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diff --git a/old/53198-0.txt b/old/53198-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e6c2c24..0000000 --- a/old/53198-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5338 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden -Treasure, by Jean Lyttleton McKechnie - -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/license - - -Title: Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure - -Author: Jean Lyttleton McKechnie - -Release Date: October 2, 2016 [EBook #53198] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PENNY ALLEN AND THE MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -FALCON BOOKS - - -_Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure_ - -When the Allens--Philip, Jimmy, Penny and Marjorie--opened their -Michigan Lodge as a summer hotel, they decided to track down the rumor -of buried treasure. Other people, however, had the same idea, and -before the Allens could solve the baffling clues they discovered, they -found themselves in real danger. How they found the treasure, and how -Penny and Philip found romance with it, make an exciting and romantic -adventure everyone will enjoy. - - -_Other Falcon Books for Girls_: - - PENNY ALLEN AND THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE - PATTY AND JO, DETECTIVES - JEAN CRAIG GROWS UP - JEAN CRAIG IN NEW YORK - JEAN CRAIG FINDS ROMANCE - JEAN CRAIG, NURSE - JEAN CRAIG, GRADUATE NURSE - CHAMPION’S CHOICE - - - - -[Illustration: “It looks like the note in the bottle!”] - - - - - _Penny Allen_ - - AND THE - - Mystery of the Hidden Treasure - - BY JEAN MCKECHNIE - - [Illustration] - - THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY - CLEVELAND AND NEW YORK - - - - - Falcon Books - _are published by_ THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY - 2231 WEST 110 STREET • CLEVELAND 2 • OHIO - - - W1 - - COPYRIGHT 1950 BY THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY - - MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - -_Contents_ - - - 1. A New Adventure 9 - - 2. An Anonymous Letter 23 - - 3. The Abandoned Well 40 - - 4. A Night Prowler 53 - - 5. Another Threat 68 - - 6. Clues in a Bottle 85 - - 7. The Map 98 - - 8. Peter Is Worried 109 - - 9. Camping Out 121 - - 10. Jimmy to the Rescue 133 - - 11. The Missing Fragment 151 - - 12. Setting the Trap 166 - - 13. Philip Traps a Thief 179 - - 14. Forgotten Treasure 197 - - 15. Happy Ending 216 - - - - -_Penny Allen_ - -AND THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE - - - - -CHAPTER 1 - -A NEW ADVENTURE - - -A warm June breeze was blowing in from Lake Superior. It caught a -strand of Penny Allen’s blonde hair and blew it across her dark blue -eyes. - -Penny was out in the clearing behind the Lodge hanging blankets on -the line. “Help,” she called to her brother, Philip, who was working -nearby. “Help, I can’t see what I’m doing, and my arms are full of -blankets.” - -Philip, his clear, blue-gray eyes sparkling with laughter, hurried to -the rescue. He extricated Penny from the mound of blankets she was -carrying and helped her hang them on the line. - -As they worked together, fighting the capricious breeze that threatened -every minute to blow the blankets away, Penny said excitedly: - -“I can’t believe it, Phil. We’re practically ready to open the Lodge -for guests!” - -“Well, not quite,” Philip said soberly. He was twenty, a year older -than Penny, and usually wore a rather serious air. This was partly due -to his responsibilities as the head of the Allen family. - -Their Uncle John Allen had died suddenly a year ago leaving the four -orphans, Penny, Philip, Jimmy and Marjorie, to shift for themselves. He -had left the Lodge to Philip and a beautiful yacht, the _Penny Allen_, -to Penny. - -Recently, Philip had decided to turn his inheritance into a business -venture. The lovely house, situated in the Michigan woods near Lake -Superior, would make an ideal summer hotel. Ever since the first of -June they had all been busy helping to get it ready for many of their -old friends who planned to spend the summer there. - -“Don’t look so serious, Phil,” Penny cried. “We _are_ just about ready.” - -Philip’s eyes, under their straight, dark eyebrows, were thoughtful. -“We’re not even organized yet, Penny,” he said. “The winter just seemed -to go like lightning.” A quick smile dispelled his seriousness. “I -guess we spent too much of the holidays enjoying the winter sports.” - -“Pooh,” Penny said impulsively. “We were all together and we had fun. -We deserved that.” - -Orphans since thirteen-year-old Marjorie, the youngest, had been a -baby, the Allens had hardly known one another, for they had all gone -to different schools and summer camps. But in spite of that, they had -managed to maintain a merry and cheerful household. - -And now they were all bound and determined to make a success of their -summer hotel. “We’ve got plenty of time to get organized in,” Penny -argued. She pushed her light brown hair out of her eyes with one hand -and tucked the last clothespin in place with the other. “Here come -Marjorie and Jimmy. You can organize us all right now.” - -“Hi,” Jimmy called, striding toward them. He was the darkest member of -the family, contrasting sharply with Marjorie. - -She was very fair, with light golden hair and light-blue eyes. Her -slight figure and small delicate hands gave her an almost elfin grace -to which was added a delightfully mischievous quality. “She looks -delicate,” Jimmy often said. “But the kid’s as tough as nails.” - -Jimmy’s current aim in life was to reach at least six feet before he -stopped growing. Almost daily the slender, seventeen-year-old boy -insisted that Philip stand back to back with him in order to determine -whether or not he had finally become the tallest member of the family. - -Judging by the quantities of food he packed away, Penny felt sure that -he would never stop growing. Moreover, it seemed to her that he was -quite tall enough now. What he needed to do was to gain a little weight. - -“A summer here, spent mostly outdoors,” she said to Philip, “will do -both Marjorie and Jimmy a world of good. I hope they each gain a few -pounds before they go back to school.” - -Marjorie, who had been trailing behind Jimmy, called out then: “Now -that the blankets are airing, Penny, can’t we go through the stuff in -the storage room?” She broke into a run and arrived by the clothesline -almost out of breath. “I can’t wait to see what’s in those old trunks.” - -“Probably nothing but junk,” Jimmy said. “You know what Uncle John -always called this place.” - -When they had first come to the Michigan house early in the fall they -had expected to find a shack because their Uncle John had always -referred to it as the “Michigan Shack.” But in spite of its name, it -had turned out to be a very pretentious log structure evidently built -for just such a purpose as they were planning to put it to now. - -Allen Lodge was imposing with its wide front and its two-story porches. -The spacious living room was two stories high with the bedrooms opening -off a balcony which extended around three sides of the room. The large -dining room, kitchen and pantry, were on the Lake side. There were -great fireplaces in many of the rooms and Philip said that it must -have been planned as a summer hotel or a hunting lodge because the -arrangement was ideal for large numbers of people. - -The interior, with its lovely hand-hewn rafters and paneled walls was -a delight to the eye, and even better, it was easy to take care of. -Allen Lodge suggested nothing but comfort. No one knew of its secret -room except the Allens and their newly made friend. - -They had heard when they first came here that the house was haunted, -but it had not taken them long to discover that the ghost was only -Adra Prentice, a very nice girl whom they had discovered hiding in -the secret room. Adra, who was eighteen years old, had “haunted” -the Allen’s house when she had run away from her kidnappers. Their -adventures and the way they solved the mystery is told in _Penny Allen -and the Mystery of the Haunted House_. The four Allens were now ready -for a new adventure and they felt that their own house was the best -place to find it. - -“Those old trunks aren’t filled with junk,” Marjorie was saying to -Jimmy. “Penny and I looked into one of them and it’s positively -overflowing with fascinating old dresses that would be wonderful if we -give a masquerade. And there’s an old jewelry box--” - -“Filled to the brim,” Penny finished, smiling, “with costume jewelry -not worth a cent.” - -“See?” Jimmy demanded, grinning at Marjorie. “Junk.” He turned to Phil. -“Pat asked me to plant some beans in his garden behind the cabin the -Donahues are going to occupy. If you don’t need me, I’ll go do it now.” - -“Go ahead,” Phil said. “It won’t take long.” - -Pat Ryan, who had been Uncle John’s guide and the caretaker of the -Lodge, had just married Ann Mary. He and his new wife had voluntarily -taken over the responsibility of helping the Allens. Philip and Penny -realized they would be lost without the Ryans in this undertaking. As -Philip said, “They’ve completely spoiled us. I wouldn’t think of doing -anything without first consulting Pat. He seems to know everything -about everything and as luck would have it, we know next to nothing -about anything. Fate must have brought us together, or better yet, -Uncle John must have had us in mind when he first got Pat to work for -him.” - -Penny agreed wholeheartedly with Phil. - -“Pat’s orders,” she told Jimmy before he started off to plant beans, -“must always be obeyed.” She pointed gaily to the blankets that were -swaying and billowing in the sunny June breeze. “See what I’ve done -with our household chattels! To think I might have gone through life -only knowing about readin’, writin’ and ’rithmetic if Ann Mary hadn’t -taken me in hand and shown me how to run a house.” - -“Don’t feel so cocky, Sis,” said Jimmy, an impish grin on his face. -“You probably have lots more to learn. All I can say is, you’d better -hurry up and acquire the missing knowledge before Peter gets here.” - -Penny blushed at the mention of Peter Wyland’s name. Even though he -was an old friend and the Allens had known him for years, he had just -recently shown his preference for Penny’s company and Penny was still -not used to being teased about it. - -Phil shrewdly guessed that Penny had been in love with Peter ever since -last winter. That was when they had discovered that Peter was a secret -service man in the employ of Mr. Prentice. Phil had not talked to Penny -about Peter even when he noticed that she seemed to get letters from -Wyland quite regularly. Philip’s mind these days was much preoccupied -with thoughts of Adra Prentice. He seemed unable to get her out of his -mind, and he found that no matter what he was doing, his thoughts would -always go back to Adra. - -Both Phil and Penny knew that Jimmy and Marjorie would never stop -teasing them about their feelings, so, contrary to their usual method -of discussing everything among themselves, they had not said anything -about this. Nevertheless, it seemed to be more or less understood, and -although Penny couldn’t help blushing, she pretended to ignore Jimmy’s -teasing remark. - -“Get along with you,” Phil said to his younger brother. “If you don’t -plant those beans soon they’ll sprout in your pocket.” - -Jimmy departed, laughing. “Come on, lazy-bones,” he called over his -shoulder to Marjorie. “I’ll let you help me for a change. Even _you_ -can’t botch up a job as simple as planting beans.” - -“Thank you, no,” Marjorie said with dignity. “I weeded all day -yesterday while you were fishing.” Marjorie had not missed Penny’s -blush, and couldn’t resist a chance for teasing her older sister. “Why -are your cheeks so pink, Penny?” she asked carelessly. - -“She’s getting sunburned,” Phil said, quickly coming to Penny’s rescue. -“If you spent more time looking in the mirror, Marjorie, you’d see that -your own nose is as red as a beet.” - -Just then an old Ford drew up in front of the house. Pat Ryan got out, -followed by the new summer help. Theresa, who was Pat’s sister and -lived in the nearby village, had a smile on her broad Irish face. The -Allens loved her Irish brogue and her tremendous bulk. Marjorie said -she was worth her weight in gold. - -“It’s glad I am to be here working for the Allens,” she said. - -Penny welcomed her and said, “It’s we who are glad you could come, -Theresa, and the rest of you too. We’d never be able to swing this -experiment if it weren’t for the Ryans and you, and we think you’re -bricks to do this on a co-operative basis, because right now we don’t -know if we’ll make a profit, or lose money.” - -“Don’t you go worrying about a little thing like that,” answered -Theresa, and with a wink at Pat she added, “Anybody that finds out -about Ann Mary’s cooking will gladly pay double the fee you’re -charging, if Pat isn’t going to be too jealous to let anybody else -taste that good food.” - -“Okay with me,” said Pat good-naturedly. “Providing I get my share.” - -Slowly following behind Theresa were two people the Allens had never -met. Penny and Phil shook their hands as Theresa introduced them. - -“This is Mr. and Mrs. Mal Donahue, Ann Mary’s cousins. Mrs. Donahue -was Kathleen Doherty and we always call her Kitty. It’s a cinch your -help will all be getting along fine together since we’re all Irish and -all related. Seems as though all the Irish are related to each other, -doesn’t it?” - -This brought forth gales of laughter from Jimmy who had interrupted his -work in the garden to greet the new arrivals. - -“I hope you like your cabin,” he said to the Donahues. “All of our -vegetables are growing right in your back yard, so whenever you get -hungry all you have to do is reach out the window and pick some pole -beans.” - -They smiled at him while Philip said, “We hope you will be happy with -us, Mal and Kitty.” - -Mal Donahue cleared his throat. “We’d like the job, sir, uh--er,” and -he hesitated. “We were--ahem--curious, you see. We heard the house was -haunted last winter, and some people say there’s hidden treasure around -here. We hope it’s just a plain ordinary house. Kitty and I don’t like -surprises.” This speech was made with some effort and once again Jimmy -couldn’t control his amusement. - -He laughed and slapped Mal on the back. “If there’s any treasure, old -man, you and I will find it together.” This seemed to reassure Mal. - -When Philip and Penny walked toward the Lodge later, she said, “I think -we are lucky, Phil, to get these young folks. I like their looks, don’t -you?” - -“I certainly do,” Philip agreed. “And Pat and Ann Mary will need all -the extra help they can get. If things work out the way we hope they -will, we’ll have to hire more people from the village.” - -Penny nodded. “I’m very pleased with Kitty. She looks like a dear, and -she’ll make a nice appearance waiting on the table.” She sighed. “It’s -too bad anyone as attractive as Ann Mary must stay in the kitchen most -of the time.” - -“Don’t worry about that,” Phil said with a laugh. “I’m sure all our -guests will want to go back and tell her how good her food is and -they’ll get to know her that way. Besides,” he went on, “she won’t stay -in the kitchen all the time. Even if she’s supposed to do nothing but -cook, you know Ann Mary will pitch in and help the others whenever she -has any spare time.” - -“That’s true,” Penny said thoughtfully. “And I’m beginning to see -what you mean about our getting organized. We really should all work -according to some sort of schedule so we won’t be getting in each -other’s way.” - -“Exactly,” Philip said. “We must have a serious meeting this evening -and assign definite tasks to each one of us.” - -“Right after dinner,” Penny agreed. “Now, before we go back to work in -the house, let’s read the mail the postman left on the porch a while -ago. I--I,” she confided, “I’m sort of hoping I’ll hear from Peter -Wyland. He’s not sure he can take a vacation from his job until the end -of summer.” - -“Cheer up, Sis,” Phil said encouragingly. “Maybe there’ll be a letter -from him saying he can come sooner.” - -They hurried up the steps to the porch where a stack of letters was -waiting for them. - - - - -CHAPTER 2 - -AN ANONYMOUS LETTER - - -The first letter Penny opened was from the Curtises saying that they -would arrive in about a week, the first weekend in July. - -“That is,” Mrs. Curtis wrote, “if it won’t be rushing you too much, -Penny dear.” - -Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, whom the Allens fondly called Grandma and Grandpa -Curtis, had been old friends of Uncle John’s. Their daughter Mary and -their son Charles were the same age as Penny and Philip and they had -spent many summers together in camps. They were to be the first guests -at Allen Lodge and were planning to stay the entire summer. - -When Mr. Curtis had heard about the ideal fishing his family had -difficulty restraining him from coming up before the Lodge was really -open for business. - -“The Curtises are always doing something to help us,” brightly -asserted Penny as she finished the letter out on the big front porch. - -She and Philip looked out on the lawn, a wide, trimmed space in front -of the house, its grass thick, its masses of shrubbery and groups of -beautiful trees stately, and its flowers just beginning to bloom. -Truly, summer had come to the shores of Lake Superior, and Phil -surveyed the property with great pride. - -Watching the expression on his face, Penny said, “Uncle John certainly -had good taste, Phil. You have every reason to be proud of your -inheritance.” - -“I know it,” Phil said. “But don’t forget to give credit where it is -due. Jimmy and I have done a good job of lawn-mowing and tree-trimming, -if I do say so myself.” He stretched his long arms. “That kind of work -is a real muscle builder.” - -“I’ll bet it is,” Penny said. “And it’s grand to know that I’ll have -plenty of flowers for the dining room tables and for every bedroom -in the Lodge. Pat takes very good care of the cutting flowers in -his old-fashioned garden. If you and Jimmy take as good care of the -flowering shrubs, the Lodge will be a bower of blossoms inside and out -all summer.” - -Marjorie and Jimmy came out on the porch then with their hands full of -more mail that Pat had brought back when he went into town for Theresa -and the Donahues. - -“‘Lo,” said Jimmy. “Help us sort this out. Gobs came in today after the -postman left.” - -Jimmy sat down in one of the large, old-fashioned wicker chairs and -Marjorie drew up a little footstool in front of him. - -“Go ahead,” said Philip, “We’ll trust you and Marjorie to sort it all -out and hand it over, won’t we, Penny?” - -“Only too glad to have you do it,” replied Penny, slumping down in her -chair and pretending to relax. “Only don’t take too long, if anything -looks interesting,” she added. - -Jimmy’s answer to that was to toss a flat letter into her lap, and to -follow that closely with another slimmer one, carefully twirled by its -corner to insure its falling at the proper distance. - -“Oh, don’t, Jimmy,” protested Marjorie, over whose head the missives -were hurled. - -“That will keep her quiet, Marge,” Jimmy announced. But Penny was -already quiet, not even hearing Jimmy’s last remark. - -“You have the biggest pile, Phil,” Marjorie stated in a few moments. - -The pile in front of Phil was falling over with letters, papers, -advertisements and catalogues. The process of dividing the mail was -soon completed and silence reigned except for giggles from Marjorie as -she read a long letter from her best friend, Judy Powell. Penny, deeply -engrossed in one of hers, gave a slight exclamation once, and Philip -whistled as he laid aside a long envelope. But no one stopped to ask -questions. - -Penny looked at the absorbed group as she finished her last letter and -smiled. Marjorie stopped reading her letters and looked off into space. - -“Read me some of Judy’s letter, Marjorie,” said Penny. - -Marjorie turned with a smile to say that it was such a good letter and -so funny--“Judy wants to know by telegram when they can come.” - -“She shall, Marjorie,” Philip answered immediately. “I’m thinking of -getting a special telegram blank printed.” - -Marjorie looked at Phil to see if he really meant such an idiotic -thing; but as Phil only winked at her, she merely said, “Crazy!” and -turned to Judy’s letter: - - “Dearest Marjorie: - - I think it’s simply tops that we can be together this summer. - I was so afraid my parents would insist on sending me to camp - again. Not that I don’t like camp, but I know it’s going to be so - much more exciting to do things together, like exploring in the - woods. Will we be allowed to go through the woods by ourselves? - Are there secret cabins, or wonderful hiding places? Can we sleep - out at night? I’ll bet it’s wonderful swimming in Lake Superior! - Oh, couldn’t you telegraph and let me know right away when we - can come? I have so many questions to ask, I don’t know where to - begin. - - My brother Alf says he would rather come to Michigan than go on - the canoe trip in Canada. He says he always has fun with Jimmy. - Maybe the boys will let us help them build something or do some - of the things with them. Alf says they’ll never take us fishing - because girls talk too much, but maybe we can convince them that - we know how to keep quiet. - - I’m so excited that at last we are going to see the Lodge, and - all the Allens and especially you, that’s all I can write about. - - Do Charles Curtis and Peter Wyland both still like Penny? Does - Penny like either one of them? Maybe I should be minding my own - business, but I guess I am just bubbling over with questions. - Cincinnati is hot as it always is in the summer and we can’t - wait until we get to Michigan. Quick, quick, quick, send me a - telegram. It will be the first one I ever received. - - At present I just live in a bathing suit and we spend almost all - day at the pool. I’m glad school is out. Alf says I’m a nuisance - and a question box, and by now, you probably think the same. I - can’t wait until I see you, - - Forever yours, - Judy.” - -When Marjorie had finished reading Judy’s letter out loud, Jimmy -chuckled. “She’s a riot, that Powell kid.” - -Penny was already scribbling a message on the back of an envelope. -“Here,” she said to Jimmy, “go in to the phone in the office and send -this telegram to Judy right away. There’s no reason why the Powells -shouldn’t come the first weekend in July when we expect the Curtises.” - -“Hooray!” Marjorie shouted as Jimmy went in to send the telegram. At -that moment Kitty Donahue came out on the porch. - -“Hi,” Marjorie greeted her. “When do we eat in this Lodge?” - -Kitty came nearer. “I just wanted to ask Miss Penny about that. We’ve a -big fish baking and I wondered if you would be ready to eat in half an -hour.” - -“Hooray, food!” shouted Marjorie. “We’re always ready to eat, Kitty. -Are we going to have a conference tonight to assign various duties, -Penny?” - -“Yes, we are,” Penny answered. “Kitty, did you ever help in a summer -hotel, or anything like that?” - -“Yes, _ma’am_! And Mal helped the chef at one of the lake resorts right -near here. That is what made Ann Mary think about sending for us.” - -Philip had turned to look at Kathleen while she talked. “That is very -fortunate for us, Mrs. Donahue,” he said. “We’re going to have a family -confab tonight to decide what each of us should do and we’d like all -of you to come and help us make decisions.” - -“Yes, sir,” Kitty said. “We’ll not need much more help, only some -people from around the village to wait on table if there is a very -large crowd over weekends, or for some special occasions.” With that -bit of advice, Kitty went back into the house. - -Jimmy came out on the porch then and said to Marjorie: “I told the -operator to sign your name to the telegram. I thought Judy would get a -kick out of that.” - -“Thanks,” Marjorie said, smiling. “Sometimes you can be nice, Jimmy.” - -He ignored her and started gathering up his mail. “By the way,” he said -to Penny and Phil, “my old schoolmate, Brook, is coming that weekend, -too, if it’s all right with you.” - -“Fine,” Penny and Phil said together. - -Jimmy grinned. “Brook wrote that he is going to bring all of his old -clothes. He says he’ll bring one decent suit, but he hopes he’ll not -have to put it on. I’m right with him there! I think Judy Powell has -the right idea about living in a bathing suit all summer. Say, Alf -Powell, Brook and I will certainly have some wonderful fun this summer. -Maybe we can put up a shack for us to sleep in.” He went on, pacing up -and down excitedly, “Or part of that old barn. It would be fun if we -could be by ourselves.” - -“Calm down, Jimmy,” Phil said. “I don’t think Alf’s or Brook’s parents -will think their sons ought to be sleeping in a shack if they are -paying good money for rooms, do you?” - -Jimmy ran his hands through his short, dark hair. “Naw, I guess not. -But we could bunk out there sometimes, couldn’t we?” - -“Of course,” Penny told him. “It wouldn’t be much fun if you didn’t -rough it every now and then.” She went on seriously. “I’m counting on -you, Jimmy, to keep an eye on any kids who may come with their parents. -You and Marjorie must help to keep them amused, too. It will be rather -like running a summer camp, with you two as junior counselors. You’ll -have to supervise games and sports, and maybe, Jimmy, give some of them -swimming lessons.” - -“Ha!” Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “The plot thickens. Looks like I’m going -to have to work. But don’t worry, Penny. Brook, Alf and I will keep -the small fry busy.” - -“Grand,” Penny said approvingly. “You’ve taken a load off my mind, -Jimmy. Everyone has simply got to help me as much as possible if we’re -going to see to it that our guests are kept amused.” - -She glanced at Marjorie. “And that means you, too, imp. Don’t you dare -spend all your time with your chum, Judy.” - -“I won’t,” Marjorie promised. “Not unless Jimmy spends all his time -with Alf and Brook.” - -Philip glanced at his wrist watch. “Any objections to you two getting -washed up before dinner?” But he looked at Jimmy as he spoke. - -“Not a one,” returned Jimmy with a wide grin. “I wonder why Phil looked -at me,” he continued, still grinning. - -“Because, you’re practically just past the stage when getting you -washed behind the ears was quite a family problem,” said Marjorie. - -“Look who’s talking,” called Jimmy as he disappeared into the house. - -After they had all consumed the delicious baked fish which Pat had -caught that very day and Ann Mary had fixed in a delectable fashion, -all the Allens met around the council table. This was the big table in -the living room and here they were soon joined by the Ryans, Theresa -and the Donahues. - -Philip then outlined a plan which they all discussed and finally the -duties were assigned to everyone’s satisfaction. Pat was to continue -what he had always done and be a general overseer of the entire Lodge. -He would make arrangements for fishing parties, get boats and guides -and order lunches to be packed. He would lock up every night and do -many other things. - -Ann Mary was in complete charge of the kitchen and Mal and Kitty were -to be her assistants. Kitty would serve and Mal also had some outdoor -duties. Theresa was to do the cleaning, and Mal and Kitty were going to -pitch in and help with that too. - -Marjorie had offered to wait on table and help with the cooking, but -Philip told her that the family would have their hands full with the -entertaining of their guests. However, all the Allens planned to help -out every place, all of the time, whenever they were free from their -other assigned duties. Jimmy had lettered a large sign and hung it on -a temporary billboard. It read: - - MEETING OF - THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS - OF - ALLEN LODGE - -Marjorie now pointed to the sign and said, “I feel pretty important -being a director. Is that why I can get out of cooking and serving?” - -At this remark Phil guffawed and Jimmy and Penny joined him, much to -Marjorie’s chagrin. - -“Don’t you kid yourself,” Jimmy said, “Even if Phil says you’ll have -your hands full entertaining guests, you know you’ll have them twice as -full, because I’m sure we’ll all have to help each other when our Lodge -is running full force.” - -Philip, it was decided, was to be the official treasurer. He would keep -the books and have full charge of all receipts and disbursements. - -“That,” Jimmy loftily explained to Marjorie, “means money coming in -and money going out.” Marjorie sniffed. “Keep your definitions of such -simple words to yourself.” - -“Let’s be serious,” Phil said. “All hotels and inns have a rule that -unless their guests deposit their valuables with them for safekeeping, -the management is not responsible. Isn’t that right, Mr. Donahue?” - -Mal nodded. - -“Well then,” Phil went on, “I think we ought to keep our guests’ money -and jewelry in the safe in the secret room. And in order to safeguard -the secret, we ought to make it a rule that none of the guests is -allowed in the secret room.” - -“Right,” Jimmy agreed heartily. “If we let everyone run in and out of -there it won’t be a secret very long. I vote that for the rest of the -summer, only Pat is allowed to--” - -“Phil _and_ Pat,” Penny interrupted. “Phil has to go in and out to the -safe because he’s the treasurer.” - -“That’s right,” Pat agreed. “I’ll act as his substitute. Phil may not -be available at times when we receive money which should be put right -in the safe or when we need to take some out to pay bills. I’ll only go -into the secret room during such emergencies.” - -“Okay, thanks, Pat,” said Phil. “Then, as of now, it’s a rule that only -you and I press the button that opens the secret door. Said rule to -remain in effect until the end of the season.” - -Everyone agreed, and then it was decided that Penny was to be the -hostess and the housekeeper. Ann Mary was going to help make out the -shopping lists, while Penny did the actual shopping. Marjorie was to be -the assistant hostess as well as the secretary. Luckily she had learned -how to use a typewriter and would really be a big help when it came to -writing letters. Jimmy was the director of all sports, and even though -that sounded like an easy job, Penny assured him it would be more than -a full-time one. - -Penny, Ann Mary and Kitty decided it would be wise to make out menus -for a week in advance. “That means,” Penny said, “that right after -breakfast tomorrow morning we had better plan the first week’s menu. -An awful lot of guests are arriving the first weekend in July.” - -She sighed wearily. “I guess everything has been taken care of except -the laundry. We’ll all have our hands full after this week, so I don’t -see what we can possibly do about that.” - -“Got any ideas, Ann Mary?” Philip asked. - -Ann Mary thought for a minute. “There’s a new laundry-mat in the -village--just opened the other day. If we could find someone who would -come out twice a week, bring in the soiled linen, wash it in one of the -automatic machines, and bring it back damp dry, Kitty, Theresa and I -could handle the ironing.” - -“A swell idea,” Pat said. “I’ll ask around in the village when I go in -tomorrow. Anyone, even a mere man,” he added with a chuckle, “can run -one of those spin-dry slot machines. All we need to do is find someone -with a car who’ll tote the stuff back and forth for a fair price.” - -“I guess that takes care of everything,” Penny said. “Has anybody -thought of anything else?” - -Jimmy thought it would be a good idea to buy a sailboat, but that -suggestion was promptly vetoed. “We are going to try and make money -before we spend it, young man,” said Philip. “But if you and Alf and -Brook Sanders want to fix up one out of what we have, that’s all right -with me.” - -“Watch us!” retorted Jimmy and immediately suggested that a few canoes -wouldn’t cost much. But once again Phil put a damper on his ideas. - -At this point Jimmy wanted to know what kind of a suggestion he could -make that would not be vetoed, and Penny and Phil both chimed in at -once with, “Let’s call it a day.” - -“But, before the meeting breaks up,” Philip said soberly, “I want to -make an announcement. I don’t think it’s really important, but I think -you should all hear it.” - -He drew from his pocket the long envelope he had laid aside earlier -when they had been out on the porch reading their mail. “I got an -anonymous letter today,” he said, “and at first I thought I wouldn’t -bother you with it. Writers of anonymous letters are usually either -cowards or cranks. However,” he continued, “after thinking it over, -I’ve decided I have no right to keep from you the fact that we have -been threatened.” - -“Threatened?” Penny repeated. “But, Phil, who--?” - -For answer, Phil opened the envelope and took out a long sheet of dirty -paper which he laid on the council table. - -Everyone crowded around him to read the ugly scribbled words: - - MR. PHILIP ALLEN: IF YOU - KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU - AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, - GET OUT OF THE LODGE AS FAST - AS YOU CAN. I MEAN BUSINESS! - - - - -CHAPTER 3 - -THE ABANDONED WELL - - -Ann Mary was the first to speak. “Well, I never,” she gasped. “Who -could have written such an evil thing, Pat?” - -Pat shook his head. “A crank, of course.” - -“That’s what I think,” Phil agreed. “Someone who read the newspaper -stories about Adra Prentice’s kidnaping. Anonymous letters from people -who aren’t quite right mentally generally follow any kind of publicity.” - -“But,” Marjorie objected, “all of that happened last year.” - -“It makes no difference,” Jimmy told her. “People use newspapers for -lots of things besides keeping up with the news. They wrap china in -newspapers, line shelves and drawers with ’em, for instance. Whoever -wrote that dopey letter may have come across an account of Adra’s -kidnaping just the other day.” - -Penny nodded. “Let’s tear the ugly thing up and throw it away. Whoever -wrote it probably won’t ever bother us again.” - -“Right.” Jimmy tore the dirty sheet of paper to shreds and tossed them -into the fireplace. Phil set a match to them and they all watched the -scraps burn away to ashes. - -“Well, that’s that,” Penny said. “As if anyone could scare us Allens -away from the Lodge!” - -Then the meeting did break up, and four very tired, but not at all -frightened Allens, went upstairs to bed. - - * * * * * - -The next morning Jimmy’s first job was to overhaul the old bus and the -Bronc. The Bronc was an old station wagon that had seen better days. -It had served the Allens well, but right now it sputtered and rattled -and wheezed. The Bus was a small truck and was used for a multitude -of things. It hauled wood from the woods to the woodbin, it carted -supplies from the town to the Lodge and Philip planned to use it for -taking people on camping trips during the summer. Jimmy’s favorite -pastime was tinkering with cars, and he seemed to know the intricate -mechanics of the two old vehicles better than any trained mechanic. - -While Jimmy was tinkering with the motors, Phil and Mal combed the -nearby woods for timber. Some of it would be cut up into logs which -would blaze merrily in the huge fireplaces on cool evenings. The rest -of it, Phil planned to give Jimmy for his shack. Jimmy had picked a -spot on the lake shore where he and the other boys could build a fire -if they wanted. He also planned to build a little dock and rent a few -rowboats. This was to be the bachelor’s retreat. The site was in a bit -of a bay with some large rocks along the shore line that would make the -dock construction simpler. Among the trees a little way back, there was -a fairly open place where the shack could stand. When Phil and Mal had -gathered quite a pile of wood, they called Jimmy down to view the spot. - -“Now, all you have to do, Jimmy, is to go to it,” said Philip. - -“I can’t wait until the other boys arrive to get started,” he answered. -“I’m going to start preparing the logs and lay the floor. Won’t this be -ideal?” - -In the meantime, Marjorie began her secretarial duties by sorting mail -and answering as many of the letters as she could, while Penny went -into the village to shop in order to stock up on staples and to make -arrangements for her weekly orders. - -One afternoon Jimmy, Phil and Mal decided to have a look at the long -old shed in the back yard which they thought might be fixed up to house -the cars of their summer guests. The old shed had been there all the -time, of course, but somehow they had kept putting off the time when -they would examine it. There had been so many things to do when they -first came, they had not even opened all the rooms in the house until -they had decided to turn it into a summer hotel. - -Now the guest rooms must be cleaned and aired. Penny and Marjorie were -busy from morning to night helping Theresa and Ann Mary dust and make -beds. - -“This is so boring,” Marjorie complained. “The only room I’m interested -in is the old storage room, Penny. When are we ever going to go through -those old trunks?” - -“We’ve had a look at the contents of one of them,” Penny pointed -out patiently. “And we found that it contained nothing but some very -old-fashioned clothes and a few worthless, though pretty trinkets. Wait -till we have more time, honey. Then you may rummage around in there to -your heart’s content.” - -“I can’t understand your lack of curiosity,” Marjorie moaned. “I can’t -sleep nights thinking about what might be in the trunk we didn’t open.” - -Penny laughed. “I guess we’ve had too much indoor work for one day. -Let’s join the boys down at the shed.” - -“Goody, goody,” Marjorie cried, flinging down her dust cloth. “There’s -bound to be something more exciting than cobwebs out there.” - -At last they were hurrying down the concrete walk, past the Donahues’ -small cabin behind the Lodge. They caught up with Mal and the boys on -the old graveled drive, overgrown with weeds. This drive led among -bushes and trees and looked like an old horse trail, but it was wide -enough for a car to travel over it with care. - -Jimmy took one good look at all the weeds and said, “I don’t think -this is such a good idea, especially since I know I’ll be elected a -committee of one to cut down all these weeds.” - -“Why, how did you guess it, young man! You are getting keen,” laughed -Penny. “But this really does look like a big job, and I’m sure Phil and -Mal will lend a hand, too.” Jimmy looked relieved at this suggestion -and here they were at the shed. - -“Pat says that even your Uncle John never made use of this shed for -anything, and that it must have been a sort of stable back in the old -days,” explained Mal. “See, one of the side walls is pretty badly -broken up, but the roof has been patched and the framework seems -strong. There are a pile of boards and some poles behind this shed. -Looks as though somebody once had the idea of repairing it. That wood -back there is well seasoned and with the help of the repair man from -the village we could get it fixed up this week.” - -Penny took hold of one of the supports, to which a few boards were -clinging loosely. - -“Be careful how you lean against that,” Philip cautioned her. “That’s -the broken wall and we don’t want you to fall through it.” - -But just as he finished saying it Penny gasped and slipped out of -sight. For a minute the others stood there with their mouths open, then -Phil and Jimmy quickly went into action. Mal poked his hand through -the wall where Penny seemed to have disappeared and Marjorie called, -“Penny, Penny, answer--are you hurt?” - -Phil and Jimmy ran to the outside of the broken wall but there was -nothing there but the old pile of lumber Mal had mentioned. They called -Penny, and then there was a muffled sound that seemed to come from the -very wall itself. - -Phil climbed right up on top of the pile of lumber and reached over as -far as he could toward the wall when he noticed a sunken place between -the wall and the lumber. It looked like an old well and it was partly -covered. He called to Penny and this time he heard her answer. As -quickly as they could, they all started to move enough of the lumber so -that they could get closer to the old well. Now they were sure Penny -had fallen into it, and Marjorie ran back to the house as fast as her -feet could carry her to get a strong rope and more help. - -It seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes before Phil and -Jimmy were able to lean over the well and start calling down to Penny. - -She answered them this time and they heard her say quite clearly: “What -happened?” - -“Whew!” Jimmy gasped, clutching his forehead with relief. “You fell -down an old well.” - -“Are you all right, Penny?” Philip asked anxiously. - -“I guess so,” Penny called back. “But it’s so dark I can’t see -anything.” - -“Don’t worry,” Phil said in a reassuring voice. “We’ll have you out in -no time.” - -Marjorie arrived then with Pat who had brought along a long rope. -Marjorie was very near to tears. - -“Don’t let Penny know you’re frightened,” Phil cautioned her. “Keep -calling down to her in a cheerful voice to keep her courage up.” - -Pat tied a big loop on the end of the rope, then Mal lowered it into -the well, and Phil called down instructions to Penny. Finally the rope -reached her, and she put the looped end around her waist and held on to -it as tightly as she could with both hands, while the men pulled her -up. When, after what seemed an interminably long time, Penny’s head -appeared, Marjorie burst into tears. - -Tenderly they lifted Penny out, and she immediately assured everyone -that aside from being bruised and shaky, she didn’t think she had any -broken bones or other injuries. Ann Mary and Theresa and Kathleen had -arrived on the scene with water and bandages, all of which were scorned -by Penny who said, - -“I did a foolish thing and I deserved what I got, but now that I know -I’m all right you can all just forget about me. If you keep on making -such a fuss I’ll feel like an idiot.” - -Of course they all ignored her pleadings and made her sit right down -for a few minutes while Ann Mary wiped her face with a cloth dipped in -cold water. Then she examined Penny carefully to make sure that she -could move her arms and legs without pain. The only real damage seemed -to be to her appearance which was quite ludicrous. Now that they knew -she was safe they had a good laugh about it. Penny’s face and hands and -hair were covered with cobwebs, her dress was ripped and her shoes were -sopping wet. When Phil asked her if there was any water in the well -she said she thought she had stood in water and, of course, her wet -shoes showed that she had. Then everybody went back to the house, and -Penny took a hot bath which Ann Mary said would serve to relieve some -of the aches and pains she was bound to develop later from such a fall. - -Phil and Jimmy were all set to go back and examine the well to see if -it was still in good working condition, and if they could find the -water source and perhaps get the well into good order. When they saw -Penny looking her fresh, well-groomed self again, they went back, -accompanied by Pat and Mal. - -“It beats me,” Pat said. “I never knew there was a well of any kind on -this property.” - -“I’ve heard rumors,” Mal said. “There’s always been a lot of talk in -the village about buried treasure in the bottom of an old dried-up well -around here.” - -“I know,” Pat said, “and from time to time when the house was empty, -people who had no business trespassing, came here and tried to find -that well. Had a lot of trouble with prowlers,” he told Phil. “Your -Uncle John did. But nobody ever found a well.” He stopped and stared -at the hole. “Well, now, here it is. And now I wouldn’t be surprised -at anything. I’ve lived around here all my life and never believed -there was a well here. I think we should caution everybody to try and -keep this a secret so we won’t have any prowlers coming around, and we -should get busy and try to dig up that old well to see if there really -is any treasure there.” - -“My gosh!” said Jimmy. “Do you really think there’s treasure there? -What kind of treasure is it supposed to be, Pat? Were there ever -pirates around here? Won’t Alf and Brook nearly die with excitement -when they hear about this!” - -Phil smiled. “I’m afraid we can’t let you say anything to them, or -anybody else, until we investigate this thoroughly and see if there -is any foundation to the rumor. I agree with Pat, since we don’t need -the well for water, I think we should dig it up at once and solve this -mystery of buried treasure.” - -Jimmy was all for going right back for picks and shovels, so Phil let -him go. Phil’s curiosity was aroused and he could understand Jimmy’s -enthusiasm. But Phil felt quite sure that they were not on the trail of -buried treasure. - -“The Lodge was supposed to be haunted,” he said to Mal, “and we proved -it wasn’t. Now we’re about to prove that there’s nothing of any value -at the bottom of this old well.” - -Jimmy came running back then with both hands full of an assortment of -picks, shovels and garden spades. They found that it was exceedingly -slow work since they first had to move the pile of old lumber and -debris that surrounded the old well. When they finally started digging -they found the stones that formed the well were impossible to move. Pat -guessed that the old well had been there a hundred years or longer. -Jimmy suggested that they use dynamite. - -After two hours of concentrated labor Phil commented, “I don’t think -even buried treasure is worth all this effort.” - -But Jimmy, who was obviously in high spirits over this adventure, -contradicted Phil with, “Of course it’s worth it, Phil, you wait and -see what we find.” - -Pat shrugged. “I’m not thinking you should set your heart on finding -anything, my lad, because there probably won’t be any treasure here, -any more than the house was haunted last year.” - -“Don’t say that, Pat,” countered Jimmy, “I’m not used to working like -this without any compensation.” - -“Not much,” said Phil. “But all kidding aside, Jimmy, I think Pat is -right. However, we’re going to finish this job, if for no other reason -than to keep anybody else from falling into it. The rope we lowered to -Penny went down about thirty feet and I would guess that we have dug -around the outside of this old well about ten feet deep. Is that right, -Pat?” - -Pat nodded. “Yes, that’s about right, and I think if we get out here -bright and early tomorrow morning, maybe we can finish the job before -night.” - -Very reluctantly, Jimmy joined the rest as they returned to the house -to tell Penny and Marjorie of their progress. - - - - -CHAPTER 4 - -A NIGHT PROWLER - - -That evening they all decided to have a picnic style supper in front of -the fireplace in the living room. - -“I’m beginning to feel my bruises,” Penny said cheerfully. “But I’m not -going to let a few aches and pains bother me. I was very lucky to get -off without broken bones or sprains.” - -“You certainly were,” Jimmy said. “And let me tell you, Sis, I thought -I’d go nuts until we finally heard your voice.” - -“Me, too,” Marjorie chimed in. “Gosh, Penny, it was just about the most -awful few minutes of my life!” - -“Well, let’s not talk about it any more,” Penny said. “The subject I -want to discuss is the bottom of the well. I can’t really--” - -“Gee,” Jimmy interrupted, “wouldn’t it be neat if we get to the bottom -of the well and find pieces of gold. We’ll be on easy street the rest -of our lives.” He added, more to himself than the others, “The first -thing I’ll do is get a sailboat. I’ve found out already that I don’t -know enough about naval architecture to build one.” - -“Ha, you don’t get on easy street that easily,” said Penny. “Besides, I -don’t remember feeling anything beneath my feet but slime, and if all -you want is a sailboat, you’d better work for it!” - -“I like that!” exclaimed Jimmy. “And what do you call digging away at -that well? If that isn’t work, I’d like to know what you’d call it.” - -“Oh, it’s work all right,” Penny said with a laugh. “But I think it’s -work without any purpose.” - -“So do I, in a way,” Phil said. “But the kids will never be happy until -we get to the bottom and prove that there isn’t any treasure buried -there.” - -“You just wait until tomorrow,” Marjorie said stubbornly. “When we -come running up to you, Penny, with our hands dripping with pieces of -eight, then you and Phil will eat those words.” She raised her voice. -“I know there’s something valuable hidden around here, and I, for one, -am never going to give up until I’ve gone over every inch of the place -with a fine-tooth comb!” - -“You don’t have to shout about it,” Jimmy said. “If there is something -valuable around here, let’s not encourage every Tom, Dick and Harry in -the village to come out and try to find it first. Although,” he went on -in a more sympathetic tone of voice, “I know how you feel, Marjorie. -When Alf and Brook get here, and we haven’t found any gold by then, -they’ll want to dig up the whole place, too.” - -“Dig, if you must,” Penny said, “but spare Pat’s flower beds. I--” She -stopped suddenly, her finger to her lips. “Sh-h.” She touched Phil’s -arm lightly and pointed to the window, whispering, “Someone’s out there -and I’m afraid he’s heard every word we said.” - -They all stared silently out through the vine-covered lattice that -partially screened the court from view. The moon was shining brightly, -and then from the shrubbery a shadow moved and melted into a little -clump of low spruces. In another second they saw the figure of a man -slip around the corner of the wing to disappear again in the shadows of -another trellis. - -It was a warm evening, and all of the doors and windows were wide open. -The man might try to get into the house. Penny started to rise. - -But Phil, with his hand on her arm, shook his head and whispered: “All -of you stay right here. I don’t want him to know that we’ve seen him.” -Swiftly he tiptoed across the room to take his pistol from the cabinet. - -Penny remembered with relief that Phil always kept his gun loaded. Just -then she saw Mal run into the court. He had obviously seen the prowler -from the kitchen window. Before Penny could shout a warning, the man -darted from the shadows and flung himself on Mal’s back, one arm around -his throat. - -At almost the same moment Phil leaped through the window and fired his -gun into the air. As the shot rang out, Penny closed her eyes. Opening -them immediately, she saw Phil running out of the court, with Mal close -at his heels, in pursuit of the prowler. Jimmy was just about to jump -through the window to join in the chase, but Penny held him back. - -“Stay here with us, Jimmy,” she said. “Phil and Mal can cope with that -eavesdropper.” - -Marjorie, who had for once been speechless, found her voice then. “Oh, -yes, Jimmy,” she begged. “Stay here with us. He might come back, and we -haven’t got a gun.” - -Jimmy looked disappointed, but he knew he could help Phil best by -staying with the girls. “Ah, that guy isn’t going to come back,” he -said. He stared gloomily out of the window as Pat ran across the court -to join the others. - -By this time, Kitty and Ann Mary had appeared, wide-eyed and -frightened. “Oh, oh,” Kitty cried. “I just know my Mal is going to get -shot.” - -Another shot rang out. Penny’s heart sank. Had the prowler fired the -second shot? Somehow she managed to disguise her fears and said in a -reassuring voice to Kitty: - -“Don’t worry, dear. Phil and Pat know how to handle their guns.” - -“They sure do,” Ann Mary said bravely although Penny could see that -she was almost as terrified as her cousin. “My Pat won’t let anything -happen to your Mal.” - -Theresa came in from the hall then, rubbing her eyes bewilderedly. “I -was asleep,” she said. “Did I hear a shot or did I dream it?” - -She looked so confused that everyone laughed, and the tension was -eased. “You heard two shots,” Jimmy told her. “I guess the first one -woke you up.” - -While he was explaining what had happened, they heard footsteps on the -graveled walk, and in another moment, they could see Phil, Pat and Mal -slowly approaching the house. Everyone ran out to meet them. - -“He got away,” Phil said ruefully. - -“Shouldn’t we notify the police?” Penny asked. - -Phil shrugged. “Probably only a tramp. I fired in the air to frighten -him when he jumped on Mal.” - -“But you fired a second time,” Marjorie said excitedly. “We were -terrified for fear one of you had been hurt.” - -“That’s right,” Jimmy said. “Say, Phil, how about giving us a play by -play description of what happened. I missed all the fun, remember?” - -Phil frowned. “We want to look around some more. We just came back to -be sure the rest of you were okay.” - -“We’re perfectly all right,” Penny said. “Go ahead with your search.” -She smiled. “As long as Jimmy stays with us we’re perfectly safe.” - -“I want to know what happened,” Jimmy complained. “Give, Phil.” - -“Well,” Phil said patiently, “from the minute that man disappeared into -the shrubbery, he slipped from one tree to another like an Indian, then -doubled around toward the lake.” - -“It certainly sounds as though he knows his way around here,” Marjorie -put in. - -Phil nodded. “Pat fired the second shot when we saw him trying to get -away in one of our boats. Although Pat fired into the air, it scared -the living daylights out of him, I guess. He jumped from the boat -and made for the woods below us.” Phil grinned. “I’ll bet he’s still -running. He may think we’re mighty poor shots, but at least he knows -we’re armed. I doubt if he ever comes back on our property again.” - -“But who could it have been?” Penny asked. “A tramp wouldn’t know his -way around our grounds.” - -“If anyone should ask me,” Pat said, “I’d say it was one of those crazy -villagers after the so-called buried treasure. I’ll bet the news is -all over town already that we found the old well near the shed.” - -“But,” Jimmy objected. “Nobody could have heard about it so soon.” - -“A lot of people could have,” Mal pointed out. “There were several -delivery boys out here during the excitement when Miss Penny fell into -the well.” - -Ann Mary nodded. “We were all so worried about Penny we didn’t pay -any attention to them. When Marjorie came running into the kitchen to -tell us about the accident, I dashed out of the house so fast I almost -knocked down one boy who biked out here with some groceries.” - -Pat shook his head gravely. “That rumor about buried treasure is going -to cause us a lot of trouble. We don’t want the place cluttered up with -night prowlers this summer.” - -“Let’s go have a look at the shed,” Jimmy said eagerly. “Maybe the guy -was down there snooping around and sneaked up to the house to make sure -we were all inside.” - -“All right,” Phil said. “But you have to stay with the girls.” - -“Oh, no, he doesn’t,” Marjorie said pertly. “The girls are going, too.” - -“We can’t all leave,” Penny said wisely. “After all, he might have been -a burglar. We would be playing right into his hands if we left the -house deserted with all the doors and windows open.” She glanced around -at the shadows with a little shiver. “Suppose he doubled back and is -watching us right now, waiting to see what we’ll do?” - -Marjorie moved a little closer to Penny. “Oh, isn’t it thrilling?” she -cried. “I wouldn’t be at all afraid to stay here and guard the house if -I had a gun.” - -“Not much you wouldn’t,” Jimmy jeered. - -“I for one,” Kitty said, “have no intention of going down to that shed. -I’m going into the house and Mal is going with me and we’re going to -lock ourselves in.” - -“Fine,” Jimmy said. “That solves the problem. Phil can leave his gun -with Mal just in case.” - -“Okay,” Mal agreed and stuck Phil’s little pistol into his pocket. -After the Donahues had gone into the house the others headed for the -shed. - -Jimmy had brought a flashlight with him, and when they got inside the -shed he flashed it all around. Just as they were about to leave, he -shouted, “Look!” and pointed to a spot near the broken wall where Penny -had fallen through earlier that day. - -The floor of the shed had been opened and plainly showing in the earth -under it was a footprint. “Someone has been here since we left,” Jimmy -cried excitedly. “That footprint was made by a man wearing a shoe with -a rubber sole. And we were all wearing sneakers.” - -“You’re right,” Phil said soberly. “But the man who made that footprint -might not have been our prowler. It could have been left by one of the -delivery boys whose curiosity was aroused when he heard about Penny’s -accident.” - -Penny nodded. “One of them might have biked back out while we were -having supper just to have a look. Kids are like that.” - -“But,” Jimmy argued, “they don’t have such big feet.” - -“Oh, yes, they do,” Marjorie said with a giggle. “Take a look at what’s -on the end of your own ankles.” - -“Maybe the prowler was just a curious kid,” Penny said suddenly. “Have -you thought of that, Phil?” - -Philip thought for a minute. “He had awfully broad shoulders, and I -don’t think a kid would have jumped on Mal.” He shrugged. “But I really -think whoever it was won’t come back.” He put the floor boards back in -place. “If he does, he won’t do any digging for buried treasure at this -spot. Jimmy, go and get the old Bus and park it right here.” - -Jimmy grinned with delight. “Right. And if our curious friend comes -back to search, he’ll have to move the Bus. And, unless he’s a Samson -he’ll have to start her up, and, when this thing starts running, he’ll -realize that he’s set off the loudest fire alarm in Michigan.” He ran -off to get the Bus. - -“If we don’t find any treasure when we dig up the well,” Marjorie said, -“let’s dig under the floor here.” - -“Definitely no,” Phil told her firmly. “We’ll dig up the well and let -it be known far and wide that we found nothing. That should put a stop -to all the silly rumors.” - -Pat nodded approvingly. “And night prowlers.” - -When they returned to the house they found that Kitty and Mal had -sandwiches and a large pot of hot cocoa waiting for them. - -“I think you men should take turns keeping watch tonight,” Kitty said -nervously. “And please, can’t we sleep in the house tonight instead of -in the cabin?” - -“Of course, you can,” Phil said. “And perhaps it isn’t a bad idea for -us to take turns keeping an eye on the place.” He smiled reassuringly. -“For the rest of tonight anyway.” - -“I’ll take one shift,” Marjorie said, suppressing a yawn. “I won’t -sleep a wink anyway.” - -But she did, the minute her head touched the pillow, and when she awoke -in the morning was very disappointed to hear that the night had been -uneventful. - -“At least I didn’t miss anything,” she said as they hurriedly ate -breakfast on the sunny porch. “Now, to find the buried treasure!” - -But the whole day proved to be a tremendous disappointment. They -finally dug all the way down to the bottom of the well and found -absolutely nothing but mud. And the source of the spring had evidently -gone dry. - -“All that labor for nothing,” Pat said in a very disgruntled voice. “A -wasted day.” - -Everyone had pitched in and helped at various intervals, although Jimmy -and Marjorie were the only ones who never gave up hope of finding gold -pieces deep in the mud. - -Wearily the men filled up the huge hole, and the rest of the week was -spent in what Ann Mary called “fruitful labor.” The shed was converted -into quite a presentable garage, and at last even Phil admitted that -they were practically ready to open the Lodge for business. They were -all so busy with final preparations they dismissed the night prowler -from their minds. - -Only Jimmy and Marjorie remained convinced that there was treasure -buried on the grounds. - -“What about the laundry situation?” Phil asked Penny the night before -the first guests were expected. “Have you been able to cope with that?” - -“I certainly have,” Penny told him proudly. “Several days ago a very -pleasant-looking man who looks strong enough to carry any amount of -damp linen, drove out to ask for the job. He’d heard in the village -that we wanted someone to tote a huge bundle into the laundry-mat twice -a week, and came right out without even waiting to telephone for an -appointment with me.” - -Phil looked puzzled. “I sort of took it for granted that you’d give the -job to a woman.” - -“I planned to,” Penny said, “in spite of what Pat said about anybody -being able to work those automatic machines. But there just aren’t any -women in the village who drive their own cars and who are free to help -us out.” - -“I suppose not,” Phil said. - -“This man, a Mr. Taggart,” Penny went on, “recently moved to town for -the summer and needs work badly. He offered to handle our laundry for -us at a flat rate of only fifteen dollars a week.” - -Phil whistled. “Say, that _is_ cheap!” He added teasingly: “Maybe he’ll -take the first batch in and never come back!” - -Penny laughed. “He’s already taken in one big bundle of sheets and -pillow cases and, according to Ann Mary, brought them back snowy white. -She’s terribly pleased. I had no idea we could get anyone to do it so -cheaply. When the place is filled with guests he’ll probably demand -more money, but let’s not object. Kitty says the laundry problem in all -summer hotels is usually the hardest one to solve.” - -Phil nodded. “If the place really fills up, we’ll not only have to -raise Taggart’s pay, but we’ll have to get some people from the village -to come out by the day and do the ironing.” - -“I’ve thought of that,” Penny said. “The same girls who are going to -help wait on the tables when we really get going are going to do some -ironing between meals.” - -“You think of everything,” Phil said approvingly. “I’m proud of you, -Sis.” - -Penny sighed. “You shouldn’t be. I couldn’t do a thing without the -advice of Ann Mary and Theresa and Kitty. And, frankly, Phil, I’m -getting cold feet at the last minute. What if the whole project is a -flop?” - -“It won’t be,” Phil said reassuringly. “You’re just tired and getting -a case of stage fright.” He tucked her hand through his arm and led -her toward the stairs. “After a good night’s sleep you’ll be your old -irrepressible self again. Full of vim, vigor and vitality!” - - - - -CHAPTER 5 - -ANOTHER THREAT - - -Rat-tat-tat on the door. - -“Who can that be?” Penny demanded. “We’ve simply got to get these clean -curtains up before the first guests arrive.” - -Phil, who was helping her, said from the top of the stepladder, -“Probably your laundry man, Mr. Taggart. Ann Mary or Marjorie can take -care of it.” He climbed down the ladder. “Now what?” - -“Draperies,” Penny said. “I’ve already put in the pin hooks so it won’t -take long.” - -Rat-tat-tat again. - -“Oh, dear,” she moaned. “Marjorie and Ann Mary are probably out in back -and can’t hear. Everyone else is in the village. That’s someone at the -front door so it couldn’t be Mr. Taggart. He always parks his car by -the Donahues’ cabin. I’d better run down and see who’s knocking.” - -Phil moved his ladder to the window where the draperies were to be -hung. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Just hand me up those things and then -go.” He stared out of the window as he climbed up. “Say, that must be -your laundry man’s car out there by the Donahues’ cabin now. Pretty -classy, isn’t it?” - -“It certainly is,” Penny agreed hurriedly. She gave him the draperies -and ran down the stairs from the balcony. At the bottom she stopped. -Someone was rummaging around in the storeroom in the back of the house. - -“Marjorie,” she called, rather crossly. “What are you doing in there? -This is no time to explore! And didn’t you hear someone knocking on the -front door?” She hurried down the hall muttering to herself: “With all -I have to do, it seems to me that child could at least stop looking for -hidden treasure long enough to answer the front door!” - -But, when she opened the door, Penny’s good nature was immediately -restored. For there stood Judy and Alf Powell with Mr. and Mrs. Powell -right behind them. - -Their first guests had arrived! - -Penny tried to hug everyone at once as she talked excitedly: - -“Why, Alf! You’ve grown like a beanstalk. Jimmy will be comparing -measurements with you in no time. And Judy, you haven’t changed a bit. -My, won’t you and Marjorie have a million things to talk about. You -can’t imagine, Mr. and Mrs. Powell, how pleased we were that you could -come. This isn’t going to be like a resort at all. We’re going to be -surrounded by all our old friends. Isn’t this fine! Come right in. How -did you get here? Have you a car to put away?” Penny peered around but -could not see a car any place. - -“No, Penny,” said Mr. Powell. “We decided to take a plane. Alf, as you -probably know, has flown a few times, but Judy had never been up.” - -“We flew to the closest airport,” Mrs. Powell added, “and took a bus -from there to the village. We left our luggage in the village and -walked out. It’s such a beautiful day. You won’t mind sending your -truck down for our bags, will you? A nice man in the village told us -you had one.” - -“Of course not,” said Marjorie, who suddenly appeared behind Penny in -the hall. “I’d drive it myself if only my mean old brothers and sister -would let me!” She laughed mischievously. - -“Imp!” Penny cried, pushing her straight into Judy’s arms. - -As the two girls hugged each other ecstatically, Mrs. Powell said to -Penny, “This is certainly a lovely spot. Even your description didn’t -do it justice. I know we’re all going to have a wonderful summer.” - -“We saw the lake as we flew over,” Mr. Powell said enthusiastically, -“and it looks large enough to hold a mighty lot of fish.” - -“There’s enough fish there to feed an army,” chimed in Jimmy as he came -running in from the driveway where he had parked the Bronc. “Alf and I -are going to catch our share.” - -Phil came down the stairs from the balcony and greeted everyone -cordially. “You couldn’t have arrived at a better time,” he told his -guests. “If Marjorie had had to wait one more hour for Judy, she would -have worn a path from the back door to the front. Ever since dawn she’s -been watching for your car.” - -“And yet,” Penny said with a laugh, “when they did arrive, she didn’t -hear them knocking on the door.” - -“I was busy,” Marjorie informed her sister airily. “Out in the -Donahues’ cabin helping Ann Mary get their laundry together for Mr. -Taggart.” - -Penny said nothing, but she made a mental note to scold Marjorie later -in private. Marjorie had not been helping Ann Mary; Penny had heard her -rummaging in the old storage room! - -“There’s something a lot better than fish around here,” Jimmy was -saying in an undertone to Alf. - -“I’ll say there is,” Marjorie told Judy. - -Penny smiled. She could see that the four of them were already scheming -and laying plans to dig up the entire place in search of buried -treasure. - -“I guess I’ll forget about Marjorie’s little white lie,” Penny decided. -“She didn’t mean any harm, and I know she’s been dying to poke around -in those old trunks for ages.” - -Jimmy took Alf to his room and Marjorie took Judy to hers. Philip and -Penny escorted Mr. and Mrs. Powell to the big airy room which had been -reserved for them. - -“Oh, Judy, isn’t it wo-o-o-onderful that you are here,” Marjorie said -with a sigh of happiness. “We haven’t got everything quite arranged -yet, so maybe, just for tonight, you and I can share a room. We’ll -stay up late and talk, and raid the icebox. We have the most wonderful -things to eat in it.” - -At this point they had to hug each other and dance a little jig in the -ecstatic joy of the occasion. Then their tongues began to catch up with -all there was to tell each other. - -As soon as Mal had brought the Powell’s luggage in from town and -Judy had changed into her blue jeans, she and Marjorie were all over -the place. They were like a couple of hummingbirds, here, there and -everywhere. They took a dip in the lake, a shower in the boathouse, and -afterwards, thoroughly content and full of excess spirits, they dressed -for the best dinner that Judy had ever tasted. Marjorie’s eyes snapped -and her round face was all smiles as she animatedly told the Powells -and Alf what she and Judy had seen and done. - -Then Alf and Jimmy related how they had spent the day first exploring -a little in the woods, then making plans for a camping trip that they -were to make later in the summer, and finally adding a little to the -construction of the shack. They were mighty anxious to complete the -bachelors’ retreat as fast as they could, and this was the only reason -why they accepted an offer of help from Marjorie and Judy. - -“I don’t suppose,” Alf said, giving Jimmy a nudge, “that they’ll really -be any help. But we’ll let them sweep up wood shavings and sort nails.” - -“You’ll do nothing of the kind,” Judy said briskly. “I’m going to put -up a wall all by myself or I won’t go near your silly old place.” - -The boys hooted and ran off to their headquarters. - -But not much work was accomplished the next day as more guests arrived. -Brook Sanders was greeted with hilarious shouts of joy by Jimmy and Alf -when Phil brought him in from the village in the station wagon. Poor -Brook was not even given a chance to go to his room. But his parents -were sure he preferred going down to see the shack with the boys. He -came back with a glowing description of the woods, the lake, the picnic -grounds, the shack and everything else he had seen. - -“Gee, Dad,” he said excitedly, “I wish you’d buy the place next door. -Jimmy says it’s for sale.” - -Mr. Sanders laughed. “I can see you are all enthused, Brook. But why -buy a place as long as we stand in with the Allens? This suits me.” - -“Me too,” said Brook. “Let’s do this every summer.” - -“Anybody want any fudge?” asked Marjorie and Judy. “We’ve just made -some.” - -“I never say no to fudge,” said Brook picking out the biggest piece -before Alf or Jimmy could get it. - -“You’d better leave at least one piece for me,” Alf said. - -“There’s plenty more in the kitchen,” said Judy, “and we’re bringing in -a big pitcher of lemonade, too.” - -Alf went into the kitchen with Judy to carry out the lemonade and -Marjorie brought in another dish of fudge. - -“Nut fudge,” gloated Alf. - -“Nuts to the nutty,” quoted Marjorie from one of her brother’s favorite -expressions, as she passed him the dish. - -Jimmy, Alf and Brook spent the afternoon out in the motorboat, to get -away from the girls and to make their plans. A great deal had happened -to all of the boys since they had last seen each other and they had a -lot of catching up to do. - -The next day the Curtises arrived, their car loaded with baggage, and -Mary said there was more coming by express. Now it was Penny’s and -Philip’s turn to get all excited and to catch up on old times with Mary -and Charles. - -Charles greeted Penny in his old devoted manner, and immediately asked -if Peter Wyland, his chief competitor, had arrived yet or if he was -going to have her to himself this summer. He made it very clear that -even if Peter came, he was planning to absorb all of Penny’s spare -time. Penny was cordial but elusive and all the more attractive. -Charles did not enjoy at all her enthusiasm over the different members -of his party. He felt that the kiss with which Penny greeted Mary -should have been planted on his cheek instead and he said so. - -Mary and Phil, on the other hand, acted like the two old chums that -they were. They both laughed heartily when Charles tried to kiss Penny -and she slipped hastily behind Phil. - -“I can see,” Mary said, “that we’re going to have a grand summer -watching those two fight.” - -Phil chuckled. “We’re delighted you all wanted to spend the summer with -us.” - -“That’s right,” Penny said, making a face at Charles. “Even you, silly. -I wouldn’t have considered the summer complete unless the Curtises were -here.” - -“I know we’re going to have the time of our lives,” Mary said -enthusiastically. - -“I hope so,” Penny said. “We’ve made all kinds of plans. We’ll hike -through the woods to the nearby places of interest, and have picnics -and all sorts of evening parties.” - -“And,” Phil added to Charles, “fish and hunt.” - -“The yacht,” Penny went on, “is in fine shape. We can go on overnight -trips on the lake. Oh,” she finished, “I’m just full of plans.” - -“Are you going to let me help you play hostess?” Charles asked. - -“I certainly am,” Penny told him briskly. “And for pity’s sake, start -right in with all that baggage. I’m sure Mal will be floored when he -sees it!” - -But all Charles could really get to carry up was one small bag, since -Mal, Pat, Jimmy and the other two boys made quick work of getting the -car unloaded. Penny suspected the rush act was put on because they were -all anxious to drive the beautiful, shiny Cadillac into the shed. - -For the next few days the Lodge was a beehive of activity. There was -much conversation and laughter and a great deal of coming and going -about the grounds. There were beach parties, hikes and picnics and an -impromptu evening party with everybody joining wholeheartedly in all -the games that were suggested. - -Jimmy arranged a “snipe hunt.” Phil was the only other person besides -Jimmy who knew there were no snipe around there. Everybody started out -at twilight with flashlights and paper bags to hunt for the elusive -snipe. And when they all came back, empty-handed, one by one, Jimmy -greeted them with a big stuffed bird in his hands. Brook said it was an -old logger’s trick, and everybody in New England knew about it, but he -couldn’t understand how he and all these other people would fall for -it. Nevertheless, they had all enjoyed their tramp through the woods -and the snack that awaited them when they returned. - -There was little rest for the Allens now. Penny would slip away when -everybody was being entertained to make out orders and menus. She also -found that she would have to make arrangements for some of the village -people to come in and help with the cleaning as well as the ironing and -serving when more guests arrived. - -Things were really getting down to quite a businesslike basis, however, -and Penny was pleased with the routine they seemed to have fallen into -partly by plan and partly by accident. They had planned to try and get -all of their actual work done in the morning, but the first few days -it had not worked out that way since most of the guests were up bright -and early. But after a few days, when the novelty of the Lodge had worn -off, and their guests had become quite settled, most of them slept -later, and this gave the Allens time for their work. - -Penny and Phil both had a disappointment in common when Peter Wyland -and Adra wrote that they would not be able to come to the Lodge until -the first week in August. Adra Prentice was spending some time with her -father, whom she had hardly seen all winter. And since Mr. Prentice -could not come to the Lodge at all as he had originally planned, Adra -had decided to spend July with him and then come to the Lodge for -August. Peter, of course, was in Mr. Prentice’s employ, and so he could -not come for the same reason. However, they both wrote in their letters -to Phil and Penny that they would be there in August and Peter hinted -that he might be able to come a week earlier. - -“It’s a good thing we haven’t much time to miss anyone these days,” -Phil said and Penny smiled. - -“Yes, keeping busy is a wonderful antidote for some things,” she said. - -The next few weeks were indeed busy ones. Some friends of Mary Curtis -arrived and a few friends of Charles dropped in for the weekends. -Marjorie and Judy were constantly on the lookout for new romances among -the young folks, and just as they were certain that one was developing, -something would happen which would prove that they were wrong. - -“Anyway,” Marjorie said to Judy, “there are two romances we can be -absolutely sure of. Phil is in love with Adra, and Penny is mad about -Peter.” - -“And,” Judy chimed in, “Adra is in love with Phil and Peter is wild -about Penny. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all engaged before -the end of the summer.” - -“Neither would I,” Marjorie said, her blue eyes twinkling. “Phil and -Penny can hardly wait for the arrival of Adra and Peter.” - -They had been helping Theresa by emptying all of the scrap baskets -from the various rooms in the Lodge into the big wire mesh one in the -clearing. Later, when the wind died down, Pat would set a match to the -papers. - -Right now the wind was blowing so hard that it lifted a crumpled ball -of paper from Judy’s hand and blew it smack against Marjorie’s face. - -“Fate,” Marjorie said with a giggle, “obviously meant for me to read -this before it got burned.” - -Assuming an exaggeratedly serious air, she smoothed out the paper on -her knee. Then she gave a little gasp. “Oh, Judy,” she cried. “It’s -another anonymous letter. Remember? I told you about the one Phil got? -This one was sent to Penny, and I’ll bet she crumpled it up and threw -it away without saying anything to anybody.” - -Judy nodded. “Penny’s like that. She wouldn’t pay any attention to a -letter she got unless it was signed. What does this one say?” - -“Th-this one,” Marjorie stammered, after reading it quickly, -“fr-frightens me.” And she read the crudely printed words out loud: - - MISS ALLEN: YOUR FALL THE OTHER - DAY WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT. I - PURPOSELY WEAKENED THOSE - BOARDS IN THE SHED SO THAT THE - FIRST ONE OF YOU WHO LEANED - ON THEM WOULD CRASH INTO - THE WELL. IF YOU DON’T CLEAR - OUT OF THE LODGE SOON, EXPECT - WORSE “ACCIDENTS.” I WARNED - YOU THAT I MEAN BUSINESS. - -Judy sniffed. “Well, it doesn’t frighten me. From the way you described -Penny’s accident, I’m sure it didn’t happen because someone had -tampered with the wall of the shed. Even if he had weakened the boards, -how could he be sure someone was going to lean on them?” - -“You’re right,” Marjorie admitted, completely over her nervousness. -“Penny herself said she was foolish to touch that broken wall.” - -She crumpled the letter and tossed it into the mesh basket. “A crazy -person who heard about Penny’s fall wrote that silly letter. Come on. -Let’s bring the empty baskets back to Theresa and forget the whole -thing.” - -But deep down inside, Marjorie was thinking about the footprint Jimmy -had discovered in the dirt under the shed floor. Had it been left there -before Penny’s accident, or after it? - -“After it,” she finally decided. “The floor boards were all in place -the first time we inspected the shed. The man who came snooping around -that night must have left that footprint. He probably meant to sneak -back and cover up the hole he made in the floor, but got frightened -away for good when Phil and Pat fired those shots in the air.” - - - - -CHAPTER 6 - -CLUES IN A BOTTLE - - -All during the hot July days that followed Judy and Marjorie did indeed -live in bathing suits. Mrs. Powell and Penny tried to make them dress -up for dinner, but they compromised by changing into clean shirts and -blue jeans. - -“Aren’t we ever going to do anything about the treasure that’s supposed -to be buried around here?” Judy asked one day. They had been in -swimming and were now lying in the sun on the shore of the lake. - -“I suppose we should do something about it,” Marjorie said lazily. “But -it’s been so hot I hate the thought of digging. Helping Pat hoe up his -potatoes was about all I could stand.” - -“I’ve still got some blisters,” Judy said with a grin. - -Marjorie raised herself on one elbow and squinted up toward the Lodge. -“Penny and Phil don’t think there’s any treasure buried around here any -more than there was a ghost haunting the place.” - -“I know _they_ don’t,” Judy said. “But Jimmy, Alf and Brook do. They’ve -been acting very mysteriously ever since we got here. They sneak off -early in the morning with shovels and things, and I’m sure they don’t -spend all their time fixing up their shack.” - -“I know,” Marjorie said thoughtfully. “And it would be simply awful if -the boys found the treasure, not us.” She scrambled to her feet. “We’ve -got to find it first. Let’s get out of these wet bathing suits before -we do anything else. While we’re changing into dungarees we can decide -where the best place to start digging is.” - -Ten minutes later the girls left the Lodge by the back door and, armed -with shovels, went down to the clearing. - -“Oh, golly,” Marjorie moaned. “I thought this would be a swell place to -dig because there’s no grass on the ground here. But just look. There’s -the wash hanging out on the line to dry. Mr. Taggart must have just -brought it back from the laundry-mat.” - -“Just our luck,” Judy complained. “We’d better not dig anywhere near -it. We’d be sure to raise clouds of dust. It hasn’t rained in ages.” - -“I tell you what let’s do instead,” Marjorie suggested. “Let’s go help -the boys with their shack. They promised to let us work on it, too. -Once it’s finished maybe they’ll go off on that camping trip with Pat. -Then we’ll have the whole place to ourselves.” - -“That’s right,” Judy agreed. “If they caught us digging, they’d be -sure to make fun of us. They pretend that we’re silly to believe that -there’s treasure buried around here, but I happen to know that they -believe in it too.” - -When they arrived at the shack, the girls’ offer of help was promptly -turned down. - -“_Help!