"Let me worry about that."

"Ted hasn't come to see me either," Rhoda went on nervously. "I--I'm beginning to think I should go back and sign that paper."

"Don't even consider it," Penny said firmly. "You need diversion to keep your mind off the problem. Let's hike out to the Marborough place!"

Carrying their books, the girls set off for Rose Acres. Several windows on the lower floor of the house had been opened to admit fresh air and the blinds no longer were drawn. For the first time since Mrs.

Marborough's return, the old mansion actually had a "lived in"

appearance. However, although Penny knocked many times, the widow did not come to the door.

"She can't be here," Rhoda remarked at last.

"The windows are open," Penny said thoughtfully. "I doubt that Mrs.

Marborough would go very far away without closing them."

The girls wandered to the wishing well, and then made a complete tour of the grounds. Mrs. Marborough was nowhere in the yard.

"Shall we go?" Rhoda asked.

"I'll knock on the door just once more," Penny said. "I can't help feeling that she is here."

Circling the house to the side entrance, the girls again rapped and waited.

"Listen!" commanded Penny suddenly.

"I don't hear anything," declared Rhoda, startled by the manner in which her companion had given the command.

"I thought someone called or groaned--the sound came from inside the house."

"You must have imagined it."

"Maybe I did," Penny acknowledged, "but I don't think so."

Testing the door, she found it unlocked. As it swung back a tiny crack, she called loudly: "Oh, Mrs. Marborough, are you at home?"

Distinctly, both girls heard an answering cry, but the words were unintelligible. The sound had come from the direction of the kitchen.

"Mrs. Marborough must be ill!" Penny gasped, for the voice had been very weak.

Hesitating no longer, she entered the house, and with Rhoda trailing close behind, ran to the kitchen. Mrs. Marborough, still garbed in night clothing, lay on the daybed, her face ashen. The woman breathed with the greatest of difficulty, and both girls knew at once that she was seriously ill.

"My heart--" Mrs. Marborough whispered. "An attack--last night."

"Rhoda, run as fast as you can and get Doctor Hamilton," Penny said tersely. "I'll stay here."

As soon as her friend had gone, she busied herself trying to make Mrs.

Marborough comfortable. She rearranged the disordered blankets, and fanned air toward the woman, making it easier for her to breathe.

"My pearls," Mrs. Marborough whispered after a moment. "They're gone."

Penny thought little of the remark, deciding that the widow was not entirely rational.

"Oh, you have the necklace," she said soothingly. "Don't you remember? We found it yesterday."

"Gone--" Mrs. Marborough repeated. "It gave me such a shock--I had hidden the pearls in the teapot. This morning--"

Penny bent closer, suddenly realizing that the old lady was in possession of her faculties and was trying to disclose something of great importance.

"I went there this morning," Mrs. Marborough completed with difficulty.

"The pearls were gone. They've been stolen. Now I have nothing."

CHAPTER 22 _THE MISSING NECKLACE_

Penny tried to quiet the old lady by a.s.suring her that the pearl necklace must be somewhere in the house.

"No--no, it is gone," Mrs. Marborough insisted. "A thief entered the house during the night. The shock of it brought on this attack."

Spent by the effort required to speak, the widow closed her eyes, and relaxed. Thinking that she had gone to sleep, Penny left the bedside for a moment. A quick glance a.s.sured her that the kitchen window was open, and far more alarming, the screen had been neatly cut from its frame. An empty China teapot stood on the kitchen table.

"It must be true!" Penny thought with a sinking heart. "The pearls have been stolen, and the shock of it nearly killed Mrs. Marborough! But who could have known that she had the necklace here in the house?"

Louise and Rhoda were beyond suspicion, and for a moment she could think of no others who had knowledge of the pearls. Then, with a start, it came to her that the story had been told the previous night at the Breens.

"Ted knew about it and he was interested!" she thought. "But I can't believe he would do such a contemptible thing--even if he did once steal a chicken."

Penny's unhappy reflections were broken by the arrival of Rhoda with Doctor Hamilton. For the next half hour the girls were kept more than busy carrying out his instructions.

"Mrs. Marborough, in a way you have been very fortunate," the doctor said as he finally prepared to leave the house. "Your attack has been a light one and with proper care you should be on your feet again within a week or two. I'll arrange to have you taken to the hospital at once."

The widow tried to raise up in bed. "I won't go!" she announced.

"Hospitals cost money--more than I have to spend."

"It won't cost you anything, Mrs. Marborough. I'll arrange everything."

"I refuse to be a charity patient," the widow declared defiantly. "I'll die first! Go away and take your pills with you!"

"Then if you refuse hospital care, I must arrange for a nurse."

"I can't afford that either," the old lady snapped. "Just go away and I'll get along by myself. I'm feeling better. If I could only have a cup of tea--"

"I'll make it for you," Rhoda offered eagerly.

Penny signaled to the doctor, indicating that she wished him to follow her into another room. Once beyond the hearing of the old lady, she outlined a plan.

"Mrs. Marborough likes Rhoda very much," she said to the doctor. "I think she might be perfectly satisfied to be looked after by her."