User blog:Fishbird/The Dana Girls' Mountain Peak Mystery

Episode 1: The Roadblock
The big brass knocker on the Danas' front door banged loudly. Louise and Jean, who were reading in the living room, looked up, startled.

"I wonder who it is?" Louise asked.

She rose from an overstuffed chair and went to admit the caller. A girl about 14 years old stood outside. She was a pretty brunette, dressed in a light-blue tanktop and a pair of light-lavender dress pants.

"Are you one of the Dana girls?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm Louise."

"My name is Tammi Hodge." the visitor replied. "My grandfather asked me to see you two about solving a mystery."

"Please come in," Louise said, smiling.

Jean had followed her sister to the door and now introduced herself. Intrigued by the thought of a mystery, the girls walked into the living room. Louise, a pretty, dark-haired sixteen-year-old, sat next to Tammi on the couch, while blond Jean, who was a year younger, pulled up a chair.

"Now, tell us why your grandfather wanted you to see us," Louise began.

"I have a strange mystery to solve," Tammi replied. "Grandpa passed away a short time ago. My parents have been dead for many years, and I lived with Grandpa Hodge in his house on the mountain. I had been away at school, but I was called home because Grandpa was ill."

Tammi choked up at this point, and it took several seconds before she could go on. "One day, when I was alone with him, he began to gasp, and I knew he was going to die. I wanted to call the doctor, but he said no. He had something to tell me."

Again Tammi stopped speaking. The girl was so upset that she kept crossing and uncrossing her ankles and tapping on the arms of her chair.

Louise and Jean felt sorry for her and asked if she would like a cold drink.

"No, thank you," Tammi replied. "I want to finish my story. Grandpa grabbed my hand and said, "I'm going to die. Listen carefully. I wrote a manuscript telling of a great discovery I made. It was stolen. Get the Dana girls to help you find---duplicate---mountain peak-' I begged him to let me go for help, but he wouldn't. Then he died."

Both Louise and Jean felt their eyes becoming moist, and Louise put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Would you like to wait a while before telling us the rest?" she asked.

Tammi shook her head. "No, I want to talk everything over with you now. I have no relatives. There were just Grandpa and me. In his will he left a request that the executor appoint a guardian for me."

"Who is the executor?" Jean asked.

"The Oak Falls Bank," Tammi replied. "They received a letter from a Miss Mathilde Price, written to her by Grandpa Hodge. In it he requested that she live with me until I come of age."

"Who's Miss Mathilde Price?" Jean asked.

"Oh, she's an old friend of Grandpa's. But she's a terrible person. I can't stand her!"

"Why?"

"Just imagine, the first thing she did when she arrived was to change everything around in the house. She went through each room and took it apart. We had a real battle when she started on my bedroom. I wouldn't let her touch anything."

"I can't blame you," Louise said sympathetically.

Tammi smiled. "Miss Mathilde became very angry. She told me she was in charge now and would arrange things the way she wanted to."

"Did she?"

"Well, she left my room alone for a while and went to the next one. I can't explain how strange it is---almost as if she were looking for something!"

Jean knitted her brows thoughtfully. "It seems odd, especially so soon after your grandfather's death."

Louise changed the subject. "Does Miss Mathilde know you came to see us?"

"Oh, no. I just ran out and took the bus." Tammi's eyes clouded up again. "I don't trust Miss Mathilde," she said, "and I know she doesn't care for me!"

"Why do you say that?" Jean asked. "Besides ripping the house apart, doesn't she treat you well?"

"She tries to be friendly sometimes," Tammi replied, "but I can tell it's false. She's very stern, and frankly I think she hates me!"

"I wonder why your grandfather asked her to be your guardian," Louise said.

"She was madly in love with him when they were both young," Tammi said. "He never mentioned it to me, but I heard about it from other people. I guess he wasn't interested, but they remained friends all their lives. He probably felt she would be glad to take care of me, but I think she's still mad because he didn't marry her and is now taking out her spite on me."

Louise nodded, then said, "Tammi, have you any idea what your grandfather's last words meant?"

"None. But evidently he felt you could unlock his secret. Oh, please help me!"

The Danas were eager to take the case, but wondered if Miss Mathilde would permit them to visit the mountain-peak house.

"I won't let her keep you away!" Tammi said firmly.

At this moment Aunt Harriet walked into the room, and the girls introduced her to Tammi. Louise and Jean lived with their aunt and her brother Ned. He was captain of an ocean-going ship named the Balaska, and was now away on a trip.

"Tammi Hodge has a very interesting story," Louise told Miss Dana. "She lives up on the mountain peak. A Miss Mathilde Price is taking care of her, but Tammi doesn't care for the woman."

Aunt Harriet said sympathetically, "Oftentimes we don't like people at first, but later we get to love them."

Tammi's eyes flashed. "I'll never get to like that prim, scolding ex-schoolteacher. I felt sorry for the people who were her pupils. She's just awful, Miss Dana."

Tammi's story was related to Aunt Harriet, and she expressed her condolences to Tammi on the loss of her grandfather.

"Thank you," Tammi said. Then she turned to the girls. "How soon can you work on the mystery?"

Louise and Jean looked at their aunt. "Would you like to ride out to the Hodge home with us this afternoon?" Jean asked.

Miss Dana said she would be delighted to go. "As a matter of fact, I'd like to meet this Miss Mathilde Price," she added.

"That would be wonderful," said Tammi. "Maybe you could tell her to be nice to me."

Tammi was happy they could start right away. Since Louise and Jean were on vacation and had no plans for the afternoon, they were eager to begin their investigation.

"Tammi, you can show us the way," Jean said.

Aunt Harriet and the three girls set off, with Louise behind the wheel. The mountain on which Tammi lived was about three miles out of town.

"Grandpa owned the whole area," Tammi explained as they approached it. "See that house way up near the top? That's our place."

Part of the mountain was wooded. In other sections there were overgrown fields. Tammi said that Grandpa Hodge had spent a great deal of time with experiments in the cellar and did not take care of the land.

"What kind of experiments?" Jean asked.

Tammy said she did not know. Her grandfather had never invited her to enter his workroom, and she had never bothered to go there herself.

"Maybe," Aunt Harriet spoke up, "your grandfather made a great discovery and wrote about it."

Tammi did not answer. She was looking ahead and finally said to the others, "That's funny. There's the lane leading up the mountain to our house. Somebody has put a barrier across the entrance."

As Louise reached the spot, she stopped the car. Everyone stared at the barrier. Painted across the top of the wooden gate were the words Positively No Admittance.

"I wonder if Miss Mathilde had that sigh set there," Tammi said, her eyes flashing. "Well, anybody is welcome to my house. I'm going to move the barrier!"

She jumped out and went to turn the gate sideways. At this moment a man drove up in a truck and called out, "Leave that alone!"

"I live there," Tammi told him defiantly. "Did you put that barrier up?"

The man was large and muscular with dark, bristly hair. He scowled. "Never mind who put it up. It's going to stay. So all of you just turn around and leave!"

By this time Louise had stepped out of the car. She asked the man who he was, and what authority he had regarding the Hodge property.

"My name is Xavier Rountree," the tall man replied, "and my authority is that I'm a surveyor for the county. We're doing some measuring up here at the mountain, and don't want anybody interfering with our job. Matter of fact, the police authorized us to block off this road."

"Well, I have the right to go to my own house!" Tammi declared. "You can't prevent me from that!"

"You can go," the man said. "Suppose you get into my truck and I'll take you up to the house. The rest of you will have to leave."

Tammi whispered into Louise's ear that she was afraid to go with him. Louise asked her if there was another road to the Hodge home.

"Yes, there's a secret trail," Tammi answered. "We can drive to it." She turned to Mr. Roundtree. "We'll all leave," she told him, and climbed back into the Danas' car with Louise. As they turned around, the girls noticed that the man stood still as if guarding the lane.

"I don't understand this," Jean commented. "Since when can a county surveyor chase people away? This is utterly ridiculous."

"I wonder if Mr. Roundtree was on the level," Louise added. "Maybe he's up to something he doesn't want to know about."

"Then," Aunt Harriet spoke up, "he'll bear watching."

"After driving a few minutes Tammi pointed out the secret trail, which led through overgrown woods. They entered it, but soon Jean suggested that they stop and hide the car. "We can walk the rest of the way."

Tammi agreed this was a good idea. "It's pretty rough going."

Aunt Harriet said, "Suppose I stay here and guard the car. You girls go ahead."

Tammi led the way up the hill. The climb was steep but finally they came within sight of the house. It stood just below the peak of the mountain.

As the girls walked toward it, they heard a piercing scream from inside!

Episode 2: The Tree Symbols
Louise, Jean, and Tammi raced toward the Hodge house. They burst into the living room through the open front door.

A rough-looking man held a tall, slender woman with gray hair and small brown eyes by her right arm. They were shouting loudly at each other, but the girls could not make out the reason for the argument. When they walked in, the couple stopped and stared at them in surprise.

"Miss Mathilde!" Tammi cried out. "Are you all right? Who is this man?"

"Oh, he---he---he just came in here and asked me for money. Who are these girls with you?"

"My friends, the Danas. They're detectives," Tammi said.

Louise and Jean wished Tammi had not mentioned their sleuthing. The man stared at them, then suddenly turned and raced out the door.

Miss Mathilde scowled. She did not acknowledge Tammi's introduction or thank the girls for rescuing her from further argument.

Louise spoke. "Tammi, you'd better call the police."

Before Tammi had a chance to comply, Miss Mathilde stepped forward. Her face reddened with anger, and she said icily, "Don't you do anything of the sort, Tammi!"

The girl hesitated, then turned as if to go to the phone. The woman grabbed her and said, "Do as I say!"

Louise and Jean understood why Tammi could not stand her. She was dictatorial, and to the Danas' great surprise, she did not seem to be frightened by her recent experience.

Jean asked, "Why don't you want to report this to the authorities? That man should be arrested for trying to hold you up!"

"I think it is none of your business why I don't want the police," Miss Mathilde snapped. "Who are you, anyway?"

Again Tammi explained that they were sisters who lived in Oak Falls and had solved many mysteries.

"Why do we need them here?" Miss Mathilde asked.

Tammi realized that in her effort to carry out her grandfather's wishes, she had aroused her guardian's suspicions. But she would not admit anything.

"Oh, they're friends of mine," she answered.

The woman looked at the Danas long and hard, then said, "Now if you'll excuse us, Tammi and I have something to talk over."

Tammi burst out, "Oh, I know what it is. You're going to ask me why I went away this afternoon."

Miss Mathilde stood very straight. "You went away? You ran away! And you probably didn't intend to come back, but better thought of it."

Louise and Jean decided to leave. They were sure Tammi could handle her own problem for the time being.

The two girls said good-by to Miss Mathilde, then turned to Tammi and winked, as if to say, "We'll be back to help you."

This was natural for the Dana girls. Once they took an assignment, they saw it through, even if it meant danger to themselves at times. Not long ago they had been in many tight situations in a case called The 100-Year Mystery.

The Danas walked outside and Jean said, "I feel sorry for Tammi. Miss Mathilde is a proverbial dragon lady. She could scare the wits out of anybody."

Louise nodded. "She wasn't very friendly. And she didn't like the idea of our visiting Tammi, that's for sure.

"Why didn't she want the police notified? Just because she has to prove to the world that she's not afraid of anything?"

Louise shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe the fellow was her boyfriend and not an intruder at all."

Jean laughed. "I can't imagine that even Dracula would want to date Miss Mathilde." She changed the subject. "I hope we don't run into Mr. Roundtree again. He's not one of my favorite characters either."

"He seemed to be working at the bottom of the mountain," Louise said. "Why don't we walk up to the top and see if we can pick up any clues?"

"Good idea," Jean replied.

The girls climbed to the peak and looked around in wonder.

"What a marvelous view!" Jean remarked, gazing toward distant hills.

"That's about all there is here." Louise laughed. "No buildings, no trees, no bushes. Not even a wild flower."

The two sisters examined the smooth, even ground. They looked around to see if something had been buried, but there was no mound anywhere. They turned stones and dug here and there with their heels, but discovered nothing suspicious.

Finally Louise sighed. "If Grandpa Hodge hid his duplicate manuscript here, he concealed the spot well."

"I just thought of something," Jean said. "If he buried the copy, why didn't he dig it up after the original was stolen?"

"Maybe he forgot where he put it," Louise said with a chuckle.

Jean shook her head. "The whole thing doesn't make much sense, does it?"

The girls searched for another ten minutes for a possible hiding spot, but to no avail. Finally, Louise said, "We'd better go. Aunt Harriet will wonder what happened to us."

"You're right," her sister agreed. "Let's hurry."

The two found a secret trail and went down as fast as they could, avoiding brambles and tree branches that hung low over the path. At last they saw the car.

They stopped short. Aunt Harriet was not in the car, and she was nowhere in sight!

"Something must have happened to her," Louise said, worried.

"We'll have to find her," Jean added, then called, "Aunt Harriet! Where are you?"

"Over here," Miss Dana replied. "I discovered something interesting. Come and see it!"

Louise and Jean hurried toward the sound of her voice. They saw their aunt standing near a large tree.

"Look at these," Miss Dana said, pointing to three marks that had been cut into the bark.

The girls came closer and stared at the trunk. About five feet from the ground were the initials J.H. Under them was an equilateral triangle. At the bottom was what appeared to be a drawing of a torn sheet from a book or manuscript. Whatever had been written on it had been obliterated by weather and was not legible.

