Part 25 (1/2)

”They are across the hall,” the girl replied. ”Mr. Hoelt said they were the most valuable and put the tables by themselves.”

She unlocked the other storage room and the girls went inside. There were four George Was.h.i.+ngton tables! Nancy surmised that two were genuine, while the other two were the copies Mr. Zinn had made. So Roger Hoelt had found the valuable matching cherry table!

Nancy asked Manda if she knew where it had come from. ”Mr. Hoelt said he bought it in a New York antique shop.”

”Well,” she said, smiling, ”our search is ended.”

”I'm glad,” Bess sighed. ”You deserve a lot of credit, Nance, but it will be a relief to wind up this case.”

”And I vote for that too,” said George, ”although it has been a lot of fun. Congratulations, Nancy.”

”I never could have done it alone,” the young detective spoke up quickly.

Manda thought it was marvelous that Nancy had traced the stolen pieces. ”And to think also that you fixed everything for me with Papa and Mama so I can go home. It would be wonderful to go now, ain't?”

”We'll start right away,” said Nancy. ”And we'll stop at the nearest farm with a telephone and call the police. They should be here to greet Mr. and Mrs. Hoelt when they arrive.”

The girls were so absorbed in their discussion that no one but Nancy, out of the corner of her eye, saw the shadow that suddenly fell across the doorway. Whirling around, she caught a fleeting glimpse of a man who thundered, ”You will never do that! You will die first!”

With this, he slammed the door and locked it!

”Mr. Hoelt!” Manda cried. ”Let us out!” The reply was a mocking laugh from the other side of the barrier.

The girls leaped toward the door, pounding on it and trying to batter it down. At the top of her voice Manda yelled that Mr. Hoelt had no right to lock her in. He must release all of them at once!

Her plea went unheeded. Then the girls heard Roger Hoelt hurrying down the stairway.

”We must get out and capture that thief!” Nancy cried with determination.

Together, the girls threw their weight against the door time after time, trying to break it down. Their efforts were futile.

”We're prisoners!” Bess wailed. ”He's going to leave us here to die!”

CHAPTER XX.

SOS.

FRANTIC that they would suffocate in the hot, stuffy attic, the four girls continued their efforts to break down the locked door. But finally, their shoulders bruised and sore, they were forced to give up.

Bess was on the verge of tears. In the darkness the others could hear her moan softly. ”n.o.body will ever find us here.”

Nancy felt far from cheerful, but she tried to encourage her friends by saying that perhaps Mrs. Glick and Henner would bring help.

”Oh no they won't!” Bess wailed. ”That awful man has probably captured them too by this time!”

Manda had not uttered a word and Nancy asked her how she felt. ”I am all right,” the Amish girl said. ”But it is my fault that all of us are trapped here. I should have known Mr. Hoelt might return earlier, even though he told me evening. He rarely went anywhere in the daytime. He was always out at night.”

Nancy persuaded the girl that she was not to blame. But the young detective also felt bad because she had been so close to capturing the thief, and then had lost her chance.