CHAPTER XIX Tania Howls
This startling announcement held them all speechless. They had completelyoverlooked its significance. And yet it was so obvious. The dark strangerhad evidently come over to the houseboat that night and---- Surely he wasresponsible for Dimitri's disappearance.
Terry wandered over to the combination bed and couch and sank down uponit. She looked in a bewildered fashion at the floor and almostimmediately was galvanized into action. At her feet lay a white paper;something they had not noticed before. She snatched it up and spread itout on her knee. It was part of an envelope torn partly across andlengthwise. Written on it in ordinary blue ink was this:
_Ser_ _Ninth S_ _New Y_
"Look!" excitedly exclaimed Terry. "Here's part of an address!"
They all crowded close to see, and Chief Reilly, as befitted one in hisstation, held out his hand for the paper. Terry meekly gave it to him.
"You're right!" he exclaimed and turned the paper over. Then, as thesurprised girls watched, he drew out from the inside of the envelope asecond small piece of paper. "This seems to be some kind of a map," heannounced, turning it around in an effort to decide which was the top.
"Let's see!" Arden asked. The chief gave it to her. "It is a map!" sheagreed, "and it shows the road from the city and the branch one to thevillage. See, it has part of the word Oceanedge."
"Perhaps we can find the rest of it," Sim suggested. But a most carefulsearch failed to reveal more of the paper.
"Olga dropped that!" Arden announced suddenly. "I remember seeing it fallfrom her bag, but I was too stupid to do anything about it."
"Oh, no, Arden," Terry said. "If you had noticed it and called it to herattention, she would have picked it up again. As it is now, we'rereasonably sure she knew the way to the _Merry Jane_ all the while,though she tried to make us believe she didn't."
"And to think we let her go without even finding out her name or who shewas," Sim moaned.
"Now I'm sure there's something queer about Dimitri being away," Ardensaid convincingly. "Why should Olga pretend to be ignorant about theroad? Why didn't she worry about Dimitri? How did she know about thesnuffbox? She went straight to the cupboard as if to get it."
"You girls may have stumbled on something at that!" the chief exclaimedwith a faint note of admiration in his voice. "Yes, indeed!"
They stood in the untidy living room wondering what might be the solutionto all this mystery. Tania rubbed against Sim's slim legs. The girlgently pulled the silky ears, something forming in her mind.
"I've got an idea!" Sim cried out. "Perhaps Tania could trace Dimitri ifshe had something of his to sniff at. After all, she's a wolfhound, andthe hound part of her name must mean that she can trace missing persons."
"We can try," Arden admitted. Somehow, despite the chief's presence, thegirls regarded the "case" as their own and did not dream of consultinghim on matters such as this one.
Momentarily the discovery of the piece of letter and the map wasforgotten in the excitement of the new suggestion. Sim found a batteredold felt hat and held it before Tania's nose.
The dog sniffed at it disdainfully and then sat back on her hauncheslooking at Sim.
"Go find him!" Sim urged. "Find Dimitri!"
The tone of her voice may have done it, or else it was a game of dog andplayed before, for she sprang up again and dashed toward the door.Standing on her hind legs and pushing with her forepaws, she opened it,for it was not fully latched.
Tania galloped down to the water edge and ran back and forth excitedly,her nose to the ground. The cat-tails in the marsh bent before the strongwind, which whistled eerily through the tall sedge grass. As is usualwith nor'easters, the rain had temporarily ceased again, and theafternoon sky seemed a little brighter. Tania turned to lookquestioningly at the girls as she raced back and forth along the littlestrip of ground. At last she stopped and, sitting down, facing thestorm-swept bay, she howled mournfully.
"Tania!" Arden called. The dog came slowly to her, tail between her legs,a picture of despair.
"What does that mean?" Terry asked of Reilly. She did not dare tointerpret the performance for herself. "Do you think he mayhave--drowned?"
"Naw," Rufus Reilly replied scornfully. "It probably don't mean a thing.That dog couldn't follow no scent in the wet weather. Just the same," hecontinued wisely, "this here is a mysterious case, all right, all right!I'm glad you called me in. It's the first time I've had any real work todo in years. Now, what in thunder did I do with that paper? I've got tostudy it a bit." He began to search in his numerous pockets.
"Here it is, Mr. Reilly," Arden said handing it to him. "You let me lookat it."
"Oh, yes, so I did! Well, I guess there's not much we can do around here,is there?" he asked the girls. "Out of sight makes the mare go." Another,of his silly, joking proverbs.
They shook their heads silently. Arden took Tania back to the houseboatagain and shut her inside. Food and water had been left for her. Then,after a quick look around, they all left.
"I'll work on the case," Rufus Reilly announced as he climbed into hiscar, "and let you know about it sometime tomorrow. Don't worry, though.It'll all come out in the wash." And chuckling at his poor joke he droveaway in the early twilight.