“They may have overlooked it.”
Madge made no reply although she took scant stock in such a theory. It seemed to her that the detectives were conducting only a routine investigation, that their interest in the case was only perfunctory. And Mr. Randall’s next words deepened this impression.
“There’s no need to worry, Miss Burnett. We’ll find your father but it may take time. If it’s a case of kidnapping for ransom, you’re sure to hear within a few days at most. In the meantime, we’ll do all we can, and keep in close touch with you.”
Rex carried the detectives back to the mainland after they had completed their investigation and then returned toThe Flora. He found Enid sadly in need of someone to cheer her.
“I don’t know how I’ll stand it,” she declared unhappily. “I’ll go crazy just sitting and waiting. If only I could do something!”
Rex and Madge exchanged quick, significant glances. They had both been disappointed at the outcome of the police investigation. They realized far better than did Enid, that it might be a long wait indeed before word was received from Mr. Burnett.
“We will do something,” Madge said quietly, slipping her arm protectingly about her friend’s shoulders. “I don’t know how, but someway we’ll manage to trace your father! And when we find him I think the police will learn that it isn’t a case of ordinary kidnapping!”
Rex soon took leave of the girls, saying that he intended to return to the police station for another talk with the authorities, and then go in search of the Burnett motor boat which had been cut loose fromThe Flora.
“I can’t thank you enough for all the trouble you’re taking,” Enid told him gratefully.
“Don’t thank me until I really help you,” he returned. “I probably won’t find the boat for those men may have stolen it instead of cutting it adrift.”
After Rex had gone there was little for the girls to do. Madge thought it best that they leave Mr. Burnett’s room untouched lest the police wish to examine it again and Enid had no desire to put the cabin to rights. She paced nervously up and down deck, avoiding that section of the yacht. Madge begged her to lie down for a few hours and she reluctantly went to her own cabin. After a time she fell into a troubled sleep and did not awaken until her chum shook her gently.
“Wake up, Enid. Rex is here and he’s found the motor boat.”
Enid hastily straightened her rumpled hair and hurried out upon deck. Rex already had come aboard after tying up the recovered boat.
“Where did you find it?” Enid questioned eagerly.
“Out near Culver’s Island. I figured that if it had been left to drift, the current would carry it that way. I cruised around in my amphibian until I sighted it and then notified the Coast Guard. By the time I had gone home for my own motor boat they had recovered it, so I merely towed it out here.”
“Did you examine it, for possible clues?” Madge inquired.
“Yes, I looked it over. If those kidnappers used the boat they were smart enough not to leave any thing behind that would identify them. However, it’s my guess they made their get-away in their own boat and merely cut this one adrift as an additional precaution against being followed.”
“I don’t see how they figured I could follow them when I was tied hand and foot and locked in that stifling closet,” Enid said bitterly, “and to know that Father is in their power! They may mistreat him!”
“Not if they are after a large ransom,” Rex suggested, in an effort to cheer her. “You may be sure of that.”
“The police said probably we would receive some communication within twenty-four hours,” Enid declared, more hopefully. “I wonder how much they’ll want?”
Rex met Madge’s eyes and he read the thought that had flashed through her mind. She had begun to wonder if a communication ever would be received. From the first, it had seemed unlikely to her that the kidnapping had been committed for the sole purpose of securing ransom. She felt there might be a more sinister motive behind the crime.
Before the conversation could be resumed, the sound of a boat grating against the side of the yacht, drew the trio to the railing. Unobserved by them, a craft had made fast to the yacht, and now they saw they were to entertain representatives of the press. The reporters swarmed aboard without waiting for an invitation, bombarding the girls with terse questions. A photographer insisted upon taking their pictures. Likewise, he photographed the yacht and Mr. Burnett’s cabin. Only the arrival of a second boat, containing Mr. Randall and two other detectives, brought the ordeal to an end.
“Have you learned anything new?” Enid inquired hopefully of Mr. Randall, after the reporters had gone.
