Read The Yellow Feather Mystery Online
Authors: Franklin W. Dixon
The Yellow Feather Mystery (6 page)
He explained about the near accident in the car the previous night, watching the man carefully to see if he would show any sign that he had been with Benny. But Kurt's face remained expressionless.
Then Frank gave details of the attack on him that morning.
“Oh, bosh!” Kurt exploded. “In no case are you sure that Tass was a guilty party. And I'm convinced he wasn't. As far as hunting is concerned, I did give him permission, because he's older and more responsible than the other boys here.”
“Then have you any idea who planted my scarf in your office?” Frank asked.
“Well, since you insist that you didn't force your way in here, there's only one answer. I believe it might have been the Yellow Feather. He attacked you and left the scarf to throw suspicion away from himself.”
Kurt paused, then added, “And if he's going to prowl around here at night, it might be smart to have you boys on hand to track him down.”
“I agree,” Frank replied. “How about our starting tonight?”
“Very good. Take the guest room Greg vacated.”
The boys thanked Kurt and turned to leave. Nearing the door they exchanged knowing glances. Not fully trusting the man, Joe left the door open a crack in case he should want to go back and check up on Kurt's movements.
The boys did not mention their thoughts aloud. But when they reached a pay telephone booth on one side of the corridor Frank paused and said in a loud voice:
“Joe, we'd better call Mother and tell her we're staying overnight.”
While Frank dialed the Hardys' number, Joe stood outside, mulling over Kurt's sudden proposal.
“I wonder if he's laying some sort of trap for us?” Joe asked himself.
Walking back to the office, he could hear the headmaster moving noisily about inside. The door was still slightly ajar, affording him a view of the room without being seen himself.
Kurt stood in front of a filing cabinet. He drew out a bunch of small keys and inserted one into the lock at the top. Then he pulled the bottom drawer open and took out a folded piece of white paper.
After giving it a quick glance, the headmaster smiled, then put the paper in an inside pocket of his jacket and pushed the drawer shut.
As he walked toward the door, Joe dashed back to the telephone booth.
Frank had just hung up and was stepping from the booth when Kurt walked down the corridor and spied the boys.
“Hello! Not in your room yet?” he asked, evidently annoyed.
“We called home to report where we are,” Frank replied.
This seemed to satisfy Kurt. He said good night and walked off.
“Well, what do you make of him?” Frank whispered as they climbed the stairs.
“Either Kurt's on the level or he's the biggest fraud alive,” Joe replied.
When they reached the guest room, Joe told his brother of Kurt's actions in the office.
“What do you think was on that paper?”
“I'll bet it has something to do with the Woodson estate,” Frank replied. “Kurt wouldn't be so sure he can get this school if he didn't have some kind of proof. For some reason he doesn't want to produce it yet, though.”
“It would be a big help if we could get a look at that paper,” Joe remarked as he lay down on one of the twin beds.
“Fat chance we have of checking Kurt's pocket,” Frank replied as he pushed up the window and peered outdoors. “Wow, it's sure cold tonight. Well, I guess we're safe from attack here.” He laughed. “No roofs or trellises for anyone to climb.”
Joe nodded. “Might as well turn in for the night.” He snapped the lock on the door, switched off the light, and soon was sound asleep.
Frank had no idea how long he and Joe had been deep in slumber when he was suddenly awakened by a thud against the wall of the building. Springing out of bed, he rushed to the window and glanced out.
“Joe!” he whispered. “Come look!”
Directly beneath the sill was the top of a ladder! It trembled slightly under the weight of a shadowy figure climbing upward.
CHAPTER VII
A Thwarted Intruder
By this time Joe was awake. Seeing his brother at the window, he rushed over to him and looked out into the darkness. Silently the intruder on the ladder continued rung by rung toward the bedroom. It was impossible from this height to identify him.
“Let's wait till he steps in before we jump him,” Frank whispered.
Both boys tensed, shivering a little as the cold wind blew against them. They pressed close to the wall at each side of the window.
