Read The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery; Or, The Christmas Adventure at Carver House Page 14
CHAPTER XIV AN UNINVITED GUEST
Migwan ran into the house and burst breathlessly in upon the merrymakers.
"Nyoda!" she cried in a frightened voice, "Hercules is--" Then shestopped as though she had seen a ghost, for there sat Hercules in hismonk's costume, just as he had been all evening!
"What's the matter?" asked Nyoda in alarm, seeing her pale face andstaring eyes.
Migwan clutched her convulsively. "There's a man outside," she panted,"that looks just like Hercules, and when I spoke to him he fell down onthe ground!"
In an instant all was pandemonium. Everybody rushed for the kitchen doorand ran out into the yard, where the figure of a man lay dark upon thesnow. Sherry tore off his mask and flung it away, and bending over theprostrate man turned his flashlight full on his face.
"It _is_ Hercules!" he exclaimed in astonishment.
"Is he dead?" faltered Migwan.
"No, he's breathing, but he's unconscious," said Sherry. "It's his heart,I suppose. He's been having spells with it lately. Run into the house,somebody, and get that leather covered flask in the medicine chest."
Justice raced in for the flask and Sherry raised Hercules' head from theground and poured some of the brandy between his lips. In a few minutesthe old man began to stir and mutter, and Nyoda, holding his wrist, felthis pulse come up. They carried him to his room in the stable and laidhim down on his bed, and Nyoda found the heart drops which Hercules hadbeen taking for some time.
"But where is the one I thought was Hercules--the one with the monk'ssuit on?" cried Migwan, after the first fright about Hercules hadsubsided.
Sherry and the boys looked at one another dumfounded. None of them hadknown, as Migwan did, that the brown robe and cowl presumably coveredHercules. They looked about for the brown figure that had moved sounobtrusively amongst them that evening. It had vanished.
The monk was certainly not in the house any longer, and there were nofootprints in the snow outside the house.
"Did he fly away?" asked Sherry in perplexity.
Justice jumped up with a great exclamation. "The secret passage!" heshouted, "he's gone down the secret passage!"
They flew back inside the house to the stair landing, half expecting tofind it standing open, but it was closed and looked perfectly natural.Sherry grasped the post, the landing slid out and the four went down theladder. Justice gave a triumphant exclamation when he reached the bottom."The barricades are taken down! He did come this way!"
They hurried through the door into the passage, half expecting to see afigure flying along ahead of them, but the passage was empty and no soundof a footfall broke the silence. They searched the place thoroughly, butnowhere did they find their man hidden. Behind the chest in the cave,however, Justice pounced upon something with a shout. It was the longbrown costume that had been worn by the monk at the party.