Mary Louise in the Country

by L. Frank Baum

  CHAPTER XVIIA CLEW AT LAST

  That night Josie resumed her watch of Cragg's cottage. She did nottrust to the shadow of the tree to conceal her but hid herself underthe bank of the river, among the dry stones, allowing only her head toproject above the embankment and selecting a place where she could peerthrough some low bushes.

  She suspected that the excitement of the previous night might renderthe old man nervous and wakeful and send him out on one of his midnightprowls. This suspicion seemed justified when, at eleven-thirty, hislight went out and a few minutes later he turned the corner of thehouse and appeared in the path.

  He did not seem nervous, however. With hands clasped behind his backand head bowed, he leisurely paced the path to the bridge, withouthesitation crossed the river and proceeded along the road in adirection opposite to the village.

  Josie was following, keeping herself concealed with utmost care. Sheremembered that his eyes were sharp in penetrating shadows.

  He kept along the main country road for a time and then turned to theright and followed an intersecting road. Half a mile in this directionbrought him to a lane running between two farm tracts but which was solittle used that grass and weeds had nearly obliterated all traces ofwagon-wheels.

  By this time Josie's eyes were so accustomed to the dim moonlight thatshe could see distinctly some distance ahead of her. The sky was clear;there was just enough wind to rustle the leaves of the trees. Now andthen in some farmyard a cock would crow or a dog bark, but no othersounds broke the stillness of the night.

  The girl knew now where Old Swallowtail was bound. At the end of thislane lay his five acres of stones, and he was about to visit it. Thefact gave her a queer little thrill of the heart, for a dozen strangefancies crossed her mind in rapid succession. If he had really killedNed Joselyn, it was probable he had buried the man in this neglectedplace, amongst the rubble of stones. Josie had inspected every foot ofground on the Kenton Place and satisfied herself no grave had been dugthere. Indeed, at the time of Joselyn's "disappearance" the ground hadbeen frozen so hard that the old man could not have dug a grave.Perhaps after a night or two he had dragged the corpse here and coveredit with stones. It would be a safe hiding-place.

  And now regret for his act drove the murderer here night after night towatch over the secret grave.

  Or, granting that the supposed crime had not been committed, might notMr. Cragg have discovered some sort of mineral wealth in hisstone-yard, which would account for his paying taxes on the place andvisiting it so often? Or did he simply love the solitude of the drearywaste where, safe from prying eyes, he could sit among the rockyboulders and commune with himself beneath the moonlit sky?

  Such conjectures as these occupied the girl's mind while she stealthily"shadowed" the old man along the lane. Never once did he look behindhim, although she was prepared to dissolve from view instantly, had hedone so. And at last the end of the lane was reached and he climbed therail fence which separated it from the valley of stones.

  Josie saw him suddenly pause, motionless, as he clung to the rails. Sheguessed from his attitude that he was staring straight ahead of him atsomething that had surprised him. A full minute he remained thus beforehe let himself down on the other side and disappeared from view.

  The girl ran lightly forward and, crouching low, peered through thebars of the fence. Half a dozen paces distant the old man stood amongthe stones in a silent paroxysm of rage. He waved his long arms in theair, anon clenching his fists and shaking them at some object beyondhim. His frail old body fluttered back and forth, right and left, as ifhe were doing a weird dance among the rocks. The violence of hisemotion was something terrible to witness and fairly startled the girl.Had he screamed, or sobbed, or shrieked, or moaned, the scene wouldhave been more bearable, but such excess of silent, intense rage, madeher afraid for the first time in her life.

  She wanted to run away. At one time she actually turned to fly; butthen common sense came to her rescue and she resolved to stay anddiscover what had affected Old Swallowtail so strongly. From herpresent position she could see nothing more than a vista of tumbledstones, but rising until her head projected above the topmost rail shepresently saw, far across the valley, an automobile, standingsilhouetted against the gray background.

  The machine was at present vacant. It had been driven in from the otherside of the valley, where doubtless there were other lanescorresponding with the one she was in. However, there was no fence onthat side to separate the lane from the waste tract, so the machine hadbeen driven as close as possible to the edge of the stones.

  Although the automobile was deserted, that was evidently the objectwhich had aroused old Cragg's fury, the object at which he was even yetshaking his clenched fists. Josie wondered and watched. Gradually theparoxysm of wrath diminished. Presently the old man stood as motionlessas the stones about him. Five minutes, perhaps, he remained thus,controlling himself by a mighty effort, regaining his capacity to thinkand reason. Then, to the girl's amazement, he tottered toward a large,shelf-like slab of stone and kneeling down, as before an altar, hebared his head, raised his arms on high and began to pray.

  There was no mistaking this attitude. Old Swallowtail was calling onGod to support him in this hour of trial. Josie felt somethingclutching at her heart. Nothing could be more impressive than thisscene--this silent but earnest appeal to the Most High by the man whomshe suspected of murder--of crimes even more terrible. She could seehis eyes, pleading and sincere, turned upward; could see his gray hairflutter in the breeze; could see his lips move, though they uttered nosound. And after he had poured out his heart to his Maker he extendedhis arms upon the slab, rested his head upon them and again becamemotionless.

  The girl waited. She was sorely troubled, surprised, even humiliated atbeing the witness of this extraordinary and varied display of emotion.She felt a sense of intrusion that was almost unjustifiable, even in adetective. What right had anyone to spy upon a communion between Godand man?

