CHAPTER VII
THE MYSTERY OF THE IRON GATES
INSTEAD of running into the Presby home, as she had laughinglythreatened to do, Ruth Stuart had dashed at almost full speed into theclosed heavy iron gates at the entrance to the Treasureholme grounds.These gates were supposed to be open. As Olive had said, they had notbeen closed in some months. Why should they be closed now when the"Automobile Girls" car was looked for to arrive at any moment?
None of the girls was thinking of this at the moment. None was incondition to think at all. Ruth had discovered the obstruction in timeto throw on the emergency brake, but not quickly enough to stop theheadway of the automobile.
The car crashed against the gates with great force. The heavy iron barsof the gates buckled under the impact, then with a great creaking andrattling the hinges gave way, the old brick columns to which the hingeshad been attached crumbled and fell in a cloud of dust and mortar.Accompanying the crash was the sound of breaking glass. But not a cryhad been raised from the interior of the car, save Ruth's warning.
That cry of warning had set Barbara instantly on the defensive. Shethrew both arms about Mollie and Olive. Grace was on the front seat withRuth. Bab braced her feet with a mighty effort. Then the crash came.
It seemed to Barbara Thurston as though her arms were being torn fromtheir sockets. Then the three girls on the rear seat were jerked totheir feet. They toppled over the back of the seat ahead of them,plunging head first into the forward part of the car, where theoperating mechanism was located.
Ruth and Grace had been hurled against the storm curtain, securelyfastened down between themselves and the glass wind shield. Fortunatelyfor them, the curtain held for a few seconds until the shower of glassfrom the shield had fallen into the roadway, then the curtain gave wayand the two girls tumbled out in the wake of the glass.
The automobile, after the first impact, had recoiled several feet. Itessayed to plunge forward again, but the emergency brake held itmotionless while the motors began to race, making a noise that was heardin the house, which stood at some distance from the fallen gates.
The "Automobile Girls" lay where they had fallen, Ruth and Grace in theroadway, Bab, Mollie and Olive in the forward end of the car.
"There they come," cried Mrs. Presby. "Why, what a frightful noise," sheexclaimed, starting for the door, followed by Mr. Presby, with a painfullimp.
Tommy's face turned white when he heard the crash. With a bound hepassed his father and mother, tore down the steps and off down thedrive.
"Something has happened, Richard," cried Mrs. Presby.
"Something will happen to my gout, too, if I have to remain out in thischill atmosphere," declared Mr. Presby irritably.
"Hurry, hurry!" wailed the distant voice of Tommy.
"Oh, what is it?" cried Mrs. Presby, picking up her skirts and runningdown the drive.
"They're killed! They're killed!" howled Tommy. "They've smashed intothe gates. Everything's done. Finished!"
"Run, Richard! Quick! Get help! An accident has occurred," beggedOlive's mother.
The woman was almost beside herself with terror. Tommy's face wasghastly.
"Here's Ruth," he said, almost brusquely, lifting the girl by mainstrength and staggering toward the house. He bore the burden only a fewfeet, however, then hastily deposited it on the ground. Ruth wassenseless.
A neighbor had witnessed the accident and with rare forethoughttelephoned for a doctor. By this time a general alarm had been sounded.The old fire bell on Treasureholme had been rung by Mr. Presby as thequickest method of summoning assistance. Neighbors came on the run. Theywere appalled when they first looked upon the wreck of the old gates.The wreck at first sight appeared to be much worse than it really was.The automobile motors were still racing, the exhaust emitting frequentexplosions that sounded like the discharge of a Gatling gun. It wasalmost as though Mr. A. Bubble were summoning assistance on his ownresponsibility.
No time was lost, however, in attending to the five girls. Ruth andGrace being nearest at hand, were quickly lifted by strong arms andborne to the house. The three girls still in the automobile weretenderly lifted out and also carried in. Each girl was placed in theroom that had been set aside for her. The doctor was on hand almost bythe time the girls had been placed on their beds. He made a hastydiagnosis of each case, announced that no bones had been broken and,assisted by Mrs. Presby, administered restoratives to the victims of theaccident, who soon recovered consciousness.
No one had thought to send word to Mr. Stuart. The household was toomuch upset to think of anything save the accident that had occurred.
