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she read them.
    “No. Go ahead,” Clem answered. “I reckon you’re curious.”
    Nancy tore open one of the envelopes. The letter inside was from Roscoe Thompson, the helicopter pilot. He would come to the dig at eleven o’clock the next morning to pick up his three passengers. Nancy reported this to Art, who smiled feebly.
    The other letter was from Mr. Drew. In it he told of a telephone conversation with his sister in New York. Aunt Eloise had given him some startling news.
    The letter read:
    “Boycey Osborne is very much concerned about one of his colleagues who was on the detective club trip. This man, A. C. E. Armstrong, left the group to go visit a brother in Rochester, New York. Now Boycey has learned that Armstrong never arrived there. No one has heard from him since he left his friends in Illinois. A search of hospitals has failed to reveal his whereabouts.
    “Everyone is extremely worried that Armstrong met with foul play. If you come upon any clues, Nancy, get in touch with Boycey immediately.”
    Shocked, Nancy read the letter aloud. Art and Clem were disturbed by the news.
    “Do you suppose,” Art asked, “that he might have been kidnapped and there’s some connection between his disappearance and that of Bob Snell?”
    “But they didn’t know each other,” Nancy replied, “and they were on different projects.”
    Clem wanted to hear more regarding Bob Snell, so they told him the whole story. The farmer said he would certainly keep his eyes open for clues.
    When Nancy and Art arrived at the farmhouse, the others were already eating lunch under the trees. The couple reported what they had learned. The girls were aghast at the story of the disappearance of A. C. E. Armstrong and a few of them hinted about going home before the situation became more dangerous.
    “I can’t say I blame you,” Theresa replied. “But you couldn’t go before tomorrow. I suggest that hereafter we have guards at both houses day and night.”
    “May I make a suggestion?” Nancy asked. “There must be some whistles in camp. Why don’t we use them to alert one another at a moment’s notice?”
    “A very good idea,” Theresa agreed.
    Only two whistles were found. At supper these were given to the two boys who would act as guards that night. Les Blake was to stand watch at the girls’ farmhouse.
    “Don’t hesitate to whistle if you see anything suspicious,” Theresa told him as she and the girls went into the house at bedtime.
    Nancy and Julie Anne packed their clothes in preparation for the take-off the following morning. Finally they got to bed and all the lanterns and flashlights were extinguished.
    Some time later Nancy was awakened by the shrill sounds of a whistle. For a moment she could not figure out why it was being blown, then suddenly she remembered. Les Blake was warning them of danger!
    The other girls had also been awakened. With Nancy leading them, they hurried to the door, beaming flashlights.

CHAPTER XI
    Problem in Jealousy
    As the girls rushed from the farmhouse, a bright light was turned on them, almost blinding the group. They could hear running footsteps.
    “What happened?” Julie Anne asked excitedly.
    At that moment the glaring light was switched away from them and focused onto two fleeing figures. All the girls beamed their own flashlights and now could see Les who carried a powerful electric lantern. He made no attempt to dash after the men so Nancy hurried up to him.
    “Let’s catch them!” she suggested, and started to run.
    Les held her back. “No, it’s too dangerous. Those men were going to kidnap you!”
    “What!” cried Julie Anne who had rushed to their side.
    Les explained that he had seen two figures approaching the house and hidden himself behind a bush to watch them. They had paused near him to talk in whispers.
    Les went on, “I heard one of them say, ‘I’ve been casing the place. I know which is the Drew girl’s bed. You wait here. I’ll go in and put her in a