CHAPTER XVII
IN CHARGE
"No one here? What do you mean?"
"Betty Nelson, what a strange thing to say!"
"Of course there must be some one here. They're only upstairs, maybe,shutting the windows there."
Thus spoke Mollie, Grace and Amy in turn. Betty listened patiently, andthen suggested:
"Just hearken for a minute, and see if you think anyone is upstairsshutting windows."
Then all listened intently. There was not a sound save that caused by thestorm, which seemed to increase in fury instead of diminishing.
"There is no one here," went on Betty positively. "We are all alone inthis house."
"But where can the people be?" asked Grace. "They must be people livinghere," and she looked around at the well-kept, if somewhatold-fashioned, parlor.
"Of course the house is lived in--and the people must have left it onlyrecently," said Betty. "That's evident."
"Why did they go off and leave it?" asked Mollie.
"That's the mystery of it," admitted Betty. "It's like the mystery of thefive hundred dollar bill. We've got to solve it."
"Perhaps--" began Amy in a gentle voice.
"Well?" asked Betty encouragingly.
"Maybe the lady was upstairs shutting the windows when she saw the stormcoming, and she fell, or fainted or something like that."
"That's so!" exclaimed Mollie.
"We'll look," decided Betty.
"Betty!" chorused Grace and Amy.
"Why not?" the Little Captain challenged. "We've got to get at thebottom of this."
"But suppose we should find her--find some one up there in a--faint," andAmy motioned toward the upper rooms.
"All the more reason for helping them," said practical Betty. "They mayneed help. Come on!"
The girls left their things in the hall, and, rather timidly, it must beconfessed, ascended the stairs. But they need not have been afraid ofseeing some startling sight. The upper chambers were as deserted as therooms below. In short, a careful examination throughout the house failedto disclose a living creature, save a big Maltese cat which purred andrubbed in friendly fashion against the girls.
"The house is deserted!" declared Betty again. "We are in sole andundisputed possession, girls. We're in charge!"
"For how long?" asked Amy.
"Until this storm is over, anyhow. We can't go out in that downpour," andBetty glanced toward the window against which the rain was dashingfuriously. "We must close down the sashes here, too!" she exclaimed, forone or two were open, and the water was beating in.
"What can have happened?" murmured Mollie. "Isn't it strange?"
"I've no doubt it can be explained simply," said Betty. "The woman wholives here may have gone to a neighbor's house and failed to notice thetime. Then she may be storm-bound, as we are."
"No woman would remain at a neighbor's house, and leave her own alone,with a lot of windows up, the front door open and a beating rain comingdown," said Grace, positively. "Not such a neat housekeeper as the womanhere seems to be; she'd come home if she was drenched," and she glancedaround the well-ordered rooms.
"You've got to think up a different reason than that, Betty Nelson."
"Besides, what of the men folks?--there are men living here--at leastone, for there's a hat on the front rack," put in Amy. "Where are themen, or the man?"
"They'll be along at supper time," declared Betty.
"Besides, maybe that hat is just kept there to scare tramps," said Grace."I've often heard of a lone woman borrowing a man's hat--when she didn'thave--didn't want, or couldn't get a man."
"That's so," admitted Betty. "But, speaking of supper reminds me--whatare we going to do about ours?"
"It is getting nearly time," murmured Mollie. "But we simply can't trampthrough that rain to your sister's house, Grace."
"No, we'll have to wait. Oh, dear! Isn't this a queer predicament to bein, and not a chocolate left?" she wailed, as she looked in the box."Empty!" she cried quite tragically.
The rain still descended. It was not, for the moment, pouring as hard asat first, but there was a steadiness and persistency to it that did notencourage one in the belief that it would soon stop. The big drops dashedagainst the windows intermittently, as the wind rose and fell.
Around one angle of the house the gale howled quite fiercely, and in theparlor, where there was an open fireplace, it came down in gusts, sighingmournfully out into the room, with its old horsehair furniture, thepictures of evidently dead-and-gone relatives, in heavy gold frames,while in other frames were fearfully and wonderfully made wreaths offlowers--wax in some cases, and cloth in the remainder, being the mediumin which nature was rather mocked than simulated.
The girls stood at the windows, staring drearily out. They could just seea house down the road on the other side. In the other direction noresidences were visible--just an expanse of rain-swept fields. And thereseemed to be no passers-by--no teams on the winding country road.
"Oh, but this is lonesome," said Amy, with a sigh.
"Girls, what are we to do?" demanded Mollie.
"We simply must go on to my sister's," declared Grace. "What will shethink, if we don't come?"
As if in answer, the storm burst into another spasm of fury, therain coming down in "sheets, blankets and pillow cases," as Molliegrimly put it.
"We can never go--in this downpour," declared Betty. "It would be sheermadness--foolishness, at any rate. We would be drenched in an instant,and perhaps take cold."
"If there was only some way to let your sister know," spoke Mollie. "Iwonder if there's a telephone?"
It needed but a little survey to disclose that there was none.
"If we could only see someone--send for a covered carriage, or send someword--" began Amy.
"Oh, well, for the matter of my sister worrying, that doesn't amount tomuch," interrupted Grace. "When I wrote I told her it was not exactlycertain just what day we would arrive, as I thought we might spend moretime in some places than in others. That part is all right. What'sworrying me is that we can't get to any place to spend the night--wecan't have any supper--we--"
"Girls!" cried Betty, with sudden resolve, "there is only onething to do!"
"What's that?" the others chorused.
"Stay here. We'll get supper here--there must be food in the house. Ifthe people come back we'll ask them to keep us over night--there'sroom enough."
"And if they don't come?" asked Amy, shivering a little.
"Then we'll stay anyhow!" cried the Little Captain. "We are in charge andwe can't desert now."