“I’m quite sure he will come.”

“When?”

“To-morrow.”

“Then I must warn them and try to head him off.  I’m on his side, Dad; don’t forget that.”

“I won’t; and because you’re on his side, Josie, you must let him come and be vindicated, and so clear up this matter for good and all.”

“Poor Mary Louise!  I was thinking of her, not of her grandfather.  Have you considered how a knowledge of the truth will affect her?”

“Yes.  She will be the chief sufferer when her grandfather’s innocence is finally proved.”

“It will break her heart,” said Josie, with a sigh.

“Perhaps not.  She’s mighty fond of her grandfather.  She’ll be glad to have him freed from suspicion and she’ll be sorry—­about the other thing.”

Sarah Judd—­otherwise Josie O’Gorman—­sighed again; but presently she gave a little chuckle of glee.

“Won’t Nan be wild, though, when she finds I’ve beaten her and won the case for Hathaway?”

“Nan won’t mind.  She’s an old hand at the game and has learned to take things as they come.  She’ll be at work upon some other case within a week and will have forgotten that this one ever bothered her.”

“Who is Agatha Lord, and why did they send her here as principal, with Nan as her maid?”

“Agatha is an educated woman who has moved in good society.  The Chief thought she would be more likely to gain the friendship of the Conants than Nan, for poor Nan hasn’t much breeding to boast of.  But she was really the principal, for all that, and Agatha was instructed to report to her and to take her orders.”

“They were both suspicious of me,” said the girl, “but as neither of them had ever set eyes on me before I was able to puzzle them.  On the other hand, I knew who Nan was because I’d seen her with you, which gave me an advantage.  Now, tell me, how’s mother?”

“Pretty chirky, but anxious about you because this is your first case and she feared your judgment wasn’t sufficiently matured.  I told her you’d pull through all right.”

For an hour they sat talking together.  Then Officer O’Gorman kissed his daughter good night and walked back to the Bigbee house.

CHAPTER XXIV

FACING THE TRUTH

Irene was a great comfort to Mary Louise in this hour of trial.  The chair-girl, beneath her gayety of demeanor and lightness of speech, was deeply religious.  Her absolute faith sounded so cheering that death was robbed of much of its horror and her bereaved friend found solace.  Mary Louise was able to talk freely of “Mamma Bee” to Irene, while with Aunt Hannah she rather avoided reference to her mother.

“I’ve always longed to be more with Mamma Bee and to learn to know her better,” she said to her friend; “for, though she was very loving and gentle to me while I was with her, she spent most of her life caring for Gran’pa Jim, and they were away from me so much that I really didn’t get to know Mamma very well.  I think she worried a good deal over Gran’pa’s troubles.  She couldn’t help that, of course, but I always hoped that some day the troubles would be over and we could all live happily together.  And now—­that can never be!”