FORTUNE SMILES AND FROWNS
The rest in bed had done Mary Louise good. She felt quite herself again
and was now able to get up and be about. The shop had remained closed
for several days, days that all of the girls had enjoyed. It seemed the
minute the public found out it was impossible to enter the Higgledy
Piggledy Shop, enter it must.
Mary Louise had said nothing more about her telephone call from the
spirit world. She was sure she had been dreaming and, although the
doctor and Josie gave her every opportunity to bring up the subject if
she felt so inclined, she hesitated to do it.
“They will think I am foolish,” she said to herself. A strange
unreasonable hope began to take possession of her, however. She could
not explain it, but there it was.
Very early in the morning, the same morning that had found Danny
telling his story to Chief Charley Lonsdale, the girls of the
Higgledy Piggledy were stirring. Josie was dressed and starting to
cook breakfast, and Mary Louise was just pinning into place her white
organdie collar and settling her cuffs when there was a double knock on
the door.
“It must be a telegram or something--too early for customers. Go to the
door like a duck, Mary Louise. The bacon is sure to burn if I leave it
a minute.”
Mary Louise tripped across the floor and opened the door. There was
not a sound and Josie kept on frying bacon, turning it carefully and
patting it down to get the twists out of it.
“What is it, Mary Louise?” There was no answer and so she turned around
to see what was the occasion of such silence and there was her little
partner wrapped in the arms of a tall young man in a shabby serge suit.
“Well, of all the--Mary Louise, have you gone nuts? What do you mean by
such behavior, you scamp?” She came to the conclusion that Mary Louise
was being murdered by a tramp, and seizing the rolling pin with which
she had just been rolling out biscuit she rushed to the defense of her
friend. Before she struck, however, she recognized Danny. Then she
dropped the rolling pin and began to hug him herself with almost as
much enthusiasm as Mary Louise.
Explanations could not be made in a moment. Danny must tell over and
over how he wasn’t dead and Mary Louise must tell how she had been
making her living and about Grandpa Jim. Then Danny put in a word
concerning the gold pieces that had come tumbling from the old tire.
The finding of the fortune did not seem to be nearly so important to
those young people as some other things. Danny’s being so hungry was
much more important to Mary Louise. Even Josie seemed to think the fact
that she had just laid in a supply of sliced bacon and had a dozen eggs
in the refrigerator and had cut out enough biscuit for two meals, which
might make enough for one for Danny, was of great import.
“I could kick myself for missing the treasure,” cried Josie. “I
thought I had looked everywhere. Those stupid policemen too! I’m glad
they didn’t get ahead of me. Some one else had been in there too. You
noticed how the cushions were all pulled to pieces didn’t you, Danny?”
“Yes, and I bet I know who had been looking for the money,” said
Danny. “Hortense Markle!”
He then told of hearing the familiar voice and of his trying to place
it and, finally, how it had come to him.
“I am sure it was she,” he declared.
“But it is a blind gentleman and his son,” faltered Mary Louise, who
did not like to have a bad opinion even of persons whom she had never
met. She had seen them once and the helplessness of the poor blind man
had appealed to her.
“Yes, so they said, but I’ll wager anything the poor blind man is
Markle himself--”
“But the Chinaman! Who is he?” asked Mary Louise.
“I’m not prepared to state, but my opinion of him is he is no better
than he should be either.”
“They are guarding the house, aren’t they?” asked Josie excitedly.
“Oh yes, but that Slater is an awful dub,” said Danny.
“I hope they won’t let them get away,” said Josie with an unusual
animosity in her tone. “Those Markles have done enough damage and they
were evidently at the Hathaway house hoping to find the Colonel’s gold
mine. They would have carried off every coin if they could have got
their hooks on it.”
“I shouldn’t have cared,” said Mary Louise dreamily. “Money doesn’t
mean a thing to me.”
Danny felt for her hand under the little cutting out table that served
as a dining table for the Higgledy Piggledy girls.
“I wish they would get away. The poor things!” she continued. “Just
think how long it has been since Hortense has seen her Felix.”
Danny looked at his Mary Louise as though she were plenty good enough
to eat. If she wanted the Markles to get away, he was willing that they
should, although he could but consider them great rascals. As for the
gold mine, they were welcome to it. He could take care of his little
wife himself and wasn’t dependent on anybody’s money. He was almost
sorry he had found it but, of course, since he had, he agreed with
Chief Lonsdale and Mr. Peter Conant that it must be carefully guarded
and taken to the bank and reinvested for his Mary Louise.
