“That will must be found.”
Caleb’s face tightened. “Mrs. Leeds,” he said severely, “I repeat, things in this house must not be disturbed.”
Mrs. Leeds drew herself up proudly. “Unquestionably, the will leaves everything to me.”
“That may be,” Caleb acknowledged, “but this girl here has a claim too.” He indicated Rosanna.
Mrs. Leeds froze her with a glance. Her eyes snapped like brands of fire as she listened to Rosanna’s account of the letter and key. But a look of relief, which was not lost upon either of the girls, came over her face as she learned that they had been misplaced.
“The story sounds ridiculous to me,” Mrs. Leeds declared coldly. “If you can’t produce the letter or the key, what proof have you that you actually are Jacob Winters’ niece?”
“I could get evidence within a few days,” Rosanna declared. “The letter and key may show up too.”
“I think perhaps you dropped them in the car,” Penny interrupted. “Let’s look now.”
Leaving Mrs. Leeds and Caleb embroiled in another argument, they went outside where the automobile had been parked near the house. A careful search of the flooring and pockets of the car did not reveal the missing letter or key. Rosanna was completely discouraged.
“Do you think Mrs. Leeds could have picked it up?” she asked gloomily.
“I don’t see how,” Penny returned thoughtfully. “But there’s one thing certain. She intends to make trouble. You surely don’t intend to go away from here while she and her daughter are camped in the house?”
“What else can we do?”
“Send a wire to Dad that we’re staying on a day or two,” Penny answered instantly.
“But won’t that inconvenience both of you?”
“No, I suspect Dad will be grateful for the rest and as for myself, I’d enjoy seeing this thing through.”
It required little urging to convince Rosanna of the wisdom of remaining on the scene. She had taken an immediate dislike to Mrs. Leeds and her daughter, and agreed with Penny that they were determined to claim more than a rightful share of the inheritance.
Once the girls arrived at a decision they lost no time in driving to the nearest town where Penny dispatched a message to her father. Noticing an inviting looking restaurant, they ate lunch before motoring back to the Winters’ mansion. It was nearly two o’clock when they reached the Ridge again.
An unfamiliar car stood on the driveway. Penny was certain it did not belong to Mrs. Leeds for her mud-splattered sedan was parked some distance away.
“It looks like more visitors,” she commented as they crossed the veranda together.
At the doorway both girls involuntarily paused. Mrs. Leeds was engaged in conversation with a stranger.
For an instant Penny and Rosanna stood and stared. It was the same man who had refused them help on the road.
CHAPTER VII
“Ghost” Music
As Penny and Rosanna entered the living room, the stranger turned to face them. For a long moment Penny was convinced that he was the shoplifter who had stolen the diamond ring from the Belton City department store. His build was the same and the general lines of his face were similar. Then the man spoke and she was not certain at all. The tone of his voice was entirely different as was his abrupt manner of speaking.
A trifle nervously, or so it seemed to Penny, Caleb Eckert introduced the stranger.
“Max Laponi,” he said. “He represents himself as a nephew of Jacob Winters.”
“Not only do I represent myself as such, but I have proof that I am Uncle Jacob’s nephew,” the stranger retorted. “You’ll find my credentials in order. I’ve come to take over the estate.”
The girls were not greatly surprised when he took from his pocket a letter similar to the one which Mrs. Leeds had produced. They were more impressed with the other papers which he offered for Caleb’s inspection—a birth certificate, a letter of identification from a well known Chicago banker and various legal documents.
“It looks to me as if someone has played a joke on all you folks,” Caleb said slowly. “We don’t know that Mr. Winters is even dead.”
“Oh, yes, we do,” Max Laponi insisted, producing another letter. “This came from my attorney this morning. It definitely states that Mr. Winters—Uncle Jacob—was buried at sea.”
Caleb sank down in a chair. He scarcely read the letter although his face had turned an ashen hue.
“I can’t believe it even now,” he murmured. “There must be some mistake.”
