The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene

tonight might be just the right time.”
    The young people did not believe a word of the legend, but they trooped to the deck in a more lighthearted mood than they had been in before. Nancy, Bess, and Captain Boge were pleased.
    The whole group stayed up until midnight watching for the apparition, but did not see it. The next morning, however, Julie Anne declared she had been the girl ghost in her dreams.
    “The young man in the boat who came to get me—was Art!” Everyone laughed and the other girls wondered if there were a double meaning in Julie Anne’s remark.
    The young people spent another pleasant day on the boat. At nightfall they saw the familiar shoreline of Cairo ahead.
    They had already packed their bags and began saying good-by to the captain and crew. As the tugboat drew alongside to take them off the Sally 0, the men gathered to wave.
    Nancy lingered a moment to speak privately to Captain Boge. “Please don’t worry about us. We honestly had a marvelous time and I assure you we’re all good friends.” The captain squeezed her hand understandingly and wished her well.
    As soon as they reached the dock, Nancy asked Ned if he would mind telephoning Roscoe Thompson, the helicopter pilot. “Ask him to meet us at Cairo. We can taxi to the airfield.”
    The others waited for him. He rejoined them, smiling. “Roscoe will be there.”
    By the time the group reached the field, he was waiting for them. Nancy introduced him to Bess, George, Ned, Burt, and Dave.
    “It’ll be a tight squeeze,” he said, “but we’ll manage. It’s not a long ride to the dig.”
    Before leaving, Nancy telephoned the State Police and learned there was no news of Bob Snell, and Kadle and his pals were still at large.
    “I suppose they’ll come to the dig,” she thought. “We must keep our eyes open.”
    When the helicopter was airborne, Nancy asked Roscoe if he had done any searching from the air for Bob Snell.
    “Yes, but I didn’t spot anything suspicious. I sure hope somebody finds him soon.”
    As the helicopter set down, all the diggers heard it and ran out to greet Nancy and her friends. During the introductions and chatter that followed, Roscoe took off. Nancy immediately mentioned Bob Snell.
    “His father came out here the day you left to meet your friends,” Theresa said. “Mr. Snell is staying in Cairo and making his own investigation.”
    The newcomers were besieged with questions about the towboat trip and the treasure hunt.
    Julie Anne and Art joined in giving answers. Everyone was glad to hear A.C.E. Armstrong had been rescued and thought it was clever of Nancy to have tracked him down.
    “He was able to clear up a good bit of the mystery,” she said. “We can start all over again looking for the message in the hollow oak.”
    The group went to the girls’ farmhouse to hear the whole story over an evening snack. Afterward, Nancy saw Bess and Theresa walking up and down in front of the house together. The girl was talking animatedly and the director was nodding and smiling. Nancy wondered what the conversation was about, but Bess offered no explanation and Nancy did not prod her.
    When it was time for the boys to leave, Nancy noticed that Art did not invite her friends to go with him. He stalked ahead alone. Todd took charge of them and they disappeared along the path leading to the boys’ dormitory.
    There were two extra beds in one of the girls’ rooms. Bess and George were assigned to them.
    Early the next morning when the boys arrived Art was on his motorcycle. Nancy explained to Theresa that she had asked him to go over to Clem Rucker’s home and see if he would rent his farm truck to her. She planned on Ned’s driving it in her search for the special oak tree.
    Art roared off. He was back in a little while with the truck, the motorcycle lying in the rear. Sweet-smelling hay covered the board floor and Nancy was glad to see this, but knew it would hardly cushion the ride. It was not going to be a