XVII

“I’m afraid not unless the mystery can be solved before tomorrow morning. And that’s impossible, of course. If I were going to be here tonight I’d see what I could do, but as it is, I’m afraid we’ll have to let matters take their course. Unless you want me to call in a detective.”

“Oh, don’t do that,” Nancy pleaded. “Give me one more day! I made another discovery today that I think may have a direct bearing on the case. I’m sure I can work this thing out alone.”

“All right,” Mr. Drew agreed. “Do what you can while I’m away and after that, if need be, we can turn the case over to a detective. I’ll have to hurry now or I’ll miss my train.”

Nancy drove her father to the station, on the way telling him all that she had learned in Winchester. Mr. Drew seemed impressed by the story.

“I think perhaps you’re on the right trail,” he told her approvingly.

After Mr. Drew’s train had pulled out of the station, Nancy walked slowly back to her roadster, more thoughtful than ever. It was nearly seven o’clock, but as the sun did not set until later, it was still light.

“I’ll drive over to Dockville right now,” she decided impetuously. “If I wait until tomorrow I may miss Mary entirely.”

Once her mind was made up, she did not lose a second. In her enthusiasm for the adventure before her, she had cast a casual glance at the sky and had failed to notice the angry black clouds directly overhead. As she drove along she did think that the air was unusually heavy and that it was rapidly growing darker, but she attributed it to the late hour.

Reaching Dockville, Nancy drove toward the house where she had last seen Mary Mason. Approaching the river, she was alarmed to run into a misty fog which made it difficult for her to see where she was going.