CHAPTER V.
COLONEL RICHMOND'S NIGHT ADVENTURE.
Of course, Nick questioned the servant. To have failed to do that wouldhave been to throw light upon his real suspicions.
She was a tall, slender, and rather pretty Irish girl, named AnnieO'Neil.
Her answers to all questions were plain and simple.
She told what she had been doing on the previous day while Mrs. Stevenswas at lunch. She had not been in the dining-room all the time, but hadcome in twice or thrice when summoned.
During the remainder of the time she had been in the kitchen. Nobody hadbeen with her there.
When Nick left the house, he rode half a mile back along the road, andthen dismounted and sat down under a big tree. In a few minutes afarmer's wagon came along. A young man, who looked like a farm laborer,was riding beside the farmer. He did not ride far beyond the place whereNick was sitting. In a few minutes they sat together under the tree. Theyoung farm laborer was Patsy.
"I got your message," said Patsy. "I took the chance to ride over fromthe station with that fellow, and I've asked him a few questions aboutthe house where you want me to go on duty. It seems that there's no showto get in there on any pretext. I'll have to camp around on the outsidelike a grass-eater."
"That won't hurt you, Patsy, my lad," said Nick. "The weather's good.You're to keep an eye on the whole household, but on Miss Stevensespecially.
"This is the way the case looks at present: The girl is doing the workon this end in connection with some confederate concealed in ColonelRichmond's house.
"You understand the game. It's to work the spirit racket on ColonelRichmond until he buys the jewels from his daughter or her husband, andgives them to Miss Stevens.
"You must watch for the system by which she communicates with herconfederate in Richmond's house. They work the mails, but there must besome quicker means to use in emergencies.
"Try to snare a letter, or get a sight of the other party.
"And be sure not to jump at conclusions, Patsy. I've told you how thecase looks, but it may be any other way. I haven't begun to work down toit yet."
Nick mounted his horse, and Patsy strolled away in the direction of theStevens house.
When the detective got back to Colonel Richmond's, it was well along inthe afternoon.
He spent the remainder of his day in exploring the secret recesses ofthe old house. It was, indeed, a marvelous place, and Nick got a veryhigh opinion of the ingenuity of the man who had designed its mysteriouspassages.
He got little else, however. One or two discoveries he certainly made.They were important as indicating that somebody had recently been in thesecret passages.
There was nothing to show what that person had been doing there, but theprobability was, of course, that he had concealed himself in the oldpart of the house while preparing for his operations in Mrs. Pond'sroom, or while escaping from them.
These indications were very vague, and did not point to the principal inthis affair--that mysterious thief who worked invisibly and by suchstrange methods.
After dinner Horace Richmond took Nick aside, for what he termed adiscussion of "this ghostly rot."
"The very devil is in this business," said Horace. "The servants aregetting scared out of their wits.
"They all sleep in the old part of the house, you know, and there isn'tone of them who hasn't some story to tell of what goes on there in thenight.
"Some of these yarns are the old-fashioned business about sighs andgroans, and doors opening and shutting without anybody to open and shutthem.
"But under it all I must say that there seems to be a basis of fact.There's John Gilder, the coachman. You've seen him, Does he look like aman who can be scared easily?"
"I should say not," laughed Nick. "He looks to me like a Yankeehorse-trader, who is too intimate with the devil and his ways to be atall alarmed about them."
"Just so. Well, John Gilder came to me to-day, and told me just ascalmly as I'd tell you the time of day, that he'd seen the ghost of MissLavina Richmond. He saw her right in this room where we are now."
They had gone to the large dining-hall in the old mansion. Horacesometimes used it as a smoking-room, but otherwise it was seldomvisited, except when the house was full of guests and all the old partwas thrown open.
It was a long and high room, finished in dark wood, and decorated withmoldering portraits in the worst possible style of art.
At one end was a gigantic fire-place, which was closed by a screen ofboards.
"He told me," continued Horace, "that he was passing through here latelast night--near midnight, he said--and that he saw Lavina Richmondstanding just about where you stand now.
"He came in by that door, behind me, and she was directly facing him.He says that he didn't move or yell, or do anything, but just stoodstaring at her.
"She paid no attention whatever to him, but passed across the room andwent out by that other door, which opened as she approached and closedafter her of itself.
"Then he ran for his room. He claims that he wasn't scared--only a bitnervous.
"You can believe that if you want to. I tell you that he was scared, sothat he won't get over it in a year.
"If it wasn't for that I might think he was lying; but when a man likeGilder quietly invites the footman--whom he always hated--to take halfof his bed for a few weeks, it's a sure thing that he's seen somethingout of the ordinary.
"And the footman, as I learn, was mighty glad to accept the invitation,for he's been having a few experiences of his own.
"Now, Mr. Carter, you and I believe that these things are done by someclever trickster. It may be that some bogus medium who used to get thecolonel's good money away from him, wants more of it, and is taking thismeans of driving my uncle back to the fold of true believers.
"I'm beginning to believe that that may be the fact. But whatever it is,the case is almighty serious.
