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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/28974-8.txt b/28974-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d6bf227 --- /dev/null +++ b/28974-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6884 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Manor House School, by Angela Brazil + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Manor House School + +Author: Angela Brazil + +Illustrator: A. A. Dixon + +Release Date: May 26, 2009 [EBook #28974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MANOR HOUSE SCHOOL *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +[Illustration: GLORIOUS NEWS!] + + + + +The Manor House School + +BY + +ANGELA BRAZIL + +Author of "The Nicest Girl in the School" "The Third Class at Miss +Kaye's" "The Fortunes of Philippa" &c. + +_ILLUSTRATED BY A. A. DIXON_ + +BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED LONDON GLASGOW AND BOMBAY + + + + +Contents + + CHAP. Page + + I. NORA'S NEWS 9 + + II. AN INTERESTING STRANGER 22 + + III. A STRONG SUSPICION 36 + + IV. HAVERSLEIGH 50 + + V. AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT 67 + + VI. MONICA 80 + + VII. LINDSAY'S LUCK 94 + + VIII. PENDLE TOR 111 + + IX. THE PLOT THICKENS 127 + + X. UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE 143 + + XI. SIR MERVYN'S TOWER 161 + + XII. AN ENIGMA 178 + + XIII. LINDSAY MAKES A RESOLVE 189 + + XIV. THE LANTERN ROOM 202 + + XV. HIDE-AND-SEEK 215 + + XVI. A SURPRISE 229 + + XVII. GOOD-BYE TO THE MANOR 243 + + + + +Illustrations + + Page + + GLORIOUS NEWS! _Frontispiece_ 239 + + "SHE OPENED THE DOOR CAUTIOUSLY" 35 + + "I KNOW WHAT MONICA WAS GOING TO SAY" 93 + + AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT 139 + + THE SECRET DOOR 202 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +Nora's News + + +It was the first week of the summer term at Winterburn Lodge. Afternoon +preparation was over, and most of the girls had left the classroom for a +chat and a stroll round the playground until the tea-bell should ring. +From the tennis court came the sounds of the soft thud of balls and a +few excited voices recording the score; while through the open windows +of the house floated the strains of three pianos, on which three +separate pieces were being practised in three different keys, the +mingled result forming a particularly inharmonious jangle. + +On a bench in the corner by the swing two yellow heads and a brown one +might be seen bent in close proximity over a rather dilapidated atlas. +Their respective owners were apparently making a half-hearted endeavour +to hunt out a list of towns upon the map of England, and were amusing +themselves between whiles with the pleasant, though somewhat +unprofitable pastime of grumbling. + +"I hate geography!" declared Lindsay Hepburn. "If we could be taken a +picnic to each of the places, there'd be some sense in it; but to have +to reel off a string of tiresome names that don't mean anything at all +to you--I call it stupid!" + +"It's such a fearfully long lesson, too!" agreed Cicely Chalmers +dolefully. "Miss Frazer might have set us a shorter one for the first! +It's really too bad of her to make us begin with two pages and a half in +a new book! I'm sure I shall never get it into my head, if I try till +midnight." + +"I wonder why things always seem so much harder to learn when one's just +come back after the holidays?" propounded Marjorie Butler with a +melancholy yawn. + +"I don't know. I suppose because it all feels so horrid. It's perfectly +dreadful to think what a huge time it is until we can go home again." + +"Thirteen whole weeks! And every one of them will be exactly the same: +lessons with Miss Frazer or Mademoiselle, an hour's practising, a walk +in the park or along the Surrey Road, and a game of tennis when you can +manage to get hold of the court. There's never anything different, +unless Miss Russell takes us to a museum or a concert, and that doesn't +happen often, worse luck!" + +Lindsay's picture of the forthcoming term certainly did not seem a +remarkably enlivening one, and the other two groaned at the prospect. + +"I wish one wasn't obliged to go to a boarding school," said Cicely in +an injured tone. + +"Girls! Girls!" cried a fourth voice, breaking abruptly into the +conversation, "I've been hunting for you everywhere. I thought you were +in the house or the gymnasium. Oh! I've such a piece of news to tell +you!" + +"What's the matter, Nora?" enquired Marjorie, for the newcomer was out +of breath, and looked as excited as if it were breaking-up day. + +"Come here and sit between us," added Lindsay, pushing the others +farther along the seat to make room. + +"Is it anything really nice?" asked Cicely. + +"It depends on what you call 'nice'. I'll give you each six guesses, and +even then I don't believe one of you'll be right." + +"Miss Frazer doesn't mean to take geography to-morrow?" + +"Absolutely wrong, though I wish she wouldn't." + +"Somebody has broken another window with a tennis ball?" + +"Don't be silly! It's much more interesting than that." + +"Miss Russell's going to give us a holiday?" + +"You're getting warm! Try again." + +"Oh, we can't!" + +"We give it up!" + +"Go on and tell!" + +"Do you remember that just before Easter a gentleman came with Dr. +Redford, and they both went over the school, peeping and poking about in +such a mysterious manner?" + +"Yes, we wondered what they were doing." + +"Well, it turns out that he's a sanitary inspector, and he's sent a +report to Miss Russell to say that the drains are wrong, and must be +taken up immediately." + +"Is that your grand news?" + +"No, it's only the first part of it. Let me finish, and then you'll see. +Dr. Redford says the drains can't possibly be touched while we're all in +the house, and yet they must be opened at once. Can't you guess now?" + +"Miss Russell never means to send us home when we've only just come +back?" gasped Lindsay hopefully. + +"No, not that, though it's nearly as jolly. She's taken a beautiful old +manor house in the country, and it's to be our school for the whole of +the summer term. We're to go there in a body--girls, and teachers, and +servants, and everyone." + +If Nora had hoped to astonish her companions she had certainly +succeeded. They were wild with curiosity, and fired off questions all +three together. + +"Where is it?" + +"When are we going?" + +"How did you get to know?" + +"One at a time, please," said Nora, enjoying her importance. "I met +Mildred Roper in the hall just now. Miss Russell has been explaining it +to the monitresses, and said they might tell us as soon as they liked. +It's a lovely Elizabethan house, at a place called Haversleigh, a long +way from here. We're to start next Tuesday." + +Such a tremendous event as the removal of the school from town to +country was without precedent in the annals of Winterburn Lodge. + +"It's almost too good to be true," cried Cicely rapturously. + +"It will be like the last day and setting off for the seaside both +together," declared Lindsay, waltzing round the seat in the exuberance +of her spirits. + +"Not quite, because we shall have lessons when we get there," corrected +Nora. + +"Well, at any rate it'll be ever so much nicer than being in London." + +"Hurrah for the old Manor!" shouted Marjorie Butler, clapping her hands. + +Miss Russell had indeed been much alarmed by the sanitary inspector's +report. She was determined to make the change without delay, and hurried +on the preparation as speedily as possible. + +Boxes were brought down from the attic, and teachers and monitresses +were kept busy superintending the packing of clothes, linen, +schoolbooks, and numberless other articles. For the few days that +remained work was relaxed, the headmistress's chief anxiety seeming to +be the health of the girls, and her one object to take them away before +any sign of illness should break out amongst them. + +"Miss Russell looked so worried when I told her my head ached," said +Nora Proctor. "She asked every one of us afterwards if we had sore +throats." + +"I was silly enough to say I thought mine felt a little scrapy," said +Lindsay ruefully. "I soon wished I hadn't, because she gave me a +horribly nasty disinfectant lozenge, and told me to suck it slowly until +I'd finished it. Ugh! I can taste it yet!" + +"I'm absolutely sick of the smell of carbolic. There's a jar full in +every room," said Cicely. + +"Never mind! You'll only have to endure it for one day more. We're +actually off to-morrow." + +Those in authority might certainly be excused if they looked worried, +for it was no light task to accomplish so much in such a short space of +time. By Tuesday morning, however, the final arrangements were +completed; the rows of boxes were locked, strapped, and piled on railway +carts; while the girls, an excited, chattering crew, were ready and +waiting for the omnibuses which were to take them to the station. + +"Good-bye to poor old Winterburn Lodge!" said Cicely, giving a last peep +into the familiar classroom. "We shan't see these maps and desks again +until next September." + +"I wonder how many things will have happened before we come back here?" +said Lindsay thoughtfully. + +It was a long journey into Somerset, but Miss Russell had engaged saloon +carriages, and taken large baskets of lunch; so, in the opinion of her +thirty pupils at least, the expedition felt like a picnic. + +"How I wish we could go every year, or that Miss Russell would remove +into the country altogether," said Beryl Austen, who had secured a +corner seat, and was in raptures over the view. + +"Then it wouldn't be town, and we shouldn't be able to have visiting +masters," said Mildred Roper, one of the monitresses. + +"Who wants them? I'm sure I should be only too delighted never to see +any of them again!" + +Mildred smiled. + +"I suppose, after all, we're sent to school to learn something," she +remarked dryly. "I'm afraid you'll find Miss Frazer will give you plenty +of work to make up for the loss of Herr Hoffmann and Monsieur Guizet." + +"I don't care a scrap, so long as there's fun when lessons are over. +We're going to have a glorious time, and I mean to thoroughly enjoy +myself." + +Beryl only expressed the sentiments of the rest of the girls, most of +whom regarded the coming term in the light of a holiday. As the train +steamed through green meadows and woods just breaking into leaf, it +indeed seemed as if London and professors had been effectually left +behind, and their spirits rose higher with every mile. + +By afternoon they were all impatience to arrive. For fully an hour +before they reached their destination they kept enquiring whether they +must get out at the next station, and were sure that each ancient house +visible from the carriage windows could not fail to be the Manor. + +"Here we are at last!" announced Miss Russell, when, after many false +alarms, the welcome word "Haversleigh" made its appearance in plain +letters, and a porter's voice was heard pronouncing something which bore +a faint resemblance to the name. "Steady, girls! Steady! Remember each +is to take her own bag, and file out in proper order. Nobody is to move +until I say 'March!'" + +Miss Russell first held a review on the platform, to make sure that none +of her pupils or their belongings had gone astray. + +"I am quite relieved we have all arrived safely," she said. "I think we +may congratulate ourselves that not even an umbrella is missing. It is +only half a mile from here to the house, quite an easy walk, so we will +start at once, and leave our luggage to follow." + +In a few minutes more they had passed the ticket collector, and found +themselves on the leafy high road. It seemed as different from London as +a fairy tale from a Latin grammar. There had been a slight shower of +rain, which had brought out the scent of growing grass and budding +leaves; the ground was white with the fallen blossom of blackthorn +hedges; and a thrush, seated on the summit of an apple tree, was pouring +forth a volume of song that sounded almost like a welcome to the +country. + +With so many new sights to gaze at, it was difficult to walk primly two +and two, and the line proved a straggling one, in spite of Miss Frazer's +efforts in the rear. At a pair of great iron gates Miss Russell stopped +and turned to her girls. + +"This is our first glimpse of the Manor," she said, with a touch of +pride in her voice. "I want you to take a good look at your new school." + +It was nicer even than they had expected--a glorious old place, built +partly in Tudor fashion of grey stone, and partly of black and white +timbers. There were latticed windows, and a porch ornamented with stone +balls, and curious twisted chimneys, and picturesque gables at odd +angles. + +"It's like a house out of one of Sir Walter Scott's novels," said +Marjorie Butler. + +"It looks as if one might have all kinds of adventures there," added +Lindsay Hepburn gleefully. + +The inside proved just as satisfactory as the outside. It was delightful +to sit down to tea in a great dining-hall, with a carved roof, and walls +hung with spears, shields, and stags' antlers. + +"I feel we oughtn't to be drinking tea," said Cicely Chalmers. "I'm sure +they didn't have it in Queen Elizabeth's times. It was tankards of ale +or mead in those days." + +"Don't finish your cup, then, if you wish to imagine yourself entirely +in the past," said Mildred Roper. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave the +marmalade too. That's quite a modern invention, and so are the Bath +buns." + +"Don't be horrid!" said Cicely. "It really is an old-fashioned place. +Lindsay and I have got the quaintest panelled bedroom you could possibly +imagine. There's a great four-post bed, with yellow brocaded curtains; +it's big enough to hold six, instead of only two." + +"And there's a lovely library, and a picture gallery, and ever so many +queer rooms and long passages upstairs," put in Nora Proctor. "I got +quite lost, and couldn't find my way down at first." + +"So did I," said Beryl Austen. "I tried to explore a little, but it +looked so dim and dark I didn't dare to go alone, so I turned back. I +thought I might meet a Cavalier or a Roundhead on the landing!" + +Beryl was not the only one to whom their new quarters seemed rather +weird and strange on this first evening of their arrival. After being +accustomed to electric light and modern bedrooms, it was a great change +to walk upstairs with candles to antique chambers that might have +belonged to the Middle Ages. + +"Don't be silly, girls!" exclaimed Miss Russell indignantly, as they +scurried past the suits of armour in the picture gallery. "I shall not +allow any absurd nonsense of this kind. You have no more to be afraid of +here than you had at Winterburn Lodge. I will take you over the house +to-morrow and show you everything, and when you study the real history +of the place you won't want to concern yourselves with silly +superstitions." + +Though the old Manor might look ghostly by night, it wore a bright and +cheerful aspect in the sunshine of next morning, and not even the most +ardent of Cockneys would have wished herself back among streets and +squares. It certainly seemed more interesting to learn lessons sitting +on tall-backed oak chairs at a carved table, than at desks in an +ordinary schoolroom, furnished with maps and blackboard. The teachers +enjoyed it as much as the girls, and everybody had a delightfully +romantic feeling of being transferred to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. + +"We oughtn't to have science, or physiology, or anything up-to-date +here," said Cicely, as, in company with the rest of the third form, she +took possession of the panelled parlour that was to be their temporary +classroom. + +"No, indeed," said Lindsay. "Girls in those days didn't have half our +work." + +"You forget Lady Jane Grey," said Miss Frazer. "In the matter of +knowledge she would easily have put you to shame. If you want her +sixteenth-century studies you will have to begin Greek as well as Latin, +French, Italian, and some Hebrew and Arabic!" + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Lindsay, aghast at such a list of accomplishments. +"I'd rather stick to our own century." + +"I thought ladies did nothing but go hunting and hawking then," said +Marjorie Butler. "Did they all know Greek and Latin?" + +"Probably not, but they could make preserves, and perfumes, and other +secrets of the still-room; and they embroidered the most beautiful +tapestries, if we are to judge from the specimens in the big +drawing-room. Young people were very severely brought up. They might +never sit without permission in the presence of their parents or +teachers, and they were beaten for the slightest offences. Don't you +remember that even poor Lady Jane Grey was punished with 'nips, bobs, +and pinches'; and little Edward VI had his whipping-boy, to receive the +blows which it was not considered seemly to bestow upon his own princely +person!" + +"Had the other boy to be whipped for what the king had done? How +horribly unfair!" said Beryl Austen. + +"Yes, their ideas of justice were rather different from ours. They would +have thought present-day children absolutely spoilt. The girls who +perhaps may have done lessons in this room three hundred years ago would +not learn them so easily and pleasantly as you are going to do this +morning. Fetch the geology books, Beryl. We must go on with modern work, +in spite of our ancient surroundings." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +An Interesting Stranger + + +Among all Miss Russell's thirty pupils you could not have found two +stancher friends than Lindsay Hepburn and Cicely Chalmers, both of whom +were members of the third, or lowest, class. + +Lindsay was a short, plump, fair, jolly-looking girl of twelve, with a +very energetic disposition; apt, according to Miss Frazer, to be +inconveniently lively and irrepressible in school, but a general +favourite in the playground. + +Cicely, six months younger, was much more quiet and steady on the +surface, though her twinkling brown eyes belied her demurer manners, and +proclaimed her ready for anything in the shape of fun. She admired +Lindsay immensely, and copied her absolutely, being generally ready to +follow her through thick and thin, whatever scrapes might be the +consequence. + +The pair shared a bedroom, and were so inseparable that Cicely was often +called Lindsay's shadow. That was an injustice, however; she had a +character of her own, though she might choose to merge it in her +friend's stronger personality. It is with these two, and their strange +experiences at the Manor, that my tale is chiefly concerned, for if it +had not been for Lindsay's enquiring mind, backed by Cicely's persistent +efforts, there might have been no story to tell. + +This is how it all began. + +On the second morning after their instalment at Haversleigh the whole +school was assembled ready for a history class in the big dining-hall. +Miss Russell, for a wonder, was late, and when she entered at last she +brought with her a new pupil. The stranger was about sixteen, a pretty, +graceful girl, with hazel eyes, long chestnut hair, and a rather +distinguished air. She was given a seat in the first form, and replied +to the few questions asked her in a quiet voice; then, at the close of +the lecture, she took her books and went away alone, without waiting to +join in the next lesson. + +Naturally her sudden appearance and departure excited much curiosity. +The moment work was over, Lindsay and Cicely seized upon Kathleen +Crawford, who was rather a friend of theirs among the monitresses. + +"Who's the new girl?" they asked. "We hadn't heard anybody was coming." + +"She's only a day pupil for a few classes," answered Kathleen. "Her +name's Monica Courtenay. She lives here, but of course not just now." + +"What do you mean?" enquired Cicely. + +"Why, surely you knew Miss Russell has taken the Manor for the summer +from Mrs. Courtenay?" + +"I never thought about whom it belonged to," confessed Lindsay. + +"Well, at any rate, Mrs. Courtenay and Monica are staying in rooms in +the village while their house is let, and Monica is to come three times +a week for French and history." + +"So this is really her home?" + +"Yes, and I heard someone say it is all her own. She's an only child, +and her father is dead." + +"It must seem funny for her to see a whole school here!" + +"I expect it does. I shouldn't like it if the place were mine." + +"Is she nice?" + +"How can I tell? I saw no more of her than you did yourselves." + +Everybody was greatly interested in the newcomer, and ready, at the end +of a week's acquaintance, to decide heartily in her favour. Monica was +rather dignified and reserved in her manners, and evidently not much +accustomed to mix with companions of her own age; but when her shyness +began to wear off she proved most attractive. + +"She's not at all conceited, although she's mistress of the Manor," said +Lindsay. + +"No, I can't say she gives herself airs in the least," agreed Cicely. + +"I think she behaves beautifully," said Mildred Roper. "She never so +much as hints that it's her own house, or tries to take the lead, as +some girls would certainly have done. She doesn't go anywhere without +leave, nor even stop to play tennis unless she's asked. I heard her +apologizing to Miss Russell yesterday for giving an order to the +gardener. Mademoiselle says she is 'bien elevée' and 'très gentille', +and that's a great compliment, for she doesn't admire English girls as a +rule." + +"No one could help liking Monica," said Kathleen Crawford. "She's +charming. I call her one of the nicest girls I've ever met. And she's +had such hard luck! I've just been hearing all about her from Irene +Spencer." + +"How does Irene know?" asked Lindsay. + +"She stays sometimes with an uncle who is vicar of the next parish, and +her cousins are friends of Monica's. It's a most extraordinary story--it +might have come out of a book." + +"Oh, do tell us!" said the others eagerly. + +Kathleen's tale was in scraps, and missed out several points of which +she was not aware at the time, so it will be better to set it down here +as the girls learnt it more fully afterwards, for it was of great +importance, and formed the basis of much that was to follow. + +The Courtenays, it appeared, were a very ancient family, and had +inherited the Manor from an ancestor who had fought bravely on the +Yorkist side in the days of the Wars of the Roses. In the present +generation there was no male heir, and Monica was the last of her race. + +Until a few years ago the old house had been in the possession of her +great-uncle, Sir Giles Courtenay, a most eccentric man, so odd and +peculiar, indeed, that many people had considered him to be out of his +mind. He was reputed to be extremely wealthy, yet lived in a miserly +fashion, entertaining no visitors, and never spending a penny which it +was possible for him to save. He never married, but passed his days as a +recluse, shut up among the books in his library, seeing only a few old +servants whose services he had retained. Sometimes in the early morning +he would wander about the woods and fields in the neighbourhood, seeking +for wild flowers, but on such occasions he seemed much annoyed if spoken +to, and evidently preferred to take his rambles unnoticed. + +At his death he left everything to his great-niece, Monica. + +"Both the Manor", so ran the will, "and all that it may contain, +especially commending to her the volumes in my library, and advising her +to pursue the study of botany, which has ever been a solace and a +distraction to me amidst the various ills and disappointments of life." + +At first it was supposed that Monica must be a great heiress, but when +Sir Giles's legacy came to be investigated nothing could be found beyond +the ordinary furniture in the house and a few pounds in the local bank. +No one knew anything about his affairs, and neither papers nor documents +were forthcoming to give the slightest indication as to what had become +of the fortune he was known to have inherited. + +Not only was all trace of the money lost, but the valuable silver plate +and jewellery that had been handed down from generation to generation of +the Courtenays were also missing, and there was no clue to their +whereabouts. It was generally believed that Sir Giles must have +concealed the whole of his wealth somewhere in the old house, but, +though a minute search had been made from cellar to garret, the +hiding-place had not yet come to light. + +Instead, therefore, of owning a fortune, Monica had received nothing but +the Manor, in itself a very barren heritage. She and her mother had +taken up their residence there, but they possessed only a small income, +quite insufficient to maintain the former traditions of the family. It +was on this account that they had been glad to let the house to Miss +Russell for the summer, and to retire themselves into quiet lodgings +close by. + +"Hasn't Monica ever tried to hunt for the treasure?" asked Lindsay, when +Kathleen had finished her narrative. + +"Oh, yes--often! I believe she has gone systematically through each +room, but it's so well hidden that it seems quite impossible to find +it." + +"Yet it must be there!" + +"No doubt. It may never turn up, though, until the place is pulled down. +The whole thing is a complete mystery, and so far nobody has been able +to solve it." + +"Have you asked Monica where she has looked?" + +"Certainly not. Irene says she's very sensitive about it, and can't bear +to hear it spoken of. Naturally it must have been a most terrible +disappointment. I don't wonder she avoids the subject. Please be careful +never to mention it to her, or you'll offend her dreadfully, and I shall +be sorry I told you." + +"I'm sure both Lindsay and Cicely would have too nice feeling to +question Monica on such a personal matter," said Mildred Roper. + +"Of course we shan't say anything--we wouldn't for worlds," promised the +two younger girls. + +That Monica should be the heroine of so romantic a story made her doubly +interesting in the eyes of Lindsay and Cicely. They were much impressed +by Kathleen's account, and retired to the privacy of the summer-house to +talk it over together. + +"It must be dreadful to be so poor when you know you ought to be so +rich!" said Lindsay. + +"And so tantalizing, when perhaps the fortune is actually in the house," +said Cicely. + +"I could never be happy for thinking about it." + +"No more could I." + +"Look here! Why shouldn't you and I set to work? So long as this +treasure is hidden away somewhere, I suppose it's possible to find it." + +"Oh, don't I wish we could!" cried Cicely, her eyes round at the idea. + +"Well, I can't see why we shouldn't have as good a chance as anybody +else. I expect it's chiefly a matter of careful hunting." + +"How splendid it would be if Monica really turned out an heiress after +all!" + +"Glorious! It's worth trying for. Those panelled walls might be full of +hiding-places. We don't know what we may discover when once we begin." + +"We shan't have to let Miss Frazer catch us looking about." + +"Rather not! Nobody must know what we intend to do." + +"Not even Marjorie Butler?" pleaded Cicely. + +"No," said Lindsay firmly. "Marjorie couldn't help whispering it to +Nora, and then it would be all over the school. The big girls would make +dreadful fun of us, I'm sure. They'd call us 'The Gold Seekers', or some +other stupid name, simply for the sake of teasing. Besides, if it were +talked about among the rest, it would be sure to get to Monica's ears, +and we particularly don't want that." + +"No, she mustn't hear a word of it." + +"Very well, then, we had better keep it to ourselves. Will you promise +faithfully that it shall be a dead secret just between you and me?" + +"Absolutely dead!" agreed Cicely. + +The two girls were determined to institute a thorough search for the +lost legacy, but they foresaw many difficulties in the way. In the first +place, it was hard even to make a start without letting anybody suspect +what they were doing. Although the term at the Manor seemed like a +holiday, it was nevertheless school: there was a certain amount of +supervision by the mistresses, and there were rules and regulations to +be obeyed, the same as at Winterburn Lodge. The girls were not allowed +to wander about alone exactly when and where they wished, and even +during recreation time they were expected to play games in the garden. + +One of the greatest hindrances to their plan was Mrs. Wilson, an elderly +servant who had been left in charge by Mrs. Courtenay, and who seemed to +consider herself responsible for her mistress's property. She evidently +much resented the presence of thirty schoolgirls in the Manor, and kept +a keen eye upon them to see that they did no damage. She was continually +watching to satisfy herself that they were not scratching the furniture, +nor spilling candle-grease upon the stairs; and was loud in her +complaints to Miss Russell over the most absurd trifles. + +If she had had sufficient authority, I believe she would have limited +the girls entirely to their bedrooms and schoolrooms, but as that was +impossible, she did her best to frighten them away from the rest of the +house by being as disagreeable as she could. As a natural consequence +they detested her. They nicknamed her "The Griffin", and took a naughty +pleasure in defying her as far as they dared. + +"She's as sour as a green gooseberry!" grumbled Effie Hargreaves. "If we +only take a stroll along the portrait gallery, she thinks we're going to +knock down the armour, or poke our fingers through the pictures." + +"Yes, she seems to imagine we can't look at a thing without breaking it. +It's perfectly ridiculous!" declared Beryl Austen. + +"She's an absolute nuisance. It's a pity she was left behind," said Nora +Proctor; and that was the general verdict in the old housekeeper's +disfavour. + +With such a dragon continually on the alert, it was almost impossible +for Lindsay and Cicely to find the slightest opportunity of beginning +their treasure hunt, and they were reduced to very low spirits on the +subject. One half-holiday afternoon, however, Lindsay reported that Mrs. +Wilson, dressed in black bonnet and mantle, had been seen to leave the +back door and walk away in the direction of the village. + +"Now is our chance!" she assured Cicely. "Miss Russell is lying down in +her bedroom with a bad headache, Miss Frazer is playing tennis, and +Mademoiselle is sitting reading in the arbour. Everyone else is in the +garden, and if we run indoors at once nobody will notice, and we shall +have the place practically to ourselves." + +Could anything have been more fortunate? They lost no time in hurrying +into the Manor, feeling almost as desperate conspirators as Guy Fawkes +and his confederates; and commenced immediately to make a careful tour +of investigation. They stole round the hall, the dining-room, and the +library, scrutinizing every nook and corner, tapping the panels to hear +if they sounded hollow, and peeping up the old wide chimneys, but all +with no success. + +"I'm afraid we shan't find anything down here," said Lindsay at last. "I +expect people made hiding-places where they wouldn't be so easy to get +at. Let us go and explore the attics. We've never been up there yet." + +They reached the top storey without encountering even a servant. Somehow +it felt a little eerie to hear nothing but the echo of their own +footsteps, and to find themselves quite alone in such an out-of-the-way +part of the house. The Manor was very large, and nearly the whole of the +left wing was unoccupied. They passed door after door, all leading to +more and more empty rooms, till Lindsay began to grow almost dismayed at +the bigness of their undertaking. + +"I didn't know the place was so huge!" she sighed. "I'm afraid one might +spend years looking round and examining it thoroughly. I don't wonder +Monica lost heart. There isn't the faintest clue to go upon, either, to +give one a hint where to hunt." + +"Hadn't we better be turning back?" + +Cicely was growing rather tired of the fruitless attempt. + +"In a minute. Let us go to the end of this landing." + +The passage in itself was like the others, but it differed in one +particular, for it terminated in a narrow, winding staircase. This +looked tempting--just the sort of thing, in fact, that they felt ought +to lead to somewhere interesting and important. + +"It's like the way to the turret chamber where Sir Walter was +imprisoned, in _Tales of the Middle Ages_," said Lindsay. + +"Or where Katherine was dragged when Sir Gilbert found she had overheard +the secret plot," said Cicely. + +They scrambled almost on hands and knees up sixteen steep steps. At the +top was a small landing, and exactly facing them, up three steps more, +stood a closed door. The girls paused for a moment to consider what to +do next. + +"Listen!" said Cicely suddenly. "I thought I heard a queer noise." + +There certainly was a most extraordinary sound issuing from the room +opposite. It resembled somebody groaning, or giving long-drawn, sighing +breaths. It went on for a few moments and then stopped, then commenced +louder than before, and finally died away altogether. + +"What is it?" whispered Cicely, rather nervously. + +"I don't know, but I'm going to look and see." + +"Oh! Dare you? I hope it's nothing that will bounce out!" + +[Illustration: "SHE OPENED THE DOOR CAUTIOUSLY"] + +"Nonsense! Why should it?" + +"It might. Do be careful!" + +"Don't be silly!" said Lindsay. "We came up here on purpose to discover +things, and help Monica. If there's a noise in that room, we certainly +ought to find out what's making it." + +And with this plausible excuse for satisfying her curiosity, she opened +the door cautiously, and peeped inside. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A Strong Suspicion + + +If Lindsay and Cicely had counted upon finding something interesting +behind the closed door, they were much disappointed. The room was +absolutely bare and unfurnished. It was not panelled, as mysterious +rooms ought to be, but had an old-fashioned and rather ugly wallpaper, +adorned with big bunches of grapes and flowers; and there was a plain, +whitewashed ceiling. At one side a window overlooked the garden, and at +the other was a shallow store cupboard, the open door of which revealed +rows of empty shelves, probably intended for jam or linen. + +There was nothing to give the least suggestion of romance, or the +possibility of any concealed hiding-place. There was no carved +overmantel nor four-post bed; in fact, the only article of any +description to be seen was a large horn lantern that hung from a hook in +the ceiling. The curious noise had ceased, and although the girls looked +round most carefully, they were not able to find anything which would +account for it. + +"There isn't a corner that even a cat might hide in," said Lindsay. "It +was so loud, too! I can't understand it in the least." + +"I call it rather uncanny. Let us go!" said Cicely. + +She was stepping down on to the little landing again, when, to her +dismay, she almost ran into the arms of Mrs. Wilson, who, still in black +bonnet and mantle, had returned from the village sooner than they +anticipated, and must have come unheard up the winding staircase. + +"The Griffin's" surprise at seeing them seemed as great as their own. +She gave a gasp of consternation, peeped hastily inside the empty room, +then turned to Lindsay and Cicely with a look of mingled relief and +wrath. + +"What were you doing in the lantern room?" she asked sharply. "You know +perfectly well you've no right to be up here. You must mind your own +business, and keep to your own places, instead of poking and ferreting +about into matters that don't concern you. I can't have you rambling +about wherever you please, and the sooner you understand that the +better. It was sorely against my advice that the Manor was let for a +school!" + +She spoke rudely, and seemed more upset and annoyed than the occasion +warranted. She swept the two girls downstairs before her, muttering +angrily as she went, and did not let them out of her sight until she +had watched them safely into the garden. + +"How horrid she was!" exclaimed Cicely, when they were alone, and able +to talk things over. "Miss Russell never said we weren't to go on to +that top landing." + +"What was Mrs. Wilson doing there herself--in an empty room, in such a +deserted part of the house?" asked Lindsay meditatively. + +"I don't know. She looked quite aghast at seeing us." + +"I believe there's something about it we don't understand. Perhaps she +has some reason beyond mere fussiness and nastiness for wanting to keep +us away from that particular room." + +"What kind of a reason?" + +"Well, suppose she had discovered the hiding-place?" + +"Wouldn't she tell Monica?" + +"She might intend to take some of the money." + +"Oh, how dreadful! It's quite possible, though, that she knows where it +is. She was housekeeper to old Sir Giles for ever so many years." + +"It seems to me most suspicious," said Lindsay. "We must watch her, and +find out everything we can, for Monica's sake." + +The idea that Mrs. Wilson was concealing the treasure for her own ends +was a thrilling one. The more they thought about it, the more probable +it appeared. Who had a better opportunity than she of searching the old +house? She might even have been present when her eccentric master stowed +his fortune so carefully away. If this were really the case, the +greatest caution was necessary, for to allow "The Griffin" to see that +they had noticed anything might entirely spoil their plans. + +"We must treat her just as usual," said Lindsay, "only we must keep our +eyes and ears open, in case something should turn up to give us a hint." + +For the next few days they behaved with what they considered the +greatest diplomacy. They took care not to aggravate Mrs. Wilson, nor in +any way to attract her special attention; but they looked out for the +slightest chance of following her movements, dodging round corners, and +stalking her along passages with the zeal of detectives. Unfortunately +their efforts were not so unobserved as they supposed, and drew down a +reproof from headquarters. + +"Lindsay and Cicely! how is it that you are continually loitering about +the landing when you ought to be in the garden?" said Miss Russell. "I +shall have to make a new rule, that nobody is to come upstairs until ten +minutes before meals. In this lovely weather I expect you to be +out-of-doors. It is a shame to waste a minute in the house. Don't let me +find you here again during recreation time." + +This was a blow, as it brought the great scheme temporarily to a +standstill. The girls could not venture to disobey openly, and judged it +wiser to let things rest for the present, until the mistress should have +forgotten the matter, and they might once more quietly begin to renew +their investigations. + +"We'll play cricket hard, and put our names down for the tennis +handicap," said Lindsay. "We mustn't on any account let Miss Russell +think we'd a special motive in what we were doing." + +"Rather not! We'll 'lie low and say nuffin'', like Brer Rabbit," agreed +Cicely. + +There was no lack of liveliness or occupation at the Manor to justify +anybody in idling about the passages, and there were certainly many +small excitements, apart from mysterious chambers or hidden treasures. +All kinds of funny events kept occurring which had never disturbed the +prim atmosphere of Winterburn Lodge. + +Nora Proctor and Marjorie Butler awoke half the school one night by loud +and repeated screams, and when Miss Frazer rushed into their room, +imagining fire or burglars, she found them cowering behind the bed +curtains, in mortal terror of a large bat that had made its way through +the open casement. Earwigs were a constant nuisance, and everyone grew +almost accustomed to catching green caterpillars, which crept in from +the roses that surrounded the windows, and would turn up in the most +undesirable spots. + +Naturally so old a house was infested with rats and mice. They scuttled +inside the walls, and squeaked behind the wainscots, and seemed to hold +carnival at the back of the oak panelling, often disturbing the girls at +night with the noise. This was particularly noticeable in the room where +Lindsay and Cicely slept. They were sometimes awakened by sounds like +the rolling of barrels overhead, as if heavy objects were being clanked +about up in the ceiling. + +"You've no need to be afraid of them," said Mrs. Wilson, who made light +of all complaints, "they never venture out of the walls, to my +knowledge." + +The fear, however, that a rat might possibly gnaw its way into her +bedroom afflicted Cicely continually. + +"If it ran across my pillow I should die of fright, I know I should!" +she wailed. "I wish Mrs. Wilson would let us have the cat to sleep with +us. I should feel far safer." + +"I wish we could send for the Pied Piper, and get rid of them all. They +woke me twice last night," said Lindsay. + +Poor Cicely never dared to retire without first having a thorough +examination to assure herself that no lurking rodent was lying hidden +behind the wardrobe, or in any other obscure corner. One evening she was +making her usual round, armed with a tennis racket for protection, and +was peeping under the bed, when she suddenly let the valance fall +hurriedly, and drew back with a shriek. + +"There's a rat there! I saw it quite plainly; its great big eyes were +glaring at me!" she announced in a trembling voice. + +"What are we to do?" exclaimed Lindsay, in equal consternation. + +"Call for Miss Frazer this instant. She hasn't gone downstairs yet." + +"Don't disturb it on any account!" decreed Miss Russell, who was fetched +from the drawing-room to cope with the emergency. "I shall send at once +for Scott, the gardener, and ask him to bring his terrier dog. We must +really take some measures to destroy these pests." + +It was not very long before Scott arrived. He clumped solemnly up the +stairs with a thick stick in his hand, and Bill, his sharp little fox +terrier, at his heels. Mrs. Wilson accompanied him, bearing the kitchen +poker; and the parlour-maid followed, holding the yard dog by the +collar, in case Bill should miss his prey. Miss Frazer and Miss +Humphreys were there to support Miss Russell; while Mademoiselle and a +great many of the girls hovered outside in the passage, half-frightened +and half-excited over the coming fray. + +"If you'll please to tell me where the young lady saw it, mum," said +Scott, "I'll let Bill on it sudden. He's death on rats." + +"It was just at the foot of the bed," quavered Cicely. Scott stooped, +and raised the valance with the greatest precaution. Bill sniffed +eagerly, but he did not pounce upon any concealed victim. + +"There's nothing there, mum--leastways no rat," said Scott, +straightening his back. + +"Are you sure?" gasped Miss Russell. "It couldn't possibly have +escaped." + +"I think it's been a little mistake of the young lady's, mum," said +Scott, suppressing a grin. "If you'll kindly take a look under the bed, +you'll see for yourself." + +Miss Russell hastened to comply, and, bending down, gave an exclamation +as she drew out one of Lindsay's best Sunday gloves. + +"What an extraordinary illusion!" she cried. "I don't wonder Cicely took +it for a rat. The soft doeskin is exactly the same colour, and the +buttons were gleaming just like two bright eyes. I never saw a more +perfect resemblance. I should certainly have been deceived. Well, I'm +glad our chase has been a case of much ado about nothing. I think you +may go to bed with easy minds to-night, girls. If we have any more +alarms, we must send for Bill to protect us. Good dog! Can you find +some scraps for him in the kitchen, Mrs. Wilson?" + +Cicely's rat was of course a great joke in the school, and a subject of +teasing for several days afterwards. + +"You'll imagine your dressing-gown is a tiger next," said Effie +Hargreaves. + +"Some people scream at nothing. I'd have been sure about it first, +before making such a fuss," said Beryl Austen. + + "She thought it was a wily rat, and watched to see it move, + She looked again, and saw that it was nothing but a glove!" + +improvised Nora Proctor, who was fond of _Alice_, and had rather a taste +for parody. + +"It was such a disappointment to us, when we were waiting to hear the +scuffle," said Marjorie Butler. + +"We shan't believe in your scares next time," said Effie. + +"It's all very well, but I'm sure you'd have been just as frightened +yourselves," retorted Cicely. "You've no need to make so much fun of +me." + +"It's too bad. I vote we pay them out, and have the laugh on our side," +sympathized Lindsay, leading her friend away. "I've thought of such a +capital idea. Come to the summer-house and we'll talk it over." + +As the result of Lindsay's cogitations, the two girls went boldly to +Mrs. Wilson, and begged an old cardboard box. + +"It's half to pieces," said "The Griffin", quite amiably, for a wonder. +"It's not much good you'll do with it, I'm afraid." + +"Never mind, it's enough for what we want, thank you. We're not going to +put anything very heavy in it, are we, Cicely?" + +Cicely's reply was such a wildly hysterical giggle that Mrs. Wilson +stared at her in offended surprise. + +"She's only silly!" explained Lindsay hurriedly. "Please, could you let +us have some scraps of dark cloth? Perhaps there'd be something in the +rag bag. Be quiet, you stupid!" + +The last remark was aside to the irrepressible Cicely, who straightened +her face with an effort. "We're going to do some sewing," she +volunteered, choking back her mirth. + +"You're not generally so industrious," said Mrs. Wilson grimly. "I +should be glad to see you using your needle for once. It seems all +tennis and croquet with you young ladies." + +She produced the rag bag, however, and allowed the girls to take their +choice of the various odds and ends which it contained. They selected a +piece of rough, hair-brown serge; then, fetching their work-baskets, +they retired to a remote part of the garden, where they were not likely +to be disturbed. If Mrs. Wilson had imagined they were about to engage +in some fine and delicate needlework, she was much mistaken. They +confined themselves to cutting and snipping, and to a few big, cobbling +stitches that would have caused her to exclaim in righteous horror. + +At the end of half an hour all was finished, and Lindsay proudly held up +the result of their labours. It really was not a bad imitation of a rat. +It had a nice round, plump body, four squat legs, a pointed nose, and a +long, thin tail. + +"We can't make whiskers," said Lindsay, "but that doesn't matter in the +least. They wouldn't notice them. What a good thing it's light until so +late now! They'll be able to see it perfectly well." + +"We couldn't manage if the bed weren't a four-poster," said Cicely, +chuckling in anticipation of the fun to come. + +Beryl Austen and Effie Hargreaves slept in a room almost opposite to +Lindsay's and Cicely's. Before eight o'clock arrived the two latter +contrived to make an excuse to go upstairs, and hastily completed their +preparations. The arrangements were ingenious. They fastened their rat +very lightly by two pieces of thin sewing cotton to the middle of the +piece of tapestry that formed the roof of the great four-post bed. To +the cotton was attached a long strand of string, which passed through +the curtains and out at the door (conveniently near the bed), the end +being hidden under the mat on the landing. + +"You'll see, when we jerk the string, the cotton will break, then down +will plump the rat right on to their chests," said Lindsay, justly proud +of her inventive powers. "Poke the box under the valance, Cicely, quick! +I thought I heard someone coming." + +The cardboard box contained a bobbin, to which a second string was tied, +and concealed in the same manner as the first. + +"I don't believe they'll suspect anything," said Cicely. "Won't it be +lovely to give them a scare!" + +At bedtime the conspirators retired innocently as usual, having wished +Beryl and Effie good night in the passage. + +"I nearly said I hoped nothing would disturb them," laughed Lindsay, +"but I thought it would be wiser not. How long must we leave them to go +to sleep?" + +"About half an hour, I should think. Let us get up as soon as we hear +the clock in the picture gallery striking nine." + +The twilight lasted long, so it was still quite possible to distinguish +objects as two nightgowned, barefooted figures stole gently across the +landing. Fortunately everything was perfectly quiet in the upper +portion of the house. The younger girls were in bed, and the elder ones +were with the teachers downstairs. + +"We must be sure to work the right strings," breathed Lindsay. "Have you +got yours? This was mine, with a knot at the end." + +She gave a smart pull, and the bobbin rattled loudly inside the box. +They could hear it plainly, even through the closed door. + +"What is that?" + +The question came in an anxious and wideawake tone from within the room. + +"I don't know. Oh, there it is again!" + +The voice this time was Effie's. + +"It sounds as if it were under the bed!" + +"Oh, surely it's not a rat!" + +"Now for it!" whispered Cicely, pulling the second string. + +The result was all they could have desired. A series of yells proceeded +from the four-post bed, sufficient not only to rouse the occupants of +the other rooms on the landing, but to bring Miss Frazer hurrying up +from the library. Lindsay and Cicely dropped their strings and fled, not +a second too soon. They could hear Miss Frazer striking a match to light +the candle, and her exclamation when she discovered the cause of the +uproar. + +"All the girls have turned out to see what's the matter," said Cicely. +"If you and I don't go too, they'll know who's done it." + +"I think we shall have to own up, in any case," replied Lindsay. + +"It was worth the scolding," she declared afterwards, when Miss Frazer +had administered a due homily on the danger of practical jokes. "I only +wish I could have seen their faces when the rat plumped on to them. They +needn't talk of screaming at nothing, and if they ever begin to tease us +about anything again--well, we'll just say 'Rats!'" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Haversleigh + + +There never was such a glorious place as the Manor. Upon that point the +whole school perfectly agreed. The garden was as fascinating as the +house, and proved an absolute dream of delight, with its smooth +bowling-green, its winding paths, its charming little arbours overgrown +with creepers, its clipped yew hedges, and its unexpected flights of +steps. It might have been designed as a kind of terrestrial paradise for +girls. The big lawns afforded space for so many tennis courts that there +was no need for the younger ones to hover about, waiting enviously until +their elders had finished before they could get a chance of a game; and +there was plenty of room left for croquet and clock golf. The shrubbery +and the plantation were ideal spots for hide-and-seek (almost too good, +Lindsay said, because it was so very difficult to find anybody); while +the various rustic seats scattered under the trees made sewing and +reading a luxury on hot days, when no one felt inclined for violent +exercise. A stone-flagged terrace ran the entire length of the front of +the Manor, proving an invaluable playground when the grass was too wet +for games in the garden; and a roomy summer-house stood near the +bowling-green, so big that it was capable of sheltering all the school +during a thunder shower. + +Beyond the avenue, and at the farther side of the shrubbery, was a maze. +Marvellous little narrow, twisting paths, with high hedges of clipped +box, wound round and round in an utterly bewildering manner, most of +them either ending blindly or turning back to the original entrance, and +only one of the number leading to the arbour in the centre. For a long +time the girls amused themselves with trying to discover the proper +clue. Cicely, like Hansel, dropped pebbles to show which paths she had +already traced; Lindsay essayed to cut the Gordian knot by creeping +through the hedge; and it was only after many and repeated trials that +they were at last able to solve the puzzle. + +In the midst of one of the lawns grew a grand old yew tree, the lower +branches of which were easy to climb. It was a favourite haunt of the +younger girls, each having her special seat, and here they might often +be seen perched like birds, and certainly chattering enough to suggest a +flock of magpies. A stalwart oak close by supported a swing that was far +more romantic than the swing in the playground at Winterburn Lodge, +because a strong push would send the happy occupant high up among the +green leaves, and give her a flying peep into a missel-thrush's nest on +the topmost bough, where four gaping yellow mouths were clamouring for +food. In a corner, down a flight of steps, there was a pond where grew +marsh marigolds, and irises, and forget-me-nots, and other water-loving +plants. A pair of ducks lived here in a wooden hutch, and would come +waddling up to be fed with bread, which the girls saved from breakfast +for them. Great was the delight of the whole school when one morning a +brood of seven small ducklings appeared on the water, each as yellow as +a canary, and seemingly quite at home already in its native element. + +Then there was the rose garden, where every variety of the queen of +flowers seemed to flourish, from the delicate Maréchal Niel to the +sweet, oldfashioned, striped York and Lancaster. Archways and pillars +were covered with climbers and ramblers, a little untrained, but hanging +down in such glorious profusion that one almost approved of the neglect. +Round this garden was a high hedge of clipped holly, so that it was +sheltered from every wind, and the roses bloomed as if in a greenhouse. +Nor must we forget the peacocks, which were as much a feature of the old +house as the twisted chimneys, or the stone balls on the porch. There +were six of them, and the gorgeous sheen of their feathers as they +spread their tails in the sunshine was a sight worth remembering. In +fact, as Miss Russell often remarked, they gave a finishing touch to the +whole scene, and made the Manor look more than ever like a medieval +picture. + +The village of Haversleigh was only ten minutes' walk from the lodge +gates. It consisted of one long row of quaint black-and-white cottages, +with thatched roofs, and gardens so gay with flowers that they seemed to +be overflowing into the road, and pinks and pansies were coming up +between the cobblestones of the street. At the end stood the beautiful +ancient church, built in days when each artisan was a master of his +craft, and made his work a labour of love. Strangers often came from a +distance to admire the delicate tracery of the windows, the exquisite +carving of the pillars, and the splendid old oak choir stalls that had +formed part of a tenth-century abbey. At the west end hung a collection +of banners, won by Monica's ancestors in many a hard-fought battle, and, +all tattered and faded as they were, still bearing tribute to the +glories of the past. There were monuments, too, in memory of the +Courtenays: stone effigies of knights in armour, lying under carved +canopies emblazoned with their coats-of-arms; stiff ladies and gentlemen +of Tudor times, with starched ruffs and buckled shoes; and one lovely +marble figure, by a forgotten sculptor, of a young daughter of the house +who had perished during the Great Plague. The ruthless hands that had +chipped and spoiled many of the other monuments had spared this one, and +the beautiful, calm face seemed to be resting in tranquil sleep, +patiently waiting for the summons to arise to immortality. + +The Manor pew, though large, could not accommodate the school. The girls +sat in the left aisle, and made quite an important addition to the +little congregation of villagers. They certainly helped to swell the +singing, and I think even the most thoughtless among them learned to +love that dear old church, and carried its remembrance into after years. + +The Rectory marked the last boundary of the village, then the road +passed over a bridge straight into the open country. The scenery was +pretty without being grand. Picturesque farmhouses stood in the midst of +rich pastures, behind which rose wooded slopes leading to a higher peak, +called Pendle Tor, that stood out as a landmark for the district. +Naturally the girls were very anxious to explore the neighbourhood, and +delighted when Miss Russell allowed walks on half-holidays. The whole +school was not often sent out together, but each form would go in turn, +separately, with its own teacher--an arrangement that all much +preferred, as they could then ramble about in an informal manner, +instead of keeping to the prim file which was the general rule. + +One Wednesday afternoon, at the end of May, it was the turn of the third +class, and its six members were standing by the gate, impatiently +awaiting the arrival of Miss Frazer, who, to do her justice, was not +often at fault in the matter of punctuality. + +"I hope she isn't telling Miss Russell what bad marks I got this +morning," said Effie Hargreaves dismally. "She threatened last week to +report me if I had another cross for history, and I missed five times, +and four times in literature, and all my problems were wrong in +arithmetic too." + +"I believe they're planning to hire another piano," said Beryl Austen, +"so that we can all get in the same amount of practising as we did at +Winterburn Lodge." + +"Oh, what a shame! I'm sure half an hour a day is enough for anybody," +came in a chorus from the others. + +"Especially now, when we haven't a music master," added Cicely. + +"That's the very reason," explained Beryl. "Miss Russell says she wants +us to keep up what we've learnt, so that we won't seem to have fallen +back when we begin with Mr. Nelson again." + +"Don't talk of Mr. Nelson! We shan't see him for ages." + +"You will, in September." + +"Well, it's not September yet, it's only May, and in the meantime we're +learning from Miss Frazer. Here she is, by the by, hurrying down the +drive as fast as she can." + +"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, girls," said the teacher, "but Miss +Russell has been giving me a commission to transact while we are out. +She wants us to go to Monkend, a farm about a mile and a half from +here." + +"A new walk?" asked Beryl. + +"Yes, we have never been there before, but I don't think we can miss the +way." + +A perfectly fresh walk was a pleasant prospect. Everyone set off, +therefore, in the best of spirits. It was a beautiful afternoon, one of +those glorious days when summer seems to clasp hands with spring and +join the delights of both seasons. The newly unfolded leaves were still +a tender green, and the sycamores were covered with pendent blossoms, in +the golden pollen of which the bees revelled like drunkards. The larches +had opened all their tassels, and the young cones on the firs glowed +with such a pink hue that they resembled candles on a Christmas tree. +The hawthorns were almost over, but here and there a crab apple showed a +mass of pink bloom, or a guelder rose made a white patch in the hedge; +and all the stretches of grass by the roadsides were carpeted with +bluebells and starry stitchwort. + +Miss Frazer was indulgent, and would wait for a few minutes while the +girls gathered handfuls of flowers, or climbed up to the top of a bank +to admire the view. She was as interested as they were in the finding of +a robin's nest; and quite as excited when a hawk swooped suddenly into a +bush, and flew away with a young thrush in its claws. The cuckoos were +calling persistently from the woods, the larks were singing up in the +air above, and all the hedgerows seemed to teem with busy bird life. + +Their way soon left the high road, and, striking across a field, led +them through a copse where there was an interesting pond, swarming with +tadpoles. The girls would have lingered here, trying to catch the funny, +wriggling, little black objects, but Miss Frazer's patience gave way at +last, and she hurried them on, declaring that if they were not quick +they would never get to the farm and back before tea-time. + +Monkend was a quaint old house, built in the midst of cherry orchards. +Its timbered walls were grey and weather-stained, and its tiled roof +yellowed with lichens. By the side of the open barn door the cows were +standing lowing to be milked, and the dairymaid, a rosy-faced young +woman in a blue apron, was coming from the kitchen, singing as she swung +her bright pails. She stopped in astonishment at the unwonted sight of +visitors to the farm, and ran to call her mistress to the scene. + +"You may wait for me here, girls, while I do my business with Mrs. +Brand," said Miss Frazer; "or if you like you may walk back to the +stile, and I will overtake you in the wood." + +Mrs. Brand insisted that Miss Frazer should come into the best parlour +to transact her errand, so, left alone, the girls began slowly to +retrace their steps towards the copse. + +"I wonder how long she'll be," said Lindsay, who with Cicely had +lingered a little behind. + +"I believe she has to pay a bill and order more butter and eggs and +things, so I don't expect we shall see her for five or ten minutes at +least," replied Cicely. + +"Then there'll be just time to run round the farm. I want to peep inside +those barns, and see what is at the other side of those haystacks. It +looks interesting. Come along! The dairymaid is busy milking, and +won't see us, and I don't suppose it matters if she does. We'll soon run +after the others." + +Feeling rather adventurous, the pair fled away down the yard, and dived +through an open doorway into the depths of a big barn. How fragrant it +smelled--such a delicious, sweet scent was in the air! Surely it must +come from that great heap of hay in the corner. The girls ran across, +and jumping on to the pile, were soon burying each other with armfuls +of the hay, and scooping out nests to sit in. It was dark inside the +barn--the beautiful brown gloom that one sees only in old castles or +churches, or ancient buildings, and is quite different from the black of +ordinary darkness. Through the open door came just one shaft of +sunshine, in which the specks of dust seemed to float and flutter like +living things. Overhead the great beams of the roof were lost in dim +obscurity; very old and rough they were, and covered with a mass of +cobwebs, among which Cicely declared she could see bats hanging head +downwards, with folded wings, though Lindsay said it was all her +imagination. + +It was so nice sitting perched on the hay that neither was in a hurry to +move. I believe they quite forgot about the time, until at last they +heard Miss Frazer's voice in the distance bidding good-bye to Mrs. +Brand. + +"We shall have to go," groaned Cicely. "What a nuisance! I could stay +here for hours." + +"So could I," said Lindsay, getting up with a yawn, and brushing loose +stalks from her dress. "Let us jump down on the other side of the hay." + +I do not know why it should have occurred to Lindsay to get off the +stack by the back instead of the front. If they had gone out of the barn +by the way they came, they could have overtaken Miss Frazer in a +moment, and the adventure which followed would never have happened at +all. As it was, fate decreed that Lindsay, in her flying leap through +the dusk, should knock her shins against something decidedly hard. She +stood rubbing them ruefully, and put out her hand to feel what had been +the cause of her bruises. It was a ladder, standing against the wall, +and through the gloom of the barn she could just distinguish its upper +end, which seemed to communicate with a doorway in the angle of the +roof. This looked attractive. She pointed it out at once to Cicely. + +"Where does it lead, do you think?" asked the latter. + +"To some granary above, I expect. I wonder what's up there! Shall we go +and explore?" + +Without even waiting for an answer, Lindsay had begun to ascend, and as +she was six rungs up before Cicely ventured a half-hearted remonstrance, +she did not see fit to come down again. + +"Oh! we shan't be a minute," she declared. "Miss Frazer will wait for us +in the wood, and we can run all the way from the farm." + +Where Lindsay went Cicely always felt bound to follow; accordingly, she +clambered up the ladder behind her friend, and in due course both +arrived at the top. As Lindsay had supposed, they found a granary +half-filled with sacks of corn and a pile of loose barley. A door at +the farther end appeared to open on to a flight of steps leading +outside, while opposite was a small lattice window overlooking the +fields. + +"There's really nothing to see," said Cicely. "It was hardly worth while +coming, after all." + +"We might go out through that door, instead of climbing down the ladder +again," suggested Lindsay, beginning to walk round the sacks. "Why, +look! Somebody has left his lunch here." + +On the top of the barley was a tin can, and also a red cotton +pocket-handkerchief, evidently containing slices of bread. From sheer +idle curiosity Lindsay seized them, and showed them laughingly to +Cicely. + +"Will you have some afternoon tea?" she exclaimed in joke. + +At that moment she was startled by a low growl behind her. From a corner +of the room sprang a collie dog that, unobserved by them, had been lying +among the sacks, and keeping a watch over its master's property. + +Lindsay promptly replaced the tin and the handkerchief on the barley. + +"Good dog! Poor fellow!" she said encouragingly, holding out her hand. + +The dog, however, did not make the least response to her friendly +advances. It came a little nearer, growling again, and showing its +teeth in an ugly fashion. + +"Come here, silly fellow! Does it think I want to steal something?" said +Lindsay. + +"I expect it does," replied Cicely, in rather a shaky voice. "Don't try +to touch it! It'll certainly bite you." + +Even Lindsay, fond of animals as she was, could not deny that the +gleaming eyes and snarling mouth looked the reverse of friendly. + +"Perhaps we'd better be going," she said, turning towards the door. + +Directly she moved, the dog growled louder, and would have flown at her +if she had not instantly stopped. + +"What are we to do?" she exclaimed, looking at Cicely with a terrified +face. + +They were indeed in a most awkward and dangerous position. The dog, +deeming itself guardian of the granary, and doubtless considering the +two girls intruders for dishonest purposes, would let neither of them +beat a retreat. It stood looking vigilantly from one to the other, +snarling so fiercely if they stirred even an inch that they did not dare +to put its intentions to the test. Oh! why had they come? If they had +only gone back down the ladder before they had roused the dog, or if +Lindsay had not been inquisitive enough to peep inside the handkerchief, +they might have been across the yard and following Miss Frazer to the +wood. How were they ever to escape? Would they be obliged to remain +there until the dog's master returned? + +"Perhaps Miss Frazer'll come to hunt for us," quavered Cicely, in a very +small voice, and with a timid eye on the collie lest it should spring. +Evidently it did not object to conversation, so long as they kept still, +for though it looked at her it did not growl. That was one comfort, at +any rate. The situation was terrible enough, but to endure it in silence +would have been ten times worse. + +"I don't believe anybody knows where we are," said Lindsay. "I wonder if +the dairymaid noticed us go into the barn. They wouldn't dream of our +climbing the ladder. They'd look all round the stackyard, and perhaps +think we'd taken a short cut and gone home." + +Would nobody ever arrive to release them? The minutes seemed long as +hours, and they felt as if their trembling knees could scarcely support +them. Cicely, from the place where she was standing, could fortunately +look through the window and command a view of the field below. Though +she gazed with as keen anxiety as Sister Anne in the story of Bluebeard, +she did not see anybody hurrying to their rescue. The dog apparently +grew a little tired, for it threw itself down on the floor, but without +relaxing any of its former vigilance. + +"I believe it's going to stop here all night," groaned Cicely, almost in +tears. + +The case was waxing desperate. So weary were the poor girls that they +were ready to drop with fatigue. Unless something happened, and that +speedily, there was bound to be a catastrophe. At the moment, however, +when Cicely felt that she simply could not endure any longer, +deliverance came. Through the little squares of the wooden lattice she +saw a figure strolling leisurely across the field. It was Monica +Courtenay, and she was walking in the direction of the farm. Cicely +shouted at the very pitch of her voice: + +"Monica! Monica! Help! Oh, do come!" + +Monica stopped in much astonishment, and looked round as if to ask who +was calling her by name; then, deciding that the screams came from the +direction of the granary, she hurried as fast as she could up the steps, +and opened the door. Her amazement was only equalled by her distress at +the girls' plight. + +She did her best to call off the dog, but as that proved impossible she +ran to fetch the first person she could find. In less than a minute she +had returned with Mr. Brand, whose stout boot and stick soon sent the +collie yelping disconsolately into a corner, to realize that it had +exceeded its duties. + +"He's a good watchdog, is Pincher," said the farmer, "but he's been a +bit too clever to-day. You silly hound! You ought to know better than to +set on two young wenches. You may well slink off! You'd better keep out +of reach of my stick, I can tell you!" + +Lindsay and Cicely were much upset and shaken by their terrifying +experience. They never forgot how kindly and considerately Monica +behaved. She did not tell them it was their own fault, and that it +served them right for prying into places where they had no business (as +Mildred Roper or any of the other monitresses would certainly have +done); she only sympathized in her gentle way, and offered to escort +them to the Manor by a short cut, so that they should not be so very +late after all. + +"It was a lucky thing I happened to be taking a walk this way," she +said. "It might have been hours before any of the farm people went into +the granary. I wouldn't keep such a savage dog if it were mine." + +As Lindsay supposed, Miss Frazer was not aware that she had left two of +her pupils behind at Monkend, and imagined that the missing pair must +have walked home in front of the others. Their absence had only just +been discovered when they arrived to explain the cause. The teacher was +hardly so tender with them as Monica, and they received more scolding +than sympathy. + +"Though it wasn't such a very dreadful crime to go into the barn," said +Lindsay afterwards to her companion in misfortune. "Miss Frazer needn't +say we are the two who are always in mischief, because it might have +happened just as easily to any of the others. I saw Beryl and Effie peep +into the cowhouse as they passed, though they didn't climb up a ladder. +Wasn't Monica nice? I believe the old farmer would have been cross with +us if she hadn't been there. He evidently knows her very well. So do all +the people in the village. She seems to know each man, woman, and child +there, and to be a favourite with everybody." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +An Unexpected Development + + +Lindsay and Cicely had by no means forgotten either their quest for the +treasure or their curiosity about the lantern chamber. In spite of +several small efforts, nothing fresh had occurred to elucidate matters, +and they were almost beginning to despair of ever making any further +progress, when quite unexpectedly something important happened. + +One afternoon, as they were sending tennis balls to each other along the +terrace, they heard a voice calling to them from overhead. They looked +up, and saw Merle Hammond, a second-form girl, leaning out of one of the +upper windows of the house and beckoning to them violently. + +"Lindsay and Cicely, is that you?" she cried. "Come up here; I've made +such a discovery!" + +"Where are you?" asked Cicely, for the old Manor had so many windows, it +was impossible to identify any particular one from the outside. + +"In a room up a funny winding staircase, on the top landing. It's +empty, but there's a big kind of lamp hanging from the ceiling. Oh, +you'll never guess what I've seen!" + +"The lantern chamber!" gasped both the girls, and, dropping their +rackets, they raced into the house in a state of the wildest excitement. + +Were they actually on the brink of solving the mystery? How had Merle +found it out? It was good of her to call to them. Had she accidentally +come across the hiding-place? or was it some other secret still? + +The answer to all these questions lay in that attic room, and they fled +upstairs as if their feet were wings. + +They were halfway along the passage, and a few seconds more would have +seen them safely on the top landing, when (oh, the bad luck of it!) they +almost knocked down Miss Frazer, who emerged at exactly the wrong moment +from her own bedroom door. + +"Gently, girls, gently!" she remonstrated. "Where are you going in such +a hurry?" + +It was impossible to explain. How could they tell the teacher the nature +of their errand? They both stood still, looking very "caught" and +dismayed, and said nothing. + +"As you have come indoors so early, you had better tidy your drawers," +continued Miss Frazer dryly. "I looked at them just now, and found them +in terrible disorder. You will have nice time to do it before tea." + +Could anything have been more aggravating? The poor girls were nearly +crying with vexation. There was no appeal, however. Miss Frazer escorted +them into their bedroom, and stood over them, giving directions, until +each pair of stockings or pocket-handkerchief was disposed according to +her ideas of neatness. They might chafe and fret inwardly at the delay, +but outwardly they were obliged to behave with due decorum. + +The governess was certainly justified in her disapproval, for Cicely's +best coat and hat were lying jumbled together at the bottom of the +wardrobe, and Lindsay's belongings looked as if they had been stirred up +with a stick. + +"If I notice any of your places in such a condition again, I shall be +obliged to give you each a punishment," she said gravely. "Wash your +hands now, and comb your hair. There's the first bell." + +Would Miss Frazer never leave them alone? If only she would take her +departure at once, they could perhaps manage to rush up to the lantern +room before the second bell rang. Merle must be waiting for them, and +wondering why they did not come. And the secret was waiting too! Lindsay +looked at Cicely, almost meditating a bolt. Possibly the mistress read +her intention in her face; at any rate, she waited until both were +ready, then marched them downstairs to the dining-room like a female +policeman, without giving them the slightest chance to escape. + +"Of all jolly sells this is the biggest!" whispered Cicely. + +"I wish Miss Frazer had been at the bottom of the sea!" groaned Lindsay. + +Merle came in rather late and took her place at table, looking a little +red and self-conscious. Lindsay tried to meet her eyes, but she avoided +the gaze, and went on stolidly with her bread and butter as if nothing +had happened. When Cicely made a like effort she fared the same. What +had Merle seen? How they longed for tea to be over, that they might hear +of her discovery! They hoped she would not reveal it to any of the other +girls first, and they looked on in quite a fever of anxiety whenever she +spoke to Elsie Ryder or Marjorie Butler, who sat one on either side of +her. + +"She doesn't know what we suspect about Mrs. Wilson," whispered Lindsay. +"She may be letting out something it would be far better, for Monica's +sake, not to tell." + +The moment the meal was finished the two girls followed Merle into the +garden, but, greatly to their surprise, she took no notice of them, and +began to play tennis. + +"I expect she's waiting for a safer time. Of course it wouldn't do for +her to be seen talking to us so particularly. We'll stay here while she +finishes her set," said Cicely. + +The game lasted until preparation, and then Merle walked away with such +an evident intention of escaping from them that the two were most +indignant. + +"What does she mean?" burst out Lindsay. + +"Do you think she's offended because we didn't go up at once?" returned +Cicely. "She doesn't know yet that Miss Frazer stopped us. We must +explain it as soon as we can." + +They tried to get hold of Merle after supper, but she kept persistently +to Elsie Ryder's company, and would not give them any opportunity of +speaking to her in private, so they were obliged to go to bed in a +horrible state of suspense. Next morning things were just as bad. There +was no mistaking the fact that Merle wished to avoid them, and it was +only with the greatest difficulty that they succeeded at last in +catching her alone. + +"What do you want?" she enquired abruptly. "Please don't go chasing me +about like this all over the school." + +"We want to know what you saw in the lantern room, of course," replied +Lindsay. + +"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you." + +"Not tell us!" + +Lindsay and Cicely could scarcely believe the evidence of their own +ears. + +"No, it's quite impossible." + +"But why?" + +"Simply that I can't." + +"Were you offended, Merle, because we didn't come when you called us?" +asked Cicely. + +"We were hurrying up as fast as we could, only Miss Frazer stopped us +and made us tidy our drawers. It wasn't our fault," added Lindsay +apologetically. + +"No, I'm not offended in the least. I'm very glad you didn't come." + +"But you shouted to us to be quick." + +"I know I did." + +"Was it something or somebody you saw in that room?" + +"Please don't ask me." + +"But look here, Merle, this is too bad," protested Lindsay. "You're +playing a very nasty trick upon us." + +"It can't be helped. I've said I am sorry," returned Merle doggedly. + +"Well, you are a fraud," cried Cicely. "I like people who keep their +promises." + +"So do I," said Merle, in rather a significant tone. "It's exactly what +I intend doing, too." + +"You don't mean to say you've promised not to tell!" exclaimed Lindsay. + +"I didn't say anything at all." + +"Have you told Elsie Ryder or Marjorie Butler?" + +"Certainly not. I haven't mentioned the matter to anybody, and I hope +you won't either." + +"But why shouldn't you whisper it just to Lindsay and me? We wouldn't +let a soul know," pleaded Cicely reproachfully. + +"I can't explain why. Do let us drop the subject." + +Here was indeed a deadlock. They had been afraid lest Merle should +betray her secret indiscreetly, but they had certainly never +contemplated being kept out of it themselves. The more they pressed her, +the more obstinately she refused, and neither scolding nor coaxing would +induce her to disclose even the least hint. They gave it up at last, +feeling very baffled and rather out of temper. + +"We do know something about your old room, all the same," said Lindsay +crossly, as a parting shot. + +"Oh, Lindsay, you don't really!" + +There was an anxious note in Merle's voice. + +"More than you think." + +"Then, whatever it is, you had better keep it to yourselves, and not let +it go any farther." + +Merle's extraordinary behaviour seemed to make the mystery even deeper +than before. She had evidently been exploring the Manor on her own +account and had made some discovery, which she undoubtedly had intended +to share with them when she called from the window. Then something must +have occurred afterwards which caused her to change her mind. + +To whom had she given a promise of secrecy? Surely not to Mrs. Wilson? +That would be aiding and abetting one whom they strongly believed to be +Monica's enemy. If only Miss Frazer had not such a tiresome love of +tidiness, they might have reached the lantern room in time, and be now +in possession of the information they wanted. It was too tantalizing to +feel that they had been so near a solution of the problem, and had +missed it by a few moments. + +Events never happen singly. For a whole fortnight they had been able +to find out nothing, yet on the very day following this disappointment +something occurred which seemed to add another link to their chain of +strange circumstances. They had managed to escape Miss Frazer's +vigilance, and were indulging in a surreptitious game of "tig" along the +forbidden ground of the picture gallery, when one of the bedroom doors +opened, and Mrs. Wilson appeared in the distance, carrying a pile of +clean towels in her arms. + +"There's 'The Griffin'!" exclaimed Lindsay. "She mustn't catch us here, +on any account. She'll tell Miss Russell, and we shall each lose a +conduct mark. Quick! Let us hide somewhere till she's gone by." + +The ancient arras seemed to offer a safe retreat. As fast as possible +they whisked behind it, and stood flattening themselves against the +wall, hoping Mrs. Wilson would notice nothing lumpy or unusual as she +passed. + +At the same time came a sound of heavy tramping footsteps from the other +end of the gallery, and Cicely, peeping through a hole in the tapestry +which happened to be on a convenient level with her eyes, saw Scott, the +gardener, coming down the flight of stairs which led from the upper +landing. He met Mrs. Wilson exactly opposite the hiding-place where the +girls were concealed, and the two stopped to speak, quite unaware that +listening ears were eagerly following their conversation. + +"Have you been in the lantern room?" began the old housekeeper uneasily. +"I'd no idea you were going up this afternoon." + +"Thought I'd best take a look," returned Scott. + +"There wasn't any need. I was there myself this morning, and things were +all right." + +"I don't know what you may call all right," grunted Scott. "There was +far too much noise going on to satisfy me." + +"You don't think there's any danger----?" burst out Mrs. Wilson, in an +anxious voice. + +"No, no!" interrupted Scott quickly. "Not for the present, at any rate. +Don't upset yourself. Still, it needs care, especially with all this +crew in the house." + +"Yes, it's that that's worrying me. I shan't breathe freely till they're +gone. And such an inquisitive, meddlesome set they are, too! You'd +scarcely believe the trouble they give me. Two of them took it into +their heads one day to go wandering on the upper landing. I actually +found them inside the lantern room!" + +Scott gave an exclamation of something like alarm. + +"That'll never do!" he said. "You mustn't let them go poking about +there; it would be most unsafe. Can't you lock the door?" + +"No, the key's lost." + +"I must try if I can find a padlock for it." + +"I wish you would. It would take a load off my mind. By the by, I wanted +to warn you----" + +But here one of the housemaids came along the landing, Mrs. Wilson's +voice sank to a whisper, and the only words audible were "Miss Monica", +"evening", and "wouldn't trust". + +"I'll be extra careful," said Scott, as he clumped away. + +Lindsay and Cicely waited several moments after the gallery was empty +before they ventured to emerge from behind the tapestry. They had the +great satisfaction of having learnt something. They now knew definitely +that there was a secret in connection with the lantern room which both +Mrs. Wilson and Scott were anxious to keep from them. + +"What can it be?" speculated Cicely. "Did you notice what he said about +the noise? It must have been that dreadful groaning we heard." + +"I've been thinking about that," replied Lindsay. "There may be a hidden +room, and someone shut up in it." + +"As a prisoner, do you mean?" + +Lindsay nodded. + +"But who could it be?" + +"I can't imagine, unless--could it possibly be old Sir Giles Courtenay? +Perhaps he didn't really die, after all. Don't you remember, in +_Ivanhoe_, how Athelstane of Coningsburgh was supposed to be killed, and +he was really only stunned; and the monks of St. Edmunds put an empty +coffin in the chapel, and kept him in a dungeon and pretended he was +dead, because they wanted his property? Mrs. Wilson may be doing the +same." + +"How dreadful!" Cicely looked quite appalled at the idea. "I suppose she +goes up, then, to feed him. Scott must know too. I shouldn't have +thought it of Scott. I rather liked him. I expect they'll share the +money between them. I wonder what 'The Griffin' was warning him about. I +hope they're not hatching a plot against Monica!" + +"It looks bad," said Lindsay, "decidedly bad. It's evidently something +shady, or they wouldn't want to keep it so quiet. It may be a very good +thing for Monica that we've taken the matter up." + +"What shall we do?" + +"We must stalk 'The Griffin' again, and try to follow her to that room, +and see what she does there." + +"She's as wary as a weasel." + +"Then we must be clever and outwit her. I'm positive she has some scheme +on hand that ought to be watched. One doesn't know how much may depend +upon it." + +It was certainly very exciting to feel that dark deeds might be taking +place in the attic, and that they were the fortunate instruments +selected by fate for the purpose of bringing the wrongdoers to justice. +It gave them a delightful sense of superiority over the other girls, +whose heads were full of nothing but tennis and croquet, and who never +troubled themselves with a thought about the missing treasure. + +"Merle is the only one who knows anything," said Lindsay, "and I verily +believe 'The Griffin' must have bribed her." + +Mrs. Wilson evidently used the utmost precaution in her visits to the +top landing. In spite of the pains they took to watch her movements, it +was some days before they found the propitious moment. "All things come +to those who wait," says the old proverb, however, and it proved true in +this case. + +One afternoon, through the chink of the bathroom door, they saw her walk +into the gallery as if she were going to the upper story. As stealthily +as Indians they crept after her. They tiptoed along the passages, and +just caught a glimpse of the tail of her skirts as she passed up the +winding staircase and entered the lantern room. Very quietly they +followed on to the little landing, and listened for a moment outside the +closed door. + +"What is she doing?" whispered Cicely. + +"That's what I want to find out." + +They both tried to peep through the keyhole, and bumped their heads +together in the attempt. + +"I can hear her moving!" + +There was a slight noise inside, almost like the clicking of a latch, +then all was perfectly silent. + +Lindsay could bear it no longer. + +"Here goes!" she cried boldly, and flung open the door. To her utter +amazement, the room was absolutely empty. Mrs. Wilson had vanished as +completely as if she had been a ghost. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Monica + + +The two girls rushed into the empty room and examined every corner +minutely. There was not a trace of any secret exit to be found. The +opening through which Mrs. Wilson must have disappeared was evidently +marvellously well concealed. + +"Where can she be? It's like magic!" whispered Cicely. + +"Wherever she's gone, I suppose she'll have to come back," replied +Lindsay. + +"Listen!" said Cicely, with a start. + +It was the same strange sound again which they had heard on their former +expedition--a low, long-drawn-out moaning, as of someone in pain, feeble +at first, then growing louder, and suddenly ceasing. + +"Oh! I wonder if she's hurting anybody?" cried Cicely, shuddering with +horror. + +"I'd give a great deal to find out what's going on. I'm afraid it's +something that won't bear the light of day," said Lindsay uneasily. + +"Dare we wait till she comes out of her hiding-place?" + +"Yes, but we mustn't stay here. It would spoil everything if she caught +us. Let us go outside and close the door again, and watch through the +keyhole; then, if we see her coming, we can rush." + +Mrs. Wilson's errand was evidently a long one. Though they relieved each +other more than once in mounting guard over the keyhole, she did not +return. + +"Perhaps she knows we're here, and won't come out till we've gone," +suggested Lindsay at last. + +"How could she know?" + +"She may have been looking at us all the time through some little spy +place." + +"Oh, how horrid! It makes me feel quite creepy to think of it." + +The fact that they were doing exactly the same did not strike either of +the girls. Circumstances alter cases, and they considered they were +justified in their plan of action. They grew extremely tired of waiting, +but they were determined not to give in. + +"There's that noise again!" said Cicely. "She must have a prisoner shut +up there; I'm perfectly certain about it." + +Both put their ears to the door, and were so absorbed in listening to +the queer sounds inside the room that they did not hear footsteps +sounding up the winding staircase. An exclamation behind them caused +them to turn hastily round. + +There was Monica!--the last person in the world whom they had expected +to see, and who was looking as astonished as themselves at the meeting. +Lindsay and Cicely felt decidedly embarrassed. Monica must have seen +them peeping through the keyhole, and they knew they had been discovered +in a somewhat doubtful and discreditable occupation. They could not +possibly begin to explain that it was entirely on her account and for +her benefit, so they simply turned very red and said nothing. It was a +most uncomfortable situation. + +There was a painful pause, and then Monica recovered her presence of +mind. + +"Why, Lindsay and Cicely, I thought you were with the others in the +garden!" she said. + +"We were only exploring the house a little," replied Lindsay, trying to +pass the matter off carelessly. "Miss Russell said there were +interesting things all over it." + +"I'm afraid you won't find much to interest you among empty bedrooms," +said Monica, in her calm, quiet voice. "If you like to come downstairs +with me I'll show you some of the curiosities in my cabinet. I've a +great many old coins and a few daggers that were dug up when the moat +was drained." + +Looking rather shamefaced, the pair went with Monica to the library, +where she unlocked an oak cupboard, and spent quite twenty minutes in +explaining her various treasures. She was most kind, and spared no +trouble, but the others could not get over their confusion. They had the +guilty sensation that they had been caught like naughty children, and +were being amused to keep them out of the way. + +"Why was Monica going into the lantern room?" demanded Lindsay, the +moment they were alone. + +"Does she know the secret?" ventured Cicely. + +"Either she knows, or she's trying to find out. Perhaps she's stalking +Mrs. Wilson too!" + +This was a new idea, and required consideration. + +"Then that would perhaps be what 'The Griffin' was warning Scott about," +said Cicely reflectively. "Ought we to tell Monica?" + +"Not yet--not till we've something more definite to go upon. We've only +suspicions at present, and one can hardly speak about those. She might +be offended, and think us meddlesome, especially as she doesn't like to +talk of her affairs." + +"I'm afraid she'll think us sneaky and underhand, in any case. I'm so +sorry she saw us spying like that." + +"Well, we couldn't help it, and we can't explain." + +"Mightn't we just say why----?" + +"It's no use," interrupted Lindsay decidedly. "We'd better not breathe a +word." + +And Cicely, as usual, gave way. + +It was gratifying to feel that they were Monica's champions, though she +might not yet be aware of what she owed them. They must be content to be +misunderstood for a little while; afterwards she would appreciate what +they had been doing for her, and would thank them accordingly. They +often looked at her in school with the satisfactory sensation that they +knew something of which everyone else, even Miss Russell, was ignorant. + +I fear the lessons suffered sometimes while they indulged in day-dreams, +for it was hard to recall such mundane matters as the capital of Mexico, +or the date of Magna Charta, when their thoughts were far away in the +lantern room, busy with concealed prisoners or supposed plots. + +"You're the two most inattentive girls in the class!" cried Miss Frazer +indignantly one day, after a specially bad lapse of memory. "You both +did far better at Winterburn Lodge. I cannot understand why your work +should have fallen off so much lately. This is the third time this week +you have had bad marks. If it occurs again, I shall be obliged to report +you to Miss Russell." + +Apart from their interest in her as the owner of the hidden treasure, +Lindsay and Cicely regarded Monica with the worship which schoolgirls +are sometimes fond of bestowing upon a companion who happens specially +to attract them. They admired the shape of her nose and her long +chestnut hair, and considered her dignified manner absolute perfection. +They used to follow her about at a respectful distance, longing to +improve the acquaintance; but they received so many snubs from the elder +girls, who also wished to monopolize her, that matters did not advance +much further than an occasional "Good morning" or "Good afternoon". + +"The big ones are so jealous, they like to keep her all to themselves," +grumbled Cicely. "Eleanor Wright was quite rude when I offered to lend +Monica a pencil yesterday. She said I was 'officious'." + +"They're horribly mean," agreed Lindsay. + +Monica had certainly become a great favourite at the Manor with both +teachers and pupils, and, had she been of a less steady disposition, +might have run considerable danger of being spoilt. She took her sudden +popularity, however, very serenely, and scarcely seemed to notice that +her schoolfellows were quarrelling over who should sit next her in +class, or take part with her in a game of tennis. + +"She always seems so calm and superior, like a nightingale among +sparrows," remarked Irene Spencer sentimentally. + +"Or a swan among a flock of geese," laughed Mildred Roper. "You've all +grown really quite silly over Monica. I admire her very much myself, +but I don't go and kiss her jacket when it's hanging in the vestibule, +or beg her old torn exercises for keepsakes." + +"Oh, well, you're a monitress!" + +"I've got a little common sense left, I'm thankful to say." + +The pretty rose-covered cottage where Monica and her mother had +established themselves for the summer was only a few minutes' walk away +from the Manor. One afternoon Miss Russell, happening to meet Lindsay +and Cicely in the hall, gave them a note, and told them to take it at +once to Mrs. Courtenay, and bring back an answer. + +The two girls ran off in high glee, delighted to have this opportunity +of seeing their idol in private. They found Monica preparing her French +lesson in the small strip of front garden, but she put her books aside +as they opened the gate. + +"Come to Mother," she said, when they had explained their errand, +leading the way through a French window into a low, old-fashioned +sitting-room. + +Mrs. Courtenay was a sweet, delicate-looking lady, with a gentle, +refined face, and hair slightly streaked with grey. She did not rise +from her sofa when they entered, but held out her hand instead, and +asked them to come and speak to her. + +"I am somewhat of an invalid, you see," she said. "The doctor is very +strict, and has told me to lie still. It's rather hard, but I am trying +to obey. So you are two of Monica's little friends? Well, now you are +here, you had better stay for tea. The letter? Oh, I'll send Jenny, our +maid, with the answer, and she shall tell Miss Russell that I'm keeping +you. We'll take care that you go back in plenty of time for +preparation." + +This was indeed a most unexpected treat. Both Lindsay and Cicely beamed +with smiles. They were the only girls in the school who had been thus +favoured, and they felt that their present enjoyment would be equalled +by the envy which they would excite among the others on their return. + +"I am glad to hear you are all so happy at the Manor," continued Mrs. +Courtenay. "Isn't it a dear, interesting old place? I expect Monica will +have told you most of the legends. No! Why, Monica, what have you been +thinking of? Do you mean to say they haven't heard yet about your +ancestress and Sir Humphrey Warden in the rose avenue?" + +"There really hasn't been any time for telling stories, Mother," +declared Monica, "we've been so busy playing tennis when we were not at +lessons. I'm never very good at remembering them, either--not like you +are." + +"I suppose I must consider myself the family chronicler," said Mrs. +Courtenay. "We certainly ought to let Lindsay and Cicely hear the tale +of the picture. Ah, here comes tea! Monica, you must look after our +guests." + +Monica evidently loved to be her mother's nurse. She placed a small +table by the side of the sofa, and busied herself in arranging cushions +and seeing that everything was placed for the invalid's greatest +comfort. She did not neglect the visitors either, and brought out a jar +of honey for their special benefit. + +"I know you'll like it, because you were so interested in the bees," she +said. "Do you remember the day when you went too close to the hives, and +nearly got stung?" + +"Yes; we had to run the whole length of the walk where the roses grow. I +shan't forget it in a hurry," answered Cicely. + +"That is the rose avenue where my namesake outwitted Sir Humphrey +Warden. I wish you would tell them the story, Mother." + +"Oh, do, please," pleaded Lindsay and Cicely; "we'd like so immensely to +hear it!" + +"I believe I shall just have time while we finish tea," said Mrs. +Courtenay. "I suppose you need not be back in school until half-past +five? Have you been in the long gallery at the Manor, and looked at the +pictures?" + +"Yes, often," said Cicely. + +"Then you will remember one, at the far end, of a girl in a white +dress, holding a bunch of roses in her hand?" + +"Yes; it's the prettiest of them all. We always say it's the exact image +of Monica." + +"It is the portrait of a Monica Courtenay who lived here in the time of +the Civil War. Her father was killed fighting for the king at Marston +Moor, and her only brother, Sir Piers, was also one of the hottest +supporters of the crown. When Cromwell came into power, Sir Piers had to +flee for his life. He was chased from one hiding-place to another. +Sometimes, like Prince Charles, he had to clamber up a tree until the +soldiers had passed by, and once he spent a night in a fox's hole. + +"At length, one summer evening, hunted almost to desperation, he +returned to his old home. He met his sister in the garden, and though +she exclaimed with joy at seeing him, she immediately made a sign for +silence, and motioned him to conceal himself under a large box tree +which stood near. + +"It was not safe, so she whispered, to go to the Manor. There were spies +about, and Sir Humphrey Warden, the most zealous Roundhead in the +district, had set a watch upon the house. At any moment they expected he +might arrive with a troop of soldiers. Piers must stay where he was, and +she would run and bring him the key of the boathouse; then, under cover +of the darkness, he might creep away to the river, get out the boat, and +drop with the current until he reached the sea, where possibly he might +find a ship to take him over to France. + +"She hurried indoors at once to fetch the small key that unlocked the +boathouse, but as she was returning down the avenue she found she was +just too late. There was a tramp of horses' hoofs, and Sir Humphrey +Warden came riding up at the head of a band of men. + +"'Good even, fair neighbour,' he said. 'I must needs make an inspection +of your house, and with your permission I will give myself the honour of +supping with you to-night. What brings you hither?' + +"'I do but take the air, and pluck a few of these fragrant blossoms,' +replied Monica hastily. 'I will presently conduct you to the Manor +myself, and entertain you.' + +"She was in a desperate strait. How could she manage to save her +brother? Now that Sir Humphrey had come, she knew her every movement +would be watched. No one could be trusted, for the servants (so she +feared) had all been bribed. Gathering a bunch of roses, she contrived +unnoticed to slip her little key inside the heart of one of them. + +"'I would fain crave the favour of a flower, madam,' said Sir Humphrey, +who was an admirer of fair dames, in spite of his Puritan dress. + +"'Take your choice, sir,' replied Monica, boldly holding out her bunch. +'Nay, not this red one; it is overblown, and will fall directly. 'Tis +but fit to be flung away. This pink hath the sweeter scent, an you will +wear it for me.' + +"As she spoke she tossed the rose containing the key with apparent +carelessness over the hedge to the foot of the box tree where her +brother was lying concealed; then, leading her unwelcome guest to the +house, she gave orders for his due entertainment. + +"Sir Humphrey and his men searched the Manor in vain, but they never +thought of looking in the garden, where the fugitive was waiting till +the darkness should be black enough to hide him. Sir Piers got safely +away to France, and returned in triumph to his estates when Charles II +came to his own again. As a remembrance of his wonderful escape, he +caused his sister's portrait to be painted, with the bunch of roses in +her hand. Ever since the Courtenays have had an almost superstitious +reverence for the picture. There is an old saying that it guards the +safety and fortunes of the family." + +"And what became of Monica?" asked Lindsay, who had been deeply +interested in the story. + +"She married a cavalier friend of her brother's, and went to live in +Devonshire. I believe she kept one of the roses treasured away in a box, +and it was buried with her when she died." + +"I suppose Monica was christened after her?" said Cicely. + +"Yes; that has always been a favourite name with the Courtenays, though +I do not think any of them can have more closely resembled the +portrait." + +"How can the picture guard your fortunes?" enquired Lindsay. + +"I don't know. It is one of those quaint ideas that sometimes linger in +families. Of course it is only a tale, and I am afraid I have been a +long while in telling it. Monica, dear, it is twenty minutes past five. +Lindsay and Cicely must hurry back to school at once, if they are to be +in time for preparation. We shall get into sad disgrace with Miss +Russell if we allow them to be late." + +"I think your mother is perfectly sweet," said Lindsay, as Monica walked +with them along the road to the Manor gates. + +[Illustration: "I KNOW WHAT MONICA WAS GOING TO SAY"] + +"She's just everything in the whole world to me," replied Monica. "I +wish she were stronger, though. She has been ill for such a long time. +The doctor says it would do her good to spend next winter in the south +of Italy, but that, I'm afraid, will be quite impossible. She ought +to go, it might make all the difference," she continued, almost as if +talking to herself; "yet we can't manage it, however much we try, +unless, indeed----" + +But here she seemed to recollect the presence of her companions, and +wishing them a hasty good-bye, she turned back to the cottage. + +"I know what Monica was going to say," remarked Cicely, as they walked +up the drive. + +"She meant her mother would be able to go away if the treasure were +found," replied Lindsay. "Oh! it does seem hard, when they need it so +badly, that it should be shut up somewhere, and doing no good to anybody +at all." + +"I think Monica is frightened lest Mrs. Courtenay should grow worse and +die, if they have to stay in England for the winter. I don't believe she +would enjoy a penny of her fortune if it were to come too late for her +to share it with her mother." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Lindsay's Luck + + +One day, shortly before Whitsuntide, Irene Spencer walked into the +third-class schoolroom with a letter in her hand, and a look on her face +which proclaimed news of some importance. + +"I don't believe any of you will ever guess what I've come to tell you," +she announced. "I've heard this morning from my aunt at Linforth +Vicarage. She writes asking me to spend a few days there at Whitsuntide +(we are to have a short holiday, you know), and she says: 'We have asked +Monica Courtenay, and we should be very pleased if Miss Russell would +also allow you to bring one of your younger schoolfellows who would +prove a nice companion for Rhoda.' My cousin Rhoda is twelve, so I have +to pick out one from among you six. Whichever it is will have an +uncommonly jolly visit, because we always have glorious times at +Linforth." + +"How delightful! Oh, do take me!" exclaimed the six in chorus, each +enchanted with such a tempting prospect, and anxious to be the chosen +favourite. + +"I wish I could take you all," replied Irene, "but unfortunately the +invitation is only for one. Miss Russell says this will be the best way +to arrange it. The girl who is nearest to Rhoda's age must go. Will you +each tell me the date of your birthday, and then I shall be able to +decide. Rhoda's is on the twentieth of March." + +It certainly seemed the fairest way of settling the question, and one +against which there could be no appeal. + +"Miss Russell is a modern Solomon," declared Cicely. "I'm afraid I +haven't the slightest chance, because I'm only eleven and a half, and so +is Nora." + +"I'm almost thirteen," wailed Beryl. "I wish I were a few months +younger. Effie, I shall be horribly jealous if the chance falls to you." + +"No such luck! I am a Christmas child," returned Effie. "I believe +Marjorie is nearer." + +"The twenty-seventh of February. Can anybody do better than that?" asked +Marjorie hopefully. + +"Mine is the sixth of April," said Lindsay. + +"About as much after Rhoda's as Marjorie's is before," said Irene. "We +must count it up exactly. Somebody give me a pencil and a piece of +paper. Let me see, the twenty-seventh of February to the twentieth of +March is twenty-one days, and the twentieth of March to the sixth of +April is only seventeen. Then Lindsay is nearer by four days." + +"Hurrah!" cried Lindsay, clapping her hands, "I'm glad I wasn't born a +week later. How dreadfully sorry I am for you all, especially Marjorie!" + +"My aunt says she will send the trap for us on Friday afternoon," +continued Irene. "And we are to stay until Tuesday morning, so that will +give us three whole days at Linforth. I'm sure you'll like Rhoda, and my +other cousins too. There are eight of them altogether. Meta, the eldest, +is seventeen; she's going to study music in Germany next September. +Ralph and Leonard are fifteen and fourteen; they go to the Appleford +Grammar School, and ride there every day on their bicycles. Then comes +Rhoda, and there are four little ones. They do lessons with a governess, +but perhaps some time Rhoda is to be sent to Winterburn Lodge. Aunt +Esther says she shan't treat us as visitors; we must make ourselves at +home amongst the others." + +The visit seemed an event worth looking forward to, not only on its own +account, but because Monica was to be one of the party. Lindsay could +hardly believe her good fortune, and rejoiced again and again over the +happy date of her birthday. She was in a state of great excitement on +the Friday afternoon, when the phaeton arrived with Monica already +installed on the front seat. To drive away in such company was indeed a +matter for congratulation, and she felt much sympathy for the +disconsolate five who were perforce left behind, especially for poor +Cicely, who would miss her more than anybody, and whose eyes were full +of tears at the parting. + +"Never mind," she whispered to the latter, "perhaps it will be your turn +next time for something nice. At any rate, I shall have heaps to tell +you when I come back." + +Linforth Vicarage was a long, rambling stone house, the flagged roof and +mullioned windows of which proclaimed it as belonging, equally with the +Manor, to a period of the past. It was a delightful, roomy, almost +medieval kind of a place, so picturesque, in its old-world fashion, that +one could forgive the lowness of the rooms, the narrowness of the +passages, the steepness of the stairs, and the inconvenience of the fact +that the front door opened directly into the dining-room, and the +bedrooms nearly all led into one another. None of these drawbacks seemed +to distress the young Greenwoods, who thought their home the nicest spot +in the world. They were a particularly jolly, merry, happy-go-lucky +family, full of jokes and noise. Rhoda, for whose benefit Lindsay had +been invited, received her visitor with enthusiasm. + +"I'm so glad Miss Russell let you come!" she said. "You see, Meta will +monopolize Irene and Monica, and I should have been left out altogether. +I'm delighted to have someone of my own age." + +Monica was a great favourite in the household, and held in request by +all, from Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood to Cyril, the baby. As Rhoda had +prophesied, however, she disappeared after tea with Meta and Irene, the +three elder girls evidently wishing to have a chat in private. Rhoda +made an effort to secure Lindsay to herself, but the four little +ones--Wilfred, Alwyn, Joan, and Cyril--begged so piteously not to be +banished from the society of the interesting visitor that in the end she +yielded, and allowed them to help to exhibit the various treasures in +the garden which she wished to show to her new friend. + +The Greenwoods had quite a menagerie in the way of pets. They kept them +in a disused stable, in neat cages with wire fronts, most of which had +been made by Ralph and Leonard. There were silky-haired, lop-eared +rabbits, that could be hugged in small arms without offering any +remonstrances; bright-eyed little guinea-pigs, which often caused +exciting chases by escaping from their owners' embraces and hiding away +behind the cages; a family of piebald mice, consisting of a mother and +five young ones, which generally went to bed in the daytime, and had to +be poked out of their sleeping quarters with a lead pencil to make them +show themselves; a morose-looking tortoise that would allow Wilfred to +scratch its head, but spat indignantly at the others; and a whole box +full of silkworms in various stages, from tiny, wriggling black threads +to chrysalids in cocoons. The children were accompanied to the stable by +a sharp little black Pomeranian; but they were obliged to leave him +outside in case he might hurt the rabbits, and he sat howling dolefully +on the doorstep until they came out again. He escorted them into the +garden afterwards, however, and so did a large nondescript kind of yard +dog, which was called Bootles, and which allowed itself to be harnessed +to a mail-cart, and drew Cyril up and down the path. + +"I want to show you our fruit trees," said Rhoda, leading the way to the +orchard. "We each have one of our very own, planted as soon as we were +born. Meta, Ralph, and Leonard have apples, Wilfred and Alwyn pears, +mine is a Victoria plum, Joan has a greengage, and Cyril a black cherry. +You see, they stand in a row, away from the other trees, so we call this +our part of the orchard." + +"Whose is the ninth?" enquired Lindsay, looking at a fine pear tree +which headed the line. + +"That belonged to our eldest brother," said Rhoda. "He died before I +can remember, but we still call it 'Herbert's tree'. The pears are +always ripe every year on his birthday, so we pick them all and pack +them carefully in a box, and send them to a children's hospital in +London. Mother sends the money she would have spent on his birthday +present too. They're the most beautiful pears, the best we have, and we +thought that was the nicest thing we could do with them." + +The Greenwoods' little gardens were as interesting as their fruit trees. +Each child appeared to have been trying a different experiment. Wilfred +had made a pond in his by sinking an old wooden tub in the ground, and +was trying to persuade a water-lily to grow in it. He had planted a +clump of iris and some forget-me-nots at the edge, which hung over +rather gracefully, and really looked quite pretty. He kept several frogs +to swim about in the water, though the constant catching of these rather +interfered with the wellbeing of the struggling lily. Alwyn had built a +miniature house in her plot out of old bricks and stones, and had +thatched it neatly with straw. She had made a gravel path up to the +front door, and had sown grass to represent lawns, and cut a round +flower bed in the middle of each. Joan's garden was subject to violent +changes. Last year it had been a potato patch, but as she dug up those +useful vegetables every day to see how they were sprouting, it was not +surprising that they refused to make much growth. Lately she had +converted the whole into a dolls' cemetery, and, with Cyril's aid, +keenly enjoyed conducting the funerals of various headless favourites, +waxing so enthusiastic over the obsequies that she even buried several +quite respectable wax babies, though, regretting their loss afterwards, +she was eventually forced to dig them up again. She put tombstones at +the heads of the graves, made of slates from the roof of a tumble-down +shed, and carefully wrote names, dates, and epitaphs upon them in slate +pencil, being greatly distressed when the inscriptions were invariably +obliterated by every fresh shower of rain. + +Cyril had sown the letters of his name in mustard and cress, which were +just coming up fresh and green, and would soon be ready to cut. He also +had some bulbs under pieces of glass in a corner which he called his +hothouse. Ralph and Leonard were so busy at school that their gardens +appeared to be mostly cared for by Rhoda, who had a very ambitious +scheme for her own. + +"I want to make a floral clock," she explained. "You see, I've dug a +round face and marked it out into twelve parts, and I'm going to put +each figure in different-coloured flowers. Then I thought if I could fix +a pole in the middle it ought to cast a shadow, and tell the time like a +sundial. I've made it north, south, east, and west by my compass, and +it will be most delightful if I can only get it to work." + +Rhoda had almost as much to show Lindsay in the house as out-of-doors. +There was her bedroom, a tiny sanctum where she kept all her special +treasures out of the way of the children's meddlesome fingers. It was a +very old-fashioned little room, with a low, black-beamed ceiling, and a +window that opened on to a small balcony, where she could grow +nasturtiums and other trailing plants in pots. The walls were covered +with pictures in home-made frames, wonderful arrangements of corks, +acorns, shells, or plaited straw; and there were quite a nice +writing-table and some wonderful bookcases. + +"The boys made these out of old boxes," said Rhoda. "They learn how in +their carpentry class at school, and they did them to surprise me on my +birthday. I keep all my books here. Father is giving me the poets now as +Christmas presents. I have Longfellow and Shakespeare and Wordsworth, +and I expect it will be either Cowper or Goldsmith next time. This is my +paint-box. I daren't leave it in the schoolroom for fear of the little +ones getting hold of it. Isn't it a beauty? Miss Johnson, our governess, +gave it to me as a prize for passing the Trinity College exam. in piano +and theory." + +"Do you like music?" asked Lindsay. + +"Yes, I think I'm rather fond of it. Miss Johnson wanted me to go in for +this exam.; she said it would be something to practise for. We had to go +to Bridgend to take it. It was rather fun, for we were the whole day in +getting there and back, and luckily I wasn't a scrap nervous. Do you +play?" + +"A little," replied Lindsay. "I'm learning the violin, but I can't have +any lessons at the Manor." + +"I wish you could come over and help us at one of our temperance +concerts." + +"Oh, I should be much too frightened!" exclaimed Lindsay, in horror. + +"You needn't mind in a little village like this," declared Rhoda. "The +people would think whatever you did was splendid. They clap at +everything, even when Ralph gives nigger songs; and he's got no voice, +and the banjo's generally out of tune, so that he's singing away in one +key and playing in another." + +"I don't know whether I could promise to keep in tune," laughed Lindsay. +"Do you play at these concerts?" + +"Yes, nearly always. It was a little awkward last time, because +something had gone wrong with the keys of the piano. They stuck down, +and I had to get Wilfred to sit underneath and keep poking them up as +fast as I played on them, or else half the notes wouldn't sound; and it +seemed so queer to only get part of a chord, and to miss the middle of +a run. It quite put me out. I suppose it was the damp that caused it. We +must get a tuner to come and see to it." + +"Did the people applaud?" + +"Yes, tremendously. I think it amused them to see Wilfred sitting +underneath. They simply roared every time he pushed up the keys. It was +as good as a comic song. It really is tiresome, though, to have a piano +like that at the school. John Crosby, the stonemason's little boy, sings +very nicely, and I went so wrong in playing his accompaniment, through +losing so many of the notes, that he finished half a verse ahead of me. +I apologized to him afterwards, but he said he didn't think anyone had +noticed it!" + +Lindsay found it quite a novel and entertaining experience to stay in +the midst of such a large, enterprising, lively family as the +Greenwoods. From Meta, the eldest, to Cyril, the baby, hardly out of +petticoats, all had very decided opinions of their own, which they urged +and argued with considerable force of character, but an amount of good +temper which spoke well for their training. Mrs. Greenwood, who thought +quarrelling greatly a matter of habit, insisted upon a certain standard +of home politeness being maintained, and would tolerate neither +domineering in the elder ones nor whining amongst the younger. + +"You can discuss a subject perfectly well without being rude to each +other when you differ," she declared. "You must take it in turns to have +your own way. It is not fair that the eldest should always arrange +everything, but on the other hand Joan and Alwyn will get nothing at all +if they begin to wail and complain in that most grumbling and unpleasant +tone of voice. I think it is a disgrace if you're all so selfish that +you can't agree. You must each be prepared to give up a certain amount, +for among eight children it is quite impossible for every one to be +first and foremost." + +Irene, being the Greenwoods' cousin, was accustomed to their tempestuous +ways, and ready to hold her own amongst them; while Monica looked on +with an amused smile, without taking part in any arguments or disputes. +There was certainly plenty to do at the Vicarage, and none of the three +guests could complain that the holiday was dull. + +On Saturday afternoon Meta, Rhoda, and the two eldest boys arranged that +they should make an expedition to a large lake about a couple of miles +away. They had been promised the loan of a boat there, and they proposed +to take their visitors for a trip on the water. They started off with +baskets of provisions, intending to land and have a picnic tea, if they +could find sufficient dry sticks upon the banks to light a fire and boil +their kettle. Both Meta and her brothers could row well, so the boat +was soon skimming over the lake in a delightfully smooth and +satisfactory fashion. + +"We daren't anchor anywhere near the woods," declared Meta, "Sir Percy +Harwood, the owner, is so very strict about trespassing." + +"Yes, the keepers are down on you if you even go a few yards into the +preserves," agreed Ralph. "Look here! What do you say to camping out on +that little island? There can't be any pheasants there to scare, and we +ought to get plenty of sticks." + +The island in question was a small, green-looking collection of hazel +bushes and birch trees, well out in the middle of the lake. It had an +attractive appearance, so they rowed through the quiet stretch of water +that separated them from it, and ran the boat in among the reeds that +grew at the edge. + +"It seems rather jolly," said Rhoda. "Suppose we leave the baskets here, +and go and explore first to find a good place?" + +"It's quite romantic," declared Irene, "like Ellen's Isle in the _Lady +of the Lake_. We ought to find a hunting-lodge among the trees, and an +interesting outlaw living there." + +"More likely to find a poacher!" laughed Ralph; "though there'd be +nothing for him to trap here, unless he kept a boat stowed away in the +reeds, and took midnight excursions into the woods." + +"I think it's the kind of place for a hermit," said Monica. "He could +have had a little cell and told his beads without being disturbed by +anybody, except an occasional knight-errant who would blow a horn from +the opposite bank. I wonder if one ever lived here?" + +"The landlords couldn't have been so particular about trespassing in +those days, then, if he did," replied Leonard. "I don't believe Sir +Percy Harwood would let anybody settle so near his pheasants; he'd +suspect steel traps or wire snares under the cassock, and expect to hear +a shot in the woods instead of a vesper bell." + +"We'll tie the boat to this old stump," said Ralph. "Be careful where +you step in getting off--the ground seems fearfully soppy. Perhaps it +may be better higher up. Let us come on a little. I say, there's +something rather queer about it, isn't there?" + +There certainly was something decidedly queer. The green mossy earth +under their feet gave way as if they were treading upon a feather bed. +At each step it sank with a curious squelching sound, and rose behind +with the elasticity of a cork, so that as they sprang here and there the +whole of the little island appeared to be bounding up and down beneath +them, as Leonard expressed it, "just like a spring mattress when you +jump on it". + +"The ground is so funny, too," said Meta, poking about with a stick; "it +doesn't seem proper soil, only roots and moss and grass growing through +it. Why, this stick goes down ever such a long way, and there's actually +water coming up!" + +The others all came to investigate, and standing close together began to +dig their sticks into the curious heaving surface. It bore their +combined weight for a moment or two, then sinking suddenly, like a +punctured indiarubber ball, it collapsed, and they found themselves +struggling nearly up to their waists in water. Luckily they were able to +clutch at the hazel bushes above, and, by swinging themselves along the +branches, to arrive at a firmer foothold, though even there the ground +felt very insecure and spongy, and little dark pools came oozing up with +every step. + +"We must keep as far apart from each other as we can," shouted Ralph; +"the wretched place has no solid foundation, it's only a collection of +sticks and leaves. Cling to the trees, and try to get back to the boat +before you go in any deeper. Don't put your weight on it! It's like +walking on thin ice." + +Very wet and muddy, and somewhat frightened, the explorers picked their +way carefully back, treading as much as possible on the roots of the +trees, and never letting go their hold of the boughs. They scrambled +into the boat again with considerable relief, and held a review of +their damaged garments. + +"I'm soaked to the skin!" declared Rhoda. "It's a horrible nuisance. +Look at Lindsay!" + +"I don't mind my clothes so much, if it weren't so uncomfortable. My +dress will wash," said Lindsay. + +"Mine won't though, I'm sorry to say!" groaned Irene. + +"I was carrying the cakes, and they're wet through, and not fit to eat," +announced Leonard. + +"The island is a perfect trap," said Meta, trying to squeeze the muddy +water from her own dress and Monica's. "I believe it's nothing but a +kind of raft, made out of all the dead wood and rubbish that have +accumulated in the lake. I expect seeds have blown on to it, and then +trees and bushes have sprung up. Now I think of it, I don't believe it +was in the same place last year, so it must be able to float. We shall +have to go home; we can't stop and picnic when we're drenched like +this." + +"I wonder how the hermit managed, if he ever lived there?" said Monica. + +"It must have been an excellent penance, with a chance of martyrdom at +the end of it," returned Ralph. "Well, I must say we have given our +visitors a pleasant afternoon! They won't want to take this as a +specimen of our picnics. No good offering tea and cake in this +condition!" + +"I'd rather have a cake of soap and a can of hot water!" said Irene. + +"Never mind!" said Leonard consolingly. "I vote we go up Pendle Tor on +Monday. We can boil a kettle there, and have no end of fun. If you've +never been before, I expect you'll say it makes up for this." