“You mean, he thinks he has. He hasn’t seen ours yet.”
“Well, let’s just say that he finds out this afternoon that he has. And let’s say these candlesticks have come down through his family the way he claims.”
“Get to the point, will you?” Ronnie was impatient.
“All right. My question’s this: Doesn’t that mean that Mr. Caldwell owns half this land?”
Chapter 10
While Ronnie climbed the bluff and made his way through the orchard on his way home to lunch, he did a great deal of thinking about the question that Bill had raised. He knew why his friend had asked it. If the candlesticks had come down through the Caldwell family—probably on his mother’s side—then it would be pretty safe to assume that they were the pair Jacob Williams had made for his bride. And if they were, then Mr. Caldwell and his brother were direct descendants of Williams, and would have a claim against the property.
But did Mr. Caldwell know about this? If he didn’t know now, would he put two and two together and come up with an answer? That depended upon how much he knew about the history of the candlesticks, Ronnie decided. And from the way Caldwell had talked earlier that afternoon, the boy doubted very much that he was aware of how the candlesticks had come into his family.
Then probably he wouldn’t know anything about the hidden glassware or the money either, which would cross him off the list of suspects for the mysterious prowler—unless, of course, the prowler wasn’t hunting for the money and glassware.
By the time Ronnie reached the house he had decided one thing only: it was all very, very confusing!
Mrs. Butler served Ronnie, Phil, and the two men their lunch at the kitchen table. Now that the hay was in the barn—Ronnie and Phil had spent the previous day helping their father load the truck in the field and hoist the hay to the loft—Mr. Rorth had turned his attention to the orchard. The young fruit was ready for spraying. “The weather’s going to hold for a few more days, I think,” Ronnie’s father told the others, “so I think I’ll mix a batch of spray this afternoon. Phil, you want to help me?”