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LENOX  AN 

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THEIR   CLOTHES   WERE   PICTURESQUE   AND   EACH   ONE   CARRIED 

A    HUGE   BUNDLE. 
The  Outdoor  Girls  en  Pine  Island.  Frontispiece  (Page  L 72) 


The  Outdoor  Girls 
On  Pine  Island 

OR 

A  CAVE  AND  WHAT  IT 
CONTAINED 


BY 

LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  OP  DEEPDALE,"  "THE 

MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS,"  "THE  BOBBSEY 

TWINS,"  "  BUNNY  BROWN  AND  His 

SISTER  SUE,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 


Made  ir»  tl<p.  united  Stiiies  of  America 


• 

'  111 


, — 


BOOKS   FOR   GIRLS 

BY  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 


I2mo. 


Cloth.     Illustrated.    Price  per  volume, 
50  cents,  postpaid. 


THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  SERIES 


THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 


OUTDOOR  GIRLS 
OUTDOOR  GIRLS 
OUTDOOR  GIRLS 
OUTDOOR  GIRLS 
OUTDOOR  GIRLS 
OUTDOOR  GIRLS 
OUTDOOR  GIRLS 


OF  DEEPDALE 

AT  RAINBOW  LAKE 

IN  A  MOTOR  CAR 

IN  A  WINTER  CAMP 

IN  FLORIDA 

AT  OCEAN  VIEW 

ON  PINE  ISLAND 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  SERIES 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  AT  OAK  FARM 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  SNOWBOUND 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  UNDER  THE 

PALMS 
THE    MOVING    PICTURE    GIRLS    AT    ROCKY 

RANCH 
THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  AT  SEA 


THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  SERIES 

For  Little  Men  and  Women 


THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 
THE 


BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 
BOBBSEY 


TWINS 

TWINS  IN  THE  COUNTRY 
TWINS  AT  THE  SEASHORE 
TWINS  AT  SCHOOL 
TWINS  AT  SNOW  LODGE 
TWINS  ON  A  HOUSEBOAT 
TWINS  AT  MEADOWBROOK 
TWINS  AT  HOME 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT,  1916,  BY  GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 


THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  RUNAWAY  CAR i 

II     A  LUCKY   ESCAPE 8 

III  FORTUNES    14 

IV  THE  GYPSY  ENCAMPMENT 23 

V     THIEVES  IN  DEEPDALE 32 

VI     A  WONDERFUL  OUTING 41 

VII     CLOSED  FOR  REPAIRS 50 

VIII     THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS 60 

IX     PINE  ISLAND  AT  LAST 70 

X     BRIGHT  AND  EARLY 79 

XI     A  JOLLY  TRIP 88 

XII     "WHERE  THERE  Is  SMOKE " 96 

XIII  THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  CLANS 105 

XIV  A  VICTORY  FOR  BETTY 1 13 

XV     A  SPLENDID  CATCH 120 

XVI    Nor  A  MOMENT  Too  SOON 129 

XVII     BENEATH  THE  MOON 141 

XVIII     WATER  SPRITES   151 

XIX    A   MARVELOUS   DISCOVERY 160 

XX     DANGEROUS   VISITORS    171 

XXI     THE  LOST  TRAIL 179 

iii 


IV  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

XXII  MOLLIE    WINS     IQI 

XXIII  HIDDEN  TREASURE 202 

XXIV  LYING  IN  WAIT 212 

XXV  GLORIOUS  NEWS 221 


THE    OUTDOOR    GIRLS    ON 
PINE     ISLAND 

CHAPTER   I 

THE   RUNAWAY    CAR 

"THE  boys  will  be  here  in  five  minutes !"  cried 
Mollie  Billette,  bursting  in  upon  her  friend,  dark 
hair  flying  and  eyes  alight.  "You'd  better  get  on 
your  hat." 

"What  boys  and  why  the  hat?"  returned  Grace 
Ford  who,  pretty  and  graceful,  as  always,  was 
provokingly  calm. 

"I'll  answer  any  and  everything  if  you  will 
only  get  ready.  Oh,  have  you  got  to  go  upstairs  ? 
Hurry  then,"  and  Mollie  swung  her  feet  impa- 
tiently as  Grace  detached  herself  from  the  great 
chair  slowly  and  gracefully  and  started  out  into 
the  hall. 

"If  you  will  come  upstairs  with  me,  Mollie," 
Grace  suggested,  "perhaps  you  will  deign  to  tell 
me  why  you  rush  in  here  like  a  whirlwind  and 
insist  on  my  putting  on  my  hat  to  go  goodness 
knows  where." 

I 


2        THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Oh,  all  right,  if  you  will  only  hurry,"  cried 
Mollie  in  desperation,  and  jumping  from  her 
chair  she  propelled  her  friend  in  most  undigni- 
fied haste  up  the  broad  stairway — Grace  protest- 
ing at  every  step. 

''Here's  your  coat.  Now  don't  talk — act!" 
Mollie  was  commanding  when  Grace  took  her 
firmly  by  her  two  shoulders  and  backed  her  up 
against  the  wall. 

"Now  listen  here,  young  lady,"  she  said,  look- 
ing sternly  down  into  her  friend's  laughing  eyes. 
"It's  my  turn  to  talk.  I  refuse  to  budge  another 
step  until  you  have  explained,  to  my  perfect  satis- 
faction, the  cause  of  all  this  rush." 

"Well,  since  you  feel  that  way  about  it," 
laughed  Mollie,  "suppose  you  let  me — sit  down." 

"Will  you  tell  me  about  it  if  I  let  you  go? 
Promise !" 

"Uh-huh,"  said  Mollie,  and  so  she  was  re- 
leased. 'There  isn't  much  to  tell  anyway,"  she 
went  on.  "Betty  and  I  met  Frank  Haley  and 
Will  a  few  minutes  ago  and  Frank  happened  to 
remark  that  it  was  a  splendid  day  for  an  auto 
ride.  We  agreed  with  him — that's  all." 

"Fine — but  where's  Betty?"  and  Grace  ad- 
justed her  tiny  toque  with  care  before -the  huge 
mirror. 

"Oh,  she's  coming,  just  as  soon  as  she  lets  her 


THE  RUNAWAY  CAR  * 

mother  know  where  she's  off  to.  We  wanted 
Amy  to  go  along  too — stopped  in  there  on  the 
way  down — but  Mrs.  Stonington  isn't  feeling 
well  and  Amy  thought  she  ought  to  stay  with 
her." 

"I'm  sorry  for  that.  But  would  there  have 
been  room  for  all  of  us  in  Frank's  car,  any- 
way?" 

"Oh,  yes,  it's  a  big  seven-passenger  affair.  Mr. 
Nelson  says  it  is  a  wonder.  Just  think!  I  can 
only  squeeze  five  into  mine,"  and  Mollie  drew  a 
long  sigh  at  Fate. 

"How  ungrateful,  Mollie — most  girls  would 
be  glad  of  the  chance  to  ride  around  in  a  neat 
little  machine  like  yours.  Why,  I'd  even  be 
thankful  for  a  tiny  runabout." 

'There  it  is  now,"  Mollie  said  as  a  motor  horn 
tooted  insistently  on  the  drive  below.  "Don't 
let's  keep  them  waiting." 

"Hello,  girls,  we'd  have  been  here  sooner  if 
Betty  hadn't  delayed  us."  It  was  Frank  Haley 
who  spoke,  a  handsome  young  fellow,  whose 
merry  grey  eyes  showed  that  he  deserved  his 
name — the  first  part  of  it,  at  least.  "Come,  'fess 
up,  Betty,"  he  added,  turning  to  the  bright-eyed, 
rosy-cheeked  girl  beside  him. 

"I'm  afraid  I  did  keep  them  waiting,  girls- 
about  two  minutes,"  Betty  Nelson  admitted,  then 


THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 


added  in  defense  :  :'But  I  couldn't  go  looking  the 
way  I  was,  you  know." 

