Chapter XIII: The Secret Stairs

Ten minutes of unrewarded search convinced Penny that they were only wasting their time in attempting to locate the hidden spring without a light.

"Let's follow the steps down and see where they lead," she suggested. "Surely there must be another exit."

Rosanna permitted Penny to lead her down the steep flight of stairs. They presently reached the bottom. It was too dark to see very much but by feeling along the damp stone wall they discovered that they were in a narrow passageway. As they moved cautiously forward a breath of cold air struck Penny's face.

"This must be the way to the exit," she declared cheerfully. "We'll soon be out of here now."

"It can't be too soon for me," Rosanna chattered.

Hand in hand they groped their way along the subterranean passage. Soon they came to the end of it but instead of an exit they found another flight of steps leading downward at a steep angle.

"Careful or you'll fall," Penny warned as they began the treacherous descent. "Some of the stones are loose."

"I wish we had a light," Rosanna complained. "Where do you suppose we're going anyway?"

"Maybe to the center of the earth," Penny chuckled. "It seems like it anyway."

"Unless I'm mixed up in my directions we're moving toward the lake."

"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 passageway. 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 passage 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 passageway. 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 identity 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 passed 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 cockle 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."

Caleb's face puckered into troubled wrinkles.

"It's too late," he muttered under his breath. "It wouldn't do any good."

"What was that you said?" Penny questioned sharply.

"Nothing. I was just talking to myself. About the picture. I'll see what I can do. Don't count much on getting it though because I doubt if I can locate one for you."

The girls chatted a few minutes longer but Caleb was not very good company. He responded briefly if at all to their conversational sallies and for the most part seemed lost in thought. They soon left him to his fish cleaning and went on toward the house.

"I wonder what got into him all at once?" Rosanna mused. "Perhaps he was offended at the way I spoke to him."

"I don't think he gave it a second thought," Penny responded. "I suspect Caleb rather likes to have folks talk up to him. No, I'm sure it wasn't anything you said that annoyed him. Likely enough it was my request for Mr. Winters' photograph."

"Why should that bother him?"

"That's what I'd like to know. Caleb is a queer one to say the least."

"Do you think he'll ever produce the photo?"

Penny laughed shortly.

"It would be a great surprise to me if he did. And yet from the way he acted, I'm convinced he could get me one if he chose. Like as not he has one in his cabin now."

Penny lapsed into a moody silence. From the day of her arrival at Raven Ridge she had sensed old Caleb's reluctance to help her. While she could not say that he was exactly unfriendly he had made no positive move of assistance. She had believed for a long time that he knew a great deal more than he would tell regarding Jacob Winters' absence.

The girls entered the house by a side door. They noticed that Mrs. Leeds' car no longer stood on the driveway and took it for granted that she and her daughter had driven to Andover as was their daily custom.

They glanced casually into the library and noticed that it was empty. However, Penny's keen eyes traveled to the desk. She observed that the ink bottle had been left uncorked and that a pen had been removed from its holder.

"I wonder what Mrs. Leeds and Laponi were up to?" she speculated. "Oh, well, I'll probably find out soon enough."

"I believe I'll go upstairs for a few minutes," Rosanna excused herself. "I haven't straightened my things yet this morning."

Left alone, Penny crossed over to the desk and examined the paper in the wastebasket. She looked closely at the blotter, even holding it to the mirror, but it had been used so many times that the words which appeared upon it could not be read. There was not a scrap of evidence to show what Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi had been writing.

In disappointment Penny picked up a book and sat down to read. Presently she heard soft steps in the hallway but paid slight attention thinking that it was Rosanna.

She was on the verge of calling her friend's name when she thought better of it. The sound of the footsteps told her that the person had gone into the living room. And by this time she was convinced that it was not Rosanna.

She waited, listening. She heard a faint metallic click which caused her to lay aside her book and quietly steal to the doorway of the living room.

Max Laponi stood with his back toward her, so absorbed in what he was about that he had not the slightest suspicion that he was being observed.

Penny saw him carefully remove the oil painting from the wall. He deftly opened the panel, exposing the safe. Then, with a sureness of touch which amazed Penny, he began to spin the dials.