CHAPTER XVI
WAS IT ALICIA?
"What do you mean by that speech Dotty?" asked Bernice, as Alicia kepton crying.
"I mean just what I say. Alicia knows where the earring is, or, if shedoesn't know that, she knows something about it that she won't tell us."
"What is it, Alicia?" said her uncle, kindly. "If you know anything atall, tell us, won't you?"
"I don't, Uncle. I don't know ANYTHING about it!" and Alicia wept morethan ever.
"Well, the thing to do is to find it," said Fenn gazing closely atAlicia. "Where we find it will disclose who took it."
"I agree with you, Mr. Fenn," said a voice from the doorway, and therestood Dolly Fayre!
"Oh," cried Dotty, "I knew you wouldn't run away!"
"I did," returned Dolly, looking very sober. "I couldn't stand thingshere, and I was tempted to go home."
"Did you start out with that idea?" asked Dotty.
"No; never thought of such a thing when I went out. But I took a busthat turned around and went to the station, so that made me think ofBerwick and I got homesick for mother, and I just couldn't help wantingto go to her. And I telephoned back here that I was going. Then, I hadno sooner done that, than it seemed to me a cowardly thing to do, afterall, and I changed my mind quick and came right back here. I rode up ontop of a stage, and the trip in this lovely bright air made me feel aheap better. Now then, I want to say, once for all, that I didn't takethat earring, but I'm going to find out who DID, and also I'm going tofind the jewel. I don't know which I'll find first, but one means theother."
"Just what I said, Miss Fayre," exclaimed Fenn. "I'll join forces withyou, and we'll see about this thing. We'll find the missing jewel andwe'll find out who took it, but we'll have to put up a search."
"All my things are at your disposal," said Dolly; "look through all mycupboards and bureau drawers as you like. I'm not afraid."
"Of course not," said Fenn, "after your absence this morning! You had afine opportunity to dispose of the jewel!"
"How dare you!" cried Dolly, turning white with rage. "I have told youtruthfully where I went and why."
"Let her alone, Fenn," said Mr. Forbes, sharply. "You talk too much.Run along now, girls; we'll let the matter rest for to-day. I'llconsult with Mr. Fenn, and I don't think we'll search your belongings.I can't think any one of you has intentionally concealed the jewel.It's lost but not stolen, that's what I think."
"You dear old thing!" and Bernice impulsively threw her arms around heruncle's neck. "I think you're right. But it must be found!"
"It must be found!" repeated Dolly. "Otherwise suspicion will alwaysrest on me."
"Not on you any more than the rest of us," declared Dotty, "but there'sno use in hunting any more in this room. It simply isn't here."
They had searched the room in which the jewel had been kept, thoroughlyand repeatedly. So the girls went off to their own rooms to talk it allover again.
"You're too hard on them, Fenn," said Mr. Forbes to his secretary, whenthey were alone.
"But it's a clear case, sir. That Fayre girl took it. She got scaredand tried to run home, then decided it would be better to face themusic, so she returned. She's the one, of course. She adores those oldtrinkets; the others don't care two cents for them. She put it on herdress,--probably she took it off again, but after that the temptationto possess the thing was too strong for her. She thought you'd not missit, and she carried it off. Then, when she was out this morning, sheeither threw it away, or secreted it somewhere. Perhaps she took it tosome friend for safe keeping."
"I don't believe it, Fenn. I've studied the four girls pretty closelyand Dolly Fayre is, I think, the most frank and honest andconscientious of them all. Why, I'd suspect either of my own niecesbefore I Would Dolly."
"You're generous, sir. But you're mistaken. Miss Fayre is the culprit,and we'll fasten the theft on her yet."
"I hope not,--I sincerely hope not. But it's a queer business, Fenn, avery queer business."
"It's all of that, Mr. Forbes, but we'll get at the truth of it yet."
Meantime the four girls were talking over the matter. But not alltogether. The two D's, in their own room, and the other two girls intheirs were having separate confabs.
"Now, Dolly Fayre," Dotty was saying, "you tell me EVERYTHING you knowabout this thing! I don't want any holding back or concealing of anysuspicions or doubts you may have."
"It isn't really a suspicion, Dotty, but I--will tell you. It's onlythat just as we left the room, the museum room I call it, yesterdayafternoon, we were all out, and Alicia ran back. She said she had lefther handkerchief on the table. And she went straight to that very tablewhere I had laid the earring. Now, I can't suspect Alicia, but that'swhat she did."
"Well, Dolly," and Dotty looked thoughtful, "that's enough to castsuspicion on her. She went to that very table?"
