“How did the natives trace the drum to you, Mr. Burnett?” Rex asked.
“I don’t know that, but they were willing to cross an ocean to find me. Perhaps after all, I should turn the drum over to them.”
“You’ll not be able to do it for a good many years,” Jack French observed. “Unless there’s some slip, they’ll all get stiff sentences in the pen. The sect should be broken up.”
“After all you’ve gone through, I think you deserve to keep the drum,” Rex added.
Madge was curious to know how Jack and Rex had met and the former obligingly told the story.
“After I received your telegram, Madge, I hopped a train and came as fast as it would carry me. I arrived at Cheltham Bay and learned that The Flora was still anchored in the harbor. I went down to the wharf, thinking I’d hire a boat to take me out there.”
“Then he ran into me,” Rex interrupted. “I had my amphibian tuned up and was watching the yacht to see when you girls started away in the motor boat. He asked me how he could get out there and I suspiciously demanded his name and his business. As soon as I learned he was a friend of yours, Madge, I invited him to join the festivities.”
“I guess I arrived too late to be of much service,” the ranger said regretfully.
“Not much you didn’t!” Rex protested. “If you hadn’t been along, I doubt if we’d have found this place. When we landed at the beach and were puzzled which way to go, he picked up Madge’s trail like a blood hound.”
“A blind man could have followed it,” Jack declared modestly.
The young people decided to allow other questions to go unanswered until they reached the yacht, for Mr. Burnett was in need of food and rest. While the kidnappers had not actually mistreated him, they had grilled him at all hours and had shortened his rations to the vanishing point.
“When I get to The Flora I want a big juicy steak, French fried potatoes, several pies and at least a gallon of good, hot coffee,” Mr. Burnett announced, “and you all must share the feast with me.”
With Rex and Jack supporting him on either side, he was able to walk. They helped him down to the beach and established him comfortably in the cockpit of the amphibian. Jack, Madge and Enid said they would return in the motor boat, and before leaving Cedar Point, watched the amphibian take off.
During the long trip back to The Flora, Madge and Jack had ample opportunity to renew acquaintances. They had been separated less than a month yet from their conversation a stranger would have judged that they were meeting after several years’ absence. Enid piloted the boat, obligingly keeping her eyes glued on the course. She experienced no difficulty in avoiding Clingman’s Rock and brought them safely into harbor.
“I hope the Zudi Drum is still here,” Madge said as they stepped aboard the yacht. “If it isn’t, I’ll go jump off the deep end.”
She found the trophy in Mr. Burnett’s cabin where she had hidden it.
There was no sleep for anyone that night. Jose, the cook, was rousted from his bed to prepare the most ambitious meal of his life. The feast came to an end just as the sun was coloring the east.
“‘All’s well that ends well,’ as our good friend Shakespeare once said,” Mr. Burnett quoted when the party showed signs of breaking up. “I particularly want this affair to end pleasantly. As soon as I feel able to handle a sail again, I want the vacation to go through as it was originally planned. Enid and I will not be satisfied unless you all join us. You’ll come, won’t you, Mr. French?”
Jack looked at Madge and smiled as he saw her quickly nod.
“I’ll be glad to come,” he accepted. “I’m on my vacation and have more time than I know how to use.”
“Here’s to a glorious cruise!” Enid cried. “Now that everything is settled, let’s all stagger off to bed.”
Stagger they did, and nearly slept the clock around. When Madge awoke it was to find herself famous, for the newspapers, securing the story from the police, had given her credit for the important part she had played in Mr. Burnett’s rescue.
She was destined to have a more substantial reward for her services. Mr. Burnett recovered the jade pin from the jeweler, and after conferring with the police, insisted that Madge accept it as a slight compensation for all that she had done.
“Slight compensation!” she protested. “Why, it must be worth a great deal—Mr. Dewitt told me that. I’d be afraid to keep it. When those men get out of jail they might make trouble.”
