CHAPTER XIV. COULD IT BE OLGA?
It was a beautiful evening, this of Stella Latham's birthdayparty. It was not often that the climate gave the people ofGreensboro, this early in the season, such a soft and temperatenight.
There was no moon, but the stars plentifully besprinkled theheavens, and their light bathed the area surrounding the Lathamhouse, beyond the radiance of the Japanese lanterns, sufficientlyfor the three girls to see objects at some distance.
Before they reached the back door of the farmhouse, Amy criedaloud:
"Oh, girls! What's that? A ghost?"
"Ghost your granny!" exclaimed Stella. "That is somebody runningalong the hedge in a white skirt."
"It is a woman or a girl," Janice agreed, staring at the rapidlymoving figure. "Is there a path there?"
"That is the path to one tenant house. Wait till I ask Anna, thecook."
She hurried to the back door, and her two friends, waiting at thepasture-lane bars, heard her ask if the woman who had broken thedish had gone.
"The awkward thing!" exclaimed Anna, the cook. "She's just thisminute left."
"What is her name, Anna?" asked Stella, knowing that Janice wasdeeply interested.
"I don't know, Miss. Some outlandish Swedish name."
"Olga?"
"Humph! Maybe!"
"Olga Cedarstrom?"
"Goodness me! Don't ask me what else besides 'Olga' she isnamed," said the irritable cook, "for I couldn't tell you. Icouldn't tell you my own name, scarcely, to-night. I'm thatflurried."
Hearing all this plainly, Janice murmured to Amy: "I wish I daredfollow her. Suppose it should be Olga?"
"Well, she is going right to that small house that belongs to Mr.Latham. Stella says she lives there, whoever she is."
Just then a figure popped up beside them. Gummy's cheerful voicedemanded:
"What's the trouble, girls?"
"Oh!" cried Janice.
"Goodness!" said the boy's sister. "How you scare one, Gummy!Why, it isn't near time to go home."
"I got off earlier than I expected. So I came out and have beenhanging around at the back here for half an hour."
"Oh. Gummy! did you see that woman?" Janice asked, seizing hisjacket sleeve.
"What woman?"
"See there?' cried his sister, pointing. "That white thing goingover the hill."
"Yes, I saw her. She came out of the kitchen, and she wascrying. They had a row in there."
"Oh, Gummy! What did she look like?" murmured Janice.
"Yes, Gummy, tell us quick!" urged his sister.
"I tell you she was crying, and she had her handkerchief up toher face. So I did not see much of it. But her hair was 'lassescolor, and she had it bobbed back so tight that I guess shecouldn't shut her eyes until she undid it," chuckled Gummy.
"Oh, Amy!" ejaculated Janice, with clasped hands, "that is theway Olga used to do her hair."
"Not Olga, the Swede, who robbed you?" demanded the boy,interested at once.
"Yes. It might be Olga. If you had only seen her face--"
"I'll see her face all right," declared Gummy, starting off."I'll tell you just where she goes and what she looks like.Don't you girls go home without me."
He was gone on the track of the flying woman like a dart. He wasout of sight, being in dark garments, before Stella came backfrom the kitchen door.
"Don't tell her about Gummy," whispered Amy quickly. "She'llthink, maybe, that he's been hanging around like those strangeboys over the fence in front."
"Not a word," agreed Janice, smiling. "I wouldn't give Gummyaway."
"There isn't anybody in the kitchen who knows that girl verywell," said Stella, who was really showing herself interested inJanice Day's trouble. "I asked them all. This girl, Olga, isstaying with Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Johnson has a little baby tocare for and couldn't come to-night. So this friend of hers cameup to help. And she helped all right!" concluded Stella, withemphasis. "That dish is in a thousand pieces."
"Isn't it too bad?" said Amy, sympathetically.
"It's a mean shame," Stella declared. "I bet she'd steal. You'dbetter come over here tomorrow and find her. I'll bring you backin the auto with me after I go shopping, and we'll ride around byMr. Johnson's house. He's one of father's farmers, you know."
