CHAPTER XX. ONE MYSTERY SOLVED
A glorious autumn morning dawned and Dories sat up suddenly. ShakingNann, she whispered excitedly: "I hear it again."
"What? The ghost? Was he ringing the bell?" This sleepily from the girlwho seemed to have no desire to waken, but, at her companion's urgent:"No, not the bell! Do sit up, Nann, and listen. Isn't that the airplanecoming back? Hark!"
Fully awake, the other girl did sit up and listen. Then leaping from thebed, she ran to the window that overlooked the wide expanse of marsh.
"Yes, yes," she cried. "There it is! It's flying low, as though it weregoing to land, and it's heading straight for the old ruin. Get dressed asquickly as you can."
"But why?" queried the astonished Dories. "We can't get any nearer thanwe did yesterday; that is, not by land, and the tide is high again, andso we can't go out in the punt."
Nann did not reply, but continued to dress hurriedly, and so her frienddid likewise.
"I don't know why it is," the former confided a moment later, "but I feelin my bones that this is the day of the great revelation."
"Not according to the yellow messages. They would tell us that in sevendays we would know all." Dories was brushing her brown hair preparing toweave it into two long braids.
"But, as I told you before," Nann remarked, "I don't believe the papersrefer to the old ruin mystery at all. In fact, I think the ghost thatwrites the message on the papers does not even know there is an old ruinmystery."
"Well, you're a better detective than I am," Dories confessed as she tieda ribbon bow on the end of each braid. "I haven't any idea about anythingthat is happening."
The girls stole downstairs and ran out on the beach, hoping to see theairplane, but the long, shining white beach was deserted and the onlysound was the crashing of the waves over the rocks and along the shore,for the tide was high.
"I wonder if Dick and Gib heard the plane passing over their town?"Dories had just said, when Nann, glancing in the direction of the road,exclaimed gleefully, "They sure did, for here they come at headlong speedthis very minute." The big, boney, white horse stopped so suddenly whenit reached the sand that both of the boys were unseated. Laughingly theysprang to the beach and waved their caps to the girls, who hurried tomeet them.
"Good morning, boys!" Nann called as soon as they were near enough forher voice to be heard above the crashing of the waves. "I judge you alsosaw the plane."
"Yeah! We'uns heerd it comin' 'long 'fore we saw it, an' we got ol'Spindly out'n her stall in a twinklin', I kin tell you."
The city lad laughed as though at an amusing memory. "The old mare wassound asleep when we started, but when she heard that buzzing andwhirring over her head, she thought she was being pursued by a regimentof demons, seemed like. She lit out of that barn and galloped as shenever had before. Of course the airplane passed us long ago, but thatgallant steed of ours was going so fast that I wasn't sure that we wouldbe able to stop her before we got over to the island."
Gib, it was plain, was impatient to be away, and so promising to reportif they found anything of interest, the lads raced toward the point ofrocks, while the girls went indoors to prepare breakfast. Dories foundher Great-Aunt Jane in a happier frame of mind than usual. She wassitting up in bed, propped with pillows, when her niece carried in thetray. And when a few moments later the girl was leaving the room, shechanced to glance back and was sure that the old woman was chuckling asthough she had thought of something very amusing. Dories confided thisastonishing news item to Nann while they ate their breakfast in thekitchen. "What do you suppose Aunt Jane was thinking about? It was surelysomething which amused her?" Dories was plainly puzzled.
Nann smiled. "Doesn't it seem to you that your aunt must be thoroughlyrested by this time? I should think that she would like to get out in thesunshine these wonderful bracing mornings. It would do her a lot moregood than being cooped up indoors."
Dories agreed, commenting that old people were certainly queer. It wasmidmorning when the girls, having completed their few household tasks,again went to the beach to look for the boys. The tide was going out andthe waves were quieter. Arm in arm they walked along on the hard sand.Dories was saying, "Aunt Jane told me that she would like to read toherself this morning. I was so afraid that she would ask me to read toher. Not but that I do want to be useful sometimes, but this morning I amso eager to know what the boys are doing. I wish they would come. Iwonder where they went."
