Haunting of Horse Island Read online

  The guests gasped.

  “Did they die?” Mrs. Savage asked anxiously.

  “No, but they nearly did,” Steve said.

  “You couldn’t get me near the place,” Cindy said nervously.

  “Yeah, we won’t go there,” Bess agreed, obviously relieved that she wouldn’t have to go to the island.

  “How did Horse Island get the reputation of being haunted?” Mr. Savage asked.

  “That’s an interesting story,” Steve said. “About fifty years ago, a wealthy New York financier built a summer home on the island. He and his wife lived there off and on for about ten years. But one summer evening their boat capsized in the lake during a storm, and they were drowned.”

  “And people say the man and his wife are still wandering on their island?” Bess asked anxiously.

  “Well, that’s what some folks say,” Steve said. “Several people have reported seeing the ghosts of the couple. Usually on dark, rainy nights.”

  Bess shivered. “Let’s talk about something else,” she said. “This conversation is giving me the creeps. Besides, these kids shouldn’t hear scary stories.”

  “No, tell us more about the haunted island,” Jessica Mathew pleaded. “It’s awesome!”

  “Kids are used to this stuff,” Mrs. Mathew explained to the laughing group. “TV, you know.”

  “That’s about all there is to tell,” Steve said to the little girls. “But as I said earlier, you should all stay away from the island. Those hunters don’t care what they’re aiming at! In fact, occasionally you can hear gunshots from the island. Then you know there are hunters in the area.”

  “Why doesn’t the local sheriff go in there and arrest them?” Nancy asked.

  Steve shrugged. “He’s been called to the island several times,” he said. “But the poachers are always gone by the time he gets there.”

  “Well, can we paddle close enough to the island to see the financier’s summer home?” Jeff asked. “Is it still standing?”

  “Oh, Jeff, let’s stay away from there,” Cindy said with a shiver.

  “The house is still there,” Steve said, “but all we’d see would be the roof. It’s back a ways from shore.” He paused a moment. “We’ll get a little closer, but not much. I wouldn’t want any stray bullets flying our way!”

  Following Steve’s lead, the group paddled out toward the island. When they were about a quarter of a mile from the shoreline, Steve once again signaled for them to stop.

  “Could a bullet shot from a rifle reach us?” Cindy asked her husband. Nancy could hear their conversation from her canoe, which George had pulled up beside Cindy and Jeff’s.

  “I doubt it,” Jeff said. “But I don’t think Steve would let us get that close.”

  Almost before the words were out of his mouth, a shot rang out from the island.

  “Someone’s shooting at us!” screamed Cindy, frantically getting to her feet. “We have to get out of here!”

  “Cindy, sit down!” Jeff cried as he reached out for her.

  But Cindy, in her panic, dropped her paddle in the water. She bent over to try to retrieve it, and her sudden movement rocked the canoe on its side. She lost her balance, and in an instant, both she and her husband toppled into the water!

  Cindy quickly rose to the surface. Her arms thrashed the water wildly. “I can’t swim!” she screamed.

  4

  Horsing Around

  In a flash Nancy extended her oar to Cindy. “Grab on to this,” she called. “Your life jacket will keep you up.” Cindy threw herself at the oar. Her weight rocked Nancy’s canoe.

  “Keep your weight low,” George cautioned. She leaned to the side to keep the canoe from tipping as Bess and Nancy helped Cindy into the canoe.

  “Where’s Jeff?” called Nancy, once Cindy was seated next to Bess.

  “Jeff!” Cindy shrieked.

  “I’m here,” he panted, coming up on the side of his canoe. Luckily their boat had righted itself—after tossing out its passengers.

  In the next moment, Steve paddled alongside the canoe. “Here, let me help you.” Steve leaned out of his canoe and put his weight on the bow while Jeff climbed in over the stern.

  “Everything okay now?” Steve asked.

  Jeff and Cindy nodded, but it was clear they both were shaken. Steve retrieved their floating paddles, Cindy rejoined her husband in their canoe, and soon the group was heading back to the resort.

