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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost
+Key, by Joan Clark
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key
+
+Author: Joan Clark
+
+Release Date: November 19, 2010 [EBook #34369]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PENNY NICHOLS--MYSTERY OF LOST KEY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Brenda Lewis and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             PENNY NICHOLS
+                            MYSTERY STORIES
+
+                   Penny Nichols Finds a Clue (1936)
+          Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key (1936)
+                 Penny Nichols and the Black Imp (1936)
+             Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery (1939)
+
+                                  _by_
+                              "Joan Clark"
+                      (Mildred A. Wirt, 1905-2002)
+
+
+
+
+                             Penny Nichols
+                                and the
+                             Mystery of the
+                                Lost Key
+
+
+                                  _By_
+                               Joan Clark
+
+                                   *
+
+                                  The
+                      Goldsmith Publishing Company
+
+                                CHICAGO
+
+                           COPYRIGHT 1936, BY
+                    THE GOLDSMITH PUBLISHING COMPANY
+
+              MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+                               _CONTENTS_
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                            PAGE
+  I. A Valuable Letter                                                 11
+  II. A Mysterious Key                                                 25
+  III. An Arrogant Guest                                               38
+  IV. A Face at the Window                                             51
+  V. The Lost Key                                                      67
+  VI. Midnight Visitors                                                76
+  VII. "Ghost" Music                                                   93
+  VIII. The Ivory Collection                                          102
+  IX. A Scrap of Paper                                                115
+  X. The Wall Safe                                                    131
+  XI. A Night Adventure                                               140
+  XII. A Suspicious Act                                               150
+  XIII. The Secret Stairs                                             164
+  XIV. A Diamond Ring                                                 175
+  XV. Penny's Evidence                                                186
+  XVI. Mrs. Leeds' Strategy                                           199
+  XVII. The Man in the Boat                                           209
+  XVIII. A Daring Theft                                               220
+  XIX. The Tables Turn                                                225
+  XX. A Break for Freedom                                             239
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+                           A Valuable Letter
+
+
+"Hurry, Susan! We have only ten minutes before the store closes!"
+
+Penelope Nichols, the slender girl in blue, urged her companion into the
+revolving doors at the entrance of the Bresham Department Store. A
+vigorous push sent the barriers spinning at such a rate that other
+shoppers turned to stare at the two girls.
+
+"You nearly took off my heels that time, Penny," Susan Altman protested
+with a laugh as they emerged into the crowded store.
+
+"Sorry, but we've no time to waste if I get that pair of white earrings.
+The clerks are starting to put things away already."
+
+Threading their way through the outgoing stream of shoppers, the girls
+went directly to the jewelry counter. Penny peered anxiously into one of
+the glass cases to see if the coveted ivory ornaments were still on
+display. They had not been sold.
+
+"Do you think they'll look all right with my red party frock?" she asked
+her chum as they stood impatiently waiting for a clerk. In matters of
+dress she valued Susan's opinion more highly than her own.
+
+"Stunning. With your coloring you can wear anything. Now if you had a
+skin like mine and a snub nose--"
+
+Penny did not hear the remainder of her chum's oft-repeated complaint for
+she was trying vainly to attract the attention of a clerk. The only
+available girl at the counter was occupied in showing a tray of fine
+rings to a tall man in gray tweeds.
+
+"We'll never be waited on," Penny murmured in annoyance. "You can tell
+it's going to take until closing time before he makes up his mind which
+ring he wants."
+
+Susan turned to survey the customer. He was expensively dressed and upon
+a casual inspection appeared to be a gentleman of considerable means.
+Although the clerk offered several diamond rings for his approval none of
+them satisfied him.
+
+"Haven't you anything better than this?" he questioned. "Show me that
+large diamond, please." He tapped the glass case lightly with his cane.
+
+The clerk obligingly placed the ring before him. The man examined the
+diamond closely, comparing it with another ring previously shown him. For
+the first time he appeared aware of Penny and Susan.
+
+"Wait on these young ladies while I make up my mind which ring I prefer,"
+he urged the clerk. "I am in no hurry and I can see that they are."
+
+The clerk hesitated. The rings in which the customer was interested were
+valuable ones. It was a rule of the store to keep them always in the
+locked case. Yet it would take her only a minute to wait upon the girls,
+and obviously the man was a gentleman. She turned to serve Penny.
+
+"I'll take that pair of earrings," Penny announced, indicating the ivory
+pieces. "They're three dollars, aren't they?"
+
+"Yes, that is correct. I'll have them wrapped for you."
+
+Penny offered the girl a five dollar bill in payment. She could not
+restrain a little sigh as she saw it deposited in the store's cash
+drawer. Perhaps she had been foolish to buy the earrings. It meant that
+she must do without a great many little things in order to keep within
+her allowance. Penny sighed again. At times it was trying to have a
+father who believed in maintaining his daughter strictly upon a budget
+plan.
+
+Her eyes roved aimlessly toward the man at the ring counter. She saw him
+cast a quick glance about. Then he walked rapidly away, making for the
+nearest exit.
+
+Penny's keen blue eyes riveted upon the ring tray. The large diamond was
+missing.
+
+She had not seen the customer actually take it--his movements had been
+too deft for that--yet she knew for a certainty that while the clerk's
+back had been turned he had secreted it somewhere upon his person.
+
+Penny did not hesitate. She darted after him.
+
+"Stop!" she cried. And then to the surprised shoppers who turned at the
+sound of her voice: "Don't let that thief get away!"
+
+The man wheeled sharply, his face convulsed in anger. With his cane he
+struck viciously at a stout woman who clutched him by the coat.
+
+A store detective blocked the main exit.
+
+Recognizing that he could not hope to escape that way, the thief turned
+and bolted up a moving escalator which was carrying a capacity load of
+passengers to the second floor.
+
+Penny, the detective, and a few of the more energetic customers took up
+the pursuit.
+
+In a desperate attempt to escape, the thief elbowed women roughly aside
+as he darted up the stairway. Upon the uncertain footing of the moving
+treads, several stumbled and fell. In an instant hysterical women were
+screaming and clutching at one another for support.
+
+A slender girl in a shabby business suit was rudely jostled. Penny, half
+way up the moving stairway, tried to save her from a hard fall. She was
+not quick enough. Down the girl went, and as she fell, the contents of
+her pocketbook spilled out upon the moving stairway. The thief took
+advantage of the resulting confusion to melt into the throng of shoppers
+at the top of the escalator. While store detectives carried on the
+pursuit, Penny tried to help the terrified women to alight from the
+stairway.
+
+"Are you hurt?" she asked the girl who had fallen, trying to assist her
+to her feet.
+
+"Never mind me! Save my pocketbook!" the other cried, frantically
+beginning to gather up the scattered objects.
+
+The other passengers upon the stairway were more of a hindrance than a
+help. Yet by working fast Penny managed to accumulate nearly all of the
+lost articles before the brief ride approached its end.
+
+"My letter!"
+
+At the other girl's shrill cry, Penny saw a white envelope riding
+serenely on the uppermost step. With a bound she covered the distance
+which separated her from it, pouncing upon the letter an instant before
+the moving belt disappeared into the flooring.
+
+Clutching it triumphantly in her hand, she turned to assist the girl who
+had lost it.
+
+"Why, you're limping," she observed. "Here, lean on me."
+
+"It's nothing," the girl maintained staunchly. "I twisted my ankle when I
+fell."
+
+Penny helped her to a nearby chair. Despite the girl's brave words, her
+lips quivered when she spoke and her attractive face had taken on an
+ashen hue. Yet, strangely, her interest centered not in her injury but in
+the letter which she had nearly lost.
+
+"Thank you for saving it," she told Penny gratefully. "I don't know what
+I should have done if I'd lost that letter. It means everything to me."
+
+Penny stared at the envelope a trifle curiously but she was too well bred
+to ask personal questions. Before she could make any response store
+officials hurried up to take charge of the situation. The girl's name was
+Rosanna Winters, Penny learned, by listening. She lived at a rooming
+house on Sixty-fifth Street, not a great distance from Penny's own home.
+
+Rosanna firmly turned down the suggestion of store officials that she be
+sent to a nearby hospital for first-aid treatment.
+
+"It isn't necessary. I merely twisted my ankle. I'll soon be able to walk
+on it."
+
+"Let me take you home," Penny offered. "My roadster is parked just
+outside the store. We live close to each other."
+
+The girl hesitated, then smiled as she said: "That's very kind of you,
+I'm sure. You don't really mind?"
+
+"Of course not. Here, let me help you downstairs."
+
+"Not by way of the escalator," Rosanna said hastily. "Hereafter I'll ride
+on the elevator. It's safer."
+
+Although the store's gong had announced the closing hour some minutes
+previously, shoppers were slow to leave the building. As the girls
+returned to the street floor they were embarrassed to find themselves the
+target for many curious stares. Penny readily was recognized as the girl
+who had observed the theft of the ring.
+
+"What became of that man who knocked me down?" Rosanna questioned. "I
+suppose he escaped."
+
+"I'm afraid so," Penny admitted, looking about for Susan. "The last I saw
+of him he was running toward the kitchenware department with the store
+detective after him."
+
+Sighting Susan near the outside door, Penny steered her new friend in
+that direction. Quickly she introduced the girls, mentioning Rosanna's
+unfortunate accident.
+
+"I saw it all," Susan declared. "Penny, you certainly did stir up things
+when you set the store detective on that thief."
+
+"And the worst of it was that he escaped," Penny acknowledged. "Of
+course, he may be caught here in the building but I doubt it."
+
+In the excitement, she had completely forgotten her package at the
+jewelry counter. The girls would have left the store without it had not
+the clerk come running after them with the purchase.
+
+"Thank you so much for calling out the alarm," she told Penny gratefully.
+"If the thief isn't caught I may lose my job."
+
+"Oh, I hope not."
+
+"So do I, but I shouldn't have broken a store rule. I was completely
+taken in by the man's appearance."
+
+"I don't wonder at that," Penny said. "He certainly looked anything but a
+crook. Was the ring a valuable one?"
+
+"It was priced to sell at eight hundred dollars. I don't see how I could
+have been so stupid."
+
+Penny felt sorry for the salesgirl, particularly so when the floorwalker
+came up and began to question her sharply.
+
+"It really wasn't the clerk's fault," Penny insisted. "I feel certain
+that man was a professional jewel thief."
+
+"Did you notice his appearance?" the floorwalker asked.
+
+"Yes, he was dressed in a gray tweed suit. I'd say he was approximately
+six feet in height, dark hair and eyes. His face was long and angular."
+
+The store official noted down the description and took Penny's address in
+case she might be needed later on to identify the crook if he were
+captured.
+
+"We're watching all the lower floor exits," the floorwalker informed,
+"but the chances are the man got away by means of one of the fire
+escapes."
+
+The store rapidly was clearing of shoppers. Penny and her companions
+lingered a few minutes longer and then they too were politely requested
+to leave.
+
+"I'd like to know if the store detective caught that man," Penny declared
+as they paused for an instant on the street. "I suppose now we'll have to
+find out by reading our newspapers."
+
+Rosanna Winters turned as if to leave the girls.
+
+"Thank you again for saving my pocketbook," she said to Penny. "My ankle
+is much better now so I'll just take a streetcar home."
+
+Penny caught her by the elbow.
+
+"You'll do no such thing. Why, I can see that it hurts you every step you
+take. It isn't more than a block or two out of my way to drive you home."
+
+Despite Rosanna's protests, she urged the girl into the roadster which
+was parked at the curbing. Penny was very proud of her car. Although it
+was not a new model it ran very well and she spent most of her spare time
+keeping it washed and polished.
+
+Since the Altman residence was close by, Penny dropped her chum off
+before taking Rosanna home. During the ride to Sixty-fifth Street, the
+Winters girl spoke scarcely a word. Several times Penny cast a curious
+glance in her direction.
+
+Rosanna was the quiet type, she decided. A striking brunette with a
+thoughtful, almost sad face.
+
+"I live at the next house," the girl said as they turned a corner. "The
+one on the right."
+
+It was a modest but not unattractive boarding house. The porch was clean
+and the yard more orderly than the majority in the neighborhood.
+
+"I'm only staying here a few days until I can find another place,"
+Rosanna mentioned, feeling that some explanation was due her companion.
+
+"You are a stranger in Belton City?" Penny guessed.
+
+"Yes, I came here looking for work. But now that won't be necessary."
+Rosanna hesitated, and then, because Penny had seemed so very friendly,
+decided to offer additional information. "I am an orphan, Miss Nichols.
+Until this week I had begun to think that fortune had turned against me."
+
+"And now you've had a piece of good luck?"
+
+"Yes," Rosanna's face glowed as she opened her purse and took out the
+letter which Penny had picked up from the escalator. "If you hadn't saved
+this for me, I should have lost everything."
+
+"Then I'm glad I snatched it up in time," Penny smiled.
+
+She could not imagine the contents of the mysterious letter. It was all
+she could do to keep from asking questions.
+
+"I'd like to have you read it if you care to," Rosanna said a trifle
+timidly. "I'm anxious to learn the opinion of another person."
+
+"Why, I'll be glad to look at it if you wish," Penny returned, a little
+surprised at the request. "And as far as advice is concerned, I love to
+offer it."
+
+She accepted the envelope which Rosanna proffered. As she took out the
+folded letter a key dropped out into her lap.
+
+"What's this?" Penny demanded.
+
+Rosanna laughed nervously. "If what the letter says is true, it seems to
+be the key to my inheritance! But read the letter for yourself."
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+                            A Mysterious Key
+
+
+Unfolding the paper, Penny noticed that the message had been written
+under the letterhead: "J.C. Elfhedge, attorney, Brookport." The
+communication stated briefly that Rosanna Winters was the sole heiress of
+the late Jacob Winters, her uncle, and that she had inherited his
+mountainside estate at Raven Ridge. A key to the property was enclosed.
+She was urged to inspect the estate at her earliest convenience.
+
+"Well, what do you think of it?" Rosanna questioned as Penny studied the
+letter in silence.
+
+"Why, it's fine," Penny returned after a slight hesitation. "Did you know
+Jacob Winters well?"
+
+"I didn't know him at all. In fact I never even met him."
+
+"Oh! Then the inheritance must have come as a surprise."
+
+"It did. Even now I can't help thinking there must be some mistake. Did
+you ever hear of Raven Ridge?"
+
+"Yes, indeed," Penny told her. "It is a lovely spot near Snow Mountain."
+
+"I must go there as soon as I can," Rosanna said. "Will the car fare be
+very much do you think?"
+
+"Probably not more than ten dollars."
+
+"That's a large sum for me," Rosanna smiled ruefully. "Of course, now
+that I've actually inherited Uncle Jacob's estate, I suppose I shouldn't
+worry about money."
+
+"Well, I shouldn't spend lavishly until I was certain there would be no
+slip-up about getting the property," Penny advised bluntly. "Perhaps I
+shouldn't say it, but there's a certain tone to this letter that I don't
+like."
+
+"What do you mean?" Rosanna questioned.
+
+Penny found it difficult to explain.
+
+"Brookport is only a few miles from here and yet I've never heard of a
+lawyer by the name of Elfhedge. It seems a trifle strange too that he
+should enclose a key to the property."
+
+"It struck me that way too at first," Rosanna admitted unwillingly. "Of
+course, I do have an uncle named Jacob Winters--my mother often spoke of
+him. He was always considered queer."
+
+"It may be all right. No doubt you have inherited a fortune. Only I think
+I'd be a trifle cautious until I was certain it wasn't a hoax."
+
+"But what can I do except to obey the letter and visit the property?"
+
+Penny glanced again at the letterhead. "Why not visit this lawyer and
+have a talk with him? Brookport isn't far from here and it might save you
+a trip to Raven Ridge."
+
+"Can I reach Brookport by train or bus?"
+
+"I'm afraid not," Penny said. "It's off the main line of travel. You
+haven't a car of your own or one you could borrow?"
+
+"No."
+
+"I'll take you to Brookport if you like," Penny offered generously. "We
+might go tomorrow."
+
+"Oh, I shouldn't like to trouble you, Miss Nichols. I can probably rent a
+car."
+
+"There's no need of it for I would enjoy the ride. Besides, I am curious
+to learn if there is an attorney by the name of Elfhedge living in
+Brookport. Suppose I call here for you around ten o'clock tomorrow
+morning."
+
+"All right," Rosanna smiled. "It's good of you to offer. Perhaps I can
+repay you someday."
+
+The girls parted, Penny driving directly to her own home. Entering the
+house by the back door she found Mrs. Gallup, the housekeeper, cooking
+dinner. The kitchen was permeated with the delightful aroma of frying
+chicken.
+
+"Is Dad home yet?" Penny inquired, pausing to sniff the air.
+
+"He's in the study," the housekeeper informed.
+
+Penny found Christopher Nichols occupied at his desk. Sometimes it was
+difficult for her to realize that she was the daughter of a detective who
+had gained state-wide recognition for his ability in solving baffling
+cases. Mr. Nichols had served an apprenticeship on the police force, had
+risen from the ranks, and later had started his own private detective
+agency. Yet, despite his success, he was quiet and unaffected.
+
+Mr. Nichols had no real hobbies and only two absorbing interests in
+life--his work and his daughter. Penny had been left motherless at an
+early age. Because there had been only a slight feminine influence in her
+life her outlook upon the world was somewhat different from that of the
+average high school girl. She thought clearly and frankly spoke her mind.
+Yet if she enjoyed an unusual amount of freedom for one so young, she
+never abused the trust which her father placed in her.
+
+Penny loved adventure. Recently, somewhat to her father's chagrin, she
+had involved herself with a daring gang of automobile thieves. The story
+of her exciting encounter with underworld characters has been recounted
+in the first volume of the series, entitled, "Penny Nichols Finds A
+Clue."
+
+"Now what?" Mr. Nichols demanded gruffly as his daughter perched herself
+on the corner of his desk. "Has that car of yours broken down again?"
+
+Penny laughed as she shook her head.
+
+"No, believe it or not, I still have a few dollars of my allowance left.
+I'm after information this time."
+
+"What sort of information?"
+
+"Preferably accurate," Penny smiled. "Tell me, did you ever hear of a
+lawyer by the name of Elfhedge with an office at Brookport?"
+
+"No, I never did," Mr. Nichols returned instantly. "There is an attorney
+in the Stover building by the name of Hedgel. Perhaps you're mixed up."
+
+"I have the name right," Penny insisted. She then related the contents of
+Rosanna Winters' letter.
+
+"It sounds like someone's idea of a practical joke," Mr. Nichols
+declared. "I'd advise the girl not to spend any money until she's done a
+little investigating."
+
+"That's what I did tell her."
+
+"I'll look this man Elfhedge up in a day or two if you like," Mr. Nichols
+promised. "It sounds like a fictitious name to me but of course the
+letter may be _bona fide_."
+
+Mrs. Gallup interrupted the discussion to announce that dinner was ready.
+Immediately after the meal had been served, Mr. Nichols left for his
+office and Penny saw him no more that evening. He left the house before
+she was up the next morning so she had no opportunity to explain that she
+was driving Rosanna Winters to Brookport that day.
+
+At ten o'clock she rang the doorbell of the rooming house on Sixty-fifth
+Street. Rosanna already was waiting.
+
+"I thought you might have changed your mind about wishing to make the
+trip," she declared, following Penny to the car.
+
+"No, I'm more curious than ever to talk with your lawyer. It will be
+wonderful, Rosanna, if the estate turns out to be a valuable one."
+
+Rosanna smiled a trifle ruefully. "Yes, I will have plenty of use for the
+money. I can't believe yet that Uncle Jacob left everything to me."
+
+Penny refrained from saying anything which might disturb Rosanna.
+Actually, she had not the slightest reason for doubting that the girl had
+come into an inheritance, save that the letter from Mr. Elfhedge did not
+have a genuine tone. It occurred to her that a scheme might be under way
+to induce the orphan to part with her own savings.
+
+During the ride to Brookport, Rosanna mentioned a few of the hard
+experiences she had undergone in the past year. First her mother had
+died, then an aunt with whom she made her home, likewise had been taken
+from her. She found work of a sort in a grocery store, but long hours and
+trying conditions had worn her down. She had taken sick. Hospital bills
+claimed the greater part of the money which her mother had left her. She
+could not secure her old job back, nor could she find a new one. In
+desperation she had decided to come to Belton City, hoping that she might
+secure a position there.
+
+"You can imagine that I was pretty well discouraged when the letter
+arrived from Mr. Elfhedge," Rosanna ended. "You don't know what a fright
+you gave me by suggesting that it might be a hoax."
+
+"I'm sorry if I caused you worry. I had no reason for thinking that
+someone wrote the letter for a joke."
+
+"Uncle Jacob was noted for doing queer things," Rosanna informed. "I
+never met him but Mother often mentioned his name. He was quite a
+traveler, I believe, and collecting was his hobby."
+
+"What did he collect?"
+
+"Oh, things from the Orient and antiques from all over the world."
+
+"Then if you've come into his property, you may have inherited some real
+treasures," Penny commented. "It would be fun to visit that house at
+Raven Ridge."
+
+"Yes, but I dread going there alone. Penny, I wish you could go with me."
+
+"I wish I could too, but I guess I'll have to stay at Belton City this
+summer."
+
+It was only a little after eleven o'clock when the girls reached
+Brookport. The town was less than a hundred thousand population and Penny
+had no trouble in finding the main business section. After cruising about
+for some minutes, they located the street where Mr. Elfhedge had his
+office. The number which they sought brought them to an imposing
+seven-story brick building.
+
+Penny parked the roadster and they went inside, searching the directory
+for Mr. Elfhedge's name. It was not listed.
+
+"That's odd," Rosanna remarked with a troubled frown. "His office must be
+here somewhere in the building."
+
+Penny went over to make inquiry of the elevator boy.
+
+"There's no one in this building by that name," he insisted.
+
+Thinking that the boy might be misinformed, Penny and Rosanna sought the
+building superintendent. To satisfy them, the man looked carefully
+through his list of tenants. No one by the name of Elfhedge occupied an
+office in the building.
+
+"There is an attorney in Room 309 but his name is Rogers," the
+superintendent told the girls. "You might talk with him. He may know this
+man Elfhedge."
+
+They went up to Room 309 and after a brief wait were ushered into the
+lawyer's private office. Rosanna was too shy to state the purpose of her
+visit, so Penny explained why they had come. The lawyer had never heard
+of a colleague by the name of Elfhedge.
+
+"He's never been in this building and I doubt that he's even located in
+the city," they were told. "You must have made a mistake in the address."
+
+The girls had made no mistake, that they knew. The address was plainly
+written on the outside of the envelope which Rosanna had in her purse.
+She showed it to the lawyer.
+
+"Yes, that seems to be this building," he admitted. "It looks as if
+someone used a fake address."
+
+They left the office completely discouraged. Penny felt sorry for her
+companion. Rosanna had counted so heavily upon the inheritance. Now it
+appeared that someone had played a cruel joke upon her.
+
+"You were right," Rosanna acknowledged as they walked slowly back to the
+car. "You were suspicious of that letter from the first."
+
+"It struck me as peculiar that it was written in longhand instead of on a
+typewriter," Penny explained.
+
+"I suppose it is nothing but a joke," Rosanna acknowledged, "and yet why
+should a key be enclosed in the letter?"
+
+"It's beyond me, Rosanna. Even if the trip is wasted, you might feel
+better about it if you went to Raven Ridge and investigated."
+
+"I'd go in an instant if I had the money to spare."
+
+"I'll loan it to you."
+
+Rosanna shook her head.
+
+"No, I can't take it although it's kind of you to offer."
+
+"I wish I could help you, Rosanna."
+
+"You've helped me a great deal already. Perhaps a little later on I'll
+find some way of getting to Raven Ridge."
+
+Penny tried to urge the loan, but Rosanna, who was unusually proud, would
+not hear of it. The girls parted at the latter's boarding house on
+Sixty-fifth Street.
+
+"I'll see you within a day or two," Penny promised as she drove away.
+"Perhaps by that time Father will learn something about Mr. Elfhedge."
+
+She did not really believe that Mr. Nichols could find anything to
+report. Doubtless, the name had been a fictitious one. Yet who had played
+the joke upon Rosanna and for what purpose?
+
+"There's more to the affair than what appears on the surface," she
+reflected. "If only I had the chance, I'd do a little investigating."
+
+Penny smiled at the thought, little dreaming that such an opportunity was
+to present itself very shortly.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+                           An Arrogant Guest
+
+
+That evening at the dinner table Penny told her father about the
+unsuccessful trip to Brookport.
+
+"It looks like someone played a practical joke on your friend," he
+commented.
+
+"But who could be so mean, Dad? Rosanna has had such a desperately hard
+time to get along. Now if she wastes money going to Raven Ridge on a
+fruitless visit, it won't seem fair."
+
+"Well, it's likely to amount to just that," Mr. Nichols returned. "I
+tried to locate that attorney, Elfhedge today."
+
+"Any luck?"
+
+"No, I doubt if such a person exists."
+
+"So do I," Penny agreed. "By the way, what became of the newspaper today?
+I wanted to read up about the department store theft."
+
+"To see if your name was mentioned?" her father teased.
+
+"No, I was just curious to learn if the thief was captured."
+
+"I can set your mind at rest on that point," Mr. Nichols informed. "He
+wasn't. If you're interested in the details, you'll find the paper on the
+front porch."
