AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT MILLVILLE
BY
EDITH VAN DYNE (one of L. Frank Baum's pen names)
1908
Continued....
CHAPTER XXV.
GOOD NEWS AT LAST.
It was on the morning following this adventure that
Uncle John received
a bulky envelope from the city containing the result
of the
investigation he had ordered regarding the ownership
of the Bogue tract
of pine forest. It appeared that the company in
which he was so largely
interested had found the tract very valuable, and
had been seeking for
the owners in order to purchase it or lease the
right to cut the timber.
But although they had traced it through the hands of
several successive
owners the present holders were all unknown to them
until Mr. Merrick's
information had furnished them with a clue. A year
ago the company had
paid up the back taxes--two years overdue--in order
to establish a claim
to the property, and now they easily succeeded in
finding the record of
the deed from a certain Charles Walton to Jonas Wegg
and William
Thompson. The deed itself could not be found, but
Uncle John considered
the county record a sufficient claim to entitle the
young folks to the
property unless the ownership should be contested by
others, which was
not likely.
Uncle John invited Ethel and Joe to dine with him
that evening, and Mary
was told the occasion merited the best menu she
could provide. The young
folks arrived without any idea of receiving more
than a good dinner and
the pleasure of mingling with the cordial, kindly
household at the farm;
but the general air of hilarity and good fellowship
pervading the family
circle this evening inspired the guests with like
enthusiasm, and no
party could be merrier than the one that did full
justice to Mary's
superior cookery.
One of the last courses consisted of iced
watermelon, and when it
appeared the three girls eyed one another guiltily
and then made frantic
attempts to suppress their laughter, which was
unseemly because no one
but themselves understood the joke. But all else was
speedily forgotten
in the interest of the coming ceremony, which Mr.
Merrick had carefully
planned and prepared.
The company was invited to assemble in the room
comprising the spacious
right wing, and when all were seated the little
gentleman coughed to
clear his throat and straightway began his preamble.
He recited the manner in which Captain Wegg and Will
Thompson, having
money to invest, were led into an enterprise which
Bob West had
proposed, but finally preferred another venture and
so withdrew their
money altogether from the Almaquo tract.
This statement caused both Joe and Ethel to stare
hard, but they said
nothing.
"Your grandfather, Ethel," continued the narrator,
"was much impressed
by the value of another timber tract, although where
he got his
information concerning it I have been unable to
discover. This piece of
property, called the Bogue tract, was purchased by
Wegg and Thompson
with the money they withdrew from Almaquo, and still
stands in
their name."
Then he recounted, quite frankly, his unjust
suspicions of the hardware
dealer, and told of the interview in which the full
details of this
transaction were disclosed by West, as well as the
truth relating to the
death of Captain Wegg and the sudden insanity and
paralysis of old
Will Thompson.
Joe could corroborate this last, and now understood
why Thompson had
cried out that West's "good news" had killed his
father. He meant, of
course, their narrow escape from being involved in
West's supposed ruin,
for at that time no one knew the report of the fire
was false.
Finally, these matters being cleared up, Uncle John
declared that the
Pierce-Lane Lumber Company was willing to contract
to cut the timber on
the Bogue property, or would pay a lump sum of two
hundred thousand
dollars for such title to the tract as could be
given. He did not add
that he had personally offered to guarantee the
title. That was an
unnecessary bit of information.
You may perhaps imagine the happiness this
announcement gave Joe and
Ethel. They could scarcely believe the good news was
true, even when the
kindly old gentleman, with tears in his eyes,
congratulated the young
couple on the fortune in store for them. The Major
followed with a happy
speech of felicitation, and then the three girls
hugged the little
school teacher rapturously and told her how glad
they were.
"I think, sir," said Joe, striving to curb his
elation, "that it will be
better in the end for us to accept the royalty.
Don't you?"
"I do, indeed, my boy," was the reply. "For if our
people make an offer
for the land of two hundred thousand you may rest
assured it is worth
much more. The manager has confided to me in his
letter that if we are
obliged to pay royalties the timber will cost us
nearly double what it
would by an outright purchase of the tract."
"In that case, sir," began Joe, eagerly, "we will--"
"Nonsense. The company can afford the royalty, Joe,
for it is making a
heap of money--more than I wish it were. One of my
greatest trials is to
take care of the money I've already made, and--"
"And he couldn't do it at all without my help,"
broke in the Major.
"Don't ye hesitate to take an advantage of him,
Joseph, if ye can get
it--which I doubt--for Mr. Merrick is most
disgracefully rich already."
