"Joe!"
"Yes. Why don't we suspect him of something? Or Ethel; or old Nora?"
"Do be sensible, Patsy," said Beth, impatiently.
But Louise walked on a way in silence. Presently she remarked:
"I'm glad you mentioned Joe Wegg. The boy gives me an idea that may reconcile many conflicting suspicions."
"In what way, Louise?"
"I'll tell you when I've thought it out," she replied.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE MAJOR IS PUZZLED.
Ethel came frequently to visit the girls at the Wegg farm, and at such times Uncle John treated her with the same affectionate consideration he bestowed upon his nieces, and made her so cordially welcome that the little school teacher felt entirely at her ease. The girls did not confide to Ethel their investigation of the Wegg mystery, but in all other matters gave her their full confidence. Together they made excursions to the Falls, to the natural caves on the rocky hill called Mount Parnassus, or rowed on the lake, or walked or drove, as the mood seized them. But mostly they loved the shade of the pines and the broad green beside the quaint mansion Captain Wegg had built, and which now contained all the elements of a modern summer home.