The Message In The Hollow Oak Part 27

"I'd say," Bob went on, "that because you found both Mr. Armstrong and myself, Kadle will pretty nearly go berserk. Nancy, I'm afraid you are in serious danger."

The young detective brushed off the idea. She whispered to Bob, "Did you pick up any clues about a hollow oak?"

"Maybe," he replied. "I did see something that the men didn't notice. About two hundred feet beyond the open field there's a giant oak. I don't know if it's hollow, but there's a tremendous lump on the trunk. Perhaps something is underneath it."

Ned remarked in a concerned tone, "I think the quicker we get these prisoners to State Police Headquarters the better."

The other young people agreed he was right. Bob and Burt started off with their captives.

After they had gone, Nancy and her friends hurried across the open field and found the oak tree easily. There was indeed a good-sized hump on the trunk, but the tree was not hollow.

Ned brought out his hunting knife and chipped off the bark over the lump. The others watched intently. Finally his efforts were rewarded.

"Here's a lead plate," he said, and pried it loose. After he had cleaned it off, the initials P.F. were revealed. This was followed by an arrow pointing directly north.

Bess sighed. "Pere Franois certainly must have traveled around to many Indian villages. When are we going to come to the end of our search?"

"Good question," George replied. "Well, let's head north!"

The five friends walked along silently, watching for a hollow oak. After a while they heard the sound of a waterfall. In a few minutes they arrived at the edge of a steep embankment. It led down to a rus.h.i.+ng stream which tumbled over a rock ledge. In the wet and shadowy depths under the falls Nancy saw something which made her heart beat faster.

"Look!" she exclaimed. "There's an oak tree wedged under that waterfall. It's being held in place by rocks."

"Great!" Dave remarked and added, "Here's the stump on the embankment. The tree must have rotted, then been blown over by a heavy wind. It rolled down into the stream."

The whole group was excited now. They realized that if the mammoth tree was rotten at the stump, it no doubt was hollow all the way through.

"I'm going down to investigate," Nancy announced.

"Not without me," Ned said firmly.

He took her arm and the two started down the slippery embankment. A moment later the earth gave way. The couple lost their footing and slid toward the water.

"Oh!" Bess screamed above them.

Nancy and Ned managed to break their fall just before reaching the rocky stream. Now they stood up and gazed at the giant oak which reached from bank to bank. They leaned down and peered through a hole in it. The tree was indeed hollow.

"Could this be the real hollow oak?" Nancy asked excitedly.

"Let's inspect it!" Ned urged.

The two waded into the stream and examined the bark. Nancy hoped fervently that if there were a hump indicating an object underneath, it would not be on the underside of the tree.

"Here's something!" she called out in a few moments.

George shouted down, "What do you think?"

"Tell you in a moment," Ned replied. "Dave, did you bring along your little hatchet?"

"I sure did," Dave replied.

He came down the embankment cautiously. George and Bess stayed at the top and kept looking around them to see if anyone were watching. If Kadle had not been captured and were in the neighborhood he would surely try to interfere.

Using the hatchet, Dave soon uncovered another name plate. On it were the initials P.F. but there was no arrow!

"We've found it! We've found it!" Nancy cried gleefully.

The tree was quite rotted. The young people figured it could not have been in the water very long, or it would have fallen apart. After a few gentle whacks with the hatchet they came to the hollow section.

"Oh!" Nancy murmured.

Inside lay a long, narrow metal box. Ned lifted it out, then the elated finders started up the embankment with it.

"I can't believe it!" Bess called down. "You've found the treasure!"

Nancy was almost too excited to speak. She could hardly wait to see what was in the box. Because of its size and weight she realized there must be something more inside than just the message. The metal box was laid on the ground at the top of the embankment and brushed off.

"Here are Pere Franois's initials." George pointed.

There was a lock but no key. The metal had rusted, however, and with little effort Ned pried the lid open. In the box lay a copper hunting horn decorated with exquisite Limoges porcelain work depicting scenes in France.

"It's beautiful," said Bess as Nancy lifted the horn from the box.

"The message must be hidden inside!" she exclaimed .

Nancy was about to put her hand into the horn when a voice near the group commanded:

"Hand that over to me!"

CHAPTER XX.

Kit and Caboodle

NANCY and her friends whirled to see who had ordered her to hand over the treasure.

Kadle! Beside him stood a man with a gun.

Nancy's heart sank. After all her hard work, was she going to have to surrender her discovery to a thief? Defiantly she asked, "Why should I give this to you?"

"Never mind the reason!" Kadle shouted angrily. "Come here, all of you!"

Bess, trembling, started to walk ahead. Dave stepped to her side.

The next moment Nancy, Ned, and George spotted two state troopers hurrying toward them among the trees. The three friends exchanged looks. Then, playing for time, Nancy continued to oppose Kadle.

"What would you do with this?" she asked. "And how much would you pay for it?"