Penny Allen
and the Mystery of
THE HIDDEN TREASURE

FALCON

BOOKS

Penny Allen and the
Mystery of the Hidden Treasure

When the Allens—Philip, Jimmy, Penny and Marjorie—opened their Michigan Lodge as a summer hotel, they decided to track down the rumor of buried treasure. Other people, however, had the same idea, and before the Allens could solve the baffling clues they discovered, they found themselves in real danger. How they found the treasure, and how Penny and Philip found romance with it, make an exciting and romantic adventure everyone will enjoy.

Other Falcon Books for Girls:

PENNY ALLEN AND THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE

PATTY AND JO, DETECTIVES

JEAN CRAIG GROWS UP

JEAN CRAIG IN NEW YORK

JEAN CRAIG FINDS ROMANCE

JEAN CRAIG, NURSE

JEAN CRAIG, GRADUATE NURSE

CHAMPION’S CHOICE

“It looks like the note in the bottle!”

Penny Allen
AND THE
Mystery of the Hidden Treasure

by JEAN McKECHNIE

THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY

CLEVELAND AND NEW YORK

Falcon Books
are published by THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY
2231 WEST 110 STREET • CLEVELAND 2 • OHIO

W1
COPYRIGHT 1950 BY THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents

Penny Allen
AND THE MYSTERY OF THE
HIDDEN TREASURE

CHAPTER 1
A NEW ADVENTURE

A warm June breeze was blowing in from Lake Superior. It caught a strand of Penny Allen’s blonde hair and blew it across her dark blue eyes.

Penny was out in the clearing behind the Lodge hanging blankets on the line. “Help,” she called to her brother, Philip, who was working nearby. “Help, I can’t see what I’m doing, and my arms are full of blankets.”

Philip, his clear, blue-gray eyes sparkling with laughter, hurried to the rescue. He extricated Penny from the mound of blankets she was carrying and helped her hang them on the line.

As they worked together, fighting the capricious breeze that threatened every minute to blow the blankets away, Penny said excitedly:

“I can’t believe it, Phil. We’re practically ready to open the Lodge for guests!”

“Well, not quite,” Philip said soberly. He was twenty, a year older than Penny, and usually wore a rather serious air. This was partly due to his responsibilities as the head of the Allen family.

Their Uncle John Allen had died suddenly a year ago leaving the four orphans, Penny, Philip, Jimmy and Marjorie, to shift for themselves. He had left the Lodge to Philip and a beautiful yacht, the Penny Allen, to Penny.

Recently, Philip had decided to turn his inheritance into a business venture. The lovely house, situated in the Michigan woods near Lake Superior, would make an ideal summer hotel. Ever since the first of June they had all been busy helping to get it ready for many of their old friends who planned to spend the summer there.

“Don’t look so serious, Phil,” Penny cried. “We are just about ready.”

Philip’s eyes, under their straight, dark eyebrows, were thoughtful. “We’re not even organized yet, Penny,” he said. “The winter just seemed to go like lightning.” A quick smile dispelled his seriousness. “I guess we spent too much of the holidays enjoying the winter sports.”

“Pooh,” Penny said impulsively. “We were all together and we had fun. We deserved that.”

Orphans since thirteen-year-old Marjorie, the youngest, had been a baby, the Allens had hardly known one another, for they had all gone to different schools and summer camps. But in spite of that, they had managed to maintain a merry and cheerful household.

And now they were all bound and determined to make a success of their summer hotel. “We’ve got plenty of time to get organized in,” Penny argued. She pushed her light brown hair out of her eyes with one hand and tucked the last clothespin in place with the other. “Here come Marjorie and Jimmy. You can organize us all right now.”

“Hi,” Jimmy called, striding toward them. He was the darkest member of the family, contrasting sharply with Marjorie.

She was very fair, with light golden hair and light-blue eyes. Her slight figure and small delicate hands gave her an almost elfin grace to which was added a delightfully mischievous quality. “She looks delicate,” Jimmy often said. “But the kid’s as tough as nails.”

Jimmy’s current aim in life was to reach at least six feet before he stopped growing. Almost daily the slender, seventeen-year-old boy insisted that Philip stand back to back with him in order to determine whether or not he had finally become the tallest member of the family.

Judging by the quantities of food he packed away, Penny felt sure that he would never stop growing. Moreover, it seemed to her that he was quite tall enough now. What he needed to do was to gain a little weight.

“A summer here, spent mostly outdoors,” she said to Philip, “will do both Marjorie and Jimmy a world of good. I hope they each gain a few pounds before they go back to school.”

Marjorie, who had been trailing behind Jimmy, called out then: “Now that the blankets are airing, Penny, can’t we go through the stuff in the storage room?” She broke into a run and arrived by the clothesline almost out of breath. “I can’t wait to see what’s in those old trunks.”

“Probably nothing but junk,” Jimmy said. “You know what Uncle John always called this place.”

When they had first come to the Michigan house early in the fall they had expected to find a shack because their Uncle John had always referred to it as the “Michigan Shack.” But in spite of its name, it had turned out to be a very pretentious log structure evidently built for just such a purpose as they were planning to put it to now.

Allen Lodge was imposing with its wide front and its two-story porches. The spacious living room was two stories high with the bedrooms opening off a balcony which extended around three sides of the room. The large dining room, kitchen and pantry, were on the Lake side. There were great fireplaces in many of the rooms and Philip said that it must have been planned as a summer hotel or a hunting lodge because the arrangement was ideal for large numbers of people.

The interior, with its lovely hand-hewn rafters and paneled walls was a delight to the eye, and even better, it was easy to take care of. Allen Lodge suggested nothing but comfort. No one knew of its secret room except the Allens and their newly made friend.

