The Second Girl Detective Megapack: 23 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls

by Julia K. Duncan

  “Well, it all amounts to the same thing,” Ronald said easily. “Naturally, they’ll turn the money over to me, so I can attend to the—the attorney’s fees. It will save a lot of trouble if you will have the bank draft made out in my name. I’ll tell you just how to do it.”

  “I have secured drafts before,” Doris informed him.

  “Smart little business woman, eh? How soon will you be able to get to the bank?”

  “I suppose I could go today,” Doris said quietly.

  “Fine! Don’t forget to have the draft made out in my name.”

  While they had been talking, Henry Sully had entered the dining room to ask the Misses Gates a question concerning the gardening work to be done that day, and now as Ronald turned around he gave the man a sly wink. Doris, who was by chance looking directly into the buffet mirror, saw the wink and immediately her suspicions were aroused.

  “On second thought,” she remarked, eying Ronald closely, “I don’t believe I’ll be able to get to the bank today.”

  The man wheeled and regarded her sharply.

  “Why not?”

  “Oh, I have some practising to do and I must study my French,” Doris returned.

  “I’ll take you in my car.”

  “Thanks, but I really won’t be able to make it today.”

  There was a ring of finality to her voice, but Ronald did not give up. Instead, he changed his tactics.

  “A delay may mean the loss of the entire inheritance, Doris,” he began in a soft, wheedling voice. “You don’t realize how lucky you are to get into the good graces of the Misses Gates.”

  “They have been more than kind,” Doris murmured, feeling very uncomfortable.

  “Listen, cousin, you stick with me in this deal and you’ll come out on top of the heap. Why, before you get through, you’ll be rich. You’ll sing in Grand Opera!”

  “I’ll try to get to the bank some time this week,” she told him.

  “But why not go today?”

  “Really, Ronald, I don’t think you should urge her,” Iris interposed in her gentle voice. “I can’t quite see the need for such haste. Surely the lawyers will wait a few days for their money.”

  “A lot you all know about business!” the man blurted out, and then caught himself and spoke more quietly. “I suppose we shall have to await the whim of this kid, but if we lose the entire fortune, don’t blame me.”

  With that he strode out of the house, banging the door behind him. Henry, who had stood listening to the entire conversation, followed him without waiting for his orders.

  “Ronald is so impetuous,” Iris said apologetically to the girls. “You mustn’t take him seriously. He really doesn’t mean anything the way it sounds.”

  Doris and Kitty had their own idea as to that, but they permitted the matter to pass without stating their views. Breakfast finished, the Misses Gates went out into the garden and Kitty went to her room, taking Wags with her. Doris was left to practise her music, but for some time she sat idle at the piano.

  “I wonder if I should have gone to the bank this morning?” she thought uncomfortably. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the fortune, and yet, try as I may, I simply can’t trust that man!”

  The conversation which she had overheard between Ronald and Henry Sully on the first night of her arrival came back to her. She remembered that Ronald had called the other man “Hank” and that they had appeared to be on unusually friendly terms. Perhaps in her desire to aid the Misses Gates she was overlooking a number of important facts. Was it not an unwise step to lend her money without first consulting her uncle?

  At length she began to practise, but she could not concentrate, and after three-quarters of an hour decided to give it up.

  She started up the stairs to find Kitty, but before she had gone very far down the hall leading to the right wing, she met her chum and Wags coming toward her. She saw at a glance that the girl was greatly excited.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked in surprise.

  “Oh, Doris,” Kitty whispered tensely. “I was just on my way to find you! I think I’ve discovered the source of those strange sounds that have been disturbing us at night!”

  “What?”

  “Wags is really responsible, because he led the way. He ran off and I had to go after him. Quite by accident I stumbled upon this room.”

  “What are you talking about, Kitty?”

  “Come, I’ll show you. Follow me and don’t make any noise.”

