We aren't allowed much freedom," the woman answered.

"You shouldn't be walking on that foot yet," Nancy protested. "You're apt to injure your ankle permanently."

"It's nearly well now," the woman told her, avoiding Nancy's eyes. "They didn't know at the camp that I was going to town. I-I left in a hurry."

Again the stranger cast an anxious glance over her shoulder. "She obviously thinks she's being followed," Nancy thought to herself. "Perhaps she's even running away!"

Nancy wanted to ask her companion a number of questions but the woman's aloofness discouraged her. Deciding on an entirely different course, the young sleuth pretended not to pay particular attention to the woman. For some time they drove along in silence. Nancy could see that her passenger was gradually relaxing and losing her fear.

"Am I going too fast for you?" Nancy inquired, thinking the time was right to launch the conversation.

"Oh, no," the woman returned quickly. "You can't go too fast for me." She hesitated, and then added, "I have an important letter to mail."

"Why don't you drop it in one of the roadside mailboxes?" Nancy suggested casually. "The rural carrier will pick it up and save you a long trip."

"I want to get it off this morning if I possibly can."

I'll be glad to go to the post office and mail it for you," Nancy said, purposely drawing the woman out.

"Thank you, but no," the woman mumbled. "I- I'd feel better if I did it myself." As Nancy did not reply, she said, "I don't mean to be ungrateful for all you've done-really I don't. It's only that I mustn't get you into trouble."

"How could I get into trouble by helping you?" Nancy asked with a smile.

"You don't understand," her companion replied nervously. "There are things I can't explain. The leaders of the colony will be very angry with me if they find I have left even for a few hours, and especially that I've mailed this letter to my sister. The cult forbids communication with the outside world."