Nancy and Ned dropped back a few steps. In a low voice, Nancy told Ned about the threatening phone call and related her thoughts about it.
Ned frowned. “I don’t know Vlad or Dina that well,” he said. “But I’d hate to think either of them would sink to making midnight crank calls.”
“Somebody did,” Nancy pointed out. “Would you quietly ask what other IFC members did after the music last night? Maybe a bunch of them went out for food. The call came at twelve thirty-four. Anyone who is vouched for at that time is in the clear.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Ned said. “But I’m not too hopeful. People who are hanging out late don’t usually keep such close check on the time.”
“I know,” Nancy told him. “And someone could have slipped away long enough to call, without the others noticing. Still, we might get lucky. Is that where we’re going?”
Up ahead was a big grassy area marked off by red wooden snow fences. Over the entrance, an arch of brightly colored helium balloons bobbed and swayed in the breeze. A hand-painted banner read, Worldbeat Festival Bazaar—Sat & Sun—Free Admission.
Booths had been set up around three sides of the lawn. A few were still vacant, but most already bustled with activity. Exhibitors hurried between the grounds and their double parked cars and vans, unloading folding tables, rolled-up banners, and cartons of merchandise.
At the far end of the lawn members of the college grounds crew were setting up a temporary stage and rows of folding chairs. Behind the stage was a green-and yellow-striped tent.
As Nancy and her friends neared the entrance, a guy wearing a yellow-and-green dashiki spotted them and came over. “So, Cyril,” he said, offering his hand. “The great day arrives, eh?”
“Right on schedule,” Cyril replied. “Akai, meet Ned’s guests, Bess, George, and Nancy. Akai is from Nigeria. He’s commander in chief of the bazaar.”
“More like custodian,” Akai said with a chuckle. “Excuse me for rushing off. The video monitors were delivered, but not the power cords.”
“What are the monitors for?” Bess asked, after Akai left.
“We’ll be showing tapes about life in different countries throughout the day,” Cyril told her. “We hope they’ll help promote a better understanding of the world.”
Nancy saw Penny and Lance across the street. Each was carrying a stack of cartons. She pointed them out and said, “Let’s give them a hand.”
“Ouf! Thanks,” Penny said after Nancy ran up and took the top carton. “I don’t know how it is, but every few steps this stuff got heavier.”
J. P. and George each took another carton from her stack, while Ned, Bess, and Cyril helped Lance.
“What have you got here, anyway?” Bess wondered.
“Dishes for the international buffet,” Penny explained. “People have been preparing them at the Food Services kitchen for the last couple of days. Talk about good smells! We’ll store them in the fridge at the gym, then heat them just before it’s time to serve.”
“We should be sure to line up early,” Ned said. “The most interesting dishes are bound to run out. We don’t want to miss them.”
“They’re all interesting,” Penny insisted. She led them through the side door of the gym, to a well-equipped kitchen. “The college holds a lot of events here, so they need facilities to prepare food. Good thing for us. I don’t know how we would have managed the buffet otherwise.”
“Do you need more help?” asked Cyril.
“Not at this point,” Penny said. “I’ll holler if I do.”
“Then I’d better see how the others are coping,” Cyril said. “Lance? Ned? A word?”
Ned gave Nancy an apologetic glance and followed Cyril and Lance outside. J. P. murmured something and also left.
Penny was counting cartons as she put them in the big double-door refrigerator. “Oops,” she said. “I’m two short. I’d better go check.”
“Listen,” Nancy said to Bess and George, once the three friends were alone. She described the menacing phone call.
“Brrr,” Bess said.
“We’d better keep an eye out for more trouble,” George said. “And Dina’s the obvious target. Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy replied. “She was up before I was today. All she said when she left was that she’d see us later.”
“All the IFC people are really busy,” George said. “Joann was out early, too.”
“Let’s go look for them,” Bess suggested. “We can check out the bazaar at the same time.”
“Shop till you drop,” George said with a teasing laugh. Bess huffed, then she laughed, too.
During the time they had been gone, the scene outside had changed dramatically. Crowds of students were browsing through the booths. From one, puffs of blue smoke perfumed the air with the aroma of exotic incense. Above another flew a banner that read Songs of the Earth. Nancy heard the sound of a high, haunting chant. She imagined a rickety bridge over a deep chasm. The lines of people crossing it sang to keep their minds off the danger they faced.
“Oh, look!” Bess gasped. She pulled Nancy and George toward a table piled high with blouses in deep, rich colors. She held up one with vertical stripes of grape and emerald green. “I want this one. No, I want them all.”
George checked the label. “Pretty reasonable for pure silk,” she observed. “Nancy, here’s a dark blue that would look great with your hair.”
“I’ll think about it,” Nancy said.
The girl behind the table was wearing a pale green sari with a band of gold along the edges. She said, “If you like, I will keep it for you. It would be very sad to come back and find it gone.”
“Go ahead,” George urged. “Get it.”
“Well . . . okay,” Nancy said, reaching for her wallet. Ned had once told her she looked terrific in dark blue. She would surprise him by wearing the blouse to the dance that evening.
“And I’ll take this one,” Bess said, handing the girl the purple and green blouse and her money. “What about you, George?”
