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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b991ae5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60974 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60974) diff --git a/old/60974-0.txt b/old/60974-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a80e04c..0000000 --- a/old/60974-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5215 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Josie O'Gorman, by Emma Speed Sampson and Edith Van Dyne - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Josie O'Gorman - -Author: Emma Speed Sampson - Edith Van Dyne - -Illustrator: Harry W. Armstrong - -Release Date: December 20, 2019 [EBook #60974] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOSIE O'GORMAN *** - - - - -Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, University of California, -Los Angeles, Sue Clark, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -Josie O’Gorman - - - - -[Illustration: “Horrid ain’t de word”, said Aunt Mandy--Chapter VIII.] - - - - - Josie O’Gorman - - By - Edith Van Dyne - - Author of - The “Mary Louise” Stories, in which - Josie O’Gorman, the Girl Detective, - was a leading character - - [Illustration] - - Frontispiece by - Harry W. Armstrong - - The Reilly & Lee Co. - Chicago - - - - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - _Copyright, 1923 - by_ - The Reilly & Lee Co. - - _All Rights Reserved_ - - _Josie O’Gorman_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I Josie’s Funny Nose 7 - - II Ursula Tells Her Story 19 - - III A Rush Order for Dolls 32 - - IV Lost and Found 45 - - V Ursula Writes a Letter 54 - - VI Philip Is Kidnapped 66 - - VII Josie Visits Louisville 79 - - VIII Clues from Aunt Mandy 87 - - IX Josie Finds a Friend 96 - - X A Visit to Peewee Valley 103 - - XI Mr. Cheatham Is Unmasked 113 - - XII In an Old Kentucky Home 124 - - XIII A Great Christmas Feast 133 - - XIV A Trap for Mr. Cheatham 143 - - XV An Anonymous Letter 152 - - XVI Bob Dulaney’s Chase 164 - - XVII Josie Makes a Find 175 - - XVIII The Clue in the Film 185 - - XIX Philip Is Found 197 - - XX Miss Fitchet Is Surprised 207 - - XXI Josie O’Gorman’s Triumph 215 - - - - -Josie O’Gorman - -CHAPTER I - -JOSIE’S FUNNY NOSE - - -Josie O’Gorman’s appearance was one of her greatest assets. To the -general run of young girls who look upon beauty as the one and only -attribute necessary for success in life no doubt this statement would -sound absurd. Certainly there was little in Josie’s appearance that -to the casual observer would have passed muster as an asset. To be -sure her sandy hair was abundant and well kept; her complexion, though -subject to freckles, smooth and clear and milk-white where the sun -could not reach it; her teeth even and pearly; her figure, small but -erect with every muscle under the control of the alert mind of the -girl; her feet--well, her feet the most scornful flapper might have -envied. Even Josie, who was as free from vanity and self-consciousness -as any girl living, had much satisfaction in her feet which were as -smooth and guiltless of imperfections as those of a three-year-old -child. - -Those good points mentioned were not, however, Josie’s greatest -assets. The features that gave Josie rank as one of the most astute -female detectives were a pair of colorless, nondescript eyes, that -could at the owner’s will take on an expression of absolute stupidity, -even imbecility; and a nose that could be described best by the word -“blobby.” No wrong-doer, attempting to evade detection, could have -any fear of a person whose eyes resembled those of a codfish. As for -the blobby nose, it was a nose that made a good foundation for any -disguise. Not only did false noses fit on it with ludicrous exactness -but Josie had the faculty of controlling that member and forcing it to -do her bidding in a manner most surprising. From a mere blob she could -wrinkle it into a turned-up nose, or by lifting one nostril and pulling -down her upper lip she could change her countenance so that her best -friends would have difficulty in recognizing her. This power of nose -control was one that she had but recently acquired. - -“I always could do things to my eyes,” she said to her dear friend -Mary Louise, Mrs. Danny Dexter, “but I had always considered my nose a -hopeless give-away. I was sure there was not another one like it in all -the world, now that my dear father is dead.” - -“How did you happen to discover your power over it?” asked Mary Louise, -who could not help smiling at her friend’s mention of the father’s -nose. The elder O’Gorman had been a famous detective and his shapeless -nose had been almost as famous as its owner. - -“It was this way: I blame myself and my sensitive vanity for not -finding out about it long ago,” laughed Josie. “You see I never looked -in a mirror, at least hardly ever. I never liked what I saw there and I -saw no use in mortifying myself. Instead of facing the truth about my -ugly mug I put it behind me.” - -“Your face? That was a great feat. Surely you are some juggler!” - -Josie grinned. - -“Excuse the Irish break. Anyhow, I looked at myself occasionally -only--to see that my hair was parted straight or my hat was not cocked -over one ear. It was after that experience I had in Atlanta getting -even with that arch fiend, Chester Hunt, and bringing the Waller -family together that I sat down in front of a mirror one day and looked -myself squarely in the face. I was very triumphant over having bested -and worsted the handsome Chester; but in spite of my satisfaction -there was a kind of sore spot in my heart, because you see, honey, -after all I’m nothing but a girl and no matter how indifferent I may -seem to things girls have and do I’m not really indifferent at all. -I’m just busy--too busy to brood over the things that can’t be helped. -But somehow Chester Hunt’s remarks sort of hurt me. He did not scruple -to let me know he considered me homely beyond words and he took a -real delight in making me feel that it was hard to believe I could be -the capable person he had decided I was because my appearance was so -against me. I fancy I wouldn’t have minded so much if he himself had -not been so extremely handsome. I give you my word, Mary Louise, he was -one of the most wonderful looking men I ever saw, and there was nothing -in his appearance to give away the black-hearted villainy of him. -Well, as I was saying, I sat down in front of the mirror and looked at -myself, trying to see myself as no doubt the handsome Chester saw me.” - -“It’s my nose that is the insurmountable offender!” I exclaimed. “No -wonder he thought me so hideous. I wonder if he’d like me any better if -I had a turned-up nose.” - -With that Josie turned up her nose, giving herself such a ridiculous -expression that Mary Louise laughed merrily. - -“Well that’s when I found out I could do it. I practiced holding it -like this for minutes at the time. Then I discovered I could take on a -kind of hare-lip look and in fact could do almost anything that I had -a mind to with my despised nose. So you see Chester Hunt has been a -great friend to me, unwittingly however. I fancy he’d like to get even -with me in some way besides making it possible for me to make faces -that disguise my weird beauty. Anyhow, from being a person who used -never to look in a mirror, I spent all of my spare time making faces at -myself in the glass. What do you think of this one? I held it for two -miles the other day and met Captain Lonsdale, who did not recognize me, -although he has known me forever.” - -“Oh, Josie, what a face! No wonder poor Captain Charlie didn’t know -you! Who would unless he had been present at the transformation?” Mary -Louise gave Josie an affectionate hug, as she spoke. - -The girls were seated in the Higgledy Piggledy Shop, which was an -industry owned and run by Josie O’Gorman and her two associates, -Elizabeth Wright and Irene MacFarlane, and watched over by the guardian -angel, Mary Louise Dexter. In the Higgledy Piggledy Shop one found a -little of everything and the youthful proprietors prided themselves on -never turning down an order, no matter how impossible it might appear. -From a small undertaking it had grown to be a business of goodly -proportions. Elizabeth Wright was the business manager and also looked -after the literary end, writing club papers for the unwary females who -had got themselves in for such things and were powerless to deliver -the goods. She also did a pretty good business in obituary notices, -corrected and typed manuscripts and ran a correspondence course in -the art of scenario writing, passing on the knowledge she had picked -up during the summer she had spent at Columbia University. Many and -varied were the duties of Elizabeth, all of which she performed with -proficiency. - -The lame girl, Irene MacFarlane, had charge of all needle work. At the -beginning of the venture Irene had merely been employed by Josie and -Elizabeth, giving a few hours a day to the work, but she had proven -herself so necessary to the establishment that she had been tendered -a full partnership and now every day the brave patient girl wheeled -herself to the shop in her invalid’s chair, which she never left; and -there she sat mending lace or doing the exquisite embroidery for which -the Higgledy Piggledy Shop was famous, or even minding the store when -the other partners were out on business. She managed her chair with -the ease of an expert bicycle rider, never bumping into furniture or -scraping her wheels, but gliding across the floor, weaving her way in -and out, with a positive grace of movement. - -The Higgledy Piggledy Shop was on the second floor of an old building. -In the rear was a small electric elevator, entered from the alley. -This had been originally a clumsy dumb-waiter, manipulated by creaking -pulleys and ropes, but had been converted to its present state of -useful beauty by Danny Dexter, who ever strove to serve his darling -Mary Louise and her friends. Irene would enter the small lift from the -rear through a door just large enough to admit her chair. The door was -locked and Irene alone had the key. One touch of a button would send -her to the floor above, where the door would automatically open and -then she would glide into the shop. It always seemed to the girls a -kind of miraculous vision when Irene would so silently appear. - -On the day when Josie was showing Mary Louise the control she had -gained over what she had hitherto looked upon as a despised and -useless feature--at least useless as far as the detective business was -concerned in the matter of disguises, although greatly prized as to its -ability to detect tell-tale odors--Irene appeared just in time to get -the full benefit of Josie’s last and most astounding face. - -It was a sad face and a sinister one, the left nostril lifted and the -right one compressed; the mouth drawn down at the corners with the -under lip protruding loosely. - -Irene greeted the girls gaily but stopped embarrassed. - -“I--I--beg your pardon,” she said falteringly. “I thought for a moment -you were Miss O’Gorman.” - -Mary Louise laughed delightedly and try as she might Josie could not -hold her expression but broke down in hopeless giggles. - -“There now, I must practice a lot or I’ll never be able to fool a -flea,” she declared. “If my risibles get the better of me there is no -use in calling myself a detective.” - -Irene looked worried, although she, too, was amused. - -“What’s the matter with you, honey?” asked Josie. - -“I can’t bear for you to make yourself look that way,” said Irene. “It -does not seem right, somehow, to twist one’s features so far from the -way God has meant them to be. I love your dear face, Josie, and it gave -me an awful turn to see it all out of shape.” - -“Bless your dear heart!” exclaimed Josie. “I promise you never to twist -it except in the cause of righteousness, unless it is in practicing. Of -course I must practice a lot to perfect my detective make-up.” - -“You make me think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I only hope making -yourself look so frightful won’t make you sad,” said Irene. “Speaking -of sad looks, I have found a person to conduct our tea room--if you -others like her as much as I do--but she is awfully sad. I don’t blame -her. No doubt she has had her troubles--is still having them, but -she is very industrious. Indeed she has need to be since two little -brothers are entirely dependent on her for support.” - -The tea room was one of the Higgledy Piggledy ventures that brought -in more money than any branch of the business, but gave the girls -more trouble than all of the other industries put together. Elizabeth -Wright’s talents did not lie in a domestic direction, Irene because -of her lameness was handicapped, and Josie was too often absent on -detective business to give any time to it. There had been times when -the Higgledy Piggledies had almost determined to abandon the tea room, -but it seemed like flying in the face of Providence to give up the -steady income that accrued from it. - -“Tell us about this sad person,” urged Josie. - -“Her name is Ursula Ellett and she came from Louisville, Kentucky. She -is well educated and really a lady. She must be about twenty-two, but -she seems much older because she has had so much trouble. She went to -see Uncle Peter Conant on legal business and it was with him that I met -her. Her father died when she was very young and the little brothers, -Ben and Philip, were tiny tots. Her mother married again, then died two -years ago and the stepfather, who is the root of all evil and source -of all woe, wished to put them in charge of a trained nurse, a most -impossible person with whom Ursula refused to live or to allow the -little brothers to live. The stepfather, by some dishonest juggling, -has got possession of the estate which belonged to the Elletts and -refuses to do a thing for Ursula or the boys unless they live with him. -His name is Cheatham, which seems to fit him to a dot.” - -“How did she happen to come to Dorfield?” asked Josie. - -“Her mother’s people came from here, and while there are none of them -left Ursula felt drawn to the place because of what her mother had told -of her childhood here and the kindly neighbors. The public schools of -Dorfield have a good name and she wants to educate Ben and Philip. She -loves Louisville but could not stay in the same city with Cheatham, who -busied himself making things unpleasant for her. - -“I believe she is just the girl we want for the tea room. She has -managed a household, understands servants and serving, and she is -really a fine cook. What do you say to looking her over?” - -“Sure, let’s give her the job,” agreed Josie. “Of course Elizabeth must -give her vote before we can settle on it.” - -“Certainly, but I’m pretty sure that what our sane Irene says is safe -for the Higgledy Piggledies,” laughed Mary Louise. “I fancy Ursula -Ellett will take charge of the tea room at an early date.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -URSULA TELLS HER STORY - - -“Why didn’t you tell us how beautiful she was?” Josie asked Irene after -the partners had looked Ursula Ellett over, approved of her and engaged -her on the spot. - -“I did not like to because I did not know whether you would think her -as beautiful as I do.” - -“Thought you had a corner on taste, eh?” laughed Josie. - -“Not that. But you know tastes differ so. Uncle doesn’t think she is -beautiful, merely sweet looking and Aunt Hannah says if it wasn’t for -her eyes she would call her positively homely. They say she has no -figure.” - -“No figure! With that willowy slenderness!” exclaimed Elizabeth. “Why -she looks like a wood nymph!” - -Ursula Ellett was not as old as Irene had thought, in fact she had -just reached her majority. But the cares that had fallen on her young -shoulders had added to her years and the troubles and anxieties had -given a gravity to her countenance that was pitiable to behold. Her -eyes were violet with dark pansy markings, her lashes long and thick -with brows delicately bowed, her nose of patrician perfection. Her -mouth needed only smiles to make it beautiful, but it was too sad at -the present, with the corners drooping and making lines of discontent -that were fast becoming permanent. Her hair was dark, almost black, but -with a coppery hue. - -It meant much to Ursula to be taken in by the Higgledy Piggledies, and -it meant much to the partners to have a capable person to take hold of -their tea room and run it with the order necessary for its success. - -“Where did you learn to do things so well?” Josie asked their new -manager, as she moved quickly around the tea room getting everything to -rights in preparation for the afternoon. It was the custom for many of -the young people of Dorfield to drop in at the Higgledy Piggledy, which -had established a reputation for cinnamon toast and waffles baked on an -electric iron. - -“Training servants,” answered Ursula. “I have had dozens to break in -at my home in Louisville. My stepfather was very difficult to please -and my endeavor was to give him no just cause of complaint. I had to -learn to do all kinds of things about the house well so that I could -teach others. Mr. Cheatham was constantly dismissing the servants and -then my work was all to be done over. I like this kind of work very -much and do hope I can give satisfaction.” Ursula’s lip trembled as she -spoke. - -“Give satisfaction! Why, my dear girl, we think we have found a -treasure in you. We only hope we can be the ones to give satisfaction. -Please feel that we are your friends. In the first place, in our shop -what Irene says goes. She doesn’t often make suggestions, being one of -the most modest of human beings, but when she does we all of us agree -with her. I have never known Irene to make a mistake in people. She has -put me right on several persons.” - -Josie then recounted to Ursula the tale of the Markles, a perfidious -couple who had almost gotten away with all of Mary Louise’s wedding -presents, and she gave Irene the credit for being the first one of all -of the friends of the little bride to realize there was something -shady about Felix and Hortense Markle. - -“She always knows when people are the right sort, too,” added Josie, -“and she gave you a mighty good name.” - -“I am very happy at that,” said Ursula, a smile flashing for a moment -over her sad countenance. “My little brothers are quite in love with -Miss MacFarlane.” - -“Oh, none of that, please!” interrupted Josie. “Don’t ‘Miss’ any of us. -We are Irene and Elizabeth and Josie and you are Ursula.” - -“All right!” blushed Ursula, “but I did not want to be too familiar. -Anyhow the boys are very fond of Irene. Mrs. Conant is kind to them too -and has asked them to make themselves at home in her yard. Now that -school is over it is quite a problem to keep the little fellows happy.” - -“How old are they?” - -“Ben is ten and Philip, six.” - -“Why, they are old enough to help around the shop. Let them come here -and they can be our delivery boys. We are always needing a boy to run -errands.” - -“That would be wonderful, but they are such little fellows that I am -afraid they would be in the way.” - -“Children are never in my way, and you know how Irene feels about them. -Elizabeth is fine to boys. She doesn’t take much stock in girls, having -been brought up in a house full of them. Let me talk it over with my -partners first, though.” - -The partners were more than willing and the next day when Ursula came -to work she came hand in hand with her two brothers. Ben and Philip -were delighted with the idea of holding jobs, but more than anything -were they pleased at the thought of being near “The Lady in the Chair,” -which was the name they had given Irene. - -“I’m the chief office boy an’ Phil is my clerk,” announced Ben. “I’m -gonter do all the work an’ he’s gonter trot along an’ watch me. He’s -just six an’ I’m in my ’leventh year. I’m gonter grow up an’ take care -of Sister an’ buy her a ring an’ some beads an’ a Stutz racer. I’m -gonter send Phil to college too, an’ buy him some long pants.” - -“An’ I’m gonter save up my money that I make watchin’ you work an’ buy -The Lady in the Chair a all-day sucker,” announced Philip. - -There could be no two opinions concerning those Ellett boys. They were -beautiful children--their loveliness almost unearthly. Ben was fair and -sturdy, large for his years, with the wide blue eyes and yellow hair -of a Viking child. Philip was more like his sister Ursula, slender and -patrician, with dusky hair and eyes like dark pools in a forest where -the blue sky is reflected unexpectedly. The boys adored first their -sister, whom they considered the most wonderful person in the world, -and then each other, Ben ever protecting his little brother and Philip -ever looking up to Ben as a superior being. - -They were natural, normal boys and for that reason not at all saintly. -Ursula felt she could trust them as far as honesty was concerned but -was always very anxious about them when she had to be away from them -in the pursuit of a livelihood. This arrangement with the Higgledy -Piggledies was an ideal one. There she could have an eye ever on her -charges and she was sure the boys would be as good as boys could be, -which of course is not perfect. - -Faithfully they delivered parcels for the Higgledy Piggledy shop, -Viking Ben carrying the burdens and Phil walking just two steps behind -his brother, admiring his prowess with loving eyes. Faithfully they -brought back money from the customers carefully pinned in Ben’s pocket -and painfully counted out by that future business man. - -Josie got a knapsack in which small parcels could be securely strapped, -as often the articles to be delivered were quite valuable such as old -lace mended by Irene or rare linen laundered by Josie or manuscript -corrected or copied by Elizabeth. The boys were instructed to return -immediately and report at the shop after making a delivery. This they -did with a promptness surprising in such youngsters. - -“It isn’t when they are busy that I feel anxious about them,” sighed -Ursula, “but when they are idle. Please hunt up more duties for them.” - -“Poor dears! Don’t they eat up all the cold waffles? What more could we -demand?” laughed Josie. “Don’t you remember how sorry we always felt -about the cold waffles, girls?” - -“Yes indeed, the Higgledy Piggledy garbage pail always mortified me,” -said Elizabeth. “No matter how carefully one plans there are always -cold waffles to be disposed of. Even my mother, who is an excellent -manager, I can tell you, has never mastered the cold waffle problem.” - -“Well, it is no problem here,” smiled Ursula. “In fact there is nothing -left over since you dear girls insisted upon my giving my boys their -supper here. I wish I could tell you what it means to me, having this -place and being able to see Ben and Philip all the time.” - -“Well I wish you knew what it means to us to have our tea room run like -a smart New York shop, with never a hitch and more and more persons -praising it and bringing their friends here to treat them--to say -nothing of the empty garbage pail. If things don’t stop prospering so -we are going to have to get new quarters, girls. Do you realize that?” -queried Josie. - -“Oh, but please don’t let’s leave the dear old shop,” begged Elizabeth. -“These have been the happiest months of my whole life, I truly believe. -If we have to expand, let’s expand upward or downward. Why not see -about the rooms above or the rickety old store below?” - -“Turn out the cleaners and dyers below, who certainly smell most -vilely and increase our insurance rates one hundred per cent and make -a kind of lunch club down there! Great scheme!” exclaimed Josie. “What -does our sage Irene think?” - -“I think it is a fine idea but it would need a good deal of capital to -start such an undertaking,” said Irene thoughtfully. “Let’s go slowly -until we find someone with capital to invest.” - -“I wish I could command my own little fortune,” blushed Ursula. “I -haven’t much--at least I don’t think I have, but what I own I have no -more power over than if it wasn’t mine. My stepfather, Mr. Cheatham, -has entire control of everything connected with my father’s estate.” - -“Can’t you go to law about it?” asked Elizabeth. - -“I--I--am helpless with him. He holds it over me that if I make any -trouble he will claim my boys. He says he has the right to keep them -from me. There is some quirk in the law that he quotes. I am sure I -don’t understand it but I am afraid to test it. I’d give up all the -money in the world rather than have my Ben and Philip under the -influence of such a man.” - -“Haven’t you any relations?” asked Josie. - -“Only Uncle Ben Benson, my mother’s brother, and I don’t know where -he is. He was very much put out with my poor little mother when she -married Mr. Cheatham. He left Louisville and we have never heard -anything from him. I loved Uncle Ben and he loved me. I felt he was -hard on Mother and told him so, although Heaven knows it almost killed -me for her to marry such a man. But she was young when my father died, -young and so beautiful. Mr. Cheatham evidently had some influence over -her that we could not understand.” - -“What is his standing in the community?” asked Josie. - -“He is not trusted or respected but he is so plausible that he has -a certain following. He makes an excellent impression on strangers -and Louisville is growing so, with such a large number of new people -settling there every year, that it is quite a simple matter for Mr. -Cheatham to worm himself into the good graces of the new and wealthy -people. He is clever and has an engaging manner until you know him. -Then you hate his manner as you hate him.” - -“Does he know where you are?” - -“I think not, but I am not sure. He always finds out everything he -wants to know. He doesn’t care where I am, just so I let him alone. The -thing that determined my leaving home was not only his threatening to -bring this woman, this Miss Fitchet, to the house, but an awful scene -we had with him when he tried to whip my Ben. It was because of some -trifling bit of naughtiness. Ben turned on the hydrant to which the -hose was attached and could not get it turned off.” - -“All boys like to play in water,” laughed Josie. “I like it myself.” - -“He began to beat him unmercifully and little Philip rushed in and bit -him on the leg and I--I’m not ashamed to tell you that I took a hand in -the fight myself, although it was in the front yard of our home on one -of the principal old residential streets of Louisville. I turned the -hose on the wretch and he got it full in the face. I am sure we looked -like a movie comedy; but he left off beating Ben.” - -“Good for you!” laughed Josie. - -“We left then and I have never seen him again. I took the boys to a -hotel and got a lawyer to go see him and try and get an allowance -from him but he refused any financial help. He said we would be taken -care of as long as we would stay under his roof and no longer. I could -not stand the thought of ever having to see him again and so I left -Louisville. He thought we would live with some old friends who are at -Peewee Valley, near Louisville, but I came to Dorfield, and oh, how -glad I am I chose this peaceful spot!” - -Ursula beamed happily on her employers. Already the girl had a -different expression. The corners of her mouth were lifting and the -pained look in her pansy eyes had given place to one of peace and trust. - -“How about Uncle Ben Benson? Don’t you fancy he’ll come rolling in one -day with his coat lined with thousand dollar bills and a potato sack -full of gold nuggets?” asked Elizabeth. “Uncles in the manuscripts I -correct always come home rich and generous.” - -“I wouldn’t care much about the nuggets and coat lining, if he would -only come home or write to me and let me know he is alive and well and -no longer bears a grudge against me for standing up for my poor little -mother. I tried to let him know when she died but my letter came back -to me after having followed him around to all kinds of out-of-the-way -places. Sometimes I am afraid he is dead.” - -“I’ll be bound he is not. Probably he is working away at some sort of -business that is going to bring in oodles of money,” insisted Elizabeth. - -“Perhaps,” mused Ursula, “but in the meantime I had better get the -waffle batter mixed and the cinnamon toast under way, because the -hungry patrons will be pouring in soon.” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -A RUSH ORDER FOR DOLLS - - -The weeks rolled by. The Higgledy Piggledies prospered. Many waffles -and much cinnamon toast were devoured by the elite of Dorfield. Each -partner was occupied in her especial line but often everyone would have -to lend a hand at afternoon tea time. - -School opened and the diminutive delivery boys were forced to -relinquish their jobs during school hours, but afternoon always found -them at the shop ready for any kind of work their gentle employers -could find for them. Proudly they held up their heads at being able to -help Sister. Ben even learned to bake waffles on the electric iron and -was what Elizabeth called, quoting from real estate advertisements, “an -extra added feature” to the attractions of the tea room. Philip learned -to wait on the tables, never dropping or spilling a thing. - -“So much for the Montessori method,” said Josie. “I believe carrying -soup without spilling it is the especial triumph of their system of -training. You told me the boys had been to a Montessori school, did you -not, Ursula?” - -“Yes, that was one of the times when I had my way in spite of Mr. -Cheatham.” - -Irene had made the boys little linen aprons and caps and wonderfully -charming they looked, with their flushed and eager faces, as they -seriously and conscientiously served the guests. - -“The boys at school try to tease me for doin’ it,” Ben confessed to -Josie, “but I jes’ tell ’em that Alfred the Great had to mind the cakes -an’ what a king ain’t above doin’ I ain’t either--only ol’ Alfred let -the cakes burn an’ I don’t never let my waffles get mor’n a golden -brown. I reckon kings ain’t much account when it comes to head work. It -takes head work to do things ’zackly right.” - -“It certainly does,” laughed Josie. “It is wonderful to find that out -when you are a boy, Ben, because some persons get to be old as old can -be and never know it. If you bake waffles as well as they can be baked, -when that is the job before you, it will be easier to tackle the bigger -job when it comes to you. I remember a story I heard a lecturer tell -once that always has stayed with me.” - -“Please tell it to me,” begged Ben, who could not decide which to love -the more, the “Lady in the Chair” or Josie. He had almost decided on -Josie, since Philip could go on caring for Irene above all others -besides Sister. So Josie told this story: - -“Well, this gentleman, who was a great preacher and lecturer, said -when he was a little boy his father, who was also a noted divine, drew -him to him one day when he was in his study and with his arm around -him said: ‘My boy, have you thought what you would like to be when -you grow to manhood?’ ‘Yes, Father! I want to be a hack driver.’ His -father paused for a moment evidently somewhat nonplused at the strange -ambition of his son, then he said earnestly: ‘All right, my boy, but -mind you, be the best hack driver in town.’” - -“Oh I see what you mean. Well, I reckon I’m the best waffle baker in -town already--that is, the best boy waffle baker, and I’ll jes’ keep on -bein’ an’ tell the fellows what tease me to go swallow themselves.” - -“Exactly!” laughed Josie, “but it might be more tactful to ask them to -come swallow some waffles.” - -“Gee, no! That wouldn’t ever do. I ain’t sayin’ I can bake waffles fast -enough to fill up boys. They are reg’lar rat holes for emptiness.” - -One afternoon, several weeks before Christmas, the Higgledy Piggledies -were especially busy, an order for dressed dolls having come in that -had to be filled immediately. Dressing dolls was one of the things they -had not been called on to do before, but if dolls had to be dressed -they must be dressed and the partners made it a rule never to turn down -any form of order. - -“We’ll send an S. O. S. for our reserves,” said Josie. “And then the -faithful shall have to stay on and work overtime. It’s Saturday, -fortunately, and we can sleep late to-morrow.” - -Ursula proved an able assistant, being very clever at fashioning the -miniature garments. - -“I always loved to dress dolls,” she said, “but haven’t done it for -years and years. Of course, Ben and Philip did not want dolls.” - -“I’d of wanted one,” declared Philip. “Nobody never asked me didn’t I!” -He had drawn a stool up close to his sister’s knee and watched her with -adoring and wondering eyes as she fashioned a tiny ruffled apron for a -blue-eyed beauty with a saucy turned-up nose and yellow hair. “I wisht -you’d let me hold that dolly until you finish her dress.” - -“Aw, sissy!” jeered Ben. “I wouldn’t let the boys catch me playin’ -dolls.” - -“I ain’t a sissy,” objected Philip. “I’m all time seein’ fathers -wheelin’ their kids out on Sundays. One time I peeked in a window back -in Louisville an’ I saw a man a-huggin’ an’ a-kissin’ his baby an’ -playin’ with it jes’ like girls do doll babies. What’s the reason that -boys that’re goin’ to grow up to be big mens can’t play doll babies as -much as men can play with their own babies made out of meat? I betcher -if Mr. Cheatham had played with doll babies some he wouldn’t of ’spised -little boys so much when he got growed up.” - -The argument being unanswerable, Ben did not attempt to answer it, but -satisfied himself by asserting it was sissy all the same to play dolls. -Philip looked longingly at the blue-eyed beauty but made no further -request to be allowed to hold it, although the young dressmakers -encouraged him to practice being a father all he wished. He merely sat -and watched the fashioning of the dainty garments, ever on the alert -to pick up dropped spools of thread or wait on the busy seamstresses. - -Mary Louise had come in to help and Laura Hilton and Lucile Neal. -Edna Barlow had promised to give her Saturday afternoon to the rush -order and Jane Donovan had missed a fashionable tea, so that she, too, -might have a finger in the doll pie. Some of the girls had worked all -day, not even going home for luncheon but having what Josie called a -“pick-up” at the shop. - -“A gross of dolls to be dressed is no idle jest,” exclaimed Elizabeth, -“not meaning to fall into poetry, so don’t anybody accuse me of lisping -in numbers. What do you think of my flapper?” She held up a doll in -a fringed skirt and slipover sweater with neat collar and cuffs, -bobbed hair, rakish hat and even cleverly contrived gaiters unbuttoned -according to the last cry in flapperdom. - -There was an outcry of approval from the workers. - -“One doesn’t have to use a microscope to see my stitches, but I do -think my doll is cute,” declared Elizabeth. - -“Cute is a silly word to use for her,” laughed Mary Louise. “To my -mind she has real literary value.” - -“I want to dress one to look like an old-fashioned grandmother, now,” -said Elizabeth, “but we haven’t any black silk. I want her to frown on -the flapper.” - -“What did I tell you? Elizabeth always has to bring literature into -life, even into the dressing of dolls. I’ll go get some black silk -suitable for grandmothers for all time,” cried Mary Louise, jumping -up and dropping her thimble and spool of cotton, which little Philip -quickly restored, thereby gaining a kiss from Mary Louise, to whom all -children appealed. - -“I’ll go instead of you,” suggested Ursula. “I have a few other -purchases to make. It is very cold and you have a little cough.” - -It was agreed that Ursula should do the shopping. Ben also had to go -out to deliver some linen Josie had laundered, as well as some other -parcels. - -The girls settled themselves again, working rapidly, each one -endeavoring to outdo the other in fashioning clever and out-of-the-way -costumes--putting in the literary touch according to Mary Louise. - -“This is quite like old times,” said Laura Hilton. “This is the same -crowd we had when we were working on Mary Louise’s wedding clothes.” - -“Except for that terrible Hortense Markle,” shuddered Jane Donovan. - -“She didn’t seem terrible on that morning, however,” said Edna Barlow. -“I thought she was the loveliest person I had ever seen, and do you -remember the song she sang as she embroidered the rose?” - -“Yes, it was ‘Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May,’ and I also remember -she embroidered a faded place on the edge of one petal. I couldn’t -help hating her for doing it, too,” said Irene. “It seemed so cynical. -You remember she declared it was because the song suggested it to her. -She might have put a worm in the heart of the rose if suggestion was -anything.” - -“Well, well, poor Hortense! She loved her Felix anyhow,” sighed -Mary Louise, who had a hard time being persuaded that anyone was -really wicked. “Let’s change the subject. Don’t you think Miss -Ellett--Ursula--is lovely?” - -“She is indeed!” from all of the girls. - -“Where on earth did you make the find?” - -Then the story of Ursula and her misfortunes had to be recounted. - -“Well, I call her pretty spunky,” said Lucile. - -“And aren’t the little boys precious?” put in Mary Louise. “Did Philip -go with Ben?” - -“No!” answered Josie, “Ben went alone; he thought it was too cold for -Philip. He must have gone with Ursula.” - -Ursula returned from her shopping expedition. An unwonted pallor had -spread over her face and her mouth was drooping at the corners as it -had when she first came to the Higgledy Piggledy Shop. - -“Here is the black silk,” she said. Her voice had a strange -tonelessness. Josie looked up quickly at her friend. The other girls -seemed not to notice the change in the girl. - -“What is it, Ursula?” Josie asked following her to the rear of the shop. - -“What is what?” - -“Now, of course, Ursula, if something has happened that you don’t want -to mention to me, it is your own business; but I want you to understand -that if it is anything I can assist you in I am ready.” - -Ursula looked into Josie’s honest face and hesitated a moment. - -“Somehow everything is so wonderful and peaceful and happy up here with -the Higgledy Piggledies that I can’t bear to bring any troubles among -you. I haven’t a real trouble but just a nameless dread.” - -“Out with it then! If you name it perhaps we can dispel it. The girls -can’t hear us talking back here--and besides they are chattering so -they couldn’t make out our conversation if we shouted.” - -Ursula, however, did not shout but only gasped: - -“Miss Fitchet is in Dorfield!” - -“You mean the woman--the nurse--your stepfather wanted to have live in -your home as housekeeper?” - -“Yes! Oh Josie, she is a terrible person and as unscrupulous as the -worst character in fiction! I feel she is in Dorfield for some evil -purpose. I can’t imagine just why, but her being here depresses me so I -can hardly bear life.” - -“You mean she may work some ill on you or your brothers? But what could -she do?” - -“I can’t tell. Mr. Cheatham already has all the money we should have -and--oh, Josie, I just can’t tell what it is but--but--” and here the -poor girl burst into tears. - -Josie drew her into her own bedroom, which was a small cubby hole -tucked away in the rear of the shop. - -“Now, now, you poor, dear thing!” Josie could be remarkably tender, -considering she was such a determined and relentless little detective. -Her voice now had a motherly ring. “You mustn’t feel so despondent over -a thing like this. I don’t know what you dread--” - -“I don’t know myself.” - -“Well, whatever it is I can promise you that I am here to see you -through. Tell me what was this Fitchet person doing?” - -“I think she was following me, because I saw her several times as I -went in and out of shops. She was heavily veiled, but her face isn’t -what gives her away. I’d know her figure anywhere, under any disguise. -She is quite stout, with abnormally small feet, and always carries her -head a little on one side and she has a peculiar way of walking, never -keeping on a straight line but unconsciously zigzagging.” - -“Why, bless my soul! You’d make a good detective,” laughed Josie. “I -can actually see the person from your description. Now I’ll go out and -take Captain Charlie Lonsdale into my confidence and have him keep an -eye on the person. He is chief of police, you know, and my very good -friend. How old is Fitchet?” - -“About thirty-five, I should say. She is a trained nurse and Mr. -Cheatham had her nurse my poor little mother in her last illness. Thank -goodness the boys did not have to know her. I sent them to friends in -Peewee Valley during Mother’s illness. - -“Oh, she is horrible, and such a liar and so unkind! I couldn’t begin -to tell you of all the despicable things she is capable of doing and -saying.” - -“Well, never mind thinking about such things, my dear. You wash your -face now and calm yourself. It is such a cold day I am sure there will -be nothing doing in the tea room this afternoon. Why don’t you get the -boys and go home and have a nice little cozy time away from the old -Higgledy Piggledy?” - -“And leave you girls with all those dolls to finish? Indeed, my dear -Josie, I’m not made of that kind of stuff. I’ll be with you in a -minute.” - -“I might have known it,” smiled Josie. “You are not of the deserter -type. After all you would be better off here with us. I believe I’ll -keep you all night. There is always plenty of room in the Higgledy -Piggledy for visitors.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -LOST AND FOUND - - -In a few moments Ursula was back at work on the dolls, all trace of -tears banished from her pretty face. Josie was preparing to go out, -declaring she must purchase a pot of glue--that she could not dress -dolls without glue. In reality, she was going to call on the chief of -police. Ben came running in, cheeks rosy, eyes shining and pockets -bulging with money collected from patrons to whom he had delivered -parcels. - -“Sis, where’s Phil?” he cried, “I got a pink sucker for him.” - -“Philip! Why, I thought he was with you,” said Ursula, looking up from -her work. - -“No, he didn’t go with me. It was so cold an’ he was so stuck on that -doll baby. I reckon he’s up in the tea room. Phil, oh Phil!” he called. - -There was no answer. Irene was sure he had gone with his sister and -Mary Louise thought he had gone with Ben. - -“Maybe he went home,” suggested Ben. The Elletts lived in a tiny -apartment across the street from Mr. and Mrs. Conant. - -“But he knew we were to have tea here,” objected Ursula, who had turned -deathly pale. “But maybe you had better go see, Ben, and oh, please -hurry!” - -“Sure I will, Sister, you needn’t get scairt. Phil ain’t far away. I -reckon he’ll turn up before I get to the corner an’ I’ll have the run -for nothin’--but I ain’t mindin’.” - -“Dear Ben!” Ursula smiled on the sturdy boy, in spite of the nameless -terror that possessed her soul in regard to the little brother. - -“If only I didn’t know that Fitchet was in Dorfield!” Ursula whispered -to Josie. - -“Well, maybe it’s a good thing you do know it,” said Josie. “Everybody -turn in and give a good hunt through the shop.” - -Mary Louise and Elizabeth, with the other girls helping, had already -looked high and low, under the bed in Josie’s room, behind an antique -high-boy for sale in the shop, and had even shaken the draperies lying -across a table and peeped in a carved Florentine chest. - -At first it was more or less a game all were playing, as they were -sure the little fellow was somewhere in the shop, but as a thorough -search did not reveal him, the matter began to take on a more serious -tone and the game was changed. - -Without a word, Josie hurried to her old friend, Chief Lonsdale. -Quickly she told him her errand. - -“Stout woman, about thirty-five, abnormally small feet, always carries -her head on one side and has a way of zigzagging when she walks.” - -“You have seen her then?” laughed the chief. - -“No, but that is the way Ursula Ellett describes her.” - -“What color hair?” - -“She didn’t say, but you know and I know and the wig maker knows that -the color of hair doesn’t cut much ice. Anyhow, please keep your eyes -open for this person, who goes by the name of Fitchet at home and is a -trained nurse.” - -The chief promised and rang for a plain clothes man to get immediately -on the job, while Josie hurried back to the Higgledy Piggledy Shop. - -Ben had returned and reported no sign of his little brother at their -home. Darkness had set in and snow had begun to fall like a fine -powder. Ursula sat like a statue, dolls piled around her. She looked up -as Josie entered and tried to smile. Josie reported that she had set -the police on the track of Fitchet and if it could be possible that she -had anything to do with the disappearance of little Philip she would be -found forthwith. - -“What could she want with him?” Josie asked. “Not that he isn’t wholly -desirable and lovely, but would that be anything to the type of woman -Miss Fitchet seems to be?” - -“I don’t know, but Mr. Cheatham is capable of any villainy and not -above any small meanness. I must get out on the street and help hunt my -darling,” cried Ursula. - -“No, my dear, you must stay right here. It is very cold and you are so -wrought up you could do no good. The boy will be found in no time and -you must be ready to hold him in your arms when he gets back,” declared -Josie. - -“I’ll go mad waiting here, doing nothing,” wailed Ursula. - -“Well, do something then,” suggested the practical Josie. “Put the -dolls that have been dressed in their boxes and pile them up in the -back of the shop. All on that table are done.” - -“I didn’t quite finish the school girl I was dressing,” said Ursula, -beginning mechanically to sort out the dressed dolls. “I mean the one -little Philip liked so much. Why, I can’t find her! Where can she be? I -left a needle sticking in her apron. She must be in this pile--No, she -is gone! Strange!” - -“Well, there is one thing that is not gone,” said Josie suddenly making -a dive under the table where the young seamstresses had been so busy -plying their needles, “and that’s Phil’s muffler and mittens. And -here’s his cap! Bless me, if there isn’t his overcoat under that pile -of scraps!” - -Ursula caught the little red mittens and held them to her aching heart. - -“Philip! Philip! My precious baby!” she moaned. - -Josie straightened up and smiled down on Ursula. - -“Did you girls look in every crack and cranny of the shop and tea room?” - -“Every one,” declared Elizabeth, who was preparing to go out on the -street and aid in the search for the lost child. - -“Are you sure?” - -“I can’t think of any spot we have not searched,” answered Mary Louise, -whose eyes were brimming over in sympathy for the sorrowing Ursula. - -Josie stood in the middle of the shop and into her eyes came the -strange dull look she often had when she was “picking up a scent” as it -were. - -“Philip missing--also the blue-eyed, yellow-haired doll he admired so -much,” Josie muttered. - -“Ye-es--an’ I went an’ called him a sissy,” sobbed Ben, who suddenly -realized that things looked pretty serious. - -“He wouldn’t go out in the cold, hunting his sister or brother, without -his overcoat and mittens,” Josie murmured. Then she lost the strange, -dull look in her eyes and, giving a short laugh, she snapped: “That kid -is in this Higgledy Piggledy Shop!” - -“Well, he must have made himself mighty little,” said Mary Louise. -“I’m going home and get Danny. He’s working on some blue prints this -afternoon. Danny will help us. Irene, if you come now I can take you -home. I’ll bring my car up the alley. It is too blizzardy for you to -think of going home in your chair.” - -Irene could let herself down the little dumb-waiter, converted into -an elevator, and when Mary Louise would bring her car close up in the -alley the lame girl would by the aid of crutches swing herself from -chair to car. - -“Oh, thank you, my dear,” replied Irene, “but I can’t think of going -until Philip is found. The snow is so dry I am sure I can get my chair -through it. You go and get Danny, though. I know he will be helpful.” - -At the mention of Irene’s going, Josie walked to the little door which -opened on the elevator shaft. As she started to open it Mary Louise -called to her: - -“Irene is not going yet, Josie!” thinking that Josie was preparing to -assist the lame girl. - -“I have an idea she is going pretty soon,” Josie answered. She flung -open the door and then began to laugh. - -“Come here, Ursula! All of you come here!” she called softly. - -The girls and Ben hurried to the rear of the store, Ursula running -like the wind. Lying on the floor of the tiny elevator was little -Philip. He was fast asleep and clasped in his arms was the blue-eyed, -fluffy-haired doll with the ruffled apron, Ursula’s needle sticking in -it. It was lucky it had stuck in the apron and did not find its way -into little Philip. - -The child made a beautiful picture at which the girls gazed breathless. - -“Poor lamb, he’s playing papa,” said Josie softly and Philip stirred in -his sleep, restless from the light turned on him, and then he opened -his violet eyes. - -“I ain’t a sissy, Ben,” he declared, “but this little doll baby had the -tummy ache an’ I hadter take her off an’ put her to sleep. She likes -this little bitsy house an’ I reckon The Lady in the Chair ain’t a -mindin’ if I borrow it from her.” - -When everything settled down and the Higgledy Piggledy Shop was cleared -of its visitors and helpers and Josie was left alone she got Chief -Lonsdale on the telephone. - -“Hello, Chief,” she said, “the little boy is found and the fat woman -with the little feet and head on one side had nothing to do with his -disappearance, but Captain, I wish you would have Clancy look her -up all the same and kind of keep an eye on her while she stays in -Dorfield. You can do that for me, cannot you, Captain?” - -“All right!” boomed the captain. “What you say goes.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -URSULA WRITES A LETTER - - -The Christmas rush came on the Higgledy Piggledies with such force that -the fright about little Philip was soon banished from all their minds. - -“I may have been mistaken about Miss Fitchet,” Ursula confessed. “That -woman I saw may not have been she. I dread her so that I can’t help -thinking about her. I may have fancied a resemblance.” - -“So you may,” said Josie solemnly. “Anyhow you have not been worried -by her and the chances are she will never turn up again, even if the -person you saw was Miss Fitchet.” - -With the help of Captain Lonsdale, Josie had come to the conclusion -that the dreaded nurse had been in Dorfield, but for what purpose the -detective put on the case had not been able to discover. At any rate -she had left in a day or so and had not returned. - -“Probably she was here just to satisfy the curiosity of herself and -her employer,” Josie decided. “I hope she will stay away now.” - -The girl detective said nothing to Ursula about the information gained -by the police concerning Fitchet. It was meager and not very satisfying -and if Ursula had begun to feel that she had been mistaken and had -only fancied she had seen the woman, so much the better for Ursula. -Certainly the trained nurse had a perfect right to visit Dorfield and -even to go heavily veiled if she had a mind to. - -Josie regretted, in a way, that Ursula had so entirely cut herself -off from Louisville and her girlhood friends. She had, in a measure, -flitted from her old home and left the situation in the hands of an -unscrupulous man. No doubt he was making the most of the power he had -thereby gained. - -“Suppose letters for you come to Mr. Cheatham. What directions did you -leave about forwarding them?” she asked Ursula. - -“It would do no good to leave directions. Mr. Cheatham would see to -it that nothing I want would ever reach me. There is no way to get -satisfaction of my stepfather. I realized that and so I left. If I can -just be allowed to keep my darlings with me and bring them up without -his contaminating presence, that is all I ask,” said Ursula. - -“In what way could he contaminate the boys?” - -Ursula considered--and answered: - -“In the way a wicked person could influence impressionable children--by -making fun of high ideals; mocking at religion; applauding any clever -evasion of the truth and then flying into a rage at the slightest -excuse and whipping the boys if they happen to do something that -annoyed him for the time being, although that same action might at a -former period have brought forth commendation. I have heard him, in -all seriousness, tell my little brothers that the greatest crime of -all was to break the eleventh commandment, which is: ‘Thou shalt not -get found out.’ There is a sturdiness about Ben that usually resisted -his influence, still he is nothing but a little boy and was not always -proof against Mr. Cheatham’s wiles and cleverness. As for poor little -Philip, he actually was fond of the man at times and I believe Mr. -Cheatham had a spark of affection for him, but nothing could be worse -than to have such a man care for you. He is dishonorable, unscrupulous -and vacillating in everything but villainy.” - -“I thought you said both of the boys hated and feared him.” - -“So they did usually, but Philip is such a baby and an ice cream cone -had a marvelous effect on the poor kiddy--that and a few gentle joking -words.” - -“Have you never communicated with any friends in Louisville since you -left?” - -“I have very few friends,” and Ursula flushed painfully. “I have for -so many years been so taken up with my sick mother and the children, -and then Mr. Cheatham has in some underhand way cut me off from what -intimates I might have had. The Trasks, at Peewee Valley, are the only -real friends I own.” - -“And the Trasks--have you written them?” - -“No. You see I knew Mr. Cheatham would take it for granted they -would keep in touch with me and would worm out of them all they knew -concerning me and so I simply could not put them in the uncomfortable -position of having connived with me in leaving as I did.” - -“Is Mrs. Trask a young woman?” - -“About fifty, I think.” - -“Any children?” - -“Two--a daughter and a son.” - -“Are they about your age?” - -“Anita is my age and Teddy is several years older.” - -“Do you think it is quite fair to keep your friends in ignorance of -your whereabouts?” - -“I don’t know, Josie. I acted for the best, I felt, at the time. Now I -don’t know.” - -“Put yourself in the place of your friends,” suggested Josie. “How -would you like it if Anita Trask were to be in trouble and needing a -friend and she did not call on you?” - -“Oh, but she has her mother and father and her brother!” - -“Certainly, and so had you at one time, but she might lose them and -have nobody left but you to help her. Would you not have been willing -to share to the last crumb and drop with her?” - -“Indeed I would have, or with any member of the family!” - -“Exactly! And don’t you see that by trying to save them worry and -annoyance you have, in a measure, caused them bitter sorrow and -trouble?” Josie’s tone was a little stern. - -“I know it--I know it, but not so much trouble as they would have had, -had Mr. Cheatham been given any cause for complaint against them. He is -a terrible man.” - -“I believe you exaggerate his power for evil. He may want to be a -terrible man, but I can’t see what he could do to the Trasks if you -should communicate with them and let them know you are well and, we -might add, happy.” - -“Indeed we might, Josie, thanks to you and my other wonderful friends -here in Dorfield. If you think it best I’ll write to Mrs. Trask -this very night. I always saw them on Christmas, and now at least I -can write to them so the letter will reach them before that day and -reassure them. I know I am obsessed with fear of Mr. Cheatham and what -he might be able to accomplish in the way of harming us. I must get -over the feeling.” - -“You certainly must! Remember there is a perfectly good law in this -land of the free and home of the brave, and a fairly good police force -to carry out the law. There is nothing Cheatham can do to you, either, -for that matter. You tell me he was not appointed your guardian?” - -“No, my father appointed Uncle Ben executor of his will and guardian in -case my mother should marry again, but Mother was influenced by Mr. -Cheatham to dispute Uncle Ben’s rights to dictate to us and so Uncle -Ben left the matter in her hands. If Uncle Ben would only come back!” - -“Well, suppose he does come back--has come back, in fact. How under -Heaven would he find his wards, if they go off and run a tea room in a -quiet little spot like Dorfield?” - -Ursula wrote to her friends at Peewee Valley that same evening, -giving them a detailed account of the happenings to herself and small -brothers, begging their forgiveness for her long silence and explaining -to them the reason for her running off without informing them of her -plans. When the letter was in the mail the girl felt happier than she -had for a long time, but still doubts would arise as to the wisdom of -having written. - -Poor Ursula had fallen in the habit of worrying. She was naturally of a -timid disposition and the hard life she had endured with her stepfather -had increased the tendency to fear imaginary evils as well as the ones -of which there was no doubt. She could not say what it was she feared -from Mr. Cheatham and the evil Miss Fitchet, but with her at all -times was a kind of nameless dread. The gay, bright atmosphere at the -Higgledy Piggledy Shop did much to dispel this gloom, but at times it -enveloped her in spite of her endeavors to break through it. Now that -she had at last written the dear old friends the cloud seemed somewhat -lifted. - -“I hope it is for the best,” she said to Josie, with a note of cheer in -her voice. - -“Sure it is for the best! Brace up, Ursula! I can’t see what good it is -to worry so much about it. Do what you think is right and then trust in -the Lord. What harm could come of writing to old friends? No harm in -the world. I’m glad you have told them as to your whereabouts.” - -In her heart Josie could not help a feeling of impatience over Ursula’s -timidity. Josie herself never acknowledged fear of anything, known or -unknown. She had a philosophy that carried her through all dangers. - -“I wish she would buck up and not give in to this nameless fear about -what Cheatham might or might not do,” Josie mused. “Of course, if I -had two little brothers like Ben and Phil I might not be so sure of -myself,” she continued, “but what under Heaven could happen to those -kids here in Dorfield?” - -It was Christmas Eve and the Higgledy Piggledy Shop was closed for a -week. It had been a strenuous time and all of the girls were tired and -needed a rest. Orders of all descriptions had poured in and in the -midst of the rush Josie had been employed in her capacity of detective -to track a lavender suit belonging to a dressy woman, who sent it to a -cleaner by her colored maid. Suit and maid had disappeared off the face -of the earth. Josie had found both maid and suit. The maid was the same -color but the suit, alas! was a vivid scarlet. Cleaners are also dyers. - -Josie was glad the rush was over. Even her iron nerves were stretched -by the Christmas rush. She was alone in the shop. It was good to be -alone even if it did happen to be Christmas Eve. The partners had gone -for the week. Mary Louise had come in laden with parcels, her cheeks -glowing with the crisp December air and her eyes shining from the joy -of giving. She had insisted upon taking Josie home with her for the -holidays but to no avail. - -“I’ll come and have Christmas dinner with you. I have a lot of things -to do and loose ends to tie up and I’ll get it over with while the shop -is closed. I’m not lonesome, dear, so don’t worry about me. Go on home -to your Danny and forget your spinster friends.” - -“Oh, Josie, how funny to call yourself a spinster! You won’t be a -spinster for years and years.” - -“Look in the dictionary and see if I’m not one already. That book says -a spinster is one who spins and also an unmarried woman. I certainly am -an unmarried woman even though I’m not a very old one as yet. I am also -a spinster in that I am spinning a web in my mind in which to catch -poor Ursula’s unscrupulous stepfather. I may never need the web but I -am on the alert in case I should have to spread it out in the path of -the unwary. I’ll see you to-morrow, dear. Good-bye! It was like you to -get those presents for Ben and Philip. Ursula was very happy over them. -She is planning a lovely to-morrow for them. She is a wonderful girl -but I wish she would cheer up.” - -Night closed down on Dorfield. It was a white Christmas. Josie could -hear the sleigh bells ringing, as merry parties passed the shop. She -made herself cosy by the open grate which was one of the attractions of -the Higgledy Piggledy. She settled herself snugly in a winged chair, an -antique they were selling on commission, and drawing her reading light -closer with a contented sigh she opened her book--a new detective story. - -“Clever, very clever!” she said aloud. Josie had a habit of talking to -herself when left alone. “Clever as to story but the author is afraid -to draw characters with any clearness for fear of giving away his plot. -If the characterization is good then the characters must act according -to the way such persons are bound to behave and so the secret is out -long before the book has reached its climax. A detective tale leaves -one in doubt right to the end, as to who has done the direful deed. -That is because the folks in the books are like so many paper dolls, -as far as being real people is concerned--painted on one side with no -innards.” - -The girl read on and on. The shop was quiet, with that abnormal -stillness that settles on the business section of a town after business -hours. As it was Christmas Eve and business is not over on that day -until midnight, this extreme quiet meant that the hour had struck and -it was really the dawn of Christmas Day. Still Josie read on. - -“It’s my one excess and I’m going to indulge in it since Christmas -comes but once a year,” she announced to the accusing ship’s clock over -the mantel as it chimed out “eight bells.” She mended the fire with a -large lump of coal from the hod and settled herself again. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -PHILIP IS KIDNAPED - - -The detective story ended, as all good detective stories do, with the -mystery solved, the criminals brought to justice and the most unlikely -person in it rounded up as the villain. - -“Good enough, but I could write a better one if I had time and paper -and knew how to write,” yawned Josie. - -Suddenly the telephone bell broke the stillness. It made Josie, the -dauntless, jump. - -“Stuff and nonsense--this time o’ night! I’ve a great mind not to -answer it. I bet it’s somebody playing a joke on me and when I take -down the receiver will just say, ‘Christmas gift!’” - -The ringing persisted and Josie grumblingly called, “Well? Higgledy -Piggledy Shop! Miss O’Gorman at the ’phone!” - -“Josie! Josie! This is Ursula! Can you hear me?” The voice was faint -from agitation. - -“Yes! What’s up?” - -“Little Philip is gone!” - -“Gone where?” Josie asked. She was ashamed of herself the instant she -had asked what she considered a very foolish question. If Ursula had -known where, she would naturally have gone and found her little brother -without delay. - -“I don’t know,” continued the frantic sister. “The boys went to bed -early and I sat up putting the finishing touches on some little -presents I was making. They were fast asleep. I looked in on them for -a moment before I ran across the street to take some things to the -Conants and Irene. I did not latch the door to the apartment as I did -not expect to be gone a minute. That was about nine o’clock. I am sure -I was not out of the house five minutes in all. Mr. and Mrs. Conant -begged me to come in but I merely left my Christmas parcels and after -chatting with them a moment in the hall ran back home. I did not even -go in to see Irene, but sent her a message. When I got home I did not -go to bed but very foolishly sat up and sewed awhile and then read. -I wanted to be sure the boys were fast asleep before I filled their -stockings which they had hung up for Santa’s visit. I only went in -their room a few minutes ago. Ben was fast asleep and Philip was--gone. -His clothes are gone, too--overcoat, hat and mittens, but they took him -off wrapped in a blanket.” - -“Have you looked everywhere?” - -“Everywhere!” - -“I’ll be right over,” said Josie, hoping she kept from her voice -a certain impatience and weariness she could not help but feel. -Remembering the scare about little Philip before and the frantic search -of some six or eight persons and how easy it had been to find him, she -was sure that the little boy was safely tucked away under the bed or -behind the bureau or somewhere. - -“You can’t lose that kid,” she declared, as she drew on her goloshes -preparing for the snow, which was deep and drifting. “If Ursula would -only buck up! I was a fool not to get my beauty sleep when I had a -chance. I think I’ll get Bob Dulaney in on this. He did me a good turn -in the Markle case.” - -Bob Dulaney was a young newspaper reporter who was rapidly making a -name for himself. It was he who had grappled with Felix Markle and had -overcome that doughty if evil knight with the terrible scissors-hold -known to wrestlers. But that is another tale. At any rate he was a fast -friend to the Higgledy Piggledies, ever ready to do their bidding. He -was all devotion to Irene, his great strength always at the service of -the lame girl. - -It took but a moment to get the young man on the wire. - -“Hello, Bob! Josie O’Gorman! Want to help me?” - -“Sure!” - -“There may be a story in it, but more likely not. Anyhow, you will be -of great assistance. Ursula Ellett’s kid brother is missing. I am on -my way there now. She’s just phoned me. If I don’t find him under the -bed or behind the door I will let you know.” Josie always used the -telephone as though someone were counting words on her. - -“Let me know much! I’ve got my Lizzie racer here and will come pick you -up. Snow’s mighty high for runts. Be at your door by the time you get -bundled up. So long!” And he’d hung up. - -Josie laughed. Bob Dulaney always treated her like a boy, and she -enjoyed it. It was rather nice not to have to plough through the -drifts. She put on a thick ulster and heavy gloves, started to lock the -door of the shop but paused a moment in thought. - -“I’d better take my grip,” she mused. “I may have to catch a train.” - -Josie kept a suitcase packed for an emergency--“As clever crooks and -detectives always do,” she had said. - -A muffled toot announced Bob and his tiny racer. - -“What! Going on a trip?” he asked, as Josie came running down the steps -with the suitcase. - -“Never can tell. I hope not. I also hope there is no story for your -paper at the end of this mad ride, but we must be prepared.” - -The racer was slipping through the dry snow with the ease that an -airplane might breast a bank of clouds. - -“If you weren’t you and I, I,” laughed Josie, “we might be taken for an -eloping couple.” - -“I’d much prefer being taken for that than to be taken for speeding,” -declared Bob, as they swirled around a corner almost knocking the brass -buttons off a belated policeman. The poor man rubbed his stomach sadly -as though he had been actually touched. - -“Them youngsters better be glad they didn’t hit me,” he grumbled. “If -it wasn’t Christmas Eve I’d follow ’em up.” - -They found the house in which Ursula lived all astir. It was an old -mansion that had been converted into an apartment house, where the -shabby genteel had taken refuge, but kind hearts beat under the worn -coats and the lodgers had one and all come to Ursula’s assistance. To -be sure some of them told dismal stories about the lost Charlie Ross of -the last century, and how his mother and father had hunted him high and -low, spending fortunes on the search, but never giving up, following in -vain clue after clue that took them in all kinds of places and climes -until they were an old white-haired couple bent and broken in spirit. - -Others of the fellow lodgers were more practical in demonstrations of -sympathy. One old lady put on her spectacles and solemnly began to look -over the pieces in her scrap bag. She had always been finding things -that were lost in that capacious bag. A nervous, middle-aged bachelor -was going around to the different apartments and solemnly poking up -the chimneys with a hearth broom. - -“Persons often hide up flues in motion pictures,” he said. - -Poor little Ben, who felt somehow that he was responsible for his -brother’s disappearance, since he had slept through his flitting, was -profiting by Josie’s success in finding Philip when he was lost before -by making a systematic search. With tense mouth and burning eyes he was -examining every crack and corner of the old house. - -“Th’ain’t any dumb-waiter or elevators here,” he sobbed when Josie made -her appearance, “but oh, Miss Josie, I’ve looked between the mattresses -an’ behind the bureaus an’ up on top the wardrobes in every ’partment -here.” - -“I know you have, my dear,” said Josie gently, “but tell me, Ben, who -is in the apartment next to yours?” - -“Th’ain’t nobody. That’s been vacant three months.” - -Josie considered, and asked: - -“Have you looked in there?” - -“No’m! The door is locked.” - -Josie slipped from her pocket a skeleton key which she fitted neatly in -the lock of the door, and with a sure turn of her strong little wrist -she turned the bolt. - -“Humph! It looks as though we were none of us safe in our beds,” -remarked a sharp-nosed dressmaker, who had the apartment directly -across the hall from Ursula’s. “If it’s that easy to open a door.” - -“Inside bolts are safer,” said Josie, “but even those are not proof -against crooks and their tools.” - -The room was dark and dusty. Josie produced a flash light but -discovered the electric light had not been turned off since the -departure of the former tenant and by touching the proper button she -quickly had a flood of light with which to continue her investigations. -With no ceremony she closed the door on the curious crowd of lodgers, -admitting only Bob Dulaney. - -“Stand still, please,” she commanded. “We must examine the tracks in -this room. It is covered with the dust of ages but someone has been in -it recently. Look! It’s a woman with short rather broad feet and high -heels, run down--a tendency to fallen arches I should say because of -the heels being worn on the inside. Whoever has been in here has been -at this window. See! It is possible to look into Ursula’s living room -from this window. Look! She has even scraped the frost from the pane -to get a better view. This pane is not so covered with grime as the -others. Umhum! She is a little taller than I am, but not much. Rather a -chunky party I should say.” - -“Wears gilt hairpins, too,” laughed Bob, stooping and picking up what -was even more a give away as to sex than the uncertain tracks of high -heels. - -“Oh, you jewel!” cried Josie. “Meaning you and not the hairpin, Bob. -I’m certainly glad you are in on this. I didn’t see the hairpin and it -will mean a lot more to me than anything.” - -“Let me present it to you,” said Bob, bowing low with mock courtesy. -“Josie, you delight my soul. I feel like Dr. Watson in attendance on -Sherlock Holmes. But joking aside, I believe if poor little Philip has -really been kidnaped it was by some person or persons who had been -hiding in this room.” - -“Sure! But it was only one person because there are no signs of other -footprints. Thank goodness the floor was stained with a dark varnish. -It makes the footprints so much easier to define. Well, Bob, there is -no use in hanging around here. I reckon we’d best get out and hustle.” - -Josie regretted that she had not telephoned police headquarters -immediately after hearing from Ursula that Philip was missing, but -remembering the last time, she had felt the chief might think that like -the boy in the fable she had called “wolf” too often. Now he must be -informed of the trouble and get his men busy on the case. The kidnapper -had several hours start and no time was to be lost or, as Josie -expressed it, “the scent might get cold.” - -Ursula was in a state of mind bordering on frenzy. She walked up and -down the room wringing her hands and moaning piteously. - -“If only I had not gone over to the Conants’,” she wailed. “Or if I -only had locked the door. I’ve always been afraid to lock the boys up -in a room for fear of fire and they couldn’t get out. My baby Philip! -My baby Philip!” - -Josie stood by her side and endeavored to calm her. - -“See here, Ursula, you must listen to me a moment and you must tell -me some things I want to know. You must be very frank and conceal -nothing.” - -“I never have, Josie--nothing of the least importance, that is.” - -“All right! Now tell me why anybody would want Philip--except of course -that he is a lovely child. But people don’t steal boys just because -they are charming.” - -“Don’t they? Well, Josie, I don’t know what they would get but charm. -You know how poor I am.” - -“Well, I can’t help feeling there is something besides charm in this -transaction. Now, Ursula, give me the names and addresses of any -friends or connections you have in Louisville. I want Mr. Cheatham’s -full name and his address and also what hospital had the honor of -graduating Miss Fitchet as a nurse. Write all your information in this -little book. Now, my dear girl, you must spunk up all you can. I know -it is hard, but Philip is going to be found, and that within a few days -or maybe hours. You must promise me something: it makes no difference -what communication you receive from these persons who have seen fit to -carry off our Philip, you will call up Captain Lonsdale and tell him -all about it. It will be a plain case of blackmail. If they tell you to -meet them in a quiet spot with all of your diamonds in a black bag, -don’t you do it. You let the chief of police do your meeting.” - -“But Josie, where will you be that you give me all these directions?” - -“Me? I’m going to take the next train for Louisville. I feel it in my -bones that I can learn something to my advantage there. I’ll learn the -motives and work from that.” - -“Oh, let me go too!” begged Ursula. Josie considered a moment. Then she -said: - -“I really think it would be wiser for you to stay right where you are. -You see Irene and her aunt and uncle will be good to you and little -Ben and Mary Louise will be here, and Elizabeth Wright. Philip may be -brought back any minute, and you certainly don’t want to be away from -home when they bring him back.” - -“No, I just had a feeling maybe he might be in Louisville and I could -get him sooner if I went there,” sighed the poor girl, who was trying -desperately to keep back the tears that would course down her pale -cheeks. - -Josie carried away a sad picture of her friend. She left the Dorfield -end in the hands of Bob Dulaney, who was to inform the police of the -kidnapping and also keep busy on his own account, following up every -clue that might present itself. - -“Good-bye, Bob!” called Josie as she jumped aboard the train. “Keep me -informed of the case and I’ll do the same with you.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -JOSIE VISITS LOUISVILLE - - -Christmas morning in Louisville! Josie was still regretting the hours -spent in reading the detective story that should have been dedicated to -sleep, but she was happily constituted and could do with very little -sleep if the case she was on necessitated it. At other times she put in -eight hours at night--never more and never less. - -“Humph! This place might be London, it is so foggy,” she mused as the -train crawled along the river bank. On one side the Ohio river, muddy -and trying to freeze, on the other side the slums of the city, smoky -and full of deep puddles that had succeeded in freezing. - -Josie had been planning a campaign through the hours spent in her -berth. First she must find out things. What type of man she had to -deal with in Cheatham? What reason might he have for abducting Philip? -Where was Miss Fitchet at the present, and what was her reputation in -Louisville? - -Experience had taught Josie that the way to find out things about -persons was to seek a boarding house, not too fine, but where those -who wanted to keep up appearances on limited incomes had their abode. -By diligent inquiry she had learned of such a place from the colored -Pullman porter. - -“Yassum, I’s bawn an’ bred in Lou’ville,” he had said as he whisked -every imaginary speck of dust from Josie’s coat. “Th’ain’t nothin’ I -don’ know ’bout dat town. I kin ’member when mule cyars uster fotch th’ -folks up ’n down Fo’th Street befo’ trolleys wuz ever hearn tell about.” - -“Maybe you can tell me of a good boarding house then,” Josie had -ventured, “one not too expensive but respectable.” - -“Sho I kin! Miss Lucy Leech air got a nice place for a lone young lady -ter go. Miss Lucy ain’t above puttin’ on some style but th’ swell part -er town am kinder moved off an’ lef’ Miss Lucy high an’ dry. But plenty -er good folks am still a-boa’din’ with Miss Lucy Leech. Mah wife she’s -de cook ter Miss Lucy an’ she been thar so long I reckon she’ll stay -thar till she er Miss Lucy goes ter jine the heavenly throng. Th’ain’t -no need fer mah Mandy ter wuck out no mo’ but she ’lows I’m off on the -road mo’n most er the time an’ she mought as well be wuckin’ as gaddin’ -about.” - -Josie was sure Miss Lucy Leech’s was exactly the place she wanted for a -temporary home. The porter gave her the address and when the train drew -into the station he put her in care of a negro driver, who proudly bore -her off to his ancient hack oblivious to the jeers of the taxi drivers -who were lined up waiting for passengers. - -Christmas morning is not a very popular one for arriving in a city and -Josie might have had the pick of automobiles meeting the early train, -but the hack driver had got her first and she was determined to stay -with him and see the adventure through. Besides, she liked the looks of -the man. - -The streets were flowing with slush, a mixture of mud and snow that had -melted the day before and was freezing again on that Christmas morning. -The ancient hackman cracked his whip over the backs of his bony team -and the shabby vehicle that was bearing Josie to Miss Lucy Leech’s -select boarding house creaked and groaned as though the young girl’s -weight was too much for it. Josie bounced helplessly up and down on -the back seat. - -“Well, I should be thankful it isn’t an ox cart,” she thought. “Time -was when a hack was considered the height of luxury. At any rate I -can get some idea of the city, which is next to impossible when one -is whizzed in an automobile. This sea-going hack is a singularly -appropriate vessel in which to sail this turgid stream that no doubt -the Louisvillians call a street. Somehow I feel as though we ought to -blow a fog horn.” - -The winter sun was up and trying to shine, but looked like a huge -orange, as seen through the veil of fog and smoke. Tall buildings made -the narrow streets of the down-town district seem like canyons. The -city seemed deserted, except for an occasional taxi and the inevitable -early bird of a newsboy crying his papers. Nothing is more forlorn than -a usually busy section of a city on a foggy Christmas morning. Josie -was relieved when her craft tacked down a side street that showed signs -of life, although the life of the shabby genteel. - -There was no doubt about the neighborhood having at one time been -fashionable. The houses were built on a lavish scale, with high -ceilings and broad, hospitable steps and yards, front, back and side. -On that street boarding houses were the rule and private homes the -exception. Trade had begun to encroach on the one time residential -block and yards were disappearing in some places and small shops being -erected fronting on the street and backing on the handsome old houses. - -Miss Lucy Leech’s remained intact, however. One fancied her house -could no more put up a different front than Miss Lucy herself would. -The house, a huge mansion with columned portico, was guarded by two -peacefully inclined iron lions. Miss Lucy wore water waves, iron -grey. She had always worn them through changing fashions of bangs, -pompadours, and the marcel. The house had been originally painted grey, -the lions black. Once in a decade Miss Lucy managed a new coat of -paint. She would not have thought of changing the color of her house -and the faithful lions any more than of giving her own respectable -water waves a henna dip. - -Miss Lucy’s back was straight and stiff; so was her upper lip. Her -back was stiff because of the dignity of the Leeches, which she felt -compelled to uphold. Her lip was stiff from necessity. Running a -boarding house for almost half a century gives one “a stiff upper lip.” -Running a boarding house had become second nature to Miss Lucy. It was -as much a part of her as the iron grey waves in her hair. To be sure if -it had not been for Mandy, the faithful cook, it would not have been -such an easy matter to keep going. Mandy was cook and housekeeper as -well. She it was who planned the meals and kept Miss Lucy from serving -unbalanced rations to her select boarders. - -“Lawsamussy, Miss Lucy, don’t go a-habin’ cabbage an’ cauliflowers -de self-same meal. Deys one an’ de same ’cept cauliflowers am mo’ -’ristocratic an’ eddicated like. An’ fergetti, even when it’s got -cheese on it, is kinder taterish in de way it sticks ter yo’ ribs, -so when you ’lows you air gonter order fergetti I wouldn’t be havin’ -scalloped taters.” - -Aunt Mandy had never heard of calories and vitamins but she had a -genius for food and Miss Lucy’s boarders appreciated the old cook’s -prowess in the art and stayed on in the dilapidated old house, putting -up with the old-fashioned plumbing and the one bath room with its -rusty tin tub and many other inconveniences for the sake of Mandy’s -culinary achievements. - -“Sometimes I air fo’ced ter ’form miracles on de victuals,” Aunt Mandy -had said once. “Miss Lucy air oftentimes fergitful in her orderation. I -knows she gits in de market an’ gits ter talkin’ ’bout befo’ de wah an’ -sech an’ boa’ders goes out’n her haid an’ mealtime comes ’round an’ I -gotter stir up soup mostly out’n water but, lawsamussy, if’n you season -up water right it’s tasty. Gumption air de maindes’ thing in cookin’. -Gumption air mo’ ’liable dan ’gredients.” - -To this house came Josie on Christmas morning. Aunt Mandy was sweeping -the bottom step as the old hack lumbered up the street and came to a -halt in the slush-filled gutter. The old woman beat her broom on the -back of one of the peaceful black lions and called out to the grinning -hackman: - -“Hi yer, Brer Si?” - -“Hi yer se’f, Sis Mandy? Brer Peter done sent you an’ Miss Lucy a -Chris’mus gif’--a new boa’der. I hope you air got room.” - -“Sho we air got room--an’ if’n we ain’t we kin make room,” responded -the old woman. - -Aunt Mandy was dressed in a purple calico dress, with a voluminous -skirt that suggested the days of hoops. Her head was wrapped in a red -bandanna handkerchief. Her kind old face was wreathed in smiles as she -bobbed a curtsey to Josie, who scrambled from the depths of the hack. - -“Come right in, miss! Fust breakfas’ air under way an’ I’ll hump it up -some. I knows how hongryfyin’ sleepin’ cyars is. Whe’fo’ you didn’t -brung Peter up from the depot alongst with yo’ fare, Brer Si?” - -“He gotter bresh up some fust, but he’ll be long in three shakes.” - -“Well, me’n Miss Lucy air ’bleeged ter you fer a boa’der an’ I wouldn’t -be ’stonished if a leetle later on Miss Lucy would be a passin’ out -some Chris’mus. You mought kinder stop in on us if you air a comin’ -this a-way.” - -“I’ll be! I’ll be!” bowed the hackman. Even the bony horses seemed -cheered up at the prospect of Miss Lucy’s passing out “some Christmas,” -and they pranced up the street with quite an air of gaiety. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -CLUES FROM AUNT MANDY - - -Aunt Mandy ushered Josie into a cheerful, shabby parlor. The furniture -was a mixture of fine old mahogany, cheap varnished oak, and odds -and ends of wicker and mission. There were some beautiful dignified -portraits, hanging cheek by jowl with simpering chromos of girls -kissing roses and stern faced persons, represented by crayon drawings -of enlarged photographs in plush frames. There was a soft coal fire in -the broad, deep grate and the flames leapt merrily up the sooty flue. -Josie was chilled to the bone and was grateful for the warmth and cheer -of the room. - -“I low as how you’d like a cup er cawfee this very minute,” suggested -Aunt Mandy. “Breakfas’ ain’t quite ready but de cawfee air givin’ out a -odium dat means it air jes’ about done. Suppos’n’ you come on back to -de kitchen an’ let Mandy fix you up a tray, if you ain’t too proud ter -eat in de kitchen?” - -“I’m proud to be allowed to eat in the kitchen,” smiled Josie. “I don’t -often get in a real kitchen. I have nothing but a kitchenette.” - -“Humph! I don’ know what dat am but it sounds ter me like it’s a -kitchen whar folks done et ’stid of a dinin’ room.” - -Josie laughed merrily and explained, to Mandy’s delight, that it was a -little kitchen not much bigger than a china closet. - -“An’ what air you a-doin’ here in Lou’ville on Chris’mus mornin,’ -chil’? Ain’t you got no folks?” - -“No real folks--that is none that belong to me,” said Josie sadly. She -remembered the old days with her father and could not keep back a tiny -tear that rolled from the corner of her eye before she could stop it. - -“Now, now, honey! You kin jes’ be to home here wiv Miss Lucy an’ me. -Lots er folks have spent Chris’mus wiv us an’ ’tain’t sech a bad place -ter be on dat day, I kin tell yer. Now you drink yo’ cawfee. Bless Bob, -if de sun hain’t done bust through the fawg! It’s gonter be a bright -day arfter all.” - -The old woman beamed on her guest, who was seated in the big kitchen -sipping coffee from a huge blue willow-ware cup, minus a handle. The -coffee was delicious and there was a pleasing aroma stealing from the -oven that told of hot rolls almost done. - -“An’ whatcher say you air doin’ here in Lou’ville?” asked Aunt Mandy. - -Josie hadn’t said, but she had her answer ready and it was a good -answer--one she meant to make come true. - -“I help run a little shop in my town and I’m hunting up some things -for that shop,” she explained. What she told of the nature of the shop -delighted and interested Mandy. So Josie went on to explain: - -“I want to find someone who plaits rag rugs and also someone who makes -hand-made brooms, that round kind with split oak handles.” - -“Well, bless Bob, if you ain’t done struck de right pusson to d’rick -you!” exclaimed Aunt Mandy. “I got a kinder cousin what lives out back -er Peewee Valley an’ she air de greates’ han’ fer cyarpet plaitin’ an’ -quilt piecin’ I ever seed, an’ her ol’ man kin make the nices’ brooms -an’ split oak cheers in dis hyar lan’ o’ Kaintuck. Dey do say dat he -learnt his trade at the pen’tent’ary, but dat don’ matter nuthin a -tall. De thing is he air got a trade, what is mo’n mos’. Sis Minerva -an’ Brer Abe is dey names.” - -“Peewee Valley, you say?” Josie remembered that was where Ursula’s -friends, the Trasks, lived. - -“Yessum! Jes’ up back er Peewee! You kin take ’lectric cyar right down -here at de interbourbon station. Dey am moughty bold a-namin’ a station -arfter Bourbon whiskey when it air ’gainst de law ter sell it no mo’, -but I reckon so many bottles air been a carried back an’ fo’th on dat -road from Lou’ville ter Peewee Valley dat de name done stuck fer good.” - -Josie laughed delightedly and asked for further information concerning -the cousin who was such a wonder at quilts and rag rugs. - -“Well, you git off’n de cyar right at Colonel Trask’s. De driver’ll -tell you what dat is. Everybody knows Colonel Trask an’ his wife, Miss -Anita Bowles as was.” - -Then followed minute directions as to lanes and stiles and short cuts -through gaps in fences, which Josie must take to find the cousin. Josie -felt the detective business was too easy if information was handed out -in this manner without any questions on her part. Peewee Valley--the -Trasks! The very things she wanted to know and now she knew how to find -them without so much as asking a question! - -“Did you ever know some people here named Ellett?” Josie asked. “A Mr. -Philip Ellett. I believe he died and his widow married again. I know -some people who used to know them.” - -“Sho I knowed ’em. Po’ li’l’ fool! She’s daid too, now.” - -“Oh, is she?” - -“Yessum--daid, an’ dat man Cheatham livin’ in de Ellett house, which -ain’t fur from here; in fac’, we backs on de same alley. I done hear -tell he driv his stepchillun off’n de premus. Some say he owns de -house, havin’ paid cash money down fer it an’ he couldn’t live wiv his -steps ’cause de boy done tried ter kill him an’ de gal was a holpin’ -of him. But I knows dat old Cheatham too well to believe no sich tale. -If dey was any killin’ goin’ on he was de killer an’ not de killdee. -Anyhow de chilluns am gone off somewhars an’ he am a holdin’ high -carnal whur his wife’s fust husban’s folks done liv’ long befo’ de wah -an’ long befo’ dat.” - -“He must be a horrid man.” - -“Horrid ain’t de word, but he done got some folks in Lou’ville fooled -case he air right smooth talkin’ an’ he could keep a piece er col’ -butter in his mouth all day ’thout its meltin’. He wa’ a boa’din hyar -wiv Miss Lucy when he married de widow Ellett an’ I hears lots er talk -back an’ fo’th concernin’ him an’ de bride. The boa’ders was divided -’bout him: some holdin’ he wa’ a very pleasant gemman, an’ dey wa’ -mostly de maiden ladies, an’ others dat he wa’ a scamp an’ slick as dey -make ’em. He wa’ too shifty-eyed fer me an’ too free with his orders -an’ too constrained-like with his cash money.” - -“Is he stingy?” laughed Josie. - -“Stingy? Is he? Why dat dere man will squeeze a nickel so tight de -heads an’ tails git mixed up. He don’t min’ spendin’ money fo’ show. -I knowed a ooman what cooked fo’ dem when his wife was a-dyin’ on her -death baid an’ she said de po’ thing had all kinds er fine silks an’ -satins an’ furs what he done buyed her but she didn’t have underclo’s -’nough ter flag a han’ cyar. I reckon he mus’ a-been a so’ trial to dem -steps cause dey paw an’ all de Elletts air jes’ tother way.” - -“Didn’t the children have any relations?” - -“Kin, you mean? Yes deir maw had a brother, Ben Benson, but he wa’ -right put out ’bout his sister marryin’ agin an’ marryin’ sich a man -an’ he lit out an’ nobody ain’t seed hide or har er him sence. Some -says he’s daid an’ some says he’s diggin’ gol’ an’ maybe di’ments but -nobody don’t rightly know whar dat Ben air took hisse’f.” - -“Has this Mr. Cheatham married again or does he live all alone in the -big Ellett house?” - -“No’m, he ain’t married but dey do say he air took up with a nuss named -Fitchet. He’ll git his ’serts if’n he gits her cause I done seed enough -er that ooman to speak the truf ’bout her. One time she nussed one of -us-alls boa’ders an’ whilst dey do say she’s a good nuss an’ takes -good keer er de sick she sho am some rest breaker fo’ de niggers. She -had me waitin’ on her han’ an’ foot an’ fo’ de fust time sence me’n -Miss Lucy’s been running dis house I come moughty nigh pickin’ up an’ -leavin’ her. ’Twas Mandy dis an’ Mandy dat ’til I wished the debil had -her.” - -This was exactly the character Ursula had given Fitchet and Josie was -glad to have Mandy verify it. The old woman then rambled on at Josie’s -instigation to tell her other Louisville gossip until the information -she had given concerning the business in hand was completely swamped -in her mind by other more stirring happenings and when Miss Lucy Leech -finally made her appearance to begin the business of looking out for -her boarders the cook had forgotten all about the Elletts and was under -the impression the new boarder was especially interested in the direful -happenings of a one time famous wedding, when half the county had been -mysteriously poisoned. - -Miss Lucy sailed into the kitchen with the air of entering the queen’s -drawing-room. She seemed not at all surprised to find a new boarder -sharing the warmth of the kitchen with the old cook. Miss Lucy was used -to Mandy and her ways and accepted both. She met Josie with an air of -condescension that put that young person in the category of being a -kind of pensioner instead of a boarder. - -“Certainly we can take you for a while at least,” she said when Mandy -explained who Josie was and what she wanted. Josie was amused to see -that Mandy’s information concerning her business and antecedents had -grown considerably and she made such a convincing tale of her affairs -that she began to feel quite important. - -“Peter done sen’ her,” Aunt Mandy continued. “Peter he done know all -about her an’ when Peter speaks up fo’ white folks you know dey is -white folks fo’ fair. Yassum, Peter sent her an’ Si brung her.” - -“Be sure and ask Peter and Si in for some eggnogg and a piece of black -cake,” Miss Lucy commanded. - -“Thank you, ma’m! Thank you ma’m!” exclaimed Aunt Mandy, not divulging -that the invitation had already been extended. Mandy knew very well how -to manage her mistress, and that was never to let her know whose was -the hand that directed the destinies of the boarding house. - -“I’ll take dis hyar young lady up to her room, if you think bes’, Miss -Lucy, an’ den I’ll hump myse’f an’ dish up dis fust breakfas’.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -JOSIE FINDS A FRIEND - - -The hall bedroom that Mandy had decided was the suitable place for -Josie proved to be clean and comfortable. To be sure it was a third -floor back, but Josie liked to be high up and she also liked the -outlook on the back yards of the neighbors. - -“Yonder’s de ol’ Ellett place,” pointed Aunt Mandy. “It’s some run -down, but it wa’ sho a el’gant home in de ole days. I reckon dat ol’ -skinflint Cheatham will en’ by buildin’ ’partments dar. Some say he -cyarn’t git a clar title or he’d a been tearin’ down an’ puttin’ up -befo’ now. Yonder’s him dis blessed minute! Done step out ter view his -prop’ty.” - -Josie craned her neck to see the rear of poor Ursula’s home, and if -possible to get a good look at the villain, Cheatham. At any rate he -was in Louisville and not flying across the continent with poor little -Philip. - -“First, I must see the police here,” she decided ruefully. Seeing the -police--any police but her old friend Captain Charlie Lonsdale--was a -sore trial to Josie. Like most private detectives she was inclined to -look down somewhat on the regular force, but she was more interested in -having the wrongdoer tracked than in gaining honor and glory by being -the one to bring him in. - -“The important thing is to find little Philip and unless Captain -Charlie has already wired the Louisville police it is up to me to see -them.” - -One reason for Miss Lucy Leech’s success in running a boarding house -was that she attended strictly to her own business and let the guests -of her home attend to theirs. She had not gotten rich on this policy, -as it is said one may do, but she was at least able to keep her house -well filled and to save a comfortable sum for her old age, which was -in truth upon her, although she did not realize it. Now that the new -and somewhat mysterious young boarder, so highly recommended by the -hackman and the porter, decided to brave the slush and the fog and go -for a walk on Christmas morning, Miss Lucy asked no questions and in -consequence was told no lies. Josie thanked her in her heart and went -bravely forth. - -Two things were happening to the weather. The sun was clearing away the -fog and no longer looked so like an orange, and the thermometer was -dropping rapidly. Josie was glad of both changes. It was good to find -Louisville not the dismal place she had thought it on arriving, but a -very pleasing city. A fog is beautiful to an artist but the lay brother -prefers a clear day. As for the drop in temperature, it meant less -slush and easier walking and a bracing atmosphere that made Josie sniff -the air like a colt that has been pent up long in a stable. - -The young detective missed the homely friendliness of the Dorfield -chief, but had a feeling that the police force of Louisville was really -very adequate. The captain in charge was an alert, business-like -person, who took hold of the facts, as Josie expressed it to herself, -“like a woman.” - -“Now what are your plans?” he asked. Josie liked him because he didn’t -call her “miss.” Captain Charlie would have said: “What are your plans, -miss?” Josie liked being a girl but she hated being “missed” when she -was at work. - -“I reckon I’m going to hunt the motive first. I can’t see why anyone -would want to steal a little orphan boy, when the homes and asylums -are full of darling children waiting to be adopted. Philip is a lovely -child, but not the loveliest I have ever seen. Of course, I suspect -this Mr. Cheatham, but he is in Louisville this minute. I am going to -ascertain if he has been on a trip recently and look into his financial -standing. I am also going to Peewee Valley to see some old friends of -Miss Ellett. Miss Ellett is a peculiarly reticent person and it is very -difficult to get information from her as to her early life. She does -not intend to conceal anything, but the only way to get any information -out of her is to worm it out. She had very few friends owing to her -mother’s long illness and the peculiarities of her stepfather. Colonel -Trask’s family at Peewee Valley were her only intimates.” - -“She chose well while she was choosing,” said the police captain. -“Well, Miss O’Gorman, you seem to leave very little to the local police -force to do. Your name, combined with your methods, make me think -you must be some kin to the famous O’Gorman whose place can never be -filled. Am I right?” - -“My father,” said Josie softly. - -“Well! Well! Well!” he cried, jumping up from his desk and shaking the -girl by both hands. “I’ve worked with O’Gorman on many a case. My, he -was a wonder! I think you look like him.” - -Josie blushed with delight. Most girls would not like to be told they -resembled a funny looking little man with a blobby nose, but Josie -was as pleased as though the police captain had told her she must be -related to Mary Pickford. Anything at all connected with her beloved -father was almost sacred to the girl. When someone told her she looked -like him, or resembled him in traits, she had a better opinion of -herself all day. - -“Well, O’Gorman’s daughter will know how to coöperate,” said the -captain, “and that is more than can be said of most detectives. They -are always so anxious to get the credit that they will let the criminal -escape rather than see someone else capture him. O’Gorman was in the -business for the joy he got out of righting wrongs. He never waited to -be thanked and sometimes not even to be paid. I’ll be bound he died a -poor man.” - -“Not a rich one,” said Josie, “but if I live to be old there’ll be -enough to keep me out of the poorhouse and if I die young, enough to -bury me decently and start someone else in life.” - -“Spoken like your father!” laughed the captain. “He never told an -inquisitive person to mind his own business in so many words but he -usually let him know where to ‘get off’.” - -“I didn’t mean--” faltered Josie. - -“I know you didn’t mean, but you just did, and I respect you all the -more for it.” - -“Well, Father always did say that if you could not be trusted with your -own affairs you could not be trusted with other folks’. I have a habit -of taking it for granted that my business is of no interest to others. -I did not intend to be snippy.” - -“Exactly!” The man laughed silently. He could but mark that Josie still -kept to herself what money her father may or may not have left to his -only heir. - -“If you think best, I’ll go immediately to Peewee Valley and see the -Trasks. Miss Ellett tells me they are her best friends and I feel -perhaps they may know something of the movements of Cheatham. Before I -go, however, I’ll make a call on the nurses’ registrar and look into -the supposed whereabouts of this nurse Fitchet.” - -“I don’t see what you are leaving to me to do then,” said the captain, -smiling. - -“Well, I guess you have other cases on your docket just now, while this -is my sole interest. Good-bye, sir, and thank you for your courtesy!” -Josie was up and gone before the surprised man could say anything more. - -“Her father all over!” he grinned. “‘Waste not, want not!’ meant words -as well as food to Detective O’Gorman.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A VISIT TO PEEWEE VALLEY - - -“Thank the Lord for gossipy women!” Josie exclaimed as she left the -office of the nurses’ registrar, where she had readily engaged the -young woman at the desk in a spirited discussion concerning the various -nurses whose names were there registered. - -It was a simple matter to find out that Miss Fitchet was considered an -excellent nurse; also that she was thoroughly unpopular with her sister -nurses. She was in demand, however, because of her steady nerves. - -“Nothing knocks her out,” declared the registry clerk. “She wouldn’t -mind holding a man’s legs while the doctor cut off his arm. Blood’s -nothing more than water to her. Doctors like her because she attends -strictly to business, but the patients get fed up on her. They say she -isn’t human.” - -All this was poured forth in a gushing stream, when Josie asked -quite mildly if the girl happened to know a nurse by the name of -Fitchet, explaining she did not know her personally but that she had -some friends who knew her and they had suggested her as a person who -might care for Josie’s great uncle (a purely fictitious person). The -great uncle had not arrived in Louisville, but was expected shortly, -and would perhaps need a nurse. Josie was not sure of this. She just -thought she would step around and ask about Fitchet. - -“She’s got a job just now in Florida--at least she did have one--but -we’ve word from the party employing her that she has left them without -giving notice and now they’re trying to have us send them another. -It is no trouble for Fitchet to get a job, so I don’t mind telling -you that if you love your great uncle, I wouldn’t fool with Fitchet. -She’s liable to make him will her all his money and then starve him to -death. I’ve heard plenty of patients say that she eats up the goodies -sent to them right before their eyes, declaring they are too rich for -sick folks. I don’t like her, and I don’t care who knows it. I don’t -generally talk out this way to customers but I take such an interest in -your poor, dear great uncle. She’d land the poor dear man in the grave -in a month and then you’d find a will in her favor. She’s a slick one, -with her head cocked on one side and a grin like a panther.” - -“Did she come back to Louisville when she left the people in Florida?” -asked Josie, laughing. - -“Not yet! I reckon she’s frying fish somewheres else. But, young lady, -if you are hunting a nurse you let me recommend a lovely girl I know. -She’s as sweet as a peach and so accommodating she’ll cook and clean up -if need be and wash out the baby’s little sacques and socks--and press -his cap, strings and all.” - -“But my great uncle doesn’t wear sacques and caps and I fancy he can -get someone else to wash his socks,” teased Josie. - -“Oh, yes, I forgot. I was thinkin’ ’twas a baby. Anyhow, don’t get -Fitchet.” - -“All right, I won’t,” agreed Josie. - -“Won’t you leave your name and address?” suggested the girl. “My boss -always wants folks to leave their names and addresses.” - -“There’s hardly any use,” said Josie. “I’m not sure my great uncle is -coming, and if he does it is but a step to come to your office and -see you. I think a personal interview is so satisfactory. Don’t you? -Besides, I shall enjoy seeing you again.” - -The girl at the desk was flattered by Josie’s remarks and let her make -her escape without further insistence concerning names and addresses. - -“Well, I know where Fitchet isn’t, at least,” muttered Josie. “And now -for Peewee Valley!” - -The interurban car was on time and so was Josie. She could not help -smiling when she remembered Aunt Mandy’s description of this car and -her calling it the interbourbon. There were two men aboard who might -very well keep up the alleged reputation of the line, as their hip -pockets bulged suspiciously, and their gait suggested that they might -have been imbibing quite freely. - -The car filled rapidly with holiday makers and parties going to spend -Christmas day in the country with relations and friends. - -“I might feel sorry for myself if I wanted to,” thought Josie, “but -somehow I don’t. Here I am having no Christmas to speak of, but feeling -as chipper as you please, with a wonderfully interesting day ahead of -me. Poor Ursula is the one who may well feel sorry for herself, but I -am as sure as anything I’ll find Philip, and that before so very long. -But the motive for stealing him--what can it be? Ursula is as poor as -a church mouse. If it only wasn’t Christmas I’d sleuth around and find -out something about Cheatham’s business and his financial standing.” - -So Josie mused as those on Christmas pleasure bent squeezed her into -a corner of the car. She was thankful to have a seat next the window, -although at first the prospect of dirty snow and empty streets was not -so very pleasing. - -The trolley soon whizzed through the city into the suburbs and then -into open country, past pleasant homes where prosperity was the -keynote. Now the snow was clean and, wherever it had drifted aside, -instead of a bare brown patch, green grass met the eye, as is the way -in Kentucky. Blue grass will remain green through the winter under the -snow. - -Peewee Valley was remarkable for its wonderful beech trees, and the -fact that it was not a valley at all. In truth the trolley seemed to be -going up grade. The sun, which had seemed nothing but a round orange -through the smoke and fog of Louisville, was now shining brilliantly, -but the mercury was steadily falling in spite of old Sol and the air -was crisp and bracing. Josie remembered Mandy’s directions and stopped -the car at the post office. - -“That must be Colonel Trask’s,” she decided, standing for a moment in -the snow as the trolley whizzed out of sight, and gazing across the -road at a pleasant looking home well back from the road, approached by -an avenue bordered by maple trees. They were bare and gaunt on that -winter’s morning, but it was not difficult to picture them in full leaf -shading the road. Indeed, here and there was a bench which, though -covered with snow, made one think instinctively of summer days. - -The snow had been beaten down to a hard path on one side of the road -and the road itself gave evidence of much travel--prints of horses’ -hoofs and of automobile tires. The house, which could be seen from the -approach, was white with grey gabled roof, the sky line much broken -with dormer windows and great red chimneys. Josie counted five, with -smoke curling from every one of them. - -A sudden sound of sleigh bells and trotting horses! Josie was in a -brown study, trying to untangle the web woven around Ursula Ellett. She -found it difficult to fix her thoughts, since the general appearance -of the hospitable home she was approaching made her think, in spite -of herself, of roast turkey and goose, plum pudding and mince pies, -bulging Christmas stockings and fir trees blazing with candles. The -sound of sleigh bells made her jump. She felt almost that Santa Claus -himself was coming. So swiftly were the horses drawing the red cutter -over the beaten snow they had passed her almost before she could -collect her scattered senses. - -“Whoa!” commanded the driver, stopping his team a few feet beyond the -spot where Josie stood rooted in the snow. “Have a ride?” - -The driver was a young man of engaging manner and wonderfully even -teeth. That was the first impression made on Josie. Afterwards she -realized that he was an exceedingly handsome young Kentuckian, -blue-eyed, straight-nosed, clean cut and athletic. - -“Certainly!” She answered his invitation without hesitation. Female -detectives cannot afford to be squeamish, but it was not a detective -who sprang so readily into the red cutter--rather a young girl away -from home on Christmas morning, in whose ears the music of the sleigh -bells played an alluring tune and who was, in spite of the serious -business that had brought her to Louisville, longing for companionship. - -“Where are you going?” asked the young man. “I can take you wherever it -is, because my horses are eating their heads off in the stable and are -as wild to be up and out and racing as I am. I came on you so suddenly -I couldn’t tell which way you were headed.” - -“This way,” pointed Josie. “I am hunting some colored people. The woman -makes rag rugs and the man brooms. I was directed through Colonel -Trask’s place. I am on the right road, am I not?” - -“You are indeed. Colonel Trask is my father. But why hunt rag rug and -broom makers on Christmas morning?” - -“Because--but--oh, please tell me, are you Teddy?” - -“The same--and you?” - -Josie looked into the kind, clear, boyish, blue eyes and determined to -trust their owner with her story. - -“I am Ursula Ellett’s friend and I’m not really very much interested in -rag rugs and brooms.” - -The eyes hardened from blue to ice. - -“Ah, indeed!” he said with cold politeness. - -“I want to see your mother and father. Ursula--” - -“Miss Ellett is well, I hope.” - -“As well as could be expected, considering she is among strangers, -making a living for herself and her two little brothers and now the -younger brother, little Philip, has been stolen from her. Yes, very -well, thank you. I see I was mistaken in thinking Mr. Theodore Trask -was her friend, and since I have evidently touched on an uninteresting -subject, I shall ask you to stop your horses and let me get out.” - -Josie was angry--so angry she felt it almost impossible to refrain from -slapping the handsome face of her driver. His “Miss Ellett is well, I -hope,” was what had aroused her anger. The tone with which he had made -the seemingly harmless remark had enraged Josie, and the usually calm -little detective was in a boiling passion. - -The icy eyes melted a little, but the young man made no movement -towards stopping the horses. Instead, he turned them sharply around -in the avenue and headed them for the open road. With a word of -encouragement the beautiful creatures were urged to greater speed. -Josie was compelled to grasp her companion’s arm to steady herself. A -seat in an open cutter is a precarious one when a reckless driver and -his horses are feeling too full of pep. - -Josie took a long breath. She couldn’t help enjoying the sensation of -being forcibly carried off by an ice king, even though she did hate his -superciliousness. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -MR. CHEATHAM IS UNMASKED - - -“Cooled down a little by now?” asked Teddy Trask, after about a mile -of record-breaking trotting. “Now, Miss Friend--that’s the only name I -know you by--you listen to me a minute. I was Ursula Ellett’s friend. -In fact, I hoped I was going to be closer than a mere friend. My family -loved her from my father on down. We felt she must know we were to -be trusted and we trusted her. Imagine our feelings when she simply -departed from Louisville without saying one word to any of us, without -writing a line, even to my mother. Mr. Cheatham has been out to see us -and told us how her behavior has hurt him. He said she had requested -him not to inform us of her whereabouts and he was forced to respect -her wishes in the matter. He merely sends her a monthly remittance of -five hundred dollars, which surely should be enough for her to live on -very comfortably, without having to work so hard to support her little -brothers.” - -“Lies! Lies! All a pack of lies!” Josie flashed. - -“We might have thought that, if Ursula had done anything to contradict -what Cheatham has said, but her silence is enough to convince us that -we were not as dear to her as we had felt. He tells us she is soon to -be married to a multi-millionaire and also that she writes she cannot -pretend to any affection for him but that he is so rich she feels it -would be foolish to let such a chance slip.” - -“Ursula to be married! Ursula with a monthly remittance of five hundred -dollars! Really, Mr. Trask, I can’t believe you are serious. She has -been as poor as poor can be but now she is conducting a tea room in -a little shop called the Higgledy Piggledy Shop, of which I am part -owner, and the boys come and help after school and eat up all the cold -waffles for accommodation. All of the Higgledy Piggledies love Ursula -and her boys and last night someone came and kidnaped little Philip and -Ursula is wild with grief and I have come to Louisville to see if I can -get a clue to a motive for stealing the child, and in that way perhaps -track the villains.” - -“Well, Miss Friend, you sound convincing and what you say about the -cold waffles puts a human touch to your tale. But why, in the name of -Heaven, if all this is so, did Ursula not write to us?” - -“She dreaded what Cheatham might do to your family if you seemed in any -way to connive with her. She could not stay another minute in the house -with him and she is terribly afraid of him and the evil he might do to -her friends and her boys, even more than what he might do to her.” - -“She never told us she was afraid of Cheatham.” - -“Didn’t she? But you must have known she was unhappy over her mother’s -second marriage.” - -“She never said so. She always avoided the subject.” - -“That’s the real flaw in Ursula’s otherwise admirable character. She is -too reticent.” - -“That’s better than being a gusher,” exclaimed the young man vehemently. - -“Yes,” smiled Josie, amused at the suddenness with which Teddy had -veered around concerning Ursula, “but it is hard on a detective, who -is trying to unravel a mystery, when the persons interested give one -nothing to go on. I had a terrible time worming out of Ursula that -there was such a person as you and even when she told me there was she -gave no intimation that you were--well, a tolerably good-looking young -man who had leanings in her direction. She grew pale when she mentioned -your name, which led me to think that you were small and dark, with -maybe a hare lip.” - -Teddy laughed and spoke to his horses. - -“And the multi-millionaire?” he asked. - -“It’s a lie! I cannot see how you could believe Cheatham. I am sure -he has not known where Ursula was until lately, and he has never -communicated with her in any way, nor has she with him, since she left -Louisville. Has not your mother received a letter from Ursula? She -wrote one not long ago and hoped it would reach her before Christmas. -I persuaded her that she was wrong to keep silent any longer. Ursula -has been cowed by this terrible stepfather until she is afraid to do -anything but just hide away. You do believe me, don’t you?” - -“Of course, Miss Friend, I can’t help trusting you. I want to trust you -so much. I’ll tell you I have been very unhappy over Ursula, but I -was determined to overcome my love for her because I felt she was not -worthy of my regard. I believed all Cheatham said. He is a pleasant, -plausible fellow and he has pretended so much feeling for my family -because of Ursula’s behavior. - -“I see it all now! What fools we have been! Father doesn’t like Mr. -Cheatham but Father is such an old-fashioned gentleman that when -anyone is in his house he is as polite as can be. Cheatham has been -in our house a lot lately, too, when I come to think of it. By Jove, -he is coming to dinner today! You’ve simply got to see him. You said -something awhile back about detectives. Are you really one?” - -“Yes, but don’t give me away. I’m supposed to be out here hunting up -rag rugs and hand-made brooms for my arts and crafts shop.” - -“Give you away, indeed! I’m too excited about what you have told me and -too anxious to help. As for detectives: I read all the stories about -them I can get hold of and always think I could have managed the cases -better than they did.” - -“Good for you!” laughed Josie. “Now please tell me what you would do -about this case?” - -“First, I’d take you home to dinner and let you get a good look at Mr. -Cheatham. I’d like to wring his neck.” - -“Well, don’t look that way at him or he’ll not be able to eat his -dinner. But tell me, please, Mr. Trask, how are you going to explain me -to your family?” - -“Don’t Mr. Trask me! I’m Teddy now, even more so than when you first -got in my cutter.” - -“All right, Teddy!” - -“I tell you who you are. You’re a girl I used to know at Cornell, but -hanged if I haven’t forgotten your name.” - -“Miss Friend, Josie Friend. At least that is a right good working name, -and since you christened me you should remember it. My real name is -Josie O’Gorman.” - -“I used to read stories about Detective O’Gorman and his stunts. I tell -you he was a peach.” - -“He was my father,” said Josie, for the second time that day. - -“Jiminy crickets! I’d rather know you than Babe Ruth or Dempsey or -Douglas Fairbanks. Do you know you haven’t shaken hands with me yet?” - -Josie solemnly shook hands with the young man. - -“Remember to call me Miss Friend though, or Josie. I would not mention -the name of O’Gorman. Crooks are always shy of it and while Cheatham -hasn’t been found out yet, I’ll bet he knows who might have caught him -if he had broken the eleventh commandment.” - -“Well, if I am supposed to have known you well enough at Cornell to -pick you up and bring you home to dinner, I reckon I know you well -enough to call you plain Josie.” - -“Won’t your mother think I’m mighty forward to accept an invitation -from you to a family gathering on Christmas day?” - -“Oh, I’ll fix Mother. Don’t worry about her. And now, Josie, what am I -to say you were doing in Peewee Valley on this cold day?” - -“Why not let rag rugs and brooms be the motive? It went down with you -all right and why not with them?” - -“Yes it did!” he exclaimed scornfully. “I knew all the time you weren’t -after rag rugs.” - -“Then you knew a lot, because I really am going over to this cabin -and order a big lot for our shop. You have forgotten the shop. My -detective business is supposed to be a side issue and the shop is the -all important thing, since it is by running the shop that a number of -persons make a living. Being a detective is my art but helping to run -the Higgledy Piggledy Shop is my business.” - -“All right then, rag rugs and home-made brooms it shall be! I found you -standing on your head in a snow drift on your way to Uncle Abe’s cabin -and when I set you right side up you turned out to be the Josie Friend -I had known at Cornell, where you were specializing in--in--” - -“Psychology and domestic science!” said Josie, with a grin. - -“Exactly! I then drove you to the cabin. By the way, we’ll get there -finally on this road, although it is a long way round, but there is -plenty of time before dinner and my horses are simply prancing for a -good spin. Now, nobody is to know you ever heard of Ursula and you are -to catch Cheatham entirely off his guard.” - -“Fine! You have the makings of a real detective in you. In the meantime -can you furnish the slightest clue for the motive any one might have -had for kidnaping poor little Philip?” - -Teddy Trask could think of no reason and then Josie related to him all -she knew concerning Miss Fitchet’s appearance in Dorfield; how she -seemed to shadow Ursula and then disappeared and then about the woman -with run-down heels and blonde hair who had evidently been in the room -adjoining the apartment occupied by Ursula and her brothers. - -“I have a hunch that Cheatham is at the bottom of the whole thing and -that Fitchet is in his employ,” said Josie. “Fitchet came to Dorfield -to spy out the lay of the land before she went to Florida on this case -that she has just left within the last week. Cheatham wanted to know -what his stepchildren were doing and how they were living. Why he was -interested I do not know. Since then something has arisen that makes -him more interested. He sent for Fitchet and she dropped her case in -Florida and flew to do his bidding. Philip is now with her, but where? -Cheatham has not left Louisville, and as far as we know Fitchet has -not returned. I am trying to find out something about Ursula’s Uncle -Ben Benson, but nobody seems to know of his whereabouts since he left -Louisville when his sister married Cheatham.” - -“Gee! You sound like the old lady in ‘The Circular Staircase’ or the -man in ‘The Gold Bug’.” - -“Do you think you might casually bring in the name of Uncle Ben -Benson? Ask your father, for instance, if he ever knew him. Say you -heard someone mention him at the club and the man wondered if he had -died. Say another man at the club was under the impression he was -dead--thought he had seen something in a foreign dispatch concerning -his death. Just make up any old thing and don’t be too explicit or too -much interested.” - -“Sure I can! I’ll be the casual one and you do the watching of -Cheatham. There’ll more than likely be a big bunch of folks at dinner. -Anita always has a crowd around her and Mother and Father rake in -guests with a heavy hand around Christmas time. I haven’t asked anyone -on my own hook this year, so it is pretty fine that I found you -standing on your head in the snowdrift. The truth of the matter is I -am really missing Ursula such a lot and I couldn’t seem to make up my -mind to jolly up much, with her away and getting ready to marry a -multi-millionaire.” - -Josie patted the big glove on the hand next to her that held the reins -to the prancing steeds and the young man looked down at her gratefully. -She gave him a merry glance. - -“By the way, Teddy, if you see me looking fish-eyed don’t be -astonished. I want Cheatham to think I’m so stupid he won’t have to -be on his guard with me. Another thing: my shop must not be spoken of -by name, as no doubt Fitchet has told him Ursula was working for the -Higgledy Piggledies at Dorfield, so suppose you let me represent a firm -in Youngstown, Ohio.” - -“All right, Miss Particular! What you say goes and nothing you may say -and any way you may look won’t astonish me. Watch me be about as big a -sleuth as there is in America. Please let me tell you how much happier -I am since you got in my cutter.” - -“I’m more cheerful, too,” said Josie, “although I shouldn’t be when -there is poor Ursula eating her heart out with misery. I couldn’t be -as cheerful as I am if I were not perfectly sure we will find little -Philip.” - -“Sure we will find him,” said Teddy. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -IN AN OLD KENTUCKY HOME - - -The cabin of Sis Minerva and Brer Abe was so picturesque that Josie -regretted not having a camera with her. It was of logs with a stone -chimney, that leaned outward as though bowing an invitation to Santa -Claus to enter. Bright geraniums peeped from the windows, where -hung wreaths of holly and swamp berries. A hound barked as they -approached and then ran under the house, routing out a hog that had -been comfortably scratching his back on the joists of the floor of the -lean-to summer kitchen. Several coon skins were nailed to the side of -the house, there to tan in the wind and sun--a natural method often -employed in the country. - -The old couple were at home, enjoying themselves according to their -respective tastes. Sis Minerva was stirring up a custard, which she -intended to freeze with the timely snow and Abe playing on his old -accordion, which was so much the worse for wear it was necessary to -bribe several of the many grandchildren to stand by and pinch the -cracks together to extract anything like a tune from the ancient -instrument. - -“I done mended and mended ’til ’tain’t no use in mendin’ no mo’. Fas’ -as I mends in one place she bus’ out in another, an’ bein’ as I’s -got mo’ gran’babies dan I is time I jes uses ’em stid er glue,” Abe -explained. - -The interior of the cabin was even more picturesque than the exterior. -Brer Abe, in his clean Christmas shirt and long tailed brass-buttoned -coat, a relic of his coachman days, sat in an arm chair, his feet in -grey yarn socks stretched to the cheerful burning logs piled up in the -great fireplace. He was playing a sad and mournful hymn on the cracked -accordion with three little children hanging desperately to the places -that were beyond mending. Sometimes the air demanded that he must -stretch his arms far apart and then one little girl would be lifted -almost from her feet in her endeavor not to let the “chune git out de -wrong way.” - -Teddy and Josie peeped in the window for a moment before knocking. The -barking of the dog had not been noticed, because of the wailing hymn, -and all unconscious of an audience the old man squirmed out his melody. - -Sis Minerva appeared at the door of the kitchen, a huge yellow bowl in -her arms. - -“Hi, you, Abe, cain’cha play a perkier chune? My cake dough am likely -ter fall with me tryin’ to keep time ter sech a buried-an’ dug-up song. -This yer cake air gotter be beat fas’ an’ stiddy so you jes’ change yo’ -chune or quit playin’.” - -“How kin I carry a fas’ chune when every time I draws out for wind I -haster carry two, three gran’babies?” whined the old husband. - -“Here, gimme that aircawjun!” exclaimed Sis Minerva, putting down -her bowl of cake batter on the highboy out of reach of the many -grandchildren. “I’ll mend it in no time. I done saved more’n a sheet or -so o’ dat tangle-yo-foot fly paper an’ I boun’ it’ll stick fas’ as yo’ -hide.” She produced the fly paper and mended the instrument while Josie -and Teddy peered through the flowering geraniums on the homely, happy -scene. - -Teddy’s knock on the door silenced the noise of the grandchildren, but -old Abe must finish his tune, explaining later with many apologies that -it was “wuss ter quit in the middle of a chune than ter lay off befo’ -a sneeze wa’ properly snuz.” - -“Please go on with your tune,” begged Teddy. - -“And don’t stop stirring your cake,” Josie insisted when Sis Minerva -prepared to remove the yellow bowl to the lean-to. “Let me stir it for -you. I know how, really and truly.” - -She took the bowl from the old woman and, with a practiced hand, began -a rhythmic beat that satisfied Sis Minerva her guest was no idle -boaster. - -“I smell ’possum roasting,” sniffed Teddy. - -“Deed an’ you do, an’ sweet ’taters ’long with. I been a-fattenin’ dat -’possum fo’ nigh onter two months, not dat he wa’ no spindle shanks -when I cotched him. De trouble am de chilluns done got so ’tached ter -de animule I feel kinder like I’d done skun a gran’baby fo’ Chris’mus -dinner. De smell of him a cookin’ air put heart in us all, an’ I -reckons by de time we sets up to de table we won’t feel so like we’s -a-eatin’ of kinfolks.” - -“We done ruminated right smart ’bout whether we’d make a burnt offerin’ -of de tame possum or my ol’ gander an’ I puts in a word fo’ de gander -an’ cas’ my vote for de ’possum,” Sis Minerva explained. “You see dat -ol’ gander air already so tough he cain’t git no tougher an’ de ’possum -wa’ so fat he couldn’t git no fatter, so all things bein’ ekal we skun -de ’possum.” - -“I’ve been sent to you by your cousin in Louisville, Aunt Mandy at Miss -Lucy Leech’s. She tells me you weave carpets and make quilts and that -Uncle Abe can make those lovely brooms with the handles formed of the -broom straw wrapped with split oak,” said Josie. - -“Well, ain’t it the trufe? Lawsamussy chil’, Mandy am right. Me’n Abe -keeps right well, with me a plaitin’ rugs an’ patchin’ quilts an’ him -a-fashionin’ brooms dat one time folks scorned when fact’ry brooms got -so plentiful like, but now air come back inter fashion sence white -folks took ter livin’ in one story houses what they calls bugaboos, -with open fire-places an’ brick hearths what has ter be swep’ up.” - -Josie must see the quilts Sis Minerva had on hand and admire the -log-cabin, pine-tree and rising-sun patterns. Orders were given -for several quilts and rugs and as many brooms as Uncle Abe could -spare. The shipping of the wares to another state seemed to be an -insurmountable obstacle to the old couple, but Teddy promised to -attend to it for them and their minds were set at rest. - -“I’ll have ter git busy an’ raise mo’ broom straw,” sighed Uncle Abe. -“I’s gittin’ right stiff in de jints fer breakin’ up lan’ an’ I ain’t -got a single gran’baby big enough ter mo’n han’le a hoe.” - -“But where there are so many grandchildren there must be some -children,” suggested Josie. “Haven’t you any sons and daughters?” - -“Plenty of ’em, but dey’s mos’ly lef’ dese parts. We hears from some er -’em now an’ den an’ dey ’members us when dey gits flush an’ when dey -gits broke an’ evy now an den one er de litter turns up with a baby fer -de ol’ folks ter raise. De gals all got married but mos’ of ’em is out -in service an’ nobody don’t want ter hire ’em with ’cumbrances. An’ de -boys dey all got married but looks lak dey wives air all time dyin’ or -something an’ den de offspring lands up here at Peewee Valley. Me’n my -Minervy ain’t a kickin’. De chilluns air right smart comp’ny fer us an’ -we air a bringin’ ’em up ter wuck. De bigges’ gal kin make the purties’ -baskets out’n biled honeysuckle vines you ever seen. Dey done sol’ de -whole lot in Lou’ville befo’ Chris’mus so they ain’t got none on han’, -but I’s a-wonderin’ if you ain’t wantin’ some er dem too.” - -“I certainly do,” said Josie. “No doubt they could be shipped with the -other things and I am sure there would be a sale for the baskets in -Dorfield.” - -The young basket maker grinned with delight. “Does you fancy big uns -or lil’ uns?” she asked with an air of being ready to go to work -immediately. - -“Both, and medium-sized ones, too.” - -The price for the various commodities being settled upon, Teddy -suggested it might be time to eat their own turkey and let Uncle Abe -and Aunt Minerva eat their ’possum. With many protestations of mutual -satisfaction from buyer and sellers, Josie was tucked in the cutter and -the eager horses started on their homeward journey. - -“If you don’t mind, I’ll stop at the post office on my way home,” said -Teddy. “The postmistress is mighty nice about letting you have mail on -holidays if she happens to be around.” - -She did happen to be around and Teddy came out bearing the letter from -Ursula to Mrs. Trask. - -“Do you know I’ve more than half a mind not to give this to Mother yet? -She’d be so full of it she couldn’t help giving herself away to old -Cheatham and he mustn’t know we know a thing about Ursula yet.” - -“Young man, Uncle Sam needs you in the diplomatic service and needs -you badly,” declared Josie. “May I ask what you do when you are not -befriending female detectives?” - -“I am a lawyer,” answered Teddy. “Some day I intend to be a justice of -the Supreme Court, but up to this time I have collected a few bad debts -and sued the Louisville and Nashville Railroad for one cow belonging -to a disreputable family living over by the crossing. I won my case -and the disreputable family not only got paid for the cow but had -beefsteaks to burn, to say nothing of the hide which they sold to a -tanner.” - -“Good!” laughed Josie. “I wish I had studied law, too. I am really -contemplating taking it up if I can ever get time to spare. It might -have been a good stunt if I had put my imaginary time at Cornell on law -instead of domestic science.” - -“Well, please don’t mix me up on what you did at Cornell. I’ve got it -firmly fixed in my mind that psychology and domestic science were your -tickets and I mustn’t get involved in my story.” - -“All right, I’ll keep dark about the law if you wish me to, but I -certainly do wish I might have taken even an imaginary course.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -A GREAT CHRISTMAS FEAST - - -The Christmas guests had gathered when Teddy drew rein at the yard gate -of his father’s hospitable mansion. There were several cars parked -along the driveway and a large family sleigh was being unloaded just -ahead of him. - -“Christmas gift, Jo! Christmas gift, Sue--you, too, Billy! Christmas -gift, Aunt Julia! Christmas gift, Uncle Tom!” he called, and in turn -was deluged with cries of “Christmas gift” from the occupants of the -sleigh. - -“It was bully of you all to drive over. Mother was so afraid you might -not venture in the snow, but I was sure you would come. I want all of -you to meet my friend Miss Friend, Josie for short. She’s heard a lot -about you and is just dying to know you.” - -“I am sure we have heard a lot about you, too,” murmured Aunt Julia -politely. - -“More about you than you have about us, I’ll be bound,” said Uncle Tom -with a genial wink. - -As Josie had never heard a word about them and was not even aware of -the surnames of these kindly kinsmen of her host, she could vouch -for their having at least heard as much about her as she had about -them and as they knew her last name--that is the last name she had -assumed--she might even agree that they knew more of her than she did -of them. At any rate, they were kind and cordial and willing to take -her on Teddy’s say-so. It was Christmas day and Josie was determined to -make the most of the opportunity to have a good old-fashioned time in -a good old-fashioned way, while she was engaged in picking up as much -information as possible concerning Ursula and the kidnaping of little -Philip. - -The house was gay with holly and running cedar, with great bunches of -mistletoe hung from the chandeliers and wreaths of swamp berries in -every window. The piny odor of the evergreens, mingled with that of -choice foods, made Josie’s nostrils twitch with pleasure. - -“Mother, I’ve brought a friend in to dinner,” Teddy said simply. He -took Josie’s arm and presented her to the sweet-faced lady who was -standing in the middle of the spacious parlor. “Josie Friend, Mother.” - -“I am so glad to see you.” The words were so simple and so genuinely -spoken that Josie was sorry, even for a short time, to have to seem to -be something she was not. She longed to be able to tell this lovely -woman who she was and how she happened to be in Peewee Valley on that -white Christmas. However, she realized the importance of carrying out -the program she and Teddy had planned and merely said, “Thank you,” in -response to Teddy’s mother and, “Thank you,” again when Colonel Trask -was equally cordial. - -“That is Cheatham!” Teddy whispered, as a tall, rather commanding, -figure appeared in the doorway. Josie controlled herself not to look at -the man too closely, but began talking to Uncle Tom, who had taken a -stand near her. Uncle Tom was easy to talk to because all one had to do -was listen. - -“Pleasant gathering,” he said “Mighty pleasant. Been coming here to -Christmas dinner ever since I can remember. Married Julia Bowles, you -know, Anita’s sister--Mrs. Trask, that is--but I reckon Teddy has told -you all the ins and outs of the family. Fine family, good housekeepers, -good friends, plenty of looks, plenty of money, good characters, good -citizens. I don’t always like their friends, but it’s none of my -business who comes here.” - -“Who is that man in the doorway?” asked Josie, designating Cheatham, -thinking she might get a side line on his traits from Uncle Tom. - -“Cheatham! He’ll do it, all right, all right. I can’t abide that man. -But I’m not obeying the rules of hospitality to be criticizing a fellow -guest to a fellow guest.” - -“I won’t tell,” laughed Josie. - -“Of course not. Anybody that’s a friend of Teddy’s is sure to be a -good sport--that is, anybody but Cheatham. I never could understand my -sister-in-law and her son in allowing that man to darken their doors. -That’s what he does to a door when he enters it. He sure does darken -it. As for Colonel Trask, I know he can’t stand the man any more than I -can, but he’s one of these old time courtly men who let the women folk -rule them. Me? I tell you nobody bosses me. If my Julia tried that game -on me, I tell you I’d--I’d--” - -“Tom, go out and look in the sleigh for my glasses. Don’t say ‘send one -of the children,’ because I’m sure they would break them. Go along, -Tom! That’s a dear,” said Aunt Julia in a tone not to be questioned. - -“Yes, my dear!” from the valorous Tom. - -“I’ll go help find them,” suggested Josie. “Men never know how to find -things,” and then she whispered to Uncle Tom as they started towards -the front door, “I really believe your wife’s glasses are hanging by -a hook on the front of her dress. I saw something dangling there. Why -don’t you look?” - -“I’ll bet they are. Won’t I have a good laugh on her, though!” - -Josie was right and Uncle Tom was jubilant over the joke on Aunt Julia. - -“I tell you, Miss Friend, you are a regular detective.” - -As a detective was the last thing Josie wanted to seem to be, she was -almost sorry she had seen the eyeglasses, but at least she was able to -detain Uncle Tom in conversation concerning Mr. Cheatham. - -“You were saying you didn’t like that handsome man over there,” she -suggested. - -“Handsome! As handsome as ten-cent store silver! He’s a crook, I tell -you--a veritable crook. How decent people receive him is more than I -can see.” - -“What does he do that is crooked?” asked Josie innocently. - -“That’s just where his crookedness comes in,” exploded Uncle Tom. -“Nobody can put their fingers on his crookedness. He always manages to -get out before he gets in.” - -“Is he married?” - -“Widower with stepchildren, and now pretending he has to keep the -children in luxury although they even tried to kill him. Some people -in Louisville believe him, but not me. You can fool some of the people -all of the time and all the people some of the time but Cheatham hasn’t -ever fooled me. I know a crook when I see him and he is as crooked as a -snake.” - -At this moment Josie was carried off by Teddy to meet some more of the -friends gathered under his father’s roof for Christmas dinner. - -“Related to the Virginia Friends?” one old man asked. “Petersburg -people?” - -Josie was fearful that she might get caught in a genealogical web and -quickly repudiated Virginia kin, explaining she was the last of her -line. - -Dinner soon was announced, much to Josie’s relief. Not only was she -hungry, but she felt that when the guests began to eat they would not -evince quite so much interest in her relations. Teddy arranged matters -so that they sat directly opposite Cheatham. - -“We can look right down his throat,” he explained in a whisper. “You -watch him and I’ll get him going.” - -Josie had heard of groaning boards, but she had never heard one before. -The table at the Trasks’--although it was of solid mahogany--literally -creaked with the weight of the Christmas dinner. The fact that it was -stretched to its utmost length and the drop-leaf side-tables pressed -into service to make it even longer may have been responsible for -its audible groaning. A twenty-pound turkey at one end, and a huge -home-cured ham at the other, were flanked with dishes of escalloped -oysters, mashed potatoes, squash, spinach, celery, chicken salad, every -kind of pickle known to housewives, cranberry sauce, currant jelly and -other things that escaped one’s eye in the multiplicity of dishes. - -Little attempt was made to serve the guests by the numerous servants, -who contented themselves by standing against the walls, grinning -happily over the prospect of the “leavin’s” that were sure to follow -such a feast and the “totin’s” they could no doubt accomplish on that -blessed Christmas day. - -There were at least thirty guests seated at the long table in the great -dining room, and in the breakfast room adjoining the children were -holding high carnival at a table prepared especially for them. Their -happy voices and loud clamorings for turkey gizzards and drum sticks -could be heard above the clatter of knives and forks and tongues in the -grown-ups’ dining room. - -“We always have a general scramble on Christmas day,” Teddy explained -to Josie. “There is no use in trying to have orderly service or put on -any style. It is always catch-as-catch-can at this Christmas dinner. -The same people come year after year, with an occasional addition. -Ursula used always to come, but this is the first time Cheatham has -been here on this day. He has been getting powerful thick out here -lately, now I come to think about it, and I’m just wondering why.” - -Josie was not wondering at all. It was plain to see that Mr. Cheatham -was paying court to Anita Trask, but, brother like, Teddy was the last -to suspect that anyone was attentive to his sister. Anita was a very -pretty girl, with her brother’s fair hair and blue, blue eyes. She was -young and a bit shy, and evidently flattered by the devotion of the -handsome, middle-aged man who was seated next to her at the table. - -“Ursula, Ursula,” thought Josie, “what a mistake you have made in -concealing from these kind friends the trouble you have had with your -stepfather! Had Mr. Trask dreamed of the real character of the man, he -never would have permitted him the freedom of his house and the right -to pay court to his daughter. Too great reticence and secretiveness is -worse than being a downright blabber. I only hope it is not too late to -spare Anita a heartache. She is certainly interested in her neighbor, -who no doubt can be as fascinating as he can be cruel and overbearing.” - -Josie began to feel sorrier than ever for Ursula, because she was not -in her usual place at this unique gathering. Such a genial host and -gracious hostess! Such hungry guests and such plentiful food! Such -willing, if ineffectual, servants! Such gay badinage and good-natured -raillery! In ten minutes Josie felt almost as though she belonged. -Everybody accepted her simply and naturally. If she was Teddy’s friend, -she was everybody’s friend. She never was called on to explain her -presence in Peewee Valley and the tale of rag rugs and brooms and bed -quilts and baskets did not have to be told. Uncle Tom had begun to be -a little curious and was beginning on his questionnaire when cranberry -sauce and a turkey thigh switched him off the track and he forgot he -had not found out all he wanted to know. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -A TRAP FOR MR. CHEATHAM - - -The time had come for mince pie and plum pudding, wine, jelly and ice -cream--not that anyone had room for everything, but one could always -try. The table was being cleared and there was a lull in the hubbub of -conversation as well as the clatter of knife and fork. - -“Father,” Teddy said quite distinctly and in a voice that carried to -the foot of the table where Colonel Trask had been carving the ham as -only he could, “Father, I heard the other day at the club, at least I -think it was there, but I can’t remember just who it was that said it, -that Mr. Ben Benson was dead.” - -“Ah, indeed!” - -“Yes! The man said he had seen a notice of it in some foreign -newspaper. At least, I think that was what he said.” - -“Poor Ursula!” ejaculated Mrs. Trask. “I wonder if it is true. But you -must know, Mr. Cheatham,” she said, turning to that guest. - -“By Jove! Of course!” said the perfidious Teddy, pretending he had -forgotten the connection between Cheatham and the subject of his -remark. “Why he was your brother-in-law!” - -If at this juncture a fellow diner had taken the trouble to notice the -young lady introduced by the son of the house as Miss Josie Friend, he -would have seen a remarkably stupid-looking young person with dull eyes -and no expression to speak of--quite a different person from the gay, -clever girl who had been riding in Teddy’s cutter not so many minutes -before. In fact, Mr. Cheatham did glance at her when Teddy had first -mentioned the name of Ben Benson. Not that he was attracted by her in -the least, or had any curiosity concerning her, but he had to look -somewhere and it happened to be at her. In spite of his confusion over -Teddy’s announcement it flashed through his mind that the girl across -the table had no doubt eaten too much turkey and roast ham. He wondered -if she could hold plum pudding. - -The truth of the matter was Josie had eaten sparingly, although every -mouthful had been enjoyed, but she felt that her wits must not be -dulled by over-feeding. Mr. Cheatham, not foreseeing that his wits -would be in demand, had helped himself plentifully and genially to -every dish that came his way and was in consequence not in a condition -to control his countenance when Teddy blurted out that he had heard Ben -Benson was dead. - -Mrs. Trask’s “poor Ursula” but added to his discomposure, and when -she turned on him and demanded of him further information he could -cheerfully have twisted her gentle neck. When Teddy had announced in -his loud, ringing tones that Ben Benson was his brother-in-law, Mr. -Cheatham felt the blood mounting to his face and for a moment a strange -dizziness held him. - -“Arrested digestion!” was Josie’s mental diagnosis. “A shock coming too -closely on the heels of ham and turkey and various side dishes.” - -Had Mr. Cheatham realized that his face had taken on first a crimson -then a purple tinge, and now was fading to green, he would have been -more unhappy than he was, and he was uncomfortable enough. He found his -voice somewhere and seemed to raise it as if through packed-down layers -of dinner. He wondered if it sounded as strange to other persons as to -him. - -“I--I know nothing about Ben Benson, but I do not believe he is dead. -I can assure you my stepdaughter has been in constant correspondence -with him and surely if he had died she would have known. Although her -behavior to me has been unnatural beyond belief, I am sure she would at -least inform me should she learn of her uncle’s death.” - -“Of course she would!” declared Teddy heartily. - -“Of course!” murmured Mrs. Trask. - -Mr. Cheatham’s digestive process was resumed, so decided Josie. Green -gave place to violet and then to his accustomed ruddy complexion. He -heaved a great sigh and accepted the wedge of mince pie handed him by -Anita. - -Josie felt Teddy’s arm give hers a gentle pressure. She was grateful to -him for not attempting to catch her eye. - -“You might hit him again before so very long,” she suggested, as the -clatter of pie forks again made a confidential remark possible. - -“Watch me!” murmured Teddy in an audible tone, and a casual listener -would have thought he meant watch him eat pie. - -“I wonder if Mr. Benson has made any money,” Teddy ventured in a -loud conversational tone. “I gathered from the men I happened to hear -speak of him that the general opinion was he had done pretty well -since he left home. I can’t recall what they said he did--sheep in -Australia--diamond mines in Africa--” - -“Give me sheep every time,” broke in Uncle Tom. “Ben Benson was a -good fellow and loyal to the core. I do hope he hasn’t died and that -he has made money and will come back here and look after his sister’s -children.” - -Uncle Tom had over-eaten, too, and it had made him slightly crabbed and -inclined to pick a quarrel. So, not liking Cheatham, he felt a row with -him would be a grand top-off to the heavy dinner. Cheatham, however, -only turned purple again and let the insult pass. - -“I understand Ursula is to be married soon,” said Mrs. Trask gently, -“and to a very rich man, but no doubt she would be overjoyed to see her -uncle again.” - -“Well! Well! Who is the man?” asked Uncle Tom. He addressed his remark -to Mr. Cheatham and that unhappy man was compelled to answer. - -“My stepdaughter has not confided in me to the extent of informing me -of her fiance’s name. She has merely formally announced her intention -of marrying and divulged that the man is a millionaire.” - -At this point Josie felt it difficult to hold the stupid expression she -had assumed. She could but remember poor Ursula’s poverty and her brave -struggle to support her little brothers. Even now she was in sorrow and -misery at the loss of Philip. Was Ursula having any Christmas turkey -or any dinner at all for that matter? She trusted Irene and the kind -Conants to see to her creature comforts. She determined the moment -she got back to Louisville to get Bob Dulaney on the long distance -telephone and find out all about her forlorn friend. - -It seemed hard that the truth should be kept for even one hour from -Colonel and Mrs. Trask and Anita. Here they were believing the most -cruel things of their former friend, while the poor girl was in extreme -misery in a strange town. Josie was thankful when she remembered -the kind Conants and Irene. She was sure Elizabeth Wright and Mary -Louise would come forward to offer their friendship and help and -that Bob Dulaney and Danny Dexter and all of the persons connected -remotely with the Higgledy Piggledies would be ready with sympathy and -assistance. - -“I can’t see that I am getting anywhere,” Josie said to Teddy when -dinner was finally over and the guests sought drawing room, hall and -sitting room. “We know that Cheatham does not like to mention his -stepchildren and avoids the subject of Ben Benson, but can you make -anything else of the business?” - -“Sure I can! He knows something about Ben Benson and he wishes to -appear innocent of all concern about him.” - -“I wish I could get into his house. I am sure I could find -incriminating evidence of some kind.” - -“That’s easy. You just leave it to me and also follow me.” Teddy -sauntered up to where Mr. Cheatham was standing talking to Mrs. Trask. -He was evidently bent on disabusing his hostess’ mind of any belief in -the report of Ben Benson’s death. - -“Just idle rumor,” he asserted. - -“I am sure it was,” broke in Teddy amiably. “Of course, if you know -nothing of it it could not be true. By the way, Mr. Cheatham, how is -your radio machine coming on? Is it satisfactory?” - -“Very! I am quite a fan.” - -“So I understand. Do you know here is a young lady who has never heard -a concert or lecture by wireless?” said Teddy, drawing Josie into the -circle. “She is curious to hear one, too. She just told me it was the -height of her ambition. Anita is a novice at radio also. As for me, I -get quite fed up on wireless at the club.” - -“And you, Mrs. Trask, are you interested?” asked Mr. Cheatham. - -“Yes, indeed!” - -“Well, suppose we make up a little party--say for to-morrow. All of -you, your guest of course,” turning with stiff courtesy to Josie, -whom he had taken for granted was a house guest of his hostess. “We -will have dinner at seven and then we can listen in on the radio all -evening. Will Colonel Trask do me the honor to be one of the party?” - -Colonel Trask pleaded other engagements. Teddy whispered to his mother -not to disabuse Cheatham’s mind concerning Josie’s being for the time -a member of their household. Mrs. Trask had taken a liking to Josie -from the first and in spite of being somewhat mystified at her sudden -appearance at the Christmas party was ready to accept her as Teddy’s -friend and willing to defer all questionings as to who she was or how -she happened to be in Peewee Valley. - -“Now aren’t you getting somewhere?” whispered Teddy. - -Josie had to acknowledge that she was. To enter the old Ellett house as -a guest of the present master was surely an opportunity to search for -the motive of the kidnaping. - -“After everyone is gone we must tell your mother about Ursula, and you -must give her the letter from the poor dear,” said Josie. - -The guests soon dispersed and then Josie and Teddy were closeted with -Mrs. Trask, who listened with eagerness to all they had to say of -Ursula. She wept over the letter and was violent in what she had to say -of Cheatham, who had so wickedly estranged them from the poor girl. She -readily agreed with her son and Josie that for the time being they must -not let Cheatham know that his perfidy was known to them. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -AN ANONYMOUS LETTER - - -While Josie feasted and schemed in the pleasant home of Colonel and -Mrs. Trask in Peewee Valley, there were sad hearts in Dorfield. With no -news of little Philip, and no word from Josie, Ursula had almost wept -her spirit from her eyes. - -Uncle Peter and Aunt Hannah Conant had done all they could to make -Ursula and Ben feel that they were a real uncle and aunt instead of -chance acquaintances. Irene had begged them to come and stay with her -and had eagerly insisted upon sharing her room with Ursula while Ben -was to have the tiny hall room next to the old couple, but Ursula felt -she must remain in her own little apartment, in case some word from -Philip might arrive. - -Josie had departed on the midnight train and the rest of the night -dragged by, Ben sleeping in spite of himself, because he did not -want to sleep at all, but his heavy eyelids refused to stay open. -Ursula occasionally dropped into a doze but would awaken with a start, -dreaming someone was bringing news of her little brother. - -Christmas morning dawned with a bright sun sparkling on the deep snow. -Dorfield was alive with sleighing parties and holiday noises, the -popping of fire crackers and shouts of boys and girls coasting down the -hill on the main street of the town, regardless of traffic regulations. -There was a good hill on that street and coasting was a sport long -before traffic regulations were even heard of--and so it continued. - -Mary Louise and her Danny came immediately to Ursula as soon as the -news of Philip was telephoned to them by Irene. They, too, insisted -upon taking the Elletts home with them, but Ursula still was determined -upon staying in her own home. Elizabeth Wright appeared on the wings of -the wind and eager to do anything possible for the girl whom she had -learned to love and respect. - -“And dear Philip,” she cried, with tears running down her cheeks, “you -know how much I loved him, Ursula. I didn’t mean to say loved him--I -mean love him. We are going to have him back with us in no time.” - -Captain Charlie Lonsdale telephoned from police headquarters that no -stone was being left unturned in the search for the child and Bob -Dulaney came twice within an hour to find out if any news had been -received by Ursula and to assure her that he was getting busy. - -The day passed, as days do, whether they be gay or sad. At dusk a boy -brought two telegrams for Ursula, one from Josie and one from Teddy -Trask. - -Josie’s was merely a ten-word message of hope and cheer with directions -as to how to reach her in case of news of the missing child. Teddy -did not confine himself to the usual ten words, but spread himself as -though he were writing a night letter. In it he assured Ursula of his -lasting regard and informed her that he was doing what he could to -assist Josie. - -Ursula’s heart was a little lighter after reading the telegrams. She -felt that Josie was sure to do the wise and prudent thing, and the fact -that her dear friends, the Trasks, were once more in touch with her, -made her feel that her trouble was at least shared. - -Bob Dulaney came in again to tell her he had just had a talk over the -long distance ’phone with Josie, who had called him up asking for -news, and had told him she was hard at work on the case and had got the -police force of Louisville interested also. - -“Josie is a regular peach when it comes to finding kids and she will -land little Philip in no time,” declared Bob. “That girl has a born -instinct for going right. She’d sure make a good gum-shoe reporter. Did -you ever hear how she and I nabbed the thief who was going off with -Mary Louise’s wedding presents?” - -Ursula had heard it but she pretended she hadn’t and Bob had the -extreme pleasure of recounting the whole adventure in his best -newspaper style. - -“Now don’t forget, Miss Ellett, that if you receive any communication -of any sort you will inform me or Chief Lonsdale.” - -“Yes, Josie made me promise that I would do that. Why do you think they -have taken my little brother, Mr. Dulaney? Do you think there was any -motive but simply one to annoy and distress me?” - -“I do. People don’t engage in such dangerous crime just to be annoying. -Josie is out hunting a motive and I am working with that thought as a -basis of investigation too. I don’t know how the police are proceeding. -They usually work with a kind of sledge hammer method that hits what -gets in its way but doesn’t get into the cracks much, or seek out the -hidden things.” - -Bob’s visit cheered Ursula. It was a comforting thing to know that -something was being done. She felt helpless and useless herself. All -she could do was sit by the window in her living room and gaze out on -the snow, wondering where her little brother was and if he thought of -her and missed her as she did him. She was thankful that the kidnaper -had taken his overcoat and warm sweater. At least he would not be cold. -She remembered that his shoes had but recently been half soled. His -feet would be dry. Whoever stole him did not want him to suffer or he -or she would not have taken his clothes. Even his little red mittens -and woolen comforter were gone. Perhaps he was being well treated after -all. Who could want to be unkind to little Philip? So ran Ursula’s -thoughts. - -That night Ursula slept. A confidence in the goodness of God enveloped -her like a mantle. A strange feeling of peace came over her. Ben -noticed it as he kissed her good-night after they had knelt together -and prayed. - -“Why, Sister, your face looks as if a light was behind it.” - -“There is, Ben. It is the light of Hope and Faith. It is wicked of -me to be so despondent. I am going to keep on hoping and praying and -believing and I am sure our baby will be brought back to us.” - -“Oh, Sister, how glad I am! I won’t be ashamed if I go to sleep -to-night. Last night I kept pinchin’ myself to keep awake, although I -felt all the time that Phil was comin’ back to us.” - -“My dear, indeed you must sleep so you will grow big and strong and can -take care of little Philip and me,” smiled Ursula. - -The morning after Christmas found them much calmer and the confidence -of the night before remained with them. Ursula busied herself by -cleaning her apartment and darning all the stockings, although she -could not help shedding a few tears over the big holes in the knees of -Philip’s. - -“He got those playin’ bear,” said Ben. “Phil sure does love to play -grizzly.” - -Another day passed and no news. The same persons called and the same -telephoned. Mary Louise sent Ursula a dainty tray of food and insisted -upon Ben’s dining with Danny and her. Ursula could not make up her mind -to leave her apartment. The moment she left might be the one chosen for -some news to come from her boy. She was delighted, however, to have -Ben dine with the Dexters, in fact, she endeavored to have Ben enjoy -himself much as he would had Philip been at home. - -“One of the shortest days of all the year,” thought Ursula, “and yet -how long it has seemed.” She looked out on the darkening street. In a -moment the electric lights on the corners were shining, but Ursula sat -in the dusk. They lived on a quiet street where few vehicles passed. -She saw an automobile stop at the corner and idly watched a man get -out and start walking along the snowy sidewalk. There was nothing at -all interesting about the man except that the car from which he had -alighted did not move off. If he had business up this street why should -he walk when he might have ridden. It was a battered car of an old -make, swung on high springs, and had evidently seen better days. The -light on the corner was bright and the newly fallen snow made that -part of the street as visible as it would have been in broad daylight. -Ursula had not turned on her burners, but peered from a darkened room. - -The man walked rapidly along the street and then disappeared. The girl -put her face close to the pane but could see no sign of him. - -“I believe he came into this house,” she said to herself. “Ah, but -there he is again!” She saw him hurry down the street, jump into the -old-fashioned car and then he was gone. - -Ursula pulled down her shade and turned on the light. She glanced at -her watch. At least two hours must pass before Ben would be returning -from dinner at the Dexters’. What could she do with those long two -hours? She could not believe she was the same girl who had been busy -every moment of the day and eager always for a few free moments that -she might conscientiously give to reading. There were new books on her -table, gifts from the friends she had made in Dorfield, magazines with -the leaves uncut--but she could not put her mind on reading. - -Ursula glanced about the room, her eyes wandering. A piece of white -paper was under her door, put there since Ben had gone out. An -advertisement, no doubt. - -She picked it up. It was a letter in a dirty envelope, sealed but not -stamped, addressed in pencil to Miss Ursula Ellett, in a handwriting -that looked as though each letter had been painfully drawn. Ursula -feverishly tore open the envelope and read: - - “Yore uncle Ben is ded and you are his air. He maid a lot of - money in africa on dimonds. I knowed him in africa and by rites - I orter have half of his money but he cheted me. I rekon I have - beet the news of Ben’s deth to the states but now I have yore - kid bruther in my keepin and I will keep the same until you - sware to hand over my part of what you will get as air when you - come in to the same. - - “Yore bruther is enjoyin good helth and hopes this finds you - the same. I will not say what will hapen if you do not promis - to give me half the douh. If you tell anybody about this I will - beat yore bruther. All you have to do is sware you will do as - I say and when you get yore hands on the money which will be - handed to you by a english lawyer you put aside one half and - I will let you know wat you are to do with it and at the same - time you will get back yor bruther. - - “The english lawyer will be in lewisville this weke. If you - will do as I say and want to get yore bruther back safe you - must put a ad in the lewisville currier journal and I will - note the same. Just say Barkis is willin that is enuf. You are - a honnerable girl and will keep yore promise if not beware. - Excuse haste and a bad pen. Most respectful yore well wisher - but one who Ben Benson cheted. Annonermus.” - -Ursula sank on a chair. She felt that she might faint but that fainting -would be a very foolish performance when action was necessary. - -“Uncle Ben dead!” she cried. “I always hoped he would come back to me. -What shall I do? What shall I do? Of course I’ll give half of whatever -he has left me to get my Philip back. I’ll give all of it--anything.” - -Suddenly she remembered that she had promised Josie that no matter what -communication came she would report immediately to Bob Dulaney or -Captain Lonsdale. - -“But he says he will beat Philip if I tell anybody about this. How am -I to know Uncle Ben is really dead and if he is that he has left me a -fortune. How will this person know whether I have told anybody or not? -How could this person have found me? Who is he and how could he have -slipped up to my apartment without my hearing him in the hall?” - -Suddenly the remembrance of the man who had got out of the rickety old -car at the corner flashed through her mind. Could he be the kidnaper? - -“It says I am honorable and I promised Josie to let them know and -I will do it.” She went to the telephone and called up police -headquarters. Captain Charlie was on the wire in a moment and deeply -interested in what she had to tell him. - -“Perhaps I am wrong, but I can’t help thinking a man I saw get out of a -car at the corner brought the letter,” she said. - -“Well, well, perhaps!” he answered. “I’ll send a plain clothes man -around to see you immediately.” - -Ursula then called up Bob Dulaney. He was all excitement and greatly -interested in the man in the high old car. - -“I’m going out in my Lizzie and get that man right now. You say it was -headed south? Then it must have come from the north and no doubt will -turn around and go back the way it came. So long!” - -“Please take a policeman with you,” begged Ursula. - -“Not on your life! They are too heavyweight for me. I am like the -heroes in the movies and go for my man alone. I may even tie a -handkerchief around my face and make him hold up his hands.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -BOB DULANEY’S CHASE - - -Ursula could not help smiling at Bob’s enthusiasm. She knew that he -had great sympathy for her, but at the same time she was sure he was -enjoying himself hugely being what he called “a gum-shoe reporter.” - -It seemed to her as though she had hardly put down the receiver after -telephoning him when a prolonged tooting called her to the window, and -there was Bob in his small, shabby racer whizzing by the house. - -“Anyhow, I’ll soon know something,” sighed the girl. “I wish I had -Josie here to counsel me. So it isn’t Mr. Cheatham and Miss Fitchet -after all! I can’t telegraph such a complicated thing as this letter, -but I will write immediately and get the letter to Josie on the -midnight train, special delivery.” - -She was glad of the occupation of writing and with great care she -copied the communication found under her door and enclosed the copy in -her letter to Josie. - -“I am enclosing the envelope in which the letter came so you may see -the kind of writing, dear Josie,” she wrote. “I know you set great -store by such things. The letter itself I am afraid to trust to the -mails, but will keep it carefully until I see you. Bob has gone to -catch the man who put the letter under my door, but in the meantime I -shall mail this and will follow it by a telegram.” - -She was afraid to leave the apartment to mail the letter, thinking news -of some kind might some while she was out, so she knocked on the door -of the nervous, middle-aged bachelor, the one who had so carefully -poked up the chimneys with a hearth broom in vain search of Philip, and -asked him to attend to getting the letter off for her. He was glad to -be of any assistance to his pretty neighbor and gallantly donned his -goloshes and set out for the post office. - -Then Ursula sat down to wait. She felt happier. Anyhow her beloved -child was not dead. As for poor Uncle Ben, she was not at all sure he -was dead, and although she had been very fond of him, he had been away -from Louisville so long she could not make up her mind to weep very -much over him--certainly not until she knew for sure that he had really -passed away. The fortune reputed to have been left her she almost -forgot about. The realization came to her with a start. Suppose she -really had been left a fortune! What a difference it would make in her -life. - -“I’d rather have Uncle Ben here to love and protect me than all kinds -of money,” she said to herself. “Anyhow I’ll have to go to Louisville -as soon as my boy is found. Since Mr. Cheatham is not the one at the -back of the kidnaping I shall not dread seeing him as much as I fancied -I would. Indeed, I am ashamed to have harbored such a suspicion of him. -Perhaps I have been to blame too. Maybe he is not so black as I have -always painted him.” - -The plain clothes man from Captain Lonsdale was the next person to -mount the stairs to Ursula’s apartment. He was a stolid individual, but -had a kind blue eye and no doubt was more keen witted than he appeared -to be. Ursula remembered Josie’s assumed stupidity when she was working -on a case and felt perhaps this man Donner was pursuing the same -tactics. She showed him the letter and told him what had happened, -describing the ancient automobile and the man who had walked up the -street immediately before she had noticed the letter under her door. - -“You done right to phone the Cap’n,” said Donner. “These here -blackmailers would be brought to justice oftener if the folks weren’t -so scairt of them. Ladies are usually the worst of the bunch for taking -them serious like and letting them get the bits between their teeth. -Most ladies in your fix would have laid low about the letter and handed -over whatever they asked just to make sure the kid was safe. I tell -you, lady, the kid is just as safe, and a deal sight safer, with your -telling us about this letter than he would have been if you had just -kep’ it to yourself.” - -“I had to let Captain Lonsdale know about it, because I promised Miss -O’Gorman I would. Somehow I feel as though she knows best about my -affairs.” - -“Sure she does! I wasn’t strong for women policemen--policewomen, I -believe they call them--until I had a case to work up alongside of that -Miss Josie O’Gorman, and I tell you then I got to thinking that the -Almighty must have took out some of Adam’s brains along with the rib -when he made Eve, and that Josie girl got a good share of them. Did you -ever hear about how she caught the thieves that were carrying off Mrs. -Danny Dexter’s wedding presents?” - -Ursula quickly assured him she had, as she could not contemplate -having to hear the tale again and she felt that the sooner the kindly -officer got on his job of hunting up the kidnapers the better for all -concerned. She wished him good luck and politely got rid of him. - -Ben came home full of the delightful time he had spent with the -Dexters, also full of a good dinner. - -“Did you eat anything, Sister?” he asked, pressing his rosy cheek to -Ursula’s pale one. - -“I forgot to eat,” confessed Ursula. - -“Well, you must remember,” declared Ben. “I’m gonter get you some -supper. There’s oodles in the ice box. Now you just sit still and I’ll -fix you up in no time.” - -Ursula held the boy to her and told him of the letter she had found -under the door, and then read it to him. - -“The dirty pup!” was all he could say. “Don’t let him fool you, Sis. -You call up the police--” - -“I’ve done it, dear, and already they have started in to hunt for the -person who brought the letter.” - -“Ain’t Uncle Ben the one I’m named for?” - -“Yes, dear!” - -“Well, he never cheated this hound.” - -“Of course not! That hasn’t worried me for a moment. Uncle Ben was the -soul of honor. I feel very sad at the thought he may be dead. I wish I -might have seen him again. Poor Uncle Ben!” - -The boy busied himself with a tray of food for his sister, and then -began the process of endeavoring to keep his eyes open. He was ashamed -of being so sleepy when his beloved sister was certainly not going to -close her eyes until some report was brought her by either Bob Dulaney -or Donner. - -“Go on to bed, honey,” insisted Ursula. “It is much better for you to -go to sleep. Didn’t I tell you you must sleep a lot so you can grow up -big and take care of me?” - -“Will you call me if you need me?” - -“Of course I will, because I depend on you all the time.” - -“Well, let me keep on my clothes and sleep on the sofa, so I can wake -up easy.” - -“All right, dear, wherever you want to sleep, just so you sleep.” - -So Ben was tucked in on the sofa, with the light carefully screened -from his eyes, and again Ursula waited. - -At eleven o’clock Bob Dulaney stopped his little car in front of the -door and ran lightly up the steps. - -“I saw your light and stopped in.” - -“Please, what news?” she asked excitedly. - -“Well, I’ve done some eliminating, but that’s all,” said Bob -dejectedly. “But don’t you get down-hearted because we’ll keep going -until the kid is found.” - -“I’ll keep on hoping. Only tell me, please.” - -“I raced along the road I thought the old car had taken and in spite -of a puncture and getting out of gas and then out of water I finally -came up with the worst looking old automobile I ever saw. It looked as -though the Forty-Niners might have used it to travel over the old trail -to California. It was pulled up in front of a half-way house, midway -between Dorfield and Benton. I tell you I parked behind it in a jiffy -and slipped into what used to be the bar, where I found some village -bums and two or three transient guests eating ice cream cones and -drinking ginger pop. One old cove was warming himself at the stove and -loudly deploring the dry state of the country. He had on a great fur -coat and looked as though he might have been traveling some distance. - -“I cottoned to the old chap and began warming myself, too.” - -“Come from far?” he asked with a nice, warm, kindly voice. - -“The other side of Dorfield,” I answered. - -“So did I, but I live over at Benton. I tell you a country doctor -leads some life. One of my old patients has moved beyond Dorfield and -nothing would suit him but that I should come and treat him for a bad -cold--nothing but a bad cold, mind you! He ’phoned me he was coming -down with pneumonia. Here I had to ride ’way over there in all this -weather and when I got there, bless you, if the fellow wasn’t having a -party. He did have a bad cold. I wish he’d sneeze his head off! That -was last night. Yes, I had a good time but it was a mean way to get me -to go to a party. My old car won’t stand many such trips. I’ve had it -going on fifteen years as it is. - -“I had a funny experience coming back from my patient’s. About six -miles the other side of Dorfield a man got off the train at a wayside -station--Dorset. I reckon he thought he had got to Dorfield, because -he seemed rather astonished that there were so few houses in what he -had evidently been told was a flourishing town. He’d got Dorfield and -Dorset mixed and when the conductor hollered Dorset he thought he’d -got where he was going. Said he had a little business to attend to -in Dorfield and then was going on beyond, and was mighty glad when I -picked him up and gave him a ride. I always give people rides along the -country pikes. He wasn’t my kind of passenger though, because he had -such a low forehead and a kind of wry neck. I talked along to him and -he never answered a word more than just to ask me if that was all the -speed I could get out of my old locomotive. I got right peeved, but I -never said so. - -“When we got to Dorfield he said he’d like me to stop on the corner of -Spruce street, as he had a little errand to do. I had to get a pint of -iodine and some gauze at the drug store near by, so it suited me very -well. It didn’t take me a minute to make my purchases, but, by golly, -that fellow was back in the car the minute I was and when we crossed -the track and he saw a freight train coming he never said thank you, -but jumped out of my car and ran like fun and got onto that car while -it was moving, just like Douglas Fairbanks or Harold Lloyd. He was a -rum customer, I can tell you.” - -“Which way was the freight headed?” I asked. - -“West--that six o’clock freight where the engineer plays a tune on his -locomotive whistle.” - -Ursula had listened to Bob with breathless interest. - -“That man’s business in Dorfield was to deliver that letter to your -address,” declared Bob. “The doctor in the funny old car had no more to -do with it than I had myself.” - -“I believe you are right,” agreed Ursula. “And now what next?” - -“Next, I must let Captain Lonsdale know what I know and maybe he can -put a watch on that freight. Gee, I hate to ask help, but I must -remember the way Josie works and how the important thing with her is -always to get the criminal landed, whether she does it herself or not -being of no importance.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -JOSIE MAKES A FIND - - -Josie’s impatience amounted almost to a fever, as she awaited the hour -for dinner with Mr. Cheatham. The day after Christmas had been a busy -one for her. She felt she must write a detailed account to Ursula -of her visit with the Trasks. Also Captain Charlie Lonsdale and Bob -Dulaney must be communicated with and the rest of the day was taken up -in unearthing everything concerning Cheatham and Miss Fitchet that a -female detective could hope to learn in a day. - -Aunt Mandy was intensely interested in all Josie had to tell her of her -cousins at Peewee Valley and her excitement knew no bounds when she -learned that the young woman upon whom she looked as her own especial -boarder, since her husband had sent her to Miss Lucy Leech’s, should -have had Christmas dinner with such “highupity pussons” as the Trasks. - -“An’ you done knowd young Mr. Teddy Trask at school! Well, bless Bob, -if life ain’t complexicated.” - -Josie had felt it wise to account for her acquaintance with young -Trask to Aunt Mandy and her mistress. He was to come for her to take -her to Mr. Cheatham’s dinner party and Josie knew boarding houses and -the curiosity of the boarders well enough to be sure she must account -for being friends with a young man as well known in Louisville as the -handsome Teddy Trask. She had cautioned Teddy to ask for her by her -right name and not the assumed one. - -“I’m sorry I got going with a dual personality,” she said, “but it’s -done now and Miss Lucy Leech thinks I’m named O’Gorman and Mr. Cheatham -thinks I am Miss Friend. It was a break on my part to be so free with -aliases. I can’t forgive that kind of stupidity. Sometimes one loses -out on a job just because of such carelessness.” - -Josie always had a dinner dress neatly packed in her emergency kit, as -she called the suitcase she kept ready to take on a trip, and now that -she was to dine with Mr. Cheatham she was thankful that she would be -suitably clad. - -“You’s de kinder boa’der to make money on,” Aunt Mandy declared, when -Josie told her she would not be home for dinner. “Mos’ boa’ders eats -in reg’lar. Looks like dey’s scairt dey won’t git dey money’s wuth an’ -even when dey gits ’vited out dey comes home fer a filler. Why, honey, -I’s knowd boa’ders what’ll tu’n on de light in dey rooms when dey’s -goin’ out, ’fraid dey won’ git dey rights. But Miss Lucy kin tell ’em -wha ter git off, when dey gits too proudified and boa’derish. I tell -yer Miss Lucy ain’t never been one ter be back’ards in comin’ for’d -when boa’ders gits rampageous. She’ll rar’ up on her hin’ legs an’ tell -’em what’s what.” - -“I’m sure she will,” laughed Josie, “and I’m sure the boarders deserve -all they get when she gives them what’s what. I’ll try my best to be -good and not deserve such things.” - -“Lawsamussy, Miss! Anybody knows dat if my Peter an’ Brer Si recommends -a pusson dat pusson air sho ter be fust-class. Peter wouldn’t no mo’ -send a onsuitable boa’der here dan Si would fotch one. Dem two niggers -air got both Miss Lucy an’ me ter reckon with an’ what dey reckons am -no lef’ over victuals if dey ain’t got gumption enough ter respec’ the -sanctity of a fust-class boa’din’ house kep’ by ’ristocrats.” - -Teddy arrived on the stroke of the hour appointed. His mother and -sister were waiting in the automobile, having driven in from Peewee -Valley. - -“Mother and I thought it wiser not to tell Anita what we suspect in -Cheatham, so remember,” he whispered as he greeted Josie in the hall. - -“Perhaps you are right. She might find it difficult to be polite to -him,” said Josie, but in her heart she felt it a rather dangerous thing -to leave a young girl in ignorance of the character of a man who was -plainly paying court to her. - -“Well,” she thought, “no doubt they know their own business best and -she could hardly elope with him to-night. I hope by to-morrow we may -know something definite.” - -It was with a feeling of mingled rage and pity that Josie entered -the Ellett house--rage that it should be owned by Cheatham and pity -that Ursula should have had to give up such a home and go to live -in what seemed like squalor in comparison. She remembered the bare, -plain furnishings of Ursula’s apartment, made attractive only by the -indefinable touch of taste that the girl always evinced. Josie looked -critically at the damask hangings of the drawing room where Cheatham -stood to greet his guests, at the rich oriental rugs, the old portraits -of Ursula’s ancestors; the mahogany chairs and tables of antique -make--every stick with a pedigree! - -It was a marvel to Josie that the citizens of Louisville had not -suspected this man of swindling his stepchildren. It seemed strange -that they had not arisen in a body and demanded a reckoning, but when -she remembered Ursula’s extreme reticence she realized that having kept -her own counsel the citizens of Louisville would have been officious -indeed to have thrust themselves into her affairs. No doubt Cheatham -had a perfectly plausible tale to tell concerning his possession of the -property and since Ursula had never attempted to correct his statements -it was natural for neighbors to accept them as true. - -One of the things that Josie had unearthed in the sleuthing she had -done during the day was that Cheatham was endeavoring to sell the old -Ellett house and negotiations were pending with an investment company -with a view to making over the place into many small apartments. - -A hitch in the title had kept the deal from going through, so a real -estate agent had informed her when she questioned him concerning the -property as though she herself were a possible buyer. “I wouldn’t mess -in it myself,” he declared, “but I reckon he’ll slick it up somehow by -letting the place to be sold for taxes and then buying it in himself.” - -Mr. Cheatham’s dinner was quite perfect, and Josie could not help -wondering if the servants were some that poor Ursula had trained. A -butler of extreme elegance and ebony hue served the repast with the -airs of a Chesterfield. Cheatham seemed singularly out of place in this -home of gentle refinement. His color was so high, his moustache almost -blue black, the whites of his eyes so white and the blacks so black. -The make-up of a villain was his and still his manner was genial and -cordial and had not Josie been hunting the arch conspirator with a clue -given her by Ursula she knew in her heart her instinct would never -have directed her towards Cheatham. The table seated twenty and Josie -was thankful to be lost in the crowd. She decided to make herself as -inconspicuous as possible. - -During dinner Josie managed so completely to efface herself that -her host forgot entirely there was any such person as a Miss Josie -Friend, an old schoolmate of Teddy Trask, at his table. Josie had a -way of effacing herself without calling attention to her silence. She -responded just enough to avoid having persons remark upon her seeming -stupidity. Colorlessness was what she aimed at and what she obtained. - -After dinner the radio concert began. It was a simple matter for one -so unimportant as Josie to slip from the drawing room on a tour of -inspection. On arrival the guests had been shown into a front room -where they had left their wraps. Josie had noted that leading from -this room was a small study. She could see through the half-open door -a typewriter on a table with a reading light, and against the wall a -small rosewood desk--a lady’s desk and hardly appropriate for a man’s -study. - -“That is the desk Ursula told me of; the one that had belonged to her -mother and that her stepfather had so cruelly refused to give to her -at her mother’s death,” murmured Josie. - -The girl detective slid into the study, closed the door gently and -deftly fitted a small skeleton key into the lock of the rosewood desk. -It responded to her touch and opened easily. There were pigeonholes -filled with letters, receipts and bills. With a quick hand and keen -eye Josie rapidly ran through the piles of correspondence. Suddenly a -foreign stamp arrested her attention. She pulled out a slim envelope, -tucked in with others, and to her delight saw that it was addressed -to Miss Ursula Ellett. She slipped out the letter and quickly put the -empty envelope back in the pigeonhole where she had found it. - -“No time to read it now, but how I’d like to know what it says! Anyhow, -I am sure Ursula has never read it, because the date on the envelope is -November of this year.” - -Quickly the little sleuth ran through the other papers. In the drawer -she found a bulky epistle, also directed to Miss Ursula Ellett. This -too had a foreign stamp and was postmarked Kimberly, the date rubbed -so that Josie could not make it out. The contents of this envelope she -also confiscated and in its place stuffed some old time tables she -found on the table. Quickly she closed the desk and locked it and was -back downstairs listening to the radio concert before even Teddy had -missed her. She patted her pocket to reassure herself that the papers -were safe and then tried to compose herself to listen to the rather -thin music miraculously furnished. - -Josie felt the evening would never be over, so anxious was she to read -the communications purloined from the rosewood desk. She was able to -whisper to Teddy that she had something of possible importance and that -young man’s eyes were also shining with anticipation. - -“I am not crazy about snooping around a house or desk-breaking,” Josie -told him, “but he had something that did not belong to him and I am -merely carrying out Uncle Sam’s laws in delivering to the rightful -person her own mail. When can we go?” - -“I’ll scare up Mother and tell her the weather is liable to get colder -or hotter or something and maybe we can leave in a few minutes,” -replied the astute Teddy. - -The threat of a possible snowstorm did make Mrs. Trask decide to start -for Peewee Valley rather earlier than a dinner party usually breaks up -and at last Josie was free to read the letters to Ursula. - -Poor Teddy must wait until morning to find out what was in them, as -Josie was dropped at Miss Lucy Leech’s, while he dutifully drove his -mother home. