CHAPTER XI
EMBERS IN THE GRATE
Mr. Durkin of the Coxford Hotel had furnished the party with a heartylunch to eat while they were en route to Red Deer Lodge, and Ruth hadbrought two big thermos bottles of hot tea, likewise prepared at thehotel. The drivers had their own lunches, and at noon the party haltedin the shelter of a windbreak to breathe the horses and allow them toeat their oats.
Mrs. MacCall and the older girls complained of stiffness from sittingso long in the sledges. Riding so far in the cold was not altogetherpleasant; there was no sunshine at all now. The gathering storm hadovercast the entire sky, and as they went on after lunch a rising windbegan moaning through the forest.
"I don't see why the trees have to make such a meachin' noise," sighedDot, as they climbed a steep hill so slowly that the rueful sound ofthe rising gale was quite audible.
"Where did you get such a word, Dot?" demanded Ruth, smiling at her.
"It is a good word. Uncle Rufus uses it," declared the smallest CornerHouse girl. "And Uncle Rufus never uses bad words."
"Granted," Ruth said. "But what does 'meachin' mean?"
"Why, just as though the wind felt bad and was whimpering about it,"said Dot, with assurance. "It makes you all shivery to listen to it.And after we heard that link, and know that there are bears and wolfsabout--O-o-oh! what's that, Ruthie?"
Something white had flashed right up in front of the noses of thefirst team of horses, and with great leaps broke away from the road.Tom Jonah was at the rear of the procession and did not at first seethis bounding shape.
Neale stood up in the second sleigh and clapped his hands sharplytogether. The white ball stopped--halting right in a snow-patch; beingso much like the snow itself in color that those in the sledges couldscarcely see it. The sharp crack of Neale's ungloved palms seemed tomake the creature cower in the snow. It halted for a moment only,however.
"Oh! The bunny!" gasped Tess, standing up to see.
"A big white hare," Mr. Howbridge said. "I had no idea there were suchbig ones around here."
The hare burst into high speed again and disappeared, almost beforeTom Jonah set out for him.
"Come back, Tom Jonah!" shouted Tess. "Why, you couldn't catch thatbunny if you had started ahead of him."
"Wow! that's a good one," said Neale O'Neil. "Tell you what, Aggie,those small sisters of yours are right full of new ideas."
"That is what teacher says is the matter with Robbie Foote," remarkedSammy, thoughtfully.
"How is that?" asked Agnes, expecting some illuminating informationfrom the standpoint of a lower grade pupil.
"Why," Sammy explained, "teacher asked Rob what was the plural of man.Rob told her 'men.' Then, of course, she had to keep right on at it.If you do answer her right she goes right at you again," scoffedSammy. "That's why I don't often answer her right if I can help it. Itonly makes you trouble."
"Oh! Oh!" chuckled Neale. "A Daniel come to judgment."
"Wait. Let's hear the rest of Sam's story," begged Agnes. "What wasRobbie Foote's idea?"
"That's what teacher said--he was full of ideas, only they weresilly," went on Sammy. "When he'd told her 'men' was the plural of'man,' she said: 'What is the plural of child?' He told her 'twins.'What d'you know about that? She said his ideas were silly."
"I'm not so sure he was silly," laughed Neale.
"I wonder what has become of those Birdsall twins," Agnes saidthoughtfully. "Up here in this wild country--"
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Neale. "You don't know anything of the kind.Those two girls that fisher-woman spoke about--"
"One of them was a boy."
"Well, that doesn't prove anything. We don't even know that the two atthe fisher-village were twins."
"But they were brother and sister roaming about--runaways and alone."
"Oh, Aggie!" he cried, "don't make up your mind a thing is so withoutgetting some real evidence first. Mr. Howbridge asked, and he is notat all sure those stragglers were the twins."
"Somehow I just feel that they were," sighed the second Corner Housegirl, with a confidence that Neale saw it was useless to try to shake.
When Agnes Kenway made up her mind to a thing Neale wagged his headand gave it up.
The party was quite too jolly, however, to bother much about the lostBirdsall twins just then. Even Mr. Howbridge had said nothing aboutthem since his cross-examination of the hotel-keeper back at Coxford.
If the twins had come this way, for instance, attempting to reach RedDeer Lodge, surely some of the people of Coxford or the woodsmen goingback and forth on the tote-road would have met and recognized them.And if Ralph was dressed in some of his sister's clothing, they wouldhave been the more surely marked.
Two girls of twelve or so traveling into the woods? It seemed quiteridiculous.
For this was indeed a wild country through which the tote-road ran.The fact of its being a wilderness was marked even to the eyes ofthose so unfamiliar with such scenes.
Now and then a fox barked from the brakes in the lowland. Jays indroves winged across the clearings with raucous cries. More than onetrampled place beside the thickets of edible brush showed where thedeer herd had browsed within stone's throw of the tote-road.
And then, as the party came closer to the ridge on which Red DeerLodge was built, and the twilight began to gather, the big white owlsof these northern forests went flapping through the tree-lanes,skimming the snowcrust for the rabbits and other small animals thatmight be afoot even this early in the evening.
The spread of the wings of the first of these monster owls that theysaw was quite six feet from tip to tip, and it almost scared DotKenway. With an eerie "Hoo! Hoo! Hoo-oo!" and a swish of wings itcrossed the road just ahead of the horses, and made even thoseplodding beasts toss their heads and prick up their ears.
