Chapter 8 The Phantom of Pine Hill by Carolyn Keene
Indian Attack
Bess had been seated atop a small ladder reading one of the very old books she had found. Now she jumped down and showed it to the others.
“There’s a whole article about the Lucy Belle,” she said. “And pasted in the back of the book is this.”
She pointed to a list of names, all men. Scrawled across the bottom of the sheet was the notation, “Survivors of the Lucy Belle.”
“Oh, Bess,” Nancy cried out, “this is a wonderful find!” She began to count the names—there were nine. “Does it say in the article where the men went?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Bess replied. “It tells about the construction of the Lucy Belle, which was a combination freight and passenger steamboat.”
“Then it doesn’t mention the cargo?”
“No.”
“Girls,” said Nancy, “if we hurry, we’ll have time to stop at Mrs. Palmer’s before we go to the pageant. Let’s see if she can identify any of these names.”
Bess wanted to know what good that would do. “Those men have been dead a long time.”
“But they may have left families,” Nancy replied. “Maybe one or more of their descendants are around here and trying to find a clue to that treasure of coins.”
“You mean,” said Bess, “that one of them is the phantom?”
“Possibly.”
After Nancy copied the names, the three girls dressed quickly and set off for Mrs. Palmer’s home. She was surprised to see them so soon again, but appeared delighted. “I can tell by your eyes, Nancy, that you have more questions for me.”
Nancy smiled and produced the list of Lucy Belle survivors.
The elderly woman eyed it in amazement. “You are real sleuths,” she complimented her visitors.
Mrs. Palmer settled down in an armchair to study the list. Finally she went to a bookcase, and pulled out a thin volume which she said was the genealogy of the old families of Emerson. She went through each page carefully, comparing the names on it with those which Nancy had brought.
Presently she said, “I believe I have found something!”
“Yes?” Nancy asked, leaning forward eagerly.
The elderly woman said that two names in the book were identical with two on the list, although they were several generations apart. “It’s just possible that the younger ones are descendants of these survivors.”
“Do they live in Emerson now?” Nancy asked.
“Well, yes and no. There are two young men at the university whose families used to reside here but moved away. Their names are Tom Akin and Ben Farmer.”
The three girls exclaimed in surprise. “Why, Tom and Ben are Omegas!” George said.
Mrs. Palmer smiled. “You’re familiar with that fraternity?”
Nancy told her about Ned, Dave, and Burt inviting them for June Week. “Maybe the boys can give us some good leads,” she added.
Unable to restrain her enthusiasm, Nancy asked if she might use Mrs. Palmer’s telephone. “Help yourself, my dear.”
On the chance that Tom and Ben might still be at the Omega House, Nancy called it. To her delight, both of them were there. Quickly she explained why she had called.
Tom, who had answered the phone, said Yes, he was a direct descendant of the Tom Akin who was a survivor of the Lucy Belle. “I believe he was one of the officers.”
Nancy asked that when the boys had a chance they tell her all they knew about the history of the sunken ship. “We’ll be more than glad to. Say, you girls have no dates for the afternoon, have you? . . . Well, we’re in the same boat. Our friends are in the pageant, too. How about sitting with us? Then Ben and I will tell you all we know.”
“Marvelous!” said Nancy. “We’ll be in the first row—Ned suggested that. Will you meet us there?”
“We’ll go right now and save seats,” Tom offered.
Before leaving Mrs. Palmer, Nancy planted a kiss of thanks on the woman’s cheek. “You’ve been a wonderful help. If I ever solve the mystery, I’ll come back to tell you.”
Mrs. Palmer smiled. “I hope that’s a promise.”
When the girls arrived at the water front, Tom and Ben were already there. As promised, the boys had saved three seats in the front row.
Almost at once, Tom gave an account of the sinking of the Lucy Belle. Both he and Ben had heard stories about it, but these did not differ from what the girls knew.
“I’ve heard, however,” Ben said, “that my forebear survived the shipwreck, only to be massacred later with some of the other survivors near the Indian village. He had left his wife and son in Pittsburgh, but afterward they came here to visit relatives and remained.”
“Killed by Indians! How awful!” exclaimed Bess.
“The white men must have provoked them,” Ben said. “Except for this one incident, they were friendly with the settlers at that time.”
George remarked, “What seems strange to me is that nobody has tried to retrieve the sunken treasure.”
“You mean the gold coins?” Tom asked. When George nodded, he said, “Oh, some of the college boys have tried in the past few years since scuba diving has become popular. Ben and I have been down several times.”
“You didn’t find any trace of them?” Nancy queried.
Tom laughed. “We couldn’t even find the ship. Maybe we didn’t have the right location, but everyone around here thinks the Lucy Belle is sunk so deep in the mud she’ll never be found. You know, the bottom of this tributary is really an underwater valley between the two shores.”
There was silence for a few moments, then suddenly Nancy asked, “Is it possible to rent diving equipment in Emerson?”
Tom and Ben seemed startled by the question, but Tom answered. “Yes, it is. Don’t tell me you’re going to try to find the Lucy Belle!”
Nancy laughed. “I just might do that.”
For the next few minutes Nancy and her friends studied the printed program. There was to be a succession of floats showing how Emerson had developed from a wilderness into a university town. First came flatboats on which the earliest merchants sent their goods up into the wilderness territory.
Next came the keelboats, called barges, which ran on regular schedules as the population increased.
Presently George called out, “Here comes Burt!”
She began to giggle as she saw him playing the part of a fully bearded captain in an old-fashioned uniform and cap. He was standing on a barge with one arm outstretched in front of him, directing his crew where to take their load of iron ore.
The program said that there had been a forge in the area where smelting was done. These forges formed little communities where the smith, his family, and his workers lived.
Suddenly Bess burst into laughter. “Oh, I can’t believe it! Look at Dave!”
Her friend, wearing a bushy-haired wig, whiskers, and sideburns, was in charge of an ark filled with animals! Squealing pigs, mooing cows, and neighing horses apparently were very unhappy and Dave was having a hectic time with several helpers trying to keep the creatures quiet.
“No wonder he wouldn’t tell me what part he was going to play,” said Bess. “He’ll never live this down!”
There were many other types of early river transportation in the parade, including one showing a shipment of salt. Other floats depicted a church and an early school building.
The last number was an elaborate one. On a disreputable shantyboat stood a crude shack. Through a large window, in a scene lighted by old-fashioned lanterns, a miser could be seen. He was seated at a table counting a large heap of coins.
Trailing the shantyboat was a large pirogue. The dugout was filled with Indians, and Ned was playing the part of their chief. As the boats neared the seated spectators, Ned and his party sneaked aboard the shantyboat, robbed the miser of his coins, and tossed the man into the water!
Quickly the Indians climbed back into their pirogue and headed for shore. It landed directly in front of Nancy’s group.
Ned leaped out, and giving a war whoop rushed up to Nancy, scooped her up in his arms, and raced back to his dugout with her.
“Ned, stop it!” Nancy cried in embarrassment. “Stop it!”
She tried to struggle free, but Ned’s Indian companions helped hold her and paddled off quickly. The crowd of onlookers, sure that this was part of the program, cheered loudly.
“Ned, where are you going? What are you doing?” Nancy cried out.
Ned rose to his full height and said in a stentorian voice, “Big Chief take pretty maiden to treasure spot!”