Show E 7 al 5 71 5 e V tv ceab E ba 13 L ISABEL I 1 S A B F L WAITT WAIT T NU N U RELEASE CHAPTER I 1 pirates head always reminds me of a summer squash its long neck juts out ot of rockville mass into the wild atlantic once according to legend this rocky y promontory was the lookout tor for buccaneers bucca who hid their treasure in a deep fissure called the pirates mouth just the mention of that slippery shelf in the foamy sea makes my flesh creep it began to creep the day I 1 received a queerly fat letter the first week of my visit at the inn how would you feel to receive a missive from an unknown containing forty old twenty dollar bills postmark boston date blurred penmanship as if an attempt had been made to disguise it spelling excellent astonished I 1 read the old church should go for a song at the auction please bid for one who wish to be known in the transaction sentimental reasons in return you may later use it for tearoom or lending library rent free please dont tell a soul but buy at any cost if not enough will reimburse if too much keep the difference and oblige A FRIEND nobody knew I 1 was su summering ering at the inn As for the adew auction tion of the homely little church scheduled for july 3 the following day id planned to go just tor for fun every body at the head would be there to take a whack at buying that desolate long unused place of worship standing on the bluff that odd letter though I 1 realize it at the time was my first clue in the series of dreadful things which were t to 0 occur thrilled to death at the mystery and speculating as to my correspondent I 1 pinned the bills into a stocking and tucked the missive itself under the lining of my top bureau drawer maybe this vacation going to be so dull after all id visited my aunt nella before and found it deadly but then shed never had any murders to offer ill say this for murder its never dull aunt nella runs the inn at pirates head the only one there in a way it was a comedown for her to open her lovely old colonial hone hona to paying guests for more than years family in decent privacy they might have been bee comfortably off except for the failure of the lane bank this crippled uncle wylie aunt nellas husband worse than his rheumatism old man lane put a bullet through his head when his pet went into receivership dragging down all his neighbors but aunt nella went to making blueberry pies where I 1 came in she wheedled me into being hostess and general factotum greeting the tourists and answering the phone while her hands were in in the dough as she put it have a nice change she said the head is always so quiet and peaceful my funds were minus X and im without near relatives my parents both having died in a plane crash even aunt nella was only a play aunt who had been my mothers dear friend we had only a few guests the first of july nice people all of them apparently but merely names to me the reverend jonas de witt miss lily kendall hugh norcross and his sister bessie mr thaddeus quincy and mr potter the house staff consisted of aunt nella uncle wylie and myself A town girl came in to wash dishes but she lived out and had nothing to do with the things that happened you can wager I 1 mention my letter to a soul sou visions of tea rooms danced in my head im going in g to skip the auction here except to say that I 1 bid for the old church and got it finally for 1 I still had of money along with the squat old building came sturdy hard benches for seating maybe people a few dilapidated hymn books and down in the basement the most wonderful sea chest you ever saw cedar theres my hope chest I 1 gloated A little polish and a lot of elbow grease 1 the thing was locked when I 1 examined it after the sale I 1 was prying at it with a bobby pin when uncle wylie so said id aunt nella wanted me right away back at the inn not until even evening ing did I 1 escape T then len I 1 discovered mr quincy out on the porch sitting patiently in his wheelchair as usual I 1 liked thaddeus quincy perhaps because he reused refused to use his infirmity as a topic of conversation though about 66 wizened and always alone still whenever he was included he was the life of the party just then he looked dejected enough en ough amusing himself by strumming on the piazza rails with t the he malacca cane he always had handy want me to take you for a ride I 1 asked my the fog is is creeping in would you judy just down the ramp then I 1 can manage for he called me judy since the first day and I 1 liked it from him to the others I 1 was miss jason howd you like to see the inside of a church I 1 asked I 1 held my breath while we made the planks uncle wylie had put over the side steps of the porch tor for this wheel chair saw all I 1 wanted to this afternoon at the auction he answered yes from the outside shouted your bid through the door only made one bid why I 1 asked wanted you to get it cheap think id bid against you what ayou want of that old eyesore walt wait till I 1 get it fixed up tea and crumpets trumpets crum pets my its getting foggy gyl I 1 left my handbag down in the basement taking you down while I 1 get it guess how much money I 1 have left I 1 queried lie he eluded my little trap but appeared grateful for the companionship how flow should I 1 know what scads you make at the inn tell me something about the lane castle he pointed at the great stone mansion that loomed up ahead of us beyond the inn but to the left of the church known to pirate headers as the castle hideously ornate it was by daylight with too many turrets it had been vacant for years not much to tell I 1 replied been closed since mr lane committed suicide after his bank failed three years ago there was a nasty scandal hushed bushed up implicating son roddy roddy jr whom you saw at the inn last night ile he lives out west and nevers come back here A 1 ja 4 I 1 i t f 5 tj aj V op from beneath the cover of the chest a dead white hand protruded since his mother went mad on