“We’re making progress,” he informed. “Your father’s description has been broadcast over the radio and the police teletypes. I’ve brought some pictures from the Rogues Gallery that I want you to try to identify.”
For the next fifteen minutes Enid studied photographs of noted criminals known to have records for kidnapping, but as each was presented to her, she only shook her head.
“I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. You see, I caught such a fleeting glance of the two men.”
After the detective had returned to shore somewhat disappointed at her failure to identify any of the photographs, Rex said that he too must leave.
“Surely, you girls aren’t intending to stay here alone tonight?” he inquired.
Enid and Madge had made no plans but now that they considered it, they were reluctant to leave the yacht. Rex suggested that his mother would be pleased to have them stay at the Stewart home, but the girls felt they could not accept.
“We might possibly get word from Father during the night,” Enid explained, “and anyway, the cook and our sailors will be coming back early in the morning. I must be here to tell them what has happened.”
“I wish you had asked for a police guard,” Rex returned with a troubled frown. “I don’t like the idea of you staying here alone.”
“We’re not cut off from the mainland now that we have the motor boat,” Madge pointed out. “Honestly, we’re not a bit afraid.”
In the end they persuaded him to their way of thinking, but as he left, he announced that he intended to keep watch of the yacht during the early part of the night.
As it grew dusk, Madge prepared supper. Enid tried to help but could not keep her mind on what she was doing. After wiping the dishes, they wrapped themselves in steamer rugs and sat out on deck. For a long time they watched the twinkling shore lights. Once they heard the drone of an airplane overhead and imagined that it might be Rex.
In spite of their declaration to the contrary, the girls were not entirely easy in their minds. The very quiet of the yacht was disturbing. The night had closed in dark and threatening; black shadows lurked everywhere.
At ten o’clock they decided to turn in. Enid was so tired and worn out that she dropped asleep almost at once. Madge rolled and tossed for the better part of an hour. At last, she too dozed off.
She had no way of knowing how long she slept, but suddenly she found herself sitting upright in bed. What had awakened her? She glanced at her companion. Enid was sleeping peacefully.
After a moment, she sank back against the pillows, but scarcely had her eyes closed than she was startled by a peculiar sound. A boat was scraping against the side of the yacht!
Cold shivers ran over her body and she resisted the temptation to burrow down beneath the blankets.
“Enid, wake up!” she whispered, shaking her chum roughly by the arm.
Enid stirred and as she was shaken again, opened her eyes.
“What’s the matter?” she murmured drowsily.
“Hush!” Madge warned in an undertone. There was no need to say more for by this time Enid had fully awakened.
Both girls listened intently. Footsteps could be heard plainly on the deck. Someone had boarded the boat!
“Perhaps it’s one of the sailors,” Enid whispered, but her voice quavered.
“We must see!” Madge returned. “Come on!”
Enid gripped her hand and tried to hold her back. “Oh, I’m afraid!”
“Then I’ll go alone.”
But Enid would not stay behind. As Madge quietly slipped out of bed, she was close beside her. Clinging together, they crept to the door and listened. They could hear the footsteps more distinctly now.
Madge opened the cabin door a crack and peered out. At first she saw nothing, then as her eyes became more accustomed to the dark, she beheld the figure of a man. She saw him pause, look searchingly about and then swiftly enter Mr. Burnett’s cabin.
For an instant she was too startled to move. Then she whispered into her chum’s ear.
“Now is our chance! We must steal out there and lock him in!”
Madge quietly opened the door and moved stealthily toward Mr. Burnett’s cabin. Enid, terrified at the thought of remaining behind, followed.
They stole softly along the deck, every muscle tensed for the unexpected. Madge stepped over a coil of rope in her path and too late turned to warn her chum. Enid failed to see it. She stumbled and fell flat on the deck, letting out a sharp exclamation.
Before she could regain her feet, a figure darted from Mr. Burnett’s cabin. He went over the railing like a flash and was lost to view.
