the mastic's collar.
There was a tiny opening in the shrubbery. It surrounded the foot of ahuge beech tree. In some past day a careless hunter had built a fireclose to the trunk of this tree. It was now hollow at the base, butvines and creepers growing up the tall tree had hidden the opening.
A man was on his knees at the foot of the tree and had drawn thematted curtain of creepers aside with one hand while with the other hereached in to the full length of his arm. He had no suspicion of thepresence of the young people and Reno.
Out of the hollow in the tree trunk he drew something wrapped in anold pair of overalls. He unwrapped it, still with his back to the spotwhere the dog and his master and the girls stood. But the threefriends could see over his shoulder as he knelt on the ground, and sawplainly that the object he had withdrawn from the tree trunk was aflat black box, evidently japanned, and there was a fair-sized brasspadlock which fastened it.
"Ha, ha, ha!" chuckled the man to himself, as he wrapped the box upagain in the old clothes, and then thrust it hastily into the hollowtree. "Safe yet! safe yet!"
He rose up then and without even looking about him, started directlyaway from the glen. He plainly had no suspicion of the presence of thedog and the trio of young folks. When he was quite out of sight andsound, Tom whispered, patting Reno:
"I declare, girls! That was Jasper Parloe!"
"That mean thing!" returned his sister. "I guess he's a miser as wellas a hermit; isn't he?"
"Looks like it. I've a good mind to take that thing he put in thereand hide it somewhere else. He wouldn't be so sure about it's beingsafe then; would he?"
"No! Don't you touch his nasty things, Tom," advised Helen, turningaway.
But Ruth still stared at the hidden hollow in the tree and suddenlyshe darted forward and knelt where Parloe had knelt.
"What are you going to do, Ruth?" demanded her chum.
"I want to see that box--I must see it!" cried the girl from the RedMill.
"Hold on!" said Tom. "I'll get it for you. You'll get your dressdirty."
"I wouldn't touch it," cried Helen, warningly.
"I must!" gasped Ruth, greatly excited.
"It don't belong to you," quoth Helen.
"And I'm very sure it doesn't belong to Jasper Parloe," declared Ruth,earnestly.
Tom glanced at the girl from the Red Mill suddenly, and with closeattention. He seemed to understand her excitement.
"Let me in there," said the youth. "I can reach it, Ruthie."
He pushed her gently, and while Ruth and Helen held aside the mass ofvines the boy crawled in and reached the bundle of rags. He carefullyhauled it all forth and the japanned box tumbled out of its loosewrappings.
"There it is!" grunted Tom, getting up and wiping his hands on a tuftof grass. "What do you make of it?"
Ruth had the box in her hands. Helen, looking over her shoulder,pointed to two faded letters painted on the cover of the box.
"That belongs to Jasper Parloe. His initials are on the box," shesaid.
"'J. P.'--that's right, I guess," muttered Tom.
It could not be gainsaid that Parloe's initials were there. Ruthstared at them for some moments in silence.
"Better put it back. I don't know what he can possibly have to hide inthis way," Tom said. "But we wouldn't want to get into trouble withhim. He's a mean customer."
"It isn't his box!" said Ruth, quietly.
"Why isn't it?" cried Helen, in amazement.
"I never noticed the letters on the box before. The box has beencleaned since I saw it--"
"You don't mean that it is your uncle's cash-box, Ruth?" interruptedTom, in excitement.
"Why, you ridiculous boy!" declared Helen. "You know that was lost inthe flood."
"I don't know. Do you?" Tom demanded, shortly.
"But, Ruth!" gasped Helen.
"It looks like Uncle Jabez's box," Ruth whispered.
"But the letters! Jasper Parloe's initials," cried thehard-to-be-convinced Helen Cameron.
"They're uncle's initials, too," explained Ruth, quietly.
"Whew!" ejaculated Tom. "So they are. 'J. P.--Jabez Potter.' Can'tget around that."
"Well, I never!" gasped Helen.
"Do you suppose all old Jabe's money is in this?" muttered Tom,weighing the cash-box in his hands. "It can't be in coin."
"I do not know that he had much money in coin," said Ruth. "I think heused to change the gold and silver for notes, quite frequently. Atleast, Aunt Alvirah says so."
"But suppose it should be Parloe's after all?" objected Helen.
"Let's find that out," said Tom, vigorously. "Come on, girls. We'llfinish eating, pack up, and start back. We'll drive right up toParloe's and show him this box, and ask him if it is his. If he saysyes, we'll make him come along to the mill and face Mr. Potter, andthen if there is any doubt of it, let them go before a magistrate andfight it out!"
The girls were impressed with the wisdom of this declaration, and allwent back to rescue the remains of their luncheon from the birds andfrom a saucy gray squirrel that had already dropped down to the lowestlimb of the tree under which they had spread their cloth, and who satthere and chattered angrily while they remained thereafter, as thoughhe considered that he had been personally cheated out of a banquet.
