8. The Beckoning Hands Summary

There is an old mansion along the Chowan river that was built long ago by a pirate. The beautiful mansion is connected to the shore by a long, secret tunnel. The pirate hopes to join respectable society and live there happily with his wife and his daughter Caroline, but his wife does not approve of his piracy, so she lives separately from him. After the pirate kidnaps an old woman's only son, who is killed at sea, the woman curses him and says that his family line will die out. Soon the pirate dies of a fever at sea, and his wife and daughter move into the mansion.

Young Caroline grows into a lovely woman, and they hold her wedding at their beautiful home on New Year's Day. On her wedding day, Caroline acts strangely, and runs up the...