"What do you think these symbols mean?" Aunt Harriet asked.

Her nieces guessed that the initial H could stand for Hodge. But what was Grandpa Hodge's first name? And had he cut the symbols into the bark?

Louise suggested that the triangle might stand for three equidistant trees. "Let's see if we can find the two trees that would complete the triangle," she suggested.

"You mean this tree is part of it?" Jean asked.

"I would think so," Louise replied. "You see those two maples over there? Let's pace the distance between them and this tree. It looks as if it could be the same.

"It'll be difficult because of all the little shrubs and bushes in between," Aunt Harriet said.

"I know. We'll have to do the best we can."

There was silence while Aunt Harriet and the girls measured the number of feet between the two maples and the marked tree.

Jean finished first. "I got about 25 feet!" she called out.

"So did I," Louise agreed.

Aunt Harriet obtained the same result. "Now that you've found the perfect triangle, what are you going to do about it?" she asked with a grin.

"That's a good question," Jean admitted.

They stood looking at each other, then at the trees, then at the trampled paths they had made between the points of the triangle.

Suddenly Louise snapped her fingers. "I've got an idea!" she said.

Episode 3: Amazing Information
"What's your great idea, Louise?" Jean asked.

"I've read," her sister replied, "that in old days pirates used to bring their loot ashore to hide it. In order to find it later, they would pick out three trees in a triangle that was equidistant on each side and bury the treasure in the middle. Let's dig here."

Jean giggled. "With what?" she asked.

Aunt Harriet suggested that they had better go home first and pick up shovels and spades. "Also, you should get Tammi's permission. After all, it's her property."

"I'll phone her," Louise said and the three walked back to the car.

When they reached their house, she called Tammi on her smartphone and told her of the plan. The girl agreed, but before Louise could tell her about the tree markings, Tammi had to hang up because Miss Mathilde had come into the room.

"I'll stay home and start dinner," Aunt Harriet declared. "You two go and dig."

"Okay," Louise said, so she and Jean drove back alone.

First, they paced off the number of feet between the trees again, then found the exact center. They began to dig, but as time wore on, and the hole became deeper and wider, they felt sure it was in vain.

"If there ever was anything here," Louise said, "it has been removed."

"Perhaps," Jean said, "Grandpa Hodge buried his duplicate manuscript at one time, but then changed his mind and took it away."

"That's a logical guess," her sister agreed. "But the question is, Where did he take it?"

The girls filled in the hole they had made, then went to examine the tree with its three marks again. Could they mean something totally different from the searchers' interpretation?

"Maybe Tammi can help us," Jean said. "As soon as we get home, we'll phone her again."

Louise made a face. "I hope Miss Mathilde Price doesn't answer and refuse to let us talk to Tammi."

"That poor girl," Jean said. "We must help her!"

When they reached their house, Louise dialed the Hodge number on her smartphone. Fortunately Tammi answered.

"Miss Mathilde is out in the yard," she said. "That horrible woman's pulling out flowers and bushes."

"Why would she do a thing like that?"

"To transplant them. She said she was going to change the whole garden. Louise, I can't stand it. She has ruined Grandpa's favorite rosebushes already, and there's no telling what the place will look like when she's through!"

"Oh, dear," Louise said. "I don't understand why she's doing this. It's not a good time to transplant anything right now." Then she changed the subject. "Tammi, what was your grandfather's first name?"

"John," the girl replied. "Why?"

Louise told her about the discovery Aunt Harriet had made in the woods. "Jean and I dug a hole to find out whether the symbols on the tree meant hidden treasure, but we found nothing. If your grandfather buried anything there, he must have dug it up later."

"He never mentioned it to me," Tammi said.

Louise now asked her if anything happened since the Danas left her.

"Nothing," the girl answered. "Miss Mathilde has been laying down the law, but I haven't paid much attention. Uh-oh, here comes old busybody now. I'll have to hang up."

As Louise and Jean sat talking, trying to figure out what their next move should be, the front door opened, and a man called out, "Hi. Anybody home?"

"Uncle Ned!" the girls exclaimed and dashed to the door.

A large man with a florid complexion and bright-blue eyes smiled at them. "Well, how are me hearties?"

"We're great, and how are you?" Jean asked.

Captain Dana laughed. "The salt air keeps me fit as a fiddle." Then he saw his sister coming toward him, and held out his arms.

"Harriet!" he said, and hugged Miss Dana.

"This is a wonderful surprise," Aunt Harriet said. "Now we can have a real family dinner."

During the meal, Louise and Jean brought their uncle up-to-date on the mystery they had been asked to solve. At the end, Louise said to him, "Have you got any suggestions as to how we might go about it?"

After some thought, Captain Dana replied, "Have you asked at the library if John Hodge has ever published anything."

"No, we haven't," Jean answered. "We didn't think of it."

"Then I suggest that in the morning I go down there with you and we'll find out," Uncle Ned said. "If he has written in the past, his publisher ought to be able to give you some information."

When they reached the library the following day, he spoke to the supervisor, Karen Liva.

"I don't think so," she replied to his question. "But I'll look in the card catalog and Books in Print."

After checking she reported that John Hodge has never published anything, at least not under his own name. "If he used a pseudonym, I'm afraid I can't help you."

Before leaving the building, Louise, Jean, and Uncle Ned decided to look in the index file under "discoveries". There was nothing about John Hodge. Finally they gave up the search and left.

"My next suggestion," said Captain Dana, "is a trip to the courthouse to look at Mr. John Hodge's will."

When they arrived, the clerk, Mark Dunn, greeted Uncle Ned with a big smile. "Well, how are you? I haven't seen you in years!" he said. "Are you still crossing the Atlantic every week?"

"I sure am," Captain Dana replied. "Me and the old Balaska are mighty chummy." Then he asked if it would be possible to look at John Hodge's will. The clerk nodded and said he would bring it to them.

After reading it, the Danas knew that Grandpa Hodge had left everything to his only relative, Tammi. The Oak Falls Bank had been instructed to appoint a guardian for her, but there was no mention of his will of Miss Mathilde Price.

"Thanks, Mark," Captain Dana said. "My nieces are friends of Tammi Hodge's and are interested in checking up on a few things."

"Why don't you see Mr. Hunter in the trust department of the Oak Falls Bank?" Mark Dunn suggested. "I'm sure he can tell you more about it."

"Good idea," Captain Dana said. "Thanks."

At the bank, they had to wait until Mr. Hunter was free to meet them. Then they introduced themselves and told him that they were friends of Tammi's.

Louise said, "We have just read Hodge's will and learned that you appointed Tammi's guardian. Would you mind telling us why you chose Miss Mathilde Price?"

Mr. Hunter, a good-looking redhead man in his fifties, glanced at them, puzzled. "Why are you asking?"

"Because Tammi doesn't like her," Jean explained. "The two don't get along. Miss Price is very dictatorial and is changing everything in the house and garden. This makes Tammi unhappy because she loved her grandfather dearly and would prefer to have things left just the way he left them."

Mr. Hunter was sympathetic. "I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know Miss Price personally, but knew she was an old friend of John's. She came to me with a letter from him, in which he mentioned that in case of his death he wanted her to be Tammi's guardian."

Louise and Jean were suspicious. "Did you ever compare the handwriting with that of Mr. Hodge?" she asked.

Mr. Hunter furrowed his brow. "The letter was typed and merely signed 'John Hodge,'" he replied.

The Danas looked at each other. Their thoughts were the same: the letter could be a forgery, and Miss Mathilde Price could have an ulterior motive. Could it have to do with Grandpa Hodge's secret? Had she somehow found out about his discovery?

Mr. Hunter sensed that they doubted the letter had been written by Mr. Hodge. "The signature looked like John's," he said thoughtfully, "but I'll check into the matter. I'll arrange to pay Tammi and Miss Price a visit as soon as I can."

Louise told the executor that the girls had had trouble reaching the Hodge home because the county surveyor had put up a roadblock and would not let them through.

"I've never heard of such a thing," Mr. Hunter declared.

"We suspect," Jean said, "that the man is a phony."

"I'll ask if the mountain peak is being surveyed by the county," Mr. Hunter promised. "Did you get the fellow's name?"

"Yes. Xavier Roundtree," Louise replied.

"I've never heard of him," Mr. Hunter said, "but I'll find out if he's telling the truth."

After the Danas had thanked Mr. Hunter and left, Louise said, "I think we should visit Tammi this afternoon."

"Good idea," Jean agreed. "Perhaps we can pick up another clue to what Xavier Roundtree is up to."

The girls dropped off Captain Dana, then drove to the Hodge home. When they reached the lane, Louise noticed that the roadblock was gone.

"Do you think Xavier Roundtree removed it?" she asked.

Jean grinned. "Maybe big strong Xavier is afraid of us!"

"I doubt that," Louise said practically. "And I wonder if we should use this lane or approach the other way."

"Since the barrier is gone, why don't we drive up?" Jean asked. "Obviously Roundtree finished whatever he was doing and took it away."

"Okay. But keep an eye out for him."

The two girls arrived at the house without seeing anyone. They were surprised to find the front door open.

"How strange!" Jean said, and shouted, "Tammi?" No one answered.

They walked into the house, calling Tammi and Miss Mathilde. They looked in each room, but no one was there. When they reached Tammi's bedroom, the Danas stopped short in utter astonishment. Tammi lay on the floor with her hands and feet tied in rope and a white cloth gag over her nose and mouth!

"Tammi!" Jean cried out. "Tammi, what has happened to you? Who did this?"

Episode 4: Diary Notation
Immediately Louise and Jean removed the gag and untied the ropes around Tammi's hands and feet. The girl sat up, breathing heavily, then she started to cry.

"You'll be all right," Louise said soothingly. "I'll bring you something to drink, then you can tell us what happened."

She went into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of Diet Pepsi. Gratefully Tammi gulped down the refreshing drink.

"Oh, that was good," she said. "My mouth was so dry from that gag."

The Danas led Tammi into the living room, where she curled up on the couch. Jean put an arm around her. "You're shivering," she said. "Are you cold?"

Tammi nodded.

"I'll get you a blanket," Jean said and went into the bedroom. She took the blanket off Tammi's bed, then wrapped it around the girl.

"Do you feel well enough to tell us what happened?" she asked.

"Yes," Tammi said. "It was horrible. Two men whom I never seen before came here in a car. They had bushy beards and very little of their faces showed."

"What did they say?" Louise asked.

"Nothing. Not a word. But one grabbed Miss Mathilde and held her tight. I ran into my room and tried to lock the door, but the other man was too quick for me. He caught me before I had a chance to do anything and pulled some rope from his pocket."

"And he tied you up," Jean added.

Tammi nodded. "I could see his accomplice holding Miss Mathilde because the door was wide open. They didn't tie her, but dragged her out of the car."

"Then they left?" Jean asked.

"I'm sure the men were planning to come back for me, but they must have seen you approach the house, because suddenly they drove away down the lane on the other side of the mountain."

"Wow! What timing!" Jean exclaimed. "If Louise and I had been a few seconds late, they would have taken you off, too!"

Tammi began to shake. "You---you may have saved my life!"

She looked so frightened that Louise took both her hands into her own. "Oh, Tammi, I think they wanted you both out of this house. But why?"

Jean, deep in thought, furrowed her brow. "I wonder if the kidnapping was just a presence," she said.

"You mean, Miss Mathilde went with the men voluntarily?" Louise asked.

"It's possible. They didn't tie her up. Did they?"

"Oh, but she struggled and screamed," Tammi said. "I don't think she wanted to go with them."

"She might have faked it," Jean said. "The men's beards could have been disguises. Maybe both Tammi and Mathilde knew them, but they didn't want Tammi to recognize them."

"Do you think they'll come back for me?" Tammi asked, her voice shaking.

"If they do, they'll have to contend with us," Jean said. "We won't leave you alone after this."

The Danas now told Tammi what they had learned that morning at the library and the courthouse. "It puts Miss Mathilde in a very suspicious light," Jean said.

"Can you tell us more about Miss Price?" Louise prodded.

Tammi told them that the night before, after she had gone to bed, she heard a voice. "I realized that Miss Mathilde was on the phone, but her voice was so low I couldn't understand what she was saying. The only thing I caught was 'hurry up'. Do you think she was talking about the kidnapping?"

"It's possible," Jean replied. "But whether she's in with the men or not, one thing is certain. There must be something in this house that they want. Have you any idea what it is?"

Tammi shook her head. "None. What could possibly be here?"

"Suppose we report the kidnapping to the police and then search thoroughly for Grandpa Hodge's duplicate manuscript?" Louise suggested. "It might give us the clue."

"Good idea," Jean agreed. "You don't mind, do you, Tammi?"

"Of course not. I'll help all I can. Let's start with old busybody's bedroom."

The three girls were about to go upstairs when Jean said, "Somebody had better stand watch. I'll take the first turn."

She positioned herself next to the front window, while Louise and Tammi went to the second floor and walked into Miss Mathilde's bedroom. After looking around and finding nothing suspicious, Louise said, "People often hide things under the mattress."

She lifted the one on the bed. Under it lay a book. When Louise pulled it out she read, Diary. "I feel nosey looking into this," the girl said to her friend.

Tammi took the diary from her. "We don't know whose it is, but if it belongs to old busybody we'd better read it. As you detectives say, we may get some clues to the mystery."

"You're right," Louise agreed. "Besides, the dairy must have belonged to your grandfather."