The girls and Tom were so excited that they could not enjoy theremainder of the nice things that Babette had packed in their lunchbasket They were soon in the carriage, and Tubby was startled out of apleasant dream and urged up the hilly road that led through the woodsto the squatter's cabin, where Jasper Parloe had taken up his quartersafter he had been discharged from employment at the Red Mill.
CHAPTER XXV
ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS
When the pony carriage drove into the little clearing about thesquatter's hut, Parloe was pottering about the yard and he stood upand looked at them with arms akimbo and a growing grin upon his slyface.
"Well, well, well!" he croaked. "All together, air ye? Havin' apicnic?"
"We've been down yonder in the glen," said Tom, sternly.
For an instant Jasper Parloe changed color and looked a bit worried.But it was only for an instant. Then he grinned again and his littleeyes twinkled just as though he were amused. But Tom kept on, bluntly,saying:
"We found something there, Parloe, and we came up here to see if itbelongs to you."
"What's that?" asked the man, drawing nearer. "I ain't lost nothing."
"Don't say that," said Tom, quickly. "At least, don't say you haven'thidden something."
But he could not catch Mr. Parloe again. The man shook his head slowlyand looked as though he hadn't the least idea of what Tom was drivingat.
"Look here," continued the boy, and drew forth the japanned box.
"Well! Well!" and Jasper's mean little eyes twinkled more than ever."You don't mean to say you found that down yonder?"
"We did," said Tom, tartly.
"Now, where was it?"
"Where it had been hidden," snapped Tom, quite disgusted with the oldman. "Where it was supposed to be very safe, I reckon."
"Like enough, Tom," said Jasper, mildly. "What do you reckon on doingwith it?"
"You don't claim it to be yours, then?" demanded Tom, in somesurprise.
"No-o," said Parloe, slowly.
"It has your initials on it," said Helen, quickly.
"That's odd, ain't it?" returned Parloe, standing where he was and notoffering to touch the box. "But other people have the same initialsthat I have." His grin grew to huge proportions, and he looked so slythat nothing but his high, bony nose kept his two little eyes fromrunning together and making one eye of it. "Jabe Potter, forinstance."
"Then you think this is likely to be Mr. Potter's?" queried Tom.
"Couldn't say. Jabe will probably claim it. He would take advantage ofthe initials, sure enough."
"And why don't you?" asked Helen.
"'Cause me and Jabe are two different men," declared Parloe,righteously. "Nobody ever cou
ld say, with proof, that Jasper Parloetook what warn't his own."
"This is my uncle's cash-box, I am very sure," interposed Ruth, withsome anger. "It was not swept away the day of the flood. You werethere in his little office at the very moment the waters struck themill, and we saw you running from the place as though you werescared."
"Jefers-pelters!" croaked Jasper. "It was enough to scare anybody!"
"That may be. But you weren't too scared to grab this box when youran. And you must have hidden it under your coat as you left the mill.I am going to tell my uncle all about it--and how we saw you down thehill yonder, looking at this very box before you thrust it back in itshiding place."
Jasper Parloe grew enraged rather than frightened by this threat.
"Tell!" he barked. "You tell what ye please. Provin's another thing. Idon't know nothin' about the box. I never opened it. I don't knowwhat's in it. And you kin tell Jabe that if he tries to make metrouble over it I'll make him trouble in a certain locality--he knowswhere and what about."
"I shall give him the box and tell him how it came into mypossession," repeated Ruth, firmly, and then she and her friends droveaway.
They hurried Tubby back to the Red Mill and Ruth ran in ahead of herfriends with the cash-box in her hands. The moment Uncle Jabez saw ithe started forward with a loud cry. He almost tore the box from hergrasp; but then became gentle again in a moment.
"Gal!" he ejaculated, softly, "how'd ye git this away from Parloe?"
"Oh, Uncle! how did you know he had it?"
"I've been suspicious. He couldn't scarce keep it to hisself. He ain'topened it, I see."
"I don't think he has."
"We'll see. Tell me about it," urged the miller, staring at Helen andTom as they approached.
Ruth told him all about it. She pointed, too, to the fact that Helenand Tom--and especially Tom's dog--had had more to do with therecovery of the cash-box than she had. Uncle Jabez listened and noddedas though he appreciated that fact. Meanwhile, however, he hunted upthe key to the japanned box and unlocked it.
It was plain that the contents of the box were for the most partsecurities in the shape of stocks and bonds, with a good deal ofcurrency in small notes. There was a little coin--gold and silver--packed into one compartment. Uncle Jabez counted it all with feverishanxiety.
"Right to a penny!" he gasped, when he had finished, and mopped theperspiration from his brow. "The rascal didn't touch it. He didn'tdare!"
"But he'll dare something else, Uncle," said Ruth, hastily. "I believehe's going right to Mr. Cameron to make you trouble."