They had heard when they first came here that the house was haunted, but it had not taken them long to discover that the ghost was only Adra Prentice, a very nice girl whom they had discovered hiding in the secret room. Adra, who was eighteen years old, had “haunted” the Allen’s house when she had run away from her kidnappers. Their adventures and the way they solved the mystery is told in Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House. The four Allens were now ready for a new adventure and they felt that their own house was the best place to find it.

“Those old trunks aren’t filled with junk,” Marjorie was saying to Jimmy. “Penny and I looked into one of them and it’s positively overflowing with fascinating old dresses that would be wonderful if we give a masquerade. And there’s an old jewelry box—”

“Filled to the brim,” Penny finished, smiling, “with costume jewelry not worth a cent.”

“See?” Jimmy demanded, grinning at Marjorie. “Junk.” He turned to Phil. “Pat asked me to plant some beans in his garden behind the cabin the Donahues are going to occupy. If you don’t need me, I’ll go do it now.”

“Go ahead,” Phil said. “It won’t take long.”

Pat Ryan, who had been Uncle John’s guide and the caretaker of the Lodge, had just married Ann Mary. He and his new wife had voluntarily taken over the responsibility of helping the Allens. Philip and Penny realized they would be lost without the Ryans in this undertaking. As Philip said, “They’ve completely spoiled us. I wouldn’t think of doing anything without first consulting Pat. He seems to know everything about everything and as luck would have it, we know next to nothing about anything. Fate must have brought us together, or better yet, Uncle John must have had us in mind when he first got Pat to work for him.”

Penny agreed wholeheartedly with Phil.

“Pat’s orders,” she told Jimmy before he started off to plant beans, “must always be obeyed.” She pointed gaily to the blankets that were swaying and billowing in the sunny June breeze. “See what I’ve done with our household chattels! To think I might have gone through life only knowing about readin’, writin’ and ’rithmetic if Ann Mary hadn’t taken me in hand and shown me how to run a house.”

“Don’t feel so cocky, Sis,” said Jimmy, an impish grin on his face. “You probably have lots more to learn. All I can say is, you’d better hurry up and acquire the missing knowledge before Peter gets here.”

Penny blushed at the mention of Peter Wyland’s name. Even though he was an old friend and the Allens had known him for years, he had just recently shown his preference for Penny’s company and Penny was still not used to being teased about it.

Phil shrewdly guessed that Penny had been in love with Peter ever since last winter. That was when they had discovered that Peter was a secret service man in the employ of Mr. Prentice. Phil had not talked to Penny about Peter even when he noticed that she seemed to get letters from Wyland quite regularly. Philip’s mind these days was much preoccupied with thoughts of Adra Prentice. He seemed unable to get her out of his mind, and he found that no matter what he was doing, his thoughts would always go back to Adra.

Both Phil and Penny knew that Jimmy and Marjorie would never stop teasing them about their feelings, so, contrary to their usual method of discussing everything among themselves, they had not said anything about this. Nevertheless, it seemed to be more or less understood, and although Penny couldn’t help blushing, she pretended to ignore Jimmy’s teasing remark.

“Get along with you,” Phil said to his younger brother. “If you don’t plant those beans soon they’ll sprout in your pocket.”

Jimmy departed, laughing. “Come on, lazy-bones,” he called over his shoulder to Marjorie. “I’ll let you help me for a change. Even you can’t botch up a job as simple as planting beans.”

“Thank you, no,” Marjorie said with dignity. “I weeded all day yesterday while you were fishing.” Marjorie had not missed Penny’s blush, and couldn’t resist a chance for teasing her older sister. “Why are your cheeks so pink, Penny?” she asked carelessly.

“She’s getting sunburned,” Phil said, quickly coming to Penny’s rescue. “If you spent more time looking in the mirror, Marjorie, you’d see that your own nose is as red as a beet.”

Just then an old Ford drew up in front of the house. Pat Ryan got out, followed by the new summer help. Theresa, who was Pat’s sister and lived in the nearby village, had a smile on her broad Irish face. The Allens loved her Irish brogue and her tremendous bulk. Marjorie said she was worth her weight in gold.

“It’s glad I am to be here working for the Allens,” she said.

Penny welcomed her and said, “It’s we who are glad you could come, Theresa, and the rest of you too. We’d never be able to swing this experiment if it weren’t for the Ryans and you, and we think you’re bricks to do this on a co-operative basis, because right now we don’t know if we’ll make a profit, or lose money.”

“Don’t you go worrying about a little thing like that,” answered Theresa, and with a wink at Pat she added, “Anybody that finds out about Ann Mary’s cooking will gladly pay double the fee you’re charging, if Pat isn’t going to be too jealous to let anybody else taste that good food.”

“Okay with me,” said Pat good-naturedly. “Providing I get my share.”

Slowly following behind Theresa were two people the Allens had never met. Penny and Phil shook their hands as Theresa introduced them.

“This is Mr. and Mrs. Mal Donahue, Ann Mary’s cousins. Mrs. Donahue was Kathleen Doherty and we always call her Kitty. It’s a cinch your help will all be getting along fine together since we’re all Irish and all related. Seems as though all the Irish are related to each other, doesn’t it?”

This brought forth gales of laughter from Jimmy who had interrupted his work in the garden to greet the new arrivals.

“I hope you like your cabin,” he said to the Donahues. “All of our vegetables are growing right in your back yard, so whenever you get hungry all you have to do is reach out the window and pick some pole beans.”

They smiled at him while Philip said, “We hope you will be happy with us, Mal and Kitty.”

Mal Donahue cleared his throat. “We’d like the job, sir, uh—er,” and he hesitated. “We were—ahem—curious, you see. We heard the house was haunted last winter, and some people say there’s hidden treasure around here. We hope it’s just a plain ordinary house. Kitty and I don’t like surprises.” This speech was made with some effort and once again Jimmy couldn’t control his amusement.