+
+Penny helped Mrs. Gallup clear the table of dishes, then went outside to
+get the paper. The story appeared on the front page. It was a slightly
+distorted version of what had happened and Penny was just as well pleased
+that her name was not mentioned. According to the account, the thief had
+escaped by means of a rear fire escape. The ring, valued at approximately
+nine hundred dollars, was fully covered by insurance.
+
+While Penny was reading the story, Mr. Nichols came out and sat on the
+porch steps.
+
+"How would you like to take a little trip?" he asked casually.
+
+Penny dropped the newspaper. "With you?" she questioned eagerly.
+
+"Yes, I've been working hard lately and I feel like taking a rest over
+the week end."
+
+"Where will we go?"
+
+"I thought of Mt. Ashland. It will be cool in the mountains and at this
+time of year the hotels will not be too crowded."
+
+"Why, Mt. Ashland isn't very far from Snow Mountain, is it?" Penny
+demanded with interest. "I'm going to look it up on the map."
+
+She ran into the house for the big red atlas. A moment later she
+returned, her eyes dancing with excitement.
+
+"Mt. Ashland isn't more than a two hours' drive from Snow Mountain," she
+told her father.
+
+"And just what difference does it make?"
+
+"Why, Raven Ridge is located on Snow Mountain, you know."
+
+"Oh! So that's what you have in your mind!"
+
+Penny perched herself on her father's knee, smiling her most beguiling
+smile.
+
+"Never mind, you little tease," he said hastily. "I give in."
+
+"You don't even know what I want," she laughed.
+
+"Yes, I do. You want to take this new friend of yours along with us."
+
+"I think it would be nice, don't you?" Penny beamed. "Then while you're
+having a good rest at Mt. Ashland we could drive on to Raven Ridge.
+Rosanna could investigate her property there, if she has any, and it
+wouldn't cost her much of anything to make the trip."
+
+"You seem to have it well planned," the detective marveled.
+
+"Well, what's wrong with the idea?"
+
+"Nothing. We'll take her along if she wants to go. She may help keep you
+out of mischief."
+
+"When do we start?" Penny demanded gaily.
+
+"Tomorrow afternoon as soon as I can get away from the office."
+
+"Then I'll dash over to see Rosanna now and ask if she can go with us,"
+Penny announced.
+
+Without giving her father an opportunity to change his mind, she hurried
+to the garage for her roadster. At the rooming house on Sixty-fifth
+Street, the landlady, a stout woman with a tired, lined face, admitted
+her.
+
+"Miss Winters has the attic room," she informed. "Five flights up."
+
+At the top of the last flight Penny paused to catch her breath before
+rapping on Rosanna's door. The orphan was a trifle startled at seeing
+her.
+
+"Do come in," she said cordially.
+
+The room was oppressive and warm, although the tiny windows were open
+wide. A bed, a chest of drawers, two chairs and a cracked mirror composed
+the entire furniture.
+
+"I don't expect to stay here long," Rosanna said apologetically. "I
+thought it would do until I found work."
+
+"Why, of course," Penny agreed instantly. "Did you have any luck today?"
+
+Rosanna shook her head and sank wearily down upon the bed.
+
+"No, everywhere I went it was the same old story. I'm beginning to think
+I'll never find employment."
+
+"Perhaps you'll not need it if you come into an inheritance," Penny
+smiled. "Rosanna, I've found a way for you to get to Raven Ridge."
+
+The orphan's face brightened but for a full minute after Penny had
+explained the plan, she sat silent.
+
+"Don't you want to go?" Penny asked, perplexed.
+
+"Yes, of course I do. It isn't that. You've been so good and kind to me.
+I'll never be able to repay you for your trouble and expense."
+
+"Nonsense! The trip will be more fun if you go along, Rosanna. Besides, I
+have an overwhelming curiosity to see Raven Ridge and your uncle's
+estate. Please say you'll go."
+
+"All right, I will," Rosanna gave in.
+
+"Good. Father and I will stop for you tomorrow. I must get back home now
+and start packing."
+
+Penny clattered down the creaking, narrow stairway and disappeared into
+the night.
+
+Although the trip was only a short one, and at the longest would occupy
+less than a week's time, Penny spent many hours planning her wardrobe.
+She packed an evening gown, several afternoon frocks, and sports clothes.
+Then, reflecting that Rosanna would not be so well fixed, she hung the
+garments back in the closet, substituting her plainest dresses.
+
+"There, that will be much better," she decided. "A wise traveler goes
+light anyway."
+
+At three o'clock the following afternoon, Penny and her father stopped at
+Rosanna's rooming house to pick up the orphan. She was waiting on the
+porch, and as Penny had thought, confined her luggage to one overnight
+bag.
+
+At first the road to Mt. Ashland wound through fertile valleys and low
+hills. Gradually, they climbed. The curves became more frequent. Tall
+pines bordered the roadside.
+
+Six o'clock found the party well into the mountains, although still some
+miles from their destination. Noticing a pleasant little inn at the top
+of a ridge, they stopped for dinner which was served on the veranda
+overlooking a beautiful valley.
+
+"I wonder if Raven Ridge will be as pretty as this?" Rosanna mused.
+
+"It's even more beautiful," Mr. Nichols told her. "The scenery is very
+impressive."
+
+Before they arose from the table it was growing dusk for they had
+lingered to watch the sunset.
+
+"It's just as well that I wired ahead for hotel reservations," Mr.
+Nichols remarked as they hurried to the parked car. "Getting in after
+dark it wouldn't be so pleasant to find all the rooms taken."
+
+At exactly nine o'clock the twinkling lights of the Mt. Ashland Hotel
+were sighted, and a few minutes later the automobile drew up in front of
+the large white rambling building. An attendant took the car and they all
+went inside.
+
+"I doubt if you'll get rooms here tonight, sir," a bellboy told the
+detective as he carried the luggage to the main desk. "There's been a big
+rush of guests this week-end."
+
+Mr. Nichols was not disturbed. At the desk he merely gave the clerk his
+name, claiming the two rooms which he had reserved by wire.
+
+"We saved two very fine rooms for you," the clerk returned politely.
+"Both overlook the valley."
+
+While Mr. Nichols signed the register, Penny and Rosanna sat down nearby.
+Their attention was drawn to the main entrance. A large touring car had
+pulled up to the door. A pompous looking woman of middle age and a
+younger woman, evidently her daughter, had alighted. Both were elegantly
+if somewhat conspicuously dressed. Several suitcases, hat boxes and
+miscellaneous packages were unloaded. The older woman carried a fat
+lapdog in her arms.
+
+"They seem to have brought everything but the bird cage," Penny said in
+an undertone.
+
+The two women walked up to the desk.
+
+"I am Mrs. Everett Leeds," the one with the dog announced a trifle too
+loudly. "I have a reservation."
+
+"Just a minute please," the clerk requested.
+
+It seemed to Penny that he looked disturbed as he thumbed through his
+cards.
+
+"There is no occasion for delay," Mrs. Leeds declared blandly. "My
+daughter and I always engage the same room--305."
+
+"Why, that was the number of one of the rooms assigned to my party," Mr.
+Nichols observed.
+
+"There's been some mix-up," the clerk said in distress. He turned again
+to the two women. "Your reservation isn't on file, Mrs. Leeds. When did
+you send the wire?"
+
+"I reserved the room by letter," the woman informed him coldly.
+
+"It was never received here I am sure."
+
+"No doubt the letter was lost."
+
+"You are certain it was sent?"
+
+"Of course I am," Mrs. Leeds declared icily. "My daughter mailed it.
+Didn't you, Alicia, my dear?"
+
+A queer expression passed over the girl's face. It struck Penny that she
+probably had forgotten to post the letter. However, Alicia staunchly
+maintained that she had.
+
+"It's most provoking that you have misplaced the reservation," Mrs. Leeds
+said irritably to the clerk. "But of course we can have the room?"
+
+"I am afraid that is impossible, Mrs. Leeds. The room you wanted was
+reserved for two young ladies." With a nod of his head the clerk
+indicated Penny and Rosanna.
+
+Mrs. Leeds and her daughter turned to stare somewhat haughtily.
+
+"What other room can you give us then?" the woman demanded angrily.
+
+The clerk cast Mr. Nichols a despairing glance. He knew he was in for
+trouble.
+
+"Practically everything is taken, Mrs. Leeds. In fact the only available
+room is on the top floor."
+
+"And you expect us to take that?" Mrs. Leeds cried, her voice rising
+until everyone in the lobby could hear. "I never heard of such outrageous
+treatment. Call the manager!"
+
+Penny had risen to her feet. She moved quickly forward.
+
+"There's no need to do that," she said pleasantly. "If Rosanna doesn't
+mind, I am perfectly willing to exchange rooms with Mrs. Leeds."
+
+"Why, of course," Rosanna agreed. "It doesn't matter to me where I
+sleep."
+
+Satisfied at having her own way, Mrs. Leeds quieted down. She even
+thanked the girls graciously for the sacrifice they had made. The clerk
+gave out the keys.
+
+"Why did you do that?" Mr. Nichols asked gruffly as he and the girls
+followed a bellboy to the elevator. "Your room up by the roof will be hot
+as blazes."
+
+"I know, but I didn't see any sense in making such a fuss over a room,
+Dad. Besides, it's only for one night."
+
+"I'd insist that you girls take my room if it had a double bed."
+
+Penny shook her head.
+
+"No, you came here for a rest. Rosanna and I really won't mind."
+
+The three entered the elevator and a minute later Mrs. Leeds and her
+daughter likewise stepped into the lift.
+
+"I hope you girls will not find it uncomfortable on the top floor," Mrs.
+Leeds remarked, trying to make pleasant conversation.
+
+"It isn't very warm tonight," Penny returned politely. "Besides, it will
+only be for one night. We're going on to Raven Ridge in the morning."
+
+The elevator was whizzing them upward.
+
+"Did you say Raven Ridge?" Mrs. Leeds questioned sharply.
+
+"Yes."
+
+A queer expression had come into Mrs. Leeds sharp, blue eyes. She seemed
+on the verge of speaking, then apparently changed her mind.
+
+The elevator stopped at the third floor. Without a word, the woman urged
+her daughter out the door, following her down the hall.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+                          A Face at the Window
+
+
+The little room on the top floor of the hotel was as hot and unpleasant
+as Mr. Nichols had predicted. Even with all the windows open wide the air
+still seemed close.
+
+"Rosanna, I shouldn't have forced you into this," Penny said
+apologetically.
+
+"I've slept in far worse places than this," Rosanna laughed. "We have a
+comfortable bed and a private bath. I didn't fare half so well at Mrs.
+Bridges."
+
+"You're a good sport anyway, Rosanna. That's more than could be said for
+Mrs. Leeds or her daughter."
+
+"I wonder how old the girl is? She looked about our age."
+
+"I'd guess she was two or three years older," Penny returned. "She had so
+much paint on it was hard to tell."
+
+Both girls were tired from the long day's drive. Rosanna immediately
+began to undress. Penny sat on the edge of the bed, thoughtfully staring
+into space.
+
+"Did it strike you as queer the way Mrs. Leeds acted when I mentioned we
+were going to Raven Ridge tomorrow?" she questioned her companion.
+
+Rosanna kicked off her slippers before replying.
+
+"Well, come to think of it, she did look a little startled. She put on
+such a scene downstairs that I didn't pay much attention."
+
+"We'll probably never see her again." With a shrug of her slim shoulders
+Penny arose and began to unpack her overnight bag.
+
+According to the plan which they had worked out with Mr. Nichols, the
+girls expected to leave for Raven Ridge the next morning directly after
+breakfast. It was their intention to motor to the mountain resort,
+inspect the Winters' property and see if they could learn anything
+concerning Rosanna's uncle. They intended to return either the next night
+or the one following.
+
+Few guests were abroad when the detective joined the girls at breakfast.
+It was only a little after seven o'clock.
+
+"Sleep well?" he inquired, looking over the menu.
+
+"Not very," Penny admitted truthfully. She might have added more had not
+Mrs. Leeds and her daughter entered the dining room at that moment. The
+two bowed slightly and selected a table in the opposite corner of the
+room.
+
+"Social climbers," Mr. Nichols said in an undertone. "I can tell their
+type a mile away."
+
+Breakfast finished, the girls prepared to leave for Raven Ridge. Their
+bags were already packed and downstairs.
+
+"Now drive cautiously over the mountain roads," the detective warned as
+he accompanied the girls to the waiting car. "If you can't get back by
+evening send me a wire."
+
+As Penny took her place at the steering wheel she observed that Mrs.
+Leeds' automobile had been brought to the hotel entrance by an attendant.
+Apparently, she too was making an early morning departure.
+
+"You're not listening to a word I am saying!" Mr. Nichols said severely.
+
+"Yes, I am." Penny's attention came back to the conversation. "I'll drive
+carefully and deliver your precious car back to you without a scratch."
+
+"I wasn't exactly worried about the car."
+
+"Well, there's no need to be uneasy about Rosanna or me. We'll have no
+trouble."
+
+With a laugh of careless confidence, Penny started the car and drove
+slowly away. It was not the first time she had driven over mountainous
+roads. She handled the wheel exceptionally well and used due caution on
+all of the sharp curves. The brakes were good but she dared not apply
+them too steadily on the steep inclines.
+
+"We'll have to rush if we get back to Mt. Ashland this evening," Penny
+announced, slowing down to read a signpost. "I declare, a mountain mile
+seems to be three times the length of an ordinary mile."
+
+They had gone only a short distance farther when a tire went down. Penny
+knew it instantly by the feel of the steering wheel. She pulled off at
+the side of the road.
+
+"Now we are in it," she said in deep disgust. "At least ten miles from a
+garage. I can change wheels on my own car, but I doubt if I can on Dad's
+automobile."
+
+The girls waited for a few minutes hoping that someone would come along
+to help. When no one did, Penny dragged out the tools, and after
+considerable trouble succeeded in jacking up the rear axle.
+
+"I see a car coming," Rosanna reported hopefully.
+
+"Let's flag it," Penny suggested. "I could do with a little masculine
+help."
+
+In response to her signal of distress, the approaching automobile slowed
+down. The driver was a man and there were no passengers.
+
+"He's stopping," Penny said in relief.
+
+There was a screech of brakes as the automobile came almost to a
+standstill. Then surprisingly, it speeded up again. But not before Penny
+had caught a fleeting glimpse of the driver's face.
+
+"Well, of all things!" Rosanna exclaimed indignantly. "I call that a mean
+trick."
+
+"I believe he was afraid to stop," Penny announced excitedly. "I think I
+recognized him. It was the same man who stole the ring from Bresham's
+Department Store!"
+
+"Are you sure?" Rosanna demanded incredulously.
+
+"I couldn't be absolutely certain, of course. He was traveling too fast
+for me to catch more than a passing glimpse of his face. But if he didn't
+recognize us, why did he slow down and then speed up?"
+
+"He did act suspiciously. But what can we do about it?"
+
+"Nothing, I'm afraid. We may as well devote our energies to this wheel."
+
+Rosanna was more than eager to help but she had never even seen a tire
+changed and had no idea how to go about it. After a little annoying
+experimentation, Penny got the wheel in place and tightened the lugs.
+
+"There, it's done," she said in relief, "but my dress is a mess. I'm
+afraid we'll have to stop at the first garage and have the old wheel
+fixed, for I don't carry another spare."
+
+A signpost at the next bend in the road advised them that Simpson's
+Garage was located only six miles away. They made it in a few minutes.
+There was no town, only a post office, one general store, and the garage
+which obviously was a remodeled blacksmith shop.
+
+"I'm glad it's nothing more than a tire which needs repairing," Penny
+commented as the garageman came to learn what they wanted.
+
+He promised that the tire would be ready in half an hour. Glancing at her
+wrist watch, Penny saw that it was already past lunch time. She inquired
+if there was a cafe nearby.
+
+"Not in Hamilton, there ain't," the garageman told her. "Ma Stevens,
+across the street in the big white house, serves meals to tourists now
+and then."
+
+Rather than spend an unpleasant half hour in the garage, the girls walked
+over to the rambling white house. They were reassured to see that the
+yard was well kept and that everything appeared orderly and clean.
+
+"Let's take a chance on the food," Penny decided. "I'm hungry enough to
+eat a fried board!"
+
+Mrs. Stevens, a motherly looking woman in a blue checked gingham dress,
+opened the door. She looked slightly troubled at their request for food.
+
+"It's later than I usually serve," she explained. Then noticing their
+disappointed faces, she added hastily: "But if you're not too particular,
+I can find you something."
+
+The "something" consisted of a generous platter of mountain trout, fresh
+from the stream and fried to a golden brown, French fried potatoes, a
+salad, and cherry pie.
+
+"Dear me, after such a meal, we may not be able to get to Raven Ridge,"
+Penny remarked, finishing her second piece of pie. "I never ate so much
+in my life."
+
+"Did you say you were going to Raven Ridge?" Mrs. Stevens inquired.
+
+"Yes, we're waiting now to have a tire patched."
+
+"You're the second party through here today that's heading for Raven
+Ridge," Mrs. Stevens informed. "A man stopped for lunch about an hour
+ago. Only he thought it wasn't cooked well enough for him."
+
+"He must have been particular," Penny commented. "What did he look like?"
+
+"He was tall and dark and he had a sharp way of watching one."
+
+"I wonder if it could have been that man who passed us on the road?"
+Penny mused. "Was he driving a gray coupe?"
+
+"Yes, I believe he was."
+
+Penny was convinced that the man Mrs. Stevens described was the same
+person who had declined to help her on the road. She wondered what
+business took him to Raven Ridge. Could she have been mistaken in
+believing him to be the thief who had stolen the diamond ring?
+
+Paying for the luncheon, the girls went back to the garage. The tire was
+ready for them. Soon they were on their way again.
+
+They had driven for perhaps an hour when Penny observed that the road
+seemed to be leading them out of the mountains. She began to wonder if
+they had taken a wrong turn. She stopped at the next filling station to
+inquire. To her dismay, she was told that she had traveled nearly twenty
+miles out of her way.
+
+"I thought this didn't seem like the right road," Penny declared ruefully
+to her companion. "Now we'll be lucky to get to Raven Ridge by dinner
+time, to say nothing of returning to Mt. Ashland tonight."
+
+"I've put you to a great deal of trouble," Rosanna said regretfully.
+
+"Not at all. This trip to Raven Ridge is an adventure, and I like it. It
+will be more fun to stay over night anyway."
+
+An occasional road marker reassured the girls that at last they were on
+the right highway. The mountain curves were sharp, and Penny did not make
+as good time as she had anticipated. She became a little alarmed to see
+that storm clouds were rapidly gathering.
+
+"It looks as if we may have rain," Rosanna commented.
+
+"A great deal of it, I'd judge. Those clouds are black as ink."
+
+In less than half an hour the storm struck them in full force. A great
+gust of wind dashed huge drops of water against the windshield, there was
+a vivid flash of lightning, then the rain came down in steady sheets.
+
+Even with the wiper going Penny could see only a few feet ahead of the
+windshield. She pulled up under a huge oak tree at the side of the road.
+The girls waited a quarter of an hour and still the rain fell in
+torrents. At length, however, it slackened slightly, and not wishing to
+lose any more time, Penny cautiously drove on.
+
+"It can't last much longer," Rosanna said optimistically.
+
+Despite her hopeful words, the rain showed no sign of stopping. Penny
+reconciled herself to a slow pace for the remainder of the journey. She
+was beginning to grow tired. Her back and arms ached and it was a strain
+to keep such close watch of the road.
+
+With the sun hidden from view, night came on early. Nervous at the
+thought of driving over unfamiliar mountain roads after dark, the girls
+did not stop for dinner. Nine o'clock, in a pouring rain, found them
+drawn up at a filling station to inquire how much farther it was to Raven
+Ridge.
+
+"Why, you're practically there now," the attendant informed. "What place
+are you looking for?"
+
+"The Jacob Winters' estate," Penny replied.
+
+"Then keep on this road for about two miles more. When you come to the
+top of the ridge, take the gravel road to the left. It will lead you to
+the house. There's no one there though, unless maybe a caretaker."
+
+"Oh," Penny murmured, "then perhaps you can direct us to a place where we
+can spend the night."
+
+"The nearest is at the town of Andover, five miles beyond the Winters'
+place."
+
+The girls thanked the man for his assistance, and once more followed the
+winding road up the mountainside.
+
+"Shall we go on to Andover or stop at the Winters' house?" Penny asked
+her companion.
+
+"I don't know what to do," Rosanna faltered. "We're both so tired."
+
+"The place surely must have a caretaker, Rosanna. Let's take a chance and
+stop."
+
+At the top of the ridge they watched for the gravel road and were elated
+to find it. The entrance was barred by a white gate. Rosanna stepped out
+in the rain to open it.
+
+"This may have been a foolish thing to do," Penny admitted as they drove
+between tall rows of whispering pines. "We could have gone on to Andover
+only I dreaded driving down the mountainside with slippery roads."
+
+Rosanna huddled closer to her friend. The road was dark and the rustling
+of the wind in the pine needles made her uneasy.
+
+Soon they came within view of the house. It was built of native stone,
+half hidden by the luxuriant growth of shrubbery and trees which
+surrounded it. No lights gleamed in the windows.
+
+"There's no one here," Rosanna declared.
+
+"Let's knock anyway. The caretaker may be at the rear somewhere."
+
+They parked the car as close to the front door as possible and made a
+dash for the porch. Penny knocked several times on the massive door but
+there was no response.
+
+"We might try your key, Rosanna," she proposed. "If it fits I'll begin to
+think there's something to that mysterious letter you received."
+
+Rosanna groped in her pocketbook for the key. Impatient for action, Penny
+turned the handle of the door. To her astonishment the latch clicked.
+
+"Why, the door is already unlocked, Rosanna!"
+
+"But of course we won't dare go in."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Well, it doesn't seem right. The people may not be at home."
+
+"Someone must be around or the door wouldn't be unlocked. Besides, you
+have a key, Rosanna. And according to the letter, this is your
+inheritance."
+
+Penny swung wide the door. She peered inside but could see nothing. Her
+hand groped for the electric switch. She found the button by the door and
+pressed it. Instantly everything was flooded with light.
+
+The girls found themselves in a long, narrow living room. The ceiling was
+beamed, the furniture was rustic, and a great fireplace occupied one end
+of the wall.
+
+Penny crossed over to the hearth. There was no fire but logs were in
+readiness to make one.
+
+"I don't feel right about coming in here," Rosanna said nervously.
+
+"Nonsense, if it's your property you're not trespassing," Penny insisted.
+"Besides, it looks to me as if you were expected, for everything seems in
+readiness for guests. I'm going to build a fire and see if I can't thaw
+out my chilled bones."
+
+Reluctantly, Rosanna went to help her. Soon they had a roaring fire in
+the hearth. As they grew more comfortable they took more interest in
+their surroundings. The room was plainly but expensively furnished.
+Curious objects from many lands occupied the tables and bric-a-brac
+shelves.
+
+"Your uncle must have lived an interesting life," Penny commented,
+picking up a tiny ivory box from a nearby stand.
+
+"Yes, Mother often told me----"
+
+Rosanna's voice broke in the midst of the sentence. Turning, Penny saw
+that her friend's eyes were fastened upon the window. All color had
+drained from Rosanna's face. Her eyes were dilated with fear.
+
+"What is it?" Penny demanded.
+
+Rosanna clutched her hand.
+
+"I saw someone just then," she whispered. "A man's face at the window!"
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+                              The Lost Key
+
+
+Penny turned quickly toward the window. She saw nothing save the rain
+trickling down the panes.
+
+"You must have imagined it, Rosanna."
+
+"No, I didn't. I know I saw a face."
+
+Rosanna huddled close to Penny. She was afraid.
+
+"I'll go and look out," Penny proposed daringly.
+
+Before Rosanna could stop her she moved to the door and flung it open. A
+man in oilskins confronted her. His face was half hidden by the felt hat
+which he wore low over his eyes.
+
+"What do you want?" Penny asked nervously.
+
+Without answering, the man stepped into the room. Under the electric
+light he did not look as terrifying as he had at first glance. Penny saw
+when he swept off his dripping hat that he was an elderly man although
+spry for his years. She felt slightly reassured.
+
+"I came to find out what you mean by entering Mr. Winters' house when
+he's away?" the man demanded curtly. "Don't stand there staring like a
+blind owl! Answer."
+
+Rosanna had completely lost her power of speech, so Penny tried to
+explain the situation. She told how they had been caught by the storm and
+mentioned Rosanna's key and letter which gave her right to investigate
+the property.
+
+"So you're old Jacob Winters' niece?" the man questioned gruffly, peering
+intently at Rosanna. "At least that's what you say."
+
+"Of course he's my uncle, although I never saw him," Rosanna defended. "I
+can prove it by my letter."
+
+"Probably wrote it yourself," the man snapped. "But let's see it anyway."
+
+"Just a minute," Penny interposed, feeling that it was time the newcomer
+answered a few questions of his own. "Are you the caretaker of this
+house?"
+
+"Yes, and no. I'm a neighbor of Mr. Winters and he asked me to keep an
+eye on his house while he was away. I saw the light in the windows and
+came to see what was wrong."
+
+"My uncle is dead," Rosanna said quietly. "I have inherited the estate."