  CHAPTER XVIII

  The Floor Above

  Wondering what it was her chum had discovered, Doris followed her down the hall. Kitty paused at the door of their own bedroom.

  “We’d better leave Wags here until we come back,” she whispered. “He might take it into his head to bark at the wrong moment and give us away.”

  Leaving the dog in the bedroom, they listened to make certain that the coast was clear and then stole softly down the long dark hallway until they came to a flight of stairs leading to the attic floor.

  “This is as far as I came when I chased Wags,” Kitty whispered, “but I distinctly could hear the strangest sounds coming from that room at the top of the stairs. I was afraid to go on alone.”

  “Why, this must be part of the quarters occupied by the Sullys,” Doris told her. “I’ve seen them go up the back stairs any number of times. Do you think we should go up when they aren’t here? Cora is working in the kitchen and Henry is out in the garden.”

  “But just listen,” Kitty commanded. “Some one is up there.”

  The girls listened intently and to their startled ears there came a low moan, not unlike the sound they had heard during the night.

  “You don’t suppose Henry could be up there?” Kitty whispered. “Perhaps he’s drunk.”

  Doris shook her head.

  “No, I saw him in the yard just before I came up to find you. It can’t be either Cora or Henry.”

  “Then who can it be?”

  “We’ll find out.”

  Noiselessly, they crept up the stairs which creaked alarmingly underfoot. At the top of the landing they hesitated, a little afraid to open the door leading into the Sully suite. At last, summoning all of her courage, Doris turned the knob and pushed the door back a tiny way.

  Peeping through the crack, the girls saw only an empty and very untidy sitting room. Becoming bolder, Doris opened the door wider and they stepped inside.

  “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong here,” she murmured in perplexity.

  Just at that moment there came another, moan, louder than before. Kitty clutched her chum nervously by the arm and would have retreated from the room had not Doris held her back.

  “It’s coming from that bedroom,” she whispered, indicating a closed door.

  “Let’s go back,” Kitty begged.

  “No, I intend to find out what that noise is.”

  “But some one may come up the stairs.”

  They listened, but heard nothing behind them.

  “Do you think it could be an animal?” questioned Kitty, wide-eyed with fear, as another moan came from the room beyond.

  “Hush!” warned Doris.

  They took a step forward.

  Another groan.

  “I’m getting frightened,” whispered Kitty in a voice full of distress.

  “Oh, Kitty, I think—”

  “What can it be, Doris?”

  “Look down the stairs again!”

  Kitty obeyed, stepping noiselessly backward.

  “It seems all right down there,” Kitty said, motioning with her hand in the direction of the floor below.

  “Come!” said Doris.

  Doris tiptoed across the sitting room and after a brief hesitation stooped down and peeped through the keyhole. Through the tiny aperture she looked into a barren and dismal bedroom. The curtains were drawn and at first she could distinguish little.

  The weird sounds had begun again, but Doris could not decide wher
e they came from. Kitty was tugging at her hand, trying to induce her to retreat.

  “Just a minute,” Doris whispered. “I can—”

  With a start she broke off as she beheld a strange sight. She made out a figure stretched out on the sagging bed and her first thought was that it must be Cora and that she was in severe pain. Yet she knew this could not be, for the housekeeper was in the kitchen.

  “Oh, what is it?” Kitty demanded as she heard another loud moan.

  This time Doris knew that the sound had fallen from the lips of the woman lying on the bed. But was it a woman? As the figure turned slightly on the bed, Doris saw that she had been mistaken. It was a girl not more than eighteen or twenty years of age. Her face was childish, almost baby-like, but tortured with pain and suffering.

  Then Doris’s eyes traveled farther and she beheld the twisted body and misshapen limbs. The child was a cripple!

  “Who can she be?” Doris asked herself. “And why is she hidden here?”

  Instantly the answer flashed through her mind. Undoubtedly this child was the daughter of Henry and Cora Sully whom the world did not know existed. But why did they keep her secreted? Was it because they were ashamed of her or merely indifferent?

