Tessie, listening eagerly to Mr. Bill's plans for catching the miscreant who had dared to interrupt the banquet, never heard him. But Granny heard him, and she smiled at him kindly.
"I believe you would, Joe, I believe you would. You're a good friend to little Tessie."
"You bet I am!" Joe cried eagerly. "And I'm going to look after her! I'm not going to have her fooled by any one!" And he looked indignantly at Mr. Kingley.
[XIII]
Although Mr. Kingley posted a notice where every one could see it, to the effect that the man who had lost a black string tie at the banquet could obtain the same by calling at the office and explaining how it came to be in Ka-kee-ta's fist, no one appeared to claim the silk. Indeed, it was not long before Mr. Kingley and a majority of the guests thought that Tessie must have imagined that some one had tried to choke her, in an attempt to steal the Tear of God.
"She was excited!" they said indulgently. "And no wonder! But it is ridiculous to think that any one would try to steal the royal jewel, when the queen was surrounded by friends and with her bodyguard and his ax behind her."
"You can't tell friend from foe in the dark, and when you are with friends you are not looking for enemies," Joe Cary told them bluntly. He was perhaps the only one who believed that Tessie was telling the truth, when she said that when the lights went out a strong arm had caught her and pulled her from the table, and then Ka-kee-ta had snatched her and thrust her behind him.
"He can see in the dark!" she insisted with a shiver. "Just like a cat!"