Mystery of the Ivory Charm Read Online Free PDF Page B

her.”
    “But we have no light,” Bess reminded her. “If you and Rishi could find your way out, I’m sure George could.”
    Nancy agreed to wait a little longer. “Probably the wisest thing to do is to return to the boulder,” she said after a moment’s pause. “George could escape that way eventually and come back to the house.”
    Hastily the three returned to the exit of the tunnel and began their vigil. First, however, Nancy convinced herself that Bess and Rishi were correct in saying that the mysterious door could not be opened from the outside.
    Minutes elapsed and the lost girl did not appear. Bess and Nancy grew more worried, especially when they noticed that the sky was overcast with black, rolling clouds.
    “Bad storm come,” Rishi predicted.
    “And it will soon be here,” Nancy agreed. “I believe it’s useless to wait any longer. Let’s go back to the house and enter through the window.”
    Once more the three retraced their steps down the road and along the forest trail, coming at last within view of the abandoned house. In the gathering darkness it looked even more sinister and forbidding than it had before.
    “I don’t like the idea of going inside.” Bess shivered.
    “Neither do I,” Nancy admitted, “but we must find George.”
    She moved boldly toward the front porch, with Bess and Rishi following reluctantly. Nancy paused to listen intently.
    “It was only thunder,” Bess said.
    “No, I heard something—”
    The sentence was never finished. From inside the house came a terrific crash accompanied by the sound of glass splintering against a hard, metallic surface. Then silence.

CHAPTER VI
    A Web of Ropes
    “DON’T go inside!” Bess pleaded frantically. “Please don’t. Something dreadful will happen to you!”
    Nancy paid no attention. Boldly she flung up the window and stepped through the opening to find herself on a narrow ledge. She was startled to hear a low moan directly below her.
    “George!” she called. “Is that you?”
    “It’s all that’s left of me,” a faint voice said with a groan.
    Picking her way down the treacherous stone steps, Nancy descended quickly. When her eyes became accustomed to the gloom, she found George lying at the bottom, surrounded by broken glass. The girl’s arms had been cut in several places.
    “What happened?” Nancy gasped, mopping the blood with her handkerchief.
    “Oh, I’ve had a horrible time!” George complained. “I got lost in a musty old passageway. When I found it was a dead end, I stumbled back the way I’d entered. Finally I reached the top of these steps and then slipped. I clutched at something hanging on the wall. It couldn’t support my weight. I crashed down with it on top of me.”
    “Apparently you pulled a heavy mirror loose, George. You could have been killed.”
    “It sure was heavy,” George answered ruefully, rubbing her head. With Nancy’s supporting arm around her she slowly rose.
    “Can you walk if I help you?”
    “I think so.”
    Cautiously groping their way, the girls began to climb the steep stairway. Before they reached the entrance ledge, Bess thrust her head through the open window.
    “Nancy! George!” she called fearfully.
    “Here we are, directly below,” Nancy shouted. “George has been hurt.”
    “Oh!” Bess exclaimed.
    “I’m all right now,” George insisted.
    “Bess,” said Nancy, “step inside onto a narrow ledge. See if you can find a light switch.”
    Nervously Bess entered and stood motionless on the tiny platform. Her fingers probed the wall until she felt a knob and turned it. Suddenly the room was flooded with light.
    An amazing sight met their gaze. The house was indeed “without insides.” The floor had been torn away. From the rafters of the ceiling hung several swings and trapezes, similar to those used in wild-animal acts, as well as many entangled ropes.
    “What do you make of it, Nancy?” Bess asked in awe, as she descended the steps.
    Nancy said she