AN ACCUSATION
Of course, it was curiosity only, and Jessie Norwood admitted it,
that started her chum and herself in the launch for Carter’s place
on Tuesday morning. They absolutely had no interest in what the
Ringold and Moon crowd were going to do at the grove save that born
of inquisitiveness. They really should not have gone.
The dead walls and posts about New Melford had been well plastered
with those bills, a copy of which Amy had first showed her chum. A
good deal of vitriolic talk had been occasioned by the advertised
affair at Carter’s Grove. But that it would attract considerable
attention and detract from the hospital committee’s entertainment by
radio, everybody could see.
The _Water Thrush_ sailed splendidly. Amy had had enough experience
with her brother to be able to manage the launch all right. And the
trip was a speedy one.
Before they reached the abandoned house the girls spied the old canoe
they had let Henrietta and her friends use, crossing the lake ahead
of them. Several of the Dogtown boys landed before the Carter house
and the canoe was paddled away again before Jessie and Amy arrived.
Montmorency Shannon was one of the boys who had come over in the
canoe and the Roselawn girls saw that he carried a roll of wire and
some tools.
“They are going to string the radio antenna,” Amy said with
conviction. “Well, that boy has got his own fixed all right. Humph!
There are Belle and Sally Moon.”
“Let us not have any words with them,” Jessie said. “But I do want to
see where they are going to have the radio set.”
“There it is!” cried Amy under her breath. “It is not uncrated yet;
but I bet you they mean to have it set up on the porch. The roof of
the porch is quite sound—if it should rain.”
“They have got a two-step amplifier and a horn,” declared Jessie.
“They can get dance music from two or three different stations, if
they know how to tune in properly. I—I am afraid, Amy, it will be a
success.”
Amy giggled. “That does not sound like you, Miss Meekness.”
“I feel positively _mean_ about this,” Jessie owned. “I want them to
fail. It seems just too bad that people should succeed when their
plans are wicked.”
But when the Roselawn girls stepped ashore their faces were composed
and the girls they spoke to saw no criticism in their faces. A supply
of small tables and chairs had been brought over from town and the
open space before the ruin of the old Carter house had been swept and
smoothed. The tables and chairs were to be placed along the two sides
of the open space. There were several men servants from the Ringold
place working here, as well as the girls.
Belle and Sally ignored the curious visitors. They were, in fact,
more interested in what the Dogtown boys were doing with the ropes
and wires they had brought. Monty Shannon was in charge of the
stringing of the radio antenna.
“They got plenty of wire all right,” Monty said to Jessie. “And all
the fixin’s! I tell you, it’s nice to be rich. See the set they’ve
got there on the platform? Ain’t it a dandy? It must have cost
seventy-five dollars, or more. It’s a whole lot better than the one
I’m going to have.”
“Haven’t you got your set yet, Monty?” Jessie asked.
“Going to have it. It’s shipped. Got a bill for it. But—but maybe I
won’t get it for a while, after all,” he added hesitatingly.
“Come on, now, Shannon,” broke in Belle harshly. “We’re giving you
half a dollar for doing that work. You’re not supposed to take all
the time in the world at it.”
Monty Shannon grinned knowingly at Jessie. “Ain’t she the slave
driver, though?” he said. “I need that half dollar or I’d leave ’em
flat,” and he went leisurely away to the work.
“Let’s pay him half a dollar and buy him away from Belle and Sally,”
suggested Amy, giggling.
But Jessie knew her chum only said that in fun. They walked slowly
back to the shore. A sudden explosion of angry voices came from where
the Dogtown boys and Belle and Sally were standing.
“Well, I wouldn’t trust any of you Dogtown kids!” exclaimed Belle
Ringold. “Don’t you try to hide any of that wire. We need it all.”
“Hey! Who’s doing this, anyway?” complained Montmorency, in some
anger.
“You are supposed to. But I’m watching you, Monty Shannon,” declared
Belle. “And you need watching. The Norwoods’ chauffeur told our
chauffeur what you kids did up there at Roselawn when Mark Stratford
fell in his aeroplane.”
“What d’you mean?” growled Monty. “We wasn’t up there when the old
plane fell.”
“But you and your crowd were there right after it. And if Mark
Stratford lost his watch there I bet some of you Dogtown kids know
what became of it.”
“Oh! How mean!” gasped Jessie, turning back from the launch which she
had been about to board with Amy.
“I don’t know,” said Amy slowly. “We have been suspecting Monty, too,
haven’t we? Only we haven’t said anything to him about it.”
“And I am just as mad with Chapman as I can be,” Jessie added. “I
know he does not like the Dogtown children to come around the garage.
But it is an awful thing to think that because they are poor they
must be dishonest.”
The quarrel at the place where Monty and his friends were at work
continued. Of course, Belle was angry because she had seen the
Dogtown boy speaking to Jessie Norwood. She really had no other cause
for quarreling with him.
Suddenly a shrill voice was heard shouting from the lake. The
Roselawn girls instantly recognized Henrietta Haney.
“Say, Monty! Montmorency Shannon!” she shrilled. “Come on home.
There’s somebody wants you. Come on home!”
