Chapter 8 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene
A Courageous Rescue
The girls were stunned momentarily by the shocking sight. They had no way of knowing how long Coya had been hanging unconscious from the ropes. His face was so ashen in hue that they feared he had strangled to death.
“We must go for help,” Bess gasped, but even as she spoke she knew that it would take far too long.
Nancy’s eye had been roving speculatively over the network of ropes. Several dangled from the rafters, one in close proximity to the entangled body of the little Indian boy.
If only she would be able to climb the adjoining rope she might be able to reach Coya and cut him loose! The plan of rescue was a daring one but she determined to try it.
“See if you can find a knife or any sharp instrument!” she commanded her chums tersely. “Look in the locker room; or perhaps Mr. Batt has a pocket knife!”
In vain the girls searched the locker room for a knife. They were about to give up in despair when Bess spied a rusty old saw which had been left in a dark corner. Snatching it up, they ran back to the apparatus room.
During their absence Nancy had managed to climb the tricky ropes. Spent and gasping for breath, she was endeavoring to reach a cross beam directly opposite the rope from which Coya dangled. George and Bess watched nervously as the girl swung herself toward the structure. She secured a grip with her feet, pulling herself until she was able to transfer from the rope to the beam.
Without waiting to be told what to do, Bess and George tied the old saw to the end of the rope Nancy had abandoned, and the girl then pulled it up.
“Be careful, Nancy!” Bess warned fearfully. “If you lose your balance it means instant death. You’re standing directly over the hole in the safety net.”
Nancy did not need to be warned to use caution. She knew that one misstep would prove fatal. Yet if she were to reach Coya she must take daring chances.
Clinging to the rope for support and with her feet on the beam, Nancy leaned forward, reaching out until she was able to grasp Coya’s jacket. She pulled the limp body toward her, lashing the boy fast to the cross beam. Next she grasped the rusty saw and severed the rope which had strangled him.
“Is he still alive?” George called anxiously.
The question momentarily distracted Nancy’s attention. At the same instant a loud clap of thunder rumbled through the empty building, startling the girl so that she nearly lost her balance on the beam.
The fright left her weak and spent. She clung tightly to her meager support until she had recovered somewhat. Then she calmly went on with her work.
Using a rope which Bess and George swung up to her, Nancy tied it securely about Coya’s body. Severing the fetters which held him to the beam, she slowly lowered the boy to the waiting arms of her chums.
When Coya, still unconscious, was safely at the basement level, Nancy quickly slid down one of the ropes to join her anxious chums.
“I’m sure he’s dead,” Bess whispered. “He’s as white as a ghost.”
Nancy knelt down, pressing her ear against the lad’s chest. She could hear the faint beating of his heart.
“Coya is still alive, but he needs stimulants. If only we had some medicine!”
In their great anxiety for the life of the little boy, the girls had forgotten about Jasper Batt. They were startled now to see him emerge from the passageway, staggering as he walked toward them. His eyes held a wild, half-crazed expression which the girls did not notice.
“Ask Mr. Batt if he has any medicine on the premises,” Nancy urged her companions. She continued to work over Coya, encouraged by the fact that a tiny bit of color was returning to his face.
Bess and George accosted the old watchman, and after explaining what they wanted several times they succeeded in making him comprehend them. He led them to a medicine cabinet in a back room and allowed them to make their own selection.
After administering the stimulant, Nancy was encouraged to notice that Coya’s heart-beat became stronger. Soon he stirred a trifle and his eyelids fluttered open. He murmured something in his native tongue; then, gradually becoming aware of the little group about him, he smiled at Nancy with recognition.
“You save me,” he whispered weakly.
“Don’t try to talk yet,” Nancy told him. “Just lie still and rest.”
Coya did not obey the order. His eyes fastened themselves upon the ivory charm which Nancy wore about her neck, and he said insistently:
“Coya’s life saved because of marvelous elephant charm!”
“Don’t try to talk,” Nancy advised again.
For some minutes Coya remained quiet, gathering his strength. Then arousing, he indicated that he felt able to sit up.
The girls had paid slight heed to Jasper Batt, knowing that he no longer needed their aid. They actually had forgotten his presence until he suddenly pushed forward roughly to face Coya.
“Now I remember! It comes back to me! He is the one who struck me!”
“Impossible!” George exclaimed impatiently. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Mr. Batt.”
“Coya is a friend of ours,” Bess added.
“Coya,” the watchman repeated. Obviously the name was unfamiliar to him. “No, he was the one!” he insisted wildly. “He told the other man to strike me.”
“Only a moment ago you said that Coya struck you,” Nancy reminded him. “And at first you declared that you did not see your attacker at all. You’re hopelessly confused.”
“This man was the one,” the watchman mumbled.
“Why, he’s not a man at all—only a boy of twelve,” Nancy cried. “Coya couldn’t have been your assailant.”
“You are in league with him! You plotted with him to steal my papers! Give them back to me or I’ll lose my job.”
“The man is completely out of his mind,” Bess murmured in an undertone. “Don’t pay any attention to him.”
However, it was impossible to ignore Jasper Batt, for he was in a quarrelsome mood, determined to make trouble. No amount of argument or explanation could convince him that Nancy and her friends knew nothing of the mysterious papers which had been stolen from him.
“You’re all my enemies,” he accused belligerently. “If you didn’t come to trick and cheat me, why are you here?”
“We came to this house for no dishonest purpose, I assure you,” Nancy said soothingly. “We’ll leave immediately.”
“Oh, no you’ll not!” the watchman shouted. “Not until you hand over my papers. Give them to me.”
“I tell you I know nothing of your papers. Try to be reasonable, Mr. Batt.”
“If you won’t give them to me, I’ll take them!”
The watchman seized Nancy roughly by the arm, endeavoring to thrust his hand into the pocket of her jacket. Bess and George, enraged, went to their chum’s aid. The struggle lasted only for a brief time, as Jasper Batt had not fully recovered his strength. He fell back against the wall, gasping.
“As soon as he regains his breath he’ll be after you again, Nancy,” Bess said in despair. “What shall we do?”
“We must get away from here before he becomes violent.”
Overhearing Nancy’s remark, Jasper Batt moved swiftly to the foot of the stone steps, believing that the girls intended to escape by means of an upper window.
“Oh, no you don’t!” he sneered.
“We must slip out through the secret tunnel,” Nancy whispered.
She aided Coya to his feet, and with George supporting him on the opposite side, the little party moved stealthily into the dark passageway.