“If we ever do,” voiced Sim.
“Oh, don’t be Mrs. Gloom!” exclaimed Arden. “Of course we’ll find him.”
“And find out why he painted such a lovely picture of you,” said Terry.
“Silly!” murmured Arden as she blushed beneath her tan. But it was obvious that she was as curious as were her chums about the mysterious portrait.
“Well, I guess we’ve found out all we can here, which is about less than nothing with a hole in the middle,” said the chief, as he came back from a walk about the place. “None of the Claytons are here. Not that there’s many in this branch of the family—jest Melissa and her dad. But they’re gone.”
Suddenly Arden had a thought. She expressed it to Sim and Terry while the chief was looking into a rain-water barrel, as if he might find the missing Dimitri there. Arden said:
“I think we ought to tell him about the policewoman.”
“Emma Tash,” murmured Sim.
“Yes,” said Terry. “I think we had.”
“Mr. Reilly,” began Arden, after receiving this confirmation, “we have something to tell you.”