“Listen, Ed,” she said, coyly taking his hand, “have you thought that we’ve got to be married before this suit comes into court, if you don’t want to appear in it? If I sue for damages, I’ve got to be the child’s real aunt.”
The man laughed.
“You win, Elsie! O.K. with me. You get those pictures by Sunday, and the kid too, and I’ll get the license. We’ll get married Monday morning.”
Mrs. Fishberry stood up, satisfied. She had won everything she wanted. The plan was simple; she would go out in the country to that old house on the Fox River on Saturday, and get her pictures and records. On Sunday she would take them to the Carltons’, and demand that the young girl come away with her. She would return to Chicago and put the child into an insane asylum, from which there would be no hope of escape. On Monday, Mrs. Fishberry would be married to Ed Tower, and after the old house was burned to the ground, they would go on their honeymoon. When they returned, they would collect the small fortune from the Trust Company and proceed to sue Miss Linda Carlton for the sum of fifty thousand dollars!
She did not see a single flaw in the plan, for if the young girl was in an asylum, there would be no one to protest.
Chapter IX
The Take-Off
“I think Mr. Clavering is too optimistic,” remarked Miss Carlton at the breakfast table Saturday morning. “It doesn’t seem possible to me that all seven planes will come through that treasure hunt without any mishaps. And if someone is injured, nobody would feel like having a week-end party at that Inn.”
“Nothing’s going to happen, Aunt Emily,” Linda replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She and Amy were both dressed for the flight, and anxious to get off.
Miss Carlton rose from the table and kissed her niece good-by. She and half a dozen of the older folks were going by boat across Lake Michigan, and then on by automobile to Lake Winnebago, where the party was to be held.
“I hope you win, dear,” she said. “And don’t forget to take the lunch Anna has packed for you.”