Part 25 (1/2)

”I had fairly to drive him out of these offices,” said the clerk. ”He is of a very excitable temperament, to say the least. But I did not think there was any real harm in him.”

”Just the same,” Neale objected, ”he wants to keep away from the house and not frighten folks at night.”

”Oh, we will soon stop that,” said Mr. Howbridge's representative. ”I will report it to the police.”

”But perhaps he does not mean any harm,” faltered Agnes.

”I do not think he does,” said the man. ”Nevertheless, we will warn him.”

This promise relieved Agnes a good deal. She was tender-hearted and she did not wish the junkman arrested. But when evening came and he once more stared in at the windows, and tapped on the panes, and wandered around and around the house--

”Well, this is too much!” cried the girl, when Neale and Mrs. McCall both ran out to try to apprehend the marauder. ”I do wish we had a telephone. I am going to _beg_ Ruth to have one put in just as soon as she comes back. We could call the police and they would catch that man.”

Perhaps the police, had they been informed, might have caught Costello. But Mrs. McCall and Neale did not. The latter remained until the family went to bed and then the boy did a little lurking in the bushes on his own account. But he did not spy the strange man again.

In the morning, without saying anything to the Kenway family about it, Neale O'Neil set out to find Costello, the junkman. He certainly was not afraid of the man by daylight. He had had experience with him.

From Mr. Howbridge's clerk he had already obtained the address the junkman had given when he was at the office. The place was down by the ca.n.a.l in the poorer section of the town, of course.

There were several cellars and first-floors of old houses given up to ragpickers and dealers in junk of all kinds. After some inquiry among a people who quite evidently were used to dodging the answering of incriminating questions, Neale learned that there had been a junkman living in a certain room up to within a day or two before, whose name was Costello. But he had disappeared. Oh, yes! Neale's informant was quite sure that Costello had gone away for good.

”But he had a horse and wagon. He had a business of his own. Where has he gone?” demanded the boy.

He was gone. That was all these people would tell him. They pointed out the old shed where Costello had kept his horse. Was it a good horse? It was a good looking horse, with smiles which seemed to indicate that Costello was a true Gypsy and was not above ”doctoring”

a horse into a deceiving appearance of worthiness.

”He drove away with that horse. He did not say where he was going. I guess he go to make a sale, eh? He will come back with some old plug that he make look fine, eh?”

This was the nearest to real information that Neale could obtain, and this from a youth who worked for one of the established junk dealers.

So Neale had to give up the inquiry as useless. When he came back to the old Corner House he confessed to Agnes:

”He is hiding somewhere, and coming around here after dark. Wish I had a shotgun--”

”Oh, Neale! How wicked!”

”Loaded with rock-salt,” grinned the boy. ”A dose of that might do the Gyp. a world of good.”

CHAPTER XX--PLOTTERS AT WORK

The adventures of the Corner House girls and their friends did not usually include anything very terrible. Perhaps there was no particular peril threatened by Costello, the Gypsy junkman, who was lurking about the premises at night. Just the same, Agnes Kenway was inclined to do what Mrs. McCall suggested and throw the silver bracelet out upon the ash heap.

Of course they had no moral right to do that, and the housekeeper's irritable suggestion was not to be thought of for a serious moment.

Yet Agnes would have been glad to get rid of the responsibility connected with possession of Queen Alma's ornament.

”If it is that Costello heirloom!” she said. ”Maybe after all it belongs to Miss Ann t.i.tus's friend, Sarah Whatshername. Goodness! I wonder how many other people will come to claim the old thing. I do wish Ruth would return.”

”Just so you could hand the responsibility over to her,” accused Neale.