Ten minutes later the tempting meal arrived. It was fun, she thought, as she poured the coffee from the silver pot, to play being a wealthy lady, but it would be more enjoyable if Jane were with her.... However, she had no time now to think of Jane or of her friends in Riverside; she must concentrate all her mental powers upon the mystery she was trying to solve.
These were the hypotheses she meant to build her case upon:
1. Pauline Brooks and Mary Green were two members of a secret band of hotel robbers, composed probably of women and girls.
2. Pauline’s “aunt,” as she called her, must be the leader, since she went from hotel to hotel.
3. The two transient guests who had undoubtedly stolen the silverware and the vase from Stoddard House were members of the same gang.
4. Pauline’s “aunt” had a country place where she probably hid the stolen articles until they could be disposed of.
Now, with these facts in mind, Mary Louise had several poignant questions to answer:
1. Was this country place at Center Square, and was that woman whom Mary Louise had seen in the dark Pauline’s aunt?
2. Was Margaret Detweiler connected with this gang?
Mary Louise remembered that Mary Green had admitted that she knew Margaret and that Pauline had instantly contradicted her.