The Corner House Girls on a Houseboat Part 39

"Yes, those two are the ones that several times went off in a hurry in the motor boat," said Mr. Howbridge. "But I can not identify them as the ones who took the jewelry. Ruth and Agnes Kenway will have to do that."

As he spoke the two men looked at him. One shook his head and the other exclaimed:

"It's all up. They got us right!"

"Come on now lively, men!" cried Constable Newcomb. "Search this place, gather up what evidence you can, and we'll take 'em to jail."

"Are there any others?" asked Neale, hoping against hope as the men were taken outside the shack and the search was begun.

"I guess we have the main ones, anyhow," answered Mr. Newcomb. "Oh, look at this bunch of stuff!" he cried, as he threw back the dirty blankets of one of the bunks. "They've been robbing right and left."

It was a heterogeneous collection of articles, and at the sight of one box Mr. Howbridge exclaimed:

"There it is! The jewelry case I gave Miss Ruth! These men were either the thieves or they know something about the robbery. See if anything is left in the box."

It was quickly opened, and seen to contain a number of rings, pins, and trinkets.

"Well, there's a good part of it," the lawyer remarked. "It will need Ruth and Agnes to tell just what is missing."

Mr. Howbridge and Neale were watching the constable and his men finish the search of the cabin, while others of the posse had taken the prisoners to the boat, when suddenly into the shack came another man, whose well-worn clothing would seem to proclaim him as one of the "Klondikers."

But at the sight of this man Neale sprang forward, and held out his hands.

"Father!" cried the boy. "Don't you know me?"

"It's Neale--my son!" was the gasping exclamation. "How in the world did you get here? I was just about to start for Milton to look you up."

"Well, I guess, before you do, we'll look you up a bit, and maybe lock you up, also," said the constable dryly. "Do you belong to the Klondike bunch?" he asked.

"Well, yes, I might say that I do; or rather that I did." said Neale's father, and though the boy gasped in dismay, Mr. O'Neil smiled. "I understand the crowd has been captured," he added.

"Yes. And you may consider yourself captured also!" snapped out the officer. "Jim, a pair of handcuffs here!"

"One moment!" interposed Mr. Howbridge, with a glance at Neale. "I represent this man, officer. I'll supply bail for him--"

Mr. O'Neil laughed.

"Thank you," he said. "Your offer is kind, and I appreciate it. But I shan't need bail. I believe you received a letter telling you to make this raid, did you not?" he asked the constable.

"I did," was the answer. "It was that letter which gave us the clue to the robbers. I'd like to meet the man who wrote it. He said he would give evidence against the rascals."

"Who signed that letter?" asked Neale's father.

"I have it here. I can show you," offered Mr. Newcomb. "It was signed by a man named O'Neil," he added as he produced the doc.u.ment. "He said he'd meet us here, but--"

"Well, he has met you. I'm O'Neil," broke in the other. "And it was I who gave you the information."

"Oh, Father!" cried Neale, "then you're not one of the--"

"I'm not one of the thieves; though I admit my living here among them made it look so," said Mr. O'Neil. "It is easily explained. One of the men made a fraudulent claim to part of a mine I own in Alaska, and I had to remain in his company until I could disprove his statements. This I have done. The matter is all cleared up, and I concluded it was time to hand the rascals over to the law. So I sent the letter to the authorities, and I'm glad it is all ended."

"So am I!" cried Neale. "Then you did strike it rich after all?"

"No, not exactly rich, Son. I was pretty lucky, though, and I struck pay dirt in the Klondike. I wrote your Uncle Bill about it, but probably the letters miscarried. I never was much of a letter writer, anyhow. And I never knew until the other day that you were so anxious to find me. I couldn't have left here anyhow, though, for I had to straighten out my affairs. Now everything is all right. Do you still want to arrest me?"

he asked the constable.

"No," replied Mr. Newcomb. "I reckon you're a friend of the law and, in consequence, you're my friend. Now come on, boys, we'll lock up the other birds."

Neale walked by the side of his father and it was difficult to say who talked the most. Mr. Howbridge accompanied the constable and from him learned how the raid had been planned through information sent by Mr.

O'Neil.

When the party reached the houseboat, whither some of the deputies had preceded with the prisoners, the sight of a figure on the upper deck attracted the attention of Neale and the lawyer.

"Agnes!" gasped her guardian. "How did you get here?"

"On the _Bluebird_. I just couldn't bear to be left behind, and so I slipped on board again after you said good-by on the dock. There wasn't any shooting after all," she added, as if disappointed.

"No, it was easier than I expected," admitted the lawyer. "And, while you should not have come, this may interest you!"

"Our jewelry!" cried Agnes as she took the extended box. Quickly she looked over the contents.

"Only two little pins are missing!" she reported. "We shan't mind the loss of them. Oh, how glad I am to get my things! And mother's wedding ring, too! How did it happen?"

"I think you have Neale's father to thank," answered Mr. Howbridge.

"Oh, I am so glad!" cried Agnes, and she was happy in more ways than one. "What did I tell you, Neale O'Neil?"

The _Bluebird_ made a quick trip back to the point and the rascals were locked up. Two of them proved to be the thieves who had robbed Ruth and Agnes, though their ill-gotten gains did them little good, as they dared not dispose of them. The third prisoner was not involved in that robbery, though he was implicated in others around the lake. Eventually, all three went to prison for long terms.

Neale's father, of course, was not involved. As he explained, he had located a mine in Alaska and it made him moderately well off. But he had a rascally partner, and it was necessary for Mr. O'Neil to stay with this man until a settlement was made. It was this partner who had dealings with the thieves; and that had made it look bad for Neale's father. This man was arrested later.

As soon as he saw how matters were on Cedar Island Mr. O'Neil decided to give the evil men over to the law, and he carried out his plan as quickly as possible. The two "Klondikers" who had inquired about rooms from the Stetson family were part of the thieving gang, and they were also later arrested. They were planning a bank robbery in town, and the two men who took the jewelry from Ruth and Agnes were part of the same crowd. The robbery of the girls, of course, was done on the spur of the moment. The two ragged men had merely taken shelter in the doorway, after having called at the Stetson house to get the "lay of the land."

And as such characters are always on the watch to commit some crime they hope may profit them, these two acted on the impulse.

For some reason the bank robbery plans miscarried, and the two jewelry robbers started back for Lake Macopic, where they had left some confederates, including Mr. O'Neil's partner. The rascals imagined the Corner House girls were following them, hence the several quick departures in the motor boat. Whether one of these men looked in the window of Tess was never learned.

"I'm so glad our suspicions of Hank were unfounded," said Ruth, when later the events of the day were being talked over in the _Bluebird_ cabin.

"Yes, that ring was his mother's," said Neale. "He told me about it after I had hinted that we had been watching him. And, oh, Father, I'm so glad I found you!" he added. "You're through with the Klondike; aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm going to sell out my mine and go into some other business."

"Do you mean back to the circus?" asked Mr. Howbridge.

"No. Though I want to see Bill and the others."

"Why don't you stay with us and finish the trip on the houseboat, Mr.

O'Neil?" Ruth asked.