Part 24 (1/2)
”Tell me,” he begged.
They did.
Harry laughed. He absent-mindedly took out his cigarette case and then quickly put it back in his pocket, and almost as quickly took it out when Sim said: ”You may.”
”Well, I'm one up on you,” he said to Terry and Arden.
”What do you mean?” Arden asked as he blew out a cloud of smoke.
”My ghost got away from me.”
”No!”
”Really?”
”Did you see anything?”
This in turn from Arden, Sim, and Terry. Dorothy was getting him an ash tray.
”Oh, tell us!”
This came in a most proper Greek chorus.
”Well,” he began, adjusting himself comfortably in the chair that gave him a view of all the girls, ”I began my investigation at the ghost house this morning. Two of you were witnesses to that.” He indicated Terry and Arden. They bowed in answer.
”I went all over the old place,” the young millionaire resumed, ”from cellar to what was left of the fourth floor. And I found nothing except the old furniture, the beds, a picture of a pretty girl in a green riding habit, and some old chests that were locked so I didn't open them. I understand they belong to Mrs. Howe.”
”Yes,” Arden said. ”But didn't you find any secret pa.s.sage, anything to explain how Jim Danton disappeared out of that closet and was found in the cellar? Didn't you discover the remains of the ghost of the old soldier, Nathaniel Greene-didn't you find any traces of Patience Howe?”
breathlessly Arden demanded to know.
”Not a trace,” and Harry shook his head. ”I tried to find some secret pa.s.sage out of that closet, but I couldn't. My only explanation is that Jim got mixed up and really fell down the big ash-chute. No, I really didn't find a thing.”
”But you said,” interposed Terry, ”that you heard--”
”Yes. That's inexplainable. As I was tramping around the old place, pulling at loose boards here and there, suddenly, when I was in the room where, you say, a dead woman was seen on the bed, I heard the most unearthly groan, screech, yell, or scream. It was a combination of all four. It gave even me a start, I a.s.sure you,” he admitted.
”What happened then?”
”What did you do?”
”Who screamed?”
”Didn't you discover anything?”
Dot joined in the questioning this time.
It was a big moment, and Harry was making the most of it.