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE CLUE IN THE FILM - - -The letter was from Uncle Bob Benson to Ursula. Josie felt justified in -reading it, in order that she might get all the light possible on the -doings of Cheatham. It was a sad little letter, evidently written by a -very sick man. The writing was shaky and dim, with many words almost -illegible, but Josie managed to make them out. - -Uncle Ben was deeply contrite at having left his sister and her -children when no doubt they needed him most. He had just learned of his -sister’s death and showed much feeling and distress. He wrote: - -“But soon I may join her, dear Ursula, if one so unworthy as I can hope -to join a saint in Heaven. I have not many weeks to live, but am hoping -I can reach Louisville to die, if I can but muster enough strength to -start on the journey. In the meantime I am instructing my lawyer to put -my affairs in order and am making a will leaving what small fortune I -have amassed to you, my dear niece. I am not including my nephews in -my will, as I think it best for boys to have to hustle for a living -and not have things made too easy for them. I am sure they are well -provided for by the estate your father left. - -“I am writing you all this although I am hoping to spend my last days -under your tender and forgiving care. I am hoping also that that man -who married your mother has left Louisville, now that he can no longer -control that poor, sweet, misguided woman. I cannot forgive myself for -having left her to his merciless power. I shall be with you in a few -weeks now and, in the meantime, love me if you can and try to forgive -me.” - -That was all. Josie found herself weeping over the letter. Her -rage knew no bounds when she thought of Cheatham’s keeping such a -communication from Ursula. No doubt it was on receipt of this letter -that he had sent Miss Fitchet to spy upon his stepdaughter in Dorfield. - -The more bulky letter was from Toler & Smith, a firm of attorneys at -Kimberly. Ben Benson was dead and Toler & Smith had been appointed -administrators of his last will and testament. They enclosed a copy of -his will, in which his whole estate, amounting to about one hundred and -fifty thousand dollars, had been bequeathed to Ursula. Toler expected -to arrive in Louisville during the month of January, or perhaps -earlier. Cheatham deliberately kept the knowledge from Ursula and no -doubt his game was to say he had either not received the mail or had -forwarded it to the girl. - -Josie decided that Ursula must come to Louisville immediately. - -“I’ll telegraph in the morning,” said Josie. “I can’t bear to get -the poor girl out on the midnight train, and in the meantime I must -get some sleep, in spite of the fact that my brain is going around -like a whirligig. Now let’s see. We’ve got a lot of evidence against -Cheatham that he is as crooked as a snake, but we have nothing to prove -he kidnaped little Philip or caused him to be kidnaped. Where is the -child? All of the money from the diamond mines will mean nothing to -Ursula if her baby brother isn’t found.” - -The problem spun over and over in Josie’s mind, until at last she -dropped asleep. It seemed to her she had only lost consciousness a -moment when she heard a brisk knocking on her door. It was broad -daylight. A glance at her watch informed her it was eight o’clock. - -“Here am a letter fo’ you, honey,” Aunt Mandy was calling as she kept -up a steady tapping on the door. “One er them there ’portant ’pistles -wiv a blue stamp an’ a boy a-ridin’ fer dear life on it. I reckon some -er yo’ folks mus’ be daid ter be in sich a hurry ter let you know ’bout -it.” - -Josie jumped from her bed and opened the door. - -“I do hope I’m not late for breakfast, Aunt Mandy! It won’t take me -a minute to get down. I don’t want Miss Lucy to be telling me what’s -what.” - -“Lawsamussy, honey, any time befo’ nine ’ll go in dis house,” Aunt -Mandy went off grinning happily over the quarter Josie had slipped into -her hand. - -The special delivery letter was from Ursula and there was much in it -to cause our little detective to ponder. Could it be that she was -wrong and Cheatham had nothing to do with the crime of carrying off -little Philip? Josie sat hunched up in bed, lost in thought. She -read over and over Ursula’s copy of the letter found under her door. -One thing sure, Ursula had better take the next train to Louisville. -Sitting hunched up in bed and thinking was not getting anywhere, so -Josie quickly got ready for breakfast. Teddy must be communicated with -immediately, but that young man had caught an early trolley from Peewee -and before Josie finished her breakfast he was ringing Miss Lucy’s -doorbell and eagerly asking for Miss Josie O’Gorman. - -“I must talk to you somewhere, but where?” asked Josie. “A -boarding-house parlor is hardly the place for a chat, and it’s too cold -and sloppy to talk while we walk.” - -“How about my office?” - -“All right, if it is private.” - -“Well, I share it with two other fellows and there is a flapper -stenographer and I must say lots of people loaf on us.” - -“I tell you, let’s go to an early movie,” said Josie. “There is no -place on earth so quiet and private as an early movie. How soon do they -open up here?” - -“One of them makes a specialty of being open all the time with a -continuous performance. Let’s go there.” - -Before acting on this plan, Ursula was wired to come to Louisville at -once. - -“She can’t get here until late this afternoon and in the meantime we -can snoop around. Ho! for the cinema!” said Josie. - -The motion picture theatre was dark and warm. The performance was -beginning as the young people entered. They were the only ones on -pleasure bent so early in the morning and had the place to themselves, -except for two men in the center of the house who were evidently -left-overs from the night before and were now peacefully sleeping. - -“This is not much of a place, except that they do run a good news -reel,” apologized Teddy. “They get the happenings of the world hot off -the bat.” - -“I dote on the Travelaughs and news reels,” said Josie. “I go to the -movies a lot just to be quiet and in the dark and think. I follow the -show with half my brain and think with the other half.” - -“Well, what do you say to watching the news reel and then talking -business through the slapstick comedy that is sure to follow?” - -Josie thought that a fine plan and gave her attention to the screen, -upon which this item was soon displayed: - - “A large fire in Cincinnati on Christmas Day did much damage - and injured several persons. The crowd has gathered to see the - firemen search the smouldering ruins for the charred remains of - a night watchman who is supposed to be under the debris.” - -Josie clutched Teddy’s arm, as the picture followed. - -“Look! Look at that woman on the left, dragging a little boy by the -hand. I mean that woman with her head on one side, who is hurrying -along the sidewalk. Oh, now they are gone! I must see them again. -Teddy! Teddy! That little boy is Philip Ellett and I believe in my soul -the woman is Miss Fitchet! I never laid eyes on her before but Ursula -told me how she carried her head on one side and how she walked in a -zigzag course. Could we possibly see that news reel again?” - -“We could wait until the show begins again or perhaps we could get the -manager to run it over for us,” said Teddy. - -“That would be fine, but I fancy waiting is our only chance. I don’t -really see the use in viewing it again. I am as sure the little boy was -Philip as I can be of anything. Seeing it again wouldn’t help matters a -bit. The caption read that it was Cincinnati on Christmas Day. That is -where they have taken the boy. I’ll just light out for Cincinnati.” - -“And I’ll go too,” declared Teddy. - -“Not at all, my dear fellow! If you go trapesing off to Cincinnati, who -is to meet Ursula when she arrives on that night train? She may need -your protection and need it badly. I’ll bet you a hat that Cheatham -is meeting every train that comes in. But I haven’t had time to talk -to you at all about what I have discovered and now I must fly to the -station and get the first train out for Cincinnati. We didn’t get much -business discussed in the movies after all.” - -“Well, there’s a train out in half an hour. Let’s jump in a taxi and -you can go by Miss Lucy’s and get your grip and catch the train too, if -you are the hustler I think you are.” - -Josie agreed, and they rushed to Miss Lucy’s where, with a flying -good-bye to Aunt Mandy, with instructions to take good care of her -mail and assurances that she would return in a day and maybe sooner, -Josie was quickly back in the taxi with the excited young man. - -“I won’t have time to tell you all about these letters,” said Josie, -“but I am going to give them over to your keeping and you hang onto -them through thick and thin, until Ursula has her rights. Be sure to -meet her on the train arriving at seven and take her to Miss Lucy’s. -Tell Aunt Mandy to give her my room. I wish I had thought about that -before. Perhaps I’ll have time to telephone from the station.” - -“I’d like to take her out to my mother,” suggested Teddy. - -“Sure you would, but she had better be right here in town, where we can -put our hands on her. Watch out for Cheatham, though. Don’t tell anyone -about the letters I purloined from his desk. He may take action if he -finds out about it and have me arrested for housebreaking or something. -The thing to do is to keep quiet. He won’t know the papers are gone -unless he gets wind of what we are up to and goes over his pigeonholes.” - -The taxi drew up at the station, giving Josie five minutes to spare -before the Cincinnati train was called. She flew to a telephone booth -and in a moment had Aunt Mandy on the wire. - -“Aunt Mandy, please, if Mr. Teddy Trask brings a young lady to the -house this evening, take good care of her and put her in my room. She -is a great friend of mine, also of Mr. Trask’s, and she is in deep -distress, so I am sure you will be kind to her.” - -“Lawd love you, sho I will! I reckon she done los’ some er her foks. -Anyhow, I’m gonter take de bes’ care er any frien’ er yourn.” - -“Thank you! Thank you!” and Josie hung up the receiver. - -As she darted from the booth she ran straight into Mr. Cheatham. He -looked slightly puzzled as she bowed to him. Evidently he had forgotten -that such a person existed. He took off his hat and gave a perfunctory -nod. His brow was furrowed and he looked worried. Suddenly he saw Teddy -and evidently the sight of the young man refreshed his memory as to who -Josie was. - -“Ah! seeing your friend off?” he asked endeavoring to be cordial. - -“Yes. Are you going on a trip?” - -“Well, er--, just a little business trip to Cincinnati. I will be gone -only a short while. Please tell your sister, if you should happen to -mention the fact that you saw me starting off, that I expect to be back -in plenty of time to keep our engagement for to-morrow evening.” - -“Certainly!” said Teddy, but Josie noticed that his jaw shot out in a -very pugnacious angle as he answered. - -“Good-bye, Josie!” and Teddy held her hand in a firm grip. “I’ll tell -the world you are some sport.” - -“Good-bye, Teddy! It is mighty nice to have seen you and I hope we -shall meet again soon. Thank you for all your kindness.” Her tone was -that of a conventional young lady saying farewell to an old schoolmate -she had happened to run across. Teddy realized she was putting on the -social graces for the benefit of Mr. Cheatham, who was watching the -parting with some show of interest. - -Josie was almost sorry she had acted so well when, after the train -pulled out, Cheatham sank in the seat by her and with an evident effort -began to try to make himself agreeable. Of course she realized fully -it was because he felt it incumbent upon him to pay some attention -to a young person, no matter how unattractive in his eyes, who was -evidently a close friend of the brother of Anita Trask. - -“I’ll meet him halfway,” was her resolve, and forthwith she began a -line of so-called flapper talk that completely overwhelmed the man. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -PHILIP IS FOUND - - -Had Cheatham harbored the slightest suspicion against Teddy Trask’s -friend, her conversation on the journey from Louisville to Cincinnati -would have completely dispelled it. Cheatham was an intelligent -villain, with some culture, and Josie’s deliberately silly patter bored -him intensely. He stood it for about an hour and then made a plea of -having to see a business acquaintance in the smoker. - -“Well, I’ll see you again,” said Josie, “good-bye! Where are you -going to stop in Cincinnati? I may go out to Walnut Hills with some -friends or I’d just love to see you sometime. Where’d you say you were -stopping? Not that I’d have any time for you. My friends are awfully -smart. Money to burn. Cars and just everything. I’ll be dated up for -every minute. Only going to be here one night anyhow. Where’d you say?” - -“Hotel Haddon!” - -“Gee! I never even heard of it. Is it slummy?” - -“Not at all! Very decent. An old downtown hotel!” Mr. Cheatham beat a -hasty retreat. - -Josie dropped her flapperish expression as soon as Cheatham passed from -her coach and then she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes with -a sigh of relief. She wanted to think and to think fast. The porter -passed down the aisle. Why not find out from him just where the Hotel -Haddon was? Giving an adroit twist to the shade at the window, she -pulled it out of place, which gave her an excuse to call on the porter -for his services. - -“Awfully sorry,” she said, slipping some silver in his hand after he -had adjusted the shade. “Please tell me, do you know a Hotel Haddon in -Cincinnati?” - -“Yes, miss! Down-town place--uster be a fambly hotel but now it’s -kinder taken over by theatre people. Travelin’ men use it some. I -wouldn’t ’vise it for a lone young lady.” - -Josie thanked him and listened attentively to the list of hotels he did -advise for one in her situation. - -“Now, there’s a real ladylike hotel right acrost the street from the -Haddon if you’ve a mind to be down-town. It’s called the Alpha,” said -the friendly porter. - -When the train pulled in at Cincinnati Josie managed to make herself -invisible behind the curtains of the ladies’ dressing room. She hardly -expected Cheatham to look her up, but there was a chance of his doing -it, and she wanted him to forget she was in Cincinnati if possible. -When the train was about emptied, she darted out, seized a belated red -cap and had him put her safely into a taxi. - -“Hotel Alpha,” she called, and at that moment had the satisfaction -of seeing Cheatham enter a bus bearing the inscription Hotel Haddon. -Evidently he had told the truth about his stopping place, because -he had no suspicion of her wanting to know for any reason but idle -curiosity. - -Now came for Josie a period of watchful waiting. Fortunately the -parlors of the Alpha Hotel were situated on the mezzanine floor and -overlooked the street. Having registered and engaged a room, Josie -ensconced herself in an easy chair behind a sash curtain that gave -her a full view of the street and the Hotel Haddon which was directly -across the way. - -She was excited. There was no use in denying it. She felt her heart -beats distinctly and her hands trembled a bit. - -“Here, girl! Pull yourself together!” she commanded. “This is no time -to behave in a womanish way, even if you are stopping at a ladylike -hotel.” - -She eagerly scanned the windows of the Haddon, beginning at the second -floor and working systematically to the top. The building was only -four stories high. The windows were blank and empty and gave away no -secrets. Once she saw a man with a black moustache look out of one on -the third floor, but he so quickly turned that Josie could not be sure -of his identity. She marked the window, however--third floor at the -extreme right. - -So busy was she gazing at that window she almost missed seeing Cheatham -emerge from the hotel accompanied by a woman, rather handsome, with -auburn hair, carrying her head decidedly on one side. They were talking -animatedly and walking rapidly. Josie also marked the gait of the woman -which took a zigzag course--so much so that at times she bumped into -the man by her side. - -Again she looked up to the window on the third floor. It was blank but -on the second floor directly below she was sure she could distinguish a -wistful little face pressed close to the pane. - -Josie paused not a moment. She did not wait for the elevator, but -darted down the steps from the mezzanine and was across the street -and in the Hotel Haddon before Cheatham and Miss Fitchet had even -turned the corner. The Hotel Haddon was rather a haphazard place and, -there being no clerk at the desk at the time, it was not necessary for -her to explain her business. The elevator landed Josie at the second -floor and, with an air of being a guest, she walked to the extreme -end of the hall and turned the knob of the door of Number 220. She -had her skeleton key in case it was necessary to use it, but was much -relieved when the door opened. Evidently the kidnapers were so sure of -themselves they had not thought of locking the child in the room. - -“Hello, Philip!” Josie said quietly. “I’ve come to take you home, -dear.” - -Her tone was so composed that Philip did not cry out at all, but his -face was so bright with happiness that Josie almost gave herself up to -the tears that were well nigh choking her. - -“Get your coat and hat and let’s hurry,” she said. “Don’t talk any now. -We can talk later.” - -It was quite as easy to get out of the hotel with the boy as it had -been to get in without him. She used the stairs this time, however. -It was a matter of five minutes for Josie to release the room she had -engaged at the ladylike hotel, jump in a taxi with Philip and make for -the station. There was a train just ready to pull out, which she caught -by the greatest good luck. It was a local, but its destination was -Louisville. Josie would have taken it no matter what its destination, -as she was sure it was a wise plan to leave Cheatham and Fitchet at any -cost, and she hoped they would do some worrying. - -Once they were settled in the train the little boy poured forth his -soul to his liberator. - -“I wasn’t doin’ nothin’ but jes’ sleepin’ when all of a sudden somebody -jes’ picked me up an’ carried me off. I kinder thought it was Sister at -first an’ I didn’t wake up all the way. I jes’ went on dreamin’, kinder -half awake, but bye’m’bye I woke up ’cause somehow it didn’t smell -like Sister but like powder. I was so scairt by that time I didn’t know -what to do, so I kicked an’ hollered an’ clawed at that ol’ woman till -she spanked me good. - -“We were in a automobile an’ I don’t know where we was goin’ or where -we’ve been but she made me put on my clothes an’ my overcoat, that she -had brung along with me, an’ she tol’ me if I didn’t hush up cryin’ -she’d tell Santa Claus I was a bad boy an’ he wouldn’t bring me a thing -an’ I ’membered nex’ day was Christmus an’ I tried to stop bawlin’ but -I missed Sister an’ Ben so bad I didn’t care after a while whether ol’ -Santy brought me anything or not. I didn’t see how he was gonter know -I wasn’t home with Sister. At last we went to that hotel where there -weren’t any chimbleys an she tol’ me if I acted ugly she’d give me to -the ash man, but if I ’haved she’d take me to the movies. There was a -big fire here when we first came an’ I saw the men digging for dead -folks but Aunty wouldn’t let me stop.” - -“Oh, so she made you call her Aunty, did she?” asked Josie. - -“Yes, but I don’t believe she’s any mo’ kin to me than the ash man. -She ain’t never lef me ’til jes’ befo’ you came for me, an’ then -somebody called her up on the ’phone an’ she jes’ powdered herself up -an’ put on her hat an’ tol’ me if I didn’t stay right still until she -got back a ol’ witch would git me. She said she was waitin’ out in the -hall for me, but I didn’t believe her a bit ’cause Sister already tol’ -me there wasn’t any witches ’cept in books an’ Aunty didn’t have any -books. - -“The man that called her up on the ’phone was waitin’ in the hall for -her but I never saw him. He tol’ her she’d better lock me up in the -room, but she said she was afraid of fire an’ I wouldn’t be no good to -them any more if I got burnt up. I don’t see what good I am to them -now, but Aunty made out she loved me mor’n Sister an’ Ben did, an’ she -was jes a borrowin’ me for a while an’ if I ’haved like a gemman maybe -sometime I could go see Sister. That’s the reason I didn’t holler, an’ -was a gonter stay quiet in the room if you hadn’t come for me. She said -she was gonter bring me back some all-day suckers an’ all kinds of -things ’cause Santa Claus didn’t find me after all. An’ I pretty near -knew he wouldn’t.” - -“I am pretty sure Santa Claus left your things at your home,” said -Josie softly. “I am also pretty sure you are going to see Sister and -Ben in a few hours. Sister has been very sad over your going away and -Ben has been miserable.” - -“Now, didn’t I say so? But ol’ Aunty kep’ on tellin’ me Sister was glad -to get rid of me an’ had asked her to take me off. I never did b’lieve -her, ’cause I’d already caught her lyin’ ’bout Santa Claus. I sure have -missed all of you, The Lady in the Chair an’ Mrs. Danny an’ Uncle Peter -an’ Aunt Peter. I reckon I’m gonter go to sleep. I ain’t slep’ much -since Aunty grabbed me up an’ carried me off. I been thinkin’ so much -an’ then when I’d git mos’ asleep Aunty would pipe up an’ snore to beat -the band. I ain’t been away from home but ’bout three nights but it -seems to me as if I been born away from home an’ been a livin’ with ol’ -Aunty all my life.” - -“Tell me, Philip, before you go to sleep, was there anybody else with -you and Aunty--a man?” - -“One time there was. I think he was Aunty’s brother, only he didn’t -make out he was my uncle. I heard them talkin’ an’ they writ a letter -together. That was in the hotel after we saw the fire a burnin’. She -called him Bill an’ she told him not to let ol’ C. lay eyes on him an’ -he said he had some sense left. An’ then he went off with the letter -an’ I ain’t never seen him since an’ I ain’t sorry neither, cause he -was a turrible lookin’ man an’ I don’t see what ol’ C. would want to -lay eyes on him for.” - -Philip then put his head in Josie’s lap and slept peacefully until the -porter gave warning that Louisville was the next stop. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -MISS FITCHET IS SURPRISED - - -If after Josie left the Hotel Haddon with little Philip she had again -ensconced herself in the ladies’ parlor of the Alpha, at the window -overlooking the street, instead of hurrying off as she did to the -station, she would have seen an interesting drama enacted. About -fifteen minutes after Cheatham and his companion left the hotel a -rough-looking man in a tweed suit and battered derby came slinking -along the street. He stopped in front of the hotel and looked furtively -around and then, evidently seeing nothing disconcerting, he darted -within. He, too, avoided the desk and also saved the elevator boy the -trouble of taking him upstairs. He almost ran down the hall and turned -the knob of Number 220. The door opened to him as it had to Josie. - -“Humph! Where’s that blasted kid?” he muttered. “Hi! You kid, where -yuh hiding? You better come on out from under the bed. I ain’t one to -be easy on bad boys.” His tone was rough and commanding. Receiving no -answer, he jerked open the closet door and looked under the bed. He -even pulled out the drawers of the bureau, poked behind the radiator, -and then turned up the mattress, as though he expected someone to be -hid under it. - -“She sure said 220,” he muttered, and drew from his pocket a note -written on Hotel Haddon paper. He read: - - “Dear Bill: Old C. will be here at three. I will take him out - walking and will leave the door unlocked. Get the brat and make - for L. on the night boat. Sis.” - -“Something’s gone wrong,” he growled, “but she needn’t think she can -double-cross me. She took the kid with her more’n likely and left me in -a hole.” The man’s expression was brutal and lowering. Without stopping -to straighten the room, which he had succeeded in making look as though -a cyclone had struck it, he walked down the stairs and out of the -hotel. He then lounged across the street and, taking his stand near the -Hotel Alpha, he awaited the return of Cheatham and Miss Fitchet. - -They were gone about an hour and then they came, walking very -leisurely, still talking animatedly but not so amicably as when they -had started on their ramble. - -“I told you all the time Cincinnati was too close to Louisville and -Atlanta would be the better place,” Cheatham was saying. - -“Well, Cincinnati suited me better,” she said with her panther-like -grin. “I reckon I’ve had all the trouble of this thing and I might be -considered a little.” - -“So you have, but I have financed it,” he said. - -“Oh, yes, financed it with a room in a cheap hotel and not even taxi -fare if you could help it!” - -“Oh, well, I haven’t got so much, and you know it. I have managed to -keep Ursula Ellett from having the slightest inkling of Ben Benson’s -having left her a fortune. I wanted to be sure the boy was well hidden -and then I would get to work with letters telling her of her fortune, -following by demands for a large sum if the child was safely returned. -Ursula is such a softy and so close-mouthed she would be easy to do -out of this fortune, just as she has been easy to persuade that her -father’s fortune belonged to me. If she had had the gumption to go to a -good lawyer, I should have had to pursue other tactics. Well, I’ll bid -you good-bye, my dear. I’d like to take you to dinner but the boy knows -me too well for me to let him see me. It is a blessing he never saw you -before.” - -“Good-bye then,” she smirked, “but it would be just as well to give -me a little cash. I am about broke and considering you expect to make -such large sums out of this business you might afford a little more -sumptuous quarters for your tool.” - -He reluctantly separated several large bills from a roll. - -“Not half enough,” she said. “Keep it up! You needn’t think I’ll do -your dirty work for nothing.” - -He sullenly peeled off two more bills and put the roll back in his -pocket. - -“Well, keep me informed how things are with you. It won’t be long -before I can make my haul.” - -“Your haul, is it? I was thinking it would be our haul.” - -“Oh, yes! Certainly! I have a man to see on business while I am in -Cincinnati and then I must catch the night train for Louisville. I’ll -see you again before I go. My room is 320--directly over yours. You can -telephone me there!” - -The man in the tweed suit waited until Cheatham was out of sight and -then he darted across the street and again mounted the stairs to Room -220. He found the woman standing in the middle of the floor gazing with -disgust on the dismantled state of her room. One bureau drawer had been -pulled entirely out and the contents strewn over the floor. The open -closet door disclosed clothing jerked from the hooks and the mattress -was turned over, with bed clothes thrown around anywhere and everywhere. - -“Well, Bill,” she said sharply, “you managed to get things in a nice -mess! Where’s the brat? You were to take him and keep him and not come -back until you heard from me. I don’t see that you need have turned up -my things in this way. Of course you were hunting money, but you might -have known I wouldn’t have left it around where you could get hold of -it.” - -“Money, is it? You--you--you two-faced----!” The man was so angry he -could hardly speak. “You think you can double-cross me, do you, and get -by with it? Not on your life!” - -The woman stared at him in astonishment. She looked at him fixedly and -her grin turned to a snarl. - -“Bill, you are crazy. I don’t know what you are talking about. You stop -your carrying on and tell me where that boy is.” - -“You tell me! When I got here he was gone and I messed up the room -hunting for him, thinking he was hiding.” - -“Gone!” Miss Fitchet’s tone was one of such genuine dismay that the -brother was forced to recognize her sincerity. - -“Yes, gone!” - -“Well then you have got to find him. I don’t trust you, Bill. You have -lied to me before now.” - -“Trust me or not--the kid’s gone and I reckon we’d best get busy -finding him. I’d have started before now, but I thought you were -playing me a trick.” - -“He’s somewhere here in the hotel, I am sure. He’s always trying to -make friends and I guess as soon as I had my back turned he was out of -the room. I’ll settle things when I do find him.” - -Inquiry at the desk for her “nephew” disclosed nothing. The clerk had -been off duty. The elevator boy had seen no child coming or going. The -chambermaid had no knowledge of the boy. The hotel was ransacked from -basement to roof. - -“I fancy you’d better get in touch with the police,” suggested the -clerk. As that was the last thing Fitchet wished to do, she became -angry at mention of the officers of the law and began to berate the -management of the Hotel Haddon for their carelessness. - -“Come, lady, we don’t run a nursery,” laughed the clerk. “You’d have -been better off at the Alpha if you’d wanted a day nurse for the boy. -We don’t make a specialty of kids.” - -“I wonder if old Cheatham himself could have had the boy spirited away -while I was off,” Miss Fitchet suggested to her brother. “He’s capable -of it.” - -“Of course! That’s exactly the ticket. I’ll wring his neck for him. He -ain’t got any honor,” said Bill. - -“We’ll take the night train for Louisville and give him what’s what. -I reckon he’ll be expecting me to come to him with a tale of Philip’s -being stolen and he’ll have some big lie ready. I’ll fool him. I won’t -tell him the boy’s gone.” - -While Fitchet was berating Cheatham to her brother, a messenger came -with a letter for her. It was from her employer and confederate telling -her he was taking the afternoon express for Louisville and would not -see her again but that he would be back in Cincinnati in a few days. - -“The villain!” she cried. “Come on, Bill, we’ll catch the express!” -Literally throwing her clothes into a valise, and without stopping to -pay the jocular clerk, she and the disreputable brother jumped into a -taxi and sped to the station. They barely made the train, just as it -was pulling out. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -JOSIE O’GORMAN’S TRIUMPH - - -Obedient to Josie’s telegram, Ursula took the first train from Dorfield -for Louisville. The Conants wanted her to leave Ben in their care, but -she could not bear to be parted from him and he felt that he must take -care of his sister and must be with her all the time. - -“Josie wouldn’t have sent for me unless she felt sure it was necessary, -and what is important to me is important to Ben,” she declared as she -thanked her friends. - -“Josie will meet us, I am sure,” she said to Ben as they neared their -destination. - -At a junction not far from Louisville, the coach from Dorfield -was joined to the Cincinnati express. At the same junction the -accommodation train that Josie and little Philip had boarded so -hurriedly had been tied up for reasons best known to the train -dispatchers and after a long, long wait, the passengers were -transferred to the express. - -“Plenty of room in the forward coach, miss,” the brakeman said to -Josie, and the astute female detective, all unconscious of what waited -her in the forward coach, walked innocently in, holding her charge by -the hand, and there sat Ursula and Ben. - -A love feast followed, Ursula smiling happily as she hugged little -Philip to her bosom. It was such a wonderful denouement to the -kidnaping that Josie was sorry to have to confess that she had not -planned it. - -“I never dreamed this was the Dorfield train,” she said. “Philip and I -were dumped at this junction and all I knew was that we were on our way -to Louisville and would get there sometime.” - -She had so much to tell Ursula, and Ursula had so much to tell her, and -Philip had so much to say about his wanderings, that the station at -Louisville was reached all too soon. - -Teddy was there waiting for them, his eyes aglow with a new light as -Ursula stepped from the train. - -At the same time, from the forward coach, two men and a woman alighted -on the platform. They were Cheatham, Miss Fitchet and her brother. -All of them were angry. Cheatham was trying to pacify Miss Fitchet, -who was violently accusing him of having abducted little Philip. He -in his turn was eying Bill with disfavor, feeling sure that he was in -some way responsible for the disappearance of the boy. Never having -heard of Miss Fitchet’s having a brother until they boarded the moving -train at Cincinnati and burst in upon him with violent invective and -vituperation, it was but natural for him to be suspicious of the two. -Still it behooved him to endeavor to calm the woman, as she already -knew too much about his underhand operations for it to be safe for him -to make an enemy of her. - -All unconscious of the happy group at the far end of the platform, the -three persons united by villainy and divided by distrust approached. -Bill was the first to see Philip. - -“Yonder’s the brat, you hound!” he cried out in a rage. “So you had him -on the train with you all the time! But we’ve trapped you.” - -Miss Fitchet was quick to see that Ursula had hold of her little -brother’s hand and at the same moment Mr. Cheatham realized that -standing by her were Teddy Trask, Ben and, strange to say, the silly -little flapper person who had talked to him on the way up to Cincinnati -only that morning. - -Looking down the long platform, Ursula saw the sinister trio. Her -instinct was to clasp her little brother to her heart and run, but a -fine something that was in the girl made her stand up and, with head -erect and eyes flashing, face the persons who had caused her as bitter -hours as could be spent by the innocent. - -“That man with Mr. Cheatham and Miss Fitchet is the one who brought -the note to me; I recognize the man I saw coming up the street,” she -whispered to Josie. - -“He’s the one she calls Bill,” said Philip. “He wrote the note, ’cause -I saw him doin’ it. You ain’t gonter let them take me away again, are -you, Sister?” - -Teddy picked the boy up and put him on his shoulder. - -“Now you are bigger than anybody,” he said, “and you need never be -afraid any more.” - -Josie was a generous antagonist and she could not help feeling sorry -for Cheatham. He looked like a whipped hound as he approached them, -cringing pitiably. He must make an effort and try to appear at his -ease. - -He whispered to Miss Fitchet: “Go on! Take your brother and pretend we -are not together.” - -“I’ll do no such thing,” she answered, showing her teeth like a -snarling tiger. “The jig’s up and you are to take the blame, so watch -your step.” - -Cheatham tried to think quickly. Should he pass Ursula without -recognition? What should he do? He could not turn tail and run, as he -would have liked to do. If it were not for the hateful Fitchet and her -rowdy brother he might have faced the situation. How could he explain -his conduct to Teddy Trask? How could his stepdaughter have found her -brother and got him away from their clutches? What had that colorless -Miss Friend to do with it all? Why had she gone to Cincinnati by one -train and returned to Louisville by the next? What proof would they -have that he had been implicated in the kidnaping? - -Such thoughts brought him up to where Ursula stood, with her two good -friends and her brothers. Evidently she would leave it to him whether -or not speech was to pass between them. She moved not a muscle, but -stood with erect head and flashing eyes, as if about to pass judgment -on a criminal. - -Josie broke the spell by saying: “Ah, Mr. Cheatham, so we came back on -the same train! If I had only known! Wasn’t it wonderful, too, that I -met my dear friend Ursula Ellett on the train? Such a sweet girl! It -was so fortunate that quite by chance I ran across her little brother -at the Hotel Haddon. - -“You see, I went to the Alpha, directly across the street. When you -told me you were going to the Haddon I didn’t like to go there, too, -because you might have thought I was pursuing you, and far be it from -me to give any man that impression, but since you had assured me the -neighborhood was respectable, I just stopped at the Alpha. - -“I saw little Philip peeping out of the second-story window, and as -I knew his sister was very uneasy about him, I gave up my date in -Cincinnati and just brought him along with me. You see, Miss Ellett and -I are very dear friends. In fact, we are partners in a little business -in Dorfield. She runs the tea room and I do the washing and dabble a -bit in detective work.” - -All of this chatter Josie got off without drawing breath, and with -the mincing manners of a very silly young person. Teddy found himself -laughing and Ursula could not help giggling, in spite of the deep -emotion that was mastering her. - -Josie continued: “This is Miss Fitchet, I take it, and her brother, -known as Bill? This gentleman, I understand, was in Dorfield only last -night, where he went to deliver a letter to Miss Ellett. He got off -the train at Dorset instead of Dorfield and there got a lift from a -country doctor who was riding in an old-fashioned car of the vintage -of 1912. He left the doctor without saying ‘thank you’ and boarded a -freight train going west. The letter he delivered to Miss Ellett is -very incriminating.” - -At these words the man called Bill turned and began to run, but his -course took him directly into the arms of a big policeman, who held him -tightly until he could give an account of himself. - -“I reckon you’d better hold on to him, Captain, for a while,” said -Josie. “He might be needed.” - -At the mention of a letter having been sent to Ursula, Mr. Cheatham -looked very much mystified. He turned on Miss Fitchet. - -“What does this mean?” - -“I reckon it means there is double-crossing going on. What do you want -to do about these people, Ursula?” asked Josie. - -“Oh, let them all go,” said the girl. “I have my baby back and that is -all that makes any difference.” - -“Yes, that is all that makes much difference,” said Teddy Trask, “but -I think you’d better not let them get away until you have a business -understanding with your stepfather. If you will employ me as your -attorney, I’ll attend to that.” - -“I do, I do!” With Ursula’s response, Teddy Trask swung into action. - -“All right then. Mr. Cheatham, I shall ask you to be in my office -to-morrow morning at nine o’clock. You had best not attempt to get -out of this or I shall have to advise Uncle Sam concerning certain -tampering with mails. Letters addressed to Miss Ursula Ellett from her -Uncle Ben Benson, and from an attorney in Kimberly, have been held by -you and unlawfully opened.” - -“I--I--could not forward mail to my stepdaughter when I did not know -her address,” stammered Cheatham. - -“Your confederate, Miss Fitchet, saw Miss Ellett in Dorfield in -November. The police of that town have a record of her having been in -Dorfield at that time, immediately after Mr. Benson wrote to Ursula. -His letter is now in my possession, so you need not worry to look it -up. I also hold the will of the late Mr. Benson and will expect to -see the representative from the firm of Toler & Smith, who will be in -Louisville shortly, so I understand. - -“I shall ask you in the morning to account in full for the estate of -the late Philip Ellett. What belongs to the children you have defrauded -shall be returned to them unless you are willing to spend some twenty -years behind the bars. - -“As for you,” and Teddy Trask turned on Miss Fitchet, who had been -rather enjoying the ragging her employer was undergoing, “you had -best be very quiet and behave very well. You have been guilty of a -great crime and it rests with Miss Ellett whether or not you shall be -punished for it. The police in Louisville have you under surveillance, -so you need not hope to escape if it is desirable to keep you.” - -“Anything more?” asked Cheatham sullenly. - -“Yes, don’t trust silly flappers with the name of the hotel where you -expect to stop,” said Josie, in her natural voice and manner, which -were in startling contrast to the one which she had hitherto used in -addressing Cheatham. - -Turning to the abashed nurse, Josie said: “As for you, Miss Fitchet, -when you are running off with poor little boys and almost breaking -their sisters’ hearts, don’t pass by fires where the camera man is no -doubt on his job. News reels are quickly developed and on the screen. -If I had not seen you on the screen, dragging poor little Philip along -the sidewalk near where the big fire was on Christmas morning in -Cincinnati, I might have taken much longer to trace you. I say ‘thank -goodness for the movies.’ Also please let me add that the world would -have more respect for all of you if you could realize that there should -be honor among thieves.” - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: - -Spelling, hyphenation and punctuation have been retained as -they appear in the original publication, except as follows: - - Page 45 - said Ursula, looking up from her work.” _changed to_ - said Ursula, looking up from her work. - - Page 58 - her mother and father and her brother? _changed to_ - her mother and father and her brother! - - Page 68 - she could not help but feeling _changed to_ - she could not help but feel - - Page 80 - mule cyars uster fotch th _changed to_ - mule cyars uster fotch th’ - - Page 84 - vitamines but she had a genius _changed to_ - vitamins but she had a genius - - Page 156 - She rememberd that his shoes had but _changed to_ - She remembered that his shoes had but - - Page 163 - go back the way it came. So long! _changed to_ - go back the way it came. So long!” - - Page 176 - “Josie had felt it wise _changed to_ - Josie had felt it wise - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Josie O'Gorman, by -Emma Speed Sampson and Edith Van Dyne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOSIE O'GORMAN *** - -***** This file should be named 60974-0.txt or 60974-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/7/60974/ - -Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, University of California, -Los Angeles, Sue Clark, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Josie O'Gorman - -Author: Emma Speed Sampson - Edith Van Dyne - -Illustrator: Harry W. Armstrong - -Release Date: December 20, 2019 [EBook #60974] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOSIE O'GORMAN *** - - - - -Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, University of California, -Los Angeles, Sue Clark, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<hr class="divider" /> -<h1 class="page-break-print">Josie O’Gorman</h1> - -<div class="hidehand"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/cover2.jpg" width="400" height="532" alt="Cover" /> -</div> -</div> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="400" height="616" alt="" /> -<div class="caption">“Horrid ain’t de word”, said Aunt Mandy—Chapter VIII.</div> -</div> -</div> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<div class="figcenter width400"> -<img src="images/title-page.jpg" width="400" height="642" alt="Title page" /> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider2" /> -</div> -<p class="center p180">Josie O’Gorman</p> - -<p class="center p120 mt3"><small>By</small><br /> -Edith Van Dyne</p> - -<p class="center mt3">Author of<br /> -The “Mary Louise” Stories, in which<br /> -Josie O’Gorman, the Girl Detective,<br /> -was a leading character</p> - -<p class="center p120 mt3"><small>Frontispiece by</small><br /> -Harry W. Armstrong</p> - -<p class="center p140 mt3">The Reilly & Lee Co.<br /> -Chicago</p> - - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<p class="center underscore"><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></p> - -<p class="center mt3"><i>Copyright, 1923<br /> -by</i><br /> -The Reilly & Lee Co.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center"><i>All Rights Reserved</i></p> - -<p class="center mt3"><cite>Josie O’Gorman</cite></p> -</div> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<h2><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table summary="Contents"> -<tr> -<th class="tdr">CHAPTER</th> -<th class="tdl"> </th> -<th class="tdr2">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">I</td> -<td class="tdl">Josie’s Funny Nose</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#i">7</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">II</td> -<td class="tdl">Ursula Tells Her Story</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ii">19</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">III</td> -<td class="tdl">A Rush Order for Dolls</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iii">32</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IV</td> -<td class="tdl">Lost and Found</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#iv">45</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">V</td> -<td class="tdl">Ursula Writes a Letter</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#v">54</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VI</td> -<td class="tdl">Philip Is Kidnapped</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vi">66</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VII</td> -<td class="tdl">Josie Visits Louisville</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#vii">79</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">VIII</td> -<td class="tdl">Clues from Aunt Mandy</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#viii">87</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">IX</td> -<td class="tdl">Josie Finds a Friend</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#ix">96</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">X</td> -<td class="tdl">A Visit to Peewee Valley</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#x">103</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XI</td> -<td class="tdl">Mr. Cheatham Is Unmasked</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xi">113</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XII</td> -<td class="tdl">In an Old Kentucky Home</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xii">124</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIII</td> -<td class="tdl">A Great Christmas Feast</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiii">133</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIV</td> -<td class="tdl">A Trap for Mr. Cheatham</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xiv">143</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XV</td> -<td class="tdl">An Anonymous Letter</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xv">152</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVI</td> -<td class="tdl">Bob Dulaney’s Chase</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvi">164</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVII</td> -<td class="tdl">Josie Makes a Find</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xvii">175</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XVIII</td> -<td class="tdl">The Clue in the Film</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xviii">185</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XIX</td> -<td class="tdl">Philip Is Found</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xix">197</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XX</td> -<td class="tdl">Miss Fitchet Is Surprised</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xx">207</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> -<td class="tdr">XXI</td> -<td class="tdl">Josie O’Gorman’s Triumph</td> -<td class="tdr2"><a href="#xxi">215</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span> -<p class="center p200">Josie O’Gorman</p> -</div> - -<h2><a name="i" id="i"></a>CHAPTER I<br /> -<span>JOSIE’S FUNNY NOSE</span></h2> - - -<p>Josie O’Gorman’s appearance was one of her greatest assets. To the -general run of young girls who look upon beauty as the one and only -attribute necessary for success in life no doubt this statement would -sound absurd. Certainly there was little in Josie’s appearance that -to the casual observer would have passed muster as an asset. To be -sure her sandy hair was abundant and well kept; her complexion, though -subject to freckles, smooth and clear and milk-white where the sun -could not reach it; her teeth even and pearly; her figure, small but -erect with every muscle under the control of the alert mind of the -girl; her feet—well, her feet the most scornful flapper might have -envied. Even Josie, who was as free from vanity and self-consciousness -as any girl living, had much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span> satisfaction in her feet which were as -smooth and guiltless of imperfections as those of a three-year-old -child.</p> - -<p>Those good points mentioned were not, however, Josie’s greatest -assets. The features that gave Josie rank as one of the most astute -female detectives were a pair of colorless, nondescript eyes, that -could at the owner’s will take on an expression of absolute stupidity, -even imbecility; and a nose that could be described best by the word -“blobby.” No wrong-doer, attempting to evade detection, could have -any fear of a person whose eyes resembled those of a codfish. As for -the blobby nose, it was a nose that made a good foundation for any -disguise. Not only did false noses fit on it with ludicrous exactness -but Josie had the faculty of controlling that member and forcing it to -do her bidding in a manner most surprising. From a mere blob she could -wrinkle it into a turned-up nose, or by lifting one nostril and pulling -down her upper lip she could change her countenance so that her best -friends would have difficulty in recognizing her. This power of nose -control was one that she had but recently acquired.</p> - -<p>“I always could do things to my eyes,” she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> said to her dear friend -Mary Louise, Mrs. Danny Dexter, “but I had always considered my nose a -hopeless give-away. I was sure there was not another one like it in all -the world, now that my dear father is dead.”</p> - -<p>“How did you happen to discover your power over it?” asked Mary Louise, -who could not help smiling at her friend’s mention of the father’s -nose. The elder O’Gorman had been a famous detective and his shapeless -nose had been almost as famous as its owner.</p> - -<p>“It was this way: I blame myself and my sensitive vanity for not -finding out about it long ago,” laughed Josie. “You see I never looked -in a mirror, at least hardly ever. I never liked what I saw there and I -saw no use in mortifying myself. Instead of facing the truth about my -ugly mug I put it behind me.”</p> - -<p>“Your face? That was a great feat. Surely you are some juggler!”</p> - -<p>Josie grinned.</p> - -<p>“Excuse the Irish break. Anyhow, I looked at myself occasionally -only—to see that my hair was parted straight or my hat was not cocked -over one ear. It was after that experience I had in Atlanta getting -even with that arch fiend,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> Chester Hunt, and bringing the Waller -family together that I sat down in front of a mirror one day and looked -myself squarely in the face. I was very triumphant over having bested -and worsted the handsome Chester; but in spite of my satisfaction -there was a kind of sore spot in my heart, because you see, honey, -after all I’m nothing but a girl and no matter how indifferent I may -seem to things girls have and do I’m not really indifferent at all. -I’m just busy—too busy to brood over the things that can’t be helped. -But somehow Chester Hunt’s remarks sort of hurt me. He did not scruple -to let me know he considered me homely beyond words and he took a -real delight in making me feel that it was hard to believe I could be -the capable person he had decided I was because my appearance was so -against me. I fancy I wouldn’t have minded so much if he himself had -not been so extremely handsome. I give you my word, Mary Louise, he was -one of the most wonderful looking men I ever saw, and there was nothing -in his appearance to give away the black-hearted villainy of him. -Well, as I was saying, I sat down in front of the mirror and looked at -myself, trying to see myself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> as no doubt the handsome Chester saw me.”</p> - -<p>“It’s my nose that is the insurmountable offender!” I exclaimed. “No -wonder he thought me so hideous. I wonder if he’d like me any better if -I had a turned-up nose.”</p> - -<p>With that Josie turned up her nose, giving herself such a ridiculous -expression that Mary Louise laughed merrily.</p> - -<p>“Well that’s when I found out I could do it. I practiced holding it -like this for minutes at the time. Then I discovered I could take on a -kind of hare-lip look and in fact could do almost anything that I had -a mind to with my despised nose. So you see Chester Hunt has been a -great friend to me, unwittingly however. I fancy he’d like to get even -with me in some way besides making it possible for me to make faces -that disguise my weird beauty. Anyhow, from being a person who used -never to look in a mirror, I spent all of my spare time making faces at -myself in the glass. What do you think of this one? I held it for two -miles the other day and met Captain Lonsdale, who did not recognize me, -although he has known me forever.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Josie, what a face! No wonder poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> Captain Charlie didn’t know -you! Who would unless he had been present at the transformation?” Mary -Louise gave Josie an affectionate hug, as she spoke.</p> - -<p>The girls were seated in the Higgledy Piggledy Shop, which was an -industry owned and run by Josie O’Gorman and her two associates, -Elizabeth Wright and Irene MacFarlane, and watched over by the guardian -angel, Mary Louise Dexter. In the Higgledy Piggledy Shop one found a -little of everything and the youthful proprietors prided themselves on -never turning down an order, no matter how impossible it might appear. -From a small undertaking it had grown to be a business of goodly -proportions. Elizabeth Wright was the business manager and also looked -after the literary end, writing club papers for the unwary females who -had got themselves in for such things and were powerless to deliver -the goods. She also did a pretty good business in obituary notices, -corrected and typed manuscripts and ran a correspondence course in -the art of scenario writing, passing on the knowledge she had picked -up during the summer she had spent at Columbia University. Many and -varied were the duties<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span> of Elizabeth, all of which she performed with -proficiency.</p> - -<p>The lame girl, Irene MacFarlane, had charge of all needle work. At the -beginning of the venture Irene had merely been employed by Josie and -Elizabeth, giving a few hours a day to the work, but she had proven -herself so necessary to the establishment that she had been tendered -a full partnership and now every day the brave patient girl wheeled -herself to the shop in her invalid’s chair, which she never left; and -there she sat mending lace or doing the exquisite embroidery for which -the Higgledy Piggledy Shop was famous, or even minding the store when -the other partners were out on business. She managed her chair with -the ease of an expert bicycle rider, never bumping into furniture or -scraping her wheels, but gliding across the floor, weaving her way in -and out, with a positive grace of movement.