He laughed and slapped Mal on the back. “If there’s any treasure, old man, you and I will find it together.” This seemed to reassure Mal.

When Philip and Penny walked toward the Lodge later, she said, “I think we are lucky, Phil, to get these young folks. I like their looks, don’t you?”

“I certainly do,” Philip agreed. “And Pat and Ann Mary will need all the extra help they can get. If things work out the way we hope they will, we’ll have to hire more people from the village.”

Penny nodded. “I’m very pleased with Kitty. She looks like a dear, and she’ll make a nice appearance waiting on the table.” She sighed. “It’s too bad anyone as attractive as Ann Mary must stay in the kitchen most of the time.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Phil said with a laugh. “I’m sure all our guests will want to go back and tell her how good her food is and they’ll get to know her that way. Besides,” he went on, “she won’t stay in the kitchen all the time. Even if she’s supposed to do nothing but cook, you know Ann Mary will pitch in and help the others whenever she has any spare time.”

“That’s true,” Penny said thoughtfully. “And I’m beginning to see what you mean about our getting organized. We really should all work according to some sort of schedule so we won’t be getting in each other’s way.”

“Exactly,” Philip said. “We must have a serious meeting this evening and assign definite tasks to each one of us.”

“Right after dinner,” Penny agreed. “Now, before we go back to work in the house, let’s read the mail the postman left on the porch a while ago. I—I,” she confided, “I’m sort of hoping I’ll hear from Peter Wyland. He’s not sure he can take a vacation from his job until the end of summer.”

“Cheer up, Sis,” Phil said encouragingly. “Maybe there’ll be a letter from him saying he can come sooner.”

They hurried up the steps to the porch where a stack of letters was waiting for them.

CHAPTER 2
AN ANONYMOUS LETTER

The first letter Penny opened was from the Curtises saying that they would arrive in about a week, the first weekend in July.

“That is,” Mrs. Curtis wrote, “if it won’t be rushing you too much, Penny dear.”

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, whom the Allens fondly called Grandma and Grandpa Curtis, had been old friends of Uncle John’s. Their daughter Mary and their son Charles were the same age as Penny and Philip and they had spent many summers together in camps. They were to be the first guests at Allen Lodge and were planning to stay the entire summer.

When Mr. Curtis had heard about the ideal fishing his family had difficulty restraining him from coming up before the Lodge was really open for business.

“The Curtises are always doing something to help us,” brightly asserted Penny as she finished the letter out on the big front porch.

She and Philip looked out on the lawn, a wide, trimmed space in front of the house, its grass thick, its masses of shrubbery and groups of beautiful trees stately, and its flowers just beginning to bloom. Truly, summer had come to the shores of Lake Superior, and Phil surveyed the property with great pride.

Watching the expression on his face, Penny said, “Uncle John certainly had good taste, Phil. You have every reason to be proud of your inheritance.”

“I know it,” Phil said. “But don’t forget to give credit where it is due. Jimmy and I have done a good job of lawn-mowing and tree-trimming, if I do say so myself.” He stretched his long arms. “That kind of work is a real muscle builder.”

“I’ll bet it is,” Penny said. “And it’s grand to know that I’ll have plenty of flowers for the dining room tables and for every bedroom in the Lodge. Pat takes very good care of the cutting flowers in his old-fashioned garden. If you and Jimmy take as good care of the flowering shrubs, the Lodge will be a bower of blossoms inside and out all summer.”

Marjorie and Jimmy came out on the porch then with their hands full of more mail that Pat had brought back when he went into town for Theresa and the Donahues.

“‘Lo,” said Jimmy. “Help us sort this out. Gobs came in today after the postman left.”

Jimmy sat down in one of the large, old-fashioned wicker chairs and Marjorie drew up a little footstool in front of him.

“Go ahead,” said Philip, “We’ll trust you and Marjorie to sort it all out and hand it over, won’t we, Penny?”

“Only too glad to have you do it,” replied Penny, slumping down in her chair and pretending to relax. “Only don’t take too long, if anything looks interesting,” she added.

Jimmy’s answer to that was to toss a flat letter into her lap, and to follow that closely with another slimmer one, carefully twirled by its corner to insure its falling at the proper distance.

“Oh, don’t, Jimmy,” protested Marjorie, over whose head the missives were hurled.

“That will keep her quiet, Marge,” Jimmy announced. But Penny was already quiet, not even hearing Jimmy’s last remark.

“You have the biggest pile, Phil,” Marjorie stated in a few moments.

The pile in front of Phil was falling over with letters, papers, advertisements and catalogues. The process of dividing the mail was soon completed and silence reigned except for giggles from Marjorie as she read a long letter from her best friend, Judy Powell. Penny, deeply engrossed in one of hers, gave a slight exclamation once, and Philip whistled as he laid aside a long envelope. But no one stopped to ask questions.

Penny looked at the absorbed group as she finished her last letter and smiled. Marjorie stopped reading her letters and looked off into space.

“Read me some of Judy’s letter, Marjorie,” said Penny.

Marjorie turned with a smile to say that it was such a good letter and so funny—“Judy wants to know by telegram when they can come.”

“She shall, Marjorie,” Philip answered immediately. “I’m thinking of getting a special telegram blank printed.”

Marjorie looked at Phil to see if he really meant such an idiotic thing; but as Phil only winked at her, she merely said, “Crazy!” and turned to Judy’s letter:

“Dearest Marjorie:

I think it’s simply tops that we can be together this summer. I was so afraid my parents would insist on sending me to camp again. Not that I don’t like camp, but I know it’s going to be so much more exciting to do things together, like exploring in the woods. Will we be allowed to go through the woods by ourselves? Are there secret cabins, or wonderful hiding places? Can we sleep out at night? I’ll bet it’s wonderful swimming in Lake Superior! Oh, couldn’t you telegraph and let me know right away when we can come? I have so many questions to ask, I don’t know where to begin.