“There’s no mistake,” Max cut in sharply. “It’s clear enough that I am the heir too. By the way, didn’t the old man have a valuable collection of ivories?”
Caleb stiffened visibly. “Ivories?” he asked blankly.
“Sure, some pieces he collected years ago on his tours. Read about it in the paper.”
“Oh, so you read about it?” Caleb echoed significantly.
“Uncle Jacob told me about the collection too. He always intended me to have it.”
“Then you should know where to find it,” Caleb retorted bluntly. “I’m sure I don’t.”
With that he turned and walked to the door. There he paused to fling over his shoulder:
“I wash my hands of the whole matter. You folks will have to fight it out among you.”
Mrs. Leeds had managed to hold her tongue very well, but the moment that the door closed behind Caleb, she began an angry attack upon Rosanna and the newcomer, accusing both of being impostors. Unwilling to listen to such an unreasonable tirade, Penny and Rosanna fled out of doors.
“Such a mad house!” Penny exclaimed, taking a deep breath. “I have to keep pinching myself to believe it’s real!”
“I never saw such a hopeless muddle,” Rosanna added. “Everyone is so eager for the property no one gives the slightest thought to the tragedy which befell poor Mr. Winters.”
“Perhaps he isn’t dead,” Penny suggested.
Rosanna stared. “What makes you think that? Didn’t Mr. Laponi have proof of it?”
“He seemed to have proof of everything,” Penny admitted with a rueful laugh. “That’s what makes me suspicious. There’s something strange about this entire affair.”
“I agree with you there.”
“I’m convinced of one thing, Rosanna. Either Mrs. Leeds or this man Laponi is an impostor. At first I thought Laponi was the same person who stole the ring. Now I can’t be sure.”
Rosanna did not believe that the two were identical although she admitted there was a close resemblance. However, she was quite willing to agree that the man seemed like an impostor despite his credentials.
“He may have picked up that letter and key you lost,” Penny went on, thinking aloud. “And there was something rather sinister in the way he mentioned the collection of ivories.”
“I noticed that. Caleb seemed disturbed.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he knows where Mr. Winters kept the collection,” Penny continued. “At any rate, he’s wise to pretend ignorance. With such a mad lot of people in the house, anything might happen.”
Noticing a nearby path which led to a spring house, the girls followed it, drinking of the cool mountain water. They sat down on a bench which afforded a view of the tall chalk-like cliffs. After a time they felt soothed and tranquil again. They presently walked back to the house.
Max Laponi was nowhere to be seen although Alicia told them that he was busy moving his things into one of the upstairs bedrooms.
“Mother’s worried since he came,” the girl confided, growing more friendly. “They had a dreadful quarrel. Now she’s hunting for the will.”
“But Caleb Eckert warned her not to do that,” Penny protested.
“That old meddler has nothing to do with this place,” Alicia declared with a toss of her head. “I hope he minds his own business and stays away.”
The girls found Mrs. Leeds in the library. She was going through the drawers of the desk in systematic fashion, tossing papers carelessly on the floor. One drawer was locked. She shook it viciously.
“Like as not Jacob Winters’ will is locked up in there,” she said irritably. “I’m half a notion to break into it.”
“Oh, you mustn’t do that,” Rosanna cried indignantly, before she could check herself.
“And why shouldn’t I?” Mrs. Leeds demanded tartly. “Jacob Winters is dead isn’t he? And his will must be found. I suppose you’re afraid to have the document come to light for fear you’ll be cut off completely.”
Rosanna’s cheeks flushed.
“I never thought of such a thing, Mrs. Leeds. I think it’s disgraceful the way everyone is acting about the property!”
Before Mrs. Leeds could reply, she ran from the room. Penny loyally followed, joining Rosanna in the bedroom which they shared. She found the orphan in tears.
“Forget it,” Penny advised kindly. “Mrs. Leeds is so intent on getting the money that she doesn’t realize what she says.”
