I'm convinced he's responsible for this latest andmost dreadful circular," and she laid it before him.
"A girl's intuition is not as mature as a woman's intuition," the Chiefanswered in an impatient tone. "You force me to say, my dear younglady, that you are dabbling in affairs that do not concern you. I'veplenty of those circulars on file and I'm attending to my duty andkeeping an eye open for the rascal who wrote them. But there is noproof that Kasker is the man. The federal officers are alsoinvestigating the case, and I imagine they will not require yourassistance."
Mary Louise flushed but stood her ground.
"Isn't it the duty of every patriotic person to denounce a traitor?"she inquired.
"Yes, if there is proof. I think you are wrong about Kasker, but if youare able to bring me proof, I'll arrest him and turn him over to thefederal agents for prosecution. But, for heaven's sake, don't bother mewith mere suspicions."
Mary Louise did not accept this rebuke graciously. She went away withthe feeling that Chief Farnum was, for some reason, condoning a crime,and she was firmly resolved to obtain the required proof if it could besecured without subjecting herself to the annoyance of such rebuffs asthe one she had just endured.
"We ought not to permit such a snake in the grass to exist in dear oldDorfield," she told her girl associates. "Let us all try to discoverabsolute proof of Kasker's treachery."
The other Liberty Girls were as indignant as Mary Louise, but were toointent on their present duties to pay much attention to Jake Kasker.For the Liberty Girls' Shop was now open to the public, and men, womenand children crowded in to see what the girls had to offer. Sales wereso brisk during the first week that the stock became depleted and oncemore they made a house to house canvass to obtain a new supply ofmaterial.
This kept all six of the girls busily occupied. Irene each morning rodedown to the shop in the Hathaway automobile--wheel-chair and all--andacted as cashier, so as to relieve the others of this duty. She couldaccomplish this work very nicely and became the Liberty Girls'treasurer and financial adviser. Each day she deposited in the bank themoney received, and the amounts were so liberal that enthusiasm waseasily maintained.
"The soldier boys have reason to rejoice," said Irene complacently,"for we shall soon be able to provide them with numerous comforts andluxuries--all of which they are surely entitled to."
So the new enterprise was progressing finely when, one evening, onreaching home from a busy day at the shop, Mary Louise found a letterthat greatly pleased her. It was from an old and valued girl friend inWashington and after rambling along pleasantly on a variety of subjectsthe writer concluded as follows:
"But we can talk all this over at our leisure, my dear, for I'm goingto accept one of your many pressing invitations (the _first_ one, ofcourse) and make you another little visit. I love Dorfield, and I loveyou, and the dear Colonel, and Irene and Alora, and I long to see allof you again. Moreover, Daddy is being sent abroad on a secret mission,and I should be lonely without him. So expect me at any time. In myusual erratic fashion I may follow on the heels of this letter, or Imay lag behind it for a few days, but whenever I turn up at theHathaway gate, I'll demand a kiss and a welcome for"JOSIE O'GORMAN."
Now, this girl was in many ways so entirely unlike Mary Louise that onemight wonder what link of sympathy drew them together, unless it was"the law of opposites." However, there was one quality in both theirnatures that might warrant the warm friendship existing between the twogirls. Mary Louise was sweet and winning, with a charming, well-bredmanner and a ready sympathy for all who were in trouble. She wasattractive in person, particular as to dress, generous and considerateto a fault. The girl had been carefully reared and had well repaid thetraining of the gallant old colonel, her grandfather, who hadsurrounded her with competent instructors. Yet Mary Louise had apassion for mysteries and was never quite so happy as when engaged instudying a baffling personality or striving to explain a seemingenigma. Gran'pa Jim, who was usually her confidant when she "scented amystery," often accused her of allowing her imagination to influenceher judgment, but on several occasions the girl had triumphantly provenher intuitions to be correct. You must not think, from this statement,that Mary Louise was prone to suspect everyone she met; it was only onrare occasions she instinctively felt there was more beneath thesurface of an occurrence than appeared to the casual observer, andthen, if a wrong might be righted or a misunderstanding removed--butonly in such event--she eagerly essayed to discover the truth. It wasin this manner that she had once been of great service to her friendAlora Jones, and to others as well. It was this natural quality,combined with sincere loyalty, which made her long to discover andbring to justice the author of the pro-German circulars.