My brother Alf says he would rather come to Michigan than go on the canoe trip in Canada. He says he always has fun with Jimmy. Maybe the boys will let us help them build something or do some of the things with them. Alf says they’ll never take us fishing because girls talk too much, but maybe we can convince them that we know how to keep quiet.

I’m so excited that at last we are going to see the Lodge, and all the Allens and especially you, that’s all I can write about.

Do Charles Curtis and Peter Wyland both still like Penny? Does Penny like either one of them? Maybe I should be minding my own business, but I guess I am just bubbling over with questions. Cincinnati is hot as it always is in the summer and we can’t wait until we get to Michigan. Quick, quick, quick, send me a telegram. It will be the first one I ever received.

At present I just live in a bathing suit and we spend almost all day at the pool. I’m glad school is out. Alf says I’m a nuisance and a question box, and by now, you probably think the same. I can’t wait until I see you,

Forever yours,

Judy.”

When Marjorie had finished reading Judy’s letter out loud, Jimmy chuckled. “She’s a riot, that Powell kid.”

Penny was already scribbling a message on the back of an envelope. “Here,” she said to Jimmy, “go in to the phone in the office and send this telegram to Judy right away. There’s no reason why the Powells shouldn’t come the first weekend in July when we expect the Curtises.”

“Hooray!” Marjorie shouted as Jimmy went in to send the telegram. At that moment Kitty Donahue came out on the porch.

“Hi,” Marjorie greeted her. “When do we eat in this Lodge?”

Kitty came nearer. “I just wanted to ask Miss Penny about that. We’ve a big fish baking and I wondered if you would be ready to eat in half an hour.”

“Hooray, food!” shouted Marjorie. “We’re always ready to eat, Kitty. Are we going to have a conference tonight to assign various duties, Penny?”

“Yes, we are,” Penny answered. “Kitty, did you ever help in a summer hotel, or anything like that?”

“Yes, ma’am! And Mal helped the chef at one of the lake resorts right near here. That is what made Ann Mary think about sending for us.”

Philip had turned to look at Kathleen while she talked. “That is very fortunate for us, Mrs. Donahue,” he said. “We’re going to have a family confab tonight to decide what each of us should do and we’d like all of you to come and help us make decisions.”

“Yes, sir,” Kitty said. “We’ll not need much more help, only some people from around the village to wait on table if there is a very large crowd over weekends, or for some special occasions.” With that bit of advice, Kitty went back into the house.

Jimmy came out on the porch then and said to Marjorie: “I told the operator to sign your name to the telegram. I thought Judy would get a kick out of that.”

“Thanks,” Marjorie said, smiling. “Sometimes you can be nice, Jimmy.”

He ignored her and started gathering up his mail. “By the way,” he said to Penny and Phil, “my old schoolmate, Brook, is coming that weekend, too, if it’s all right with you.”

“Fine,” Penny and Phil said together.

Jimmy grinned. “Brook wrote that he is going to bring all of his old clothes. He says he’ll bring one decent suit, but he hopes he’ll not have to put it on. I’m right with him there! I think Judy Powell has the right idea about living in a bathing suit all summer. Say, Alf Powell, Brook and I will certainly have some wonderful fun this summer. Maybe we can put up a shack for us to sleep in.” He went on, pacing up and down excitedly, “Or part of that old barn. It would be fun if we could be by ourselves.”

“Calm down, Jimmy,” Phil said. “I don’t think Alf’s or Brook’s parents will think their sons ought to be sleeping in a shack if they are paying good money for rooms, do you?”

Jimmy ran his hands through his short, dark hair. “Naw, I guess not. But we could bunk out there sometimes, couldn’t we?”

“Of course,” Penny told him. “It wouldn’t be much fun if you didn’t rough it every now and then.” She went on seriously. “I’m counting on you, Jimmy, to keep an eye on any kids who may come with their parents. You and Marjorie must help to keep them amused, too. It will be rather like running a summer camp, with you two as junior counselors. You’ll have to supervise games and sports, and maybe, Jimmy, give some of them swimming lessons.”

“Ha!” Jimmy narrowed his eyes. “The plot thickens. Looks like I’m going to have to work. But don’t worry, Penny. Brook, Alf and I will keep the small fry busy.”

“Grand,” Penny said approvingly. “You’ve taken a load off my mind, Jimmy. Everyone has simply got to help me as much as possible if we’re going to see to it that our guests are kept amused.”

She glanced at Marjorie. “And that means you, too, imp. Don’t you dare spend all your time with your chum, Judy.”

“I won’t,” Marjorie promised. “Not unless Jimmy spends all his time with Alf and Brook.”

Philip glanced at his wrist watch. “Any objections to you two getting washed up before dinner?” But he looked at Jimmy as he spoke.

“Not a one,” returned Jimmy with a wide grin. “I wonder why Phil looked at me,” he continued, still grinning.

“Because, you’re practically just past the stage when getting you washed behind the ears was quite a family problem,” said Marjorie.

“Look who’s talking,” called Jimmy as he disappeared into the house.

After they had all consumed the delicious baked fish which Pat had caught that very day and Ann Mary had fixed in a delectable fashion, all the Allens met around the council table. This was the big table in the living room and here they were soon joined by the Ryans, Theresa and the Donahues.

Philip then outlined a plan which they all discussed and finally the duties were assigned to everyone’s satisfaction. Pat was to continue what he had always done and be a general overseer of the entire Lodge. He would make arrangements for fishing parties, get boats and guides and order lunches to be packed. He would lock up every night and do many other things.

Ann Mary was in complete charge of the kitchen and Mal and Kitty were to be her assistants. Kitty would serve and Mal also had some outdoor duties. Theresa was to do the cleaning, and Mal and Kitty were going to pitch in and help with that too.

