"What do you suppose we're getting into?" George muttered.
Nancy did not reply, but gave her friend a sharp nudge as a warning not to speak. A moment later Bess tripped over some object in the path and would have fallen if Nancy had not caught her by the arm. They walked farther underground, and then, unexpectedly, stepped into a dimly lighted chamber.
The members of the cult seated themselves on the floor, and the girls followed their example. Presently they became aware of the strong scent of Blue Jade perfume. Bess was not the only one wearing it tonight!
"So there is a definite connection between this distinctive perfume and the Black Snake Colony!" Nancy thought. "No wonder that man on the train was startled. Perhaps the women use it, and he couldn't identify me but took it for granted I was one of the group. If so, it's just as well Bess has some on."
Nancy suddenly recalled the forged note bearing the Blue Jade scent. "The woman who delivered it to me must be a member of the cult!" she thought excitedly.
After everyone had entered the room, the man who had given the sharp order outside the cave spoke again. He threw off his headgear and glanced over the group appraisingly. Nancy was stunned.
Maurice!
The man she had seen the first time she had stopped at the filling station!
"Is he Maurice Hale?" she asked herself excitedly.
"Everyone here?" he demanded gruffly.
He counted the group, and again Nancy and her friends held their breaths. Apparently some of the members of the colony were missing, for the leader did not notice that three new recruits had been added to his organization.
"We may as well get down to work," the leader announced. "Snead, have you anything to report?"
At the question one of the disguised persons stood up and threw off his mask. Again Nancy was startled. He was none other than the man she had seen in Room 305!
"Here's the good money," he said, handing over an envelope. "Perfect score this time for our main distribution department."
"Very fine. Then nothing's gone wrong at your new office?"
"Not yet. Chief," was the muttered reply, "but yesterday I saw a bird hangin' around the building-looked like a plain-clothes cop to me. I don't want you to think I'm backing out, but if you ask me, I'd say it's about time to blow. This game can't last forever, you know."
"I'll do the thinking for this outfit!" the leader scathingly retorted. "We'll stay here another week and then pick a new spot. What makes you think the cops are wise?"
"Well, they may have got wise to the fact that we're using Yvonne again-"
"That's right!" a shrill, angry female voice interrupted. "Blame me! Every time somebody gets nervous, you bring me into it!"
Nancy could scarcely restrain herself. She had been right about Yvonne! The girl was mixed up in the Hale Syndicate racket!
"You deserve blame," Al Snead retorted irritably. "First, you didn't have any more sense than to sell a bottle of that perfume to a perfect stranger-"
"I told you, that girl insisted upon buying it, and I was afraid if I flatly refused, she and her friends would get suspicious. Besides, I don't see what harm it did to sell the perfume to a teenager!"
"No," Snead retorted sarcastically, "you're so simple-minded you wouldn't see it might land us in jail! When Pete was on the train going to River Heights he noticed the scent and thought that the girl was one of the Chief's agents! Lucky for all of us, he saw his mistake before he spilled anything!"
Yvonne sputtered back in defense. "Well, at least I phoned Al at his office right away so he could warn the agents about the stray bottle of Blue Jade. It's not my fault Pete happened to be on the same train as those girls."
The leader suddenly became impatient.
"Enough of this!" he shouted. "It's not getting us anywhere! Snead, I placed Yvonne in your office and she'll stay there as long as I say. I'm satisfied with the rest of her work. Get me?"
Snead nodded sullenly.
Nancy had been studying the leader intently and by this time was convinced that he was far more clever and intelligent than his subordinates. She figured that Al Snead was right-hand man to the Chief, but resented his superior's favoritism toward Yvonne Wong. The organization was a large one, evidently changing its scene and type of operation from time to time. If only she could slip away and get help from the authorities!
"Another thing," Al Snead continued, addressing Maurice Hale, "we'd better make up a new code. Those girls that have been gettin' too close to our operation just might notify the cops."
"All right," the Chief responded. "I'll work one out in a day or two."
He called on another member of the organization for a report. "Two hundred packages passed, sir."
"Good!" the leader exclaimed, rubbing his thin hands. "Now, if you'll follow me to the work room, I'll give you each your cut, and dole out the stuff for next week."
Nancy and her friends could not have retreated had they wished, and certainly did not want to leave when they seemed so near the truth! But the situation in which they found themselves was a foreboding one and the very atmosphere of the room was tense and frightening. Boldly they followed the others into an adjoining chamber which was brilliantly lighted with torches.
Though prepared for the unexpected, the girls were taken completely aback at the sight which greeted their eyes!
CHAPTER XVIITense Moments
Nancy's first impression on entering was that the chamber appeared to be a cross between a printing shop and a United States mint.
"Counterfeiters!" she thought excitedly.
Hand presses stood about and several engraved plates had been left on a table. Various chemicals and inks were in evidence. Neat stacks of paper money lined one wall and other bills were scattered carelessly on the floor. Never in all her life had Nancy seen so much money! The room was cluttered with it. Twenty-dollar bills appeared to be everywhere. Money, still damp, was drying on tables. Nancy observed that all the bills seemed to be of the twenty-dollar denomination.
At last she had the answer to the many questions which had been troubling her! This was the secret of the cave! The latest racket of the Hale Syndicate! The nature cult was a hoax, its so-called mysterious rites used only as a screen to hide the work of a clever band of counterfeiters!
The Black Snake Colony seemed to her to be a perfect name. Nancy realized that if she did not try to get away and bring help now, she and her friends would fail. There was nothing they could do by themselves.
Nancy turned to relay her intentions to Bess and George. A slight tug on their robes was all that was needed to make them understand, but to put the plan into operation was another matter.
The girls attempted to edge toward the chamber entrance by degrees, but Al Snead stood barring the door. For the time being escape was out of the question. They must bide their time.
As long as some members of the organization remained masked, the girls knew they would be comparatively safe. But already several people had stripped off their robes and headpieces.
Every minute that the girls' escape was delayed increased the danger of detection. Since it was impossible to sneak away, Nancy made careful note of her surroundings and tried to identify the faces on her mind. Except for Yvonne, the leader Maurice Hale, Al Snead, and the man she had seen on the train, all were strangers. Six people besides Bess, George, and herself remained masked.
As Nancy surveyed the elaborate equipment in the workroom, she realized that this was an unusually large gang of counterfeiters. The engraved plate which had been copied from an actual United States Government twenty-dollar bill was a work of art. Probably the leader of the gang had at one time been noted as a skilled engraver and had decided to use his talents to unlawful advantage.