“I doubt it very much,” answered Nyoda. “I never heard of a fort on any of these islands. Let’s go over and investigate.”
Katherine hung back, screwing up her face and rolling her eyes like an old negress. “Don’ lead dis child into temptation,” she begged. “Feel lak de climbin’ debbil would get into mah feet agin foh sartin sure, ef ah went near dat pile of stone, an’ den good-bye, dress! Only safe way’s to keep dis child far away!”
Her veiled, husky voice made her imitation indescribably droll, and the girls shouted with laughter. “Never fear, my weak sister,” said Gladys, “we’ll all keep you out of danger.”
“I can’t imagine what this could have been,” said Hinpoha, when they had reached the ruin. “It looks more like a mill than a fort.”
“Mill!” exclaimed Sahwah scornfully. “There isn’t any wheel, and there isn’t a sign of a stream. Mills are always on streams.”
“Maybe this was a windmill,” suggested Katherine. “It’s windy enough to set any kind of machinery going,” and she started in pursuit of her hat, which that moment had been whirled from her head by a mischievous zephyr.
The ruin which the girls had found that afternoon was the remains of an old wine cellar which had been used for storing great quantities of grape wine in the old days when Randall’s Island had been in the heart of the grape region, before quarrying became the chief industry. Nothing was left now to tell what valuable stores it had once sheltered, only stones and crumbling brick walls, overgrown with high weeds and wild vines.
“It’s an enchanted castle,” said Hinpoha. “A beautiful princess used to live here, only she got married and moved to—to the big hotel on Rock Island, and when she left the bad imps came and knocked out the mortar with their little hammers and it all fell to pieces.”
“Oh, wonderful,” drawled Katherine. “Let’s poke about a bit in the ruins and see if we can find any of the solid gold toothpicks the princes used to strew around after a meal.”
The ruined wine cellar proved utterly fascinating. They could still see where it had been divided into rooms; and here and there a thick wall still stood higher than their heads.
“Hi, what’s this?” asked Katherine, as they stood before a doorway partially filled with débris, behind which a black hole yawned.