AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT MILLVILLE
BY
EDITH VAN DYNE (one of L. Frank Baum's pen names)
1908
Continued....
CHAPTER XXII.
CAUGHT.
"We're early," said Beth, as they came to the edge
of the woods and
sighted the farm house; "but that is better than
being late."
Then she stopped suddenly with a low cry and pointed
to the right wing,
which directly faced them. Bob West turned the
corner of the house,
tried the door of Uncle John's room, and then walked
to one of the
French windows. The sash was not fastened, so he
deliberately opened it
and stepped inside.
"What shall we do?" gasped Patsy, clasping her hands
excitedly.
Beth was always cool in an emergency.
"You creep up to the window, dear, and wait till you
hear me open the
inside door," said she. "I'll run through the house
and enter from the
living-room. The key is under the mat, you know."
"But what can we do? Oughtn't we to wait until Uncle
John and father
come?" Patsy asked, in a trembling voice.
"Of course not. West might rob the cupboard and be
gone by that time.
We've got to act promptly, Patsy; so don't be
afraid."
Without further words Beth ran around the back of
the house and
disappeared, while Patsy, trying to control the
beating of her heart,
stole softly over the lawn to the open window of
Uncle John's room.
She could not help looking in, at the risk of
discovery. Bob West--tall,
lean and composed as ever--was standing beside the
cupboard, the doors
of which were wide open. The outer doors were of
wood, panelled and
carved; the inner ones were plates of heavy steel,
and in the lock that
secured these latter doors were the keys that had so
long been missing.
Both were attached to a slender silver chain.
As Patsy peered in at the man West was engaged in
deliberately examining
packet after packet of papers, evidently striving to
find the missing
stock certificates. He was in no hurry, believing he
would have the
house to himself for several hours; so he tumbled
Captain Wegg's
souvenirs of foreign lands in a heap on the floor
beside him, thrusting
his hand into every corner of the cupboard in order
that the search
might be thorough. He had once before examined the
place in vain; this
time he intended to succeed.
Presently West drew a cigar from his pocket, lighted
it, and was about
to throw the match upon the floor when the thought
that it might later
betray his presence made him pause and then walk to
the open window. As
he approached, Patsy became panic-stricken and, well
knowing that she
ought to run or hide, stood rooted to the spot,
gazing half appealingly
and half defiantly into the startled eyes of the man
who suddenly
confronted her.
So for a moment they stood motionless. West was
thinking rapidly. By
some error be had miscounted the picnic party and
this girl had been
left at home. She had discovered his intrusion, had
seen him at the
cupboard, and would report the matter to John
Merrick. This being the
case, it would do him no good to retreat without
accomplishing his
purpose. If once he secured the stock certificates
he could afford to
laugh at his accusers, and secure them he must while
he had the
opportunity.
So clearly did these thoughts follow one another
that West's hesitation
seemed only momentary. Without a word to the girl he
tossed the match
upon the grass, calmly turned his back, and started
for the
cupboard again.
But here a new surprise awaited him. Brief as had
been his absence,
another girl had entered the room. Beth opened the
door even as West
turned toward the window, and, taking in the
situation at a glance, she
tiptoed swiftly to the cupboard, withdrew the keys
from the lock and
dropped them noiselessly into a wide-mouthed vase
that stood on the
table and was partially filled with flowers. The
next instant West
turned and saw her, but she smiled at him
triumphantly. "Good afternoon,
sir," said the girl, sweetly; "can I do anything to
assist you?"
West uttered an impatient exclamation and regarded
Beth savagely.
"Is the house full of girls?" he demanded.
"Oh, no; Patsy and I are quite alone," she replied,
with a laugh. "Come
in, Patsy dear, and help me to entertain our guest,"
she added.
Patsy came through the window and stood beside her
cousin. The man
stared at them, bit his lip, and then turned again
to the cupboard. If
he noted the absence of the keys he did not remark
upon the fact, but
with hurried yet thorough examination began anew to
turn over the
bundles of papers.
Beth sat down and watched him, but Patsy remained
standing behind her
chair. West emptied all the shelves, and then after
a pause took out his
pocket knife and began tapping with its end the
steel sides of the
cupboard. There was no doubt he suspected the
existence of a secret
aperture, and Beth began to feel uneasy.
Slowly the man worked his way downward, from shelf
to shelf, and began
to sound the bottom plates, wholly oblivious of the
fascinated gaze of
the two young girls. Then a sudden gruff ejaculation
startled them all,
and West swung around to find a new group of
watchers outside the
window. In the foreground appeared the stern face of
John Merrick.
The scene was intensely dramatic to all but the
singular man who had
been battling to retain a fortune. West knew in an
instant that his
attempt to secure the certificates was a failure. He
turned from the
cupboard, dusted his hands, and nodded gravely to
the last arrivals.
"Come in, Mr. Merrick," said he, seating himself in
a chair and removing
his hat, which he had been wearing. "I owe you an
apology for intruding
upon your premises in your absence."
Uncle John strode into the room angry and indignant
at the fellow's cool
impertinence. The Major and Louise followed, and all
eyes centered upon
the face of Bob West.
"The contents of this cupboard," remarked the
hardware merchant, calmly,
"belong to the estate of Captain Wegg, and can
scarcely be claimed by
you because you have purchased the house. You
falsely accused me the
other day, sir, and I have been searching for proof
that the Almaquo
Timber Tract stock is entirely my property."
"Have you found such proof?" inquired Mr. Merrick.
"Not yet."
"And you say the stock was all issued to you?"
West hesitated.
"It was all transferred to me by Captain Wegg and
Will Thompson."
"Does the transfer appear upon the stock itself?"
"Of course, sir."
"In that case," said Uncle John, "I shall be obliged
to ask your pardon.
But the fact can be easily proved."
He walked to the open cupboard, felt for the slide
Joe had described to
him, and drew it forward. A small drawer was behind
the orifice, and
from this Mr. Merrick drew a packet of papers.
West gave a start and half arose. Then he settled
back into his chair
again.
"H-m. This appears to be the stock in question,"
said Uncle John. He
drew a chair to the table, unfolded the documents
and examined them with
deliberate care.
The nieces watched his face curiously. Mr. Merrick
first frowned, then
turned red, and finally a stern, determined look
settled upon his
rugged features.
"Take your stock, Mr. West," he said, tossing it
toward the man; "and
try to forgive us for making fools of ourselves!"
AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT MILLVILLE
Continued....
 
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