"I  don't  see  why  not.  I  didn't  see  anything 
wrong." 

"That  doesn't  prove  a  single  thing,  Frank," 
Grace  retorted  as  he  opened  the  door  for  the 
girls.  "Boys  never  do." 

"Don't  they  though?"  Frank  objected.  "Do 
you  mean  to  say  I  don't  know  that  that  little 
whatever-you-may-call-it  in  your  hat  is  quite 
considerable  -  " 

"Class?"  finished  Will,  who  had  been  busy 
tucking  in  the  robe  about  Mollie's  feet.  "Per- 
sonally I  think  we're  a  pretty  fine  crowd,  take 
us  all  together." 

"Well,  did  you  ever  hear  such  —  Frank,  don't 
you  think  we'd  better  get  started  before  he  says 
anything  worse?"  and  Betty  turned  appealingly 
to  Frank. 

'Just  as  you  say,"  he  answered  obligingly,  and 
at  his  words  the  great  car  glided  noiselessly  down 
the  drive  and  out  into  the  street. 

"Wliere  to?"  called  Will  from  the  tonneau. 
"How  about  a  little  spin  in  the  country, 
Frank  ?" 

"Ask  the  girls,"  was  the  reply.  "What  they 
say  goes." 

"Oh,  yes,  let's,"  said  Mollie  eagerly.     "It  is 


THE  RUNAWAY  CAR 


just  getting  so  green  and  beautiful  now.  Sum- 
mer is  the  only  time  in  the  year  anyway." 

"The  winter  didn't  seem  to  bother  you  girls 
much  last  year,"  Frank  broke  in.  "If  I  could  go 
to  Florida  every  winter,  the  cold  and  wintry 
blasts  would  have  no  more  terrors  for  me." 

"Oh,  well,  it  was  wonderful  —  in  more  ways 
than  one,"  this  last  so  low  that  only  Will  heard 
it,  as  Grace  squeezed  his  hand  under  cover  of 
the  robe.  You  see,  Will  was  her  brother,  and 
they  were  very  fond  of  each  other,  as  well  they 
might  be. 

"Whom  did  you  wave  to  then,  Betty?"  Mollie 
asked,  as  the  car  swung  off  into  the  country 
road.  "I  didn't  see  them  till  we  were  almost 
past/' 

"Alice  Jallow  and  her  friend,  Kitty  Rossmore. 
They're  always  together,"  Betty  answered,  then 
added  :  "By  the  way,  Mollie,  it  seems  to  me  you 
were  just  saying  you  had  something  good  to 
tell." 

"My  aunt  has  a  bungalow  out  on  Pine  Island. 
It's  a  lovely  place,  the  bungalow,  I  mean,  not  the 
island,  although  if  all  they  say  is  true,  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  that's  all  right  too." 

"But,  Mollie,  what  has  that  to  do  with  us?" 
Grace  interrupted.  "Is  she  going  to  ask  you  to 
make  her  a  visit?" 


6        THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"No.  It's  lots  better  than  that.  You  see  Uncle 
James  wants  to  take  her  to  Europe  this  summer 
and  so " 

"Oh,  Mollie!"  Betty  interrupted,  her  eye*, 
sparkling.  'You  dcn't  mean 

"Yes  I  do — exactly,"  and  Mollie  settled  back 
with  a  contented  sigh. 

"I'm  afraid  I  am  very  stupid  to-day,"  Grace 
remarked. 

"More  than  usual?"  asked  Will,  the  irrepres- 
sible, with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye. 

'Why  don't  you  see,  Grace?"  Betty's  face  was 
radiant.  "Can't  you  see  Mollie  means  that  we 
are  to  occupy  that  vacated  bungalow  this  sum- 
mer?" 

"But  please,  girls,  don't  get  your  minds  made 
up  to  it  yet,  for  nothing  is  really  settled,  you 
know.  Perhaps  I  should  have  waited  till  I  was 
sure  before  I  spoke  of  it."  Mollie  seemed  to  be 
doubtful. 

"Oh,  it's  certain  to  turn  out  all  right/'  said 
Betty,  with  conviction.  "Everything  has  that  we 
have  ever  planned  before,  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  this  should  be  an  exception." 

"And  even  if  it  doesn't,  just  think  what  fun 
we  will  have  thinking  about  it,"  added  Grace, 
philosophically,  at  which  the)7  all  laughed. 

'Anyway  you  are  a  dear,  Mollie,  for  having 


" 


THE  RUNAWAY  CAR  7 

such  lovely  relatives,"  cried  Betty  gaily.  "If  I 
could  only  climb  over  this  seat,  I'd  give  you  two 
great  big  hugs,  one  for  each  of  them." 

"Nobody  calls  me  a  dear  and  offers  to  hug  me, 
and  I've  got  the  loveliest  relatives  in  the  world — 
you  can  ask  them  if  you  don't  believe  me,"  and 
Frank  managed  to  lock  very  pathetic  and  forlorn. 

All  this  time  they  had  been  getting  farther 
and  farther  out  into  the  country  and  now  Frank 
put  on  extra  speed  to  ascend  the  rather  steep  in- 
cline directly  in  front  of  them. 

"Your  car  runs  like  a  dream,  Frank,"  Betty 
was  saying  as  they  reached  the  top.  "Look  at 
that  great  big  haystack  down  there — it  must  have 
taken  some  time  to  gather  it  in.  Why  don't  you 
slow  down  a  little?  Don't  you  think — oh,  what 
is  it,  Frank?"  for  she  had  noticed  the  set  lines 
of  his  mouth  and  the  look  of  terror  that  had 
flashed  into  his  eyes.  "Oh,  Frank!"  she  cried 


again. 


"Sit  tight,"  he  muttered  through  clenched 
teeth.  "The  brake  won't  work !" 

On,  on  dashed  the  great  machine,  swaying 
from  side  to  side  and  gaining  velocity  with  each 
second,  while  the  girls,  with  terror  tugging  at 
their  hearts,  sat  still — and  waited. 


CHAPTER    II 

A  LUCKY  ESCAPE 

To  those  who  are  already  acquainted  with  the 
Outdoor  Girls,  no  explanations  are  necessary,  but 
for  the  benefit  of  my  new  readers  I  will  take 
advantage  of  this  moment  to  make  them  better 
acquainted  with  the  characters  and  setting  of 
the  story. 

In  the  first  book  of  this  series,  called  "The 
Outdoor  Girls  of  Deepdale,"  the  girls,  Betty  Nel- 
son, sometimes  called  the  Little  Captain,  because 
of  her  fearless  leadership,  Mollie  Billette,  Grace 
Ford  and  Amy  'Blackford,  had  gone  on  their 
famous  walking  tour,  and  during  their  wander- 
ings had  solved  the  mystery  of  a  five-hundred- 
dollar  bill. 

The  second  volume,  "The  Outdoor  Girls  at 
Rainbow  Lake,"  tells  of  a  summer  full  of  interest 
and  adventure  during  which  the  horse  Grace  was 
riding  ran  away  with  her.  This  misfortune  led 
to  the  loss  of  some  very  valuable  papers,  with  a 
subsequent  strange  happening  on  an  island,  about 

8 


A  LUCKY  ESCAPE  9 

which,  and  the  recovery  of  the  papers,  you  may 
read,  dear  reader,  if  you  will. 

"The  Outdoor  Girls  in  a  Motor  Car"  is  the 
third  book  of  the  series.  Yes,  there  really  was 
a  house  where  all  sorts  of  weird  sights  and 
sounds  might  be  seen  and  heard  at  night  if  one 
had  the  courage  to  stay  around.  And  you  may 
imagine  the  consternation  of  the  Outdoor  Girls 
when  Mollie  was  captured  by  the  "ghost." 

