"If you refer to the property at Sunny Slopes," returned the visitor, "you are right. It is just that that I came to see you about."

"Laws me!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the widow in some excitement. "And here it was only a little while ago I was saying that I never expected to hear from it. I wrote and wrote and never heard a word from it. I began to think,"

she went on a little apologetically, "that there might be some fraud or something of that kind about it."

"Oh, nothing like that," the visitor said impressively. "Mr. Pacomb is the soul of honor. I have never known him to do anything that wasn't straight and aboveboard."

"I'm very glad to hear that," said the simple-hearted old woman. "He wrote such beautiful letters to us when he was asking us to put our money into the property that I thought he must be a nice man. I'm very sorry that I ever had an unkind thought about him. I'm so glad to know that things are all right. I need the money so badly. And my poor husband always thought there would be a whole lot of money come from it."

The stranger looked a little embarra.s.sed.

"Quite right, quite right," he said. "There ought to have been a big profit from it. Everybody thought so, and n.o.body felt more sure of it than Mr. Pacomb himself. He thought so well of it that he put every cent of his own money into it."

"Then he's made a fortune in it, too!" exclaimed the old woman, beaming on her visitor.

The stranger coughed.

"No," he said, "that's the unfortunate thing about it. You see, Mrs.

Bragley, the thing didn't turn out as we had hoped and expected. The land was right in the orange belt, and we had every reason to believe that it would yield big results. But for some reason or other it didn't.

The ground couldn't have been adapted to it. You never can tell about orange groves."

The poor woman's face fell.

"Then," she said quaveringly, "all my money is gone!"

"Oh, no, not all," the stranger hastened to say. "There is still a little money for you, if you want to sell what interest you have in the property. Of course the property has proved practically worthless. But the man who has a country estate bordering on the property is willing to pay the company a small sum just to round out his estate, and your interest in it we calculate would be about two hundred dollars. In fact," he went on with a burst of generosity, and at the same time taking a roll of bills from his pocket, "Mr. Pacomb would be willing to give you two hundred dollars to settle the matter up at once."

He began to count out the bills, as if the matter had been agreed upon.

It was a long time since Mrs. Bragley had seen so much money, and in her straitened circ.u.mstances two hundred dollars seemed like a fortune. The visitor had counted on the influence exerted by the sight of the money, and he was not disappointed.

"Well," said Mrs. Bragley, "I suppose it's the best thing I can do, since you say that the land isn't any good for oranges."

"We'll consider it settled then," the man observed, trying to conceal his satisfaction. "Now if you'll get me the papers I'll hand you the money."

A look of dismay came into the woman's face.

"The--the papers!" she stammered. "Why, I haven't got them!"

"You haven't got them?" the man snapped in wonder. "Where are they then?"

"I gave them to a young lady not more than an hour ago," replied Mrs.

Bragley. "She had just gone a little before you came."

"Why did you give them to her?" the man asked.

"Some friends of hers are going to Florida and they were going to look up the matter," replied the old lady. "It seems that the father of one of the girls is a lawyer and----"

"A lawyer!" interrupted the man, a look of fear coming into his face.

Then by a great effort he regained his self-control.

"Well, Mrs. Bragley," he said, "it's for you to do what you choose in this matter. It's too bad for you to lose this two hundred dollars when you might just as well have it as not. Suppose I see this young lady and tell her that you want the papers back."

"I wish you would," replied the old lady. Then she gave the man Nan's name and told him where she thought he could find her. He scribbled the name and address in a notebook, and a little later hurried away.

"If I don't find that Nan Sherwood and get the papers away from her my name isn't Jacob Pacomb," he muttered to himself.

With all speed he hurried to the Hall, only to learn that Nan had left for the depot. Then he rushed to the station.

"Sorry, but the train left quarter of an hour ago," declared the station master in reply to his question. "There won't be another train for three hours."

On gaining this information the face of Jacob Pacomb became a study.

Savagely he bit off the end of a cigar, lit it, and began to puff away furiously.

"That young woman from the school may be a sharp one," he murmured as he strode up and down the little depot platform. "I'll have to use either force or diplomacy in getting those papers from her. I mustn't let her think they are valuable. I wonder what I can do next? It's too bad I promised to go to Chicago to attend that sale. But I can't afford to miss that." He mused for a moment. "Wonder if I couldn't get Davis and Jensen to do this job for me? They are hanging around doing nothing and would do almost anything for the price of a meal. Yes, I'll see Davis and Jensen and set them on the girl's track."

In the meantime Nan and Bess were being whirled at the rate of fifty miles an hour toward the home where love and open arms awaited them.

Their parents had, of course, been apprised of their coming, and the welcome was the royal one that always greeted them after their long absences from home. Nothing was too good for them.

Several days pa.s.sed quickly, and then came great news. The first item was a notification from Dr. Prescott that since the steam plant had required far more extensive repairs than at first had seemed necessary, the reopening would be deferred for several weeks beyond the usual time.

And following this closely came a letter to each of the girls from Grace Mason. They _must_ go with her to Palm Beach. The "must" was underscored. She would take no denial. They would have such a perfectly gorgeous time if they could only come along. Please, please, _please!_ They simply _must_, and that was all there was about it.

Nan and Bess were filled with delight and excitement. But they had to reckon with their parents, who were reluctant to spare their girls after having them with them for so short a time. But the girls coaxed and wheedled, as girls will, and the parents finally yielded, as parents will. In the next few days the matter was settled and hurried preparations were begun.

More than once they had to pinch themselves to make sure they were not dreaming. Palm Beach! Land of summer, land of flowers, land of beauty!

And they--Nan Sherwood and Bess Harley--were actually going to dwell for a time in that earthly Paradise!

CHAPTER XIV

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Nan was really going to Palm Beach! She could scarcely realize her good fortune.

Grace had written that some cousins who were to go had disappointed them, so good accommodations were a.s.sured to Nan and Bess when they reached Palm Beach.

Nan was up in her bedroom in the evening looking dreamily out of the window and imagining she was already at the famous winter resort when she gave a start.

Two men were slinking around, behind some trees on the opposite side of the street! From time to time they gazed at the house as if looking for somebody.

"The same men! What can it mean?"

Nan breathed the words to herself. She had seen these men before since coming home from school. They had leered at her when on an errand to the drugstore, and one of them had acted as if he wanted to speak to her while she was at the depot asking for a timetable. But a man friend had come up to greet her and the stranger had slunk away.

Nan's first impulse was to call her father and mother. But then she hesitated. Why worry her parents, and especially her mother, when, after all, it might mean little or nothing?