CROOKED WORK
"We've got to get busy right away and rig up wireless telephones of
our own," continued Bob. "Of course they won't be anything like the
doctor's, but they ought to be good enough for us to get a lot of fun
out of them."
"You bet we will," agreed Joe. "Gee, I can't wait to get at it! If
it wasn't so late I believe I'd start in figuring on it to-night."
"Count me in on it too," chimed in Jimmy. "In a week or so we'll be
sending messages everywhere. I'll be talking maybe to that cousin of
mine in Michigan."
"Come out of your trance, Jimmy," laughed Bob, clapping him on the
shoulder. "Things don't move so fast as that. It'll be a good long
time before you'll be sending any messages. You'll have to learn all
about receiving them first; and believe me there's a good deal to
learn about that. Then before you can send any messages you have to
pass an examination and get a license. But for quite a time we'll have
our hands full and our ears full with attending to the receiving end
of the game. One step at a time is the rule in radio, as well as in
anything else that's worth while."
"I didn't know that," replied Jimmy, somewhat dashed by the
information. "I had an idea that we could send just as soon as
we got our sets made."
"How about you, Herb?" asked Bob. "You're in it with the rest of us
too, aren't you?"
"With both feet," replied Herb. "I think that the wireless is the
greatest thing that ever happened. But I don't know about making one
for myself. I'm all thumbs when it comes to doing any mechanical work.
You fellows are handy with tools, but I have all I can do to keep out
of my own way. I guess I'll ask my dad to buy me a set and let it go
at that."
"That's what you think now," replied Joe, "but I'll bet when you see
the rest of us getting busy, you'll pitch in too and make your own
machine. Besides, from what the doctor says, it doesn't take a genius
to put the thing together."
They separated for the night with their heads still full of the
wonders they had heard and seen, and the enthusiasm, was still
with them when they woke the next morning.
At the breakfast tables the conversation was divided between their
experience of the night before and the newspaper account of the auto
accident. A good deal of space was devoted to the latter, and it was
gratifying to learn that although the damage to the store had been
considerable the loss was covered by insurance and that the young
lady whose automobile had crashed into the store had not been
seriously injured and was expected to be around again in a few days.
The coolness and courage with which Bob and Joe had acted and the part
played by Herb and Jimmy in checking the spread of the flames were not
overlooked. The comment that went with it was warm and appreciative,
so much so in fact that, while the boys were not wholly displeased
with it, they felt, as Joe expressed it, that the reporter was
"spreading it on too thick" and feared that they would have to
undergo no end of "joshing" from their mates.
Their lessons in school that day did not receive all the attention
that was due them, for their minds were taken up pretty fully by the
events of the last twenty-four hours. But three o'clock came at last,
and with it came the reminder that they were to call on their way home
at the Sterling House, in order to see Miss Berwick, in accordance
with her request of the day before.
Bustling, motherly Mrs. Sterling greeted Bob and Joe with a smile,
as they made known their errand.
"So here are the young heroes that the paper has been making so much
fuss about," she said mischievously, and Bob and Joe blushed to their
ears. "Just wait a minute until I run up and see if Nellie is ready
to receive you."
"If it's too late, we can wait until another day," said Bob.
"Oh, no," replied Mrs. Sterling. "She's been looking forward to your
coming all day and has spoken about it a number of times. She is very
anxious to thank you both, and I'm sure it will do her good to see
you. The doctor was here this morning and said it would be all right.
Of course, it won't do to stay too long, for the poor lamb is still
rather nervous after her accident, and no wonder. Just wait here a
minute."
She disappeared, but a moment later was at the head of the stairs
motioning to them to come up.
They were ushered into a bright, sunny room, where they found Miss
Berwick resting in an easy chair, propped up with pillows.
She was a pretty girl with blue eyes and brown hair and regular
features. Her age appeared to be about twenty. Her face was pale,
as was natural under the circumstances, but it lighted up with a
friendly and grateful smile as the party, entered.
She extended her hand to the boys in turn, as Mrs. Sterling
introduced them.
"You must excuse my not rising," she said, "but I've had a rather
nerve-racking experience, as no one knows better than yourselves.
I want to thank you with all my heart for the way you came to my
help when I was unable to help myself."
"Oh, you make too much of it, Miss Berwick," Bob replied, and Joe
assented with a nod of his head. "We just had the good luck to be
close at hand, and if we hadn't done it, somebody else would."
"That doesn't change the fact that you did it," replied the girl.
"And you took a chance of losing your lives. The gasoline tank might
have exploded and killed us all."
"We're mighty glad that you came out of it as well as you did,"
said Bob warmly.
"It's almost a miracle that you weren't killed," added Joe.
"I suppose I deserve a severe scolding for having caused all this
excitement and damage," was the response. "I don't know what on earth
caused the accident. There seemed to be something the matter with
the steering gear. Then I got excited and dizzy and tried to stop
the machine. What I think happened was that I put my foot on the
accelerator when I meant to put it on the brake. Then when I saw
that the car was plunging toward the window, I either fainted or was
made unconscious later from the shock. After the first awful crash
I didn't know anything more until I woke in this room and found
the doctor bending over me."
