Chapter XXII: On the Road Again

Well, I’m pretty close to the end of my story now. And to sort of hurry things along, I’m not going to write down, word for word, what everybody in the house said and did in the next few hours, for, as you can imagine, there was a lot of tumbling, rambling talk when we took the granddaughter to Mrs. Doane. Instead, I’ll go ahead, in my own words, and clear up the mystery for you.

To start with, Dr. Madden wasn’t dead at all. He had fainted during his talk with me on the telephone, and that is what had given me the idea that he was gone. I’m glad to say that he got well, and now is in his right mind, which he _wasn’t_ before the accident, for he had something to tell the medical world that would have been a big loss if the secret had died with him. Can’t you guess now why he was hiding in the big house? It was to complete his “cure” for the fatal jungle disease. Experiments had been going on for years, and if the millionaire had lived another twelve months he would have been completely cured. Upon his death, which halted the experiments, Dr. Madden put some of the impure blood into his own body, so that he could go ahead with his work. And, as I say, in the year that he secretly doped himself with drugs, he found a complete cure--he was bright enough on that point, but I guess the _solitude_ of the big empty house got the best of him. I don’t mean he was crazy--just _queer_.

It was quite by accident that he found the diary. Reading it, to learn if it was his duty, as a friend who knew its probable secrets, to destroy it, he thus had found out about the lawyer’s trickery. But instead of writing and telling the granddaughter who he was and _why_ she ought to be in the big house when the will was read, he worded his letter so _crazy-like_, with such queer reference to the dead man’s diary, that the letter frightened her. She knew all about the big fortune that was waiting to be divided up, and while she had no proof that her grandfather wanted her to have the most of it, still she had been told certain things by Chew, as I’ll mention later. And this mysterious, rambling letter, signed by “a friend,” urged her to do things that the lawyer had told her not to do. You can see the sort of “up-a-tree” fix that she was in. One man told her to keep away, the other told her to come. And each one hinted that if she didn’t do as he said she would cross her grandfather’s wishes. So it isn’t so strange that she made up her mind to come to the big house _secret-like_, where she intended to get the diary and find out the truth. Yet she hadn’t the nerve to come to the big house alone. And her mother being in Europe, she got the idea of having two older relatives open up the house for her. Afterwards she would beg their pardon for worrying and mystifying them. And to that point, only the woman was to be left mystified, for it was the girl’s intention to take the old man into her confidence.

As we know, the house keys had been sent to her--which was the first she knew that her grandfather was dead--and to his own ends Chew craftily “explained” that she now was the “custodian” of the house, with the duty of seeing that it was kept _completely closed_, the dead man’s last wish. It was further hinted that unless she did this she would lose her heritage. Nor did Chew intend to send for her when the will was read. By keeping her away a year, as he had kept her away from the funeral, he would practically get control of everything, and that, of course, is what he was after. Hence the girl took particular pains to caution the two Doanes not to let anybody know that they were living in the big house. How Ma spilled the beans, though, we already know.

On the train the girl got the frightened idea that a man in “green goggles” was secretly watching her. And when this man followed her from the train in Pardyville, she ran back to her seat, hurriedly writing a note to old Ivory Dome, which note was left with the ticket agent. In leaving home that morning, a boy friend had laughingly given her a pet gander, which he had fixed up in a crazy way with purple ink spots--though what the complete joke was about the gander the girl never told us! I have a hunch, though, that she was kind of sweet on the guy! Anyway, she kept the gander, which was checked to Pardyville. So old Ivory Dome got it, along with the note, when he finally rolled in, twenty minutes late.

The note said that he was to turn back on C. H. O. and keep going until he met the girl on the road, as it was her intention to go to Sandy Ridge, the next stop, and take a taxicab from there. In the meantime, a fence had been put across C. H. O., but old Ivory Dome didn’t let that stop him! Whether he went around it, or over it, we don’t know. But we do understand now how he happened to have the whole road to himself, and why he passed the sandy crossroad. The concrete having “bulged” dangerously, a mile east of Sandy Ridge, the road had been shut off for temporary repairs. The taxicab brought the girl that far, where old Ivory Dome picked her up. With his promise to keep her secret, she had gotten out of the car before the tip-up. On the east side of the stone house a vine frame cleverly hid a secret door, at the foot of the wall staircase, and going there, while we were fussing over the unconscious man, she found the door _open_! She didn’t know, of course, that Dr. Madden was living in the secret room. He had gone outside, at the time of the accident, and later was unable to get back in, for the girl had locked the door on the inside. So now we know why he watched the house that night in the storm.

