They hardly knew whether to be angry or to laugh at the woman’s blunt frankness.  But Roy struck in with a question: 

“Wasn’t Mr. Mortlake, accompanied by Harding, out here last night?”

“Why, yes,” said the woman, with perfect candor.  “They stayed quite a while.  Harding hed some business with Ike, an’——­”

“An’ Gene Mortlake said he’d like ter hev a look at yer aeroplane.  Yer know he’s in thet thar business hisself,” volunteered Ike confidentially.

Peggy felt as if she could have groaned aloud.  Roy’s fears, earlier confided to her, seemed to have been based on a true presentiment.  The blue-jowled Mortlake had undoubtedly improved his opportunity to study the Golden Butterfly at close range.  The farmer’s next words confirmed her.

“Reckon he was powerful interested, too,” the farmer went on, “fer he made a lot uv ther nicest droorings you ever seen, an’—­why, what’s the trouble?”

For Roy, hardly knowing what he intended to do, had jumped from the machine and was sprinting toward the Harding car.  But, as he neared it, the old financier, who with Mortlake was already seated in the tonneau, spoke a word in the chauffeur’s ear, and the machine dashed off, leaving Roy enraged and nonplussed.

“Too bad, Roy,” breathed Peggy, as, rather crestfallen, the lad returned.

“Oh, I don’t know, Sis.  Even if they hadn’t sneaked off like that, and I’d caught the machine, I guess I’d have been like the dog that chased the train.  I wouldn’t have known what to do with it when I got it.”

“But Roy, their flight confirms their guilt!”

“I know, Sis, but what possible way have we to prove it?  The rascals have covered up their tracks cleverly.”

A sudden thought struck Peggy, and she turned to the farmer.

“Did any of those bills have an identifying mark on it?” she asked.

The farmer shook his head.  But Mrs. Galloway had a better memory.

“Why, yes, Ike,” she exclaimed; “that twenty-dollar-bill you got frum Si.  Giddens fer ther Baldwins.  I re’klect thet it hed a big round O in red ink marked on ther back uv it.  It was a bit rubbed out, an’ hard ter see, but ef you knew it wuz thar an’ luked fer it, you could see it plain enough.”

After inquiring about the baby, whose thankful mother declared it to be as well as ever, Roy and Jimsy dragged out the Golden Butterfly and boarded it.  It had been arranged that the two girls were to spin back to town in the car, the aeroplane following them as closely as possible from above.

As they chugged out of the farm-yard gate and on to the rough road, Peggy’s thoughts kept time to the rhythmic pulsations of the motor: 

“A-twenty-dollar-bill-with-a-red-round-O. 
A-twenty-dollar-bill-with-a-red-round-O.”

CHAPTER VIII.

MR. MORTLAKE LOSES SOME DRAWINGS.