Part 13

Mr. Pracht threw open the door of a room at the end of the hall, and stood aside for Tessie to enter. She hesitated for the room was dark. It seemed to have no light but from the open door, and she could see nothing in it but shadows.

"Ka-kee-ta?" she called from the threshold. "Ka-kee-ta, are you there?" She was almost sure that Ka-kee-ta was not there, but before she could say so, she was pushed over the threshold and into the darkened room. The door slammed behind her.

"You will stay there until you agree to give up your rights to the Sunshine Islands!" Mr. Pracht called through the door. "Your rights to the islands and the Tear of God! And the sooner you agree the better. Sharks have sharp teeth, you know!"

XX

The afternoon papers carried the story of the mysterious disappearance of Queen Teresa and her bodyguard, but strangely enough, there was very little in the story about the Evergreen. Indeed the store was merely mentioned in the closing paragraph which reminded Waloo where Queen Teresa had been found.

Granny had been interviewed, and she had tearfully told of the appearance of a white-headed, big-nosed, fat man who had wanted to buy the Sunshine Islands, and who had threatened the queen with all sorts of barbarous cruelties if she did not abdicate at once. Granny made no bones about telling the press what she knew of Frederic Pracht, which was little, and what she thought of him, which was much.

"I don't believe the Sons of Sunshine have anything to do with this," she insisted. "I think it was all that Pracht man. He stole the marriage license of her father and mother, and now he's stolen her. I know he has!"

"Be careful, Granny," cautioned Joe with a worried frown. "You don't want to say anything that will make it worse for Tess."

"No, I don't!" choked Granny. "But I think people should know the truth. I'm not as pleased with this queen business as I was, Joe. I used to think it was grand to be a queen, and there are parts of it that are pleasant, I must say, but there are other parts that I don't hold with at all. I don't see how Pete stood it all alone, away off there in the Pacific Ocean. I've just about made up my mind that Tessie shan't ever go there. She's too little and helpless. What could she do, if those savages should turn against her? You don't think any one would hurt little Tessie, do you, Joe? She's all right, isn't she?" And she went closer to Joe and peered into his face so that her eyes, as well as her ears, could tell her what Joe thought. "You'll find her for me, won't you, Joe?"

"Sure, we'll find her!" declared Joe, with far more confidence than he felt. "The police--every officer in Waloo!--is trying to find her!"

"I'll bet the Boy Scouts can find her!" bragged Johnny, who was thrilled to the very marrow to think that his sister--his own sister who was a queen--had been kidnaped. Gee whizz! what would the fellows say!

Joe gave a start and looked at Johnny. "Thunder!" he said slowly, and then he added more quickly, "Johnny, I believe you've said something! Who's at the head of your Scouts?"

"We got a Scoutmaster for every troop," boasted Johnny, but Joe did not wait for him to finish. Joe was at the telephone impatiently asking Central for heaven's sake to give him the number he wanted, and not half a dozen numbers he couldn't use.

In an incredibly short time, each Scoutmaster in the city had been asked to have the boys in his troop help find the missing queen of the Sunshine Islands.

"Your boys have been taught to observe," Joe eagerly told the Scoutmasters. "Perhaps one of them saw the car which carried off Miss Gilfooly." Joe never could speak of Tessie as Queen Teresa. It was too ridiculous, and then he did not believe in queens. "The number is 13,023. Just get in touch with your Scouts, and ask them if they have seen it. I know it's just a chance, but Waloo is so big and Miss Gilfooly is so little that we have to snatch at every chance. Her brother is a Scout, you know," he added, while Johnny stood beside him all puffed with pride.

"We'll do our best!" promised the Scoutmasters. "And our boys are all over town. If one of them saw the car, I'm sure he'll report at once. Sorry about the queen. She seemed a nice little girl!"

"She is a nice little girl!" declared Joe, with considerable emphasis.

"You'll find her all right," prophesied the Scoutmaster. "Queens can't be kidnaped in this country."

"Miss Gilfooly was kidnaped!" Joe reminded him curtly. "If you hear anything, call me up at once, at the Waloo!"