_” Alf hooted. “Judy, you don’t know which end of a hammer is -the head.” - -“Neither does Marjorie,” added Jimmy with a teasing grin. “Scram, you -two. We men have work to do.” - -“But you promised,” Marjorie reminded him crossly. - -Jimmy waved her away. “Later, child, later. Right now we’re too busy -to teach you the rudiments of carpentry.” - -So Judy and Marjorie wandered forlornly off and returned to the -clearing where they had left their shovels. After that they spent a few -hours every day aimlessly digging here and there for buried treasure. -But it was tiresome work and since they knew the holes had to be filled -up, they never dug very deep or very long at any one spot. - -“This is hopeless,” Judy said one day toward the end of July. “What -we ought to look for are clues. Maps and things pirates may have left -around which will tell us exactly where to dig.” - -“I don’t think there were ever any pirates around here,” Marjorie said -dubiously. “Didn’t they always stick pretty close to the seacoasts?” - -“I guess you’re right,” Judy said disconsolately. “But whoever buried -the treasure should have left some clues or directions.” - -“Not necessarily,” Marjorie pointed out practically. “He might have -buried it in a hurry and then the Indians or somebody might have killed -him right afterwards.” - -“I give up.” Judy flung her shovel on the ground. “The boys can find -the treasure first for all I care. My hands are so sore I couldn’t -paddle a canoe. So let’s go swimming.” - -“All right,” Marjorie agreed. “I do want you to have fun while you’re -our guest, Judy,” she added worriedly. - -“Oh, I am,” Judy assured her with a quick smile. “It was my idea to dig -for the treasure, not yours. But let’s forget about it for awhile.” - -“Let’s,” Marjorie agreed. “Besides, I haven’t been much of a help to -Penny lately. I’m supposed to be assistant hostess, you know, and help -her entertain the guests.” - -“Well, I’m a guest,” Judy said with a giggle. “And you’ve entertained -me royally.” - -From then on Marjorie spent more time helping Penny and Ann Mary and -Theresa. - -By the first of August the boys had made great progress with the shack. -Mal, Pat and Phil helped out whenever they could and some of the guests -pitched in occasionally. The walls and the roof were now up, the doors -and windows were in place and the boys had even spent two nights -sleeping there on cots. They were now putting in the finishing touches, -and true to their promise they had let Marjorie and Judy help. - -Marjorie, in her enthusiasm over being allowed to put up a shower wall -all by herself, had banged her finger with the hammer and the boys -had suggested that she and Judy take some time off to recuperate. So -Marjorie and Judy were looking for shells down on the beach. - -“Oh, golly,” Judy said in disgust after awhile, “all the nice ones seem -to get as far under the rocks as they can.” - -“They certainly do,” Marjorie agreed. “But let’s keep looking. We might -find some really valuable ones which we could sell to collectors for a -lot of money.” - -For the next few minutes they were very busy pushing and shoving at the -rocks, upturning some and giving up others that were too heavy to budge. - -Finally they came across one huge stone that seemed to be imbedded in -the sand. Marjorie knew that even with Judy’s help she couldn’t move -it, and she was just about to crawl by it when she saw something. - -“Judy,” she cried excitedly. “Come here, quickly. Doesn’t it look as -though someone had been digging around this rock a little while ago?” - -Judy scrambled to her feet and joined Marjorie. “You’re right,” she -said. “Some one _has_ been digging here. I’ll bet whoever it was buried -something under that rock.” She flopped down on her knees beside -Marjorie and together the girls began to dig frantically with their -fingers. - -And then Marjorie’s sharp eyes caught a glimpse of something that -glittered in the sunlight. “Diamonds,” she gasped. “Judy, help me. -Let’s see if we can’t inch the rock up a little so we can see better. -Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was real honest-to-goodness -treasure buried here?” - -Judy, tugging at the heavy rock, could only pant, “There. Now we’ve got -it!” - -They both fell to digging with renewed vigor, and in another second -Marjorie could see that the glittering object was only a dark green -glass bottle. - -“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” she moaned disappointedly. “And I thought we -were at last going to find the buried treasure.” Crossly she yanked the -bottle out of the warm sand and raised her arm to toss it into the lake. - -“Wait a minute!” cried Judy, grabbing her arm just in time. “There’s -something in that bottle, Marjorie. When you held it up in the sunlight -I could see right through the dark green glass.” - -Marjorie held the bottle up again and stared at it. “You’re right, -Judy,” she said. “It looks like a piece of paper. Oh, golly, maybe it’s -a map which’ll tell us exactly where the treasure is buried!” - -As she talked, Marjorie was prying out the cork with a piece of broken -shell. - -“Hurry, hurry,” Judy cried impatiently, hopping up and down. “Now -you’ve got it out at last. Turn it upside down and shake it, Marjorie. -Oh, oh, it _is_ a piece of paper!” - -The piece of paper was battered and torn, and it had been crumpled into -a small ball. Carefully Marjorie smoothed it out, and together they -tried to read the smudged words. - -After half an hour of intensive studying they were able to figure -out that the scrap was a fragment of a message, and the message had -something to do with “the Log Cabin” and “a well that.” - -“Oh, Judy,” Marjorie gasped. “The well must be the one we dug up. If -we could only find the other fragment, I’ll bet the two together would -tell us where the treasure is buried!” - -“Who do you suppose wrote the message?” Judy asked wonderingly. “And -how did it get torn? And how did one half get into this bottle?” - -“I can guess what happened,” Marjorie said, her imagination completely -running away with her. “Two men knew about the buried treasure near the -old well. They wrote down just where they were supposed to dig. Then -they got into a fight when they talked about how they were going to -divide the loot. In the tussle, one man got off with one half, and the -other put his half in this bottle and buried it here for safekeeping.” - -Judy stared at her in admiration. “You’re wonderful, Marjorie,” she -said. “That’s just what happened. Now all we have to do is find the -other half.” - -Marjorie’s elfin blue eyes were bright with suppressed laughter. -“_All?_” she demanded sarcastically. “The other half of the message -could be anywhere in the world.” She stared thoughtfully down at the -scrap. “The two letters ‘tr’ might be part of the word ‘trunk.’ What do -you think, Judy?” - -“I think you’re absolutely right,” Judy said emphatically. “Aren’t -there some old trunks in the storeroom that you haven’t opened yet? Oh, -Marjorie, do you suppose there’s another clue in one of them?” - -“Let’s look anyway,” Marjorie said. “Tuesday when I was helping Ann -Mary get the soiled linen ready for Mr. Taggart to take into town, I -asked her if you and I couldn’t go through those old trunks some rainy -day. And she said we could. She laughed at me and said, ‘You won’t find -any treasure there. If you’re smart you’ll search for rare shells down -by the lake.’ That’s how I got the idea of trying to find some which -rich collectors might buy from us.” - -“Well,” Judy said, “we didn’t find any worth bringing back to the -Lodge. Let’s don’t waste any more time looking for rare shells. Let’s -go show this clue to the boys.” - -Marjorie hesitated. “Okay, but I’ll bet they just make fun of us. Jimmy -won’t even consider that it just might be a clue.” - -“But,” Judy objected, “he’s bound to realize that the message had -something to do with the well and the Lodge. Let’s go.” - -Marjorie carefully tucked the torn paper into the pocket of her blue -jeans. Then they raced back to the Lodge. - -Out in the shed the girls found that Jimmy, Alf and Brook had finished -closing in the shower. They banged on the door and Jimmy called out in -a dramatic voice: - -“Who invades our privacy? This is the bachelors’ retreat and we want -no women around here!” Marjorie heard him add in a loud whisper: “And -especially not dimwit girls!” - -She yelled at the top of her lungs: “Oh, come on out, Jimmy. Quit being -so mean to us. We have something important to show you.” - -But Jimmy was adamant. “_You_ quit banging on the door, dopes. We’ll -open it when we’re ready and not a minute before.” - -Marjorie turned to Judy. “Try Alf. He’s your brother.” - -“Alf Powell,” Judy screamed. “You’ll be sorry if you don’t come right -out. What we have is something really yummy!” She added quietly to -Marjorie, “That’ll get him!” - -“Yummy,” they heard both Alf and Brook repeat, and then from Jimmy as -he opened the door and stuck his head out: - -“Why didn’t you say you had food in the first place?” - -“Look,” said Marjorie, showing him the piece of paper. “Judy and I -found this in a bottle buried in the sand under a big rock on the -beach. We think it’s part of a message that has something to do with -the buried treasure.” - -“Oh, you dopey kids,” Jimmy said in a very condescending tone of voice. -“Your imagination works overtime. It’s fantastic,” he said over his -shoulder to Alf and Brook, “what they can think up in their spare time.” - -But Jimmy took the paper from Marjorie, and gave it a contemptuous -glance. “What a mess,” he said. “You know perfectly well you rigged -this up yourselves, but you can’t fool me.” - -“We didn’t, honest,” Marjorie said, tossing her blonde head. “But if -that’s the way you feel about it, give it back to me. Furthermore, -if we find any more clues you’ll be the last person in the world we -consult.” - -Jimmy tossed it to her with a grin. “Run along, kids. We haven’t time -for your monkey business. We’re going for a swim, and then we’re going -to get the Bronc ready for our camping trip.” He slammed the door in -Marjorie’s face. “Scram. Later, if we men haven’t anything better to -do, you can try to fool us with your phony clues.” - -“See?” Marjorie bitterly asked Judy. “That’s a brother for you! If we -do find anything in the storage room, let’s not tell a soul!” - - - - -CHAPTER 7 - -THE MAP - - -Marjorie and Judy entered the Lodge by the back door and found Mr. -Taggart in the kitchen with a big bundle of clean laundry. - -“Hello, girls,” he said pleasantly. “Find any buried treasure yet?” - -“No,” Judy replied, “but down on the beach we--” - -Marjorie nudged her and said quickly, “We found a lot of absolutely -worthless shells.” She grinned at Ann Mary who came into the kitchen -then with a bag of soiled linen. “You and your rare specimens! I’ll bet -you sent us off on that wild goose chase just to get us out of your -hair.” - -Ann Mary laughed. “Maybe I did.” She turned to Mr. Taggart. “I really -sent them down to the lake to keep them from digging up the whole -place. Pat and Mal worked hard on the vegetable garden behind the -cabin, and I’m not going to have the kids ruin it in their search for -something which they know perfectly well isn’t there.” - -“That’s right,” the laundry man said with a grin. “A carrot in the hand -is worth a diamond in the bush.” He picked up the bag and started for -the door. - -“Wait a minute, please,” Ann Mary said. “There’s more upstairs. Sit -down and make yourself comfortable while I gather up the bed linen.” - -“Do you want me to do it for you, Ann Mary?” Marjorie asked, hoping the -answer would be no. - -“Thank you, no,” Ann Mary said emphatically. “The last time you counted -the sheets you counted one of them twice.” - -Marjorie giggled, and the girls followed Ann Mary out into the hall. As -she hurried up the stairs to the balcony, Judy said: - -“I wish you’d show me the secret room sometime, Marjorie. I think -you’re mean to keep it a secret from me, your very best friend.” - -“Why, of course, I’ll show it to you,” Marjorie cried impulsively. “And -there’s no time like the present.” She led the way into the alcove and -said, “See those bookshelves? Now watch, while I press this button.” - -Open-mouthed with amazement, Judy watched as the shelves moved aside, -revealing a short flight of stairs that led down into a little room. - -“Why, that’s the most marvelous contraption I ever saw,” she said -enviously. “I wish we had something like it at home.” - -“We can’t go in,” Marjorie said. “It’s a law we passed at a meeting of -the Allen Lodge Board of Directors. Only Phil and Pat can go in. As -a matter of fact,” she added thoughtfully, “I guess I shouldn’t have -showed you how the door works without first asking their permission.” - -“I won’t tell a soul,” Judy promised. “But why all the secrecy?” - -“Well,” Marjorie explained, “we keep all the guests’ valuables and all -the money in that little old wall safe in there.” She stopped suddenly. -“Oh, gosh, I guess that was Ann Mary who just went by the alcove. She -must have heard us talking in here and now she’ll guess that I showed -you the secret room.” - -“Will she tell Phil and Penny?” Judy asked worriedly. “And will they -bawl you out? Oh, I hope not. It was all my fault! Curiosity killed the -cat,” she finished lamely. - -“You mean,” Marjorie said as she closed the door, “let the cat out of -the bag!” She grinned. “No, Ann Mary won’t tell. If she thinks I did -let the cat out of the bag, she’ll bawl me out herself. But she’s no -tattle-tale, and neither is Pat. They’re both grand people. And so are -the Donahues.” - -“Everyone at the Lodge is swell,” Judy agreed, and added cautiously: -“Since we’re probably already in Dutch, don’t you think maybe we’d -better ask Penny’s permission before we go through those old trunks in -the storeroom? I know Ann Mary said we could, but after all, Penny is -the housekeeper, isn’t she?” - -Marjorie nodded. “We’ll get her permission right now.” She glanced at -her wristwatch. “She’s probably out on the porch having tea with your -parents and Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. And I guess Mr. and Mrs. Sanders, too.” - -“I tell you what let’s do,” Judy said. “Let’s put on a fashion show. -Didn’t you say that the trunk you’ve already opened is full of -old-fashioned dresses and costume jewelry?” - -“What a wonderful idea!” Marjorie raced ahead of Judy down the spacious -hall to the porch. - -Penny, looking very lovely in a pale yellow afternoon frock, looked up -from the tea table with a smile. “Having fun, girls?” she asked. “I -don’t have to ask you if you’re hungry. Help yourselves to sandwiches -and cookies.” - -“We’re not hungry for once, Penny,” Marjorie told her with a laugh. “We -came out to ask you if it’s all right if we put on a fashion show for -you while you’re having tea. The boys have deserted us, and Judy and I -want to dress up and parade around in some of the old costumes in the -storage room.” - -“Go right ahead,” Penny said. “That’s the best idea you’ve had all -summer, Marjorie.” She turned to Mary Curtis who was sitting on the -other side of the table. “Don’t you think so, too, Mary?” - -Mary nodded. “Anything to keep those two out of mischief.” - -Marjorie and Judy hurried away to the storage room. “My, why haven’t -we poked around in here before?” Judy asked Marjorie. “What’s in all -those boxes and trunks anyway?” - -“I only know what’s in the trunk we already opened,” Marjorie told -her. “These are the old, old trunks.” She pointed to two little trunks -standing side by side. “After the fashion show we’ll go through them -carefully for clues. The other boxes all contain things of ours that -we’ve put away so we wouldn’t clutter up the house with things we -didn’t need.” - -Half an hour later the girls appeared on the porch and marched sedately -up and down, hoping they were behaving like professional models. - -It was all Penny could do to keep from laughing. To her they looked as -stiff as wooden puppets in a Punch and Judy show. - -“What period are you representing?” Brook’s mother asked, suppressing a -smile. “Jane Austen?” - -Marjorie relaxed enough to shrug. “We haven’t the faintest idea, Mrs. -Sanders. Let’s pretend that the audience has to guess.” - -“All right,” Mrs. Sanders agreed. “I’ll stick to _Pride and Prejudice_.” - -“I’d say that the black velvet was of the nineties, after the big -sleeves and hideous bustles had gone out,” Mrs. Powell said. - -Mrs. Curtis thought it was of a later period. She laughed and said, -“Wouldn’t it be funny if those bustles came back in again. I’m afraid -they wouldn’t look quite as cute on us as they do on those two young -ladies!” - -Mary told them she thought the blue satin dress was meant to be worn -with hoops and was probably from a period dating near the Civil War. - -“Let’s go see if we can find the hoop,” Marjorie said, taking Judy by -the hand and heading back to the storeroom. - -They had had enough of dressing up by this time, and they got back -into their blue jeans and proceeded to turn the contents of the trunks -inside out. They felt every part of the inside of the trunks for -hidden places, they shook all the clothes carefully and examined them -minutely, but all to no avail. - -“Maybe all of the costume jewelry in that box isn’t set with imitation -stones,” Judy said without much hope. - -“But it is,” Marjorie said. “Do you want to look at it?” She -impatiently yanked off the lid and the old velvet lining fell away. -Then they both saw it--an old map, pasted inside the cover! - -Marjorie was so surprised she sat right down on the storage room floor. -“Oh, my goodness,” she finally got out, “to think, if it hadn’t been -for you, we might not have even opened the jewelry box. I never would -have thought of looking here because I examined it so carefully when -Phil and Penny first opened this trunk.” - -But Judy wasn’t listening. She had hurried to a window with the lid -and was examining the map carefully. “Marjorie,” she groaned, “this is -positively the worst thing that ever happened to us!” - -Marjorie scrambled to her feet and hurried to peer over Judy’s -shoulder. In another minute she, too, was groaning. “There’s no doubt -about it,” she mumbled sadly. “This map tells exactly where the -treasure is buried. And where it is buried is right under the potato -hills in Pat’s garden!” - -“That’s the way it looks to me,” Judy said mournfully. “He won’t dig up -those potatoes until the fall. The vines have hardly begun to blossom.” -Very near to tears she added, “And--and you’ll find the treasure after -I’ve gone back to school!” - -Just then Penny appeared at the door. “What on earth is the matter -with you two?” she asked. “I could hear your moans and groans from the -balcony.” - -“We’ve found the map that shows exactly where the treasure is buried,” -Marjorie wailed. “B-but Pat won’t let us dig it up.” - -Penny’s blue eyes were dark with surprise. “Don’t be silly, Marjorie,” -she said. “Of course, Pat will let you dig it up.” - -Marjorie hurried across the room to show Penny the map. “See,” she said -pointing. “The big X is behind the Donahues’ cabin on the west side. -Judy and I know what’s planted there. We got blisters on our hands the -day we helped Pat and Mal hoe up those potato hills!” - -Penny glanced at the map and then she laughed. “You silly girls! Don’t -you know that this is a joke the boys played on you?” She went back -into the hall and called up the stairs: - -“Jimmy, come down here right away, please.” - -Jimmy took the stairs two at a time. “What’s up?” he demanded. “The -house on fire?” - -For answer Penny handed him the jewelry box lid. “Didn’t you paste that -map there to play a joke on the girls?” - -Jimmy stared at the map in amazement. “Honestly, Penny,” he said -soberly. “I never saw the darn thing before.” - -“How about Alf and Brook?” Penny asked sternly. “A joke’s a joke, -but this one might have caused serious trouble. If someone not as -thoughtful as Marjorie had found it and followed directions he would -have ruined Pat’s potatoes.” - -“I know,” Jimmy said, still staring at the map. “But neither Alf nor -Brook did it, Penny. They’ve never been inside the storage room, so -they couldn’t possibly have planted this map in the cover of the -costume jewelry box.” - -“Well then,” Penny said firmly. “The person who did, did it purposely -to annoy us.” - -“I don’t know how you can be so sure of that,” Marjorie objected. “_I_ -think someone put it in the lid long before Pat and Mal planted the -garden.” - -Penny gave her a fond pat. “I hate to disillusion you, honey, but the -map was pasted in the lid quite recently. Last week when I opened the -box to show Mary the costume jewelry the old velvet lining fell out. -And there wasn’t any map there then.” - -Marjorie sighed with disappointment. “Oh, dear,” she began, “then I -suppose the same mean person put that scrap of paper in the bot--” - -But she never finished what she had planned to say. For just then Phil -called out excitedly from the porch: - -“Penny, _Penny! Peter’s here!_” - - - - -CHAPTER 8 - -PETER IS WORRIED - - -Peter had arrived several days earlier than he had planned! For a -moment Penny stood stock still on the threshold of the old storage room. - -She was too thrilled to move, but she was very glad that she was -wearing her most becoming afternoon frock. Peter said that pale yellow -brought out the golden lights in her hair and turned her eyes to -violets. Or was it forget-me-nots? - -Marjorie’s giggle set her in motion. “Wake up, Penny,” Marjorie said -with a laugh. “This is no time to dream.” - -Her cheeks burning, Penny hurried down the hall. Peter Wyland was just -getting out of his car when she appeared on the porch. - -Penny’s heart beat a little faster as she greeted him cordially -and tried to look as casual as possible. Peter squeezed her hand -lingeringly and looked as though he were going to kiss her right in -front of all the people. - -“You’re looking wonderful,” Penny said. - -“So are you!” Peter’s eyes admired her smooth skin which the summer sun -had turned to a golden tan. Neither of them could think of another word -to say, and yet they had so much to say to each other! - -Philip came to the rescue with a cheery grin. “Hi, fella,” he greeted -Peter, shaking his hand as though it were a pump handle. “Good to see -you again.” - -Charles came running down the front steps to greet Peter -enthusiastically, too. Penny thought: - -“Good old Charles. He can be nice when he wants to. If it weren’t for -Peter, I think I could like Charles a lot.” She glanced shyly at Peter. -“Oh, he _does_ love me. I can tell!” Penny was in a whirl. - -The first thing Philip wanted to know was when Adra Prentice was coming. - -“You’re in luck, boy,” Peter said, clapping him on the shoulder. “She’s -arriving in a couple of hours by plane. Her dad--my boss--is planning -to spend a week here toward the end of the month.” - -Phil’s gray-blue eyes lighted up with anticipation. This would be the -most exciting day of the whole summer for Penny and Phil. - -“I’ll carry your bags up to your room,” he said to Peter. “No, I don’t -need any help. I know Penny is dying to show you all over the Lodge and -the grounds.” - -Marjorie watched them stroll off together arm in arm. She was glad -Peter was here and that Adra was coming soon, but she did so want to -be alone with Penny for a few minutes sometime that day. “We’ve got to -show her the clue we found in the bottle down on the beach,” she said -to Judy. “Maybe the map is a phony, but I’m sure the scrap of paper in -my pocket means something.” - -“I am, too,” Judy agreed. “And I’m not so sure that the map is a phony. -It looked so old and weather-beaten. Somebody might have found it just -the other day and put it in the jewelry box lid for safekeeping.” - -Marjorie stared at her thoughtfully. “Who do you suppose this somebody -is who is lurking around here, and writing anonymous letters? It must -be the same person, but how did he get into the storage room without -being seen?” - -Judy shrugged. “Don’t ask me. Let’s talk it all over with Penny the -first chance we get. Then she can discuss it with Peter. He’s sort of -an amateur detective, isn’t he?” - -Marjorie nodded. “Heaven knows when we’ll be able to say more than two -words to Penny.” - -Adra arrived just before dinner, and once again there was excitement -and tumult. Jimmy and Marjorie greeted the lovely, fragile-looking girl -with shouts of welcome. Penny hugged her affectionately, but Philip -could only hold her hand in his and stare down at her wordlessly. - -But the expression on his handsome face told Adra more than anything he -could have said. - -Penny’s duties as hostess and housekeeper kept her busy until late in -the evening. At last, when she was alone in the office planning the -next day’s program, Marjorie and Judy could stand it no longer. They -burst into the room, and Marjorie blurted: - -“We’ve been trying to see you alone all evening, Sis. But, golly, -you’re busy as triplets.” She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled -out the worn scrap of paper. “Judy and I found this in a bottle buried -under a big rock down on the beach.” - -Penny frowned tiredly. “Oh, Marjorie, not another one of your clues!” - -Marjorie bit her lip. “I know you think we’re silly to keep looking -for buried treasure, Penny. But this is part of a message and it has -something to do with the Log Cabin and a well.” - -Penny laid the scrap on her desk and tried to read it. The girls showed -her what they had been able to decipher. - -“Oh, dear,” Penny said. “I’m too tired now to think about clues. I’m -sorry, girls. Go on to bed now. It’s late. Leave this with me, and -the first chance I get in the morning, I’ll show it to Peter. He’s -the detective of our group, and if anyone can figure what this is all -about, it’s he.” - -After the girls had gone up to their rooms, Penny added to herself: -“I’m glad Peter arrived today for more reasons than one. Something -mysterious _is_ going on. Who was our prowler? Who wrote those -anonymous letters? Who put the map in the lid of the old jewelry box? -And what sense does this scrap of paper make?” - -The next morning, right after breakfast, she was asking Peter the same -questions. He listened attentively as she filled in all the details. - -When she had finished, he said very seriously: “I don’t like any part -of this, Penny, especially the letter that threatened you. Frankly, -I wish you had turned it over to the police. Even if there were only -latent fingerprints on it, they could have sent it to the FBI in -Washington. Those experts don’t miss a thing, and if the man is a -criminal, his fingerprints will be in their files.” - -“But,” Penny objected, “if he _is_ a criminal, he would have been smart -enough to wear gloves.” - -“That’s true,” Peter admitted. “But there are other ways of discovering -who wrote those letters. For one thing, although he undoubtedly did his -best to disguise his handwriting, he couldn’t completely. No one can. -We all develop certain characteristics when we first learn to write, -and those characteristics stay with us forever.” - -“My,” Penny said admiringly. “You _are_ a detective, Peter.” - -Peter grinned, and then sobered. “Not really, Penny. And I wish you’d -let me notify the police now. Someone is obviously very interested in -making you Allens clear out of here. I don’t know why, but I can guess.” - -“So can I,” Penny said, twirling a strand of her light brown hair -around her finger. “Maybe Jimmy and Marjorie are right after all. Maybe -there _is_ buried treasure around here.” - -Peter stared down at the note on the desk. They had managed to make out -the following words: - - t the Log cabin - t week in August - asure again - near the - r a well that - dry. - -“The first word in the third line,” Penny said, “could be the last part -of the word ‘treasure.’ And the well could be the one we dug up. But -our mysterious Mr. X isn’t as smart as he should be. We went clear to -the bottom of that old well, Peter, and there just isn’t any buried -treasure there.” - -Peter nodded. “The man first tried to frighten you, and now he’s being -as annoying as he dares.” - -“Do you know what I think?” Penny asked. “I think there is something -valuable hidden around here which we don’t know anything about. But Mr. -X does. He wants us to keep on thinking it’s buried somewhere on the -grounds so we’ll keep on digging instead of searching elsewhere for it.” - -“You’re not only very pretty, Penny,” Peter said, smiling. “But you’re -very intelligent. I think you’ve reasoned it out correctly. The map and -this fragment of paper are red herrings; not clues. Will you let me -turn them over to the police? Just the paper our Mr. X used may be a -clue which would lead to the discovery of his identity in a very short -time.” - -“Oh, no, Peter,” Penny cried impulsively. “Let’s not turn the mystery -over to the police now. Let’s first try to solve it ourselves. -Besides,” she added shrewdly, “when they hear about the night prowler -who attacked Mal, they may want to put guards around the Lodge. And -that, Peter Wyland, would make some of the guests nervous. It might -ruin our whole business venture.” - -“I can refuse you nothing, Penny Allen,” he said, grinning. “But I -think we ought to consult with Phil and Adra before we make a final -decision. Let’s call them in, and hash the whole thing out all over -again.” - -But an hour later, after a serious discussion, Penny won. They would -not notify the police unless they received another threatening letter. - -“I still don’t like it,” Peter grumbled. “The idea of that coward -threatening Penny.” - -Penny blushed. Peter was being very protective about her and she -couldn’t help liking it. “But he didn’t really threaten me,” she -pointed out. “He couldn’t possibly have known I was going to touch the -rotten supports in the shed wall. If you ask me, he heard about the -accident and simply took advantage of it. A few hours after I tumbled -down the well, everyone in the village knew about it.” - -“That’s another thing,” Peter said stubbornly. “If we notify the police -they’ll know who is a stranger in town and keep an eye on him.” - -Penny laughed. “Then they’d have to have a thousand eyes, Peter. The -place is swarming with summer people.” - -Peter threw up his hands in mock despair. “Oh, all right,” he said. “I -give in. Let’s forget about it for awhile. How about a swim, Penny? Or -are you too busy?” - -“Well,” Penny began, “I--” - -“Skip it, Sis,” Phil interrupted. “Pleasure comes before business, -since your main duty is to see that your guests are happy.” - -The meeting broke up then, and everyone hurried off to change into -bathing suits. Down on dock they found Marjorie and Judy sitting on the -edge, dangling their feet in the water. - -Jimmy, Alf and Brook were busy completing preparations for their -camping trip which was to start the next day. The boys were fixing two -of the canoes to take along on the Bronc. They were planning to do -some fishing in the rivers they camped by, and were going to be fully -prepared to take advantage of anything else they might find. - -That evening they had an old-fashioned square dance out on the front -porch. There was a fiddler in the town who had come back with Mal, and -the guests as well as the Allens had a lively time. Kitty and Ann Mary -served delicious cold lemonade with homemade cookies. - -Philip reached for his fourth cooky and said to Adra, “I’m sure I’d get -too fat to move if I ate all the good things Ann Mary is always making. -Can you make cookies like this, Adra?” - -She laughed and said, “No, Phil, I can’t make anything as good as Ann -Mary does, but I’m sure I could learn, if I was offered an incentive.” - -“Would I be incentive enough?” asked Phil. - -“You would, indeed!” said Adra promptly. “But I’m afraid we couldn’t -live on just cookies.” - -Phil laughed and said, “That might be fun for a little while. I’m sure -Marjorie and Jimmy would think so. They can eat at least two dozen at a -time without even trying. I’m so glad you’re going to be here for the -rest of the summer, Adra, we have so much to talk about. I want to tell -you of my plans for the winter. I’m going to try to take a job where I -can be near you.” - -“Oh, Phil, that will be wonderful,” cried Adra. “I can’t think of -anything I would like better. You know Peter and I have become very -good friends since he has been working for my father, and he told me he -would like to find something so that he could be closer to Penny. Does -Penny know how much he likes her?” - -“I think she does, Adra, because, you see, she likes Peter just as -much.” Phil and Adra looked very happy as they strolled off hand in -hand. - -Penny, watching them, said to Peter, “I’m glad our mysterious Mr. X -isn’t spoiling their fun. I wish you’d forget about the mystery, too, -Peter, just for the evening,” she added wistfully. - -He grinned cheerfully. “When I look at you, Penny, I can’t even -remember my own name.” - -But Penny knew that, underneath his flattering banter, Peter was -worried. She almost wished that she hadn’t told him anything about the -mystery. - - - - -CHAPTER 9 - -CAMPING OUT - - -The next day everybody came out to wish bon voyage to Pat and the boys -who were leaving on their camping trip for a week. All hands helped -them get their paraphernalia aboard the station wagon. - -Pat was the last one to get in with the big box of fishing tackle in -his left hand and a huge picnic hamper packed with good food in his -right hand. Ann Mary had seen to it that they would eat well the first -day they started out. For the rest of the week they had the back of the -Bronc well stocked with canned foods which they expected to supplement -with the fish they caught. - -They were all in the best of spirits. This was to be a real adventure. -Pat was taking them into the woods to a fishing camp where Jimmy’s -Uncle John Allen used to go every summer. Alf Powell and Jimmy were -the chief mechanics in case anything went wrong with the car, and Brook -and Pat were to be the cooks. - -Marjorie and Judy had their noses slightly out of joint because they -had been hoping right up until the last minute before the boys left, -that perhaps they too would be allowed to go along. But the boys would -not even hear of it, and Penny thought it would not be a good idea, -either. - -“Never mind,” Judy said in a consoling whisper to Marjorie. “Maybe -we’ll find the buried treasure while they’re gone.” - -Just then Ann Mary came running out with an armful of freshly ironed -shirts for the boys. - -“Mr. Taggart brought these,” she panted, “early this morning. I told -him he had to get them here before you left. Theresa just finished -ironing them.” - -“Thanks,” Jimmy said, “but they needn’t have been ironed. For the next -week we aren’t going to care how we look.” - -“Lucky dogs,” Marjorie said in an aside to Judy. “Do you know what -Penny said to me last night? She said, ‘From now on you and I ought to -change before dinner into something besides blue jeans.’” - -“I guess she’s right,” Judy said reluctantly. “Mother has had the same -idea all along.” - -But in spite of how they felt, the girls recovered from their sulks -long enough to wave cheery goodbyes to the boys. - -“Have fun,” they shouted. - -“Be careful,” called Penny. - -And so at last, Jimmy, Alf and Brook were off on their great adventure. - -After driving all day, Pat and the boys pulled into a little grove of -pines, deep in the woods near a beautiful, rock-strewn river. They -made camp and got out their mosquito repellent. Pat had told them the -black flies in this part of the woods were really vicious so they had -come well prepared for such an emergency. Jimmy and Alf got into their -high boots and waded into the river to fish. The results of this little -expedition were not quite as good as they expected, but the few small -fish they caught were very sweet when cooked. - -They were up bright and early the next morning, but that day brought no -better results as far as fishing was concerned. Pat suggested that they -move camp deeper into the woods, near a little lake where he thought -the fishing would be much better. Jimmy seconded the suggestion and in -no time at all they were on their way again. This time they made camp -near the tip of the little lake and early the next morning they watched -the mist rise from the lake and listened to the birds singing in chorus. - -This spot was so beautiful that Brook and Alf said they would like to -spend the rest of the week here, even if they didn’t catch a single -fish. - -“I knew you’d like it,” answered Pat. “Mr. Allen always wanted to stay -here awhile,” he said to Jimmy. - -“And no wonder,” said Jimmy, “I can’t wait until we get out there in -our canoe.” - -The boys were all skillful with the paddle, and as they skimmed along -the lake widened, then narrowed till it was not much more than a -stream. Finally they reached the other end and drew the canoe into a -small bay. Pat led them to a small log hut hidden in the nearby trees. -Here there was a curious storehouse for food and extra equipment. It -was built of small pine logs and was raised high on a few posts. Pat -explained that this was to keep the food from getting damp, and that -if it were properly fastened no climbing bear could help himself to the -food. - -The little bay where they had left their canoe was the outlet for a -stream in which Pat said there was wonderful fishing. Pat said they -would have to go upstream a way against some rapids to get to the -really good fishing spot. He also told them that there was a waterfall -nearby and the safest thing would be for all of them to do all of their -exploring, fishing, hunting, or anything else they decided to do, in -groups. Pat cautioned them about the strong current in the stream, too. - -“Come on,” said Jimmy. “Let’s do some fishing now and go up those -rapids tomorrow.” - -They caught a beautiful trout and a bass for their supper and -considered that a perfect end to a successful and happy day. They -decided to spend the night in the small log campers’ hut. - -The next day’s plan was changed when morning came. The woods about the -camp were explored and found to be fairly open. It was full of birds, -squirrels, chipmunks and other small animals. Brook almost caught a -flying squirrel and claimed that he saw a wild cat. There were beavers -building in a small stream that wandered through the pines and widened -not far from the lake. A graceful deer took flight as Pat, who was -in the lead, approached. This caused considerable excitement and all -chatter ceased as they stole on in the hope of surprising another deer -or a bear. - -They climbed trees, investigated nests and Jimmy kept looking for bees. -The boys wanted to know why, and he replied that the bees would lead -them to a “honey tree,” and there they might find a bear. - -“Go to it, Jimmy,” cried Alf. “I bet we take the honey first.” - -They finally did see a bear, a black one of moderate size. It ambled -off before them from the water’s edge. None of them had the heart to -shoot it or anything else they saw. They were having such a wonderful -time just investigating. - -Around the campfire that night they sang and told stories and when it -began to turn very chilly they turned in. They were awakened early in -the morning by the bird chorus. Alf said it was not so hard to get -up here as at home, in school time! They took the canoe up the rocky -stream with its dashing waters and strong current. By noon they had -reached the highest point from which these rapids started. It was quiet -at noon and the sun was hot. The perspiring boys sat around in their -bathing shorts and ate a cold lunch. Then they got down to the real -business of fishing. Jimmy drew in a handsome black bass, and then the -competition became keen. Brook caught a beautiful brook trout, and it -was a jolly group of boys that sat near the shore to clean their fish -in the late afternoon when they had returned to the hut. - -Jimmy had started the fire and then joined the rest, picking up the -first fish at hand, a fine trout. “Who caught this?” he asked. - -“I’ll have you know that I’m the guy,” grinned Pat, looking up from the -bass he was cleaning and waving his knife in the air. “It’s worth-while -fishing where there’s something to catch!” - -“Isn’t this a walleyed perch, Jimmy?” asked Brook. - -“I guess so.” Jimmy had started in vigorously to clean the trout and -now raised a loud voice in the ditty of “Ham and Eggs.” The others -joined in, making the shore ring with the sound. The fact that supper -was to consist mainly of fish made no difference. With young appetites -and overflowing energy they managed to consume all of the day’s catch. - -The next day Jimmy and Alf wanted to take things easy and do some -swimming and lounging, but Brook wanted to do some more exploring. They -finally decided to spend the day near the hut, and Brook made a mental -note to do some exploring on his own when he could. While they were all -in swimming, he paddled off alone, down the main stream. He had gone -only a little distance before he was concealed from view by trees and a -curving shore. He entered the main stream, which was quite wide as far -as the fork. - -There the division of waters left the wider stream to the right. But -that to Brook’s left offered the prettier outlook. It stretched almost -straight before him to some distance and descended in a little rapids. -These looked easy, he thought, and though there were rocks, the water -looked shallow enough for a good swimmer not to be troubled with any -difficulty about reaching shore or a rock in case the canoe upset. - -A little peninsula, dotted with green trees and bushes, jutted out from -the left shore. Brook thought he caught a glimpse of someone moving -there and started into the left fork of the stream. - -“After all,” he reflected, “as the crow flies I’m only a couple of -miles from camp. Maybe Jimmy and Alf have been out exploring and are -over there on the point.” - -Then he saw something that made him paddle faster than ever. He could -hear the sound of dashing waters further on but he was too excited to -pay any attention to it. What he had glimpsed looked like a human body, -sprawling half in and half out of the bushes of a cove on the point. - -Brook nosed his canoe into the cove, beached it, and climbed up the -gentle incline. Then he saw that what had attracted his attention was -only an old tattered coat. It was rain-shriveled and had obviously been -flung over a rock to dry. But from the stream it had looked like the -torso of a human body. - -“Well,” Brook sighed with relief. “Thank goodness no one was hurt or -killed.” - -He went into the brush, past a few spruces, and found a small clearing. -In the mud here were footprints which had obviously been made very -recently. It had rained the night before, clearing just before dawn. -Sometime between then and now someone had walked across the clearing -and into the brush. And back again into the woods on the other side of -the clearing, Brook reflected as he studied the footprints. - -Whoever it was might have hung his coat on the rock to dry if he had -been caught in the early morning rainstorm. - -“Probably a tramp,” he decided and went back to the coat. He lifted it -rather gingerly, and then, because he could not resist the temptation, -turned its pockets inside out. To his surprise, he found in the last -pocket a letter. It looked as though it had been soaked by the rain and -had been dried again by the sun which had been shining upon the coat -and rock all morning. - -The address upon the torn envelope was blurred, and Brook’s curiosity -was hindered by the fact that it was almost lunch time and it might be -well to hurry back. Sticking the letter into the waterproof zippered -pocket of his bathing trunks, he hurried to his canoe, pushed out and -entered the stream again. - -As Brook got back into the middle of the stream he suddenly discovered -that no paddling was necessary to make his canoe go! The descent which -looked so gradual drew canoe and the water itself down rapidly. The -current was much stronger than one would have thought! Brook used his -paddle skillfully. He was enjoying this exhilarating experience. It was -great! - -But when he tried to skim around a few rocks to the point, he almost -upset the canoe and only by a quick push from a rock did he avoid -being thrown out. But the canoe righted and Brook sped on, past the -peninsula, around into a wider channel, for which Brook was at first -glad. There was more space between rocks. - -But the current was stronger, his control over the canoe was getting -a little out of hand. Brook was just beginning to realize that he had -had no business coming off by himself, when he heard the sound of the -falls. His face grew pale, but he set his lips. The current drew the -canoe out into a wider part of the river, and when Brook looked ahead -for a minute he could see a white spray dashing high over a pile of -obstructing rocks. It did not seem so bad off to the right, and Brook -tried to edge over in that direction. - -But what he saw ahead of him made him sick. It was still some distance -away, but the water was boiling over at a little curve and fell -somewhere below--he could not tell where! - - - - -CHAPTER 10 - -JIMMY TO THE RESCUE - - -Back at camp, shortly after Brook paddled off by himself, Jimmy and Alf -decided that they had had enough swimming for one day. - -“Race you to shore,” Jimmy yelled, flailing the water in a fast crawl. -Alf was slightly ahead of him, but Jimmy soon passed him and was the -first to throw himself on the beach, crowing breathlessly, “Beat you!” - -“By a mere inch,” Alf said, flopping down beside him. “Where’s Brook?” - -Jimmy shrugged. “Probably back in the hut helping Pat prepare a feast -for our lunch. That guy’s always hungry.” - -“So am I,” Alf said. “It’s your Michigan air. But I don’t think Brook -is with Pat. I saw him drag one of the canoes into the water just -before our race. I was too busy trying to keep up with you to see what -he did after that.” - -“What difference does it make?” Jimmy demanded. “Let’s go exploring by -canoe ourselves. We can dry off in the sun just in time for lunch.” -He pointed. “I want to investigate that fork of the first stream over -there.” - -“I want to eat,” Alf said. “I’m starving. But if you must satisfy your -curiosity before I satisfy my hunger, I suppose you must.” - -“I can’t let you eat now anyway,” Jimmy said with a grin. “If I did -there wouldn’t be anything left for Brook when he shows up.” - -“I’ll say there wouldn’t,” Alf agreed, tightening the belt on his -trunks. “I could catch a fish right now with my bare hands and eat it -while it’s still alive.” - -“You just had breakfast,” Jimmy said. “Come on!” - -Alf lazily shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted up at the sky. -“About four hours ago by the sun,” he said stubbornly. - -Jimmy yanked him to his feet and called out to Pat: “We’re going -canoeing. Back in time for lunch.” - -“Okay,” came Pat’s voice from inside the cabin. - -“You bet we’ll be back for lunch,” Alf said as he and Jimmy glided out -upon the lake. “What’s the coil of rope doing in the canoe?” - -“I brought it along so we could climb a bee tree if we found one,” -laughed Jimmy. “Anyhow it belongs to Pat. I think it’s some of -Theresa’s clothesline.” - -The boys turned into the stream, and when they came to the forking of -the water, they entered the narrower stream toward its right shore, -where the waters seemed quieter. While Alf paddled, Jimmy made a loop -of the rope and tossed it toward a stout little spruce. - -“This comes in handy,” said Jimmy, as the rope caught and Alf paddled -in close to the shore. “This current is certainly strong,” he added -soberly. “And I imagine if we got caught in the center we’d be headed -for the falls.” - -“Are there falls near here?” Alf asked. - -“I think so. Don’t you hear them?” - -Alf agreed and they discussed Jimmy’s plan of either drawing the canoe -ashore and footing it down, or easing the canoe along the right shore. -But there was a tangle of underbrush along the bank and the footing -was uneasy. They decided to risk it because they had the rope to throw -out to some tree so they could keep out of the current. They kept very -close to the shore and before they reached the peninsula, they beached -the canoe in a curve that was almost a pool and hastened, over sticks -and brush and stones, to see what lay farther down. - -“Well, we were smart to land, Jimmy,” said Alf, as they stood looking -at the stream where it flowed beyond the little peninsula. “But it -certainly is pretty. We’ll have to watch our step getting down where -we can see the falls. Doesn’t she foam where she is going over? Do you -imagine the falls are high?” - -“Can’t tell, Alf,” Jimmy said. “Looks like quite a ravine down ahead; -but this whole region isn’t very high and it probably dams up into some -other little lake. Come on.” - -“Wait till I go back after the rope, Jim,” said Alf. “We may need it, -if we climb down by the falls.” - -Alf picked his way back the short distance to the canoe and brought the -rope. They followed the curving shore toward the left, where the waters -that swept past the point went wildly on in the wider channel to fall -over--somewhere. - -Jimmy, with the rope over his shoulder, stood still; Alf thought it -might be better to strike through the trees and avoid the rocks on the -edge. Jimmy surveyed the water at his feet, the scattered rocks washed -by the current, and looked upstream just in time to see Brook’s face as -Brook saw the falls ahead. - -“Alf!” Jimmy yelled, horrified. “Look there! It’s Brook!” - -Only a moment did Jimmy stare. He slipped the loop already made over -his head and tightened it about his waist. Alf needed no directions. -What they had to do must be done quickly. They both started running to -a point that would bring them nearer to Brook’s course. - -“Brook--Brook!” they kept shouting. “This way!” - -Brook did not hear them, but just at that moment his pale face turned -toward the boys and he saw them. - -“This way! This way!” cried Jimmy, beckoning. If Brook could only get -out of that awful central current--but maybe it was all current! - -“He can’t come this way! I’ve got to throw him an end of the rope.” As -Jimmy spoke he was busy tying a stone on the end of the rope to weight -it. What a risk it was! Jimmy was wading out to a great rock, in a -shallow where the shore curved. This was no game. He must not miss. - -Alf waded after Jimmy to help him hold on to the rope. There was still -a good chance, if they were successful, to rescue Brook. It was some -distance to the falls, but now the canoe Brook was in seemed to be -coming faster. - -Now. Jimmy threw, and Jimmy had not played ball for nothing. Brook did -not catch the rope, but weighted by the stone it fell into the canoe -and Brook grasped it before it could slip back. Now his paddle was -whirling out of sight. Brook was standing up in the canoe, with the -rope tied around him, ready to jump. - -Alf braced himself, and Jimmy held the rope tightly just in front of -where it was around him and drew it taut as Brook leaped. The rope drew -in easily at first. Then came the tug against the current. Jimmy leaned -against the rock to brace himself. - -It was all over in a few anxious moments. Brook had bruised himself -among the rocks, but he swam, crept upon a rock, leaped to another, -found himself in quieter waters and was helped to his feet by two -fast-breathing boys who could scarcely speak. - -“How--did you get here?” gasped Brook as they helped him ashore. - -“That’s the question we would like to ask you,” answered Jimmy after -a brief silence during which they examined Brook to see if he had any -broken bones. - -“I’ll tell you about it,” Brook said shamefacedly. “I--I’m awfully -sorry, Jimmy. I hope the canoe will come through all right, but I don’t -see how it can. I’ll make it good, Jimmy, I promise you.” - -“We’ll see about that later,” returned Jimmy. “The point is, are you -all right?” - -“I--guess so,” Brook said sheepishly. “Got some bruised shins, I think. -It didn’t do me any good.” - -“I’ll say not!” Jimmy grinned a little and took Brook’s arms, working -them up and down, one after another. “Swallow any water?” - -“Lots.” Brook was glad of that grin and he sheepishly grinned back. -“My arms are all right, only sore. I’ll be black and blue from that -rock I hit first. But I guess I deserve it.” - -“Sure you do,” Jimmy said with a chuckle. “And to think I thought you -were at the hut with Pat. Gosh, are we ever lucky! I guess none of us -listened too carefully when Pat told us to be sure not to go off by -ourselves. We’re guilty of the same thing you are, Brook,” he admitted. -“Well, this has been a lesson we’ll never forget and I would say we’ve -gotten off pretty cheaply if it just cost us the canoe. Let’s get back -to Pat right away and tell him we’re all right.” - -Alf and Jimmy helped Brook, who was white and wretched after his narrow -escape, and when they got to their canoe they made rapidly for camp. - -“Go limp, Brook,” said Jimmy, “and tell us all about it.” - -Brook grinned, and said he was “limp all right,” and briefly told -how he had tried to explore the little rapids that looked so easy, -completely forgetting that there were falls in the vicinity. He also -related the incident of the coat and pulled out a wet wad from his -pocket. - -“I was going to dry this,” said he, “and see if I couldn’t read a -little of it. Maybe I might as well throw it away.” - -“Maybe we can dry it yet,” suggested Alf, interested. “Perhaps it’s a -map to a treasure.” - -“Perhaps it isn’t,” laughed Jimmy, but he caught Brook’s hand as he was -about to toss the letter overboard. “Wait. It’s still pretty flat in -the envelope. We’ll dry it out and see. How long were you there when -you found this?” - -“Oh, about ten minutes or so.” - -“Well, that ten minutes saved your life, kid,” Jimmy grinned. “Alf and -I must have left right after you did and passed you. I wonder if you -would have made it over the falls if we hadn’t come along. I’d like to -go down later and see what it looks like over the brink!” - -“So would I, Jimmy,” Brook said. - -Jimmy snorted. “You’re going to lie around this afternoon, Brook, after -we fix you up.” - -Back at camp they found that Pat was just beginning to get worried. -He had kept their lunch warm for them and looked rather cross as they -beached the canoe. Then he caught a glimpse of Brook’s white face. - -“Well, out with it,” Pat said, frowning. “What happened to you, lad? -You look like a drowned rat.” - -“I’m worse than that,” Brook said ruefully. “I’m battered and bruised, -too.” - -As they all explained what had happened, interrupting each other -constantly, Pat carefully examined Brook to make sure he was not badly -hurt. “Just a strained ligament,” he said, smiling reassuringly. “We’ll -have that shoulder strapped up in no time.” - -He went into the hut for his first aid kit, and soon Brook was eating -as hungrily as the other boys. But after lunch he didn’t argue when Pat -said: - -“Now, lad, you’re to take it easy the rest of the day.” - -The next morning Brook reported that outside of a few bruises, he felt -fine. Then they all went back to see the falls. - -“They’re pretty,” Brook said, musingly, “and rocky, but not very high -after all.” - -A deep pool lay below, and there was the canoe, bobbing around -aimlessly near the edge of the pool. It had a big gash in its side, -but was not beyond repair, Jimmy reported. He towed it up on the shore -with the aid of the trusty rope and a hook they made with some wire. - -“Maybe I could have swum out,” Brook ventured, “but I’m certainly glad -I didn’t have to try it. And most of all, Pat, I’m glad you didn’t make -much of my disobedience of your order. Believe me, it won’t happen -again.” - -“I know,” said Pat. “Forget it--it merely was a bit more excitement on -a very pleasant trip.” - -After their return from the falls, Brook remembered the dilapidated -letter and got it out. Everyone gathered round him and they all tried -to read it. It was badly torn, obviously a good part of it was missing -and what little was left was hardly discernible. They managed to make -out the words _buried_ and _shed_. - -Suddenly Jimmy’s face lighted up. “Say, do you remember last week, the -day we finished the shower, Marjorie showed me a scrap of paper she -said she and Judy had found in a bottle on the beach?” - -Alf nodded. “So what? They didn’t find it in any old bottle. They -manufactured the whole story just to kid us.” - -“That’s what I thought,” Jimmy said, rather shamefacedly. “But now I -think differently. This piece looks as though it had been torn from the -scrap they found.” - -“Holy cow!” Brook stared at him. “And the girls couldn’t have followed -us and planted this part of it in the pocket of that old coat.” - -“Of course not,” Jimmy said, grinning, “although if either of them -could drive a car I wouldn’t have put it past them. Besides, you said -the footprints you saw leading to and from the coat were made by a -man’s shoes.” - -Jimmy stopped suddenly. “Footprints,” he repeated. “Say, Brook, can we -get to the place where you found the coat by walking?” - -“Sure,” Brook said. “It would take twice as long as it would in a -canoe, but,” he added ruefully, “it would be twice as safe.” - -“Then let’s go,” Jimmy yelled. “I want to have a look at the footprints -you found in the clearing.” He turned to Pat. “Okay if we go?” - -Pat nodded. “As long as you all stick together this time.” - -As they hurried through the brush with Brook in the lead, Jimmy -explained. “A few days before you came, Alf,” he said, “we had a lot -of excitement. I told you how Penny fell down into the old well, but -I didn’t tell you that somebody came snooping around the place that -night.” - -Alf stared at him. “You certainly didn’t. What’s the idea of keeping -secrets from one?” - -Jimmy grinned. “The truth of the matter is that I forgot all about it. -First we figured it was a tramp, and then when we realized that he must -know his way around our property pretty well, we decided it must have -been one of those dopey villagers who think there’s buried treasure on -the place.” - -Brook stopped to turn around and glare at Jimmy. “What do you mean -‘dopey’? If you don’t believe in that buried treasure, why did you -lure us into helping you dig up every spot that didn’t have something -growing on it?” - -Jimmy’s dark eyes twinkled with laughter. “_I_ believe in the treasure -all right, but I wouldn’t be dopey enough to trespass on other -people’s property at night trying to find it. You can get a bullet -through your head very neatly that way.” - -“Oh, I see what you mean,” Brook said, completely mollified. He started -off again at a fast trot. “Was your night prowler a dopey villager?” - -“We still don’t know,” Jimmy admitted. “He’s never come back.” - -“How do you know he hasn’t?” Alf demanded. - -Jimmy groaned, clutching his dark hair in mock dismay. “Will you guys -puh-leeze let me try to explain to you why I want to look at the -footprints in the clearing? Of course we don’t know for sure,” he -said sourly to Alf, “that our snoopy friend didn’t come back. We only -watched out for him that first night. But with all the people who are -at the Lodge now I feel certain one of us would have heard a night -prowler.” - -“I’m not at all sure of that,” Alf said stubbornly. “We all sleep like -logs. After a day with a slave driver like you I can barely keep my -eyes open long enough to get undressed and topple into bed.” - -“Shut up, Alf,” Brook said over his shoulder. “Let the slavedriver -tell us why we’re taking this long trek through the thickest part of -the woods.” - -“Footprints,” Jimmy said in exasperation. “After Phil and Pat fired a -couple of shots in the air, the prowler scrammed. Then we went down to -have a look at the shed. And sure enough, somebody had been there since -we had left. Right near the spot where Penny fell through the rotten -wall, some floor boards had been ripped up and there was a footprint in -the dirt staring us in the face.” - -“That guy _was_ dopey,” Alf muttered. “If he had to go around leaving -footprints all over the place, why didn’t he at least put the floor -boards back so you wouldn’t find them?” - -Jimmy shrugged. “I figure he sneaked out from the village to dig around -near where we found the well. But just as he got started he realized -that we might not yet have gone to bed. In that case one of us might -have seen the flashlight he must have been using. So he slipped up to -the house to have a look-see. And then Penny saw him.” He chuckled. -“After that he didn’t have time to think about covering up his traces.” - -Brook stopped again and mopped his brow. “I’m beginning to see that -there’s a method in your madness. If the footprints I saw in the -clearing match the one you discovered under the shed floor, then we’ll -know that the same man left the old coat out on the point.” - -“Your reasoning, my dear Watson,” Jimmy said, grinning, “is excellent. -I will elucidate further. The same man is the owner of the scrap you -found in the pocket of said old coat. And since said note contained the -two words ‘buried’ and ‘shed’ my guess is that the rumor about buried -treasure is more truth than poetry!” - -“What are we waiting for?” Brook demanded. - -“You,” Jimmy returned. “‘Lead on, Macduff.’” - -After that they saved their breath and hurried silently through the mud -and underbrush until at last they emerged into a little clearing. - -“This is it,” Brook said. “Get out your magnifying glass, Sherlock.” - -Jimmy sank down on his knees and examined the footprints carefully. -“Rubber heels,” he mumbled triumphantly, “and made by the same -manufacturer! See that crescent with a circle around it? It’s a -trademark.” - -“Golly!” Alf and Brook yelled in one voice. - -Jimmy stood up. “There’s only one hitch in the whole deal. I’m sure now -that there’s something buried under the old shed, but Phil will never -let us dig for it as long as we need the shed for a garage.” - -“Holy cow,” Alf groaned. “Then that means you’ll find a barrel of gold -after we’ve gone back to school.” - -“Just our luck,” Brook said disconsolately. “I’m never around when -there’s any excitement!” - -Jimmy threw back his head and howled with laughter. “About an hour -ago,” he reminded Brook, “you were the very center of excitement. Cheer -up,” he added. “Maybe when we get back and find that the fragment you -found fits the one the girls found, we’ll be able to read something -that’ll convince Phil and Penny we should do something about the ground -under the shed.” - -“Maybe,” Alf said without much hope. “But let’s not stick around here -any longer.” - -“Let’s not,” Jimmy agreed. “I vote we go back to camp and tell Pat what -we have discovered. He pooh-poohs the idea of buried treasure as much -as Phil and Penny do, but when he hears that the footprints match, -maybe he’ll take the whole business more seriously.” - -“_I_ think,” Brook said, “that we ought to convince him at least that -we should go home right away. I’d rather dig for gold than fish, -wouldn’t you?” - -Jimmy arched his dark eyebrows with surprise. “And you were the guy who -was complaining a while ago that I’m a slavedriver!” - -Back at camp Pat listened soberly when Jimmy told him that the man who -had left his footprint under the shed floor had left other footprints -recently in the clearing on the peninsula. - -“Are you sure, lad?” Pat demanded. - -Jimmy nodded. “It’s too much of a coincidence to think that someone -else with the same rubber heels had something to do with this piece of -paper which looks like it was torn from the one Marjorie found.” - -“You’re right,” Pat said. “Let’s head for home at once!” - - - - -CHAPTER 11 - -THE MISSING FRAGMENT - - -Shortly after the boys left in the station wagon for their camping -trip, Marjorie said to Judy: “Let’s look at that map again. Penny could -be wrong. Maybe it does show exactly where treasure is buried.” - -“Let’s,” Judy agreed. “And maybe we held it upside down or something. -Maybe the big red cross doesn’t mark the spot where Pat planted his -potatoes.” - -They raced into the Lodge and down the hall to the storage room. During -the excitement of Peter’s arrival they had left the map, still pasted -in the lid of the jewelry box, on one of the old trunks. Again they -took it over to the window and studied it thoughtfully. - -“Let’s see,” Judy said after awhile. “When you’re facing north, west is -on your left isn’t it?” - -Marjorie nodded. “So there’s no point in looking at this darn thing -any longer. If it isn’t a phony, the treasure is buried under the -potato hills.” - -“I give up,” Judy said with a sigh. “We may as well go down to the -beach and try to find some rare shells. I suppose that’s the only -buried treasure I’ll have the luck to find.” - -During the next few days they filled a bucket with shells which they -hoped were collectors’ items, but which Phil and Peter told them were -worthless. - -“That is the worst about being a girl!” Judy Powell said in a moment of -disgust. “The boys will come back with wonderful stories about how many -fish they caught and the rapids they ran--and everything!” Judy’s ideas -of what the boys were doing ran out. - -Marjorie and Judy were sitting in their favorite spot on the pier, -dangling their feet in the water. They wore their bathing suits and -had just watched the cruiser take off with a group of the younger -guests, exclusive of themselves. They had not wanted to go since Mal -had promised to take them on a picnic in the woods. Just at this moment -they were in the old familiar throes of not knowing what to do next. - -“Let them rave,” said Marjorie. “We’ve things to tell the boys, too.” - -“They wouldn’t think that _we_ do anything,” said Judy rather crossly. - -“Maybe we could think up something different,” said Marjorie, a little -worried. “Aren’t you having a good time, Judy?” - -“My, yes! I didn’t mean that,” Judy said quickly. “I was just thinking -what a grand time they must be having. I’d like to shoot rapids.” - -“Come up again next summer and we’ll get Pat and Mal to take us on a -canoeing trip.” - -“You probably couldn’t get my mother to say yes.” Judy laughed. “Let’s -go back to the house and see if we’re missing anything.” Just as they -started back toward the Lodge they heard the loud honking of a car on -the drive. - -“Oh,” cried Judy, “I’ll bet the boys have come home. I wonder what made -them come back before the week was out.” - -“Something awful must have happened to one of them,” Marjorie gasped as -they began to run as fast as they could. - -Sure enough, the station wagon was parked in front of the Lodge and the -boys were tumbling out of it. - -“They certainly don’t look as though anything awful had happened to -them,” Judy panted. - -“Hi, everybody,” Jimmy was shouting to the crowd that had gathered on -the porch. When the girls reached the steps they heard him say quietly -to Penny and Phil: - -“Say, how about calling a meeting of the Board of Directors right away?” - -“We can’t, Jimmy,” Penny said. “Everyone is busy.” - -“Well, then,” he said. “A meeting of the Allens in the office. I’ve got -something in my pocket which I think the rest of the family ought to -know about as soon as possible.” - -Penny could tell from the sober expression on Jimmy’s tanned face that -this was not a joke. She beckoned to Phil and Marjorie and led the way -into the office. - -“On second thought,” Jimmy said as he followed her, “let’s get Peter in -on this. I’d like to hear his opinion of the whole thing. Besides,” he -added in a low teasing voice, “he’s practically family anyway.” - -Penny’s cheeks flamed. “Jimmy,” she said, mildly scolding, “you never -can be serious for more than five minutes at a time.” - -“I’m pretty darn serious now,” Jimmy said. When they had all gathered -around the desk, he closed the door and produced the scrap of paper -which Brook had found in the old coat. - -After one swift glance, Penny said, “Why, Peter, the handwriting looks -just like the one on the fragment Marjorie found. Where on earth did -you find it, Jimmy?” - -Jimmy explained and Penny frowned as she listened. “Brook had no -business taking that envelope out of a coat he found,” she said. - -Peter chuckled. “Maybe he didn’t have any right to take it, Penny, but -in my opinion it was put where it was so that no boy could resist the -temptation.” - -Penny thought for a minute. Again she read the blurred words, more -carefully this time. - - We’ll meet a - the las - and look for the tre - I’m sure it’s buried - old shed nea - has long run - -Then she pulled out of her desk drawer the fragment Marjorie had found -in the green bottle. The two pieces fit together as perfectly as a -jigsaw puzzle. Now they could all read the complete page: - - We’ll meet at the Log cabin - the last week in August - and look for the treasure again. - I’m sure it’s buried near the - old shed near a well that - has long run dry. - -“Oh, oh,” Jimmy moaned. “That means more digging. I guess we didn’t dig -deep enough.” - -“But what about the map?” Marjorie demanded. “It showed that treasure -was buried behind the Donahues’ cabin.” - -“None of it makes any sense,” Peter said calmly. “And you kids may -as well accept the fact right now that the map and the two fragments -aren’t clues. They’re obviously red herrings, deliberately planted to -keep us busy looking for buried treasure.” - -“I don’t get it,” Jimmy said frankly. - -“It’s this way,” Phil explained. “Peter, Penny and I figure that there -_is_ something valuable hidden around here. Somebody who obviously -isn’t honest knows where it is. He wants to keep us from finding it.” - -“Oh golly,” Marjorie broke in, “wait until I tell Judy about this. -We’ll spend the rest of the summer going over the whole place with a -fine-tooth comb.” - -“Oh, no, you won’t,” Penny said, laughing. “I have a better idea, and -one that won’t drive our guests out of their minds.” - -Peter stared at her in amazement. “Have you been keeping secrets from -me?” he asked, pretending that his feelings were hurt. - -“Oh, no,” Penny told him hastily. “The idea just came to me this -minute. Actually, the words, ‘last week in August’ gave it to me.” -Her cheeks flushed with excitement, she went on. “One morning last -week when I was out in the kitchen discussing menus with Ann Mary, she -suggested that we give a masquerade party. There are plenty of grand -costumes in the old trunks for all of the ladies, and you men can rig -up outfits from old curtains and stuff in our boxes.” - -“A swell idea,” Jimmy said. “But what’s it got to do with finding -hidden treasure?” - -Penny smiled at him patiently. “If you’d only let me finish! Ann Mary -and I decided that the last Friday in August would be a good time for -the party. Most of the guests will be leaving early in September, so it -would be sort of a last fling.” - -Jimmy began to sing, “After the ball is o-ver. After the guests have -gone.” - -“Stop interrupting,” Marjorie said, glaring at him. “Let Penny finish.” - -“Well,” Penny went on, “we planned the party just for ourselves and our -guests. But now I think we should issue a blanket invitation to all the -merchants in town. It will be our way of expressing our appreciation -of the way they cooperated with us all summer. Now,” she finished, “you -can all guess the rest.” - -“Not me,” Marjorie said, rapidly blinking her blue eyes. - -Jimmy clutched his dark hair wildly. “I follow you as closely as though -you’d had a million-mile head start.” - -Peter was staring at Penny with frank admiration. “You _are_ smart,” -he said. “Don’t you see?” he asked Jimmy and Marjorie. “Our Mr. X, or -our Messrs. X, for there may be more than one, will certainly be among -those present at the masquerade. With everyone coming masked and in -costume, he wouldn’t miss the chance. He’ll come out sure that he can -get whatever he’s after and depart before the unmasking.” - -“Holy cow,” Jimmy exploded. “Penny _is_ smart. Instead of our wearing -ourselves out looking for hidden treasure, he’ll lead us right to it.” - -Marjorie gave her sister an impulsive hug. “It’s the grandest idea -anyone ever invented,” she cried. - -“And,” Jimmy put in, suddenly remembering the main reason why they had -persuaded Pat to cut the camping trip short, “I’m pretty sure there’s -only one Mr. X.” - -“Don’t be a dope,” Marjorie said. “I’m sure there are two. One of them -put the bottle where he was sure Judy and I would find it while we were -looking for shells. And the other put the coat where you boys couldn’t -miss it.” - -Jimmy shrugged. “Maybe so, but the same Mr. X who left his footprint -under the floor of the shed planted the coat.” - -“Yipes,” Peter moaned. “What’s all this about a footprint under the -shed? I thought it was a garage filled with cars.” - -“It is now,” Penny explained with a chuckle. “Before we converted it, -someone ripped up part of the floor and left a footprint in the dirt.” - -“That’s right,” Jimmy said. “And he also left footprints in a clearing -back where Brook found the coat. Footprints,” he finished triumphantly, -“with rubber heels made by the same manufacturer.” - -“Why, Jimmy Allen,” Marjorie gasped admiringly, “you’re so smart you -ought to get a job with the FBI.” - -But Penny laughed. “Now all the red herrings fit together like the -pieces of this paper. Don’t you see, Jimmy? Mr. X deliberately left -that footprint in the shed in plain view so I might believe that he had -had something to do with my accident. Right, Peter?” - -“Right,” Peter said. “As soon as Mr. X heard you had fallen down the -well, he wrote the letter which you received the next day. Then that -evening he sneaked out to plant evidence which he hoped would back up -his threat.” - -“Oh, gosh,” Jimmy said disconsolately. “We’re right back where we -started. But at least we can be pretty sure that there’s only one Mr. -X.” - -“We can’t be sure of anything,” Phil said soberly. “Except that whoever -it is really does mean business. The very fact that one of them jumped -on Mal that night when we chased him away proves that. An ordinary -night prowler would have tried to sneak away without being seen.” - -“Well,” Marjorie said cheerfully, “we mean business now, too. And we’re -sure to catch him the night of the masquerade when he comes here to get -the treasure.” - -“Wa--ait a minute,” Phil said cautiously. “What’s to prevent Mr. X -from getting by with his scheme? We can’t be everywhere at once in a -place as big as this, especially when so many people will be milling -around.” - -“And,” Peter added, “how will we know whom to keep an eye on?” He -smiled at Penny. “You planned, of course, to have police detectives -here in costume, too.” - -“No, I didn’t,” Penny admitted. “I thought it would be more fun if we -set a trap and caught Mr. or Messrs. X ourselves.” - -“What sort of a trap?” Phil asked, frowning. - -“I don’t know exactly,” Penny admitted. “But I think it ought to have -something to do with the secret room. For one thing, Ann Mary and I -planned that just before the unmasking we might spring it on our guests -as a surprise. None of them except Adra has any idea where it is.” - -Marjorie felt very uncomfortable at that moment. She opened her -mouth to confess that she had showed it to Judy, but decided against -interrupting Penny until she had finished. - -“When we open the door,” Penny went on, “those who want to go down -into the room will have to take turns, because it’s too small to hold -them all at the same time. I thought that if anyone had been acting -suspiciously before that, we might be able to lure him down alone and -then we could quickly press the button and lock him in.” She added, -turning to Peter, “Then you can call in the police.” - -He shook his head worriedly. “_You_ are not going to be the one to lure -him down into the room alone.” - -“Of course not,” Jimmy said quickly. “_I_ will.” - -“No, you won’t,” Phil told him emphatically. “The man may be armed and -I’m the only one who has a pistol license. I’ll go down with him and -one of you can close the door. If he’s really been acting suspiciously, -I’ll suggest that he unmask. If he’s the man we want, he’ll refuse. -Then I’ll produce my gun and keep him there while I knock on the door. -That will be the signal that our scheme worked.” - -“I don’t like the idea of your being locked down there with him,” Penny -objected. - -“It’s the only answer,” Phil insisted. “Once he has any idea that -we suspect him, he may make a wild dash for safety, and that would -frighten some of our guests very badly. Besides, he might escape. With -all those people wandering in and out of the Lodge, I wouldn’t dare use -my gun.” He turned to Peter. “What do you think of the plan?” - -“It’s okay except for one thing,” Peter said. “What if Mr. X doesn’t do -anything to make us suspect him? Up until the unmasking we won’t have -any way of knowing whether he is one of the village merchants or not. -And by that time he will certainly have disappeared.” - -“Oh, he’s bound to do something to make him stand out from the others,” -Marjorie put in. “And he’ll probably be very careless because he won’t -have any idea that we plan to catch him in a trap.” - -“That’s true,” Peter admitted. - -“Sometimes,” Jimmy said with a teasing grin, “the gal makes sense.” - -Phil stood up. “If we’re all agreed, I may as well go down to the -village now and spread the word about the party.” - -“And I,” said Penny, rising, too, “had better go through the stuff in -the storage room and see what we have. I thought it might be fun to -decorate the secret room so it’ll look good and scary.” - -“I’ll help,” Marjorie said. “I know where there’s one of those old -paper skeletons that we used to hang up on Hallowe’en.” She slipped her -arm through Penny’s. “Oh, isn’t it going to be fun? Even if we don’t -catch Mr. X, the masquerade will be the best event of the whole summer.” - -“I hope so,” Penny said. “And I hope we do catch him. Even if he’s just -a crank and isn’t after anything valuable, he’s annoyed us enough. It’s -time we put a stop to it.” - -She glanced back over her shoulder at Peter who was still sitting at -the desk. - -“Oh, dear,” she thought reading the anxious expression on his face. -“He still thinks we ought to get help from the police.” She shivered -involuntarily. “Maybe before the party is over we’ll be sorry we didn’t -follow his advice.” - - - - -CHAPTER 12 - -SETTING THE TRAP - - -The next two weeks were busy ones for everyone connected with the -Lodge. From morning to night there was a terrific amount of hustling -and bustling around the house, inside and out. Everyone was loaning -something or borrowing something to wear at the last big party of the -season. - -Brook, Alf and Jimmy, all amateur but experienced electricians, -extended wires from the house to the trees so that the lawn would be -bright with lanterns. - -“Just in case there’s no moon,” Phil said. - -“If it rains, I’ll die,” Marjorie said nervously. - -She and Judy were helping the boys, and Judy insisted upon knowing what -each one planned to wear. - -“We’re all going as cowboys,” Jimmy called down from the fork of a tall -tree. - -“How original of you,” Marjorie said sarcastically. “And it shows how -lazy you are too. All you have to do is stuff the legs of your jeans -in boots, tie bandannas around your necks, and borrow toy guns and -holsters from kids in the village.” - -“So what?” Alf demanded. “With masks on nobody will recognize us, not -even you two.” - -“We wouldn’t even try,” Judy informed him airily. “There’ll probably -be so many cowboys here that night it would be like trying to find a -needle in a haystack.” - -“I hope Mr. X wears something more original,” Marjorie said without -thinking. - -“Who?” Judy demanded. - -“Er--nobody,” Marjorie said hastily. The Allens, at Peter’s suggestion, -had decided not to share their secret with any of the other guests. - -“If too many people know that we’re planning to set a trap,” he had -said, “it won’t be long before Mr. X knows too.” - -To change the subject Marjorie said to Brook: “Phil and Penny wrote to -New York and they heard today that I can get into that small boarding -school I told you about. It’s up on the Hudson. Golly, I hate to think -of going away from here.” - -“I know how you feel,” Brook said sympathetically. “But just the same -I’m glad you’re going to a school that isn’t very far from mine. When -we have dances, you’ll come as my guest, won’t you?” - -Marjorie blushed. She _did_ like Brook, and it would be fun to go to -school dances with him, but she wished he hadn’t asked her when Jimmy -was around. Jimmy thought it was fun to tease Judy Powell, but Marjorie -knew that he thought girls were a nuisance. He also thought that boys -who asked girls to parties were dopes. She waited tensely for the -caustic remark she knew was coming. - -To her surprise, Jimmy said nothing. He climbed down from the fork of -the tree and gave her a look which said plainer than words: - -“Watch your step, stupid. You almost let the cat out of the bag.” - -And then Marjorie realized to her dismay that all of the others were -staring at her curiously. Every one of them had heard her blurt out: -“I hope Mr. X wears something more original.” They were overcome with -curiosity but they were all too polite to ask any more questions. - -Hastily Marjorie said, “Aren’t you all starving? I’ll go ask Ann Mary -if I can’t fix some lemonade and raid the cooky jar.” - -She was off without waiting for their replies, but Judy raced after -her. Marjorie’s heart sank. As soon as they were out of earshot of the -boys, Judy’s curiosity would get the better of her good manners. She -would demand an explanation of Marjorie’s unfortunate remark. - -Then Marjorie had an idea. “You know,” she said casually, “I’ll bet a -lot of people come to the party disguised as the ghost who’s supposed -to haunt the Lodge. I think of him as Mr. X and he wears a long gray -beard. It would be hard to see through that disguise. I mean, a long -flowing white robe, a wig and a mask with a long gray beard.” - -Judy looked disappointed but Marjorie knew that her curiosity was -satisfied. “It would be a perfect disguise,” Judy said. “And much more -original than a cowboy outfit.” - -Back in the Lodge they found all the other guests busy making final -decisions about their costumes. The ladies had all enjoyed going -through the trunks, spending one entire day rummaging, to the great -delight of the younger fry. Some of the people had gone into town -to get extra things for their costumes from the local stores. They -reported that the townspeople, too, were all excited about the party -and that a great many of them were planning to come. - -At last it was the day of the big event, and to Marjorie’s delight the -sun shone brightly in an almost cloudless sky. - -Penny had decided to wear the old wedding dress from the trunk. It -was beautiful even though it had yellowed with age. Adra was wearing -a green silk dress with matching slippers from the same old trunk. -Penny and Marjorie helped each other fix their costumes, and Marjorie -suggested to Penny that she should wear the veil that went with the -dress and thus really look like a bride. - -“Because, Sis,” Marjorie said unashamedly, “you _are_ going to be a -bride pretty soon. You might as well start getting used to the idea.” - -Penny’s cheeks flamed. Then she suddenly threw her arms around -Marjorie. “Oh, honey, if only I could be _sure_. There’s no sense in my -trying to hide from you that I love Peter. But how can I be sure that -he loves me?” - -Marjorie sniffed. “Penny, you idiot! It’s written all over his face -whenever he looks at you. And when you’re not around he mopes, except -when he’s shooting daggers with his eyes at Charles Curtis.” - -Penny couldn’t help smiling. Then she