CHAPTER XVI. A NEW "CASE" FOR BOBS
The outer office of the Fourth Avenue Branch of the Burns DetectiveAgency was vacant when the girl entered, but almost instantly the door ofthe inner office opened and Mr. Jewett himself stood there. His pleasantface brightened when he saw his visitor. Advancing with his right handextended, he exclaimed: "Miss Vandergrift, I am almost surprised to seeyou. I really feared that you had deserted your new profession."
"But--Mr. Jewett--I--that is--my name. I told you that it was MissDolittle."
The young man drew forward a chair for her, then seated himself at hisdesk, and again Roberta realized that, although his face was serious, hisgray-blue eyes were smiling.
"The letter I sent to you was addressed to Miss Roberta Vandergrift," hesaid, "and, since you have replied in person, am I not justified inbelieving that to be your real name?"
Bobs flushed. "I'll have to acknowledge that it is," she said, "but theother day when you asked me my name, I didn't quite like to give that ofour family and so, at random, I chose one." Then the girl smiled franklyat him. "I couldn't have chosen a worse one, it seems. Miss Dolittle didnot impress my late employer as being a good name for a clerk."
"You are wrong there," the young man told her, and at last there was nomistaking the fact that he was amused. "Mr. Queerwitz decided that youdid too much and not too little. I don't know when I have been so pleasedas I was over the fact, which so disturbs him, that you were able todrive the better bargain. Mr. Queerwitz has excelled in that line, and tohave a mere slip of a girl obtain one thousand dollars for a book, themate of which brought him but five hundred dollars, is humiliating to saythe least."
Then, leaning forward, the young man said, with evident interest: "MissVandergrift, will you tell me what happened?"
Roberta's expression was sphynx-like. "I understand, Mr. Jewett," shereplied, "that one need not give incriminating evidence against oneself."
Then her eyes twinkled. "And what is more," she told him, "I don'tbelieve that it is necessary. This office seems to have ferreted out thefacts."
"You are right," the young man confessed, "and now I will tell you justwhat happened. It seems that while you were out for lunch Mr. Queerwitz,or one of his assistants, discovered that the rare book was missing. Hephoned me at once and reported that his head clerk believed that you hadtaken the book. She had found you so absorbed in it earlier in the daythat you had not even been conscious of her presence.
"I assured Mr. Queerwitz that I believed he was on the wrong trail, buthe insisted that a detective be sent to watch your actions. This wasdone, and that night the report delivered to this office was that you hadvisited an old second-hand book shop on Third Avenue; that from there youhad mailed one book, and had then taken another to Mr. Van Loon, sold it,and had delivered the money to the old bookseller.
"Our natural conclusion was that the stolen book was the one that you hadsold, but when Mr. Van Loon was reached by telephone, he stated that thefirst of the volumes was the one that he had purchased for one thousanddollars.
"We said nothing of all this to Mr. Queerwitz, as we wished to see if thebook that you had mailed was the one that had been taken from the antiqueshop.
"It was not until the following noon that the book was delivered, andalmost immediately afterward Mr. Van Loon appeared and purchased it forfive hundred dollars during the absence of Mr. Queerwitz.
"We were then forced to conclude that the old bookseller on Third Avenuehad been the thief, and we sent at once to his shop to have him arrested,only to discover that with his wife, Marlitta, he had sailed for Europeat daybreak.
"However, our detective reported that Miss Dolittle was at the shop,having all of the old books heaped upon a cart. Being truly puzzled bythe case, I decided to follow it up myself, which I did, reaching theplace in my closed car just as you were being driven away on thebook-laden truck. I followed, unobserved, and when you descended in frontof the Pensinger mansion, with which place I am familiar, I decided thatyou lived there. To verify this I visited the grocer who has charge ofthe place.
"I made a few purchases and then said casually to the grocer: 'I see theold Pensinger mansion is occupied. People been there long?'
"Mr. Tenowitz, as I hoped, was garrulous and told me all he knew aboutthe three Vandergrift girls who had taken possession of the place. Hesaid the one answering to your description was called Roberta.
"Of course the grocer really knew little about you, but it was not hardfor a detective to learn much more about a family that, for generations,has been so well known in New York. But there is one thing I do notunderstand, and that is your evident interest in that old second-handdealer in books."
