CHAPTER XIX--"EYEOLOGY"
All night long Bab tossed and tumbled in her bed. Should she keep herappointment with the detective? About daylight she fell asleep andwakened with her mind fully made up. Whatever the danger, she was in forit now. A clever thief was abroad in Newport; circumstances had led toher discovering him; well, she would do what she could to bring him tobay.
At six o'clock Barbara slipped quietly out of bed, without awakingMollie, and stole noiselessly through the deserted halls of Mrs. Ewing'sgreat house. Not even the servants were about.
At the appointed place she found waiting for her two detectives insteadof one.
"We're wise to the thief," said the larger, blond man, to whom Barbarahad talked yesterday. "I never had my eyes off of him last night, afteryou pointed him out to me. I saw him slip a bracelet from a young lady'sarm out in the garden, just as coolly as you'd shake hands with aperson. But it was no time to make a row then. I never let him know thatI saw him. The fellow would have had a thousand excuses to make. I couldsee he was on pretty intimate terms with the young lady."
"The truth is, miss," interrupted the other detective, whom Bab saw forthe first time this morning, "we think you have given us the clue to apretty clever customer. We've been looking for him before. He's known tothe service as 'The Boy Raffles.' We tried to catch him two years agowhen he played this same game at Saratoga. But he got off to Europewithout our ever finding the goods on him. So you see, this time we'vegot to nail him. My partner and I," the wiry little dark man pointed tothe big blond one, "have been talking matters over and we believe thishere 'Raffles' has got what we detectives call a 'confed' with him--someone who receives the stolen goods. So that's why we want to ask yourhelp. Have you any idea of anyone who could be playing the game alongwith him? We think he is giving the jewels to some one to keep in hidingfor him. The gems have not been sent out of town, and we have made athorough search of Mrs. Erwin's house, where Townsend is staying. Thereis nothing there."
"Could the young lady I saw him in the garden with last night be apartner of his?" asked the blond detective.
"Oh, my goodness, no!" cried Barbara, in horror. "She is my cousin,Gladys Le Baron."
"Now, that's just it, miss. You can see we need some one like you, who'son the inside, to keep us off the wrong track. Can you suggest anyoneelse?"
Barbara was silent. Then she shook her head. "I don't know of anyonenow," she said. "You'll have to give me time to think and watch."
"All right, miss, and thank you. You can write a note to this address ifyou have anything to communicate." One of the men handed her a card withthe number of a Newport boarding house on it. "My name is Burton," saidthe big man, "and my assistant is Rowley. We both came up from the NewYork office, and we're at your service, miss."
On the way home Barbara tried to make up her mind whether she ought totell Miss Sallie what she was doing.
"I don't think it best to tell her now," she concluded. "She would onlybe worried and frightened to death. What is the good? Miss Sallie wouldbe sure to think that girls did not hunt for jewel thieves in her day.And she'd probably think they ought not to hunt for them in my day,"Barbara confessed to herself, honestly. "I'll just wait a while, and seehow things develop. Now I am in this detective business, I might as wellconfess to myself that it is very interesting."
Barbara walked slowly. "I wish Ruth would find out how things aregoing," she thought to herself. "She is so shrewd and she alreadyguesses I have something on my mind. But Ruth was so positive I waswrong about Harry Townsend, at Mrs. Erwin's ball, that she wouldprobably think I was wrong again. So the female detective will pursueher lonely way for a little while longer--and then, I just must tell someone," Bab ended.
Miss Sallie and the girls were coming down-stairs to breakfast, when Babentered at the front door. Miss Stuart was plainly displeased withBarbara's explanation. "I couldn't sleep very well, Miss Sallie," saidBarbara, "and I went out for a walk." "That is partly true," shereflected, "but half truths are not far from story-telling."
"Well, I must ask you, Bab," said Miss Sallie, in firm tones, "not toleave the house again in the morning, unless some one is with you. I wasmost uneasy."
"Didn't Mollie give you the note I left on the bureau to explain where Ihad gone?" inquired Bab.
"Mollie did not see the note until we were almost ready to comedownstairs. Naturally, we did not understand your absence."
"I am so sorry, Miss Sallie," cried Bab. "I never will do it again."
Barbara was beginning to understand Miss Sallie better since Ruth'saccident. She knew that her cold exterior hid a very warm heart.
As for Miss Sallie, she finally smiled on Bab and gave her a forgivingkiss. "I could forgive Bab anything," she thought to herself, "after herwonderful heroism in saving Ruth. I suppose I have to expect a girl ofso much spirit to do erratic things sometimes."
Ralph kept his eyes lowered when he said good morning and hardly spokeduring breakfast.
"Ralph is out of sorts," his mother complained, "but, man-like, he won'ttell what is the matter with him."