"That's true," sighed the little millionaire. "So it
will be a royalty,
Joe. We are paying the same percentage to Bob West
for the Almaquo
tract, but yours is so much better that I am sure
your earnings will
furnish you and Ethel with all the income you need."
They sat discoursing upon the happy event for some
time longer, but Joe
had to return to the hotel early because he was not
yet strong enough to
be out late.
"Before I go, Mr. Merrick," he said, "I'd like you
to give me my
mother's picture, which is in the secret drawer of
the cupboard. You
have the keys, now, and Ethel is curious to see how
my mother looked."
Uncle John went at once to the cupboard and unlocked
the doors. Joe
himself pushed the slide and took out of the drawer
the picture, which
had lain just beneath the Almaquo stock
certificates.
The picture was passed reverently around. A
sweet-faced, sad little
woman it showed, with appealing eyes and lips that
seemed to quiver even
in the photograph.
As Louise held it in her hand something induced her
to turn it over.
"Here is some writing upon the back," she said.
Joe bent over and read it aloud. It was in his
father's handwriting.
"'Press the spring in the left hand lower corner of
the secret drawer.'"
"Hah!" cried Uncle John, while the others stared
stupidly. "That's it!
That's the information we've been wanting so long,
Joseph!"
He ran to the cupboard, even as he spoke, and while
they all thronged
about him thrust in his hand, felt for the spring,
and pressed it.
The bottom of the drawer lifted, showing another
cavity beneath. From
this the searcher withdrew a long envelope, tied
with red tape.
"At last, Joseph!" he shouted, triumphantly waving
the envelope over his
head. And then he read aloud the words docketed upon
the outside:
"'Warranty Deed and Conveyance from Charles Walton
to Jonas Wegg and
William Thompson.' Our troubles are over, my boy,
for here is the key to
your fortune."
"Also," whispered Louise to her cousins, rather
disconsolately, "it
explains the last shred of mystery about the Wegg
case. Heigh-ho! what a
chase we've had for nothing!"
"Not for nothing, dear," replied Patsy, softly, "for
we've helped make
two people happy, and that ought to repay us for all
our anxiety
and labor."
* * * * *
A knock was heard at the door, and Old Hucks entered
and handed Mr.
Merrick a paper.
"He's waiting, sir," said he, ambiguously.
"Oh, Tom--Tom!" cried Joe Wegg, rising to throw his
arms around the old
man's neck, "I'm rich, Tom--all my troubles are
over--and Mr. Merrick
has done it all--for Ethel and me!"
The ever smiling face of the ancient retainer did
not change, but his
eyes softened and filled with tears as he hugged the
boy close to
his breast.
"God be praised. Joe!" he said in a low voice. "I
allus knew the
Merricks 'd bring us luck."
"What the devil does this mean?" demanded Uncle John
at this juncture,
as he fluttered the paper and glared angrily around.
"What is it, dear?" inquired Louise.
"See for yourself," he returned.
She took the paper and read it, while Patsy and Beth
peered over her
shoulder. The following was scrawled upon a sheet of
soiled stationery:
"John Merrak, esquare, to
Marshall McMahon McNutt, detter.
"To yur gals Smashin' 162 mellings at 50 cents a one
.....................$81.00
Pleas remitt & save trouble."
The nieces screamed, laughing until they cried,
while Uncle John
spluttered, smiled, beamed, and then requested an
explanation.
Patsy told the story of the watermelon raid with
rare humor, and it
served to amuse everybody and relieve the strain
that had preceded the
arrival of McNutt's bill.
"Did you say the man is waiting, Thomas?" asked
Uncle John.
"Yes, sir."
"Here--give him five dollars and tell him to receipt
the bill. If he
refuses, I'll carry the matter to the courts.
McNutt's a rascal, and a
fool in the bargain; but we've had some of his
melons and the girls have
had five dollars' worth of fun in getting them. But
assure him that this
squares accounts, Thomas."
Thomas performed his mission.
McNutt rolled his eyes, pounded the floor with his
stump to emphasize
his mingled anger and satisfaction, and then
receipted the bill.
"It's jest five more'n I 'spected to git, Hucks," he
said with a grin.
"But what's the use o' havin' nabobs around, ef ye
don't bleed 'em?"
* * * * *
This story is one of the delightful "Aunt Jane
Series" in which are
chronicled the many interesting adventures in the
lives of those
fascinating girls and dear old "Uncle John." The
other volumes can be
bought wherever books are sold. A complete list of
titles, which is
added to from time to time, is given on page 3 of
this book.
END OF AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT MILLVILLE
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