The Secret of the Sundial / Madge Sterling Series, #3

An Initiation

On a certain evening in early September-Friday the thirteenth-to be exact, a stranger in Claymore, Michigan, might have been startled to behold two figures, grotesque in long white sheets which draped them from head to foot, scurrying along an alley leading to Summit Street. It was an appropriate night for ghosts to be abroad. The moon was in the dark and the wind whistled weirdly through the trees.

The two figures moved stealthily along the boxwood hedge which bordered the rear of the George Brady property. Presently, coming to an opening barely large enough to squeeze through, they paused, glancing hastily in all directions.

"The coast is clear!" one murmured in a low tone.

"Surely you don't expect me to crawl through that tiny hole!" came the indignant protest. "I'm not the bean-pole you are, Jane Allen. What's the sense of all this secrecy anyhow? Why can't we go in the main entrance?"

"I suppose you want everyone to see you!" the other retorted. "What's the use of having a secret society if it isn't secret?"

The second "ghost" silently acknowledged the weight of this argument and permitted herself to be pushed toward the opening in the hedge. Half way through, her sheet caught. In her efforts to free herself, it tore.

"Mother's best sheet!" she groaned. "Won't I catch it when I get home!"

"Hurry up!" the other urged with callous indifference to the fate which might await her friend. "We mustn't be late for the initiation."

They moved swiftly across the lawn, noting that the large white house was entirely dark. They paused at a side door and knocked three times.

Almost instantly the door opened and a third ghost confronted them.

"Everyone is here now except Cara Wayne," she informed, "and of course we don't want her until we're all ready for the initiation. Aunt Maude and Uncle George went to a bridge party tonight so we have the house to ourselves."

She led them through darkened halls to an attic "clubroom" where an oil lamp dimly burned.

"We may as well take off these hot sheets until Cara comes," she invited. "We can slip them on again when we hear her at the door."

By way of example, she tossed off her own disguise and stood revealed as Madge Sterling, president of the Skull and Crossbones, a most exclusive secret society. She was an attractive girl, vivacious and distinctly a leader. Her laughter was infectious; without half trying she had a way of drawing friends to her. Older people said she had "tact" but girls her own age liked her because she was known as a good sport. Madge's mother was dead, and since the disappearance of her father, she had made her home with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Brady.

The two newcomers were Jane Allen and Edna Raynard. Jane was homely and very outspoken; she made enemies easily yet was a loyal friend. She did not mind her straight black hair or somewhat muddy complexion. Her slender figure was often ridiculed, but she took it all in good fun. Edna was quite the opposite. She was pretty as a picture, plump, and had an inclination toward taking life exactly as she found it.

The other girl, Enid Burnett, was Madge's special chum. Largely through Madge's influence, she had been induced to come from another state to attend the Everetts School for Girls at Claymore. Her mother also was dead, and her father, a well-to-do collector and sportsman, permitted her an unusual amount of freedom. Notwithstanding, she was a quiet, unspoiled girl with a genuine liking for school and studies.

"Is everything all set for the initiation, Madge?" Jane inquired.

"Yes, Enid and I fixed up the basement this afternoon. We didn't dare let Aunt Maude know what we were about for fear she'd put a stop to it. Wait until Cara steps into the tub of water! We bought a nice big piece of quivery liver too that-"

She broke off as three loud knocks sounded from below, and made a dive for her sheet. The others scrambled into their costumes, preparing to follow her downstairs.

"Remember, girls, don't speak a word until Cara is brought up here," she warned in a whisper. "This initiation must be a very solemn affair."

"Have you thought up the main stunt?" Edna asked anxiously. "I tried to think up something but couldn't."

"Don't worry, I have a hair raiser!" Madge chuckled.

She led the procession down the stairs. The girls lined up on either side of the door and then Madge opened it to confront a very frightened little girl who awaited admittance in fear and trembling. She giggled nervously as Madge beckoned her to follow.

