The Motor Girls Through New England | Page 2

Jack. "More haunted house?"
"No, only more haunts," replied Cora. "Guess he didn't like the style of the house."
"Oh, you girls are too fussy," said Ed. "Seems to me if I were a young lady, and saw a young chap hanging under my window, I'd be sort of flattered."
"We prefer the hanging done in the open," exclaimed Bess. "Besides, he didn't hang--he sneaked."
"He crawled," declared Belle.
"No, I distinctly saw him creep," corrected Cora.
"Mere baby, evidently," hazarded Walter.
"Well, I suppose he was after----"
"Grub," interrupted Jack. "The creeping, crawling, sneaking kind invariably want grub. It was a shame to let him go off hungry."
They all took seats upon the broad piazza, after the boys, by a casual look, were satisfied that no intruder was about the grounds. Belle kept close to Ed--he was the largest of the young men--but Cora and Bess showed no signs of fear.
"Let's tell you about it," began Bess.
"Let's," agreed Walter.
"Then listen," ordered the young lady with the very rosy cheeks.
"Listen while they let's," teased Jack.
"I won't say one word," declared Bess; "not if the fellow comes down the chimney----"
Every one laughed. Bess had such a ridiculous way of getting angry.
"No joking," went on Cora, "when we came up the road we did see a fellow sneaking around the cottage. I'm not exactly afraid, ahem! but I may as well admit that I am glad you boys appeared just now, and I hope the interloper caught a glimpse, ahem! of your manly forms."
The three boys jumped up as if some one had touched a spring. Ed was taller, Walter was stouter and Jack was--well, he was quicker. Bess noticed that, and did not hesitate to say so in making her special report of the trio.
"At any rate," ventured Ed, "we are much obliged, Cora. It's awfully nice of you to notice us."
"Suppose we take a look through the house," suggested Cora. "Not that I think anything is wrong. You know, girls are never really afraid----"
"Oh, no! they are only afraid of being afraid," interrupted Walter. "Well, come along. And, since Ed is the biggest, let him lead!"
The incident merely furnished sport for the boys. A burglar hunt was no uncommon thing at Clover Cottage, and this one was no more promising that had been a dozen others. Belle did not venture in with the searching party. She had her fears, as usual. Cora by reputation was not timid, and she had that reputation to maintain just now. As a matter of fact, she knew perfectly well that the man who took the trouble to crawl around the house had some sinister motive in doing so. Bess had not really seen him do it, so when she went in, along with the boys, she had scarcely any fear of running down either a sneak thief or a tramp, both varieties of undesirable citizens being common enough at the watering place.
It did not strike Cora Kimball just then that she had a particular part to play in the impending drama which was to involve herself and her friends. In the first volume of the series, entitled "The Motor Girls," Cora found it her duty to unravel the mystery of the road, when a wallet, empty, but which should have contained a small fortune in bonds, was actually found in the tool box of her own car. Then in the next volume, "The Motor Girls on a Tour," Cora again had the lines of the leading lady, for it fell to her lot to "keep the promise" that restored little Wren, the cripple, to her own, both in money and in health. In the third book of the series, "The Motor Girls at Lookout Beach," it was Cora again who had to unearth the mystery, and now----
She smiled as she followed Ed into the big pantry.
"You girls and boys seem to count me a star," she said pleasantly. "Ever since we were organized you have been keeping me in----"
"The spotlight," finished Ed, with an unmistakable smile. "Well, Cora, we will try to let you down easy this time. Here, Bess, you poke your nose in the cubby hole and see if you see anything."
"Oh!" screamed Bess, "I'll do nothing of the sort. Let Cora."
"Why?" asked Cora.
"Because--you're never the least bit afraid," stammered Bess.
"Thanks," said Cora, without hesitation thrusting her head into the aperture through which dishes were passed. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, hastily withdrawing with her hand on her nose.
"What's the matter?" asked Ed. "Did you bump into something?"
"Yes," replied Cora, looking straight into the eyes of Bess. "I just bumped into--a fact."
Then she and her brother walked into another room, leaving their friends to discuss the happening and follow at their leisure.
CHAPTER II
STRIKE OF THE "LEADING LADY"
"Exactly what did you mean, Cora?"
"You know perfectly well, Jack."
"No, really, I did not know what