CHAPTER IV _Interviewing Hannah_
Keeping under cover of the cedar trees, Mary Louise and Jane followedElsie Grant, at a discreet distance, to the back of the house. Unlike thefront entrance, there was a screen at the kitchen door, so the girlscould hear Hannah's exclamation at the sight of the transformation inElsie's appearance.
"My land!" she cried in amazement. "Where did you get them clothes,Elsie?"
Elsie laughed; the first normal, girlish laugh that Mary Louise and Janehad ever heard from her.
"Don't I look nice, Hannah?" she asked. "I haven't seen myself yet in amirror, but I'm sure I do. I feel so different."
"You look swell, all right," agreed the servant. "But no credit to you!If that's what you done with your aunt's money----"
"Oh, no, Hannah!" protested Elsie. "You're wrong there. I didn't _buy_these things. They were given to me."
The two girls were standing at the screen door now, in full view, andElsie beckoned for them to come inside. "These are my friends, Hannah.The girls who rescued Aunt Mattie's kitten--remember? And they brought methe clothes this morning."
The woman shook her head.
"It might be true, but nobody'd believe it. Folks don't give away nicethings like that. I know that, for I've had a lot of 'hand-me-downs' inmy life.... Besides, they fit you too good."
"But we did bring them to Elsie," asserted Jane. "You can see that we'reall about the same size. And we can prove it by our mothers. We'll bringthem over----"
"You'll do nuthin' of the kind!" returned Hannah. "Miss Mattie don't wanta lot of strangers pokin' into her house and her affairs. Now, you tworun along! And, Elsie, hurry up and get out of that finery. Look at themdishes waitin' fer you in the sink!"
The girl nodded and disappeared up the back stairs, humming a little tuneto herself as she went. Mary Louise stood still.
"We want to ask you a question or two, Hannah," she explained. "We wantto help find the thief who stole Miss Grant's money."
The woman's nose shot up in the air, and a stubborn look came over herface.
"Is that so?" she asked defiantly. "And what business is that of your'n?"
"We're making it our business," replied Mary Louise patiently, "becausewe're fond of Elsie. We think it's terrible for her to be accused ofsomething she didn't do."
"How do you know she didn't do it?"
"Why--we just know."
"That ain't no reason! Besides, what do you know about Elsie Grant? Seenher a couple of times and listened to her hard luck story and believe youknow all about her!"
"But surely you don't believe Elsie stole that money?" demanded Jane. "Ifshe had, she'd certainly have run away immediately. Wouldn't she?"
"Maybe--if she had the spirit. But, anyhow, it ain't none of yourbusiness, and Miss Mattie don't want it to get around. She don't want noscandal. Now--get along with you!"
"Please, Hannah!" begged Mary Louise. "We'll promise not to tell anybodyabout the robbery--not even our mothers. If you'd just answer a couple ofquestions----"
The woman eyed her suspiciously.
"You think maybe I done it?" she demanded. "Well, I didn't! Miss Mattieknows how honest I am. William too--that's me husband. We've been in thishouse ever since Miss Mattie was a girl, and the whole family knows theycan trust us."
"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed Mary Louise. "I'm not suspecting _you_,Hannah! All I want is a little information."
"You're not going to the police and tell what you know? Or to somedetective?"
"No. On my word of honor, no! Jane and I are going to try to bedetectives ourselves, that's all. For Elsie's sake."
The woman's expression softened. After all, Mary Louise's brown eyes hada winning way.
"All right. Only hurry up. I got a lot of work to do."
Mary Louise smiled. "I'll be quick," she promised. "I just want to knowwhether you think there was any time during the day or evening--beforeMiss Grant went to bed--when a burglar could have entered the housewithout being seen or heard."
Hannah stopped beating the cake which she had been mixing while thisconversation was taking place and gave the matter her entireconsideration.
"Let me think," she muttered. "Not all mornin', fer Miss Mattie was inher room herself. Not in the afternoon, neither, fer there was too manypeople around. All them relations come over, and Miss Mattie was right onthe front parch--and I was here at the back.... No, I don't see howanybody could have got in without bein' heard."
"How about supper time?" questioned Mary Louise. "Couldn't somebody haveclimbed in over the porch roof while the family were eating in the diningroom?"
"It's possible," answered Hannah. "But it ain't likely. Burglars ain'tusually as quiet as all that. No; I hold with Miss Mattie--that Elsie ormaybe that good-fer-nuthin' Harry took the money."
Mary Louise sighed and turned towards the door.
"I'm sure it wasn't Elsie," she said again. "But maybe you're right aboutMr. Harry Grant. I hope we find out.... By the way," she added, "youcouldn't tell me just how much was taken, could you, Hannah?"
"No, I couldn't. Miss Mattie didn't say.... Now, my advice to you girlsis: fergit all about it! It ain't none of your affairs, and Elsie ain't agood companion fer you young ladies. She ain't had no eddication, andprobably, now she's fifteen, her aunt'll put her into service as ahousemaid somewheres. And you won't want to be associatin' with noservant girl!"
Jane's eyes blazed with indignation.
"It's not fair!" she cried. "In a country like America, where educationis free. Anybody who wants it has a right to it."
"Then she can git it at night school while she's workin', if she sets hermind to it," remarked Hannah complacently.
