The Curious Affair at Heron Shoals

Augusta Huiell Seaman

The Curious Affair at Heron Shoals

Published by Good Press, 2022

goodpress@okpublishing.info

EAN 4064066354626

Table of Contents

1 Introducing Methuselah

T HE big, dim kitchen was very warm and. smelled of hot biscuits and baking gingerbread.. The late September afternoon sun slanted. through a west window, intensifying the velvety. green of the tall cedars outside. Within the kitchen. it caused the red-checked table-cloth to glow with. a burning brilliance. Little old Mrs. Greene bustled. about the room, opening and shutting the oven. door and putting a shovel or two of coal in the. range. Suddenly the rays of sunlight were gone. from the west window. The swift, late September. twilight had begun. It left the old kitchen dimmer. than ever.

2 Marty Meets the Musical Prodigy

M ARTY left the school-bus the next afternoon. and fairly raced home along the sandy. road that led to the Coast-Guard Station. Her. home was at a considerable distance from her. school, which was in a large town across the Bay.. There was a long bridge across the Bay, connecting. the little, eight-mile-long Heron Shoals Island with. the mainland. On the northern end of this otherwise. uninhabited island, there had sprung up. within comparatively recent years, the little town. of summer cottages called Surf Crest. But beyond. the southern limits of this town, the concrete road. ended abruptly, and below it stretched only the. rolling dunes and beach on the east of the narrow. strip, and on the west, the thickly wooded growths. of cedar, holly, and pines. Except for the town,. two Coast-Guard Stations, the home of Captain Cy. and Marty’s own abode constituted almost the. only other human habitations on the entire island.. As the school-bus did not go below the limits of. the town, Marty had about a mile of almost impossible. road to negotiate before she reached her own. home. She had been very inattentive at school all. day, her mind absorbed with the new conditions. that were about to take place in her home.

3 The Unwelcome Kilroys

M ARTY and Ted sat together on a high, steep. dune overlooking the sea. It was a warm,. golden, perfect afternoon—the type of weather. that often comes to the coast in the early fall. The. sea before them was a vivid floor of green-blue,. with only small wavelets lapping in at the water’s. edge—an ideal day for surf-casting. Swooping. gulls, silhouetted against the intensely blue sky,. gleamed with an unbelievable whiteness. The air. was pungent with the odor of salt and pine and. cedar, wafted by the light west wind from across. the Bay.

4 A Clue from the Record

T HE weather had changed. The balmy warmth. of the last two days had vanished and a cold,. woolly fog was drifting in from the sea. Marty. shivered unconsciously as she was trudging home. from school on Monday afternoon, but her. thoughts were not on the weather or her own personal. discomfort. They were deeply concerned. with the doings of the previous day and the progress. that was being made in diverting Ted’s mind. from his own affairs to the mystery that centered. in Methuselah.

5 Monsieur Has a Theory

W ELL, sighed Marty, when she had sufficiently. recovered from her astonishment. at this revelation, you certainly discovered something. this time, Ted! But, tell me, is there anything. more about it in these records?"

6 One Memorable Day

O LD Mrs. Greene was stepping about her. kitchen, preparing vegetables for the midday. meal. The early morning sun streamed in at. the south window and the kitchen was at its brightest. hour of the day. Methuselah on his perch was. pecking half-heartedly at the sunflower seeds in his. cup. Having recovered somewhat from his indisposition. of the day before, he was being allowed a. limited ration of food, but his appetite was still. far from normal.

7 Footprints in the Sand

I T had been a glorious afternoon. As Marty. looked back on it afterward, it was also the last. afternoon they were to know of quiet enjoyment. and freedom from worry, bewilderment and even. danger, for some time to come.

" Abner Greene ,

Acting Keeper.

8 Revelations by Mrs. Greene

B UT how do you know they were made by. Chips Kilroy? demanded Mr. Burnett. Any. boatman or crabber or some complete stranger. might have landed here!"

9 Intruder in the Night

M ARTY always remembered afterward the. queer expression on all their faces at the. sound of that crash. Startled astonishment mainly,. frozen immobility for an instant, mingling with. just a little fear in that of her grandmother. The. spell was broken the next moment, for the sound. had wakened Thusy from a nap and his immediate. raucous squawking was hideous to hear.

10 Morning Adventure

F AR into the night Marty awoke, roused to intense. awareness by something, the origin of. which she could not for a moment identify.

