"There, there! That"s quite sufficient, thank you. Do you know any of those men?" he asked, turning to the workman.
"Yes, sir, I guess I do."
"Very well. Go up and bring two of them here; not more than two, understand."
Jed"s accuser departed. Major Grover resumed his catechizing.
"What were you doing here?" he asked.
"Eh? Me? Oh, I was just picnicin", as you might say, along with a little girl, daughter of a neighbor of mine. She wanted to see where the soldiers was goin" to fly, so I borrowed Perez Ryder"s power dory and we came over. "Twas gettin" along dinner time and I built a fire so as to cook. . . . My soul!" with a gasp of consternation, "I forgot all about that chowder. And now it"s got stone cold. Yes, sir!" dropping on his knees and removing the cover of the kettle, "stone cold or next door to it. Ain"t that a shame!"
Lieutenant Rayburn snorted in disgust. His superior officer, however, merely smiled.
"Never mind the chowder just now," he said. "So you came over here for a picnic, did you? Little late for picnics, isnt it?"
"Yes--ye-es," drawled Jed, ""tis kind of late, but "twas a nice, moderate day and Babbie she wanted to come, so--"
"Babbie? That"s the little girl? . . . Oh," with a nod, "I remember now. I saw a man with a little girl wandering about among the buildings a little while ago. Was that you?"
"Ye-es, yes, that was me. . . . Tut, tut, tut! I"ll have to warm this chowder all up again now. That"s too bad!"
Voices from behind the ridge announced the coming of the carpenter and the two "identifiers." The latter, Mr. Emulous Baker and Mr.
"Squealer" Wixon, were on the broad grin.
"Yup, that"s him," announced Mr. Wixon. "h.e.l.lo, Shavin"s! Got you took up for a German spy, have they? That"s a good one! haw, haw!"
"Do you know him?" asked the major.
"Know him?" Mr. Wixon guffawed again. "Known him all my life. He lives over to Orham. Makes windmills and whirlagigs and such for young-ones to play with. HE ain"t any spy. His name"s Jed Winslow, but we always call him "Shavin"s," "count of his whittlin"
up so much good wood, you understand. Ain"t that so, Shavin"s?
Haw, haw!"
Jed regarded Mr. Wixon mournfully.
"Um-hm," he admitted. "I guess likely you"re right, Squealer."
"I bet you! There"s only one Shavin"s in Orham."
Jed sighed. "There"s consider"ble many squealers," he drawled; "some in sties and some runnin" loose."
Major Grover, who had appeared to enjoy this dialogue, interrupted it now.
"That would seem to settle the spy question," he said. "You may go, all three of you," he added, turning to the carpenters. They departed, Jed"s particular enemy muttering to himself and Mr. Wixon laughing uproariously. The major once more addressed Jed.
"Where is the little girl you were with?" he asked.
"Eh? Oh, she"s over yonder just "round the p"int, sailin" a shingle boat I made her. Shall I call her?"
"No, it isn"t necessary. Mr. Winslow, I"m sorry to have put you to all this trouble and to have cooled your--er--chowder. There is no regulation against visitors to our reservation here just now, although there will be, of course, later on. There is a rule against building fires on the beach, but you broke that in ignorance, I"m sure. The reason why you have been cross-questioned to-day is a special one. A construction plan has been lost, as Lieutenant Rayburn here informed you. It was on his desk in the office and it has disappeared. It may have been stolen, of course, or, as both windows were open, it may have blown away. You are sure you haven"t seen anything of it? Haven"t seen any papers blowing about?"
"I"m sure it didn"t blow away, sir," put in the lieutenant. "I"m positive it was stolen. You see--"
He did not finish his sentence. The expression upon Jed"s face caused him to pause. Mr. Winslow"s mouth and eyes were opening wider and wider.
"Sho!" muttered Jed. "Sho, now! . . . "Tain"t possible that . . .
I snum if . . . Sho!"
"Well, what is it?" demanded both officers, practically in concert.
Jed did not reply. Instead he turned his head, put both hands to his mouth and shouted "Babbie!" through them at the top of his lungs. The third shout brought a faint, "Yes, Uncle Jed, I"m coming."
"What are you calling her for?" asked Lieutenant Rayburn, forgetting the presence of his superior officer in his anxious impatience. Jed did not answer. He was kneeling beside his jacket, which he had thrown upon the sand when he landed, and was fumbling in the pockets. "Dear me! dear me!" he was muttering.
"I"m sartin they must be here. I KNOW I put "em here because . . .
OW!"
He was kneeling and holding the coat with one hand while he fumbled in the pockets with the other. Unconsciously he had leaned backward until he sat upon his heels. Now, with an odd expression of mingled pain and relief, he reached into the hip pocket of his trousers and produced a pair of spectacles. He smiled his slow, fleeting smile.
"There!" he observed, "I found "em my way--backwards. Anybody else would have found "em by looking for "em; I lost "em lookin" for "em and found "em by sittin" on "em. . . . Oh, here you are, Babbie!
Sakes alive, you"re sort of dampish."
She was all of that. She had come running in answer to his call and had the shingle boat hugged close to her. The water from it had trickled down the front of her dress. Her shoes and stockings were splashed with wet sand.
"Is dinner ready, Uncle Jed?" she asked, eagerly. Then becoming aware that the two strange gentlemen standing by the fire were really and truly "officer ones," she looked wide-eyed up at them and uttered an involuntary "Oh!"
"Babbie," said Jed, "let me see that boat of yours a minute, will you?"
Babbie obediently handed it over. Jed inspected it through his spectacles. Then he pulled the paper sail from the sharpened stick--the mast--unfolded it, looked at it, and then extended it at arm"s length toward Major Grover.
"That"s your plan thing, ain"t it?" he asked, calmly.
Both officers reached for the paper, but the younger, remembering in time, drew back. The other took it, gave it a quick glance, and then turned again to Mr. Winslow.
"Where did you get this?" he asked, crisply.
Jed shook his head.
"She gave it to me, this little girl here," he explained. She wanted a sail for that shingle craft I whittled out for her.
Course if I"d had on my specs I presume likely I"d have noticed that "twas an out of the common sort of paper, but--I was wearin"
"em in my pants pocket just then."
"Where did you get it?" demanded Rayburn, addressing Barbara. The child looked frightened. Major Grover smiled rea.s.suringly at her and she stammered a rather faint reply.
"I found it blowing around up on the little hill there," she said, pointing. "It was blowing real hard and I had to run to catch it before it got to the edge of the water. I"m--I--I"m sorry I gave it to Uncle Jed for a sail. I didn"t know--and--and he didn"t either," she added, loyally.
"That"s all right, my dear. Of course you didn"t know. Well, Rayburn," turning to the lieutenant, "there"s your plan. You see it did blow away, after all. I think you owe this young lady thanks that it is not out in mid-channel by this time. Take it back to the office and see if the holes in it have spoiled its usefulness to any extent."
The lieutenant, very red in the face, departed, bearing his precious plan. Jed heaved a sigh of relief.
"There!" he exclaimed, "now I presume likely I can attend to my chowder."