He did not feel quite as confident as the Scoutmaster, as he hung up the receiver, but he nodded encouragingly to Granny.

"They'll find her," he said.

"I'm sure I hope so," wailed Granny. "Poor little Tessie! I never should have allowed her to be a queen! I might have known there would be trouble! Queens aren't as fashionable as they were."

"No," agreed Joe. "They aren't. Gee whizz, Granny!" He jumped to his feet and stared down at Granny. "Where do you suppose Tessie is? And Ka-kee-ta? I'd like to ring old Kingley's neck!" he said fiercely.

Granny stumbled to her feet and stared at him. "What has he got to do with it?" she said quickly. "What has Mr. Kingley got to do with Tessie's being kidnaped, Joe?" She caught his arm and held it tight as she questioned him.

"That," Joe told her with a frown, "is something I'm going to find out."

"But there must be something that makes you think he had a hand in it?" insisted Granny, clinging to his arm.

"Nothing definite," scowled Joe. "But it was his car that carried Tessie away!"

Granny clutched his arm tighter and shook him. "You don't think Mr. Bill had a hand in it too, Joe?" she cried shrilly. "You don't blame Mr. Bill too, do you?"

"No!" Joe shook his head. He did not see how Mr. Bill could be blamed. Mr. Bill had been working untiringly to find a clue which would lead him to Tessie. He had sworn a mighty oath that he would not close his eyes until he found Tessie. "No," Joe told Granny, "I don't think Bill Kingley knows any more than I do."

"Oh!" Granny released Joe's arm and dropped into a chair. "I thought perhaps you might mean that Tessie had eloped with Mr. Bill, and his father knew about it. I thought that was what you might mean when you said you'd like to wring old Mr. Kingley's neck."

"No, I didn't mean that!" But Joe did not tell her what he did mean. He just stood and stared at the telephone, as if he would force it to ring and tell him where Tessie was.

Granny threw her handkerchief over her face and broke into loud lamentations. Johnny ran to her.

"Don't you cry, Granny! Don't you cry! The Scouts'll find Tessie all right! I wish you'd let me go and help them!"

Granny put her arms around him tight. "No, you can't go, Johnny!" she sobbed. "You can't go! The Sons of Sunshine might take you, too. You stay here with me!"

"It's dreadful!" Norah Lee told Joe. Norah's face was white and anxious, and her voice shook. "If you only knew where to look!"

"That's it!" groaned Joe. "We haven't any idea where to look! It's worse than a needle in a haystack! She might be anywhere!"

"Poor little queen!" sighed Norah. "You know, Joe, there have been moments when I've envied her. I know it was silly, but I did! It was so romantic, you know, and old Mr. Kingley and everybody made such a fuss over her. The world just seemed to center around Tessie Gilfooly. The rest of us weren't there at all. We all envied her!"

"You can't envy her now!" Joe had nothing but scorn for one who envied a queen. He looked oddly at Norah. He could not see why Norah should envy any girl.

"No, we can't envy her now. I'm awfully sorry for you, Joe," she said after a moment. "You must be nearly crazy!"

"It's not knowing where she is," Joe said simply. "And when you think what savage brutes those Sunshine Sons really are, it's enough to make us all crazy!"

"Poor old Joe!" And Norah put her hand on his and squeezed his fingers with friendly sympathy. "Poor old Joe!"

"I'm not any good at all," frowned Joe. "That's what takes the starch out of a fellow. I don't know what to do! Bill Kingley is running around town like a mad dog, but he isn't getting anywhere. We aren't any of us as helpful as Johnny here."

Johnny raised his head from Granny's shoulder. "The Boy Scouts'll help!" he insisted. "You just see!"

