“You weren’t foolish,” said Billie. “I think you were awfully brave. I understand everything now.”
“But I don’t—not quite,” put in Connie’s mother, her pretty forehead puckered thoughtfully. “Of course you didn’t kidnap the children,” turning to Miss Arbuckle, “but it is equally certain that somebody must have done it.”
“Oh, but don’t you see?” Connie broke in eagerly. “The kidnappers, whoever they were, must have gone down on the ship out there on the shoal.”
“And they bound the children on that funny raft and set them adrift, probably thinking they would be able to get away themselves,” added Vi eagerly.
“And then the ship went down before they could follow,” said Billie, adding, as she turned earnestly to the teacher: “Oh, Miss Arbuckle, it was awful—that poor ship out there going down with all the people on board!”
“Yes, it must have been horrible. I read about it in the papers,” nodded Miss Arbuckle soberly. Then a great light broke over her face as she looked down at the three children who were still not much more than babies. “But some good comes of almost everything. I have my precious children now, and I can take them back to their family and prove my innocence—and Hugo’s. Oh I’m so happy—I’m so happy!”
“But won’t you come back to Three Towers any more?” asked Laura, her face so long that Miss Arbuckle laughed delightedly.
“Yes, my dear,” she said, a joyful light in her eyes that made her quite a different person. “Hugo will probably go back to his old position, but I—oh, I could not desert Three Towers now after all you girls have done for me.”
Then Connie’s mother had her way and whisked joyful Miss Arbuckle away upstairs to “take off her hat” while the children trailed after, leaving the girls alone.
Laura and Connie and Vi fairly hugged each other over the marvelous clearing up of their mystery, but Billie turned away and looked out of the window, while sudden tears stung her eyes.