Marjorie had offered to wait on table and help with the cooking, but Philip told her that the family would have their hands full with the entertaining of their guests. However, all the Allens planned to help out every place, all of the time, whenever they were free from their other assigned duties. Jimmy had lettered a large sign and hung it on a temporary billboard. It read:

MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF
ALLEN LODGE

Marjorie now pointed to the sign and said, “I feel pretty important being a director. Is that why I can get out of cooking and serving?”

At this remark Phil guffawed and Jimmy and Penny joined him, much to Marjorie’s chagrin.

“Don’t you kid yourself,” Jimmy said, “Even if Phil says you’ll have your hands full entertaining guests, you know you’ll have them twice as full, because I’m sure we’ll all have to help each other when our Lodge is running full force.”

Philip, it was decided, was to be the official treasurer. He would keep the books and have full charge of all receipts and disbursements.

“That,” Jimmy loftily explained to Marjorie, “means money coming in and money going out.” Marjorie sniffed. “Keep your definitions of such simple words to yourself.”

“Let’s be serious,” Phil said. “All hotels and inns have a rule that unless their guests deposit their valuables with them for safekeeping, the management is not responsible. Isn’t that right, Mr. Donahue?”

Mal nodded.

“Well then,” Phil went on, “I think we ought to keep our guests’ money and jewelry in the safe in the secret room. And in order to safeguard the secret, we ought to make it a rule that none of the guests is allowed in the secret room.”

“Right,” Jimmy agreed heartily. “If we let everyone run in and out of there it won’t be a secret very long. I vote that for the rest of the summer, only Pat is allowed to—”

“Phil and Pat,” Penny interrupted. “Phil has to go in and out to the safe because he’s the treasurer.”

“That’s right,” Pat agreed. “I’ll act as his substitute. Phil may not be available at times when we receive money which should be put right in the safe or when we need to take some out to pay bills. I’ll only go into the secret room during such emergencies.”

“Okay, thanks, Pat,” said Phil. “Then, as of now, it’s a rule that only you and I press the button that opens the secret door. Said rule to remain in effect until the end of the season.”

Everyone agreed, and then it was decided that Penny was to be the hostess and the housekeeper. Ann Mary was going to help make out the shopping lists, while Penny did the actual shopping. Marjorie was to be the assistant hostess as well as the secretary. Luckily she had learned how to use a typewriter and would really be a big help when it came to writing letters. Jimmy was the director of all sports, and even though that sounded like an easy job, Penny assured him it would be more than a full-time one.

Penny, Ann Mary and Kitty decided it would be wise to make out menus for a week in advance. “That means,” Penny said, “that right after breakfast tomorrow morning we had better plan the first week’s menu. An awful lot of guests are arriving the first weekend in July.”

She sighed wearily. “I guess everything has been taken care of except the laundry. We’ll all have our hands full after this week, so I don’t see what we can possibly do about that.”

“Got any ideas, Ann Mary?” Philip asked.

Ann Mary thought for a minute. “There’s a new laundry-mat in the village—just opened the other day. If we could find someone who would come out twice a week, bring in the soiled linen, wash it in one of the automatic machines, and bring it back damp dry, Kitty, Theresa and I could handle the ironing.”

“A swell idea,” Pat said. “I’ll ask around in the village when I go in tomorrow. Anyone, even a mere man,” he added with a chuckle, “can run one of those spin-dry slot machines. All we need to do is find someone with a car who’ll tote the stuff back and forth for a fair price.”

“I guess that takes care of everything,” Penny said. “Has anybody thought of anything else?”

Jimmy thought it would be a good idea to buy a sailboat, but that suggestion was promptly vetoed. “We are going to try and make money before we spend it, young man,” said Philip. “But if you and Alf and Brook Sanders want to fix up one out of what we have, that’s all right with me.”

“Watch us!” retorted Jimmy and immediately suggested that a few canoes wouldn’t cost much. But once again Phil put a damper on his ideas.

At this point Jimmy wanted to know what kind of a suggestion he could make that would not be vetoed, and Penny and Phil both chimed in at once with, “Let’s call it a day.”

“But, before the meeting breaks up,” Philip said soberly, “I want to make an announcement. I don’t think it’s really important, but I think you should all hear it.”

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.”

“But,” Marjorie objected, “all of that happened last year.”

“It makes no difference,” Jimmy told her. “People use newspapers for lots of things besides keeping up with the news. They wrap china in newspapers, line shelves and drawers with ’em, for instance. Whoever wrote that dopey letter may have come across an account of Adra’s kidnaping just the other day.”

Penny nodded. “Let’s tear the ugly thing up and throw it away. Whoever wrote it probably won’t ever bother us again.”

“Right.” Jimmy tore the dirty sheet of paper to shreds and tossed them into the fireplace. Phil set a match to them and they all watched the scraps burn away to ashes.

“Well, that’s that,” Penny said. “As if anyone could scare us Allens away from the Lodge!”

Then the meeting did break up, and four very tired, but not at all frightened Allens, went upstairs to bed.

The next morning Jimmy’s first job was to overhaul the old bus and the Bronc. The Bronc was an old station wagon that had seen better days. It had served the Allens well, but right now it sputtered and rattled and wheezed. The Bus was a small truck and was used for a multitude of things. It hauled wood from the woods to the woodbin, it carted supplies from the town to the Lodge and Philip planned to use it for taking people on camping trips during the summer. Jimmy’s favorite pastime was tinkering with cars, and he seemed to know the intricate mechanics of the two old vehicles better than any trained mechanic.

