"The Griffin"s" surprise at seeing them seemed as great as their own.
She gave a gasp of consternation, peeped hastily inside the empty room, then turned to Lindsay and Cicely with a look of mingled relief and wrath.
"What were you doing in the lantern room?" she asked sharply. "You know perfectly well you"ve no right to be up here. You must mind your own business, and keep to your own places, instead of poking and ferreting about into matters that don"t concern you. I can"t have you rambling about wherever you please, and the sooner you understand that the better. It was sorely against my advice that the Manor was let for a school!"
She spoke rudely, and seemed more upset and annoyed than the occasion warranted. She swept the two girls downstairs before her, muttering angrily as she went, and did not let them out of her sight until she had watched them safely into the garden.
"How horrid she was!" exclaimed Cicely, when they were alone, and able to talk things over. "Miss Russell never said we weren"t to go on to that top landing."
"What was Mrs. Wilson doing there herself--in an empty room, in such a deserted part of the house?" asked Lindsay meditatively.
"I don"t know. She looked quite aghast at seeing us."
"I believe there"s something about it we don"t understand. Perhaps she has some reason beyond mere fussiness and nastiness for wanting to keep us away from that particular room."
"What kind of a reason?"
"Well, suppose she had discovered the hiding-place?"
"Wouldn"t she tell Monica?"
"She might intend to take some of the money."
"Oh, how dreadful! It"s quite possible, though, that she knows where it is. She was housekeeper to old Sir Giles for ever so many years."
"It seems to me most suspicious," said Lindsay. "We must watch her, and find out everything we can, for Monica"s sake."
The idea that Mrs. Wilson was concealing the treasure for her own ends was a thrilling one. The more they thought about it, the more probable it appeared. Who had a better opportunity than she of searching the old house? She might even have been present when her eccentric master stowed his fortune so carefully away. If this were really the case, the greatest caution was necessary, for to allow "The Griffin" to see that they had noticed anything might entirely spoil their plans.
"We must treat her just as usual," said Lindsay, "only we must keep our eyes and ears open, in case something should turn up to give us a hint."
For the next few days they behaved with what they considered the greatest diplomacy. They took care not to aggravate Mrs. Wilson, nor in any way to attract her special attention; but they looked out for the slightest chance of following her movements, dodging round corners, and stalking her along pa.s.sages with the zeal of detectives. Unfortunately their efforts were not so un.o.bserved as they supposed, and drew down a reproof from headquarters.
"Lindsay and Cicely! how is it that you are continually loitering about the landing when you ought to be in the garden?" said Miss Russell. "I shall have to make a new rule, that n.o.body is to come upstairs until ten minutes before meals. In this lovely weather I expect you to be out-of-doors. It is a shame to waste a minute in the house. Don"t let me find you here again during recreation time."
This was a blow, as it brought the great scheme temporarily to a standstill. The girls could not venture to disobey openly, and judged it wiser to let things rest for the present, until the mistress should have forgotten the matter, and they might once more quietly begin to renew their investigations.
"We"ll play cricket hard, and put our names down for the tennis handicap," said Lindsay. "We mustn"t on any account let Miss Russell think we"d a special motive in what we were doing."
"Rather not! We"ll "lie low and say nuffin"", like Brer Rabbit," agreed Cicely.
There was no lack of liveliness or occupation at the Manor to justify anybody in idling about the pa.s.sages, and there were certainly many small excitements, apart from mysterious chambers or hidden treasures.
All kinds of funny events kept occurring which had never disturbed the prim atmosphere of Winterburn Lodge.
Nora Proctor and Marjorie Butler awoke half the school one night by loud and repeated screams, and when Miss Frazer rushed into their room, imagining fire or burglars, she found them cowering behind the bed curtains, in mortal terror of a large bat that had made its way through the open cas.e.m.e.nt. Earwigs were a constant nuisance, and everyone grew almost accustomed to catching green caterpillars, which crept in from the roses that surrounded the windows, and would turn up in the most undesirable spots.
