Knock Three Times!

  CHAPTER XVI

  _Molly Accepts a Present_

  The farmer's wife proved a friend indeed to Molly. She gathered thelittle girl up in her arms and carried her indoors, made her put onsome fresh clothes while she dried her wet things before a blazingfire, and not until Molly had emptied a big bowl of hot bread and milkwould she let her say a word of thanks or explanation.

  Then, when the farmer and Mrs Rose and Molly (wrapped in a warm cloakbelonging to the farmer's wife) sat round the fire, Molly told them herstory, weeping afresh at the memory of Jack's misfortune.

  "There, there, my dear," comforted Mrs Rose, her own eyes full oftears. "It's no use crying, you know. What you have got to do is todetermine to find the Black Leaf, and then, like as not, you'll getyour brother back again."

  "Oh, I _am_ determined to find it," cried Molly. "I was determinedbefore--but I will--I _will_ find it--whatever happens."

  "You must try to get a good rest to-night, and then you can start offfresh in the morning--and you mustn't cry any more or you'll makeyourself ill--and then you won't be able to do anything," said Mrs Rose.

  Molly quite saw the wisdom of Mrs Rose's words and tried her best tostop crying. But she kept thinking about Jack, and wondering what theywere doing to him, and why the Pumpkin had changed him into a likenessof himself. Supposing she had to return home to Mother without Jack.She couldn't. She wouldn't, she vowed to herself. She would stay inthis country and search and search until the Black Leaf _was_ found,even if she had to wait for years ... and here her tears began to flowagain.

  To distract her, the farmer began talking about the country around andthe most likely places to search. He had searched all his own land,he said, directly he heard the Pumpkin was back, and he had helped toprepare some of the beacons on the hills around this district. And heasked Molly if she knew on which hills the beacons were set.

  Molly dried her eyes, got her map out, and showed him how the beaconhills were marked, and soon she and the farmer and Mrs Rose were poringover the map, planning out the best routes to take, and discussing themost likely places for search. The farmer showed her all the placeswhere the Leaf was _not_ growing, places he had personally searched;and at Molly's request he marked these places on the map with a leadpencil. Molly decided to herself that she would leave these markedplaces until the very last, until she had searched all the more likelyparts round about. She felt she could not leave them out altogether,although she trusted the farmer absolutely; she had promised to searcheach part herself.

  When she mentioned Mr Papingay's name the farmer and his wife smiled,and although they thought he would certainly have searched the OrangeWood as he said he had, yet he was not sure to have done it thoroughly,and they agreed with Molly that it would be as well to go over theground again if possible. The fact that the Pumpkin was lurking aboutthere made all three of them think that probably the Leaf was growingsomewhere near. Of course, this might not be so; it might be only thePumpkin's object to prevent Jack and Molly going any further with thesearch.

  "You'll have to be very cautious, missie, if you go back to the wood,"said Farmer Rose. "It wouldn't do for you to get caught too."

  "I'll be very careful--but it won't do for me to be afraid, or p'r'apsI'll never get Jack back again," said Molly. "I mustn't be afraid ofanything now."

  "That's the spirit," said the farmer, slapping his knee. "And ifthere's anything we can do to help you--you've only got to name it--weshall be proud."

  When the farmer's wife tucked her up in bed, about twenty minuteslater, Molly threw her arms round her neck.

  "I don't know why you are so good to me," she said. "Thank you so much.I've given you a lot of trouble, I'm afraid."

  "Not the least bit in the world," replied the farmer's wife. "Try toget to sleep, my dear.... P'r'aps to-morrow--who knows what may happento-morrow!"

  Molly was so exhausted that she slept soundly and dreamlessly, inspite of the fact that the wind rattled furiously at her window androared down the chimney. In the morning she woke with a dreadful,leaden feeling at her heart, but she determined not to brood overyesterday, but to get to work at once.

  After breakfast she collected up all the things from Jack's satchel andput them with her belongings into her own satchel. The farmer's wifeinsisted on giving her a big packet of food for luncheon, and told herto come back and sleep at the farm again that night if she ended herday's search anywhere near.

  Molly thanked her gratefully, then started out alone. The rain hadceased, and the wind was much less violent, but it was a grey day witha sky full of scurrying clouds.

  And now began a long, wearying time for Molly. Alone, of course, thetask of searching was longer and more difficult, though the enthusiasmwith which she went to work kept her from realizing this to the full.She went on her way searching eagerly and thoroughly that part of thevalley through which the river ran, which came within her square ofmap; she crossed the water by another bridge about a mile away fromthe place of last night's accident, and searched the opposite bank,gradually working her way back to the spot where the Pumpkin hadappeared.

  Across the water she could see the farm-house, half-way up the hillyroad on the other side. Behind her was the stile which she and Jack hadclambered over yesterday. Was it only yesterday?--it seemed more likea week ago to Molly. She climbed over the stile again and crossed thefield, searching as she went, to the Orange Wood.