“Oh, we mustn’t let him get away!” Madge cried.
She jerked Enid to her feet and they reached the railing just in time to see a motor boat speed away from the yacht.
“Enid, can you run your father’s motor boat?” she demanded.
“Yes, but——”
“Then come on! Our only chance of tracing your father is to follow this man!”
Rex had filled the tank of the motor boat that afternoon, but it required several minutes before Enid had the engine going. Madge cast off and they moved away from the yacht.
“To the right!” she directed. “I saw him head that way.”
Enid swung the wheel and they made for the open water. The boat rapidly gathered speed until the sea split from under her prow in huge waves.
“Can you see him, Madge?”
“Dead ahead. He has the engine muffled.”
“Then we’ll lose him if we’re not careful.”
“Can’t you go faster?”
Enid shook her head.
For a few minutes longer they kept the boat in sight but it was increasingly apparent that they were running a losing race. The man they were following knew the channels and his boat was fast. Soon he was swallowed by the night.
After it was evident that they had lost him, Enid stopped the engine. They listened for a few minutes but there was no sound of a motor boat.
“I guess we may as well turn back!” Madge said in disgust.
“It was all my fault,” Enid grieved. “Of course, I had to stumble over that old rope!”
“It wasn’t your fault, honey,” Madge comforted. “It was just a bad break of luck.”
Enid was silent as they slowly steered back towardThe Flora. Madge too, was occupied with her own thoughts. She wondered what could be the meaning of the midnight visit. Had the prowler come for the purpose of ransacking the cabin or was it possible that he had brought some message?
The girls were thoroughly chilled by the night air before they reached the yacht. Yet, the adventure had made them far too nervous to even consider going back to bed. After lighting nearly all of the lamps, they screwed up their courage and entered Mr. Burnett’s cabin. A hasty glance about assured them that nothing had been touched.
“I guess he didn’t have time to do any damage,” Enid declared. “What do you suppose brought him here tonight?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Well, I think Rex was right about staying here alone. It was a terribly foolish thing to do. I’ll not spend another night here without a guard.”
After a time they settled themselves in deck chairs, and there, snuggled down under steamer rugs, they spent the remainder of the night. For some reason they felt safer out in the open where they could see any boat that might approach. Occasionally, they dozed off, but for the most part they maintained a vigilant watch.
At dawn they stretched their cramped limbs and went to Enid’s cabin to freshen up. Hot coffee revived their spirits and strengthened their morale. As the sun beat down upon the deck it was difficult for them to believe that they had spent such a harrowing night.
“We must report to the police immediately,” Madge advised. “They may attach special significance to what happened during the night.”
Soon after breakfast, Mr. Burnett’s cook and three sailors appeared upon the scene, and after she had given them orders for the day, Enid was ready to leave.
“It’s a relief to know someone will be at the yacht while we’re gone,” she said to Madge as they drove away in the motor boat. “Jose the cook was quite broken up to hear about Father. And the sailors too have always liked him.”
At the police station, the girls related the happenings of the night. While the authorities offered no comment other than to ask a few questions, it was plain that the incident puzzled them. Enid had hoped the police would have good news to report, but seemingly, the case was at a standstill.
“There’s very little we can do until some communication is received from the kidnappers,” Mr. Randall told her. “Rest assured a demand for ransom will be made soon.”
“But more than twenty-four hours has elapsed already,” Enid protested. “If those men were after money I should have thought they would have left a note behind at the time of the kidnapping.”
The girls spent over an hour at the station and left more discouraged than ever. Although Enid was trying desperately to maintain her courage, she was beginning to fear that she might never see her father again.
Before returning to their motor boat they stopped at a street corner to purchase newspapers. The story of the kidnapping had been spread out on the front page in bold print and their own photographs stared them in the face.
“Oh, dear,” Enid lamented, “it’s dreadful to get you mixed up in this. I invited you here for a pleasant vacation and instead, plunged you into all this publicity.”
