Laughing Last, Jane Abbott [the false prince .txt] 📗
- Author: Jane Abbott
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“It’s diamonds, Lav.” Then Sidney solemnly repeated what the old Captain had told her concerning the letter and the reward. “He asked me not to tell a soul, but you’re different because you know. And he said that the reward would be posted everywhere in two weeks at least and it’s that long now. Everyone will know soon.”
“Sid, five thousand dollars!” Lavender whistled.
“If someone ’round here’s doing it Cap’n Davies wants to catch him himself. He says he doesn’t want the reward but he wants to punish the man who’s hurting the honest name of this part of Cape Cod. I think that’s a grand spirit.”
Lavender’s shoulders lifted. Why couldn’t someone else save the fair name of Cape Cod—someone like a crippled boy whom most of the towns-people looked upon as a loafer?
“I’d like to catch ’em, myself,” he said slowly in such a low voice that Sidney barely caught the words.
“Oh, Lav, why not? We have as good a chance as anyone, knowing as much as we do. What’ll we do first?” For Sidney was ready for adventure.
Suddenly Lavender realized that he was gripping the knife in his hand. He looked down at it.
“What we ought to do first is to find out how this knife got here. Let’s put it where we found it and go back around the other side of that schooner so’s no one on the Puritan’ll see us. Then we can come out late this afternoon and if it’s gone—well, we’ll know someone came to look for it!”
“And then we’d know for sure that someone had been on the Arabella.”
“That’s the idea. You get on quickly for a girl, Sid. Come on, now, we’ll pull the dory round to the starboard side.”
Sidney caught herself tiptoeing across the deck of the Arabella. In her excitement she scarcely breathed. Every move, every act, was fraught with significance. Lavender took the precaution to beach the dory at an abandoned wharf near Sunset Lane.
“Just as well not to show ourselves ’round Rockman’s.”
“When can we go out to the Arabella?”
“Not ’till four o’clock. We can go out to swim just like we always do. Even if they see us they won’t think it’s funny for us to do that. They’d think it funnier if we didn’t.”
Sidney admitted the truth of this, but wondered how she could live until four o’clock!
As they walked up Sunset Lane Sidney reminded Lavender that, because of their promise, they ought to tell Mart. But when they stopped at the Calkins’ house they found that Mart had already gone to Gert Bartow’s.
“Oh, dear,” sighed Sidney, with an added pang of remorse.
At four o’clock Sidney and Lavender went out to the Arabella to swim as they had done always before Pola’s coming. Except for a brightness in Sidney’s eyes, an alertness about her whole body, and the occasional significant glances that passed between them they both appeared quite normal. Lav talked casually of the heat of the day.
“Gee, the water’ll feel great. This is the hottest day we’ve had yet.”
“I can’t wait to get in.” Most certainly Jed Starrow, had he been listening, could not have guessed how closely Nemesis pressed upon his heels!
Lavender pulled up alongside of the Arabella and deliberately made the boat fast.
“We got to act as though we haven’t found the knife, y’see,” he warned. “As though we were going just swimming.”
In her eagerness to board the Arabella Sidney stumbled. Lavender had to clutch her to keep her from tumbling into the water.
“Oh!” They both cried in one sound as they clambered to the deck—for the knife was gone!
“Well, that means they’d been on the Arabella. Jed Starrow dropped that knife and he missed it and came back to look for it!”
“Lav, I believe they’ve hidden their treasure on the Arabella!” Sidney still reverted to the more romantic terms of buccaneering. “Let’s look for it now!”
“With ’em watching maybe from the Puritan? I guess not. We got to go ahead and swim the way we always do, Sid. Don’t let’s even appear to be talking about anything. Come on, I’ll beat you in!”
For the space of the few minutes while the water closed about her with delicious coolness Sidney forgot everything in an intoxication of delight. Presently she came back to the Arabella and climbed aboard with a sigh of utter content. “Thank goodness I haven’t any complexes,” she laughed, shaking the salt drops from her bobbed head. “And now what?”
Lavender pulled on the light sweater he had worn over his bathing suit.
“When it gets dark I’m coming out to the Arabella and stay all night. Maybe they’ll come back and I’ll find out why. That fellow said something ’bout Rockman’s not being safe. They’ll learn the Arabella isn’t safe either!”
“But Lav, I’m coming with you!”
“You can’t. And this isn’t any work for a girl to get mixed up in.”
Sidney drew herself to her full height.
“Lavender Green, if you think you’re going to lose me now you’re mistaken. I guess we went into this in a sort of partnership and it’s going to hold. I found out just as much as you did! And if you come out to the Arabella, I’m coming, and Mart, too, if she’s home.”
Lav still hesitated.
“Aunt Achsa won’t let you. How’d you get away?”
This staggered Sidney for a moment, then she thought of a “way.” This was Wednesday night and Miss Letty had said that on Wednesday night she was going to drive to Truro and that Sidney might go with her. From Truro Miss Letty was going on to Wellfleet. Aunt Achsa would think Sidney wanted to see Cap’n Davies again. She explained all this breathlessly to Lavender. “This is important enough to warrant a fib. And when it’s all over Aunt Achsa will understand. Let’s go home now and find Mart.”
