CAUGHT
It was lucky for Bess that Linda's father happened in at that moment, for Linda, in her rage at thus being found out, looked as though she would like to tear her enemy limb from limb.
As for Cora, she gave one horrified look at Bess, burst into tears, and fled from the room.
Mr. Riggs, who was not at all the pompous, conceited man that the girls at Lakeview Hall had come to think him, looked after Cora for a moment in surprise, then turned smilingly back to the two girls and asked Linda to introduce him to her friend.
For one electric moment it looked as though Linda were about to refuse. Then what little common sense she had coming to her rescue, she sullenly did as she was bid and Mr. Riggs began to ask a few casual questions of Bess about how she liked Florida, if she had been there before, and other questions, which Bess answered mechanically. Her eyes were upon Linda as she stood at a window with her back to the room, her fingers beating a nervous tattoo on the windowsill.
At last Bess managed to break away and was starting toward the door when she was surprised to find that Linda was following her.
The girl stopped her at the door, and Bess thought she had never seen any one as subdued and beaten as Linda looked at that moment.
"Please, Bess," she begged, lowering her voice so that her father would not hear, "don't tell on me! No one at Lakeview Hall knows that I—I did that. And no one will unless you tell them. Please, Bess!"
"N-no, I won't tell," said Bess hesitantly. "If was a horrible thing for you to do, Linda, and Dr. Beulah ought to know. But I—I'm not a tattle-tale."
Then she fled down the hall, down the stairs, and into her room again.
She told the story to the girls and Walter that night, and they listened in amazement.
"Well!" said Grace. "And to think that Cora would be the one to give Linda away."
"I don't know about promising not to tell Doctor Beulah," said Nan thoughtfully. "It seems to me she ought to know——"
"Well, you tell her then," suggested Rhoda.
"Oh, I couldn't!" Nan flashed back indignantly, and Rhoda laughed at her.
"You see!" she said.
"Well," sighed Grace, "it's of no use to worry about it now, anyway. We can't do a thing till we get back to Lakeview Hall."
When Mr. Mason came in that night they questioned him eagerly, but he had no real news to tell them. He had been able to prove nothing definite against Jacob Pacomb, and as yet had found no trace of the men who had so frightened Nan.
And Nan, away down in her heart, was still frightened, there could be no doubt of that. The man had threatened her, had given her forty-eight hours to turn over the papers, and more than twenty-four hours of that time had already passed! If they did not succeed in tracing the scoundrels and handing them over to justice in the next twenty-four hours, what might not happen!
Both Rhoda and Grace shared her uneasiness, and lazy Bess grumbled mightily at the loss of sleep consequent upon it. There is no doubt but what the girls would have rested a great deal easier that night had they known that a house detective, well paid for his services, kept watch outside Nan's door till dawn crept in at the windows.
"I wish both of the men were in Greenland," grumbled Bess.
"Yes, and without anything to eat or drink and freezing to death," added Rhoda.
"I can't understand why the authorities can't catch them," put in Grace. "They have a very good description of them."
"Maybe they have left Florida," said Nan.
"Oh, if only they have," cried Bess. "But I am afraid there is no such luck."
It was a weary-eyed quartette of girls that made its way down to the dining-room that morning, and breakfast was eaten in gloomy silence.
Walter eyed the girls with a mixture of humor and sympathy, and once he turned to his father with a grin.
"I say, Dad," he chuckled, "if something isn't done to-day about this business, I'm afraid the girls will be dead by night. They look half gone already."
After breakfast they wandered into the lobby of the hotel to see if there was any mail for them. Nan had not heard from Papa Sherwood or Momsey for almost a week, and she was beginning to feel neglected indeed. If only she could have them with her now, to advise and help her in this predicament!
"Here's a letter for you, Nan," Grace interrupted her rather unhappy thoughts. "And here's another, with a Lakeview postmark. Must be from one of the girls at school. One for you, too, Rhoda. Looks like Procrastination's handwriting."
Just then Bess made a funny little sound, half gasp and half exclamation, and they turned to her. Bess's face was white and her hand shook as she grasped Nan's arm.
"Look at those men!" she whispered, and though it was only a whisper it went through Nan like a knife. "Over there—crossing the lobby! Nan! Oh, what are you doing? Don't, Nan, he may shoot you! Nan!"
