The Secret of Steeple Rocks

  CHAPTER XIV

  THE NEW CAMPER

  It could be easily seen that Peggy was under some excitement. She almostsparkled as she ran into the little clearing, alone first, for Jack wasdoing her bidding with the horses. She was wearing a new riding outfitand cried, "Look at me, folks. Don't I look grown up?"

  Not a little was she taken back upon seeing the stranger, but sherecovered herself quickly, especially as Dalton rose and took a steptoward her as if to protect her from criticism. Gaily Peggy extended herhand high, its fingers drooping. "Congratulate me, Dal," she said, "onsome new clothes. We're having company,--but excuse me, Beth, forrushing in this way." Then she paused and waited to be introduced.

  "Miss Ives," said Beth, formally and sweetly, as if Peggy were as grownas she claimed to be, "you will be glad to meet Mr. Tudor of New York, awriter who is taking a vacation in our fine country."

  Peggy stepped forward a little to offer her hand prettily and modestly,as she had been taught to do. "I am glad to see you, Mr. Tudor, and I amsorry that I interrupted your visit, but this is the first time that theEyrie has had company.

  "The great excitement, girls," she continued, looking at Leslie andSarita, "is that we are having important guests and I can't get overhaving new clothes and part of the responsibility."

  Evan Tudor had said the few pleasant words of greeting that were properwhen he met Peggy, and stood by, interested. Jack Morgan now appeared,equally resplendent in riding togs that were new. He came forward aseagerly as Peggy had done, but as he was not saying anything, he was notembarrassed when he observed the stranger.

  After Jack had been introduced, he began to explain why they had notbeen over. "Peggy and I have been trying to help my aunt with her plans.Uncle is bringing down, or up, from wherever they are a prince andprincess, a grand duchess or two and I don't know whom else for a sortof house party, I suppose. Aunt Kit had a telegram some time ago, but wejust heard about it lately. Then Uncle wired that he did not know justwhen they could get together, but he would bring them in the yacht andeverything was to be ready to entertain them in their accustomed style."

  "That might depend upon their recent fortunes, don't you think, Mr.Morgan?" Mr. Tudor asked. He was standing with his hands behind him, alittle smile on his rather thin face. "European royalty has had rather ahard time of it in some countries since the war."

  "You are right. I imagine that the Russian grand duchess doesn't find itany too pleasant at home."

  "In fact she could not stay there at all," said Dalton, "if I knowanything about it."

  "But probably Mrs. Ives' guests are not all exiles," Mr. Tudor added,open for information.

  "Mother and Dad met some of them abroad, I think," Peggy volunteered."And I think that Count Herschfeld knows some of them, and the Kravetz,too."

  Beth looked rather disapproving of Peggy's reference to her governessand Mr. Tudor wanted to ask who the Count and "the Kravetz" were; but hethought it not in good taste to ask any more questions. Peggy, however,explained. "The Count, Mr. Tudor, is a sort of secretary for mystep-father. Do come over to see my things, girls. I shall have time toplay around for several days. Dad wrote that they would be here at thelatest somewhere around the twenty-eighth, he thought,--oh, girls,that--" Peggy had just thought.

  But Leslie spoke at once. "Indeed, we shall be over right away, Peggy.Would to-morrow morning be too soon? It is not very long till thetwenty-eighth, is it, Dal?" Leslie looked soberly at her brother.

  "Not very, Les."

  "I wish that you would come, too, Dal. You have never been over andMother was saying that she wanted to see the rest of the Eyrie family."

  "I want to see your mother, too, Peggy, but I'm too busy with thebuilding, you see. Bring your mother over here."

  "I will, when the company goes. But then, she always has somebody."Peggy looked rather cross at the thought.

  "We'll ask your mother out for a little trip in the Sea Crest," Bethsuggested. "Perhaps she will feel that she can run off for a littlewhile."

  "I believe that she might," Peggy replied.

