CHAPTER XX An Unexpected Event
Barry and his father exchanged glances. "To protest about it!" Mr.Garrison cried.
"Yes," the lady nodded. "He said that it lowered the value of the placeto allow boys to camp there. He seemed quite annoyed about it."
"But how did he know that we were there?" Barry inquired.
"He said that someone who knew the place had been up there lately andsaw the boys in the lodge. I asked him if they had done anything to hurtthe place, and he said no, but that he thought it was wrong to allowboys to camp there."
"Well, he certainly has a nerve!" said Mr. Garrison. "That propertydoesn't belong to him, and he has nothing to say as to what shall bedone with it."
"He wants it badly enough and as good as told me tonight that he willhave it," Mrs. Morganson said.
"He is very discourteous about it all," frowned Barry's father. "Istopped him tonight and asked him why he does not come to me. He said itis a free country and he prefers to go to you directly."
Mrs. Morganson smiled a quiet smile. "Probably he thinks he can win meover, or even scare me. He is offering a very low price for the lodge,and I am not going to sell it at his figure. He knows the value of theproperty and could make a lot out of it, but I am not going to give myhunting lodge away. Now I'd like to hear Barry's story."
Barry told the owner of the hunting lodge what had happened while theyhad camped at Lake Arrowtip. "The only thing that we regret," hefinished, "is the fact that we did not catch the man after we saw him gointo the tool shed. We feel that if we could have had a few days longer,we would have learned the secret of the place."
"It is too bad that your short vacation came to an end when it did,"acknowledged the lady. "But I think you did a fine bit of work as it is.Of course, I have believed all along that some human being is doing thisunpleasantness, and not any ghostly being. The mystery is, who is doingit and why?"
"Do you believe that Mr. Brand Curry is doing it to lower the value ofthe lodge?" Barry asked slowly. Mrs. Morganson smiled at his father asshe shook her head.
"Your father and I have wondered about that, but we do not believe thatit is so," she said. "Mr. Curry is always here in town, and we cannotbelieve that the lodge is so dear to him that he keeps a sort of scareagent up there all the time. Just as soon as any party goes into thelodge, either in winter or summer, the annoyances begin. That would seemto indicate that whoever does it lives close by there all the time. Weknow that Mr. Curry is anxious to have the place, but so are three otherbusiness men who are offering better prices than Mr. Curry is."
"It is all mighty queer," Barry murmured. "Have you ever heard from yournephew since the letter came from Canada?"
"We have reason to believe that he is now in South America," Mrs.Morganson said. "I believe that he was taken away from my propertybecause he had discovered something that certain parties do not wantknown."
"There was a Frenchman who disappeared at the same time," Barry pressed."What of him? Was he married?"
"Yes, he was married, and his wife was also working at the lodge whenher husband left. Nothing has ever been heard of them since that time."
For another half-hour they talked of the mystery, and then Barry and hisfather left. Nothing definite had been agreed to, though Mr. Garrisonhad expressed a desire to make a trip to Arrowtip himself and spend anight or two in the lodge alone. But Mrs. Morganson was not in favor ofthe idea.
"Let us wait until spring comes before we do anything else," sheadvised. "It is so cold and disagreeable now. I will not rent it toanyone from now on, and when the warm weather comes we can have somemore private detectives put on the case. Let's not worry about it untillater."
Barry and his father went home and talked over the situation at length,and it was agreed between them that when spring came they would go tothe lake, together with the other boys, and have another opportunity tomatch wits with the disturbing element of the hunting lodge.
School was not to begin before Tuesday, and on Monday morning Barrystood at the general desk in the local post office, writing out a card.No one else was in the place at the time except the two clerks back ofthe windows. While Barry was busily engaged, the door opened and aschoolmate named Charlie Black came in. He was a short, energetic youngfellow with glasses and shrewd, laughing eyes, a great favorite at thehigh school, where he led in debates and any form of public speaking.
"Hello, little fellow!" Barry greeted, using the name most frequentlyapplied to young Mr. Black. "Looking for a letter from your girlfriend?"