  “What are you looking at?” Kitty whispered nervously. “Let me see!”

  Doris moved aside to permit her chum to peep through the keyhole. One glance was sufficient for Kitty.

  “Oh, how dreadful!” she whispered. “Who can she be?”

  “I thought she might be a daughter of the Sullys.”

  “There is a marked facial resemblance,” Kitty agreed. “Do you suppose the Misses Gates know she is here?”

  “Why, they must. They come up here nearly every day ostensibly to read their Bibles. They probably come to see this crippled child.”

  “Poor thing,” Kitty murmured, “I feel so sorry for her. Dare we go in?”

  “I don’t see why we shouldn’t. She’s likely dying of lonesomeness.”

  Doris took hold of the door-knob but she did not turn it, for just at that moment the girls heard the sound of footsteps on the floor below. The door at the bottom of the stairs closed. The girls exchanged frightened glances. Some one was coming and they were trapped! How could they explain their presence in the suite?

  Doris cast a frantic glance over the sitting room and noticed a closet.

  “Quick, we must hide!” she whispered to Kitty. They tiptoed across the room and entered the closet, softly closing the door behind them. They were not an instant too soon, for whoever was coming had reached the top of the stairway.

  Daringly Doris peeped out through a crack to see who it was. To her surprise she beheld Azalea Gates. Bible in hand, the old lady entered the living room, crossed directly to the bedroom and without a glance in the direction of the closet went in and closed the door behind her.

  The girls waited a few minutes to make certain that she would not return. When they heard a droning voice begin one of the Psalms, they knew they were safe.

  “Now is our chance,” Doris whispered.

  They slipped quietly out of the closet, and stole to the door. The stairs creaked alarmingly as they went down and they were afraid they would be heard. To their relief they reached the second floor in safety. Somewhat guiltily they rushed down the hall and entered their own bedroom.

  There they snatched up Wags who had grown impatient waiting for them, and fled from the house. It was a relief to reach the warm sunshine, for the sight they had just witnessed had thrown a pall over them.

  “Wasn’t it awful, Dory, to see a helpless cripple like that? I wonder if a doctor ever comes here,” mused Kitty sadly, “to give the poor thing relief.”

  “We might have gone up before if the twins had only told us we could and tried to entertain the child,” suggested Doris generously. “Perhaps my singing might have eased her pain for a while, at least.”

  “You are a dear, Dory, always wanting to cheer up everybody with your lovely voice. But why,” Kitty continued thoughtfully, “do you suppose this is kept a secret? We cannot help if the Misses Gates do not wish us to intrude on their private affairs. They may think we are dreadfully bold and presumptuous.”

  “We probably shouldn’t have gone up there,” Doris declared.

  “But how did we know who was there?” Kitty returned. “We didn’t know but that some one was in trouble. When we started out, we thought we were after a ghost.”

  “I feel as though I had seen one now,” Doris said with a nervous laugh. “I do hope we don’t discover any more weird things about this place.

  “My! but this bright sunlight feels good and warms one up after that musty, drab third floor, with its queer noises and moanings coming from the most unexpected places. What would Mrs. Marshall say to this clutter of old furniture and bedding? I’ll bet she wouldn’t care to keep house for the Misses Gates,” and Doris laughed as she adjusted her beret over her reddish-brown curls.

  “I’m glad I’m only a visitor here,” said Kitty, “and not a life inmate.” She chuckled at the thought.

  Down the steps came the two girls. They glanced back to see who might be listening to this conversation between them. They did not wish to be overheard by any one within the rambling old structure.

  CHAPTER XIX

  Under the Window

  “This mansion surely is queer, that’s all I can say,” Kitty declared feelingly as she and Doris, followed by Wags, walked slowly down toward the front entrance. “One minute I want to rush right away and then again I like to be here just to see what will turn up next.”

  “I feel the same way,” Doris agreed, gazing thoughtfully down at her chum, “but I don’t feel like paying five hundred dollars to see the show.”