While Jimmy was tinkering with the motors, Phil and Mal combed the nearby woods for timber. Some of it would be cut up into logs which would blaze merrily in the huge fireplaces on cool evenings. The rest of it, Phil planned to give Jimmy for his shack. Jimmy had picked a spot on the lake shore where he and the other boys could build a fire if they wanted. He also planned to build a little dock and rent a few rowboats. This was to be the bachelor’s retreat. The site was in a bit of a bay with some large rocks along the shore line that would make the dock construction simpler. Among the trees a little way back, there was a fairly open place where the shack could stand. When Phil and Mal had gathered quite a pile of wood, they called Jimmy down to view the spot.

“Now, all you have to do, Jimmy, is to go to it,” said Philip.

“I can’t wait until the other boys arrive to get started,” he answered. “I’m going to start preparing the logs and lay the floor. Won’t this be ideal?”

In the meantime, Marjorie began her secretarial duties by sorting mail and answering as many of the letters as she could, while Penny went into the village to shop in order to stock up on staples and to make arrangements for her weekly orders.

One afternoon Jimmy, Phil and Mal decided to have a look at the long old shed in the back yard which they thought might be fixed up to house the cars of their summer guests. The old shed had been there all the time, of course, but somehow they had kept putting off the time when they would examine it. There had been so many things to do when they first came, they had not even opened all the rooms in the house until they had decided to turn it into a summer hotel.

Now the guest rooms must be cleaned and aired. Penny and Marjorie were busy from morning to night helping Theresa and Ann Mary dust and make beds.

“This is so boring,” Marjorie complained. “The only room I’m interested in is the old storage room, Penny. When are we ever going to go through those old trunks?”

“We’ve had a look at the contents of one of them,” Penny pointed out patiently. “And we found that it contained nothing but some very old-fashioned clothes and a few worthless, though pretty trinkets. Wait till we have more time, honey. Then you may rummage around in there to your heart’s content.”

“I can’t understand your lack of curiosity,” Marjorie moaned. “I can’t sleep nights thinking about what might be in the trunk we didn’t open.”

Penny laughed. “I guess we’ve had too much indoor work for one day. Let’s join the boys down at the shed.”

“Goody, goody,” Marjorie cried, flinging down her dust cloth. “There’s bound to be something more exciting than cobwebs out there.”

At last they were hurrying down the concrete walk, past the Donahues’ small cabin behind the Lodge. They caught up with Mal and the boys on the old graveled drive, overgrown with weeds. This drive led among bushes and trees and looked like an old horse trail, but it was wide enough for a car to travel over it with care.

Jimmy took one good look at all the weeds and said, “I don’t think this is such a good idea, especially since I know I’ll be elected a committee of one to cut down all these weeds.”

“Why, how did you guess it, young man! You are getting keen,” laughed Penny. “But this really does look like a big job, and I’m sure Phil and Mal will lend a hand, too.” Jimmy looked relieved at this suggestion and here they were at the shed.

“Pat says that even your Uncle John never made use of this shed for anything, and that it must have been a sort of stable back in the old days,” explained Mal. “See, one of the side walls is pretty badly broken up, but the roof has been patched and the framework seems strong. There are a pile of boards and some poles behind this shed. Looks as though somebody once had the idea of repairing it. That wood back there is well seasoned and with the help of the repair man from the village we could get it fixed up this week.”

Penny took hold of one of the supports, to which a few boards were clinging loosely.

“Be careful how you lean against that,” Philip cautioned her. “That’s the broken wall and we don’t want you to fall through it.”

But just as he finished saying it Penny gasped and slipped out of sight. For a minute the others stood there with their mouths open, then Phil and Jimmy quickly went into action. Mal poked his hand through the wall where Penny seemed to have disappeared and Marjorie called, “Penny, Penny, answer—are you hurt?”

Phil and Jimmy ran to the outside of the broken wall but there was nothing there but the old pile of lumber Mal had mentioned. They called Penny, and then there was a muffled sound that seemed to come from the very wall itself.

Phil climbed right up on top of the pile of lumber and reached over as far as he could toward the wall when he noticed a sunken place between the wall and the lumber. It looked like an old well and it was partly covered. He called to Penny and this time he heard her answer. As quickly as they could, they all started to move enough of the lumber so that they could get closer to the old well. Now they were sure Penny had fallen into it, and Marjorie ran back to the house as fast as her feet could carry her to get a strong rope and more help.

It seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes before Phil and Jimmy were able to lean over the well and start calling down to Penny.

She answered them this time and they heard her say quite clearly: “What happened?”

“Whew!” Jimmy gasped, clutching his forehead with relief. “You fell down an old well.”

“Are you all right, Penny?” Philip asked anxiously.

“I guess so,” Penny called back. “But it’s so dark I can’t see anything.”

“Don’t worry,” Phil said in a reassuring voice. “We’ll have you out in no time.”

Marjorie arrived then with Pat who had brought along a long rope. Marjorie was very near to tears.

“Don’t let Penny know you’re frightened,” Phil cautioned her. “Keep calling down to her in a cheerful voice to keep her courage up.”

Pat tied a big loop on the end of the rope, then Mal lowered it into the well, and Phil called down instructions to Penny. Finally the rope reached her, and she put the looped end around her waist and held on to it as tightly as she could with both hands, while the men pulled her up. When, after what seemed an interminably long time, Penny’s head appeared, Marjorie burst into tears.

Tenderly they lifted Penny out, and she immediately assured everyone that aside from being bruised and shaky, she didn’t think she had any broken bones or other injuries. Ann Mary and Theresa and Kathleen had arrived on the scene with water and bandages, all of which were scorned by Penny who said,

“I did a foolish thing and I deserved what I got, but now that I know I’m all right you can all just forget about me. If you keep on making such a fuss I’ll feel like an idiot.”

