DANA GIRLS ICE CASTLE 1

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Complete text of this full-length Dana Girls mystery online now
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Dana Girls: The Secret of the Ice Castle

A 1930s Dana Girls fan fiction mystery:
THE SECRET OF THE ICE CASTLE

An eerie twin-towered castle of white stone on an ice-bound island on a frozen winter lake, a nearby English manor house haunted by a ghostly flute-playing figure who roams the halls at night accompanied by a wolf, and a mysterious kidnapped girl from the past all come together in one of the most thrilling Dana Girls cases ever!

"It was just like reading one of the original novels by McFarlane or Benson."
............. Frank Quillen, series book aficionado

"This 'new' original-style Dana has all the literary plot development of the first, the strong setting, the familiar leading characters, the pranks, the coincidences (I love those coincidences!), and an unusual mystery - all ring very true to the series books series, Dana Girls."
............ SUSABELLA PASSENGERS, series books fanzine

"THE SECRET OF THE ICE CASTLE is marked by a high sense of adventure. It is a gripping mystery that compelled my attention throughout the reading. I was more than pleasantly surprised to read it, and gladly give it a 9+."
............ David M. Baumann, Starman series author

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Chapter One: THE ICE CASTLE

"I feel as if I can skate right into the sunset. Don't you?" asked impetuous fair-haired Jean Dana as she did a spin on the ice, the skirt of her stylish skating suit twirling out about her.

Her older sister Louise, whose dark hair and sedate expression gave indication of a more serious personality, was skating right behind her. "It's several miles to the hills across the lake," she said, a slight smile quirking her lips. "To catch that sunset you'll surely have to put some speed on!"

"Six miles, to be exact," agreed the Dana girls' friend Evelyn Starr, who was ice skating with them on frozen Indian Lake. "The sun will have set and gone by the time we shall get there."

The three girls were on a winter outing in early January, enjoying an afternoon away from their studies at Starhurst School for Girls, located near Penfield. The beautiful lake, situated in the hills just north of the school, was a popular resort area in the summer months, but it seemed isolated and remote now in the chill of winter. They had changed into their skates and left their boots on the verandah of Forest Lodge, where there had been evidence of a few guests in residence, but no one else was in sight now as they executed their spins and turns on the smoothly frozen bay.

"I don't think we shall actually go clear to the far shore," Jean laughed gaily, stopping her spin with the toe of a skate. "But what say we skate out to that island?"

She pointed to a wooded island perhaps a half mile ahead where the bay opened up into the lake. Already it was beginning to look like a black silhouette against the red and purple sky.

Evelyn look startled. "That's Spirit Island! Goodness, no one dares to go there."

Louise sent her a curious glance. "Why ever not? What could possibly keep people away from such a lovely island?"

"It's said to be haunted," Evelyn said plainly. "You have never heard the legends?"

Jean shook her head. "No, we haven't. Remember that Louise and I have only been in the region since we've been attending Starhurst. We did not grow up here as you have."

Evelyn nodded. It was true that she had lived near Penfield all her life. Starhurst School for Girls had been her family home. Through a series of misfortunes her parents had been forced to sell the old mansion and its sprawling grounds. Professor and Mrs. Crandall, the school's headmistress, had purchased the property and turned it into the exclusive academy. Evelyn had been able to stay on at Starhurst as a student thanks to the Dana girls' effort in finding a cache of missing family jewels, which had restored good fortune to the girl and her brother after their parents' deaths.

"Haunted?" Louise said with a laugh, grabbing her companions' hands and pulling them along with her. "Come, let's skate a little closer and you can tell us all about it."

Evelyn went along reluctantly. "Well, not too close, okay? There is an old Indian burial ground on the island and the ghosts of the dead Indians are said to haunt it."

"That's a delightful legend," Jean grinned, her eyes sparkling. "I'm surprised you allow it to frighten you, Evelyn."

The girl shook her head. "You don't understand. There is far more to the story." She pointed ahead. "Look. You'll be able to see as soon as we round this point."

Gliding swiftly on the smooth ice, they had neared the wooded island and were approaching a narrow point that jutted out from its main body. Louise was just about to ask what it was that they'd soon see, when the words she was about to emit were suddenly stilled on her lips.

"My goodness!" was all she could say instead, as they glided around the end of the point.

"Oh .... it's so ... beautiful!" Jean fairly gushed, as the trio came to a halt in front of the main part of Spirit Island that faced the open reaches of the lake.

"It's beautiful, all right," Evelyn agreed, her voice slightly aquiver. "But terrifying too. You see, like the island, it's haunted, and few people dare to venture even this close."

Set into a clearing about a hundred feet from the island's shore was a castle-like structure of white stone, now glittering like a smoldering fire as it reflected the setting sun it faced. Its many leaded windows gleamed like jewels, and two towers with crenellated battlements, one on each side, loomed above the rest of the gabled roof line.

"This gorgeous house is haunted?" Louise gasped in awe. "It looks like a castle of ice, created by a wizard for a magical winter carnival."


"Exactly," Evelyn agreed. "It is known as 'The Ice Castle' and was built by aging shipping magnate Rutherford Symington as a winter retreat years ago when he was a young man."

"Why, his company owns the Balaska, Uncle Ned's ship," Jean said excitedly.

