Ghost Stories, #2 (Nancy Drew), Page 2

  He made several quick turns, backtracking in the process, and did not head for Craggy Cave until he was convinced no one was behind them.

  "When you get into Crystal Cavern," he advised the girls, "you'll come to a place where there are three tunnels close together. Follow the one on the left, and you'll find a second opening. Not many people know about it, but just in case you have a problem, you'll know there's another way out."

  "Thanks," Bess said. "I'm not even sure I want to go in!"

  George chuckled. "After what happened to me at the Evans Mansion, Craggy Cave wdll be an easy trip."

  Ron pulled up in front of the cavern entrance and the girls climbed out of the jeep. Nancy carried their neatly coiled rope on her shoulder, while George toted the flashlights. Bess had a supply of food in a plastic bag, and each of the three wore a brightly colored hard hat.

  Ron waved and drove off. The young detectives entered the cave. The huge crystal cavern was wired for lights, and they gasped in admiration whey they stepped into the underground wonderland of towering limestone stalagmites, the crags that gave the cave its

  Nancy Drew Ghost Stories 2

  name. Above them was a dense ceiling of stalactites that dropped like pendants from a vast chandelier.

  ''Stalagmites and stalactites," Bess mused. "It's hard to remember which is which."

  ** 'G' is on the ground, 'c' is on the ceiling," Nancy informed her.

  The threesome left the lighted cavern and struck off down the tunnel on the left that Ron had told them about.

  As darkness enveloped them, they switched on the lights of their hard hats. The tunnel grew smaller and smaller, and soon it became nothing but a crawl space.

  **0h, no!" Bess muttered. **Ron didn't warn us about this."

  Cautiously, Nancy eased herself through the low gap in the rock. "It's okay," she said after a minute. "We're coming into another cave."

  George was right behind her. Bess followed bravely, but suddenly her plump form became wedged in the crawl space. "Help me, I'm stuck!" she squealed.

  "Don't worry, we'll get you out," George shouted. She turned around and instructed her cousin to stretch out and inch along. At the same time, she grasped Bess's hand and pulled her through.

  "I hope we don't have to go back that way," Bess complained when she got to her feet.

  The girls could hear water running in the darkness ahead. Nancy beamed her flashlight in that direction and saw an underground stream cutting through the cave.

  "I wonder what's on the other side," she said and walked up to the stream. It seemed quite shallow and

  Vampire Cave

  she stepped right into it. However, the water was deeper than she had anticipated, and the treacherous current caught her off balance. She fell headlong into the swiftly running stream! Her flashlight was torn from her hand and she was swept away, helplessly bobbing in the middle of the stream.

  "George!" Bess cried in a trembling voice. "Do you hear that water roaring over a cliff? There's an underground waterfall ahead. If we don't do something, Nancy will drown!"

  The cousins rushed along the edge of the stream. Soon they felt the spray coming from the fall. George played her flashlight along the ground. She saw a rock, or crag, jutting out at the edge of the stream just before it emptied into a boiling cauldron.

  "Hold onto me, Bess!" she cried, crawling onto the rock. "It will help steady me."

  With Bess tugging on her jeans, she reached out and grabbed Nancy's hand, yanking her friend out of the water just as she was about to disappear into the cauldron.

  Nancy was shivering with cold as she collapsed on the cavern floor. "Thanks, girls," she panted. "You just saved my life!"

  "Let's get out of this place," Bess urged. "It's too dangerous."

  Nancy nodded. "But only long enough for me to change my clothes!"

  "I see a tunnel on this side of the stream," George said. "Maybe it leads to the exit Ron told us about. If it does, it'll be quicker than retracing our steps."

  "If only it weren't so dark," Bess complained as they

  Nancy Drew Ghost Stories 2

  pressed on. "We can't really see what kind of passage we're in. I'd rather—"

  She stopped short and gasped. ''Did you hear that?" she whispered.

  George and Nancy stood still and listened. From up ahead came a whirring sound that seemed to be growing in intensity.

