“I don’t know. I remember she was overjoyed when I first suggested her coming, but I supposed that was because she had at last found a paying job.”
“When did she tell you of this?”
“Just lately.”
“What else did she say?”
“Nothing more. I asked if she had any relatives or friends living here now, but she did not reply.”
“Beth, I’m astonished!” asserted Patsy, with a grave face. “This complicates matters.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Because, if Mildred knows this neighborhood, and wanted to steal baby and secrete her, she could take little Jane to her unknown friends and we could never discover her hiding-place.”
“Why should Mildred Travers wish to steal baby?” asked Beth.
“For a reward—a ransom. She knows that Arthur Weldon is rich, and that Uncle John is richer, and she also knows that dear little Toodlums is the pride of all our hearts. If she demands a fortune for the return of baby, we will pay it at once.”