CHAPTER 15 INTO THE WOODS

For several minutes nothing very spectacular happened. At intervals the strange lantern signals were repeated.

“It looks to me as if that person over in the woods is trying to signal someone here!” Penny said, peering from behind the window curtain.

“Mrs. Lear?” asked Louise.

“Who else? Certainly no one would have reason to try to attract our attention.”

“But why should anyone come here tonight?”

As the girls speculated upon the meaning of the mysterious signals, they heard a door at the end of the hall softly open. Footsteps padded noiselessly past their door.

“Are you asleep, girls?” Mrs. Lear’s voice chirped.

Louise would have answered had not Penny clapped a hand firmly over her mouth.

After a moment the footsteps pattered on down the stairway.

“Where can Mrs. Lear be going?” Penny speculated in a whisper. “She wanted to make certain that we were asleep.”

The girls did not have long to wait. Soon they heard an outside door close. A moment later they saw the spry old lady crossing the yard to the barn. She was fully dressed and wore a grotesque tight-waisted jacket as protection against the biting night wind.

Penny turned her gaze toward the woods once more. The lantern signals had ceased.

“What do you think is going on?” Louise asked in bewilderment.

Penny reached for her clothing which had been left in an untidy heap on the floor. “I don’t know,” she replied grimly. “With luck we’ll find out.”

They dressed as quickly as they could. As Penny was pulling on her shoes she heard the barn door close. She rushed to the window. Old Lady Lear, riding with an easy grace that belied her years, was walking Trinidad toward the road.

“Now where’s she going?” Penny demanded, seizing Louise by the hand. “Come on, or we’ll never learn!”

Clattering down the stairs, they reached the yard in time to see Mrs. Lear riding into the woods.

“Know what I think?” Louise asked breathlessly. “She’s the one who’s been pulling off these Headless Horseman stunts!”

“Someone signaled to her from the woods,” Penny reminded her chum. “She’s starting off to meet whoever flashed the lantern!”

To attempt to follow the old lady afoot seemed a foolish thing to do. Nevertheless, Penny was convinced that Mrs. Lear would not ride far into the woods. She argued that a golden opportunity would be lost forever if they did not try to learn where she went.

“Then come on if we must do it!” Louise consented. “It won’t be easy to keep her in sight though.”

In their haste the girls had provided themselves with no light. Nor had they imagined that a night could be so dark. Once among the trees they had difficulty in keeping to the trail that old Mrs. Lear had chosen.

“Let’s turn back,” Louise pleaded. “We’re apt to get lost.”

Penny, however, was stubbornly determined to learn the old lady’s destination. Though she could not see Trinidad she could hear the crashing of underbrush only a short distance ahead.

“Penny, I can’t keep on!” Louise gasped a moment later. “I’m winded.”

“You’re scared,” Penny amended. “Well, so am I. But it’s just as easy to go on now as it is to turn back.”

The trail Mrs. Lear had taken led at a steep angle uphill. The old lady allowed her horse to take his time. Even so, the girls were hard pressed to keep fairly close.

“Listen!” Penny presently commanded in a whisper.

No longer could they hear the sound of Trinidad’s hoofbeats.

“We’ve lost her,” Louise said anxiously.

“I think Mrs. Lear has stopped,” Penny replied, keeping her voice low. “Perhaps she heard us and suspects that we followed her.”

More cautiously than before, the girls moved forward. It was well that they did, for unexpectedly they came to a brook and a clearing. Mrs. Lear had dismounted and tied Trinidad to an elm tree close to the water’s edge.

Huddling behind a clump of bushes, the girls waited and watched. Mrs. Lear did not appear to be expecting anyone. She gave Trinidad a friendly pat. Then making certain that he was securely fastened to the tree, walked briskly toward the girls.

Penny and Louise cringed closer to the ground. The old lady passed them and went on down the trail.

“You stay here and keep watch of Trinidad!” Penny instructed. “I’ll follow Mrs. Lear.”

Louise did not want to remain alone. She started to say so, but Penny was gone.

The moment her chum had vanished from sight, sheer panic took possession of Louise. An owl hooted. The cry sent icy chills racing down the girl’s spine.