Grace and Ruth really had the front storm curtain to thank for savingtheir lives. Had they been hurled through the heavy glass wind shieldthey undoubtedly would have been killed instantly. Mollie and Olive nodoubt were saved by Barbara Thurston's presence of mind. But Barbara bydevoting her whole effort to saving her companions had been badlybruised and shaken.
Someone in the meantime had shut off the motors and pushed the car outof the way. The wreckage of the gates was also cleared away at thedirection of Mr. Presby, so that no one else should collide with it.
The doctor remained at Treasureholme until nine o'clock in the evening.Before taking his departure, however, he gave strict orders that none ofhis patients were to be allowed to leave their beds until he called thenext morning, and pronounced them able to rise and dress.
Mrs. Presby broke down and cried after she learned that the girls werenot seriously injured. Tom went out in the woodshed and wailed so loudlythat he was heard in the rooms upstairs. Mr. Presby hobbled aboutirritably. He did not care to have those in the house know how muchaffected he really was.
Early the next morning he sent for one of his men. The old gentleman wasnow in a fine temper. Owing to the excitement caused by the accident,and a particularly painful attack of the gout, he had passed a sleeplessnight and was therefore in a most unamiable frame of mind.
"Who closed those gates?" roared Mr. Presby the instant the man appearedin the doorway of the dining room, where the master was hobbling backand forth.
"I--I don't know, sir."
"You closed them!" thundered Richard Presby.
"I did not. They were open when I last saw them."
"When was that?"
"About an hour before the accident occurred, I think, sir."
"If you didn't close them, who did? Answer me that."
Of course the man could not answer that question. He made no answer atall, thinking thereby not to further irritate his employer.
"I suppose the gates were closed by some of those rascally treasurehunters that are continually tearing over my premises, digging holes forthe unwary to fall into and making general nuisances of themselves inevery other way. Drive them off. Pepper them with shot if you can't getrid of them in any other way. I may not be here for long, but while I amhere, I'm the master of Treasureholme. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," answered the man humbly, his face reflecting no expressionat all.
Mr. Presby thumped back and forth with his cane for nearly an hour afterthat, despite the fact that every step he took sent excruciating painsthrough his gouty foot. Finally retiring to the library, he went tosleep in his Morris chair, with the troublesome foot propped up on astool.
Early in the forenoon Mrs. Presby communicated with Miss Sallie and Mr.Stuart, telling them as much of the details of the accident as wasknown. Ten minutes later Robert Stuart and Miss Sallie were on their wayto Treasureholme as fast as an automobile could carry them. The girlswere asleep when they arrived. The doctor, who had arrived in themeantime, would not permit his patients to be disturbed. He assured Mr.Stuart, however, that the girls had providentially escaped with a fewslight scratches and bruises and that they would all be up before theend of the day.
But the mystery of the closed gates was disturbing the entire household.It was inexplicable. Mr. Presby declared that it was the work either ofhis enemies or of some treasure-seek
er who thought he was doing theowner a service by closing his gates for him.
Late that afternoon the five girls appeared in the dining room littlethe worse for their shaking up, although Barbara was far more lame andsore than she would admit. A general season of rejoicing ensued, andseveral neighbors dropped in to congratulate the girls on theirmiraculous escape from serious injury.
On seeing her father, Ruth's first question was, "What happened to A.Bubble?"
Mr. Stuart did not know. He promised to find out, which he did an houror so later. Mr. A. Bubble, he told her, would be sent to a shop forrepairs the next day, as he intended going back to Chicago that nightand would attend to it. The radiator had been badly bent, the forwardaxle had buckled, guards were smashed, the hood was damaged, in short,Mr. Bubble presented a most disreputable appearance.
Mr. Stuart told Ruth she was in a certain degree responsible for theaccident, still she had no thought that the gates would be closed.
"I'll know enough after this to keep my car under control. I won't tryto knock over any more houses and things," Ruth retorted.
By the afternoon of their second day at Treasureholme the "AutomobileGirls" had practically gotten over the effects of their accident andwere cosily established in Olive's room consuming hot chocolate andcakes while Olive, at their urgent request, again recounted the story ofthe buried treasure. Now that they were face to face with the greatmystery, they were alive with curiosity. They were burning to see withtheir own eyes the place that held so much of mystery and perhaps afortune that was probably being trodden over by human feet every hour ofthe day.