"What-was-that?" Bess chattered.
"Only some wild animal," Nancy reassured her. "Come on!" she urged. "We must hurry or we'll miss the ritual!"
The girls went through the dark forest as fast as they could. The moon was rising, and ghostly rays of light filtered through gaps in the foliage overhead. A faint breeze stirred the leaves into what seemed like menacing whispers. The girls finally reached the river trail and followed it.
"We must be careful now," Nancy warned in a low voice. "We're drawing near the colony. The cult may have a lookout stationed during the night ceremonies."
I hadn't thought of that," Joanne murmured.
"I almost wish I hadn't come," Bess whispered nervously. "I had no idea it would be this dark."
"What were you expecting at nine-thirty at night?" George chided in as low a tone as possible.
"It will be lighter when the moon rises higher," Joanne told her. "Still-if you want to turn back-"
"No, I'm going through with this masquerade if the rest of you are!" Bess retorted stalwartly.
Nancy hoped fervently it would remain a masquerade. She was firmly convinced now that the Black Snake group were unscrupulous people working with, or at least friendly with Maurice Hale. Nancy now felt convinced that the mystic rites were nothing but a sham. Fortunately, for Nancy's purpose, the hillside was covered with large rocks as well as dense shrubs which would provide temporary hiding places. As the girls stole cautiously up the steep path, they could see cult members still congregating.
"We're in plenty of time," she thought.
The girls separated, George and Bess crouching behind a huge rock. Joanne and Nancy took cover behind a heavy growth of shrubs and tall grass. For nearly ten minutes the girls watched as figures milled about the hillside. Then they heard the sound of cars approaching.
"They must be coming up through the pasture again," Joanne said, listening intently. An instant later she and Nancy saw the headlights of three automobiles.
"Look!" Joanne tugged at Nancy's sleeve. "More members are coming out of their tents!"
The two girls watched the white-robed figures walking slowly toward the brow of the hill, where the three automobiles had parked.
"I wonder if one of the newcomers is Maurice Hale," Nancy thought.
She and Joanne were too far away to hear what was being said, but they could see distinctly. They watched as a group of men and women, twelve in number, stepped from the cars. Nancy could not distinguish any of their faces. The new arrivals quickly donned white garments and headgear similar to the outfits Nancy and her friends had made, then joined the other members of the cult.
The ghostly figures soon began dancing about in the moonlight, and Nancy felt that the time was right for her daring attempt to join the group. Before she could tell Joanne, there was a slight stir in the bushes directly behind her. Involuntarily Nancy jumped, fully expecting to come face to face with one of the cult members. Instead, Bess and George emerged.
"Isn't it about time for us to do something?" they asked, almost simultaneously.
"Yes," Nancy agreed, "we'd better get into our robes as quickly as we can."
The girls were well hidden by the rocks and bushes. They donned their costumes and pulled the headgear over their faces. For the first time, Nancy noticed the scent of Blue Jade on Bess. "I wonder if that was wise," Nancy thought. "If it attracts attention to Bess it might increase her danger, but it's too late now to do anything about it."
As George, overeager, started off. Nancy caught her friend's arm. "Wait!" she warned. "We must slip quietly into the circle one at a
time."
"My knees are shaking now," Bess admitted. "I don't know how I'll be able to dance."
"Stay here if you like," Nancy told her. "I think we should leave someone to keep guard, anyway."
"I'll stay," Joanne offered. "I know the way back through the woods better than you girls do."
"Come on!" George pleaded. "If we don't hurry we'll be too late!"
"Good luck!" Joanne whispered as the girls crept away.
Inch by inch, the three girls made their way up the hill. They crouched behind a clump of bushes a stone's throw from where the cult members were dancing. Nancy indicated that she would make the first move. Bess and George nodded.
"The slightest mistake will mean detection!" Nancy thought, her heart pounding.
Waiting for the right moment, she suddenly slipped out among the white-robed figures and instantly began waving her arms and making grotesque motions.
CHAPTER XVIStartling 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.