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The Lake Mystery
The Lake Mystery
BY MARVIN DANA Author of The Woman of Orchids , A Puritan Witch , Within the Law , etc. FRONTISPIECE BY J. ALLEN ST. JOHN CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1923 Copyright Marvin Dana 1922-1923 Published September, 1923 Copyrighted in Great Britain Printed in the United States of America THE LAKE MYSTERY...
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PROLOGUE THE MISER
PROLOGUE THE MISER
THE Dresden clock on the mantel struck twelve in soft, slow, golden notes. As the gentle echoes died away, Horace Abernethey, sitting huddled in a morris chair before the fire of logs, stirred feebly. Presently, he sat erect, moving clumsily, with the laboriousness of senility. But there was nothing of the aged in the glances of his keen, dark eyes, which shone forth brightly from out the pallid parchment of his face. His intent gaze darted first toward the clock, to verify the hour of which the
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CHAPTER I ADVENTURERS’ PACT
CHAPTER I ADVENTURERS’ PACT
SAXE TEMPLE regarded with pardonable pride the supper-table laid for four in the parlor of his bachelor apartment. Then, as a knock made known the first arrival, he went to the door, and opened it eagerly. At sight of the tall, soldier-like figure standing on the threshold, his face lighted. “Roy Morton, by all that’s good!” he cried. “Hello Saxe, old man,” came the answer, in a musical monotone surprisingly gentle from one so stalwart. “Got your letter, and here I am. Incidentally, I’m tickled
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CHAPTER II THE SECRETARY
CHAPTER II THE SECRETARY
IN THE performance of her secretarial duties, May Thurston duly drummed on her machine the remarkable letter to Saxe Temple, in which the old miser made known his intended disposition of a golden treasury. Because she possessed an excellent New England conscience, the girl maintained silence, despite the urgings of a feminine desire to share the secret. This reticence on her part was the more admirable inasmuch as, just at this time, her affections were becoming strongly engaged by a suitor. Har
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CHAPTER III THE ASSEMBLING
CHAPTER III THE ASSEMBLING
THE dwelling in the wilderness contained only two servants, a woman of fifty, who performed the duties of housekeeper and cook, and her husband, slightly older, who did the small amount of outdoor work required about the cottage, but, during the open weather, was chiefly concerned with the care of the two motor boats, which had been the miser’s single extravagance. After the funeral, the lawyer of the deceased ordered Jake Dustin and his wife to remain at the cottage for the time being, to await
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CHAPTER IV EVE OF BATTLE
CHAPTER IV EVE OF BATTLE
MASTERS came suddenly on May Thurston that same afternoon, as she chanced to be alone on the cottage porch. When he appeared so swiftly out of the wood, which was thick behind the house, the girl realized that he must have been lying in wait for this opportunity to meet her unobserved. The stealthiness of the act revolted her anew, and the disagreeable impression was in no wise relieved by the engineer’s conversation or manner. “Nothing—I found nothing at all!” he declared, curtly. His large eye
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CHAPTER V THE SEARCH BEGINS
CHAPTER V THE SEARCH BEGINS
AN UNWONTED activity prevailed in the miser’s cottage. The presence of Saxe Temple and his companions brought into the isolated dwelling a varied and bustling atmosphere, which, at times, came near confusion. The one member of the party who permitted naught to disturb his tranquillity was Billy Walker, and that because of a chronic aversion to every form of physical exertion. He contented himself with holding a sort of informal court on the porch, sitting at ease with his massive frame sprawled
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CHAPTER VI THE SIXTH SENSE
CHAPTER VI THE SIXTH SENSE
“WHAT I don’t like about women,” exclaimed Roy Morton, with an inflection of disgust, “is the kind of men they like.” It was the morning of another day, and the exhaustive search commanded by Billy Walker as the mouthpiece of inexorable logic had begun. The voice of the oracle could at this moment be heard from the porch, where he was engaged in pleasant conversation with Mrs. West, while his three friends were busy with the actual work of investigation. They were in the small room opening off t
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CHAPTER VII HAPHAZARD QUESTING
CHAPTER VII HAPHAZARD QUESTING
MASTERS, who was not minded to let the value of a small weekly stipend stand between him and the possession of riches, had now abandoned even the pretense of work. He let it be known, casually, at the cottage that he was temporarily idle, while awaiting orders. As a matter of fact, he was awaiting the dismissal that now could not be long delayed. To May, however, he confessed the truth, that he had chosen to sacrifice a paltry certainty for the sake of possible wealth. She had protested against
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CHAPTER VIII IN THE RECESS
CHAPTER VIII IN THE RECESS
AT THE house, no one was visible with the exception of Billy Walker, who, on the porch, reclined in a large rocking-chair, displaying his customary masterly inactivity, the while he contemplated the tip of a particularly black cigar, which he had not troubled to light for the sufficient reason that there were no matches nearer than the hall. The information concerning the recess within the walls was duly imparted to him, and he followed his two friends and the boatman to the closet in the hallwa
