With a little sigh of relief Jeanne sank back among the cushions.
Down the boulevard they sped; across a rattling wooden bridge, then across the wind-blown, sandy island.
The car came to a stop at the entrance to the path that led to Aunt Bobby’s “Cathedral.”
“You would do well to let me go first,” Florence said to Jaeger and the “lady cop.” “Meg, the girl, has two fine revolvers. She can use them and will do so if she believes she is being attacked.”
Fortunately there was no trouble about securing an entrance. The strange pair had not yet retired. At the sound of Florence’s voice they threw wide the door. At sight of her numerous company, however, they appeared ready to slam it shut again.
“Just a little lark.” Florence reassured them. “We have come all the way from the opera to a ‘Cathedral.’”
“Well, come in then.” Aunt Bobby moved aside to let them pass.
“You see,” said Florence, when they had crowded into the small living room, “this lady here,” she nodded at the “lady cop,” “has a curious notion about that birthday package of yours, Meg. She believes it contains a pearl necklace of great value.”
“But I—” Meg’s face flushed.
“A reward of a thousand dollars has been offered for its return,” the “lady cop” put in quickly. “If you have recovered it, that reward will be your own. Think what that will mean.”