by Carol Norton
CHAPTER XXII. THE OLD RUIN AT MIDNIGHT
Never had two girls been more interested and excited than were Dories andNann as midnight neared. Of course they neither of them slept a wink norhad they undressed. Nann had truly prophesied. Dories declared that whenshe came to think of it, nothing could induce her to stay alone in thatloft room at midnight, and that if she were to meet a ghost or any othermysterious person, she would rather meet him in company of Nann, Dick andGib.
Every hour after they retired, they crept from bed to gaze out of thesmall window which overlooked the ocean. At first the fog was so densethat they could see but dimly the white line of rushing surf out by thepoint of rocks.
"Well, we might as well give up the plan," Dories announced as it nearedeleven and the sky was still obscured.
But Nann replied that when the moon was full it often succeeded indispelling the fog by some magic it seemed to possess, and that shedidn't intend to go to sleep until she was sure that the boys weren'tcoming. She declared that she wouldn't miss the adventure for anything.
Dories fell asleep, however, and, for that matter, so, too, did Nann, andsince they were both very weary from the unusual excitement and latehours, they would not have awakened until morning had it not been for alow whistle at the back of the cabin.
Instantly Nann sprang up. "That must be Gib," she whispered. Then added,jubilantly: "It's as bright as day. The moon is shining now in all itssplendor."
In five seconds the two girls had crept down the outer stairway, and asthey tiptoed across the back porch, two dark forms emerged from theshadows and approached them.
"Hist!" Gib whispered melodramatically, bent on making the adventure asmysterious as possible. "You gals track along arter us fellows, and don'tmake any noise."
Then without further parley, Gib darted into the shadow of the woodshed,and from there crept stealthily along back of the seven boarded-upcabins.
"What's the idea of stealing along like this?" Nann inquired when thewide sandy spaces were reached.
"We thought we'd keep hidden as much as possible," Dick told her. "For ifthat airplane pilot is anywhere around, we don't want him to get wise tous."
"But, of course, he isn't around," Dories said. "How could he be? Anairplane can't fly over our beach without being heard. It would waken usfrom the deepest sleep, I am sure."
They were walking four abreast toward the point which loomed darkly aheadof them. "I suppose you're right," Dick agreed, "but it sort of adds tothe zip of it to pretend we're going to steal upon that airplane pilotand catch him at whatever it is that he comes here to do."
The girls did not need much assistance in climbing the rocks nor indescending on the side of the cove. Gibralter, as before, removed hisshoes and stockings, waded out to the punt, drew up the anchor and thenreturned for the others. The moon had risen high enough in the clearstarlit sky to shine down into the narrow channel in the marsh and, asthe water deepened continually and was flowing inward, it was merely amatter of steering the flat-bottomed boat, which the boys did easily,Dick in the stern with an oar while Gib in the bow caught the reeds firston one side and then on the other, thus keeping the blunt nose of thepunt always in the middle of the creek.
"Sh! Don't say a loud word," Gib cautioned, as they reached the curvewhere the afternoon before they had run aground.
"Goodness, you make me feel shivery all over," Dories whispered. "Who doyou suppose would hear if we did speak out loud?"
"Dunno," Dick replied, "but we won't take any chances."
The creek was perceptibly widening and the rising tide carried them alongmore swiftly, but still the reeds were high over their heads and so, eventhough Dick was standing as he pushed with an oar, he could not see theold ruin, but abruptly the marsh ended and there, high and dry on amound, stood the object of their search, looking more forlorn and hauntedthan it had from a distance.
The boys had been about to run the boat up on the mound, when suddenly,and without a sound of warning, Dick shoved the punt as fast he couldback into the shelter of the reeds from which they had just emerged.
"Why d'y do that?" Gib inquired in a low voice. "D'y see anything thatscared you, kid?"
"I saw it, too!" Dories eyes were wide and startled. "That is, I thoughtI saw a light, but it went out so quickly I decided maybe it was themoonlight flashing on something."
"Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't." Dick moved the punt close to the edgeof the reeds that they might observe the ruin from a safe distance.
"But who could be in there?" Nann wondered. "We have never seen anyonearound except the pilot of the airplane and we have all agreed that hecan't be here tonight."
"No, he isn't!" Dick was fast recovering his courage. "I believe Doriesmay have been right Probably it was only reflected moonlight. Perhaps yougirls had better remain in the punt while we fellows investigate."
"No, indeed, we'll all go together." Nann settled the matter. "Now shoveback up to the mound, Dick, and let's get out." This was done and thefour young people climbed from the punt and stood for a long silentmoment staring at the ruin that loomed so dark and desolate just ahead ofthem.
