CHAPTER XXII Blackberry’s Discovery
When Judy and the children reached the top of the steps leading up fromthe cave, they found a straight, tall, thin old man standing between thetwo forest rangers who had heard Peter’s signal and freed them from thecave. Without a doubt, the old man was Paul Riker, and he was shakinghis finger angrily at the magician.
“You’re a thief just like your brother,” the enraged voice of the oldman continued. “I’ll have the law on you! It was _you_ who robbed myhouse, and now you’re trying—”
“I only moved your things to keep them from being destroyed, UnclePaul,” the magician declared. “But the men I trusted have tricked me.They found out that your famous jade collection was missing when theymoved your other things, and they have been searching for it eversince.”
“What do you mean?” the old man demanded.
“I’ll tell you what he means,” Peter put in. “Three of the moving men hehired turned out not to be so trustworthy. They found a letter from yourniece saying she was returning a piece that belonged in your jadecollection. Since the collection was not moved to the warehouse, theythought it must still be in your house. They returned to the house afterthe police had left, and searched it.” Peter hesitated. “It’s mytheory,” he went on, “that they set fire to the house either on purposeor accidentally. However, you will have to convince the insurance peoplethat you did not do it yourself.”
“Set fire to my own house!” The old man roared with rage. “What kind ofidiots am I dealing with? I simply closed the house and took a room in aplace a few miles from here. And do you know why I did that? Because Ihad no wish to see that ungrateful girl nor the children of that scamp,Philip!”
“But you came back and watched what was going on,” Peter reminded him.“You were in the cave when my wife came here yesterday, and you are hereagain today. You went out the other exit from the cave as we came downthe steps.”
“And why not?” the old man snapped. “It is my property, every inch ofit, and I intended to guard it. Somebody had to,” he added. “That idiot,Abner Post, went away Thursday night and let this thieving rascal walkoff with practically everything in my house.”
“I told you, Uncle Paul,” the younger Paul Riker said wearily, “I sawthat your house was in the path of the fire and wanted to save yourthings. I came to the caretaker’s cottage, but it was locked and he wasaway. The big house was closed too. So I called up the moving company,gave them my name, and had them take your most valuable things to thewarehouse. What else could I do?”
“It’s lucky for you, Mr. Riker, that he did,” Peter said, “The firewould have reached your house eventually. Then you would have losteverything.”
The old man cackled suddenly. “I wouldn’t have lost my jade collection,”he declared. Then his face darkened. “But there are two pieces missingnow. And without Rama and Sita it’s hardly a collection at all. Mythieving nephews robbed me of Sita years ago, and now somebody’s stolenRama from inside the vault where I intended to keep the wholecollection. I gave orders to have it buried with me, but who can I trustto carry out my orders?”
Judy wanted to tell him Rama was safe, but a warning look from Peterstopped her. As the millionaire raved on she began to understand thewarped reasoning that had cheated him out of all the things she feltenriched a life. He seemed to care more for his memorial in stone thanfor the living memory he could leave with those who would love him if hewould only let them.
“Do you remember, Uncle Paul, how you used to accuse me of stealingSita?” the magician was saying. “Well, I can tell you now, because, forthe first time, I know what happened to her. Philip took her to give toHelen.”
“And in all these years she’s never returned it!” the old man exploded.
“But Uncle, it was your own fault,” the magician pointed out. “You drovethem both out and made them afraid of you. And Helen was on her way toreturn it to you. The thieves knew from her letter when she wasarriving. They were on the lookout for her and tried to force her totell them where the rest of the collection was. Can’t you see what theywere planning? Be sensible, Uncle Paul, and let us put it in a museumwhere it will be under guard—”
“Never!” roared Uncle Paul.
“I think we will have to place it under guard while you are beingquestioned,” Peter said quietly. “I hate to have to say this, Mr. Riker,but your house was not burned by the forest fire, and you will have tosatisfy the insurance company as well as our office that you had nothingto do with either of the fires. The law says arson on state forest landis a federal offence.”
Mr. Riker protested vehemently. Nevertheless, when the chief deputy ofthe rangers drove his car up to the vault, the old man got in withsurprising meekness. Judy suspected that the excitement had tired himout in spite of his rambunctious spirit.
“I’ll have to go with Mr. Riker, Angel,” Peter said. “Do you minddriving home, or would you rather wait here for me?”
“I don’t mind driving a bit,” Judy replied. “But before we start, I wantto find out why the statue seemed to talk. It’s solid cement. Nobodycould possibly get inside it.”
“No,” replied Peter, “but there are hollow pipes running through it.They were probably placed there to keep the cement from cracking. OldPaul Riker, down in the cave, must have shouted through them in order toscare people away.”
“Hollow pipes,” Judy said thoughtfully. “Peter, do you think the treetalked the same way?”
“Perhaps,” he replied. “Horace told me _he_ heard it say, ‘We’restarved!’ just before you and the kids dashed in from the barn.”
“Then it carried our voices from the hayloft! But who was up there,calling, ‘Don’t look for it!’?”
Peter shook his head. He had no answer for that.
“One more question, Peter, please,” Judy begged. “Why didn’t you tellMr. Riker we had found his jade Rama? Were you trying to protect me?”
“And why not?” he answered. “You saw how vehemently he accused hisnephew. He wouldn’t have believed you were trying to help him. When wefind Sita we’ll give him both pieces and his collection will becomplete.”
“But how will you find her?” asked Judy.
“By finding the thieves. In the meantime,” Peter said, “we intend to seeto it that they don’t find the rest of the collection.”
Two of the rangers went down the steps into the cave and brought up thecabinet containing the jade. They put it in the car with old Mr. Riker,Peter got in, and off they went.
Young Paul Riker stood watching the car disappear down the road, as Judyloaded the two children and Blackberry into Peter’s car.
“Poor Uncle Paul,” he sighed.