Not until she had reached the blue roadster which stood waiting at the edge of the forest did Nancy Drew pause in her flight. As she climbed into the automobile, she cast a glance over her shoulder and was relieved to see that Jacob Aborn had not followed her.

“I believe that man intended to strike me,” she thought grimly. “He became positively vicious when I refused to tell him where Laura is. It’s plain that he intends to get her back if he can, and it’s up to me to prevent it. I’m not sure what his game is, but I intend to find it out!”

Nancy started the motor, and after backing around in the narrow road, drove slowly toward the main highway. She felt that she had made a number of important discoveries concerning Laura’s queer guardian, but just how she could utilize the information she did not know.

She was inclined to believe that there was something rather mysterious about the deserted bungalow in the woods. What was Jacob Aborn doing in the vicinity and why had he been so afraid that she would investigate the place?

“He’s up to mischief, that’s certain,” she told herself, “and it bodes no good for Laura Pendleton.”

Not for a minute did Nancy Drew believe the charges Jacob Aborn had made against his ward. She was convinced that he had made them in order to induce her to tell him where Laura had gone.

“I don’t know what to do,” she thought. “I don’t want to leave Melrose Lake until I have learned something that will help Laura. Unless I do, that man may find out she is staying with me and force her to return. I suppose he would have a legal right to do that.”

As Nancy drove slowly along the road, she turned the perplexing problem over in her mind. At last an idea came to her.

“Why didn’t I think of it before? I’ll go to one of the hotels on the lake and engage a room. Then after it gets dark I’ll do a little investigating.”

Nancy recalled that Laura had told her there were several nice hotels a few miles farther on, and at once she determined to stop at the first one she came to. Presently she approached the Beach Cliff Hotel, and as it appeared satisfactory, she registered and engaged a comfortable room overlooking the lake.

“I must telephone home,” Nancy decided. “If I don’t, Laura will be worried to death.”

Accordingly, she placed a long distance call to River Heights and after a short wait heard Hannah’s voice at the other end of the wire. In response to her request, Laura was called to the telephone. Nancy explained quickly where she was and that she intended to investigate Jacob Aborn’s cottage as soon as it grew dark. There was a pause, and then Laura’s anxious voice reached her.

“Oh, Nancy, I’m afraid to have you try that.”

“I’m sure I’ve struck a clue, Laura, and it would be foolish of me to come home without investigating.”

“Do be careful.”

“I will,” Nancy promised. “Has father come back from St. Louis yet?”

“No, he hasn’t returned.”

Nancy was disappointed, for she had wished to ask his advice.

“Then I guess that’s all,” she told Laura.

“When will you get back to River Heights?”

“I don’t know, Laura. It all depends on what I discover. If I don’t telephone again within twenty-four hours send the police to Jacob Aborn’s bungalow looking for me.”

Just then the telephone operator warned Nancy that her time was up, and she hastily hung up the receiver. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was five o’clock.

“At least three hours to wait,” Nancy sighed.

She sank down in a comfortable chair and attempted to read a magazine, but soon gave it up. She realized that the adventure before her was apt to prove a dangerous one. Although unafraid, she was somewhat nervous and waited impatiently for nightfall.

“I wish I had brought dad’s revolver,” she thought. “I may need it before I get through.”

It was Nancy’s plan to visit Jacob Aborn’s residence on the lake, and, if she had sufficient time, the deserted bungalow she had accidentally noticed in the forest. She did not know what she expected to discover. She knew only that she was playing a hunch and that frequently her swift impressions were correct.

At six o’clock she went downstairs for dinner. As she sat alone at a small table in one corner of the room, many diners regarded her with interest, for Nancy Drew was an unusually attractive girl, and the prospect of a daring adventure had brought a becoming flush to her cheeks.

Upon leaving the dining room, she loitered about the veranda for a few minutes, watching the dancers, gazing at the lake, and enjoying the music of the orchestra. But she soon went to her own room.

The moment it became dark enough for her purpose, she left the hotel and called for her roadster, which she had parked at a garage only a short distance away. Eagerly she set off toward Jacob Aborn’s bungalow.

Laura had told her how to reach the house. There were two means of approach, one from the lake road and one through the forest. Nancy selected the latter road, believing it to be more secluded. As she drew near the bungalow, she turned the automobile out of the road and ran it into a clump of bushes where it would not be seen. Switching off the engine and locking the doors, she took her flashlight and set off afoot through the woods toward the lake.

Catching her first glimpse of the bungalow, Nancy was impressed.

“What a beautiful summer home,” she thought. “If only Jacob Aborn were different, how happy Laura might have been here.”

Continuing through the woods, Nancy cautiously approached the house from the rear. Pausing in the shadow of the trees, she hesitated uncertainly.

“If Jacob Aborn catches me here, there’s no telling what he’d do to me,” she thought uneasily.

The windows of the bungalow were dark. That suited Nancy’s purpose, for she had no intention of attempting to enter the house if Jacob Aborn were at home. Although courageous, she was not foolhardy.

Now that she had reached the bungalow, Nancy asked herself what course she should follow. She comprehended the risk she must take if she entered the house. Should Jacob Aborn catch her in the act, he would probably cause her arrest. Would it be wise to take the chance?

“I’ll try it, anyway,” she decided resolutely. “I must help Laura.”

With a quick glance about to make sure that there was no one in the vicinity to observe her actions, she darted across the clearing and came to the side door. Gently turning the handle, she found the door locked.

“I’ll get in through a window,” she thought.

An investigation of several windows on the ground floor revealed that they, too, were securely fastened. Nancy was troubled until she recalled that Laura had told her she had left the window of her room unfastened. From her description, Nancy thought she could locate the room and effect an entrance.

After a complete tour of the house, she paused below a window which she believed must be the one Laura had mentioned. Glancing up, she noticed a rose trellis which reached from the ground to the second floor. Making a critical examination, she decided that it would be strong enough to bear her weight.

As quietly as possible, she climbed the trellis. The fragile structure wobbled and creaked, but did not give way. Slightly out of breath, Nancy Drew reached the window ledge.

Trying the window, she found to her delight that it could be raised easily. She crawled through and switched on her flashlight.

She knew at once that she was in Laura’s room, for in her flight the girl had left nearly all of her possessions behind. However, there was no time to look around, for as Nancy tiptoed across the room, she was startled to hear a peculiar noise.

Halting abruptly, she listened. To her ears came the unmistakable sound of a heavy footstep on the stairway. Someone was coming!

Nancy feared that she was trapped. There was not sufficient time for her to climb through the window and descend the trellis. Was it possible that Jacob Aborn was in the house after all? The darkened windows had led her to believe that he was away, and in climbing up the trellis she had not been as quiet as she might have been. Perhaps he was coming to find out the cause of the noise. The thought struck her with terror.

Desperately, she looked around for a hiding place. She saw a closet, and darted toward it. Scarcely had she stepped inside and closed the door, when she heard the footsteps coming toward Laura’s room.

Frantically, Nancy Drew switched off her flashlight and crouched in a far corner behind a mass of dresses. Scarcely daring to breathe, she waited.