"I think I know," Nann replied. "I believe they are lying flat on the bigsmooth rock on which we sat that day Gibralter told us the story of thePhantom Yacht. You recall that we had a fine view of the old ruin fromthere."
"But why would they be lying flat?" Dories, who had little imagination,looked up to inquire.
"So that they could observe whoever might enter the old ruin withoutbeing observed, my child."
"But, Nann, why would anyone want to get into that dreadful place unlessit was just out of curiosity, which, of course, is our only motive."
"I'm sure I don't know," the older girl had to confess, adding: "That isa mystery that we have yet to solve."
Suddenly Nann laughed aloud. "What's the joke?" This from her astonishedcompanion. Since Nann continued to laugh, and was pointing merrily ather, Dories began to bristle. "Well, what's funny about me? Have Ibuttoned my dress wrong?"
The other maid shook her head. "It's something about your braids," shereplied.
"Oh, I suppose I put on different colored ribbons. I remember noticing ayellow one near the red." She swung both of the braids around as shespoke, but the ribbon bows were of the same hue. Tossing them back overher shoulder, she said complacently: "This isn't the first of April, mydear. There's nothing the matter with my braids and so--" But Nanninterrupted, "Isn't there? Unbeliever, behold!" Leaping forward, shelifted a braid, held it in front of her friend, and pointed at a bit ofcrumpled yellow paper. Dories laughed, too.
"Well," Nann exclaimed, "that proves to my entire satisfaction that asupernatural being does _not_ write the notes and hide them just where wewill be sure to find them."
"But who do you suppose does write them?" Dories asked. "This morningI've been close enough to four people to have them slip that folded paperin my hair ribbon. Their names are Nann Sibbett, Great-Aunt Jane,Gibralter Strait and Dick Moore. Dick, of course, is eliminated becausehe was nowhere about when the messages first began to appear. It isn't_your_ hand-writing," the speaker was closely scrutinizing the note,"and, as for Gib, I'm not sure that he can write at all." Then a light ofconviction appeared in her eyes. "Do you know what I believe?" she turnedtoward her friend as one who had made an astonishing discovery. "Ibelieve Great-Aunt Jane writes these notes and that she gets up out ofbed when we are away from home and hides them."
Nann laughed. "I agree with you perfectly. I suspected her the other day,but I didn't want to tell you until I was more sure. But why do yousuppose she does it--if she does?"
Dories shook her head, then she exclaimed: "Now I know why Aunt Jane waschuckling to herself when I looked back. She had just slipped the foldedpaper into my hair ribbon, I do believe."
"The next thing for us to find out is when and why she does it?" Thegirls had stopped at the foot of the rocks and Nann changed the subjectto say: "I wonder why the boys don't come. It's almost noon. We'll haveto go back and prepare your Aunt Jane's lunch." She turned toward thehome cottage as she spoke. Dories gave a last lingering look up towardthe tip-top rock. "Maybe they have been carried off in the airplane," shesuggested.
"Impossible!" Nann said. "It couldn't depart without our hearing."
When they reached the cabin, Dories whispered, "I've nine minds to showAunt Jane the notes and watch her expression. I am sure I could tell ifshe is guilty."
"Don't!" Nann warned. "Let her have her innocent fun if she wishes."Then, when they were in the kitchen making a fire in the wood stove, Nannadded, "I believe, my dear girl, that there is mor
e to the meaning ofthose messages than just innocent fun. I believe your Aunt Jane is goingto disclose to you something far more important than the solving of theruin mystery. She may tell you where the fortune is that your fathershould have had, or something like that."
