“I see! He thought you said you would call the guard. Guess he must have thought you had a squad of soldiers on hand. Your use of the word ‘guardian’ mixed him up. There is something suspicious in this or he wouldn’t be so ready to run when he thought you were going to call in the authorities. That’s it—Hop Wong is afraid of the law.”
And so it seemed. The more they thought about it and talked it over, the more Luke’s explanation seemed to fit the conduct of the laundryman.
“Well, no use staying out here any longer,” said Ruth, with a little shiver, for the night dew was chilling. “Let’s go in, or Mrs. Mac will think we’ve been carried off by some ‘lang-nebbied thing.’”
They went into the house. Neale and Luke offered to remain all night, but it was not considered necessary with Hal and Uncle Rufus at hand, to say nothing of the strong-armed Linda.
They talked matters over a little longer, all the while growing more and more suspicious of Hop Wong’s conduct, and when Luke and Neale departed it was with the intention of taking serious steps the next day to get at the bottom of the mystery.
CHAPTER XV
TESS AND DOT INVESTIGATE
Mr. Howbridge chuckled in silent amusement when Ruth and Agnes paid him a visit at his office the next day and told what had happened.
“What do you think of it?” asked Ruth.
“Not much, my dear. If you want my private and unofficial opinion, I’ll say I think very little of it.”
“But, Guardy,” broke in Agnes, “perhaps we’d better have your official opinion.”