a
bit at sight of her.

"Why, Torchy!" says she, holdin' out her hand. "And Mr. Ellins!"

"Morning calls right along for me, after this," says I, sort of walkin'
around her. "It's worth while."

"Old thing!" says she. "Don't be silly. But what is the matter?"

I glances at Mr. Ellins. "Shall I tell?" says I.

"As that seems to be your specialty," says he, "perhaps you had better."

"Yes, sir; thank you, sir," says I, salutin'.

Then I turns to Vee. "Seen Auntie this morning?" I asks.

"Why, no," says Vee. "I was up rather early, you know."

"Not so early as she was," says I. "What do you think she's done?
Jumped in on that treasure hunt I was tellin' you of. She's pinched
Rupert, and by now maybe they're on their way South."

Vee stares at me for a second, and then gives one of them ripply laughs.

"How crazy of you to think such a thing!" says she.

"Here's the evidence in the case," says I, pointin' to the map with the
scribblin' on the side. "That's her writin', ain't it? And you
remember her wakin' up and askin' questions, don't you?"

"Ye-e-es," admits Vee; "but I'm sure she hasn't--"

"She and the Captain are missing," says I. "That's what comes of my
gettin' chatty about business affairs. I didn't dream, though, that
Auntie was such a plunger."

"I can't believe it," says Vee. "There's been some ridiculous mistake.
But I can't imagine where she could have gone so early."

"Couldn't have had time to pack a trunk, could she?" I asks. "If not
she'd be coming back some time to-day. Shall we wait here a while, Mr.
Ellins?"

"I think I prefer a meeting on neutral grounds," says he.

So we goes downstairs and paces up and down the sidewalk, watchin' the
avenue traffic sleuthy.

"Course she wouldn't start off without baggage," I suggests.

"I'm not so certain," growls Old Hickory.

Ten minutes we waited--fifteen; and then I spots a yellow taxi rollin'
up from downtown. Inside I gets a glimpse of a black straw lid with
purple flowers on it.

"Here she comes!" I sings out to Old Hickory. "Yep, that's her! And
say! The Captain's with her. Quick! Dive into our cab."

He's a little heavy on his feet, Mr. Ellins is, and someway he manages
to get himself hung up on the cab door. Anyway, Auntie must have seen
us doin' the wild scramble, and got suspicious; for, just as they got
alongside, she pounds on the front window, shouts something at the
driver, and instead of stoppin' the