Chapter 2 The Invisible Intruder by Carolyn Keene
Strange Whispering
As the foursome raced along through the water, Ned took the lead.
“I’ll bet there are a couple of spoofers under that canoe!” he called.
He and Burt reached the moving craft at about the same time and dived under it. To their surprise no one was there. The canoe continued to glide through the water.
“That’s strange,” Ned thought.
The two boys surfaced, planning to grab the paddles which were digging in deep and fast. But with a sudden spurt the canoe shot far ahead of its pursuers.
Meanwhile, Nancy and George had caught up to the boys and watched in amazement as the craft sped away.
With a sheepish grin Ned said, “No one was underneath. I guess the canoe is haunted!”
The unexplainable incident sent a tingling sensation down the spines of the four frustrated swimmers. There was no earthly explanation for the strange event!
“Let’s swim back to the dock and take a motorboat,” Nancy suggested. “Maybe we can catch up with the canoe.”
When they reached shore, Bess and Dave were waiting. “Did you solve the mystery?” Bess asked.
“No,” Nancy admitted, and explained that the canoe did indeed propel itself. “We’re going out in a motorboat to look for it. Want to come along?”
“Sure thing,” Dave replied.
Ned ran to the lobby in the main building and obtained permission and a key to the boat. Within a short time the entire lakeside had been investigated. There was no sign of the haunted canoe.
“Do you suppose somebody took it away on top of a car?” George asked.
“Could be,” Burt replied. “Or a truck.”
George went on, “Anybody have an idea as to what made the canoe propel itself? There has to be a reason.”
No one answered, but an idea was forming in Nancy’s mind. She did not express it aloud because at the moment it seemed too far-fetched.
“But it just might work,” she said to herself.
By the time the six searchers returned to the camp dock, they had to hurry to dress for supper. A bell had already sounded, announcing the meal. The ghost hunters were given a large round table in the center of the dining room.
As soon as they were seated, Bab said, “I hear some of you tried to catch the phantom who paddles the canoe.”
Nancy smiled. “There must be two—one fore and one aft. Two paddles were working at top speed.”
“So the story is true,” Rita spoke up. “You people don’t want to believe in ghosts, but I’m not ashamed to.”
Rod laughed. “Don’t mind my wife. She’s a student of the occult, but she has never convinced me about phantoms.”
The others laughed, but made no comment because a waitress came up to take their orders.
“We have roast beef tonight,” she said. “How do you like it?”
The girls chose medium, while the boys wanted it rare. Burt grinned. “Raw meat for the he-men.”
“You’ll need it to conquer the spooks,” George commented.
“No, all we need is Nancy Drew,” Ned said with a smile. He reminded the group of the many cases she had solved, beginning with The Secret of the Old Clock. The latest had been the exciting Spider Sapphire Mystery. “This one could be even more of a dilly than the rest,” he added.
There were few other guests in the dining room and Helen said, “I was talking to the desk clerk. He told me almost no one has registered for the summer. The story about the haunted canoe and other strange happenings in the area have made people afraid to go out on the lake.”
“That’s a shame,” Bess spoke up. “But I can’t say I blame them. Helen, you should have seen that canoe paddling itself up the lake—as if it were in a race.”
Jim put in, “I wish I had. The owner of this camp, Mr. Leffert, has gone to a great deal of trouble and expense to make it an attractive place. He said that if things keep on the way they are, he’ll have to sell it.”
“But who would buy it now?” Dave asked.
Ann spoke up. “We’ll solve this mystery and everything will be all right,” she declared.
Her husband Bill added, “I’ll bet we’ll be off to our second ghost hunt before you know it. Won’t we, Nancy?”
“I don’t think it will be that easy,” she replied.
When everyone finished eating, Bess got up from the table with a sigh. “I hope you’re right. But that phantom paddler is pretty clever.”