Cara Wayne was conducted by a devious route through the dark house to the basement stairs. Madge signified that she was to go down alone. Cara hesitated, sensing that some unpleasant ordeal awaited her below, but there was no escape. She went boldly down. Suddenly, the girls heard a little squeal of fright.

"She must have touched the liver," Enid whispered. "I hung it where she couldn't miss it."

Next there was a loud crash as Cara stepped into an empty packing box.

"I hope she doesn't miss the tub of water," Madge murmured anxiously.

Cara did not disappoint them. A minute later they heard a great splash and a howl of anguish. Since the water ordeal exhausted the possibilities of the basement, Enid was sent down to bring up the unhappy victim. Cara was drenched to the knees but she displayed a studied cheerfulness. They led her to the attic clubroom, seating themselves in a semi-circle about her.

"Cara Wayne, do you promise never to reveal anything which transpires here this night?" Madge asked in a deep, sepulchre-like voice.

There was a long silence and then Cara's quavering: "I do."

"And will you obey any command given you during the next week by any illustrious member of Skull and Crossbones?"

"I will," Cara promised, visions of many detested tasks passing before her eyes.

"And now, one last test of your courage remains to be made," Madge continued impressively. "It lacks twenty minutes of midnight. Exactly upon the hour you must go to the old boarded-up Swenster mansion, bringing back some token to prove that you have accomplished your mission."

For a minute Cara looked as though she intended to refuse, and in truth, the others could not have blamed her. The old Swenster mansion was several doors away, adjoining a grove of pine trees which at night was not the most pleasant place to pass. The Swenster grounds were surrounded by a high fence and hedge which hid the house from view of the street. The place had been closed for years.

"I don't know how I can get into the grounds," Cara protested.

"You can go in the back way," Madge informed, forgetting her pose and speaking in a natural voice. "It will take you some time to reach there, so you had better start now."

Cara looked very unhappy but she knew that to refuse might mean her dismissal from the organization to which she aspired. Reluctantly, she made her way down the dark stairs. The outside door closed behind her.

"That was an inspiration!" Enid praised after Cara had gone. "Madge, you have such clever ideas! I didn't think she'd do it, did you?"

"Cara's game," Madge laughed. "I'd not enjoy going to the Swenster mansion myself at this time of night."

"You couldn't hire me to go near there," Edna added feelingly. "I can just see poor Cara shaking in her boots. I wonder if she'll be able to get into the grounds."

"The gate at the rear is ajar," Madge returned. "I tested it this afternoon to find out."

For some minutes the girls laughed over the evening's fun. Shortly after midnight they began to expect Cara.

"I wish she'd hurry," Madge said. "Aunt Maude and Uncle George will be coming home soon and that will put an end to the initiation. She's had plenty of time to get back."

At fifteen minutes past midnight, the girls were a little alarmed. They cast off their cumbersome robes and went downstairs to watch for her.

"What can have happened?" Madge worried. "Perhaps we shouldn't have sent her alone."

"She's probably trying to worry us just to get even," Jane insisted.

"I think we'd better go to the Swenster mansion and see what is keeping her," Madge returned quietly. "Or if you like, I'll go alone. It was my idea in the first place-a bum one I'll admit."

"Wait!" Enid commanded. "I believe she's coming now."

They all turned to look and saw a figure fairly flying down the street toward the house. She hurled herself through the gate and raced across the yard. Before the girls could open the door, she flung herself against it, crying: "Let me in! Let me in!"

As they hurriedly admitted her, she stumbled against Madge, gripping her in a nervous embrace.

"Did you bring the token?" they asked her.

Cara laughed hysterically.

"No, I didn't bring it but I went to the Swenster mansion all right! And I don't care what you say-I'll not go back! Not even if it means staying out of the club. Nothing can make me go near that horrible place again!"

Cara's Fright

"It doesn't matter if you didn't bring a token," Madge comforted the shaking Cara. "We'll not make you go back there again. But tell us, what frightened you so?"

