IT was well after seven o’clock when Judy, accompanied by Kathleen, arrived at Calico Cottage. The trip down the mountain in the station wagon had not been without excitement. Less than a half mile from the cottage, the driver had been halted by state patrolmen, who had set up a road block. At first, the girls had assumed that motorists on the main highway were being stopped because of the fire which still smoldered in the Pine Cone Camp area. Therefore, it came as a surprise to learn that the road block had been set up for an entirely different purpose. The state highway patrolman informed them that a truckload of auto parts had been hi-jacked during the night on a lonely stretch of road between the towns of Silverton and Grove City, some miles away. The truck was known to have followed the mountain road, making for the state line, yet had seemed to disappear into thin air. “Somehow those birds get wind of where our road blocks are set up,” the highway patrolman had said. “The hi-jackers have a hide-out. When we’re not on their trail, they slip off the road somewhere and wait until the coast is clear.” Nor had Judy erased from her mind the fact that only a few hours earlier, she had seen the man she believed to be Joe Pompilli. She was reflecting upon the matter as the station wagon driver let the girls off at Calico Cottage. Why, she wondered, had Lowell Diethelm been so certain that she was mistaken in the identification? “He seemed honest enough in thinking that the man was a regular trucker on the road,” she thought. “But if I were right, and Diethelm made a mistake—” Her reflections were interrupted by Kathleen, who nudged her in the ribs. “Why so sober, Judy?” “I was just speculating on those hi-jackers, Kathy,” Judy replied as they started across the dew-laden lawn. “I’m more than half convinced that we made a bad mistake last night.” “You think we let Joe Pompilli get away?” “We must have. Kathy, he and that other fellow we didn’t know, may have been killing time at the restaurant, waiting for that truckload of auto parts to go through town! Then, they merely followed, and picked the truck off at a convenient spot on the road.” “That makes a nice sounding explanation,” Kathleen “Two of ’em,” Judy admitted with a grin. “First, it doesn’t seem logical that Joe Pompilli would dare show up in this area when he must know that state highway patrolmen are on the alert.” “He was badly hurt in that accident too,” Kathleen added. “Maybe not as seriously as we thought. The other defect in my theory is that Lowell Diethelm positively identified him as a regular trucker on the road.” “That’s the part one can’t get around,” Kathleen nodded soberly. “Either the patrolmen made a mistake in identifying an ordinary trucker as Joe Pompilli, or Lowell Diethelm has been misled.” “In either case, I guess it’s too late for us to do anything about it now,” Judy admitted. “We had our chance, and we muffed it.” Walking carefully so that they would not soak their shoes with the heavy dew, the girls tramped across the lawn to the back door of Calico Cottage. Miss Meadows, who had seen them coming, flung open the door. “I’m ashamed to have telephoned you,” she apologized. “Have you had breakfast?” “An early one,” Judy replied as she and Kathleen entered the warm kitchen. “If those are muffins I smell, we can eat another one though!” “Blueberry muffins,” Miss Meadows smiled, peeping “Aunt Mattie, why did you send such an urgent telephone message?” Judy asked abruptly. “You said it wasn’t the ghost again.” “No, the basement was quiet enough last night.” “Then what did happen?” “I know you think I’m nervous and silly—” “No such thing, Aunt Mattie.” “It was those lights that bothered me again. Now that it’s morning, I feel much better about it. But last night, and until after I telephoned, I felt so jittery.” “Lights on the private road?” Judy questioned. Miss Meadows did not answer until after she had removed the muffins from the oven. Then she said: “I awoke about two o’clock, I’d judge. I can’t explain it, but I had a strong feeling that something was wrong. I lay there in bed for awhile, listening. I could hear the muffled rumble of a big truck engine.” “Nothing so unusual about that, Aunt Mattie. A great many trucks pass on the main highway, even at night.” “This truck didn’t pass,” Miss Meadows said impressively. “I saw the lights flash past my bedroom window. Because I was nervous and couldn’t sleep, I got up and looked out. I saw the truck stop, and the lights went off. Then the truck turned down that old road.” “I suppose there’s no occasion to be bothered about a truck turning down a private road,” Judy’s aunt chattered on. “It shouldn’t worry me, I know. But I kept imagining all sorts of things, wondering if those men might be hi-jackers.” “Aunt Mattie, we don’t consider you one bit silly to be nervous about it,” Judy said quickly. “You didn’t telephone the state highway patrol?” “No, I thought of it, but after all, I didn’t know but what the trucks had a right to be on that road. It could have been loggers?” “How long did the truck remain on the private road?” Judy