Whispering Walls Page 18

  CHAPTER 18 _THROUGH THE WINDOW_

  Jerry slammed on the foot brake and the car came to a jerky halt at thecurb. Leaping out, they stood for a moment listening.

  "Don't hear anything now!" the reporter muttered.

  "Let's take a gander down the beach," Penny proposed. "The sound seemedto come from that direction."

  Hand in hand they cut across a vacant lot where dead weeds came waisthigh, then followed a sloping path to the beach. The long stretch of sandwas deserted.

  "We must have imagined those drums," Jerry said, pausing. "Or maybe itwas the Legion fife and drum corps having a night practice."

  "It was the beat of a jungle drum." Penny turned to gaze toward the Rhettmansion on the wooded hillside. All the windows, save one in an upstairsbedroom, now were dark.

  By the light of a three-quarters moon which was rising over the pines,she could see the wooden steps that led from the estate down to thebeach. On either side extended tiers of twisted limestone rock. Itoccurred to Penny that somewhere among the crannies, a cave might betucked away. She spoke of it to Jerry.

  "Maybe," he agreed, "but I never heard of one around here."

  A gust of wind caught Penny's felt hat, carrying it cartwheeling down thebeach. She and Jerry raced in pursuit, colliding as they pounced on ittogether. They laughed, and as the reporter pulled the hat over Penny'sflying hair, he kissed her quickly on the cheek.

  Then before she could reprimand him, he exclaimed: "Wow! That wind reallyis getting strong! Let's get back to the car before we blow away!"

  Penny liked Jerry and she liked the kiss. Best of all, she appreciatedhis consideration in never forcing serious attentions upon her. With agay "I'll race you!", she ran ahead of him to the road.

  Jerry took Penny directly home. Mrs. Weems had gone to bed while Mr.Parker had not returned from downtown.

  "Will you come in and have a cup of chocolate?" Penny invited thereporter.

  "Not tonight, thanks," he declined. "See you tomorrow at the office."

  Penny went into the house, and after fixing herself a snack from therefrigerator, switched on the radio to catch the weather report. The newscommentator, on a national hookup, warned that the hurricane continued tosweep toward the Atlantic coast, and that inland cities also wereendangered.

  "It really sounds serious," she thought, turning off the radio.

  As she went upstairs, Mrs. Weems called to her in a sleepy voice, soPenny stepped into the housekeeper's bedroom for a moment.

  "I'm glad you're home," Mrs. Weems said. "Is there any news about theapproaching storm?"

  "Nothing definite. The latest radio report said it's still heading thisway."

  "When will it strike?"

  "Late tomorrow unless it veers off. It may be quite serious," Penny said.

  Mrs. Weems sighed and settled beneath the covers again. "If it isn't onething it's another! First thing in the morning we must get the awningdown, and have all the shutters taken off."

  "If the center of the hurricane should hit here, everything will go,"Penny said cheerfully. "So why worry about shutters?"

  "The storm may be a severe one, but I don't believe it will strike withhurricane force," Mrs. Weems insisted. "In any case, the shutters arecoming down, and I'll need your help! So don't try to skip out in themorning!"

  Penny went to her own room, but before she could undress, she heard herfather's car on the driveway. He came into the house, locked the doorsfor the night, then climbed the stairs.

  "Hello, Dad!" she called through the half open door of her bedroom. "Anynews?"

  "There will be by morning," he answered grimly. "The _Star_ is coming outwith front page headlines warning the city to prepare for the worst!"

  Penny stepped quickly out into the hall.

  "Then Riverview is in the path of the hurricane! Is there danger that thecity will be destroyed?"

  "Damage to property is almost certain to be extensive. I've just comefrom a meeting with the mayor and City Council. While there's an outsidechance the city may be spared, it's folly not to prepare for the fullbrunt of the storm. The mayor has issued a proclamation declaring anemergency and advising everyone to keep off the streets after noontomorrow. Most businesses will close."

  "Then the _Star_ will shut down too?"

  "No. At such a time, folks depend more than ever upon their newspaper foraccurate information. We'll publish as long as we have a plant and ourtrucks can keep delivering."

  Mr. Parker's information brought home to Penny the true seriousness ofthe situation. However, as she peered out of her bedroom window a fewminutes later, the clear sky and bright stars belied an approachingstorm.

  Undressed, Penny sat for a time propped up in bed with pillows, trying toread a book. The words held little meaning. Losing interest, she snappedoff the light, and snuggled down.

  But she could not sleep. The dark house was filled with many strangesounds. The stairway creaked, the shutters rattled, and in the bathroom,water dripped regularly from a faucet.

  Thoughts raced rampant through Penny's mind. She squirmed and tossed andbecame increasingly aware of the rising wind.

  Suddenly she was startled by a loud crash in the yard below. Leaping outof bed, she darted to the window. A large rotten tree limb had beenripped from the backyard maple and now lay across the driveway.

  "Dad will have to move it before he can get the car out of the garage inthe morning," she thought. "Some fun!"

  Creeping back beneath the covers, she tried again to sleep. Instead, shefound herself thinking over everything that had occurred at the Rhettmansion. Already the banker's disappearance was fading out of thenewspapers, and with a hurricane in the offing, the story would beentirely forgotten.

  "The police haven't shown much interest," she reflected. "Unless definiteclues are obtained soon, Mr. Rhett may never be traced. The case willdie."

  Penny thought of the mysterious thatched roof cottage and the whisperingvoices.

  "Those walls must have a secret panel," she reasoned. "I believe I mightfind it if I had an opportunity to make a thorough investigation!"

  A flapping shutter reminded Penny once more of the storm. Then came thediscouraging thought that even if only the tail-end of the hurricanestruck Riverview, the flimsy thatched cottage undoubtedly would becarried away and destroyed.

  "Unless I get out there tomorrow, I'll probably lose my chance!" she toldherself. "Oh, dear, how will I make it when I have a thousand otherthings I'm supposed to do?"

  Dancing tree limbs cast weird shadows on the rough plaster wall. Pennyclosed her eyes, but even then sleep would not come.

  Suddenly the window pane crashed, and glass clattered onto the floor.Startled, Penny sat up and groped for the night table lamp. Her firstthought was that a tree branch had hurtled against the pane, breaking it.

  But as the light went on, she saw that only a small hole had been brokenin the glass. On the floor, scarcely two feet from the bed, lay a smallobject wrapped in black cloth.

  Penny rolled out of bed and gingerly picked it up. Carefully and with afeeling of revulsion, she untied the packet.

  Inside were two black feathers, the wing of a bird, herbs which Pennycould not identify, a bit of bone, and a small amount of damp earth.

  There was no warning message, nothing to identify the one who had thrownthe packet, yet Penny instantly knew its significance and from whence ithad come.

  "Either Anton or Celeste hurled it because I've cramped their style!" shethought. "Well, their little hex won't work! I'll use this evil charm tofashion their own undoing!"