"Well, you can"t go. It"s nonsense."
"Why?"
"Yachts are dangerous. I don"t want you drowned."
"I"d be as safe on a yacht as I would be in this house," she declared.
"Do you think I intend to take any chances with my life? Please remember that when I"m eighteen I shall have a fortune and be able to lead an independent life--a pleasant life--a life in sharp contrast to this one. Therefore, I"m going to live to enjoy my money."
He gave her a shrewd look of approval. The argument seemed to appeal to him. It quieted, to an extent, his fears for her safety.
"Anyhow," said Alora bluntly, "I"m going, and I dare you to stop me."
He was silent a while, considering the proposition. Just now he would be busy at the aviation field and in Colonel Hathaway"s charge the girl was likely to be quite safe. He was inclined to relax his vigilance over his precious daughter, on this occasion.
"How long do the Hathaways expect to be away?" he inquired.
"Mary Louise says we will surely be home three weeks from the day we leave."
"Surely?"
"Without fail."
"H-m-m. It"s a risk. Something might delay you. Do you know what would happen if you left me for sixty days or more?"
"Of course I do. That will of my mother"s states that if at any time my devoted father develops any neglect of me, or lack of interest in his darling daughter, such as allowing me to become separated from him for longer than sixty days at one time, the court has the privilege, at its option, of deposing him as administrator of my estate and appointing another guardian. The other guardian, however, is to be paid a salary and the income, in that case, is to accrue to the benefit of my estate."
"How did you learn all that?" he demanded.
"You left a copy of the will lying around, and I read it and made a copy of it for myself. I now know my mother"s will by heart. She suggests that if we must live together, "in loving companionship," you will probably have me educated by tutors, at home, and her objection to girls" schools--I wonder why?--was the princ.i.p.al reason she inserted the clause that we must never be separated. It would prevent you from sending me away to school. But as for the tutors, I haven"t yet made their acquaintance."
"Tutors cost money," he said in a surly tone.
"I realize that; and while there is an abundance of money, the will states that it is to be entirely in your control. But we"ve quarreled on that subject too many times already, without your loosening your grip on the dollars. To get back to our subject, I a.s.sure you I shall not be gone longer than twenty-one days, and the trip won"t cost you a single penny."
"When did you propose going?"
"We take the noon train on Monday for Chicago."
He got his hat and left the house without another word, leaving Alora exultant. She hurried over to tell Mary Louise the good news.
"Did he really consent?" asked Mary Louise.
"Well, he didn"t forbid it," said the girl, "and that"s the same thing."
CHAPTER XVII THE DISAPPEARANCE
The train was late getting into Chicago that Monday night. Colonel Hathaway took Mary Louise and Alora to the Blackington, but the hotel was so crowded that the girls could not get adjoining rooms. However, they secured rooms just across the hall from one another and the Colonel"s room was but two doors removed from that of his granddaughter, so the three were not greatly separated.
"Never mind, dear," said Mary Louise, as she kissed her friend good night; "to-morrow we go aboard the yacht, and that will be our home for a long time."
"What time will you breakfast?" asked Alora.
"Well, we"re up late, and Gran"pa Jim likes to sleep mornings. Can you fast until half-past eight, Alora?"
"Yes, indeed," with a laugh. "I"m used to somewhat early hours, so I shall probably be dressed by seven. But I"ll find plenty to amuse me until you are up, and I"ll knock on your door at eight-thirty."
But in the morning Alora failed to knock on Mary Louise"s door, as she had promised. The Colonel was ready for breakfast, having enjoyed a good night"s rest, and Mary Louise said to him:
"Alora probably slept later than she expected to. Shall I risk wakening her, Gran"pa Jim?"
"I think so," he replied. "She has slept long enough, for a young girl."
Mary Louise ran across the hall and knocked at the door of 216. She knocked again, for there was no answer. She did not dare call out, for fear of disturbing other guests of the hotel. The Colonel now came and rapped upon the panels, but without any better result.
"I think she must have left her room and is perhaps in the parlor, or in the hotel lobby," he said.
A chambermaid was pa.s.sing through the hall and overheard the remark.
"The party in 216 has been up a long time, sir," she a.s.serted. "I found the door ajar at six o"clock, and so I went in and made up the room."
"Poor Alora!" exclaimed Mary Louise laughingly; "she was too excited to sleep, and, as you say, we shall probably find her somewhere about the hotel, enjoying the sights."
But they could not find the girl anywhere in the hotel. After a long and careful search for her, Colonel Hathaway left word at the desk that if his room or Mary Louise"s room was called, to report that they would be found in the breakfast room.
The old gentleman was distinctly annoyed as they sat down to breakfast.
"The foolish girl is wandering about the streets, somewhere," he complained, "and it was unmannerly to leave the hotel without consulting me, since she is our guest and in my care."
Mary Louise"s sweet face wore a troubled expression.
"It is not like Alora, Gran"pa Jim," she a.s.serted in defense of her friend. "Usually I have found her quite considerate." Then, after a pause: "I--I hope nothing has happened to her."
"Don"t worry," he replied. "She"s a wide-awake girl and has a tongue in her head, so she can"t get lost. Why, Mary Louise, Alora knows the city well, for she used to live in Chicago with her mother."
"Until she was eleven. That was four years ago. But I did not think of her getting lost. The automobiles, you know, are so thick----"
"Yes, dear; and there"s the lake, and the railroad crossings, and the street cars; but the chances are against our little friend"s being drowned or run over, especially so early in the day, when there isn"t much traffic. Again I ask you not to worry."
But Mary Louise couldn"t help worrying. They lingered over the breakfast, but Alora did not join them. Then they waited around the hotel until nearly noon, without receiving a word from her. Finally Colonel Hathaway, too, became nervous. He telephoned the central police station to inquire if a young girl of Alora"s description had met with an accident. There was no record of such an accident, but in half an hour a detective came to the hotel and asked for the Colonel.
"Tell me all the particulars of the young lady"s disappearance, please," he requested.
When he had received this information he said:
"Let us go to her room."
The key to No. 216 had not been turned in at the office, but was missing. With a pa.s.s-key they unlocked the door of Alora"s room and found her suit case open, her toilet articles lying upon the dresser and her nightrobe neatly folded ready for packing. Her hat was missing, however, and the little jacket she wore with her tailored suit.