Ghost Beyond the Gate

shouting girls clinging to it, sped ove

eamed Louise Sidell, ducking to pr

hour!" shrieked her

goggles, looked for all the world like a jolly Eskimo. Always delighting in a new spo

Penny!" plea

y cheerfully. "Oh, we

se shrieked with terror, and held tight to prevent being thrown out. Penny,

of wind struck the sail, the steering runner leaped off the ice. Instan

creamed Louise, scram

n their backs across the ice. Penny landed in a snowdrift at

u?" she called, j

way. Slowly she pulled herself to a sittin

lained. "As for me, give me bronco busting

ng. "Why, this is fun, Lou. We have to expec

s billowing like a parachute. Slippin

ise, hobbling after her. "I've had e

rn down the river and

il off again, there's no telling where we'll lan

rge, damp snowflakes were drifting down, dotting her red mittens. The

Louise. Uneasily she scanned the leaden

, it won't take us long to get the Icicle loaded onto th

ghted the boat and pulled it toward the Riverview Yacht Club. Closed for the winter, the building looked co

here," Louise said, shivering

imbed the slippery river bank. Snow now swir

Penny offered, starting toward the parking

steps took the girls to a wind-swept corner of the deserte

ar had been left, there now stood only one

xclaimed Penny. "

set the brake and it

ave gone with it." Her face grim,

by tire tracks in the snow that the

ailed, pounding her mittens tog

ise demanded. "It looks like an au

little ravine. Through a screen of bare tree br

jubilantly. "But how did

ayed to see that the coupe appeared to be lying on its sto

e thief ran the car out here on the road so

. "We're miles from Riverview. No houses close

stick. All of the fuel had been siphoned. She lifted the hood, expecting to find

ating wind, the girls climbed into

omeone comes along and gives us

road and few cars travel

go somewhere a

re at Kamm's corner,

soft snow which was banking dee

wind, will be a hard hike. Th

And we needn't either! Do

who works on your

tion is over in the hills not more than a half mile from here!

ure you kn

d confidently. "One follows a side road t

g from behind the steering wheel. "If

nd on down the road. Snow was falling faster and faster.

blizzard," Louise observed uneasi

insured, but even so it would not be easy to replace five stolen tires. Ruefully she reflected that Mrs. We

Louise tried to cheer her. "M

f it," Penny re

ch wound upward through the wooded hills. Already there was an omi

s the way," she

thi

is up there on top of one of those hills. If this snow w

n either side of the frozen ditches, tall frosted evergreens provided friendly protection from the s

tening post, the girls trudged on. Penny, anxious to ma

ion?" Louise presently asked. "Sure

nny confessed, peering anxiously at the unbroken

y, we may have passed the

don't t

uise accused. "We were crazy to start off w

can go back

ined, slapping her mittens together. "

oggles. From far down the road came the soun

g will be all right now! We'll hail

r it climbing a steep knoll, then descending. From the sound of the engine they

pped out into the middle of the road. As the truck swer

e big black truck to slide like a sled. Penny and

ntrol of the machine. He straightened out and brou

and. "Come on, Lou! He's

er lowered the cab window. Thrusting his he

in' to do? Wr

portunity to reply, he

e on. "Wait!" she called frantically. "Pleas

shed an ugly smile. Shif

worst!" Penny said furiously. "It wa

this road," Louise added. "How are

dy it was so dark that she could see only a few feet down th

y lost?" Louise dema

voice. "The post must be somewhere near here, but we'll n