CHAPTER XXV
MOONLIGHT
When Nan told her story to the Masons a little later they were not onlyindignant but very genuinely worried. Walter declared that he would"catch that man and wring his neck before the day was up," which boast,though extremely extravagant, brought strange comfort to Nan, shocked asshe had been by the events of the morning.
Mr. Mason wanted to shadow the man, but Nan begged him not to do thatuntil after they had had a chance to look up Mrs. Bragley's property forher and see what it was worth.
"If that's the way you feel," Mr. Mason decided sympathetically, "itseems to me the best thing to do is to get to Sunny Slopes as soon aspossible, take a look at this land, and employ an attorney, if need be,to be sure her title is clear. Then if this man is illegally trying towrest the land from its rightful owner, we will employ a detective andsee that the fellow is brought to justice. I want to lift the load fromthese young shoulders," he said, looking down at Nan with the nice smilethat made everybody like him. "They are too young to carry the troublesof other people yet."
Nan smiled up at him gratefully, and perhaps the interview might haveended there had Walter allowed it to. But Walter was still tremendouslyworried about Nan.
"But Dad," he said, turning to his father accusingly, "you certainlycan't mean that you are going to let that man wander around loose sothat he can worry Nan all he wants to. Why, this is four or five timesalready that he has nearly frightened her to death. Why," he continued,waxing more excited as he thought about it and glaring at the anxiousgroup of people as though it were in some way all their fault, "he isn'tgoing to stop when he so nearly got what he wanted to-day. He may comeback again to-night----"
"That is very unlikely," Mr. Mason broke in, in a cheerful,matter-of-fact tone. "He knows that we are on our guard now. For all hecan tell, we may have detectives in every corridor and he will be verycareful how he ventures near Nan's room to-night. No, he will try someother way since this one has failed. And in a day or two we will motordown to Sunny Slopes and relieve Nan's mind about this woman'sproperty."
In spite of Mr. Mason's very reasonable conviction that the man wouldnot return to Nan's room, the girls were nervous that night, especiallyBess, and they were all glad when the sun, creeping in through thewindow, announced that another beautiful day had begun.
"Goodness!" said Bess, stretching fretfully, "if this keeps up muchlonger, Nan Sherwood, I'll just be a wreck, that's all."
"Get your cold water plunge and you will feel better," said Nan, atwhich practical suggestion Bess merely grunted.
They were to play a tennis match that day, Rhoda and Walter against Nanand Grace, and naturally they all had set their hearts upon winning.Bess had begged off on the ground that it was too warm to play.
It was a glorious morning for the sport, sunshiny and clear, yet cool,and the girls forgot their restless night as they stepped out upon thecourt.
It was not till they started to "warm up" and Nan wound up for her usualswift serve that they had an inkling of the thing that was to spoil thefun for that morning, at least.
Nan struck weakly at the ball, which landed ignominiously in the net andthen dropped her racket with a little cry of pain. The girls and Walterran to her anxiously, Walter jumping the net and scooping up the ball ashe came.
"What is the matter, Nan Sherwood?" Bess wanted to know. "That's thefunniest ball I ever saw you serve."
"It's my wrist," said Nan apologetically. "It turned just at the wrongminute. I don't seem to have any power in it."
"Let me see," Walter demanded masterfully, and as he held her littlewrist in his hand Nan noticed that it was red and swollen.
"Oh-h!" she said impulsively, "that must be where the man grabbed me sotight yesterday. I'm dreadfully sorry to spoil your game," she added,thinking, as always, more of every one else than of herself.
"Hang the old game," said Walter explosively. "We can play that anytime. But if I could get my hands on that--that----"
"Don't say it," begged Nan, with a little laugh. "You mustn't talk aboutpeople behind their backs, you know."
"But now our game is spoiled, and we have a whole long morning on ourhands," wailed Grace. "I wish I had slept a couple of hours longer."
"I tell you what we'll do," said Walter, with sudden inspiration. "We'lltake some fishing tackle--Grace and I have enough to go round--and goout in the little old _Bargain Rush_ to a place I know of where the fishjust come trotting up begging to be caught. How about it, girls? Are youon?"
It seemed that they were, enthusiastically so, and half an hour laterGrace was declaring that she was sorry about poor Nan's wrist, ofcourse, but if this wasn't better than playing a hot game of tennis andprobably getting beaten, her name wasn't Grace Mason, that's all.
Walter was right about the fish--they seemed to enjoy being caught, andwhen, almost at noon time, they came back to the hotel with Walterbringing up the rear with the result of the morning's sport proudlydisplayed, strangers followed them with envious eyes and people theyknew stopped them to ask where they had found the fish.
As for Nan, she tried hard to enter into the old round of gaieties withher usual enthusiasm, for she knew that to show how worried she waswould only spoil the fun of her friends. But to herself she acknowledgedthat she would not really be able to enjoy anything again until themystery of those dangerous papers in her bag was finally cleared up andshe was free from espionage once more.
Walter seemed to be the only one who really understood her state of mindand when she pleaded a headache that afternoon and broke an engagementwith the girls to go to the cocoanut grove for tea, it was Walter whosilenced their protests and took her himself up to her room.
