The Flying Saucer Mystery (7 page)
Read The Flying Saucer Mystery Online
Authors: Carolyn Keene
“Whoa, Susan B!” the girl detective ordered. “Whoa!”
Ned heard Nancy’s frantic cries. Instantly he swung Goalpost in her direction. The horse whinnied and stumbled toward Susan B. By now the mare was reluctantly under Nancy’s control.
“Are you all right?” Ned shouted to Nancy.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied, though still a bit shaken. “Let’s go on.”
As the couple started out again, a slight mist began to rise. Oh, no, Nancy thought. We don’t need this. I must see the mystery spaceship.
It was only a short time later that she and Ned, shining their lantern searchlights ahead, picked up the dim outline of the flying saucer. It was resting in the center of the swamp in complete blackness.
“It really smells as horrible here as Old Joe said,” Ned remarked. “Do you want to stay?”
“I sure do,” Nancy replied. “Let’s go the rest of the way on foot. We can leave the horses tied to trees up here.”
By now the rain had almost stopped, although it continued to drip steadily from the trees. The ground in Dismal Swamp was spongy but passable. What almost stopped them, though, was the rank, gaseous odor. They wondered: How much of it was from the swamp and how much emanated from the flying saucer?
The craft itself was completely silent. Nancy whispered, “If any creatures are aboard, they’re either asleep or keeping quiet to avoid detection.”
Ned agreed. “And we’d better watch our step so we don’t run into any surprises.”
He and Nancy sloshed through the swamp, shining their powerful searchlights on the mysterious craft. They walked around it, but saw no windows or doors.
“How does anybody get in or out of this saucer?” Ned asked. “It seems to be sealed up tight.”
Nancy suggested that perhaps no one was aboard. “The craft may be operated by remote control,” she said.
“Just the same,” Ned remarked, “I’d like to go inside. Who knows what we’d find—maybe someone dead!”
Nancy was as curious as her companion to find out. “Let’s pound on the hull,” she said. “Maybe we’ll get a response.”
10
Space Trip
The rain had started to fall again and within seconds was coming down in torrents. Nancy and Ned, however, paid little attention to the deluge as they pounded on the flying saucer. Though they knocked until their knuckles were sore, no response came from the interior of the mysterious craft.
Finally Ned remarked, “Maybe we ought to try communicating by mathematical signals. Suppose I try a few that I’ve learned in my courses.”
He took a key from his pocket and tapped it against the spaceship. First he indicated a simple triangle. There was no response. Next he tried a more complicated geometric formula. Again there was no answer.
Nancy was astounded that although the hull seemed to be made of metal, Ned’s tapping made no metallic sound.
That’s strange, she thought, and mentioned it to Ned.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “This ship has some kind of soundproof shell. Even if there’s an intelligent being inside, it probably cannot hear my signals.”
Wondering what the ship was made of, Ned tried to scrape the surface with his key. He was unable to chip off anything.
“This is incredible!” he exclaimed. “I’d like to know what kind of outer material this is. Possibly some substance from a distant planet.”
He sighed, regretting he had not brought chemicals and testing equipment with him.
“Even if we could get in touch with some scientists nearby, they might not be able to reach here before the saucer takes off again.”
He and Nancy speculated on the spaceship’s source of energy.
“Whether it’s programmed or remote-controlled,” she remarked, “I’m inclined to think the ship is solar-powered. Perhaps the reason it’s stuck here in the swamp is that we’ve had so much cloudy and rainy weather. The saucer may not have stored up enough solar energy to lift itself off the ground and back up into the air.”
Ned said he wondered if the swamp itself exuded special gas that gave the ship buoyancy. “It smells bad enough around here to launch anything.” He grinned. “I hope you and I don’t suddenly take off!”
She laughed. “In this mud? No chance.”
Suddenly aware that they were standing in a deep quagmire of mud and water, Ned asked Nancy if she were ready to go back to camp.
“Are you kidding?” she replied. “I want to see what happens! Whoever or whatever controls the ship may decide to leave suddenly.”