"I will tell you gladly," Roberta said, and she recounted the story fromthe moment when she had caught a first glimpse of the spray of lilacs,unconsciously telling him more than her words did of how touched herheart was by the poverty and sorrow that she was seeing for the firsttime.
When she paused, he looked thoughtfully out of the window. "I don't knowthat I ought to permit you to continue in this line of work," he said. "Agirl brought up as you have been can know nothing, really, of the dangersthat lurk everywhere in this great city."
"Oh, Mr. Jewett!" Bobs was eager, "please let me try just once more;then, if I fail again I will endeavor to find a profession for which I ambetter fitted."
"Very well, I will," was the smiling reply, "for this case cannot leadyou into places that might be unwise for you to visit. In fact, I am surethat it is a case that will greatly interest a young girl."
Mr. Jewett paused to take a note book from his pocket. While he wasscanning the pages Roberta leaned forward, waiting, almost breathlesslyeager.
Mr. Jewett, glancing up from his note book, smiled to see Bobs' eager,interested expression. Then he told her about the case. "A certain Mrs.Waring-Winston, who is prominent in society, has a daughter who, althoughbrought up in a convent, is determined to go upon the stage. Her motherhas tried every form of persuasion to prevent this unfortunate step, andat last she decided that a year of travel in Europe might have thedesired effect, and so she engaged passage upon a steamer which is tosail next week.
"Mrs. Waring-Winston believed that if she could interest the girl inother things just now, on their return to this country she might entirelyabandon her determination to become a chorus girl. The mother assured methat Winnie, her daughter, is not talented enough to advance beyond thatpoint.
"But the girl, it would seem, has more determination and self-will thanshe has talent, for when her mother informed her of the plans she hadmade, although outwardly seeming to acquiesce, she was inwardlyrebellious as her subsequent actions proved, for that night shedisappeared.
"Three days have passed and she has not returned. Mrs. Waring-Winston didnot report the matter at once, believing that Winnie must have gone tostay with girl friends in the suburbs; but yesterday, having inquired atall possible places where her daughter might visit without having found atrace of her whereabouts, Mrs. Waring-Winston, in desperation, appealedto us, imploring us forever to keep the matter secret. We, of course,agreed to do this, and it was then that I determined to send for you,believing that a young girl could find Winnie sooner than one of ourmen."
"Do you think, Mr. Jewett, that the daughter of Mrs. Waring-Winston hasjoined a theatrical troupe in this city?" Bobs inquired.
"I think that it is more possible that she has joined a troupe thateither has or soon will leave town to tour the country, but of course wemust first visit the playhouses in the city. I have two other womenworking on the case, as I wish if possible to cover all of the theaterstoday. I have assigned to you a group of Broadway playhouses that you caneasily visit during the matinee performances. Here is a photograph of themissing girl."
Roberta looked at the pictured face. "How lovely she is!" was hercomment. "I do not wonder that her mother wants to protect her. How I dohope that I will be able to find Winn
ie and persuade her to wait, atleast, until she is eighteen years of age before choosing a profession."
The girl rose. "It is one-thirty," she said. "Perhaps I had better bestarting. Do I have to have a pass or something of that sort in order tobe admitted to the theaters?"
Mr. Jewett also rose and pinned a badge under the lapel of the girl'sjacket. "Show that," he told her, "and it will be all the pass that youwill need."
Then as he held open the door, he smilingly added, "Good luck to you,Miss Dolittle Vandergrift."
Bobs flashed a merry smile back at the young man. "I sincerely hope thatI will do more than I did last time," she said, but, when she was seatedin the taxi which was to take her to her destination on Broadway, herthoughts were not of the little would-be actress, but of Gwendolyn. Dayafter day Roberta had noted that, try as she might to be cheerful, heroldest sister, the one who had been Mother to them all, grew sadder andmore troubled.
"Glow will not be really happy," Bobs was thinking, "until Gwen comesback to us. I cannot see where she can be, for she had only one month'sallowance with her and she could not live long on that."
Bobs' reverie was suddenly interrupted by the stopping of the taxi, and,looking up, the girl found that they were in front of one of thefestively adorned theaters. With a rapidly beating heart, she descendedto the walk, made her way through the throng, showed her badge and wasadmitted. At her request an usher led her behind the scenes.
Bobs felt as though she were on the brink of some momentous discovery.