“I hope the ax won’t drop until after Mary Louise is married and off on her wedding trip,” sighed Josie. “Poor Mary Louise is always getting mixed up in other persons’ villainies.”
“Yes, if we could only warn her of the perfidy of this new friend. Don’t you think we might?” asked the chief, who was as fond of Mary Louise as though she had been his own daughter.
“Never! In the first place, she wouldn’t believe any tales about her dear Hortense, and in the second, she would queer our game by trying to get her off if she was convinced of her being a criminal. Mary Louise is not of the stern stuff that you and I are made of, Chief.”
“Well, I only hope they won’t be trying any of their monkey tricks at her wedding,” laughed the man. “But they would hardly do that. Anyhow, we must be prepared and, of course, our object is to catch them redhanded. I may have to send to New York for assistance, but I promise you that no matter what help I get, you are the boss of this job.”
“I wish I had been born triplets,” sighed Josie. “I’d like to run on to New York and have a personal interview with this friend of Billy McGraw’s named Thomas who had his stuff all lifted—as it is, I think you had better put some man on the job who can fix it up with him to be in Dorfield in the next few days, or immediately after the wedding, so he can identify his goods. I have an idea most of his things are right here in the Markle apartment. Of course, he must not let on to McGraw that he is coming or he will queer the whole thing by mentioning to Hortense Markle that he is expecting his friend and she will see to it that all traces are removed. She is slick as slick can be and has that young fellow guessing, not that he is in love with her, but just fascinated by her big eyes and her confiding girlish manner. My opinion is that she is madly in love with that scamp of a husband but she leads these rich young men on just to fleece them.”
“Yes, I know the type,” put in the chief.
The young girl and the old man were agreed that they would try to hold off until after their dear Mary Louise was married and started on her wedding trip, then they would close in around the Markles and their confederates and have the matter all settled before Danny and his bride should return from their honeymoon.
“Nothing must come up to cloud the girl’s happiness,” said Josie, and the chief said: “Amen!”