"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Uncle Jabez, and looked hard at Tom.
"I'm sorry if he makes trouble about that old thing, Mr. Potter," saidTom, stumblingly. "I've tried to keep his mouth shut--"
"Ah-ha!" said Uncle Jabez, again. Then he added: "And I shouldn't beat all surprised, young man, if you'd given Jasper money to keep hismouth shut--eh?"
Tom flushed and nodded "I didn't want any row--especially when Helenand I think so much of Ruth."
"You wouldn't have bought Jasper off for my sake, I reckon," saidJabez, sharply. "You wouldn't have done it for my sake?"
"Why should I?" returned Tom, coolly. "You never have been any toofriendly towards me."
"Hah!" said the miller, nodding. "That's true. But let me tell you,young man, that I saw your father about the time I ran you down. Wedon't get along very well, I admit. I ain't got much use for youCamerons. But I had no intention of doing you harm. You can believethat, or not. If you will remember, the evening you went over thatembankment on the Wilkins Corners road, I came up behind you. My muleswere young, and your dog jumped out at them and scared them. Theybolted, and I never knew till next day that you had been knocked overthe embankment."
"We'll let bygones be bygones, Mr. Potter," said Tom, good-humoredly."I came out of it all right."
"But you had no business to pay Jasper Parloe money for keeping stillabout it," said the miller, sourly. "Being bled by a blackmailer isnever the action of a wise man. When he threatened me I went to yourfather at once and got ahead of Parloe. We agreed to say nothing aboutit--that's about all we did agree on, however," added Mr. Potter,grimly. "Now you children run along. Ruth, come here. I figger I oweyou something because of the finding of this box. Yes! I know how muchthe others had to do with it, too. But they'd never been over there inOlakah Glen if it hadn't been for you. I'll make this up to you. Inever yet owed a debt that I didn't repay in full. I'll remember thisone, gal."
But so much happened in those next two weeks, following the finding ofthe cash-box, that Ruth quite forgot this promise on her uncle's part.She realized, however, that he seemed really desirous of being kind toher, and that much of his grimness had disappeared.
Everybody at the Red Mill--and many other people, too--had theirthoughts fixed upon Mercy Curtis at this time. She had been gettingstronger all the while. She had been able to hobble on her two sticksfrom her bedroom to the porch. She had been to ride half a dozen timesin the Camerons' automobile. And then, suddenly, without otherwarning, Doctor Davison and the strange surgeon who had once examinedMercy, appeared in a big limousine car, with a couch arranged inside,and they whisked Mercy off to a sanitarium some miles away, where shewas operated on by the famous surgeon, with Doctor Davison's help, andfrom which place the report came back in a few days that the operationhad been successful and that Mercy Curtis would--in time--walkagain!
Meanwhile, Ruth had kept up her recitations to Miss Cramp, oftenwalking back and forth to town, but sometimes getting "a lift," andthe teacher pronounced her prepared to enter the Cheslow High School.She had taken the studies that Helen Cameron had taken, and, oncomparing notes, the chums found that they were in much the samecondition of advancement.
"Oh, if you were only going to Briarwood with me, instead of toCheslow High!" wailed Helen, one day, as they sat on the porch of theRed Mill house.
"Ah, dear!" said Ruth, quietly, "don't talk about it. I want to gowith you more than I ever wanted to do anything in my whole life--"
"What's that?" exclaimed Uncle Jabez's gruff voice behind them."What's that you want to do, Ruth?"
"To--to go to boarding school, Uncle," stammered his niece.
"Hah!" grunted the miller. "Ain't you calculatin' on going to highschool?"
"Oh, Mr. Potter!" broke in Helen, frightened by her own temerity."That isn't the school Ruth wants to go to. I am going to BriarwoodHall, and she wants to go, too. Do, do let her. It would be--it wouldbe just heavenly, if she could go there, and we could be together!"
Jabez Potter came out upon the porch and looked down upon his niece.The grim lines of his face could not relax, it seemed; but his eyesdid seem to twinkle as he said:
"And that's the greatest wish of your life; is it, Ruth?"
"I--I believe it is, Uncle Jabez," she whispered, looking at him inwonder.
"Well, well!" he said, gruffly, dropping his gaze. "Mebbe I owe it ye.My savin's of years was in that cash-box, Ruth. I--I--Well, I'llthink it over and see if it can be arranged about this Briarwoodbusiness. I'll--I'll see your Aunt Alvirah."
And that Uncle Jabez Potter "saw about it" to some purpose is provenby the fact that the reader may meet Ruth and her friends again in thenext volume of this series to be entitled "Ruth Fielding at BriarwoodHall; Or, Solving the Campus Mystery."
"Perhaps he isn't such an ogre after all," whispered Helen, when sheand Ruth were alone.
"Not after you get to know him," replied the girl of the Red Mill,with a quiet smile.
THE END
Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill; Or, Jasper Parloe's Secret Page 23