Haunting of Horse Island Page 6

  “This is a waste of time,” Bess called out. “A ghost wouldn’t drop a comb. What use would a ghost have for a comb? And it wouldn’t leave a lapel pin. Who ever heard of a ghost wearing jewelry?”

  “How about a pair of sunglasses?” Nancy asked her.

  “A ghost doesn’t go out in the sun,” Bess pointed out. “And it wouldn’t worry about wrinkles around its eyes, anyway.” George laughed at Bess.

  “Well, this ghost is apparently concerned about sun glare,” Nancy said, holding up a pair of dark glasses.

  “What?” Bess gasped. “Let me see those!” She hurried over to Nancy and took the glasses.

  “Of course, we don’t know for sure when these were dropped here,” Nancy said. “Last night certainly wouldn’t have been a time for anyone to wear sunglasses.”

  “That’s right,” George said. “Maybe someone exploring the island a day or so ago could have dropped them.”

  “Or the person who keeps the clock running accurately inside the house,” Nancy said, tucking the sunglasses into her knapsack.

  The girls started their walk toward the beach. They moved through the heavily wooded area and then into a clearing.

  “Oh, look,” Bess said, approaching a small plant. “Here are some berries. I think I’ll start on my breakfast right here.”

  “No!” George said, grabbing Bess’s arm. “That’s the mountain laurel bush I saw yesterday. The berries are poisonous, remember?”

  “Oh, George, you’re right!” Bess gasped, alarmed by the close call.

  Nancy cocked her head and looked around her. “Do you hear something?” she asked.

  George and Bess listened.

  “I do hear something,” Bess said. “It sounds like thunder. But it can’t be—there isn’t a cloud in the sky.”

  “I hear it, too,” said George. The thundering sound was growing louder by the moment.

  “It’s coming from that direction,” Nancy said, pointing to a stretch of clear land that, like a hallway, separated the woods into two sections. The sound kept growing louder and louder until it became an almost deafening rumble.

  “Oh, no!” gasped Bess. An amazing sight had suddenly appeared from around a bend in the clearing.

  “Horses!” yelled George above the noise.

  “Get out of the way!” Nancy screamed at her friends.

  Galloping at them was a herd of wild, stampeding horses!

  9

  Rescued

  The three girls took off running as fast as they could through the open area, across the path of the wildly running horses. The girls headed for the nearest group of trees they could find.

  “We’ll never make it!” screamed Bess.

  “Run for the trees!” yelled Nancy, taking Bess’s arm and pulling her along.

  The girls entered the woods just as the herd of horses pounded through the clearing only a few feet away from them. Breathing heavily, the girls turned to watch the herd storm by.

  “Man, that was close!” George panted.

  “Where did they all come from?” Nancy asked breathlessly.

  “Yeah,” Bess said, “I thought the wild horses on the island had been captured and tamed years ago.”

  The girls watched until the last of the horses had galloped past them.

  “They were beautiful,” George said.

  “And obviously wild,” said Bess.

  “This is really strange,” Nancy said. “We’ll have to ask the Steadmans about the horses.” She gazed at her two friends, who were beginning to breathe easier. “Ready to move on?”

  “I’m more than ready to leave this island,” Bess said.

  “Me, too,” George agreed.

  Nancy, Bess, and George headed for the beach.

  “Look!” Nancy said, pointing into the woods. “I see someone. Isn’t that Teresa Diamond?”

  The girls peered into the distance. Teresa was walking through the woods, dressed in jeans and a light blue workshirt.

  “Can we trust her?” asked George. “Maybe she’s the one who took our canoe.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” Nancy admitted. “If she’s the culprit, I don’t want to walk right up to her. But she may be our only way off the island. Let’s follow her for a while and see what she does.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George followed Teresa, who was walking away from them. It seemed that Teresa was increasing her pace, and soon the girls had to run through the woods to keep her in sight as she disappeared behind trees and rocks. When they reached the beach, the girls stopped and looked around them.