“I’m sorry I ever came here. I want no part in this disgraceful grab for Uncle Jacob’s money.”
“I know how you feel,” Penny agreed, “but let’s stay a day or two. I’m curious to learn just what is going on here.”
In truth, she was completely baffled. It was difficult for her to make up her mind whether or not the entire arrangement was a hoax. Somehow she had distrusted Laponi’s credentials. She distrusted him too.
“I don’t believe he could be a nephew of Jacob Winters,” she thought. “I wish there was some way to trace down his past.”
It was clear to Penny that Rosanna would never defend her claim to the inheritance. Unless she personally took a hand in the affair, Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi would ignore the orphan completely.
“I’ll let them make the first move,” she decided shrewdly. “For the time being I’ll play a waiting game.”
For the greater part of the afternoon, Penny and Rosanna remained in their own room. Toward nightfall they walked about the grounds and later motored to a nearby inn for dinner. At nine o’clock when they returned to the big empty house, the downstairs was dark. They judged that Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi had already gone to their rooms.
“We may as well turn in too,” Penny suggested. “The mountain air makes one drowsy.”
Both girls were soon sound asleep. However, sometime later Penny was awakened by the sound of footsteps in the hall. She thought little of it, and rolling over, tried to go to sleep again. Suddenly she heard soft music from above.
She sat up in bed, listening. A strain of a famous opera resounded through the room, rising in volume, then falling away. Penny knew that she was not imagining it. She nudged her companion who quickly awakened.
“Do you hear the same thing I do?”
Rosanna clutched the sheets more tightly about her.
“Ghost music,” she whispered in awe.
“It sounds like pipe organ music coming from a long distance away,” Penny whispered. “I’m going to find out!”
Before Rosanna could prevent it, she stole from bed and swiftly tiptoed to the door.
CHAPTER VIII
The Ivory Collection
Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall. She could hear the music distinctly. It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend. They huddled together, listening.
“It’s an organ. I’m sure of it,” Penny whispered. “But where can it be hidden?”
“I’m afraid of this place,” Rosanna chattered. “Let’s lock the bedroom door and leave in the morning.”
Penny made no response. For that matter she did not even hear for she was intent upon trying to localize the sound of the music. Never inclined to be superstitious, she had no thought that the old house was haunted. She felt certain that the ghost-like music was man made.
“This house must have a third floor or an attic,” she declared softly. “Let’s see if we can find our way up.”
“Never!”
“Then I’m going alone.”
Penny started off down the hall. Rosanna hesitated, and then, unable to watch her friend walk into danger alone, hurriedly followed. Halfway down the hall she reached for the electric switch but Penny caught her hand before she could turn on the light.
“Don’t! It would give warning that we’re coming.”
Groping about in the dark the girls went past Mrs. Leeds’ bedroom and the one occupied by the stranger. Penny noted that the doors of both were tightly closed. At the end of the hall she found still another door. Gently she turned the handle and opened it. A steep flight of stairs led upward.
“Oh, please, let’s not go up,” Rosanna pleaded, trembling.
“You stay here,” Penny said in a whisper. “If anything goes wrong, let out a cry for help.”
The mysterious music had ceased for the moment. Penny waited until it began again, and then, following the sound, crept noiselessly up the stairs leaving Rosanna on guard below.
At the top of the last step Penny paused to listen again. Actually, she was not as courageous as she had pretended. She could hear her own heart pounding.
It was so dark on the third floor that at first she could distinguish nothing. The music had increased in volume and Penny was more sure than ever that it came from a hidden pipe organ.
As her eyes focused better she found herself standing upon a small landing from which branched two closed doors. After a slight hesitation she tiptoed to the nearest one and opened it a tiny crack.
Although no sound had betrayed her, the music from within ended with a discordant crash. Startled, Penny allowed the door to swing wide. She started forward, and suddenly tripped. Until that moment her nerve had held steady. But as she stumbled and fell she uttered a shrill cry of terror.
Rosanna, fearing the worst, came running up the stairs.