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Pendle Tor + + +It was with much pleasurable anticipation that the picnic party set out +on Whit Monday for Pendle Tor. The four younger Greenwoods were left at +home, as the walk would be too far for them, but they announced their +intention of climbing a small hill behind the Vicarage in the afternoon, +and having an alfresco tea on their own account, which was to be equal, +if not superior, to that enjoyed by their elders--"because Mary will +just have finished baking, and she has promised to bring us some buns +straight out of the oven, and you certainly won't get those on Pendle +Tor," said Joan. + +Although they might be debarred from the pleasure of hot tea-cakes, the +mountaineers nevertheless did not mean to starve on their journey, to +judge from the baskets full of provisions which they bore with them. +Leonard had taken a milk-can that would serve to boil the water in +instead of a kettle, it being lighter to carry, and having the added +advantage that they could pack the teacups inside. + +"You see, an iron kettle is such a weight", he explained, "and the last +time we took one of those rubbishy sixpence-halfpenny tin ones the +solder all melted directly we put it on to the fire, and the spout +dropped off. We can sling the milk-can on a stick and prop it over the +fire, and it does splendidly." + +"Mind you don't break the cups!" said Irene, expecting to hear a smash +after the reckless way in which the can was being swung about. + +"Couldn't do it if I tried; they're all enamel ones. The Mater wouldn't +trust us with her best china, I assure you." + +"There are ever so many trout up in the stream by Inglemere," remarked +Ralph. "If we could manage to tickle a few, we might fry them in the lid +of the milk-can." + +"It's rank poaching!" declared Meta. + +"I don't care in the least," returned Ralph. "If Sir Percy complains +that any are missing, you can give him the bones, with my compliments." + + +"I don't think he would mind your catching one or two," said Monica. "I +know Sir Percy rather well, and it is only real poachers that he's so +hard on, and excursionists who come sometimes and try to fish. You see, +as he says, if everyone were allowed to take fish, there would soon be +none left, and people would begin to do it for the sake of selling them, +and not for the sport. He allowed Mr. Cross's nephews to fish last +summer when they were staying at the Rectory, and he said I might too, +if I ever felt inclined." + +"I've never seen trout tickled," said Lindsay. + +"It will be a case of 'First catch your fish, then cook it'," laughed +Rhoda. "It isn't at all easy to whisk them out--they're the most +slippery things you can imagine. I'm glad we don't have to depend on +Ralph's skill for our dinner. I was hoping we might find some mushrooms, +and stew them in part of the milk we've brought. We could put the can +down among the ashes of the fire, and they'd be cooking while we ate the +first course." + +"Well, it is certainly a case of 'First pick your mushrooms', for you +don't even know whether there'll be any," retorted Ralph. "The trout are +always there, at any rate." + +It was a long walk to Pendle Tor, and appetites, sharpened by the fresh +air of the hills, began to grow rather keen; but as they had all +resolved not to have their picnic before they had reached the summit, +they staved off the edge of their hunger with a few biscuits, and, +trudging on, covered the last mile in such quick time that Leonard +declared it reminded him of a paper-chase. It was rather a steep pull to +gain the highest point, yet they were well rewarded when they reached it +by the bird's-eye view of the landscape around them, farms, churches, +and distant village looking like so many toys, and the fields like the +divisions in a map. + +"I hope it doesn't mean to rain," said Monica, pointing to some rather +threatening clouds that were rolling up from the west. + +"We shall get a nice wetting if it does, for we haven't an umbrella +amongst us!" returned Irene. + +"Rain? Not it! Don't distress yourself; the glass was up to 'Fair' this +morning. It's only a little scrap of mist blowing over. I don't mind +giving you a butter-scotch in exchange for every drop of rain you get on +your hat to-day," declared Ralph, whose prophecies were generally in +exact accordance with his hopes, and who was apt to shut his eyes to +unwelcome truths. + +"Better not promise too much, old chap, or you may have to pay up," said +Leonard. "I don't like the look of the sky myself. But what's the odds? +It won't be the first time we've been wet through, by a long way, and I +suppose we shan't melt." + +"What about the lunch?" asked Rhoda. "I'm getting so famished, I can't +wait much longer." + +It was decided that the extreme top of the Tor was hardly a suitable +place--the wind was strong, and no water was available; so they climbed +some little distance down the cliff on the farther side, and at last hit +upon a sheltered spot among the rocks, where a small surface spring, +bubbling up from the ground, enabled them to fill the milk-can which was +to serve as a kettle. The boys cut large bundles of dry heather, and, +stacking it well together, soon had a good fire burning. They found it +after all impossible to suspend the can, for the flames burnt directly +through any stick that they tried to hang over the blaze; so they were +obliged to set it securely on an arrangement of stones, and rake the +fire round it. They had brought the tea in a muslin bag, which they +dropped into the can, to save a teapot; and though pouring out was +rather difficult, owing to the tin being so extremely hot, Meta managed +to dispense the cups without burning her fingers. + +"You haven't provided the fish course yet," said Rhoda to Ralph. "I +thought we were to have fried trout as part of the feast." + +"And I thought you were to give us mushrooms," retorted Ralph. + +"Shouldn't care to wait while she cooked them," declared Leonard. "Ham +sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs are quite good enough for me. Did you +bring any salt? Another cup of tea, please, and don't be stingy with +the sugar, Meta. I like three lumps." + +"I wonder why things always taste so different out-of-doors," said +Lindsay, looking reflectively at the three-cornered strawberry jam +pastry she was eating. + +"Why, I saw you swallow an ant on your tart just now," said Ralph, "so +perhaps that has given it a flavour. Oh, you needn't distress yourself! +Ants are quite wholesome, I assure you. There are a frightful lot of +them crawling about here, though. I think we shall have to move on a +stave." + +"Ugh! Yes. They're stinging me already!" agreed Lindsay. + +They were all a little tired after their long walk, so they were glad to +sit and rest after lunch, asking riddles, cracking jokes, and listening +to the boys' school tales of exciting cricket matches, private feuds, +combats between class champions, and the punishments that had been meted +out to certain sneaks and bullies--accounts which were as thrilling in +their way as the doughty deeds of mail-clad knights of old, the warlike +sentiments being just the same, though the setting of the century might +differ. It was so interesting that nobody gave a thought to the time, or +remembered the ominous clouds that had been stretching themselves out +like long ribbons over the moor. + +"Why, where's the view gone to?" cried Monica at last. "I thought we +could see Linforth and the lake from here, and the tower of Haversleigh +Church." + +She might well exclaim in astonishment. Instead of the landscape which +had met their eyes before, there was nothing to be seen but a great +white wall of mist that seemed to close them in on every side, as if +some giant hand had suddenly drawn down a blind between them and the +distance. + +"Whew!" exclaimed Ralph, starting to his feet, and indulging in a +long-drawn-out whistle. "This is a nice fix! We're in the middle of a +cloud. I never saw it coming up. It will be uncommonly awkward to get +out of it. What a shame of old Pendle Tor to play us such a trick!" + +"Will it soon blow over, do you think?" asked Irene. + +"I don't know," replied Meta rather gravely. "Sometimes the clouds stay +on these moors for days and days together. I wish we had noticed it +sooner, and gone down to the road again before we were surrounded. I'm +afraid it may be very difficult to find our way now." + +"I don't think it's any use waiting," said Leonard, "it mayn't clear for +hours. We'd better pack up our traps, and make the best push we can to +try to strike the path." + +"We must all stick close together," remarked Ralph. "It won't do to get +divided, or we might never find each other again. We'd better keep well +to the right; there's an old quarry on the left, and it wouldn't be +exactly pleasant to walk into it. Luckily I've a pocket compass on my +watch chain." + +Very much sobered in spirits, the picnic party hastily packed up the +baskets, and, choosing Ralph as guide, set off down the hillside, hoping +to find some track that would lead eventually into the road below. It +was a strange walk, groping their way through what Monica described as +"white darkness". The heavy mist hung in the air like a blanket, so +completely shutting them in that they could scarcely see each other at a +distance of even a few feet, and it was only by keeping near enough to +touch one another that they managed to avoid being separated. Though +they had some general idea of their direction, they did not really know +where they were walking, and stumbled blindly on through heather and +bilberry bushes, over stones and rocks, only feeling that they were +going downhill. It was very slow progress. Ralph stopped continually to +consult his compass, and occasionally gave a loud "cooee", in case they +might find some wandering shepherd or countryman who would be able to +help them. There was no answer to his calls, however--only the +occasional bleat of a sheep that sounded far off and muffled through +the mist. They knew there was neither cottage nor farm within hail, and +unless they could strike the road they might wander on hour after hour +over the moors, only getting farther and farther out of their way. Tired +out with the rough trudge, the girls at last declared they must sit +still for a few minutes and rest. + +"I'm awfully sorry to have landed you in such a hole," said Ralph, "but +who would have thought those innocent-looking clouds would have come +down on us like feather beds? You really never know what to expect on +these hills." + +"I wonder what we'd better do?" said Monica. + +"Stay where we are," suggested Irene. + +"It would be too cold to spend the night here," replied Meta. + +"We haven't even our jackets with us," added Lindsay. + +"Unless we're quite dead beat, we'd better push on," said Leonard. "I'm +hoping we may come to the stream, because we could find our way along +the banks to Whitcombe, at any rate. I've been listening for it all the +time, but I haven't heard a sound." + +"I wish we had a divining rod!" groaned Rhoda. "That would tell us in +what direction the water lay. We've been going south-east all the time, +haven't we?" + +"Yes, I believe the stream lay due south from where we started," +answered Ralph, "but I didn't dare to turn that way, because of the +quarry. Perhaps we may strike it higher up. If you're rested, girls, +we'll be going." + +The damp, clinging clouds appeared to have settled down to stay. The +wind that had been blowing earlier in the day, when they ascended Pendle +Tor, had ceased, and there was not even the breath of a breeze to blow +away the clammy mist that was already drenching their clothes with a +chilly dew. It was now half-past five o'clock, and they had been +wandering for more than an hour. + +"I haven't an idea where we are, nor how far we've come," said Ralph. "I +only know I've been steering east by the compass. Of course we've been +going very slowly, but I think we shouldn't be far from the brook. If we +could find that, it would be an enormous help." + +"I believe I hear water now," said Rhoda, pausing a moment. "I'm sure I +do: to our left. Listen!" + +All stood still, with every sense on the alert, straining their ears +intently for the faintest murmur. In the far distance it seemed to them +that they could certainly catch the unmistakable rush of a stream +flowing swiftly over a rough, stony bed. Guided by the sound, they +stumbled on, till at length, after climbing over a number of rocks, +they reached the welcome brook that was to be their path to home and +safety. + +"I'm uncommonly glad to see it!" said Ralph, stooping to take a drink. +"I began to think we should never get back again. If we follow it down, +it will lead us straight into Whitcombe. Of course, that's far enough +out of our way, but we might get a trap there, and drive home." + +It was a most terrible scramble down the bed of the stream, over jagged +rocks, among briers and bushes, and through rushes and reeds. The mist +still wrapped them round, and they did not dare to venture away from the +water to find smoother walking. The three visitors, who were not +accustomed to such exploits, were nearly exhausted, while even sturdy +Meta and Rhoda showed signs of giving in. + +"We're at the old bridge now," said Ralph, trying to encourage them. "We +can climb up and get on to the road. It's only about three miles farther +to Whitcombe village. We're bound to find a trap of some sort there, and +then you'll be all right." + +"I think the mist is lifting a little," said Leonard; "it isn't half as +thick as it was. Look at the sun trying to get through!" + +"I believe we're walking straight out of the edge of the clouds. That's +what it is!" declared Ralph. "I begin to see the trees. Hurrah! It's +clearing ever so. We'll scramble up the bank, and we shall get along +much faster on the road than down here on these wretched stones. Cheer +up, girls! You'll soon be in Whitcombe now." + +An hour afterwards, very footsore and weary, the party limped into +Whitcombe, a small hamlet consisting of a wayside inn and a handful of +cottages. It was eight o'clock, and the sun, behind long bars of crimson +and grey, had already begun to sink below the horizon. They were nine +miles away from home, as the stream had led them in quite a different +direction from Linforth, and, as Leonard expressed it, they had +"altogether landed themselves in a jolly pickle". Just at present tea +seemed the most pressing necessity, so a council of war was held to see +what funds could be mustered for the purpose. These did not amount to +very much. Lindsay and Rhoda were penniless, Monica also had left her +purse at the Vicarage. Irene and Meta mustered a shilling between them. +Ralph had a sixpence, while the contents of Leonard's pockets proved to +be exactly those of the traditional schoolboy's, twopence-halfpenny and +an old knife. + +"I'm afraid it won't go very far," said Ralph. "We shall have to ask +them to give us tick. Come along! We'll try the inn, and see what they +will do for us." + +"We must tell them who we are," added Meta, "and say Father will pay +afterwards." + +The sight of seven such _bona fide_ travellers appeared to occasion much +surprise, to both the good woman at the bar and the few villagers who, +with pipes and glasses, were sitting discussing local politics and the +chances of the harvest. Tea at the unwonted hour of eight seemed an +unprecedented request, and the landlady was not content until she had +satisfied her curiosity as to who her guests were, where they came from, +and what they wanted at Whitcombe at that time in the evening. + +"What we want is some tea," said Ralph, after a brief explanation of +their adventure, "and anything in the shape of a conveyance that can +take us back to Linforth to-night. We've only one and +eightpence-halfpenny amongst us, but my father will pay the rest when we +get home. If you like, I'll leave you my watch and chain." + +"You've no need to do that!" laughed the landlady. "I'm sure I can trust +you. Come into the little parlour, and have your teas there. The young +ladies look ready to drop, and this is no fit place for them to sit down +in. Those mists be nasty things up Pendle Tor. It's a mercy as you've +got down at all. There was a gentleman from London caught there last +autumn, and he wandered round and round in a circle for two days before +it cleared and they found him. He was nigh dead, too, with the cold and +the damp. My son Albert shall put the horse in the trap and drive you +home. I dare say you'll manage to cram in somehow." + +No tea was ever so acceptable as the large, steaming cups which they +drank in the stuffy little parlour, and no carriage and pair could have +been more welcome than the old market cart that came round to the door +afterwards. It was rather a problem how to pack themselves and the +driver into it, but Lindsay sat on Meta's knee, and Rhoda squeezed +herself between her two brothers on the front seat. The horse walked up +and down hill, and only rose to a measured trot on level ground, so it +took a considerable time to accomplish the nine-mile journey, and it was +nearly eleven o'clock before they reached the Vicarage. Very tired and +cold and cramped, they rushed into the house, where Mrs. Greenwood, in +an agony of suspense, had been imagining all the accidents which could +possibly have happened to them, and was preparing herself for the worst. +The Vicar and some of the neighbours, it appeared, were out searching +for them with lanterns, so a messenger was quickly sent through the +village to spread the good news of their safe arrival. + +"You can't complain you've had no excitement here," said Ralph to the +three guests. "We almost drowned you on Saturday, and to-day we nearly +lost you on the moors. You're going to-morrow, or we might have had some +more hairbreadth escapes. At any rate, I don't think you'll forget +Pendle Tor in a hurry!" + +Lindsay had certainly plenty of news to relate when she returned to the +Manor. Her classmates were quite envious, and poor Cicely was a little +wistful lest Rhoda should have usurped her place in her friend's +affections. Of that, however, she need not have been afraid. Lindsay was +faithful to her chosen chum, and had so many things to ask about, as +well as adventures to tell, that the two were soon chattering as fast as +usual. Cicely had made no further important discoveries during the few +days, though she had kept a careful watch on Mrs. Wilson, and had once +noticed her go up to the lantern room carrying a jug in her hand. Scott +had not been in the house again, but he had been seen talking earnestly +with "The Griffin" in the garden. He had gone hastily away when Cicely +approached, so he evidently did not wish the conversation to be +overheard. Whether it had anything to do with the mystery or not, it was +of course impossible to say. + +"I'm rather glad, on the whole, that nothing particular happened while +you were away," said Cicely. "I should have wanted so dreadfully to +tell somebody, I'm afraid Marjorie Butler might have wormed it out of +me. As it is, they none of them know, and we still have the secret to +ourselves." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +The Plot Thickens + + +After hearing the story of Monica Courtenay, their friend's ancestress, +Lindsay and Cicely felt a special interest in her portrait. They +strolled one afternoon along the picture gallery to take another look at +it. There were the pretty smiling face--so like Monica's--and the bunch +of red roses that had saved the life of Sir Piers Courtenay. Was all the +good fortune of the race to be hers, and would none of it descend to the +namesake who so closely resembled her? + +"If she could only come back and be of some use again!" sighed Lindsay. +"She ought to know every secret of this house." + +"I wish we could make her speak and tell us," said Cicely. + +At that moment a distant door banged, and a great gust of wind blew +along the gallery. Cicely started violently. + +"Lindsay, did you see?" she exclaimed. "The picture moved in its +frame!" + +"Nonsense! How could it?" said Lindsay, who had been looking the other +way. + +"I tell you it did!" + +"You must have imagined it." + +It certainly seemed rather improbable. The portraits were all firmly +fixed in the panelled walls, and no breath of air could be expected to +penetrate behind them. + +"It's almost as if she were alive," continued Cicely, "and just when we +were wishing she could talk! No wonder people make up tales about her. I +don't think I quite like it." + +"How silly you are!" said Lindsay scornfully. "You might have seen a +ghost!" + +"Well, it is queer! You needn't laugh at me so. I'm not going to stay +here any longer; I vote we go out into the garden." + +Pictures that moved were rather more than Cicely had bargained for. +Mysteries were all very well in their way, but she began to feel it was +possible to have too much of a good thing. It was a distinct relief to +her to leave the gloomy old gallery, with its armour and tapestry, and +walk out into the fresh air and sunshine. There was still half an hour +to be disposed of before tea, and the two girls sauntered leisurely in +the direction of the kitchen-garden. + +"I wish I knew where the boathouse used to be that Sir Piers wanted the +key for," said Lindsay. + +"It was not very far away, I dare say. The river runs somewhere at the +bottom of those fields." + +"I wonder if there's a path." + +"I believe there's one at the end of the orchard. I saw Scott walking +down there once." + +"Shall we go and see?" + +"All right!" + +The orchard was forbidden ground. Perhaps, though, the fact that they +risked a scolding, or even a mark for bad conduct, only made the +adventure more interesting. They ascertained first that Scott was safely +attending to his tomatoes in the greenhouse, then they dived hastily +between the rows of young apple trees. Cicely was right. At the far end +there was a small gate that led into a meadow. + +"The river must be over there, hidden by those willows," said Lindsay. + +"I hope we shan't meet a bull," said Cicely, looking nervously at a +group of cattle in the distance. + +"Oh, come along! You're surely not afraid of cows!" + +They had soon crossed the field and reached the shade of the willows by +the water's edge. The low bank was covered with reeds and rushes. Tall +purple flowers were growing on a green, boggy island close by. It was a +very pleasant place, just the kind of spot to choose on a hot summer's +afternoon. + +"Far nicer than the garden, because we have it all to ourselves," +declared Cicely. + +"Oh, look what I've found!" exclaimed Lindsay ecstatically. + +She had been poking about among the reeds, and now pointed in triumph +under the branches of a big willow to a smooth little pool, where there +actually floated a punt, anchored by a long chain to the trunk of the +tree. + +It was a most attractive-looking boat, nicely polished, and with the +name _Heatherbell_ painted in neat white letters on the prow. It came +quite easily to the edge of the bank when Lindsay pulled the chain, and +seemed deliberately to invite them to step into it. Such a temptation +was not to be resisted. In a moment they were both inside. + +"If I can manage to untie it, I'm sure I could punt us out on to the +river," said Lindsay. + +"Oh, do! And then perhaps we could find some water-lilies," agreed her +ever-willing friend. + +Lindsay leaned over to reach the chain. It was wound tightly round the +tree, and was very difficult to unfasten. + +"I'll come and help you!" cried Cicely, and without a thought of the +consequences she bounced up, and stepped to the other end of the boat. + +Her sudden change of position utterly upset the balance of their small +craft. There was a splash, a succession of squeals, and both girls were +floundering in the water. Luckily the pool was shallow, and they were in +no danger of drowning; but by the time they reached the bank they were +wet through, and in an extremely draggled condition. + +"What are we to do?" said Cicely blankly, trying to wring the water out +of her skirts. + +"Go back, I suppose, and put on dry things," replied Lindsay. "We shall +get into a fearful scrape, I expect." + +"Yes! What will Miss Frazer say?" + +Miss Frazer was on the point of collecting her flock in preparation for +tea, when two dejected, dripping figures came creeping along the +terrace. If they had hoped to reach the side door unobserved, they were +soon undeceived; the governess's sharp eyes spied them at once. + +"Lindsay and Cicely!" she burst out wrathfully. "You naughty girls! +Where have you been? Come at once into the house and change your +clothes. You give more trouble than all the rest of the class put +together. Miss Russell will have to be told about this." + +Miss Russell was angry--really angry. She lectured them both severely, +and stopped their recreation for the whole of the next day. This seemed +only a very small circumstance in itself, but strangely enough it led +indirectly to something of much more consequence. + +The two delinquents looked decidedly rueful when, instead of going into +the garden as usual, they were obliged to sit in the classroom, and copy +out a passage from "Lycidas" in their best handwriting. It was trying, +certainly, particularly as the other girls were playing a tennis +handicap, and they could hear the soft thud of balls, and the cries of +"'Vantage!" or "Game!" It was possible to see a few heads bobbing over +the wall, but they could not gather how the tournament was progressing, +nor which was the winning side. + +Long before tea-time they had finished their allotted portions, and +going to the window they leaned out, to try to catch a glimpse of what +was happening on the lawn. The classroom was at the back of the house, +and overlooked a small paved courtyard. Below, on a wooden bench in the +sunshine, sat Scott, leisurely blacking boots, and humming to himself in +a voice that had little tune in it. The cat, purring loudly, was rubbing +herself vigorously against his trousers. + +The girls were just going to call to him, and beg him to peep through +the door in the wall and give them some news of the tennis players, when +they suddenly changed their intention. Mrs. Wilson had appeared in the +porch. She brought out a flower vase, flung the stale water away, and +refilled it from one of the butts that stood near. + +Scott had evidently seen her too, for he gave a short whistle to attract +her attention, then, throwing down his blacking brush, he crossed the +courtyard to speak to her. In spite of his lowered tone, his voice rose +up clearly to the classroom window above. + +"About what we were talking of this morning," he began. "It had best be +done as soon as possible. I'll do it to-night." + +"I've marked the place," replied Mrs. Wilson, "but I'll come with you to +make sure. You'll want a helping hand. It's too much for one." + +"You can hold the lantern, at any rate. It's a job that will need some +caution. We mustn't attempt it till it's quite dark." + +"No, not till everything's quiet," said Mrs. Wilson, as she re-entered +the house. + +Lindsay drew Cicely back quickly into the room, as Scott returned to his +rows of boots on the bench. She did not wish him, at any cost, to see +them at the window, or to know that they had overheard the conversation. + +"What are they going to do?" asked Cicely breathlessly. + +"I don't know. It must be something dreadful if they want to keep it so +quiet." + +"And do it in the dark, too!" + +"I'm afraid both Mrs. Wilson and Scott are bad characters," said Lindsay +in an impressive voice. "I expect they've stolen the treasure, and +they're going to hide it in the garden. Perhaps even it may have +something to do with the prisoner in the lantern room." + +"You don't think they've killed him?" gasped Cicely. + +"I can't tell. I believe they're capable of anything. I'm quite uneasy +for fear they intend to harm Monica. We'll watch to-night, and find out +what they're about. I shouldn't wonder if we're on the verge of a great +discovery. It was most fortunate we were kept in this afternoon; if we +hadn't happened to be at the window just then, we shouldn't have heard +their plans." + +Cicely's face had lengthened considerably at the idea of the black +doings which it was evidently their duty to investigate. + +"I don't know how we're to follow them in the dark," she said, after a +moment's hesitation. + +"We must," declared Lindsay emphatically. "I feel it all depends on us. +Monica may be in the greatest danger, and we are the only ones who know +anything about the matter, and can save her." + +The tea-bell ringing at that moment sent them down to the dining-hall. +The meal had been delayed half an hour on account of the tournament, so +preparation followed immediately afterwards, and Lindsay and Cicely were +obliged, with their thoughts still running on possible tragedies, to +endeavour to apply their minds to the unromantic details of parsing. + +It seemed of such minor importance whether a verb were transitive or +intransitive, weak or strong, compared with whether Mrs. Wilson and +Scott were really going to meet in the garden to carry out some fell +intention. The time seemed endless until the books were at last put +away, and they could snatch a few moments for private talk. + +"There's one comfort," said Lindsay, "they won't begin until it's dark, +so they can't have been doing anything while we've been in prep." + +"It's generally light for quite half an hour after we're in bed," said +Cicely. "I don't see yet how we're to know when they're starting." + +"We shall find out," returned Lindsay confidently. "I have a kind of +feeling that something is going to happen to-night." + +"What are you two whispering about?" asked Nora Proctor curiously. + +"Oh, only a joke of our own!" + +"You've got some secret, I'm sure," said Beryl Austen; "you're always +looking at each other and making signs. I noticed you yesterday during +arithmetic." + +"Do tell us, Cicely," begged Marjorie Butler. "You and I used to be +friends, but we never have a secret together now." + +"There's really nothing worth telling," declared Cicely, much +embarrassed. + +"We shall have to be careful though," said Lindsay afterwards. "We don't +want the others to hear, and then go poking about and making +discoveries." + +"Certainly not; if there's anything to be found out, I'd rather we found +it out ourselves." + +Cicely was tired when bedtime arrived, and ready to curl herself up and +forget what might be happening outside. Lindsay, on the contrary, lay +with wide-open eyes, watching the room grow darker and darker. When the +wardrobe and the chest of drawers and the washstand had at last all +merged together into one deep mass of shadow, she got up and peeped +through the open window. What she saw there caused her to run hurriedly +and shake her sleepy companion. + +"Cicely! Do wake up! There's a light moving in the garden." + +It took a second or two for Cicely to recover her senses, but when she +realized the nature of the news, she hopped out of bed in frantic +excitement. + +"Is it Mrs. Wilson and Scott?" she asked eagerly. + +"I expect so, but of course I can't tell. Be quick! We must go at once +and see what they're doing." + +The two girls hastily scrambled into their clothes, and tiptoed +downstairs to the side door. The servants had not yet locked up, so it +was still standing ajar. + +"Suppose we were to meet Miss Russell or Miss Frazer!" shivered Cicely, +with a nervous glance down the corridor. + +"Don't think about it. They're both safe in the drawing-room." + +In another minute they had closed the door gently behind them, and were +running softly across the lawn. It was a cloudy night, with neither moon +nor stars in the sky. The outlines of the trees and shrubs were just +visible, but it was very dark indeed under their shade. + +"The light seemed to be going through the shrubbery towards the arbour," +said Lindsay, feeling her way along the rose avenue. + +"There it is!" replied Cicely, as a faint gleam shone in the distance. + +"We must be very, very careful," said Lindsay, "not to disturb them on +any account. We must stop somewhere near, and just look and listen." + +As quietly as ghosts they stole down the path, trying not to rustle so +much as a leaf. They were close now to the lantern. They could see it +quite clearly, set on the ground, and two figures bending over it. + +Skirting round under the bushes, they reached the shelter of an oak tree +that grew on the side of a bank, and peeped cautiously round the trunk. +Yes, it was certainly Scott and Mrs. Wilson who were in the shrubbery +below. Every now and then a glint of light revealed their faces +unmistakably. They were talking together in low tones, unfortunately too +low for their conversation to be overheard. Scott held a spade in his +hand, and was stooping to watch Mrs. Wilson, who, kneeling on the grass, +was fumbling inside a large sack. + +"Can you see if she's counting money?" breathed Cicely into Lindsay's +ear. "I believe they're going to bury it." + +"It looks like something bigger and heavier," whispered Lindsay, trying +to crane her neck farther forward. + +"Is it silver plate?" + +"It might be anything in that huge sack." + +"Oh! Not a body!" + +I believe Cicely would have fled precipitately if Lindsay had not held +her tightly by the hand. The fear that old Sir Giles Courtenay was being +finally disposed of oppressed her like a nightmare. + +"No! I expect it's the treasure. We must notice exactly where they're +putting it." + +[Illustration: AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT] + +Lindsay took a step nearer, to gain a better view of the proceedings, +but as she did so her foot trod noisily on a dead twig. + +"What's that?" + +The question was in "The Griffin's" well-known voice. + +There was a growl in reply from Scott. + +"Best take a look, anyhow," came from Mrs. Wilson. + +Scott seized the lantern, and began to flash it round in every +direction. Then, oh horrors! he walked straight towards the oak where +the two girls were hiding. Nearly paralysed with fear, they did not dare +to run away, and could only hope that, after all, under cover of the +darkness, he might chance to overlook them. + +In her desperation, Lindsay tried to draw farther behind the trunk of +the tree. To do so she perforce pushed Cicely back. The latter was not +quite prepared for the sudden movement, the ground was uneven, she +swayed, clutched violently at her companion to save herself, and over +they both rolled down the bank, almost to the very feet of Scott +himself. + +As Lindsay and Cicely came crashing down the bank, Scott uttered a cry +of consternation. In the suddenness of his dismay, the lantern dropped +from his hand, extinguishing the light in its fall. + +Instantly the two girls were on their feet, and rushed helter-skelter +across the garden through the darkness. They plunged anyhow through +bushes and over flower-beds, scratching their faces on overhanging +boughs, and tearing their dresses on thorns, their one fear lest Scott +should be pursuing them, and their one anxiety to gain the safe shelter +of the house. + +They reached the side entrance without hearing any footsteps behind +them. If Scott had tried to follow them, they had evidently managed to +elude him, and he must have given up the chase. The door was still +unbolted, and they hurried breathlessly upstairs, luckily meeting nobody +on the way. What a harbour of refuge it seemed to be, back in their own +room! Without daring to light the candle, they went back to bed again +with all possible speed. + +"Well, we have had an adventure!" began Lindsay, when they were once +more comfortably ensconced between the sheets. + +"Do you think Scott noticed who we were?" whispered Cicely. + +"I can't tell. He had just time to catch a glimpse of our faces before +the lantern went out." + +"I'm sure they were doing something dreadful that they wanted to keep +secret, he looked so utterly horror-stricken at seeing us." + +"There's no doubt about it. The unfortunate part is that now they find +they've been discovered, they'll bury the treasure somewhere else +instead." + +"What a pity we fell just at that moment!" + +Cicely's voice was very doleful. + +"It will have aroused their suspicions, too, and will make them extra +careful," lamented Lindsay. "If Scott recognized us, he and Mrs. Wilson +will know we're watching them. They'll owe us a grudge. 'The Griffin' +was bad enough before, but she'll be worse than ever now." + +They scanned the old housekeeper's face narrowly next morning, as she +carried the coffee into the dining-room, but her countenance wore its +accustomed aspect of grim inscrutability. If she connected them with +last night's happenings, she certainly did not betray the knowledge; it +was impossible to tell whether she mistrusted them or not, or what +feelings lay concealed under her forbidding exterior. + +The moment breakfast was over, they rushed into the garden to renew +their acquaintance with the scene of their adventure. Somebody had +plainly been digging in the bank, though the traces had evidently been +tidied carefully up, and the sods replaced. + +"Do you think there could be anything here?" said Cicely wistfully, +poking a stick into the loosened soil. + +"Oh, dear me, no!" replied Lindsay. "Why, the first thing they'd do +would be to rush off with that sack to some safer spot. Even the very +stupidest persons wouldn't have gone on burying valuables in a place +where they knew they'd been watched. 'The Griffin' and Scott are +certainly not idiots!" + +"If we could only guess where they'd put it!" sighed Cicely. + +For the present they had had such a fright that, though neither would +confess it, both were a little inclined to let the matter rest in +abeyance. It needed courage to risk the anger of Mrs. Wilson and Scott +if they were once more caught meddling. It had seemed pleasant enough to +search for the treasure themselves in the house, but the affair was now +beginning to assume a graver aspect. + +"I sometimes wonder if we ought to tell Monica or Miss Russell," said +Cicely, who occasionally had uneasy scruples as to the wisdom of their +plan of secrecy. + +"It wouldn't be of the slightest use," declared Lindsay. "'The Griffin' +and Scott would simply deny everything. They'd make out it was all +nonsense on our part, like grown-up people generally do. And how could +we prove we were right? Miss Russell would tell us to mind our own +business, and we should only get into a scrape for our pains. No, we +shall just have to let things take their course, and trust to luck." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +Under the Hawthorn Tree + + +It was high summer at Haversleigh. The trees, now in full leaf, cast +rich shadows over the landscape, the wild roses were in bloom on the +hedgerows, and tall foxgloves stood like crimson sentinels at the +margins of the woods. The fields were white with moon-daisies, growing +among the long, lush grass; and all the roadsides were a tangle of +vetches, campion, bugle, trefoil and speedwells. The wind was fragrant +with the scent of newly turned hay; everywhere the mowers were busy, and +the daisies were falling fast beneath the swinging scythe or the blades +of the reaping-machine. In the Manor garden the roses had reached +perfection, and the flower-beds were a mass of colour. The girls spent +every available moment out-of-doors, making the most of the bright days, +and enjoying their country visit to the full. + +One blazing half-holiday afternoon Lindsay and Cicely, allowed for once +in the select company of a few of the elder girls, were lounging +blissfully under the shade of a big hawthorn tree. The air seemed +dancing for very heat; the grasshoppers were chirping away at the edge +of the lawn, a lizard lay basking on the stones of the terrace wall, and +the sparrows for once were silent. + +"It's far too hot to play tennis," said Irene Spencer. "One just wants +to sit somewhere where it's green and cool." + +"I'm glad we're here, then, instead of at Winterburn Lodge," said Mary +Parkinson. + +"So am I; and yet Winterburn Lodge is nicer than many other schools," +remarked Mildred Roper. + +"It's not half bad," assented Mary. "I like it better, at any rate, than +the French school I was at in Brussels." + +"I didn't know you'd ever been in France," said Lindsay, idly picking a +dandelion clock and blowing it to find out the time. + +"No more I have, goosey." + +"Then why did you say you'd been at a French school? You're telling +fibs." + +"No, I'm not, because Brussels doesn't happen to be in France--it's in +Belgium." + +"I thought you were supposed to learn geography in the third class," +laughed Irene Spencer. + +"She said a French school, not a Belgian one," objected Lindsay. + +"Well, everybody speaks French in Brussels." + +"Don't they speak Flemish?" + +"Only the poor people, and even they can generally talk French as well." + +"How long were you there, Mary?" put in Mildred Roper. + +"Only one term. I got ill, and had to come home." + +"Was it nice?" + +"Oh, just tolerable!" + +"Had you to talk French all the time?" + +"I had to try, because none of the girls knew anything else. They used +to laugh at me if I spoke English." + +"How nasty! I shouldn't have cared to be you," said Cicely. + +"Yes, it was horrid, when I was sure they were saying things about me +and I couldn't understand them. I used to get quite cross, and that made +my head ache." + +"Was the school in the country?" asked Lindsay. + +"No, I've told you already it was in Brussels, and that's a big city. It +was a large building, with a great high wall all round it, with spikes +on the top, as if it were a prison. Inside there was a courtyard where +we used to play games. It had orange trees and oleanders in big green +tubs, but no grass nor flowers. You couldn't possibly have called it a +garden. We hardly ever went out for proper walks. Sometimes we were +taken to the park, but even there we had to go very primly, two and two, +with the teachers looking after us most sharply." + +"Were the teachers nice?" + +"Yes, pretty well. I liked them better than the girls, at any rate. +There were two sisters in my class, called Marie and Sophie Beauvais, +who were always making fun of me because I was English. I had a horrid +time until a German girl came to the school, and then they teased her +instead of me. The best thing of all was the coffee. It was perfectly +delicious--nicer than any I've ever tasted in England." + +"Why didn't you stay in Brussels?" + +"I was ill, and my mother had to come and fetch me. She declared she +would never let me go so far away from home again; so she sent me to +Winterburn Lodge instead. Miss Russell is very kind if one's not well, +and Mother said she would rather have me properly looked after, even if +I didn't learn French." + +"Yes, Miss Russell does take care of us," said Irene. "I used to be at +another school, and the teachers never noticed if we had headaches, or +couldn't eat our meals. We had to work most fearfully hard for exams, +too. The headmistress made a point of getting a certain number of passes +each year, and one was obliged to prepare and go in whether one was +clever or not. Give me good old Winterburn Lodge!--especially when one's +at the Manor instead. By the by, there's Monica. She's surely not come +to play tennis? It's too hot." + +"Fifteen degrees too hot," agreed Monica, throwing herself down on the +grass beside the others and fanning herself with her hat. "Out on the +road the heat's at simmering-point. I came to bring a message to Miss +Russell, and I hear she's gone to Linforth and won't be back until +half-past four. I think I shall wait for her." + +"Oh, do!" cried the others. "We'll have a 'palaver' here under the +trees." + +"What's a 'palaver', please? I hope it's something cool and fizzy to +drink." + +"No, it's nothing of the sort. It's a kind of meeting, where everybody +has to tell a story in turn." + +"But I'm rigidly truthful!" objected Monica, with a twinkle in her eye. + +"You naughty girl! You know we don't mean telling falsehoods. It's +telling tales," said Irene. + +"I'm no tell-tale either!" + +"Don't be too funny. Your story will have to be longer than anyone +else's to make up for this. Mildred, you explain, as I don't seem able +to express myself properly." + +"It can either be a story you have read, or one of something that has +happened to yourself," said Mildred. "We prefer people's own adventures +if we can get them." + +"So few people have any adventures in real life!" said Monica. + +"Then you can tell something out of a book." + +"Suppose I can't remember anything?" + +"You must. It needn't be grand; we're not a critical audience." + +"I'm very stupid at telling things," said Monica; "might I read you +something instead?" + +"If you've got it here." + +"As it happens, I have," replied Monica, opening a bound volume of a +magazine which she held in her hand. "I brought this book to lend to +Miss Russell, as I knew it would interest her. It has a story about the +old Manor in the times of the Wars of the Roses, and how Sir Roger +Courtenay came to win it for his own. I dare say you might like to hear +it." + +"If it's about the Manor I'm sure we shall," said Irene. "Who wrote the +tale?" + +"A gentleman who stayed in the village a year or two ago. He was very +enthusiastic about Haversleigh. I suppose he made it up from the short +account in the guide-book. All the facts are quite true, though he must +have used his imagination for the details. The worst of it is that it's +a fairly long story, and if I read it I'm afraid there won't be any time +left for you to tell yours." + +"Oh, we don't mind that!" + +"So much the better!" + +"Fire away!" + +"Do go on!" + +Thus encouraged, Monica found her place and, the girls having clustered +round her in a close circle so as to hear the better, she began her +tale: + + +SIR MERVYN'S WARD + +The middle of the fifteenth century was one of the most stormy periods +that the pages of English history have ever recorded. The rival claims +of the houses of York and Lancaster had led to those disastrous Wars of +the Roses that wiped away the flower of chivalry and made the fair land +one bloody battlefield. In the autumn of 1470 Edward IV had been driven +from his throne by the powerful Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker, +and Henry VI had been once more restored to power, though for how long a +period none could venture to guess. They were hard times to live +through, especially for those lesser gentry and yeomen who had not +placed themselves definitely under the protection of any of the greater +barons, and still strove to keep their estates in peace and quiet. The +turmoil of the great struggle had not spared even the obscure village of +Haversleigh. The inhabitants went about their tasks with an air of +unrest. It seemed scarcely worth while to plough the fields, and sow +corn which might be trampled underfoot by the soldiery before there was +a chance to reap it. There were loud and deep murmurs among the +villagers at the many exactions and tyrannies of Sir Mervyn Stamford, +the then occupant of the Manor, the estates of which he administered on +behalf of his ward, Catharine Mowbray. Catharine's father, Sir John +Mowbray, had fallen in battle on the side of the Yorkists, but with the +return of Henry VI to power, Sir Mervyn, a stanch Lancastrian, had +bought the rights of her guardianship from the half-imbecile king, and +had not only assumed control of her property, but had announced his +intention of wedding the maiden, either with or without her consent. + +This was a state of affairs which, however satisfactory to Sir Mervyn +himself, was by no means pleasing either to Catharine or to her lover, +Roger de Courtenay, a young gentleman of high lineage though broken +fortunes. Sir Mervyn was indeed a man whom any girl might have dreaded. +Dark, stern, and forbidding, his face seamed with scars, he was a harsh +master, a relentless foe, and a cruel tyrant to any who dared not resist +his authority. He was cordially hated in Haversleigh, the inhabitants of +which were Yorkists to a man, but he had garrisoned himself so strongly +in the Manor, with so formidable a band of retainers, that the wretched +villagers could do no more than groan under his oppressions, and bewail +the advent of the day when, by his marriage with the unwilling +Catharine, he would become their legal lord. + +Matters were at this crisis one April morning in the year 1471 when +Diccon of the Moat Farm came slowly down a path through the forest from +Torton. He led a horse laden with a sack of flour, which he had taken to +be ground at the mill of the convent of St. Agatha, to avoid the heavy +dues imposed by Sir Mervyn on every sack ground within the jurisdiction +of the Manor. In consequence he looked warily about him, since, should +he chance to meet any of Sir Mervyn's retainers, not only would his +flour be confiscated, but his own back would receive such a cudgelling +as would lay him up for a month or more. For this reason he had avoided +the main road, and chosen a little-used bridle path; and he glanced +cautiously up and down each green alley, and listened for every sound +that might give a hint of approaching footsteps. It was with a sense of +swift alarm, therefore, that he saw a figure suddenly step out from +behind the shelter of an oak in front, and heard himself challenged by +name. The newcomer was a young man, tall and of fine build, and his +commanding presence belied the shabbiness of his poor and travel-stained +attire. + +"I am an honest man minding mine own business, and sith ye are the same, +seek not to hinder me," replied the owner of the Moat Farm. + +"Nay, Diccon! Hast thou forgot thine old friend? Come hither, I pray +thee, for in good sooth I have tidings of great import." + +So saying, the stranger dropped the cloak with which he had so far +partly concealed his face, and showed his features more fully. + +"Master Roger!" gasped Diccon. "This is indeed a rash venture. An Sir +Mervyn find you within a five mile of the Manor there will be an arrow +through you ere nightfall." + +"I am more like to send an arrow through him," replied Roger fiercely. +"He hath done me ill enough already, and now to crown it all he purposes +to wed my betrothed. Catharine is mine, not only by her choice, but by +the law of the land. She was affianced to me by King Edward himself. +Have her I will, or leave my body for the crows!" + +"Brave words, Master Roger, brave words!" said Diccon, shaking his head. +"'Twill need more than a single sword to cross Sir Mervyn in the +matter." + +"Where a sword can naught avail, craft and guile must find a way," +returned Roger. "List you, I have brought tidings. Edward has come to +his own again. But two days since did his arms meet those of Lancaster +at Barnet. The Red Rose is trampled under foot, and Warwick and Montague +lie dead upon the field." + +"In sooth if this be true it were news of great import." + +"I met one who carried a letter from my lord of Gloucester. He rode to +gather the supporters of York in the West. Margaret the Queen hath +landed at Weymouth, and is calling the men of Devon and Cornwall to the +standard of the red rose. I hied me in all haste to my lord of Norfolk, +and he hath given me a band of stout fellows that are even now hid under +the brushwood yonder. An I can surprise Sir Mervyn ere he hears that the +emblem of Lancaster is raised in the west it will strike a blow for York +in Somerset, and moreover I shall win me my bride. I must myself to the +Manor. I would see how it is garrisoned, and convey a message to +Catharine alone." + +"You are a dead man first!" exclaimed Diccon. "This were folly, Master +Roger. A lion's den were safer than the Manor." + +"None shall pierce my disguise if you, good Diccon, will but aid to +trick me out for the part I fain would play. I wot I could count on your +faith!" + +"To the last drop of my blood. Yet it is a rash venture, and one that +ill pleases me," replied the old man sadly. + +Late that same afternoon the golden shafts of the warm spring sunshine +were finding their way through the narrow windows of an upper room in +the Manor. The house in those days was but a quarter of its present +size; it was strongly fortified, and bore more resemblance to a medieval +keep than to the Tudor mansion of later times. Strength and defence had +been considered before beauty and elegance, and there was little even of +comfort to be found inside the stern, forbidding walls. In the apartment +in question some rude attempt had been made to render things more +habitable than in the rest of the grim establishment. A few pieces of +tapestry covered the rough masonry, and the floor was strewn with fresh +rushes. On a carved wooden bench by the window sat a fair and beautiful +girl of seventeen, who was occupying herself with a piece of needlework, +and talking earnestly meanwhile to her attendant, a maiden of her own +age, busy also with her tambour frame. + +"I tell thee, Anne, I will not wed him--not if he drag me by force to +the altar! Verily, it is a pretty case. Here be I a prisoner in mine own +manor, my estates squandered, my tenants oppressed and robbed, my +retainers dismissed, save only thee, my poor faithful Anne; and in +return I am to wed him to boot! Nay! Rather will I take the veil and +give all my goods to the convent of St. Agatha at Torton; though thou +knowest I have scant mind to be a nun." + +"It wants but five morns now to the bridal day," sighed Anne. "If I +mistake not, lady, Sir Mervyn will wed you even against your will and +despite the convent." + +"Then I will die first! Oh, Roger, Roger!" she added softly to herself, +"only a year agone, and I was thy betrothed! It is six months since I +had tidings of thee, and whether thou art alive or dead I know not." + +"Nay, weep not, sweet lady--weeping cures no ills," said Anne; then, +wishful to divert her mistress's sad thoughts, she directed her +attention to a commotion which was going on in the courtyard below. +"Some stranger hath arrived. If I mistake not, 'tis a huckster come to +spread out his wares. An it be your pleasure, I will hie me down and +bring you tidings of what he hath." + +Receiving a half-hearted consent, she hurried to the great courtyard, +where many of the servants and retainers were already gathered to look +at the contents of the pedlar's pack. At that period the arrival of a +travelling merchant was an event at a remote country house, and even Sir +Mervyn himself did not disdain to examine the cloths and buy an ell or +two of velvet for a doublet. The pedlar, a white-haired man, much bent, +and with a strange hood of foreign fashion drawn over his face, was +proclaiming the virtues of his goods in a lusty voice. + +"What do ye lack? What do ye lack?" he cried. "I have here hosen, shoon, +caps, gloves, girdles, such as ye never might see out of London town. +Here be beside cloth of silk and damask fit for the Queen. Is there no +worshipful lady of this noble lord before whom I might spread forth my +choicer wares?" + +"My mistress would gladly have silk for a kirtle, an I may summon her to +the courtyard," Anne ventured to whisper to Sir Mervyn. + +Receiving a grudging permission, she hurried panting up the stairs with +her tidings. Catharine at first would hardly be persuaded to descend +from her chamber into the hated presence of Sir Mervyn, and it was +finally more to please her maid than herself that she assented. + +"Fair apparel is of scant use to one who hath a mind to wed the Church," +she said, "but thou shalt have a riband for thyself, Anne, and a silk +girdle withal." + +No one remarked the swift, eager glance that the pedlar bestowed upon +Catharine as she appeared in the doorway, nor how his hand shook as he +untied his second pack. With apparent lack of intention he managed +skilfully to draw her a few steps away from the rest, under pretence of +exhibiting his silks in the best light; then, whispering: "Keep secret! +Betray not that you receive this!" he rapidly thrust a small piece of +parchment into her hand. Full of surprise, Catharine yet had the +presence of mind to utter no exclamation, and to conceal the parchment +in the folds of her gown. Hastily completing her purchases, she retired +again to her chamber, where, dismissing Anne, she was able to examine +the letter in private. It contained but a few lines: + + "Right dear and well beloved, + + "The White Rose musters again in the west, and I have hope of your + release. Ope the west postern ere sunrise. Till then God keep ye. + + "Written in great haste this eve of St. Withold by the hand of him + who would remain ever yours, + + "ROGER COURTENAY." + + + +Catharine's wild excitement on the perusal of this missive can be more +readily imagined than described. + +"He is alive! He comes to my rescue!" she exclaimed. "Perchance it was +even Roger himself disguised as the pedlar. He was ever one to venture a +bold deed. Alack! that I should have been so near, and not have known +him!" + +She did not dare to confide her secret even to her faithful maid, Anne, +but retiring as usual at nightfall she lay awake, waiting in burning +anxiety for the earliest peep of dawn. When the first faint glimmer of +light stole into her room she rose and crept softly down the stairs. She +was obliged to make her way through the great hall, where the +men-at-arms lay sleeping on the rushes. A dog sprang up and growled, but +she managed to quiet it with a caress, and passed on without disturbing +the sleepers. The little west postern door was heavily barred, and it +took all the strength of her white hands to pull back the bolts. +Cautiously she peered out into the half-darkness. At the same moment a +tall figure stepped from the shadow and clasped her in his arms. + +"Sweet, you must fly! This is no place for ye now," whispered Roger. +"Diccon waits with a trusty steed to conduct ye to Covebury. Take +sanctuary at the convent of the Franciscans till I come to claim ye. I +have stern work to do here." + +Wrapping her hastily in a cloak, and helping her to mount, Roger waited +till he judged the fugitives to be at a safe distance; then, giving the +word of command to his followers, he commenced his attack on the Manor. +Sir Mervyn and his retainers, surprised in their sleep, nevertheless +offered a determined resistance. A fierce combat was waged in the great +hall and in the courtyard, till, pressed from one point of vantage to +another, the defenders made a desperate sally, and rushing +helter-skelter down the village sought refuge inside the ancient church. +It was of no avail; the villagers, hastily armed with swords and pikes, +had joined in the fray. Determined to avenge themselves upon Sir Mervyn +for his many acts of tyranny and injustice, they set upon him without +mercy, and without respect even for the sacredness of the edifice. +Chased from the choir to the Lady Chapel, and from the Lady Chapel to +the tower, he fled up the narrow steps to the belfry, where he turned at +bay, and held the staircase with the courage of despair. Driven from +this last standpoint, he climbed yet higher to the rafters where hung +the bell, and slew six men in succession before he fell, at length, +shouting curses upon his foes. + +Roger Courtenay had scant time to enjoy his triumph. The Yorkist army +was mustering for a great struggle; so, having left a small garrison in +charge of the Manor, he rode away immediately with the rest of his +followers to join the adherents of the White Rose. The result of the +battle of Tewkesbury is a matter of history. The unfortunate remnant of +Lancaster took to flight, and York gained a final and triumphant +victory. Roger, whose bravery was conspicuous throughout the day, +worthily won his spurs, and was knighted on the field by Richard of +Gloucester. His forfeited estate was restored to him, and King Edward +himself forwarded his union with Catharine Mowbray, so that before the +summer was over the ancient parish church of Haversleigh, which but +lately had rung to the clash of arms, now echoed instead to the merry +peal of wedding bells. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +Sir Mervyn's Tower + + +"Is that all?" asked the girls, as Monica finished her story and closed +the book. + +"Why, yes. It's a fairly long tale, I think." + +"Not long enough. I want to know so much more about them," said Irene. + +"Is it perfectly and absolutely true?" enquired Cicely. + +"Yes, it is quite true. It was Sir Roger Courtenay who began to build +the Manor as it stands to-day. All the central portion was put up in his +time, and the coats of arms over the porch are those of himself and his +wife, Catharine Mowbray. Their tomb is in the church too--that big +carved monument in the side chapel. They had seven children--five sons +and two daughters. The eldest son, Sir Godfrey Courtenay, married a +relation of Sir Thomas More. Her name is mentioned in one of the Paston +Letters." + +"Was it really in Haversleigh Church that Sir Mervyn climbed into the +belfry and was killed?" + +"Or did the writer make that up?" + +"No, that is true too," replied Monica. "The tower is still called 'Sir +Mervyn's Tower', and it is said there is the stain of his blood on the +great bell, and that nothing can ever take it off." + +"Have you seen it?" + +"Yes, once. It's only a patch of rust." + +"Was Sir Mervyn buried in the church too?" + +"There's no monument to him, and no record in the old church documents +of his grave. I should think it was much more likely that his followers +were allowed to carry him to his own estate near Appleford, and bury him +in the church there. The story runs that his ghost haunts Haversleigh +Tower and walks up the belfry stairs, but of course that's nothing but +superstition and nonsense." + +"Don't you believe in ghosts?" asked Cicely, who was sometimes a little +afraid of the dark passages at the Manor. + +"No: when people are dead, I think if they were good they are either +resting until the resurrection, or have something so much better and +nobler to do in another world that they could not revisit this, any more +than a butterfly could turn again into a chrysalis; and if they were +bad, I am sure they would not be allowed to come back simply to terrify +the living." + +"Quite right," agreed Mildred. "In most of the stories one reads about +ghosts, they never return for any useful purpose, only to make silly +people run and scream." + +"There was one thing that didn't seem perfectly clear in the story," +said Lindsay. "Was it really Roger who came to the Manor disguised as an +old pedlar?" + +"Evidently it was. He couldn't trust anyone else to give the letter to +Catharine, and he wanted to see for himself how Sir Mervyn was prepared +to defend the Manor. There is still part of a ruin left of the old +Franciscan Convent near Covebury, where Catharine took sanctuary. It's +not much though--only a few pillars and a tumble-down wall." + +"Why didn't she go to the Convent of St. Agatha at Torton? It was so +much nearer to ride." + +"Because the nuns there wished to persuade her to take the veil, and she +wanted to marry Roger." + +"Were they very angry with her?" + +"How can I tell, Cicely? You must ask the writer of the romance; he has +a better imagination than I have. I wonder if Miss Russell has come back +yet? I'm going indoors to see. By the by, I want to ask a favour. I +practise the organ every Wednesday evening at the church, and to-night +Judson, the old clerk, will be too busy to blow for me as usual. Would +anybody be charitable enough to volunteer? And would Miss Russell allow +it, do you think?" + +"I expect Miss Russell wouldn't mind," said Mildred. "I'd go with +pleasure if I could, but I have an hour's practising to do myself +to-night, as well as preparation, and so have Irene and Mary." + +"Oh, Monica, could we blow the organ?" cried Lindsay. "Cicely and I have +both finished our practising, and if we were to learn our French at +once, before tea, I believe Miss Frazer could be persuaded to excuse us +from prep. We'd simply love to come." + +"Thank you, Lindsay. I'll ask Miss Russell. If she says 'Yes', will you +meet me at the church at seven?" + +Miss Russell was lenient enough to give the required permission, having +ascertained that all lessons for next day were duly prepared; so Lindsay +and Cicely, much envied by the rest of their class, betook themselves +with zeal to try their 'prentice hands at the task of organ blowing. The +church was open, and Monica was already waiting for them in the porch. +She soon showed them how to work the bellows, and after telling them to +stop and rest as soon as they were tired, seated herself at the keyboard +and began her practice. Both the younger girls felt it a decidedly novel +and interesting experience to be in the little space behind the pipes, +working away at a long handle. As they took it in turns they were able +to keep the organ going fairly steadily, and only once left Monica +without wind in the middle of a piece. As a reward she allowed them to +try the instrument before she locked it up, showing them the various +stops and pedals, and how they were to be used. + +"It's much more difficult than the piano," sighed Cicely, after a rather +unsuccessful attempt, "and yet it's simply grand to hear the lovely big +notes sounding through the church. I should like to learn myself +sometime when I'm older." + +"Saint Cecilia was the patroness of music, and is always represented +playing the organ, so you might very well justify your name by following +in her footsteps," said Monica. "Now I simply must go, because my mother +will be wanting me. I've been far longer than usual to-night." + +"It's our fault, I'm afraid," said Lindsay. "We kept making you pull out +the stops." + +"No, you were dears to come. Perhaps Miss Russell will let you blow for +me some other evening; then we'll start earlier, and I shall have time +to let you both try again." + +They had passed under the old yew trees of the churchyard and out +through the lich-gate into the road, when Monica suddenly looked over +her music and exclaimed: + +"How stupid! I've left my little copy of _Lux Benigna_ behind. It +doesn't really matter much, only I don't care to get my pieces mixed up +with the organist's, and he will be there at a choir practice +to-morrow." + +"Shall we go back?" suggested Cicely. + +"No, I'm in too great a hurry. I want to get home at once." + +"Then we'll fetch it for you," said Lindsay. + +"Oh, thanks so much! Will you take it to school, please, and give it to +me to-morrow, so that I needn't wait now? Good-bye!" and Monica hastened +away as fast as possible in the direction of the cottage. + +Lindsay and Cicely walked leisurely into the church again, and found the +missing piece of music lying on a seat near the organ. They were +returning down the aisle when Cicely said: + +"Which is the tomb of Sir Roger Courtenay and Catharine Mowbray?" + +"Monica said it was the one in the small side chapel," replied Lindsay. +"Shall we go and look at it?" + +What an old monument it was! Four centuries had passed away since it was +placed over those who slept beneath. The carving was chipped and the +marble scratched; part of Sir Roger's head was broken away, and one of +poor Dame Catharine's clasped hands; and the letters of the inscription +were so worn and effaced that it was with difficulty the girls could +make out even a few words. + +"It's in Latin, so we couldn't have understood it in any case," said +Lindsay. + +"How funny her costume is!" said Cicely. "She has a coif on her head, +and very long sleeves; and he is in full armour. It makes them seem much +more real people when we know their story." + +"Can you imagine them living at the Manor?" + +"I can hardly believe there was ever a fight going on inside this +church." + +"And people killing one another!" + +"I suppose Sir Mervyn ran through this door up into the tower." + +"I wonder if the stain is still on the bell?" said Lindsay. + +"The story was that nothing could ever take it off." + +"Shall we go up and see if it's really there?" + +"What! Up into the belfry?" + +"Yes. Why not?" + +"Well, isn't it getting too late, and a little dark?" + +"Not yet." + +"All right, then," assented Cicely, agreeing as usual with Lindsay's +proposal. + +The small, nail-studded oak door leading to the tower stood open, and +they could see that there was a winding staircase inside. There was +nobody to forbid them to explore, and though they knew they were due +back at the Manor they considered they might allow themselves a little +latitude in the way of time. It was rather dark up the corkscrew stairs, +though there was a slit every now and then in the wall to admit air and +light. At the top they found themselves in a square room, where the +clerk evidently pulled the bell on Sundays, for the rope was hanging +within easy reach. The roof was made of enormous oak rafters, and +through it ran a ladder reaching higher than they could see. + +"That will be the way up to the bell," said Lindsay. + +"What a horrible place for Sir Mervyn to climb!" commented Cicely. "I +can imagine him rushing up with a dagger in his hand, and the others +swarming after him. I'm almost sorry they killed him. He was very brave, +although he was so bad. You go first, Lindsay." + +Up and up they toiled, till they thought they should never reach the +top. + +"The bell's hung very high," panted Cicely. + +"We're nearly there now," replied Lindsay. + +The ladder ended in a rough platform which was built round the bell, +probably to allow workmen to attend to it now and then in case it were +not hanging safely. It looked a great mass of metal, so large and heavy +that even the clapper must be an enormous weight. + +"There's a very queer mark on it here," said Cicely, in rather an awed +voice. + +Lindsay walked round to the other side of the platform. There was a most +curious stain running along a portion of the bottom of the bell--a dull, +irregular mark that might well have had its origin in some dark and +dreadful deed. Cicely touched it cautiously, and then looked at her +finger as if she expected to find the traces red on her hand. + +"I think we'd better go down again," she said, with a shiver. + +"All right, only I want to look out of the window first. Oh, what a +glorious view!" + +There was indeed a splendid prospect to be seen from the old church +tower--a vista of village roofs, and tree tops, and fields, and winding +high road, and distant woods and hills, all bathed in the beautiful, +rosy light of sunset. It was so lovely that the girls stood for some +time watching the sky turn from pink to crimson, and great bands of +dappled clouds catch the reflection from the glow beneath. They quite +forgot that supper would probably be over at the Manor, and that Miss +Russell would be wondering why Monica had kept them so long, and wishing +she had not allowed them to go without Miss Frazer or one of the +monitresses to escort them back. + +At last they tore themselves reluctantly away. It was much harder to +come down the ladder than it had been to climb up. Cicely turned quite +giddy, and they were both glad when they reached the square room where +the bell rope was hanging. It was very dark on the winding staircase; +they had to feel their steps most carefully, and keep a hand on the wall +as they went. The church looked dim and gloomy as they found themselves +once more in the nave. Cicely turned her back upon the monuments. She +did not want to give even a glance in their direction just then. Perhaps +Lindsay felt the same, for she also hurried quickly towards the door. To +their utter amazement it was closed, shut tight and firm; and though +they lifted the latch, and tugged and rattled and pulled with all their +might, they could not open it. They stared at each other with blank, +horror-stricken faces. They were locked up alone in the empty church! + +"Let us call," quavered Cicely. + +"Perhaps someone may be in the churchyard. I can't believe they've +really left us shut up here. Somebody must be coming back," said +Lindsay. + +She knew in her heart of hearts all the same that it was a forlorn hope. +The old sexton had probably seen Monica walk through the village, and +had come to lock the church as usual after her practice, quite unaware +that anyone was exploring the belfry. By this time he would be at home +again, with the keys in his pocket. The two girls shouted themselves +hoarse, and kicked and beat against the door, but there was no reply +except hollow echoes that resounded from the vaulted roof. The church +was just out of earshot from either the village on one side or the +rectory on the other, and it did not seem likely that anybody would +happen to pass through the churchyard at that hour in the evening. No +doubt they would soon be missed at the Manor, but Miss Russell would be +sure to go first to Monica to enquire about their absence, and it might +therefore be some little time before anyone came to look for them inside +the church. + +"What are we going to do?" asked Cicely. + +"We must get out somehow," replied Lindsay desperately. "Let us walk all +round, and see if there is any window it would be possible to climb +through." + +They went up the aisle, looking carefully at the windows; but all were +equally impracticable, being built high up in the walls, and the only +panes that opened were at the top. + +"There may be a lower one in the vestry," said Lindsay, after they had +examined the side chapels and transepts. "Here's the door, and +fortunately it's not locked." + +Again they were doomed to disappointment. The vestry was one of the +oldest portions of the building, and the tiny diamond-paned casement was +fully ten feet above their heads. Plainly it was useless to think of +escape there. + +"We'd better go back to the door," said Cicely, "just in case anyone +should be coming down the road, and might hear us." + +The light was rapidly growing dimmer and dimmer, the pillars cast long +shadows, and the corners were already wrapt in darkness, through which +here and there a figure on a monument stood out white against the gloomy +background. Once more the girls thumped at the door and shouted, though +they feared it would be of no avail. + +"There's only one thing left to be done, Cicely," said Lindsay at last. + +"And what's that?" + +"Go up into the belfry again and ring the bell. Everybody in the village +would hear that, and Judson would come to see what was the matter." + +"Yes," replied Cicely with some hesitation, "I suppose we must--but----" + +"But what?" + +"We should have to walk up the belfry stairs." + +"Well?" + +"Oh, Lindsay, Sir Mervyn! Suppose we were to meet him on the staircase? +The village people say he walks!" + +"And Monica said it was nothing but nonsense and superstition." + +Lindsay tried to sound brave, but she held Cicely's arm tightly +notwithstanding. + +Poor Cicely felt "'twixt Scylla and Charybdis". To toll the bell seemed +their only chance of escape, and to do so they must certainly mount into +the square room where the rope was hanging. On the one hand was the +prospect of spending some time in a building which was rapidly growing +darker and darker, and on the other, there was a quick dash up the +winding staircase, which was the centre of all her nervous fears. + +"We must do it," urged Lindsay. "Come along! Let us go now, before you +think about it any more." + +It was very dark when they went through the small door and began groping +their way up the narrow steps. There was not room for both to walk +abreast, so Lindsay went first and Cicely clung tightly on to her skirt +behind, ready to turn and flee precipitately if she heard the slightest +sound from above. The stairs seemed twice as long as when they had +mounted them before, and far narrower and steeper. + +"Here we are!" exclaimed Lindsay, when at last they found their feet on +the flooring of the tower room. There was just light enough to faintly +distinguish objects, and they were making straight for the bell rope +when Cicely grasped Lindsay's arm in a panic of fear. + +"What's that noise?" she whispered breathlessly. + +"Where?" + +"There! Up the ladder in the roof!" + +Both girls listened, their hearts beating in great thumps. Cicely was +not mistaken. There was a faint rustling, as if someone were moving +softly about in the tower above. Too terrified even to run away, they +stood with their eyes fixed on the open trapdoor that led up to the +bell. + +"He's coming!" shrieked Cicely, as something large and white appeared +silently through the aperture and glided down into the room. There was a +sudden weird, uncanny cry, like a mournful, despairing wail, and a large +pair of wings flapped through the open lattice that served for a window +out into the thickness of the yew trees beyond. + +"It's an owl--a big white owl! That's your ghost, Cicely!" cried +Lindsay, with intense relief. + +"It's gone, at any rate. Oh, what a fright it gave me! I thought it was +Sir Mervyn himself." + +"I expect it sleeps up there during the day, and then goes out hunting +at night for birds and mice. What a fearful screech it gave!" + +"Let us go and ring the bell before we have any more scares." + +They dashed across the room and seized the rope. Surely since the day it +was first hung the poor old bell had never been tolled with such +frantic, hurried jerks. It was like an alarm of war or fire as the +swift, short strokes went echoing from the tower. The girls pulled and +pulled until they were both nearly exhausted. + +"Somebody must have heard us by this time," said Lindsay. "Let us go +down into the church and wait by the door." + +"I don't feel so afraid of Sir Mervyn now I know he's only a white owl," +declared Cicely. + +They stumbled down the stairs and across the dark nave, then stood +waiting anxiously for some sign of coming relief. Was that a distant +footstep? Yes; they heard the creaking of the lich-gate, the sound of +voices, and the crunching of boots on the gravel path. They sprang at +the door, knocking and shouting for help with all their might. In +another moment the great key turned in the lock. It was Judson, the +sexton, who stood outside, with quite a number of people from the +cottages behind him. All the village had been roused by the tolling of +the bell, and everyone expected to find either a gang of thieves at work +or the building on fire, instead of only two frightened little +schoolgirls from the Manor. + +At that moment both Miss Russell and Monica came hurrying up, the latter +reproaching herself keenly for not having seen her companions safely +home, and the former very angry at their escapade. As Lindsay had +supposed, they had been expected back more than an hour ago, but Miss +Russell thought Monica must have had an unusually long practice. When +their bedtime arrived, and still they were missing, the headmistress had +grown uneasy, and started in search of them. She had gone first to the +church and found the door locked (it must have been while they were in +the vestry), so concluded that they had returned with Monica to the +cottage. She had been seriously alarmed to find they were not there, and +her anxiety was shared by the Courtenays; and both she and Monica were +on the point of rousing the whole village to aid in discovering their +whereabouts when the sudden clanging of the bell made them hasten to the +church. The girls gave a brief account of their adventure in reply to +the many enquiries of their rescuers. + +"I thought I could have trusted you to return straight home," said Miss +Russell reproachfully. "No, Monica, it is not in any way your fault. +Lindsay and Cicely knew perfectly well they had no right to linger +behind, nor to enter the tower. I am disappointed in them, for I +certainly should not have allowed them to go and blow the organ if I +had believed there was the slightest opportunity for such behaviour. +They have only themselves to blame, and I consider they thoroughly +deserved the fright they have had." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +An Enigma + + +Though most of the delights of the summer term at the Manor consisted of +outdoor amusements, other interests were not entirely lacking. In a +magazine which Miss Russell took in for the school library there was an +announcement of a competition which offered a prize to children under +thirteen for the largest number of poetical quotations descriptive of +wild flowers. Both Lindsay and Cicely were anxious to try, and ransacked +all the volumes of poetry they could get hold of for suitable extracts. + +"I think it's too much bother," said Nora Proctor. "It means looking +through such a heap of books, and then copying out the pieces so neatly +afterwards. It would take one's whole recreation time." + +"And probably one wouldn't get anything for it in the end," said +Marjorie Butler. + +"I began," said Effie Hargreaves, "but, as Nora says, it's far too great +a fag. I got ten quotations from Shakespeare, and six from Tennyson. +I'll give them to you, Cicely, if you like." + +"Oh, thanks, if they're not the same as I have already!" + +"I tried for a prize once in a magazine," said Beryl Austen, "but I only +got highly commended. I'm afraid my writing wasn't good enough." + +Though the other girls did not care to compete themselves, they were +interested in Lindsay's and Cicely's lists, and gave them any assistance +they could in hunting out fresh quotations. + +"I'll tell you what," said Beryl, "you ought to ask Monica. She reads a +great deal, and I believe she's rather clever at botany. I heard her +talking about the wild flowers of the neighbourhood to Miss Russell." + +"Yes, I believe she has a nice pressed collection," said Effie. "She +promised to show it to us some day." + +Lindsay and Cicely took Beryl's advice, and waylaid Monica as she came +to the French class next morning. + +"I'm glad you asked me," she replied. "I've no doubt I shall be able to +help you; I have a good many beautiful books on botany in the library. +I'll bring the key this afternoon, and unlock the case for you." + +Monica always kept her promises. She arrived about four o'clock, and +opened the large glass doors that preserved the handsome calf-bound +volumes from dust and dirt. + +"Here they are," she said. "Some are very dry and scientific, and some +are popular, and have coloured pictures. There are catalogues of plants, +and schedules of species, and old herbals, and every kind of book you +can imagine that has a bearing on the subject. Some are about British +flowers and some about foreign ones, and there are others on mosses and +ferns and fungi. They used to belong to my uncle; he was extremely fond +of botany." + +"Have you read them all?" asked Cicely. + +"No, I'm afraid I have rather neglected them. You see, I have had so +many lessons to learn. One can't study everything at once, and Mother +particularly wants me to work hard at French. Perhaps some day I may +attack the natural orders. It will take you a long time to look through +every one of these books. I'll leave the case unlocked, so that you can +get them out when you like. I know I can trust you not to spoil the +covers, and to put each back in its proper place." + +"We'll be very, very careful of them," Lindsay assured her. "We won't +carry them into the garden. We'll sit and read them here at the table." + +"That will be all right, then," said Monica. "I feel they are rather a +particular charge, because they were left to me as a special legacy. I +believe my uncle valued them more than anything else in the world. I +often think I don't appreciate them as much as I ought." + +As Monica had said, it took considerable labour to thoroughly examine +all the books and search for extracts. Some merely contained long lists +of Latin names, and others were far too learned and scientific to +interest schoolgirls. A few, however, treated the subject from its +romantic side, and quoted passages of poetry such as they wanted. Miss +Russell, who had encouraged them to try for the prize, gave them +permission to use the library when they pleased; so for the next few +days they spent most of their spare time there. + +It was a pleasant occupation, and one that seemed to bring them into +touch with the old poets who had loved Nature so dearly, and sung so +charmingly about her blossoms. It was quite wonderful to think that +nearly six hundred years ago Chaucer had noticed and recorded the little +golden heart and white crown of the daisy; and that King James I of +Scotland, while pining as Henry IV's prisoner in Windsor Castle, could +remember and write of-- + + "The sharpë, greenë, sweetë juniper, + Growing so fair with branches here and there". + +The competition proved most interesting, and, as it happened, was to be +connected with unforeseen occurrences. + +One afternoon, Cicely, who was trying to work her way systematically +along the shelves, brought down a thick, bulky volume, bound in brown +leather, with metal corners, and entitled _Floral Calendar_. + +"This must be an old one," she remarked. "Look how yellow the paper is, +and there are actually long S's. Someone has scribbled notes all round +the edges of the pages." + +"I wonder if it was Sir Giles Courtenay?" said Lindsay. + +Cicely turned to the flyleaf at the beginning. Yes, in exactly the same +rather straggling hand was the inscription: + + "GILES PEMBERTON COURTENAY, + HAVERSLEIGH MANOR, + SOMERSET." + +"He seems to have been fond of writing in his books," said Lindsay. +"What's this opposite his name?" + +On the inside of the cover quite a long piece of poetry had been copied. +It appeared to be something in the nature of an acrostic or charade, and +it ran thus:-- + + +ENIGMA + + My _First_, among flowers you can't find a better, + 'T was used by a king for securing a letter. + My _Second_, whose blossoms of yellow soon fade, + Comes out every night in the calm evening shade. + My _Third_, oft called Iris, is much in demand, + It grows on an island named Van Diemen's Land. + My _Fourth_, a wild flower with sweet golden eye, + Is more blessing than "torment" to all who pass by. + My _Fifth_, with great trusses of lavender hue, + Is the sweetest of shrubs that the spring brings to view. + My _Sixth_, an old blossom in medicine once famed, + Was good for the eyesight, and thus it was named. + Now if you have guessed all these flowers that I prize, + Please take my initials and finals likewise: + The former you'll find to be hiding the latter; + If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter + Perchance may provide you with just a lost link, + And bring you a greater reward than you think. + + G. P. C. + +Both Lindsay and Cicely were particularly fond of any kind of riddle. +They seized upon this floral enigma with delight, and began to puzzle it +out with the help of the illustrated catalogue of plants given in the +old volume. + +"How funny of Sir Giles Courtenay to have written it inside a botany +book!" said Cicely. + +"I suppose he was quite mad," replied Lindsay. + +"He must have made it up himself, as it's signed with his initials," +continued Cicely. "It was rather clever of him, wasn't it?--especially +if he was mad. I'm sure I couldn't invent verses, however hard I tried." + +"'My _First_, used by a king for securing a letter', is evidently +'Solomon's Seal'," said Lindsay. "Give me that spare piece of paper, and +I'll put it down." + +"'My _Second'_ must be 'Evening Primrose'," said Cicely. "I can't think +of any other yellow flower that comes out at night." + +The third for a long time baffled the efforts of both girls to discover +it. They searched through the lists of wild and garden flowers in vain. + +"Irises are sometimes called 'flags'," ventured Cicely at last, turning +to the page of 'F' in the index. "Why, here are quite a number. There +are Asiatic flag, and corn flag, and dwarf flag, and Florentine flag, +and German flag. Oh! and a heap more, too--golden flag, and Iberian +flag, and Japanese, and Persian, and Missouri, and Tasmanian." + +"That's the one!" said Lindsay. "Van Diemen's Land is the old name for +Tasmania. 'My _Third_' must be Tasmanian flag." + +"Why, of course. We're getting on, aren't we?" + +The fourth, as it was stated to be a wild flower, was sought for in the +list at the end of _British Flora_. It did not take a very large amount +of penetration to fix it as 'tormentilla', especially as they could +identify its golden eye in the coloured picture. + +"The great trusses of lavender hue, growing on a shrub in spring, will +mean lilac. I'm getting quite proud of our guessing," declared Lindsay. + +"We've only one more left now," said Cicely. + +The last proved the most difficult of all. I doubt if they would have +been able to solve it, had not Lindsay chanced to take down an ancient +herbal, and found a list of plants once employed for medicine. + +"Amid all herbes that do grow, and are of greatest comfort and solace to +mankind," so ran the passage, "a foremost place hath the euphrasy. +Though it be but an humble plant scarce an inch in height, yet it maketh +an ointment very precious for to cure dimness of sight. Thence it hath +been called in the vulgar tongue 'eye-bright', nevertheless its true +name is euphrasy, and thus it is known among apothecaries." + +"It must be right," said Lindsay. "It's the only one that is said to do +any good to the eyesight. The others seem to be for toothaches or +agues." + +"Or to heal wounds or sores," said Cicely. "People must have been +continually hurting themselves in those days, if they needed so many +'salves' and 'unguents'." + +They had now discovered all the six flowers, and wrote the result neatly +down on a piece of paper. + + S olomon's Sea L + E vening Primros E + T asmanian Fla G + T ormentill A + L ila C + E uphras Y + +"The initials read 'settle' and the finals 'legacy'," said Cicely. "How +very queer! That hasn't anything to do with flowers." + +"Let us look at the end lines again," said Lindsay, and she read aloud: + + Please take my initials and finals likewise: + The former you'll find to be hiding the latter; + If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter + Perchance may provide you with just a lost link, + And bring you a greater reward than you think. + +"The initials hide the finals. 'Settle' hides 'Legacy'," repeated Cicely +meditatively. + +"Why, I see it now!" burst out Lindsay suddenly. "Oh, Cicely, I believe +it means a great deal more than an ordinary riddle! It has something to +do with the lost treasure. Don't you understand? The settle is hiding +the legacy--Monica's legacy!" + +"Oh, surely not!" exclaimed Cicely, bouncing up in great excitement. + +"But I really think so. The poetry says the enigma is 'to provide the +lost link' and 'bring a greater reward than you think'. This is indeed a +discovery! It's evidently intended to tell Monica where her money is to +be found." + +"Can we be quite, quite certain?" hesitated Cicely. + +"Well, everything seems to point to it. Don't you recollect Irene +Spencer said that in old Sir Giles' will he left 'the Manor and all that +it may contain to my great-niece Monica, especially commending to her +the volumes in my library, and advising her to pursue the study of +botany'? I remember those were the exact words. This must have been the +reason. He had written the secret of the hiding-place inside the _Floral +Calendar_, and he thought she would find it there. Perhaps he wasn't so +very mad after all." + +"I wonder if Monica has seen it and puzzled it out?" + +"I don't know. She said she didn't often trouble about the books." + +"Then is the treasure hidden inside some old settle in the house?" + +"It seems likely." + +"In that case we must be wrong about the lantern room." + +"Perhaps we are. Well, at any rate this throws new light on the subject, +and gives us a clue as to where to hunt. We'll go over the Manor again, +and look carefully at every settle." + +"I hope we're really on the right track at last," sighed Cicely. "What a +glorious day it would be if we could actually say to Monica: 'Here's +your fortune!'" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +Lindsay Makes a Resolve + + +Lindsay and Cicely thought they understood what a settle was, but, to +avoid the possibility of any mistake, they looked the word up in the +dictionary. "Settle--a long bench, with high back, for sitting on," was +the explanation given by that authority. + +"So it 'settles' the matter," said Cicely, trying to make a pun. + +"Well, it shows us it's not a chest, anyhow," replied Lindsay, "though +the oak bench in the passage near the top of the stairs has a kind of +box under it. The seat lifts up like a lid." + +There were four pieces of old furniture in the Manor which might claim +to answer to the description given in the dictionary. Two were in the +dining-room, one in the picture gallery, and another, as Lindsay had +said, at the head of the stairs. The girls made a most lengthy and +careful inspection of them all, but without the slightest result. +Neither their backs nor their seats were hollow, or capable of +containing anything. Three of them stood upon carved oak legs, like +chairs, and though the last was made in the fashion of a chest, it +proved on investigation to be absolutely empty. It was a bitter +disappointment. + +"Can we have been mistaken about the enigma?" said Cicely, almost in +tears. + +"I don't believe so. What I think is, that Mrs. Wilson and Scott have +been clever enough to find the money and carry it off. Perhaps there was +another settle somewhere in the house, and they took it bodily away." + +"Wouldn't Monica have missed it?" + +"It may have been done just after Sir Giles died, and before she came to +the Manor." + +"Where would they put it?" + +"Possibly in the lantern room, inside some hiding-place they know of." + +"Then, until we can find out the secret of the lantern room, it seems to +me we can't get any farther." + +"And we don't even know that the treasure is still there, because it may +be buried in the garden," groaned Lindsay. + +The whole affair of the lost legacy was most aggravating and +tantalizing. They seemed so continually on the point of unravelling the +mystery, only to find themselves again defeated and baffled. Cicely was +tempted to throw it up altogether in despair, but Lindsay had a native +obstinacy of disposition that could not bear to be beaten. + +"I shall go on trying as long as we're at Haversleigh, on that I'm +entirely resolved," she declared. "I don't mean to give up until we're +actually on our way to the station on breaking-up day." + +"And that's only three weeks off now," said Cicely. + +The summer term at the Manor had proved so enjoyable that the girls were +not nearly so enthusiastic as usual for the advent of the holidays. Most +of them felt a keen regret at leaving the beautiful old place, and +bewailed the fact that the alterations at Winterburn Lodge were reported +to be progressing favourably, and that the drains there would be in +perfect order long before they need return in September. + +"Couldn't we have school here always instead of in London?" they +suggested hopefully to Miss Russell. + +"No," said the headmistress; "there are many considerations which would +make it impossible. Mrs. Courtenay and Monica will want to live in their +own home again, and Haversleigh is too inconvenient a place for a +permanency. We have managed wonderfully well for a few months with only +Mademoiselle, but we certainly miss Herr Hoffmann's and Monsieur +Guizet's classes, to say nothing of drawing and dancing lessons. +Visiting masters cannot arrange to come so far away from town. There are +no proper educational advantages to be had in the depths of the +country." + +"We shall be sorry when it comes to good-bye," declared the girls. + +"We must make the most of our remaining time here then," said Miss +Russell, "and try to see all we can in the neighbourhood before we go." + +The mistress's birthday, falling on the following Wednesday, offered a +propitious opportunity for an excursion such as she suggested. The girls +were accustomed to celebrate the occasion with some little festivity, +and were delighted when it was arranged that they should visit the town +of Appleford, about ten miles away. + +"There is the Dripping Well to see, and a fine old church," said Miss +Russell. "I am sure we shall be able to spend a very pleasant afternoon +there. We must ask Monica to come with us." + +There was some doubt at first as to whether Monica would be able to +accept the invitation. She had missed her French lesson one day, and +arrived at school late on the next, looking pale and upset. Mrs. +Courtenay had been very ill, so she explained. The doctor had been sent +for, and had given an unfavourable report. Naturally extra care and +attention were needful, and who could give these so well as her own +daughter? + +On the day of the picnic Monica turned up with rather an anxious face. + +"I scarcely like to leave Mother," she said, "but she wants me so much +to have this treat that she would not rest content until she had seen me +put on my hat and start off. Fortunately Jenny is a good nurse, and will +look after her nicely. Still, I always feel uneasy when I am long away +from her." + +The girls were to drive the whole distance to Appleford, and the +prospect was so exhilarating that everyone was at the high-water mark of +enjoyment. Even poor Monica caught the prevailing spirit, and for the +moment, at least, began to forget her cares. There was just room to pack +both teachers and pupils into the four wagonettes which arrived from the +George Inn, but nobody seemed to mind crushing, and even Mademoiselle +was in a good temper. + +"I smile because I shall again see shops and streets," she declared. + +"I believe Mademoiselle will be delighted to go back to Winterburn +Lodge," said Marjorie Butler, who was in another wagonette, but +overheard the remark. + +"Yes, I think she's absolutely yearning for pavements and lamp-posts," +said Cicely. "She'll weep with joy at the sight of a tramcar. She says +it is terribly 'triste' here." + +"Mademoiselle is French," observed Effie Hargreaves scornfully. + +"What a very original remark! You didn't suppose we took her for a +German?" + +"Well, I mean she's a foreigner at any rate, so we can't expect her to +like the country," replied Effie, with true British prejudice. + +There were several small excitements on the journey. Beryl's hat was +blown by a sudden puff of wind over a bridge, and was in great peril of +descending into the river when it was rescued by the driver; the door of +the second wagonette burst suddenly open, and nearly precipitated Irene +Spencer into the road; while the whole cavalcade was brought to a +standstill at a narrow turning by finding a broken-down motor-car +blocking up the way. + +Appleford proved to be a delightfully quaint old country town, with +twisting streets and black-and-white houses. + +"I'm afraid Mademoiselle will be very disappointed with the fashions. +She certainly won't find Paris modes here," laughed Marjorie Butler, +looking at the one row of small shop windows that appeared to satisfy +the wants of the population. + +"I'm glad there's a confectioner's, anyhow," said Effie Hargreaves, who +was burning to spend her pocket-money on chocolates. + +"And a place for picture postcards," added Nora Proctor; "I can see a +whole tray full of them standing outside that door." + +The arrival of four wagonettes containing so many schoolgirls evidently +caused quite an excitement in the usually quiet street. Heads were +popped out of windows, shopkeepers came to their doors, and people began +to collect at corners and stare. + +"Almost as if we were a wild-beast show!" said Cicely. + +"I believe they hope we're going to march in procession round the market +square and sing, or play as a band," declared Nora Proctor. + +"Come along, girls! I am afraid we are attracting too much attention," +said Miss Russell. "Let us set off for the Dripping Well as fast as we +can. You must make any purchases you want when we return; I cannot let +you wait now." + +Effie Hargreaves had already dived into the toffee shop, and issued with +several paper packages in her hand; so she went on her way rejoicing +that she had seized the opportunity while there was yet time. +Fortunately for the others, she was of a generous disposition, and ready +to share her sweets. + +"We'll pay you back when we get some of our own," said Marjorie Butler, +blissfully sucking a caramel. + +The Dripping Well was situated in a wood, about a mile from the town, +and was, as the guide-book described it, "a most curious natural +phenomenon". The water trickled slowly over a large rock, and was so +charged with lime that it left a thin deposit over everything it +touched. Articles hung up there, after a short time bore the appearance +of having been turned to stone. All kinds of objects were suspended from +the rock, in the process of being encrusted by the lime--top hats, +boots, stockings, gloves, loaves of bread, and even bunches of flowers. + +"It looks just as if the Gorgon had stared at them and petrified them +with a glance," said Nora. + +"I wonder, if we were hung up, should we turn solid too?" said Lindsay. + +The caretaker of the well had many specimens to show them which he had +polished, and was anxious to sell. There was quite a large collection in +his cottage. The girls, after hastily conferring together, bought a +stone bouquet as a birthday present for Miss Russell, an offering which +she declared should grace the school museum when they returned to +Winterburn Lodge. + +"I thought she'd have put it in the drawing-room," said Beryl Austen, +rather disappointed. + +"Well, of course it is more of a curiosity than an ornament," said +Mildred Roper. "It wouldn't have looked very beautiful decorating the +mantel-piece, I'm afraid--not nearly so nice as a real bunch of +flowers." + +Close to the well was a cave in the cliff which a hermit had once used +for his cell--a very picturesque spot to have chosen for his +meditations, so the girls decided. + +"But horribly damp; the poor man must have been racked with rheumatism," +said Miss Frazer, who was of a practical mind. + +"Perhaps, like Friar Tuck, he didn't often use it, and preferred to hunt +venison in the woods," suggested Kathleen Crawford. + +"No, he was a really devout hermit, who told his beads, and lived on +bread and water," said Monica. "He dug his own grave in the rock about a +hundred yards from here. You can see it still, though his bones have +long ago been taken away for relics." + +"I wonder if they petrified them first in the well," said Nora Proctor, +"and how much they sold them for? There are more than two hundred bones +in the human body, so a hermit ought to have been worth a good deal when +he was properly divided." + +"You naughty, irreverent girl!" said Monica. + +Tea had been prepared at the old-fashioned inn in the market square. +Afterwards they went to look through the church, where there were some +fine examples of Gothic carving, and several beautiful stained-glass +windows. One in particular, which Monica pointed out, was in memory of a +member of the Courtenay family. There was a chained Bible, besides a +black-letter Prayer Book, a pair of tongs for turning dogs out of +church, and several other curiosities shown by the old verger; so time +passed rapidly, and everyone was quite surprised when Miss Russell +looked at her watch, and announced that they must be returning home. + +"Will someone fetch Monica? I believe she is in the churchyard with the +Rector's wife," she said. + +Lindsay and Cicely volunteered to go, and found their friend under a big +yew tree, engaged in talking to a lady who was evidently making +enquiries about Mrs. Courtenay. Not liking to intrude and interrupt the +conversation, they stood waiting until they should be noticed. + +"The doctor was over yesterday," Monica was saying, with a choke in her +voice. "He told me our only chance is to send to London for Sir William +Garrett. And how can we? His fee is a hundred guineas." + +"That is a heavy amount." + +"Impossible for us. You know how gladly I would sell even the Manor to +raise the money, but I cannot touch a penny of my property until I come +of age, and that won't be for more than four years. I try not to blame +Uncle Giles, yet sometimes----" + +Here Monica broke down altogether, and wiped her eyes. + +"You mustn't give up hope, my dear child," said the Rector's wife +kindly. "Perhaps your mother may be spared to you after all. Strange +things come to pass sometimes, and good can often result from evil." + +"I wish I could believe so," sobbed Monica. "I don't care in the least +about the fortune for myself; I only want it when I think of what it +might do for her!" + + * * * * * + +"Cicely!" said Lindsay solemnly the next morning, as she tied her hair +ribbon before the looking-glass, "we simply must have another try to +find that treasure." + +Cicely paused with her brush in her hand. + +"It's dreadful that Mrs. Courtenay may die because they can't scrape +together a hundred guineas," she agreed. + +"And Monica is breaking her heart over it," continued Lindsay. "She goes +about looking so unhappy, it makes me quite miserable too. I'd give +everything in the world I have to help her." + +"I don't know where we're to hunt next. We seem to have explored every +corner, and we never have any luck." + +Cicely's voice sounded utterly despondent. + +"We can only go to the lantern room again. It's the one place where +we're sure there's a secret. If Merle could discover something there, +why shouldn't we?" + +It appeared a forlorn hope, but anything was better than just sitting +down and making no effort at all. Monica's troubles weighed much on +Lindsay's mind. The idea that the invalid must slip out of life for lack +of the money that might save her seemed too cruel to be endured. + +"I wish I had a hundred guineas of my own to give them," she thought +sorrowfully. "Oh dear! it's such a big sum--one might as well wish for +the moon. I'm afraid there's not the slightest chance for poor Mrs. +Courtenay unless the legacy turns up." + +It was in rather a dejected mood that the girls betook themselves to the +upper landing that afternoon, and once more climbed the now familiar +winding staircase. The lantern room looked exactly the same as on their +two former visits. There was nothing in it to excite interest or arouse +curiosity. A more unromantic chamber could not be conceived. + +The window was closed, the rusty firegrate contained only a few ashes, +and the door of the cupboard stood open, revealing rows of empty +shelves. The one object worthy of notice was the ancient lantern, which +hung from a hook in the middle of the ceiling. That, at any rate, was +curious. It was of a quaint, medieval pattern, and the sides, instead of +being of glass, were of thin pieces of horn. + +"It's a funny old thing," said Lindsay. "I suppose they used a dip +candle for it. I wonder if there's a piece left in it still?" + +She stood on tiptoe, and made an effort to open the lantern, but it was +hung too high to allow her to peep inside. Reaching up as best she +could, she gave it a jerk, to try to lift it down. Quite suddenly and +unexpectedly the lantern and hook descended by a chain from the ceiling. +There was a strange grating sound, and, turning round, the girls saw a +sight which made them gasp with amazement. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +The Lantern Room + + +Lindsay and Cicely might well cry out with surprise. A most peculiar +thing had happened. A part of the back of the cupboard had opened like a +door, revealing a narrow passage behind. Here at last was the +hiding-place for which they had sought so long in vain. + +They had never suspected the cupboard. It looked so ordinary, with its +rows of shelves, that no one would have dreamt it concealed a secret +exit. By a clever arrangement the lantern evidently worked a spring, and +when pulled down caused the door to unclose automatically. Somebody in +days gone by had no doubt constructed it thus to form a refuge in time +of danger. The girls were in raptures of delight. + +"This, of course, was where Mrs. Wilson vanished," said Lindsay. + +"And what Merle saw," added Cicely. + +[Illustration: THE SECRET DOOR] + +It was an intense satisfaction to have found it out for themselves, +especially when they had come upstairs with such small expectation of +success. Where did the passage lead? That was naturally the first +question they asked each other. + +"It looks very dark," said Cicely, peering rather nervously into the +opening. + +"I wish we had a candle," said Lindsay. "There isn't even an end left +inside the lantern, and we've no matches either." + +"Shall I go downstairs and fetch some?" suggested Cicely. + +"No, no! You might meet 'The Griffin' on the way. We'd better explore +now, as quickly as we can, while the coast is clear." + +It needed a little screwing up of courage to plunge into the dim +obscurity before them. Lindsay went first, with Cicely clinging +particularly closely on to her arm behind. The passage seemed to lead +along the inside of the wall for about two yards, then took a sharp +turn, and ended at the foot of a kind of ladder stairway. + +One gleam of light fell from above, as if through some small chink in +the roof, just sufficient to allow them to distinguish their +surroundings and enable them to scramble up the rough steps. At the top +they found themselves in a huge garret, how big they could not tell, for +the corners were completely lost in black nothingness. The floor was +thick with dust (such old dust!), and was so worm-eaten and rotten that +it felt quite soft and crumbling under their feet. + +They were close beneath the tiles, to judge from the rafters overhead. +The air was hot and stifling, and had that stale, mouldy smell +noticeable in places long shut up. They began to walk cautiously along, +peering on all sides as their eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness. + +"It's just the place for them to have put the treasure," said Cicely. + +"If we only had a light!" sighed Lindsay. "I want to go nearer the wall, +and see if I can find any heaps of money or silver tankards." + +She groped her way a little more boldly across the room, and, putting +out her foot, began to feel about. + +"Do be careful!" begged Cicely. + +It was a most necessary warning. The ancient, rotten boards could not +stand the strain of Lindsay's weight, and down went her leg, making a +great hole in the floor. Luckily she was not seriously hurt, only +scratched and considerably frightened. With Cicely's help she managed to +extricate herself, and withdrew to the safer middle of the garret. + +"The old house must be almost ready to tumble down," she declared. + +"Monica said parts of the Manor were very much out of repair," replied +Cicely. "Besides, if this is a secret place, no one could ever come up +to mend it." + +"I wonder where my leg went to?" said Lindsay. + +"Perhaps into some room below." + +"In that case Mrs. Wilson will notice a hole in the ceiling, and will +know somebody has been up here." + +It was not an encouraging incident, but they were determined to venture +farther all the same. + +"We couldn't think of turning back now," said Lindsay. + +At the far end of the room there was a door that seemed to lead into an +attic even darker than the first. + +"It's not much use going in there without a light," said Cicely. + +"Just a few steps," said Lindsay. + +She entered, and put up her hand to feel the height of the roof above. +Instantly there was a tremendous rushing sound around them. The air +seemed filled with flapping, shadowy forms, which brushed lightly +against their cheeks. In an agony of fear poor Cicely shrieked and +shrieked again, and clung to Lindsay desperately, as to the one +substantial and human thing in the midst of what was horrible and +unknown. + +"All right, they're only bats," gasped Lindsay, in a rather quavering +voice. "We've disturbed them, I expect." + +Slightly reassured, Cicely dared to raise her head from her friend's +shoulder and look round. They were surrounded by the fluttering wings +of the bats. These little denizens of the darkness must have been +hanging in numbers from the ceiling, and Lindsay's entrance had +disturbed them. With strange squeaks and hisses they flitted to and fro +for a few moments, then flew off to seek some safer retreat. + +"I hope they've really gone," said Cicely, heaving a sigh of relief. +"Don't go any farther in there, Lindsay. You can't see an inch before +your face." + +"But it may be the one important place," said Lindsay, yielding +reluctantly as Cicely pulled her back into the outer garret. "I'd +exchange all my next birthday presents for a candle." + +"Hush! I want to listen. I thought I heard something." + +"What?" + +"A kind of rustling." + +"I expect it was the bats, or a rat." + +Cicely gave an apprehensive glance behind. Her nerves were not so strong +as Lindsay's. Though she had had time to grow accustomed to scratchings +inside the wainscots at the Manor, she could not overcome her dread of +rats. Perhaps Lindsay was less valiant in her heart of hearts than she +would have liked to confess. After all, it was little satisfaction to +explore a room where she could see nothing. + +She was just deciding to go, when Cicely once more clutched her arm. + +"Oh, what is it?" + +The exclamation burst simultaneously from the lips of the two girls. +Close, almost, as it seemed, in their ears, echoed that horrible low +groan which had so terrified them twice before. Heard amidst such +strange and dim surroundings, it was more than flesh and blood could +stand. Without waiting to make any further investigations, they turned +and fled. + +They hardly knew afterwards how they had stumbled across the rotten +floor and scrambled down the ladder. With blinking eyes they looked into +each other's scared faces as they emerged from the dark passage into the +bright daylight of the lantern room again. + +"What a dreadful place!" shuddered Cicely. "I'm thankful we've got +safely away from it. I don't believe I'd venture up there again for all +the fortunes in the world." + +"We must close the entrance," said Lindsay anxiously. "We must take care +to leave everything as we found it." + +The secret door shut with a spring, and in a moment there was nothing to +be seen again but the innocent-looking cupboard. The lantern had +ascended to its former place in the ceiling; the chain worked on a +pulley, and, as it ran up or down, it fastened or unloosed the lock. + +Cicely, at any rate, was not sorry to descend to the more civilized +portions of the house. + +"I wonder if Merle explored as far as we did," she said. + +"I hardly think so," returned Lindsay. "She couldn't have had time. I +believe she must have met 'The Griffin' coming out, and have been +frightened into not telling." + +The more the girls talked the matter over, the more complicated seemed +the mystery. Though they had found Mrs. Wilson's hiding-place, they were +no nearer ascertaining whether the treasure was concealed there or +elsewhere. Out in the sunshine Lindsay's courage returned, and she began +to reproach herself for having given up the search so soon. + +"We'll go some other day, and take two candles and a box of matches with +us," she announced. + +"Is it really any good?" + +Cicely's spirit quailed at the prospect of once more encountering the +unknown horrors that might be lurking in that dark attic. She could not +forget the groans she had heard there. + +"Of course it is! I didn't think you'd be the one to draw back," said +Lindsay reproachfully. "We've both pledged ourselves to do everything in +our power to help Monica. It would be mean and cowardly to give in just +because we felt afraid. If you don't care to come with me, I shall have +to go alone. I'm only waiting for a good opportunity." + +For several days the opportunity tarried. Mrs. Wilson was too often +about the passages to make the expedition safe. On one occasion Cicely +went to act scout, but found the housemaid sweeping the top landing, and +had to beat a hasty retreat. + +They were not able to discover where Lindsay's leg had descended so +suddenly through the rotten floor, or whether any of the ceilings in the +upper rooms had suffered in consequence. If Mrs. Wilson had found out +the damage, she kept her own counsel. When at last they managed to seize +a favourable chance, and to steal up the winding staircase, a sad +checkmate awaited them. The door of the lantern room was securely +fastened with a padlock. + +"Scott said he was going to put one on," said Lindsay, after staring +blankly at the unwelcome impediment. "Don't you remember, when he was +talking to 'The Griffin' in the picture gallery, and she told him we had +been here?" + +"I'm certain they suspect us," returned Cicely. "Perhaps they only took +part of the silver or jewellery away in that sack, and the rest is still +up in the garret." + +The sole plan of action they could think of after this last +disappointment was to keep a watch upon Scott. If he had really +concealed a portion of the treasure in the garden, he would probably go +to look at it occasionally, to make sure of its safety. At Cicely's +urgent request they had already made a careful examination, with a +trowel, of the bank where Scott had been digging when they surprised him +in the dark. It was fruitless work, however; nothing was there. + +"I told you beforehand they wouldn't be so foolish," said Lindsay. + +"I thought they might have dropped a piece of money, or an ear-ring +perhaps, in their hurry--just something to show us what had actually +been here," said Cicely, grubbing about in the loose soil. + +"Trust Scott and Mrs. Wilson! They're an uncommonly clever couple. You +may be sure they'd take care not to leave even a sixpence behind them." + +"I've heard that criminals can't keep away from a place where they've +buried anything," continued Cicely. "They always haunt the spot." + +"Then we must notice where Scott goes most frequently," replied Lindsay. + +For the present, Scott seemed to be particularly attracted to the +cucumber frames. + +"He's there constantly," said Cicely. + +"Far oftener than is necessary, I'm sure," agreed Lindsay. + +"It might be a likely place, too," added Cicely meditatively. + +Several small incidents seemed to confirm their surmises. + +"He was so cross last night when Marjorie Butler sent her ball over the +hedge into the kitchen-garden, and went to fetch it," said Lindsay. + +"Yes, he said she might have broken the glass in one of the frames; but +I don't suppose that was the real reason. She may have gone near him +just when he was putting something back." + +"I heard Miss Russell asking him when the cucumbers would be ready, and +he answered in a great hurry: 'Not for ever so long yet'. And then he +said it was 'best not to be lifting the frames, and disturbing them more +than needful'." + +"He was evidently afraid she was going to ask to see them." + +The idea that silver cups, jewels, or spade-guineas might be lying +hidden under the glossy leaves of the cucumber plants began to obtain +possession of the girls' minds. + +"If we could only manage to look while he's out of the way," suggested +Cicely eagerly. + +Scott's close attention to his duties was most annoying. There really +appeared to be something in Cicely's theory of criminals haunting a +particular spot. He seemed never absent from the kitchen-garden, at any +rate when they were in its vicinity. They could hear him mowing the lawn +during lesson hours, but when recreation arrived, and they ran out +hopefully to reconnoitre, he would be weeding the strawberries, or +gathering peas within a few feet of his cherished hotbeds. + +"There's only one way for it," said Lindsay. "We shall have to make a +plot. You must hide near the kitchen-garden, and I'll do something to +take him off; then, while he's gone, you must rush to the frames and +open them." + +"That would be grand! What will you do? + +"I shall have to think it over. I know! We'll wait till this evening, +when he's watering the cucumbers. I'll stand on the pipe of the hose; +that will stop the water, and he'll go to see what's the matter." + +"Capital!" agreed Cicely. + +It took a little scheming to arrange their plan satisfactorily. They +were much afraid lest Scott should do his watering earlier than usual, +and greatly relieved when they ran out after preparation to find him +only just beginning to uncoil his hose. He used a small tank on wheels, +which he generally left on the gravel walk outside the kitchen-garden, +bringing the indiarubber tubing through the hedge. + +To the girls' extreme annoyance, Marjorie Butler spied them, and, coming +up, insisted upon reading aloud to them a letter she had received that +morning from a sailor cousin. Would she never go away? It was too +tiresome of her to confide in them at such an inappropriate time. + +"Don't let us keep you, if you want to play tennis," begged Lindsay, +with cold politeness. + +"Oh, I don't mind at all, thank you! I thought you'd be interested to +hear about Cousin Cyril," replied Marjorie. + +Lindsay wished sincerely that Cousin Cyril had been at the bottom of the +sea, instead of sailing over it and writing long descriptions of its +charms. The precious moments were passing by. She could hear the gentle +swish of the water as Scott applied the hose; if they were not quick, he +would have finished, and the opportunity would be gone. + +"I believe Miss Russell is coming out to play croquet to-night," she +ventured desperately. + +"Is she? Oh! she promised I might be on her side next time. I wonder if +she's there yet? I must go and see at once." + +"Thank goodness!" ejaculated Lindsay, as their classmate's blue-linen +dress disappeared along the avenue. "Now, I'm going to put this heavy +stone on the hose pipe, just where it goes through the hedge. Then we'll +both creep through that hole into the kitchen-garden." + +Without wasting another minute, Lindsay hastily did as she had said, +concealing the stone among the long grass, after which both girls +crawled through the hedge into the midst of a bed of Jerusalem +artichokes. As they had expected, their plot answered admirably. Scott +gave a grunt of vexation, and looked at his hose. His water supply had +undoubtedly failed him. He stumped away, grumbling, to examine the tank. + +"I don't believe he'll ever look amongst the grass. He'll think +something's wrong with the tap," chuckled Lindsay. + +The moment Scott had vanished through the gate, they dashed (regardless +of the artichokes!) in the direction of the frames. Lindsay slid her +hands rapidly in a search under the large, vine-like leaves; and Cicely, +armed with a trowel, began to dig furiously. All in vain! Though they +prodded the soil with sticks they could not feel anything particularly +solid underneath, and there was no time to make very deep excavations. + +"He's coming back!" panted Lindsay. "Smooth the earth over in that +corner, and place that leaf to hide it. Quick, or he'll catch us! Don't +go through the artichokes; we must run the other way!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +Hide-and-Seek + + +The July days literally flew, and the term was drawing rapidly to a +close. Miss Russell seemed determined to make the very most of the last +weeks at the Manor, and arranged something fresh for nearly every +afternoon. On one day there was a cricket match, on another a putting +contest, and on a third a tennis tournament, all of which caused much +excitement in the small world of the school. + +Both Lindsay and Cicely were fond of games, and anxious to win their +share of distinction, so by mutual consent they decided to relax their +watch on Scott until after the athletic sports. These were always +considered a great event, and this year were to be on a larger scale +than usual. + +"It's so splendid to be able to have them in these lovely grounds," said +Mildred Roper. "There never seemed half enough room on the lawn at +Winterburn Lodge." + +"I hear Miss Russell is going to give quite a party," volunteered Nora +Proctor. "She's invited the Rector and Mrs. Cross and all the people +who have called on her at Haversleigh, so we shall have plenty of +spectators." + +"I wish Mrs. Courtenay could come," exclaimed Cicely. + +"I wish indeed she could. I'm afraid she must be worse to-day, as Monica +was not at the history class," said Mildred. + +All the girls were busy "getting into good form", as they expressed it. +The elder ones worked untiringly at tennis, while the younger ones +practised running with a zeal worthy of candidates for a Marathon race. + +"Miss Russell says there'll be several handicaps, but she won't tell us +what they are," remarked Beryl Austen. + +"Well, it's much more fun if you don't know beforehand," returned Effie +Hargreaves. "They wouldn't be handicaps if we could do them too easily." + +"I found a piece of four-leaved clover yesterday," observed Cicely, "so +I ought to be lucky. I showed it to Mademoiselle, and she was quite +envious. 'Vous aurez la chance!'" she said. + +"How jolly! Have you kept it?" + +"Rather! I've left it to press between two pieces of blotting-paper, +under a pile of books. I'm going to have it put in a locket when I go +home." + +"I don't believe in luck," declared Nora. "I'm sure all the four-leaved +clovers in the world wouldn't make Marjorie Butler win a race. She's out +of breath before she's run ten yards." + +"Is Monica going to take part?" asked Beryl. + +"I don't know. She said she had put her name down provisionally. If she +does, I expect she'll astonish us all. She can jump most +beautifully--she's as light as a feather." + +The afternoon of the sports was brilliantly fine. By half-past two the +guests had assembled on the big lawn. They looked quite a small crowd. +The school had aroused interest in the neighbourhood, and people had +come from several miles' distance in response to Miss Russell's cards of +invitation. Irene Spencer was the only girl who could boast of having +any relations present, her uncle, aunt, and several cousins having +driven over from Linforth Vicarage. The visitors were evidently prepared +to enjoy everything. + +"It is not often we have an opportunity in the country of witnessing +Olympic games. I am looking forward to seeing so many young Atalantas +run races. Where are the wreaths of laurel and parsley that are to grace +the occasion?" said Mr. Cross, the genial rector, who was fond of a +joke, and at home among schoolgirls. + +"There aren't any," laughed Cicely. "Miss Russell uses the laurel leaves +to flavour the custards, and the parsley to garnish the hams." + +"I'm astonished at her putting such classic plants to such ignoble +purposes. She has asked me to distribute the prizes, and I thought I +should be expected to place green chaplets upon the brows of the +victors. It's too bad, when I had composed a speech on purpose. You +suggest I should make up another? Not so easy, my dears. I shall come to +some of you for assistance. I wonder if Miss Frazer would be equal to +the occasion?" + +"I'm sure she couldn't think of anything funny," declared Cicely. + +"Then I shall have to trust to what I can say on the spur of the moment. +If you notice I'm breaking down, please begin to clap, and then +everybody will suppose I have finished. Here comes Miss Russell. I +believe she wants me to act umpire too. Greatness is being thrust upon +me. I hope I shan't disgrace my high position." + +In spite of the Rector's mock protestations, he seemed very capable of +managing the sports, and reviewed the rows of waiting girls with the eye +of a general. + +"It takes me back to my own schooldays," he said. "I used to think then +I would much rather win the long jump than be made Archbishop of +Canterbury; and I considered the captain of our cricket club a far +bigger fellow than the Prime Minister. Where's Monica? Isn't she joining +in to-day's doings?" + +Monica arrived at the last moment, just when everybody had given her up, +and took her place quietly among the members of the first form. + +"I was afraid I couldn't come at all," she explained; "but Mother is +asleep now, so I can leave her for an hour, at any rate. I have told +Jenny to send for me if she wakes." + +The first item on the programme was a tennis contest, limited to the +elder girls. It was a hard-fought battle, as the competitors were evenly +balanced, and it ended in a victory for Mildred Roper and Kathleen +Crawford. Monica played well, but she had not been able to spend so much +time at practice as the others, and she missed several balls. + +"It was very stupid of me," she apologized. "I never seem to grow +accustomed to Mildred's fast serves." + +A race followed for the second class, which Irene Spencer, much cheered +by her cousins, nearly succeeded in winning, though she was beaten at +the last by Merle Hammond, who made a sudden and unexpected spurt. It +was now the turn of the third-form girls. They were to run a handicap, +and awaited particulars with much eagerness. + +"Miss Russell seems to set as severe tasks as the wicked stepmother in +the fairy tales," said Mr. Cross. "She decrees that you are each to be +given a small box of peas and beans and buttons mixed together, and that +you are to sort them before you start to run the race. Will you please +all kneel on the grass with your boxes in front of you. Are you ready? +One--two--three--off!" + +It was a question of deftness of fingers. Effie Hargreaves justified the +old proverb, "More haste, less speed", by upsetting her box; and +Marjorie Butler got her piles mixed in her agitation. Cicely finished +first, and was halfway across the lawn before Nora Proctor overtook her. +It was a keen struggle between these two. All the others were some +distance behind, for Lindsay was not so fleet of foot, and Beryl Austen +slipped and fell on the dry grass. + +"It's Nora! No, it's Cicely!" cried the girls. "Well done, Cicely! Go +on, Nora! She's gaining! No, she isn't! Why, it's Cicely after all!" as +the latter reached the winning-post a couple of yards in advance of her +opponent. + +"Well run!" said the Rector. "You got over the course like young +greyhounds. If you learn lessons at the same speed, you will turn out +prodigies. Why is Miss Russell shaking her head? She says there is no +danger of that. Really, I feel quite relieved to hear it. I was +beginning to be almost afraid of you. I believe you are expected to pick +up the beans before we continue our proceedings." + +The programme was arranged so as to be as varied as possible. There were +a round at clock-golf, a skipping tournament, an egg-and-spoon race, and +an archery contest. + +"It's jumping next," said Lindsay, as Miss Frazer and Miss Humphreys +came forward, carrying a rope; "the first-form girls are to begin. I +particularly want to see Monica." + +Monica had taken her place modestly at the very end of the line, so that +at each trial she was the last to compete. Her movements were very light +and graceful, and the girls watched her with approval. One by one, as +the rope was raised higher, the competitors began to thin, till at +length their number was reduced to three--Kathleen Crawford, Bertha +Marston, and Monica. + +All looked eagerly to see the next attempt. Kathleen just managed to +scramble over, Bertha failed utterly, but Monica took the jump with +absolute ease. + +"This will be the final test, I expect," said Miss Russell, when the two +successful ones returned to the starting-point. + +"I don't think they can do that!" murmured Lindsay, gazing with awe at +what was to her the impossible height required. + +It was too much for Kathleen. She ran, balked, and made another vain +effort, to give it up. + +"Now, Monica!" + +The name was on everybody's lips. + +Monica appeared to be perfectly cool, far less excited, indeed, than the +spectators. + +"Rest a moment, my dear, if you are out of breath," suggested Miss +Russell. + +"No, thank you. It would hardly seem fair to Kathleen. I'll try now." + +"Took it like a bird!" cried the Rector, clapping his hands, as the rope +was once more successfully cleared. + +The girls raised a storm of cheering, to show partly their admiration +for the skilful deed, partly their appreciation of Monica herself. + +"She is a great favourite in the school," Miss Russell explained to Mr. +Cross. + +"I am delighted to see her mixing with other young people," he replied; +"she has a dull time, poor child, as a rule, and has felt the +disappointment about her uncle's property more than she cares to +confess. Mrs. Courtenay's illness is very distressing. My wife was +speaking to the doctor yesterday: he considers Sir William Garrett ought +to be sent for at once; in a few weeks it may prove too late." + +"You have known the family a long time?" asked Miss Russell. + +"Since Monica's birth. I was as well acquainted with old Sir Giles as he +would allow anyone to be. I used to call and see him sometimes, and +discuss botany, the only subject in which he showed any interest. He +lived so penuriously that his income must have accumulated for many +years. He rarely spoke of business matters, but on one occasion he +requested me to sign my name as witness to some document, the contents +of which he did not tell me. + +"He referred, however, to Monica as if she were to benefit substantially +under his will, and asked me if I considered it harmful for a girl to be +left an heiress. I assured him it would not be so in her case; both her +disposition and upbringing were such that money could not spoil her. + +"'A season of adversity is often the best preparation for prosperity,' +he replied. + +"I have remembered his words ever since. + +"He sent for me on his deathbed, and I have sometimes wondered if there +were any secret he wished to confide to me. Most unfortunately I was +visiting a sick parishioner several miles away, and did not get the +message in time. When I arrived at the Manor he was past speech. He +tried to scrawl a few lines on a piece of paper, but the writing was +quite undecipherable. If he regretted any earthly act, it was too late +then to alter it; he was going to settle his great account." + +While the Rector and the headmistress were talking, tea had been carried +into the garden, and the girls now busied themselves in attending on the +guests. + +"I think the competitors must need refreshment more than we do," said +Mrs. Cross, as Cicely handed her the cream. + +"They are not forgotten," said Miss Russell, "but they are only too +pleased to make themselves useful first." + +Certainly the girls could not complain of being neglected; both cakes +and strawberries were waiting for them on a separate table, where Miss +Frazer was presiding. + +When tea was over, the prizes were brought out, and the Rector, with a +few appropriate remarks, began to distribute the awards. Cicely went up +proudly to receive a pencil-case, and Nora Proctor, who had won the +egg-and-spoon race, was presented with a box of chocolates. + +"First prize for high jump, Monica Courtenay," announced Mr. Cross. + +Everyone looked round for Monica, but she was nowhere to be found. + +"She was here just before tea," said Miss Humphreys. + +"I saw their maid come and speak to her during the archery competition," +said Beryl Austen. "She went away immediately." + +"She was obliged to go to her mother, no doubt, and did not wish to +interrupt the shooting by saying good-bye," commented Miss Russell. "We +must keep her prize for her." + +"She won't get the clapping, though," lamented Lindsay. + +"I think Monica will be rather glad to avoid that," said Mildred Roper. +"She's so shy and retiring, she doesn't like to be made a public +character." + +The day following the sports was hopelessly wet. Lindsay and Cicely were +awakened in the morning by the drip, drip of the rain on the ivy +outside, and the splashing of water as it fell from the spout into the +butt underneath. It was an absolutely drenching downpour, coming from a +leaden sky that showed no prospect of clearing. + +The weather had been so glorious during their stay at the Manor that +they felt aggrieved at the change. It was particularly annoying, because +Irene's uncle and aunt had invited all the girls to walk over to +Linforth that afternoon, promising to show them the church, and to +regale them with cherries afterwards in the Vicarage orchard. + +"Wet at seven, fine at eleven!" said the sanguine Cicely. + +"Not to-day, I'm afraid," replied Lindsay. "The glass was dropping last +night. It's set in for a deluge." + +The whole school seemed slightly depressed in spirits in consequence of +the rain. No doubt it was a reaction from the excitement of the +afternoon before. All their favourite occupations lay outside, and it +was so long since they had been weather-bound that they seemed scarcely +able to amuse themselves in the house. Everybody lounged about idly +during afternoon recreation, looking dismally out of the windows at the +lawns, where the markings of the tennis courts were being rapidly washed +away. + +"It's no use staring at the puddles," said Lindsay. "We can't possibly +go to Linforth. It's just a piece of abominably bad luck. Everything's +horrid!" + +Lessons had not been a success that morning. Perhaps Miss Frazer also +felt the influence of the gloomy day. Her pupils, at any rate, had been +unusually stupid and inattentive; Lindsay, in particular, had merited a +sharp scolding, and was dejected in consequence. + +"We must do something," said Cicely. "I vote we hunt up the rest of our +class, and go upstairs and have a really good game of hide-and-seek." + +As anything seemed better than sitting still, the other girls agreed +readily to come and play. + +"Two can hide and four can look," said Marjorie. "Only, we'll keep on +this landing." + +The old Manor offered a splendid field for the purpose; it was so full +of cupboards and crannies and odd nooks that it was quite hard to find +anybody. The dull day improved the fun, for twilight reigned in most of +the passages, and rendered many hairbreadth escapes possible. Nora +actually had her hand on Beryl's foot without discovering the fact; +Effie crept inside a suit of armour, and baffled pursuit for ever so +long; and Marjorie was almost given up, but at length was discovered +crouching in a dark angle which the others had passed several times +without noticing her. + +It was now the turn of Lindsay and Cicely to hide. They were determined +to choose a specially good place, and debated the point until the latter +grew impatient. + +"Do be quick!" she exclaimed. "They'll soon have finished counting a +hundred." + +"I can't make up my mind whether it's better behind the tapestry or +under the ottoman," deliberated Lindsay. + +"Cuckoo!" cried Beryl's voice. + +"They're coming! We've no time for either. We must get into the old +box-settle." + +It was the only possible retreat near at hand. Already they could hear +the girls' footsteps creaking along the oaken boards of the picture +gallery; in another moment they would have turned into the passage, and +reached the top of the stairs. Without more ado both hiders scrambled +inside the settle, and pulled down the lid over their heads. + +It was a very tight fit indeed for two, and most uncomfortable. + +"Could you let me have an inch more room?" begged Cicely in an agonized +whisper. + +"I'll try," returned Lindsay. + +It was difficult to stir in such narrow quarters. To move at all, she +was obliged to make a vigorous heave towards her end of the chest. The +effect was as unexpected as extraordinary. Lo and behold! the entire +bottom of the settle seemed to give way, and without any warning the two +girls were precipitated into some unknown place below. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A Surprise + + +So sudden was their descent that Lindsay and Cicely had no time even to +cry out. They evidently had not fallen far, and though for a moment they +both thought they were killed, they soon found that beyond a few bruises +neither was hurt. They picked themselves up in a state of bewilderment, +and stared around them as if hardly realizing yet what had happened. + +They were in a little low chamber about eight feet square. The walls +were of unpolished oak timbers, roughly plastered in between, and the +floor also was of oak beams. In one corner there was a tiny window, +covered with a mass of cobwebs, through which nevertheless came +sufficient light to enable them to see their surroundings. The trapdoor +in the ceiling, through which they had dropped so unexpectedly, must +have worked on a swivel, for it had righted itself again, and was once +more closed above them. + +Still half-dazed, the girls stood for a moment trying to recover their +scattered wits, too shaken and amazed even to speak. + +"Well!" exclaimed Lindsay at last, with a volume of meaning in the +monosyllable. + +"This is a house of surprises!" cried Cicely. + +"Where are we?" + +"How can I tell?" + +"We seemed to tumble through the bottom of the settle." + +"Yes, after you gave that great lurch to your end." + +"We must be in another secret hiding-place." + +"Then I vote we hunt about, and see what's in it." + +One side of the small room was completely filled, as high as the +ceiling, with a pile of boxes. They seemed a very miscellaneous +collection. There were ancient hair trunks, such as were in use seventy +or eighty years ago, made of wood covered with cow hide, with the hair +left on; there were leather portmanteaux with strong brass corners, tin +trunks, and even plain wooden packing-cases. On the floor, and leaning +against the boxes, stood a row of fair-sized linen bags, and a couple of +larger sacks. + +It seemed to the girls as if they must have penetrated to some forgotten +lumber room. Everything was thickly covered with the accumulated dirt +and cobwebs of years. They could have written their names in the dust. +As if she were moving in a dream, Lindsay stooped, and picked up one of +the linen bags. + +"How heavy it is!" she said. "I wonder what's inside?" + +"It feels like something hard," replied Cicely, pinching it critically +with her finger and thumb. + +The mouth was secured by a cord, and Lindsay fumbled long trying to +untie the knot. + +"Oh! don't bother over it; here's my penknife," cried Cicely, waxing +impatient. + +In another moment she had cut the string, and a shower of golden +sovereigns came pouring out on to the floor. The two girls looked at +each other, with faces that were almost awe-stricken. + +"Cicely!" said Lindsay solemnly. "I verily believe we have found Sir +Giles's fortune!" + +A further examination established the matter beyond any doubt. The bags +were filled to the brim with gold pieces. In a state of intense +excitement the girls continued their investigations. The two large sacks +contained salvers, tankards, and goblets, dull and tarnished indeed, but +unmistakably of silver. It was difficult to get at the boxes, but they +managed to clamber up and open one at the top of the pile, disclosing +more silver articles and some ornaments of gold. + +"Don't let us pull out too many things, or we shan't be able to stuff +them back again," said Cicely, trying to close the lid of the +overflowing hair trunk. + +"No doubt these underneath are filled with money or jewels," said +Lindsay rapturously. + +"This little box seems made of silver," remarked Cicely, taking up a +small antique casket that specially claimed her attention. Its sides +were beautifully chased in classic designs, and it bore the Courtenay +arms on the lid. + +"It's full of pieces of paper, with figures on them," she continued. + +"Let me look!" cried Lindsay. "Why, don't you see?--they're bank notes!" + +They were certainly in the midst of treasures. The extent of Sir Giles's +hoard had evidently not been exaggerated. At the bottom of the casket +lay a letter addressed: + + "TO MY GREAT-NIECE MONICA COURTENAY." + +"The writing on the envelope is exactly the same as in the _Floral +Calendar_," said Cicely. "I remember those funny flourishes, and the +'a's' not closed at the top." + +"So it is; I should know the sprawling look of it anywhere." + +"It's such funny, old-fashioned writing, as if it were done with a quill +pen. I think we had better put this away again." + +Lindsay replaced the letter carefully with the bank notes inside the +silver box. + +"Then Sir Giles did intend the enigma for a guide," she observed. "The +last lines were right. + + '... you'll see 'tis a matter + Perchance may provide you with just a lost link, + And bring you a greater reward than you think.'" + +"And the settle concealed the legacy after all!" + +"Yes, a great deal more safely than we supposed." + +"I never imagined the treasure would be in a place like this, all stowed +away in old boxes! I thought we should press a secret spring, and a +panel would fly open in the wall, and then we should see money and +jewels lying together in a big heap!" + +"I don't mind how we've found it, so long as it's here." + +"Still, it's a surprise!" + +"It will be a splendid surprise for Monica. This is actually her very +own." + +"She would have been content with a hundred guineas, and there are more +than a hundred guineas here," said Cicely, letting some of the +sovereigns slide through her fingers with a sigh of satisfaction. + +"She ought to know about it at once," returned Lindsay. "If you can tear +yourself away from these money bags, we'd better be thinking of going." + +"Yes, I suppose it's time we went back. By the by, how are we to get out +of this place?" + +Ah! How to go back?--that was the question! The trapdoor had shut itself +high above their heads. + +"I expect if we stand on one of the boxes, we can push it up!" said +Lindsay. + +With much difficulty they dragged a heavy chest across the floor and +climbed upon it. It was a fruitless effort. However hard they might try, +the trapdoor would not budge an inch. + +"There may be a secret spring," faltered Cicely, feeling in every +direction to find some bolt or knob, but all in vain. Then the horrible +truth broke upon them. They were locked up as securely as the legacy! + +"What are we to do?" + +Lindsay's pink cheeks were white with alarm. + +"Let us call. Perhaps the girls are hunting for us still in the passage, +and they may hear." + +Both shouted until they were hoarse, yet there was no reply. This was +indeed hide-and-seek with a vengeance. Their game had turned out more +than they had bargained for. + +"I'll bang on the ceiling. It may sound louder than calling," said +Lindsay. "The girls must have given us up, and gone downstairs, for +nobody seems to hear," she continued, after belabouring the trapdoor for +several minutes. + +"Perhaps they're at tea," suggested Cicely. + +They examined the little window in the corner, but the fastenings were +so rusty from long disuse that, tug as they would, they could not open +it. They wiped away the dust and cobwebs from it, and peeped out. + +"If it overlooks the garden, we could smash the glass and wave a +handkerchief, at any rate," proposed Lindsay. "Scott would be almost +sure to notice it, even if nobody else were out in the rain." + +Alas! the window appeared to be securely hidden away among the gables, +and absolutely out of sight from below. + +"Would it be possible to crawl on to the roof?" + +Lindsay shook her head in reply. The frame was too small for even the +slim Cicely to squeeze through. The girls sat down and surveyed the +piles of treasure around them with dismay. If they had required a sermon +on the vanity of riches, it was there without any need of words. + +"We can't eat bank notes, nor sleep on beds of sovereigns," remarked +Lindsay at last. + +"We may be shut up here for days and days before they find us," said +Cicely blankly. + +"They'll miss us directly, of course; but they won't know where to look. +Even if they peeped inside the settle, they wouldn't be any the wiser." + +"Do you remember the piece of poetry we read last week about Ginevra? +She hid inside a chest on her wedding day, when they were playing +hide-and-seek, and the lid snapped with a spring lock. They never found +her--only her bones, years afterwards!" + +"Don't talk of such horrible things." + +"How long does it take people to starve?" continued Cicely in a +tremulous voice. + +"About ten days, I believe. They grow gradually weaker and weaker." + +Cicely groaned. + +"There isn't anything to drink either, and I'm getting so thirsty," she +said, her eyes filling with tears. + +"We must try again," declared Lindsay, jumping up. "Let us pull out +another trunk, and manage to lift it on to the chest. I believe if I +were nearer the ceiling I should be able to push harder." + +The boxes were arranged in a rather random fashion, so that as the girls +dragged one from the bottom, the whole pile came tumbling down in +confusion. They had to jump aside to avoid being hurt. When the upset +was over, Cicely pointed silently to the wall opposite. In the part +which before had been hidden was a small, low door. Here, surely, was a +chance of escape. + +They scrambled over the packing-cases and trunks without troubling to +look inside them, though some had burst open in the fall. To find a way +out seemed at present far more important than more silver tankards and +salvers. + +Was this exit also secured? With trembling hands Lindsay raised the +latch. To her intense relief the door opened, showing a very narrow, +unlighted passage. + +After their experience in the garret it was not encouraging to find +themselves once more obliged to explore in the dark, but there seemed +nothing else to be done. + +"It must lead somewhere," said Cicely. "I'd rather go anywhere than stay +here." + +"We'd better step carefully, in case the floor is as rotten as it was in +the other place," cautioned Lindsay. The passage smelled dank and close. +The air in it had probably been unstirred for many years. The faint +light which entered it from the treasure room was soon lost, and they +were obliged to grope their way by feeling along the walls. On and on +they went for what appeared to be a considerable distance, sometimes +turning sharp corners, and sometimes going up or down rickety steps. + +"It must run half round the house," said Cicely. "Shall we never get to +the end?" + +Suddenly Lindsay, who was walking first, came to a halt. + +"I can't go any farther," she faltered; "there's a wall in front." + +The poor girls were almost in despair. They had been so confident that +the passage would surely be taking them to the outer world; to find +themselves once more at a full stop was a terrible blow. + +"Must we go all that dreadful long way back?" wailed Cicely. + +"I expect there is some door that we've passed without knowing it," +replied Lindsay, rather chokily. + +"Then we can never find it in the dark. It's no use. We shall both +starve to death here, and they'll discover our skeletons a hundred years +afterwards." + +Cicely had utterly broken down, and was sobbing bitterly. + +"We won't give up too soon," said Lindsay, whose sturdy courage stood +her in good stead on this occasion. + +She had been feeling about here and there on the blank wall that faced +them, and her fingers at last encountered something that seemed like a +sliding bolt. She pushed it back eagerly. A door opened outwards, +letting in a blaze of light. To their utter amazement they were gazing +down into the picture gallery! + +It did not take them many seconds to spring to the floor and turn round +to look through what aperture they had made their escape. It was the +portrait of Monica Courtenay that formed the secret exit. It had swung +out, frame and all, into the gallery, and appeared to be fitted with +hinges so as to close and unclose quite easily. + +"Now I see why the picture shook in its frame that day!" exclaimed +Cicely. "I wonder we never thought of this before." + +"And of course that was why she was supposed to guard the fortunes of +the Courtenays. No doubt they always kept their valuables in this +hiding-place, and only the head of the family would know the way to it." + +"So old sayings do generally mean something, and aren't just nonsense." + +"Let us go and tell at once. Everybody'll be wondering where we are. +They must be doing prep. now, and Miss Russell will be sitting with the +first class." + +The headmistress's tranquil demeanour was not usually easily ruffled, +but she sprang up in excitement as her two missing pupils burst into the +library proclaiming the glorious news. + +"Lindsay and Cicely! Where have you been? I was growing most uneasy at +your absence. You say you have actually found Sir Giles's treasure? It +is hardly to be credited. Girls, girls, try to calm yourselves and give +me an intelligible account!" as first one and then the other took up the +tale in disjointed sentences. + +"We played hide-and-seek--and fell through the bottom of the +settle--there were great bags of gold--and boxes of silver things and +bank notes--won't she be rich? And he'd written it in an enigma--we +thought we were going to starve there like Ginevra--and we climbed down +through the portrait--oh, may we go and tell Monica about it now?" + +"This is indeed a most extraordinary discovery," said Miss Russell, when +at length she had drawn from them a more lucid statement of affairs. +"Monica must certainly know, but no one is to tell her except myself. I +will go down presently to the cottage and see her, and warn her to break +the news very gently to her mother. If Mrs. Courtenay were to hear of it +suddenly, the shock might be exceedingly dangerous, in her weak state of +health." + +The news that something of great importance had happened seemed to +spread like wildfire through the school. Both teachers and pupils, +abandoning their books, came crowding into the library to hear +particulars. Even the servants hurried to the spot. + +"Oh, bless you, bless you!" cried Mrs. Wilson, who had pushed her way +among the girls to the central source of information. "This is indeed a +day of rejoicing--a day to remember and give thanks for to the end of +one's life!" + +Lindsay and Cicely stared at her in amazement. Was it actually "The +Griffin" who was speaking? And were those tears that were trickling down +her hard cheeks? What did it mean? Was she acting a part? Or had they +after all misjudged her? There was no time then for either surmises or +explanations. They were the heroines of the hour, and had to repeat +their story afresh to those who had not yet heard it at first hand. + +"We couldn't imagine where you were hidden," said Marjorie Butler. "We +were hunting in the picture gallery for ever so long. Beryl peeped +inside the settle, and said it was empty." + +"We were still more puzzled when you didn't turn up for tea," said Nora +Proctor. "Do tell us again about the bags of money!" + +Miss Russell, however, thinking the excitement had lasted long enough, +interfered and put a stop to the recital. + +"Everybody must go back to preparation at once," she decreed. "Lindsay +and Cicely have had no tea. Are you hungry?" she added, turning to the +adventurous pair. + +"Starving," they replied laconically. + +"Then I will excuse your preparation to-night, and you may come with me +to the dining-room. It would be rather hard to expect you to set to work +upon lessons immediately after such an experience." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +Good-bye to the Manor + + +Monica's agitation, when she heard that her uncle's legacy had been +found, was extreme. At first she refused to believe it; but when she was +told the story of Lindsay's and Cicely's strange adventure, she began +slowly to realize that it was no fairy tale, and that the fortune, so +sorely needed and so much longed for, was lying awaiting her disposal. + +"The money is there, and I can have some of it now?" she asked, still +almost incredulously. "Will there be as much as a hundred guineas?" + +"Far more than that, my dear, from the girls' account." + +"Then we can send for Sir William Garrett!" she said, with a sigh of +intense relief. + +Miss Russell, who did not like the responsibility of being even a +temporary custodian of such riches, had informed the Rector of what had +occurred, and requested him to come to the Manor and help her to +investigate the matter. As he was Monica's guardian, he seemed the +proper person to take charge of her affairs. He arrived next morning, +and, accompanied by Miss Russell and Monica, made a careful examination +of the hiding-place and its contents. At the mistress's urgent request, +he promised to arrange that all the valuables should be removed as +speedily as possible to the bank. + +"I could not sleep with them in the house, I should be so afraid of +burglars, now the news of the discovery has been spread abroad," +declared Miss Russell. + +"They were only too safe here," said Monica. + +"Yes, when their whereabouts was a mystery. It is different when +everyone knows." + +The wealth which old Sir Giles had stored in the secret room was +considerable. He had evidently distrusted investments, and, following +his own singular whim, had hoarded his money in gold and bank notes. +There were precious stones also, in themselves worth a small fortune, +which he must have collected, in addition to the family jewels and the +old silver plate that had been handed down through generations of +Courtenays. + +After looking through some of the boxes, the Rector picked up the +casket, and made a short scrutiny of its contents. + +"This envelope is addressed to you, Monica," he observed. + +The girl took it hesitatingly, then passed it back to her guardian. + +"It seems like a message from the dead," she said. "I think, please, I +would rather that you should read it aloud." + +The letter was well in keeping with its writer's eccentric and morbid +character. It ran thus:-- + + "MY DEAR MONICA, + + "Gold, silver, and precious stones are but vanity of vanities, a + snare to many, and the root of all evil. By the time you claim + these, I trust you will have found how easy it is to dispense with + them, and that you will despise them as much as I do. + + "They have never brought me any happiness, and I am uncertain + whether it is a kindness to bequeath to you what to me has been but + an irksome encumbrance. After giving long and earnest thought to + the matter, I have decided to leave it in the hands of destiny. + + "I shall lay by these possessions in the hidden chamber, the + existence of which was told me by my grandfather, and now is + unknown to any except myself. I have concealed the secret, however, + in an enigma, which, if you have followed my advice concerning the + study of Botany, you will have found written inside the cover of + the _Floral Calendar_. + + "Should Heaven ordain that you are to take up this burden, then you + will read my riddle aright. Should it be otherwise decreed, this + message will never meet your eyes. Believe me that I have striven + to act for your best good. + + "From your uncle and well-wisher, + "GILES PEMBERTON COURTENAY." + + + +"He seemed quite afraid for me to have this money," faltered poor +Monica, on whom the letter had left a deep impression. "Shall I regret +it? Is it really such a dangerous thing?" + +"Not if you make a wise use of it. In your hands I hope it may prove a +blessing instead of a curse," answered the Rector. + +"It does not seem to have brought any happiness to Uncle Giles. He calls +it a burden." + +"Riches can never bring happiness unless they are being employed for the +benefit of others." + +"It is sad to think how long these have lain idle," remarked Miss +Russell. "Monica will be able to do much good with them." + +"Then you are sure I may take them?" asked Monica, turning to her +guardian. "I didn't find out the enigma myself, you see." + +"I am certain you may receive the legacy without scruple, my dear child! +Your uncle himself said he had left matters to the disposal of destiny. +It appears to me as if Lindsay and Cicely had been led just at the right +time to this happy discovery. You must accept your fortune as a special +gift of Providence. So far it has been a talent laid up in a napkin; it +can now be your care to let it yield ten talents in return." + + * * * * * + +Though Lindsay and Cicely had satisfactorily accomplished their quest, +they felt there were many points in connection with their adventure at +the Manor that still puzzled them. The mystery surrounding the lantern +room had not yet been cleared up, neither had the strange behaviour of +Mrs. Wilson and Scott been accounted for. + +So anxious were they to decide these perplexing points that they +determined to confide the whole affair to Monica, and see if she could +offer any explanation. A month ago it would have been impossible to get +her for half an hour to themselves, but since their finding of the +treasure the other girls were ready to allow them a special claim to her +society, and took it as a matter of course when they carried her off to +the summer house for a private chat. + +Monica listened attentively to the story of their various experiences +and suspicions. At the end she laughed heartily, then suddenly looked +grave. + +"You dear silly children!" she exclaimed. "It was a case of much ado +about nothing, and yet you nearly ran into such great danger that it +makes me shudder even to think about it. There certainly was a reason +for visiting the attic, though not at all of the kind you imagined. It +contains a large cistern, which supplies the water for the bath and the +kitchen boiler. This is fed by a tank on the roof that catches the rain, +and in dry weather it is apt to get out of order. If it is not working +properly, it makes a curious blowing noise." + +"Like groaning?" asked Cicely. + +"Yes, very like groaning, though it would need a gigantic prisoner to +utter such fearful moans of distress. No wonder you thought somebody was +being tortured!" and Monica laughed again. + +"You can understand," she continued, "that with so many girls in the +house requiring baths, we were afraid lest the tank should run dry, and +were continually examining the cistern, to make sure that the water was +flowing properly. If it had stopped even for an hour, it might have +caused the kitchen boiler to burst." + +"Did Mrs. Wilson go to look, then?" enquired Lindsay. + +"Either Mrs. Wilson or Scott went every day. My mother was so anxious +about it that I several times ran up myself, so that I could tell her +all was perfectly safe. Mrs. Wilson was equally nervous. We had so +little rain in June that she was sure the tank must be nearly empty." + +"Then that was what she and Scott meant about the noise and danger, +when they were talking in the picture gallery!" interposed Cicely. + +"Yes," replied Monica. "When people try to overhear conversations, and +put two and two together for themselves, they rarely succeed in coming +to a right conclusion." + +Lindsay and Cicely blushed. They had known from the first that Monica +would not approve of either eavesdropping or peeping through keyholes. +This was the part of the business of which they both felt rather +ashamed; they were conscious that there had been a great deal of +curiosity mixed up with their efforts on her behalf. Monica, however, +took no notice of their heightened colour, and went on: + +"Both Scott and Mrs. Wilson were quite right in wishing to keep you away +from the attics; you will understand when I explain why. The +hiding-place in the lantern room is a relic of the times of King James +I. Have you learnt yet in your history books what severe penal laws were +made against Roman Catholics in those days? Any priest found celebrating +Mass might be executed, and often he was tortured first to make him tell +the whereabouts of his companions. Our ancestors, who lived then at the +Manor, still belonged to the old faith, and they needed some spot where +they could worship without fear of being disturbed; so they made the +secret entrance through the cupboard, and private services were held in +the great garret. Even with such precautions it was a very dangerous +thing for a priest to remain long in a country house. If his presence +were suspected, and information given, a party of soldiers would at once +come with a search warrant to hunt for him. + +"Then he would have to be ready to hurry away into some safer retreat +still, in case his first place of concealment were discovered. At the +end of the farther attic there is a small cupboard most cunningly hidden +in the wall. In front of it there is a shaft, a great, horrible, yawning +chasm, several feet wide and very deep, going quite to the basement of +the house. It was intended as a trap to baffle pursuers, who would fall +down it in the dark when chasing their fugitive." + +"Is the shaft still there?" asked Cicely. + +"Yes, it is quite untouched and open. It is in such a far-away part of +the attic that nobody has considered it worth while to go to the trouble +of having it covered in. Now you can understand how alarmed Mrs. Wilson +was when she found that some of you had been in the lantern room. She +didn't believe you would really be able to find your way through the +cupboard; still, she was never easy when she thought of the danger you +might perhaps run into. She couldn't rest until Scott had padlocked the +door." + +"We were very near it," said Cicely, with a shiver. + +"It was the greatest mercy you didn't venture any farther. I can't be +too thankful that the cistern made a noise just at that moment, and +frightened you down again." + +"Then you knew of this secret door, though not of the one in the picture +gallery?" said Lindsay. + +"Yes; it was discovered two centuries ago, in the reign of Queen Anne, I +believe. In many old manor houses there are equally clever contrivances +for hiding-places. They are often called 'priests' holes'. I've heard of +one under the steps of the stairs, and another in a window-seat, or up a +chimney, or even behind a picture." + +"Like ours," said Cicely. + +"No doubt the one under the settle may have been a 'priests' hole' too, +and perhaps had the second entrance for extra security. Very sad stories +are told about some of the hiding-places. Sometimes the poor fugitive +couldn't find an opportunity to get away, and the person who knew the +secret, and should have brought him food, was killed or taken prisoner. +Then he either had to come out, and deliver himself up to the soldiers, +or to remain and die a slow, lingering death of starvation." + +"I thought we were going to do that when we were locked in with the +treasure," remarked Cicely. + +"How much did Merle find out in the lantern room?" interposed Lindsay. + +"She happened to pull at the lantern, and had just the same surprise as +you," replied Monica. "She had gone a few steps into the passage when I +came down from looking at the cistern, and met her, much to her +astonishment. Of course I explained everything, and begged her not to +tell, because we didn't want any more schoolgirls to start exploring." + +"Then it was to you she gave that mysterious promise?" + +"Certainly it was to me. I'm glad to hear she kept it so well." + +"But I still don't half understand," said Lindsay. "We thought Mrs. +Wilson and Scott were hiding the treasure up there. We saw them take a +sack into the garden one night and bury something." + +"You managed to give poor Scott a great fright," laughed Monica. "He +told me about it the next day. He was doing nothing more dreadful than +digging out a wasps' nest. Mrs. Wilson had discovered it in the bank, +and she went with him to show him the place and help him. Of course it +could not be done by daylight, when the wasps were flying about; but at +dark, when they were all safely inside their hole, Scott burnt tobacco +to stupefy them, and then took the nest. He said two of the young +ladies had suddenly tumbled down the bank while he was at work, and +startled him terribly." + +"So he and Mrs. Wilson weren't burying the treasure after all? They +didn't even try to steal it?" + +"No, indeed! I feel sorry to think they should have been suspected for a +moment of such bad intentions. Mrs. Wilson may be rather gruff and blunt +in her manners, but she is a faithful old soul, and devoted to Mother +and me. I believe she would have starved rather than touch a penny that +belonged to us. And Scott too is absolutely honest. I assure you he +keeps nothing stowed away inside the cucumber frames! Naturally Mrs. +Wilson had often looked for the hiding-place, but it was all on my +behalf, and nobody rejoiced more heartily than she did when it was +found." + +"We were on a completely wrong track," said Lindsay. "The only right +clue was the enigma. I'm glad we puzzled that out, though we didn't win +any prizes in the competition." + +"And yet the enigma was no real use," put in Cicely. "We shouldn't have +gone through the bottom of the settle if we hadn't been playing +hide-and-seek. Isn't it queer that when we tried so hard to find the +secret room we couldn't, and then that we should come across it just by +accident?" + +To Monica the affair seemed no accident, but, as the Rector had said, a +merciful arrangement of Providence. It enabled her to send for Sir +William Garrett, and the great specialist arrived in the course of the +next few days. After examining Mrs. Courtenay, he gave a more favourable +report on her case than her own physician had dared to hope. + +"You have consulted me in the nick of time," was his verdict. "I trust +to be able to effect a complete cure. A winter in the south would work +wonders, and, if my treatment is thoroughly carried out, she should +return to Haversleigh in the spring with restored health." + +It was an intense relief to be thus reassured. Monica felt as if a heavy +weight had been lifted from her mind. When the doctors had finally taken +their departure, she ran to share her good news with her friends at the +Manor. + +"Of course," she explained, "Mother will require the greatest care, but +we can give her anything now that she needs. Sir William Garrett has +promised to send a nurse from London who understands his special +treatment, and who could go with us to Italy in the autumn. Oh, how +splendid it will be when I can bring her back absolutely strong and +well! I can hardly feel thankful enough. And it is all owing to you," +she added, kissing Lindsay and Cicely with tears in her eyes. + +It had come at length to the very end of the term; the girls were making +up their minds to bid a reluctant good-bye to the beautiful old house +where they had spent such a pleasant and eventful twelve weeks. + +"If we weren't going home, I couldn't bear to leave it," said Cicely. +"I've grown so fond of everything. Our dear bedroom, with its big +four-poster (I love those yellow brocaded curtains), and the roses round +the window that smell so delicious first thing when one wakes in the +morning, and the dining-hall, and the picture gallery, and the library, +and the oak parlour where we have lessons, and, above all, the garden. +Oh dear, it makes me quite sad to think perhaps I may never see them +again! What a change to settle down at Winterburn Lodge in September!" + +"I suppose life can't be all honey; we shall have to go back to plain +bread and butter now," replied Lindsay philosophically. "But I'll tell +you a secret to cheer you up. Monica says her mother has promised that +when they return from Italy she'll ask you and me to spend part of the +summer holidays at the Manor. But she doesn't wish us to let any of the +other girls know of the invitation just at present." + +"How perfectly delightful!" exclaimed Cicely, with shining eyes. + +"It's a whole year off yet." + +"I don't mind, so long as I can think of coming here again some time, +and being Monica's visitor. It's something to look forward to." + +The last day arrived, as last days invariably do, whether one is longing +for their advent or the reverse. Boxes had been brought down and packed, +and Miss Russell's linen and silver had been collected and stowed away +in great wicker baskets, which were already dispatched on their road to +London. The girls, marshalled in order on the drive, were only waiting +for the word "March!" to start for the railway station. + +Monica stood on the steps to see them off, her pretty, fair face and +rich chestnut hair framed in the oak doorway. + +"I shall miss you all dreadfully," she said. "It has been a great +pleasure for me to have you here. Please don't forget me." + +"We're not likely to do that," replied Mildred Roper, speaking for +herself and the rest. "We've spent a glorious three months. It's been +more like holidays than school. I think every one of us, to the end of +her life, will remember this summer term at the old Manor. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Manor House School + +Author: Angela Brazil + +Illustrator: A. A. Dixon + +Release Date: May 26, 2009 [EBook #28974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MANOR HOUSE SCHOOL *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<img src="images/cover01.jpg" width="450" height="600" alt="" title="cover" /> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 378px;"> +<a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a> +<img src="images/col01.jpg" width="378" height="600" alt="GLORIOUS NEWS!" title="" /> +<span class="caption">GLORIOUS NEWS!</span> +</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h1>The Manor House School</h1> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2>ANGELA BRAZIL</h2> + +<p class="center">Author of "The Nicest Girl in the School" "The Third Class at Miss +Kaye's" "The Fortunes of Philippa" &c.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> + +<h3><i>ILLUSTRATED BY A. A. DIXON</i></h3> + +<p class="center">BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED LONDON GLASGOW AND BOMBAY<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a>Contents</h2> + + + + +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="65%" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='right'><span class="smcap">Chap.</span></td><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'>Page</td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Nora's News</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_9'><b>9</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">An Interesting Stranger</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_22'><b>22</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Strong Suspicion</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_36'><b>36</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Haversleigh</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_50'><b>50</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">An Unexpected Development</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_67'><b>67</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Monica</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_80'><b>80</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lindsay's Luck</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_94'><b>94</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Pendle Tor</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_111'><b>111</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Plot Thickens</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_127'><b>127</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Under the Hawthorn Tree</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_143'><b>143</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sir Mervyn's Tower</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_161'><b>161</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">An Enigma</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_178'><b>178</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Lindsay Makes a Resolve</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_189'><b>189</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Lantern Room</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_202'><b>202</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Hide-and-Seek</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_215'><b>215</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVI.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Surprise</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_229'><b>229</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVII.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Good-bye to the Manor</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_243'><b>243</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Illustrations" id="Illustrations"></a>Illustrations</h2> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="65%" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'>Page</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Glorious News!</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#frontis'><b><i>Frontispiece</i></b></a> <a href='#Page_239'><b>239</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">"She opened the door cautiously"</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_35'><b>35</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>"<span class="smcap">I know what Monica was going to say</span>"</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_93'><b>93</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">An Unfortunate Accident</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_139'><b>139</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Secret Door</span></td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_202'><b>202</b></a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>Nora's News</h3> + + +<p>It was the first week of the summer term at Winterburn Lodge. Afternoon +preparation was over, and most of the girls had left the classroom for a +chat and a stroll round the playground until the tea-bell should ring. +From the tennis court came the sounds of the soft thud of balls and a +few excited voices recording the score; while through the open windows +of the house floated the strains of three pianos, on which three +separate pieces were being practised in three different keys, the +mingled result forming a particularly inharmonious jangle.</p> + +<p>On a bench in the corner by the swing two yellow heads and a brown one +might be seen bent in close proximity over a rather dilapidated atlas. +Their respective owners were apparently making a half-hearted endeavour +to hunt out a list of towns upon the map of England, and were amusing +themselves between whiles with the pleasant, though somewhat +unprofitable pastime of grumbling.</p> + +<p>"I hate geography!" declared Lindsay Hepburn.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> "If we could be taken a +picnic to each of the places, there'd be some sense in it; but to have +to reel off a string of tiresome names that don't mean anything at all +to you—I call it stupid!"</p> + +<p>"It's such a fearfully long lesson, too!" agreed Cicely Chalmers +dolefully. "Miss Frazer might have set us a shorter one for the first! +It's really too bad of her to make us begin with two pages and a half in +a new book! I'm sure I shall never get it into my head, if I try till +midnight."</p> + +<p>"I wonder why things always seem so much harder to learn when one's just +come back after the holidays?" propounded Marjorie Butler with a +melancholy yawn.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. I suppose because it all feels so horrid. It's perfectly +dreadful to think what a huge time it is until we can go home again."</p> + +<p>"Thirteen whole weeks! And every one of them will be exactly the same: +lessons with Miss Frazer or Mademoiselle, an hour's practising, a walk +in the park or along the Surrey Road, and a game of tennis when you can +manage to get hold of the court. There's never anything different, +unless Miss Russell takes us to a museum or a concert, and that doesn't +happen often, worse luck!"</p> + +<p>Lindsay's picture of the forthcoming term certainly did not seem a +remarkably enlivening one, and the other two groaned at the prospect.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I wish one wasn't obliged to go to a boarding school," said Cicely in +an injured tone.</p> + +<p>"Girls! Girls!" cried a fourth voice, breaking abruptly into the +conversation, "I've been hunting for you everywhere. I thought you were +in the house or the gymnasium. Oh! I've such a piece of news to tell +you!"</p> + +<p>"What's the matter, Nora?" enquired Marjorie, for the newcomer was out +of breath, and looked as excited as if it were breaking-up day.</p> + +<p>"Come here and sit between us," added Lindsay, pushing the others +farther along the seat to make room.</p> + +<p>"Is it anything really nice?" asked Cicely.</p> + +<p>"It depends on what you call 'nice'. I'll give you each six guesses, and +even then I don't believe one of you'll be right."</p> + +<p>"Miss Frazer doesn't mean to take geography to-morrow?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely wrong, though I wish she wouldn't."</p> + +<p>"Somebody has broken another window with a tennis ball?"</p> + +<p>"Don't be silly! It's much more interesting than that."</p> + +<p>"Miss Russell's going to give us a holiday?"</p> + +<p>"You're getting warm! Try again."</p> + +<p>"Oh, we can't!"</p> + +<p>"We give it up!"</p> + +<p>"Go on and tell!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Do you remember that just before Easter a gentleman came with Dr. +Redford, and they both went over the school, peeping and poking about in +such a mysterious manner?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we wondered what they were doing."</p> + +<p>"Well, it turns out that he's a sanitary inspector, and he's sent a +report to Miss Russell to say that the drains are wrong, and must be +taken up immediately."</p> + +<p>"Is that your grand news?"</p> + +<p>"No, it's only the first part of it. Let me finish, and then you'll see. +Dr. Redford says the drains can't possibly be touched while we're all in +the house, and yet they must be opened at once. Can't you guess now?"</p> + +<p>"Miss Russell never means to send us home when we've only just come +back?" gasped Lindsay hopefully.</p> + +<p>"No, not that, though it's nearly as jolly. She's taken a beautiful old +manor house in the country, and it's to be our school for the whole of +the summer term. We're to go there in a body—girls, and teachers, and +servants, and everyone."</p> + +<p>If Nora had hoped to astonish her companions she had certainly +succeeded. They were wild with curiosity, and fired off questions all +three together.</p> + +<p>"Where is it?"</p> + +<p>"When are we going?"</p> + +<p>"How did you get to know?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> + +<p>"One at a time, please," said Nora, enjoying her importance. "I met +Mildred Roper in the hall just now. Miss Russell has been explaining it +to the monitresses, and said they might tell us as soon as they liked. +It's a lovely Elizabethan house, at a place called Haversleigh, a long +way from here. We're to start next Tuesday."</p> + +<p>Such a tremendous event as the removal of the school from town to +country was without precedent in the annals of Winterburn Lodge.</p> + +<p>"It's almost too good to be true," cried Cicely rapturously.</p> + +<p>"It will be like the last day and setting off for the seaside both +together," declared Lindsay, waltzing round the seat in the exuberance +of her spirits.</p> + +<p>"Not quite, because we shall have lessons when we get there," corrected +Nora.</p> + +<p>"Well, at any rate it'll be ever so much nicer than being in London."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah for the old Manor!" shouted Marjorie Butler, clapping her hands.</p> + +<p>Miss Russell had indeed been much alarmed by the sanitary inspector's +report. She was determined to make the change without delay, and hurried +on the preparation as speedily as possible.</p> + +<p>Boxes were brought down from the attic, and teachers and monitresses +were kept busy superintending the packing of clothes, linen, +schoolbooks, and numberless other articles. For the few days<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> that +remained work was relaxed, the headmistress's chief anxiety seeming to +be the health of the girls, and her one object to take them away before +any sign of illness should break out amongst them.</p> + +<p>"Miss Russell looked so worried when I told her my head ached," said +Nora Proctor. "She asked every one of us afterwards if we had sore +throats."</p> + +<p>"I was silly enough to say I thought mine felt a little scrapy," said +Lindsay ruefully. "I soon wished I hadn't, because she gave me a +horribly nasty disinfectant lozenge, and told me to suck it slowly until +I'd finished it. Ugh! I can taste it yet!"</p> + +<p>"I'm absolutely sick of the smell of carbolic. There's a jar full in +every room," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Never mind! You'll only have to endure it for one day more. We're +actually off to-morrow."</p> + +<p>Those in authority might certainly be excused if they looked worried, +for it was no light task to accomplish so much in such a short space of +time. By Tuesday morning, however, the final arrangements were +completed; the rows of boxes were locked, strapped, and piled on railway +carts; while the girls, an excited, chattering crew, were ready and +waiting for the omnibuses which were to take them to the station.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye to poor old Winterburn Lodge!" said Cicely, giving a last peep +into the familiar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> classroom. "We shan't see these maps and desks again +until next September."</p> + +<p>"I wonder how many things will have happened before we come back here?" +said Lindsay thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>It was a long journey into Somerset, but Miss Russell had engaged saloon +carriages, and taken large baskets of lunch; so, in the opinion of her +thirty pupils at least, the expedition felt like a picnic.</p> + +<p>"How I wish we could go every year, or that Miss Russell would remove +into the country altogether," said Beryl Austen, who had secured a +corner seat, and was in raptures over the view.</p> + +<p>"Then it wouldn't be town, and we shouldn't be able to have visiting +masters," said Mildred Roper, one of the monitresses.</p> + +<p>"Who wants them? I'm sure I should be only too delighted never to see +any of them again!"</p> + +<p>Mildred smiled.</p> + +<p>"I suppose, after all, we're sent to school to learn something," she +remarked dryly. "I'm afraid you'll find Miss Frazer will give you plenty +of work to make up for the loss of Herr Hoffmann and Monsieur Guizet."</p> + +<p>"I don't care a scrap, so long as there's fun when lessons are over. +We're going to have a glorious time, and I mean to thoroughly enjoy +myself."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> + +<p>Beryl only expressed the sentiments of the rest of the girls, most of +whom regarded the coming term in the light of a holiday. As the train +steamed through green meadows and woods just breaking into leaf, it +indeed seemed as if London and professors had been effectually left +behind, and their spirits rose higher with every mile.</p> + +<p>By afternoon they were all impatience to arrive. For fully an hour +before they reached their destination they kept enquiring whether they +must get out at the next station, and were sure that each ancient house +visible from the carriage windows could not fail to be the Manor.</p> + +<p>"Here we are at last!" announced Miss Russell, when, after many false +alarms, the welcome word "Haversleigh" made its appearance in plain +letters, and a porter's voice was heard pronouncing something which bore +a faint resemblance to the name. "Steady, girls! Steady! Remember each +is to take her own bag, and file out in proper order. Nobody is to move +until I say 'March!'"</p> + +<p>Miss Russell first held a review on the platform, to make sure that none +of her pupils or their belongings had gone astray.</p> + +<p>"I am quite relieved we have all arrived safely," she said. "I think we +may congratulate ourselves that not even an umbrella is missing. It is +only half a mile from here to the house, quite an easy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> walk, so we will +start at once, and leave our luggage to follow."</p> + +<p>In a few minutes more they had passed the ticket collector, and found +themselves on the leafy high road. It seemed as different from London as +a fairy tale from a Latin grammar. There had been a slight shower of +rain, which had brought out the scent of growing grass and budding +leaves; the ground was white with the fallen blossom of blackthorn +hedges; and a thrush, seated on the summit of an apple tree, was pouring +forth a volume of song that sounded almost like a welcome to the +country.</p> + +<p>With so many new sights to gaze at, it was difficult to walk primly two +and two, and the line proved a straggling one, in spite of Miss Frazer's +efforts in the rear. At a pair of great iron gates Miss Russell stopped +and turned to her girls.</p> + +<p>"This is our first glimpse of the Manor," she said, with a touch of +pride in her voice. "I want you to take a good look at your new school."</p> + +<p>It was nicer even than they had expected—a glorious old place, built +partly in Tudor fashion of grey stone, and partly of black and white +timbers. There were latticed windows, and a porch ornamented with stone +balls, and curious twisted chimneys, and picturesque gables at odd +angles.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's like a house out of one of Sir Walter Scott's novels," said +Marjorie Butler.</p> + +<p>"It looks as if one might have all kinds of adventures there," added +Lindsay Hepburn gleefully.</p> + +<p>The inside proved just as satisfactory as the outside. It was delightful +to sit down to tea in a great dining-hall, with a carved roof, and walls +hung with spears, shields, and stags' antlers.</p> + +<p>"I feel we oughtn't to be drinking tea," said Cicely Chalmers. "I'm sure +they didn't have it in Queen Elizabeth's times. It was tankards of ale +or mead in those days."</p> + +<p>"Don't finish your cup, then, if you wish to imagine yourself entirely +in the past," said Mildred Roper. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave the +marmalade too. That's quite a modern invention, and so are the Bath +buns."</p> + +<p>"Don't be horrid!" said Cicely. "It really is an old-fashioned place. +Lindsay and I have got the quaintest panelled bedroom you could possibly +imagine. There's a great four-post bed, with yellow brocaded curtains; +it's big enough to hold six, instead of only two."</p> + +<p>"And there's a lovely library, and a picture gallery, and ever so many +queer rooms and long passages upstairs," put in Nora Proctor. "I got +quite lost, and couldn't find my way down at first."</p> + +<p>"So did I," said Beryl Austen. "I tried to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> explore a little, but it +looked so dim and dark I didn't dare to go alone, so I turned back. I +thought I might meet a Cavalier or a Roundhead on the landing!"</p> + +<p>Beryl was not the only one to whom their new quarters seemed rather +weird and strange on this first evening of their arrival. After being +accustomed to electric light and modern bedrooms, it was a great change +to walk upstairs with candles to antique chambers that might have +belonged to the Middle Ages.</p> + +<p>"Don't be silly, girls!" exclaimed Miss Russell indignantly, as they +scurried past the suits of armour in the picture gallery. "I shall not +allow any absurd nonsense of this kind. You have no more to be afraid of +here than you had at Winterburn Lodge. I will take you over the house +to-morrow and show you everything, and when you study the real history +of the place you won't want to concern yourselves with silly +superstitions."</p> + +<p>Though the old Manor might look ghostly by night, it wore a bright and +cheerful aspect in the sunshine of next morning, and not even the most +ardent of Cockneys would have wished herself back among streets and +squares. It certainly seemed more interesting to learn lessons sitting +on tall-backed oak chairs at a carved table, than at desks in an +ordinary schoolroom, furnished with maps and blackboard. The teachers +enjoyed it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> as much as the girls, and everybody had a delightfully +romantic feeling of being transferred to the reign of Queen Elizabeth.</p> + +<p>"We oughtn't to have science, or physiology, or anything up-to-date +here," said Cicely, as, in company with the rest of the third form, she +took possession of the panelled parlour that was to be their temporary +classroom.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed," said Lindsay. "Girls in those days didn't have half our +work."</p> + +<p>"You forget Lady Jane Grey," said Miss Frazer. "In the matter of +knowledge she would easily have put you to shame. If you want her +sixteenth-century studies you will have to begin Greek as well as Latin, +French, Italian, and some Hebrew and Arabic!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Lindsay, aghast at such a list of accomplishments. +"I'd rather stick to our own century."</p> + +<p>"I thought ladies did nothing but go hunting and hawking then," said +Marjorie Butler. "Did they all know Greek and Latin?"</p> + +<p>"Probably not, but they could make preserves, and perfumes, and other +secrets of the still-room; and they embroidered the most beautiful +tapestries, if we are to judge from the specimens in the big +drawing-room. Young people were very severely brought up. They might +never sit without permission in the presence of their parents or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +teachers, and they were beaten for the slightest offences. Don't you +remember that even poor Lady Jane Grey was punished with 'nips, bobs, +and pinches'; and little Edward VI had his whipping-boy, to receive the +blows which it was not considered seemly to bestow upon his own princely +person!"</p> + +<p>"Had the other boy to be whipped for what the king had done? How +horribly unfair!" said Beryl Austen.</p> + +<p>"Yes, their ideas of justice were rather different from ours. They would +have thought present-day children absolutely spoilt. The girls who +perhaps may have done lessons in this room three hundred years ago would +not learn them so easily and pleasantly as you are going to do this +morning. Fetch the geology books, Beryl. We must go on with modern work, +in spite of our ancient surroundings."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>An Interesting Stranger</h3> + + +<p>Among all Miss Russell's thirty pupils you could not have found two +stancher friends than Lindsay Hepburn and Cicely Chalmers, both of whom +were members of the third, or lowest, class.</p> + +<p>Lindsay was a short, plump, fair, jolly-looking girl of twelve, with a +very energetic disposition; apt, according to Miss Frazer, to be +inconveniently lively and irrepressible in school, but a general +favourite in the playground.</p> + +<p>Cicely, six months younger, was much more quiet and steady on the +surface, though her twinkling brown eyes belied her demurer manners, and +proclaimed her ready for anything in the shape of fun. She admired +Lindsay immensely, and copied her absolutely, being generally ready to +follow her through thick and thin, whatever scrapes might be the +consequence.</p> + +<p>The pair shared a bedroom, and were so inseparable that Cicely was often +called Lindsay's shadow. That was an injustice, however; she had a +character of her own, though she might choose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> to merge it in her +friend's stronger personality. It is with these two, and their strange +experiences at the Manor, that my tale is chiefly concerned, for if it +had not been for Lindsay's enquiring mind, backed by Cicely's persistent +efforts, there might have been no story to tell.</p> + +<p>This is how it all began.</p> + +<p>On the second morning after their instalment at Haversleigh the whole +school was assembled ready for a history class in the big dining-hall. +Miss Russell, for a wonder, was late, and when she entered at last she +brought with her a new pupil. The stranger was about sixteen, a pretty, +graceful girl, with hazel eyes, long chestnut hair, and a rather +distinguished air. She was given a seat in the first form, and replied +to the few questions asked her in a quiet voice; then, at the close of +the lecture, she took her books and went away alone, without waiting to +join in the next lesson.</p> + +<p>Naturally her sudden appearance and departure excited much curiosity. +The moment work was over, Lindsay and Cicely seized upon Kathleen +Crawford, who was rather a friend of theirs among the monitresses.</p> + +<p>"Who's the new girl?" they asked. "We hadn't heard anybody was coming."</p> + +<p>"She's only a day pupil for a few classes," answered Kathleen. "Her +name's Monica Courtenay. She lives here, but of course not just now."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" enquired Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Why, surely you knew Miss Russell has taken the Manor for the summer +from Mrs. Courtenay?"</p> + +<p>"I never thought about whom it belonged to," confessed Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Well, at any rate, Mrs. Courtenay and Monica are staying in rooms in +the village while their house is let, and Monica is to come three times +a week for French and history."</p> + +<p>"So this is really her home?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and I heard someone say it is all her own. She's an only child, +and her father is dead."</p> + +<p>"It must seem funny for her to see a whole school here!"</p> + +<p>"I expect it does. I shouldn't like it if the place were mine."</p> + +<p>"Is she nice?"</p> + +<p>"How can I tell? I saw no more of her than you did yourselves."</p> + +<p>Everybody was greatly interested in the newcomer, and ready, at the end +of a week's acquaintance, to decide heartily in her favour. Monica was +rather dignified and reserved in her manners, and evidently not much +accustomed to mix with companions of her own age; but when her shyness +began to wear off she proved most attractive.</p> + +<p>"She's not at all conceited, although she's mistress of the Manor," said +Lindsay.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + +<p>"No, I can't say she gives herself airs in the least," agreed Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I think she behaves beautifully," said Mildred Roper. "She never so +much as hints that it's her own house, or tries to take the lead, as +some girls would certainly have done. She doesn't go anywhere without +leave, nor even stop to play tennis unless she's asked. I heard her +apologizing to Miss Russell yesterday for giving an order to the +gardener. Mademoiselle says she is 'bien elevée' and 'très gentille', +and that's a great compliment, for she doesn't admire English girls as a +rule."</p> + +<p>"No one could help liking Monica," said Kathleen Crawford. "She's +charming. I call her one of the nicest girls I've ever met. And she's +had such hard luck! I've just been hearing all about her from Irene +Spencer."</p> + +<p>"How does Irene know?" asked Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"She stays sometimes with an uncle who is vicar of the next parish, and +her cousins are friends of Monica's. It's a most extraordinary story—it +might have come out of a book."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do tell us!" said the others eagerly.</p> + +<p>Kathleen's tale was in scraps, and missed out several points of which +she was not aware at the time, so it will be better to set it down here +as the girls learnt it more fully afterwards, for it was of great +importance, and formed the basis of much that was to follow.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Courtenays, it appeared, were a very ancient family, and had +inherited the Manor from an ancestor who had fought bravely on the +Yorkist side in the days of the Wars of the Roses. In the present +generation there was no male heir, and Monica was the last of her race.</p> + +<p>Until a few years ago the old house had been in the possession of her +great-uncle, Sir Giles Courtenay, a most eccentric man, so odd and +peculiar, indeed, that many people had considered him to be out of his +mind. He was reputed to be extremely wealthy, yet lived in a miserly +fashion, entertaining no visitors, and never spending a penny which it +was possible for him to save. He never married, but passed his days as a +recluse, shut up among the books in his library, seeing only a few old +servants whose services he had retained. Sometimes in the early morning +he would wander about the woods and fields in the neighbourhood, seeking +for wild flowers, but on such occasions he seemed much annoyed if spoken +to, and evidently preferred to take his rambles unnoticed.</p> + +<p>At his death he left everything to his great-niece, Monica.</p> + +<p>"Both the Manor", so ran the will, "and all that it may contain, +especially commending to her the volumes in my library, and advising her +to pursue the study of botany, which has ever been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> a solace and a +distraction to me amidst the various ills and disappointments of life."</p> + +<p>At first it was supposed that Monica must be a great heiress, but when +Sir Giles's legacy came to be investigated nothing could be found beyond +the ordinary furniture in the house and a few pounds in the local bank. +No one knew anything about his affairs, and neither papers nor documents +were forthcoming to give the slightest indication as to what had become +of the fortune he was known to have inherited.</p> + +<p>Not only was all trace of the money lost, but the valuable silver plate +and jewellery that had been handed down from generation to generation of +the Courtenays were also missing, and there was no clue to their +whereabouts. It was generally believed that Sir Giles must have +concealed the whole of his wealth somewhere in the old house, but, +though a minute search had been made from cellar to garret, the +hiding-place had not yet come to light.</p> + +<p>Instead, therefore, of owning a fortune, Monica had received nothing but +the Manor, in itself a very barren heritage. She and her mother had +taken up their residence there, but they possessed only a small income, +quite insufficient to maintain the former traditions of the family. It +was on this account that they had been glad to let the house to Miss +Russell for the summer, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> to retire themselves into quiet lodgings +close by.</p> + +<p>"Hasn't Monica ever tried to hunt for the treasure?" asked Lindsay, when +Kathleen had finished her narrative.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes—often! I believe she has gone systematically through each +room, but it's so well hidden that it seems quite impossible to find +it."</p> + +<p>"Yet it must be there!"</p> + +<p>"No doubt. It may never turn up, though, until the place is pulled down. +The whole thing is a complete mystery, and so far nobody has been able +to solve it."</p> + +<p>"Have you asked Monica where she has looked?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly not. Irene says she's very sensitive about it, and can't bear +to hear it spoken of. Naturally it must have been a most terrible +disappointment. I don't wonder she avoids the subject. Please be careful +never to mention it to her, or you'll offend her dreadfully, and I shall +be sorry I told you."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure both Lindsay and Cicely would have too nice feeling to +question Monica on such a personal matter," said Mildred Roper.</p> + +<p>"Of course we shan't say anything—we wouldn't for worlds," promised the +two younger girls.</p> + +<p>That Monica should be the heroine of so romantic a story made her doubly +interesting in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> the eyes of Lindsay and Cicely. They were much impressed +by Kathleen's account, and retired to the privacy of the summer-house to +talk it over together.</p> + +<p>"It must be dreadful to be so poor when you know you ought to be so +rich!" said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"And so tantalizing, when perhaps the fortune is actually in the house," +said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I could never be happy for thinking about it."</p> + +<p>"No more could I."</p> + +<p>"Look here! Why shouldn't you and I set to work? So long as this +treasure is hidden away somewhere, I suppose it's possible to find it."</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't I wish we could!" cried Cicely, her eyes round at the idea.</p> + +<p>"Well, I can't see why we shouldn't have as good a chance as anybody +else. I expect it's chiefly a matter of careful hunting."</p> + +<p>"How splendid it would be if Monica really turned out an heiress after +all!"</p> + +<p>"Glorious! It's worth trying for. Those panelled walls might be full of +hiding-places. We don't know what we may discover when once we begin."</p> + +<p>"We shan't have to let Miss Frazer catch us looking about."</p> + +<p>"Rather not! Nobody must know what we intend to do."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Not even Marjorie Butler?" pleaded Cicely.</p> + +<p>"No," said Lindsay firmly. "Marjorie couldn't help whispering it to +Nora, and then it would be all over the school. The big girls would make +dreadful fun of us, I'm sure. They'd call us 'The Gold Seekers', or some +other stupid name, simply for the sake of teasing. Besides, if it were +talked about among the rest, it would be sure to get to Monica's ears, +and we particularly don't want that."</p> + +<p>"No, she mustn't hear a word of it."</p> + +<p>"Very well, then, we had better keep it to ourselves. Will you promise +faithfully that it shall be a dead secret just between you and me?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely dead!" agreed Cicely.</p> + +<p>The two girls were determined to institute a thorough search for the +lost legacy, but they foresaw many difficulties in the way. In the first +place, it was hard even to make a start without letting anybody suspect +what they were doing. Although the term at the Manor seemed like a +holiday, it was nevertheless school: there was a certain amount of +supervision by the mistresses, and there were rules and regulations to +be obeyed, the same as at Winterburn Lodge. The girls were not allowed +to wander about alone exactly when and where they wished, and even +during recreation time they were expected to play games in the garden.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> + +<p>One of the greatest hindrances to their plan was Mrs. Wilson, an elderly +servant who had been left in charge by Mrs. Courtenay, and who seemed to +consider herself responsible for her mistress's property. She evidently +much resented the presence of thirty schoolgirls in the Manor, and kept +a keen eye upon them to see that they did no damage. She was continually +watching to satisfy herself that they were not scratching the furniture, +nor spilling candle-grease upon the stairs; and was loud in her +complaints to Miss Russell over the most absurd trifles.</p> + +<p>If she had had sufficient authority, I believe she would have limited +the girls entirely to their bedrooms and schoolrooms, but as that was +impossible, she did her best to frighten them away from the rest of the +house by being as disagreeable as she could. As a natural consequence +they detested her. They nicknamed her "The Griffin", and took a naughty +pleasure in defying her as far as they dared.</p> + +<p>"She's as sour as a green gooseberry!" grumbled Effie Hargreaves. "If we +only take a stroll along the portrait gallery, she thinks we're going to +knock down the armour, or poke our fingers through the pictures."</p> + +<p>"Yes, she seems to imagine we can't look at a thing without breaking it. +It's perfectly ridiculous!" declared Beryl Austen.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> + +<p>"She's an absolute nuisance. It's a pity she was left behind," said Nora +Proctor; and that was the general verdict in the old housekeeper's +disfavour.</p> + +<p>With such a dragon continually on the alert, it was almost impossible +for Lindsay and Cicely to find the slightest opportunity of beginning +their treasure hunt, and they were reduced to very low spirits on the +subject. One half-holiday afternoon, however, Lindsay reported that Mrs. +Wilson, dressed in black bonnet and mantle, had been seen to leave the +back door and walk away in the direction of the village.</p> + +<p>"Now is our chance!" she assured Cicely. "Miss Russell is lying down in +her bedroom with a bad headache, Miss Frazer is playing tennis, and +Mademoiselle is sitting reading in the arbour. Everyone else is in the +garden, and if we run indoors at once nobody will notice, and we shall +have the place practically to ourselves."</p> + +<p>Could anything have been more fortunate? They lost no time in hurrying +into the Manor, feeling almost as desperate conspirators as Guy Fawkes +and his confederates; and commenced immediately to make a careful tour +of investigation. They stole round the hall, the dining-room, and the +library, scrutinizing every nook and corner, tapping the panels to hear +if they sounded hollow, and peep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>ing up the old wide chimneys, but all +with no success.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid we shan't find anything down here," said Lindsay at last. "I +expect people made hiding-places where they wouldn't be so easy to get +at. Let us go and explore the attics. We've never been up there yet."</p> + +<p>They reached the top storey without encountering even a servant. Somehow +it felt a little eerie to hear nothing but the echo of their own +footsteps, and to find themselves quite alone in such an out-of-the-way +part of the house. The Manor was very large, and nearly the whole of the +left wing was unoccupied. They passed door after door, all leading to +more and more empty rooms, till Lindsay began to grow almost dismayed at +the bigness of their undertaking.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know the place was so huge!" she sighed. "I'm afraid one might +spend years looking round and examining it thoroughly. I don't wonder +Monica lost heart. There isn't the faintest clue to go upon, either, to +give one a hint where to hunt."</p> + +<p>"Hadn't we better be turning back?"</p> + +<p>Cicely was growing rather tired of the fruitless attempt.</p> + +<p>"In a minute. Let us go to the end of this landing."</p> + +<p>The passage in itself was like the others, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> it differed in one +particular, for it terminated in a narrow, winding staircase. This +looked tempting—just the sort of thing, in fact, that they felt ought +to lead to somewhere interesting and important.</p> + +<p>"It's like the way to the turret chamber where Sir Walter was +imprisoned, in <i>Tales of the Middle Ages</i>," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Or where Katherine was dragged when Sir Gilbert found she had overheard +the secret plot," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>They scrambled almost on hands and knees up sixteen steep steps. At the +top was a small landing, and exactly facing them, up three steps more, +stood a closed door. The girls paused for a moment to consider what to +do next.</p> + +<p>"Listen!" said Cicely suddenly. "I thought I heard a queer noise."</p> + +<p>There certainly was a most extraordinary sound issuing from the room +opposite. It resembled somebody groaning, or giving long-drawn, sighing +breaths. It went on for a few moments and then stopped, then commenced +louder than before, and finally died away altogether.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" whispered Cicely, rather nervously.</p> + +<p>"I don't know, but I'm going to look and see."</p> + +<p>"Oh! Dare you? I hope it's nothing that will bounce out!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 376px;"> +<img src="images/gs02.jpg" width="376" height="600" alt=""SHE OPENED THE DOOR CAUTIOUSLY"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"SHE OPENED THE DOOR CAUTIOUSLY"</span> +</div> + +<p>"Nonsense! Why should it?"</p> + +<p>"It might. Do be careful!"</p> + +<p>"Don't be silly!" said Lindsay. "We came up here on purpose to discover +things, and help Monica. If there's a noise in that room, we certainly +ought to find out what's making it."</p> + +<p>And with this plausible excuse for satisfying her curiosity, she opened +the door cautiously, and peeped inside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>A Strong Suspicion</h3> + + +<p>If Lindsay and Cicely had counted upon finding something interesting +behind the closed door, they were much disappointed. The room was +absolutely bare and unfurnished. It was not panelled, as mysterious +rooms ought to be, but had an old-fashioned and rather ugly wallpaper, +adorned with big bunches of grapes and flowers; and there was a plain, +whitewashed ceiling. At one side a window overlooked the garden, and at +the other was a shallow store cupboard, the open door of which revealed +rows of empty shelves, probably intended for jam or linen.</p> + +<p>There was nothing to give the least suggestion of romance, or the +possibility of any concealed hiding-place. There was no carved +overmantel nor four-post bed; in fact, the only article of any +description to be seen was a large horn lantern that hung from a hook in +the ceiling. The curious noise had ceased, and although the girls looked +round most carefully, they were not able to find anything which would +account for it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> + +<p>"There isn't a corner that even a cat might hide in," said Lindsay. "It +was so loud, too! I can't understand it in the least."</p> + +<p>"I call it rather uncanny. Let us go!" said Cicely.</p> + +<p>She was stepping down on to the little landing again, when, to her +dismay, she almost ran into the arms of Mrs. Wilson, who, still in black +bonnet and mantle, had returned from the village sooner than they +anticipated, and must have come unheard up the winding staircase.</p> + +<p>"The Griffin's" surprise at seeing them seemed as great as their own. +She gave a gasp of consternation, peeped hastily inside the empty room, +then turned to Lindsay and Cicely with a look of mingled relief and +wrath.</p> + +<p>"What were you doing in the lantern room?" she asked sharply. "You know +perfectly well you've no right to be up here. You must mind your own +business, and keep to your own places, instead of poking and ferreting +about into matters that don't concern you. I can't have you rambling +about wherever you please, and the sooner you understand that the +better. It was sorely against my advice that the Manor was let for a +school!"</p> + +<p>She spoke rudely, and seemed more upset and annoyed than the occasion +warranted. She swept the two girls downstairs before her, muttering +angrily as she went, and did not let them out of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> her sight until she +had watched them safely into the garden.</p> + +<p>"How horrid she was!" exclaimed Cicely, when they were alone, and able +to talk things over. "Miss Russell never said we weren't to go on to +that top landing."</p> + +<p>"What was Mrs. Wilson doing there herself—in an empty room, in such a +deserted part of the house?" asked Lindsay meditatively.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. She looked quite aghast at seeing us."</p> + +<p>"I believe there's something about it we don't understand. Perhaps she +has some reason beyond mere fussiness and nastiness for wanting to keep +us away from that particular room."</p> + +<p>"What kind of a reason?"</p> + +<p>"Well, suppose she had discovered the hiding-place?"</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't she tell Monica?"</p> + +<p>"She might intend to take some of the money."</p> + +<p>"Oh, how dreadful! It's quite possible, though, that she knows where it +is. She was housekeeper to old Sir Giles for ever so many years."</p> + +<p>"It seems to me most suspicious," said Lindsay. "We must watch her, and +find out everything we can, for Monica's sake."</p> + +<p>The idea that Mrs. Wilson was concealing the treasure for her own ends +was a thrilling one. The more they thought about it, the more probable +it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> appeared. Who had a better opportunity than she of searching the old +house? She might even have been present when her eccentric master stowed +his fortune so carefully away. If this were really the case, the +greatest caution was necessary, for to allow "The Griffin" to see that +they had noticed anything might entirely spoil their plans.</p> + +<p>"We must treat her just as usual," said Lindsay, "only we must keep our +eyes and ears open, in case something should turn up to give us a hint."</p> + +<p>For the next few days they behaved with what they considered the +greatest diplomacy. They took care not to aggravate Mrs. Wilson, nor in +any way to attract her special attention; but they looked out for the +slightest chance of following her movements, dodging round corners, and +stalking her along passages with the zeal of detectives. Unfortunately +their efforts were not so unobserved as they supposed, and drew down a +reproof from headquarters.</p> + +<p>"Lindsay and Cicely! how is it that you are continually loitering about +the landing when you ought to be in the garden?" said Miss Russell. "I +shall have to make a new rule, that nobody is to come upstairs until ten +minutes before meals. In this lovely weather I expect you to be +out-of-doors. It is a shame to waste a minute in the house. Don't let me +find you here again during recreation time."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p> + +<p>This was a blow, as it brought the great scheme temporarily to a +standstill. The girls could not venture to disobey openly, and judged it +wiser to let things rest for the present, until the mistress should have +forgotten the matter, and they might once more quietly begin to renew +their investigations.</p> + +<p>"We'll play cricket hard, and put our names down for the tennis +handicap," said Lindsay. "We mustn't on any account let Miss Russell +think we'd a special motive in what we were doing."</p> + +<p>"Rather not! We'll 'lie low and say nuffin'', like Brer Rabbit," agreed +Cicely.</p> + +<p>There was no lack of liveliness or occupation at the Manor to justify +anybody in idling about the passages, and there were certainly many +small excitements, apart from mysterious chambers or hidden treasures. +All kinds of funny events kept occurring which had never disturbed the +prim atmosphere of Winterburn Lodge.</p> + +<p>Nora Proctor and Marjorie Butler awoke half the school one night by loud +and repeated screams, and when Miss Frazer rushed into their room, +imagining fire or burglars, she found them cowering behind the bed +curtains, in mortal terror of a large bat that had made its way through +the open casement. Earwigs were a constant nuisance, and everyone grew +almost accustomed to catching green<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> caterpillars, which crept in from +the roses that surrounded the windows, and would turn up in the most +undesirable spots.</p> + +<p>Naturally so old a house was infested with rats and mice. They scuttled +inside the walls, and squeaked behind the wainscots, and seemed to hold +carnival at the back of the oak panelling, often disturbing the girls at +night with the noise. This was particularly noticeable in the room where +Lindsay and Cicely slept. They were sometimes awakened by sounds like +the rolling of barrels overhead, as if heavy objects were being clanked +about up in the ceiling.</p> + +<p>"You've no need to be afraid of them," said Mrs. Wilson, who made light +of all complaints, "they never venture out of the walls, to my +knowledge."</p> + +<p>The fear, however, that a rat might possibly gnaw its way into her +bedroom afflicted Cicely continually.</p> + +<p>"If it ran across my pillow I should die of fright, I know I should!" +she wailed. "I wish Mrs. Wilson would let us have the cat to sleep with +us. I should feel far safer."</p> + +<p>"I wish we could send for the Pied Piper, and get rid of them all. They +woke me twice last night," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>Poor Cicely never dared to retire without first having a thorough +examination to assure herself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> that no lurking rodent was lying hidden +behind the wardrobe, or in any other obscure corner. One evening she was +making her usual round, armed with a tennis racket for protection, and +was peeping under the bed, when she suddenly let the valance fall +hurriedly, and drew back with a shriek.</p> + +<p>"There's a rat there! I saw it quite plainly; its great big eyes were +glaring at me!" she announced in a trembling voice.</p> + +<p>"What are we to do?" exclaimed Lindsay, in equal consternation.</p> + +<p>"Call for Miss Frazer this instant. She hasn't gone downstairs yet."</p> + +<p>"Don't disturb it on any account!" decreed Miss Russell, who was fetched +from the drawing-room to cope with the emergency. "I shall send at once +for Scott, the gardener, and ask him to bring his terrier dog. We must +really take some measures to destroy these pests."</p> + +<p>It was not very long before Scott arrived. He clumped solemnly up the +stairs with a thick stick in his hand, and Bill, his sharp little fox +terrier, at his heels. Mrs. Wilson accompanied him, bearing the kitchen +poker; and the parlour-maid followed, holding the yard dog by the +collar, in case Bill should miss his prey. Miss Frazer and Miss +Humphreys were there to support Miss Russell; while Mademoiselle and a +great many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> of the girls hovered outside in the passage, half-frightened +and half-excited over the coming fray.</p> + +<p>"If you'll please to tell me where the young lady saw it, mum," said +Scott, "I'll let Bill on it sudden. He's death on rats."