"Git them, Sophie--quick!" she breathed peremptorily.

"Cheese it, Mom!" gasped Sophie, running on tiptoe toward her sleeping father. "He'll nigh erbout kill us when he wakes up."

"I don't keer," said the woman, grabbing the coins when Sophie had collected them. "He come out o' the woods last night and he had some money an' I hadn't a cent. I sent him to git things from the store and all he brought back--and that was at midnight when they turned him out o' the hotel--was a bag of crackers and a pound of oatmeal. And he's got money! He kin kill me if he wants. I'm goin' ter have some of it--Oh, look! what's this?"

Janice had almost cried out in amazement, too. One of the coins in the woman's toil-creased palm was a gold piece.

"Five dollars! Mebbe he had more," Mrs. Narnay said anxiously. "Mebbe Concannon's paid 'em all some more money, and Jim's startin' in to drink it up."

"Better put that money back, Mom, he'll be mad," said Sophie, evidently much alarmed.

"He won't be ugly when the drink wears off and he ain't got no money to git no more," her mother said. "Jim never is."

"But he'll find out youse got that gold coin. He's foxy," said the shrewd child.

Janice drew forth her purse. "Let me have that five dollar gold piece," she said to Mrs. Narnay. "I'll give you five one dollar bills for it. You won't have to show but one of the bills at a time, that is sure."

"That's a good idea, Miss," said the woman hopefully. "And mebbe I can make him start back for the woods again to-night. Oh, dear me! 'Tis an awful thing! I don't want him 'round--an' yet when he's sober he's the nicest man 'ith young'uns ye ever see. He jest dotes on this poor little thing," and she looked down again into the weazened face of the baby.

"It is too bad," murmured Janice; but she scarcely gave her entire mind to what the woman was saying.

Here was a second gold piece turned up in Polktown. And, as Uncle Jason had said, such coins were not often seen in the hamlet. Janice had more than one reason for securing the gold piece, and she determined to learn, if she could, if this one was from the collection that had been stolen from the school-house weeks before.

CHAPTER XXV

IN DOUBT

The first of all feminine prerogatives is the right to change one's mind. Janice Day changed hers a dozen times about that five dollar gold piece.

It was at last decided, however, by the young girl that she would not immediately take Nelson Haley into her confidence. Why excite hope in his mind only, perhaps, to have it crushed again? Better learn all she could about the gold coin that had rolled out of Jim Narnay's pocket, before telling the young schoolmaster.

In her heart Janice did not believe Narnay was the person who had stolen the coin collection from the schoolhouse. He might have taken part in such a robbery, at night, and while under the influence of liquor; but he never would have had the courage to do such a thing by daylight and alone.

Narnay might be a companion of the real criminal; but more likely, Janice believed, he was merely an accessory after the fact.

This, of course, if the gold piece should prove to be one of those belonging to the collection which Mr. Haley was accused of stealing.

The coin found in Hopewell Drugg's possession, and which had come to him through Joe Bodley, might easily have been put into circulation by the same person as this coin Narnay had dropped. The ten dollar coin had gone into the tavern till, and this five dollar coin would probably have gone there, too, had chance not put it in Janice Day's way.

"First of all, I must discover if there was a coin like this one in that collection," the girl told herself. And early on Monday morning, on her way to the seminary, she drove around through High Street and stopped before the drugstore.

Fortunately Mr. Ma.s.sey was not busy and she could speak to him without delaying her trip to Middletown.

"What's that?" he asked her, rumpling his topknot in his usual fashion when he was puzzled or disturbed. "List of them coins? I should say I did have 'em. The printed list Mr. Hobart left with 'em wasn't taken by--by--well, by whoever took 'em. Here 'tis."

"You speak," said Janice quickly, "as though you still believed Mr.

Haley to be the thief."

"Well!" and again the druggist's hands went through his hair. "I dunno what to think. If he done it, he's actin' mighty funny. There ain't no warrant out for him now. He can leave town--go clean off if he wants--and n.o.body will, or can, stop him. And ye'd think if he had all that money he _would_ do so."

