and incredulous. "It can't
be!" she muttered at length. "Even if the beads were like the ones you
found--there are probably more persons than one who have some like them."

"Yes, that's true," admitted Leslie, "but the color--and queer
shape--everything!--At least, it's something worth investigating. It's
the first real clue we've had."

At that moment, the girl in question came out of the store, sprang into
the car, whirled the wheel about, and was off down the street in a cloud
of dust. They stood gazing after her.

"It doesn't seem possible!" exclaimed Phyllis. "It just can't be! And
yet--tell you what! I'm just wondering whether she's staying anywhere
around here or is just a casual stranger passing through the town. Let's
go in and ask old Mrs. Selby if she knows anything about her. If she's
staying here, Mrs. Selby will positively know it. I'll make the excuse of
having forgotten to buy something. Come along!"

She hustled Leslie back into the little shop and soon had little Mrs.
Selby hunting for a size and variety of shell hair-pin of which she had
no need whatever, as she possessed already a plentiful supply at home.
But it was the only thing she could think of at the moment. When they
were being wrapped, she asked quite casually:

"Was that young girl who just went out a stranger here, Mrs. Selby, or is
she stopping in the village? Seems to me I don't recall her face."

"Oh, she ain't exactly a stranger," replied Mrs. Selby with alacrity,
quite waking up at the prospect of retailing a bit of gossip; "But she
ain't been around here so long--only a couple of weeks or so. She comes
in here once in a while, but she ain't very friendly like--never passes
the time o' day nor nothing,--just asks for what she wants and goes out.
I never did quite take to manners like that. Nobody else here acts
so--not even the summer folks. I can't think how she was brung up! They
do say as she ain't an American,--that she's English or something,--but I
don't know for sure. Anyhow, she don't mix with no one--just runs around
in that ottymobile all the time."

"Where's she stopping?" went on Phyllis. "The hotel is closed. I thought
all the summer people but ourselves had gone."

"Oh, she's boarding up to Aunt Sally Blake's. I dunno how she come to go
there, but there she is. I wonder how Aunt Sally gets along with her?"

"Have you heard what her name is?" pursued Phyllis, as she received her
parcel.

"They do say her name