Mr.Prim's eyes widened; he looked suspiciously at Bridge.Abigail laughed merrily."I stole them myself, Dad," she explained, "and then Mr.Bridge took them from me in the jail to make the mob think he had stolen them and not I-- he didn't know then that I was a girl, did you?""It was in the jail that I first guessed; but I didn't quite realize who you were until you said that the jewels were yours--then I knew.The picture in the paper gave me the first inkling that you were a girl, for you looked so much like the one of Miss Prim.Then I commenced to recall little things, until I wondered that I hadn't known from the first that you were a girl; but you made a bully boy!" and they both laughed."And now good-by, and may God bless you!" His voice trembled ever so little, and he extended his hand.The girl drew back.
"I want you to come with us," she said."I want Father to know you and to know how you have cared for me.
Wont you come--for me?"
"I couldn't refuse, if you put it that way," replied Bridge; and he climbed into the car.As the machine started off a boy leaped to the running-board.
"Hey!" he yelled, "where's my reward? I want my re-ward.I'm Willie Case."
"Oh!" exclaimed Bridge."I gave your reward to your father--maybe he'll split it with you.Go ask him." And the car moved off.
"You see," said Burton, with a wry smile, "how simple is the detective's job.Willie is a natural-born detective.
He got everything wrong from A to Izzard, yet if it hadn't been for Willie we might not have cleared up the mystery so soon.""It isn't all cleared up yet," said Jonas Prim."Who murdered Baggs?""Two yeggs known as Dopey Charlie and the Gen-eral," replied Burton."They are in the jail at Oakdale;but they don't know yet that I know they are guilty.
They think they are being held merely as suspects in the case of your daughter's disappearance, whereas Ihave known since morning that they were implicated in the killing of Baggs; for after I got them in the car I went behind the bushes where we discovered them and dug up everything that was missing from Baggs'
house, as nearly as is known--currency, gold and bonds.""Good!" exclaimed Mr.Prim.
On the trip back to Oakdale, Abigail Prim cuddled in the back seat beside her father, told him all that she could think to tell of Bridge and his goodness to her.
"But the man didn't know you were a girl," suggested Mr.Prim.
"There were two other girls with us, both very pretty,"replied Abigail, "and he was as courteous and kindly to them as a man could be to a woman.I don't care any-thing about his clothes, Daddy; Bridge is a gentleman born and raised--anyone could tell it after half an hour with him."Bridge sat on the front seat with the driver and one of Burton's men, while Burton, sitting in the back seat next to the girl, could not but overhear her conversa-tion.
"You are right," he said."Bridge, as you call him, is a gentleman.He comes of one of the finest families of Vir-ginia and one of the wealthiest.You need have no hesitancy, Mr.Prim, in inviting him into your home."For a while the three sat in silence; and then Jonas Prim turned to his daughter."Gail," he said, "before we get home I wish you'd tell me why you did this thing.
I think you'd rather tell me before we see Mrs.P.""It was Sam Benham, Daddy," whispered the girl."Icouldn't marry him.I'd rather die, and so I ran away.Iwas going to be a tramp; but I had no idea a tramp's existence was so adventurous.You won't make me marry him, Daddy, will you? I wouldn't be happy, Daddy.""I should say not, Gail; you can be an old maid all your life if you want to.""But I don't want to--I only want to choose my own husband," replied Abigail.
Mrs.Prim met them all in the living-room.At sight of Abigail in the ill-fitting man's clothing she raised her hands in holy horror; but she couldn't see Bridge at all, until Burton found an opportunity to draw her to one side and whisper something in her ear, after which she was graciousness personified to the dusky Bridge, in-sisting that he spend a fortnight with them to recuper-ate.
Between them, Burton and Jonas Prim fitted Bridge out as he had not been dressed in years, and with the feel of fresh linen and pressed clothing, even if ill fitting, a sensation of comfort and ease pervaded him which the man would not have thought possible from such a source an hour before.
He smiled ruefully as Burton looked him over."I ven-ture to say," he drawled, "that there are other things in the world besides the open road."Burton smiled.
It was midnight when the Prims and their guests arose from the table.Hettie Penning was with them, and ev-eryone present had been sworn to secrecy about her share in the tragedy of the previous night.On the mor-row she would return to Payson and no one there the wiser; but first she had Burton send to the jail for Giova, who was being held as a witness, and Giova promised to come and work for the Pennings.
At last Bridge stole a few minutes alone with Abi-gail, or, to be more strictly a truthful historian, Abigail outgeneraled the others of the company and drew Bridge out upon the veranda.
"Tell me," demanded the girl, "why you were so kind to me when you thought me a worthless little scamp of a boy who had robbed some one's home.""I couldn't have told you a few hours ago," said Bridge.
"I used to wonder myself why I should feel toward a boy as I felt toward you,--it was inexplicable,--and then when I knew that you were a girl, I understood, for Iknew that I loved you and had loved you from the mo-ment that we met there in the dark and the rain be-side the Road to Anywhere."
"Isn't it wonderful?" murmured the girl, and she had other things in her heart to murmur; but a man's lips smothered hers as Bridge gathered her into his arms and strained her to him.
End