"Well, Hannah, we thank you very much for your help," concluded MaryLouise as she opened the screen door. "And--you'll see us again!"
Neither girl said anything further until they were outside the big hedgethat surrounded Dark Cedars. Both of them felt baffled by the conflictinginformation they had gathered.
"I wish I could put the whole affair up to Daddy," observed Mary Louise,as they descended the hill to the road. "He isn't home now, but he soonwill be."
"Well, you can't," replied her chum. "It might get Elsie into trouble.And besides, we gave our promise."
"It'll be hard not to talk about it. Oh, dear, if we only knew where andhow to begin!"
"I guess the first thing to do is to find out just what was stolen," saidJane. "That would make it more definite, at least. We have heard that itwas money, but we don't know how much or what kind."
"Yes, that's true--and it would help considerably to know. For instance,if there was a lot of gold, as Elsie seems to think, it would bepractically impossible for Harry Grant to have concealed it in hispockets, or for Corinne Pearson to have carried it back to Riversidewithout any car. But if, on the other hand, it was mostly paper money, itwould be no trick at all for either one of them to have made away withit."
The shrill screech of a loud horn attracted the girls' attention at thatmoment. A familiar horn, whose sound could not be mistaken. It belongedon the roadster owned by Max Miller, Mary Louise's special boy-friend.
In another second the bright green car flashed into view, came up to thegirls, and stopped with a sudden jamming on of the brakes. Two hatlessyoung men in flannel trousers and tennis shirts jumped out of the frontseat.
"What ho! and hi!--and greetings!" cried Max in delight. "Where have youtwo been?"
"Taking a walk," answered Mary Louise calmly.
"Taking a walk!" repeated Norman Wilder, the other young man, who wasusually at Jane's elbow at parties and sports affairs. "You mean--giving_us_ the air!"
"Giving _you_ the air? In what way?" Jane's tone sounded severe, but hereyes were smiling into Norman's, as if she were not at all sorry to seehim.
"Forgot all about that tennis date we had, didn't you?" demanded Max. "Isthat a nice way to treat a couple of splendid fellows like our
selves?" Hethrew out his chest and pulled himself up to his full height, which wassix feet one.
Mary Louise gasped and looked conscience-stricken.
"We did forget!" she exclaimed. "But we can play now just as well asnot--at least, if you'll take us home to get our shoes and rackets."
"O.K.," agreed Max. He turned to Norman. "Get into the rumble, old man. Icrave to have Mary Louise beside me."
The car started forward with its customary sudden leap, and Max settledback in his seat.
"We've got some great news for you, Mary Lou," he announced immediately."Big picnic on for this coming Saturday! Rounding up the whole crowd."
Mary Louise was not impressed. Picnics seemed tame to her in comparisonwith the excitement of being a detective and hunting down thieves.
"Afraid I have an engagement," she muttered. She and Jane had a specialarrangement, by which every free hour of the day was pledged to theother, so that if either wanted to get out of an invitation, she couldplead a previous date without actually telling a lie.
"The heck you have!" exclaimed Max, in disappointment. "You've got tobreak it!"
"Sez you?"
"Yeah! Sez I. And you'll say so too, Mary Lou, when you hear more aboutthis picnic. It's going to be different. We're driving across to Cooper'swoods----"
"Oh, I've been there," yawned Mary Louise. "There's nothing specialthere. Looks spooky and deep, but it's just an ordinary woods. Maybe alittle wilder----"
"Wait! You women never let a fellow talk. I've been trying to tell yousomething for five minutes, and here we are at your house, and youhaven't heard it yet."
"I guess I shan't die."
With a light laugh she opened the car door and leaped out, at the exactmoment that Jane and Norman jumped from the rumble, avoiding a collisionby a fraction of an inch.
"Tell me about it when I come out again," called Mary Louise to Max asshe and Jane ran into their respective houses to change.
Freckles met Mary Louise at the door.
"Can I go with you, Sis?" he demanded.
"Yes, if you're ready," she agreed, making a dash for the stairs. Hermother, meeting her in the hall, tried to detain her.
She asked, "Did the girl like the clothes, dear?"
"Oh, yes, she loved them," replied Mary Louise. "I'll tell you more aboutit when I get back from tennis. The boys are pestering us to hurry."
Three minutes later both she and Jane were back in the car again, withFreckles and Silky added to the passenger list.
Max immediately went on about the picnic, just as if he hadn't beeninterrupted at all.
"Here's the big news," he said, as he stepped on the starter: "There aregypsies camping over in that meadow beside Cooper's woods! So we're allgoing to have our fortunes told. That's why we're having the picnicthere. Now, won't that be fun?"
"Yes, I guess so. But I really don't see how Jane and I can come----"
She was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder from the rumble seat.
"I think we can break that date, Mary Lou," announced her chum, with awink.
Mary Louise raised her eyebrows.
"Well, of course, if Jane thinks so----" she said to Max.
"It's as good as settled," concluded Max, with a chuckle.
But Mary Louise was not convinced until she had a chance, after the gamewas over, to talk to Jane alone and to ask her why she wanted to go onthe picnic when they had such important things to do.
"Because I had an inspiration," replied Jane. "One of us can ask thegypsy to solve our crime for us! They do tell strange things, sometimes,you know--and they might lead us to the solution!"