Тайна загадочной лестницы [with w_cat] | страница 10

[123] "Whew! That was a narrow escape!" the lawyer exclaimed, as he helped his daughter retrieve her pumps which had come off in the oozy bank. "And what sights we are!" Nancy remarked.

[124] "Indeed we are," her father agreed, as they trudged up the incline. "I'd like to get hold of the workman who was careless enough to leave that heavy truck on the slope without the brake on properly."

[125] Nancy was not so sure that the near accident was the fault of a careless workman. Nathan Comber had warned her that Mr. Drew's life was in danger. The threat might already have been put into action!

[127] "WE'D better get home in a hurry and change our clothes," said Mr. Drew. "And I'll call the contracting company to tell them what happened."

[128] "And notify the police?" Nancy suggested.

[129] She dropped behind her father and gazed over the surrounding ground for telltale footprints. Presently she saw several at the edge of the spot where the truck had stood.

[130] "Dad!" the young sleuth called out. "I may have found a clue to explain how that truck started downhill."

[131] Her father came back and looked at the footprints. They definitely had not been made by a workman's boots.

[132] "You may think me an old worrier, Dad," Nancy spoke up, "but these footprints, made by a man's business shoes, convince me that somebody deliberately tried to injure us with that truck."

[133] The lawyer stared at his daughter. Then he looked down at the ground. From the size of the shoe and the length of the stride one could easily perceive that the wearer of the shoes was not tall. Nancy asked her father if he thought one of the workmen on the project could be responsible.

[134] "I just can't believe anyone associated with the contracting company would want to injure us," Mr. Drew said.

Nancy reminded her father of Nathan Comber's warning. "It might be one of the property owners, or even Willie Wharton himself."

[135] "Wharton is short and has a small foot," the lawyer conceded. "And I must admit that these look like fresh footprints. As a matter of fact, they show that whoever was here ran off in a hurry. He may have released the brake on the truck, then jumped out and run away."

[136] "Yes," said Nancy. "And that means the attack was deliberate."

[137] Mr. Drew did not reply. He continued walking up the hill, lost in thought. Nancy followed and they climbed into the car. They drove home in silence, each puzzling over the strange incident of the runaway truck. Upon reaching the house, they were greeted by a loud exclamation of astonishment.