Unwillingly Lavender conceded Sidney’s right to share with him his night’s vigil at any cost. Again they beached the dory near Sunset Lane.
Now they found Mart at home. Sidney put her head in the door, made certain that gran’ma was not in hearing, and cried “Hook!”
Mart had only to look once at Sidney’s face to know that something had happened. Sidney dragged her out to the Lane and there she and Lavender, in words as quick as pistol shots, told the story.
“Meet us down on the beach near Milligan’s at eight o’clock,” Lav whispered, as they parted.
THE GLEAM
Exactly at the appointed hour Sidney met Lavender on the beach. She was breathless and a little worried for it had been neither easy nor to her liking to deceive Aunt Achsa. Aunt Achsa had declared that a storm was “comin’” for she could smell it in the air and Tillie Higgins had seen Sam Doolittle start for the backside with his pike pole and that meant a blow for Sam didn’t waste steps. “’Tisn’t likely Letty Vine’ll go to Truro tonight.”
“But I’ll see if she’s going, anyway,” Sidney had cried and had raced off, a sweater over her arm.
“I wish I could tell her how very important it is and then she’d understand, but I can’t for maybe she wouldn’t understand,” Sidney thought as she hurried to the rendezvous.
“Gee, how’d you ever get away?” asked Lav, admiringly, but Sidney had no opportunity to explain for at that moment Mart joined them, eager and excited.
“I put some cookies in my pocket,” she exclaimed. “You can’t tell what’ll happen.”
“Good. And I’ve got matches.”
Sidney wished she had thought of something to bring. Lav went on:
“It isn’t dark enough to go out yet. We got to be awful careful. You girls sort o’ walk up the beach as though we weren’t all together.”
Lavender was actually pale and his eyes burned fiercely. Sidney looked at him admiringly. She knew he was not thinking of the reward but of the fair name of the Cape.
Obediently the girls strolled up the beach. And, as they turned, a voice hailed them. To their consternation Pola came flying toward them.
At sight of her Sidney bit her lips with vexation. She gave a sidewise glance at Mart and saw Mart’s chin set stubbornly.
“Sidney—wait a minute!” Pola called and Sidney could do nothing but wait until Pola came up to them.
“I thought you were going to stay in Chatham tonight.”
“I should say not!” Pola had enough breath to make her answer expressive. “I was never so bored in my life. Those Truxton girls are stupid. And I kept wondering what you were doing. I coaxed mother to let Shields bring me back and she said she would provided I came and stayed with you tonight. Can you squeeze me in? Dug will give me his room, I know.”
Sidney cast a wild glance toward Mart. She started to answer, then stopped. Pola looked from her to Mart and back again to Sidney.
“What’s the mystery? If you don’t want me I’ll go to the hotel.”
“Oh, Pola, it isn’t that. It’s—it’s—”
“Sidney Romley I’ll bet you’re up to something! And if you are, you simply have got to let me in on it! I’m just pepped up to some excitement. Tell me what’s up.”
The girls turned slowly and walked toward Lav and the dory, Pola between them.
“It isn’t any fun,” Sidney explained slowly. “It’s something serious—and—and dangerous. And you’ll have to ask Mart and Lav if you can come with us.”
“You’ll let me go, won’t you, Mart?” Pola begged with friendly entreaty, forgetting she had ever thought Mart a riot.
Sidney introduced Pola to Lavender and turned away that she might not see the pain that flashed across Lavender’s face.
“Pola came back to stay all night with me. She wants to go with us and if she doesn’t I guess I’ll have to go back home.”
“I’ll do anything you say,” promised Pola. “I’m so curious that I’m fairly bursting.”
“I don’t care, but you’ll have to take off your shoes and stockings,” muttered Lav, scarcely looking at Pola.
“Oh, I’ll do that! I’ll do anything!” Pola flopped upon the beach and commenced removing her sport shoes. “And I won’t even ask any questions until you’re ready to tell me.” Rising, her small feet pink against the sand, she saluted Lav with mock solemnity.
“There, Captain Lavender Green, I’m at your command.”
Her pretty acquiescence won the girls at once. If any doubt assailed them as to the prudence of letting Pola go, their admiration for Pola’s gameness stilled it. Sidney rolled Pola’s shoes and stockings and her own in her sweater and hid them behind some logs. Then the little party waded out to the dory and embarked.
“We’re going to the Arabella,” Sidney whispered to Pola. She felt Pola shiver, but the girl made no protest. “We have to go ’round this way so’s no one can see us from the harbor. Sh—h!”
Silently they boarded the old hull, Lavender last. With the line from the dory in his hand the boy considered.
“If anyone comes up and sees the dory they’ll know someone’s aboard.”
“That’s true. What’ll we do?” whispered Sidney, anxiously.
“We can set her adrift. It’s an old tub anyway.”
“But how’ll we get ashore?”
“The tide’ll be out towards morning.”
“You mean swim?” cried Pola. “But I can’t swim! I—I—”
True, Pola’s complex! Sidney hastened to reassure her.
“When the tide’s out it won’t be over your head. And I’ll help you.”
Lavender had already let the line of the dory slip out of his hand. They saw the old boat become a shadowy outline as the tide carried it slowly away, then—nothing. Pola caught Sidney’s hand and held it.
“I’m
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