三个“小侦探”决定利用佩吉见钱眼开的本性从他嘴里套出些线索。她们略施小计成功地了解到村里还有一人与维格船长比较熟络，那就是最有钱的五金商鲍勃·韦斯特。她们决定再到韦斯特那儿一探究竟。佩吉郁闷地看着三个小姐妹离开，这次他竟一点儿便宜也没有捞到。
By this time the three nieces were so thoroughly impressed with the importance of the task they had undertaken that more ordinary things failed to interest them.Louise longed to solve the mystery.Beth wanted to punish the wrongdoers.Patsy yearned to exoneratea the friends whom she imagined unjustly accused.Therefore the triple alliance for detective purposes was a strong one.
By mutual agreement they kept the matter secret from Uncle John，for they realized what a triumph it would be to surprise the old gentleman with proofs of their cleverness.To confide in him now would mean to invite no end of ridicule or good natured raillery，for Uncle John had not a grain of imagination or romance in his nature and would be unable to comprehend the delights of this secret investigation.
Because he was in the dark the significant looks and unnatural gravity of his nieces in the succeeding days puzzled the poor man greatly.
"What's wrong，girls？"he would ask."Aren't you happyhere？Do you miss anything you'd like？Is it too quiet and dull at Millville to suit you？""Oh，no！"they would exclaim."We are having a splendid time，and would not leave the farm for anything."And he often noticed them grouped in isolated places and conversing in low，eager tones that proved "something was up."He felt somewhat grieved that he was not their con？dant，since these girls and their loyal affection for him constituted the chief joy of his life.When he put on his regulation ？shing costume and carried his expensive rod and reel，his landing net and creel to the brook for a day's sport，he could no longer induce one of his girls to accompany him.Even Patsy pleaded laughingly that she had certain "fish to frya"that were not to be found in the brook.
Soon the three nieces made their proposed visit to McNutt，their idea being to pump that individual until he was dry of any information he might possess concerning the Wegg mystery.They tramped over to the village after breakfast one morning and found the agent seated on the porch before his little "of？ce，"by which name the front room of his cottage was dignified.He was dressed in faded overalls，a checked shirt and a broad—brimmed cheap straw hat.His "off foot，"as he called it with grim humor，was painted green and his other foot was bare and might have been improved in color.Both these extremitiesb rested on the rail of the porch，while McNutt smoked a corncob pipe and stared at his approaching visitors with his disconcerting，protruding eyes.
"Good morning，Mr.McNutt，"said Louise，pleasantly."We've come to see if you have any books to sell."The agent drew a long breath.He had at ？rst believed they had come to reproach him for his cruel deception；for althoughhis conscience was wholly dormanta，he had at times been a bit uneasy concerning his remarkable book trade.
"Uncle is making a collection of the 'Lives of the Saints.'"announced Patsy，demurelyb."At present he has but three varieties of this work，one with several pages missing，another printed partly upside down，and a third with a broken corner.He is anxious to secure some further variations of the 'dee looks'Lives，if you can supply them."Peggy's eyes couldn't stare any harder，so they just stared."I—I hain't got no more on hand，"he stammered，fairlynonplussedc by the remarkable statement.
"No more？Oh，how sad.How disappointed we are，"said Beth.
"We were depending so much on you.Mr.McNutt，"added Louise，in a tone of gentle reproach.
McNutt wiggled the toes of his good foot and regarded them reflectively.These city folks were surely the "easiest marks"he had ever come across.
"Ef ye could wait a few days，"he began，hopefully，"Imight—""Oh，no；we can't possibly wait a single minute，"declared Patsy."Unless Uncle can get the Saints right away he will lose interest in the collection，and then he won't care for them at all."McNutt sighed dismally.Here was a chance to make good money by ？eecinga the lambs，yet he was absolutely unable to take advantage of it.
"Ye—ye couldn't use any duck eggs，could ye？"hesaid，a sudden thought seeming to furnish him with a brilliant idea.
"Duck eggs？"
"I got the dum—twistedest，extry ？ne lot o'duck eggs ye ever seen.""But what can we do with duck eggs？"inquired Beth，wonderingly，while Patsy and Louise tried hard not to shriek with laughter.
"W'y，set 'em under a hen，an'hatch 'em out.""Sir，"said Beth，"I strongly disapprove of such deceptions.It seems to me that making a poor hen hatch out ducks，under the delusion that they are chickens，is one of the most cruel and treacherousb acts that humanity can be guilty of.Imagine the poor thing's feelings when her children take to water！I'm surprised you could suggest such a wicked use for duck eggs."McNutt wiggled his toes again，desperately.