"Yes. Of course, I didn't think anything about it at the time, but nowI remember it distinctly. That's why I wanted to go home and tellMother all about it, and ask her if I ought to tell Mr. Forbes aboutAlicia."
"I see. I don't know myself what you ought to do. I've been thinking itmight be Alicia all the time. I hate to suspect her, as much as you do.But if she ran back, and went to that table, and then the jewel thatlaid there was gone, it certainly looks queer. Decidedly queer."
"Well, what shall I do?"
"I suppose you'll have to keep still, unless you're actually accused oftaking it. You can't very well tell on Alicia."
"That's what I think."
"But if they really accuse you,--and Mr. Fenn has already done so."
"Oh, Fenn! I don't care what he says. If Mr. Forbes doesn't think Itook it, I don't want to say anything about Alicia."
"Well, let's wait and see. After what you've just told me, I think shedid take it. But I don't WANT to think that."
Now, in the next room, Alicia and Bernice were talking confidentiallyand in low tones.
"Of course, Dolly must have taken it," Alicia said, slowly.
"I can't believe that," said Bernice. "I know Dolly Fayre awfully well,and I just about 'most KNOW she couldn't do such a thing."
"I daresay she never was tempted before. You can't tell what you may dountil there's a sudden temptation. She might have thought it was noharm, when Uncle Jeff has so many of such trinkets. She might havethought he'd never miss it--"
"No," dissented Bernice. "Dolly never thought out those things. If shedid take it, it was just on the spur of the moment, and, as you say,because of a sudden irresistible temptation. And the minute after shewas doubtless sorry, but then she was ashamed to confess or return it."
It was luncheon time then, and the girls went downstairs together,with no disclosures of their suspicions of each other.
At the luncheon table the subject was freely discussed.
Dolly explained to Mrs. Berry that, after she had telephoned she wasgoing home, she felt that it was a cowardly thing to do, and that sheought to remain and see the matter through.
"You see," Dolly said, smiling, "it was a sudden temptation, when I gotto the station, to go home. Just the sight of the ticket office, andthe train gates, gave me a wave of homesickness and I wanted to seeMother so terribly, that I thought I'd just go. But as soon as I'dtelephoned, I realised that I oughtn't to do it, so I came right backhere. I didn't telephone I'd changed my mind, for I thought I'd be hereso soon. Mrs. Berry, what do you think became of the earring?"
"I don't know, I'm sure, my dear. I don't think I could ever believethat any one of you girls took it with any wrong intent. Did one of youjust borrow it? To study it as a curio or anything like that?"
"No!" cried Bernice. "That's absurd. If I'd wanted to do that I shouldhave asked Uncle's permission."
"Of course you would," and good Mrs. Berry sighed at the undoubtedfallacy of her theory.
It was during luncheon that the telephone bell rang, and Geordie Knappinvited the girls to a matinee at the Hippodrome.
"The
y must come," he said to Mrs. Berry, who had answered his call."Please let them. It's a big party. We've three boxes; my mother isgoing with us, and all the rest are young people. I know your girlswill like it."
"Of course they will," Mrs. Berry replied. "I'll be glad to have themgo. Wait; I'll ask them."
The invitation was heard with delight, and Bernice answered Geordie forthe others that they'd all be glad to go.
"Good!" cried Geordie. "We'll call for you in our big car. Be ready ontime."
They promised and hastened through luncheon to go to dress.
"I'm glad you're going," kind Mrs. Berry said; "it'll take your mindsoff this old earring business. Have a real good time, and don't eventhink of anything unpleasant."
So the girls started off in gay spirits, resolved not to worry over thelost jewel.
During the intermission at the matinee Dotty chanced to be talking toGeordie alone, and she told him about the mystery, and asked him whathe thought. The boy was greatly interested, and asked for all thedetails. So Dotty told him all, even of Dolly's seeing Alicia return tothe room and go to the table by the window.
"Jiminy crickets!" said Geordie, "that looks bad! But I can't believeAlicia would take it, nor any of you others. Let me talk to Alicia; Iwon't accuse her, you know, but maybe I can gather something from theway she talks."
So by changing of seats Geordie found opportunity to talk to Aliciaabout the matter. To his surprise, she willingly discussed it, and,moreover, she made no secret of the fact that she suspected Dolly oftaking it. She said she felt sure that Dolly did it, meaning no greatharm, but probably being over-tempted. "Why," said Alicia, "she saidonly at luncheon that when she was at the Railroad Station she was sotempted to go home to her mother that she very nearly went. So, yousee, she is given to sudden temptations and I suppose she can't alwaysresist them."
