Kitabı oku: «The Princess and Joe Potter», sayfa 6

CHAPTER VIII.
A HUNGRY DETECTIVE

When aunt Dorcas had ushered the boys into the "room over the kitchen," and left them with a kindly "good night," they gazed around in such astonishment as can best be depicted by Master Plummer's emphatic remark shortly after the little woman went down-stairs.

"I've always thought swells had a pretty soft snap when they went to bed; but I never counted on its bein' anything like this. Do you s'pose she means for us to get right into that bed, an' muss it all up?"

Joe did not reply for several seconds, and then said, doubtfully:

"It seems as if that's what she must have meant, else why did she tell about her best sheets bein' in the other room? I thought the old German woman's house was mighty nice; but it wasn't a marker 'longside of this. If the princess was only here!"

"You can bet I don't bother my head 'bout no princesses when I've got a chance to crawl into that nest. I almost wish now I'd had sense enough to use one of them towels we had on the table, 'cause my hands look pretty dirty when you get 'em side of that sheet."

"Well, see this, Plums! If you'll believe it, here's a pitcher full of water, an' soap, an' everything! Let's wash up now, will you?"

Ordinarily, Master Plummer would have met this suggestion with a decided refusal; but, being surrounded as he was by so much luxury, it seemed necessary he should do something in the way of celebrating.

It was not a very careful toilet which Plums made on this night, for he was in too great a hurry to get between the lavender-scented sheets to admit of spending much time on such needless work as washing his hands and face; but he was more cleanly, and perhaps felt in a better condition to enjoy the unusual luxury.

"Say, Joe, it's a mighty big pity we've got to go to sleep."

"Why?"

"'Cause we ought'er keep awake jest to know how much swellin' we're doin'. I stopped at a Chatham Street lodgin'-house one night, when I was feelin' kind of rich, an' thought the bed there was great; but it wasn't a marker 'longside of this one. I shouldn't wonder if there were feathers in it."

Joe was quite as well pleased with the surroundings as was his companion; but he said less on the subject because his mind was fully occupied with thoughts of the princess, – sad thoughts they were, for he was beginning to believe he had been wickedly selfish in taking her away from the place where her parents might have been found, simply to save himself from arrest.

He fell asleep, however, quite as soon as did the boy on whose conscience there was no burden, and neither of the fugitives were conscious of anything more until aroused by a gentle tapping on the chamber door, to hear aunt Dorcas say:

"It's five o'clock, children, and time all honest people were out of bed."

"We're gettin' up now," Joe cried, and he was on his feet in an instant; but Master Plummer lazily turned himself in the rest-inviting bed, as he muttered:

"I don't see how it makes a feller honest to get up in the night when he's out in the country where he hasn't got to go for the mornin' papers, an' I guess I'll stay here a spell longer."

"You won't do anything of the kind," and Joe pulled the fat boy out of bed so quickly that he had no time for resistance.

It was seldom Plums lost his temper; but now he was on the verge of doing so because of having been thus forcibly taken from the most comfortable resting-place he had ever known.

"Now, don't get on your ear," Joe said, soothingly. "Aunt Dorcas has told us to get up, an' that settles it. We're bound to do jest as she says, 'cause all these things are hers. It won't pay to turn rusty, Plums, else we may find ourselves fired out before breakfast, an' I would like to stay till to-morrow."

"Don't you want to stop any longer than that?" and Master Plummer began hurriedly to dress himself.

"'Course I'd like to; but you see I've got to go back to the old German lady's in the mornin'."

"What good will that do? It ain't likely you can bring the princess here."

"I know that as well as you do; but I promised to be there in two days, an' I'm goin', so we won't have any talk about it."

Five minutes later, aunt Dorcas's guests were in the kitchen, where the little woman was preparing a most appetising breakfast, and he would have been a dull boy who did not understand that she must have been up at least two hours before arousing her visitors.

"It ain't right for you to wait on us jest like we was reg'lar folks, an' we ain't used to it," Joe said, in a tone of mild reproof. "Anything would have been good enough for us to eat, without your gettin' up so early an' workin' hard to cook it."

"Bless your heart, Joseph, I'm doing no more than if I was alone, except perhaps there may be more victuals on the table. My appetite isn't as hearty as it used to be; but I've got a pretty good idea how it is with growing boys."

"You're mighty good to us, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll feel a heap better if you'll give me some work to do before breakfast."

