CHAPTER XXIII
ANOTHER RESCUE
The black eyes of the little man suddenly disappeared. They were sobright and glistening that their disappearance was noticeable. He hadclosed them tight and was laughing!
As suddenly as he had laughed, his mirth stopped, and he staredsternly at the anxious Betty.
"You expect me to believe that?" he asked incredulously.
"It is true," she said quietly.
"True--bah!" The vehemence of his tone quite startled her. "True!When all you had to do to reach the first floor--had access to thestreet been your object--was to let down the folding flight to theground."
Betty's jaw dropped. She and Bob looked at each other helplessly.
"We--we never thought of that!" she faltered.
It was true. In her excitement she had not noticed the foldingflight of steps that let down to the ground in an emergency, and forprotection against sneak thieves was always drawn up except duringfire drills. Bob had been equally careless. As for the Littell girls,like docile sheep, they had never thought to question their leaders.
Still keeping the revolver pointed at them, the little man took downthe telephone receiver.
"Bob!" whispered Betty. "Oh, Bob, this is dreadful! What will Mrs.Littell say? And those reporters! If they get hold of this, theelevator story will be nothing."
Bobby and Louise and Esther and Libbie stood in a forlorn group,their gaze fixed trustingly on Bob and Betty, whom they trusted toget them out of this scrape somehow.
As for Bob, he was handicapped by numbers. He could easily haveplanned a way to get himself and one girl out of the room, but tohope to spirit away five substantial maidens under the black eyesfastened unwaveringly upon him, was too great a problem for quicksolution. He did not fear trouble in establishing their innocence,but the notoriety accompanying such an episode could not be otherwisethan distinctly unpleasant.
"I suppose that's gold dust in the tray," thought Bob wretchedly."Of all the poor luck, to pick out an office with gold dust floatingaround as free as air! Why didn't the dub lock it up in his safe?"
The little man was having trouble to get "Central." He jiggled thehook frantically in flat defiance of all telephone rules, and heshouted loudly into the transmitter, as though enough noise couldrouse the number he sought.
Just at this moment the outer door opened and a man entered. He wasa man of middle age with a closely clipped gray moustache and kindlygray eyes. It was Mr. Matthews, the owner of the business.
The little man, seeing him, flung the receiver into the hook with abang and poured forth a volley of French, emphasized by wild gestures.
After listening for a few moments, Mr. Matthews turned a wonderinggaze on the group of subdued looking young people. His expressionsoon turned to one of amusement.
After a word or two in French to the little man, evidently of thanksfor his zeal, he said to Bob and the girls:
"Won't you please tell me your side of the story? I find it hard tobelieve that you have set forth to rob and steal."
The tale came out with a rush, Bob, Betty, and Bobby taking turns orall talking together, the others, fortunately, being content to letthe three tell the story.
Mr. Matthews was sympathetic and apologetic, but he was also amused,and he laughed heartily. It seemed he knew Mr. Littell. The "robberband," as Bobby afterwards named them, laughed with him; in fact, intheir relief, laughing till the tears came. The black-eyed man,meanwhile, left the room, still, evidently, suspicious of them.
"Monsieur Brissot," explained Mr. Matthews, "is a Belgian diamondcutter who has just come to this country. He seems to be suspiciousof everybody, and, I fear, does not always use judgment in hishandling of such matters. I am grateful, however, for the interest hetakes in my business, and trust you young people will overlook hisexcess of zeal."
Mr. Matthews showed them to the door, and as by this time thereporters were well away intent on other affairs, they went out ofthe building in the regular way-a more seemly way than scuttling downfire escapes and breaking into jewelry shops, so Betty declared.
"Well, good gracious!" observed Bobby, when they were once outside."If this hasn't been an exciting morning! First we get nearly killed,then we're rescued, and next we're almost arrested."
They boarded a street car and went to the Bureau of Engraving andPrinting, where they spent an interesting afternoon touring theimmense plant, the best equipped of its kind in the world.
The recital of their adventures at the dinner table that nightprovoked mingled merriment and concern.
"Never mind, it will teach 'em self-reliance," Mr. Littell insisted,when his wife protested that the girls would have to be more closelychaperoned on subsequent trips. "Falling into scrapes is the finestlesson-book ever opened to the heedless."
Sunday morning the girls and Mrs. Littell motored to Washington andattended services in one of the fine old churches. There they had anexcellent opportunity to observe the President of the United Statesand his wife, who, as Libbie said disappointedly at dinner that day,"looked just like anybody."
"I hope you didn't expect them to get up and make a speech?" teasedher uncle. "However, I'm glad you saw them, my dear. A country wherethe head of the government 'looks just like anybody' and goes tochurch as simply and reverently as any one else is the finest in theworld."
Early in the new week Bobby announced that it was their duty,meaning the girl contingent, to go into the city and pay a call upona friend of the Littells' who was staying with an aunt at one of thelarge hotels. They had met them at church, and a tentative promisehad been given, which Bobby was determined should be kept.
"If it wasn't for me this family would have no manners," shescolded. "Now, I don't like Ruth Gladys Royal a bit better than youdo, Louise; but I hope I know what is the right thing to do."