"I-I saw a ghost!"

"You must have dreamed it," Jane declared. "I guess you saw so many ghosts during the initiation that you had them on your mind."

Cara shook her head stubbornly.

"No, I didn't dream this. I saw something white moving around in the Swenster yard-I don't know what it could have been if it wasn't a ghost!"

Madge switched on the living room lights and led Cara to a chair. The girls were disturbed to see that she was pale. No one doubted that her fright was genuine.

"Cara Wayne, you know very well that ghosts don't exist," Madge said sternly. "Now tell us exactly what happened."

"Well, I went to the old mansion as I was told to do. I went around the back way and found the gate ajar. Believe me, I wasn't very keen to go inside, but I made myself do it. No sooner had I stepped inside than I saw the thing-oh, it was awful!"

"What did it look like?" Edna demanded.

"I just saw something white and a face-it frightened me so I turned and ran. I made it back here in about thirty seconds flat."

"What was your so called ghost doing in the Swenster yard?" Madge questioned curiously.

"Digging with a shovel!"

Until now the girls had been impressed with Cara's story although they took no stock in ghosts, but this announcement called forth gales of laughter in which all joined save Madge. She had begun to think that perhaps Cara's fright was based upon something more substantial than imagination. She kept the thought to herself.

"You must have been seeing things!" Jane scoffed.

"Well, if you don't believe me, go there yourself and find out!" Cara challenged.

Madge tactfully put an end to the argument by suggesting that refreshments be served.

"We've all had enough initiation for one night," she said. "I vote that without further ceremony we make Cara a full-fledged member of the club."

The others unanimously agreed. Cara breathed a deep sigh of relief as she realized that it was all over. Madge and Enid went to the kitchen to dish up ice cream and cake. Everyone was very sweet to Cara, trying to atone for the unpleasant events of the evening. She bore no one a grudge and soon was able to laugh at her own experience.

Before the girls had finished their ice cream, Mr. and Mrs. Brady returned home from the bridge party.

"Remember, not a word about what happened," Jane warned as footsteps were heard on the porch.

Mr. and Mrs. Brady greeted the girls cordially. Themselves youthful in spirit, they enjoyed the society of young people and never objected when Madge overran the house with her friends. If they noticed that Cara looked pale and slightly ill at ease, they made no mention of it.

A few minutes later the girls departed, gratefully accepting Mr. Brady's offer to drive them home in his car. Madge had hoped to speak alone with Cara before she left, but the opportunity did not present itself.

"I'll see her tomorrow at school," she thought. "I mean to find out more about what happened tonight at the Swenster mansion. Cara isn't the sort to be frightened over nothing. I'm inclined to think something queer may be going on there."

Madge had a certain instinct for adventure; her many thrilling experiences were the envy of her friends. Each summer she was privileged to spend many pleasant months at her uncle's fishing lodge at Loon Lake, Canada. There she had met Jack French, a young forest ranger, who had taken more than an ordinary interest in her. Her friendship for an orphan, Anne Fairaday, had plunged her into a baffling search for a valuable paper. The story of this interesting adventure is related in the first volume of the Madge Sterling series, entitled "The Missing Formula."

More recently, she had been involved in a strange kidnapping case. Arriving at Cheltham Bay to visit her friend Enid, she had found the Burnett yacht abandoned. In trying to discover what became of Mr. Burnett she was brought into dangerous contact with a fanatical group of Zudi Drum worshipers. This story is recounted in the volume "The Deserted Yacht."

"I've often wondered why the Swenster mansion has been kept boarded up all these years," Madge reflected as she undressed for bed. "It must have been quite a show place at one time."

She was still thinking of the old estate when she tumbled into bed. Perhaps Cara's tale of "ghosts" had disturbed her more than she knew for her dreams were of the wildest sort. It seemed to her that she had slept half the night when she was awakened by a loud cry from the basement. Actually, she had been asleep only a few minutes.