"Oh, look at that 'normous great white chicken!" shouted Dot. "Did youever?"
"It is an owl, child," said Tess.
"An owl as big as _that_?" gasped the smaller girl. "Why--why--itcould carry you right off like the eagle that Mr. Lycurgus Billet sethis Sue for bait! Don't you 'member?"
"I guess I do remember!" Tess declared. "But an owl isn't like aneagle. It isn't so savage."
The party had come a long way, and the steaming horses were now weary.As evening approached the cold increased in intensity, while themournfully sounding wind promised stern weather. The members of theparty from Milton began to congratulate each other that they werearriving at the Lodge before a big storm should sweep over thisnorthern country.
"And suppose we get snowed in and aren't able to get out of the woodstill spring?" suggested Cecile, not without some small fear that suchmight be a possibility.
"There goes little Miss Fidget!" cried her brother. "Always worryingover the worst that may happen."
"But I suppose we could be snowbound up here?" suggested Ruth,although scarcely with anxiety.
"Yes!" agreed Luke, laughing. "And pigs might fly. But they tell methey are awful uncertain birds."
"Don't listen to him, Ruthie," said Cecile. "We may have to stay hereall winter long."
"Then I only hope Mr. Howbridge sent up grub enough to see us throughtill spring," put in the collegian gayly. "For I can foresee right nowthat this keen air is going to give me the appetite of an Eskimo."
It was a long climb to the top of the ridge on which the Birdsalls hadbuilt their rustic home. When the party came in sight of it the lampswere already lighted and these beckoned cheerfully to the arrivalswhile they were still a long way off.
The private road which had branched off from the regular tote-road atthe foot of the ridge was easy to ascend beside some of the hills theyhad climbed. The teams, however, were not to be urged out of a walk.
There was a sudden flare of sulphurous light over the wooded caps ofthe mountains to the west of the ridge; but this lasted only a fewminutes. The sun was then smothered in the mists as it sank to rest.Dusk almost at once filled the aisles of the forest.
/> On the summit of the ridge about the big, sprawling, rustic house onlyshade trees had been allowed to stand. The land was cleared and tilledto some extent. At least, there was plenty of open space around theLodge and the log barns and the outbuildings.
Somebody was on watch, for the big entrance door opened before thesleds reached the steps, and yellow lamplight shone out across theporch. Hedden stood in the doorway, while another man ran down toassist with the bags and bundles.
"Oh, what a homelike looking place!" Ruth cried, quite as amazed asthe other visitors by the appearance of the Lodge.
Aside from the fact that the house was built of round logs with thebark peeled off, it did not seem to be at all rough or of crudeconstruction. There were two floors and a garret. The entrance hallseemed as big as a barn.
It was cozy and warm, however, despite its size. There was a galleryall around this hall at the level of the second floor, and a stairwaywent up on either side. At the rear was a huge fireplace, and this washeaped with logs which gave off both light and heat. There was achandelier dropped from the ceiling, however, and acetylene gas flaredfrom the burners of this fixture.
The whole party crowded to the hearth where benches and chairs weredrawn up in a wide circle before the flames. The maids relieved Mrs.MacCall and the girls of their outer wraps and overshoes. The boys hadbeen shown where they were to leave their caps and coats.
Such a hilarious crowd as they were! Jokes and cheerful gossip werethe order of this hour of rest. With all but one member of the party!There was one very serious face, and this was the countenance of theyoungest of the four Kenway sisters.
"Dorothy Kenway! what is the matter with you?" demanded Tess, at lastseeing the expression on the face of her little sister.
Dot had been gazing all about the room with amazed eyes until thisquestion came. Then with gravity she asked:
"Tessie! didn't Mr. Howbridge say this was a lodge?"
"Why, yes; this is Red Deer Lodge, child," rejoined Tess.
"But--but, Tess! you know it isn't a lodge, nor a room where they havelodges! Now, is it?!"
"Why--why--"
"It can't be!" went on the smaller girl with great insistence. "Youknow that was a lodge where we went night before last to have ourChristmas tree on Meadow Street."
"A _lodge_?" gasped Tess.
"Yes. You know it was. And there was a pulpit and chairs on a platformat both ends of the lodge. And lodges are held there. I know, 'causeBecky Goronofsky's father belongs to one that meets there. She saidso. And he wears a little white apron with a blue border and a sashover his shoulder.
"Now," said the earnest Dot, "there's nothing like that here, so it'snot a lodge at all. I don't see why they call it a red lodge fordeers."
Tess would have been tempted to call on Mr. Howbridge himself for anexplanation of this seeming mystery had the lawyer not been just thenin conference with Hedden in a corner of the room. The butler hadbeckoned his employer away from the others.
"What is it, Hedden?" asked the lawyer. "Has something gone wrong?"
"Not with the arrangements for the comfort of your party, Mr.Howbridge," the man assured him. "But when we came in here yesterday(and I unlocked the door myself with the key you gave me) I found thatsomebody had recently occupied the Lodge."
"You don't mean it! Somebody broken in! Some thief?"
"No, sir. I went around to all the windows and doors. Nobody hadbroken in. Whoever it was must have had a key, too."
"But who was it? What did the intruder do?"
"I find nothing disturbed, sir. Nothing of importance. But one room,at least, had been used recently. It is a sitting-room upstairs--rightnear this main hall. There had been a fire in the grate up there. Whenwe came in yesterday the embers were still glowing. But I could findno intruder anywhere about the Lodge, sir."