The Girl Detective Megapack: 25 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls

by Mildred A. Wirt

  Madge had never been one to forego an adventure for the sake of caution. Perhaps her life in the north woods had taught her resourcefulness and courage. At any rate, since the death of her mother and the strange disappearance of her father, she had learned to look out for herself. Since childhood she had made her home with her Uncle George and Aunt Maude Brady, and many pleasant summers had been spent at their fishing lodge on Loon Lake, Canada. There she had made friends with Anne Faraday, an orphan living at Stewart Island. This acquaintance had plunged her into an exciting hunt for a hidden paper, the story of which is related in the first volume of the Madge Sterling series, entitled, “The Missing Formula.”

  At Loon Lake she had met Jack French, a handsome young forest ranger, who, in taking leave of her on the eve of her trip to Cheltham Bay, had warned her that before the summer ended she might see him again.

  Madge had been elated at the thought of spending a vacation aboard the Burnett yacht. Enid was the daughter of a noted sportsman and collector of antiques, and since the death of her mother had been permitted to grow up much as she pleased. Notwithstanding, she was a cheerful, friendly sort of girl, not in the least spoiled.

  During the tedious trip across the bay, Madge had ample opportunity to study the face of her boatman. He avoided her glance, yet when she looked away, she could feel his eyes upon her.

  “He must be a Hindu,” she thought uncomfortably. “At least, I’m sure he’s from India.”

  Although the man was dressed in cheap, rough clothing, he did not appear to be a suitable type for the occupation he had chosen. His hands were not those of one who worked at hard labor. Madge noticed too that he wore an expensive looking jade pin, fastened over his breast.

  “There’s something wrong with the picture,” she meditated. “He must have seen better days—or else he stole that pin!”

  She wished anew that she was safely aboard The Flora. The yacht was still a considerable distance away, too far for her to see anyone on deck.

  “Why doesn’t he row faster?” she asked herself impatiently. “We’ll never get there at this rate.”

  At her suggestion to the effect, the boatman only stared uncomprehendingly until she gave up trying to make him understand.

  “He knows what I want but he’s stubborn,” she decided. “What ails him anyway? I’m certainly paying him enough for his work.”

  She longed to take over the oars and show him how to row a boat. Instead, she reconciled herself to a slow trip under the broiling noonday sun and tried to become interested in a small sailboat which was tacking in toward the harbor.

  At length, they drew near The Flora, approaching from the port side. Madge scanned the railing for a glimpse of her friends. The decks appeared deserted.

  “Where is everyone?” she asked in surprise.

  The boatman rowed alongside of the yacht and she grasped a trailing rope.

  “Hallo, aboard!” she called out.

  There was no answer. “You see,” the boatman muttered. “No one aboard. We go back.”

  “Not yet, we don’t,” Madge corrected. “There must be someone here.” She glanced at her wrist watch and saw that it was twelve-fifteen. “Probably everyone is eating luncheon in the cabin.”

  She shouted again but as there was no reply, indicated to her boatman that she wanted him to row around the yacht until they came to a rope ladder which hung down over the side.

  “Do you mind climbing up to see if anyone is aboard?” she asked.

  The boatman rewarded her with another blank stare.

  “He understands perfectly,” Madge thought irritably. “Oh, well, I see I either must argue until I’m black in the face or do it myself.”

  Instructing the boatman to wait for her, she grasped the rope and began the ascent. The ladder weaved back and forth as the vessel rolled gently in the waves but Madge was not afraid of falling.

  “I feel like a monkey in the zoo,” she chuckled. “Such a dignified way to arrive!”

  She reached the deck and looked about. Everything was in order but there was no sign of activity. It struck her as peculiar that no sailors were on duty, although she knew that Mr. Burnett employed only a few men. Everything was strangely quiet.

  “It begins to look as though I’m not expected,” she told herself. “Of course, Enid and her father may have gone to the station after I left. That would account for their absence. I hope I didn’t miss them.”