"Oh, Mr. Ma.s.sey!"

"Well, I'm merely puttin' the case," said the druggist. "That would be sensible. He's got fifteen hundred dollars or more--if he took the coin collection. An' it ain't doin' him a 'tarnal bit of good, as I can see. I told Cross Moore last night that I believe we'd been barkin' up the wrong tree all this time."

"What did he say?" cried Janice eagerly.

"Well--he didn't _say_. Ye know how Cross is--as tight-mouthed as a clam with the lockjaw. But it is certain sure that we committeemen have our own troubles. Mr. Haley was a master good teacher. Ye got to hand it to him on _that_. And this feller the Board sent us ain't got no more idea of handling the school than I have of dancing the Spanish fandango.

"However, that ain't the p'int. What I was speakin' of is this: Nelse Haley is either a blamed fool, or else he never stole that money," and the druggist said it with desperation in his tone. "I hear he's took a job at sixteen a month and board with Elder Concannon--and farmin' for the elder ain't a job that no boy with money _and_ right good sense would ever tackle."

"Oh, Mr. Ma.s.sey! Has he?" for this was news indeed to Janice.

"Yep. That's what he's done. It looks like his runners was sc.r.a.pin'

on bare ground when he'd do that. Course, I need a feller right in this store--behind that sody-fountain. And a smart, nice appearin' one like Nelse Haley would be just the ticket--'nough sight better than Jack Besmith was. But I couldn't hire the schoolteacher, 'cause it would create so much talk. But goin' to work on a farm--and for a slave-driver like the elder--Well!"

Janice understood very well why Nelson had said nothing to her about this. He was very proud indeed and did not want the girl to suspect how poor he had really become. Nelson had said he would stay in Polktown until the mystery of the stolen coin collection was cleared up--or, at least, until it was proved that he had nothing to do with it.

"And the poor fellow has just about come to the end of his rope,"

thought Janice commiseratingly. "Oh, dear, me! Even if I had plenty of money, he wouldn't let me help him. Nelson wouldn't take money from a girl--not even borrow it!"

However, Janice stuck to her text with Ma.s.sey and obtained the list of the lost collection to look at. "Dunno what you want it for," said the druggist. "You going sleuthing for the thief, Miss Janice?"

"Maybe," she returned, with a serious smile.

"I reckon that ten dollar gold piece that Joe Bodley took in at the hotel was a false alarm."

"If Joe Bodley had told you how he came by it, it would have helped some, would it not, Mr. Ma.s.sey?"

"Sure--it might. But he couldn't remember who gave it to him," said the man, wagging his head forlornly.

"I wonder?" said Janice, using one of her uncle's favorite expressions, and so made her way out of the store and into her car again. When she had time that forenoon at the seminary she spread out the sheet on which the description of the coins was printed, and looked for the note relating to the five dollar gold piece in her possession.

It was there. It was not a particularly old or a very rare coin, however. There might be others of the same date and issue in circulation. So, after all, the fact that Narnay had it proved nothing--unless she could discover how he came by it--who had given it to him.

In the afternoon Janice drove home by the Upper Road and ran her car into Elder Concannon's yard. It was the busy season for the elder, for he conducted two big farms and had a number of men working for him besides his regular farm hands.

He was ever ready to talk with Janice Day, however, and he came out of the paddock now, in his old dust coat and broad-brimmed hat, smiling cordially at her.

"Come in and have a pot of tea with me," he said. "Ye know I'm partial to 'old maid's tipple' and Mrs. Grayson will have it ready about now, I s'pose. Stop! I'll tell her to bring it out on the side porch. It's shady there. You look like a cup would comfort you, Janice. What's the matter?"

"I've lots of troubles, Elder Concannon," she said, with a sigh. "But you have your share, too, so I'll keep most of mine to myself," and she hopped out from behind the wheel of the automobile.

They went to the porch and the elder halloaed in at the screen door.

His housekeeper soon bustled out with the tray. She remained to take one cup of tea herself. Then, when she had gone about her duties, Janice opened the subject upon which she had come to confer.

"How are those men getting on in your wood lot, Elder?"