The waitress changed the bill for her without comment and the girls left the lunchroom. As they climbed into the car. Nancy glanced anxiously at the sky. There was a dark overcast in the west.
"It does look like rain over my way," Joanne observed. "And we leave the paved road and take a dirt one about five miles from the farm."
"I'm afraid it's going to be a race against time," Nancy warned, starting the car. "A bad storm on a dirt road won't help matters at all!"
The girls now noticed a change in the countryside. The hills had become steeper and the valleys deeper. The farms dotting the landscape were very attractive.
Nancy made fast time, for she was bent on beating the storm. The sky became gloomier and overcast. Soon the first raindrops appeared on the windshield. "We're in for a downpour all right!" Nancy declared grimly, as she turned onto the dirt road.
Soon there was thunder and lightning, and the rain came down in torrents.
"Listen to that wind!" Bess exclaimed. "It's enough to blow us off the road!"
The next minute everyone groaned in dismay, and Nancy braked the car. Across the road stood a wooden blockade. On it was a sign:
Detour
Bridge Under Repair
George read it aloud in disgust. An arrow on the sign indicated a narrow road to the right. As Nancy made the turn, Joanne gave a sigh.
"Oh, dear," she said, "this back way will take us much longer to reach Red Gate."
The detour led through a woodland of tall trees. Daylight had been blotted out entirely, and even with the car's headlights on full, Nancy could barely see ahead. Again she was forced to slow down.
Suddenly a jagged streak of lightning hit a big oak a short distance from the car. It splintered the tree.
"Oh!" screamed Bess. "This is terrible!"
Nancy pretended to be calm, but she really was very much worried. She decided it would be safer to get away from the dangerous line of trees, any one of which might crash down on them!
"How long is this stretch of woods?" she asked Joanne.
"Oh, perhaps five hundred feet."
"We'll have to chance it." Nancy drove as quickly as she dared in the darkness. The girls breathed sighs of relief when open country was reached.
But Joanne's fears were not yet over. "Watch out!" she advised. "There's a sharp, treacherous curve very soon, just before we take the turnoff for the farm."
By now the brief storm had moved off to a distant sky and it was easier to see the boundaries of the slippery road. Nancy rounded a curve, but as the car took the turn, the wheels on the right side sank into the thick mud of a ditch, bringing the car to a lurching halt.
The unexpected mishap stunned the girls for a moment. Finally Bess found her voice. "Now what?"
Nancy endeavored to drive the car out of the ditch, but it was useless. "Well"-she sighed- "we may as well jump out and examine the car. Keep your fingers crossed."
They found the convertible at a lopsided angle. The right wheels, however, were firmly anchored by the mud. The four girls attempted to push the car, but without success.
"I'll look in the trunk," Nancy said, "to see if there's something to help us."
Nancy found two pieces of heavy burlap. Bess and George put them in front of the two back wheels for traction. Then they gathered and broke up some brush to make a mat for each tire.
"I hope this works," Joanne said, taking her place to assist in pushing the car. "There probably won't be anyone else using this desolate road who could help us. "I- I'm afraid we won't reach the farm in time!"
Nancy stepped into the car and started the motor, easing the gas and slowly rocking the convertible back and forth. Inch by inch the tires crept forward, finally catching on the burlap and brush and rolling out of the ditch.
"We've done it!" Bess shouted proudly.
"With a little outside help!" George panted with a grin. The girls laughed from sheer relief.
They started off again, more slowly than before. But they had gone only a mile when a new storm seemed to be coming up. In less than five minutes complete darkness descended again, bringing another deluge of rain. Deafening thunderclaps instantly followed vivid forks of lightning.
Of necessity, Nancy once more kept the automobile at a snail's pace. It was impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. Anxiously Joanne kept glancing at her watch. "It's five-fifteen," she announced nervously.
Nancy tried to assuage the worried girl's fears. "This storm may have delayed your grandmother's caller."
The wind and rain continued unabated. As the convertible climbed the brow of a hill, there was a brilliant flash of lightning. George, who was seated in front with Nancy, screamed, "Don't hit her!"
Nancy jammed on the brakes so quickly that the rear of the car skidded around sideways in the road.
"Who?" she demanded, horrified.
"The woman in the road! Didn't you see her? Maybe she's under the car!"
Heartsick, Nancy jumped out one door, Bess another. They peered under the car, alongside it, in back of it. They could see no one.
"Are you sure you saw a woman?" Nancy inquired.
Just then another streak of lightning illuminated the sky, and Bess called out, "There goes someone running across that field!"
Nancy glanced quickly in that direction and saw the running figure of a woman. At that same moment the woman looked back over her shoulder, revealing a thin, haggard face. Nancy judged her to be in her early fifties.
All four girls stared in mystification. Nancy and Bess returned to the car and the journey was resumed.
"Why would any sane person "be walking in such a storm?" Bess spoke up finally.
"She's headed in the direction of the cavern," said Joanne, and explained that they were now nearing the farm. "Maybe she's one of those strange people over there!"
Nancy and her friends were immediately curious. Before they could ask what Joanne meant, the car reached the crest of a steep hill and Joanne cried out:
"There's Red Gate Farm!" She pointed to the valley below them.
The storm had let up and the sun was coming out. The River Heights girls could clearly see the forty-acre farm, with its groves of pine trees and a winding river which curled along the valley. Everything looked green and fresh after the heavy rain.
"It's beautiful!" exclaimed Bess.
"And cool-and peaceful," Joanne added excitedly.
"Don't count on much relaxation with Nancy around," George advised their new friend. "She'll find some adventure to occupy every waking hour!"
"Yes," Bess agreed. "Adventure with mystery added."
Nancy smiled. She reflected on the two mysteries she had already encountered; the unsolved case of the Blue Jade perfume and the strange code.
As the car descended into the valley, the girls caught a better glimpse of the farm with its huge red barn and various adjoining sheds and the large, rambling house, partly covered with vines. There were bright-red geraniums in the window boxes, and a freshly painted picket fence surrounding the yard.
Nancy stopped the car in front of the big red gate which opened into the garden. "Oh, I hope it's not too late!" Joanne cried as she sprang out to unlatch the gate.
CHAPTER VIINature Cult
Nancy drove in to Red Gate Farm and parked. She consulted her watch and noted with dismay it was quarter to six. By now the farmhouse door had opened, and a gray-haired woman in a crisp gingham dress and white apron came hurrying out to meet them. Her blue eyes were bright as she welcomed Joanne warmly.
"My granddaughter told me how kind you all were to her in the city," she said to Nancy and her friends. "I can't thank you enough."
"Gram!" Joanne exclaimed. "I can't stand the suspense. Did you sell the farm to that man?"
Mrs. Byrd shook her head. "Mercy! I was so excited at your coming back I forgot to tell you. He phoned a little while ago and said that because of the storm he'd rather come here tomorrow-he could wait one more day."