“I am to begin tomorrow to pack up for the summer,” went on Mrs. Wright, rather pleased that this young woman was so attentive. “You see, we are to go to the lake just as soon as Mary Louise’s wedding is over. That is quite soon now. To-morrow I send the servants out to the lake house to get it ready for us. It makes it rather inconvenient for us, but it is only for a few days and then it is nice when we get there to have everything in such perfect order.”
“All of you will go to the wedding?” asked Hortense.
“Oh, yes, Mary Louise has invited the entire family. It was no less than she could do since Elizabeth is one of the bridesmaids. Mr. Wright is not inclined to accept invitations, but we have persuaded him to go to this wedding, since it is really the event of the year. Of course, the girls and I would not miss it for anything.”
Elizabeth was glad when the evening was over. It embarrassed her to see the way in which her mother and sisters made up to Billy McGraw and the warmer their manners became the colder grew her own towards that young man, who could not understand what he had done to merit her disapproval. The more distant she became the closer he tried to come. He forgot to look at the beautiful Mrs. Markle in his endeavor to make Elizabeth smile on him.
CHAPTER XVII
ANOTHER VISIT TO THE CHIEF
Felix Markle was at the very top of his profession. A man of rare culture and natural refinement and of indomitable will and courage, he might have made a name for himself in any walk of life he had chosen to follow. It was a pity that so much that was fine in him should have gone to make a master thief instead of the noble leader he might have been.
The possession of Detective O’Gorman’s notebook was of the greatest importance to him. The deciphering of it would tell exactly how much the secret service knew concerning him and his accomplices. How much was known concerning his aliases and if his wife was suspected or had been at any time.
He was determined to protect her at any cost, but everything was going so well he could see no reason to doubt that they could go on with their clever schemes indefinitely. Every now and then one of the supposed owners of the elegantly furnished apartments determined to have a sale and then large sums would be realized on the stolen treasures. The firm of Simpkins & Markle would handle the sale, taking out their commission and Markle would have the part of seeing that the fictitious owners got their share of the profits. All transactions appeared on the books of the real estate firm and any expert examiner of those books would have pronounced everything to be in perfect form and order.
Josie O’Gorman had hoped to keep up with the case unaided by mere man, but things were getting too much for her. She began to lose sleep going over and over how best she could trap the persons of whose dishonesty she was assured. Her idea was not to spring the trap too soon for fear she might lose some of the principal offenders. After many sleepless nights, she determined to take Chief Charley Lonsdale into her confidence and ask for his support.