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yet.
    Presently the rookie returned with the pictures and handed them to Nancy and Dave. The sergeant said he would discuss the case with Chief McGinnis, and some men would be alerted to watch for the two suspects.
    Nancy and Dave went back to the Drew home, but the group soon decided to separate and return to the girls’ individual homes.
    “Breakfast at eight,” Nancy sang out, as the others were leaving.
    The following morning a phone call came from Chief McGinnis. He reported to Nancy that his men had had no luck in tracing the two suspects who had taken the package the night before.
    “I’m afraid,” the officer said, “that Fleetfoot and his friends had too much of a head start. They probably left town right after the pickup.”
    As Nancy finished the conversation, the front doorbell rang. The postman was there with a special-delivery letter for Ned. Nancy signed for it, then took the letter to him.
    “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “Our tickets! I asked the travel agent to send them here.”
    Ned opened the envelope quickly and pulled out plane tickets for the whole group. He explained that they would fly from River Heights to Chicago, then to Las Vegas, Nevada.
    “We’ll stay there with one of the boys from the University. He’s going on the dig with us.”
    “When do we leave?” Nancy asked.
    “Tomorrow morning.”
    There was a loud squeal from Bess. “Why didn’t somebody tell me? I must go right home and pack. I haven’t even decided what to take.”
    Ned reminded her that all she had to put in her suitcase were her clothes. Everything else was to be ready for them in Las Vegas.
    “I burn so easily,” said Bess, “that I’d better take plenty of suntan lotion and a big hat.”
    George asked, “Nancy, are you going to carry the precious stone tablet with you or return it to Mrs. Wabash?”
    “I’ll call Mrs. Wabash—I mean Mrs. Mary Morton, and do as she wishes.”
    Nancy phoned the woman and asked her what she wanted done with the tablet. At once Mrs. Wabash requested that Nancy keep it.
    “You have a lot of people with you, so there is less chance of it’s being stolen from you than from me. I’ll be traveling alone.”
    “Are you going back home soon?” Nancy queried.
    “Yes.”
    The girl detective now asked if it would be possible for the Indian woman to come to the Drew home and decipher the symbols on the tablet. “Do you recall what was on the other tablets?”
    “Vaguely,” she said.
    Mrs. Wabash agreed to disguise herself a bit and take a taxi to Nancy’s home. When she arrived, Nancy brought out the tablet. Mrs. Wabash began to explain some of the symbols.
    “This wavering line means a stream. Over here, near the deer, is a cloud.”
    Nancy asked, “These two men with crude spears—what do they mean?”
    “I believe,” Mrs. Wabash replied, “that it indicates a fight between the men. By the way, notice that their crude spears are launched from atlatls. These were heavy pieces of notched wood. By putting the foot of the spear into this, a man could launch his weapon much farther than he could with his hands.”
    There was silence for a few moments, then the Indian continued, “I think perhaps the two men who are fighting represent two tribes. They probably had had a war, but there is nothing here to indicate for certain who won the battle.”
    “Maybe that’s on another tablet,” Nancy suggested.
    “Possibly,” Mrs. Wabash agreed. “The tablets had no marks on them to indicate the order in which they were to be read. I was working on that just before they were stolen from me.”
    The conversation was interrupted by the telephone, and Nancy left to answer it.
    Chief McGinnis was calling. “I have a little news for you,” he said. “I don’t know how useful it is, though. Two of my patrolmen spotted the men in Dave’s picture. But they declared they had already delivered the package and were innocent of any wrongdoing. They would reveal