AN EERIE TWIN-TOWERED CASTLE of white stone on an ice-bound island on a frozen winter lake, a nearby English manor house haunted by a flute playing ghost who roams the halls at night accompanied by a wolf, and a mysterious kidnapped girl from the p...
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PHOTO above - the Ojibway reservation
After a light breakfast, at which Lettie Briggs acted as if she were a special guest of honor, much to the amusement of everyone else in attendance, three horse-drawn sleighs from Forest Lodge arrived to transport the party to the Ice Castle. Upon their arrival Lettie began to pout, and it was obvious to all that she desperately wanted to join them. However, to give the girl credit, she was at length able to assume a proper demeanor and not be churlish about the matter.
Mary Symington had written the letter to her daughter Lorraine, in which she informed the girl that they would be at the Ice Castle for a couple days. After carrying down their traveling bags, Louise and Jean took the letter over to the abbey and placed it on the altar where Lorraine would be sure to see it. Lettie accompanied them and asked question after question about the abbey and the mansion. The girls told her about the secret crypt and showed her how the altar moved, and answered as many of her questions as they could. In truth, they felt sorry for the girl, knowing they'd be unhappy too if they were not included in the party going to the Ice Castle.
At length, the sleighs were loaded and the group was ready to depart. Frank and Joe, the brothers who lived at the lodge, and Gunther, the lodge employee to whom the girls had talked yesterday, had driven the sleighs. Mrs. Symington, proudly wearing the snowman pin on her fur coat, climbed into the lead sleigh commandeered by Gunther, along with her husband. Uncle Ned and Aunt Harriet got up into the middle sleigh to ride with the fair-haired Joe, and Jean and Louise eagerly seated themselves in the third sleigh with the older brother Frank.
The three horses stomped their hoofs and snorted, their breath turning into clouds of steam. Gunther flicked the reins and his horse pranced off, and the others followed. Louise and Jean, excited to be on their way to the Ice Castle, gaily waved goodbye to McFarlane, Mrs. Benson, and Lettie Briggs, who stood watching at the front door.
"Poor Lettie," Jean said, as the sleighs turned the circular drive and headed down the estate road to the highway. "She really wanted to join us."
Louise nodded sagely. "She'll be in a stew over this for weeks. It will give her one more reason to resent us."
"McFarlane is going to drive her back to Starhurst after the roads are plowed," Jean added. "I wonder what kind of story she'll tell the others about her adventures here at Bleak Acres?"
"Surely a very sensational one," Louise declared. "And you can bet our role in it will be very minor and unimportant."
Soon the sleighs were out on the snow-covered highway jangling along as the horses pranced at a pleasant pace. The cold air was bracing and invigorating, and the girls immensely enjoyed themselves as they chatted amicably with Frank.
"I'm glad Mr. Symington is going to the Ice Castle," the boy was saying. "It should put a stop to the strange occurrences going on out there."
"We sure hope so," Jean agreed. "That Indian couple has been there without his knowledge or consent. They had better not be there this morning, that's for sure."
