CHAPTER XVI PUZZLED
The meeting held next morning in Dave Wilbur’s garage was a strictlyprivate affair. Neither Wat Sanford nor Jim Tapley was informed of itfor the reason that neither of them could have offered anything as aresult of personal observation or of actual experience.
“Well, Ned, did you dope out anything after sleeping on it?” asked TommyBeals, after Ned Blake had called the meeting to order.
“Can’t say I did,” admitted the latter a bit ruefully. “The more I thinkof it the more puzzling it becomes. About the only thing I could do wasto make a list of such facts as we are certain of so far. Maybe thiswon’t do any good, but, on the other hand, it may give us something tostart from. Shall I read it?”
“Shoot!” grinned Dick. “That’s what Professor Simmons calls the‘scientific method of approach to a subject’—get your facts all lined upand then make ’em tell their own story.”
“Sure, that’s fine—if the facts will tell a story that we’re not toodumb to understand,” grumbled Rogers, “but go to it, Ned. Let’s hear theworst.”
“Here’s how the thing lines up in my mind,” began Ned, producing a slipof paper to which he referred from time to time. “First off, we get theidea of using the Coleson house and we go out there and break into it.We don’t find any sign that anybody has been around the place recently.Next we get a lease of the property and start work on it. This was onJune thirtieth. On July sixth somebody writes a letter to Sam, warninghim to keep away from the Coleson house.”
“Yes, and of course that meant for us to lay off as well as Sam,”declared Beals.
“Well, we didn’t heed that warning,” resumed Ned, “and next came thatlight that jiggered along the wall, and a few hours later Sam getsscared out of his wits and off the job by what he thinks was a ghost athis window.”
“Something was there—that’s a cinch,” interrupted Dick. “That foot trackunder the bushes was no dream!”
“No, it wasn’t,” replied Ned, “and neither was that painted stake, northe repainted mark on the chimney of the house.”
“Nor that scrap of paper we found tacked to Coleson’s front door,” addedTommy.
“All of those things are down on the list of known facts,” answered Ned,“and it seems they must have some connection with each other, but fromthen on, the case isn’t so clear. Red and Fatty heard strange noises atthe house and are certain that somebody or something was at workoutside. As to what they actually saw in one flash of lightning, we’llleave out of the question—for the present.”
“Yeah, leave it out,” muttered Tommy. “I’ll admit it ain’tscientific—but all the same I’ll never forget it!”
“Me neither!” growled Rogers. “A black, humpbacked thing half-waybetween the house and the woods. Something that didn’t leave anytracks!”
“Go on, Ned,” interrupted Dave Wilbur. “What comes next?”
“Well,” resumed Ned, “Dick and I saw a vessel pick up those ranges witha searchlight, and we think that accounts for the strange light thatappeared on the wall Saturday night; also we know that the boat camefairly close to the beach and lay there almost an hour, although nobodycame ashore from her. Even allowing for a lot of imagination, we aresure we saw a queer thing like a buoy that rose out of the lake andlater disappeared—somewhere. Shortly afterward we fancied we saw a redlight at the end of the old road, and from what we learned yesterday,I’m quite positive we were right in calling it the tail light of anautomobile.”
“There’s not much doubt of that,” agreed Dave, “also you’ve proved thatthere’s some connection between the shack in the woods and some of thethings that have been happening out at Coleson’s.”
“Somebody is using the old wood-road and has taken a lot of pains toconceal the fact,” continued Ned. “I guess this about concludes the listof things we actually know—up to date. I’ll have to admit that all of’em taken together don’t help us a whole lot when it comes to solvingthe puzzle.”
“Do you think we ought to report the whole thing to the police?” askedTommy, doubtfully.
“Police! Not on your life!” yelped Dick. “Once it got known that thecops were hunting for somebody out there, we’d never get anybody for thedances. Right now a lot of the crowd are getting a big kick out of theidea that the place is haunted and the rest believe that _we_ arepulling off a few ghost stunts for their amusement—either way it’s goingbig. But a bunch of cops snooping around would kill it and leave usflat.”
“I think Dick is right,” agreed Ned. “We’ve got to work the thing outfor ourselves—at least till we’ve made sure of our ground. We’re certainthat something is going on out there and that it is being kept awfullyclose. Nobody is ever seen coming or going, yet we know such coming andgoing is actually taking place. Just what connection—if any—this haswith the phony ghost stuff we can’t be sure of.”
“You can’t make Sam believe it’s phony,” murmured Tommy Beals.
“No, nor Wat Sanford either,” added Dave Wilbur. “He’s naturally more orless of an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ anyhow, and ever since Red and Fattysprung that bedtime story about the hunchback, Wat has had the jim-jamsregular.”
“Well, I guess we’re all pretty brave—in the daytime,” remarked Dick.“The question is what are we going to do about it all?”
“I have an idea we might learn something by watching that shack,”suggested Ned. “It might prove to be the key to the puzzle. I hadplanned to lie out there tonight and see if anything happens. Doesanybody want to join me?”
“‘A watched pot never boils,’” drawled Dave, “all the same, I guessmaybe it’s up to me to do some of the watching. What’s the plan, Ned?”
“My scheme is to walk out there before dark and find a good hiding-placewhere we can watch both the road and the old shanty,” explained Ned.
“O.K. with me,” agreed Dave. “All except the walking. What’s the matterwith taking the car and hiding it in the brush this side of the oldroad?”
“That’s all right, Weary,” laughed Ned. “Get a good supper under yourbelt and call for me about seven o’clock. And now, if there’s nothingmore to be said, let’s adjourn, and remember to keep mum for thepresent.”