The Secret of Shadow Ranch Read Online Free PDF Page A

It was cool and so dim they could barely see the small stream of water coming from a pipe in the center.
    While waiting her turn to fill her kettle, Nancy went outside to look around. She saw that between the ranch house and the foot of Shadow Mountain ran a heavy strip of woods which continued along the big meadow.
    “That’s where the phantom horse is supposed to appear,” Nancy reflected.
    Just then Bess came from the spring house. “Your turn, Nancy,” she called.
    The young sleuth hurried inside and placed her kettle under the stream of water. While waiting for it to fill she noticed a stone vat against the kitchen wall. It was about three feet square with a hinged wooden lid. “That’s where the old-timers stored milk products and eggs,” she thought.
    When Nancy reached the kitchen with her full kettle, Mrs. Thurmond was serving breakfast. As the girls sat down, Dave and Shorty came in. Nancy glanced at their boots. There was damp red mud on both pairs!
    As soon as the men finished eating, Dave stood up. “I’m going to Tumbleweed to get pump bearings,” he said to Nancy. “Mr. Rawley said you wanted to do an errand in town. You can ride along with me.”
    Nancy was glad the sheriff had not been mentioned. She said, “I’ll go, thank you, and I’ll bring George.”
    Dave scowled. “I’ll be in the pickup,” he replied abruptly and walked out.
    Nancy hurried to her room to get the warning notes and the rattle. The pickup was parked in the yard, and as soon as Nancy and George had climbed into the cab, Dave started it.
    Without saying a word, he drove out the ranch gate and turned onto a dirt road which stretched down the valley. The girls appeared to be relaxed, but they could not rid their minds of a distrust of Dave.
    Once he caught Nancy looking at his shoes. “Yes, Miss Detective,” he said, “that’s mud from outside the pump house. I was up before dawn this morning, and thought I heard a noise there. I didn’t find anyone, though. Must have scared off the pump-wrecker, but he came back later.”
    George asked why Dave was up so early, but he did not answer or speak again until they reached a small town of old-fashioned frame buildings. The cowboy parked the pickup on the main street.
    “I’ll meet you here in half an hour,” he said as he swung out of the truck. Nancy and George saw him go into a hardware store several doors away. Before them was a building with a sign: SHERIFF.
    As the girls entered the small office a gray-haired man swiveled around in his chair and rose to greet them. “I reckon you’re Miss Drew,” he said in a pleasant drawl. “I’m Sheriff Curtis.” His eyes twinkled. “Ed Rawley told me you’re aimin’ to help him find what’s causin’ the trouble at the ranch.”
    George spoke up. “And Nancy will, too.”
    “I sure wish you luck.”
    After hearing Nancy’s story and looking at the notes and rattle, he said, “I’ll hang on to these as evidence and phone the state and Phoenix law-men to keep an eye out for the hombre you saw at the airport. Keep me posted,” he added gravely, “and be extra careful, girls.”
    Nancy thanked him and the callers left. They still had twenty minutes to spare. George said she wanted to purchase a cowboy kerchief in the general store, so Nancy strolled along looking in shop-windows. The town seemed almost deserted and many of the stores were not yet open.
    Ahead, in the center of the street, grew a large cottonwood tree with a wooden bench built around the trunk. Nancy walked to it and was about to sit in the shade, when her eye was caught by a tall stack of Indian baskets outside the shop marked: MARY DEER—GIFTS.
    Nancy crossed over to look at them, then glanced through the window. Startled at what she saw, Nancy almost cried out. The shop was empty, except for a man with a black kerchief covering his face to the eyes. He was crouching in front of an open glass case, scooping jewelry into a paper bag!
    Heart pounding,