“I don’t know. Ted and I are deadlocked. He favors the adoption, but I am against it.”
“I think you are wise to be cautious—and my advice is ‘stand firm,’” Penny declared promptly. “The Breens were kind enough to take you in when you had no friends, so why not stay on with them?”
“That’s the trouble,” Rhoda confessed. “They haven’t much money, you know, and Mr. Coaten has offered to give them a hundred dollars if they make no objection to the adoption.”
“Buying them off?” Penny commented.
“In a way, yes. But why should Mr. Coaten be so interested in adopting Ted and me? We’ll certainly be a financial liability.”
The problem was such a perplexing one that neither Penny nor Louise could offer any convincing answer. Considering everything Rhoda had told them it appeared that Mr. Coaten must be motivated entirely by generosity. Yet, it seemed odd that if he were an old family friend he had not interested himself in their case at the time of Mr. Wiegand’s death.
Choosing a trail which led along the river, the girls soon came to Truman Crocker’s shack. It was a long, one-story frame building which served the dual purpose of dwelling and shop. The door of the workroom stood ajar, and the stonecutter could be seen grinding a granite block.
“Good afternoon,” Penny said in a loud voice to make herself heard.
The stonecutter jumped from surprise and switched off a running motor.
“You scared me out of a year’s growth,” he grinned. “Well, what can I do for you?”