CHAPTER VIII An Important Communication
Madge flung open the cabin door and burst in upon Enid who was lying upon the bed, though fully awake.
“Look at this!” she cried. “I found it in your father’s cabin just now.”
“What is it?” Enid demanded, abruptly rising.
“It’s a communication from those men who kidnapped your father. Read it!”
Enid snatched at the paper and eagerly scanned the message. It read:
“Deliver the Zudi Drum Bowl on midnight of the 29th at the white birch on Cedar Point if you wish to save your father. Come alone and communicate with no one. If the police learn of this note, your father’s life will be the forfeit.”
The note was signed with three triangles and a strange symbol, unlike anything the girls had ever seen before.
“How dreadful!” Enid gasped.
“What does it all mean?” Madge demanded. “Did you ever hear of this thing they call the Zudi Drum Bowl?”
Enid nodded soberly. Her face was very white.
“Oh, Madge, I’m afraid we’re dealing with a band of the worst sort of criminals,” she half whispered. “This isn’t an ordinary kidnapping case. It’s the Zudi Drum that has caused all the trouble.”
“Tell me what it’s all about,” Madge commanded. “This note is Greek to me.”
“You know Father collects antiques and the like,” Enid explained. “He has things from all over the world. The Zudi Drum Bowl is one of his most cherished trophies.”
“Just what is it?”
“It’s a sort of drum used in former times by a primitive tribe of Indian natives. It looks like a huge jar, elaborately decorated, but the mouth has an overhanging lip so that when a dried skin is stretched over the opening, it can be used as a drum. It was used only for special ceremonial meetings, I believe.”
“How did your father get possession of it?”
“It was during our trip to India, two years ago. He purchased it from an antique dealer and paid a steep price for it too.”
“If it is so valuable that may explain why the kidnappers are trying to get it.”
“The drum would have slight value to anyone not interested in antiques. I can’t understand how the news leaked out that it was in Father’s possession. He took pains to keep the matter quiet.”
“Where is Cedar Point?” Madge questioned next.
“Up the bay about fifty miles, I’d judge. In a most desolate locality.”
“You have no intention of going there, of course.”
“Oh, but I must!” Enid cried. “It’s the only way to save Father. The Zudi Drum is valuable, but I can’t consider the cost.”
“I was thinking of other things besides the value of the trophy,” Madge said slowly. “I was thinking of your own safety. You mustn’t go to Cedar Point alone, Enid. Turn the note over to the police. They’ll know how to deal with the situation.”
“Oh, no, I can’t do that! For Father’s sake we must obey orders implicitly. I’ll give them the Zudi Drum Bowl—anything they ask.”
Madge saw that it was useless to argue with Enid in her present distraught state of mind. However, she did not give up the idea of trying to persuade her chum to her way of thinking at a later time. She believed that they were dealing with a clever band of criminals, a group of men who would stop at nothing to further their own schemes. It seemed to her that if Enid went alone to Cedar Point, she would only invite trouble. Even if the Zudi Drum were turned over to the kidnappers, there was no assurance that Mr. Burnett would be released.
“I wish Jack French were here,” she thought, “he would know what to do.”
“I’m not sure where the Drum Bowl is,” Enid broke in upon her reflection, “but I know it’s not here on the yacht. Father must keep it with his other valuables at home. The place has been closed up for weeks.”
“But your home is two hundred miles up the coast, Enid.”
“I know, I must find some way to get there.”
“Today is the twenty-seventh,” Madge reminded.
“Perhaps Rex will take me in his amphibian. I’ll get there somehow.”
Madge made no further attempt to discourage Enid, for she scarcely knew what was the wisest course to follow if they were not to disclose their information to the police. It struck her as most singular that the kidnappers would go to such lengths to secure possession of a trophy which apparently was highly valued only by collectors. She could have understood a demand for a large sum of money but no such request had been made.
“I wonder how the note was left in Father’s room?” Enid mused. “I’m sure it wasn’t there yesterday.”
“No, the detectives surely would have found it for they went over the place with a fine tooth comb.”
“I don’t see how it could have been left while we were away this morning either,” Enid went on reflectively. “With the sailors here, it would have been impossible.”
“My guess is that the note was left by last night’s prowler.”
“We were in the cabin after that.”
“Yes, but we didn’t really look around much. We were too frightened. And naturally, we never dreamed that he had left a note behind.”
Madge was troubled by another thought which she decided not to confide to her chum, lest it worry her unnecessarily. It occurred to her that the kidnappers were in close touch with the situation aboard the yacht, else they could not have known of Enid’s release. The note obviously had been addressed to her, though her name had not been mentioned.
“Someone is keeping close watch here,” she reflected uncomfortably. “Likely enough, our every action is known.”
Enid broke in upon her thoughts to suggest that they both return to Mr. Burnett’s cabin, as she was curious to see exactly where the note had been found. They spent perhaps fifteen minutes in the room, finding no further evidence of the midnight prowler.
“I’ll ask the sailors if they permitted any stranger on deck while we were gone this morning,” Enid announced, “though I’m confident the note was brought here last night.”
She questioned the men in turn, only to learn that Rex had been the sole person to come aboard.
“I hope he comes back before evening,” Enid said anxiously. “If he can’t take me to my home at Bay City, I must find another means of getting there.”
“You’re still determined to go through with it?” Madge asked.
“Oh, yes, it’s the only way of saving Father.”
Madge started to speak, then waited as one of the sailors approached. He paused to address Enid.
“I beg your pardon, Miss Burnett. While I was swabbin’ down the deck, I found this here doodad. I thought maybe it belonged to you.”
He dropped a tiny trinket into her hand and turned away.
“It doesn’t belong to me,” Enid said. “Have you lost anything, Madge?”
“Why, no, what is it?”
Enid extended the palm of her hand upon which lay a small jade pin.
“I think I’ve seen that before, or one just like it,” Madge said, a queer note in her voice. “Mind if I borrow it for a little while? I may be able to find the owner, and if I do, I’ll promise interesting developments!”
