At the main house, Roarke had just shown Leslie the contents of a large manila envelope and was in the process of sliding them back inside it when the foyer door burst open and five excited people clattered inside, nearly tripping over themselves and each other getting down the foyer steps. Their hosts stared at them oddly. "What's all the excitement?" Leslie asked, trying not to grin.
"I think we've found it," cried Melissa Carpenter breathlessly.
At the same time Dori Markham exclaimed, "Looks like we've figured out the clue!"
Roarke and Leslie looked at each other, and Roarke smiled then. "And what have you been able to determine?"
Just then Hugh clomped through the foyer door and stumbled to a stop at the top of the steps. "What's Pegasus mean?" he demanded. Five startled faces turned to stare at him, and Leslie ducked her head to hide the grin that refused to be denied.
"Ah," said Roarke, eyes widening. "I see you have indeed found the correct legend."
"There's one problem," Graeme broke in. "What does Pegasus have to do with the Black Phantom? How's this legend connected with our horse?"
Roarke paused before he spoke, taking in the group as a whole, then said, "I believe one of you is missing."
"Oh, that'd be Angus," Colin said. "I guess one of us should get him."
"I'll send for him," Roarke said and nodded at Leslie, who picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Meantime, perhaps we should gather on the terrace so that there is room for everyone to sit down. Would any of you care for refreshment? I don't believe you have had the midday meal."
Leslie hung up in time to hear the last sentence. "I'll have Mariki bring out a plate of sandwiches," she said. "What are you folks interested in to drink?"
Colin and the women opted for iced tea; Hugh and Graeme asked if there happened to be any Australian beer. Leslie grinned and promised to see what she could do, then headed for the kitchen. Roarke indicated the open shutter doors, and everyone trooped through them and found seats around the terrace. They made conversation, interspersed with admiring compliments about the beauty of Roarke's island, until Leslie returned not quite ten minutes later with Mariki behind her, pulling a serving cart.
Once the beer, tea and sandwiches had been disbursed, Mariki took her leave and Leslie found a seat on a wrought-iron bench. Roarke remained standing, surveying the group; after a moment Angus Markham appeared in the foyer and crossed through the office, standing in the terrace doorway and staring at the scene.
"Did I miss something?" he finally asked.
"Only everything," Dori told him. "Why don't you park your carcass somewhere, Angus, and have a sandwich. We've solved Mr. Roarke's little mystery."
Angus' eyes narrowed with understanding and he swept the Carpenter siblings with a frozen glare before finding a seat and helping himself to a sandwich. Before he bit into it, however, he eyed Roarke. "Am I seein' things, or did the Carpenters figure it out same time as Dori and Colin and Hugh did?"
Roarke smiled. "No, your eyes are not deceiving you, Mr. Markham. While it's true that your siblings and the Carpenters were working separately, they all nevertheless arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously. They have found that the legend of Pegasus is connected with the Black Phantom."
Angus, who was on the verge of closing his teeth over a corner of his sandwich, halted and stared at him. "Makes no sense," he said.
Roarke smiled. "As all of you surely know, Pegasus is the fabulous winged horse of Greek mythology," he said. "Now, in the course of your search for the legend, you undoubtedly came across a number of quotations that stated the Black Phantom seemed to be flying somehow during races." Heads bobbed in confirmation. "Someone took this a step farther and suggested that the Phantom may have descended from Pegasus."
Incredulous stares met this statement; only Leslie had enough presence of mind to prompt her father along in his story. "But how could they have determined that?"
"A very good question, my daughter," Roarke said. He turned to the Australians. "Since both families have discovered the correct legend simultaneously, it will be necessary to break the standoff with another step in the contest, as stated in the late owner's will. According to the legend that directly involves the Black Phantom, the racehorse had a certain physical characteristic that was said to have been inherited, in mutated form, from Pegasus. A little research will make clear what that characteristic is. Once again, the first family to discover the answer to this will be the winner of the contest, and will be given sole and total ownership of the present-day Black Phantom."
"We could have another tie, Mr. Roarke," Hugh Markham spoke up then. "What happens if we do?"
"I believe the chances are small," Roarke said, "but there is that possibility nevertheless. In the event that both families do come upon the correct answer at the same time, the tiebreaker will be held tomorrow, and will be an actual race to find the Phantom himself."
"And if there's a tie then?" pressed Hugh, like a child who couldn't stop asking why? all the time. Graeme and Melissa Carpenter rolled their eyes, and Angus gave his brother a solid clout on the arm.
"Stop yabberin'," he said. "Pay him no mind, Mr. Roarke. I'm sure there'll be no tie next time." He shot Dori and Colin a meaningful glare.
Roarke smiled again. "If there is a third tie, as your brother suggested, the will provides for that as well. The Black Phantom's owner thought his plan through very carefully before outlining the will and its terms, and you may rest assured that all contingencies will be addressed." He cleared his throat and glanced around the group. "If there are no questions, then I suggest you finish your repast here on the terrace at your leisure, and you may then resume your research at any time. However, there is a time limit: you are required to have found the answer by nine this evening. I have an appointment that cannot be missed, but my daughter will be here, and she will report the outcome to me. For now, I must see to some other guests. Leslie?" She arose without a word and accompanied him back into the study while their guests watched them go; no one spoke till they had seen Roarke and Leslie cross the room and depart the house through the foyer door.
"I think that bloke who made up this whole game must've been totally mad," Graeme remarked finally. "I wonder what he was thinkin' when he came up with all this. Roarke says he wanted to be anonymous, but that just makes me wonder who he was."
"I'd thought Mr. Roarke himself created this game, till Hugh asked his question," Dori admitted. "So it was really the former owner of the current Phantom, eh? He must have known a lot about our families in order to come up with this contest of his."
"That bothers me a little," Melissa confessed. "It's like bein' spied on."
"Yeah, that's just what I was thinkin'," Colin agreed, making her study him with surprise. He grinned at her, and she blushed and lowered her head.
"Sittin' here yabberin' like this ain't gonna get us back to the contest any faster," said Angus then, lifting a bottle of beer from the table where Mariki had earlier left a six-pack and popping it open. "Let's finish eatin', and then we need to get movin'. Dori, Colin, Hugh, come on—if you're not done by the time I am, y'lose out."
"Especially now with a time limit," Graeme said, giving his sisters sharp looks. "So hurry it up." He and Angus eyed each other narrowly over their beer bottles; their respective siblings eyed them with startled worry over their newly intensified enmity, then glanced uneasily at one another before everyone began to dig in with gusto.