had raced toward a big
railroad map that hung on the wall of the station, and was looking for
Canton on it.

"I thought so!" she gasped. Then she ran over to the ticket window, and
spoke to the agent.

"If I send a telegram right now, can it be delivered to Miss Mercer, on
that train that just went out, before she gets to Canton?" she asked.

The agent looked at her time-table.

"Oh, yes," she said, cheerfully. "That's easy. I'll send it right out
for you, and it will reach her at Whitemarsh which is only twenty-five
miles away."

"Good!" said Bessie, and wrote out a long telegram. In a minute she
returned to Jake and Dolly, and the sound of the ticking telegraph
instrument filled the station with its chatter.

"He wanted to run away, Bessie," said Dolly. "But I told him it wasn't
polite to do that when a young lady wanted to talk to him, so he stayed.
That was nice of him, wasn't it?"

"Very," said Bessie, her tone as sarcastic as Dolly's own. "Now, look
here, Jake, what have you done that makes you so afraid of Mr. Holmes
and these other wicked men?"

Jake's jaw fell again, but he was speechless. He just stared at her.

"There's no use standing there like a dying calf, Jake Hoover!" said
Bessie, angrily. "I know perfectly well you've been up to some dreadful
mischief, and these men have told you that if you don't do just as they
tell you they'll see that you're punished. Isn't that true?"

"How--how in time did you ever find that out?" stammered Jake.

"I've known you a long time, Jake Hoover," said Bessie, crisply. "And
now tell me this. Haven't I always been willing to be your friend?
Didn't I forgive you for all the mean things you did, and help you every
way I could? Did I ever tell on you when you'd done anything wrong, and
your father would have licked you?"

Bessie's tone grew more kindly as she spoke to him, and Jake seemed to
be astonished. He hung his head, and his look at her was sheepish.

"No, I guess you're a pretty good sort, Bessie," he said. "Mebbe I've
been pretty mean to you--"

"It's about time you found it out!" said Dolly, furiously. "Oh, I'd like
to--"

"Let him alone, Dolly," said Bessie. "I'm running this. Now, Jake, look
here. I want to be your friend. I'm very fond of your father, and I'd
hate to see him have a lot of sorrow on your account. Don't you know
that these men would sacrifice you and throw you over in a minute if
they thought they couldn't get anything more out