The Mystery at Dark Cedars

“Nope.”

“Well, we’re off to hunt Elsie – my father and I,” explained Mary Louise. “And, by the way, William, Miss Grant wants you to stop in to see her at the hospital.”

“I’ll do that,” agreed the man. “And good luck to ye!”

“Thanks, William,” returned Mary Louise. “Good-bye.”

She and her father walked on down the hill towards the little shack where the colored family lived, and stopped there to inquire again about Elsie. But Mrs. Jones had not seen her since the previous morning; however, she pointed out just what path the girl had taken. So Mary Louise put Silky on the trail, and the three began their search.

CHAPTER XVIII

Found!

With Silky in the lead, Mr. Gay and Mary Louise followed the path behind Dark Cedars which led directly into Cooper’s woods. It was new to them both, for although they had gone to these woods many times, they had always entered from the road that ran past the creek and the swimming hole.

“It’s much cooler this way,” observed the girl. “So nice and shady.”

“Silky seems to know what he’s doing,” remarked her father. “He’s going straight ahead.”

“I’m afraid he’s making for the swimming hole,” returned Mary Louise. “He loves a swim as much as we do.”

“Do you want to stop for one?”

“I’d like to, but I don’t think we better. It would take too much time, dressing and undressing.”

“Maybe we can have one on our way back.”

“Yes, maybe,” agreed Mary Louise. “I ought to have brought Elsie’s suit, so that if we find her she could go with us. She loved it on Saturday.”

“I’m afraid you’re being a little too optimistic, Daughter,” replied Mr. Gay. “Don’t get your hopes up too high.”

The path grew wide again as they approached the swimming hole, and when they arrived at the stream Mary Louise took off her pack and sat down under a tree. About a dozen children were playing about in the water, and Mary Louise threw a stick into the stream as a signal for Silky to jump in. In another minute the children were romping with him. Then they came out and crowded around Mary Louise, admiring the spaniel and asking his name.

“You didn’t see a girl about fifteen years old in a green silk dress, did you, children?” she inquired.

They shook their heads.

“Were any of you here yesterday morning?” asked Mr. Gay.

Two of the older boys replied that they had been there.

“Did you see the girl then?” persisted the man.

One boy thought that he did remember seeing a young lady – “all dressed up in a silk dress.” But she hadn’t stopped at the pool; she had crossed the bridge fifty yards below and had taken the path right back into the deepest part of the woods.

Mary Louise jumped to her feet. “Come on, Daddy! Let’s get going!”

“How about eating some of those sandwiches your mother packed for us?” suggested her father.

“Oh, no – not yet!” protested Mary Louise. “It’s only eleven o’clock.” She turned to the boys. “Have you seen any gypsies around?”

“A couple of days ago,” was the answer. “I heard they moved on towards Coopersburg. A fellow I know was over there last night and saw them telling fortunes.”

“What’s the best way to Coopersburg?” inquired Mary Louise.

“Through the woods is shortest, I guess. But I don’t know if there’s any path. We always go around by the road.”

“We were going through the woods anyhow,” said Mary Louise. To her father she added, “I do want to see those gypsies again, almost as much as I want to find Elsie.”

She whistled for Silky, and he came running out of the water, shaking himself joyously and rolling over and over on the grass.

“He’s forgotten all about the trail he’s supposed to be following,” remarked Mary Louise, producing the purple calico dress. “Come here, Silky, and sniff this again.”

The couple turned their steps to the bridge and soon were out of the open space, back in the cool shade of the woods. Here the path was narrow and deeply shaded, so that they had to walk single file for a long distance, sometimes picking their way carefully among the thick undergrowth. About noon they stopped to eat the sandwiches which Mrs. Gay had packed and to drink the iced-tea from the thermos bottle.

“It’s still a long walk to Coopersburg,” sighed Mary Louise. “I’d forgotten how these woods wound around. I don’t believe I ever walked this way before.”

“Are you tired?” inquired her father.

“A little. But mostly hot. I’ll soon cool off.”

“We won’t try to walk back,” replied Mr. Gay. “If we don’t find Elsie, we can take a bus back from Coopersburg.”

“I don’t think we should do that, Daddy,” argued Mary Louise. “If we don’t find her or the gypsies either, I think we should come back here and camp for the night. That would give us a chance to make a more thorough search of the woods tomorrow. Because we might easily miss Elsie just by keeping on this path, as we are doing now.”

“Why do you want to find the gypsies, Mary Lou?”

“They may have seen Elsie. For fifty cents that fortune teller will give you any information you want.”

Mr. Gay smiled.

“I’m afraid she’d make up anything she didn’t know,” he remarked.

“Well, she was right about Jane’s lost ring – and about the ruby necklace,” Mary Louise reminded him. “John Grant said so.”

“Yes, but she used her common sense in the first case, and in the second, she may have heard a rumor about the necklace – especially if this particular band of gypsies has been coming to this neighborhood for years… I wouldn’t attach too much faith to these people, Daughter.”

They gathered up the remains of their picnic lunch and started forward again, with Silky in the lead. On and on they walked for several hours, talking very little, and stopping only now and then for a drink of water from a spring or two which they passed. About three o’clock they came to a widening of the path, and through the trees they could see the fields that surrounded the town of Coopersburg.

With a new burst of energy Mary Louise started to run forward.

“I see some tents, Daddy!” she cried. “And that caravan! Oh, I’m sure it’s the gypsies.”

“Don’t run, Mary Lou!” called her father. “With that heavy pack on your back! I’m afraid you’ll hurt yourself.”

“I can’t wait, Daddy.” But she stopped and turned around, removing the pack from her shoulders.

“You keep the packs, Daddy,” she said when he had caught up to her, “and I’ll go ahead. I’d rather see the fortune teller by myself, anyhow. But stay where I can see you – within calling distance. And if I don’t come back in half an hour, come and look for me.”