At  the  end  of  a  delightful  summer,  spent  in 
touring  the  country  in  Mollie's  car,  the  girls 
had  a  wonderful  chance  to  spend  the  winter  in 
the  woods.  Needless  to  say,  they  took  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunity.  The  fourth  book,  "The 
Outdoor  Girls  in  a  Winter  Camp,"  describes  the 
settlement  of  a  certain  property  dispute,  involv- 
ing Mr.  Ford.  The  happy  result  was  made  pos- 
sible by  the  good  fortune  that  favors  our  girls. 
This  volume  tells  also  how  Amy  was  claimed  by 
a  brother,  of  whose  existence  she  was  unaware. 

Then  followed  their  adventures  in  Florida 
during  which  the  girls  had  succeeded  in  finding 
Will  Ford,  Grace's  brother,  who  had  been  vir- 
tually kidnapped  by  a  villainous  labor  contractor 
and  had  been  set  to  work  in  a  turpentine  camp. 
The  fifth  volume,  entitled  "The  Outdoor  Girls  in 
Florida;  or,  Wintering  in  the  Sunny  South,"  tells 
of  many  other  adventures  the  girls  had  during 


10     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

their  winter  among  the  "orange  blossoms,"  but 
now  it  was  over,  and  Deepdale,  which  they  had 
left  covered  deep  with  snow,  had  begun  once 
more  to  stir  with  life  beneath  the  gentle  touch  of 
spring. 

In  the  sixth  book,  'The  Outdoor  Girls  at 
Ocean  View,"  the  girls  have  many  good  times 
and  stirring  adventures.  The  discovery  of  a  box, 
containing  veritable  riches  in  diamonds,  led  to 
the  kidnapping  of  Betty  and  Amy  and  their 
subsequent  rescue. 

And  now  that  spring  had  dipped  into  summer, 
and  they  were  again  in  Deepdale,  was  this  ride 
of  theirs,  begun  so  joyously,  about  to  end  in 
tragedy  ? 

"Frank,  Frank!"  screamed  Grace,  "if  you 
don't  stop,  I'll  jump,  I  will — I  will!" 

"No,  you  won't!  Sit  where  you  are!"  her 
brother  Will  commanded  sternly.  "Sit  still,  I 
tell  you !" 

On,  on,  they  went  with  ever-increasing  speed, 
while  Frank  tried  desperately  to  jam  the  use- 
less brake — but  to  no  effect!  The  car  was  like 
a  horse  with  the  bit  between  its  teeth,  plunging 
madly  to  destruction. 

"Oh,  oh,  oh!"  screamed  Grace,  pressing  her 
hands  tightly  before  her  eyes.  "We're  going  to 
be  killed,  I  know  it !" 


A  LUCKY  ESCAPE  II 

There  was  a  shock,  a  sound  like  tearing  cloth, 
the  big  machine  plowed  half  its  length  through 
the  big  haystack  and — stopped ! 

"Frank,  I'm  getting  smothered;  won't  you  dig 
me  out?"  It  was  Betty's  voice,  plaintive  and  half, 
hysterical. 

Will  and  Frank  shook  the  hay  from  their  own 
eyes  and  then  went  to  the  rescue  of  the  girls. 
Then  they  stared  at  each  other.  Gradually  the 
look  of  utter  bewilderment  faded  from  their 
faces  and  a  smile  flashed  from  one  to  the  other 
like  a  ray  of  sunshine. 

Then  suddenly  Mollie  laughed.  "Oh,  you  look 
so  funny!"  she  gasped.  "Just  when  I  thought 
we  were  all  going  to  be  killed " 

"You  get  disappointed,"  Frank  finished  with 
a  rueful  smile.  "Just  the  same,  it's  lucky  for  us 
that  big  haystack  was  just  exactly  where  it  is," 
he  added.  "When  I  hit  the  rock  I  sure  thought 
we  were  all  goners." 

"Oh,  don't,"  begged  Grace,  then  added,  with 
a  shame- faced  little  smile,  "I'm  sorry  I  made 
such  a  fuss — I  always  am  ashamed  of  myself 
when  the  danger  is  over." 

"You  needn't  apologize,  Grace,"  said  Betty, 
quickly.  "If  there's  one  time  you  ought  to  be 
excused  for  making  a  fuss  it's  when  you  think 
it's  going  to  be  your  last  chance." 


12      THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

That  was  Betty  all  over — bright,  generous, 
fun-loving,  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  girls. 
Grace  was  tall,  graceful,  slender,  with  a  pretty 
face  framed  in  a  wealth  of  bright  hair.  She 
was  accustomed  to  take  life  more  easily  than 
Betty  and,  although  not  a  coward  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  she  was  always  willing  to 
have  the  other  girls  go  first.  Then  there  was 
Mollie,  dark  eyed  and  quick  tempered,  with  more 
than  a  touch  of  the  French  in  her,  but  Betty's 
equal  in  bravery.  The  last  of  the  little  quartette 
was  Amy  Blackford  (formerly  called  Amy 
Stonington),  who  has  not  yet  appeared  in  this 
book.  Up  to  a  year  before  she  had  been  sur- 
rounded by  a  mystery  which  would  have  held 
great  interest  for  the  girls  even  had  they  not 
loved  and  admired  her  for  her  own  good 
qualities. 

Such  were  the  girls  who,  with  Betty's  help, 
were  fast  recovering  their  good  spirits. 

"If  we  can  back  the  machine  out  of  this  hay- 
stack,'7 Frank  was  saying,  "I  guess  we  had  better 
start  for  home." 

"But  don't  you  think  we  had  better  walk," 
Grace  suggested  nervously.  "I'm  afraid  to  trust 
myself  to  the  old  thing  again." 

"Oh,  there  won't  be  any  danger  now,"  Will 
assured  her.  "We  can  go  back  by  a  roundabout 


A  LUCKY  ESCAPE  13 

route  where  there  aren't  any  hills  to  speed  us  into 
haystacks.  How  about  it,  Frank?" 

"You're  right !  We  are  not  going  to  take  any 
more  chances,  I  can  tell  you  that."  Then,  turn* 
ing  to  the  girl  beside  him,  he  added,  "How  are 
you  feeling,  Betty?  Awfully  shaken  up?" 

"Not  a  bit,"  she  assured  him,  gaily.  "Why, 
after  the  first  shock  I  really  enjoyed  it." 

"That's  the  way  to  talk  and  I'm  mighty  glad 
no  one's  hurt.  Now  for  home." 

After  a  great  number  of  half  starts  and  sud- 
den stops  they  succeeded  finally  in  backing  the 
great  machine  away  from  the  haystack  and  out 
on  the  road  again. 

"Now  remember  your  promise,"  cried  Grace 
as  they  started  off.  "No  more  speeding,  Frank, 
and  no  more  hills." 

"Right,"  he  sang  back,  cheerily.  "We  have 
had  excitement  enough  for  one  day.  Just  watch 


me.' 


And,  true  to  his  word,  after  an  hour's  round- 
about trip,  they  swung  quietly  into  Deepdale, 
without  having  encountered  further  mishap  on 
the  way. 


CHAPTER   III 

FORTUNES 

EARLY  the  next  morning  Mollie  hailed  Betty 
as  the  Little  Captain  went  up  the  street. 

"Where  to,  so  early?"  she  called.  "Why 
didn't  you  stop  for  me?" 

"Oh,  I  was  going  to  Amy's  first,  to  find  out 
how  Mrs.  Stonington  is,"  said  Betty  as  she 
turned  back.  "Then  I  was  going  to  stop  in  to 
see  if  you  would  go  with  me  to  call  on  Grace. 
I  promised  her  last  night  I  would  come  over 
this  morning." 

"But  isn't  it  early?"  said  Mollie,  doubtfully. 
"Probably  Grace  won't  even  be  up  yet." 