“Penny! Penny! Are you hurt?”
Reassured by her friend’s voice, Penny scrambled to her feet and met Rosanna at the door.
“I’m all right,” she said shakily. “But I’ve done enough investigating for one night!”
“What frightened you so?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
They lost no time in returning to the lower floor. Down the hall, Mrs. Leeds’ door had opened. A light flashed on.
“What is going on here?” Mrs. Leeds demanded, emerging into the hallway. “Such a house I never saw! First it’s music—then a scream! It’s enough to send one into hysterics.”
Penny and Rosanna could not refrain from smiling, for Mrs. Leeds looked ridiculous in her curlers which were sticking out from her head at all angles. Before they could answer, Alicia joined her mother.
“I should think you could go to your room and let folks sleep!” she said irritably. “You’ve been running up and down the hall all night.”
“You’re wrong there,” Penny returned. “This is the first time Rosanna or I have stirred from our room. We got up to investigate the mysterious music.”
“Then you heard it too?” Mrs. Leeds breathed in awe. “I thought perhaps I had imagined that part of it.”
“No, you heard music all right,” Penny told her grimly.
“It isn’t—you don’t think the house is haunted?” Alicia stammered nervously. “That old man—what’s his name—was trying to tell us about someone having died in a room on the upper floor!”
“Well, the music seemed to come from the third floor,” Penny informed, relishing the effect which her words produced. “As for the scream, I can account for that. I tripped and fell. Now I think we may as well all go back to bed. There’s been so much commotion that I rather judge our ‘ghost’ has been frightened away for the time being.”
“I can’t sleep a wink after all this has happened,” Mrs. Leeds declared. “I shall sit up until morning.”
“As you wish,” Penny said indifferently. “I’m going to bed.”
As she walked down the hall to her own room she glanced rather sharply at the door of Max Laponi’s room. It was still tightly closed.
“Our friend appears to be a sound sleeper,” she remarked to Rosanna.
In the privacy of their bedroom, Rosanna demanded to know exactly what had happened.
“Well, I didn’t see much,” Penny admitted. “But I did learn one interesting thing. There’s a pipe organ installed in this house. I might have discovered who was playing it too only I tripped over a rope which had been strung up in front of the door.”
“Placed there deliberately, you think?”
“Of course. It startled me so that I let out that wild yell. I don’t care to do any more investigating tonight, but in the morning I mean to have a good look at that room upstairs.”
“You have more nerve than I,” Rosanna declared admiringly.
Penny carefully locked the outside door before turning out the light. It was twenty minutes after twelve by her wrist watch.
“I shouldn’t call it nerve exactly,” she replied thoughtfully, climbing into bed. “The truth is, I’m a little afraid, Rosanna.”
“Then why do you go up there again?”
“Oh, I don’t mean that. It isn’t the music that has me frightened.”
“But what else is there to be afraid of?” Rosanna persisted.
“It’s just a feeling, I guess,” Penny admitted. “I can’t explain—only it seems to me that some sinister plot is brewing in this old house.”
“I have the same sensation,” Rosanna confessed. “Let’s leave in the morning.”
Penny laughed softly and settled herself more comfortably in the pillows.
“Never!” she retorted. “I’m the daughter of a detective you know! This is our own special mystery case, and unless that ghost gets me first, I intend to get him!”
With that threat, Penny rolled over and lost herself in sleep.
The warm sun was streaming in at the windows when the girls aroused themselves. They dressed and went downstairs, finding the house quite deserted. Apparently Mrs. Leeds, her daughter and Max Laponi had gone to the village for breakfast.
“I wish they had vanished for good but there’s no use hoping that,” Penny commented. “I doubt if even a ghost could keep Mrs. Leeds from remaining until the estate is settled.”
The girls cooked their own breakfast, utilizing supplies which they had purchased at the nearby town. As they washed the dishes and stacked them away, Rosanna mentioned again that she did not feel comfortable about making such free use of her unknown uncle’s property.
