“But I have waited all this time!” Meg protested. “And to-morrow is my birthday.”
Florence glanced hastily at her watch. She smiled. “Not to-morrow, but to-day.” She showed that it was fifteen minutes past twelve.
With her last objection overruled, Meg produced the mysterious package. At once a little circle of eager ones gathered about her.
With trembling hands, she untied the cord. She had all but unrolled the black wrapping when the package, slipping from her nerveless fingers, fell to the floor.
At once there came flashing back to them all manner of color: white, pink, red and green.
“Not pearls alone, but diamonds, rubies, sapphires!” the “lady cop” said, in an awed tone. “What a treasure!”
At the same time, with a little cry of joy, Rosemary bent over to seize her string of pearls and clasp them about her neck.
“A thousand dollars, Meg!” It was Aunt Bobby who spoke. “They said a thousand. That will settle all our troubles for many a day.”
“And there will be more, much more.” The “lady cop” began carefully gathering up the scattered jewels. “All these were stolen. There will be other rewards, and that which is never claimed may be sold.”
“That dark-faced one thought he had chosen a safe place to hide it!” Meg laughed.