Mary Louise in the Country

by L. Frank Baum

  CHAPTER VIIMARY LOUISE CALLS FOR HELP

  All the queer hints dropped by the girl that afternoon, concerning therelations between Mr. Joselyn and Mr. Cragg, were confided by MaryLouise to her Gran'pa Jim that evening, while the old Colonel listenedwith grave interest.

  "I'm sure there is some mystery here," declared Mary Louise, "and maybewe are going to discover some dreadful crime."

  "And, on the contrary," returned Colonel Hathaway, "the two men mayhave been interested together in some business venture that resulteddisastrously and led Mr. Joselyn to run away to escape his wife'sreproaches. I consider that a more logical solution of your mystery, mydear."

  "In that case," was her quick reply, "why is Mr. Cragg still writingscores of letters and getting bags full of replies? I don't believethat business deal--whatever it was--is ended, by any means. I thinkthat Ned Joselyn and Old Swallowtail are still carrying it on, one inhiding and the other here--and to be here is to be in hiding, also. Andit isn't an honest business, Gran'pa Jim, or they wouldn't be so secretabout it."

  The Colonel regarded his young granddaughter with surprise.

  "You seem quite logical in your reasoning, my dear," he confessed,"and, should your conjectures prove correct, these men are using themails for illegal purposes, for which crime the law imposes a severepenalty. But consider, Mary Louise, is it our duty to trail criminalsand through our investigations bring them to punishment?"

  Mary Louise took time to consider this question, as she had beenadvised to do. When she replied she had settled the matter firmly inher mind.

  "We are part of the Government, Gran'pa Jim," she asserted. "If webelieve the Government is being wronged--which means the whole peopleis being wronged--I think we ought to uphold the law and bring thewrong-doer to justice."

  "Allowing that," said her grandfather, "let us next consider whatgrounds you have for your belief that wrong is being committed. Arethey not confined to mere suspicions? Suspicions aroused by the chatterof a wild, ungoverned child? Often the amateur detective gets intotrouble through accusing the innocent. Law-abiding citizens should notattempt to uncover all the wrongs that exist, or to right them. TheUnited States Government employs special officers for such duties."

  Mary Louise was a bit nettled, failing to find at the moment anyargument to refute this statement. She was still convinced, however,that the mystery was of grave importance and she believed it would beintensely exciting to try to solve it. Gran'pa Jim was not acquaintedwith Ingua Scammel and had not listened to the girl's unconsciousexposures; so, naturally, he couldn't feel just as Mary Louise didabout this matter. She tried to read, as her grandfather, consideringthe conversation closed, was now doing. They sat together by thelamplight in the cozy sitting room. But her thoughts constantlyreverted to "Old Swallowtail" and to Ingua. At length she laid down herbook and said:

  "Gran'pa, would you mind if I invited Josie O'Gorman to come here andmake me a visit?"

  He gave her a curious look, which, soon melted into an amused smile.

  "Not at all, my dear. I like Josie. But I can see by your desire tointroduce a female detective on the scene that you cannot abandon yoursuspicion of Mr. Cragg."

  "I want to save Ingua, if I can," replied the girl earnestly. "The poorlittle thing can't go on leading such a life without its ruining allher future, even if her grandfather's brutal threats are mere bluff.And Josie isn't a female detective, as yet; she is only training to beone, because her father has won fame in that profession."

  "Josie O'Gorman," said the Colonel, meditatively, "is a wonderfullyclever girl. I believe she is better, even now, than a score of averagemale sleuths. Perhaps it will be a desirable thing for her to comehere, for she will be shrewd enough to decide, in a short time, whetheror not your suspicions are justified. In the latter case, you will berelieved of your worries. Will you abide by Josie's decision?"

  "Will you, Gran'pa Jim?"

  "I have considerable confidence in the girl's judgment."

  "Then I will write to her at once."

  She went to her desk and wrote the following note:

  Dear Josie:We are at the dropping-off-place of the world, a stagnant littlevillage of a dozen houses set in an oasis that is surrounded by thedesert of civilization. And here, where life scarcely throbs, I'vescented a mystery that has powerfully impressed me and surely needsuntangling. It will be good practice for you, Josie, and so I want youto pack up at once and come to us on a good long visit. We'redelightfully situated and, even if the mystery dissolves into thin airunder the sunshine of your eyes, I know you will enjoy the change andour dreamy, happy existence in the wilds of nowhere. Gran'pa Jim wantsyou, too, as he thinks your coming will do me good, and his judgment isnever at fault. So drop me a postal to say when you will arrive and Iwill meet you at Chargrove Station with our car.Affectionately your friend,Mary Louise Burrows.

  Gran'pa Jim read this note and approved it, so next morning Mary Louisewalked to the village and deposited it in the postoffice, which locatedin the front room of Jim Bennett's little residence and wasdelightfully primitive. Jim was "jus' makin' up the mail bag," he said,so her letter was in time to catch the daily train and would be inWashington, where Josie lived, in the quickest possible time.

  Josie O'Gorman was about the same age as Mary Louise and she was theonly child of John O'Gorman, famed as one of the cleverest detectivesin the Secret Service. Josie was supposed to have inherited some of herfather's talent; at least her fond parent imagined so. After carefullytraining the child almost from babyhood, O'Gorman had tested Josie'sability on just one occasion, when she had amply justified her father'sfaith in her. This test had thrown the girl into association with MaryLouise and with Colonel Hathaway, both of whom greatly admired hercleverness, her clear head and shrewd judgment. Mary Louise,especially, had developed a friendship for the embryo girl detectiveand had longed to know her more intimately. So she congratulatedherself on the happy thought of inviting Josie to Cragg's Crossing andwas delighted that the vague mystery surrounding the Cragg familyoffered an adequate excuse to urge the girl to come to her. Thereseemed nothing in the way of such a visit, for Officer O'Gorman,however pleased he might be at his daughter's success in her firstdetective case, declared Josie yet too young to enter active serviceand insisted that she acquire further age and experience before hewould allow her to enter her chosen profession in earnest. "Oneswallow," he said, "doesn't make a summer, and the next bird you flymight prove a buzzard, my dear. Take your time, let your wits mature,and you'll be the better for it in the end."