"I'll tell daddy," Janice said, but in some doubt. "I'm awfullymuch obliged to you, Stella. You are real kind."
This pleased Stella Latham. She liked being praised, and as longas kindness did not cost her much of anything, she was glad to bekind.
The entertainment of her boy and girl friends continued gaily,despite the breaking of the big cutglass dish. It was almosteleven o'clock when the party broke up and the guests began toleave, shouting their congratulations to Stella as they went.
Janice and Amy Carringford found Gummy waiting for them at thefront gate.
"Oh, Gummy!" whispered Janice, "did you see her?"
"Sure," declared the boy. "That's what I went after, wasn't it?A sight of the Swedish girl's phisamahogany?"
"Gummy!" remonstrated his sister.
"But was it Olga?" demanded Janice, too deeply interested in thesubject of Olga to be patient with sisterly reproof.
"Oh, say! How can I be sure of that? I never saw her before."
"Tell us all about it, Gummy," urged Janice.
"Why, you see," said the excited boy. "I ran's hard as I couldand I overbrook that girl at the took"
"What? What?" gasped Janice. "Say that again, Gummy."
"Oh--I--"
His sister went off into a gale of laughter. "Oh, Gummy!" shecried, "you 'overbrook' her at the 'took,' did you? Yourtongue's twisted again."
"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed Gummy. "Of course, I mean I overtook herat the brook."
"That's better," giggled Amy. "But you did get awfully 'gummedup,' Gummy, didn't you?"
"Huh!" he snorted.
"He's the most awful boy you ever saw, Janice. He is alwaysgetting twisted in his talk."
"Like the young man in church who asked the girl if he could'occupew a seat in this pie?'"
"Even worse than that," cried Amy, much to her brother's disgust."Why, years ago when we lived in Napsburg, where the twins wereborn, he made an awful mistake--and to our minister, too."
"Aw," objected Gummy, "can't you keep anything to yourself?"
"Go on," urged Janice.
"Now, I say!" again protested the boy.
"Listen, Janice!" giggled Amy. "It's awfully funny. The ministermet Gummy on the street and asked him what we had decided to callthe twins.
"'You know, I expect to christen them, Gumswith,' he said toGummy, 'and I want to be sure to get the names right. What arethey?'
"And what do you suppose Gummy said?"
"I am sure I couldn't guess," Janice declared. "Let's see: thetwins are Sydney and Kate, aren't they?
"That is right," giggled Amy. "But Gummy told the minister wehad decided to call them 'Kidney and Steak'!"
Janice herself was convulsed with laughter at this. Gummy wasannoyed about it.
"Why don't you keep something to yourself once in a while, Amy?"he growled to his sister. "Janice will think I'm a perfectchump."
"Come on now, Gummy," Janice interrupted cheerily. "You arekeeping something to yourself that I very much want to know."
"Oh! About that Swede! Amy knocked it clear out of my head,"declared the boy.
"Well, let us hear about it," urged Janice.
"Why, I overtook the girl at the brook," said Gummy, getting thestatement right this time. "She might be just the girl you arelooking for, from what you told me about her looks. I saw herface plainly when I passed her."
"Where did she go?"
"To that little house at the end of the farm road, just where itopens into the turnpike. Oh, I've seen the place before. Idrove out past there the other day for Mr. Harriman."
"That must be the Johnson's house," Janice said. "That is whatStell
a said the tenant's name was."
"Well, she went in there," said Gummy. "She seemed in a dreadfulhurry. She pounded on the door, and she called to them inSwedish. I waited behind the hedge until she got in and thefamily was quieted down again."
"That's good! It's 'most sure to be Olga, Janice, and you cansee her to-morrow and get your box back--at least, find out whereit is," said Amy encouragingly.
"Well, I'll tell daddy," sighed Janice. "It may be the sameOlga. I hope so. And if she has got my box of treasures--well!I'll forgive her anything if I only get back mother's picture anddaddy's letters."