Tammi opened it, and realized the handwriting was not Grandpa Hodge's. However, she could not say whether it belonged to a man or a woman. There were no dates in the diary. It was just a continuous, rambling story. Most of it did not interest the girls, but suddenly they came to a page which there was only one item. It said, "I, Mathilde, want to things for Christmas. A dog and a diamond engagement ring."

The two girls burst into laughter, then Tammi said, "Do you think it's possible Miss Mathilde wrote this?"

Louise replied that diaries were sometimes like confessions. "I would say she did."

She asked Tammi to look for a sample of Mathilde Price's handwriting among Grandpa Hodge's papers, so they could compare the two.

"Okay," Tammi said.

She hurried to his desk in the first-floor den, but presently returned, saying she had found no letters from Miss Mathilde.

"If there ever were any, she probably removed them," Louise guessed.

The girls skimmed through the balance of the diary, but noticed nothing to help them solve the mystery. Tammi said, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Grandpa's desk was a shambles. I guess old busybody went through it, all right. I wonder if she took anything."

They returned the diary to its hiding place, then went down to the first floor. They searched the desk and put it back in order.

Just as they finished, Jean came in. "It's your turn, Louise," she said.

The sisters changed places, Louise taking over as guard. Tammi told Jean what she and Louise had discovered and asked "Where shall we search next?"

Jean suggested Mr. Hodge's bedroom, and they climbed the stairs once more. They searched through John Hodge's drawers and closets, but came across nothing that gave them a clue to the secret of the mountain peak.

On the table lay a large, old-fashioned Bible. Jean opened it, and after turning several pages, called out, "Here's something!"

Tammi hurried to her side and looked at a sheet of paper. "I believe this is the fly leaf of the missing duplicate manuscript!" Jean exclaimed.

It was handwritten in Grandpa Hodge's script and was entitled: Discovered by John Hodge: The Puma's Treasure.

"What exactly is a puma?" Tammi asked.

"It's a breed of wild cat," Jean replied.

"Let's hunt for more pages," Tammi urged.

Although they searched thoroughly, the Bible yielded no more clues to the missing manuscript. Jean closed the old book, and the other two girls looked at each other. Where should they search next they wonder.

"I know!" Tammi spoke up. "Grandpa used to spend a lot of time in his basement laboratory. Let's go there."

Jean was intrigued by this idea and followed Tammi to the cellar. When they reached a door marked Lab, Tammi opened it and flicked on the light switch. Several pieces of machinery started working simultaneously, making a loud whirring sound.

"Amazing!" Jean exclaimed.

As she stared at the wheels and belts, the young detective wondered aloud if Grandpa Hodge's discovery had anything to do with this room.

"He never told me anything about it," said Tammi.

Just then Louise called down from the cellar stairway, "Jean, Tammi, are you there?"

"Yes," Jean replied.

"A car's coming to the house," Louise reported. "You'd better hurry up here."

"Okay," Tammi called, and turned off the light. The two girls closed the door and scooted up the stairs.

Episode 5: Night Intruder
The girls went to a front window and glanced out. Mr. Hunter was standing at the door.

Louise opened it and asked him to come inside. "We're so glad it's you," she said. "We just had some real excitement here."

"What happened?" the kindly man asked, looking worried.

"Two men came in and took Miss Mathilde away," Tammi said. "They tied me up and were about to kidnap me, too, when the Danas arrived and scared them off."

"What?" Mr. Hunter exclaimed. "This is very serious. Tell me all that happened."

When the girls had given him the details, he said, "I wonder if one of the men could have been the surveyor. I checked with the county administration. They have no Xavier Roundtree working for them. When I heard that, I knew trouble was brewing. Yet I drove all around the area without seeing anyone suspicious."

"Xavier Roundtree could have been one of the kidnappers," Louise suggested. "Tammi said they both wore beards, which might have been a disguise."

"Do you have any idea why anyone would want Tammi out of this house?" Jean asked the banker.

Mr. Hunter shook his head. "There's nothing unusual about the estate as far as I can see," he said. "Tammi, you don't know where they took Miss Mathilde?"

"No," Tammi replied.

Mr. Hunter went on, "We checked Mr. Hodge's signature on her letter against the one we have on file. It looks so similar, only an expert can tell if it's a forgery. In view of what happened here, I'll turn the matter over to one."

Mr. Hunter glanced around the room. "Tammi, you shouldn't stay alone in this house," he said. "It's too dangerous. If you want, I'll make arrangements---"

"Oh, please don't," Jean spoke up. "We'll take Tammi home with us We'd love to have her, and she'll be safe with us."

Tammi hugged her. "Oh, will you? I'd love to stay with you." Then she told Mr. Hunter about her grandfather's laboratory in the basement and suggested that he look at it.

"We're sure there's a secret connected with this house, and maybe it has something to do with Grandpa's experiments."

"I'm curious to see it," the banker agreed.

Tammi locked the front door and the group went into the cellar. Mr. Hunter was amazed at the laboratory and the whirring noise of the machinery.

Jean walked ahead of the others to the far side of the room. Suddenly a frayed strip of a fast-moving wide leather belt broke off. It slapped her on the side of the face so hard that she collapsed to the floor!

"Oh, no!" Tammi cried out.

Everyone rushed to Jean's side. She lay unconscious on the floor. Louise quickly gave her first aid until she sighed deeply and opened her eyes. She put a hand to her head.

"Oh, what a headache I have," she moaned.

Louise ran to the bathroom sink she had noticed and grabbed a washcloth. She soaked it in cold water, wrung it out, and put it on her sister's face.

"That feels good," Jean said.

Louise renewed the cold compress after a few minutes, then Jean felt better and wanted to get up. The others helped the injured girl to her feet.

"I'd like to go home," she said and managed a wan smile. "I've had enough detective work for today."

"Good idea," Louise agreed.

Tammi turned off the light and everyone went upstairs. They said goodnight to Mr. Hunter, then locked the door and drove to the Dana home.

Aunt Harriet and Uncle Ned were startled by their story. Both welcomed Tammi and said she could stay as long as she wished.

"You two are so sweet," Tammi declared and hugged them.

Jean felt better, but wanted to go to bed and rest. Her cheek still stung from being slapped so hard, but her headache was gone.

"I think you should go to bed and rest," Aunt Harriet advised. "I'll bring you something to eat."

"If you want to spoil me, I won't argue," Jean said with a grin. "But really, you don't have to go through all this trouble."

"It's no trouble. Go ahead and I'll be up in a few minutes."

After dinner, Uncle Ned said to Tammi, "I'm worried about leaving your house alone. I think I'll ride up there and look around to be sure your mysterious enemies aren't there."

"Oh, may I come?" Tammi asked eagerly.

"Me, too!" Louise added.

"Why not? I'd rather have company than go by myself."

"Who's going where?" Jean asked. She had just walked through the door in her bathrobe and had overheard the last part of the conversation.

"We're driving to the mountain peak house to see if everything is all right," Uncle Ned explained to her.

"I want to join you," Jean declared. "I came down because I'm not tired enough to sleep. Please, Aunt Harriet, I feel fine. May I go with them?"

Miss Dana hesitated. "Well, if you really think you feel up to it---"

"Thanks, Aunt Harriet. I'll run upstairs and put on my clothes. Be back in a minute!"

Soon the group was on their way to the mountain peak. As they neared it, Tammi cried out, "Look! There's a moving light in our living room!"

Captain Dana pulled to the side of the driveway and stopped the car. "You're right!" he said tensely. "We'd better park here and walk up so we won't warn the intruder!"

Silently they climbed out of the car and advanced toward the house. When they peered into the window, they saw a man with a flashlight. He was playing it over the bookshelves along one wall.

"What do you think he's looking for?" Tammi whispered.

"Who knows?" Louise answered. "In any case, he's a burglar!"

Captain Dana agreed and stepped to the front door. He found it unlocked, and the three tiptoed in. Tammi turned on the hall light, then the one on the living room. The intruder, an open book in his hands, whirled and blinked in the bright glare.

"Who are you?" Uncle Ned thundered.

The man stared at him in utter surprise. In order to stall, he answered with a question of his own. "Who are you?"

"I live here," Tammi said. "How did you get in?"

"Oh---er---I have the key," the man replied. "But I didn't have to use it. The door was open."

"Who gave it to you?" Uncle Ned asked.

"Er---the bank. Trustee for this property. You see, the house is to be sold, and I'm Ben Rush, an auctioneer. I was asked to dispose of the contents, so I came to see what's here."

"At this time of night?" Uncle Ned said sarcastically.

"Oh, we're very busy, very busy."

Tammi was greatly upset. "Wait a minute. This house is not for sale. What are you talking about?"

"The bank hasn't informed you yet?" Rush asked. "Well, I'm sure they'll call you in the morning."

Louise did not believe the stranger. She quietly left the room, went to the kitchen, and picked up the local telephone book. She checked under the letter R. No Ben Rush was listed.

"I knew he was lying," the girl told herself. "I'd better call Mr. Hunter." She looked up his home phone number and seconds later had the banker on the line. Quickly she told him what was happening.

"That man's lying!" Mr. Hunter exclaimed. "I'll get in touch with Officer Ignari at once. Try to hold the burglar until wwe get there."

"All right," Louise replied.

She hung up her smartphone and went back to the living room.

Ben Rush had maneuvered himself toward the door. "Well, I'd better get going," he said and tried to edge past Louise.

"Oh, no you don't!" she said. "I phoned the executor, and he told me to keep you here until the police arrive. Your story is not true!"

When Rush heard Louise's accusation, he pushed her roughly out of the way and leaped into the hallway. Uncle Ned had anticipated the move and was right on the man's heels.

Rush had not reached the front door yet when Captain Dana tackled him. The girls hurried to his aid and while they put their backs to the door, Uncle Ned held the intruder firmly. Ben Rush could not escape!

"Now," Uncle Ned said sternly to the prisoner, "do you want to tell us the truth?"

A sly look came into the man's eyes. With a toss of his head, he said, "I'll tell you if you promise not to have me booked."

Louise reminded him that she and the others were not in charge. "The executor is the person who will decide whether or not you'll be arrested."

Rush pulled away from Captain Dana and sat down in a chair. Although the others plied him with questions, he refused to say another word.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Hunter arrived with two policemen. He introduced them as John Rad and Tom Buxton, and they looked at the girls in amazement.

"It's not every day that three young ladies help catch an intruder," Officer Rad said with admiration.

Louise smiled. "To tell you the truth, we didn't expect to!" She related the story of Rush's capture, then the policemen took the burglar away.

"Mr. Hunter, my house isn't for sale, is it?" Tammi asked, still worried.

"Of course not. It was just something that Ben Rush made up to talk himself out of the tight spot," the banker replied. He turned to Jean. "How do you feel?"

"Much better," Jean replied. "And I'm glad I was able to come along tonight."

"I've been thinking," Mr. Hunter went on, "that we should try to turn off the machinery in the cellar to avoid further accidents."

Uncle Ned nodded. "Let's go down to the lab. I'd like to take a look at Mr. Hodge's place anyway."

Captain Dana was intrigued when he saw the complicated apparatus. He and Mr. Hunter searched for an outlet in the wall. They finally found one and Mr. Hunter pulled the plug. The noisy whirring sounds stopped, and a few minutes later everyone went back upstairs.

Before Mr. Hunter left, he looked at Tammi. "I almost forgot. I have some big news for you," he said.

Episode 6: Important Scraps
Tammi's eyes lit up. "What is it?" she asked eagerly.

"I realize the school you have been attending up to now does not go beyond eighth grade. Since you're entering high school next year, you will have to transfer. I have chosen one where I know you'll be happy, the Starhurst School for Girls in Penfield."

Louise cried out, "That's the school Jean and I attend. We love it! Tammi, you'll be happy there."

"Awesome!" Tammi exclaimed. "And I have friends!" She thanked Mr. Hunter for arranging the nice surprise.

When the excitement died down, Uncle Ned said, "This house should not be left unguarded. Suppose I get a detective to stay here?"

The executor of the Hodge estate thought this was a good idea. "You know someone you could ask?"

"I'll check with Chief Ignari. Maybe he can help us."

The chief promised to assign a plainclothesman who would bring along his dog for extra protection. Then he asked, "Captain Dana, could you and the girls stay at the mountain peak until the officer arrives?"

"We'll be glad to," Uncle Ned replied. "Have you had a chance to speak to the prisoner yet?"

"Yes," the chief said. "But he isn't talking. Of course, he's entitled to speak to the lawyer first, and he knows it. He'll see one tomorrow."

"I hope he changes his mind and tells us what he was looking for," Uncle Ned said. "By the way, would you please instruct the detective who will come here not to admit Miss Mathilde Price to the house if she should show up?"

The chief agreed and Uncle Ned put down the phone.

At about 11:00 pm the detective arrived. He introduced himself as Mr. Fife, and his beautiful German shepherd as Homer.

"He's well trained but not vicious," Mr. Fife explained. "He won't harm you once he knows you're friends of mine."

The girls fell in love with the intelligent animal at once. They patted and talked to him. Homer, who had initially had looked questioningly at his master, soon was licking their hands and playing with them.

Mr. Fife smiled. "I can see you won't have any trouble with him. Will you be back tomorrow? I can stay only at night."

"Yes," Louise replied. "If you'll guard the house overnight, we'll take good care if it in the daytime."

The girls drove off with Captain Dana. On the way he said, "I never realized we would be staying at the Hodge house so long. I must catch a midnight plane to New York City and get back to the Balaska. Tell your Aunt Harriet I said good-by. I'll be home again soon."

