Dan Webster smiled. "We'll do it! I'll arrange for you to stay at the hospital tent. Kroon would never think of looking for you there." He winked. "And besides, the doc and his nurse are good friends of mine."
Nancy now told the horse trainer that she was fearful Kroon might return to his trailer and take the bracelet away. She did not want this to happen and asked if Dan Webster could possibly play detective for her again.
"You did very well the last time you became a sleuth," she encouraged him.
The horse trainer laughed and said that he did not believe he could get away with it a second time. Kroon would be sure to know something was up. Dan suggested that one of his midget friends act as lookout.
"Little Will is to be trusted implicitly," he said.
Nancy knew the pleasant little man and consented to the plan. Then Nancy told Dan Webster that she was going to telephone her friends, Bess and George, in River Heights and ask them to drive over to Danford.
"Kroon may discover the ruse we've planned," she said. "In that case, I'll need some transportation home. And besides, the girls can relieve Little Will in watching Mr. Kroon's trailer."
At once Nancy telephoned George, who promised that she and Bess would start immediately for Danford.
"I'll be hiding in the hospital tent, George. Come there."
It was shortly before the afternoon performance that the cousins arrived. Bess was aghast to hear what had transpired and tried her best to coax Nancy into going home with her and George at once. But the girl detective contended that it was important for her to stay.
"Kroon is bound to find out," Bess insisted. "You're just taking your life in your hands."
Nancy said she was sure that no harm could come to her with so many people around. Just before time for the parade, Dan Webster came to tell Nancy that Little Will was hard at work. He had watched the trailer constantly. Mrs. Kroon had entered it directly after luncheon and had not come out since.
"How would it be if I relieve your midget friend now?" George proposed. "I don't care about seeing the circus performance again."
Nancy thought that this was a good idea. George went off, but Bess remained with Nancy. She would act as messenger to carry the riding costume back and forth. Presently the gong sounded for the parade to begin.
Rosa, seated on the beautiful horse, took her position, and Nancy watched from a near-by place of concealment. As the girl detective had predicted, Kroon was on hand to meet her. He smiled in satisfaction.
Apparently completely satisfied that his orders were being carried out, the ringmaster did not stay in the tent when the Vascon troupe entered. Nancy felt a little nervous at first but did her act well.
When the performance was over, she quickly ran to the hospital tent. After she removed her costume, Bess hurried with it to Rosa. She returned in a few minutes and reported that her cousin was still on duty. Little Will had said he would eat his supper and then take George's place until he had to perform again.
Presently three supper trays were brought in and the two girls began to eat.
"Nancy, why don't you turn this case over to the police?" Bess suggested.
Nancy said she hated to do so without more evidence.
"But you can't keep up this watching and performing. You'll need sleep," Bess argued. "And George and I can't help you much longer. We'll have to go home in a little while."
"Oh, please stay overnight," Nancy requested. "By tomorrow I'm sure we'll find out about the bracelet. Would you mind calling home and telling your mother and George's you'll be here?"
Bess finally agreed and made the call. Then, fearfully, she went off to take George's place while her cousin came to eat her supper in the hospital tent.
"Kroon didn't come here while you were gone, thank goodness," she reported when George returned.
George waited for Little Will to arrive. When he did, the midget said he had scarcely an hour to be on duty. Would she be sure to return in time? George spent the intervening time with Nancy and Bess but was back on time. Still Kroon had not arrived, and Mrs. Kroon had not left the trailer.
The evening performance came to a close, without the ringmaster suspecting that Nancy had been pinch-hitting for Rosa. Relieved, Nancy had just reached the hospital tent when George rushed in.
"Nancy! News!" she cried.
She related how Kroon had sneaked up to the trailer from the rear. Mrs. Kroon had handed him a small package through the side window. The ringmaster, in turn, had given it to the son of one of the aerial artists and told him to mail it.
"I followed the boy downtown toward the post office," said George. "As we got near a light, I started to run and pretended to bump into him. He dropped the package and I looked at the address on it. And listen to this: it was going to Lola Flanders, care of Tristam Booking Agency in New York City!"
"Oh, George, you're wonderful!" Nancy cried gleefully. "We'll go right to the telephone, call up the local police chief, and ask him to get in touch with the New York police. They'll be able to investigate that package and the booking agency too, and even find Mrs. Flanders!"
The excited girls raced from the tent and hurried to the telephone booth. George waited outside, while Nancy stepped in and closed the door. She picked up the receiver and put in a coin. When there was no response, Nancy realized that the telephone was out of order.
"I'll ask George to run down to headquarters and take my message to the chief," she decided.
Opening the door, Nancy was amazed to find that her friend was gone. As she looked around, suddenly a thick dark cloth was drawn over her head—tighter and tighter.
Nancy struggled, but it was useless. She finally blacked out!
CHAPTER XVIIIGeorge's Discovery
Nancy became conscious of the rumble and harsh clatter of wheels. At first it seemed far away, then grew louder and louder.
Slowly she opened her eyes but could see nothing. Her brain was foggy and she had no idea where she was. As her mind cleared, Nancy realized she was bound and gagged.
"Oh, yes," she recalled. "When I came out of that telephone booth, someone put a cloth over my head and I blacked out."
Nancy now realized that she was in a moving vehicle. The steady rhythm of the wheels told her that she was in a train. Was it a sleeping compartment?
"Probably not," Nancy decided. "I'm lying on the floor. I must be in a freight car."
As her strength returned, she tried to get out of her bonds, but her struggles were futile. Whoever had tied the knots had done a good job.
"Oh, if I could only remove this gag!" she thought.
She tried rubbing her cheek against the floor to accomplish it, but again her efforts were unsuccessful. There was not a sound within the car and Nancy decided that she was alone. As she wondered where the freight train was going and now long a trip it might be, someone not far away from her gave a great sigh. Nancy shuddered. Was this person a guard?
Once more she endeavored to loosen the ropes which bound her arms and legs. She managed to slide them an inch, but they still remained tightly around her.
As Nancy got over her fright, it occurred to her that the other person in the car might be a prisoner as well. George had disappeared rather mysteriously. Could she be the person who had sighed?
Nancy wriggled herself in the direction from which the sound had come. Finding the other person's hand, she squirmed. It was cold and unresponsive. But upon investigation, she was convinced of one thing: it was a girl's hand.
Inching herself upward, Nancy's hand came to a rope. The other person was bound as well as herself!
Moving still farther along the floor, Nancy felt the girl's face. There was a gag over it, but by twisting and turning, Nancy managed, after some difficulty, to loosen the knot and remove the gag.