“I’m here to help,” Madge assured her. “If only we had something to work on!”
They walked on to the water front and were just boarding the motor boat when Madge clutched her friend by the arm.
“See that man over there! He’s the one I told you about—the boatman who ran away and left me aboard the yacht.”
Enid turned to look.
“Oh, I think I’ve seen him before. I don’t know his name but I’m sure he’s all right. He probably didn’t understand that you wanted him to wait.”
“Just the same, I’d like to talk with him again,” Madge said quietly.
They started toward the man but without seeming to observe their approach, he moved swiftly away to lose himself in an alley.
“See that, Enid! He knew we intended to question him!”
“Why, he didn’t even see us coming.”
“I think he did,” Madge insisted. “He pretended not to be looking our way, but all the while he was watching out the corner of his eye. One of these times I’ll catch him unaware!”
Since there was slight chance he would return, the girls went back to their boat and soon reachedThe Flora. They were informed by a sailor that during their absence Rex had been there. A number of reporters had called too, but had not been permitted to board the vessel.
“After lunch I must straighten up Father’s cabin,” Enid remarked to her chum. “I’d do it now only I have a headache. I believe I’ll lie down for an hour or so.”
After her friend had gone to her room, Madge sat out on deck and tried to read. Soon the magazine fell to her lap and she stared thoughtfully out across the bay. At length she arose.
“I may as well put Mr. Burnett’s cabin to rights,” she decided. “I know it’s a task Enid dreads.”
She found the cabin door unlocked and entered. Everything was just as she had discovered it the morning of her arrival at Cheltham Bay. After a preliminary survey, she began at one corner of the room, straightening rugs and rearranging furniture. She picked up newspapers, books and articles which had been hurled to the floor in the desperate struggle.
In righting the objects on the desk, her attention was attracted to a scrap of paper which had fallen to the floor. Madge did not recall having noticed it there before. Thinking that it must have blown from the desk when the door was opened, she bent down and picked it up.
She gave it a casual glance and then stared in blank astonishment.
“Great jumping snakes!” she exclaimed. “Where did this come from?”
With the paper clutched tightly in her hand, she darted out the door and ran toward Enid’s cabin.
Madge flung open the cabin door and burst in upon Enid who was lying upon the bed, though fully awake.
“Look at this!” she cried. “I found it in your father’s cabin just now.”
“What is it?” Enid demanded, abruptly rising.
“It’s a communication from those men who kidnapped your father. Read it!”
Enid snatched at the paper and eagerly scanned the message. It read:
“Deliver the Zudi Drum Bowl on midnight of the 29th at the white birch on Cedar Point if you wish to save your father. Come alone and communicate with no one. If the police learn of this note, your father’s life will be the forfeit.”
The note was signed with three triangles and a strange symbol, unlike anything the girls had ever seen before.
“How dreadful!” Enid gasped.
“What does it all mean?” Madge demanded. “Did you ever hear of this thing they call the Zudi Drum Bowl?”
Enid nodded soberly. Her face was very white.
“Oh, Madge, I’m afraid we’re dealing with a band of the worst sort of criminals,” she half whispered. “This isn’t an ordinary kidnapping case. It’s the Zudi Drum that has caused all the trouble.”
“Tell me what it’s all about,” Madge commanded. “This note is Greek to me.”
“You know Father collects antiques and the like,” Enid explained. “He has things from all over the world. The Zudi Drum Bowl is one of his most cherished trophies.”
“Just what is it?”
“It’s a sort of drum used in former times by a primitive tribe of Indian natives. It looks like a huge jar, elaborately decorated, but the mouth has an overhanging lip so that when a dried skin is stretched over the opening, it can be used as a drum. It was used only for special ceremonial meetings, I believe.”
“How did your father get possession of it?”
“It was during our trip to India, two years ago. He purchased it from an antique dealer and paid a steep price for it too.”
“If it is so valuable that may explain why the kidnappers are trying to get it.”
