Thank you for coming.
I hope you had a good time.
Then she handed the leaf to the scoutmaster. He passed it on to his charges and thanked her for the interesting tour. Now she opened the gate and the visitors said good-by.
When the girls were back in their car, George grinned. "I'll remember that sea-grape bush. If I'm ever in a tight spot out on the water, I'll write a message on one of them and let it float ashore."
Nancy laughed. "You may have to wait twenty years before someone picks it up!"
The girls drove back to Key Biscayne, chatting about their experiences on Cape Florida. When they reached the business district, traffic became congested and momentarily stopped.
Nancy watched the scene In front of her and suddenly gasped. "Bess! George!" she said. "Do you see those two men getting into that red car up ahead?"
"I see them," George said. "They look like Matt Carmen and Breck Tobin!"
"Right!" Bess agreed. "What are we going to do?"
Just then traffic began to move again. The suspects started their red sedan and pulled in a few cars ahead of the girls.
"Let's chase them!" George urged.
"Yes," Nancy said. "Only right now it's a rather slow chase."
At the next big intersection their quarry turned right. The girls followed and kept the sedan in sight. Soon the traffic thinned out and Nancy sped after the two suspects!
CHAPTER XIVPeriscope Pursuit
The driver of the car Nancy was pursuing seemed to be aware that he was being followed. Not only did he put on speed, but he turned corners with squealing wheels. Nancy and her friends were convinced that the men were indeed Carmen and Tobin.
Bess, who was tossed violently from side to side in the rear seat, begged Nancy to slow down, "Please don't go so fast! We'll overturn!"
"Sorry," Nancy replied, then grinned. "This time those men are afraid of us. A sure sign of guilt. They don't want us to alert the town cops."
They reached an intersecting highway, and the men drove onto it. They were getting ahead of the girls and it was obvious that they had no intention of obeying the speed limit.
"They're worried about being caught," George said. "On the other hand, I'm sure they wouldn't want to be stopped by the police to show their licenses. That would be a dead giveaway."
Nancy did not want to disobey the traffic laws, but how else was she going to catch the two suspects? She gave her car more power and it raced along the highway.
George remarked, "If we could only get close enough to see the license number, we could report those men to the police instead of chasing them."
Nancy agreed and asked, "Diet you notice anything on the license plate?"
"Only that it was from Connecticut," George answered. "Maybe the car was stolen, and that's one reason why they want to get away in such a hurry,"
The words were hardly out of George's mouth, when the girls heard a siren behind them.
"Oh, oh!" Bess said, worried.
Obediently Nancy drove to the side of the road and waited for the police car to pull alongside her. An officer jumped out and walked up to the girls.
"You're going over seventy in a fifty-five mile zone," he grumbled. "What's the idea?"
"We're chasing a car," Nancy said. "But now we've lost it. We believe one of the passengers is wanted by the Navy for going AWOL. His name is Giuseppe Matthews, but he's known under the alias of Matt Carmen or Breck Tobin.
"How do you know about all this?"
"He owns a boat called The Whisper and has been harassing us in Biscayne Bay, Yesterday we were at the Naval Office and saw a picture of him. You can check with Captain Smith."
The officer hesitated a moment, then said, "What did the car look like?"
"It was a red sedan with a Connecticut license plate," George put in.
"All right. I'll take care of the matter and send out an alarm. Since you were trying to do a good deed, I won't give you a ticket this time. But from now on, leave chasing criminals to the police."
Nancy nodded. "It's just that he turned up ahead of us in the downtown traffic," she said.
"I understand. And thanks for the information."
The officer said good-by and went back to his car. Nancy pulled out onto the highway again and to the surprise of Bess and George did not head home. Instead she went toward the waterfront.
"Where are you going?" Bess asked.
"If the two men were Breck Tobin and Matt Carmen, they're probably headed for The Whisper."
"Right. But what makes you think we'll catch up with them? They're way ahead of us by now."
"True. On the other hand, if they suspect we tipped off the police, they may change their minds and not go to their boat. We may be able to find The Whisper at a dock," Nancy reasoned.
"Pretty smart," Bess agreed. "Let's go!"
The young sleuths drove as close to the water's edge as they could, then got out of the car and walked. They looked for a red sedan, as well as The Whisper. After carefully scanning all the boats and parking areas, without finding either they gave up.
"I'll bet they took the boat and skipped to Crocodile Island," George said. "They probably parked the car in some garage."
"Well, it was a good try," Bess added.
Nancy drove to the Cosgrove house. Their hosts were not there. The telephone was ringing so Nancy answered it. The caller was Colombo.
"Oh, hello," Nancy said. "How are things going for you?"
"Very fine," the young man replied. "I like my work, and the people at the dub are very good to me."
"Have you heard any news from Crocodile Island?"
"Yes, I have," Colombo answered. "A worrisome piece of news. My friend Sol there got a message through to me at the YMCA. He advised me to get out as fast as I could, since Gimler had found out I was staying there and threatened to have me arrested."
"Oh, dear," Nancy said. "I'm sorry to hear you've been tracked down. Have you any idea how Gimler knew?"
"No. But I took Sol's advice and moved out right away. If you have a pencil and paper handy, I'll give you my new address and phone number."
"Good. Hold on just a minute."
When Nancy returned with a note pad, he dictated the information. Then she asked him, "Colombo, did you ever see a submarine near Crocodile Island?"
"A submarine? No. But it's strange you should ask. Sol mentioned once that he'd seen a periscope. But the sub never surfaced while he was watching, so I thought he'd mistaken something else for a periscope."
"Has Sol told you anything else?" Nancy asked.
"Yes. He overheard Gimler say to one of the workmen that he wanted no more visitors on Crocodile Island until he gave the word. He said something like 'People are too inquisitive, and not about crocodiles, either.'"
Nancy thanked Colombo for the information and then said to him, "You'd better be careful."
"I will," he promised.
Nancy reported the conversation to Bess and George, and added, "I have a strong hunch that the crocodile farm is a cover-up for some bigger operation. I wish I knew what it was."
Bess spoke up. "Do you think it involves that big pine box we saw lowered from the freighter?"
"Probably," Nancy replied, "The freighter, The Whisper, and the submarine are all part of it, I'm sure."
"If you're right," George said, "what do we do next?"
"Tomorrow, let's see if we can locate the periscope and try to follow the sub," Nancy suggested.
"What!" Bess exclaimed. "If you're going on another wild-goose chase, count me out!"
"Okay," said George, "we'll leave the chicken at home. If you prefer that to a great adventure, you can have it. Nancy, I like your plan. I suppose our going will depend on the tide. When Danny comes home, let's ask him."