Dories, who had been filling the tea-kettle at the kitchen pump, whirledabout, her face shining. "Nann Sibbett," she exclaimed in a low voice,"do you really, truly think that may be what we are to know in sevendays? O, wouldn't I be glad I came to this terrible place if it were?Then Mother darling wouldn't have to sew any more and you and I could goaway to school. Why just all of our dreams would come true."
"Clip fancy's wings, dearie," Nann cautioned as she cut the breadpreparing to make toast. "Usually I am the one imagining things, but nowit is you."
Dories looked at her aunt with new interest when she went into her roomfifteen minutes later with the tray, but the old woman, who was againlying down, motioned her to put the tray on a small table near and notdisturb her. As Dories was leaving the room, her aunt called, "I won'tneed you girls this afternoon."
"Just as though she divined our wish to go somewhere," Nann commented, afew moments later, when Dories had told her.
"I'll tell you what let's do," the younger girl suggested, "let's pack alunch of sandwiches and olives and cookies. Then when the boys come wecan have a picnic. It's noon and they didn't have a lunch with them, I amsure."
"Good, that will be fun," Nann agreed. "I'll look now and see if they arecoming. We don't want them to escape us."
A moment later she returned from the front porch shaking her head. "Not atrace of them," she reported. Hurriedly they prepared a lunch and packedit in a box. Then, after donning their bright-colored tams and sweatercoats, they went out the back door and were just rounding the front ofthe cabin when Nann exclaimed, "Here they come, or rather there they go,for they do not seem to have the least idea of stopping here."
Nann was right. The two lads had appeared, scrambling over the point ofrocks, and away they ran along the hard sand of the beach, acknowledgingthe existence of the girls merely by a hilarious waving of the arms.
Nann turned toward her friend, her large eyes glowing. "They've found aclue, I'm sure certain! You can tell by the way they are racing that theyare just ever so excited about something." As she spoke the boysdisappeared over a hummock of sand, going in the direction of the inletwhere Gibralter kept his punt hidden.
Dories clapped her hands. "I know!" she cried elatedly. "They're goingout in the punt. The tide has turned! Oh, Nann, what do you suppose theysaw?"
"I believe they saw the pilot of the airplane enter the old ruin, so nowthey are going to get the punt, and they're in a great hurry to get backto the creek before the airplane leaves."
"Oh! How exciting! Do you suppose they will make it?"
Nann intently watched the blue water beyond the hummock of sand as shereplied, "I believe they will." Then she added, "Oh, dear, I do hopethey'll take time to stop and get us. It wouldn't be fair for them tohave all the thrills, since we girls found the channel in the marsh."
"Of course they'll take us," Dories replied, although in her heart ofhearts she rather hoped they would not, as she was not as eager as Nannfor adventure. "You know Dick said it wouldn't be fair to go without us."
Nann nodded. Then, with sudden brightening, "Hurry! Here they come! Let'srace down to the point o' rocks and see if they want to hail us."
Then, as they started, "Do you know, Dori, I feel as though somethingmost unexpected is about to happen. I mean something very different fromwhat we think."
The girls had reached the point of rocks and were standing with shadedeyes, gazing out at the glistening water.
The flat-bottomed boat slowly neared them. Dick held one oar and Gib theother. They both had their backs toward the point and evidently they hadnot seen the girls.
"Why, I do declare! They aren't going to stop. They're going right bywithout us." Nann felt very much neglected, when suddenly Gib turned andgrinned toward them with so much mischief in his expression that Doriesconcluded: "They did that just to tease. See, they're heading in this waynow."
This was true, and Dick, making a trumpet of his hands, called: "Want tocome, girls? If so, scramble over to the flat rock, quick's you can!We're in a terrifical hurry!"
Dories and Nann needed no second invitation, but climbed over the jaggedrocks and stood on the broad one which was uncovered at low tide andwhich served as a landing dock.
Dick, the gallant, leaped out to assist them into the punt, then, seizinghis oar, he commanded his mate, "Make it snappy, old man. We want tocatch the modern air pirate before he gets away with his treasure."