He groped in his pocket for a knife, but Mary grasped his hand roughly.
“Don’t be a fool!”
“But we can’t let her drown!”
“Who’s to know? The boat will sink before anyone can get to her.”
“But—”
“If we set her free she’ll tell everything she knows, and that will mean our finish. Come along before it’s too late!”
Bud closed the door of the cabin, and Nancy Drew was left to her fate.
In deserting their captive, Mary and Bud Mason assumed that they left her securely bound and gagged; but such was not the case. When Nancy had been flung to the floor by the crash, the gag across her mouth had loosened. At first she was too stunned to realize what had happened, and it was not until the cabin door closed behind Mary and Bud that she found her voice.
“Help! Help!” she screamed.
There was no answering cry. Cold sweat broke out on Nancy’s brow as she realized that there was little hope of a rescue. She could feel the boat listing. At any moment it might plunge beneath the waves. She tugged desperately at the cords which held her a prisoner, and again she raised her voice in the frantic call:
“Help!”
There was a long moment of silence, a moment which to Nancy Drew seemed an eternity. Then, from far away, she heard an answering shout.
“Hello, there! What’s the matter?”