NANCY AWOKE to a buzzing in her ears. Her head was throbbing and her cheek burned. She slowly lifted her head and realized she was very dizzy.
“Ohhh,” Nancy moaned, rolling onto her back. She inhaled several times, getting her bearings. Her head finally cleared, and she saw she was still lying on the ground, in the dark, outside Flash’s barn.
Climbing to her feet, she gingerly probed her temple with her fingers. A sizable knot had formed. Someone had hit her with a hard object—probably that rock, she thought, spying one on the ground.
Grimacing, Nancy suddenly remembered the glinting object. She walked around, searching for it, but it was gone. The person who hit me over the head must have taken it, she realized grimly. The way it had sparkled in the light reminded her of something—something she couldn’t quite place right then.
“Maybe it’ll come back to me later,” she said aloud, wincing a little as the pain in her head increased as she started walking back to Pied Piper’s barn.
There was an unusual flurry of activity in the colt’s barn. It was ablaze with light and alive with loud, excited voices. Fear stabbed her. Had something happened to Pied Piper?
She ran inside and nearly collided with Thea. “What’s wrong?” she asked anxiously. Then she saw Pied Piper standing in his stall, perfectly fine.
“Nancy!” Thea exclaimed. “Where were you? We were worried about you! I woke up and you were gone. When you didn’t come back I was certain something had happened to you. I got Cam, and he went out searching for you. Do you know what time it is?”
Nancy glanced at her watch. It was almost three o’clock. “Pied Piper’s okay, though?”
“He’s fine. Where have you been?”
“Over by Flash’s barn. Someone hit me over the head.”
Thea’s eyes widened when Nancy showed her the lump above her temple. “You need to see a doctor,” Thea declared.
“It’s not necessary—really,” Nancy protested. “I’m fine. I just want to lie down for a while.”
“I’ll take you back to the hotel, then,” Thea insisted. She turned to the stable boy, who looked tousled and half-asleep. “Stay awake until Cam comes back, then tell him I took Nancy home.”
Thea was so determined that it was no use arguing with her, Nancy knew. Obediently she followed her out of the stable area, deciding it was best to just give in this time. She could start fresh the next day.
• • •
Sunlight streamed in the window, and Nancy opened her eyes, the effort making her head throb a little.
“Nancy?” Bess asked, her voice troubled.
Squinting, Nancy saw Bess staring down at her through worried blue eyes. “What’s wrong, Bess?”
“You show up here nearly at daybreak, mumble something about someone knocking you out, then fall asleep. I should be asking you what’s wrong!” Bess plopped down on the edge of Nancy’s bed. “Tell me everything, Drew!”
Nancy chuckled at Bess’s determined face. She told her what had happened down by Flash’s barn, finishing with, “But I’m fine. I’ve got a pretty hard head,” she added with a lopsided grin.
“You’re just lucky you’re okay.”
“I know,” Nancy said seriously. “It all happened so fast. I was just bending down to pick something up, then wham!” She wrinkled her nose. “The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and my head felt like I had been run over by a truck.”
“Could it have been Eddie Brent or Ace?” Bess suggested. “They were both at the barn after all.”
“It could have been,” Nancy admitted. “But it could have been anyone else just as easily.”
Bess frowned. “At least we know it wasn’t Thea or Cam.”
Nancy looked at her seriously. “We don’t know that at all. Thea said she went to get Cam, and Cam was out looking for me. Either of them could have done it.”
Bess’s eyes widened. “Oh, come on, Nancy! Thea? She was so worried about you that she brought you back to the hotel.”
“I know. I’m just saying we can’t rule anybody out yet.”
“So what was it you saw on the ground?” Bess asked after a minute.
Nancy swung her feet over the side of the bed. Her head still hurt a little bit, but she wasn’t dizzy anymore. “I don’t know. I feel like the answer’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just haven’t thought of it yet. What time is it?”
“Noon.”
“Noon!” Nancy shrieked. “Come on. We’ve got to get to the track. This is the last day before the Derby. We’ve got to solve this mystery before the race. Time is running out!”
• • •
Nancy and Bess found Thea and a man they’d never met before inside Pied Piper’s stall when they arrived. Thea introduced the other man as the colt’s veterinarian.
“Pied Piper’s listless and off his feed,” Thea explained in a hushed voice to the two girls. “I’m worried sick that there’s something wrong with him.”
“Oh, no!” Bess cried.
“You think he’s caught some kind of bug?” Nancy asked anxiously.
“I don’t know. That’s why Barry’s here.”
The veterinarian stepped out of the stall, his gaze still on the chestnut colt. “He’s not running a fever,” he said.
Thea’s face instantly cleared. “You don’t think he’s sick, then?” she asked hopefully.
“I wouldn’t scratch him from the race yet. Let’s see how he’s doing this afternoon.”
After the vet left, Nancy turned to Thea. “What could be wrong with Pied Piper?”
“I’m not sure. He was fine last night, but this morning I found him like this.” She gestured to the colt, whose head was hanging down. Normally Pied Piper was restless and alert. There was definitely something wrong with the colt.
“Was there any time yesterday when he was alone?” Nancy asked.
“No.” Thea was positive. “There was always a stable boy here.”
Remembering how tired the stable boy had looked after her accident, Nancy wondered if someone couldn’t have sneaked by him the night before. Or maybe earlier in the day. Remembering Cam’s angry words to Eddie Brent about drugging horses, Nancy’s blood ran cold. Could Pied Piper have been given something? Maybe in his feed . . .
“Where’s Pied Piper’s feed?” Nancy asked.
“Right here,” Thea said, gesturing to the bag of specially mixed grain.
“Let’s have it analyzed and get Pied Piper some new feed from an unopened bag.”
Thea’s jaw dropped. “You think someone tampered with his food?”
“It’s possible,” Nancy said grimly as Thea hauled up the bag of grain. “There’s a lot at stake here.”
An hour later Nancy, Bess, and Thea had saved a sample of the feed to be analyzed, thrown out the rest, then brought in new feed. Thea talked long and hard with the stable boy. He didn’t remember seeing or hearing anyone. Then she sent him to tell Cam what had happened.
Maybe I’m overreacting, Nancy thought, eyeing the Thoroughbred anxiously. Pied Piper was pretty listless, but he didn’t seem to be getting any worse.
Cam stopped by Pied Piper’s stall at about one-thirty. “How’s he doing?” he asked Thea.
“About the same.”
“I suppose you’ve heard about Flash,” he said with a serious look on his face.
Nancy, Thea, and Bess all gazed at him blankly. “What about Flash?” Nancy asked quickly.
“He’s off his feed, too, and he’s sluggish and tired. Eddie’s having a fit! He swears someone drugged his horse. In fact, he’s accusing me.”
“Oh, Cam. No!” Thea cried, her eyes wide.
“Why not?” Cam asked angrily. “It’s always easy to blame me for everything, isn’t it? He probably thinks I drugged Pied Piper, too!”
At that moment footsteps pounded across the barn floor as Eddie Brent burst inside. “There you are, Parker!” he snarled furiously. “Back to finish Pied Piper off, are you?”
“Watch it, Brent,” Cam growled.
Before anyone could react, Brent lunged forward and seized Cam by the throat, squeezing down on his windpipe!
“You’re the one trying to wipe out the competition, not me!” Cam shouted, gripping Eddie’s throat as Eddie had his. “I ought to kill you right now with my bare hands!”