“Oh, dear!” sighed Jane. “We’ve got too many clues already.”
A voice sounded from the house, making the girls pause for a moment in silence.
“Elsie! Oh, Elsie!”
“It’s Hannah. I’ll have to go in a minute,” said the girl, carefully getting to her feet, not forgetting her new dress. “But first I must tell you about this conversation, because it’s important. It seems Corinne was invited to a very swell dance by one of those rich Mason boys, and she came over to ask Aunt Mattie for a new dress. Aunt Mattie laughed at her—that nasty cackle that she has. And then she said, ‘Certainly I’ll give you a dress, Corinne. Go up to my closet and pick out anything you want. You’ll find some old party dresses there!’
“Well, I could see that Corinne was furious, but she got up and went upstairs. And she did pick out an old lace gown—I thought maybe she was going to make it over. Perhaps she was just using it to hide the money, if she did steal it.... Anyhow, she and her mother went home in a few minutes, carrying the dress with them.”
Mary Louise closed her notebook in confusion. “You better run along now, Elsie, or you’ll get punished,” she advised.
“All right, I will,” agreed the younger girl as she gathered up her things. “You know all the suspects now.”
“All but the servants,” replied Mary Louise. “And if I can, I’m going to interview Hannah immediately.”
CHAPTER IV
Interviewing Hannah
Keeping under cover of the cedar trees, Mary Louise and Jane followed Elsie Grant, at a discreet distance, to the back of the house. Unlike the front entrance, there was a screen at the kitchen door, so the girls could hear Hannah’s exclamation at the sight of the transformation in Elsie’s appearance.