  “Do you see her?” George asked breathlessly.

  “No,” Nancy said unhappily. “I think we’ve lost her.”

  Just then the girls heard a motor revving to life in the distance. “She’s in a motorboat!” Nancy cried. “Come on!”

  Racing down the length of the beach, they came to a cove just in time to see Teresa Diamond pulling away.

  “Hey, come back!” Bess yelled. The woman looked up at them. It was obvious that she’d heard Bess’s cry. She stared at them for a moment, then abruptly turned and continued out onto the lake.

  “Well, what’s her problem?” Bess cried angrily.

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” Nancy said. “Something’s going on with that woman, and I’m going to find out what it is!”

  “Come on,” George said. “Let’s go back to the beach where we left our canoe yesterday. Maybe someone will come along.”

  The girls walked along the beach and settled down in the warm sand.

  “It’s really warming up,” Bess noted. “The sun feels so good.” She sighed. “If that Diamond woman had given us a lift, I’d be standing in a warm shower right now, thinking about the jelly doughnut I would have for breakfast at the lodge.”

  Nancy sat looking out over the lake, wondering if Teresa had anything to do with the disappearance of their canoe. Was it just a coincidence that she happened to show up on this particular morning, when the girls were stranded? And why would she run off instead of helping them?

  “I wonder how long till we get rescued,” George said.

  The girls sat and waited for an hour before Nancy straightened up and called out, “Hey! Look! Canoes!”

  The girls jumped to their feet and waved their arms. “Here we are! Over here!” they yelled.

  One of the people in a canoe pointed to the girls and waved. The group turned from their course and headed toward the girls on the island.

  “Uh-oh,” Bess said as they approached. “It’s Steve Matheson. He’s not going to be happy to see us here.”

  The group of four canoes stopped just offshore. “What are you doing on the island?” Steve called out angrily, squinting into the sun. Bess had been right. He was furious.

  “We wanted to look around, but someone swiped our canoe,” Nancy responded. “Can you take on three passengers?”

  “Come on,” Steve ordered. “I’ve got room for two in my canoe. A third can ride in this canoe.” He pointed to a canoe paddled by a young couple.

  The girls waded out into the water. Nancy placed her knapsack and camera in Steve’s canoe.

  “What were you up to? A little photo expedition?” he asked sarcastically, helping Nancy into the canoe.

  “Not exactly,” Nancy replied stiffly. George pulled herself up into Steve’s canoe, and Bess joined the couple.

  Soon they were back at the boat house. Steve hadn’t spoken another word all the way back. But as the girls were walking away from the boat house, he ran to catch up with them.

  “Sorry if I was rude,” he apologized. “It’s just that you did a really dangerous and dumb thing by going there. Did you run into hunters?”

  “No,” said Nancy. She pulled the sunglasses she’d found out of her bag. “Do you know who these belong to?” she asked.

  He took the glasses and examined them. “I know a lot of people who wear sunglasses, but I don’t know whose these particular glasses are.”

 
“Do you know of anyone who lives on the island?” Nancy asked. “There were signs that the house is being used by someone.”

  “You’re kidding,” Steve said.

  “Well, someone has been there recently,” Nancy told him as she and the girls turned toward their cabin. “Oh, and Steve, there are still horses on the island. They nearly trampled us!”

  “What?” Steve cried.

  Nancy nodded. “I’ll tell you about it later. We need to clean up and get some food. And I want to talk to the Steadmans.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George headed back to their cottage. After showers and a change of clothes, they walked to the lodge for lunch.

  “I’ll bet I lost five pounds on Horse Island.” Bess said as the girls sat down at a table next to a large window. “So I can afford to stuff myself now. I’m so hungry I could eat an entire meal for a family of six!”

  After the waitress had brought their food, Nancy glimpsed Henry Steadman across the room. She waved to him, and he strode over to their table.

  “Hi, girls,” he said. “I see you’re having our famous cheese soup. How is it?”

