Whispering Walls Page 3

  CHAPTER 3 _A THATCHED ROOF COTTAGE_

  Satisfied that the house was not deserted, Penny hammered harder on themassive oaken door with the brass knocker. Still no one came to admither.

  "Someone is here," she thought, intensely annoyed. "Well, if he can bestubborn, so can I! I'll make such a nuisance of myself, they'll have tolet me in."

  She hammered steadily with the knocker for a half minute, then sheexperimented with pattern knocks, in interesting combinations of dots anddashes.

  Suddenly, the window above her head flew open, and the same dark-facedman peered angrily down at her.

  "What you want?" he demanded in an unpleasant voice.

  "Why, I should like to see Mrs. Rhett," Penny replied politely. "She'shere, isn't she?"

  "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't," was the sharp retort. "Who are you?"

  Resenting the man's unfriendly attitude, Penny nevertheless answered thatshe was from the _Riverview Star_ and desired to interview Mrs. Rhettabout her missing husband.

  "Madam not seeing anyone. Go 'way now!"

  The window slammed shut.

  Convinced that the man, evidently a servant, had acted upon instructionsfrom Mrs. Rhett, Penny wondered what to do. She considered returning tothe _Star_ office to explain to Editor DeWitt.

  But in Mr. DeWitt's dictionary there was no such word as failure. Hewould cock an eyebrow at her, growl: "So you couldn't get in, eh?" andpromptly send a more aggressive reporter to the mansion.

  "I could force my way in, but that's trespassing," she reflected withdeepening gloom. "If I were thrown into jail, Mr. DeWitt probablywouldn't even bother to bail me out! He'd say I didn't use my head in anemergency."

  Penny decided to wait for the _Star_ photographer, who also had been sentout. In a tight pinch, photographers nearly always could come up with apicture. Between them they might think of a means of getting into themansion.

  "I hope Salt Sommers is sent here," she thought. "He's a good scout.He'll help me get the story."

  Penny glanced hopefully toward the highway, but the press car was not tobe seen. With a sigh, she slowly circled the house.

  The building, no longer new, once had been one of Riverview's finesthomes. Now the red brick exterior had become discolored, and trees andbushes disclosed lack of skilled care. A hedge flanking the walk had beentrimmed unevenly. The lawn was badly mowed, with many weeds going toseed.

  Nevertheless, the estate was impressive, and Penny walked along a slopingpath to a pool of water lilies. Seating herself on the cement rim, shedabbled her hand in the water. A moment later, raising her eyes, shecaught a flash of color at one of the mansion windows.

  "I'm being watched," she thought. "Perhaps if I poke around here longenough, Mrs. Rhett will decide to see me."

  However, there was no further movement at the window, and presently Pennywandered around to the rear of the house. Two interesting architecturalfeatures drew her attention. At each side of the house were circulartower rooms, each with two tiny round windows which resembled human eyes.

  From the rear of the mansion, several paths led in diverse directions.One, which was weed-choked, apparently angled toward the river beach.Years before, when the Heights Yacht Club had been in operation, manysailboats plied the waters at this particular point.

  Now, except for an occasional fisherman, few boats ever came so farupstream. As the once fine neighborhood had deteriorated, householdersgradually had moved away. Penny judged that the Rhetts, isolated fromtheir neighbors, probably were the only socially prominent peopleremaining.

  Selecting a path which led away from the river, deeper into the grounds,Penny presently found herself some distance from the road and theboundary fences.

  Hedging the cinder trail were high, untrimmed bushes which completelyscreened her view. After walking a short distance, she paused, uncertainwhether to keep on or return to the road.

  "This exploration isn't helping me get a story," she reflected. "If the_Star_ photographer should come while I'm here, I might miss him."

  However, the trail had a fascination for Penny and she was reluctant toturn back. In a tiny clearing a short distance ahead, she saw whatappeared to be a thatched roof cottage. Only a moment or two would berequired to investigate it, she thought. Then she would return to theroad to await the photographer.

  As Penny started eagerly on, she stubbed the toe of her shoe on a stone,and nearly tripped. By quick footwork, she saved herself a fall, but asshe paused to recover breath, she plainly saw the bushes at the left handside of the trail move convulsively. Only a slight breeze had rippled thetree leaves.

  Penny was certain that someone stood behind the bush, watching hermovements.

  "Probably it's that dark skinned man who called to me from the window,"she thought.

  The knowledge that she was a trespasser on the Rhett property made Pennyslightly uneasy. Likewise, it was unnerving to know that her every movewas being watched. Admitting to herself that she should turn back, shenevertheless kept on down the path.

  Without appearing to do so, she kept her eyes on the bushes at the lefthand side of the trail. Now and then a slight jerk of the foliageconvinced her that the one who watched was following and keeping pacewith her.

  Penny hastened her steps as she moved through a cool, densely shadedwoodland. Frost had tinted many of the leaves with red and gold, but thearresting beauty of the foliage was completely lost upon her. She wasonly aware of those soft footsteps behind her.

  Then unexpectedly, Penny came to the clearing. Scarcely seventy-fiveyards ahead, stood the thatched roof cottage which had attracted herinterest from afar.

  So quaint was the building that for a moment she gave it her entireattention, forgetting the one who watched from the bushes.

  From where she stood, the cottage appeared to be about the size of alarge room, and resembled a native hut. No windows were visible. The doorwas closed, and across it was painted in black and red a symbol whicheven from afar could be distinguished as a serpent-like figure.

  The cottage fascinated Penny. At first glance she assumed it to be alarge playhouse, but the serpent painting convinced her the buildingnever had been intended for use of children.

  A garden or tool house perhaps? She dismissed the thought as quickly asit came. Into her mind flashed a recollection of the drawing that hadfallen from Mr. Rhett's desk in the First National Bank. The paper hadborne a plumed serpent, apparently a counterpart of the painting on thedoor of the thatched roof cottage!

  Forgetful of the person who crouched in the bushes, Penny started eagerlyforward, intending to examine the strange drawing at close range.Something whizzed past her, to embed itself in a tree trunk six inchesfrom her head.

  Brought up short, she saw that it was an arrow which had narrowly missedher. Had it been shot from the bushes behind her, and by the person whohad stealthily followed her along the trail?

  In cold fury, Penny jerked the arrow from the tree. Only then did shenotice a folded sheet of notebook paper attached to it with a bit ofstring. She broke the knot and freed the paper. Across its crumbled facehad been penciled a message. The lead had smeared and the words were hardto read. But she made them out.

  The warning note said: "Do not approach the thatched roof cottage. To doso is to endanger your life."