The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1934-11-23
CHAPTER VIII-Continued

CHAPTER VIII-Continued
p
Light the lamp, JEAN" said Pru-
dence.
Jane Mack clutched her shoulder.
mo! No! The convict might see and
s-s-shoot. / know folks"
''Pull yourself together. Wait till
I've drawn the hangings, JEAN"
Don't go near those windows, Miss
Prue."
Nonsense, Macky. All right, Jean.
Light the lamp"
Spooky shadows cast by the waver-
ing flashlight skulked into corners as
a soft glow suffused the room.
"That's better. The light will send
your bad dream hustling, Macky. Sit
down and tell us what happened"
Jane Mack twisted her bony hands.
Jean, in her candy-striped pajamas,
put her arm about Prue's waist. The
woman shifted.
"You two girls think I've had a
dream, don't you? Well, haven't. I
was just getting into bed thought I
heard door creak down here. l stole
down quietly. didn't want to scare
you. 1 tip-toed to this door. A man
was flashing a Light over that" She
pointed a blanched finger toward the
safe. you'd left it unlocked.
II knew in a minute twas the es-
capped prisoner I'd been expecting.
guess I gurgled. He pulled his hat
lower over his eyes. Pointed his light
straight at my face, so l couldn't see
anything.
"'Got you covered. Make a SIS
sound, woman, an I'll s-s-shoot" he
hissed."
Prudence's eyes widened with in
credulity. Could this vibrant, dramatic
woman be the taciturn, dour spinster
who cooked and scrubbed for her every
day?
Jane Mack swallowed hard. "All
could think of was the money you had
tied up in those jewels, Miss Prue, an
what 'twould mean If you lost them.
What was this old body of mine good
for, anyway? So I yelled"
"In say you yelled. Then what did
the man do?" Jean demanded. did
he shoot?"
''If he did, didn't know it,
"Perhaps he sneaked in to look
around because he was born here or his
father died here; we haven't had one
of those old-timers drop in on us for a
week."
Jane Mack shifted. Better look and
see if the 'old-timer' got any of your
Jewels"
"Never mind the jewels, Macky. I
deserve to lose them for forgetting to
close the safe. Sure you are not
hurt?"
"Sure, Miss Prue."
Jean was on her knees before the
safe frantically examining the white
packets when Prudence reached 1t.
She looked up with frightened eyes.
"Gone" she whispered.
''What's gomez"
"The emerald and diamonds!"
'You ought to set the sheriff after
that convict" Jane Mack insisted for
the third time the next afternoon.
At the kitchen table Prudence was
shipping the stems Of the roses before
placing them in vases Of fresh water.
Impulsively she put an arm about
jeans shoulder and Rugged her as the
child drew long, hard breath. She
knew what she was thinking, knew
that she was remembering the look in
her fathers eyes as he had asked If
the jewels were kept in the house. OF
course, Walter Gerard had not stolen
the gems, he wouldn't fall SO low as
that, but
"I'll wait until Mr.. David comes,
Macky. He will be here so soon that
we had better consult him before we
enter complaint"
swell, of course, if you can afford
to lose that emerald and the dia-
monds, Miss Prue, it's up to you. If
you'd seen what ] saw in my teacup
this morning" With a sniff Jane
Mack disappeared into the pantry.
Snug in fur coats. red beret and
green beret making brilliant spots of
color in the gray day. Prudence, with
Jean, backed the cart out of the shed.