“It is glorious being able to be about again,” Phyllis sighed as she rested a moment. “I can hardly wait for the time I’ll be able to play hockey again.”
“I shouldn’t think you would want to play,” Gale said laughingly. “You’ve been so brave, Phyl,” she added more seriously.
“Tush!” Phyllis smiled.
But Gale was not deceived. She knew Phyllis well, she knew her friend’s moods and lately she had recognized the strain Phyllis was under. The confinement Phyllis had undergone was desperately trying. Phyllis was active, she was full of life. She had to be doing things, accomplishing things to be content. If anything should happen to take away Phyllis’ activities and zest for enjoyment, life would not mean much to the girl. The courage she had displayed these past weeks had been strongly aided by the knowledge that with patience she would be able to go back to her old activities again. It was only because she knew her indisposition was but temporary that Phyllis had been able to bear it so cheerfully.
Gale ran lightly up the steps of the Dean’s home while Phyllis waited. Steps were difficult for her to negotiate and she would not do it unless she were certain the Dean would see them.
The maid answered Gale’s ring. She said the Dean was home and would see them. When the girls were in the living room the Dean entered. She smiled naturally upon Gale and shook hands with Phyllis.
“I’m delighted to see you about again, Miss Elton.”
“I’m delighted to be about again,” Phyllis said happily.
“Dean Travis, we came to see you because—that is we think——” Gale paused for breath then continued more resolutely, “The day I towed your canoe to shore you made me promise not to mention the subject. I haven’t—generally. Since then I’ve heard of things that have happened to you. What you said made me think the acid was thrown out the window that day and——”
The Dean held up her hand for silence. She was staring past Gale. The Freshman turned. The door behind her was slowly closing.
“Suppose we walk on the campus,” the Dean proposed in a low voice. “We can be sure there will be no prying ears there.”
“Do you want to wait for us, Phyl?” Gale asked.
“No, indeed!” Phyllis said vigorously. “It may be hard for me to get around but I won’t remain behind. I’m not going to miss anything.”
The three walked slowly in the direction of the Chemistry Hall in back of which work was being carried on building the new stables. The workmen were finished for the day so the girls and the Dean could inspect the scene while they talked. Lumber was piled high in readiness for the building, the foundation was already dug and the ground was littered with implements and discarded stones and bricks.
The three halted near a pile of lumber. No one was in sight, so Gale continued with the tale she had. When she had finished the Dean looked at both Gale and Phyllis thoughtfully for a moment before she spoke.
“What you say is true,” she agreed. “Strange things have been happening, but I see no reason why you should be connected with me.”
“You see,” Phyllis put in, “we have always been mystery fans and we have been keeping our eyes and ears open. Perhaps someone found out we were snooping——”
“But we haven’t discovered anything,” Gale said. “Dean Travis, what about the money that was stolen? Did someone take money from the college funds?”
The Dean nodded slowly. “Since you know so much I will tell you what little more there is to be told. Someone, we don’t know who, took money—cash—from the safe in my office. The balance of the money, however, is in the bank and quite safe.”
“Haven’t you any idea who might have taken it?” Phyllis pursued.
“Four people have the combination, and I am convinced that each one is trustworthy. About the other occurrences—you already know as much as I.”
“Why did Professor Harris give up her position as Dean?” Gale asked suddenly. She had for a long time been thinking that the former Dean might be trying to revenge herself upon the new head for taking her position.
“She went abroad to live in England, I believe,” Dean Travis said. “She had been planning it for quite a while.”
“And then you were appointed,” Gale murmured.
“Wasn’t there an election or something?” Phyllis asked. “Wasn’t there anyone else trying for the position the same time as you?”
“I believe there was,” the Dean smiled. “Are you trying to make me believe that my rival for the position has sworn revenge? No, girls, I don’t think that is possible.”
“What does Doctor Norcot think about these things?” Gale asked.
“She is at quite a loss to explain them,” the Dean murmured.