At almost that very moment Charlie Deakin, the young Scoutmaster of Beaver Troop in Northeast Waloo, was going home in the early twilight. He had been thrilled to his heels when Joe called him to the telephone, and asked him to help find Queen Teresa. He had been interested in the queen ever since he read the first story in the _Gazette_. He had gone to the sale in the Evergreen basement for the benefit of the Sunshine Island's shoe fund, and had bought an aluminum stewpan which he had given to his mother, to her undying amazement. He often had seen Tessie driving with her bodyguard and had admired both of them immensely. And now the queen had been kidnaped! He could not believe that any one would be so dastardly as to kidnap such a charming little girl. But if any one had, he would like to find her. He would give everything he had in the world to find her. And as he went home in the early twilight, he considered several plans for calling his troop together, and setting the boys to the task so that they really would find Queen Teresa. At the corner he met Neddie Black, who was an ardent young Scout.

"Hello, Ned!" called Charlie. "I'm glad I met you! I've work for you to do! What's that in your hand?" For from Neddie's fingers dangled a beaded bag, something no Scout would carry.

"I picked it up in the street," explained Neddie, "but I can't find the owner. I thought it belonged to a girl who went into that red-brick house, but no one answered when I rang the bell. There is a dollar and seventy-five cents in it, a vanity case, a handkerchief, a pencil, a lot of samples, some pieces out of the newspaper, a veil, three chocolates and a piece of paper. See!" And he showed Charlie a card on which several words were scribbled.

"'Talcum powder,'" read Charlie Deakin. "'Frederick O'Brien's South Sea Island book!'" His voice rose excitedly. "'Insect powder.' 'Cocoanut oil for Ka-kee-ta!' Where did you find this, Ned?" He gave Ned a little shake, as he questioned him eagerly.

Ned told him that he had been playing ball with a bunch of fellows in the vacant lot over there--he nodded in the direction of the red-brick house--and a limousine had driven up to the curb. Their ball had rolled under the car--the license number was 13,023--Neddie proudly remembered, and he had run to pick it up and had found the purse.

"A girl got out of the car. I supposed it belonged to her. But when I rang the bell, nobody came to the door. The car had gone away, so I put the bag in my pocket. Whose is it, Mr. Deakin, do you know?"

"Neddie Black!" exclaimed Charlie, his voice shaking with excitement. "You go and sit on that curb!" he pointed to the curb in front of the red brick house. "And if any one comes out of that house, you yell as if you were being killed. I have to telephone!" He looked wildly about for a telephone.

"What is it, Mr. Deakin?" begged Neddie, pulling his sleeve. "What is it?" He knew it was something, because Mr. Deakin was so excited and so breathless. He felt a little tingle of excitement himself.

"It means we have a clue to Queen Teresa!" declared Charlie triumphantly. "I'll go in here and telephone, and if you see any one come out of that house, you yell. Gee whizz! Wouldn't it be great if we were to find the Queen! Just suppose she is in the house now!" He stared at the house. "I believe I'll ring the bell and see!"

"Nobody answers the bell!" Neddie told him. "I rang and rang and nobody came. I'll sit here, Mr. Deakin, and play ball while you telephone, and if anybody comes out, I'll yell like sixty. You go and telephone!"

"Well--" Charlie hesitated. He hated to turn his back on the red brick house for fear some one would come out, but he really could do nothing alone. He was not even sure that the little bag belonged to the queen, although he thought it did. The memorandum which mentioned insect powder, Ka-kee-ta, and cocoanut oil should be proof enough for anybody. No one but Queen Teresa would be buying cocoanut oil for Ka-kee-ta. Of course, the bag belonged to the Queen! And Neddie had found it in front of that house, and so the Queen must be in the house. He would telephone to Joe, and when Joe came with the police, he would go with them and find the Queen. And while he telephoned, the Boy Scout would be on guard.

"Keep your eyes and ears open, Neddie," he cautioned as he turned toward the house on his left. "Don't let anything get by you!"

"You bet!" promised Neddie confidently. He threw his ball into the air and caught it, and then bounced it up and down until it led him in front of the red brick house. "I'll keep my eyes and ears wide open," he told himself proudly. "I bet it'll be a good deed if I find a Queen!"

XXI

Tessie had been thrust into the darkened room with such force that she staggered and would have fallen if her hand had not touched the twisted spindles of an old bed. She clutched the footboard and clung to it, trembling and breathless.