The  Little  Captain  seated  herself  comfortably 
on  the  board  step  of  the  veranda.  'Yes  she 
will,"  she  said  decidedly.  "I  told  her  yesterday 
that  if  I  came  over  this  morning  and  found  her 
in  bed  eating  candy  before  breakfast  instead 
of  enjoying  the  wonderful  morning  air,  I'd 
never  come  over  again.  She  knows  that  I  mean 
it,  too." 

14 


FORTUNES  15 

"Well,  in  that  case,  she  may  be  up,"  laughed 
Mollie.  "If  you  will  wait  a  minute  I'll  go  with 
you  to  Amy's/'  she  added  and  ran  lightly  into 
the  house. 

The  girls  found  Mrs.  Stonington  very  muchj 
improved  and  Amy  only  too  glad  to  get  out  into 
the  glorious  sunshine  of  the  summer  morning. 

As  the  three  chums,  clad  daintily  in  white, 
with  a  background  of  velvety  green  lawn  to  set 
them  off,  approached  the  Fords'  beautiful  home, 
they  were  surprised  beyond  measure  to  see  Grace 
swinging  leisurely  back  and  forth  in  the  big 
hammock  under  the  trees.  They  stopped  short 
and  gazed  upon  this  spectacle. 

"And  she's  not  eating  chocolates  either/'  re* 
marked  Amy  in  an  awe-struck  voice.  "What 
can  have  happened  ?" 

"I  wish  you  would  stop  gazing  at  me  like  that/* 
said  Grace,  raising  her  head  and  looking  at  the 
three  girls  who  were  still  regarding  her  fixedly. 
*'Is  it  my  hair,  or  is  my  nose  red,  or  is  it  my 
skirt  that's  too  tight?  Please  tell  me  and  get  it 
over  with.  I  can  stand  anything  but  this 
suspense." 

"A  miracle  has  taken  place — the  impossible 
has  happened!"  cried  Betty,  striking  a  theatrical 
pose.  "Never  again  will  I  doubt  the  wisdom  of 
those  so  learned " 


Il6     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"What  is  she  raving  about,  girls,  do  you 
know?"  asked  Grace  plaintively.  "She  never 
used  to  be  like  this." 

"It's  the  shock,  that's  all,"  interpreted  Mollie. 
("Never    mind,    Betty,"    she    added    soothingly., 
"You  will  get  used  to  it  in  time." 

"Amy,  you're  the  only  sane  one  in  that  crowd," 
cried  Grace  in  desperation.  'Will  you  kindly 
explain  what  those  two  lunatics  are  talking  about 
— if  they  know  themselves!"  This  last  was  ut- 
tered so  vindictively  that  the  girls  came  down 
from  rhetorical  heights  with  a  bounce. 

"Oh,"  laughed  Betty,  running  up  to  Grace  and 
giving  her  a  hug.  'You  must  really  forgive  us, 
Grace  dear,  we  just  couldn't  help  it — you  re- 
formed so  suddenly,  you  know." 

"Reformed?"  said  Grace,  still  mystified,  while 
she  made  room  for  the  other  girls  in  the  ham- 
mock. "What  do  you  mean — 'reformed'?  I 
didn't  know  I  needed  to." 

"Listen  to  the  child,"  mocked  Mollie.  "Why, 
don't  you  know,  Grace,  that  there  isn't  one  of 
us  that  doesn't  need  a  lot  of  reforming?" 
1  "Speak  for  yourself,  Mollie  Billette,"  re- 
marked Grace,  a  trifle  shortly,  for  her  natural 
good  temper  was  becoming  ruffled  under  the  con- 
tinued teasing. 

"Now,   please,   girls,"   said   Betty,   fearing  a 


FORTUNES  17 

storm,  "don't  let's  quarrel,  whatever  we  do.  We 
were  only  surprised  to  see  you  up  so  early,  Grace, 
that's  all.  But  now  I'm  mighty  glad  you  are, 

i 

because  we'll  have  a  chance  for  a  nice  long  talk. 
What  time  do  you  suppose  it  is  now?" 

"It  was  nearly  ten  when  I  came  out  of  the 
house,"  Grace  replied,  placated  by  the  Little  Cap- 
tain's tactful  changing  of  the  subject.  "Can't 
you  all  stay  to  lunch  ?  Then  we  can  make  a  good 
long  day  of  it." 

The  girls  took  a  walk  about  town  before 
lunch,  just  to  "be  sure  of  an  appetite,"  as  Amy 
said.  During  the  tramp  they  met  Roy  Anderson, 
an  old  boy  friend. 

"Are  you  doing  anything  particular  this  after- 
noon?" he  wanted  to  know,  and  upon  the  girls 
replying  in  the  negative,  asked  if  he  might  bring 
some  of  the  other  boys  around.  "We  have  made 
a  discovery!"  he  shouted  after  them.  "We'll  tell 
you  about  it  when  we  see  you." 

And  so,  the  noon  meal  over,  the  girls  strolled 
out  on  the  lawn  again  and  waited  eagerly  for 
what  the  boys  might  have  to  tell  them. 

They  had  not  long  to  wait — in  fact  they  had 
barely  had  time  to  settle  themselves  in  the  com- 
fortable chairs,  when  along  the  road  came — not 
the  boys,  but  a  ragged,  bent,  old  woman,  leaning 
heavily  on  a  twisted  stick  for  support.  Instead  of 


18     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

going  straight  on,  as  the  girls  had  expected  she 
would  do,  the  old  woman  turned  in  at  the  drive 
and  made  straight  for  them. 

"What  shall  we  do?  Shall  we  go  in  the 
house?"  whispered  Grace  to  Betty.  "I  don't  like 
her  looks  very  much,  do  you?" 

"She  isn't  particularly  beautiful,"  Betty  tele- 
graphed back.  "But  she  can't  possibly  do  us  any 
harm.  Let's  wait  and  see  what  she  has  to  say." 

As  the  old  hag  drew  nearer,  the  girls  instinc- 
tively shrank  back  in  their  chairs.  And,  indeed, 
she  was  not  a  prepossessing  figure.  Her  head 
was  bound  about  with  an  old  red  handkerchief, 
tied  under  the  wrinkled  chin  and  framing  a  face 
seamed  and  crisscrossed  with  a  million  wrinkles. 
An  old,  tattered  shawl  covered  her  bent  shoul- 
ders, and  the  hand  that  grasped  the  knotted  stick 
was  claw-like  and  emaciated.  Her  eyes  were  the 
only  part  of  her  that  seemed  to  retain  some  sem- 
blance of  youth.  They  were  little  and  beady  and 
exceedingly  keen,  so  that  when  she  raised  them 
to  Betty's  young  face,  that  staunch  little  captain 
felt  that  she  would  almost  rather  be  anywrhere 
else  than  there  beneath  the  trees  with  the  search- 
ing eyes  of  the  old  crone  fixed  upon  her. 

"What  do  you  want  ?"  Betty  gasped,  trying  to 
make  her  voice  ralm  and  steady,  but  with  little 
success. 


FORTUNES 

"I  won't  hurt  you,  pretty  ladies,"  said  the  old 
woman,  divining  their  repugnance  and  half-fear 
and  desiring  to  placate  them.  'Won't  you  have 
your  fortunes  told  ?  Only  twenty-five  cents,  and 
I  can  tell  you  of  your  past  and  as  much  as  you 
will  of  your  future.  Only  a  quarter,  pretty 
ladies." 

'Betty  glanced  inquiringly  at  the  other  girls, 
but  they  shook  their  heads  decidedly — the  mum- 
bling old  crone  was  getting  on  their  nerves. 

"Not  to-day,"  said  Betty,  as  kindly  as  she 
could.  "We  are  expecting  company  and  we 
haven't  time.  Some  other  time  perhaps." 

"Some  other  day  may  be  too  late,"  said  the  old 
crone,  leeringly.  "Oh,  yes,  you  will  have  all  the 
time  there  is  to  be  miserable  in.  And  you  will 
be!  You  will  be!  The  curse  be  on  you  for  re- 
fusing an  old  woman  like  me  the  price  of  her 
bread!"  and  she  hobbled  down  the  long  drive 
muttering  to  herself  and  stopping  once  to  shake 
her  fist  at  the  startled  girls. 

