The Monday morning mail brought Doris a letter from Azalea and Iris Gates.
“We are enclosing an old photograph which we thought perhaps might b$ useful to you,” they wrote, “but trust that you will have no difficulty in establishing your identity or in settling up the estate.”
Doris studied the picture with interest. It was old and faded, and the poses of the Misses Gates and her Uncle John Trent were rather artificial, for the photograph had been taken many years before.
“My uncle was quite dashing at that,” Doris remarked, as she showed the picture to Kitty. “How lovely the twins were, when they were young! No wonder he couldn’t decide which one he wanted to marry.”
Turning the photograph over, she noticed a signature on the back. Her uncle had written “Deyotedly,” and had signed his name. Doris studied the handwriting critically, admiring the bold scrawl.
“I’ll take this photograph with me,” she told her chum as she slipped it into her handbag. “It may be useful.”
“How about the ruby ring?” Kitty questioned.
She referred to the jewel which the Misses Gates had bestowed upon Doris as a reward for saving their fortune. During the girls’ recent stay at Locked Gates, Wags had unearthed a tiny box containing the beautiful ring. A card inside indicated that John Trent had intended it as a gift to either Azalea or Iris, but since he had failed to state which one he had favored, neither would accept it.
“I may as well wear it,” Doris responded. “It’s such a valuable ring I’m afraid to leave it here in the house.”
Early Tuesday morning Dave and Marshmallow piled their luggage into the newly-painted car and prepared to depart for Cloudy Cove. At the last minute Mrs. Mallow and the girls decided to postpone their trip until the following day, for Wardell Force had been unable to secure satisfactory accommodations on the night train.
“We’ll see you in Cloudy Cove Thursday morning,” Mrs. Mallow declared, as she said goodbye to the young men. “Don’t forget the name of our hotel.”
“Where did you say you were going to stay?”
“Oh, Marshmallow,” Doris answered, “anyone would think you had not heard us talking and talking about the Mayfair.”
Kitty giggled.
“Don’t you dare forget the name of the hotel or of Cloudy Cove, either!” she commanded.
“We’ll be there, all right,” Marshmallow assured her.
After the car had rattled away, Doris and Kitty attended to the last-minute details of their packing. In spite of the work which had to be done, the day seemed to drag.
“I just feel it in my bones that something exciting will happen to us at Cloudy Cove!” Doris observed to her chum. “Oh, I can hardly wait until we start!”
The girls were awake at six o’clock the next morning, and though there was no need of arising so early, they soon awakened the household. Breakfast was quickly eaten and then, as it approached train time, the luggage was loaded into Mr. Force’s sedan.
Jake left his work in the garden to say goodbye to the girls.
“If you need my help again, just drop me a line,” he grinned at Doris.
Arriving at the station shortly before eleven o’clock, the girls found they would not have long to wait. Soon they heard a long-drawn-out whistle and a moment later they saw the train rounding the bend.
“Take good care of yourself,” Wardell Force warned, as he hastily kissed his niece goodbye, “and don’t forget to write.”
“You’re the one who forgets,” Doris laughed.
She was the last passenger to step aboard the train, and from the vestibule waved to her uncle until he was out of sight. Then she made her way back to the Pullman car where Mrs. Mallow and Kitty already had established themselves.
“Why so sober?” Kitty demanded lightly as her chum sat down beside her. “Not homesick already, I hope?”
Doris shook her head and smiled.
“Just thinking,” she returned.
It would have been difficult for her to have expressed her thoughts. She was wondering what awaited her at Cloudy Cove. To her friends the trip meant a pleasant summer excursion, but for her it had a vital significance. Though’her Uncle Ward had been far too tactful to remind her of the depleted state of her finances, she realized that what little money she possessed was fast melting away. True, she had received a thousand dollars in reward for aiding in the capture of Joe Jeffery, but the trip to Cloudy Cove would take a portion of it and, when she returned home, there were many expenses to be met. Her schooling at Barry Manor cost a great deal and music lessons were very expensive.
“What a relief it would be to Uncle Ward if I should be remembered in John Trent’s will,” she thought. “After all, I am his next of kin. But then, I mustn’t build up my hopes! In a few days I’ll know just how the matter stands.”
CHAPTER IV
A Chance Acquaintance
As soon as the baggage had been adjusted to her satisfaction, Mrs. Mallow brought out a magazine and began to read. Doris and Kitty were more interested in their fellow passengers and studied them intently. In particular their attention was attracted to an elderly, white-haired gentleman who occupied the section directly opposite them. Several times he smiled, but it was not until after the conductor had gone through the car collecting tickets that he ventured to speak to them.
“Did I hear you young ladies say you were going to Cloudy Cove?” he inquired in a curious but friendly manner. “I hail from there myself.”
“You do?” Doris questioned eagerly. “Then perhaps you can tell us all about the place.”
“Reckon I can. I’ve lived in Cloudy Cove ever since 1890—or was it 1892? Well, never mind the date. I guess it’s slipped my mind.”
Mrs. Mallow glanced up sharply to see who it was that had brushed up an acquaintance with the girls but, reassured, returned to her reading. Doris and Kitty, eager to learn more about Cloudy Cove, moved over into the opposite seat.
“Reckon you’re going to Cloudy Cove on your vacation,” the stranger commented, reaching in his pocket and bringing out a card. “I own a number of cottages on the shore and if you’re looking for a place to stay, you might care to look them over. Here’s my card.”
He extended it to Doris, who glanced with interest at the name: Silas Baker.
“We’ve already engaged rooms at the hotel,” she informed him. “We’re really not on a vacation trip at all. I have business to attend to at the National Bank there.”
“You don’t say!” the old man observed. “Why, I used to work in that bank when I was a boy.”
“Then you must know nearly everyone in Cloudy Cove!” Doris cried eagerly.
“I reckon I did at one time, but the town has grown and I don’t remember faces the way I once did. Bless me, I haven’t even told you my name.” He fumbled in his pocket for another card.
Doris and Kitty found it difficult to refrain from laughing. Silas