“I’ve been tricked!” he muttered. “This isn’t the sapphire Mrs. Hawthorne showed me in Florida! It’s only a cheap imitation!”
“Maybe that girl sneaked in and took it herself!”
“If she did it will be the worse for her! I know Mrs. Hawthorne brought a genuine sapphire into this house. Either her granddaughter has it, or this Parker pest!”
“What’ll we do, boss?”
“We’re leaving here as quickly as we can get away,” Father Benedict said decisively. “We’ve over-played our hand and our luck has run out.”
“You mean we’re going without the sapphire?” grumbled Winkey. “After all our work?”
“We’ll get the sapphire. First, we must make certain that Parker girl doesn’t slip out of the building.”
“I let the dogs loose in the yard. And the windows and doors are all locked. If she tries to get out, they’ll set up a yip.”
“Good! She must be somewhere in the house and we’ll soon find her.”
“How much did she learn, boss?”