“You’ve caught the thief!” Connie exclaimed in astonishment.
“Rather, the storm did,” Mr. Jeffert corrected.
“Who is the man, and where did you take him?” demanded Jane, all ears for the story.
“I should have said I know his name,” Mr. Jeffert amended. “Police are looking for him now, so it’s only a matter of hours until they place him under arrest.”
“Who is the man?” asked Connie. “Not Mr. Stone?”
“No, I know now that he had nothing to do with it.”
“Do tell us his name,” pleaded Sunny impatiently.
“The man who has the farm next to yours!” exclaimed Connie.
“Yes, it’s strange that I never once suspected him. He would much rather earn his money dishonestly than by hard work.”
Now Veve and Connie were startled to hear that Mr. Gossart was the guilty party, for they recalled that he was the same man who had refused to give them a ride during the blizzard.
“How did you find out it was Mr. Gossart?” asked Connie curiously.
“His truck loaded with evergreens stalled in a big snowdrift about four miles from here,” Mr. Jeffert revealed. “When he failed to get through, he abandoned the load and set off afoot.”
“Mr. Jeffert was able to identify the trees as his, so he swore out a warrant for Gossart’s arrest,” added Grandfather Gordon.
As soon as they were warm, the men brought in all the boxes of groceries from the bobsled, and unhitched the horses. With ample supplies now on hand, Grandmother Gordon began at once to make plans for Christmas.
“We’ll invite the entire Stone family here for a holiday feast,” she declared. “Grandfather, as soon as you can, you must take some things to their cabin, and extend the invitation.”
“And what about our parents?” Eileen asked anxiously. “Will they get here for Christmas Day?”
Now that was the question which no one could answer.
“We should know quite soon,” said Grandfather Gordon. “The telephone lines still are down, so I can’t call the Deerford station.”
“How are the trains running?” inquired Grandmother Gordon.
“Probably about two hours behind schedule,” replied Mr. Gordon. “I’ll drive to town and find out.”
“Let’s finish decorating the house and make our plans exactly as if we were certain everyone will get here,” proposed Miss Gordon.
The Brownies went to work with a will. They helped Grandmother Gordon clean the entire house, polish the silver and put extra boards in the dining room table.