Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key Part 21

"That's queer," Rosanna whispered.

"I think someone has to pump air," Penny said. "It's probably shut off."

She next turned her attention to the walls in the immediate vicinity of the organ. She could locate no hidden panel although in one place it seemed to her that when she rapped on a certain sector it emitted a hollow sound.

"It's too dark to see anything tonight," Rosanna protested nervously.

"I guess we may as well give it up until morning," Penny agreed.

The girls stole quietly down the stairs to the lower floor. However, an unpleasant surprise awaited them. As they opened the door into the main pa.s.sageway they found themselves face to face with Mrs. Leeds and Alicia.

"So I find you here again!" the woman exclaimed. "I suspected before that you girls were at the bottom of these nightly disturbances. Now I have the proof."

Penny was too annoyed to even try to explain why she had visited the third floor. She would have ignored the woman and pa.s.sed on to her own room had not Rosanna been so distressed by the ridiculous accusation.

"We've had absolutely nothing to do with the queer things which have been going on in this house," the orphan maintained indignantly.

"Then why were you upstairs at this time of night? Only a minute or two ago Alicia and I heard music."

"We were trying to learn what caused it, Mrs. Leeds."

"A likely story!" Alicia said with a toss of her head.

"You may believe it or not, just as you wish," Penny returned coldly.

"It seems to me, Miss Nichols, that you are taking it upon yourself to do entirely too much investigating," Mrs. Leeds said cuttingly. "This isn't your home and you're not a relative of Jacob Winters."

"And unless I'm sadly mistaken there are others here who are similarly situated!" Penny retorted.

"Do you mean to suggest that Alicia and I are not related to Jacob Winters?"

"I'm not suggesting anything," Penny replied evenly. "However, since you brought up the matter of an investigation, I might ask you about that paper which I saw you burn in the living room fireplace."

Mrs. Leeds' face changed color and she grew confused.

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know well enough, but we'll let it pa.s.s for the time being. Come on, Rosanna."

The two girls walked down the hall and entered their own room, closing the door firmly behind them.

"You held your own with her that time," Rosanna chuckled. "My, I wish I could talk up to people the way you can."

"I talk entirely too much. But she made me provoked when she accused us of causing all the disturbance in this house."

"What did you mean by asking about a paper she had burned?" Rosanna asked curiously.

"Oh, I just wanted to throw a scare into her," Penny responded evasively as she snapped out the light and crept into bed. "I really have no proof of anything."

Long after Rosanna had fallen asleep she lay awake thinking. Proof! The word seared itself into her brain. If only she could secure some evidence which would aid Rosanna!

"The entire affair seems unreal," she mused. "Almost like a movie. It's obvious that someone is playing at being a ghost, trying to frighten the occupants of this house. But what can be the purpose behind it all?"

Although Penny had been careful to make no such admission to Rosanna, she was becoming increasingly troubled. Nor were her worries confined solely to the hide-and-seek organist. She feared that the time was fast approaching when Mrs. Leeds or Max Laponi would make a legal claim to the Winters' property.

"The chances are that Mrs. Leeds destroyed the will," she reasoned. "In that event, Rosanna may lose everything."

Penny felt baffled, yet she was unwilling to admit defeat. Certainly not until Mrs. Leeds had thrown all her cards on the table. Events were fast approaching a crisis. Penny sensed that from the woman's att.i.tude of increasing hostility and a.s.surance.

"I'm not defeated yet," she thought grimly as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!"

When Rosanna and Penny descended the stairs the next morning they heard a murmur of voices in the library. The door was closed.

"I imagine Laponi and Mrs. Leeds are having another one of their secret conferences," Penny commented. "They're up to some mischief."

"Why not leave this place today?" Rosanna demanded, "I don't care about the fortune any more. I'm so tired of all this plotting and scheming. I'd rather just go away and let them have it."

"Now don't look so distressed," Penny smiled. "The battle of wits has only begun."

"But I don't like to battle. It isn't my nature."

"I'm your appointed gladiator, Rosanna. You have no idea how much pleasure it would give me to see these grasping imposters exposed."

"We haven't any proof they're imposters," Rosanna said soberly. "After all, they had letters and keys to the house. I haven't even that much."

"It's too bad they were lost, but you mustn't let it worry you," Penny chided. "Right now I'm more concerned over another matter."

"The mysterious ghost?"

"Yes, although I wasn't thinking of that at the moment. It's Mr. Winters'

photograph. Who tore it out of the alb.u.m?"

"For all we know it may have been removed years ago."

"Yes, that's so, but somehow I have a hunch it disappeared at a far more recent date. If I don't find a picture of Jacob Winters, I'm afraid my little plan will fall through."

"You haven't told me much about this secret plan of yours, Penny."

"That's because I haven't worked it out clearly in my own mind yet. But unless I find the photograph there simply won't be any."

"We might search the house again."

"I intend to do that if we can ever find a time when Mrs. Leeds and Max Laponi are both gone. Just now I'm eager to make another inspection of the organ room upstairs. This is our chance while those two are closeted in the library."

Rosanna was not especially anxious to visit the third floor again, but she offered no objection to the suggestion. Penny led the way up the creaking stairs.

The door of the music room was unlocked as they had left it the previous evening. However, the window shades were all drawn and the room was dark.

Penny raised the blinds to admit light.