  “It’s a shame that some greedy poachers are preventing others from exploring the island,” Nancy said as she, Bess, and George were walking away from the boat house.

  “Uh-oh, Nancy, I don’t like that look in your eye,” said Bess. “You always have that look when you’re about to do something dangerous.”

  Nancy smiled. “No, I’m not planning anything right now,” she said. “Let’s sit tight for the time being and see what develops.”

  The girls headed toward the lodge for a light lunch. While they were eating, Ann and Carrie walked into the dining room and over to the grand piano at the edge of the room.

  They opened the piano bench, left several sheets of music, and turned to leave. Carrie saw Nancy and the girls at their table and waved. The girls waved back as Carrie and Ann approached the table.

  “We’ve calmed down since we last saw you,” Ann said somewhat sheepishly, nodding at her sister. “No more screaming.”

  Nancy had to smile.

  “What have you been up to?” Ann asked.

  “We took a canoe ride this morning,” Nancy told her.

  “Oh, with Steve Matheson?” asked Carrie. Nancy nodded, and Carrie continued. “He’s adorable, don’t you think? I mean, he’s way too old for me, but I can still look, right?” She raced right on. “Oh, and speaking of cute, wait till you see Rodney Starr, the stable guy. He’s closer to my age, so I’m zeroing in on him this summer!”

  “The stable guy?” Nancy asked.

  “Yeah, he takes care of the horses,” Carrie replied.

  “He may not be working here much longer, though,” Ann said.

  “Why not?” Nancy inquired.

  “He wants to make more money. He says the Steadmans don’t pay him enough,” Ann replied.

  “Oh?” Nancy glanced at Bess and George and, with a flick of her eyebrow, let them know they should let the sisters do the talking.

  “Yeah,” Carrie said. “They should pay us more, too.”

  “Do the other staff members feel the same?” asked Nancy.

  “Well, we’ll never get rich working here,” Ann said. “That’s for sure. Everyone complains. Especially Otis. You should hear him moan and groan about his salary.”

  “He’s the cook, isn’t he?” Nancy recalled.

  “The chef!” Carrie corrected Nancy. “If he heard you call him a mere cook, he’d have a fit.”

  “Yes, Otis considers himself an artist,” added Ann.

  “If you ask me, Otis is just a crabby old guy,” said Carrie. “He gets mad about everything. But especially his salary.”

  “Who else doesn’t like the Steadmans?” Nancy asked casually. She hoped the Burkle sisters would suggest some possible suspects. “They seem like nice people to me.”

  “Oh, they’re really not bad,” Ann said. “But, you know, people are funny sometimes. Speaking of funny, have you met that newlywed couple who is staying here?”

  “Cindy and Jeff?” George said.

  “Right,” said Ann. “What a pair of lovebirds! I love to watch them!”

  “Yeah,” Carrie said, laughing. “What a hoot! They’re always holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes.”

  “And you should check out that woman in cottage fourteen,” Ann said, flipping her long hair over her shoulder.

  “Yeah, she’s so mysterious,” Carrie said.

  “What’s mysterious about her?” Nancy asked.

  “Nobody knows anything about her,” Carrie said. “She’s here all by herself. Isn’t that strange?”

 
“It might be nice to be alone,” said Ann. “It sure sounds good to me.”

  “Meaning what?” Carrie said, her hands on her hips.

  “Just what I said,” Ann snapped, her voice growing louder. “I’d sure like—”

  “Well, I think this place is great for a vacation,” Nancy cut in, hoping to stop the impending argument.

  “Me, too,” George said. “Bess, are you finished with lunch? I want to sign up for the horseback ride.”

  “Oh, we’re guiding this afternoon’s ride,” Carrie told them. “You’ll be with us!”

  “Oh, great,” George said. “I forgot you two did that.”

  “Yeah, and you can meet Rodney Starr,” Carrie said.

  Nancy, Bess, and George excused themselves to go back to their cottage. “Did you get any clues from that talk with the Burkles?” Bess asked Nancy.

  “I’m not sure,” Nancy confessed as they passed the back of the dining lodge. “I’d like to know more about Otis, though.”

