That afternoon and evening, life took its ordinary course at Kill Kare, as far as external signs were concerned. They knew that Higby was probably watching the house from the shelter of the adjoining woods, ready to take flight at anything which might indicate the betrayal of his plans.
Not that he antic.i.p.ated betrayal. He was confident that the deadly fear that Nina had of jail would keep her his accomplice, even though an unwilling one. But one could never be too careful when engaged upon such a venture as his.
He noted the girls sitting on the porch with their sewing, or picking flowers in the garden, saw the boys go motoring and return, heard the party singing songs after supper on the steps of the veranda. There was nothing to excite suspicion in the slightest degree and he exulted as he thought of the rich haul he expected to make.
His jubilation would have been less keen, however, had he noted the care with which Joel loaded his favorite revolver and had he seen three men who slipped into Kill Kare under cover of the darkness.
One of the three was an officer who had been brought over from Milford to make the expected arrest. The other two were Mr. Morley and Mr. Baxter.
The botanist had been told of the robbery that had been planned, and had been invited to be "in at the death." But he had not received the slightest hint of the presence of Nina in the house. The detective did not care to risk a possible disappointment. Then, too, he had a sense of the dramatic, and schooled himself to wait.
As for Nina herself, she kept carefully out of view, as she always did when there were visitors at Kill Kare.
Eleven o"clock was the usual hour of retiring at the bungalow, and no deviation from the custom occurred on that night. A few minutes after eleven the lights were out, and Kill Kare seemed to be peacefully sleeping.
The door at the rear had been left unlocked, as arranged. The members of the party, all fully dressed, waited in different rooms the outcome of the drama.
"He"ll probably stop in the dining room to look over the silver,"
remarked the officer, Thompson by name, to Mr. Baxter. "Do you think we"d better nab him then?"
"Don"t be in too much of a hurry," advised Baxter. "He"ll probably look for his biggest haul in the sleeping rooms upstairs. Give him plenty of rope and let him hang himself. Besides, the farther he gets into the heart of the house, the harder it will be for him to escape in case any of our plans go wrong."
The girls were seated in the dark in their own rooms, their hearts beating fast with excitement.
"I suppose we"ll be only lookers on," remarked Bess in a low tone. "The men will do all the work."
"I"m not so sure of that," replied Cora. "We may come in somewhere."
"What was it you put in that cedar chest you"re sitting on?" asked Belle curiously.
"I"ll tell you later," replied Cora. "And, girls, stay right where you are, whatever happens."
In the dark she busied herself with something at the entrance of the room.
Shortly after midnight, Higby slipped in through the rear door. He had taken off his shoes and was in his stocking feet.
It was pitch dark within, and he moved with such feline stealthiness that he had reached and stolen up the stairs before the watchers were sure that he was not one of themselves.
The jewelry of the girls was the chief object that he had in view, and he went to their rooms first. But as he stepped inside, he tripped over a wire that extended from one side of the door to the other, at the height of a foot, and fell headlong with a crash that jarred the house.
Cora reached into a chest, and clutching an acetylene lamp that was already lighted, turned its blinding glare right into Higby"s eyes.
"Don"t dare to move!" she commanded.
Higby, not knowing how many weapons were turned upon him, and unable to see anything in that pitiless blaze, lay perfectly still. The next instant he was in the grasp of the men and boys, who handled him none too gently and jerked him to his feet.
"Trapped by a woman!" he growled, as he saw the wire over which he had fallen and the lamp that Cora still held.
"You"re trapped all right," declared Thompson, as he snapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.
"And in for a good long term in the State Prison," added Mr. Baxter. "We have you dead to rights, Higby, and you haven"t a show in the world. But you may be able to have some years cut from your term if you help now to undo a wrong."
"What is it?" muttered Higby, his craven soul clutching at straws.
"That theft at Roxbury that you charged Helen Holman with committing,"
Baxter reminded him. "You stole that purse yourself, didn"t you? Speak up now. Nothing but the truth will help you."
"Yes," admitted Higby, sheepishly.
"I thought as much," remarked Baxter. "Take him away, Thompson."
There was a wild hubbub after the officer had driven away to Milford with his prisoner. All the boys and girls were laughing and talking at once.
"Who is this Helen Holman you were talking of?" asked Mr. Morley.
A sudden hush fell on Cora and the others, as they listened for Mr.
Baxter"s answer.
"A girl that has lately been leading the life of a gypsy," replied Mr.
Baxter. "She"s a very interesting character. Miss Kimball," he continued, turning to Cora, "will you ask Miss Holman to step here for a moment?"
Cora darted into the adjoining room, and returned an instant later leading Nina.
She and Mr. Morley looked casually at each other. A startled look leaped into the eyes of each. There was a gasping cry, and the next instant she was in his arms, sobbing as though her heart would break, while he held her tight as though he never intended to let her go.
"Alice!"
"Uncle!"
The girls were sobbing openly, while Mr. Baxter blew his nose vigorously, and even the eyes of the rollicking boys were momentarily dimmed.
Mutual explanations followed, together with mutual requests for forgiveness. Both had reaped the bitter fruit of hasty tempers, and had been made to realize during their separation how really dear they were to each other. The reconciliation was complete, and the Motor Girls were delighted beyond measure at the part they had played in bringing it about.
During the remainder of her stay at Kill Kare, Alice Morley grew more and more deeply attached to the girls to whom she owed so much, and when she finally went back with her uncle to Saxton, it was with the promise that she would soon make a long visit to them at their homes in Chelton.
"Dear old Chelton!" remarked Belle, as, shortly after the departure of Alice, they themselves turned their faces homeward. "How glad I"ll be to get back."
"Yes," agreed Cora. "But you must admit that we"ve never spent such a glorious outing as this one at Camp Kill Kare."
And with this delightful memory as their cherished possession, we bid farewell to the Motor Girls.
THE END