CHAPTER IV
THE "CODFISH"
A few minutes later a very exultant crowd of young folks were startingback over the road they had just traveled so fast.
In the bottom of the tonneau,--Billie and the two boys were using it asa foot rest,--was safely stowed the shabby, but, oh! so precious oldtrunk, and on Billie's face was the "smile that wouldn't come off;" orat least that is what Ferd called it.
Teddy was the only member of the party who was not fully satisfied withthe expedition.
"We should have followed and caught the thief," he was saying for theeleventh time--Billie had counted them. "It would have been like takingcandy from a kid to have caught up with his old flivver, and then wecould have landed him in jail, where he belongs."
"But we wouldn't have time, Teddy," Billie reminded him. "You know thetrain guard said there would be a train through about eleven o'clock.And we can't miss it. Besides," and she shifted her feet happily on herfive thousand dollar footstool, "what do we care about that old man nowthat we've got the trunk?"
"Isn't that just like a girl," cried Teddy, almost running them into aditch in his indignation. "I suppose you would be willing to let all thethieves in the world go free if you could only get back what theystole."
"I certainly would if we had a train to catch," agreed Billie, and Ferdchuckled.
"Good for you, Billie!" he cried approvingly. "Stick to your guns. Idon't see any use of following up that old chap now that we've got thegoods."
"He wasn't very handsome, was he?" asked Billie, remembering that oneglimpse she had had of him.
"Maybe that's why you didn't want to follow him," chuckled Ferd, andTeddy scowled blackly at the wind shield.
"But wasn't he ugly?" Billie persisted. "I don't think I ever saw suchred hair. And his mouth--ugh!" She paused reflectively.
"Yes, it looked just like the mouth of a codfish," said Chet.
"The poor fish," remarked Ferd jocularly, but be it said to their creditthat no one laughed at this feeble attempt at a joke. They only stared.
As the car swept into the village again Billie had a sudden and ratherconscience-stricken memory of her chums. For the first time in her lifeshe had forgotten them completely. But then one doesn't lose fivethousand dollars and recover it every day!
As the car stopped at the station it was surrounded by an eager crowd ofpeople, among whom was the owner of the car. But for his generosity theywould never have been able to recover the trunk.
"Did you get it?"
"Did you bring back the thief?"
"Say, you must have done some speeding!"
These and other like remarks greeted the adventurers as they climbedfrom the car, and under cover of the confusion Billie made her escape.
Teddy, looking around for her a moment later, missed her and started inpursuit.
"You're always running away," he protested plaintively, when he overtookher just a little way from the cottage, the owner of which had shownthem such generous hospitality.
Billie wrinkled up her nose in surprise.
"Running away?" she repeated wonderingly. "Why, Teddy, sometimes Ialmost think you're foolish."
"That's what Mother says, only she's sure of it," said Teddy, with a wrylittle grimace that made Billie laugh.
"Well, she ought to know better than I," she said demurely. "She's knownyou longer."
"Not very much," Teddy retorted, opening the gate of the little picketfence for her. "And, anyway, you haven't answered my question. What didyou run away for?"
"I didn't run away. I escaped," she explained, making a face at thememory of the crowd. "I wonder what makes people so curious. I dobelieve all a person would have to do to collect a crowd would be tostand on a soap box and say, 'Isn't this beautiful weather?'"
"You bet. Especially if that person were you," said Teddy, and Billielooked at him reproachfully.
As the two entered the hall they met the girls just coming down stairs.
They all went to the kitchen, where they found Mrs. Jenkins justfinishing a batch of golden brown crullers. She greeted the girls with abeaming smile and insisted that Laura and Violet sit down while she gotthem some breakfast.
"Why, you must be nearly starved," she said.
The girls protested that they were making her too much trouble, but shegave them a cruller--"to stop their mouths," she said--and then setcheerily to work to fry some more bacon and eggs, putting in a word nowand then and listening with a smile to the girls' merry chatter.
