CHAPTER XXVII
ACCUSATIONS
Their hopes flared high, then burned so low that they were beginning toexchange whispers of despair. When a week had passed, then ten days,they looked at each other hopelessly and each knew what was in theother's thoughts without the exchange of a word. Timmy's "nerves" hadbeen nothing compared to Nickie's "jumpiness," as he called it. Hefairly quailed whenever Devlin's footsteps sounded.
The man kept to his own room, except for three consecutive days when heleft the house just before dusk and returned late at night. At thosetimes, the boys hurried to the attic and fell to work at the windowbars, only to realize at the end of the week, that it would take morethan their inadequate little pot handle to gain freedom.
On Wednesday of the following week, Devlin was plainly angry. The boysknew he was thinking of Frost and they seemed to sense that the man'sunexpected departure was enraging Devlin more and more. He paced thelength of the house, muttering to himself and clenching his big handsuntil his knuckles cracked. This continued throughout the afternoon.
Supper was a disappointment as all the meals had been. Devlin had notagain been so generous as to surprise them with any more of thelunchroom delicacies such as he had brought in on that Sunday night.Meal after meal was the same, a monotony of canned beans, bacon andcrackers.
Skippy had no appetite that night. The smell of bacon made him sick andhe felt that never again in his life would he be able to eat it. Nickiemoped dejectedly over his plate and when he did put anything to hismouth he washed it down quickly with coffee as if he dared not taste it.
He looked at Skippy and shook his head. "If there's two more weeks likethis, kid, you'll need your strength--see. I'm sick, too, but I feel Igotta eat no matter what, so I wash every mouthful down with thisrotten coffee. No matter how rotten coffee is, it's better'n tastin'them blamed beans and bacon."
Skippy was trying out this sound advice when they heard the familiarsound of a car chugging into the clearing. Nickie put down his coffeecup with a bang and before either one of them could make any comment,they heard Devlin rushing out of his room and down the stairway.
He came loping into the kitchen muttering, "Frost--it's Frost," andrushed to one of the windows and looked out.
The boys were at the other window in a second and though the eveningshadows were lengthening, they could see the big, dark car rolling intothe barn. They watched as Frost came out with his short, hoppingstride, and they heard Devlin mumble deep in his throat.
The man made no attempt to go near the door but stood back against thewall and waited. The boys went back to the table and made a pretense ofdrinking their coffee. All the time, however, they too were waiting andthey listened intently as Frost's key clinked against the metal door.
Abruptly his leathern-looking face appeared in the doorway wreathed insmiles. "Howdy!" he was saying breezily. "How----" He caught the insaneglint in Devlin's eyes and stood suddenly still. "Say, you don't lookglad to see me, boss!"
"Did you expect me to?" Devlin's voice boomed through the room.
Frost flushed up to the roots of his colorless hair. His small, shiftyeyes strayed toward the boys, then back to Devlin again. "Oh, if youfeel that way about it--I was thinkin' I was helpin' you out--givin'you a hand...."
"Since when did I ask you to do my thinking for me, eh? Since when didyou give me a hand without being told to?" There was a ring in Devlin'svoice that made his listeners quiver when he added, "Comeupstairs--I've got plenty to say to you!"
The boys had never had any doubt that Devlin was a man of his word. Nowthey were learning that he went far beyond that and gave no quarter toanyone who had taken too much for granted at his expense. And from theterrible wrath with which Devlin shook the house, Frost must have beenaware that he had committed the unforgivable sin in the eyes of hisnefarious employer.
Devlin seemed to have thrown aside all caution in his anger. Hissolemn, terrible voice trailed down the stairs to where the boys werestanding, absorbing it all. Frost, at first, had made a feeble protest,but was soon forced to stand back and listen.
"Boss," he had said, obsequiously, "there ain't no use gettin' sorewhen I only meant to help out. Anyways, it seemed like wastin' timestayin' here and...."
"_Shut up!_"
Devlin's long, determined stride shook the floor with each step hetook. "I didn't make up my mind what to do about those infernal Greekkids. And I had that pest Timmy on my hands while you...."
"Didn't things blow right, Boss?" Frost's voice sounded conciliatory.
Devlin shouted, "Don't remind me of it! I tell you it looks like luckis turning against me. First with Tucker out in Chi and now Timmy--Itell you they're a dead loss! Then I come in here Saturday night almostdead, I'm so tired, and what do I find! You gone on your own hook withthe two Greeks--after me telling you to stay here!"
"But, Boss--I did the job without no trouble and...."
"With that grinning face of yours I suppose you could look the part,eh? Only I've got the face for this business--people don't get wise toa face like mine--they think I'm drowning in grief. But _you_--I wasn'tgoing to let you go through with the Greeks; either one of 'em. Idecided that when I was fooled by that pest of a Timmy. It's riskyenough for me without you going ahead and doing things on your own. Itshows what brains you've got when you couldn't even wait the month atleast."
