“Just the same, I believe you need a vacation. I realize that it isn’t easy for a girl your age to look after a big house like this. After a time, the responsibility gets to be wearing.”
“How stupid of me!” Nancy exclaimed.
In her excitement, she permitted a fork to fall from her hand and clatter against the plate. Carson Drew, who did not comprehend what was passing through his daughter’s mind, looked at her in surprise.
“Stupid?” he inquired.
“Oh, I mean it was strange I didn’t think of Helen Corning before this,” Nancy said hastily. “Helen is going to a girls’ camp on Moon Lake. I’m dying to go to Moon Lake! May I start the first thing in the morning? I know I can get in. They have room for half a dozen more girls, Helen said.”
“I think it would be an excellent idea, Nancy. A nice rest will do wonders for you. Go, by all means.”
Nancy Drew was delighted that she had stumbled upon an excuse which would make it appear natural for her to go to Moon Lake. Early the next morning, after packing a suitcase, she started off in the roadster. As it was not out of her way to go by the River Road, she decided to stop at the Horners and give Grace the dress goods she had promised her.
As she drove in at the gate, one glance told Nancy that something was wrong. She saw a number of dead chickens in the barnyard, and as the Horner girls came toward her from the direction of the hen house, it was evident that Allie had been crying.
“Why, what is the matter?” Nancy asked quickly.
“Oh, it’s my chickens, Nancy. They’re all dying. I can’t understand it. This morning when I went to feed them I found ten dead. I’m so