Pearl was in her first year of high school and had preceded him home by several minutes. She paused a moment on the upper landing to address him.
“Here is the chief of the mystery hunters!” she called cheerfully. “Do you know that everybody is calling you that?”
“Yes, I know it,” he nodded. “I wish they would forget it.”
Mr. Garrison looked up from his magazine. “I need some real mystery hunters right now,” he said. “If you want to take on a real puzzler, come ahead.”
Barry was at once interested. His father was a lawyer and frequently handled important cases. The boy placed his books on a hall table and walked into the library.
“What’s it all about, Dad? What mystery are you talking about?”
Mr. Garrison took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. “I was thinking about that haunted hunting lodge up on Lake Arrowtip,” he said. “But I was only joking when I told you to come ahead. It is a job that will test the brains of an expert detective.”
CHAPTER II
The Story of the Haunted Lodge
Barry sat down in one of the big chairs and faced his father. Mr. Garrison had put his magazine aside and was looking thoughtfully at his son.
“A haunted lodge, Dad? Where is it? What haunts it?”