CHAPTER XXIV--TRIUMPH
Before her classmates knew what she was about or had fairly taken inwhat she had said, Billie had darted from the room and was flying towardthe dormitory.
"She's crazy again," cried Vi. "Come on," and she and Laura and Connieflew after her, overtaking her as she reached the stairs.
"What's the big idea?" gasped Laura, as they ran together down the halltoward the dormitory. "What do you expect to do to poor Nick--sandbaghim?"
"Something like that," returned Billie, slipping hurriedly into her coatand hat and motioning impatiently for the girls to do the same. "If wecan only get hold of him we may be able to frighten him into telling uswhere the machinery is."
"Oh, and maybe I'll be able to get my watch back!" added Connie, pullinga dark cap down over her fluffy hair and carefully adjusting it at theright angle.
"We won't get anything if you don't hurry," said Billie, regarding herimpatiently. "What do you think you're going to, anyway? A party?"
"You had better put on your leggings," suggested Vi, looking doubtfullyat the rubbers Billie had pulled on over her shoes. "The snow's awfullydeep."
"Haven't time," cried Billie, adding distractedly: "For mercy sake,hurry! While you girls are dolling up for a party, Nick Budd will begone."
At this dreadful thought the girls stopped fussing and followed Billiehurriedly down the stairs. They slowed down in the lower hall, however,for there they were apt to meet a teacher, and undue haste might bethought suspicious by one of these "unreasonable beings."
At sight of Nick Budd, a plan had come to Billie. She remembered howterrified he had seemed when he had found Teddy and her in the cave thatday and thought in his crazy mind that they had come to arrest him.
So she was going to take a chance of so frightening him with a threat ofarrest that he would confess, and perhaps even be prevailed upon to leadthem to the cave.
In case this plan should fail, she had not an idea in the world what shewould do next. But the plan did not fail. It worked more perfectly thanshe had dared to hope.
They caught up to the simpleton just as he was sneaking around to thejanitor's entrance of the school, and the fellow shrank from them like afrightened animal.
"Wh-what do you want?" he stammered, his hands out as though to wardthem off. "I haven't done nothin'. Ye can't arrest me. I haven't donenothin', I tell you." His terror was pitiful, but Billie followed up heradvantage ruthlessly while the girls stood by in admiring silence.
"You _have_ done something," she told him sternly, while he coweredstill further back from her. "You've stolen things--lots of things. Andwe _will_ have you arrested----"
"Oh no--oh no," he cried out, fairly gibbering in his terror andslinking further back against the wall. "Ye're tryin' to scare me. Ihaven't done nothin', I tell ye."
But Billie took him by the sleeve and shook him as she would a badchild.
"I tell you I _know_," she cried, conviction in her tone that carriedeven to the poor muddled brain of the simpleton. "And I know where theyare, too. They are in your cave, hidden away. Every-last-one-of-them!"
Of course Billie was taking a big chance, but the shot went home.
The simpleton stared at her for a moment out of his blood-shot eyeswhile his big mouth dropped open. Then he began to cry, great tears thatran down his grimy face and made crooked streaks upon it.
It was an indescribably terrible and pitiful sight, the poor sillyfellow in his abject terror, and ordinarily Billie would have felt sorryfor him. But she thought of Polly Haddon, and the thought gave hercourage. Polly Haddon had suffered, and now if it was this poorsimpleton's turn, it was no more than he deserved, after all.
"Listen to me carefully," she said, pulling at his sleeve again andspeaking very distinctly. "If you will take us to the cave and promiseto give back everything you have stolen to the people you have stolenfrom, we will try to keep you from being arrested."
"You won't put me in jail?" jabbered the simpleton. "You won't let thepolicemen get me?"
Billie shook her head, adding quickly: "But you must take us to the caveright away and help us bring back the things you have stolen. Otherwisewe will have you arrested to-night."
They were hardly prepared for his sudden acceptance of the ultimatum. Heturned, with the swiftness that had surprised Billie and Teddy before,and strode off through the heavy snow, the girls, after a minute ofindecision, following.
"What do you suppose Miss Walters will say?" Laura whispered in Billie'sear. "Do you suppose she will mind our running away like this?"
"I don't know," answered Billie, adding with a hint of premature triumphin her voice: "I don't imagine she will say anything though if we comehome with the knitting machinery models, the blue prints, and an armfulof stolen things besides."
"Oh, if I can only get back my watch, I'll be happy," sighed Connie, asshe plodded along beside Vi.
"'If' is right," said Laura, ruefully. "We haven't got anything yet, youknow."
"Now who's the wet blanket?" cried Billie gayly. She was feelingamazingly happy and confident all of a sudden. For had not she just wonthe first prize for the best composition? After that she felt that shecould accomplish anything.
It was no easy task to make their way through the woods. Nick Buddtrudged along sturdily, hardly looking at the girls.
"He may be simple-minded, but he is as strong as a horse--at least, whenit comes to walking," remarked Laura in a whisper.
"Many simple-minded folks are strong," answered Billie. "Why, somelunatics are noted for their strength--I once heard my father say so."
