n avenger is all guess work," asserted Beth, calmly.
"I don't believe the facts point to an avenger at all."

"But the old crime--the great trouble--"

"Oh, we'll allow all that," returned Beth; "and I don't say that an
avenger wouldn't be the nicest person to exact retribution from the
wicked captain. But avengers don't always turn up, in real life, when
they ought to, girls; so we mustn't be too sure that one turned up in
this case."

"But now else can you account for the captain's murder?" objected
Louise.

"Well, some one else might know he had money, and that Ethel's
grandfather had money, too," was the reply. "Suppose the robbery and
murder had nothing to do with the old crime at all, but that the
murderer knew this to be a deserted place where he could make a good
haul without being discovered. The two old men sat in the right wing,
quite unsuspicious, when----"

"When in walks Mr. Murderer, chokes the captain, knocks his friend on
the brain-box, and makes off with the money!" continued Patsy,
gleefully. "Oh, girls, I'm sure we've got it right this time."

Louise reflected a moment.

"This country is almost a wilderness," she mused, aloud, "and few
strangers ever come here. Besides, a stranger would not know positively
that these two men had money. If we abandon the idea of an avenger, and
follow Beth's clue, then the murderer is still right here in Millville,
and unsuspected by any of his neighbors."

"Oh, Louise!" with startled glances over their shoulders.

"Let us be sensible, reasoning girls; not silly things trying to figure
out possible romances," continued Louise, with a pretty and impressive
assumption of dignity. "Do you know, I feel that some angel of
retribution has guided us to this lonely farmhouse and put the idea into
my head to discover and expose a dreadful crime."

"Succotash!" cried Patsy, irrelevantly. "You're romancing this minute,
Louise. The way you figure things out I wouldn't be surprised if you
accused me, or Uncle John, any time during the next half hour. Adopting
your last supposition, for the sake of argument, I'm interested to know
what inhabitant of sleepy old Millville you suspect."

"Don't get flighty, Patricia," admonished Beth. "This is a serious
matter, and Louise is in earnest. If we're going to help her we mustn't
talk rubbish. Now, it isn't a bad suggestion that we ought to look
nearer home for the key to this mystery. There's old Hucks."

"Hucks!"

"To be