XII
Over the Banister
WHEN Aunt Cal saw that letter and I watched that funny, almostfrightened look pass over her face, I knew of course that there wasnothing for it but to tell her everything. But I never am good in acrisis and this time was no exception. Aunt Cal had picked up thepaper, as I have said, and now sat staring at it just exactly as if shewere seeing a ghost. "What is this?" she demanded again, and this timeI knew that somebody had to answer.
"It's a paper we found in that suitcase," I began. "I mean it droppedout when we opened it to look for an address and found all thosebottles and afterward it got under the bed somehow but as we hadreturned it by this time--though of course we could tell by the smellwhere it had come from----"
"My dear Sandra," Aunt Cal had regained some of her composure in theface of my stumbling recital, "I am sure that I find myself quiteunable to follow you."
"Perhaps I'd better tell it," Eve put in quietly. Whereupon she gaveAunt Cal the facts as they had happened in a few words, including theevening visit of the mysterious Mr. Bangs on the night when Aunt Calhad been absent in Old Beecham. Eve made no mention, however, of whatCaptain Trout had told us of Aunt Cal's own connection with theCravens, nor of the blue emerald. But she did tell about our search forthe missing statue.
When she had finished I waited breathlessly for what Aunt Cal wouldsay. Would she be very angry with us for keeping all this from her? ButI was to realize anew that evening that it was part of my aunt's codeof life to conceal her emotions. And her only comment when Eve hadended her recital was, "So that explains the condition of my bureaudrawers."
"But we put everything back just----" I was protesting when a look fromEve silenced me.
"We expected to tell you all about everything," she said, "just as soonas we found out something definite. You see we--we were afraid youwouldn't like to have us go out there at all if you knew--about Mr.Bangs being a housebreaker and all."
"You are quite correct in that," returned my aunt severely. "After allI am responsible for your safety."
"But of course now," I put in anxiously, "now that he has left, it isdifferent--I mean it can't do any harm just to go out and--and lookaround, I mean----"
"I doubt if your investigations will lead you anywhere," she returnedfrostily. "And now if you have quite finished with your extraordinaryrevelations, I think I will go in. Here in the country as youknow"--she looked pointedly at Hamish--"we are accustomed to retireearly."
Well so much for Aunt Cal's connection with the mystery, I thought, aswe sat in silence and watched her spare, uncompromising figure withAdam closely at heel disappear inside the kitchen door. Hamish, who hadkept silence for a longer period than I would have deemed possible, nowlet out an explosive "Whew!" And added gloomily, "And she went and leftmy present behind!" It was true; the combination mousetrap and insectsprayer still lay in its wrappings on the bench. But the letter wasgone!
"Never mind, Hamish," I said consolingly. "I think Aunt Cal really wasupset you know, though she didn't show it. I'm sure nothing but greatstress of mind would have made her forget your lovely present!"
"Well, maybe," he returned. "I suppose I'd better be going. Glad I madea copy of that letter though!"
So Hamish had copied the "cryptic message" too. Well, there were plentyof copies going around. Eve had one, and now Hamish, and I would nothave been surprised if Michael--for all his seeming indifference--hadone too. Besides that, Mr. Bangs apparently had the measurements in hishead, as he had proved. At this rate, all Fishers Haven might soon bein the secret of the whereabouts of Captain Judd's treasure.
"Eve," I said, after we had locked the back door and gone up to bed,"do you think Aunt Cal will do anything?"
Eve shook her head slowly. "I can't make her out," she said. "I'm assure as anything that she recognized the handwriting on that paper butthat's absolutely all I am sure of. If Hamish thought he had pulled acoup, he jolly well must have been disappointed."
"What?" I demanded. "You mean Hamish dropped that letter on purpose?"
"Why of course he did," returned Eve. "He wanted Aunt Cal to see it; hethought he'd find out something."
"But," I protested indignantly, "didn't we practically swear both himand Hattie May to secrecy before we showed it to them!"
"They agreed not to say anything. They didn't agree not to drop thingsaround apparently by accident."
"That Hamish!" I cried; "somebody ought to--to sit on him so hard--wellhard enough to make him yell."
"I warned you there'd be trouble," said Eve, "just as soon as HattieMay put her nose into this business."
I was just ready for bed when I found that I had left my wristwatchdownstairs on the kitchen shelf. Slipping into my bathrobe, I was aboutto steal down after it when I was surprised to see a light coming fromthe front room below stairs. Had Aunt Cal gone down again, Iwondered--or was this another evening visitor?
For a second I hesitated there on the top step. If it was Aunt Cal I'dbetter not go down, but if it was somebody else--Mr. Bangs perhaps,returned to make another search for his missing property----. Thethought sent me creeping forward. My slippered feet didn't make a soundon the carpeted stairs. Over the banister I now had a clear view intothe lighted room below, and there, seated at the old-fashionedsecretary in the corner, was Aunt Cal. The desk was open and spreadwith papers--letters by the look. And I had no doubt that Mr. Bangs'mysterious document was among them.
As quietly as I had descended, I stole back to our room and told Evewhat I had seen. "I think she's comparing the handwriting with someshe's got, don't you?"
"Perhaps," Eve agreed. "I do hope she isn't awfully upset by it all,"she added. "If I thought we'd been the means of worrying her oranything, I'd be sorry we ever found that letter, Sandy. I reallywould."
"Yes--of course," I agreed. "Still we weren't really responsible forfinding it--it isn't as if we had meant to take it. And anyhow maybesome good will come of it; you can't tell."
"If you mean finding treasure," Eve shook her head. "No, I'm inclinedto agree with Michael about that. Don't forget," she added wisely,"that we're living in the twentieth century!"
"No-o, I won't," I said with a sigh. "Very likely you're right,Eve--very likely we'd better just drop the whole thing, forget about itentirely. Still--there's the letter! People don't write downmeasurements, do they, unless there's something to measure?"
"Or unless they want to fool somebody!"
"Fool somebody?" Oh, that was a disconcerting thought! But fool who?Mr. Bangs, or Aunt Cal--or us? No, the last two possibilities wereabsurd. For our own possession of the letter had been purelyaccidental, as, for the matter of that, was Aunt Cal's. The more Ithough of it in the light of Eve's rather startling suggestion, themore confused I became. And it was perhaps no wonder that, fallingasleep at last, I should dream that Daisy June's eyes had turned intoblue emeralds but that, when I put out my hand to take them, it wasAdam's green ones which I found coldly regarding me.
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