"I might have let you bring in the wood, if I'd thought; but I'm so accustomed to doing such things for myself that it never came into my mind. I wonder if you could split up a few kindlings? That is the most trying part of keeping house alone, for whenever I strike a piece of wood with an axe I never know whether it's going to break, or fly up and hit me in the face."

"Of course we can do it. Where's the axe?"

Aunt Dorcas led the way to the shed, where was her summer's store of wood, and before she returned to the kitchen Joe was causing the chips to fly in a way which made the little woman's heart glad.

"It does me good to see you work, Joseph. I have always lived in mortal terror of an axe; but you seem to know how to use one."

Joe earned his breakfast that morning fairly, and Plums appeared to think he had done his full share by sitting on the saw-horse, watching his comrade.

Then came the summons to breakfast, and Master Plummer was eyeing greedily a particularly large roasted potato, which he intended to take from the plate, if an opportunity presented itself, when aunt Dorcas suddenly bent her head, and invoked a blessing on the food.

Plums kicked Joe, under the table, to express his surprise at this, to him, singular proceeding, but, otherwise, behaved in a proper manner.

The meal was prolonged because of the fat boy's hearty appetite, and, when it was finally brought to a close, Joe said, as he rose from the table:

"Now, aunt Dorcas, if you'll show us something more to do I'll be glad, 'cause we've got to pay for what we've had, else it won't be a fair shake."

"You boys may go out and look around the place until I do the dishes, and then we will see what I am to set you about."

This was so nearly a request for them to leave the kitchen, that they lost no time in obeying, and when they were in the open air Master Plummer said, with an air of perplexity:

"She's a mighty fine woman, an' all that kind of thing; but I'd like to know what she's hintin' at by leavin' them towels on the table; they was both there jest the same's last night, even though she must have known that we was washed up in great shape."

"I noticed 'em, but don't believe there's anything out of the way about it. She's kind of funny, an' perhaps that's one of her queer spots."

Aunt Dorcas's property was not extensive, as the boys learned after walking over it.

There was an orchard either side of the lane which led from the highway, and, in the rear of the house, an acre of ground, which had been cultivated at some time in the past.

The buildings consisted of the cottage itself, the wood-shed, a second shed which might once have been used as a carriage-house, and a small barn or stable.

By the time they had concluded their investigations, aunt Dorcas joined them, and said, with an odd smile on her withered face:

"It isn't much of a farm, as farms go nowadays, boys, but it's my home, and very dear to me. Mr. McArthur, one of the neighbours, cuts the grass in the orchards, and pays me a little something for it. I usually have a garden out here; but this year it was neglected, until now it seems too late for early vegetables."

"It wouldn't take us long to chuck in a pile of seeds, if that's all you want," and one to have seen Master Plummer, at that moment, would have believed him the most energetic of boys.

After aunt Dorcas explained that it would be necessary to spade up the ground, Plums's enthusiasm for gardening diminished; but Joe begged for the privilege of showing what he could do, and the little woman supplied them with such tools as she thought necessary.

"If you want to know about anything, come right up to the house. It is baking-day with me, and I shall be busy in the kitchen until dinner-time."

Then she left them, and Plums seated himself within the shadow of the barn, explaining, as he did so, that perhaps it would be better if he "kinder got the hang of the thing by seein' Joe work."

Eager to repay aunt Dorcas for her kindness, Joe Potter laboured industriously, despite the blisters which soon appeared on his hands, for half an hour or more, and then the two boys were startled by a warning hiss, which apparently came from one end of the barn.

"There must be snakes 'round here!" and Plums sprang to his feet, in alarm. "Jim Flannigan says they always hiss like that before they bite."

"Take hold of this spade for a little while, an' they won't bite you. It seems to me I'm doin' all the work, an' I know you ate more'n your share of the supper an' breakfast."

The hissing noise was heard again, and, as the two gazed in the direction from which it came, the head of Dan, the detective, appeared from behind the barn.

"What are you doin' there, tryin' to frighten us?" Plums asked, indignantly. "Why didn't you come right up like a man? There's nobody 'round here but aunt Dorcas, an' she wouldn't hurt a fly."

The amateur detective rose slowly to his feet, looking displeased.

"You two are the most careless fellers I ever saw. Here's all the cops in New York City out on your trail, an' you hollerin' fit to scare a horse."