He tried again the next night to get into the house, but to no success. Later that night he followed us to the barn, after the girl had put the gander in our room to get us away, so that she could clean out the desk in the hope of finding the diary. You will remember, we went into the barn first, then Dr. Madden, then old Ivory Dome. And right here I think I ought to say a few words about the old man. A queer codger, he wasn’t half as crafty as we had imagined. It is true that he had promised the granddaughter to keep her secret, but in the automobile accident everything in his thick head had been turned upsidedown. His dumbness wasn’t put on. _Why_ he went to the barn, we’ll never know. But I think he remembered, sort of vague-like, that there was a _secret_ about the gander, and that may have been why it attracted him. The girl came back to the barn to get the gander, for company, screaming when she saw a “ghost.” And the rest you know.

The next morning, before putting old Chew wise to the truth, Poppy went to him with a long face.

“Mr. Chew,” says he meekly, “is it possible for you to let bygones be bygones and do me a favor?”

“No, sir!” the old tub thundered, with hatred in his green eyes. “You’ll get no favors from me. To the contrary, I’m going to make you sweat for last night’s attack. You’ll suffer under the law for that.”

Poppy was crushed, and showed it.

“I was going to ask you,” he hung his head, “if you cared if Mrs. Doane took home the red-plush settee in the hall.”

“Mrs. Doane will get _nothing_ out of this house.”

“Maybe you’ll sell it to us, so we can give it to her.”

“I wouldn’t sell it to you for a thousand dollars,” came meanly, “if I knew she wanted it.”

Some old hog, huh? Well, I’m glad to write down in conclusion that the good old lady _did_ get her settee--with ten thousand dollars on top of it--and all fatty got, after all of his crooked work, was what the little boy shot at. Which is the way things should be.

To show you how much “brotherly love” he had for the New Zion bunch, he practically put them out of business by making them pay fourteen per cent on money that they owed the Danver estate. The estate got five per cent and old grab-it-all got the rest!

And thus reminded of old Goliath, you’ll give us the horselaugh when I tell you the truth about _him_. He wasn’t married at all. Furthermore, he was the only man left in the religious camp--he was so hard-boiled and such a liar that the others, in moving away, wouldn’t even take him with them, though earlier they had tried to use him and reform him. No wonder the “town” had looked deserted the day we rode through it in state--after having coughed up two dollars for the privilege! The houses had been empty for six months. And we had swallowed that “picnic” story! Old Goliath sure worked us slick. I suppose he’s laughing about it to this day. Well, we should worry. We still have his hair!

The balance of our hitch-hike was kind of tame. So we were glad to get home. And to that point, we hadn’t been home a week before we were mixed up in the Pedigreed-Pickle business that the Tutter people are still laughing over. Can you imagine Poppy standing up to his neck in cucumber pickles? It was his job to sell the pickles--but before he could _sell_ them he had to _make_ them. I can still see that mountain of cucumbers. “It’s no use,” says I, in despair. “We can’t do it.”

But we did. And _how_ we did it--bucked by a mean rich kid, and with a mystery hanging over us that gave us shivers one minute and completely tangled us up the next--is, I believe, a story that you won’t want to miss.

So tighten up your buttons for the biggest laugh of your lifetime, for we’ll soon be there in POPPY OTT’S PEDIGREED PICKLES.

--THE END--

_This Isn’t All!_

Would you like to know what became of the good friends you have made in this book?

Would you like to read other stories continuing their adventures and experiences, or other books quite as entertaining by the same author?

On the _reverse side_ of the wrapper which comes with this book, you will find a wonderful list of stories which you can buy at the same store where you got this book.

_Don’t throw away the Wrapper_

_Use it as a handy catalog of the books you want some day to have. But in case you do mislay it, write to the Publishers for a complete catalog._

Jerry Todd and Poppy Ott Series

BY LEO EDWARDS

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Every Volume Complete in Itself.

Hundreds of thousands of boys who laughed until their sides ached over the weird and wonderful adventures of Jerry Todd and his gang demanded that Leo Edwards, the author, give them more books like the Jerry Todd stories with their belt-bursting laughs and creepy shivers. So he took Poppy Ott, Jerry Todd’s bosom chum and created the Poppy Ott Series, and if such a thing could be possible--they are even more full of fun and excitement than the Jerry Todds.

