The Haunted Fountain by Margaret Sutton
CHAPTER XXIV
The Secret of the Fountain
Judy was home at last. The cast would soon be removed from her foot andshe would be ready for the next exciting chapter in a life that had, sofar, been a series of problems and solutions.
Blackberry was curled contentedly in Judy’s lap unconscious of the factthat the collar he wore was now decorated with a life-saving medal.
“A cat is good publicity,” the editor, Mr. Lee, had told Horace. “Thepublic gets tired of dog stories. But a cat—well, that’s different.When a cat saves a life that’s really news.”
The life he was talking about was the life of Dick Hartwell. “Inanother five minutes,” Dr. Bolton was telling the group in the livingroom, “it would have been too late to save him. I didn’t know you werein the tower, Judy girl, when I hurried past—”
“I’m glad you hurried, Dad,” she told him. “If you’d stopped to helpme, Dick would have died, wouldn’t he? I can see why you told Falco hewas dead, but why did you say Horace was dead, too? I’ve been meaningto ask you. It was the end of the world for me when I heard it. I teasehim and torment him, and we’ve often quarreled with each other._Anything you can do I can do better_, that sort of stuff. But I reallylove my brother.”
“I know you do, Judy girl. I really love that son of mine, too,” Dr.Bolton said. “That’s why I hurried him out of there so fast. ‘Neitherof them will do much talking,’ I told that gangster and the woman whowas with him. Then I covered the boys’ faces and we rushed them to theambulance, where a pulmotor was waiting to revive them. Peter was thereby then. The police, Dick’s parole officer, and several more Federalagents came soon afterwards. But I was alone at first. It was aticklish situation.”
“I see. I guess you did what you had to do, the same as I did.”
“That’s right. Maybe you learned your strategy from your old dad. Youknow how strict I am about the truth. Don’t misunderstand me,” thedoctor warned. “I wouldn’t stretch it even a little way unless therewas a life at stake. It wasn’t far from the truth, anyway. Horace wasunconscious—”
“He doesn’t look it now!”
Judy was through being serious. Her brother was at the table devouringa huge piece of cake that Honey had just cut for him. Peter had a slicenearly as large. The house was full of people as it had been ever sinceJudy came home. Lois, Lorraine, and Arthur were there. Other friendsand neighbors were in and out, glad of a chance to help Judy, althoughshe insisted she was well able to help herself. She could walk with thecast on her foot, but not very gracefully. Everybody had autographedit, even Blackberry with his paw print. The next guest to arrive wasHelen Brandt, home early from what had started out to be a wintervacation.
“We came right home as soon as we got Peter’s message,” she explained.“Imagine Stanley letting those criminals move in, and then saying,‘Every man has his price.’ I don’t believe it, do you, Judy?”
“No, I don’t,” she said. “Peter, come here and meet Helen Brandt.She’ll be interested in hearing about that cache of jewels you founddown under the fountain.”
“So that’s the secret you two have been keeping!” several of Judy’sfriends exclaimed.
“I can’t believe it!” cried Helen. “That used to be a storeroom. Therewas an outside door then—”
“They walled it in and stuffed the loot from dozens of robberiesbetween the wall and the door. It was concealed from the inside, too,but not quite well enough. The only entrance they left clear was theone under the cupids. If they hadn’t dropped one of their stolendiamonds by accident on the way in, we might have given up the search.Judy found it,” Peter finished proudly.
“I pretended it was a frozen tear. Can you guess why, Helen?” askedJudy. “Were you there, the day, years ago, when I came with mygrandparents?”
“I remember,” Helen Brandt replied. She was a little vague about it,but soon her explanation of the unsolved mystery began to make sense.“Your grandmother said she’d found you crying over the picture of ourfountain,” she told Judy. “The picture appeared once in a magazine withan article about gardens. I guess your grandmother had the magazine.You know it’s an old fountain, don’t you? It’s been there ever since mymother can remember.”
“Tell us about the rooms under it. I’d like to see them,” declaredHoney.
“They were built underground so we could have heat down there in thewinter to keep the pipes from freezing. The caretaker we had beforeStanley used to live down there and take care of the pipes. Hesuggested making the other room into a playroom for me,” Helencontinued, “but he died before it was finished. I used to pretendthings about his ghost.”
Judy shivered. “I didn’t need to pretend things. The moans we heardwere real.”
“It was Dick Hartwell,” Lois whispered. “They had him locked up in oneof those rooms.”
“What was in the other one?”
This question was ignored as Helen Brandt went on with her story.“Stanley wouldn’t fix anything. The fountain used to be pretty. Wewanted it that way again, so we hired Mr. Banning. He’s a plumber, youknow. He sent his son, Roger, to do the work—”
“That fits,” agreed Peter.