Charlie Foley and one of the other bigger boys were paddling the
freckle-faced little girl directly toward the landing. Belle and
Sally turned to look at Henrietta, as did the boys who were at work
on the radio antenna.
“Now, what do you want?” snapped Belle. “He can’t leave here now——”
“He’s got to,” interrupted Henrietta importantly, and scrambling
ashore. “There’s a man in an automobile wants him. He’s got to go.”
“I say he sha’n’t!” said Belle. “He’s paid for doing this and he’s
got to finish it before he goes.”
“Ain’t been paid yet,” said Montmorency, grinning. “What does the man
want me for, Spotted Snake?”
“He didn’t say. Only he asked about your radio——”
“You attend to _our_ radio,” Belle commanded. “Don’t dare go away
till it is done. If you do, Monty Shannon, Sally and I will never
bring your mother any more laundry. Will we, Sally?”
Her friend agreed to this threat. Monty scratched his head and looked
troubled. Henrietta grinned wickedly.
“You better come along, Monty. That man’s a flying man. We seen him
once. And his plane fell over on Miss Jessie’s place.”
“Mark Stratford!” ejaculated Amy Drew. “I never——”
“That’s who it is,” said Henrietta.
“Ha!” cried Belle Ringold, in her sneering way. “I know what Mark
Stratford wants of you, then, Monty Shannon. You’d better not go
home.”
But Monty was already walking down toward the lake. He waved his
hand at his late taskmistress and said:
“If you can’t wait till I get back, get somebody else to string the
aerial.”
He hopped into the canoe and seized a paddle, pushing it out from the
landing, leaving the interested Henrietta behind.
“Well, of all things!” gasped Belle, in angry amazement. “How dare he
desert us in that way?”
“He ain’t very daring, Miss Belle,” said little Henrietta cheerfully.
“You couldn’t do nothin’ to Montmorency.”
“I’ll show him what I can do! But he will be in trouble enough when
he gets home. I’m sure of that.”
“That Mr. Stratford didn’t look like he meant to make Montmorency
trouble,” said the freckled girl. “He looked real pleased when he was
talking with Mrs. Shannon.”
“Bah! You vulgar little thing!” snapped Belle. “What do you know
about it? And you are just as bad as the Shannons—every whit.”
“Oh, I’m worse!” said Henrietta promptly. “Everybody says I’m the
worsest kid in Dogtown. Why! I’m Spotted Snake, the Witch!”
The laugh raised among the other girls did not soothe Belle Ringold’s
rage at all. She exclaimed:
“Well, I know what Mark Stratford wants that boy for. He’s heard
about you kids raking over the ruins of that aeroplane. That watch
Mark lost stuck to Monty Shannon’s fingers, and I’m going to tell
Mark so if he doesn’t already know it.”
A flame of color swept over Jessie’s face and her eyes flashed, but
for the moment she said nothing. She had been angered by Belle’s
speech and feared that she would say too much. Her chum, however, was
not so careful.
“Mean thing!” exclaimed Amy, sharply. “You don’t know anything of the
kind.”
But Henrietta and the boys Monty had left behind him began to cry out
at this aspersion cast upon their friend.
“’Tain’t so! ’Tain’t so!” shrieked Henrietta, angrily. “We never seen
no watch. I was over at Miss Jessie’s place, too. Why don’t you say I
stole a watch?”
“Maybe you did,” scoffed Belle. “One of you got the watch, anyway.
Don’t you believe so, Sally?”
“Of course Monty stole it,” agreed her chum. “And I guess he’ll find
that is what Mark Stratford wants to see him about.”
“Oh, you mean thing!” shrieked the freckle-faced girl, and she
charged at the two older girls as though she meant to beat them.
“You’re the horridest things I ever heard of!”
But Jessie interposed and held the angry child back from Belle and
Sally.
“Let her come near me!” exclaimed Belle. “I’d slap her face good for
her.”
“Of course you would,” said Amy warmly. “You are only twice her size.
Come on, Hen. Come away with Jess and me.”
“You boys come, too!” cried Henrietta emphatically, and stamping her
foot. “You heard what them two said about Monty and all us Dogtown
kids. We won’t do another thing to help them.”
“You’re right we won’t,” agreed one of the Costello twins. “Come on,
fellers. Let ’em put up their own wires.”
“We will just leave you flat,” declared Henrietta, her freckled
countenance still ablaze. “You rich girls think you are so big. I’ll
tell Monty and he won’t come back and help you, either. I—I’d like to
tear your clo’es off! That’s what I’d like to do.”
“Never mind! Never mind!” Jessie urged, leading the angry child
toward the _Water Thrush_. “You mustn’t do anything so rude to them.”
“Well, I mean to put bad luck on ’em. Ain’t I Spotted Snake, the
Witch? I’m going to make ’em awful sorry for calling Montmorency
Shannon a stealer; you see if I don’t.”
“What will you do?” asked Amy, much amused, as they all got aboard
the launch. “What sort of spell will you cast upon Belle and Sally,
Henrietta?”
“I—I’ll make it rain to-morrow and spoil all their party!” exclaimed
Henrietta earnestly. “You see if I don’t.”