“You need not fear on that score,” Mr. Burnett assured her. “The kidnappers have relinquished all claims to both the pin and the drum. They have long sentences to serve. By the time they are set free, the Zudi sect will no longer exist.”
Madge continued to offer objections but in the end she was induced to accept the pin.
In a very few days, Mr. Burnett had recovered his strength and announced that he was ready to leave Cheltham Bay. One fine morning The Flora sailed majestically out of the harbor on a two weeks’ cruise. Rex and Jack learned a great deal about sailing from Mr. Burnett but that was by no means their major interest.
“It’s been a glorious vacation,” Madge told Enid one day as they sat together on the sunny deck. “I can’t believe it will all be over in a few days.”
“You’re feeling blue because Jack soon will be returning to Canada,” her friend teased.
“I’ll hate to see him go,” Madge admitted, “but I wasn’t thinking of that. When I leave here I must go back to Michigan and school. How dull it will seem after such an experience as I’ve had this summer.”
“School isn’t so exciting,” Enid agreed, “but perhaps you can stir things up a bit.”
At the moment, neither of the girls had the slightest intimation of what really lay ahead of Madge. Her exciting days were by no means over. Just around the corner—at Claymore, Michigan—an adventure awaited her arrival. The story is related in the third volume of this series, “The Secret of the Sundial.”
“Oh, well,” Madge remarked optimistically, “the memory of this summer may tide me over for another year or so.”
She said no more for someone had started the phonograph and it was grinding out an inviting dance tune. Jack came to claim her for a partner.
“What were you saying about memories?” he asked as he swept her away. And then in an undertone, intended for her ears alone: “Don’t think for one minute that you can pack me away in moth balls and lavender. I’m like those big mosquitoes we have at Loon Lake—I’ll pester you ’till the end of time!”
THE SECRET OF THE SUNDIAL, by Mildred A. Wirt
CHAPTER I
An Initiation
On a certain evening in early September—Friday the thirteenth—to be exact, a stranger in Claymore, Michigan, might have been startled to behold two figures, grotesque in long white sheets which draped them from head to foot, scurrying along an alley leading to Summit Street. It was an appropriate night for ghosts to be abroad. The moon was in the dark and the wind whistled weirdly through the trees.
The two figures moved stealthily along the boxwood hedge which bordered the rear of the George Brady property. Presently, coming to an opening barely large enough to squeeze through, they paused, glancing hastily in all directions.
“The coast is clear!” one murmured in a low tone.
“Surely you don’t expect me to crawl through that tiny hole!” came the indignant protest. “I’m not the bean-pole you are, Jane Allen. What’s the sense of all this secrecy anyhow? Why can’t we go in the main entrance?”
“I suppose you want everyone to see you!” the other retorted. “What’s the use of having a secret society if it isn’t secret?”
The second “ghost” silently acknowledged the weight of this argument and permitted herself to be pushed toward the opening in the hedge. Half way through, her sheet caught. In her efforts to free herself, it tore.
“Mother’s best sheet!” she groaned. “Won’t I catch it when I get home!”
“Hurry up!” the other ur
ged with callous indifference to the fate which might await her friend. “We mustn’t be late for the initiation.”
They moved swiftly across the lawn, noting that the large white house was entirely dark. They paused at a side door and knocked three times.
Almost instantly the door opened and a third ghost confronted them.
“Everyone is here now except Cara Wayne,” she informed, “and of course we don’t want her until we’re all ready for the initiation. Aunt Maude and Uncle George went to a bridge party tonight so we have the house to ourselves.”
She led them through darkened halls to an attic “clubroom” where an oil lamp dimly burned.
“We may as well take off these hot sheets until Cara comes,” she invited. “We can slip them on again when we hear her at the door.”
By way of example, she tossed off her own disguise and stood revealed as Madge Sterling, president of the Skull and Crossbones, a most exclusive secret society. She was an attractive girl, vivacious and distinctly a leader. Her laughter was infectious; without half trying she had a way of drawing friends to her. Older people said she had “tact” but girls her own age liked her because she was known as a good sport. Madge’s mother was dead, and since the disappearance of her father, she had made her home with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Brady.