"S'posin' we are?" and Master Plummer spoke boldly. "S'posin' the road was full of perlicemen, how could they see us while we're behind this barn?"

"It don't make any difference whether they could or not. You've got to mind your eye, if you want to keep out of jail, an' yellin' to me ain't the way to do it. If the folks 'round here should know I was on this case, jest as likely as not some of 'em would send word to the city, an' then your game would be up."

Plums had lost faith in Dan's detective ability, because of the fact that the latter had failed to take advantage of the opportunity to spend the night in aunt Dorcas's home, therefore he replied, boldly, to his friend's reproof:

"We're jest as safe here as we could be anywhere, an' I tell you what it is, Dan, you ought'er seen the layout we had last night an' this mornin'! Why, we slept in a bed that would make the tears come into your eyes, it was so soft; an' talk 'bout spreads! You couldn't get a breakfast down to McGinnis's restaurant, no matter how much you paid, that would come up to what we had!"

"Yes, you fellers are takin' all the chances, an' I'm pretty nigh starved to death. I haven't had so much as a smell of anything since yesterday noon."

"You ought'er seen the custard pie aunt Dorcas put out before us last night; thick as that!" and Plums measured on his finger the length of three inches or more. "An' a crust that went to pieces in your mouth like ice-cream."

"If I had a cold boiled potato I'd be mighty glad."

"We had a slat of hot roasted ones with nice butter on 'em, this mornin'," Plums continued, as if it were his purpose to increase the detective's hunger.

"I'd give a dime for a sandwich," Dan wailed, and Master Plummer described the fresh bread and sweet boiled ham with which aunt Dorcas had regaled them.

"Say, what's the use of tellin' 'bout what you've had, when I've been fillin' up on wind? It only makes a feller feel worse. Why can't you sneak in an' get something for me?"

Plums hesitated, as if willing to act upon his friend's suggestion, when Joe said, sharply:

"Look here, Dan, I'm awful sorry if you're hungry; but Plums can't sneak into aunt Dorcas's house an' get anything without her knowin' it, not while I'm 'round. It seems kinder tough to ask her to put out more stuff, after all we've had; but since you're starvin', we'll do it, an' offer to pay for what you eat."

"You mean to tell her I'm here?"

"Of course. I wouldn't lie to her, not for any money."

"Then I'll have to starve," Dan replied, angrily, "for I wouldn't let anybody know I was here while I'm tryin' to keep you fellers out of jail. But – "

"Here comes aunt Dorcas now!" Plums exclaimed, as he turned towards the house, and, in a twinkling, the amateur detective was screened from view by the barn.

"I thought you boys might be hungry, working so hard, and I brought out this plate of fresh doughnuts," the little woman said, as she placed on the grass a dish covered with a napkin. "Mr. McArthur always likes a bite of something when he is here, and it will do you good. How well you have gotten along! I wouldn't have thought you could have spaded up so much in such a short time."

Joe, feeling guilty, because he was keeping from aunt Dorcas the fact that detective Dan was on the premises, was at a loss for a reply, but Plums said, promptly:

"We'll be glad of 'em, aunt Dorcas, 'cause we're kinder tired jest now," and he would have begun to devour the doughnuts, but for a warning look from his comrade.

"You must eat them while they are hot," aunt Dorcas said, gravely, and Joe promised to do so as soon as he had finished a certain amount of work.

Then the little woman went back to her cooking, and she had hardly entered the dwelling before the amateur detective, with a hungry look in his eyes, came out, hurriedly, from his hiding-place.

"Now you've got somethin' to eat without our lyin' about it, so pitch in before aunt Dorcas comes back."

Dan did not need a second invitation, and an expression of deepest regret came over Plums's face, as he watched the cakes disappear with amazing rapidity.

"I guess I can stand it, now, till night," the detective said, in a tone of relief, as the meal was brought to a close, because all the food had been eaten.

"Are you countin' on stayin' 'round here?" Joe asked.

"Of course I am. How else would you fellers get out of the scrape, if I didn't?"

"Now, look here, Dan, there's no sense in anything like that. You ain't doin' any good, sneakin' 'round this house, 'cause, if the cops should come, how could you prevent their luggin' us off?"

"There's a good many ways that I might pull you through," Master Fernald replied, with an air of mystery. "If you knew as much about this business as I do, you'd be mighty glad to have me stay, 'specially when it ain't costin' you a cent."

