ewise implicated. They were obliged to abandon the sea and
fly to some out-of-the-way corner inland, where they could be safely
hidden and their whereabouts never discovered. It was the knowledge of
this crime, she conjectured, that had ruined sweet Mrs. Wegg's life and
made her weep day after day until her guilty husband became surly and
silent and unsociable.

Louise now began to cultivate Thomas, but her progress was slow. Patsy
seemed to be the old man's favorite, and for some reason he became glum
and uncommunicative whenever Louise was around. The girl suspected that
Nora had told her husband of the recent conversation, in spite of her
assertion that she wished to avoid all reference to their great trouble.

CHAPTER XI.

THREE AMATEUR DETECTIVES.

Puzzling her brain what to do next, Louise suddenly decided to confide
her secret to her two cousins. Not that she considered them capable of a
greater success than she could herself accomplish, but they might prove
valuable assistants in the capacity of lieutenants. She had great
respect for Beth's calm judgment and keen intuitions, and Patsy had a
way of accomplishing difficult things with ease.

The two girls listened to Louise with expressions of mingled wonder and
amusement while she confided to them her first suspicions that Captain
Wegg had been murdered, and then the bits of information she had
gathered to strengthen the surmise and assure her she was justified in
her efforts to untangle the web of mystery.

"You see, my dears," she explained, impressively, as the three lounged
upon the grass in the shade of the right wing of the house, "there is a
very interesting story about these people that ought to guide us
directly to a solution of the puzzle. A roving sea captain marries a
girl of good family in spite of the opposition of her relatives. His
boatswain, a confidential servant, marries the girl's maid. The next
thing we know is that a 'great trouble' causes them to flee--doubtless
some crime committed by the captain. It may have been robbery, or
perhaps piracy on the high seas; who knows? Anyhow, he steals away to
this forsaken spot, far from the sea or the railroads, and builds a fine
house on a worthless farm, showing that he has money, but that
retirement is his main object. Here the Weggs make no friends: but the
wife cries her eyes out until she dies miserably, leaving a son to the
tender mercies of a wicked father. So fearful is he of discover