“But what about that other voice Judy heard?” asked Horace. “We stillhaven’t figured out that one.”
“I think I have,” Judy told him. “Helen, if you heard what mygrandparents were saying, and then found me crying again, you must havepretended you were the fountain.”
“You used to be full of tricks, Helen,” Lois put in. “When we playeddolls together you were always talking for them and pretending theycame to life at midnight—things like that.”
Honey laughed. “That must be how it happened, Judy. Now I won’t beafraid to go down there. That is, if I’m ever invited.”
“You pretended a lot of other things, didn’t you, Helen?” asked Judy.“I mean things like wishes that came true if you shed a tear in thefountain.”
“I read about it in a fairy story once,” Helen Brandt confessed. “Therewere two sisters. The good one shed tears that turned into diamonds,but the tears the other one shed changed into toads. I tried it on youjust for fun. Then I peeked out from behind those cupids and watchedyou wish. But what were you crying about? Your tears looked real.”
“They were,” declared Judy. “Growing up isn’t easy. There are lots ofthings to cry about when you’re fourteen.”
“I know,” Helen said. “When you’ve outgrown your dolls and you’re notold enough for boys—”
“Didn’t you have any pets, Judy?”
Judy wasn’t sure who asked the question. She held up Blackberry forinspection. “I wasn’t very old when I got him,” she said. “He was suchan adorable kitten. But now he’s old and wise and decorated withmedals. If I had another wish to make in the fountain, do you know whatit would be?”
Everybody gathered around Judy to hear.
“I’d wish that Blackberry would never grow old and die,” she told them.“I’d wish he could live forever and ever. If your fountain can make awish like that come true, I’ll stop thinking it’s haunted.”
“But Judy,” Lois objected. “Nothing could make an impossible wish likethat come true.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Lorraine said with a meaning glance in Arthur’sdirection. “Sometimes Judy manages to do the impossible. She found thediamond that started all this and led to the discovery of thatwalled-in hiding place—and my ruby. It means more now than it everdid. Arthur will tell you. We talked it all over, and now he reallyunderstands.”
Judy could see it was true. Arthur smiled at Lorraine in the old,devoted way. And Horace and Honey were more devoted than ever in spiteof her art work.
“The fountain inspired me,” Honey declared. “I designed a new fabric.It has little fountains all over it. The air brush makes beautifulspray. Judy, you’ll love to have a dress made out of it.”
“Could I have one, too?” asked Hel
“You’re joking,” Judy said. “No cat can live forever.”
“Cats have kittens,” Helen pointed out. “Blackberry didn’t come to ourhouse because of the fish we have there. He was paying a social call. Ihave a cat, too. Her name is Tabby and if she has kittens—”
“Promise me,” Judy interrupted, “that if one of them looks likeBlackberry you will give it to me. I’d like my little namesake, JudyMeredith, to have a black kitten and name it Blackberry, too. Did Itell you we’ve been invited to spend Christmas with Dale and Irene inNew York? They’re little Judy’s parents,” Judy explained to HelenBrandt. All the rest of them knew Irene’s Cinderella story. “Isn’t itwonderful?”
Everybody thought so except Judy’s young neighbor, Holly Potter.
“We traded birthdays. Remember? You were going to have yours onChristmas so I could have mine last September when we opened theforbidden chest.”
“That’s right,” the others agreed. “You two girls did trade birthdays.”
Helen Brandt had an idea.
“Why not have the celebration just before Judy and Peter leave for NewYork? We can have it in that room under the fountain. We’ll open it upand make a playroom and set up a Christmas tree.”
“Not there,” Judy objected. “I’d love to have a party at your house,Helen, and make another wish in the fountain. I’ll think of how I feltwhen I thought Horace was drowned, and the tears will come easy. Butplease, not in the tunnel. There are real ghosts down there. Thefountain will always be haunted—”
“Objection!” shouted Peter. “Enchanted is the word you want. I ask butone favor. Promise me, Angel, that when you make your next wish I’ll bethere to grant it.”
“You will have to be.” Judy’s gray eyes were tender. “Because my wishwill be that you’ll always be there.”
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Transcriber’s Notes:
Some presumed printers’ errors have been corrected without mention,including normalizing punctuation and minor spelling errors.
Italicized phrases are presented by surrounding the text with_underscores_.
Cover illustration was modified to overlay text of the title and authorname.
Table of illustrations added
page 11 - capitalized sentence “Let’s not talk about rose gardens inJune....
page 91 - changed comma to period "to make them halt, I mean, If he"
page 112 - "She sould scarcely feel his pulse" changed to "She couldscarcely feel his pulse"