frowned. “But that doesn’t mean -I’ll be a bride very soon. Peter may love me, but neither of us has -enough money to start in housekeeping. Maybe,” she added wistfully, -“that’s why Peter doesn’t tell me now that he loves me.” - -“Pooh.” Marjorie snorted. “You can live on love. Besides, we must have -made a lot of money on the Lodge this summer.” - -“Not really,” Penny told her. “We had to hire an awful lot of help, -you know. And this whole month the laundry has been so huge we had to -pay Mr. Taggart twice as much as he estimated in the beginning. It had -to be taken into the village four times a week.” She sighed. “And the -girls we originally hired to come out only to wait on the tables and -help with the ironing had to work full time.” - -“Never mind,” Marjorie said consolingly. “It’s been fun.” - -Penny brightened. “Oh, I don’t mean that we didn’t make any money. -There’s enough to see you and Jimmy through school. But Phil and I want -you to go to college. Both of you.” - -“We won’t go,” Marjorie said stanchly. “Not if it means you can’t marry -Peter when he asks you to. After the experience we’ve had this summer -we can both get jobs.” She pirouetted around the room. “Don’t you think -I’d make somebody a wonderful secretary?” - -“Wonderful.” Penny giggled. “But not a very dignified one. No, honey,” -she went on seriously, “don’t you worry your pretty head about getting -a job just yet. Things will work out somehow. I know they will.” - -To herself she added, “If Peter asks me to marry him, I’ll say yes. -_Together_ we can work things out.” - -“I tell you what let’s do,” Marjorie cried. “Let’s have dress rehearsal -right now. Here, in your room. Just us and Judy ’cause she’s going -to be my twin. And Ann Mary so she can give our costumes a final -inspection.” She danced away. - -In a short while they were all crowding into Penny’s room, laughing and -making fun of each other. - -Marjorie and Judy were dressed alike in little Swiss peasant girl -costumes. Jimmy made a very handsome cowboy and Philip was a -swashbuckling pirate. A banquet was to be served at midnight after -the unmasking, and since this was the event of the summer, Ann Mary -had included all her specialties in the menu. She stayed at the -dress rehearsal only long enough to assure them that they all looked -wonderful, then hurried away. - -In spite of last-minute preparations, the Allens and Peter made time -for a final conference in the office. - -“Let’s try to have as much fun as possible,” Peter said, “but we -mustn’t forget for one minute that we’re all detectives.” - -“That’s right,” Phil agreed. “If any one of us notices a guest acting -suspiciously, he or she must report at once to the others. There’ll be -over a hundred people here tonight, so we’ve all got to be on our toes. -Every minute,” he added soberly. - -Jimmy nodded. “Every minute until the unmasking anyway. Which means -between the hours of ten and midnight. Not many people will arrive -before ten even though we invited them to come at nine-thirty.” - -Penny was sketching a floor plan of the Lodge on a large sheet of -paper. “Whatever Mr. X is after,” she said, “it obviously isn’t -buried on the grounds. If it were, he wouldn’t have planted those red -herrings. Therefore, it’s probably in the house. If it’s upstairs, all -we have to do is make sure that nobody but our house guests and help -goes up without our knowing it. We all know what costumes they’ll be -wearing so that’s easy. But it will be Peter and Marjorie’s job to keep -an eye on the back stairs; Jimmy and I, the front.” - -Everyone nodded, and Penny went on. “If it’s downstairs, Mr. X will -know that he hasn’t got a prayer of searching for it, unless it’s in -the office or the storage room, and I’ve locked those doors securely, -so he can’t slip in and out unnoticed. The other downstairs rooms will -be filled with people all the time, including the kitchen. The logical -time for him to try to find whatever he plans to steal will be when -everyone is gathered in one room.” - -She smiled up at Peter. “In order to be sure we catch Mr. X in our -trap, I have carefully dropped hints throughout the village that at -eleven-thirty on the dot we’re going to show our guests the secret -room. Don’t you think he’ll choose that time, when everyone’s attention -will be concentrated on one spot, to do something which will attract -our attention?” - -“I certainly do,” Peter said. “He’ll be the one guest at that moment -who won’t crowd into the alcove to see how the secret door works. -Unless,” he added thoughtfully, “whatever he happens to be after is in -the secret room itself.” - -“I thought of that,” Penny said. “And since he can’t possibly know -how the secret doors works, he’ll wait until after that part of the -evening’s entertainment is over. Then he’ll try to sneak back and go -down into the room while we’re unmasking.” She chuckled. “In that case, -he’ll walk right into our trap. After the last guest has left, Phil can -stay behind and hide in the alcove. If Mr. X sneaks back and goes down -into the room, all Phil has to do is fasten the door from the outside, -once Mr. X is safely down the stairs. Then we can call the police, for -obviously no honest person would go into the secret room without our -permission.” - -“I object,” Jimmy said. “According to that scheme, we’ll catch Mr. X, -but we still won’t know what he was trying to steal.” - -“I agree with Jimmy,” Phil said. “So instead of hiding in the alcove -after the guests have all seen the secret room, I’ll hide down in the -room itself. Behind the black draperies you’ve hung on the walls. If -he sneaks back, I’ll stay there until _after_ he’s got whatever he’s -trying to get. Then at the point of my gun I’ll make him turn it over -to me and--” - -Penny interrupted with a frown: “I still don’t like the idea of your -being down in the room alone with someone who may be a dangerous -criminal, Phil.” - -“Oh, Penny,” Marjorie cried impulsively, “Phil can take care of -himself. Besides, Mr. X won’t have any idea that he’s hiding behind the -black curtains. Also,” she added, “what Mr. X wants may not be in the -secret room after all.” - -“That’s true,” Penny admitted reluctantly. - -“Then the scheme is this,” Peter said, summing it up. “If you and -Marjorie see a stranger sneak upstairs before the unmasking, you’re to -report at once to Phil, Jimmy and me. We’ll follow him and catch him in -the act. If no one does anything suspicious, Phil will remain in the -secret room after the guests have seen it. Pat, who will open the door, -will close it when everyone has left the alcove. Then we’ll all go into -the big room for the unmasking and wait until Phil signals that he has -caught a rat in his trap. You can do that, Phil,” he finished, “as we -already agreed, by banging on the door.” - -And so the final arrangements were made. But Penny, as she hurried -upstairs with Marjorie to dress for the occasion, knew that Peter was -worried. He didn’t like the idea of Phil being locked in the secret -room with Mr. X any more than she did. - -“But,” she realized suddenly, “Phil won’t be _locked_ in after all. -Even though we may deliberately play into Mr. X’s hands by showing him -how to get into the secret room, he won’t know where the spring is that -closes the door on the other side.” - -And, as Marjorie pointed out while they helped each other with their -costumes: “The whole thing may be a flop. We don’t know for sure that -there is anything valuable hidden in the Lodge, or that Mr. X will be -among those present tonight.” - - - - -CHAPTER 13 - -PHILIP TRAPS A THIEF - - -Peter Wyland knew that Penny would be coming down the back way when she -was ready, instead of down the stairs from the balcony. When he was in -his costume he waited at the foot of the back stairs. The large room at -the bottom of the steps was dimly lit. - -Presently Penny, a sweet vision, appeared at the top of the steps. -She gathered her draperies for the descent, unconscious of anyone’s -presence. The veil, which Marjorie had persuaded her to wear, floated -behind her, caught back from her face by pins and a white rose. - -When she was halfway down, Peter stepped into the light. “Penny,” he -said in a low voice, “you look lovely. I should have been waiting here -with a minister!” - -Peter was beside the surprised Penny in a moment, leading her down the -few remaining steps to the room where he tenderly put his arms around -her and kissed her. “I can’t wait any longer, Penny, to tell you how I -love you!” Peter’s voice was a little nervous. What he had intended to -say deserted him. “Will you--will you wear a dress like this for me, -soon?” - -Penny, who had not had a chance to utter a word, and whose breath was -taken away by the surprise of having Peter kiss her, merely said, -“Oh,--why, Peter,” as he led her to a little sofa in the corner of the -room. - -“Sit here with me just a minute, Penny. I’ve been waiting to ask you -for so long, only I’ve never known whether you were just being kind -and sweet to me because you’re that way with everyone, or whether you -could like me well enough to marry me. I saw that there was Charles -Curtis--but if you were engaged to him, I figured Phil would tip me -off. I am sort of a coward where you are concerned, Penny. Don’t tell -me that you like Charley best! Do you love me a little?” - -Peter’s voice was low and eager. He held one of Penny’s hands tightly -in his. - -Penny was not the sort to keep the man she loved in a state of -uncertainty. “Did you know you’ve loved me all summer, Peter? I wish -you’d told me sooner, because you see, I’ve been in love with you, -too.” It was all right at last. “I knew last year that I loved you -Peter, but I couldn’t very well let you know it!” Penny’s hand was -almost crushed as Peter’s face lit up with joy. He swept her into his -arms again for another kiss, and Penny said, “I could stay here and -forget all about my duties to my guests, but we mustn’t forget about -Mr. X. And I’ll have to go upstairs again, Peter. See how you have -mussed this veil.” - -“Not beyond repair, I hope,” he said, smiling. “Penny, before you go, -say you’ll marry me this fall, as soon as the guests leave?” - -“Silly man! You take my breath away,” Penny laughed. “But it is -wonderful that you are silly about me, Peter. I can’t think straight -right this minute, but we’ll talk about it later. Marjorie and Jimmy -are going to school in September. Phil is going to New York to work -for Mr. Prentice and to go to school nights. He wants to be near -Adra. Mercy--I’m all mixed up. There will be so much to see to. Could -you--could we have our honeymoon right here?” - -“I can’t think of a more wonderful spot,” Peter said. “Our life is -going to be all honeymoon from now on. As long as I know we love each -other that’s enough to make me walk on air the rest of the evening. -What a pity we can’t be by ourselves. I’ll be thinking of you every -single minute, darling.” - -Peter waited until Penny went back to her room to repair damages. It -took her but a few minutes and when she made her appearance in the -living room, she was immediately surrounded and admired by everyone. - -With the keen eye of an experienced hostess, she glanced around to see -that everyone was being entertained in some fashion. She recognized -most of the guests regardless of their masks, and she noted that there -was quite an assembly of townspeople whom she could not recognize -because of their disguises. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were dressed as George -and Martha Washington and they looked very distinguished. They were -talking to Marjorie just now and saying something that made her laugh. -There was Charles Curtis dancing with a lovely girl who had spent -several weekends at the Lodge and had come back for the masquerade. -When he danced by Penny he stopped for a minute and said, “I’ll wager -that this is our fair hostess. Shall I telephone the parson? It’s hard -to resist such a bride!” - -“You are incorrigible, Charles,” Penny reported. - -“And you look radiant tonight, Penny.” And off he danced with his -partner. It was hard for Penny to get her mind on anything else except -Peter. Dear, eager, wonderful Peter. But she had many things to do. The -tables in the dining room had to be checked, and then she had to return -and take part in the party. She looked around at the guests once more -trying to place some of those who did not look familiar. There was one -masquerader in particular who caught her eye. He was dressed as the -bearded ghost that was supposed to wander about the Lodge, but aside -from the long beard and white wig he seemed to be quite young, vigorous -and active. He was too heavy for Alf who had once said something about -dressing up as a graybeard. He was with Adra a good deal of the time -but mingled with the rest and danced well. - -All the guests had arrived and the party was in full swing. It was -nearly time for Philip to announce that he was going to show everybody -the secret room. Peter came into the room just a few minutes before -this and slipping an arm around Penny, he said, “Congratulate me, Phil, -I’m going to be your brother-in-law.” - -Philip stared a moment, then put a hand on Peter’s shoulder and told -him there was no one to whom he’d rather hand over Penny. “Good work, -Peter,” he said. “Congratulations. Even if she is my sister, I must say -you’re getting a wonderful girl.” - -“Nobody knows that better than I,” Peter said humbly. - -“Stop it, you two,” Penny cried. “I’ll get a head too big for my -shoulders if you keep it up. By the way, do either of you recognize -that man over there disguised as Graybeard?” - -“I think that’s Mr. Sanders. He said something about wearing such a -costume when Alf gave up the idea,” said Peter. - -“No, it isn’t Mr. Sanders,” Penny said. “But there’s something very -familiar about him. I’m sure I know him but I can’t quite put my finger -on who he is.” - -“Has he done anything suspicious?” Phil asked. - -“Not a thing,” Penny admitted. Then she laughed. “But he has been -paying quite a lot of attention to Adra. You’d better watch out, Phil.” - -Phil frowned. “I’ll be glad when this evening is over. I’ve hardly had -a chance to speak to Adra since breakfast. And--and, well I guess you -two know how I feel about her.” - -“We do,” Penny told him, smiling. “But the question is, does she?” She -gave him a fond pat on the cheek. “Faint heart never won fair lady, -Phil.” - -“That’s right,” Peter said, grinning. “Once you get used to the idea, -Phil, proposing to the girl you love isn’t so difficult.” - -“I suppose not,” Phil said dubiously, “but if I rush matters I might -ruin my chances with Adra.” - -Marjorie joined them then. “Nobody’s done anything suspicious at all,” -she complained. “The whole scheme is a flop.” - -“The evening isn’t over yet,” Penny reminded her. She tucked her hand -in the crook of Peter’s arm, blushing. “We’re going to announce our -engagement at the banquet. And if Phil takes my advice, he’ll propose -to Adra before the party is over.” She smiled at Marjorie. “Isn’t that -enough excitement for you?” - -“Oh, oh,” Marjorie cried, hugging Penny. “I’m so glad. Wait until I -tell Judy.” She was off, completely forgetting to congratulate the -bridegroom-to-be. - -A short while after that Penny went upstairs with Adra and told her -that she and Peter were engaged. - -“I’m so happy for you both,” Adra said, rather wistfully. - -Penny said nothing, but she guessed that when Phil did propose, the -answer would be yes. She hurried downstairs again for, from the -balcony, she could see that the guests were already crowding into the -alcove. - -Most of the younger men, as Marjorie had predicted, were dressed as -cowboys, complete with bandannas, chaps and guns in their holsters. -Penny had not been able to pick out Brook and Alf, but she knew that -Jimmy was the tallest cowboy of them all. - -He was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. “Everybody’s -all set,” he told her. “Pat’s pressing the button that moves the -bookshelves now.” When Adra came down from the balcony he added, “Let’s -wait out here. It’ll only add to the confusion if we, who have already -seen the secret room, join the crowd in the alcove.” - -“All right,” Adra said, sitting on the bottom step. “I’m exhausted. Mr. -Graybeard is a wonderful dancer, but he never wants to stop for a rest.” - -“Who is that guy anyway?” Jimmy asked. “He looks familiar, but I can’t -place him.” - -“Neither can I,” Penny said. “But then I can’t place a lot of the -people here.” She pointed to two cowboys who were standing just outside -the alcove. “For instance, are those two guests Alf and Brook? I -wouldn’t know.” - -And then Penny saw something that made her turn and race up the stairs. -The guns that those two cowboys were slipping from their holsters were -not toy pistols. Even at that distance she could see that they were -small, but deadly-looking automatics. - -In the meantime, Philip, in the alcove, was making his little speech to -the assembled guests. - -“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said and waited a moment for attention. - -“There is one little feature of Allen Lodge that has not been on -exhibit, a place we call the secret room.” Philip paused again, for -effect this time, and a murmur of interest ran around the room. - -“When we first moved into this Lodge we found it accidentally and -we decided to surprise you with it tonight. This room has a curious -entrance and when I open the door you will see the little wall safe -that has held your money and jewelry. We are sorry to say there is no -other treasure down there. Believe me, when we heard of the rumors -about buried treasure, we turned the place upside down to see if we -could find it, without success.” - -Philip deliberately assumed a very disappointed look on his face and -the guests all laughed. Then he went on, “But maybe the Allens didn’t -look in the right places, and possibly Mr. Graybeard, the ghost I see -here tonight, may find some treasure for us. Masks and costumes are -appropriate to our mysterious visit to a mysterious room. Look for -treasure! We will have to go down in groups since it is a small room. -The people immediately surrounding me can come down first and perhaps -Mr. Graybeard will lend atmosphere by posing near the safe.” - -“I’d be delighted,” Mr. Graybeard said. - -Philip glanced at him, thinking: “His voice is familiar, but I’m sure -he isn’t any of the merchants in the village we deal with.” Aloud he -continued his speech: - -“When we come back up from the secret room we’ll unmask and go into -the big dining room for the banquet. I hope you have all been keeping -a list of the people whom you think you have recognized. As you know, -we’re going to gather up your lists as you enter the dining room. -During the banquet, prizes will be awarded to the guests who have -guessed the largest number of people correctly.” - -After the applause that followed Philip’s speech, Pat pressed the -button that moved the bookshelves aside. From then on Philip was kept -busy leading one little party after another down into the secret room. - -Mr. Graybeard went with the first group and added to the ghostly -atmosphere by posing near the safe. Behind him the paper skeleton -dangled precariously from the ceiling. - -When the last guest had inspected the little room and had gone back up -the stairs to the alcove, Philip said to Graybeard, “Thanks for helping -us out. You make a swell ghost. Who are you anyway?” - -“Never mind,” said a cold, crisp voice. “Turn around and come down the -steps with your hands up.” - -With one swift gesture, Philip released the spring that closed the -secret door. Then he turned to face the gun Graybeard was pointing at -him. - -Philip was caught in his own trap, but at least the man and his pistol -could neither harm nor frighten the people on the other side of the -door. - -Philip came slowly down the steps. “So you’re our mysterious Mr. X,” he -said coolly. - -“Call me anything you like,” Graybeard said, taking Philip’s own pistol -from his pocket. “Now open that safe.” - -Philip shrugged. “Anything to oblige.” he said. - -“And don’t try to pull any tricks,” Graybeard warned him. “Upstairs, -two men I hired for the occasion are at this very moment relieving your -guests of their excess jewelry and cash.” - -So it was a planned robbery! And Graybeard’s henchmen had probably come -disguised as cowboys, carrying real pistols in their holsters! - -For a moment, Phil was paralyzed with worry about the girls. Penny and -Marjorie were so impulsive! Would they submit quietly to a holdup? And -Adra? - -He felt sure that the older women, although they would be frightened -at the sight of guns, would do nothing which might arouse the anger of -armed criminals. But the girls! - -The voice behind the mask repeated menacingly, “_Open that safe!_” - -Philip quickly obeyed. There was nothing else to do. Peter had been -right all along: They should have called on the police for help. - -Philip twirled the dial and opened the door of the safe. “Help -yourself,” he said curtly. - -“I am very much engaged in watching you,” replied the man. Philip had -no choice. He emptied the safe and handed its contents to the masked -burglar. - -There was a good sum of money, the payments of the guests for the -week. It was mostly in checks and a great deal of the jewelry had -been removed from the safe for the occasion. Philip was thanking his -lucky stars that they didn’t keep too much cash, valuable articles or -important papers. Philip tried to get a good look at the man’s face -under his beard, but it and the mask over his nose and eyes completely -hid his features. - -Could this really be the mysterious Mr. X? No, Philip decided. -Graybeard was nothing but a common ordinary burglar. And yet there was -something familiar about him. - -The man tucked the money into his pocket, then looked contemptuously at -the bit of jewelry but put it into another pocket. Philip listened to -hurrying footsteps overhead and could see that Graybeard was perturbed -by them. But there was no catching this man off guard. He held the gun -close to Philip every minute. He again ordered Philip to put his hands -into the air, while he felt around the inside of the safe. Philip could -not help but think what a curious picture this man with his long gray -beard made, as he searched through the empty safe with one hand and -kept his pistol pointed at Philip with the other. What on earth was he -searching for? - -Then Philip heard a little click, and suddenly a drawer on two little -steel rods dropped down from inside the top of the safe. - -“Missed that part of it, didn’t you?” Graybeard sneered. “Empty that -drawer and hand me the stuff.” - -Philip was so surprised he stood there with his mouth open for a full -minute, then with great interest he looked at this drawer that he -had never seen before. It was wide and shallow and full of papers. -Evidently a little hidden spring had released the rods that held the -drawer in place. Could this be the place where the rumored treasure was -supposed to be hidden? Philip mentally kicked himself for not having -thought of such a possibility before. Much good it would do them now. -Idiot that he had been not to have taken ordinary precautions that -night. What fools they had all been not to follow Peter’s advice! - -No wonder Mr. X Graybeard had planted red herrings guaranteed to keep -Jimmy and Marjorie searching everywhere for hidden treasure except in -their own safe. - -“Quit stalling,” Graybeard growled, poking Philip with his gun. “Come -on, hand over that stuff and make it snappy. The boys upstairs must be -about ready to go.” - -Philip took from the drawer two packages of old papers that looked like -receipted bills, and a large, bulging Manila envelope. This Graybeard -snatched from Phil’s hand and pocketed it with a satisfied air. He -glanced at the old papers and said, “You can throw those away. What -I want is bound to be in this envelope.” He went on in a patronizing -voice, “Thanks, sonny boy. If you hadn’t played right into my hands, -I might have had to use some ‘soup’ to blow the lock off that safe. -Messy stuff, ‘soup,’ and noisy. When I heard you were going to throw -this ball and show your guests the secret room, I decided to let one -of you dopey Allens open it for me.” He patted the pocket into which -he had stuffed the old Manila envelope. “What I have here is much more -valuable than all the money and jewels the men I hired have taken from -your guests. They can keep whatever they collected as their pay.” - -“Just what is in that old envelope?” Phil asked, stalling for time. The -man, in the boasting, triumphant mood he was now in, might be caught -momentarily off guard. - -Graybeard chuckled evilly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” - -“I certainly would,” Philip said and added shrewdly, “I should think -you’d like to _know_ too. After all, it may be stuffed with nothing but -more old receipted bills.” - -The man, struck by this thought, glared at Philip through his mask. -“Never thought of that,” he muttered and hastily shifted the gun from -his right hand to his left so he could reach into his pocket and open -the envelope. - -In that split second, Philip went into action. Before Graybeard knew -what was happening the pistol had been knocked from his hand. At the -same moment, Philip’s fist crashed against his jaw. Graybeard went limp -and toppled to the floor. - -Phil leaped over his unconscious body to retrieve the gun. Then he took -his own pistol from Graybeard’s pocket. - -“Now the tables are nicely turned,” Phil chuckled. He quickly tore -strips from the black draperies on the wall and tied the man’s hands -and feet together. He worked fast because he was worried about what -was going on upstairs. - -Then he heard sounds on the other side of the door at the top of the -steps. Phil held his pistol ready. One of the gunmen, worried by the -prolonged absence of Graybeard, might be coming down to see what was -happening in the secret room. - -The door swung open, and, to Phil’s relief, Pat leaped down the stairs. -Phil met him halfway. “What happened?” he asked nervously. “The -girls--are they all right?” - -“Everybody’s just fine,” Pat said, grinning. “I’ll tell you all about -it later. Let’s see what you have here first.” - -He bent down and yanked the beard and mask from the unconscious man’s -face. - -“Whew!” Pat and Phil whistled in one breath. “Our nice cheap laundry -man!” - -For it was Mr. Taggart, and, as he regained consciousness, glaring with -rage up at Phil, his face was anything but pleasant. - - - - -CHAPTER 14 - -FORGOTTEN TREASURE - - -Pat swiftly untied Taggart’s feet. “Get up,” he ordered. “Your pals are -waiting for you in a nice shiny prowl car in front of the Lodge.” - -“The police,” Phil gasped. “But how--?” - -Pat grinned. “The whole hold-up was a washout. Oh, some of the ladies -got a little scared when we all suddenly found ourselves facing those -cowboys and their guns. And I was pretty worried about you myself when -I saw the door close and guessed you were trapped down here with the -ringleader.” He chuckled. “Penny saved the day. Just before the hold-up -was to take place, she happened to notice that two of the cowboys, who -were loitering out in the hall, were carrying real guns. She raced -upstairs and called the police.” He laughed at the chagrined expression -on Taggart’s face. “The police arrived shortly after our friend’s pals -had collected their loot. In fact, they walked out of the door and -right into the arms of two of the biggest cops I’ve ever