Suddenly the ladder gave a twist and began to slide to one side. It scraped against the brick exterior, pulling ivy vines loose in its descent. It hit the snow with a muffled thump, and the would-be intruder was flung off into a pile of snow. He struggled to his feet, then dashed away into the night.
“What luck!” Frank exclaimed. “We almost had him!”
“Do you think that was the Yellow Feather trying to get us?” Joe asked excitedly.
Frank was already reaching for his trousers.
“Come on, Joe. Let's go get that second-story man.”
The boys flung on their clothes and tiptoed hurriedly downstairs. They met no one. Finding the spot where the man had fallen, the boys followed his trail of footprints for a hundred yards. But here they were lost in a maze of crisscross prints which students had made.
Returning to the ladder, Frank flashed his light about, hunting for clues in the snow beneath their window.
“Holy crow!” he exclaimed. “Two sets of footprints! ”
“So the guy had an accomplice!” Joe remarked.
“But if that were the case,” Frank said reflectively, “why did he let the ladder fall?”
“Beats me,” Joe answered. “They sure were a couple of bunglers. Maybe two students playing a joke.”
“I doubt that,” his brother replied.
The rest of the night passed quietly. In the morning Frank sat on the edge of his bed, yawned, and stretched. Joe was already half-dressed.
“Toss me my pants, will you?” his brother requested as he looked for his shoes and socks.
“Where are they?”
“Right over there on the chair next toâHey!” Frank leaped to his feet. “They're gone!”
A quick look around confirmed the fact that his slacks had been taken from the room.
Joe walked to the door and yanked it open. Someone had unlocked the door during the night!
“Jumpin' catfish!” he shouted. “Whoever stole your pants could have murdered us in our beds!”
“Could be that the prowler and the pants burglar weren't the same person,” Frank commented. “But how am I going to get out of here without trousers?”
“Maybe we can borrow a pair.” Joe chuckled. “I'll see what I can find out.”
He had just stepped from the room when the noise of running feet and roars of laughter sounded through the corridor. Three young boys dashed wildly past. Joe recognized one of them.
“Skinny Mason!” he called. “What's all the hurry?”
“Somebody's pants are hanging from the bell tower!” The youngster giggled. “And they say Mr. Kurt is about to blow his top.”
Joe followed Skinny down the stairs and outside. High above the school, on the very top of the tower, Frank's slacks were fluttering in the breeze!
Suddenly a voice hissed in Joe's ear, “You're a detective. How do you account for this?”
Joe wheeled around to face the headmaster. “I can't account for how the pants got up there,” the chagrined Joe was forced to admit, “but I can tell you whose they are. They're my brother's!”
Kurt looked at Joe in disgust. Then he turned to one of the students standing nearby.
“I want every boy out here within five minutes,” he ordered. “Pass the word.”
It did not take long to round up the students. But when Kurt demanded that the culprit step forward, there was nothing but a general shuffling of feet.
“I'll get to the bottom of this!” Kurt thun dered.
After telling them that such behavior reflected on the dignity of the school, he quizzed the students on what they knew about the tower itself.
“The stairs were condemned and torn down long ago,” he stated. “Do any of you know another way the prankster could have reached the top?”
There was an uneasy silence until Benny Tass spoke up. “Maybe someone climbed out from one of those attic windows onto the catwalk around the tower and just threw the pants to the top,” he suggested. “But I don't know anything about it.”
Joe went to get the ladder under the guest-room window. Kurt stormed for a few more minutes as to how the school ladder had gotten there. No one answered, and Joe asked Skinny to bring him a fish pole.
Then Joe propped the ladder against the wall, and holding the pole, climbed to the catwalk of the tower. A few flicks of his wrist and he cast the fishhook into Frank's pants. Amid cheers from the onlookers he hauled them down.
“Whose are they?” several boys asked.
Joe escaped without answering. When he brought them to Frank, his brother stared in astonishment. A rueful grin that spread over his face as Joe told the story lasted only a moment, then he began to speculate on who had taken the pants.