“In that case,” Ned said, “why don’t we get those chocolate nut bars out of our saddlebags?”
“Good idea,” Nancy agreed.
First, they retethered the animals so they could reach down to nibble on grass and roots, and even sleep until the couple was ready to leave. They removed their rations from the saddlebags and returned to the flying saucer where they ate the chocolate bars.
“Amazing how satisfying one large piece of candy can be,” Nancy commented, leaning against the ship. She yawned.
“I feel better too,” Ned remarked sleepily.
Suddenly Nancy felt the spaceship vibrate. She was startled and noticed a side door opening slowly. A mechanical hand reached outside and beckoned her and Ned to come aboard.
“Shall we go?” she whispered to him.
He did not reply. To her surprise, he walked, as if dazed, toward the doorway. She followed.
When they reached the spaceship, the mechanical hand helped them step inside, then retracted. The door slammed shut.
The interior of the craft was brightly illuminated but not by lights that the couple could see and there was no sign of anyone—human or humanoid.
The walls were lined with flashing lights and many kinds of buttons, gadgets, and tools. Some of them Nancy recognized as hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches; others were totally unfamiliar to her.
She tried to ask Ned what some of the unusual ones were. To her utter astonishment, no sound came from her throat.
We must be in a void, she surmised, but we’re not having any trouble breathing. How strange!
More baffling was the fact that all her rain gear was gone. Ned’s was missing also. What had happened to it?
Did it evaporate? she asked herself, completely puzzled.
A feeling of fear crept over the young detective. Was she locked in the flying saucer? Were she and Ned about to be kidnapped by unseen space beings and taken away from the earth forever?
Ned, less frightened, began to examine the odd gadgets. None was labeled to give a clue to its use. Curious, he pushed a button on one wall. Sparks flew toward both him and Nancy, slightly scorching the backs of their hands.
Ouch! Nancy cried out, but again she made no audible sound.
The flying saucer vibrated convulsively and lifted from Dismal Swamp. Instantly it turned into a glass cage, climbing higher and higher at a terrific speed. Within seconds it soared above the mountaintop and spun into space.
Although the flying saucer twirled rapidly as it flew, Nancy and Ned managed to stand with ease. Strangely, they forgot their fears. Both of them tried to figure out what had caused the ship suddenly to become transparent. As they gazed outside, the misty sky changed to clear dark blue.
I’m—I’m getting dizzy, Nancy said, reaching for Ned’s hand.
Of course, he did not hear her, and she noticed that his eyes were closing. He too was becoming dizzy. Was it from the height or the speed? In a moment he lost his balance.
Poor Ned! Nancy thought. I—I hope—
Both of them toppled onto the deck. As they fell, the flying saucer swirled jerkily. They realized that it was descending. Where was it about to land?
Nancy and Ned tried to stay awake and to get up and look outside to see what was happening. Their efforts were in vain. They could not move. Within seconds both of them blacked out!
11
Human Birds
Nancy and Ned had no way of knowing how long they were blacked out. When they became conscious, they were no longer in the flying saucer.
Instead, Nancy and Ned were lying on luscious green grass. The cloudless sky above them was a beautiful blue and the sun was shining.
The spaceship was not in sight. Where did it go? Nancy asked herself, feeling a chill sweep over her.
She realized it was very cold where they were. Nancy turned on her side to speak to Ned.
Where do you think we are? she asked him. To her utter dismay she knew that still no sound came from her throat.
Ned sat up and looked at Nancy. He asked with concern, Are you all right?
The identical phenomenon had happened to him. He was uttering a thought but not out loud. Suddenly Nancy became aware of what Ned was thinking. The two of them were communicating by thought waves!
This is fantastic! Nancy decided.
The couple stood up and gazed around. Again Nancy asked silently: Where do you think we are, Ned?
He shrugged and replied, Maybe we’re somewhere on earth or marooned on another planet. My guess is we’re out in space.
For a few moments she and Ned were terrified. They had enjoyed their lives on earth so much that they were not ready to say good-bye to parents, relatives, and friends. Nancy chided herself for being so eager to solve the mystery of the flying saucer in the first place.
