pecialist in brain diseases."

"Do you know of one?" asked Kenneth.

"Yes; but he must be brought from Buffalo. It will be expensive, sir.
That is why I ask if your interest in the girl warrants our going to the
limit to save her."

Kenneth was thoughtful, while the girls looked at him expectantly and
Tom Gates with visible anxiety.

"My original idea was merely to find the missing girl in order to
relieve the anxiety of her blind mother," said young Forbes. "To
accomplish that I was willing to employ your services. But, as a matter
of fact, I have never seen the girl Lucy Rogers, nor am I particularly
interested in her."

"I am," declared Beth.

"And I!"

"And I!" repeated Patsy and Louise.

"I think," said Uncle John, who had been a quiet listener until now,
"that Kenneth has assumed enough expense in this matter."

"Oh, Uncle!" The remonstrance was from all three of the girls.

"Therefore," continued Mr. Merrick, "I propose that I undertake any
further expense that may be incurred, so as to divide the burden."

"That's better!" declared Patsy. "But I might have known Uncle John
would do that."

"You have my authority to wire the physician, if necessary, or to go to
any expense you deem advisable," continued Mr. Merrick, turning to the
detective. "We seem to have undertaken to unravel an interesting
mystery, and we'll see it through to the end."

"Very good, sir," said Mr. Burke, and left them with a brief nod of
farewell.

"Somehow," said Beth, "I've a lot of confidence in that little man."

"Why, he's a detective," replied Uncle John, with a smile, "and the
chief business of detectives is to make mistakes."

CHAPTER XVII

MRS. HOPKINS GOSSIPS

The home of Representative Hopkins was not a very imposing edifice. It
was a modest frame building standing well back in a little yard at the
outskirts of the village, and Mrs. Hopkins did the housework, unaided,
to save the expense of a maid. It never occurred to the politician, who
had risen from the position of a poor stable-boy to one of affluence, to
save his wife from this drudgery. To him poor Mary was merely one of his
possessions, and it would have astonished him to know that her sharp
tongue and irritable temper were due to overwork and neglect. The
Honorable Erastus was not averse to champagne dinners and other costly
excesses while at the state capital, and his fellow legislators
considered him a good fellow, although rather lax in "