Haunted Cabin Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

Hayloft
    H enry watched the barn loft for Jessie’s signal. He pushed the chicken yard gate open a little wider so he could make a faster getaway.
    Just as he saw the three quick blinks of light at the loft window, something shot past him through the open gate to the hen yard, almost throwing him off balance.
    At least Benny had not gone to sleep. As Henry got his balance and raced madly toward the barn door, lights seemed to come from everywhere. The barnyard was as brightly lit as daytime, and the barn itself looked lit up for a party.
    But the small dark figure Henry had seen creeping into the barn only moments before was getting away. It had stepped into the barn and right back out through the barn door that he was supposed to have slammed shut. Now it raced toward the orchard.
    He had failed.
    He hadn’t managed to get to the barn door in time. As he bolted after the escaping figure, paying no attention to where he was going, he tripped on something that made a loud metallic noise. He fell to the ground with a yell of pain. As he tried to get up, he found himself tangled in a heavy woven bag.
    A shovel. The thief had been dragging a heavy shovel and that bag along behind him. No wonder he had walked that strange way. But of course he had to have some heavy tool to dig all those holes. The shovel scraping against the rocks in the ground must have caused “that scraping sound” Benny had heard.
    As Henry leaped to his feet, Violet sped past him, rapidly gaining on the running figure. The whistling warning signal came from somewhere in the orchard, but too late. Henry and Violet caught up with the runner at about the same moment. All three of them went down together in a pile, rolling over and over on the muddy ground. Henry got to his feet first and grabbed the thief with both arms. He still didn’t know what he had caught. It was wearing a dark mask and a black hood over its head. It kicked and beat at Henry with its fists as he took it back toward the barnyard.
    Once there, he shoved it against the side of the barn, and tried to pin back its arms.
    He was hearing all sorts of astonishing things at once. Benny was yelling and crying out, “Take that! Get going!” at the top of his lungs while Jessie and Violet danced around Henry, trying to help but not knowing how to.
    Even Cap, in his white nightshirt, was coming, with a crutch in one hand and his cane in the other.
    â€œPull his mask off,” Henry shouted at Jessie. “I don’t dare let him go a minute.”
    Just as Jessie got a firm grip on the mask, Cap came up behind her, breathing heavily. With a final jerk, Jessie managed to get the dark fabric loose. Jessie gasped. A tumble of bright curls fell on the shoulder of the robe, and a young girl’s terrified face looked back into hers.
    â€œSusie,” Cap cried out in shock.
    Susie Hodges looked up at Cap, covered her face with her hands, and began to sob bitterly. Violet went past Jessie to put her arms around the girl. “There,” she said. “Don’t cry. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
    Cap reached for the girl’s hand. “Violet’s right, Susie. We’re not going to hurt you. But I don’t understand what’s going on.”
    When his words only started a fresh flood of tears, Violet took the girl’s hand and turned to Cap. “Maybe if we all went inside out of the damp air, then she’d feel better.”
    Susie shook her head fiercely. “No, I can’t. Ned.”
    â€œWhere is your little brother?” Jessie asked gently.

    â€œOut there,” Susie said, nodding toward the orchard.
    â€œDid he make that warning whistle?” Henry asked.
    When she nodded, Cap’s voice turned gruff. “That’s enough. I want explanations, not this nonsense. Susie, call Ned, and both of you come inside my cabin this very minute.”
    Susie looked at him, her damp face tearful, then called her