Part 28 (1/2)
”I guess you don't know us,” Tess said doubtfully. ”You don't belong in this neighborhood.”
”I know you all right,” said the boy. ”You're the two girls those women sold the basket to. I know you.”
”Oh!” gasped Tess.
”The Gypsy ladies!” murmured Dot.
”That's the one. They sold you the basket for forty-five cents. Didn't they?”
”Yes,” admitted Tess.
”And it's _ours_,” cried Dot. ”We paid for it.”
”That's all right,” said the boy slowly. ”But you didn't buy what was in it. No, sir! They want it back.”
”Oh! The basket?” cried Tess.
”What you found in it.”
The boy seemed very sure of what he was saying, but he spoke slowly.
”They want that silver thing back. It wasn't meant for you. It was a mistake. You know very well it isn't yours. If you are honest--and you told them you were--you will bring it back to them.”
”Oh! They did ask us if we were honest,” Tess said faintly. ”And of course we are. Aren't we, Dot?”
”Why--why-- Do we have to be so dreadful' honest,” whispered the smallest Corner House girl, quite borne down with woe.
”Of course we have. Just think of what Ruthie would say,” murmured Tess. Then to the boy: ”Where are those ladies?”
”Huh?” he asked. ”What ladies?”
”The Gypsy ladies we bought the basket from?”
”Oh, _them_?” he rejoined hurriedly, glancing along the street with eagerness. ”You go right out along this street,” and he pointed in the direction from which he had come. ”You keep on walking until you reach the brick-yard.”
”Oh! Are they camped there?” asked Tess.
”No. But a man with an automobile will meet you there. He is a man who will take you right to the Gypsy camp and bring you back again. Don't be afraid, kids. It's all right.”
He went away then, and the little girls could not call him back. They wanted to ask further questions; but it was evident that the boy had delivered his message and was not to be cross-examined.
”What _shall_ we do?” Tess exclaimed.
”Oh, let's wait. Let's wait till Ruth comes home,” cried Dot, saying something very sensible indeed.
But responsibility weighed heavily on Tess's mind. She considered that if the Gypsy women wished their bracelet returned, it was her duty to take it to them without delay. Besides, there was the man in the automobile waiting for them.
Why the man had not come to the house with the car, or why he had not brought the two Gypsy women to the Corner House, were queries that did not occur to the little girls. If Tess Kenway was nothing else, she was strictly honest.