Part 30 (2/2)
A RADIO TRICK
Jessie was of course delighted to see Darry and Burd in Amy's company when her chum appeared on the Norwood premises after breakfast Jessie had dressed Henrietta, and the child was preening herself in the sun like a peacock The boys scarcely recognized her
At once Burd Alling called her the Enchanted Princess That disturbed little Henrietta but slightly
”I expect I aravely ”I expect I am like Cinderella I know all about her And the puet charain into my old clothes”
”You could not very well help Mrs Foley in that dress, Henrietta,”
Jessie suggested
”No I suppose not But if I could just find my cousin Bertha maybe I would not have to help Mrs Foley any more Maybe Bertha is rich, and we could hire somebody to take care of Billy Foley and to clean out the kitchen stove”
She waswith the others to look for Bertha Blair As it chanced, Jessie did not have to call for Chapo came For who should drive up to the house but Mark Stratford, who had come home with Darry and Burd from the yacht cruise and had driven over froht fit for the six in the racing car, but they squeezed in and drove out through the Parkville road while it was still earlyMeanwhile Darry had explained his idea to the others, and they were all eager to view the surroundings of the Gandy stock farm
”If Bertha is there she'll know reed little Henrietta ”But she never will knowat me
Never!”
”So she'll have to shut her eyes if she wants to know you, will she, kid?” chuckled Burd
There really did not seem to be any need for the child to call when the party stopped before the closed gate, for there was not any sign of occupancy of either the house or surrounding buildings The shi+ngled old house offered blank s to the road, like so htless eyes There were no horses in the stables, for the s over the box-stalls were all closed And the tower the girls had marked before seemed deserted as well
”Just the same, the voice spoke of the red barn and that silo and those two fallen trees there Chapman says the trees ht, as we told you,” said Jessie
”Let's look around,” Darry said, ju out, and Burd and Amy ith him Mark turned around in the driver's seat to talk with Jessie
”You know, it's a funny thing that the girl's naabout her before, and I said so about it to our Mr Blair at the factory
He's had a lot of trouble in his family Never had any children, he and his wife, but alanted 'eirl of whoht, but caer Blair died they lost trace of his wife and a baby girl they had Funny thing,” added Mark ”That baby's name was Bertha--Bertha Blair When I told the superintendent soirl because of a law case, he wasstation, tell the superintendent all about her, Miss Jessie”
”I certainly will,” proirl ”But we haven't even found Bertha yet, and we are not sure she is here”
Darry and the others had entered the grounds surrounding the stock farone some tiuess ere fooled, Jess,” she said ”There is nobody here--not even a caretaker I guess e heard over the radio that time was a hoax”
”I don't believe it!” declared Jessie ”I just _feel_ that Bertha Blair, little Henrietta's cousin, is somewhere here”