“I’ll look this man Elfhedge up in a day or two if you like,” Mr. Nichols promised. “It sounds like a fictitious name to me but of course the letter may be bona fide.”
Mrs. Gallup interrupted the discussion to announce that dinner was ready. Immediately after the meal had been served, Mr. Nichols left for his office and Penny saw him no more that evening. He left the house before she was up the next morning so she had no opportunity to explain that she was driving Rosanna Winters to Brookport that day.
At ten o’clock she rang the doorbell of the rooming house on Sixty-fifth Street. Rosanna already was waiting.
“I thought you might have changed your mind about wishing to make the trip,” she declared, following Penny to the car.
“No, I’m more curious than ever to talk with your lawyer. It will be wonderful, Rosanna, if the estate turns out to be a valuable one.”
Rosanna smiled a trifle ruefully. “Yes, I will have plenty of use for the money. I can’t believe yet that Uncle Jacob left everything to me.”
Penny refrained from saying anything which might disturb Rosanna. Actually, she had not the slightest reason for doubting that the girl had come into an inheritance, save that the letter from Mr. Elfhedge did not have a genuine tone. It occurred to her that a scheme might be under way to induce the orphan to part with her own savings.
During the ride to Brookport, Rosanna mentioned a few of the hard experiences she had undergone in the past year. First her mother had died, then an aunt with whom she made her home, likewise had been taken from her. She found work of a sort in a grocery store, but long hours and trying conditions had worn her down. She had taken sick. Hospital bills claimed the greater part of the money which her mother had left her. She could not secure her old job back, nor could she find a new one. In desperation she had decided to come to Belton City, hoping that she might secure a position there.
“You can imagine that I was pretty well discouraged when the letter arrived from Mr. Elfhedge,” Rosanna ended. “You don’t know what a fright you gave me by suggesting that it might be a hoax.”
“I’m sorry if I caused you worry. I had no reason for thinking that someone wrote the letter for a joke.”