Part 18 (1/2)
”Yes, she is inside,” Louise replied.
Bowing again, the man presented himself at the front door, hammering it loudly with the bra.s.s knocker.
”Mrs. Marborough will make short work of him,” Penny laughed. ”She's so friendly to visitors!”
Before the girls could walk on to the apple tree, Mrs. Marborough opened the door.
”Mr. b.u.t.terworth?” she asked, without waiting for the man to speak.
”Yes, ma'am.”
”Come in,” invited Mrs. Marborough, her voice impersonal.
The caller stepped across the threshold and the door swung shut.
”Did you see that?” Louise whispered, stunned by the ease with which the man had gained admittance.
”I certainly did!” Penny murmured. ”That fellow--whoever he is--has accomplished something that even Riverview's society ladies couldn't achieve! Maybe I was puzzled before, but now, let me tell you, I'm completely tied in a knot!”
CHAPTER 13 _A SILKEN LADDER_
As Penny approached the school grounds the following morning, she heard her name called. A moment later, Rhoda Wiegand, breathless from running, caught up with her.
”Penny, the most wonderful thing has happened!” she exclaimed.
”Your Texas friends have left town?” the other guessed.
Rhoda shook her head. ”Unfortunately, it's not quite that wonderful.
They're still here. This news is about my brother, Ted. He has a job!”
”Why, that's splendid. Exactly what you wished for yesterday afternoon at the well.”
”Penny, doesn't it seem strange?” Rhoda asked soberly. ”This makes twice my wish has come true. How do you account for it?”
”I suppose your brother could have obtained the job through accident,”
Penny answered. ”That would be the logical explanation.”
”But it all came about in such an unusual way. Judge Harlan saw Ted on the street and liked his appearance. So he sent a note to the Camp asking if he would work as a typist in his office.”
”Ted is accepting?”
”Oh, yes. The pay is splendid for that sort of work. Besides, it will give him a chance to study law, which is his life ambition. Oh, Penny, you can't know how happy I am about it!”
At the mid-morning recess, Penny reported the conversation to Louise.
Both girls were pleased that Ted Wiegand had obtained employment, but it did seem peculiar to them that the judge would go to such lengths to gain the services of a young man of questionable character.
”Perhaps he wants to help him,” Louise speculated. ”Ted is at the critical point of his life now. He could develop into a very fine person or just the opposite.”