The Dragon's Secret Read online

  CHAPTER V

  AN EXPLORING PARTY

  "Well!" was Leslie's first remark, "that proves _one_ thing beyond adoubt."

  "What?" demanded Phyllis.

  "That it wasn't a _ghost_ around here. I never yet heard of a ghost whomade a footprint!"

  The deduction somewhat staggered Phyllis in her pet belief. "I supposethat's true," she had to admit. "I never did, either. But now thequestion is, who did it and what did he want?"

  But Leslie had been carefully examining the footprint. "You say, what did'he' want. Have you noticed that this footprint doesn't look very muchlike a _man's_?"

  Phyllis stooped over it. "You're right! It's a woman's or a girl's.Here's the deep imprint of the little French heel, and the narrow,pointed toe. Must have a mighty small foot!" She measured her own besideit. "Still, even mine would look much smaller in pumps or slippersinstead of these comfortable sneakers. Might be either a small woman or agirl like ourselves."

  "But why is there only _one_, I wonder?" mused Leslie.

  "I think the answer to that is simple. She walked on this narrowboard-walk up from the back road, probably because it was easier, or,even perhaps, so as not to make any footprints. And just at the doorstepshe may have stumbled, or stepped off by mistake in the darkness. Perhapsshe didn't even realize it."

  Again Leslie had bent over the footprint. "She was coming in when shemade it. Do you notice that it points toward the door?"

  Phyllis stared at her. "What a perfectly dandy detective you'd make!" sheexclaimed. "You simply take in everything!"

  "You're just as good and even better!" laughed Leslie, secretly pleased,however.

  "Hurrah for us!" cried Phyllis. "We're just a pair of natural _SherlockHolmeses_! Now, here's what I propose. There's something mighty queergoing on here, I believe. And I'm willing to give up my ghost theory,because it _does_ seem silly. But I want to investigate the thing prettythoroughly, and the only way to do it is to get into that bungalow andsee what has been going on inside."

  "But Phyllis!" cried the shocked Leslie. "You wouldn't break into someone else's bungalow, would you? And besides, how _could_ you?"

  "Pooh!" declared Phyllis, in scorn. "As if I didn't know this bungalow aswell as our own, and the Danforths almost as well as my own family, too,for that matter. I've been in here a thousand times. The Danforths wouldbe only too grateful to me for keeping an eye on their place for them.They'd do the same for us. And as for getting in--why, I've always knowna private way of getting in when everything's locked up. The Danforthsthemselves showed me. We'll get in this afternoon. This morning Ipromised Ted and Father I'd fish with them awhile; but this afternoon I'mfree."

  "Where are you two girls?" they heard Miss Crane calling from next door,and they started guiltily, not realizing how long they had been away.

  "I must be more careful, or Aunt Marcia will begin to suspect somethingand question me," whispered Leslie. "It would never do in the world tohave her realize there was anything queer going on so close to us. She'dpack up for home in a minute, her nerves are still so uncertain. Coming,Aunt Marcia!"

  "That's so!" agreed Phyllis. "Between keeping it from your aunt and fromTed and Father, we're going to have some tight squeezes, I foresee! Well,I'll be back after luncheon and we'll do a bit of investigating.Good-by!"

  It was between half past one and two, that afternoon, when Phyllis againappeared at Rest Haven--a very auspicious time, for Miss Marcia was inher room taking her usual long nap and Ted and his father had gone a mileor more down the beach to an inlet to try the fishing there. The twogirls had the whole vicinity to themselves.

  "What shall we do with Rags?" questioned Phyllis. "I hardly think weought to take him in. Can't you chain him up?"

  "Oh, I wouldn't dare! He'd howl himself sick and wake Aunt Marcia. Yousee, he's never chained. But I can turn him loose on the beach and lethim chase hermit-crabs, and when he's well occupied, we can slip away."

  They strolled down to the water's edge with the dog, who was speedilyabsorbed in the one occupation he found of never-failing interest. Thenthey slipped back to the bungalow without his even noticing that they hadgone.