“The drum would have slight value to anyone not interested in antiques. I can’t understand how the news leaked out that it was in Father’s possession. He took pains to keep the matter quiet.”
“Where is Cedar Point?” Madge questioned next.
“Up the bay about fifty miles, I’d judge. In a most desolate locality.”
“You have no intention of going there, of course.”
“Oh, but I must!” Enid cried. “It’s the only way to save Father. The Zudi Drum is valuable, but I can’t consider the cost.”
“I was thinking of other things besides the value of the trophy,” Madge said slowly. “I was thinking of your own safety. You mustn’t go to Cedar Point alone, Enid. Turn the note over to the police. They’ll know how to deal with the situation.”
“Oh, no, I can’t do that! For Father’s sake we must obey orders implicitly. I’ll give them the Zudi Drum Bowl—anything they ask.”
Madge saw that it was useless to argue with Enid in her present distraught state of mind. However, she did not give up the idea of trying to persuade her chum to her way of thinking at a later time. She believed that they were dealing with a clever band of criminals, a group of men who would stop at nothing to further their own schemes. It seemed to her that if Enid went alone to Cedar Point, she would only invite trouble. Even if the Zudi Drum were turned over to the kidnappers, there was no assurance that Mr. Burnett would be released.
“I wish Jack French were here,” she thought, “he would know what to do.”
“I’m not sure where the Drum Bowl is,” Enid broke in upon her reflection, “but I know it’s not here on the yacht. Father must keep it with his other valuables at home. The place has been closed up for weeks.”
“But your home is two hundred miles up the coast, Enid.”
“I know, I must find some way to get there.”
“Today is the twenty-seventh,” Madge reminded.
“Perhaps Rex will take me in his amphibian. I’ll get there somehow.”
Madge made no further attempt to discourage Enid, for she scarcely knew what was the wisest course to follow if they were not to disclose their information to the police. It struck her as most singular that the kidnappers would go to such lengths to secure possession of a trophy which apparently was highly valued only by collectors. She could have understood a demand for a large sum of money but no such request had been made.
“I wonder how the note was left in Father’s room?” Enid mused. “I’m sure it wasn’t there yesterday.”
“No, the detectives surely would have found it for they went over the place with a fine tooth comb.”
“I don’t see how it could have been left while we were away this morning either,” Enid went on reflectively. “With the sailors here, it would have been impossible.”
“My guess is that the note was left by last night’s prowler.”
“We were in the cabin after that.”
“Yes, but we didn’t really look around much. We were too frightened. And naturally, we never dreamed that he had left a note behind.”
Madge was troubled by another thought which she decided not to confide to her chum, lest it worry her unnecessarily. It occurred to her that the kidnappers were in close touch with the situation aboard the yacht, else they could not have known of Enid’s release. The note obviously had been addressed to her, though her name had not been mentioned.
“Someone is keeping close watch here,” she reflected uncomfortably. “Likely enough, our every action is known.”
Enid broke in upon her thoughts to suggest that they both return to Mr. Burnett’s cabin, as she was curious to see exactly where the note had been found. They spent perhaps fifteen minutes in the room, finding no further evidence of the midnight prowler.
“I’ll ask the sailors if they permitted any stranger on deck while we were gone this morning,” Enid announced, “though I’m confident the note was brought here last night.”
She questioned the men in turn, only to learn that Rex had been the sole person to come aboard.
“I hope he comes back before evening,” Enid said anxiously. “If he can’t take me to my home at Bay City, I must find another means of getting there.”
“You’re still determined to go through with it?” Madge asked.
“Oh, yes, it’s the only way of saving Father.”
Madge started to speak, then waited as one of the sailors approached. He paused to address Enid.
“I beg your pardon, Miss Burnett. While I was swabbin’ down the deck, I found this here doodad. I thought maybe it belonged to you.”
He dropped a tiny trinket into her hand and turned away.
“It doesn’t belong to me,” Enid said. “Have you lost anything, Madge?”
“Why, no, what is it?”