  "It's a drum!" Bess cried. "J^nny Shipton mentioned it when she told us about the vampire!"

  The girls stared at one another in the dim light of their headgear, uncertain what to do.

  "Let's go on," Nancy decided finally. "We have to find the exit. Besides, we know vampires don't exist, don't we?"

  "I'm not sure," Bess murmured, but bravely followed her friend.

  A few steps farther on, they entered yet another cavern. The strange whirring came from above, and George beamed her flashlight to the ceiling.

  The girls shrieked! Hundreds of bats were flying from the roof of the cave, to which they had been clinging, in a solid mass, like an army. The whirring sound was caused by their wings, echoing from the walls of the underground structure.

  The bats headed into a large tunnel opposite the girls.

  "That's good," Nancy said in relief. "They're flying out to feed. That means there has to be an exit at the end of this tunnel."

  "It's a good thing they didn't come our way," George said. "We'd have been in real danger!"

  Vampire Cave

  Bess moaned at the mere thought. The girls waited until the bats had vanished, then started down the tunnel. George was in the lead, with Nancy and Bess right behind her. Suddenly Bess tripped and fell. Nancy turned around to help her friend up.

  "Are you okay?" she asked.

  Bess nodded. "Yes. Just don't go so fast."

  Nancy took her by the hand. George was quite a distance ahead of them by now. Suddenly a rock bounced off a ledge on the side of the tunnel and landed with a thud right in front of her. Startled, she beamed her flashlight upwards.

  Then she let out a piercing scream!

  On the ledge, hovered a weird creature. It had black hair, black eyes, a face as white as snow, and long white fangs protruding from its mouth! Wrapped in a long, black cape with red lining, it stood silently, watching the girl.

  Before the petrified detective could make another move, the vampire suddenly shot forward. With a loud grunt and outstretched arms it swooped down in a great leap, the sides of its cape spread out like two huge, red wings. It seized George by the wrist and dragged her off through the tunnel.

  The girl screamed and struggled while Nancy and Bess dashed to catch up. "Help!" George cried. "Help me! He—"

  Suddenly the sound was cut off.

  "George, where are you?" Nancy yelled.

  There was no answer.

  Nancy and Bess ran around the next bend, playing

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  Vampire Cave

  their flashlights ahead of them.

  "Listen!" Nancy whispered.

  By straining their ears, the two could hear the faint echo of George's voice ahead of them. They rushed forward. Suddenly Nancy stopped short and grabbed Bess's arm.

  'There's a sinkhole!" she cried.

  A vast opening in the floor of the cave yawned in front of them. Another step and they would have fallen over the edge!

  George's voice rose eerily from its depth. Peering down, Nancy and Bess saw her clinging desperately to a piece of rock jutting out from the side of the hole. The outcropping had broken her fall to the bottom, which was too far down for anyone to see!

  Quickly, Nancy lowered her rope. George grabbed it, and
with combined effort, Bess and Nancy pulled her out.

  'The vampire threw me in!" the girl gasped as she lay exhausted on the ground, recovering her breath. "Then he ran off around the side of the hole. It was horrible. Those fangs and those huge red wings! Why did he come after me like that?"

  "We'll find out," Nancy declared grimly, hugging her friend. "We all know he wasn't a real vampire. Now, let's get to that exit. I see light at the end of the tunnel. We can't be far."

  "Be careful," Bess warned. "Maybe he's waiting for us outside."

  The girls were silent and scared as they cautiously made their way'to the opening. However, no one was there. The sun shone down warmly on them, and birds could be heard singing in the trees.

  Nancy Drew Ghost Stories 2

  Quickly, they ran to Jenny Shipton's inn. The old woman stared at Nancy when they arrived. "Ye're wet as a fish!" she said. 'Took a dunking, did ye?"

  "I fell into a stream in Craggy Cave," Nancy explained.

  Jenny's eyebrows shot up. "So you did go there after all!"

  George nodded. "And we saw the vampire."

  Jenny gave her a sharp look. "I warned ye," was all she said.

