Part 25 (1/2)
”She had hold of that heavy rocking chair we have in the library,” A to pull it away fro on to it for dear life
”Then suddenly I let go, and Aunt Sarah--she's pretty heavy, you know--lost her balance as the chair swung forward, and fell over backward, striking her head on the sharp edge of the piano”
”Goodness, you must have been scared,” commented Mollie
”'Scared!'” echoed Aht I had killed her She lay there all white and funny, and her head was bleeding dreadfully----”
”There's your scalp wound for you,” Betty pointed out ”Just a little scratch will make the whole place look like a shambles”
”But what happened to your aunt Sarah, Amy,” pursued Mollie interestedly ”We know she didn't die”
”Well, I should say she didn't!” said Ahing atsent away to get the stain out,” she added significantly
”Huh,” said the girls, and once ht, Betty?” said Mollie, after a while
”Suppose our poorhe has committed a crime that he hasn't? What could you possibly do about it?”
”I don't just know,” Betty adht ask your father,” Grace hazarded, but Betty turned on her, startled
”That's just the thing I don't want to do!” she said hurriedly ”Dad is just the best andfather in the world, but he has a terribly stern sense of justice I' ourselves--oh, what do you call it----”
”Accessories after the fact?” suggested Mollie, helpfully
”That's it,” said Betty ”Hea cri to hide a criminal----”
”Well, maybe we are, at that,” said Grace, uncomfortably
”They can put you in jail for that sort of thing, can't they?” added Aestion which certainly did not add to the cheerfulness of the atmosphere
”I don't care,” said Betty stoutly ”I'd rather go to jail than deliver a man to a doubtful justice--especially when he may really be innocent
Anyway,” she added, reasonably: ”who is there to know that ent to Paul Loup's cabin the other day? I'o in or come out, and if we keep quiet no one will have to know That's why I didn't even want to take dad into our confidence”
”But if our musician is, as you think, innocent,” Grace insisted, ”then your father could do more for him than we”
”But we don't know that he is innocent That's only my idea,” said Betty ”And dad would probably think it was a very foolish one Maybe it is, for all I know,” she added dubiously
”How about Allen?” said Grace suddenly after another rather long silence ”He would certainly sy a lawyer, he would probably be able to think up souilt without giving away his whereabouts There, how's that for a brilliant idea?” she finished proudly
”I had already thought of that,” adirls turned aest it”
”Maybe Allen would agree with your father that we, ought to turn hiorously