The Eskimo's Secret by Carolyn Keene Page B

when I got the key. It was the only place we could think of before we split up.”
    “Of course,” Nancy said. “You did the right thing, the only thing you could do. I’m just sorry I spent so much time away.”
    “Have you managed to learn anything?” Ben asked, eyeing her packages curiously.
    “A little more,” Nancy said. “But nothing that will help us rescue my father and get the Tundra back.”
    “What are we going to do?” Alana asked. “We can’t stay here. They’ll be waiting outside for us, I just know they will.”
    Nancy nodded, aware that Alana was right. “It’s just as well that we’re all together,” she said, “because when we leave here, we won’t be able to come back until afterward.”
    “Afterward?” Alana’s voice held a note of apprehension.
    “I have to wait until the kidnappers call,” Nancy continued. “I have to make arrangements to exchange you for my father sometime tomorrow.”
    Alana’s expression was bleak, but she nodded.
    Nancy sighed. “Alana, I’m not going to, I told you that. The thing is, I want them to think that I’m cooperating. I’m just doing it to try to buy some time.”
    “Do you have a plan?” Ben asked.
    Nancy gave him a weak grin. “Not really,” she admitted, “but I’ll be making one.”
    “So what do we do now?” Alana asked. “Do you think they’ll come to this room?”
    Nancy looked around nervously, then frowned. “Where is the tape player?” she asked.
    Alana and Ben looked around the room just as she had. “Maybe the maid put it away,” Alana suggested. “I mean, the room has been made up."
    “She didn’t move anything else,” Nancy pro-tested, opening drawers and generally searching the room. With Ben and Alana helping her, it took only a few moments to be sure that the tape player was gone.
    “I suppose it could have been stolen,” Ben murmured, but his tone told Nancy that he didn’t believe that any more than she did. “Reclaimed would be more likely,” Nancy said. “After all, it would have been evidence of my father’s abduction.”
    “What will we do?” Alana shivered.
    “I think you two should go next door,” Nancy said. “You still have the key, don’t you, Ben?” Ben nodded.
    “I don’t think they’ll check that room, even if they come here,” Nancy said, then as the two started toward the door, she called them back. “I do have something that might come in handy,” she said, opening her sack.
    “What in the world?” Alana asked as Nancy produced the wrinkled uniforms.
    “Disguises,” Nancy said. “I just happened to ride up in the elevator with the laundry. I thought these outfits might help us get out of here without being noticed.”
    “Good idea,” Ben said.
    “Now, my only worry is a car. I haven’t had a chance to get a new rental one.”
    “No problem,” Ben answered proudly. “After they gave up chasing me, I figured that was my chance to get a car, so I called a mechanic friend of mine and borrowed his pickup. It’s old, but it has a brand-new engine. I put it in one of those all-night parking garages.”
    “Ben, you’re wonderful,” Nancy said, giving him a hug.
    “Only if we aren’t caught,” Ben replied, suddenly shy. “Come on, Alana.” He took his uniform. “Let’s get out of here and give Nancy time to make a plan.”
    “Just pound on the wall if you need me,” Nancy told them.
    “You pound for us as soon as you hear from Cole and Borge,” Alana said, looking around nervously. “I really don’t think we should stay here any longer than we have to.”
    “Neither do I,” Nancy agreed.
    Ben and Alana left and Nancy opened the drapes, hoping the daylight would lift her spirits, but it had little effect. There was no sunlight, and heavy clouds seemed to promise rain before nightfall.
    Nancy got out the map of the islands and put it on the table. Rain just might be an advantage.
    It was nearly an hour before the telephone rang, startling her so much