Part 34 (1/2)
Hal saw what Mrs. Martin did, but neither Jan nor Ted noticed, for they were running around looking for any of the blue stones that might have been scattered from Trouble's playhouse.
”Never mind,” said Mother Martin. ”I'll find you something else to play with, Trouble. You shall have a nice ride with Nicknack. You'll take him, won't you, Jan and Ted?”
”Yes,” they answered.
”I want my p'ayhouse!” sobbed Baby William, and for a time he made a fuss about his missing blue stones.
”I guess I know what happened to them,” said Hal in a whisper to Jan and Ted when their mother had taken Trouble into the tent to find something with which to amuse him.
”What?” asked Ted in a whisper.
”The tramps!” exclaimed Hal, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one but his two little friends heard him. ”That's what your grandfather was going to say the time he stopped so quick. Your mother didn't want him to speak of them. But I'm sure the tramps took the blue stones from Trouble's castle.”
”What would they do with 'em?” Ted demanded.
”There's gold in 'em!” whispered Hal, more excited than ever now.
”There's gold in those blue stones, and the tramps know it. That's what they've been looking for, and when Trouble had 'em all in a nice pile made into a playhouse, the tramps came along in the night and took 'em away.”
”Oh, do you s'pose it could happen that way, really?” asked Jan, her eyes big with wonder.
”Course it could!” said Hal, growing more excited all the while. ”I remember now, gold doesn't always look yellow when you find it, the way it does in a watch or a ring. Sometimes gold is inside stones and they have to melt 'em in the fire to get the gold out. My nurse at the Crippled Home read me about it. And there was gold in the blue stones.
That's why the tramps came and got 'em--I mean _them_,” and he corrected himself. ”They told me not to say 'em,'” he added with a smile.
”Do you really think the blue stones had gold in 'em--them?” asked Ted.
”Yes, I do! Else why would the tramps want them? They came last night and took Trouble's castle--every stone, and now they've hid the gold away.”
”Where?” asked Jan, as excited as the boys.
”I think it must be up in the cave,” went on Hal. ”If we could only go there and look we could find it too. Let's go.”
”Maybe mother wouldn't let us,” suggested Ted.
”We don't have to tell her,” said Jan.
”I don't mean to do anything bad, nor have you,” went on Hal. ”But wouldn't it be great if we could go up to the cave, without anybody knowing it, and get the gold? Then your mother would be glad, and your grandpa, too.”
”Maybe they would--if there was gold in the blue stones,” agreed Ted.
”We could pretend there was,” said Janet. ”Wouldn't that be fun? But I don't want to go into that dark cave 'cept maybe grandpa goes, too, with a light.”
”You wouldn't be afraid with us, would you?” asked Hal.
”Hal and I would be with you,” added Ted.
”Well, maybe I wouldn't be afraid if you took hold of my hands. But it's dark there--awful dark.”
”I've got one of those little electric lights,” Hal said. ”My father sent it to me for my birthday when I was in the Home, and I didn't use it hardly at all, 'cause I wasn't up nights. It flashes bright. I brought it with me when I came to visit you, and I can get it and take it to the cave with us.”
”That'll be fun!” cried Ted. ”Let's go, Jan!” he pleaded.