Part 14 (2/2)
Lost in the Crowd
”JOE SWENSON!” Bess and George exclaimed simultaneously. ”Where?”
”He's crossing the highway!” Nancy pointed. ”The man with the blue s.h.i.+rt. Don't take your eyes off him for a second! We must keep him in sight!”
The cars ahead had started to move again and Nancy turned her attention to driving, while Bess and George watched Joe Swenson. They kept close behind him for nearly a block, then George called out that he had turned a corner.
Nancy stopped for a red traffic light, and when she finally turned into the side street, the man was a considerable distance ahead.
”He's walking fast,” Bess observed. ”We'll lose him if we aren't careful.”
The street was crooked and narrow. Children were playing ball and Nancy was forced to drive with extra caution.
Joe Swenson turned into another street, narrower than the first and rather dingy. Nancy rapidly drew nearer to him, only to lose him again as he cut through an alley.
”Does he know we're following him?” Bess wondered.
”I don't think so,” Nancy answered. ”We'll catch him at the next street. I can see where the alley ends.”
Rubbish, tin cans, and boxes littered the alley, and she did not care to risk a punctured tire. Turning the car, she retraced her route, rounded the block, and reached the opposite end of the alley in time to see Joe Swenson heading toward one of the main streets of Stanford.
”We have him now,” Nancy said confidently.
Scarcely had she spoken when the girls noticed that the block directly ahead had been roped off. The sidewalks were lined with pedestrians, and policemen were turning automobiles into side streets.
”What's this?” Nancy asked impatiently.
”It must be the parade,” George declared. ”And there goes Joe Swenson, heading that way!”
”We'll lose him sure!” Nancy groaned.
True to her prediction, the man melted into the crowd. A policeman motioned for Nancy to turn to the right and she had no choice but to comply. At the first opportunity she parked the car and the girls ran back.
In vain they searched through the throngs of people watching the parade. Joe Swenson had disappeared.
”If that isn't a mean break!” Bess fretted.
”I admit it's hopeless,” Nancy said slowly. ”The best thing to do is come back tomorrow and try to find him.”
The girls returned to the car. As they headed for River Heights, George said, ”If Joe Swenson works at the Weston plant, why wasn't his name on the personnel records?”
”Maybe we were mistaken, after all,” Bess said.
Nancy did not reply for nearly a minute, then she declared, ”Girls, I have a hunch.”
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