+
+"Jacob Winters dead!" the man exploded. "Why, I had a card from him last
+week. Mailed from some place down in Africa. Let me see that letter you
+claim to have."
+
+Rosanna opened her pocketbook and searched for it. A troubled look came
+over her face. She was certain she had placed both the letter and the key
+in the inside compartment. Now she could find neither.
+
+"So you haven't got it?" the man said suspiciously.
+
+"I must have it somewhere. I can't imagine how I misplaced it. You
+remember the letter don't you, Penny?"
+
+"Of course. You had it in your pocketbook the last time I saw it. We're
+telling you the absolute truth Mr.----"
+
+"Caleb Eckert," he supplied. "If you didn't have a key how did you get
+into the house?"
+
+"Why, the door was open--that is, it was unlocked," Penny explained.
+
+Caleb Eckert peered at her sharply as if trying to make up his mind if
+she were speaking the truth. Rosanna, who by this time had emptied her
+purse out upon the table, was growing more upset every minute.
+
+"Oh, let's leave this house, Penny," she burst out. "I've lost the letter
+and the key and so we've no right to be here at all. I didn't mean to
+trespass. I wish we'd never have come at all. That letter has caused me
+so much grief."
+
+Rosanna looked as if she might cry at any moment. Caleb Eckert softened.
+
+"Now, I wouldn't want you to go out into this storm. As far as I'm
+concerned you may stay here for the night."
+
+"We don't care to intrude," Rosanna said stiffly.
+
+"It isn't safe to go down the mountain in this rain," the man declared,
+adopting a more friendly tone. "Now don't be offended by the way I acted.
+My bark is worse than my bite."
+
+"We can't blame you for being suspicious," Penny admitted. "It may be
+that someone played a joke on Rosanna in sending her the letter and key.
+We were afraid of that from the first."
+
+Caleb Eckert's eyes roved to the crackling fire, then to the splattered
+windows.
+
+"Tell you what," he proposed gruffly. "You girls stay here for the night.
+In the morning we'll see if we can't straighten things out."
+
+"But if Mr. Winters is alive we have no right to use this house," Rosanna
+protested weakly.
+
+"You're his niece, aren't you?" Caleb demanded. "Jacob Winters wouldn't
+turn anyone out in a storm, much less one of his own kin folks. Have you
+had supper?"
+
+The girls admitted that they had not had any food since lunch time. Caleb
+led them to the kitchen, showing them where canned goods were stored.
+
+"If you're handy with a can opener there's no need to starve," he
+declared.
+
+The girls thanked him for his trouble. Rosanna timidly ventured a few
+questions concerning her uncle.
+
+"Did you never see him?" Caleb asked.
+
+"No, once I wrote him a letter but he never answered. I've heard Uncle
+Jacob was very eccentric."
+
+"Some might call him that. He liked to live alone and mind his own
+business which is more than most folks do. He traveled a lot too. I guess
+he must have visited every country in the world." He added slyly: "If
+Jacob _is_ dead, you'll come into possession of some valuable things."
+
+"I hope that nothing has happened to him," Rosanna said sincerely. "I
+don't really care for riches. All I want is a home."
+
+"Jacob Winters never liked girls."
+
+"I know," Rosanna sighed. "I guess that's why he never answered my
+letter."
+
+"You counted a lot on the inheritance, didn't you?" Caleb questioned
+shrewdly.
+
+Rosanna flushed but did not deny the accusation.
+
+"I thought that it might make my future more secure," she acknowledged.
+"Since Mother died I've battered around from one rooming house to
+another. But even if I don't come into the inheritance, I'll be glad that
+my uncle is still alive."
+
+"I don't know that he is," Caleb Eckert said hastily. "He was alive when
+he sent that postcard from Africa. Since then we've had no word from him
+here at Raven Ridge."
+
+While the girls prepared food for themselves, Caleb sat by the kitchen
+stove watching. He showed them how to start a fire in the range but would
+not partake of supper when it was cooked.
+
+"Had mine four hours ago. I'll show you where you can sleep and be
+getting on home."
+
+"Do you live near here?" Penny asked curiously.
+
+"Not far. If the rain would let up you could see my cabin through the
+dining room window. It's perched on the edge of the cliff, overlooking
+Lake Chippewa."
+
+Rosanna remarked that the scenery around Raven Ridge must be beautiful.
+
+"'Tis," Caleb agreed enthusiastically. "You'll have to walk down to the
+lake in the morning. There are some mighty pretty trails to follow too."
+
+"If we have time before we go, we'll surely explore," Penny promised.
+
+Caleb conducted them upstairs, opening the door of one of the bedrooms.
+It was stuffy and dusty but otherwise ready for occupancy. Penny turned
+back the coverlet of the bed and found that it was equipped with clean
+sheets and blankets. The furniture was massive and all hand carved.
+
+"I guess you can make out here for one night," Caleb said.
+
+"We'll be very comfortable," Penny assured him.
+
+Returning to the lower floor, Caleb lighted his lantern and prepared to
+leave. With his hand on the door knob he turned to face the girls again.
+
+"Oh, yes, there was something I forgot to mention. If you hear queer
+noises in the night don't be upset."
+
+"Queer noises?" Penny echoed.
+
+Caleb nodded soberly.
+
+"Folks around here claim the house is haunted but I never took stock in
+such stories myself. I just thought I'd warn you."
+
+And before the girls could recover from their astonishment, he firmly
+closed the door, disappearing into the rain.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+                           Midnight Visitors
+
+
+"I wish," Rosanna commented emphatically, "that I had never brought you
+to this queer old house."
+
+Penny laughed as she went over to the fireplace and dropped on another
+stick of wood. She stood watching the sparks fly up the chimney.
+
+"I think Caleb Eckert was only trying to be funny when he warned us of
+ghosts," she declared. "At any rate, I'm too tired and sleepy to care
+much whether the place is haunted or not."
+
+"It's a good night to sleep," Rosanna admitted, going to the window. "I
+believe the storm is getting worse."
+
+Rain pounded steadily upon the roof and the wind was rising. It whistled
+weirdly around the corners of the house. The tall maple trees which
+shaded the front porch bent and twisted and snapped.
+
+For a time the girls sat before the fire. Presently Penny suggested that
+they retire.
+
+"I don't believe I can sleep a wink tonight," Rosanna protested. "Even
+though Caleb Eckert said it was all right for us to stay here, I don't
+feel entirely easy about it."
+
+"I don't see why not," Penny protested as they mounted the creaking
+stairs to their bedroom. "According to the letter, you've inherited the
+house. And you have a key."
+
+"I had a key you mean. I can't understand how or where I lost it."
+
+In thinking back over the activities of the day, Rosanna could not recall
+taking either the key or the letter from her purse. However, several
+times for one purpose or another she had opened her pocketbook, and it
+was quite likely that the articles had fallen out unobserved. She thought
+possibly she might find them on the floor of Penny's car. She intended to
+search in the morning.
+
+The upstairs room was damp and chilly. The girls hurriedly prepared to
+retire. Penny put up the window, snapped out the light and made a great
+running leap which landed her in bed.
+
+"Listen to the wind howl," she murmured, snuggling drowsily into her
+pillow. "Just the night for ghosts to be abroad."
+
+"Don't!" Rosanna shivered, gripping her friend's hand. "I can almost
+imagine that someone is coming up the stairway now! I'm afraid of this
+lonely old house."
+
+"I won't let any mean old ghost get you," Penny chuckled teasingly. "I
+love stormy nights."
+
+Rosanna lay awake long after her companion had fallen asleep. She
+listened restlessly to the crash of the tree branches against the roof,
+the creaking of old timbers and boards. But the steady beat of rain on
+the windowpanes had a soothing effect upon tense nerves. Presently she
+dozed.
+
+Suddenly she found herself wide awake. She sat upright in bed, straining
+to hear. She was convinced that some unusual sound had aroused her.
+
+Then she heard it again. A peculiar pounding noise downstairs.
+
+She clutched Penny by the arm.
+
+"What is it?" the latter muttered drowsily.
+
+"Wake up! I think someone is trying to break into the house!"
+
+As the words penetrated Penny's consciousness, she became instantly
+alert. She too sat up, listening. Someone was pounding on the front door.
+
+"What shall we do?" Rosanna whispered in terror.
+
+Penny sprang from bed and snapped on the light. "I'm going to dress and
+go down. It may be Caleb Eckert."
+
+"Or a ghost," Rosanna chattered. "If you're going down, so am I."
+
+With the appearance of a light in the bedroom, the clanging on the door
+increased in violence. Penny, who was dressing as rapidly as she could,
+began to grow irritated.
+
+"Are they trying to break down the door?" she grumbled. "I should think
+whoever it is would know we're hurrying."
+
+Without delaying to lace up her shoes, she ran down the stairs, Rosanna
+close at her elbow. Before snapping on the living room lights the girls
+peered out the window.
+
+Slightly reassured by the appearance of the midnight visitors, they
+cautiously unbolted the front door.
+
+Mrs. Everett Leeds and her daughter Alicia, swept into the room. Both
+were bedraggled and obviously out of sorts.
+
+Mrs. Leeds shook the rain from her cape, flung her wet hat into the
+nearest chair, and then coldly surveyed the two girls.
+
+"What are you doing here, may I ask?" she inquired.
+
+"We _were_ sleeping," Penny smiled.
+
+"I mean, what are you doing in this house?"
+
+"It seems to belong to Rosanna," Penny said evenly. "She inherited it
+from her uncle, Jacob Winters."
+
+Mrs. Leeds' expression was difficult to interpret. For an instant she
+looked stunned. But she quickly recovered her poise.
+
+"Nonsense!" she said shortly. "This house belongs to me. Jacob Winters
+was my cousin. He died recently, leaving me everything. I have a letter
+and key to prove it. Naturally I couldn't use my key to get into the
+house for you had it bolted from the inside."
+
+Mrs. Leeds looked accusingly at the girls as she offered the letter to
+Penny. A casual glance assured the girls that it was identical with the
+one Rosanna had received and lost.
+
+"It's too late to go into this tonight," Penny protested. "Let's discuss
+it in the morning."
+
+"Very well," Mrs. Leeds agreed coldly. "Where are we to sleep?"
+
+Penny informed her that there were several empty bedrooms upstairs. She
+led the way to the upper floor. Opening the door of one of the rooms, she
+was surprised to see that it was not as well furnished as the bedroom
+which she and Rosanna shared. Mrs. Leeds uttered an exclamation of
+disgust.
+
+"Surely you don't expect me to sleep here, Miss Nichols. The room is
+dirty. Positively filthy."
+
+"Look at that long cobweb hanging from the ceiling!" Alicia added
+indignantly. "I'd have hysterics if I slept here."
+
+"Perhaps the adjoining room is better," Penny commented.
+
+An inspection revealed that if anything it was even more neglected.
+
+"I'm afraid you'll just have to make the best of it for tonight," Penny
+declared, "unless you care to drive on to the next town."
+
+"We'll stay," Mrs. Leeds decided instantly. "I'd prefer to sit up all
+night, rather than brave those horrible mountain roads again."
+
+"We slipped into a ditch coming here," Alicia informed. "That's what made
+us so late. We've had a terrible time."
+
+In a closet at the end of the hall, Penny and Rosanna found blankets and
+linen. As they made up the beds, neither Mrs. Leeds nor her daughter
+offered to assist. It was after one o'clock when the girls went back to
+their own room.
+
+"Mrs. Leeds means to make trouble about the inheritance," Penny remarked
+in an undertone as they snapped out the light once more. "I wonder if by
+any chance she could have picked up your letter and key?"
+
+"Oh, I doubt it," Rosanna returned. "I remember when we were at Mt.
+Ashland she dropped the hint that she was going to Raven Ridge. At least,
+she acted strangely when we mentioned the place."
+
+"Yes, she did. I had forgotten for the moment. Oh well, in the morning
+we'll learn exactly what she intends to do."
+
+Penny rolled over and soon was sleeping soundly. Toward morning she awoke
+to hear a clock somewhere in the house chiming four. At first she thought
+nothing of it, then it occurred to her that no one had wound any of the
+timepieces the previous evening. While she was musing over such an odd
+happening her keen ears detected the sound of soft footsteps in the long
+hall outside.
+
+"It's probably Mrs. Leeds or her daughter," she reasoned.
+
+The sounds persisted. At length Penny quietly arose and tiptoed to the
+door. She looked out into the dark hall. No one was within sight. Mrs.
+Leeds' door was closed.
+
+Penny went back to bed, taking care not to awaken Rosanna. Scarcely had
+she pulled the blankets up than the soft pad of footsteps could be heard
+again.
+
+"I hope it isn't that ghost Caleb warned us about," she thought uneasily.
+"Oh, bother! I know there aren't any ghosts!"
+
+Penny closed her eyes and tried to sleep but found it quite impossible.
+Even after the noise in the hall ceased she caught herself listening for
+the footsteps. At a quarter to seven she dressed and stole downstairs to
+see what she could find for breakfast.
+
+At eight o'clock when Rosanna came into the kitchen, Penny had coffee,
+cereal and crisp bacon ready.
+
+"The larder seems very well supplied," she informed cheerfully. "Someone
+left milk on our doorstep too. I imagine it must have been Caleb."
+
+"I'm hungry enough to eat anything," Rosanna declared. "Shall I call Mrs.
+Leeds and Alicia?"
+
+"Yes, do, although I don't know how they'll take to my cooking."
+
+Rosanna went upstairs to rap on Mrs. Leeds' door. She returned a minute
+later, reporting that neither of the guests would be down for breakfast.
+
+"They were quite put out at being disturbed so early," she told Penny
+ruefully.
+
+"We'll let them get their own breakfasts then. Come on, we'll have ours
+anyway."
+
+Penny had learned to cook very well under the tutelage of Mrs. Gallup.
+She had done remarkably well with the meager supplies at her disposal and
+Rosanna declared that the breakfast was excellent.
+
+The girls had finished the dishes and were stacking them away when Alicia
+came down the stairs.
+
+"Mother and I will take our breakfast now," she informed.
+
+Rosanna started toward the kitchen, but Penny neatly blocked the way.
+
+"Sorry," she said cheerfully, "but we've just finished ours. You'll find
+supplies in the kitchen."
+
+Alicia started to reply but without waiting to hear what she might have
+to say, Penny and Rosanna went out the back door.
+
+"While she cools off we may as well look over the grounds," Penny
+laughed. "If Mrs. Leeds and Alicia expect to get along with me, they'll
+have to learn that this household is going to operate on a cafeteria
+basis."
+
+From the rear door a sandstone path led down a steep incline to the brow
+of a high cliff. A river wound its way directly below, emptying into a
+crystal blue lake. Deep in the pine woods, some distance from the path, a
+cabin could be seen. The girls decided that it must belong to Caleb
+Eckert.
+
+While they were admiring the rugged scenery, someone came up behind them.
+They wheeled about to face Caleb himself.
+
+"Well, well, you both look bright and gay this morning," he greeted
+heartily. "Sleep well?"
+
+"Quite well," Rosanna told him shyly. "That is, we did until the visitors
+arrived."
+
+"Visitors?"
+
+Rosanna explained about Mrs. Leeds and her daughter while Penny added
+omitted details. For some reason they both were beginning to feel that
+Caleb was their ally.
+
+"All this talk about letters and keys and inheritances certainly has me
+puzzled," he proclaimed, shaking his head. "It's hard to believe that
+Jacob Winters is dead. I think I'll walk back to the house with you and
+have a little talk with Mrs. Leeds."
+
+"Did you leave milk at our doorstep this morning?" Penny questioned as
+they returned together.
+
+Caleb admitted that he had placed it there.
+
+"You've been very kind," Rosanna said gratefully. "I want to thank you
+before we leave."
+
+"You're not aiming to leave today?" Caleb asked quickly.
+
+"Well, yes, I imagine we will. I don't feel right about staying here."
+
+Caleb lowered his voice. "Take my advice, Miss Winters, and don't leave
+while that other woman and her daughter are here. From what you've told
+me, I think they mean to grab the property."
+
+"But what can I do?" Rosanna asked helplessly. "I've lost my letter and
+the key. I haven't any proof that the property was left to me."
+
+"Maybe this Leeds woman hasn't any proof that it was left to her either,"
+Caleb said sagely. "Anyway, we'll find out what she has to say."
+
+At first, Mrs. Leeds, accosted in the living room of the old house, had
+little comment to make. She was out of sorts from lack of sleep the
+previous night, and the breakfast which she and Alicia had endeavored to
+cook had not been a success. Nor was she impressed with Caleb who wore
+high boots, an old pair of dirty trousers and a crumpled felt hat.
+
+"I don't see why I should discuss my business affairs with you," she said
+aloofly. "I have inherited this property from my cousin and I mean to
+remain here in possession of it indefinitely if necessary."
+
+"May I see the letter which you say you received?" Caleb inquired.
+
+Mrs. Leeds hesitated, then reluctantly handed it over. Caleb studied it
+briefly and returned it.
+
+"You will require more than this as evidence of Mr. Winters' death," he
+said quietly. "For all I know, you may have forged this letter."
+
+"Preposterous!" Mrs. Leeds snapped. "I refuse to discuss the matter with
+you further. I shall send for my attorney and he will straighten out
+everything."
+
+"Not without the will, he can't," Caleb returned grimly. "And there's no
+telling what became of it."
+
+"The will?" Mrs. Leeds caught him up. "Are you sure there was a will?"
+
+"Mr. Winters told me once that he had made one and hidden it somewhere in
+the house."
+
+"Then of course it can be found."
+
+"Mr. Winters wouldn't want anyone prying around in his private papers,"
+Caleb insisted. "Until I have definite word that he is dead, I can't let
+anyone hunt for it."
+
+"I shouldn't call searching for the will exactly prying!" Mrs. Leeds
+retorted indignantly. "What right have you to say what is to be done
+here? Are you the caretaker?"
+
+"Well, not exactly, but Mr. Winters asked me to look after things until
+he got back."
+
+"That will must be found."
+
+Caleb's face tightened. "Mrs. Leeds," he said severely, "I repeat, things
+in this house must not be disturbed."
+
+Mrs. Leeds drew herself up proudly. "Unquestionably, the will leaves
+everything to me."
+
+"That may be," Caleb acknowledged, "but this girl here has a claim too."
+He indicated Rosanna.
+
+Mrs. Leeds froze her with a glance. Her eyes snapped like brands of fire
+as she listened to Rosanna's account of the letter and key. But a look of
+relief, which was not lost upon either of the girls, came over her face
+as she learned that they had been misplaced.
+
+"The story sounds ridiculous to me," Mrs. Leeds declared coldly. "If you
+can't produce the letter or the key, what proof have you that you
+actually are Jacob Winters' niece?"
+
+"I could get evidence within a few days," Rosanna declared. "The letter
+and key may show up too."
+
+"I think perhaps you dropped them in the car," Penny interrupted. "Let's
+look now."
+
+Leaving Mrs. Leeds and Caleb embroiled in another argument, they went
+outside where the automobile had been parked near the house. A careful
+search of the flooring and pockets of the car did not reveal the missing
+letter or key. Rosanna was completely discouraged.
+
+"Do you think Mrs. Leeds could have picked it up?" she asked gloomily.
+
+"I don't see how," Penny returned thoughtfully. "But there's one thing
+certain. She intends to make trouble. You surely don't intend to go away
+from here while she and her daughter are camped in the house?"
+
+"What else can we do?"
+
+"Send a wire to Dad that we're staying on a day or two," Penny answered
+instantly.
+
+"But won't that inconvenience both of you?"
+
+"No, I suspect Dad will be grateful for the rest and as for myself, I'd
+enjoy seeing this thing through."
+
+It required little urging to convince Rosanna of the wisdom of remaining
+on the scene. She had taken an immediate dislike to Mrs. Leeds and her
+daughter, and agreed with Penny that they were determined to claim more
+than a rightful share of the inheritance.
+
+Once the girls arrived at a decision they lost no time in driving to the
+nearest town where Penny dispatched a message to her father. Noticing an
+inviting looking restaurant, they ate lunch before motoring back to the
+Winters' mansion. It was nearly two o'clock when they reached the Ridge
+again.
+
+An unfamiliar car stood on the driveway. Penny was certain it did not
+belong to Mrs. Leeds for her mud-splattered sedan was parked some
+distance away.
+
+"It looks like more visitors," she commented as they crossed the veranda
+together.
+
+At the doorway both girls involuntarily paused. Mrs. Leeds was engaged in
+conversation with a stranger.
+
+For an instant Penny and Rosanna stood and stared. It was the same man
+who had refused them help on the road.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+                             "Ghost" Music
+
+
+As Penny and Rosanna entered the living room, the stranger turned to face
+them. For a long moment Penny was convinced that he was the shoplifter
+who had stolen the diamond ring from the Belton City department store.
+His build was the same and the general lines of his face were similar.
+Then the man spoke and she was not certain at all. The tone of his voice
+was entirely different as was his abrupt manner of speaking.
+
+A trifle nervously, or so it seemed to Penny, Caleb Eckert introduced the
+stranger.
+
+"Max Laponi," he said. "He represents himself as a nephew of Jacob
+Winters."
+
+"Not only do I represent myself as such, but I have proof that I am Uncle
+Jacob's nephew," the stranger retorted. "You'll find my credentials in
+order. I've come to take over the estate."
+
+The girls were not greatly surprised when he took from his pocket a
+letter similar to the one which Mrs. Leeds had produced. They were more
+impressed with the other papers which he offered for Caleb's
+inspection--a birth certificate, a letter of identification from a well
+known Chicago banker and various legal documents.
+
+"It looks to me as if someone has played a joke on all you folks," Caleb
+said slowly. "We don't know that Mr. Winters is even dead."
+
+"Oh, yes, we do," Max Laponi insisted, producing another letter. "This
+came from my attorney this morning. It definitely states that Mr.
+Winters--Uncle Jacob--was buried at sea."
+
+Caleb sank down in a chair. He scarcely read the letter although his face
+had turned an ashen hue.
+
+"I can't believe it even now," he murmured. "There must be some mistake."
+
+"There's no mistake," Max cut in sharply. "It's clear enough that I am
+the heir too. By the way, didn't the old man have a valuable collection
+of ivories?"
+
+Caleb stiffened visibly. "Ivories?" he asked blankly.
+
+"Sure, some pieces he collected years ago on his tours. Read about it in
+the paper."
+
+"Oh, so you read about it?" Caleb echoed significantly.
+
+"Uncle Jacob told me about the collection too. He always intended me to
+have it."
+
+"Then you should know where to find it," Caleb retorted bluntly. "I'm
+sure I don't."
+
+With that he turned and walked to the door. There he paused to fling over
+his shoulder:
+
+"I wash my hands of the whole matter. You folks will have to fight it out
+among you."
+
+Mrs. Leeds had managed to hold her tongue very well, but the moment that
+the door closed behind Caleb, she began an angry attack upon Rosanna and
+the newcomer, accusing both of being impostors. Unwilling to listen to
+such an unreasonable tirade, Penny and Rosanna fled out of doors.
+
+"Such a mad house!" Penny exclaimed, taking a deep breath. "I have to
+keep pinching myself to believe it's real!"
+
+"I never saw such a hopeless muddle," Rosanna added. "Everyone is so
+eager for the property no one gives the slightest thought to the tragedy
+which befell poor Mr. Winters."
+
+"Perhaps he isn't dead," Penny suggested.
+
+Rosanna stared. "What makes you think that? Didn't Mr. Laponi have proof
+of it?"
+
+"He seemed to have proof of everything," Penny admitted with a rueful
+laugh. "That's what makes me suspicious. There's something strange about
+this entire affair."
+
+"I agree with you there."
+
+"I'm convinced of one thing, Rosanna. Either Mrs. Leeds or this man
+Laponi is an impostor. At first I thought Laponi was the same person who
+stole the ring. Now I can't be sure."
+
+Rosanna did not believe that the two were identical although she admitted
+there was a close resemblance. However, she was quite willing to agree
+that the man seemed like an impostor despite his credentials.
+
+"He may have picked up that letter and key you lost," Penny went on,
+thinking aloud. "And there was something rather sinister in the way he
+mentioned the collection of ivories."
+
+"I noticed that. Caleb seemed disturbed."
+
+"It wouldn't surprise me if he knows where Mr. Winters kept the
+collection," Penny continued. "At any rate, he's wise to pretend
+ignorance. With such a mad lot of people in the house, anything might
+happen."
+
+Noticing a nearby path which led to a spring house, the girls followed
+it, drinking of the cool mountain water. They sat down on a bench which
+afforded a view of the tall chalk-like cliffs. After a time they felt
+soothed and tranquil again. They presently walked back to the house.
+
+Max Laponi was nowhere to be seen although Alicia told them that he was
+busy moving his things into one of the upstairs bedrooms.
+
+"Mother's worried since he came," the girl confided, growing more
+friendly. "They had a dreadful quarrel. Now she's hunting for the will."
+
+"But Caleb Eckert warned her not to do that," Penny protested.
+
+"That old meddler has nothing to do with this place," Alicia declared
+with a toss of her head. "I hope he minds his own business and stays
+away."
+
+The girls found Mrs. Leeds in the library. She was going through the
+drawers of the desk in systematic fashion, tossing papers carelessly on
+the floor. One drawer was locked. She shook it viciously.
+
+"Like as not Jacob Winters' will is locked up in there," she said
+irritably. "I'm half a notion to break into it."
