no!” Bess cried out. “You mustn’t let them! They might shoot another one of our ponies!”
They persuaded Pop to set up a watch for the remainder of the night.
“It will not be many hours until daybreak,” he said. “We would leave before then. You young folks go to sleep, and I’ll keep my eye open for that ornery thief.”
Chuck and Range would not hear of this arrangement. “We’ll take turns, same as we did before,” Range said.
The ranch owner was adamant. He said, “As soon as we get to the ranch, you boys will have to get to work. Me, now—” he smiled a little—“I can take a rest. You get yours now.”
There was no more conversation, and soon everyone except Pop and Nancy was sound asleep. Nancy snuggled into her sleeping bag, but lay staring up at the sky. She wished she had been able to get a better look at the thief. Who was he? Just a wanderer who stole horses whenever he had a chance?
The girl detective put this thought out of her mind. “I have a strong hunch,” she told herself, “that he’s after bigger stakes than stealing horses. Somehow or other he’s connected with the mystery I’m trying to solve. Oh well, maybe someday I’ll find out.”
She turned over and dozed off. When Pop’s cheerful whistle came to awaken the camp, it seemed to her that dawn had arrived very soon. All the girls were bleary-eyed, since they were not used to such early rising hours. The ride to the ranch in the invigorating, clear morning air thoroughly awakened them, however. In a little over three hours they reached the Hamilton Ranch, where an appetizing breakfast awaited them.
Bess asked Nancy afterwards if she had made any plans for the girls that day. The young detective shook her head. “I thought I’d work on this silver medal and try to decipher the strange figures on it.”
Bess and George were eager to help. All three girls copied the symbols on pieces of paper and then tried to figure out their meaning.
After twenty minutes had gone by with no results, Nancy suddenly snapped her fingers.
“I just thought of something!” she said. “One of the detective books I was reading had a chapter on handwriting. I recall that in one place it said that the lowest part of the letters in any word or sentence is extremely difficult to figure out.
“Possibly these queer-looking marks are the bottoms of letters. Let’s see what we can make out of them.”
Once more the three girls went to work. They covered several sheets of paper, trying to evolve full letters out of the symbols. Again there was complete silence for a long time.
Then suddenly Bess cried out, excited, “I think the second and third words are—‘bomb site’!”
CHAPTER IX
Magnetic Cloud
“BOMB SITE?” Nancy repeated. “It doesn’t mean anything to me. Where? What?”
“I know what it means to me,” Bess exclaimed fearfully. “We might be blown sky high!”
She insisted on telling Pop Hamilton about this at once, and rushed off.
Nancy and George were not frightened. The message did not indicate the bomb site was local. The girls continued to work on the puzzling message.
A few minutes later Nancy said, “I have the word before ‘bomb site.’ ”
“What is it?” George asked.
“Revolution!” the young detective replied.
George was stunned. “You’re right. I got as far as ‘rev,’ Nancy. The mystery is getting deeper.”
Bess returned, saying she could not find Pop Hamilton. She was shocked when she heard the word “revolution.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t stay here,” she said.
Nancy suggested that they all hunt for Pop, perhaps on horseback. The three girls searched for him, but could not locate the rancher. They finally concluded that he had ridden far out on the range.
“I guess we’ll have to wait until tonight,” Bess said. “But I admit I’m scared silly.”
A few minutes later Chuck rode in. He greeted the girls, said he had come only to pick up some tools, and was going right
They persuaded Pop to set up a watch for the remainder of the night.
“It will not be many hours until daybreak,” he said. “We would leave before then. You young folks go to sleep, and I’ll keep my eye open for that ornery thief.”
Chuck and Range would not hear of this arrangement. “We’ll take turns, same as we did before,” Range said.
The ranch owner was adamant. He said, “As soon as we get to the ranch, you boys will have to get to work. Me, now—” he smiled a little—“I can take a rest. You get yours now.”
There was no more conversation, and soon everyone except Pop and Nancy was sound asleep. Nancy snuggled into her sleeping bag, but lay staring up at the sky. She wished she had been able to get a better look at the thief. Who was he? Just a wanderer who stole horses whenever he had a chance?
The girl detective put this thought out of her mind. “I have a strong hunch,” she told herself, “that he’s after bigger stakes than stealing horses. Somehow or other he’s connected with the mystery I’m trying to solve. Oh well, maybe someday I’ll find out.”
She turned over and dozed off. When Pop’s cheerful whistle came to awaken the camp, it seemed to her that dawn had arrived very soon. All the girls were bleary-eyed, since they were not used to such early rising hours. The ride to the ranch in the invigorating, clear morning air thoroughly awakened them, however. In a little over three hours they reached the Hamilton Ranch, where an appetizing breakfast awaited them.
Bess asked Nancy afterwards if she had made any plans for the girls that day. The young detective shook her head. “I thought I’d work on this silver medal and try to decipher the strange figures on it.”
Bess and George were eager to help. All three girls copied the symbols on pieces of paper and then tried to figure out their meaning.
After twenty minutes had gone by with no results, Nancy suddenly snapped her fingers.
“I just thought of something!” she said. “One of the detective books I was reading had a chapter on handwriting. I recall that in one place it said that the lowest part of the letters in any word or sentence is extremely difficult to figure out.
“Possibly these queer-looking marks are the bottoms of letters. Let’s see what we can make out of them.”
Once more the three girls went to work. They covered several sheets of paper, trying to evolve full letters out of the symbols. Again there was complete silence for a long time.
Then suddenly Bess cried out, excited, “I think the second and third words are—‘bomb site’!”
CHAPTER IX
Magnetic Cloud
“BOMB SITE?” Nancy repeated. “It doesn’t mean anything to me. Where? What?”
“I know what it means to me,” Bess exclaimed fearfully. “We might be blown sky high!”
She insisted on telling Pop Hamilton about this at once, and rushed off.
Nancy and George were not frightened. The message did not indicate the bomb site was local. The girls continued to work on the puzzling message.
A few minutes later Nancy said, “I have the word before ‘bomb site.’ ”
“What is it?” George asked.
“Revolution!” the young detective replied.
George was stunned. “You’re right. I got as far as ‘rev,’ Nancy. The mystery is getting deeper.”
Bess returned, saying she could not find Pop Hamilton. She was shocked when she heard the word “revolution.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t stay here,” she said.
Nancy suggested that they all hunt for Pop, perhaps on horseback. The three girls searched for him, but could not locate the rancher. They finally concluded that he had ridden far out on the range.
“I guess we’ll have to wait until tonight,” Bess said. “But I admit I’m scared silly.”
A few minutes later Chuck rode in. He greeted the girls, said he had come only to pick up some tools, and was going right
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