A Prisoner
When Nancy Drew opened her eyes it was to realize that Mary Mason and the two men were bending over her. She was lying on an old couch and the gag had been removed from her mouth so that she could breathe more easily.
“She’s coming around,” Bud observed in relief, as Nancy regained consciousness. “I thought for a minute I’d strangled her.”
“It would have been better for us if you had,” Mary said coldly.
“We’re in a mess, that’s sure,” Tom Tozzle agreed, peering intently down upon Nancy. “She’s the one that followed me to Winchester.”
“And you don’t know who she is?” Mary demanded.
“Never set eyes on her until today.”
“Then I’ll tell you. Nancy Drew! The daughter of Carson Drew, the famous criminal lawyer. Does that signify anything to you?”
“She’s been listening to everything we said,” Tom Tozzle muttered unpleasantly. He bent down and grasped Nancy roughly by the arm. “What did you hear? Out with it!”
Nancy knew that it would be useless to pretend she had not overheard the plot, so she boldly defied her captors.
“I heard enough to put you all behind the bars,” she informed them daringly.