"All you have to do is to give up your rights to the Sunshine Islands and the Tear of God," called Mr. Pracht from the hall. "Just pound on the door when you've made up your mind, and I'll let you out."

But Tessie said never a word. She just clutched the twisted spindles harder. When she heard Mr. Pracht turn the key in the lock and go down the stairs, she screamed. The cry was involuntary and quickly smothered by her hand, for Tessie remembered that the Gilfoolys were afraid of nothing. Granny had said so. But Tessie was quiveringly afraid that Granny was wrong, for Tessie could have put her finger on a Gilfooly who was afraid--shiveringly afraid--of the darkened room and of white-headed Frederic Pracht, who was on the other side of the door.

What would he do to her if she refused to give up her islands and the Tear of God? Of course she would refuse, for in her veins was that warm quick blood of the Gilfoolys, which had kept her Uncle Pete on the throne of the Sunshine Islands for almost twenty years. No matter what Mr. Pracht and the Sons of Sunshine did to her, Tessie vowed she would not give up her islands nor the Tear of God. They were hers and a Gilfooly kept what was his.

But it was a fearsome task to be a queen and a Gilfooly, as she stood there in the darkened room. Her lip quivered, and her breath came in quick sobbing gasps. What a fool she had been to allow the Sons of Sunshine to kidnap her! She knew better than to get in cars driven by strange chauffeurs. But the car she had entered had been the Kingley car! She never would have taken a strange car. And Mr. Kingley had nothing to do with the Sons of Sunshine. It was ridiculous to think even for a moment that he had. She trusted him implicitly. He had been so kind and helpful, and Mr. Pracht had been anything but kind and helpful. She was afraid of Mr. Pracht, afraid of his hard little eyes, and the cruel twist of his mouth and his cold, contemptuous voice. She was afraid of him, or she would have been afraid of him if she hadn't been a Gilfooly.

And she hated him! If she only could wake up and find that this was all a dream, that she was not a queen, that she never had been a queen, and that she was only a salesgirl in the Evergreen again. She shivered as she thought longingly of that safe nook behind the aluminum in the basement of the Evergreen. Joe Cary had told her that queens had their troubles, but she had laughed at him. She had preferred to listen to Mr. Bill, who told her how beautiful and sweet queens were, and how much to be envied. He would find her, of course. Mr. Bill would be sure to find her. As soon as he heard that she had not returned to the hotel, he would take his hat and find her. Mr. Bill was so strong and so brave. She felt stronger and braver herself as she remembered how strong and brave Mr. Bill was. She released the spindles and walked around to sit on the side of the bed and look about the room.

It was big and square and dark. Funny there was no window. Here was the bed, and over there against the wall was an old washstand and a huge wardrobe, and against the other wall was an old-fashioned bureau. In the fourth wall was the door by which she had entered, and above it was the transom, which allowed a little light to filter into the room. Tessie looked at that transom. Of course she could push the washstand to the door and climb up and slip through the transom, but Mr. Pracht would catch her before she had dropped down on the other side. The transom, encouraging as it looked, was of absolutely no use as a means of escape unless Mr. Pracht left the house, and Tessie did not think he would do that. Perhaps in the middle of the night if she thought that Mr. Pracht would be asleep-- But then there might be one of the Sons of Sunshine on guard! Tessie did not believe for a second that a savage, even a cannibal Sunshine Son, would ever really hurt her, but she did think that he might do something very unpleasant, and she wanted to avoid him as long as possible.

She had meant to be such a good queen, she thought with a little choking hiccup. It wasn't fair for the Sons of Sunshine to object to her before they knew what kind of a queen she would make! She meant to be simple and honest, to follow Madame Cabot's rule for queens, to be a good queen and now--. She bit her lip and pressed her hand hard against her eyes to keep back the tears. It wasn't fair!

It was funny that there was no window in such a big room. How could any one see to do her hair at that old bureau? There was a gas jet beside the bureau, but Tessie could not find any matches. It was funny that there was no window. And how old-fashioned the house was to have gas instead of electricity.

