"Flopped down on us," finished Jack. "Cora, I never knew I loved you until I lost you."
"Oh, yes, you did, Jackie. You always made sugary speeches when--you wanted small change."
"And the dogs?" asked the detectives. "What happened to them?"
"We put them to sleep!" announced Cora, in the gravest possible tones.
"Do you know, we never could have done it but for Lena."
"Lena shall be rewarded," declared Walter.
"Wallie!" warned Jack.
"The newest girl!" whispered Belle.
"At any rate, no one can steal Helka," said Cora, glancing over at Lillian and David. "But how does he come to be Leland?" The question was aimed at Dr. Robbins.
"Oh, that boy! He must change everything--even his name, although it really is Leland David."
"David for strength, of course," said Cora. "Oh, I just must scream!
Think of it! No more dogs! No more eating off the floor----"
She caught Helka"s eye. "What is it, Cora?" asked the gypsy queen.
Cora clasped her arms about her.
"Isn"t she beautiful?" whispered Belle. "Did you ever see such a face?"
"Glorious," p.r.o.nounced Betty.
"But say, Betty, did you notice how the daddy takes up with the doc?"
said Ed. "I am dreadfully afraid of stepmothers."
"I"m not," said Betty, with a shrug of her pretty shoulders. "I rather like them."
"Had one on trial?" teased the boy.
"No, on probation," braved Betty.
"Then," said the officer, aside to Mr. Rand, "we shall raid the place!"
"Exactly, exactly! There may be more girls under the stoop or up the chimney. That place should not be allowed to stand."
"It was a great find," admitted the officer, "but I never would have been able to do anything if the young ladies had not recognized the voice. That place has been there for years. The Bradly house would have got past any of us."
"Yes, the girls helped," said Mr. Rand proudly. "I have a great regard for girls."
"You say silver was stolen from the seash.o.r.e cottage? Likely it is in that place."
"Haven"t the slightest doubt of it, and more, too, I"ll wager. Now, boys"--to the officers--"you have done a good night"s work. We"re a happy family, and I don"t want to keep you longer from yours." So, with promises to soon overhaul the old Bradly house, the men of the law departed.
"But why did you sing, Cora? How could you?" asked Ed.
"Oh, I knew I was soon going to be happy, and wanted to get used to it," said Cora, with a laugh.
"You haven"t failed," said Dr. Robbins.
"Praise from you? No, thanks to my good friend, we had everything but liberty. Didn"t we, Helka?"
"Oh, she"s too busy. Let her alone," suggested Jack, his face radiant.
"And you have on my bracelet! Cora Kimball!" accused Betty.
"Another link in the endless chain," explained Cora vaguely. "That is a present from Gypsy Land."
"Suppose we eat," suggested the practical Mr. Rand. "I have cabled Mrs. Kimball. She had not yet sailed."
"Oh, poor, darling mother!" exclaimed Cora, her eyes filling.
"Poor, darling--you," added Jack, not hesitating to kiss her openly.
"Next!" called Ed.
"Halves on that!" demanded Walter.
"Fenn!" shouted Cora, for, indeed, the boys threatened to carry out the game.
"Maybe you would like--a minister," suggested Mr. Rand mischievously, glancing at the undisturbed Helka and David.
"For a couple of jobs?" asked Walter, looking keenly at Mr. Rand and carrying the same look into Dr. Robbins" face.
"Well, I don"t mind," replied the gentleman. "Betty is getting beyond my control."
But Lillian, the gypsy queen, was not in such a hurry to wed, even her princely David. She would have a correct trousseau, and have a great wedding, with all the motor girls as maids. Her fear of the clan was entirely dispelled, just as Cora said it would be when she breathed the refreshing air of American freedom.
"So you are the Motor Girls?" she asked, trying to comprehend it all.
"They call us that," said Bess.
Then the porter announced supper, and at the table were seated fifty guests--all to welcome back Cora and to sing the praises of the real, live, up-to-date motor girls.
There is little more to tell. A few days later the house where Cora had been held a prisoner was raided, but there was no one there; the place had been stripped, and of Mother Hull and the unscrupulous men not a trace remained.
But Tony Slavo was not so lucky. He was still in the clutches of the law, and there he remained for a long time, for he was convicted of the robbery of the Kimball cottage.
Cora arranged to have the gypsy girl, Lena, sent to a boarding school.
As for Lillian, who resumed her real name, Mr. Rand engaged a lawyer for her, and most of the wealth left to her was recovered from another band of gypsies who had control of it. So there was a prospect of new happiness for her and Leland, who promised to give up his odd ways, at least for a time.
Cora soon recovered from the effects of her captivity and she formed a warm friendship for the former gypsy queen, even as did the other motor girls.
"Oh, but wasn"t it exciting, though?" exclaimed Bess one afternoon, when, after leaving the Tip-Top Hotel they had resumed their tour through New England. "I shall never forget how I felt when I saw Cora coming down that rope from the window."