THE SECRET OF THE ICE CASTLE

4: THE RUINED ARCHIVES

The Dana girls and Evelyn gaped at the clippings on the desk top as they read them by the light of the study lamp. The articles gave accounts of the kidnapping case in detail and were all from editions of the Penfield newspaper dated fourteen years earlier.

"Little Lorraine was ten years old when this happened," Louise almost whispered. "She'd be in her mid-twenties now."

"And she was abducted right from Spirit Island during a winter vacation," Jean added. "Never to be seen again."

The clippings told the story of how the beloved child was kidnapped from the winter island retreat. The family had been spending a mid-winter weekend at the Ice Castle and little Lorraine had been playing outside in the snow under the supervision of her nanny, a young woman named Betty Gordon.

Summoned to the front door for a moment by Mrs. Symington, Miss Gordon was frantic to find the child gone when she returned to the spot where she had left her. She followed little Lorraine's tracks in the snow through the woods to the part of the island where the Indian burial grounds were located. The child had always been forbidden access to that part of the island and, as a result, had a great curiosity for it. She had twice run off to that area during previous visits.

When Nanny Gordon arrived at the burial grounds there were signs of another set of footprints and what appeared to be a struggle, but the little girl was nowhere in sight. The woman ran to the nearby shore to search out upon the ice, but no one could be seen. She frantically stalked the shore around the entire island but there was no sign upon the frozen lake of little Lorraine or her abductor.

"The Symingtons must have been crazed with worry," Evelyn said, shaking her head sadly. "To lose a darling child in that manner must be more than a parent can bear."

"I should think so," Louise agreed. "And what made it so much worse is that by the time the police were notified and got out to the island, a snowstorm had struck and obliterated all the tracks!"

"There was not a single clue to go on," Jean sighed. "No evidence at all at the scene of the crime. The case was hopeless from the beginning."

Evelyn shuddered. "And that is when so many of the rumors started. Local folk believed the child was stolen by ghosts of the dead Indians. Some said it was the Symingtons' just due for having built the Ice Castle on the sacred island."

Louise began to pick up the clippings and fold them for safekeeping in the leather case. "What a dreadful incident," she remarked. "I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Symington have never been the same since their child disappeared."

"And now someone is 'haunting' their estate near Penfield," Jean mused, "scaring them half to death. It is all so sinister: the unsolved mystery of the kidnapping, the strangers inhabiting Spirit Island, and the spooky activity at Bleak Acres."

"Sinister indeed," Evelyn agreed, as Louise placed the leather case and letter from Uncle Ned back into the top desk drawer. "And now to make matters even worse, Lettie Briggs knows all about it. You can be sure she'll stick her nose into this somehow."

"I wonder if she took anything from the leather case," Jean said. "There may have been other clippings, or an item that might be a valuable clue."

"It's possible," Louise replied. "Lettie has done such things in the past."

"Will you tell Mrs. Crandall about this?" Evelyn inquired.

Louise shook her head. "It is best, at least for now, not to let Mrs. Crandall know we are involved in such a serious case. She may want to restrict our activities, especially if she knows Lettie Briggs is involved too."