Jupe beamed at his fellow investigators. “Bob, your notes indicate that August first is one of the four great Sabbats of the year. This happens to be the first of August. Was Madeline Bainbridge a witch? Is she still a witch? If so, who is in her coven today? There’s one way to find out! Who’s game for a ride up the coast to the Malibu hills tonight?”
“Hey, that’s crazy!” cried Pete. Then he grinned. “What time do we start?”
7
The Creature in the Dark
IT WAS DUSK when The Three Investigators reached the spot where the narrow gravel road to Bainbridge’s ranch crossed the paved mountain road that wound up through the Malibu hills. Jupe stopped, resting on the seat of his bike. Pete and Bob drew level with him, and Jupe pointed to the left.
“The Bainbridge place is down that way,” he said. “I’ve gone over a map of this area. There are several places where a coven could meet, if Bainbridge is going to pay attention to the rules. One is this crossroads right here. One is the grove of trees behind her house–the place that was once a cemetery. And one is about half a mile north of her house, where two footpaths meet. I suggest we spread out to make sure we don’t miss Bainbridge if she leaves her property.”
Jupe dug into a knapsack that was strapped to the handlebars of his bicycle. “There’s a dog, so we’ve got to be careful,” he warned. “We can’t get too close to the house. I brought the walkie-talkies.”
He produced three small radio sets which he himself had rigged up in his workshop at the salvage yard. Each set was a little larger than a regular transistor radio, and consisted of a combined speaker and microphone. There were also three belts with copper wire sewn to them, and each had a lead-in wire which could be plugged into a radio. The belt with the wire acted as an antenna, and the little radios operated like Citizens’ Band radios, broadcasting for about half a mile. When the user wanted to speak into the microphone, he pressed a button on the side of the radio set. When he wanted to listen, he released the button.
Jupe handed a radio set to Bob, and one to Pete. “I’ll watch from the hill behind that haunted-looking grove,” he said. “Bob, you can hide in among the lemon trees between the road and the house. Pete, your post can be on the north side of the house–that’s the left side. There’s a field there with some tall grass that you can use for cover. If Madeline Bainbridge leaves the house tonight, we’ll spot her no matter which way she goes. Keep an eye out for cars, and for other people walking around. They might lead us to a Sabbat.”
The other two boys murmured in agreement and took the radios. The three then rode down the gravel road to the front gate of the Bainbridge ranch. There they hid their bikes in the tall grass beside the road, and separated. Bob’s slim figure disappeared among the lemon trees. Pete went on down the gravel road towards the north side of the property. Jupe trudged up through the fields, skirting the house and the grove of live oaks. On the hillside behind the grove he found a clump of manzanita. He crouched behind the shrub and held his walkie-talkie to his mouth.
“This is One,” he said softly. “Come in, Two.”
He released the button on the radio and listened. “This is Two,” said Pete’s voice. “I’m in the field to the north of the house. I see lights in the house, at the back, and I see people moving around inside, but I can’t tell what they’re doing. Over.”
“Stay put,” ordered Jupiter. “How about you, Three?”
“I can see the front of the house from the lemon grove,” said Bob. “It’s all dark. Over.”
“Now we wait,” said Jupiter. “Over and out.”
He leaned back against the hillside and studied the grove oaks which completely hid the ranch house from view. The trees looked even more sinister by moonlight than they had that afternoon. The moon was climbing into the sky now, casting intense black shadows under the gnarled limbs.
The radio in Jupe’s hand crackled.
“This is Two,” said Pete. “The lights in the house have just gone out. Now there are some little lights out in the back. Over.”
A tiny light flickered in the dark woods below. Then Jupe saw a second light. Then a third.
Jupe pressed the button on his radio. “They’re moving into the live-oak grove,” he said softly. “I can see candles.”
He waited. The candle lights moved beneath the twisted trees. Then the movement stopped and the candles glowed steadily. And there were more lights.
“I’m going in closer,” said Jupe into the walkie-talkie. “You stay just where you are for the moment.”
He released the button on the radio and slipped out from behind the manzanita. He half-slid down the hillside until he reached level ground behind the Bainbridge house. Then, like a chubby shadow, he stole from bush to bush until he was at the edge of the stand of oak trees. He paused, looking towards the candle flames that burned inside the grove. There were dozens of lights now, forming a circle, and for a moment Jupe could see only the candles against the darkness that pressed in around them. Then, beyond the candles appeared a woman who stared straight ahead into the night. It was Madeline Bainbridge. Her long, white-blonde hair was loose on her shoulders, and she wore a wreath of flowers on her head. She moved slowly forward into the circle of light.
There was a movement beyond Madeline Bainbridge. A second woman appeared out of the darkness. She carried a tray that was heaped high with fruit. It was the woman Jupe had seen with Madeline Bainbridge that afternoon. Jupe knew she must be Clara Adams. She entered the circle of light and put the tray down on a table draped with a black cloth.
Another face glimmered in the dark wood. It was Marvin Gray. He, too, wore a wreath of flowers on his dark hair. Jupe realized that he could scarcely see Gray’s body. The man wore a black robe. So did the two women. They were invisible in the night except for their faces and for the circlets of flowers that crowned their heads.
“I will draw the circle,” intoned Marvin Gray. His hands moved, white against his black robe. The blade of a knife glinted in the candlelight.
Jupe backed away from the ghostly woods and the strange trio under the branches. When he felt it was safe to speak, he pressed the button on his walkie-talkie. “Pete? Bob? I’m in the field just behind the grove. I’m pretty sure there’s a Sabbat going on here.”
“Be right there,” said Bob.
“Me, too,” Pete said.
Pete appeared in a very few minutes, coming as quietly as a ghost. Then Bob came stealing towards them through the night.
“There are only three people, but they’re getting ready for some sort of ceremony,” Jupe told his friends. “Marvin Gray has a knife.”
“I read about that today,” said Bob. “He’ll draw a circle on the ground with the knife. Witches believe that the circle increases their power.”
“Let’s watch,” said Jupiter.
Bob and Pete silently followed Jupe in among the trees, looking nervously ahead. What strange rites were they about to witness? They saw the three white-faced people standing in the ring of candlelight. They saw Madeline Bainbridge lift a cup high and close her eyes as if she were praying. The boys held their breath.
Then, suddenly, Pete uttered a small, wordless cry of terror. For out of the darkness, some silent-footed beast had come to stand beside him. For an instant the creature was still. Pete could feel its hot breath on him. Then it growled, low and ominously.
8
Murder by Magic?
“WHAT’S THAT?” cried Marvin Gray. “Who’s there?”
The three boys froze, and the growling went on and on.
Clara Adams put her hands to her mouth and gazed out from the circle of light. Madeline Bainbridge did not move. She was like a carving in ivory and ebony. From somewhere beneath his black robe, Marvin Gray pulled out a flashlight. He charged towards The Three Investigators and the flashlight snapped on. Jupe saw that the animal standing near Pete was a dog–the sleek Doberman he had seen that afternoon. Obviously the animal had been trained to hold intruders motionless, but not to attack unless greatly provoked; it made no more to harm Pete.
“What do you boys think you’re doing here?” demanded Gray.
Jupe felt Gray’s gaze on him and his heart sank. How could he explain to this man that Beefy Tremayne’s young cousin, who had been such a polite visitor that afternoon, had returned after dark to spy on Gray and the two women?