"Perhaps you are tired from the party last night, Ralph?" suggestedMollie. Then Ralph laughed a mirthless laugh. "No, I am not tired,Mollie," he replied.
Yet all through breakfast he did not once speak to Bab.
"Remember," said Grace, "that our crowd and just a few other people areinvited over to Mrs. Cartwright's to-night. She is going to have a porchparty, and we are to play the famous game 'eyeology' that she wastalking of to Gladys the other day. Do you know what she means?"
Nobody at the table had ever heard of it.
"I begged Donald to tell me," Grace added, "but he declares he is asmuch in the dark about it as the rest of us, and Mrs. Cartwright simplysays, 'wait and see!'"
"I suppose," said Miss Sallie, "that you children never intend to restagain. I should think that Mrs. Cartwright would be perfectly used upfrom so much entertaining."
"O Aunt Sallie," pleaded Grace, "we shall rest well enough when we areback in sleepy old Kingsbridge. There is too much doing in Newport. And,you know, we've only about a week longer to stay. What a wonderful timewe have had!"
"Let's see what we have ahead of us," pondered Mollie. "The onlyespecially big things we know about are the tennis tourney and the ballafter it. Then Miss Ruth Stuart and Mr. Hugh Post are to win a silvercup, in order to spread more luster upon the reputation of theautomobile girls at Newport. Bab helped pull Ruth out of an abyss! Thetwo girls held up a burglar! Ruth is a famous tennis champion! Only youand I are no good, Grace. What can we do for our country?" finishedMollie.
"Nothing at all, dear!" laughed Miss Sallie, and the rest of the party."Much as I admire these two clever lassies, I am very glad to have myother two girls of a more peaceful and quiet variety, or my hair wouldcertainly turn whiter than it is now, if that were possible." MissStuart touched her snow-white hair, which was very handsome with herdelicate skin and bright color.
"Now I insist," she said, "that you girls have a quiet day if you aregoing out again this evening."
"May I have a row on the bay with Ralph?" asked Barbara. "Have youforgotten, Ralph, that you invited me several days ago?"
"I am sorry, Barbara," Ralph answered, quietly, "but I had forgotten it.If you will excuse me, I have something else on hand for today that Imust attend to. Perhaps you will go with me some other time," heproposed, without any enthusiasm.
"All right, Ralph," Bab nodded. "Of course, I do not mind. We did nothave a real engagement, anyway." "He won't let me make up with him," Babthought. "I wonder why he is so angry?"
At five o'clock Barbara came down on the veranda, dressed for theevening. She spied Ralph walking alone down the garden path, which wasarched with trellises of crimson and pink rambler roses. There wereseveral seats along the walk, and it had formed a favorite retreat forthe girls ever since they had arrived at Mrs. Ewing's home.
Perhaps another girl than Barbara would not have tried again to makefrie
nds with Ralph, after his refusal to take her boating in themorning; but Bab was so open-hearted and sincere that she could not beara misunderstanding. She was fond of Ralph, he had been kind to her, andhis manner toward her had changed so suddenly that she felt she musthave done something to wound him. Bab did offend people, sometimes, withher quick speeches and thoughtlessness, but she was always ready to sayshe was wrong and to make amends.
"Ralph!" she called. "Ralph!" The boy was obliged to stop and turnround, as Barbara was hurrying after him.
"I want to talk to you, please," she said, coaxingly. "You are not tooangry with me to let me speak to you, are you?"
"I have not said I was angry with you, Miss Thurston," replied Ralph.
"Now, Ralph!" Barbara put her hand lightly on his sleeve. "You know youdon't call me Miss Thurston. We decided weeks ago it was silly for us tocall each other Miss and Mister when we were such intimate friends. Iwant you to do me a favor. Will you take me over to Mrs. Cartwright'sto-night? Donald and his guest, 'the freshman,' are coming for Grace andMollie. Ruth, of course, is going over with Hugh, and I could go withthem, but I want to talk to you. I can't say what I have to say to younow, because already the girls are calling me. Please say you will takeme."
Barbara's eyes were so pretty and pleading that Ralph felt his angeralready melting. Yet Ralph's feeling toward Barbara was not only anger.It was a much more serious thing, a growing sense of distrust. But heanswered: "Of course, Bab, I shall be delighted to take you."
Barbara and Ralph let the rest of their friends start ahead of them.They wanted to have their walk alone.
Miss Sallie had pleaded fatigue, and remained at home. "Besides,children," she explained, "I am much too old to take any furtherinterest in games, 'eyeology,' or any other 'ology.'"
Ralph and Barbara walked in silence down the street for several minutes.Then Bab spoke. "Tell me, Ralph, what is the matter? If you were angrywith a man you would tell him what the trouble was, if he asked you. Itis not fair not to be open with me because I am a girl. If you think youare being more polite to me by not telling me why you are angry, then Idon't agree with you. I think you are acting a whole lot worse."