"But I don't like to think of your bein' hungry, when it won't do the least little bit of good. Take my advice, an' go right back to the city."

"If I should do that, it wouldn't be two hours before you'd be in jail."

"We sha'n't go there any sooner if you leave us, an' it ain't jest square to aunt Dorcas."

"You can't give me points on detective business, Joe Potter, an' I've told the fellers in town that I'll look out for you. That's what I'll do, whether you like it or not," and, after assuring himself, by stalking to and fro and gazing in every direction, that there were no enemies in the immediate vicinity, the amateur detective disappeared around the corner of the barn.

"It's too bad for Dan to act the way he's doin'," Joe said, with a long-drawn sigh. "I'm 'fraid, if aunt Dorcas gets a sight of him, we'll have to clear out."

"I don't s'pose it would do any good to ask her to let him bunk in with us, would it?" Plums said, hesitatingly.

"It would need big nerve, an', even if she was willin', he'd scare the hair off her head talkin' 'bout lawyers an' detectives hoverin' 'round."

Then Joe continued his interrupted work, and Plums assisted him by looking on, until the task was completed after which it became necessary to ask for further instructions.

Although aunt Dorcas could not perform the labour herself, she knew how gardening should be done, and under her directions, given during such moments as she could safely leave the kitchen, the ground was prepared in a proper manner by the time dinner had been made ready.

CHAPTER IX.
A FUGITIVE

Plums enjoyed his dinner quite as much as if he had performed his full share of the gardening, and, when the meal was concluded, there came into his mind the thought that aunt Dorcas Milford's home was a most pleasant abiding-place.

Even though he was, so to speak, in temporary exile, he was exceedingly well content, save for the disagreeable fact that Joe had stated positively he should go back to Weehawken on the following day.

It seemed as if the thoughts of both the guests were running in the same channel, for Joe, after gazing a moment at aunt Dorcas's placid face, gave vent to a sigh of regret, and then looked out of the window, abstractedly.

"I s'pose we'd better get that garden planted this afternoon, if you've got the seeds, aunt Dorcas, an' even then we sha'n't be payin' for what we've had," Joe said, after a long pause, while the three yet remained at the table.

"Perhaps it will be as well to wait until to-morrow, and give the newly turned earth a chance to get warm," the little woman said.

"It seems as though we ought to do it to-day, if it would be jest as well for the garden, 'cause we don't count on your keepin' us for ever; an' after we leave here to-morrow it wouldn't be right to come back."

"I did think boys would be a dreadful nuisance around the house," aunt Dorcas began, as if speaking to herself, "but somehow I've felt real contented-like while you've been here, and it's a deal more cheerful with three at the table than to sit down alone."

"It's the first time I was ever in a house like this," Joe added, in a low tone. "It's awful nice, an' fellers what have a reg'lar home must be mighty happy."

"Where did you live in the city?" aunt Dorcas asked, after a pause.

"I knocked 'round, mostly. Twice I've bunked with some other feller in a room what we hired, – of course it wasn't anything like the one up-stairs, but payin' so high for a bed was a little too rich for my blood."

"But you had to sleep somewhere," aunt Dorcas suggested, her eyes opening wider, as she gained an insight into a phase of life which was novel to her.

The interest she displayed invited Joe's confidence, and he told her of the life led by himself and his particular friends in a manner which interested the little woman deeply.

It was not a story related for the purpose of exciting sympathy, but a plain recital of facts, around which was woven no romance to soften the hardships, and there were tears in aunt Dorcas's faded eyes when the boy concluded.

"It seems wicked for me to be living alone in this house, when there are human beings close at hand who haven't a roof to shelter them," the little woman said, softly. "Why don't boys like you go out to the country to work, instead of staying in the city, where you can hardly keep soul and body together?"

"We couldn't do even that, if we turned farmers," Master Plummer replied, quickly. "Nobody'd hire us."

"Why not?"

"I know of a feller what tried to get a job on a farm, an' he hung 'round the markets, askin' every man he met, but all of 'em told him city boys was no good, – that it would take too long to break 'em in."

"But what's to prevent your getting a chance to work in a store, where you could earn enough to pay your board?"

"I had a notion last year that I'd try that kind of work," Plums said, slowly, "an' looked about a good bit for a job; but the fellers what have got homes an' good clothes pick up them snaps, as I soon found out. It seems like when you get into the business of sellin' papers, or shinin', you can't do anything else."

