Grandma Macklin came to
the end of her bank account. Several mortgages had been paid her in gold,
and she kept this money with the jewelry and a lot of solid silver in a
little safe in her room. Foolish, of course, but she says others did it
in those days, too. She meant to take the gold and some of the diamonds
to her lawyer and get a check which would take her and mother around the
world on a luxurious cruise. And the day before she had the appointment
with Mr. Davies--"

A soft blackness settled down over the girls like a blanket. The
electric lights had gone out!

"Move closer, and I'll finish," whispered Norma.

Betty snuggled up between the two, and shivered a little with excitement.

"The day before she was to drive to Edentown," repeated Norma, "a band of
Indians from the reservation in the next state came through on their
annual tramping trip and walked in on poor little grandma as she sat at
her mahogany secretary turning over her jewels and counting her beautiful
shining gold. Every darkey on the place fled in terror, and those
rascally Indians simply scooped up everything in sight and locked grandma
and mother in the room!"

"Couldn't any one stop them?" demanded Betty eagerly. "Surely a band of
Indians could have been easily traced. Didn't any one try?"

"Oh, they tried," admitted Norma. "That's the maddening part. Suppose I
told you, Betty, that I know where grandma's inheritance is this minute?"

CHAPTER XIII

THE MYSTERIOUS FOUR

"Well, for mercy's sake!" said Betty in exasperation, "if you know
where the property is, why don't you claim it? Why doesn't your mother?
Where is it?"

"At the bottom of Indian Chasm," declared Norma calmly.

"Where's that?"

"I don't know exactly," admitted Norma. "It's around here somewhere. You
see the Indians streaked for the woods, and mother got out by way of a
window and ran to the next estate. The men and boys there armed
themselves and took horses and chased the Redskins, and when they were
almost up with them the robbers tossed everything down this great canyon
in the earth. There was no way to get into it, and though they tried
lowering men with ropes, they couldn't find a solitary gold piece. As far
as any one knows it is all at the bottom of the chasm now."

"And grandma had to mortgage the house and they couldn't pay the interest
and it was sold and all the lovely mahogany furniture," mourned Alice.
"And grandma and mother moved to New Yor