Lindsay nodded.
"But who could it be?"
"I can"t imagine, unless--could it possibly be old Sir Giles Courtenay?
Perhaps he didn"t really die, after all. Don"t you remember, in _Ivanhoe_, how Athelstane of Coningsburgh was supposed to be killed, and he was really only stunned; and the monks of St. Edmunds put an empty coffin in the chapel, and kept him in a dungeon and pretended he was dead, because they wanted his property? Mrs. Wilson may be doing the same."
"How dreadful!" Cicely looked quite appalled at the idea. "I suppose she goes up, then, to feed him. Scott must know too. I shouldn"t have thought it of Scott. I rather liked him. I expect they"ll share the money between them. I wonder what "The Griffin" was warning him about. I hope they"re not hatching a plot against Monica!"
"It looks bad," said Lindsay, "decidedly bad. It"s evidently something shady, or they wouldn"t want to keep it so quiet. It may be a very good thing for Monica that we"ve taken the matter up."
"What shall we do?"
"We must stalk "The Griffin" again, and try to follow her to that room, and see what she does there."
"She"s as wary as a weasel."
"Then we must be clever and outwit her. I"m positive she has some scheme on hand that ought to be watched. One doesn"t know how much may depend upon it."
It was certainly very exciting to feel that dark deeds might be taking place in the attic, and that they were the fortunate instruments selected by fate for the purpose of bringing the wrongdoers to justice.
It gave them a delightful sense of superiority over the other girls, whose heads were full of nothing but tennis and croquet, and who never troubled themselves with a thought about the missing treasure.
"Merle is the only one who knows anything," said Lindsay, "and I verily believe "The Griffin" must have bribed her."
Mrs. Wilson evidently used the utmost precaution in her visits to the top landing. In spite of the pains they took to watch her movements, it was some days before they found the propitious moment. "All things come to those who wait," says the old proverb, however, and it proved true in this case.
One afternoon, through the c.h.i.n.k of the bathroom door, they saw her walk into the gallery as if she were going to the upper story. As stealthily as Indians they crept after her. They tiptoed along the pa.s.sages, and just caught a glimpse of the tail of her skirts as she pa.s.sed up the winding staircase and entered the lantern room. Very quietly they followed on to the little landing, and listened for a moment outside the closed door.
"What is she doing?" whispered Cicely.
"That"s what I want to find out."
They both tried to peep through the keyhole, and b.u.mped their heads together in the attempt.
"I can hear her moving!"
There was a slight noise inside, almost like the clicking of a latch, then all was perfectly silent.
Lindsay could bear it no longer.
"Here goes!" she cried boldly, and flung open the door. To her utter amazement, the room was absolutely empty. Mrs. Wilson had vanished as completely as if she had been a ghost.
CHAPTER VI
Monica
The two girls rushed into the empty room and examined every corner minutely. There was not a trace of any secret exit to be found. The opening through which Mrs. Wilson must have disappeared was evidently marvellously well concealed.
"Where can she be? It"s like magic!" whispered Cicely.
"Wherever she"s gone, I suppose she"ll have to come back," replied Lindsay.
"Listen!" said Cicely, with a start.
It was the same strange sound again which they had heard on their former expedition--a low, long-drawn-out moaning, as of someone in pain, feeble at first, then growing louder, and suddenly ceasing.
"Oh! I wonder if she"s hurting anybody?" cried Cicely, shuddering with horror.
"I"d give a great deal to find out what"s going on. I"m afraid it"s something that won"t bear the light of day," said Lindsay uneasily.
"Dare we wait till she comes out of her hiding-place?"
"Yes, but we mustn"t stay here. It would spoil everything if she caught us. Let us go outside and close the door again, and watch through the keyhole; then, if we see her coming, we can rush."
Mrs. Wilson"s errand was evidently a long one. Though they relieved each other more than once in mounting guard over the keyhole, she did not return.
"Perhaps she knows we"re here, and won"t come out till we"ve gone,"
suggested Lindsay at last.
"How could she know?"
"She may have been looking at us all the time through some little spy place."
"Oh, how horrid! It makes me feel quite creepy to think of it."
The fact that they were doing exactly the same did not strike either of the girls. Circ.u.mstances alter cases, and they considered they were justified in their plan of action. They grew extremely tired of waiting, but they were determined not to give in.
"There"s that noise again!" said Cicely. "She must have a prisoner shut up there; I"m perfectly certain about it."
Both put their ears to the door, and were so absorbed in listening to the queer sounds inside the room that they did not hear footsteps sounding up the winding staircase. An exclamation behind them caused them to turn hastily round.
There was Monica!--the last person in the world whom they had expected to see, and who was looking as astonished as themselves at the meeting.
Lindsay and Cicely felt decidedly embarra.s.sed. Monica must have seen them peeping through the keyhole, and they knew they had been discovered in a somewhat doubtful and discreditable occupation. They could not possibly begin to explain that it was entirely on her account and for her benefit, so they simply turned very red and said nothing. It was a most uncomfortable situation.
There was a painful pause, and then Monica recovered her presence of mind.
"Why, Lindsay and Cicely, I thought you were with the others in the garden!" she said.
"We were only exploring the house a little," replied Lindsay, trying to pa.s.s the matter off carelessly. "Miss Russell said there were interesting things all over it."
"I"m afraid you won"t find much to interest you among empty bedrooms,"
said Monica, in her calm, quiet voice. "If you like to come downstairs with me I"ll show you some of the curiosities in my cabinet. I"ve a great many old coins and a few daggers that were dug up when the moat was drained."
Looking rather shamefaced, the pair went with Monica to the library, where she unlocked an oak cupboard, and spent quite twenty minutes in explaining her various treasures. She was most kind, and spared no trouble, but the others could not get over their confusion. They had the guilty sensation that they had been caught like naughty children, and were being amused to keep them out of the way.
"Why was Monica going into the lantern room?" demanded Lindsay, the moment they were alone.