Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene Page B

treatment?”
    “Fool that I was, yes!” snapped Mrs. Eldridge. “But you haven’t kept your part of the bargain to me or to any of the other ladies. You promised a special secret treatment—so secret you don’t want anybody to know about it. That’s why you have this isolated place.”
    “The special treatment to restore youthful vigor isn’t ready yet,” Dr. Bell replied. “But it will be very expensive. I must have the extra money now.”
    “Oh!” Nancy thought. “He’s undoubtedly a fraud!”
    “I demand that you let me go,” Mrs. Eldridge cried out.
    “We can’t do that,” Dr. Bell said. “It would discredit our sanatorium to have a person leave in a poor state of health. Besides, I have your signed declaration that you are a patient here of your own accord, and that you agree to remain as long as I think necessary. Naturally, I forbid you to go.”
    Mrs. Eldridge glanced quickly toward the woods where the girls were concealed. In a loud, clear voice, she said, “You wish me to sign over to you many thousands of dollars, in addition to the three thousand I have already paid you.”
    “And why not?” Dr. Bell retorted irritably. “There are other patients whom I have charged more.”
    “Well, I suppose that once the papers are signed, I won’t live very long,” the old lady said meaningfully.
    “You will feel like a girl again,” Dr. Bell replied.
    “I’d rather live without youthful vigor and be out of here!” Mrs. Eldridge said, closing her eyes. “I won’t sign a thing. If you should kill me, you won’t get a cent. That’s all. I wish you would go. I am very tired.”
    Nancy saw the doctor’s face turn red. His beard seemed to bristle, and his eyes blazed with rage.
    “You’ll sing a different tune if you don’t do as I say,” he fumed. “I’ve wasted enough time on you. I will give you until nine o’clock tonight to come to your senses!”
    “Oh, you are a brute,” Mrs. Eldridge cried. “If only some good angel would come to my little room in that hot south corner on the third floor and rescue me!”
    “Say, what are you talking about?” Dr. Bell asked, looking about him suspiciously. “You don’t think any angels are listening to your careful directions, do you?”
    The girls could not help grinning.
    Dr. Bell turned and shouted, “Luther!” A man in a white uniform came out of the gatehouse. “Take Mrs. Eldridge to the porch!” the doctor snapped. “Any word about the new patient?”
    “A message arrived by Bird X that she will be here at nine,” the attendant said with a wink as he wheeled Mrs. Eldridge away.
    Swiftly, the girls made their way toward the car. Nancy took the wheel and headed for the highway. As they drove along, the sun broke through the overcast.
    “We’re going to Glenville,” she said. “It’s about five miles from here. George can see a doctor there.”
    “What about Mrs. Eldridge?” Bess asked.
    “No plan yet,” Nancy said tersely, “but I’m thinking.”
    Her companions asked no more questions. When they reached the small town, Bess went with George, while Nancy telephoned Ned from the drugstore. She told him what had happened and alerted him to his part in the plan she had devised.
    “You can count on me,” he said.
    An hour later the girls met in a sandwich shop for a late lunch. “My ankle isn’t sprained,” George reported. “The doctor put on a bandage and it feels better.”
    “Good,” said Nancy. “Are you ready for danger?” she asked soberly.
    “Of course we are,” George answered steadily.
    “Anything to get those poor old ladies free and home to their families,” Bess added.
    “Then right after we eat, I’m going shopping, while you two hire a black sedan. You may have to ride to another town for it, so let’s meet here about five. Then I’ll tell you the plan.”
    At the appointed time Nancy came hurrying down the street, her arms filled with packages. A black sedan was parked at the curb behind