  “Heavenly,” Bess sighed. “It really fills in the empty spots. We’ve eaten very little in the last twenty-four hours.”

  Henry looked puzzled. “We couldn’t entice you to the lodge for a good breakfast?”

  “Oh,” Nancy said, “the food is wonderful! No, we spent yesterday and last night on Horse Island without a canoe to get us back.”

  “How did you get out to the island?” Henry asked.

  “We checked out a canoe yesterday,” Nancy explained. “We beached the canoe for a walk around the island, and when we returned, the canoe was gone!”

  “We spent the night in the financier’s old mansion,” George added.

  Henry looked alarmed. “Are you girls all right?”

  Nancy nodded. “We’re just fine,” she reassured him. “But I have some questions to ask you.”

  “Sure,” Henry said. “What do you want to know?”

  “We were nearly run over by a herd of stampeding wild horses,” Nancy told him. “Are you aware that there are still horses on the island?”

  “Sounds like you three had quite an adventure,” Henry said. He stroked his chin. “Well, I’m not surprised about the horses. Although I haven’t seen them myself, I’ve heard several local people say that they’ve seen the horses swimming to and from the island from the valley on the other side of the lake.”

  “Are you aware that someone has been visiting that island?” Nancy asked.

  “No,” Henry said. “But what does the island have to do with our resort? Do you think there’s a connection?”

  “Maybe,” Nancy said. “We just don’t know yet.”

  George, who was gazing out the window, reached over and tapped Henry’s arm. “Is there a bonfire on the beach today?” she asked.

  “No, why?” Henry said.

  “Isn’t that smoke I see floating out over the lake?” George asked.

  The color drained from Henry’s face. “Yes, it is! What in the world—”

  He got up and rushed out of the dining room with Nancy, Bess, and George close behind.

  They raced down the lane, following the smoke. It took only moments to see where the smoke was coming from.

  “Oh, no!” Bess screamed. “Nancy, it’s our cottage! It’s on fire!”

  10

  Unjust Desserts

  Smoke billowed out of the cottage windows. Nancy flung the door open and staggered backward from the choking smoke.

  “Get away from there, Nancy!” Henry shouted to her.

  Staff and guests came running from all directions.

  “Get the hose!” Henry yelled to one of his employees. “And buckets!”

  Within a minute water was pouring into the girls’ cottage from the hose, and a line of staff and several guests—including Nancy, Bess, and George—were passing buckets of water from the lake to use in extinguishing the blaze.

  The fire seemed to be isolated in the front room and was quickly drenched. Henry, Nancy, Bess, and George walked into the cottage and stepped over the burned, wet rubble.

  The girls searched through the cottage. Most of the damage was not from the fire, but from smoke and water.

  “The picnic basket and its contents were destroyed,” Nancy reported to Henry. “And so were a few items of clothing and the tablecloth.”

  “But how did it start?” George asked. “Did an electrical appliance short out?”

  Nancy was poking around in the rubble and ash. “Look at this,” she said. Henry and the girls moved closer. “This is dry grass and brush. See? Some of it didn’t burn completely before we put out the fire. No wonder the fire smoked so heavily.”

  “How did grass and brush get into the cottage?” Bess asked.

  “Someone brought it in,” Nancy said. “This fire was set!”

  Henry looked at her sharply. “Arson?”

  “It sure looks that way,” Nancy told him. “The fire was smoky but did very little damage. It seems as if the arsonist wanted the fire to be spotted right away.”

  “You think the fire was another warning?” George asked.

  “I think so,” Nancy said.

  “Because you’re helping me on this case?” Henry asked. Then he shook his head. “Well, that does it. You girls should stop investigating at once. I would never forgive myself if something happened—”

  “We’re fine, Henry,” George said. “We won’t do anything dangerous.”

  “It’s already been dangerous for you,” Henry said.

  “Don’t worry about us,” Nancy said. “We just need to get to the bottom of this before anything worse happens.”

