Free (#25) The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by Carolyn Keene Page B

car and asked that it be rebroadcast over the police radio.
    While they waited hopefully for action in response to Ned’s call, Nancy related her adventures. She described the underground passageway, the strange appearance and disappearance of the “ghost,” and the peculiar scraping sounds she had heard.
    “If the police don’t show up soon, we’ll investigate the ghost room with my flashlight,” Mr. Drew declared.
    “Look!” Nancy cried out. “There’s a car coming up the road.”
    The three quickly stepped behind some bushes and waited to see if they could identify the occupants of the approaching automobile before revealing their presence. To their relief, it was a State Police car.
    “My message must have been relayed to them!” Ned exclaimed. “Swell!”
    Two officers alighted, and the trio moved out of hiding to introduce themselves. Upon hearing the full details of what had happened, the troopers offered to make a thorough inspection of Blackwood Hall.
    Nancy, Mr. Drew, and Ned accompanied them back to the mansion.
    The police looked in every room but found no trace of its recent tenants. When they tackled the secret tunnel, Nancy stayed close behind, eager for a glimpse beyond the walnut door. It proved to be a tiny, empty room with no sign of a mysterious green light, a ghost or a human being. Furthermore, the room had no other exit.
    “Is this little room under the house? Or is it located somewhere under the grounds?” Nancy asked one of the officers.
    After making various measurements the men announced that it was located under the house, almost beneath the stairwell. It was not connected with the cellar, and no one could hazard a guess as to its original purpose.
    “You may have thought you saw a ghost, but don’t tell me anyone can get through a locked door,” one officer chided the girl.
    “I actually did see a figure in white,” Nancy insisted quietly. “Something or someone knocked the flashlight from my hand. See, it’s over there by the door.”
    In all fairness, Nancy could not blame the troopers for being a trifle skeptical. She almost began to doubt that she had ever had a frightening adventure in this spot.
    Observing Nancy’s crestfallen air, Mr. Drew said to the troopers, “Obviously this old house has been used by an unscrupulous gang. When they discovered we were here to check up on them, they moved out their belongings—my car as well.”
    “Stealing a car is a serious business,” one officer commented. “We’ll catch the thief, and when we do, we’ll find out what has been going on in the old Humphrey house. Meanwhile, we’ll have one of our men keep a close watch on this neck of the woods.”
    “No use sticking around here now,” the other trooper added. “Whoever pulled the job has skipped.”
    “I’m going to keep working on this case until all the pieces in the puzzle can be made to fit together—even the ghosts!” Nancy told her father.
    “Here’s a bit of evidence,” said the lawyer, taking the piece of telescopic rod from his pocket.
    One trooper recognized it at once as magicians’ or fake mediums’ equipment, and asked for it to hand in with his report. Ned turned over the pocket radio sending set which had proved so valuable in bringing the police.
    Though the license number of Mr. Drew’s car had been broadcast over the police radio, there was no trace of it that night. The following afternoon Mr. Drew was notified that the car had been found abandoned in an adjacent state.
    Accompanied by Nancy in her convertible, the lawyer traveled to Lake Jasper just across the state line. His automobile, found on a deserted road, had been towed to a local garage. Nothing had been damaged.
    “Some people have no regard for other folks’ property,” the attendant remarked. “Probably a bunch o’ kids helped themselves to your car to go joy riding.”
    But Nancy and her father were convinced that the car had not been “borrowed” by any joy riders. It