“That’s what I want to talk to you about. Come away with me, Edina. I have something to tell you that I think will interest you greatly.”
“May we come, too?” The voice was Laura Jordon’s who, with Vi, had come up so quietly they had not been observed.
“Of course!” cried Billie eagerly. “I wasn’t sure you’d care to hear what I have to say. But I think you will like it—when you hear it. Come along!”
The four girls walked for some distance into the woods along the lakeshore. Then, making sure they were not observed, Billie recounted for the benefit of her interested audience the story of her adventurous day in town and the identification of the smudged five dollar bill by Dan Larkin.
“You see,” she explained, “that five dollar bill with the ink blot on it was part of my contribution to the Gift Club fund. I remember noticing it at the time and thinking that it was a pity to have to give in such a soiled-looking bill. When I recognized it that day in town I decided to trace it back in the hope of finding a clue to the person who stole the rest of the Gift Club money.”
“Did you?” breathed Vi.
“Did I? Listen! I found that an old peddler by the name of Dan Larkin had given the bill to my storekeeper and when I followed up that lead, who do you suppose I found had given the bill to Dan Larkin? A Mrs. Tatgood!”
“Tatgood!” repeated Laura. “Why, that’s the name of one of the dormitory maids, isn’t it?”
“Maria Tatgood has charge of Edina’s dormitory,” Billie pointed out. “The Mrs. Tatgood mentioned by Dan Larkin must be some relative, her mother perhaps.”
“But, Billie, if you think this Mrs. Tatgood is the thief, shouldn’t we notify the police?”