Louise dropped her uncle off at the Oak Falls International Airport, then she, Jean, and Tammi drove home. By the time they reached the Dana house, Tammi was extremely tired. When Aunt Harriet saw this, she put her arms around the girl. Tammi began to cry, and for the first time really broke down and sobbed over the loss of her grandfather.

Between the tears, however, she kept saying how fortunate she was to have found such wonderful friends. Aunt Harriet left the living room but presently came back with some warm milk and toast.

"Drink this, dear," she said. "Then take a warm bath and we'll tuck you into bed. I'm sure you'll sleep like a baby."

As soon as Tammi had finished the midnight repast, she went upstairs with Aunt Harriet and a little while later, as predicted, she was sound asleep.

The next morning, Tammi felt fine, and Jean declared she had completely recovered although she did have a bruise on the side of her face. The smartphone rang, and Louise answered it.

The caller was Mr. Fife. "Please come here as soon as you can," he said. "I have received word of a special assignment I must take care of for the police department."

He then told Louise that Homer, who had been left on the watch outside the house for the night, had barked loudly twice and raced off after intruders on the property.

"I don't know whether they were humans or animals," Mr. Fife said. "But after the trouble here, I'm inclined to think that they were people. I guess you won't have anything to worry about. Homer seems to understand what he's to do."

Louise repeated the conversation to Aunt Harriet and the girls, who agreed to leave at once. Cora Appel, their day worker, whom Jean had nicknamed Applecore, would come later to take care of the cleaning.

"We'll just leave everything," Miss Dana said, "and I'll write Cora a note."

When she and the girls reached Tammi's home, Mr. Fife quickly said good morning, then walked out the door. Homer did not make an attempt to follow when his master drove away.

"He is well trained," Jean remarked, and hugged the beautiful animal.

Louise nodded, then said, "I suggest we start hunting for clues right away. We've already searched Miss Mathilde's and Grandpa Hodge's rooms, so where do you want to go next?"

"What about the den?" Tammi suggested. "We went through he desk, but haven't really checked out the rest of the place."

The Danas agreed and followed Tammi into the den.

As they looked around, Jean suddenly said, "This is funny. With all the cleaning and rearranging Miss Mathilde did, there are still ripped-up papers in the wastebasket."

"I suppose she never bothered to empty it," Tammi said. "And to tell you the truth, I didn't even notice the basket myself, because it was underneath the desk."

Jean turned it over on the floor. "Maybe we can piece some of these scraps together...here. This looks interesting. It's obviously part of a letter written to the American Archeological Society because it has the address on it."

After a good deal of work, the girls reconstructed the letter. In it, Grandpa Hodge promised he would have his manuscript ready by April.

"But it was obviously stolen before then," Tammi said.

The letter appeared to be a carbon copy and was not signed. In the lower left corner were the initials JH/ML.

Jean continued to fit other pieces together and wondered who ML was. A few minutes later she had reconstructed a scribbled note to Mary Lyon.

"Tammi," she asked, "do you know who Mary Lyon is?"

"Yes," the girl replied. "She did secretarial work for Grandpa."

"I believe we've picked up a wonderful clue," Jean said. "Where does she live?"

"In Woodstock," Tammi replied, and everyone was eager to talk to Mary Lyon.

"I'll call her," Tammi offered, as she went to use her cell phone she took from her pocket.

She explained to her grandfather's former secretary that she was investigating the estate with the Dana girls, and that they would like to have some information about Mr. Hodge's work.

The Danas stood close enough to hear Mr. Lyon's reply. "I might be able to help you, Tammi, but I don't want to discuss it over the cell phone. Can you and your friends come here to see me?"

Tammi looked at Louise and Jean. Both nodded. "Yes," she said into her cell phone. "We'll be there in a little while."

"Shall we all go?" Louise asked.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Aunt Harriet objected. "Why don't you take Tammi? Jean and I will stay here and guard the house."

Everyone agreed and the two girls got their purses. They said good-by and drove off. At the foot of the hill Louise noticed a green sedan parked a short distance from the lane.

Tammi paid no attention to it, but Louise looked intently at the driver when she passed him. "I believe that's Xavier Roundtree," she thought uneasily.

She turned into the main road, but watched the suspect in the rearview mirror. To her dismay, he followed her!

Episode 7: The Doodler
For a couple of miles Tammi did not understand why Louise kept looking in the rearview mirror to watch the green sedan behind her. Finally she turned around, however, and glanced out the window.

"Do you think that man is following us?" she asked, worried.

"I'm afraid so," Louise replied. "I think he's Xavier Roundtree."

Tammi was alarmed. "What are we going to do?" she said. "He'll harm us!"

Louise did not comment but silently agreed with Tammi. The man might come alongside and force them off the road!

Suddenly Tammi jumped up and down in the seat and cried, "Go faster, Louise! Don't let that guy catch us!"

Louise put on speed. So did the car following her. How could she shake the driver?

Just then she passed a sign for a large enclosed shopping mall about half a mile ahead. A sudden idea came to Louise. "I think I know how to get rid of him," she told Tammi.

"How?"

"You see the shopping mall ahead? Maybe we can lose him in there." Louise pulled into the entrance and went past the last line of cars. Then she turned right and drove up the next aisle. Her pursuer did the same.

When Louise reached the end, she turned left and scooted into the next lane. Halfway down a woman suddenly backed out in front of her without looking in either direction. Louise jammed on the brakes, which squealed loudly, and avoided hitting the car by inches.

The girls felt frustrated. The pursuer was already turning down the aisle after them. Fortunately the woman pulled back into her parking slot and the girls shot past her. Tammi looked back through the rear window and exclaimed, "Oh, that lady is backing out again!"

She closed her eyes, waiting for a crash, but the man in the green sedan hit his brakes and stopped the car just in time to avoid colliding with the woman.

Louise realized she had the advantage now and hurried to the end of the aisle, turned left, and drove out a side exit onto another road.

Tammi's eyes were still glued to the window. "I guess the lady backed all the way out this time," she cried. "I see her coming down the lane right now. But there's no sign of the green sedan!"

Louise laughed. "I suppose we can thank that woman for letting us get away."

Tammi wanted to know where they were.

"I'm not sure," Louise replied. "I'll stop at the next gas station and ask for directions."

She did, and someone working there told her how to get to Woodstock. When they reached the town, Louise followed the directions Mary Lyon had given them, and found her house without trouble.

She opened the door and swooped Tammi into her arms. "How glad I am to see you, my dear!" she exclaimed.

"I'm happyy to see you, too," Tammi replied. "Mrs. Lyon, say hello to my friend Louise Dana. She's a detective."

Mary Lyon laughed. "I'm delighted to meet you, Louise. I've never spoken to a real live detective---especially a girl!"

Louise assured her that she was only an amateur, but that she and her sister loved to solve mysteries. "I do hope you can help us with the one involving Grandpa Hodge," she added.

Mary Lyon was middle-aged and pleasant-looking. She told Louise that after her husband had passed away and her children had married and left home, she had gone to work on a part-time basis for Grandpa Hodge.

"He was a brilliant man," she said. "But I admit that at times I didn't understand what he was talking about."

Louise asked her if she had ever helped him with a manuscript.

"No," Mary Lyon replied. "Mr. Hodge was a rather secretive man."

Tammi spoke up. "Well, Grandpa told me it had been stolen, and I was to get the Dana girls to help me find the duplicate."

"That's very interesting," Mary Lyon said. "Have you had any luck?"

"No," Tammi replied. "And besides, we've had plenty of trouble. The executor sent an awful woman to take care of me. Her name is Miss Mathilde Price, and she's a real pain. She got kidnapped, and I'm glad!"

"Kidnapped?" Mrs. Lyon repeated in surprise.

"That's right," Tammi replied. "Now I'm staying with the Danas, and in the fall I'm going to Starhurst with them."

"I'm glad to gear that," Mrs. Lyon said. "But please tell me the whole story from the beginning, and I'll see if I can fill in any pieces of the puzzle."

Louise gave her full details from the time Tammi had come to their house with her request. Mary Lyon was surpised to hear that Mr. Hodge had any enemies.

"He was a kind, gentle person, and never mentioned any difficulties with other people. Once he told me he had made a discovery and was writing a book. But he never asked me to type any of it."

"Don't you have any idea what the discovery might have been?" Louise inquired.

The woman shrugged. "Perhaps it had something to do with digging. Once, when I was to go to his home, I arrived early. No one was in the house, so I sat in the car and waited for him. After a while, Mr. Hodge came from the opposite direction. He was carrying a shovel and his shoes were muddy."

Louise was excited by this information, but sorry that Mary Lyon could not tell her where the elderly man had been digging.

"He subscribed to a magazine about stars," Mrs. Lyon went on. "Whenever there were charts he used to draw lines from one star to another, making triangles and other geometric figures. He was a real doodler. Often he seemed to be dissatisfied with his work and would rub it out."

Mrs. Lyon smiled. "I used to find pieces of paper on which he had drawn a series of triangles. Is this information helpful to you?"

Louise said she was not sure, but told Mrs. Lyon about the three equidistant trees in the woods and the strange markings on one of them.

"At the top were the initials J.H., which we assume stand for John Hodge. Below them was a triangle, and under that the drawing of what might have been a page torn from the manuscript."

"How strange!" the ex-secretary exclaimed. "I'm sorry I can't help you on that, either. As I told you before, Mr. Hodge was a very secretive man."

She wished the girls luck in solving the mystery and promised to call them if she thought of anything else that might be helpful. Louise gave her the Danas' number, and they said good-by and drove off.

When they reached the foot of the lane leading up to the mountain peak home, Tammi suddenly put a hand on Louise's right arm. "Slow down for a moment. There's a package under that tree just ahead."

Louise stopped the car before turning into the lane.

"I'll get it," Tammi offered and opened the door.

"No!" Louise warned her. "Do you realize that package is at the very same spot where Xavier Roundtree's car was standing before he followed us?"

"You mean he might have lost it?" Tammi asked, hesitating.

"Either that, or he could have put it there on purpose."

"But why?"

"For us to pick up. Tammi, there might be something extremely dangerous in that package---a bomb, for instance!"

Episode 8: Vicious Dogs
Tammi turned white. "A bomb!" she cried out. "You don't really believe that?"

Louise looked thoughtful. "I really don't know. All I know is we shouldn't take any chances."

"What'll we do, then?" Tammi asked. "Call the police?"

Louise nodded. "Why don't you run up to the house and ask Aunt Harriet to phone them. I'll stay here and watch the package."

"All right. But you'd better not go close to it in case it is what you think."

"Don't worry. I'll sit right here in the car," Louise assured her.

Tammi scooted off. While Louise waited in the car, she began to have misgivings about the package. Maybe there was nothing explosive in it, and she would feel foolish in front of the police!

Just then a station wagon came along the road. As it drew near, Louise noticed that a woman was driving and that she had a number of children with her. A little girl who was looking out the window suddenly cried, "Mommy! Mommy, stop! See that package over there? Priscilla said I'd find a surprise today. Maybe it's my surprise!"

The woman laughed and pulled over to the side. "It won't be your surprise, Karen, but we'll see what's in it anyway."

"Oh, yes, let's see the surprise," a little boy squealed and opened the door of the station wagon.

As the children and their mother proceeded to climb out, Louise hurried over to them.

"Please don't touch that package!" she warned them. "My friend and I are afraid it's a bomb. We're waiting for the police."

"What?" the woman looked at her incredulously. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I know the man who dropped it. He's trying to harm us."

"Did you watch him put it there?"

"No. But his car stood at the same spot not long ago."

"You must be imagining things. I'm picking up the box and checking what's inside."

"Please, don't," Louise pleaded. "If my suspicions are correct, you---"

"Aw, come on. You probably want the package to yourself."

Louise was annoyed. "If that was the case, I could have picked it up long before you arrived on the scene," she said. "And I don't have the car full of children who might get hurt!"

The argumentative woman finally gave in. "Oh, all right. Come on, kids, let's get back into the car!" The children were reluctant to leave the strange box, but their mother insisted. Without thanking Louise for possibly saving her and the youngsters from a bad accident, she climbed behind the wheel and drove off.

Louise sighed in relief. A few minutes later two police officers pulled up. They eyed the package, then asked Louise why she was suspicious.

The girl told them about the man who had parked at the spot earlier, who, she thought, was Xavier Rountree. "I wasn't sure enough at first to report him, but now I am because he followed us. I had Tammi Hodge in the car with me and didn't want anything to happen to her, so I figured out a way to shake the man. It worked."

One of the officers, who carried a tool kit, said he was an explosives expert. He walked over to the package and took a number of gadgets from his box. First he held one of them up to the package, then another.

Finally he said, "I don't think it's a bomb. Let's open it."

Louise felt sheepish, but two minutes later she changed her mind. The package was filled with bottles. The officer took off the caps one by one and smelled the liquids inside.

He frowned. "They're various deadly acids," he declared. "If taken internally, any one of them could kill a person or cause a serious burn if it comes in contact with a skin."

"How awful!" Louise exclaimed. "Please take them with you. I hope you find Xavier Roundtree, because I'm sure he left the package, hoping to harm Tammi and the rest of us."

"We'll work on it," the bomb expert promised. "The department will also alert the state police and ask them to help keep this area under surveillance. Roundtree may return to see if the package is gone."