</p> - -<p>The Higgledy Piggledy Shop was on the second floor of an old building. -In the rear was a small electric elevator, entered from the alley. -This had been originally a clumsy dumb-waiter, manipulated by creaking -pulleys and ropes, but had been converted to its present state of -useful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> beauty by Danny Dexter, who ever strove to serve his darling -Mary Louise and her friends. Irene would enter the small lift from the -rear through a door just large enough to admit her chair. The door was -locked and Irene alone had the key. One touch of a button would send -her to the floor above, where the door would automatically open and -then she would glide into the shop. It always seemed to the girls a -kind of miraculous vision when Irene would so silently appear.</p> - -<p>On the day when Josie was showing Mary Louise the control she had -gained over what she had hitherto looked upon as a despised and -useless feature—at least useless as far as the detective business was -concerned in the matter of disguises, although greatly prized as to its -ability to detect tell-tale odors—Irene appeared just in time to get -the full benefit of Josie’s last and most astounding face.</p> - -<p>It was a sad face and a sinister one, the left nostril lifted and the -right one compressed; the mouth drawn down at the corners with the -under lip protruding loosely.</p> - -<p>Irene greeted the girls gaily but stopped embarrassed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> -“I—I—beg your pardon,” she said falteringly. “I thought for a moment -you were Miss O’Gorman.”</p> - -<p>Mary Louise laughed delightedly and try as she might Josie could not -hold her expression but broke down in hopeless giggles.</p> - -<p>“There now, I must practice a lot or I’ll never be able to fool a -flea,” she declared. “If my risibles get the better of me there is no -use in calling myself a detective.”</p> - -<p>Irene looked worried, although she, too, was amused.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with you, honey?” asked Josie.</p> - -<p>“I can’t bear for you to make yourself look that way,” said Irene. “It -does not seem right, somehow, to twist one’s features so far from the -way God has meant them to be. I love your dear face, Josie, and it gave -me an awful turn to see it all out of shape.”</p> - -<p>“Bless your dear heart!” exclaimed Josie. “I promise you never to twist -it except in the cause of righteousness, unless it is in practicing. Of -course I must practice a lot to perfect my detective make-up.”</p> - -<p>“You make me think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> Hyde. I only hope making -yourself look so frightful won’t make you sad,” said Irene. “Speaking -of sad looks, I have found a person to conduct our tea room—if you -others like her as much as I do—but she is awfully sad. I don’t blame -her. No doubt she has had her troubles—is still having them, but -she is very industrious. Indeed she has need to be since two little -brothers are entirely dependent on her for support.”</p> - -<p>The tea room was one of the Higgledy Piggledy ventures that brought -in more money than any branch of the business, but gave the girls -more trouble than all of the other industries put together. Elizabeth -Wright’s talents did not lie in a domestic direction, Irene because -of her lameness was handicapped, and Josie was too often absent on -detective business to give any time to it. There had been times when -the Higgledy Piggledies had almost determined to abandon the tea room, -but it seemed like flying in the face of Providence to give up the -steady income that accrued from it.</p> - -<p>“Tell us about this sad person,” urged Josie.</p> - -<p>“Her name is Ursula Ellett and she came from Louisville, Kentucky. She -is well educated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span> and really a lady. She must be about twenty-two, but -she seems much older because she has had so much trouble. She went to -see Uncle Peter Conant on legal business and it was with him that I met -her. Her father died when she was very young and the little brothers, -Ben and Philip, were tiny tots. Her mother married again, then died two -years ago and the stepfather, who is the root of all evil and source -of all woe, wished to put them in charge of a trained nurse, a most -impossible person with whom Ursula refused to live or to allow the -little brothers to live. The stepfather, by some dishonest juggling, -has got possession of the estate which belonged to the Elletts and -refuses to do a thing for Ursula or the boys unless they live with him. -His name is Cheatham, which seems to fit him to a dot.”</p> - -<p>“How did she happen to come to Dorfield?” asked Josie.</p> - -<p>“Her mother’s people came from here, and while there are none of them -left Ursula felt drawn to the place because of what her mother had told -of her childhood here and the kindly neighbors. The public schools of -Dorfield have a good name and she wants to educate Ben and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> Philip. She -loves Louisville but could not stay in the same city with Cheatham, who -busied himself making things unpleasant for her.</p> - -<p>“I believe she is just the girl we want for the tea room. She has -managed a household, understands servants and serving, and she is -really a fine cook. What do you say to looking her over?”</p> - -<p>“Sure, let’s give her the job,” agreed Josie. “Of course Elizabeth must -give her vote before we can settle on it.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, but I’m pretty sure that what our sane Irene says is safe -for the Higgledy Piggledies,” laughed Mary Louise. “I fancy Ursula -Ellett will take charge of the tea room at an early date.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="ii" id="ii"></a>CHAPTER II<br /> -<span>URSULA TELLS HER STORY</span></h2> - - -<p>“Why didn’t you tell us how beautiful she was?” Josie asked Irene after -the partners had looked Ursula Ellett over, approved of her and engaged -her on the spot.</p> - -<p>“I did not like to because I did not know whether you would think her -as beautiful as I do.”</p> - -<p>“Thought you had a corner on taste, eh?” laughed Josie.</p> - -<p>“Not that. But you know tastes differ so. Uncle doesn’t think she is -beautiful, merely sweet looking and Aunt Hannah says if it wasn’t for -her eyes she would call her positively homely. They say she has no -figure.”</p> - -<p>“No figure! With that willowy slenderness!” exclaimed Elizabeth. “Why -she looks like a wood nymph!”</p> - -<p>Ursula Ellett was not as old as Irene had thought, in fact she had -just reached her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> majority. But the cares that had fallen on her young -shoulders had added to her years and the troubles and anxieties had -given a gravity to her countenance that was pitiable to behold. Her -eyes were violet with dark pansy markings, her lashes long and thick -with brows delicately bowed, her nose of patrician perfection. Her -mouth needed only smiles to make it beautiful, but it was too sad at -the present, with the corners drooping and making lines of discontent -that were fast becoming permanent. Her hair was dark, almost black, but -with a coppery hue.</p> - -<p>It meant much to Ursula to be taken in by the Higgledy Piggledies, and -it meant much to the partners to have a capable person to take hold of -their tea room and run it with the order necessary for its success.</p> - -<p>“Where did you learn to do things so well?” Josie asked their new -manager, as she moved quickly around the tea room getting everything to -rights in preparation for the afternoon. It was the custom for many of -the young people of Dorfield to drop in at the Higgledy Piggledy, which -had established a reputation for cinnamon toast and waffles baked on an -electric iron.</p> - -<p>“Training servants,” answered Ursula. “I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span> have had dozens to break in -at my home in Louisville. My stepfather was very difficult to please -and my endeavor was to give him no just cause of complaint. I had to -learn to do all kinds of things about the house well so that I could -teach others. Mr. Cheatham was constantly dismissing the servants and -then my work was all to be done over. I like this kind of work very -much and do hope I can give satisfaction.” Ursula’s lip trembled as she -spoke.</p> - -<p>“Give satisfaction! Why, my dear girl, we think we have found a -treasure in you. We only hope we can be the ones to give satisfaction. -Please feel that we are your friends. In the first place, in our shop -what Irene says goes. She doesn’t often make suggestions, being one of -the most modest of human beings, but when she does we all of us agree -with her. I have never known Irene to make a mistake in people. She has -put me right on several persons.”</p> - -<p>Josie then recounted to Ursula the tale of the Markles, a perfidious -couple who had almost gotten away with all of Mary Louise’s wedding -presents, and she gave Irene the credit for being the first one of all -of the friends of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> little bride to realize there was something -shady about Felix and Hortense Markle.</p> - -<p>“She always knows when people are the right sort, too,” added Josie, -“and she gave you a mighty good name.”</p> - -<p>“I am very happy at that,” said Ursula, a smile flashing for a moment -over her sad countenance. “My little brothers are quite in love with -Miss MacFarlane.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, none of that, please!” interrupted Josie. “Don’t ‘Miss’ any of us. -We are Irene and Elizabeth and Josie and you are Ursula.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” blushed Ursula, “but I did not want to be too familiar. -Anyhow the boys are very fond of Irene. Mrs. Conant is kind to them too -and has asked them to make themselves at home in her yard. Now that -school is over it is quite a problem to keep the little fellows happy.”</p> - -<p>“How old are they?”</p> - -<p>“Ben is ten and Philip, six.”</p> - -<p>“Why, they are old enough to help around the shop. Let them come here -and they can be our delivery boys. We are always needing a boy to run -errands.”</p> - -<p>“That would be wonderful, but they are such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> little fellows that I am -afraid they would be in the way.”</p> - -<p>“Children are never in my way, and you know how Irene feels about them. -Elizabeth is fine to boys. She doesn’t take much stock in girls, having -been brought up in a house full of them. Let me talk it over with my -partners first, though.”</p> - -<p>The partners were more than willing and the next day when Ursula came -to work she came hand in hand with her two brothers. Ben and Philip -were delighted with the idea of holding jobs, but more than anything -were they pleased at the thought of being near “The Lady in the Chair,” -which was the name they had given Irene.</p> - -<p>“I’m the chief office boy an’ Phil is my clerk,” announced Ben. “I’m -gonter do all the work an’ he’s gonter trot along an’ watch me. He’s -just six an’ I’m in my ’leventh year. I’m gonter grow up an’ take care -of Sister an’ buy her a ring an’ some beads an’ a Stutz racer. I’m -gonter send Phil to college too, an’ buy him some long pants.”</p> - -<p>“An’ I’m gonter save up my money that I make watchin’ you work an’ buy -The Lady in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span> the Chair a all-day sucker,” announced Philip.</p> - -<p>There could be no two opinions concerning those Ellett boys. They were -beautiful children—their loveliness almost unearthly. Ben was fair and -sturdy, large for his years, with the wide blue eyes and yellow hair -of a Viking child. Philip was more like his sister Ursula, slender and -patrician, with dusky hair and eyes like dark pools in a forest where -the blue sky is reflected unexpectedly. The boys adored first their -sister, whom they considered the most wonderful person in the world, -and then each other, Ben ever protecting his little brother and Philip -ever looking up to Ben as a superior being.</p> - -<p>They were natural, normal boys and for that reason not at all saintly. -Ursula felt she could trust them as far as honesty was concerned but -was always very anxious about them when she had to be away from them -in the pursuit of a livelihood. This arrangement with the Higgledy -Piggledies was an ideal one. There she could have an eye ever on her -charges and she was sure the boys would be as good as boys could be, -which of course is not perfect.</p> - -<p>Faithfully they delivered parcels for the Higgledy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> Piggledy shop, -Viking Ben carrying the burdens and Phil walking just two steps behind -his brother, admiring his prowess with loving eyes. Faithfully they -brought back money from the customers carefully pinned in Ben’s pocket -and painfully counted out by that future business man.</p> - -<p>Josie got a knapsack in which small parcels could be securely strapped, -as often the articles to be delivered were quite valuable such as old -lace mended by Irene or rare linen laundered by Josie or manuscript -corrected or copied by Elizabeth. The boys were instructed to return -immediately and report at the shop after making a delivery. This they -did with a promptness surprising in such youngsters.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t when they are busy that I feel anxious about them,” sighed -Ursula, “but when they are idle. Please hunt up more duties for them.”</p> - -<p>“Poor dears! Don’t they eat up all the cold waffles? What more could we -demand?” laughed Josie. “Don’t you remember how sorry we always felt -about the cold waffles, girls?”</p> - -<p>“Yes indeed, the Higgledy Piggledy garbage pail always mortified me,” -said Elizabeth. “No<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> matter how carefully one plans there are always -cold waffles to be disposed of. Even my mother, who is an excellent -manager, I can tell you, has never mastered the cold waffle problem.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it is no problem here,” smiled Ursula. “In fact there is nothing -left over since you dear girls insisted upon my giving my boys their -supper here. I wish I could tell you what it means to me, having this -place and being able to see Ben and Philip all the time.”</p> - -<p>“Well I wish you knew what it means to us to have our tea room run like -a smart New York shop, with never a hitch and more and more persons -praising it and bringing their friends here to treat them—to say -nothing of the empty garbage pail. If things don’t stop prospering so -we are going to have to get new quarters, girls. Do you realize that?” -queried Josie.</p> - -<p>“Oh, but please don’t let’s leave the dear old shop,” begged Elizabeth. -“These have been the happiest months of my whole life, I truly believe. -If we have to expand, let’s expand upward or downward. Why not see -about the rooms above or the rickety old store below?”</p> - -<p>“Turn out the cleaners and dyers below, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> certainly smell most -vilely and increase our insurance rates one hundred per cent and make -a kind of lunch club down there! Great scheme!” exclaimed Josie. “What -does our sage Irene think?”</p> - -<p>“I think it is a fine idea but it would need a good deal of capital to -start such an undertaking,” said Irene thoughtfully. “Let’s go slowly -until we find someone with capital to invest.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could command my own little fortune,” blushed Ursula. “I -haven’t much—at least I don’t think I have, but what I own I have no -more power over than if it wasn’t mine. My stepfather, Mr. Cheatham, -has entire control of everything connected with my father’s estate.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t you go to law about it?” asked Elizabeth.</p> - -<p>“I—I—am helpless with him. He holds it over me that if I make any -trouble he will claim my boys. He says he has the right to keep them -from me. There is some quirk in the law that he quotes. I am sure I -don’t understand it but I am afraid to test it. I’d give up all the -money in the world rather than have my Ben and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> Philip under the -influence of such a man.”</p> - -<p>“Haven’t you any relations?” asked Josie.</p> - -<p>“Only Uncle Ben Benson, my mother’s brother, and I don’t know where -he is. He was very much put out with my poor little mother when she -married Mr. Cheatham. He left Louisville and we have never heard -anything from him. I loved Uncle Ben and he loved me. I felt he was -hard on Mother and told him so, although Heaven knows it almost killed -me for her to marry such a man. But she was young when my father died, -young and so beautiful. Mr. Cheatham evidently had some influence over -her that we could not understand.”</p> - -<p>“What is his standing in the community?” asked Josie.</p> - -<p>“He is not trusted or respected but he is so plausible that he has -a certain following. He makes an excellent impression on strangers -and Louisville is growing so, with such a large number of new people -settling there every year, that it is quite a simple matter for Mr. -Cheatham to worm himself into the good graces of the new and wealthy -people. He is clever and has an engaging manner until you know him. -Then you hate his manner as you hate him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> -“Does he know where you are?”</p> - -<p>“I think not, but I am not sure. He always finds out everything he -wants to know. He doesn’t care where I am, just so I let him alone. The -thing that determined my leaving home was not only his threatening to -bring this woman, this Miss Fitchet, to the house, but an awful scene -we had with him when he tried to whip my Ben. It was because of some -trifling bit of naughtiness. Ben turned on the hydrant to which the -hose was attached and could not get it turned off.”</p> - -<p>“All boys like to play in water,” laughed Josie. “I like it myself.”</p> - -<p>“He began to beat him unmercifully and little Philip rushed in and bit -him on the leg and I—I’m not ashamed to tell you that I took a hand in -the fight myself, although it was in the front yard of our home on one -of the principal old residential streets of Louisville. I turned the -hose on the wretch and he got it full in the face. I am sure we looked -like a movie comedy; but he left off beating Ben.”</p> - -<p>“Good for you!” laughed Josie.</p> - -<p>“We left then and I have never seen him again. I took the boys to a -hotel and got a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> lawyer to go see him and try and get an allowance -from him but he refused any financial help. He said we would be taken -care of as long as we would stay under his roof and no longer. I could -not stand the thought of ever having to see him again and so I left -Louisville. He thought we would live with some old friends who are at -Peewee Valley, near Louisville, but I came to Dorfield, and oh, how -glad I am I chose this peaceful spot!”</p> - -<p>Ursula beamed happily on her employers. Already the girl had a -different expression. The corners of her mouth were lifting and the -pained look in her pansy eyes had given place to one of peace and trust.</p> - -<p>“How about Uncle Ben Benson? Don’t you fancy he’ll come rolling in one -day with his coat lined with thousand dollar bills and a potato sack -full of gold nuggets?” asked Elizabeth. “Uncles in the manuscripts I -correct always come home rich and generous.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t care much about the nuggets and coat lining, if he would -only come home or write to me and let me know he is alive and well and -no longer bears a grudge against me for standing up for my poor little -mother. I tried to let<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> him know when she died but my letter came back -to me after having followed him around to all kinds of out-of-the-way -places. Sometimes I am afraid he is dead.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be bound he is not. Probably he is working away at some sort of -business that is going to bring in oodles of money,” insisted Elizabeth.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” mused Ursula, “but in the meantime I had better get the -waffle batter mixed and the cinnamon toast under way, because the -hungry patrons will be pouring in soon.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="iii" id="iii"></a>CHAPTER III<br /> -<span>A RUSH ORDER FOR DOLLS</span></h2> - - -<p>The weeks rolled by. The Higgledy Piggledies prospered. Many waffles -and much cinnamon toast were devoured by the elite of Dorfield. Each -partner was occupied in her especial line but often everyone would have -to lend a hand at afternoon tea time.</p> - -<p>School opened and the diminutive delivery boys were forced to -relinquish their jobs during school hours, but afternoon always found -them at the shop ready for any kind of work their gentle employers -could find for them. Proudly they held up their heads at being able to -help Sister. Ben even learned to bake waffles on the electric iron and -was what Elizabeth called, quoting from real estate advertisements, “an -extra added feature” to the attractions of the tea room. Philip learned -to wait on the tables, never dropping or spilling a thing.</p> - -<p>“So much for the Montessori method,” said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> Josie. “I believe carrying -soup without spilling it is the especial triumph of their system of -training. You told me the boys had been to a Montessori school, did you -not, Ursula?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that was one of the times when I had my way in spite of Mr. -Cheatham.”</p> - -<p>Irene had made the boys little linen aprons and caps and wonderfully -charming they looked, with their flushed and eager faces, as they -seriously and conscientiously served the guests.</p> - -<p>“The boys at school try to tease me for doin’ it,” Ben confessed to -Josie, “but I jes’ tell ’em that Alfred the Great had to mind the cakes -an’ what a king ain’t above doin’ I ain’t either—only ol’ Alfred let -the cakes burn an’ I don’t never let my waffles get mor’n a golden -brown. I reckon kings ain’t much account when it comes to head work. It -takes head work to do things ’zackly right.”</p> - -<p>“It certainly does,” laughed Josie. “It is wonderful to find that out -when you are a boy, Ben, because some persons get to be old as old can -be and never know it. If you bake waffles as well as they can be baked, -when that is the job before you, it will be easier to tackle the bigger -job when it comes to you. I remember a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span> story I heard a lecturer tell -once that always has stayed with me.”</p> - -<p>“Please tell it to me,” begged Ben, who could not decide which to love -the more, the “Lady in the Chair” or Josie. He had almost decided on -Josie, since Philip could go on caring for Irene above all others -besides Sister. So Josie told this story:</p> - -<p>“Well, this gentleman, who was a great preacher and lecturer, said -when he was a little boy his father, who was also a noted divine, drew -him to him one day when he was in his study and with his arm around -him said: ‘My boy, have you thought what you would like to be when -you grow to manhood?’ ‘Yes, Father! I want to be a hack driver.’ His -father paused for a moment evidently somewhat nonplused at the strange -ambition of his son, then he said earnestly: ‘All right, my boy, but -mind you, be the best hack driver in town.’”</p> - -<p>“Oh I see what you mean. Well, I reckon I’m the best waffle baker in -town already—that is, the best boy waffle baker, and I’ll jes’ keep on -bein’ an’ tell the fellows what tease me to go swallow themselves.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly!” laughed Josie, “but it might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> be more tactful to ask them to -come swallow some waffles.”</p> - -<p>“Gee, no! That wouldn’t ever do. I ain’t sayin’ I can bake waffles fast -enough to fill up boys. They are reg’lar rat holes for emptiness.”</p> - -<p>One afternoon, several weeks before Christmas, the Higgledy Piggledies -were especially busy, an order for dressed dolls having come in that -had to be filled immediately. Dressing dolls was one of the things they -had not been called on to do before, but if dolls had to be dressed -they must be dressed and the partners made it a rule never to turn down -any form of order.</p> - -<p>“We’ll send an S. O. S. for our reserves,” said Josie. “And then the -faithful shall have to stay on and work overtime. It’s Saturday, -fortunately, and we can sleep late to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>Ursula proved an able assistant, being very clever at fashioning the -miniature garments.</p> - -<p>“I always loved to dress dolls,” she said, “but haven’t done it for -years and years. Of course, Ben and Philip did not want dolls.”</p> - -<p>“I’d of wanted one,” declared Philip. “Nobody never asked me didn’t I!” -He had drawn a stool up close to his sister’s knee and watched her with -adoring and wondering eyes as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> fashioned a tiny ruffled apron for a -blue-eyed beauty with a saucy turned-up nose and yellow hair. “I wisht -you’d let me hold that dolly until you finish her dress.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, sissy!” jeered Ben. “I wouldn’t let the boys catch me playin’ -dolls.”</p> - -<p>“I ain’t a sissy,” objected Philip. “I’m all time seein’ fathers -wheelin’ their kids out on Sundays. One time I peeked in a window back -in Louisville an’ I saw a man a-huggin’ an’ a-kissin’ his baby an’ -playin’ with it jes’ like girls do doll babies. What’s the reason that -boys that’re goin’ to grow up to be big mens can’t play doll babies as -much as men can play with their own babies made out of meat? I betcher -if Mr. Cheatham had played with doll babies some he wouldn’t of ’spised -little boys so much when he got growed up.”</p> - -<p>The argument being unanswerable, Ben did not attempt to answer it, but -satisfied himself by asserting it was sissy all the same to play dolls. -Philip looked longingly at the blue-eyed beauty but made no further -request to be allowed to hold it, although the young dressmakers -encouraged him to practice being a father all he wished. He merely sat -and watched the fashioning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> of the dainty garments, ever on the alert -to pick up dropped spools of thread or wait on the busy seamstresses.</p> - -<p>Mary Louise had come in to help and Laura Hilton and Lucile Neal. -Edna Barlow had promised to give her Saturday afternoon to the rush -order and Jane Donovan had missed a fashionable tea, so that she, too, -might have a finger in the doll pie. Some of the girls had worked all -day, not even going home for luncheon but having what Josie called a -“pick-up” at the shop.</p> - -<p>“A gross of dolls to be dressed is no idle jest,” exclaimed Elizabeth, -“not meaning to fall into poetry, so don’t anybody accuse me of lisping -in numbers. What do you think of my flapper?” She held up a doll in -a fringed skirt and slipover sweater with neat collar and cuffs, -bobbed hair, rakish hat and even cleverly contrived gaiters unbuttoned -according to the last cry in flapperdom.</p> - -<p>There was an outcry of approval from the workers.</p> - -<p>“One doesn’t have to use a microscope to see my stitches, but I do -think my doll is cute,” declared Elizabeth.</p> - -<p>“Cute is a silly word to use for her,” laughed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span> Mary Louise. “To my -mind she has real literary value.”</p> - -<p>“I want to dress one to look like an old-fashioned grandmother, now,” -said Elizabeth, “but we haven’t any black silk. I want her to frown on -the flapper.”</p> - -<p>“What did I tell you? Elizabeth always has to bring literature into -life, even into the dressing of dolls. I’ll go get some black silk -suitable for grandmothers for all time,” cried Mary Louise, jumping -up and dropping her thimble and spool of cotton, which little Philip -quickly restored, thereby gaining a kiss from Mary Louise, to whom all -children appealed.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go instead of you,” suggested Ursula. “I have a few other -purchases to make. It is very cold and you have a little cough.”</p> - -<p>It was agreed that Ursula should do the shopping. Ben also had to go -out to deliver some linen Josie had laundered, as well as some other -parcels.</p> - -<p>The girls settled themselves again, working rapidly, each one -endeavoring to outdo the other in fashioning clever and out-of-the-way -costumes—putting in the literary touch according to Mary Louise.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> -“This is quite like old times,” said Laura Hilton. “This is the same -crowd we had when we were working on Mary Louise’s wedding clothes.”</p> - -<p>“Except for that terrible Hortense Markle,” shuddered Jane Donovan.</p> - -<p>“She didn’t seem terrible on that morning, however,” said Edna Barlow. -“I thought she was the loveliest person I had ever seen, and do you -remember the song she sang as she embroidered the rose?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it was ‘Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May,’ and I also remember -she embroidered a faded place on the edge of one petal. I couldn’t -help hating her for doing it, too,” said Irene. “It seemed so cynical. -You remember she declared it was because the song suggested it to her. -She might have put a worm in the heart of the rose if suggestion was -anything.”</p> - -<p>“Well, well, poor Hortense! She loved her Felix anyhow,” sighed -Mary Louise, who had a hard time being persuaded that anyone was -really wicked. “Let’s change the subject. Don’t you think Miss -Ellett—Ursula—is lovely?”</p> - -<p>“She is indeed!” from all of the girls.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> -“Where on earth did you make the find?”</p> - -<p>Then the story of Ursula and her misfortunes had to be recounted.</p> - -<p>“Well, I call her pretty spunky,” said Lucile.</p> - -<p>“And aren’t the little boys precious?” put in Mary Louise. “Did Philip -go with Ben?”</p> - -<p>“No!” answered Josie, “Ben went alone; he thought it was too cold for -Philip. He must have gone with Ursula.”</p> - -<p>Ursula returned from her shopping expedition. An unwonted pallor had -spread over her face and her mouth was drooping at the corners as it -had when she first came to the Higgledy Piggledy Shop.</p> - -<p>“Here is the black silk,” she said. Her voice had a strange -tonelessness. Josie looked up quickly at her friend. The other girls -seemed not to notice the change in the girl.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Ursula?” Josie asked following her to the rear of the shop.</p> - -<p>“What is what?”</p> - -<p>“Now, of course, Ursula, if something has happened that you don’t want -to mention to me, it is your own business; but I want you to understand -that if it is anything I can assist you in I am ready.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> -Ursula looked into Josie’s honest face and hesitated a moment.</p> - -<p>“Somehow everything is so wonderful and peaceful and happy up here with -the Higgledy Piggledies that I can’t bear to bring any troubles among -you. I haven’t a real trouble but just a nameless dread.”</p> - -<p>“Out with it then! If you name it perhaps we can dispel it. The girls -can’t hear us talking back here—and besides they are chattering so -they couldn’t make out our conversation if we shouted.”</p> - -<p>Ursula, however, did not shout but only gasped:</p> - -<p>“Miss Fitchet is in Dorfield!”</p> - -<p>“You mean the woman—the nurse—your stepfather wanted to have live in -your home as housekeeper?”</p> - -<p>“Yes! Oh Josie, she is a terrible person and as unscrupulous as the -worst character in fiction! I feel she is in Dorfield for some evil -purpose. I can’t imagine just why, but her being here depresses me so I -can hardly bear life.”</p> - -<p>“You mean she may work some ill on you or your brothers? But what could -she do?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> -“I can’t tell. Mr. Cheatham already has all the money we should have -and—oh, Josie, I just can’t tell what it is but—but—” and here the -poor girl burst into tears.</p> - -<p>Josie drew her into her own bedroom, which was a small cubby hole -tucked away in the rear of the shop.</p> - -<p>“Now, now, you poor, dear thing!” Josie could be remarkably tender, -considering she was such a determined and relentless little detective. -Her voice now had a motherly ring. “You mustn’t feel so despondent over -a thing like this. I don’t know what you dread—”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know myself.”</p> - -<p>“Well, whatever it is I can promise you that I am here to see you -through. Tell me what was this Fitchet person doing?”</p> - -<p>“I think she was following me, because I saw her several times as I -went in and out of shops. She was heavily veiled, but her face isn’t -what gives her away. I’d know her figure anywhere, under any disguise. -She is quite stout, with abnormally small feet, and always carries her -head a little on one side and she has a peculiar way of walking, never -keeping on a straight line but unconsciously zigzagging.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> -“Why, bless my soul! You’d make a good detective,” laughed Josie. “I -can actually see the person from your description. Now I’ll go out and -take Captain Charlie Lonsdale into my confidence and have him keep an -eye on the person. He is chief of police, you know, and my very good -friend. How old is Fitchet?”</p> - -<p>“About thirty-five, I should say. She is a trained nurse and Mr. -Cheatham had her nurse my poor little mother in her last illness. Thank -goodness the boys did not have to know her. I sent them to friends in -Peewee Valley during Mother’s illness.</p> - -<p>“Oh, she is horrible, and such a liar and so unkind! I couldn’t begin -to tell you of all the despicable things she is capable of doing and -saying.”</p> - -<p>“Well, never mind thinking about such things, my dear. You wash your -face now and calm yourself. It is such a cold day I am sure there will -be nothing doing in the tea room this afternoon. Why don’t you get the -boys and go home and have a nice little cozy time away from the old -Higgledy Piggledy?”</p> - -<p>“And leave you girls with all those dolls to finish? Indeed, my dear -Josie, I’m not made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span> of that kind of stuff. I’ll be with you in a -minute.”</p> - -<p>“I might have known it,” smiled Josie. “You are not of the deserter -type. After all you would be better off here with us. I believe I’ll -keep you all night. There is always plenty of room in the Higgledy -Piggledy for visitors.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="iv" id="iv"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span>LOST AND FOUND</span></h2> - - -<p>In a few moments Ursula was back at work on the dolls, all trace of -tears banished from her pretty face. Josie was preparing to go out, -declaring she must purchase a pot of glue—that she could not dress -dolls without glue. In reality, she was going to call on the chief of -police. Ben came running in, cheeks rosy, eyes shining and pockets -bulging with money collected from patrons to whom he had delivered -parcels.</p> - -<p>“Sis, where’s Phil?” he cried, “I got a pink sucker for him.”</p> - -<p>“Philip! Why, I thought he was with you,” said Ursula, looking up from -her <a name="work" id="work"></a><ins title="Original has closing quotation -mark">work.</ins></p> - -<p>“No, he didn’t go with me. It was so cold an’ he was so stuck on that -doll baby. I reckon he’s up in the tea room. Phil, oh Phil!” he called.</p> - -<p>There was no answer. Irene was sure he had gone with his sister and -Mary Louise thought he had gone with Ben.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> -“Maybe he went home,” suggested Ben. The Elletts lived in a tiny -apartment across the street from Mr. and Mrs. Conant.</p> - -<p>“But he knew we were to have tea here,” objected Ursula, who had turned -deathly pale. “But maybe you had better go see, Ben, and oh, please -hurry!”</p> - -<p>“Sure I will, Sister, you needn’t get scairt. Phil ain’t far away. I -reckon he’ll turn up before I get to the corner an’ I’ll have the run -for nothin’—but I ain’t mindin’.”</p> - -<p>“Dear Ben!” Ursula smiled on the sturdy boy, in spite of the nameless -terror that possessed her soul in regard to the little brother.</p> - -<p>“If only I didn’t know that Fitchet was in Dorfield!” Ursula whispered -to Josie.</p> - -<p>“Well, maybe it’s a good thing you do know it,” said Josie. “Everybody -turn in and give a good hunt through the shop.”</p> - -<p>Mary Louise and Elizabeth, with the other girls helping, had already -looked high and low, under the bed in Josie’s room, behind an antique -high-boy for sale in the shop, and had even shaken the draperies lying -across a table and peeped in a carved Florentine chest.</p> - -<p>At first it was more or less a game all were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> playing, as they were -sure the little fellow was somewhere in the shop, but as a thorough -search did not reveal him, the matter began to take on a more serious -tone and the game was changed.</p> - -<p>Without a word, Josie hurried to her old friend, Chief Lonsdale. -Quickly she told him her errand.</p> - -<p>“Stout woman, about thirty-five, abnormally small feet, always carries -her head on one side and has a way of zigzagging when she walks.”</p> - -<p>“You have seen her then?” laughed the chief.</p> - -<p>“No, but that is the way Ursula Ellett describes her.”</p> - -<p>“What color hair?”</p> - -<p>“She didn’t say, but you know and I know and the wig maker knows that -the color of hair doesn’t cut much ice. Anyhow, please keep your eyes -open for this person, who goes by the name of Fitchet at home and is a -trained nurse.”</p> - -<p>The chief promised and rang for a plain clothes man to get immediately -on the job, while Josie hurried back to the Higgledy Piggledy Shop.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> -Ben had returned and reported no sign of his little brother at their -home. Darkness had set in and snow had begun to fall like a fine -powder. Ursula sat like a statue, dolls piled around her. She looked up -as Josie entered and tried to smile. Josie reported that she had set -the police on the track of Fitchet and if it could be possible that she -had anything to do with the disappearance of little Philip she would be -found forthwith.</p> - -<p>“What could she want with him?” Josie asked. “Not that he isn’t wholly -desirable and lovely, but would that be anything to the type of woman -Miss Fitchet seems to be?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but Mr. Cheatham is capable of any villainy and not -above any small meanness. I must get out on the street and help hunt my -darling,” cried Ursula.</p> - -<p>“No, my dear, you must stay right here. It is very cold and you are so -wrought up you could do no good. The boy will be found in no time and -you must be ready to hold him in your arms when he gets back,” declared -Josie.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go mad waiting here, doing nothing,” wailed Ursula.</p> - -<p>“Well, do something then,” suggested the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> practical Josie. “Put the -dolls that have been dressed in their boxes and pile them up in the -back of the shop. All on that table are done.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t quite finish the school girl I was dressing,” said Ursula, -beginning mechanically to sort out the dressed dolls. “I mean the one -little Philip liked so much. Why, I can’t find her! Where can she be? I -left a needle sticking in her apron. She must be in this pile—No, she -is gone! Strange!”</p> - -<p>“Well, there is one thing that is not gone,” said Josie suddenly making -a dive under the table where the young seamstresses had been so busy -plying their needles, “and that’s Phil’s muffler and mittens. And -here’s his cap! Bless me, if there isn’t his overcoat under that pile -of scraps!”</p> - -<p>Ursula caught the little red mittens and held them to her aching heart.</p> - -<p>“Philip! Philip! My precious baby!” she moaned.</p> - -<p>Josie straightened up and smiled down on Ursula.</p> - -<p>“Did you girls look in every crack and cranny of the shop and tea room?”</p> - -<p>“Every one,” declared Elizabeth, who was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> preparing to go out on the -street and aid in the search for the lost child.</p> - -<p>“Are you sure?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t think of any spot we have not searched,” answered Mary Louise, -whose eyes were brimming over in sympathy for the sorrowing Ursula.</p> - -<p>Josie stood in the middle of the shop and into her eyes came the -strange dull look she often had when she was “picking up a scent” as it -were.</p> - -<p>“Philip missing—also the blue-eyed, yellow-haired doll he admired so -much,” Josie muttered.</p> - -<p>“Ye-es—an’ I went an’ called him a sissy,” sobbed Ben, who suddenly -realized that things looked pretty serious.</p> - -<p>“He wouldn’t go out in the cold, hunting his sister or brother, without -his overcoat and mittens,” Josie murmured. Then she lost the strange, -dull look in her eyes and, giving a short laugh, she snapped: “That kid -is in this Higgledy Piggledy Shop!”</p> - -<p>“Well, he must have made himself mighty little,” said Mary Louise. -“I’m going home and get Danny. He’s working on some blue prints this -afternoon. Danny will help us. Irene, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> you come now I can take you -home. I’ll bring my car up the alley. It is too blizzardy for you to -think of going home in your chair.”</p> - -<p>Irene could let herself down the little dumb-waiter, converted into -an elevator, and when Mary Louise would bring her car close up in the -alley the lame girl would by the aid of crutches swing herself from -chair to car.</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you, my dear,” replied Irene, “but I can’t think of going -until Philip is found. The snow is so dry I am sure I can get my chair -through it. You go and get Danny, though. I know he will be helpful.”</p> - -<p>At the mention of Irene’s going, Josie walked to the little door which -opened on the elevator shaft. As she started to open it Mary Louise -called to her:</p> - -<p>“Irene is not going yet, Josie!” thinking that Josie was preparing to -assist the lame girl.</p> - -<p>“I have an idea she is going pretty soon,” Josie answered. She flung -open the door and then began to laugh.</p> - -<p>“Come here, Ursula! All of you come here!” she called softly.</p> - -<p>The girls and Ben hurried to the rear of the store, Ursula running -like the wind. Lying on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> the floor of the tiny elevator was little -Philip. He was fast asleep and clasped in his arms was the blue-eyed, -fluffy-haired doll with the ruffled apron, Ursula’s needle sticking in -it. It was lucky it had stuck in the apron and did not find its way -into little Philip.</p> - -<p>The child made a beautiful picture at which the girls gazed breathless.</p> - -<p>“Poor lamb, he’s playing papa,” said Josie softly and Philip stirred in -his sleep, restless from the light turned on him, and then he opened -his violet eyes.</p> - -<p>“I ain’t a sissy, Ben,” he declared, “but this little doll baby had the -tummy ache an’ I hadter take her off an’ put her to sleep. She likes -this little bitsy house an’ I reckon The Lady in the Chair ain’t a -mindin’ if I borrow it from her.”</p> - -<p>When everything settled down and the Higgledy Piggledy Shop was cleared -of its visitors and helpers and Josie was left alone she got Chief -Lonsdale on the telephone.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Chief,” she said, “the little boy is found and the fat woman -with the little feet and head on one side had nothing to do with his -disappearance, but Captain, I wish you would have Clancy look her -up all the same and kind of keep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> an eye on her while she stays in -Dorfield. You can do that for me, cannot you, Captain?”</p> - -<p>“All right!” boomed the captain. “What you say goes.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="v" id="v"></a>CHAPTER V<br /> -<span>URSULA WRITES A LETTER</span></h2> - - -<p>The Christmas rush came on the Higgledy Piggledies with such force that -the fright about little Philip was soon banished from all their minds.</p> - -<p>“I may have been mistaken about Miss Fitchet,” Ursula confessed. “That -woman I saw may not have been she. I dread her so that I can’t help -thinking about her. I may have fancied a resemblance.”</p> - -<p>“So you may,” said Josie solemnly. “Anyhow you have not been worried -by her and the chances are she will never turn up again, even if the -person you saw was Miss Fitchet.”</p> - -<p>With the help of Captain Lonsdale, Josie had come to the conclusion -that the dreaded nurse had been in Dorfield, but for what purpose the -detective put on the case had not been able to discover. At any rate -she had left in a day or so and had not returned.</p> - -<p>“Probably she was here just to satisfy the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span> curiosity of herself and -her employer,” Josie decided. “I hope she will stay away now.”</p> - -<p>The girl detective said nothing to Ursula about the information gained -by the police concerning Fitchet. It was meager and not very satisfying -and if Ursula had begun to feel that she had been mistaken and had -only fancied she had seen the woman, so much the better for Ursula. -Certainly the trained nurse had a perfect right to visit Dorfield and -even to go heavily veiled if she had a mind to.</p> - -<p>Josie regretted, in a way, that Ursula had so entirely cut herself -off from Louisville and her girlhood friends. She had, in a measure, -flitted from her old home and left the situation in the hands of an -unscrupulous man. No doubt he was making the most of the power he had -thereby gained.</p> - -<p>“Suppose letters for you come to Mr. Cheatham. What directions did you -leave about forwarding them?” she asked Ursula.</p> - -<p>“It would do no good to leave directions. Mr. Cheatham would see to -it that nothing I want would ever reach me. There is no way to get -satisfaction of my stepfather. I realized that and so I left. If I can -just be allowed to keep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> my darlings with me and bring them up without -his contaminating presence, that is all I ask,” said Ursula.</p> - -<p>“In what way could he contaminate the boys?”</p> - -<p>Ursula considered—and answered:</p> - -<p>“In the way a wicked person could influence impressionable children—by -making fun of high ideals; mocking at religion; applauding any clever -evasion of the truth and then flying into a rage at the slightest -excuse and whipping the boys if they happen to do something that -annoyed him for the time being, although that same action might at a -former period have brought forth commendation. I have heard him, in -all seriousness, tell my little brothers that the greatest crime of -all was to break the eleventh commandment, which is: ‘Thou shalt not -get found out.’ There is a sturdiness about Ben that usually resisted -his influence, still he is nothing but a little boy and was not always -proof against Mr. Cheatham’s wiles and cleverness. As for poor little -Philip, he actually was fond of the man at times and I believe Mr. -Cheatham had a spark of affection for him, but nothing could be worse -than to have such a man care for you. He is dishonorable,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> unscrupulous -and vacillating in everything but villainy.”</p> - -<p>“I thought you said both of the boys hated and feared him.”</p> - -<p>“So they did usually, but Philip is such a baby and an ice cream cone -had a marvelous effect on the poor kiddy—that and a few gentle joking -words.”</p> - -<p>“Have you never communicated with any friends in Louisville since you -left?”</p> - -<p>“I have very few friends,” and Ursula flushed painfully. “I have for -so many years been so taken up with my sick mother and the children, -and then Mr. Cheatham has in some underhand way cut me off from what -intimates I might have had. The Trasks, at Peewee Valley, are the only -real friends I own.”</p> - -<p>“And the Trasks—have you written them?”</p> - -<p>“No. You see I knew Mr. Cheatham would take it for granted they -would keep in touch with me and would worm out of them all they knew -concerning me and so I simply could not put them in the uncomfortable -position of having connived with me in leaving as I did.”</p> - -<p>“Is Mrs. Trask a young woman?”</p> - -<p>“About fifty, I think.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> -“Any children?”</p> - -<p>“Two—a daughter and a son.”</p> - -<p>“Are they about your age?”</p> - -<p>“Anita is my age and Teddy is several years older.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think it is quite fair to keep your friends in ignorance of -your whereabouts?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, Josie. I acted for the best, I felt, at the time. Now I -don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Put yourself in the place of your friends,” suggested Josie. “How -would you like it if Anita Trask were to be in trouble and needing a -friend and she did not call on you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but she has her mother and father and her -<a name="brother" id="brother"></a><ins title="Original has 'brother?'">brother!</ins>”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, and so had you at one time, but she might lose them and -have nobody left but you to help her. Would you not have been willing -to share to the last crumb and drop with her?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I would have, or with any member of the family!”</p> - -<p>“Exactly! And don’t you see that by trying to save them worry and -annoyance you have, in a measure, caused them bitter sorrow and -trouble?” Josie’s tone was a little stern.</p> - -<p>“I know it—I know it, but not so much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> trouble as they would have had, -had Mr. Cheatham been given any cause for complaint against them. He is -a terrible man.”</p> - -<p>“I believe you exaggerate his power for evil. He may want to be a -terrible man, but I can’t see what he could do to the Trasks if you -should communicate with them and let them know you are well and, we -might add, happy.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed we might, Josie, thanks to you and my other wonderful friends -here in Dorfield. If you think it best I’ll write to Mrs. Trask -this very night. I always saw them on Christmas, and now at least I -can write to them so the letter will reach them before that day and -reassure them. I know I am obsessed with fear of Mr. Cheatham and what -he might be able to accomplish in the way of harming us. I must get -over the feeling.”</p> - -<p>“You certainly must! Remember there is a perfectly good law in this -land of the free and home of the brave, and a fairly good police force -to carry out the law. There is nothing Cheatham can do to you, either, -for that matter. You tell me he was not appointed your guardian?”</p> - -<p>“No, my father appointed Uncle Ben executor of his will and guardian in -case my mother should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> marry again, but Mother was influenced by Mr. -Cheatham to dispute Uncle Ben’s rights to dictate to us and so Uncle -Ben left the matter in her hands. If Uncle Ben would only come back!”</p> - -<p>“Well, suppose he does come back—has come back, in fact. How under -Heaven would he find his wards, if they go off and run a tea room in a -quiet little spot like Dorfield?”</p> - -<p>Ursula wrote to her friends at Peewee Valley that same evening, -giving them a detailed account of the happenings to herself and small -brothers, begging their forgiveness for her long silence and explaining -to them the reason for her running off without informing them of her -plans. When the letter was in the mail the girl felt happier than she -had for a long time, but still doubts would arise as to the wisdom of -having written.</p> - -<p>Poor Ursula had fallen in the habit of worrying. She was naturally of a -timid disposition and the hard life she had endured with her stepfather -had increased the tendency to fear imaginary evils as well as the ones -of which there was no doubt. She could not say what it was she feared -from Mr. Cheatham and the evil Miss Fitchet, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> with her at all -times was a kind of nameless dread. The gay, bright atmosphere at the -Higgledy Piggledy Shop did much to dispel this gloom, but at times it -enveloped her in spite of her endeavors to break through it. Now that -she had at last written the dear old friends the cloud seemed somewhat -lifted.</p> - -<p>“I hope it is for the best,” she said to Josie, with a note of cheer in -her voice.</p> - -<p>“Sure it is for the best! Brace up, Ursula! I can’t see what good it is -to worry so much about it. Do what you think is right and then trust in -the Lord. What harm could come of writing to old friends? No harm in -the world. I’m glad you have told them as to your whereabouts.”</p> - -<p>In her heart Josie could not help a feeling of impatience over Ursula’s -timidity. Josie herself never acknowledged fear of anything, known or -unknown. She had a philosophy that carried her through all dangers.</p> - -<p>“I wish she would buck up and not give in to this nameless fear about -what Cheatham might or might not do,” Josie mused. “Of course, if I -had two little brothers like Ben and Phil I might not be so sure of -myself,” she continued,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> “but what under Heaven could happen to those -kids here in Dorfield?”</p> - -<p>It was Christmas Eve and the Higgledy Piggledy Shop was closed for a -week. It had been a strenuous time and all of the girls were tired and -needed a rest. Orders of all descriptions had poured in and in the -midst of the rush Josie had been employed in her capacity of detective -to track a lavender suit belonging to a dressy woman, who sent it to a -cleaner by her colored maid. Suit and maid had disappeared off the face -of the earth. Josie had found both maid and suit. The maid was the same -color but the suit, alas! was a vivid scarlet. Cleaners are also dyers.</p> - -<p>Josie was glad the rush was over. Even her iron nerves were stretched -by the Christmas rush. She was alone in the shop. It was good to be -alone even if it did happen to be Christmas Eve. The partners had gone -for the week. Mary Louise had come in laden with parcels, her cheeks -glowing with the crisp December air and her eyes shining from the joy -of giving. She had insisted upon taking Josie home with her for the -holidays but to no avail.</p> - -<p>“I’ll come and have Christmas dinner with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> you. I have a lot of things -to do and loose ends to tie up and I’ll get it over with while the shop -is closed. I’m not lonesome, dear, so don’t worry about me. Go on home -to your Danny and forget your spinster friends.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Josie, how funny to call yourself a spinster! You won’t be a -spinster for years and years.”</p> - -<p>“Look in the dictionary and see if I’m not one already. That book says -a spinster is one who spins and also an unmarried woman. I certainly am -an unmarried woman even though I’m not a very old one as yet. I am also -a spinster in that I am spinning a web in my mind in which to catch -poor Ursula’s unscrupulous stepfather. I may never need the web but I -am on the alert in case I should have to spread it out in the path of -the unwary. I’ll see you to-morrow, dear. Good-bye! It was like you to -get those presents for Ben and Philip. Ursula was very happy over them. -She is planning a lovely to-morrow for them. She is a wonderful girl -but I wish she would cheer up.”</p> - -<p>Night closed down on Dorfield. It was a white Christmas. Josie could -hear the sleigh bells ringing, as merry parties passed the shop. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span> -made herself cosy by the open grate which was one of the attractions of -the Higgledy Piggledy. She settled herself snugly in a winged chair, an -antique they were selling on commission, and drawing her reading light -closer with a contented sigh she opened her book—a new detective story.</p> - -<p>“Clever, very clever!” she said aloud. Josie had a habit of talking to -herself when left alone. “Clever as to story but the author is afraid -to draw characters with any clearness for fear of giving away his plot. -If the characterization is good then the characters must act according -to the way such persons are bound to behave and so the secret is out -long before the book has reached its climax. A detective tale leaves -one in doubt right to the end, as to who has done the direful deed. -That is because the folks in the books are like so many paper dolls, -as far as being real people is concerned—painted on one side with no -innards.”</p> - -<p>The girl read on and on. The shop was quiet, with that abnormal -stillness that settles on the business section of a town after business -hours. As it was Christmas Eve and business is not over on that day -until midnight, this extreme quiet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> meant that the hour had struck and -it was really the dawn of Christmas Day. Still Josie read on.</p> - -<p>“It’s my one excess and I’m going to indulge in it since Christmas -comes but once a year,” she announced to the accusing ship’s clock over -the mantel as it chimed out “eight bells.” She mended the fire with a -large lump of coal from the hod and settled herself again.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="vi" id="vi"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span>PHILIP IS KIDNAPED</span></h2> - - -<p>The detective story ended, as all good detective stories do, with the -mystery solved, the criminals brought to justice and the most unlikely -person in it rounded up as the villain.</p> - -<p>“Good enough, but I could write a better one if I had time and paper -and knew how to write,” yawned Josie.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the telephone bell broke the stillness. It made Josie, the -dauntless, jump.</p> - -<p>“Stuff and nonsense—this time o’ night! I’ve a great mind not to -answer it. I bet it’s somebody playing a joke on me and when I take -down the receiver will just say, ‘Christmas gift!’”</p> - -<p>The ringing persisted and Josie grumblingly called, “Well? Higgledy -Piggledy Shop! Miss O’Gorman at the ’phone!”</p> - -<p>“Josie! Josie! This is Ursula! Can you hear me?” The voice was faint -from agitation.</p> - -<p>“Yes! What’s up?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> -“Little Philip is gone!”</p> - -<p>“Gone where?” Josie asked. She was ashamed of herself the instant she -had asked what she considered a very foolish question. If Ursula had -known where, she would naturally have gone and found her little brother -without delay.