The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery; Or, The Christmas Adventure at Carver House

sked Sahwah eagerly, pausing with the nutcracker held open in he

s Christmas house party, too languid after their strenuous attack upon the turkey and plum pudding to rise from their chairs, lingered around the table

his long illness; and with a long jagged scar showing through the closely cropped hair on one side of his head. He had never returned to duty after the wreck in which he had so nearly lost his life. While he was still in the military hospital to which he

h, Migwan, Hinpoha and Gladys, and in among them, "like weeds among the posies," as the captain laughingly put it, were Slim and the captain, Slim filled to the bursting point as usual, and looking more than ever like an overgrown cherub. Across from these two sat a third youth, so slend

olidays with an aunt in New York and could not come, much to Sahwah's disappointment, who had not se

e romantic way in which Katherine had found her appealed to their imaginations and added to their interest in her. Beside that, there was a fascinating something about her dark eyes and light hair that kept drawing their eyes to her face as though it were a magnet. There was so much animation in her

rely at her ease in the great house, and acted as though she had been used to luxurious surroundings all her life. Katherine was secretly surprised to find her so comp

fourteen as they had all thought when they first saw her. Her slender, childlike

eeded to eager appetites, and conversation had begun to lag, when Sahwah stirred it into life again by asking if there was not a se

u content with fishing a lieutenant out of the Devil's Punch Bowl the last time you were her

would be there for six months yet. He's going on into G

aptain Robert Allison? You don't mea

Rheims Cathedral and that French flag with the bullet holes in it, to say nothing of that package of French cho

aptain Allison

hen. Bob Allison, the fellow you pulled out of the water! It seems that all my friends

hing doing," said the captain. "I wonder what the next

there must be a hollow panel somewhere that would slide b

e never looked for any such thing. It takes all my time," she proclaimed with a comic-tragic air

sked Sahwah eagerly. "I just feel it i

e," replied Nyoda,

ed Sahwah. "Let's

but without success. One by one they abandoned the quest and drifted into the library where Nyoda and Sherry and Sylvia sat in a close group before the fire; Sherry smoking, Nyoda readi

nd looked up with a smile as

ort, my darling scout

ed the captain,

house," she remarked wearily, "and I've rapped on every inch of it with my kn

said Nyoda s

id," said Slim. "He used his head to knock

Nyoda," she asked, "where does that door at the head of the stairs lead to

n with the rest of the furniture and I set them in there until I could make up my mind what to do with them. I didn't want to dispose of them without consulting Sherry, and as he has been away

wouldn't be a concealed door in there! It seems such a likely

I might as well say yes now as later, because I know you will never rest until you have investigated that room. You're worse than Bluebeard's wife. I have no

t airy appearance. Nyoda found the electric light button and presently the room was brilliantly lighted from the chandelier. The Winnebagos trooped in and looked curiously about them at the queer old desks and tables and cabinets that stood about. Sahwah's attention was immediately drawn to the window at the far end of the room. She knew it was a window because it was framed in

s shutter for, Nyoda?" a

ding over then to exclai

eplied Nyoda. "It was t

sisted Sahwah. "Is the w

," replied Nyoda. "I looke

it be for?" r

en we first came here, but I was too much taken up with Sherry's going away then even to wonder about it. The room has been closed up ever since and I had forgotten all about it. It does seem a queer thing, now that you c

oor for you?" she said quizzically. "There's still an hour or so before bedti

ough an army of giant woodpeckers were at work, but the eager searchers continued to bruise their long s