The two newcomers were Jane Allen and Edna Raynard. Jane was homely and very outspoken; she made enemies easily yet was a loyal friend. She did not mind her straight black hair or somewhat muddy complexion. Her slender figure was often ridiculed, but she took it all in good fun. Edna was quite the opposite. She was pretty as a picture, plump, and had an inclination toward taking life exactly as she found it.
The other girl, Enid Burnett, was Madge’s special chum. Largely through Madge’s influence, she had been induced to come from another state to attend the Everetts School for Girls at Claymore. Her mother also was dead, and her father, a well-to-do collector and sportsman, permitted her an unusual amount of freedom. Notwithstanding, she was a quiet, unspoiled girl with a genuine liking for school and studies.
“Is everything all set for the initiation, Madge?” Jane inquired.
“Yes, Enid and I fixed up the basement this afternoon. We didn’t dare let Aunt Maude know what we were about for fear she’d put a stop to it. Wait until Cara steps into the tub of water! We bought a nice big piece of quivery liver too that—”
She broke off as three loud knocks sounded from below, and made a dive for her sheet. The others scrambled into their costumes, preparing to follow her downstairs.
“Remember, girls, don’t speak a word until Cara is brought up here,” she warned in a whisper. “This initiation must be a very solemn affair.”
“Have you thought up the main stunt?” Edna asked anxiously. “I tried to think up something but couldn’t.”
“Don’t worry, I have a hair raiser!” Madge chuckled.
She led the procession down the stairs. The girls lined up on either side of the door and then Madge opened it to confront a very frightened little girl who awaited admittance in fear and trembling. She giggled nervously as Madge beckoned her to follow.
Cara Wayne was conducted by a devious route through the dark house to the basement stairs. Madge signified that she was to go down alone. Cara hesitated, sensing that some unpleasant ordeal awaited her below, but there was no escape. She went boldly down. Suddenly, the girls heard a little squeal of fright.
“She must have touched the liver,” Enid whispered. “I hung it where she couldn’t miss it.”
Next there was a loud crash as Cara stepped into an empty packing box.
“I hope she doesn’t miss the tub of water,” Madge murmured anxiously.
Cara did not disappoint them. A minute later they heard a great splash and a howl of anguish. Since the water ordeal exhausted the possibilities of the basement, Enid was sent down to bring up the unhappy victim. Cara was drenched to the knees but she displayed a studied cheerfulness. They led her to the attic clubroom, seating themselves in a semi-circle about her.
“Cara Wayne, do you promise never to reveal anything which transpires here this night?” Madge asked in a deep, sepulcher-like voice.
There was a long silence and then Cara’s quavering: “I do.”
“And will you obey any command given you during the next week by any illustrious member of Skull and Crossbones?”
“I will,” Cara promised, visions of many detested tasks passing before her eyes.
“And now, one last test of your courage remains to be made,” Madge continued impressively. “It lacks twenty minutes of midnight. Exactly upon the hour you must go to the old boarded-up Swenster mansion, bringing back some token to prove that you have accomplished your mission.”
For a minute Cara looked as though she intended to refuse, and in truth, the others could not have blamed her. The old Swenster mansion was several doors away, adjoining a grove of pine trees which at night was not the most pleasant place to pass. The Swenster grounds were surrounded by a high fence and hedge which hid the house from view of the street. The place had been closed for years.
“I don’t know how I can get into the grounds,” Cara protested.
“You can go in the back way,” Madge informed, forgetting her pose and speaking in a natural voice. “It will take you some time to reach there, so you had better start now.”
Cara looked very unhappy but she knew that to refuse might mean her dismissal from the organization to which she aspired. Reluctantly, she made her way down the dark stairs. The outside door closed behind her.