The officers drove off, and Louise continued to the Hodge house. When she told Aunt Harriet, Jean, and Tammi what happened, Miss Dana said in relief, "It's a good thing you were suspicious of that package. I feel better having the police doubling their efforts in this area."

During dinner time the cell phone rang. Tammi answered it. "Miss Mathilde?" she asked, then motioned for the others at the table to come and overhear what was being said.

"I'm a prisoner," the woman on the other end told her. "But I hope to be released soon. I'm terribly worried about you, Tammi. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Tammi replied. "My friends, the Danas, are taking me to their house every night, while a detective guards this place with his big police dog. The Danas and I come back in the morning and stay during the day."

The woman did not answer, and Jean whispered in Tammi's ear, "Ask her where she is."

Tammi did, but the caller hung up abruptly. The girl looked puzzled.

Aunt Harriet asked, "Are you sure that was Miss Mathilde?"

"Yes, it sounded just like her."

"Obviously," Louise said, "her phony kidnappers made her call to find out what's going on here."

Tammi was embarrassed. "I suppose I shouldn't have told her anything."

The Danas agreed but said nothing. They did not want to upset Tammi anymore than she already was.

"Don't worry," Jean advised. "Just imagine, if Miss Mathilde's kidnappers were planning to come to the house, they won't dare now because they know the place is well guarded."

Tammi sighed. "I hope they never had any such plans. Things are scary enough as it is."

Just then Homer began to bark wildly. The girls rushed outside to see why and noticed two small boys walking toward the house some distance away.

"Can we help you?" Louise called out.

The boys stopped, and one of them replied, "We're selling cookies for our club. Would you like some? But you have to hold your dog."

"Okay," Jean said and grabbed Homer by the collar. "Just don't come any closer."

Aunt Harriet went into the house for money. She gave it to Tammi and told her to pick out something.

Tammi walked up to one of the boys and selected one box of vanilla and one box of chocolate. The taller of the boys said, "We just saw a man with a dog like yours, only bigger."

"Where was he?" Tammi asked.

"On the road near your lane," the boy replied. "He had a dog on a leash that was really a chain and he told us not to come near, otherwise the dog would attack us."

"You'd better be careful," Tammi advised the boys, then they said good-by and left.

Tammi returned to the house and told the Danas what the boys had said, while Jean opened he box of chocolate cookies.

"I don't like the sound of it," Aunt Harriet remarked. "I wonder if the man brought the dog here for exercise, or---"

At that moment they all heard Homer growl. They rushed to the window and looked out.

"Oh, no!" Louise cried.

A large vicious dog was attacking Homer. Tammi and the Danas hurried outside.

"Stop! Stop!" Aunt Harriet ordered the animals.

They paid no attention. They were snarling, yelping, and biting each other. Louise recalled what the little boy had told her. No doubt this was the dog he had seen. But where was his owner?

She looked around. Half-hidden behind the trees she spotted a strange man holding a chain. "Please take your dog away!" Louise screamed. He paid no attention.

Meanwhile, Jean frantically tried to figure out a way to stop a fight. "Tammi," she cried, "we'll have to do something, or Homer will get hurt!"

"I know," Tammi said. "But what?"

"Maybe they'll stop if we spray them with water. Is there a hose around?"

"Yes. It's rolled beside the house. I'll get it."

Tammi raced off and Jean followed. The hose was connected to an outdoor faucet. Tammi turned the water on full force, while Jean grabbed the hose and ran forward with it. She aimed the stream at the two German shepherds.

The animals paid little attention to it and kept on snarling and biting. Jean adjusted the nozzle to get a thinner but stronger stream. However, the only effect it had was to make the dogs turn around so the water hit the backs of their heads instead of their eyes.

"It won't work!" Jean cried out in dismay. "Tammi, you may as well turn the water off."

Tammi did, then ran up to her friend. "What are we going to do? Look, they're biting at each other worse than ever!"

Aunt Harriet had an idea. "Perhaps they'll react to noise," she said and ran into the house. In the kitchen she grabbed two saucepans and hurried outside again. Banging the pans loudly together, she approached the dogs.

The noise startled Tammi and Jean, but the animals paid no attention. The killing fight just went on!

Episode 9: False Stairway
The ugly dogfight continued, and Miss Dana, Jean, and Tammi were unable to stop it. Meanwhile, Louise approached the man from behind the trees, but was afraid to go too near since he held the chain in his hand. If she confronted him, he might use it to scare her or even to hit her!

Suddenly he dropped the chain carelessly and walked a few steps toward the house to get a better view of the fight. Louise sneaked up behind him and quickly picked up the chain. Then she cried out in a loud voice, "Call off your dog!"

The man, whom she had never seen before, whirled. Taken off guard, he stared at Louise, who swung the chain menacingly.

"Call off that dog at once!" she repeated her command. "Or you'll be trouble with the police!"

The man seemed frustrated, but apparently he realized that Louise and her friends were serious. He stepped out from behind the trees into the open and whistled for his dog.

At first the two animals, who were engaged in the deadly combat, ignored him. The owner of the strange dog continued to whistle, louder and louder, then he clapped his hands. At the same time, Louise rattled the chain.

Finally the German shepherd heard the insistent summons. He growled and lunged at his opponent one more time, then ran off to his master. He barked at Louise and made a move to approach her, but his owner held him back by the collar.

"Give me my chain!" he called to the girl.

"Oh, no. You'll have to do without it," Louise replied. "Now get out of here! Who sent you, anyway?"

Over his shoulder, the stranger retorted, "None of your business!"

Louise stood motionless for a moment, her mind racing. Was he part of Xavier Roundtree's gang? Had he hoped that by killing or incapacitating Homer, he could gain access to the house?

"If I followed him, perhaps I can see what car he's driving and get the license number," the girl told herself. "I'm sure he didn't come on foot this far."

Louise saw the stranger disappear behind a tree and quickly went after him. She tried to walk as quietly as possible so as not to alert the man, and stopped here and there to listen to his footsteps. Suddenly her foot caught in a vine and crashed headlong to the ground!

"Oh!" she cried out as thorns penetrated her skin. She sat up and looked at her scratched legs and arms. Then she heard a thrashing noise ahead of her.

"No doubt he knows I'm on his trail and he's running with the dog," she thought, frustrated. She got back to her feet and hurried after her quarry, but she had not yet reached the bottom of the hill when a car was started and pulled out of the lane. All Louise could see was the color green. She was not close enough to distinguish the make of the license number.

She bit her lip in disgust. "If only I hadn't fallen!" she thought, and started to walk up the mountain again.

Soon he entered the Hodge house. Tammi stared at her with wide-open eyes. "Your legs are bleeding!" she cried out. "What happened?"

"I tried to follow that man, but my foot got caught and I fell," Louise reported. "He drove off in a green car. How's Homer?"

Tammi had examined Mr. Fife's dog. His back was bleeding in several places where the other dog had nipped the flesh. Otherwise he seemed to be all right, but extremely weary. He lay down and licked his wounds.

"You're a brave dog," Tammi told him, patting his shoulders and neck.

The others left him lying in a quiet spot, where he could sleep and recover from his challenging encounter. Then they discussed what had happened. Obviously it had been another attempt by their enemies to harass and frighten them.

Finally Jean changed the subject. She reminded the others that they had not fully investigated the cellar. "Let's go down now," she suggested.

Aunt Harriet said she would stay upstairs in case anyone should drop by or call on the cell phone. Since Tammi said there was no electricity except at the bottom of the stairs and in the lab, the girls took flashlights and went in the cellar.

For the first time they noticed that the part beyond the lab door was full of cobwebs and old newspapers. A wooden stairway stood against the far wall.

Jean stared at it in wonder. "There's no indication that there ever was a door at the top," she said. "It doesn't make sense."

"I know," Tammi said. "I asked Grandpa about it once, and he said the stairway didn't lead anywhere. It was just there and he never bothered to remove it."

Since the light was dim, Louise and Jean played their flashlights on the structure for a long time. It was totally enclosed with solid sides and a back piece.

"Maybe it's just standing against the wall without being connected to it," Jean said. "Let's try to move it."

The three girls tugged and yanked, but the structure did not budge.

"I suppose it's attached to the wall after all," Tammi said. "It looks as if the staircase will never come loose."

"Let's not give up yet," Louise decided. "One, two, three, go!"

The Danas and Tammi pulled with all their might. Did they imagine it, or had the stairway come loose a little bit?

"Let's try again," Louise urged. "Ready? One, two, three!"

This time they yanked the old stairway with such force that it suddenly tore off! It tumbled to one side, knocking the girls to the floor!

Jean had been thrown clear of the wooden structure, but Tammi was partially buried and Louise's leg was caught. Slowly Jean sat up, rubbing her neck. She looked at her sister. "Louise, are you all right?"

"I think so, but I can't get my leg out from under this step. Please help me."

Jean lifted the corner of the staircase just enough so Louise could extricate herself.

"Thank goodness," she said and stood up. "I'm sure I haven't any broken bones, but my leg is bruised."

"We must get Tammi out," Jean urged. "She seems to have fainted!"

Just then the girls heard their Aunt Harriet calling from the kitchen, "What happened?"

"We had an accident," Jean replied. "Quick, help us!"

Miss Dana ran down and stared in horror. "Oh, dear, what's the matter with Tammi?"

"We don't know. Can you pull her out while we try to pick up this staircase? It's heavy, but I think we can manage between the two of us."

"Go ahead."

Jean and Louise bent down and lifted the structure. They found to their great relief that it was not resting heavily on Tammi. They had no trouble moving it enough so Aunt Harriet could reach the girl and drag her out. Tammi had a gash on her head, which was bleeding, but she was breathing normally and her eyelids fluttered.

"Are you all right?" Jean asked as she bent over the girl.

Tammi opened her eyes and sat up slowly. "My head hurts," she mumbled.

"You may have broken a bone," Louise said. "Try to stretch your limbs and see if you can stand up."

Tammi nodded. With the help of the Danas, she got to her feet. "I ache all over," she said, "but I don't think it's anything serious."

"Can you walk upstairs if we help you?"

"I think so."

The Danas took Tammi into the living room. Aunt Harriet rushed for a towel and soaked it in cold water, while Louise brought antiseptic and gauze pads with adhesive. The cut in Tammi's head was long, but not deep, and the girls managed to stop the bleeding quickly.

"I think we should take you to the hospital emergency room to see if you need stitches," Aunt Harriet said.

"Oh, please, I'm all right," Tammi insisted. "It doesn't seem to hurt anymore." I want to stay here and just rest for a while."

Miss Dana relented and Tammi said to Louise and Jean, "You must go back to the cellar and see what's behind the staircase. I can't wait to hear what you'll discover."

"Okay," Jean said. "Try to get some sleep while we check out the basement."

The girls went downstairs again, and hurried to the fallen stairway. It was easy to see where it had torn away from the wall.

"Louise!" exclaimed Jean. "There's a door! It was hidden by the stairway."

She beamed her flashlight on it, looking for a knob. Finally she found one. It was so small and well disguised, it was barely visible.

Louise turned the knob, but it would not budge. "Maybe the door is just a fake," she said. "If it's real, the hinges are on the other side, so we can't work on them."

"Let me check the knob," Jean requested. She turned it right and left. Nothing happened.

"Why don't we pull the door?" Louise urged.

"But no more accidents," Jean begged. "Let's be very careful so it doesn't knock us down."

After yanking on the knob several times the girls realized that the hinges were not giving.

Jean, who admitted that her arms was aching, said with a sigh, "Let's try pushing it open. And after all this trouble, there'd better be something on the other side!"

Louise, whose shoulders hurt too from the arduous pulling, said, "We may find nothing but a lot of old canning jars. Let's go! One, two, three, push!" With a tremendous cracking sound the door gave way, banging against the wall. Behind it was total blackness.

Louise and Jean beamed their flashlights on their phones ahead. "This place looks ancient," Jean remarked.

The passageway on the other side of the door had side walls and a ceiling of stone, but the floor was covered with a fine powder.

"That's strange-looking stuff," Jean said. "I wonder what it is."

Louise leaned down to sniff the grayish-white dust. It had no odor.

"I wonder if this could be Grandpa Hodge's secret," she said.

Jean agreed this was possible. "He had it well hidden," she replied.

Louise suggested that they go for a pail and shovel and scoop up some of the mysterious powder. "We can take it to a chemist for examination."

"Good idea," Jean agreed.

As the girls reached the kitchen stairway, they heard Homer barking. Jean glanced at a clock on her smartphone. "It's probably Mr. Fife driving up. He's due about now."

"I don't think we should let him in on the secret," Louise said. "I'll run back and close that door." She did, and shortly joined her sister in the kitchen. They were met by Aunt Harriet, and quickly told her what they had found.

"Please wait until tomorrow before collecting any of it," Miss Dana said. "I think we should take Tammi to the doctor. She has a dreadful headache."

Just then Mr. Fife walked in the door. He was visibly disturbed. "I saw Homer," he said. "He looks as if he's been in a fight. Did you have trouble here?"

Louise explained what had happened.

Mr. Fife was incensed. "I'm sure this was done deliberately," he fumed. "Too bad we don't know who the fellow was. Did anyone see if the strange dog had a license tag, and what the number was?"

Louise shook her head. "We didn't dare get close enough. The animal was ferocious.

Mr. Fife nodded. "It's just as well you didn't go near him. He might have hurt you seriously."

The Danas and Tammi said good-by to the detective and left. After they reached the main road, Louise said, "We've found something very interesting in the cellar."

"What is it?" Tammi asked.