</p> + +<p>"It was just at the foot of the bed," quavered Cicely. Scott stooped, +and raised the valance with the greatest precaution. Bill sniffed +eagerly, but he did not pounce upon any concealed victim.</p> + +<p>"There's nothing there, mum—leastways no rat," said Scott, +straightening his back.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure?" gasped Miss Russell. "It couldn't possibly have +escaped."</p> + +<p>"I think it's been a little mistake of the young lady's, mum," said +Scott, suppressing a grin. "If you'll kindly take a look under the bed, +you'll see for yourself."</p> + +<p>Miss Russell hastened to comply, and, bending down, gave an exclamation +as she drew out one of Lindsay's best Sunday gloves.</p> + +<p>"What an extraordinary illusion!" she cried. "I don't wonder Cicely took +it for a rat. The soft doeskin is exactly the same colour, and the +buttons were gleaming just like two bright eyes. I never saw a more +perfect resemblance. I should certainly have been deceived. Well, I'm +glad our chase has been a case of much ado about nothing. I think you +may go to bed with easy minds to-night, girls. If we have any more +alarms, we must send<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> for Bill to protect us. Good dog! Can you find +some scraps for him in the kitchen, Mrs. Wilson?"</p> + +<p>Cicely's rat was of course a great joke in the school, and a subject of +teasing for several days afterwards.</p> + +<p>"You'll imagine your dressing-gown is a tiger next," said Effie +Hargreaves.</p> + +<p>"Some people scream at nothing. I'd have been sure about it first, +before making such a fuss," said Beryl Austen.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She thought it was a wily rat, and watched to see it move,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She looked again, and saw that it was nothing but a glove!"</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>improvised Nora Proctor, who was fond of <i>Alice</i>, and had rather a taste +for parody.</p> + +<p>"It was such a disappointment to us, when we were waiting to hear the +scuffle," said Marjorie Butler.</p> + +<p>"We shan't believe in your scares next time," said Effie.</p> + +<p>"It's all very well, but I'm sure you'd have been just as frightened +yourselves," retorted Cicely. "You've no need to make so much fun of +me."</p> + +<p>"It's too bad. I vote we pay them out, and have the laugh on our side," +sympathized Lindsay, leading her friend away. "I've thought of such a +capital idea. Come to the summer-house and we'll talk it over."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> + +<p>As the result of Lindsay's cogitations, the two girls went boldly to +Mrs. Wilson, and begged an old cardboard box.</p> + +<p>"It's half to pieces," said "The Griffin", quite amiably, for a wonder. +"It's not much good you'll do with it, I'm afraid."</p> + +<p>"Never mind, it's enough for what we want, thank you. We're not going to +put anything very heavy in it, are we, Cicely?"</p> + +<p>Cicely's reply was such a wildly hysterical giggle that Mrs. Wilson +stared at her in offended surprise.</p> + +<p>"She's only silly!" explained Lindsay hurriedly. "Please, could you let +us have some scraps of dark cloth? Perhaps there'd be something in the +rag bag. Be quiet, you stupid!"</p> + +<p>The last remark was aside to the irrepressible Cicely, who straightened +her face with an effort. "We're going to do some sewing," she +volunteered, choking back her mirth.</p> + +<p>"You're not generally so industrious," said Mrs. Wilson grimly. "I +should be glad to see you using your needle for once. It seems all +tennis and croquet with you young ladies."</p> + +<p>She produced the rag bag, however, and allowed the girls to take their +choice of the various odds and ends which it contained. They selected a +piece of rough, hair-brown serge; then, fetching their work-baskets, +they retired to a remote part<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> of the garden, where they were not likely +to be disturbed. If Mrs. Wilson had imagined they were about to engage +in some fine and delicate needlework, she was much mistaken. They +confined themselves to cutting and snipping, and to a few big, cobbling +stitches that would have caused her to exclaim in righteous horror.</p> + +<p>At the end of half an hour all was finished, and Lindsay proudly held up +the result of their labours. It really was not a bad imitation of a rat. +It had a nice round, plump body, four squat legs, a pointed nose, and a +long, thin tail.</p> + +<p>"We can't make whiskers," said Lindsay, "but that doesn't matter in the +least. They wouldn't notice them. What a good thing it's light until so +late now! They'll be able to see it perfectly well."</p> + +<p>"We couldn't manage if the bed weren't a four-poster," said Cicely, +chuckling in anticipation of the fun to come.</p> + +<p>Beryl Austen and Effie Hargreaves slept in a room almost opposite to +Lindsay's and Cicely's. Before eight o'clock arrived the two latter +contrived to make an excuse to go upstairs, and hastily completed their +preparations. The arrangements were ingenious. They fastened their rat +very lightly by two pieces of thin sewing cotton to the middle of the +piece of tapestry that formed the roof of the great four-post bed. To +the cotton was attached<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> a long strand of string, which passed through +the curtains and out at the door (conveniently near the bed), the end +being hidden under the mat on the landing.</p> + +<p>"You'll see, when we jerk the string, the cotton will break, then down +will plump the rat right on to their chests," said Lindsay, justly proud +of her inventive powers. "Poke the box under the valance, Cicely, quick! +I thought I heard someone coming."</p> + +<p>The cardboard box contained a bobbin, to which a second string was tied, +and concealed in the same manner as the first.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe they'll suspect anything," said Cicely. "Won't it be +lovely to give them a scare!"</p> + +<p>At bedtime the conspirators retired innocently as usual, having wished +Beryl and Effie good night in the passage.</p> + +<p>"I nearly said I hoped nothing would disturb them," laughed Lindsay, +"but I thought it would be wiser not. How long must we leave them to go +to sleep?"</p> + +<p>"About half an hour, I should think. Let us get up as soon as we hear +the clock in the picture gallery striking nine."</p> + +<p>The twilight lasted long, so it was still quite possible to distinguish +objects as two nightgowned, barefooted figures stole gently across the +landing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> Fortunately everything was perfectly quiet in the upper +portion of the house. The younger girls were in bed, and the elder ones +were with the teachers downstairs.</p> + +<p>"We must be sure to work the right strings," breathed Lindsay. "Have you +got yours? This was mine, with a knot at the end."</p> + +<p>She gave a smart pull, and the bobbin rattled loudly inside the box. +They could hear it plainly, even through the closed door.</p> + +<p>"What is that?"</p> + +<p>The question came in an anxious and wideawake tone from within the room.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. Oh, there it is again!"</p> + +<p>The voice this time was Effie's.</p> + +<p>"It sounds as if it were under the bed!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, surely it's not a rat!"</p> + +<p>"Now for it!" whispered Cicely, pulling the second string.</p> + +<p>The result was all they could have desired. A series of yells proceeded +from the four-post bed, sufficient not only to rouse the occupants of +the other rooms on the landing, but to bring Miss Frazer hurrying up +from the library. Lindsay and Cicely dropped their strings and fled, not +a second too soon. They could hear Miss Frazer striking a match to light +the candle, and her exclamation when she discovered the cause of the +uproar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> + +<p>"All the girls have turned out to see what's the matter," said Cicely. +"If you and I don't go too, they'll know who's done it."</p> + +<p>"I think we shall have to own up, in any case," replied Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"It was worth the scolding," she declared afterwards, when Miss Frazer +had administered a due homily on the danger of practical jokes. "I only +wish I could have seen their faces when the rat plumped on to them. They +needn't talk of screaming at nothing, and if they ever begin to tease us +about anything again—well, we'll just say 'Rats!'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>Haversleigh</h3> + + +<p>There never was such a glorious place as the Manor. Upon that point the +whole school perfectly agreed. The garden was as fascinating as the +house, and proved an absolute dream of delight, with its smooth +bowling-green, its winding paths, its charming little arbours overgrown +with creepers, its clipped yew hedges, and its unexpected flights of +steps. It might have been designed as a kind of terrestrial paradise for +girls. The big lawns afforded space for so many tennis courts that there +was no need for the younger ones to hover about, waiting enviously until +their elders had finished before they could get a chance of a game; and +there was plenty of room left for croquet and clock golf. The shrubbery +and the plantation were ideal spots for hide-and-seek (almost too good, +Lindsay said, because it was so very difficult to find anybody); while +the various rustic seats scattered under the trees made sewing and +reading a luxury on hot days, when no one felt inclined for violent +exercise. A stone-flagged terrace ran the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> entire length of the front of +the Manor, proving an invaluable playground when the grass was too wet +for games in the garden; and a roomy summer-house stood near the +bowling-green, so big that it was capable of sheltering all the school +during a thunder shower.</p> + +<p>Beyond the avenue, and at the farther side of the shrubbery, was a maze. +Marvellous little narrow, twisting paths, with high hedges of clipped +box, wound round and round in an utterly bewildering manner, most of +them either ending blindly or turning back to the original entrance, and +only one of the number leading to the arbour in the centre. For a long +time the girls amused themselves with trying to discover the proper +clue. Cicely, like Hansel, dropped pebbles to show which paths she had +already traced; Lindsay essayed to cut the Gordian knot by creeping +through the hedge; and it was only after many and repeated trials that +they were at last able to solve the puzzle.</p> + +<p>In the midst of one of the lawns grew a grand old yew tree, the lower +branches of which were easy to climb. It was a favourite haunt of the +younger girls, each having her special seat, and here they might often +be seen perched like birds, and certainly chattering enough to suggest a +flock of magpies. A stalwart oak close by supported a swing that was far +more romantic than the swing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> in the playground at Winterburn Lodge, +because a strong push would send the happy occupant high up among the +green leaves, and give her a flying peep into a missel-thrush's nest on +the topmost bough, where four gaping yellow mouths were clamouring for +food. In a corner, down a flight of steps, there was a pond where grew +marsh marigolds, and irises, and forget-me-nots, and other water-loving +plants. A pair of ducks lived here in a wooden hutch, and would come +waddling up to be fed with bread, which the girls saved from breakfast +for them. Great was the delight of the whole school when one morning a +brood of seven small ducklings appeared on the water, each as yellow as +a canary, and seemingly quite at home already in its native element.</p> + +<p>Then there was the rose garden, where every variety of the queen of +flowers seemed to flourish, from the delicate Maréchal Niel to the +sweet, oldfashioned, striped York and Lancaster. Archways and pillars +were covered with climbers and ramblers, a little untrained, but hanging +down in such glorious profusion that one almost approved of the neglect. +Round this garden was a high hedge of clipped holly, so that it was +sheltered from every wind, and the roses bloomed as if in a greenhouse. +Nor must we forget the peacocks, which were as much a feature of the old +house as the twisted chimneys, or the stone balls on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> porch. There +were six of them, and the gorgeous sheen of their feathers as they +spread their tails in the sunshine was a sight worth remembering. In +fact, as Miss Russell often remarked, they gave a finishing touch to the +whole scene, and made the Manor look more than ever like a medieval +picture.</p> + +<p>The village of Haversleigh was only ten minutes' walk from the lodge +gates. It consisted of one long row of quaint black-and-white cottages, +with thatched roofs, and gardens so gay with flowers that they seemed to +be overflowing into the road, and pinks and pansies were coming up +between the cobblestones of the street. At the end stood the beautiful +ancient church, built in days when each artisan was a master of his +craft, and made his work a labour of love. Strangers often came from a +distance to admire the delicate tracery of the windows, the exquisite +carving of the pillars, and the splendid old oak choir stalls that had +formed part of a tenth-century abbey. At the west end hung a collection +of banners, won by Monica's ancestors in many a hard-fought battle, and, +all tattered and faded as they were, still bearing tribute to the +glories of the past. There were monuments, too, in memory of the +Courtenays: stone effigies of knights in armour, lying under carved +canopies emblazoned with their coats-of-arms; stiff ladies and gentlemen +of Tudor times, with starched ruffs and buckled shoes; and one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> lovely +marble figure, by a forgotten sculptor, of a young daughter of the house +who had perished during the Great Plague. The ruthless hands that had +chipped and spoiled many of the other monuments had spared this one, and +the beautiful, calm face seemed to be resting in tranquil sleep, +patiently waiting for the summons to arise to immortality.</p> + +<p>The Manor pew, though large, could not accommodate the school. The girls +sat in the left aisle, and made quite an important addition to the +little congregation of villagers. They certainly helped to swell the +singing, and I think even the most thoughtless among them learned to +love that dear old church, and carried its remembrance into after years.</p> + +<p>The Rectory marked the last boundary of the village, then the road +passed over a bridge straight into the open country. The scenery was +pretty without being grand. Picturesque farmhouses stood in the midst of +rich pastures, behind which rose wooded slopes leading to a higher peak, +called Pendle Tor, that stood out as a landmark for the district. +Naturally the girls were very anxious to explore the neighbourhood, and +delighted when Miss Russell allowed walks on half-holidays. The whole +school was not often sent out together, but each form would go in turn, +separately, with its own teacher—an arrangement that all much +preferred, as they could then ramble about in an informal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> manner, +instead of keeping to the prim file which was the general rule.</p> + +<p>One Wednesday afternoon, at the end of May, it was the turn of the third +class, and its six members were standing by the gate, impatiently +awaiting the arrival of Miss Frazer, who, to do her justice, was not +often at fault in the matter of punctuality.</p> + +<p>"I hope she isn't telling Miss Russell what bad marks I got this +morning," said Effie Hargreaves dismally. "She threatened last week to +report me if I had another cross for history, and I missed five times, +and four times in literature, and all my problems were wrong in +arithmetic too."</p> + +<p>"I believe they're planning to hire another piano," said Beryl Austen, +"so that we can all get in the same amount of practising as we did at +Winterburn Lodge."</p> + +<p>"Oh, what a shame! I'm sure half an hour a day is enough for anybody," +came in a chorus from the others.</p> + +<p>"Especially now, when we haven't a music master," added Cicely.</p> + +<p>"That's the very reason," explained Beryl. "Miss Russell says she wants +us to keep up what we've learnt, so that we won't seem to have fallen +back when we begin with Mr. Nelson again."</p> + +<p>"Don't talk of Mr. Nelson! We shan't see him for ages."</p> + +<p>"You will, in September."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Well, it's not September yet, it's only May, and in the meantime we're +learning from Miss Frazer. Here she is, by the by, hurrying down the +drive as fast as she can."</p> + +<p>"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, girls," said the teacher, "but Miss +Russell has been giving me a commission to transact while we are out. +She wants us to go to Monkend, a farm about a mile and a half from +here."</p> + +<p>"A new walk?" asked Beryl.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we have never been there before, but I don't think we can miss the +way."</p> + +<p>A perfectly fresh walk was a pleasant prospect. Everyone set off, +therefore, in the best of spirits. It was a beautiful afternoon, one of +those glorious days when summer seems to clasp hands with spring and +join the delights of both seasons. The newly unfolded leaves were still +a tender green, and the sycamores were covered with pendent blossoms, in +the golden pollen of which the bees revelled like drunkards. The larches +had opened all their tassels, and the young cones on the firs glowed +with such a pink hue that they resembled candles on a Christmas tree. +The hawthorns were almost over, but here and there a crab apple showed a +mass of pink bloom, or a guelder rose made a white patch in the hedge; +and all the stretches of grass by the roadsides were carpeted with +bluebells and starry stitchwort.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p> + +<p>Miss Frazer was indulgent, and would wait for a few minutes while the +girls gathered handfuls of flowers, or climbed up to the top of a bank +to admire the view. She was as interested as they were in the finding of +a robin's nest; and quite as excited when a hawk swooped suddenly into a +bush, and flew away with a young thrush in its claws. The cuckoos were +calling persistently from the woods, the larks were singing up in the +air above, and all the hedgerows seemed to teem with busy bird life.</p> + +<p>Their way soon left the high road, and, striking across a field, led +them through a copse where there was an interesting pond, swarming with +tadpoles. The girls would have lingered here, trying to catch the funny, +wriggling, little black objects, but Miss Frazer's patience gave way at +last, and she hurried them on, declaring that if they were not quick +they would never get to the farm and back before tea-time.</p> + +<p>Monkend was a quaint old house, built in the midst of cherry orchards. +Its timbered walls were grey and weather-stained, and its tiled roof +yellowed with lichens. By the side of the open barn door the cows were +standing lowing to be milked, and the dairymaid, a rosy-faced young +woman in a blue apron, was coming from the kitchen, singing as she swung +her bright pails. She stopped in astonishment at the unwonted sight of +visitors to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> the farm, and ran to call her mistress to the scene.</p> + +<p>"You may wait for me here, girls, while I do my business with Mrs. +Brand," said Miss Frazer; "or if you like you may walk back to the +stile, and I will overtake you in the wood."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Brand insisted that Miss Frazer should come into the best parlour +to transact her errand, so, left alone, the girls began slowly to +retrace their steps towards the copse.</p> + +<p>"I wonder how long she'll be," said Lindsay, who with Cicely had +lingered a little behind.</p> + +<p>"I believe she has to pay a bill and order more butter and eggs and +things, so I don't expect we shall see her for five or ten minutes at +least," replied Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Then there'll be just time to run round the farm. I want to peep inside +those barns, and see what is at the other side of those haystacks. It +looks interesting. Come along! The dairymaid is busy milking, and +won't see us, and I don't suppose it matters if she does. We'll soon run +after the others."</p> + +<p>Feeling rather adventurous, the pair fled away down the yard, and dived +through an open doorway into the depths of a big barn. How fragrant it +smelled—such a delicious, sweet scent was in the air! Surely it must +come from that great heap of hay in the corner. The girls ran across, +and jumping on to the pile, were soon burying each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> other with armfuls +of the hay, and scooping out nests to sit in. It was dark inside the +barn—the beautiful brown gloom that one sees only in old castles or +churches, or ancient buildings, and is quite different from the black of +ordinary darkness. Through the open door came just one shaft of +sunshine, in which the specks of dust seemed to float and flutter like +living things. Overhead the great beams of the roof were lost in dim +obscurity; very old and rough they were, and covered with a mass of +cobwebs, among which Cicely declared she could see bats hanging head +downwards, with folded wings, though Lindsay said it was all her +imagination.</p> + +<p>It was so nice sitting perched on the hay that neither was in a hurry to +move. I believe they quite forgot about the time, until at last they +heard Miss Frazer's voice in the distance bidding good-bye to Mrs. +Brand.</p> + +<p>"We shall have to go," groaned Cicely. "What a nuisance! I could stay +here for hours."</p> + +<p>"So could I," said Lindsay, getting up with a yawn, and brushing loose +stalks from her dress. "Let us jump down on the other side of the hay."</p> + +<p>I do not know why it should have occurred to Lindsay to get off the +stack by the back instead of the front. If they had gone out of the barn +by the way they came, they could have overtaken Miss<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> Frazer in a +moment, and the adventure which followed would never have happened at +all. As it was, fate decreed that Lindsay, in her flying leap through +the dusk, should knock her shins against something decidedly hard. She +stood rubbing them ruefully, and put out her hand to feel what had been +the cause of her bruises. It was a ladder, standing against the wall, +and through the gloom of the barn she could just distinguish its upper +end, which seemed to communicate with a doorway in the angle of the +roof. This looked attractive. She pointed it out at once to Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Where does it lead, do you think?" asked the latter.</p> + +<p>"To some granary above, I expect. I wonder what's up there! Shall we go +and explore?"</p> + +<p>Without even waiting for an answer, Lindsay had begun to ascend, and as +she was six rungs up before Cicely ventured a half-hearted remonstrance, +she did not see fit to come down again.</p> + +<p>"Oh! we shan't be a minute," she declared. "Miss Frazer will wait for us +in the wood, and we can run all the way from the farm."</p> + +<p>Where Lindsay went Cicely always felt bound to follow; accordingly, she +clambered up the ladder behind her friend, and in due course both +arrived at the top. As Lindsay had supposed, they found a granary +half-filled with sacks of corn and a pile<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> of loose barley. A door at +the farther end appeared to open on to a flight of steps leading +outside, while opposite was a small lattice window overlooking the +fields.</p> + +<p>"There's really nothing to see," said Cicely. "It was hardly worth while +coming, after all."</p> + +<p>"We might go out through that door, instead of climbing down the ladder +again," suggested Lindsay, beginning to walk round the sacks. "Why, +look! Somebody has left his lunch here."</p> + +<p>On the top of the barley was a tin can, and also a red cotton +pocket-handkerchief, evidently containing slices of bread. From sheer +idle curiosity Lindsay seized them, and showed them laughingly to +Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Will you have some afternoon tea?" she exclaimed in joke.</p> + +<p>At that moment she was startled by a low growl behind her. From a corner +of the room sprang a collie dog that, unobserved by them, had been lying +among the sacks, and keeping a watch over its master's property.</p> + +<p>Lindsay promptly replaced the tin and the handkerchief on the barley.</p> + +<p>"Good dog! Poor fellow!" she said encouragingly, holding out her hand.</p> + +<p>The dog, however, did not make the least response to her friendly +advances. It came a little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> nearer, growling again, and showing its +teeth in an ugly fashion.</p> + +<p>"Come here, silly fellow! Does it think I want to steal something?" said +Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"I expect it does," replied Cicely, in rather a shaky voice. "Don't try +to touch it! It'll certainly bite you."</p> + +<p>Even Lindsay, fond of animals as she was, could not deny that the +gleaming eyes and snarling mouth looked the reverse of friendly.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we'd better be going," she said, turning towards the door.</p> + +<p>Directly she moved, the dog growled louder, and would have flown at her +if she had not instantly stopped.</p> + +<p>"What are we to do?" she exclaimed, looking at Cicely with a terrified +face.</p> + +<p>They were indeed in a most awkward and dangerous position. The dog, +deeming itself guardian of the granary, and doubtless considering the +two girls intruders for dishonest purposes, would let neither of them +beat a retreat. It stood looking vigilantly from one to the other, +snarling so fiercely if they stirred even an inch that they did not dare +to put its intentions to the test. Oh! why had they come? If they had +only gone back down the ladder before they had roused the dog, or if +Lindsay had not been inquisitive enough to peep inside the handkerchief, +they might have been across the yard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> and following Miss Frazer to the +wood. How were they ever to escape? Would they be obliged to remain +there until the dog's master returned?</p> + +<p>"Perhaps Miss Frazer'll come to hunt for us," quavered Cicely, in a very +small voice, and with a timid eye on the collie lest it should spring. +Evidently it did not object to conversation, so long as they kept still, +for though it looked at her it did not growl. That was one comfort, at +any rate. The situation was terrible enough, but to endure it in silence +would have been ten times worse.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe anybody knows where we are," said Lindsay. "I wonder if +the dairymaid noticed us go into the barn. They wouldn't dream of our +climbing the ladder. They'd look all round the stackyard, and perhaps +think we'd taken a short cut and gone home."</p> + +<p>Would nobody ever arrive to release them? The minutes seemed long as +hours, and they felt as if their trembling knees could scarcely support +them. Cicely, from the place where she was standing, could fortunately +look through the window and command a view of the field below. Though +she gazed with as keen anxiety as Sister Anne in the story of Bluebeard, +she did not see anybody hurrying to their rescue. The dog apparently +grew a little tired, for it threw itself down on the floor, but without +relaxing any of its former vigilance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I believe it's going to stop here all night," groaned Cicely, almost in +tears.</p> + +<p>The case was waxing desperate. So weary were the poor girls that they +were ready to drop with fatigue. Unless something happened, and that +speedily, there was bound to be a catastrophe. At the moment, however, +when Cicely felt that she simply could not endure any longer, +deliverance came. Through the little squares of the wooden lattice she +saw a figure strolling leisurely across the field. It was Monica +Courtenay, and she was walking in the direction of the farm. Cicely +shouted at the very pitch of her voice:</p> + +<p>"Monica! Monica! Help! Oh, do come!"</p> + +<p>Monica stopped in much astonishment, and looked round as if to ask who +was calling her by name; then, deciding that the screams came from the +direction of the granary, she hurried as fast as she could up the steps, +and opened the door. Her amazement was only equalled by her distress at +the girls' plight.</p> + +<p>She did her best to call off the dog, but as that proved impossible she +ran to fetch the first person she could find. In less than a minute she +had returned with Mr. Brand, whose stout boot and stick soon sent the +collie yelping disconsolately into a corner, to realize that it had +exceeded its duties.</p> + +<p>"He's a good watchdog, is Pincher," said the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> farmer, "but he's been a +bit too clever to-day. You silly hound! You ought to know better than to +set on two young wenches. You may well slink off! You'd better keep out +of reach of my stick, I can tell you!"</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely were much upset and shaken by their terrifying +experience. They never forgot how kindly and considerately Monica +behaved. She did not tell them it was their own fault, and that it +served them right for prying into places where they had no business (as +Mildred Roper or any of the other monitresses would certainly have +done); she only sympathized in her gentle way, and offered to escort +them to the Manor by a short cut, so that they should not be so very +late after all.</p> + +<p>"It was a lucky thing I happened to be taking a walk this way," she +said. "It might have been hours before any of the farm people went into +the granary. I wouldn't keep such a savage dog if it were mine."</p> + +<p>As Lindsay supposed, Miss Frazer was not aware that she had left two of +her pupils behind at Monkend, and imagined that the missing pair must +have walked home in front of the others. Their absence had only just +been discovered when they arrived to explain the cause. The teacher was +hardly so tender with them as Monica, and they received more scolding +than sympathy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Though it wasn't such a very dreadful crime to go into the barn," said +Lindsay afterwards to her companion in misfortune. "Miss Frazer needn't +say we are the two who are always in mischief, because it might have +happened just as easily to any of the others. I saw Beryl and Effie peep +into the cowhouse as they passed, though they didn't climb up a ladder. +Wasn't Monica nice? I believe the old farmer would have been cross with +us if she hadn't been there. He evidently knows her very well. So do all +the people in the village. She seems to know each man, woman, and child +there, and to be a favourite with everybody."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>An Unexpected Development</h3> + + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely had by no means forgotten either their quest for the +treasure or their curiosity about the lantern chamber. In spite of +several small efforts, nothing fresh had occurred to elucidate matters, +and they were almost beginning to despair of ever making any further +progress, when quite unexpectedly something important happened.</p> + +<p>One afternoon, as they were sending tennis balls to each other along the +terrace, they heard a voice calling to them from overhead. They looked +up, and saw Merle Hammond, a second-form girl, leaning out of one of the +upper windows of the house and beckoning to them violently.</p> + +<p>"Lindsay and Cicely, is that you?" she cried. "Come up here; I've made +such a discovery!"</p> + +<p>"Where are you?" asked Cicely, for the old Manor had so many windows, it +was impossible to identify any particular one from the outside.</p> + +<p>"In a room up a funny winding staircase, on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> the top landing. It's +empty, but there's a big kind of lamp hanging from the ceiling. Oh, +you'll never guess what I've seen!"</p> + +<p>"The lantern chamber!" gasped both the girls, and, dropping their +rackets, they raced into the house in a state of the wildest excitement.</p> + +<p>Were they actually on the brink of solving the mystery? How had Merle +found it out? It was good of her to call to them. Had she accidentally +come across the hiding-place? or was it some other secret still?</p> + +<p>The answer to all these questions lay in that attic room, and they fled +upstairs as if their feet were wings.</p> + +<p>They were halfway along the passage, and a few seconds more would have +seen them safely on the top landing, when (oh, the bad luck of it!) they +almost knocked down Miss Frazer, who emerged at exactly the wrong moment +from her own bedroom door.</p> + +<p>"Gently, girls, gently!" she remonstrated. "Where are you going in such +a hurry?"</p> + +<p>It was impossible to explain. How could they tell the teacher the nature +of their errand? They both stood still, looking very "caught" and +dismayed, and said nothing.</p> + +<p>"As you have come indoors so early, you had better tidy your drawers," +continued Miss Frazer dryly. "I looked at them just now, and found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> them +in terrible disorder. You will have nice time to do it before tea."</p> + +<p>Could anything have been more aggravating? The poor girls were nearly +crying with vexation. There was no appeal, however. Miss Frazer escorted +them into their bedroom, and stood over them, giving directions, until +each pair of stockings or pocket-handkerchief was disposed according to +her ideas of neatness. They might chafe and fret inwardly at the delay, +but outwardly they were obliged to behave with due decorum.</p> + +<p>The governess was certainly justified in her disapproval, for Cicely's +best coat and hat were lying jumbled together at the bottom of the +wardrobe, and Lindsay's belongings looked as if they had been stirred up +with a stick.</p> + +<p>"If I notice any of your places in such a condition again, I shall be +obliged to give you each a punishment," she said gravely. "Wash your +hands now, and comb your hair. There's the first bell."</p> + +<p>Would Miss Frazer never leave them alone? If only she would take her +departure at once, they could perhaps manage to rush up to the lantern +room before the second bell rang. Merle must be waiting for them, and +wondering why they did not come. And the secret was waiting too! Lindsay +looked at Cicely, almost meditating a bolt. Possibly the mistress read +her intention in her face;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> at any rate, she waited until both were +ready, then marched them downstairs to the dining-room like a female +policeman, without giving them the slightest chance to escape.</p> + +<p>"Of all jolly sells this is the biggest!" whispered Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I wish Miss Frazer had been at the bottom of the sea!" groaned Lindsay.</p> + +<p>Merle came in rather late and took her place at table, looking a little +red and self-conscious. Lindsay tried to meet her eyes, but she avoided +the gaze, and went on stolidly with her bread and butter as if nothing +had happened. When Cicely made a like effort she fared the same. What +had Merle seen? How they longed for tea to be over, that they might hear +of her discovery! They hoped she would not reveal it to any of the other +girls first, and they looked on in quite a fever of anxiety whenever she +spoke to Elsie Ryder or Marjorie Butler, who sat one on either side of +her.</p> + +<p>"She doesn't know what we suspect about Mrs. Wilson," whispered Lindsay. +"She may be letting out something it would be far better, for Monica's +sake, not to tell."</p> + +<p>The moment the meal was finished the two girls followed Merle into the +garden, but, greatly to their surprise, she took no notice of them, and +began to play tennis.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I expect she's waiting for a safer time. Of course it wouldn't do for +her to be seen talking to us so particularly. We'll stay here while she +finishes her set," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>The game lasted until preparation, and then Merle walked away with such +an evident intention of escaping from them that the two were most +indignant.</p> + +<p>"What does she mean?" burst out Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Do you think she's offended because we didn't go up at once?" returned +Cicely. "She doesn't know yet that Miss Frazer stopped us. We must +explain it as soon as we can."</p> + +<p>They tried to get hold of Merle after supper, but she kept persistently +to Elsie Ryder's company, and would not give them any opportunity of +speaking to her in private, so they were obliged to go to bed in a +horrible state of suspense. Next morning things were just as bad. There +was no mistaking the fact that Merle wished to avoid them, and it was +only with the greatest difficulty that they succeeded at last in +catching her alone.</p> + +<p>"What do you want?" she enquired abruptly. "Please don't go chasing me +about like this all over the school."</p> + +<p>"We want to know what you saw in the lantern room, of course," replied +Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."</p> + +<p>"Not tell us!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely could scarcely believe the evidence of their own +ears.</p> + +<p>"No, it's quite impossible."</p> + +<p>"But why?"</p> + +<p>"Simply that I can't."</p> + +<p>"Were you offended, Merle, because we didn't come when you called us?" +asked Cicely.</p> + +<p>"We were hurrying up as fast as we could, only Miss Frazer stopped us +and made us tidy our drawers. It wasn't our fault," added Lindsay +apologetically.</p> + +<p>"No, I'm not offended in the least. I'm very glad you didn't come."</p> + +<p>"But you shouted to us to be quick."</p> + +<p>"I know I did."</p> + +<p>"Was it something or somebody you saw in that room?"</p> + +<p>"Please don't ask me."</p> + +<p>"But look here, Merle, this is too bad," protested Lindsay. "You're +playing a very nasty trick upon us."</p> + +<p>"It can't be helped. I've said I am sorry," returned Merle doggedly.</p> + +<p>"Well, you are a fraud," cried Cicely. "I like people who keep their +promises."</p> + +<p>"So do I," said Merle, in rather a significant tone. "It's exactly what +I intend doing, too."</p> + +<p>"You don't mean to say you've promised not to tell!" exclaimed Lindsay.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I didn't say anything at all."</p> + +<p>"Have you told Elsie Ryder or Marjorie Butler?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly not. I haven't mentioned the matter to anybody, and I hope +you won't either."</p> + +<p>"But why shouldn't you whisper it just to Lindsay and me? We wouldn't +let a soul know," pleaded Cicely reproachfully.</p> + +<p>"I can't explain why. Do let us drop the subject."</p> + +<p>Here was indeed a deadlock. They had been afraid lest Merle should +betray her secret indiscreetly, but they had certainly never +contemplated being kept out of it themselves. The more they pressed her, +the more obstinately she refused, and neither scolding nor coaxing would +induce her to disclose even the least hint. They gave it up at last, +feeling very baffled and rather out of temper.</p> + +<p>"We do know something about your old room, all the same," said Lindsay +crossly, as a parting shot.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Lindsay, you don't really!"</p> + +<p>There was an anxious note in Merle's voice.</p> + +<p>"More than you think."</p> + +<p>"Then, whatever it is, you had better keep it to yourselves, and not let +it go any farther."</p> + +<p>Merle's extraordinary behaviour seemed to make the mystery even deeper +than before. She had evidently been exploring the Manor on her own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +account and had made some discovery, which she undoubtedly had intended +to share with them when she called from the window. Then something must +have occurred afterwards which caused her to change her mind.</p> + +<p>To whom had she given a promise of secrecy? Surely not to Mrs. Wilson? +That would be aiding and abetting one whom they strongly believed to be +Monica's enemy. If only Miss Frazer had not such a tiresome love of +tidiness, they might have reached the lantern room in time, and be now +in possession of the information they wanted. It was too tantalizing to +feel that they had been so near a solution of the problem, and had +missed it by a few moments.</p> + +<p>Events never happen singly. For a whole fortnight they had been able +to find out nothing, yet on the very day following this disappointment +something occurred which seemed to add another link to their chain of +strange circumstances. They had managed to escape Miss Frazer's +vigilance, and were indulging in a surreptitious game of "tig" along the +forbidden ground of the picture gallery, when one of the bedroom doors +opened, and Mrs. Wilson appeared in the distance, carrying a pile of +clean towels in her arms.</p> + +<p>"There's 'The Griffin'!" exclaimed Lindsay. "She mustn't catch us here, +on any account. She'll tell Miss Russell, and we shall each lose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> a +conduct mark. Quick! Let us hide somewhere till she's gone by."</p> + +<p>The ancient arras seemed to offer a safe retreat. As fast as possible +they whisked behind it, and stood flattening themselves against the +wall, hoping Mrs. Wilson would notice nothing lumpy or unusual as she +passed.</p> + +<p>At the same time came a sound of heavy tramping footsteps from the other +end of the gallery, and Cicely, peeping through a hole in the tapestry +which happened to be on a convenient level with her eyes, saw Scott, the +gardener, coming down the flight of stairs which led from the upper +landing. He met Mrs. Wilson exactly opposite the hiding-place where the +girls were concealed, and the two stopped to speak, quite unaware that +listening ears were eagerly following their conversation.</p> + +<p>"Have you been in the lantern room?" began the old housekeeper uneasily. +"I'd no idea you were going up this afternoon."</p> + +<p>"Thought I'd best take a look," returned Scott.</p> + +<p>"There wasn't any need. I was there myself this morning, and things were +all right."</p> + +<p>"I don't know what you may call all right," grunted Scott. "There was +far too much noise going on to satisfy me."</p> + +<p>"You don't think there's any danger——?" burst out Mrs. Wilson, in an +anxious voice.</p> + +<p>"No, no!" interrupted Scott quickly. "Not for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> the present, at any rate. +Don't upset yourself. Still, it needs care, especially with all this +crew in the house."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it's that that's worrying me. I shan't breathe freely till they're +gone. And such an inquisitive, meddlesome set they are, too! You'd +scarcely believe the trouble they give me. Two of them took it into +their heads one day to go wandering on the upper landing. I actually +found them inside the lantern room!"</p> + +<p>Scott gave an exclamation of something like alarm.</p> + +<p>"That'll never do!" he said. "You mustn't let them go poking about +there; it would be most unsafe. Can't you lock the door?"</p> + +<p>"No, the key's lost."</p> + +<p>"I must try if I can find a padlock for it."</p> + +<p>"I wish you would. It would take a load off my mind. By the by, I wanted +to warn you——"</p> + +<p>But here one of the housemaids came along the landing, Mrs. Wilson's +voice sank to a whisper, and the only words audible were "Miss Monica", +"evening", and "wouldn't trust".</p> + +<p>"I'll be extra careful," said Scott, as he clumped away.</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely waited several moments after the gallery was empty +before they ventured to emerge from behind the tapestry. They had the +great satisfaction of having learnt something.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> They now knew definitely +that there was a secret in connection with the lantern room which both +Mrs. Wilson and Scott were anxious to keep from them.</p> + +<p>"What can it be?" speculated Cicely. "Did you notice what he said about +the noise? It must have been that dreadful groaning we heard."</p> + +<p>"I've been thinking about that," replied Lindsay. "There may be a hidden +room, and someone shut up in it."</p> + +<p>"As a prisoner, do you mean?"</p> + +<p>Lindsay nodded.</p> + +<p>"But who could it be?"</p> + +<p>"I can't imagine, unless—could it possibly be old Sir Giles Courtenay? +Perhaps he didn't really die, after all. Don't you remember, in +<i>Ivanhoe</i>, how Athelstane of Coningsburgh was supposed to be killed, and +he was really only stunned; and the monks of St. Edmunds put an empty +coffin in the chapel, and kept him in a dungeon and pretended he was +dead, because they wanted his property? Mrs. Wilson may be doing the +same."</p> + +<p>"How dreadful!" Cicely looked quite appalled at the idea. "I suppose she +goes up, then, to feed him. Scott must know too. I shouldn't have +thought it of Scott. I rather liked him. I expect they'll share the +money between them. I wonder what 'The Griffin' was warning him about. I +hope they're not hatching a plot against Monica!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It looks bad," said Lindsay, "decidedly bad. It's evidently something +shady, or they wouldn't want to keep it so quiet. It may be a very good +thing for Monica that we've taken the matter up."</p> + +<p>"What shall we do?"</p> + +<p>"We must stalk 'The Griffin' again, and try to follow her to that room, +and see what she does there."</p> + +<p>"She's as wary as a weasel."</p> + +<p>"Then we must be clever and outwit her. I'm positive she has some scheme +on hand that ought to be watched. One doesn't know how much may depend +upon it."</p> + +<p>It was certainly very exciting to feel that dark deeds might be taking +place in the attic, and that they were the fortunate instruments +selected by fate for the purpose of bringing the wrongdoers to justice. +It gave them a delightful sense of superiority over the other girls, +whose heads were full of nothing but tennis and croquet, and who never +troubled themselves with a thought about the missing treasure.</p> + +<p>"Merle is the only one who knows anything," said Lindsay, "and I verily +believe 'The Griffin' must have bribed her."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Wilson evidently used the utmost precaution in her visits to the +top landing. In spite of the pains they took to watch her movements, it +was some days before they found the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> propitious moment. "All things come +to those who wait," says the old proverb, however, and it proved true in +this case.</p> + +<p>One afternoon, through the chink of the bathroom door, they saw her walk +into the gallery as if she were going to the upper story. As stealthily +as Indians they crept after her. They tiptoed along the passages, and +just caught a glimpse of the tail of her skirts as she passed up the +winding staircase and entered the lantern room. Very quietly they +followed on to the little landing, and listened for a moment outside the +closed door.</p> + +<p>"What is she doing?" whispered Cicely.</p> + +<p>"That's what I want to find out."</p> + +<p>They both tried to peep through the keyhole, and bumped their heads +together in the attempt.</p> + +<p>"I can hear her moving!"</p> + +<p>There was a slight noise inside, almost like the clicking of a latch, +then all was perfectly silent.</p> + +<p>Lindsay could bear it no longer.</p> + +<p>"Here goes!" she cried boldly, and flung open the door. To her utter +amazement, the room was absolutely empty. Mrs. Wilson had vanished as +completely as if she had been a ghost.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>Monica</h3> + + +<p>The two girls rushed into the empty room and examined every corner +minutely. There was not a trace of any secret exit to be found. The +opening through which Mrs. Wilson must have disappeared was evidently +marvellously well concealed.</p> + +<p>"Where can she be? It's like magic!" whispered Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Wherever she's gone, I suppose she'll have to come back," replied +Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Listen!" said Cicely, with a start.</p> + +<p>It was the same strange sound again which they had heard on their former +expedition—a low, long-drawn-out moaning, as of someone in pain, feeble +at first, then growing louder, and suddenly ceasing.</p> + +<p>"Oh! I wonder if she's hurting anybody?" cried Cicely, shuddering with +horror.</p> + +<p>"I'd give a great deal to find out what's going on. I'm afraid it's +something that won't bear the light of day," said Lindsay uneasily.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Dare we wait till she comes out of her hiding-place?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, but we mustn't stay here. It would spoil everything if she caught +us. Let us go outside and close the door again, and watch through the +keyhole; then, if we see her coming, we can rush."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Wilson's errand was evidently a long one. Though they relieved each +other more than once in mounting guard over the keyhole, she did not +return.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps she knows we're here, and won't come out till we've gone," +suggested Lindsay at last.</p> + +<p>"How could she know?"</p> + +<p>"She may have been looking at us all the time through some little spy +place."</p> + +<p>"Oh, how horrid! It makes me feel quite creepy to think of it."</p> + +<p>The fact that they were doing exactly the same did not strike either of +the girls. Circumstances alter cases, and they considered they were +justified in their plan of action. They grew extremely tired of waiting, +but they were determined not to give in.</p> + +<p>"There's that noise again!" said Cicely. "She must have a prisoner shut +up there; I'm perfectly certain about it."</p> + +<p>Both put their ears to the door, and were so absorbed in listening to +the queer sounds inside the room that they did not hear footsteps +sounding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> up the winding staircase. An exclamation behind them caused +them to turn hastily round.</p> + +<p>There was Monica!—the last person in the world whom they had expected +to see, and who was looking as astonished as themselves at the meeting. +Lindsay and Cicely felt decidedly embarrassed. Monica must have seen +them peeping through the keyhole, and they knew they had been discovered +in a somewhat doubtful and discreditable occupation. They could not +possibly begin to explain that it was entirely on her account and for +her benefit, so they simply turned very red and said nothing. It was a +most uncomfortable situation.</p> + +<p>There was a painful pause, and then Monica recovered her presence of +mind.</p> + +<p>"Why, Lindsay and Cicely, I thought you were with the others in the +garden!" she said.</p> + +<p>"We were only exploring the house a little," replied Lindsay, trying to +pass the matter off carelessly. "Miss Russell said there were +interesting things all over it."</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid you won't find much to interest you among empty bedrooms," +said Monica, in her calm, quiet voice. "If you like to come downstairs +with me I'll show you some of the curiosities in my cabinet. I've a +great many old coins and a few daggers that were dug up when the moat +was drained."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> + +<p>Looking rather shamefaced, the pair went with Monica to the library, +where she unlocked an oak cupboard, and spent quite twenty minutes in +explaining her various treasures. She was most kind, and spared no +trouble, but the others could not get over their confusion. They had the +guilty sensation that they had been caught like naughty children, and +were being amused to keep them out of the way.</p> + +<p>"Why was Monica going into the lantern room?" demanded Lindsay, the +moment they were alone.</p> + +<p>"Does she know the secret?" ventured Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Either she knows, or she's trying to find out. Perhaps she's stalking +Mrs. Wilson too!"</p> + +<p>This was a new idea, and required consideration.</p> + +<p>"Then that would perhaps be what 'The Griffin' was warning Scott about," +said Cicely reflectively. "Ought we to tell Monica?"</p> + +<p>"Not yet—not till we've something more definite to go upon. We've only +suspicions at present, and one can hardly speak about those. She might +be offended, and think us meddlesome, especially as she doesn't like to +talk of her affairs."</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid she'll think us sneaky and underhand, in any case. I'm so +sorry she saw us spying like that."</p> + +<p>"Well, we couldn't help it, and we can't explain."</p> + +<p>"Mightn't we just say why——?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's no use," interrupted Lindsay decidedly. "We'd better not breathe a +word."</p> + +<p>And Cicely, as usual, gave way.</p> + +<p>It was gratifying to feel that they were Monica's champions, though she +might not yet be aware of what she owed them. They must be content to be +misunderstood for a little while; afterwards she would appreciate what +they had been doing for her, and would thank them accordingly. They +often looked at her in school with the satisfactory sensation that they +knew something of which everyone else, even Miss Russell, was ignorant.</p> + +<p>I fear the lessons suffered sometimes while they indulged in day-dreams, +for it was hard to recall such mundane matters as the capital of Mexico, +or the date of Magna Charta, when their thoughts were far away in the +lantern room, busy with concealed prisoners or supposed plots.</p> + +<p>"You're the two most inattentive girls in the class!" cried Miss Frazer +indignantly one day, after a specially bad lapse of memory. "You both +did far better at Winterburn Lodge. I cannot understand why your work +should have fallen off so much lately. This is the third time this week +you have had bad marks. If it occurs again, I shall be obliged to report +you to Miss Russell."</p> + +<p>Apart from their interest in her as the owner of the hidden treasure, +Lindsay and Cicely regarded Monica with the worship which schoolgirls +are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> sometimes fond of bestowing upon a companion who happens specially +to attract them. They admired the shape of her nose and her long +chestnut hair, and considered her dignified manner absolute perfection. +They used to follow her about at a respectful distance, longing to +improve the acquaintance; but they received so many snubs from the elder +girls, who also wished to monopolize her, that matters did not advance +much further than an occasional "Good morning" or "Good afternoon".</p> + +<p>"The big ones are so jealous, they like to keep her all to themselves," +grumbled Cicely. "Eleanor Wright was quite rude when I offered to lend +Monica a pencil yesterday. She said I was 'officious'."</p> + +<p>"They're horribly mean," agreed Lindsay.</p> + +<p>Monica had certainly become a great favourite at the Manor with both +teachers and pupils, and, had she been of a less steady disposition, +might have run considerable danger of being spoilt. She took her sudden +popularity, however, very serenely, and scarcely seemed to notice that +her schoolfellows were quarrelling over who should sit next her in +class, or take part with her in a game of tennis.</p> + +<p>"She always seems so calm and superior, like a nightingale among +sparrows," remarked Irene Spencer sentimentally.</p> + +<p>"Or a swan among a flock of geese," laughed Mildred Roper. "You've all +grown really quite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> silly over Monica. I admire her very much myself, +but I don't go and kiss her jacket when it's hanging in the vestibule, +or beg her old torn exercises for keepsakes."</p> + +<p>"Oh, well, you're a monitress!"</p> + +<p>"I've got a little common sense left, I'm thankful to say."</p> + +<p>The pretty rose-covered cottage where Monica and her mother had +established themselves for the summer was only a few minutes' walk away +from the Manor. One afternoon Miss Russell, happening to meet Lindsay +and Cicely in the hall, gave them a note, and told them to take it at +once to Mrs. Courtenay, and bring back an answer.</p> + +<p>The two girls ran off in high glee, delighted to have this opportunity +of seeing their idol in private. They found Monica preparing her French +lesson in the small strip of front garden, but she put her books aside +as they opened the gate.</p> + +<p>"Come to Mother," she said, when they had explained their errand, +leading the way through a French window into a low, old-fashioned +sitting-room.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Courtenay was a sweet, delicate-looking lady, with a gentle, +refined face, and hair slightly streaked with grey. She did not rise +from her sofa when they entered, but held out her hand instead, and +asked them to come and speak to her.</p> + +<p>"I am somewhat of an invalid, you see," she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> said. "The doctor is very +strict, and has told me to lie still. It's rather hard, but I am trying +to obey. So you are two of Monica's little friends? Well, now you are +here, you had better stay for tea. The letter? Oh, I'll send Jenny, our +maid, with the answer, and she shall tell Miss Russell that I'm keeping +you. We'll take care that you go back in plenty of time for +preparation."</p> + +<p>This was indeed a most unexpected treat. Both Lindsay and Cicely beamed +with smiles. They were the only girls in the school who had been thus +favoured, and they felt that their present enjoyment would be equalled +by the envy which they would excite among the others on their return.</p> + +<p>"I am glad to hear you are all so happy at the Manor," continued Mrs. +Courtenay. "Isn't it a dear, interesting old place? I expect Monica will +have told you most of the legends. No! Why, Monica, what have you been +thinking of? Do you mean to say they haven't heard yet about your +ancestress and Sir Humphrey Warden in the rose avenue?"</p> + +<p>"There really hasn't been any time for telling stories, Mother," +declared Monica, "we've been so busy playing tennis when we were not at +lessons. I'm never very good at remembering them, either—not like you +are."</p> + +<p>"I suppose I must consider myself the family chronicler," said Mrs. +Courtenay. "We certainly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> ought to let Lindsay and Cicely hear the tale +of the picture. Ah, here comes tea! Monica, you must look after our +guests."</p> + +<p>Monica evidently loved to be her mother's nurse. She placed a small +table by the side of the sofa, and busied herself in arranging cushions +and seeing that everything was placed for the invalid's greatest +comfort. She did not neglect the visitors either, and brought out a jar +of honey for their special benefit.</p> + +<p>"I know you'll like it, because you were so interested in the bees," she +said. "Do you remember the day when you went too close to the hives, and +nearly got stung?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; we had to run the whole length of the walk where the roses grow. I +shan't forget it in a hurry," answered Cicely.</p> + +<p>"That is the rose avenue where my namesake outwitted Sir Humphrey +Warden. I wish you would tell them the story, Mother."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do, please," pleaded Lindsay and Cicely; "we'd like so immensely to +hear it!"</p> + +<p>"I believe I shall just have time while we finish tea," said Mrs. +Courtenay. "I suppose you need not be back in school until half-past +five? Have you been in the long gallery at the Manor, and looked at the +pictures?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, often," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Then you will remember one, at the far end,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> of a girl in a white +dress, holding a bunch of roses in her hand?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; it's the prettiest of them all. We always say it's the exact image +of Monica."</p> + +<p>"It is the portrait of a Monica Courtenay who lived here in the time of +the Civil War. Her father was killed fighting for the king at Marston +Moor, and her only brother, Sir Piers, was also one of the hottest +supporters of the crown. When Cromwell came into power, Sir Piers had to +flee for his life. He was chased from one hiding-place to another. +Sometimes, like Prince Charles, he had to clamber up a tree until the +soldiers had passed by, and once he spent a night in a fox's hole.</p> + +<p>"At length, one summer evening, hunted almost to desperation, he +returned to his old home. He met his sister in the garden, and though +she exclaimed with joy at seeing him, she immediately made a sign for +silence, and motioned him to conceal himself under a large box tree +which stood near.</p> + +<p>"It was not safe, so she whispered, to go to the Manor. There were spies +about, and Sir Humphrey Warden, the most zealous Roundhead in the +district, had set a watch upon the house. At any moment they expected he +might arrive with a troop of soldiers. Piers must stay where he was, and +she would run and bring him the key of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> boathouse; then, under cover +of the darkness, he might creep away to the river, get out the boat, and +drop with the current until he reached the sea, where possibly he might +find a ship to take him over to France.</p> + +<p>"She hurried indoors at once to fetch the small key that unlocked the +boathouse, but as she was returning down the avenue she found she was +just too late. There was a tramp of horses' hoofs, and Sir Humphrey +Warden came riding up at the head of a band of men.</p> + +<p>"'Good even, fair neighbour,' he said. 'I must needs make an inspection +of your house, and with your permission I will give myself the honour of +supping with you to-night. What brings you hither?'</p> + +<p>"'I do but take the air, and pluck a few of these fragrant blossoms,' +replied Monica hastily. 'I will presently conduct you to the Manor +myself, and entertain you.'</p> + +<p>"She was in a desperate strait. How could she manage to save her +brother? Now that Sir Humphrey had come, she knew her every movement +would be watched. No one could be trusted, for the servants (so she +feared) had all been bribed. Gathering a bunch of roses, she contrived +unnoticed to slip her little key inside the heart of one of them.</p> + +<p>"'I would fain crave the favour of a flower,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> madam,' said Sir Humphrey, +who was an admirer of fair dames, in spite of his Puritan dress.</p> + +<p>"'Take your choice, sir,' replied Monica, boldly holding out her bunch. +'Nay, not this red one; it is overblown, and will fall directly. 'Tis +but fit to be flung away. This pink hath the sweeter scent, an you will +wear it for me.'</p> + +<p>"As she spoke she tossed the rose containing the key with apparent +carelessness over the hedge to the foot of the box tree where her +brother was lying concealed; then, leading her unwelcome guest to the +house, she gave orders for his due entertainment.</p> + +<p>"Sir Humphrey and his men searched the Manor in vain, but they never +thought of looking in the garden, where the fugitive was waiting till +the darkness should be black enough to hide him. Sir Piers got safely +away to France, and returned in triumph to his estates when Charles II +came to his own again. As a remembrance of his wonderful escape, he +caused his sister's portrait to be painted, with the bunch of roses in +her hand. Ever since the Courtenays have had an almost superstitious +reverence for the picture. There is an old saying that it guards the +safety and fortunes of the family."</p> + +<p>"And what became of Monica?" asked Lindsay, who had been deeply +interested in the story.</p> + +<p>"She married a cavalier friend of her brother's,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> and went to live in +Devonshire. I believe she kept one of the roses treasured away in a box, +and it was buried with her when she died."</p> + +<p>"I suppose Monica was christened after her?" said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Yes; that has always been a favourite name with the Courtenays, though +I do not think any of them can have more closely resembled the +portrait."</p> + +<p>"How can the picture guard your fortunes?" enquired Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. It is one of those quaint ideas that sometimes linger in +families. Of course it is only a tale, and I am afraid I have been a +long while in telling it. Monica, dear, it is twenty minutes past five. +Lindsay and Cicely must hurry back to school at once, if they are to be +in time for preparation. We shall get into sad disgrace with Miss +Russell if we allow them to be late."</p> + +<p>"I think your mother is perfectly sweet," said Lindsay, as Monica walked +with them along the road to the Manor gates.</p> + + +<p>"She's just everything in the whole world to me," replied Monica. "I +wish she were stronger, though. She has been ill for such a long time. +The doctor says it would do her good to spend next winter in the south +of Italy, but that, I'm afraid, will be quite impossible. She ought +to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> go, it might make all the difference," she continued, almost as if +talking to herself; "yet we can't manage it, however much we try, +unless, indeed——"</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 374px;"> +<img src="images/gs03.jpg" width="374" height="600" alt=""I KNOW WHAT MONICA WAS GOING TO SAY"" title="" /> +<span class="caption">"I KNOW WHAT MONICA WAS GOING TO SAY"</span> +</div> + +<p>But here she seemed to recollect the presence of her companions, and +wishing them a hasty good-bye, she turned back to the cottage.</p> + +<p>"I know what Monica was going to say," remarked Cicely, as they walked +up the drive.</p> + +<p>"She meant her mother would be able to go away if the treasure were +found," replied Lindsay. "Oh! it does seem hard, when they need it so +badly, that it should be shut up somewhere, and doing no good to anybody +at all."</p> + +<p>"I think Monica is frightened lest Mrs. Courtenay should grow worse and +die, if they have to stay in England for the winter. I don't believe she +would enjoy a penny of her fortune if it were to come too late for her +to share it with her mother."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>Lindsay's Luck</h3> + + +<p>One day, shortly before Whitsuntide, Irene Spencer walked into the +third-class schoolroom with a letter in her hand, and a look on her face +which proclaimed news of some importance.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe any of you will ever guess what I've come to tell you," +she announced. "I've heard this morning from my aunt at Linforth +Vicarage. She writes asking me to spend a few days there at Whitsuntide +(we are to have a short holiday, you know), and she says: 'We have asked +Monica Courtenay, and we should be very pleased if Miss Russell would +also allow you to bring one of your younger schoolfellows who would +prove a nice companion for Rhoda.' My cousin Rhoda is twelve, so I have +to pick out one from among you six. Whichever it is will have an +uncommonly jolly visit, because we always have glorious times at +Linforth."</p> + +<p>"How delightful! Oh, do take me!" exclaimed the six in chorus, each +enchanted with such a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> tempting prospect, and anxious to be the chosen +favourite.</p> + +<p>"I wish I could take you all," replied Irene, "but unfortunately the +invitation is only for one. Miss Russell says this will be the best way +to arrange it. The girl who is nearest to Rhoda's age must go. Will you +each tell me the date of your birthday, and then I shall be able to +decide. Rhoda's is on the twentieth of March."</p> + +<p>It certainly seemed the fairest way of settling the question, and one +against which there could be no appeal.</p> + +<p>"Miss Russell is a modern Solomon," declared Cicely. "I'm afraid I +haven't the slightest chance, because I'm only eleven and a half, and so +is Nora."</p> + +<p>"I'm almost thirteen," wailed Beryl. "I wish I were a few months +younger. Effie, I shall be horribly jealous if the chance falls to you."</p> + +<p>"No such luck! I am a Christmas child," returned Effie. "I believe +Marjorie is nearer."</p> + +<p>"The twenty-seventh of February. Can anybody do better than that?" asked +Marjorie hopefully.</p> + +<p>"Mine is the sixth of April," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"About as much after Rhoda's as Marjorie's is before," said Irene. "We +must count it up exactly. Somebody give me a pencil and a piece of +paper. Let me see, the twenty-seventh of Feb<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>ruary to the twentieth of +March is twenty-one days, and the twentieth of March to the sixth of +April is only seventeen. Then Lindsay is nearer by four days."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah!" cried Lindsay, clapping her hands, "I'm glad I wasn't born a +week later. How dreadfully sorry I am for you all, especially Marjorie!"</p> + +<p>"My aunt says she will send the trap for us on Friday afternoon," +continued Irene. "And we are to stay until Tuesday morning, so that will +give us three whole days at Linforth. I'm sure you'll like Rhoda, and my +other cousins too. There are eight of them altogether. Meta, the eldest, +is seventeen; she's going to study music in Germany next September. +Ralph and Leonard are fifteen and fourteen; they go to the Appleford +Grammar School, and ride there every day on their bicycles. Then comes +Rhoda, and there are four little ones. They do lessons with a governess, +but perhaps some time Rhoda is to be sent to Winterburn Lodge. Aunt +Esther says she shan't treat us as visitors; we must make ourselves at +home amongst the others."</p> + +<p>The visit seemed an event worth looking forward to, not only on its own +account, but because Monica was to be one of the party. Lindsay could +hardly believe her good fortune, and rejoiced again and again over the +happy date of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> her birthday. She was in a state of great excitement on +the Friday afternoon, when the phaeton arrived with Monica already +installed on the front seat. To drive away in such company was indeed a +matter for congratulation, and she felt much sympathy for the +disconsolate five who were perforce left behind, especially for poor +Cicely, who would miss her more than anybody, and whose eyes were full +of tears at the parting.</p> + +<p>"Never mind," she whispered to the latter, "perhaps it will be your turn +next time for something nice. At any rate, I shall have heaps to tell +you when I come back."</p> + +<p>Linforth Vicarage was a long, rambling stone house, the flagged roof and +mullioned windows of which proclaimed it as belonging, equally with the +Manor, to a period of the past. It was a delightful, roomy, almost +medieval kind of a place, so picturesque, in its old-world fashion, that +one could forgive the lowness of the rooms, the narrowness of the +passages, the steepness of the stairs, and the inconvenience of the fact +that the front door opened directly into the dining-room, and the +bedrooms nearly all led into one another. None of these drawbacks seemed +to distress the young Greenwoods, who thought their home the nicest spot +in the world. They were a particularly jolly, merry, happy-go-lucky +family, full of jokes and noise. Rhoda, for whose benefit Lindsay had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +been invited, received her visitor with enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"I'm so glad Miss Russell let you come!" she said. "You see, Meta will +monopolize Irene and Monica, and I should have been left out altogether. +I'm delighted to have someone of my own age."</p> + +<p>Monica was a great favourite in the household, and held in request by +all, from Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood to Cyril, the baby. As Rhoda had +prophesied, however, she disappeared after tea with Meta and Irene, the +three elder girls evidently wishing to have a chat in private. Rhoda +made an effort to secure Lindsay to herself, but the four little +ones—Wilfred, Alwyn, Joan, and Cyril—begged so piteously not to be +banished from the society of the interesting visitor that in the end she +yielded, and allowed them to help to exhibit the various treasures in +the garden which she wished to show to her new friend.</p> + +<p>The Greenwoods had quite a menagerie in the way of pets. They kept them +in a disused stable, in neat cages with wire fronts, most of which had +been made by Ralph and Leonard. There were silky-haired, lop-eared +rabbits, that could be hugged in small arms without offering any +remonstrances; bright-eyed little guinea-pigs, which often caused +exciting chases by escaping from their owners' embraces and hiding away +behind the cages; a family of piebald mice, consisting of a mother and +five young ones, which generally went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> to bed in the daytime, and had to +be poked out of their sleeping quarters with a lead pencil to make them +show themselves; a morose-looking tortoise that would allow Wilfred to +scratch its head, but spat indignantly at the others; and a whole box +full of silkworms in various stages, from tiny, wriggling black threads +to chrysalids in cocoons. The children were accompanied to the stable by +a sharp little black Pomeranian; but they were obliged to leave him +outside in case he might hurt the rabbits, and he sat howling dolefully +on the doorstep until they came out again. He escorted them into the +garden afterwards, however, and so did a large nondescript kind of yard +dog, which was called Bootles, and which allowed itself to be harnessed +to a mail-cart, and drew Cyril up and down the path.</p> + +<p>"I want to show you our fruit trees," said Rhoda, leading the way to the +orchard. "We each have one of our very own, planted as soon as we were +born. Meta, Ralph, and Leonard have apples, Wilfred and Alwyn pears, +mine is a Victoria plum, Joan has a greengage, and Cyril a black cherry. +You see, they stand in a row, away from the other trees, so we call this +our part of the orchard."</p> + +<p>"Whose is the ninth?" enquired Lindsay, looking at a fine pear tree +which headed the line.</p> + +<p>"That belonged to our eldest brother," said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> Rhoda. "He died before I +can remember, but we still call it 'Herbert's tree'. The pears are +always ripe every year on his birthday, so we pick them all and pack +them carefully in a box, and send them to a children's hospital in +London. Mother sends the money she would have spent on his birthday +present too. They're the most beautiful pears, the best we have, and we +thought that was the nicest thing we could do with them."</p> + +<p>The Greenwoods' little gardens were as interesting as their fruit trees. +Each child appeared to have been trying a different experiment. Wilfred +had made a pond in his by sinking an old wooden tub in the ground, and +was trying to persuade a water-lily to grow in it. He had planted a +clump of iris and some forget-me-nots at the edge, which hung over +rather gracefully, and really looked quite pretty. He kept several frogs +to swim about in the water, though the constant catching of these rather +interfered with the wellbeing of the struggling lily. Alwyn had built a +miniature house in her plot out of old bricks and stones, and had +thatched it neatly with straw. She had made a gravel path up to the +front door, and had sown grass to represent lawns, and cut a round +flower bed in the middle of each. Joan's garden was subject to violent +changes. Last year it had been a potato patch, but as she dug up those +useful vegetables every day to see how they were sprout<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>ing, it was not +surprising that they refused to make much growth. Lately she had +converted the whole into a dolls' cemetery, and, with Cyril's aid, +keenly enjoyed conducting the funerals of various headless favourites, +waxing so enthusiastic over the obsequies that she even buried several +quite respectable wax babies, though, regretting their loss afterwards, +she was eventually forced to dig them up again. She put tombstones at +the heads of the graves, made of slates from the roof of a tumble-down +shed, and carefully wrote names, dates, and epitaphs upon them in slate +pencil, being greatly distressed when the inscriptions were invariably +obliterated by every fresh shower of rain.</p> + +<p>Cyril had sown the letters of his name in mustard and cress, which were +just coming up fresh and green, and would soon be ready to cut. He also +had some bulbs under pieces of glass in a corner which he called his +hothouse. Ralph and Leonard were so busy at school that their gardens +appeared to be mostly cared for by Rhoda, who had a very ambitious +scheme for her own.</p> + +<p>"I want to make a floral clock," she explained. "You see, I've dug a +round face and marked it out into twelve parts, and I'm going to put +each figure in different-coloured flowers. Then I thought if I could fix +a pole in the middle it ought to cast a shadow, and tell the time like a +sundial. I've made it north, south, east, and west by my com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>pass, and +it will be most delightful if I can only get it to work."</p> + +<p>Rhoda had almost as much to show Lindsay in the house as out-of-doors. +There was her bedroom, a tiny sanctum where she kept all her special +treasures out of the way of the children's meddlesome fingers. It was a +very old-fashioned little room, with a low, black-beamed ceiling, and a +window that opened on to a small balcony, where she could grow +nasturtiums and other trailing plants in pots. The walls were covered +with pictures in home-made frames, wonderful arrangements of corks, +acorns, shells, or plaited straw; and there were quite a nice +writing-table and some wonderful bookcases.</p> + +<p>"The boys made these out of old boxes," said Rhoda. "They learn how in +their carpentry class at school, and they did them to surprise me on my +birthday. I keep all my books here. Father is giving me the poets now as +Christmas presents. I have Longfellow and Shakespeare and Wordsworth, +and I expect it will be either Cowper or Goldsmith next time. This is my +paint-box. I daren't leave it in the schoolroom for fear of the little +ones getting hold of it. Isn't it a beauty? Miss Johnson, our governess, +gave it to me as a prize for passing the Trinity College exam. in piano +and theory."</p> + +<p>"Do you like music?" asked Lindsay.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, I think I'm rather fond of it. Miss Johnson wanted me to go in for +this exam.; she said it would be something to practise for. We had to go +to Bridgend to take it. It was rather fun, for we were the whole day in +getting there and back, and luckily I wasn't a scrap nervous. Do you +play?"</p> + +<p>"A little," replied Lindsay. "I'm learning the violin, but I can't have +any lessons at the Manor."</p> + +<p>"I wish you could come over and help us at one of our temperance +concerts."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I should be much too frightened!" exclaimed Lindsay, in horror.</p> + +<p>"You needn't mind in a little village like this," declared Rhoda. "The +people would think whatever you did was splendid. They clap at +everything, even when Ralph gives nigger songs; and he's got no voice, +and the banjo's generally out of tune, so that he's singing away in one +key and playing in another."</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether I could promise to keep in tune," laughed Lindsay. +"Do you play at these concerts?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, nearly always. It was a little awkward last time, because +something had gone wrong with the keys of the piano. They stuck down, +and I had to get Wilfred to sit underneath and keep poking them up as +fast as I played on them, or else half the notes wouldn't sound; and it +seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> so queer to only get part of a chord, and to miss the middle of +a run. It quite put me out. I suppose it was the damp that caused it. We +must get a tuner to come and see to it."</p> + +<p>"Did the people applaud?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, tremendously. I think it amused them to see Wilfred sitting +underneath. They simply roared every time he pushed up the keys. It was +as good as a comic song. It really is tiresome, though, to have a piano +like that at the school. John Crosby, the stonemason's little boy, sings +very nicely, and I went so wrong in playing his accompaniment, through +losing so many of the notes, that he finished half a verse ahead of me. +I apologized to him afterwards, but he said he didn't think anyone had +noticed it!"</p> + +<p>Lindsay found it quite a novel and entertaining experience to stay in +the midst of such a large, enterprising, lively family as the +Greenwoods. From Meta, the eldest, to Cyril, the baby, hardly out of +petticoats, all had very decided opinions of their own, which they urged +and argued with considerable force of character, but an amount of good +temper which spoke well for their training. Mrs. Greenwood, who thought +quarrelling greatly a matter of habit, insisted upon a certain standard +of home politeness being maintained, and would tolerate neither +domineering in the elder ones nor whining amongst the younger.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You can discuss a subject perfectly well without being rude to each +other when you differ," she declared. "You must take it in turns to have +your own way. It is not fair that the eldest should always arrange +everything, but on the other hand Joan and Alwyn will get nothing at all +if they begin to wail and complain in that most grumbling and unpleasant +tone of voice. I think it is a disgrace if you're all so selfish that +you can't agree. You must each be prepared to give up a certain amount, +for among eight children it is quite impossible for every one to be +first and foremost."</p> + +<p>Irene, being the Greenwoods' cousin, was accustomed to their tempestuous +ways, and ready to hold her own amongst them; while Monica looked on +with an amused smile, without taking part in any arguments or disputes. +There was certainly plenty to do at the Vicarage, and none of the three +guests could complain that the holiday was dull.</p> + +<p>On Saturday afternoon Meta, Rhoda, and the two eldest boys arranged that +they should make an expedition to a large lake about a couple of miles +away. They had been promised the loan of a boat there, and they proposed +to take their visitors for a trip on the water. They started off with +baskets of provisions, intending to land and have a picnic tea, if they +could find sufficient dry sticks upon the banks to light a fire and boil +their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> kettle. Both Meta and her brothers could row well, so the boat +was soon skimming over the lake in a delightfully smooth and +satisfactory fashion.</p> + +<p>"We daren't anchor anywhere near the woods," declared Meta, "Sir Percy +Harwood, the owner, is so very strict about trespassing."</p> + +<p>"Yes, the keepers are down on you if you even go a few yards into the +preserves," agreed Ralph. "Look here! What do you say to camping out on +that little island? There can't be any pheasants there to scare, and we +ought to get plenty of sticks."</p> + +<p>The island in question was a small, green-looking collection of hazel +bushes and birch trees, well out in the middle of the lake. It had an +attractive appearance, so they rowed through the quiet stretch of water +that separated them from it, and ran the boat in among the reeds that +grew at the edge.</p> + +<p>"It seems rather jolly," said Rhoda. "Suppose we leave the baskets here, +and go and explore first to find a good place?"</p> + +<p>"It's quite romantic," declared Irene, "like Ellen's Isle in the <i>Lady +of the Lake</i>. We ought to find a hunting-lodge among the trees, and an +interesting outlaw living there."</p> + +<p>"More likely to find a poacher!" laughed Ralph; "though there'd be +nothing for him to trap here, unless he kept a boat stowed away in the +reeds, and took midnight excursions into the woods."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I think it's the kind of place for a hermit," said Monica. "He could +have had a little cell and told his beads without being disturbed by +anybody, except an occasional knight-errant who would blow a horn from +the opposite bank. I wonder if one ever lived here?"</p> + +<p>"The landlords couldn't have been so particular about trespassing in +those days, then, if he did," replied Leonard. "I don't believe Sir +Percy Harwood would let anybody settle so near his pheasants; he'd +suspect steel traps or wire snares under the cassock, and expect to hear +a shot in the woods instead of a vesper bell."</p> + +<p>"We'll tie the boat to this old stump," said Ralph. "Be careful where +you step in getting off—the ground seems fearfully soppy. Perhaps it +may be better higher up. Let us come on a little. I say, there's +something rather queer about it, isn't there?"</p> + +<p>There certainly was something decidedly queer. The green mossy earth +under their feet gave way as if they were treading upon a feather bed. +At each step it sank with a curious squelching sound, and rose behind +with the elasticity of a cork, so that as they sprang here and there the +whole of the little island appeared to be bounding up and down beneath +them, as Leonard expressed it, "just like a spring mattress when you +jump on it".<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> + +<p>"The ground is so funny, too," said Meta, poking about with a stick; "it +doesn't seem proper soil, only roots and moss and grass growing through +it. Why, this stick goes down ever such a long way, and there's actually +water coming up!"</p> + +<p>The others all came to investigate, and standing close together began to +dig their sticks into the curious heaving surface. It bore their +combined weight for a moment or two, then sinking suddenly, like a +punctured indiarubber ball, it collapsed, and they found themselves +struggling nearly up to their waists in water. Luckily they were able to +clutch at the hazel bushes above, and, by swinging themselves along the +branches, to arrive at a firmer foothold, though even there the ground +felt very insecure and spongy, and little dark pools came oozing up with +every step.</p> + +<p>"We must keep as far apart from each other as we can," shouted Ralph; +"the wretched place has no solid foundation, it's only a collection of +sticks and leaves. Cling to the trees, and try to get back to the boat +before you go in any deeper. Don't put your weight on it! It's like +walking on thin ice."</p> + +<p>Very wet and muddy, and somewhat frightened, the explorers picked their +way carefully back, treading as much as possible on the roots of the +trees, and never letting go their hold of the boughs. They scrambled +into the boat again with con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>siderable relief, and held a review of +their damaged garments.</p> + +<p>"I'm soaked to the skin!" declared Rhoda. "It's a horrible nuisance. +Look at Lindsay!"</p> + +<p>"I don't mind my clothes so much, if it weren't so uncomfortable. My +dress will wash," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Mine won't though, I'm sorry to say!" groaned Irene.</p> + +<p>"I was carrying the cakes, and they're wet through, and not fit to eat," +announced Leonard.</p> + +<p>"The island is a perfect trap," said Meta, trying to squeeze the muddy +water from her own dress and Monica's. "I believe it's nothing but a +kind of raft, made out of all the dead wood and rubbish that have +accumulated in the lake. I expect seeds have blown on to it, and then +trees and bushes have sprung up. Now I think of it, I don't believe it +was in the same place last year, so it must be able to float. We shall +have to go home; we can't stop and picnic when we're drenched like +this."</p> + +<p>"I wonder how the hermit managed, if he ever lived there?" said Monica.</p> + +<p>"It must have been an excellent penance, with a chance of martyrdom at +the end of it," returned Ralph. "Well, I must say we have given our +visitors a pleasant afternoon! They won't want to take this as a +specimen of our picnics. No good offering tea and cake in this +condition!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'd rather have a cake of soap and a can of hot water!" said Irene.</p> + +<p>"Never mind!" said Leonard consolingly. "I vote we go up Pendle Tor on +Monday. We can boil a kettle there, and have no end of fun. If you've +never been before, I expect you'll say it makes up for this."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>Pendle Tor</h3> + + +<p>It was with much pleasurable anticipation that the picnic party set out +on Whit Monday for Pendle Tor. The four younger Greenwoods were left at +home, as the walk would be too far for them, but they announced their +intention of climbing a small hill behind the Vicarage in the afternoon, +and having an alfresco tea on their own account, which was to be equal, +if not superior, to that enjoyed by their elders—"because Mary will +just have finished baking, and she has promised to bring us some buns +straight out of the oven, and you certainly won't get those on Pendle +Tor," said Joan.</p> + +<p>Although they might be debarred from the pleasure of hot tea-cakes, the +mountaineers nevertheless did not mean to starve on their journey, to +judge from the baskets full of provisions which they bore with them. +Leonard had taken a milk-can that would serve to boil the water in +instead of a kettle, it being lighter to carry, and having<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> the added +advantage that they could pack the teacups inside.</p> + +<p>"You see, an iron kettle is such a weight", he explained, "and the last +time we took one of those rubbishy sixpence-halfpenny tin ones the +solder all melted directly we put it on to the fire, and the spout +dropped off. We can sling the milk-can on a stick and prop it over the +fire, and it does splendidly."</p> + +<p>"Mind you don't break the cups!" said Irene, expecting to hear a smash +after the reckless way in which the can was being swung about.</p> + +<p>"Couldn't do it if I tried; they're all enamel ones. The Mater wouldn't +trust us with her best china, I assure you."</p> + +<p>"There are ever so many trout up in the stream by Inglemere," remarked +Ralph. "If we could manage to tickle a few, we might fry them in the lid +of the milk-can."</p> + +<p>"It's rank poaching!" declared Meta.</p> + +<p>"I don't care in the least," returned Ralph. "If Sir Percy complains +that any are missing, you can give him the bones, with my compliments."</p> + + +<p>"I don't think he would mind your catching one or two," said Monica. "I +know Sir Percy rather well, and it is only real poachers that he's so +hard on, and excursionists who come sometimes and try to fish. You see, +as he says, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> everyone were allowed to take fish, there would soon be +none left, and people would begin to do it for the sake of selling them, +and not for the sport. He allowed Mr. Cross's nephews to fish last +summer when they were staying at the Rectory, and he said I might too, +if I ever felt inclined."</p> + +<p>"I've never seen trout tickled," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"It will be a case of 'First catch your fish, then cook it'," laughed +Rhoda. "It isn't at all easy to whisk them out—they're the most +slippery things you can imagine. I'm glad we don't have to depend on +Ralph's skill for our dinner. I was hoping we might find some mushrooms, +and stew them in part of the milk we've brought. We could put the can +down among the ashes of the fire, and they'd be cooking while we ate the +first course."</p> + +<p>"Well, it is certainly a case of 'First pick your mushrooms', for you +don't even know whether there'll be any," retorted Ralph. "The trout are +always there, at any rate."</p> + +<p>It was a long walk to Pendle Tor, and appetites, sharpened by the fresh +air of the hills, began to grow rather keen; but as they had all +resolved not to have their picnic before they had reached the summit, +they staved off the edge of their hunger with a few biscuits, and, +trudging on, covered the last mile in such quick time that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> Leonard +declared it reminded him of a paper-chase. It was rather a steep pull to +gain the highest point, yet they were well rewarded when they reached it +by the bird's-eye view of the landscape around them, farms, churches, +and distant village looking like so many toys, and the fields like the +divisions in a map.</p> + +<p>"I hope it doesn't mean to rain," said Monica, pointing to some rather +threatening clouds that were rolling up from the west.</p> + +<p>"We shall get a nice wetting if it does, for we haven't an umbrella +amongst us!" returned Irene.</p> + +<p>"Rain? Not it! Don't distress yourself; the glass was up to 'Fair' this +morning. It's only a little scrap of mist blowing over. I don't mind +giving you a butter-scotch in exchange for every drop of rain you get on +your hat to-day," declared Ralph, whose prophecies were generally in +exact accordance with his hopes, and who was apt to shut his eyes to +unwelcome truths.</p> + +<p>"Better not promise too much, old chap, or you may have to pay up," said +Leonard. "I don't like the look of the sky myself. But what's the odds? +It won't be the first time we've been wet through, by a long way, and I +suppose we shan't melt."</p> + +<p>"What about the lunch?" asked Rhoda. "I'm getting so famished, I can't +wait much longer."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was decided that the extreme top of the Tor was hardly a suitable +place—the wind was strong, and no water was available; so they climbed +some little distance down the cliff on the farther side, and at last hit +upon a sheltered spot among the rocks, where a small surface spring, +bubbling up from the ground, enabled them to fill the milk-can which was +to serve as a kettle. The boys cut large bundles of dry heather, and, +stacking it well together, soon had a good fire burning. They found it +after all impossible to suspend the can, for the flames burnt directly +through any stick that they tried to hang over the blaze; so they were +obliged to set it securely on an arrangement of stones, and rake the +fire round it. They had brought the tea in a muslin bag, which they +dropped into the can, to save a teapot; and though pouring out was +rather difficult, owing to the tin being so extremely hot, Meta managed +to dispense the cups without burning her fingers.</p> + +<p>"You haven't provided the fish course yet," said Rhoda to Ralph. "I +thought we were to have fried trout as part of the feast."</p> + +<p>"And I thought you were to give us mushrooms," retorted Ralph.</p> + +<p>"Shouldn't care to wait while she cooked them," declared Leonard. "Ham +sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs are quite good enough for me. Did you +bring any salt? Another cup of tea, please,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> and don't be stingy with +the sugar, Meta. I like three lumps."</p> + +<p>"I wonder why things always taste so different out-of-doors," said +Lindsay, looking reflectively at the three-cornered strawberry jam +pastry she was eating.</p> + +<p>"Why, I saw you swallow an ant on your tart just now," said Ralph, "so +perhaps that has given it a flavour. Oh, you needn't distress yourself! +Ants are quite wholesome, I assure you. There are a frightful lot of +them crawling about here, though. I think we shall have to move on a +stave."</p> + +<p>"Ugh! Yes. They're stinging me already!" agreed Lindsay.</p> + +<p>They were all a little tired after their long walk, so they were glad to +sit and rest after lunch, asking riddles, cracking jokes, and listening +to the boys' school tales of exciting cricket matches, private feuds, +combats between class champions, and the punishments that had been meted +out to certain sneaks and bullies—accounts which were as thrilling in +their way as the doughty deeds of mail-clad knights of old, the warlike +sentiments being just the same, though the setting of the century might +differ. It was so interesting that nobody gave a thought to the time, or +remembered the ominous clouds that had been stretching themselves out +like long ribbons over the moor.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Why, where's the view gone to?" cried Monica at last. "I thought we +could see Linforth and the lake from here, and the tower of Haversleigh +Church."</p> + +<p>She might well exclaim in astonishment. Instead of the landscape which +had met their eyes before, there was nothing to be seen but a great +white wall of mist that seemed to close them in on every side, as if +some giant hand had suddenly drawn down a blind between them and the +distance.</p> + +<p>"Whew!" exclaimed Ralph, starting to his feet, and indulging in a +long-drawn-out whistle. "This is a nice fix! We're in the middle of a +cloud. I never saw it coming up. It will be uncommonly awkward to get +out of it. What a shame of old Pendle Tor to play us such a trick!"</p> + +<p>"Will it soon blow over, do you think?" asked Irene.</p> + +<p>"I don't know," replied Meta rather gravely. "Sometimes the clouds stay +on these moors for days and days together. I wish we had noticed it +sooner, and gone down to the road again before we were surrounded. I'm +afraid it may be very difficult to find our way now."</p> + +<p>"I don't think it's any use waiting," said Leonard, "it mayn't clear for +hours. We'd better pack up our traps, and make the best push we can to +try to strike the path."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We must all stick close together," remarked Ralph. "It won't do to get +divided, or we might never find each other again. We'd better keep well +to the right; there's an old quarry on the left, and it wouldn't be +exactly pleasant to walk into it. Luckily I've a pocket compass on my +watch chain."</p> + +<p>Very much sobered in spirits, the picnic party hastily packed up the +baskets, and, choosing Ralph as guide, set off down the hillside, hoping +to find some track that would lead eventually into the road below. It +was a strange walk, groping their way through what Monica described as +"white darkness". The heavy mist hung in the air like a blanket, so +completely shutting them in that they could scarcely see each other at a +distance of even a few feet, and it was only by keeping near enough to +touch one another that they managed to avoid being separated. Though +they had some general idea of their direction, they did not really know +where they were walking, and stumbled blindly on through heather and +bilberry bushes, over stones and rocks, only feeling that they were +going downhill. It was very slow progress. Ralph stopped continually to +consult his compass, and occasionally gave a loud "cooee", in case they +might find some wandering shepherd or countryman who would be able to +help them. There was no answer to his calls, however—only the +occasional bleat of a sheep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> that sounded far off and muffled through +the mist. They knew there was neither cottage nor farm within hail, and +unless they could strike the road they might wander on hour after hour +over the moors, only getting farther and farther out of their way. Tired +out with the rough trudge, the girls at last declared they must sit +still for a few minutes and rest.</p> + +<p>"I'm awfully sorry to have landed you in such a hole," said Ralph, "but +who would have thought those innocent-looking clouds would have come +down on us like feather beds? You really never know what to expect on +these hills."</p> + +<p>"I wonder what we'd better do?" said Monica.</p> + +<p>"Stay where we are," suggested Irene.</p> + +<p>"It would be too cold to spend the night here," replied Meta.</p> + +<p>"We haven't even our jackets with us," added Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Unless we're quite dead beat, we'd better push on," said Leonard. "I'm +hoping we may come to the stream, because we could find our way along +the banks to Whitcombe, at any rate. I've been listening for it all the +time, but I haven't heard a sound."</p> + +<p>"I wish we had a divining rod!" groaned Rhoda. "That would tell us in +what direction the water lay. We've been going south-east all the time, +haven't we?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, I believe the stream lay due south from where we started," +answered Ralph, "but I didn't dare to turn that way, because of the +quarry. Perhaps we may strike it higher up. If you're rested, girls, +we'll be going."</p> + +<p>The damp, clinging clouds appeared to have settled down to stay. The +wind that had been blowing earlier in the day, when they ascended Pendle +Tor, had ceased, and there was not even the breath of a breeze to blow +away the clammy mist that was already drenching their clothes with a +chilly dew. It was now half-past five o'clock, and they had been +wandering for more than an hour.</p> + +<p>"I haven't an idea where we are, nor how far we've come," said Ralph. "I +only know I've been steering east by the compass. Of course we've been +going very slowly, but I think we shouldn't be far from the brook. If we +could find that, it would be an enormous help."</p> + +<p>"I believe I hear water now," said Rhoda, pausing a moment. "I'm sure I +do: to our left. Listen!"</p> + +<p>All stood still, with every sense on the alert, straining their ears +intently for the faintest murmur. In the far distance it seemed to them +that they could certainly catch the unmistakable rush of a stream +flowing swiftly over a rough, stony bed. Guided by the sound, they +stumbled on, till<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> at length, after climbing over a number of rocks, +they reached the welcome brook that was to be their path to home and +safety.</p> + +<p>"I'm uncommonly glad to see it!" said Ralph, stooping to take a drink. +"I began to think we should never get back again. If we follow it down, +it will lead us straight into Whitcombe. Of course, that's far enough +out of our way, but we might get a trap there, and drive home."</p> + +<p>It was a most terrible scramble down the bed of the stream, over jagged +rocks, among briers and bushes, and through rushes and reeds. The mist +still wrapped them round, and they did not dare to venture away from the +water to find smoother walking. The three visitors, who were not +accustomed to such exploits, were nearly exhausted, while even sturdy +Meta and Rhoda showed signs of giving in.</p> + +<p>"We're at the old bridge now," said Ralph, trying to encourage them. "We +can climb up and get on to the road. It's only about three miles farther +to Whitcombe village. We're bound to find a trap of some sort there, and +then you'll be all right."</p> + +<p>"I think the mist is lifting a little," said Leonard; "it isn't half as +thick as it was. Look at the sun trying to get through!"</p> + +<p>"I believe we're walking straight out of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> edge of the clouds. That's +what it is!" declared Ralph. "I begin to see the trees. Hurrah! It's +clearing ever so. We'll scramble up the bank, and we shall get along +much faster on the road than down here on these wretched stones. Cheer +up, girls! You'll soon be in Whitcombe now."</p> + +<p>An hour afterwards, very footsore and weary, the party limped into +Whitcombe, a small hamlet consisting of a wayside inn and a handful of +cottages. It was eight o'clock, and the sun, behind long bars of crimson +and grey, had already begun to sink below the horizon. They were nine +miles away from home, as the stream had led them in quite a different +direction from Linforth, and, as Leonard expressed it, they had +"altogether landed themselves in a jolly pickle". Just at present tea +seemed the most pressing necessity, so a council of war was held to see +what funds could be mustered for the purpose. These did not amount to +very much. Lindsay and Rhoda were penniless, Monica also had left her +purse at the Vicarage. Irene and Meta mustered a shilling between them. +Ralph had a sixpence, while the contents of Leonard's pockets proved to +be exactly those of the traditional schoolboy's, twopence-halfpenny and +an old knife.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid it won't go very far," said Ralph. "We shall have to ask +them to give us tick.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> Come along! We'll try the inn, and see what they +will do for us."</p> + +<p>"We must tell them who we are," added Meta, "and say Father will pay +afterwards."</p> + +<p>The sight of seven such <i>bona fide</i> travellers appeared to occasion much +surprise, to both the good woman at the bar and the few villagers who, +with pipes and glasses, were sitting discussing local politics and the +chances of the harvest. Tea at the unwonted hour of eight seemed an +unprecedented request, and the landlady was not content until she had +satisfied her curiosity as to who her guests were, where they came from, +and what they wanted at Whitcombe at that time in the evening.</p> + +<p>"What we want is some tea," said Ralph, after a brief explanation of +their adventure, "and anything in the shape of a conveyance that can +take us back to Linforth to-night. We've only one and +eightpence-halfpenny amongst us, but my father will pay the rest when we +get home. If you like, I'll leave you my watch and chain."</p> + +<p>"You've no need to do that!" laughed the landlady. "I'm sure I can trust +you. Come into the little parlour, and have your teas there. The young +ladies look ready to drop, and this is no fit place for them to sit down +in. Those mists be nasty things up Pendle Tor. It's a mercy as you've +got down at all. There was a gentleman from London<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> caught there last +autumn, and he wandered round and round in a circle for two days before +it cleared and they found him. He was nigh dead, too, with the cold and +the damp. My son Albert shall put the horse in the trap and drive you +home. I dare say you'll manage to cram in somehow."</p> + +<p>No tea was ever so acceptable as the large, steaming cups which they +drank in the stuffy little parlour, and no carriage and pair could have +been more welcome than the old market cart that came round to the door +afterwards. It was rather a problem how to pack themselves and the +driver into it, but Lindsay sat on Meta's knee, and Rhoda squeezed +herself between her two brothers on the front seat. The horse walked up +and down hill, and only rose to a measured trot on level ground, so it +took a considerable time to accomplish the nine-mile journey, and it was +nearly eleven o'clock before they reached the Vicarage. Very tired and +cold and cramped, they rushed into the house, where Mrs. Greenwood, in +an agony of suspense, had been imagining all the accidents which could +possibly have happened to them, and was preparing herself for the worst. +The Vicar and some of the neighbours, it appeared, were out searching +for them with lanterns, so a messenger was quickly sent through the +village to spread the good news of their safe arrival.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You can't complain you've had no excitement here," said Ralph to the +three guests. "We almost drowned you on Saturday, and to-day we nearly +lost you on the moors. You're going to-morrow, or we might have had some +more hairbreadth escapes. At any rate, I don't think you'll forget +Pendle Tor in a hurry!"</p> + +<p>Lindsay had certainly plenty of news to relate when she returned to the +Manor. Her classmates were quite envious, and poor Cicely was a little +wistful lest Rhoda should have usurped her place in her friend's +affections. Of that, however, she need not have been afraid. Lindsay was +faithful to her chosen chum, and had so many things to ask about, as +well as adventures to tell, that the two were soon chattering as fast as +usual. Cicely had made no further important discoveries during the few +days, though she had kept a careful watch on Mrs. Wilson, and had once +noticed her go up to the lantern room carrying a jug in her hand. Scott +had not been in the house again, but he had been seen talking earnestly +with "The Griffin" in the garden. He had gone hastily away when Cicely +approached, so he evidently did not wish the conversation to be +overheard. Whether it had anything to do with the mystery or not, it was +of course impossible to say.</p> + +<p>"I'm rather glad, on the whole, that nothing particular happened while +you were away," said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> Cicely. "I should have wanted so dreadfully to +tell somebody, I'm afraid Marjorie Butler might have wormed it out of +me. As it is, they none of them know, and we still have the secret to +ourselves."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>The Plot Thickens</h3> + + +<p>After hearing the story of Monica Courtenay, their friend's ancestress, +Lindsay and Cicely felt a special interest in her portrait. They +strolled one afternoon along the picture gallery to take another look at +it. There were the pretty smiling face—so like Monica's—and the bunch +of red roses that had saved the life of Sir Piers Courtenay. Was all the +good fortune of the race to be hers, and would none of it descend to the +namesake who so closely resembled her?</p> + +<p>"If she could only come back and be of some use again!" sighed Lindsay. +"She ought to know every secret of this house."</p> + +<p>"I wish we could make her speak and tell us," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>At that moment a distant door banged, and a great gust of wind blew +along the gallery. Cicely started violently.</p> + +<p>"Lindsay, did you see?" she exclaimed. "The picture moved in its +frame!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Nonsense! How could it?" said Lindsay, who had been looking the other +way.</p> + +<p>"I tell you it did!"</p> + +<p>"You must have imagined it."</p> + +<p>It certainly seemed rather improbable. The portraits were all firmly +fixed in the panelled walls, and no breath of air could be expected to +penetrate behind them.</p> + +<p>"It's almost as if she were alive," continued Cicely, "and just when we +were wishing she could talk! No wonder people make up tales about her. I +don't think I quite like it."</p> + +<p>"How silly you are!" said Lindsay scornfully. "You might have seen a +ghost!"</p> + +<p>"Well, it is queer! You needn't laugh at me so. I'm not going to stay +here any longer; I vote we go out into the garden."</p> + +<p>Pictures that moved were rather more than Cicely had bargained for. +Mysteries were all very well in their way, but she began to feel it was +possible to have too much of a good thing. It was a distinct relief to +her to leave the gloomy old gallery, with its armour and tapestry, and +walk out into the fresh air and sunshine. There was still half an hour +to be disposed of before tea, and the two girls sauntered leisurely in +the direction of the kitchen-garden.</p> + +<p>"I wish I knew where the boathouse used to be that Sir Piers wanted the +key for," said Lindsay.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It was not very far away, I dare say. The river runs somewhere at the +bottom of those fields."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if there's a path."</p> + +<p>"I believe there's one at the end of the orchard. I saw Scott walking +down there once."</p> + +<p>"Shall we go and see?"</p> + +<p>"All right!"</p> + +<p>The orchard was forbidden ground. Perhaps, though, the fact that they +risked a scolding, or even a mark for bad conduct, only made the +adventure more interesting. They ascertained first that Scott was safely +attending to his tomatoes in the greenhouse, then they dived hastily +between the rows of young apple trees. Cicely was right. At the far end +there was a small gate that led into a meadow.</p> + +<p>"The river must be over there, hidden by those willows," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"I hope we shan't meet a bull," said Cicely, looking nervously at a +group of cattle in the distance.</p> + +<p>"Oh, come along! You're surely not afraid of cows!"</p> + +<p>They had soon crossed the field and reached the shade of the willows by +the water's edge. The low bank was covered with reeds and rushes. Tall +purple flowers were growing on a green, boggy island close by. It was a +very pleasant place, just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> the kind of spot to choose on a hot summer's +afternoon.</p> + +<p>"Far nicer than the garden, because we have it all to ourselves," +declared Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Oh, look what I've found!" exclaimed Lindsay ecstatically.</p> + +<p>She had been poking about among the reeds, and now pointed in triumph +under the branches of a big willow to a smooth little pool, where there +actually floated a punt, anchored by a long chain to the trunk of the +tree.</p> + +<p>It was a most attractive-looking boat, nicely polished, and with the +name <i>Heatherbell</i> painted in neat white letters on the prow. It came +quite easily to the edge of the bank when Lindsay pulled the chain, and +seemed deliberately to invite them to step into it. Such a temptation +was not to be resisted. In a moment they were both inside.</p> + +<p>"If I can manage to untie it, I'm sure I could punt us out on to the +river," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Oh, do! And then perhaps we could find some water-lilies," agreed her +ever-willing friend.</p> + +<p>Lindsay leaned over to reach the chain. It was wound tightly round the +tree, and was very difficult to unfasten.</p> + +<p>"I'll come and help you!" cried Cicely, and without a thought of the +consequences she bounced up, and stepped to the other end of the boat.</p> + +<p>Her sudden change of position utterly upset the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> balance of their small +craft. There was a splash, a succession of squeals, and both girls were +floundering in the water. Luckily the pool was shallow, and they were in +no danger of drowning; but by the time they reached the bank they were +wet through, and in an extremely draggled condition.