"We have plenty of circumstantial evidencea，"returned Beth."There is only one way to explain the facts we have already learned，and the theory we have built up will be a hard one to overthrowb.The ？ight of Captain Wegg to this place，his unhappy wife，the great trouble that old Nora has hinted at，the—""The great trouble ought to come ？rst，"declared Louise."It is the foundation upon which rest all the mysterious occurrences following，and once we have learned what the great trouble was，the rest will be plain sailingc.""I agree with you，"said Beth；"and perhaps Joseph Weggwill be able to tell us what the trouble was that ruined the lives of his parents，as well as of Old Hucks and his wife，and caused them all to ？ee here to hide themselves."It was not until the following morning that the Major found an opportunity to give the confederates a solemn wink to indicate he had news to con？de to them.They gathered eagerly on the lawn，and he told them of the ？nding of Joe Wegg in the isolated cabin，and how old Thomas and Nora，loving the boy as well as if he had been their own child，had sacri？ced everything to assist him in his extremity.
"So ye see，my avenging angels，that ye run off the trackin the Hucks matter，"he added，smiling at their bewilderedfaces.
Patsy was delighted at this refutationa of the slanderousb suspicions that Thomas was a miser and his smiling face a mask to hide his innate villainy.The other girls were somewhat depressed by the overthrow of one of their pet theories，and reluctantly admitted that if Hucks had been the robber of his master and old Will Thompson，he would not have striven so eagerly to get enough money to send to Joe Wegg.But they pointed out that the old servant was surely hiding his knowledge of Captain Wegg's past，and could not be induced to clear up that portion of the mystery which he had full knowledge of.So，while he might be personally innocent of the murder or robbery，both Beth and Louise were con？dent he was attempting to shield the real criminal.
"But who is the real criminal？"inquired Patsy.
"Let us consider，"answer Louise，with the calm，businesslike tone she adopted in these matters."There is the strolling physician，whom we call the Unknown Avenger，for one.A second suspect is the man McNutt，whose nature is so pervertedc that he would stick at nothing.The third suspicious individual is Mr.Bob West.""Oh，Louise！Mr.West is so respectable，and so pros—perous，"exclaimed Patsy.
"It's a far jump from McNutt to West，"added Beth.
"Leaving out Hucks，"continued Louise，her eyes sparkling with the delightful excitement of maintaining her theories against odds，"here are three people who might have been concerned in the robbery or murder.Two of them are under our hands；perhaps Joseph Wegg may be able to tell us where to ？nd the third."They pleaded so hard with the Major to take them to call upon the injured youth that very day，that the old gentleman consented，and，without telling Uncle John of their plans，they drove to Millville in the afternoon and alighted at the hotel.
The Major went first to the boy's room，and found himnot only very comfortable，but bright and cheerful in mood."At this rate，sir，"he said，smilingly，"I shall be able todischarge my guardian in quick time.I'm twice the man I was yesterday.""I've brought some young ladies to call upon you，"announced the Major."Will you see them？"Joe ？ushed at ？rst，remembering his plastered skull and maimeda condition.But he could not well refuse to receive his callers，whom he guessed to be the three girls Old Hucks had praised to him so highly.
"It will give me great pleasure，sir，"he replied.
An invalid is usually of interest to women，so it is no wonder that the three young ladies were at once attracted bythe bright—faced boy，who reclined upon his couch before the vine—covered windows.They thought of Ethel，too，and did not marvel that the girl grieved over the loss of this friend of her childhood.
Joe had to recount the adventure with the automobile，which led to his injuries，and afterward give an account of his life at the hospital.That led，naturally，to the timely assistance rendered him by the faithful Thomas，so that Louise was able to broacha the subject nearest her heart.
"We have been greatly interested in your old servants—whom we acquired with the farm，it seems—and all of us admire their simplicity and sincerity，"she began.
"Nora is a dear，"added Beth.
"And Thomas is so cheerful that his smile is enough to vanquishb any attack of the blues，"said Patsy.
"The Hucks are the right sort，and no mistakec，"declared the Major，taking his cue from the others.
This praise evidently delighted the boy.They could have found no more direct way to win his con？dence.
"Nora was my mother's maid from the time she was a mere girl，"said he；"and Thomas sailed with my father many years before I was born."They were a little surprised to hear him speak so frankly.But Louise decided to take advantage of the opening affordedher.
"Nora has told us that some great trouble came to themyears ago—a trouble that also affected your own parents.But they do not wish to talk about it to us."His face clouded.
"No，indeed，"said he."Their loving old hearts have never recovered from the blow.Would you like to know their history？It is a sad story，and pitiful；but I am sure you would understand and appreciate my old friends better after hearing it."Their hearts fairly jumped with joy.Would they like to hear the story？Was it not this very clue which they had been blindly groping for to enable them to solve the mystery of the Wegg crime？The boy marked their interest，and began his story at once，while the hearts of the three girls sang—gladly："At last—at last！"
