Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key Part 23

"It seems that way to me too," Penny readily agreed. "But we've twisted and turned so many times I couldn't be sure of anything."

By this time the girls were convinced that they were underground for they had made a long, straight descent. The walls were moist and damp; the air chilly. Yet one thing puzzled them. If they actually were traveling toward the lake that meant that the tunnel had been bored into the side of the cliff. But such a feat obviously was nothing less than an engineering enterprise.

At length the girls reached the bottom of the second flight of stairs only to find themselves in another pa.s.sageway. It was much larger than the other and lighter.

"Do you think we could be in an abandoned ore mine?" Penny suddenly demanded, pausing to inspect the walls.

"It does look a little like it. Only I never heard of stone steps in a mine."

"No, they have shafts. But it strikes me that the steps may have been added later, if you noticed, the upper pa.s.sage was much smaller than this one."

"As if it had been dug out to join with this one," Rosanna added eagerly.

"Exactly. It's my theory that some person knew about this old mine and decided to connect it with a smaller tunnel which would lead up into the house."

"But who do you suppose conceived such a plan?"

"I can't answer that one," Penny laughed. "But come on, let's see if we aren't approaching the exit."

Eagerly they moved forward, guided by the streak of light. A minute later Penny who was in the lead, gave a joyous shout.

"We've come to the end of it! I can see trees!"

"Thank goodness," Rosanna sighed in relief. "I was afraid we'd never get out alive."

Penny parted the bushes which barred the exit and they peered out.

"You were right, Rosanna. We did travel toward the lake. We're almost in it for that matter!"

The water came within a few yards of the entrance and during a storm the girls imagined that it must flood the lower pa.s.sageway. Penny noticed a rowboat tied up in a clump of bushes.

"I suppose that's how our ghost makes his quick get-away," Penny remarked dryly.

"We might take a ride on the lake," Rosanna proposed.

"Don't you think it might advertise that we've discovered this tunnel?

Especially if the ghost should happen to see us using his boat."

"Of course, I didn't stop to think. Oh, Penny if only we knew the ident.i.ty of this person who annoys the household!"

"It shouldn't be so hard to learn it now," Penny declared in satisfaction. "At night we'll station ourselves here by the mouth of the tunnel and watch."

"It wouldn't surprise me if it should turn out to be Max Laponi," Rosanna remarked. "He never seems to be in his room at night."

Penny offered no response.

Fearing that their long absence from the house might have aroused suspicion, the girls hurriedly left the scene. They found a trail which wound along the base of the cliff and which presently took them toward the house on the hill.

As they pa.s.sed the Eckert cabin they saw the old man cleaning fish by the back door. They greeted him perfunctorily and would have walked on had he not seemed in a mood to talk.

"Out early this morning, aren't you?" he questioned.

"Yes, we were down by the lake," Penny answered.

"You must have crawled out of bed before the sun was up. I've been cleaning fish here all morning and I didn't see you go past."

"We went around a different way," Penny answered, and then before he could ask another question, interposed one of her own. "By the way, do you know where I could get a picture of Jacob Winters?"

Old Caleb dropped his fish knife. It took him a long time to recover it from the ground.

"What do you want of a picture?" he questioned gruffly.

"Oh, I just need it," Penny said evasively.

"I'd like to have one myself," Rosanna added sincerely. "I never had a photo of my uncle."

"If you find he's cut you out of all his property I guess you probably won't be so anxious to have a picture of the old cod," Caleb observed.

Rosanna drew herself up proudly.

"It wouldn't make the slightest difference, Mr. Eckert. After all, my uncle never saw me so why should he have left me any of his money? You say such disagreeable things!"

"I'm a disagreeable old man," Caleb admitted cheerfully, "but my bark is worse than my bite."

"Well, please don't call my uncle names," Rosanna went on with spirit.

"Names?"

"You spoke of Uncle Jacob as an old cod. I don't like it a bit."

Old Caleb was startled by the outburst. But his eyes twinkled as he replied soberly:

"Well, now, Miss Rosanna, I didn't mean to offend you or to speak disrespectfully of Jacob either. It was just my way of talking."

"Then I'll forgive you," Rosanna smiled.

The girls were on the verge of moving off when Caleb checked them with a question.

"You haven't heard Mrs. Leeds or that Laponi fellow say anything about leaving have you?"

"I don't believe they intend to go unless they're put out," Penny responded. "I heard Mrs. Leeds say the other day that she had sent for her lawyer."

"They stick tighter than c.o.c.kle burs," Caleb commented. "If only I had the right, I would send them both packing. Especially that Max Laponi. I don't trust him."

"Neither do I," Penny agreed promptly. "That's why I think you should try to help me clear up this dreadful muddle."

"What can I do? I have no authority."

"It will help if you can find me a photograph of Mr. Winters."