“I don’t see anything so mysterious about a locked cellar door,” Virginia asserted, losing interest. “Like enough, the basement is damp and musty. So Mr. Krumm advised keeping the door locked.”
“Why should he tell us to keep it locked, when we have no key with which to open it?” Ardeth demanded. She was struck by an intriguing thought. “Say, maybe that key is here somewhere!”
“I know I’m not going to waste time searching for it,” Judy declared. “I am a bit worried though, about that milkman’s reference to strange noises. I wish I could be sure the cottage is all right before Aunt Mattie moves in.”
“There is a way,” Miss Ward returned. “We could sleep here for a night. In fact, it would relieve the congestion at Pine Cone Camp. We might try it tomorrow night.”
“Why not?” cried Virginia enthusiastically. “It would be fun!”
“We could stock the cottage larder and have everything ready for your aunt when she comes, Judy,” added Ardeth with equal zest for the proposal. “How about it?”
“I’d like to stay,” declared Judy. “It will give us a chance to learn if anything is wrong with the cottage.”
The girls remained on the premises another half hour. By the time they were ready to return to Pine Cone Camp, their friends drove up in the station wagon.
“At least Mr. Krumm relayed our message,” Ardeth said, as she climbed into the car. “Maybe he isn’t such a bad egg after all.”
From Calico Cottage, the station wagon followed a smooth pavement which wound in easy curves up the mountain. At a lookout point, the driver halted briefly to permit the girls to obtain a view of the distant peaks and valleys. They went on again, but presently were stopped by a forest ranger, whose green car was parked at the roadside.