And so smart was he that his gestures were very understandable indeed, when he wished to give information about the new work that he loved, and about the fall flowers and bulbs which were being taken up for storage in the conservatory against the cold of winter.
It seemed strange—indeed, it made Ruth suspicious—that Roberto could convey his meaning so easily by gesture when the subject was not one regarding the missing Gypsies!
Again and again the thought came to the girl that the Gypsy boy was actually "playing possum." Knowing, perhaps, that he would be questioned about his grandmother, and not wishing to give information about her or her tribe, he had decided to become dumb.
Yet, if this was so, how wonderfully well he did it! Even the doctor at the hospital could not understand the case.
Roberto's condition certainly was puzzling. And Ruth believed that he held the clew to the whereabouts of Queen Zelaya and the pearl necklace. That being the case, he stood between Ruth and that great reward which the girl of the Red Mill was so anxious to win.
CHAPTER XXIII
NETTIE PARSONS' FEAST
Incidentally there was as much fun going on at Briarwood Hall as usual this fall, but Ruth Fielding did not entirely enjoy any of the frolics in which she necessarily had a part.