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CHAPTER IX THE GOLD SONG
CHAPTER IX THE GOLD SONG
AS MRS. WEST, with Margaret and May Thurston, had gone for a stroll soon after the departure of David and the engineer, the mystery concerning the identity of the person in the music-room at the time of Billy’s misadventure remained unsolved. The subject afforded the friends much opportunity for speculation, all of which resulted in nothing definite. Margaret and her mother showed not the slightest irritation over the way in which the property had been damaged; on the contrary, they were seen to
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CHAPTER X IN THE WOOD
CHAPTER X IN THE WOOD
THE others received the astonishing pronouncement of Billy Walker with varying emotions, of which the chief was a candid incredulity. “How in the world do you justify that remarkable statement?” Roy demanded, breaking the silence of surprise, which had at first held the three. For a moment, Billy showed traces of embarrassment. Then, swiftly, an expression of relief showed on his heavy face, and he spoke glibly enough: “The conclusion to which I have come,” he declared ponderously, “is compelled
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CHAPTER XI THE SHOT
CHAPTER XI THE SHOT
IT WAS in the evening of this same day, at dinner, that the element of tragedy was first injected into the situation. In addition to Mrs. West and her daughter, May Thurston, and the four young men, there was present Hartley Masters. He had been invited frequently to dine at the cottage, and had for a time accepted every invitation. Latterly, however, the evidences of strained feeling between him and the other men had become so pronounced that he had usually offered some excuse for declining the
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CHAPTER XII THE SECRET VAULT
CHAPTER XII THE SECRET VAULT
MAY passed a sleepless night, wearying her brain in a futile endeavor to see her path clearly. She felt that, for the sake of what had been, she could not bring herself to accuse Masters before the others, or even privately to his face. Yet, her manifest duty lay in some step that should prevent another effort by him. She was convinced that he would dare no more, when aware of the fact that there was a witness to bear testimony as to his guilt, and in this she probably reasoned justly. In the en
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CHAPTER XIII THE CLUE
CHAPTER XIII THE CLUE
TO THE astonishment of Roy Morton and May Thurston, this day also passed without the appearance of the engineer at the cottage. The girl, at first experiencing some alarm over this protracted absence, was afterward filled with relief, when it occurred to her that Masters was keeping away because he had finally abandoned his evil intentions. She felt convinced that the failure of his attempt to murder Temple had brought him to realization of the heinousness of his conduct. The thought afforded he
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CHAPTER XIV THE EPISODE OF THE LAUNCH
CHAPTER XIV THE EPISODE OF THE LAUNCH
THE clue discovered by Billy Walker was accepted without hesitation. No secret was made of the information thus obtained as the first progress in the search for the gold, and an air of excitement prevailed in and about the cottage. Jake, especially, was all agog with interest in the new development, and took an active part in the subsequent operations, since the four friends now spent much of their time on the water, hoping by some fortunate chance to come on a suggestion for further guidance. T
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CHAPTER XV THE CHART
CHAPTER XV THE CHART
IT WAS the belief of Saxe and his friends that the person guilty of the outrage against them was none other than Hartley Masters. Now, at last, Roy confided to his associates the adventure in the night, when he had discovered the presence of the safe hidden within the wall. The others flouted him as he had anticipated over his failure to capture the intruder and his subsequent inability to learn the secret of the spring in the wainscoting. They accepted without hesitation his assurance that the
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CHAPTER XVI THE HOLD
CHAPTER XVI THE HOLD
BILLY’S vanity was well content with the compliments accorded him by his friends, who gave the appreciation that was justly his due for persistent effort when they had wearied. It was David whose enthusiasm led him to suggest an immediate trip on the lake, to learn whether or not they could identify the features of the topography shown by the chart. The launch, to which they had been reduced by the loss of the Scherzo , had a speed of twelve miles an hour at its best and under Jake’s guidance it
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CHAPTER XVII MASTERS AGAIN
CHAPTER XVII MASTERS AGAIN
IN THE hour preceding dawn, Roy gave over his fight against an unaccustomed nervousness that had kept him awake, rose, took a sponge bath, shaved, and dressed himself for the day. He stole from the room, and quietly let himself out of the house, in confident expectation that the outdoors charm of dawn would soothe the unrest of his spirit. A slight noise arrested his attention as he went toward the north end of the cottage. He was wearing tennis shoes, of which the rubber soles made no sound on