"Oh,  did  you  ever!"  Mollie  exclaimed.  Just 
then  there  was  a  sound  of  jolly,  masculine  laugh- 
ter and  around  a  corner  of  the  house  came  the 
boys. 

"Oh,  I've  never  been  so  glad  to  see  anybody 
in  all  my  life!"  said  Grace  with  a  little  shiver, 
as  the  boys  paused  to  gaze  after  the  retreating 


SO     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

form  of  the  old  hag.    "It  is  such  a  relief  to  have 
some  boys  around !" 

"I  say!  who's  your  venerable  friend,  Grace?" 
Roy  inquired  as  he  and  his  friends  joined  the 
girls. 

'Yes,  what  did  you  do  to  her,  Betty?"  It  was 
Allen  Washburn  who  asked  the  question.  He 
was  a  young  lawyer,  liked  and  admired  by  every 
one  in  Deepdale,  and  let  it  be  said  here  that  Betty 
was  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  And  as 
for  young  Allen  Washburn  himself,  he  never 
sought  to  conceal  his  genuine  admiration  for  the 
Little  Captain.  'The  last  I  saw  of  her,  she  was 
shaking  her  fist  at  the  house.  She  didn't  seem 
to  be  in  any  too  sweet  a  temper,  either." 

"It  was  just  because  we  wouldn't  let  her  read 
our  fortunes,"  Betty  explained.  "Oh,  I  wouldn't 
let  that  old  thing  touch  me !" 

"I  could  tell  your  fortune  for  you,  if  you'd 
only  let  me,"  whispered  Allen,  so  softly  that  only 
Betty  heard.  But  that  was  as  it  should  be,  since 
it  was  intended  for  her  ear  alone. 

"She  looked  just  like  a — oh,  what  do  you 
call  them? — the  people  that  wander  around  all 
the  time  and  never  have  any  homes — oh,  I  know, 
gypsies,"  said  Amy  eagerly.  "Wasn't  she  a 
gypsy,  Will  ?" 

"Oh,  now  she's  gone  and  spilled  the  beans!" 


FORTUNES  21 

said  Frank,  so  ruefully  that  they  all  laughed. 
"Here  we  come,  all  primed  to  give  you  a  sur- 
prise, and  we  find  you  prepared  beforehand." 

"But  what  surprise?"  asked  Mollie.  "She 
didn't  tell  us  anything — we  wouldn't  let  her." 

"Yes,  she  did.  She  told  you  everything,  only 
you  don't  know  it,"  was  Will's  enigmatic  com- 
ment. "You  see,"  he  went  on,  "there's  a  gypsy 
encampment  near  by  and  we  thought  you  girls 
might  like  to  visit  it.  The  caravans  they  use  and 
the  strange  costumes  are  all  mighty  interesting." 

"Oh,  won't  that  be  fine!"  said  Grace  eagerly. 
"I've  always  wanted  to  see  one  of  those  things 
near  by.  When  can  we  go?" 

"I  thought  you  didn't  like  gypsies,  Grace," 
Betty  broke  in. 

"Well,  I  wouldn't  if  they  were  all  like  this," 
answered  Grace.  "But  they're  not,  are  they, 
Roy?  There  are  lots  and  lots  of  really  romantic- 
looking  ones  if  all  the  books  I've  read  know 
anything  about  it." 

"Of  course  there  are.  You  don't  suppose  we'd 
take  you  to  see  a  lot  of  old  crones  like  this  pep- 
pery woman,  do  you?"  Roy  answered.  'Why, 
I've  heard  there  are  some  mighty  good-looking 
girls  in  this  crowd." 

"Now  I  see  why  they're  so  anxious  to  go," 
laughed  Betty.  "I  don't  think  we'd  better  chance 


22     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

it,  girls.  They  might  become  so  charmed  with 
the  fair  gypsy  maids  that  they'd  forget  our 
existence." 

"I  don't  think  you  need  worry  too  much  about 
that,"  said  Allen,  answering  the  challenge  in 
Betty's  eyes.  'The  only  question  is  whether  we 
will  have  eyes  to  see  the  charms  of  the  gypsy 
maids." 

"Here!  here!"  shouted  Will.  "You're  coming 
on,  Allen,  you're  coming  on.  I  wish  I  could 
reel  them  off  like  that.  Well,  ladies,  what  day 
shall  we  set  for  the  adventure  ?" 

"To-night,"  said  Betty  promptly. 

"Good,"  Frank  responded.  "Betty  has  the 
right  idea,  all  right.  To-night  it  is !" 

So  it  was  settled,  and  when  they  parted  eyes 
were  bright  with  the  excitement  of  the  coming 
adventure. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  GYPSY  ENCAMPMENT 

BETTY  was  ready  before  any  one  arrived  that 
night.  The  boys  and  girls  were  to  meet  at  her 
house  and  from  there  go  on  to  the  gypsy  encamp- 
ment. 

She  sat  on  the  porch  with  a  light  wrap  thrown 
over  one  arm  and  waited  impatiently. 

"Oh,  why  don't  they  come?"  she  thought. 
"The  girltL  said  they  would  be  early,  and  the 
boys  are  always  away  ahead  of  time.  Oh,  here 
come  Grace  and  Will,  now  if  the  others  will  only 
hurry." 

"Hello,  Betty!  Been  waiting  long?"  It  was 
Will's  cheery  greeting. 

"Oh,  for  hours  and  hours,"  said  the  Little 
Captain  with  a  sigh.  "I'd  begun  to  think  every- 
body had  forgotten  all  about  it.  I'm  so  glad 
you're  here.  You  can  keep  me  company  any- 
way." 

"Oh,  are  we  the  first?"  Grace  was  surprised. 

23 


24     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"I  hurried  Will  till  he  nearly  had  a  fit.  Said  we 
would  be  ahead  of  everybody  else,  but  I  didn't 
believe  him." 

"Some  day,"  said  Will  in  a  prophetic  voice, 
"some  day,  young  lady,  you  will  learn  that  I  do 
know  something." 

"Oh,  do  you  really  think  so?"  said  Grace, 
hopefully.  "If  that  day  ever  comes,  Will,  dear, 
I  will  be  the  very  first  to  congratulate  you." 

"Here  come  some  of  the  others,"  Betty  cried 
out.  "I  can't  quite  make  them  out,  but  it  looks 
like  Roy  and  Amy  and — yes — there's  Allen,  too. 
But  who  is  the  other  girl?  It  certainly  isn't 
Mollie.  I  know  her  walk  too  well." 

"No,  it  isn't  Mollie,"  said  Grace,  slowly.  "Do 
you  know  whom  it  looks  like,  Betty?" 

"No,"  said  that  young  person,  straining  her 
eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  newcomers.  "Who 
is  it?" 

;Tm  not  sure  but  it  looks  like "  Grace 

paused  a  moment,  then  said  with  conviction, 
"I'm  right !  It's  Alice  Jallow,  and  I  don't  like 
her  very  much.  What  is  she  doing  in  our  crowd 
anyway?" 

"That's  what  I  would  like  to  know,"  growled 
Will.  "We  had  just  enough  before.  I  don't 
know  who's  going  to  take  care  of  her." 

"Will,  don't  be  ungallant,"  warned  his  sister. 


THE  GYPSY  ENCAMPMENT  2$ 


"Play  the  game.  Probably  there's  some  explana- 
tion, anyway." 