"Selling papers, or what?" aunt Dorcas asked, with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Shinin'; that's blackin' boots, you know. Here's Joe, he scraped together seven dollars an' eighty-three cents, an' said to hisself that he'd be a howlin' swell, so what does he do but start a fruit-stand down on West Street, hire a clerk, an' go into the business in style. It didn't take him more'n two months to bust up, an' now he ain't got enough even to start in on sellin' papers, 'cause he spent it all on the princess."

"Who is the princess?" aunt Dorcas asked, with animation.

"She's a kid what he picked up on the street."

"Oh!" and the little woman looked relieved. "I thought, last night, when he spoke of the princess, that it was a child he meant."

"Why, didn't I tell you it was?"

"You said she was a kid."

"So she is, an' ain't that a child, or the next thing to it, – a girl?"

"Joseph, what does he mean? Who is the princess?"

"She's a little girl, aunt Dorcas, who's lost her folks, an' I found her in the street. She hadn't anywhere to go, so I had to take care of her, 'cause a bit of a thing like her couldn't stay outdoors all night, same's a boy."

"And, even though having just failed in business, you took upon yourself the care of a child?"

"I couldn't do anything else, aunt Dorcas. There she was, an' somebody had to do it."

"You're a dear, good boy," and, leaning across the table, aunt Dorcas patted one of Joe's hands, almost affectionately. "Where is the little creature now?"

"We hired an old German woman down in Weehawken to take care of her for a week, an' paid a dollar. You see the fellers lent us some cash when we came away."

"But what made you leave, Joseph, if you were convinced it would be impossible to earn any money in the country?"

"You see, we had to, when – "

Joe ceased speaking very suddenly. He could not bring himself to explain to aunt Dorcas exactly why they had left New York, fearing lest she would not believe him when he declared he was innocent of having committed any crime, and it seemed to him it would be worse than any ordinary lie to tell this kindly little woman that which was not strictly true.

He hesitated, made several vain attempts at an explanation, and finally said, his cheeks reddening with shame:

"I'd rather not tell you about that part of it, aunt Dorcas; but I didn't do anything that wasn't jest straight, though all of 'em believe I did."

The little woman thought she understood something of the situation, and, once more caressing Joe's hand, said, kindly:

"I don't believe a boy who would try to help a child when he was in want himself could do anything very wicked, Joseph. Sit right here while I do the dishes, for that will give me a chance to think."

Then aunt Dorcas set about her household duties, while the boys remained at the table, Plums sitting in such a position that he could gaze through the window which overlooked the lane.

After five minutes or more had passed, during which time the silence had been broken only by the rattling of dishes, aunt Dorcas asked, abruptly:

"If you paid the child's board for a week, why do you feel that you must go there to-morrow?"

"Because I promised Mis' Weber I'd come, an', besides, I want to make certain the princess is all right."

Aunt Dorcas gave her undivided attention to the dishes once more, and Joe was looking straight before him, but without seeing anything, for his thoughts were of the advertisements which had made him a wanderer, when he became aware of the singular gestures in which Master Plummer was indulging.

It was some time before Joe understood that his comrade wanted him to look out of the window, and when he did realise this fact sufficiently to do as Plums wished, he saw that which disturbed him not a little.

Dan was making his way up the lane from the road in the same ridiculous fashion which he appeared to think necessary a detective should employ, and Joe was positive aunt Dorcas would be seriously alarmed, if she saw Master Fernald indulging in such antics.

"Go out, Plums, an' make that bloomin' idjut keep away," he whispered to his comrade. "I won't have him dancin' 'round here in that style, an' if he does very much more of it I'll tell aunt Dorcas the whole story. I'd rather be arrested ten times over than have her scared 'most to death."

It was evident this was not a mission which pleased Master Plummer, for he feared to incur the anger of one who professed to be so powerful, and he asked, tremulously:

"S'posin' he says the same thing he did this forenoon?"

"Tell him to go back to the city, or I'll make it my business to send a reg'lar detective here to fix things up."

"If he gets mad, Joe, there's no knowin' what he might do."

"He sha'n't stay 'round here, an' that settles it; tell him I said so, an' I mean it."

Plums stole softly out of the kitchen, but aunt Dorcas was so intent on her thoughts that he might have made very much noise without attracting her attention.