"There's a passageway behind the spot where those stairs were," Jean told her, "and the floor is covered with a gray-white powder."

"Do you think it has something to do with Grandpa's secret?"

"It could have," Louise said. "Maybe we'll find out tomorrow!"

Episode 10: The Strange Powder
On the way home, Aunt Harriet and the girls stopped at the doctor's office. Fortunately he was able to examine Tammi at once. He confirmed the fact that she had a bad bang, but that the cut was not deep.

Smiling, he said, "Tammi, you're a lucky young lady. I'm sure that a good night's sleep will fix you up." He gave her a couple of tablets to take and suggested a light dinner.

The following morning the injured girl insisted that she felt fine and wanted to accompany the Danas to her mountain home.

"All right," Aunt Harriet agreed. "But you must all be more careful. We don't want any more trouble."

The girls promised. Then Louise and Jean brought the shovels and buckets from the garage.

"I think we should take a plastic bag, too," Louise said, and went to get one.

When they reached Tammi's home, they said good morning to Mr. Fife and asked if anything exciting had happened during the night.

"I don't know that you'd call it exciting," he replied. "Two phone calls came for Miss Mathilde Price, one from a woman, the other from a man. When I said she wasn't there, both wanted to know who I was. I merely said I was spending the night here, without going into any details."

"I'm glad to hear that," Aunt Harriet said. "It might forestall more trouble."

Louise remarked, "I wonder if the calls were legitimate, or if the gang was trying to get some information."

The detective thought the latter was probably the answer. "I didn't like the tone of voice of either the man or the woman. They weren't a bit friendly."

He went on to say that Homer, who had been on watch outside, had barked loudly during the night. "I checked to see what was worrying him, and both times I noticed flashlights moving down the driveway. The first incident occured at 2:00 AM, the other at 4:00 AM---not exactly visiting hours."

"Who do you suppose the intruders were?" Louise asked. "Miss Mathilde's kidnappers?"

"It could even have been the woman herself," Jean replied.

"Do you think they wanted to get something from the house?" Tammi spoke up.

"Maybe they were trying to find out what part of the house I was in," Mr. Fife said. "If it was the gang who made the phone calls, they learned the house was guarded, and they might have wanted to know how well."

Jean sighed. "So many questions and no answers."

Mr. Fife nodded. "Now I'll have to run. See you tonight."

After he left, Louise suggested that the girls go out and see if the intruders had left any clues.

"What do you expect to find, a flashlight battery?" Jean teased.

"Who knows? A good detective leaves no stone unturned," her sister declared, and they went outside.

They spread out and walked down the driveway, scanning the ground carefully.

After a few minutes, Louise called out, "Hey, I found something!" She bent down and picked yo a small object. Tammi and Jean ran to her side.

"What is it?" Tammi asked excitedly.

"A red pencil. It has a good point on it, too" Louise replied.

"Oh!" Tammi laughed. "That belongs to me. I've been looking for it all over the house for several days."

"Too bad," Louise said, disappointed. "Well, it was a good try."

The girls continued their search, but had no success. Finally Louise said, "It's no use. Why don't we investigate the secret passageway instead?"

Tammi and Jean agreed. They took the pails, shovels, and a plastic bag and descended into the cellar. Tammi, astounded to see the gray-white powder, asked the Danas how they were going to determine what it was.

Louise replied, "We'll take it to a chemist. A good friend of Uncle Ned's who's the head of a chemical company in Oak Falls might be able to help us."

The girls dug up a quantity of the powder and sealed it in the bag. Then Jean said she wanted to investigate the passageway farther along. The three walked over the powder, beaming their flashlights around their interior. It proved to be a long, straight tunnel which came to a dead end.

"This place is a mystery," said Louise. "I---" she sneezed.

A moment later Jean sneezed, too. "We'd better turn back," she said, beginning to cough. "This stuff is getting to us."

Tammi was already walking toward the entrance. She, too, sneezed and coughed before they were halfway back to their starting point.

When the three girls finally arrived at the first floor of the house, Aunt Harriet looked at them in dismay. "What in the world happened to you?"

"We---" Louise began. Jean added, "---walked through---" but she had to cough again.

Tammi said, "The gray-white dust---"

Aunt Harriet did not wait to hear anymore. She asked Tammi if there was anything in the house that could be used as a spray for the girls' noses and throats.

Tammi nodded, and through her streaming eyes led Aunt Harriet to a medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She picked out eyedrops, nasal spray, and a gargle. Each girl used them and finally recovered.

Jean giggled. "I haven't cried so much since I was little."

"Nor I," Louise added.

Tammi asked if they could go to town right away to find out what the gray-white powder was. Louise explained to Aunt Harriet about consulting the chemist.

"That's a good idea," Miss Dana agreed. "But I think Tammi should stay here. There is no need for all of you to go, and after her bang on the head yesterday and now the sneezing and coughing, she'd better take it easy."

Tammi was disappointed, but managed a smile. "It's wonderful to have someone worrying about me," she said. "Aunt Harriet, you're just the dearest person in the world. I guess you shouldn't say alone anyway, even with Homer to protect you."

Louise and Jean drove off. Half and hour later they arrived at the Newstead Company, which was on the outskirts of Oak Falls. When they entered the lobby, Louise asked the receptionist if they could see Mr. Harvey Windsor.

"Who shall I say is calling?" the woman inquired.

"Louise and Jean Dana. Our Uncle Ned is a friend of Mr. Windsor's."

The receptionist invited the girls to sit down and spoke to the company president on the telephone. When she finished, she said, "Mr. Windsor will see you now. Go down this hall, turn left, and his office is the last room on the right."

The Dana girls had not seen Mr. Windsor for many years, and were not surprised when he said, "I would not have recognized you if I had not been given your names. How are you, young ladies? I hear you're amateur sleuths."

The girls laughed and admitted they had had some luck in solving mysteries.

"That's why we're here now," Jean said. "We have brought you a sample of a strange powder and would like you to analyze it."

Mr. Windsor said he would be glad to, then asked where they had obtained the material.

Louise replied, "From a hidden passageway under a mountain peak. By the way, we'd like to keep this a secret."

The company president looked surprised. He asked for more information and Louise told him about their search under Mr. Hodge's home. The chemist was intrigued and said he would analyze the mysterious powder himself.

"You girls stay here. If my phone rings, would you please tell the receptionist that I'll be back in a short time?"

While Louise and Jean were waiting, they looked around the office. There were several cabinets containing specimens of unusual rocks.

They read the labels, and Jean remarked, "This is a good way to get a free education in geology."

Twenty minutes later Mr. Windsor reappeared. He closed the door and said, "You have made quite a find. You'd never guess what the powder is. It's volcanic ash!"

"Volcanic ash?" Louise repeated. "You mean at some time a volcano erupted on the mountain?"

"That's right," Mr. Windsor replied. "It apparently occurred thousands of years ago. Since then, the wind, rain, and sun have covered the ash over with soil, so that people today are not aware of what happened."

Louise told the company president they knew that Grandpa Hodge had made a great discovery. "Do you think this could be it?"

"If it is," Mr. Windsor said, "I wonder why he didn't give the news to the world."

The Danas shrugged, Louise told him that they had found other clues indicating that there was more to the elderly man's secret than just the powder.

Mr. Windsor said he would like to visit the mountain peak house and see the volcanic ash himself. "I'll try to find the time and meanwhile I'll keep your discovery confidential."

"Thank you," Jean said. "And when you come, bring a surgical mask with you. We sneezed, coughed, and cried a lot down in that passageway."

The man laughed. "I'll do as you say."

Just then his phone rang and he picked up the receiver. After listening a couple of moments, he turned to the girls and said, "I have an important long-distance call. Thank you for coming. If you don't mind, I'll keep the sample you brought. I'd like to do a little more testing."

Louise and Jean stood up, waved good-by, and left. As they drove off, Louise said, "I can't wait to get back and dig some more."

Jean laughed. "First we'd better stop at CVS and buy blue surgical earloop masks so we won't sneeze our heads off again."

When they reached the CVS store, Jean hopped out of the car and went inside. She purchased a box of blue disposable surgical earloop masks.

"Now several people can go in the basement at once and check out that strange tunnel," she said to Louise.

As soon as they reached the mountain peak home, the girls reported Mr. Windsor's findings.

"How exciting!" Aunt Harriet exclaimed. "I'm sure Mr. Hodge wrote about this in his manuscript. No doubt the thief read about it. I wonder, though, if he actually saw the volcanic ash."

"He couldn't have," Tammi spoke up. "I know that stairway has been there for a long time, long before the manuscript was stolen."

Louise and Jean unpacked their surgical earloop masks. "Ready to investigate?" Jean asked Tammi.

"Sure thing. But first, Aunt Harriet and I have a surprise for you."

"Great," Jean said. "What is it?"

"While you were gone, we decided to search for Grandpa Hodge's duplicate manuscript. We looked between the pages of every single book in the house," Tammi said. "Many of them contained scribbled notes on separate pieces of paper, but Aunt Harriet and I figured out that they referred to the contents of the books and were comments on certain passages."

"You mean, they had nothing to do with our mystery," Jean said, disappointed.

Tammi grinned and the Dana girls realized that a more dramatic announcement was in store for them.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Louise pleaded. "I'm sure you have something really important to tell us."

"We do," their aunt replied. "We found two pieces of paper with notations that had nothing to do with the books in which they had been hidden. One of them said, 'What became of the Puma people?'"

"What did the other paper say?" Jean asked.

Tammi replied, "Were the artifacts stolen?"

The Danas were amazed at the revelations. They were positive now that Grandpa Hodge's discovery had something to do with the volcano and with what might have been buried under it as well!

Episode 11: A Sleeping Volcano
"This was the second time Grandpa referred to the Puma people," Tammi said thoughtfully. "I wish we knew what he meant by that."

"I'm sure Grandpa Hodge's duplicate manuscript would answer every one of our questions," Jean said.

"I just thought of something," Tammi spoke up. "Maybe some time between Grandpa's death and my coming to see you, the person who stole the original took the copy, too!"

"That's possible," Louise said.

There was silence for a full minute while everyone thought this over. Then Aunt Harriet said, "If the thief has both the original and the duplicate, why is he bothering us?"

Jean suggested, "Perhaps the manuscript described a mystery right in this house, or at least on this mountain peak, and the thief wants to get rid of us so he can investigate the place."

Louise said, "I'm convinced that something important is hidden under the volcanic ash. Why don't we go back to the passageway and dig?"

The girls were eager to start, and Aunt Harriet offered to act as guard on the first floor. When Louise, Jean, and Tammi reached the mysterious tunnel, they all donned surgical earloop masks.

"Where do you think we should begin?" Tammi asked.

The question stumped the Danas. During their previous walk through the passageway, they had not seen any particular spot that looked promising."

"But we can't excavate this whole tunnel!" Tammi said. "What should we do?"

Louise pointed out there was no sense in starting very far from the entrance. "We may have to carry some of this stuff out of here, so the shorter the distance, the better."

"Right," Jean said, and with a flourish stuck her shovel in the ash. She worked furiously for a couple of minutes, then heaved a sigh. The dust fell back into the hole as fast as she scooped it up! "This is a problem," she said. "How do we ever clear this out?"

Louise and Tammi, who had not started yet, laughed. Louise said, "Oh, we'll just stand here and watch you work."

Jean made a face at her sister and continued digging. This time she threw the shovelful of ash a greater distance, so it could not run back into the hole.

Tammi asked, "Aren't we going to use the pails to carry out the ash? We could pile it up in one of the sheds."

"Good idea," Louise said, and started to dig.

The girls worked for nearly an hour, lugging out bucket after bucket. When they made a good-sized hole, Tammi's shovel hit something hard. Carefully she reached down and lifted up a solid object.

"I wonder what it is?" she said, brushing it off.

"Let me see," Louise said. She played her flashlight on the find, which proved to be a carved figurine."

"It looks like an animal," Tammi said. "Do you think---"

"Yes," Louise interrupted her. "It's a puma!"

"A puma!" Jean cried out. "It must have belonged to the Puma people that Mr. Hodge wrote about!"

The three girls stared at one another, puzzling thoughts racing through their minds.

Louise said, "What I can't understand is what your Grandpa Hodge meant by 'Puma people.' Did he refer to the cats themselves or to a tribe of people who held the puma sacred?"

Jean suggested that they take the carving upstairs and show it to Aunt Harriet. "Besides, we can examine it under a stronger light."

When Miss Dana saw the puma statuette, she was amazed. After looking it very closely, she said, "Remember the second notation we found? It said something about stolen artifacts. I wonder if Grandpa Hodge meant this kind of artifact."

"What I'd like to know," Jean put in, "is whether he hid this statuette or never even knew it was there."

Louise washed the stone so that the markings would be more distinct. Then she held it under a bright lamp. The puma had been carefully carved by a sculptor with great talent.

"This settles one thing," Louise remarked. "No primitive could have done this. I'm sure that the 'Puma people' Mr. Hodge referred to belonged to some ancient civilization."

"And you think they were buried under the volcano?" Tammi asked.

Louise nodded. "The question is, how far down do we have to dig to find more evidence?"

Jean laughed. "At the rate we're going, it'll take us the rest of our lives to go even another ten feet!"

Miss Dana suggested that while the girls were trying to figure out what to do, she would show them a discovery of her own. She pointed to a table she had pulled away from the wall. To everyone's surprise, there was a low cupboard behind it, which they had not noticed before.