Mrs. Littell, who was hopelessly unfashionable as far as conventionsthat were merely polite went, announced serenely that she was goingto her sewing circle and that if the girls chose they might gocalling. Her engagement stood.
"Mother thinks Ruth Royal is snobbish," commented Bobby, as hermother serenely departed for the little sewing circle of the countrychurch in which she maintained a keen interest and which shevirtually supported. "As far as that goes, I think she is. But Louisetold her we'd come and call on her, and I think a promise ought to bekept."
"Well, I'll go with you if Betty will," said Louise. "I don't seewhy you pick out a perfectly lovely afternoon to martyr us all in,but if it must be done, let's get it over with. Esther and Libbiehave wheedled dad into taking them to the movies, and I suppose wecan go in the car with them."
The three ascended the stairs to put on their best bibs and tuckersand came down again to find Mr. Littell and the other two girlsjoyously arranged on the back seat, with Carter having hard work tokeep from smiling at their jokes and quips.
"How elegant we look," jeered Mr. Littell, whose injured foot wasstill stiff but who began to talk about returning to his office. "Idon't suppose you could be persuaded to go to see 'The Rose-PinkCurtains' with us, and have a sundae afterward?"
Bobby shook her head sternly.
"Don't tempt us when we're having a hard time to do our duty," sheadmonished. "We have to go to see Ruth Royal; honestly we do. Butwe'll meet you for the sundae; won't we, girls?"
It was arranged that they should meet at quarter to five, and thenthe three callers were set down before the ornate hotel entrance.Just off the lobby was a pretty, richly furnished parlor where theydecided to wait while they were being announced.
"Let's hope she isn't in," suggested the irrepressible Louise. "Thenwe'd still have time to see 'The Rose-Pink Curtains.'"
Betty sat nearest the door and from her seat she could see a sectionof the lobby and one of the elevators. The boy who had taken theirnames came back in a few minutes with the information that Miss Royaland her aunt were out.
"The clerk says they left word at the desk that they expect to beback about half-pas
t seven to-night."
"All right, that excuses us," declared Bobby cheerfully, hardlywaiting till the boy had left the room. "Come on, girls, we'll go tothe movies. Betty, for mercy's sake, what are you staring at?"
Betty had risen and was peering through the velvet portieres. Sheturned and put a finger to her lips, then drew Bobby close to her.
"Look out there in the corridor, over by the desk," she whispered."See that man who is shouting at the clerk?"
"I hear him," admitted Bobby, screwing up her eyes and peepingthrough the curtains. "What do you suppose he is arguing about?"
"That," announced Betty, unintentionally dramatic, "is JosephPeabody!"
The girls had heard about Joseph Peabody, a little from Betty, andmore from Bob, who had spoken freely to their father. They knew abouthis miserly nature and they were acquainted with the fact that hebelieved Bob had stolen something that did not belong to him. Thereal story of the unrecorded deed both Bob and Betty had told only toMr. Littell. It was characteristic of Bobby's loyal nature that herfirst thought should be for Betty.
"You don't suppose he is down here after you, do you?" shewhispered, clutching Betty by the elbow in a sudden panic. "Oh,Betty, suppose he wanted to drag you back to Bramble Farm?"
Betty had to laugh, in spite of the anxiety she was feeling.
"He has no authority over me," she explained. "Besides, he wouldhave no earthly use for me if my board wasn't paid in advance." Herface clouded involuntarily as the thought of her missing uncle thuscame to her mind. "No," she went on, "I'm terribly afraid that he ishere looking for Bob. You know he threatened to have him arrestedthat time Bob managed to escape him. I wonder if I can't get to a'phone booth without being seen and telephone to Bob or Mr. Derby."
Louise rather impatiently pushed her sister aside that she mighttake a peep at the unconscious Mr. Peabody. As she put her eye to thecrack between the curtains she uttered a little shriek that she triedto stifle with her hand.
"Betty!" she cried so shrilly that those in the lobby must haveheard her if the harsh call of a siren outside had not soundedopportunely. "Betty, here comes Bob!"
Sure enough, in through the revolving door, neatly dressed andlooking every inch the intelligent young junior clerk, came BobHenderson, his eyes glued to a letter he had taken from his pocket.
Betty would have given even her hope of a letter from Oklahoma tohave been able to call a warning. Instead, she had to standhelplessly by and watch the lad walk directly to the desk, where heput a question to the clerk. Instantly Joseph Peabody whirled and hadthe boy by the collar.
"Got you at last, you young imp!" he chortled gleefully. "This timeI don't calculate to let go of you till I land you where you'regoing--behind the bars. That is, unless you hand over what you've gotof mine!"
Several people turned to stare curiously, and Betty sympathizedacutely with the crimson-faced Bob, who was protesting hotly that hehad nothing belonging to Peabody.
"You stay here," she ordered Louise and Bobby. "There's no need ofyou mixing in this. I'm going to see if I can help Bob."
She sped across the hall to the desk, followed by her two faithfulshadows, who were determined to stand loyally by.
"Well, I swan, if it isn't Betty!" ejaculated the farmer when hecaught sight of her.