THE POPPY OTT SERIES

POPPY OTT AND THE STUTTERING PARROT
POPPY OTT AND THE SEVEN-LEAGUE STILTS
POPPY OTT AND THE GALLOPING SNAIL
POPPY OTT’S PEDIGREED PICKLES

THE JERRY TODD BOOKS

JERRY TODD AND THE WHISPERING MUMMY
JERRY TODD AND THE ROSE-COLORED CAT
JERRY TODD AND THE OAK ISLAND TREASURE
JERRY TODD AND THE WALTZING HEN
JERRY TODD AND THE TALKING FROG
JERRY TODD AND THE PURRING EGG
JERRY TODD IN THE WHISPERING CAVE

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THE RIDDLE CLUB AT HOME

An absorbing tale that all boys and girls will enjoy reading. How the members of the club fixed up a clubroom in the Larue barn, and how they, later on, helped solve a most mysterious happening, and how one of the members won a valuable prize, is told in a manner to please every young reader.

THE RIDDLE CLUB IN CAMP

The club members went into camp on the edge of a beautiful lake. Here they had rousing good times swimming, boating and around the campfire. They fell in with a mysterious old man known as The Hermit of Triangle Island. Nobody knew his real name or where he came from until the propounding of a riddle solved these perplexing questions.

THE RIDDLE CLUB THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS

This volume takes in a great number of winter sports, including skating and sledding and the building of a huge snowman. It also gives the particulars of how the club treasurer lost the dues entrusted to his care and what the melting of the great snowman revealed.

THE RIDDLE CLUB AT SUNRISE BEACH

This volume tells how the club journeyed to the seashore and how they not only kept up their riddles but likewise had good times on the sand and on the water. Once they got lost in a fog and are marooned on an island. Here they made a discovery that greatly pleased the folks at home.

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In the character and adventures of Roy Blakeley are typified the very essence of Boy life. He is a real boy, as real as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. He is the moving spirit of the troop of Scouts of which he is a member, and the average boy has to go only a little way in the first book before Roy is the best friend he ever had, and he is willing to part with his best treasure to get the next book in the series.

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PEE-WEE HARRIS
PEE-WEE HARRIS ON THE TRAIL
PEE-WEE HARRIS IN CAMP
PEE-WEE HARRIS IN LUCK
PEE-WEE HARRIS ADRIFT
PEE-WEE HARRIS F. O. B. BRIDGEBORO
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PEE-WEE HARRIS: AS GOOD AS HIS WORD
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PEE-WEE HARRIS AND THE SUNKEN TREASURE

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TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER
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TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER
TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY
TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA
TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT
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TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP
TOM SWIFT AND HIS BIG TUNNEL
TOM SWIFT IN THE LAND OF WONDERS
TOM SWIFT AND HIS WAR TANK
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR SCOUT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS UNDERSEA SEARCH
TOM SWIFT AMONG THE FIRE FIGHTERS
TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS FLYING BOAT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT OIL GUSHER
TOM SWIFT AND HIS CHEST OF SECRETS
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRLINE EXPRESS

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By VICTOR APPLETON

Individual Colored Wrappers and Text Illustrations by WALTER S. ROGERS

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In company with his uncles, one a mighty hunter and the other a noted scientist, Don Sturdy travels far and wide, gaining much useful knowledge and meeting many thrilling adventures.

DON STURDY ON THE DESERT OF MYSTERY;

An engrossing tale of the Sahara Desert, of encounters with wild animals and crafty Arabs.

DON STURDY WITH THE BIG SNAKE HUNTERS;

Don’s uncle, the hunter, took an order for some of the biggest snakes to be found in South America--to be delivered alive!

DON STURDY IN THE TOMBS OF GOLD;

A fascinating tale of exploration and adventure in the Valley of Kings in Egypt.

DON STURDY ACROSS THE NORTH POLE;

A great polar blizzard nearly wrecks the airship of the explorers.

DON STURDY IN THE LAND OF VOLCANOES;

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DON STURDY IN THE PORT OF LOST SHIPS;

This story is just full of exciting and fearful experiences on the sea.

DON STURDY AMONG THE GORILLAS;

A thrilling story of adventure in darkest Africa. Don is carried over a mighty waterfall into the heart of gorilla land.

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A new series for boys giving full details of radio work, both in sending and receiving--telling how small and large amateur sets can be made and operated, and how some boys got a lot of fun and adventure out of what they did. Each volume from first to last is so thoroughly fascinating, so strictly up-to-date and accurate, we feel sure all lads will peruse them with great delight.

Each volume has a Foreword by Jack Binns, the well-known radio expert.

THE RADIO BOYS’ FIRST WIRELESS
THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT
THE RADIO BOYS AT THE SENDING STATION
THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS
THE RADIO BOYS TRAILING A VOICE
THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FOREST RANGERS
THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE ICEBERG PATROL
THE RADIO BOYS WITH THE FLOOD FIGHTERS
THE RADIO BOYS ON SIGNAL ISLAND
THE RADIO BOYS IN GOLD VALLEY

GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.