"You're a stranger to this town, aren't you?" asked Bob, with an idea
of getting her mind off the subject, which he could see was beginning
to excite her. "Mrs. Sterling was telling us that you had only been
here for a few days."
"Yes," responded the girl. "I live in the town of Lisburn, about ten
miles from here. I'm all alone in the world"--here a shade of sadness
passed over her expressive face. "My father and mother are dead and
I live with an aunt of mine. I never had any brothers or sisters.
My father died some months ago and left me some property, and it was
in connection with that matter that I came to Clintonia. This is the
county seat, you know, and I wanted to consult the records in the
office of the County Clerk. There seems to be a terrible tangle about
the whole thing. Perhaps it was because I became so nervous over the
matter that things went wrong yesterday."
"I'm sorry, that you've had so much trouble," said Bob
sympathetically, "and I hope that it will all come out right
in a little while."
"If it were just a little confusion or mistake, it probably would,"
replied Miss Berwick, with a touch of despondency in her manner.
"But there's dishonesty involved. I know there is, but I don't see
how I'm going to prove it."
"Do you mean that somebody's trying to cheat you out of your
property?" asked Bob, with quickened interest.
"It must be the meanest kind of a rascal that would swindle an
orphan," put in Joe indignantly.
"I'm afraid there are only too many of that kind in the world,"
replied the girl, with a faint smile in which there was no trace
of mirth. "You see I've never had the least bit of business training
and I suppose I would be easy prey. But I'm afraid I'm boring you
with my troubles," she added, catching herself up suddenly.
"Not at all," replied Bob, as Joe also made a gesture of dissent.
"In fact I hope you'll go right ahead and tell us all about it. Of
course we don't know much about law, but our fathers have lived in
this town for years and know almost everybody in the county, and they
may be able to be of some service to you. Who is the rascal that you
think is trying to cheat you out of your property?"
"I don't suppose you know him," replied the girl, visibly cheered
by the sympathy and interest of the boys. "His name is Cassey--Dan
Cassey, and he lives in the town of Elwood, only a few miles from
Lisburn. He held a mortgage of four thousand dollars on my father's
house. When father was taken with his last illness he was very anxious
that the mortgage should be paid so that he could leave the house to
me free and clear. He had enough money in the bank to pay it and he
had me draw it out and keep it in the house. He intended to settle
the matter himself, but death came to him before he could attend
to it.
"I knew what his wishes were, and as soon as the funeral was over I
went to see Cassey and told him that I wanted to pay off the mortgage.
I saw his eyes glisten when I told him that I had the money at home
to do it with. Of course, I realize now that I ought to have had a
lawyer attend to the business for me, but, as I say, I have never
had any experience in business and I had a general idea that most men
were honest and that there'd be no trouble about it. Cassey made an
appointment for me to come to his office the next day with the money.
When I went there he was alone. He usually has a stenographer, but
I suppose he had sent her away so that there would be no witnesses.
I gave him the money in bills."
"Then of course you got a receipt for it," interrupted Bob.
"No, I didn't," replied the young girl, her face flushing. "Oh,
don't think that I didn't have sense enough to ask for one," she said,
as she saw the boys look at each other in surprise. "I did ask him
for one, but he said that the mortgage itself would be a sufficient
receipt and he would go over to the bank where he kept it in his
safety deposit box and get it for me. Then he looked at his watch,
and seemed surprised when he saw that it was past banking hours and
too late to get it that day. He said he was awfully sorry, but that
he would get it for me the next day and made an appointment for me to
call and get it at his office. He seemed so sorry that he wasn't able
to give it to me on the spot that I took it for granted that it would
be all right and agreed to come the next day and get it.
"I did go about noon the following day, but he wasn't there. His
stenographer said that he had been suddenly called away to Chicago by
a telegram. I asked her when he would be back, and she said that she
didn't know. Then I asked her if he had left any word or any papers
for me and she said he hadn't. I told her of my having been there the
previous day and of having paid him the money, and she looked at me
in surprise and said she didn't know a thing about it. Then--"
Just at that moment Mrs. Sterling came in, and behind her was the
tall form of Dr. Ellis.
"Time's up, boys," the physician said, with a genial smile. "This
young patient of mine can't have company very long at a time just
at present. It will be all right though to drop in some other time,
if Miss Berwick so desires."
"Indeed I do," said the young girl, as the boys, in compliance with
the doctor's suggestion, arose to go.
"And we surely will be glad to come," responded Bob for himself
and his friend. "We are keen to hear the rest of that story."
They said good-bye and went downstairs and out into the street.
"Why didn't the doctor wait just five minutes more?" grumbled Joe.
"He couldn't have picked out a worse minute to butt in. I'm just
crazy to know how the thing came out."
"So am I," agreed Bob. "But I've heard enough already to feel sure
that that fellow Cassey is a double-dyed crook. He simply saw that he
had an inexperienced girl to deal with and he made the most of it."
"I'd like to punch his nose for him," growled Joe savagely, making
a swing in the air at an imaginary opponent.
"Same here," agreed Bob, "but that wouldn't get back her four
thousand. To think of a man turning a trick like that at the expense
of a young girl who had just lost her father! It doesn't seem as
though there could be such a mean fellow in the world!"
"Well, however it may seem, there is evidently one who is mean
enough."