He drew from his pocket the long envelope he had laid aside earlier when they had been out on the porch reading their mail. “I got an anonymous letter today,” he said, “and at first I thought I wouldn’t bother you with it. Writers of anonymous letters are usually either cowards or cranks. However,” he continued, “after thinking it over, I’ve decided I have no right to keep from you the fact that we have been threatened.”
“Threatened?” Penny repeated. “But, Phil, who—?”
For answer, Phil opened the envelope and took out a long sheet of dirty paper which he laid on the council table.
Everyone crowded around him to read the ugly scribbled words:
MR. PHILIP ALLEN: IF YOU
KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU
AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
GET OUT OF THE LODGE AS FAST
AS YOU CAN. I MEAN BUSINESS!
CHAPTER 3
THE ABANDONED WELL
Ann Mary was the first to speak. “Well, I never,” she gasped. “Who could have written such an evil thing, Pat?”
Pat shook his head. “A crank, of course.”
“That’s what I think,” Phil agreed. “Someone who read the newspaper stories about Adra Prentice’s kidnaping. Anonymous letters from people who aren’t quite right mentally generally follow any kind of publicity.”