“Are you sure you locked our door the second time?” Joe asked him.
Frank thought a moment. “No, I'm not sure. Dumb of me. I deserve what happened.”
“I'm glad it wasn't any worse,” Joe remarked. “Well, let's get some breakfast and then start our sleuthing.”
Several students had already assembled in the dining hall. As Frank and Joe entered, Kurt met them, anger on his face.
“There's no breakfast,” he announced. “The cook and her helper didn't show up this morning.”
“Mrs. Teevan probably is still ill,” Frank reminded him. “The doctor may have told her to stay in bed today.”
“Doctor!” Kurt exclaimed. “I didn't know anything about that. What's the matter with her?”
Frank briefly explained the circumstances that led to the physician's visit. Kurt expressed no sympathy but burst out:
“That leaves us in a fine mess. And that assistant quitâjust when we need her. I found her note of resignation on the kitchen counter top.”
“Looks as if we'll have to get our own breakfast,” Frank remarked.
“The Yellow Feather is behind all this!” Kurt said. “I'm sure of it. He's the one who left the note ordering that tray for Greg Woodson.”
Suddenly the headmaster snapped his fingers. “Why didn't I think of it before!” he exclaimed.
Leaning over, he whispered confidentially, “The Yellow Feather must be nearby to make such frequent visits. I'll bet I know where his hideout is!”
“Where?” the Hardys chorused.
“The school has a camping hut along the river,” Kurt replied. “We'll find that scoundrel!”
“It might be a good idea to look,” Frank agreed.
He and Joe walked into the kitchen with the intention of getting something to eat when Skinny, who had been looking everywhere for them, came to tell them that Chet was at the front door.
“Chet! Up this early!” Joe exclaimed. “Something important must have happened!”
The two boys hurried to the main entrance and looked questioningly at their friend. Quickly he explained that Mrs. Hardy had telephoned him to deliver a message to them.
“She said your dad was in touch with her and wanted you fellows warned that you're in danger out here!” Chet whispered.
How well they knew that! the Hardys thought. But how had their father learned this?
Quickly they brought their friend up to date on what had happened and Chet whistled softly.
“Say,” Joe asked him, “how would you like to hang around and do some cooking? You might pick up some clues for us.”
Chet beamed. “Direct me to the food supply.”
Joe led the way and introduced him to the headmaster.
“I've found a cook!” he announced triumphantly.
“And not a bad one either!” Chet boasted. “I came up here on my sled to see what the Hardys were doing, and it looks as if I'll come in handy until your regular cook gets back to work, Mr. Kurt.”
Frank explained Chet's fondness for food and remarked that he had developed a flair for the culinary art. Kurt readily agreed to the plan.
As a chef, Chet proved his ability to organize an efficient staff. Strutting about in an apron, he divided up the work so quickly between several boys that an excellent breakfast was prepared in short order.
During the meal Joe discussed Kurt's proposal with his brother and added, “It doesn't make sense that a criminal would be hiding in a hut which might be used by students at any time.”
“The Yellow Feather probably knows that most of the boys are away,” Frank pointed out.
“Oh, it's possible, all right,” his brother agreed. “But I'm not putting much stock in Kurt's idea.”
He contemplated another angle. “Maybe Kurt is trying to get us away from the school for some reason.”
Frank shrugged. “Suppose I stay here while you and Kurt go to the hut.”
Joe agreed. Frank told Kurt he wanted to help Chet get the kitchen setup organized and he would not make the trip to the hut. The headmaster looked displeased but said that he and Joe would proceed, anyway.
“We'd better go on skis,” Kurt suggested, and arranged for Joe to borrow the equipment.
Gliding along through the woods, they soon reached a trail which Joe recognized as the one on which the boys had spotted Benny Tass with his car. As he was beginning to wonder if this were a favorite haunt of the unpleasant boy, Tass suddenly appeared at the side of the trail, leaning on ski poles.
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