11 The Hurricane Strikes

S HORTLY after ten-thirty that morning, there. came a sudden lull in the driving northeast. wind and rain. Looking up from the table where. she was preparing clams and vegetables for a. chowder, Mrs. Greene observed the lull and decided. that it would be a good chance to go outside and. get some more wood from the shed for the range.. Without even bothering to don a shawl or raincoat,. she opened the kitchen door, which faced toward. the west, and left it open so that she could enter. the more easily with her armful of wood. Beyond. the steps, after a few feet, the ground was two or. three inches deep with unabsorbed rain-water,. which was unusual in that sandy soil. She wished. she had stopped to put on her rubbers, but did not. go back to get them.

12 On the Trail of Chips

M ARTY, what does Chips really look like?. demanded Ted, as they splashed along the. path through the woods toward the Bay. I didn’t. get a really good look at him last Sunday, when. he came over to the beach with his mother. We. were too busy hiding from them!" he ended with. a chuckle.

13 Hurricane’s Harvest

A T two o’clock that afternoon, Mrs. Greene. sat down in her comfortable old rocker in. the kitchen and despairingly wiped her face, which. was streaming with perspiration. The kitchen was. the only comparatively dry room in the house. The. window whose broken pane had been removed by. Chips that morning, she had closed by shutting. tight the outside shutter and filling up the chinks. with cloths.

14 After the Storm

W ELL, land sakes! I just don’t understand it. all!" muttered Mrs. Greene, taking off her. spectacles and wiping them for the third time, as. she rocked nervously in her old kitchen rocker.. The last surprise of this terrifying day had been. almost too much for her. From the moment that. she had beheld Ted, alive and unharmed, the. strength borne of excitement and suspense had. seemed to ooze out of her, leaving her trembling. and shaken. The arrival of Chips with the party. had been the most astonishing of all the queer. events.

15 Aftermath

M ARTY sat alone in the kitchen by the table,. peeling some potatoes for her grandmother.. One foot was propped on a stool. The warm morning. sunlight streamed through the windows, all. open to an air as balmy as midsummer. She was. alone as she worked. Mrs. Greene was upstairs trying. to straighten affairs in her disordered house, Ted. and Monsieur had gone over to the Coast-Guard. Station to ascertain the condition of the pianos,. Mr. Burnett had gone to town by way of walking. up the beach, and Chips was out in the back, chopping. vigorously at the fallen willow tree, to remove. its obstruction from the dooryard.

16 Thusy Takes the Spotlight

I T struck Marty that Mr. Burnett looked. rather grave when he came in. He and the. others were armed with large packages of supplies. that he had promised to bring Mrs. Greene from. town. When he had put them on the table he announced

17 Chips Solves the Riddle

T HEY all collapsed in helpless laughter at the. impudence of the retort. And when they had. recovered, Mr. Burnett eagerly made a suggestion.

"June 11, 1912

18 One November Night

O N the stage of a certain concert-hall in. New York, a slim young boy sat at a grand. piano. The stage was lighted but the rest of the hall. was darkened. The audience could not be seen by. the boy who was drawing such remarkable strains. of melody from the piano keys.

1

Introducing Methuselah

Table of Contents

THE big, dim kitchen was very warm and smelled of hot biscuits and baking gingerbread. The late September afternoon sun slanted through a west window, intensifying the velvety green of the tall cedars outside. Within the kitchen it caused the red-checked table-cloth to glow with a burning brilliance. Little old Mrs. Greene bustled about the room, opening and shutting the oven door and putting a shovel or two of coal in the range. Suddenly the rays of sunlight were gone from the west window. The swift, late September twilight had begun. It left the old kitchen dimmer than ever.

Table of Contents

I wonder where Marty can be? Mrs. Greene muttered aloud, glancing uneasily at the loud-ticking wooden clock on the mantel. (She often thought aloud when she was quite by herself.) It’s half-past five now—and the school-bus came down at four. She should’ve been in long ago. I s’pose she’s over to the Station—as usual—though I told her—

Just a minute!—Just a minute!—Just a— squawked a great blue parrot with a brilliant yellow breast, shuffling about on his high T-perch in a warm corner near the range.

Oh, hush up! exclaimed Mrs. Greene irritably. You’ve been squawking all afternoon, Methuselah. You’ve got on my nerves!

Don’t get excited!—Don’t get excited!—Don’t get— shrieked the bird, as his mistress lit a big oil-lamp and placed it on the table near the window. At that moment the kitchen door burst open and a bronze-haired girl of fifteen rushed in. Her great brown eyes were dancing with excitement.

Nana! she cried. What in the world is going on over at the Station? Mrs. Greene surveyed her granddaughter with a slightly inscrutable look, but merely replied:

So that’s where you’ve been this past hour or so! I thought as much! When you’ve been away from home overnight, like you was last night to play in some silly basket-ball contest, you know I worry about you till you get home.