+
+"Oh, you mustn't do that," Rosanna cried indignantly, before she could
+check herself.
+
+"And why shouldn't I?" Mrs. Leeds demanded tartly. "Jacob Winters is dead
+isn't he? And his will must be found. I suppose you're afraid to have the
+document come to light for fear you'll be cut off completely."
+
+Rosanna's cheeks flushed.
+
+"I never thought of such a thing, Mrs. Leeds. I think it's disgraceful
+the way everyone is acting about the property!"
+
+Before Mrs. Leeds could reply, she ran from the room. Penny loyally
+followed, joining Rosanna in the bedroom which they shared. She found the
+orphan in tears.
+
+"Forget it," Penny advised kindly. "Mrs. Leeds is so intent on getting
+the money that she doesn't realize what she says."
+
+"I'm sorry I ever came here. I want no part in this disgraceful grab for
+Uncle Jacob's money."
+
+"I know how you feel," Penny agreed, "but let's stay a day or two. I'm
+curious to learn just what is going on here."
+
+In truth, she was completely baffled. It was difficult for her to make up
+her mind whether or not the entire arrangement was a hoax. Somehow she
+had distrusted Laponi's credentials. She distrusted him too.
+
+"I don't believe he could be a nephew of Jacob Winters," she thought. "I
+wish there was some way to trace down his past."
+
+It was clear to Penny that Rosanna would never defend her claim to the
+inheritance. Unless she personally took a hand in the affair, Mrs. Leeds
+and Max Laponi would ignore the orphan completely.
+
+"I'll let them make the first move," she decided shrewdly. "For the time
+being I'll play a waiting game."
+
+For the greater part of the afternoon, Penny and Rosanna remained in
+their own room. Toward nightfall they walked about the grounds and later
+motored to a nearby inn for dinner. At nine o'clock when they returned to
+the big empty house, the downstairs was dark. They judged that Mrs. Leeds
+and Max Laponi had already gone to their rooms.
+
+"We may as well turn in too," Penny suggested. "The mountain air makes
+one drowsy."
+
+Both girls were soon sound asleep. However, sometime later Penny was
+awakened by the sound of footsteps in the hall. She thought little of it,
+and rolling over, tried to go to sleep again. Suddenly she heard soft
+music from above.
+
+She sat up in bed, listening. A strain of a famous opera resounded
+through the room, rising in volume, then falling away. Penny knew that
+she was not imagining it. She nudged her companion who quickly awakened.
+
+"Do you hear the same thing I do?"
+
+Rosanna clutched the sheets more tightly about her.
+
+"Ghost music," she whispered in awe.
+
+"It sounds like pipe organ music coming from a long distance away," Penny
+whispered. "I'm going to find out!"
+
+Before Rosanna could prevent it, she stole from bed and swiftly tiptoed
+to the door.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII
+                          The Ivory Collection
+
+
+Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark
+hall. She could hear the music distinctly. It seemed to be coming from
+almost directly overhead.
+
+By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend. They
+huddled together, listening.
+
+"It's an organ. I'm sure of it," Penny whispered. "But where can it be
+hidden?"
+
+"I'm afraid of this place," Rosanna chattered. "Let's lock the bedroom
+door and leave in the morning."
+
+Penny made no response. For that matter she did not even hear for she was
+intent upon trying to localize the sound of the music. Never inclined to
+be superstitious, she had no thought that the old house was haunted. She
+felt certain that the ghost-like music was man made.
+
+"This house must have a third floor or an attic," she declared softly.
+"Let's see if we can find our way up."
+
+"Never!"
+
+"Then I'm going alone."
+
+Penny started off down the hall. Rosanna hesitated, and then, unable to
+watch her friend walk into danger alone, hurriedly followed. Halfway down
+the hall she reached for the electric switch but Penny caught her hand
+before she could turn on the light.
+
+"Don't! It would give warning that we're coming."
+
+Groping about in the dark the girls went past Mrs. Leeds' bedroom and the
+one occupied by the stranger. Penny noted that the doors of both were
+tightly closed. At the end of the hall she found still another door.
+Gently she turned the handle and opened it. A steep flight of stairs led
+upward.
+
+"Oh, please, let's not go up," Rosanna pleaded, trembling.
+
+"You stay here," Penny said in a whisper. "If anything goes wrong, let
+out a cry for help."
+
+The mysterious music had ceased for the moment. Penny waited until it
+began again, and then, following the sound, crept noiselessly up the
+stairs leaving Rosanna on guard below.
+
+At the top of the last step Penny paused to listen again. Actually, she
+was not as courageous as she had pretended. She could hear her own heart
+pounding.
+
+It was so dark on the third floor that at first she could distinguish
+nothing. The music had increased in volume and Penny was more sure than
+ever that it came from a hidden pipe organ.
+
+As her eyes focused better she found herself standing upon a small
+landing from which branched two closed doors. After a slight hesitation
+she tiptoed to the nearest one and opened it a tiny crack.
+
+Although no sound had betrayed her, the music from within ended with a
+discordant crash. Startled, Penny allowed the door to swing wide. She
+started forward, and suddenly tripped. Until that moment her nerve had
+held steady. But as she stumbled and fell she uttered a shrill cry of
+terror.
+
+Rosanna, fearing the worst, came running up the stairs.
+
+"Penny! Penny! Are you hurt?"
+
+Reassured by her friend's voice, Penny scrambled to her feet and met
+Rosanna at the door.
+
+"I'm all right," she said shakily. "But I've done enough investigating
+for one night!"
+
+"What frightened you so?"
+
+"I'll tell you later."
+
+They lost no time in returning to the lower floor. Down the hall, Mrs.
+Leeds' door had opened. A light flashed on.
+
+"What is going on here?" Mrs. Leeds demanded, emerging into the hallway.
+"Such a house I never saw! First it's music--then a scream! It's enough
+to send one into hysterics."
+
+Penny and Rosanna could not refrain from smiling, for Mrs. Leeds looked
+ridiculous in her curlers which were sticking out from her head at all
+angles. Before they could answer, Alicia joined her mother.
+
+"I should think you could go to your room and let folks sleep!" she said
+irritably. "You've been running up and down the hall all night."
+
+"You're wrong there," Penny returned. "This is the first time Rosanna or
+I have stirred from our room. We got up to investigate the mysterious
+music."
+
+"Then you heard it too?" Mrs. Leeds breathed in awe. "I thought perhaps I
+had imagined that part of it."
+
+"No, you heard music all right," Penny told her grimly.
+
+"It isn't--you don't think the house is haunted?" Alicia stammered
+nervously. "That old man--what's his name--was trying to tell us about
+someone having died in a room on the upper floor!"
+
+"Well, the music seemed to come from the third floor," Penny informed,
+relishing the effect which her words produced. "As for the scream, I can
+account for that. I tripped and fell. Now I think we may as well all go
+back to bed. There's been so much commotion that I rather judge our
+'ghost' has been frightened away for the time being."
+
+"I can't sleep a wink after all this has happened," Mrs. Leeds declared.
+"I shall sit up until morning."
+
+"As you wish," Penny said indifferently. "I'm going to bed."
+
+As she walked down the hall to her own room she glanced rather sharply at
+the door of Max Laponi's room. It was still tightly closed.
+
+"Our friend appears to be a sound sleeper," she remarked to Rosanna.
+
+In the privacy of their bedroom, Rosanna demanded to know exactly what
+had happened.
+
+"Well, I didn't see much," Penny admitted. "But I did learn one
+interesting thing. There's a pipe organ installed in this house. I might
+have discovered who was playing it too only I tripped over a rope which
+had been strung up in front of the door."
+
+"Placed there deliberately, you think?"
+
+"Of course. It startled me so that I let out that wild yell. I don't care
+to do any more investigating tonight, but in the morning I mean to have a
+good look at that room upstairs."
+
+"You have more nerve than I," Rosanna declared admiringly.
+
+Penny carefully locked the outside door before turning out the light. It
+was twenty minutes after twelve by her wrist watch.
+
+"I shouldn't call it nerve exactly," she replied thoughtfully, climbing
+into bed. "The truth is, I'm a little afraid, Rosanna."
+
+"Then why do you go up there again?"
+
+"Oh, I don't mean that. It isn't the music that has me frightened."
+
+"But what else is there to be afraid of?" Rosanna persisted.
+
+"It's just a feeling, I guess," Penny admitted. "I can't explain--only it
+seems to me that some sinister plot is brewing in this old house."
+
+"I have the same sensation," Rosanna confessed. "Let's leave in the
+morning."
+
+Penny laughed softly and settled herself more comfortably in the pillows.
+
+"Never!" she retorted. "I'm the daughter of a detective you know! This is
+our own special mystery case, and unless that ghost gets me first, I
+intend to get him!"
+
+With that threat, Penny rolled over and lost herself in sleep.
+
+The warm sun was streaming in at the windows when the girls aroused
+themselves. They dressed and went downstairs, finding the house quite
+deserted. Apparently Mrs. Leeds, her daughter and Max Laponi had gone to
+the village for breakfast.
+
+"I wish they had vanished for good but there's no use hoping that," Penny
+commented. "I doubt if even a ghost could keep Mrs. Leeds from remaining
+until the estate is settled."
+
+The girls cooked their own breakfast, utilizing supplies which they had
+purchased at the nearby town. As they washed the dishes and stacked them
+away, Rosanna mentioned again that she did not feel comfortable about
+making such free use of her unknown uncle's property.
+
+"Perhaps it isn't just the thing to do," Penny acknowledged, "but the
+situation isn't a normal one either. If Mr. Eckert says it is all right
+for us to stay on, I don't think we should worry."
+
+"Will it do us any good to remain?" Rosanna pondered in a troubled tone.
+"If Mr. Eckert can't tell us what became of my uncle, who could?"
+
+"That's just the point, Rosanna. I believe he knows more than he lets
+on."
+
+Penny's gaze wandered to the tiny log cabin set back in the pine woods.
+Wisps of thin smoke curled from the chimney. That meant that Caleb must
+be at home.
+
+"Let's walk down there and talk with him," she proposed impulsively.
+"It's time he answers a few of our questions."
+
+Caleb did not come to the door to answer their timid knock. Instead he
+called out a hearty, "Come in," which they instantly obeyed.
+
+Caleb was the picture of comfort, sitting propped back in his chair by
+the window, puffing at an old pipe. He arose reluctantly and dusted off
+two camp stools for the visitors.
+
+"We thought perhaps you might furnish us with a little information,"
+Penny began pleasantly.
+
+Her eyes roved swiftly about the room. She noticed the open bookcase with
+four rows of well-thumbed volumes. The titles were impressive. Caleb
+Eckert, despite his rough appearance, seemingly had a liking for
+intellectual books.
+
+"Well, what is it you want to know?" Caleb demanded, not unkindly. "I've
+told you before that I'll have nothing to do with this muddle over Mr.
+Winters' property."
+
+"I've given up all hope of inheriting any of the estate," Rosanna said.
+"But I should like to hear about my uncle. What was he like?"
+
+"Some folks said he was the queerest man on Snow Mountain. I liked him
+because he attended to his own business. He was considered a remarkable
+sportsman by some."
+
+Penny's eyes traveled to a huge bear skin which hung on the cabin wall.
+Caleb followed her gaze.
+
+"Mr. Winters gave me that skin last year when he came back from his trip
+north. A mighty nice specimen."
+
+"Do you have a picture of Mr. Winters?" Penny asked, abruptly changing
+the subject.
+
+Caleb shook his head. He began to talk about the bear skin again. Rosanna
+listened eagerly, but Penny sensed that the old man was trying to
+monopolize the conversation and thus keep her from asking questions which
+he did not care to answer.
+
+When she succeeded in breaking in it was to bring up the subject of Mr.
+Winters' ivory collection. Caleb seemed reluctant to offer definite
+information.
+
+"All I know is that Mr. Winters was supposed to have one," he answered.
+"Folks said it was worth a fortune and that he had spent years gathering
+it."
+
+"What became of the collection?" Penny inquired curiously.
+
+"How should I know?" Caleb retorted crossly. "Seems to me you girls ask a
+lot of silly questions."
+
+"We didn't mean to be inquisitive," Penny apologized. "Only it struck me
+that Max Laponi has an unusual interest in that collection of ivory."
+
+Caleb eyed her strangely. "So you noticed it too?" he asked.
+
+Penny nodded. "Perhaps I shouldn't say it, but I don't trust that man,
+Mr. Eckert. If Mr. Winters' collection of ivory is still in the house,
+don't you think it should be removed to a safer place?"
+
+"That's what I'd like to do," Caleb muttered, looking out the window.
+
+"Then you do know where the ivory collection is," Penny tripped him.
+
+Caleb glared at her. "I didn't say so, did I? Why should Mr. Winters tell
+me where he kept his valuables? Bosh! I tell you I won't be mixed up in
+the muddle. Now go away and let me sleep!"
+
+Caleb stretched himself out on the couch and closed his eyes. Thus
+dismissed, the girls hastily departed.
+
+"Such a cross old man!" Rosanna exclaimed when they were out of earshot.
+"But even though he is irritable, I rather like him."
+
+"So do I," Penny admitted with a laugh. "You know, I think our questions
+about the ivory collection disturbed him more than he cared to show."
+
+"He did seem reluctant to tell us anything about it."
+
+"We'll nail him down yet," Penny declared grimly as they walked slowly
+toward the house on the cliff. "Unless I'm sadly mistaken, that ivory
+collection is hidden somewhere on the premises and he's scared silly for
+fear someone will find it!"
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IX
+                            A Scrap of Paper
+
+
+Penny and Rosanna entered the house by the side door. Hearing a murmur of
+voices from the direction of the library, they involuntarily paused to
+listen.
+
+"If we go into this thing as partners we're both bound to profit," they
+heard a man say in an insistent tone. "Think it over and I know you'll
+see how easily it can be accomplished. Those two girls are nit-wits.
+They'll make no trouble."
+
+Penny and Rosanna exchanged a startled glance. They recognized Max
+Laponi's voice. So he was plotting against them! Undoubtedly, planning to
+secure complete control of the Winters' estate.
+
+"I'm going to find out with whom he is talking," Penny whispered.
+
+Before Rosanna could protest, she walked to the library door and opened
+it. Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi were sitting at the desk, examining some
+document which was spread out before them. As Penny came in, Laponi
+whisked it into his pocket.
+
+"Oh, I beg your pardon," Penny said casually. "I didn't mean to
+interrupt."
+
+"You aren't at all, my dear," Mrs. Leeds said more graciously than was
+her custom. "Mr. Laponi was just showing me a letter from his sister."
+
+"Yes, from my sister," Laponi echoed with a slight smirk. "She lives in
+Naples and writes such interesting letters."
+
+Penny found it difficult to refrain from smiling. She pretended to search
+in the bookcase for a volume.
+
+"I thought possibly you had discovered the will," she remarked
+mischievously.
+
+"The will! Oh, no!" Mrs. Leeds assured her.
+
+"That is a good joke," Laponi echoed. "Ha! Ha! Even a ferret couldn't
+find old Jacob Winters' will in this house!"
+
+Penny was aware that both Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi were watching her
+shrewdly, trying to make up their minds if she had overheard anything.
+She dared say no more lest she betray herself. Picking up a book she
+quietly withdrew.
+
+"It's just as I thought," she told Rosanna when they were together in
+their bedroom. "Laponi is trying to get Mrs. Leeds involved in some
+scheme to steal the property. Unless we watch out, Rosanna, they'll get
+everything away from you."
+
+"I don't much care," Rosanna returned in disgust. "I never saw such
+disgraceful actions in all my life. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather
+leave this place tomorrow and let the lawyers settle everything."
+
+"There will be nothing left to settle when Mrs. Leeds and Laponi get
+through. It's pretty evident that one or the other is an impostor."
+
+"But we can't prove that, Penny. If only I hadn't lost my key and the
+credentials!"
+
+"We're only starting to work on this case," Penny said cheerfully. "Let's
+keep our eyes and ears open. We may discover something of value."
+
+Since their arrival at the old house, the girls had awaited an
+opportunity to inspect the third floor, hoping to discover the cause of
+the mysterious music which had disturbed the household. Penny suggested
+that while Mrs. Leeds and Laponi were occupied in the library they might
+make their tour of investigation. Rosanna agreed but without enthusiasm.
+She was not as venturesome as her companion.
+
+Penny led the way to the third floor landing. The hall was dark and
+dusty; cobwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling.
+
+Penny cast an appraising glance about her. The doors leading from the
+hall were all closed. She was certain that upon her previous visit one
+had been slightly ajar.
+
+She reached for the knob and turned it. The door did not give. It was
+locked.
+
+"That's funny," Penny murmured.
+
+"What is?"
+
+"I'm sure this door was unlocked before."
+
+"Perhaps it was the other one," Rosanna suggested.
+
+They moved on down the hall to try the second door. It too was securely
+fastened.
+
+"I distinctly recall opening that other door," Penny maintained. "I
+started to go in and tripped over something. I suspect it was a rope
+stretched just inside the door."
+
+"Well, if we can't get in I guess we can't learn anything," Rosanna said,
+somewhat in relief.
+
+Penny made no response. She bent down to peer through the keyhole.
+
+"See anything?" Rosanna asked.
+
+"Just a big empty room. But there is something up against the far wall!
+Rosanna, it's a pipe organ!"
+
+After a minute she stepped away that her friend might see for herself.
+Rosanna agreed that the shadowy outline was an organ and a magnificent
+one.
+
+"The music came from this room all right," Penny said excitedly. "I wish
+we could get in."
+
+After trying the door again, the girls returned to the second floor. As
+Penny closed the stairway door she noticed that it had a key. Upon
+impulse she turned it in the lock and pocketed the key with a smile of
+satisfaction.
+
+"That should put a stop to the music for a few nights," she remarked.
+"I'll show that ghost I can lock a few doors myself!"
+
+As they reached their own bedroom, Rosanna said that she believed she
+would lie down for a half hour. The events of the past few days had worn
+her down, both physically and mentally.
+
+"Do," Penny urged: "A sleep will refresh you. I think I'll go downstairs
+and see if I can discover what plot is brewing."
+
+She descended the spiral stairway and paused at the library. It was
+empty. The house was strangely silent. Penny crossed the hall to the
+living room. Heavy draperies screened the arched doorway. As Penny pulled
+them aside to enter, she saw Mrs. Leeds standing at the fireplace, her
+back to the door. Something about her manner aroused Penny's suspicions.
+She waited and watched.
+
+Mrs. Leeds had built up a roaring fire on the hearth. She held a paper in
+her hand. Deliberately, she tore it into a dozen pieces and dropped them
+into the flames.
+
+Penny hastily entered the room.
+
+Mrs. Leeds wheeled, her cheeks flushing. "How you startled me, Miss
+Nichols! You surely have a way of coming in quietly."
+
+"Sorry," Penny said, walking over to the hearth. "How nice to have a
+fire, although it is a little warm today."
+
+"The room seemed damp," Mrs. Leeds said nervously. "I was cold. I think
+I'll go to my room and get a sweater."
+
+The instant Mrs. Leeds had disappeared, Penny snatched a charred piece of
+paper from the hearth. It was the only scrap which had not been
+completely consumed by the flames.
+
+Only a few scattered lines with many words missing were visible. The
+others were blackened or torn away.
+
+Penny distinguished a part of the writing: "Last will and testam-- --do
+bequeath to my niece, Ro--"
+
+"This must be a portion of Jacob Winters' will!" she thought. "Mrs. Leeds
+probably found it somewhere in the house and decided to destroy it
+because she or her daughter weren't mentioned!"
+
+She stared at the word which began Ro----. The remaining letters had been
+torn away. Had Mr. Winters written Rosanna's name? If only she had
+entered the living room a minute earlier she might have prevented the
+document from being destroyed!
+
+In reviewing Mrs. Leeds' actions during the past two days, Penny could
+not doubt that the woman had actually found the missing will. Since her
+arrival at Raven Ridge she had spent most of her time poking about into
+odd corners of the house. The locked drawer of the desk had annoyed her
+exceedingly.
+
+"I'll just take a look and see if it's still locked," Penny thought.
+
+She opened the desk and tried the drawer. It readily opened.
+
+"Empty," Penny commented grimly. "Just as I suspected."
+
+She examined the lock. It was evident at a glance that it had been broken
+by a sharp instrument and not unlocked with a key.
+
+"The will was hidden in this drawer," she mused. "I feel confident of it.
+And it must have been drawn up in Rosanna's favor or Mrs. Leeds never
+would have destroyed it."
+
+Penny closed the desk and carefully placed the charred bit of paper in
+her dress pocket. She was deeply disturbed over the discovery, realizing
+that Mrs. Leeds, by destroying the document, had gained a great
+advantage. However, she had no intention of abandoning the fight.
+
+"I'll keep this strictly to myself," she decided. "For the present I'll
+not even tell Rosanna. It would only disappoint her to learn that the
+will has been burned."
+
+Since Mrs. Leeds' arrival at Raven Ridge, Penny had done everything in
+her power to avoid a break with the arrogant society woman. She had
+ignored snubs and many unkind remarks. Now she felt that if Rosanna's
+interests were to be safeguarded, she no longer could afford to play a
+waiting game.
+
+"Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi have shown their hand," she reflected. "They
+mean to gain their ends by any possible means. But since they're stooping
+to underhanded tricks, I may have a few little schemes of my own!"
+
+Penny was unusually silent that evening. Rosanna noticed it at once but
+thinking that her friend was absorbed in her own thoughts, refrained from
+questioning her.
+
+At six o'clock the girls motored to Andover for dinner. To their chagrin,
+Mrs. Leeds and her daughter Alicia chanced to select the same cafe. All
+during the meal, Penny noticed the woman's eyes upon her. As she and
+Rosanna arose to leave, Mrs. Leeds hastily followed them.
+
+"Miss Winters, may I speak with you a moment?" she began coldly.
+
+"Why, yes, of course," Rosanna responded.
+
+"I mean alone."
+
+Rosanna hesitated and glanced at Penny. The latter started to move away.
+
+"No, don't go," Rosanna said quickly. "I am sure that anything Mrs. Leeds
+may wish to say to me can be said in front of you."
+
+"Very well," Mrs. Leeds returned icily. "Evidence has reached me today
+which proves conclusively that I am Jacob Winters' sole heir."
+
+Rosanna took the blow without the quiver of an eyelash.
+
+"What evidence, may I ask, Mrs. Leeds?"
+
+"I don't feel compelled to go into that, Miss Winters. Certainly not in
+the presence of strangers or on the street."
+
+"Penny isn't exactly a stranger," Rosanna smiled.
+
+"From the first I have been very tolerant, I think," Mrs. Leeds went on,
+ignoring the orphan's remark. "By your own admission you have no
+credentials--we have only your word that you are even related to Jacob
+Winters."
+
+"I had a letter and key--the same as you," Rosanna faltered. "Either I
+lost them or they were stolen."
+
+"And Rosanna happens to be a niece of Mr. Winters," Penny added
+significantly. "I believe you are only a cousin, Mrs. Leeds?"
+
+The woman eyed her furiously.
+
+"Just what is it that you want me to do?" Rosanna asked.
+
+"I think you both should leave immediately."
+
+"And allow you to have everything your way," Penny interposed sweetly.
+"Now wouldn't that be nice--for you!"
+
+She took Rosanna by the arm and urged her toward the car.
+
+"Don't allow Miss Nichols to poison your mind!" Mrs. Leeds pleaded,
+following Rosanna to the curbing. "Unless you leave immediately you will
+receive no part of the fortune. If you go without making any further
+trouble, I might agree to some small settlement. After all, I mean to be
+generous."
+
+"Thanks for telling us," Penny smiled.
+
+She closed the car door and they drove away.
+
+"Perhaps we shouldn't have been so short with her," Rosanna said uneasily
+as they returned to the house on Snow Mountain. "If it's true that the
+property has been left to her, then she was being generous to offer to
+give me anything."
+
+"Don't worry, she'd forget her promise soon enough if she succeeded in
+getting you away from here, Rosanna. I detest that woman. She thinks she
+is so subtle and she's as transparent as glass!"
+
+"I wonder what evidence she referred to?" Rosanna mused.
+
+Penny started to speak, then changed her mind. Although Mrs. Leeds had no
+suspicion that she guessed the truth, she was well aware of the nature of
+the new evidence. However, she refrained from mentioning the burned will,
+realizing that Rosanna, in her present depressed state of mind, would be
+greatly disturbed by the information. If the orphan believed that she no
+longer had a definite claim to the fortune, she would insist upon leaving
+Raven Ridge without further delay.
+
+Penny did not intend to quit the scene until she had answered several
+questions to her satisfaction.
+
+The entire case seemed a trifle fantastic as she reviewed it. First,
+Rosanna had received the strange letter signed by a fictitious name.
+Then, although the orphan had lost the key, they had found the door of
+the Winters' mansion unlocked. Close upon the heels of their arrival,
+Mrs. Leeds, her daughter, and Max Laponi appeared. Since then, the house
+had been disturbed by haunting organ music and one baffling event had
+crowded upon another.
+
+"It's all very bewildering," Penny reflected. "But I believe that
+everything can be fitted together if only I am able to learn the identity
+of the mysterious ghost."
+
+The night closed in dark and windy. Penny and Rosanna sat by the fire,
+trying to read. They were relieved when Mrs. Leeds and her daughter
+retired to their rooms shortly after eight o'clock for it gave them an
+opportunity to talk. At ten o'clock the girls went to their own room. Max
+Laponi had not yet returned from Andover where he took his meals.