“Perhaps it isn’t just the thing to do,” Penny acknowledged, “but the situation isn’t a normal one either. If Mr. Eckert says it is all right for us to stay on, I don’t think we should worry.”
“Will it do us any good to remain?” Rosanna pondered in a troubled tone. “If Mr. Eckert can’t tell us what became of my uncle, who could?”
“That’s just the point, Rosanna. I believe he knows more than he lets on.”
Penny’s gaze wandered to the tiny log cabin set back in the pine woods. Wisps of thin smoke curled from the chimney. That meant that Caleb must be at home.
“Let’s walk down there and talk with him,” she proposed impulsively. “It’s time he answers a few of our questions.”
Caleb did not come to the door to answer their timid knock. Instead he called out a hearty, “Come in,” which they instantly obeyed.
Caleb was the picture of comfort, sitting propped back in his chair by the window, puffing at an old pipe. He arose reluctantly and dusted off two camp stools for the visitors.
“We thought perhaps you might furnish us with a little information,” Penny began pleasantly.
Her eyes roved swiftly about the room. She noticed the open bookcase with four rows of well-thumbed volumes. The titles were impressive. Caleb Eckert, despite his rough appearance, seemingly had a liking for intellectual books.
“Well, what is it you want to know?” Caleb demanded, not unkindly. “I’ve told you before that I’ll have nothing to do with this muddle over Mr. Winters’ property.”
“I’ve given up all hope of inheriting any of the estate,” Rosanna said. “But I should like to hear about my uncle. What was he like?”
“Some folks said he was the queerest man on Snow Mountain. I liked him because he attended to his own business. He was considered a remarkable sportsman by some.”
Penny’s eyes traveled to a huge bear skin which hung on the cabin wall. Caleb followed her gaze.
“Mr. Winters gave me that skin last year when he came back from his trip north. A mighty nice specimen.”
“Do you have a picture of Mr. Winters?” Penny asked, abruptly changing the subject.
Caleb shook his head. He began to talk about the bear skin again. Rosanna listened eagerly, but Penny sensed that the old man was trying to monopolize the conversation and thus keep her from asking questions which he did not care to answer.
When she succeeded in breaking in it was to bring up the subject of Mr. Winters’ ivory collection. Caleb seemed reluctant to offer definite information.
“All I know is that Mr. Winters was supposed to have one,” he answered. “Folks said it was worth a fortune and that he had spent years gathering it.”
“What became of the collection?” Penny inquired curiously.
“How should I know?” Caleb retorted crossly. “Seems to me you girls ask a lot of silly questions.”
“We didn’t mean to be inquisitive,” Penny apologized. “Only it struck me that Max Laponi has an unusual interest in that collection of ivory.”
Caleb eyed her strangely. “So you noticed it too?” he asked.
Penny nodded. “Perhaps I shouldn’t say it, but I don’t trust that man, Mr. Eckert. If Mr. Winters’ collection of ivory is still in the house, don’t you think it should be removed to a safer place?”
“That’s what I’d like to do,” Caleb muttered, looking out the window.
“Then you do know where the ivory collection is,” Penny tripped him.
Caleb glared at her. “I didn’t say so, did I? Why should Mr. Winters tell me where he kept his valuables? Bosh! I tell you I won’t be mixed up in the muddle. Now go away and let me sleep!”
Caleb stretched himself out on the couch and closed his eyes. Thus dismissed, the girls hastily departed.
“Such a cross old man!” Rosanna exclaimed when they were out of earshot. “But even though he is irritable, I rather like him.”
“So do I,” Penny admitted with a laugh. “You know, I think our questions about the ivory collection disturbed him more than he cared to show.”
“He did seem reluctant to tell us anything about it.”
“We’ll nail him down yet,” Penny declared grimly as they walked slowly toward the house on the cliff. “Unless I’m sadly mistaken, that ivory collection is hidden somewhere on the premises and he’s scared silly for fear someone will find it!”
