How Janice Day Won Part 40

"What men--and what lot?" he asked smiling.

"I don't know what lot it is; but I mean Mr. Trimmins and those others."

"Oh! Trimmins and Jim Narnay and that Besmith boy?"

"Yes."

"Why, they are moving on slowly. This is their third job with me since Winter. Once or twice they've kicked over the traces and gone on a spree----"

"That was when you paid them?"

"That was when I _had_ to pay them," said the elder. "They work pretty well when they haven't any money."

"Have you paid them lately, Sir?" asked Janice. "I am asking for a very good reason--not out of curiosity."

"I have not. It's a month and more since they saw the color of my money. Hold on! that's not quite true," he added suddenly. "I gave Jim Narnay a dollar Sat.u.r.day afternoon."

"Oh!"

"He came by here on his way to town. Said he was going down to see his sick baby. She _is_ sick, isn't she?"

"Oh, yes," murmured Janice. "Poor little thing!"

"Well, he begged for some money, and I let him have a dollar. He said he didn't want to go down home without a cent in his pocket. So I gave it to him."

"Only a dollar?" repeated the girl thoughtfully.

The old man's face flushed a little, and he said tartly: "I reckon _that_ did him no good. By the looks of his face when he went through here Sunday night he'd proberbly spent it all in liquor, I sh'd say."

"Oh, no! I didn't mean to criticize your generosity," Janice said quickly. "I believe you gave him more than was good for him. I know that Mrs. Narnay and the children had little benefit of it."

"That's what I supposed," grunted the elder.

Janice sipped her tea and, looking over the edge of her cup at him, asked:

"Having much trouble, Elder, with your new man?"

"What new man?" snorted the old gentleman, his mouth screwed up very tightly.

"I hear you have the school teacher working for you," she said.

"Well! So I have," he admitted, his face suddenly broadening. "Trust you women folks for finding things out in a hurry. But he ain't teaching school up here--believe me!"

"No?"

"He's helping clean up my hog lot. I dunno but maybe he thinks it isn't any worse than managing Polktown boys," and the elder chuckled.

But Janice was serious and she bent forward and laid a hand upon the old man's arm. "Oh, Elder Concannon! don't be too hard on him, will you?" she begged.

He grinned at her. "I won't break him all up in business. We want to use him down town in these meetings we're going to hold for temperance.

He's got a way of talking that convinces folks, Janice--I vow!

Remember how he talked for the new schoolhouse? I haven't forgotten that, for he beat me that time.

"Now; we can't afford to hire many of these outside speakers for prohibition--it costs too much to get them here. But I have told Mr.

Haley to brush up his ideas, and by and by we'll have him make a speech in Polktown. He can practise on the pigs for a while," added the elder laughing; "and maybe after all they won't be so dif'rent from some of them in town that I want should hear the young man when he does spout."

So Janice was comforted, and ran down town to the Drugg place in a much more cheerful frame of mind. Marty was waiting at the store for the car. There was a special reason for his being so prompt.

"Look-a-here!" he called. "What d'ye know about this?" and he waved something over his head.

"What is it, Marty Day?" Janice cried, looking at the small object in wonder.

"Another letter from Uncle Brockey! Hooray! he ain't dead yet!"

shouted the boy.

His cousin seized the missive--fresh from the post-office--and gazed anxiously at the envelope. It was postmarked in one of the border towns many days after the report of Juan Dicampa's death; yet the writing on the envelope was the handwriting of the guerrilla chief.

"Goodness me!" gasped Janice, "what can this mean?"

She broke the seal. As usual the envelope inside was addressed to her by her father. And as she hastily scanned the letter she saw no mention made of Juan Dicampa's death. Indeed, Mr. Broxton Day wrote just as though his own situation, at least, had not changed. And he seemed to have received most of her letters.

What did it mean? If the guerrilla leader had been shot by the Federals, how was it possible for her father's letters to still come along, redirected in Juan Dicampa's hand?

Doubt a.s.sailed her mind--many doubts, indeed. Although Mr. Broxton Day seemed still in safety, the mystery surrounding his situation in Mexico grew mightily in Janice's mind.

That evening Hopewell Drugg returned from Boston and reported that Lottie would have to remain under the doctors' care for a time. They, too, were in doubt. n.o.body could yet say whether the child would lose her sight or not.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE TIDE TURNS

These doubts, however, did not switch Janice Day's thought off the line of the stolen gold coins.

The five dollar gold piece found in the possession of Jim Narnay still raised in the girl's mind a number of queries. It was a mystery, she believed, that when solved might aid in clearing Nelson Haley of suspicion.

Of course, the coin she carried in her purse might not be one of those lost with the collection. That was impossible to decide at the moment.

The case of the ten-dollar coin was different. That was an exceedingly rare one and in all probability n.o.body but a person ignorant of its value would have put it into circulation.

Nevertheless, how did Jim Narnay get hold of a five dollar gold piece?

Elder Concannon had not given it to him. Narnay had come to town on that Sat.u.r.day evening with only a dollar of the elder's money in his pocket. Did he bring the coin with him, or did he obtain it after reaching town? And who had given the gold piece to the man, in either case?

Janice would have been glad to take somebody into her confidence in this matter; but who should it be? Not her uncle or her aunt. Neither Hopewell nor 'Rill was to be thought of. And the minister, or Elder Concannon, seemed too much apart from this business to be conferred with. And Nelson----

She did go to Mrs. Beaseley's one evening, hoping that she might find Nelson there, for she had not seen the young man or heard from him since he had gone out of town to work for Elder Concannon. He was not at the widow's, and she found that good but lachrymose woman in tears.