Tensely she listened. She was certain she could hear footsteps approaching the brook. Suddenly she lost all interest in solving the mystery. Her one desire was to get safely out of the woods. Shamelessly, she turned and fled.

Penny, doggedly following Mrs. Lear, was startled to hear a crashing of the bushes behind her. As she paused, Louise came running up.

“What is it?” Penny demanded. “Did someone come for Trinidad?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care!” Louise answered grimly. “Call me a coward if you like—I’ll not stay by myself!”

Penny did not chide her chum, though she was disappointed. A moment’s thought convinced her that since Louise was unwilling to remain by the brook, it now would be better for them both to trail Mrs. Lear. If they were not to lose her, they must hasten along.

“Where do you think the old lady is going?” Louise presently asked as they stumbled over a vine-clogged trail. “Not back home.”

“No,” Penny agreed in a whisper, “we’re going in the wrong direction for that.”

Unexpectedly, the girls emerged into a clearing, Not daring to cross the open space lest Mrs. Lear see them, they huddled at the fringe of trees. Overhead, dark clouds scudded and boiled; a strengthening wind whipped their clothing about them.

Mrs. Lear moved spryly across the open space. Pausing near the edge of a cliff, she crouched beside a huge boulder. Grasping a bush for support, she peered down into the valley.

“We may be directly above Sleepy Hollow estate!” Penny whispered excitedly. “Let’s try to get closer and see!”

Treading cautiously over the sodden leaves, the girls made a wide circle along the edge of trees. Keeping a safe distance from Mrs. Lear, they peered down over the rim of the valley. As Penny had guessed, Sleepy Hollow was to be seen below. A light, dimly visible, burned on the lower floor of the dwelling. They barely were able to discern the long, narrow bridge spanning the mill pond.

“Now why do you suppose Mrs. Lear came here at this time of night?” Louise speculated. “Do you think—”

Penny gave her chum a quick little jab. From far away she had caught the sound of approaching hoofbeats.

“The Headless Horseman!” Louise whispered in awe.

“We’ll soon see. Mrs. Lear is waiting for something!”

Minutes elapsed. Penny began to doubt that she had heard an approaching horseman. Then suddenly he emerged from a thicket that edged the valley road. The rider was garbed in white which plainly silhouetted his huge, misshapen body. Where his head should have been there was nothing.

The sight of such an apparition did not seem to dismay old Mrs. Lear. The old lady leaned farther over the cliff, fairly hugging herself with delight.

Having gained the road leading to Sleepy Hollow, the horseman came on at a swift pace. Sparks flew from the steel shod hoofs as they clipped smartly on the stones.

Penny’s gaze swept ahead of the ghost rider to the bridge. Her heart leaped. Even as the horseman rode onto the structure, workmen sprang from the thickets at either side of the road. High wooden barriers were jerked into place at both ends of the bridge. The Headless Horseman’s retreat was cut off.

“They’ve got him!” Penny whispered tensely. “He’s trapped on the bridge!”

The horse faltered for an instant and slackened speed. Then as the mysterious rider apparently urged him on, he bore down on the barrier blocking the bridge’s exit.

“He’s going to try to jump!” Louise murmured. “But no one could take such a high barrier!”

Nervously the girls watched. By this time they were certain that the horse was Trinidad. Magnificent though he was, age had crept upon him, and the wooden gate could prove a difficult test for a trained jumper.

If Penny and Louise were tense, Mrs. Lear was even more so. “Take it, Trinidad!” they heard her mutter. “Over!”

Trinidad did not falter. Approaching the barrier at full tilt, he gathered his strength, and cleared the structure in a beautiful, clean leap. The startled workmen, amazed at the feat, fell back out of the way. Only one made any attempt to stop the rider. The Headless Horseman plunged his gallant steed through a gap in the trees and was gone.

“You did it Trinidad!” cackled Mrs. Lear. “You showed ’em!”

Stooping to pick up a pebble, the old lady hurled it contemptuously toward the bridge. Her aim though carelessly taken was surprisingly good. The stone fell with a loud, resounding thud on the bridge planks.

“Let ’em wonder where that came from!” the old lady chuckled gleefully. “Let ’em wonder.”

Wrapping her black coat about her, she quickly retreated into the woods.