Enid extended the palm of her hand upon which lay a small jade pin.
“I think I’ve seen that before, or one just like it,” Madge said, a queer note in her voice. “Mind if I borrow it for a little while? I may be able to find the owner, and if I do, I’ll promise interesting developments!”
“You’re welcome to the pin,” Enid declared readily, turning it over to her chum. “It’s a curious piece of work. To whom do you think it belongs?”
“Unless I’m very sadly mistaken, I saw a pin like that the day I arrived at Cheltham Bay,” Madge responded. “The boatman who brought me out here was wearing it.”
Enid could not resist a smile.
“You’re bound to connect that poor man with the kidnapping, aren’t you, Madge? I’m sure the pin couldn’t have been the same. I’m not an expert on stones but this looks expensive to me. What you saw must have been an imitation.”
“Possibly,” Madge returned, a trifle nettled. “Just the same, if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it for a few days.”
“Keep it as long as you like, only I don’t see how you hope to trace the owner. If you show it to that boatman he’ll claim it whether he’s the owner or not.”
“I know better than to do that,” Madge smiled. “I have another scheme in mind.”
Before she could explain, they heard a loud hail from windward and turned to see Rex coming toward the yacht in his motor boat. They returned the greeting and a few minutes later he climbed aboard.
“Any news?” Enid inquired hopefully.
Rex shook his head regretfully.
“That’s what I came to ask you. I can only stop a minute because I must get back.”
The girls related all that had befallen since they had last seen him and showed him the note which had been received from the kidnappers.
“Of course you’ve told the police about this?” he demanded.
“No, I don’t dare,” Enid explained. “I’m certain that if the authorities interfere in any way, my father will be made to suffer. I intend to turn over the Zudi Drum Bowl as they request.”
“But Enid—”
“No, please don’t try to make me go against my judgment. Capture of the kidnappers is a secondary question with me. My only purpose is to secure Father’s release.”
Madge sent Rex a glance which warned him that he would only upset Enid by arguing further with her. Reluctantly, he permitted the subject to drop.
“The Zudi Drum is at our summer home in Bay City,” Enid went on. “I must get there somehow. I was wondering if—”
“Let me take you,” Rex broke in. “We can make the trip in a few hours with the amphibian.”
“Oh, I was hoping you’d suggest it! When can we start?”
“I can’t go today because my plane is having a few minor repairs made. How about tomorrow?”
Enid instantly agreed and it was decided that the three should start after breakfast the following day. Soon after final plans had been made, Rex announced that he must hurry back to the mainland.
“Mind if I ride along?” Madge asked quickly. “I haven’t written a word to my aunt or uncle since I left Loon Lake, and I think I’ll send them a telegram telling them I arrived safely.”
Rex promptly extended a hearty invitation and Madge went to the cabin for her hat. Before going back on deck she carefully placed the jade pin in her purse.
Enid insisted that she was too tired to make another trip to the city, and Madge did not urge her. While she would have greatly enjoyed her chum’s companionship, she was looking forward to a private talk with Rex. Then too, she had a special mission in Cheltham Bay which she felt she could attend to much better alone.
Rex helped her into the motor boat and Enid watched until they were well away from the yacht. Before Madge could bring up the subject which was foremost in her mind, Rex spoke.
“I think Enid is making a serious mistake not to tell the police about that note. We can’t let her go to Cedar Point alone. Why, anything might happen to her.”
“We must prevent it if we can,” Madge returned quietly. “But just how can it be managed?”
“We might go to the police ourselves with the story.”
“No, that wouldn’t do. Enid would never forgive us. And if harm should befall her father, we’d be largely responsible.”
“Then, I don’t see what we can do. Unless we strand her tomorrow at Bay City! I might pretend the amphibian broke down.”
Madge considered this suggestion a minute before shaking her head.
“I’m afraid that won’t do either. Enid would simply go wild. And such a scheme might ruin all chances of ever finding Mr. Burnett. No, we must think up a better plan. We’ll have another day to consider it.”
