Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key Read Free Book Online

we?”
    The priest gave a deep chuckle. “Possibly—but I've been in spots before. The main thing is to keep Deranian from finding you till we figure out some moves. First, to help our planning, let's have some tea and a bite to eat.”
    They followed him behind the partition, and Tia helped make sandwiches while they waited for the kettle to boil. Presently, with Winkie lapping a saucer of milk in the corner, they sat at the table to eat.
    “Food helps make up for sleep,” said Father O'Day. “Anyway, I hope you're not too tired, for I think we'd better work out something if it takes till dawn.”
    “I couldn't sleep now if I tried,” Tony admitted.
    “Good. Then let's talk about Sister Amelia.” The big man glanced at Tia. “Young lady, in spite of what the Mother Superior said, are you still convinced that Sister Amelia received a letter with a double star on it?”
    Tia nodded quickly, and Tony said, “If Tia feels certain about something, you can bet it's true.”
    “Very well. If you believe it, I'll believe it. Without faith we can get nowhere. But I warn you: we'll need a lot of faith to locate an unknown person in an unknown place, in a mountain area thatextends for hundreds of miles through several states. Now, what have we to go on?”
    At the thought of how little they had, Tony's mouth became grim again. But he said, “We almost have a name. It's not Caroway, Garroway, or Hideaway, but something in between. Hathaway, maybe. Anyway, I'm sure we can guess it. Then we have Tia's memory. If she keeps fishing back, she ought to dredge up something new. And there's her star box.”
    “Don't forget the money,” Tia reminded him.
    “Oh, the money!” he exclaimed. “Show it to him, Tia.”
    “What money?” the priest asked.
    “A wad of it she found in her box. The bottom is made of two pieces of leather, and the money was between them all these years.”
    Father O'Day scowled at the worn folder Tia gave him, then opened it and stared at the money. “Ump!” he rumbled. “That's quite a bundle. I'd like to know what happened on your ship. Tia, have you any idea how long you were on board, or where the ship came from?”
    Tia closed her eyes in concentration, then bit her lip. Slowly she shook her head. The priest sighed. “I'm just guessing,” he said, “but I've the feeling you were being brought over from abroad somewhere, and that the person bringing you died. Or possibly he was killed. Maybe the captain didn't know what to do with you, and was afraid of an investigation. So he turned you over to his good friend Deranian.”
    Father O'Day shrugged. “But all that isn't helping us now. The main thing—” He stopped abruptly, frowning at the folder. Then he opened it and thrust the money aside. “This is part of an old road map,” he said slowly.
    “Yes,” said Tony. “But I haven't had a chance to study it.”
    “Well, it's worth study. It's torn from a larger map, and it shows part of the Blue Ridge area. Maybe it will tell us something.”
    They bent over the map. Tony's attention was attracted by a thin penciled line following the main highway south from Washington, then branching west to the mountains. It ended in a small town on a secondary road with a circle drawn around it. Beside the circle there was smudged writing that ran to the torn edge. It looked like Kiált Cast .
    Father O'Day gave a grunt. “Foreign language of some kind. Hmm. Not of the Latin group, but the first word seems almost familiar. The other, well, it may be only part of a word…” He grunted again. “But look at that route. If I were driving my own car down to—” He leaned over the map to read the name of the town marked. “Down to Stony Creek, it is, I'd angle over and take the other route. It's shorter, and you avoid all the heavy traffic and the big cities.”
    “You've been there?” Tony asked hopefully.
    “Not to Stony Creek. It's off the main road. But I've often taken that route to the