The Mystery of Wandering Caveman - M. V. Carey [32]
“Golly!” said Pete. “How old is she, anyway? They treat her like a little girl.”
“She’s old enough to walk away,” Bob said.
Things were quiet at the house at last, and the boys dropped off to sleep. They were up early Monday morning and out before anyone in the house was stirring. After breakfast they called Les Wolf to find out when he was returning to Rocky Beach and were happy to learn that he needed to stay in Citrus Grove at least one more day.
The boys were walking back up Main Street when they saw Eleanor drive the truck down the road. She pulled into the petrol station near the park and began to put petrol into the truck.
“She must really have been out joy riding with her girl friend last night,” said Bob.
“I saw Newt McAfee fill that tank yesterday, and if it’s out of petrol this morning …”
But Bob stopped, for the pump shut off just after the bell rang for the second time.
Eleanor removed the hose from the tank, put the cap back on, and took money out of her pocket to pay the attendant.
“Two gallons and a bit more,” said Jupe, watching Eleanor drive away. “That would be about forty miles on that truck. She could have driven as far as Centerdale, couldn’t she?”
“Maybe that girl friend lives in Centerdale,” said Pete. “Or maybe she went to meet someone else. Maybe she’s topping off the tank so that her uncle won’t wonder where all the petrol went.”
Jupiter grimaced. “We have no reason to suspect that,” he said. “We really don’t have a reason to suspect her of anything at all. It’s all speculation. Maybe it would be wiser — and more efficient — to simply get everything out in the open and ask her whether she knows anything about the cave man that might be helpful.”
“She’ll lie,” said Bob. “She’s lying about the trip to Rocky Beach, isn’t she?”
“I think so. But she seems very much alone, and she might be relieved to talk to someone. What have we got to lose?”
“Nothing,” said Bob, “only if you want to talk to her, maybe you’d better do it alone. She’ll cry, for one thing, and that always makes me feel like a crumb. And we don’t want it to look like we’re ganging up on her.”
“All right,” said Jupe.
When the boys reached the McAfee house, they found that Eleanor had already gone up to the foundation, so Jupe left his friends and went up the road after her. He was about to ring the foundation’s doorbell when he heard Eleanor shouting.
“What do you mean it’s too late?” she cried. “It can’t be too late!”
Jupe backed away from the door. The living room window was open, and he turned and looked in.
No one was there. The animal heads on the wall stared blankly into the room.
“I don’t care if you’ve already called him,” said Eleanor. “Call him back. Tell him it was all a joke!”
Jupe remembered that there was a telephone on the wall in the hallway outside the laboratories. Evidently Eleanor was using this phone.
“You’re a liar!” she snapped. “You didn’t do it for me. You don’t care what happens to me!”
There was a brief silence. Then Eleanor said, “All right, you’ll find out what I’m going to do.”
The receiver crashed down.
Jupe stepped away from the window. An instant later the front door was snatched open and Eleanor came out. Her head was up and her lips were set, and she did not glance to the left or the right as she dashed down the steps and out the gate.
Jupe went after her, but he did not call out. He was halfway down the road when he saw her cross the field by the McAfee house and throw open the barn door. Pete and Bob came to the loft window and watched as the pickup truck backed out.
Eleanor made a hasty, jolting turn, then sped into the road and was gone, racing through the town.
Pete and Bob came out of the barn as Jupe reached it.
“Where’s she off to?” Pete asked.
“I don’t know,” said Jupe. “She’s very angry about something. I think she’s finally going to take some action.”
“She’s not the only