“The day she ran back to the Chemistry room—she saw no one?” Gale continued hopefully. “I’m sorry, Dean, this sounds like a cross examination, doesn’t it? We are being terribly nosey, but it is only because we are so interested.”
“Since someone is sending us notes it makes us all the more curious,” added Phyllis. “I would like to know who sent us that note.”
“Do you have it with you?” the Dean asked.
Gale pulled it from her coat pocket and unfolded it.
“You see,” she said, “it is typewritten so there is no danger of recognizing the handwriting.”
“About every other person at Briarhurst has a portable typewriter,” Phyllis frowned. “We are absolutely stumped for clues.”
“Aren’t you afraid to stay here with so many things happening?” Gale asked the Dean.
The Dean shook her head smilingly. “I’ve been entrusted with this position and I am going to see it through to the best of my ability. I am going to make Briarhurst an even finer and larger college than it already is. That is, of course, with the coöperation of the girls.”
“You have our coöperation,” Phyllis said promptly. “All the Adventure Girls and some others are keenly interested in everything you propose—the new organ for the chapel, the new and different classes, the horses for spring riding, all of them. It will be really wonderful. I’ve always wanted to ride well,” she continued softly.
The Dean tapped Phyllis’ crutch. “Doctor Norcot tells me it will be only a week or so and you won’t have to use these any more. I’m glad.”
“So am I,” Phyllis said vigorously. “I——”
Her words froze in a cry of horror on her lips. The pile of lumber against which Gale and the Dean were leaning was tottering. Phyllis threw herself forward, shoving and dragging Gale and the Dean clear, but in so doing was herself caught in the avalanche of lumber as it toppled down upon them.
CHAPTER VIII
Mysterious Stranger
Gale could never quite clearly remember her dash to the infirmary after Doctor Norcot, but finally Phyllis was there, shut into a room with the doctor and nurse and Gale and the Dean were in the corridor. Gale was pacing up and down, the Dean watching her. It was dark outside and a single light made a white circle on the tile floor and walls.
Gale stopped her pacing long enough to glare at the door to Phyllis’ room. She had a wild desire to throw it open and burst in.
“Be patient a little longer, Gale,” the Dean said compassionately. “You can see her in a few minutes.”
“Why did it have to be her?” Gale asked in an agonized whisper. “She suffered so much these past weeks after the hockey accident and now—— She did it saving us! We might have been crushed under that lumber.”
The door opened and the Doctor came out followed by a nurse.
“May I go in?” Gale asked.
The Doctor nodded wearily. “Be cheerful, make her smile but don’t let her get excited or talk too much.”
“I’m so full of splinters I can’t even smile,” Phyllis said gloomily when Gale was beside her. “You had better go get your dinner.”
“You aren’t going to get rid of me so easily,” Gale laughed.
Phyllis’ face was all scratched and she looked wh
ite and tired.
“Honestly, Phyl——” she began when she remembered the Doctor’s warning. “This was a fine thing for you to do. Now I’ll be by myself in our room tonight again. See that you are back tomorrow, young lady, or I shall move in here with you. After all, I believe you did it so you wouldn’t have to go to Biology class tomorrow. There is more than one way of escaping an exam. Though I can’t say I would choose this way.”
“Don’t talk so much,” Phyllis said bluntly. “You don’t know a word you are saying.”
Gale nodded soberly. “Right you are. I can’t think of a thing but the way you pulled us out of danger this afternoon and now you——” She took her friend’s hand. “I’ll make it up to you sometime, Phyl.”
“Go way,” Phyllis said tenderly. “Go get your dinner and study your old Biology and come and see me tomorrow.”
Gale went out and found the Doctor and the Dean in conference in the corridor.
“She seems to be all right,” Gale said.
“She has the courage of six girls,” the Doctor said firmly. “But, Miss Howard, I am afraid your friend is right where she was five weeks ago.”
