Green Eyes

by Roy J. Snell

  "Here, you," she cried, seizing the trunk stealer by the shoulder andwhirling him about, "that's our trunk."

  Taken completely by surprise, the man did not act at once. It was well,for when he did come to his senses, he flashed an automatic. A second toolate. He saw his gun whirl into space as Florence launched her full onehundred and sixty pounds against his chest. He went down in a heap.

  His companion, attempting to come to his aid, found himself expertlytripped by the versatile Tillie. The next instant, like some jaguar, shewas at his throat and he heard her hiss: "Now we got you. You gamblin',robbin' kidnapper."

  It was fortunate for the girls that they were not obliged to hold theirposes long. Half a dozen coppers arrived in time to give them aid, andassured them that matters would be adjusted in court at the proper time.

  An investigation revealed the astonishing fact that the slick crooks hadlearned in some way, perhaps through Florence's telegram, that the trunkwas on the way. They had boarded the train at an up-state station, forgeda check for the trunk and claimed it.

  "They nearly got it that time," Florence sighed as two red-caps tumbledthe trunk into a waiting taxi and she and Tillie whirled away. "We'lltake it to Petite Jeanne's apartment. It will be safe enough there. Thegypsy told us where we could find the lady cop. We have located her. Sheand the 'poor little rich girl' will be with us at Petite Jeanne's showto-night. After that we will go to the apartment and have the formalopening of the trunk. Won't that give us a thrill?"

  "Won't it, though?" Tillie bobbed up and down in her excitement.

  "Those young men we just caught," Florence said after a time, "were thelast of the band."

  "What band?"

  "A band of gamblers and thieves the law has been after for a long time.Through information provided by our gypsy friend, the others were takento-day. They will not be bothering the kindly people of your settlementfor some time to come. There is enough chalked up against them to lasthalf a lifetime."

  "I suppose," replied Tillie thoughtfully, "that I should feel sorry forthem. But I just can't. They went too far."

  "About two miles too far," agreed Florence, recalling theirheart-breaking swim in the cold night waters of Lake Huron.

  CHAPTER XXXIV THE TREASURE CHEST

  That night, just as the clock was striking twelve, an interesting companygathered in Petite Jeanne's parlor. The lady cop was there. So, too, wasSun-Tan Tillie. Minus her faded bathing suit, looking quite stunning in anew dress of dark green, her big eyes shining with interest, Tillie satin a corner. Close beside her was the "poor little rich girl," who oncehad pledged her parents' rubies, and lost. She knew Tillie and, withouthaving the least notion what it was all about, had come at her request.Petite Jeanne and Florence completed the company.

  A tale was to be told. Secrets, they hoped, were to be revealed. With hertaste for the dramatic, Petite Jeanne had insisted that the affair becarried off in the grand manner.

  Electric lights were off. Shades were down. Four flickering candlesfurnished faint illumination for the room. On the very center of the rugrested the mysterious oriental trunk which had caused many a palpitationof the heart. It gave off a pungent odor of the forest.

  "But how did you get it?" the lady cop exclaimed, on seeing it. "When Ilearned that the gamblers did not take it on their flight, I gave it up.Thought it was burned in their cottage."

  Florence held up a hand. It had been Jeanne's decree that she should tellthe story. "You will remember," Florence began, "that it was my goodfortune to be permitted to pour a few quarts of water from the lungs of agypsy child."

  "In other words, you saved her life," suggested the lady cop.

  "Something like that. The gypsies are a loyal and grateful people. I havealways known that. From the time I saved her child's life, that gypsymother had it in mind to repay the service. She has done it. Three nightsago she told me the answer to the riddles that have vexed our minds andlost us sleep. Yes, she even told me where I would find the threeoriental rubies, which were so unfairly taken from Miss Erie."

  "The--the rubies!" The Erie girl sprang to her feet.

  Tillie pulled her down. "Wait!" she whispered.

  At that moment Florence felt her heart sink to her shoes. What if, foronce, the uncanny knowledge of the gypsy woman had failed? What if thethree rubies were, after all, irrevocably lost?

  "The die is cast," she told herself sternly. "I must go on."

  "You will recall," she said, turning to the lady cop, "that on the nightwhen we first entered your cabin we, Petite Jeanne and I, had just hadour rowboat swamped by some reckless, or willfully wicked people in aspeed boat."

  The lady cop nodded.

  "You thought they had been after you. I thought it was the reckless prankof some rich young people. You were right. The boat was driven by one ofthe younger gamblers. His pal and two gypsies were on board. Theysuspected you; meant to drown you. They got us instead. And that's that."Florence sighed.

