This Side of Evil by Carolyn Keene

“Come on. We’ve got to get her out of here!”
    Suddenly along the wall overhead a little to their right, a light flickered on in an office window. Then another light came on, this time on the catwalk that crossed the center of the building about twenty feet up. A door opened, and somebody came out onto the catwalk.
    “Ss-sh-sh,” Nancy said, crouching into the shadows. “It must be a guard.” Beside her, Ned made sure George was hunched down, too. “I wonder if Ms. Amberton thought to call them and tell them we’re here.”
    The silence was eerie. Then Nancy heard two loud, distinct chinks , like pieces of metal coming together.
    Ned put his hand on her arm. “That sounded like somebody loading a gun,” he whispered.
    Cautiously Nancy raised her head over the drum to see what was happening. The silence was broken by a loud Ka-boom! A bullet thudded into the wooden crate beside her. Someone was shooting at them!

Chapter Fifteen
    “ H EY, WHAT’S GOING on up there, Pete?” The startled shout came from the far end of the warehouse.
    “There must be two guards,” Nancy whispered to Ned. George let out a faint moan.
    “I thought I heard something, Charlie!” the guard on the catwalk yelled back. “I was just trying to scare ’em out into the open.”
    “Do you see anything now?”
    The guard craned his neck to look around. “No,” he admitted. “But I did hear something. Sounded like a piece of metal rolling around on the floor.”
    “I’ll bring the dog down and we can check it out.” A door slammed and there was silence.
    George moaned again. She was propped weakly against Ned’s shoulder.
    “Listen,” Ned whispered, “with George in this condition, we’re no match for a dog. Why don’t we just tell them who we are and why we’re here? They could call Ms. Amberton to confirm that it’s okay.”
    “No way,” Nancy retorted. “They might be working with the kidnapper. You take George and sneak to the exit. I’ll cover you guys by getting the guards’ and the dog’s attention.”
    “That’s too dangerous,” Ned objected. “Let’s think of something else.”
    Another door slammed. A dog began to bark loudly. “Go get them, Spike!” the man yelled.
    “There’s no time to argue,” Nancy said, jumping to her feet. “Get going!”
    As Ned grabbed George and started toward the exit, Nancy dashed out into the center aisle. She ran down it until she was sure she had been spotted. Then she ducked behind another pile of crates.
    “Hey, it’s a girl!” shouted Pete, the first guard. “There she goes!” Quickly, he climbed down a ladder from the catwalk. “She’s heading your way, Charlie! We’ve got her between us!”
    Good, Nancy thought. It was just what she wanted. With Pete down from the catwalk and coming in her direction, Ned and George would be able to slip past him and out the door at the end. Gingerly, she began to work her way among the crates toward the outside wall.
    But once she was against the wall, Nancy realized that she was in trouble. Where were the police? Pete was coming from one direction, with his gun; Charlie was coming from the other, with Spike. Ned and George must be safely outside by now, but she was trapped!
    “All right, little lady!” Charlie yelled. “We’ve got you. Come on out now.”
    Frantically, Nancy looked around. She noticed a large pile of wood shavings that were probably used for packing material. She reached in the pocket of her skirt. Yes, luckily they were still there—the book of matches she had picked up at the Greek restaurant a few nights before.
    Working fast, Nancy pushed a large pile of shavings up against the sheet-metal wall. She added an oily sack that had been draped over a barrel. Then she bent over and struck a match to the pile. There on the cement floor, the fire would do no real damage. But if her scheme worked, it would distract the guards long enough to let her get away.
    The yellow flames began to spread through