“That was an inspiration!” Enid praised after Cara had gone. “Madge, you have such clever ideas! I didn’t think she’d do it, did you?”
“Cara’s game,” Madge laughed. “I’d not enjoy going to the Swenster mansion myself at this time of night.”
“You couldn’t hire me to go near there,” Edna added feelingly. “I can just see poor Cara shaking in her boots. I wonder if she’ll be able to get into the grounds.”
“The gate at the rear is ajar,” Madge returned. “I tested it this afternoon to find out.”
For some minutes the girls laughed over the evening’s fun. Shortly after midnight they began to expect Cara.
“I wish she’d hurry,” Madge said. “Aunt Maude and Uncle George will be coming home soon and that will put an end to the initiation. She’s had plenty of time to get back.”
At fifteen minutes past midnight, the girls were a little alarmed. They cast off their cumbersome robes and went downstairs to watch for her.
“What can have happened?” Madge worried. “Perhaps we shouldn’t have sent her alone.”
“She’s probably trying to worry us just to get even,” Jane insisted.
“I think we’d better go to the Swenster mansion and see what is keeping her,” Madge returned quietly. “Or if you like, I’ll go alone. It was my idea in the first place—a bum one I’ll admit.”
“Wait!” Enid commanded. “I believe she’s coming now.”
They all turned to look and saw a figure fairly flying down the street toward the house. She hurled herself through the gate and raced across the yard. Before the girls could open the door, she flung herself against it, crying: “Let me in! Let me in!”
As they hurriedly admitted her, she stumbled against Madge, gripping her in a nervous embrace.
“Did you bring the token?” they asked her.
Cara laughed hysterically.
“No, I didn’t bring it but I went to the Swenster mansion all right! And I don’t care what you say—I’ll not go back! Not even if it means staying out of the club. Nothing can make me go near that horrible place again!”
CHAPTER II
Cara’s Fright
“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t bring a token,” Madge comforted the shaking Cara. “We’ll not make you go back there again. But tell us, what frightened you so?”
“I—I saw a ghost!”
“You must have dreamed
it,” Jane declared. “I guess you saw so many ghosts during the initiation that you had them on your mind.”
Cara shook her head stubbornly.
“No, I didn’t dream this. I saw something white moving around in the Swenster yard—I don’t know what it could have been if it wasn’t a ghost!”
Madge switched on the living room lights and led Cara to a chair. The girls were disturbed to see that she was pale. No one doubted that her fright was genuine.
“Cara Wayne, you know very well that ghosts don’t exist,” Madge said sternly. “Now tell us exactly what happened.”
“Well, I went to the old mansion as I was told to do. I went around the back way and found the gate ajar. Believe me, I wasn’t very keen to go inside, but I made myself do it. No sooner had I stepped inside than I saw the thing—oh, it was awful!”
“What did it look like?” Edna demanded.
“I just saw something white and a face—it frightened me so I turned and ran. I made it back here in about thirty seconds flat.”
“What was your so called ghost doing in the Swenster yard?” Madge questioned curiously.
“Digging with a shovel!”
Until now the girls had been impressed with Cara’s story although they took no stock in ghosts, but this announcement called forth gales of laughter in which all joined save Madge. She had begun to think that perhaps Cara’s fright was based upon something more substantial than imagination. She kept the thought to herself.
“You must have been seeing things!” Jane scoffed.
“Well, if you don’t believe me, go there yourself and find out!” Cara challenged.
Madge tactfully put an end to the argument by suggesting that refreshments be served.
“We’ve all had enough initiation for one night,” she said. “I vote that without further ceremony we make Cara a full-fledged member of the club.”
The others unanimously agreed. Cara breathed a deep sigh of relief as she realized that it was all over. Madge and Enid went to the kitchen to dish up ice cream and cake. Everyone was very sweet to Cara, trying to atone for the unpleasant events of the evening. She bore no one a grudge and soon was able to laugh at her own experience.
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