Ned thought-waved to her: Don’t panic! It may be nice here.
Alone and not knowing what else to do, the couple walked around, trying to warm up. The ground was spongy, and for the first time Nancy and Ned looked fully at each other. They were no longer wearing their own clothes!
Both of them had on tight-fitting military-type pants and coats in a silver color, with a matching helmet that fit snugly. There were no buttons or zippers.
How does one get into and out of these clothes? Nancy wondered.
Ned did not speak, but he smiled broadly. Nancy could not hear him laugh, but understood what he was thinking.
This is weird! he was saying to her silently.
There was nothing in sight. No buildings, no trees, just a rubberlike expanse of green grass.
Nancy thought-waved to Ned: If we’re not in heaven, but on some other planet, do you think the flying saucer will come back, pick us up, and take us home to earth?
Ned shrugged. I’m freezing in this silly costume, he responded. I feel like a person acting a part in some play, like
Earth Man Lost in Space.
Earth Man Lost in Space.
Nancy smiled. I do too, she told him.
The eerie silence had been nerve-racking. By chance the couple happened to look up at the sky. Not far above them a huge bird was flying. It looked like a combination eagle and airplane. As it passed overhead, the bird dipped its wings as if signaling to the couple below, then turned and repeated the gesture.
Was that a message for us? Nancy wondered, glancing at Ned.
At the same time she looked down at her feet. To her amazement the military-type silver pants ended in footgear that looked like bird’s claws.
I can’t believe it! Bird’s feet! She was puzzled by the whole thing.
Ned grinned. Maybe we’ve become birds! Human birds! You look pretty nifty at that, he told Nancy.
Are we supposed to fly? she responded, still amazed.
Automatically she pictured Ned as a bird and looked at the back of his broad shoulders. There were two retracted wings!
We are supposed to fly! she thought-waved to him. That’s what the bird was trying to tell us.
She pulled out the wings. They opened wide and in a few moments Ned was ready to fly.
Here I go! he announced.
Wait! Nancy pleaded. Don’t leave me here alone. She felt her own back, found a pair of wings like Ned’s, and asked him to pull hers out.
Nancy’s wings spread apart too. She wondered what she should do next in order to fly.
Ned solved the problem by indicating that she should run her fingers through the ends of the wings and hold on. He helped her do this, then put his own fingers to his feathery gear.
Ready! Set! Go! he signaled.
The couple ran as fast as they could over the uneven ground stumbling several times, then began to pump their arms. Within seconds they were airborne! Nancy loved her newfound freedom, as she and Ned soared over the landscape.
Isn’t this fun! she thought-waved to Ned who flew alongside her.
He replied, I wonder if I’d ever want to be an earthling again. Maybe it would be better to fly than to walk.
It dawned on Nancy that the two of them were moving at an incredible speed. She expected her arms to tire, but they had no feeling in them.
She pumped her wings a little harder and gathered speed. Strange! She did not feel wind rushing across her face. There was no sensation of any kind.
This is really contrary to everything I learned in science, she thought. Ned nodded that he, too, was puzzled.
After they flew without seeing any sign of life, they wondered what kind of creatures might be able to live in this environment. The place was entirely unpolluted.
Nancy smiled. People at home would like it here. There’s no smoke, no streams of water containing trash, no debris or poisonous chemicals.
Ned thought-waved to her, If anyone does live here, how do they survive? Nothing at all seems to be growing here except grass.
His flying companion speculated, Maybe it’s a planet of intelligent birds. But what do they live on? Everything needs air, food, and water.
Ned suggested with a grin that maybe the birds imported it all in capsules from another planet.
Nancy giggled at this idea. Bird importers!
After a long flight, the couple finally saw a cluster of buildings ahead. Was it a settlement?
They’re all shaped like flying saucers, she remarked, and Ned nodded.
Surely somebody would be around. But as the two friends flew over the extensive terrain, there was no sign of movement anywhere in the city.
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