Jean Webster

“ It comprised the clothes-line, half a dozen sheets and the wash-boiler, six jars of jam from the cellar, and some bread and cake from the pantry window, a bundle of stakes for training the tomato plants, and Master Wallace's spelling book (he was having to study through vacation, and he bore the loss with composure) , a Japanese umbrella-holder from the front veranda, a pair of lap-robes from the stable, and last, most uncanny touch of all, the family Bible! ”

“ She kissed him good-bye, and stood on the veranda waving her handkerchief until the carriage was out of sight. Mr. Carter settled himself against the cushions with a sigh.
"What a world this would be without women!" he murmured.
"Yes, sir," Peter agreed gloomily, "an', beggin' yer pardon, what a hell of a world it is with 'em, sir."
The following few days strengthened this opinion. Vittorio's education progressed, while Annie still maintained her attitude of superior aloofness. Her manner was friendly—exactly as friendly to Peter as to any of the other men. ”

“ Peter picked out a secluded table and ordered striped ice-cream. He had thought the place particularly conducive to romance, but Annie was too excited over her first introduction to the glamour of the East to give attention to anything but her surroundings.
"Ain't she wonderful?" Annie whispered, as a Circassian Beauty, in green and gold, trailed across her field of vision.
Peter shrugged in blasé, man-of-the-world fashion.
"'Tis the paint an' powder an' clothes an' lights," he said sceptically. "Out in the daylight, with her own clothes on, she would n't look so different from you." ”

“ Peter had been staring into space only half at tending to their prattle. Bobby jogged his elbow.
"Pay attention, Peter! We 're waiting for orders. You ought to detail two plain-clothes men to watch the gates, and I think it would be well to shadow Vittorio. He's a foreigner, you know; maybe he b'longs to the Black Hand. I should n't wonder if he was planning to blow up the stables. Only," he added, as an afterthought, "it's sort of hard shadowing a man who stands by the hedge all day talking to Annie."
Peter's frown darkened as his gaze sought the rustic bench under the apple tree. ”

“ He called the under-groom, gave him strict orders not to leave the stables alone a minute, and drove on to the cottage to pick up Joe's wife. She packed a basket for the invalid into the back of the cart, and climbed up beside Peter.
"I'm fetching him out something to eat," she explained. "They don't give him nourishment enough for a kitten. A man of Joe's size can't keep up his strength on beef tea and soft-boiled eggs." ”

“ I was n't gone more'n five minutes, an' when I come back I peeked in to see if the baby was all right, an' the carriage was empty! We 've hunted everywhere. He's gone—stolen just like the lap-robes."
Annie buried her head in her arms and commenced sobbing anew. Peter's face reflected the blankness of the others.
"Lord! This is awful! What will its mother be sayin'?"
Annie's sobs increased at this agonizing thought.
"It's them Armenian-lace women," Nora put in. "Master Bobby says they 're gypsies, and are always stealing babies and holding them for ransom." ”

“ After all, the boys and their escapades added to the dull routine of daily life a spice of adventure which most twentieth century households lacked; the entertainment they furnished paid for the trouble they caused. ”

“ He says the local police are blind as bats and what we need are detectives. An' above all, he says, we must not let it get into the papers; his father is awful mad when anything gets into the papers. Leave it to him, he says, and he 'll have the gypsies shadowed."
"This ain't no time for play," growled Peter, whirling toward the house and the telephone. "What's that?" He stopped as his eye lighted upon a vivid sheet of paper lying on the ground.
"It was pinned to the p-pillow," Annie sobbed. ”

“ Master Jerome put forth the suggestion with wide eyes.
"Haunted nothin'," Peter growled. "It was a pretty live ghost that got off with them lap-robes durin' the two minutes the stable was empty."
"They were the old ones," Bobby consoled him. "At least it was kind of him not to take the best ones when they were just as convenient."
"Do you fink it's gypsies?" Master Augustus asked the question with a fearful glance over his shoulder. He had been told that gypsies carried off bad little boys. ”

“ He likes adventures. It's terribly stupid lying all day in that carriage; a little change is good for his health."
Peter shook his captive. "What's the meanin' o' this?" His gesture included the entire interior.
"We 're robbers," said Bobby, stanchly. "I'm Huck Finn, the Red-handed, and Jerome's Tom Sawyer, the Terror of the Plains. When we saw that baby left alone in the carriage, we thought we ought to teach Annie a lesson. We meant to turn into detectives pretty soon and raid this robber den and take the baby back. We were just getting ready to be detectives when you came." ”

“ Peter controlled his features and gravely shook his head.
"I can't say as I do, exactly, but this here paper furnishes a clue. I think p'raps I can find the baby without calling in the p'lice." He faced the others. "Go back to the house and watch out that none o' them gypsy women comes prowlin' around." He waited until they were out of hearing, then he sat down on the bench by Annie. "I 'll find the kid on just one condition—ye 're to let that Dago alone. ”