“I’d be glad to go to Cedar Point myself if Enid would permit it.”
“We’ll find some way, Rex. But it won’t be easy, for Enid is set upon obeying those kidnappers to the letter. We must protect her against herself.”
The motor boat coasted in to a landing and was made fast. Madge thanked Rex and said goodbye to him at the wharf. From his directions, she easily made her way to the telegraph office.
She sat down at a desk and hastily scribbled a message to her Aunt Maude and Uncle George Brady, assuring them of her safe arrival at Cheltham Bay. She signed her name in full, and as she handed the telegram to the clerk in charge, he looked up in surprise.
“Just a minute, Miss,” he said, “I believe a message for you just came in. I’ll see if it has left the office.”
He returned a minute later, handing her a sheet of paper. Madge eagerly scanned the typewritten message which to her astonishment was from Jack French:
“LEARNED OF BURNETT KIDNAPPING THROUGH NEWSPAPERS. CAN I HELP? VACATION STARTS TWENTY-SEVENTH. FREE TO COME.”
“If that isn’t just like him!” she thought. “You can always depend on Jack when there’s trouble on hand. I do wish he were here! Well, why not? He said before I left he might come to Cheltham Bay, and surely this is the psychological time.”
She snatched up a form from the desk and after some difficulty composed a message which satisfied her. She paid for both telegrams, a rather large sum since she had not been sparing of words, and after inquiring the name of a reliable jeweler, left the office.
She walked slowly up the street and presently came to the firm of Dewitt and Prager, which she had been informed was the highest grade jewelry store in the city. The shop was nearly empty. As she entered, a clerk came at once to wait upon her.
Madge felt slightly embarrassed as she fished in her pocketbook for the jade pin. Now that she was in the jewelry shop her mission seemed somewhat silly.
Nevertheless, she placed the pin on the counter before the clerk.
“I’d like to find out if this has any value,” she said. “I suppose it’s only a cheap pin but I wanted to make sure.”
The man picked it up, and looked quickly at Madge who felt increasingly uncomfortable. She watched his face as he peered at the stone through a special eye glass.
“Where did you get this?” he inquired.
“Why, I—that is, a friend gave it to me,” Madge stammered. “It was found.”
Again the clerk bestowed upon her a searching glance. She had not counted upon answering questions and realized that her answers were not very satisfactory. It flashed through her mind that the jade pin might have been stolen. In a panic, she pictured herself occupying a jail cell.
Perhaps her expression reassured the clerk, for he smiled as he returned the pin.
“I’m sorry I can’t tell you the value of this stone. Our expert, Mr. Dewitt is out of the city today. However, I do know that this pin is an unusual piece of jewelry. The carving is unique.”
“Is it valuable, do you think?”
“I would judge so, but for any definite estimate, you must see Mr. Dewitt.”
“When will he be in?”
“Tomorrow. Why not leave the pin here until then? Mr. Dewitt has made a special study of jade and I think he may have something interesting to tell you about your stone.”
Madge debated for a minute and finally decided to leave the pin. It would be safer in the hands of the jeweler than in her pocketbook, she reasoned, and until she had definite information concerning the stone, she did not wish to risk losing it.
She promised that she would call again the following day and left the shop. Returning to the waterfront she looked about for a boatman to take her toThe Flora.
“I hope I see that same man again,” she thought.
She passed by several boatmen who offered their services and even idled about the wharf for ten minutes, but caught no glimpse of the person she sought.
“He seems to have a way of vanishing when I’m looking for him,” she told herself. “Oh, well, if my suspicions concerning that jade pin are correct, I’ll go after him in earnest. I do wonder if he is deliberately avoiding me?”
For the present, she was forced to abandon the idea of finding him. She engaged another man who agreed to take her toThe Florafor a nominal fee.
As they rowed for the yacht, her thoughts were chiefly concerned with the jade pin.