  He rose, at length, rose and walked uncertainly forward, stumblingamong the ragged rocks. He made for the far hillside that was clutteredwith huge fragments of stone, some weighing many tons and all tumbledhelter-skelter as if aimlessly tossed there by some giant hand. Andwhen he reached the place he threaded his way between several greatboulders and suddenly disappeared.

  Josie hesitated a moment what to do, yet instinct urged her to follow.She had a feeling that she was on the verge of an important discovery,that events were about to happen which had been wholly unforeseen evenby old Cragg himself.

  She was taking a serious risk by venturing on the stony ground, forunder the moonlight her dark form would show distinctly against thedull gray of the stones. Yet she climbed the fence and with her eyefixed on the cluster of rocks where Old Swallowtail had disappeared shemade her way as best she could toward the place. Should the old manreappear or the owner of the strange automobile emerge from the rocksJosie was sure to be discovered, and there was no telling what penaltyshe might be obliged to pay for spying. It was a dreary, desertedplace; more than one grave might be made there without much chance ofdetection.

  In a few minutes she had reached the hillside and was among the greatboulders. She passed between the same ones where Mr. Cragg haddisappeared but found so many set here and there that to follow histrail was impossible unless chance led her aright.

  There were no paths, for a rubble of small stones covered the groundeverywhere. Between some of the huge rocks the passage was so narrowshe could scarcely squeeze through; between others there was amplespace for two people to walk abreast. The girl paused frequently tolisten, taking care the while to make no sound herself, but an intensesilence pervaded the place.

  After wandering here and there for a time without result she hadstarted to return to the entrance of this labyrinth when her ears forthe first time caught a sound--a peculiar grinding, thumping sound thatcame from beneath her feet seemingly, and was of so unusual a characterthat she was puzzled to explain its c
ause.

  The shadows cast by the towering rocks rendered this place quite dark,so Josie crouched in the deepest shade she could find and listenedcarefully to the strange sound, trying to determine its origin. It wassurely under ground--a little to the right of her--perhaps beneath thehillside, which slanted abruptly from this spot. She decided there mustbe some secret passage that led to a cave under the hill. Such a cavemight be either natural or artificial; in either case she was sure oldCragg used it as a rendezvous or workshop and visited it stealthily onhis "wakeful" nights.

  Having located the place to the best of her ability Josie began toconsider what caused that regular, thumping noise, which stillcontinued without intermission.

  "I think it must be some sort of an engine," she reflected; "a stampfor ore, or something of that sort. Still, it isn't likely there is anysteam or electrical power to operate the motor of so big a machine. Itmight be a die stamp, though, operated by foot power, or--this is mostlikely--a foot-power printing-press. Well, if a die stamp or a printingpress, I believe the mystery of Old Swallowtail's 'business' is readilyexplained."

  She sat still there, crouching between the rocks, for more than twohours before the sound of the machine finally ceased. Another hourpassed in absolute silence. She ventured to flash her pocketsearchlight upon the dial of her watch and found it was nearly fouro'clock. Dawn would come, presently, and then her situation would bemore precarious than ever.

  While she thus reflected the sound of footsteps reached her ears--verynear to her, indeed--and a voice muttered:

  "Come this way. Have you forgotten?"

  "Forgotten? I found the place, didn't I?" was the surly reply.

  Then there passed her, so closely that she could have touched them,three dim forms. She watched them go and promptly followed, taking thechance of discovery if they looked behind. They were wholly unconsciousof her presence, however, and soon made their way out into the open.There they paused, and Josie, hiding behind a high rock, could both seeand hear them plainly.

  One was old Cragg; another a tall, thin man with a monocle in his lefteye; the third, she found to her surprise, was none other than JimBennett the postman. The tall man held in his arms a heavy bundle,securely wrapped.

  "You'll surely get them off to-morrow?" said Cragg to him,

  "Of course," was the answer. "You may be certain I'll not have them onmy hands longer than is necessary."

  "Do you mean to play square, this time?"

  "Don't be a fool," said the tall man impatiently. "Your infernalsuspicions have caused trouble enough, during the past year. Hiddenlike a crab in your shell, you think everything on the outside is goingwrong. Can't you realize, Cragg, that I _must_ be loyal to C. I. L.?There's no question of my playing square; I've got to."

  "That's right, sir," broke in Jim Bennett. "Seems to me he's explainedeverything in a satisfactory manner--as far as anyone _could_ explain."

  "Then good night," said Cragg, gruffly, "and--good luck."

  "Good night," growled the tall man in return and made off in thedirection of the automobile, carrying the package with him. The othertwo stood silently watching him until he reached the car, took his seatand started the motor. Presently the machine passed out of sight andthen Bennett said in a tone of deepest respect:

  "Good night, Chief. This meeting was a great thing for C. I. L. Itbrings us all nearer to final success."

  "I wish I could trust him," replied Cragg, doubtfully. "Good night,Jim."

  The postman made off in another direction and the old man waited untilhe had fully disappeared before he walked away over the stones himself.Josie let him go. She did not care to follow him home. Weary though shewas from her long vigil she determined to examine the rocks by daylightbefore she left the place.

  The sun was just showing its rim over the hills when she quittedHezekiah Cragg's five acres of stones and took the lane to the highway.But her step was elastic, her eyes bright, her face smiling.

  "I've found the entrance, though I couldn't break in," she proudlymurmured. "But a little dynamite--or perhaps a few blows of an axe--will soon remove the barrier. This affair, however, is now too big andtoo serious for me to handle alone. I must have help. I think it willamaze dear old Dad to know what I've stumbled on this night!"