"What was that?" she asked herself nervously, sitting up in bed. "I hope it isn't a burglar!"

The sound was not repeated but she could hear something banging about in the basement. After a moment of indecision she decided to investigate. Slipping into her bathrobe, she stole softly down the stairway. She could hear someone coming up the basement steps and scarcely knew whether to retreat or stand her ground.

Suddenly the cellar door was flung open and Uncle George stomped angrily into the kitchen.

"Say, who left a tub of water at the foot of the stairs?" he demanded crossly. "Look at me!"

The sight struck Madge as extremely funny and she made the mistake of laughing.

"If this is your idea of a joke-" Mr. Brady began threateningly.

Madge hastily assured him that the tub of water had not been intended for him, but it was some time before she could clear herself. She finally coaxed him into a better humor and left him foraging contentedly in the refrigerator.

The next day she did not forget her resolution to question Cara Wayne. During algebra class, when the teacher's back was turned, she passed a note, asking Cara to wait for her after school.

"I want you to tell me more about the Swenster ghost," Madge commanded as they linked arms and started away from the building.

"Oh, dear, I suppose I'll never hear the last of it," Cara sighed. "I'm willing to admit it couldn't have been a ghost, but there was somebody in that yard!"

"I have a splendid idea!" Madge confided, watching her friend mischievously. "Let's go to the old mansion now and see what we can discover."

Cara shrank away.

"No, thanks. I don't care for the place."

"It's broad daylight," Madge insisted. "And remember, for a week you're supposed to obey the commands of any member of Skull and Crossbones."

"Oh, all right," Cara submitted unwillingly, "but I don't see what you expect to find there."

Madge did not respond. In truth, she could not have told what she hoped to learn. It was pure intuition that had inspired the little adventure. Turning down Summit Street, she urged Cara to a faster pace.

"Don't look so glum," she protested gayly. "It will be fun! Before we're through, I'll warrant you'll be glad I brought you along!"

The Swenster Mansion

The Swenster mansion was a large, rambling affair, set back some distance from the other modern dwellings on Summit Street. A high, untrimmed hedge at the front and large evergreen trees hid the grounds from view. The windows had been boarded up for years and most persons could not recall when the house had been occupied. It had fast fallen into decay. Shutters dangled loosely on rusty hinges, weeds choked the lawn, everything needed paint. Yet, with the passing years, the old mansion had retained something of its former elegance.

Madge and Cara paused briefly to survey the place from the front, then walked swiftly around to the rear.

"We may get into trouble if we're caught trespassing," Cara ventured timidly.

"No danger of that when the owner hasn't been heard from in years," Madge returned, undisturbed. She rattled the back gate and was surprised to find it locked. "That's queer. It was unfastened yesterday afternoon when I stopped."

"It wasn't locked last night," Cara added with growing uneasiness. "Let's not try to get in."

Madge was not to be so easily discouraged.

"We can climb over easy as scat!" she declared.

"But if someone should see us?"

"Let them. At the worst, we can only be run out. Come on."

She swung over the fence with an ease which her friend could not hope to duplicate. Still protesting, Cara permitted herself to be helped over.

Madge looked about the grounds with keen interest. A winding walk led to a tangled, overgrown rose garden. She saw a tiny cement pool, clogged with old dead leaves and sticks. Beyond, a sundial of peculiar design and construction, attracted her attention.

"Isn't it quaint!" she exclaimed admiringly. "Let's see if we can tell what time it is."

"I know I can't," Cara insisted. "I never could make head nor tail of them."

The dial rested upon a concrete pedestal which reached waist high when the girls stood beside it. Upon the brass face appeared slightly raised Roman numerals and the triangular gnomon cast its shadow across the four.

"It's just a little after four o'clock," Madge announced.

"That's a safe guess," Cara laughed. "You know school lets out at ten till."

