The Third Girl Detective

by Margaret Sutton

  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’ ca
bin 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.