+
+Penny was tired and fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the
+pillow. Hours later she was awakened by Rosanna who was sitting upright
+in bed.
+
+"What is it?" Penny mumbled drowsily.
+
+Then she knew. The house reverberated with the soft chords of a pipe
+organ.
+
+Without switching on the electric lights, Penny drew on her dressing
+gown. She started toward the door, then returned to grope in the drawer
+of the dresser where she found the key which locked the door leading to
+the attic floor.
+
+"What are you going to do?" Rosanna asked anxiously, drawing the
+bedclothes closer about her.
+
+Penny already had gone. Stealing quietly down the dark hall she reached
+the end of it and stood listening. The door leading to the third floor
+was closed. She could hear the music more distinctly than before and knew
+for a certainty that it came from above.
+
+She gently tried the door. It was still locked.
+
+Penny was momentarily baffled. She had half expected to find the door
+unlocked. She had been so confident that by taking the key she could put
+a stop to the ghost music.
+
+"How did the organist reach the third floor if he didn't pass through
+this door?" she debated. "That ghost must be quite a clever fellow if he
+can enter without keys."
+
+The entire house had been carefully locked up for the night. Penny and
+Rosanna had attended to it the last thing before retiring, knowing that
+Max Laponi could come in later by using his own pass key. They had
+secured every door and window.
+
+"Well, I won't learn anything by standing here," Penny thought
+uncomfortably. "I'll have to go up there." Her usual courage was at low
+ebb. She dreaded the ordeal.
+
+However, before she could open the stairway door, a shrill scream echoed
+down the hall.
+
+Terrified, Penny crouched back against the wall and waited.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+                             The Wall Safe
+
+
+Recovering from her fright, Penny reached up and snapped on the light.
+She heard a door open down the hall. Mrs. Leeds, a dressing gown clutched
+about her unshapely figure, stumbled toward the girl.
+
+"There's something in my room! It struck my face while I was sleeping!
+Oh, oh, such a horrible house!"
+
+"Control yourself," Penny advised, taking her by the arm. "We'll see what
+it is."
+
+Mrs. Leeds jerked away, assuming an attitude of tense listening. For the
+first time she had paid heed to the organ music from above.
+
+"There it is again!" she whispered in awe. "This house is haunted."
+
+Rosanna came down the hall, joining the two at Mrs. Leeds' door. Alicia
+huddled nearby, too frightened to speak a word.
+
+Penny opened the door and groped for the electric switch. As the room was
+flooded with light, she looked quickly about. Everything was in disorder
+but that was because Mrs. Leeds had done no straightening or cleaning
+since her arrival.
+
+Suddenly Penny began to laugh.
+
+"Pray what do you find that is so humorous?" Mrs. Leeds demanded
+indignantly.
+
+"Bats!" Penny answered, laughing again.
+
+There were four of them blinded by the light, cowering in the corners of
+the room. Penny opened a window and with Rosanna's help drove them out
+into the night.
+
+"They must have come in through an open window," she said to Mrs. Leeds.
+
+"I didn't have a window open," the woman retorted. "I can't bear to sleep
+in this room again. Tomorrow I shall move into another. Come Alicia,
+we'll sit up until morning in the living room."
+
+Returning to her own room, Penny listened for the organ music. It had
+ceased as mysteriously as it had begun. She glanced curiously toward the
+room occupied by Max Laponi. The door was closed. He alone of the entire
+household seemed undisturbed by the strange things which went on about
+him.
+
+"I'd like to know if he really is in his room," Penny thought.
+
+She hesitated by the door but did not have the courage to try the knob.
+After a moment she followed Rosanna to their bedroom at the other end of
+the hall.
+
+Morning found Mrs. Leeds even more upset than upon the previous night.
+Her eyes were bloodshot, her face sallow, her clothes unpressed. She
+quarreled with her daughter and ignored Penny and Rosanna. However, when
+Max Laponi came down the stairs looking as dapper as ever, her attitude
+instantly changed. She spoke to him in a softer tone.
+
+"We were beginning to wonder if the ghost made off with you last night,"
+she said archly.
+
+"What ghost?"
+
+"You mean to say you didn't hear the music?"
+
+"Not a sound," Laponi told her. "I am a very hard sleeper."
+
+He seemed disinclined to listen to Mrs. Leeds' account of all that had
+transpired, and very shortly drove away in his automobile, ostensibly to
+have breakfast in a nearby town.
+
+After straightening their room and making the bed, Rosanna and Penny went
+for a short walk. They sat down by the cliff where they could see the
+river below, discussing the situation.
+
+"I don't see that it's doing a particle of good to stay here," Rosanna
+insisted. "I don't feel right about letting you waste so much time and
+money."
+
+Rosanna was thinking of the expensive meals which they bought at Andover.
+Because her own supply of cash had run so low, Penny paid for everything.
+Rosanna meant to settle the debt and it steadily grew larger.
+
+"Now don't worry," Penny advised kindly. "I'm staying on here largely
+because I've determined to discover the identity of our ghost. Then, too,
+I can't bear to see Mrs. Leeds gain what doesn't belong to her."
+
+"I'd be glad to stay if I thought it would do the slightest good--"
+
+"I think it will Rosanna. I have a scheme which I intend to try. It will
+take a few days before we can work things out."
+
+Penny then explained a part of what was in her mind. She was not certain
+as to all the details of her plan, but little by little it was taking
+shape.
+
+After a time the girls walked down to Caleb Eckert's cabin. He was not at
+home. They sauntered leisurely back to the house on the cliff.
+
+Neither Mrs. Leeds' car nor the one belonging to Max Laponi was on the
+driveway.
+
+"I guess we're the only ones here this morning," Penny commented.
+
+They entered by the front door. From the direction of the living room
+they heard a muffled exclamation of impatience. Signaling for silence,
+Penny tiptoed toward the velvet curtains which hid the living room from
+view. She parted them.
+
+Caleb Eckert was working at the dials of a wall safe which had been
+concealed in a secret panel behind a large oil painting.
+
+Although the girls had made no sound, Caleb sensed their presence. He
+turned and faced them.
+
+"Why, Mr. Eckert, doesn't this call for some explanation?" Penny asked in
+bewilderment. "Surely you have no right to tamper with Mr. Winters'
+safe."
+
+The old man plainly was embarrassed. He moistened his lips, looked away,
+then said gruffly:
+
+"I didn't come here to steal. I came because I wanted to protect Mr.
+Winters' valuables. There's folks in this house that I don't trust."
+
+"But how does it happen you know the combination of the safe?" Rosanna
+inquired.
+
+"Mr. Winters gave it to me before he left. You see, he was my best
+friend. Jacob trusted me."
+
+"He must have," cut in a sneering voice from directly behind.
+
+Everyone turned to see Max Laponi standing in the doorway. His sharp
+little eyes moved swiftly about the room taking in everything. They came
+to rest upon the wall safe.
+
+Caleb spun the dials. He hastily pressed a concealed button and the
+picture swung back into place, hiding the safe.
+
+"Neat little device," Laponi commented dryly. His eyes narrowed. "Trying
+to steal the Winters' booty, were you?"
+
+"Certainly not," Caleb retorted angrily.
+
+Laponi caught him roughly by the shoulder, forcing him back against the
+wall.
+
+"You know a lot more than you let on," he accused. "Tell me, is that
+where old Winters hid his ivory collection?"
+
+"I'll tell you nothing," Caleb snapped.
+
+"You'll tell or I'll--"
+
+"Mr. Laponi, you're hurting him!" Rosanna cried.
+
+"Perhaps we should call the police if there's to be trouble," Penny added
+cunningly.
+
+At the mention of police, Laponi instantly released his grip on Caleb. He
+laughed harshly.
+
+"We'll let it go this time," he said, "but I'm warning you, Eckert, stay
+away from this house and this safe if you know what's good for you."
+
+"You might take that advice to yourself, too," the old man retorted,
+edging toward the door.
+
+From the window the girls watched him hurry down the path to his own
+cabin. His departure was almost flight. Obviously, Caleb was afraid.
+
+Penny did not know what to believe. An hour before she would have taken
+oath that he was strictly honest, devoted to the interests of Jacob
+Winters. Now she could not be sure.
+
+Max Laponi lingered in the living room. Suspecting that he intended to
+investigate the wall safe the instant he was alone, Penny and Rosanna
+settled themselves for a long stay. They pretended to read.
+
+After an hour, Laponi grew tired of the game, and went off, grumbling to
+himself.
+
+"We outlasted him that time," Penny chuckled. "However, we'll have to be
+on the lookout or he'll sneak back sometime when we're gone. I wonder if
+Mr. Winters did leave his ivory collection in the safe?"
+
+"Laponi seems to think so," Rosanna commented. "I'm glad he doesn't know
+the combination. I distrust him even more than I do Caleb."
+
+"So do I, but I intend to watch them both," Penny responded thoughtfully.
+"I'm convinced there's a deep plot brewing--something far more sinister
+than we've suspected."
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XI
+                           A Night Adventure
+
+
+Since taking leave of Mr. Nichols at Mt. Ashland, Penny had received no
+word from her father. She did not worry actively, yet it was a great
+relief when later in the afternoon a uniformed messenger boy delivered a
+telegram into her hand.
+
+"Remain as long as you wish," her father wired. "Am enjoying good rest
+here."
+
+From an upstairs window Mrs. Leeds had noted the arrival of the messenger
+boy. She came hurrying down to see if the message was for her. While
+Penny read the communication, the woman eyed her suspiciously.
+
+At last her curiosity could no longer be restrained. She asked
+carelessly: "I don't suppose your wire has anything to do with Jacob
+Winters or the estate?"
+
+"Only indirectly," Penny responded mischievously.
+
+To avoid further questioning, the girls went outdoors.
+
+"Let's see if Caleb is at home," Penny proposed.
+
+They rapped several times upon the door of the cabin and were about to
+turn away, when the old man opened it.
+
+"Sorry to bother you," Penny apologized. "I wanted to ask a few more
+questions about Mr. Winters."
+
+Caleb looked ill at ease. "Questions!" he fumed. "Well, what is it you
+want to know this time?"
+
+"Tell me, isn't there a pipe organ on the third floor of Mr. Winters'
+house?"
+
+"Certainly. Jacob was a talented musician. He installed the organ nearly
+fifteen years ago. But what of it may I ask?"
+
+"We'd like very much to see the organ."
+
+"Well, why don't you look at it then?"
+
+"We can't because the door is locked."
+
+"Locked?" Caleb seemed surprised. "That's funny. I didn't know Mr.
+Winters ever locked up his conservatory."
+
+"Then you haven't a key?" Penny asked.
+
+"Why should I have a key?" Caleb snorted. "You act as if I'm the
+caretaker of that house. It's nothing to me what goes on there, except
+that I don't like to see folks overrun the place and steal Mr. Winters'
+fine things."
+
+"You needn't look at us so accusingly," Rosanna said with surprising
+spirit. "We wouldn't take or damage one single thing in that house."
+
+Caleb's face softened.
+
+"I didn't mean to suggest that you would. I believe you two girls aren't
+like those others. But you were speaking of the organ. Why are you so
+interested in it?"
+
+"Because we've been hearing music at night," Penny informed. "It seems to
+come from that room on the third floor."
+
+Caleb regarded her in awe. "Then it's true, the things they say."
+
+"What things?" Rosanna asked impatiently.
+
+"That the house is haunted. If Mr. Winters really is dead it may be----"
+
+"Nonsense!" Penny cut in. "Rosanna and I don't believe in ghosts. And
+what's more, I doubt if you do, Caleb Eckert! That so-called ghost is a
+very live one. If you won't help me, I'll solve the mystery alone!"
+
+And with this declaration, Penny stalked from the cabin, followed by the
+faithful Rosanna.
+
+"Perhaps you've antagonized him now," the latter said as they went back
+to the house on the cliff.
+
+"I don't care if I have! Caleb knows a great deal more than he pretends.
+He could help us if he wanted to!"
+
+No one was stirring on the lower floor of the Winters' house when the
+girls entered. To Penny it seemed an admirable time to institute a search
+of the premises.
+
+"We'll let Mrs. Leeds hunt for the will," Penny declared, "but we'll look
+for something which may prove equally valuable."
+
+"What?" Rosanna asked curiously.
+
+"A picture of Jacob Winters."
+
+"I can't see what good it will do to find one except that I'd like to
+have a photo of my uncle as a keepsake."
+
+"If my plans work out I'll have a more important use for it," Penny
+smiled mysteriously.
+
+"I should think we could find one somewhere in the house," Rosanna
+declared. "Most people have old photographs stuck around in odd places."
+
+For nearly an hour the girls poked about in drawers and clothes closets
+until Rosanna protested that she felt as prying and sneaking as Mrs.
+Leeds.
+
+"This is in a better cause," Penny laughed.
+
+"It looks that way to us because it's my cause," Rosanna smiled. "Still,
+I'd never examine private papers or locked drawers."
+
+Penny made no response for in a lower table drawer she had come upon an
+old album. She displayed her discovery and page by page the girls went
+through it, laughing a little at the strange old-fashioned costumes and
+the stiff poses of the subjects. Names were written under a few of the
+photographs but Rosanna recognized only one or two as relatives.
+
+"I never knew many of my relation," she admitted. "If Mrs. Leeds and her
+daughter are samples, perhaps it's just as well."
+
+"The people in this album look nice, Rosanna. I suppose most of them are
+dead by this time."
+
+Penny turned a page and stared blankly down at an empty folder.
+
+"Why, here is your uncle's name," she cried, indicating a signature at
+the bottom of the page. "But the photo is gone!"
+
+"Oh, how disappointing."
+
+"Someone removed the photo, Rosanna. Perhaps deliberately too."
+
+"What makes you think that?"
+
+"I only said it. I have no evidence of course. Oh, all my plans will be
+upset if I don't find the photograph!"
+
+The arrival of Mrs. Leeds cut short the conversation. The girls hastily
+returned the album to the table drawer but not quickly enough to avoid
+being detected. Mrs. Leeds triumphantly pounced on the leather bound
+book.
+
+"Only an old-fashioned album," she said in disappointment, tossing it
+aside.
+
+"Did you think it was the will?" Penny chuckled as she and Rosanna
+departed.
+
+The girls impatiently awaited the coming of night. Penny had determined
+to make a supreme effort to discover the cause of the mysterious organ
+music. At first Rosanna had been enthusiastic over the plan but as
+nightfall approached she tried to dissuade her friend.
+
+"It's too dangerous," she insisted. "Please give up the scheme."
+
+Penny shook her head. She had made up her mind to spend the night on the
+third floor. Soon after the household retired she intended to steal
+upstairs and establish herself by the door of the conservatory.
+
+Evening came. At nine Mrs. Leeds and her daughter shut themselves into
+the bedroom which they had selected since their upsetting experience with
+bats. At eleven Penny heard Max Laponi's door close.
+
+She looked out into the hall. It was dark and deserted.
+
+"Please don't attempt it," Rosanna shivered. "What if something should
+happen?"
+
+"I hope it does," Penny said grimly. "It won't be any fun to sit up half
+the night without any purpose. I'll be disappointed if our ghost fails to
+provide his usual midnight concert."
+
+"If anything goes wrong scream for help," Rosanna urged. "I'll run for
+assistance."
+
+Penny promised. While Rosanna stood at the bedroom door watching, she
+tiptoed down the hall, past Mrs. Leeds' room, past Laponi's chamber to
+the third floor stairs.
+
+There she hesitated. Without a light the region above looked even more
+dark and awe-inspiring than she had remembered it.
+
+"Coward!" she accused herself, and quietly went up, leaving the door
+unlocked behind her.
+
+All was quiet on the third floor. Penny tried the door to the
+conservatory expecting to find it locked. To her astonishment it opened.
+The discovery disconcerted her for an instant. A minute later she
+mustered her courage and stepped inside the room.
+
+In the darkness she could make out objects only vaguely. The organ with
+its huge pipes occupied one end of the room. Sheet-draped chairs gave
+everything a ghostly atmosphere not at all conducive to a peaceful state
+of mind.
+
+After making a brief inspection of her quarters Penny sat down on the
+floor with her back against the outside door. She riveted her eyes upon
+the organ.
+
+Time dragged slowly. When it seemed to Penny that several hours must have
+passed, she heard a clock downstairs striking eleven-thirty.
+
+"At least another half hour to wait," Penny thought, shifting into a more
+comfortable position.
+
+She grew drowsy. Several times she caught herself on the verge of
+napping. She aroused herself only to find her eyes growing heavy again.
+It became increasingly difficult to watch the organ.
+
+"I wish that ghost would hurry up and come," she mused impatiently.
+"Perhaps after all my trouble this won't be one of his working nights!"
+
+That was the last thought of which she was aware. Suddenly she heard soft
+organ music rolling and swelling about her. With a start she aroused
+herself. She had been sleeping.
+
+It took an instant for Penny to gather her wits. She was still sitting
+with her back to the conservatory door. Yet at the far end of the great
+room, she distinctly could see a shadowy figure seated at the organ.
+
+Penny scrambled to her feet, starting forward. The floor creaked
+alarmingly.
+
+Penny halted, but too late. She had given warning of her presence.
+
+The shadowy figure at the organ jerked into alert attention. There was a
+discordant crash of chords, then silence.
+
+Penny blinked. She thought she had heard a sharp click as if a secret
+panel had opened and closed. That was all.
+
+And the organist had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+                            A Suspicious Act
+
+
+Penny caught herself shivering. She decided that she had seen quite
+enough for one night.
+
+She turned toward the door, but with her hand on the brass knob, stood
+tensely listening. Someone was tiptoeing along the hall. It occurred to
+her that the mysterious organist might have escaped from the music room
+by means of a secret panel which opened directly into the adjoining
+corridor. Even now he could be effecting his escape to the lower floor.
+
+Crouching against the wall, Penny waited. She was startled to hear the
+footsteps coming closer. Then the door opened a tiny crack and the beam
+of a flashlight slowly circled the room.
+
+"Penny!" an anxious voice whispered. "Where are you?"
+
+Penny laughed in relief as she reached out to grip Rosanna's hand.
+
+"Oh! How you startled me!" the girl gasped. "I'm so glad you're safe,
+Penny. You stayed up here so long that I was frightened."
+
+"I had to wait for the ghost."
+
+"I heard the music," Rosanna said in awe. "It broke off so suddenly."
+
+"That was because I frightened the ghost away. At first I thought perhaps
+I had dreamed it all, but if you heard the music too then it must have
+been real."
+
+"It was real enough. But it lasted only a minute or two."
+
+"When the organist saw me I suspect he slipped out of the room by means
+of a secret panel," Penny reported. "But where he went is a mystery. You
+didn't see anyone as you came up the stairs to find me?"
+
+"No, I'm sure no one was in the hall, Penny."
+
+"I'm as certain as anything that this room has a secret entrance. Give me
+your flashlight and we'll see what we can discover."
+
+"Not tonight," Rosanna shivered, pulling her friend toward the door. "We
+can come back in the morning."
+
+"The room may be locked again then."
+
+"That's so."
+
+"Let's take advantage of the opportunity while we have it."
+
+Rosanna handed over the flashlight and together they crossed the room to
+the big organ. They inspected it with interest and Penny ran her fingers
+lightly over the keys. However, no sound came forth.
+
+"That's queer," Rosanna whispered.
+
+"I think someone has to pump air," Penny said. "It's probably shut off."
+
+She next turned her attention to the walls in the immediate vicinity of
+the organ. She could locate no hidden panel although in one place it
+seemed to her that when she rapped on a certain sector it emitted a
+hollow sound.
+
+"It's too dark to see anything tonight," Rosanna protested nervously.
+
+"I guess we may as well give it up until morning," Penny agreed.
+
+The girls stole quietly down the stairs to the lower floor. However, an
+unpleasant surprise awaited them. As they opened the door into the main
+passageway they found themselves face to face with Mrs. Leeds and Alicia.
+
+"So I find you here again!" the woman exclaimed. "I suspected before that
+you girls were at the bottom of these nightly disturbances. Now I have
+the proof."
+
+Penny was too annoyed to even try to explain why she had visited the
+third floor. She would have ignored the woman and passed on to her own
+room had not Rosanna been so distressed by the ridiculous accusation.
+
+"We've had absolutely nothing to do with the queer things which have been
+going on in this house," the orphan maintained indignantly.
+
+"Then why were you upstairs at this time of night? Only a minute or two
+ago Alicia and I heard music."
+
+"We were trying to learn what caused it, Mrs. Leeds."
+
+"A likely story!" Alicia said with a toss of her head.
+
+"You may believe it or not, just as you wish," Penny returned coldly.
+
+"It seems to me, Miss Nichols, that you are taking it upon yourself to do
+entirely too much investigating," Mrs. Leeds said cuttingly. "This isn't
+your home and you're not a relative of Jacob Winters."
+
+"And unless I'm sadly mistaken there are others here who are similarly
+situated!" Penny retorted.
+
+"Do you mean to suggest that Alicia and I are not related to Jacob
+Winters?"
+
+"I'm not suggesting anything," Penny replied evenly. "However, since you
+brought up the matter of an investigation, I might ask you about that
+paper which I saw you burn in the living room fireplace."
+
+Mrs. Leeds' face changed color and she grew confused.
+
+"Why, I don't know what you're talking about."
+
+"You know well enough, but we'll let it pass for the time being. Come on,
+Rosanna."
+
+The two girls walked down the hall and entered their own room, closing
+the door firmly behind them.
+
+"You held your own with her that time," Rosanna chuckled. "My, I wish I
+could talk up to people the way you can."
+
+"I talk entirely too much. But she made me provoked when she accused us
+of causing all the disturbance in this house."
+
+"What did you mean by asking about a paper she had burned?" Rosanna asked
+curiously.
+
+"Oh, I just wanted to throw a scare into her," Penny responded evasively
+as she snapped out the light and crept into bed. "I really have no proof
+of anything."
+
+Long after Rosanna had fallen asleep she lay awake thinking. Proof! The
+word seared itself into her brain. If only she could secure some evidence
+which would aid Rosanna!
+
+"The entire affair seems unreal," she mused. "Almost like a movie. It's
+obvious that someone is playing at being a ghost, trying to frighten the
+occupants of this house. But what can be the purpose behind it all?"
+
+Although Penny had been careful to make no such admission to Rosanna, she
+was becoming increasingly troubled. Nor were her worries confined solely
+to the hide-and-seek organist. She feared that the time was fast
+approaching when Mrs. Leeds or Max Laponi would make a legal claim to the
+Winters' property.
+
+"The chances are that Mrs. Leeds destroyed the will," she reasoned. "In
+that event, Rosanna may lose everything."
+
+Penny felt baffled, yet she was unwilling to admit defeat. Certainly not
+until Mrs. Leeds had thrown all her cards on the table. Events were fast
+approaching a crisis. Penny sensed that from the woman's attitude of
+increasing hostility and assurance.
+
+"I'm not defeated yet," she thought grimly as she closed her eyes and
+tried to sleep. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!"
+
+When Rosanna and Penny descended the stairs the next morning they heard a
+murmur of voices in the library. The door was closed.
+
+"I imagine Laponi and Mrs. Leeds are having another one of their secret
+conferences," Penny commented. "They're up to some mischief."
+
+"Why not leave this place today?" Rosanna demanded, "I don't care about
+the fortune any more. I'm so tired of all this plotting and scheming. I'd
+rather just go away and let them have it."
+
+"Now don't look so distressed," Penny smiled. "The battle of wits has
+only begun."
+
+"But I don't like to battle. It isn't my nature."
+
+"I'm your appointed gladiator, Rosanna. You have no idea how much
+pleasure it would give me to see these grasping imposters exposed."
+
+"We haven't any proof they're imposters," Rosanna said soberly. "After
+all, they had letters and keys to the house. I haven't even that much."
+
+"It's too bad they were lost, but you mustn't let it worry you," Penny
+chided. "Right now I'm more concerned over another matter."
+
+"The mysterious ghost?"
+
+"Yes, although I wasn't thinking of that at the moment. It's Mr. Winters'
+photograph. Who tore it out of the album?"
+
+"For all we know it may have been removed years ago."
+
+"Yes, that's so, but somehow I have a hunch it disappeared at a far more
+recent date. If I don't find a picture of Jacob Winters, I'm afraid my
+little plan will fall through."
+
+"You haven't told me much about this secret plan of yours, Penny."
+
+"That's because I haven't worked it out clearly in my own mind yet. But
+unless I find the photograph there simply won't be any."
+
+"We might search the house again."
+
+"I intend to do that if we can ever find a time when Mrs. Leeds and Max
+Laponi are both gone. Just now I'm eager to make another inspection of
+the organ room upstairs. This is our chance while those two are closeted
+in the library."
+
+Rosanna was not especially anxious to visit the third floor again, but
+she offered no objection to the suggestion. Penny led the way up the
+creaking stairs.
+
+The door of the music room was unlocked as they had left it the previous
+evening. However, the window shades were all drawn and the room was dark.
+Penny raised the blinds to admit light.
+
+Curiously, the girls gazed about them. Everything was covered with a
+thick coating of dust and cobwebs hung in misty veils from the corners of
+the room. Penny crossed over to the organ. She indicated the bench in
+front of it.
+
+"I guess that proves whether or not our ghost was real."
