“There’s the old house,” Penny said, indicating a steep pitched roof-top which could be seen rising above a jungle of tall oaks. “It’s been unoccupied for at least ten years now.”
The Marborough homestead, a handsome dwelling of pre-Civil war day, long had been Riverview’s most outstanding architectural curiosity. Only in a vague way was Penny familiar with its history. The property had been named Rose Acres and its mistress, Mrs. James Marborough, had moved from the city many years before, allowing the house to stand unpainted and untended. Once so beautifully kept, the grounds had become a tangle of weeds and untrimmed bushes. Even so, the old plantation home with its six graceful pillars, retained dignity and beauty.
Entering the yard through a space where a gate once had stood, the girls gazed about with interest. Framed in a clump of giant azaleas was the statue of an Indian girl with stone feathers in her hair. Beyond, they caught a glimpse of the river which curved around the south side of the grounds in a wide bend.
“Where is the old wishing well?” Rhoda inquired. “I’ve heard so much about it.”
“We’re coming to it now,” Penny replied, leading the way down an avenue of oak trees.
Not far from the house stood the old-fashioned covered well. Its base was of cut stone and on a bronze plate had been engraved the words: “If you do a good deed, you can make a wish and it will come true.”
“Some people around Riverview really believe that this old well has the power to make wishes come true,” Louise Sidell remarked, peering at her reflection mirrored in the water far below. “In the past years when Mrs. Marborough lived here, it had quite a reputation.”
“The water is still good if you don’t mind a few germs,” Penny added with a laugh. “I see that someone has replaced the bucket. There was none here the last time I came.”
By means of the long sweep, she lowered the receptacle and brought it up filled with water.
“Make a wish, Penny,” one of her friends urged. “Maybe it will come true.”