CHAPTER XX--RUTH WAKES UP!
A curious sight met Ruth's gaze when she was invited to return to theveranda.
"Goodness!" she laughed. "It is just as well I am not afraid of ghosts.I've come upon a whole army of them all at once!"
Mrs. Cartwright had the porch darkened, except for a single row ofbright lights. Her visitors stood with their backs against the wall, asheet drawn up on a level with their eyes. Another white cloth coveredtheir heads, drawn down so low over their foreheads that even theeyebrows were concealed. By standing on books and stools the eyes wereall on a level.
"No giggling," said Mrs. Cartwright severely to the ghostly set in frontof her, "or Ruth can guess who you are by the tones of your voices."
Ruth looked confused. No signs of her friends remained, save a long rowof shining eyes, black, blue, brown and gray, even the color being hardto distinguish in the artificial light.
"Now, mademoiselle," said Mrs. Cartwright, still speaking in the voiceof a professor, "behold before you an opportunity to prove your skill inthe remarkable science of 'eyeology.' I have a piece of paper and apencil in my hand. As you gaze into each pair of eyes, you are to revealthat person's identity. I will write the names down as you tell them tome. When you have gone through the whole list, the curtain shall belifted. Then we shall discover how many of your friends you know by thecharacter of their eyes. After Ruth has finished, anyone else who wishesmay try his or her skill."
"My dear Mrs. Cartwright," said Ruth, laughing and peering in front ofher, "I tell you, right now, that I shall not guess a single namecorrectly. To tell the truth, I never saw any of these eyes before. It'shorrid to have them all staring and blinking at me. I am frightened atthem all! Besides, I can't see. May I have a candle and hold it up infront of each person as I pass along?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Cartwright; "only kindly keep at a safe distance. Wedon't want to burn up any of our ghosts."
Ruth started down the line. She had the privilege of staring as long andas hard as she liked into each pair of eyes.
The company was strangely silent. They were really interested in theidea, and knew that any talking would spoil the whole experiment.
"I've mixed the babies up, Ruth," said Mrs. Cartwright, "so you needn'tthink you can guess anyone by his choice of a next-door neighbor. Nosocial preferences have been allowed in this game."
Ruth tried the first pair of eyes. She looked at them intently. Then sheturned round to Mrs. Cartwright. "I am sure I never saw those eyesbefore. You have introduced some stranger since I left the porch."
"There is not a person here whom you do not know well," Mrs. Cartwrightassured her. "Don't try to slip out of your task."
Ruth kept staring. The eyes in front of her drooped, and soft, curlinglashes for an instant swept over them. A little wistful look lay in thedepths of them, when the lids lifted. "Why, it's Molliekins! How absurdof me not to know her! I was about to guess Ralph!"
Mistress Ruth must have guessed wrongly next time, for there was a burstof laughter, afterwards, that made the white sheets shake.
"Be quiet," warned Mrs. Cartwright sternly.
So Ruth passed on down the line. There were about twenty people in thegame, but Ruth knew all of them very well. Sometimes her guesses wereright, sometimes they were wrong. Once or twice she had to confessherself beaten, and "gave up" with a shake of her head at Mrs.Cartwright.
Ruth had nearly finished her task. Only a few more pairs of eyesremained to be investigated.
"Well, I am nearly through," she said gayly. "If anyone thinks I havehad an easy time of it, he has only to take my place and try the nextturn. No more mistakes now, for Ruth Stuart! Who is my next victim?"Ruth held her candle above her head and looked up.
Gleaming at her through the darkness lit by the flare from hercandle-light was a pair of eyes that were strangely familiar.
Ruth stared at them. They belonged to none of the friends she knew--yet,somewhere, she had seen them before.
Ruth looked and looked. The eyes shifted and narrowed. Ruth still heldher candle aloft; but she had forgotten where she was. Where had sheseen those eyes before?
"Look straight ahead of you," said Mrs. Cartwright to the gleaming eyes,"how can Ruth guess when your eyes are closed?" But again the eyesshifted.
"I am going to find out to whom those eyes belong, if I stay here allnight," said Ruth, speaking to herself.
The eyes glinted, narrowed and shone like two fine points of steel.
"Oh!" said Ruth. She staggered a little and the candle shook in herhand. "I thought I knew those eyes, but I don't. I must be mistaken. Ibeg your pardon, Mrs. Cartwright," said Ruth, "but I am tired. I don'tthink I can go on. Will some one take my place?"
Ruth's expression was so peculiar that Mrs. Cartwright came up to her."You foolish child!" she said, putting her hand on Ruth's shoulder, "Ibelieve this game is making you nervous. Who is it sitting there withthe eyes that Ruth remembers, yet will not reveal to us?" she called.
"Harry Townsend, Harry Townsend!" the people sitting closest to himanswered.
"Harry," said Mrs. Cartwright, "you come and take Ruth's place. Let'ssee if you are a better 'eyeologist' than she is."
