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now, was saying harshly:
    “You’d better tell us what your pal Nancy Drew is up to! And you don’t leave here until you do!”

CHAPTER X
    Bookshop Detectives
    BESS MARVIN sat in speechless amazement as her two captors continued to quiz her about Nancy’s sleuthing. How had they learned she was working on the case?
    “If you won’t talk,” the woman warned in a harsh voice, “you may never see her again!”
    Bess was terrified, for she feared these people might carry out their threat. Yet she did not intend to give away any of Nancy’s plans for solving the mystery.
    Two rough hands gripped Bess’s shoulders and shook her. She was sure they belonged to the red-haired man.
    “Listen here,” he said, “this silence won’t do you any good. If you won’t tell us what’s going on, we’ll get hold of that interfering young detective herself!”
    All this time Bess had been desperately racking her brain for a likely story to allay the suspicions of her captors. Suddenly an inspiration came to her.
    “Take your hands off me!” Bess ordered. “I’ll tell you why Nancy Drew is in New York.”
    “Well, it’s about time,” the woman said unpleasantly. “Talk and be sure it’s the truth!”
    Bess explained that Mr. Drew was a lawyer and his law cases took him to many places. Nancy often did research for her father in order to save him time.
    “Mr. Drew is planning a trip to Hong Kong,” Bess went on. “He thought if Nancy talked to some people who had been there, and read some good books on the subject, it would be of assistance to him. Mr. Drew’s case concerns a will.”
    There was a long silence, then Bess could hear the couple whispering. The imprisoned girl waited in an agony of suspense. Had her explanation been convincing enough? Would they let her go?
    In a few minutes the woman spoke. “We’re going to let you go. But not until after dark and not until we get you far away from this place. We don’t want you to know where you’ve been so you can inform the police.”
    “Yeah,” said the man. “You’d better not tell the police or anybody else anything, if you know what’s good for you!”
    A little later Bess was ordered to get up and walk. The woman held her by one arm, the man by the other. Presently she sensed that they had entered an elevator. She felt the descent, then Bess knew she was being led outdoors. She was shoved into a car and made to sit on the floor.
    The motor was already running and the car started off at once. The drive was a long one, and so jolting that Bess was continually bumping her face against the hard seats. She felt that she was surely coming out of this adventure with a black-and-blue nose!
    Finally, to her relief, the automobile was stopped. The couple helped Bess out and walked her a short distance.
    “Don’t move or you’ll get run over,” the woman warned her. “Somebody will come along and find you. And remember, don’t go to the police.”
    “Come on!” the man barked.
    Bess heard the car door slam and the automobile roar away.
    “Oh, where am I?” Bess wondered, thankful to be free, but feeling utterly helpless.
    From the freshness of the air and relative lack of traffic noise she figured she was out of the city. She could hear cars not too far away, but apparently none of the drivers saw her. Though Bess had been warned not to move, she did lean over and manage to feel the ground. Dirt and grass!
    “I’m at the side of some road,” she thought, straightening up again.
    At that instant Bess heard an oncoming car, then a screech of brakes. A moment later a car door opened and someone took off the blindfold. Her rescuer was an elderly man, and in the car sat a white-haired woman.
    “Oh, thank you, sir,” Bess gasped in relief. “Please untie my hands, too.”
    The man gave a grunt. “They carry these hazings too far!” he said. “What the fraternity boys do is bad enough, but when the sorority girls get to tying new members up and leaving