"I'm awfully sorry about this," he said, taking the wrist, which hadbeen rubbed with liniment and neatly bandaged by Mrs. Mason, in one ofhis sunburned hands and patting it awkwardly. "Does it ache very muchnow?"
"N-no. It doesn't ache at all," said Nan, adding quickly to cover herconfusion as she drew her hand away, "I think you had better go down tothe girls now, Walter. They will think you've deserted them."
"Oh, all right," said Walter, and perhaps it was only Nan's imaginationthat made her think he looked hurt. "Be sure and save the first twodances for me to-night."
He went out quietly, and for a long time after he had gone Nan stoodlooking at the closed door. Then her glance dropped to her bandagedwrist and she smiled a little.
"Boys are so funny," she murmured--to no one in particular.
There was a big dance that night, and when the time came to dress Nanstill further incensed the girls by refusing to dress.
"How would I look in an evening dress and--this thing?" she asked,holding up her bandaged wrist.
"No one ever would look at your wrist when your face is along, NanSherwood," said Rhoda, at which Nan laughed but still remained firm.
"Oh, well," said Bess, flouncing over to her closet and taking out apretty white net and blue satin dress, "I suppose you will have your ownway, Nan. But one way or another, that old Mrs. Bragley and hermiserable papers have just spoiled our trip. I wish she was in Jericho!"
"It was Guinea last time," Nan laughed at her.
Since Nan refused to dance that night, Walter also refused. Try as shemight, Nan could not get him to alter his decision, and finally gave upthe attempt in despair.
"Grace and Bess will be furious," she said.
"Let them," he answered recklessly. "There are plenty of other fellowsaround. See that moon over there? Say, Nan, I have a bully idea."
They were standing in one corner of the veranda of the Royal Poinciana.The veranda looked strangely deserted that night, the dance being at itsheight in the ballroom within, and it being still a little early for theinevitable drifting of couples from the heat of the ballroom to the coolbreezes of the porch.
"An idea?" asked Nan, feeling adventurous herself. "Tell me."
"Back there somewhere the _Bargain Rush_ is waiting," said Walter, hisvoice bo
yishly eager. "Since we can't dance, we might as well 'putt.'And--it seems too bad to waste that moon."
Nan thought so, too, and a moment later they were running hand in handthrough the garden to the spot where the _Bargain Rush_ waited. Theyscrambled on board, Walter started the engine, and they drifted out intothe magic stillness of the night.
"Now tell me," said Walter after a while, his eyes shifting from themoonlit waters of the lake to Nan where she sat curled up in one of thechairs, gazing dreamily out over the shadowy water, "isn't this betterthan dancing?"
"It's awfully nice," admitted Nan.
"I get so tired of the hot ballroom, and the bright lights," went on theboy, as he bent over the engine, to see that it was running properly.
"Well, I get tired of the lights myself, Walter."
"And those flashing jewels! Why will some of the women load themselveswith so much jewelry?"
"I'm sure I don't know. I think too much jewelry is horrid."
"I suppose some folks think that is the one way to let others know thatthey have money."
Nan drew a deep breath. "Look at the moon, Walter, isn't it simplywonderful?"
"Sure is. And I think----"
Walter came to a sudden stop. Another motor boat had loomed up, runningdangerously close to the _Bargain Rush_.
"Hi, keep away from there!" called out the boy.
"They'll run into us!" exclaimed Nan, in sudden alarm.
"Don't get scared, sonny!" sang out a man in the other motor boat andthen he suddenly veered out of the way, but with only an inch or two tospare.
"The great big clown!" burst out Walter, in just anger. "He did thatjust to give us a scare."
"It was no way to do," said Nan. She was not a little shaken by theunexpected happening.
"I hope he runs into a tree, or a rock, or something."
"There he goes, along the other shore of the lake," said Nan, a fewseconds later. "See, I think he is trying to scare the folks in thatother motor boat."
"He's either crazy or a fool," murmured Walter.
The unknown motorist was evidently amusing himself at the expense ofthose less daring than himself, and he raced up and down the lakeseveral times. But soon a larger motor boat put out and bore down uponhim.
"We've been laying for you," said a man who was evidently an official."You'll not try any more of those tricks."
"That's right--place him under arrest," said another man, one who hadcome close to suffering a collision. "I'll make a charge against him."
"I was only having a little fun," whined the man who had been racingaround.
"You can tell your story at the police station," was the answer. Andthen the fellow was placed under arrest.
Nan and Walter continued their ride in the moonlight, and soon theunpleasant incident was forgotten. They talked of their good times atPalm Beach, and then the youth referred to what Nan proposed to do forMrs. Bragley.
"Nan, I'm awfully sorry you are so worried about those old propertypapers," remarked Walter presently. "Why don't you turn them over to mydad?"
"I thought you'd say that, Walter," she returned. "I've been expectingit. Why don't I? Well, to tell the truth, I don't know. I--I guess I ama little headstrong about it."
"Headstrong?" he repeated, plainly puzzled.
"Yes. You see Bess and the others think I am so--so--well, so scared Ican't keep them in my possession. Well," Nan drew a deep breath, "I amscared. But, just the same, I'm not so scared as all that--and I'm goingto prove it to them, so there!"
Walter gazed at her in open admiration for a moment.
"Nan, you're a brick!" he cried.