  Barry and his father exchanged glances. “To protest about it!” Mr. Garrison cried. “Yes,” the lady nodded. “He said that it lowered the value of the place to allow boys to camp there. He seemed quite annoyed about it.” “But how did he know that we were there?” Barry inquired. “He said that someone who knew the place had been up there lately and saw the boys in the lodge. I asked him if they had done anything to hurt the place, and he said no, but that he thought it was wrong to allow boys to camp there.” “Well, he certainly has a nerve!” said Mr. Garrison. “That property doesn’t belong to him, and he has nothing to say as to what shall be done with it.” “He wants it badly enough and as good as told me tonight that he will have it,” Mrs. Morganson said. “He is very discourteous about it all,” frowned Barry’s father. “I stopped him tonight and asked him why he does not come to me. He said it is a free country and he prefers to go to you directly.” Mrs. Morganson smiled a quiet smile. “Probably he thinks he can win me over, or even scare me. He is offering a very low price for the lodge, and I am not going to sell it at his figure. He knows the value of the property and could make a lot out of it, but I am not going to give my hunting lodge away. Now I’d like to hear Barry’s story.” Barry told the owner of the hunting lodge what had happened while they had camped at Lake Arrowtip. “The only thing that we regret,” he finished, “is the fact that we did not catch the man after we saw him go into the tool shed. We feel that if we could have had a few days longer, we would have learned the secret of the place.” “It is too bad that your short vacation came to an end when it did,” acknowledged the lady. “But I think you did a fine bit of work as it is. Of course, I have believed all along that some human being is doing this unpleasantness, and not any ghostly being. The mystery is, who is doing it and why?” “Do you believe that Mr. Brand Curry is doing it to lower the value of the lodge?” Barry asked slowly. Mrs. Morganson smiled at his father as she shook her head. “Your father and I have wondered about that, but we do not believe that it is so,” she said. “Mr. Curry is always here in town, and we cannot believe that the lodge is so dear to him that he keeps a sort of scare agent up there all the time. Just as soon as any party goes into the lodge, either in winter or summer, the annoyances begin. That would seem to indicate that whoever does it lives close by there all the time. We know that Mr. Curry is anxious to have the place, but so are three other business men who are offering better prices than Mr. Curry is.” “It is all mighty queer,” Barry murmured. “Have you ever heard from your nephew since the letter came from Canada?” “We have reason to believe that he is now in South America,” Mrs. Morganson said. “I believe that he was taken away from my property because he had discovered something that certain parties do not want known.” “There was a Frenchman who disappeared at the same time,” Barry pressed. “What of him? Was he married?” “Yes, he was married, and his wife was also working at the lodge when her husband left. Nothing has ever been heard of them since that time.” For another half-hour they talked of the mystery, and then Barry and his father left. Nothing definite had been agreed to, though Mr. Garrison had expressed a desire to make a trip to Arrowtip himself and spend a night or two in the lodge alone. But Mrs. Morganson was not in favor of the idea. “Let us wait until spring comes before we do anything else,” she advised. “It is so cold and disagreeable now. I will not rent it to anyone from now on, and when the warm weather comes we can have some more private detectives put on the case. Let’s not worry about it until later.” Barry and his father went home and talked over the situation at length, and it was agreed between them that when spring came they would go to the lake, together with the other boys, and have another opportunity to match wits with the disturbing element of the hunting lodge. School was not to begin before Tuesday, and on Monday morning Barry stood at the general desk in the local post office, writing out a card. No one else was in the place at the time except the two clerks back of the windows. While Barry was busily engaged, the door opened and a schoolmate named Charlie Black came in. He was a short, energetic young fellow with glasses and shrewd, laughing eyes, a great favorite at the high school, where he led in debates