During the Storm
In a frenzy of excitement, Nancy Drew crouched in her hiding place. She dared not move, scarcely breathe, lest she agitate the bushes or make a noise which would attract attention to herself. Mary Mason stood with her back to the brush, but so close that Nancy could have reached out and touched her.
As she waited in an agony of suspense, expecting at any moment to be discovered, a dozen questions raced through her mind. Who were Mary’s companions and what had they been doing with a luxurious motorboat? What did Mary mean by saying that there was plenty of work yet to be done that evening? It was all very puzzling, but Nancy Drew determined that she would unravel the mystery before she left Dockville.
Her thoughts were rudely interrupted as Mary called again to her friends, more sharply than before:
“Aren’t you ever coming?”
“Say, give a fellow a chance for his life, will you?” came the rejoinder. “We’ve got to tie up this boat unless you want it to go drifting off down the river!”
Mary muttered something under her breath which Nancy did not catch. However, she waited for the two men.
Presently Nancy heard heavy footsteps on the path and knew that the men were approaching. Though she realized that it was a dangerous thing to do, curiosity overcame her, and she cautiously arose and peeped from her hiding place.