</p> + +<p>"What are we to do?" said Cicely blankly, trying to wring the water out +of her skirts.</p> + +<p>"Go back, I suppose, and put on dry things," replied Lindsay. "We shall +get into a fearful scrape, I expect."</p> + +<p>"Yes! What will Miss Frazer say?"</p> + +<p>Miss Frazer was on the point of collecting her flock in preparation for +tea, when two dejected, dripping figures came creeping along the +terrace. If they had hoped to reach the side door unobserved, they were +soon undeceived; the governess's sharp eyes spied them at once.</p> + +<p>"Lindsay and Cicely!" she burst out wrathfully. "You naughty girls! +Where have you been? Come at once into the house and change your +clothes. You give more trouble than all the rest of the class put +together. Miss Russell will have to be told about this."</p> + +<p>Miss Russell was angry—really angry. She lectured them both severely, +and stopped their recreation for the whole of the next day. This seemed +only a very small circumstance in itself,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> but strangely enough it led +indirectly to something of much more consequence.</p> + +<p>The two delinquents looked decidedly rueful when, instead of going into +the garden as usual, they were obliged to sit in the classroom, and copy +out a passage from "Lycidas" in their best handwriting. It was trying, +certainly, particularly as the other girls were playing a tennis +handicap, and they could hear the soft thud of balls, and the cries of +"'Vantage!" or "Game!" It was possible to see a few heads bobbing over +the wall, but they could not gather how the tournament was progressing, +nor which was the winning side.</p> + +<p>Long before tea-time they had finished their allotted portions, and +going to the window they leaned out, to try to catch a glimpse of what +was happening on the lawn. The classroom was at the back of the house, +and overlooked a small paved courtyard. Below, on a wooden bench in the +sunshine, sat Scott, leisurely blacking boots, and humming to himself in +a voice that had little tune in it. The cat, purring loudly, was rubbing +herself vigorously against his trousers.</p> + +<p>The girls were just going to call to him, and beg him to peep through +the door in the wall and give them some news of the tennis players, when +they suddenly changed their intention. Mrs. Wilson had appeared in the +porch. She brought out a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> flower vase, flung the stale water away, and +refilled it from one of the butts that stood near.</p> + +<p>Scott had evidently seen her too, for he gave a short whistle to attract +her attention, then, throwing down his blacking brush, he crossed the +courtyard to speak to her. In spite of his lowered tone, his voice rose +up clearly to the classroom window above.</p> + +<p>"About what we were talking of this morning," he began. "It had best be +done as soon as possible. I'll do it to-night."</p> + +<p>"I've marked the place," replied Mrs. Wilson, "but I'll come with you to +make sure. You'll want a helping hand. It's too much for one."</p> + +<p>"You can hold the lantern, at any rate. It's a job that will need some +caution. We mustn't attempt it till it's quite dark."</p> + +<p>"No, not till everything's quiet," said Mrs. Wilson, as she re-entered +the house.</p> + +<p>Lindsay drew Cicely back quickly into the room, as Scott returned to his +rows of boots on the bench. She did not wish him, at any cost, to see +them at the window, or to know that they had overheard the conversation.</p> + +<p>"What are they going to do?" asked Cicely breathlessly.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. It must be something dreadful if they want to keep it so +quiet."</p> + +<p>"And do it in the dark, too!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'm afraid both Mrs. Wilson and Scott are bad characters," said Lindsay +in an impressive voice. "I expect they've stolen the treasure, and +they're going to hide it in the garden. Perhaps even it may have +something to do with the prisoner in the lantern room."</p> + +<p>"You don't think they've killed him?" gasped Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I can't tell. I believe they're capable of anything. I'm quite uneasy +for fear they intend to harm Monica. We'll watch to-night, and find out +what they're about. I shouldn't wonder if we're on the verge of a great +discovery. It was most fortunate we were kept in this afternoon; if we +hadn't happened to be at the window just then, we shouldn't have heard +their plans."</p> + +<p>Cicely's face had lengthened considerably at the idea of the black +doings which it was evidently their duty to investigate.</p> + +<p>"I don't know how we're to follow them in the dark," she said, after a +moment's hesitation.</p> + +<p>"We must," declared Lindsay emphatically. "I feel it all depends on us. +Monica may be in the greatest danger, and we are the only ones who know +anything about the matter, and can save her."</p> + +<p>The tea-bell ringing at that moment sent them down to the dining-hall. +The meal had been delayed half an hour on account of the tourna<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>ment, so +preparation followed immediately afterwards, and Lindsay and Cicely were +obliged, with their thoughts still running on possible tragedies, to +endeavour to apply their minds to the unromantic details of parsing.</p> + +<p>It seemed of such minor importance whether a verb were transitive or +intransitive, weak or strong, compared with whether Mrs. Wilson and +Scott were really going to meet in the garden to carry out some fell +intention. The time seemed endless until the books were at last put +away, and they could snatch a few moments for private talk.</p> + +<p>"There's one comfort," said Lindsay, "they won't begin until it's dark, +so they can't have been doing anything while we've been in prep."</p> + +<p>"It's generally light for quite half an hour after we're in bed," said +Cicely. "I don't see yet how we're to know when they're starting."</p> + +<p>"We shall find out," returned Lindsay confidently. "I have a kind of +feeling that something is going to happen to-night."</p> + +<p>"What are you two whispering about?" asked Nora Proctor curiously.</p> + +<p>"Oh, only a joke of our own!"</p> + +<p>"You've got some secret, I'm sure," said Beryl Austen; "you're always +looking at each other and making signs. I noticed you yesterday during +arithmetic."</p> + +<p>"Do tell us, Cicely," begged Marjorie Butler.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> "You and I used to be +friends, but we never have a secret together now."</p> + +<p>"There's really nothing worth telling," declared Cicely, much +embarrassed.</p> + +<p>"We shall have to be careful though," said Lindsay afterwards. "We don't +want the others to hear, and then go poking about and making +discoveries."</p> + +<p>"Certainly not; if there's anything to be found out, I'd rather we found +it out ourselves."</p> + +<p>Cicely was tired when bedtime arrived, and ready to curl herself up and +forget what might be happening outside. Lindsay, on the contrary, lay +with wide-open eyes, watching the room grow darker and darker. When the +wardrobe and the chest of drawers and the washstand had at last all +merged together into one deep mass of shadow, she got up and peeped +through the open window. What she saw there caused her to run hurriedly +and shake her sleepy companion.</p> + +<p>"Cicely! Do wake up! There's a light moving in the garden."</p> + +<p>It took a second or two for Cicely to recover her senses, but when she +realized the nature of the news, she hopped out of bed in frantic +excitement.</p> + +<p>"Is it Mrs. Wilson and Scott?" she asked eagerly.</p> + +<p>"I expect so, but of course I can't tell. Be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> quick! We must go at once +and see what they're doing."</p> + +<p>The two girls hastily scrambled into their clothes, and tiptoed +downstairs to the side door. The servants had not yet locked up, so it +was still standing ajar.</p> + +<p>"Suppose we were to meet Miss Russell or Miss Frazer!" shivered Cicely, +with a nervous glance down the corridor.</p> + +<p>"Don't think about it. They're both safe in the drawing-room."</p> + +<p>In another minute they had closed the door gently behind them, and were +running softly across the lawn. It was a cloudy night, with neither moon +nor stars in the sky. The outlines of the trees and shrubs were just +visible, but it was very dark indeed under their shade.</p> + +<p>"The light seemed to be going through the shrubbery towards the arbour," +said Lindsay, feeling her way along the rose avenue.</p> + +<p>"There it is!" replied Cicely, as a faint gleam shone in the distance.</p> + +<p>"We must be very, very careful," said Lindsay, "not to disturb them on +any account. We must stop somewhere near, and just look and listen."</p> + +<p>As quietly as ghosts they stole down the path, trying not to rustle so +much as a leaf. They were close now to the lantern. They could see it +quite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> clearly, set on the ground, and two figures bending over it.</p> + +<p>Skirting round under the bushes, they reached the shelter of an oak tree +that grew on the side of a bank, and peeped cautiously round the trunk. +Yes, it was certainly Scott and Mrs. Wilson who were in the shrubbery +below. Every now and then a glint of light revealed their faces +unmistakably. They were talking together in low tones, unfortunately too +low for their conversation to be overheard. Scott held a spade in his +hand, and was stooping to watch Mrs. Wilson, who, kneeling on the grass, +was fumbling inside a large sack.</p> + +<p>"Can you see if she's counting money?" breathed Cicely into Lindsay's +ear. "I believe they're going to bury it."</p> + +<p>"It looks like something bigger and heavier," whispered Lindsay, trying +to crane her neck farther forward.</p> + +<p>"Is it silver plate?"</p> + +<p>"It might be anything in that huge sack."</p> + +<p>"Oh! Not a body!"</p> + +<p>I believe Cicely would have fled precipitately if Lindsay had not held +her tightly by the hand. The fear that old Sir Giles Courtenay was being +finally disposed of oppressed her like a nightmare.</p> + +<p>"No! I expect it's the treasure. We must notice exactly where they're +putting it."</p> + + +<p>Lindsay took a step nearer, to gain a better view<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> of the proceedings, +but as she did so her foot trod noisily on a dead twig.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 368px;"> +<img src="images/gs04.jpg" width="368" height="600" alt="AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT" title="" /> +<span class="caption">AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT</span> +</div> + +<p>"What's that?"</p> + +<p>The question was in "The Griffin's" well-known voice.</p> + +<p>There was a growl in reply from Scott.</p> + +<p>"Best take a look, anyhow," came from Mrs. Wilson.</p> + +<p>Scott seized the lantern, and began to flash it round in every +direction. Then, oh horrors! he walked straight towards the oak where +the two girls were hiding. Nearly paralysed with fear, they did not dare +to run away, and could only hope that, after all, under cover of the +darkness, he might chance to overlook them.</p> + +<p>In her desperation, Lindsay tried to draw farther behind the trunk of +the tree. To do so she perforce pushed Cicely back. The latter was not +quite prepared for the sudden movement, the ground was uneven, she +swayed, clutched violently at her companion to save herself, and over +they both rolled down the bank, almost to the very feet of Scott +himself.</p> + +<p>As Lindsay and Cicely came crashing down the bank, Scott uttered a cry +of consternation. In the suddenness of his dismay, the lantern dropped +from his hand, extinguishing the light in its fall.</p> + +<p>Instantly the two girls were on their feet, and rushed helter-skelter +across the garden through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> the darkness. They plunged anyhow through +bushes and over flower-beds, scratching their faces on overhanging +boughs, and tearing their dresses on thorns, their one fear lest Scott +should be pursuing them, and their one anxiety to gain the safe shelter +of the house.</p> + +<p>They reached the side entrance without hearing any footsteps behind +them. If Scott had tried to follow them, they had evidently managed to +elude him, and he must have given up the chase. The door was still +unbolted, and they hurried breathlessly upstairs, luckily meeting nobody +on the way. What a harbour of refuge it seemed to be, back in their own +room! Without daring to light the candle, they went back to bed again +with all possible speed.</p> + +<p>"Well, we have had an adventure!" began Lindsay, when they were once +more comfortably ensconced between the sheets.</p> + +<p>"Do you think Scott noticed who we were?" whispered Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I can't tell. He had just time to catch a glimpse of our faces before +the lantern went out."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure they were doing something dreadful that they wanted to keep +secret, he looked so utterly horror-stricken at seeing us."</p> + +<p>"There's no doubt about it. The unfortunate part is that now they find +they've been discovered, they'll bury the treasure somewhere else +instead."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What a pity we fell just at that moment!"</p> + +<p>Cicely's voice was very doleful.</p> + +<p>"It will have aroused their suspicions, too, and will make them extra +careful," lamented Lindsay. "If Scott recognized us, he and Mrs. Wilson +will know we're watching them. They'll owe us a grudge. 'The Griffin' +was bad enough before, but she'll be worse than ever now."</p> + +<p>They scanned the old housekeeper's face narrowly next morning, as she +carried the coffee into the dining-room, but her countenance wore its +accustomed aspect of grim inscrutability. If she connected them with +last night's happenings, she certainly did not betray the knowledge; it +was impossible to tell whether she mistrusted them or not, or what +feelings lay concealed under her forbidding exterior.</p> + +<p>The moment breakfast was over, they rushed into the garden to renew +their acquaintance with the scene of their adventure. Somebody had +plainly been digging in the bank, though the traces had evidently been +tidied carefully up, and the sods replaced.</p> + +<p>"Do you think there could be anything here?" said Cicely wistfully, +poking a stick into the loosened soil.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear me, no!" replied Lindsay. "Why, the first thing they'd do +would be to rush off with that sack to some safer spot. Even the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> very +stupidest persons wouldn't have gone on burying valuables in a place +where they knew they'd been watched. 'The Griffin' and Scott are +certainly not idiots!"</p> + +<p>"If we could only guess where they'd put it!" sighed Cicely.</p> + +<p>For the present they had had such a fright that, though neither would +confess it, both were a little inclined to let the matter rest in +abeyance. It needed courage to risk the anger of Mrs. Wilson and Scott +if they were once more caught meddling. It had seemed pleasant enough to +search for the treasure themselves in the house, but the affair was now +beginning to assume a graver aspect.</p> + +<p>"I sometimes wonder if we ought to tell Monica or Miss Russell," said +Cicely, who occasionally had uneasy scruples as to the wisdom of their +plan of secrecy.</p> + +<p>"It wouldn't be of the slightest use," declared Lindsay. "'The Griffin' +and Scott would simply deny everything. They'd make out it was all +nonsense on our part, like grown-up people generally do. And how could +we prove we were right? Miss Russell would tell us to mind our own +business, and we should only get into a scrape for our pains. No, we +shall just have to let things take their course, and trust to luck."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>Under the Hawthorn Tree</h3> + + +<p>It was high summer at Haversleigh. The trees, now in full leaf, cast +rich shadows over the landscape, the wild roses were in bloom on the +hedgerows, and tall foxgloves stood like crimson sentinels at the +margins of the woods. The fields were white with moon-daisies, growing +among the long, lush grass; and all the roadsides were a tangle of +vetches, campion, bugle, trefoil and speedwells. The wind was fragrant +with the scent of newly turned hay; everywhere the mowers were busy, and +the daisies were falling fast beneath the swinging scythe or the blades +of the reaping-machine. In the Manor garden the roses had reached +perfection, and the flower-beds were a mass of colour. The girls spent +every available moment out-of-doors, making the most of the bright days, +and enjoying their country visit to the full.</p> + +<p>One blazing half-holiday afternoon Lindsay and Cicely, allowed for once +in the select company of a few of the elder girls, were lounging +blissfully<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> under the shade of a big hawthorn tree. The air seemed +dancing for very heat; the grasshoppers were chirping away at the edge +of the lawn, a lizard lay basking on the stones of the terrace wall, and +the sparrows for once were silent.</p> + +<p>"It's far too hot to play tennis," said Irene Spencer. "One just wants +to sit somewhere where it's green and cool."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad we're here, then, instead of at Winterburn Lodge," said Mary +Parkinson.</p> + +<p>"So am I; and yet Winterburn Lodge is nicer than many other schools," +remarked Mildred Roper.</p> + +<p>"It's not half bad," assented Mary. "I like it better, at any rate, than +the French school I was at in Brussels."</p> + +<p>"I didn't know you'd ever been in France," said Lindsay, idly picking a +dandelion clock and blowing it to find out the time.</p> + +<p>"No more I have, goosey."</p> + +<p>"Then why did you say you'd been at a French school? You're telling +fibs."</p> + +<p>"No, I'm not, because Brussels doesn't happen to be in France—it's in +Belgium."</p> + +<p>"I thought you were supposed to learn geography in the third class," +laughed Irene Spencer.</p> + +<p>"She said a French school, not a Belgian one," objected Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Well, everybody speaks French in Brussels."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Don't they speak Flemish?"</p> + +<p>"Only the poor people, and even they can generally talk French as well."</p> + +<p>"How long were you there, Mary?" put in Mildred Roper.</p> + +<p>"Only one term. I got ill, and had to come home."</p> + +<p>"Was it nice?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, just tolerable!"</p> + +<p>"Had you to talk French all the time?"</p> + +<p>"I had to try, because none of the girls knew anything else. They used +to laugh at me if I spoke English."</p> + +<p>"How nasty! I shouldn't have cared to be you," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it was horrid, when I was sure they were saying things about me +and I couldn't understand them. I used to get quite cross, and that made +my head ache."</p> + +<p>"Was the school in the country?" asked Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"No, I've told you already it was in Brussels, and that's a big city. It +was a large building, with a great high wall all round it, with spikes +on the top, as if it were a prison. Inside there was a courtyard where +we used to play games. It had orange trees and oleanders in big green +tubs, but no grass nor flowers. You couldn't possibly have called it a +garden. We hardly ever went out for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> proper walks. Sometimes we were +taken to the park, but even there we had to go very primly, two and two, +with the teachers looking after us most sharply."</p> + +<p>"Were the teachers nice?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, pretty well. I liked them better than the girls, at any rate. +There were two sisters in my class, called Marie and Sophie Beauvais, +who were always making fun of me because I was English. I had a horrid +time until a German girl came to the school, and then they teased her +instead of me. The best thing of all was the coffee. It was perfectly +delicious—nicer than any I've ever tasted in England."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't you stay in Brussels?"</p> + +<p>"I was ill, and my mother had to come and fetch me. She declared she +would never let me go so far away from home again; so she sent me to +Winterburn Lodge instead. Miss Russell is very kind if one's not well, +and Mother said she would rather have me properly looked after, even if +I didn't learn French."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Miss Russell does take care of us," said Irene. "I used to be at +another school, and the teachers never noticed if we had headaches, or +couldn't eat our meals. We had to work most fearfully hard for exams, +too. The headmistress made a point of getting a certain number of passes +each year, and one was obliged to prepare and go<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> in whether one was +clever or not. Give me good old Winterburn Lodge!—especially when one's +at the Manor instead. By the by, there's Monica. She's surely not come +to play tennis? It's too hot."</p> + +<p>"Fifteen degrees too hot," agreed Monica, throwing herself down on the +grass beside the others and fanning herself with her hat. "Out on the +road the heat's at simmering-point. I came to bring a message to Miss +Russell, and I hear she's gone to Linforth and won't be back until +half-past four. I think I shall wait for her."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do!" cried the others. "We'll have a 'palaver' here under the +trees."</p> + +<p>"What's a 'palaver', please? I hope it's something cool and fizzy to +drink."</p> + +<p>"No, it's nothing of the sort. It's a kind of meeting, where everybody +has to tell a story in turn."</p> + +<p>"But I'm rigidly truthful!" objected Monica, with a twinkle in her eye.</p> + +<p>"You naughty girl! You know we don't mean telling falsehoods. It's +telling tales," said Irene.</p> + +<p>"I'm no tell-tale either!"</p> + +<p>"Don't be too funny. Your story will have to be longer than anyone +else's to make up for this. Mildred, you explain, as I don't seem able +to express myself properly."</p> + +<p>"It can either be a story you have read, or one of something that has +happened to yourself,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> said Mildred. "We prefer people's own adventures +if we can get them."</p> + +<p>"So few people have any adventures in real life!" said Monica.</p> + +<p>"Then you can tell something out of a book."</p> + +<p>"Suppose I can't remember anything?"</p> + +<p>"You must. It needn't be grand; we're not a critical audience."</p> + +<p>"I'm very stupid at telling things," said Monica; "might I read you +something instead?"</p> + +<p>"If you've got it here."</p> + +<p>"As it happens, I have," replied Monica, opening a bound volume of a +magazine which she held in her hand. "I brought this book to lend to +Miss Russell, as I knew it would interest her. It has a story about the +old Manor in the times of the Wars of the Roses, and how Sir Roger +Courtenay came to win it for his own. I dare say you might like to hear +it."</p> + +<p>"If it's about the Manor I'm sure we shall," said Irene. "Who wrote the +tale?"</p> + +<p>"A gentleman who stayed in the village a year or two ago. He was very +enthusiastic about Haversleigh. I suppose he made it up from the short +account in the guide-book. All the facts are quite true, though he must +have used his imagination for the details. The worst of it is that it's +a fairly long story, and if I read it I'm afraid there won't be any time +left for you to tell yours."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, we don't mind that!"</p> + +<p>"So much the better!"</p> + +<p>"Fire away!"</p> + +<p>"Do go on!"</p> + +<p>Thus encouraged, Monica found her place and, the girls having clustered +round her in a close circle so as to hear the better, she began her +tale:</p> + + +<h4>SIR MERVYN'S WARD</h4> + +<p>The middle of the fifteenth century was one of the most stormy periods +that the pages of English history have ever recorded. The rival claims +of the houses of York and Lancaster had led to those disastrous Wars of +the Roses that wiped away the flower of chivalry and made the fair land +one bloody battlefield. In the autumn of 1470 Edward IV had been driven +from his throne by the powerful Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker, +and Henry VI had been once more restored to power, though for how long a +period none could venture to guess. They were hard times to live +through, especially for those lesser gentry and yeomen who had not +placed themselves definitely under the protection of any of the greater +barons, and still strove to keep their estates in peace and quiet. The +turmoil of the great struggle had not spared even the obscure village of +Haversleigh. The inhabitants went about their tasks with an air<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> of +unrest. It seemed scarcely worth while to plough the fields, and sow +corn which might be trampled underfoot by the soldiery before there was +a chance to reap it. There were loud and deep murmurs among the +villagers at the many exactions and tyrannies of Sir Mervyn Stamford, +the then occupant of the Manor, the estates of which he administered on +behalf of his ward, Catharine Mowbray. Catharine's father, Sir John +Mowbray, had fallen in battle on the side of the Yorkists, but with the +return of Henry VI to power, Sir Mervyn, a stanch Lancastrian, had +bought the rights of her guardianship from the half-imbecile king, and +had not only assumed control of her property, but had announced his +intention of wedding the maiden, either with or without her consent.</p> + +<p>This was a state of affairs which, however satisfactory to Sir Mervyn +himself, was by no means pleasing either to Catharine or to her lover, +Roger de Courtenay, a young gentleman of high lineage though broken +fortunes. Sir Mervyn was indeed a man whom any girl might have dreaded. +Dark, stern, and forbidding, his face seamed with scars, he was a harsh +master, a relentless foe, and a cruel tyrant to any who dared not resist +his authority. He was cordially hated in Haversleigh, the inhabitants of +which were Yorkists to a man, but he had garrisoned himself so strongly +in the Manor, with so formidable a band of retainers, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> the wretched +villagers could do no more than groan under his oppressions, and bewail +the advent of the day when, by his marriage with the unwilling +Catharine, he would become their legal lord.</p> + +<p>Matters were at this crisis one April morning in the year 1471 when +Diccon of the Moat Farm came slowly down a path through the forest from +Torton. He led a horse laden with a sack of flour, which he had taken to +be ground at the mill of the convent of St. Agatha, to avoid the heavy +dues imposed by Sir Mervyn on every sack ground within the jurisdiction +of the Manor. In consequence he looked warily about him, since, should +he chance to meet any of Sir Mervyn's retainers, not only would his +flour be confiscated, but his own back would receive such a cudgelling +as would lay him up for a month or more. For this reason he had avoided +the main road, and chosen a little-used bridle path; and he glanced +cautiously up and down each green alley, and listened for every sound +that might give a hint of approaching footsteps. It was with a sense of +swift alarm, therefore, that he saw a figure suddenly step out from +behind the shelter of an oak in front, and heard himself challenged by +name. The newcomer was a young man, tall and of fine build, and his +commanding presence belied the shabbiness of his poor and travel-stained +attire.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I am an honest man minding mine own business, and sith ye are the same, +seek not to hinder me," replied the owner of the Moat Farm.</p> + +<p>"Nay, Diccon! Hast thou forgot thine old friend? Come hither, I pray +thee, for in good sooth I have tidings of great import."</p> + +<p>So saying, the stranger dropped the cloak with which he had so far +partly concealed his face, and showed his features more fully.</p> + +<p>"Master Roger!" gasped Diccon. "This is indeed a rash venture. An Sir +Mervyn find you within a five mile of the Manor there will be an arrow +through you ere nightfall."</p> + +<p>"I am more like to send an arrow through him," replied Roger fiercely. +"He hath done me ill enough already, and now to crown it all he purposes +to wed my betrothed. Catharine is mine, not only by her choice, but by +the law of the land. She was affianced to me by King Edward himself. +Have her I will, or leave my body for the crows!"</p> + +<p>"Brave words, Master Roger, brave words!" said Diccon, shaking his head. +"'Twill need more than a single sword to cross Sir Mervyn in the +matter."</p> + +<p>"Where a sword can naught avail, craft and guile must find a way," +returned Roger. "List you, I have brought tidings. Edward has come to +his own again. But two days since did his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> arms meet those of Lancaster +at Barnet. The Red Rose is trampled under foot, and Warwick and Montague +lie dead upon the field."</p> + +<p>"In sooth if this be true it were news of great import."</p> + +<p>"I met one who carried a letter from my lord of Gloucester. He rode to +gather the supporters of York in the West. Margaret the Queen hath +landed at Weymouth, and is calling the men of Devon and Cornwall to the +standard of the red rose. I hied me in all haste to my lord of Norfolk, +and he hath given me a band of stout fellows that are even now hid under +the brushwood yonder. An I can surprise Sir Mervyn ere he hears that the +emblem of Lancaster is raised in the west it will strike a blow for York +in Somerset, and moreover I shall win me my bride. I must myself to the +Manor. I would see how it is garrisoned, and convey a message to +Catharine alone."</p> + +<p>"You are a dead man first!" exclaimed Diccon. "This were folly, Master +Roger. A lion's den were safer than the Manor."</p> + +<p>"None shall pierce my disguise if you, good Diccon, will but aid to +trick me out for the part I fain would play. I wot I could count on your +faith!"</p> + +<p>"To the last drop of my blood. Yet it is a rash venture, and one that +ill pleases me," replied the old man sadly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> + +<p>Late that same afternoon the golden shafts of the warm spring sunshine +were finding their way through the narrow windows of an upper room in +the Manor. The house in those days was but a quarter of its present +size; it was strongly fortified, and bore more resemblance to a medieval +keep than to the Tudor mansion of later times. Strength and defence had +been considered before beauty and elegance, and there was little even of +comfort to be found inside the stern, forbidding walls. In the apartment +in question some rude attempt had been made to render things more +habitable than in the rest of the grim establishment. A few pieces of +tapestry covered the rough masonry, and the floor was strewn with fresh +rushes. On a carved wooden bench by the window sat a fair and beautiful +girl of seventeen, who was occupying herself with a piece of needlework, +and talking earnestly meanwhile to her attendant, a maiden of her own +age, busy also with her tambour frame.</p> + +<p>"I tell thee, Anne, I will not wed him—not if he drag me by force to +the altar! Verily, it is a pretty case. Here be I a prisoner in mine own +manor, my estates squandered, my tenants oppressed and robbed, my +retainers dismissed, save only thee, my poor faithful Anne; and in +return I am to wed him to boot! Nay! Rather will I take the veil and +give all my goods to the convent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> of St. Agatha at Torton; though thou +knowest I have scant mind to be a nun."</p> + +<p>"It wants but five morns now to the bridal day," sighed Anne. "If I +mistake not, lady, Sir Mervyn will wed you even against your will and +despite the convent."</p> + +<p>"Then I will die first! Oh, Roger, Roger!" she added softly to herself, +"only a year agone, and I was thy betrothed! It is six months since I +had tidings of thee, and whether thou art alive or dead I know not."</p> + +<p>"Nay, weep not, sweet lady—weeping cures no ills," said Anne; then, +wishful to divert her mistress's sad thoughts, she directed her +attention to a commotion which was going on in the courtyard below. +"Some stranger hath arrived. If I mistake not, 'tis a huckster come to +spread out his wares. An it be your pleasure, I will hie me down and +bring you tidings of what he hath."</p> + +<p>Receiving a half-hearted consent, she hurried to the great courtyard, +where many of the servants and retainers were already gathered to look +at the contents of the pedlar's pack. At that period the arrival of a +travelling merchant was an event at a remote country house, and even Sir +Mervyn himself did not disdain to examine the cloths and buy an ell or +two of velvet for a doublet. The pedlar, a white-haired man, much bent, +and with a strange hood of foreign fashion drawn over his face, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> +proclaiming the virtues of his goods in a lusty voice.</p> + +<p>"What do ye lack? What do ye lack?" he cried. "I have here hosen, shoon, +caps, gloves, girdles, such as ye never might see out of London town. +Here be beside cloth of silk and damask fit for the Queen. Is there no +worshipful lady of this noble lord before whom I might spread forth my +choicer wares?"</p> + +<p>"My mistress would gladly have silk for a kirtle, an I may summon her to +the courtyard," Anne ventured to whisper to Sir Mervyn.</p> + +<p>Receiving a grudging permission, she hurried panting up the stairs with +her tidings. Catharine at first would hardly be persuaded to descend +from her chamber into the hated presence of Sir Mervyn, and it was +finally more to please her maid than herself that she assented.</p> + +<p>"Fair apparel is of scant use to one who hath a mind to wed the Church," +she said, "but thou shalt have a riband for thyself, Anne, and a silk +girdle withal."</p> + +<p>No one remarked the swift, eager glance that the pedlar bestowed upon +Catharine as she appeared in the doorway, nor how his hand shook as he +untied his second pack. With apparent lack of intention he managed +skilfully to draw her a few steps away from the rest, under pretence of +exhibiting his silks in the best light; then,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> whispering: "Keep secret! +Betray not that you receive this!" he rapidly thrust a small piece of +parchment into her hand. Full of surprise, Catharine yet had the +presence of mind to utter no exclamation, and to conceal the parchment +in the folds of her gown. Hastily completing her purchases, she retired +again to her chamber, where, dismissing Anne, she was able to examine +the letter in private. It contained but a few lines:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Right dear and well beloved,</span></p> + +<p>"The White Rose musters again in the west, and I have hope of your +release. Ope the west postern ere sunrise. Till then God keep ye.</p> + +<p>"Written in great haste this eve of St. Withold by the hand of him +who would remain ever yours,</p> + +<p class="author"> +"<span class="smcap">Roger Courtenay."</span><br /> +</p> + +</div> + +<p>Catharine's wild excitement on the perusal of this missive can be more +readily imagined than described.</p> + +<p>"He is alive! He comes to my rescue!" she exclaimed. "Perchance it was +even Roger himself disguised as the pedlar. He was ever one to venture a +bold deed. Alack! that I should have been so near, and not have known +him!"</p> + +<p>She did not dare to confide her secret even to her faithful maid, Anne, +but retiring as usual at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> nightfall she lay awake, waiting in burning +anxiety for the earliest peep of dawn. When the first faint glimmer of +light stole into her room she rose and crept softly down the stairs. She +was obliged to make her way through the great hall, where the +men-at-arms lay sleeping on the rushes. A dog sprang up and growled, but +she managed to quiet it with a caress, and passed on without disturbing +the sleepers. The little west postern door was heavily barred, and it +took all the strength of her white hands to pull back the bolts. +Cautiously she peered out into the half-darkness. At the same moment a +tall figure stepped from the shadow and clasped her in his arms.</p> + +<p>"Sweet, you must fly! This is no place for ye now," whispered Roger. +"Diccon waits with a trusty steed to conduct ye to Covebury. Take +sanctuary at the convent of the Franciscans till I come to claim ye. I +have stern work to do here."</p> + +<p>Wrapping her hastily in a cloak, and helping her to mount, Roger waited +till he judged the fugitives to be at a safe distance; then, giving the +word of command to his followers, he commenced his attack on the Manor. +Sir Mervyn and his retainers, surprised in their sleep, nevertheless +offered a determined resistance. A fierce combat was waged in the great +hall and in the courtyard,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> till, pressed from one point of vantage to +another, the defenders made a desperate sally, and rushing +helter-skelter down the village sought refuge inside the ancient church. +It was of no avail; the villagers, hastily armed with swords and pikes, +had joined in the fray. Determined to avenge themselves upon Sir Mervyn +for his many acts of tyranny and injustice, they set upon him without +mercy, and without respect even for the sacredness of the edifice. +Chased from the choir to the Lady Chapel, and from the Lady Chapel to +the tower, he fled up the narrow steps to the belfry, where he turned at +bay, and held the staircase with the courage of despair. Driven from +this last standpoint, he climbed yet higher to the rafters where hung +the bell, and slew six men in succession before he fell, at length, +shouting curses upon his foes.</p> + +<p>Roger Courtenay had scant time to enjoy his triumph. The Yorkist army +was mustering for a great struggle; so, having left a small garrison in +charge of the Manor, he rode away immediately with the rest of his +followers to join the adherents of the White Rose. The result of the +battle of Tewkesbury is a matter of history. The unfortunate remnant of +Lancaster took to flight, and York gained a final and triumphant +victory. Roger, whose bravery was conspicuous throughout the day, +worthily won his spurs, and was knighted on the field by Richard of +Gloucester.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> His forfeited estate was restored to him, and King Edward +himself forwarded his union with Catharine Mowbray, so that before the +summer was over the ancient parish church of Haversleigh, which but +lately had rung to the clash of arms, now echoed instead to the merry +peal of wedding bells.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>Sir Mervyn's Tower</h3> + + +<p>"Is that all?" asked the girls, as Monica finished her story and closed +the book.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes. It's a fairly long tale, I think."</p> + +<p>"Not long enough. I want to know so much more about them," said Irene.</p> + +<p>"Is it perfectly and absolutely true?" enquired Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is quite true. It was Sir Roger Courtenay who began to build +the Manor as it stands to-day. All the central portion was put up in his +time, and the coats of arms over the porch are those of himself and his +wife, Catharine Mowbray. Their tomb is in the church too—that big +carved monument in the side chapel. They had seven children—five sons +and two daughters. The eldest son, Sir Godfrey Courtenay, married a +relation of Sir Thomas More. Her name is mentioned in one of the Paston +Letters."</p> + +<p>"Was it really in Haversleigh Church that Sir Mervyn climbed into the +belfry and was killed?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Or did the writer make that up?"</p> + +<p>"No, that is true too," replied Monica. "The tower is still called 'Sir +Mervyn's Tower', and it is said there is the stain of his blood on the +great bell, and that nothing can ever take it off."</p> + +<p>"Have you seen it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, once. It's only a patch of rust."</p> + +<p>"Was Sir Mervyn buried in the church too?"</p> + +<p>"There's no monument to him, and no record in the old church documents +of his grave. I should think it was much more likely that his followers +were allowed to carry him to his own estate near Appleford, and bury him +in the church there. The story runs that his ghost haunts Haversleigh +Tower and walks up the belfry stairs, but of course that's nothing but +superstition and nonsense."</p> + +<p>"Don't you believe in ghosts?" asked Cicely, who was sometimes a little +afraid of the dark passages at the Manor.</p> + +<p>"No: when people are dead, I think if they were good they are either +resting until the resurrection, or have something so much better and +nobler to do in another world that they could not revisit this, any more +than a butterfly could turn again into a chrysalis; and if they were +bad, I am sure they would not be allowed to come back simply to terrify +the living."</p> + +<p>"Quite right," agreed Mildred. "In most of the stories one reads about +ghosts, they never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> return for any useful purpose, only to make silly +people run and scream."</p> + +<p>"There was one thing that didn't seem perfectly clear in the story," +said Lindsay. "Was it really Roger who came to the Manor disguised as an +old pedlar?"</p> + +<p>"Evidently it was. He couldn't trust anyone else to give the letter to +Catharine, and he wanted to see for himself how Sir Mervyn was prepared +to defend the Manor. There is still part of a ruin left of the old +Franciscan Convent near Covebury, where Catharine took sanctuary. It's +not much though—only a few pillars and a tumble-down wall."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't she go to the Convent of St. Agatha at Torton? It was so +much nearer to ride."</p> + +<p>"Because the nuns there wished to persuade her to take the veil, and she +wanted to marry Roger."</p> + +<p>"Were they very angry with her?"</p> + +<p>"How can I tell, Cicely? You must ask the writer of the romance; he has +a better imagination than I have. I wonder if Miss Russell has come back +yet? I'm going indoors to see. By the by, I want to ask a favour. I +practise the organ every Wednesday evening at the church, and to-night +Judson, the old clerk, will be too busy to blow for me as usual. Would +anybody be charitable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> enough to volunteer? And would Miss Russell allow +it, do you think?"</p> + +<p>"I expect Miss Russell wouldn't mind," said Mildred. "I'd go with +pleasure if I could, but I have an hour's practising to do myself +to-night, as well as preparation, and so have Irene and Mary."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Monica, could we blow the organ?" cried Lindsay. "Cicely and I have +both finished our practising, and if we were to learn our French at +once, before tea, I believe Miss Frazer could be persuaded to excuse us +from prep. We'd simply love to come."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Lindsay. I'll ask Miss Russell. If she says 'Yes', will you +meet me at the church at seven?"</p> + +<p>Miss Russell was lenient enough to give the required permission, having +ascertained that all lessons for next day were duly prepared; so Lindsay +and Cicely, much envied by the rest of their class, betook themselves +with zeal to try their 'prentice hands at the task of organ blowing. The +church was open, and Monica was already waiting for them in the porch. +She soon showed them how to work the bellows, and after telling them to +stop and rest as soon as they were tired, seated herself at the keyboard +and began her practice. Both the younger girls felt it a decidedly novel +and interesting experience to be in the little space behind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> the pipes, +working away at a long handle. As they took it in turns they were able +to keep the organ going fairly steadily, and only once left Monica +without wind in the middle of a piece. As a reward she allowed them to +try the instrument before she locked it up, showing them the various +stops and pedals, and how they were to be used.</p> + +<p>"It's much more difficult than the piano," sighed Cicely, after a rather +unsuccessful attempt, "and yet it's simply grand to hear the lovely big +notes sounding through the church. I should like to learn myself +sometime when I'm older."</p> + +<p>"Saint Cecilia was the patroness of music, and is always represented +playing the organ, so you might very well justify your name by following +in her footsteps," said Monica. "Now I simply must go, because my mother +will be wanting me. I've been far longer than usual to-night."</p> + +<p>"It's our fault, I'm afraid," said Lindsay. "We kept making you pull out +the stops."</p> + +<p>"No, you were dears to come. Perhaps Miss Russell will let you blow for +me some other evening; then we'll start earlier, and I shall have time +to let you both try again."</p> + +<p>They had passed under the old yew trees of the churchyard and out +through the lich-gate into the road, when Monica suddenly looked over +her music and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"How stupid! I've left my little copy of <i>Lux</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> <i>Benigna</i> behind. It +doesn't really matter much, only I don't care to get my pieces mixed up +with the organist's, and he will be there at a choir practice +to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Shall we go back?" suggested Cicely.</p> + +<p>"No, I'm in too great a hurry. I want to get home at once."</p> + +<p>"Then we'll fetch it for you," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Oh, thanks so much! Will you take it to school, please, and give it to +me to-morrow, so that I needn't wait now? Good-bye!" and Monica hastened +away as fast as possible in the direction of the cottage.</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely walked leisurely into the church again, and found the +missing piece of music lying on a seat near the organ. They were +returning down the aisle when Cicely said:</p> + +<p>"Which is the tomb of Sir Roger Courtenay and Catharine Mowbray?"</p> + +<p>"Monica said it was the one in the small side chapel," replied Lindsay. +"Shall we go and look at it?"</p> + +<p>What an old monument it was! Four centuries had passed away since it was +placed over those who slept beneath. The carving was chipped and the +marble scratched; part of Sir Roger's head was broken away, and one of +poor Dame Catharine's clasped hands; and the letters of the inscription +were so worn and effaced that it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> with difficulty the girls could +make out even a few words.</p> + +<p>"It's in Latin, so we couldn't have understood it in any case," said +Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"How funny her costume is!" said Cicely. "She has a coif on her head, +and very long sleeves; and he is in full armour. It makes them seem much +more real people when we know their story."</p> + +<p>"Can you imagine them living at the Manor?"</p> + +<p>"I can hardly believe there was ever a fight going on inside this +church."</p> + +<p>"And people killing one another!"</p> + +<p>"I suppose Sir Mervyn ran through this door up into the tower."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if the stain is still on the bell?" said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"The story was that nothing could ever take it off."</p> + +<p>"Shall we go up and see if it's really there?"</p> + +<p>"What! Up into the belfry?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. Why not?"</p> + +<p>"Well, isn't it getting too late, and a little dark?"</p> + +<p>"Not yet."</p> + +<p>"All right, then," assented Cicely, agreeing as usual with Lindsay's +proposal.</p> + +<p>The small, nail-studded oak door leading to the tower stood open, and +they could see that there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> was a winding staircase inside. There was +nobody to forbid them to explore, and though they knew they were due +back at the Manor they considered they might allow themselves a little +latitude in the way of time. It was rather dark up the corkscrew stairs, +though there was a slit every now and then in the wall to admit air and +light. At the top they found themselves in a square room, where the +clerk evidently pulled the bell on Sundays, for the rope was hanging +within easy reach. The roof was made of enormous oak rafters, and +through it ran a ladder reaching higher than they could see.</p> + +<p>"That will be the way up to the bell," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"What a horrible place for Sir Mervyn to climb!" commented Cicely. "I +can imagine him rushing up with a dagger in his hand, and the others +swarming after him. I'm almost sorry they killed him. He was very brave, +although he was so bad. You go first, Lindsay."</p> + +<p>Up and up they toiled, till they thought they should never reach the +top.</p> + +<p>"The bell's hung very high," panted Cicely.</p> + +<p>"We're nearly there now," replied Lindsay.</p> + +<p>The ladder ended in a rough platform which was built round the bell, +probably to allow workmen to attend to it now and then in case it were +not hanging safely. It looked a great mass of metal,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> so large and heavy +that even the clapper must be an enormous weight.</p> + +<p>"There's a very queer mark on it here," said Cicely, in rather an awed +voice.</p> + +<p>Lindsay walked round to the other side of the platform. There was a most +curious stain running along a portion of the bottom of the bell—a dull, +irregular mark that might well have had its origin in some dark and +dreadful deed. Cicely touched it cautiously, and then looked at her +finger as if she expected to find the traces red on her hand.</p> + +<p>"I think we'd better go down again," she said, with a shiver.</p> + +<p>"All right, only I want to look out of the window first. Oh, what a +glorious view!"</p> + +<p>There was indeed a splendid prospect to be seen from the old church +tower—a vista of village roofs, and tree tops, and fields, and winding +high road, and distant woods and hills, all bathed in the beautiful, +rosy light of sunset. It was so lovely that the girls stood for some +time watching the sky turn from pink to crimson, and great bands of +dappled clouds catch the reflection from the glow beneath. They quite +forgot that supper would probably be over at the Manor, and that Miss +Russell would be wondering why Monica had kept them so long, and wishing +she had not allowed them to go without Miss Frazer or one of the +monitresses to escort them back.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> + +<p>At last they tore themselves reluctantly away. It was much harder to +come down the ladder than it had been to climb up. Cicely turned quite +giddy, and they were both glad when they reached the square room where +the bell rope was hanging. It was very dark on the winding staircase; +they had to feel their steps most carefully, and keep a hand on the wall +as they went. The church looked dim and gloomy as they found themselves +once more in the nave. Cicely turned her back upon the monuments. She +did not want to give even a glance in their direction just then. Perhaps +Lindsay felt the same, for she also hurried quickly towards the door. To +their utter amazement it was closed, shut tight and firm; and though +they lifted the latch, and tugged and rattled and pulled with all their +might, they could not open it. They stared at each other with blank, +horror-stricken faces. They were locked up alone in the empty church!</p> + +<p>"Let us call," quavered Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps someone may be in the churchyard. I can't believe they've +really left us shut up here. Somebody must be coming back," said +Lindsay.</p> + +<p>She knew in her heart of hearts all the same that it was a forlorn hope. +The old sexton had probably seen Monica walk through the village, and +had come to lock the church as usual after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> her practice, quite unaware +that anyone was exploring the belfry. By this time he would be at home +again, with the keys in his pocket. The two girls shouted themselves +hoarse, and kicked and beat against the door, but there was no reply +except hollow echoes that resounded from the vaulted roof. The church +was just out of earshot from either the village on one side or the +rectory on the other, and it did not seem likely that anybody would +happen to pass through the churchyard at that hour in the evening. No +doubt they would soon be missed at the Manor, but Miss Russell would be +sure to go first to Monica to enquire about their absence, and it might +therefore be some little time before anyone came to look for them inside +the church.</p> + +<p>"What are we going to do?" asked Cicely.</p> + +<p>"We must get out somehow," replied Lindsay desperately. "Let us walk all +round, and see if there is any window it would be possible to climb +through."</p> + +<p>They went up the aisle, looking carefully at the windows; but all were +equally impracticable, being built high up in the walls, and the only +panes that opened were at the top.</p> + +<p>"There may be a lower one in the vestry," said Lindsay, after they had +examined the side chapels and transepts. "Here's the door, and +fortunately it's not locked."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> + +<p>Again they were doomed to disappointment. The vestry was one of the +oldest portions of the building, and the tiny diamond-paned casement was +fully ten feet above their heads. Plainly it was useless to think of +escape there.</p> + +<p>"We'd better go back to the door," said Cicely, "just in case anyone +should be coming down the road, and might hear us."</p> + +<p>The light was rapidly growing dimmer and dimmer, the pillars cast long +shadows, and the corners were already wrapt in darkness, through which +here and there a figure on a monument stood out white against the gloomy +background. Once more the girls thumped at the door and shouted, though +they feared it would be of no avail.</p> + +<p>"There's only one thing left to be done, Cicely," said Lindsay at last.</p> + +<p>"And what's that?"</p> + +<p>"Go up into the belfry again and ring the bell. Everybody in the village +would hear that, and Judson would come to see what was the matter."</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Cicely with some hesitation, "I suppose we must—but——"</p> + +<p>"But what?"</p> + +<p>"We should have to walk up the belfry stairs."</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Lindsay, Sir Mervyn! Suppose we were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> to meet him on the staircase? +The village people say he walks!"</p> + +<p>"And Monica said it was nothing but nonsense and superstition."</p> + +<p>Lindsay tried to sound brave, but she held Cicely's arm tightly +notwithstanding.</p> + +<p>Poor Cicely felt "'twixt Scylla and Charybdis". To toll the bell seemed +their only chance of escape, and to do so they must certainly mount into +the square room where the rope was hanging. On the one hand was the +prospect of spending some time in a building which was rapidly growing +darker and darker, and on the other, there was a quick dash up the +winding staircase, which was the centre of all her nervous fears.</p> + +<p>"We must do it," urged Lindsay. "Come along! Let us go now, before you +think about it any more."</p> + +<p>It was very dark when they went through the small door and began groping +their way up the narrow steps. There was not room for both to walk +abreast, so Lindsay went first and Cicely clung tightly on to her skirt +behind, ready to turn and flee precipitately if she heard the slightest +sound from above. The stairs seemed twice as long as when they had +mounted them before, and far narrower and steeper.</p> + +<p>"Here we are!" exclaimed Lindsay, when at last they found their feet on +the flooring of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> tower room. There was just light enough to faintly +distinguish objects, and they were making straight for the bell rope +when Cicely grasped Lindsay's arm in a panic of fear.</p> + +<p>"What's that noise?" she whispered breathlessly.</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"There! Up the ladder in the roof!"</p> + +<p>Both girls listened, their hearts beating in great thumps. Cicely was +not mistaken. There was a faint rustling, as if someone were moving +softly about in the tower above. Too terrified even to run away, they +stood with their eyes fixed on the open trapdoor that led up to the +bell.</p> + +<p>"He's coming!" shrieked Cicely, as something large and white appeared +silently through the aperture and glided down into the room. There was a +sudden weird, uncanny cry, like a mournful, despairing wail, and a large +pair of wings flapped through the open lattice that served for a window +out into the thickness of the yew trees beyond.</p> + +<p>"It's an owl—a big white owl! That's your ghost, Cicely!" cried +Lindsay, with intense relief.</p> + +<p>"It's gone, at any rate. Oh, what a fright it gave me! I thought it was +Sir Mervyn himself."</p> + +<p>"I expect it sleeps up there during the day, and then goes out hunting +at night for birds and mice. What a fearful screech it gave!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Let us go and ring the bell before we have any more scares."</p> + +<p>They dashed across the room and seized the rope. Surely since the day it +was first hung the poor old bell had never been tolled with such +frantic, hurried jerks. It was like an alarm of war or fire as the +swift, short strokes went echoing from the tower. The girls pulled and +pulled until they were both nearly exhausted.</p> + +<p>"Somebody must have heard us by this time," said Lindsay. "Let us go +down into the church and wait by the door."</p> + +<p>"I don't feel so afraid of Sir Mervyn now I know he's only a white owl," +declared Cicely.</p> + +<p>They stumbled down the stairs and across the dark nave, then stood +waiting anxiously for some sign of coming relief. Was that a distant +footstep? Yes; they heard the creaking of the lich-gate, the sound of +voices, and the crunching of boots on the gravel path. They sprang at +the door, knocking and shouting for help with all their might. In +another moment the great key turned in the lock. It was Judson, the +sexton, who stood outside, with quite a number of people from the +cottages behind him. All the village had been roused by the tolling of +the bell, and everyone expected to find either a gang of thieves at work +or the building on fire, instead of only two frightened little +schoolgirls from the Manor.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> + +<p>At that moment both Miss Russell and Monica came hurrying up, the latter +reproaching herself keenly for not having seen her companions safely +home, and the former very angry at their escapade. As Lindsay had +supposed, they had been expected back more than an hour ago, but Miss +Russell thought Monica must have had an unusually long practice. When +their bedtime arrived, and still they were missing, the headmistress had +grown uneasy, and started in search of them. She had gone first to the +church and found the door locked (it must have been while they were in +the vestry), so concluded that they had returned with Monica to the +cottage. She had been seriously alarmed to find they were not there, and +her anxiety was shared by the Courtenays; and both she and Monica were +on the point of rousing the whole village to aid in discovering their +whereabouts when the sudden clanging of the bell made them hasten to the +church. The girls gave a brief account of their adventure in reply to +the many enquiries of their rescuers.</p> + +<p>"I thought I could have trusted you to return straight home," said Miss +Russell reproachfully. "No, Monica, it is not in any way your fault. +Lindsay and Cicely knew perfectly well they had no right to linger +behind, nor to enter the tower. I am disappointed in them, for I +certainly should not have allowed them to go and blow the organ<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> if I +had believed there was the slightest opportunity for such behaviour. +They have only themselves to blame, and I consider they thoroughly +deserved the fright they have had."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>An Enigma</h3> + + +<p>Though most of the delights of the summer term at the Manor consisted of +outdoor amusements, other interests were not entirely lacking. In a +magazine which Miss Russell took in for the school library there was an +announcement of a competition which offered a prize to children under +thirteen for the largest number of poetical quotations descriptive of +wild flowers. Both Lindsay and Cicely were anxious to try, and ransacked +all the volumes of poetry they could get hold of for suitable extracts.</p> + +<p>"I think it's too much bother," said Nora Proctor. "It means looking +through such a heap of books, and then copying out the pieces so neatly +afterwards. It would take one's whole recreation time."</p> + +<p>"And probably one wouldn't get anything for it in the end," said +Marjorie Butler.</p> + +<p>"I began," said Effie Hargreaves, "but, as Nora says, it's far too great +a fag. I got ten<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> quotations from Shakespeare, and six from Tennyson. +I'll give them to you, Cicely, if you like."</p> + +<p>"Oh, thanks, if they're not the same as I have already!"</p> + +<p>"I tried for a prize once in a magazine," said Beryl Austen, "but I only +got highly commended. I'm afraid my writing wasn't good enough."</p> + +<p>Though the other girls did not care to compete themselves, they were +interested in Lindsay's and Cicely's lists, and gave them any assistance +they could in hunting out fresh quotations.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you what," said Beryl, "you ought to ask Monica. She reads a +great deal, and I believe she's rather clever at botany. I heard her +talking about the wild flowers of the neighbourhood to Miss Russell."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I believe she has a nice pressed collection," said Effie. "She +promised to show it to us some day."</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely took Beryl's advice, and waylaid Monica as she came +to the French class next morning.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you asked me," she replied. "I've no doubt I shall be able to +help you; I have a good many beautiful books on botany in the library. +I'll bring the key this afternoon, and unlock the case for you."</p> + +<p>Monica always kept her promises. She arrived about four o'clock, and +opened the large glass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> doors that preserved the handsome calf-bound +volumes from dust and dirt.</p> + +<p>"Here they are," she said. "Some are very dry and scientific, and some +are popular, and have coloured pictures. There are catalogues of plants, +and schedules of species, and old herbals, and every kind of book you +can imagine that has a bearing on the subject. Some are about British +flowers and some about foreign ones, and there are others on mosses and +ferns and fungi. They used to belong to my uncle; he was extremely fond +of botany."</p> + +<p>"Have you read them all?" asked Cicely.</p> + +<p>"No, I'm afraid I have rather neglected them. You see, I have had so +many lessons to learn. One can't study everything at once, and Mother +particularly wants me to work hard at French. Perhaps some day I may +attack the natural orders. It will take you a long time to look through +every one of these books. I'll leave the case unlocked, so that you can +get them out when you like. I know I can trust you not to spoil the +covers, and to put each back in its proper place."</p> + +<p>"We'll be very, very careful of them," Lindsay assured her. "We won't +carry them into the garden. We'll sit and read them here at the table."</p> + +<p>"That will be all right, then," said Monica. "I feel they are rather a +particular charge,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> because they were left to me as a special legacy. I +believe my uncle valued them more than anything else in the world. I +often think I don't appreciate them as much as I ought."</p> + +<p>As Monica had said, it took considerable labour to thoroughly examine +all the books and search for extracts. Some merely contained long lists +of Latin names, and others were far too learned and scientific to +interest schoolgirls. A few, however, treated the subject from its +romantic side, and quoted passages of poetry such as they wanted. Miss +Russell, who had encouraged them to try for the prize, gave them +permission to use the library when they pleased; so for the next few +days they spent most of their spare time there.</p> + +<p>It was a pleasant occupation, and one that seemed to bring them into +touch with the old poets who had loved Nature so dearly, and sung so +charmingly about her blossoms. It was quite wonderful to think that +nearly six hundred years ago Chaucer had noticed and recorded the little +golden heart and white crown of the daisy; and that King James I of +Scotland, while pining as Henry IV's prisoner in Windsor Castle, could +remember and write of—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The sharpë, greenë, sweetë juniper,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Growing so fair with branches here and there".</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The competition proved most interesting, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> as it happened, was to be +connected with unforeseen occurrences.</p> + +<p>One afternoon, Cicely, who was trying to work her way systematically +along the shelves, brought down a thick, bulky volume, bound in brown +leather, with metal corners, and entitled <i>Floral Calendar</i>.</p> + +<p>"This must be an old one," she remarked. "Look how yellow the paper is, +and there are actually long S's. Someone has scribbled notes all round +the edges of the pages."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if it was Sir Giles Courtenay?" said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>Cicely turned to the flyleaf at the beginning. Yes, in exactly the same +rather straggling hand was the inscription:</p> + +<p class="center"> +"GILES PEMBERTON COURTENAY,<br /> +<span class="smcap">Haversleigh Manor,<br /> +Somerset.</span>"<br /> +</p> + +<p>"He seems to have been fond of writing in his books," said Lindsay. +"What's this opposite his name?"</p> + +<p>On the inside of the cover quite a long piece of poetry had been copied. +It appeared to be something in the nature of an acrostic or charade, and +it ran thus:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>—</p> + + +<h4>ENIGMA</h4> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My <i>First</i>, among flowers you can't find a better,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'T was used by a king for securing a letter.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My <i>Second</i>, whose blossoms of yellow soon fade,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Comes out every night in the calm evening shade.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My <i>Third</i>, oft called Iris, is much in demand,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It grows on an island named Van Diemen's Land.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My <i>Fourth</i>, a wild flower with sweet golden eye,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is more blessing than "torment" to all who pass by.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My <i>Fifth</i>, with great trusses of lavender hue,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is the sweetest of shrubs that the spring brings to view.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My <i>Sixth</i>, an old blossom in medicine once famed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was good for the eyesight, and thus it was named.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now if you have guessed all these flowers that I prize,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Please take my initials and finals likewise:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The former you'll find to be hiding the latter;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perchance may provide you with just a lost link,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And bring you a greater reward than you think.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">G. P. C.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Both Lindsay and Cicely were particularly fond of any kind of riddle. +They seized upon this floral enigma with delight, and began to puzzle it +out with the help of the illustrated catalogue of plants given in the +old volume.</p> + +<p>"How funny of Sir Giles Courtenay to have written it inside a botany +book!" said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I suppose he was quite mad," replied Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"He must have made it up himself, as it's signed with his initials," +continued Cicely. "It was rather clever of him, wasn't it?—especially<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +if he was mad. I'm sure I couldn't invent verses, however hard I tried."</p> + +<p>"'My <i>First</i>, used by a king for securing a letter', is evidently +'Solomon's Seal'," said Lindsay. "Give me that spare piece of paper, and +I'll put it down."</p> + +<p>"'My <i>Second'</i> must be 'Evening Primrose'," said Cicely. "I can't think +of any other yellow flower that comes out at night."</p> + +<p>The third for a long time baffled the efforts of both girls to discover +it. They searched through the lists of wild and garden flowers in vain.</p> + +<p>"Irises are sometimes called 'flags'," ventured Cicely at last, turning +to the page of 'F' in the index. "Why, here are quite a number. There +are Asiatic flag, and corn flag, and dwarf flag, and Florentine flag, +and German flag. Oh! and a heap more, too—golden flag, and Iberian +flag, and Japanese, and Persian, and Missouri, and Tasmanian."</p> + +<p>"That's the one!" said Lindsay. "Van Diemen's Land is the old name for +Tasmania. 'My <i>Third</i>' must be Tasmanian flag."</p> + +<p>"Why, of course. We're getting on, aren't we?"</p> + +<p>The fourth, as it was stated to be a wild flower, was sought for in the +list at the end of <i>British Flora</i>. It did not take a very large amount +of penetration to fix it as 'tormentilla', especially as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> they could +identify its golden eye in the coloured picture.</p> + +<p>"The great trusses of lavender hue, growing on a shrub in spring, will +mean lilac. I'm getting quite proud of our guessing," declared Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"We've only one more left now," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>The last proved the most difficult of all. I doubt if they would have +been able to solve it, had not Lindsay chanced to take down an ancient +herbal, and found a list of plants once employed for medicine.</p> + +<p>"Amid all herbes that do grow, and are of greatest comfort and solace to +mankind," so ran the passage, "a foremost place hath the euphrasy. +Though it be but an humble plant scarce an inch in height, yet it maketh +an ointment very precious for to cure dimness of sight. Thence it hath +been called in the vulgar tongue 'eye-bright', nevertheless its true +name is euphrasy, and thus it is known among apothecaries."</p> + +<p>"It must be right," said Lindsay. "It's the only one that is said to do +any good to the eyesight. The others seem to be for toothaches or +agues."</p> + +<p>"Or to heal wounds or sores," said Cicely. "People must have been +continually hurting themselves in those days, if they needed so many +'salves' and 'unguents'."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> + +<p>They had now discovered all the six flowers, and wrote the result neatly +down on a piece of paper.</p> + + +<div class='centered'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="had now discovered all the six flowers"> +<tr><td align='left'>S</td><td align='left'>olomon's Sea</td><td align='left'>L</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>E</td><td align='left'>vening Primros</td><td align='left'>E</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>T</td><td align='left'>asmanian Fla</td><td align='left'>G</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>T</td><td align='left'>ormentill</td><td align='left'>A</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>L</td><td align='left'>ila</td><td align='left'>C</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>E</td><td align='left'>uphras</td><td align='left'>Y</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>"The initials read 'settle' and the finals 'legacy'," said Cicely. "How +very queer! That hasn't anything to do with flowers."</p> + +<p>"Let us look at the end lines again," said Lindsay, and she read aloud:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Please take my initials and finals likewise:</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The former you'll find to be hiding the latter;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perchance may provide you with just a lost link,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And bring you a greater reward than you think.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"The initials hide the finals. 'Settle' hides 'Legacy'," repeated Cicely +meditatively.</p> + +<p>"Why, I see it now!" burst out Lindsay suddenly. "Oh, Cicely, I believe +it means a great deal more than an ordinary riddle! It has something to +do with the lost treasure. Don't you understand? The settle is hiding +the legacy—Monica's legacy!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, surely not!" exclaimed Cicely, bouncing up in great excitement.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> + +<p>"But I really think so. The poetry says the enigma is 'to provide the +lost link' and 'bring a greater reward than you think'. This is indeed a +discovery! It's evidently intended to tell Monica where her money is to +be found."</p> + +<p>"Can we be quite, quite certain?" hesitated Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Well, everything seems to point to it. Don't you recollect Irene +Spencer said that in old Sir Giles' will he left 'the Manor and all that +it may contain to my great-niece Monica, especially commending to her +the volumes in my library, and advising her to pursue the study of +botany'? I remember those were the exact words. This must have been the +reason. He had written the secret of the hiding-place inside the <i>Floral +Calendar</i>, and he thought she would find it there. Perhaps he wasn't so +very mad after all."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if Monica has seen it and puzzled it out?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. She said she didn't often trouble about the books."</p> + +<p>"Then is the treasure hidden inside some old settle in the house?"</p> + +<p>"It seems likely."</p> + +<p>"In that case we must be wrong about the lantern room."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we are. Well, at any rate this throws new light on the subject, +and gives us a clue as to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> where to hunt. We'll go over the Manor again, +and look carefully at every settle."</p> + +<p>"I hope we're really on the right track at last," sighed Cicely. "What a +glorious day it would be if we could actually say to Monica: 'Here's +your fortune!'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>Lindsay Makes a Resolve</h3> + + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely thought they understood what a settle was, but, to +avoid the possibility of any mistake, they looked the word up in the +dictionary. "Settle—a long bench, with high back, for sitting on," was +the explanation given by that authority.</p> + +<p>"So it 'settles' the matter," said Cicely, trying to make a pun.</p> + +<p>"Well, it shows us it's not a chest, anyhow," replied Lindsay, "though +the oak bench in the passage near the top of the stairs has a kind of +box under it. The seat lifts up like a lid."</p> + +<p>There were four pieces of old furniture in the Manor which might claim +to answer to the description given in the dictionary. Two were in the +dining-room, one in the picture gallery, and another, as Lindsay had +said, at the head of the stairs. The girls made a most lengthy and +careful inspection of them all, but without the slightest result. +Neither their backs nor their seats were hollow, or capable of +containing anything. Three of them stood upon carved oak legs, like +chairs,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> and though the last was made in the fashion of a chest, it +proved on investigation to be absolutely empty. It was a bitter +disappointment.</p> + +<p>"Can we have been mistaken about the enigma?" said Cicely, almost in +tears.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe so. What I think is, that Mrs. Wilson and Scott have +been clever enough to find the money and carry it off. Perhaps there was +another settle somewhere in the house, and they took it bodily away."</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't Monica have missed it?"</p> + +<p>"It may have been done just after Sir Giles died, and before she came to +the Manor."</p> + +<p>"Where would they put it?"</p> + +<p>"Possibly in the lantern room, inside some hiding-place they know of."</p> + +<p>"Then, until we can find out the secret of the lantern room, it seems to +me we can't get any farther."</p> + +<p>"And we don't even know that the treasure is still there, because it may +be buried in the garden," groaned Lindsay.</p> + +<p>The whole affair of the lost legacy was most aggravating and +tantalizing. They seemed so continually on the point of unravelling the +mystery, only to find themselves again defeated and baffled. Cicely was +tempted to throw it up altogether in despair, but Lindsay had a native +obstinacy of disposition that could not bear to be beaten.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I shall go on trying as long as we're at Haversleigh, on that I'm +entirely resolved," she declared. "I don't mean to give up until we're +actually on our way to the station on breaking-up day."</p> + +<p>"And that's only three weeks off now," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>The summer term at the Manor had proved so enjoyable that the girls were +not nearly so enthusiastic as usual for the advent of the holidays. Most +of them felt a keen regret at leaving the beautiful old place, and +bewailed the fact that the alterations at Winterburn Lodge were reported +to be progressing favourably, and that the drains there would be in +perfect order long before they need return in September.</p> + +<p>"Couldn't we have school here always instead of in London?" they +suggested hopefully to Miss Russell.</p> + +<p>"No," said the headmistress; "there are many considerations which would +make it impossible. Mrs. Courtenay and Monica will want to live in their +own home again, and Haversleigh is too inconvenient a place for a +permanency. We have managed wonderfully well for a few months with only +Mademoiselle, but we certainly miss Herr Hoffmann's and Monsieur +Guizet's classes, to say nothing of drawing and dancing lessons. +Visiting masters cannot arrange to come so far away from town. There are +no proper educational<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> advantages to be had in the depths of the +country."</p> + +<p>"We shall be sorry when it comes to good-bye," declared the girls.</p> + +<p>"We must make the most of our remaining time here then," said Miss +Russell, "and try to see all we can in the neighbourhood before we go."</p> + +<p>The mistress's birthday, falling on the following Wednesday, offered a +propitious opportunity for an excursion such as she suggested. The girls +were accustomed to celebrate the occasion with some little festivity, +and were delighted when it was arranged that they should visit the town +of Appleford, about ten miles away.</p> + +<p>"There is the Dripping Well to see, and a fine old church," said Miss +Russell. "I am sure we shall be able to spend a very pleasant afternoon +there. We must ask Monica to come with us."</p> + +<p>There was some doubt at first as to whether Monica would be able to +accept the invitation. She had missed her French lesson one day, and +arrived at school late on the next, looking pale and upset. Mrs. +Courtenay had been very ill, so she explained. The doctor had been sent +for, and had given an unfavourable report. Naturally extra care and +attention were needful, and who could give these so well as her own +daughter?</p> + +<p>On the day of the picnic Monica turned up with rather an anxious face.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I scarcely like to leave Mother," she said, "but she wants me so much +to have this treat that she would not rest content until she had seen me +put on my hat and start off. Fortunately Jenny is a good nurse, and will +look after her nicely. Still, I always feel uneasy when I am long away +from her."</p> + +<p>The girls were to drive the whole distance to Appleford, and the +prospect was so exhilarating that everyone was at the high-water mark of +enjoyment. Even poor Monica caught the prevailing spirit, and for the +moment, at least, began to forget her cares. There was just room to pack +both teachers and pupils into the four wagonettes which arrived from the +George Inn, but nobody seemed to mind crushing, and even Mademoiselle +was in a good temper.</p> + +<p>"I smile because I shall again see shops and streets," she declared.</p> + +<p>"I believe Mademoiselle will be delighted to go back to Winterburn +Lodge," said Marjorie Butler, who was in another wagonette, but +overheard the remark.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I think she's absolutely yearning for pavements and lamp-posts," +said Cicely. "She'll weep with joy at the sight of a tramcar. She says +it is terribly 'triste' here."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle is French," observed Effie Hargreaves scornfully.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What a very original remark! You didn't suppose we took her for a +German?"</p> + +<p>"Well, I mean she's a foreigner at any rate, so we can't expect her to +like the country," replied Effie, with true British prejudice.</p> + +<p>There were several small excitements on the journey. Beryl's hat was +blown by a sudden puff of wind over a bridge, and was in great peril of +descending into the river when it was rescued by the driver; the door of +the second wagonette burst suddenly open, and nearly precipitated Irene +Spencer into the road; while the whole cavalcade was brought to a +standstill at a narrow turning by finding a broken-down motor-car +blocking up the way.</p> + +<p>Appleford proved to be a delightfully quaint old country town, with +twisting streets and black-and-white houses.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid Mademoiselle will be very disappointed with the fashions. +She certainly won't find Paris modes here," laughed Marjorie Butler, +looking at the one row of small shop windows that appeared to satisfy +the wants of the population.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad there's a confectioner's, anyhow," said Effie Hargreaves, who +was burning to spend her pocket-money on chocolates.</p> + +<p>"And a place for picture postcards," added Nora Proctor; "I can see a +whole tray full of them standing outside that door."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> + +<p>The arrival of four wagonettes containing so many schoolgirls evidently +caused quite an excitement in the usually quiet street. Heads were +popped out of windows, shopkeepers came to their doors, and people began +to collect at corners and stare.</p> + +<p>"Almost as if we were a wild-beast show!" said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I believe they hope we're going to march in procession round the market +square and sing, or play as a band," declared Nora Proctor.</p> + +<p>"Come along, girls! I am afraid we are attracting too much attention," +said Miss Russell. "Let us set off for the Dripping Well as fast as we +can. You must make any purchases you want when we return; I cannot let +you wait now."</p> + +<p>Effie Hargreaves had already dived into the toffee shop, and issued with +several paper packages in her hand; so she went on her way rejoicing +that she had seized the opportunity while there was yet time. +Fortunately for the others, she was of a generous disposition, and ready +to share her sweets.</p> + +<p>"We'll pay you back when we get some of our own," said Marjorie Butler, +blissfully sucking a caramel.</p> + +<p>The Dripping Well was situated in a wood, about a mile from the town, +and was, as the guide-book described it, "a most curious natural +phe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>nomenon". The water trickled slowly over a large rock, and was so +charged with lime that it left a thin deposit over everything it +touched. Articles hung up there, after a short time bore the appearance +of having been turned to stone. All kinds of objects were suspended from +the rock, in the process of being encrusted by the lime—top hats, +boots, stockings, gloves, loaves of bread, and even bunches of flowers.</p> + +<p>"It looks just as if the Gorgon had stared at them and petrified them +with a glance," said Nora.</p> + +<p>"I wonder, if we were hung up, should we turn solid too?" said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>The caretaker of the well had many specimens to show them which he had +polished, and was anxious to sell. There was quite a large collection in +his cottage. The girls, after hastily conferring together, bought a +stone bouquet as a birthday present for Miss Russell, an offering which +she declared should grace the school museum when they returned to +Winterburn Lodge.</p> + +<p>"I thought she'd have put it in the drawing-room," said Beryl Austen, +rather disappointed.</p> + +<p>"Well, of course it is more of a curiosity than an ornament," said +Mildred Roper. "It wouldn't have looked very beautiful decorating the +mantel-piece, I'm afraid—not nearly so nice as a real bunch of +flowers."</p> + +<p>Close to the well was a cave in the cliff which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> a hermit had once used +for his cell—a very picturesque spot to have chosen for his +meditations, so the girls decided.</p> + +<p>"But horribly damp; the poor man must have been racked with rheumatism," +said Miss Frazer, who was of a practical mind.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, like Friar Tuck, he didn't often use it, and preferred to hunt +venison in the woods," suggested Kathleen Crawford.</p> + +<p>"No, he was a really devout hermit, who told his beads, and lived on +bread and water," said Monica. "He dug his own grave in the rock about a +hundred yards from here. You can see it still, though his bones have +long ago been taken away for relics."</p> + +<p>"I wonder if they petrified them first in the well," said Nora Proctor, +"and how much they sold them for? There are more than two hundred bones +in the human body, so a hermit ought to have been worth a good deal when +he was properly divided."</p> + +<p>"You naughty, irreverent girl!" said Monica.</p> + +<p>Tea had been prepared at the old-fashioned inn in the market square. +Afterwards they went to look through the church, where there were some +fine examples of Gothic carving, and several beautiful stained-glass +windows. One in particular, which Monica pointed out, was in memory of a +member of the Courtenay family. There was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> chained Bible, besides a +black-letter Prayer Book, a pair of tongs for turning dogs out of +church, and several other curiosities shown by the old verger; so time +passed rapidly, and everyone was quite surprised when Miss Russell +looked at her watch, and announced that they must be returning home.</p> + +<p>"Will someone fetch Monica? I believe she is in the churchyard with the +Rector's wife," she said.</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely volunteered to go, and found their friend under a big +yew tree, engaged in talking to a lady who was evidently making +enquiries about Mrs. Courtenay. Not liking to intrude and interrupt the +conversation, they stood waiting until they should be noticed.</p> + +<p>"The doctor was over yesterday," Monica was saying, with a choke in her +voice. "He told me our only chance is to send to London for Sir William +Garrett. And how can we? His fee is a hundred guineas."</p> + +<p>"That is a heavy amount."</p> + +<p>"Impossible for us. You know how gladly I would sell even the Manor to +raise the money, but I cannot touch a penny of my property until I come +of age, and that won't be for more than four years. I try not to blame +Uncle Giles, yet sometimes——"</p> + +<p>Here Monica broke down altogether, and wiped her eyes.</p> + +<p>"You mustn't give up hope, my dear child,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> said the Rector's wife +kindly. "Perhaps your mother may be spared to you after all. Strange +things come to pass sometimes, and good can often result from evil."</p> + +<p>"I wish I could believe so," sobbed Monica. "I don't care in the least +about the fortune for myself; I only want it when I think of what it +might do for her!"</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>"Cicely!" said Lindsay solemnly the next morning, as she tied her hair +ribbon before the looking-glass, "we simply must have another try to +find that treasure."</p> + +<p>Cicely paused with her brush in her hand.</p> + +<p>"It's dreadful that Mrs. Courtenay may die because they can't scrape +together a hundred guineas," she agreed.</p> + +<p>"And Monica is breaking her heart over it," continued Lindsay. "She goes +about looking so unhappy, it makes me quite miserable too. I'd give +everything in the world I have to help her."</p> + +<p>"I don't know where we're to hunt next. We seem to have explored every +corner, and we never have any luck."</p> + +<p>Cicely's voice sounded utterly despondent.</p> + +<p>"We can only go to the lantern room again. It's the one place where +we're sure there's a secret. If Merle could discover something there, +why shouldn't we?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> + +<p>It appeared a forlorn hope, but anything was better than just sitting +down and making no effort at all. Monica's troubles weighed much on +Lindsay's mind. The idea that the invalid must slip out of life for lack +of the money that might save her seemed too cruel to be endured.</p> + +<p>"I wish I had a hundred guineas of my own to give them," she thought +sorrowfully. "Oh dear! it's such a big sum—one might as well wish for +the moon. I'm afraid there's not the slightest chance for poor Mrs. +Courtenay unless the legacy turns up."</p> + +<p>It was in rather a dejected mood that the girls betook themselves to the +upper landing that afternoon, and once more climbed the now familiar +winding staircase. The lantern room looked exactly the same as on their +two former visits. There was nothing in it to excite interest or arouse +curiosity. A more unromantic chamber could not be conceived.</p> + +<p>The window was closed, the rusty firegrate contained only a few ashes, +and the door of the cupboard stood open, revealing rows of empty +shelves. The one object worthy of notice was the ancient lantern, which +hung from a hook in the middle of the ceiling. That, at any rate, was +curious. It was of a quaint, medieval pattern, and the sides, instead of +being of glass, were of thin pieces of horn.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It's a funny old thing," said Lindsay. "I suppose they used a dip +candle for it. I wonder if there's a piece left in it still?"</p> + +<p>She stood on tiptoe, and made an effort to open the lantern, but it was +hung too high to allow her to peep inside. Reaching up as best she +could, she gave it a jerk, to try to lift it down. Quite suddenly and +unexpectedly the lantern and hook descended by a chain from the ceiling. +There was a strange grating sound, and, turning round, the girls saw a +sight which made them gasp with amazement.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>The Lantern Room</h3> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 370px;"> +<img src="images/gs05.jpg" width="370" height="600" alt="THE SECRET DOOR" title="" /> +<span class="caption">THE SECRET DOOR</span> +</div> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely might well cry out with surprise. A most peculiar +thing had happened. A part of the back of the cupboard had opened like a +door, revealing a narrow passage behind. Here at last was the +hiding-place for which they had sought so long in vain.</p> + +<p>They had never suspected the cupboard. It looked so ordinary, with its +rows of shelves, that no one would have dreamt it concealed a secret +exit. By a clever arrangement the lantern evidently worked a spring, and +when pulled down caused the door to unclose automatically. Somebody in +days gone by had no doubt constructed it thus to form a refuge in time +of danger. The girls were in raptures of delight.</p> + +<p>"This, of course, was where Mrs. Wilson vanished," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"And what Merle saw," added Cicely.</p> + + + +<p>It was an intense satisfaction to have found it out for themselves, +especially when they had come upstairs with such small expectation of +success.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> Where did the passage lead? That was naturally the first +question they asked each other.</p> + +<p>"It looks very dark," said Cicely, peering rather nervously into the +opening.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had a candle," said Lindsay. "There isn't even an end left +inside the lantern, and we've no matches either."</p> + +<p>"Shall I go downstairs and fetch some?" suggested Cicely.</p> + +<p>"No, no! You might meet 'The Griffin' on the way. We'd better explore +now, as quickly as we can, while the coast is clear."</p> + +<p>It needed a little screwing up of courage to plunge into the dim +obscurity before them. Lindsay went first, with Cicely clinging +particularly closely on to her arm behind. The passage seemed to lead +along the inside of the wall for about two yards, then took a sharp +turn, and ended at the foot of a kind of ladder stairway.</p> + +<p>One gleam of light fell from above, as if through some small chink in +the roof, just sufficient to allow them to distinguish their +surroundings and enable them to scramble up the rough steps. At the top +they found themselves in a huge garret, how big they could not tell, for +the corners were completely lost in black nothingness. The floor was +thick with dust (such old dust!), and was so worm-eaten and rotten that +it felt quite soft and crumbling under their feet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> + +<p>They were close beneath the tiles, to judge from the rafters overhead. +The air was hot and stifling, and had that stale, mouldy smell +noticeable in places long shut up. They began to walk cautiously along, +peering on all sides as their eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness.</p> + +<p>"It's just the place for them to have put the treasure," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"If we only had a light!" sighed Lindsay. "I want to go nearer the wall, +and see if I can find any heaps of money or silver tankards."</p> + +<p>She groped her way a little more boldly across the room, and, putting +out her foot, began to feel about.</p> + +<p>"Do be careful!" begged Cicely.</p> + +<p>It was a most necessary warning. The ancient, rotten boards could not +stand the strain of Lindsay's weight, and down went her leg, making a +great hole in the floor. Luckily she was not seriously hurt, only +scratched and considerably frightened. With Cicely's help she managed to +extricate herself, and withdrew to the safer middle of the garret.</p> + +<p>"The old house must be almost ready to tumble down," she declared.</p> + +<p>"Monica said parts of the Manor were very much out of repair," replied +Cicely. "Besides, if this is a secret place, no one could ever come up +to mend it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I wonder where my leg went to?" said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps into some room below."</p> + +<p>"In that case Mrs. Wilson will notice a hole in the ceiling, and will +know somebody has been up here."</p> + +<p>It was not an encouraging incident, but they were determined to venture +farther all the same.</p> + +<p>"We couldn't think of turning back now," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>At the far end of the room there was a door that seemed to lead into an +attic even darker than the first.</p> + +<p>"It's not much use going in there without a light," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Just a few steps," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>She entered, and put up her hand to feel the height of the roof above. +Instantly there was a tremendous rushing sound around them. The air +seemed filled with flapping, shadowy forms, which brushed lightly +against their cheeks. In an agony of fear poor Cicely shrieked and +shrieked again, and clung to Lindsay desperately, as to the one +substantial and human thing in the midst of what was horrible and +unknown.</p> + +<p>"All right, they're only bats," gasped Lindsay, in a rather quavering +voice. "We've disturbed them, I expect."</p> + +<p>Slightly reassured, Cicely dared to raise her head from her friend's +shoulder and look round. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> were surrounded by the fluttering wings +of the bats. These little denizens of the darkness must have been +hanging in numbers from the ceiling, and Lindsay's entrance had +disturbed them. With strange squeaks and hisses they flitted to and fro +for a few moments, then flew off to seek some safer retreat.</p> + +<p>"I hope they've really gone," said Cicely, heaving a sigh of relief. +"Don't go any farther in there, Lindsay. You can't see an inch before +your face."</p> + +<p>"But it may be the one important place," said Lindsay, yielding +reluctantly as Cicely pulled her back into the outer garret. "I'd +exchange all my next birthday presents for a candle."</p> + +<p>"Hush! I want to listen. I thought I heard something."</p> + +<p>"What?"</p> + +<p>"A kind of rustling."</p> + +<p>"I expect it was the bats, or a rat."</p> + +<p>Cicely gave an apprehensive glance behind. Her nerves were not so strong +as Lindsay's. Though she had had time to grow accustomed to scratchings +inside the wainscots at the Manor, she could not overcome her dread of +rats. Perhaps Lindsay was less valiant in her heart of hearts than she +would have liked to confess. After all, it was little satisfaction to +explore a room where she could see nothing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p> + +<p>She was just deciding to go, when Cicely once more clutched her arm.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what is it?"</p> + +<p>The exclamation burst simultaneously from the lips of the two girls. +Close, almost, as it seemed, in their ears, echoed that horrible low +groan which had so terrified them twice before. Heard amidst such +strange and dim surroundings, it was more than flesh and blood could +stand. Without waiting to make any further investigations, they turned +and fled.</p> + +<p>They hardly knew afterwards how they had stumbled across the rotten +floor and scrambled down the ladder. With blinking eyes they looked into +each other's scared faces as they emerged from the dark passage into the +bright daylight of the lantern room again.</p> + +<p>"What a dreadful place!" shuddered Cicely. "I'm thankful we've got +safely away from it. I don't believe I'd venture up there again for all +the fortunes in the world."</p> + +<p>"We must close the entrance," said Lindsay anxiously. "We must take care +to leave everything as we found it."</p> + +<p>The secret door shut with a spring, and in a moment there was nothing to +be seen again but the innocent-looking cupboard. The lantern had +ascended to its former place in the ceiling; the chain worked on a +pulley, and, as it ran up or down, it fastened or unloosed the lock.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> + +<p>Cicely, at any rate, was not sorry to descend to the more civilized +portions of the house.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if Merle explored as far as we did," she said.</p> + +<p>"I hardly think so," returned Lindsay. "She couldn't have had time. I +believe she must have met 'The Griffin' coming out, and have been +frightened into not telling."</p> + +<p>The more the girls talked the matter over, the more complicated seemed +the mystery. Though they had found Mrs. Wilson's hiding-place, they were +no nearer ascertaining whether the treasure was concealed there or +elsewhere. Out in the sunshine Lindsay's courage returned, and she began +to reproach herself for having given up the search so soon.</p> + +<p>"We'll go some other day, and take two candles and a box of matches with +us," she announced.</p> + +<p>"Is it really any good?"</p> + +<p>Cicely's spirit quailed at the prospect of once more encountering the +unknown horrors that might be lurking in that dark attic. She could not +forget the groans she had heard there.</p> + +<p>"Of course it is! I didn't think you'd be the one to draw back," said +Lindsay reproachfully. "We've both pledged ourselves to do everything in +our power to help Monica. It would be mean and cowardly to give in just +because we felt afraid. If you don't care to come with me, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> shall have +to go alone. I'm only waiting for a good opportunity."</p> + +<p>For several days the opportunity tarried. Mrs. Wilson was too often +about the passages to make the expedition safe. On one occasion Cicely +went to act scout, but found the housemaid sweeping the top landing, and +had to beat a hasty retreat.</p> + +<p>They were not able to discover where Lindsay's leg had descended so +suddenly through the rotten floor, or whether any of the ceilings in the +upper rooms had suffered in consequence. If Mrs. Wilson had found out +the damage, she kept her own counsel. When at last they managed to seize +a favourable chance, and to steal up the winding staircase, a sad +checkmate awaited them. The door of the lantern room was securely +fastened with a padlock.</p> + +<p>"Scott said he was going to put one on," said Lindsay, after staring +blankly at the unwelcome impediment. "Don't you remember, when he was +talking to 'The Griffin' in the picture gallery, and she told him we had +been here?"</p> + +<p>"I'm certain they suspect us," returned Cicely. "Perhaps they only took +part of the silver or jewellery away in that sack, and the rest is still +up in the garret."</p> + +<p>The sole plan of action they could think of after this last +disappointment was to keep a watch upon Scott. If he had really +concealed a portion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> of the treasure in the garden, he would probably go +to look at it occasionally, to make sure of its safety. At Cicely's +urgent request they had already made a careful examination, with a +trowel, of the bank where Scott had been digging when they surprised him +in the dark. It was fruitless work, however; nothing was there.</p> + +<p>"I told you beforehand they wouldn't be so foolish," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"I thought they might have dropped a piece of money, or an ear-ring +perhaps, in their hurry—just something to show us what had actually +been here," said Cicely, grubbing about in the loose soil.</p> + +<p>"Trust Scott and Mrs. Wilson! They're an uncommonly clever couple. You +may be sure they'd take care not to leave even a sixpence behind them."</p> + +<p>"I've heard that criminals can't keep away from a place where they've +buried anything," continued Cicely. "They always haunt the spot."</p> + +<p>"Then we must notice where Scott goes most frequently," replied Lindsay.</p> + +<p>For the present, Scott seemed to be particularly attracted to the +cucumber frames.</p> + +<p>"He's there constantly," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Far oftener than is necessary, I'm sure," agreed Lindsay.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It might be a likely place, too," added Cicely meditatively.</p> + +<p>Several small incidents seemed to confirm their surmises.</p> + +<p>"He was so cross last night when Marjorie Butler sent her ball over the +hedge into the kitchen-garden, and went to fetch it," said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he said she might have broken the glass in one of the frames; but +I don't suppose that was the real reason. She may have gone near him +just when he was putting something back."</p> + +<p>"I heard Miss Russell asking him when the cucumbers would be ready, and +he answered in a great hurry: 'Not for ever so long yet'. And then he +said it was 'best not to be lifting the frames, and disturbing them more +than needful'."</p> + +<p>"He was evidently afraid she was going to ask to see them."</p> + +<p>The idea that silver cups, jewels, or spade-guineas might be lying +hidden under the glossy leaves of the cucumber plants began to obtain +possession of the girls' minds.</p> + +<p>"If we could only manage to look while he's out of the way," suggested +Cicely eagerly.</p> + +<p>Scott's close attention to his duties was most annoying. There really +appeared to be something in Cicely's theory of criminals haunting a +particular spot. He seemed never absent from the kitchen-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>garden, at any +rate when they were in its vicinity. They could hear him mowing the lawn +during lesson hours, but when recreation arrived, and they ran out +hopefully to reconnoitre, he would be weeding the strawberries, or +gathering peas within a few feet of his cherished hotbeds.</p> + +<p>"There's only one way for it," said Lindsay. "We shall have to make a +plot. You must hide near the kitchen-garden, and I'll do something to +take him off; then, while he's gone, you must rush to the frames and +open them."</p> + +<p>"That would be grand! What will you do?</p> + +<p>"I shall have to think it over. I know! We'll wait till this evening, +when he's watering the cucumbers. I'll stand on the pipe of the hose; +that will stop the water, and he'll go to see what's the matter."</p> + +<p>"Capital!" agreed Cicely.</p> + +<p>It took a little scheming to arrange their plan satisfactorily. They +were much afraid lest Scott should do his watering earlier than usual, +and greatly relieved when they ran out after preparation to find him +only just beginning to uncoil his hose. He used a small tank on wheels, +which he generally left on the gravel walk outside the kitchen-garden, +bringing the indiarubber tubing through the hedge.</p> + +<p>To the girls' extreme annoyance, Marjorie Butler spied them, and, coming +up, insisted upon reading<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> aloud to them a letter she had received that +morning from a sailor cousin. Would she never go away? It was too +tiresome of her to confide in them at such an inappropriate time.</p> + +<p>"Don't let us keep you, if you want to play tennis," begged Lindsay, +with cold politeness.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't mind at all, thank you! I thought you'd be interested to +hear about Cousin Cyril," replied Marjorie.</p> + +<p>Lindsay wished sincerely that Cousin Cyril had been at the bottom of the +sea, instead of sailing over it and writing long descriptions of its +charms. The precious moments were passing by. She could hear the gentle +swish of the water as Scott applied the hose; if they were not quick, he +would have finished, and the opportunity would be gone.</p> + +<p>"I believe Miss Russell is coming out to play croquet to-night," she +ventured desperately.</p> + +<p>"Is she? Oh! she promised I might be on her side next time. I wonder if +she's there yet? I must go and see at once."</p> + +<p>"Thank goodness!" ejaculated Lindsay, as their classmate's blue-linen +dress disappeared along the avenue. "Now, I'm going to put this heavy +stone on the hose pipe, just where it goes through the hedge. Then we'll +both creep through that hole into the kitchen-garden."</p> + +<p>Without wasting another minute, Lindsay hastily did as she had said, +concealing the stone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> among the long grass, after which both girls +crawled through the hedge into the midst of a bed of Jerusalem +artichokes. As they had expected, their plot answered admirably. Scott +gave a grunt of vexation, and looked at his hose. His water supply had +undoubtedly failed him. He stumped away, grumbling, to examine the tank.</p> + +<p>"I don't believe he'll ever look amongst the grass. He'll think +something's wrong with the tap," chuckled Lindsay.</p> + +<p>The moment Scott had vanished through the gate, they dashed (regardless +of the artichokes!) in the direction of the frames. Lindsay slid her +hands rapidly in a search under the large, vine-like leaves; and Cicely, +armed with a trowel, began to dig furiously. All in vain! Though they +prodded the soil with sticks they could not feel anything particularly +solid underneath, and there was no time to make very deep excavations.</p> + +<p>"He's coming back!" panted Lindsay. "Smooth the earth over in that +corner, and place that leaf to hide it. Quick, or he'll catch us! Don't +go through the artichokes; we must run the other way!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>Hide-and-Seek</h3> + + +<p>The July days literally flew, and the term was drawing rapidly to a +close. Miss Russell seemed determined to make the very most of the last +weeks at the Manor, and arranged something fresh for nearly every +afternoon. On one day there was a cricket match, on another a putting +contest, and on a third a tennis tournament, all of which caused much +excitement in the small world of the school.</p> + +<p>Both Lindsay and Cicely were fond of games, and anxious to win their +share of distinction, so by mutual consent they decided to relax their +watch on Scott until after the athletic sports. These were always +considered a great event, and this year were to be on a larger scale +than usual.</p> + +<p>"It's so splendid to be able to have them in these lovely grounds," said +Mildred Roper. "There never seemed half enough room on the lawn at +Winterburn Lodge."</p> + +<p>"I hear Miss Russell is going to give quite a party," volunteered Nora +Proctor. "She's invited the Rector and Mrs. Cross and all the people<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +who have called on her at Haversleigh, so we shall have plenty of +spectators."</p> + +<p>"I wish Mrs. Courtenay could come," exclaimed Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I wish indeed she could. I'm afraid she must be worse to-day, as Monica +was not at the history class," said Mildred.</p> + +<p>All the girls were busy "getting into good form", as they expressed it. +The elder ones worked untiringly at tennis, while the younger ones +practised running with a zeal worthy of candidates for a Marathon race.</p> + +<p>"Miss Russell says there'll be several handicaps, but she won't tell us +what they are," remarked Beryl Austen.</p> + +<p>"Well, it's much more fun if you don't know beforehand," returned Effie +Hargreaves. "They wouldn't be handicaps if we could do them too easily."</p> + +<p>"I found a piece of four-leaved clover yesterday," observed Cicely, "so +I ought to be lucky. I showed it to Mademoiselle, and she was quite +envious. 'Vous aurez la chance!'" she said.</p> + +<p>"How jolly! Have you kept it?"</p> + +<p>"Rather! I've left it to press between two pieces of blotting-paper, +under a pile of books. I'm going to have it put in a locket when I go +home."</p> + +<p>"I don't believe in luck," declared Nora. "I'm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> sure all the four-leaved +clovers in the world wouldn't make Marjorie Butler win a race. She's out +of breath before she's run ten yards."</p> + +<p>"Is Monica going to take part?" asked Beryl.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. She said she had put her name down provisionally. If she +does, I expect she'll astonish us all. She can jump most +beautifully—she's as light as a feather."</p> + +<p>The afternoon of the sports was brilliantly fine. By half-past two the +guests had assembled on the big lawn. They looked quite a small crowd. +The school had aroused interest in the neighbourhood, and people had +come from several miles' distance in response to Miss Russell's cards of +invitation. Irene Spencer was the only girl who could boast of having +any relations present, her uncle, aunt, and several cousins having +driven over from Linforth Vicarage. The visitors were evidently prepared +to enjoy everything.</p> + +<p>"It is not often we have an opportunity in the country of witnessing +Olympic games. I am looking forward to seeing so many young Atalantas +run races. Where are the wreaths of laurel and parsley that are to grace +the occasion?" said Mr. Cross, the genial rector, who was fond of a +joke, and at home among schoolgirls.</p> + +<p>"There aren't any," laughed Cicely. "Miss Russell uses the laurel leaves +to flavour the custards, and the parsley to garnish the hams."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'm astonished at her putting such classic plants to such ignoble +purposes. She has asked me to distribute the prizes, and I thought I +should be expected to place green chaplets upon the brows of the +victors. It's too bad, when I had composed a speech on purpose. You +suggest I should make up another? Not so easy, my dears. I shall come to +some of you for assistance. I wonder if Miss Frazer would be equal to +the occasion?"</p> + +<p>"I'm sure she couldn't think of anything funny," declared Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Then I shall have to trust to what I can say on the spur of the moment. +If you notice I'm breaking down, please begin to clap, and then +everybody will suppose I have finished. Here comes Miss Russell. I +believe she wants me to act umpire too. Greatness is being thrust upon +me. I hope I shan't disgrace my high position."