CAUGHT
It was lucky for Bess that Linda's father happened in at that moment,
for Linda, in her rage at thus being found out, looked as though she
would like to tear her enemy limb from limb.
As for Cora, she gave one horrified look at Bess, burst into tears, and
fled from the room.
Mr. Riggs, who was not at all the pompous, conceited man that the girls
at Lakeview Hall had come to think him, looked after Cora for a moment
in surprise, then turned smilingly back to the two girls and asked Linda
to introduce him to her friend.
For one electric moment it looked as though Linda were about to refuse.
Then what little common sense she had coming to her rescue, she sullenly
did as she was bid and Mr. Riggs began to ask a few casual questions of
Bess about how she liked Florida, if she had been there before, and
other questions, which Bess answered mechanically. Her eyes were upon
Linda as she stood at a window with her back to the room, her fingers
beating a nervous tattoo on the windowsill.
At last Bess managed to break away and was starting toward the door when
she was surprised to find that Linda was following her.
The girl stopped her at the door, and Bess thought she had never seen
any one as subdued and beaten as Linda looked at that moment.
"Please, Bess," she begged, lowering her voice so that her father would
not hear, "don't tell on me! No one at Lakeview Hall knows that I--I did
that. And no one will unless you tell them. Please, Bess!"
"N-no, I won't tell," said Bess hesitantly. "If was a horrible thing for
you to do, Linda, and Dr. Beulah ought to know. But I--I'm not a
tattle-tale."
Then she fled down the hall, down the stairs, and into her room again.
She told the story to the girls and Walter that night, and they listened
in amazement.
"Well!" said Grace. "And to think that Cora would be the one to give
Linda away."
"I don't know about promising not to tell Doctor Beulah," said Nan
thoughtfully. "It seems to me she ought to know----"
"Well, you tell her then," suggested Rhoda.
"Oh, I couldn't!" Nan flashed back indignantly, and Rhoda laughed at
her.
"You see!" she said.
"Well," sighed Grace, "it's of no use to worry about it now, anyway. We
can't do a thing till we get back to Lakeview Hall."
When Mr. Mason came in that night they questioned him eagerly, but he
had no real news to tell them. He had been able to prove nothing
definite against Jacob Pacomb, and as yet had found no trace of the men
who had so frightened Nan.
And Nan, away down in her heart, was still frightened, there could be no
doubt of that. The man had threatened her, had given her forty-eight
hours to turn over the papers, and more than twenty-four hours of that
time had already passed! If they did not succeed in tracing the
scoundrels and handing them over to justice in the next twenty-four
hours, what might not happen!
Both Rhoda and Grace shared her uneasiness, and lazy Bess grumbled
mightily at the loss of sleep consequent upon it. There is no doubt but
what the girls would have rested a great deal easier that night had they
known that a house detective, well paid for his services, kept watch
outside Nan's door till dawn crept in at the windows.
"I wish both of the men were in Greenland," grumbled Bess.
"Yes, and without anything to eat or drink and freezing to death," added
Rhoda.
"I can't understand why the authorities can't catch them," put in Grace.
"They have a very good description of them."
"Maybe they have left Florida," said Nan.
"Oh, if only they have," cried Bess. "But I am afraid there is no such
luck."
It was a weary-eyed quartette of girls that made its way down to the
dining-room that morning, and breakfast was eaten in gloomy silence.
Walter eyed the girls with a mixture of humor and sympathy, and once he
turned to his father with a grin.
"I say, Dad," he chuckled, "if something isn't done to-day about this
business, I'm afraid the girls will be dead by night. They look half
gone already."
After breakfast they wandered into the lobby of the hotel to see if
there was any mail for them. Nan had not heard from Papa Sherwood or
Momsey for almost a week, and she was beginning to feel neglected
indeed. If only she could have them with her now, to advise and help her
in this predicament!
"Here's a letter for you, Nan," Grace interrupted her rather unhappy
thoughts. "And here's another, with a Lakeview postmark. Must be from
one of the girls at school. One for you, too, Rhoda. Looks like
Procrastination's handwriting."
Just then Bess made a funny little sound, half gasp and half
exclamation, and they turned to her. Bess's face was white and her hand
shook as she grasped Nan's arm.
"Look at those men!" she whispered, and though it was only a whisper it
went through Nan like a knife. "Over there--crossing the lobby! Nan! Oh,
what are you doing? Don't, Nan, he may shoot you! Nan!"