But  to  the  Little  Captain,  as  she  watched  the 
quartette  approaching,  there  seemed  no  plausible 
explanation.  Why  should  Allen  be  paired  off 
with  "this  Jallow  girl"  ?  Betty  knew  very  little 
of  the  latter  except  that  she  was  always  trying 
to  get  in  where  she  was  not  wanted.  Well,  she 
certainly  was  not  wanted  now.  Oh,  why  did 
Allen  look  so  happy?  If  "this  Jallow  girl"  had 
her,  Betty's,  escort,  where  did  she  come  in?  Hot 
tears  of  anger  and  mortification  rose  to  her  eyes, 
but  she  drove  them  back  mercilessly  and  her 
greeting  to  the  newcomers  was  as  merry  as  ever. 

"Hello,  everybody!"  she  called.  "You  surely 
took  long  enough  to  get  here." 

"Hello,  Betty!  This  is "  Amy  paused, 

then  went  on  rather  awkwardly.  "You  see,  Alice 
happened  to  be  at  the  house  when  the  boys  came 
and — well — we  brought  her  along,"  she  finished, 
lamely. 

"And  here  I  am,"  said  Alice  effusively.  "I  do 
hope  I'm  not  putting  any  one  out.  The  idea  of 
visiting  the  gypsy  camp  was  so  fascinating  that 
I  simply  couldn't  resist  the  temptation.  I  think 
you  might  have  let  me  in  on  it  in  the  first  place," 
and  she  looked  reproachfully  at  Allen. 

That  young  gentleman  had  been  sending  im- 


26     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

ploring  looks  in  Betty's  direction  over  Alice  Jal- 
low's  head,  which  the  former  had  chosen  abso- 
lutely to  ignore.  Now,  being  thus  appealed  to,  he 
smiled  down  at  Alice. 

"It  certainly  was  3.  grave  oversight  on  our 
part,"  he  said. 

Betty  felt  as  if  her  little  world  had  been  turned 
upside  down  and  she  wanted  to  shake  somebody 
• — it  didn't  much  matter  who  it  was — but  shake 
somebody  she  must,  good  and  hard ! 

Just  at  this  critical  moment  up  came  the  two 
missing  ones,  Mollie  and  Frank — and  a  third. 

"Now,  who  is  that?"  thought  the  poor  Little 
Captain  in  despair.  "If  this  keeps  on,  we  shall 
have  the  whole  town  assembled  pretty  soon.  Oh, 
dear!" 

"Betty,  this  is  a  friend  of  mine,  Jack  San- 
ford,"  Frank  introduced  him  in  his  own  pleasant 
way.  "He's  not  such  a  bad  chap  when  you  get 
to  know  him  well,"  he  added,  while  his  friend 
thanked  him,  ironically. 

Betty  acknowledged  the  introduction  gaily.  If 
Allen  liked  "this  Jallow  girl,"  why,  he  could,  that 
was  all !  and  she  was  not  going  to  let  them  spoil 
the  evening  for  her.  Besides,  here  was  one  provi- 
dentially sent,  or  so  it  seemed  to  her.  And  he 
was  nice,  too,  very  nice!  He  seemed  to  be  hail- 
fellow-well-met  with  the  boys.  And  the  girls— 


THE  GYPSY  ENCAMPMENT  27 

well,  one  could  see  that  they  liked  him  from  the 
start.  But  if  only  Allen  would  not  look  so 
happy ! 

"Suppose  we  start,  now  we're  all  here,"  sug- 
gested Roy.  'The  sooner  we  get  there  the  more 
time  we'll  have." 

"Bright  boy,"  commented  Allen.  "How  did 
you  ever  find  that  out?"  Then,  under  cover  of 
the  laughter  and  the  darkness,  he  found  Betty's 
hand  and  held  it  for  a  moment.  "Betty,"  he 
pleaded,  "I " 

"May  I,  Miss  Nelson?"  It  was  Jack  Sanford, 
bowing  low  before  her. 

"Sounds  like  a  dance,"  laughed  Betty,  and 
added :  "Indeed  you  may.  Oh,  isn't  it  a  won- 
derful night?" 

Allen  ground  his  teeth  and  once  more  sub- 
mitted to  the  effusive  attentions  of  Alice  Jallow. 
If  Betty  could  have  seen  him  then  she  would  have 
been  moved  to  pity. 

"Is  it  very  far  to  the  camp?"  Mollie  asked, 
after  they  had  been  walking  some  time.  "I'm 
anxious  to  get  there." 

"Not  Very  far,  now,"  Roy  assured  her.  "It's 
just  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  Just  wait  till 
you  get  there.  When  you  see  how  interesting 
it  is  you  won't  mind  the  walk." 

VI  guess  you  don't  know  whom  you  are  talk- 


28     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

ing  to,"  called  Betty,  just  behind  them.     "You 
forget  that  walking  is  our  middle  name." 

"Pardon,  fair  damsel,"  said  Roy  in  mock  hu- 
mility. "I  must  confess  I  had  forgotten  for  the 
moment  that " 

"Oh,  look!  look!  All  the  bonfires  and  things 
and  people  sitting  around  them!"  Mollie  inter- 
rupted. "That  must  be  the  camp,  isn't  it,  Roy?" 

It  really  was  the  camp.  The  young  people 
drew  closer  together  as  they  neared  it,  fascinated, 
yet  half  afraid.  There  were  huge  bulky  objects 
in  the  background  beyond  the  illuminated  circle 
of  firelight. 

Those  are  the  caravan  wagons,  aren't 
they?':  demanded  the  Little  Captain  in  hushed 
tones.  "Oh,  I  wish  I  could  see  inside  one  of 
them." 

"Yes,  tney  are  the  Pullman  cars  of  the  gyp- 
sies," laughed  Jack.  "Perhaps  you  wouldn't  like 
them  so  much  inside  if  you  did  see  them,"  he 
added. 

"Oh,  let's  go  on,"  urged  Grace  at  Betty's 
elbow.  "I'm  dying  to  see  more  of  them,  even 
if  I  am  horribly  afraid.  Just  look  at  all  the 
tents  they  have  put  up.  They  must  expect  to 
stay  a  long  time." 

The  girls'  eyes  grew  wider  and  wider  as  they 
advanced  toward  the  circle  of  flickering  firelight. 


THE  GYPSY  ENCAMPMENT  29 

It  seemed  they  were  not  the  gypsies'  only  visitors, 
for  there  were  many  residents  of  Deepdale,  some 
of  whom  the  girls  recognized. 

The  roving  folk  had  set  forth  their  wares  upon 
rudely  constructed  tables,  ready  for  the  first  pur- 
chaser. Some  of  the  things  were  truly  beautiful 
— pieces  of  rare  old  lace,  chains  and  chains  of 
many-colored  beads,  silver  that  was  polished  till 
it  reflected  dazzlingly  the  dancing  firelight. 
There  were  rude  tents  set  aside  for  the  telling 
of  fortunes,  and  somewhere  further  back  in  the 
camp  the  wild,  sweet  strains  of  a  violin  mingled 
with  a  man's  sweet  tenor  voice. 

"Some  of  those  fellows  surely  can  sing,"  Frank 
remarked-.  "I'd  give  a  good  hundred  dollars 
this  minute  if  I  had  his  voice." 

"I  wish  I  could  find  one  for  you,  Frank,"  said 
Grace.  "I  need  the  hundred  badly." 

The  young  people  spent  over  an  hour  wander- 
ing about  the  place,  enjoying  to  the  full  the  nov- 
elty and  the  romance  of  it  all. 

Just  as  they  had  about  made  up  their  minds 
that  it  was  time  to  go  home,  Betty,  who  had 
exclaimed  more  than  once  over  the  beauty  of 
some  of  the  young  gypsy  girls,  their  beauty  being 
emphasized  by  the  picturesque  clothes  they  wore, 
stepped  back  to  look  into  a  tent  they  had  passed 
a  moment  before. 


30     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

Allen  sa\v  his  opportunity  and  was  quick  to 
improve  it. 

"You  must  be  careful  how  you  trot  about 

alone  here,  Betty.  You  know "  he  began, 

when  she  interrupted  him. 

"Oh,  it  is !"  she  said.     "It  is !" 