  She wandered around to the opposite side of the yacht and paused before a door which led down into the dining salon. It was half ajar and as she opened it wider she saw that the salon was empty.

  “Not a sign of the cook or anyone,” she reflected. “This is what I call an enthusiastic welcome! And I’m half starved too!”

  Passing a stateroom, Madge thought she heard a slight sound from within. She knocked loudly upon the closed door. There was no response.

  She turned away, only to pause and retrace her steps. A queer intuitive feeling had taken possession of her—a conviction that all was not as it should be aboard the yacht.

  She hesitated before the door, scarcely knowing whether or not it was her business to investigate. Then with sudden decision, she grasped the knob and turned it.

  The sight that greeted Madge’s eyes left her startled and dumbfounded.

  “Oh,” she gasped. “What dreadful thing has happened?”

  CHAPTER III

  The Abandoned Yacht

  The door had swung back to reveal a wrecked stateroom. Everything was in confusion. Chairs were upset, papers strewn over the floor and a table lamp had toppled to the floor. Obviously, the room had been occupied by Mr. Burnett, for his clothing hung on nails along the wall, but there was no sign of the noted yachtsman. The bed had not been slept in on the previous night.

  Madge was thoroughly alarmed. It was immediately apparent to her that something was radically wrong. She saw clearly that there had been a struggle, and from the condition of the furniture and fixtures, it had been a desperate one. What had become of Mr. Burnett and Enid?

  “It’s a case for the police,” she decided instantly. “I must return to the city as quickly as I can and bring someone here!”

  Closing the door behind her, she ran back to the railing. Peering down, she searched in vain for her boatman. Her eyes turned shoreward and she saw him several hundred yards away, rowing hurriedly toward the harbor.

  “Come back!” she called frantically. “I want to go with you!”

  She shouted until she was nearly hoarse, but the boatman gave no indication that he heard. He kept his face lowered and not once did he glance back toward the yacht.

  “Now what shall I do?” Madge asked herself in desperation. “I believe that man left me stranded here on purpose! Oh, I could scalp him!”

  She gazed resentfully after the retreating boatman, observing that he made far greater speed than on the trip out to the yacht. Not for a moment did she believe he had mistaken her order to wait.

  She consoled herself with the thought that she would have him arrested for carrying away her luggage. However, unobserved by her, the boatman had brought the suitcase aboard. She saw it on the deck as she turned around.

  “He came aboard quickly enough when he wanted to!” she exclaimed. “I wonder why he ran away? Perhaps he had a suspicion that something was wrong here.”

  She recalled his reluctance to rent his boat and his unwillingness to make the trip to The Flora. Having taken an instant dislike to him, she decided without further consideration, that he was a questionable character and would bear investigation. She determined to speak of him when she acquainted the authorities with the situation as she had found it aboard the yacht.

  For the present, her one desire was to reach shore as quickly as possible. She gazed anxiously about for help. Several small boats were plying in and out of the harbor, but they were too far away to be of aid. As if by a preconceived plan, they kept beyond hailing distance.

  “It looks as tho
ugh I’ll be here for some time,” Madge commented inwardly. “Oh, dear, and it’s so important that I notify the police without delay. Something dreadful may have happened to Enid and her father.”

  Since it availed her nothing to stand helplessly by the railing, she decided to look about the ship more carefully and see if she could make further discoveries. It was difficult for her to believe that the yacht had been entirely abandoned.

  After visiting the kitchen and the lounge, she noticed a second cabin not far from the one occupied by Mr. Burnett. The door was unlocked and she entered, half expecting to find everything in disorder.

  She found herself in Enid’s room. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed. Toilet articles were neatly arranged on the dressing table, and in opening a closet door, Madge saw a long line of pretty frocks. An empty traveling bag occupied the shelf above.

  “Enid couldn’t have gone away for the weekend or she would have taken her things,” she reasoned.

  Only the bed gave evidence that the room had been occupied within the past twenty-four hours. The sheets were wrinkled and the blankets lay upon the floor, as though the occupant had tossed them hurriedly aside upon arising.