  So Mary Louise waited impatiently for Josie's reply, meantime seeing asmuch of Ingua as she could and trying to cement the growing friendshipbetween them. Ingua responded eagerly to her advances and as old Mr.Cragg was away from home the greater part of the day there was muchcrossing of the stepping-stones by both girls and more than one"afternoon tea" in the pavilion.

  "Do you know," said Ingua one day, in confidential mood, "I haven't hadthe devils since that time I started to run away and you stopped me?P'r'aps it's because I'm not as hungry as I used to be; but, anyhow,I'm glad I stayed. Gran'dad's been good, too, 'though he's got the'wakes' ag'in."

  "What are the 'wakes'?" asked Mary Louise.

  "Can't sleep nights. Goes t' bed on time, ye know, but gits up ag'inan' dresses himself an' walks."

  "In the house?"

  "No, walks out o' doors. Sometimes he'll come in at jes' daylight;sometimes not till break-fas' is ready."

  "And doesn't that make him cross, Ingua?"

  "Not a bit. It seems to chirk him up. Yist'day mornin', when he comein, he was feelin' so chipper he give me a cent, an' told me to buysomethin' useful. I guess that's the first cent he ever give me. I've_took_ money o' his'n, but he never _give_ me none afore."

  "Oh, Ingua! I hope you haven't stolen money?"

  "Nope. Jes' took it. It ain't easy, 'cause he knows ev'ry cent he'sgot, an' it ain't often he leaves it where I kin git it. P'r'aps heknows it's me, but when I l
ie out of it he can't do noth'n' but growl--an' growlin' don't hurt any."

  Mary Louise was greatly distressed. This reckless disregard of propertyrights was of course the direct result of the child's environment, butmust be corrected. Ingua resented direct chiding and it was necessaryto point out to her the wickedness of stealing in the gentlest possiblemanner.

  "How much money have you taken from your grandfather?" she asked.

  "Oh, not much. A nickel, now an' then. He wouldn't stan' for losin' anymore, ye see. P'r'aps, altogether, I've swiped twenty-five cents. Butonce Ned Joselyn give me a dollar, an' Ol' Swallertail knowed it, an'made me give it to him to save for me. That were the last I ever saw o'that dollar, Mary Louise, so I ain't even with Gran'dad yet."

  "Do you think," remarked Mary Louise, "there is ever any excuse forstealing?"

  The girl stared at her, coloring slightly.

  "Do ye mean Gran'dad, er _me?_"

  "I mean you. He didn't steal your dollar, dear; he merely took it soyou wouldn't spend it foolishly."

  "An' I merely took them nickels so's I could, spend 'em foolish.There's no fun in spendin' money, seems to me, unless you squander itreckless. That's what I done with them nickels. Candy an' chewin' gumtastes better when you know it's swiped."

  Mary Louise sighed. It was so hard to show little Ingua the error ofher ways.

  "As fer stealin'--out an' out _stealin',"_ continued the girl, with aproud toss of her head, "we Craggs ain't never took noth'n' that don'tbelong to us from nobody. What a Cragg takes from a Cragg is a Cragg'sbusiness, an' when we takes someth'n' from somebody else I'll ask ye totell me 'bout it."

  "Where are you going, Ingua?"

  "Home."

  "You're not offended, I hope."

  "No, but I got work to do. I ain't done my breakfas' dishes yet."

  Mary Louise musingly watched the girl cross the river. On the oppositebank she turned to wave her hand and then ran into the cottage. Ingua'scode of honor was a peculiar one. Her pride in the Craggs seemedunaccountable, considering she and her grandfather were the only two ofthe family in existence--except that wandering mother of hers.

  But the recent conversation had uncovered a new phase of the mystery.Old Swallowtail was nervous over something; he could not sleep atnight, but roamed the roads while others with clear consciencesslumbered. There must be some powerful reason to account for the oldman's deserting his bed in this manner. What could it be?

  When she walked over to the postoffice the girl found thelong-looked-for letter from Josie O'Gorman. It said:

  Dear Mary Louise:How good you are! I positively need a change of scene and a rest, soI'm coming. To-morrow--by the train to Chargrove. The mystery you hintat will help me to rest. Dad doesn't want me to grow rusty and he hassome odd theories I'd like to work out. I haven't an idea what your"mystery" is, of course, but if it enables me to test any one of theO'Gorman theories (a theory is merely a stepping-stone to positiveinformation) I shall bless you forever. And that reminds me: I'm comingas a sewing girl, to help you fix over some summer gowns. You'reanxious to give me the work, because I need it, but as we're ratherchummy I'm half servant and half companion. (I hate sewing and make thelongest stitches you ever saw!) Moreover, I'm Josie Jessup. I'm neveran O'Gorman while I'm working on a mystery; it wouldn't do at all.Explain this to dear old Gran'pa Jim.

  Between the receipt of this script and to-morrow's train jot down inregular order everything you know concerning the aforesaid mystery.Make it brief; no speculations or suspicions, just facts. Then I won'twaste any time getting busy.

  Can you hear the rumble of my train? While you're reading this I'm onmy way!

  Josie

  "Good!" murmured Mary Louise, as she folded the letter. "I feel betteralready. Whatever the mystery of Old Swallowtail may be, Josie is sureto solve it."