CHAPTER IX
A Scrap of Paper
Penny and Rosanna entered the house by the side door. Hearing a murmur of voices from the direction of the library, they involuntarily paused to listen.
“If we go into this thing as partners we’re both bound to profit,” they heard a man say in an insistent tone. “Think it over and I know you’ll see how easily it can be accomplished. Those two girls are nit-wits. They’ll make no trouble.”
Penny and Rosanna exchanged a startled glance. They recognized Max Laponi’s voice. So he was plotting against them! Undoubtedly, planning to secure complete control of the Winters’ estate.
“I’m going to find out with whom he is talking,” Penny whispered.
Before Rosanna could protest, she walked to the library door and opened it. Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi were sitting at the desk, examining some document which was spread out before them. As Penny came in, Laponi whisked it into his pocket.
“Oh, I beg your pardon,” Penny said casually. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You aren’t at all, my dear,” Mrs. Leeds said more graciously than was her custom. “Mr. Laponi was just showing me a letter from his sister.”
“Yes, from my sister,” Laponi echoed with a slight smirk. “She lives in Naples and writes such interesting letters.”
Penny found it difficult to refrain from smiling. She pretended to search in the bookcase for a volume.
“I thought possibly you had discovered the will,” she remarked mischievously.
“The will! Oh, no!” Mrs. Leeds assured her.
“That is a good joke,” Laponi echoed. “Ha! Ha! Even a ferret couldn’t find old Jacob Winters’ will in this house!”
Penny was aware that both Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi were watching her shrewdly, trying to make up their minds if she had overheard anything. She dared say no more lest she betray herself. Picking up a book she quietly withdrew.
“It’s just as I thought,” she told Rosanna when they were together in their bedroom. “Laponi is trying to get Mrs. Leeds involved in some scheme to steal the property. Unless we watch out, Rosanna, they’ll get everything away from you.”
“I don’t much care,” Rosanna returned in disgust. “I never saw such disgraceful actions in all my life. As far as I’m concerned, I’d rather leave this place tomorrow and let the lawyers settle everything.”
“There will be nothing left to settle when Mrs. Leeds and Laponi get through. It’s pretty evident that one or the other is an impostor.”
“But we can’t prove that, Penny. If only I hadn’t lost my key and the credentials!”
“We’re only starting to work on this case,” Penny said cheerfully. “Let’s keep our eyes and ears open. We may discover something of value.”
Since their arrival at the old house, the girls had awaited an opportunity to inspect the third floor, hoping to discover the cause of the mysterious music which had disturbed the household. Penny suggested that while Mrs. Leeds and Laponi were occupied in the library they might make their tour of investigation. Rosanna agreed but without enthusiasm. She was not as venturesome as her companion.
Penny led the way to the third floor landing. The hall was dark and dusty; cobwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling.
Penny cast an appraising glance about her. The doors leading from the hall were all closed. She was certain that upon her previous visit one had been slightly ajar.
She reached for the knob and turned it. The door did not give. It was locked.
“That’s funny,” Penny murmured.
“What is?”
“I’m sure this door was unlocked before.”
“Perhaps it was the other one,” Rosanna suggested.
They moved on down the hall to try the second door. It too was securely fastened.
“I distinctly recall opening that other door,” Penny maintained. “I started to go in and tripped over something. I suspect it was a rope stretched just inside the door.”
“Well, if we can’t get in I guess we can’t learn anything,” Rosanna said, somewhat in relief.
Penny made no response. She bent down to peer through the keyhole.
“See anything?” Rosanna asked.
“Just a big empty room. But there is something up against the far wall! Rosanna, it’s a pipe organ!”
After a minute she stepped away that her friend might see for herself. Rosanna agreed that the shadowy outline was an organ and a magnificent one.
“The music came from this room all right,” Penny said excitedly. “I wish we could get in.”
After trying the door again, the girls returned to the second floor. As Penny closed the stairway door she noticed that it had a key. Upon impulse she turned it in the lock and pocketed the key with a smile of satisfaction.
