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 trouser suit.

"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.