"You don't need to guess with a sundial such as this. Half of them won't tell time accurately. That's because they're turned out at the factory and sent all over the country. To be accurate a sundial must be made especially for the section where it is used."

"This one does look home made," Cara acknowledged. "It's nice work though."

Madge would have enjoyed wandering about in the garden but she could tell that her friend was eager to get away. Reluctantly, she gave her attention to the matter which had drawn her to the mansion.

"Tell me where it was that you saw your ghost," she commanded.

"It wasn't a dozen paces from where we're standing. Someone was digging here in the garden."

For the first time Madge carefully studied the ground. She paused a short distance from the sundial.

"There's loose earth here," she announced, stirring it with the toe of her shoe. "I guess you were right about seeing someone."

"Certainly I was right. I hope you don't think I'm afraid of my shadow."

"Of course not, Cara. I wonder who could have been digging here and for what purpose?"

"Maybe someone was burying a dead cat."

Madge shook her head and smiled.

"Folks don't go to other people's yards to bury their pets. Think of a better reason."

"Gold!" Cara cried promptly. "Perhaps there's a treasure hidden here."

"I'd like to think so, but I'm afraid that only happens in story books. Cara, what did your ghost do when he saw you?"

"I don't think he saw me at all. Anyway, I didn't wait long enough to find out."

Madge examined the loose earth but as she had no implement with which to dig, was unable to tell whether or not anything had been buried. Cara displayed slight interest and moved away. Madge completely forgot her until she came back dragging a spade.

"Here, if you must dig around in the dirt, use this."

Madge seized upon the tool, demanding to know where it had been discovered.

Cara indicated a large lilac bush only a few feet away. "I found it beneath the branches."

"This must be the shovel your ghost was using last night! See, there's a little dirt still on it. If it had been lying there long, it would be rusty. Cara, I'll wager a cent-a good Indian cent-that you frightened someone away from here last evening."

"Then it was mutual."

"Perhaps the person who hid this shovel intends to come back again," Madge went on reflectively. "Now what I can't understand is why anyone would come to a boarded-up mansion at midnight to dig up the garden."

Cara, who was not particularly imaginative, could not suggest a possible explanation. She watched with hopeful interest as her friend began to turn up the loose earth. After Madge had dug for fifteen minutes she decided it was not worth the effort.

"Shucks! I'm convinced there's nothing hidden here. And if anyone should find us digging up the yard it might be hard to explain."

She carefully repacked the soil in the hole, and then to Cara's wonderment, returned the spade to the place where it had been found under the lilac.

"Why take such pains?" she asked.

"Because I don't want your 'ghost' to know we've used his spade," Madge explained. "I'm curious to learn what there is worth digging for in this yard. I mean to find out too!"

"Just how do you propose to go about it?" Cara questioned skeptically.

"Oh, by keeping my eyes and ears open. You can tell that whoever was here last night didn't care to be observed. It's my opinion he'll come back to do some more digging."

"Well, if he does, the occasion will be conspicuous for my absence," Cara declared feelingly.

She glanced at her wrist watch and flashed it before her friend's eyes.

"Do you see what time it is? I must be getting home."

Madge gazed regretfully toward the boarded-up house and wished that she might at least peep inside to see what secrets it guarded. It would be relatively simple to pry loose a board, but of course she had no intention of ever doing that. As it was, she felt somewhat guilty because she had trespassed.

She followed Cara to the gate and after looking about to see that the alley was deserted, climbed over. They walked thoughtfully toward their homes, parting at the Wayne residence.

"Better keep this little affair under your hat," Madge advised. "If you do, we may be able to have some fun out of it."

"Trust me," Cara promised. "But if you're planning any midnight visits to the mansion or anything of the kind, count me out."

Madge laughed and turned away. Already she was planning another trip to the old mansion, but she thought it wise not to mention it just yet.

"It behooves me to learn a few facts about the Swensters before I jump to hasty conclusions," she told herself, as she continued home. "Between now and my next visit, I must unearth the family history."