"So will I," said Bess morosely. "But I'll be gladder still when you get
rid of those old papers of Mrs. Bragley's--if that is what they are
after."

"The one thing that makes me feel good," said Nan thoughtfully, as if
speaking to herself, "is that the papers must be worth something or
these horrid men wouldn't be so anxious to get them back. Maybe we shall
find that poor Mrs. Bragley is a rich woman yet."

"Either that, or else that we have made a big mistake and the men are
not after the papers at all."

"But if not after the papers, what?"

"I don't know."

CHAPTER XIX

AN ATTEMPTED THEFT

That night the girls were very careful to lock both doors and Bess even
went to the length of suggesting that they pile some furniture against
them.

"It might be a good idea," Nan had replied, laughing at her, "if there
were only some furniture to pile. What are you doing, Bess? You aren't
stuffing cotton in the keyhole?"

"You needn't laugh, Miss Smarty," Bess had retorted, straightening up
defiantly with a large wad of the cotton still in her hand and a
telltale tuft of it protruding from the keyhole. "I'm not going to have
any skinny old man with a funny mouth looking in at me while I sleep, I
can tell you! Nan Sherwood," she added threateningly, as Nan went off
into a gale of uncontrollable mirth, "if you don't stop laughing, I'll
stuff the rest of this cotton down your throat, and I just hope you'll
choke."

"Oh, Bess! Elizabeth Harley!" gasped Nan. "You look so foolish standing
there with that wad of cotton in your hand. And the keyholes look as if
they had the earache. Oh, oh!" and she went off again into half
hysterical laughter.

Bess, after staring at her a minute, gave up all attempt at being
dignified and joined in merrily.

"Goodness! you would make an Egyptian mummy laugh, Nan Sherwood," said
Bess, as she wiped away the tears of mirth. "Who ever heard of keyholes
having the earache! Just the same," she added more soberly, as she
started to unfasten her dress, "you have got me terribly worried about
those men. I know I'll dream of them all night."

"Oh, no, you won't," said Nan serenely, as she set about the business of
undressing. Then she added, with a chuckle: "I feel perfectly safe now
that the keyholes are stuffed!"

It was not long after this that the two girls laid down to sleep. But
Nan was restless and could hardly close her eyes.

"Those old papers," she murmured to herself. "