What of the lady cop’s trunk? Why had the gamblers turned the cabin upside down in search of an empty trunk? How were Tillie and she ever to return it now?
The problem that stood out in her mind strongest of all was this: Who had taken them for that terrible ride out into the night waters of Lake Huron?
“The gamblers, to be sure!” Tillie would have said at once. It seemed probable that the villagers thought the same.
“And perhaps they burned the gamblers’ cottage for that reason,” she told herself. Yet, of this there was no proof.
Turkey Trot and Jeanne had surprised gypsies in a feast near Tillie’s abandoned boat. Jeanne believed these gypsies had taken them on that all but fatal ride. Had they?
“If they did,” she told herself, “they were striking at Jeanne. They may strike again.”
The conclusion she reached at the end of this review of affairs was that she must keep a close watch on Petite Jeanne until the first night’s performance was over.
“They kidnapped her on the eve of her other great success,” she murmured. “They may repeat.
“And yet, that was France. This is America.”
At that she rose and walked away to their stateroom.