The little fellow did not need to be cautioned. Neither did he wait for the invitation to talk to the lonely girls.
"Wherever have you been?" he asked. "Have you heard the news?"
"We haven"t heard any _good_ news," replied Rose sadly.
"Then I"ve got some fer you," said the lad, shaking his manly little head. "The diamonds is found and I got the boodle!"
"Oh!" gasped Nellie. "Found! Then we--won"t have to hide any more.
Where did you find them?"
The whistle of the excursion boat checked the boy"s eager talk.
"Come on!" shouted the other lads to Andy. "If you don"t hustle, you"ll get left!"
"Well, then I _will_ get left," declared Andy. "I"m going to stay right here with these girls--they"re friends of mine."
"Oh, no, Andy, don"t," begged Rose. "Run along and catch the boat. We wouldn"t know what to do with you, if you got left. Besides your mother would be scared to death. She would think you were drowned."
Andy hesitated.
"Do go," put in Nellie, jumping up and throwing her arms about the boy. "I could just hug you to death, you have made us so happy. And you--look--just fine!"
"Run!" shouted the boys, as the whistle blew. "That"s the last call!"
"Run!" called Rose.
"Yes, do run!" pleaded Nellie.
Turning to give the girls a look so full of meaning that even Andy"s bright eyes seemed overtaxed with the responsibility, the boy did run as fast as his legs could carry him.
"I"m afraid they will miss it," murmured Rose, as the two sisters, now so changed in expression, watched the boys make their way through the sand.
"Oh, Rose! Aren"t you happy!" exclaimed Nellie. "Now we can do as we please."
"But Aunt Delia might send us to the reform school for running away,"
mused the older girl.
"Oh, I can"t think she would do that!"
"But think of all she has done! I am afraid to trust her."
The tooting of the excursion boat could be heard as the vessel steamed out. Wistfully the girls looked over the broad expanse of water, out to the track made by the smoke from the _Columbia_.
"We might have gone back home," sighed Nellie.
"I would rather stay here--I feel we have some friends. Those girls----"
"But why did they chase us about so?"
"They wanted to find us--perhaps. That was nothing against them."
"Do you think the man in the candy kitchen would take us back? The detectives must have gone back on the boat, and we needn"t be afraid now."
"Why, Nellie dear, perhaps the detectives are up at that store watching for us. We can"t go there unless we want to----"
"Where can we go?" cried the child. "Oh, dear me! What a dreadful thing it is--to be orphans!" and she began to cry.
"There"s no use crying," said Rose, although her own eyes were brimful. "We have got to go somewhere for the night."
"Let"s go to the cottage--to the automobile girls" cottage."
"I am able to work, and I want to work," insisted Rose stoutly. "They need girls at every hotel, that young lady in the kitchen told me."
"But I am so tired--so hungry--and so--sleepy! Rose, let us sleep right here. We are not afraid of anything now."
"Who are those people coming?" asked Rose as a number of figures could be seen, outlined against the strip of sky that hung over the point of land.
"There"s quite a crowd," said Nellie. "I guess we will have to walk along."
But running ahead of the others came a boy. He was waving his cap and shouting something!
"It"s Andy!" murmured Rose. "Oh, he got left!"
"And--look there!" cried Nellie. "Those are the detectives after us! We must run! Maybe they don"t know the diamonds are found and will arrest us. I should die of shame then. We must run!"
"We can"t," replied Rose miserably. "Oh, yes, Nellie. They have us this time," and sinking down in the sand she clasped her hands and looked up. "Let us ask--mother in heaven--to take care of us!" she said reverently. Then they waited until the detectives came along.
CHAPTER XXV
THE TRUTH! THE WHOLE TRUTH!
"Rose! Nellie!" shouted Andy. "Get up! What"s the matter?"
The girls raised their eyes and saw before them not only the detectives but Jack and Cora Kimball, also Ed Foster.
"Come, girls," began the taller of the two officers from Squaton. "You seem to be having a pretty hard time of it. What are you crying for?"
"Oh, we didn"t take the earrings!" sobbed Nellie. "And we don"t want--to go--to the reform school!"
"Who said you did take them?" inquired the officer, as Cora put her arm about Nellie, and a.s.sisted her to rise. "And who said you were to go to the reform school?"
"That piece in the paper," replied Rose. "It said we would be sent there until----"
"Oh, that was some of the old lady"s work. Don"t you worry about that.