"Thar 'tis! Thar's that light agin!" Gib seized his friend's arm andpointed, adding with conviction: "Dori was right. It's suthin' swingin'in the wind an' flashin' in the moonlight."
"Gib," Nann said, "that is probably what the people in Siquaw Center haveseen on moonlight nights."
"Like's not!" the red-headed lad agreed. Then stealthily they tiptoedtoward the two tall pillars that stood like ghostly sentinels in front ofthe roofless part of the house which had once been the salon.
The side walls were crumbled, but the rear wall stood erect, supportingone side of the roof which tipped forward till it reached the ground,although one corner was upheld by a heap of fallen stone.
"I suppose we'll have to creep beneath that corner if we want to seewhat's under the roof," Dick said. He looked anxiously at the girls as hespoke, but Nann replied briskly, "Of course we will. Who'll lead theway?"
"Since I have a flashlight, I will," the city boy offered. "Here, Nann,give me your lantern and I'll light it. Then if you girls get separatedfrom us boys, you won't be in the dark."
"Goodness, Dick!" Dories shivered. "What in the world is going toseparate us? Can't we keep all close together?"
"Course we can," Gib cheerfully assured her. "Dick kin go in furst, yougirls follow, an' I'll be rear guard."
"You mean I can go in when I find an opening," the city boy turned backto whisper. Somehow they just couldn't bring themselves to talk out loud.
Nann held her lantern high and looked at the corner nearest where acrumbling wall upheld the roof. "There ought to be room to creep in overthere," she pointed, "if it weren't for all that debris on the ground."
"We'll soon dispose of that," Dick said, going to the spot and placinghis flashlight on a rock that it might illumine their labors. The twoboys fell to work with a will tossing away bricks and stones and brokenpieces of plaster.
At last an opening large enough to be entered on hands and kneesappeared. Dick cautioned the girls ta stay where they were until he hadinvestigated. Dories gave a little startled cry when the boy disappeared,fearing that the wall or the roof might fall on him. After what seemedlike a very long time, they heard a low whistle on the inside of theopening. Gib peered under and received whispered instructions from Dick."It's safe enough as far as I can see. Bring the girls in." And so Doriescrept through the opening, followed by Nann and Gib. Rising to their feetthey found themselves in what had one time been a large and handsomelyfurnished drawing-room. A huge chandelier with dangling crystals stillhung from the cross-beams, and in the night wind that entered from abovethey kept up a constant low jangling noise. Heavy pieces of mahoganyfurniture were tilted at strange angles where the rotting floor had givenway.
"Watch your step, girls," Dick, in the lead, turned to caution. "See,there's a big hole ahead. I'll go aro
und it first to be sure that theboards will hold. Aha, yonder is a partition that is still standing. Iwonder what room is beyond that."
"Look out, Dick!" came in a low terrorized cry from Dories. The boyturned to see the girl, eyes wide and frightened, pointing toward a darkcorner ahead. "There's a man crouching over there. I'm sure of it! I sawhis face."
Instantly Dick swung the flashlight until it illumined the corner towardwhich Dories was still pointing. There was unmistakably a face looking atthem with piercing dark eyes that were heavily overhung with shaggy greybrows.
For one terrorized moment the four held their breath. Even Dick and Gibwere puzzled. Then, with an assumption of bravery, the former called:"Say, who are you? Come on out of there. We're not here to harmanything."
But the upper part of the face (that was all they could see) did notchange expression, and so Dick advanced nearer. Then his relievedlaughter pealed forth.
"Some man--that," he said, as he flashed the light beyond the pile ofdebris which partly concealed the face.
"Why, if it isn't an old painting!" Nann ejaculated.
And that, indeed, was what it proved to be. Battered by its fall, thebroken frame stood leaning against a partition.
"I believe its a portrait of that cruel old Colonel Woodbury himself,"Dories remarked. Then eagerly added, "I do wish we could find a pictureof that sweet girl, his daughter. Ever since Gib told us her story I havethought of her as being as lovely as a princess. Though I don't suppose areal princess is always beautiful."
"I should say not! I've seen pictures of them that couldn't hold a candleto Nann, here." This was Dick's blunt, boyish way of saying that headmired the fearless girl.
Gib, having found a heavy cane, was poking around in the piles of debristhat bordered the partition and his exclamation of delight took theothers to his side as rapidly as they could go.
"What have you found, old man?" Dick asked, eagerly peering at a heap ofrubbish.
"Nuther picture, seems like, or leastwise I reckon it's one."
Gib busied himself tossing stones and fragments of plaster to one side,and when he could free it, he lifted a canvas which faced the wall andturned it so that light fell full upon it.
