jan continued their ride. As they neared their campsite, they heard the loud noise of a helicopter. They looked up but saw nothing. Reining in, they paused to listen and kept their eyes skyward.

“I wonder if the pilot’s trying to find us,” Jan said. “That certainly would be difficult in this dense forest.”

“You mean,” Bess asked, “that if he’s trying to locate us, he’ll land at the foot of the mountain and walk or ride up here to talk to us?”

“Probably,” Jan replied.

“What do you suppose he wants?” Bess asked.

“Listen!” Jan ordered suddenly. “The copter sounds as if it’s in trouble.”