Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-11-08
CHAPTER Xxx
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Lettie on the Firing Line.
Lettie's plan was definite, but only
a child would have formed it. Her
suspicious were red-hot, but only
child of ten-second impulsiveness
would have acted upon them. There
was a great deal of inflammable mate
rial in her nature, and no one could
tell what chance spark might set it
off. The evidence that had required
80 her, under the stress of Mrs. Pen
2ieId's suffering, was slight, even I'M
reliable, but her imagination had IN
vested it with integrity.
From Mrs. Sanders living-room
window she had caught the merest
glimpse of a man with child in his
arms, hurrying out of The Custard
Cup. Looking from lighted room
into the deepening twilight, she had
seen neither clearly and had not
thought of recognizing the man or the
child But when she had found that
Thad was missing, she had jumped
to the congenial conclusion that she
had seen Frank Bosley carrying Than
away. Why Frank Bosley2 Chiefly
because Lettie dis1iked him, distrust-
ed him, and because il build he was
not unlike the man she had seen. The
fact that Frank Bosley could have no
possible interest in kidnapping Gus
tard Cup child, did not occur to dis
turb her conviction. True to the I'M
pulsiveness which was the keynote OF
her nature, she had jumped to con-
clusion.
It was several blocks to the Eve
ridge street house, but Lettie covered
them rapidly. There was no light in
any window, but she rang the bell.
sI'll begin decent" she thought to her.
self. She was sure that queer people
came here, and somehow she didn't
expect them to do anything so mild
as to respond to bell. Giving them
the chance was her way of discharg-
ing her formal duty.
There was no answer. Lettie set her
teeth and proceeded to business.
s'Thad's in there" she thought stead
lily, "and I'm going to have him."
Quietly she circled the two-story
house. 1t had high basement.
There was a basement window toward
the vacant lot, but it was fastened.
Immediately she reflected that if she
got into the basement, she would
probably want to get upstairs and
might find herself locked away from
the main floor. She knew that the
key was not likely to be on the base
ment side. The windows on the first
floor were all closed except one on
the other side from the vacant lot,
probably the bathroom window. That
was raised few inches 1t was very
narrow, but so was Leftie. Mentally
she pounced OH that window.
She called upon her wide experience
In prowling to help her. In the back
yard she found an old box; in other
back yards she found other boxes.
She borrowed four of different sizes,
and with every intention of returning
them. No one knew better than Let
tie how important piece of personal
property an old wooden box may be;
and in spite of her acquisitive ten
denotes, she had a rigid respect for
prior claims.
She placed the boxes on end, by way
of making them reach. Then through
acquired agility and with the help of
nails that had once fastened vine to
the wall, she climbed within range of
the ledge, pushed up the window
softly, squeezed her thin body through,
swung downward with her wiry hands
grasping the sill, and touched her feet
to the floor.
She was inside With the exuber-
ance of ignorance. she felt that her