Mary Louise by Lyman Frank Baum (top 100 books of all time checklist .txt) đ
- Author: Lyman Frank Baum
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âIn thet case,â asserted Bub, âI pity ye, stranger. Fâr my part, I ainât got no use fer anything thet wears skirtsââcept one er two, mebbe,â he added reflectively. âMost men I kin git âlong with fust-rate; but ef a man ever gits in trouble, er begins cussinâ anâ acts ugly, itâs âcause some galâs rubbed him crossways the grain er stuck a knife in him anâ twisted the bladeâsoâs ter speak.â
âYouâre an observant lad, I see.â
âWhen Iâm awake I kainât help seeinâ things.â
âAnd youâre a pastoral philosopher.â
Bub scowled and gave him a surly glance.
âWhatâs the use firinâ thet high-brow stuff at me?â he asked indignantly. âI sâpose ye think Iâm a kid, jesâ âcause I donât do no fancy talkinâ.â
âI suspect you of nothing but generosity in giving me this ride,â said the stranger pleasantly. âIs that Bigbeeâs, over yonder?â
âYes.â
The little man got out at the point where the Bigbee drive met the road, and walked up the drive toward the house. Agatha Lord was standing at the gateway, as he approached it, and seemed rather startled at his appearance. But she quickly controlled her surprise and asked in a calm voice, as she faced him:
âWhatâs up, OâGorman?â
âHathawayâs coming here,â he said.
âAre you sure?â
âHeâs in Dorfield to-day, waiting to see Lawyer Conant, who went in on the morning train. Whereâs Nan?â
âHere, my lord!â said Nan Shelley, stepping from behind a tall shrub. âHow are you, partner? I recognized you as you passed the Huddle with the boy.â
âField glasses, eh? There isnât much escapes you, Nan.â
âWhy didnât you tell me?â asked Agatha reproachfully.
âWhy donât you make your own discoveries?â retorted her confederate. Then, turning to OâGorman, she continued: âSo Hathawayâs coming, is he? At last.â
âA little late, but according to program. How have you been getting along?â
âBored to death,â asserted Nan. âAgatha has played the lady and Iâve done the dirty work. But tell me, why didnât you nab Hathaway at Dorfield?â
OâGorman smiled a little grimly as he answered:
âIâm not sure, Nan, that we shall nab Hathaway at all.â
âIsnât he being shadowed?â with some surprise.
âNo. But heâll come here, right enough; and thenââ
âAnd then,â she added, as he paused, âthe chase of years will come to an end.â
âExactly. We may decide to take him to Washington, and we may not.â
She gazed at him inquiringly.
âThere are some new developments, then, OâGorman?â
âIâm inclined to suspect there are.â
âKnown to the department?â
âYes. Iâm to investigate and use my judgment.â
âI see. Then Agatha and I are out of it?â
âNot yet; Iâm still depending on your shrewdness to assist me. The office has only had a hint, so far, of the prospective break in the case, butââ
âOh, yes; I remember now,â exclaimed Nan.
âThat girl up at Conantâs sent a telegram, in a desperate hurry. I suspected it meant something important. Who is she, OâGorman, and why did the Chief cut under us by planting Sarah Judd in the Conantsâ household?â
âHe didnât. The girl has nothing to do with the Department.â
âThen some of you intercepted the telegram?â
âWe know what it said,â he admitted.
âCome, letâs go to the house. Iâve had no lunch. Can you feed me?â
âCertainly.â They turned and walked slowly up the path. Said Nan, musingly: âThat Sarah Judd is rather clever, OâGorman. Is she in Hathawayâs pay?â
âI think not,â he replied, with an amused chuckle.
Nan tossed her head indignantly.
âVery well; play me for a ninny, if you like,â she said resentfully. âYouâll get a heap more out of me, in that way!â
âNow, now,â said Agatha warningly, âkeep your tempers and donât quarrel. You two are like cats and dogs when you get together; yet youâre the two cleverest people in the service. According to your story, Mr. OâGorman, thereâs an important crisis approaching, and weâd all like to be able to render a good account of ourselves.â
Agatha Lord may have lacked something of Nanâs experience, but this speech proved her a fair diplomat. It dispersed the gathering storm and during the rest of that afternoon the three counseled together in perfect harmony, OâGorman confiding to his associates such information as would enable them to act with him intelligently. Hathaway and Peter Conant could not arrive till the next day at noon; they might even come by the afternoon train. Nanâs field glasses would warn them of the arrival and meanwhile there was ample time to consider how they should act.
That evening, as Sarah Judd was sitting in her room reading a book, her work for the day being over, she heard a succession of little taps against her window-pane. She sat still, listening, until the taps were repeated, when she walked straight to the window, drew the shade and threw tip the sash. OâGormanâs face appeared in the opening and the girl put a hand on each of his cheeks and leaning over kissed him full upon his lips.
The manâs face, lighted by the lamp from within the room, was radiant. Even the fat nose was beatified by the love that shone in his small gray eyes. He took one of her hands in both of his own and held it close a moment, while they regarded one another silently.
