“One minute!” Miss Swenster halted him. “I am letting you off easier than you deserve. By rights I should turn you over to the police.”
“Oh, you’re being very generous!” he mocked.
“Unless you tell me exactly what motivated your return to Claymore—and a truthful story, mind you—I may change my mind about being so generous!”
John Swenster recognized that she meant what she said. He realized too that her feeling toward him had undergone a change, that he could no longer bend her to his will.
“There’s little to tell,” he said gruffly. “I was out of money and I thought the pearls might tide me over. I’d have had ’em too if it hadn’t been for these girls!”
“How did you learn of the pearls?” Miss Swenster questioned.
“Knew about them when I was a boy. Remember that old desk of yours? Well, it has a secret panel. There’s a diary inside that told about the pearls. I tore out one of the pages years ago and then forgot about it.”
“Just what did that page say about the pearls?” Madge inquired curiously. “Did it say they were hidden in the sundial?”
“No, it didn’t. If it had, I’d have made off with them weeks ago. The only hint I had was that they were hidden somewhere near the sundial. Like a fool I wasted a lot of time digging up the garden!”
“We saw you,” Madge admitted. “But tell us, what brought you here just at this time?”