"Oh, dear," said Bess, "maybe that man on the train found out where we're going and is on his way there too!"

"Don't be silly," George chided her cousin. "If he's in some shady deal around River Heights, he'd be glad to have our young sleuth out of the way."

Joanne looked a bit worried, but all she said was, "I think we'd better be on our way. I have to be there before that man comes to buy the farm. I must talk Gram out of it!"

The girls finished the sundaes and picked up their checks, but Nancy insisted upon paying.

"I want to break this twenty-dollar bill Dad gave me," she said. "I've spent most of my smaller bills."

The waitress changed the bill for her without comment and the girls left the lunchroom. As they climbed into the car. Nancy glanced anxiously at the sky. There was a dark overcast in the west.

"It does look like rain over my way," Joanne observed. "And we leave the paved road and take a dirt one about five miles from the farm."

"I'm afraid it's going to be a race against time," Nancy warned, starting the car. "A bad storm on a dirt road won't help matters at all!"

The girls now noticed a change in the countryside. The hills had become steeper and the valleys deeper. The farms dotting the landscape were very attractive.

Nancy made fast time, for she was bent on beating the storm. The sky became gloomier and overcast. Soon the first raindrops appeared on the windshield. "We're in for a downpour all right!" Nancy declared grimly, as she turned onto the dirt road.

Soon there was thunder and lightning, and the rain came down in torrents.

"Listen to that wind!" Bess exclaimed. "It's enough to blow us off the road!"

The next minute everyone groaned in dismay, and Nancy braked the car. Across the road stood a wooden blockade. On it was a sign:

Detour

Bridge Under Repair

George read it aloud in disgust. An arrow on the sign indicated a narrow road to the right. As Nancy made the turn, Joanne gave a sigh.