Chapter 19 The Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene
The Captives
Nancy wriggled back through the weeds and reported her findings to Helen, who became highly excited.
“We must find a way to talk to the old lady,” Nancy said emphatically, as she sprawled at full length, face downward, in the dusty grass, her chin on her clasped hands.
“I know how,” Helen suggested. “I’ll go back there in the woods and scream. The nurse will probably run out to see what the trouble is and you can talk to Mrs. Eldridge—if it is she.”
Nancy shook her head.
“In the first place, the risk is too great,” she said. “You would be caught, and they probably would not stop short of torturing you to find out what you were doing screaming in the woods. In the second place, they will very likely rush the old ladies into the house at the first alarm.”
“I give up, then,” Helen said. “I see that you are right, but I haven’t any other suggestion to offer.”
“Sh-sh, something is happening,” Nancy whispered, edging cautiously toward the fence.
The old lady had awakened, and for a moment sat up straight, looking eagerly about her.
“Oh, dear,” she called out, “I thought—I guess I dreamed I was——”
Her withered chin twitched, and she leaned back with closed eyes. Tears crept from under her lids. Nancy could see with a tug at her own heart that the old woman was crying bitterly, though fighting all the while to control herself.
As a sob escaped the elderly patient, the nurse looked up from her book.
“Come, come now, stop that weeping,” she commanded sharply.
The lady in the wheel chair only shook her head weakly, pressing her lips tightly together. The tears continued to ooze from under her closed eyes, trickling down her white and wrinkled cheeks and falling on the knitted jacket which she wore.
“If you act like a baby, you will have to be treated like one,” the nurse said unkindly. “Stop that bawling, now! I’m warning you.”
“Oh, please——”
The old lady lifted a fragile, blue-veined hand in protest, but let it drop limply into her lap again.
“Very well, then, you shall sit with your face away from the house, and I will report to the doctor that you were stubborn again,” the nurse announced.
She arose, moved the wheel chair around with a jerk, and pushed it straight in Nancy’s direction. The foot rest banged against the fence. Nancy cowered to the ground, praying that she would not be detected. However, the nurse was so absorbed in bullying her patient that she saw nothing.
“Now, Mistress Contrary, you may sit there for half an hour,” she snapped. “Lucky for you I am tender-hearted, or I would take some of your privileges away from you.”
The old lady sat with closed eyes, facing the two girls, while the nurse seated herself on the lawn and again resumed her reading.
“Isn’t this provoking?” Nancy whispered to Helen. “Here we can practically touch the old lady, yet we might as well be a hundred miles away from her for all the good it does.”
“I wonder why all these patients are in here,” Helen murmured. “It makes my flesh creep. Are they prisoners? They really seem to be hypnotized, they sit so quietly.”
Suddenly a flash of blue appeared across the lawn, and a young woman in a striped gingham dress and white apron, such as student nurses wear, appeared.
“Miss Tyson,” she said in a respectful tone to the attendant who was reading, “will you step into the office a moment?”
The nurse looked up and shut her book with a snap.
“Very well,” she replied. “I will be there right away.”
As the young woman left, Miss Tyson turned to the patient in the wheel chair, shaking her roughly by the shoulder.
“See here, you, I must go away for a few minutes,” she said. “Don’t you dare move, or you will have another heart attack, do you hear? We know what is best for you. You sit quietly, and no more attempts to hide in the grounds, or else——”
She left the threat unfinished, and strode briskly toward the house.
“Now is our chance,” Nancy breathed.
Worming her way to the edge of the woods she called in a low tone:
“Mrs. Eldridge! Are you Mrs. Eldridge?”
The old lady’s eyes snapped open and she looked wildly about her.
“Here I am on the other side of the fence, behind the trees,” Nancy said. “Listen closely to what I say. If you are in trouble, I will bring you help.”
“How do you know my name? Who are you? I I can’t see very well,” Mrs. Eldridge whispered.
Nancy became braver and stepped out.
“We recognized you by the necklace which matches your bracelet,” Nancy said hurriedly. “I have your bracelet. I am Nancy Drew of River Heights and my chum, Helen Corning, is with me. We came to give you assistance, but we must stay hidden. Your nephew is nearby, searching for you. Little Marie is eager to see you.”
Mrs. Eldridge clasped her thin hands, then raised them tremblingly into the air.
“Heaven bless you,” she quavered, “but I am afraid you can do nothing. The fence is charged with electricity, the grounds are guarded by dogs and armed men, and I am lost—lost.”
Then suddenly a steely glint came into her brave old eyes, and she demanded to know if this were a trick.
“No one wants to help me,” she said with spirit. “Everyone is trying to drive me insane, to kill me, to steal my money. How did you get my bracelet? It was taken from me inside these grounds.”
“You hurt yourself badly, and a friend of mine who is a doctor was brought here blindfolded to cure you,” Nancy whispered rapidly. “He took the bracelet and we traced your name through the coat of arms on it.”
“I hope you are speaking the truth. Surely you would not deceive an old woman who has not long to live,” Mrs. Eldridge sighed. “How can you help me? I can suggest nothing, for I am trapped.”
“We can, though,” said Nancy, speaking with more confidence than she felt. “We will land in an airplane.”
“Don’t, don’t,” Mrs. Eldridge moaned. “We have been warned that if strangers enter here, we will be shut up underground and left there.”
“How brutal!” Nancy exclaimed. “We will find a way, nevertheless. Be brave. I have a plan.”
Suddenly a man, striding from the sanatorium porch, came directly toward the old lady.
“Hush, here comes Dr. Bull,” Mrs. Eldridge warned. “If he finds you, he will torture us all to find out why you are here.”
