"I am afraid she is dead."
"Jack, you must not give up so easily. The detectives have faith in the steamship story." Ed was speaking.
"No, Cora would not be induced, under any circ.u.mstance, to take a Portland boat, and she could not have been taken away unconscious."
"Girls before this have been led away with fake tales of a sick mother, and all that," said Ed feebly, "but I must agree with you--Cora was too level-headed."
"And Belle is really very ill."
"Mr. Rand has sent for a nurse. Belle feels as if she must die if Cora is not found soon. She is extremely sensitive."
"Yes, the girls loved Cora."
His voice broke and he turned his head away. The two young men were seated on the big piazza of the Tip-Top. It was just a week since the disappearance of Cora, and, of course, Mrs. Kimball had been notified by cable. She would return to America by the first steamer, but would not reach New York for some days yet. In the meantime Mr. Rand, who had turned out to be such a good friend in need, had advised Mrs.
Kimball to wait a few days more before starting. He hoped and felt sure that some news of the girl would have been discovered by that time.
"Walter "phoned from Lenox," went on Ed, after a pause. "He had no real information, and the young girl at the sanitarium is not Cora."
"I was afraid it was a useless journey. Well, let us see if we can do anything for the girls," and Jack arose languidly from the bench.
"Misery likes company."
They went up to the suite of rooms occupied by the young ladies. Hazel met them in the hall.
"Whom do you think is coming to nurse Belle? Miss Robbins!"
"What?" exclaimed both in one breath.
"Yes, Mr. Rand insisted that she is the proper person, and it seems there is some reasonable explanation for her conduct. At any rate, it is well we will have some one we know. Oh, dear, Belle is so hysterical!" and Hazel herself was almost in tears.
"When is Miss Robbins coming?" asked Jack.
"Mr. Rand "phoned, and she said she would come up at once. Then he sent his car out from his own garage for her."
"What would we have done without Mr. Rand?"
"Come in and speak to Belle," said Hazel. "She feels better when she has talked with you, Jack. Of course, you come also, Ed," she hurried to add, seeing him draw back.
The young men entered the room, where Belle, pale as a drooping white rose, lay on a couch under the window. She smiled and extended her hand.
"I am so glad you have come! Is there any news?"
"Walter is running down a sanitarium clew," said Jack evasively. "I feel certain Cora is ill somewhere."
"Where has he gone?"
"To Lenox. We had a description from a sanitarium there. But, Belle, you must brace up. We can"t afford to lose two girls."
She smiled, and did try to look brighter, but the shock to her nerves had been very severe. "Did you hear that Miss Robbins is coming?" she asked.
"Yes, and I think she is the very one we need," replied Ed. "She may even be able to help us in our search."
"She is wonderfully clever, and it seems she did not mean to desert us at all. There is some sort of story back of her attention to the wounded ones at Restover," said Bess, who had been sitting at a little desk, busy with some mail.
A hall boy tapped at the door and announced that some one wished to see Mr. Kimball.
"Come along, Ed," said Jack. "You represent us."
In the hotel office they met two detectives sent by Mr. Rand. They explained that they would have to have a picture of Cora to use in the press, for the purpose of getting help from the public by any possible identification.
At first Jack objected, but Ed showed him that this move was necessary.
So it was, with other matters, very painful for the young man to arrange with the strangers, where his sister"s private life was concerned. Jack soon disposed of his part of the interview. He declared that Cora had no gentleman friends other than his own companions; also that she had never had any romantic notions about the stage or such sensational matters. In seeking all the information they could possibly obtain, that might a.s.sist in getting at a clew, the detectives, of course, were obliged to ask these and other questions.
"Has all the wood been searched?" asked Jack.
"Every part, even the caves," replied the detective. "We visited several bands of gypsies, but could not hold them--they cleared themselves."
"But the gypsies had threatened her," insisted Jack. "Could any have left the country by way of Boston?"
"Impossible. We have had all New York and New England roads carefully watched."
"And there are no old huts anywhere? It has always seemed to me that these huts one finds in every woods might make safe hiding places for criminals," said Jack.
"Well, we are still at it, and will report to you every day," said the elder man. "We have put our best men on the case, and have the hearty cooperation of all the newspaper men. They know how to follow up clews."
"Of course," agreed Jack. "There was nothing in the Chelton rumor. I knew that was only a bit of sensationalism."
"There was something in it," contradicted the detective, "but the trouble was we could not get further than the old gypsy woman"s threat.
She had told your sister to beware of interfering with that jailed fellow, Salvo. I believed there was some connection between her disappearance and that case, but, after talking to every one who knew anything about the gypsy band, we had to drop that clew for a time.
There are no more of the tribe anywhere in the county, as far as we can learn."
"And they have not been around here since the day they moved away, when we were travelling over the mountains," went on Jack. "Of course you have, as you say, taken care of all the ends, but the arrest of that fellow seems the most reasonable motive."
"Had Miss Kimball any girl enemies? Any who might like to--well, would it be possible for them to induce her to go away, on some pretext, so that she might be detained?" asked the other detective.
Jack and Ed exchanged glances. There was a girl, an Ida Giles, of whom, in the other books of this series, we were obliged to record some very unpleasant things. She was an enemy of Cora"s. But the detective"s idea was absurd. Ida Giles would have no part in any such conspiracy.
"No girl would do anything like that," declared Jack emphatically. The sleuths of the law arose to go.
"Thank you for your close attention," said Ed. "We certainly have fallen among friends in our trouble. The fact that I left her alone----"
"Now, Ed, please stop that," interrupted Jack. "We have told you that it didn"t matter whom she was with, the thing would have happened just the same. Any one would have fallen a victim to the false message."
Again for the detectives" information the strange man who called Ed into the hotel office was described. But of what avail was that? He was easier to hide than was Cora, and both were safely hidden, it seemed.
Finally, having exhausted their skill in the way of obtaining clews, the officers left, while the two young men, alone once more, were struggling to pull themselves together, that the girls might still have hope that there was a possibility of some favorable news.
"It looks bad," almost sobbed Jack, for the interview with the officers had all but confirmed his worst fears, that of throwing more suspicion upon the Gypsy tribe.
Ed was silent. He did not like to think of Cora in the clutch of those unscrupulous persons. The thought was like a knife to him. Jack saw his chum"s new alarm and tried to brighten up.