  It was only when they stood by the side door of Curlew's Nest that Leslienoticed something bulky concealed under Phyllis's sweater.

  "What in the world have you got there?" she demanded.

  Phyllis produced a large-sized electric torch. "How do you suppose we aregoing to see anything in that dark place without something like this? Wecertainly mustn't open any windows."

  Leslie confessed she hadn't thought of it, and then watched withamazement while Phyllis skilfully inserted the blade of a knife in thecrack of the door, wiggled it about a moment, and triumphantly lifted thehook inside from its ring and swung open the door.

  "Hurry in!" she whispered. "We must close this quickly before any one cannotice."

  They shut the door in haste, and Phyllis flashed on her light. Then shereplaced the hook in its ring. "Now we're safe! You see, this is a littleside-closet like a pantry, where the ice-box is kept. They had the doormade so that the ice need not be carried in through the kitchen."

  "But that's a very poor catch for the door--just that little hook!" criedLeslie. "I should think they'd have something more secure than that."

  "I suppose it is," agreed Phyllis, "and they've often said so themselves.And yet it's just one of those things that never gets changed. Anyhow,nobody ever locks anything down here, only fastens things up when theseason is over. There's really nothing valuable enough here to lock up orto be attractive to thieves. And so it has just gone on, and I supposethat hook will remain there forever! But come along! Let's get down tobusiness. This way to the living-room!" and she led the way along apassage and into the big main room of the bungalow.

  It was very much on the style of that of Rest Haven, furnished withattractive willow furniture, and with a large brick open fireplace at oneside. As Phyllis flashed the torch about in a general survey, Leslienoticed that the cottage was obviously dismantled for the winter. Thefurniture stood huddled against the walls; there were no dainty draperiesat the shuttered windows, and the rugs were rolled up, tied, and heapedin one corner.

  "Nothing seems out of the way here," said Phyllis. "It's just as theDanforths usually leave it. Now let's look into the bedrooms."

  They journeyed through the four bedrooms with no different result. Eachwore the same undisturbed air of being shorn of its summer drapery, withbeds starkly stripped of all but their mattresses, and these covered withheavy paper. Then on into the kitchen, which seemed, of all the rooms, towear more nearly its normal aspect. But even there everything,apparently, appeared as it should.

  It was in the kitchen that Phyllis stopped short and faced Leslie. "Well,doesn't it beat everything!" she exclaimed. "After all we've seen andheard,--yes, and _found_,--there's not a thing here that looks as if aliving soul had been in it since Mrs. Danforth closed it up. Now what doyou make of it?"

  "Perhaps we haven't looked closely enough. Let's go over it again," wasall Leslie could offer. "And isn't it possible that a person might comein here for some reason and not disturb anything?"

  "Yes, of course it's possible, but is it likely?" countered Phyllis. "Butas you say, we'd better go over the place again and more carefully. If wedon't find _something_, I shall certainly go back to believing in my'ghost.' And I guess you'll admit I have foundation for it now!"

  Phyllis flashed the torch about in a general survey]

  "I tell you what!" suggested Leslie. "Suppose we each take a turn withthe flash-light and go over every room twice, first you, then myself. Inoticed that, when you held the light, I had to follow behind and lookover your shoulder or get in your way, and I really couldn't see verywell. Now, I'll sit in this chair while you go over the place, and thenyou give the torch to me. How does that strike you?"

  "Good idea! You're full of 'em, Leslie. I ought to have thought of itbefore." And while Leslie sat down rather gingerly in one of the willowrockers against the wall, Phyllis systematically examined the room again,diving into all the nooks and corners, and at last came back to hand thetorch to her friend.

  "No luck! It's as clean as a whistle of any clues, as far as I can see.You take your turn."

  When Leslie had completed her search, they proceeded to treat the otherrooms in similar fashion, and so had come to the last bedroom when theywere startled by a sound from outside the house.