  George nudged Nancy and pointed to a large man with a full head of snow-white hair trudging up the back stairs leading to the kitchen. He wore a white apron and carried a covered tray. “Maybe that’s Otis,” she said.

  “Let’s find out,” said Nancy, hurrying toward the man.

  “What do you plan to say?” Bess asked, following her.

  “I’ll say I’m a big fan of his cooking,” said Nancy, not slowing her pace. She bounded up the wooden steps and was about to pull open the screen door when something stopped her. It was the sound of a raised voice.

  Signaling George and Bess to stay back, Nancy cautiously leaned toward the screen to observe the scene. The man they thought was Otis was angrily stomping back and forth as he ranted.

  “I’ve got half a notion to put the Steadmans completely out of business,” he told a young man dressed in a white cook’s suit. “It wouldn’t be hard to do, you know! I could do it like that!”

  He pounded a butcher block counter angrily with his fist. The young assistant hung back, looking nervous.

  “They promised me a raise, and this is what they come up with?” the older man cried, waving an envelope.

  “Should I start the clam chowder, Otis?” the young man asked timidly.

  “It’s crab bisque tonight!” shouted Otis. “And do you mean to tell me you haven’t started it yet?”

  As Otis continued his tirade, Nancy slipped away from the door and moved down the stairs.

  “That was certainly an earful,” said Bess. “We could hear him down here at the bottom of the steps.”

  “That guy has definitely made it onto my suspect list,” Nancy told her friends.

  The girls returned to their cottage and changed into jeans and cotton blouses. The sun was high in the sky, and the day was warming up.

  “A great day to ride,” George said as the girls walked down to the stables at the end of the road. Several teenagers, two girls and a boy, were waiting for the horse ride to begin, along with the Mathew family. The Burkle sisters were already there, leading horses out of the wooden stable. A young man with light blond hair and bright blue eyes seemed to be in charge of the horses. He was saddling the animals, selecting the right horse for the right rider.

  “This is Rodney Starr,” Carrie said to the girls. “I told you about him, remember? He’s the horse expert around here.”

  The girls nodded and said hello.

  “Here’s a pony for you,” Rodney said to Heather Mathew. “I think we’ll put your sister on the same horse with your daddy.”

  “Good idea,” said Mr. Mathew as Rodney led out a gentle gray mare.

  The Burkles and Rodney helped the inexperienced riders mount their horses. Nancy noted that the sisters seemed to be very confident horsewomen.

  “Inexperienced riders should be up front behind Carrie,” Ann instructed the group. “Experienced riders stay to the back of the line. I’ll take up the end.”

  “I guess I’ll go up front,” said Bess, who hadn’t ridden much. Nancy and George had ridden many times, so they stayed back with Ann.

  “Where did you two learn to ride?” Nancy asked Ann.

  “We grew up on a horse ranch in Wyoming,” said Ann. “Riding is second nature to us.”

  Nancy filed the information. Maybe there were other things she would discover about the sisters as time went on. She’d have to suspect everyone who worked at the resort until she learned more about all of its employees.

  “Are you riding?” Nancy asked Rodney Starr, who walked down the line checking everyone’s saddle and stirrups for proper fit.

  “No, ma’am, not today,” he replied. “I guide three days a week. The girls guide the other four. I have another job in town.”

  “Okay, let’s move out,” Carrie called from the head of the line.

  The group, in a single line, clopped along the trail leading away from the stable. Carrie led the riders out into an open meadow along a gently rolling hillside. The view was a spectacle of color: the heavily wooded, deep green shades of the hills and, behind them, a cloudless blue sky.

  They crossed the meadow and came to the edge of a dense forest.

  “Stay in a single line,” Carrie called back to the guests as her horse stepped into the woods.

  “I think my horse likes me, Mom,” Heather Mathew said over her shoulder.

  “These do seem like nice, gentle animals,” her mother answered.

  The top branches of the trees filtered out much of the sun’s brightness, and the forest grew considerably darker as the riders headed into it.