But Nan was already running across the lobby, unmindful of staring eyes, all her fear turned to anger at these men who dared appear in public after the cowardly attack they had made upon her. She darted in front of them and blocked their way, her eyes blazing and her body tense.
The short, fat man started at sight of her and drew back. But black rage darkened his companion's face and he made a gesture as though to push Nan out of the way. He might have done it, too, and made his escape easily, for the curious people who had gathered in the lobby seemed paralyzed with amazement, had not Rhoda suddenly appeared at her chum's side, a little flame of white-hot indignation.
"Don't dare touch her!" she cried fiercely. "You've done enough—you—you——"
"Here, here, what's this?" asked an authoritative voice, and a big burly man, an assistant manager of the hotel, pushed his way through the gathering crowd.
"These girls are crazy," cried the tall man, turning furiously upon the newcomer, while his fat companion took out an immense silk handkerchief and nervously wiped his forehead. "If you don't get them out of the way and lock them up, I'll sue your place——"
"Officer, arrest those men!"
Clear and startling, the voice rang out above the confusion, and the two men, without waiting to see who their new enemy was, made a dash for the open door, which was still only defended by Nan and Rhoda.
But the hotel man was quicker than they. He sprang before them and pushed them back into the crowd, which opened to admit them and closed around them again, making escape utterly impossible.
For a moment, Nan and Rhoda, left outside of the circle around the men, could see nothing of what happened. But presently Mr. Mason—it was he who, coming suddenly upon the scene in the lobby, had demanded the arrest of the men—pushed his way through the crowd and beckoned to Nan. She went with him, and Rhoda followed close behind. Grace and Bess had already pushed their way into the crowd.
The house detective, who had been in consultation with Mr. Mason when the thing happened, had taken the two men into custody. The tall, thin scoundrel, who had appeared in Nan's dreams for many restless nights, stood there sullenly, glowering around fiercely at the curious faces while his companion used his handkerchief more vehemently and seemed to be growing more nervous with every minute that passed.
"Can you swear that these are the men who attacked you in an orange grove near here yesterday and demanded of you certain papers which were not in your possession?" the detective gravely asked of Nan.
"Yes, sir," answered the girl eagerly. Walter had slipped up beside her and was holding her hand in a comforting grip, but she did not know it.
"Can you also testify that they have attempted to obtain possession of these papers at various other occasions during the last two or three weeks?" the man went on, and this time Nan only nodded.
"Well," said the detective, turning grimly to his prisoners, while the crowd, not having the slightest idea what the commotion was about, but with a keen love of the dramatic, edged closer, "I reckon the little lady's testimony is sufficient to send you two up for quite a little vacation."
"Wait a minute, officer," whined the fat man, in spite of his companion's attempt to stop him. "You want Jacob Pacomb. He's the man who got us into this mess."
"So you've turned stool pigeon, too, as well as crook?" drawled the detective, while Nan and Mr. Mason exchanged a triumphant look. "Yes, I reckon we do want Jacob Pacomb, too. We've been wanting him for a long while. But since this is the first chance we've had to get the goods on him, we won't waste any time doing it. Will one of you gentlemen call up the police station?"
Mr. Mason nodded, and the crowd opened to make way for him.
But at the mention of the police station, the fat man broke down completely and, evidently nursing some false hope that by telling all he knew he might get off easy himself, he babbled unceasingly until the police patrol drew up before the door. His companion stood off by himself, with apparently no interest whatever in the proceedings.
"Fine," said the detective, rising and patting the short man on the back as two policemen made their way into the lobby and saluted him. "Now you can tell the rest of your story to the judge. Will you come with us, sir?" he asked, turning to Mr. Mason as the policeman took the men in charge. "We may need your testimony to round up Jacob Pacomb."
Mr. Mason nodded, but paused for a moment on his way to the door to speak to Nan.
"Everything's fine," he said, beaming down upon her. "We'll get this Pacomb where we want him, and then your troubles—and Mrs. Bragley's—will be over, Nan. Tell you all about it when I get back."
Nan smiled back at him, and then as the crowd, its curiosity satisfied, began to disperse, she sank down into one of the comfortable chairs and looked weakly up at her excited chums. Then for the first time she noticed Walter—and the fact that he was holding her hand.
"Where did you get it?" she asked.
"What?"
"My hand?"
Walter chuckled and answered slyly:
"I took it when you weren't looking."
She smiled at him weakly—but it was rather a satisfying smile.