Free The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene

Salisbury and Mr. Abbott will try to talk her out of letting us investigate.”
    After a light supper and some rather forced conversation on trivial matters, the girls retired. They had tried to keep silent about the activities of the nature cult, but their secretive manner did not escape the notice of Mrs. Salisbury and Mr. Abbott.
    “You’re up to something,” Mrs. Salisbury remarked the next morning. “And if I were Mrs. Byrd, I’d put a stop to it at once!”
    Mrs. Byrd, however, went on serenely with her work, being careful not to interfere with the girls’ plans. They maintained a close watch of the hillside, but for two days seldom saw anyone in the vicinity.
    “I think they’ve holed in for the rest of the summer,” George declared impatiently at breakfast. “Either that, or they’ve moved out.”
    “The cult’s still there,” Joanne reassured her. “The rent check arrived in the morning mail.”
    “By the way, where do these nature people get their food?” Nancy queried. “They can’t live on blue sky and inspiration.”
    “I think friends must bring food to them in automobiles,” Joanne answered. “Several times I’ve seen swanky cars drive up and park near the hillside.”
    “The cult members must be fairly well off, then,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “I’m getting tired of marking time. I wish something would happen soon. If it doesn’t, I think I’ll investigate that cave, anywayl”
    That night the girls were late in finishing the dishes. By the time they had put everything away it was quite dark. When they went out to the porch, they were relieved to find that the boarders had gone to their rooms.
    The girls sat talking quietly for some time. The moon was high, and Nancy, from force of habit, glanced eagerly toward the distant hill.
    “Look, girls!” she exclaimed. “They’re at it again!”
    The four girls could see white objects moving to and fro, apparently going through a weird ritual. Nancy sprang to her feet.
    “We’ll have to hurry if we want to see anything,” she said. “Come on! We’ll take the short cut!”
    They dashed across the lawn, flung open the gate, and ran through the woods. Nancy led the way up the river path, then to the sparsely wooded hillside. Not until they were dose to the camp did she stop.
    “We’ll have to be very careful,” she warned in a whisper. “Scatter and hide behind trees. And don’t make a sound.”
    The girls obeyed, Bess staying as close to George as possible. Nancy found a huge oak tree well up the hill, and hid behind it. From this vantage point she could see fairly welL
    Nancy had been there for less than five minutes when she heard the sound of several cars approaching. They came up the woods road and stopped at the foot of the hill, not far from the nature camp.
    Several men stepped from the cars. Nancy was too far away to see their faces, but she did observe that they quickly donned long white robes with head masks, and joined the other costumed figures who were on the brow of the hill.
    For nearly ten minutes the members of the cult flitted back and forth, waving their arms and making weird noises. Then they moved single file toward the cavern and vanished.
    Suddenly Nancy felt herself grasped by an arm. She wheeled sharply and then laughed softly.
    “George! For goodness sake, don’t ever do that again! You scared me silly!”
    “What do you make of it, Nancy?”
    “It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been able to figure it out.”
    “What should we do next?” asked Bess, who had joined them.
    “Let’s follow them into the cave!” George proposed rashly.
    “And be caught?” Nancy returned. “No, this is serious business. I think it’s time to go home and plan our own costumes.”
    “I wonder why so many people came here in automobiles?” Joanne mused, as the girls walked off slowly.
    “That’s what I’ve been wondering,” Nancy replied soberly, “but I think I might