  Evan Tudor had noted Peggy's startled pause, and Leslie's questionconcerning the date. He had a particular interest in matters here whichhe was not disclosing yet, but he welcomed anything which threw anylight upon it. When Peggy and Jack went away after their short visit, hewalked beside Peggy's horse for some distance till it was necessary tostrike off from the trail or bridle path to his own little camp. Severalnotes went into his small pocket notebook that night before he went tosleep. He was inclined to go abroad to do a little investigating, but hedecided that first he should get some familiarity with the woods andcoast by daylight. It might be just as well, too, to have one goodnight's rest. He expected to have few before the twenty-eighth.

  Early the next morning Evan Tudor was at the roadside, waiting, and whoshould come to meet him there but Tom Carey, who then rode to the townat the railroad and sent a telegram, written at length, and signed E. T.It was very innocent and related to a certain article which would beready for the press to meet the editor's date.

  "Are you deeply engaged in the affairs of a certain man here namedBill?" Evan Tudor facetiously asked Tom, as he handed him the writtenmessage.

  "No, sir. I catch fish for him," said Tom. "I might be doing somethingelse, perhaps, if he meant some things that he said to me, but what I doI do in the open."

  "Do you know what it is that Bill meant?"

  "No; I thought that it was liquor, but I am not so sure now." Tom dughis shoe into the turf by the side of the road with a troubled face.

  "Would you consider finding out for me, if I should take you into myemploy without interfering with your work for Bill? Indeed, that wouldbe a part of it."

  Tom looked up quickly. "You are after Bill!"

  "I am not sure that I am at all. Something is wrong up here. Can I counton you not to betray me?"

  "Yes, sir. Something _is_ wrong up here. I've got to stay here with myold grandmom that has been here all her life, and I'd like to seesomebody beside Bill running things."

  "I picked you yesterday, from something you said," Mr. Tudor continued."I am taking quite a risk to tell anyone that I have a quest here, but Ishall need someone, and I happened to find that I need you right away. Imade this appointment with you not knowing that I should have to sendthis telegram, but I hoped to secure your services. I _did_ expect toenjoy a little fishing, but I suppose that I shall have to keep up mywriting a while, to give you the excuse of bringing fish to me everyday. Tell Bill that the writing chap has ordered fish, shrimp, lobster,anything that you get particularly fine and every day. I mean to write,too,--but not _all_ the time."

  This mystery appealed to Tom, whose eyes sparkled. "You can count on me,sir. Prob'ly Bill will charge you fancy prices, though."

  "That is all right, and I'll pay you, too. It's going faster than Ithought. Sure you can carry it off so that Bill will not suspect? It'sall right for you to show an interest in me, of course."

  "I've kept more than one thing from Bill already, sir."

  "Don't forget, then."

  Tom carried the telegram into the station with an air of greatindifference, as he happened to see a man who worked for Bill, in factone of Bill's chief henchmen, on the platform.

  "H'lo, Tom. Wot'e ye doin' here?"

  "What ye doin' yourself?" Tom was grinning. Perhaps it would do no harmto let the man see the telegram. It would be better at any rate than tomake any mystery over it. He went right ahead about the business ofsending off the message, making out the blank and stuffing the originalpaper, scribbled by Evan Tudor, into his pocket.

  But the man was waiting curiously at the door. Tom hoped that it wasmere curiosity that moved him. "Wot's the matter? Any of yer folkssick?"

  "No. I'm sending a message for somebody else, the new man that came inyesterday. I s'pose everybody in town knows--"

  "Say, wot was it about? Bill was kinda suspici
ous las' night."

  "Bill's always suspicious," laughed Tom. "Read it yourself." Tom pulledthe mussed paper from his pocket. "The man's on some paper. Abner saidthat he wouldn't let anybody carry his typewriter but himselfyesterday."

  "That so?" The man scanned the paper. "Lemme show this to Bill?"

  "I don't know whether I ought to give it to you or not. There's nothingprivate in it, I suppose, but he paid me to bring it and I was to askwhether there was any message for him. Suppose he asks me about this?"

  "_Was_ they any message fer him?"

  "No."