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” continued the frantic sister. “The boys went to bed -early and I sat up putting the finishing touches on some little -presents I was making. They were fast asleep. I looked in on them for -a moment before I ran across the street to take some things to the -Conants and Irene. I did not latch the door to the apartment as I did -not expect to be gone a minute. That was about nine o’clock. I am sure -I was not out of the house five minutes in all. Mr. and Mrs. Conant -begged me to come in but I merely left my Christmas parcels and after -chatting with them a moment in the hall ran back home. I did not even -go in to see Irene, but sent her a message. When I got home I did not -go to bed but very foolishly sat up and sewed awhile and then read. -I wanted to be sure the boys were fast asleep before I filled their -stockings which they had hung up for Santa’s visit. I only went in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> -their room a few minutes ago. Ben was fast asleep and Philip was—gone. -His clothes are gone, too—overcoat, hat and mittens, but they took him -off wrapped in a blanket.”</p> - -<p>“Have you looked everywhere?”</p> - -<p>“Everywhere!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be right over,” said Josie, hoping she kept from her voice a -certain impatience and weariness she could not help but -<a name="feel" id="feel"></a><ins title="Original has 'feeling'">feel</ins>. -Remembering the scare about little Philip before and the frantic search -of some six or eight persons and how easy it had been to find him, she -was sure that the little boy was safely tucked away under the bed or -behind the bureau or somewhere.</p> - -<p>“You can’t lose that kid,” she declared, as she drew on her goloshes -preparing for the snow, which was deep and drifting. “If Ursula would -only buck up! I was a fool not to get my beauty sleep when I had a -chance. I think I’ll get Bob Dulaney in on this. He did me a good turn -in the Markle case.”</p> - -<p>Bob Dulaney was a young newspaper reporter who was rapidly making a -name for himself. It was he who had grappled with Felix Markle and had -overcome that doughty if evil knight with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> the terrible scissors-hold -known to wrestlers. But that is another tale. At any rate he was a fast -friend to the Higgledy Piggledies, ever ready to do their bidding. He -was all devotion to Irene, his great strength always at the service of -the lame girl.</p> - -<p>It took but a moment to get the young man on the wire.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Bob! Josie O’Gorman! Want to help me?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!”</p> - -<p>“There may be a story in it, but more likely not. Anyhow, you will be -of great assistance. Ursula Ellett’s kid brother is missing. I am on -my way there now. She’s just phoned me. If I don’t find him under the -bed or behind the door I will let you know.” Josie always used the -telephone as though someone were counting words on her.</p> - -<p>“Let me know much! I’ve got my Lizzie racer here and will come pick you -up. Snow’s mighty high for runts. Be at your door by the time you get -bundled up. So long!” And he’d hung up.</p> - -<p>Josie laughed. Bob Dulaney always treated her like a boy, and she -enjoyed it. It was rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> nice not to have to plough through the -drifts. She put on a thick ulster and heavy gloves, started to lock the -door of the shop but paused a moment in thought.</p> - -<p>“I’d better take my grip,” she mused. “I may have to catch a train.”</p> - -<p>Josie kept a suitcase packed for an emergency—“As clever crooks and -detectives always do,” she had said.</p> - -<p>A muffled toot announced Bob and his tiny racer.</p> - -<p>“What! Going on a trip?” he asked, as Josie came running down the steps -with the suitcase.</p> - -<p>“Never can tell. I hope not. I also hope there is no story for your -paper at the end of this mad ride, but we must be prepared.”</p> - -<p>The racer was slipping through the dry snow with the ease that an -airplane might breast a bank of clouds.</p> - -<p>“If you weren’t you and I, I,” laughed Josie, “we might be taken for an -eloping couple.”</p> - -<p>“I’d much prefer being taken for that than to be taken for speeding,” -declared Bob, as they swirled around a corner almost knocking the brass -buttons off a belated policeman. The poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> man rubbed his stomach sadly -as though he had been actually touched.</p> - -<p>“Them youngsters better be glad they didn’t hit me,” he grumbled. “If -it wasn’t Christmas Eve I’d follow ’em up.”</p> - -<p>They found the house in which Ursula lived all astir. It was an old -mansion that had been converted into an apartment house, where the -shabby genteel had taken refuge, but kind hearts beat under the worn -coats and the lodgers had one and all come to Ursula’s assistance. To -be sure some of them told dismal stories about the lost Charlie Ross of -the last century, and how his mother and father had hunted him high and -low, spending fortunes on the search, but never giving up, following in -vain clue after clue that took them in all kinds of places and climes -until they were an old white-haired couple bent and broken in spirit.</p> - -<p>Others of the fellow lodgers were more practical in demonstrations of -sympathy. One old lady put on her spectacles and solemnly began to look -over the pieces in her scrap bag. She had always been finding things -that were lost in that capacious bag. A nervous, middle-aged bachelor -was going around to the different apartments and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> solemnly poking up -the chimneys with a hearth broom.</p> - -<p>“Persons often hide up flues in motion pictures,” he said.</p> - -<p>Poor little Ben, who felt somehow that he was responsible for his -brother’s disappearance, since he had slept through his flitting, was -profiting by Josie’s success in finding Philip when he was lost before -by making a systematic search. With tense mouth and burning eyes he was -examining every crack and corner of the old house.</p> - -<p>“Th’ain’t any dumb-waiter or elevators here,” he sobbed when Josie made -her appearance, “but oh, Miss Josie, I’ve looked between the mattresses -an’ behind the bureaus an’ up on top the wardrobes in every ’partment -here.”</p> - -<p>“I know you have, my dear,” said Josie gently, “but tell me, Ben, who -is in the apartment next to yours?”</p> - -<p>“Th’ain’t nobody. That’s been vacant three months.”</p> - -<p>Josie considered, and asked:</p> - -<p>“Have you looked in there?”</p> - -<p>“No’m! The door is locked.”</p> - -<p>Josie slipped from her pocket a skeleton key which she fitted neatly in -the lock of the door, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> with a sure turn of her strong little wrist -she turned the bolt.</p> - -<p>“Humph! It looks as though we were none of us safe in our beds,” -remarked a sharp-nosed dressmaker, who had the apartment directly -across the hall from Ursula’s. “If it’s that easy to open a door.”</p> - -<p>“Inside bolts are safer,” said Josie, “but even those are not proof -against crooks and their tools.”</p> - -<p>The room was dark and dusty. Josie produced a flash light but -discovered the electric light had not been turned off since the -departure of the former tenant and by touching the proper button she -quickly had a flood of light with which to continue her investigations. -With no ceremony she closed the door on the curious crowd of lodgers, -admitting only Bob Dulaney.</p> - -<p>“Stand still, please,” she commanded. “We must examine the tracks in -this room. It is covered with the dust of ages but someone has been in -it recently. Look! It’s a woman with short rather broad feet and high -heels, run down—a tendency to fallen arches I should say because of -the heels being worn on the inside. Whoever has been in here has been -at this window. See! It<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> is possible to look into Ursula’s living room -from this window. Look! She has even scraped the frost from the pane -to get a better view. This pane is not so covered with grime as the -others. Umhum! She is a little taller than I am, but not much. Rather a -chunky party I should say.”</p> - -<p>“Wears gilt hairpins, too,” laughed Bob, stooping and picking up what -was even more a give away as to sex than the uncertain tracks of high -heels.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you jewel!” cried Josie. “Meaning you and not the hairpin, Bob. -I’m certainly glad you are in on this. I didn’t see the hairpin and it -will mean a lot more to me than anything.”</p> - -<p>“Let me present it to you,” said Bob, bowing low with mock courtesy. -“Josie, you delight my soul. I feel like Dr. Watson in attendance on -Sherlock Holmes. But joking aside, I believe if poor little Philip has -really been kidnaped it was by some person or persons who had been -hiding in this room.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! But it was only one person because there are no signs of other -footprints. Thank goodness the floor was stained with a dark varnish. -It makes the footprints so much easier to define. Well, Bob, there is -no use in hanging<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> around here. I reckon we’d best get out and hustle.”</p> - -<p>Josie regretted that she had not telephoned police headquarters -immediately after hearing from Ursula that Philip was missing, but -remembering the last time, she had felt the chief might think that like -the boy in the fable she had called “wolf” too often. Now he must be -informed of the trouble and get his men busy on the case. The kidnapper -had several hours start and no time was to be lost or, as Josie -expressed it, “the scent might get cold.”</p> - -<p>Ursula was in a state of mind bordering on frenzy. She walked up and -down the room wringing her hands and moaning piteously.</p> - -<p>“If only I had not gone over to the Conants’,” she wailed. “Or if I -only had locked the door. I’ve always been afraid to lock the boys up -in a room for fear of fire and they couldn’t get out. My baby Philip! -My baby Philip!”</p> - -<p>Josie stood by her side and endeavored to calm her.</p> - -<p>“See here, Ursula, you must listen to me a moment and you must tell -me some things I want to know. You must be very frank and conceal -nothing.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> -“I never have, Josie—nothing of the least importance, that is.”</p> - -<p>“All right! Now tell me why anybody would want Philip—except of course -that he is a lovely child. But people don’t steal boys just because -they are charming.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t they? Well, Josie, I don’t know what they would get but charm. -You know how poor I am.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I can’t help feeling there is something besides charm in this -transaction. Now, Ursula, give me the names and addresses of any -friends or connections you have in Louisville. I want Mr. Cheatham’s -full name and his address and also what hospital had the honor of -graduating Miss Fitchet as a nurse. Write all your information in this -little book. Now, my dear girl, you must spunk up all you can. I know -it is hard, but Philip is going to be found, and that within a few days -or maybe hours. You must promise me something: it makes no difference -what communication you receive from these persons who have seen fit to -carry off our Philip, you will call up Captain Lonsdale and tell him -all about it. It will be a plain case of blackmail. If they tell you to -meet them in a quiet spot with all of your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span> diamonds in a black bag, -don’t you do it. You let the chief of police do your meeting.”</p> - -<p>“But Josie, where will you be that you give me all these directions?”</p> - -<p>“Me? I’m going to take the next train for Louisville. I feel it in my -bones that I can learn something to my advantage there. I’ll learn the -motives and work from that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, let me go too!” begged Ursula. Josie considered a moment. Then she -said:</p> - -<p>“I really think it would be wiser for you to stay right where you are. -You see Irene and her aunt and uncle will be good to you and little -Ben and Mary Louise will be here, and Elizabeth Wright. Philip may be -brought back any minute, and you certainly don’t want to be away from -home when they bring him back.”</p> - -<p>“No, I just had a feeling maybe he might be in Louisville and I could -get him sooner if I went there,” sighed the poor girl, who was trying -desperately to keep back the tears that would course down her pale -cheeks.</p> - -<p>Josie carried away a sad picture of her friend. She left the Dorfield -end in the hands of Bob Dulaney, who was to inform the police of the -kidnapping and also keep busy on his own<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> account, following up every -clue that might present itself.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Bob!” called Josie as she jumped aboard the train. “Keep me -informed of the case and I’ll do the same with you.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="vii" id="vii"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span>JOSIE VISITS LOUISVILLE</span></h2> - - -<p>Christmas morning in Louisville! Josie was still regretting the hours -spent in reading the detective story that should have been dedicated to -sleep, but she was happily constituted and could do with very little -sleep if the case she was on necessitated it. At other times she put in -eight hours at night—never more and never less.</p> - -<p>“Humph! This place might be London, it is so foggy,” she mused as the -train crawled along the river bank. On one side the Ohio river, muddy -and trying to freeze, on the other side the slums of the city, smoky -and full of deep puddles that had succeeded in freezing.</p> - -<p>Josie had been planning a campaign through the hours spent in her -berth. First she must find out things. What type of man she had to -deal with in Cheatham? What reason might he have for abducting Philip? -Where was Miss Fitchet at the present, and what was her reputation in -Louisville?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> -Experience had taught Josie that the way to find out things about -persons was to seek a boarding house, not too fine, but where those -who wanted to keep up appearances on limited incomes had their abode. -By diligent inquiry she had learned of such a place from the colored -Pullman porter.</p> - -<p>“Yassum, I’s bawn an’ bred in Lou’ville,” he had said as he whisked -every imaginary speck of dust from Josie’s coat. “Th’ain’t nothin’ I -don’ know ’bout dat town. I kin ’member when mule cyars uster fotch -<a name="the" id="the"></a><ins title="Original has 'th'">th’</ins> -folks up ’n down Fo’th Street befo’ trolleys wuz ever hearn tell about.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe you can tell me of a good boarding house then,” Josie had -ventured, “one not too expensive but respectable.”</p> - -<p>“Sho I kin! Miss Lucy Leech air got a nice place for a lone young lady -ter go. Miss Lucy ain’t above puttin’ on some style but th’ swell part -er town am kinder moved off an’ lef’ Miss Lucy high an’ dry. But plenty -er good folks am still a-boa’din’ with Miss Lucy Leech. Mah wife she’s -de cook ter Miss Lucy an’ she been thar so long I reckon she’ll stay -thar till she er Miss Lucy goes ter jine the heavenly throng. Th’ain’t -no need fer mah Mandy ter wuck out no mo’ but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> she ’lows I’m off on the -road mo’n most er the time an’ she mought as well be wuckin’ as gaddin’ -about.”</p> - -<p>Josie was sure Miss Lucy Leech’s was exactly the place she wanted for a -temporary home. The porter gave her the address and when the train drew -into the station he put her in care of a negro driver, who proudly bore -her off to his ancient hack oblivious to the jeers of the taxi drivers -who were lined up waiting for passengers.</p> - -<p>Christmas morning is not a very popular one for arriving in a city and -Josie might have had the pick of automobiles meeting the early train, -but the hack driver had got her first and she was determined to stay -with him and see the adventure through. Besides, she liked the looks of -the man.</p> - -<p>The streets were flowing with slush, a mixture of mud and snow that had -melted the day before and was freezing again on that Christmas morning. -The ancient hackman cracked his whip over the backs of his bony team -and the shabby vehicle that was bearing Josie to Miss Lucy Leech’s -select boarding house creaked and groaned as though the young girl’s -weight was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> too much for it. Josie bounced helplessly up and down on -the back seat.</p> - -<p>“Well, I should be thankful it isn’t an ox cart,” she thought. “Time -was when a hack was considered the height of luxury. At any rate I -can get some idea of the city, which is next to impossible when one -is whizzed in an automobile. This sea-going hack is a singularly -appropriate vessel in which to sail this turgid stream that no doubt -the Louisvillians call a street. Somehow I feel as though we ought to -blow a fog horn.”</p> - -<p>The winter sun was up and trying to shine, but looked like a huge -orange, as seen through the veil of fog and smoke. Tall buildings made -the narrow streets of the down-town district seem like canyons. The -city seemed deserted, except for an occasional taxi and the inevitable -early bird of a newsboy crying his papers. Nothing is more forlorn than -a usually busy section of a city on a foggy Christmas morning. Josie -was relieved when her craft tacked down a side street that showed signs -of life, although the life of the shabby genteel.</p> - -<p>There was no doubt about the neighborhood having at one time been -fashionable. The houses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span> were built on a lavish scale, with high -ceilings and broad, hospitable steps and yards, front, back and side. -On that street boarding houses were the rule and private homes the -exception. Trade had begun to encroach on the one time residential -block and yards were disappearing in some places and small shops being -erected fronting on the street and backing on the handsome old houses.</p> - -<p>Miss Lucy Leech’s remained intact, however. One fancied her house -could no more put up a different front than Miss Lucy herself would. -The house, a huge mansion with columned portico, was guarded by two -peacefully inclined iron lions. Miss Lucy wore water waves, iron -grey. She had always worn them through changing fashions of bangs, -pompadours, and the marcel. The house had been originally painted grey, -the lions black. Once in a decade Miss Lucy managed a new coat of -paint. She would not have thought of changing the color of her house -and the faithful lions any more than of giving her own respectable -water waves a henna dip.</p> - -<p>Miss Lucy’s back was straight and stiff; so was her upper lip. Her -back was stiff because<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> of the dignity of the Leeches, which she felt -compelled to uphold. Her lip was stiff from necessity. Running a -boarding house for almost half a century gives one “a stiff upper lip.” -Running a boarding house had become second nature to Miss Lucy. It was -as much a part of her as the iron grey waves in her hair. To be sure if -it had not been for Mandy, the faithful cook, it would not have been -such an easy matter to keep going. Mandy was cook and housekeeper as -well. She it was who planned the meals and kept Miss Lucy from serving -unbalanced rations to her select boarders.</p> - -<p>“Lawsamussy, Miss Lucy, don’t go a-habin’ cabbage an’ cauliflowers -de self-same meal. Deys one an’ de same ’cept cauliflowers am mo’ -’ristocratic an’ eddicated like. An’ fergetti, even when it’s got -cheese on it, is kinder taterish in de way it sticks ter yo’ ribs, -so when you ’lows you air gonter order fergetti I wouldn’t be havin’ -scalloped taters.”</p> - -<p>Aunt Mandy had never heard of calories and -<a name="vitamins" id="vitamins"></a><ins title="Original has 'vitamines'">vitamins</ins> -but she had a genius for food and Miss Lucy’s boarders appreciated the old -cook’s prowess in the art and stayed on in the dilapidated old house, -putting up with the old-fashioned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> plumbing and the one bath room with -its rusty tin tub and many other inconveniences for the sake of Mandy’s -culinary achievements.</p> - -<p>“Sometimes I air fo’ced ter ’form miracles on de victuals,” Aunt Mandy -had said once. “Miss Lucy air oftentimes fergitful in her orderation. I -knows she gits in de market an’ gits ter talkin’ ’bout befo’ de wah an’ -sech an’ boa’ders goes out’n her haid an’ mealtime comes ’round an’ I -gotter stir up soup mostly out’n water but, lawsamussy, if’n you season -up water right it’s tasty. Gumption air de maindes’ thing in cookin’. -Gumption air mo’ ’liable dan ’gredients.”</p> - -<p>To this house came Josie on Christmas morning. Aunt Mandy was sweeping -the bottom step as the old hack lumbered up the street and came to a -halt in the slush-filled gutter. The old woman beat her broom on the -back of one of the peaceful black lions and called out to the grinning -hackman:</p> - -<p>“Hi yer, Brer Si?”</p> - -<p>“Hi yer se’f, Sis Mandy? Brer Peter done sent you an’ Miss Lucy a -Chris’mus gif’—a new boa’der. I hope you air got room.”</p> - -<p>“Sho we air got room—an’ if’n we ain’t we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> kin make room,” responded -the old woman.</p> - -<p>Aunt Mandy was dressed in a purple calico dress, with a voluminous -skirt that suggested the days of hoops. Her head was wrapped in a red -bandanna handkerchief. Her kind old face was wreathed in smiles as she -bobbed a curtsey to Josie, who scrambled from the depths of the hack.</p> - -<p>“Come right in, miss! Fust breakfas’ air under way an’ I’ll hump it up -some. I knows how hongryfyin’ sleepin’ cyars is. Whe’fo’ you didn’t -brung Peter up from the depot alongst with yo’ fare, Brer Si?”</p> - -<p>“He gotter bresh up some fust, but he’ll be long in three shakes.”</p> - -<p>“Well, me’n Miss Lucy air ’bleeged ter you fer a boa’der an’ I wouldn’t -be ’stonished if a leetle later on Miss Lucy would be a passin’ out -some Chris’mus. You mought kinder stop in on us if you air a comin’ -this a-way.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be! I’ll be!” bowed the hackman. Even the bony horses seemed -cheered up at the prospect of Miss Lucy’s passing out “some Christmas,” -and they pranced up the street with quite an air of gaiety.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="viii" id="viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span>CLUES FROM AUNT MANDY</span></h2> - - -<p>Aunt Mandy ushered Josie into a cheerful, shabby parlor. The furniture -was a mixture of fine old mahogany, cheap varnished oak, and odds -and ends of wicker and mission. There were some beautiful dignified -portraits, hanging cheek by jowl with simpering chromos of girls -kissing roses and stern faced persons, represented by crayon drawings -of enlarged photographs in plush frames. There was a soft coal fire in -the broad, deep grate and the flames leapt merrily up the sooty flue. -Josie was chilled to the bone and was grateful for the warmth and cheer -of the room.</p> - -<p>“I low as how you’d like a cup er cawfee this very minute,” suggested -Aunt Mandy. “Breakfas’ ain’t quite ready but de cawfee air givin’ out a -odium dat means it air jes’ about done. Suppos’n’ you come on back to -de kitchen an’ let Mandy fix you up a tray, if you ain’t too proud ter -eat in de kitchen?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> -“I’m proud to be allowed to eat in the kitchen,” smiled Josie. “I don’t -often get in a real kitchen. I have nothing but a kitchenette.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! I don’ know what dat am but it sounds ter me like it’s a -kitchen whar folks done et ’stid of a dinin’ room.”</p> - -<p>Josie laughed merrily and explained, to Mandy’s delight, that it was a -little kitchen not much bigger than a china closet.</p> - -<p>“An’ what air you a-doin’ here in Lou’ville on Chris’mus mornin,’ -chil’? Ain’t you got no folks?”</p> - -<p>“No real folks—that is none that belong to me,” said Josie sadly. She -remembered the old days with her father and could not keep back a tiny -tear that rolled from the corner of her eye before she could stop it.</p> - -<p>“Now, now, honey! You kin jes’ be to home here wiv Miss Lucy an’ me. -Lots er folks have spent Chris’mus wiv us an’ ’tain’t sech a bad place -ter be on dat day, I kin tell yer. Now you drink yo’ cawfee. Bless Bob, -if de sun hain’t done bust through the fawg! It’s gonter be a bright -day arfter all.”</p> - -<p>The old woman beamed on her guest, who was seated in the big kitchen -sipping coffee from a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> huge blue willow-ware cup, minus a handle. The -coffee was delicious and there was a pleasing aroma stealing from the -oven that told of hot rolls almost done.</p> - -<p>“An’ whatcher say you air doin’ here in Lou’ville?” asked Aunt Mandy.</p> - -<p>Josie hadn’t said, but she had her answer ready and it was a good -answer—one she meant to make come true.</p> - -<p>“I help run a little shop in my town and I’m hunting up some things -for that shop,” she explained. What she told of the nature of the shop -delighted and interested Mandy. So Josie went on to explain:</p> - -<p>“I want to find someone who plaits rag rugs and also someone who makes -hand-made brooms, that round kind with split oak handles.”</p> - -<p>“Well, bless Bob, if you ain’t done struck de right pusson to d’rick -you!” exclaimed Aunt Mandy. “I got a kinder cousin what lives out back -er Peewee Valley an’ she air de greates’ han’ fer cyarpet plaitin’ an’ -quilt piecin’ I ever seed, an’ her ol’ man kin make the nices’ brooms -an’ split oak cheers in dis hyar lan’ o’ Kaintuck. Dey do say dat he -learnt his trade at the pen’tent’ary, but dat don’ matter nuthin a -tall.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span> De thing is he air got a trade, what is mo’n mos’. Sis Minerva -an’ Brer Abe is dey names.”</p> - -<p>“Peewee Valley, you say?” Josie remembered that was where Ursula’s -friends, the Trasks, lived.</p> - -<p>“Yessum! Jes’ up back er Peewee! You kin take ’lectric cyar right down -here at de interbourbon station. Dey am moughty bold a-namin’ a station -arfter Bourbon whiskey when it air ’gainst de law ter sell it no mo’, -but I reckon so many bottles air been a carried back an’ fo’th on dat -road from Lou’ville ter Peewee Valley dat de name done stuck fer good.”</p> - -<p>Josie laughed delightedly and asked for further information concerning -the cousin who was such a wonder at quilts and rag rugs.</p> - -<p>“Well, you git off’n de cyar right at Colonel Trask’s. De driver’ll -tell you what dat is. Everybody knows Colonel Trask an’ his wife, Miss -Anita Bowles as was.”</p> - -<p>Then followed minute directions as to lanes and stiles and short cuts -through gaps in fences, which Josie must take to find the cousin. Josie -felt the detective business was too easy if information was handed out -in this manner without any questions on her part. Peewee Valley—the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> -Trasks! The very things she wanted to know and now she knew how to find -them without so much as asking a question!</p> - -<p>“Did you ever know some people here named Ellett?” Josie asked. “A Mr. -Philip Ellett. I believe he died and his widow married again. I know -some people who used to know them.”</p> - -<p>“Sho I knowed ’em. Po’ li’l’ fool! She’s daid too, now.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, is she?”</p> - -<p>“Yessum—daid, an’ dat man Cheatham livin’ in de Ellett house, which -ain’t fur from here; in fac’, we backs on de same alley. I done hear -tell he driv his stepchillun off’n de premus. Some say he owns de -house, havin’ paid cash money down fer it an’ he couldn’t live wiv his -steps ’cause de boy done tried ter kill him an’ de gal was a holpin’ -of him. But I knows dat old Cheatham too well to believe no sich tale. -If dey was any killin’ goin’ on he was de killer an’ not de killdee. -Anyhow de chilluns am gone off somewhars an’ he am a holdin’ high -carnal whur his wife’s fust husban’s folks done liv’ long befo’ de wah -an’ long befo’ dat.”</p> - -<p>“He must be a horrid man.”</p> - -<p>“Horrid ain’t de word, but he done got some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> folks in Lou’ville fooled -case he air right smooth talkin’ an’ he could keep a piece er col’ -butter in his mouth all day ’thout its meltin’. He wa’ a boa’din hyar -wiv Miss Lucy when he married de widow Ellett an’ I hears lots er talk -back an’ fo’th concernin’ him an’ de bride. The boa’ders was divided -’bout him: some holdin’ he wa’ a very pleasant gemman, an’ dey wa’ -mostly de maiden ladies, an’ others dat he wa’ a scamp an’ slick as dey -make ’em. He wa’ too shifty-eyed fer me an’ too free with his orders -an’ too constrained-like with his cash money.”</p> - -<p>“Is he stingy?” laughed Josie.</p> - -<p>“Stingy? Is he? Why dat dere man will squeeze a nickel so tight de -heads an’ tails git mixed up. He don’t min’ spendin’ money fo’ show. -I knowed a ooman what cooked fo’ dem when his wife was a-dyin’ on her -death baid an’ she said de po’ thing had all kinds er fine silks an’ -satins an’ furs what he done buyed her but she didn’t have underclo’s -’nough ter flag a han’ cyar. I reckon he mus’ a-been a so’ trial to dem -steps cause dey paw an’ all de Elletts air jes’ tother way.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t the children have any relations?”</p> - -<p>“Kin, you mean? Yes deir maw had a brother,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> Ben Benson, but he wa’ -right put out ’bout his sister marryin’ agin an’ marryin’ sich a man -an’ he lit out an’ nobody ain’t seed hide or har er him sence. Some -says he’s daid an’ some says he’s diggin’ gol’ an’ maybe di’ments but -nobody don’t rightly know whar dat Ben air took hisse’f.”</p> - -<p>“Has this Mr. Cheatham married again or does he live all alone in the -big Ellett house?”</p> - -<p>“No’m, he ain’t married but dey do say he air took up with a nuss named -Fitchet. He’ll git his ’serts if’n he gits her cause I done seed enough -er that ooman to speak the truf ’bout her. One time she nussed one of -us-alls boa’ders an’ whilst dey do say she’s a good nuss an’ takes -good keer er de sick she sho am some rest breaker fo’ de niggers. She -had me waitin’ on her han’ an’ foot an’ fo’ de fust time sence me’n -Miss Lucy’s been running dis house I come moughty nigh pickin’ up an’ -leavin’ her. ’Twas Mandy dis an’ Mandy dat ’til I wished the debil had -her.”</p> - -<p>This was exactly the character Ursula had given Fitchet and Josie was -glad to have Mandy verify it. The old woman then rambled on at Josie’s -instigation to tell her other Louisville<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> gossip until the information -she had given concerning the business in hand was completely swamped -in her mind by other more stirring happenings and when Miss Lucy Leech -finally made her appearance to begin the business of looking out for -her boarders the cook had forgotten all about the Elletts and was under -the impression the new boarder was especially interested in the direful -happenings of a one time famous wedding, when half the county had been -mysteriously poisoned.</p> - -<p>Miss Lucy sailed into the kitchen with the air of entering the queen’s -drawing-room. She seemed not at all surprised to find a new boarder -sharing the warmth of the kitchen with the old cook. Miss Lucy was used -to Mandy and her ways and accepted both. She met Josie with an air of -condescension that put that young person in the category of being a -kind of pensioner instead of a boarder.</p> - -<p>“Certainly we can take you for a while at least,” she said when Mandy -explained who Josie was and what she wanted. Josie was amused to see -that Mandy’s information concerning her business and antecedents had -grown considerably and she made such a convincing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span> tale of her affairs -that she began to feel quite important.</p> - -<p>“Peter done sen’ her,” Aunt Mandy continued. “Peter he done know all -about her an’ when Peter speaks up fo’ white folks you know dey is -white folks fo’ fair. Yassum, Peter sent her an’ Si brung her.”</p> - -<p>“Be sure and ask Peter and Si in for some eggnogg and a piece of black -cake,” Miss Lucy commanded.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, ma’m! Thank you ma’m!” exclaimed Aunt Mandy, not divulging -that the invitation had already been extended. Mandy knew very well how -to manage her mistress, and that was never to let her know whose was -the hand that directed the destinies of the boarding house.</p> - -<p>“I’ll take dis hyar young lady up to her room, if you think bes’, Miss -Lucy, an’ den I’ll hump myse’f an’ dish up dis fust breakfas’.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="ix" id="ix"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span>JOSIE FINDS A FRIEND</span></h2> - - -<p>The hall bedroom that Mandy had decided was the suitable place for -Josie proved to be clean and comfortable. To be sure it was a third -floor back, but Josie liked to be high up and she also liked the -outlook on the back yards of the neighbors.</p> - -<p>“Yonder’s de ol’ Ellett place,” pointed Aunt Mandy. “It’s some run -down, but it wa’ sho a el’gant home in de ole days. I reckon dat ol’ -skinflint Cheatham will en’ by buildin’ ’partments dar. Some say he -cyarn’t git a clar title or he’d a been tearin’ down an’ puttin’ up -befo’ now. Yonder’s him dis blessed minute! Done step out ter view his -prop’ty.”</p> - -<p>Josie craned her neck to see the rear of poor Ursula’s home, and if -possible to get a good look at the villain, Cheatham. At any rate he -was in Louisville and not flying across the continent with poor little -Philip.</p> - -<p>“First, I must see the police here,” she decided ruefully. Seeing the -police—any police<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> but her old friend Captain Charlie Lonsdale—was a -sore trial to Josie. Like most private detectives she was inclined to -look down somewhat on the regular force, but she was more interested in -having the wrongdoer tracked than in gaining honor and glory by being -the one to bring him in.</p> - -<p>“The important thing is to find little Philip and unless Captain -Charlie has already wired the Louisville police it is up to me to see -them.”</p> - -<p>One reason for Miss Lucy Leech’s success in running a boarding house -was that she attended strictly to her own business and let the guests -of her home attend to theirs. She had not gotten rich on this policy, -as it is said one may do, but she was at least able to keep her house -well filled and to save a comfortable sum for her old age, which was -in truth upon her, although she did not realize it. Now that the new -and somewhat mysterious young boarder, so highly recommended by the -hackman and the porter, decided to brave the slush and the fog and go -for a walk on Christmas morning, Miss Lucy asked no questions and in -consequence was told no lies. Josie thanked her in her heart and went -bravely forth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> -Two things were happening to the weather. The sun was clearing away the -fog and no longer looked so like an orange, and the thermometer was -dropping rapidly. Josie was glad of both changes. It was good to find -Louisville not the dismal place she had thought it on arriving, but a -very pleasing city. A fog is beautiful to an artist but the lay brother -prefers a clear day. As for the drop in temperature, it meant less -slush and easier walking and a bracing atmosphere that made Josie sniff -the air like a colt that has been pent up long in a stable.</p> - -<p>The young detective missed the homely friendliness of the Dorfield -chief, but had a feeling that the police force of Louisville was really -very adequate. The captain in charge was an alert, business-like -person, who took hold of the facts, as Josie expressed it to herself, -“like a woman.”</p> - -<p>“Now what are your plans?” he asked. Josie liked him because he didn’t -call her “miss.” Captain Charlie would have said: “What are your plans, -miss?” Josie liked being a girl but she hated being “missed” when she -was at work.</p> - -<p>“I reckon I’m going to hunt the motive first.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> I can’t see why anyone -would want to steal a little orphan boy, when the homes and asylums -are full of darling children waiting to be adopted. Philip is a lovely -child, but not the loveliest I have ever seen. Of course, I suspect -this Mr. Cheatham, but he is in Louisville this minute. I am going to -ascertain if he has been on a trip recently and look into his financial -standing. I am also going to Peewee Valley to see some old friends of -Miss Ellett. Miss Ellett is a peculiarly reticent person and it is very -difficult to get information from her as to her early life. She does -not intend to conceal anything, but the only way to get any information -out of her is to worm it out. She had very few friends owing to her -mother’s long illness and the peculiarities of her stepfather. Colonel -Trask’s family at Peewee Valley were her only intimates.”</p> - -<p>“She chose well while she was choosing,” said the police captain. -“Well, Miss O’Gorman, you seem to leave very little to the local police -force to do. Your name, combined with your methods, make me think -you must be some kin to the famous O’Gorman whose place can never be -filled. Am I right?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span> -“My father,” said Josie softly.</p> - -<p>“Well! Well! Well!” he cried, jumping up from his desk and shaking the -girl by both hands. “I’ve worked with O’Gorman on many a case. My, he -was a wonder! I think you look like him.”</p> - -<p>Josie blushed with delight. Most girls would not like to be told they -resembled a funny looking little man with a blobby nose, but Josie -was as pleased as though the police captain had told her she must be -related to Mary Pickford. Anything at all connected with her beloved -father was almost sacred to the girl. When someone told her she looked -like him, or resembled him in traits, she had a better opinion of -herself all day.</p> - -<p>“Well, O’Gorman’s daughter will know how to coöperate,” said the -captain, “and that is more than can be said of most detectives. They -are always so anxious to get the credit that they will let the criminal -escape rather than see someone else capture him. O’Gorman was in the -business for the joy he got out of righting wrongs. He never waited to -be thanked and sometimes not even to be paid. I’ll be bound he died a -poor man.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> -“Not a rich one,” said Josie, “but if I live to be old there’ll be -enough to keep me out of the poorhouse and if I die young, enough to -bury me decently and start someone else in life.”</p> - -<p>“Spoken like your father!” laughed the captain. “He never told an -inquisitive person to mind his own business in so many words but he -usually let him know where to ‘get off’.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean—” faltered Josie.</p> - -<p>“I know you didn’t mean, but you just did, and I respect you all the -more for it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Father always did say that if you could not be trusted with your -own affairs you could not be trusted with other folks’. I have a habit -of taking it for granted that my business is of no interest to others. -I did not intend to be snippy.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly!” The man laughed silently. He could but mark that Josie still -kept to herself what money her father may or may not have left to his -only heir.</p> - -<p>“If you think best, I’ll go immediately to Peewee Valley and see the -Trasks. Miss Ellett tells me they are her best friends and I feel -perhaps they may know something of the movements of Cheatham. Before I -go, however, I’ll<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> make a call on the nurses’ registrar and look into -the supposed whereabouts of this nurse Fitchet.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see what you are leaving to me to do then,” said the captain, -smiling.</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess you have other cases on your docket just now, while this -is my sole interest. Good-bye, sir, and thank you for your courtesy!” -Josie was up and gone before the surprised man could say anything more.</p> - -<p>“Her father all over!” he grinned. “‘Waste not, want not!’ meant words -as well as food to Detective O’Gorman.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="x" id="x"></a>CHAPTER X<br /> -<span>A VISIT TO PEEWEE VALLEY</span></h2> - - -<p>“Thank the Lord for gossipy women!” Josie exclaimed as she left the -office of the nurses’ registrar, where she had readily engaged the -young woman at the desk in a spirited discussion concerning the various -nurses whose names were there registered.</p> - -<p>It was a simple matter to find out that Miss Fitchet was considered an -excellent nurse; also that she was thoroughly unpopular with her sister -nurses. She was in demand, however, because of her steady nerves.</p> - -<p>“Nothing knocks her out,” declared the registry clerk. “She wouldn’t -mind holding a man’s legs while the doctor cut off his arm. Blood’s -nothing more than water to her. Doctors like her because she attends -strictly to business, but the patients get fed up on her. They say she -isn’t human.”</p> - -<p>All this was poured forth in a gushing stream, when Josie asked -quite mildly if the girl happened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> to know a nurse by the name of -Fitchet, explaining she did not know her personally but that she had -some friends who knew her and they had suggested her as a person who -might care for Josie’s great uncle (a purely fictitious person). The -great uncle had not arrived in Louisville, but was expected shortly, -and would perhaps need a nurse. Josie was not sure of this. She just -thought she would step around and ask about Fitchet.</p> - -<p>“She’s got a job just now in Florida—at least she did have one—but -we’ve word from the party employing her that she has left them without -giving notice and now they’re trying to have us send them another. -It is no trouble for Fitchet to get a job, so I don’t mind telling -you that if you love your great uncle, I wouldn’t fool with Fitchet. -She’s liable to make him will her all his money and then starve him to -death. I’ve heard plenty of patients say that she eats up the goodies -sent to them right before their eyes, declaring they are too rich for -sick folks. I don’t like her, and I don’t care who knows it. I don’t -generally talk out this way to customers but I take such an interest in -your poor, dear great uncle. She’d land the poor dear man in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> the grave -in a month and then you’d find a will in her favor. She’s a slick one, -with her head cocked on one side and a grin like a panther.”</p> - -<p>“Did she come back to Louisville when she left the people in Florida?” -asked Josie, laughing.</p> - -<p>“Not yet! I reckon she’s frying fish somewheres else. But, young lady, -if you are hunting a nurse you let me recommend a lovely girl I know. -She’s as sweet as a peach and so accommodating she’ll cook and clean up -if need be and wash out the baby’s little sacques and socks—and press -his cap, strings and all.”</p> - -<p>“But my great uncle doesn’t wear sacques and caps and I fancy he can -get someone else to wash his socks,” teased Josie.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I forgot. I was thinkin’ ’twas a baby. Anyhow, don’t get -Fitchet.”</p> - -<p>“All right, I won’t,” agreed Josie.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you leave your name and address?” suggested the girl. “My boss -always wants folks to leave their names and addresses.”</p> - -<p>“There’s hardly any use,” said Josie. “I’m not sure my great uncle is -coming, and if he does it is but a step to come to your office and -see you. I think a personal interview is so satisfactory.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span> Don’t you? -Besides, I shall enjoy seeing you again.”</p> - -<p>The girl at the desk was flattered by Josie’s remarks and let her make -her escape without further insistence concerning names and addresses.</p> - -<p>“Well, I know where Fitchet isn’t, at least,” muttered Josie. “And now -for Peewee Valley!”</p> - -<p>The interurban car was on time and so was Josie. She could not help -smiling when she remembered Aunt Mandy’s description of this car and -her calling it the interbourbon. There were two men aboard who might -very well keep up the alleged reputation of the line, as their hip -pockets bulged suspiciously, and their gait suggested that they might -have been imbibing quite freely.</p> - -<p>The car filled rapidly with holiday makers and parties going to spend -Christmas day in the country with relations and friends.</p> - -<p>“I might feel sorry for myself if I wanted to,” thought Josie, “but -somehow I don’t. Here I am having no Christmas to speak of, but feeling -as chipper as you please, with a wonderfully interesting day ahead of -me. Poor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> Ursula is the one who may well feel sorry for herself, but I -am as sure as anything I’ll find Philip, and that before so very long. -But the motive for stealing him—what can it be? Ursula is as poor as -a church mouse. If it only wasn’t Christmas I’d sleuth around and find -out something about Cheatham’s business and his financial standing.”</p> - -<p>So Josie mused as those on Christmas pleasure bent squeezed her into -a corner of the car. She was thankful to have a seat next the window, -although at first the prospect of dirty snow and empty streets was not -so very pleasing.</p> - -<p>The trolley soon whizzed through the city into the suburbs and then -into open country, past pleasant homes where prosperity was the -keynote. Now the snow was clean and, wherever it had drifted aside, -instead of a bare brown patch, green grass met the eye, as is the way -in Kentucky. Blue grass will remain green through the winter under the -snow.</p> - -<p>Peewee Valley was remarkable for its wonderful beech trees, and the -fact that it was not a valley at all. In truth the trolley seemed to be -going up grade. The sun, which had seemed nothing but a round orange -through the smoke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> and fog of Louisville, was now shining brilliantly, -but the mercury was steadily falling in spite of old Sol and the air -was crisp and bracing. Josie remembered Mandy’s directions and stopped -the car at the post office.</p> - -<p>“That must be Colonel Trask’s,” she decided, standing for a moment in -the snow as the trolley whizzed out of sight, and gazing across the -road at a pleasant looking home well back from the road, approached by -an avenue bordered by maple trees. They were bare and gaunt on that -winter’s morning, but it was not difficult to picture them in full leaf -shading the road. Indeed, here and there was a bench which, though -covered with snow, made one think instinctively of summer days.</p> - -<p>The snow had been beaten down to a hard path on one side of the road -and the road itself gave evidence of much travel—prints of horses’ -hoofs and of automobile tires. The house, which could be seen from the -approach, was white with grey gabled roof, the sky line much broken -with dormer windows and great red chimneys. Josie counted five, with -smoke curling from every one of them.</p> - -<p>A sudden sound of sleigh bells and trotting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> horses! Josie was in a -brown study, trying to untangle the web woven around Ursula Ellett. She -found it difficult to fix her thoughts, since the general appearance -of the hospitable home she was approaching made her think, in spite -of herself, of roast turkey and goose, plum pudding and mince pies, -bulging Christmas stockings and fir trees blazing with candles. The -sound of sleigh bells made her jump. She felt almost that Santa Claus -himself was coming. So swiftly were the horses drawing the red cutter -over the beaten snow they had passed her almost before she could -collect her scattered senses.</p> - -<p>“Whoa!” commanded the driver, stopping his team a few feet beyond the -spot where Josie stood rooted in the snow. “Have a ride?”</p> - -<p>The driver was a young man of engaging manner and wonderfully even -teeth. That was the first impression made on Josie. Afterwards she -realized that he was an exceedingly handsome young Kentuckian, -blue-eyed, straight-nosed, clean cut and athletic.</p> - -<p>“Certainly!” She answered his invitation without hesitation. Female -detectives cannot afford to be squeamish, but it was not a detective -who sprang so readily into the red cutter—rather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> a young girl away -from home on Christmas morning, in whose ears the music of the sleigh -bells played an alluring tune and who was, in spite of the serious -business that had brought her to Louisville, longing for companionship.</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?” asked the young man. “I can take you wherever it -is, because my horses are eating their heads off in the stable and are -as wild to be up and out and racing as I am. I came on you so suddenly -I couldn’t tell which way you were headed.”</p> - -<p>“This way,” pointed Josie. “I am hunting some colored people. The woman -makes rag rugs and the man brooms. I was directed through Colonel -Trask’s place. I am on the right road, am I not?”</p> - -<p>“You are indeed. Colonel Trask is my father. But why hunt rag rug and -broom makers on Christmas morning?”</p> - -<p>“Because—but—oh, please tell me, are you Teddy?”</p> - -<p>“The same—and you?”</p> - -<p>Josie looked into the kind, clear, boyish, blue eyes and determined to -trust their owner with her story.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> -“I am Ursula Ellett’s friend and I’m not really very much interested in -rag rugs and brooms.”</p> - -<p>The eyes hardened from blue to ice.</p> - -<p>“Ah, indeed!” he said with cold politeness.</p> - -<p>“I want to see your mother and father. Ursula—”</p> - -<p>“Miss Ellett is well, I hope.”</p> - -<p>“As well as could be expected, considering she is among strangers, -making a living for herself and her two little brothers and now the -younger brother, little Philip, has been stolen from her. Yes, very -well, thank you. I see I was mistaken in thinking Mr. Theodore Trask -was her friend, and since I have evidently touched on an uninteresting -subject, I shall ask you to stop your horses and let me get out.”</p> - -<p>Josie was angry—so angry she felt it almost impossible to refrain from -slapping the handsome face of her driver. His “Miss Ellett is well, I -hope,” was what had aroused her anger. The tone with which he had made -the seemingly harmless remark had enraged Josie, and the usually calm -little detective was in a boiling passion.</p> - -<p>The icy eyes melted a little, but the young man made no movement -towards stopping the horses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span> Instead, he turned them sharply around -in the avenue and headed them for the open road. With a word of -encouragement the beautiful creatures were urged to greater speed. -Josie was compelled to grasp her companion’s arm to steady herself. A -seat in an open cutter is a precarious one when a reckless driver and -his horses are feeling too full of pep.</p> - -<p>Josie took a long breath. She couldn’t help enjoying the sensation of -being forcibly carried off by an ice king, even though she did hate his -superciliousness.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xi" id="xi"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /> -<span>MR. CHEATHAM IS UNMASKED</span></h2> - - -<p>“Cooled down a little by now?” asked Teddy Trask, after about a mile -of record-breaking trotting. “Now, Miss Friend—that’s the only name I -know you by—you listen to me a minute. I was Ursula Ellett’s friend. -In fact, I hoped I was going to be closer than a mere friend. My family -loved her from my father on down. We felt she must know we were to -be trusted and we trusted her. Imagine our feelings when she simply -departed from Louisville without saying one word to any of us, without -writing a line, even to my mother. Mr. Cheatham has been out to see us -and told us how her behavior has hurt him. He said she had requested -him not to inform us of her whereabouts and he was forced to respect -her wishes in the matter. He merely sends her a monthly remittance of -five hundred dollars, which surely should be enough for her to live on -very comfortably, without having to work so hard to support her little -brothers.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> -“Lies! Lies! All a pack of lies!” Josie flashed.</p> - -<p>“We might have thought that, if Ursula had done anything to contradict -what Cheatham has said, but her silence is enough to convince us that -we were not as dear to her as we had felt. He tells us she is soon to -be married to a multi-millionaire and also that she writes she cannot -pretend to any affection for him but that he is so rich she feels it -would be foolish to let such a chance slip.”</p> - -<p>“Ursula to be married! Ursula with a monthly remittance of five hundred -dollars! Really, Mr. Trask, I can’t believe you are serious. She has -been as poor as poor can be but now she is conducting a tea room in -a little shop called the Higgledy Piggledy Shop, of which I am part -owner, and the boys come and help after school and eat up all the cold -waffles for accommodation. All of the Higgledy Piggledies love Ursula -and her boys and last night someone came and kidnaped little Philip and -Ursula is wild with grief and I have come to Louisville to see if I can -get a clue to a motive for stealing the child, and in that way perhaps -track the villains.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span> -“Well, Miss Friend, you sound convincing and what you say about the -cold waffles puts a human touch to your tale. But why, in the name of -Heaven, if all this is so, did Ursula not write to us?”</p> - -<p>“She dreaded what Cheatham might do to your family if you seemed in any -way to connive with her. She could not stay another minute in the house -with him and she is terribly afraid of him and the evil he might do to -her friends and her boys, even more than what he might do to her.”</p> - -<p>“She never told us she was afraid of Cheatham.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t she? But you must have known she was unhappy over her mother’s -second marriage.”</p> - -<p>“She never said so. She always avoided the subject.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the real flaw in Ursula’s otherwise admirable character. She is -too reticent.”</p> - -<p>“That’s better than being a gusher,” exclaimed the young man vehemently.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” smiled Josie, amused at the suddenness with which Teddy had -veered around concerning Ursula, “but it is hard on a detective,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> who -is trying to unravel a mystery, when the persons interested give one -nothing to go on. I had a terrible time worming out of Ursula that -there was such a person as you and even when she told me there was she -gave no intimation that you were—well, a tolerably good-looking young -man who had leanings in her direction. She grew pale when she mentioned -your name, which led me to think that you were small and dark, with -maybe a hare lip.”</p> - -<p>Teddy laughed and spoke to his horses.</p> - -<p>“And the multi-millionaire?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“It’s a lie! I cannot see how you could believe Cheatham. I am sure -he has not known where Ursula was until lately, and he has never -communicated with her in any way, nor has she with him, since she left -Louisville. Has not your mother received a letter from Ursula? She -wrote one not long ago and hoped it would reach her before Christmas. -I persuaded her that she was wrong to keep silent any longer. Ursula -has been cowed by this terrible stepfather until she is afraid to do -anything but just hide away. You do believe me, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, Miss Friend, I can’t help trusting you. I want to trust you -so much. I’ll tell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> you I have been very unhappy over Ursula, but I -was determined to overcome my love for her because I felt she was not -worthy of my regard. I believed all Cheatham said. He is a pleasant, -plausible fellow and he has pretended so much feeling for my family -because of Ursula’s behavior.</p> - -<p>“I see it all now! What fools we have been! Father doesn’t like Mr. -Cheatham but Father is such an old-fashioned gentleman that when -anyone is in his house he is as polite as can be. Cheatham has been -in our house a lot lately, too, when I come to think of it. By Jove, -he is coming to dinner today! You’ve simply got to see him. You said -something awhile back about detectives. Are you really one?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but don’t give me away. I’m supposed to be out here hunting up -rag rugs and hand-made brooms for my arts and crafts shop.”</p> - -<p>“Give you away, indeed! I’m too excited about what you have told me and -too anxious to help. As for detectives: I read all the stories about -them I can get hold of and always think I could have managed the cases -better than they did.”</p> - -<p>“Good for you!” laughed Josie. “Now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> please tell me what you would do -about this case?”</p> - -<p>“First, I’d take you home to dinner and let you get a good look at Mr. -Cheatham. I’d like to wring his neck.”</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t look that way at him or he’ll not be able to eat his -dinner. But tell me, please, Mr. Trask, how are you going to explain me -to your family?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t Mr. Trask me! I’m Teddy now, even more so than when you first -got in my cutter.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Teddy!”</p> - -<p>“I tell you who you are. You’re a girl I used to know at Cornell, but -hanged if I haven’t forgotten your name.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Friend, Josie Friend. At least that is a right good working name, -and since you christened me you should remember it. My real name is -Josie O’Gorman.”</p> - -<p>“I used to read stories about Detective O’Gorman and his stunts. I tell -you he was a peach.”</p> - -<p>“He was my father,” said Josie, for the second time that day.</p> - -<p>“Jiminy crickets! I’d rather know you than Babe Ruth or Dempsey or -Douglas Fairbanks.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> Do you know you haven’t shaken hands with me yet?”</p> - -<p>Josie solemnly shook hands with the young man.</p> - -<p>“Remember to call me Miss Friend though, or Josie. I would not mention -the name of O’Gorman. Crooks are always shy of it and while Cheatham -hasn’t been found out yet, I’ll bet he knows who might have caught him -if he had broken the eleventh commandment.”</p> - -<p>“Well, if I am supposed to have known you well enough at Cornell to -pick you up and bring you home to dinner, I reckon I know you well -enough to call you plain Josie.”</p> - -<p>“Won’t your mother think I’m mighty forward to accept an invitation -from you to a family gathering on Christmas day?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ll fix Mother. Don’t worry about her. And now, Josie, what am I -to say you were doing in Peewee Valley on this cold day?”</p> - -<p>“Why not let rag rugs and brooms be the motive? It went down with you -all right and why not with them?”</p> - -<p>“Yes it did!” he exclaimed scornfully. “I knew all the time you weren’t -after rag rugs.”