The Scarlet Car Read online

have left the road an hour ago. There's not anotherhouse within miles." But he made no movement to enter. "Of allplaces!" he muttered.

  "Well, then," urged the girl briskly, "if there's no other house, let'stap Mr. Carey's well and get on."

  "Do you know who he is?" asked the man.

  The girl laughed. "You don't need a letter of introduction to take abucket of water, do you?" she said.

  "It's Philip Carey's house. He lives here." He spoke in a whisper,and insistently, as though the information must carry some specialsignificance. But the girl showed no sign of enlightenment. "Youremember the Carey boys?" he urged. "They left Harvard the year Ientered. They HAD to leave. They were quite mad. All the Careys havebeen mad. The boys were queer even then, and awfully rich. Henry ranaway with a girl from a shoe factory in Brockton and lives in Paris,and Philip was sent here."

  "Sent here?" repeated the girl. Unconsciously her voice also had sunkto a whisper.

  "He has a doctor and a nurse and keepers, and they live here all theyear round. When Fred said there were people hereabouts, I thought wemight strike them for something to eat, or even to put us up for thenight, but, Philip Carey! I shouldn't fancy----"

  "I should think not!" exclaimed the girl.

  For, a minute the three stood silent, peering through the iron bars.

  "And the worst of it is," went on the young man irritably, "he couldgive us such good things to eat."

  "It doesn't look it," said the girl.

  "I know," continued the man in the same eager whisper. "But--who wasit was telling me? Some doctor I know who came down to see him. Hesaid Carey does himself awfully well, has the house full of bullypictures, and the family plate, and wonderful collections--things hepicked up in the East--gold ornaments, and jewels, and jade."

  "I shouldn't think," said the girl in the same hushed voice, "theywould let him live so far from any neighbors with such things in thehouse. Suppose burglars----"

  "Burglars! Burglars would never hear of this place. How couldthey?--Even his friends think it's just a private madhouse."

  The girl shivered and drew back from the gate.

  Fred coughed apologetically.

  "I'VE heard of it," he volunteered. "There was a piece in the SundayPost. It said he eats his dinner in a diamond crown, and all the wallsis gold, and two monkeys wait on table with gold----"

  "Nonsense!" said the man sharply. "He eats like any one else anddresses like any one else. How far is the well from the house?"

  "It's purty near," said the chauffeur.

  "Pretty near the house, or pretty near here?"

  "Just outside the kitchen; and it makes a creaky noise."

  "You mean you don't want to go?"

  Fred's answer was unintelligible.

  "You wait here with Miss Forbes," said the young man. "And I'll getthe water."

  "Yes, sir!" said Fred, quite distinctly.

  "No, sir!" said Miss Forbes, with equal distinctness. "I'm not goingto be left here alone--with all these trees. I'm going with you."

  "There may be a dog," suggested the young man, "or, I was thinking ifthey heard me prowling about, they might take a shot--just for luck.Why don't you go back to the car with Fred?"

  "Down that long road in the dark?" exclaimed the girl. "Do you think Ihave no imagination?"

  The man in front, the girl close on his heels, and the boy with thebuckets following, crawled through the broken gate, and movedcautiously up the gravel driveway.

  Within fifty feet of the house the courage of the chauffeur returned.

  "You wait here," he whispered, "and if I wake 'em up, you shout to 'emthat it's all right, that it's only me."

  "Your idea being," said the young man, "that they will then fire at me.Clever lad. Run along."

  There was a rustling of the dead weeds, and instantly the chauffeur wasswallowed in the encompassing shadows.

  Miss Forbes leaned toward the young man.

  "Do you see a light in that lower story?" she whispered.

  "No," said the man. "Where?"

  After a pause the girl answered: "I can't see it now, either. Maybe Ididn't see it. It was very faint--just a glow--it might have beenphosphorescence."

  "It might," said the man. He gave a shrug of distaste. "The wholeplace is certainly old enough and decayed enough."

  For a brief space they stood quite still, and at once, accentuated bytheir own silence, the noises of the night grew in number anddistinctness. A slight wind had risen and the boughs of the pinesrocked restlessly, making mournful complaint; and at their feet theneedles dropping in a gentle desultory shower had the sound of rain inspringtime. From every side they were startled by noises they couldnot place. Strange movements and rustlings caused them to peer sharplyinto the shadows; footsteps, that seemed to approach, and, then, havingmarked them, skulk away; branches of bushes that suddenly swepttogether, as though closing behind some one in stealthy retreat.Although they knew that in the deserted garden they were alone, theyfelt that from the shadows they were being spied upon, that thedarkness of the place was peopled by malign presences.

  The young man drew a cigar from his case and put it unlit between histeeth.

  "Cheerful, isn't it?" he growled. "These dead leaves make it damp as atomb. If I've seen one ghost, I've seen a dozen. I believe we'restanding in the Carey family's graveyard."

  "I thought you were brave," said the girl.

  "I am," returned the young man, "very brave. But if you had the mostwonderful girl on earth to take care of in the grounds of a madhouse attwo in the morning, you'd be scared too."

  He was abruptly surprised by Miss Forbes laying her hand firmly uponhis shoulder, and turning him in the direction of the house. Her facewas so near his that he felt the uneven fluttering of her breath uponhis cheek.

  "There is a man," she said, "standing behind that tree."

  By the faint light of the stars he saw, in black silhouette, a shoulderand head projecting from beyond the trunk of a huge oak, and thenquickly withdrawn. The owner of the head and shoulder was on the sideof the tree nearest to themselves, his back turned to them, and sodeeply was his attention engaged that he was unconscious of theirpresence.

  "He is watching the house," said the girl. "Why is he doing that?"

  "I think it's Fred," whispered the man. "He's afraid to go for thewater. That's as far as he's gone." He was about to move forward whenfrom the oak tree there came a low whistle. The girl and the man stoodsilent and motionless. But they knew it was useless; that they hadbeen overheard. A voice spoke cautiously.

  "That you?" it asked.

  With the idea only of gaining time, the young man responded promptlyand truthfully. "Yes," he whispered.

  "Keep to the right of the house," commanded the voice.

  The young man seized Miss Forbes by the wrist and moving to the rightdrew her quickly with him. He did not stop until they had turned thecorner of the building, and were once more hidden by the darkness.

  "The plot thickens," he said. "I take it that that fellow is a keeper,or watchman. He spoke as though it were natural there should beanother man in the grounds, so there's probably two of them, either tokeep Carey in, or to keep trespassers out. Now, I think I'll go backand tell him that Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail ofwater, and that all they want is to be allowed to get the water, andgo."

  "Why should a watchman hide behind a tree?" asked the girl. "Andwhy----"

  She ceased abruptly with a sharp cry of fright. "What's that?" shewhispered.

  "What's what?" asked the young man startled. "What did you hear?"

  "Over there," stammered the girl. "Something--that--groaned."

  "Pretty soon this will get on my nerves," said the man. He ripped openhis greatcoat and reached under it. "I've been stoned twice, whenthere were women in the car," he said, apologetically, "and so now atnight I carry a gun." He shifted the darkened torch to his left hand,and, moving a few
yards, halted to listen. The girl, reluctant to beleft alone, followed slowly. As he stood immovable there came from theleaves just beyond him the sound of a feeble struggle, and a strangledgroan. The man bent forward and flashed the torch. He saw stretchedrigid on the ground a huge wolf-hound. Its legs were twisted horribly,the lips drawn away from the teeth, the eyes glazed in an agony ofpain. The man