asked. “So far as I know, it’s still there. I set up and watched until dawn. Since then, I’ve been rather busy.” “If the truck is still on that road, we should check—” Kathleen suggested quickly. “I think we should,” Miss Meadows agreed. “I’d have done it myself, only to tell you the truth, I was afraid to go alone.” “Who wouldn’t be?” Judy backed her up. “When do we start? Right now?” “No, finish your breakfast first,” Miss Meadows urged. “Such nice muffins shouldn’t be wasted.” Their thoughts on the investigation before them, “I ran out yesterday,” she remarked, “and the new milkman always comes very late.” “The new milkman?” Judy repeated, nearly dropping her knife. “What became of Bart?” “I understand he’s given up his job. The new man told me that Bart quit because of something special he wanted to do before the start of college.” “Something special,” mused Judy. “You know what I think! Bart quit so he could thoroughly explore Calico Cave!” “Oh, dear, I hope not,” Miss Meadows murmured. “That sounds frightfully dangerous. You don’t think he’d explore very far alone?” “I certainly do,” replied Judy. “From the little Bart said to me, I’m sure he hopes to solve the mystery of what became of his father. To do that, he’d have to brave the siphon.” “Gracious! I never heard of anything so reckless!” Miss Meadows gasped. “Why, the authorities shouldn’t allow it!” “I don’t imagine Bart told anyone of his plan,” Judy answered. “He’s thoroughly familiar with the cave, and it would be safe enough for him to explore, providing he didn’t try to go through the siphon.” “Just what is a siphon?” Kathleen inquired. “As I understand it, a siphon is a tunnel through the cave, with a submerged ceiling. If one were a “That’s assuming that the tunnel wasn’t very long,” Miss Meadows commented. “True,” Judy nodded. “It would be a terrifying experience. Only a very courageous and foolhardy explorer would attempt it.” “Bart’s just the type to risk it!” Kathleen asserted. “I wonder when he plans to tackle the siphon?” “From what the new milkman told me, he may be in the cave even now!” Miss Meadows said with a shudder. “The mere thought of it frightens me.” “Bart knows how to take care of himself,” Judy declared to relieve her aunt’s mind somewhat. “I’m sure he does.” Breakfast over, Miss Meadows hastily cleared away the few dishes which had been used. She refused to let the girls wash them, insisting that she would stack them in the sink for a good soaking. “Let’s explore the road to the cave now,” she urged. “I’ll feel much better if I satisfy myself that everything is all right.” “We could call the Forest Service or one of the state highway patrolmen, if you’d rather,” Kathleen proposed. “If the truck shouldn’t be there, or if it had a right to be, I’d never live down the mistake I’d made,” She put on her heavy jacket as protection against the morning chill, and locked all the doors. The three then crossed the main highway and turned down the narrow rutty dirt road. The sun was showing itself through the tall trees, as the explorers made their way down the steep slope. Almost at once, Miss Meadows triumphantly pointed to heavy tire tracks on the roadbed. “See, I was right!” she exclaimed. “Those tire marks show that a big truck went down this road last night.” “Apparently only in one direction too,” Judy agreed. “This road dead-ends, so either the truck had to turn around and come back, or it’s still down there somewhere.” Quickening their pace, but becoming very quiet, the three moved on. Presently they came to the end of the road. “No truck here!” Kathleen exclaimed, halting. “Here’s where it made a turn,” Judy said, pointing to deep tire marks in the road and grass. Then she saw the truck itself. It had been driven entirely off the road and parked in a thick clump of bushes behind a shield of trees. Even so, the massive vehicle was only partially hidden from view. While Kathleen and Miss Meadows waited tensely, Judy cautiously crept through the bushes to obtain a closer glimpse of the big truck. Judy was quite certain she knew the answer, but to confirm her suspicions, she circled the transport. At the rear, she tried the big double doors which gave access to the cargo. They were locked. Unable to learn more, she returned to report to her aunt and Kathleen. “I’m convinced this is the truck that the highway patrolmen want to stop,” she informed them. “After the road blocks have been removed, the hi-jackers may be able to slip out of here and get safely away!” “Oh, no, they won’t!” announced Miss Meadows with grim determination. “We’ll tip off the state highway headquarters! I’ll telephone.” “Someone should stay here to keep watch,” Judy said. “The driver may return at any minute and try to pull out.” “That’s so,” Miss Meadows agreed. “I—I guess I’d better stay, while you girls telephone.” “No, you go to Calico Cottage,” Judy urged. “Kathleen and I will wait here.” “You’re not afraid?” “No, you’ll have help here in just a few minutes.” “I’ll hurry as fast as I can,” Miss Meadows promised, starting away. “Get into the bushes, and keep out of sight until I’m back here with the law!” |