+
+"You mean the imprint on the dusty surface of the organ bench?" Rosanna
+asked doubtfully.
+
+"Yes, you can see where the organist sat."
+
+"Perhaps one of us brushed off the dust without realizing it. You tried
+to play a few notes on the organ, you know."
+
+"Yes, but I didn't sit down on the bench, Rosanna."
+
+Losing interest in the organ, Penny began to search for the secret panel
+through which she was firmly convinced that the "ghost" had disappeared.
+As her eyes moved swiftly over the smooth wall, she suddenly uttered a
+low exclamation.
+
+"See, Rosanna! The imprint of a man's hand!"
+
+The marking upon the wall was so faint that at first the other girl did
+not see it. But she too became excited as Penny pointed it out.
+
+"How do you suppose it came to be there?" she asked in awe.
+
+"I suspect our friend the organist was groping about in the dark
+searching for the secret panel. No doubt his hand was dusty and when he
+pressed it against the wall it left a faint imprint."
+
+"If you're right, we have a valuable clue as to the location of the
+panel!"
+
+Penny nodded eagerly. Already she was exploring the wall with her hand.
+
+"It's funny," she murmured impatiently. "I'm as sure as anything that the
+panel is here----"
+
+She broke off suddenly as her fingers touched a tiny round object which
+was hidden under the wall paper.
+
+"I believe I've found it!" she exclaimed gleefully pressing the button.
+
+The girls heard a faint click. But the panel did not open.
+
+"The stubborn thing!" Penny cried impatiently. "Why doesn't it open?"
+
+She pushed with both hands against the section of wall where she felt
+convinced the panel was located. To her own surprise and the horror of
+her companion, it suddenly gave way.
+
+Penny plunged headlong through the opening. And before Rosanna could
+recover from the shock of seeing her friend disappear, the panel fell
+back into place.
+
+"Penny, Penny," she cried anxiously, pounding upon the wall. "Are you
+hurt?"
+
+For several minutes there was no answer. Then Rosanna heard a smothered
+little giggle.
+
+"All my bones are still together I guess. But I seem to have tumbled down
+a flight of stairs. Come on in."
+
+"I don't know how to get in. The panel slammed shut when you fell
+through."
+
+"It's hinged at the top I think. Find the little button and press on it.
+Then when you hear a click push on the panel. Only push easy or you'll
+take a tumble the way I did."
+
+In a minute Rosanna had located the button. She pressed upon it as she
+had seen Penny do. Then as the lock clicked, she cautiously pushed
+against the panel. Light as was her touch the sector of wall swung
+instantly back and she stepped through the opening. So concerned was she
+over Penny that she failed to hear the panel close behind her.
+
+At first Rosanna could see nothing. Then as her eyes became accustomed to
+the gloomy interior she made out a long flight of stone steps leading
+downward into inky blackness.
+
+She felt reassured when Penny grasped her hand.
+
+"Come on, Rosanna! Isn't it exciting? Let's explore!"
+
+"Oh, it's too dark!" Rosanna whispered nervously. "What if we should run
+into that dreadful man--the organist?"
+
+"Well, perhaps it would be wiser to go back for a flashlight," Penny
+conceded. "Only we mustn't let Mrs. Leeds or Max Laponi suspect what
+we're up to. We must keep this discovery strictly to ourselves."
+
+She returned to the head of the stairs but although she groped her hand
+carefully along the wall she could find no hidden button or spring which
+controlled the panel. By this time Rosanna had grown frightened.
+
+"Don't tell me we're locked in!"
+
+Penny forced herself to speak calmly. She knew that it would never do to
+let Rosanna realize that she too was alarmed.
+
+"For the moment I'm afraid we are," she admitted quietly. "But don't give
+up hope. We'll get out of here somehow."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII
+                           The Secret Stairs
+
+
+Ten minutes of unrewarded search convinced Penny that they were only
+wasting their time in attempting to locate the hidden spring without a
+light.
+
+"Let's follow the steps down and see where they lead," she suggested.
+"Surely there must be another exit."
+
+Rosanna permitted Penny to lead her down the steep flight of stairs. They
+presently reached the bottom. It was too dark to see very much but by
+feeling along the damp stone wall they discovered that they were in a
+narrow passageway. As they moved cautiously forward a breath of cold air
+struck Penny's face.
+
+"This must be the way to the exit," she declared cheerfully. "We'll soon
+be out of here now."
+
+"It can't be too soon for me," Rosanna chattered.
+
+Hand in hand they groped their way along the subterranean passage. Soon
+they came to the end of it but instead of an exit they found another
+flight of steps leading downward at a steep angle.
+
+"Careful or you'll fall," Penny warned as they began the treacherous
+descent. "Some of the stones are loose."
+
+"I wish we had a light," Rosanna complained. "Where do you suppose we're
+going anyway?"
+
+"Maybe to the center of the earth," Penny chuckled. "It seems like it
+anyway."
+
+"Unless I'm mixed up in my directions we're moving toward the lake."
+
+"It seems that way to me too," Penny readily agreed. "But we've twisted
+and turned so many times I couldn't be sure of anything."
+
+By this time the girls were convinced that they were underground for they
+had made a long, straight descent. The walls were moist and damp; the air
+chilly. Yet one thing puzzled them. If they actually were traveling
+toward the lake that meant that the tunnel had been bored into the side
+of the cliff. But such a feat obviously was nothing less than an
+engineering enterprise.
+
+At length the girls reached the bottom of the second flight of stairs
+only to find themselves in another passageway. It was much larger than
+the other and lighter.
+
+"Do you think we could be in an abandoned ore mine?" Penny suddenly
+demanded, pausing to inspect the walls.
+
+"It does look a little like it. Only I never heard of stone steps in a
+mine."
+
+"No, they have shafts. But it strikes me that the steps may have been
+added later, if you noticed, the upper passage was much smaller than this
+one."
+
+"As if it had been dug out to join with this one," Rosanna added eagerly.
+
+"Exactly. It's my theory that some person knew about this old mine and
+decided to connect it with a smaller tunnel which would lead up into the
+house."
+
+"But who do you suppose conceived such a plan?"
+
+"I can't answer that one," Penny laughed. "But come on, let's see if we
+aren't approaching the exit."
+
+Eagerly they moved forward, guided by the streak of light. A minute later
+Penny who was in the lead, gave a joyous shout.
+
+"We've come to the end of it! I can see trees!"
+
+"Thank goodness," Rosanna sighed in relief. "I was afraid we'd never get
+out alive."
+
+Penny parted the bushes which barred the exit and they peered out.
+
+"You were right, Rosanna. We did travel toward the lake. We're almost in
+it for that matter!"
+
+The water came within a few yards of the entrance and during a storm the
+girls imagined that it must flood the lower passageway. Penny noticed a
+rowboat tied up in a clump of bushes.
+
+"I suppose that's how our ghost makes his quick get-away," Penny remarked
+dryly.
+
+"We might take a ride on the lake," Rosanna proposed.
+
+"Don't you think it might advertise that we've discovered this tunnel?
+Especially if the ghost should happen to see us using his boat."
+
+"Of course, I didn't stop to think. Oh, Penny if only we knew the
+identity of this person who annoys the household!"
+
+"It shouldn't be so hard to learn it now," Penny declared in
+satisfaction. "At night we'll station ourselves here by the mouth of the
+tunnel and watch."
+
+"It wouldn't surprise me if it should turn out to be Max Laponi," Rosanna
+remarked. "He never seems to be in his room at night."
+
+Penny offered no response.
+
+Fearing that their long absence from the house might have aroused
+suspicion, the girls hurriedly left the scene. They found a trail which
+wound along the base of the cliff and which presently took them toward
+the house on the hill.
+
+As they passed the Eckert cabin they saw the old man cleaning fish by the
+back door. They greeted him perfunctorily and would have walked on had he
+not seemed in a mood to talk.
+
+"Out early this morning, aren't you?" he questioned.
+
+"Yes, we were down by the lake," Penny answered.
+
+"You must have crawled out of bed before the sun was up. I've been
+cleaning fish here all morning and I didn't see you go past."
+
+"We went around a different way," Penny answered, and then before he
+could ask another question, interposed one of her own. "By the way, do
+you know where I could get a picture of Jacob Winters?"
+
+Old Caleb dropped his fish knife. It took him a long time to recover it
+from the ground.
+
+"What do you want of a picture?" he questioned gruffly.
+
+"Oh, I just need it," Penny said evasively.
+
+"I'd like to have one myself," Rosanna added sincerely. "I never had a
+photo of my uncle."
+
+"If you find he's cut you out of all his property I guess you probably
+won't be so anxious to have a picture of the old cod," Caleb observed.
+
+Rosanna drew herself up proudly.
+
+"It wouldn't make the slightest difference, Mr. Eckert. After all, my
+uncle never saw me so why should he have left me any of his money? You
+say such disagreeable things!"
+
+"I'm a disagreeable old man," Caleb admitted cheerfully, "but my bark is
+worse than my bite."
+
+"Well, please don't call my uncle names," Rosanna went on with spirit.
+
+"Names?"
+
+"You spoke of Uncle Jacob as an old cod. I don't like it a bit."
+
+Old Caleb was startled by the outburst. But his eyes twinkled as he
+replied soberly:
+
+"Well, now, Miss Rosanna, I didn't mean to offend you or to speak
+disrespectfully of Jacob either. It was just my way of talking."
+
+"Then I'll forgive you," Rosanna smiled.
+
+The girls were on the verge of moving off when Caleb checked them with a
+question.
+
+"You haven't heard Mrs. Leeds or that Laponi fellow say anything about
+leaving have you?"
+
+"I don't believe they intend to go unless they're put out," Penny
+responded. "I heard Mrs. Leeds say the other day that she had sent for
+her lawyer."
+
+"They stick tighter than cockle burs," Caleb commented. "If only I had
+the right, I would send them both packing. Especially that Max Laponi. I
+don't trust him."
+
+"Neither do I," Penny agreed promptly. "That's why I think you should try
+to help me clear up this dreadful muddle."
+
+"What can I do? I have no authority."
+
+"It will help if you can find me a photograph of Mr. Winters."
+
+Caleb's face puckered into troubled wrinkles.
+
+"It's too late," he muttered under his breath. "It wouldn't do any good."
+
+"What was that you said?" Penny questioned sharply.
+
+"Nothing. I was just talking to myself. About the picture. I'll see what
+I can do. Don't count much on getting it though because I doubt if I can
+locate one for you."
+
+The girls chatted a few minutes longer but Caleb was not very good
+company. He responded briefly if at all to their conversational sallies
+and for the most part seemed lost in thought. They soon left him to his
+fish cleaning and went on toward the house.
+
+"I wonder what got into him all at once?" Rosanna mused. "Perhaps he was
+offended at the way I spoke to him."
+
+"I don't think he gave it a second thought," Penny responded. "I suspect
+Caleb rather likes to have folks talk up to him. No, I'm sure it wasn't
+anything you said that annoyed him. Likely enough it was my request for
+Mr. Winters' photograph."
+
+"Why should that bother him?"
+
+"That's what I'd like to know. Caleb is a queer one to say the least."
+
+"Do you think he'll ever produce the photo?"
+
+Penny laughed shortly.
+
+"It would be a great surprise to me if he did. And yet from the way he
+acted, I'm convinced he could get me one if he chose. Like as not he has
+one in his cabin now."
+
+Penny lapsed into a moody silence. From the day of her arrival at Raven
+Ridge she had sensed old Caleb's reluctance to help her. While she could
+not say that he was exactly unfriendly he had made no positive move of
+assistance. She had believed for a long time that he knew a great deal
+more than he would tell regarding Jacob Winters' absence.
+
+The girls entered the house by a side door. They noticed that Mrs. Leeds'
+car no longer stood on the driveway and took it for granted that she and
+her daughter had driven to Andover as was their daily custom.
+
+They glanced casually into the library and noticed that it was empty.
+However, Penny's keen eyes traveled to the desk. She observed that the
+ink bottle had been left uncorked and that a pen had been removed from
+its holder.
+
+"I wonder what Mrs. Leeds and Laponi were up to?" she speculated. "Oh,
+well, I'll probably find out soon enough."
+
+"I believe I'll go upstairs for a few minutes," Rosanna excused herself.
+"I haven't straightened my things yet this morning."
+
+Left alone, Penny crossed over to the desk and examined the paper in the
+wastebasket. She looked closely at the blotter, even holding it to the
+mirror, but it had been used so many times that the words which appeared
+upon it could not be read. There was not a scrap of evidence to show what
+Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi had been writing.
+
+In disappointment Penny picked up a book and sat down to read. Presently
+she heard soft steps in the hallway but paid slight attention thinking
+that it was Rosanna.
+
+She was on the verge of calling her friend's name when she thought better
+of it. The sound of the footsteps told her that the person had gone into
+the living room. And by this time she was convinced that it was not
+Rosanna.
+
+She waited, listening. She heard a faint metallic click which caused her
+to lay aside her book and quietly steal to the doorway of the living
+room.
+
+Max Laponi stood with his back toward her, so absorbed in what he was
+about that he had not the slightest suspicion that he was being observed.
+
+Penny saw him carefully remove the oil painting from the wall. He deftly
+opened the panel, exposing the safe. Then, with a sureness of touch which
+amazed Penny, he began to spin the dials.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+                             A Diamond Ring
+
+
+"Mr. Laponi, kindly move away from that safe!"
+
+Penny spoke sharply as she quietly stepped into the living room. The man
+whirled and saw her. Taken by surprise, his hand fell away from the dials
+and he looked confused.
+
+"You seem to be very much interested in Mr. Winters' valuables," Penny
+said sternly.
+
+By this time Max Laponi had recovered his composure.
+
+"Why shouldn't I be?" he retorted. "After all, I am Mr. Winters' heir."
+
+"That remains to be seen, Mr. Laponi. You appear to be very handy at
+opening safes, I notice." Penny crossed the room and after turning the
+handle to make certain that Laponi had not succeeded in his purpose,
+closed the panel and returned the oil painting to its former position.
+
+"I suppose you think I was trying to steal," Laponi began after a minute
+of dead silence. "Nothing was further from my intention."
+
+"No?"
+
+"Ever since I caught Caleb Eckert trying to break into this safe I've
+been worried. Last night I saw him prowling around the house after dark
+and it made me uneasy. I was afraid he would make another attempt to
+steal Mr. Winters' valuables."
+
+"So you thought you would just beat him to it!" Penny retorted
+sarcastically.
+
+"Certainly not. When you entered the room I was merely inspecting the
+safe to make certain that it was securely locked."
+
+Penny could not refrain from smiling. She did not believe a word of what
+Max Laponi was telling her.
+
+"That safe seems to be the real attraction of this house," she remarked.
+"I've suspected for some time that it contains Mr. Winters' ivory
+collection."
+
+If Max Laponi were taken aback he did not disclose it. But he eyed Penny
+shrewdly.
+
+"You're a smart little girl. Too smart to go around making trouble for
+yourself. Now if you're wise you'll team up with me and I'll promise you
+that you'll come out at the top of the heap."
+
+"Just what is your proposition?" Penny asked quickly.
+
+Max Laponi was too alert to place himself in any trap.
+
+"If you're willing to follow my orders I'll promise you that when I come
+into my fortune you'll be well paid."
+
+"And what are your orders?"
+
+"I'll tell you after you give me your promise."
+
+Penny regarded him coldly.
+
+"I'll promise nothing, Mr. Laponi, except that I intend to see justice
+done to Rosanna Winters! You and Mrs. Leeds are trying to cheat her out
+of her rightful inheritance."
+
+"She'll never get a cent. If you had an ounce of sense you'd ditch her
+and come in with us. It's all fixed--"
+
+"Fixed!" Penny tripped him. "And by 'us' I imagine you mean Mrs. Leeds.
+You're both hatching some scheme to defraud Rosanna."
+
+Laponi smiled impudently.
+
+"Well, don't say I didn't give you your choice, Miss Nichols. It is your
+decision to have no share in the spoils?"
+
+"It is."
+
+Laponi's face darkened slightly. "As you wish, Miss Nichols. But let me
+give you a little warning. Keep your nose out of my affairs or it will be
+the worse for you!"
+
+He turned and walked from the room. A minute later Penny saw him leave
+the house by the side door.
+
+"If he thinks he can frighten me with a threat he has another guess
+coming!" she thought indignantly. "For two cents I'd call in the police."
+
+Upon second consideration she decided that such a move would not be wise.
+After all she had no real evidence against Laponi. While she was
+convinced in her own mind that his motives were dishonest the police
+might take a more conservative attitude. Then too, she would be forced to
+offer a satisfactory explanation for her own presence in the house.
+
+"Laponi is after something more valuable than a will," Penny mused as she
+stood at the window watching his car vanish down the driveway.
+
+Her eye wandered to the oil painting on the wall. She felt certain that
+the safe which was screened beneath it guarded Mr. Winters' collection of
+ivory. And from the expression of Laponi's face when she had mentioned
+her belief, she was sure that he shared the same conviction.
+
+"He practically admitted he was involved in some scheme to defraud
+Rosanna," she thought. "I can't help feeling he's a crook even if he is a
+relative of Mr. Winters. I wish I dared search his room for evidence!"
+
+The more she considered the idea, the greater became its appeal. Probably
+Laponi would not return to the house for at least an hour. She would have
+ample time. Still, the undertaking would be a risky one and not at all to
+her liking.
+
+"I suppose a professional detective wouldn't feel squeamish about
+entering another person's room if the case demanded it," she encouraged
+herself. "Laponi practically admitted his guilt--that was because he
+thought I couldn't do anything about it. Maybe I'll show him!"
+
+By this time Penny's mind was made up. Quietly she stole up the stairway.
+In the upper corridor she paused to listen for a minute. Everything was
+still.
+
+Penny tiptoed down the hall to Max Laponi's room. She tried the door. It
+was locked.
+
+"That's funny," she thought. "He must keep something inside that he's
+afraid to have folks see."
+
+She was more eager than before to search the room. But with the key gone
+it seemed out of the question. Then Penny's face lighted as she recalled
+the empty bedroom adjoining the one occupied by Laponi. It was possible
+that they might have a connecting door.
+
+Looking carefully about to make certain that she was not under
+observation, she moved on down the hall and tried the next door. To her
+delight it opened. She entered the dusty chamber, gazing quickly about.
+She was disappointed to see that the two bedrooms had no connecting door.
+
+However, when she walked to the window and raised it, she noted a wide
+ledge which ran the length of the building.
+
+"If only I dared lower myself to it I could reach Max Laponi's room, for
+the ledge is only a few feet below from his window!" she reasoned.
+
+Penny decided that the chance was worth taking. She naturally was
+athletic and had confidence that she could maintain a foothold. Lowering
+herself to the ledge she flattened herself to the wall of the house and
+moved an inch at a time toward the next window. It was a long fall to the
+ground. Penny did not dare glance downward. Although the distance between
+the two windows was not more than twelve feet it seemed an age until her
+hands clutched the sill.
+
+As she pried at the window a sudden fear assailed her. What if it too
+were locked?
+
+The window had only stuck a little. A quick jerk brought it up. By sheer
+strength of muscle, Penny raised herself to the level of the sill,
+swinging her feet through the opening.
+
+"I must work fast," she told herself, glancing appraisingly about. "I'd
+not care to be caught here."
+
+Her attention was drawn to Max Laponi's open suitcase which had been left
+carelessly on the bed. Crossing over to it she began to explore the
+contents systematically.
+
+"My hunch about Laponi may have been wrong," she thought uncomfortably as
+the search revealed nothing of interest.
+
+Just then her hand touched something hard and cold. Penny knew instantly
+that it was a revolver. She was not afraid of firearms for her father had
+taught her to shoot. Carefully she inspected the weapon.
+
+"All this heavy artillery must have been brought here for a purpose," she
+reflected grimly. "It's clear Laponi is out to get what he wants by one
+means or another."
+
+After an instant's hesitation Penny placed the revolver on the table. She
+had decided to take it with her when she left.
+
+"Things in this house are fast approaching a crisis," she reasoned.
+"Before I get through I may need that weapon myself."
+
+Save for an inner pocket in the suitcase, Penny had completed her
+inspection. She ran her hand into the cloth pouch and brought to light
+several papers. Rapidly she went through them.
+
+Suddenly she uttered a cry of delight. She had discovered the letter
+which Max Laponi claimed had been sent him by the same lawyer who had
+notified Rosanna of her newly inherited fortune.
+
+Although Laponi, upon his arrival at Raven Ridge, had flourished the
+document, he had permitted no one to inspect it closely.
+
+Now as Penny read the letter carefully she recalled that the wording was
+identical with the message which Rosanna had received. Closely she
+studied the salutation, holding the paper to the light.
+
+"I believe the name has been changed!" she exclaimed. "Max Laponi has
+cleverly removed Rosanna's name and substituted his own. This must be the
+letter which Rosanna lost!"
+
+It occurred to her that the man doubtlessly had found the missing key as
+well. She again ran her hand into the cloth pocket and triumphantly
+brought it forth.
+
+"He's nothing but a rank impostor!" she told herself. "I'll keep this
+letter as evidence against him and the key will come in handy too!"
+
+Penny hastily rearranged the suitcase as she had found it and prepared to
+depart. The search had well repaid her for her efforts, but it had taken
+longer than she had intended.
+
+However, as she crossed the room toward the window she noticed a number
+of small objects spread out over the dresser and could not resist pausing
+to inspect them. They held her interest only briefly.
+
+She turned away again but as she moved off a button on her sleeve caught
+in the lace work of the runner which covered the dresser top. It pulled
+awry and Penny paused to straighten it.
+
+As she rearranged the piece, her fingers touched a small hard object on
+the under side. Her curiosity aroused she turned back the runner and
+looked beneath it.
+
+There lay a diamond ring.
+
+"A diamond!" she exclaimed. "As big as a house too. It's evidently been
+hidden here by Max Laponi!"
+
+She picked it up and examined it, reflecting that somewhere she had seen
+a similar piece of jewelry. She was certain the diamond was not an
+imitation for it sparkled brightly. However, she had no opportunity to
+give it more than a hasty glance for she was startled to hear footsteps
+coming down the hall.
+
+"Max Laponi may be coming back," she thought nervously.
+
+Leaving the diamond ring where she had discovered it she hastily
+rearranged the dresser cover. With her newly acquired evidence, she
+darted to the window and lowered herself to the outside ledge.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XV
+                            Penny's Evidence
+
+
+The bedroom door opened and Max Laponi entered.
+
+Penny Nichols had lowered herself to the narrow ledge not an instant too
+soon. There had been no time to pull the window down after her.
+
+As she heard the man walk across the room she huddled fearfully against
+the wall, feeling certain that he would notice the open window
+immediately. Her position was a precarious one. She dared not move lest
+even a slight sound betray her to the man inside. On the other hand, it
+was doubtful how long she could remain where she was without losing her
+footing. She knew that if she once glanced downward her courage would
+fail her.
+
+Penny could hear Laponi muttering to himself.
+
+"I thought I left that window down," she heard him say. "If anyone has
+been in here--"
+
+He crossed to the bed and ran his hand under the pillow. Penny peeped
+through the window just as he removed a shiny object.
+
+"Another revolver!" she gasped. "That's one I missed."
+
+The sight of the weapon seemed to reassure Laponi for he appeared
+relieved. He next crossed over to the bureau and searched for the diamond
+ring. Penny was very glad that she had not touched it.
+
+"I guess everything is the same as I left it," the man muttered to
+himself. "Still, I'd have sworn I left that window down."
+
+As Penny huddled flat against the wall, he moved over toward it. She held
+her breath, waiting. Would he look out? If he did, then all was lost.
+
+Laponi stood for some minutes at the open window, seemingly absorbed in
+his thoughts. Then he abruptly slammed it down and turned away.
+
+"That was a narrow escape!" Penny congratulated herself. "If I ever get
+out of this mess I'll take care not to get myself into another position
+like it!"
+
+She cautiously crept along the ledge until at last she was able to
+stretch out her hand and grasp the sill of the next window. After pulling
+herself through she quietly closed it behind her. Then she tiptoed to the
+bedroom door and looked out. No one was in sight.
+
+Carefully secreting the articles which she had taken from Laponi's room,
+she darted past his door and safely on to the bedroom which she shared
+with Rosanna. The latter arose as she burst in upon her.
+
+"How you startled me, Penny."
+
+She was due for another shock as Penny dropped the revolver upon the
+dresser.
+
+"Penny, where did you get that thing?" she demanded nervously.
+
+"Not so loud or someone may hear you," Penny warned. "It came from
+Laponi's room, and that's not all I found either."
+
+She drew forth the letter and the missing key. Rosanna stared
+incredulously.
+
+"Surely they can't be mine, Penny."
+
+"I suspect they are. Take a look at this letter and tell me if you notice
+anything wrong."
+
+Rosanna studied the letter briefly, then shook her head.
+
+"It reads just like the one I received."
+
+"That's the point. Notice the name at the top."
+
+"Why, it looks as if it might have been changed!" Rosanna cried.
+
+"And I think it has been. It's my opinion that Max Laponi found your
+letter and the missing key. He's a rank impostor."
+
+"Then you believe he is the one who has been frightening the household by
+playing on the pipe organ?"
+
+"I haven't made up my mind about that yet," Penny returned thoughtfully.
+"But one thing I'm certain about. Laponi is a dangerous man."