Of course they all ignored her pleadings and made her sit right down for a few minutes while Ann Mary wiped her face with a cloth dipped in cold water. Then she examined Penny carefully to make sure that she could move her arms and legs without pain. The only real damage seemed to be to her appearance which was quite ludicrous. Now that they knew she was safe they had a good laugh about it. Penny’s face and hands and hair were covered with cobwebs, her dress was ripped and her shoes were sopping wet. When Phil asked her if there was any water in the well she said she thought she had stood in water and, of course, her wet shoes showed that she had. Then everybody went back to the house, and Penny took a hot bath which Ann Mary said would serve to relieve some of the aches and pains she was bound to develop later from such a fall.

Phil and Jimmy were all set to go back and examine the well to see if it was still in good working condition, and if they could find the water source and perhaps get the well into good order. When they saw Penny looking her fresh, well-groomed self again, they went back, accompanied by Pat and Mal.

“It beats me,” Pat said. “I never knew there was a well of any kind on this property.”

“I’ve heard rumors,” Mal said. “There’s always been a lot of talk in the village about buried treasure in the bottom of an old dried-up well around here.”

“I know,” Pat said, “and from time to time when the house was empty, people who had no business trespassing, came here and tried to find that well. Had a lot of trouble with prowlers,” he told Phil. “Your Uncle John did. But nobody ever found a well.” He stopped and stared at the hole. “Well, now, here it is. And now I wouldn’t be surprised at anything. I’ve lived around here all my life and never believed there was a well here. I think we should caution everybody to try and keep this a secret so we won’t have any prowlers coming around, and we should get busy and try to dig up that old well to see if there really is any treasure there.”

“My gosh!” said Jimmy. “Do you really think there’s treasure there? What kind of treasure is it supposed to be, Pat? Were there ever pirates around here? Won’t Alf and Brook nearly die with excitement when they hear about this!”

Phil smiled. “I’m afraid we can’t let you say anything to them, or anybody else, until we investigate this thoroughly and see if there is any foundation to the rumor. I agree with Pat, since we don’t need the well for water, I think we should dig it up at once and solve this mystery of buried treasure.”

Jimmy was all for going right back for picks and shovels, so Phil let him go. Phil’s curiosity was aroused and he could understand Jimmy’s enthusiasm. But Phil felt quite sure that they were not on the trail of buried treasure.

“The Lodge was supposed to be haunted,” he said to Mal, “and we proved it wasn’t. Now we’re about to prove that there’s nothing of any value at the bottom of this old well.”

Jimmy came running back then with both hands full of an assortment of picks, shovels and garden spades. They found that it was exceedingly slow work since they first had to move the pile of old lumber and debris that surrounded the old well. When they finally started digging they found the stones that formed the well were impossible to move. Pat guessed that the old well had been there a hundred years or longer. Jimmy suggested that they use dynamite.

After two hours of concentrated labor Phil commented, “I don’t think even buried treasure is worth all this effort.”

But Jimmy, who was obviously in high spirits over this adventure, contradicted Phil with, “Of course it’s worth it, Phil, you wait and see what we find.”

Pat shrugged. “I’m not thinking you should set your heart on finding anything, my lad, because there probably won’t be any treasure here, any more than the house was haunted last year.”

“Don’t say that, Pat,” countered Jimmy, “I’m not used to working like this without any compensation.”

“Not much,” said Phil. “But all kidding aside, Jimmy, I think Pat is right. However, we’re going to finish this job, if for no other reason than to keep anybody else from falling into it. The rope we lowered to Penny went down about thirty feet and I would guess that we have dug around the outside of this old well about ten feet deep. Is that right, Pat?”

Pat nodded. “Yes, that’s about right, and I think if we get out here bright and early tomorrow morning, maybe we can finish the job before night.”

Very reluctantly, Jimmy joined the rest as they returned to the house to tell Penny and Marjorie of their progress.

CHAPTER 4
A NIGHT PROWLER

That evening they all decided to have a picnic style supper in front of the fireplace in the living room.

“I’m beginning to feel my bruises,” Penny said cheerfully. “But I’m not going to let a few aches and pains bother me. I was very lucky to get off without broken bones or sprains.”

“You certainly were,” Jimmy said. “And let me tell you, Sis, I thought I’d go nuts until we finally heard your voice.”

“Me, too,” Marjorie chimed in. “Gosh, Penny, it was just about the most awful few minutes of my life!”

“Well, let’s not talk about it any more,” Penny said. “The subject I want to discuss is the bottom of the well. I can’t really—”

“Gee,” Jimmy interrupted, “wouldn’t it be neat if we get to the bottom of the well and find pieces of gold. We’ll be on easy street the rest of our lives.” He added, more to himself than the others, “The first thing I’ll do is get a sailboat. I’ve found out already that I don’t know enough about naval architecture to build one.”

“Ha, you don’t get on easy street that easily,” said Penny. “Besides, I don’t remember feeling anything beneath my feet but slime, and if all you want is a sailboat, you’d better work for it!”

“I like that!” exclaimed Jimmy. “And what do you call digging away at that well? If that isn’t work, I’d like to know what you’d call it.”

“Oh, it’s work all right,” Penny said with a laugh. “But I think it’s work without any purpose.”

“So do I, in a way,” Phil said. “But the kids will never be happy until we get to the bottom and prove that there isn’t any treasure buried there.”

“You just wait until tomorrow,” Marjorie said stubbornly. “When we come running up to you, Penny, with our hands dripping with pieces of eight, then you and Phil will eat those words.” She raised her voice. “I know there’s something valuable hidden around here, and I, for one, am never going to give up until I’ve gone over every inch of the place with a fine-tooth comb!”

“You don’t have to shout about it,” Jimmy said. “If there is something valuable around here, let’s not encourage every Tom, Dick and Harry in the village to come out and try to find it first. Although,” he went on in a more sympathetic tone of voice, “I know how you feel, Marjorie. When Alf and Brook get here, and we haven’t found any gold by then, they’ll want to dig up the whole place, too.”

