The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene

the bed. “You’re ill! How long have you been here?”
    He tried to answer her but succeeded only in making an unintelligible murmur.
    “We’d better get him out of here right away,” Nancy said, turning to Ned. “You stay with him while I go downstairs and call the police.”
    “What do you think you’re doing, young lady?” demanded the woman, who had finally reached the top of the stairs and stood panting in the doorway. “You’d better mind your own business if you know what’s healthy for you!”
    Nancy said nothing as she hurried down the stairs. She got Lieutenant Hennessy and told him where she was.
    “A radio car will be there in three minutes, Miss Drew,” he said. “Be careful. You’re not among friends.”
    The police arrived in record time, secured what information they could from the boardinghouse keeper, and transferred Captain Easterly to a hospital. He seemed to improve rapidly, now that he knew he was safe.
    He told Nancy, Ned, and the police that while sitting quietly in a waterfront restaurant, sipping a cup of coffee, he had felt very ill. A stranger had offered to help him. They got into a taxi and that was the last thing the captain remembered until Nancy’s arrival.
    He had been too dizzy to notice what the man looked like. The doctor told them that Easterly’s coffee must have been drugged when the captain was not looking. The police set a watch on the boardinghouse to catch the man who had pretended to be the captain’s nephew.
    It was long past the time Nancy and Ned had agreed to meet the others at the hotel, so after bidding the captain good night, they hurried away. Bess, George, and the boys were already halfway through dinner.
    “We couldn’t wait any longer,” Bess said. “What happened to you two?”
    “Plenty.” Ned grinned, pulling out a chair for Nancy. “We found Captain Easterly and took him to a hospital.”
    “What!” George looked amazed, but her eyes fairly popped when they told her where they had found him, and that he had been drugged. “I might have known we’d miss something exciting,” she sighed.
    Dave turned to Nancy. “If somebody went to all that trouble to get the captain out of the way,” he said, “there must be something mighty valuable on the ship.”
    She nodded. “I wish there were some way to get the clipper out of Boston,” she said thoughtfully. “If we could only move it!”
    Burt, who was an excellent sailor, reminded her that it was no small trick to sail a clipper ship. “You need some pretty sharp hands aboard.”
    George put down her fork. “There are six of us. Why couldn’t we sail the Bonny Scot, with directions from Captain Easterly? We’ve all practically grown up on sailboats.”
    “A little pleasure boat is a picnic to sail,” Burt spoke up, “compared to a craft like this one. I’ll bet, George, you don’t even know the names of the masts on the Bonny Scot.”
    “Yes, I do. Fore, main, and mizzen. And besides, you have the foresail, the staysail, the jibs, the skysails, the—”
    “Very salty.” Burt grinned. “I apologize.” Nancy said no more about moving the Bonny Scot, but she resolved to talk to Captain Easterly about it first thing in the morning. She awoke very early, slipped into her clothes, and left the room without rousing Bess and George. Nancy had a quick breakfast in the hotel coffee shop, and went to the hospital.
    Captain Easterly was himself again—his blue eyes had regained their accustomed glint, and his voice as he greeted her was deep and hearty.
    “Get me out of here, Nancy,” he begged. “Nothing wrong with me.”
    Nancy smiled. “We’ll see what your doctor says.” She sat down and faced him earnestly. “Captain, do you think we could move your ship out of reach of these criminals?” She told him about the boys and their knowledge of sailing gained on the river and the lakes at home.
    Captain Easterly looked skeptical. “Pretty big undertaking, Nancy,” he said.