Penny Nichols And The Knob Hill Mystery Part 23

"How long has he been away?" questioned the matron.

"I am only guessing but I should say at least two years."

"Then I'd not remember him. You see I took charge of the Glenhaven Home only nine months ago. The person for you to see is Mrs. Havers.

She was matron here for over twenty years."

"Do you know where I could find her?" inquired Penny.

"I will give you her address." Mrs. Barker reached for pencil and paper.

"Does she live close by?" Penny asked.

"Yes, only a short distance away in the town of Ferndale. Mrs. Havers left her duties here upon account of serious illness, but I understand she is considerably improved now."

Penny thanked the matron and accepting the slip of paper, left the inst.i.tution in company with Susan. Outside the building the girls paused to consider their next move.

"It shouldn't take us long to find Mrs. Havers," Penny declared.

"Let's go to her place."

"All right, we have plenty of time," Susan agreed. "Only it looks useless because if Michael had ever lived here his name would have been on the records."

"Yes, unless he changed his name," Penny admitted, "but let's go anyway."

The girls drove on to the town of Ferndale and had little difficulty in locating the address given them by Mrs. Barker. They were admitted to an overly heated brick cottage by an elderly woman with white hair and kind gray eyes. The living room was so warm and stuffy that Penny had trouble in breathing but Mrs. Havers apparently did not notice.

"You wish to see me concerning a former inmate of the Glenhaven Home?"

the old lady asked after Penny and Susan had stated their mission.

"I'll be glad to answer any of your questions."

"We are trying to trace a young man by the name of Michael Haymond,"

Penny explained. "Would you remember him?"

"I have never forgotten a single child who was ever placed under my care," replied Mrs. Havers with a smile. "But I am certain that no one by that name ever lived at the Home."

"Then I am afraid we were mistaken in our facts," Penny said in disappointment.

"You are sure you have the right name?"

"Why, I think so," Penny replied doubtfully.

"The reason I ask is that we did have an orphan by the name of Michael in our inst.i.tution," Mrs. Havers declared reflectively. "He was one of my favorites. There was some mystery about his parentage, but he seemed to come from a good family."

"Do you recall his full name?" Penny questioned.

"Oh, yes, it was Michael Gladwin."

"That sounds a trifle like Haymond," Susan commented.

"Michael was brought to the inst.i.tution when he was two years old,"

Mrs. Havers recalled. "His parents had been killed in an auto accident we were told, but while the facts were officially recorded, I always doubted the story."

"May I ask why you doubted it?" Penny inquired.

"I consider myself a fairly good judge of character," Mrs. Havers replied. "The man who brought Michael to our home was a very peculiar person. He claimed to be no relation to the boy, yet he had taken a deep liking to him and was willing to pay for his keep at the inst.i.tution."

"That would seem very generous," Penny remarked.

"So I thought. From his appearance, one would never suspect that the man had such a character."

"Didn't you investigate him?" asked Susan.

"It is not the policy of the Glenhaven Home to probe deeply into the parentage of the children placed there," Mrs. Havers replied. "Babies left on our doorstep receive the same treatment as those brought by parents unable to keep their offsprings. In this case, the man paid Michael's way for five years in advance."

"After that I suppose you never heard from him again?" Penny inquired.

"To the contrary, money came regularly for ten years. However, during that period, no one ever visited the boy."

"Can you tell us the name of the person who brought Michael to the Home?" Penny questioned.

"It has slipped my mind for the moment. Let me see--the name began with a K. It seems to me it was Keenan or very similar. The money always came from a place by the name of Fairfax."

"What became of Michael?" inquired Susan curiously.

"He lived at the Home until he was eighteen years of age," Mrs. Havers answered. "Then we found a position for him. After that our record ceases."

"Did you never make any attempt to trace the boy's parentage?" Penny asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, a number of years ago I wrote to Fairfax. It was a strange thing--the letter was never answered. And from that day, funds ceased to come for Michael's support."

"It appeared as if the man who had been paying for the boy's keep feared an investigation," Penny commented.

"Yes, that is what I thought. I would have probed deeper into the matter but at that time I was taken ill. I went to a hospital for over a year, then I resumed my duties, only to give them up again a few months ago."

Mrs. Havers began to talk of her own ailments and the girls had little opportunity to ask additional questions about Michael.

"I am sorry that I've not been able to help you," the woman said regretfully as she escorted the girls to the door. "Of course the Michael of my story has no connection with the young man you are trying to trace."

"Probably not," Penny agreed. "Thank you for giving us so much of your time."

When the door had closed behind them, she turned eagerly to her chum.

"Susan, I didn't like to say so in front of Mrs. Havers, but why couldn't Michael Haymond and Michael Gladwin be the same person?"

"Michael is a common name."

"Yes, but many of the facts in Michael Haymond's life dovetail with those told us by Mrs. Havers."

"There may be a slight similarity," Susan acknowledged. "But we can never prove anything."