seen.” - -“Those fools,” Taggart snarled. “I told Jerry and Rick not to let -anyone out of their sight once the secret door was open.” - -Pat, as he deftly emptied Taggart’s pockets, told him, “They didn’t -exactly _let_ her dash upstairs to the phone in her room. She went so -quickly and so quietly they didn’t even know she wasn’t among those -present downstairs. When it finally dawned on them that none of their -victims was dressed as a bride, I imagine they guessed that the game -was up and decided to scram without waiting to see what had happened -to their boss.” He gave Taggart a push. “Get going,” he said gruffly. -“There’s a nice shiny pair of bracelets waiting for you.” - -It was after one when the men returned from the precinct station after -preferring charges against the three men. The girls were waiting -excitedly for them on the porch. - -“Oh, Phil,” Marjorie yelled, running down the steps. “To think that -Graybeard was Mr. Taggart our laundryman, and none of us saw through -his disguise.” - -“Well,” Phil said, “it was a good disguise for one thing, and he was -careful to spend most of his time with Adra who had never seen him.” - -Adra smiled rather shamefacedly. “I’m such a lazybones! He usually came -in the morning before I was up. When he did come later in the day I -guess I was always off somewhere having a good time while you Allens -worked.” - -“That’s what you were supposed to be doing,” Penny said, smiling. -“You’re our guest, remember?” - -“Never mind about that,” Marjorie interrupted impatiently. “What I want -to know is whether or not Mr. Taggart was Mr. X.” She tugged Phil’s -arm, leading him to a seat beside her on the porch glider. “Did he -plant the clues we found and write us the threatening letters?” - -Phil nodded. “The other men were merely hired by him for the evening to -keep the guests out of his hair while he looked for a secret drawer -in the safe. He made a complete confession before we left the police -station.” - -“Oh, oh,” Marjorie cried jumping up. “Then the mystery is solved. Tell -us everything, Phil, right now.” - -He patted her hand affectionately. “Not now, honey. First we must think -of our guests. Family affairs can come later.” - -Once everybody was in the dining room, its light and decorations made a -gay setting for the return to normal feelings. As Philip followed the -last guest into the room, Penny said, “Adra and I were just sick with -worry over you, Phil. I want to know every single thing that happened -as soon as possible! Are you sure you’re all right?” - -“I’m fine,” Phil assured her. - -Jimmy, too, caught Philip and said. “Good work, Phil. When do I get to -hear the whole story?” - -“As soon as the guests have all gone home or to bed in the Lodge,” -Philip said. “It’s a long story.” He turned to Penny, “And it was your -quickwittedness that made it have a happy ending.” - -“I didn’t do anything but dash up to my room and call the police,” -Penny said. “You’re a hero, Phil.” - -By now, of course, everyone had removed his mask and all the faces were -familiar ones. - -Philip moved on to a space at the central table where he and Adra were -going to sit together. He held her hand in a firm clasp and her fingers -twined in response. Peter smiled at him and clapped his hands together -for order. - -“Speech! Speech!” - -Philip smiled at everybody and didn’t seem at all nervous or upset -after his experience of the evening. - -“I’m very sorry,” he began, “that robbers chose us for their victims -tonight, and that I could not prevent your disagreeable experience.” - -“It was fun,” Judy interrupted impulsively. “For the longest time I -thought it was just an act Jimmy and Alf were putting on. What I’ll -have to tell the girls when I get back to Cincinnati!” - -Philip smiled at her and continued: “I hope that you all can forget -the unpleasant part of the evening and that you will enjoy the feast -Ann Mary prepared. I have here the jewelry and wallets and handbags -the armed cowboys took from you. As I hold up each item will the owner -please come and get his or her property?” - -While the food was being served, Philip distributed the stolen articles -to their owners. - -“I was much too surprised to be frightened at first,” said Mrs. Curtis, -calmly pouring cream into her coffee. “Indeed, like Judy, I thought for -quite a while that it was some stunt the boys had thought up. The young -people today are always doing some crazy thing.” - -“I was nearly speechless at those guns,” said Mrs. Powell. “I don’t -know what the country is coming to! But it was all over so quickly I -don’t suppose I was much more frightened than I would have been trying -to get across a busy street.” - -“That, my dear, is slightly underestimating it--at least for me,” said -Mr. Powell. “I was just plain worried one of those guns would go off.” - -“I certainly hated to see my jewelry gathered in,” remarked Mrs. -Sanders. - -The prizes were awarded, and there was music afterwards. Some of -the older people retired soon, but as this was the last general -celebration, the younger set preferred to linger. - -Philip, whose duties as host had been accomplished, wasted no time, but -took Adra to a moonlit walk and pretty nook on the shore where they sat -on the sand and talked. - -Philip told Adra of his feeling of responsibility for his brother and -sisters. “Now Penny is engaged to Peter as I suppose she told you. -This summer’s venture will see Jimmy and Marjorie through school.” He -hesitated. “And, er, college. At last, Adra, I feel I have a right to -say, well, that the only treasure I ever wanted is you!” - -Adra’s blush was most becoming and gave Philip courage to go on. “Could -you possibly care for me, Adra? You know your father has invited me -into his office and I want to go on with my college education evenings, -but somehow, whatever I decide to do depends on you. If you care, I -think we can--” - -“Manage the rest,” finished Adra calmly, though her heart was beating -fast. “Yes, Phil, I care enough.” - -Two happy young people walked back to the Lodge about half an hour -later. As Phil and Adra entered they found most of the guests gone and -Marjorie and Jimmy curled up in big chairs on the porch, sound asleep. - -“Those two wouldn’t dare go to bed for fear they’d miss something.” -Adra and Philip laughed and went back to find Peter and Penny raiding -the pantry for a snack. - -“Ha!” cried Phil. “More burglars!” - -“Yes; come join us,” replied Penny, unwrapping some brick ice cream. - -“Delighted,” returned her brother. “We need to celebrate. Adra and -I have just reached a momentous decision and this Lodge can hardly -contain me, big as it is.” - -“Honest? Oh, Adra, you perfect dear!” and Penny dropped the ice cream -to hug Adra with enthusiasm. And Peter, who had caught the ice cream -on his plate, shook hands with Philip after carefully setting down his -burden. - -“You know,” said Peter slyly, “Philip was going to tell us what -Mr. Taggart said when he confessed, but I guess Adra has made him -completely forget it.” - -“That she has,” answered Philip. “Anything else that happened tonight -is very unimportant by comparison with this. After all, that’s over. -Exciting enough while it lasted, but not nearly as interesting as plans -for my future life with Adra.” - -“Listen to the hero make little out of his great adventure,” cried -Penny. “Phil, I can’t stand it another minute. Begin at the beginning -and tell us every word Mr. Taggart said when he confessed. How did he -know there was a secret drawer in the safe, and what was in the drawer?” - -For answer, Peter led the way to the porch. “Wake up, Sleepy Heads,” -he said, nudging Marjorie and Jimmy. “Wake up and hear a bedtime story -about hidden treasure!” - -“Hidden treasure,” Marjorie repeated, instantly wide awake. “Phil! -You’ve been keeping something important from us.” - -“I told you it was a family matter,” Phil said, putting his arm around -Adra. “And before I told the tale I wanted to be sure that Adra as well -as Peter will soon be members of our family.” - -“I knew it,” Marjorie cried, giving Adra a hug. “I told you so, Jimmy.” - -“Congratulations, you two,” Jimmy said. “I mean, you four. Now, can we -hear what went on in the secret room tonight, Phil?” - -“The story,” Phil began, “goes back to about twenty years ago when -Uncle John was a very rich man and living in New York City. At that -time he invested $20,000 in a small company belonging to one of his -friends who told him that the stock was sure to go up. But the stock -didn’t go up. It went down and finally its name disappeared from the -Stock Exchange boards and from the newspaper stock lists. Naturally, -Uncle John thought his certificates were worthless, but, lucky for us, -he didn’t destroy them.” - -“Golly, Phil,” Jimmy cried enthusiastically. “When you say ‘lucky for -us’ do you mean the old stock is worth something? Can I have a sailboat -after all?” - -Phil grinned. “Let me finish, puh-leeze. About five years ago, the -company started paying dividends, but it couldn’t locate a great many -of its stockholders, among them, Uncle John. He had changed his address -several times before he settled down here. So the company officials -turned the matter over to a special detective agency which specializes -in tracking down owners of forgotten stocks. Notices also appeared -in newspapers throughout the country, and Mr. Taggart saw one of the -notices. - -“With forged credentials, he got a job with the detective agency and -was assigned the duty of finding Uncle John. Guessing that Uncle John -was dead, he planned to get hold of the stock certificates, and, with -more forged credentials, prove that he was his sole heir.” - -Phil turned to Penny who was holding hands with Peter. “If it hadn’t -been for you, Taggart might well have succeeded. A girl not quite so -level-headed might have screamed when she saw those ‘cowboys’ drawing -real guns from their holsters.” - -Peter squeezed her hand more tightly. “I can’t bear to think about what -might have happened if those gunmen had seen you darting up the stairs.” - -“Stop it, both of you,” Penny protested, blushing. “Get on with the -story, Phil!” - -“Okay,” Phil said, smiling. “Taggart finally traced Uncle John to -the Lodge only to find that he was dead and that we had started our -business venture here. He had hoped to find the Lodge deserted so he -could search undisturbed for the certificates. He knew that people -leave old stocks and bonds in all sorts of places. Sometimes they slip -them under the paper lining of bureau drawers or cupboards, or between -the pages of books. False-bottom trunks and secret drawers in old -safes, and so forth, and so forth. Taggart realized that one of us, -while we were getting the Lodge ready for guests, might come across the -certificates. So the first thing he did was to try to frighten us away.” - -“That was silly of him,” Marjorie said with a sniff. “He might have -known that the Allens don’t frighten easily.” - -“Be quiet, imp,” Jimmy said. “He didn’t know anything about us then.” -He added to Philip: “So it was Taggart who wrote the two threatening -letters? And left his footprint on the ground under the shed floor?” - -“That’s right,” Phil told him. “He confessed that he wrote the one to -Penny _after_ she fell down the well. And he also confessed that he -was our night prowler. Actually he did a lot of prowling we didn’t -know about, trying to find out if his anonymous letters had any effect. -The first night he came snooping around he listened outside the living -room window and heard us joking about digging in the well for buried -treasure. That gave him the idea of keeping us busy digging outside, -instead of searching around inside.” - -“I can guess what he did next,” Marjorie said with a rueful laugh. “He -wrote that note on an old piece of paper, put one half in the bottle -Judy and I found down on the beach, and the other half in the pocket of -the old suit Brook found when the boys were out camping.” She stopped -suddenly, her blue eyes wide with amazement. “But how and when did he -manage to put that map in the lid of the costume jewelry box?” - -“I can answer that one,” Penny said with a sigh. “The day our first -guests arrived, I heard someone rummaging around in the storage room. I -thought it was you, Marjorie, and thought you were fibbing later when -you insisted you were out in the Donahues’ cabin helping Ann Mary count -their laundry.” She laughed. “I owe you an apology, honey. While you -and Ann Mary were busy, and Phil and I were upstairs hanging curtains, -Taggart must have sneaked into the storage room and pasted that map -behind the rotten lining of the old jewelry box.” - -“You’re both two jumps ahead of me,” Philip said, laughing. “Taggart -did put the map where you found it, but first he had to have some -excuse for coming out here. He heard in the village that we were -looking for someone who would take the soiled linen in to the -laundry-mat and applied to Penny for the job.” - -Penny moaned, covering her pretty face with both hands. “Oh, why did I -fall into his trap so easily? I should have guessed when he offered to -do it so cheaply, that something was wrong.” - -“Not at all,” Peter said protectively. “Taggart did handle the laundry -situation in a very satisfactory manner, so I don’t think anyone can -blame you for not suspecting him of an ulterior motive.” - -Phil nodded. “That’s right, Penny, nobody blames you. The trouble -was that no one paid much attention to him when he came out here. I -imagine Ann Mary didn’t always have the bundle ready, or his pay when -he brought out the clean wash. Once when she left him alone in the -kitchen he slipped down to the beach and stuck the bottle containing -half the note under a rock.” - -“We made everything so easy for him,” Marjorie groaned. “He was there -in the kitchen, I remember, the day Ann Mary suggested that Judy and -I search for rare shells. He was also there the time I asked her if -it would be all right for us to spend the first rainy day rummaging -through the old trunks in the storage room.” - -“And,” Penny added, “he knew exactly when the boys left on their -camping trip. Remember? Ann Mary told him he had to bring back their -clean shirts before they left. I imagine it was simple for him to find -out from her where they were going.” - -“Uh huh,” Phil said. “_Very_ simple. Ann Mary had no reason to suspect -him. He followed them to Uncle John’s fishing camp only to find that -they had moved deeper into the woods. He saw the Bronc’s tire tracks -and followed them to the lake. Early in the morning before Brook’s -adventure, he rigged up the coat with the other half of the note in the -pocket. He could count on the fact that one of the boys, while out -canoeing, would be sure to notice what looked like the torso of a human -body.” Phil smiled. “Taggart also knew that Jimmy, like Marjorie, was -sure treasure was buried around here and was looking for clues.” - -“And,” Peter added, “the man knew that no boy could resist going -through the pockets of an old coat he found.” - -Jimmy’s tanned cheeks were very red. “Well,” he said, “that clears up -all the mysterious clues and letters. And we certainly all played right -into his hands when we issued invitations to the masquerade.” - -“And,” Penny added, “when I dropped hints all over the village that we -were going to show our guests the secret room that night.” She sighed. -“What I don’t understand is how Taggart knew there was a secret drawer -in the safe.” - -“Because,” Philip explained, staring at Marjorie, “one day when he was -out here he caught a glimpse of the safe. Not only is he a notorious -forger, but, in between sessions in jail, he’s made an exhaustive study -of safes. He knew that the particular style and make of the one in the -secret room had a hidden drawer in the top. Since we obviously hadn’t -found the certificates while we were cleaning up the Lodge, he guessed -that they might be in the secret compartment of the safe.” - -“But,” Jimmy interrupted. “When on earth did he get a glimpse of the -safe? Up until tonight--I mean last night--nobody but you and Pat ever -went into the secret room. And I’m sure neither of you was careless -enough to open the door unless you were sure no one was lurking around.” - -It was now Marjorie’s turn to cover her red cheeks with both hands. -“I can answer that one,” she confessed miserably. “One day when Mr. -Taggart was here, I showed Judy how the door opened. He must have been -hiding in the alcove when the bookshelves moved back. I heard someone -moving down the hall just before we left, and thought it was Ann Mary -with a bundle of soiled laundry. But I guess there’s no doubt that it -was Mr. Taggart.” She raised her face, on the verge of tears. “Thinking -back, I remember now that he was in the kitchen, and Judy and I had -just left there when she begged me to show her how the secret door -worked. Oh,” she finished, “how can I be so dumb?” - -“’Tain’t easy,” Jimmy said, grinning. “You’ve got to have a lot of -practice before you can be as hopeless as you are!” - -“Never mind, honey,” Penny said to Marjorie in a comforting voice. -“After all, in a way you helped to set the trap that caught Mr. X.” She -turned to Philip. “We’re all trying to tell your story for you, and I, -for one, am getting confused. Once Taggart got a glimpse of the safe -and knew how to get into the secret room, why did he wait until the -masquerade to go in there?” - -Phil chuckled. “Because he didn’t know the combination of the safe. He -could, of course, have sneaked out here at night after we’d all gone to -bed and used dynamite to open the safe, but that would have been pretty -risky. Soon after he saw the safe and the room, we issued blanket -invitations to the masquerade and you slyly hinted that part of the -evening’s entertainment would be a visit to the secret room. Taggart -promptly decided that the safest way of getting what he wanted was to -let us lead him right to it.” - -“In other words,” Peter added, “while we were setting our little trap, -Mr. X was setting one of his own. While his gangster friends were -holding up the rest of the party, he planned to force one of you Allens -to accompany him into the secret room and open the safe.” - -“That’s right,” Philip said. “And I made things easy for him when I -asked him to lend atmosphere by posing by the safe; and then, to cap -the climax, I stayed behind after everyone else had left. The only -thing I can say for myself,” he finished, “is that I did have the -presence of mind to close the door as soon as I realized I’d walked -into the trap we had set for him. And even that,” he admitted, “was -sort of a reflex action.” - -“Call it what you like,” Jimmy said, “but it was important. Otherwise, -Taggart would have heard the outraged cries of his gunmen when they -walked into the arms of the police. During that commotion he might have -escaped--with the real loot.” He leaned forward to tap Phil’s knee. -“Now that we’ve all, with the exception of the inlaws-to-be, confessed -to being dimwits in one way or another, let’s hear more about those -stock certificates, Phil. Answer me, yes, or no, are they worth enough -so I can get a sailboat?” - - - - -CHAPTER 15 - -HAPPY ENDING - - -“I object,” Peter cried. “My wife-to-be isn’t a dimwit. She’s a -heroine.” - -“I object, too,” Adra said. “Phil’s a hero.” - -“All right, all right,” Jimmy said. “But it’s getting on toward dawn. -Marjorie and I are dimwits. Just tell me whether or not we’re rich or -poor.” - -“We’re rich,” Philip said as he drew from his pocket the bulging -envelope he had earlier been forced to hand over to Taggart. He handed -it to Penny. “Open it, Sis.” - -Her hands shaking with excitement, Penny lifted the flap and pulled out -a wad of musty-smelling, yellowed stock certificates. - -“Those ancient documents,” Phil told her quietly, “don’t look like -much. But, according to Taggart’s confession, when we turn them in -we’ll collect about $50,000--their cash value plus back dividends and -interest.” - -For a moment no one spoke. Then Jimmy yelled: “WHOOPEE! The hidden -treasure is found at last. And boy oh boy, will I ever get the finest -sailboat that was ever launched!” - -“I can’t believe it,” Marjorie said in an awed voice. “Why, I--I’m an -heiress!” - -“_I_ can believe it,” Peter said, pretending to be mournful. “Penny -will never marry poor penniless me now.” - -“Of course not,” Penny said with a laugh. “And now Phil doesn’t have to -marry Adra for her money either.” - -Everyone laughed then, almost hysterically. They were all tired and -over-stimulated. Dawn was pinking the sky in the east. - -“If you ask me,” Jimmy said, stretching and yawning, “I’d say we all -ought to catch a little shut-eye. I for one won’t believe any part of -Phil’s yarn until I hear it all over again in broad daylight.” - -But the next morning, after consulting the older men who were staying -at the Lodge, the Allens learned that the old stock certificates were -worth even more than Taggart had estimated. - -“I know the company well,” Mr. Curtis told Phil. “Bought stock in it -myself a few years ago when it got a government loan and staged a -comeback.” - -And then, to the delight of everyone, Adra’s father, Mr. Prentice, -arrived by plane. They were all eager for the advice of such an -experienced businessman. - -“I wouldn’t sell,” he said, after hearing the whole story. “You -couldn’t invest your money in a safer concern. When you collect your -back dividends you’ll each have a tidy sum if you need cash now. If -not, I would reinvest that money and thus provide yourselves with a -comfortable yearly income from it and the original investment.” He -smiled at them. “I’ll handle the whole matter for you, if you like.” - -“Please do,” Penny cried. “Oh, it’s all so wonderful! Peter and I can -get married right away and Marjorie and Jimmy are assured of college -educations.” - -“What about us?” Philip crossed over to stand beside Adra who was -perched on the arm of her father’s chair. “Sir,” he said with -old-fashioned formality, “your daughter has done me the honor of -promising to become my wife. With your permission we would like to be -married sometime this fall.” - -Marjorie could not suppress a giggle. Phil did look as though he ought -to be wearing a Prince Albert coat instead of a sports jacket and -slacks. - -Mr. Prentice stood up to shake hands gravely with Philip. “You have my -permission, sir,” he said, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth. -“And my blessing.” - -Peter grabbed Penny’s hand. “Come on, let’s celebrate! No more work -today for any of the Allens.” - -But Phil and Penny could not take a holiday so soon. Most of the guests -were making arrangements for their departures. Phil and Penny had to be -everywhere at once to help them pack and ship off their luggage, or to -make reservations for them on planes and buses. - -Judy flatly refused to leave with her parents and Alf. “I’ve just got -to stay here for Penny’s wedding,” she begged. “Marjorie and I are -going to be bridesmaids.” - -“Then we’ll stay too,” Mrs. Powell said and added to Penny, “That is, -if we’re invited.” - -“Of course, you are,” Penny cried. “The Curtises and Adra and her -father are going to stay on for the great event, so we’ll have one -grand houseparty until then.” - -By Labor Day evening all of the other guests had left the Lodge. To -celebrate the first dinner of the wedding day houseparty, Pat opened a -bottle of champagne that he claimed to have held over from his wedding -for another special occasion. - -“Ugh,” Marjorie spluttered after one sip. “What horrible tasting stuff!” - -Jimmy, Judy and Alf heartily agreed with her and gratefully accepted -the ginger ale Ann Mary hastily substituted for the bubbling wine. - -Peter proposed a toast. “Here’s to the Allens of Allen Lodge. May they -always be happy and prosperous!” - -“You’d better include the Wylands in that toast,” Marjorie said with an -impish smile. “Penny won’t be an Allen much longer.” - -A few days later, on a beautiful, bright September morning, the -wedding took place. Marjorie and Judy were so excited they couldn’t -fasten the zippers on their crisp organdie frocks. Penny, sweetly -serene, came to the rescue, wearing her lovely flowing gown of white -tulle over taffeta. Marjorie finally conquered her nervousness long -enough to pin on the clusters of orange blossoms which held Penny’s -lace veil in place. - -Then, carrying Pat’s enormous bridal bouquet of long-stemmed white -chrysanthemums, Penny came from the house on Philip’s arm to join Peter -under the trees. - -Marjorie held her breath while Penny and Peter made their vows in -clear, steady voices. After the ceremony was over, Charles was the -first to congratulate the bridegroom, and Marjorie, the first to kiss -her sister. - -“You didn’t act scared at all,” she whispered. “I know I would have -said I _don’t_ instead of I do, just because I was so nervous.” She -turned to give Peter a hug. “It’s so nice to have another brother,” she -cried. “And to know that soon I’ll have another sister.” - -A merry wedding breakfast was served on the sunny porch and this time -it was Marjorie who proposed a toast. “To Allen Lodge,” she cried, -holding her punch glass high, “where there’s never a dull moment. -Here’s hoping that it holds some new adventure just waiting to be -discovered.” - -“I’m with you there, Sis,” cried Jimmy. - -But Peter and Penny only smiled happily. - - - - -FALCON BOOKS - - -_For Girls_ - - Champion’s Choice BY JOHN R. TUNIS - Patty and Jo, Detectives BY ELSIE WRIGHT - -BY KAY LYTTLETON - - Jean Craig Grows Up - Jean Craig in New York - Jean Craig Finds Romance - Jean Craig, Nurse - Jean Craig, Graduate Nurse - -BY JEAN MCKECHNIE - - Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House - Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure - - -_For Boys_ - - The Spirit of the Border BY ZANE GREY - The Last Trail BY ZANE GREY - Call to Adventure BY ROBERT SPIERS BENJAMIN - Champs on Ice BY JACK WRIGHT - The Strike-Out King BY JULIAN DE VRIES - The Winning Basket BY DUANE YARNELL - Over the Hurdles BY EMMETT MAUM - Boys’ Book of Sea Battles BY CHELSEA CURTIS FRASER - Through Forest and Stream BY DUANE YARNELL - -BY CAPWELL WYCKOFF - - The Mercer Boys’ Cruise on the Lassie - The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest - The Mercer Boys on a Treasure Hunt - The Mercer Boys’ Mystery Case - The Mercer Boys with the Coast Guard - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -The text as published in the original publication has been retained -except as follows: - - Page 35 - unless their guests’ deposit _changed to_ - unless their guests deposit - - Page 36 - means,” Penny said, “That right after breakfast _changed to_ - means,” Penny said, “that right after breakfast - - Page 55 - They all started silently out _changed to_ - They all stared silently out - - Page 81 - few friends of Charles’ _changed to_ - few friends of Charles - - Page 94 - you’re asolutely right _changed to_ - you’re absolutely right - - Page 120 - can’t thing of anything _changed to_ - can’t think of anything - - Page 146 - heard a night prowler?” _changed to_ - heard a night prowler.” - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Penny Allen and the Mystery of the -Hidden Treasure, by Jean Lyttleton McKechnie - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PENNY ALLEN AND THE MYSTERY *** - -***** This file should be named 53198-0.txt or 53198-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/1/9/53198/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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