“Dig, if you must,” Penny said, “but spare Pat’s flower beds. I—” She stopped suddenly, her finger to her lips. “Sh-h.” She touched Phil’s arm lightly and pointed to the window, whispering, “Someone’s out there and I’m afraid he’s heard every word we said.”

They all stared silently out through the vine-covered lattice that partially screened the court from view. The moon was shining brightly, and then from the shrubbery a shadow moved and melted into a little clump of low spruces. In another second they saw the figure of a man slip around the corner of the wing to disappear again in the shadows of another trellis.

It was a warm evening, and all of the doors and windows were wide open. The man might try to get into the house. Penny started to rise.

But Phil, with his hand on her arm, shook his head and whispered: “All of you stay right here. I don’t want him to know that we’ve seen him.” Swiftly he tiptoed across the room to take his pistol from the cabinet.

Penny remembered with relief that Phil always kept his gun loaded. Just then she saw Mal run into the court. He had obviously seen the prowler from the kitchen window. Before Penny could shout a warning, the man darted from the shadows and flung himself on Mal’s back, one arm around his throat.

At almost the same moment Phil leaped through the window and fired his gun into the air. As the shot rang out, Penny closed her eyes. Opening them immediately, she saw Phil running out of the court, with Mal close at his heels, in pursuit of the prowler. Jimmy was just about to jump through the window to join in the chase, but Penny held him back.

“Stay here with us, Jimmy,” she said. “Phil and Mal can cope with that eavesdropper.”

Marjorie, who had for once been speechless, found her voice then. “Oh, yes, Jimmy,” she begged. “Stay here with us. He might come back, and we haven’t got a gun.”

Jimmy looked disappointed, but he knew he could help Phil best by staying with the girls. “Ah, that guy isn’t going to come back,” he said. He stared gloomily out of the window as Pat ran across the court to join the others.

By this time, Kitty and Ann Mary had appeared, wide-eyed and frightened. “Oh, oh,” Kitty cried. “I just know my Mal is going to get shot.”

Another shot rang out. Penny’s heart sank. Had the prowler fired the second shot? Somehow she managed to disguise her fears and said in a reassuring voice to Kitty:

“Don’t worry, dear. Phil and Pat know how to handle their guns.”

“They sure do,” Ann Mary said bravely although Penny could see that she was almost as terrified as her cousin. “My Pat won’t let anything happen to your Mal.”

Theresa came in from the hall then, rubbing her eyes bewilderedly. “I was asleep,” she said. “Did I hear a shot or did I dream it?”

She looked so confused that everyone laughed, and the tension was eased. “You heard two shots,” Jimmy told her. “I guess the first one woke you up.”

While he was explaining what had happened, they heard footsteps on the graveled walk, and in another moment, they could see Phil, Pat and Mal slowly approaching the house. Everyone ran out to meet them.

“He got away,” Phil said ruefully.

“Shouldn’t we notify the police?” Penny asked.

Phil shrugged. “Probably only a tramp. I fired in the air to frighten him when he jumped on Mal.”

“But you fired a second time,” Marjorie said excitedly. “We were terrified for fear one of you had been hurt.”

“That’s right,” Jimmy said. “Say, Phil, how about giving us a play by play description of what happened. I missed all the fun, remember?”

Phil frowned. “We want to look around some more. We just came back to be sure the rest of you were okay.”

“We’re perfectly all right,” Penny said. “Go ahead with your search.” She smiled. “As long as Jimmy stays with us we’re perfectly safe.”

“I want to know what happened,” Jimmy complained. “Give, Phil.”

“Well,” Phil said patiently, “from the minute that man disappeared into the shrubbery, he slipped from one tree to another like an Indian, then doubled around toward the lake.”

“It certainly sounds as though he knows his way around here,” Marjorie put in.

Phil nodded. “Pat fired the second shot when we saw him trying to get away in one of our boats. Although Pat fired into the air, it scared the living daylights out of him, I guess. He jumped from the boat and made for the woods below us.” Phil grinned. “I’ll bet he’s still running. He may think we’re mighty poor shots, but at least he knows we’re armed. I doubt if he ever comes back on our property again.”

“But who could it have been?” Penny asked. “A tramp wouldn’t know his way around our grounds.”

“If anyone should ask me,” Pat said, “I’d say it was one of those crazy villagers after the so-called buried treasure. I’ll bet the news is all over town already that we found the old well near the shed.”

“But,” Jimmy objected. “Nobody could have heard about it so soon.”

“A lot of people could have,” Mal pointed out. “There were several delivery boys out here during the excitement when Miss Penny fell into the well.”

Ann Mary nodded. “We were all so worried about Penny we didn’t pay any attention to them. When Marjorie came running into the kitchen to tell us about the accident, I dashed out of the house so fast I almost knocked down one boy who biked out here with some groceries.”

Pat shook his head gravely. “That rumor about buried treasure is going to cause us a lot of trouble. We don’t want the place cluttered up with night prowlers this summer.”

“Let’s go have a look at the shed,” Jimmy said eagerly. “Maybe the guy was down there snooping around and sneaked up to the house to make sure we were all inside.”

“All right,” Phil said. “But you have to stay with the girls.”

“Oh, no, he doesn’t,” Marjorie said pertly. “The girls are going, too.”

“We can’t all leave,” Penny said wisely. “After all, he might have been a burglar. We would be playing right into his hands if we left the house deserted with all the doors and windows open.” She glanced around at the shadows with a little shiver. “Suppose he doubled back and is watching us right now, waiting to see what we’ll do?”

Marjorie moved a little closer to Penny. “Oh, isn’t it thrilling?” she cried. “I wouldn’t be at all afraid to stay here and guard the house if I had a gun.”

“Not much you wouldn’t,” Jimmy jeered.