  “It’s kind of spooky in here,” Jessica said. She leaned back into her father, who was riding with her on the light gray horse.

  “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Mr. Mathew assured the little girl.

  The riders followed a sharp curve in the path and entered a small clearing.

  “What’s that?” Heather cried suddenly, pointing into the clearing.

  The riders came to an abrupt halt, stunned by the sight before them.

  There, hanging from a branch on the one tree in the middle of the clearing, was a figure dangling from a rope.

  5

  Ghost Stories

  Carrie let out a scream that startled several birds in the surrounding trees. There was a rustling of leaves and the sound of wings flapping as the birds flew away.

  “Someone hanged himself!” gasped Ann.

  Jessica Mathew began to cry. “I want to go,” she whimpered, turning her head into her father’s chest.

  Summoning up all her nerve, Nancy galloped out into the clearing. She had to see who was hanging from that branch. The body was turned away from her. She could see only its back. It appeared to be a man in tan slacks and a blue shirt.

  As the body dangled lifelessly, a gentle breeze swung it around to face Nancy. Her heart leapt into her throat. Whom would she find at the end of that rope?

  “Wait a minute,” Nancy murmured after taking a second look at the dangling figure. She was now close enough to realize what she was looking at. “It’s a dummy!” she said aloud.

  It was a mannequin, the kind used in department stores. And there was a note taped to its forehead. Nancy rode up to the dummy and pulled down the paper.

  “What does it say?” asked George, pulling her horse up alongside Nancy’s.

  Nancy handed her the note. “ ‘Get away from the Steadman Resort,’ ” George read. “ ‘Your life is in danger.’ ”

  “Some joke, huh?” Nancy said glumly.

  “Whoever is responsible for this is starting to seem more and more twisted,” commented George, handing the note back to Nancy.

  George leaned forward in her saddle and lifted the noose over the dummy’s neck. The mannequin fell to the ground with a thud. “Is it a clue?” she asked Nancy. “Should we take it back with us?”

  Nancy studied the stiff figure on the ground. “Leave it,” she said. “I won’t forget what it looks like.” The two girls turned and rode bac
k to the group.

  “It’s only a prank,” Nancy told the anxious riders. “That’s just a dummy out there.”

  “We saw you reading something,” said Mrs. Mathew.

  Nancy hesitated, then decided she owed it to the other guests to tell them the truth. “It was a warning to leave the resort,” she admitted.

  “That’s it!” said Mrs. Mathew. “It’s time to start packing.”

  “I want to go home!” cried her youngest daughter, sensing the horror of the riders but not really understanding what was going on.

  “Now, folks,” said Ann, trying in vain to use a soothing tone of voice, “I’m sure this is all harmless.”

  “Well, it’s one too many of the silly pranks that have been going on around here,” said Mr. Mathew. “This one is in horribly bad taste.”

  “I agree,” said one of the teenage girls, her face ashen.

  “Ann and Carrie,” Nancy spoke up, “I think we should return to the stables now.”

  “I think you’re right,” Ann said. “Come on, folks, turn your horses by pulling the reins to your right.”

  The group turned and headed back to the stables. At a turn in the trail, Nancy caught sight of a woman who stood watching them from behind some trees. She was large-boned and athletic. Nancy guessed her age to be around thirty. Her hair was dark, shoulder length, and turned under at the ends. She seemed to study the riders as if memorizing each face.

  When her gaze fixed on Nancy, Nancy stared straight back. A look of alarm passed over the woman’s face, and she turned abruptly and disappeared behind the stand of trees.

  Who was she? Nancy wondered. Was it just a coincidence that she was watching the group of riders that had just found the dummy hanging in the woods?

  Nancy beckoned to Bess and George after they had dismounted at the stables. She led them away to a spot out of earshot of the others.

  “Did you see the woman watching us?” Nancy whispered urgently.

  “I did,” George said. “Do you think she planted the dummy to scare us?”

  “I don’t know,” said Nancy. “Let’s find her and see what she has to say. Come on!”

  “I didn’t see her,” Bess said. “What did she look like?”