The Phantom Yacht

  CHAPTER XXIII. LETTERS OF IMPORTANCE

  The young people found the grey of dawn in the sky when they emergedthrough the hole under one corner of the roof and a new terror presenteditself. "What if the receding tide had left their boat high and dry." Butluckily there was still enough water in the narrow creek to take them outto the cove. Since they were in haste, the sail was put in place and abrisk wind from the land took them out and around the point. There wasstill too high a surf to make possible a landing on the platform rock andso the girls were obliged to go with the boys as far as the inlet inwhich Gib kept his punt. The white horse had been tied to a scrubby treenear, but, before he mounted, Dick took off his hat and held out a handto each of the girls in turn, assuring them that he had been ever so gladto meet them and that if all went well, he would return the followingweek-end.

  "And we will promise not to visit the old ruin again until you come,"Nann told him. The boy's face brightened. "O, I say!" he exclaimed,"that's too much to ask." But Gib assured him that half the fun washaving him along.

  Just before they rode away, Dick turned to call: "Keep a watch-out on ourcabin, will you, Nann? I really don't believe anyone has been there,however. Mother remembered that she had left the back door open."

  "All right. We will. Good-bye."

  Slowly the girls walked toward their home-cabin. "Do you suppose we oughtto tell Aunt Jane that we visited the old ruin at midnight?" Doriesasked.

  "Why, no, dear, I don't," was the thoughtful reply. "Your Aunt Jane toldus to do anything we could find to amuse us, don't you recall, that veryfirst day after we had opened up the cottage and were wondering what todo?"

  Dories nodded. "I remember. She must have heard us talking while we weredusting and straightening the living-room. That was the day that I said Ibelieved the place was haunted, and you said you hoped there was a ghostor something mysterious."

  Nann stopped and faced her companion. Her eyes were merry. "Dori Moore,"she exclaimed, "I believe your aunt _did_ hear my wish and that she hasbeen trying to grant it by writing those mysterious messages and leavingthem where we would find them."

  "Maybe you are right," her friend agreed. "I wish we could catch her inthe act." Then Dories added: "Nann, if Aunt Jane is really doing thatjust for fun, then she can't be such an old grouch as I thought her. Youknow I told you how I was sure that I heard her chuckling."

  The older girl nodded, then as the back porch of the cabin had beenreached, they went quietly up the steps and into the kitchen.

  "It's going to be a long week waiting for Dick to return," Dories said asshe began to make a fire in the stove. "What shall we do to pass away thetime?"

  Nann smiled brightly. "O, we'll find plenty to do!" she said. "There isthat box of books in the loft. Surely there will be a few that we wouldlike to read and that your Aunt Jane would like to hear. We have left heralone so much," Nann continued, "don't you think this last week that weought to spend more time adding to her happiness if we can?"

  Dories flushed. "I wish I'd been the one to say that," she confessed,"since Great-Aunt Jane loved my father so much when he was a boy."

  Although the girls had their breakfast early, it was not until the usualhour that Dories took the tray in to her aunt. Nann followed withsomething that had been forgotten. They were surprised to see the oldwoman propped up in bed reading the book of ghost stories which Dorieshad left in the room. She fairly beamed at them when they entered. Thenshe asked, "Do you girls believe in ghosts?"

  "Oh, no. Aunt Jane," Dories began rather hesitatingly. "That is, I don'tbelieve that I do."

  The sharp grey eyes, in which a twinkle seemed to be lurking, turnedtoward Nann. "Do you?" she asked briefly.

  "No, indeed, Miss Moore, I do not," was the emphatic reply, then, justfor mischief, the girl asked, "Do you?"

  "Indeed I do," was the unexpected response. "A ghost visited me lastnight and told me that you girls had gone with Gibralter Strait and theBurton boy over to visit the old ruin."

  "Aunt Jane! Miss Moore!" came in two amazed exclamations.

  "We did go. I sincerely hope you do not object," the older girl hastenedto say.

  "No, I don't object. There's nothing over there that can hurt you. NowI'd like my breakfast, if you please."

  When the girls returned to the kitchen, Dories whispered, "Nann, how inthe world did she know?"

  The older girl shook her head. "Mysteries seem to be piling up instead ofbeing solved," she said.

  "Do you suppose Aunt Jane knows who the air pilot is and why he goes tothe old ruin?" Dories wondered as they went about their morning tasks.

  "I'll tell you what, let's stay around home pretty closely for a few daysand see if anyone does visit Aunt Jane, shall we?"