Ralph continued to go on in moody silence.
"All right, then, Ralph," said Barbara; "I can't ask you any morequestions, or beg your pardon, when I don't know what I have done tooffend you. Only I am sorry."
"Oh, it isn't that you have offended me, Bab," Ralph burst out. "Do yousuppose I would act like such a bear if you had just thrown me down, orsome little thing like that, when we have been such jolly good friendsbefore? I didn't like your sending me off yesterday, when you went tolook for Mollie, because--because----"
"Go on, Ralph," insisted Barbara.
"Very well, then, Bab; I was angry and hurt because, if you did joinMollie, you couldn't have stayed with her a minute. I saw you, justafterwards, holding a long conversation with a strange man."
"Well, Ralph," argued Bab, "was that such a dreadful offense? I am sureI should not have been angry with you, if you had talked to any numberof strange women." Bab's eyes were twinkling. She had made up her mindthat she wanted a confidant. Here was Ralph, the best one she couldhave.
"That's not all," Ralph continued, "I did not mean to be aneavesdropper, but I was standing just behind you and I could not helpoverhearing that strange man make an appointment to meet you thismorning. Say, Bab," Ralph turned toward her, all his anger gone, "don'tdo things like meeting that man this morning without telling. It's notnice, and I've thought you the nicest, most straightforward girl I everknew. If there is anything between you and that fellow, why should it bea secret? A girl can't afford to have secrets, except with other girls."
"But I want to have a secret with _you_, Ralph," rejoined Barbara. "Nowlisten, while I tell you everything. I have never talked to you aboutthe scene in the conservatory, the night of Mrs. Erwin's ball, though Idid appreciate what you did to help me out when I made that strangerequest of Harry Townsend. I was not crazy. I saw Harry Townsend stealMrs. Post's emerald necklace. Ralph," Barbara's voice was now so lowthat he had to bend over to hear her, "Harry Townsend is not what thepeople here think him. He is a professional thief, and a dangerous one."
"Whew!" whistled Ralph. "What did you say?"
Then Barbara told him the story of the three thefts, from the beginning,and her own part in discovering them. "The detectives are on the lookoutnow, Ralph," she added, "but they want me to keep a watch from theinside."
"Well, you are a clever one, Bab!" declared Ralph. "Look here, I am gladyou told me this. I appreciate it a whole lot, and I will not mention itto anyone until you tell me I may. But, remember one thing. I shall beon the watch, too, and it's Miss Barbara Thurston I'll be watching. ThatTownsend is a dangerous rogue. I've known there was something crookedabout him from the first. Oh, it's easy to say that, now, after what youhave told me. I am not pretending I knew his special game. Only I knewhe was not our sort. He is a whole lot older than he pretends to be, forone thing."
"Ralph," sighed Barbara, "do you think there is any way I could warnGladys against Harry Townsend?"
Ralph shook his head. "Not any way that I know of. She would just snubyou hard, if you tried. Even if you dared to tell her the truth shewould go right off and tell that Townsend fellow. She's been prettyhateful to you, Bab. I don't see why you should care."
"Oh, but I do care," retorted Bab. "She has been horrid and stuck up,but she hasn't done Mollie and me any real harm, and she is my cousin.Her father is my mother's brother. Uncle Ralph has never been very fondof us, nor has he come to see us very much, but he looks after mother'smoney. I don't suppose," wound up Barbara, thoughtfully, "he would do usany wrong. I shouldn't like Gladys to get into trouble."
"What has kept you children so long?" asked Grace, as Ralph and Barbaraappeared on Mrs. Cartwright's veranda. Then she squeezed Bab's hand andwhispered, so no one else could hear, "Made it up, Bab?" Barbara nodded,"yes."
Mrs. Cartwright was heard speaking. "Sit down, everyone, over therewhere Jones has placed the chairs for us. Professor Cartwright," shebowed to show she meant herself, "will now explain to his pupils, or hisguests, the principles of the science of 'eyeology.' Human character isexpressed in the human eye--our love, our hate, our ambitions,everything. But can we read the characters of people about us as we lookinto their eyes? No! Why not? Because the rest of the face confuses ourattention. Instead of the steadfast beacon of the eye, we see the nose,the mouth, the hair, all the other features, and so we fail tounderstand the story the eye would tell us if it were alone. To-night Iintend to instruct you in the proper understanding of 'eyeology.'"
Mrs. Cartwright changed to her usual manner of speaking. "Don't youthink it would be amusing to make a test? Here Ruth," laughed thehostess, "be my first pupil. Go into the drawing-room and wait thereuntil I send for you. I want to find out how many of your friends youwill know, when you see only their eyes."