  "Well, I don't want it anyhow. I kin remember if Bill asts me."

  But Bill was not quite satisfied with the report of his henchman. Hedecided to see himself what the "young chap was up to," as he had donein the case of the Secrests. Evan Tudor was quite pleased with himselfthat he was running his typewriter at top speed, under the trees in hischosen retreat, when a rough man appeared before him with a "Hello."

  "Good morning sir." Evan looked up from his improvised seat on aboulder. "Too fine a morning to waste this way, isn't it?'"

  "Might just as well stay in the city if you have to write."

  "Just what I was thinking. But I don't know. This is a pretty good placeto think; and I don't intend to keep it up after I get this off by mail,and maybe one or two other things out of my system."

  "Hunting a quiet place, then?"

  "Yes; but it is partly for a vacation, too. Aren't you the man who runsa lot of the fishing around here?"

  "Yes. How did you know?"

  "I think I saw you in the village, and someone told me. I got hold of aboy that works for you and I told him to bring me something every day,fish, shrimp, your choicest of anything. Can that be done?"

  "Yes, but you will have to pay for it."

  "All right. Want a little pay in advance?"

  "No objection."

  "Don't cheat me, then." Evan Tudor's tone was not one which would giveoffense, rather one inclined to banter. He felt in his vest pocket andtook out a folded bill, for five dollars. "That all right?"

  "We'll do the best we kin fer ye." Bill pocketed the money. This chapwas easy. "Say are ye a friend of them Secrests? You was eatin' therelast night."

  "Certainly I am a friend of theirs, though I never saw any of thembefore last night. And I don't like that, Mr.--" Not recalling Bill'sname Mr. Tudor paused for a moment. "That looks a little as if I werebeing spied on. Are there any parties around here from whom I may needto protect myself?"

  Evan's eyes flashed. Bill's eyes fell. He was used to taking theinitiative in threats. This was something new for him.

  "If ye mind yer own business, I reckon ye needn't be afraid of nobody."

  "That is good. I'll not be, but it is just as well in a new country tobe ready, I suppose. How are the village people about talking tostrangers? I want a little material in the line of characters and I maywander among those interesting shacks a little. Will they throw me out?"Mr. Tudor's face wore a whimsical smile.

  "They might. I wouldn't advise ye to git too smart around here."

  Bill sauntered off. He had come from the direction of Steeple Rocks, Mr.Tudor noted. He smiled to himself as he started the typewriter oncemore. He was _paying_ Bill, Bill the chief sinner, aside from _those whopaid him for doing what he was doing_.

  Evan Tudor spent the rest of the day in spying out the land. He searchedthe woods, finding it a glorious grove of beautiful trees andinteresting growths of bush and fern. He had the love of a scientist forthe different phases of wild life and spent some time over curiousflowers, taking a list of those he knew for future use in some settingof a story. Toward dark, he entered the Ives' land and after dark hewandered around Steeple Rocks, feeling justified in the intrusion, forhis quest was a trust.

  But as it grew late he hurried back to his tent, for he rather expectedthat some watcher would know whether he spent the night in his tent orin "snooping." He thought that so far he had escaped observation sinceevening fell. And after all, an early trip about would be only naturalto a newcomer. Evan tried to put himself in the place of the evildoer,suspicious, fearful, and he wished at first to allay those suspicions.

  As he approached his tent, he thought he heard a rustle in the bushes.He put a tree between himself and the noise, but hummed a little. A shotin the dark would be possible, but scarcely likely. Bill would be thefirst one to be suspected, and Bill, whether able to prove an alibi ornot, did not want any investigating authorities.

  So reasoning, young Tudor boldly walked to his tent, turned hisflashlight inside of it and finding it empty, except for his undisturbedpossessions, entered, lit a candle and prepared for the night. He layawake for some time, a little uncertain whether or not he might be theintended victim of some attack. He was ready but nothing happened. Nosuspicious noise of any human source disturbed him. Finally he had tofight to keep awake, but when the stirring of the birds denoted thedawn, he fell into a deep slumber and slept far into the morning.