“That should put a stop to the music for a few nights,” she remarked. “I’ll show that ghost I can lock a few doors myself!”
As they reached their own bedroom, Rosanna said that she believed she would lie down for a half hour. The events of the past few days had worn her down, both physically and mentally.
“Do,” Penny urged: “A sleep will refresh you. I think I’ll go downstairs and see if I can discover what plot is brewing.”
She descended the spiral stairway and paused at the library. It was empty. The house was strangely silent. Penny crossed the hall to the living room. Heavy draperies screened the arched doorway. As Penny pulled them aside to enter, she saw Mrs. Leeds standing at the fireplace, her back to the door. Something about her manner aroused Penny’s suspicions. She waited and watched.
Mrs. Leeds had built up a roaring fire on the hearth. She held a paper in her hand. Deliberately, she tore it into a dozen pieces and dropped them into the flames.
Penny hastily entered the room.
Mrs. Leeds wheeled, her cheeks flushing. “How you startled me, Miss Nichols! You surely have a way of coming in quietly.”
“Sorry,” Penny said, walking over to the hearth. “How nice to have a fire, although it is a little warm today.”
“The room seemed damp,” Mrs. Leeds said nervously. “I was cold. I think I’ll go to my room and get a sweater.”
The instant Mrs. Leeds had disappeared, Penny snatched a charred piece of paper from the hearth. It was the only scrap which had not been completely consumed by the flames.
Only a few scattered lines with many words missing were visible. The others were blackened or torn away.
Penny distinguished a part of the writing: “Last will and testam— —do bequeath to my niece, Ro—”
“This must be a portion of Jacob Winters’ will!” she thought. “Mrs. Leeds probably found it somewhere in the house and decided to destroy it because she or her daughter weren’t mentioned!”
She stared at the word which began Ro——. The remaining letters had been torn away. Had Mr. Winters written Rosanna’s name? If only she had entered the living room a minute earlier she might have prevented the document from being destroyed!
In reviewing Mrs. Leeds’ actions during the past two days, Penny could not doubt that the woman had actually found the missing will. Since her arrival at Raven Ridge she had spent most of her time poking about into odd corners of the house. The locked drawer of the desk had annoyed her exceedingly.
“I’ll just take a look and see if it’s still locked,” Penny thought.
She opened the desk and tried the drawer. It readily opened.
“Empty,” Penny commented grimly. “Just as I suspected.”
She examined the lock. It was evident at a glance that it had been broken by a sharp instrument and not unlocked with a key.
“The will was hidden in this drawer,” she mused. “I feel confident of it. And it must have been drawn up in Rosanna’s favor or Mrs. Leeds never would have destroyed it.”
Penny closed the desk and carefully placed the charred bit of paper in her dress pocket. She was deeply disturbed over the discovery, realizing that Mrs. Leeds, by destroying the document, had gained a great advantage. However, she had no intention of abandoning the fight.
“I’ll keep this strictly to myself,” she decided. “For the present I’ll not even tell Rosanna. It would only disappoint her to learn that the will has been burned.”
Since Mrs. Leeds’ arrival at Raven Ridge, Penny had done everything in her power to avoid a break with the arrogant society woman. She had ignored snubs and many unkind remarks. Now she felt that if Rosanna’s interests were to be safeguarded, she no longer could afford to play a waiting game.
“Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi have shown their hand,” she reflected. “They mean to gain their ends by any possible means. But since they’re stooping to underhanded tricks, I may have a few little schemes of my own!”
Penny was unusually silent that evening. Rosanna noticed it at once but thinking that her friend was absorbed in her own thoughts, refrained from questioning her.
At six o’clock the girls motored to Andover for dinner. To their chagrin, Mrs. Leeds and her daughter Alicia chanced to select the same cafe. All during the meal, Penny noticed the woman’s eyes upon her. As she and Rosanna arose to leave, Mrs. Leeds hastily followed them.
