PRINTED IN U. S. A.
“Gaze deep into the glass. Deep—Deep....”
“The Cry at Midnight” ([See Page 44])
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE [1 MIDNIGHT AT THE GATE] 1 [2 “NO TRESPASSING”] 8 [3 STRANGER OF THE STORM] 17 [4 VANISHING FOOTPRINTS] 24 [5 A CRYSTAL BALL] 35 [6 CREAKING WOOD] 45 [7 A WARNING] 51 [8 INTO THE CREVASSE] 59 [9 A CALL FOR HELP] 67 [10 MR. ECKENROD’S SECRET] 73 [11 MAP OF THE MONASTERY] 79 [12 THE LOCKED DOOR] 86 [13 OLD JULIA’S WARNING] 96 [14 AN ASSIGNMENT FOR PENNY] 105 [15 FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW] 116 [16 THE KITCHEN CUPBOARD] 125 [17 THE CULT CEREMONY] 132 [18 ELEVEN BOWLS] 141 [19 A DORMITORY ROOM] 147 [20 TRICKERY] 155 [21 SNATCHED FROM THE FLAMES] 163 [22 THE CANOPIED BED] 170 [23 DESCENT INTO THE CRYPT] 178 [24 CHAMBER OF THE DEAD] 186 [25 THE STAR SAPPHIRE] 197
CHAPTER
1
MIDNIGHT AT THE GATE
After a long, tiring climb, the two friends, Penny Parker and Jerry Livingston, had reached the summit of Knob Hill, far above the city of Riverview.
Now as they paused in the moonlight to catch their breath, the slim, golden-haired girl bent to adjust the irons of her skis before making a swift descent to the clearing below.
“We’ll not have many more glorious skiing nights like this one,” she said regretfully. “Anytime now, the weather is due to turn warm.”
Jerry, a reporter at the Riverview Star, nodded as his gaze swept the snowy hillside, unmarked save for the herring-bone tracks made by their own skis.