CHAPTER XVIII
STRUCK DOWN
Nothing more was needed to increase the nervous tension of the young people in the Corner House, especially of Ruth and Agnes, on whom responsibility rested.
The hurried trip home before the storm, the discovery of the plight of the children, the crash of the broken shelf and the freaks of the storm—all this had added up and piled on with the result that all were keyed to the highest pitch.
And when, on top of this, that weird noise sounded, each and every one gave a nervous start, though the boys, at least, were ashamed of themselves a moment later.
“Did you hear that?” gasped Agnes, the first to recover her startled breath.
“Did we hear it?” murmured Nally. “I should say we did! What was it?”
“And where was it?” asked Ruth, looking around nervously.
“The Corner House is living strictly up to its reputation of a quiet, homelike family hotel,” joked Luke.
“No, but seriously, that was—something!” declared Neale. He had paused before the last word as if in doubt what name to put to the strange noise.
“It was something all right,” asserted Luke. “And we’ve got to find out what it was.”