+
+"Let's get away from here right away."
+
+Penny laughed shortly. "I should say not! This mystery is growing more
+exciting every minute. I mean to discover Max Laponi's little game!"
+
+"But he may harm us," Rosanna protested. "Especially if he suspects
+you've searched his room."
+
+"Laponi is armed," Penny admitted with a frown. "But for that matter so
+are we."
+
+"You wouldn't dare to carry that revolver!"
+
+"I most certainly would. Not that I'd care to use it, but it might serve
+as protection."
+
+"It seems to me we should call in the police."
+
+Penny shook her head. "Not yet. But I do intend to wire my father. I'm
+going to ask him to learn all he can about Laponi. It may turn out that
+the man has a prison record."
+
+"You suspect that because you found the revolver in his room?"
+
+"Well, honest citizens don't carry weapons without permits."
+
+"You're thinking of doing it," Rosanna challenged.
+
+Penny laughed. "This is an extra special emergency. But I have another
+reason for believing that Laponi is a crook. I suspect he has a stolen
+ring in his possession."
+
+She then told of finding the diamond ring under the dresser scarf.
+
+"All diamonds look somewhat alike," she acknowledged, "but I'm sure I've
+seen that ring before."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"In Bresham's Department Store. I think it's the same ring that was
+stolen the afternoon I met you there."
+
+"Laponi does bear a slight resemblance to the shoplifter," Rosanna
+admitted thoughtfully. "Only the store thief was a much older man."
+
+"Disguised perhaps. Oh, I may be wrong, but at least it will do no harm
+to have Father look into the matter."
+
+"When he gets your wire, Penny, he'll probably be so alarmed that he'll
+send word for you to start back to Mt. Ashland at once."
+
+"Not Dad. He'd rather catch a crook than eat. I'm sure he'll help me."
+
+"When will you send the wire?"
+
+"Right away. I'd like to leave the house before Laponi sees me."
+
+However, as the girls stepped out into the hall a few minutes later they
+heard loud voices coming up from the living room. Penny instantly
+recognized Laponi's sharp tones and paused at the top of the stairs to
+peer down.
+
+"It's Max and Caleb Eckert," she reported in a whisper. "My, what a
+quarrel they're having!"
+
+The girls listened for a minute but the voices of the two men died to a
+low murmur and they could distinguish only an occasional word.
+
+"Unless you want Laponi to see you we'd better slip down the back way,"
+Rosanna suggested.
+
+Using the rear stairs the girls were able to leave the house without
+being observed. They drove directly to Andover where Penny dispatched a
+lengthy wire to her father. She requested him to learn all he could
+concerning Max Laponi and if possible to send her a complete description
+of the diamond ring which had been stolen from the department store.
+
+"I wonder why Caleb and Max Laponi were going at each other in such
+dreadful fashion?" Rosanna mused as they drove back toward the Winters'
+mansion.
+
+Penny had been pondering over the same question.
+
+"I suppose Caleb may be suspicious of him," Rosanna went on when Penny
+did not answer.
+
+"Possibly. Old Caleb hasn't acted too honestly himself, Rosanna."
+
+"I know he hasn't. He doesn't like to answer questions and his interest
+in Mr. Winters' safe is rather puzzling. It seems to me that everyone at
+Raven Ridge acts queerly."
+
+"Including me?" Penny teased.
+
+Rosanna laughed and squeezed her arm affectionately. "Of course I don't
+mean you. You've been wonderful and I'll never never be able to repay you
+for all you've done."
+
+"Nonsense, so far I've accomplished exactly nothing. But I have a feeling
+that before another twenty-four hours elapse things are going to start
+breaking for us."
+
+"I hope so," Rosanna sighed.
+
+Neither Max Laponi nor Caleb Eckert were in the living room when the
+girls returned to the house. Alicia was reading a book by the fireplace
+but at sight of Penny and Rosanna she coldly withdrew.
+
+"I'm glad she's gone," Penny smiled. "It clears the atmosphere."
+
+"Must we stay here tonight?" Rosanna asked. "Couldn't we go to a hotel
+and come back in the morning? Since I know that Max Laponi----"
+
+She broke off as Penny shot her a warning glance.
+
+"Even the walls seem to have ears in this house, Rosanna. Come outside
+and we'll do our planning there."
+
+They went out into the yard and sat down on a stone bench.
+
+"I know I'm a dreadful coward," Rosanna acknowledged. "Only I'm so afraid
+something terrible is about to happen."
+
+"Now don't let your nerves get the best of you," Penny advised kindly. "I
+shouldn't have shown you that revolver I found in Laponi's room. You
+haven't been the same since."
+
+"It wasn't just the revolver. It's everything."
+
+Penny was silent for a moment. Then she said quietly:
+
+"I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. Perhaps we are taking a
+chance to remain here tonight. I shouldn't do it only I feel that it will
+give me an opportunity to clear up the mystery."
+
+"But if you suspect Max----"
+
+"I do suspect him of a great many things, but I'm not certain of his game
+yet, Rosanna. Besides, I must have absolute proof before I dare notify
+the police. Tonight I intend to watch the mouth of the tunnel."
+
+"I can't permit you to do it by yourself. If you insist on taking such a
+chance I'll go with you!"
+
+Penny remonstrated but at length it was agreed that shortly after
+nightfall the two would steal down to the lake's edge and lie in wait at
+the mouth of the tunnel for the mysterious ghost to appear.
+
+For a long time the two girls sat staring out across the lake, each
+absorbed with her own thoughts. What would the night bring forth?
+
+"I believe I'll walk down to Caleb Eckert's cabin and chat with him for a
+few minutes," Penny remarked a little later as her companion arose from
+the bench. "Want to come along?"
+
+"No, I think I'll go inside. The air is growing chilly and my sweater is
+upstairs."
+
+"I'll be glad to wait for you."
+
+"If you don't mind, I believe I'll just rest. You go on alone."
+
+"You really don't mind?"
+
+"Of course not. But I doubt if you'll find Caleb at home. He usually goes
+fishing about this time of day."
+
+"Well, I may as well see anyhow. I want to ask him about that picture of
+Jacob Winters. I intend to keep annoying him until he gives me a
+satisfactory answer."
+
+As Rosanna returned to the house, Penny walked swiftly in the direction
+of the cabin.
+
+"I'm only wasting my time," she thought. "Caleb has no intention of ever
+producing that photograph."
+
+Penny rapped on the door, noticing that it was partly ajar. There was no
+response. She knocked a second time.
+
+Far out on the lake she could see a small rowboat with one lone
+fisherman. No doubt it was Caleb, she decided.
+
+She started away from the cabin, then abruptly halted as she was struck
+with a sudden thought. With Caleb out on the lake she would have an
+excellent opportunity to search his shack for the photograph of Jacob
+Winters. She felt convinced she would find it there.
+
+"Entering people's private quarters seems to be a bad habit of mine," she
+chuckled. "Still, it's all in a good cause."
+
+Penny surveyed the lake again. The rowboat was nearly out of sight.
+
+After a moment of indecision, she pushed open the cabin door and entered.
+Caleb had left everything in a clutter and she scarcely knew where to
+begin her search.
+
+She looked in the desk and in several table drawers. She searched in the
+magazine rack and even in the kitchen cupboard. She was growing
+discouraged when she finally opened a closet and peered up at the high
+shelves. Far above her head was a stack of old papers.
+
+Although Penny had given up hope of finding the picture, she brought a
+chair and climbing up on it, took down the papers.
+
+As she lifted the stack, an object which had been lying on the shelf was
+brushed to the floor. She bent down to pick it up. To her amazement and
+delight it was a photograph.
+
+She stared in disbelief at the man's face and then turned the photo over
+to read what had been written on the back.
+
+"_Jacob Winters._"
+
+"And Caleb told me he didn't know where he could get a photograph!" Penny
+thought indignantly. "All the time he had this one hidden here on the
+shelf. Why, I'm positive this picture came out of the album Rosanna and I
+found. Very likely Caleb tore it out himself!"
+
+Hastily replacing the papers on the shelf, Penny tucked the photograph
+into her pocket and prepared to leave the cabin. She was highly elated
+over her discovery.
+
+"This will prove quite a valuable addition to my collection of evidence,"
+she chuckled. "No wonder Caleb was afraid to have me see it."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+                          Mrs. Leeds' Strategy
+
+
+Penny was highly jubilant as she walked rapidly toward the house on the
+hill. The day had been an unusually successful one for her and with the
+photograph of Jacob Winters in her possession she felt that it would only
+be a matter of time until the mystery was solved.
+
+"But I must act quickly or it may be too late," she thought.
+
+Drawing near the house she saw Rosanna hurrying to meet her. Penny
+quickened her step as she observed that the girl appeared greatly
+agitated.
+
+"Oh, Penny," Rosanna gasped, "Mrs. Leeds has locked me out of the house!"
+
+"What?"
+
+"When I tried to get in after leaving you a few minutes ago she met me at
+the front door. She said I couldn't come in because the house and
+everything surrounding it belongs to her now."
+
+Penny laughed shortly. "She's been saying that ever since she came here."
+
+"I know, but this is different, Penny. She has the will to prove it."
+
+"The will?"
+
+"Yes, she showed it to me. And it's true. My uncle left all his property
+to her."
+
+"And where did she claim to have found this document?" Penny asked.
+
+"Why, somewhere in the house. I was so upset I didn't think to inquire.
+Now that I know Uncle Jacob left everything to her, I shall leave at
+once."
+
+Penny caught Rosanna by the arm. "Don't be in too much of a hurry to get
+away," she advised. "It may be that Mrs. Leeds' claims are false."
+
+"But I saw the will for myself."
+
+"Perhaps it was forged."
+
+"I never thought of that," Rosanna gasped. "Do you think she would resort
+to such a trick?"
+
+"I believe she'd do almost anything to gain a fortune."
+
+Penny had been thinking swiftly. She recalled the secretive actions of
+Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi when they were closeted together in the
+library. They had been engrossed in writing a document of some sort.
+Doubtless it was the will which Mrs. Leeds now claimed to have found.
+
+Penny's face puckered into a worried frown. Mrs. Leeds' unexpected action
+might complicate the entire situation and ruin her own plans. She feared
+too that the woman actually had destroyed Jacob Winters' true will.
+
+"She was burning it in the fireplace that day when I came upon her,"
+Penny thought. "That's why she feels so safe about forging another one in
+her own favor."
+
+"What were you saying?" Rosanna inquired.
+
+Penny had not realized that she was speaking aloud.
+
+"Only thinking," she responded. "We'll go in and talk with Mrs. Leeds."
+
+"But we can't get in for she has locked all the doors. Our luggage is
+sitting out on the porch."
+
+"Very considerate of her I must say," Penny grinned. "But we can get in
+all right." She produced the key which she had found in Max Laponi's
+room.
+
+"Weren't you smart to keep it!" Rosanna cried.
+
+"That remains to be seen. But come on, let's beard Mrs. Leeds in her
+den."
+
+Penny boldly walked up to the front door. It was locked as Rosanna had
+said, so inserting her key she opened it.
+
+As the girls entered, they heard Alicia calling shrilly to her mother and
+an instant later Mrs. Leeds came storming into the hall.
+
+"What is the meaning of this outrage?" she demanded furiously.
+
+"That is what we should like to know," Penny retorted. "Why did you lock
+us out?"
+
+"Because this is my house. Jacob Winters left everything to me and I have
+the will to prove it."
+
+"May I ask where you found it?" Penny inquired.
+
+The question confused Mrs. Leeds. She began to stammer.
+
+"Why, I--that is, it's none of your affair, Miss Nichols!"
+
+"I disagree with you there. I am interested in seeing Rosanna treated
+fairly. May I examine the will?"
+
+Mrs. Leeds hesitated and the girls thought that she would refuse the
+request. However, the woman said:
+
+"I will permit you to read it if you promise not to destroy it."
+
+"Destroying wills isn't in my line," Penny returned pointedly.
+
+Mrs. Leeds tossed her head angrily. An expression of bitter hatred which
+she made no attempt to hide, came into her eyes. She went to the living
+room desk and from a pigeon hole removed a document which she offered
+Penny.
+
+"There, read it for yourself."
+
+Penny inspected the will briefly. Since neither she nor Rosanna had ever
+seen Jacob Winters' handwriting it was impossible to tell if the document
+had been forged.
+
+To Rosanna's astonishment, she suddenly seemed to experience a change of
+attitude regarding Mrs. Leeds' claim to the property.
+
+"I may have made a mistake," Penny acknowledged. "This paper seems to
+give everything to you, Mrs. Leeds."
+
+"I am glad you are coming to your senses at last, Miss Nichols."
+
+"I suppose Rosanna and I may as well take our things and leave," she went
+on.
+
+"Your luggage is ready," the woman said with satisfaction. "Alicia and I
+packed for you."
+
+"Very thoughtful," Penny murmured ironically. "However, I think I'll just
+run upstairs and see if anything was missed."
+
+"Why, yes, you may do that if you like." Now that she was assured of
+victory, Mrs. Leeds felt that she could afford to make slight
+concessions.
+
+No sooner had the bedroom door closed behind the two girls than Rosanna
+faced Penny with a puzzled look.
+
+"Did you really think the will was genuine, Penny?"
+
+"No, of course not, but I decided that probably we could gain our ends
+best by appearing to give in to Mrs. Leeds."
+
+As she spoke, Penny ran her hand under the pillow of the bed and brought
+forth the revolver which she had taken from Max Laponi's room.
+
+"Penny, what do you intend to do with that weapon?" Rosanna demanded
+anxiously.
+
+"Don't worry, I'm not planning on committing any murders. But it may come
+in handy tonight."
+
+"You just told Mrs. Leeds that we would leave the house immediately,"
+Rosanna reminded her in bewilderment.
+
+"I know, but that doesn't mean we'll leave the grounds. We'll appear to
+go away, but after dark we'll sneak back to the entrance of the tunnel."
+
+"To watch for the ghost?"
+
+"Yes, that's my plan. You'll not be afraid to go with me, will you?"
+
+"No," Rosanna returned quietly. "Only I can't see what good it will do
+now. Mrs. Leeds definitely has the property and anything we learn about
+the ghost can't alter the situation."
+
+"I'm not so sure of that," Penny smiled.
+
+She was so jubilant as they prepared to take their luggage and leave the
+house that Mrs. Leeds regarded her slightly with suspicion. However, the
+woman was reassured to see the girls drive away in their car.
+
+Rosanna and Penny dined early at Andover but the former ate little.
+Although she made every effort to carry on a cheerful conversation it was
+obvious to her companion that she was completely discouraged.
+
+"Cheer up," Penny advised optimistically. "I tell you everything will
+come out right yet. Even if my own plan fails, there are still lawyers to
+be hired. Mrs. Leeds can't take over the property legally until the court
+approves."
+
+"She'll have things fixed up her way," Rosanna maintained gloomily. "I'll
+have no money to hire a lawyer. I must try to find myself a job."
+
+"Father will help you get one if you need it."
+
+"I've accepted so many favors from you already," Rosanna protested.
+
+"You have not!" Penny cut in. "This trip to Raven Ridge has been sheer
+fun for me. And unless I'm mistaken tonight will prove the most exciting
+of all."
+
+"I'm afraid so," Rosanna shuddered.
+
+She glanced curiously at her companion. She could not understand Penny's
+eagerness to return to the mouth of the tunnel. In her own opinion the
+mysterious ghost was none other than Max Laponi and she had no desire to
+encounter him again.
+
+"Do you still want to go through with the plan?" she inquired doubtfully.
+
+"I certainly do. I'd never feel satisfied if I left Raven Ridge without
+solving the mystery. It's about time we start for the tunnel too."
+
+They left the restaurant, returning to Penny's car which had been parked
+outside.
+
+"Probably our friend the ghost won't put in an appearance much before
+midnight," Penny remarked as they drove slowly toward Raven Ridge, "but
+it will be wise I think to allow ourselves plenty of time to find a good
+hiding place."
+
+It had grown dark and the girls were pleased to note that heavy clouds
+would hide the moon and stars.
+
+Some distance from the Winters' house they parked in a dense thicket near
+the road. Before alighting, Penny removed a small package from the side
+pocket of the car.
+
+"What's that?" Rosanna asked curiously.
+
+"Dynamite," Penny chuckled.
+
+"Dynamite!"
+
+"In the form of evidence. Unless I'm mistaken, this little package will
+produce some startling results!"
+
+"You're talking in absolute riddles."
+
+"Just be patient and you'll soon know what I mean," Penny declared
+teasingly. "I'd tell you now only it would ruin the surprise."
+
+She locked the automobile and afoot they quietly stole down a steep
+winding trail which led to the entrance of the old mine.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII
+                          The Man in the Boat
+
+
+Penny and Rosanna approached the mine entrance cautiously, fearing that
+someone in the vicinity might observe their movements. However, the place
+seemed deserted.
+
+"The rowboat is gone," Penny commented as she pulled aside a clump of
+bushes to survey the spot where it had been hidden.
+
+"Why, it is! Perhaps the ghost has come and left."
+
+"I certainly hope not. That would ruin everything. Anyway, we'll wait and
+see. It's early yet."
+
+After investigating the shore line thoroughly, they found an excellent
+hiding place in a dense thicket not far from the entrance to the mine.
+Then they settled themselves to wait.
+
+"What time is it?" Rosanna yawned.
+
+"Only a little after nine. We'll have a long siege of it."
+
+The night was cold and damp. Although both girls had worn sweaters they
+soon grew uncomfortable and huddled close together for warmth. Rosanna
+tried not to show her nervousness but even the screech of an owl startled
+her. She was aware of every sound and any unusual movement caused her to
+grow tense.
+
+"You'll be a wreck long before midnight," Penny declared. "We're armed
+and there's nothing to fear."
+
+Rosanna made a supreme effort to relax but it was not until several hours
+had elapsed that she began to grow accustomed to her surroundings. Penny,
+on the other hand, found it difficult to remain awake.
+
+At first she riveted her attention upon the lake but as there was no
+evidence of a boat, soon lost interest. For a time she watched the
+twinkling lights at Raven Ridge but one by one they disappeared until the
+old mansion on the hill was cloaked in darkness.
+
+"Now that the household has gone to bed our ghost should be starting in
+on his night's work," she remarked hopefully to Rosanna.
+
+Another half hour dragged by. Still no one came. Even Rosanna found it
+increasingly difficult to fight off drowsiness.
+
+"I don't believe the ghost is coming tonight," she declared.
+
+"It begins to look that way. But perhaps it's still too early. Surely it
+can't be any more than midnight."
+
+"It seems later than that," Rosanna sighed. "My back is nearly broken."
+
+A few minutes later, from far over the hills, the girls heard the faint
+chiming of a town clock. They counted twelve strokes.
+
+Minutes passed and still there was no sign of any visitor. At length,
+Penny arose to stretch her cramped limbs.
+
+"I thought I heard something just then!" Rosanna whispered tensely.
+
+Penny stood listening.
+
+"You're right. I can hear oars dipping in and out of the water. It must
+be a boat coming this way."
+
+Peering out through the bushes, the girls surveyed the lake. It was too
+dark to distinguish objects but they distinctly could hear the rhythmical
+splash made by the moving oars.
+
+"See anything?" Penny demanded.
+
+"Not yet--oh, yes, now I do. It is a boat, Penny."
+
+"And it's heading right for this spot! Let's creep a little closer to the
+opening of the tunnel."
+
+Stealthily they changed positions but remained well hidden by a screen of
+bushes.
+
+The boat by this time had drawn into the tiny cove. However, the night
+was so dark that neither of the girls was able to distinguish the
+features of the man who crouched in the stern.
+
+He beached the boat and carefully drew it up into the bushes. Next he
+lighted a lantern, but his back was toward the girls and they did not see
+his face.
+
+"Who can it be?" Rosanna whispered.
+
+Penny gripped her companion's hand as a warning to remain silent.
+
+The man with the lantern looked quickly about and then moved swiftly into
+the mouth of the tunnel.
+
+"We must follow him," Penny urged.
+
+They waited a minute, then noiselessly stole from their hiding place. As
+they peered into the dark mine tunnel they could see a moving light far
+ahead.
+
+Fearing that they might lose sight of the man, the girls hastened their
+steps. They did not walk as quietly as they imagined, for soon the man
+ahead paused.
+
+With one accord Penny and Rosanna froze against the tunnel wall.
+
+As the man turned to look back, the light from the lantern shone full
+upon his face.
+
+It was Caleb Eckert.
+
+Rosanna and Penny remained flat against the wall scarcely daring to
+breathe. Would they be seen?
+
+Apparently satisfied that no one was behind him in the tunnel, Caleb
+turned and walked slowly on.
+
+"That was a narrow escape," Penny whispered. "He nearly saw us."
+
+Rosanna was a trifle shaken. She had not expected to see Caleb Eckert.
+
+"I suspected it several days ago but I wasn't absolutely certain," Penny
+told her.
+
+"But what purpose can he have in playing such pranks?" Rosanna asked in
+bewilderment. "Caleb seemed rather nice even if he was gruff and
+outspoken. I never dreamed he'd resort to anything like this."
+
+"Don't take it so hard," Penny advised. "He may have a reason for what he
+is doing."
+
+The light had disappeared. The girls hurriedly moved on, fearing that
+they might lose sight of the old man entirely. With nothing to guide them
+it was difficult to find their way.
+
+"It's lucky we explored in the daytime or we'd have trouble following,"
+Rosanna declared. "The ground is so rough."
+
+Even as she spoke she stubbed her toe on a rock and would have fallen had
+not Penny caught her by the arm.
+
+They came presently to the first flight of stairs and were relieved to
+glimpse the lantern far above them. Taking care to keep out of range of
+the beam, they followed through the narrower passage to the second flight
+of steps.
+
+By this time the girls were positive that Caleb intended to enter the
+house by means of the secret panel. At the risk of detection they drew a
+little closer.
+
+Caleb paused at the head of the stairs to listen for a moment. Then he
+blew out his lantern.
+
+Sensing that the old man would unlock the panel, Penny stole forward. She
+was just in time to see a section of the wall drop down. Caleb passed
+through the opening and with a click the panel closed behind him.
+
+"Now what shall we do?" Rosanna demanded. "We're locked in here the same
+as we were before."
+
+"I think I saw the place where he pressed the wall," Penny whispered. "I
+was watching closely."
+
+For several minutes she groped about in the dark. At last her fingers
+touched a small knob.
+
+"I believe I've found it," she proclaimed triumphantly.
+
+As she was on the verge of turning the knob, she stayed her hand. With
+Caleb in the organ room he would be certain to see the panel open. There
+was danger too that he might return at any instant to find them crouching
+at the head of the stairs.
+
+"Shouldn't we turn back?" Rosanna whispered nervously.
+
+"Let's wait until he begins to play the organ."
+
+They listened expectantly. Minutes passed but not a strain of music did
+they hear.
+
+"That's queer," Penny murmured. "I'm sure Caleb is the one who has been
+disturbing the household with his ghost music. Why doesn't he play as
+he's always done before?"
+
+They both knew that the wall was not soundproof. For that matter they
+could hear old Caleb walking about in the room.
+
+"He must be up to new tricks tonight," Penny whispered.
+
+"He'll be coming back here any minute. Let's get away before he catches
+us."
+
+Penny was reluctant to leave, for it struck her that Caleb Eckert had
+come to the Winters' house for a different purpose than that of his usual
+nightly visit. She was curious to learn what it was.
+
+"Listen!" she warned, as they heard a strange noise from within.
+
+"It sounded like a door closing," Rosanna declared.
+
+"That's exactly what I think it was. Caleb must have gone out of the
+room. We'll be safe in entering now."
+
+To make certain she listened for a few minutes but there was no sound of
+movement from within. Convinced that the coast was clear, she groped
+about for the knob which opened the panel.
+
+It turned in her hand. She heard a sharp metallic click, and almost
+before she was prepared for it, the panel swung open. It closed again
+before either of the girls could recover from their surprise.
+
+However, Penny turned the knob a second time and as the section of wall
+swung back, both girls stepped through into the room.
+
+As they had expected, it was deserted.
+
+"Where do you suppose he went?" Rosanna murmured.
+
+They tiptoed to the outside door and softly opened it. The hall was dark.
+At first they could distinguish nothing. Then Penny noticed that the door
+opening upon the second floor corridor was ajar.
+
+"He went downstairs," she whispered. "Let's find out what he's up to."
+
+The stairs creaked alarmingly as they crept down to the second floor. On
+the landing they hesitated an instant and were relieved to hear no
+unusual sound.
+
+They peered into the long corridor and saw that it was empty. Caleb was
+nowhere to be seen.
+
+"Perhaps he brought another bat for Mrs. Leeds' room," Rosanna suggested,
+glancing toward the chamber which the woman shared with her daughter.
+
+The door, however, was tightly closed. The one at the other end of the
+hall which opened into Max Laponi's room was slightly ajar. Rosanna and
+Penny failed to notice.
+
+Somewhere on the lower floor a board creaked. The two girls moved
+noiselessly to the stairway and looked down over the banister.
+
+Even Penny was unprepared for the sight which greeted her eyes. Caleb
+Eckert was working at the dials of the living room safe!
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII
+                             A Daring Theft
+
+
+Old Caleb had relighted his lantern and in its dim yellow glow the girls
+could make out every detail of the center hall and living room. In
+astonishment they watched the man spin the tiny dials of the safe. He
+manipulated them with a speed and skill which was amazing.