Everyone filed out of the dining room. The evening was chilly, and Mr. Leffert had had a roaring fire built in the huge fireplace at the lounge end of the lobby. The ghost hunters gathered around it and continued to discuss the mystery
Presently George remarked that she thought they should take time out from the mystery of Lake Sevanee and talk about something else. “Anybody know a good joke?” she asked.
“I’ll oblige,” Jim Archer answered. “Ever hear about the cowboy who had a record for finding strays? Nobody could figure it out. It seems one of the cows told him where they were, after he’d learned to moo their language.”
“That’s terrible,” Don said with a groan.
“Got a better one?” Jim asked.
“Sure. About the cow who jumped over the moon and came down via the milky way.”
The ensuing laughter had barely subsided when the outside door to the lobby burst open and a blast of wind rushed in. Papers were sent flying off the tables and desk.
The gust hit the fireplace with such force that sparks and ashes whirled across the room. There was a mad scramble by the young people to stamp out the sparks and rescue some papers which had blown toward the fire.
“This is horrible!” Bess exclaimed.
As abruptly as it had begun, the inrush of air stopped. Nancy, suspicious, dashed to the door. It was a moonlight night, calm and clear, with bright shining stars. There was practically no breeze.
“Someone deliberately caused that blast,” she thought, and ran outside.
She was just in time to see a man sprinting toward the woods, a huge object under one arm.
“Ned! Everybody! Come here quickly!” Nancy cried out, and sped off in pursuit.
Ned soon overtook her and asked what she was after. She explained quickly and they dashed off together.
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t know except he was tall.”
Although moonlight filtered down among the trees, it was too dark to pursue the fleeing figure. In a few moments he was out of sight.
Nancy and Ned stopped running just as a car’s motor started up in the distance.
“He made a getaway,” Ned said in disappointment.
George, Bess, and the others came up breathlessly. “What happened?” they questioned Nancy.
She told them, and added, “A man was carrying a bulky object under one arm. Maybe when he knew we were after him, he dropped it in order to run faster. Let’s look along this path.”
Carefully the seven couples proceeded through the woods toward the road. In a few minutes Nancy came upon an object stowed behind a tree. It proved to be a large bellows.
George looked at it with a frown. “So that’s what made the sudden wind in the lobby. The man must be crazy. Why would he want to do such a thing?”
Bess gave a great sigh. “To annoy us. I’d say he’s trying to get rid of us.”
“But why?” Dave asked. “Does he have something to do with the strange canoe?”
Rita Rodriguez spoke up. “We have no proof of that. I’m sure the canoe incident was supernatural.”
Her husband laughed. “Honey, this moonlight has got you.” He turned to the others. “Forgive me, but I can’t go along with Rita and her belief in ghosts.” To make amends for his remark, Rod put an arm around his wife. “Let’s go back and forget the whole thing.”
Nancy suggested that in the morning they try to find out more about the canoe and also the man with the bellows. The ghost hunters said good night to one another and went to bed.
As Bess flopped onto her cot, she said, “I’ve had enough chasing to last me a week.”
About two o’clock Nancy awakened. Everything was quiet except for the slight sighing of pine trees. A soft breeze had sprung up.
Intrigued by her surroundings, Nancy got out of bed and went to the window. She stood there admiring the beautiful scene that lay before her. Beyond waving boughs she could see the lake shimmering in the bright moonlight.
A moment later she became aware of two voices whispering not far from her window. Was this what had awakened her? Had one of the ghost-hunting couples gone for a moonlight stroll? She dismissed the idea almost at once. Everyone in the group had been very weary and it was unlikely they would be out walking at this hour.
“I wonder if the man with the bellows could have come back with a buddy,” Nancy thought.
Deciding to investigate, she put on a robe and slippers. She stepped quietly out of the cabin and cautiously walked along the side in the direction of the voices.
Just before reaching the corner Nancy stopped to listen. A singsong voice kept repeating:
“Ghosts own Sevanee Lake. Go away while there is time!”