“Miss Winters, may I speak with you a moment?” she began coldly.
“Why, yes, of course,” Rosanna responded.
“I mean alone.”
Rosanna hesitated and glanced at Penny. The latter started to move away.
“No, don’t go,” Rosanna said quickly. “I am sure that anything Mrs. Leeds may wish to say to me can be said in front of you.”
“Very well,” Mrs. Leeds returned icily. “Evidence has reached me today which proves conclusively that I am Jacob Winters’ sole heir.”
Rosanna took the blow without the quiver of an eyelash.
“What evidence, may I ask, Mrs. Leeds?”
“I don’t feel compelled to go into that, Miss Winters. Certainly not in the presence of strangers or on the street.”
“Penny isn’t exactly a stranger,” Rosanna smiled.
“From the first I have been very tolerant, I think,” Mrs. Leeds went on, ignoring the orphan’s remark. “By your own admission you have no credentials—we have only your word that you are even related to Jacob Winters.”
“I had a letter and key—the same as you,” Rosanna faltered. “Either I lost them or they were stolen.”
“And Rosanna happens to be a niece of Mr. Winters,” Penny added significantly. “I believe you are only a cousin, Mrs. Leeds?”
The woman eyed her furiously.
“Just what is it that you want me to do?” Rosanna asked.
“I think you both should leave immediately.”
“And allow you to have everything your way,” Penny interposed sweetly. “Now wouldn’t that be nice—for you!”
She took Rosanna by the arm and urged her toward the car.
“Don’t allow Miss Nichols to poison your mind!” Mrs. Leeds pleaded, following Rosanna to the curbing. “Unless you leave immediately you will receive no part of the fortune. If you go without making any further trouble, I might agree to some small settlement. After all, I mean to be generous.”
“Thanks for telling us,” Penny smiled.
She closed the car door and they drove away.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so short with her,” Rosanna said uneasily as they returned to the house on Snow Mountain. “If it’s true that the property has been left to her, then she was being generous to offer to give me anything.”
“Don’t worry, she’d forget her promise soon enough if she succeeded in getting you away from here, Rosanna. I detest that woman. She thinks she is so subtle and she’s as transparent as glass!”
“I wonder what evidence she referred to?” Rosanna mused.
Penny started to speak, then changed her mind. Although Mrs. Leeds had no suspicion that she guessed the truth, she was well aware of the nature of the new evidence. However, she refrained from mentioning the burned will, realizing that Rosanna, in her present depressed state of mind, would be greatly disturbed by the information. If the orphan believed that she no longer had a definite claim to the fortune, she would insist upon leaving Raven Ridge without further delay.
Penny did not intend to quit the scene until she had answered several questions to her satisfaction.
The entire case seemed a trifle fantastic as she reviewed it. First, Rosanna had received the strange letter signed by a fictitious name. Then, although the orphan had lost the key, they had found the door of the Winters’ mansion unlocked. Close upon the heels of their arrival, Mrs. Leeds, her daughter, and Max Laponi appeared. Since then, the house had been disturbed by haunting organ music and one baffling event had crowded upon another.
“It’s all very bewildering,” Penny reflected. “But I believe that everything can be fitted together if only I am able to learn the identity of the mysterious ghost.”
The night closed in dark and windy. Penny and Rosanna sat by the fire, trying to read. They were relieved when Mrs. Leeds and her daughter retired to their rooms shortly after eight o’clock for it gave them an opportunity to talk. At ten o’clock the girls went to their own room. Max Laponi had not yet returned from Andover where he took his meals.
Penny was tired and fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. Hours later she was awakened by Rosanna who was sitting upright in bed.
“What is it?” Penny mumbled drowsily.
Then she knew. The house reverberated with the soft chords of a pipe organ.
Without switching on the electric lights, Penny drew on her dressing gown. She started toward the door, then returned to grope in the drawer of the dresser where she found the key which locked the door leading to the attic floor.