* * * * *
After Mary Louise’s wedding when Hortense Markle had tripped away
and disappeared off the face of the earth, as far as Dorfield could
ascertain (all of which is told in our last book concerning the
fortunes and misfortunes of Mary Louise), she had donned male attire,
had cut off her pretty hair and changed her appearance by the many
artifices known to the underworld. She had eked out a miserable
existence, picking up a living where she could find it. But she had
been able to keep in touch with her dearly beloved Felix and he knew
all about how his Pet was faring. Finally, when he escaped from the
penitentiary, he had joined her and disguised himself as a blind
gentleman. She, continuing in her role of fifteen-year-old boy, had
posed as his son. Wink Lee, whose real name was George Parker, was a
confederate, old in crime. Having a peculiarly oriental face, he could
disguise himself as a Chinaman and pass muster anywhere as one of that
nation.
Of course, having an ear ever to the ground for chances to acquire
wealth, they had heard of the rumor of Colonel Hathaway’s having
concealed piles of gold or securities somewhere about his home. After
having made repeated unsuccessful attempts to enter the house and
search for the treasure they had finally rented the place.
When Danny clamored for admittance, Hortense had no idea of its being
a person whom she had known. She had heard Danny was dead and thought,
when the persistent person continued to ring the bell after Wink Lee
shut the door in his face, that he was, of course, intoxicated. Her
Felix had not been well since his stay in the penitentiary and she was
anxious not to have his rest broken. Hence her peremptory dismissal of
the intruder. Something told her a moment afterwards that she had made
a mistake. She had suddenly recognized Danny’s voice. Perhaps he had
recognized hers.
The Hathaway house was no longer safe for them. She roused Felix,
called Wink Lee and, even more quietly than they made their entrance,
the tenants made their exit. The poor blind gentleman could see now
and Wink Lee left his Chinaman’s wig hanging behind the kitchen door.
He went off in a perfectly good suit of Danny’s he had found packed
away in the attic and Hortense once more was a woman, but this time
she made herself look quite middle-aged by a judicious use of padding
to her charmingly slender figure. She found a dress that had belonged
to Mary Louise’s mother also packed away in the attic. It was of black
bombazine. A thick black veil helped the disguise wonderfully. Swiftly
and silently the trio dressed and made ready to depart.
While Danny and Slater were interviewing the chief, the tenants of the
Hathaway house were already on their way to the next town. They had
stopped just long enough to borrow an automobile which was to convey
them thither. They borrowed without asking, a detail they must have
overlooked. They regretted exceedingly that the old rattle trap in the
garage was too far gone to take.
All during the early morning the detectives watched the house, back and
front. There was no sign of life in the mansion, but they understood
from the neighbors that the inmates were seldom seen. Finally, word
came from the chief to go in and arrest the occupants. The bell was
rung even harder than Danny had rung it. The back door was beaten on
violently. They decided to force an entrance.
The birds had flown. When the flitting had occurred no man could say.
Josie was sure it was almost immediately after Danny’s talk with Mrs.
Markle.
“Of course that idiot Slater should have stayed when you told him
to, but these male detectives are the limit for stupidity and
pigheadedness,” she declared.
Mary Louise was happy that they had escaped and Danny was glad because
she was glad. If any of the ones interested could have seen a middle
aged couple in rather old fashioned clothes on a train that was headed
for the west on the afternoon following the getaway, he would have been
sorry enough for the woman. She was reading a Chicago paper and came
upon a glaring headline:
GOLD MINE FOUND IN
OLD AUTO TIRES
AT DORFIELD
She burst into tears.
“What is it, Pet?”
She handed him the paper.
“Well, well! We missed it that time. Next time maybe we will have
better luck. Don’t cry, darling. We have each other anyhow. Money isn’t
everything.”
And in that sentiment, Danny and Mary Louise were of one mind with
Felix and Hortense Markle.
* * * * * *
Transcriber’s note:
Spelling, dialect and hyphenation have been retained as published in
the original publication.
Changes have been made as follows:
Page 30
Fate was working of the _changed to_
Fate was working on the
Page 40
I wonder if you felt funny _changed to_
I wondered if you felt funny
Page 56
they too seem to have lost _changed to_
they too seemed to have lost
Page 60
grandfather and go with him, _changed to_
grandfather and go with him.
Page 91
down the quiet city strees _changed to_
down the quiet city streets
Page 112
was such as astute business _changed to_
was such an astute business
Page 130
of our household gods _changed to_
of our household goods
Page 136
when she starts to houskeeeping _changed to_
when she starts to housekeeping
Page 154
the garage as been entered _changed to_
the garage has been entered
Page 187
“Somebody and that body with small feet! _changed to_
“Somebody and that body with small feet!”
straight to where May Louise _changed to_
straight to where Mary Louise
Page 195
Chinee speaking to me in that _changed to_
Chinese speaking to me in that
Page 197
side next to the Conant’s _changed to_
side next to the Conants’
Page 202
back to the United Stats _changed to_
back to the United States
Page 204
raised some cain _changed to_
raised some Cain