Frost became sullen and defiant at this challenge. "Oh, yeah?" heparried. "Well, let me tell _you_ somethin', Boss. I was goin' to tellyou when I come in but you ain't give me a chance to get a word in--Ihad brains to wait a month all right, but somethin' happened. We got aroom and I passed the word around we was looking for jobs like you workit. I even give the landlady such a sob story she gives me the dopeherself that we ought to get our names on the dotted line so it wassoft."
"How much?" Devlin inquired almost eagerly.
"A grand each!" came the proud reply. "I made the agent talk me intothat--he said a thousand when I said five hundred."
"_Go on!_"
"I made the first payment Friday, and Saturday morning we went outafter dawn for a fishing trip--not a phoney one, Boss--I meant it real'cause I wanted the low down on how I'd work it when the time was ripe.I knew by then they couldn't swim, but like I say it was a try-out. Itwas a hazy morning and the water was rough and we hadn't got far outwhen that Shorty stands up in the boat to pass something to Biff. Nextthing I know we was in the water and the Greeks was shoutin' theirheads off and the tide was pushin' me down-stream like anything. Icouldn't swim against it and I was lucky to grab the end of the boatthat was floatin' upside down. Anyway, a guy fishin' in near shorehears the racket and comes out. But the Greeks had got it and he waslucky to help me."
"Did they find 'em?" Devlin's question was eager.
"Sure, and say, wasn't I plastered with sympathy at that boardin'house! Things just blew my way. I won't have no trouble gettin' themoney. In three weeks I'm going back and collect. I told 'em out therethat I was comin' East to look for work 'cause the trouble didn't makePittsburgh look so good to me."
"That's better, Frost--I didn't think you had it in you. Those twodownstairs will be off my hands by that time--I'll go out with you."
"I wouldn't take no chances if I was you, Boss. I got today's papers inthe car. They're playin' up on the Delafield kids and they hinted therewas a racket behind it!"
"_What?_" Devlin's heavy foot pounded on the floor.
"Yeah," Frost answered as if he were almost enjoying the telling of it,"one paper says the dicks are hep and some famous detective haspromised to run down the brains of it."
"_Carlton Conne!_" was all Devlin said.
"That's what I thought right away. You know that guy, Boss, so I'd layoff a little. You might get jammed in Pittsburgh. I can collect themtwo G's all right."
"I realize that, Frost," said Devlin coldly. "But trouble or notrouble, I'm going to go to Pittsburgh with _you--understand_?"
The boys could not hear Frost's reply. He might not have voiced hisopinion at all. But Devlin's heavy steps overhead seemed to speakvolumes. Suddenly he hurled a question that made Skippy's heart standstill.
"Frost," he was shouting, "where's that memorandum book of mine, eh?"
The boys sprang into the kitchen. They closed the door noiselesslybehind them and sat down, stunned and hopeless looking.
"Well, it's come, hah?"
Skippy nodded. "Gee whiz, I did forget. We just gotta deny it like weplanned."
"Yeah, but that ain't sayin' Devlin's gonna believe us, kid."
Skippy leaned forward on the table, his eyes blinking thoughtfully."Listen, Nickie, it don't make no difference what he believe, does it?If we don't get help, we'll have to go with him an' take the chancelike we planned. So we should worry about it either way."
Skippy was right. Worrying about it wouldn't help. Devlin and Frostcame downstairs a few minutes later and accused them, but they managedto stick to their guns. That they had taken the ladder seemed to havecaused no suspicion; neither had the boys' frequent trips to the atticrevealed how desperate had been their efforts to loosen the bars.Devlin seemed not to have noticed it.
His mind was on the notebook and his face showed that he would notdismiss the topic easily. "Where is it?" he was saying.
"Say, mister, what do we want with a darn old notebook anyway!" Skippyretorted. "Search us--search our whole room but you won't find it,'cause what would we want with it, huh?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Devlin said, narrowing his eyes. Heturned to Nickie, "I think you picked that lock--what for?"
"Aw, pipe down. Even if I did--what about it, hah? You can see that wedidn't take anything an' if we had, what could we do with it? I guessyou ain't worried that we got any money or anything like that, hah?"
"Hear that, Frost? I guess they're telling the truth and that puts itup to you. You trying to double cross me?"
"Say, I ain't that dumb, Boss," Frost protested. "Maybe you mislaid itor lost it."
"Maybe--and maybe not." Then Devlin turned on his heel and left theroom with Frost hopping after him protesting his innocence. But it wasevident to the boys that Devlin suspected Frost for the dour lookingleader returned soon muttering: "I'll get him yet."