Part 15 (2/2)
”How silly you talk, Jess,” interposed Eva. ”One would think to hear you that Mr. Keeler was a common burglar. As Roy says, he didn't plan to come here, and like as not he'll go away in the morning without having disturbed us in the least.”
”You're standing up for him, are you, Eva? Well, I thought his good looks were making an impression on you.”
”Jessie, you have no right to talk in that way. I'm not standing up for him at all. I'm only trying to get you to look at the facts of the case in a sensible way.”
”But there's nothing sensible in inviting a jail bird to the house, and having him stay all night. It isn't the sort of thing you can prepare yourself to bear up under in dignified fas.h.i.+on.”
”Shall I go up to town and get the constable to come down and arrest him?” asked Rex.
”You can't do that!” returned Roy promptly. ”He hasn't committed any crime.”
”But if we wait till he does commit one, it will be like locking the stable door after the horse has been stolen.”
”You might go over to the Burtons', Roy, and get Will to come and stay with us,” Eva suggested.
”And rouse them up at this hour of the night? It's getting on to be eleven o'clock. And it would be a pretty reason to give, wouldn't it: 'If you please, Mr. Burton, we invited a convict to spend the night with us, and now we're afraid.'”
Eva couldn't resist smiling at Roy's way of putting it.
Rex yawned heavily.
”I'm awfully sleepy,” he said.
”Yes; and you and Rex were the ones who were to stand guard,” Jess reminded him promptly.
”Well, I'm beginning to agree with Eva now,” Rex returned. ”I haven't an idea that man intends to harm any of us. Perhaps there is some mistake after all and he isn't Martin Blakesley, only somebody that looks like him.”
”I don't go to bed on any such uncertainty as that,” declared Jess.
”What would we do if we stayed up and we heard him coming down stairs to burglarize the house?” Rex wanted to know.
”If you and Roy weren't shaking in your boots too much to take aim you might bring him to a halt by pointing Syd's pistol at his head.”
”I suppose we could ask him to wait first till we ran up to Syd's bureau drawer and got it,” retorted Rex with fine irony.
”Mercy sakes! There he is right in the room with the only weapon we've got in the house!” and Jess looked really terrified now. ”Why didn't one of you think to take it out?”
”Why didn't you think to tell us who Mr. Keeler was before we asked him to stay all night?” Eva retorted. ”You said you knew all the time you had seen him somewhere before.”
”The boys had no business to pick up a stranger and bring him to the house in this way,” Jess replied. ”What do you suppose mother will say when we tell her?”
”You needn't tell her,” said Rex.
”Needn't tell her!” exclaimed Jess. ”When she finds half the silver gone and Syd's pistol missing I suppose we can say that the cat carried them off.”
”Well, I didn't pick the fellow up,” affirmed Rex. ”It was Roy. He called to me to come and meet him.”
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