Archie retired obediently, but he did not join the rest of the party. Neither did he go as far away as Ada expected.
“I’m a good deal worried about what I told you last night,” Jimmy began, as soon as Ada’s small cousin was supposedly out of hearing. “Of course, the man I saw talking to Gretel Schiller may not have been a German, or even if he were one, Mrs. Chester may know all about the matter. But if the girl has really disappeared, do you think it is my duty to tell Mrs. Chester what I saw that day?”
Ada hesitated. She did not want to injure Gretel, and yet Gretel was a German, and there were so many strange stories going about.
“I think perhaps we’d better wait a little while,” she compromised. “Gretel may come home all right, and everything be explained. But if she really has disappeared, I suppose we shall have to tell all we know.” Ada’s voice was solemn, but she was not quite free from a little thrill of excitement at the prospect of possibly being the means of unearthing some deep-laid German plot.
“It’s a horribly uncomfortable position,” said Jimmy, regretfully. “I hate to tell tales, and yet what I saw might furnish a clue. Besides, our duty as loyal Americans——”
“Of course, it will be our duty to tell, if Gretel isn’t found this evening,” interrupted Ada. “We must think of our country before everything else in these days, you know. I wish the Chesters hadn’t taken Gretel to visit the submarine base. No German is allowed near the place, but they felt so sure she was a loyal American, and Stephen vouched for her. You don’t suppose she could have found out any important secrets, do you?”
Jimmy shook his head.
“I don’t see how that could be possible,” he said. “She might imagine she had found out something, though. Oh, I dare say it’s all perfectly right and we shall hear in a few minutes that Miss Gretel has been to see a friend, and stayed later than she intended. Such scares generally end in nothing.”
“Let’s go in and find out what is happening,” suggested Ada, and the two moved away towards the front door. Neither of them noticed a small figure standing in the shadow of one of the windows, or heard a malicious chuckle from Archie as they passed his hiding-place.
The scene in the library was anything but reassuring. Molly and Geraldine were both crying; Kitty was twisting her handkerchief into knots and looking decidedly frightened, and Mrs. Chester, Mrs. Cranston and Stephen were talking together in low, anxious voices.