Then he gave a little beckoning signal and the girl turned to slip on a light coat, for the nights were chill on the mountain. Afterward she unfastened her outside door and joined the detective, who passed an arm around her and led her to one of the benches on the bluff.
The new moon was dim, but a sprinkling of stars lit the sky. The man and girl were far enough from the Lodge not to be overheard.
âItâs good to see you again, Josie,â said OâGorman, as they seated themselves on the bench. âHow do you like being a sleuth?â
âReally, Daddy,â she replied, âit has been no end of a lark. Iâm dead sick of washing other folksâ dishes, I confess, but the fun Iâve had has more than made up for the hard work. Do you know, Dad, I had a session with Nan Shelley one day, and she didnât have much the best of it, either, although sheâs quick as a cat and had me backed off the map in every way except for the matter of wits. My thoughts didnât crumble much and Nan was good enough to congratulate me. She knew, as soon as I did, about the letter the crippled girl found in a book, but I managed to make a copy of it, while Nan is still wondering where it is hid. Iâm patting myself on the back, Dad, because you trained me and I want to prove myself a credit to your training. Itâs no wonder, with such a master, that I could hold my own with Nan Shelley!â
He gave a little amused laugh.
âYouâre all right, Josie dear,â he replied. âMy training wouldnât have amounted to shucks if you hadnât possessed the proper gray matter to work with. But about that letter,â more seriously; âyour telegram told me a lot, because our code is so concise, but it also left a good deal to be guessed at. Who wrote the letter? I must know all the details in order to understand it properly.â
âItâs all down in my private shorthand book,â said Josie OâGorman, âbut Iâve never dared make a clear copy while Nan was so near me. You canât read it, Dad, and I canât read it to you in the dark; so youâll have to wait.â
âHave you your notebook here?â
âAlways carry it.â
He drew an electric storage-lamp from his pocket and shielded the tiny circle of light with his coat.
âNow, then,â said he, âread the letter to me, Josie. Itâs impossible for anyone to see the light from the house.â
The girl held her notebook behind the flap of his coat, where the lamp shed its white rays upon it, and slowly read the text of the letter. OâGorman sat silent for some time after she had finished reading.
âIn all my speculations concerning the Hathaway case,â he said to his daughter, âI never guessed this as the true solution of the manâs extraordinary actions. But now, realizing that Hathaway is a gentleman to the core, I understand he could not have acted in any other way.â
âMrs. Burrows is dead,â remarked Josie.
âI know. Itâs a pity she didnât die long ago.â
âThis thing killed her, Dad.â
âIâm sure of it. She was a weak, though kind-hearted, woman and this trouble wore her out with fear and anxiety. How did the girlâMary Louiseâtake her motherâs death?â
âRather hard, at first. Sheâs quieter now. Butâsee here, Dadâare you still working for the Department?â
âOf course.â
âThen Iâm sorry Iâve told you so much. Iâm on the other side. Iâm here to protect Mary Louise Burrows and her interests.â
âTo be sure. I sent you here myself, at my own expense, both to test your training before I let you into the regular game and for the sake of the little Burrows girl, whom I fell in love with when she was so friendless. I believed things would reach a climax in the Hathaway case, in this very spot, but I couldnât foresee that your cleverness would ferret out that letter, which the girl Irene intended to keep silent about, nor did I know that the Chief would send me here in person to supervise Hathawayâs capture. Mighty queer things happen in this profession of ours, and circumstances lead the best of us by the nose.â
âDo you intend to arrest Mr. Hathaway?â
âAfter hearing that letter read and in view of the fact that Mrs. Burrows is dead, I think not. The letter, if authentic, clears up the mystery to our complete satisfaction. But I must get the story from Hathawayâs own lips, and then compare his statement with that in the letter. If they agree, we wonât prosecute the man at all, and the famous case that has caused us so much trouble for years will be filed in the office pigeonholes and pass into ancient history.â
Josie OâGorman sat silent for a long time. Then she asked:
âDo you think Mr. Hathaway will come here, now thatânow thatââ
âIâm quite sure he will come.â
âWhen?â
âTo-morrow.â
âThen I must warn them and try to head him off. Iâm on his side, Dad; donât forget that.â
âI wonât; and because youâre on his side, Josie, you must let him come and be vindicated, and so clear up this matter for good and all.â
âPoor Mary Louise! I was thinking of her, not of her grandfather. Have you considered how a knowledge of the truth will affect her?â
âYes. She will be the chief sufferer when her grandfatherâs innocence is finally proved.â
âIt will break her heart,â said Josie, with a sigh.
âPerhaps not. Sheâs mighty fond of her grandfather. Sheâll be glad to have him freed from suspicion and sheâll be sorryâabout the other thing.â
Sarah Juddâotherwise Josie OâGormanâsighed again; but presently she gave a little chuckle of glee.
âWonât Nan be wild, though, when she finds Iâve beaten her and won the case for Hathaway?â
âNan wonât mind. Sheâs an old hand at the game and has learned to take things as they come. Sheâll be at work upon some other case within a week and will have forgotten that this one ever bothered her.â
âWho is Agatha Lord, and why did they send her here as principal, with Nan as her
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