“A penny for your thoughts, fair lady,” said Walter, as he lounged lazily on the cushions.
“Why,” said Cora, “I was wondering what were the special business relations between Mr. Morley and Mr. Baxter.”
“Hard to tell,” replied Walter lightly. “Perhaps Mr. Baxter is an author or an illustrator, and they’re getting up a book together on botany, or something of the kind.”
“I hardly think it’s that,” put in Jack. “I told you before that I thought he was a detective, and something that he said when Cora was lost makes me believe it all the more. He said that he knew the authorities in some of the towns, and they’d be glad to oblige him. That sounds to me more like a detective than an author talking.”
“It does for a fact,” agreed Paul. “But what do you suppose a detective and Mr. Morley have in common?”
“Mr. Morley said that Mr. Baxter was doing some special work for him and that he was very clever,” said Cora.
“Mr. Morley may have been robbed, and he may be trying to trace the robbers,” suggested Belle.
“If it were only that, there wouldn’t be much romance or interest about it,” mused Cora. “But I have an idea it’s something more intimate and personal than that.”
“It seems to me that a robbery is a pretty personal and intimate thing,” laughed Walter.
“Cora means that there’s a heart interest somewhere in Mr. Morley’s life,” put in Bess, “but of course you boys are too sordid to understand anything like that.”