CHAPTER XXII
ON THE BRINK OF DISCOVERY
The three girls and their boy friends remained at the farm until Dr. Pevyhad set the bad fracture that Hunchie had suffered and the poor little manhad been made as comfortable as he could be made at the time. He had beenbadly shaken in falling so far at the barn, and the surgeon declared hewould be confined to his bed for some weeks.
"And oo's to take care of Ida Bellethorne, I ask you?" demanded Hunchiefaintly. "Mr. Bolter hexpects me to give hundivided hattention to 'er."
"She shall have the best of care," said Candace, the farmer, warmly. "Amare like her ought to be bedded down in roses. The way she took thislittle girl over the drifts was a caution. She is some horse, she is! Wewill give her the best of attention, Hunchie, never you fear."
The cockney was so much troubled about his charge that he seemed to haveforgotten Ida Bellethorne, the girl. But Betty heard him say one thing toIda before they left.
"You ought to be 'appy, Miss Ida, even if the mare was sold. She brought agood price, and ev'rybody about Bellethorne Park knows as Mr. Bellethornegive 'er to you when she was a filly. I 'ope you'll come to see usagain--me and the mare."
"I surely will, Hunchie," said the English girl.
But when they came out of the house and bade the family good-bye, Bettysaw that Ida was very grave. Hunchie's words seemed to have beensignificant.
It was late in the afternoon when the quintette arrived at Mountain Camp.Mrs. Canary had expressed some anxiety about them, but Uncle Dick hadscouted any peril that might threaten the young folks. He admitted that hehad overlooked some possibilities when he heard the full account of theiradventures--and especially of his niece's adventures--at the dinner table.
"I declare, Betty," he said with some little exasperation, "I believe ifyou were locked inside a trunk with only gimlet holes to breathe throughyou would manage to get into trouble."
"I think I'd be in trouble fast enough in that case," answered Betty,laughing.
"I don't know," said Louise thoughtfully. "Locked up in a box, you reallycouldn't get into much harm, Betty."
"Sure she could get into trouble," declared Bobby. "Bees could crawl inthrough the gimlet holes and sting her."
"I'd like to have seen her jumping that fire on horseback," sighed Libbie."It must have been wonderful!"
Mr. Gordon looked rather disturbed as he stared at his niece.
"That's exactly what I shouldn't want to see her do," he said. "I do notknow what I am going to do if, as she gets older, she grows moreenergetic," he added to Mr. and Mrs. Canary. "Betty is more than a handfulfor a poor bachelor uncle, I do believe!"
He forbade any more excursions away from the camp after that unless theexcursionists took some adult person with them. He went himself to CandaceFarm to see Hunchie Slattery; but he took only Ida Bellethorne with him.They went on their snowshoes. During this trip Mr. Gordon won the abidingconfidence of the girl.
Meanwhile the youthful visitors at Mountain Camp allowed no hour to beidle. There was always something to do, and what one could not think of inthe way of fun another could.
Mr. Canary's men had smoothed a coasting course down the hillside to thelake not a quarter of a mile from the Overlook. There was a nest oftoboggans in one of the outhouses. Tobogganing afforded the nine youngpeople much sport.
For the others insisted that Ida Bellethorne share in all their goodtimes. She declared she never would get Libbie's blouse done in time; butLibbie said that she could finish it afterward and send it on toShadyside. Just now the main thing was to crowd as much fun as possibleinto the remaining days of their vacation.
The young folks from Fairfields were paired off very nicely; but they didnot let Ida feel that she was a "fifth wheel," and she really had a goodtime. These snow-sports were so unfamiliar to her that she enjoyed themthe more keenly.
"I do think these boys are so nice," she said to Betty as they climbed thehill from the lakeshore, dragging the toboggan behind them by its rope.
"Of course they're nice," said the loyal Betty. "Especially Bob Henderson.He's just like a brother to me. If he wasn't nice to you I should scoldhim--that I should, Ida."
"I never can repay you for your kindness," sighed the English girl, quiteserious of visage. "And your uncle, too."
Betty flashed her a penetrating look and was on the verge of speaking ofsomething that she, at least, considered of much importance. Then shehesitated. Ida had never mentioned the possibility of Betty's havingdropped anything in Mrs. Staples' store. Betty shut her lips tight againand waited. If Ida did know anything about her lost locket, Betty wantedthe English girl to speak of it first.
They went in to dress for dinner that afternoon just before a change inthe weather. A storm had been threatening for some hours, and flakes ofsnow began to drift down before they left the slide.
"Let's dress up in our best, girls," Louise said gaily. "Put on our bestbibs and tuckers. Make it a gala occasion. Teddy, be sure and scrub behindyour ears, naughty boy!"
"I feel as though I ought to be in rompers the way you talk," said theTucker twin, but he laughed.
The boys ran off to "primp," and what the girls did to make themselveslovely, Libbie said "was a caution!" One after the other they came intoBetty's and Bobby's room and pirouetted to show their finery. Ida had beendecked out very nicely by her friends, and her outfit did not seem shabbyin the least.
But the English girl noted one thing about Betty, and it puzzled her. Theother girls from Shadyside School wore their pieces of jewelry while Bettydisplayed not a single trinket. As the other girls were hurrying out tojoin the boys and descend to the big hall, Ida held Betty back.
"Where is it, Betty?" she asked. "Don't you wear it at all? Are youafraid of losing it again?"
"What do you mean?" asked Betty, her heart pounding suddenly and her eyesgrowing brighter. Ida Bellethorne placed her hand upon Betty's chest,looking at her closely as she asked the question:
"Didn't Mrs. Staples give it to you? That beautiful locket, you know.Aren't you allowed to wear it?"