为了感谢大家的帮助，琼斯先生送给每人一粒珍珠。这并非普通的礼物，而是有着绝世品质的珍贵珍珠。经过一番争论，大家都欣然接受了这份礼物。然而，依西多尔却声称这些珍珠全部为琼斯所偷，他一直在追查此事，并要通知警察来逮捕琼斯。柔弱的琼斯真的是偷窃珍珠的盗贼吗？
The next morning Patsy，Beth and Louise met in earnest conference over the important proposition made them by young Jones，and although Uncle John and Arthur Weldon were both present the men took no part in the discussion.
"Some doubt has been expressed，"said Beth judicially，"that Ajo is really able to ？nance this big venture.But he says he is，and that he will carry it through to the end，so I propose we let him do it.""Why not？"asked Louise."If he succeeds，it will beglorious.If he fails，we will suffer in no way except through disappointment.""Well，shall we accept this offer，girls？""First，"said Louise，"let us consider what we will have to do，on our part，when the twenty theatres are built and the ？lm factory is in operation.""We are to be the general managers，"returned Patsy.
"We must select the subjects，or plots，for the pictures，and order them made under our direction.Then we must see that all of our theatres present them in a proper manner，and we must invite children to come and see the shows.I guess that's all.""That will be enough to keep us busy，I'm sure，"saidBeth."But we will gladly undertake it，and I am sure we shall prove good managers，as soon as we get acquainted with the details of the business.""It will give us the sort of employment we like，"Patsyassured them."Our first duty will be to plan these theatresfor children，and make them as cosy and comfortable as possible，regardless of expense.Ajo will pay the bills，and when all the buildings are ready we will set to work in earnest."So，when A.Jones appeared he was told that the girls would gladly accept his proposition.The young man seemed greatly pleased by this verdict.He appeared to be much betterand stronger to—day and he entered eagerly into a discussion of the plans in detail.Together they made a list of a string of twenty theatres，to be built in towns reaching from Santa Barbara on the north to San Diego in the south.The ？lm factory was to be located in the San Fernando Valley，just north of Hollywood.
This consumed the entire forenoon，and after lunch theymet a prominent real estate man whom Jones had summoneda to the hotel.This gentleman was given a copy of the list of locations and instructed to purchase in each town the best site that could be secured for a motion picture theatre.This big order made the real estate man open his eyes in surprise.
"Do you wish me to secure options，or to purchase theland outright ？"he asked.
"Be sure of your locations and then close the deals at once，"replied Jones."We do not wish to waste time in useless dickeringb，and a location in the heart of each town，perhaps on the main street，is more important than the price.You will，of course，protect me from robbery to the best of yourability；but buy，even if the price is exorbitanta.I will this afternoon place a hundred thousand dollars to your credit in the bank，with which to make advance payments，and when you notify me how much more is required I will forward my checks at once.""That is satisfactory，sir.I will do the best I can to guardyour interests，"said the man.
When he had gone the girls accompanied Ajo in a motorcar to Los Angeles，to consult an architect.They visited several offices before the boy，who seemed to estimate men at a glance，found one that satis？ed him.The girls explained with care to the architect their idea of a luxurious picture theatre for children，and when he had grasped their conception，which he did with enthusiasm，he suggested several improvements on their immature plans and promised to have complete drawings ready to submit to them in a few days.
From the architect's office they drove to the German—American Bank，where Ajo gave his check for a hundred thousand dollars，to be placed to the credit of Mr.Wilcox，the real estate agent.The deference shown him by the cashier seemed to indicate that this big check was not the extent of A.Jones'credit there，by any means.
As they drove back to Hollywood，Patsy could not helpeyeing this youthful capitalist with wonder.During this day of exciting business deals the boy had behaved admirably，andthere was no longer a shadow of doubt in the minds of any of Uncle John's nieces that he was both able and anxious to carry out his part of the agreement.
Patsy almost giggled outright as she thought of Le Drieux and his ridiculous suspicions.One would have to steal a good many pearls in order to acquire a fortune to match that of the Sangoan.
He was speaking of Sangoa now，in answer to a questionof Beth's.
"Yes，indeed，"said he，"Sangoa is very beautiful，and the climate is even more mild than that of your Southern California.The north coast is a high bluff a，on which is a splendid forest of rosewood and mahoganyb.My father would never allow any of these magni？cent trees to be cut，except a few that were used in building our house.""But how do your people live？What is the principalindustry of your islanders？"asked Beth.
"My people are—fishermen，"he said，and then the automobile drew up before the hotel entrance and the conversation ended.
It was on the following afternoon，as they all met in thehotel lobby after lunch，that a messenger handed young Jones a neat parcel，for which a receipt was demanded.Ajo held the parcel in his hand a while，listening to the chatter of the girls，who were earnestly discussing plans for the new pictureenterprise.Then very quietly and unobtrusively he unwrapped the package and laid upon the table beside him several small boxes bearing the name of a prominent jeweler.