"You mustn't scold me when you're hungry," Billie said, and the gladnessin her voice made the girls look at her eagerly. "No, I'm not going totell you a word," she said firmly as they started to ply her withquestions. "Not till you've had some breakfast, anyway. Eat, prettycreatures, eat."
Billie looked up at pretty Mrs. Jenkins and invitingly patted the emptychair beside her.
"Sit down here, please," she coaxed. "I want you to hear this too."
"Now tell us," Laura commanded impatiently. "Why did you leave us asleepand go out? And, oh, Billie! have you found your trunk?"
So Billie told the story while the girls listened open-eyed andopen-mouthed, completely forgetting their breakfast, which lay untouchedbefore them.
Mrs. Jenkins seemed almost as excited as they did, and leaned over thetable, one hand clutching the bread knife, while her rosy face fairlybeamed. Here was adventure such as rarely came to the village.
Billie had just come to the part where the thief dropped the trunk inthe road when Mr. Bradley and the two other boys burst in upon them withthe news that the train was due in about fifteen minutes.
Laura and Violet left their almost untouched breakfast, mumbled anexcuse to Mrs. Jenkins, and rushed with Billie up to the bedroom theyhad occupied the night before to gather up their things and put on theirhats and coats.
"Laura, you have my comb," said Violet accusingly, as Laura was stuffingthat article hastily into her hand bag.
"Well, take your old comb," replied Laura, throwing it over to her. "Itisn't as good as mine, anyway. It has a tooth out."
"Somebody will have more than one tooth out if she doesn't hurry,"threatened Billie. "Girls, we mustn't lose that train. Listen! There'sthe whistle."
Thereupon the girls forgot to quarrel and combined forces for a rush tothe train.
They rushed down the stairs, falling over their suitcases and eachother, and found Mrs. Jenkins waiting for them at the bottom of thestairs.
Mr. Bradley had insisted upon paying her for her hospitality, but shehad stubbornly refused to take a cent.
"No, sir," she had said, shaking her head decidedly. "Do you think I'mgoing to let you pay me for having a good time? I love the girls andboys, bless 'em, and I hate to see 'em go. Pay me--well, I guess not!"
So Mr. Bradley had shaken her hand and thanked her heartily, which wasthe best that he could do.
And now the girls even risked missing the train to give her the onlykind of pay she wanted. Billie dropped her bag and impulsively threw herarms about the comely woman.
"You've just been sweet to us," she said, "and we'll never, never,_never_ forget how kind you've been. I--I'd like to kiss you, if youdon't mind."
Shyly she kissed Mrs. Jenkins' rosy cheek, and Violet and Laura followedsuit. The boys and Mr. Bradley shook hands with her heartily, and thenthey picked up their belongings and fairly ran down the steps and out atthe little white gate.
They turned to wave to Mrs. Jenkins, and she waved back at them untilthey disappeared around the corner; and when she started to go into thehouse she was surprised to find that there were tears in her eyes.
"The precious lambs," she said. "The precious little lambs! They kissedme, too, bless 'em!" and she put her hand up gently to her face.
Meanwhile the train that was to carry the North Bend party back home hadthundered into the station, and all the passengers who had been strandedin the place overnight were crowding on board.
As Billie was being hurried up the
steps, she suddenly paused and lookedback at her father.
"Where's the trunk?" she asked nervously.
"In the baggage car," Mr. Bradley assured her. "We'll get it safely toNorth Bend--unless we have another wreck."
As soon as he had made the speech he regretted it. Billie's face wentwhite and Laura and Violet looked back at him with startled eyes, thenwent on more slowly into the car.
The luggage had been stowed away in the racks overhead and the girlswere removing their hats when the train moved slowly from the station.
"You know, I'm terribly afraid," Violet confided in a whisper to Billie."I--I won't feel safe for a minute until we reach North Bend."
Billie looked a little uncertain herself, but suddenly there floatedacross her vision a shabby, odd, little trunk, filled to the brim withold coins and postage stamps. Then she laughed.
"After this morning," she said, "I'm not afraid of anything. The luck'sall on our side!"