Missing at Marshlands

  CHAPTER XXII The Policewoman

  "I found it," Melissa replied without hesitating.

  "How lucky! Where?" Arden continued.

  "On the beach," Melissa went on. Then she pushed past the girls andentered the store.

  Arden did not question her further, fearing to make the girl suspicious.But on the way home the three discussed the remarkable coincidence.

  "Now, where on earth could Melissa have found that pin?" Sim asked. "Ofcourse, it belonged to Dimitri, and I don't for a minute believe shefound it on the beach."

  "Nor I," Arden agreed. "My guess is that, if she found it at all, shefound it on the houseboat. And that means she was there before we were,because we went over it pretty thoroughly by ourselves, and the chiefdidn't miss anything when he came with us."

  "I suppose we ought to ask if he found out anything, just to keep upappearances," Terry suggested. "What do you think, girls?"

  "Oh, of course, it would never do to let him think we had forgotten abouthim. We can stop in now and ask how the case is coming," Arden replied."But we don't need to mention the telegram."

  The chief, when they pulled up by the garage, crawled out from under acar. With a comical show of secrecy he came toward them, glancing overhis shoulder as he came.

  "I ain't had a chance to do nothing yet," he said, wiping some grease offhis hands. "My car broke down. But I'm a-studyin' it, and I'll let youknow this afternoon. You heard anything?"

  Arden hesitated before replying. After all, she had _heard_ nothing. Thatthey had an answer to their telegram was just a bit of luck, and shethought it just as well if the chief did not know of it.

  "No," she answered. "We haven't heard a thing."

  "Well, don't worry," Reilly said, smiling. "Remember, a murderer alwaysreturns to the scene of his crime."

  "And you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," Sim flung back athim. He did so annoy her! Imagine "studyin' it." What good would that do,and what nonsense was that about a murderer?

  "That's right!" chuckled Reilly. "You know, young ladies, the wholetrouble with cases of this kind is haste. Haste is what gums things up.Go slowly, and you have much better results. You ain't told anyone intown, have you? These here people are powerful talkers."

  "Not a soul, Mr. Reilly," Arden assured him.

  "You keep on studying it and let us know when you learn something, willyou?" suggested Sim.

  "'Deed I will, and I'll have some news soon, sure. In the meantime don'tforget. Look before you leap," the chief said, smiling.

  "Yes," Sim said as the car pulled away, "that's good advice, and 'he whohesitates is lost' is good, too."

  Reilly looked after them with a puzzled expression on his face. Was thatlittle snip making fun of him? Then he shrugged and crawled back underthe car he was trying to fix.

  "Sim, you cheerful idiot, were you trying to make him mad?" Terry askedas they drove home.

  "No, but he annoyed me so I couldn't help it. I don't believe he'll be abit of good. I know more about mysteries than he does."

  "But it wouldn't do to antagonize him. After all, he's the strong arm ofthe law down here," Arden reminded her.

  "Not such a very strong arm, in my opinion," Sim answered, and sheslipped deeper down in the car seat.

  "Oh, well, don't let's argue," Terry soothed. "We've got too much tothink about now."

  Sim was instantly alert again. "I remember distinctly seeing that pin inDimitri's tie the day he showed us the snuffbox. Melissa knows more thanwe think," she said.

  "We don't know very much when you come right down to it," Arden remindedher. "If a real detective questioned us, there's very little we couldtell him."

  "How long will it take that Serge Uzlov to get down?" Sim asked of no onein particular. "I wish he'd take a plane."

  "There's no place here at Marshlands for a plane to alight," Terryanswered. "Unless he took a seaplane and landed on the bay. Think whatexcitement that would cause!"

  "I suppose so," Sim admitted as they turned in the driveway. "We'll justhave to wait. I won't have a fingernail left by evening. I chewed themnearly all off waiting for that phone call."

  Terry whistled for her mother. At the sound of that shrill call, Mrs.Landry, try as she did to appear rather uninterested in the wholebaffling case, came out of the house quickly and listened with greatinterest to the story of the message.

  "And, Mother," Terry finished, "as we left the store we met Melissacoming in, and she was wearing a tie pin of Dimitri's. What do you thinkof that?"

  "Did you say anything about it?" Mrs. Landry asked.

  "We didn't let her know we recognized it, and she said she found it onthe beach," Terry answered.

  "Perhaps she did. Surely you don't think Melissa had anything to do withall this?" Mrs. Landry questioned.

  "That's just it. We don't know _who_ had anything to do with it," Terrymoaned.

  "Well," Sim stated firmly, "I'll feel better when that man from New Yorkgets here. I'll bet he knows something."

  The others had nothing to say to that, and they all went indoors forluncheon.

  The meal was nearly finished when there was a knock at the front door.Bells in seashore cottages never seem to ring. They may at the beginningof the season, but almost always, before it ends, there appears over thepush button a little note stating: "Please knock."

  Now, in answer to that invitation, a knock sounded.

  "I'll go," said Ida, who had just brought in the dessert.

  The three girls glanced eagerly at one another.

  Was it Serge?

  But in another moment they knew it was not, for they heard the murmuringof a woman's voice talking to the maid. Presently Ida came back, afrightened look on her face, to announce:

  "It's a policewoman."

  "A policewoman!" exclaimed Mrs. Landry. "Are you sure, Ida?"

  "Oh, yes'm. I've seen 'em in New York. They all dress the same, and theyhave a queer look on their face, and they wear heavy shoes. It's apolicewoman all right."

  "But what does she want?" Terry asked.

  "Melissa Clayton," said Ida.

  "Oh!" murmured Arden. "If they arrest that poor child----"

  "Perhaps we'd better have this policewoman in," suggested Mrs. Landry.

  "Oh, yes!" said Sim. "We've got to find out about this. Perhaps she mayknow something about Dimitri."