“You mean her leg——”
“Crushed under the lumber this afternoon,” the Doctor said. “Not too badly crushed but enough to undo the healing of these past weeks.”
“Poor Phyllis!” Gale whispered.
“Do you think she would want to go home until she is well again?” the Dean asked as she walked to the door with Gale.
Gale shook her head. “No,” she said decidedly. “Phyllis wouldn’t want to go home.” Strange, perhaps, that she should choose to stay here, but even the college infirmary was brighter, more cheerful than the house on the hill to which Phyllis would have to go.
“Come and have your dinner with me,” the Dean invited.
“Thanks, no,” Gale said when they were on the campus. “I—I’d rather be alone, thank you. I have to write Phyllis’ aunt again,” she sighed.
The Dean turned toward her office and Gale toward Happiness House. She walked along, hands in her pockets, deep in thought until at last she reached the sorority house. She met Adele Stevens and Ricky and conveyed to them the news of Phyllis. After her dinner she went upstairs to study but she found she could not concentrate.
Phyllis was on her mind. Alternated with thoughts of her friend were remembrances of the conversation they had had with the Dean that afternoon. She was completely at sea as to who could be doing the mysterious things. Quite suddenly she sat erect before her desk and stared with narrowed eyes at the wall opposite. That had been a goodly pile of lumber this afternoon. It had been piled, perhaps a bit precariously, but nevertheless it had not wavered until that moment before it fell. Could it be—was it possible—that someone had pushed it? The pile really had needed but a bit of pressure to send it over. Who had exerted that bit of pressure?
At first Gale laughed at herself. It was a wild idea! No one would do that! But the more she thought about it the more plausible it became. She had thought no one would throw acid out the Chemistry Hall window—but evidently someone had!
Then she remembered the note the Dean had had in her hand when the lumber fell upon Phyllis. She had a fleeting vision of the same note lying in the mud unheeded. Their one valuable clue gone!
Catching up her coat Gale switched out the light and stepped into the hall. No one was in sight. She sped down the stairs and at the bottom bumped into Adele Stevens.
“Where are you going, Gale?” the Senior asked. “It is study hour.”
“I know,” Gale said breathlessly. “I—I can’t study. I thought I’d go for a short walk.”
“Thinking about Phyllis?” Adele said kindly. “All right, Gale. I suppose you can tonight. Be back before lights-out bell.”
“I will,” Gale breathed and was gone before the sorority president could change her mind.
The late autumn evening was clear and cold. The leafless branches of the trees rubbed together making queer eerie noises. Windows of the dormitory and sorority houses shone yellow with light. Gale stepped along briskly. She passed the dormitory houses and halted before the Chemistry Hall. There was a light burning in the third floor laboratory. Was one of the Professors working late? Probably. She turned away into the shadows behind the building.
It was terribly dark in here. She took the small flashlight from her coat pocket and switched it on. She had been just about to stumble into a mud puddle. Now she jumped across it and proceeded with caution. She came to the scene of the afternoon. The lumber lay as it had fallen. In her mind’s eye Gale could still see Phyllis lying there. She shivered and turned away. Carefully she went over the ground. Caught under a board, torn almost in half, Gale found the note. It was dirty and wrinkled and torn but she carefully folded it in the original creases and stored it in her coat pocket. She switched off her flashlight and stood listening. Had she heard a sound?
The moon was completely hidden behind a cloud. The wind whistled in her ears. She shivered in her warm coat. It wasn’t the cold, it was the darkness, the shadowy world about her, and the knowledge of another’s presence. She strained her ears to catch the faintest sound. There was a sudden creak and a smothered exclamation as someone stumbled over a bit of lumber. Gale crouched against half-piled boards and waited.