  “That is a lot of money, but think what you will get eventually.”

  “Yes, it is a tempting proposition and I have absolute confidence in the Misses Gates.”

  “Then what is troubling you, Dory?”

  “Oh, it seems to me Ronald Trent isn’t honest and I can’t understand why he is on such friendly terms with Henry Sully. Ugh! The more I see of the whole outfit the less I like them!”

  “Same here! But you’ve practically given Ronald the money, haven’t you?”

  “He hasn’t it yet, Kit, and the more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to change my mind.”

  “But it may mean losing your inheritance.”

  “I think I’ve a plan, Kit.”

  “What is it?”

  “Well, I’ll not get a bank draft at all, as Ronald suggested I do. Instead, I’ll write a letter to Jake and ask him to go to the Chilton bank and get the cash for me. I’ll have him bring it here to the mansion himself! Ronald can’t very well protest at that, and in the meantime perhaps we can learn more about him. How does that strike you?”

  “Brilliant!” Kitty approved in admiration, “but why have Jake come with the money?”

  “Oh, I thought he’d like it up here, as he used to work at Rumson. And for another thing, he might be able to help us. You never can tell what may turn up.”

  “I agree with you!”

  “Jake is a regular whiz at detecting schemes, Kit, and if anything is wrong here, he’s apt to find it out in a jiffy.”

  “You always did have brains,” Kitty said admiringly. “How do you think of things like that?”

  “Well, it took me several days,” Doris admitted with a laugh.

  The morning passed rather slowly for the girls. They knew that Azalea was with the crippled child and Iris had gone to her room. They played several games of croquet, but it was dull sport when they were accustomed to tennis and golf. Wags seemed less entertaining than usual and presently wandered off toward the rear of the estate.

  “Where did that dog go?” Kitty asked when they had finished their game.

  “Back of the house somewhere. I’ll bet he’s into some mischief!”

  “We’d better go after him,” Kitty suggested.

  Dr
opping their croquet mallets, they leisurely made their way toward the rear of the mansion. Passing beneath the kitchen window they sniffed the appetizing odor of the cooking dinner and wished that it were time to eat. Though they disliked Cora Sully most heartily, they agreed that she was an excellent cook.

  The girls had no intention of lingering by the kitchen window, but as they passed they were startled to hear a voice which they recognized as that of Henry. They would have paid no heed, but one sentence forced itself upon them.

  “If only we could git rid of her!”

  Involuntarily, Doris and Kitty halted and listened. They were not given to eavesdropping or to interfering in affairs which did not concern them, but the implied threat of violence assured them a sinister plot was in the brewing and they did not know but that they were destined to be the victims. What they heard next set them at rest on this score.

  “If Etta was out of the way, then we could travel on some of that money Trent promised us from the oil land,” Henry muttered.

  Kitty and Doris exchanged puzzled glances. Who was Etta? The question was answered for them as Cora began to talk.

  “A cripple!” she complained. “What can you do tied to such a child? She’s nothing but a burden, anyway. It’s better if she’s put out of the way.”

  “We’ll have to be careful,” Henry warned in a low voice. “Won’t do to git the old ladies suspicious. And we daren’t do anything rash till we git our hands on that paper.”

  Doris and Kitty, now convinced that the two in the kitchen were disclosing important information, crept nearer the window.

  “I don’t see where they keep it hid,” Cora returned sullenly. “I’ve looked the house over from top to bottom but I can’t find the paper anywhere. I know it’s here somewhere, probably in one of their desks, but they keep ’em locked and I haven’t been able to get the keys.”

  The girls heard no more, for just then Henry, evidently fearing that some one might overhear the conversation, crossed over to the window and slammed it shut. Kitty and Doris pressed their bodies up close to the house, but they were in no danger of being discovered, for the man did not glance out.

  Frightened at what they had learned, the girls moved swiftly away from the window.