LITTLE SNAP FINDS A CLEW.
In his anxiety to get home, Little Snap did not stop to answer the
clerk's question, other than to say:
"I will tell you all about it in the morning. I am sorry Mr. Rimmon is
not here."
This fact was a great disappointment to him, and he did not know of any
one else to whom he cared to divulge what he had learned.
But before he did anything else he must know what had taken place at
home, which he reached a minute later.
Sammy had already dismounted from the panting Fairy, and was explaining
to his mother what he had done.
"Why, here he comes, mother! He got here almost as quick as I did."
At sight of Dix, Mrs. Lewis ran forward to meet him.
"Oh, my son, where have you been? They said you were dead, and I have
suffered untold agony."
"But you see I am safe and sound, mother, so cheer up. I got belated on
my downward trip, that is all. Has anything new taken place since I went
away?"
"Let Sammy take care of the horses, Dix. Come into the house; I have
something I want to say to you."
"Has father been at home to-day?" asked Little Snap, as he followed his
mother into the house.
"Yes; he was here nearly all of the forenoon. He took Gyp and went away
about half-past twelve. I have never seen him so strange appearing. He
walked the floor nearly all of the time, and he kept talking to himself.
Oh, Dix, I am worried to death. He had hardly left the house, before
this piece of paper was thrown into the window. I did not see who
brought it. You can read it yourself."
This was what the postboy read:
"MR. JOHN LEWIS: You are advised to leave Union Six Roads as
soon as possible—you and your family. That boy of yours will be
dead before you get this. A word to you ought to be sufficient."
Like the message Little Snap had found in Pewee Burrnock's coat pocket,
there was neither address nor signature to the note.
He saw, too, that the handwriting and the kind of paper were the same as
the other.
"I will keep this, mother," he said, folding the sheet and putting it
into his pocket. "Do you know what called Mr. Rimmon out of town to-day?
It must have been something of importance, or he would have told me."
"I don't know, my son, though Sammy has heard some startling stories
about town in regard to him. Here comes Sammy; he can tell you. I have
been too worried to think of anything."
"Mr. Rimmon has failed!" said Sammy, who had heard enough of his
brother's question to reply. "They say his accounts at the post office
are short, and that he has gone off with all of the money he could get
hold of. He has beat Johnson Jewett out of two thousand dollars."
"Hold on, Sam Lewis! That can't be true!"
"It is; everybody says so."
"It seems to me, my son, that we have enough to think of at home without
troubling ourselves about Mr. Rimmon, or any one else."
"So we have, mother, but Mr. Rimmon's troubles concern us. At least, I
have depended on his help to meet these enemies of ours. I am at a loss
to know who could have sent that message, but I am sure no harm will
come of it."
"Why should they say you were dead, Dix?"
"It's all a mystery, mother, and I will confess that the worst part of
it is, I don't seem near to a solution."
"What shall we do?"
"There is but one thing we can do, mother; and that is to keep our eyes
and ears open, and go along about our business."
"I should feel better if your father was in a different state of mind."
"Can you not think of any possible reason for his present condition? He
was not always so."
"Indeed he was not. John Lewis was considered one of the likeliest young
men in Munroe County when I married him. I wish we had always stayed
there. But he thought he could better his fortune by emigrating to Boone
Lick."
"How long did you live there?"
"Three years. You were a baby when we came away."
"Didn't father do as well as he had expected?"
"No; and, besides, he got into trouble with a family by the name of
Raggles, and——"
"What was the first name of that man, mother?" asked Little Snap,
showing excitement.
"I never knew exactly, but I think it was Nick. I know there was a big
family."
"Did you ever hear of an Absalom Raggles?"
"I have heard your father speak the name. I think he was a cousin of the
others."
"Did father ever have trouble with him?"
"Never, that I know of. Hark! I believe there is some one at the door."
"It is a noise at the barn. I must go out and see if Sammy has cared for
the horses properly. It has been a hard day for them. Come, cheer up,
mother, and it will come out all right."
"But aren't you going to eat any supper?"
"When I come in, perhaps. To speak the truth, I am not hungry."
Little Snap talked until late in the night with his mother, and when
they retired both felt in better spirits.
"At last I have got a clew," he said to himself. "I can't realize it,
but it looks as if Ab Raggles had something to do with all this trouble.
Just now I am bothered to know what these stories mean about Mr.
Rimmon."
Though he did not sleep much, Little Snap was on hand at the post office
the following morning, where he found a large crowd of men collected.
He noticed prominent among them Sheriff Brady and Justice Claverton, who
nodded their heads and whispered something to each other at sight of
him.
"I have heard it threatened that this shall be your last trip," said the
post office clerk, as he handed the mail pouch to the postboy.
"What do these stories mean that we hear about Mr. Rimmon?"
"I don't know. Of course, I do not believe them. He was called away very
suddenly, and it was something in regard to the post office. I believe
there is a government detective somewhere around, looking into the
trouble. All the things make the people talk. I wanted to tell you last
night that another complaint has been sent in by Claverton and the
others."