Whispering Walls

by Mildred A. Wirt

  CHAPTER 24 _THE GRINNING GARGOYLE_

  By the time Jerry, Penny and Mr. Rhett unlocked the pressroom door andreached the loading dock, the truck bearing Celeste was far down thestreet.

  "Hey, where'd that truck go?" the reporter shouted to another workman atthe far end of the drive.

  "Docks at the end of Basset Street," he answered. "A batch o' papers goaboard the _Monclove_ for shipment to Presque Isle."

  Jerry's car stood close by. He sprang in, making room for Penny and Mr.Rhett.

  The newspaper truck had disappeared by the time they drove out on thestreet. Jerry took a short-cut route to the Basset Street docks. Signsand debris of all description cluttered the roadway. Rain had ceased, butthe ominous quiet, the heaviness of the air, was even more frighteningthan the wind had been.

  In a distant section of the city they heard the high-pitched whistle of apolice siren; otherwise, the streets were as silent as the tomb.

  The car turned a corner, and directly ahead Penny glimpsed the newspapertruck.

  "There it is!" she cried, but Jerry also had seen the vehicle.

  He put on speed, and was close behind as the truck pulled up with a jerkat Dock 12. Green water whipped to foam, crashed with heavy impactagainst the dock posts and flooded out on the slippery planking.

  "We won't have much time!" Mr. Rhett exclaimed. "When the next phase ofthe storm comes--and it's close now--the wind will be terrific!"

  The men, with Penny close behind, leaped from the car. Quick as theywere, Celeste was out of the truck before they could reach its door.

  She stopped short as she saw the trio, then like a trapped animal, turnedand fled in the opposite direction.

  "Celeste!" Mr. Rhett shouted. "Wait!"

  The woman paid no attention. Splashing ankle-deep through water thatwashed the dock planks, she ran precariously close to the river's edge.

  A hoarse shout from behind caused Penny to turn. The driver of the truckwas gesturing and pointing first to the dark sky and then to an openshed. For a moment she did not understand, but as he ran for the shelter,she heard the deep-throated roar of the hurricane as it returned for itsfinal onslaught.

  "Quick!" cried Mr. Rhett who also recognized the danger. "Inside!"

  The three ran back to the shed where the truck-driver had taken shelter.Although they shouted again and again to Celeste, she ignored theirwarnings.

  As the wind struck, they saw her at the very edge of the dock. She halfturned toward the shed as if debating whether or not to seek its shelter,then took a step or two in the opposite direction.

  A great gust lifted off a section of the shed roof and whirled it away.As the full impact of the wind swept around the building, Celeste clungto a dock post for an instant; then her fingers lost their grip, and witha scream, she toppled over the edge into the churning water.

  Jerry started toward the door, but Mr. Rhett seized his arm, dragging himback.

  "Don't be a fool! Celeste is beyond help! You'll only lose your own lifeif you venture out there now!"

  Already Celeste had disappeared beneath the turbulent waters, leaving notrace. Anxiously those in the shed watched but her head never appearedabove the surface.

  "Poor Celeste," said Mr. Rhett sadly. "She meant well, but she wassuperstitious and misguided. However, she would have pined away incaptivity. Perhaps she went the best way."

  The servant's startling death placed a pall upon the four who huddled inthe shed. Close together, they flattened themselves against the wall,expecting at any moment that the entire building would be lifted from itsfoundation and hurled into the river. The force of the wind was almostunbelievable.

  After nearly a half hour, the gusts lost their strength and Mr. Rhettdeclared that the greatest danger had been passed.

  "Tell me everything that happened while I was away," he requested Pennyand Jerry.

  "We will," promised Penny, "but first, suppose you explain why you wentaway."

  "I thought I did tell you." Mr. Rhett drew a deep sigh. "For many monthsI considered retiring from the bank. I discussed it with my wife, but shefailed to see my viewpoint and insisted that I remain. We becamedeadlocked, so to speak.

  "I tried for her sake to force myself to like bank work, but it wasutterly impossible. Each day I found myself longing for the old carefreeadventurous days."

  "So you quietly walked out?" Jerry supplied.

  "Something like that. My actions weren't premeditated. One thing led toanother. I had a quarrel with my wife over neglect of bank duties. As Isat thinking it over at my desk, it struck me that Lorinda and her motherprobably would be happier if I removed myself from the picture."

  "Did you write anything as you sat there?" Penny interposed eagerly.

  "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

  "Did you draw a picture of a plumed serpent?"

  "Yes, I believe so, though it was only absent-minded doodling."

  "And beneath the drawing you wrote, 'This shall be the end.'"

  "Why, yes, I did," the man acknowledged. "I had decided to walk out andthose words expressed the conclusion I reached. I wrote the thoughtabsent-mindedly and never intended it to fall into anyone's hands. Did Ileave the paper in the desk?"

  "The police found it there."

  "I must have been quite upset," Mr. Rhett said, frowning. "At any rate, Iwalked out with less than three dollars in my pocket, and didn't realizeuntil later that I was without funds."

  "So you took lodging in a cheap flop house on Cherry Street?" Jerryinterposed.

  "Yes, you seem to have followed my actions very closely. Although thelodgings were hardly deluxe, I did not mind the experience. I frequentlyhave slept on the ground or in native huts."

  "You stayed there only one night?" Penny inquired.