Geordie considered. "I don't believe she took it, Alicia," he said;"either it's slipped behind something, or else somebody else got in andtook it. It never was one of you four girls! I'm SURE it wasn't If Icould be over there for an hour or so, I'll bet I could find it. I'mpretty good at such things. S'pose I go home with you after the show;may I?"
"Oh, I wish you would! If you could find that thing, you would be a joyand a blessing!"
And so, after the performance was over, Geordie Knapp and Ted Hosmerboth went to Mr. Forbes' house with the four girls.
Alicia asked her uncle's permission for them all to go up to the museumrooms, and he gave it. He was not entirely willing, for he rarelyallowed visitors to his collections, but Alicia coaxed until he gave in.
"It can't be that Alicia took it," Dotty whispered to Dolly, "for sheis so willing to have Geordie investigate."
Ted Hosmer was as anxious as Geordie to hunt for the earring, but whenhe reached the rooms of the collections he was so interested in lookingat the specimens that he nearly forgot what they came for.
"Look at the birds!" he cried, as they passed through the NaturalHistory room on the way to the antiques.
"You like birds?" asked Dolly, as she saw his eyes brighten at thesights all round him. "Yes, indeed! I've a small collection myself, butnothing like this! I study about birds every chance I get. Oh, see thehumming birds! Aren't they beautiful?"
But Dolly persuaded him to leave the birds and butterflies and go on tothe antique room.
Here the girls told their two visitors all about the earring and itsdisappearance. Mr. Fenn was not present, for which Dolly was deeplygrateful.
Mr. Forbes watched the two boys quizzically. Then he said,
"Go to it, Geordie. Do a little detective work. If any of my fourvisitors took it, make them own up. I won't scold them; I'm anxiousonly to know which one it was."
"You don't really think it was any of them, I know, Mr. Forbes, or youwouldn't speak like that," said Ted. "I know you think as I do, thatsome queer mischance or accident is responsible for the disappearance.But WHAT was that accident, and WHERE is the jewel?"
The two boys searched methodically. They did not look into cupboards ordrawers; they asked questions and tried to think out some theory.
"Could any one have come in at the window?" asked Ted.
"No chance of that," said Mr. Forbes, "considering the window is in thefourth story, and no balcony, or any way of reaching it from theground."
Geordie stuck his head out of the window in question.
"Who lives next door?" he said, looking across the narrow yard to thenext house.
"People named Mortimer," replied Mr. Forbes. "But they're all away fromhome. They're somewhere down South."
"There's somebody over there. I see a light in one of the rooms."
"A caretaker, maybe. But don't be absurd. It's all of ten or twelvefeet across to that house from our back extension to theirs. Are youthinking somebody could spring across, take the jewel and spring backagain?"
"That ISN'T very likely, is it?" Ted laughed, "but there's someexplanation, somewhere," and the boy shook his head. "You see, Mr.Forbes, somebody might have made entrance to this room after the girlsleft it Sunday afternoon, and before you discovered your loss."
"Somebody might," agreed Mr. Forbes, "but I can't quite see how. Surelyno intruder came up by way of the stairs; I can't believe any one camein by the window, and what other way is there?"
"Suppose," said Geordie, earnestly, "suppose the caretaker, or whoeveris next door, saw you people examining the earring by the light fromthe window,--you were by the window, weren't you?"
"Yes," said Dolly, to whom he had put the question. "Yes, it wasgrowing dusk, and I stepped to the window to look at the gold work."
"Well, suppose this caretaker person saw you, and realised the jewelwas valuable. Then suppose after you all went out and left the earringon this little table, which is only ten or twelve inches from thewindow, suppose the caretaker leaned out of his window, and, with along pole, with a hook on the end, fished the thing over to himself."
"Ridiculous!" cried Mr. Forbes. "Nobody could do such a thing as that!Absurd, my boy! Why, even a long fishpole would scarcely be longenough, and he couldn't get purchase enough on the end--"
"I admit it sounds difficult, sir, but they do pretty clever thingsthat way."
"And, too, I can't suspect my neighbour's servants! Why, I've not theslightest cause for such suspicion!"
"Oh, no, I can't think it's that way, either," said Dolly. "Why, thatcaretaker is a nice old man. I've heard Mrs. Berry tell about him. Hisroom is just opposite hers, two floors beneath this very room we're innow. He has a parrot that chatters and annoys Mrs. Berry, but the oldman is honest, I'm sure. And he's too old to be agile enough to do suchan acrobatic thing as you suggest."