  "Now the trunk." Everyone moved forward. "Not so fast," she cautioned. "Iam going to account for its presence here.

  "You thought--" again she turned to the lady cop, "that the gamblers gotyour trunk. They meant to. They were a few hours late. Tillie and I gotit the night before."

  "You?" There was incredulity in the lady cop's eyes.

  "That's once when a prank turned out well," Florence smiled. "Tillie andI meant to fill it with balsam tips and return it. We have. See!"

  She threw up the lid of the trunk, and at once the air of the room washeavy with the natural perfume of the forest.

  "We kept the trunk till now," she said quietly. "And that's that.

  "And now we come to our big night, Tillie's and mine, the night we werekidnapped.

  "In this instance there were three possibilities. It might have been aprank indulged in by reckless young people. The gamblers may have doneit, or the gypsies. Tillie thought it was the work of the gamblers.Because she came upon a gypsy feast that night, Jeanne blamed thegypsies. They were both right.

  "By this time the two rather striking young gypsy girls had learned whoJeanne was. They had hated her in France. They hated her still. Theycould not get at her. She stayed in the cabin. They proposed to take outtheir spite on her friends. The gamblers hated Tillie. They combinedforces and prepared to show us a rough time. Well," she ended grimly,"they succeeded.

  "After cutting our boat loose, they came ashore to prepare a meal and eatit. It was this feast that Jeanne's bear interrupted. They fled."

  "And all this," said Petite Jeanne, coming out from among pillows in adark corner, "goes to prove that we owe a most humble apology to mybeloved Green Eyes and to her friends of the Erie cottage. We suspectedyou of pranks which were quite impossible for you to perform." She spokethe last to Miss Erie.

  "Oh, that's quite all right!" The rich girl's tone was friendly. "We donot expect to be entirely understood. We were taught by my father when wewere very young that to take advantage of others because of wealth orpower is the act of a coward. That there are such rich cowards, one can'tdeny. We hope they are very few."

  Jeanne beamed her thanks for this speech. "But, Florence!" she criedsuddenly. "This does not explain the green eyes I saw in the desertedlumber camp that night."

  "You must work out your own solution for that." Again Florence smiled."Some wild creature was hiding there, or you were having a case ofnerves. Our gypsy friend knew a surprising lot. She did not knoweverything. No more could she tell what caused the fire on Gamblers'Island."

  "But--but the rubies!" exclaimed Miss Erie, as the story seemed about toend.

  "That," said Florence, true to Jeanne's dramatic conception, "is to bethe last touch. According to our gypsy friend's story the three rubiesare supposed to have been hidden in some secret pocket of this ancienttrunk, and there they should be still."

  "The trunk!" "The trunk!" "Trunk!" came from the lips of Tillie, the ladycop and the Erie girl all
at once.

  "We will now proceed to find out." Florence's voice took on abusiness-like tone. "Jeanne, a blanket. We'll dump these balsam tips init and tie up the corners."

  When the trunk seemed empty, all crowded around.

  Lighted only by candles, Florence began prodding and thumping with achisel until at last she brought forth a hollow sound. A section of thetrunk's false bottom was pried up, and then they started back. For, inthat dim light, small eyes appeared to gleam up at them.

  The spell lasted for but a moment. Then Florence's hand went down andcame out full of gems.

  "A regular treasure chest!" There was awe in the lady cop's voice.

  The next instant she had taken something from beneath her coat and waspinning it on Florence's breast. It was her detective badge.

  "Now," she exclaimed, "that is where it belongs!"

  "No! No!" The girl removed the badge and returned it to its place. "I hadall the luck. It will be quite different in the future."

  "Who knows?" said the lady cop quite soberly.

  The trunk proved to be the hiding place for a noteworthy collection ofgems. The police had taken it in a raid and, quite ignorant of its value,had sold it. Some of the jewels were returned to their rightful owners.Several remained unclaimed. So Florence, Petite Jeanne, Tillie, and thelady cop are all richer by a jewel or two; while the "poor little richgirl" regained her standing in her family by returning the much prizedbauble to its place in the collection.

  The gypsy drama, with Petite Jeanne playing a leading role, enjoyed along run. In the meantime, Florence was not idle. Fresh adventures cameto her. Was the lady cop one of her companions? Was Petite Jeanne? WasTillie? Did Betty come back? You will find the answer to all thesequestions in our next book, to be entitled _The Golden Circle_.