“I wonder what Mr. Dewitt will tell me when I go back tomorrow?” she mused. “I hope it will be something that will help Enid.”
Rex did not forget his promise to take Enid to her home at Bay City. Soon after breakfast the following morning, he swooped down out of the sky with his amphibian, landing a short distance from the yacht as the bay was very rough. The girls had one of the sailors take them out to the plane in the motor boat.
“The old bus is loaded with gas and rarin’ to go,” Rex declared, helping them into the cockpit.
“What do you think about the weather?” Madge inquired somewhat anxiously.
“Oh, we’ll make it all right,” he returned without concern. “According to the airport weather report we may run into a storm before we reach Bay City, but it probably won’t amount to much.”
“You take your storms casually,” Madge smiled. “Remember, we’re not seasoned to it the way you are.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he assured her. “We’ll not have any trouble unless it is in taking off. The water is pretty rough this morning.”
As soon as the girls were comfortably settled in the cockpit, he accelerated the engine and they were off. The amphibian moved slowly at first, then with increasing speed. As it planed over the waves, the bow had a tendency to drop into the following trough and Rex was kept busy trying to prevent it nosing in. Once before flying speed was gained, the waves threw the plane a little way into the air. While the girls caught their breath in fear, Rex acted instinctively. He minimized the stall and as the nose dropped, pulled back the stick to level out.
Madge and Enid breathed easier when the amphibian finally shook her wings free from the bay and smoothly climbed. They gazed down over the cockpit, distinguishingThe Florawhich seemed a mere speck on the water.
It was impossible to talk against the roar of the wind and the motor, so the girls enjoyed the scenery to the fullest measure. Although they followed a water route, seldom were they out of sight of land.
Before they had been in the air an hour, Madge noticed that they were running into heavy clouds. Rex too, studied the sky a trifle anxiously though he flashed the girls a reassuring smile. Soon the little plane was hemmed in. A sudden gust of wind sent the ship careening to a dizzy angle.
A flash of jagged lightning cracked across the black void beyond the propeller. Rex put the plane into a steep climb in an attempt to get above the storm.
For an endless minute it seemed that the clouds were everywhere. Then the plane rose above them into the warm sunlight. The girls looked down, gazing upon a solid floor of clouds. They felt snug in the cockpit and enjoyed watching nature’s fireworks from a safe gallery seat.
For a time they flew blind. Presently they saw a break in the clouds and plunged down to find themselves beyond the storm center. The air was choppy and now and then the ship made dizzy drops. Fortunately, neither of the girls were troubled with air sickness though Enid was not sorry when Bay City was sighted ahead.
Approaching the beach, Rex throttled the motor and sent the amphibian into a glide. It rapidly lost speed, “stalled” a few inches above the water and settled upon the surface with scarcely a jolt, skimming slowly toward shore. Rex held the nose high for the water was still rough.
As the plane came in, two airport attendants waded out and grasped the wings, steadying the ship until Rex brought it to a standstill. Arrangements were made to have the plane refueled, and then the three friends left the field. A taxicab carried them to the Burnett summer home at the edge of the city.
They dismissed the driver at the huge iron gate which marked the entrance of the grounds, telling him to return for them in an hour.
“Our caretaker should be around here somewhere,” Enid said. “I imagine we’re locked out.”
Rex rattled the gate and to his surprise it opened. They entered the grounds.
“What a beautiful estate!” Madge exclaimed admiringly.
Enid did not share her enthusiasm for she was looking at the untrimmed grass, the weedy flower beds, the scraggy hedge.
“It doesn’t look as though the place has been touched in weeks. Wait until I find that caretaker! He thinks he can shirk just because we’re away.”
She walked determinedly up the gravel path, Madge and Rex following. Enid rapped firmly on the front door but there was no response.
“He must be somewhere around the grounds,” she declared. “I’ll use my own key.”
“Perhaps the door is unlocked,” Madge suggested.
Enid turned the knob and to her surprise the door opened. She stepped aside to permit the others to enter.