"Gee-whiliker, it's yer princess all right, all right!" he averred. "Say,wasn't she some beaut, though?"
There were sudden tears in Nann's eyes as she spoke. "Oh, you poor, poorgirl," she said as she bent above the pictured face, "how you havesuffered since that long-ago day when some artist painted your portrait."
"Even then she wasn't happy," Dories put in softly. "See that littlehalf-wistful smile? It's as though she felt much more like crying."
"And now she is a woman and over in Europe somewhere with a little girland boy," Nann took up the tale; but Gib amended: "Not so very little.Didn't we cal'late that if they're livin' the gal'd be about sixteen, an'the boy eighteen or nineteen?"
"Why, that's so." Nann looked up brightly. "When I spoke I wasremembering the story as you told it, and how sad the young mother lookedwhen she landed from the snow-white yacht and led a little boy and girlup to this very house to beg her father to forgive her. But I recall now,you said that was at least ten years ago."
"What shall we do with this beautiful picture?" Dories inquired. "Itdoesn't seem a bit right to leave it here in all this rubbish, now thatwe've found it."
"Let's take it into the next room," Dick said; "maybe we'll find a betterplace to leave it."
They had reached an opening in the rear partition, but the heavy carveddoor still hung on one hinge, obstructing their passage.
"We _must_ get through somehow," Nann, the adventurous, said. "I feel inmy bones that the next room holds something that will help solve themystery of the air pilot's visits."
Dories held the painting while Nann flashed the light where it would bestaid the boys in removing the debris that held the old door in such a waythat it obstructed their passage into the room back of the salon.
A long half-hour passed and the boys labored, lifting stones and heavypieces of ceiling, but, when at last the floor space in front of theheavy door was cleared, they found that something was holding it tightshut on the other side.
"Gee-whiliker!" Dick ejaculated, removing his cap and wiping his brow."Talk about buried treasure. If it's as hard to get at as it is to getthrough this door, I----"
He was interrupted by the younger girl, who said: "Let's pretend there isa treasure behind this door, and after all, maybe there is. Perhaps theair pilot is a smuggler of some kind and brings things here to hide."Dories had made a suggestion which had not occurred to the boys.
"That's so!" Dick agreed. "But if he gets into the next room, he musthave an entrance around at the back of the ruin. No one has been throughthis door since the flood undermined the old house."
Gib was still trying to open the stubborn door. He put his shoulderagainst it. "Come on, Dick, help a fellow, will you?" he sang out.
The boys pushed as hard as they could and the door moved just the leastbit, then seemed to wedge in a way that no further assaults upon it couldeffect.
"Whizzle! What if that pilot feller is on the other side holdin' it. Whatif he is?"
"But he couldn't be," Nann protested. "We all agreed long ago that hecouldn't be here because how could he arrive in the airplane withoutbeing heard?"
"I know what I'm a-goin' to do," Gib's expression was determined. "I'ma-goin' to smash a hole in that ol' door and crawl through."
Dick sprang to get a heavy stone from one of the crumbling side walls andGib, having procured another, the two boys began a battering which soonresulted in a loud splintering sound and one of the heavy panels wascrashed in.
Gib wiggled his way through and Dick handed him the searchlight. "Huh,we're bright uns, we are!" came in a muffled voice from the other room."Thar's as much rubbish a holdin' the door on this side as thar was onthe other, but I, fer one, jest won't move a stick o' it."
"No need to!" Nann said blithely. "Make that hole a little bigger and wecan all go through the way you did."
This was quickly done and the boys assisted the two girls through theopening. Then they stood close together looking about them as Dickflashed the light. The room was not quite as much of a wreck as the salonhad been. In it a mahogany table stood and the chairs with heavily carvedlegs and backs had been little harmed. With a little cry of delight, Nanndragged Dories toward an old-fashioned mahogany sideboard. "Don't youlove it?" she said enthusiastically, turning a glowing face toward hercompanion. "Wouldn't you adore having it?" But before Dories could voiceher admiration, Dick, having looked at his watch, exclaimed:"Gee-whiliker, I'll have to beat it if I am to catch that early trainback to Boston. I hate to break up the party." He hesitated, glancingfrom one to the other.
"Of course you must go!" Nann, the sensible, declared. "There's anotherweek-end coming." Then turning to her friend, who was still holding thepicture, she said: "Dori, let's leave the painting of our princessstanding on the old mahogany sideboard." When this had been done, sheaddressed the picture: "Good-bye, Lady of the Phantom Yacht. Keep thosesweet blue eyes of yours wide open that you may tell us what mysteriousthings go on in this old ruin while we are away."
The pictured eyes were to gaze upon more than the pictured lips would beable to tell.