  “It’s beyond me,” Madge mused. “Evidently, Enid slept here last night—or at least a portion of the night, but Mr. Burnett didn’t.”

  In her mind, the conviction was steadily growing that her friends had met with violence. She had read that robberies were not an infrequent occurrence aboard luxurious yachts, and Mr. Burnett was known to have valuables and art treasures in his possession.

  Sorely troubled, she returned to the upper deck to watch for a boat, but as there was none close by, she wandered restlessly about.

  “It’s odd what became of all the sailors,” she thought. “Surely someone would be here to tell the story, even if there had been a robbery. It’s the most mysterious thing I ever encountered.”

  Presently, she reentered Mr. Burnett’s cabin to look again for clues. Crossing to the desk, she jerked open a drawer. To her astonishment, she saw, tucked beneath some papers, a leather billfold. A glance disclosed that it contained two twenty dollar bills.

  “This doesn’t look like robbery after all,” Madge told herself. “I don’t know what to make of it now.”

  She was even more puzzled when she entered the bathroom adjoining the cabin and found a silver watch lying upon the shelf above the wash bowl. She was still examining it when she became aware of a slight scraping sound in the bedroom. At first she thought she must be mistaken, but as she heard it again, she hastily retraced her steps.

  All was quiet in the stateroom. Madge looked about but could see no cause for the strange sound. She was about to turn away when it was repeated, and this time she distinctly traced it to a closet on the opposite side of the room.

  “There’s some one in there!” she thought in excitement.

  She ran to the door and tried to jerk it open. It was locked.

  As she moved the handle, she heard the same scraping noise, louder than before. Now she knew that someone was imprisoned within and pulled frantically at the knob. Realizing that she was only wasting her strength, she looked about the room for some object with which to break the lock. Instead, her eye fell upon a key that lay on the carpet at her feet. Evidently, it had fallen from the door or had been dropped purposely.

  With nervous fingers she fitted it into the lock. It refused to turn. She worked with it and after several attempts, was rewarded by a sharp click.

  She jerked open the door and stepped back in amazement and horror. There at her feet, bound and gagged, lay Enid.

  CHAPTER IV

  Enid’s Story

  The girl on the floor rolled over and groaned. She raised her head and tried to speak, but only succeeded in making choking noises in her throat.

  “Oh, you poor thing!” Madge cried, trying to lift her up. “I’ll have you free in just a minute. Who left you here like this?”

  Realizing that her friend could not reply, she quickly slipped the gag from her mouth. Even then, Enid made no attempt to speak other than to murmur an incoherent, “thank goodness.” She leaned weakly against the wall and watched as Madge tried to release the ropes which bound her.

  “There’s a pen knife—in the desk,” she managed, but the effort left her spent.

  Madge failed to find it, but flew to the kitchen where she did locate a sharp paring knife. Quickly, she severed the ropes and helped Enid to her feet. She could not stand alone for her limbs were temporarily paralyzed from being too long in a cramped position. Madge supported her and half carried her to the bed.

  “Water,” the girl pleaded.

  Madge ran again to the kitchen, returning with a pitcher filled with water. Enid gulped down one glass and would have drunk another had not Madge thought it best to restrain her. She was shocked at the girl’s appearance. Her face was streaked from tears, and deathly white. Her parched lips were twisted as though from pain. The white silk dress she wore, had been torn in several places. Her reddish brown hair, usually so nicely groomed, hung in wisps about her face.

  “I’ll be all right in a little while,” she insisted. “I feel better now.”

  Madge had noticed that Enid’s wrists and ankles were swollen and bruised from the ropes so she searched the bathroom for bandage material. As she poured iodine into the cuts, her patient showed the first signs of returning vivacity.

  “Good grief, Madge! Have a heart!”

  “Stop wriggling, or I’ll spill this stuff all over you. I know it hurts.”

  By the time she had finished bandaging, Enid was more like her old self. Not until then did Madge try to learn what had happened.

  “It’s too dreadful to tell,” Enid murmured brokenly. “Father’s been kidnapped!”