Before Harry Townsend had slipped out from under his strange covering,Ruth turned to Mrs. Cartwright. "Excuse me for a minute," she begged."My labors as an optician have used me up. I will be back in a littlewhile."
Barbara crept from under the sheet, and, without speaking to anyone, ranafter Ruth, who was on her way upstairs to Mrs. Cartwright's boudoir.
"Ruth, dear, what on earth has happened to you? Are you sick?" askedBarbara.
"Oh, I am worse than sick, Bab!" muttered Ruth, with a shudder. "Don'task me to talk until we get upstairs."
The girls closed the dressing-room door.
"I must be wrong, Bab, yet I don't believe I am. I saw to-night the sameeyes that glared at us from behind a black mask the time of thathorrible burglary at New Haven, when, for a little while, I thought youwere killed. I have never said much about it. I wanted to forget and Iwanted everyone else to forget it, but those eyes have followed meeverywhere since. To-night----"
Bab took Ruth's hand.
"Oh, Bab," groaned Ruth, "what does it mean? I saw those eyes againto-night and they were Harry Townsend's. I wanted to scream right out:'Burglar! robber!' But I could not make a scene. I came upstairs, hardlyknowing how I reached here."
One of the maids knocked at the door. "Do the young ladies wishanything? Mrs. Cartwright sent me up to inquire," she said.
"Nothing at all. Tell her we are all right, and will be down in a fewminutes."
"Ruth," said Barbara, "I want to tell you something. If I do, can youpretend that nothing has happened, and be perfectly composed for therest of the evening? Now don't say 'yes' unless you feel sure."
Ruth looked straight at Barbara, "Yes; tell me what it is," she urged."I am beginning to guess."
"The eyes you saw to-night were Harry Townsend's, and he is a burglarand a thief. I did not know he was the robber at New Haven; I have onlysuspected it. Now I feel sure, and you recognized him to-night. He is amore dangerous character than I had thought, and he must not know thatyou suspect him."
"He shall know nothing from me," said Ruth, coolly. Her color had comeback, now that she knew the truth. "It was only the shock that unnervedme. Why haven't you told me before, Bab?"
"I was afraid you'd ask me that, Ruth, dear, and I want to explain. Yousee, I have believed Harry Townsend a thief ever since I saw him, withmy own eyes, take the necklace from Mrs. Post's neck at Mrs. Erwin'sball; but you were positive I was wrong, and asked me not to talk aboutit. So I didn't know what to do. I have only watched and waited.To-night I told Ralph what I knew."
Barbara then explained to Ruth the whole story, and the part thedetectives had asked her to play in Townsend's apprehension. "What shallI do, Ruth?" she ended.
"Come on downstairs, Bab," said Ruth. "Some one may suspect us if wedon't. Do, Bab. W
e are going on to play the game, just as you have beenplaying it by yourself. We will say nothing, but we will do some hardthinking; and, when the time comes, we shall act! To tell you the truth,if you will never betray me to Aunt Sallie, I think playing detectivebeats nearly any fun I know."
"Eyeology" was no longer amusing the guests when the two girls camedownstairs; indeed, the company had scattered and was talking inseparate groups. Ruth and Bab joined Mollie and Grace, who were standingnear Mrs. Post and their new acquaintance, the Countess Bertouche.
"Girls," asked Mrs. Post, "would you like to join the Countess Bertoucheand myself Saturday afternoon? We are going to explore old Newport; theold town is well worth seeing. The countess tells me this is her firstvisit to Newport, so, before she goes back to Paris, I want her to seethat we have a little of the dignity that age gives.
"Why," and Mrs. Post turned smilingly to the little group, "Newportboasts even a haunted house! It is not occupied, and I have theprivilege of showing you over it. A story has been written about the oldmansion. Here a young woman lived who loved an officer in Rochambeau'sfleet, when the gallant French sailor came over to these shores. But thesailor loved and sailed away, never to return. So the lady pined anddied; but her presence still haunts the old house. You can feel herapproaching you by a sudden perfume of mignonette. After we see all thesights of the town, we shall go to the old house at about dusk, so thatwe may have a better chance to discover the 'spirit lady.'"
Mollie and Grace accepted Mrs. Post's invitation with enthusiasm.Barbara and Ruth had to decline regretfully.
"You see, Mrs. Post," Barbara explained, "Ruth and Hugh have to practicetheir tennis, every hour they can manage, until the tournament onMonday. Ruth has become a little out of practice since her accident, andmust work hard at her game for the next few days. Ralph and I havepromised to help by furnishing the opposition."
"You'll excuse Mollie and me from playing audience, won't you, Ruth?"asked Grace. "We are going home so soon after the tournament is overthat we can't resist Mrs. Post's invitation."
"Barbara," said Ruth, coming into Bab's room, just as that young womanwas about to step into bed, "can you imagine anyone whom Harry Townsendcan be using as a confederate?"
"Sh-sh!" warned Bab. "Here comes Mollie. Don't say anything. I haven'tthe faintest idea."