“Mrs. Hopper!” Nancy called. “Please—could you come back later?”
The cleaning woman stared at her blankly.
“I mean, after I’ve finished,” Nancy continued. “I’ll only be a few minutes. You see, I have to concentrate, and I don’t want to be in your way.”
Mrs. Hopper checked her pocket watch. “Oh, all right,” she said. “I suppose I can start on Professor Mathew’s office upstairs.”
Nancy breathed a sigh of relief as Mrs. Hopper turned and waddled out of the office.
Once the woman was out of earshot, Nancy called to George. It wasn’t long before they had found a carbon copy of Herbert’s letter to Sharp in the top drawer.
“Bingo!” Nancy cried. “Exactly what we need. The police will have to believe this. It’s right here in black and white. Look—Herbert claims he has the authentic Golden Horse. And he’s selling it for five hundred thousand dollars. That’s half its value. I guess stolen goods don’t go for the full price.”
“It still looks like he’s making Sharp a deal he can’t refuse,” George said.
“I wonder if Sharp knows the statue is stolen,” Nancy mused.
“Let’s make a copy of the letter,” George suggested, “and then we’re out of here.”
Just then they heard a low snarling growl in the outer office.
George grabbed Nancy’s arm. “That’s not the cleaning woman,” she said.
“Oh, no!” Nancy cried. She’d just spotted two snarling German shepherds in the doorway—and they were headed straight toward them!
14
A Desperate Struggle
Nancy quickly stuffed the letter in her pocket, then grabbed a chair to fend off the German shepherds. “Back, back!” she shouted, thrusting the chair toward the advancing dogs.
George picked up the table lamp and held it out like a club. “Get out of here,” she commanded the dogs. “Scram!”
Brutus and Caesar snarled savagely, baring their fangs. Just as the animals seemed about to leap, Professor Herbert entered the office.
“Well, well. If it isn’t our nosy little detective and her friend,” he said, stepping forward. “I thought I’d seen the last of you two when I forced your car off the road.”
“You won’t get away with this, Herbert,” Nancy said bravely. “We know you switched the real Golden Horse for a fake.”
The professor threw back his head and laughed. “So you thought I’d leave it lying around in my office?” he said. “You should give me more credit than that.”
“We’ve already informed the police,” Nancy bluffed. “They’ll be here any minute.”
“Oh, come, come,” Herbert mocked. “You can’t pull that old gag on me. You and your friend here have been too persistent for your own good. Now I’ll have to make sure you keep your cute little noses out of my business once and for all.”
George glanced at Nancy, waiting for a signal to spring into action.
Nancy’s mind raced as she tried to think of a way to escape. But no one was around, and the dogs were ready to attack on a word from their master.
Herbert marched the girls out of the building and ordered them into the back of his black van, parked near the service entrance.
“Sit down in the corner and don’t give me any trouble,” he warned them as he tied their hands with cord. Then, motioning to the dogs, he called, “Come on, Brutus, Caesar. Into the van!”
Nancy and George cringed away from the dogs.
“They won’t hurt you,” Herbert said with a menacing smile, “as long as you don’t move.” He slammed the van doors closed, then walked around to the front and climbed into the driver’s seat.
As the van started off, the dogs settled down on the floor. Nancy started rubbing the cord that bound her wrists against a metal fitting on the side of the van. But Brutus gave a deep-throated growl, forcing her to stop.
“I told you,” Herbert called over his shoulder. “Sit still, or the dogs will tear you to pieces.”
Nancy caught George’s worried look and tried to smile reassuringly.
After a while Nancy could no longer see the streetlights flashing past the tinted windows. It seemed as if they were heading into open country. Then, all at once, the van slowed and turned sharply. After that they climbed a long, steep hillside. The van swayed as it took the hairpin turns of the winding road.
Finally the van reached level ground. Again it slowed, then turned. It bounced down a rutted dirt track, and Nancy could hear bushes scratching against the side of the vehicle as they bumped along.
After a few moments Herbert stopped and turned off the engine. As he climbed out and headed to the back of the van, Nancy whispered to George, “Don’t worry, we’ll get out of this somehow.”
A minute later Herbert pulled open the van door. “Out,” he ordered. “And don’t try any tricks.”
Nancy climbed down from the back, followed by George. In the moonlight she could see a short path leading to a small log cabin ahead.
“Look,” Nancy said to Herbert, stalling for time. “Why don’t you quit now—before you get in any deeper? Kidnapping is a very serious charge. Margaret Parker has already confessed that she and Stone stole the fake you stuck them with. It’s all going to be traced back to you.”
“They can’t prove anything,” Herbert sneered. “And it’s too late for you, I’m afraid.”
George glared at the professor. “The police will find out that Todd copied the horse for you,” she said boldly.