</p> - -<p>“Then you knew a lot, because I really am<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> going over to this cabin -and order a big lot for our shop. You have forgotten the shop. My -detective business is supposed to be a side issue and the shop is the -all important thing, since it is by running the shop that a number of -persons make a living. Being a detective is my art but helping to run -the Higgledy Piggledy Shop is my business.”</p> - -<p>“All right then, rag rugs and home-made brooms it shall be! I found you -standing on your head in a snow drift on your way to Uncle Abe’s cabin -and when I set you right side up you turned out to be the Josie Friend -I had known at Cornell, where you were specializing in—in—”</p> - -<p>“Psychology and domestic science!” said Josie, with a grin.</p> - -<p>“Exactly! I then drove you to the cabin. By the way, we’ll get there -finally on this road, although it is a long way round, but there is -plenty of time before dinner and my horses are simply prancing for a -good spin. Now, nobody is to know you ever heard of Ursula and you are -to catch Cheatham entirely off his guard.”</p> - -<p>“Fine! You have the makings of a real detective in you. In the meantime -can you furnish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> the slightest clue for the motive any one might have -had for kidnaping poor little Philip?”</p> - -<p>Teddy Trask could think of no reason and then Josie related to him all -she knew concerning Miss Fitchet’s appearance in Dorfield; how she -seemed to shadow Ursula and then disappeared and then about the woman -with run-down heels and blonde hair who had evidently been in the room -adjoining the apartment occupied by Ursula and her brothers.</p> - -<p>“I have a hunch that Cheatham is at the bottom of the whole thing and -that Fitchet is in his employ,” said Josie. “Fitchet came to Dorfield -to spy out the lay of the land before she went to Florida on this case -that she has just left within the last week. Cheatham wanted to know -what his stepchildren were doing and how they were living. Why he was -interested I do not know. Since then something has arisen that makes -him more interested. He sent for Fitchet and she dropped her case in -Florida and flew to do his bidding. Philip is now with her, but where? -Cheatham has not left Louisville, and as far as we know Fitchet has -not returned. I am trying to find out something about Ursula’s Uncle -Ben Benson, but nobody seems to know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> of his whereabouts since he left -Louisville when his sister married Cheatham.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! You sound like the old lady in ‘The Circular Staircase’ or the -man in ‘The Gold Bug’.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think you might casually bring in the name of Uncle Ben -Benson? Ask your father, for instance, if he ever knew him. Say you -heard someone mention him at the club and the man wondered if he had -died. Say another man at the club was under the impression he was -dead—thought he had seen something in a foreign dispatch concerning -his death. Just make up any old thing and don’t be too explicit or too -much interested.”</p> - -<p>“Sure I can! I’ll be the casual one and you do the watching of -Cheatham. There’ll more than likely be a big bunch of folks at dinner. -Anita always has a crowd around her and Mother and Father rake in -guests with a heavy hand around Christmas time. I haven’t asked anyone -on my own hook this year, so it is pretty fine that I found you -standing on your head in the snowdrift. The truth of the matter is I -am really missing Ursula such a lot and I couldn’t seem to make up my -mind to jolly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> up much, with her away and getting ready to marry a -multi-millionaire.”</p> - -<p>Josie patted the big glove on the hand next to her that held the reins -to the prancing steeds and the young man looked down at her gratefully. -She gave him a merry glance.</p> - -<p>“By the way, Teddy, if you see me looking fish-eyed don’t be -astonished. I want Cheatham to think I’m so stupid he won’t have to -be on his guard with me. Another thing: my shop must not be spoken of -by name, as no doubt Fitchet has told him Ursula was working for the -Higgledy Piggledies at Dorfield, so suppose you let me represent a firm -in Youngstown, Ohio.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Miss Particular! What you say goes and nothing you may say -and any way you may look won’t astonish me. Watch me be about as big a -sleuth as there is in America. Please let me tell you how much happier -I am since you got in my cutter.”</p> - -<p>“I’m more cheerful, too,” said Josie, “although I shouldn’t be when -there is poor Ursula eating her heart out with misery. I couldn’t be -as cheerful as I am if I were not perfectly sure we will find little -Philip.”</p> - -<p>“Sure we will find him,” said Teddy.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xii" id="xii"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /> -<span>IN AN OLD KENTUCKY HOME</span></h2> - - -<p>The cabin of Sis Minerva and Brer Abe was so picturesque that Josie -regretted not having a camera with her. It was of logs with a stone -chimney, that leaned outward as though bowing an invitation to Santa -Claus to enter. Bright geraniums peeped from the windows, where -hung wreaths of holly and swamp berries. A hound barked as they -approached and then ran under the house, routing out a hog that had -been comfortably scratching his back on the joists of the floor of the -lean-to summer kitchen. Several coon skins were nailed to the side of -the house, there to tan in the wind and sun—a natural method often -employed in the country.</p> - -<p>The old couple were at home, enjoying themselves according to their -respective tastes. Sis Minerva was stirring up a custard, which she -intended to freeze with the timely snow and Abe playing on his old -accordion, which was so much the worse for wear it was necessary to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> -bribe several of the many grandchildren to stand by and pinch the -cracks together to extract anything like a tune from the ancient -instrument.</p> - -<p>“I done mended and mended ’til ’tain’t no use in mendin’ no mo’. Fas’ -as I mends in one place she bus’ out in another, an’ bein’ as I’s -got mo’ gran’babies dan I is time I jes uses ’em stid er glue,” Abe -explained.</p> - -<p>The interior of the cabin was even more picturesque than the exterior. -Brer Abe, in his clean Christmas shirt and long tailed brass-buttoned -coat, a relic of his coachman days, sat in an arm chair, his feet in -grey yarn socks stretched to the cheerful burning logs piled up in the -great fireplace. He was playing a sad and mournful hymn on the cracked -accordion with three little children hanging desperately to the places -that were beyond mending. Sometimes the air demanded that he must -stretch his arms far apart and then one little girl would be lifted -almost from her feet in her endeavor not to let the “chune git out de -wrong way.”</p> - -<p>Teddy and Josie peeped in the window for a moment before knocking. The -barking of the dog had not been noticed, because of the wailing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> hymn, -and all unconscious of an audience the old man squirmed out his melody.</p> - -<p>Sis Minerva appeared at the door of the kitchen, a huge yellow bowl in -her arms.</p> - -<p>“Hi, you, Abe, cain’cha play a perkier chune? My cake dough am likely -ter fall with me tryin’ to keep time ter sech a buried-an’ dug-up song. -This yer cake air gotter be beat fas’ an’ stiddy so you jes’ change yo’ -chune or quit playin’.”</p> - -<p>“How kin I carry a fas’ chune when every time I draws out for wind I -haster carry two, three gran’babies?” whined the old husband.</p> - -<p>“Here, gimme that aircawjun!” exclaimed Sis Minerva, putting down -her bowl of cake batter on the highboy out of reach of the many -grandchildren. “I’ll mend it in no time. I done saved more’n a sheet or -so o’ dat tangle-yo-foot fly paper an’ I boun’ it’ll stick fas’ as yo’ -hide.” She produced the fly paper and mended the instrument while Josie -and Teddy peered through the flowering geraniums on the homely, happy -scene.</p> - -<p>Teddy’s knock on the door silenced the noise of the grandchildren, but -old Abe must finish his tune, explaining later with many apologies that -it was “wuss ter quit in the middle of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> chune than ter lay off befo’ -a sneeze wa’ properly snuz.”</p> - -<p>“Please go on with your tune,” begged Teddy.</p> - -<p>“And don’t stop stirring your cake,” Josie insisted when Sis Minerva -prepared to remove the yellow bowl to the lean-to. “Let me stir it for -you. I know how, really and truly.”</p> - -<p>She took the bowl from the old woman and, with a practiced hand, began -a rhythmic beat that satisfied Sis Minerva her guest was no idle -boaster.</p> - -<p>“I smell ’possum roasting,” sniffed Teddy.</p> - -<p>“Deed an’ you do, an’ sweet ’taters ’long with. I been a-fattenin’ dat -’possum fo’ nigh onter two months, not dat he wa’ no spindle shanks -when I cotched him. De trouble am de chilluns done got so ’tached ter -de animule I feel kinder like I’d done skun a gran’baby fo’ Chris’mus -dinner. De smell of him a cookin’ air put heart in us all, an’ I -reckons by de time we sets up to de table we won’t feel so like we’s -a-eatin’ of kinfolks.”</p> - -<p>“We done ruminated right smart ’bout whether we’d make a burnt offerin’ -of de tame possum or my ol’ gander an’ I puts in a word fo’ de gander -an’ cas’ my vote for de ’possum,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> Sis Minerva explained. “You see dat -ol’ gander air already so tough he cain’t git no tougher an’ de ’possum -wa’ so fat he couldn’t git no fatter, so all things bein’ ekal we skun -de ’possum.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been sent to you by your cousin in Louisville, Aunt Mandy at Miss -Lucy Leech’s. She tells me you weave carpets and make quilts and that -Uncle Abe can make those lovely brooms with the handles formed of the -broom straw wrapped with split oak,” said Josie.</p> - -<p>“Well, ain’t it the trufe? Lawsamussy chil’, Mandy am right. Me’n Abe -keeps right well, with me a plaitin’ rugs an’ patchin’ quilts an’ him -a-fashionin’ brooms dat one time folks scorned when fact’ry brooms got -so plentiful like, but now air come back inter fashion sence white -folks took ter livin’ in one story houses what they calls bugaboos, -with open fire-places an’ brick hearths what has ter be swep’ up.”</p> - -<p>Josie must see the quilts Sis Minerva had on hand and admire the -log-cabin, pine-tree and rising-sun patterns. Orders were given -for several quilts and rugs and as many brooms as Uncle Abe could -spare. The shipping of the wares to another state seemed to be an -insurmountable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> obstacle to the old couple, but Teddy promised to -attend to it for them and their minds were set at rest.</p> - -<p>“I’ll have ter git busy an’ raise mo’ broom straw,” sighed Uncle Abe. -“I’s gittin’ right stiff in de jints fer breakin’ up lan’ an’ I ain’t -got a single gran’baby big enough ter mo’n han’le a hoe.”</p> - -<p>“But where there are so many grandchildren there must be some -children,” suggested Josie. “Haven’t you any sons and daughters?”</p> - -<p>“Plenty of ’em, but dey’s mos’ly lef’ dese parts. We hears from some er -’em now an’ den an’ dey ’members us when dey gits flush an’ when dey -gits broke an’ evy now an den one er de litter turns up with a baby fer -de ol’ folks ter raise. De gals all got married but mos’ of ’em is out -in service an’ nobody don’t want ter hire ’em with ’cumbrances. An’ de -boys dey all got married but looks lak dey wives air all time dyin’ or -something an’ den de offspring lands up here at Peewee Valley. Me’n my -Minervy ain’t a kickin’. De chilluns air right smart comp’ny fer us an’ -we air a bringin’ ’em up ter wuck. De bigges’ gal kin make the purties’ -baskets out’n biled honeysuckle vines you ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> seen. Dey done sol’ de -whole lot in Lou’ville befo’ Chris’mus so they ain’t got none on han’, -but I’s a-wonderin’ if you ain’t wantin’ some er dem too.”</p> - -<p>“I certainly do,” said Josie. “No doubt they could be shipped with the -other things and I am sure there would be a sale for the baskets in -Dorfield.”</p> - -<p>The young basket maker grinned with delight. “Does you fancy big uns -or lil’ uns?” she asked with an air of being ready to go to work -immediately.</p> - -<p>“Both, and medium-sized ones, too.”</p> - -<p>The price for the various commodities being settled upon, Teddy -suggested it might be time to eat their own turkey and let Uncle Abe -and Aunt Minerva eat their ’possum. With many protestations of mutual -satisfaction from buyer and sellers, Josie was tucked in the cutter and -the eager horses started on their homeward journey.</p> - -<p>“If you don’t mind, I’ll stop at the post office on my way home,” said -Teddy. “The postmistress is mighty nice about letting you have mail on -holidays if she happens to be around.”</p> - -<p>She did happen to be around and Teddy came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> out bearing the letter from -Ursula to Mrs. Trask.</p> - -<p>“Do you know I’ve more than half a mind not to give this to Mother yet? -She’d be so full of it she couldn’t help giving herself away to old -Cheatham and he mustn’t know we know a thing about Ursula yet.”</p> - -<p>“Young man, Uncle Sam needs you in the diplomatic service and needs -you badly,” declared Josie. “May I ask what you do when you are not -befriending female detectives?”</p> - -<p>“I am a lawyer,” answered Teddy. “Some day I intend to be a justice of -the Supreme Court, but up to this time I have collected a few bad debts -and sued the Louisville and Nashville Railroad for one cow belonging -to a disreputable family living over by the crossing. I won my case -and the disreputable family not only got paid for the cow but had -beefsteaks to burn, to say nothing of the hide which they sold to a -tanner.”</p> - -<p>“Good!” laughed Josie. “I wish I had studied law, too. I am really -contemplating taking it up if I can ever get time to spare. It might -have been a good stunt if I had put my imaginary time at Cornell on law -instead of domestic science.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> -“Well, please don’t mix me up on what you did at Cornell. I’ve got it -firmly fixed in my mind that psychology and domestic science were your -tickets and I mustn’t get involved in my story.”</p> - -<p>“All right, I’ll keep dark about the law if you wish me to, but I -certainly do wish I might have taken even an imaginary course.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xiii" id="xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<span>A GREAT CHRISTMAS FEAST</span></h2> - - -<p>The Christmas guests had gathered when Teddy drew rein at the yard gate -of his father’s hospitable mansion. There were several cars parked -along the driveway and a large family sleigh was being unloaded just -ahead of him.</p> - -<p>“Christmas gift, Jo! Christmas gift, Sue—you, too, Billy! Christmas -gift, Aunt Julia! Christmas gift, Uncle Tom!” he called, and in turn -was deluged with cries of “Christmas gift” from the occupants of the -sleigh.</p> - -<p>“It was bully of you all to drive over. Mother was so afraid you might -not venture in the snow, but I was sure you would come. I want all of -you to meet my friend Miss Friend, Josie for short. She’s heard a lot -about you and is just dying to know you.”</p> - -<p>“I am sure we have heard a lot about you, too,” murmured Aunt Julia -politely.</p> - -<p>“More about you than you have about us,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> I’ll be bound,” said Uncle Tom -with a genial wink.</p> - -<p>As Josie had never heard a word about them and was not even aware of -the surnames of these kindly kinsmen of her host, she could vouch -for their having at least heard as much about her as she had about -them and as they knew her last name—that is the last name she had -assumed—she might even agree that they knew more of her than she did -of them. At any rate, they were kind and cordial and willing to take -her on Teddy’s say-so. It was Christmas day and Josie was determined to -make the most of the opportunity to have a good old-fashioned time in -a good old-fashioned way, while she was engaged in picking up as much -information as possible concerning Ursula and the kidnaping of little -Philip.</p> - -<p>The house was gay with holly and running cedar, with great bunches of -mistletoe hung from the chandeliers and wreaths of swamp berries in -every window. The piny odor of the evergreens, mingled with that of -choice foods, made Josie’s nostrils twitch with pleasure.</p> - -<p>“Mother, I’ve brought a friend in to dinner,” Teddy said simply. He -took Josie’s arm and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> presented her to the sweet-faced lady who was -standing in the middle of the spacious parlor. “Josie Friend, Mother.”</p> - -<p>“I am so glad to see you.” The words were so simple and so genuinely -spoken that Josie was sorry, even for a short time, to have to seem to -be something she was not. She longed to be able to tell this lovely -woman who she was and how she happened to be in Peewee Valley on that -white Christmas. However, she realized the importance of carrying out -the program she and Teddy had planned and merely said, “Thank you,” in -response to Teddy’s mother and, “Thank you,” again when Colonel Trask -was equally cordial.</p> - -<p>“That is Cheatham!” Teddy whispered, as a tall, rather commanding, -figure appeared in the doorway. Josie controlled herself not to look at -the man too closely, but began talking to Uncle Tom, who had taken a -stand near her. Uncle Tom was easy to talk to because all one had to do -was listen.</p> - -<p>“Pleasant gathering,” he said “Mighty pleasant. Been coming here to -Christmas dinner ever since I can remember. Married Julia Bowles, you -know, Anita’s sister—Mrs. Trask,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span> that is—but I reckon Teddy has told -you all the ins and outs of the family. Fine family, good housekeepers, -good friends, plenty of looks, plenty of money, good characters, good -citizens. I don’t always like their friends, but it’s none of my -business who comes here.”</p> - -<p>“Who is that man in the doorway?” asked Josie, designating Cheatham, -thinking she might get a side line on his traits from Uncle Tom.</p> - -<p>“Cheatham! He’ll do it, all right, all right. I can’t abide that man. -But I’m not obeying the rules of hospitality to be criticizing a fellow -guest to a fellow guest.”</p> - -<p>“I won’t tell,” laughed Josie.</p> - -<p>“Of course not. Anybody that’s a friend of Teddy’s is sure to be a -good sport—that is, anybody but Cheatham. I never could understand my -sister-in-law and her son in allowing that man to darken their doors. -That’s what he does to a door when he enters it. He sure does darken -it. As for Colonel Trask, I know he can’t stand the man any more than I -can, but he’s one of these old time courtly men who let the women folk -rule them. Me? I tell you nobody bosses me. If my Julia tried that game -on me, I tell you I’d—I’d—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> -“Tom, go out and look in the sleigh for my glasses. Don’t say ‘send one -of the children,’ because I’m sure they would break them. Go along, -Tom! That’s a dear,” said Aunt Julia in a tone not to be questioned.</p> - -<p>“Yes, my dear!” from the valorous Tom.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go help find them,” suggested Josie. “Men never know how to find -things,” and then she whispered to Uncle Tom as they started towards -the front door, “I really believe your wife’s glasses are hanging by -a hook on the front of her dress. I saw something dangling there. Why -don’t you look?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet they are. Won’t I have a good laugh on her, though!”</p> - -<p>Josie was right and Uncle Tom was jubilant over the joke on Aunt Julia.</p> - -<p>“I tell you, Miss Friend, you are a regular detective.”</p> - -<p>As a detective was the last thing Josie wanted to seem to be, she was -almost sorry she had seen the eyeglasses, but at least she was able to -detain Uncle Tom in conversation concerning Mr. Cheatham.</p> - -<p>“You were saying you didn’t like that handsome man over there,” she -suggested.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span> -“Handsome! As handsome as ten-cent store silver! He’s a crook, I tell -you—a veritable crook. How decent people receive him is more than I -can see.”</p> - -<p>“What does he do that is crooked?” asked Josie innocently.</p> - -<p>“That’s just where his crookedness comes in,” exploded Uncle Tom. -“Nobody can put their fingers on his crookedness. He always manages to -get out before he gets in.”</p> - -<p>“Is he married?”</p> - -<p>“Widower with stepchildren, and now pretending he has to keep the -children in luxury although they even tried to kill him. Some people -in Louisville believe him, but not me. You can fool some of the people -all of the time and all the people some of the time but Cheatham hasn’t -ever fooled me. I know a crook when I see him and he is as crooked as a -snake.”</p> - -<p>At this moment Josie was carried off by Teddy to meet some more of the -friends gathered under his father’s roof for Christmas dinner.</p> - -<p>“Related to the Virginia Friends?” one old man asked. “Petersburg -people?”</p> - -<p>Josie was fearful that she might get caught in a genealogical web and -quickly repudiated Virginia<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> kin, explaining she was the last of her -line.</p> - -<p>Dinner soon was announced, much to Josie’s relief. Not only was she -hungry, but she felt that when the guests began to eat they would not -evince quite so much interest in her relations. Teddy arranged matters -so that they sat directly opposite Cheatham.</p> - -<p>“We can look right down his throat,” he explained in a whisper. “You -watch him and I’ll get him going.”</p> - -<p>Josie had heard of groaning boards, but she had never heard one before. -The table at the Trasks’—although it was of solid mahogany—literally -creaked with the weight of the Christmas dinner. The fact that it was -stretched to its utmost length and the drop-leaf side-tables pressed -into service to make it even longer may have been responsible for -its audible groaning. A twenty-pound turkey at one end, and a huge -home-cured ham at the other, were flanked with dishes of escalloped -oysters, mashed potatoes, squash, spinach, celery, chicken salad, every -kind of pickle known to housewives, cranberry sauce, currant jelly and -other things that escaped one’s eye in the multiplicity of dishes.</p> - -<p>Little attempt was made to serve the guests by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> the numerous servants, -who contented themselves by standing against the walls, grinning -happily over the prospect of the “leavin’s” that were sure to follow -such a feast and the “totin’s” they could no doubt accomplish on that -blessed Christmas day.</p> - -<p>There were at least thirty guests seated at the long table in the great -dining room, and in the breakfast room adjoining the children were -holding high carnival at a table prepared especially for them. Their -happy voices and loud clamorings for turkey gizzards and drum sticks -could be heard above the clatter of knives and forks and tongues in the -grown-ups’ dining room.</p> - -<p>“We always have a general scramble on Christmas day,” Teddy explained -to Josie. “There is no use in trying to have orderly service or put on -any style. It is always catch-as-catch-can at this Christmas dinner. -The same people come year after year, with an occasional addition. -Ursula used always to come, but this is the first time Cheatham has -been here on this day. He has been getting powerful thick out here -lately, now I come to think about it, and I’m just wondering why.”</p> - -<p>Josie was not wondering at all. It was plain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> to see that Mr. Cheatham -was paying court to Anita Trask, but, brother like, Teddy was the last -to suspect that anyone was attentive to his sister. Anita was a very -pretty girl, with her brother’s fair hair and blue, blue eyes. She was -young and a bit shy, and evidently flattered by the devotion of the -handsome, middle-aged man who was seated next to her at the table.</p> - -<p>“Ursula, Ursula,” thought Josie, “what a mistake you have made in -concealing from these kind friends the trouble you have had with your -stepfather! Had Mr. Trask dreamed of the real character of the man, he -never would have permitted him the freedom of his house and the right -to pay court to his daughter. Too great reticence and secretiveness is -worse than being a downright blabber. I only hope it is not too late to -spare Anita a heartache. She is certainly interested in her neighbor, -who no doubt can be as fascinating as he can be cruel and overbearing.”</p> - -<p>Josie began to feel sorrier than ever for Ursula, because she was not -in her usual place at this unique gathering. Such a genial host and -gracious hostess! Such hungry guests and such plentiful food! Such -willing, if ineffectual, servants!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> Such gay badinage and good-natured -raillery! In ten minutes Josie felt almost as though she belonged. -Everybody accepted her simply and naturally. If she was Teddy’s friend, -she was everybody’s friend. She never was called on to explain her -presence in Peewee Valley and the tale of rag rugs and brooms and bed -quilts and baskets did not have to be told. Uncle Tom had begun to be -a little curious and was beginning on his questionnaire when cranberry -sauce and a turkey thigh switched him off the track and he forgot he -had not found out all he wanted to know.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xiv" id="xiv"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<span>A TRAP FOR MR. CHEATHAM</span></h2> - - -<p>The time had come for mince pie and plum pudding, wine, jelly and ice -cream—not that anyone had room for everything, but one could always -try. The table was being cleared and there was a lull in the hubbub of -conversation as well as the clatter of knife and fork.</p> - -<p>“Father,” Teddy said quite distinctly and in a voice that carried to -the foot of the table where Colonel Trask had been carving the ham as -only he could, “Father, I heard the other day at the club, at least I -think it was there, but I can’t remember just who it was that said it, -that Mr. Ben Benson was dead.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, indeed!”</p> - -<p>“Yes! The man said he had seen a notice of it in some foreign -newspaper. At least, I think that was what he said.”</p> - -<p>“Poor Ursula!” ejaculated Mrs. Trask. “I wonder if it is true. But you -must know, Mr. Cheatham,” she said, turning to that guest.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> -“By Jove! Of course!” said the perfidious Teddy, pretending he had -forgotten the connection between Cheatham and the subject of his -remark. “Why he was your brother-in-law!”</p> - -<p>If at this juncture a fellow diner had taken the trouble to notice the -young lady introduced by the son of the house as Miss Josie Friend, he -would have seen a remarkably stupid-looking young person with dull eyes -and no expression to speak of—quite a different person from the gay, -clever girl who had been riding in Teddy’s cutter not so many minutes -before. In fact, Mr. Cheatham did glance at her when Teddy had first -mentioned the name of Ben Benson. Not that he was attracted by her in -the least, or had any curiosity concerning her, but he had to look -somewhere and it happened to be at her. In spite of his confusion over -Teddy’s announcement it flashed through his mind that the girl across -the table had no doubt eaten too much turkey and roast ham. He wondered -if she could hold plum pudding.</p> - -<p>The truth of the matter was Josie had eaten sparingly, although every -mouthful had been enjoyed, but she felt that her wits must not be -dulled by over-feeding. Mr. Cheatham, not foreseeing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> that his wits -would be in demand, had helped himself plentifully and genially to -every dish that came his way and was in consequence not in a condition -to control his countenance when Teddy blurted out that he had heard Ben -Benson was dead.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Trask’s “poor Ursula” but added to his discomposure, and when -she turned on him and demanded of him further information he could -cheerfully have twisted her gentle neck. When Teddy had announced in -his loud, ringing tones that Ben Benson was his brother-in-law, Mr. -Cheatham felt the blood mounting to his face and for a moment a strange -dizziness held him.</p> - -<p>“Arrested digestion!” was Josie’s mental diagnosis. “A shock coming too -closely on the heels of ham and turkey and various side dishes.”</p> - -<p>Had Mr. Cheatham realized that his face had taken on first a crimson -then a purple tinge, and now was fading to green, he would have been -more unhappy than he was, and he was uncomfortable enough. He found his -voice somewhere and seemed to raise it as if through packed-down layers -of dinner. He wondered if it sounded as strange to other persons as to -him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> -“I—I know nothing about Ben Benson, but I do not believe he is dead. -I can assure you my stepdaughter has been in constant correspondence -with him and surely if he had died she would have known. Although her -behavior to me has been unnatural beyond belief, I am sure she would at -least inform me should she learn of her uncle’s death.”</p> - -<p>“Of course she would!” declared Teddy heartily.</p> - -<p>“Of course!” murmured Mrs. Trask.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cheatham’s digestive process was resumed, so decided Josie. Green -gave place to violet and then to his accustomed ruddy complexion. He -heaved a great sigh and accepted the wedge of mince pie handed him by -Anita.</p> - -<p>Josie felt Teddy’s arm give hers a gentle pressure. She was grateful to -him for not attempting to catch her eye.</p> - -<p>“You might hit him again before so very long,” she suggested, as the -clatter of pie forks again made a confidential remark possible.</p> - -<p>“Watch me!” murmured Teddy in an audible tone, and a casual listener -would have thought he meant watch him eat pie.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if Mr. Benson has made any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> money,” Teddy ventured in a -loud conversational tone. “I gathered from the men I happened to hear -speak of him that the general opinion was he had done pretty well -since he left home. I can’t recall what they said he did—sheep in -Australia—diamond mines in Africa—”</p> - -<p>“Give me sheep every time,” broke in Uncle Tom. “Ben Benson was a -good fellow and loyal to the core. I do hope he hasn’t died and that -he has made money and will come back here and look after his sister’s -children.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Tom had over-eaten, too, and it had made him slightly crabbed and -inclined to pick a quarrel. So, not liking Cheatham, he felt a row with -him would be a grand top-off to the heavy dinner. Cheatham, however, -only turned purple again and let the insult pass.</p> - -<p>“I understand Ursula is to be married soon,” said Mrs. Trask gently, -“and to a very rich man, but no doubt she would be overjoyed to see her -uncle again.”</p> - -<p>“Well! Well! Who is the man?” asked Uncle Tom. He addressed his remark -to Mr. Cheatham and that unhappy man was compelled to answer.</p> - -<p>“My stepdaughter has not confided in me to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> the extent of informing me -of her fiance’s name. She has merely formally announced her intention -of marrying and divulged that the man is a millionaire.”</p> - -<p>At this point Josie felt it difficult to hold the stupid expression she -had assumed. She could but remember poor Ursula’s poverty and her brave -struggle to support her little brothers. Even now she was in sorrow and -misery at the loss of Philip. Was Ursula having any Christmas turkey -or any dinner at all for that matter? She trusted Irene and the kind -Conants to see to her creature comforts. She determined the moment -she got back to Louisville to get Bob Dulaney on the long distance -telephone and find out all about her forlorn friend.</p> - -<p>It seemed hard that the truth should be kept for even one hour from -Colonel and Mrs. Trask and Anita. Here they were believing the most -cruel things of their former friend, while the poor girl was in extreme -misery in a strange town. Josie was thankful when she remembered -the kind Conants and Irene. She was sure Elizabeth Wright and Mary -Louise would come forward to offer their friendship and help and -that Bob Dulaney and Danny Dexter and all of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> persons connected -remotely with the Higgledy Piggledies would be ready with sympathy and -assistance.</p> - -<p>“I can’t see that I am getting anywhere,” Josie said to Teddy when -dinner was finally over and the guests sought drawing room, hall and -sitting room. “We know that Cheatham does not like to mention his -stepchildren and avoids the subject of Ben Benson, but can you make -anything else of the business?”</p> - -<p>“Sure I can! He knows something about Ben Benson and he wishes to -appear innocent of all concern about him.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could get into his house. I am sure I could find -incriminating evidence of some kind.”</p> - -<p>“That’s easy. You just leave it to me and also follow me.” Teddy -sauntered up to where Mr. Cheatham was standing talking to Mrs. Trask. -He was evidently bent on disabusing his hostess’ mind of any belief in -the report of Ben Benson’s death.</p> - -<p>“Just idle rumor,” he asserted.</p> - -<p>“I am sure it was,” broke in Teddy amiably. “Of course, if you know -nothing of it it could not be true. By the way, Mr. Cheatham, how is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> -your radio machine coming on? Is it satisfactory?”</p> - -<p>“Very! I am quite a fan.”</p> - -<p>“So I understand. Do you know here is a young lady who has never heard -a concert or lecture by wireless?” said Teddy, drawing Josie into the -circle. “She is curious to hear one, too. She just told me it was the -height of her ambition. Anita is a novice at radio also. As for me, I -get quite fed up on wireless at the club.”</p> - -<p>“And you, Mrs. Trask, are you interested?” asked Mr. Cheatham.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed!”</p> - -<p>“Well, suppose we make up a little party—say for to-morrow. All of -you, your guest of course,” turning with stiff courtesy to Josie, -whom he had taken for granted was a house guest of his hostess. “We -will have dinner at seven and then we can listen in on the radio all -evening. Will Colonel Trask do me the honor to be one of the party?”</p> - -<p>Colonel Trask pleaded other engagements. Teddy whispered to his mother -not to disabuse Cheatham’s mind concerning Josie’s being for the time -a member of their household. Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> Trask had taken a liking to Josie -from the first and in spite of being somewhat mystified at her sudden -appearance at the Christmas party was ready to accept her as Teddy’s -friend and willing to defer all questionings as to who she was or how -she happened to be in Peewee Valley.</p> - -<p>“Now aren’t you getting somewhere?” whispered Teddy.</p> - -<p>Josie had to acknowledge that she was. To enter the old Ellett house as -a guest of the present master was surely an opportunity to search for -the motive of the kidnaping.</p> - -<p>“After everyone is gone we must tell your mother about Ursula, and you -must give her the letter from the poor dear,” said Josie.</p> - -<p>The guests soon dispersed and then Josie and Teddy were closeted with -Mrs. Trask, who listened with eagerness to all they had to say of -Ursula. She wept over the letter and was violent in what she had to say -of Cheatham, who had so wickedly estranged them from the poor girl. She -readily agreed with her son and Josie that for the time being they must -not let Cheatham know that his perfidy was known to them.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xv" id="xv"></a>CHAPTER XV<br /> -<span>AN ANONYMOUS LETTER</span></h2> - - -<p>While Josie feasted and schemed in the pleasant home of Colonel and -Mrs. Trask in Peewee Valley, there were sad hearts in Dorfield. With no -news of little Philip, and no word from Josie, Ursula had almost wept -her spirit from her eyes.</p> - -<p>Uncle Peter and Aunt Hannah Conant had done all they could to make -Ursula and Ben feel that they were a real uncle and aunt instead of -chance acquaintances. Irene had begged them to come and stay with her -and had eagerly insisted upon sharing her room with Ursula while Ben -was to have the tiny hall room next to the old couple, but Ursula felt -she must remain in her own little apartment, in case some word from -Philip might arrive.</p> - -<p>Josie had departed on the midnight train and the rest of the night -dragged by, Ben sleeping in spite of himself, because he did not -want to sleep at all, but his heavy eyelids refused to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span> stay open. -Ursula occasionally dropped into a doze but would awaken with a start, -dreaming someone was bringing news of her little brother.</p> - -<p>Christmas morning dawned with a bright sun sparkling on the deep snow. -Dorfield was alive with sleighing parties and holiday noises, the -popping of fire crackers and shouts of boys and girls coasting down the -hill on the main street of the town, regardless of traffic regulations. -There was a good hill on that street and coasting was a sport long -before traffic regulations were even heard of—and so it continued.</p> - -<p>Mary Louise and her Danny came immediately to Ursula as soon as the -news of Philip was telephoned to them by Irene. They, too, insisted -upon taking the Elletts home with them, but Ursula still was determined -upon staying in her own home. Elizabeth Wright appeared on the wings of -the wind and eager to do anything possible for the girl whom she had -learned to love and respect.</p> - -<p>“And dear Philip,” she cried, with tears running down her cheeks, “you -know how much I loved him, Ursula. I didn’t mean to say loved him—I -mean love him. We are going to have him back with us in no time.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span> -Captain Charlie Lonsdale telephoned from police headquarters that no -stone was being left unturned in the search for the child and Bob -Dulaney came twice within an hour to find out if any news had been -received by Ursula and to assure her that he was getting busy.</p> - -<p>The day passed, as days do, whether they be gay or sad. At dusk a boy -brought two telegrams for Ursula, one from Josie and one from Teddy -Trask.</p> - -<p>Josie’s was merely a ten-word message of hope and cheer with directions -as to how to reach her in case of news of the missing child. Teddy -did not confine himself to the usual ten words, but spread himself as -though he were writing a night letter. In it he assured Ursula of his -lasting regard and informed her that he was doing what he could to -assist Josie.</p> - -<p>Ursula’s heart was a little lighter after reading the telegrams. She -felt that Josie was sure to do the wise and prudent thing, and the fact -that her dear friends, the Trasks, were once more in touch with her, -made her feel that her trouble was at least shared.</p> - -<p>Bob Dulaney came in again to tell her he had just had a talk over the -long distance ’phone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> with Josie, who had called him up asking for -news, and had told him she was hard at work on the case and had got the -police force of Louisville interested also.</p> - -<p>“Josie is a regular peach when it comes to finding kids and she will -land little Philip in no time,” declared Bob. “That girl has a born -instinct for going right. She’d sure make a good gum-shoe reporter. Did -you ever hear how she and I nabbed the thief who was going off with -Mary Louise’s wedding presents?”</p> - -<p>Ursula had heard it but she pretended she hadn’t and Bob had the -extreme pleasure of recounting the whole adventure in his best -newspaper style.</p> - -<p>“Now don’t forget, Miss Ellett, that if you receive any communication -of any sort you will inform me or Chief Lonsdale.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Josie made me promise that I would do that. Why do you think they -have taken my little brother, Mr. Dulaney? Do you think there was any -motive but simply one to annoy and distress me?”</p> - -<p>“I do. People don’t engage in such dangerous crime just to be annoying. -Josie is out hunting a motive and I am working with that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> thought as a -basis of investigation too. I don’t know how the police are proceeding. -They usually work with a kind of sledge hammer method that hits what -gets in its way but doesn’t get into the cracks much, or seek out the -hidden things.”</p> - -<p>Bob’s visit cheered Ursula. It was a comforting thing to know that -something was being done. She felt helpless and useless herself. All -she could do was sit by the window in her living room and gaze out on -the snow, wondering where her little brother was and if he thought of -her and missed her as she did him. She was thankful that the kidnaper -had taken his overcoat and warm sweater. At least he would not be cold. -She <a name="remembered" id="remembered"></a><ins title="Original has 'rememberd'">remembered</ins> -that his shoes had but recently been half -soled. His feet would be dry. Whoever stole him did not want him to -suffer or he or she would not have taken his clothes. Even his little -red mittens and woolen comforter were gone. Perhaps he was being well -treated after all. Who could want to be unkind to little Philip? So ran -Ursula’s thoughts.</p> - -<p>That night Ursula slept. A confidence in the goodness of God enveloped -her like a mantle. A strange feeling of peace came over her. Ben<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> -noticed it as he kissed her good-night after they had knelt together -and prayed.</p> - -<p>“Why, Sister, your face looks as if a light was behind it.”</p> - -<p>“There is, Ben. It is the light of Hope and Faith. It is wicked of -me to be so despondent. I am going to keep on hoping and praying and -believing and I am sure our baby will be brought back to us.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Sister, how glad I am! I won’t be ashamed if I go to sleep -to-night. Last night I kept pinchin’ myself to keep awake, although I -felt all the time that Phil was comin’ back to us.”</p> - -<p>“My dear, indeed you must sleep so you will grow big and strong and can -take care of little Philip and me,” smiled Ursula.</p> - -<p>The morning after Christmas found them much calmer and the confidence -of the night before remained with them. Ursula busied herself by -cleaning her apartment and darning all the stockings, although she -could not help shedding a few tears over the big holes in the knees of -Philip’s.</p> - -<p>“He got those playin’ bear,” said Ben. “Phil sure does love to play -grizzly.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> -Another day passed and no news. The same persons called and the same -telephoned. Mary Louise sent Ursula a dainty tray of food and insisted -upon Ben’s dining with Danny and her. Ursula could not make up her mind -to leave her apartment. The moment she left might be the one chosen for -some news to come from her boy. She was delighted, however, to have -Ben dine with the Dexters, in fact, she endeavored to have Ben enjoy -himself much as he would had Philip been at home.</p> - -<p>“One of the shortest days of all the year,” thought Ursula, “and yet -how long it has seemed.” She looked out on the darkening street. In a -moment the electric lights on the corners were shining, but Ursula sat -in the dusk. They lived on a quiet street where few vehicles passed. -She saw an automobile stop at the corner and idly watched a man get -out and start walking along the snowy sidewalk. There was nothing at -all interesting about the man except that the car from which he had -alighted did not move off. If he had business up this street why should -he walk when he might have ridden. It was a battered car of an old -make, swung on high springs, and had evidently seen better days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> The -light on the corner was bright and the newly fallen snow made that -part of the street as visible as it would have been in broad daylight. -Ursula had not turned on her burners, but peered from a darkened room.</p> - -<p>The man walked rapidly along the street and then disappeared. The girl -put her face close to the pane but could see no sign of him.</p> - -<p>“I believe he came into this house,” she said to herself. “Ah, but -there he is again!” She saw him hurry down the street, jump into the -old-fashioned car and then he was gone.</p> - -<p>Ursula pulled down her shade and turned on the light. She glanced at -her watch. At least two hours must pass before Ben would be returning -from dinner at the Dexters’. What could she do with those long two -hours? She could not believe she was the same girl who had been busy -every moment of the day and eager always for a few free moments that -she might conscientiously give to reading. There were new books on her -table, gifts from the friends she had made in Dorfield, magazines with -the leaves uncut—but she could not put her mind on reading.</p> - -<p>Ursula glanced about the room, her eyes wandering. A piece of white -paper was under her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> door, put there since Ben had gone out. An -advertisement, no doubt.</p> - -<p>She picked it up. It was a letter in a dirty envelope, sealed but not -stamped, addressed in pencil to Miss Ursula Ellett, in a handwriting -that looked as though each letter had been painfully drawn. Ursula -feverishly tore open the envelope and read:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>“Yore uncle Ben is ded and you are his air. He maid a lot of -money in africa on dimonds. I knowed him in africa and by rites -I orter have half of his money but he cheted me. I rekon I have -beet the news of Ben’s deth to the states but now I have yore -kid bruther in my keepin and I will keep the same until you -sware to hand over my part of what you will get as air when you -come in to the same.</p> - -<p>“Yore bruther is enjoyin good helth and hopes this finds you -the same. I will not say what will hapen if you do not promis -to give me half the douh. If you tell anybody about this I will -beat yore bruther. All you have to do is sware you will do as -I say and when you get yore hands on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> money which will be -handed to you by a english lawyer you put aside one half and -I will let you know wat you are to do with it and at the same -time you will get back yor bruther.</p> - -<p>“The english lawyer will be in lewisville this weke. If you -will do as I say and want to get yore bruther back safe you -must put a ad in the lewisville currier journal and I will -note the same. Just say Barkis is willin that is enuf. You are -a honnerable girl and will keep yore promise if not beware. -Excuse haste and a bad pen. Most respectful yore well wisher -but one who Ben Benson cheted. Annonermus.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Ursula sank on a chair. She felt that she might faint but that fainting -would be a very foolish performance when action was necessary.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Ben dead!” she cried. “I always hoped he would come back to me. -What shall I do? What shall I do? Of course I’ll give half of whatever -he has left me to get my Philip back. I’ll give all of it—anything.”</p> - -<p>Suddenly she remembered that she had promised Josie that no matter what -communication<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span> came she would report immediately to Bob Dulaney or -Captain Lonsdale.</p> - -<p>“But he says he will beat Philip if I tell anybody about this. How am -I to know Uncle Ben is really dead and if he is that he has left me a -fortune. How will this person know whether I have told anybody or not? -How could this person have found me? Who is he and how could he have -slipped up to my apartment without my hearing him in the hall?”</p> - -<p>Suddenly the remembrance of the man who had got out of the rickety old -car at the corner flashed through her mind. Could he be the kidnaper?</p> - -<p>“It says I am honorable and I promised Josie to let them know and -I will do it.” She went to the telephone and called up police -headquarters. Captain Charlie was on the wire in a moment and deeply -interested in what she had to tell him.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps I am wrong, but I can’t help thinking a man I saw get out of a -car at the corner brought the letter,” she said.</p> - -<p>“Well, well, perhaps!” he answered. “I’ll send a plain clothes man -around to see you immediately.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> -Ursula then called up Bob Dulaney. He was all excitement and greatly -interested in the man in the high old car.</p> - -<p>“I’m going out in my Lizzie and get that man right now. You say it was -headed south? Then it must have come from the north and no doubt will -turn around and go back the way it came. So -<a name="long" id="long"></a><ins title="Original omitted closing -quotation makr">long!”</ins></p> - -<p>“Please take a policeman with you,” begged Ursula.</p> - -<p>“Not on your life! They are too heavyweight for me. I am like the -heroes in the movies and go for my man alone. I may even tie a -handkerchief around my face and make him hold up his hands.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xvi" id="xvi"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /> -<span>BOB DULANEY’S CHASE</span></h2> - - -<p>Ursula could not help smiling at Bob’s enthusiasm. She knew that he -had great sympathy for her, but at the same time she was sure he was -enjoying himself hugely being what he called “a gum-shoe reporter.”</p> - -<p>It seemed to her as though she had hardly put down the receiver after -telephoning him when a prolonged tooting called her to the window, and -there was Bob in his small, shabby racer whizzing by the house.</p> - -<p>“Anyhow, I’ll soon know something,” sighed the girl. “I wish I had -Josie here to counsel me. So it isn’t Mr. Cheatham and Miss Fitchet -after all! I can’t telegraph such a complicated thing as this letter, -but I will write immediately and get the letter to Josie on the -midnight train, special delivery.”</p> - -<p>She was glad of the occupation of writing and with great care she -copied the communication<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> found under her door and enclosed the copy in -her letter to Josie.</p> - -<p>“I am enclosing the envelope in which the letter came so you may see -the kind of writing, dear Josie,” she wrote. “I know you set great -store by such things. The letter itself I am afraid to trust to the -mails, but will keep it carefully until I see you. Bob has gone to -catch the man who put the letter under my door, but in the meantime I -shall mail this and will follow it by a telegram.”</p> - -<p>She was afraid to leave the apartment to mail the letter, thinking news -of some kind might some while she was out, so she knocked on the door -of the nervous, middle-aged bachelor, the one who had so carefully -poked up the chimneys with a hearth broom in vain search of Philip, and -asked him to attend to getting the letter off for her. He was glad to -be of any assistance to his pretty neighbor and gallantly donned his -goloshes and set out for the post office.</p> - -<p>Then Ursula sat down to wait. She felt happier. Anyhow her beloved -child was not dead. As for poor Uncle Ben, she was not at all sure he -was dead, and although she had been very fond of him, he had been away -from Louisville<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> so long she could not make up her mind to weep very -much over him—certainly not until she knew for sure that he had really -passed away. The fortune reputed to have been left her she almost -forgot about. The realization came to her with a start. Suppose she -really had been left a fortune! What a difference it would make in her -life.</p> - -<p>“I’d rather have Uncle Ben here to love and protect me than all kinds -of money,” she said to herself. “Anyhow I’ll have to go to Louisville -as soon as my boy is found. Since Mr. Cheatham is not the one at the -back of the kidnaping I shall not dread seeing him as much as I fancied -I would. Indeed, I am ashamed to have harbored such a suspicion of him. -Perhaps I have been to blame too. Maybe he is not so black as I have -always painted him.”</p> - -<p>The plain clothes man from Captain Lonsdale was the next person to -mount the stairs to Ursula’s apartment. He was a stolid individual, but -had a kind blue eye and no doubt was more keen witted than he appeared -to be. Ursula remembered Josie’s assumed stupidity when she was working -on a case and felt perhaps this man Donner was pursuing the same -tactics. She<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> showed him the letter and told him what had happened, -describing the ancient automobile and the man who had walked up the -street immediately before she had noticed the letter under her door.</p> - -<p>“You done right to phone the Cap’n,” said Donner. “These here -blackmailers would be brought to justice oftener if the folks weren’t -so scairt of them. Ladies are usually the worst of the bunch for taking -them serious like and letting them get the bits between their teeth. -Most ladies in your fix would have laid low about the letter and handed -over whatever they asked just to make sure the kid was safe. I tell -you, lady, the kid is just as safe, and a deal sight safer, with your -telling us about this letter than he would have been if you had just -kep’ it to yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I had to let Captain Lonsdale know about it, because I promised Miss -O’Gorman I would. Somehow I feel as though she knows best about my -affairs.”</p> - -<p>“Sure she does! I wasn’t strong for women policemen—policewomen, I -believe they call them—until I had a case to work up alongside of that -Miss Josie O’Gorman, and I tell you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> then I got to thinking that the -Almighty must have took out some of Adam’s brains along with the rib -when he made Eve, and that Josie girl got a good share of them. Did you -ever hear about how she caught the thieves that were carrying off Mrs. -Danny Dexter’s wedding presents?”</p> - -<p>Ursula quickly assured him she had, as she could not contemplate -having to hear the tale again and she felt that the sooner the kindly -officer got on his job of hunting up the kidnapers the better for all -concerned. She wished him good luck and politely got rid of him.</p> - -<p>Ben came home full of the delightful time he had spent with the -Dexters, also full of a good dinner.</p> - -<p>“Did you eat anything, Sister?” he asked, pressing his rosy cheek to -Ursula’s pale one.</p> - -<p>“I forgot to eat,” confessed Ursula.</p> - -<p>“Well, you must remember,” declared Ben. “I’m gonter get you some -supper. There’s oodles in the ice box. Now you just sit still and I’ll -fix you up in no time.”</p> - -<p>Ursula held the boy to her and told him of the letter she had found -under the door, and then read it to him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span> -“The dirty pup!” was all he could say. “Don’t let him fool you, Sis. -You call up the police—”</p> - -<p>“I’ve done it, dear, and already they have started in to hunt for the -person who brought the letter.”</p> - -<p>“Ain’t Uncle Ben the one I’m named for?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear!”</p> - -<p>“Well, he never cheated this hound.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not! That hasn’t worried me for a moment. Uncle Ben was the -soul of honor. I feel very sad at the thought he may be dead. I wish I -might have seen him again. Poor Uncle Ben!”</p> - -<p>The boy busied himself with a tray of food for his sister, and then -began the process of endeavoring to keep his eyes open. He was ashamed -of being so sleepy when his beloved sister was certainly not going to -close her eyes until some report was brought her by either Bob Dulaney -or Donner.</p> - -<p>“Go on to bed, honey,” insisted Ursula. “It is much better for you to -go to sleep. Didn’t I tell you you must sleep a lot so you can grow up -big and take care of me?”</p> - -<p>“Will you call me if you need me?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> -“Of course I will, because I depend on you all the time.”</p> - -<p>“Well, let me keep on my clothes and sleep on the sofa, so I can wake -up easy.”</p> - -<p>“All right, dear, wherever you want to sleep, just so you sleep.”</p> - -<p>So Ben was tucked in on the sofa, with the light carefully screened -from his eyes, and again Ursula waited.</p> - -<p>At eleven o’clock Bob Dulaney stopped his little car in front of the -door and ran lightly up the steps.</p> - -<p>“I saw your light and stopped in.”</p> - -<p>“Please, what news?” she asked excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve done some eliminating, but that’s all,” said Bob -dejectedly. “But don’t you get down-hearted because we’ll keep going -until the kid is found.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll keep on hoping. Only tell me, please.”</p> - -<p>“I raced along the road I thought the old car had taken and in spite -of a puncture and getting out of gas and then out of water I finally -came up with the worst looking old automobile I ever saw. It looked as -though the Forty-Niners might have used it to travel over the old trail -to California. It was pulled up in front of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> half-way house, midway -between Dorfield and Benton. I tell you I parked behind it in a jiffy -and slipped into what used to be the bar, where I found some village -bums and two or three transient guests eating ice cream cones and -drinking ginger pop. One old cove was warming himself at the stove and -loudly deploring the dry state of the country. He had on a great fur -coat and looked as though he might have been traveling some distance.</p> - -<p>“I cottoned to the old chap and began warming myself, too.”</p> - -<p>“Come from far?” he asked with a nice, warm, kindly voice.</p> - -<p>“The other side of Dorfield,” I answered.</p> - -<p>“So did I, but I live over at Benton. I tell you a country doctor -leads some life. One of my old patients has moved beyond Dorfield and -nothing would suit him but that I should come and treat him for a bad -cold—nothing but a bad cold, mind you! He ’phoned me he was coming -down with pneumonia. Here I had to ride ’way over there in all this -weather and when I got there, bless you, if the fellow wasn’t having a -party. He did have a bad cold. I wish he’d sneeze his head off! That -was last night.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> Yes, I had a good time but it was a mean way to get me -to go to a party. My old car won’t stand many such trips. I’ve had it -going on fifteen years as it is.</p> - -<p>“I had a funny experience coming back from my patient’s. About six -miles the other side of Dorfield a man got off the train at a wayside -station—Dorset. I reckon he thought he had got to Dorfield, because -he seemed rather astonished that there were so few houses in what he -had evidently been told was a flourishing town. He’d got Dorfield and -Dorset mixed and when the conductor hollered Dorset he thought he’d -got where he was going. Said he had a little business to attend to -in Dorfield and then was going on beyond, and was mighty glad when I -picked him up and gave him a ride. I always give people rides along the -country pikes. He wasn’t my kind of passenger though, because he had -such a low forehead and a kind of wry neck. I talked along to him and -he never answered a word more than just to ask me if that was all the -speed I could get out of my old locomotive. I got right peeved, but I -never said so.