account of his escapades they say and leaped into the ocean from one of those towers no wonder the old man shot himself nice family mr quincy said chos that A figure scuttled ahead of us across our path to the lane driveway believing it to be one of our guests I 1 called good evening there was no response I 1 had thought it the shadow of a woman until mr Q said so o o ceable fellow lie he received the bump from the bubbled path uncomplainingly in an awful hurry suppose it was lane no light in the castle oh I 1 doubt if it was roddy after ahe the reception he got last night bet he left town show up for breakfast at the inn as ordered we were passing the old fish house from the cracks of whose single window a feeble light shone mr quincy was vas all curiosity had I 1 seen the old man who was staying there he wanted to know no and nobody else I 1 so said r id only uncle wylie and he at a distance when mr brown was fishing off the rocks ear earlier der in the season sort of a recluse I 1 guess stone deaf uses an ear trumpet funny old fashioned kind uncle wylie says not a star to guide us it was wai all I 1 could do to keep on the path but finally we reached the church which faced the ocean got a match I 1 wont be a minute left my bag at the auction and have got to get a key out that you judy jason up rose a behemoth 0 of f darkness As we arc 0 the voi voice ce of miss kendall one of our guests guest s she became becam e conscious of the wheel whee wheelchair 1 chair W why hy if t aint mr Quin quincy cyl she gave ahe the C an S sound instead of the correct I 1 IZ been wat batchin watch chin ln the sunset must of dropped off lemme push you back oh I 1 get twos comply comp ny for once the kittenish lily going to butt in As she moved away chuckling I 1 heard mr quincy breathe thank heavens poor lily kendall corpulent gabby good natured lovable 40 odd forever twisting her countless string of beads till they spilled all over the house and heavens what a pest shed seen mighty little of a sunset in all that gathering mist once the door was open I 1 struck one of the two matches mr Q had given me end and hurried down the aisle of the musty auditorium wrong word for this little meeting place but never mind the lame flame went out and lor for a moment I 1 stood hesitant listening to the ghostly lashing of the waves on the rocks but id promised bessie norcross our fus siest biest guest a key for her door eliav having swiped said key from albion potter our artist boarder his key fitted bessiea Bes sies room too and he never bothered to close his door let alone lock it hed probably never miss it id stuck it in my handbag having intended to go to rockville and have a duplicate made the bag must have been left in the basement near my new hope chest when uncle wylie called me away the basement stairs very narrow and steep led from a door at the side of the front platform the church being built b back a ck to in a way I 1 want any more complaints id promised bessie shed have her key I 1 want to break my neck either I 1 groped down a step or two clinging to the stone wall then I 1 decided it was too precarious the other match should last until I 1 snatched the bag and started back so I 1 struck it the damp chill of that black little cellar penetrated my thin blue dress shivering I 1 hurried as best I 1 could there many stops steps the church had literally been built on a rock so the floor was uneven one end having a patch of dirt floor A strong breeze came from somewhere I 1 remembered uie the chest was against the wall abutting the sea 1 I could have reached it more easily by taking the path around the did to the tiny basement door but I 1 knew that would be locked from the inside id told uncle wylie to lock up when hed summoned me hed said he had and hung the entrance key where id just found it he was absentminded absent minded but in an emergency could be relied upon yet holding up that tiny lame flame I 1 could see that the basement door was open a crack and was swinging wider wider 1 would the match last till I 1 closed the door locked it lind and found my bag I 1 measured the distance with my eye approaching the while and kicking at the door as I 1 passed from the darkness something twinkled at me was it a firefly another step I 1 held the flickering match closer it bel I 1 was seeing things A final spurt and the glow faded burning my fin gers automatically I 1 dropped the match the pain brought action you faintly you faintly I 1 kept telling myself in utter darkness with the moan of thu the sea and the creak of the door that stay closed unless locked I 1 staggered for the stairs nothing on earth would have made me take the cliff path its mighty lucky I 1 as it happened finally I 1 found the stairs missed a step and stumbled down down down I 1 rolled to the bottom every second I 1 expected someone to reach out and grab me I 1 scrambled to my feet more careful this time but sobbing till I 1 made the main floor my skin prickled the middle aisle the dohrl I 1 stumbled ahead s training straining my eyes at the shadows it a firefly id seen by that flickering match from beneath the cover 0 of f the sea chest a dead white hand had protruded and on it a liege huge square cut diamond had winked at me id admired it was it only yesterday somebody was screaming terribly below a door banged blindly I 1 bumped into a human being near the entrance judal stop scream screaming ingi the matter child thaddeus quincel in relief I 1 grabbed at and nearly threw him not till afterward in the safety of my own room did I 1 pause to wonder how hed ever managed to reach tile the spot where he stood unaided Quick i I 1 cried iles hes after list chos after who what are you talking about 1 I yanked at his arm my one thought to get out of the church d now then he panted chos after us the murderer I 1 I 1 heard it squeak are you crazy the door I 1 mean when lie he ran out of 0 the cellar after he killed roddy lanel TO BE CONTINUED |