"What?"  asked  Allen,  mystified. 

She  drew  him  back  into  the  shadows  before 
she  answered.  "I  wasn't  sure,  but  now  I  know," 
she  said.  "That's  the  very  old  woman  who 
wanted  to  tell  our  fortunes  at  Grace's  this  after- 


noon." 


"Well,  what  of  it?"  he  inquired,  with  an  at- 
tempt to  be  reassuring.  "She  won't  hurt  you — • 
not  while  I'm  around." 

"Oh,  but  I  don't  like  her  looks,"  and  the  girl 
shivered  slightly. 

"You  need  your  coat,  Betty,"  said  Allen. 
"Where  is  it?" 

"Jack— Mr.  Sanford  has  it.     I'll  get  it." 

She  started  forward,  but  he  laid  a  restraining 
hand  on  her  arm.  "Betty,  Betty,"  he  whispered. 
"You're  not  going  to  keep  this  up,  are  you?" 

"What  do  you  mean?"  she  questioned,  with 
an  attempt  at  dignity  that  was  not  a  very  great 
success. 

"You  know  as  well  as  I  do,"  he  answered.  "It 
wasn't  my  fault.  Amy  introduced  her  and  J — • 


THE  GYPSY  ENCAMPMENT  3! 

well,  I  had  to  be  decent.  Betty,  don't  you  know 
me  well  enough " 

"Where  have  you  people  been  anyway?"  It 
was  Amy's  voice.  "We've  been  looking  all  over 
for  you." 

"Right  here,  every  minute/'  said  Allen  cheer- 
ily, and  the  little  party  started  on  again.  Not, 
however,  before  Mollie  and  Grace  had  exchanged 
very  significant  glances. 

The  young  people  turned  for  a  last  look  at  the 
gypsy  rendezvous  before  a  bend  in  the  road  shut 
it  from  view. 

"I've  had  an  awfully  good  time,"  said  Grace, 
then  added,  irrelevantly :  "I  only  hope  those  gyp- 
sies don't  steal  anything." 

"That's  a  good  hope/  whispered  Allen  in 
Betty's  ear.  They  are  dabsters  when  it  comes 
to  getting  away  with  other  people's  property/' 


CHAPTER   V 

THIEVES  IN  DEEPDALE 

• 

THE  door  bell  rang  out  its  noisy  summons. 

Betty  forestalled  the  maid  on  her  way  to  the 
portal  with  a  merry :  'Til  go,  Mary.  It's  probably 
one  of  the  girls." 

It  was  not  one  of  the  girls  only,  but  all  three 
of  them,  and  seemingly  in  the  wildest  excite- 
ment. 

"Oh,  Betty,  Betty!"  Mollie  cried,  not  even 
stopping  to  say  "hello."  "Have  you  heard  the 
news — have  you?" 

"No,  it's  so  early "  began  Betty,  but  Grace 

interrupted  her. 

"But  it  isn't  half  as  bad  as  what  happened  to 
us,"  she  said,  sinking  into  a  porch  chair  and 
fanning  herself  violently,  being  overcome  either 
by  the  heat  or  her  emotions — possibly  both. 
"Why!  dad's  running  around  the  house  like  a 
mad  man  this  morning,  swearing  all  sorts  of 
vengeance  on  the  thief,  whoever  he  or  she  is — • 
I  suppose  it  must  be  a  he,  though*  because 

women  don't  steal " 

32 


THIEVES  IN  DEEPDALE  33 

"Hold  on,  hold  on  a  minute,"  commanded 
Betty,  her  hands  over  her  ears.  "How  do  you 
expect  me  to  find  out  what  has  happened  if  you 
won't  come  to  the  point?" 

"Well,  I  was  going  to  tell  you  if  you'd  only 
have  a  little  patience,"  Grace  continued,  in  an  in- 
jured voice.  Here  she  paused  to  put  into  her 
mouth  a  chocolate  cream,  which  she  had  taken 
from  a  little  box  she  had  brought  with  her. 
Then,  seeing  Amy  about  to  speak,  she  went  on 
hastily,  holding  the  box  out  mutely  toward  her 
friends,  who  all  shook  their  heads.  "Here  I  rush 
all  the  way  over  and  get  all  heated  up  and  every- 
thing  " 

"Oh,  for  goodness'  sake,  Grace !"  Mollie  broke 
j£,  having  come  to  the  end  of  her  patience.  "If 
you  don't  tell  the  story  I  will.  You  have  been 
half  an  hour  already  getting  nowhere." 

At  this  dire  threat  Grace  continued  quickly. 
"Oh,  well,"  she  capitulated,  "since  you  are  in 
such  a  hurry — well,  the  fact  is,  Betty,  Beauty's 
been  stolen,"  and  she  delivered  the  terrible  news 
in  a  hushed  voice. 

"Oh!"  said  Betty,  horrified.  "And  your  fa- 
ther valued  him  above  all  the  rest.  Are  you  sure 
he  was  stolen,  Grace?" 

"Well,  I  don't  see  what  else  could  have  hap- 
pened to  him."  Now  that  she  had  delivered  her 


34     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

news,  Grace  was  once  more  as  calm  and  com- 
posed as  ever.  'The  horse  couldn't  very  well 
file  the  padlock  from  the  outside  or  climb  out 
the  window,  and  the  groom  wouldn't  be  very 
likely  to  take  him  for  a  gentle  stroll  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night.  And  unless  one  of  those  things 
has  happened,  Beauty  has  been  stolen.  Anyway, 
he's  gone,  there's  no  doubt  of  that." 

'That's  pretty  bad- -I  can  imagine  just  how 
your  father  feels,  Grace,"  Betty's  voice  was 
grave.  "I  do  hope  they  will  be  able  to  trace  him. 
Does  your  father  suspect  the  gypsies?" 

'Yes,  ever  since  the  store  was  robbed  the  other 
night,  dad  has  been  suspicious  of  them,"  Grace 
answered.  "He  has  tried  to  watch  his  horses 
with  especial  care,  too.  That's  one  thing  that 
makes  him  so  tearing  mad  to-day.  Oh,  you 
should  have  heard  him !"  and  Grace  sighed  at  the 
memory. 

"I  remember,"  said  Betty  thoughtfully,  "that 
Allen  said  something  the  other  night  when  we 
went  to  visit  their  camp  about  the  gypsies  being 
expert  thieves.  From  the  way  things  have  turned 
out  I  guess  he  knew  what  he  was  talking  about." 

"And  they  looked  so  nice  and  romantic,  too," 
said  Amy,  and  drew  a  sigh  at  the  irony  of  fate. 

This  conversation  took  place  between  the  girls 
on  a  certain  morning  several  days  after  their 


THIEVES  IN  DEEP  DALE  35 

memorable  visit  to  the  gypsy  camp.  A  day  or  so 
before  one  of  the  large  stores  of  the  town  had 
been  looted  and  practically  cleaned  out.  For  two 
(da}^s  Deepdale  had  been  in  a  furore  of  excite- 
ment and  indignation,  for  in  the  memory  of 
most  of  the  inhabitants  no  such  crime  had  ever 
been  perpetrated.  There  had  been  small  rob- 
beries, of  course,  but  that  Kendall's,  tradition- 
ally the  oldest  store  in  Deepdale,  should  have 
been  treated  to  such  insult,  and  by  a  band  of 
roving  gypsies,  too — for  every  one  suspected 
them  from  the  first — why,  it  was  unheard  of! 
incredible ! 

Detectives  and  sheriff  had  searched  the  town 
from  end  to  end  but  had  found  no  sign  of  the 
missing  goods.  They  had  visited  the  gypsy 
camp,  too,  submitting  it  to  a  strict  investigation, 
but  with  no  result.  .  The  countryside  had  been 
scoured  for  miles  around,  but  no  trace  had  as 
yet  been  found  of  the  missing  criminals  nor  of 
their  loot.  Indeed,  the  thieves  had  covered  their 
tracks  well,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Deepdale  were 
beginning  to  lose  hope  of  immediate  reparation. 

