said, malevolently.




CHAPTER VII

OFF TO THE FARM


The next morning Bessie was doomed to be disappointed. She had looked
forward confidently to seeing Zara's father, and had come to believe
that there was a good chance for her to clear away some of the mystery
that hung so heavily over Zara's affairs, even though she made no great
progress toward straightening out her own confused ideas regarding
herself and the reason for the disappearance of her parents. But,
instead of the telephone call to Jamieson's office, for which she had
waited with poorly concealed impatience from breakfast until nearly
noon, she had a visit from Jamieson himself. The lawyer looked
discouraged.

"Bad news, Bessie," he said, as soon as he saw her. She was waiting for
him on the porch, and her eyes lighted with eagerness as soon as she saw
him coming. "They've stolen a march on me."

"Why, how do you mean? Won't I be able to see Zara's father, after all?"

"Not just yet. Brack is cleverer than I thought. He's got a lot of
political pull, and he got hold of a judge I thought was above stooping
to anything wrong. So he was able to get this judge to sign an order