CHAPTER XVII
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
Uncle John was both astounded and indignant that so bold and unlawful anact as the abduction of his own niece could have been perpetrated in theheart of New York and directly under the eyes of the police. Urged bythe Major, Mr. Merrick was at first inclined to allow Arthur Weldon toprosecute the affair and undertake the recovery of the girl, beingassured this would easily be accomplished and conceding the fact that noone had a stronger interest in solving the mystery of Louise'sdisappearance than young Weldon. But when midday arrived and no trace ofthe young girl had yet been obtained the little millionaire assumed animportant and decisive air and hurried down town to "take a hand in thegame" himself.
After a long interview with the Chief of Detectives, Mr. Merrick saidimpressively:
"Now, understand, sir; not a hint of this to the newspaper folks. Iwon't have any scandal attached to the poor child if I can help it. Setyour whole force to work--at once!--but impress them with the need ofsecrecy. My offer is fair and square. I'll give a reward of ten thousanddollars if Miss Merrick is discovered within twenty-four hours; ninethousand if she's found during the next twenty-four hours; and so on,deducting a thousand for each day of delay. That's for the officer whofinds her. For yourself, sir, I intend to express my gratitude asliberally as the service will allow me to. Is this all clear andabove-board?"
"It is perfectly clear, Mr. Merrick."
"The child must be found--and found blamed quick, too! Great Caesar! Cana simple affair like this baffle your splendid metropolitan force?"
"Not for long, Mr. Merrick, believe me."
But this assurance proved optimistic. Day by day crept by without a clewto the missing girl being discovered; without development of any sort.The Inspector informed Mr. Merrick that "it began to look like amystery."
Arthur, even after several sleepless nights, still retained his courage.
"I'm on the right track, sir," he told Uncle John. "The delay isannoying, but not at all dangerous. So long as Fogerty holds fast toMershone Louise is safe, wherever she may be."
"Mershone may have nothing to do with the case."
"I'm positive he has."
"And Louise can't be safe while she's a prisoner, and in the hands ofstrangers. I want the girl home! Then I'll know she's safe."
"I want her home, too, sir. But all your men are unable to find her, itseems. They can't even discover in what direction she was taken, or how.The brown limousine seems to be no due at all."
"Of course not. There are a thousand brown limousines in New York."
"Do you imagine she's still somewhere in the city, sir?" enquiredArthur.
"That's my theory," replied Uncle John. "She must be somewhere in thecity. You see it would be almost impossible to get her out of townwithout discovery. But I'll admit this detective force is the finestaggregation of incompetents I've ever known--and I don't believe yourprecious Fogerty is any better, either."
Of course Beth and Patsy had to be told of their cousin's disappearanceas soon as the first endeavor to trace her proved a failure. Patsy wentat once to Mrs. Merrick and devoted herself to comforting the poor womanas well as she could.
Beth frowned at the news and then sat down to carefully think out theproblem. In an hour she had logically concluded that Diana Von Taer wasthe proper person to appeal to. If anyone knew where Louise was, it wasDiana. That same afternoon she drove to the Von Taer residence anddemanded an interview.
Diana was at that moment in a highly nervous state. She had at timesduring her career been calculating and unscrupulous, but never beforehad she deserved the accusation of being malicious and wicked. She hadcome to reproach herself bitterly for having weakly connived at thedesperate act of Charlie Mershone, and her good sense assured her theresult would be disastrous to all concerned in it. Contempt for herselfand contempt for her cousin mingled with well-defined fears for hercherished reputation, and so it was that Miss Von Taer had almostdecided to telephone Madame Cerise and order her to escort LouiseMerrick to her own home when Beth's card came up with a curt demand fora personal interview.
The natures of these two girls had never harmonized in the slightestdegree. Beth's presence nerved Diana to a spirit of antagonism thatquickly destroyed her repentant mood. As she confronted her visitor herdemeanor was cold and suspicious. There was a challenge and anaccusation in Beth's eyes that conveyed a distinct warning, which MissVon Taer quickly noted and angrily resented--perhaps because she knew itwas deserved.
It would have been easy to tell Beth De Graf where her cousin Louisewas, and at the same time to assure her that Diana was blameless in theaffair; but she could not endure to give her antagonist thissatisfaction.
Beth began the interview by saying: "What have you done with LouiseMerrick?" That was, of course, equal to a declaration of war.
Diana was sneering and scornful. Thoroughly on guard, she permitted nocompromising word or admission to escape her. Really, she knew nothingof Louise Merrick, having unfortunately neglected to examine herantecedents and personal characteristics before undertaking heracquaintance. One is so likely to blunder through excess of good nature.She had supposed a niece of Mr. John Merrick would be of the right sort;but the age is peculiar, and one cannot be too cautious in choosingassociates. If Miss Merrick had run away from her home and friends, MissVon Taer was in no way responsible for the escapade. And now, if Miss DeGraf had nothing further to say, more important matters demanded Diana'stime.
Beth was furious with anger at this baiting. Without abandoning a jother suspicions she realized she was powerless to prove her case at thistime. With a few bitter and cutting remarks--made, she afterward said,in "self-defense"--she retreated as gracefully as possible and drovehome.
An hour later she suggested to Uncle John that he have a detectiveplaced where Diana's movements could be watched; but that had alreadybeen attended to by both Mr. Merrick and Mr. Fogerty. Uncle John couldhardly credit Diana's complicity in this affair. The young lady's socialposition was so high, her family so eminently respectable, her motivein harming Louise so inconceivable, that he hesitated to believe herguilty, even indirectly. As for her cousin, he did not know what tothink, as Arthur accused him unreservedly. It did not seem possible thatany man of birth, breeding and social position could be so contemptibleas to perpetrate an act of this character. Yet some one had done it, andwho had a greater incentive than Charlie Mershone?
Poor Mrs. Merrick was inconsolable as the days dragged by. She clung toPatsy with pitiful entreaties not to be left alone; so Miss Doylebrought her to her own apartments, where the bereft woman was shownevery consideration. Vain and selfish though Mrs. Merrick might be, shewas passionately devoted to her only child, and her fears for the lifeand safety of Louise were naturally greatly exaggerated.
The group of anxious relatives and friends canvassed the subjectmorning, noon and night, and the longer the mystery remained unsolvedthe more uneasy they all became.
"This, ma'am," said Uncle John, sternly, as he sat one evening facingMrs. Merrick, "is the final result of your foolish ambition to get ourgirls into society."
"I can't see it that way, John," wailed the poor woman. "I've neverheard of such a thing happening in society before, have you?"
"I don't keep posted," he growled. "But everything was moving smoothlywith us before this confounded social stunt began, as you must admit."
"I can't understand why the papers are not full of it," sighed Mrs.Merrick, musingly. "Louise is so prominent now in the best circles."
"Of course," said the Major, drily; "she's so prominent, ma'am, that noone can discover her at all! And it's lucky for us the newspapers knownothing of the calamity. They'd twist the thing into so many shapes thatnot one of us would ever again dare to look a friend in the eye."
"I'm sure my darling has been murdered!" declared Mrs. Merrick, weepingmiserably. She made the statement on an average of once to every fiveminutes. "Or, if she hasn't been killed yet, she's sure
to be soon.Can't _something_ be done?" That last appeal was hard to answer. Theyhad done everything that could be thought of. And here it was Tuesday.Louise had been missing for five days.