</p> + +<p>In spite of the Rector's mock protestations, he seemed very capable of +managing the sports, and reviewed the rows of waiting girls with the eye +of a general.</p> + +<p>"It takes me back to my own schooldays," he said. "I used to think then +I would much rather win the long jump than be made Archbishop of +Canterbury; and I considered the captain of our cricket club a far +bigger fellow than the Prime Minister. Where's Monica? Isn't she joining +in to-day's doings?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> + +<p>Monica arrived at the last moment, just when everybody had given her up, +and took her place quietly among the members of the first form.</p> + +<p>"I was afraid I couldn't come at all," she explained; "but Mother is +asleep now, so I can leave her for an hour, at any rate. I have told +Jenny to send for me if she wakes."</p> + +<p>The first item on the programme was a tennis contest, limited to the +elder girls. It was a hard-fought battle, as the competitors were evenly +balanced, and it ended in a victory for Mildred Roper and Kathleen +Crawford. Monica played well, but she had not been able to spend so much +time at practice as the others, and she missed several balls.</p> + +<p>"It was very stupid of me," she apologized. "I never seem to grow +accustomed to Mildred's fast serves."</p> + +<p>A race followed for the second class, which Irene Spencer, much cheered +by her cousins, nearly succeeded in winning, though she was beaten at +the last by Merle Hammond, who made a sudden and unexpected spurt. It +was now the turn of the third-form girls. They were to run a handicap, +and awaited particulars with much eagerness.</p> + +<p>"Miss Russell seems to set as severe tasks as the wicked stepmother in +the fairy tales," said Mr. Cross. "She decrees that you are each to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> be +given a small box of peas and beans and buttons mixed together, and that +you are to sort them before you start to run the race. Will you please +all kneel on the grass with your boxes in front of you. Are you ready? +One—two—three—off!"</p> + +<p>It was a question of deftness of fingers. Effie Hargreaves justified the +old proverb, "More haste, less speed", by upsetting her box; and +Marjorie Butler got her piles mixed in her agitation. Cicely finished +first, and was halfway across the lawn before Nora Proctor overtook her. +It was a keen struggle between these two. All the others were some +distance behind, for Lindsay was not so fleet of foot, and Beryl Austen +slipped and fell on the dry grass.</p> + +<p>"It's Nora! No, it's Cicely!" cried the girls. "Well done, Cicely! Go +on, Nora! She's gaining! No, she isn't! Why, it's Cicely after all!" as +the latter reached the winning-post a couple of yards in advance of her +opponent.</p> + +<p>"Well run!" said the Rector. "You got over the course like young +greyhounds. If you learn lessons at the same speed, you will turn out +prodigies. Why is Miss Russell shaking her head? She says there is no +danger of that. Really, I feel quite relieved to hear it. I was +beginning to be almost afraid of you. I believe you are expected to pick +up the beans before we continue our proceedings."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p> + +<p>The programme was arranged so as to be as varied as possible. There were +a round at clock-golf, a skipping tournament, an egg-and-spoon race, and +an archery contest.</p> + +<p>"It's jumping next," said Lindsay, as Miss Frazer and Miss Humphreys +came forward, carrying a rope; "the first-form girls are to begin. I +particularly want to see Monica."</p> + +<p>Monica had taken her place modestly at the very end of the line, so that +at each trial she was the last to compete. Her movements were very light +and graceful, and the girls watched her with approval. One by one, as +the rope was raised higher, the competitors began to thin, till at +length their number was reduced to three—Kathleen Crawford, Bertha +Marston, and Monica.</p> + +<p>All looked eagerly to see the next attempt. Kathleen just managed to +scramble over, Bertha failed utterly, but Monica took the jump with +absolute ease.</p> + +<p>"This will be the final test, I expect," said Miss Russell, when the two +successful ones returned to the starting-point.</p> + +<p>"I don't think they can do that!" murmured Lindsay, gazing with awe at +what was to her the impossible height required.</p> + +<p>It was too much for Kathleen. She ran, balked, and made another vain +effort, to give it up.</p> + +<p>"Now, Monica!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> + +<p>The name was on everybody's lips.</p> + +<p>Monica appeared to be perfectly cool, far less excited, indeed, than the +spectators.</p> + +<p>"Rest a moment, my dear, if you are out of breath," suggested Miss +Russell.</p> + +<p>"No, thank you. It would hardly seem fair to Kathleen. I'll try now."</p> + +<p>"Took it like a bird!" cried the Rector, clapping his hands, as the rope +was once more successfully cleared.</p> + +<p>The girls raised a storm of cheering, to show partly their admiration +for the skilful deed, partly their appreciation of Monica herself.</p> + +<p>"She is a great favourite in the school," Miss Russell explained to Mr. +Cross.</p> + +<p>"I am delighted to see her mixing with other young people," he replied; +"she has a dull time, poor child, as a rule, and has felt the +disappointment about her uncle's property more than she cares to +confess. Mrs. Courtenay's illness is very distressing. My wife was +speaking to the doctor yesterday: he considers Sir William Garrett ought +to be sent for at once; in a few weeks it may prove too late."</p> + +<p>"You have known the family a long time?" asked Miss Russell.</p> + +<p>"Since Monica's birth. I was as well acquainted with old Sir Giles as he +would allow anyone to be. I used to call and see him sometimes, and +discuss<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> botany, the only subject in which he showed any interest. He +lived so penuriously that his income must have accumulated for many +years. He rarely spoke of business matters, but on one occasion he +requested me to sign my name as witness to some document, the contents +of which he did not tell me.</p> + +<p>"He referred, however, to Monica as if she were to benefit substantially +under his will, and asked me if I considered it harmful for a girl to be +left an heiress. I assured him it would not be so in her case; both her +disposition and upbringing were such that money could not spoil her.</p> + +<p>"'A season of adversity is often the best preparation for prosperity,' +he replied.</p> + +<p>"I have remembered his words ever since.</p> + +<p>"He sent for me on his deathbed, and I have sometimes wondered if there +were any secret he wished to confide to me. Most unfortunately I was +visiting a sick parishioner several miles away, and did not get the +message in time. When I arrived at the Manor he was past speech. He +tried to scrawl a few lines on a piece of paper, but the writing was +quite undecipherable. If he regretted any earthly act, it was too late +then to alter it; he was going to settle his great account."</p> + +<p>While the Rector and the headmistress were talking, tea had been carried +into the garden, and the girls now busied themselves in attending on the +guests.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I think the competitors must need refreshment more than we do," said +Mrs. Cross, as Cicely handed her the cream.</p> + +<p>"They are not forgotten," said Miss Russell, "but they are only too +pleased to make themselves useful first."</p> + +<p>Certainly the girls could not complain of being neglected; both cakes +and strawberries were waiting for them on a separate table, where Miss +Frazer was presiding.</p> + +<p>When tea was over, the prizes were brought out, and the Rector, with a +few appropriate remarks, began to distribute the awards. Cicely went up +proudly to receive a pencil-case, and Nora Proctor, who had won the +egg-and-spoon race, was presented with a box of chocolates.</p> + +<p>"First prize for high jump, Monica Courtenay," announced Mr. Cross.</p> + +<p>Everyone looked round for Monica, but she was nowhere to be found.</p> + +<p>"She was here just before tea," said Miss Humphreys.</p> + +<p>"I saw their maid come and speak to her during the archery competition," +said Beryl Austen. "She went away immediately."</p> + +<p>"She was obliged to go to her mother, no doubt, and did not wish to +interrupt the shooting by saying good-bye," commented Miss Russell. "We +must keep her prize for her."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> + +<p>"She won't get the clapping, though," lamented Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"I think Monica will be rather glad to avoid that," said Mildred Roper. +"She's so shy and retiring, she doesn't like to be made a public +character."</p> + +<p>The day following the sports was hopelessly wet. Lindsay and Cicely were +awakened in the morning by the drip, drip of the rain on the ivy +outside, and the splashing of water as it fell from the spout into the +butt underneath. It was an absolutely drenching downpour, coming from a +leaden sky that showed no prospect of clearing.</p> + +<p>The weather had been so glorious during their stay at the Manor that +they felt aggrieved at the change. It was particularly annoying, because +Irene's uncle and aunt had invited all the girls to walk over to +Linforth that afternoon, promising to show them the church, and to +regale them with cherries afterwards in the Vicarage orchard.</p> + +<p>"Wet at seven, fine at eleven!" said the sanguine Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Not to-day, I'm afraid," replied Lindsay. "The glass was dropping last +night. It's set in for a deluge."</p> + +<p>The whole school seemed slightly depressed in spirits in consequence of +the rain. No doubt it was a reaction from the excitement of the +afternoon before. All their favourite occupations lay outside,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> and it +was so long since they had been weather-bound that they seemed scarcely +able to amuse themselves in the house. Everybody lounged about idly +during afternoon recreation, looking dismally out of the windows at the +lawns, where the markings of the tennis courts were being rapidly washed +away.</p> + +<p>"It's no use staring at the puddles," said Lindsay. "We can't possibly +go to Linforth. It's just a piece of abominably bad luck. Everything's +horrid!"</p> + +<p>Lessons had not been a success that morning. Perhaps Miss Frazer also +felt the influence of the gloomy day. Her pupils, at any rate, had been +unusually stupid and inattentive; Lindsay, in particular, had merited a +sharp scolding, and was dejected in consequence.</p> + +<p>"We must do something," said Cicely. "I vote we hunt up the rest of our +class, and go upstairs and have a really good game of hide-and-seek."</p> + +<p>As anything seemed better than sitting still, the other girls agreed +readily to come and play.</p> + +<p>"Two can hide and four can look," said Marjorie. "Only, we'll keep on +this landing."</p> + +<p>The old Manor offered a splendid field for the purpose; it was so full +of cupboards and crannies and odd nooks that it was quite hard to find +anybody. The dull day improved the fun, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> twilight reigned in most of +the passages, and rendered many hairbreadth escapes possible. Nora +actually had her hand on Beryl's foot without discovering the fact; +Effie crept inside a suit of armour, and baffled pursuit for ever so +long; and Marjorie was almost given up, but at length was discovered +crouching in a dark angle which the others had passed several times +without noticing her.</p> + +<p>It was now the turn of Lindsay and Cicely to hide. They were determined +to choose a specially good place, and debated the point until the latter +grew impatient.</p> + +<p>"Do be quick!" she exclaimed. "They'll soon have finished counting a +hundred."</p> + +<p>"I can't make up my mind whether it's better behind the tapestry or +under the ottoman," deliberated Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Cuckoo!" cried Beryl's voice.</p> + +<p>"They're coming! We've no time for either. We must get into the old +box-settle."</p> + +<p>It was the only possible retreat near at hand. Already they could hear +the girls' footsteps creaking along the oaken boards of the picture +gallery; in another moment they would have turned into the passage, and +reached the top of the stairs. Without more ado both hiders scrambled +inside the settle, and pulled down the lid over their heads.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was a very tight fit indeed for two, and most uncomfortable.</p> + +<p>"Could you let me have an inch more room?" begged Cicely in an agonized +whisper.</p> + +<p>"I'll try," returned Lindsay.</p> + +<p>It was difficult to stir in such narrow quarters. To move at all, she +was obliged to make a vigorous heave towards her end of the chest. The +effect was as unexpected as extraordinary. Lo and behold! the entire +bottom of the settle seemed to give way, and without any warning the two +girls were precipitated into some unknown place below.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>A Surprise</h3> + + +<p>So sudden was their descent that Lindsay and Cicely had no time even to +cry out. They evidently had not fallen far, and though for a moment they +both thought they were killed, they soon found that beyond a few bruises +neither was hurt. They picked themselves up in a state of bewilderment, +and stared around them as if hardly realizing yet what had happened.</p> + +<p>They were in a little low chamber about eight feet square. The walls +were of unpolished oak timbers, roughly plastered in between, and the +floor also was of oak beams. In one corner there was a tiny window, +covered with a mass of cobwebs, through which nevertheless came +sufficient light to enable them to see their surroundings. The trapdoor +in the ceiling, through which they had dropped so unexpectedly, must +have worked on a swivel, for it had righted itself again, and was once +more closed above them.</p> + +<p>Still half-dazed, the girls stood for a moment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> trying to recover their +scattered wits, too shaken and amazed even to speak.</p> + +<p>"Well!" exclaimed Lindsay at last, with a volume of meaning in the +monosyllable.</p> + +<p>"This is a house of surprises!" cried Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Where are we?"</p> + +<p>"How can I tell?"</p> + +<p>"We seemed to tumble through the bottom of the settle."</p> + +<p>"Yes, after you gave that great lurch to your end."</p> + +<p>"We must be in another secret hiding-place."</p> + +<p>"Then I vote we hunt about, and see what's in it."</p> + +<p>One side of the small room was completely filled, as high as the +ceiling, with a pile of boxes. They seemed a very miscellaneous +collection. There were ancient hair trunks, such as were in use seventy +or eighty years ago, made of wood covered with cow hide, with the hair +left on; there were leather portmanteaux with strong brass corners, tin +trunks, and even plain wooden packing-cases. On the floor, and leaning +against the boxes, stood a row of fair-sized linen bags, and a couple of +larger sacks.</p> + +<p>It seemed to the girls as if they must have penetrated to some forgotten +lumber room. Everything was thickly covered with the accumulated dirt +and cobwebs of years. They could have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> written their names in the dust. +As if she were moving in a dream, Lindsay stooped, and picked up one of +the linen bags.</p> + +<p>"How heavy it is!" she said. "I wonder what's inside?"</p> + +<p>"It feels like something hard," replied Cicely, pinching it critically +with her finger and thumb.</p> + +<p>The mouth was secured by a cord, and Lindsay fumbled long trying to +untie the knot.</p> + +<p>"Oh! don't bother over it; here's my penknife," cried Cicely, waxing +impatient.</p> + +<p>In another moment she had cut the string, and a shower of golden +sovereigns came pouring out on to the floor. The two girls looked at +each other, with faces that were almost awe-stricken.</p> + +<p>"Cicely!" said Lindsay solemnly. "I verily believe we have found Sir +Giles's fortune!"</p> + +<p>A further examination established the matter beyond any doubt. The bags +were filled to the brim with gold pieces. In a state of intense +excitement the girls continued their investigations. The two large sacks +contained salvers, tankards, and goblets, dull and tarnished indeed, but +unmistakably of silver. It was difficult to get at the boxes, but they +managed to clamber up and open one at the top of the pile, disclosing +more silver articles and some ornaments of gold.</p> + +<p>"Don't let us pull out too many things, or we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> shan't be able to stuff +them back again," said Cicely, trying to close the lid of the +overflowing hair trunk.</p> + +<p>"No doubt these underneath are filled with money or jewels," said +Lindsay rapturously.</p> + +<p>"This little box seems made of silver," remarked Cicely, taking up a +small antique casket that specially claimed her attention. Its sides +were beautifully chased in classic designs, and it bore the Courtenay +arms on the lid.</p> + +<p>"It's full of pieces of paper, with figures on them," she continued.</p> + +<p>"Let me look!" cried Lindsay. "Why, don't you see?—they're bank notes!"</p> + +<p>They were certainly in the midst of treasures. The extent of Sir Giles's +hoard had evidently not been exaggerated. At the bottom of the casket +lay a letter addressed:</p> + +<p class="center"> +"TO MY GREAT-NIECE MONICA COURTENAY." +</p> + +<p>"The writing on the envelope is exactly the same as in the <i>Floral +Calendar</i>," said Cicely. "I remember those funny flourishes, and the +'a's' not closed at the top."</p> + +<p>"So it is; I should know the sprawling look of it anywhere."</p> + +<p>"It's such funny, old-fashioned writing, as if it were done with a quill +pen. I think we had better put this away again."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p> + +<p>Lindsay replaced the letter carefully with the bank notes inside the +silver box.</p> + +<p>"Then Sir Giles did intend the enigma for a guide," she observed. "The +last lines were right.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">'... you'll see 'tis a matter</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perchance may provide you with just a lost link,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And bring you a greater reward than you think.'"</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"And the settle concealed the legacy after all!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, a great deal more safely than we supposed."</p> + +<p>"I never imagined the treasure would be in a place like this, all stowed +away in old boxes! I thought we should press a secret spring, and a +panel would fly open in the wall, and then we should see money and +jewels lying together in a big heap!"</p> + +<p>"I don't mind how we've found it, so long as it's here."</p> + +<p>"Still, it's a surprise!"</p> + +<p>"It will be a splendid surprise for Monica. This is actually her very +own."</p> + +<p>"She would have been content with a hundred guineas, and there are more +than a hundred guineas here," said Cicely, letting some of the +sovereigns slide through her fingers with a sigh of satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"She ought to know about it at once," returned Lindsay. "If you can tear +yourself away from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> these money bags, we'd better be thinking of going."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I suppose it's time we went back. By the by, how are we to get out +of this place?"</p> + +<p>Ah! How to go back?—that was the question! The trapdoor had shut itself +high above their heads.</p> + +<p>"I expect if we stand on one of the boxes, we can push it up!" said +Lindsay.</p> + +<p>With much difficulty they dragged a heavy chest across the floor and +climbed upon it. It was a fruitless effort. However hard they might try, +the trapdoor would not budge an inch.</p> + +<p>"There may be a secret spring," faltered Cicely, feeling in every +direction to find some bolt or knob, but all in vain. Then the horrible +truth broke upon them. They were locked up as securely as the legacy!</p> + +<p>"What are we to do?"</p> + +<p>Lindsay's pink cheeks were white with alarm.</p> + +<p>"Let us call. Perhaps the girls are hunting for us still in the passage, +and they may hear."</p> + +<p>Both shouted until they were hoarse, yet there was no reply. This was +indeed hide-and-seek with a vengeance. Their game had turned out more +than they had bargained for.</p> + +<p>"I'll bang on the ceiling. It may sound louder than calling," said +Lindsay. "The girls must have given us up, and gone downstairs, for +no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>body seems to hear," she continued, after belabouring the trapdoor for +several minutes.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps they're at tea," suggested Cicely.</p> + +<p>They examined the little window in the corner, but the fastenings were +so rusty from long disuse that, tug as they would, they could not open +it. They wiped away the dust and cobwebs from it, and peeped out.</p> + +<p>"If it overlooks the garden, we could smash the glass and wave a +handkerchief, at any rate," proposed Lindsay. "Scott would be almost +sure to notice it, even if nobody else were out in the rain."</p> + +<p>Alas! the window appeared to be securely hidden away among the gables, +and absolutely out of sight from below.</p> + +<p>"Would it be possible to crawl on to the roof?"</p> + +<p>Lindsay shook her head in reply. The frame was too small for even the +slim Cicely to squeeze through. The girls sat down and surveyed the +piles of treasure around them with dismay. If they had required a sermon +on the vanity of riches, it was there without any need of words.</p> + +<p>"We can't eat bank notes, nor sleep on beds of sovereigns," remarked +Lindsay at last.</p> + +<p>"We may be shut up here for days and days before they find us," said +Cicely blankly.</p> + +<p>"They'll miss us directly, of course; but they won't know where to look. +Even if they peeped inside the settle, they wouldn't be any the wiser."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Do you remember the piece of poetry we read last week about Ginevra? +She hid inside a chest on her wedding day, when they were playing +hide-and-seek, and the lid snapped with a spring lock. They never found +her—only her bones, years afterwards!"</p> + +<p>"Don't talk of such horrible things."</p> + +<p>"How long does it take people to starve?" continued Cicely in a +tremulous voice.</p> + +<p>"About ten days, I believe. They grow gradually weaker and weaker."</p> + +<p>Cicely groaned.</p> + +<p>"There isn't anything to drink either, and I'm getting so thirsty," she +said, her eyes filling with tears.</p> + +<p>"We must try again," declared Lindsay, jumping up. "Let us pull out +another trunk, and manage to lift it on to the chest. I believe if I +were nearer the ceiling I should be able to push harder."</p> + +<p>The boxes were arranged in a rather random fashion, so that as the girls +dragged one from the bottom, the whole pile came tumbling down in +confusion. They had to jump aside to avoid being hurt. When the upset +was over, Cicely pointed silently to the wall opposite. In the part +which before had been hidden was a small, low door. Here, surely, was a +chance of escape.</p> + +<p>They scrambled over the packing-cases and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> trunks without troubling to +look inside them, though some had burst open in the fall. To find a way +out seemed at present far more important than more silver tankards and +salvers.</p> + +<p>Was this exit also secured? With trembling hands Lindsay raised the +latch. To her intense relief the door opened, showing a very narrow, +unlighted passage.</p> + +<p>After their experience in the garret it was not encouraging to find +themselves once more obliged to explore in the dark, but there seemed +nothing else to be done.</p> + +<p>"It must lead somewhere," said Cicely. "I'd rather go anywhere than stay +here."</p> + +<p>"We'd better step carefully, in case the floor is as rotten as it was in +the other place," cautioned Lindsay. The passage smelled dank and close. +The air in it had probably been unstirred for many years. The faint +light which entered it from the treasure room was soon lost, and they +were obliged to grope their way by feeling along the walls. On and on +they went for what appeared to be a considerable distance, sometimes +turning sharp corners, and sometimes going up or down rickety steps.</p> + +<p>"It must run half round the house," said Cicely. "Shall we never get to +the end?"</p> + +<p>Suddenly Lindsay, who was walking first, came to a halt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I can't go any farther," she faltered; "there's a wall in front."</p> + +<p>The poor girls were almost in despair. They had been so confident that +the passage would surely be taking them to the outer world; to find +themselves once more at a full stop was a terrible blow.</p> + +<p>"Must we go all that dreadful long way back?" wailed Cicely.</p> + +<p>"I expect there is some door that we've passed without knowing it," +replied Lindsay, rather chokily.</p> + +<p>"Then we can never find it in the dark. It's no use. We shall both +starve to death here, and they'll discover our skeletons a hundred years +afterwards."</p> + +<p>Cicely had utterly broken down, and was sobbing bitterly.</p> + +<p>"We won't give up too soon," said Lindsay, whose sturdy courage stood +her in good stead on this occasion.</p> + +<p>She had been feeling about here and there on the blank wall that faced +them, and her fingers at last encountered something that seemed like a +sliding bolt. She pushed it back eagerly. A door opened outwards, +letting in a blaze of light. To their utter amazement they were gazing +down into the picture gallery!</p> + +<p>It did not take them many seconds to spring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> to the floor and turn round +to look through what aperture they had made their escape. It was the +portrait of Monica Courtenay that formed the secret exit. It had swung +out, frame and all, into the gallery, and appeared to be fitted with +hinges so as to close and unclose quite easily.</p> + +<p>"Now I see why the picture shook in its frame that day!" exclaimed +Cicely. "I wonder we never thought of this before."</p> + +<p>"And of course that was why she was supposed to guard the fortunes of +the Courtenays. No doubt they always kept their valuables in this +hiding-place, and only the head of the family would know the way to it."</p> + +<p>"So old sayings do generally mean something, and aren't just nonsense."</p> + +<p>"Let us go and tell at once. Everybody'll be wondering where we are. +They must be doing prep. now, and Miss Russell will be sitting with the +first class."</p> + +<p>The headmistress's tranquil demeanour was not usually easily ruffled, +but she sprang up in excitement as her two missing pupils burst into the +library proclaiming the glorious news.</p> + +<p>"Lindsay and Cicely! Where have you been? I was growing most uneasy at +your absence. You say you have actually found Sir Giles's treasure? It +is hardly to be credited. Girls, girls, try to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> calm yourselves and give +me an intelligible account!" as first one and then the other took up the +tale in disjointed sentences.</p> + +<p>"We played hide-and-seek—and fell through the bottom of the +settle—there were great bags of gold—and boxes of silver things and +bank notes—won't she be rich? And he'd written it in an enigma—we +thought we were going to starve there like Ginevra—and we climbed down +through the portrait—oh, may we go and tell Monica about it now?"</p> + +<p>"This is indeed a most extraordinary discovery," said Miss Russell, when +at length she had drawn from them a more lucid statement of affairs. +"Monica must certainly know, but no one is to tell her except myself. I +will go down presently to the cottage and see her, and warn her to break +the news very gently to her mother. If Mrs. Courtenay were to hear of it +suddenly, the shock might be exceedingly dangerous, in her weak state of +health."</p> + +<p>The news that something of great importance had happened seemed to +spread like wildfire through the school. Both teachers and pupils, +abandoning their books, came crowding into the library to hear +particulars. Even the servants hurried to the spot.</p> + +<p>"Oh, bless you, bless you!" cried Mrs. Wilson, who had pushed her way +among the girls to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> central source of information. "This is indeed a +day of rejoicing—a day to remember and give thanks for to the end of +one's life!"</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely stared at her in amazement. Was it actually "The +Griffin" who was speaking? And were those tears that were trickling down +her hard cheeks? What did it mean? Was she acting a part? Or had they +after all misjudged her? There was no time then for either surmises or +explanations. They were the heroines of the hour, and had to repeat +their story afresh to those who had not yet heard it at first hand.</p> + +<p>"We couldn't imagine where you were hidden," said Marjorie Butler. "We +were hunting in the picture gallery for ever so long. Beryl peeped +inside the settle, and said it was empty."</p> + +<p>"We were still more puzzled when you didn't turn up for tea," said Nora +Proctor. "Do tell us again about the bags of money!"</p> + +<p>Miss Russell, however, thinking the excitement had lasted long enough, +interfered and put a stop to the recital.</p> + +<p>"Everybody must go back to preparation at once," she decreed. "Lindsay +and Cicely have had no tea. Are you hungry?" she added, turning to the +adventurous pair.</p> + +<p>"Starving," they replied laconically.</p> + +<p>"Then I will excuse your preparation to-night,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> and you may come with me +to the dining-room. It would be rather hard to expect you to set to work +upon lessons immediately after such an experience."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>Good-bye to the Manor</h3> + + +<p>Monica's agitation, when she heard that her uncle's legacy had been +found, was extreme. At first she refused to believe it; but when she was +told the story of Lindsay's and Cicely's strange adventure, she began +slowly to realize that it was no fairy tale, and that the fortune, so +sorely needed and so much longed for, was lying awaiting her disposal.</p> + +<p>"The money is there, and I can have some of it now?" she asked, still +almost incredulously. "Will there be as much as a hundred guineas?"</p> + +<p>"Far more than that, my dear, from the girls' account."</p> + +<p>"Then we can send for Sir William Garrett!" she said, with a sigh of +intense relief.</p> + +<p>Miss Russell, who did not like the responsibility of being even a +temporary custodian of such riches, had informed the Rector of what had +occurred, and requested him to come to the Manor and help her to +investigate the matter. As he was Monica's guardian, he seemed the +proper person to take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> charge of her affairs. He arrived next morning, +and, accompanied by Miss Russell and Monica, made a careful examination +of the hiding-place and its contents. At the mistress's urgent request, +he promised to arrange that all the valuables should be removed as +speedily as possible to the bank.</p> + +<p>"I could not sleep with them in the house, I should be so afraid of +burglars, now the news of the discovery has been spread abroad," +declared Miss Russell.</p> + +<p>"They were only too safe here," said Monica.</p> + +<p>"Yes, when their whereabouts was a mystery. It is different when +everyone knows."</p> + +<p>The wealth which old Sir Giles had stored in the secret room was +considerable. He had evidently distrusted investments, and, following +his own singular whim, had hoarded his money in gold and bank notes. +There were precious stones also, in themselves worth a small fortune, +which he must have collected, in addition to the family jewels and the +old silver plate that had been handed down through generations of +Courtenays.</p> + +<p>After looking through some of the boxes, the Rector picked up the +casket, and made a short scrutiny of its contents.</p> + +<p>"This envelope is addressed to you, Monica," he observed.</p> + +<p>The girl took it hesitatingly, then passed it back to her guardian.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It seems like a message from the dead," she said. "I think, please, I +would rather that you should read it aloud."</p> + +<p>The letter was well in keeping with its writer's eccentric and morbid +character. It ran thus:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My Dear Monica</span></span>,</p> + +<p>"Gold, silver, and precious stones are but vanity of vanities, a +snare to many, and the root of all evil. By the time you claim +these, I trust you will have found how easy it is to dispense with +them, and that you will despise them as much as I do.</p> + +<p>"They have never brought me any happiness, and I am uncertain +whether it is a kindness to bequeath to you what to me has been but +an irksome encumbrance. After giving long and earnest thought to +the matter, I have decided to leave it in the hands of destiny.</p> + +<p>"I shall lay by these possessions in the hidden chamber, the +existence of which was told me by my grandfather, and now is +unknown to any except myself. I have concealed the secret, however, +in an enigma, which, if you have followed my advice concerning the +study of Botany, you will have found written inside the cover of +the <i>Floral Calendar</i>.</p> + +<p>"Should Heaven ordain that you are to take up this burden, then you +will read my riddle aright. Should it be otherwise decreed, this +message will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> never meet your eyes. Believe me that I have striven +to act for your best good.</p> + +<p class="center"> +"From your uncle and well-wisher,<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 12em;">"Giles Pemberton Courtenay.</span>"<br /> +</p> + +</div> + +<p>"He seemed quite afraid for me to have this money," faltered poor +Monica, on whom the letter had left a deep impression. "Shall I regret +it? Is it really such a dangerous thing?"</p> + +<p>"Not if you make a wise use of it. In your hands I hope it may prove a +blessing instead of a curse," answered the Rector.</p> + +<p>"It does not seem to have brought any happiness to Uncle Giles. He calls +it a burden."</p> + +<p>"Riches can never bring happiness unless they are being employed for the +benefit of others."</p> + +<p>"It is sad to think how long these have lain idle," remarked Miss +Russell. "Monica will be able to do much good with them."</p> + +<p>"Then you are sure I may take them?" asked Monica, turning to her +guardian. "I didn't find out the enigma myself, you see."</p> + +<p>"I am certain you may receive the legacy without scruple, my dear child! +Your uncle himself said he had left matters to the disposal of destiny. +It appears to me as if Lindsay and Cicely had been led just at the right +time to this happy discovery. You must accept your fortune as a special<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> +gift of Providence. So far it has been a talent laid up in a napkin; it +can now be your care to let it yield ten talents in return."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Though Lindsay and Cicely had satisfactorily accomplished their quest, +they felt there were many points in connection with their adventure at +the Manor that still puzzled them. The mystery surrounding the lantern +room had not yet been cleared up, neither had the strange behaviour of +Mrs. Wilson and Scott been accounted for.</p> + +<p>So anxious were they to decide these perplexing points that they +determined to confide the whole affair to Monica, and see if she could +offer any explanation. A month ago it would have been impossible to get +her for half an hour to themselves, but since their finding of the +treasure the other girls were ready to allow them a special claim to her +society, and took it as a matter of course when they carried her off to +the summer house for a private chat.</p> + +<p>Monica listened attentively to the story of their various experiences +and suspicions. At the end she laughed heartily, then suddenly looked +grave.</p> + +<p>"You dear silly children!" she exclaimed. "It was a case of much ado +about nothing, and yet you nearly ran into such great danger that it +makes me shudder even to think about it. There<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> certainly was a reason +for visiting the attic, though not at all of the kind you imagined. It +contains a large cistern, which supplies the water for the bath and the +kitchen boiler. This is fed by a tank on the roof that catches the rain, +and in dry weather it is apt to get out of order. If it is not working +properly, it makes a curious blowing noise."</p> + +<p>"Like groaning?" asked Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Yes, very like groaning, though it would need a gigantic prisoner to +utter such fearful moans of distress. No wonder you thought somebody was +being tortured!" and Monica laughed again.</p> + +<p>"You can understand," she continued, "that with so many girls in the +house requiring baths, we were afraid lest the tank should run dry, and +were continually examining the cistern, to make sure that the water was +flowing properly. If it had stopped even for an hour, it might have +caused the kitchen boiler to burst."</p> + +<p>"Did Mrs. Wilson go to look, then?" enquired Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Either Mrs. Wilson or Scott went every day. My mother was so anxious +about it that I several times ran up myself, so that I could tell her +all was perfectly safe. Mrs. Wilson was equally nervous. We had so +little rain in June that she was sure the tank must be nearly empty."</p> + +<p>"Then that was what she and Scott meant about<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> the noise and danger, +when they were talking in the picture gallery!" interposed Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Monica. "When people try to overhear conversations, and +put two and two together for themselves, they rarely succeed in coming +to a right conclusion."</p> + +<p>Lindsay and Cicely blushed. They had known from the first that Monica +would not approve of either eavesdropping or peeping through keyholes. +This was the part of the business of which they both felt rather +ashamed; they were conscious that there had been a great deal of +curiosity mixed up with their efforts on her behalf. Monica, however, +took no notice of their heightened colour, and went on:</p> + +<p>"Both Scott and Mrs. Wilson were quite right in wishing to keep you away +from the attics; you will understand when I explain why. The +hiding-place in the lantern room is a relic of the times of King James +I. Have you learnt yet in your history books what severe penal laws were +made against Roman Catholics in those days? Any priest found celebrating +Mass might be executed, and often he was tortured first to make him tell +the whereabouts of his companions. Our ancestors, who lived then at the +Manor, still belonged to the old faith, and they needed some spot where +they could worship without fear of being disturbed; so they made the +secret entrance through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> the cupboard, and private services were held in +the great garret. Even with such precautions it was a very dangerous +thing for a priest to remain long in a country house. If his presence +were suspected, and information given, a party of soldiers would at once +come with a search warrant to hunt for him.</p> + +<p>"Then he would have to be ready to hurry away into some safer retreat +still, in case his first place of concealment were discovered. At the +end of the farther attic there is a small cupboard most cunningly hidden +in the wall. In front of it there is a shaft, a great, horrible, yawning +chasm, several feet wide and very deep, going quite to the basement of +the house. It was intended as a trap to baffle pursuers, who would fall +down it in the dark when chasing their fugitive."</p> + +<p>"Is the shaft still there?" asked Cicely.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is quite untouched and open. It is in such a far-away part of +the attic that nobody has considered it worth while to go to the trouble +of having it covered in. Now you can understand how alarmed Mrs. Wilson +was when she found that some of you had been in the lantern room. She +didn't believe you would really be able to find your way through the +cupboard; still, she was never easy when she thought of the danger you +might perhaps run into. She couldn't rest until Scott had padlocked the +door."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p> + +<p>"We were very near it," said Cicely, with a shiver.</p> + +<p>"It was the greatest mercy you didn't venture any farther. I can't be +too thankful that the cistern made a noise just at that moment, and +frightened you down again."</p> + +<p>"Then you knew of this secret door, though not of the one in the picture +gallery?" said Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"Yes; it was discovered two centuries ago, in the reign of Queen Anne, I +believe. In many old manor houses there are equally clever contrivances +for hiding-places. They are often called 'priests' holes'. I've heard of +one under the steps of the stairs, and another in a window-seat, or up a +chimney, or even behind a picture."</p> + +<p>"Like ours," said Cicely.</p> + +<p>"No doubt the one under the settle may have been a 'priests' hole' too, +and perhaps had the second entrance for extra security. Very sad stories +are told about some of the hiding-places. Sometimes the poor fugitive +couldn't find an opportunity to get away, and the person who knew the +secret, and should have brought him food, was killed or taken prisoner. +Then he either had to come out, and deliver himself up to the soldiers, +or to remain and die a slow, lingering death of starvation."</p> + +<p>"I thought we were going to do that when we were locked in with the +treasure," remarked Cicely.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p> + +<p>"How much did Merle find out in the lantern room?" interposed Lindsay.</p> + +<p>"She happened to pull at the lantern, and had just the same surprise as +you," replied Monica. "She had gone a few steps into the passage when I +came down from looking at the cistern, and met her, much to her +astonishment. Of course I explained everything, and begged her not to +tell, because we didn't want any more schoolgirls to start exploring."</p> + +<p>"Then it was to you she gave that mysterious promise?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly it was to me. I'm glad to hear she kept it so well."</p> + +<p>"But I still don't half understand," said Lindsay. "We thought Mrs. +Wilson and Scott were hiding the treasure up there. We saw them take a +sack into the garden one night and bury something."</p> + +<p>"You managed to give poor Scott a great fright," laughed Monica. "He +told me about it the next day. He was doing nothing more dreadful than +digging out a wasps' nest. Mrs. Wilson had discovered it in the bank, +and she went with him to show him the place and help him. Of course it +could not be done by daylight, when the wasps were flying about; but at +dark, when they were all safely inside their hole, Scott burnt tobacco +to stupefy them, and then took the nest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> He said two of the young +ladies had suddenly tumbled down the bank while he was at work, and +startled him terribly."</p> + +<p>"So he and Mrs. Wilson weren't burying the treasure after all? They +didn't even try to steal it?"</p> + +<p>"No, indeed! I feel sorry to think they should have been suspected for a +moment of such bad intentions. Mrs. Wilson may be rather gruff and blunt +in her manners, but she is a faithful old soul, and devoted to Mother +and me. I believe she would have starved rather than touch a penny that +belonged to us. And Scott too is absolutely honest. I assure you he +keeps nothing stowed away inside the cucumber frames! Naturally Mrs. +Wilson had often looked for the hiding-place, but it was all on my +behalf, and nobody rejoiced more heartily than she did when it was +found."</p> + +<p>"We were on a completely wrong track," said Lindsay. "The only right +clue was the enigma. I'm glad we puzzled that out, though we didn't win +any prizes in the competition."</p> + +<p>"And yet the enigma was no real use," put in Cicely. "We shouldn't have +gone through the bottom of the settle if we hadn't been playing +hide-and-seek. Isn't it queer that when we tried so hard to find the +secret room we couldn't, and then that we should come across it just by +accident?"</p> + +<p>To Monica the affair seemed no accident, but,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> as the Rector had said, a +merciful arrangement of Providence. It enabled her to send for Sir +William Garrett, and the great specialist arrived in the course of the +next few days. After examining Mrs. Courtenay, he gave a more favourable +report on her case than her own physician had dared to hope.</p> + +<p>"You have consulted me in the nick of time," was his verdict. "I trust +to be able to effect a complete cure. A winter in the south would work +wonders, and, if my treatment is thoroughly carried out, she should +return to Haversleigh in the spring with restored health."</p> + +<p>It was an intense relief to be thus reassured. Monica felt as if a heavy +weight had been lifted from her mind. When the doctors had finally taken +their departure, she ran to share her good news with her friends at the +Manor.</p> + +<p>"Of course," she explained, "Mother will require the greatest care, but +we can give her anything now that she needs. Sir William Garrett has +promised to send a nurse from London who understands his special +treatment, and who could go with us to Italy in the autumn. Oh, how +splendid it will be when I can bring her back absolutely strong and +well! I can hardly feel thankful enough. And it is all owing to you," +she added, kissing Lindsay and Cicely with tears in her eyes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p> + +<p>It had come at length to the very end of the term; the girls were making +up their minds to bid a reluctant good-bye to the beautiful old house +where they had spent such a pleasant and eventful twelve weeks.</p> + +<p>"If we weren't going home, I couldn't bear to leave it," said Cicely. +"I've grown so fond of everything. Our dear bedroom, with its big +four-poster (I love those yellow brocaded curtains), and the roses round +the window that smell so delicious first thing when one wakes in the +morning, and the dining-hall, and the picture gallery, and the library, +and the oak parlour where we have lessons, and, above all, the garden. +Oh dear, it makes me quite sad to think perhaps I may never see them +again! What a change to settle down at Winterburn Lodge in September!"</p> + +<p>"I suppose life can't be all honey; we shall have to go back to plain +bread and butter now," replied Lindsay philosophically. "But I'll tell +you a secret to cheer you up. Monica says her mother has promised that +when they return from Italy she'll ask you and me to spend part of the +summer holidays at the Manor. But she doesn't wish us to let any of the +other girls know of the invitation just at present."</p> + +<p>"How perfectly delightful!" exclaimed Cicely, with shining eyes.</p> + +<p>"It's a whole year off yet."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I don't mind, so long as I can think of coming here again some time, +and being Monica's visitor. It's something to look forward to."</p> + +<p>The last day arrived, as last days invariably do, whether one is longing +for their advent or the reverse. Boxes had been brought down and packed, +and Miss Russell's linen and silver had been collected and stowed away +in great wicker baskets, which were already dispatched on their road to +London. The girls, marshalled in order on the drive, were only waiting +for the word "March!" to start for the railway station.</p> + +<p>Monica stood on the steps to see them off, her pretty, fair face and +rich chestnut hair framed in the oak doorway.</p> + +<p>"I shall miss you all dreadfully," she said. "It has been a great +pleasure for me to have you here. Please don't forget me."</p> + +<p>"We're not likely to do that," replied Mildred Roper, speaking for +herself and the rest. "We've spent a glorious three months. It's been +more like holidays than school. I think every one of us, to the end of +her life, will remember this summer term at the old Manor. Good-bye!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Manor House School, by Angela Brazil + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MANOR HOUSE SCHOOL *** + +***** This file should be named 28974-h.htm or 28974-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/9/7/28974/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Manor House School + +Author: Angela Brazil + +Illustrator: A. A. Dixon + +Release Date: May 26, 2009 [EBook #28974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MANOR HOUSE SCHOOL *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +[Illustration: GLORIOUS NEWS!] + + + + +The Manor House School + +BY + +ANGELA BRAZIL + +Author of "The Nicest Girl in the School" "The Third Class at Miss +Kaye's" "The Fortunes of Philippa" &c. + +_ILLUSTRATED BY A. A. DIXON_ + +BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED LONDON GLASGOW AND BOMBAY + + + + +Contents + + CHAP. Page + + I. NORA'S NEWS 9 + + II. AN INTERESTING STRANGER 22 + + III. A STRONG SUSPICION 36 + + IV. HAVERSLEIGH 50 + + V. AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT 67 + + VI. MONICA 80 + + VII. LINDSAY'S LUCK 94 + + VIII. PENDLE TOR 111 + + IX. THE PLOT THICKENS 127 + + X. UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE 143 + + XI. SIR MERVYN'S TOWER 161 + + XII. AN ENIGMA 178 + + XIII. LINDSAY MAKES A RESOLVE 189 + + XIV. THE LANTERN ROOM 202 + + XV. HIDE-AND-SEEK 215 + + XVI. A SURPRISE 229 + + XVII. GOOD-BYE TO THE MANOR 243 + + + + +Illustrations + + Page + + GLORIOUS NEWS! _Frontispiece_ 239 + + "SHE OPENED THE DOOR CAUTIOUSLY" 35 + + "I KNOW WHAT MONICA WAS GOING TO SAY" 93 + + AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT 139 + + THE SECRET DOOR 202 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +Nora's News + + +It was the first week of the summer term at Winterburn Lodge. Afternoon +preparation was over, and most of the girls had left the classroom for a +chat and a stroll round the playground until the tea-bell should ring. +From the tennis court came the sounds of the soft thud of balls and a +few excited voices recording the score; while through the open windows +of the house floated the strains of three pianos, on which three +separate pieces were being practised in three different keys, the +mingled result forming a particularly inharmonious jangle. + +On a bench in the corner by the swing two yellow heads and a brown one +might be seen bent in close proximity over a rather dilapidated atlas. +Their respective owners were apparently making a half-hearted endeavour +to hunt out a list of towns upon the map of England, and were amusing +themselves between whiles with the pleasant, though somewhat +unprofitable pastime of grumbling. + +"I hate geography!" declared Lindsay Hepburn. "If we could be taken a +picnic to each of the places, there'd be some sense in it; but to have +to reel off a string of tiresome names that don't mean anything at all +to you--I call it stupid!" + +"It's such a fearfully long lesson, too!" agreed Cicely Chalmers +dolefully. "Miss Frazer might have set us a shorter one for the first! +It's really too bad of her to make us begin with two pages and a half in +a new book! I'm sure I shall never get it into my head, if I try till +midnight." + +"I wonder why things always seem so much harder to learn when one's just +come back after the holidays?" propounded Marjorie Butler with a +melancholy yawn. + +"I don't know. I suppose because it all feels so horrid. It's perfectly +dreadful to think what a huge time it is until we can go home again." + +"Thirteen whole weeks! And every one of them will be exactly the same: +lessons with Miss Frazer or Mademoiselle, an hour's practising, a walk +in the park or along the Surrey Road, and a game of tennis when you can +manage to get hold of the court. There's never anything different, +unless Miss Russell takes us to a museum or a concert, and that doesn't +happen often, worse luck!" + +Lindsay's picture of the forthcoming term certainly did not seem a +remarkably enlivening one, and the other two groaned at the prospect. + +"I wish one wasn't obliged to go to a boarding school," said Cicely in +an injured tone. + +"Girls! Girls!" cried a fourth voice, breaking abruptly into the +conversation, "I've been hunting for you everywhere. I thought you were +in the house or the gymnasium. Oh! I've such a piece of news to tell +you!" + +"What's the matter, Nora?" enquired Marjorie, for the newcomer was out +of breath, and looked as excited as if it were breaking-up day. + +"Come here and sit between us," added Lindsay, pushing the others +farther along the seat to make room. + +"Is it anything really nice?" asked Cicely. + +"It depends on what you call 'nice'. I'll give you each six guesses, and +even then I don't believe one of you'll be right." + +"Miss Frazer doesn't mean to take geography to-morrow?" + +"Absolutely wrong, though I wish she wouldn't." + +"Somebody has broken another window with a tennis ball?" + +"Don't be silly! It's much more interesting than that." + +"Miss Russell's going to give us a holiday?" + +"You're getting warm! Try again." + +"Oh, we can't!" + +"We give it up!" + +"Go on and tell!" + +"Do you remember that just before Easter a gentleman came with Dr. +Redford, and they both went over the school, peeping and poking about in +such a mysterious manner?" + +"Yes, we wondered what they were doing." + +"Well, it turns out that he's a sanitary inspector, and he's sent a +report to Miss Russell to say that the drains are wrong, and must be +taken up immediately." + +"Is that your grand news?" + +"No, it's only the first part of it. Let me finish, and then you'll see. +Dr. Redford says the drains can't possibly be touched while we're all in +the house, and yet they must be opened at once. Can't you guess now?" + +"Miss Russell never means to send us home when we've only just come +back?" gasped Lindsay hopefully. + +"No, not that, though it's nearly as jolly. She's taken a beautiful old +manor house in the country, and it's to be our school for the whole of +the summer term. We're to go there in a body--girls, and teachers, and +servants, and everyone." + +If Nora had hoped to astonish her companions she had certainly +succeeded. They were wild with curiosity, and fired off questions all +three together. + +"Where is it?" + +"When are we going?" + +"How did you get to know?" + +"One at a time, please," said Nora, enjoying her importance. "I met +Mildred Roper in the hall just now. Miss Russell has been explaining it +to the monitresses, and said they might tell us as soon as they liked. +It's a lovely Elizabethan house, at a place called Haversleigh, a long +way from here. We're to start next Tuesday." + +Such a tremendous event as the removal of the school from town to +country was without precedent in the annals of Winterburn Lodge. + +"It's almost too good to be true," cried Cicely rapturously. + +"It will be like the last day and setting off for the seaside both +together," declared Lindsay, waltzing round the seat in the exuberance +of her spirits. + +"Not quite, because we shall have lessons when we get there," corrected +Nora. + +"Well, at any rate it'll be ever so much nicer than being in London." + +"Hurrah for the old Manor!" shouted Marjorie Butler, clapping her hands. + +Miss Russell had indeed been much alarmed by the sanitary inspector's +report. She was determined to make the change without delay, and hurried +on the preparation as speedily as possible. + +Boxes were brought down from the attic, and teachers and monitresses +were kept busy superintending the packing of clothes, linen, +schoolbooks, and numberless other articles. For the few days that +remained work was relaxed, the headmistress's chief anxiety seeming to +be the health of the girls, and her one object to take them away before +any sign of illness should break out amongst them. + +"Miss Russell looked so worried when I told her my head ached," said +Nora Proctor. "She asked every one of us afterwards if we had sore +throats." + +"I was silly enough to say I thought mine felt a little scrapy," said +Lindsay ruefully. "I soon wished I hadn't, because she gave me a +horribly nasty disinfectant lozenge, and told me to suck it slowly until +I'd finished it. Ugh! I can taste it yet!" + +"I'm absolutely sick of the smell of carbolic. There's a jar full in +every room," said Cicely. + +"Never mind! You'll only have to endure it for one day more. We're +actually off to-morrow." + +Those in authority might certainly be excused if they looked worried, +for it was no light task to accomplish so much in such a short space of +time. By Tuesday morning, however, the final arrangements were +completed; the rows of boxes were locked, strapped, and piled on railway +carts; while the girls, an excited, chattering crew, were ready and +waiting for the omnibuses which were to take them to the station. + +"Good-bye to poor old Winterburn Lodge!" said Cicely, giving a last peep +into the familiar classroom. "We shan't see these maps and desks again +until next September." + +"I wonder how many things will have happened before we come back here?" +said Lindsay thoughtfully. + +It was a long journey into Somerset, but Miss Russell had engaged saloon +carriages, and taken large baskets of lunch; so, in the opinion of her +thirty pupils at least, the expedition felt like a picnic. + +"How I wish we could go every year, or that Miss Russell would remove +into the country altogether," said Beryl Austen, who had secured a +corner seat, and was in raptures over the view. + +"Then it wouldn't be town, and we shouldn't be able to have visiting +masters," said Mildred Roper, one of the monitresses. + +"Who wants them? I'm sure I should be only too delighted never to see +any of them again!" + +Mildred smiled. + +"I suppose, after all, we're sent to school to learn something," she +remarked dryly. "I'm afraid you'll find Miss Frazer will give you plenty +of work to make up for the loss of Herr Hoffmann and Monsieur Guizet." + +"I don't care a scrap, so long as there's fun when lessons are over. +We're going to have a glorious time, and I mean to thoroughly enjoy +myself." + +Beryl only expressed the sentiments of the rest of the girls, most of +whom regarded the coming term in the light of a holiday. As the train +steamed through green meadows and woods just breaking into leaf, it +indeed seemed as if London and professors had been effectually left +behind, and their spirits rose higher with every mile. + +By afternoon they were all impatience to arrive. For fully an hour +before they reached their destination they kept enquiring whether they +must get out at the next station, and were sure that each ancient house +visible from the carriage windows could not fail to be the Manor. + +"Here we are at last!" announced Miss Russell, when, after many false +alarms, the welcome word "Haversleigh" made its appearance in plain +letters, and a porter's voice was heard pronouncing something which bore +a faint resemblance to the name. "Steady, girls! Steady! Remember each +is to take her own bag, and file out in proper order. Nobody is to move +until I say 'March!'" + +Miss Russell first held a review on the platform, to make sure that none +of her pupils or their belongings had gone astray. + +"I am quite relieved we have all arrived safely," she said. "I think we +may congratulate ourselves that not even an umbrella is missing. It is +only half a mile from here to the house, quite an easy walk, so we will +start at once, and leave our luggage to follow." + +In a few minutes more they had passed the ticket collector, and found +themselves on the leafy high road. It seemed as different from London as +a fairy tale from a Latin grammar. There had been a slight shower of +rain, which had brought out the scent of growing grass and budding +leaves; the ground was white with the fallen blossom of blackthorn +hedges; and a thrush, seated on the summit of an apple tree, was pouring +forth a volume of song that sounded almost like a welcome to the +country. + +With so many new sights to gaze at, it was difficult to walk primly two +and two, and the line proved a straggling one, in spite of Miss Frazer's +efforts in the rear. At a pair of great iron gates Miss Russell stopped +and turned to her girls. + +"This is our first glimpse of the Manor," she said, with a touch of +pride in her voice. "I want you to take a good look at your new school." + +It was nicer even than they had expected--a glorious old place, built +partly in Tudor fashion of grey stone, and partly of black and white +timbers. There were latticed windows, and a porch ornamented with stone +balls, and curious twisted chimneys, and picturesque gables at odd +angles. + +"It's like a house out of one of Sir Walter Scott's novels," said +Marjorie Butler. + +"It looks as if one might have all kinds of adventures there," added +Lindsay Hepburn gleefully. + +The inside proved just as satisfactory as the outside. It was delightful +to sit down to tea in a great dining-hall, with a carved roof, and walls +hung with spears, shields, and stags' antlers. + +"I feel we oughtn't to be drinking tea," said Cicely Chalmers. "I'm sure +they didn't have it in Queen Elizabeth's times. It was tankards of ale +or mead in those days." + +"Don't finish your cup, then, if you wish to imagine yourself entirely +in the past," said Mildred Roper. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave the +marmalade too. That's quite a modern invention, and so are the Bath +buns." + +"Don't be horrid!" said Cicely. "It really is an old-fashioned place. +Lindsay and I have got the quaintest panelled bedroom you could possibly +imagine. There's a great four-post bed, with yellow brocaded curtains; +it's big enough to hold six, instead of only two." + +"And there's a lovely library, and a picture gallery, and ever so many +queer rooms and long passages upstairs," put in Nora Proctor. "I got +quite lost, and couldn't find my way down at first." + +"So did I," said Beryl Austen. "I tried to explore a little, but it +looked so dim and dark I didn't dare to go alone, so I turned back. I +thought I might meet a Cavalier or a Roundhead on the landing!" + +Beryl was not the only one to whom their new quarters seemed rather +weird and strange on this first evening of their arrival. After being +accustomed to electric light and modern bedrooms, it was a great change +to walk upstairs with candles to antique chambers that might have +belonged to the Middle Ages. + +"Don't be silly, girls!" exclaimed Miss Russell indignantly, as they +scurried past the suits of armour in the picture gallery. "I shall not +allow any absurd nonsense of this kind. You have no more to be afraid of +here than you had at Winterburn Lodge. I will take you over the house +to-morrow and show you everything, and when you study the real history +of the place you won't want to concern yourselves with silly +superstitions." + +Though the old Manor might look ghostly by night, it wore a bright and +cheerful aspect in the sunshine of next morning, and not even the most +ardent of Cockneys would have wished herself back among streets and +squares. It certainly seemed more interesting to learn lessons sitting +on tall-backed oak chairs at a carved table, than at desks in an +ordinary schoolroom, furnished with maps and blackboard. The teachers +enjoyed it as much as the girls, and everybody had a delightfully +romantic feeling of being transferred to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. + +"We oughtn't to have science, or physiology, or anything up-to-date +here," said Cicely, as, in company with the rest of the third form, she +took possession of the panelled parlour that was to be their temporary +classroom. + +"No, indeed," said Lindsay. "Girls in those days didn't have half our +work." + +"You forget Lady Jane Grey," said Miss Frazer. "In the matter of +knowledge she would easily have put you to shame. If you want her +sixteenth-century studies you will have to begin Greek as well as Latin, +French, Italian, and some Hebrew and Arabic!" + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Lindsay, aghast at such a list of accomplishments. +"I'd rather stick to our own century." + +"I thought ladies did nothing but go hunting and hawking then," said +Marjorie Butler. "Did they all know Greek and Latin?" + +"Probably not, but they could make preserves, and perfumes, and other +secrets of the still-room; and they embroidered the most beautiful +tapestries, if we are to judge from the specimens in the big +drawing-room. Young people were very severely brought up. They might +never sit without permission in the presence of their parents or +teachers, and they were beaten for the slightest offences. Don't you +remember that even poor Lady Jane Grey was punished with 'nips, bobs, +and pinches'; and little Edward VI had his whipping-boy, to receive the +blows which it was not considered seemly to bestow upon his own princely +person!" + +"Had the other boy to be whipped for what the king had done? How +horribly unfair!" said Beryl Austen. + +"Yes, their ideas of justice were rather different from ours. They would +have thought present-day children absolutely spoilt. The girls who +perhaps may have done lessons in this room three hundred years ago would +not learn them so easily and pleasantly as you are going to do this +morning. Fetch the geology books, Beryl. We must go on with modern work, +in spite of our ancient surroundings." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +An Interesting Stranger + + +Among all Miss Russell's thirty pupils you could not have found two +stancher friends than Lindsay Hepburn and Cicely Chalmers, both of whom +were members of the third, or lowest, class. + +Lindsay was a short, plump, fair, jolly-looking girl of twelve, with a +very energetic disposition; apt, according to Miss Frazer, to be +inconveniently lively and irrepressible in school, but a general +favourite in the playground. + +Cicely, six months younger, was much more quiet and steady on the +surface, though her twinkling brown eyes belied her demurer manners, and +proclaimed her ready for anything in the shape of fun. She admired +Lindsay immensely, and copied her absolutely, being generally ready to +follow her through thick and thin, whatever scrapes might be the +consequence. + +The pair shared a bedroom, and were so inseparable that Cicely was often +called Lindsay's shadow. That was an injustice, however; she had a +character of her own, though she might choose to merge it in her +friend's stronger personality. It is with these two, and their strange +experiences at the Manor, that my tale is chiefly concerned, for if it +had not been for Lindsay's enquiring mind, backed by Cicely's persistent +efforts, there might have been no story to tell. + +This is how it all began. + +On the second morning after their instalment at Haversleigh the whole +school was assembled ready for a history class in the big dining-hall. +Miss Russell, for a wonder, was late, and when she entered at last she +brought with her a new pupil. The stranger was about sixteen, a pretty, +graceful girl, with hazel eyes, long chestnut hair, and a rather +distinguished air. She was given a seat in the first form, and replied +to the few questions asked her in a quiet voice; then, at the close of +the lecture, she took her books and went away alone, without waiting to +join in the next lesson. + +Naturally her sudden appearance and departure excited much curiosity. +The moment work was over, Lindsay and Cicely seized upon Kathleen +Crawford, who was rather a friend of theirs among the monitresses. + +"Who's the new girl?" they asked. "We hadn't heard anybody was coming." + +"She's only a day pupil for a few classes," answered Kathleen. "Her +name's Monica Courtenay. She lives here, but of course not just now." + +"What do you mean?" enquired Cicely. + +"Why, surely you knew Miss Russell has taken the Manor for the summer +from Mrs. Courtenay?" + +"I never thought about whom it belonged to," confessed Lindsay. + +"Well, at any rate, Mrs. Courtenay and Monica are staying in rooms in +the village while their house is let, and Monica is to come three times +a week for French and history." + +"So this is really her home?" + +"Yes, and I heard someone say it is all her own. She's an only child, +and her father is dead." + +"It must seem funny for her to see a whole school here!" + +"I expect it does. I shouldn't like it if the place were mine." + +"Is she nice?" + +"How can I tell? I saw no more of her than you did yourselves." + +Everybody was greatly interested in the newcomer, and ready, at the end +of a week's acquaintance, to decide heartily in her favour. Monica was +rather dignified and reserved in her manners, and evidently not much +accustomed to mix with companions of her own age; but when her shyness +began to wear off she proved most attractive. + +"She's not at all conceited, although she's mistress of the Manor," said +Lindsay. + +"No, I can't say she gives herself airs in the least," agreed Cicely. + +"I think she behaves beautifully," said Mildred Roper. "She never so +much as hints that it's her own house, or tries to take the lead, as +some girls would certainly have done. She doesn't go anywhere without +leave, nor even stop to play tennis unless she's asked. I heard her +apologizing to Miss Russell yesterday for giving an order to the +gardener. Mademoiselle says she is 'bien elevee' and 'tres gentille', +and that's a great compliment, for she doesn't admire English girls as a +rule." + +"No one could help liking Monica," said Kathleen Crawford. "She's +charming. I call her one of the nicest girls I've ever met. And she's +had such hard luck! I've just been hearing all about her from Irene +Spencer." + +"How does Irene know?" asked Lindsay. + +"She stays sometimes with an uncle who is vicar of the next parish, and +her cousins are friends of Monica's. It's a most extraordinary story--it +might have come out of a book." + +"Oh, do tell us!" said the others eagerly. + +Kathleen's tale was in scraps, and missed out several points of which +she was not aware at the time, so it will be better to set it down here +as the girls learnt it more fully afterwards, for it was of great +importance, and formed the basis of much that was to follow. + +The Courtenays, it appeared, were a very ancient family, and had +inherited the Manor from an ancestor who had fought bravely on the +Yorkist side in the days of the Wars of the Roses. In the present +generation there was no male heir, and Monica was the last of her race. + +Until a few years ago the old house had been in the possession of her +great-uncle, Sir Giles Courtenay, a most eccentric man, so odd and +peculiar, indeed, that many people had considered him to be out of his +mind. He was reputed to be extremely wealthy, yet lived in a miserly +fashion, entertaining no visitors, and never spending a penny which it +was possible for him to save. He never married, but passed his days as a +recluse, shut up among the books in his library, seeing only a few old +servants whose services he had retained. Sometimes in the early morning +he would wander about the woods and fields in the neighbourhood, seeking +for wild flowers, but on such occasions he seemed much annoyed if spoken +to, and evidently preferred to take his rambles unnoticed. + +At his death he left everything to his great-niece, Monica. + +"Both the Manor", so ran the will, "and all that it may contain, +especially commending to her the volumes in my library, and advising her +to pursue the study of botany, which has ever been a solace and a +distraction to me amidst the various ills and disappointments of life." + +At first it was supposed that Monica must be a great heiress, but when +Sir Giles's legacy came to be investigated nothing could be found beyond +the ordinary furniture in the house and a few pounds in the local bank. +No one knew anything about his affairs, and neither papers nor documents +were forthcoming to give the slightest indication as to what had become +of the fortune he was known to have inherited. + +Not only was all trace of the money lost, but the valuable silver plate +and jewellery that had been handed down from generation to generation of +the Courtenays were also missing, and there was no clue to their +whereabouts. It was generally believed that Sir Giles must have +concealed the whole of his wealth somewhere in the old house, but, +though a minute search had been made from cellar to garret, the +hiding-place had not yet come to light. + +Instead, therefore, of owning a fortune, Monica had received nothing but +the Manor, in itself a very barren heritage. She and her mother had +taken up their residence there, but they possessed only a small income, +quite insufficient to maintain the former traditions of the family. It +was on this account that they had been glad to let the house to Miss +Russell for the summer, and to retire themselves into quiet lodgings +close by. + +"Hasn't Monica ever tried to hunt for the treasure?" asked Lindsay, when +Kathleen had finished her narrative. + +"Oh, yes--often! I believe she has gone systematically through each +room, but it's so well hidden that it seems quite impossible to find +it." + +"Yet it must be there!" + +"No doubt. It may never turn up, though, until the place is pulled down. +The whole thing is a complete mystery, and so far nobody has been able +to solve it." + +"Have you asked Monica where she has looked?" + +"Certainly not. Irene says she's very sensitive about it, and can't bear +to hear it spoken of. Naturally it must have been a most terrible +disappointment. I don't wonder she avoids the subject. Please be careful +never to mention it to her, or you'll offend her dreadfully, and I shall +be sorry I told you." + +"I'm sure both Lindsay and Cicely would have too nice feeling to +question Monica on such a personal matter," said Mildred Roper. + +"Of course we shan't say anything--we wouldn't for worlds," promised the +two younger girls. + +That Monica should be the heroine of so romantic a story made her doubly +interesting in the eyes of Lindsay and Cicely. They were much impressed +by Kathleen's account, and retired to the privacy of the summer-house to +talk it over together. + +"It must be dreadful to be so poor when you know you ought to be so +rich!" said Lindsay. + +"And so tantalizing, when perhaps the fortune is actually in the house," +said Cicely. + +"I could never be happy for thinking about it." + +"No more could I." + +"Look here! Why shouldn't you and I set to work? So long as this +treasure is hidden away somewhere, I suppose it's possible to find it." + +"Oh, don't I wish we could!" cried Cicely, her eyes round at the idea. + +"Well, I can't see why we shouldn't have as good a chance as anybody +else. I expect it's chiefly a matter of careful hunting." + +"How splendid it would be if Monica really turned out an heiress after +all!" + +"Glorious! It's worth trying for. Those panelled walls might be full of +hiding-places. We don't know what we may discover when once we begin." + +"We shan't have to let Miss Frazer catch us looking about." + +"Rather not! Nobody must know what we intend to do." + +"Not even Marjorie Butler?" pleaded Cicely. + +"No," said Lindsay firmly. "Marjorie couldn't help whispering it to +Nora, and then it would be all over the school. The big girls would make +dreadful fun of us, I'm sure. They'd call us 'The Gold Seekers', or some +other stupid name, simply for the sake of teasing. Besides, if it were +talked about among the rest, it would be sure to get to Monica's ears, +and we particularly don't want that." + +"No, she mustn't hear a word of it." + +"Very well, then, we had better keep it to ourselves. Will you promise +faithfully that it shall be a dead secret just between you and me?" + +"Absolutely dead!" agreed Cicely. + +The two girls were determined to institute a thorough search for the +lost legacy, but they foresaw many difficulties in the way. In the first +place, it was hard even to make a start without letting anybody suspect +what they were doing. Although the term at the Manor seemed like a +holiday, it was nevertheless school: there was a certain amount of +supervision by the mistresses, and there were rules and regulations to +be obeyed, the same as at Winterburn Lodge. The girls were not allowed +to wander about alone exactly when and where they wished, and even +during recreation time they were expected to play games in the garden. + +One of the greatest hindrances to their plan was Mrs. Wilson, an elderly +servant who had been left in charge by Mrs. Courtenay, and who seemed to +consider herself responsible for her mistress's property. She evidently +much resented the presence of thirty schoolgirls in the Manor, and kept +a keen eye upon them to see that they did no damage. She was continually +watching to satisfy herself that they were not scratching the furniture, +nor spilling candle-grease upon the stairs; and was loud in her +complaints to Miss Russell over the most absurd trifles. + +If she had had sufficient authority, I believe she would have limited +the girls entirely to their bedrooms and schoolrooms, but as that was +impossible, she did her best to frighten them away from the rest of the +house by being as disagreeable as she could. As a natural consequence +they detested her. They nicknamed her "The Griffin", and took a naughty +pleasure in defying her as far as they dared. + +"She's as sour as a green gooseberry!" grumbled Effie Hargreaves. "If we +only take a stroll along the portrait gallery, she thinks we're going to +knock down the armour, or poke our fingers through the pictures." + +"Yes, she seems to imagine we can't look at a thing without breaking it. +It's perfectly ridiculous!" declared Beryl Austen. + +"She's an absolute nuisance. It's a pity she was left behind," said Nora +Proctor; and that was the general verdict in the old housekeeper's +disfavour. + +With such a dragon continually on the alert, it was almost impossible +for Lindsay and Cicely to find the slightest opportunity of beginning +their treasure hunt, and they were reduced to very low spirits on the +subject. One half-holiday afternoon, however, Lindsay reported that Mrs. +Wilson, dressed in black bonnet and mantle, had been seen to leave the +back door and walk away in the direction of the village. + +"Now is our chance!" she assured Cicely. "Miss Russell is lying down in +her bedroom with a bad headache, Miss Frazer is playing tennis, and +Mademoiselle is sitting reading in the arbour. Everyone else is in the +garden, and if we run indoors at once nobody will notice, and we shall +have the place practically to ourselves." + +Could anything have been more fortunate? They lost no time in hurrying +into the Manor, feeling almost as desperate conspirators as Guy Fawkes +and his confederates; and commenced immediately to make a careful tour +of investigation. They stole round the hall, the dining-room, and the +library, scrutinizing every nook and corner, tapping the panels to hear +if they sounded hollow, and peeping up the old wide chimneys, but all +with no success. + +"I'm afraid we shan't find anything down here," said Lindsay at last. "I +expect people made hiding-places where they wouldn't be so easy to get +at. Let us go and explore the attics. We've never been up there yet." + +They reached the top storey without encountering even a servant. Somehow +it felt a little eerie to hear nothing but the echo of their own +footsteps, and to find themselves quite alone in such an out-of-the-way +part of the house. The Manor was very large, and nearly the whole of the +left wing was unoccupied. They passed door after door, all leading to +more and more empty rooms, till Lindsay began to grow almost dismayed at +the bigness of their undertaking. + +"I didn't know the place was so huge!" she sighed. "I'm afraid one might +spend years looking round and examining it thoroughly. I don't wonder +Monica lost heart. There isn't the faintest clue to go upon, either, to +give one a hint where to hunt." + +"Hadn't we better be turning back?" + +Cicely was growing rather tired of the fruitless attempt. + +"In a minute. Let us go to the end of this landing." + +The passage in itself was like the others, but it differed in one +particular, for it terminated in a narrow, winding staircase. This +looked tempting--just the sort of thing, in fact, that they felt ought +to lead to somewhere interesting and important. + +"It's like the way to the turret chamber where Sir Walter was +imprisoned, in _Tales of the Middle Ages_," said Lindsay. + +"Or where Katherine was dragged when Sir Gilbert found she had overheard +the secret plot," said Cicely. + +They scrambled almost on hands and knees up sixteen steep steps. At the +top was a small landing, and exactly facing them, up three steps more, +stood a closed door. The girls paused for a moment to consider what to +do next. + +"Listen!" said Cicely suddenly. "I thought I heard a queer noise." + +There certainly was a most extraordinary sound issuing from the room +opposite. It resembled somebody groaning, or giving long-drawn, sighing +breaths. It went on for a few moments and then stopped, then commenced +louder than before, and finally died away altogether. + +"What is it?" whispered Cicely, rather nervously. + +"I don't know, but I'm going to look and see." + +"Oh! Dare you? I hope it's nothing that will bounce out!" + +[Illustration: "SHE OPENED THE DOOR CAUTIOUSLY"] + +"Nonsense! Why should it?" + +"It might. Do be careful!" + +"Don't be silly!" said Lindsay. "We came up here on purpose to discover +things, and help Monica. If there's a noise in that room, we certainly +ought to find out what's making it." + +And with this plausible excuse for satisfying her curiosity, she opened +the door cautiously, and peeped inside. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A Strong Suspicion + + +If Lindsay and Cicely had counted upon finding something interesting +behind the closed door, they were much disappointed. The room was +absolutely bare and unfurnished. It was not panelled, as mysterious +rooms ought to be, but had an old-fashioned and rather ugly wallpaper, +adorned with big bunches of grapes and flowers; and there was a plain, +whitewashed ceiling. At one side a window overlooked the garden, and at +the other was a shallow store cupboard, the open door of which revealed +rows of empty shelves, probably intended for jam or linen. + +There was nothing to give the least suggestion of romance, or the +possibility of any concealed hiding-place. There was no carved +overmantel nor four-post bed; in fact, the only article of any +description to be seen was a large horn lantern that hung from a hook in +the ceiling. The curious noise had ceased, and although the girls looked +round most carefully, they were not able to find anything which would +account for it. + +"There isn't a corner that even a cat might hide in," said Lindsay. "It +was so loud, too! I can't understand it in the least." + +"I call it rather uncanny. Let us go!" said Cicely. + +She was stepping down on to the little landing again, when, to her +dismay, she almost ran into the arms of Mrs. Wilson, who, still in black +bonnet and mantle, had returned from the village sooner than they +anticipated, and must have come unheard up the winding staircase. + +"The Griffin's" surprise at seeing them seemed as great as their own. +She gave a gasp of consternation, peeped hastily inside the empty room, +then turned to Lindsay and Cicely with a look of mingled relief and +wrath. + +"What were you doing in the lantern room?" she asked sharply. "You know +perfectly well you've no right to be up here. You must mind your own +business, and keep to your own places, instead of poking and ferreting +about into matters that don't concern you. I can't have you rambling +about wherever you please, and the sooner you understand that the +better. It was sorely against my advice that the Manor was let for a +school!" + +She spoke rudely, and seemed more upset and annoyed than the occasion +warranted. She swept the two girls downstairs before her, muttering +angrily as she went, and did not let them out of her sight until she +had watched them safely into the garden. + +"How horrid she was!" exclaimed Cicely, when they were alone, and able +to talk things over. "Miss Russell never said we weren't to go on to +that top landing." + +"What was Mrs. Wilson doing there herself--in an empty room, in such a +deserted part of the house?" asked Lindsay meditatively. + +"I don't know. She looked quite aghast at seeing us." + +"I believe there's something about it we don't understand. Perhaps she +has some reason beyond mere fussiness and nastiness for wanting to keep +us away from that particular room." + +"What kind of a reason?" + +"Well, suppose she had discovered the hiding-place?" + +"Wouldn't she tell Monica?" + +"She might intend to take some of the money." + +"Oh, how dreadful! It's quite possible, though, that she knows where it +is. She was housekeeper to old Sir Giles for ever so many years." + +"It seems to me most suspicious," said Lindsay. "We must watch her, and +find out everything we can, for Monica's sake." + +The idea that Mrs. Wilson was concealing the treasure for her own ends +was a thrilling one. The more they thought about it, the more probable +it appeared. Who had a better opportunity than she of searching the old +house? She might even have been present when her eccentric master stowed +his fortune so carefully away. If this were really the case, the +greatest caution was necessary, for to allow "The Griffin" to see that +they had noticed anything might entirely spoil their plans. + +"We must treat her just as usual," said Lindsay, "only we must keep our +eyes and ears open, in case something should turn up to give us a hint." + +For the next few days they behaved with what they considered the +greatest diplomacy. They took care not to aggravate Mrs. Wilson, nor in +any way to attract her special attention; but they looked out for the +slightest chance of following her movements, dodging round corners, and +stalking her along passages with the zeal of detectives. Unfortunately +their efforts were not so unobserved as they supposed, and drew down a +reproof from headquarters. + +"Lindsay and Cicely! how is it that you are continually loitering about +the landing when you ought to be in the garden?" said Miss Russell. "I +shall have to make a new rule, that nobody is to come upstairs until ten +minutes before meals. In this lovely weather I expect you to be +out-of-doors. It is a shame to waste a minute in the house. Don't let me +find you here again during recreation time." + +This was a blow, as it brought the great scheme temporarily to a +standstill. The girls could not venture to disobey openly, and judged it +wiser to let things rest for the present, until the mistress should have +forgotten the matter, and they might once more quietly begin to renew +their investigations. + +"We'll play cricket hard, and put our names down for the tennis +handicap," said Lindsay. "We mustn't on any account let Miss Russell +think we'd a special motive in what we were doing." + +"Rather not! We'll 'lie low and say nuffin'', like Brer Rabbit," agreed +Cicely. + +There was no lack of liveliness or occupation at the Manor to justify +anybody in idling about the passages, and there were certainly many +small excitements, apart from mysterious chambers or hidden treasures. +All kinds of funny events kept occurring which had never disturbed the +prim atmosphere of Winterburn Lodge. + +Nora Proctor and Marjorie Butler awoke half the school one night by loud +and repeated screams, and when Miss Frazer rushed into their room, +imagining fire or burglars, she found them cowering behind the bed +curtains, in mortal terror of a large bat that had made its way through +the open casement. Earwigs were a constant nuisance, and everyone grew +almost accustomed to catching green caterpillars, which crept in from +the roses that surrounded the windows, and would turn up in the most +undesirable spots. + +Naturally so old a house was infested with rats and mice. They scuttled +inside the walls, and squeaked behind the wainscots, and seemed to hold +carnival at the back of the oak panelling, often disturbing the girls at +night with the noise. This was particularly noticeable in the room where +Lindsay and Cicely slept. They were sometimes awakened by sounds like +the rolling of barrels overhead, as if heavy objects were being clanked +about up in the ceiling. + +"You've no need to be afraid of them," said Mrs. Wilson, who made light +of all complaints, "they never venture out of the walls, to my +knowledge." + +The fear, however, that a rat might possibly gnaw its way into her +bedroom afflicted Cicely continually. + +"If it ran across my pillow I should die of fright, I know I should!" +she wailed. "I wish Mrs. Wilson would let us have the cat to sleep with +us. I should feel far safer." + +"I wish we could send for the Pied Piper, and get rid of them all. They +woke me twice last night," said Lindsay. + +Poor Cicely never dared to retire without first having a thorough +examination to assure herself that no lurking rodent was lying hidden +behind the wardrobe, or in any other obscure corner. One evening she was +making her usual round, armed with a tennis racket for protection, and +was peeping under the bed, when she suddenly let the valance fall +hurriedly, and drew back with a shriek. + +"There's a rat there! I saw it quite plainly; its great big eyes were +glaring at me!" she announced in a trembling voice. + +"What are we to do?" exclaimed Lindsay, in equal consternation. + +"Call for Miss Frazer this instant. She hasn't gone downstairs yet." + +"Don't disturb it on any account!" decreed Miss Russell, who was fetched +from the drawing-room to cope with the emergency. "I shall send at once +for Scott, the gardener, and ask him to bring his terrier dog. We must +really take some measures to destroy these pests." + +It was not very long before Scott arrived. He clumped solemnly up the +stairs with a thick stick in his hand, and Bill, his sharp little fox +terrier, at his heels. Mrs. Wilson accompanied him, bearing the kitchen +poker; and the parlour-maid followed, holding the yard dog by the +collar, in case Bill should miss his prey. Miss Frazer and Miss +Humphreys were there to support Miss Russell; while Mademoiselle and a +great many of the girls hovered outside in the passage, half-frightened +and half-excited over the coming fray. + +"If you'll please to tell me where the young lady saw it, mum," said +Scott, "I'll let Bill on it sudden. He's death on rats." + +"It was just at the foot of the bed," quavered Cicely. Scott stooped, +and raised the valance with the greatest precaution. Bill sniffed +eagerly, but he did not pounce upon any concealed victim. + +"There's nothing there, mum--leastways no rat," said Scott, +straightening his back. + +"Are you sure?" gasped Miss Russell. "It couldn't possibly have +escaped." + +"I think it's been a little mistake of the young lady's, mum," said +Scott, suppressing a grin. "If you'll kindly take a look under the bed, +you'll see for yourself." + +Miss Russell hastened to comply, and, bending down, gave an exclamation +as she drew out one of Lindsay's best Sunday gloves. + +"What an extraordinary illusion!" she cried. "I don't wonder Cicely took +it for a rat. The soft doeskin is exactly the same colour, and the +buttons were gleaming just like two bright eyes. I never saw a more +perfect resemblance. I should certainly have been deceived. Well, I'm +glad our chase has been a case of much ado about nothing. I think you +may go to bed with easy minds to-night, girls. If we have any more +alarms, we must send for Bill to protect us. Good dog! Can you find +some scraps for him in the kitchen, Mrs. Wilson?" + +Cicely's rat was of course a great joke in the school, and a subject of +teasing for several days afterwards. + +"You'll imagine your dressing-gown is a tiger next," said Effie +Hargreaves. + +"Some people scream at nothing. I'd have been sure about it first, +before making such a fuss," said Beryl Austen. + + "She thought it was a wily rat, and watched to see it move, + She looked again, and saw that it was nothing but a glove!" + +improvised Nora Proctor, who was fond of _Alice_, and had rather a taste +for parody. + +"It was such a disappointment to us, when we were waiting to hear the +scuffle," said Marjorie Butler. + +"We shan't believe in your scares next time," said Effie. + +"It's all very well, but I'm sure you'd have been just as frightened +yourselves," retorted Cicely. "You've no need to make so much fun of +me." + +"It's too bad. I vote we pay them out, and have the laugh on our side," +sympathized Lindsay, leading her friend away. "I've thought of such a +capital idea. Come to the summer-house and we'll talk it over." + +As the result of Lindsay's cogitations, the two girls went boldly to +Mrs. Wilson, and begged an old cardboard box. + +"It's half to pieces," said "The Griffin", quite amiably, for a wonder. +"It's not much good you'll do with it, I'm afraid." + +"Never mind, it's enough for what we want, thank you. We're not going to +put anything very heavy in it, are we, Cicely?" + +Cicely's reply was such a wildly hysterical giggle that Mrs. Wilson +stared at her in offended surprise. + +"She's only silly!" explained Lindsay hurriedly. "Please, could you let +us have some scraps of dark cloth? Perhaps there'd be something in the +rag bag. Be quiet, you stupid!" + +The last remark was aside to the irrepressible Cicely, who straightened +her face with an effort. "We're going to do some sewing," she +volunteered, choking back her mirth. + +"You're not generally so industrious," said Mrs. Wilson grimly. "I +should be glad to see you using your needle for once. It seems all +tennis and croquet with you young ladies." + +She produced the rag bag, however, and allowed the girls to take their +choice of the various odds and ends which it contained. They selected a +piece of rough, hair-brown serge; then, fetching their work-baskets, +they retired to a remote part of the garden, where they were not likely +to be disturbed. If Mrs. Wilson had imagined they were about to engage +in some fine and delicate needlework, she was much mistaken. They +confined themselves to cutting and snipping, and to a few big, cobbling +stitches that would have caused her to exclaim in righteous horror. + +At the end of half an hour all was finished, and Lindsay proudly held up +the result of their labours. It really was not a bad imitation of a rat. +It had a nice round, plump body, four squat legs, a pointed nose, and a +long, thin tail. + +"We can't make whiskers," said Lindsay, "but that doesn't matter in the +least. They wouldn't notice them. What a good thing it's light until so +late now! They'll be able to see it perfectly well." + +"We couldn't manage if the bed weren't a four-poster," said Cicely, +chuckling in anticipation of the fun to come. + +Beryl Austen and Effie Hargreaves slept in a room almost opposite to +Lindsay's and Cicely's. Before eight o'clock arrived the two latter +contrived to make an excuse to go upstairs, and hastily completed their +preparations. The arrangements were ingenious. They fastened their rat +very lightly by two pieces of thin sewing cotton to the middle of the +piece of tapestry that formed the roof of the great four-post bed. To +the cotton was attached a long strand of string, which passed through +the curtains and out at the door (conveniently near the bed), the end +being hidden under the mat on the landing. + +"You'll see, when we jerk the string, the cotton will break, then down +will plump the rat right on to their chests," said Lindsay, justly proud +of her inventive powers. "Poke the box under the valance, Cicely, quick! +I thought I heard someone coming." + +The cardboard box contained a bobbin, to which a second string was tied, +and concealed in the same manner as the first. + +"I don't believe they'll suspect anything," said Cicely. "Won't it be +lovely to give them a scare!" + +At bedtime the conspirators retired innocently as usual, having wished +Beryl and Effie good night in the passage. + +"I nearly said I hoped nothing would disturb them," laughed Lindsay, +"but I thought it would be wiser not. How long must we leave them to go +to sleep?" + +"About half an hour, I should think. Let us get up as soon as we hear +the clock in the picture gallery striking nine." + +The twilight lasted long, so it was still quite possible to distinguish +objects as two nightgowned, barefooted figures stole gently across the +landing. Fortunately everything was perfectly quiet in the upper +portion of the house. The younger girls were in bed, and the elder ones +were with the teachers downstairs. + +"We must be sure to work the right strings," breathed Lindsay. "Have you +got yours? This was mine, with a knot at the end." + +She gave a smart pull, and the bobbin rattled loudly inside the box. +They could hear it plainly, even through the closed door. + +"What is that?" + +The question came in an anxious and wideawake tone from within the room. + +"I don't know. Oh, there it is again!" + +The voice this time was Effie's. + +"It sounds as if it were under the bed!" + +"Oh, surely it's not a rat!" + +"Now for it!" whispered Cicely, pulling the second string. + +The result was all they could have desired. A series of yells proceeded +from the four-post bed, sufficient not only to rouse the occupants of +the other rooms on the landing, but to bring Miss Frazer hurrying up +from the library. Lindsay and Cicely dropped their strings and fled, not +a second too soon. They could hear Miss Frazer striking a match to light +the candle, and her exclamation when she discovered the cause of the +uproar. + +"All the girls have turned out to see what's the matter," said Cicely. +"If you and I don't go too, they'll know who's done it." + +"I think we shall have to own up, in any case," replied Lindsay. + +"It was worth the scolding," she declared afterwards, when Miss Frazer +had administered a due homily on the danger of practical jokes. "I only +wish I could have seen their faces when the rat plumped on to them. They +needn't talk of screaming at nothing, and if they ever begin to tease us +about anything again--well, we'll just say 'Rats!'" + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Haversleigh + + +There never was such a glorious place as the Manor. Upon that point the +whole school perfectly agreed. The garden was as fascinating as the +house, and proved an absolute dream of delight, with its smooth +bowling-green, its winding paths, its charming little arbours overgrown +with creepers, its clipped yew hedges, and its unexpected flights of +steps. It might have been designed as a kind of terrestrial paradise for +girls. The big lawns afforded space for so many tennis courts that there +was no need for the younger ones to hover about, waiting enviously until +their elders had finished before they could get a chance of a game; and +there was plenty of room left for croquet and clock golf. The shrubbery +and the plantation were ideal spots for hide-and-seek (almost too good, +Lindsay said, because it was so very difficult to find anybody); while +the various rustic seats scattered under the trees made sewing and +reading a luxury on hot days, when no one felt inclined for violent +exercise. A stone-flagged terrace ran the entire length of the front of +the Manor, proving an invaluable playground when the grass was too wet +for games in the garden; and a roomy summer-house stood near the +bowling-green, so big that it was capable of sheltering all the school +during a thunder shower. + +Beyond the avenue, and at the farther side of the shrubbery, was a maze. +Marvellous little narrow, twisting paths, with high hedges of clipped +box, wound round and round in an utterly bewildering manner, most of +them either ending blindly or turning back to the original entrance, and +only one of the number leading to the arbour in the centre. For a long +time the girls amused themselves with trying to discover the proper +clue. Cicely, like Hansel, dropped pebbles to show which paths she had +already traced; Lindsay essayed to cut the Gordian knot by creeping +through the hedge; and it was only after many and repeated trials that +they were at last able to solve the puzzle. + +In the midst of one of the lawns grew a grand old yew tree, the lower +branches of which were easy to climb. It was a favourite haunt of the +younger girls, each having her special seat, and here they might often +be seen perched like birds, and certainly chattering enough to suggest a +flock of magpies. A stalwart oak close by supported a swing that was far +more romantic than the swing in the playground at Winterburn Lodge, +because a strong push would send the happy occupant high up among the +green leaves, and give her a flying peep into a missel-thrush's nest on +the topmost bough, where four gaping yellow mouths were clamouring for +food. In a corner, down a flight of steps, there was a pond where grew +marsh marigolds, and irises, and forget-me-nots, and other water-loving +plants. A pair of ducks lived here in a wooden hutch, and would come +waddling up to be fed with bread, which the girls saved from breakfast +for them. Great was the delight of the whole school when one morning a +brood of seven small ducklings appeared on the water, each as yellow as +a canary, and seemingly quite at home already in its native element. + +Then there was the rose garden, where every variety of the queen of +flowers seemed to flourish, from the delicate Marechal Niel to the +sweet, oldfashioned, striped York and Lancaster. Archways and pillars +were covered with climbers and ramblers, a little untrained, but hanging +down in such glorious profusion that one almost approved of the neglect. +Round this garden was a high hedge of clipped holly, so that it was +sheltered from every wind, and the roses bloomed as if in a greenhouse. +Nor must we forget the peacocks, which were as much a feature of the old +house as the twisted chimneys, or the stone balls on the porch. There +were six of them, and the gorgeous sheen of their feathers as they +spread their tails in the sunshine was a sight worth remembering. In +fact, as Miss Russell often remarked, they gave a finishing touch to the +whole scene, and made the Manor look more than ever like a medieval +picture. + +The village of Haversleigh was only ten minutes' walk from the lodge +gates. It consisted of one long row of quaint black-and-white cottages, +with thatched roofs, and gardens so gay with flowers that they seemed to +be overflowing into the road, and pinks and pansies were coming up +between the cobblestones of the street. At the end stood the beautiful +ancient church, built in days when each artisan was a master of his +craft, and made his work a labour of love. Strangers often came from a +distance to admire the delicate tracery of the windows, the exquisite +carving of the pillars, and the splendid old oak choir stalls that had +formed part of a tenth-century abbey. At the west end hung a collection +of banners, won by Monica's ancestors in many a hard-fought battle, and, +all tattered and faded as they were, still bearing tribute to the +glories of the past. There were monuments, too, in memory of the +Courtenays: stone effigies of knights in armour, lying under carved +canopies emblazoned with their coats-of-arms; stiff ladies and gentlemen +of Tudor times, with starched ruffs and buckled shoes; and one lovely +marble figure, by a forgotten sculptor, of a young daughter of the house +who had perished during the Great Plague. The ruthless hands that had +chipped and spoiled many of the other monuments had spared this one, and +the beautiful, calm face seemed to be resting in tranquil sleep, +patiently waiting for the summons to arise to immortality. + +The Manor pew, though large, could not accommodate the school. The girls +sat in the left aisle, and made quite an important addition to the +little congregation of villagers. They certainly helped to swell the +singing, and I think even the most thoughtless among them learned to +love that dear old church, and carried its remembrance into after years. + +The Rectory marked the last boundary of the village, then the road +passed over a bridge straight into the open country. The scenery was +pretty without being grand. Picturesque farmhouses stood in the midst of +rich pastures, behind which rose wooded slopes leading to a higher peak, +called Pendle Tor, that stood out as a landmark for the district. +Naturally the girls were very anxious to explore the neighbourhood, and +delighted when Miss Russell allowed walks on half-holidays. The whole +school was not often sent out together, but each form would go in turn, +separately, with its own teacher--an arrangement that all much +preferred, as they could then ramble about in an informal manner, +instead of keeping to the prim file which was the general rule. + +One Wednesday afternoon, at the end of May, it was the turn of the third +class, and its six members were standing by the gate, impatiently +awaiting the arrival of Miss Frazer, who, to do her justice, was not +often at fault in the matter of punctuality. + +"I hope she isn't telling Miss Russell what bad marks I got this +morning," said Effie Hargreaves dismally. "She threatened last week to +report me if I had another cross for history, and I missed five times, +and four times in literature, and all my problems were wrong in +arithmetic too." + +"I believe they're planning to hire another piano," said Beryl Austen, +"so that we can all get in the same amount of practising as we did at +Winterburn Lodge." + +"Oh, what a shame! I'm sure half an hour a day is enough for anybody," +came in a chorus from the others. + +"Especially now, when we haven't a music master," added Cicely. + +"That's the very reason," explained Beryl. "Miss Russell says she wants +us to keep up what we've learnt, so that we won't seem to have fallen +back when we begin with Mr. Nelson again." + +"Don't talk of Mr. Nelson! We shan't see him for ages." + +"You will, in September." + +"Well, it's not September yet, it's only May, and in the meantime we're +learning from Miss Frazer. Here she is, by the by, hurrying down the +drive as fast as she can." + +"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, girls," said the teacher, "but Miss +Russell has been giving me a commission to transact while we are out. +She wants us to go to Monkend, a farm about a mile and a half from +here." + +"A new walk?" asked Beryl. + +"Yes, we have never been there before, but I don't think we can miss the +way." + +A perfectly fresh walk was a pleasant prospect. Everyone set off, +therefore, in the best of spirits. It was a beautiful afternoon, one of +those glorious days when summer seems to clasp hands with spring and +join the delights of both seasons. The newly unfolded leaves were still +a tender green, and the sycamores were covered with pendent blossoms, in +the golden pollen of which the bees revelled like drunkards. The larches +had opened all their tassels, and the young cones on the firs glowed +with such a pink hue that they resembled candles on a Christmas tree. +The hawthorns were almost over, but here and there a crab apple showed a +mass of pink bloom, or a guelder rose made a white patch in the hedge; +and all the stretches of grass by the roadsides were carpeted with +bluebells and starry stitchwort. + +Miss Frazer was indulgent, and would wait for a few minutes while the +girls gathered handfuls of flowers, or climbed up to the top of a bank +to admire the view. She was as interested as they were in the finding of +a robin's nest; and quite as excited when a hawk swooped suddenly into a +bush, and flew away with a young thrush in its claws. The cuckoos were +calling persistently from the woods, the larks were singing up in the +air above, and all the hedgerows seemed to teem with busy bird life. + +Their way soon left the high road, and, striking across a field, led +them through a copse where there was an interesting pond, swarming with +tadpoles. The girls would have lingered here, trying to catch the funny, +wriggling, little black objects, but Miss Frazer's patience gave way at +last, and she hurried them on, declaring that if they were not quick +they would never get to the farm and back before tea-time. + +Monkend was a quaint old house, built in the midst of cherry orchards. +Its timbered walls were grey and weather-stained, and its tiled roof +yellowed with lichens. By the side of the open barn door the cows were +standing lowing to be milked, and the dairymaid, a rosy-faced young +woman in a blue apron, was coming from the kitchen, singing as she swung +her bright pails. She stopped in astonishment at the unwonted sight of +visitors to the farm, and ran to call her mistress to the scene. + +"You may wait for me here, girls, while I do my business with Mrs. +Brand," said Miss Frazer; "or if you like you may walk back to the +stile, and I will overtake you in the wood." + +Mrs. Brand insisted that Miss Frazer should come into the best parlour +to transact her errand, so, left alone, the girls began slowly to +retrace their steps towards the copse. + +"I wonder how long she'll be," said Lindsay, who with Cicely had +lingered a little behind. + +"I believe she has to pay a bill and order more butter and eggs and +things, so I don't expect we shall see her for five or ten minutes at +least," replied Cicely. + +"Then there'll be just time to run round the farm. I want to peep inside +those barns, and see what is at the other side of those haystacks. It +looks interesting. Come along! The dairymaid is busy milking, and +won't see us, and I don't suppose it matters if she does. We'll soon run +after the others." + +Feeling rather adventurous, the pair fled away down the yard, and dived +through an open doorway into the depths of a big barn. How fragrant it +smelled--such a delicious, sweet scent was in the air! Surely it must +come from that great heap of hay in the corner. The girls ran across, +and jumping on to the pile, were soon burying each other with armfuls +of the hay, and scooping out nests to sit in. It was dark inside the +barn--the beautiful brown gloom that one sees only in old castles or +churches, or ancient buildings, and is quite different from the black of +ordinary darkness. Through the open door came just one shaft of +sunshine, in which the specks of dust seemed to float and flutter like +living things. Overhead the great beams of the roof were lost in dim +obscurity; very old and rough they were, and covered with a mass of +cobwebs, among which Cicely declared she could see bats hanging head +downwards, with folded wings, though Lindsay said it was all her +imagination. + +It was so nice sitting perched on the hay that neither was in a hurry to +move. I believe they quite forgot about the time, until at last they +heard Miss Frazer's voice in the distance bidding good-bye to Mrs. +Brand. + +"We shall have to go," groaned Cicely. "What a nuisance! I could stay +here for hours." + +"So could I," said Lindsay, getting up with a yawn, and brushing loose +stalks from her dress. "Let us jump down on the other side of the hay." + +I do not know why it should have occurred to Lindsay to get off the +stack by the back instead of the front. If they had gone out of the barn +by the way they came, they could have overtaken Miss Frazer in a +moment, and the adventure which followed would never have happened at +all. As it was, fate decreed that Lindsay, in her flying leap through +the dusk, should knock her shins against something decidedly hard. She +stood rubbing them ruefully, and put out her hand to feel what had been +the cause of her bruises. It was a ladder, standing against the wall, +and through the gloom of the barn she could just distinguish its upper +end, which seemed to communicate with a doorway in the angle of the +roof. This looked attractive. She pointed it out at once to Cicely. + +"Where does it lead, do you think?" asked the latter. + +"To some granary above, I expect. I wonder what's up there! Shall we go +and explore?" + +Without even waiting for an answer, Lindsay had begun to ascend, and as +she was six rungs up before Cicely ventured a half-hearted remonstrance, +she did not see fit to come down again. + +"Oh! we shan't be a minute," she declared. "Miss Frazer will wait for us +in the wood, and we can run all the way from the farm." + +Where Lindsay went Cicely always felt bound to follow; accordingly, she +clambered up the ladder behind her friend, and in due course both +arrived at the top. As Lindsay had supposed, they found a granary +half-filled with sacks of corn and a pile of loose barley. A door at +the farther end appeared to open on to a flight of steps leading +outside, while opposite was a small lattice window overlooking the +fields. + +"There's really nothing to see," said Cicely. "It was hardly worth while +coming, after all." + +"We might go out through that door, instead of climbing down the ladder +again," suggested Lindsay, beginning to walk round the sacks. "Why, +look! Somebody has left his lunch here." + +On the top of the barley was a tin can, and also a red cotton +pocket-handkerchief, evidently containing slices of bread. From sheer +idle curiosity Lindsay seized them, and showed them laughingly to +Cicely. + +"Will you have some afternoon tea?" she exclaimed in joke. + +At that moment she was startled by a low growl behind her. From a corner +of the room sprang a collie dog that, unobserved by them, had been lying +among the sacks, and keeping a watch over its master's property. + +Lindsay promptly replaced the tin and the handkerchief on the barley. + +"Good dog! Poor fellow!" she said encouragingly, holding out her hand. + +The dog, however, did not make the least response to her friendly +advances. It came a little nearer, growling again, and showing its +teeth in an ugly fashion. + +"Come here, silly fellow! Does it think I want to steal something?" said +Lindsay. + +"I expect it does," replied Cicely, in rather a shaky voice. "Don't try +to touch it! It'll certainly bite you." + +Even Lindsay, fond of animals as she was, could not deny that the +gleaming eyes and snarling mouth looked the reverse of friendly. + +"Perhaps we'd better be going," she said, turning towards the door. + +Directly she moved, the dog growled louder, and would have flown at her +if she had not instantly stopped. + +"What are we to do?" she exclaimed, looking at Cicely with a terrified +face. + +They were indeed in a most awkward and dangerous position. The dog, +deeming itself guardian of the granary, and doubtless considering the +two girls intruders for dishonest purposes, would let neither of them +beat a retreat. It stood looking vigilantly from one to the other, +snarling so fiercely if they stirred even an inch that they did not dare +to put its intentions to the test. Oh! why had they come? If they had +only gone back down the ladder before they had roused the dog, or if +Lindsay had not been inquisitive enough to peep inside the handkerchief, +they might have been across the yard and following Miss Frazer to the +wood. How were they ever to escape? Would they be obliged to remain +there until the dog's master returned? + +"Perhaps Miss Frazer'll come to hunt for us," quavered Cicely, in a very +small voice, and with a timid eye on the collie lest it should spring. +Evidently it did not object to conversation, so long as they kept still, +for though it looked at her it did not growl. That was one comfort, at +any rate. The situation was terrible enough, but to endure it in silence +would have been ten times worse. + +"I don't believe anybody knows where we are," said Lindsay. "I wonder if +the dairymaid noticed us go into the barn. They wouldn't dream of our +climbing the ladder. They'd look all round the stackyard, and perhaps +think we'd taken a short cut and gone home." + +Would nobody ever arrive to release them? The minutes seemed long as +hours, and they felt as if their trembling knees could scarcely support +them. Cicely, from the place where she was standing, could fortunately +look through the window and command a view of the field below. Though +she gazed with as keen anxiety as Sister Anne in the story of Bluebeard, +she did not see anybody hurrying to their rescue. The dog apparently +grew a little tired, for it threw itself down on the floor, but without +relaxing any of its former vigilance. + +"I believe it's going to stop here all night," groaned Cicely, almost in +tears. + +The case was waxing desperate. So weary were the poor girls that they +were ready to drop with fatigue. Unless something happened, and that +speedily, there was bound to be a catastrophe. At the moment, however, +when Cicely felt that she simply could not endure any longer, +deliverance came. Through the little squares of the wooden lattice she +saw a figure strolling leisurely across the field. It was Monica +Courtenay, and she was walking in the direction of the farm. Cicely +shouted at the very pitch of her voice: + +"Monica! Monica! Help! Oh, do come!" + +Monica stopped in much astonishment, and looked round as if to ask who +was calling her by name; then, deciding that the screams came from the +direction of the granary, she hurried as fast as she could up the steps, +and opened the door. Her amazement was only equalled by her distress at +the girls' plight. + +She did her best to call off the dog, but as that proved impossible she +ran to fetch the first person she could find. In less than a minute she +had returned with Mr. Brand, whose stout boot and stick soon sent the +collie yelping disconsolately into a corner, to realize that it had +exceeded its duties. + +"He's a good watchdog, is Pincher," said the farmer, "but he's been a +bit too clever to-day. You silly hound! You ought to know better than to +set on two young wenches. You may well slink off! You'd better keep out +of reach of my stick, I can tell you!" + +Lindsay and Cicely were much upset and shaken by their terrifying +experience. They never forgot how kindly and considerately Monica +behaved. She did not tell them it was their own fault, and that it +served them right for prying into places where they had no business (as +Mildred Roper or any of the other monitresses would certainly have +done); she only sympathized in her gentle way, and offered to escort +them to the Manor by a short cut, so that they should not be so very +late after all. + +"It was a lucky thing I happened to be taking a walk this way," she +said. "It might have been hours before any of the farm people went into +the granary. I wouldn't keep such a savage dog if it were mine." + +As Lindsay supposed, Miss Frazer was not aware that she had left two of +her pupils behind at Monkend, and imagined that the missing pair must +have walked home in front of the others. Their absence had only just +been discovered when they arrived to explain the cause. The teacher was +hardly so tender with them as Monica, and they received more scolding +than sympathy. + +"Though it wasn't such a very dreadful crime to go into the barn," said +Lindsay afterwards to her companion in misfortune. "Miss Frazer needn't +say we are the two who are always in mischief, because it might have +happened just as easily to any of the others. I saw Beryl and Effie peep +into the cowhouse as they passed, though they didn't climb up a ladder. +Wasn't Monica nice? I believe the old farmer would have been cross with +us if she hadn't been there. He evidently knows her very well. So do all +the people in the village. She seems to know each man, woman, and child +there, and to be a favourite with everybody." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +An Unexpected Development + + +Lindsay and Cicely had by no means forgotten either their quest for the +treasure or their curiosity about the lantern chamber. In spite of +several small efforts, nothing fresh had occurred to elucidate matters, +and they were almost beginning to despair of ever making any further +progress, when quite unexpectedly something important happened. + +One afternoon, as they were sending tennis balls to each other along the +terrace, they heard a voice calling to them from overhead. They looked +up, and saw Merle Hammond, a second-form girl, leaning out of one of the +upper windows of the house and beckoning to them violently. + +"Lindsay and Cicely, is that you?" she cried. "Come up here; I've made +such a discovery!" + +"Where are you?" asked Cicely, for the old Manor had so many windows, it +was impossible to identify any particular one from the outside. + +"In a room up a funny winding staircase, on the top landing. It's +empty, but there's a big kind of lamp hanging from the ceiling. Oh, +you'll never guess what I've seen!" + +"The lantern chamber!" gasped both the girls, and, dropping their +rackets, they raced into the house in a state of the wildest excitement. + +Were they actually on the brink of solving the mystery? How had Merle +found it out? It was good of her to call to them. Had she accidentally +come across the hiding-place? or was it some other secret still? + +The answer to all these questions lay in that attic room, and they fled +upstairs as if their feet were wings. + +They were halfway along the passage, and a few seconds more would have +seen them safely on the top landing, when (oh, the bad luck of it!) they +almost knocked down Miss Frazer, who emerged at exactly the wrong moment +from her own bedroom door. + +"Gently, girls, gently!" she remonstrated. "Where are you going in such +a hurry?" + +It was impossible to explain. How could they tell the teacher the nature +of their errand? They both stood still, looking very "caught" and +dismayed, and said nothing. + +"As you have come indoors so early, you had better tidy your drawers," +continued Miss Frazer dryly. "I looked at them just now, and found them +in terrible disorder. You will have nice time to do it before tea." + +Could anything have been more aggravating? The poor girls were nearly +crying with vexation. There was no appeal, however. Miss Frazer escorted +them into their bedroom, and stood over them, giving directions, until +each pair of stockings or pocket-handkerchief was disposed according to +her ideas of neatness. They might chafe and fret inwardly at the delay, +but outwardly they were obliged to behave with due decorum. + +The governess was certainly justified in her disapproval, for Cicely's +best coat and hat were lying jumbled together at the bottom of the +wardrobe, and Lindsay's belongings looked as if they had been stirred up +with a stick. + +"If I notice any of your places in such a condition again, I shall be +obliged to give you each a punishment," she said gravely. "Wash your +hands now, and comb your hair. There's the first bell." + +Would Miss Frazer never leave them alone? If only she would take her +departure at once, they could perhaps manage to rush up to the lantern +room before the second bell rang. Merle must be waiting for them, and +wondering why they did not come. And the secret was waiting too! Lindsay +looked at Cicely, almost meditating a bolt. Possibly the mistress read +her intention in her face; at any rate, she waited until both were +ready, then marched them downstairs to the dining-room like a female +policeman, without giving them the slightest chance to escape. + +"Of all jolly sells this is the biggest!" whispered Cicely. + +"I wish Miss Frazer had been at the bottom of the sea!" groaned Lindsay. + +Merle came in rather late and took her place at table, looking a little +red and self-conscious. Lindsay tried to meet her eyes, but she avoided +the gaze, and went on stolidly with her bread and butter as if nothing +had happened. When Cicely made a like effort she fared the same. What +had Merle seen? How they longed for tea to be over, that they might hear +of her discovery! They hoped she would not reveal it to any of the other +girls first, and they looked on in quite a fever of anxiety whenever she +spoke to Elsie Ryder or Marjorie Butler, who sat one on either side of +her. + +"She doesn't know what we suspect about Mrs. Wilson," whispered Lindsay. +"She may be letting out something it would be far better, for Monica's +sake, not to tell." + +The moment the meal was finished the two girls followed Merle into the +garden, but, greatly to their surprise, she took no notice of them, and +began to play tennis. + +"I expect she's waiting for a safer time. Of course it wouldn't do for +her to be seen talking to us so particularly. We'll stay here while she +finishes her set," said Cicely. + +The game lasted until preparation, and then Merle walked away with such +an evident intention of escaping from them that the two were most +indignant. + +"What does she mean?" burst out Lindsay. + +"Do you think she's offended because we didn't go up at once?" returned +Cicely. "She doesn't know yet that Miss Frazer stopped us. We must +explain it as soon as we can." + +They tried to get hold of Merle after supper, but she kept persistently +to Elsie Ryder's company, and would not give them any opportunity of +speaking to her in private, so they were obliged to go to bed in a +horrible state of suspense. Next morning things were just as bad. There +was no mistaking the fact that Merle wished to avoid them, and it was +only with the greatest difficulty that they succeeded at last in +catching her alone. + +"What do you want?" she enquired abruptly. "Please don't go chasing me +about like this all over the school." + +"We want to know what you saw in the lantern room, of course," replied +Lindsay. + +"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you." + +"Not tell us!" + +Lindsay and Cicely could scarcely believe the evidence of their own +ears. + +"No, it's quite impossible." + +"But why?" + +"Simply that I can't." + +"Were you offended, Merle, because we didn't come when you called us?" +asked Cicely. + +"We were hurrying up as fast as we could, only Miss Frazer stopped us +and made us tidy our drawers. It wasn't our fault," added Lindsay +apologetically. + +"No, I'm not offended in the least. I'm very glad you didn't come." + +"But you shouted to us to be quick." + +"I know I did." + +"Was it something or somebody you saw in that room?" + +"Please don't ask me." + +"But look here, Merle, this is too bad," protested Lindsay. "You're +playing a very nasty trick upon us." + +"It can't be helped. I've said I am sorry," returned Merle doggedly. + +"Well, you are a fraud," cried Cicely. "I like people who keep their +promises." + +"So do I," said Merle, in rather a significant tone. "It's exactly what +I intend doing, too." + +"You don't mean to say you've promised not to tell!" exclaimed Lindsay. + +"I didn't say anything at all." + +"Have you told Elsie Ryder or Marjorie Butler?" + +"Certainly not. I haven't mentioned the matter to anybody, and I hope +you won't either." + +"But why shouldn't you whisper it just to Lindsay and me? We wouldn't +let a soul know," pleaded Cicely reproachfully. + +"I can't explain why. Do let us drop the subject." + +Here was indeed a deadlock. They had been afraid lest Merle should +betray her secret indiscreetly, but they had certainly never +contemplated being kept out of it themselves. The more they pressed her, +the more obstinately she refused, and neither scolding nor coaxing would +induce her to disclose even the least hint. They gave it up at last, +feeling very baffled and rather out of temper. + +"We do know something about your old room, all the same," said Lindsay +crossly, as a parting shot. + +"Oh, Lindsay, you don't really!" + +There was an anxious note in Merle's voice. + +"More than you think." + +"Then, whatever it is, you had better keep it to yourselves, and not let +it go any farther." + +Merle's extraordinary behaviour seemed to make the mystery even deeper +than before. She had evidently been exploring the Manor on her own +account and had made some discovery, which she undoubtedly had intended +to share with them when she called from the window. Then something must +have occurred afterwards which caused her to change her mind. + +To whom had she given a promise of secrecy? Surely not to Mrs. Wilson? +That would be aiding and abetting one whom they strongly believed to be +Monica's enemy. If only Miss Frazer had not such a tiresome love of +tidiness, they might have reached the lantern room in time, and be now +in possession of the information they wanted. It was too tantalizing to +feel that they had been so near a solution of the problem, and had +missed it by a few moments. + +Events never happen singly. For a whole fortnight they had been able +to find out nothing, yet on the very day following this disappointment +something occurred which seemed to add another link to their chain of +strange circumstances. They had managed to escape Miss Frazer's +vigilance, and were indulging in a surreptitious game of "tig" along the +forbidden ground of the picture gallery, when one of the bedroom doors +opened, and Mrs. Wilson appeared in the distance, carrying a pile of +clean towels in her arms. + +"There's 'The Griffin'!" exclaimed Lindsay. "She mustn't catch us here, +on any account. She'll tell Miss Russell, and we shall each lose a +conduct mark. Quick! Let us hide somewhere till she's gone by." + +The ancient arras seemed to offer a safe retreat. As fast as possible +they whisked behind it, and stood flattening themselves against the +wall, hoping Mrs. Wilson would notice nothing lumpy or unusual as she +passed. + +At the same time came a sound of heavy tramping footsteps from the other +end of the gallery, and Cicely, peeping through a hole in the tapestry +which happened to be on a convenient level with her eyes, saw Scott, the +gardener, coming down the flight of stairs which led from the upper +landing. He met Mrs. Wilson exactly opposite the hiding-place where the +girls were concealed, and the two stopped to speak, quite unaware that +listening ears were eagerly following their conversation. + +"Have you been in the lantern room?" began the old housekeeper uneasily. +"I'd no idea you were going up this afternoon." + +"Thought I'd best take a look," returned Scott. + +"There wasn't any need. I was there myself this morning, and things were +all right." + +"I don't know what you may call all right," grunted Scott. "There was +far too much noise going on to satisfy me." + +"You don't think there's any danger----?" burst out Mrs. Wilson, in an +anxious voice. + +"No, no!" interrupted Scott quickly. "Not for the present, at any rate. +Don't upset yourself. Still, it needs care, especially with all this +crew in the house." + +"Yes, it's that that's worrying me. I shan't breathe freely till they're +gone. And such an inquisitive, meddlesome set they are, too! You'd +scarcely believe the trouble they give me. Two of them took it into +their heads one day to go wandering on the upper landing. I actually +found them inside the lantern room!" + +Scott gave an exclamation of something like alarm. + +"That'll never do!" he said. "You mustn't let them go poking about +there; it would be most unsafe. Can't you lock the door?" + +"No, the key's lost." + +"I must try if I can find a padlock for it." + +"I wish you would. It would take a load off my mind. By the by, I wanted +to warn you----" + +But here one of the housemaids came along the landing, Mrs. Wilson's +voice sank to a whisper, and the only words audible were "Miss Monica", +"evening", and "wouldn't trust". + +"I'll be extra careful," said Scott, as he clumped away. + +Lindsay and Cicely waited several moments after the gallery was empty +before they ventured to emerge from behind the tapestry. They had the +great satisfaction of having learnt something. They now knew definitely +that there was a secret in connection with the lantern room which both +Mrs. Wilson and Scott were anxious to keep from them. + +"What can it be?" speculated Cicely. "Did you notice what he said about +the noise? It must have been that dreadful groaning we heard." + +"I've been thinking about that," replied Lindsay. "There may be a hidden +room, and someone shut up in it." + +"As a prisoner, do you mean?" + +Lindsay nodded. + +"But who could it be?" + +"I can't imagine, unless--could it possibly be old Sir Giles Courtenay? +Perhaps he didn't really die, after all. Don't you remember, in +_Ivanhoe_, how Athelstane of Coningsburgh was supposed to be killed, and +he was really only stunned; and the monks of St. Edmunds put an empty +coffin in the chapel, and kept him in a dungeon and pretended he was +dead, because they wanted his property? Mrs. Wilson may be doing the +same." + +"How dreadful!" Cicely looked quite appalled at the idea. "I suppose she +goes up, then, to feed him. Scott must know too. I shouldn't have +thought it of Scott. I rather liked him. I expect they'll share the +money between them. I wonder what 'The Griffin' was warning him about. I +hope they're not hatching a plot against Monica!" + +"It looks bad," said Lindsay, "decidedly bad. It's evidently something +shady, or they wouldn't want to keep it so quiet. It may be a very good +thing for Monica that we've taken the matter up." + +"What shall we do?" + +"We must stalk 'The Griffin' again, and try to follow her to that room, +and see what she does there." + +"She's as wary as a weasel." + +"Then we must be clever and outwit her. I'm positive she has some scheme +on hand that ought to be watched. One doesn't know how much may depend +upon it." + +It was certainly very exciting to feel that dark deeds might be taking +place in the attic, and that they were the fortunate instruments +selected by fate for the purpose of bringing the wrongdoers to justice. +It gave them a delightful sense of superiority over the other girls, +whose heads were full of nothing but tennis and croquet, and who never +troubled themselves with a thought about the missing treasure. + +"Merle is the only one who knows anything," said Lindsay, "and I verily +believe 'The Griffin' must have bribed her." + +Mrs. Wilson evidently used the utmost precaution in her visits to the +top landing. In spite of the pains they took to watch her movements, it +was some days before they found the propitious moment. "All things come +to those who wait," says the old proverb, however, and it proved true in +this case. + +One afternoon, through the chink of the bathroom door, they saw her walk +into the gallery as if she were going to the upper story. As stealthily +as Indians they crept after her. They tiptoed along the passages, and +just caught a glimpse of the tail of her skirts as she passed up the +winding staircase and entered the lantern room. Very quietly they +followed on to the little landing, and listened for a moment outside the +closed door. + +"What is she doing?" whispered Cicely. + +"That's what I want to find out." + +They both tried to peep through the keyhole, and bumped their heads +together in the attempt. + +"I can hear her moving!" + +There was a slight noise inside, almost like the clicking of a latch, +then all was perfectly silent. + +Lindsay could bear it no longer. + +"Here goes!" she cried boldly, and flung open the door. To her utter +amazement, the room was absolutely empty. Mrs. Wilson had vanished as +completely as if she had been a ghost. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Monica + + +The two girls rushed into the empty room and examined every corner +minutely. There was not a trace of any secret exit to be found. The +opening through which Mrs. Wilson must have disappeared was evidently +marvellously well concealed. + +"Where can she be? It's like magic!" whispered Cicely. + +"Wherever she's gone, I suppose she'll have to come back," replied +Lindsay. + +"Listen!" said Cicely, with a start. + +It was the same strange sound again which they had heard on their former +expedition--a low, long-drawn-out moaning, as of someone in pain, feeble +at first, then growing louder, and suddenly ceasing. + +"Oh! I wonder if she's hurting anybody?" cried Cicely, shuddering with +horror. + +"I'd give a great deal to find out what's going on. I'm afraid it's +something that won't bear the light of day," said Lindsay uneasily. + +"Dare we wait till she comes out of her hiding-place?" + +"Yes, but we mustn't stay here. It would spoil everything if she caught +us. Let us go outside and close the door again, and watch through the +keyhole; then, if we see her coming, we can rush." + +Mrs. Wilson's errand was evidently a long one. Though they relieved each +other more than once in mounting guard over the keyhole, she did not +return. + +"Perhaps she knows we're here, and won't come out till we've gone," +suggested Lindsay at last. + +"How could she know?" + +"She may have been looking at us all the time through some little spy +place." + +"Oh, how horrid! It makes me feel quite creepy to think of it." + +The fact that they were doing exactly the same did not strike either of +the girls. Circumstances alter cases, and they considered they were +justified in their plan of action. They grew extremely tired of waiting, +but they were determined not to give in. + +"There's that noise again!" said Cicely. "She must have a prisoner shut +up there; I'm perfectly certain about it." + +Both put their ears to the door, and were so absorbed in listening to +the queer sounds inside the room that they did not hear footsteps +sounding up the winding staircase. An exclamation behind them caused +them to turn hastily round. + +There was Monica!--the last person in the world whom they had expected +to see, and who was looking as astonished as themselves at the meeting. +Lindsay and Cicely felt decidedly embarrassed. Monica must have seen +them peeping through the keyhole, and they knew they had been discovered +in a somewhat doubtful and discreditable occupation. They could not +possibly begin to explain that it was entirely on her account and for +her benefit, so they simply turned very red and said nothing. It was a +most uncomfortable situation. + +There was a painful pause, and then Monica recovered her presence of +mind. + +"Why, Lindsay and Cicely, I thought you were with the others in the +garden!" she said. + +"We were only exploring the house a little," replied Lindsay, trying to +pass the matter off carelessly. "Miss Russell said there were +interesting things all over it." + +"I'm afraid you won't find much to interest you among empty bedrooms," +said Monica, in her calm, quiet voice. "If you like to come downstairs +with me I'll show you some of the curiosities in my cabinet. I've a +great many old coins and a few daggers that were dug up when the moat +was drained." + +Looking rather shamefaced, the pair went with Monica to the library, +where she unlocked an oak cupboard, and spent quite twenty minutes in +explaining her various treasures. She was most kind, and spared no +trouble, but the others could not get over their confusion. They had the +guilty sensation that they had been caught like naughty children, and +were being amused to keep them out of the way. + +"Why was Monica going into the lantern room?" demanded Lindsay, the +moment they were alone. + +"Does she know the secret?" ventured Cicely. + +"Either she knows, or she's trying to find out. Perhaps she's stalking +Mrs. Wilson too!" + +This was a new idea, and required consideration. + +"Then that would perhaps be what 'The Griffin' was warning Scott about," +said Cicely reflectively. "Ought we to tell Monica?" + +"Not yet--not till we've something more definite to go upon. We've only +suspicions at present, and one can hardly speak about those. She might +be offended, and think us meddlesome, especially as she doesn't like to +talk of her affairs." + +"I'm afraid she'll think us sneaky and underhand, in any case. I'm so +sorry she saw us spying like that." + +"Well, we couldn't help it, and we can't explain." + +"Mightn't we just say why----?" + +"It's no use," interrupted Lindsay decidedly. "We'd better not breathe a +word." + +And Cicely, as usual, gave way. + +It was gratifying to feel that they were Monica's champions, though she +might not yet be aware of what she owed them. They must be content to be +misunderstood for a little while; afterwards she would appreciate what +they had been doing for her, and would thank them accordingly. They +often looked at her in school with the satisfactory sensation that they +knew something of which everyone else, even Miss Russell, was ignorant. + +I fear the lessons suffered sometimes while they indulged in day-dreams, +for it was hard to recall such mundane matters as the capital of Mexico, +or the date of Magna Charta, when their thoughts were far away in the +lantern room, busy with concealed prisoners or supposed plots. + +"You're the two most inattentive girls in the class!" cried Miss Frazer +indignantly one day, after a specially bad lapse of memory. "You both +did far better at Winterburn Lodge. I cannot understand why your work +should have fallen off so much lately. This is the third time this week +you have had bad marks. If it occurs again, I shall be obliged to report +you to Miss Russell." + +Apart from their interest in her as the owner of the hidden treasure, +Lindsay and Cicely regarded Monica with the worship which schoolgirls +are sometimes fond of bestowing upon a companion who happens specially +to attract them. They admired the shape of her nose and her long +chestnut hair, and considered her dignified manner absolute perfection. +They used to follow her about at a respectful distance, longing to +improve the acquaintance; but they received so many snubs from the elder +girls, who also wished to monopolize her, that matters did not advance +much further than an occasional "Good morning" or "Good afternoon". + +"The big ones are so jealous, they like to keep her all to themselves," +grumbled Cicely. "Eleanor Wright was quite rude when I offered to lend +Monica a pencil yesterday. She said I was 'officious'." + +"They're horribly mean," agreed Lindsay. + +Monica had certainly become a great favourite at the Manor with both +teachers and pupils, and, had she been of a less steady disposition, +might have run considerable danger of being spoilt. She took her sudden +popularity, however, very serenely, and scarcely seemed to notice that +her schoolfellows were quarrelling over who should sit next her in +class, or take part with her in a game of tennis. + +"She always seems so calm and superior, like a nightingale among +sparrows," remarked Irene Spencer sentimentally. + +"Or a swan among a flock of geese," laughed Mildred Roper. "You've all +grown really quite silly over Monica. I admire her very much myself, +but I don't go and kiss her jacket when it's hanging in the vestibule, +or beg her old torn exercises for keepsakes." + +"Oh, well, you're a monitress!" + +"I've got a little common sense left, I'm thankful to say." + +The pretty rose-covered cottage where Monica and her mother had +established themselves for the summer was only a few minutes' walk away +from the Manor. One afternoon Miss Russell, happening to meet Lindsay +and Cicely in the hall, gave them a note, and told them to take it at +once to Mrs. Courtenay, and bring back an answer. + +The two girls ran off in high glee, delighted to have this opportunity +of seeing their idol in private. They found Monica preparing her French +lesson in the small strip of front garden, but she put her books aside +as they opened the gate. + +"Come to Mother," she said, when they had explained their errand, +leading the way through a French window into a low, old-fashioned +sitting-room. + +Mrs. Courtenay was a sweet, delicate-looking lady, with a gentle, +refined face, and hair slightly streaked with grey. She did not rise +from her sofa when they entered, but held out her hand instead, and +asked them to come and speak to her. + +"I am somewhat of an invalid, you see," she said. "The doctor is very +strict, and has told me to lie still. It's rather hard, but I am trying +to obey. So you are two of Monica's little friends? Well, now you are +here, you had better stay for tea. The letter? Oh, I'll send Jenny, our +maid, with the answer, and she shall tell Miss Russell that I'm keeping +you. We'll take care that you go back in plenty of time for +preparation." + +This was indeed a most unexpected treat. Both Lindsay and Cicely beamed +with smiles. They were the only girls in the school who had been thus +favoured, and they felt that their present enjoyment would be equalled +by the envy which they would excite among the others on their return. + +"I am glad to hear you are all so happy at the Manor," continued Mrs. +Courtenay. "Isn't it a dear, interesting old place? I expect Monica will +have told you most of the legends. No! Why, Monica, what have you been +thinking of? Do you mean to say they haven't heard yet about your +ancestress and Sir Humphrey Warden in the rose avenue?" + +"There really hasn't been any time for telling stories, Mother," +declared Monica, "we've been so busy playing tennis when we were not at +lessons. I'm never very good at remembering them, either--not like you +are." + +"I suppose I must consider myself the family chronicler," said Mrs. +Courtenay. "We certainly ought to let Lindsay and Cicely hear the tale +of the picture. Ah, here comes tea! Monica, you must look after our +guests." + +Monica evidently loved to be her mother's nurse. She placed a small +table by the side of the sofa, and busied herself in arranging cushions +and seeing that everything was placed for the invalid's greatest +comfort. She did not neglect the visitors either, and brought out a jar +of honey for their special benefit. + +"I know you'll like it, because you were so interested in the bees," she +said. "Do you remember the day when you went too close to the hives, and +nearly got stung?" + +"Yes; we had to run the whole length of the walk where the roses grow. I +shan't forget it in a hurry," answered Cicely. + +"That is the rose avenue where my namesake outwitted Sir Humphrey +Warden. I wish you would tell them the story, Mother." + +"Oh, do, please," pleaded Lindsay and Cicely; "we'd like so immensely to +hear it!" + +"I believe I shall just have time while we finish tea," said Mrs. +Courtenay. "I suppose you need not be back in school until half-past +five? Have you been in the long gallery at the Manor, and looked at the +pictures?" + +"Yes, often," said Cicely. + +"Then you will remember one, at the far end, of a girl in a white +dress, holding a bunch of roses in her hand?" + +"Yes; it's the prettiest of them all. We always say it's the exact image +of Monica." + +"It is the portrait of a Monica Courtenay who lived here in the time of +the Civil War. Her father was killed fighting for the king at Marston +Moor, and her only brother, Sir Piers, was also one of the hottest +supporters of the crown. When Cromwell came into power, Sir Piers had to +flee for his life. He was chased from one hiding-place to another. +Sometimes, like Prince Charles, he had to clamber up a tree until the +soldiers had passed by, and once he spent a night in a fox's hole. + +"At length, one summer evening, hunted almost to desperation, he +returned to his old home. He met his sister in the garden, and though +she exclaimed with joy at seeing him, she immediately made a sign for +silence, and motioned him to conceal himself under a large box tree +which stood near. + +"It was not safe, so she whispered, to go to the Manor. There were spies +about, and Sir Humphrey Warden, the most zealous Roundhead in the +district, had set a watch upon the house. At any moment they expected he +might arrive with a troop of soldiers. Piers must stay where he was, and +she would run and bring him the key of the boathouse; then, under cover +of the darkness, he might creep away to the river, get out the boat, and +drop with the current until he reached the sea, where possibly he might +find a ship to take him over to France. + +"She hurried indoors at once to fetch the small key that unlocked the +boathouse, but as she was returning down the avenue she found she was +just too late. There was a tramp of horses' hoofs, and Sir Humphrey +Warden came riding up at the head of a band of men. + +"'Good even, fair neighbour,' he said. 'I must needs make an inspection +of your house, and with your permission I will give myself the honour of +supping with you to-night. What brings you hither?' + +"'I do but take the air, and pluck a few of these fragrant blossoms,' +replied Monica hastily. 'I will presently conduct you to the Manor +myself, and entertain you.' + +"She was in a desperate strait. How could she manage to save her +brother? Now that Sir Humphrey had come, she knew her every movement +would be watched. No one could be trusted, for the servants (so she +feared) had all been bribed. Gathering a bunch of roses, she contrived +unnoticed to slip her little key inside the heart of one of them. + +"'I would fain crave the favour of a flower, madam,' said Sir Humphrey, +who was an admirer of fair dames, in spite of his Puritan dress. + +"'Take your choice, sir,' replied Monica, boldly holding out her bunch. +'Nay, not this red one; it is overblown, and will fall directly. 'Tis +but fit to be flung away. This pink hath the sweeter scent, an you will +wear it for me.' + +"As she spoke she tossed the rose containing the key with apparent +carelessness over the hedge to the foot of the box tree where her +brother was lying concealed; then, leading her unwelcome guest to the +house, she gave orders for his due entertainment. + +"Sir Humphrey and his men searched the Manor in vain, but they never +thought of looking in the garden, where the fugitive was waiting till +the darkness should be black enough to hide him. Sir Piers got safely +away to France, and returned in triumph to his estates when Charles II +came to his own again. As a remembrance of his wonderful escape, he +caused his sister's portrait to be painted, with the bunch of roses in +her hand. Ever since the Courtenays have had an almost superstitious +reverence for the picture. There is an old saying that it guards the +safety and fortunes of the family." + +"And what became of Monica?" asked Lindsay, who had been deeply +interested in the story. + +"She married a cavalier friend of her brother's, and went to live in +Devonshire. I believe she kept one of the roses treasured away in a box, +and it was buried with her when she died." + +"I suppose Monica was christened after her?" said Cicely. + +"Yes; that has always been a favourite name with the Courtenays, though +I do not think any of them can have more closely resembled the +portrait." + +"How can the picture guard your fortunes?" enquired Lindsay. + +"I don't know. It is one of those quaint ideas that sometimes linger in +families. Of course it is only a tale, and I am afraid I have been a +long while in telling it. Monica, dear, it is twenty minutes past five. +Lindsay and Cicely must hurry back to school at once, if they are to be +in time for preparation. We shall get into sad disgrace with Miss +Russell if we allow them to be late." + +"I think your mother is perfectly sweet," said Lindsay, as Monica walked +with them along the road to the Manor gates. + +[Illustration: "I KNOW WHAT MONICA WAS GOING TO SAY"] + +"She's just everything in the whole world to me," replied Monica. "I +wish she were stronger, though. She has been ill for such a long time. +The doctor says it would do her good to spend next winter in the south +of Italy, but that, I'm afraid, will be quite impossible. She ought +to go, it might make all the difference," she continued, almost as if +talking to herself; "yet we can't manage it, however much we try, +unless, indeed----" + +But here she seemed to recollect the presence of her companions, and +wishing them a hasty good-bye, she turned back to the cottage. + +"I know what Monica was going to say," remarked Cicely, as they walked +up the drive. + +"She meant her mother would be able to go away if the treasure were +found," replied Lindsay. "Oh! it does seem hard, when they need it so +badly, that it should be shut up somewhere, and doing no good to anybody +at all." + +"I think Monica is frightened lest Mrs. Courtenay should grow worse and +die, if they have to stay in England for the winter. I don't believe she +would enjoy a penny of her fortune if it were to come too late for her +to share it with her mother." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Lindsay's Luck + + +One day, shortly before Whitsuntide, Irene Spencer walked into the +third-class schoolroom with a letter in her hand, and a look on her face +which proclaimed news of some importance. + +"I don't believe any of you will ever guess what I've come to tell you," +she announced. "I've heard this morning from my aunt at Linforth +Vicarage. She writes asking me to spend a few days there at Whitsuntide +(we are to have a short holiday, you know), and she says: 'We have asked +Monica Courtenay, and we should be very pleased if Miss Russell would +also allow you to bring one of your younger schoolfellows who would +prove a nice companion for Rhoda.' My cousin Rhoda is twelve, so I have +to pick out one from among you six. Whichever it is will have an +uncommonly jolly visit, because we always have glorious times at +Linforth." + +"How delightful! Oh, do take me!" exclaimed the six in chorus, each +enchanted with such a tempting prospect, and anxious to be the chosen +favourite. + +"I wish I could take you all," replied Irene, "but unfortunately the +invitation is only for one. Miss Russell says this will be the best way +to arrange it. The girl who is nearest to Rhoda's age must go. Will you +each tell me the date of your birthday, and then I shall be able to +decide. Rhoda's is on the twentieth of March." + +It certainly seemed the fairest way of settling the question, and one +against which there could be no appeal. + +"Miss Russell is a modern Solomon," declared Cicely. "I'm afraid I +haven't the slightest chance, because I'm only eleven and a half, and so +is Nora." + +"I'm almost thirteen," wailed Beryl. "I wish I were a few months +younger. Effie, I shall be horribly jealous if the chance falls to you." + +"No such luck! I am a Christmas child," returned Effie. "I believe +Marjorie is nearer." + +"The twenty-seventh of February. Can anybody do better than that?" asked +Marjorie hopefully. + +"Mine is the sixth of April," said Lindsay. + +"About as much after Rhoda's as Marjorie's is before," said Irene. "We +must count it up exactly. Somebody give me a pencil and a piece of +paper. Let me see, the twenty-seventh of February to the twentieth of +March is twenty-one days, and the twentieth of March to the sixth of +April is only seventeen. Then Lindsay is nearer by four days." + +"Hurrah!" cried Lindsay, clapping her hands, "I'm glad I wasn't born a +week later. How dreadfully sorry I am for you all, especially Marjorie!" + +"My aunt says she will send the trap for us on Friday afternoon," +continued Irene. "And we are to stay until Tuesday morning, so that will +give us three whole days at Linforth. I'm sure you'll like Rhoda, and my +other cousins too. There are eight of them altogether. Meta, the eldest, +is seventeen; she's going to study music in Germany next September. +Ralph and Leonard are fifteen and fourteen; they go to the Appleford +Grammar School, and ride there every day on their bicycles. Then comes +Rhoda, and there are four little ones. They do lessons with a governess, +but perhaps some time Rhoda is to be sent to Winterburn Lodge. Aunt +Esther says she shan't treat us as visitors; we must make ourselves at +home amongst the others." + +The visit seemed an event worth looking forward to, not only on its own +account, but because Monica was to be one of the party. Lindsay could +hardly believe her good fortune, and rejoiced again and again over the +happy date of her birthday. She was in a state of great excitement on +the Friday afternoon, when the phaeton arrived with Monica already +installed on the front seat. To drive away in such company was indeed a +matter for congratulation, and she felt much sympathy for the +disconsolate five who were perforce left behind, especially for poor +Cicely, who would miss her more than anybody, and whose eyes were full +of tears at the parting. + +"Never mind," she whispered to the latter, "perhaps it will be your turn +next time for something nice. At any rate, I shall have heaps to tell +you when I come back." + +Linforth Vicarage was a long, rambling stone house, the flagged roof and +mullioned windows of which proclaimed it as belonging, equally with the +Manor, to a period of the past. It was a delightful, roomy, almost +medieval kind of a place, so picturesque, in its old-world fashion, that +one could forgive the lowness of the rooms, the narrowness of the +passages, the steepness of the stairs, and the inconvenience of the fact +that the front door opened directly into the dining-room, and the +bedrooms nearly all led into one another. None of these drawbacks seemed +to distress the young Greenwoods, who thought their home the nicest spot +in the world. They were a particularly jolly, merry, happy-go-lucky +family, full of jokes and noise. Rhoda, for whose benefit Lindsay had +been invited, received her visitor with enthusiasm. + +"I'm so glad Miss Russell let you come!" she said. "You see, Meta will +monopolize Irene and Monica, and I should have been left out altogether. +I'm delighted to have someone of my own age." + +Monica was a great favourite in the household, and held in request by +all, from Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood to Cyril, the baby. As Rhoda had +prophesied, however, she disappeared after tea with Meta and Irene, the +three elder girls evidently wishing to have a chat in private. Rhoda +made an effort to secure Lindsay to herself, but the four little +ones--Wilfred, Alwyn, Joan, and Cyril--begged so piteously not to be +banished from the society of the interesting visitor that in the end she +yielded, and allowed them to help to exhibit the various treasures in +the garden which she wished to show to her new friend. + +The Greenwoods had quite a menagerie in the way of pets. They kept them +in a disused stable, in neat cages with wire fronts, most of which had +been made by Ralph and Leonard. There were silky-haired, lop-eared +rabbits, that could be hugged in small arms without offering any +remonstrances; bright-eyed little guinea-pigs, which often caused +exciting chases by escaping from their owners' embraces and hiding away +behind the cages; a family of piebald mice, consisting of a mother and +five young ones, which generally went to bed in the daytime, and had to +be poked out of their sleeping quarters with a lead pencil to make them +show themselves; a morose-looking tortoise that would allow Wilfred to +scratch its head, but spat indignantly at the others; and a whole box +full of silkworms in various stages, from tiny, wriggling black threads +to chrysalids in cocoons. The children were accompanied to the stable by +a sharp little black Pomeranian; but they were obliged to leave him +outside in case he might hurt the rabbits, and he sat howling dolefully +on the doorstep until they came out again. He escorted them into the +garden afterwards, however, and so did a large nondescript kind of yard +dog, which was called Bootles, and which allowed itself to be harnessed +to a mail-cart, and drew Cyril up and down the path. + +"I want to show you our fruit trees," said Rhoda, leading the way to the +orchard. "We each have one of our very own, planted as soon as we were +born. Meta, Ralph, and Leonard have apples, Wilfred and Alwyn pears, +mine is a Victoria plum, Joan has a greengage, and Cyril a black cherry. +You see, they stand in a row, away from the other trees, so we call this +our part of the orchard." + +"Whose is the ninth?" enquired Lindsay, looking at a fine pear tree +which headed the line. + +"That belonged to our eldest brother," said Rhoda. "He died before I +can remember, but we still call it 'Herbert's tree'. The pears are +always ripe every year on his birthday, so we pick them all and pack +them carefully in a box, and send them to a children's hospital in +London. Mother sends the money she would have spent on his birthday +present too. They're the most beautiful pears, the best we have, and we +thought that was the nicest thing we could do with them." + +The Greenwoods' little gardens were as interesting as their fruit trees. +Each child appeared to have been trying a different experiment. Wilfred +had made a pond in his by sinking an old wooden tub in the ground, and +was trying to persuade a water-lily to grow in it. He had planted a +clump of iris and some forget-me-nots at the edge, which hung over +rather gracefully, and really looked quite pretty. He kept several frogs +to swim about in the water, though the constant catching of these rather +interfered with the wellbeing of the struggling lily. Alwyn had built a +miniature house in her plot out of old bricks and stones, and had +thatched it neatly with straw. She had made a gravel path up to the +front door, and had sown grass to represent lawns, and cut a round +flower bed in the middle of each. Joan's garden was subject to violent +changes. Last year it had been a potato patch, but as she dug up those +useful vegetables every day to see how they were sprouting, it was not +surprising that they refused to make much growth. Lately she had +converted the whole into a dolls' cemetery, and, with Cyril's aid, +keenly enjoyed conducting the funerals of various headless favourites, +waxing so enthusiastic over the obsequies that she even buried several +quite respectable wax babies, though, regretting their loss afterwards, +she was eventually forced to dig them up again. She put tombstones at +the heads of the graves, made of slates from the roof of a tumble-down +shed, and carefully wrote names, dates, and epitaphs upon them in slate +pencil, being greatly distressed when the inscriptions were invariably +obliterated by every fresh shower of rain. + +Cyril had sown the letters of his name in mustard and cress, which were +just coming up fresh and green, and would soon be ready to cut. He also +had some bulbs under pieces of glass in a corner which he called his +hothouse. Ralph and Leonard were so busy at school that their gardens +appeared to be mostly cared for by Rhoda, who had a very ambitious +scheme for her own. + +"I want to make a floral clock," she explained. "You see, I've dug a +round face and marked it out into twelve parts, and I'm going to put +each figure in different-coloured flowers. Then I thought if I could fix +a pole in the middle it ought to cast a shadow, and tell the time like a +sundial. I've made it north, south, east, and west by my compass, and +it will be most delightful if I can only get it to work." + +Rhoda had almost as much to show Lindsay in the house as out-of-doors. +There was her bedroom, a tiny sanctum where she kept all her special +treasures out of the way of the children's meddlesome fingers. It was a +very old-fashioned little room, with a low, black-beamed ceiling, and a +window that opened on to a small balcony, where she could grow +nasturtiums and other trailing plants in pots. The walls were covered +with pictures in home-made frames, wonderful arrangements of corks, +acorns, shells, or plaited straw; and there were quite a nice +writing-table and some wonderful bookcases. + +"The boys made these out of old boxes," said Rhoda. "They learn how in +their carpentry class at school, and they did them to surprise me on my +birthday. I keep all my books here. Father is giving me the poets now as +Christmas presents. I have Longfellow and Shakespeare and Wordsworth, +and I expect it will be either Cowper or Goldsmith next time. This is my +paint-box. I daren't leave it in the schoolroom for fear of the little +ones getting hold of it. Isn't it a beauty? Miss Johnson, our governess, +gave it to me as a prize for passing the Trinity College exam. in piano +and theory." + +"Do you like music?" asked Lindsay. + +"Yes, I think I'm rather fond of it. Miss Johnson wanted me to go in for +this exam.; she said it would be something to practise for. We had to go +to Bridgend to take it. It was rather fun, for we were the whole day in +getting there and back, and luckily I wasn't a scrap nervous. Do you +play?" + +"A little," replied Lindsay. "I'm learning the violin, but I can't have +any lessons at the Manor." + +"I wish you could come over and help us at one of our temperance +concerts." + +"Oh, I should be much too frightened!" exclaimed Lindsay, in horror. + +"You needn't mind in a little village like this," declared Rhoda. "The +people would think whatever you did was splendid. They clap at +everything, even when Ralph gives nigger songs; and he's got no voice, +and the banjo's generally out of tune, so that he's singing away in one +key and playing in another." + +"I don't know whether I could promise to keep in tune," laughed Lindsay. +"Do you play at these concerts?" + +"Yes, nearly always. It was a little awkward last time, because +something had gone wrong with the keys of the piano. They stuck down, +and I had to get Wilfred to sit underneath and keep poking them up as +fast as I played on them, or else half the notes wouldn't sound; and it +seemed so queer to only get part of a chord, and to miss the middle of +a run. It quite put me out. I suppose it was the damp that caused it. We +must get a tuner to come and see to it." + +"Did the people applaud?" + +"Yes, tremendously. I think it amused them to see Wilfred sitting +underneath. They simply roared every time he pushed up the keys. It was +as good as a comic song. It really is tiresome, though, to have a piano +like that at the school. John Crosby, the stonemason's little boy, sings +very nicely, and I went so wrong in playing his accompaniment, through +losing so many of the notes, that he finished half a verse ahead of me. +I apologized to him afterwards, but he said he didn't think anyone had +noticed it!" + +Lindsay found it quite a novel and entertaining experience to stay in +the midst of such a large, enterprising, lively family as the +Greenwoods. From Meta, the eldest, to Cyril, the baby, hardly out of +petticoats, all had very decided opinions of their own, which they urged +and argued with considerable force of character, but an amount of good +temper which spoke well for their training. Mrs. Greenwood, who thought +quarrelling greatly a matter of habit, insisted upon a certain standard +of home politeness being maintained, and would tolerate neither +domineering in the elder ones nor whining amongst the younger. + +"You can discuss a subject perfectly well without being rude to each +other when you differ," she declared. "You must take it in turns to have +your own way. It is not fair that the eldest should always arrange +everything, but on the other hand Joan and Alwyn will get nothing at all +if they begin to wail and complain in that most grumbling and unpleasant +tone of voice. I think it is a disgrace if you're all so selfish that +you can't agree. You must each be prepared to give up a certain amount, +for among eight children it is quite impossible for every one to be +first and foremost." + +Irene, being the Greenwoods' cousin, was accustomed to their tempestuous +ways, and ready to hold her own amongst them; while Monica looked on +with an amused smile, without taking part in any arguments or disputes. +There was certainly plenty to do at the Vicarage, and none of the three +guests could complain that the holiday was dull. + +On Saturday afternoon Meta, Rhoda, and the two eldest boys arranged that +they should make an expedition to a large lake about a couple of miles +away. They had been promised the loan of a boat there, and they proposed +to take their visitors for a trip on the water. They started off with +baskets of provisions, intending to land and have a picnic tea, if they +could find sufficient dry sticks upon the banks to light a fire and boil +their kettle. Both Meta and her brothers could row well, so the boat +was soon skimming over the lake in a delightfully smooth and +satisfactory fashion. + +"We daren't anchor anywhere near the woods," declared Meta, "Sir Percy +Harwood, the owner, is so very strict about trespassing." + +"Yes, the keepers are down on you if you even go a few yards into the +preserves," agreed Ralph. "Look here! What do you say to camping out on +that little island? There can't be any pheasants there to scare, and we +ought to get plenty of sticks." + +The island in question was a small, green-looking collection of hazel +bushes and birch trees, well out in the middle of the lake. It had an +attractive appearance, so they rowed through the quiet stretch of water +that separated them from it, and ran the boat in among the reeds that +grew at the edge. + +"It seems rather jolly," said Rhoda. "Suppose we leave the baskets here, +and go and explore first to find a good place?" + +"It's quite romantic," declared Irene, "like Ellen's Isle in the _Lady +of the Lake_. We ought to find a hunting-lodge among the trees, and an +interesting outlaw living there." + +"More likely to find a poacher!" laughed Ralph; "though there'd be +nothing for him to trap here, unless he kept a boat stowed away in the +reeds, and took midnight excursions into the woods." + +"I think it's the kind of place for a hermit," said Monica. "He could +have had a little cell and told his beads without being disturbed by +anybody, except an occasional knight-errant who would blow a horn from +the opposite bank. I wonder if one ever lived here?" + +"The landlords couldn't have been so particular about trespassing in +those days, then, if he did," replied Leonard. "I don't believe Sir +Percy Harwood would let anybody settle so near his pheasants; he'd +suspect steel traps or wire snares under the cassock, and expect to hear +a shot in the woods instead of a vesper bell." + +"We'll tie the boat to this old stump," said Ralph. "Be careful where +you step in getting off--the ground seems fearfully soppy. Perhaps it +may be better higher up. Let us come on a little. I say, there's +something rather queer about it, isn't there?" + +There certainly was something decidedly queer. The green mossy earth +under their feet gave way as if they were treading upon a feather bed. +At each step it sank with a curious squelching sound, and rose behind +with the elasticity of a cork, so that as they sprang here and there the +whole of the little island appeared to be bounding up and down beneath +them, as Leonard expressed it, "just like a spring mattress when you +jump on it". + +"The ground is so funny, too," said Meta, poking about with a stick; "it +doesn't seem proper soil, only roots and moss and grass growing through +it. Why, this stick goes down ever such a long way, and there's actually +water coming up!" + +The others all came to investigate, and standing close together began to +dig their sticks into the curious heaving surface. It bore their +combined weight for a moment or two, then sinking suddenly, like a +punctured indiarubber ball, it collapsed, and they found themselves +struggling nearly up to their waists in water. Luckily they were able to +clutch at the hazel bushes above, and, by swinging themselves along the +branches, to arrive at a firmer foothold, though even there the ground +felt very insecure and spongy, and little dark pools came oozing up with +every step. + +"We must keep as far apart from each other as we can," shouted Ralph; +"the wretched place has no solid foundation, it's only a collection of +sticks and leaves. Cling to the trees, and try to get back to the boat +before you go in any deeper. Don't put your weight on it! It's like +walking on thin ice." + +Very wet and muddy, and somewhat frightened, the explorers picked their +way carefully back, treading as much as possible on the roots of the +trees, and never letting go their hold of the boughs. They scrambled +into the boat again with considerable relief, and held a review of +their damaged garments. + +"I'm soaked to the skin!" declared Rhoda. "It's a horrible nuisance. +Look at Lindsay!" + +"I don't mind my clothes so much, if it weren't so uncomfortable. My +dress will wash," said Lindsay. + +"Mine won't though, I'm sorry to say!" groaned Irene. + +"I was carrying the cakes, and they're wet through, and not fit to eat," +announced Leonard. + +"The island is a perfect trap," said Meta, trying to squeeze the muddy +water from her own dress and Monica's. "I believe it's nothing but a +kind of raft, made out of all the dead wood and rubbish that have +accumulated in the lake. I expect seeds have blown on to it, and then +trees and bushes have sprung up. Now I think of it, I don't believe it +was in the same place last year, so it must be able to float. We shall +have to go home; we can't stop and picnic when we're drenched like +this." + +"I wonder how the hermit managed, if he ever lived there?" said Monica. + +"It must have been an excellent penance, with a chance of martyrdom at +the end of it," returned Ralph. "Well, I must say we have given our +visitors a pleasant afternoon! They won't want to take this as a +specimen of our picnics. No good offering tea and cake in this +condition!" + +"I'd rather have a cake of soap and a can of hot water!" said Irene. + +"Never mind!" said Leonard consolingly. "I vote we go up Pendle Tor on +Monday. We can boil a kettle there, and have no end of fun. If you've +never been before, I expect you'll say it makes up for this." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Pendle Tor + + +It was with much pleasurable anticipation that the picnic party set out +on Whit Monday for Pendle Tor. The four younger Greenwoods were left at +home, as the walk would be too far for them, but they announced their +intention of climbing a small hill behind the Vicarage in the afternoon, +and having an alfresco tea on their own account, which was to be equal, +if not superior, to that enjoyed by their elders--"because Mary will +just have finished baking, and she has promised to bring us some buns +straight out of the oven, and you certainly won't get those on Pendle +Tor," said Joan. + +Although they might be debarred from the pleasure of hot tea-cakes, the +mountaineers nevertheless did not mean to starve on their journey, to +judge from the baskets full of provisions which they bore with them. +Leonard had taken a milk-can that would serve to boil the water in +instead of a kettle, it being lighter to carry, and having the added +advantage that they could pack the teacups inside. + +"You see, an iron kettle is such a weight", he explained, "and the last +time we took one of those rubbishy sixpence-halfpenny tin ones the +solder all melted directly we put it on to the fire, and the spout +dropped off. We can sling the milk-can on a stick and prop it over the +fire, and it does splendidly." + +"Mind you don't break the cups!" said Irene, expecting to hear a smash +after the reckless way in which the can was being swung about. + +"Couldn't do it if I tried; they're all enamel ones. The Mater wouldn't +trust us with her best china, I assure you." + +"There are ever so many trout up in the stream by Inglemere," remarked +Ralph. "If we could manage to tickle a few, we might fry them in the lid +of the milk-can." + +"It's rank poaching!" declared Meta. + +"I don't care in the least," returned Ralph. "If Sir Percy complains +that any are missing, you can give him the bones, with my compliments." + + +"I don't think he would mind your catching one or two," said Monica. "I +know Sir Percy rather well, and it is only real poachers that he's so +hard on, and excursionists who come sometimes and try to fish. You see, +as he says, if everyone were allowed to take fish, there would soon be +none left, and people would begin to do it for the sake of selling them, +and not for the sport. He allowed Mr. Cross's nephews to fish last +summer when they were staying at the Rectory, and he said I might too, +if I ever felt inclined." + +"I've never seen trout tickled," said Lindsay. + +"It will be a case of 'First catch your fish, then cook it'," laughed +Rhoda. "It isn't at all easy to whisk them out--they're the most +slippery things you can imagine. I'm glad we don't have to depend on +Ralph's skill for our dinner. I was hoping we might find some mushrooms, +and stew them in part of the milk we've brought. We could put the can +down among the ashes of the fire, and they'd be cooking while we ate the +first course." + +"Well, it is certainly a case of 'First pick your mushrooms', for you +don't even know whether there'll be any," retorted Ralph. "The trout are +always there, at any rate." + +It was a long walk to Pendle Tor, and appetites, sharpened by the fresh +air of the hills, began to grow rather keen; but as they had all +resolved not to have their picnic before they had reached the summit, +they staved off the edge of their hunger with a few biscuits, and, +trudging on, covered the last mile in such quick time that Leonard +declared it reminded him of a paper-chase. It was rather a steep pull to +gain the highest point, yet they were well rewarded when they reached it +by the bird's-eye view of the landscape around them, farms, churches, +and distant village looking like so many toys, and the fields like the +divisions in a map. + +"I hope it doesn't mean to rain," said Monica, pointing to some rather +threatening clouds that were rolling up from the west. + +"We shall get a nice wetting if it does, for we haven't an umbrella +amongst us!" returned Irene. + +"Rain? Not it! Don't distress yourself; the glass was up to 'Fair' this +morning. It's only a little scrap of mist blowing over. I don't mind +giving you a butter-scotch in exchange for every drop of rain you get on +your hat to-day," declared Ralph, whose prophecies were generally in +exact accordance with his hopes, and who was apt to shut his eyes to +unwelcome truths. + +"Better not promise too much, old chap, or you may have to pay up," said +Leonard. "I don't like the look of the sky myself. But what's the odds? +It won't be the first time we've been wet through, by a long way, and I +suppose we shan't melt." + +"What about the lunch?" asked Rhoda. "I'm getting so famished, I can't +wait much longer." + +It was decided that the extreme top of the Tor was hardly a suitable +place--the wind was strong, and no water was available; so they climbed +some little distance down the cliff on the farther side, and at last hit +upon a sheltered spot among the rocks, where a small surface spring, +bubbling up from the ground, enabled them to fill the milk-can which was +to serve as a kettle. The boys cut large bundles of dry heather, and, +stacking it well together, soon had a good fire burning. They found it +after all impossible to suspend the can, for the flames burnt directly +through any stick that they tried to hang over the blaze; so they were +obliged to set it securely on an arrangement of stones, and rake the +fire round it. They had brought the tea in a muslin bag, which they +dropped into the can, to save a teapot; and though pouring out was +rather difficult, owing to the tin being so extremely hot, Meta managed +to dispense the cups without burning her fingers. + +"You haven't provided the fish course yet," said Rhoda to Ralph. "I +thought we were to have fried trout as part of the feast." + +"And I thought you were to give us mushrooms," retorted Ralph. + +"Shouldn't care to wait while she cooked them," declared Leonard. "Ham +sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs are quite good enough for me. Did you +bring any salt? Another cup of tea, please, and don't be stingy with +the sugar, Meta. I like three lumps." + +"I wonder why things always taste so different out-of-doors," said +Lindsay, looking reflectively at the three-cornered strawberry jam +pastry she was eating. + +"Why, I saw you swallow an ant on your tart just now," said Ralph, "so +perhaps that has given it a flavour. Oh, you needn't distress yourself! +Ants are quite wholesome, I assure you. There are a frightful lot of +them crawling about here, though. I think we shall have to move on a +stave." + +"Ugh! Yes. They're stinging me already!" agreed Lindsay. + +They were all a little tired after their long walk, so they were glad to +sit and rest after lunch, asking riddles, cracking jokes, and listening +to the boys' school tales of exciting cricket matches, private feuds, +combats between class champions, and the punishments that had been meted +out to certain sneaks and bullies--accounts which were as thrilling in +their way as the doughty deeds of mail-clad knights of old, the warlike +sentiments being just the same, though the setting of the century might +differ. It was so interesting that nobody gave a thought to the time, or +remembered the ominous clouds that had been stretching themselves out +like long ribbons over the moor. + +"Why, where's the view gone to?" cried Monica at last. "I thought we +could see Linforth and the lake from here, and the tower of Haversleigh +Church." + +She might well exclaim in astonishment. Instead of the landscape which +had met their eyes before, there was nothing to be seen but a great +white wall of mist that seemed to close them in on every side, as if +some giant hand had suddenly drawn down a blind between them and the +distance. + +"Whew!" exclaimed Ralph, starting to his feet, and indulging in a +long-drawn-out whistle. "This is a nice fix! We're in the middle of a +cloud. I never saw it coming up. It will be uncommonly awkward to get +out of it. What a shame of old Pendle Tor to play us such a trick!" + +"Will it soon blow over, do you think?" asked Irene. + +"I don't know," replied Meta rather gravely. "Sometimes the clouds stay +on these moors for days and days together. I wish we had noticed it +sooner, and gone down to the road again before we were surrounded. I'm +afraid it may be very difficult to find our way now." + +"I don't think it's any use waiting," said Leonard, "it mayn't clear for +hours. We'd better pack up our traps, and make the best push we can to +try to strike the path." + +"We must all stick close together," remarked Ralph. "It won't do to get +divided, or we might never find each other again. We'd better keep well +to the right; there's an old quarry on the left, and it wouldn't be +exactly pleasant to walk into it. Luckily I've a pocket compass on my +watch chain." + +Very much sobered in spirits, the picnic party hastily packed up the +baskets, and, choosing Ralph as guide, set off down the hillside, hoping +to find some track that would lead eventually into the road below. It +was a strange walk, groping their way through what Monica described as +"white darkness". The heavy mist hung in the air like a blanket, so +completely shutting them in that they could scarcely see each other at a +distance of even a few feet, and it was only by keeping near enough to +touch one another that they managed to avoid being separated. Though +they had some general idea of their direction, they did not really know +where they were walking, and stumbled blindly on through heather and +bilberry bushes, over stones and rocks, only feeling that they were +going downhill. It was very slow progress. Ralph stopped continually to +consult his compass, and occasionally gave a loud "cooee", in case they +might find some wandering shepherd or countryman who would be able to +help them. There was no answer to his calls, however--only the +occasional bleat of a sheep that sounded far off and muffled through +the mist. They knew there was neither cottage nor farm within hail, and +unless they could strike the road they might wander on hour after hour +over the moors, only getting farther and farther out of their way. Tired +out with the rough trudge, the girls at last declared they must sit +still for a few minutes and rest. + +"I'm awfully sorry to have landed you in such a hole," said Ralph, "but +who would have thought those innocent-looking clouds would have come +down on us like feather beds? You really never know what to expect on +these hills." + +"I wonder what we'd better do?" said Monica. + +"Stay where we are," suggested Irene. + +"It would be too cold to spend the night here," replied Meta. + +"We haven't even our jackets with us," added Lindsay. + +"Unless we're quite dead beat, we'd better push on," said Leonard. "I'm +hoping we may come to the stream, because we could find our way along +the banks to Whitcombe, at any rate. I've been listening for it all the +time, but I haven't heard a sound." + +"I wish we had a divining rod!" groaned Rhoda. "That would tell us in +what direction the water lay. We've been going south-east all the time, +haven't we?" + +"Yes, I believe the stream lay due south from where we started," +answered Ralph, "but I didn't dare to turn that way, because of the +quarry. Perhaps we may strike it higher up. If you're rested, girls, +we'll be going." + +The damp, clinging clouds appeared to have settled down to stay. The +wind that had been blowing earlier in the day, when they ascended Pendle +Tor, had ceased, and there was not even the breath of a breeze to blow +away the clammy mist that was already drenching their clothes with a +chilly dew. It was now half-past five o'clock, and they had been +wandering for more than an hour. + +"I haven't an idea where we are, nor how far we've come," said Ralph. "I +only know I've been steering east by the compass. Of course we've been +going very slowly, but I think we shouldn't be far from the brook. If we +could find that, it would be an enormous help." + +"I believe I hear water now," said Rhoda, pausing a moment. "I'm sure I +do: to our left. Listen!" + +All stood still, with every sense on the alert, straining their ears +intently for the faintest murmur. In the far distance it seemed to them +that they could certainly catch the unmistakable rush of a stream +flowing swiftly over a rough, stony bed. Guided by the sound, they +stumbled on, till at length, after climbing over a number of rocks, +they reached the welcome brook that was to be their path to home and +safety. + +"I'm uncommonly glad to see it!" said Ralph, stooping to take a drink. +"I began to think we should never get back again. If we follow it down, +it will lead us straight into Whitcombe. Of course, that's far enough +out of our way, but we might get a trap there, and drive home." + +It was a most terrible scramble down the bed of the stream, over jagged +rocks, among briers and bushes, and through rushes and reeds. The mist +still wrapped them round, and they did not dare to venture away from the +water to find smoother walking. The three visitors, who were not +accustomed to such exploits, were nearly exhausted, while even sturdy +Meta and Rhoda showed signs of giving in. + +"We're at the old bridge now," said Ralph, trying to encourage them. "We +can climb up and get on to the road. It's only about three miles farther +to Whitcombe village. We're bound to find a trap of some sort there, and +then you'll be all right." + +"I think the mist is lifting a little," said Leonard; "it isn't half as +thick as it was. Look at the sun trying to get through!" + +"I believe we're walking straight out of the edge of the clouds. That's +what it is!" declared Ralph. "I begin to see the trees. Hurrah! It's +clearing ever so. We'll scramble up the bank, and we shall get along +much faster on the road than down here on these wretched stones. Cheer +up, girls! You'll soon be in Whitcombe now." + +An hour afterwards, very footsore and weary, the party limped into +Whitcombe, a small hamlet consisting of a wayside inn and a handful of +cottages. It was eight o'clock, and the sun, behind long bars of crimson +and grey, had already begun to sink below the horizon. They were nine +miles away from home, as the stream had led them in quite a different +direction from Linforth, and, as Leonard expressed it, they had +"altogether landed themselves in a jolly pickle". Just at present tea +seemed the most pressing necessity, so a council of war was held to see +what funds could be mustered for the purpose. These did not amount to +very much. Lindsay and Rhoda were penniless, Monica also had left her +purse at the Vicarage. Irene and Meta mustered a shilling between them. +Ralph had a sixpence, while the contents of Leonard's pockets proved to +be exactly those of the traditional schoolboy's, twopence-halfpenny and +an old knife. + +"I'm afraid it won't go very far," said Ralph. "We shall have to ask +them to give us tick. Come along! We'll try the inn, and see what they +will do for us." + +"We must tell them who we are," added Meta, "and say Father will pay +afterwards." + +The sight of seven such _bona fide_ travellers appeared to occasion much +surprise, to both the good woman at the bar and the few villagers who, +with pipes and glasses, were sitting discussing local politics and the +chances of the harvest. Tea at the unwonted hour of eight seemed an +unprecedented request, and the landlady was not content until she had +satisfied her curiosity as to who her guests were, where they came from, +and what they wanted at Whitcombe at that time in the evening. + +"What we want is some tea," said Ralph, after a brief explanation of +their adventure, "and anything in the shape of a conveyance that can +take us back to Linforth to-night. We've only one and +eightpence-halfpenny amongst us, but my father will pay the rest when we +get home. If you like, I'll leave you my watch and chain." + +"You've no need to do that!" laughed the landlady. "I'm sure I can trust +you. Come into the little parlour, and have your teas there. The young +ladies look ready to drop, and this is no fit place for them to sit down +in. Those mists be nasty things up Pendle Tor. It's a mercy as you've +got down at all. There was a gentleman from London caught there last +autumn, and he wandered round and round in a circle for two days before +it cleared and they found him. He was nigh dead, too, with the cold and +the damp. My son Albert shall put the horse in the trap and drive you +home. I dare say you'll manage to cram in somehow." + +No tea was ever so acceptable as the large, steaming cups which they +drank in the stuffy little parlour, and no carriage and pair could have +been more welcome than the old market cart that came round to the door +afterwards. It was rather a problem how to pack themselves and the +driver into it, but Lindsay sat on Meta's knee, and Rhoda squeezed +herself between her two brothers on the front seat. The horse walked up +and down hill, and only rose to a measured trot on level ground, so it +took a considerable time to accomplish the nine-mile journey, and it was +nearly eleven o'clock before they reached the Vicarage. Very tired and +cold and cramped, they rushed into the house, where Mrs. Greenwood, in +an agony of suspense, had been imagining all the accidents which could +possibly have happened to them, and was preparing herself for the worst. +The Vicar and some of the neighbours, it appeared, were out searching +for them with lanterns, so a messenger was quickly sent through the +village to spread the good news of their safe arrival. + +"You can't complain you've had no excitement here," said Ralph to the +three guests. "We almost drowned you on Saturday, and to-day we nearly +lost you on the moors. You're going to-morrow, or we might have had some +more hairbreadth escapes. At any rate, I don't think you'll forget +Pendle Tor in a hurry!" + +Lindsay had certainly plenty of news to relate when she returned to the +Manor. Her classmates were quite envious, and poor Cicely was a little +wistful lest Rhoda should have usurped her place in her friend's +affections. Of that, however, she need not have been afraid. Lindsay was +faithful to her chosen chum, and had so many things to ask about, as +well as adventures to tell, that the two were soon chattering as fast as +usual. Cicely had made no further important discoveries during the few +days, though she had kept a careful watch on Mrs. Wilson, and had once +noticed her go up to the lantern room carrying a jug in her hand. Scott +had not been in the house again, but he had been seen talking earnestly +with "The Griffin" in the garden. He had gone hastily away when Cicely +approached, so he evidently did not wish the conversation to be +overheard. Whether it had anything to do with the mystery or not, it was +of course impossible to say. + +"I'm rather glad, on the whole, that nothing particular happened while +you were away," said Cicely. "I should have wanted so dreadfully to +tell somebody, I'm afraid Marjorie Butler might have wormed it out of +me. As it is, they none of them know, and we still have the secret to +ourselves." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +The Plot Thickens + + +After hearing the story of Monica Courtenay, their friend's ancestress, +Lindsay and Cicely felt a special interest in her portrait. They +strolled one afternoon along the picture gallery to take another look at +it. There were the pretty smiling face--so like Monica's--and the bunch +of red roses that had saved the life of Sir Piers Courtenay. Was all the +good fortune of the race to be hers, and would none of it descend to the +namesake who so closely resembled her? + +"If she could only come back and be of some use again!" sighed Lindsay. +"She ought to know every secret of this house." + +"I wish we could make her speak and tell us," said Cicely. + +At that moment a distant door banged, and a great gust of wind blew +along the gallery. Cicely started violently. + +"Lindsay, did you see?" she exclaimed. "The picture moved in its +frame!" + +"Nonsense! How could it?" said Lindsay, who had been looking the other +way. + +"I tell you it did!" + +"You must have imagined it." + +It certainly seemed rather improbable. The portraits were all firmly +fixed in the panelled walls, and no breath of air could be expected to +penetrate behind them. + +"It's almost as if she were alive," continued Cicely, "and just when we +were wishing she could talk! No wonder people make up tales about her. I +don't think I quite like it." + +"How silly you are!" said Lindsay scornfully. "You might have seen a +ghost!" + +"Well, it is queer! You needn't laugh at me so. I'm not going to stay +here any longer; I vote we go out into the garden." + +Pictures that moved were rather more than Cicely had bargained for. +Mysteries were all very well in their way, but she began to feel it was +possible to have too much of a good thing. It was a distinct relief to +her to leave the gloomy old gallery, with its armour and tapestry, and +walk out into the fresh air and sunshine. There was still half an hour +to be disposed of before tea, and the two girls sauntered leisurely in +the direction of the kitchen-garden. + +"I wish I knew where the boathouse used to be that Sir Piers wanted the +key for," said Lindsay. + +"It was not very far away, I dare say. The river runs somewhere at the +bottom of those fields." + +"I wonder if there's a path." + +"I believe there's one at the end of the orchard. I saw Scott walking +down there once." + +"Shall we go and see?" + +"All right!" + +The orchard was forbidden ground. Perhaps, though, the fact that they +risked a scolding, or even a mark for bad conduct, only made the +adventure more interesting. They ascertained first that Scott was safely +attending to his tomatoes in the greenhouse, then they dived hastily +between the rows of young apple trees. Cicely was right. At the far end +there was a small gate that led into a meadow. + +"The river must be over there, hidden by those willows," said Lindsay. + +"I hope we shan't meet a bull," said Cicely, looking nervously at a +group of cattle in the distance. + +"Oh, come along! You're surely not afraid of cows!" + +They had soon crossed the field and reached the shade of the willows by +the water's edge. The low bank was covered with reeds and rushes. Tall +purple flowers were growing on a green, boggy island close by. It was a +very pleasant place, just the kind of spot to choose on a hot summer's +afternoon. + +"Far nicer than the garden, because we have it all to ourselves," +declared Cicely. + +"Oh, look what I've found!" exclaimed Lindsay ecstatically. + +She had been poking about among the reeds, and now pointed in triumph +under the branches of a big willow to a smooth little pool, where there +actually floated a punt, anchored by a long chain to the trunk of the +tree. + +It was a most attractive-looking boat, nicely polished, and with the +name _Heatherbell_ painted in neat white letters on the prow. It came +quite easily to the edge of the bank when Lindsay pulled the chain, and +seemed deliberately to invite them to step into it. Such a temptation +was not to be resisted. In a moment they were both inside. + +"If I can manage to untie it, I'm sure I could punt us out on to the +river," said Lindsay. + +"Oh, do! And then perhaps we could find some water-lilies," agreed her +ever-willing friend. + +Lindsay leaned over to reach the chain. It was wound tightly round the +tree, and was very difficult to unfasten. + +"I'll come and help you!" cried Cicely, and without a thought of the +consequences she bounced up, and stepped to the other end of the boat. + +Her sudden change of position utterly upset the balance of their small +craft. There was a splash, a succession of squeals, and both girls were +floundering in the water. Luckily the pool was shallow, and they were in +no danger of drowning; but by the time they reached the bank they were +wet through, and in an extremely draggled condition. + +"What are we to do?" said Cicely blankly, trying to wring the water out +of her skirts. + +"Go back, I suppose, and put on dry things," replied Lindsay. "We shall +get into a fearful scrape, I expect." + +"Yes! What will Miss Frazer say?" + +Miss Frazer was on the point of collecting her flock in preparation for +tea, when two dejected, dripping figures came creeping along the +terrace. If they had hoped to reach the side door unobserved, they were +soon undeceived; the governess's sharp eyes spied them at once. + +"Lindsay and Cicely!" she burst out wrathfully. "You naughty girls! +Where have you been? Come at once into the house and change your +clothes. You give more trouble than all the rest of the class put +together. Miss Russell will have to be told about this." + +Miss Russell was angry--really angry. She lectured them both severely, +and stopped their recreation for the whole of the next day. This seemed +only a very small circumstance in itself, but strangely enough it led +indirectly to something of much more consequence. + +The two delinquents looked decidedly rueful when, instead of going into +the garden as usual, they were obliged to sit in the classroom, and copy +out a passage from "Lycidas" in their best handwriting. It was trying, +certainly, particularly as the other girls were playing a tennis +handicap, and they could hear the soft thud of balls, and the cries of +"'Vantage!" or "Game!" It was possible to see a few heads bobbing over +the wall, but they could not gather how the tournament was progressing, +nor which was the winning side. + +Long before tea-time they had finished their allotted portions, and +going to the window they leaned out, to try to catch a glimpse of what +was happening on the lawn. The classroom was at the back of the house, +and overlooked a small paved courtyard. Below, on a wooden bench in the +sunshine, sat Scott, leisurely blacking boots, and humming to himself in +a voice that had little tune in it. The cat, purring loudly, was rubbing +herself vigorously against his trousers. + +The girls were just going to call to him, and beg him to peep through +the door in the wall and give them some news of the tennis players, when +they suddenly changed their intention. Mrs. Wilson had appeared in the +porch. She brought out a flower vase, flung the stale water away, and +refilled it from one of the butts that stood near. + +Scott had evidently seen her too, for he gave a short whistle to attract +her attention, then, throwing down his blacking brush, he crossed the +courtyard to speak to her. In spite of his lowered tone, his voice rose +up clearly to the classroom window above. + +"About what we were talking of this morning," he began. "It had best be +done as soon as possible. I'll do it to-night." + +"I've marked the place," replied Mrs. Wilson, "but I'll come with you to +make sure. You'll want a helping hand. It's too much for one." + +"You can hold the lantern, at any rate. It's a job that will need some +caution. We mustn't attempt it till it's quite dark." + +"No, not till everything's quiet," said Mrs. Wilson, as she re-entered +the house. + +Lindsay drew Cicely back quickly into the room, as Scott returned to his +rows of boots on the bench. She did not wish him, at any cost, to see +them at the window, or to know that they had overheard the conversation. + +"What are they going to do?" asked Cicely breathlessly. + +"I don't know. It must be something dreadful if they want to keep it so +quiet." + +"And do it in the dark, too!" + +"I'm afraid both Mrs. Wilson and Scott are bad characters," said Lindsay +in an impressive voice. "I expect they've stolen the treasure, and +they're going to hide it in the garden. Perhaps even it may have +something to do with the prisoner in the lantern room." + +"You don't think they've killed him?" gasped Cicely. + +"I can't tell. I believe they're capable of anything. I'm quite uneasy +for fear they intend to harm Monica. We'll watch to-night, and find out +what they're about. I shouldn't wonder if we're on the verge of a great +discovery. It was most fortunate we were kept in this afternoon; if we +hadn't happened to be at the window just then, we shouldn't have heard +their plans." + +Cicely's face had lengthened considerably at the idea of the black +doings which it was evidently their duty to investigate. + +"I don't know how we're to follow them in the dark," she said, after a +moment's hesitation. + +"We must," declared Lindsay emphatically. "I feel it all depends on us. +Monica may be in the greatest danger, and we are the only ones who know +anything about the matter, and can save her." + +The tea-bell ringing at that moment sent them down to the dining-hall. +The meal had been delayed half an hour on account of the tournament, so +preparation followed immediately afterwards, and Lindsay and Cicely were +obliged, with their thoughts still running on possible tragedies, to +endeavour to apply their minds to the unromantic details of parsing. + +It seemed of such minor importance whether a verb were transitive or +intransitive, weak or strong, compared with whether Mrs. Wilson and +Scott were really going to meet in the garden to carry out some fell +intention. The time seemed endless until the books were at last put +away, and they could snatch a few moments for private talk. + +"There's one comfort," said Lindsay, "they won't begin until it's dark, +so they can't have been doing anything while we've been in prep." + +"It's generally light for quite half an hour after we're in bed," said +Cicely. "I don't see yet how we're to know when they're starting." + +"We shall find out," returned Lindsay confidently. "I have a kind of +feeling that something is going to happen to-night." + +"What are you two whispering about?" asked Nora Proctor curiously. + +"Oh, only a joke of our own!" + +"You've got some secret, I'm sure," said Beryl Austen; "you're always +looking at each other and making signs. I noticed you yesterday during +arithmetic." + +"Do tell us, Cicely," begged Marjorie Butler. "You and I used to be +friends, but we never have a secret together now." + +"There's really nothing worth telling," declared Cicely, much +embarrassed. + +"We shall have to be careful though," said Lindsay afterwards. "We don't +want the others to hear, and then go poking about and making +discoveries." + +"Certainly not; if there's anything to be found out, I'd rather we found +it out ourselves." + +Cicely was tired when bedtime arrived, and ready to curl herself up and +forget what might be happening outside. Lindsay, on the contrary, lay +with wide-open eyes, watching the room grow darker and darker. When the +wardrobe and the chest of drawers and the washstand had at last all +merged together into one deep mass of shadow, she got up and peeped +through the open window. What she saw there caused her to run hurriedly +and shake her sleepy companion. + +"Cicely! Do wake up! There's a light moving in the garden." + +It took a second or two for Cicely to recover her senses, but when she +realized the nature of the news, she hopped out of bed in frantic +excitement. + +"Is it Mrs. Wilson and Scott?" she asked eagerly. + +"I expect so, but of course I can't tell. Be quick! We must go at once +and see what they're doing." + +The two girls hastily scrambled into their clothes, and tiptoed +downstairs to the side door. The servants had not yet locked up, so it +was still standing ajar. + +"Suppose we were to meet Miss Russell or Miss Frazer!" shivered Cicely, +with a nervous glance down the corridor. + +"Don't think about it. They're both safe in the drawing-room." + +In another minute they had closed the door gently behind them, and were +running softly across the lawn. It was a cloudy night, with neither moon +nor stars in the sky. The outlines of the trees and shrubs were just +visible, but it was very dark indeed under their shade. + +"The light seemed to be going through the shrubbery towards the arbour," +said Lindsay, feeling her way along the rose avenue. + +"There it is!" replied Cicely, as a faint gleam shone in the distance. + +"We must be very, very careful," said Lindsay, "not to disturb them on +any account. We must stop somewhere near, and just look and listen." + +As quietly as ghosts they stole down the path, trying not to rustle so +much as a leaf. They were close now to the lantern. They could see it +quite clearly, set on the ground, and two figures bending over it. + +Skirting round under the bushes, they reached the shelter of an oak tree +that grew on the side of a bank, and peeped cautiously round the trunk. +Yes, it was certainly Scott and Mrs. Wilson who were in the shrubbery +below. Every now and then a glint of light revealed their faces +unmistakably. They were talking together in low tones, unfortunately too +low for their conversation to be overheard. Scott held a spade in his +hand, and was stooping to watch Mrs. Wilson, who, kneeling on the grass, +was fumbling inside a large sack. + +"Can you see if she's counting money?" breathed Cicely into Lindsay's +ear. "I believe they're going to bury it." + +"It looks like something bigger and heavier," whispered Lindsay, trying +to crane her neck farther forward. + +"Is it silver plate?" + +"It might be anything in that huge sack." + +"Oh! Not a body!" + +I believe Cicely would have fled precipitately if Lindsay had not held +her tightly by the hand. The fear that old Sir Giles Courtenay was being +finally disposed of oppressed her like a nightmare. + +"No! I expect it's the treasure. We must notice exactly where they're +putting it." + +[Illustration: AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT] + +Lindsay took a step nearer, to gain a better view of the proceedings, +but as she did so her foot trod noisily on a dead twig. + +"What's that?" + +The question was in "The Griffin's" well-known voice. + +There was a growl in reply from Scott. + +"Best take a look, anyhow," came from Mrs. Wilson. + +Scott seized the lantern, and began to flash it round in every +direction. Then, oh horrors! he walked straight towards the oak where +the two girls were hiding. Nearly paralysed with fear, they did not dare +to run away, and could only hope that, after all, under cover of the +darkness, he might chance to overlook them. + +In her desperation, Lindsay tried to draw farther behind the trunk of +the tree. To do so she perforce pushed Cicely back. The latter was not +quite prepared for the sudden movement, the ground was uneven, she +swayed, clutched violently at her companion to save herself, and over +they both rolled down the bank, almost to the very feet of Scott +himself. + +As Lindsay and Cicely came crashing down the bank, Scott uttered a cry +of consternation. In the suddenness of his dismay, the lantern dropped +from his hand, extinguishing the light in its fall. + +Instantly the two girls were on their feet, and rushed helter-skelter +across the garden through the darkness. They plunged anyhow through +bushes and over flower-beds, scratching their faces on overhanging +boughs, and tearing their dresses on thorns, their one fear lest Scott +should be pursuing them, and their one anxiety to gain the safe shelter +of the house. + +They reached the side entrance without hearing any footsteps behind +them. If Scott had tried to follow them, they had evidently managed to +elude him, and he must have given up the chase. The door was still +unbolted, and they hurried breathlessly upstairs, luckily meeting nobody +on the way. What a harbour of refuge it seemed to be, back in their own +room! Without daring to light the candle, they went back to bed again +with all possible speed. + +"Well, we have had an adventure!" began Lindsay, when they were once +more comfortably ensconced between the sheets. + +"Do you think Scott noticed who we were?" whispered Cicely. + +"I can't tell. He had just time to catch a glimpse of our faces before +the lantern went out." + +"I'm sure they were doing something dreadful that they wanted to keep +secret, he looked so utterly horror-stricken at seeing us." + +"There's no doubt about it. The unfortunate part is that now they find +they've been discovered, they'll bury the treasure somewhere else +instead." + +"What a pity we fell just at that moment!" + +Cicely's voice was very doleful. + +"It will have aroused their suspicions, too, and will make them extra +careful," lamented Lindsay. "If Scott recognized us, he and Mrs. Wilson +will know we're watching them. They'll owe us a grudge. 'The Griffin' +was bad enough before, but she'll be worse than ever now." + +They scanned the old housekeeper's face narrowly next morning, as she +carried the coffee into the dining-room, but her countenance wore its +accustomed aspect of grim inscrutability. If she connected them with +last night's happenings, she certainly did not betray the knowledge; it +was impossible to tell whether she mistrusted them or not, or what +feelings lay concealed under her forbidding exterior. + +The moment breakfast was over, they rushed into the garden to renew +their acquaintance with the scene of their adventure. Somebody had +plainly been digging in the bank, though the traces had evidently been +tidied carefully up, and the sods replaced. + +"Do you think there could be anything here?" said Cicely wistfully, +poking a stick into the loosened soil. + +"Oh, dear me, no!" replied Lindsay. "Why, the first thing they'd do +would be to rush off with that sack to some safer spot. Even the very +stupidest persons wouldn't have gone on burying valuables in a place +where they knew they'd been watched. 'The Griffin' and Scott are +certainly not idiots!" + +"If we could only guess where they'd put it!" sighed Cicely. + +For the present they had had such a fright that, though neither would +confess it, both were a little inclined to let the matter rest in +abeyance. It needed courage to risk the anger of Mrs. Wilson and Scott +if they were once more caught meddling. It had seemed pleasant enough to +search for the treasure themselves in the house, but the affair was now +beginning to assume a graver aspect. + +"I sometimes wonder if we ought to tell Monica or Miss Russell," said +Cicely, who occasionally had uneasy scruples as to the wisdom of their +plan of secrecy. + +"It wouldn't be of the slightest use," declared Lindsay. "'The Griffin' +and Scott would simply deny everything. They'd make out it was all +nonsense on our part, like grown-up people generally do. And how could +we prove we were right? Miss Russell would tell us to mind our own +business, and we should only get into a scrape for our pains. No, we +shall just have to let things take their course, and trust to luck." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +Under the Hawthorn Tree + + +It was high summer at Haversleigh. The trees, now in full leaf, cast +rich shadows over the landscape, the wild roses were in bloom on the +hedgerows, and tall foxgloves stood like crimson sentinels at the +margins of the woods. The fields were white with moon-daisies, growing +among the long, lush grass; and all the roadsides were a tangle of +vetches, campion, bugle, trefoil and speedwells. The wind was fragrant +with the scent of newly turned hay; everywhere the mowers were busy, and +the daisies were falling fast beneath the swinging scythe or the blades +of the reaping-machine. In the Manor garden the roses had reached +perfection, and the flower-beds were a mass of colour. The girls spent +every available moment out-of-doors, making the most of the bright days, +and enjoying their country visit to the full. + +One blazing half-holiday afternoon Lindsay and Cicely, allowed for once +in the select company of a few of the elder girls, were lounging +blissfully under the shade of a big hawthorn tree. The air seemed +dancing for very heat; the grasshoppers were chirping away at the edge +of the lawn, a lizard lay basking on the stones of the terrace wall, and +the sparrows for once were silent. + +"It's far too hot to play tennis," said Irene Spencer. "One just wants +to sit somewhere where it's green and cool." + +"I'm glad we're here, then, instead of at Winterburn Lodge," said Mary +Parkinson. + +"So am I; and yet Winterburn Lodge is nicer than many other schools," +remarked Mildred Roper. + +"It's not half bad," assented Mary. "I like it better, at any rate, than +the French school I was at in Brussels." + +"I didn't know you'd ever been in France," said Lindsay, idly picking a +dandelion clock and blowing it to find out the time. + +"No more I have, goosey." + +"Then why did you say you'd been at a French school? You're telling +fibs." + +"No, I'm not, because Brussels doesn't happen to be in France--it's in +Belgium." + +"I thought you were supposed to learn geography in the third class," +laughed Irene Spencer. + +"She said a French school, not a Belgian one," objected Lindsay. + +"Well, everybody speaks French in Brussels." + +"Don't they speak Flemish?" + +"Only the poor people, and even they can generally talk French as well." + +"How long were you there, Mary?" put in Mildred Roper. + +"Only one term. I got ill, and had to come home." + +"Was it nice?" + +"Oh, just tolerable!" + +"Had you to talk French all the time?" + +"I had to try, because none of the girls knew anything else. They used +to laugh at me if I spoke English." + +"How nasty! I shouldn't have cared to be you," said Cicely. + +"Yes, it was horrid, when I was sure they were saying things about me +and I couldn't understand them. I used to get quite cross, and that made +my head ache." + +"Was the school in the country?" asked Lindsay. + +"No, I've told you already it was in Brussels, and that's a big city. It +was a large building, with a great high wall all round it, with spikes +on the top, as if it were a prison. Inside there was a courtyard where +we used to play games. It had orange trees and oleanders in big green +tubs, but no grass nor flowers. You couldn't possibly have called it a +garden. We hardly ever went out for proper walks. Sometimes we were +taken to the park, but even there we had to go very primly, two and two, +with the teachers looking after us most sharply." + +"Were the teachers nice?" + +"Yes, pretty well. I liked them better than the girls, at any rate. +There were two sisters in my class, called Marie and Sophie Beauvais, +who were always making fun of me because I was English. I had a horrid +time until a German girl came to the school, and then they teased her +instead of me. The best thing of all was the coffee. It was perfectly +delicious--nicer than any I've ever tasted in England." + +"Why didn't you stay in Brussels?" + +"I was ill, and my mother had to come and fetch me. She declared she +would never let me go so far away from home again; so she sent me to +Winterburn Lodge instead. Miss Russell is very kind if one's not well, +and Mother said she would rather have me properly looked after, even if +I didn't learn French." + +"Yes, Miss Russell does take care of us," said Irene. "I used to be at +another school, and the teachers never noticed if we had headaches, or +couldn't eat our meals. We had to work most fearfully hard for exams, +too. The headmistress made a point of getting a certain number of passes +each year, and one was obliged to prepare and go in whether one was +clever or not. Give me good old Winterburn Lodge!--especially when one's +at the Manor instead. By the by, there's Monica. She's surely not come +to play tennis? It's too hot." + +"Fifteen degrees too hot," agreed Monica, throwing herself down on the +grass beside the others and fanning herself with her hat. "Out on the +road the heat's at simmering-point. I came to bring a message to Miss +Russell, and I hear she's gone to Linforth and won't be back until +half-past four. I think I shall wait for her." + +"Oh, do!" cried the others. "We'll have a 'palaver' here under the +trees." + +"What's a 'palaver', please? I hope it's something cool and fizzy to +drink." + +"No, it's nothing of the sort. It's a kind of meeting, where everybody +has to tell a story in turn." + +"But I'm rigidly truthful!" objected Monica, with a twinkle in her eye. + +"You naughty girl! You know we don't mean telling falsehoods. It's +telling tales," said Irene. + +"I'm no tell-tale either!" + +"Don't be too funny. Your story will have to be longer than anyone +else's to make up for this. Mildred, you explain, as I don't seem able +to express myself properly." + +"It can either be a story you have read, or one of something that has +happened to yourself," said Mildred. "We prefer people's own adventures +if we can get them." + +"So few people have any adventures in real life!" said Monica. + +"Then you can tell something out of a book." + +"Suppose I can't remember anything?" + +"You must. It needn't be grand; we're not a critical audience." + +"I'm very stupid at telling things," said Monica; "might I read you +something instead?" + +"If you've got it here." + +"As it happens, I have," replied Monica, opening a bound volume of a +magazine which she held in her hand. "I brought this book to lend to +Miss Russell, as I knew it would interest her. It has a story about the +old Manor in the times of the Wars of the Roses, and how Sir Roger +Courtenay came to win it for his own. I dare say you might like to hear +it." + +"If it's about the Manor I'm sure we shall," said Irene. "Who wrote the +tale?" + +"A gentleman who stayed in the village a year or two ago. He was very +enthusiastic about Haversleigh. I suppose he made it up from the short +account in the guide-book. All the facts are quite true, though he must +have used his imagination for the details. The worst of it is that it's +a fairly long story, and if I read it I'm afraid there won't be any time +left for you to tell yours." + +"Oh, we don't mind that!" + +"So much the better!" + +"Fire away!" + +"Do go on!" + +Thus encouraged, Monica found her place and, the girls having clustered +round her in a close circle so as to hear the better, she began her +tale: + + +SIR MERVYN'S WARD + +The middle of the fifteenth century was one of the most stormy periods +that the pages of English history have ever recorded. The rival claims +of the houses of York and Lancaster had led to those disastrous Wars of +the Roses that wiped away the flower of chivalry and made the fair land +one bloody battlefield. In the autumn of 1470 Edward IV had been driven +from his throne by the powerful Earl of Warwick, known as the Kingmaker, +and Henry VI had been once more restored to power, though for how long a +period none could venture to guess. They were hard times to live +through, especially for those lesser gentry and yeomen who had not +placed themselves definitely under the protection of any of the greater +barons, and still strove to keep their estates in peace and quiet. The +turmoil of the great struggle had not spared even the obscure village of +Haversleigh. The inhabitants went about their tasks with an air of +unrest. It seemed scarcely worth while to plough the fields, and sow +corn which might be trampled underfoot by the soldiery before there was +a chance to reap it. There were loud and deep murmurs among the +villagers at the many exactions and tyrannies of Sir Mervyn Stamford, +the then occupant of the Manor, the estates of which he administered on +behalf of his ward, Catharine Mowbray. Catharine's father, Sir John +Mowbray, had fallen in battle on the side of the Yorkists, but with the +return of Henry VI to power, Sir Mervyn, a stanch Lancastrian, had +bought the rights of her guardianship from the half-imbecile king, and +had not only assumed control of her property, but had announced his +intention of wedding the maiden, either with or without her consent. + +This was a state of affairs which, however satisfactory to Sir Mervyn +himself, was by no means pleasing either to Catharine or to her lover, +Roger de Courtenay, a young gentleman of high lineage though broken +fortunes. Sir Mervyn was indeed a man whom any girl might have dreaded. +Dark, stern, and forbidding, his face seamed with scars, he was a harsh +master, a relentless foe, and a cruel tyrant to any who dared not resist +his authority. He was cordially hated in Haversleigh, the inhabitants of +which were Yorkists to a man, but he had garrisoned himself so strongly +in the Manor, with so formidable a band of retainers, that the wretched +villagers could do no more than groan under his oppressions, and bewail +the advent of the day when, by his marriage with the unwilling +Catharine, he would become their legal lord. + +Matters were at this crisis one April morning in the year 1471 when +Diccon of the Moat Farm came slowly down a path through the forest from +Torton. He led a horse laden with a sack of flour, which he had taken to +be ground at the mill of the convent of St. Agatha, to avoid the heavy +dues imposed by Sir Mervyn on every sack ground within the jurisdiction +of the Manor. In consequence he looked warily about him, since, should +he chance to meet any of Sir Mervyn's retainers, not only would his +flour be confiscated, but his own back would receive such a cudgelling +as would lay him up for a month or more. For this reason he had avoided +the main road, and chosen a little-used bridle path; and he glanced +cautiously up and down each green alley, and listened for every sound +that might give a hint of approaching footsteps. It was with a sense of +swift alarm, therefore, that he saw a figure suddenly step out from +behind the shelter of an oak in front, and heard himself challenged by +name. The newcomer was a young man, tall and of fine build, and his +commanding presence belied the shabbiness of his poor and travel-stained +attire. + +"I am an honest man minding mine own business, and sith ye are the same, +seek not to hinder me," replied the owner of the Moat Farm. + +"Nay, Diccon! Hast thou forgot thine old friend? Come hither, I pray +thee, for in good sooth I have tidings of great import." + +So saying, the stranger dropped the cloak with which he had so far +partly concealed his face, and showed his features more fully. + +"Master Roger!" gasped Diccon. "This is indeed a rash venture. An Sir +Mervyn find you within a five mile of the Manor there will be an arrow +through you ere nightfall." + +"I am more like to send an arrow through him," replied Roger fiercely. +"He hath done me ill enough already, and now to crown it all he purposes +to wed my betrothed. Catharine is mine, not only by her choice, but by +the law of the land. She was affianced to me by King Edward himself. +Have her I will, or leave my body for the crows!" + +"Brave words, Master Roger, brave words!" said Diccon, shaking his head. +"'Twill need more than a single sword to cross Sir Mervyn in the +matter." + +"Where a sword can naught avail, craft and guile must find a way," +returned Roger. "List you, I have brought tidings. Edward has come to +his own again. But two days since did his arms meet those of Lancaster +at Barnet. The Red Rose is trampled under foot, and Warwick and Montague +lie dead upon the field." + +"In sooth if this be true it were news of great import." + +"I met one who carried a letter from my lord of Gloucester. He rode to +gather the supporters of York in the West. Margaret the Queen hath +landed at Weymouth, and is calling the men of Devon and Cornwall to the +standard of the red rose. I hied me in all haste to my lord of Norfolk, +and he hath given me a band of stout fellows that are even now hid under +the brushwood yonder. An I can surprise Sir Mervyn ere he hears that the +emblem of Lancaster is raised in the west it will strike a blow for York +in Somerset, and moreover I shall win me my bride. I must myself to the +Manor. I would see how it is garrisoned, and convey a message to +Catharine alone." + +"You are a dead man first!" exclaimed Diccon. "This were folly, Master +Roger. A lion's den were safer than the Manor." + +"None shall pierce my disguise if you, good Diccon, will but aid to +trick me out for the part I fain would play. I wot I could count on your +faith!" + +"To the last drop of my blood. Yet it is a rash venture, and one that +ill pleases me," replied the old man sadly. + +Late that same afternoon the golden shafts of the warm spring sunshine +were finding their way through the narrow windows of an upper room in +the Manor. The house in those days was but a quarter of its present +size; it was strongly fortified, and bore more resemblance to a medieval +keep than to the Tudor mansion of later times. Strength and defence had +been considered before beauty and elegance, and there was little even of +comfort to be found inside the stern, forbidding walls. In the apartment +in question some rude attempt had been made to render things more +habitable than in the rest of the grim establishment. A few pieces of +tapestry covered the rough masonry, and the floor was strewn with fresh +rushes. On a carved wooden bench by the window sat a fair and beautiful +girl of seventeen, who was occupying herself with a piece of needlework, +and talking earnestly meanwhile to her attendant, a maiden of her own +age, busy also with her tambour frame. + +"I tell thee, Anne, I will not wed him--not if he drag me by force to +the altar! Verily, it is a pretty case. Here be I a prisoner in mine own +manor, my estates squandered, my tenants oppressed and robbed, my +retainers dismissed, save only thee, my poor faithful Anne; and in +return I am to wed him to boot! Nay! Rather will I take the veil and +give all my goods to the convent of St. Agatha at Torton; though thou +knowest I have scant mind to be a nun." + +"It wants but five morns now to the bridal day," sighed Anne. "If I +mistake not, lady, Sir Mervyn will wed you even against your will and +despite the convent." + +"Then I will die first! Oh, Roger, Roger!" she added softly to herself, +"only a year agone, and I was thy betrothed! It is six months since I +had tidings of thee, and whether thou art alive or dead I know not." + +"Nay, weep not, sweet lady--weeping cures no ills," said Anne; then, +wishful to divert her mistress's sad thoughts, she directed her +attention to a commotion which was going on in the courtyard below. +"Some stranger hath arrived. If I mistake not, 'tis a huckster come to +spread out his wares. An it be your pleasure, I will hie me down and +bring you tidings of what he hath." + +Receiving a half-hearted consent, she hurried to the great courtyard, +where many of the servants and retainers were already gathered to look +at the contents of the pedlar's pack. At that period the arrival of a +travelling merchant was an event at a remote country house, and even Sir +Mervyn himself did not disdain to examine the cloths and buy an ell or +two of velvet for a doublet. The pedlar, a white-haired man, much bent, +and with a strange hood of foreign fashion drawn over his face, was +proclaiming the virtues of his goods in a lusty voice. + +"What do ye lack? What do ye lack?" he cried. "I have here hosen, shoon, +caps, gloves, girdles, such as ye never might see out of London town. +Here be beside cloth of silk and damask fit for the Queen. Is there no +worshipful lady of this noble lord before whom I might spread forth my +choicer wares?" + +"My mistress would gladly have silk for a kirtle, an I may summon her to +the courtyard," Anne ventured to whisper to Sir Mervyn. + +Receiving a grudging permission, she hurried panting up the stairs with +her tidings. Catharine at first would hardly be persuaded to descend +from her chamber into the hated presence of Sir Mervyn, and it was +finally more to please her maid than herself that she assented. + +"Fair apparel is of scant use to one who hath a mind to wed the Church," +she said, "but thou shalt have a riband for thyself, Anne, and a silk +girdle withal." + +No one remarked the swift, eager glance that the pedlar bestowed upon +Catharine as she appeared in the doorway, nor how his hand shook as he +untied his second pack. With apparent lack of intention he managed +skilfully to draw her a few steps away from the rest, under pretence of +exhibiting his silks in the best light; then, whispering: "Keep secret! +Betray not that you receive this!" he rapidly thrust a small piece of +parchment into her hand. Full of surprise, Catharine yet had the +presence of mind to utter no exclamation, and to conceal the parchment +in the folds of her gown. Hastily completing her purchases, she retired +again to her chamber, where, dismissing Anne, she was able to examine +the letter in private. It contained but a few lines: + + "Right dear and well beloved, + + "The White Rose musters again in the west, and I have hope of your + release. Ope the west postern ere sunrise. Till then God keep ye. + + "Written in great haste this eve of St. Withold by the hand of him + who would remain ever yours, + + "ROGER COURTENAY." + + + +Catharine's wild excitement on the perusal of this missive can be more +readily imagined than described. + +"He is alive! He comes to my rescue!" she exclaimed. "Perchance it was +even Roger himself disguised as the pedlar. He was ever one to venture a +bold deed. Alack! that I should have been so near, and not have known +him!" + +She did not dare to confide her secret even to her faithful maid, Anne, +but retiring as usual at nightfall she lay awake, waiting in burning +anxiety for the earliest peep of dawn. When the first faint glimmer of +light stole into her room she rose and crept softly down the stairs. She +was obliged to make her way through the great hall, where the +men-at-arms lay sleeping on the rushes. A dog sprang up and growled, but +she managed to quiet it with a caress, and passed on without disturbing +the sleepers. The little west postern door was heavily barred, and it +took all the strength of her white hands to pull back the bolts. +Cautiously she peered out into the half-darkness. At the same moment a +tall figure stepped from the shadow and clasped her in his arms. + +"Sweet, you must fly! This is no place for ye now," whispered Roger. +"Diccon waits with a trusty steed to conduct ye to Covebury. Take +sanctuary at the convent of the Franciscans till I come to claim ye. I +have stern work to do here." + +Wrapping her hastily in a cloak, and helping her to mount, Roger waited +till he judged the fugitives to be at a safe distance; then, giving the +word of command to his followers, he commenced his attack on the Manor. +Sir Mervyn and his retainers, surprised in their sleep, nevertheless +offered a determined resistance. A fierce combat was waged in the great +hall and in the courtyard, till, pressed from one point of vantage to +another, the defenders made a desperate sally, and rushing +helter-skelter down the village sought refuge inside the ancient church. +It was of no avail; the villagers, hastily armed with swords and pikes, +had joined in the fray. Determined to avenge themselves upon Sir Mervyn +for his many acts of tyranny and injustice, they set upon him without +mercy, and without respect even for the sacredness of the edifice. +Chased from the choir to the Lady Chapel, and from the Lady Chapel to +the tower, he fled up the narrow steps to the belfry, where he turned at +bay, and held the staircase with the courage of despair. Driven from +this last standpoint, he climbed yet higher to the rafters where hung +the bell, and slew six men in succession before he fell, at length, +shouting curses upon his foes. + +Roger Courtenay had scant time to enjoy his triumph. The Yorkist army +was mustering for a great struggle; so, having left a small garrison in +charge of the Manor, he rode away immediately with the rest of his +followers to join the adherents of the White Rose. The result of the +battle of Tewkesbury is a matter of history. The unfortunate remnant of +Lancaster took to flight, and York gained a final and triumphant +victory. Roger, whose bravery was conspicuous throughout the day, +worthily won his spurs, and was knighted on the field by Richard of +Gloucester. His forfeited estate was restored to him, and King Edward +himself forwarded his union with Catharine Mowbray, so that before the +summer was over the ancient parish church of Haversleigh, which but +lately had rung to the clash of arms, now echoed instead to the merry +peal of wedding bells. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +Sir Mervyn's Tower + + +"Is that all?" asked the girls, as Monica finished her story and closed +the book. + +"Why, yes. It's a fairly long tale, I think." + +"Not long enough. I want to know so much more about them," said Irene. + +"Is it perfectly and absolutely true?" enquired Cicely. + +"Yes, it is quite true. It was Sir Roger Courtenay who began to build +the Manor as it stands to-day. All the central portion was put up in his +time, and the coats of arms over the porch are those of himself and his +wife, Catharine Mowbray. Their tomb is in the church too--that big +carved monument in the side chapel. They had seven children--five sons +and two daughters. The eldest son, Sir Godfrey Courtenay, married a +relation of Sir Thomas More. Her name is mentioned in one of the Paston +Letters." + +"Was it really in Haversleigh Church that Sir Mervyn climbed into the +belfry and was killed?" + +"Or did the writer make that up?" + +"No, that is true too," replied Monica. "The tower is still called 'Sir +Mervyn's Tower', and it is said there is the stain of his blood on the +great bell, and that nothing can ever take it off." + +"Have you seen it?" + +"Yes, once. It's only a patch of rust." + +"Was Sir Mervyn buried in the church too?" + +"There's no monument to him, and no record in the old church documents +of his grave. I should think it was much more likely that his followers +were allowed to carry him to his own estate near Appleford, and bury him +in the church there. The story runs that his ghost haunts Haversleigh +Tower and walks up the belfry stairs, but of course that's nothing but +superstition and nonsense." + +"Don't you believe in ghosts?" asked Cicely, who was sometimes a little +afraid of the dark passages at the Manor. + +"No: when people are dead, I think if they were good they are either +resting until the resurrection, or have something so much better and +nobler to do in another world that they could not revisit this, any more +than a butterfly could turn again into a chrysalis; and if they were +bad, I am sure they would not be allowed to come back simply to terrify +the living." + +"Quite right," agreed Mildred. "In most of the stories one reads about +ghosts, they never return for any useful purpose, only to make silly +people run and scream." + +"There was one thing that didn't seem perfectly clear in the story," +said Lindsay. "Was it really Roger who came to the Manor disguised as an +old pedlar?" + +"Evidently it was. He couldn't trust anyone else to give the letter to +Catharine, and he wanted to see for himself how Sir Mervyn was prepared +to defend the Manor. There is still part of a ruin left of the old +Franciscan Convent near Covebury, where Catharine took sanctuary. It's +not much though--only a few pillars and a tumble-down wall." + +"Why didn't she go to the Convent of St. Agatha at Torton? It was so +much nearer to ride." + +"Because the nuns there wished to persuade her to take the veil, and she +wanted to marry Roger." + +"Were they very angry with her?" + +"How can I tell, Cicely? You must ask the writer of the romance; he has +a better imagination than I have. I wonder if Miss Russell has come back +yet? I'm going indoors to see. By the by, I want to ask a favour. I +practise the organ every Wednesday evening at the church, and to-night +Judson, the old clerk, will be too busy to blow for me as usual. Would +anybody be charitable enough to volunteer? And would Miss Russell allow +it, do you think?" + +"I expect Miss Russell wouldn't mind," said Mildred. "I'd go with +pleasure if I could, but I have an hour's practising to do myself +to-night, as well as preparation, and so have Irene and Mary." + +"Oh, Monica, could we blow the organ?" cried Lindsay. "Cicely and I have +both finished our practising, and if we were to learn our French at +once, before tea, I believe Miss Frazer could be persuaded to excuse us +from prep. We'd simply love to come." + +"Thank you, Lindsay. I'll ask Miss Russell. If she says 'Yes', will you +meet me at the church at seven?" + +Miss Russell was lenient enough to give the required permission, having +ascertained that all lessons for next day were duly prepared; so Lindsay +and Cicely, much envied by the rest of their class, betook themselves +with zeal to try their 'prentice hands at the task of organ blowing. The +church was open, and Monica was already waiting for them in the porch. +She soon showed them how to work the bellows, and after telling them to +stop and rest as soon as they were tired, seated herself at the keyboard +and began her practice. Both the younger girls felt it a decidedly novel +and interesting experience to be in the little space behind the pipes, +working away at a long handle. As they took it in turns they were able +to keep the organ going fairly steadily, and only once left Monica +without wind in the middle of a piece. As a reward she allowed them to +try the instrument before she locked it up, showing them the various +stops and pedals, and how they were to be used. + +"It's much more difficult than the piano," sighed Cicely, after a rather +unsuccessful attempt, "and yet it's simply grand to hear the lovely big +notes sounding through the church. I should like to learn myself +sometime when I'm older." + +"Saint Cecilia was the patroness of music, and is always represented +playing the organ, so you might very well justify your name by following +in her footsteps," said Monica. "Now I simply must go, because my mother +will be wanting me. I've been far longer than usual to-night." + +"It's our fault, I'm afraid," said Lindsay. "We kept making you pull out +the stops." + +"No, you were dears to come. Perhaps Miss Russell will let you blow for +me some other evening; then we'll start earlier, and I shall have time +to let you both try again." + +They had passed under the old yew trees of the churchyard and out +through the lich-gate into the road, when Monica suddenly looked over +her music and exclaimed: + +"How stupid! I've left my little copy of _Lux Benigna_ behind. It +doesn't really matter much, only I don't care to get my pieces mixed up +with the organist's, and he will be there at a choir practice +to-morrow." + +"Shall we go back?" suggested Cicely. + +"No, I'm in too great a hurry. I want to get home at once." + +"Then we'll fetch it for you," said Lindsay. + +"Oh, thanks so much! Will you take it to school, please, and give it to +me to-morrow, so that I needn't wait now? Good-bye!" and Monica hastened +away as fast as possible in the direction of the cottage. + +Lindsay and Cicely walked leisurely into the church again, and found the +missing piece of music lying on a seat near the organ. They were +returning down the aisle when Cicely said: + +"Which is the tomb of Sir Roger Courtenay and Catharine Mowbray?" + +"Monica said it was the one in the small side chapel," replied Lindsay. +"Shall we go and look at it?" + +What an old monument it was! Four centuries had passed away since it was +placed over those who slept beneath. The carving was chipped and the +marble scratched; part of Sir Roger's head was broken away, and one of +poor Dame Catharine's clasped hands; and the letters of the inscription +were so worn and effaced that it was with difficulty the girls could +make out even a few words. + +"It's in Latin, so we couldn't have understood it in any case," said +Lindsay. + +"How funny her costume is!" said Cicely. "She has a coif on her head, +and very long sleeves; and he is in full armour. It makes them seem much +more real people when we know their story." + +"Can you imagine them living at the Manor?" + +"I can hardly believe there was ever a fight going on inside this +church." + +"And people killing one another!" + +"I suppose Sir Mervyn ran through this door up into the tower." + +"I wonder if the stain is still on the bell?" said Lindsay. + +"The story was that nothing could ever take it off." + +"Shall we go up and see if it's really there?" + +"What! Up into the belfry?" + +"Yes. Why not?" + +"Well, isn't it getting too late, and a little dark?" + +"Not yet." + +"All right, then," assented Cicely, agreeing as usual with Lindsay's +proposal. + +The small, nail-studded oak door leading to the tower stood open, and +they could see that there was a winding staircase inside. There was +nobody to forbid them to explore, and though they knew they were due +back at the Manor they considered they might allow themselves a little +latitude in the way of time. It was rather dark up the corkscrew stairs, +though there was a slit every now and then in the wall to admit air and +light. At the top they found themselves in a square room, where the +clerk evidently pulled the bell on Sundays, for the rope was hanging +within easy reach. The roof was made of enormous oak rafters, and +through it ran a ladder reaching higher than they could see. + +"That will be the way up to the bell," said Lindsay. + +"What a horrible place for Sir Mervyn to climb!" commented Cicely. "I +can imagine him rushing up with a dagger in his hand, and the others +swarming after him. I'm almost sorry they killed him. He was very brave, +although he was so bad. You go first, Lindsay." + +Up and up they toiled, till they thought they should never reach the +top. + +"The bell's hung very high," panted Cicely. + +"We're nearly there now," replied Lindsay. + +The ladder ended in a rough platform which was built round the bell, +probably to allow workmen to attend to it now and then in case it were +not hanging safely. It looked a great mass of metal, so large and heavy +that even the clapper must be an enormous weight. + +"There's a very queer mark on it here," said Cicely, in rather an awed +voice. + +Lindsay walked round to the other side of the platform. There was a most +curious stain running along a portion of the bottom of the bell--a dull, +irregular mark that might well have had its origin in some dark and +dreadful deed. Cicely touched it cautiously, and then looked at her +finger as if she expected to find the traces red on her hand. + +"I think we'd better go down again," she said, with a shiver. + +"All right, only I want to look out of the window first. Oh, what a +glorious view!" + +There was indeed a splendid prospect to be seen from the old church +tower--a vista of village roofs, and tree tops, and fields, and winding +high road, and distant woods and hills, all bathed in the beautiful, +rosy light of sunset. It was so lovely that the girls stood for some +time watching the sky turn from pink to crimson, and great bands of +dappled clouds catch the reflection from the glow beneath. They quite +forgot that supper would probably be over at the Manor, and that Miss +Russell would be wondering why Monica had kept them so long, and wishing +she had not allowed them to go without Miss Frazer or one of the +monitresses to escort them back. + +At last they tore themselves reluctantly away. It was much harder to +come down the ladder than it had been to climb up. Cicely turned quite +giddy, and they were both glad when they reached the square room where +the bell rope was hanging. It was very dark on the winding staircase; +they had to feel their steps most carefully, and keep a hand on the wall +as they went. The church looked dim and gloomy as they found themselves +once more in the nave. Cicely turned her back upon the monuments. She +did not want to give even a glance in their direction just then. Perhaps +Lindsay felt the same, for she also hurried quickly towards the door. To +their utter amazement it was closed, shut tight and firm; and though +they lifted the latch, and tugged and rattled and pulled with all their +might, they could not open it. They stared at each other with blank, +horror-stricken faces. They were locked up alone in the empty church! + +"Let us call," quavered Cicely. + +"Perhaps someone may be in the churchyard. I can't believe they've +really left us shut up here. Somebody must be coming back," said +Lindsay. + +She knew in her heart of hearts all the same that it was a forlorn hope. +The old sexton had probably seen Monica walk through the village, and +had come to lock the church as usual after her practice, quite unaware +that anyone was exploring the belfry. By this time he would be at home +again, with the keys in his pocket. The two girls shouted themselves +hoarse, and kicked and beat against the door, but there was no reply +except hollow echoes that resounded from the vaulted roof. The church +was just out of earshot from either the village on one side or the +rectory on the other, and it did not seem likely that anybody would +happen to pass through the churchyard at that hour in the evening. No +doubt they would soon be missed at the Manor, but Miss Russell would be +sure to go first to Monica to enquire about their absence, and it might +therefore be some little time before anyone came to look for them inside +the church. + +"What are we going to do?" asked Cicely. + +"We must get out somehow," replied Lindsay desperately. "Let us walk all +round, and see if there is any window it would be possible to climb +through." + +They went up the aisle, looking carefully at the windows; but all were +equally impracticable, being built high up in the walls, and the only +panes that opened were at the top. + +"There may be a lower one in the vestry," said Lindsay, after they had +examined the side chapels and transepts. "Here's the door, and +fortunately it's not locked." + +Again they were doomed to disappointment. The vestry was one of the +oldest portions of the building, and the tiny diamond-paned casement was +fully ten feet above their heads. Plainly it was useless to think of +escape there. + +"We'd better go back to the door," said Cicely, "just in case anyone +should be coming down the road, and might hear us." + +The light was rapidly growing dimmer and dimmer, the pillars cast long +shadows, and the corners were already wrapt in darkness, through which +here and there a figure on a monument stood out white against the gloomy +background. Once more the girls thumped at the door and shouted, though +they feared it would be of no avail. + +"There's only one thing left to be done, Cicely," said Lindsay at last. + +"And what's that?" + +"Go up into the belfry again and ring the bell. Everybody in the village +would hear that, and Judson would come to see what was the matter." + +"Yes," replied Cicely with some hesitation, "I suppose we must--but----" + +"But what?" + +"We should have to walk up the belfry stairs." + +"Well?" + +"Oh, Lindsay, Sir Mervyn! Suppose we were to meet him on the staircase? +The village people say he walks!" + +"And Monica said it was nothing but nonsense and superstition." + +Lindsay tried to sound brave, but she held Cicely's arm tightly +notwithstanding. + +Poor Cicely felt "'twixt Scylla and Charybdis". To toll the bell seemed +their only chance of escape, and to do so they must certainly mount into +the square room where the rope was hanging. On the one hand was the +prospect of spending some time in a building which was rapidly growing +darker and darker, and on the other, there was a quick dash up the +winding staircase, which was the centre of all her nervous fears. + +"We must do it," urged Lindsay. "Come along! Let us go now, before you +think about it any more." + +It was very dark when they went through the small door and began groping +their way up the narrow steps. There was not room for both to walk +abreast, so Lindsay went first and Cicely clung tightly on to her skirt +behind, ready to turn and flee precipitately if she heard the slightest +sound from above. The stairs seemed twice as long as when they had +mounted them before, and far narrower and steeper. + +"Here we are!" exclaimed Lindsay, when at last they found their feet on +the flooring of the tower room. There was just light enough to faintly +distinguish objects, and they were making straight for the bell rope +when Cicely grasped Lindsay's arm in a panic of fear. + +"What's that noise?" she whispered breathlessly. + +"Where?" + +"There! Up the ladder in the roof!" + +Both girls listened, their hearts beating in great thumps. Cicely was +not mistaken. There was a faint rustling, as if someone were moving +softly about in the tower above. Too terrified even to run away, they +stood with their eyes fixed on the open trapdoor that led up to the +bell. + +"He's coming!" shrieked Cicely, as something large and white appeared +silently through the aperture and glided down into the room. There was a +sudden weird, uncanny cry, like a mournful, despairing wail, and a large +pair of wings flapped through the open lattice that served for a window +out into the thickness of the yew trees beyond. + +"It's an owl--a big white owl! That's your ghost, Cicely!" cried +Lindsay, with intense relief. + +"It's gone, at any rate. Oh, what a fright it gave me! I thought it was +Sir Mervyn himself." + +"I expect it sleeps up there during the day, and then goes out hunting +at night for birds and mice. What a fearful screech it gave!" + +"Let us go and ring the bell before we have any more scares." + +They dashed across the room and seized the rope. Surely since the day it +was first hung the poor old bell had never been tolled with such +frantic, hurried jerks. It was like an alarm of war or fire as the +swift, short strokes went echoing from the tower. The girls pulled and +pulled until they were both nearly exhausted. + +"Somebody must have heard us by this time," said Lindsay. "Let us go +down into the church and wait by the door." + +"I don't feel so afraid of Sir Mervyn now I know he's only a white owl," +declared Cicely. + +They stumbled down the stairs and across the dark nave, then stood +waiting anxiously for some sign of coming relief. Was that a distant +footstep? Yes; they heard the creaking of the lich-gate, the sound of +voices, and the crunching of boots on the gravel path. They sprang at +the door, knocking and shouting for help with all their might. In +another moment the great key turned in the lock. It was Judson, the +sexton, who stood outside, with quite a number of people from the +cottages behind him. All the village had been roused by the tolling of +the bell, and everyone expected to find either a gang of thieves at work +or the building on fire, instead of only two frightened little +schoolgirls from the Manor. + +At that moment both Miss Russell and Monica came hurrying up, the latter +reproaching herself keenly for not having seen her companions safely +home, and the former very angry at their escapade. As Lindsay had +supposed, they had been expected back more than an hour ago, but Miss +Russell thought Monica must have had an unusually long practice. When +their bedtime arrived, and still they were missing, the headmistress had +grown uneasy, and started in search of them. She had gone first to the +church and found the door locked (it must have been while they were in +the vestry), so concluded that they had returned with Monica to the +cottage. She had been seriously alarmed to find they were not there, and +her anxiety was shared by the Courtenays; and both she and Monica were +on the point of rousing the whole village to aid in discovering their +whereabouts when the sudden clanging of the bell made them hasten to the +church. The girls gave a brief account of their adventure in reply to +the many enquiries of their rescuers. + +"I thought I could have trusted you to return straight home," said Miss +Russell reproachfully. "No, Monica, it is not in any way your fault. +Lindsay and Cicely knew perfectly well they had no right to linger +behind, nor to enter the tower. I am disappointed in them, for I +certainly should not have allowed them to go and blow the organ if I +had believed there was the slightest opportunity for such behaviour. +They have only themselves to blame, and I consider they thoroughly +deserved the fright they have had." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +An Enigma + + +Though most of the delights of the summer term at the Manor consisted of +outdoor amusements, other interests were not entirely lacking. In a +magazine which Miss Russell took in for the school library there was an +announcement of a competition which offered a prize to children under +thirteen for the largest number of poetical quotations descriptive of +wild flowers. Both Lindsay and Cicely were anxious to try, and ransacked +all the volumes of poetry they could get hold of for suitable extracts. + +"I think it's too much bother," said Nora Proctor. "It means looking +through such a heap of books, and then copying out the pieces so neatly +afterwards. It would take one's whole recreation time." + +"And probably one wouldn't get anything for it in the end," said +Marjorie Butler. + +"I began," said Effie Hargreaves, "but, as Nora says, it's far too great +a fag. I got ten quotations from Shakespeare, and six from Tennyson. +I'll give them to you, Cicely, if you like." + +"Oh, thanks, if they're not the same as I have already!" + +"I tried for a prize once in a magazine," said Beryl Austen, "but I only +got highly commended. I'm afraid my writing wasn't good enough." + +Though the other girls did not care to compete themselves, they were +interested in Lindsay's and Cicely's lists, and gave them any assistance +they could in hunting out fresh quotations. + +"I'll tell you what," said Beryl, "you ought to ask Monica. She reads a +great deal, and I believe she's rather clever at botany. I heard her +talking about the wild flowers of the neighbourhood to Miss Russell." + +"Yes, I believe she has a nice pressed collection," said Effie. "She +promised to show it to us some day." + +Lindsay and Cicely took Beryl's advice, and waylaid Monica as she came +to the French class next morning. + +"I'm glad you asked me," she replied. "I've no doubt I shall be able to +help you; I have a good many beautiful books on botany in the library. +I'll bring the key this afternoon, and unlock the case for you." + +Monica always kept her promises. She arrived about four o'clock, and +opened the large glass doors that preserved the handsome calf-bound +volumes from dust and dirt. + +"Here they are," she said. "Some are very dry and scientific, and some +are popular, and have coloured pictures. There are catalogues of plants, +and schedules of species, and old herbals, and every kind of book you +can imagine that has a bearing on the subject. Some are about British +flowers and some about foreign ones, and there are others on mosses and +ferns and fungi. They used to belong to my uncle; he was extremely fond +of botany." + +"Have you read them all?" asked Cicely. + +"No, I'm afraid I have rather neglected them. You see, I have had so +many lessons to learn. One can't study everything at once, and Mother +particularly wants me to work hard at French. Perhaps some day I may +attack the natural orders. It will take you a long time to look through +every one of these books. I'll leave the case unlocked, so that you can +get them out when you like. I know I can trust you not to spoil the +covers, and to put each back in its proper place." + +"We'll be very, very careful of them," Lindsay assured her. "We won't +carry them into the garden. We'll sit and read them here at the table." + +"That will be all right, then," said Monica. "I feel they are rather a +particular charge, because they were left to me as a special legacy. I +believe my uncle valued them more than anything else in the world. I +often think I don't appreciate them as much as I ought." + +As Monica had said, it took considerable labour to thoroughly examine +all the books and search for extracts. Some merely contained long lists +of Latin names, and others were far too learned and scientific to +interest schoolgirls. A few, however, treated the subject from its +romantic side, and quoted passages of poetry such as they wanted. Miss +Russell, who had encouraged them to try for the prize, gave them +permission to use the library when they pleased; so for the next few +days they spent most of their spare time there. + +It was a pleasant occupation, and one that seemed to bring them into +touch with the old poets who had loved Nature so dearly, and sung so +charmingly about her blossoms. It was quite wonderful to think that +nearly six hundred years ago Chaucer had noticed and recorded the little +golden heart and white crown of the daisy; and that King James I of +Scotland, while pining as Henry IV's prisoner in Windsor Castle, could +remember and write of-- + + "The sharpe, greene, sweete juniper, + Growing so fair with branches here and there". + +The competition proved most interesting, and, as it happened, was to be +connected with unforeseen occurrences. + +One afternoon, Cicely, who was trying to work her way systematically +along the shelves, brought down a thick, bulky volume, bound in brown +leather, with metal corners, and entitled _Floral Calendar_. + +"This must be an old one," she remarked. "Look how yellow the paper is, +and there are actually long S's. Someone has scribbled notes all round +the edges of the pages." + +"I wonder if it was Sir Giles Courtenay?" said Lindsay. + +Cicely turned to the flyleaf at the beginning. Yes, in exactly the same +rather straggling hand was the inscription: + + "GILES PEMBERTON COURTENAY, + HAVERSLEIGH MANOR, + SOMERSET." + +"He seems to have been fond of writing in his books," said Lindsay. +"What's this opposite his name?" + +On the inside of the cover quite a long piece of poetry had been copied. +It appeared to be something in the nature of an acrostic or charade, and +it ran thus:-- + + +ENIGMA + + My _First_, among flowers you can't find a better, + 'T was used by a king for securing a letter. + My _Second_, whose blossoms of yellow soon fade, + Comes out every night in the calm evening shade. + My _Third_, oft called Iris, is much in demand, + It grows on an island named Van Diemen's Land. + My _Fourth_, a wild flower with sweet golden eye, + Is more blessing than "torment" to all who pass by. + My _Fifth_, with great trusses of lavender hue, + Is the sweetest of shrubs that the spring brings to view. + My _Sixth_, an old blossom in medicine once famed, + Was good for the eyesight, and thus it was named. + Now if you have guessed all these flowers that I prize, + Please take my initials and finals likewise: + The former you'll find to be hiding the latter; + If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter + Perchance may provide you with just a lost link, + And bring you a greater reward than you think. + + G. P. C. + +Both Lindsay and Cicely were particularly fond of any kind of riddle. +They seized upon this floral enigma with delight, and began to puzzle it +out with the help of the illustrated catalogue of plants given in the +old volume. + +"How funny of Sir Giles Courtenay to have written it inside a botany +book!" said Cicely. + +"I suppose he was quite mad," replied Lindsay. + +"He must have made it up himself, as it's signed with his initials," +continued Cicely. "It was rather clever of him, wasn't it?--especially +if he was mad. I'm sure I couldn't invent verses, however hard I tried." + +"'My _First_, used by a king for securing a letter', is evidently +'Solomon's Seal'," said Lindsay. "Give me that spare piece of paper, and +I'll put it down." + +"'My _Second'_ must be 'Evening Primrose'," said Cicely. "I can't think +of any other yellow flower that comes out at night." + +The third for a long time baffled the efforts of both girls to discover +it. They searched through the lists of wild and garden flowers in vain. + +"Irises are sometimes called 'flags'," ventured Cicely at last, turning +to the page of 'F' in the index. "Why, here are quite a number. There +are Asiatic flag, and corn flag, and dwarf flag, and Florentine flag, +and German flag. Oh! and a heap more, too--golden flag, and Iberian +flag, and Japanese, and Persian, and Missouri, and Tasmanian." + +"That's the one!" said Lindsay. "Van Diemen's Land is the old name for +Tasmania. 'My _Third_' must be Tasmanian flag." + +"Why, of course. We're getting on, aren't we?" + +The fourth, as it was stated to be a wild flower, was sought for in the +list at the end of _British Flora_. It did not take a very large amount +of penetration to fix it as 'tormentilla', especially as they could +identify its golden eye in the coloured picture. + +"The great trusses of lavender hue, growing on a shrub in spring, will +mean lilac. I'm getting quite proud of our guessing," declared Lindsay. + +"We've only one more left now," said Cicely. + +The last proved the most difficult of all. I doubt if they would have +been able to solve it, had not Lindsay chanced to take down an ancient +herbal, and found a list of plants once employed for medicine. + +"Amid all herbes that do grow, and are of greatest comfort and solace to +mankind," so ran the passage, "a foremost place hath the euphrasy. +Though it be but an humble plant scarce an inch in height, yet it maketh +an ointment very precious for to cure dimness of sight. Thence it hath +been called in the vulgar tongue 'eye-bright', nevertheless its true +name is euphrasy, and thus it is known among apothecaries." + +"It must be right," said Lindsay. "It's the only one that is said to do +any good to the eyesight. The others seem to be for toothaches or +agues." + +"Or to heal wounds or sores," said Cicely. "People must have been +continually hurting themselves in those days, if they needed so many +'salves' and 'unguents'." + +They had now discovered all the six flowers, and wrote the result neatly +down on a piece of paper. + + S olomon's Sea L + E vening Primros E + T asmanian Fla G + T ormentill A + L ila C + E uphras Y + +"The initials read 'settle' and the finals 'legacy'," said Cicely. "How +very queer! That hasn't anything to do with flowers." + +"Let us look at the end lines again," said Lindsay, and she read aloud: + + Please take my initials and finals likewise: + The former you'll find to be hiding the latter; + If you've solved the enigma you'll see 'tis a matter + Perchance may provide you with just a lost link, + And bring you a greater reward than you think. + +"The initials hide the finals. 'Settle' hides 'Legacy'," repeated Cicely +meditatively. + +"Why, I see it now!" burst out Lindsay suddenly. "Oh, Cicely, I believe +it means a great deal more than an ordinary riddle! It has something to +do with the lost treasure. Don't you understand? The settle is hiding +the legacy--Monica's legacy!" + +"Oh, surely not!" exclaimed Cicely, bouncing up in great excitement. + +"But I really think so. The poetry says the enigma is 'to provide the +lost link' and 'bring a greater reward than you think'. This is indeed a +discovery! It's evidently intended to tell Monica where her money is to +be found." + +"Can we be quite, quite certain?" hesitated Cicely. + +"Well, everything seems to point to it. Don't you recollect Irene +Spencer said that in old Sir Giles' will he left 'the Manor and all that +it may contain to my great-niece Monica, especially commending to her +the volumes in my library, and advising her to pursue the study of +botany'? I remember those were the exact words. This must have been the +reason. He had written the secret of the hiding-place inside the _Floral +Calendar_, and he thought she would find it there. Perhaps he wasn't so +very mad after all." + +"I wonder if Monica has seen it and puzzled it out?" + +"I don't know. She said she didn't often trouble about the books." + +"Then is the treasure hidden inside some old settle in the house?" + +"It seems likely." + +"In that case we must be wrong about the lantern room." + +"Perhaps we are. Well, at any rate this throws new light on the subject, +and gives us a clue as to where to hunt. We'll go over the Manor again, +and look carefully at every settle." + +"I hope we're really on the right track at last," sighed Cicely. "What a +glorious day it would be if we could actually say to Monica: 'Here's +your fortune!'" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +Lindsay Makes a Resolve + + +Lindsay and Cicely thought they understood what a settle was, but, to +avoid the possibility of any mistake, they looked the word up in the +dictionary. "Settle--a long bench, with high back, for sitting on," was +the explanation given by that authority. + +"So it 'settles' the matter," said Cicely, trying to make a pun. + +"Well, it shows us it's not a chest, anyhow," replied Lindsay, "though +the oak bench in the passage near the top of the stairs has a kind of +box under it. The seat lifts up like a lid." + +There were four pieces of old furniture in the Manor which might claim +to answer to the description given in the dictionary. Two were in the +dining-room, one in the picture gallery, and another, as Lindsay had +said, at the head of the stairs. The girls made a most lengthy and +careful inspection of them all, but without the slightest result. +Neither their backs nor their seats were hollow, or capable of +containing anything. Three of them stood upon carved oak legs, like +chairs, and though the last was made in the fashion of a chest, it +proved on investigation to be absolutely empty. It was a bitter +disappointment. + +"Can we have been mistaken about the enigma?" said Cicely, almost in +tears. + +"I don't believe so. What I think is, that Mrs. Wilson and Scott have +been clever enough to find the money and carry it off. Perhaps there was +another settle somewhere in the house, and they took it bodily away." + +"Wouldn't Monica have missed it?" + +"It may have been done just after Sir Giles died, and before she came to +the Manor." + +"Where would they put it?" + +"Possibly in the lantern room, inside some hiding-place they know of." + +"Then, until we can find out the secret of the lantern room, it seems to +me we can't get any farther." + +"And we don't even know that the treasure is still there, because it may +be buried in the garden," groaned Lindsay. + +The whole affair of the lost legacy was most aggravating and +tantalizing. They seemed so continually on the point of unravelling the +mystery, only to find themselves again defeated and baffled. Cicely was +tempted to throw it up altogether in despair, but Lindsay had a native +obstinacy of disposition that could not bear to be beaten. + +"I shall go on trying as long as we're at Haversleigh, on that I'm +entirely resolved," she declared. "I don't mean to give up until we're +actually on our way to the station on breaking-up day." + +"And that's only three weeks off now," said Cicely. + +The summer term at the Manor had proved so enjoyable that the girls were +not nearly so enthusiastic as usual for the advent of the holidays. Most +of them felt a keen regret at leaving the beautiful old place, and +bewailed the fact that the alterations at Winterburn Lodge were reported +to be progressing favourably, and that the drains there would be in +perfect order long before they need return in September. + +"Couldn't we have school here always instead of in London?" they +suggested hopefully to Miss Russell. + +"No," said the headmistress; "there are many considerations which would +make it impossible. Mrs. Courtenay and Monica will want to live in their +own home again, and Haversleigh is too inconvenient a place for a +permanency. We have managed wonderfully well for a few months with only +Mademoiselle, but we certainly miss Herr Hoffmann's and Monsieur +Guizet's classes, to say nothing of drawing and dancing lessons. +Visiting masters cannot arrange to come so far away from town. There are +no proper educational advantages to be had in the depths of the +country." + +"We shall be sorry when it comes to good-bye," declared the girls. + +"We must make the most of our remaining time here then," said Miss +Russell, "and try to see all we can in the neighbourhood before we go." + +The mistress's birthday, falling on the following Wednesday, offered a +propitious opportunity for an excursion such as she suggested. The girls +were accustomed to celebrate the occasion with some little festivity, +and were delighted when it was arranged that they should visit the town +of Appleford, about ten miles away. + +"There is the Dripping Well to see, and a fine old church," said Miss +Russell. "I am sure we shall be able to spend a very pleasant afternoon +there. We must ask Monica to come with us." + +There was some doubt at first as to whether Monica would be able to +accept the invitation. She had missed her French lesson one day, and +arrived at school late on the next, looking pale and upset. Mrs. +Courtenay had been very ill, so she explained. The doctor had been sent +for, and had given an unfavourable report. Naturally extra care and +attention were needful, and who could give these so well as her own +daughter? + +On the day of the picnic Monica turned up with rather an anxious face. + +"I scarcely like to leave Mother," she said, "but she wants me so much +to have this treat that she would not rest content until she had seen me +put on my hat and start off. Fortunately Jenny is a good nurse, and will +look after her nicely. Still, I always feel uneasy when I am long away +from her." + +The girls were to drive the whole distance to Appleford, and the +prospect was so exhilarating that everyone was at the high-water mark of +enjoyment. Even poor Monica caught the prevailing spirit, and for the +moment, at least, began to forget her cares. There was just room to pack +both teachers and pupils into the four wagonettes which arrived from the +George Inn, but nobody seemed to mind crushing, and even Mademoiselle +was in a good temper. + +"I smile because I shall again see shops and streets," she declared. + +"I believe Mademoiselle will be delighted to go back to Winterburn +Lodge," said Marjorie Butler, who was in another wagonette, but +overheard the remark. + +"Yes, I think she's absolutely yearning for pavements and lamp-posts," +said Cicely. "She'll weep with joy at the sight of a tramcar. She says +it is terribly 'triste' here." + +"Mademoiselle is French," observed Effie Hargreaves scornfully. + +"What a very original remark! You didn't suppose we took her for a +German?" + +"Well, I mean she's a foreigner at any rate, so we can't expect her to +like the country," replied Effie, with true British prejudice. + +There were several small excitements on the journey. Beryl's hat was +blown by a sudden puff of wind over a bridge, and was in great peril of +descending into the river when it was rescued by the driver; the door of +the second wagonette burst suddenly open, and nearly precipitated Irene +Spencer into the road; while the whole cavalcade was brought to a +standstill at a narrow turning by finding a broken-down motor-car +blocking up the way. + +Appleford proved to be a delightfully quaint old country town, with +twisting streets and black-and-white houses. + +"I'm afraid Mademoiselle will be very disappointed with the fashions. +She certainly won't find Paris modes here," laughed Marjorie Butler, +looking at the one row of small shop windows that appeared to satisfy +the wants of the population. + +"I'm glad there's a confectioner's, anyhow," said Effie Hargreaves, who +was burning to spend her pocket-money on chocolates. + +"And a place for picture postcards," added Nora Proctor; "I can see a +whole tray full of them standing outside that door." + +The arrival of four wagonettes containing so many schoolgirls evidently +caused quite an excitement in the usually quiet street. Heads were +popped out of windows, shopkeepers came to their doors, and people began +to collect at corners and stare. + +"Almost as if we were a wild-beast show!" said Cicely. + +"I believe they hope we're going to march in procession round the market +square and sing, or play as a band," declared Nora Proctor. + +"Come along, girls! I am afraid we are attracting too much attention," +said Miss Russell. "Let us set off for the Dripping Well as fast as we +can. You must make any purchases you want when we return; I cannot let +you wait now." + +Effie Hargreaves had already dived into the toffee shop, and issued with +several paper packages in her hand; so she went on her way rejoicing +that she had seized the opportunity while there was yet time. +Fortunately for the others, she was of a generous disposition, and ready +to share her sweets. + +"We'll pay you back when we get some of our own," said Marjorie Butler, +blissfully sucking a caramel. + +The Dripping Well was situated in a wood, about a mile from the town, +and was, as the guide-book described it, "a most curious natural +phenomenon". The water trickled slowly over a large rock, and was so +charged with lime that it left a thin deposit over everything it +touched. Articles hung up there, after a short time bore the appearance +of having been turned to stone. All kinds of objects were suspended from +the rock, in the process of being encrusted by the lime--top hats, +boots, stockings, gloves, loaves of bread, and even bunches of flowers. + +"It looks just as if the Gorgon had stared at them and petrified them +with a glance," said Nora. + +"I wonder, if we were hung up, should we turn solid too?" said Lindsay. + +The caretaker of the well had many specimens to show them which he had +polished, and was anxious to sell. There was quite a large collection in +his cottage. The girls, after hastily conferring together, bought a +stone bouquet as a birthday present for Miss Russell, an offering which +she declared should grace the school museum when they returned to +Winterburn Lodge. + +"I thought she'd have put it in the drawing-room," said Beryl Austen, +rather disappointed. + +"Well, of course it is more of a curiosity than an ornament," said +Mildred Roper. "It wouldn't have looked very beautiful decorating the +mantel-piece, I'm afraid--not nearly so nice as a real bunch of +flowers." + +Close to the well was a cave in the cliff which a hermit had once used +for his cell--a very picturesque spot to have chosen for his +meditations, so the girls decided. + +"But horribly damp; the poor man must have been racked with rheumatism," +said Miss Frazer, who was of a practical mind. + +"Perhaps, like Friar Tuck, he didn't often use it, and preferred to hunt +venison in the woods," suggested Kathleen Crawford. + +"No, he was a really devout hermit, who told his beads, and lived on +bread and water," said Monica. "He dug his own grave in the rock about a +hundred yards from here. You can see it still, though his bones have +long ago been taken away for relics." + +"I wonder if they petrified them first in the well," said Nora Proctor, +"and how much they sold them for? There are more than two hundred bones +in the human body, so a hermit ought to have been worth a good deal when +he was properly divided." + +"You naughty, irreverent girl!" said Monica. + +Tea had been prepared at the old-fashioned inn in the market square. +Afterwards they went to look through the church, where there were some +fine examples of Gothic carving, and several beautiful stained-glass +windows. One in particular, which Monica pointed out, was in memory of a +member of the Courtenay family. There was a chained Bible, besides a +black-letter Prayer Book, a pair of tongs for turning dogs out of +church, and several other curiosities shown by the old verger; so time +passed rapidly, and everyone was quite surprised when Miss Russell +looked at her watch, and announced that they must be returning home. + +"Will someone fetch Monica? I believe she is in the churchyard with the +Rector's wife," she said. + +Lindsay and Cicely volunteered to go, and found their friend under a big +yew tree, engaged in talking to a lady who was evidently making +enquiries about Mrs. Courtenay. Not liking to intrude and interrupt the +conversation, they stood waiting until they should be noticed. + +"The doctor was over yesterday," Monica was saying, with a choke in her +voice. "He told me our only chance is to send to London for Sir William +Garrett. And how can we? His fee is a hundred guineas." + +"That is a heavy amount." + +"Impossible for us. You know how gladly I would sell even the Manor to +raise the money, but I cannot touch a penny of my property until I come +of age, and that won't be for more than four years. I try not to blame +Uncle Giles, yet sometimes----" + +Here Monica broke down altogether, and wiped her eyes. + +"You mustn't give up hope, my dear child," said the Rector's wife +kindly. "Perhaps your mother may be spared to you after all. Strange +things come to pass sometimes, and good can often result from evil." + +"I wish I could believe so," sobbed Monica. "I don't care in the least +about the fortune for myself; I only want it when I think of what it +might do for her!" + + * * * * * + +"Cicely!" said Lindsay solemnly the next morning, as she tied her hair +ribbon before the looking-glass, "we simply must have another try to +find that treasure." + +Cicely paused with her brush in her hand. + +"It's dreadful that Mrs. Courtenay may die because they can't scrape +together a hundred guineas," she agreed. + +"And Monica is breaking her heart over it," continued Lindsay. "She goes +about looking so unhappy, it makes me quite miserable too. I'd give +everything in the world I have to help her." + +"I don't know where we're to hunt next. We seem to have explored every +corner, and we never have any luck." + +Cicely's voice sounded utterly despondent. + +"We can only go to the lantern room again. It's the one place where +we're sure there's a secret. If Merle could discover something there, +why shouldn't we?" + +It appeared a forlorn hope, but anything was better than just sitting +down and making no effort at all. Monica's troubles weighed much on +Lindsay's mind. The idea that the invalid must slip out of life for lack +of the money that might save her seemed too cruel to be endured. + +"I wish I had a hundred guineas of my own to give them," she thought +sorrowfully. "Oh dear! it's such a big sum--one might as well wish for +the moon. I'm afraid there's not the slightest chance for poor Mrs. +Courtenay unless the legacy turns up." + +It was in rather a dejected mood that the girls betook themselves to the +upper landing that afternoon, and once more climbed the now familiar +winding staircase. The lantern room looked exactly the same as on their +two former visits. There was nothing in it to excite interest or arouse +curiosity. A more unromantic chamber could not be conceived. + +The window was closed, the rusty firegrate contained only a few ashes, +and the door of the cupboard stood open, revealing rows of empty +shelves. The one object worthy of notice was the ancient lantern, which +hung from a hook in the middle of the ceiling. That, at any rate, was +curious. It was of a quaint, medieval pattern, and the sides, instead of +being of glass, were of thin pieces of horn. + +"It's a funny old thing," said Lindsay. "I suppose they used a dip +candle for it. I wonder if there's a piece left in it still?" + +She stood on tiptoe, and made an effort to open the lantern, but it was +hung too high to allow her to peep inside. Reaching up as best she +could, she gave it a jerk, to try to lift it down. Quite suddenly and +unexpectedly the lantern and hook descended by a chain from the ceiling. +There was a strange grating sound, and, turning round, the girls saw a +sight which made them gasp with amazement. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +The Lantern Room + + +Lindsay and Cicely might well cry out with surprise. A most peculiar +thing had happened. A part of the back of the cupboard had opened like a +door, revealing a narrow passage behind. Here at last was the +hiding-place for which they had sought so long in vain. + +They had never suspected the cupboard. It looked so ordinary, with its +rows of shelves, that no one would have dreamt it concealed a secret +exit. By a clever arrangement the lantern evidently worked a spring, and +when pulled down caused the door to unclose automatically. Somebody in +days gone by had no doubt constructed it thus to form a refuge in time +of danger. The girls were in raptures of delight. + +"This, of course, was where Mrs. Wilson vanished," said Lindsay. + +"And what Merle saw," added Cicely. + +[Illustration: THE SECRET DOOR] + +It was an intense satisfaction to have found it out for themselves, +especially when they had come upstairs with such small expectation of +success. Where did the passage lead? That was naturally the first +question they asked each other. + +"It looks very dark," said Cicely, peering rather nervously into the +opening. + +"I wish we had a candle," said Lindsay. "There isn't even an end left +inside the lantern, and we've no matches either." + +"Shall I go downstairs and fetch some?" suggested Cicely. + +"No, no! You might meet 'The Griffin' on the way. We'd better explore +now, as quickly as we can, while the coast is clear." + +It needed a little screwing up of courage to plunge into the dim +obscurity before them. Lindsay went first, with Cicely clinging +particularly closely on to her arm behind. The passage seemed to lead +along the inside of the wall for about two yards, then took a sharp +turn, and ended at the foot of a kind of ladder stairway. + +One gleam of light fell from above, as if through some small chink in +the roof, just sufficient to allow them to distinguish their +surroundings and enable them to scramble up the rough steps. At the top +they found themselves in a huge garret, how big they could not tell, for +the corners were completely lost in black nothingness. The floor was +thick with dust (such old dust!), and was so worm-eaten and rotten that +it felt quite soft and crumbling under their feet. + +They were close beneath the tiles, to judge from the rafters overhead. +The air was hot and stifling, and had that stale, mouldy smell +noticeable in places long shut up. They began to walk cautiously along, +peering on all sides as their eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness. + +"It's just the place for them to have put the treasure," said Cicely. + +"If we only had a light!" sighed Lindsay. "I want to go nearer the wall, +and see if I can find any heaps of money or silver tankards." + +She groped her way a little more boldly across the room, and, putting +out her foot, began to feel about. + +"Do be careful!" begged Cicely. + +It was a most necessary warning. The ancient, rotten boards could not +stand the strain of Lindsay's weight, and down went her leg, making a +great hole in the floor. Luckily she was not seriously hurt, only +scratched and considerably frightened. With Cicely's help she managed to +extricate herself, and withdrew to the safer middle of the garret. + +"The old house must be almost ready to tumble down," she declared. + +"Monica said parts of the Manor were very much out of repair," replied +Cicely. "Besides, if this is a secret place, no one could ever come up +to mend it." + +"I wonder where my leg went to?" said Lindsay. + +"Perhaps into some room below." + +"In that case Mrs. Wilson will notice a hole in the ceiling, and will +know somebody has been up here." + +It was not an encouraging incident, but they were determined to venture +farther all the same. + +"We couldn't think of turning back now," said Lindsay. + +At the far end of the room there was a door that seemed to lead into an +attic even darker than the first. + +"It's not much use going in there without a light," said Cicely. + +"Just a few steps," said Lindsay. + +She entered, and put up her hand to feel the height of the roof above. +Instantly there was a tremendous rushing sound around them. The air +seemed filled with flapping, shadowy forms, which brushed lightly +against their cheeks. In an agony of fear poor Cicely shrieked and +shrieked again, and clung to Lindsay desperately, as to the one +substantial and human thing in the midst of what was horrible and +unknown. + +"All right, they're only bats," gasped Lindsay, in a rather quavering +voice. "We've disturbed them, I expect." + +Slightly reassured, Cicely dared to raise her head from her friend's +shoulder and look round. They were surrounded by the fluttering wings +of the bats. These little denizens of the darkness must have been +hanging in numbers from the ceiling, and Lindsay's entrance had +disturbed them. With strange squeaks and hisses they flitted to and fro +for a few moments, then flew off to seek some safer retreat. + +"I hope they've really gone," said Cicely, heaving a sigh of relief. +"Don't go any farther in there, Lindsay. You can't see an inch before +your face." + +"But it may be the one important place," said Lindsay, yielding +reluctantly as Cicely pulled her back into the outer garret. "I'd +exchange all my next birthday presents for a candle." + +"Hush! I want to listen. I thought I heard something." + +"What?" + +"A kind of rustling." + +"I expect it was the bats, or a rat." + +Cicely gave an apprehensive glance behind. Her nerves were not so strong +as Lindsay's. Though she had had time to grow accustomed to scratchings +inside the wainscots at the Manor, she could not overcome her dread of +rats. Perhaps Lindsay was less valiant in her heart of hearts than she +would have liked to confess. After all, it was little satisfaction to +explore a room where she could see nothing. + +She was just deciding to go, when Cicely once more clutched her arm. + +"Oh, what is it?" + +The exclamation burst simultaneously from the lips of the two girls. +Close, almost, as it seemed, in their ears, echoed that horrible low +groan which had so terrified them twice before. Heard amidst such +strange and dim surroundings, it was more than flesh and blood could +stand. Without waiting to make any further investigations, they turned +and fled. + +They hardly knew afterwards how they had stumbled across the rotten +floor and scrambled down the ladder. With blinking eyes they looked into +each other's scared faces as they emerged from the dark passage into the +bright daylight of the lantern room again. + +"What a dreadful place!" shuddered Cicely. "I'm thankful we've got +safely away from it. I don't believe I'd venture up there again for all +the fortunes in the world." + +"We must close the entrance," said Lindsay anxiously. "We must take care +to leave everything as we found it." + +The secret door shut with a spring, and in a moment there was nothing to +be seen again but the innocent-looking cupboard. The lantern had +ascended to its former place in the ceiling; the chain worked on a +pulley, and, as it ran up or down, it fastened or unloosed the lock. + +Cicely, at any rate, was not sorry to descend to the more civilized +portions of the house. + +"I wonder if Merle explored as far as we did," she said. + +"I hardly think so," returned Lindsay. "She couldn't have had time. I +believe she must have met 'The Griffin' coming out, and have been +frightened into not telling." + +The more the girls talked the matter over, the more complicated seemed +the mystery. Though they had found Mrs. Wilson's hiding-place, they were +no nearer ascertaining whether the treasure was concealed there or +elsewhere. Out in the sunshine Lindsay's courage returned, and she began +to reproach herself for having given up the search so soon. + +"We'll go some other day, and take two candles and a box of matches with +us," she announced. + +"Is it really any good?" + +Cicely's spirit quailed at the prospect of once more encountering the +unknown horrors that might be lurking in that dark attic. She could not +forget the groans she had heard there. + +"Of course it is! I didn't think you'd be the one to draw back," said +Lindsay reproachfully. "We've both pledged ourselves to do everything in +our power to help Monica. It would be mean and cowardly to give in just +because we felt afraid. If you don't care to come with me, I shall have +to go alone. I'm only waiting for a good opportunity." + +For several days the opportunity tarried. Mrs. Wilson was too often +about the passages to make the expedition safe. On one occasion Cicely +went to act scout, but found the housemaid sweeping the top landing, and +had to beat a hasty retreat. + +They were not able to discover where Lindsay's leg had descended so +suddenly through the rotten floor, or whether any of the ceilings in the +upper rooms had suffered in consequence. If Mrs. Wilson had found out +the damage, she kept her own counsel. When at last they managed to seize +a favourable chance, and to steal up the winding staircase, a sad +checkmate awaited them. The door of the lantern room was securely +fastened with a padlock. + +"Scott said he was going to put one on," said Lindsay, after staring +blankly at the unwelcome impediment. "Don't you remember, when he was +talking to 'The Griffin' in the picture gallery, and she told him we had +been here?" + +"I'm certain they suspect us," returned Cicely. "Perhaps they only took +part of the silver or jewellery away in that sack, and the rest is still +up in the garret." + +The sole plan of action they could think of after this last +disappointment was to keep a watch upon Scott. If he had really +concealed a portion of the treasure in the garden, he would probably go +to look at it occasionally, to make sure of its safety. At Cicely's +urgent request they had already made a careful examination, with a +trowel, of the bank where Scott had been digging when they surprised him +in the dark. It was fruitless work, however; nothing was there. + +"I told you beforehand they wouldn't be so foolish," said Lindsay. + +"I thought they might have dropped a piece of money, or an ear-ring +perhaps, in their hurry--just something to show us what had actually +been here," said Cicely, grubbing about in the loose soil. + +"Trust Scott and Mrs. Wilson! They're an uncommonly clever couple. You +may be sure they'd take care not to leave even a sixpence behind them." + +"I've heard that criminals can't keep away from a place where they've +buried anything," continued Cicely. "They always haunt the spot." + +"Then we must notice where Scott goes most frequently," replied Lindsay. + +For the present, Scott seemed to be particularly attracted to the +cucumber frames. + +"He's there constantly," said Cicely. + +"Far oftener than is necessary, I'm sure," agreed Lindsay. + +"It might be a likely place, too," added Cicely meditatively. + +Several small incidents seemed to confirm their surmises. + +"He was so cross last night when Marjorie Butler sent her ball over the +hedge into the kitchen-garden, and went to fetch it," said Lindsay. + +"Yes, he said she might have broken the glass in one of the frames; but +I don't suppose that was the real reason. She may have gone near him +just when he was putting something back." + +"I heard Miss Russell asking him when the cucumbers would be ready, and +he answered in a great hurry: 'Not for ever so long yet'. And then he +said it was 'best not to be lifting the frames, and disturbing them more +than needful'." + +"He was evidently afraid she was going to ask to see them." + +The idea that silver cups, jewels, or spade-guineas might be lying +hidden under the glossy leaves of the cucumber plants began to obtain +possession of the girls' minds. + +"If we could only manage to look while he's out of the way," suggested +Cicely eagerly. + +Scott's close attention to his duties was most annoying. There really +appeared to be something in Cicely's theory of criminals haunting a +particular spot. He seemed never absent from the kitchen-garden, at any +rate when they were in its vicinity. They could hear him mowing the lawn +during lesson hours, but when recreation arrived, and they ran out +hopefully to reconnoitre, he would be weeding the strawberries, or +gathering peas within a few feet of his cherished hotbeds. + +"There's only one way for it," said Lindsay. "We shall have to make a +plot. You must hide near the kitchen-garden, and I'll do something to +take him off; then, while he's gone, you must rush to the frames and +open them." + +"That would be grand! What will you do? + +"I shall have to think it over. I know! We'll wait till this evening, +when he's watering the cucumbers. I'll stand on the pipe of the hose; +that will stop the water, and he'll go to see what's the matter." + +"Capital!" agreed Cicely. + +It took a little scheming to arrange their plan satisfactorily. They +were much afraid lest Scott should do his watering earlier than usual, +and greatly relieved when they ran out after preparation to find him +only just beginning to uncoil his hose. He used a small tank on wheels, +which he generally left on the gravel walk outside the kitchen-garden, +bringing the indiarubber tubing through the hedge. + +To the girls' extreme annoyance, Marjorie Butler spied them, and, coming +up, insisted upon reading aloud to them a letter she had received that +morning from a sailor cousin. Would she never go away? It was too +tiresome of her to confide in them at such an inappropriate time. + +"Don't let us keep you, if you want to play tennis," begged Lindsay, +with cold politeness. + +"Oh, I don't mind at all, thank you! I thought you'd be interested to +hear about Cousin Cyril," replied Marjorie. + +Lindsay wished sincerely that Cousin Cyril had been at the bottom of the +sea, instead of sailing over it and writing long descriptions of its +charms. The precious moments were passing by. She could hear the gentle +swish of the water as Scott applied the hose; if they were not quick, he +would have finished, and the opportunity would be gone. + +"I believe Miss Russell is coming out to play croquet to-night," she +ventured desperately. + +"Is she? Oh! she promised I might be on her side next time. I wonder if +she's there yet? I must go and see at once." + +"Thank goodness!" ejaculated Lindsay, as their classmate's blue-linen +dress disappeared along the avenue. "Now, I'm going to put this heavy +stone on the hose pipe, just where it goes through the hedge. Then we'll +both creep through that hole into the kitchen-garden." + +Without wasting another minute, Lindsay hastily did as she had said, +concealing the stone among the long grass, after which both girls +crawled through the hedge into the midst of a bed of Jerusalem +artichokes. As they had expected, their plot answered admirably. Scott +gave a grunt of vexation, and looked at his hose. His water supply had +undoubtedly failed him. He stumped away, grumbling, to examine the tank. + +"I don't believe he'll ever look amongst the grass. He'll think +something's wrong with the tap," chuckled Lindsay. + +The moment Scott had vanished through the gate, they dashed (regardless +of the artichokes!) in the direction of the frames. Lindsay slid her +hands rapidly in a search under the large, vine-like leaves; and Cicely, +armed with a trowel, began to dig furiously. All in vain! Though they +prodded the soil with sticks they could not feel anything particularly +solid underneath, and there was no time to make very deep excavations. + +"He's coming back!" panted Lindsay. "Smooth the earth over in that +corner, and place that leaf to hide it. Quick, or he'll catch us! Don't +go through the artichokes; we must run the other way!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +Hide-and-Seek + + +The July days literally flew, and the term was drawing rapidly to a +close. Miss Russell seemed determined to make the very most of the last +weeks at the Manor, and arranged something fresh for nearly every +afternoon. On one day there was a cricket match, on another a putting +contest, and on a third a tennis tournament, all of which caused much +excitement in the small world of the school. + +Both Lindsay and Cicely were fond of games, and anxious to win their +share of distinction, so by mutual consent they decided to relax their +watch on Scott until after the athletic sports. These were always +considered a great event, and this year were to be on a larger scale +than usual. + +"It's so splendid to be able to have them in these lovely grounds," said +Mildred Roper. "There never seemed half enough room on the lawn at +Winterburn Lodge." + +"I hear Miss Russell is going to give quite a party," volunteered Nora +Proctor. "She's invited the Rector and Mrs. Cross and all the people +who have called on her at Haversleigh, so we shall have plenty of +spectators." + +"I wish Mrs. Courtenay could come," exclaimed Cicely. + +"I wish indeed she could. I'm afraid she must be worse to-day, as Monica +was not at the history class," said Mildred. + +All the girls were busy "getting into good form", as they expressed it. +The elder ones worked untiringly at tennis, while the younger ones +practised running with a zeal worthy of candidates for a Marathon race. + +"Miss Russell says there'll be several handicaps, but she won't tell us +what they are," remarked Beryl Austen. + +"Well, it's much more fun if you don't know beforehand," returned Effie +Hargreaves. "They wouldn't be handicaps if we could do them too easily." + +"I found a piece of four-leaved clover yesterday," observed Cicely, "so +I ought to be lucky. I showed it to Mademoiselle, and she was quite +envious. 'Vous aurez la chance!'" she said. + +"How jolly! Have you kept it?" + +"Rather! I've left it to press between two pieces of blotting-paper, +under a pile of books. I'm going to have it put in a locket when I go +home." + +"I don't believe in luck," declared Nora. "I'm sure all the four-leaved +clovers in the world wouldn't make Marjorie Butler win a race. She's out +of breath before she's run ten yards." + +"Is Monica going to take part?" asked Beryl. + +"I don't know. She said she had put her name down provisionally. If she +does, I expect she'll astonish us all. She can jump most +beautifully--she's as light as a feather." + +The afternoon of the sports was brilliantly fine. By half-past two the +guests had assembled on the big lawn. They looked quite a small crowd. +The school had aroused interest in the neighbourhood, and people had +come from several miles' distance in response to Miss Russell's cards of +invitation. Irene Spencer was the only girl who could boast of having +any relations present, her uncle, aunt, and several cousins having +driven over from Linforth Vicarage. The visitors were evidently prepared +to enjoy everything. + +"It is not often we have an opportunity in the country of witnessing +Olympic games. I am looking forward to seeing so many young Atalantas +run races. Where are the wreaths of laurel and parsley that are to grace +the occasion?" said Mr. Cross, the genial rector, who was fond of a +joke, and at home among schoolgirls. + +"There aren't any," laughed Cicely. "Miss Russell uses the laurel leaves +to flavour the custards, and the parsley to garnish the hams." + +"I'm astonished at her putting such classic plants to such ignoble +purposes. She has asked me to distribute the prizes, and I thought I +should be expected to place green chaplets upon the brows of the +victors. It's too bad, when I had composed a speech on purpose. You +suggest I should make up another? Not so easy, my dears. I shall come to +some of you for assistance. I wonder if Miss Frazer would be equal to +the occasion?" + +"I'm sure she couldn't think of anything funny," declared Cicely. + +"Then I shall have to trust to what I can say on the spur of the moment. +If you notice I'm breaking down, please begin to clap, and then +everybody will suppose I have finished. Here comes Miss Russell. I +believe she wants me to act umpire too. Greatness is being thrust upon +me. I hope I shan't disgrace my high position." + +In spite of the Rector's mock protestations, he seemed very capable of +managing the sports, and reviewed the rows of waiting girls with the eye +of a general. + +"It takes me back to my own schooldays," he said. "I used to think then +I would much rather win the long jump than be made Archbishop of +Canterbury; and I considered the captain of our cricket club a far +bigger fellow than the Prime Minister. Where's Monica? Isn't she joining +in to-day's doings?" + +Monica arrived at the last moment, just when everybody had given her up, +and took her place quietly among the members of the first form. + +"I was afraid I couldn't come at all," she explained; "but Mother is +asleep now, so I can leave her for an hour, at any rate. I have told +Jenny to send for me if she wakes." + +The first item on the programme was a tennis contest, limited to the +elder girls. It was a hard-fought battle, as the competitors were evenly +balanced, and it ended in a victory for Mildred Roper and Kathleen +Crawford. Monica played well, but she had not been able to spend so much +time at practice as the others, and she missed several balls. + +"It was very stupid of me," she apologized. "I never seem to grow +accustomed to Mildred's fast serves." + +A race followed for the second class, which Irene Spencer, much cheered +by her cousins, nearly succeeded in winning, though she was beaten at +the last by Merle Hammond, who made a sudden and unexpected spurt. It +was now the turn of the third-form girls. They were to run a handicap, +and awaited particulars with much eagerness. + +"Miss Russell seems to set as severe tasks as the wicked stepmother in +the fairy tales," said Mr. Cross. "She decrees that you are each to be +given a small box of peas and beans and buttons mixed together, and that +you are to sort them before you start to run the race. Will you please +all kneel on the grass with your boxes in front of you. Are you ready? +One--two--three--off!" + +It was a question of deftness of fingers. Effie Hargreaves justified the +old proverb, "More haste, less speed", by upsetting her box; and +Marjorie Butler got her piles mixed in her agitation. Cicely finished +first, and was halfway across the lawn before Nora Proctor overtook her. +It was a keen struggle between these two. All the others were some +distance behind, for Lindsay was not so fleet of foot, and Beryl Austen +slipped and fell on the dry grass. + +"It's Nora! No, it's Cicely!" cried the girls. "Well done, Cicely! Go +on, Nora! She's gaining! No, she isn't! Why, it's Cicely after all!" as +the latter reached the winning-post a couple of yards in advance of her +opponent. + +"Well run!" said the Rector. "You got over the course like young +greyhounds. If you learn lessons at the same speed, you will turn out +prodigies. Why is Miss Russell shaking her head? She says there is no +danger of that. Really, I feel quite relieved to hear it. I was +beginning to be almost afraid of you. I believe you are expected to pick +up the beans before we continue our proceedings." + +The programme was arranged so as to be as varied as possible. There were +a round at clock-golf, a skipping tournament, an egg-and-spoon race, and +an archery contest. + +"It's jumping next," said Lindsay, as Miss Frazer and Miss Humphreys +came forward, carrying a rope; "the first-form girls are to begin. I +particularly want to see Monica." + +Monica had taken her place modestly at the very end of the line, so that +at each trial she was the last to compete. Her movements were very light +and graceful, and the girls watched her with approval. One by one, as +the rope was raised higher, the competitors began to thin, till at +length their number was reduced to three--Kathleen Crawford, Bertha +Marston, and Monica. + +All looked eagerly to see the next attempt. Kathleen just managed to +scramble over, Bertha failed utterly, but Monica took the jump with +absolute ease. + +"This will be the final test, I expect," said Miss Russell, when the two +successful ones returned to the starting-point. + +"I don't think they can do that!" murmured Lindsay, gazing with awe at +what was to her the impossible height required. + +It was too much for Kathleen. She ran, balked, and made another vain +effort, to give it up. + +"Now, Monica!" + +The name was on everybody's lips. + +Monica appeared to be perfectly cool, far less excited, indeed, than the +spectators. + +"Rest a moment, my dear, if you are out of breath," suggested Miss +Russell. + +"No, thank you. It would hardly seem fair to Kathleen. I'll try now." + +"Took it like a bird!" cried the Rector, clapping his hands, as the rope +was once more successfully cleared. + +The girls raised a storm of cheering, to show partly their admiration +for the skilful deed, partly their appreciation of Monica herself. + +"She is a great favourite in the school," Miss Russell explained to Mr. +Cross. + +"I am delighted to see her mixing with other young people," he replied; +"she has a dull time, poor child, as a rule, and has felt the +disappointment about her uncle's property more than she cares to +confess. Mrs. Courtenay's illness is very distressing. My wife was +speaking to the doctor yesterday: he considers Sir William Garrett ought +to be sent for at once; in a few weeks it may prove too late." + +"You have known the family a long time?" asked Miss Russell. + +"Since Monica's birth. I was as well acquainted with old Sir Giles as he +would allow anyone to be. I used to call and see him sometimes, and +discuss botany, the only subject in which he showed any interest. He +lived so penuriously that his income must have accumulated for many +years. He rarely spoke of business matters, but on one occasion he +requested me to sign my name as witness to some document, the contents +of which he did not tell me. + +"He referred, however, to Monica as if she were to benefit substantially +under his will, and asked me if I considered it harmful for a girl to be +left an heiress. I assured him it would not be so in her case; both her +disposition and upbringing were such that money could not spoil her. + +"'A season of adversity is often the best preparation for prosperity,' +he replied. + +"I have remembered his words ever since. + +"He sent for me on his deathbed, and I have sometimes wondered if there +were any secret he wished to confide to me. Most unfortunately I was +visiting a sick parishioner several miles away, and did not get the +message in time. When I arrived at the Manor he was past speech. He +tried to scrawl a few lines on a piece of paper, but the writing was +quite undecipherable. If he regretted any earthly act, it was too late +then to alter it; he was going to settle his great account." + +While the Rector and the headmistress were talking, tea had been carried +into the garden, and the girls now busied themselves in attending on the +guests. + +"I think the competitors must need refreshment more than we do," said +Mrs. Cross, as Cicely handed her the cream. + +"They are not forgotten," said Miss Russell, "but they are only too +pleased to make themselves useful first." + +Certainly the girls could not complain of being neglected; both cakes +and strawberries were waiting for them on a separate table, where Miss +Frazer was presiding. + +When tea was over, the prizes were brought out, and the Rector, with a +few appropriate remarks, began to distribute the awards. Cicely went up +proudly to receive a pencil-case, and Nora Proctor, who had won the +egg-and-spoon race, was presented with a box of chocolates. + +"First prize for high jump, Monica Courtenay," announced Mr. Cross. + +Everyone looked round for Monica, but she was nowhere to be found. + +"She was here just before tea," said Miss Humphreys. + +"I saw their maid come and speak to her during the archery competition," +said Beryl Austen. "She went away immediately." + +"She was obliged to go to her mother, no doubt, and did not wish to +interrupt the shooting by saying good-bye," commented Miss Russell. "We +must keep her prize for her." + +"She won't get the clapping, though," lamented Lindsay. + +"I think Monica will be rather glad to avoid that," said Mildred Roper. +"She's so shy and retiring, she doesn't like to be made a public +character." + +The day following the sports was hopelessly wet. Lindsay and Cicely were +awakened in the morning by the drip, drip of the rain on the ivy +outside, and the splashing of water as it fell from the spout into the +butt underneath. It was an absolutely drenching downpour, coming from a +leaden sky that showed no prospect of clearing. + +The weather had been so glorious during their stay at the Manor that +they felt aggrieved at the change. It was particularly annoying, because +Irene's uncle and aunt had invited all the girls to walk over to +Linforth that afternoon, promising to show them the church, and to +regale them with cherries afterwards in the Vicarage orchard. + +"Wet at seven, fine at eleven!" said the sanguine Cicely. + +"Not to-day, I'm afraid," replied Lindsay. "The glass was dropping last +night. It's set in for a deluge." + +The whole school seemed slightly depressed in spirits in consequence of +the rain. No doubt it was a reaction from the excitement of the +afternoon before. All their favourite occupations lay outside, and it +was so long since they had been weather-bound that they seemed scarcely +able to amuse themselves in the house. Everybody lounged about idly +during afternoon recreation, looking dismally out of the windows at the +lawns, where the markings of the tennis courts were being rapidly washed +away. + +"It's no use staring at the puddles," said Lindsay. "We can't possibly +go to Linforth. It's just a piece of abominably bad luck. Everything's +horrid!" + +Lessons had not been a success that morning. Perhaps Miss Frazer also +felt the influence of the gloomy day. Her pupils, at any rate, had been +unusually stupid and inattentive; Lindsay, in particular, had merited a +sharp scolding, and was dejected in consequence. + +"We must do something," said Cicely. "I vote we hunt up the rest of our +class, and go upstairs and have a really good game of hide-and-seek." + +As anything seemed better than sitting still, the other girls agreed +readily to come and play. + +"Two can hide and four can look," said Marjorie. "Only, we'll keep on +this landing." + +The old Manor offered a splendid field for the purpose; it was so full +of cupboards and crannies and odd nooks that it was quite hard to find +anybody. The dull day improved the fun, for twilight reigned in most of +the passages, and rendered many hairbreadth escapes possible. Nora +actually had her hand on Beryl's foot without discovering the fact; +Effie crept inside a suit of armour, and baffled pursuit for ever so +long; and Marjorie was almost given up, but at length was discovered +crouching in a dark angle which the others had passed several times +without noticing her. + +It was now the turn of Lindsay and Cicely to hide. They were determined +to choose a specially good place, and debated the point until the latter +grew impatient. + +"Do be quick!" she exclaimed. "They'll soon have finished counting a +hundred." + +"I can't make up my mind whether it's better behind the tapestry or +under the ottoman," deliberated Lindsay. + +"Cuckoo!" cried Beryl's voice. + +"They're coming! We've no time for either. We must get into the old +box-settle." + +It was the only possible retreat near at hand. Already they could hear +the girls' footsteps creaking along the oaken boards of the picture +gallery; in another moment they would have turned into the passage, and +reached the top of the stairs. Without more ado both hiders scrambled +inside the settle, and pulled down the lid over their heads. + +It was a very tight fit indeed for two, and most uncomfortable. + +"Could you let me have an inch more room?" begged Cicely in an agonized +whisper. + +"I'll try," returned Lindsay. + +It was difficult to stir in such narrow quarters. To move at all, she +was obliged to make a vigorous heave towards her end of the chest. The +effect was as unexpected as extraordinary. Lo and behold! the entire +bottom of the settle seemed to give way, and without any warning the two +girls were precipitated into some unknown place below. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A Surprise + + +So sudden was their descent that Lindsay and Cicely had no time even to +cry out. They evidently had not fallen far, and though for a moment they +both thought they were killed, they soon found that beyond a few bruises +neither was hurt. They picked themselves up in a state of bewilderment, +and stared around them as if hardly realizing yet what had happened. + +They were in a little low chamber about eight feet square. The walls +were of unpolished oak timbers, roughly plastered in between, and the +floor also was of oak beams. In one corner there was a tiny window, +covered with a mass of cobwebs, through which nevertheless came +sufficient light to enable them to see their surroundings. The trapdoor +in the ceiling, through which they had dropped so unexpectedly, must +have worked on a swivel, for it had righted itself again, and was once +more closed above them. + +Still half-dazed, the girls stood for a moment trying to recover their +scattered wits, too shaken and amazed even to speak. + +"Well!" exclaimed Lindsay at last, with a volume of meaning in the +monosyllable. + +"This is a house of surprises!" cried Cicely. + +"Where are we?" + +"How can I tell?" + +"We seemed to tumble through the bottom of the settle." + +"Yes, after you gave that great lurch to your end." + +"We must be in another secret hiding-place." + +"Then I vote we hunt about, and see what's in it." + +One side of the small room was completely filled, as high as the +ceiling, with a pile of boxes. They seemed a very miscellaneous +collection. There were ancient hair trunks, such as were in use seventy +or eighty years ago, made of wood covered with cow hide, with the hair +left on; there were leather portmanteaux with strong brass corners, tin +trunks, and even plain wooden packing-cases. On the floor, and leaning +against the boxes, stood a row of fair-sized linen bags, and a couple of +larger sacks. + +It seemed to the girls as if they must have penetrated to some forgotten +lumber room. Everything was thickly covered with the accumulated dirt +and cobwebs of years. They could have written their names in the dust. +As if she were moving in a dream, Lindsay stooped, and picked up one of +the linen bags. + +"How heavy it is!" she said. "I wonder what's inside?" + +"It feels like something hard," replied Cicely, pinching it critically +with her finger and thumb. + +The mouth was secured by a cord, and Lindsay fumbled long trying to +untie the knot. + +"Oh! don't bother over it; here's my penknife," cried Cicely, waxing +impatient. + +In another moment she had cut the string, and a shower of golden +sovereigns came pouring out on to the floor. The two girls looked at +each other, with faces that were almost awe-stricken. + +"Cicely!" said Lindsay solemnly. "I verily believe we have found Sir +Giles's fortune!" + +A further examination established the matter beyond any doubt. The bags +were filled to the brim with gold pieces. In a state of intense +excitement the girls continued their investigations. The two large sacks +contained salvers, tankards, and goblets, dull and tarnished indeed, but +unmistakably of silver. It was difficult to get at the boxes, but they +managed to clamber up and open one at the top of the pile, disclosing +more silver articles and some ornaments of gold. + +"Don't let us pull out too many things, or we shan't be able to stuff +them back again," said Cicely, trying to close the lid of the +overflowing hair trunk. + +"No doubt these underneath are filled with money or jewels," said +Lindsay rapturously. + +"This little box seems made of silver," remarked Cicely, taking up a +small antique casket that specially claimed her attention. Its sides +were beautifully chased in classic designs, and it bore the Courtenay +arms on the lid. + +"It's full of pieces of paper, with figures on them," she continued. + +"Let me look!" cried Lindsay. "Why, don't you see?--they're bank notes!" + +They were certainly in the midst of treasures. The extent of Sir Giles's +hoard had evidently not been exaggerated. At the bottom of the casket +lay a letter addressed: + + "TO MY GREAT-NIECE MONICA COURTENAY." + +"The writing on the envelope is exactly the same as in the _Floral +Calendar_," said Cicely. "I remember those funny flourishes, and the +'a's' not closed at the top." + +"So it is; I should know the sprawling look of it anywhere." + +"It's such funny, old-fashioned writing, as if it were done with a quill +pen. I think we had better put this away again." + +Lindsay replaced the letter carefully with the bank notes inside the +silver box. + +"Then Sir Giles did intend the enigma for a guide," she observed. "The +last lines were right. + + '... you'll see 'tis a matter + Perchance may provide you with just a lost link, + And bring you a greater reward than you think.'" + +"And the settle concealed the legacy after all!" + +"Yes, a great deal more safely than we supposed." + +"I never imagined the treasure would be in a place like this, all stowed +away in old boxes! I thought we should press a secret spring, and a +panel would fly open in the wall, and then we should see money and +jewels lying together in a big heap!" + +"I don't mind how we've found it, so long as it's here." + +"Still, it's a surprise!" + +"It will be a splendid surprise for Monica. This is actually her very +own." + +"She would have been content with a hundred guineas, and there are more +than a hundred guineas here," said Cicely, letting some of the +sovereigns slide through her fingers with a sigh of satisfaction. + +"She ought to know about it at once," returned Lindsay. "If you can tear +yourself away from these money bags, we'd better be thinking of going." + +"Yes, I suppose it's time we went back. By the by, how are we to get out +of this place?" + +Ah! How to go back?--that was the question! The trapdoor had shut itself +high above their heads. + +"I expect if we stand on one of the boxes, we can push it up!" said +Lindsay. + +With much difficulty they dragged a heavy chest across the floor and +climbed upon it. It was a fruitless effort. However hard they might try, +the trapdoor would not budge an inch. + +"There may be a secret spring," faltered Cicely, feeling in every +direction to find some bolt or knob, but all in vain. Then the horrible +truth broke upon them. They were locked up as securely as the legacy! + +"What are we to do?" + +Lindsay's pink cheeks were white with alarm. + +"Let us call. Perhaps the girls are hunting for us still in the passage, +and they may hear." + +Both shouted until they were hoarse, yet there was no reply. This was +indeed hide-and-seek with a vengeance. Their game had turned out more +than they had bargained for. + +"I'll bang on the ceiling. It may sound louder than calling," said +Lindsay. "The girls must have given us up, and gone downstairs, for +nobody seems to hear," she continued, after belabouring the trapdoor for +several minutes. + +"Perhaps they're at tea," suggested Cicely. + +They examined the little window in the corner, but the fastenings were +so rusty from long disuse that, tug as they would, they could not open +it. They wiped away the dust and cobwebs from it, and peeped out. + +"If it overlooks the garden, we could smash the glass and wave a +handkerchief, at any rate," proposed Lindsay. "Scott would be almost +sure to notice it, even if nobody else were out in the rain." + +Alas! the window appeared to be securely hidden away among the gables, +and absolutely out of sight from below. + +"Would it be possible to crawl on to the roof?" + +Lindsay shook her head in reply. The frame was too small for even the +slim Cicely to squeeze through. The girls sat down and surveyed the +piles of treasure around them with dismay. If they had required a sermon +on the vanity of riches, it was there without any need of words. + +"We can't eat bank notes, nor sleep on beds of sovereigns," remarked +Lindsay at last. + +"We may be shut up here for days and days before they find us," said +Cicely blankly. + +"They'll miss us directly, of course; but they won't know where to look. +Even if they peeped inside the settle, they wouldn't be any the wiser." + +"Do you remember the piece of poetry we read last week about Ginevra? +She hid inside a chest on her wedding day, when they were playing +hide-and-seek, and the lid snapped with a spring lock. They never found +her--only her bones, years afterwards!" + +"Don't talk of such horrible things." + +"How long does it take people to starve?" continued Cicely in a +tremulous voice. + +"About ten days, I believe. They grow gradually weaker and weaker." + +Cicely groaned. + +"There isn't anything to drink either, and I'm getting so thirsty," she +said, her eyes filling with tears. + +"We must try again," declared Lindsay, jumping up. "Let us pull out +another trunk, and manage to lift it on to the chest. I believe if I +were nearer the ceiling I should be able to push harder." + +The boxes were arranged in a rather random fashion, so that as the girls +dragged one from the bottom, the whole pile came tumbling down in +confusion. They had to jump aside to avoid being hurt. When the upset +was over, Cicely pointed silently to the wall opposite. In the part +which before had been hidden was a small, low door. Here, surely, was a +chance of escape. + +They scrambled over the packing-cases and trunks without troubling to +look inside them, though some had burst open in the fall. To find a way +out seemed at present far more important than more silver tankards and +salvers. + +Was this exit also secured? With trembling hands Lindsay raised the +latch. To her intense relief the door opened, showing a very narrow, +unlighted passage. + +After their experience in the garret it was not encouraging to find +themselves once more obliged to explore in the dark, but there seemed +nothing else to be done. + +"It must lead somewhere," said Cicely. "I'd rather go anywhere than stay +here." + +"We'd better step carefully, in case the floor is as rotten as it was in +the other place," cautioned Lindsay. The passage smelled dank and close. +The air in it had probably been unstirred for many years. The faint +light which entered it from the treasure room was soon lost, and they +were obliged to grope their way by feeling along the walls. On and on +they went for what appeared to be a considerable distance, sometimes +turning sharp corners, and sometimes going up or down rickety steps. + +"It must run half round the house," said Cicely. "Shall we never get to +the end?" + +Suddenly Lindsay, who was walking first, came to a halt. + +"I can't go any farther," she faltered; "there's a wall in front." + +The poor girls were almost in despair. They had been so confident that +the passage would surely be taking them to the outer world; to find +themselves once more at a full stop was a terrible blow. + +"Must we go all that dreadful long way back?" wailed Cicely. + +"I expect there is some door that we've passed without knowing it," +replied Lindsay, rather chokily. + +"Then we can never find it in the dark. It's no use. We shall both +starve to death here, and they'll discover our skeletons a hundred years +afterwards." + +Cicely had utterly broken down, and was sobbing bitterly. + +"We won't give up too soon," said Lindsay, whose sturdy courage stood +her in good stead on this occasion. + +She had been feeling about here and there on the blank wall that faced +them, and her fingers at last encountered something that seemed like a +sliding bolt. She pushed it back eagerly. A door opened outwards, +letting in a blaze of light. To their utter amazement they were gazing +down into the picture gallery! + +It did not take them many seconds to spring to the floor and turn round +to look through what aperture they had made their escape. It was the +portrait of Monica Courtenay that formed the secret exit. It had swung +out, frame and all, into the gallery, and appeared to be fitted with +hinges so as to close and unclose quite easily. + +"Now I see why the picture shook in its frame that day!" exclaimed +Cicely. "I wonder we never thought of this before." + +"And of course that was why she was supposed to guard the fortunes of +the Courtenays. No doubt they always kept their valuables in this +hiding-place, and only the head of the family would know the way to it." + +"So old sayings do generally mean something, and aren't just nonsense." + +"Let us go and tell at once. Everybody'll be wondering where we are. +They must be doing prep. now, and Miss Russell will be sitting with the +first class." + +The headmistress's tranquil demeanour was not usually easily ruffled, +but she sprang up in excitement as her two missing pupils burst into the +library proclaiming the glorious news. + +"Lindsay and Cicely! Where have you been? I was growing most uneasy at +your absence. You say you have actually found Sir Giles's treasure? It +is hardly to be credited. Girls, girls, try to calm yourselves and give +me an intelligible account!" as first one and then the other took up the +tale in disjointed sentences. + +"We played hide-and-seek--and fell through the bottom of the +settle--there were great bags of gold--and boxes of silver things and +bank notes--won't she be rich? And he'd written it in an enigma--we +thought we were going to starve there like Ginevra--and we climbed down +through the portrait--oh, may we go and tell Monica about it now?" + +"This is indeed a most extraordinary discovery," said Miss Russell, when +at length she had drawn from them a more lucid statement of affairs. +"Monica must certainly know, but no one is to tell her except myself. I +will go down presently to the cottage and see her, and warn her to break +the news very gently to her mother. If Mrs. Courtenay were to hear of it +suddenly, the shock might be exceedingly dangerous, in her weak state of +health." + +The news that something of great importance had happened seemed to +spread like wildfire through the school. Both teachers and pupils, +abandoning their books, came crowding into the library to hear +particulars. Even the servants hurried to the spot. + +"Oh, bless you, bless you!" cried Mrs. Wilson, who had pushed her way +among the girls to the central source of information. "This is indeed a +day of rejoicing--a day to remember and give thanks for to the end of +one's life!" + +Lindsay and Cicely stared at her in amazement. Was it actually "The +Griffin" who was speaking? And were those tears that were trickling down +her hard cheeks? What did it mean? Was she acting a part? Or had they +after all misjudged her? There was no time then for either surmises or +explanations. They were the heroines of the hour, and had to repeat +their story afresh to those who had not yet heard it at first hand. + +"We couldn't imagine where you were hidden," said Marjorie Butler. "We +were hunting in the picture gallery for ever so long. Beryl peeped +inside the settle, and said it was empty." + +"We were still more puzzled when you didn't turn up for tea," said Nora +Proctor. "Do tell us again about the bags of money!" + +Miss Russell, however, thinking the excitement had lasted long enough, +interfered and put a stop to the recital. + +"Everybody must go back to preparation at once," she decreed. "Lindsay +and Cicely have had no tea. Are you hungry?" she added, turning to the +adventurous pair. + +"Starving," they replied laconically. + +"Then I will excuse your preparation to-night, and you may come with me +to the dining-room. It would be rather hard to expect you to set to work +upon lessons immediately after such an experience." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +Good-bye to the Manor + + +Monica's agitation, when she heard that her uncle's legacy had been +found, was extreme. At first she refused to believe it; but when she was +told the story of Lindsay's and Cicely's strange adventure, she began +slowly to realize that it was no fairy tale, and that the fortune, so +sorely needed and so much longed for, was lying awaiting her disposal. + +"The money is there, and I can have some of it now?" she asked, still +almost incredulously. "Will there be as much as a hundred guineas?" + +"Far more than that, my dear, from the girls' account." + +"Then we can send for Sir William Garrett!" she said, with a sigh of +intense relief. + +Miss Russell, who did not like the responsibility of being even a +temporary custodian of such riches, had informed the Rector of what had +occurred, and requested him to come to the Manor and help her to +investigate the matter. As he was Monica's guardian, he seemed the +proper person to take charge of her affairs. He arrived next morning, +and, accompanied by Miss Russell and Monica, made a careful examination +of the hiding-place and its contents. At the mistress's urgent request, +he promised to arrange that all the valuables should be removed as +speedily as possible to the bank. + +"I could not sleep with them in the house, I should be so afraid of +burglars, now the news of the discovery has been spread abroad," +declared Miss Russell. + +"They were only too safe here," said Monica. + +"Yes, when their whereabouts was a mystery. It is different when +everyone knows." + +The wealth which old Sir Giles had stored in the secret room was +considerable. He had evidently distrusted investments, and, following +his own singular whim, had hoarded his money in gold and bank notes. +There were precious stones also, in themselves worth a small fortune, +which he must have collected, in addition to the family jewels and the +old silver plate that had been handed down through generations of +Courtenays. + +After looking through some of the boxes, the Rector picked up the +casket, and made a short scrutiny of its contents. + +"This envelope is addressed to you, Monica," he observed. + +The girl took it hesitatingly, then passed it back to her guardian. + +"It seems like a message from the dead," she said. "I think, please, I +would rather that you should read it aloud." + +The letter was well in keeping with its writer's eccentric and morbid +character. It ran thus:-- + + "MY DEAR MONICA, + + "Gold, silver, and precious stones are but vanity of vanities, a + snare to many, and the root of all evil. By the time you claim + these, I trust you will have found how easy it is to dispense with + them, and that you will despise them as much as I do. + + "They have never brought me any happiness, and I am uncertain + whether it is a kindness to bequeath to you what to me has been but + an irksome encumbrance. After giving long and earnest thought to + the matter, I have decided to leave it in the hands of destiny. + + "I shall lay by these possessions in the hidden chamber, the + existence of which was told me by my grandfather, and now is + unknown to any except myself. I have concealed the secret, however, + in an enigma, which, if you have followed my advice concerning the + study of Botany, you will have found written inside the cover of + the _Floral Calendar_. + + "Should Heaven ordain that you are to take up this burden, then you + will read my riddle aright. Should it be otherwise decreed, this + message will never meet your eyes. Believe me that I have striven + to act for your best good. + + "From your uncle and well-wisher, + "GILES PEMBERTON COURTENAY." + + + +"He seemed quite afraid for me to have this money," faltered poor +Monica, on whom the letter had left a deep impression. "Shall I regret +it? Is it really such a dangerous thing?" + +"Not if you make a wise use of it. In your hands I hope it may prove a +blessing instead of a curse," answered the Rector. + +"It does not seem to have brought any happiness to Uncle Giles. He calls +it a burden." + +"Riches can never bring happiness unless they are being employed for the +benefit of others." + +"It is sad to think how long these have lain idle," remarked Miss +Russell. "Monica will be able to do much good with them." + +"Then you are sure I may take them?" asked Monica, turning to her +guardian. "I didn't find out the enigma myself, you see." + +"I am certain you may receive the legacy without scruple, my dear child! +Your uncle himself said he had left matters to the disposal of destiny. +It appears to me as if Lindsay and Cicely had been led just at the right +time to this happy discovery. You must accept your fortune as a special +gift of Providence. So far it has been a talent laid up in a napkin; it +can now be your care to let it yield ten talents in return." + + * * * * * + +Though Lindsay and Cicely had satisfactorily accomplished their quest, +they felt there were many points in connection with their adventure at +the Manor that still puzzled them. The mystery surrounding the lantern +room had not yet been cleared up, neither had the strange behaviour of +Mrs. Wilson and Scott been accounted for. + +So anxious were they to decide these perplexing points that they +determined to confide the whole affair to Monica, and see if she could +offer any explanation. A month ago it would have been impossible to get +her for half an hour to themselves, but since their finding of the +treasure the other girls were ready to allow them a special claim to her +society, and took it as a matter of course when they carried her off to +the summer house for a private chat. + +Monica listened attentively to the story of their various experiences +and suspicions. At the end she laughed heartily, then suddenly looked +grave. + +"You dear silly children!" she exclaimed. "It was a case of much ado +about nothing, and yet you nearly ran into such great danger that it +makes me shudder even to think about it. There certainly was a reason +for visiting the attic, though not at all of the kind you imagined. It +contains a large cistern, which supplies the water for the bath and the +kitchen boiler. This is fed by a tank on the roof that catches the rain, +and in dry weather it is apt to get out of order. If it is not working +properly, it makes a curious blowing noise." + +"Like groaning?" asked Cicely. + +"Yes, very like groaning, though it would need a gigantic prisoner to +utter such fearful moans of distress. No wonder you thought somebody was +being tortured!" and Monica laughed again. + +"You can understand," she continued, "that with so many girls in the +house requiring baths, we were afraid lest the tank should run dry, and +were continually examining the cistern, to make sure that the water was +flowing properly. If it had stopped even for an hour, it might have +caused the kitchen boiler to burst." + +"Did Mrs. Wilson go to look, then?" enquired Lindsay. + +"Either Mrs. Wilson or Scott went every day. My mother was so anxious +about it that I several times ran up myself, so that I could tell her +all was perfectly safe. Mrs. Wilson was equally nervous. We had so +little rain in June that she was sure the tank must be nearly empty." + +"Then that was what she and Scott meant about the noise and danger, +when they were talking in the picture gallery!" interposed Cicely. + +"Yes," replied Monica. "When people try to overhear conversations, and +put two and two together for themselves, they rarely succeed in coming +to a right conclusion." + +Lindsay and Cicely blushed. They had known from the first that Monica +would not approve of either eavesdropping or peeping through keyholes. +This was the part of the business of which they both felt rather +ashamed; they were conscious that there had been a great deal of +curiosity mixed up with their efforts on her behalf. Monica, however, +took no notice of their heightened colour, and went on: + +"Both Scott and Mrs. Wilson were quite right in wishing to keep you away +from the attics; you will understand when I explain why. The +hiding-place in the lantern room is a relic of the times of King James +I. Have you learnt yet in your history books what severe penal laws were +made against Roman Catholics in those days? Any priest found celebrating +Mass might be executed, and often he was tortured first to make him tell +the whereabouts of his companions. Our ancestors, who lived then at the +Manor, still belonged to the old faith, and they needed some spot where +they could worship without fear of being disturbed; so they made the +secret entrance through the cupboard, and private services were held in +the great garret. Even with such precautions it was a very dangerous +thing for a priest to remain long in a country house. If his presence +were suspected, and information given, a party of soldiers would at once +come with a search warrant to hunt for him. + +"Then he would have to be ready to hurry away into some safer retreat +still, in case his first place of concealment were discovered. At the +end of the farther attic there is a small cupboard most cunningly hidden +in the wall. In front of it there is a shaft, a great, horrible, yawning +chasm, several feet wide and very deep, going quite to the basement of +the house. It was intended as a trap to baffle pursuers, who would fall +down it in the dark when chasing their fugitive." + +"Is the shaft still there?" asked Cicely. + +"Yes, it is quite untouched and open. It is in such a far-away part of +the attic that nobody has considered it worth while to go to the trouble +of having it covered in. Now you can understand how alarmed Mrs. Wilson +was when she found that some of you had been in the lantern room. She +didn't believe you would really be able to find your way through the +cupboard; still, she was never easy when she thought of the danger you +might perhaps run into. She couldn't rest until Scott had padlocked the +door." + +"We were very near it," said Cicely, with a shiver. + +"It was the greatest mercy you didn't venture any farther. I can't be +too thankful that the cistern made a noise just at that moment, and +frightened you down again." + +"Then you knew of this secret door, though not of the one in the picture +gallery?" said Lindsay. + +"Yes; it was discovered two centuries ago, in the reign of Queen Anne, I +believe. In many old manor houses there are equally clever contrivances +for hiding-places. They are often called 'priests' holes'. I've heard of +one under the steps of the stairs, and another in a window-seat, or up a +chimney, or even behind a picture." + +"Like ours," said Cicely. + +"No doubt the one under the settle may have been a 'priests' hole' too, +and perhaps had the second entrance for extra security. Very sad stories +are told about some of the hiding-places. Sometimes the poor fugitive +couldn't find an opportunity to get away, and the person who knew the +secret, and should have brought him food, was killed or taken prisoner. +Then he either had to come out, and deliver himself up to the soldiers, +or to remain and die a slow, lingering death of starvation." + +"I thought we were going to do that when we were locked in with the +treasure," remarked Cicely. + +"How much did Merle find out in the lantern room?" interposed Lindsay. + +"She happened to pull at the lantern, and had just the same surprise as +you," replied Monica. "She had gone a few steps into the passage when I +came down from looking at the cistern, and met her, much to her +astonishment. Of course I explained everything, and begged her not to +tell, because we didn't want any more schoolgirls to start exploring." + +"Then it was to you she gave that mysterious promise?" + +"Certainly it was to me. I'm glad to hear she kept it so well." + +"But I still don't half understand," said Lindsay. "We thought Mrs. +Wilson and Scott were hiding the treasure up there. We saw them take a +sack into the garden one night and bury something." + +"You managed to give poor Scott a great fright," laughed Monica. "He +told me about it the next day. He was doing nothing more dreadful than +digging out a wasps' nest. Mrs. Wilson had discovered it in the bank, +and she went with him to show him the place and help him. Of course it +could not be done by daylight, when the wasps were flying about; but at +dark, when they were all safely inside their hole, Scott burnt tobacco +to stupefy them, and then took the nest. He said two of the young +ladies had suddenly tumbled down the bank while he was at work, and +startled him terribly." + +"So he and Mrs. Wilson weren't burying the treasure after all? They +didn't even try to steal it?" + +"No, indeed! I feel sorry to think they should have been suspected for a +moment of such bad intentions. Mrs. Wilson may be rather gruff and blunt +in her manners, but she is a faithful old soul, and devoted to Mother +and me. I believe she would have starved rather than touch a penny that +belonged to us. And Scott too is absolutely honest. I assure you he +keeps nothing stowed away inside the cucumber frames! Naturally Mrs. +Wilson had often looked for the hiding-place, but it was all on my +behalf, and nobody rejoiced more heartily than she did when it was +found." + +"We were on a completely wrong track," said Lindsay. "The only right +clue was the enigma. I'm glad we puzzled that out, though we didn't win +any prizes in the competition." + +"And yet the enigma was no real use," put in Cicely. "We shouldn't have +gone through the bottom of the settle if we hadn't been playing +hide-and-seek. Isn't it queer that when we tried so hard to find the +secret room we couldn't, and then that we should come across it just by +accident?" + +To Monica the affair seemed no accident, but, as the Rector had said, a +merciful arrangement of Providence. It enabled her to send for Sir +William Garrett, and the great specialist arrived in the course of the +next few days. After examining Mrs. Courtenay, he gave a more favourable +report on her case than her own physician had dared to hope. + +"You have consulted me in the nick of time," was his verdict. "I trust +to be able to effect a complete cure. A winter in the south would work +wonders, and, if my treatment is thoroughly carried out, she should +return to Haversleigh in the spring with restored health." + +It was an intense relief to be thus reassured. Monica felt as if a heavy +weight had been lifted from her mind. When the doctors had finally taken +their departure, she ran to share her good news with her friends at the +Manor. + +"Of course," she explained, "Mother will require the greatest care, but +we can give her anything now that she needs. Sir William Garrett has +promised to send a nurse from London who understands his special +treatment, and who could go with us to Italy in the autumn. Oh, how +splendid it will be when I can bring her back absolutely strong and +well! I can hardly feel thankful enough. And it is all owing to you," +she added, kissing Lindsay and Cicely with tears in her eyes. + +It had come at length to the very end of the term; the girls were making +up their minds to bid a reluctant good-bye to the beautiful old house +where they had spent such a pleasant and eventful twelve weeks. + +"If we weren't going home, I couldn't bear to leave it," said Cicely. +"I've grown so fond of everything. Our dear bedroom, with its big +four-poster (I love those yellow brocaded curtains), and the roses round +the window that smell so delicious first thing when one wakes in the +morning, and the dining-hall, and the picture gallery, and the library, +and the oak parlour where we have lessons, and, above all, the garden. +Oh dear, it makes me quite sad to think perhaps I may never see them +again! What a change to settle down at Winterburn Lodge in September!" + +"I suppose life can't be all honey; we shall have to go back to plain +bread and butter now," replied Lindsay philosophically. "But I'll tell +you a secret to cheer you up. Monica says her mother has promised that +when they return from Italy she'll ask you and me to spend part of the +summer holidays at the Manor. But she doesn't wish us to let any of the +other girls know of the invitation just at present." + +"How perfectly delightful!" exclaimed Cicely, with shining eyes. + +"It's a whole year off yet." + +"I don't mind, so long as I can think of coming here again some time, +and being Monica's visitor. It's something to look forward to." + +The last day arrived, as last days invariably do, whether one is longing +for their advent or the reverse. Boxes had been brought down and packed, +and Miss Russell's linen and silver had been collected and stowed away +in great wicker baskets, which were already dispatched on their road to +London. The girls, marshalled in order on the drive, were only waiting +for the word "March!" to start for the railway station. + +Monica stood on the steps to see them off, her pretty, fair face and +rich chestnut hair framed in the oak doorway. + +"I shall miss you all dreadfully," she said. "It has been a great +pleasure for me to have you here. Please don't forget me." + +"We're not likely to do that," replied Mildred Roper, speaking for +herself and the rest. "We've spent a glorious three months. It's been +more like holidays than school. I think every one of us, to the end of +her life, will remember this summer term at the old Manor. Good-bye!" + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Manor House School, by Angela Brazil + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MANOR HOUSE SCHOOL *** + +***** This file should be named 28974.txt or 28974.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/9/7/28974/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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