Chapter 16 The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene
Startling Commands
Relieved that her entry into the group had not been noticed, Nancy marched along with the other ghostly figures. If only George and Bess were as successful!
Nancy watched her disguised companions and saw that the girls would have no trouble in following the motions, since each person was apparently making them up on the spur of the moment.
“So far, so good,” Nancy told herself.
Satisfied now that her own position was temporarily secure, she tried to help her friends. Deliberately moving toward the shrubs behind which George and Bess were hiding, she shielded them from the view of the cult members, all the time continuing her grotesque motions.
George realized what the young sleuth was trying to do and made the most of the opportunity. Choosing her time, she slipped out and joined the group on the hillside.
Bess was more timid. Several times at the critical moment she lost her nerve, but she finally managed to summon enough courage and made the plunge.
“Keep close together,” Nancy warned in an undertone. “If we lose each other, it may be disastrous.”
By this time the girls had made up their minds that there was nothing the least bit mystic about the queer rites of the Black Snake Colony. Disguised persons on all sides of them were making crude remarks which assured the girls that the cult members did not take the ceremony seriously.
“This ought to give the country yokels an eyeful!” Nancy heard one man mutter.
“How much longer do we have to do this?” another grumbled. “I’m getting sick of flapping my arms around like a windmill!”
“This cult idea was all foolishness, anyway!” still another said.
“Foolishness, is it?” someone caught him up. Nancy thought she recognized the voice but was not certain. “Let me tell you a girl was prowling around here only a few days ago! I guess the Chief knew his business when he thought up this crazy cult idea.”
“Well, enough of this!” a loud voice announced. Nancy decided the man must be one of the leaders. “We may as well go into the cave and get down to business!”
George was just wondering what the girls had better do when Bess clutched Nancy’s hand and whispered nervously:
“Do we dare enter?”
“We must,” Nancy returned quietly.
The girls stood motionless, watching the white-robed figures march single file toward the entrance to the cave. Finally Nancy signaled, and the three friends followed the group, even though it occurred to them that they might be walking into a trap.
“Keep close behind me,” Nancy warned her companions in a whisper.
As they approached the mouth of the opening, Nancy saw a tall figure, robed in white, standing guard. Her heart nearly stopped as she realized that each person was uttering some password.
“We’re finished now,” she thought.
It was too late to turn back. The three girls could do nothing but hope that in some way they might get past the stalwart guard.
Nancy kept close to the person just ahead of her, and as he muttered the password, she managed to hear it.
“Kamar!”
When Nancy’s turn came to pass the guard, she spoke the word clearly. As she had hoped, George and Bess heard, and taking their cue from her, repeated the password. The sentry did not give them a second glance, yet the girls breathed easier when they were safely through the entrance.
The marchers descended into a cold, damp tunnel. Someone was carrying a torch at the head of the procession, but Nancy and her friends, who were near the end of the line, were in semidarkness.
“What do you suppose we’re getting into?” George muttered.
Nancy did not reply, but gave her friend a sharp nudge as a warning not to speak. A moment later Bess tripped over some object in the path and would have fallen if Nancy had not caught her by the arm. They walked farther underground, and then, unexpectedly, stepped into a dimly lighted chamber.
The members of the cult seated themselves on the floor, and the girls followed their example. Presently they became aware of the strong scent of Blue Jade perfume. Bess was not the only one wearing it tonight!
“So there is a definite connection between this distinctive perfume and the Black Snake Colony!” Nancy thought. “No wonder that man on the train was startled. Perhaps the women use it, and he couldn’t identity me but took it for granted I was one of the group. If so, it’s just as well Bess has some on.”
Nancy suddenly recalled the forged note bearing the Blue Jade scent. “The woman who delivered it to me must be a member of the cult!” she thought excitedly.
After everyone had entered the room, the man who had given the sharp order outside the cave spoke again. He threw off his headgear and glanced over the group appraisingly. Nancy was stunned.
Maurice!
The man she had seen the first time she had stopped at the filling station!
“Is he Maurice Hale?” she asked herself excitedly.
“Everyone here?” he demanded gruffly.
He counted the group, and again Nancy and her friends held their breaths. Apparently some of the members of the colony were missing, for the leader did not notice that three new recruits had been added to his organization.
“We may as well get down to work,” the leader announced. “Snead, have you anything to report?”
At the question one of the disguised persons stood up and threw off his mask. Again Nancy was startled. He was none other than the man she had seen in Room 305!
“Here’s the good money,” he said, handing over an envelope. “Perfect score this time for our main distribution department.”
“Very fine. Then nothing’s gone wrong at your new office?”
“Not yet, Chief,” was the muttered reply, “but yesterday I saw a bird hangin’ around the building—looked like a plain-clothes cop to me. I don’t want you to think I’m backing out, but if you ask me, I’d say it’s about time to blow. This game can’t last forever, you know.”
“I’ll do the thinking for this outfit!” the leader scathingly retorted. “We’ll stay here another week and then pick a new spot. What makes you think the cops are wise?”
“Well, they may have got wise to the fact that we’re using Yvonne again—”
“That’s right!” a shrill, angry female voice interrupted. “Blame me! Every time somebody gets nervous, you bring me into it!”
Nancy could scarcely restrain herself. She had been right about Yvonne! The girl was mixed up in the Hale Syndicate racket!
“You deserve blame,” Al Snead retorted irritably. “First, you didn’t have any more sense than to sell a bottle of that perfume to a perfect stranger—”
“I told you, that girl insisted upon buying it, and I was afraid if I flatly refused, she and her friends would get suspicious. Besides, I don’t see what harm it did to sell the perfume to a teenager!”
“No,” Snead retorted sarcastically, “you’re so simple-minded you wouldn’t see it might land us in jail! When Pete was on the train going to River Heights he noticed the scent and thought that the girl was one of the Chief’s agents! Lucky for all of us, he saw his mistake before he spilled anything!”
Yvonne sputtered back in defense. “Well, at least I phoned Al at his office right away so he could warn the agents about the stray bottle of Blue Jade. It’s not my fault Pete happened to be on the same train as those girls.”
The leader suddenly became impatient. “Enough of this!” he shouted. “It’s not getting us anywhere! Snead, I placed Yvonne in your office and she’ll stay there as long as I say. I’m satisfied with the rest of her work. Get me?”
Snead nodded sullenly.
Nancy had been studying the leader intently and by this time was convinced that he was far more clever and intelligent than his subordinates. She figured that Al Snead was right-hand man to the Chief, but resented his superior’s favoritism toward Yvonne Wong. The organization was a large one, evidently changing its scene and type of operation from time to time. If only she could slip away and get help from the authorities!
“Another thing,” Al Snead continued, addressing Maurice Hale, “we’d better make up a new code. Those girls that have been gettin’ too close to our operation just might notify the cops.”
“All right,” the Chief responded. “I’ll work one out in a day or two.”
He called on another member of the organization for a report. “Two hundred packages passed, sir.”
“Good!” the leader exclaimed, rubbing his thin hands. “Now, if you’ll follow me to the workroom, I’ll give you each your cut, and dole out the stuff for next week.”
Nancy and her friends could not have retreated had they wished, and certainly did not want to leave when they seemed so near the truth!
But the situation in which they found themselves was a foreboding one and the very atmosphere of the room was tense and frightening. Boldly they followed the others into an adjoining chamber which was brilliantly lighted with torches.
Though prepared for the unexpected, the girls were taken completely aback at the sight which greeted their eyes!