A man’s figure was outlined against the light from the moving clouds. A hat pulled low on his forehead and a long overcoat with collar turned up completely hid his identity. Gale considered jumping in front of him and flashing her light in his face. She would know who he was then! But she reconsidered the next moment, and waited to see what he was after. It was obvious that he was searching for something. He crouched low to the ground, examining every foot of space thoroughly with a small pocket lamp. What could he be searching for? Could it be the note in her pocket? Convulsively her hand closed about the muddy piece of paper. It must be this! There was nothing else here. Gale took a step backward as the figure moved closer. That was the fatal moment. She stumbled wildly over something and fell. The clatter was distinct and as loud as a cannon shot in the stillness. The man whirled. He flashed his light full into Gale’s face. She blinked in the sudden glare and did not move. In another second the light was gone and the figure had fled toward the campus.
Gale scrambled to her feet but it was hopeless to think of pursuit. If only she hadn’t fallen! Her clumsiness had spoiled everything! The man was gone now and so was her chance of solving the mystery. She shook the mud from her coat and picked her way back to the campus.
The light was gone from the Chemistry laboratory. A lot of windows in the other dormitories were dark, too. It was growing late. Gale hastened her steps. She had to be in before lights-out bell rang. She had promised Adele, and not only that, she didn’t fancy being out late on the campus with that mysterious stranger—the mystery man who knew her identity but whom she did not know. He had her at a decided disadvantage. He knew, now, who was spying on him and noting his movements. She knew she must guard against someone, but whom? If only she had discovered his identity! She rebuked herself again. She would have given nearly all she possessed to know who else wanted the note.
When she returned to her room she examined the bit of paper more closely. Through the dirt, after she had carefully pasted the torn parts together, the brief typewritten message was still clearly legible. There was nothing to distinguish this typewriting from any other except—the letter R was slightly raised above the level of the other letters. That might help a little in identifying the typewriter. If she found a machine which had that little peculiarity it might lead to the mysterious stranger.
She smiled to herself as she switched off her light and got into bed. She would turn all the girls into Sherlock Holmeses seeking and trying all the typewriters they could find.
CHAPTER IX
Bad News
Noiselessly Gale closed the door behind her. Swiftly her glance traveled over the room. Girls’ things were strewn about
in disorder. Gale smiled to herself with mingled pride and humor. At least her own room and Phyllis’ didn’t look like this and this room belonged to Juniors! Cautiously she bent down and looked under the bed. Yes, it was here. She pulled out the black case and snapped back the lid. With nervous fingers she inserted a sheet of paper in the portable typewriter. She typed a few words and tore the sheet out again. She had just snapped the lid and shoved the case beneath the bed once more when she heard voices.
Marcia was returning! Gale ran for the closet. There was no time to slip out of the room without being seen. She hid in the depths behind the dresses. The door was open a crack. She could hear but she could not see what went on in the room.
“Now where did I leave them?” Marcia’s voice demanded fretfully.
Another lazy voice belonging to Marcia’s roommate inquired:
“Delivering more notes for Professor Lukens?”
“No. It’s my Latin notes—here they are! Let’s go, we’ll be late.”
The two girls were gone as quickly and as suddenly as they had come. Gale lost no time in making her way out of their room. She went downstairs to her room where Valerie was waiting for her.
“Did you get it?” Valerie asked.
Gale sank onto the bed and heaved a sigh of relief. “I did, and I nearly got caught. Marcia and her roommate came back while I was there.”
“Did they see you?”
Gale shook her head and unfolded the sheet of paper. “I hid in the closet. Now, where is that note?”
“Here.” Valerie produced the note which the girls had received under the door.
Carefully the two checked the letters. The letters produced by Marcia’s typewriter were even and clear cut. It was evident that the notes had not been produced by the same machine.
Valerie sat back and looked at Gale. “Well?”
Gale shrugged and folded the papers together. “Exhibit A is a failure. We’ll try some more.”
“We got it!” Carol burst in followed by Janet.
“Is it catching?” Valerie asked.
“Whose is it?” Gale wanted to know.
The Second Girl Detective Megapack: 23 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls Page 283