  Very cautiously she entered the wood, and started her search, ears andeyes constantly on the alert, and hands and feet ready to spring andclimb up a tree at any moment, if the need arose. But the need didnot arise, and presently Molly found she was back within sight of MrPapingay's house. She went extra carefully now, so as not to attractthe old man's attention, and made a tour of the wood near his house,working in a wide circle, so as not to cross the space before his frontdoor. Once she heard his voice calling out to know what Percy wasbarking at, but she did not see him.

  And though at length she searched the whole of the Orange Wood, she didnot find the Black Leaf; nor did she see any sign of the Pumpkin or hisspies.

  So she left the wood behind her, and came back over the river, andmade her way to the farm-house again, where she had tea, and told themall about her day's search. But she would not stay the night there, asthere was still a long light evening to work through, and she hoped toget some way on the road to Lake Desolate before the night fell.

  "You'll pass several houses and cottages on the road," said Mrs Rose,and proceeded to give Molly the names of several friends of hers, whomshe could trust. "But be sure to come back here, if you want to."

  Mrs Rose stood at the gate waving her handkerchief to Molly, until thelittle girl turned round a bend in the road and was lost to sight. Thenshe dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief. "Bless the child," she said,as she hurried indoors. "She deserves to win."

  From the top of one of the hills close by, Molly found she could get asplendid view of the surrounding country. The clouds had disappeared bynow, and it promised to be a beautiful evening and a moonlight night.The river sparkled beneath, and the Orange Wood glowed in the eveningsun, while far away, in the distance, she could see the white towersof the City. Looking down at the Orange Wood she suddenly rememberedthat she had forgotten to look for Mr Waffer's face, as she passedMr Papingay's house. What a pity! Jack would have liked to know,when--when she met him again. But she had had so many things to thinkabout in the wood that it is no wonder she forgot about Mr Waffer.

  Descending the hill, Molly started on the road to Lake Desolate. It waspretty and green at first with cottages dotted about in small clusters,and presently she passed through a tiny village, where she stopped toinquire and search. But although every one seemed kind, and eager tohelp, there was nothing to be heard or seen of the Black Leaf.

  About half a mile outside the village, Molly came to a few more housesand a small shop. At the door of the shop stood an old gentlemanwearing a black skull-cap and a long, shabby coat. When he saw Mollya
pproaching he came out to meet her and, seizing her hand, shook itwarmly, saying that he had heard of her goodness in helping with thesearch and thanked her gratefully.

  "I have been keeping a watch on the road for the last few days, missie,hoping to catch a glimpse of you as you passed," he said. "I heard youwere coming this way."

  Molly was pleased at his impulsive friendliness, especially as she wasfeeling very lonely just now. She stopped chatting for a few minutes,and the old gentleman proudly showed her his shop. He was a watchmaker,and the shop was full of watches and clocks of all kinds and sizes.Besides these, he had a small collection of jewellery.

  "I expect you wonder at a watchmaker being right out here," he said,noting Molly's surprised expression at the contents of his shop. "Manypeople wonder at first. But I supply the clocks and watches for allthe neighbouring towns and villages and even for the City. I send tothe City twice a week. I live out here simply because my father andgrandfather and great-grandfather have always lived in this place--andbecause my health won't permit me to live in crowded towns.... Now,miss, if you will be so good I want you to accept a little present fromme, as a token of appreciation of the work you are doing."

  He opened a little box and drew out a dainty, silver bracelet, thatjingled as he handled it--just the very kind of bracelet that Molly hadlonged for on her birthday.

  Molly's face lit up, but she hesitated. Ought she to accept thispresent from a stranger--especially as she had made up her mind notto trust anybody now, unless she was perfectly sure they were allright. The old watchmaker seemed harmless enough, and he was alreadylooking disappointed at her hesitation. Molly felt it would be unkindto refuse the bracelet, and difficult also. It was not as if he hadoffered her food or drink, that might be poisoned; nor had he madeany effort to entice her into his shop; she had merely stepped insideon the mat and the door had been left wide open. Surely there couldbe no harm in accepting the bracelet, Molly argued to herself. It wasso pretty, and she _would_ like to have it, and anyway, if she feltdoubtful afterward she could always get rid of it somehow, when the oldgentleman could not see her and be hurt.

  "I beg you will accept this bracelet," said the watchmaker. "I havebeen keeping it back specially for you."

  So Molly accepted the bracelet, and the old gentleman 'had the honour,'as he put it, of seeing her slip it over her right hand, where itgleamed and jingled, and nearly slipped off when she put her arm downstraight--just as she had longed for it to do. Molly thanked the oldwatchmaker and shook hands with him again, as she bid him good-bye.

  He stood at his door bowing as Molly went on her way, but no sooner wasshe out of sight than he returned to his shop and, closing the door,sat down on a stool behind the counter, and began to shake with silentlaughter; he continued to laugh, hugging himself while he did so, androcking backward and forward, and bending himself nearly double, andall this quite noiselessly--the only sounds in the shop being the rapidtick, tick, tick, and the steady tick-tock, of the watches and clocksaround him.