"Here's a nice old man, living happily, and gradually getting away fromhis delusion. Here's an agent of the devil trying to drive this old manback to his delusion, and make a lunatic of him, for that's what thedoctor says will certainly happen.
"I say it's too bad, not to mention the jewels at all. Now, what are wegoing to do about it?"
"Catch the rascal," said Nick, promptly, "and catch him mighty quick."
"Well, I hope you'll succeed. I tell you, Mr. Carter, I feel towardColonel Richmond all the affection that I would give my father, if hewere alive, and I can't bear to see him driven out of his wits in thisinfernal way."
"Have no fear," said Nick; "we'll save him. This trickery with theservants may give us a chance to catch our man."
They returned to the parlor in the new part of the house.
Colonel Richmond was not there.
"Where is he?" asked Horace, anxiously, of Mrs. Pond.
"He has gone to his room. He said that the excitement of this affair hadworn him out completely."
Horace looked relieved.
Nick said that he, too, would go to his room.
He went, but he did not remain long in it. He had a fancy for a quietstroll around the house on the outside. It would be interesting to knowwhether anybody entered or left it during the night.
One of the secret passages of the old house communicated with a sort oftunnel, which had its outer extremity in an old well about twenty yardsaway. This tunnel had caved in long before, but had been restored byColonel Richmond, who wished to preserve all the old-time peculiaritiesof the place.
The inner end of it had been closed by a strong door, so as to preventanybody who might have the secret from entering in that way, but Nickwas strongly of the opinion that it would not keep out the persons whowere "haunting" the house in case they desired to come in.
If anybody was going in and out secretly this seemed to be the readiestway, so Nick had resolved to watch the well that night.
A little house with sides of lattice-work had been built over it, andvines covered it
.
Nick stealthily crept into its shadow, and prepared for his vigil. Butit was not destined to be a long one.
He had not been there ten minutes before he saw a figure hasteningalong one of the numerous paths which wound through the grounds.
This person evidently wished to avoid observation, and that was enoughfor Nick. He immediately started in pursuit.
He trailed his man to the edge of the colonel's grounds. During thispursuit the man kept in the shadow of some trees, and Nick had noopportunity to see him clearly.
But as the man stepped out into the highway, a ray of moonlight fellupon him, and Nick recognized him in an instant. It was ColonelRichmond.
Why this man should be leaving his own house by stealth and under thecover of darkness was an interesting problem.
Nick resolved to know all about it before the night was much older. Sohe trailed along.
The colonel walked up the highway with rapid strides.
About half a mile from the house he found a carriage standing under theshadow of a tree.
Evidently he expected to find it just there, for he immediately jumpedinto it, and the driver whipped up his horse.
Nick was unable to see the driver, for the carriage was a covered buggy,and had been standing with its back toward him.
The horse was evidently a good one, but Nick overhauled him, and gothold of the carriage behind.
There was no chance for him to ride there, but his grip on the wagonhelped him along, and he ran about eight miles quite comfortably.
His presence so near was entirely unsuspected by the occupants of thecarriage. He was favorably situated for overhearing their conversation,but unfortunately they did not say anything.
Nick discovered that the driver was a woman, but he could only guess ather identity.
At last they turned suddenly out of the road, into the grounds of aprivate house.
The sound of the wheels was evidently heard within, and the front doorwas thrown open, letting out considerable light from the hall.
Nick could not go too near that light, so he let go, and crept into someshrubbery.
The carriage drew up before the door, and the colonel and his companionhurried into the house, leaving the horse tied.
The detective failed to obtain a good view of the woman or of the personwho had opened the door. The latter seemed to be a servant.
When the door had closed, Nick crept up.
He manoeuvred carefully, and discovered that there was somebody sittingin the hall just inside the door.
Entrance by that means was out of the question.
However, he succeeded without much difficulty in entering the house fromthe rear.
He found himself in the kitchen, from which he passed to a dining-room.
This apartment was almost totally dark. Nick felt his way to the sideopposite the kitchen, and came to a heavy pair of folding doors.
From the other side came a confused murmur of voices, as if many personswere talking in hushed tones.
Presently they became quite still and then there arose the sound ofmusic. It was a slow and somber strain, as from an organ gently played.
Nick was crouching against the door, among the folds of a curtain whichcould be drawn across.
Suddenly he heard a slight sound behind him. He turned noiselessly.
A white figure flitted across the room.
Nick was at one end of the folding doors, and the figure passed to theother end and into the corner beyond.
There it suddenly vanished.
The light was so dim that Nick could not tell exactly what had happened.
It certainly seemed as if the figure had gone straight through the wall.
About a minute later another form appeared in the same way. It crossedthe room, and vanished.
"Good!" muttered Nick. "I'll back these ghosts against any that ColonelRichmond can raise in his house."
Almost immediately there was the sound of a voice in the room beyond thedoors.
"Does any person present recognize a departed friend?" it said.
Then Colonel Richmond's voice arose, hoarse and trembling with emotion.
"Aunt Lavina," he said, "tell me what you wish me to do. I will obey youabsolutely."
"I thought so," chuckled the detective. "The colonel has come to attenda spiritualistic seance."