  “Kidnapped!”

  Enid nodded forlornly.

  “It happened last night. I’ve been locked up in that closet ever since. I thought I’d die before someone came!”

  “What became of your father?”

  “Oh, Madge, if only I knew! Those horrible men took him away! I’m afraid they’ve murdered him! I’m afraid—”

  “Now, now,” Madge comforted, slipping her arm about Enid, “don’t take on so. It won’t help matters to become hysterical. Try to tell me as calmly as you can just what took place.”

  Enid made an effort to steady herself. She gripped her friend’s hand tightly as she began her story.

  “Father and I were alone last night here. We had given the three sailors and our cook forty-eight hours shore leave, for we had decided not to sail until tomorrow morning. Father had gone to his cabin to read. I idled about the deck for an hour or so. It was after eleven when I finally went to bed.” She paused and seemed to lose herself in unpleasant thoughts.

  “Go on,” Madge urged gently.

  “It was sometime later—I’m not just sure what time it was, when I was awakened. I heard a boat grate against the side of the yacht and then someone called out. Father answered but I couldn’t make out what he said. However, I gathered that some men wanted to speak to him in the cabin.”

  “You don’t know who they were?”

  “No, they must have given their names, but I couldn’t hear well enough through the porthole. At any rate, they seemed to have convinced Father that they were all right, for after some discussion, he permitted them to come aboard.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t go back to sleep. I had a queer feeling that I can’t explain. I sensed that something was wrong. After a minute or so I got up and opened the door. I couldn’t hear a sound in Father’s cabin. I decided to dress.”

  “You turned on the light?” Madge inquired.

  “No, I didn’t, and I made as little noise as possible, although up until then I really had no reason to be afraid. It was just a feeling—”

  “I understand. Then what happened?”

  “I had just finished dressing when I heard a commotion in Father’s cabin. It sounded as though they we
re throwing the furniture around. I ran there as fast as I could. As I threw open the door I saw that two men were trying to overpower Father. He was fighting desperately, holding them at bay with a chair. I screamed and just then the light was extinguished.”

  “That was the last you recall?”

  “Very nearly. I do remember that Father shouted for me to get away. But before I could act, something struck me on the back of the head.” Enid raised her hand and tenderly felt the bump. “I didn’t know anything more for several hours. When I came to, I found myself in that closet, bound and gagged. I’ve been there ever since.”

  “It was horrible of them to leave you like that,” Madge declared angrily. “Why, you might have suffocated. Or starved to death!”

  “I did think I’d die before help came,” Enid confessed with a wry smile. “I really don’t believe those men would have cared. They’re heartless! That’s why I’m so worried about Father. They’ve taken him away somewhere.”

  “We must get the police after them instantly. Is there any way we can reach shore?”

  “Why, yes, we have a motor boat. If you’ll help me now I think I can walk.”

  “Don’t you want something to eat first? You’re not very strong.”

  Enid shook her head.

  “No, I’ll not feel like eating until I know the police are on the trail of those men.”

  She insisted that they start at once, and with Madge supporting her, managed to reach the deck. Peering down over the railing she uttered a startled cry.

  “What’s the matter?” Madge asked.

  “The motor boat! It’s gone! Someone has cut it from its moorings!”

  CHAPTER V

  A Puzzling Case

  Both girls could plainly see where the motor boat had been tied. Only a stub end of rope remained.

  “Those kidnappers must have cut it loose last night when they carried Father off!” Enid cried. “Now how are we to get ashore?”

  “We might swim,” Madge suggested seriously, measuring with her eye the distance to the wharf. “I think I could make it.”

  “Well, I couldn’t, and anyway, I have a better idea.”

  Enid brought out a distress flag which had been stored away and hung it where it would be seen by a passing ship. While they awaited rescue, Madge prepared food from the generous assortment of tin goods she found in the kitchen. Enid was induced to eat. The food seemed to revive her and she declared it was the most delicious she had ever tasted. The color gradually flooded back into her cheeks.