Josie O'Gorman was small and "pudgy"--her own expression--red-hairedand freckled-faced and snub-nosed. Her eyes redeemed much of thispersonal handicap, for they were big and blue as turquoises and asmerry and innocent in expression as the eyes of a child. Also, the goodhumor which usually pervaded her sunny features led people to ignoretheir plainness. In dress, Josie was somewhat eccentric in herselections and careless in methods of wearing her clothes, but thismight be excused by her engrossing interest in people, rather than inapparel.
The girl was the daughter--the only child, indeed--of John O'Gorman, anold and trusted lieutenant of the government's secret-service. FromJosie's childhood, the clever detective had trained her in all thesubtle art of his craft, and allowing for her youth, which meant alimited experience of human nature and the intricacies of crime, JosieO'Gorman was now considered by her father to be more expert than theaverage professional detective. While the astute secret-service agentwas more than proud of his daughter's talent, he would not allow her toundertake the investigation of crime as a profession until she wasolder and more mature. Sometimes, however, he permitted and evenencouraged her to "practise" on minor or unimportant cases of a privatenature, in which the United States government was not interested.
Josie's talent drew Mary Louise to her magnetically. The detective'sdaughter was likewise a delightful companion. She was so well versed inall matters of national import, as well as in the foibles andpeculiarities of the human race, that even conservative, old ColonelHathaway admired the girl and enjoyed her society. Josie had visitedMary Louise more than once and was assured a warm welcome whenever shecame to Dorfield. Most of the Liberty Girls knew Josie O'Gorman, andwhen they heard she was coming they straightway insisted she be made amember of their band.
"She'll just _have_ to be one of us," said Mary Louise, "for I'm sobusy with our wonderful Shop that I can't entertain Josie properlyunless she takes a hand in our game, which I believe she will be gladto do."
And Josie _was_ glad, and proclaimed herself a Liberty Girl the firsthour of her arrival, the moment she learned what the patriotic band hadalready accomplished and was determined to accomplish further.
"It's just play, you know, and play of the right sort--loyal andhelpful to those who deserve the best we can give them, our bravesoldiers and sailors. Count me in, girls, and you'll find me at theLiberty Shop early and late, where I promise to sell anything from anold hoopskirt to a decayed piano at the highest market price. We've hadsome 'rummage sales' in Washington, you know, but nothing to comparewith this thorough and businesslike undertaking of yours. But I won'twear your uniform; I can't afford to allow the gloriousred-white-and-blue to look dowdy, as it would on my unseemly form."
CHAPTER IXGATHERING UP THE THREADS
Josie O'Gorman had been in Dorfield several days before Mary Louiseshowed her the traitorous circulars that had been issued by someunknown obstructionist. At first she had been a little ashamed toacknowledge to her friend that a citizen of her own town could be sodisloyal, but the matter had weighed heavily on her mind and so shedecided to unload it upon Josie's shrewder intelligence.
"I feel, dear, that the best service you can render us while here--thebest you can render the nation, too--will be to try to discover thissecret enemy," she said earnestly. "I'm sur
e he has done a lot of harm,already, and he may do much more if he is left undisturbed. Some folksare not too patriotic, even now, when we are facing the most terribleordeal in our history, and some are often so weak as to be influencedby what I am sure is pro-German propaganda."
Josie studied the various circulars. She studied the handwriting on theenvelopes and the dates of the postmarks. Her attitude was tense, asthat of a pointer dog who suddenly senses a trail. Finally she asked:
"Do the police know?"
Mary Louise related her two interviews with Chief Farnum.
"How about the agents of the department of justice?"
"I don't know of