"A lot of books are in there," Aunt Harriet said. "I've checked through the pages, but found nothing handwritten. The books are on archeological subjects and several of them are on American Indians."

Tammi told the Danas that her grandfather had often told her about American Indians in ancient times.

"Were any of them about volcanoes?" Jean asked.

"No," Tammi replied. "Not pumas, either. But there were a lot of good tales about Mexican jaguars and serpents, and the customs of the people who lived in South America at that time."

"Why don't you tell us one of them?" Aunt Harriet suggested. "We might even pick up a clue to our mystery."

Louise and Jean liked the idea, and Tammi began one of her grandfather's stories. "Long, long ago, around 1000 AD, the Incas lived in South America. They controlled a tremendous amount of territory. In those days it was difficult to get messages from one place to another."

Tammi smiled. "That sounds funny now, doesn't it, with telephones, telegraph, cars, and airplanes?"

The others agreed, and she went on, "The Incas were a highly civilized people and were great builders. They mined tons of gold and the wealthy loads of the empire used it to decorate their headdresses and robes."

"One of the most amazing things they created was a way to get messages from one place to another very fast. Men called chasqui were trained from early childhood to run at tremendous speed in the high altitudes. They could cover a mile in six and a half minutes."

"Wow!" Jean exclaimed. "They must have had enormous lung expansion."

"They did," Tammi said. "The Incas built very wide, smooth roads to make it easy for these runners to speed despite traffic. Each man had to run only one mile and a half at a time, then another courier continued the journey. This way, no one became exhausted.

"Along the roads were huts called o'kla, where the messengers stopped to rest. According to history, there were always a couple of guards at these posts.

"The Incas had no form of writing, so all the messages were given by word of mouth from one chasqui to another. Much of this information was of a highly secret nature, and there was a death penalty for any chasqui found giving away the secret except to the next chasqui."

When Tammi stopped speaking, Jean said, "That was something like our relay games. Only the stick one runner hands to another doesn't hold a secret!"

Suddenly Homer started to bark furiously. Tammi and the Danas rushed to the front window and looked out. They saw no one, but an instant later they heard the sound of a rifle shot!

Episode 12: Forced Entry
At the crack of the shot Louise and Jean froze in fright. They stared out the window and for a few seconds no one spoke.

Finally Louise broke the silence. "Do---do you think there are hunters around here?"

"I don't believe they'd come that close to the house," Tammi said. "Besides, this is a private property."

"We should go and see if Homer's all right," Jean said.

"No!" Aunt Harriet cried out emphatically. "If someone's out there with a gun, you might be hit!"

"What do we do now?" Jean asked.

"Let's look out all the windows, but make sure we're not being seen," Louise suggested. "Perhaps we can determine who's there."

Each of them went from window to window, glancing in all directions. Nothing moved outside, and there was no one in sight.

"I can't even find Homer," Louise said, worried. "I hope he wasn't hit!"

"Suppose we open the door just a bit and call him?" Jean suggested.

"All right," Aunt Harriet agreed. "But make sure you're not a target."

The girls went to the front door and opened it a crack. "Homer! Homer!" Louise called.

"I'll yell out the rear window," Jean offered. "He might not hear if he's in the back."

The strategy was successful. A few minutes later Louise noticed Homer slinking toward her. He appears to be frightened.

"Homer!" she exclaimed in relief. "Come in, quick!"

She opened the door momentarily, stepping behind it. The animal entered the house and the next moment she slammed the door shut.

"Jean, come here!" Louise called out. "Homer is all right!"

The Danas patted the German shepherd, relieved and grateful that he was not hurt.

"Do you think the shot missed him?" Jean asked. She examined the dog.

"I have a hunch it was only meant to frighten us," Louise commented. "After all, if someone wanted to shoot Homer and missed, why didn't he try again?"

Aunt Harriet nodded. "It is rather odd that only one bullet was fired. Let's wait a while, then go outside and see if we can find a clue to the rifleman."

An hour later Aunt Harriet felt it was safe to venture outdoors. She and the girls looked all around. After searching thoroughly for footprints and other clues, Jean called out, "Look! There's a bullet hole in the side of the house!"

"I think we should call the police," Louise said. "This proves beyond a doubt that the rifleman was not a hunter."

"Mr. Fife will be here in a short while," Aunt Harriet said. "Let's tell him what happened and let him decide what to do about it."

When the detective arrived and heard the story, he was disturbed. "We need more protection on this mountain," he said. "I'll phone headquarters and ask for increased patrol of the property."

As soon as he done this and his request was granted, the Danas and Tammi decided to leave. Telling Mr. Fife that they hoped he would have no trouble during the night, they drove off.

The next morning, when the group returned to the Hodge home, Mr. Fife reported that there had been no disturbance. "Homer did not bark once. He slept soundly, and so did I."

After the detective had left, the girls tidied up the house a bit. This reminded Aunt Harriet to call Cora Appel at the Dana home to tell her what chores to take care of that day. She dialed the number but there was no answer. Miss Dana assumed that Cora had not yet arrived.

"That's strange," she said. "Cora is very reliable and prompt. If she didn't plan to come, she would have phoned."

Fifteen minutes later Aunt Harriet called again. After a long wait, she heard the receiver fall to the floor, but no one picked it up or spoke. Aunt Harriet wondered if there was a stranger in the house.

"Cora, are you there?" she asked.

Finally there was a muffled reply. "I'm---a prisoner. I'm---taped up!"

Aunt Harriet was shocked. "We'll rescue you," she said. "Keep up your courage!" She put down the phone and told the girls what Cora had said, then declared she was going home at once to take care of the matter.

"Let me come with you," Louise offered.

Aunt Harriet shook her head. "No. I think you should stay here, guard this place, and go on with your investigation. I'll phone our next door neighbor. She has a key, you know. I'll ask her to contact the police and they can all go in at once."

After placing the call, Aunt Harriet drove off, having the girls wondering what had happened at the Dana home. Had a burglar been there to rob the place, or was the incident connected with the mystery they were working on?

"What do we do next?" Jean asked.

"Suppose we go back to the cellar and dig some more in the volcanic ash," Louise suggested.

Tammi asked, "Why don't I stay up here with Homer and watch for visitors or intruders? I'd like to get more clothes and a few other things from my room anyway. You girls go ahead."

The Danas hesitated. "I don't think you should be up here alone," Jean said finally. "Too many dangerous things have happened. We'll forget the digging for a while and stay with you."

"All right," Tammi agreed. "Let's get my things first, and later we'll investigate the cellar."

When the girls reached Tammi's room, she opened the drawer and took out a couple of sweaters. Then she laid out several skirts. In the meantime, Louise and Jean were glancing around the room. It was filled with pictures, most of which, Tammi said, were of her school friends.

"But that's a photo of Grandpa Hodge on the dressing table," she added. "Isn't he wonderful?"

Louise and Jean looked at the elderly man. "What a kindly expression he has!" Jean said. "And he's so handsome. Tammi, you resemble him a good bit."

"That's what people tell me," the girl replied. "Look at the message on the back."

Louise turned the photograph over. There was nothing on it!

Tammi said, "Lift the picture out."

Louise did, and read, "To my lovely Tammi, a marvelous companion. Grandpa Hodge."

"That's sweet," Louise said as she tucked the photograph back into the frame. "He must have been very proud of you."

"I guess so," Tammi replied. "Anyway, he taught me so many things. I'll always try to live up to his expectations."

The smartphone rang. "Maybe that's Aunt Harriet," Louise said and hurried to the kitchen where she was charging to answer it. Jean and Tammi followed.

The caller was indeed Aunt Harriet. She said that by the time she had reached home, the neighbor and the police had already arrived and unbound Cora, who was hysterical.

"She told me she was working in the kitchen when two men opened the front door with a key and came in. They began to ransack the house. Cora went to see what was going on, and they grabbed her. They used duct tape to gag across her mouth and taped around her arms, body, and legs.

"Poor Cora couldn't move, and had to watch as the men, who wore masks, looked through every drawer and the desk in the living room. They seemed very angry because they couldn't find what they were hunting for. Finally they left."

"Then what happened?" Louise asked.

"Cora tried to loosen the duct tape, but failed. She attempted to remove the tape gag by rubbing the back of her head against the table leg. She managed to shift it enough so that when the phone rang, she could at least knock the receiver off its cradle and mumble about her predicament."

"Did Cora give the police a description of the men?" Louise asked.

"She couldn't because of the masks. She also said they wore gloves and left no fingerprints."

"Did they take anything from the house?"

"No," her aunt answered. "I wonder what they were looking for."

"Maybe they thought we took the duplicate manuscript home for safekeeping," Louise said.

"Either that or they figured we found something else and brought it over here," Aunt Harriet added. "Perhaps they read in the original that Mr. Hodge had discovered in ancient artifacts. They might have searched the Hodge house in vain for them and decided to check ours next."

Louise sighed. "There are so many possibilities. All we can do is guess. What are you going to do next, Aunt Harriet?"

"I'll stay home today and straighten out the mess these fellows left," Miss Dana said. "But first I'll drive Cora home. She's still pretty upset, even though she has calmed down a lot since I arrived. But I think she'll feel better if I give her the day off."

"Okay," Louise said. "Suppose we call you when Mr. Fife comes and then you can pick us up?"

"Good idea. Meanwhile, I hope there won't be any more trouble. Good-by for now."

"What did your aunt say?" Tammi asked.

Jean added, "We tried to listen but couldn't hear very well."

Both girls were shocked when they learned the news, and Tammi looked worried.

"Oh dear," she said with a sigh. "I had no idea I would get you in such danger when I asked you to help me with the mystery. I'm terribly sorry."

"It's not your fault," Louise said. "Besides, the intruders didn't take anything from the house, so no great harm has been done. Please don't worry anymore."

"All right," Tammi replied. "I do feel sad about poor Cora, though. I'm sure she was scared silly by those horrible men."

"No doubt," Louise agreed. "We'll have to think of something nice for her to make up for what happened. But before we do anything else, how about some lunch? I'm hungry."

"So am I," Jean said with a laugh.

The girls made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Tammi got some milk and fresh fruit from the pantry. While they ate, the three discussed how they would spend the afternoon.

"I think we should---" Jean started to say, then stopped suddenly. Homer was barkling wildly!

The girls jumped up and ran to the window. They saw a car being driven up the hill. A look of fear came over Tammi's face.

"Who can that be?" she asked apprehensively.

Chapter 13: Unexpected Drop
The car stopped in front of the house and three young men stepped out.

"It's Ken, Chris, and another boy," Louise exclaimed in relief when she recognized their friends. She opened the door and Jean followed her to greet the callers, while Tammi stood shyly in the doorway.

"How great to see you!" Louise said to Ken Scott, who kissed her while Jean hugged her favorite date, Chris Barton.

Ken grinned. "When I received your letter, Louise, I thought we might be able to help you with the mystery. And we brought Paul Burke, who is a neighbor of ours."

"Hello, Paul," Louise said and shook his hands with the good-looking 14-year-old.

After introductions, Tammi asked the young people to come inside. Everyone followed her into the living room, and Jean said, "Louise, I didn't realize you wrote to Ken. When did you find the time? Things have been so hectic around here."

Ken grinned. "You know I'm such a wonderful guy that she can't help but find the time."

Louise laughed. "Talk about a big head!"

"Who, me?" Ken quipped.

"You can prove how great you are by helping us solve the mystery," Louise told him. "That's why I wrote. We could use some assistance."

Ken hung his head in mock despair. "I should have known it wasn't because of me. It was because you wanted something!"

When the testing stopped, Chris said, "Now tell us about your new case. If strong arms are required, we've got six of them. Will that do?"

"That'll be fine," Jean said. "We could also use the heads that come with the muscle. Perhaps one of you can figure out how volcanic ash got into Tammi's basement."

"Volcanic ash?" Chris was puzzled.

"Right," Jean replied, and explained what they discovered. Both Chris and Ken were intrigued and said they could not wait to start investigating.

Paul, meanwhile, had sat down next to Tammi and told her that he, too, owned a German shepherd. He saw Mr. Fife's dog when they pulled up in front of the house. Tammi told him how well-trained Homer was. Soon the two got up and walked outside to play with the dog.

Louise smiled. "I guess they don't want to come with us," she said. "It's just as well. They can guard the house while Jean and I introduce you boys to the volcanic mystery."

She went to get surgical earloop masks for everyone, then called to Tammi that they were going downstairs. "Please watch the house and answer your cell phone," she said.

"Okay," Tammi replied.

When the Danas and their friends reached the passageway, Ken and Chris were amazed to see the gray-white powder. They started to enlarge the hole. Since the boys were able to throw the ash a greater distance than the girls, they decided not to use the buckets.

Soon the hole became deeper. The sides were almost like quicksand, however, and from time to time, large portions spilled into the excavation.

"At this rate we'll never finish," Ken remarked.

Chris said practically, "There has to be solid ground underneath this ash, or we would sink. Just dig a little more."

It was not long before his shovel hit a firm surface. "I think I've found it," Chris called out.

Jean jumped into the pit and tried to penetrate the bottom with her shovel. Suddenly it gave way, and she felt herself sinking. The next second both she and Chris tumbled headlong into a dark hole!

Louise and Ken cried out in horror. "Jean! Chris! Are you all right?"

The only reply was a muffled cough. Ken and Louise could hardly see through the heavy cloud of ash that had been stirred up, and they had to close their eyes momentarily.

When the dust settled somewhat, Ken called again, and this time Chris answered. "We'll all right. Drop a flashlight down. And get us out of here before we sneeze to death."