"Hello, mystery hunter! No, I'm going to buy some stamps." This havingbeen taken care of, Charlie approached the desk and leaned on it.
"Say, I have some news that will knock your eye out!"
"Don't tell it to me then, because I need all my eyes. You ought not goaround with such dangerous news," Barry grinned.
"Listen, Barry, this is great news. No fooling!"
"Well, why keep it to yourself? Let's have it!"
"No school for about ten days!"
"Why?"
"Big flue from the furnace burned out, and they have to have a specialnew one made. Hurrah, what luck!"
Barry shook his head in pretended disgust. "It is plain to see thatyou'll never amount to anything. Rejoicing because your opportunity tolearn something is cut off. Your lack of wholesome ambition is pitiful!"
"Aw, listen, plaster saint, you're just as tickled as I am! Thedifference between us is that I'm honest! Say, I have some more news!"
"Good night, you've got enough of it in you to explode! Get it outquick. What else happened?"
"Nothing yet, but it is going to happen. As soon as I heard that therewasn't going to be any school for a while I thought it would be a dandyidea to have a straw ride. What do you say?"
"You mean hire a truck or wagon and a bunch of fellows and girls and gofor a straw ride?"
"Sure. How else would you go on a straw ride?"
"Where will we go?"
"I don't know yet, but maybe to Potter's Mill or some place where we canbuild a fire and cook some supper and then we'll come on home. It's alot of fun!"
"I know, I've been on one before, only it was in the summer and not inthe winter. What's the matter with getting about three or four sleighs?"
"That's a good idea. Will you and Kent and the twins come along?"
"I guess so. When are you going to have it?"
"As soon as we can. I've talked to a few seniors about it, and they arewilling. Well, I must get on. I'm chairman, and of course that means allthe work falls on me. Funny name, chairman, isn't it?"
"Why?"
"Well, the chairman never gets a chance to sit down, and he doesn't needa chair! Ought to call him something else. I'm on my way."
"Wait a minute," Barry requested. "Who made you chairman?"
"Why, I did!" was the unblushing answer.
"That's what I thought, popgun! Go ahead and do your organizing andwe'll be with you."
"All right, be careful crossing corners!" grinned the energetic CharlieBlack as he fairly dashed out of the post office.
Barry followed more slowly, and as he strolled along the street his mindwas busy with the contemplated straw ride and the mystery at LakeArrowtip. At last he came to a stop, and his face brightened up.
"Of course!" he murmured. "Why not?"
Abruptly changing his course, he turned down a side street and was soongoing up the walk to the home of Mrs. Morganson. He was readilyadmitted, and the lady received him in the parlor. Barry rapidly toldher about the plans for the straw ride.
"What I want to ask you in particular, Mrs. Morganson, is this: may weride up to the lodge and have our gathering there? I will personallyguarantee that we will treat the place well, and it would not suffer anyfrom our visit, and Coach Jordan and Mrs. Jordan will be with us, I'msure. I think it would be a splendid place for us to have supper, and wecould spend the night there."
"I am not in the least afraid that you would damage the lodge," Mrs.Morganson smiled. "Are you sure Coach and Mrs. Jordan will go with you?"
"Yes, ma'am, Coach Jordan and his wife always go with us, and I guessthey will this time."
"Certainly, you may use the lodge if they do," Mrs. Morganson granted."I'm just hoping you won't have any trouble with that unknown personthat you saw the last time you were there."
"I hardly think we will," Barry said. "But if we do, Kent and the twinsand I will be on the lookout, and perhaps we can learn something moreabout him."
A few minutes later Barry was on his way home, his mind busy with newthoughts and ideas. He was in a hurry to hunt up his chums and tell themof the latest events.
"This may be the very chance we have been looking for," he reflected, ashe walked briskly along. "The man always starts something when a crowdgathers in the lodge, and we'll be there all night, if the bunch willagree to go to Lake Arrowtip. The four of us will be on the lookout forany such visit. I hope this will all work out as I want it to!"