Perhaps, too, the fact that the other girls of Central High expected something brilliant in the way of detective work from Mother Wit spurred the jeweler's daughter to attempt to find the lost shell.
Instead, she attempted to make the guilty person return the new boat in time for the boat race. And to do this she tried a scheme that might have been fruitless had the culprit not been an amateur in deceit and wrongdoing. No real thief would have fallen into Laura Belding's trap.
She caused to be printed and posted upon the bulletin boards all over the Hill section of Centerport a quarter-sheet handbill which read in part that the person having caused the disappearance of the new eight-oared shell belonging to the Girls' Branch Athletic League of Central High was known, and that person would be publicly exposed if the shell was not returned, or the place of its hiding revealed, in season for the races. And she signed the bill with Professor Dimp's name, he having agreed to lend it for the occasion.
This was not many hours before the dawning of the day of the races; but Laura saw to it that the way to and from school for the person suspected was fairly plastered with those notices! Printed in their black type, they could not fail to be seen by the right eyes.
"What do you expect will come of that?" demanded Chet, rather inclined to scoff at his sister's plan.
"I hope it will cause a change of heart on the part of the person guilty of the outrage," declared Laura, laughing.
"Huh! If I knew who it was that stole the shell I'd go to 'em with a policeman."
"And then it would be denied, and we'd never get our shell back in time. We don't know where it is," said Laura.
"And you evidently don't know just who is guilty," responded Chet.
"Moral certainty would not hold good in court," his sister returned, slily.