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Main > Fairy tale > All authors > Frank Baum > Fairy tale "Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville"

Aunt Jane's Nieces at Millville

"I did not even do that," said West. "On the day of the funeral Joe

carelessly left them lying upon a table, so I slipped them into my

pocket. When I thought of them again Joe had gone away and I did not

know his address. I came over and searched the cupboard unsuccessfully.

But it was not a matter of great importance at that time if the stock

was mislaid, since there was no one to contest my ownership of it. It

was only after Mr. Merrick accused me of robbing my old friends and

ordered my payments stopped that I realized it was important to me to

prove my ownership. That is why I came here today."

Again a silence fell upon the group. Said Uncle John, finally:

"If the deed to the Bogue tract can be found, Joe and Ethel will be

rich. I wonder what became of the paper."

No one answered, for here was another mystery.

CHAPTER XXIV.

PEGGY HAS REVENGE.

Joe Wegg made a rapid recovery, his strength returning under the

influence of pleasant surroundings and frequent visits from Ethel and

Uncle John's three nieces. Not a word was hinted to either the invalid

or the school teacher regarding the inquiries Mr. Merrick was making

about the deed to the Bogue timber lands, which, if found, would make

the young couple independent. Joe was planning to exploit a new patent

as soon as he could earn enough to get it introduced, and Ethel

exhibited a sublime confidence in the boy's ability that rendered all

question of money insignificant.

Joe's sudden appearance in the land of his birth and his generally

smashed up condition were a nine days' wonder in Millville. The gossips

wanted to know all the whys and wherefores, but the boy kept his room in

the hotel, or only walked out when accompanied by Ethel or one of the

three nieces. Sometimes they took him to ride, as he grew better, and

the fact that Joe "were hand an' glove wi' the nabobs" lent him a

distinction he had never before possessed.

McNutt, always busy over somebody else's affairs, was very curious to

know what had caused the accident Joe had suffered.

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