  When George took off her dirty jeans, she suddenly remembered the piece of paper she had picked up at the Evans Mansion. She pulled it out of her pocket.

  "That's strange!" she said. "It's torn. And it wasn't before. 1 had the whole thing, now I only have a little piece of it!"

  "What was it?" Nancy asked curiously.

  "A list of paintings Mr. Evans must have made. I found it by the fireplace in the study. I showed it to Ron, but he didn't know what it was for, either."

  Nancy studied the scrap of paper. 'Henry Rousseau—The' were the only words on it.

  She shrugged and gave it back to George. "Hold onto this," she advised. "It may be a clue."

  She put on a dry pair of shoes. "Let's go back to Mr. Knox and tell him what happened," she suggested.

  A half hour later, the young detectives approached the bank. Nancy saw Ron Parker pull up and go inside. She stopped suddenly, her forehead creased in a frown.

  "I have an idea," she said. "You two go into the bank. Get Ron into Mr. Knox's office and tell them what

  Vampire Cave

  happened. I'll join you in about fifteen minutes. Don't let anyone leave until I get there, okay?"

  Bess and George nodded. They knew better than to ask questions when they saw that look on Nancy's face. A moment later they entered the bank and walked up to Henry Smith's desk. He led them into the president's office, then went to get Ron Parker. When they were all assembled, George and Bess took turns explaining what had happened to them in Craggy Cave.

  George acted out the scene where the vampire had swooped down from the ledge and grabbed her, and Bess shivered all over again when she remembered the danger they had been in.

  'This is incredible!" Mr. Knox cried out. ''Where's Nancy?"

  "She'll be here shortly," George said. "She said for all of us to wait for her."

  Ron was outraged. "I can't imagine why anyone would do something like that!" he stormed. "You girls shouldn't even walk around the street without a police escort!"

  As he was speaking, the door opened slightly. A vampire face peered around its edge!

  The banker and his clerk gasped, and the two girls retreated behind Mr. Knox's desk, shrieking. Just then the unsavory creature stuck its thumb under its chin and, with a jerk, pulled off the mask.

  "Nancy!" George cried out.

  Ron had turned pale. He began to move toward the door, but the police chief, who was right behind Nancy, stopped him from leaving the room.

  "I had a little trouble getting the mask from Jim,"

  Nancy Drew Ghost Stories 2

  Nancy said. "I told him Ron had asked me to bring it over here. He found it in Ron's desk."

  Mr. Knox stared at the girl. "Nancy, I'm not sure I like this masquerade. You scared us half to death!"

  "I figured out the game Ron has been playing," the girl went on. 'Tarts I can only guess, but I suppose the police will find out whether I'm right or not."

  "I don't know what you're talking about!" Ron protested. "I haven't been playing any game . . ."

  "No. It was more than that," Nancy agreed. "You almost killed George!"

  "That's preposterous!" Ron cried out. "What possible reason could I have for doing that?"

  "She found the list of paintings you made and lost in the Evans Mansion. You probably dropped it when you stole the pictures that account for the bare spots on the walls!"

  Mr. Knox stared at Ron, who laughed derisively. "That's ridiculous," the shopkeeper said. "I couldn't get into that place, and neither could anyone else. The alarm system is foolproof."

  "That's true," Nancy said. "But you found a secret passage from Craggy Cave to the mansion. It ended at the fireplace in the study, didn't it? When you had access to the house, you made a list of all the paintings, then contacted dealers who would buy certain ones."

  She paused a moment, then continued. "Once you had your order, you went in and stole the pictures. But you dropped the list by mistake on your way out. When George picked it up, you were afraid she'd show it to someone who would recognize your handwriting. So you went after her."

  Vampire Cave

  "That's why you pushed me into the closet!" George spoke up.

  "Nonsense," Ron said. "I left before that happened."

  "But you went back after parking your car down the road," Henry Smith spoke up.

  All eyes turned to him.

  "I stayed a while to see what you were up to, but finally I had to leave or Mr. Knox would have wondered where I was," the clerk went on.

