The Third Girl Detective

by Margaret Sutton

“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.”