“Well, if I didn’t hear Hortense Markle’s voice this night from an upstairs window, I’m a Dutchman. That is one reason I wanted your excellent Slater to let me come by myself to report things and have him stay and watch the premises but he was so pig-headed he would come along.”
“Slater was doing his duty as he saw it,” rumbled the chief. “But now we’d best get busy. I tell you it would be a big feather in the cap of the police force of Dorfield if they got the Markles, man and woman, and also unearthed the Hathaway fortune the same night.”
Danny laughed. “Well, Chief, you can catch the Markles, but I must say that the treasure wasn’t buried and it simply gave itself away. I don’t think we can give anybody credit for it. I certainly don’t want to claim credit. I simply was going to bunk in the old car for the rest of the night and the twenty-dollar gold pieces just rolled out over my feet. We’d better go carry them off, however, or the Markles will do it for us, since you won’t let me go wake up my wife yet. You haven’t got a bit of hot dog about you, have you? I’m starving.”
CHAPTER XXI
FORTUNE SMILES AND FROWNS
The rest in bed had done Mary Louise good. She felt quite herself again and was now able to get up and be about. The shop had remained closed for several days, days that all of the girls had enjoyed. It seemed the minute the public found out it was impossible to enter the Higgledy Piggledy Shop, enter it must.
Mary Louise had said nothing more about her telephone call from the spirit world. She was sure she had been dreaming and, although the doctor and Josie gave her every opportunity to bring up the subject if she felt so inclined, she hesitated to do it.
“They will think I am foolish,” she said to herself. A strange unreasonable hope began to take possession of her, however. She could not explain it, but there it was.
Very early in the morning, the same morning that had found Danny telling his story to Chief Charley Lonsdale, the girls of the Higgledy Piggledy were stirring. Josie was dressed and starting to cook breakfast, and Mary Louise was just pinning into place her white organdie collar and settling her cuffs when there was a double knock on the door.
“It must be a telegram or something—too early for customers. Go to the door like a duck, Mary Louise. The bacon is sure to burn if I leave it a minute.”