“My dear,” he said, gently, “you have been the means of discovering one of the most wicked plots than any man has ever conceived.”
“What is it?” she asked, again.
“I can’t tell you all until I have read these papers carefully. They are ample proof, however, that Jordan is one of the greatest scoundrels on earth! Why he should have placed these papers here, instead of destroying them, I cannot understand.”
“Perhaps God made him do it,” said the girl, in an awed voice.
He leaned over and kissed her.
“Surely the hand of God is visible in all this, my darling,” he replied, gravely. “And He doubtless led us to this grove today.”
He placed the package carefully in an inner pocket of his coat, which he afterward buttoned carefully. Then, after a moment’s thought, he replaced the bark, putting the screws back in place. This task being finished, he proceeded to drag away the root upon which he had stood.
Even a careful observer could not now have known the bark had ever been disturbed, and satisfied that the secret was safe he led Annabel from the grove and across to a lane that would bring them close to their own home.
“You must keep all this mystery to yourself, my darling,” he enjoined her; “for a time, at least, until we have planned how best to act.”
“Very well, papa,” returned the girl, seriously. She knew well that something important had been unearthed, and although curious, as any girl might well be, to unravel the enigma, she was wise enough not to urge her father to confide in her until he chose to do so.