CHAPTER XXVI. A CLUE TO THE OLD RUIN MYSTERY
The voyage up the narrow channel in the marsh was uneventful and at lastthe four young people reached the opening near the old ruin. They stoppedbefore entering to look around that they might be sure the place wasunoccupied. Then Dick crept through the opening in the crumbling wall toreconnoiter. "All's well!" he called to them a moment later, and in thesame order as before the others followed. Everything was just as it hadbeen on their former visit.
Dick flashed his light in the corner where they had seen the picture ofold Colonel Wadbury, and the sharp eyes, under heavy brows, seemed toglare at them. Dories, with a shudder, was secretly glad that they wereonly pictured eyes.
"Sh! Hark!" It was Dick in the lead who, having stopped, turned and heldup a warning finger. They had reached the door out of which they hadbroken a panel the week before.
"What is it? What do you hear?" Nann asked.
"A sort of a scurrying noise," Dick told her. "Nothing but rats, I guess,but just the same you girls had better wait here until Gib and I havelooked around in there. Perhaps you'd better go back to the opening," headded as, in the dim light, he noted Dories' pale, frightened face. Theyounger girl was clutching her friend's arm as though she never meant tolet go. "I'm just as afraid of rats," she confessed, "as I am of ghosts."
"We'll wait here," Nann said calmly. "Rats won't hurt us. They would bemore afraid of us than even Dori is of them."
Dick climbed through the hole in the door, followed closely by Gib. Nann,holding a lighted lantern, smiled at her friend reassuringly. Althoughonly a few moments passed, they seemed like an eternity to the youngergirl; then Dick's beaming face appeared in the opening. It was veryevident that he had found something which interested him and which wasnot of a frightening nature. The boys assisted the girls over the heap ofdebris which held the door shut and then flashed the light around whathad once been a handsomely furnished dining-room. Dories' first glancewas toward the sideboard where they had left the painting of thebeautiful girl. It was not there.
The boys also had made the discovery. "Which proves," Dick declared,"that Gib was right about that airplane chap having been here. He musthave taken the picture, but _why_ do you suppose he would want it?"
"I guess you're right," Dick had been looking behind the heavy piece ofmahogany furniture as he spoke, "and, whoever was here has leftsomething. The rats we heard scurrying about were trying to drag it away,to make into a nest, I suppose."
Arising from a stooping posture, the boy revealed a note book which hehad picked up from behind the sideboard.
He opened it to the first page and turned his flashlight full upon it."Those plaguity little rats have torn half of this page nearly off," hecomplained, "but I guess we can fit it together and read the writing onit."
"October fifteen," Dick read aloud. Then paused while he tried to fit thetorn pieces. "There, now I have it," he said, and continued reading: "AtMother's request, I came to her father's old home, but found it in aruined state. The natives in the village tell me there is no way to reachthe place, as it is in a dangerous swamp, sort of a 'quick-mud', allabout it, and what's more, one garrulous chap tells me that the place ishaunted. Well, I don't care a continental for the ghost, but I'm nothankering to find an early grave in oozy mud."
"I don't recollect any sech fellow," Gib put in, but Dick was continuingto read from the note book:
"I didn't let on who I was. Didn't want to arouse curiosity, so I tookthe next train back to Boston. I simply can't give up. I _must_ reachthat old house and give it a real ransacking. Mother is sure her papersare there, and if they are, she must have them."
The next page revealed a rapidly scrawled entry: "October 16th. Lay awakenearly all night trying to think out a way to visit that old ruin. Had aninspiration. Shall sail over it in an airplane and get at least abird's-eye view. Glad I belong to the Boston Aviation Club.
"October 18. Did the deed! Sailed over Siquaw in an aircraft and saw,when I flew low, that there was a narrow channel leading through themarsh and directly up to the old ruin.
"I'll come in a seaplane next time, with a small boat on board. Mother'scoming soon and I want to find the deed to the Wetherby place before shearrives. It is her right to have it since her own mother left it to her,but her father, I just can't call the old skinflint my grandfather, hadit hidden in the house that he built by the sea. When Mother went back,she asked for that deed, but he wouldn't give it to her. She told himthat her husband was dead and that she wanted to live in her mother's oldhome near Boston, but he said that she never should have it, that he haddestroyed the deed. He was mean enough to do it, without doubt, but Idon't believe he did it, somehow. I have a hunch that the papers arestill there.
"October 20. Well, I went in a seaplane, made my way up that crookedlittle channel in the swamp. Found more in the ruin than I had supposed Iwould. First of all, I hunted for an old chest, or writing desk, theusual place for papers to be kept. Located a heavy walnut desk in whathad once been a library, but though there were papers enough, nothinglike a deed. Had a mishap. Had left the seaplane anchored in a quietcove. It broke loose and washed ashore. Wasn't hurt, but I couldn't getit off until change of tide, along about midnight. Being curious about arocky point, I took my flashlight and prowled around a bit. Saw eightboarded-up cottages in a row, and to pass away the time I looked themover. Was rather startled by two occurrences. First was a noise regularlyrepeated, but that proved to be only a blind on an upper window bangingin the wind. That was the cottage nearest the point. Then later I wassure I saw two white faces in an upper window of a cottage farther along.Sort of surprising when you suppose you're the only living person for amile around. O well, ghosts can't turn me from my purpose. Got back tothe plane just as it was floating and made off by daybreak. Haven't mademuch headway yet, but shall return next week."