  "You didn't manage to get the list out of my pocket when you pushed me," George took up the story again, "so you loosened the plaster on the roof when we left. You figured it would hit me and you could come to my aid, retrieving the list in the process of helping me."

  "And when that didn't work," Bess put in, "you made that sudden turn in the road. You knew the door on the passenger side wasn't locked properly. If George fell out, you'd have another chance to get close to her and reach into her pocket."

  "It's a fascinating story, but pure fabrication," Ron said coolly.

  Nancy was undaunted by his comment. "You dropped us off at the cave and told us where to go so you could play vampire," she went on. "You managed to get George and throw her into the sink hole. At that point, you retrieved the list, but it tore. She still has enough of it to prove that it was in your handwriting!"

  Ron's jaw sagged, as George pulled out the piece of paper and handed it to Mr. Knox.

  "We have samples of Ron's writing here at the bank," he said. "It'll be easy enough to compare this with them."

  Nancy Drew Ghost Stories 2

  Ron collapsed into the nearest chair. He knew he had lost. Bess turned to him. "I have one question," she said. "You must have been playing vampire before this. Jenny Shipton swears she saw a creature that looked exactly like you."

  Ron shrugged. "I may as well tell you," he said. "My uncle told me just before he died that there was an access route to the mansion from Craggy Cave. I spent hours and hours looking for it. When people appeared, I scared them away with my vampire act. I couldn't risk being seen there time and again. Soon no one came around, until you showed up."

  "Why did you accompany us to the mansion?" Bess went on.

  "I was afraid you might tell Mr. Knox about the missing paintings," Ron confessed. "When I heard you guess that Mr. Evans had sold them, my mind was put at ease, and I figured I'd be able to continue my racket until Evans came back from Europe."

  "Well, it's all over now," Mr. Knox said. "You'll go to jail not only for theft, but for assault, too."

  "And Craggy Cave will once again become the tourist attraction it used to be," Mr. Smith smiled.

  "I bet there's one person in town who'll be disappointed!" George said.

  "Who's that?" Mr. Knox
asked, looking surprised.

  "Jenny Shipton. She won't like to hear that the vampire she believed in was her neighbor!"

  THE DARK CRYPT

  Nancy Drew maneuvered her blue sports sedan through the River Heights traffic and headed into the countryside.

  "As I told you on the phone, Mrs. Campbell has a mystery for us," she told her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne, who were in the back seat. "It involves a ghost."

  "You didn't say anything about a ghost!" blonde Bess protested. "I wouldn't have come along if 1 had known that!"

  Her cousin George, a slender, athletic girl who did not scare as easily as Bess, chuckled. "That's why Nancy didn't tell you!"

  Bess bit her lip. "Where does Mrs. Campbell live?" she asked. "And how did you meet her, Nancy?"

  "My Dad did some legal work for Mrs. Campbell," Nancy replied. "She lives a few miles out of town, is

  Nancy Drew Ghost Stories 2

  about sixty years old, and all she told Dad is that she needs help with a ghost."

  Bess rolled her eyes upward. "J^st what I need. Why—" Suddenly, she let out a frightened yell. ''Duck!"

  Before Nancy and George could react, a rock hit the top of the car and slid through the open sun roof into the blue sedan. It landed on George's lap!

  Startled, Nancy hit the brakes and pulled to the side of the road. ''What in the world was that!" she cried.

  George held up the stone. It had a piece of paper wrapped around it. "A strange way to deliver mail!" she fumed. She removed the rubber band that held the note in place, then unfolded the paper.

  " 'Go back to River Heights or I'll finish you off!' " she read aloud.

  Bess stared at the crudely scrawled letters. "I don't like this one bit!" she declared. "Maybe we should turn around."

  "No way!" her cousin said firmly. "Whoever threw that note into our car isn't going to scare us, right, Nancy?"

  The titian-haired detective agreed. "Let's get out and see if we find a clue to who wants to prevent us from seeing Mrs. Campbell," she suggested.