"What happened to your masks?" Louise asked.

"They were knocked off when we fell. I found them, but they're both dusty."

Ken turned to Louise. "Is there any rope in the house?"

"I'll run upstairs and ask Tammi."

"Okay. And see if you can find a long, strong board."

Louise dashed off. She realized that Ken planned to lay a board across the hole after tying one end of the rope around it. She called Tammi and Paul and met them in the hallway and quickly told them what had happened.

"Oh dear," Tammi cried out in alarm. "I hope Chris and Jean weren't hurt!"

"They must be okay," Louise assured her. "Do you have some rope or a clothesline at hand, and also a long board?"

Tammi nodded. "Yes, in the garage."

The three quickly gathered the needed items and returned to the passageway. Ken placed the board across the opening, then stepped on it, and tied one end to the rope securely around the center. Then he let the other one down into the hole.

"Grab it and try to climb up," he advised. "We'll help pull you out as soon as we can get hold of you."

He turned to Louise and Tammi. "You stand on each end of the board so it doesn't shift. I'll stay in the middle and help Chris and Jean."

"Okay," Louise said and the two positioned themselves.

"I'm coming up first," Chris announced. "Jean insisted because she had the flashlight on her phone and is checking this place out. Also, we figure if the rope holds me, she won't have any problem because she's lighter."

"All right," Ken said.

Chris took the rope and started to climb. He had no trouble and knew Jean would not have any either, since all the young people were good athletes. Soon his head appeared. Ken reached down and grabbed his friend under the arms. A second later Chris was free.

"Boy, am I glad to be out of that hole!" he exclaimed, his face covered with ash. He sneezed. "We'd better get Jean now."

Ken called down to the girl. There was no answer. Louise's heart sank. What had happened to her sister?

Ken repeated his call. There was a faint reply, then Jean's voice came stronger. "This might have been another tunnel running underneath the passageway. But it has caved in on both sides."

"How large an area is it?" Louise asked.

"Oh, only about seven feet wide and maybe ten feet long. The floor is covered with ash, too, and there seems to be nothing down here. I've been poking around---wait a minute!"

"What is it?" Tammi asked. "Did you find something?"

"I sure did. It's another artifact!" Jean exclaimed, elated. "I'll tie the rope around it. You haul it up first, because I can't hold onto it while I climb."

The others waited until Jean said she was ready. Then Ken pulled up the rope. Attached to it was a copper statue of a warrior!

Ken unfastened it and handed it to Louise. "What a marvelous find," she remarked. "But before we examine it any closer, let's rescue Jean."

Ken let the rope down again. Jean grabbed it and pulled herself up.

What a sight she was! Her hair was white and she sneezed continuously. But she was safe!

Louise declared that they should quit work for the day, and led the way out of the passage up to the first floor. Jean went to Tammi's room, and Chris to Grandpa Hodge's.

Tammi found the nasal and throat sprays Aunt Harriet had used, and soon the medication relieved the victim's symptoms.

After showering up, the two young people felt fine again. The group gathered in the living room and talked about their discovery. They had cleaned the warrior with copper polish. On the bottom was the distinct footprint of a puma.

"The Puma people again," Tammi said. "Oh, when do we learn their secret?"

"I have a strong hunch," Louise remarked, "that we are near a solution."

"I hope you're right," said Jean. "I must tell you what I think about this area." She said that after finding the warrior, she had felt around the sides of the hole into which she had tumbled.

"There was a little niche where the floor and walls were made of stone blocks. It probably wasn't a tunnel, after all, but a building of some kind may have stood there in ancient times, maybe a tower."

"But why is a passageway above it?" Louise asked.

"Who knows? It may have been constructed much later."

"But both the building beneath and the passageway contained volcanic ash," Ken observed.

"True. Perhaps the tunnel was originally part of the tower, a lookout, for instance. Later someone could have enlarged it."

Louise sighed. "We'll probably never know. And now I think I'd better call Aunt Harriet and tell her she doesn't have to pick us up."

She took her smartphone out of her pocket and told her aunt about the boys' arrival, and their adventure in the tunnel. "You won't have to come and get us," she added. "The boys have a car. But we'll be ready for one of your great dinners!"

After the phone call, Tammi said, "Paul and I made a discovery, too!"

"What is it?" Louise asked.

"Well," Tammi replied, "We wanted to do some detecting, so we went into Grandpa Hodge's den. This time Paul rolled up the rug to examine the floor. And what do you think we found?"

"What?" the others chorussed.

"Come along and we'll show you!"

They got up from the table. Just then Homer started to bark.

"Oh, dear, more trouble," Tammi said, and ran to the window. "I don't see anyone!" she reported.

"We'll go out and check," Chris offered, and the boys went into the yard.

Homer had disappeared to the back of the house, and the three followed. Presently they returned to the kitchen.

"What was it?" Jean asked.

Paul grinned. "We didn't see any intruders, but we noticed a rabbit running for dear life!"

The girls' laughter broke the tension. "Good old Homer," Tammi said. "At least he's having some fun, too!"

Then she and Paul led the way to the den. The carpet was still rolled back, and in the center of the floor was a metal ring.

"We got only this far when you came up from the basement for the rope and the board," Paul explained. "What do you think is under there?"

"Open it and let's find out!" Jean urged.

Episode 14: A Valuable Clue
The floorboard with the ring in Grandpa Hodge's den was loose. Ken pulled it up easily.

"Look at this!" Tammi exclaimed. She reached down and lifted out an artist's portfolio. She laid it on the desk and turned back the cover. On the first page was a fine drawing of a puma.

"Another clue!" Jean exclaimed. "Let's see what the pictures are."

All the sketches were pencil drawings. Some depicted wild cats, others volcanoes in various stages of eruption. Several represented prehistoric Indian villages with caves, simple stone dwellings, and mud huts. Each drawing had a question mark on it, but no words. None were signed.

"Do you think Grandpa made these?" Tammi asked.

"Most likely," Louise replied. Evidently these are representations of what he thought the volcano and the ancient Indian villages looked like. But why?"

"Perhaps Mr. Hodge wanted to use the sketches as illustrations in his manuscript," Chris suggested. "Did he ever mention this to you, Tammi?"

"No. I've already told Louise and Jean that I didn't even know the manuscript existed until the day he died."

"Too bad there aren't any notes in this portfolio," Chris said. He grinned. "You Danas have really picked out a beauty this time. If we're going to help you solve this mystery before we go home, we'll have to hurry."

Louise laughed. "That reminds me. We didn't even ask how long you're staying."

"We'll have to be back by tomorrow night."

"First, let's return the portfolio to its hiding place," Jean said. "Obviously our enemies don't know about it, or they would have stolen it. Now the house is so well guarded that nobody is taking anything away."

The young people put the portfolio back under the floorboard and rolled the rug in place. They spent the rest of the afternoon searching the dining room, but found no clues. When Mr. Fife arrived, the girls introduce Ken, Chris, and Paul, then they group said goodnight and drove to the Dana home.

Aunt Harriet greeted the boys affectionately, and as promised, had a sumptuous dinner for them. While they were eating, Jean said, "How would you all like to go to the dance tonight?"

"Sounds great," Chris replied. "Where is it?"

Jean explained that the affair was being held at the local women's club for the benefit of a technical school for handicapped people.

"Aunt Harriet bought a block of tickets, but until you boys came, we didn't expect to use them," she said.

The young people were enthusiastic about going. They changed their clothes, then said good-by to Aunt Harriet.

The club's large auditorium was already filled with people. Tables had been arranged around the sides of the room, with the center left for dancing, and a band was playing on the stage.

The Danas and their friends selected a table for six and sat down. They ordered tall glasses of iced Diet Pepsi, then all of them got up to dance.

A slow number followed a fast one and Ken put his arms around Louise as he led her expertly across the hardword floor. Suddenly he felt her stiffen.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Is something bothering you?"

"I just saw a man over there," Louise whispered. "He looked like Xavier Roundtree!"

"What?"

"Yes! He's sitting at the table we just passed."

"He'd be the last person I would expect to be at this dance," Ken said thoughtfully.

"I feel the same way. Perhaps I'd better go back and make sure it's really Xavier Roundtree before I call the police."

"I'll go with you," Ken offered. "Shall we just dance by, or do you want to approach him from another direction?"

"He was facing the band," Louise said. "If he sees me approach on the dance floor, he will probably take off before we get there. Why don't we walk up from behind?"

"Good idea," Ken said, and both stopped dancing. They wound their way past several tables and went toward the man Louise had seen. When they reached the spot, she stopped short.

"Ken!" she whispered. "I must have made a mistake! This man is handicapped. He's sitting in a wheelchair!"

"He could be faking," Ken said. "Why don't you talk to him?"

"I will," Louise said and walked up to the stranger. "Excuse me," she said, "but you look like someone I've met. Would you mind telling me your name?"

"I don't mind a bit," the man replied pleasantly. "It's Rountree, Ralph Roundtree."

Louise was thunderstruck. "Do you have a brother named Xavier?

"He's my twin," the man replied. "It's strange you should ask. I haven't seen him in many years, and no one in the family has any idea where he is. Do you know where he lives?"

"No, but I've seen him in Oak Falls recently."

"Is he a friend of yours?"

"N-no. But I'd like to get in touch with him and ask him a few questions. What's the last address you have for him?"

"All I know is that he lived in Sayreville," Ralph Roundtree replied. "And that was quite a while ago. How did you meet my brother?"

"Oh, I just ran into him in the street," Louise said evasively. "I'll try to get in touch with him in Sayreville. And thank you very much.

Before the man had a chance to ask for further questions, she wished him a pleasant evening and, followed by Ken, went back to their table.

The music had stopped and their four companions were already seated.

"I just picked up a clue," Louise announced, and told the group what she had learned.

Jean was excited by the information and suggested they go to Sayreville the next day to investigate.

"But somebody has to guard my home," Tammi reminded her. "How would it be if Aunt Harriet, Paul, and I go there, and the rest of you drive to Sayreville?"

The Danas thought this arrangement was excellent and later, when they told Aunt Harriet of the plan, she agreed.

The following morning, the two groups set off. Ken had looked up Sayreville on the map and had no trouble finding his way.

"Where do you want to start your hunt?" he asked as they drove along the main street.

Louise pointed to the nearby payphone. "Why don't you stop over there so we can check if Xavier Roundtree is listed in the directory?"

Ken parked and she hopped out. Louise looked under Sayreville and all the surrounding towns, but Roundtree's name did not appear. Disappointed, she returned to the car.

Jean suggested that they go to the police station and ask if the man was known. The sergeant on duty replied, "Roundtree? Sounds familiar. Let me see is he's on our wanted list." He consulted a large register on his desk. "No, I can't find him. I must have heard his name in some other connection."

Louise thanked the officer and the young people returned to the car.

"Does anyone have a suggestion on where to try next?" Jean asked.

Chris said, "What about garages and gas stations?"

The Danas liked the idea and began a systematic tour through town. No one had heard of Xavier Roundtree, and the young people had almost given up hope when they came to Shell. Ken pulled up a fuel pump.

"I'll get gas while we're here," he said. "Louise and Jean, suppose you question the owner."

The girls got out of the car and walked into the office. The gray-haired proprietor named Howard was seated at a desk, writing bills."

"Excuse me," Louise said. "We're trying to locate a man named Xavier Roundtree. Is he by any chance a customer of yours?"

Howard looked up. "It's funny you should ask. He was here only a few days ago, getting his car fixed. Said he had a slight accident. Went in and out of the pothole too fast."

Jean asked if Howard knew where Roundtree lived.

"No, I'm sorry." The man looked quizzically at the girls. "Is he a friend of yours? He doesn't exactly seem to be your kind of folk."

"He's not a friend," Jean said. "But we'd like to get in touch with him."

The owner of the Shell station said he did know one thing that might help the girls. "I have his license number." He wrote it on a piece of paper.

"Thank you very much," Louise said. Then the Danas said good-by to the friendly proprietor and left. They jumped into the car and waited for Ken to drive off before telling the friends what they had learned.

"We picked up a marvelous clue," Louise said. "Howard gave us Xavier Roundtree's license number. It's not the same, though, as the one on the green sedan he drove when he followed us from the mountain peak."

"He must have been using someone else's car that time," Chris suggested.

As they approached a wayside payphone, Louise said she wanted to alert the Oak Falls police. Ken stopped and she made the call.

Chief Ignari thanked her and said he would send out an alarm at once to have the car stopped and the driver picked up.

The young people left Sayreville and arrived at home before Aunt Harriet, Tammi, and Paul.

"I suppose we should start dinner," Louise said.

"We'll be glad to help," Ken offered. "You know we're both good at cooking!"

"I know," Louise replied. "But how good are you on preparation?"

"Like what?"

"Like making grilled cheese sandwiches and French fries!"

Chris made a face, but both boys said they were game. Jean took them at their word and brought out a loaf of wheat bread, slices of cheese, butter, a saucepan, a butter knife, and a bag of frozen French fries.

"Enjoy yourselves," she said and walked off.

Dinner was ready when Aunt Harriet, Tammi, and Paul drove up.

"Yum, smells good," Aunt Harriet said as they walked in the door. "Did you have any luck today?"

"Yes, we did," Louise answered. "No one knew Xavier Roundtree's address, but we got the license number of his car and reported it to the police. How about you?"

Tammi's eyes were sparkling. "Wait until we tell you what happened at my house today!" she said.