But Nan was already running across the lobby, unmindful of staring eyes,
all her fear turned to anger at these men who dared appear in public
after the cowardly attack they had made upon her. She darted in front of
them and blocked their way, her eyes blazing and her body tense.
The short, fat man started at sight of her and drew back. But black rage
darkened his companion's face and he made a gesture as though to push
Nan out of the way. He might have done it, too, and made his escape
easily, for the curious people who had gathered in the lobby seemed
paralyzed with amazement, had not Rhoda suddenly appeared at her chum's
side, a little flame of white-hot indignation.
"Don't dare touch her!" she cried fiercely. "You've done
enough--you--you----"
"Here, here, what's this?" asked an authoritative voice, and a big burly
man, an assistant manager of the hotel, pushed his way through the
gathering crowd.
"These girls are crazy," cried the tall man, turning furiously upon the
newcomer, while his fat companion took out an immense silk handkerchief
and nervously wiped his forehead. "If you don't get them out of the way
and lock them up, I'll sue your place----"
"Officer, arrest those men!"
Clear and startling, the voice rang out above the confusion, and the two
men, without waiting to see who their new enemy was, made a dash for the
open door, which was still only defended by Nan and Rhoda.
But the hotel man was quicker than they. He sprang before them and
pushed them back into the crowd, which opened to admit them and closed
around them again, making escape utterly impossible.
For a moment, Nan and Rhoda, left outside of the circle around the men,
could see nothing of what happened. But presently Mr. Mason--it was he
who, coming suddenly upon the scene in the lobby, had demanded the
arrest of the men--pushed his way through the crowd and beckoned to Nan.
She went with him, and Rhoda followed close behind. Grace and Bess had
already pushed their way into the crowd.
The house detective, who had been in consultation with Mr. Mason when
the thing happened, had taken the two men into custody. The tall, thin
scoundrel, who had appeared in Nan's dreams for many restless nights,
stood there sullenly, glowering around fiercely at the curious faces
while his companion used his handkerchief more vehemently and seemed to
be growing more nervous with every minute that passed.
"Can you swear that these are the men who attacked you in an orange
grove near here yesterday and demanded of you certain papers which were
not in your possession?" the detective gravely asked of Nan.
"Yes, sir," answered the girl eagerly. Walter had slipped up beside her
and was holding her hand in a comforting grip, but she did not know it.
"Can you also testify that they have attempted to obtain possession of
these papers at various other occasions during the last two or three
weeks?" the man went on, and this time Nan only nodded.
"Well," said the detective, turning grimly to his prisoners, while the
crowd, not having the slightest idea what the commotion was about, but
with a keen love of the dramatic, edged closer, "I reckon the little
lady's testimony is sufficient to send you two up for quite a little
vacation."
"Wait a minute, officer," whined the fat man, in spite of his
companion's attempt to stop him. "You want Jacob Pacomb. He's the man
who got us into this mess."
"So you've turned stool pigeon, too, as well as crook?" drawled the
detective, while Nan and Mr. Mason exchanged a triumphant look. "Yes, I
reckon we do want Jacob Pacomb, too. We've been wanting him for a long
while. But since this is the first chance we've had to get the goods on
him, we won't waste any time doing it. Will one of you gentlemen call up
the police station?"
Mr. Mason nodded, and the crowd opened to make way for him.
But at the mention of the police station, the fat man broke down
completely and, evidently nursing some false hope that by telling all he
knew he might get off easy himself, he babbled unceasingly until the
police patrol drew up before the door. His companion stood off by
himself, with apparently no interest whatever in the proceedings.
"Fine," said the detective, rising and patting the short man on the back
as two policemen made their way into the lobby and saluted him. "Now you
can tell the rest of your story to the judge. Will you come with us,
sir?" he asked, turning to Mr. Mason as the policeman took the men in
charge. "We may need your testimony to round up Jacob Pacomb."
Mr. Mason nodded, but paused for a moment on his way to the door to
speak to Nan.
"Everything's fine," he said, beaming down upon her. "We'll get this
Pacomb where we want him, and then your troubles--and Mrs.
Bragley's--will be over, Nan. Tell you all about it when I get back."
Nan smiled back at him, and then as the crowd, its curiosity satisfied,
began to disperse, she sank down into one of the comfortable chairs and
looked weakly up at her excited chums. Then for the first time she
noticed Walter--and the fact that he was holding her hand.
"Where did you get it?" she asked.
"What?"
"My hand?"
Walter chuckled and answered slyly:
"I took it when you weren't looking."
She smiled at him weakly--but it was rather a satisfying smile.