The Dana girls' uncle, Ned Dana, was the captain of a large steamship which traveled to all ports world-wide. His home was in nearby Oak Falls and he shared it with his maiden sister Harriet, the girls' aunt, and the girls themselves when they were not in attendance at Starhurst. Orphaned at an early age, they had grown up under the loving care of their aunt and uncle. Cora Appel, a somewhat dimwitted but loyal servant whom the girls nicknamed 'Applecore', was also part of the household.

"But why is the castle reputed to be haunted?" Louise wanted to know. "What haunts it? The ghosts of the Indians?"

As they skated a little closer to the glittering white castle nestled in its wintry setting amongst tall bare trees and towering fir and pine, Evelyn told them the story of the unusual habitation.

"Rutherford Symington grew up at Bleak Acres, the family estate not far from Penfield. He vacationed here at Indian Lake in his youth. He stayed at Forest Lodge and would often row out to this island, even though the legends made it taboo to hike about the old burial grounds."

Louise nodded sagely. "A young man, especially one from a wealthy and prominent family, would surely pay no mind to ancient taboos of a primitive people."

"He habitually vacationed here in the winter," Evelyn continued, "for he was an avid cold weather and winter sports enthusiast. As the years went by and he took over the management of the family's shipping interests, he had more and more of a need for a nearby place to which to retreat. So he purchased the island from the government with the provision that he must leave the burial ground areas untouched. They are on the other end of the island. On this end he built his winter castle with rare special white limestone imported from far off Nova Scotia.

"Many happy times were had at the Ice Castle, despite the scary legends of the island. That never stopped the Symingtons and their friends from coming here. Until ....."

Evelyn shuddered and looked wide-eyed at the ornate house with its beautiful twin towers.

"Until what?" Jean begged, enrapt by the story.

"Rutherford had married in his early twenties," Evelyn went on. "Within a year his wife gave birth to Baby Lorraine. She was a golden vision, this beautiful child, like her lovely mother. My parents knew the Symingtons and often socialized with them. Little Lorraine was a wonderful child and everyone loved her dearly."

Louise's brow knit in a furrow and she frowned. "Something happened to her, didn't it? Something dreadful?"

"You are right," the Starr girl nodded. "She was kidnapped at the age of ten while the family was vacationing here on the island. It was a sensational case that made headlines across the nation. We, of course, were too young to remember it. The Symingtons despaired at the loss of their golden Lorraine. You see, to this day she has never been seen again."

A gloved hand flew to Jean's heart. "The poor child! I wonder what happened to her?"

"No one knows," Evelyn said with a sad sigh. "Many leads were tracked down throughout the years, but not a trace of the girl was found."

"Were there no demands for ransom?" Jean queried.

Evelyn shook her head. "That was one of the many unusual aspects of the case. Even though there had been signs of a struggle and abduction, there were never any demands for ransom.  It was as if the child disappeared off the face of the earth. Afterward, the Ice Castle was closed up, never to be used again by the family because of the memories here.

"But," the girl went on, "rumors abound, and there are those who swear that strange apparitions have been sighted on the castle grounds, especially at these times in the dead of winter."

The three girls gazed at the massive fortress which was now less than two hundred feet away, so close to the island's shore they had glided. It was still reflecting a fiery glow from the sunset. Then, suddenly, as the sun swiftly sank below the far hills, the red glow vanished in an instant to be replaced by the brilliant white of the ice-like stone.

Then; "My gosh! Look!" Jean cried, pointing at the tower on the castle's north side.

Louise and Evelyn's eyes flew to the window atop the tower beneath the battlements of the roof. A flickering light could be seen within the leaded window, like a sputtering candle caught in a draft.

"It's a light," Louise gasped. "Someone is in the tower!"

Evelyn glided slowly backward on the ice, fear in her eyes. "It might be the ghost," she cried. "Oh, let's get away from here!"

"Nonsense," Louise said. "There are no such things as ghosts. Someone is in the tower and they have lighted a lamp or a candle. Let's go knock on the front door. Surely whoever is in there will answer our call."

"But it's too late," Evelyn argued, wanting to get far away as quickly as possible. "The sun has set and we must return to Starhurst in time for dinner."

"I agree with Louise." Jean overruled. "Perhaps the Symingtons rent out the castle these days. A winter vacationist might be here. Or" she mused in a lower tone, "maybe something sinister is going on."

Evelyn gave her a wry glance. "I doubt very much if the family would permit anyone to use the castle, and the legends would surely scare off almost everyone from desiring it. That light is bound to be connected to something very mysterious, and you Dana girls just cannot resist a mystery!"

"Then we shall knock on the door," Louise declared, "and if someone answers we shall act like we are just passing by on our way back to Starhurst and making a neighborly call. Come, let's go."

She and Jean began to skate closer to the island, but the Starr girl held back.

"You two go. I'll wait here."

Jean was just about to urge Evelyn to join them when a sudden harsh voice shattered the wintry stillness of Indian Lake.

"Halt! Do not come any closer or I shall shoot!"

Startled, the three Starhurst girls gaped ahead. Around the side of the north tower of the Ice Castle came a ghastly-looking figure, an aged crone with streaming black hair. She was dressed in a coat of dark fur pelts that reached down to her heavily booted feet, and her beady black eyes glared angrily at the girls.

In her arms she held a rifle and its steel muzzle was aimed directly at them!


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