Looking through the window, Joe could see Plums as he performed his mission, and, judging from the gestures in which the amateur detective indulged, it was quite evident he was displeased at receiving such a command.

After conversing together a short time, the two climbed over the fence, and disappeared in the orchard, going, as Joe believed, towards the barn.

The threat had failed of immediate effect, and there came into Joe's mind the thought that it was necessary he go out to make it more emphatic, when aunt Dorcas, having finished the work in hand, seated herself by the boy's side as if for a chat.

"Where is George?" she asked, and Joe looked about him in astonishment, not recognising the name for an instant. Then, finally understanding to whom she referred, he explained that Plums had gone out for a few moments, and proposed to summon him.

"There is no need of that, for it is with you I want to talk. I've been thinking about that little child, Joseph, and wondering what you could do with her. You said the German woman had promised to keep her only a week."

"Yes, aunt Dorcas, and I was in hopes by that time I could go back to New York."

"What will you do to-morrow, after you have seen her?"

"Jest hang 'round, I s'pose. I've got to go, 'cause I promised, an' then, ag'in, it ain't right to leave the princess alone so long. I don't know but what she's frettin'."

"How old is she, Joseph?"

"Not more'n six or seven years; but she can't talk."

"Then she must be much younger than you think."

"Well, perhaps she ain't more'n a year old; I don't know much about kids, anyhow."

"It seems as if my duty was plain in this case," aunt Dorcas said, solemnly. "The little property I've got is enough to take care of me, with economy; but surely a child wouldn't be very much expense, an' if you'd do what you could towards helpin', I believe I'd say that she might be brought here. It's a great responsibility; but if a woman like me turns a deaf ear to such a story as you have told, it is almost a crime. There's that poor child without father, or mother, or home, and I have no right to fold my hands in idleness."

Joe was about to explain that he hoped soon to find the princess's parents, for aunt Dorcas's words sounded much as if she believed the child to be an orphan; but, before he could speak, the little woman said, emphatically:

"You shall bring her here, Joseph, and I rely upon you to help me take care of her."

"Of course I'll promise that, aunt Dorcas, an' I'll do my best to find a job somewhere near here, so I can come over evenings."

"But I'm depending on your staying here, Joseph."

"Do you mean for me to live in this house till I can go back to New York?" and Joe looked bewildered.

"Certainly; I shouldn't think of trying to take care of a child and do my housework at the same time, even though there isn't a great deal to be done. You see I'm not accustomed to children, an' wouldn't be as handy as some other people."

"But, aunt Dorcas, you can't afford to have two big chumps like Plums an' me livin' on you."

"We'll do all that lies in our power. If you and George are industrious, you can do considerable gardening, and the vegetables you raise will go a long ways towards our living."

"You're awful good, aunt Dorcas, – you're the best woman I ever saw, an' I wouldn't think of hangin' 'round here if I couldn't do somethin' more'n run that little bit of a garden. Things will get straightened out, after a spell, an' then I can go back to town, where I'm certain of earnin' money."

Again Joe was on the point of explaining that it was his duty to make search for the princess's parents at the earliest possible moment, but aunt Dorcas, fancying she understood the entire matter thoroughly, checked him by saying:

"We won't talk any more about it now, Joseph. Wait until the experiment has been tried, and then we shall know better how to make our arrangements. You're going to Weehawken in the morning?"

"That's what I counted on."

"But how can you get the child out here? It is three or four miles, Joseph."

"I'd walk twice that far, an' carry the princess all the way, for the sake of havin' her where I am."

Aunt Dorcas was not satisfied with this arrangement; but she could think of nothing better just then, and appeared determined there should be no further discussion on the subject.

"We'll go into the garden and finish the task there. I don't suppose it is anything more than one of Mr. McArthur's whims to let the upturned ground remain twenty-four hours before putting the seed in; and even if it is necessary, we can't afford to wait, because there won't be much chance for such work after the baby is here."

While she was speaking, the little woman had been putting on her sunbonnet, and Joe was seriously alarmed.

Unquestionably, detective Dan was in the vicinity of the garden, and, not expecting aunt Dorcas to come out, neither he nor Plums would be on the alert.

Joe knew that if Dan was brought face to face with the little woman, without an opportunity of escape, he would boldly declare himself a detective, and this would be sufficient to cause her anxiety, if not alarm, for she could hardly be expected to know that he was a detective only in his own mind.