The Secret of the Haunted Mirror - M. V. Carey [20]
“Jeff! Don’t!” Mrs. Darnley’s voice was shrill.
“Mrs. Darnley, the phantom may not be down there,” Jupe pointed out. “He may be out of the house and away.” Jupe stepped over the skirting-board on to the stairs.
Jeff clutched his mallet and followed.
The hidden stairway was steep. The guttering flame from the candle threw light on dusty, mildewed walls. Jupe smelled the sick-sour odour of age and dampness, and of air confined for so long that it seemed dead.
The stairway suddenly made a sharp turn, ran down three more steep steps, and ended in a tiny cellar — a room made of concrete blocks and floored with cement.
Jupe held his candle high and Jeff stood beside him.
“Nobody!” breathed Jeff. His voice was scarcely a whisper.
“But he was here,” said Jupiter softly. “See where the dust has been disturbed on the floor?”
The two boys crept away from the staircase. Jupe pointed at two, very old, battered trunks. He put his fingers to his lips to warn Jeff not to speak, then handed the candle to Jeff and bent to examine the nearest of the trunks. It was unlocked. The rusty latch hung free. Jupiter tugged at the lid, and it came up with a squeak of ancient hinges.
Jeff held the candle closer and the boys saw a well-worn sleeping bag, some odd bottles and jars, and a sandwich wrapped in clear plastic.
Jupiter looked at Jeff. Jeff’s eyes were wide and questioning. Jupe raised an eyebrow and pointed to the second trunk, which stood against the far wall. Jeff nodded. Yes, the ghost had lived here for some time, and might still be here. It was a large enough trunk. Jupe started towards it, walking on silent feet. Jeff held the candle high and gripped his mallet as Jupe reached towards the lid of the second trunk.
Before Jupe could touch it, the trunk lid flew up. There was the crash of the lid striking the wall. There was a scream. There was a confusion of sudden movement, and Jupe found himself staring into glittering green eyes. For a split second, there in the close little basement room, the boys saw the ghastly face of the magician Chiavo.
Then the hideous being rushed forward. Jupe was shoved back against Jeff. The candle dropped and went out as both boys fell down. The ghost glowed in the dark above them. Jeff gasped, and his mallet
clattered on the floor. Jupiter grabbed at
the phantom’s long robe. It tore as the
creature ran for the stairway.
Steps pounded on the stairs, Jupe
rolled over. He had something in his
hands — something soft. A piece of cloth.
He jumped up and groped for the stairs.
He had just found the bottom step when
he heard Jane Parkinson scream.
There was lightning then. Even in the
little cellar room Jupe saw the reflected
flash, and he saw the ghost clearly — a
tall, lank, wild-haired creature. It was at
the head of the steps, at the secret door.
Jean screamed again.
Jupe got to the top of the stairs and
through the library in time to see the ghost
wrench open the locks on the front door,
swing the door wide, and race out into the
storm. A flash of lightning showed a gaunt
figure with streaming grey locks. There
was a clap of thunder and the phantom
vanished into the darkness.
“Dear heavens!” cried Mrs. Darnley.
Jupiter was breathing hard, but he was smiling. “A most interesting spirit,” he said.
“I have a piece of his robe!”
Chapter 9
A Mysterious Letter
IT WAS WELL AFTER EIGHT when Bob, Pete, and Worthington returned to the Darnley house. Jupe and Jeff were rummaging through the trunks in the secret room, Jean was standing guard at the front door, and Mrs. Darnley was vainly trying to get a dialling tone on the telephone so that she could call the police.
“We almost caught the ghost of Chiavo,” Jean told the boys. “He’s been living in our basement. Come and look.”
She led the way to the library, where the secret door stood open, and called down to Jupiter and Jeff. They came up the narrow hidden stairs considerably more dusty than they had been earlier in the evening. Jupe, however, had a cheerful air.
“I knew it couldn