One of the old crones reached out in the semi-darkness and slapped Sammy across the mouth.
“Shut up!” she commanded harshly. But when she tried to slap the boy again she screamed. It must be confessed that Sammy bit her!
“You lemme alone,” snarled the boy captive. “And don’t you hit those girls. If you do I—I’ll bite the whole lot of you!”
The women jabbered a good deal together in their own tongue; but nobody tried to interfere with Sammy thereafter. He shoved his way into the van until he stood beside Tess and Dot.
“Let’s not cry about it,” he whispered. “That won’t get us anywhere, that is sure. But the very first chance we get—”
No chance for escape however was likely to arise while the Gypsy troop were en route. The children could hear the rumble of the vans behind. Soon Big Jim in his touring car passed this first van and shouted to the driver. Then the procession settled into a steady rate of speed and the three little captives had not the least idea in which direction they were headed nor where they were bound.
Back at the old Corner House affairs were in a terrible state of confusion. Linda had returned from her voyage among the neighbors with absolutely no news of the smaller girls. And Agnes had discovered that the silver bracelet was missing.
“It was Tess’s day for wearing it, but she did not have it on when she went out to play,” the older sister explained. “Do you suppose the house has been robbed, Neale O’Neil?”
Neale had been examining closely the piece of paper that Agnes had found stuck to the plate on which she had fed the beggar girl the day before and also the note Mrs. McCall had received purporting to come from Mr. Howbridge’s butler. Both were written in blue pencil, and by the same hand without any doubt.