  "What in the world is _that_?" cried Phyllis, in a panic. "It's the mostuncanny sound I ever heard!" They listened again and caught theintonation of a long moan, ending in a rising note like a wail. It wastruly a little hair-raising in the closed, forsaken spot.

  Suddenly Leslie giggled. "Oh, it's only Rags! He's missed me at last,traced me here, and is probably sitting by that side door now, protestingagainst having been deserted!"

  Phyllis was both relieved at the explanation and annoyed at theinterruption. "Let's go and stop him right away, or he'll have all theneighborhood here!"

  They hurried to the little side door in the pantry and snapped off theirlight. Rags, from the outside, sniffing at the threshold, sensed theirapproach and yapped joyously.

  "But how are you going to lock that door after you?" whispered Leslie, insudden terror. "It isn't possible!"

  "Trust me!" smiled the capable Phyllis. "Do you suppose I'd haveunfastened it if I couldn't fasten it up again? I just keep the hook in acertain position with my knife, as I close the door, and then gently dropit into the ring through the crack. I've done it a dozen times. LeroyDanforth taught us how."

  Leslie breathed a sigh of relief, and Phyllis cautiously opened the door.

  Then both girls started back in genuine dismay!

  Sitting cross-legged in the sand, directly in front of the door andholding back the delighted Rags by his collar, was--of all people mostunwelcome to Phyllis--her grinning brother Ted!

  The consternation of the guilty pair was almost ludicrous, at least Tedfound it so. Then Phyllis recovered her self-possession and demanded:

  "What are _you_ doing here, I'd like to know?"

  "Please, ma'am, that's a question I prefer to ask of you--and with agreat deal more reason!" returned Ted. "Of all the nervy things I eversaw, it's you prowling around the Danforths' closed bungalow and sneakingout like a thief when you thought no one was around!" Leslie felt herselfturn red and uncomfortable at the accusation, but Phyllis seemed in nowise daunted.

  "I guess if I want to show the place to Leslie, there isn't anyparticular harm in it. She's been asking me what it looked like in thereand how it differed from their house. You know perfectly well, theDanforths wouldn't care a brass farthing!" This statement happened to beentirely true, for Leslie _had_ questioned her only the day before as tothe interior arrangements and expressed some curiosity to see it. Shebreathed a sigh of relief at the ease with which Phyllis seemed to beexplaining a rather peculiar situation.

  Ted, however, seemed only half convinced. "If that's so, it's mightyqueer that you looked so guilty and caught-in-the-act-y when you came outand saw me! And for goodness sake, how long have you been in there,anyway? This Rags dog came running up the beach to us at least an hourago. And I thought, of course, you girls were somewhere about. But whenyou didn't appear after a while, I began to get worried, and Rags and Istarted off to find you. He led me straight here (good old chap!) andwe've been sitting waiting at least fifteen minutes. Then he began tohowl and gave the game away. Now please explain all this!"

  "I'll explain nothing further," replied Phyllis, loftily, "and I'lltrouble you to tend to your own affairs in the future!" With whichcrushing rejoinder she marched away, dragging the unhappy Leslie afterher.

  "All right! Just you wait! I'll dig out your little secret!" he calledafter them.

  "And he will, too!" muttered Phyllis. "That is, if we don't use thegreatest caution. Isn't it unfortunate that that wretched dog led himright here! However, I've settled him for the present, and now let'sthink about other things."

  But it was not so easy for Leslie to forget the unpleasantness of therecent encounter and the implication that she had been caughttrespassing. But Phyllis settled down to steady talk about theirinvestigations and she presently forgot the impression.

  "It's mighty strange that in all our careful search we didn't find asingle thing that would indicate a recent visitor," mused Phyllis.

  "Didn't you see anything--any _least_ little thing?" questioned Leslie.

  Phyllis stared at her in some surprise. "Why, you _know_ I didn't! Whatmakes you ask?"

  "Because I _did_!" Leslie quietly returned.