+
+"Why, I do believe the scoundrel intends to steal Mr. Winters'
+valuables," Rosanna whispered with growing anger. "We can't let him do
+that."
+
+With one accord they tiptoed down the long spiral stairway to the center
+hall. For a minute they were exposed to view but Caleb was so absorbed in
+what he was doing that he did not even glance up.
+
+Hiding behind a heavy velvet curtain which partially screened the arched
+door of the living room, the girls watched.
+
+Twice Caleb tried without success to open the safe. Although his
+movements were deft and sure it was obvious that he had made some slight
+mistake in the combination. Each time he failed he grew more impatient.
+They could see his hand shake.
+
+"Drat it all!" they heard him mutter to himself. "That's the right
+combination. It ought to open."
+
+At length the old man's efforts were rewarded. As he manipulated the
+dials for the third time there was a significant click from within the
+safe.
+
+Chuckling to himself, Caleb turned the handle and swung open the steel
+door.
+
+Save for a long metal box, the safe was empty. In the act of reaching for
+the container, Caleb suddenly wheeled.
+
+The girls were startled at the action for they had heard nothing.
+
+After looking searchingly about the room the old man apparently was
+satisfied that he was alone. With an uneasy laugh he again turned his
+attention to the safe.
+
+"Guess I'm getting a mite jittery," he muttered. "I was positive I heard
+someone behind me just then."
+
+He thrust his hand into the safe and drew out the box. With fumbling
+fingers he unfastened the lid. A smile illuminated his wrinkled face as
+he regarded the contents.
+
+"Still here, safe and sound. I was a little afraid----"
+
+Without finishing, he lifted an object from the box and held it in the
+light. It was a tiny figure made of purest ivory.
+
+Penny and Rosanna exchanged a swift glance. They knew now that the box
+contained Jacob Winters' priceless collection of ivory pieces!
+
+After staring at the little figure for a minute Caleb carefully replaced
+it and closed the box. He then locked the safe and returned the oil
+painting to its former position on the wall.
+
+"Stop him now or it will be too late," Rosanna whispered tensely.
+
+Before Penny could act, there was a slight movement at the opposite end
+of the living room. The girls were horrified to see a closet door slowly
+open.
+
+Caleb's back was turned. Oblivious of danger he bent down to pick up his
+lantern.
+
+From within the closet a man was regarding Caleb with cold intensity. He
+held a revolver in his hand.
+
+Rosanna, terrified at the sight, would have cried out a warning, had not
+Penny suddenly placed her hand over the girl's mouth.
+
+Max Laponi, a cynical, cruel smile upon his angular face, stepped out
+into the living room, his revolver trained upon Caleb.
+
+"Much obliged to you for opening the safe, Mr. Eckert," he said coolly.
+"You saved me the trouble."
+
+Caleb wheeled and instinctively thrust the metal box behind his back. The
+gesture amused Laponi. He laughed harshly.
+
+"I guess you weren't quite as clever as you thought you were, Caleb! Hand
+over the ivories and be quick about it."
+
+"You're nothing but a crook!" the old man cried furiously.
+
+"Hand over the ivories if you value your life."
+
+Instead of obeying the order, Caleb slowly retreated toward the door. Max
+Laponi's eyes narrowed dangerously.
+
+"I don't want to shoot an old man but if you force me----"
+
+"Don't shoot," Caleb quavered. "I'll give up the ivory."
+
+"Good. Now you're acting sensibly. Drop the box on the table and raise
+your hands above your head."
+
+Slowly, Caleb complied with the order.
+
+Laponi moved with cat-like tread across the floor and snatched up the
+box. With his revolver still trained on the old man, he backed toward the
+door.
+
+"Thank you for a very profitable evening," he smirked. "And when you
+locate your friend Mr. Winters----"
+
+His words ended in a surprised gasp. Something had struck his right hand
+a stunning blow. The weapon fell from his bruised fingers, clattering to
+the floor. He felt a cold, hard object in the small of his back.
+
+"It's your turn now," said Penny Nichols. "I'll trouble you to hand over
+the little box!"
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX
+                            The Tables Turn
+
+
+Max Laponi whirled about and looked directly into the muzzle of Penny's
+revolver.
+
+"Drop that box and put up your hands," she ordered crisply.
+
+Laponi gazed at her jeeringly.
+
+"The gun isn't loaded," he sneered.
+
+"You should know," Penny retorted. "It's your own revolver. I took it
+from your room."
+
+The expression of the crook's face altered for he well remembered that
+the weapon had been left in readiness for instant use.
+
+While keeping Laponi covered, Penny kicked the other revolver across the
+floor in Caleb Eckert's direction. The old man hastily snatched it up.
+
+Laponi knew then that he did not have a chance. With a shrug of his
+shoulders he admitted defeat. He dropped the metal box on the table.
+Rosanna darted forward and snatched it up.
+
+"I might have known you'd be the one to ruin things," Laponi said
+bitterly to Penny. "I was afraid of you from the first."
+
+"Thank you for the compliment," Penny smiled. "Kindly keep your hands up,
+Mr. Laponi--if that's your true name."
+
+"He's nothing but an impostor," Caleb Eckert broke in angrily. "I knew
+from the moment I set eyes on him that he was no relative of Jacob
+Winters."
+
+"I can imagine that," Penny returned quietly. "But when explanations are
+in order, I think you'll need to clear up a few points yourself."
+
+The old man looked confused. However, before he could answer, footsteps
+were heard on the stairs. Mrs. Leeds, wrapped in her bath-robe, came
+hurrying into the room. She had been disturbed by the sound of voices.
+
+"Penny Nichols!" she cried furiously. "What are you doing in my house?"
+
+Then she noticed the revolver and recoiled a step.
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded. "Mr. Laponi, has this girl
+lost her senses?"
+
+"Apparently, she has," the man sneered. "She claims I came here to steal
+that box while I was only trying to keep Caleb from making off with it."
+
+"Release Mr. Laponi at once," Mrs. Leeds ordered haughtily. She glared at
+Caleb. "I always did distrust that man."
+
+"Our dislike was mutual," Caleb retorted. "You are a grasping, selfish
+woman and your daughter is a chip of the old block!"
+
+"How dare you!" Mrs. Leeds choked in fury. "Get out of this house, you
+meddlesome old man, or I'll have you arrested!"
+
+Penny was actually enjoying the scene but now she decided to put an end
+to it.
+
+"This little farce has gone far enough," she announced, turning to Caleb.
+"Tell them who you are, Mr. Eckert."
+
+The old man nodded. Eyeing Mrs. Leeds with keen satisfaction, he exploded
+his bomb shell.
+
+"I am Jacob Winters!"
+
+Mrs. Leeds gasped in astonishment and even Max Laponi looked dazed. Of
+the entire group only Rosanna appeared pleased. Yet she too recalled that
+at times she had spoken with embarrassing frankness to the old man.
+
+"I don't believe it!" Mrs. Leeds snapped when she had recovered from the
+first shock. "It's another one of your trumped up stories."
+
+"He has no proof," Max Laponi added.
+
+"If he hasn't, I have," Penny interposed. She took the small package from
+her dress pocket, giving it to Rosanna to unwrap for her.
+
+"Why, it's a photograph!" the girl exclaimed. "It's of you, Mr. Eckert,
+taken many years ago."
+
+"Look on the back," Penny directed.
+
+Rosanna turned the picture over and read the bold scrawl:
+
+"Jacob Winters--on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday."
+
+"That's all the proof I need," Rosanna cried, her eyes shining. "You are
+my uncle, aren't you, Mr. Eckert? This isn't another of your jokes?"
+
+"No, it isn't a joke this time, Rosanna, although for a time it looked as
+if the joke would be on me. And if it hadn't been for Penny Nichols this
+scoundrel certainly would have made off with my ivory collection."
+
+"I didn't mean to pry into your private affairs," Penny apologized. "I
+shouldn't have taken the photograph only I suspected the truth and needed
+proof of it."
+
+"It's just as well that you did take matters into your own hands. I guess
+I botched things up."
+
+The little package of evidence which Penny had produced contained not
+only the photograph but the letter and key which she had found in Max
+Laponi's room.
+
+Penny now directed attention to the signature appearing at the bottom of
+the letter.
+
+"Compare it with the writing on the back of the photograph."
+
+"They're identical," Rosanna declared.
+
+"Then Caleb Eckert wrote those letters himself!" Mrs. Leeds cried
+furiously.
+
+"Guilty," Caleb acknowledged with a grin.
+
+"You ought to be arrested!" Mrs. Leeds fairly screamed. "It was a cruel
+joke to play. You led us all to believe that we had inherited a fortune."
+
+"Tell me, why did you write the letters?" Penny inquired. "That's one
+thing I've not been able to figure out although I think I might make an
+excellent guess."
+
+Caleb sank down in the nearest chair.
+
+"I may as well tell the entire story," he said. "Since my wife died some
+years ago I have been a very lonely man. I longed for an agreeable
+companion in my old age, someone who would enjoy traveling with me. My
+friends were few for I had spent most of my time abroad. My only living
+relatives were unknown to me. I felt ashamed because I had never looked
+them up."
+
+"So you decided to become better acquainted," Penny prompted as Caleb
+hesitated.
+
+"Yes, but I wanted to be liked for myself and not my fortune. I conceived
+the plan of sending out letters inviting my relatives here. I thought I
+would subject them to a series of tests and all the while I could be
+studying their characters."
+
+"An insane plan!" Mrs. Leeds interposed.
+
+"The idea didn't work the way I expected," Caleb continued ruefully. "I
+sent out four letters but two of them were returned unopened as the
+individuals to whom they were addressed were no longer living. However,
+as you know, three persons came to Raven Ridge claiming to have received
+one of the communications."
+
+"Max Laponi must have found the letter and key which Rosanna lost," Penny
+declared. "He was the impostor."
+
+"You have it all figured out very nicely," the crook sneered.
+
+"I suspected right off that he was the one," Caleb went on with his
+story. "I knew I had no relative answering to his name."
+
+"Why didn't you send him away at once?" Rosanna questioned.
+
+"I couldn't very well do that without exposing my hand. If I admitted my
+identity then my little plan would be ruined."
+
+"You were caught in an awkward position," Penny smiled.
+
+"It kept getting worse all the time. I soon suspected that Laponi was
+nothing less than a crook. When I discovered that he knew the ivory
+collection was in the house I decided to remove it from the safe."
+
+"That was the day I came upon you when you were trying to open it," Penny
+recalled.
+
+"Yes, but Laponi was prowling about the house and it was my bad luck that
+he happened in upon me at exactly the wrong time. Of course he guessed
+instantly that the ivories were locked in the safe.
+
+"After that, I decided to get rid of him at any cost. I had a talk with
+him but even threats did no good."
+
+"Why didn't you call in the police?" Penny asked. "Surely they would have
+provided you with protection."
+
+"I thought I would make one more effort to get the ivories from the safe.
+Then if I failed I intended to admit my identity and send for help. I
+might have done it sooner only the police commissioner and I once had a
+little trouble--nothing serious. It was an argument over a tract of land.
+Still, I knew he'd enjoy making me look ridiculous if ever he learned
+what I had done."
+
+"Your pride very nearly cost you a fortune," Penny commented. She
+directed her gaze upon Max Laponi as she questioned: "How did you learn
+that Mr. Winters kept the ivory collection in this house?"
+
+"That's for you to find out," the man jeered. "You'll have a hard time
+proving anything against me."
+
+"This letter will be evidence enough," Penny retorted. "It's a plain case
+of forgery with intent to defraud. And then there's the matter of the
+will."
+
+"The will wasn't forged," Mrs. Leeds cut in although Penny had not made
+such a claim.
+
+"There never was a will," Caleb informed.
+
+Mrs. Leeds stared at him. "What of the document I found in the drawer of
+the desk?" she demanded.
+
+"You mean the one you discovered in the _locked_ drawer," Caleb corrected
+with a chuckle. "The one that was made out in Rosanna's favor. That was
+just another of my little jokes. If you had examined the will closely you
+would have noticed that the signature was never witnessed. It was a
+fake."
+
+"That was the document which I saw you burn in the fireplace," Penny
+accused.
+
+Mrs. Leeds flushed angrily. She realized that she had trapped herself.
+
+"By the way, how do you explain the will made out in your favor?" Penny
+probed maliciously.
+
+Mrs. Leeds turned her gaze upon Laponi for an instant. Then she said
+glibly:
+
+"I found the will just as I said."
+
+"You didn't find one made out in your favor," Caleb contradicted.
+"Because I never wrote such a document."
+
+"Let's take a look at it," Penny suggested. "Where is the will, Mrs.
+Leeds?"
+
+"I don't know what became of it. I misplaced it."
+
+"You're afraid to produce it," Penny challenged.
+
+Rosanna had been looking through the desk. She now triumphantly brought
+to light the paper which Mrs. Leeds had claimed to be Jacob Winters' last
+will and testament.
+
+"I never wrote a line of it," Caleb declared as he examined the document.
+"It's a forgery."
+
+"Forgery is a serious offense, Mrs. Leeds," Penny remarked significantly.
+
+"I didn't do it!" the woman cried nervously.
+
+"I expect we'll have to send you to jail along with Laponi here," Caleb
+cackled.
+
+Mrs. Leeds did not realize that he was only baiting her. She began to
+tremble with fright.
+
+"Don't send me to jail," she pleaded. "I'll tell everything."
+
+"Hold your tongue," Laponi cut in sharply.
+
+Mrs. Leeds whirled upon him.
+
+"You say that because you want me to take all the blame! Well, I won't do
+it. You forged that will yourself."
+
+"At your suggestion, Mrs. Leeds."
+
+"It wasn't my suggestion. I'd never have considered such a thing if you
+hadn't put the idea into my head."
+
+"You burned the first will which you believed to be genuine."
+
+"Perhaps I did. But I never forged anything in my life."
+
+"That was because you were afraid you'd be caught," Laponi sneered. "You
+wanted someone else to take the rap for you."
+
+"You tricked me," Mrs. Leeds accused. "If I had known you intended to rob
+Mr. Winters of his ivories I should have had nothing to do with you."
+
+"I suppose you thought it wasn't robbery when you decided to cheat
+Rosanna Winters out of her inheritance?"
+
+"She had no inheritance."
+
+"But you thought she did. No, Mrs. Leeds you paid me well to forge the
+will in your favor. You're involved every bit as deeply as I."
+
+Mrs. Leeds collapsed into a chair and burying her face in her hands began
+to sob.
+
+Penny felt a little sorry for her, realizing that at heart the woman was
+not a criminal. She had been goaded on by an overpowering ambition to
+improve her social position by gaining Jacob Winters' fortune.
+
+"We may as well call the police," Penny said after a slight hesitation.
+She had noticed that Laponi was casting cunning glances about the room
+and guessed that he was hoping for an opportunity to escape.
+
+Mrs. Leeds sprang to her feet. She darted over to Jacob Winters, grasping
+him by the arm.
+
+"Oh, please, please don't have me arrested. I didn't mean to do wrong.
+For the sake of my daughter let me go free. After all, we are relatives."
+
+"Unfortunately, we are," he agreed. Turning to Rosanna, he said quietly:
+"It is for you to decide, my dear."
+
+"Let her go free," Rosanna urged instantly.
+
+"I think that is best," he nodded. "But as far as Max Laponi is concerned
+we can't get him to the lock-up soon enough to please me."
+
+"If you'll guard him I'll telephone for the police," Penny offered.
+
+Leaving the old man with both revolvers she went into an adjoining room
+to place the call.
+
+No sooner had she disappeared than Max Laponi saw his opportunity to
+escape. For an instant Jacob Winters' attention wavered.
+
+That instant was enough for Laponi. Seizing the metal box which Rosanna
+had replaced upon the table, he darted out through the doorway.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XX
+                          A Break for Freedom
+
+
+Max Laponi bolted across the center hall, flinging open the outside door.
+He looked directly into the face of Christopher Nichols.
+
+"Hello, what's the big hurry?" the detective demanded, grasping him
+firmly by the arm.
+
+Laponi tried to jerk free but he was no match for the detective.
+
+By this time Penny and the others had come streaming into the hall.
+
+"Don't let him get away!" Penny cried.
+
+As the crook struggled to escape, Mr. Nichols slipped a pair of handcuffs
+over the man's wrists. Recovering the metal box he handed it to his
+daughter.
+
+"Dad, how did you get here?" she asked eagerly.
+
+The detective did not hear for he was regarding Laponi with keen
+interest.
+
+"Well, well, if it isn't my old friend Leo Corley. Or possibly you have a
+new alias by this time."
+
+"He calls himself Max Laponi," Penny informed. "Is he a known criminal?"
+
+"Very well known, Penny. He's wanted in three states for forgery,
+blackmail and robbery. His latest escapade was to steal a diamond ring
+from the Bresham Department Store."
+
+"Then you did get my wire?" Penny cried.
+
+"Yes, that's what brought me here. After I received it I got busy right
+off and with the information you furnished it was easy to look up this
+man's record. The police have been after him for months."
+
+"You didn't waste any time coming here," Penny smiled.
+
+"I was afraid you girls might be in more danger than you realized. Max
+here isn't such a nice companion. By the way what's in the box?"
+
+Penny opened it to reveal Mr. Winters' fine collection of ivory. The
+detective whistled in awe.
+
+"That would have been a nice haul, Max," he said. "Too bad we had to
+spoil your little game."
+
+"If it hadn't been for that kid of yours I'd have gotten away with it,"
+the crook growled. "I was dumb not to suspect she was the daughter of a
+detective."
+
+"You may as well cough up the diamond ring," Mr. Nichols advised. "It
+will save an unpleasant search."
+
+With a shrug of his shoulders, Laponi took the gem from an inner pocket
+and gave it to the detective.
+
+"When do we start for the station?" he asked. "We may as well get going."
+
+"I've already called the police," Penny told her father.
+
+"Then we won't have long to wait." He shoved Laponi toward a chair. "May
+as well make yourself comfortable until the wagon gets here."
+
+"Your kindness overwhelms me," the crook returned with exaggerated
+politeness.
+
+"How did you get wind that Mr. Winters' ivories were kept in the house?"
+the detective inquired curiously.
+
+Although the crook had refused to answer the same questions a few minutes
+before, he was now willing to talk, knowing that his last chance for
+escape had been cut off.
+
+"I read an item in the paper some months ago," he confessed. "It was a
+little news story to the effect that Jacob Winters had recently purchased
+several new pieces for his collection and that he intended to build
+special exhibit cases in his house as a means of displaying them. I
+clipped the item and forgot about it.
+
+"Then one day I chanced to pick up a letter which someone had dropped. It
+contained a key to this house. I decided it was too good an opportunity
+to miss. Posing as Jacob Winters' nephew I came here to look over the
+situation."
+
+"I never had a nephew," Mr. Winters declared.
+
+"That was the first mistake I made. The second was in underestimating the
+ability of Penny Nichols. I thought she was only a school girl."
+
+Penny smiled broadly as she inquired: "Didn't you enter into an agreement
+with Mrs. Leeds to defraud Rosanna?"
+
+"I forged the will for her if that's what you mean. I wasn't interested
+in getting any of the money myself."
+
+"That was because you knew it couldn't be done," the detective
+interposed. "You considered the ivory collection more profitable."
+
+"Of course you forged the letter stating that Jacob Winters had been
+buried at sea," Penny mentioned.
+
+With a nod of his head, the man acknowledged the charge. It was
+Christopher Nichols' turn to ask a question. Penny's letters had
+mentioned the mysterious mansion ghost and he was deeply interested in
+the subject.
+
+"I suppose you were the ghost, Max?"
+
+Jacob Winters answered for him.
+
+"I was the ghost. It was part of my joke to frighten the occupants of
+this house. Not a very good joke, I'll admit."
+
+"And you were the one who put bats in my room," Mrs. Leeds accused.
+
+"Yes, and a garter snake in your bed which you never found."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Of course, Mr. Eckert, your ghostly pranks included playing the organ,"
+Penny smiled. "I suspected it when I learned Jacob Winters had been a
+talented musician."
+
+"I built the pipe organ into the house before my wife died," Mr. Winters
+explained. "I haven't used it a great deal in recent years."
+
+"You haven't told us about the tunnel," Rosanna reminded him. "How did
+you happen to construct it?"
+
+"I didn't. The lower branch of the passage was an old mine tunnel. The
+mine closed down forty years or so ago. The upper passage which connects
+with the house was built by my grandfather. This house, you know, has
+been in the Winters' family for generations. And I hope, upon my death,
+that it will pass on to another by the same name."
+
+He looked significantly at Rosanna as he spoke.
+
+Before the conversation could be continued, the police car drove up to
+the door. Max Laponi was loaded in and taken away. Mr. Nichols went with
+the police, promising to return to the Winters' house as soon as he
+could.
+
+After the commotion had subsided, Jacob Winters turned severely to Mrs.
+Leeds.
+
+"As for you, madam, kindly pack your things and leave this house at once.
+I never want to see you again."
+
+"But it isn't even daylight yet. Alicia, poor child, is sleeping----"
+
+"Wake her up. I'll give you just an hour to get out of the house."
+
+"You're a hard, cruel, old man!" Mrs. Leeds cried bitterly, but she
+hurried up the stairs to obey his command.
+
+After the woman had disappeared, Rosanna picked up her sweater which she
+had dropped on a chair. She turned toward the door.
+
+"Hold on there," Jacob called. "Where are you going?"
+
+"I was just leaving. You told Mrs. Leeds----"
+
+"Well, you're not Mrs. Leeds, are you?" the old man snapped. "If you're
+willing, I want you to stay here."
+
+"You mean--indefinitely?"
+
+"Yes, if you think you could stand to live with me. I'm cross and I like
+things done my own way, but if you could put up with me----"
+
+"If I could put up with you!" Rosanna ran to him and flung her arms about
+him. "Why, I think you're a darling! I was afraid to tell you so for fear
+you'd believe I was after your money."
+
+"Money! Fiddlesticks!" Jacob sniffed. He wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm
+going to try to make up to you for all that you've missed."
+
+The two had a great deal to say to each other, but presently they
+remembered Penny. She had been watching the little scene with eager
+delight.
+
+"I'll never be able to thank you," Rosanna declared happily. "You're
+responsible for everything, Penny."
+
+"I wish you'd permit me to reward you in a substantial way," Mr. Winters
+added.
+
+Penny smilingly shook her head. "It was fun coming here to Raven Ridge.
+But it would ruin everything if I accepted pay for it."
+
+"At least you'll stay a few days longer," Mr. Winters urged.
+
+"If Father will agree to it."
+
+When Mr. Nichols returned from police headquarters another pleasant
+surprise was in store for Penny.
+
+"It looks as if you've won the reward which the Bresham Store offered for
+the capture of Laponi," he told her. "Five hundred dollars."
+
+"Don't turn it down," Rosanna urged.
+
+"I won't," Penny laughed. "In fact, I know just how I'll use that money
+when I get it."
+
+"How?" her father inquired.
+
+"I'll buy myself a new car."
+
+"I thought perhaps you'd use it to go into business in competition with
+me," he teased.
+
+"Some day I'll solve a mystery which will be so big and important that
+you'll not be able to twit me about it," Penny announced.
+
+"I wasn't really teasing, my dear. I think you did a fine bit of work
+this time and I'm proud of you."
+
+"Honestly?"
+
+"Honestly," Mr. Nichols repeated, smiling broadly. "And I predict that
+you're only starting on this career of crime detection which you find so
+very thrilling."
+
+"I wish I could be sure of that," Penny sighed.
+
+With all her heart she longed for another adventure as exciting as the
+one she had experienced. Although she had no way of knowing what the
+future held, she was destined soon to have her wish gratified. In the
+third volume of the Penny Nichols' series, entitled, "The Secret of the
+Black Imp," she encounters a mystery more baffling than any she has
+previously solved.
+
+After Mrs. Leeds and her daughter left the house, the others took Mr.
+Nichols for a tour of the secret passageway. Jacob Winters explained in
+detail how the panel operated and entertained them by playing several
+selections on the pipe organ.
+
+"I love music," Rosanna remarked wistfully. "I've never even had an
+opportunity to learn to play the piano."
+
+"You'll have it now," he assured her.
+
+Mr. Nichols remained during the day but late in the afternoon he was
+forced to start for home as his work had been neglected. He was very
+willing, however, that Penny should remain as long as she wished at the
+old mansion.
+
+The days were all too short for the two girls who enjoyed rambling
+through the woods, rowing and swimming in the lake, and exploring every
+nook and cranny of the interesting old house. But at length the time came
+when Penny too was obliged to depart.
+
+"Come back and see us often, won't you?" Rosanna urged as they parted.
+
+"Whenever I can," Penny promised. "I've had a glorious time."
+
+She drove away, but at the bend in the road halted the car to glance
+back. The house, cloaked in the shadows of evening, looked nearly as
+mysterious as upon the occasion of her first visit. However, to her it
+would never again have a fearful aspect.
+
+Jacob Winters and his niece stood framed in the doorway. They waved.
+
+Penny returned the salute. Then regretfully she turned her back upon
+Raven Ridge and drove slowly down the mountain road which led home.
+
+                                                               M. W.
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the
+Lost Key, by Joan Clark
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PENNY NICHOLS--MYSTERY OF LOST KEY ***
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