The girls withdrew to a safe distance. Through the wire fence they could see a tall man of about forty-five approaching Mrs. Eldridge. He was very distinguished looking in a frock coat and striped trousers, white spats, and eyeglasses on a black ribbon. He was almost bald, and wore a pointed beard and heavy brown mustache.
He spoke soothingly to the old woman, in tones that were honeyed to the point of being repellent.
“Well, well, what has upset our dear patient?” he asked, bending over Mrs. Eldridge and gallantly kissing her hand. “I am afraid you fret too much. However, I must tell Miss Tyson to be less strict with our favorite guest. I am afraid she is too professional in her manner. Shall I call Luther and have him wheel you through the garden later?”
“No, just let me alone,” Mrs. Eldridge sighed. “Please go away.”
“Yes, that is what you need—rest and quiet,” Dr. Bull agreed.
Nancy and Helen were puzzled at the man’s acquiescence. He seemed genuinely trying to please the old lady.
“However,” Dr. Bull went on, “we must talk business, Mrs. Eldridge. You realize how poor the state of your health is. Shall we get over that little matter of signing the transfer papers now? Then your mind will be at ease, and you can enjoy your stay here.”
“Your proposition is nothing short of robbery, and I will not consent,” Mrs. Eldridge replied, sitting bolt upright, her cheeks taking on a flush of pink.
“Dear me, how harsh you are,” Dr. Bull said soothingly. “When you came here, you had every confidence in me, did you not? You know you entered this place of your own accord. You did not give your relatives any idea as to where you were going. Didn’t you agree to that as part of your treatment?”
“Fool that I was, yes,” snapped Mrs. Eldridge. “I am willing to pay you a reasonable amount for board and medicine for the time I have spent here, and I demand that you let me leave after that.”
“We can’t do that,” Dr. Bull said. “It would cast discredit on our sanatorium to have a person leave in a poor state of health. Come now, Mrs. Eldridge; I have your signed declaration that you are a patient here of your own accord, and that you agree to remain here as long as I think necessary. It is my opinion, after having studied your case, that it would be fatal for you to move ten miles away from here. The slightest overexertion will mean your death. You have no cares or worries here, but are getting good food, luxurious quarters, and personal attention. Isn’t it only fair, then, that you do as I ask?”
Mrs. Eldridge glanced quickly toward the woods where Nancy and Helen lay concealed in the heavy undergrowth behind the rocks. Nancy was now certain that “Dr. Bull” was a smooth sort of villain, all the more sinister because of his polished and suave manner. She caught the searching glance Mrs. Eldridge threw in her direction, and surmised that the woman’s next words would be uttered for her benefit.
“Dr. Bull,” Mrs. Eldridge said in a clear, loud voice, “you wish me to sign over to you many thousands of dollars, in addition to the three thousand I have paid you, in exchange for lifetime care here, do you not?”
“Don’t speak so loudly,” Dr. Bull said irritably, forgetting his assumed manner. “There are other women here whom I have charged more,” he added in a gentler tone. “That is why I do not wish us to be overheard.”
“Well, I suppose that once the papers are signed, I won’t live very long,” the old lady said meaningfully.
“You may live twenty years, with proper care,” Dr. Bull replied. “Then you will have the satisfaction of having lived like a queen for less than one thousand dollars a year.”
“I’d rather live like a rag picker and be out of here,” Mrs. Eldridge said, closing her eyes. “I won’t sign a thing. If you should kill me, you won’t get a cent. That’s all I have to say. I wish you would go, as I am very tired.”
Nancy saw the doctor’s face turn red. His beard seemed to bristle, and his eyes snapped with rage.
“You’ll sing a different tune if you don’t do as I say,” he fumed. “I’ve wasted enough time on you. You’ll do my bidding if you know what is best for you. Look at these old ladies around you. They are docile and quiet, aren’t they? They seem to be satisfied, don’t they? Well, you will be, too. Some of them didn’t agree at first with my plans for them. Look at them now, Mrs. Eldridge!
“Listen carefully. I will give you until six o’clock tonight to come to your senses. I am not the sole owner of this establishment. I have partners who are heavily involved financially, and they are not as soft-hearted as I am. They want cash. Six o’clock, do you hear?”
“Oh, somebody please save me from this brute,” Mrs. Eldridge cried. “If only some good angel would come to my little room in the south corner on the third floor and rescue me!”
“Say, what are you talking about?” Dr. Bull asked, looking about him suspiciously. “Do you think any angel or fairy is listening to your careful directions?”
Nancy suppressed a smile.
He turned and shouted, “Luther!” A man in a white uniform appeared in response to his call.
“Take Mrs. Eldridge to the porch!” the doctor snapped. “Any word about the new patient?”
“A message arrived by X that she will be here about six,” the attendant said with a wink, as he wheeled Mrs. Eldridge away.
As he turned Mrs. Eldridge about, she leaned a trifle from her chair.
“Oh, wait,” she begged.
Nancy believed she was trying to signal to them.
“What’s the matter?” asked the white-jacketed attendant, pausing.
“I dropped my handkerchief.” This was true. Luther bent over to pick up the lost article.
In that split second Mrs. Eldridge waved to the girls hidden behind the rocks. It was such a pathetic gesture that it made tears come to the watchers’ eyes. Nancy was the first to recover herself. Helen wept silently and unashamed.
“We must save that dear old lady, and we shall have to move quickly to do it,” Nancy, drying her eyes, whispered to her chum. “And Mrs. Eldridge certainly gave us a good clue when she mentioned the location of her room!”