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CHAPTER XVIII DUX FACTI FEMINA
CHAPTER XVIII DUX FACTI FEMINA
ROY was aroused to sudden consternation, when a lull in his ecstatic emotion let him once again think of mundane things, for it flashed on him that the explosive to which the fuse had been attached still remained in Saxe’s chamber. In a word he explained the matter, and the two hastened to the cottage, where after a quick embrace they separated, May going to her room, to change into dry clothing, and Roy running to his friend. He entered Saxe’s chamber cautiously, yet moving rapidly, lighted the
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CHAPTER XIX IN THE CAVERN
CHAPTER XIX IN THE CAVERN
THE passage continued of limited width for a number of rods. The floor lay almost level, smooth enough to make going easy. The light from the torch showed only walls of bare rock on either side, and once, when Margaret turned the rays upward, the narrowing slant to an apex far above their heads. The two explorers went in silence. Saxe thought the footing safe enough so that he could content himself with watching the girl, whose every motion was a delight to him, seen dimly in the glow that penet
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CHAPTER XX THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT
CHAPTER XX THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT
SINCE the large chamber was in utter darkness, Saxe decided on recourse to a device which had served him well in similar situations of his boyhood among the mountains. As soon as Margaret moved and drew a little away from him, he spoke. “We must step back to the passage-way,” he said. “From it, I can take our bearings, so that we can cross the place without floundering about haphazard in the dark.” “Yes,” the girl answered. Her voice came very low, quavering a little. Two paces brought them agai
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CHAPTER XXI THE FIRST PIT
CHAPTER XXI THE FIRST PIT
AT THE cottage that same night, Margaret made an excuse of fatigue, and withdrew to her chamber immediately when dinner was done, to the discomfiture of Saxe. May Thurston, too, vanished—perhaps because Roy was absent, and she preferred solitude in order that she might think of him without interruption. Presently Mrs. West said good night, and the three friends were left alone in the music-room. It was then that Saxe proposed to give to Billy Walker some information he had received from Margaret
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CHAPTER XXII THE OTHER PASSAGE
CHAPTER XXII THE OTHER PASSAGE
DAVID voiced the general consternation: “By the Lord, Masters has got the gold, after all!” The following silence admitted the truth of his lament. Saxe’s face set grimly. His tones came harsh, when at last he spoke: “We’ll keep on hunting,” he said; “only, now we’ll hunt Masters.” Jake stood disconsolate, scratching his head, and staring wistfully from one to another. It was evident that he accepted the catastrophe as irremediable. Not so Billy Walker! On the contrary, Saxe had hardly done spea
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CHAPTER XXIII THE BLAST
CHAPTER XXIII THE BLAST
ROY, after an hour of basking on the turf in the mellow warmth of the sunshine, felt himself his own man again, in spite of the dull pain in his head. Curiosity spurred him to action. He stretched himself luxuriously, then stood up, bent his right arm until the biceps was iron hard, to prove that the strength was still in him. Thereafter, he made his way into the cavern. When he had come into the big room, he found his lantern by the aid of matches, lighted it, and then paused, listening, uncert
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CHAPTER XXIV ENTOMBED
CHAPTER XXIV ENTOMBED
FOR a little, after he had realized the fact that the water could mount no higher, Saxe experienced such joy as must come to any normal person on escaping out of the peril of death. Ultimately, however, the first emotion wore itself out by its own intensity, and he was left free to think coherently again. The result was disastrous. There leaped in his consciousness the hideous truth that death was not avoided, only postponed. This refuge on the heap of rocks offered safety from drowning, from be
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CHAPTER XXV TO THE CHIMNEY
CHAPTER XXV TO THE CHIMNEY
AS THEY were lingering over the breakfast table, that same morning, Margaret turned to May with a smile. “And to think of them, off adventuring now, this very minute!” she exclaimed, pouting a little. “It was rather horrid of them to go at such an unearthly hour, when of course we weren’t up.” May nodded cheerfully. “Yes, I’d have enjoyed being in at the finish—if only I’d been invited.” “And I, too,” Margaret declared. “Anyhow, it’s my affair in a way, so I think I’m entitled to a spectator’s p
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CHAPTER XXVI IN THE DARK
CHAPTER XXVI IN THE DARK
MARGARET, as she let herself down into the chimney, held the torch so as to show her surroundings. She still clung to the rock above with her right hand, while the left was occupied by the torch. As yet, she had found no footing. The light revealed that this opening through the ridge was the result of the lodging of one huge block of stone, which had left the angle between it and the other rock empty. A clutter of fragments formed the third side of a triangle, which extended downward steeply as
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