Dick looked up elated. "There, that proves that Mother did forget tofasten that blind," he exclaimed. Dories was laughing gleefully. "Nann,"she chuckled, "to think that we scared him as much as he scared us. Youknow we thought the person carrying a light on the rocks was a ghost, andhe, seeing us peer out at him, thought we were ghosts."
Nann smiled at her friend, then urged Dick continue reading, but Dickshook his head. "Can't," he replied, "for there is no more."
"But he came again," Nann said. "We know that he did, because he leftthis little note book."
"And what is more, he took away with him the painting of his lovelygirl-mother," Dories put in.
Dick nodded. "Don't you see," he was addressing Nann, "can't you guesswhat happened? When he came and found a panel had been broken in thisdoor and the painting on the sideboard, he realized that he was not theonly person visiting the old ruin."
"Even so, that wouldn't have frightened him away. He evidently is acourageous chap, shouldn't you say?" Nann inquired, and Dick agreed,adding: "Well then, what _do_ you think happened?"
It was Gib who replied: "I reckon that pilot fellar found them papers hewas lookin' fer an' ain't comin' back no more."
"But perhaps he hasn't," Nann declared. "Suppose we hunt around a little.We might just stumble on that old deed, but even if we did, would we knowhow to send it to him?"
Dick had been closely scrutinizing the small note book. "Yes, we would,"he answered her. "Here is his name and address on the cover. He goes tothe Boston Tech, I judge."
"O, what is his name?" Dories asked eagerly.
"Wouldn't you love to meet him?" the younger girl continued.
"I intend to look him up when I get back to town," Dick assured them,"and wouldn't it be great if we had found the papers; that is, of course,if he hasn't."
Nann glanced about the dining-room. "There's a door at the other end.It's so dark down there I hadn't noticed it before."
The boys went in that direction. "Perhaps it leads to the room where thedesk is. We haven't seen that yet." Dories and Nann followed closely.
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Dick had his hand on the knob, when again a scurrying noise within madehim pause. "Like's not all this time that pilot fellar's been in therewaitin' fer us to clear out." Gib almost hoped that his suggestion wastrue. But it was not, for, where the door opened, as it did readily, theyoung people saw nothing but a small den in which the furniture had beenlittle disturbed, as the walls that sheltered it had not fallen.
One glance at the desk proved to them that it had been thoroughlyransacked, and so they looked elsewhere. "In all the stories I have everread," Dories told them, "there were secret drawers, or sliding panels,or----"
"A removable stone in a chimney," Nann merrily added. "But I believe thatold Colonel Wadbury would do something quite novel and different," sheconcluded.
While the girls had been talking, Dick had been flashing his light aroundthe walls. An excited exclamation took the others to his side. "There isthe pilot chap's entrance to the ruin." He pointed toward a fireplace.Several stone in the chimney had fallen out, leaving a hole big enoughfor a person to creep through.
"Perhaps he had never been in the front room, then," Nann remarked.
"I hate to suggest it," Dories said hesitatingly, "but I think we oughtto be going. It's getting late."
"I'll say we ought!" Dick glanced at his time-piece. "Tides have a way ofturning whether there is a mystery to ferret out or not. We have all daytomorrow to spend here, or at least part of it," he modified.
At Gib's suggestion they went out through the hole in the back of thefireplace. The narrow channel was easily navigated and again they leftthe punt, as on a former occasion, anchored in the calm waters on themarsh side of the point. Then they climbed over the rocks, and walkedalong the beach four abreast. They talked excitedly of one phase of whathad occurred and then of another.
"You were right, Dick, when you said that the mystery about the pilot ofthe airplane would be solved today." Nann smiled at the boy who wasalways at her side. Then she glanced over toward the island, misty in thedistance. "And to think that that girl-mother and her daughter are reallycoming back to America."
"Do you suppose they will come in the Phantom Yacht?" Dories turnedtoward Gib to inquire.
"I don't reckon so," that boy replied. "I cal'late we-uns saw theskeleton of the Phantom Yacht over to the island that day we was thar,Miss Nann. A storm came up, Pa said, an' he allays thought that tharyacht was wrecked."
"If that's true, then everyone on board must have been saved," Nann said."Of that much, at least, we're sure."
The boys left the girls in front of their home-cabin, promising to beback early the next day. On entering the cottage, Dories went at once toher aunt's room and was pleased to see that she looked rested. A wrinkledold hand was held out to the girl, and, when Dories had taken it, she wassurprised to hear her aunt say, "I'm trying to be resigned to my bigdisappointment, Dories; but even if I _do_ have to live alone all therest of my days, I'm going to make you and Peter my heirs. Your mothercan't refuse me that." Tears sprang to the girl's eyes. She tried tospeak, but could not.
Her aunt understood, and, as sentimentality was, on the whole, foreign toher nature, she said, with a return of her brusque manner, "There! That'sall there is to that. Please fetch me a poached egg with my toast andtea."