  "Another lodger told me two persons had come to ask questions about a manwho wore a serpent ring," Mr. Rhett said. "Not wishing to be found, Iremoved the ring from my finger, and found another lodging place. When mymoney ran out, I picked up a little work as a laborer at one of themills."

  "I saw you inquiring at one of the steamship ticket offices," Pennyreminded him. "You remember that, I'm sure."

  "I sought to work my passage on a boat going to South America," Mr. Rhettexplained.

  "All this time, didn't you read the newspapers?" Jerry asked curiously."Didn't you know the bonds were missing and that your wife was ill?"

  Mr. Rhett shook his head. "I purposely avoided looking at the newspapers.I was afraid if I did I might be tempted to return to my old life."

  "And now?" asked Penny softly.

  "I have no future, only the present. Before making any plans, I mustreturn home to see that my wife frees her mind from Celeste's evilsuggestions. I made a great mistake in bringing Celeste and Anton intothe household. But once my wife knows Celeste is dead, I am confident shewill quickly recover."

  "You still love your wife?"

  "I shall always love her," he returned quietly, "but she has no use forme. I've been a drag on her since the day we were married."

  "She doesn't feel that way, I'm sure," Penny corrected. "Since you wentaway, she's been heartbroken. Lorinda needs you too."

  "I can never return to the bank," Mr. Rhett repeated. "And there are thestolen bonds to be considered. Why, the police may even arrest me! I'mall mixed up."

  "Matters will straighten out as soon as you see your wife," Pennydeclared. "However, I'll admit recovering the bonds may not be so easy.To my knowledge, the police haven't a single clue."

  Jerry was peering out the open shed door. "The storm is letting up," hecalled. "We'll soon be able to get out of here."

  Another half hour and the wind died sufficiently so that the party couldsafely leave the shelter. The truck driver returned to the newspaperoffice, while Jerry and Penny drove Mr. Rhett to his home.

  The mansion yard was cluttered with uprooted trees, boards and debris.Penny ran dow
n the path a short distance and returned to report that thethatched roof cottage had vanished without a trace.

  "Perhaps it is just as well," said Mr. Rhett. "It was a mistake to buildthe cottage, but Celeste first put the idea in my head. I intended to useit only as a trophy room, but to Celeste it became a living symbol of thelife she had left behind."

  "Why did you build the passageway leading to the cave and to Celeste'sroom?" Penny inquired.

  Mr. Rhett's blank expression told her that he did not understand. Aftershe had explained, he said grimly: "Anton and Celeste must have dug thetunnel without my knowledge! Oh, they were a cunning pair!"

  "And Anton still is on the loose," Jerry reminded the banker. "We'll haveto notify the police to pick him up."

  Mr. Rhett and the young people entered the house. Lorinda, startled byhearing the front door open, ran to the head of the stairway. Seeing herstepfather, she gave a cry of joy and raced to meet him.

  "You've come back! Oh, Mother needs you so badly. Do go to her at once."

  Mr. Rhett needed no urging. He was up the steps two at a time. Jerry andPenny, not wishing to intrude, remained in the living room, but a fewminutes later, Lorinda called them.

  "Oh, everything is wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Mother and Father haveadjusted all their differences. And best of all, she's already half overthe idea she is going to die. Why, he just told her Celeste was dead andthat she could never do any further harm. Mother snapped right out ofit!"

  Lorinda insisted that Jerry and Penny go upstairs. Mrs. Rhett was sittingup in bed, and her eyes were shining.

  "How silly I've been," she declared. "As I look back, I realize Celestehated me and kept putting ideas in my mind. Why, I feel much betteralready."

  "Hungry?" asked Lorinda.

  "Indeed, I am. I must have a gigantic dinner tonight." Mrs. Rhett laughedand added: "With everything well salted!"

  "About the bank--" began Mr. Rhett.

  "Let's not talk about it now," his wife pleaded. "I was wrong about thattoo. I'll never ask you to go back there, for it isn't your type of life.Instead, perhaps we can go away somewhere on a long trip--South America,would that appeal to you, Hamilton?"

  "Would it?" he chuckled. "Someone has been putting ideas in your head,and this time it wasn't Celeste!"

  Anxious to return to the newspaper office and to stop at the policestation, Jerry and Penny soon took leave of the Rhetts, after receivingurgent invitations to return later that night.

  "Well, it appears everything is turning out hunkey dorey for the Rhetts,"Jerry observed as he and Penny drove away from the mansion. "Anton iscertain to be caught by the police, and those followers of his will bejailed too if they ever show their faces again."

  "Everything _might_ be fine for the Rhetts except for one thing," Pennyreturned. "Mrs. Rhett doesn't have much ready cash available, and therestill remains a little matter of $250,000 in missing bonds."

  "I'd forgotten about that. You're right, Rhett still is in an awkwardspot."

  The car drove into the downtown section where a few vehicles now weremoving. Under the glow of the street lights, workmen were clearing thedebris away.

  As the car approached the First National Bank, Penny chanced to raise hereyes toward the second story balcony fronting the street. The grinninggargoyles stood out in dark relief, and as she gazed at them, shesuddenly saw a shadowy figure moving stealthily toward the one nearestthe open door leading from Mr. Rhett's private office.

  "Why, that looks like Albert Potts!" she exclaimed.

  As she watched in amazement, the man approached the gargoyle. Reachinghis hand far in between the open jaws, he removed something which hethrust into his overcoat pocket. Then, with a nervous glance down uponthe deserted street, he stepped back into Mr. Rhett's office, and closedthe door.