Naturally so old a house was infested with rats and mice. They scuttled inside the walls, and squeaked behind the wainscots, and seemed to hold carnival at the back of the oak panelling, often disturbing the girls at night with the noise. This was particularly noticeable in the room where Lindsay and Cicely slept. They were sometimes awakened by sounds like the rolling of barrels overhead, as if heavy objects were being clanked about up in the ceiling.
"You"ve no need to be afraid of them," said Mrs. Wilson, who made light of all complaints, "they never venture out of the walls, to my knowledge."
The fear, however, that a rat might possibly gnaw its way into her bedroom afflicted Cicely continually.
"If it ran across my pillow I should die of fright, I know I should!"
she wailed. "I wish Mrs. Wilson would let us have the cat to sleep with us. I should feel far safer."
"I wish we could send for the Pied Piper, and get rid of them all. They woke me twice last night," said Lindsay.
Poor Cicely never dared to retire without first having a thorough examination to a.s.sure herself that no lurking rodent was lying hidden behind the wardrobe, or in any other obscure corner. One evening she was making her usual round, armed with a tennis racket for protection, and was peeping under the bed, when she suddenly let the valance fall hurriedly, and drew back with a shriek.
"There"s a rat there! I saw it quite plainly; its great big eyes were glaring at me!" she announced in a trembling voice.
"What are we to do?" exclaimed Lindsay, in equal consternation.
"Call for Miss Frazer this instant. She hasn"t gone downstairs yet."
"Don"t disturb it on any account!" decreed Miss Russell, who was fetched from the drawing-room to cope with the emergency. "I shall send at once for Scott, the gardener, and ask him to bring his terrier dog. We must really take some measures to destroy these pests."
It was not very long before Scott arrived. He clumped solemnly up the stairs with a thick stick in his hand, and Bill, his sharp little fox terrier, at his heels. Mrs. Wilson accompanied him, bearing the kitchen poker; and the parlour-maid followed, holding the yard dog by the collar, in case Bill should miss his prey. Miss Frazer and Miss Humphreys were there to support Miss Russell; while Mademoiselle and a great many of the girls hovered outside in the pa.s.sage, half-frightened and half-excited over the coming fray.
"If you"ll please to tell me where the young lady saw it, mum," said Scott, "I"ll let Bill on it sudden. He"s death on rats."
"It was just at the foot of the bed," quavered Cicely. Scott stooped, and raised the valance with the greatest precaution. Bill sniffed eagerly, but he did not pounce upon any concealed victim.
"There"s nothing there, mum--leastways no rat," said Scott, straightening his back.
"Are you sure?" gasped Miss Russell. "It couldn"t possibly have escaped."
"I think it"s been a little mistake of the young lady"s, mum," said Scott, suppressing a grin. "If you"ll kindly take a look under the bed, you"ll see for yourself."
Miss Russell hastened to comply, and, bending down, gave an exclamation as she drew out one of Lindsay"s best Sunday gloves.
"What an extraordinary illusion!" she cried. "I don"t wonder Cicely took it for a rat. The soft doeskin is exactly the same colour, and the b.u.t.tons were gleaming just like two bright eyes. I never saw a more perfect resemblance. I should certainly have been deceived. Well, I"m glad our chase has been a case of much ado about nothing. I think you may go to bed with easy minds to-night, girls. If we have any more alarms, we must send for Bill to protect us. Good dog! Can you find some sc.r.a.ps for him in the kitchen, Mrs. Wilson?"
Cicely"s rat was of course a great joke in the school, and a subject of teasing for several days afterwards.
"You"ll imagine your dressing-gown is a tiger next," said Effie Hargreaves.
"Some people scream at nothing. I"d have been sure about it first, before making such a fuss," said Beryl Austen.
"She thought it was a wily rat, and watched to see it move, She looked again, and saw that it was nothing but a glove!"
improvised Nora Proctor, who was fond of _Alice_, and had rather a taste for parody.
"It was such a disappointment to us, when we were waiting to hear the scuffle," said Marjorie Butler.
"We shan"t believe in your scares next time," said Effie.
"It"s all very well, but I"m sure you"d have been just as frightened yourselves," retorted Cicely. "You"ve no need to make so much fun of me."