The Merriweather Girls and the Mystery of the Queen's Fan Part 35

"Put them over the coals but be careful not to burn them," she cautioned.

The girls kept the sticks turning so that the dough would cook evenly.

Suddenly Bet held hers up; "I do believe mine is done, and this is the way you find out. If it slips off without sticking then it is done."

Bet gave the twist a little turn and it came off.

"Now that's a bread twist!" she smiled with satisfaction, as the girls all took theirs off successfully. "Here, fill them up with jelly, and then tell me what you think of them."

"No words can describe this!" replied Joy. "I could just live on bread twists."

"And now let's be on our way!" Bet shouldered her pack. "It can't be far to the lake now."

After an hour's walk they realized that something was wrong, they should have been at the lake long ago.

"I know what we must have done," exclaimed Bet impatiently. "We took the wrong trail away back by the road. Here's Hermit's Hut in front of us."

"Aw, what a nuisance. I did want to go to the lake!" Joy stopped short. "Can't we turn back and go yet?"

"No, it's too late today. It would be dark before we'd get there,"

said Shirley.

"What's Hermit's Hut? That sounds interesting. Makes me think of the hermit's caves in Arizona," cried Kit, a joyous note in her voice.

"It's just an old hut, that's all. They say a queer old man stayed there at one time and lived on just what he could shoot or trap in the woods, and when he died and his body was found, there was a bag of gold coins hidden in the wall of the hut. I don't know whether the story is true or not, but the closet in the wall is there and might have held treasure," explained Bet.

"Some say he starved to death with all that money right there!" said Joy contemptuously. "Wasn't he crazy?"

"There's no sign of treasure there now," declared Bet. "They have ripped up the floors and the walls and dug all around the hut to see if he didn't _bury_ some money as well."

"That's not likely!" Kit took Bet's arm. "Come on up there, I want to see the hut."

"There isn't much to see," returned her chum, as they climbed the small hill to the old cabin.

The wind was getting stronger and when the girls reached the Hermit's Hut, a tumble-down shack half hidden in the brush, they gladly took shelter there from the wind.

"Now bring on your treasure closet," exclaimed Kit. "Where's your show?"

Bet pointed to the wall. "That's funny," she exclaimed, "that closet used to be right there. Someone has nailed it up." And Bet tapped the wall with her hard little knuckles.

"It sounds hollow! Maybe some other hermit has fastened it up again,"

suggested the quiet Shirley.

"Hidden treasure!" exclaimed Joy.

"You can have all the treasure you find," laughed Shirley. "I'm off to find deer tracks."

"Usually I'm not a curious person," began Kit.

"You don't say so! Do tell us more about yourself!" Joy was always teasing and the girls were used to her ways. Kit leaned over the door sill, grabbed a handful of snow, aimed it at Joy, then continued her sentence:

"This interests me, and I'm going to investigate. Perhaps some one has hidden away another fortune in the wall."

"I think this hermit must have had a repair-man's mania, the way this board is nailed on! Get your hatchet Kit, and we'll investigate." Bet held out her hand toward the pack.

No one paid any attention to Shirley, who had found a treasure of her own, some deer tracks in the snow outside the hut. "Here's where I'll put my camera," she said to herself. "Oh I do hope I get a good picture!"

"She's raving again, girls, don't cross her!" called Joy from the doorway.

"I'm not listening!" said Shirley, with a toss of her head. She placed the camera, cleverly concealed it with evergreen boughs, and put into position the device that set off the flash powder and released the shutter. A wire extended out into the snow at some distance so that the animal would be almost sure to come in contact with it.

"There! That's done!" announced Shirley. "Now, Mr. Deer, you can come just as soon as you want to. I'm ready!"

Bet was using all her strength to pry off the board from the wall.

"Here, give it to me, Bet! I'm a wild and woolly westerner and big nails are nothing in my life."

With a screeching, protesting sound the huge nails were pulled out and the board came loose. The girls peered into the opening but did not see anything at first.

"Nothing there!" said Kit with disgust, as she turned away.

"There's something white in here!" exclaimed Bet as she slipped her hand into the closet. She grasped the object in a tight grip and brought it forth.

"Oh look! We've found hidden treasure!" shouted Joy, laughing.

"Let's see it.--No, it's just a dusty cloth tied around a stick."

But Bet was trembling with excitement. She exclaimed: "Girls, it's the fan! The queen's fan!" She unwrapped the cloth and showed the precious object, then burst into tears.

But the girls cried out excitedly: "Found! What wonderful luck!"

"How did it get here?"

"This must be a thieve's [Transcriber's note: thief's?] hiding place!

Oh, maybe the thief is around here!"

"What shall we do!"

"Do? I'll say grab it and get out of this place as soon as we can.--And keep running until we reach the bus line. Don't wait a minute, girls! I'll just lay suspicion by nailing this board back again!" And Kit gave some good swinging strokes with the hatchet.

The girls ran in terror, for they expected the thief to be in pursuit.

They glanced back anxiously with little squeals. But Bet hugged the fan to her breast and did not speak.

The four girls waited for the bus at the deserted corner of the woods.

It was already dusk. Bet looked anxiously about, fearing to hear a long whistle, a signal of the thieves. So many things had happened recently the girls did not feel safe. They might be held up, even yet.

It seemed hours before they saw the bus.

Shirley hailed it and the girls climbed on trying compose themselves and not look self-conscious.

Suddenly Shirley jumped to her feet. "My camera! I shouldn't have left it there! I never want to see that place again!"