AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT MILLVILLE
BY
EDITH VAN DYNE (one of L. Frank Baum's pen names)
1908
Continued....
CHAPTER VII.
LOUISE SCENTS A MYSTERY.
Louise Merrick was the eldest of Uncle John's
nieces, having just passed
her eighteenth birthday. In the city she was devoted
to the requirements
of fashionable society and--urged thereto by her
worldly-minded
mother--led a mere butterfly existence. Her two
cousins frankly agreed
that Louise was shallow, insincere and inclined to
be affected; but of
the three girls she displayed the most equable and
pleasant disposition
and under the most trying circumstances was composed
and charming in
manner. For this reason she was an agreeable
companion, and men usually
admired her graceful figure and her piquant, pretty
face with its crown
of fluffy blonde hair and winning expression. There
was a rumor that she
was engaged to be married to Arthur Weldon, a young
man of position in
the city; but Uncle John ignored the possibility of
losing one of his
cherished nieces and declared that Louise was still
too young to think
of marriage.
When away from her frivolous mother and the
inconsequent home
environments the girl was more unaffected and
natural in her ways, and
her faults were doubtless more the result of
education than of
natural tendency.
One thing was indisputable, however: Louise Merrick
was a clever girl,
possessing a quick intellect and a keen insight into
the character of
others. Her apparent shallowness was a blind of the
same character as
her assumed graciousness, and while she would have
been more lovable
without any pretence or sham she could not have been
Louise Merrick and
allow others to read her as she actually was. Patsy
and Beth thought
they knew her, and admired or liked rather than
loved their cousin.
Uncle John thought he knew her, too, and was very
proud of his eldest
niece in spite of some discovered qualities that
were not wholly
admirable.
An extensive course of light literature, not void of
"detective
stories," had at this moment primed Louise with its
influence to the
extent of inducing her to scent a mystery in the
history of Captain
Wegg. The plain folks around Millville might
speculate listlessly upon
the "queer doin's" at the farm, and never get
anywhere near the truth.
Indeed, the strange occurrences she had just heard
were nearly forgotten
in the community, and soon would be forgotten
altogether--unless the
quick ear of a young girl had caught the clue so
long ignored.
At first she scarcely appreciated the importance of
the undertaking. It
occurred to her that an effort to read to the bottom
of the sea
captain's romance would be a charming diversion
while she resided at
Millville, and in undertaking the task she
laughingly accused herself of
becoming an amateur detective--an occupation that
promised to be
thrilling and delightful.
Warned, however, by the rebuff she had met with from
Uncle John, the
girl decided not to confide either her suspicions or
her proposed
investigation to anyone for the present, but to keep
her own counsel
until she could surprise them all with the
denouement or required
assistance to complete her work.
Inspired by the cleverness and fascination of this
idea, Louise set to
work to tabulate the information she had received
thus far, noting the;
element of mystery each fact evolved. First, Captain
Wegg must have been
a rich man in order to build this house, maintain
two servants and live
for years in comfort without any income from his
barren farm lands. What
became of his money after his death? Why was his
only son obliged to fly
to the cities in order to obtain a livelihood?
Secondly, the Captain, a
surly and silent man, had brought hither--perhaps by
force--a young
woman as his wife who was so unhappy that she pined
away and died. Who
was this woman? What had rendered her so unhappy and
despairing?
Thirdly, the Captain's only friend had been a crazy
man named Will
Thompson. Was he crazy before the Captain's death,
or had he become
crazed at that time, some terrible tragedy unhinging
his mind?
Fourthly, the granddaughter of Thompson, Ethel, and
the son of Captain
Wegg had been in love with each other, and people
expected they would
marry in time. But at his father's sudden death the
boy fled and left
his sweetheart without a word. Why--unless something
had occurred that
rendered their marriage impossible?
In the fifth place there was Old Hucks and his blind
wife to be
considered. What did they know about their old
master's secret history?
What tragic memories lurked beneath the man's
perpetual smile and the
woman's composed and sightless face?
Surely there was enough here to excite the curiosity
and warrant an
effort to untangle the mystery. And as instruments
to the end there were
several people available who could be of use to her;
McNutt, the agent,
who evidently knew more than he had cared to tell;
Old Hucks and his
wife and Ethel Thompson, the school-teacher. There
might be others, but
one or another of these four must know the truth,
and it would be her
pleasant duty to obtain a full disclosure. So she
was anxious to begin
her investigations at once.
When her uncle returned from his visit to the pigs
Louise said to him:
"I've been thinking, dear, that we ought to call
upon that young lady
who arranged our rooms, and thank her for her
kindness."
"That's true," he replied.
"Can't we drive over to Thompson's this morning,
Uncle?"
"Beth and Patsy have planned a tramp to the lake,
and a row after
water-lilies."
"Then let us make our call together. We can invite
the girl to come here
and spend a day with us, when Patsy and Beth will be
able to meet her."
"That's a good idea, Louise. I was wondering what
I'd do this morning.
Tell Old Hucks to get the nag harnessed."
The girl ran eagerly upon her errand. Old Hucks
seemed surprised, and a
curious expression showed for an instant through his
smile. But he
turned without a word to harness the horse.
Louise stood watching him.
"Your fingers are quite nimble, Thomas, considering
the fact that you
were once a sailor," she said.
"But sailors have to be nimble, miss," he returned,
buckling a strap
unmoved. "Who tol' ye I were once a sea-farin' man?"
"I guessed it."
As he appeared indisposed to say more on the subject
she asked: "Did you
sail with Captain Wegg?"
"Partly, miss. Dan's already now. Don't jerk the
bit, fer his mouth's
tender an' it makes him balky. Ef he balks jest let
him rest a time, an'
then speak to him. Dan ain't vicious; he's jest
ornery."
She climbed into the dilapidated old buggy and took
the reins. Dan
groaned and ambled slowly around to where Uncle John
stood awaiting
his niece.
"Let me drive, Uncle," she said; "I understand Dan."
"Well, I don't," returned Uncle John, in his
whimsical way, as he
mounted to the seat beside her. "I don't understand
how he's happened to
live since the landing of Columbus, or what he's
good for, or why
someone don't knock him on the head."
Dan turned his long, lean face as if to give the
speaker a reproachful
look; then he groaned again, leaned forward, and
drew the buggy slowly
into the stony lane.
"Do you know where the Thompsons live?" inquired
Uncle John.
"No. Whoa, Dan!"
That was the best thing the nag did. He knew how to
whoa.
"Thomas!" called Uncle John, turning in his seat;
and at the summons Old
Hucks came from the barn and approached them. "How
do you get to Miss
Thompson's place?"
"Miss Ethel's?" Another fleeting expression of
surprise.
"Yes; we're going over to thank her for her kindness
to us."
"I--I'm 'most sure as she'll be here soon to call,
sir. And--perhaps you
oughtn't to--to go to--Thompson's," stammered Hucks,
glancing up at them
with his bright, elusive smile.
"Well, we're going, anyhow," growled Mr. Merrick.
"Then turn left at the main road an' keep straight
ahead to Thompson's.
Ye can't miss it, sir. Brick schoolhouse on the
other corner."
"Thank you, Thomas. Drive on, Louise."
AUNT JANE'S NIECES AT MILLVILLE
Continued....
 
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