They had to pass over an exceedingly rough rise of ground and then downthrough a hollow where the bushes grew close together. Here the walkingwas very uneven and Connie gave a sudden cry of pain.
"What's the matter?" demanded Billie quickly, and came to a halt besideher classmate.
"I slipped into a hole and I--I guess I wrenched my ankle," and Conniemade a wry face.
"Can't you go on?" questioned Vi.
"I--I guess so, but I'll do a little limping," was Connie's reply.
"We'll have to be careful," warned Billie. "We don't want to hurtourselves if we can help it."
After an hour of trudging through the snow they came at last to thetwig-entwined entrance to Nick's cave. Luckily the simpleton had beatena sort of path through the snow from Three Towers to the cave--a factwhich showed that he had made frequent visits to the school--or thegirls almost surely could not have made the trip.
Nick pulled aside the twigs that concealed the entrance and divedinside, leaving the girls to follow as best they could.
But the girls did not follow--immediately. They were no cowards, but thesight of that yawning dark mouth was enough to make them hesitate. Andbesides, there was a simpleton at the other end of that dark passage, asimpleton who might be mad enough by this time to do any desperatething.
"You go first, Billie," Vi urged nervously. "He is afraid of you----"
But at that moment a dancing light flickered down the dark passage andimmediately Nick Budd himself appeared, carrying a lighted candle whichhe carefully shielded from the wind.
The terror had not left his face, and he looked at Billie abjectly, likea beaten dog.
"Will ye come in?" he asked in a barely audible voice. "Or shall I bringthe things out here?"
But as the latter course would give the simpleton an excellent chance toretain some of his loot, Billie replied firmly that they would come inand see for themselves.
Vi made a noise that sounded something like a groan, and Connie echoedit pathetically. But they joined the queer little procession just thesame, following Nick Budd down the dark passage to the still darkercave, guided only by the flaring light of his one candle.
It was a dangerous thing for the girls to do. The simpleton, with thecunning of the mentally-deficient, might have decided to attack them allthere in the darkness of the cave. And he would have had a good chanceof doing it, too.
But the gods that favor the daring watched over the girls that day andbrought them safely through their adventure.
Billie had evidently thoroughly cowed the simpleton, and his one thoughtwas to get rid of his stolen goods as quickly as possible and thus evadethe dreadful prison that loomed more horrible to him than death.
There in a corner of the cave the girls found the knitting machinerymodel and the precious blue prints, besides a great pile of smalltrinkets that comprised pretty nearly everything that had been stolenfrom the girls during the last few weeks.
They were no more eager to linger in the cave than Nick Budd was to havethem. So they eagerly pocketed as many of the trinkets as theycould--Connie snapping the precious recovered wrist watch about herwrist with as much joy as though it had been three times as valuable asit really was--and Billie, taking the candle from Nick Budd's fingers,ordered him to carry the wooden machinery. She herself took charge ofthe blue prints.
When they had reached the outside world once more, Billie blew out thecandle, threw it into the cave, and readjusted the twigs at the entranceas best she could.
Then she ordered Nick Budd to lead the way back to the Hall. This thesimpleton did, although he sometimes staggered under the weight hecarried and several times had to put his burden down.
But in spite of the delays and the cold, the return journey seemed shortto the girls, for they were triumphantly happy and chattered likemagpies all the way back.
"I've got my wrist watch! I've got my wrist watch!" crowed Connie overand over again till the girls got tired of hearing her and Laura askedher if she would mind changing her tune.
"And won't the girls be surprised when we tell them what sleuths weare," added Vi.
"Humph," sniffed Laura. "Billie is the real detective. We're only--whatdo you call 'em?--'also rans.' We come in at the end and clap noisily."
"Nonsense," laughed Billie. "I couldn't have done a thing without yougirls. Look out," she cried sharply, as Nick Budd stumbled and almostdropped his load. "If you should break that thing, Nick Budd, I'd murderyou." But this last was delivered in an undertone. The poor simpletonhad troubles enough without being threatened.
"Oh," giggled Laura, incorrigibly, "ain't she the vicious thing?"
One would have thought that the girls had had about enough excitementthat day, but it seemed that fate still held a little more in store forthem.
They were coming up the winding path that led to the Hall when they sawa black-clad figure that looked strangely familiar hurrying on beforethem.
"Isn't that Polly Haddon?" asked Vi, eagerly. "Yes, it is. Oh, whatluck!"
She was about to call out, but Billie stopped her.
"We'll want to break it to her gently," she warned, but her warning cametoo late. Polly Haddon had heard their voices and had glanced backindifferently.
Then, recognizing the girls, she turned and came hurrying toward them.At sight of her, Nick Budd dropped his burden in the snow and ran forall he was worth back the way he had come.
Billie tried to put herself between Polly Haddon and that bulky objectin the snow, but once more she was too late. For the woman had seen.
With a little cry, Polly Haddon crumpled suddenly and lay out in thesnow, as inert as a bundle of old clothes.
"Good gracious!" cried Laura frantically. "Now just when everything isbeautiful and lovely, she's gone and died!"