From the street, in the rear of the house, she could hear the faint rumble and squeak of a street car as it passed, and it made her realize how unbelievable the situation was. The air was close and heavy. How could any one stay in a close, airless room? She would suffocate. Was that why Mr. Pracht had locked her in the windowless room, so that she would suffocate, and the Sons of Sunshine could do as they pleased with her islands? Well, she would show him! She wouldn't suffocate! She just would not suffocate and let Mr. Pracht sell her islands to the Japanese. She wouldn't do it! But it was funny there wasn't a window.

She jumped up suddenly and crossed the room to peer behind the shabby bureau. It stood close against the wall, and she pulled at it impatiently. There was a squeak. It sounded like the very crack of doom to Tessie's frightened ears. She held her breath as she waited for Mr. Pracht to burst in and ask what she thought she was doing. But when there was no sign from Mr. Pracht, she pulled at the bureau again, waiting until the passing street car made a noise outside which might cover the noise on the inside. At last she had the bureau far enough from the wall to look behind it. Of course there was a window. She looked at it triumphantly.

"I thought so!" she said, as she dusted her hands and pushed herself behind the bureau, so that she could look out of the grimy glass into the dusky twilight.

Below the window was the roof of a small porch and beyond that was a yard inclosed with a high board fence. If she could open the window, drop on the porch, then to the ground and climb the fence, she could escape from Mr. Pracht and the Sons of Sunshine, and then-- She was almost sorry that she would still be a queen even if she did escape from Mr. Pracht. She thought again almost regretfully of her old place at the Evergreen. No one had ever kidnaped her or threatened her when she was selling aluminum. She had been scolded, but every one said Mr. Walker's bark was far worse than his bite.

If she could only open this grimy window. The frame stuck tight. She tried again, tugging at it with all of her might, and when she failed to move it the tears rushed to her eyes. It was so tantalizing to see a way of escape and not be able to use it. She pushed and tugged until at last the frame shot up with an unexpectedness which almost threw her out of the window. She drew in a deep breath of the fresh evening air, and felt ready for anything. There really was nothing like fresh air to give a girl courage.

She looked down on the roof of the little porch. It seemed farther away than it had when the window was closed. For all she knew Mr. Pracht might be standing under it to catch her when she slipped down, but there was an equal chance that he wasn't there, and she would have to take the chance. She took time to bless Joe Cary and thank him before she put her feet over the sill. If it hadn't been for Joe she never in the world would have gone to the Y. W. C. A. gymnasium class and trained her muscles to do what they were told. She clung to the sill for a breathless second and then dropped. The silk belt of her frock caught on a nail, but the weight of her body tore it loose. The porch roof creaked when she struck it, but the noise was no louder, loud as it sounded in Tessie's anxious ears, than would have been made by a marauding cat.

Tessie crouched low and waited. There was not another sound. So Mr. Pracht was not on the porch, and he had not heard her. She slid quickly down a post and dashed across the yard like a shadow. Her trained muscles made easy work of the high board fence, and in a flash she was on the other side, in a narrow street, and free. She straightened herself and drew a long breath. It was unbelievable that she had escaped so easily. But she had escaped. She grinned triumphantly. She had skinned her elbows and scratched her face, but such minor casualties were of no account. She felt for the Tear of God. It was safe in the bag hanging from her waist. Suddenly she stopped grinning triumphantly, and began to cry. Now that she was free, she could realize how frightened she had been, even if she was a fearless Gilfooly.

What should she do? Where should she go? Not back to the hotel. The Sons of Sunshine would look for her there and would kidnap her again. And she had had enough of kidnaping. A little of that sort of thing was far more than enough. Where could she go and hide herself from Mr. Pracht until Mr. Marvin would make it safe for her to be found? She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief to dry her tears. This was no time to cry. There was a little purse in her pocket as well as a handkerchief, a gay little affair of red leather, and in it was a key. Tessie usually carried the little purse in her beaded bag, but her beaded bag had been so full that morning that she had taken it out and stuffed it into her pocket.

She looked at it now with a little gasp. She had carried the key in that little purse just--well, just because! She had never expected to use it again but now--