and any form of public speaking. “Hello, little fellow!” Barry greeted, using the name most frequently applied to young Mr. Black. “Looking for a letter from your girl friend?” “Hello, mystery hunter! No, I’m going to buy some stamps.” This having been taken care of, Charlie approached the desk and leaned on it. “Say, I have some news that will knock your eye out!” “Don’t tell it to me then, because I need all my eyes. You ought not go around with such dangerous news,” Barry grinned. “Listen, Barry, this is great news. No fooling!” “Well, why keep it to yourself? Let’s have it!” “No school for about ten days!” “Why?” “Big flue from the furnace burned out, and they have to have a special new one made. Hurrah, what luck!” Barry shook his head in pretended disgust. “It is plain to see that you’ll never amount to anything. Rejoicing because your opportunity to learn something is cut off. Your lack of wholesome ambition is pitiful!” “Aw, listen, plaster saint, you’re just as tickled as I am! The difference between us is that I’m honest! Say, I have some more news!” “Good night, you’ve got enough of it in you to explode! Get it out quick. What else happened?” “Nothing yet, but it is going to happen. As soon as I heard that there wasn’t going to be any school for a while I thought it would be a dandy idea to have a straw ride. What do you say?” “You mean hire a truck or wagon and a bunch of fellows and girls and go for a straw ride?” “Sure. How else would you go on a straw ride?” “Where will we go?” “I don’t know yet, but maybe to Potter’s Mill or some place where we can build a fire and cook some supper and then we’ll come on home. It’s a lot of fun!” “I know, I’ve been on one before, only it was in the summer and not in the winter. What’s the matter with getting about three or four sleighs?” “That’s a good idea. Will you and Kent and the twins come along?” “I guess so. When are you going to have it?” “As soon as we can. I’ve talked to a few seniors about it, and they are willing. Well, I must get on. I’m chairman, and of course that means all the work falls on me. Funny name, chairman, isn’t it?” “Why?” “Well, the chairman never gets a chance to sit down, and he doesn’t need a chair! Ought to call him something else. I’m on my way.” “Wait a minute,” Barry requested. “Who made you chairman?” “Why, I did!” was the unblushing answer. “That’s what I thought, popgun! Go ahead and do your organizing and we’ll be with you.” “All right, be careful crossing corners!” grinned the energetic Charlie Black as he fairly dashed out of the post office. Barry followed more slowly, and as he strolled along the street his mind was busy with the contemplated straw ride and the mystery at Lake Arrowtip. At last he came to a stop, and his face brightened up. “Of course!” he murmured. “Why not?” Abruptly changing his course, he turned down a side street and was soon going up the walk to the home of Mrs. Morganson. He was readily admitted, and the lady received him in the parlor. Barry rapidly told her about the plans for the straw ride. “What I want to ask you in particular, Mrs. Morganson, is this: may we ride up to the lodge and have our gathering there? I will personally guarantee that we will treat the place well, and it would not suffer any from our visit, and Coach Jordan and Mrs. Jordan will be with us, I’m sure. I think it would be a splendid place for us to have supper, and we could spend the night there.” “I am not in the least afraid that you would damage the lodge,” Mrs. Morganson smiled. “Are you sure Coach and Mrs. Jordan will go with you?” “Yes, ma’am, Coach Jordan and his wife always go with us, and I guess they will this time.” “Certainly, you may use the lodge if they do,” Mrs. Morganson granted. “I’m just hoping you won’t have any trouble with that unknown person that you saw the last time you were there.” “I hardly think we will,” Barry said. “But if we do, Kent and the twins and I will be on the lookout, and perhaps we can learn something more about him.” A few minutes later Barry was on his way home, his mind busy with new thoughts and ideas. He was in a hurry to hunt up his chums and tell them of the latest events. “This may be the very chance we have been looking for,” he reflected, as he walked briskly along. “The man always starts something when a crowd gathers in the lodge, and we’ll be there all night, if the bunch will agree to go to Lake Arrowtip. The four of us will be on the lookout for any such visit. I hope this will all work out as I want it to!” |
|