Well, good gracious, Nana! replied her granddaughter, Marty Greene. You knew I was staying with Aunt Martha and couldn’t possibly come to any harm. Aunt Martha and Uncle Dick came to see the game and I went home with them right afterward. And we beat the Draketown team to a frazzle! she ended proudly. Then added, But what’s going on over at the Station?

Why should anything be going on? countered Mrs. Greene. It’s all closed up by the Government and empty now, ain’t it? So why should anything be going on? You’ve been over to your Uncle Cy’s house—I know that. How are they to-day? I haven’t had time to go over.

They’re all right, declared Marty impatiently. "But something queer is going on. I haven’t told you what I saw coming home—after I left the bus where it stops and started to walk home. That’s what’s got us all guessing!"

"Well, my patience—what did you see!" cried Mrs. Greene, herself now roused to some curiosity.

Marty sat down at the table, after throwing aside her beret and sweater. She found some secret satisfaction in keeping her grandmother on tenterhooks, when she could, because Mrs. Greene was of a singularly secretive nature and continually kept Marty in a state of guessing and conjecture. In all other ways Marty found her grandmother loving, devoted, and self-sacrificing to a degree. Therefore she sniffed the air now and remarked,

Ah-h! I smell fresh gingerbread. Give me a slice, Nana, before supper, and then I’ll tell you all about it. I’m starving! Mrs. Greene, who could refuse her most beloved granddaughter nothing, sniffed in pretended indignation, but nevertheless drew a pan of hot gingerbread from the oven and cut Marty a generous slice. The girl ecstatically sank her white, even teeth into it. At that moment the parrot, who had, since Marty’s entrance, been quietly resting on his perch, suddenly came to life and squawked,

Thusy wants a cracker!—Thusy wants a cracker!—Thusy wants— Marty chuckled and held a bit of gingerbread out to him.

Don’t you give him that, Marty! commanded Mrs. Greene. You know as well as I do, it’ll make him sick.

Oh, just a mite, Nana! begged Marty. It won’t hurt him just once. Methuselah was hopping up and down on his perch in great excitement, but Mrs. Greene sternly answered,

No! He’s been sick before from you feeding him such things—and I have to nurse him through it. I’ll give him a soda-biscuit and stop his noise. She handed him one from a tin. He took it in his claw, bit into it suspiciously and threw it contemptuously on the floor of his perch. Then he began the uproar afresh.

Sometimes he makes me so mad I could slap him! sighed Mrs. Greene. But, tell me now, what was so queer going on over at the Station? Before Marty answered, she finished her gingerbread and waited for the parrot to stop his racket, against which it was impossible to talk. Methuselah, perceiving that no one was paying him any attention, and that there was no likelihood of gingerbread, hopped down to the floor of his perch and retrieved his cracker. After that the kitchen grew quiet. When the last crumb of her gingerbread had disappeared, and Mrs. Greene was almost frantic with hidden curiosity, Marty began.

"Funniest thing you ever heard of, Nana. I was walking down the road from where the bus stops at the end of the concrete, and about half-way here there was a great, enormous van, right in the road, and dug in so deep in the sand that it simply couldn’t move. You know how terrible our road is from the end of the concrete one to here. Nothing but two sand ruts, and even an ordinary car has trouble getting through it, most times. Well, that van was stuck—and stuck good and proper! I couldn’t think why it ever tried it, anyway. There were three men on it, and they were trying their hardest to get out. One was at the wheel, and the other two were pushing at the back, and the wheels were digging in deeper every minute!

"I couldn’t get by at all except by going around through the bushes, and when I had, I asked one of the men where the van was going. He said to the Heron Shoals Coast-Guard Station, and I asked whatever for, as it had been closed up by the Government a couple of months ago and all the coast-guards had gone. He said he didn’t know about that, but those were their orders and how far away was it? I told him it was about half a mile further on—same kind of road—and advised them to get some old boards or logs to put under the front tires and that would help them get out of the mess they were in. I told them they could probably find plenty over on the beach just across the dunes and they started out to hunt for some. But before they left, I asked them what they were bringing down to the Station in that big van, and, Nana, what do you think they said?—Two grand pianos!—Did you ever hear of such an absurd thing?"

Mrs. Greene only grunted in reply, but her eyes were veiled in an inscrutable look that was not lost on Marty, who went on:

"They said they‘d had orders from the big department store up the coast, where they came from, to bring them down and set them up in the Station. That former Captain Greene—that’s Uncle Cy—who lived close by, had been informed about it and would see that they were received. That’s all they knew about it, and they left me, while they walked over the dunes to get some boards.

"I didn’t waste a minute after that, but hustled down to Uncle Cy’s to hear all about it. Only Gwen was there—and Aunt Emmeline, of course—and they said Uncle Cy was