</p> - -<p>“When we got to Dorfield he said he’d like<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> me to stop on the corner of -Spruce street, as he had a little errand to do. I had to get a pint of -iodine and some gauze at the drug store near by, so it suited me very -well. It didn’t take me a minute to make my purchases, but, by golly, -that fellow was back in the car the minute I was and when we crossed -the track and he saw a freight train coming he never said thank you, -but jumped out of my car and ran like fun and got onto that car while -it was moving, just like Douglas Fairbanks or Harold Lloyd. He was a -rum customer, I can tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Which way was the freight headed?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“West—that six o’clock freight where the engineer plays a tune on his -locomotive whistle.”</p> - -<p>Ursula had listened to Bob with breathless interest.</p> - -<p>“That man’s business in Dorfield was to deliver that letter to your -address,” declared Bob. “The doctor in the funny old car had no more to -do with it than I had myself.”</p> - -<p>“I believe you are right,” agreed Ursula. “And now what next?”</p> - -<p>“Next, I must let Captain Lonsdale know what I know and maybe he can -put a watch on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> that freight. Gee, I hate to ask help, but I must -remember the way Josie works and how the important thing with her is -always to get the criminal landed, whether she does it herself or not -being of no importance.”</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xvii" id="xvii"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /> -<span>JOSIE MAKES A FIND</span></h2> - - -<p>Josie’s impatience amounted almost to a fever, as she awaited the hour -for dinner with Mr. Cheatham. The day after Christmas had been a busy -one for her. She felt she must write a detailed account to Ursula -of her visit with the Trasks. Also Captain Charlie Lonsdale and Bob -Dulaney must be communicated with and the rest of the day was taken up -in unearthing everything concerning Cheatham and Miss Fitchet that a -female detective could hope to learn in a day.</p> - -<p>Aunt Mandy was intensely interested in all Josie had to tell her of her -cousins at Peewee Valley and her excitement knew no bounds when she -learned that the young woman upon whom she looked as her own especial -boarder, since her husband had sent her to Miss Lucy Leech’s, should -have had Christmas dinner with such “highupity pussons” as the Trasks.</p> - -<p>“An’ you done knowd young Mr. Teddy Trask<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> at school! Well, bless Bob, -if life ain’t complexicated.”</p> - -<p><a name="quote" id="quote"></a><ins title="Original has open quote">Josie</ins> -had felt it wise to account for her acquaintance with young -Trask to Aunt Mandy and her mistress. He was to come for her to take -her to Mr. Cheatham’s dinner party and Josie knew boarding houses and -the curiosity of the boarders well enough to be sure she must account -for being friends with a young man as well known in Louisville as the -handsome Teddy Trask. She had cautioned Teddy to ask for her by her -right name and not the assumed one.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry I got going with a dual personality,” she said, “but it’s -done now and Miss Lucy Leech thinks I’m named O’Gorman and Mr. Cheatham -thinks I am Miss Friend. It was a break on my part to be so free with -aliases. I can’t forgive that kind of stupidity. Sometimes one loses -out on a job just because of such carelessness.”</p> - -<p>Josie always had a dinner dress neatly packed in her emergency kit, as -she called the suitcase she kept ready to take on a trip, and now that -she was to dine with Mr. Cheatham she was thankful that she would be -suitably clad.</p> - -<p>“You’s de kinder boa’der to make money<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> on,” Aunt Mandy declared, when -Josie told her she would not be home for dinner. “Mos’ boa’ders eats -in reg’lar. Looks like dey’s scairt dey won’t git dey money’s wuth an’ -even when dey gits ’vited out dey comes home fer a filler. Why, honey, -I’s knowd boa’ders what’ll tu’n on de light in dey rooms when dey’s -goin’ out, ’fraid dey won’ git dey rights. But Miss Lucy kin tell ’em -wha ter git off, when dey gits too proudified and boa’derish. I tell -yer Miss Lucy ain’t never been one ter be back’ards in comin’ for’d -when boa’ders gits rampageous. She’ll rar’ up on her hin’ legs an’ tell -’em what’s what.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure she will,” laughed Josie, “and I’m sure the boarders deserve -all they get when she gives them what’s what. I’ll try my best to be -good and not deserve such things.”</p> - -<p>“Lawsamussy, Miss! Anybody knows dat if my Peter an’ Brer Si recommends -a pusson dat pusson air sho ter be fust-class. Peter wouldn’t no mo’ -send a onsuitable boa’der here dan Si would fotch one. Dem two niggers -air got both Miss Lucy an’ me ter reckon with an’ what dey reckons am -no lef’ over victuals if dey ain’t got gumption enough ter respec’ the -sanctity of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> a fust-class boa’din’ house kep’ by ’ristocrats.”</p> - -<p>Teddy arrived on the stroke of the hour appointed. His mother and -sister were waiting in the automobile, having driven in from Peewee -Valley.</p> - -<p>“Mother and I thought it wiser not to tell Anita what we suspect in -Cheatham, so remember,” he whispered as he greeted Josie in the hall.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you are right. She might find it difficult to be polite to -him,” said Josie, but in her heart she felt it a rather dangerous thing -to leave a young girl in ignorance of the character of a man who was -plainly paying court to her.</p> - -<p>“Well,” she thought, “no doubt they know their own business best and -she could hardly elope with him to-night. I hope by to-morrow we may -know something definite.”</p> - -<p>It was with a feeling of mingled rage and pity that Josie entered -the Ellett house—rage that it should be owned by Cheatham and pity -that Ursula should have had to give up such a home and go to live -in what seemed like squalor in comparison. She remembered the bare, -plain furnishings of Ursula’s apartment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> made attractive only by the -indefinable touch of taste that the girl always evinced. Josie looked -critically at the damask hangings of the drawing room where Cheatham -stood to greet his guests, at the rich oriental rugs, the old portraits -of Ursula’s ancestors; the mahogany chairs and tables of antique -make—every stick with a pedigree!</p> - -<p>It was a marvel to Josie that the citizens of Louisville had not -suspected this man of swindling his stepchildren. It seemed strange -that they had not arisen in a body and demanded a reckoning, but when -she remembered Ursula’s extreme reticence she realized that having kept -her own counsel the citizens of Louisville would have been officious -indeed to have thrust themselves into her affairs. No doubt Cheatham -had a perfectly plausible tale to tell concerning his possession of the -property and since Ursula had never attempted to correct his statements -it was natural for neighbors to accept them as true.</p> - -<p>One of the things that Josie had unearthed in the sleuthing she had -done during the day was that Cheatham was endeavoring to sell the old -Ellett house and negotiations were pending<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span> with an investment company -with a view to making over the place into many small apartments.</p> - -<p>A hitch in the title had kept the deal from going through, so a real -estate agent had informed her when she questioned him concerning the -property as though she herself were a possible buyer. “I wouldn’t mess -in it myself,” he declared, “but I reckon he’ll slick it up somehow by -letting the place to be sold for taxes and then buying it in himself.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Cheatham’s dinner was quite perfect, and Josie could not help -wondering if the servants were some that poor Ursula had trained. A -butler of extreme elegance and ebony hue served the repast with the -airs of a Chesterfield. Cheatham seemed singularly out of place in this -home of gentle refinement. His color was so high, his moustache almost -blue black, the whites of his eyes so white and the blacks so black. -The make-up of a villain was his and still his manner was genial and -cordial and had not Josie been hunting the arch conspirator with a clue -given her by Ursula she knew in her heart her instinct would never -have directed her towards Cheatham. The table seated twenty and Josie -was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> thankful to be lost in the crowd. She decided to make herself as -inconspicuous as possible.</p> - -<p>During dinner Josie managed so completely to efface herself that -her host forgot entirely there was any such person as a Miss Josie -Friend, an old schoolmate of Teddy Trask, at his table. Josie had a -way of effacing herself without calling attention to her silence. She -responded just enough to avoid having persons remark upon her seeming -stupidity. Colorlessness was what she aimed at and what she obtained.</p> - -<p>After dinner the radio concert began. It was a simple matter for one -so unimportant as Josie to slip from the drawing room on a tour of -inspection. On arrival the guests had been shown into a front room -where they had left their wraps. Josie had noted that leading from -this room was a small study. She could see through the half-open door -a typewriter on a table with a reading light, and against the wall a -small rosewood desk—a lady’s desk and hardly appropriate for a man’s -study.</p> - -<p>“That is the desk Ursula told me of; the one that had belonged to her -mother and that her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> stepfather had so cruelly refused to give to her -at her mother’s death,” murmured Josie.</p> - -<p>The girl detective slid into the study, closed the door gently and -deftly fitted a small skeleton key into the lock of the rosewood desk. -It responded to her touch and opened easily. There were pigeonholes -filled with letters, receipts and bills. With a quick hand and keen -eye Josie rapidly ran through the piles of correspondence. Suddenly a -foreign stamp arrested her attention. She pulled out a slim envelope, -tucked in with others, and to her delight saw that it was addressed -to Miss Ursula Ellett. She slipped out the letter and quickly put the -empty envelope back in the pigeonhole where she had found it.</p> - -<p>“No time to read it now, but how I’d like to know what it says! Anyhow, -I am sure Ursula has never read it, because the date on the envelope is -November of this year.”</p> - -<p>Quickly the little sleuth ran through the other papers. In the drawer -she found a bulky epistle, also directed to Miss Ursula Ellett. This -too had a foreign stamp and was postmarked Kimberly, the date rubbed -so that Josie could not make it out. The contents of this envelope she -also confiscated and in its place stuffed some old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> time tables she -found on the table. Quickly she closed the desk and locked it and was -back downstairs listening to the radio concert before even Teddy had -missed her. She patted her pocket to reassure herself that the papers -were safe and then tried to compose herself to listen to the rather -thin music miraculously furnished.</p> - -<p>Josie felt the evening would never be over, so anxious was she to read -the communications purloined from the rosewood desk. She was able to -whisper to Teddy that she had something of possible importance and that -young man’s eyes were also shining with anticipation.</p> - -<p>“I am not crazy about snooping around a house or desk-breaking,” Josie -told him, “but he had something that did not belong to him and I am -merely carrying out Uncle Sam’s laws in delivering to the rightful -person her own mail. When can we go?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll scare up Mother and tell her the weather is liable to get colder -or hotter or something and maybe we can leave in a few minutes,” -replied the astute Teddy.</p> - -<p>The threat of a possible snowstorm did make Mrs. Trask decide to start -for Peewee Valley rather earlier than a dinner party usually breaks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> up -and at last Josie was free to read the letters to Ursula.</p> - -<p>Poor Teddy must wait until morning to find out what was in them, as -Josie was dropped at Miss Lucy Leech’s, while he dutifully drove his -mother home.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xviii" id="xviii"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> -<span>THE CLUE IN THE FILM</span></h2> - - -<p>The letter was from Uncle Bob Benson to Ursula. Josie felt justified in -reading it, in order that she might get all the light possible on the -doings of Cheatham. It was a sad little letter, evidently written by a -very sick man. The writing was shaky and dim, with many words almost -illegible, but Josie managed to make them out.</p> - -<p>Uncle Ben was deeply contrite at having left his sister and her -children when no doubt they needed him most. He had just learned of his -sister’s death and showed much feeling and distress. He wrote:</p> - -<p>“But soon I may join her, dear Ursula, if one so unworthy as I can hope -to join a saint in Heaven. I have not many weeks to live, but am hoping -I can reach Louisville to die, if I can but muster enough strength to -start on the journey. In the meantime I am instructing my lawyer to put -my affairs in order and am making a will leaving what small fortune I -have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> amassed to you, my dear niece. I am not including my nephews in -my will, as I think it best for boys to have to hustle for a living -and not have things made too easy for them. I am sure they are well -provided for by the estate your father left.</p> - -<p>“I am writing you all this although I am hoping to spend my last days -under your tender and forgiving care. I am hoping also that that man -who married your mother has left Louisville, now that he can no longer -control that poor, sweet, misguided woman. I cannot forgive myself for -having left her to his merciless power. I shall be with you in a few -weeks now and, in the meantime, love me if you can and try to forgive -me.”</p> - -<p>That was all. Josie found herself weeping over the letter. Her -rage knew no bounds when she thought of Cheatham’s keeping such a -communication from Ursula. No doubt it was on receipt of this letter -that he had sent Miss Fitchet to spy upon his stepdaughter in Dorfield.</p> - -<p>The more bulky letter was from Toler & Smith, a firm of attorneys at -Kimberly. Ben Benson was dead and Toler & Smith had been appointed -administrators of his last will and testament.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> They enclosed a copy of -his will, in which his whole estate, amounting to about one hundred and -fifty thousand dollars, had been bequeathed to Ursula. Toler expected -to arrive in Louisville during the month of January, or perhaps -earlier. Cheatham deliberately kept the knowledge from Ursula and no -doubt his game was to say he had either not received the mail or had -forwarded it to the girl.</p> - -<p>Josie decided that Ursula must come to Louisville immediately.</p> - -<p>“I’ll telegraph in the morning,” said Josie. “I can’t bear to get -the poor girl out on the midnight train, and in the meantime I must -get some sleep, in spite of the fact that my brain is going around -like a whirligig. Now let’s see. We’ve got a lot of evidence against -Cheatham that he is as crooked as a snake, but we have nothing to prove -he kidnaped little Philip or caused him to be kidnaped. Where is the -child? All of the money from the diamond mines will mean nothing to -Ursula if her baby brother isn’t found.”</p> - -<p>The problem spun over and over in Josie’s mind, until at last she -dropped asleep. It seemed to her she had only lost consciousness a -moment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> when she heard a brisk knocking on her door. It was broad -daylight. A glance at her watch informed her it was eight o’clock.</p> - -<p>“Here am a letter fo’ you, honey,” Aunt Mandy was calling as she kept -up a steady tapping on the door. “One er them there ’portant ’pistles -wiv a blue stamp an’ a boy a-ridin’ fer dear life on it. I reckon some -er yo’ folks mus’ be daid ter be in sich a hurry ter let you know ’bout -it.”</p> - -<p>Josie jumped from her bed and opened the door.</p> - -<p>“I do hope I’m not late for breakfast, Aunt Mandy! It won’t take me -a minute to get down. I don’t want Miss Lucy to be telling me what’s -what.”</p> - -<p>“Lawsamussy, honey, any time befo’ nine ’ll go in dis house,” Aunt -Mandy went off grinning happily over the quarter Josie had slipped into -her hand.</p> - -<p>The special delivery letter was from Ursula and there was much in it -to cause our little detective to ponder. Could it be that she was -wrong and Cheatham had nothing to do with the crime of carrying off -little Philip? Josie sat hunched up in bed, lost in thought. She -read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> over and over Ursula’s copy of the letter found under her door. -One thing sure, Ursula had better take the next train to Louisville. -Sitting hunched up in bed and thinking was not getting anywhere, so -Josie quickly got ready for breakfast. Teddy must be communicated with -immediately, but that young man had caught an early trolley from Peewee -and before Josie finished her breakfast he was ringing Miss Lucy’s -doorbell and eagerly asking for Miss Josie O’Gorman.</p> - -<p>“I must talk to you somewhere, but where?” asked Josie. “A -boarding-house parlor is hardly the place for a chat, and it’s too cold -and sloppy to talk while we walk.”</p> - -<p>“How about my office?”</p> - -<p>“All right, if it is private.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I share it with two other fellows and there is a flapper -stenographer and I must say lots of people loaf on us.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you, let’s go to an early movie,” said Josie. “There is no -place on earth so quiet and private as an early movie. How soon do they -open up here?”</p> - -<p>“One of them makes a specialty of being open all the time with a -continuous performance. Let’s go there.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> -Before acting on this plan, Ursula was wired to come to Louisville at -once.</p> - -<p>“She can’t get here until late this afternoon and in the meantime we -can snoop around. Ho! for the cinema!” said Josie.</p> - -<p>The motion picture theatre was dark and warm. The performance was -beginning as the young people entered. They were the only ones on -pleasure bent so early in the morning and had the place to themselves, -except for two men in the center of the house who were evidently -left-overs from the night before and were now peacefully sleeping.</p> - -<p>“This is not much of a place, except that they do run a good news -reel,” apologized Teddy. “They get the happenings of the world hot off -the bat.”</p> - -<p>“I dote on the Travelaughs and news reels,” said Josie. “I go to the -movies a lot just to be quiet and in the dark and think. I follow the -show with half my brain and think with the other half.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you say to watching the news reel and then talking -business through the slapstick comedy that is sure to follow?”</p> - -<p>Josie thought that a fine plan and gave her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span> attention to the screen, -upon which this item was soon displayed:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>“A large fire in Cincinnati on Christmas Day did much damage -and injured several persons. The crowd has gathered to see the -firemen search the smouldering ruins for the charred remains of -a night watchman who is supposed to be under the debris.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Josie clutched Teddy’s arm, as the picture followed.</p> - -<p>“Look! Look at that woman on the left, dragging a little boy by the -hand. I mean that woman with her head on one side, who is hurrying -along the sidewalk. Oh, now they are gone! I must see them again. -Teddy! Teddy! That little boy is Philip Ellett and I believe in my soul -the woman is Miss Fitchet! I never laid eyes on her before but Ursula -told me how she carried her head on one side and how she walked in a -zigzag course. Could we possibly see that news reel again?”</p> - -<p>“We could wait until the show begins again or perhaps we could get the -manager to run it over for us,” said Teddy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> -“That would be fine, but I fancy waiting is our only chance. I don’t -really see the use in viewing it again. I am as sure the little boy was -Philip as I can be of anything. Seeing it again wouldn’t help matters a -bit. The caption read that it was Cincinnati on Christmas Day. That is -where they have taken the boy. I’ll just light out for Cincinnati.”</p> - -<p>“And I’ll go too,” declared Teddy.</p> - -<p>“Not at all, my dear fellow! If you go trapesing off to Cincinnati, who -is to meet Ursula when she arrives on that night train? She may need -your protection and need it badly. I’ll bet you a hat that Cheatham -is meeting every train that comes in. But I haven’t had time to talk -to you at all about what I have discovered and now I must fly to the -station and get the first train out for Cincinnati. We didn’t get much -business discussed in the movies after all.”</p> - -<p>“Well, there’s a train out in half an hour. Let’s jump in a taxi and -you can go by Miss Lucy’s and get your grip and catch the train too, if -you are the hustler I think you are.”</p> - -<p>Josie agreed, and they rushed to Miss Lucy’s where, with a flying -good-bye to Aunt Mandy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> with instructions to take good care of her -mail and assurances that she would return in a day and maybe sooner, -Josie was quickly back in the taxi with the excited young man.</p> - -<p>“I won’t have time to tell you all about these letters,” said Josie, -“but I am going to give them over to your keeping and you hang onto -them through thick and thin, until Ursula has her rights. Be sure to -meet her on the train arriving at seven and take her to Miss Lucy’s. -Tell Aunt Mandy to give her my room. I wish I had thought about that -before. Perhaps I’ll have time to telephone from the station.”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to take her out to my mother,” suggested Teddy.</p> - -<p>“Sure you would, but she had better be right here in town, where we can -put our hands on her. Watch out for Cheatham, though. Don’t tell anyone -about the letters I purloined from his desk. He may take action if he -finds out about it and have me arrested for housebreaking or something. -The thing to do is to keep quiet. He won’t know the papers are gone -unless he gets wind of what we are up to and goes over his pigeonholes.”</p> - -<p>The taxi drew up at the station, giving Josie<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> five minutes to spare -before the Cincinnati train was called. She flew to a telephone booth -and in a moment had Aunt Mandy on the wire.</p> - -<p>“Aunt Mandy, please, if Mr. Teddy Trask brings a young lady to the -house this evening, take good care of her and put her in my room. She -is a great friend of mine, also of Mr. Trask’s, and she is in deep -distress, so I am sure you will be kind to her.”</p> - -<p>“Lawd love you, sho I will! I reckon she done los’ some er her foks. -Anyhow, I’m gonter take de bes’ care er any frien’ er yourn.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you! Thank you!” and Josie hung up the receiver.</p> - -<p>As she darted from the booth she ran straight into Mr. Cheatham. He -looked slightly puzzled as she bowed to him. Evidently he had forgotten -that such a person existed. He took off his hat and gave a perfunctory -nod. His brow was furrowed and he looked worried. Suddenly he saw Teddy -and evidently the sight of the young man refreshed his memory as to who -Josie was.</p> - -<p>“Ah! seeing your friend off?” he asked endeavoring to be cordial.</p> - -<p>“Yes. Are you going on a trip?”</p> - -<p>“Well, er—, just a little business trip to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> Cincinnati. I will be gone -only a short while. Please tell your sister, if you should happen to -mention the fact that you saw me starting off, that I expect to be back -in plenty of time to keep our engagement for to-morrow evening.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly!” said Teddy, but Josie noticed that his jaw shot out in a -very pugnacious angle as he answered.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Josie!” and Teddy held her hand in a firm grip. “I’ll tell -the world you are some sport.”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Teddy! It is mighty nice to have seen you and I hope we -shall meet again soon. Thank you for all your kindness.” Her tone was -that of a conventional young lady saying farewell to an old schoolmate -she had happened to run across. Teddy realized she was putting on the -social graces for the benefit of Mr. Cheatham, who was watching the -parting with some show of interest.</p> - -<p>Josie was almost sorry she had acted so well when, after the train -pulled out, Cheatham sank in the seat by her and with an evident effort -began to try to make himself agreeable. Of course she realized fully -it was because he felt it incumbent upon him to pay some attention -to a young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span> person, no matter how unattractive in his eyes, who was -evidently a close friend of the brother of Anita Trask.</p> - -<p>“I’ll meet him halfway,” was her resolve, and forthwith she began a -line of so-called flapper talk that completely overwhelmed the man.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xix" id="xix"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /> -<span>PHILIP IS FOUND</span></h2> - - -<p>Had Cheatham harbored the slightest suspicion against Teddy Trask’s -friend, her conversation on the journey from Louisville to Cincinnati -would have completely dispelled it. Cheatham was an intelligent -villain, with some culture, and Josie’s deliberately silly patter bored -him intensely. He stood it for about an hour and then made a plea of -having to see a business acquaintance in the smoker.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll see you again,” said Josie, “good-bye! Where are you -going to stop in Cincinnati? I may go out to Walnut Hills with some -friends or I’d just love to see you sometime. Where’d you say you were -stopping? Not that I’d have any time for you. My friends are awfully -smart. Money to burn. Cars and just everything. I’ll be dated up for -every minute. Only going to be here one night anyhow. Where’d you say?”</p> - -<p>“Hotel Haddon!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> -“Gee! I never even heard of it. Is it slummy?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all! Very decent. An old downtown hotel!” Mr. Cheatham beat a -hasty retreat.</p> - -<p>Josie dropped her flapperish expression as soon as Cheatham passed from -her coach and then she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes with -a sigh of relief. She wanted to think and to think fast. The porter -passed down the aisle. Why not find out from him just where the Hotel -Haddon was? Giving an adroit twist to the shade at the window, she -pulled it out of place, which gave her an excuse to call on the porter -for his services.</p> - -<p>“Awfully sorry,” she said, slipping some silver in his hand after he -had adjusted the shade. “Please tell me, do you know a Hotel Haddon in -Cincinnati?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, miss! Down-town place—uster be a fambly hotel but now it’s -kinder taken over by theatre people. Travelin’ men use it some. I -wouldn’t ’vise it for a lone young lady.”</p> - -<p>Josie thanked him and listened attentively to the list of hotels he did -advise for one in her situation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> -“Now, there’s a real ladylike hotel right acrost the street from the -Haddon if you’ve a mind to be down-town. It’s called the Alpha,” said -the friendly porter.</p> - -<p>When the train pulled in at Cincinnati Josie managed to make herself -invisible behind the curtains of the ladies’ dressing room. She hardly -expected Cheatham to look her up, but there was a chance of his doing -it, and she wanted him to forget she was in Cincinnati if possible. -When the train was about emptied, she darted out, seized a belated red -cap and had him put her safely into a taxi.</p> - -<p>“Hotel Alpha,” she called, and at that moment had the satisfaction -of seeing Cheatham enter a bus bearing the inscription Hotel Haddon. -Evidently he had told the truth about his stopping place, because -he had no suspicion of her wanting to know for any reason but idle -curiosity.</p> - -<p>Now came for Josie a period of watchful waiting. Fortunately the -parlors of the Alpha Hotel were situated on the mezzanine floor and -overlooked the street. Having registered and engaged a room, Josie -ensconced herself in an easy chair behind a sash curtain that gave -her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> a full view of the street and the Hotel Haddon which was directly -across the way.</p> - -<p>She was excited. There was no use in denying it. She felt her heart -beats distinctly and her hands trembled a bit.</p> - -<p>“Here, girl! Pull yourself together!” she commanded. “This is no time -to behave in a womanish way, even if you are stopping at a ladylike -hotel.”</p> - -<p>She eagerly scanned the windows of the Haddon, beginning at the second -floor and working systematically to the top. The building was only -four stories high. The windows were blank and empty and gave away no -secrets. Once she saw a man with a black moustache look out of one on -the third floor, but he so quickly turned that Josie could not be sure -of his identity. She marked the window, however—third floor at the -extreme right.</p> - -<p>So busy was she gazing at that window she almost missed seeing Cheatham -emerge from the hotel accompanied by a woman, rather handsome, with -auburn hair, carrying her head decidedly on one side. They were talking -animatedly and walking rapidly. Josie also marked the gait of the woman -which took a zigzag course—so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> much so that at times she bumped into -the man by her side.</p> - -<p>Again she looked up to the window on the third floor. It was blank but -on the second floor directly below she was sure she could distinguish a -wistful little face pressed close to the pane.</p> - -<p>Josie paused not a moment. She did not wait for the elevator, but -darted down the steps from the mezzanine and was across the street -and in the Hotel Haddon before Cheatham and Miss Fitchet had even -turned the corner. The Hotel Haddon was rather a haphazard place and, -there being no clerk at the desk at the time, it was not necessary for -her to explain her business. The elevator landed Josie at the second -floor and, with an air of being a guest, she walked to the extreme -end of the hall and turned the knob of the door of Number 220. She -had her skeleton key in case it was necessary to use it, but was much -relieved when the door opened. Evidently the kidnapers were so sure of -themselves they had not thought of locking the child in the room.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Philip!” Josie said quietly. “I’ve come to take you home, -dear.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span> -Her tone was so composed that Philip did not cry out at all, but his -face was so bright with happiness that Josie almost gave herself up to -the tears that were well nigh choking her.</p> - -<p>“Get your coat and hat and let’s hurry,” she said. “Don’t talk any now. -We can talk later.”</p> - -<p>It was quite as easy to get out of the hotel with the boy as it had -been to get in without him. She used the stairs this time, however. -It was a matter of five minutes for Josie to release the room she had -engaged at the ladylike hotel, jump in a taxi with Philip and make for -the station. There was a train just ready to pull out, which she caught -by the greatest good luck. It was a local, but its destination was -Louisville. Josie would have taken it no matter what its destination, -as she was sure it was a wise plan to leave Cheatham and Fitchet at any -cost, and she hoped they would do some worrying.</p> - -<p>Once they were settled in the train the little boy poured forth his -soul to his liberator.</p> - -<p>“I wasn’t doin’ nothin’ but jes’ sleepin’ when all of a sudden somebody -jes’ picked me up an’ carried me off. I kinder thought it was Sister at -first an’ I didn’t wake up all the way. I jes’ went on dreamin’, kinder -half awake, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> bye’m’bye I woke up ’cause somehow it didn’t smell -like Sister but like powder. I was so scairt by that time I didn’t know -what to do, so I kicked an’ hollered an’ clawed at that ol’ woman till -she spanked me good.</p> - -<p>“We were in a automobile an’ I don’t know where we was goin’ or where -we’ve been but she made me put on my clothes an’ my overcoat, that she -had brung along with me, an’ she tol’ me if I didn’t hush up cryin’ -she’d tell Santa Claus I was a bad boy an’ he wouldn’t bring me a thing -an’ I ’membered nex’ day was Christmus an’ I tried to stop bawlin’ but -I missed Sister an’ Ben so bad I didn’t care after a while whether ol’ -Santy brought me anything or not. I didn’t see how he was gonter know -I wasn’t home with Sister. At last we went to that hotel where there -weren’t any chimbleys an she tol’ me if I acted ugly she’d give me to -the ash man, but if I ’haved she’d take me to the movies. There was a -big fire here when we first came an’ I saw the men digging for dead -folks but Aunty wouldn’t let me stop.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, so she made you call her Aunty, did she?” asked Josie.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but I don’t believe she’s any mo’ kin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> to me than the ash man. -She ain’t never lef me ’til jes’ befo’ you came for me, an’ then -somebody called her up on the ’phone an’ she jes’ powdered herself up -an’ put on her hat an’ tol’ me if I didn’t stay right still until she -got back a ol’ witch would git me. She said she was waitin’ out in the -hall for me, but I didn’t believe her a bit ’cause Sister already tol’ -me there wasn’t any witches ’cept in books an’ Aunty didn’t have any -books.</p> - -<p>“The man that called her up on the ’phone was waitin’ in the hall for -her but I never saw him. He tol’ her she’d better lock me up in the -room, but she said she was afraid of fire an’ I wouldn’t be no good to -them any more if I got burnt up. I don’t see what good I am to them -now, but Aunty made out she loved me mor’n Sister an’ Ben did, an’ she -was jes a borrowin’ me for a while an’ if I ’haved like a gemman maybe -sometime I could go see Sister. That’s the reason I didn’t holler, an’ -was a gonter stay quiet in the room if you hadn’t come for me. She said -she was gonter bring me back some all-day suckers an’ all kinds of -things ’cause Santa Claus didn’t find me after all. An’ I pretty near -knew he wouldn’t.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> -“I am pretty sure Santa Claus left your things at your home,” said -Josie softly. “I am also pretty sure you are going to see Sister and -Ben in a few hours. Sister has been very sad over your going away and -Ben has been miserable.”</p> - -<p>“Now, didn’t I say so? But ol’ Aunty kep’ on tellin’ me Sister was glad -to get rid of me an’ had asked her to take me off. I never did b’lieve -her, ’cause I’d already caught her lyin’ ’bout Santa Claus. I sure have -missed all of you, The Lady in the Chair an’ Mrs. Danny an’ Uncle Peter -an’ Aunt Peter. I reckon I’m gonter go to sleep. I ain’t slep’ much -since Aunty grabbed me up an’ carried me off. I been thinkin’ so much -an’ then when I’d git mos’ asleep Aunty would pipe up an’ snore to beat -the band. I ain’t been away from home but ’bout three nights but it -seems to me as if I been born away from home an’ been a livin’ with ol’ -Aunty all my life.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me, Philip, before you go to sleep, was there anybody else with -you and Aunty—a man?”</p> - -<p>“One time there was. I think he was Aunty’s brother, only he didn’t -make out he was my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> uncle. I heard them talkin’ an’ they writ a letter -together. That was in the hotel after we saw the fire a burnin’. She -called him Bill an’ she told him not to let ol’ C. lay eyes on him an’ -he said he had some sense left. An’ then he went off with the letter -an’ I ain’t never seen him since an’ I ain’t sorry neither, cause he -was a turrible lookin’ man an’ I don’t see what ol’ C. would want to -lay eyes on him for.”</p> - -<p>Philip then put his head in Josie’s lap and slept peacefully until the -porter gave warning that Louisville was the next stop.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xx" id="xx"></a>CHAPTER XX<br /> -<span>MISS FITCHET IS SURPRISED</span></h2> - - -<p>If after Josie left the Hotel Haddon with little Philip she had again -ensconced herself in the ladies’ parlor of the Alpha, at the window -overlooking the street, instead of hurrying off as she did to the -station, she would have seen an interesting drama enacted. About -fifteen minutes after Cheatham and his companion left the hotel a -rough-looking man in a tweed suit and battered derby came slinking -along the street. He stopped in front of the hotel and looked furtively -around and then, evidently seeing nothing disconcerting, he darted -within. He, too, avoided the desk and also saved the elevator boy the -trouble of taking him upstairs. He almost ran down the hall and turned -the knob of Number 220. The door opened to him as it had to Josie.</p> - -<p>“Humph! Where’s that blasted kid?” he muttered. “Hi! You kid, where -yuh hiding? You better come on out from under the bed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span> I ain’t one to -be easy on bad boys.” His tone was rough and commanding. Receiving no -answer, he jerked open the closet door and looked under the bed. He -even pulled out the drawers of the bureau, poked behind the radiator, -and then turned up the mattress, as though he expected someone to be -hid under it.</p> - -<p>“She sure said 220,” he muttered, and drew from his pocket a note -written on Hotel Haddon paper. He read:</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>“Dear Bill: Old C. will be here at three. I will take him out -walking and will leave the door unlocked. Get the brat and make -for L. on the night boat. Sis.”</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>“Something’s gone wrong,” he growled, “but she needn’t think she can -double-cross me. She took the kid with her more’n likely and left me in -a hole.” The man’s expression was brutal and lowering. Without stopping -to straighten the room, which he had succeeded in making look as though -a cyclone had struck it, he walked down the stairs and out of the -hotel. He then lounged across the street and, taking his stand near the -Hotel Alpha, he awaited the return of Cheatham and Miss Fitchet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> -They were gone about an hour and then they came, walking very -leisurely, still talking animatedly but not so amicably as when they -had started on their ramble.</p> - -<p>“I told you all the time Cincinnati was too close to Louisville and -Atlanta would be the better place,” Cheatham was saying.</p> - -<p>“Well, Cincinnati suited me better,” she said with her panther-like -grin. “I reckon I’ve had all the trouble of this thing and I might be -considered a little.”</p> - -<p>“So you have, but I have financed it,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, financed it with a room in a cheap hotel and not even taxi -fare if you could help it!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, I haven’t got so much, and you know it. I have managed to -keep Ursula Ellett from having the slightest inkling of Ben Benson’s -having left her a fortune. I wanted to be sure the boy was well hidden -and then I would get to work with letters telling her of her fortune, -following by demands for a large sum if the child was safely returned. -Ursula is such a softy and so close-mouthed she would be easy to do -out of this fortune, just as she has been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> easy to persuade that her -father’s fortune belonged to me. If she had had the gumption to go to a -good lawyer, I should have had to pursue other tactics. Well, I’ll bid -you good-bye, my dear. I’d like to take you to dinner but the boy knows -me too well for me to let him see me. It is a blessing he never saw you -before.”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye then,” she smirked, “but it would be just as well to give -me a little cash. I am about broke and considering you expect to make -such large sums out of this business you might afford a little more -sumptuous quarters for your tool.”</p> - -<p>He reluctantly separated several large bills from a roll.</p> - -<p>“Not half enough,” she said. “Keep it up! You needn’t think I’ll do -your dirty work for nothing.”</p> - -<p>He sullenly peeled off two more bills and put the roll back in his -pocket.</p> - -<p>“Well, keep me informed how things are with you. It won’t be long -before I can make my haul.”</p> - -<p>“Your haul, is it? I was thinking it would be our haul.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes! Certainly! I have a man to see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span> on business while I am in -Cincinnati and then I must catch the night train for Louisville. I’ll -see you again before I go. My room is 320—directly over yours. You can -telephone me there!”</p> - -<p>The man in the tweed suit waited until Cheatham was out of sight and -then he darted across the street and again mounted the stairs to Room -220. He found the woman standing in the middle of the floor gazing with -disgust on the dismantled state of her room. One bureau drawer had been -pulled entirely out and the contents strewn over the floor. The open -closet door disclosed clothing jerked from the hooks and the mattress -was turned over, with bed clothes thrown around anywhere and everywhere.</p> - -<p>“Well, Bill,” she said sharply, “you managed to get things in a nice -mess! Where’s the brat? You were to take him and keep him and not come -back until you heard from me. I don’t see that you need have turned up -my things in this way. Of course you were hunting money, but you might -have known I wouldn’t have left it around where you could get hold of -it.”</p> - -<p>“Money, is it? You—you—you two-faced——!”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> The man was so angry he -could hardly speak. “You think you can double-cross me, do you, and get -by with it? Not on your life!”</p> - -<p>The woman stared at him in astonishment. She looked at him fixedly and -her grin turned to a snarl.</p> - -<p>“Bill, you are crazy. I don’t know what you are talking about. You stop -your carrying on and tell me where that boy is.”</p> - -<p>“You tell me! When I got here he was gone and I messed up the room -hunting for him, thinking he was hiding.”</p> - -<p>“Gone!” Miss Fitchet’s tone was one of such genuine dismay that the -brother was forced to recognize her sincerity.</p> - -<p>“Yes, gone!”</p> - -<p>“Well then you have got to find him. I don’t trust you, Bill. You have -lied to me before now.”</p> - -<p>“Trust me or not—the kid’s gone and I reckon we’d best get busy -finding him. I’d have started before now, but I thought you were -playing me a trick.”</p> - -<p>“He’s somewhere here in the hotel, I am sure. He’s always trying to -make friends and I guess as soon as I had my back turned he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> out of -the room. I’ll settle things when I do find him.”</p> - -<p>Inquiry at the desk for her “nephew” disclosed nothing. The clerk had -been off duty. The elevator boy had seen no child coming or going. The -chambermaid had no knowledge of the boy. The hotel was ransacked from -basement to roof.</p> - -<p>“I fancy you’d better get in touch with the police,” suggested the -clerk. As that was the last thing Fitchet wished to do, she became -angry at mention of the officers of the law and began to berate the -management of the Hotel Haddon for their carelessness.</p> - -<p>“Come, lady, we don’t run a nursery,” laughed the clerk. “You’d have -been better off at the Alpha if you’d wanted a day nurse for the boy. -We don’t make a specialty of kids.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if old Cheatham himself could have had the boy spirited away -while I was off,” Miss Fitchet suggested to her brother. “He’s capable -of it.”</p> - -<p>“Of course! That’s exactly the ticket. I’ll wring his neck for him. He -ain’t got any honor,” said Bill.</p> - -<p>“We’ll take the night train for Louisville and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span> give him what’s what. -I reckon he’ll be expecting me to come to him with a tale of Philip’s -being stolen and he’ll have some big lie ready. I’ll fool him. I won’t -tell him the boy’s gone.”</p> - -<p>While Fitchet was berating Cheatham to her brother, a messenger came -with a letter for her. It was from her employer and confederate telling -her he was taking the afternoon express for Louisville and would not -see her again but that he would be back in Cincinnati in a few days.</p> - -<p>“The villain!” she cried. “Come on, Bill, we’ll catch the express!” -Literally throwing her clothes into a valise, and without stopping to -pay the jocular clerk, she and the disreputable brother jumped into a -taxi and sped to the station. They barely made the train, just as it -was pulling out.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="xxi" id="xxi"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /> -<span>JOSIE O’GORMAN’S TRIUMPH</span></h2> - - -<p>Obedient to Josie’s telegram, Ursula took the first train from Dorfield -for Louisville. The Conants wanted her to leave Ben in their care, but -she could not bear to be parted from him and he felt that he must take -care of his sister and must be with her all the time.</p> - -<p>“Josie wouldn’t have sent for me unless she felt sure it was necessary, -and what is important to me is important to Ben,” she declared as she -thanked her friends.</p> - -<p>“Josie will meet us, I am sure,” she said to Ben as they neared their -destination.</p> - -<p>At a junction not far from Louisville, the coach from Dorfield -was joined to the Cincinnati express. At the same junction the -accommodation train that Josie and little Philip had boarded so -hurriedly had been tied up for reasons best known to the train -dispatchers and after a long, long wait, the passengers were -transferred to the express.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> -“Plenty of room in the forward coach, miss,” the brakeman said to -Josie, and the astute female detective, all unconscious of what waited -her in the forward coach, walked innocently in, holding her charge by -the hand, and there sat Ursula and Ben.</p> - -<p>A love feast followed, Ursula smiling happily as she hugged little -Philip to her bosom. It was such a wonderful denouement to the -kidnaping that Josie was sorry to have to confess that she had not -planned it.</p> - -<p>“I never dreamed this was the Dorfield train,” she said. “Philip and I -were dumped at this junction and all I knew was that we were on our way -to Louisville and would get there sometime.”</p> - -<p>She had so much to tell Ursula, and Ursula had so much to tell her, and -Philip had so much to say about his wanderings, that the station at -Louisville was reached all too soon.</p> - -<p>Teddy was there waiting for them, his eyes aglow with a new light as -Ursula stepped from the train.</p> - -<p>At the same time, from the forward coach, two men and a woman alighted -on the platform. They were Cheatham, Miss Fitchet and her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span> brother. -All of them were angry. Cheatham was trying to pacify Miss Fitchet, -who was violently accusing him of having abducted little Philip. He -in his turn was eying Bill with disfavor, feeling sure that he was in -some way responsible for the disappearance of the boy. Never having -heard of Miss Fitchet’s having a brother until they boarded the moving -train at Cincinnati and burst in upon him with violent invective and -vituperation, it was but natural for him to be suspicious of the two. -Still it behooved him to endeavor to calm the woman, as she already -knew too much about his underhand operations for it to be safe for him -to make an enemy of her.</p> - -<p>All unconscious of the happy group at the far end of the platform, the -three persons united by villainy and divided by distrust approached. -Bill was the first to see Philip.</p> - -<p>“Yonder’s the brat, you hound!” he cried out in a rage. “So you had him -on the train with you all the time! But we’ve trapped you.”</p> - -<p>Miss Fitchet was quick to see that Ursula had hold of her little -brother’s hand and at the same moment Mr. Cheatham realized that -standing by her were Teddy Trask, Ben and, strange<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span> to say, the silly -little flapper person who had talked to him on the way up to Cincinnati -only that morning.</p> - -<p>Looking down the long platform, Ursula saw the sinister trio. Her -instinct was to clasp her little brother to her heart and run, but a -fine something that was in the girl made her stand up and, with head -erect and eyes flashing, face the persons who had caused her as bitter -hours as could be spent by the innocent.</p> - -<p>“That man with Mr. Cheatham and Miss Fitchet is the one who brought -the note to me; I recognize the man I saw coming up the street,” she -whispered to Josie.</p> - -<p>“He’s the one she calls Bill,” said Philip. “He wrote the note, ’cause -I saw him doin’ it. You ain’t gonter let them take me away again, are -you, Sister?”</p> - -<p>Teddy picked the boy up and put him on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Now you are bigger than anybody,” he said, “and you need never be -afraid any more.”</p> - -<p>Josie was a generous antagonist and she could not help feeling sorry -for Cheatham. He looked like a whipped hound as he approached them, -cringing pitiably. He must make an effort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> and try to appear at his -ease.</p> - -<p>He whispered to Miss Fitchet: “Go on! Take your brother and pretend we -are not together.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do no such thing,” she answered, showing her teeth like a -snarling tiger. “The jig’s up and you are to take the blame, so watch -your step.”</p> - -<p>Cheatham tried to think quickly. Should he pass Ursula without -recognition? What should he do? He could not turn tail and run, as he -would have liked to do. If it were not for the hateful Fitchet and her -rowdy brother he might have faced the situation. How could he explain -his conduct to Teddy Trask? How could his stepdaughter have found her -brother and got him away from their clutches? What had that colorless -Miss Friend to do with it all? Why had she gone to Cincinnati by one -train and returned to Louisville by the next? What proof would they -have that he had been implicated in the kidnaping?</p> - -<p>Such thoughts brought him up to where Ursula stood, with her two good -friends and her brothers. Evidently she would leave it to him whether -or not speech was to pass between them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span> She moved not a muscle, but -stood with erect head and flashing eyes, as if about to pass judgment -on a criminal.</p> - -<p>Josie broke the spell by saying: “Ah, Mr. Cheatham, so we came back on -the same train! If I had only known! Wasn’t it wonderful, too, that I -met my dear friend Ursula Ellett on the train? Such a sweet girl! It -was so fortunate that quite by chance I ran across her little brother -at the Hotel Haddon.</p> - -<p>“You see, I went to the Alpha, directly across the street. When you -told me you were going to the Haddon I didn’t like to go there, too, -because you might have thought I was pursuing you, and far be it from -me to give any man that impression, but since you had assured me the -neighborhood was respectable, I just stopped at the Alpha.</p> - -<p>“I saw little Philip peeping out of the second-story window, and as -I knew his sister was very uneasy about him, I gave up my date in -Cincinnati and just brought him along with me. You see, Miss Ellett and -I are very dear friends. In fact, we are partners in a little business -in Dorfield. She runs the tea room and I do the washing and dabble a -bit in detective work.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span> -All of this chatter Josie got off without drawing breath, and with -the mincing manners of a very silly young person. Teddy found himself -laughing and Ursula could not help giggling, in spite of the deep -emotion that was mastering her.</p> - -<p>Josie continued: “This is Miss Fitchet, I take it, and her brother, -known as Bill? This gentleman, I understand, was in Dorfield only last -night, where he went to deliver a letter to Miss Ellett. He got off -the train at Dorset instead of Dorfield and there got a lift from a -country doctor who was riding in an old-fashioned car of the vintage -of 1912. He left the doctor without saying ‘thank you’ and boarded a -freight train going west. The letter he delivered to Miss Ellett is -very incriminating.”</p> - -<p>At these words the man called Bill turned and began to run, but his -course took him directly into the arms of a big policeman, who held him -tightly until he could give an account of himself.</p> - -<p>“I reckon you’d better hold on to him, Captain, for a while,” said -Josie. “He might be needed.”</p> - -<p>At the mention of a letter having been sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> to Ursula, Mr. Cheatham -looked very much mystified. He turned on Miss Fitchet.</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?”</p> - -<p>“I reckon it means there is double-crossing going on. What do you want -to do about these people, Ursula?” asked Josie.</p> - -<p>“Oh, let them all go,” said the girl. “I have my baby back and that is -all that makes any difference.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that is all that makes much difference,” said Teddy Trask, “but -I think you’d better not let them get away until you have a business -understanding with your stepfather. If you will employ me as your -attorney, I’ll attend to that.”</p> - -<p>“I do, I do!” With Ursula’s response, Teddy Trask swung into action.</p> - -<p>“All right then. Mr. Cheatham, I shall ask you to be in my office -to-morrow morning at nine o’clock. You had best not attempt to get -out of this or I shall have to advise Uncle Sam concerning certain -tampering with mails. Letters addressed to Miss Ursula Ellett from her -Uncle Ben Benson, and from an attorney in Kimberly, have been held by -you and unlawfully opened.”</p> - -<p>“I—I—could not forward mail to my stepdaughter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> when I did not know -her address,” stammered Cheatham.</p> - -<p>“Your confederate, Miss Fitchet, saw Miss Ellett in Dorfield in -November. The police of that town have a record of her having been in -Dorfield at that time, immediately after Mr. Benson wrote to Ursula. -His letter is now in my possession, so you need not worry to look it -up. I also hold the will of the late Mr. Benson and will expect to -see the representative from the firm of Toler & Smith, who will be in -Louisville shortly, so I understand.</p> - -<p>“I shall ask you in the morning to account in full for the estate of -the late Philip Ellett. What belongs to the children you have defrauded -shall be returned to them unless you are willing to spend some twenty -years behind the bars.</p> - -<p>“As for you,” and Teddy Trask turned on Miss Fitchet, who had been -rather enjoying the ragging her employer was undergoing, “you had -best be very quiet and behave very well. You have been guilty of a -great crime and it rests with Miss Ellett whether or not you shall be -punished for it. The police in Louisville have you under surveillance, -so you need not hope to escape if it is desirable to keep you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> -“Anything more?” asked Cheatham sullenly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, don’t trust silly flappers with the name of the hotel where you -expect to stop,” said Josie, in her natural voice and manner, which -were in startling contrast to the one which she had hitherto used in -addressing Cheatham.</p> - -<p>Turning to the abashed nurse, Josie said: “As for you, Miss Fitchet, -when you are running off with poor little boys and almost breaking -their sisters’ hearts, don’t pass by fires where the camera man is no -doubt on his job. News reels are quickly developed and on the screen. -If I had not seen you on the screen, dragging poor little Philip along -the sidewalk near where the big fire was on Christmas morning in -Cincinnati, I might have taken much longer to trace you. I say ‘thank -goodness for the movies.’ Also please let me add that the world would -have more respect for all of you if you could realize that there should -be honor among thieves.”</p> - - - -<div class="section"> -<hr class="divider" /> -<div class="tn background"> -<p class="center p120">Transcriber’s Note:</p> - -<p>Spelling, hyphenation and punctuation have been retained as -they appear in the original publication, except as follows:</p> - -<ul> -<li>Page 45<br /> -said Ursula, looking up from her work.” <i>changed to</i><br /> -said Ursula, looking up from her <a href="#work">work.</a></li> - -<li>Page 58<br /> -her mother and father and her brother? <i>changed to</i><br /> -her mother and father and her <a href="#brother">brother!</a></li> - -<li>Page 68<br /> -she could not help but feeling <i>changed to</i><br /> -she could not help but <a href="#feel">feel</a></li> - -<li>Page 80<br /> -mule cyars uster fotch th <i>changed to</i><br /> -mule cyars uster fotch <a href="#the">th’</a></li> - -<li>Page 84<br /> -vitamines but she had a genius <i>changed to</i><br /> -<a href="#vitamins">vitamins</a> but she had a genius</li> - -<li>Page 156<br /> -She rememberd that his shoes had but <i>changed to</i><br /> -She <a href="#remembered">remembered</a> that his shoes had but</li> - -<li>Page 163<br /> -go back the way it came. So long! <i>changed to</i><br /> -go back the way it came. So <a href="#long">long!”</a></li> - -<li>Page 176<br /> -“Josie had felt it wise <i>changed to</i><br /> -<a href="#quote">Josie</a> had felt it wise</li> -</ul> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Josie O'Gorman, by -Emma Speed Sampson and Edith Van Dyne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOSIE O'GORMAN *** - -***** This file should be named 60974-h.htm or 60974-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/9/7/60974/ - -Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, University of California, -Los Angeles, Sue Clark, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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