  Henry pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. “The family next door just left this morning,” he said. “You girls move into that cottage so we can get this place fixed up again.”

  “Henry,” Nancy said, “who else has a set of those keys or could get their hands on a set?”

  “There’s an extra set in my office,” Henry replied, “and the only people who can go in there are staff. Why do you ask?”

  “There’s no sign of a break-in here,” Nancy said. “It looks like someone had a key. We’ve been careful about locking the door and the screens on the windows.”

  “I’ll have to hide the extra set,” Henry said, “until this crooked person is caught. Nancy, I’m so sorry about all you and Bess and George have gone through. Let’s hope this ends soon.”

  Henry left, and Ann and Carrie came over from next door to help the girls move into the empty cottage.

  “This place is getting scary,” said Carrie after the last of the girls’ belongings were carried into the cottage.

  “Did either of you happen to see anyone around our cottage before the fire started?” Nancy asked them.

  “Well,” Ann said thoughtfully, “I was walking home from the stables with Rodney about a half hour before the fire—”

  “You were with Rodney?” Carrie interrupted. “You took a long walk with that dream-boat?”

  “Go on,” Nancy pressed.

  “And I saw that strange guest—that woman in cottage fourteen—standing near your bedroom window,” Ann said.

  “Did you speak to her?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes,” Ann said, “I said hi, but she just turned around quickly and walked away.”

  Bess’s eyes grew big. “Do you think she was responsible?”

  “I don’t know,” Nancy said. “I wonder why she was hanging around here.”

  “Well, I don’t know, either,” Carrie said, “but I’d watch that woman if I were you.”

  The girls thanked Ann and Carrie, said goodbye to them, and proceeded to arrange their belongings in the new cottage.

  “The island is the key,” Nancy said. “I’m sure of it.”

  “Why? How do you know that?” George said.

  “I think the fire was set to selectively destroy a piece of evidence,” Nancy s
aid.

  “What evidence?” asked Bess.

  “The film,” Nancy said. “I put my camera and film of the island in the picnic basket. They were the only things destroyed in the fire!”

  • • •

  “I love it!” Bess exclaimed. “A fish fry with all my favorite foods!” The aroma of steamed clams had her mouth watering.

  The girls stood in line with the other guests in the early evening, holding their plates. A long table had been set outside the lodge and was piled high with salads, fresh fruit, corn on the cob, and grilled vegetables. At the end of the table was an open grill where breaded fish was frying.

  Otis presided over the grill. He was busy with his work and didn’t look up. Occasionally he would give orders to a kitchen helper, who would scurry off to carry out his commands.

  “Otis’s assistants seem to respect him,” Nancy observed, “but he looks like someone who wouldn’t be easy to work for.”

  The girls picked up their food and seated themselves at one of the many picnic tables that had been set out for the guests. They sat across from Mr. and Mrs. Savage, the older couple they had met the first night at the lodge dining room.

  “Have you had any more prowlers?” Nancy asked them, biting into a piece of fried fish.

  “We certainly have, last night,” Mrs. Savage told Nancy. “This time, along with the tapping on the window in the middle of the night, the prowler played a tape of someone screaming.”

  Nancy frowned. “You’re sure it was a tape?”

  “Oh, yes,” Mrs. Savage said. “It was just outside the window. We called Henry Steadman, but by the time he arrived, the prowler was gone.”

  “Are you frightened?” Nancy asked.

  The Savages glanced at each other. “We weren’t until we heard about the fire in your cottage,” Mrs. Savage said. “When that happened we decided to leave several days early. We’re going tomorrow.”

  Mr. Savage nodded his head toward the far end of the table. “Look at how few people are left here,” he remarked.

  “I would have expected more,” Nancy said.

  “Three more families left this afternoon after hearing about your fire,” Mr. Savage said. “Several new guests who haven’t heard about the trouble here have arrived, but many of the others have left.”