  The old woman seemed to be glad to have the companionship of the girls.They read to her in the morning, and on the third afternoon theirsuspicions were aroused by the fact that their hostess asked them whythey stayed around the cabin all of the time. It was quite evident tothem that she wanted to be left alone.

  "Would it be too far for you to walk into town and see if there isn'tsome mail for me?" Miss Moore inquired early on the fourth morning of theweek. "I am expecting some very important letters. That boy Gibralter wastold to bring them the minute they came, but these Straits are such ashiftless lot." Then, almost eagerly, looking from one girl to another,she inquired: "It isn't too far for you to walk, is it? You can hireGibralter to bring you back in the stage."

  "We'd love to go," Nann said most sincerely, and Dories echoed thesentiment. The truth was the girls had been puzzled because Gib had notappeared. Indeed, nothing had happened for four days. Although they hadsearched everywhere they could think of, there had been no message forthem telling in how many days they would know all. An hour later, whenthey were walking along the marsh-edged sandy road leading to town, theydiscussed the matter freely, since no one could possibly overhear. "IfAunt Jane really has been writing those notes and leaving them for us tofind, do you suppose that she has stopped writing them because she thinkswe suspect her of being the ghost?" Dories asked.

  "I don't see why she should suspect, as we have said nothing in herhearing; in fact, we were out on the beach when I told you that I thoughtyour Aunt Jane might be writing the notes," Nann replied.

  Dories nodded. "That is true," she agreed. Then she stopped and stared ather companion as she exclaimed: "Nann Sibbett, I don't believe that AuntJane writes them at all. I believe Gibralter Strait does. There hasn'tbeen a note for four days anywhere in the cabin, and Gib hasn't been tothe point in all that time. There, now, doesn't that seem to prove mypoint?"

  "It surely does!" Nann said as they started walking on toward the town."Only I thought we agreed that probably Gib couldn't write. But I dorecall that he said he went to a country school in the winter months whenhis father didn't need him to help in the store."

  "If Gib writes them he is a good actor," Dories commented. "He certainlyseemed very much surprised when we showed him the notes, you remember."

  Nann agreed. "It's all very puzzling," she said, then added, "What aqueer little hamlet this is?" They were passing the first house in SiquawCenter. "I don't suppose there are more than eight houses in all," shecontinued. "What do you suppose the people do for a living?"

  "Work on the railroad, I suppose," Nann guessed. They had reached theramshackle building that held the post office and general store when theysaw Gib driving the stage around from the barns. "Hi thar!" he called tothem excitedly. "I got some mail for yo'uns. I was jest a-goin' to fetchit over, like I promised Miss Moore. It didn't come till jest thismornin'. Thar's some mail for yo'uns, too. A letter from Dick Burton. Hewrit me one along o' yourn."

  The girls climbed up on the high seat by Gib's side. The day had beengrowing very warm as noon neared and they had found it hard walking inthe sand, and so they were not sorry that they were to ride back. Gibgave them two long legal envelopes addressed to Miss Mo
ore and the letterfrom Dick.

  Eagerly Nann opened it, as it had been written especially to her, andafter reading it she exclaimed: "Well, isn't this queer?"

  "What?" Dories, who was consumed with curiosity, exclaimed.

  "Dick writes that he told his mother that he had found that upper frontroom window open and the blind swinging, but she declares that she_knows_ all of the upper windows were closed and the blinds securelyfastened. She had been in every room to try them just before she left,and that was what had delayed her so long that, in her hurry, she tookthe key out of the back door, hung it in its hiding place, without havingturned it in the lock. Dick says that he's wild to get back to Siquaw,and that the first thing he is going to do is to search in that upperroom for clues."

  Gib nodded. "That's what he wrote into my letter. He's comin' down Fridayarter school lets out, so's we'll have more time over to the ruin. Dicksays he's sot on ferritin' out what that pilot fella does thar."

  Old Spindly seemed to feel spryer than usual and trotted along the sandyroad at such a pace that in a very little while they had reached the endof it at the beach.

  "Wall, so long," Gib called when the girls had climbed down from the highseat, but before they had turned to go, he ejaculated: "By time, if Ididn't clear fergit ter give yo'uns the rest o' yer mail. Here 'tis!"Leaning down, he handed them another envelope. Before they could look atit, he had snapped his whip and started back toward town. The girlswatched the old coach sway in the sand for a minute, then they glanced atthe envelope. On it in red ink was written both of their names.

  "Well of all queer things!" Nann ejaculated. Tearing it open, they founda message: "_Today you will know all._"