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Show - 110 - CHAPTER XVII School was out for the summer and it was a year since they had moved into Gaven House. Athena and Jim were discussing plans about visiting her parent's home in Napa, California. Usually, Penny and Vicky spent the long summer months in the valley with their grandparents. Outside of a few weekends, they had not been able to the past year because of the many other chores to be accomplished. Also, Jim had been doing quite a bit of traveling on business. The girls loved to drive through the miles and miles of vineyards to the old ranch house. The acres of grapevines and Oak trees that lined • the driveway, for a considerable distance leading up to the house, were old and venerable. Their cousins would be there to help harvest the grapes; picking and crating them until the trucks were piled high with luscious Traminic for the white wines and Pinot Noir for the Brugundy. From there they Would be hauled to the winery. They never tired of watching the process of converting the grapes into wines which would be shipped all over California. Time and again they asked their mother to relate to them the story about when she was a young girl and it came .time to harvest the grapes. Ihe sisters and brothers would jump into huge vats crammed full and stamp them with their bare feet. Grandfather would never allow such a thing as a mechanical press near his precious grapes in those years. It was all done by hand. Perhapsthat was why his wines were famous thoughout the entire Napa Valley for their distinctive bouquet. They never tired of hearing the story. Penny was torn between her desire to spend the summer with her grandparents andcousins, yet was afraid to be gone for too long a period of time from Gaven House. Her instincts told her that time was running out for the ghost. If she didn't help her soon, Claudine would be lost forever. She tried to analyze her feelings, but it was like coming up against a blank wall and wished she knew why this feeling had come over her. Again, the persistant thought that how wonderful it would be if Claudine would find wiMJ-sta&diftfc^fiaaiiiing for and leave the old h.mse in peace to its present |
