FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100  
101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   >>   >|  
ade me feel easy about the fellow being you." "But you knew I was with Ben and the others on the sleigh-ride," broke in Dave. "Oh, I forgot to state that when he came in he explained that you were all stormbound at the hotel in Lamont and that, as the telephone and telegraph wires were all down, he had managed to get to Pepsico and reach Crumville on a freight train, doing this so that we and the Wadsworths would not worry, thinking the sleighing-party had been lost somewhere on the road in this awful blizzard." "And then you gave him the miniatures?" questioned Ben. "I did. Oh, Ben, I know now how very foolish it was! But I was so upset! At first I thought to ask your father about it; but I was afraid that to disturb him would make him feel worse, and I knew he was bad enough already. Then, too, I knew that Mr. Wadsworth was expecting some art critics to look at the miniatures, so I concluded it must be all right. I have always known the combination of your father's safe, so it was an easy matter for me to open it and get the miniatures out. I told the young man to be careful of them, and he told me not to worry--that the miniatures would be perfectly safe, and that Mr. Wadsworth had promised to get the critic to set a fair value on each of them." "Was this Ward Porton alone?" asked Laura. The girls, of course, had listened with as much interest as the boys to what the lady of the house had to relate. "No, he came in a cutter driven by a man who was so bundled up because of the cold that I could not make out who he was. As soon as I gave him the cases containing the miniatures the young man hurried off in the cutter, stating that the sooner the critic had a chance to see the paintings the better." "And what happened next?" questioned Dave, as Mrs. Basswood paused in her recital. "I went back to assist a nurse who had come in, and all that night we had our hands full with my husband. We had to call in the doctor, and he was really not out of danger until noon of the next day. I had wanted to tell him about sending the miniatures over to the Wadsworth house, but he was in no condition to be told anything, so I kept silent." "But didn't you get worried when noon came and the supposed Dave didn't return with them?" questioned the son. "Yes, as soon as the doctor said that your father was out of danger I began to worry over the miniatures. I waited until the middle of the afternoon, and then, althou
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100  
101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
miniatures
 

father

 

Wadsworth

 
questioned
 

danger

 
doctor
 

critic

 

cutter

 

hurried

 

stating


listened

 
sooner
 

chance

 

driven

 

relate

 

bundled

 

interest

 

condition

 

silent

 
sending

wanted

 

worried

 
supposed
 

waited

 

middle

 

afternoon

 

althou

 
return
 

recital

 
paused

Basswood

 

happened

 

assist

 

husband

 
paintings
 

sleighing

 

thinking

 
Wadsworths
 

freight

 

foolish


blizzard

 
Crumville
 

forgot

 

sleigh

 

fellow

 

explained

 

stormbound

 

managed

 

Pepsico

 

telegraph