Such  was  the  chaotic  state  of  affairs  on  this 
beautiful  summer  morning  when  Mr.  Ford  had 
awakened  to  find  his  splendid  horse,  Beauty,  the 
ornament  of  his  stables  and  the  pride  of  his 
heart,  strangely  and  inexplicably  missing. 


36     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

For  an  hour  or  so  the  girls  pondered  on  these 
two  mysterious  robberies  and  found  themselves 
not  one  whit  nearer  the  solution.  It  was  Mollie 
who  finally  suggested  that  they  go  to  her  house 
and  look  at  a  couple  of  new  dresses  she  had 
bought  recently.  "It  will  help  get  our  minds  off 
the  robbery,"  she  said. 

The  girls  agreed  readily,  for  they  were  al- 
ways anxious  to  see  Mollie's  things.  ''They  are 
always  so  novel,"  Grace  had  once  said,  and 
Mollie  had  been  uncertain  whether  to  ticket  it  a 
compliment  or  otherwise. 

"Really,  my  head  aches  trying  to  figure  things 
out,"  Amy  complained,  as  they  neared  the  Bil- 
lette  home. 

''Well,  it  seems  to  me  it  is  just  about  time 
some  of  those  detectives  found  things  out  for 
us,"  Mollie  rejoined.  "Will  ought  to  be  able  to 
help,  Grace,"  she  added,  "since  he  is  in  the  secret 


service.' 


"You  may  be  sure  he  is  doing  his  best,"  Grace 
retorted  with  spirit.  'Those  gypsies  make  thiev- 
ing their  profession  and  it  isn't  always  as  easy 
to  track  them  as  it  seems.  If  you  don't  believe 
me,  just  try  it  yourself." 

"I  didn't  say  anything  about  not  believing 
you,"  Mollie  rejoined,  icily.  "And  there's  no 
reason  why  you  have  to  go  up  in  the  air 


THIEVES  IN  DEEPDALE  37 

about  nothing.  I  was  simply  suggesting,  that's 
all." 

"Girls,  some  day,  I  am  just  going  to  get  ter- 
ribly angry  about  something  and  then  let  fly," 
Betty  broke  in.  "I'd  just  like  to  know  what 
would  happen  and  where  we  would  end  up  if  you 
didn't  have  me  to  act  as  peacemaker." 

"Probably  in  the  county  jail  for  disturbing  the 
peace,"  said  Grace  ruefully,  and  Mollie  laughed, 
thereby  restoring  harmony,  for  the  time  being 
at  least. 

"Oh,  hurry,  please  do  hurry,  Mollie!"  A 
small  cyclone  precipitated  itself  out  of  the  house 
and  into  Mollie's  arms.  "Muvver's  cwyin' 
tuwible  and  she's  telephonin'  to  evwybody  to 

make  you  come  home  quick.  Oh — oh "  This 

was  the  beginning  of  a  muffled  wail — silenced  by 
Mollie's  hand  over  the  small  one's  mouth. 

"Dodo,  don't  cry,"  Mollie  implored.  "What 
is  the  matter  with  mother?  Is  she  sick?  Ohs 
don't  bother  to  tell  me — I'll  see  for  myself. 
Come  on,  girls." 

"Had  we  better  ?"  asked  Betty,  with  instinctive 
delicacy.  "It  may  be  something  she  won't  want 
us  to  know." 

"Oh,  don't  be  silly,"  cried  Mollie,  impatiently, 
shoving  the  three  girls  before  her  through  the 
doorway.  "You  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  we 


38      THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

haven't  any  secrets  from  you.  Oh,  what  can  be 
the  matter?" 

They  found  Mrs.  Billette  in  the  library  where 
her  small  daughter,  Dora— nicknamed  Dodo, 
and  one  of  a  pair  of  exceedingly  mischievous 
twins — ran  to  tell  her  of  Mollie's  timely  arrival. 

The  girls  followed  hesitatingly,  as  Mollie 
rushed  forward  and  threw  her  arms  about  her 
mother's  neck,  crying:  "Mother,  dear,  what  is 
it?  Dora  says  you  have  been  crying  and  that 
you  have  been  telephoning  for  me  all  over.  Oh, 
I  wish  I  had  known!  We  would  have  run  all 
the  way." 

"Oh,  I  suppose  a  few  moments  more  or  less 
would  make  no  difference.  It  wouldn't  bring 
back  the  silver,"  said  Mrs.  Billette,  quietly. 
Hysterics  had  given  place  to  a  sort  of  despairing 
resignation.  "Only,  at  first,  I  felt  as  if  I  must 
talk  to  some  one  about  it.  The  twins  didn't  un- 
derstand, of  course,  and  I  couldn't  very  well  talk 
to  Jane." 

"But,  Mother,  what  is  it?"  Mollie  demanded 
again.  "Has  Aunt  Elvira  died  or  has  Paul 
caught  the  mumps,  or " 

"Of  course  not,  Mollie!  How  silly  of  you," 
her  mother  broke  in,  impatiently.  "Aunt  Elvira 
will  probably  live  another  twenty  years.  And  as 
for  Paul's  having  the  mumps " 


THIEVES  IN  DEEPDALE  39 

"Then  what  is  it?     Have  we  been  robbed?' 
Mollie's  little  foot  tapped  a  sharp  tattoo  on  the 
floor. 

"That  is  just  what  has  happened  to  us,"  said 
Mrs.  Billette,  as  the  girls  stared  incredulously. 
"We've  been  robbed  of  some  things  that  money 
never  can  replace.  Oh-oh-oh,  if  I  had  only  put 
it  in  a  safer  place !  How  could  I  have  been  such 
a  fool !  Oh !  oh !"  and  Mrs.  Billette,  poor  woman, 
was  fast  verging  on  another  attack  of  hysteria. 

Mollie  put  her  arms  about  her  mother  sooth- 
ingly. "There,  there,  Mother,"  she  crooned.  "It 
may  turn  out  all  right  after  all.  But,  remember, 
you  haven't  told  us  what  is  lost  yet,"  she  sug- 
gested, with  a  gentleness  very  unlike  her  former 
impatience.  "I  think  it  would  make  you  feel 
much  better  to  talk  about  it.  Did  you  say  it  was 
the  silver  that  had  been  stolen?'' 

"Yes,  the  silver  tea  service  that  has  been  in  the 
family  for  over  a  hundred  and  twenty  years." 
Mrs.  Billette' s  French  origin  gleamed  in  her  dark 
eyes  as  she  added :  "Oh,  if  we  could  only  catch 
them!  I'd  like  to  make  them  suffer  for  this!" 

From  Mrs.  Billette's  rather  disjointed  story 
the  girls  gathered  that  not  only  the  valuable  tea 
service  was  missing,  but  also  a  number  of  smaller 
articles,  such  as  knives  and  forks.  Then  there 
was  a  valuable  jet  necklace  which  Mrs.  Billette 


40     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

had  locked  up  with  the  silver  for  safe  keeping. 

The  girls  were  stunned  by  this  last  calamity. 
They  could  think  of  one  solution  and  one  only, 
and  that  was — the  gypsies. 

As  Betty  took  leave  of  the  girls  at  her  own 
door  that  noon,  after  vainly  urging  them  to  stay 
to  lunch — they  were  too  impatient  to  get  home 
and  spread  the  news  to  stop  for  anything,  even 
lunch  at  Betty's — she  heard  the  jangle  of  the 
telephone. 

"Sorry  you  won't  come  in,"  she  called.  "I'll 
see  you  later,  anyway!"  and  she  flew  upstairs  to 
answer  the  insistent  summons. 

"Hello!  .  .  .  Oh,  that  you,  Allen?  .  .  .  Yes, 
I've  just  come  home  from  Mrs.  Billette's.  .  .  . 
She  has  lost  a  silver  tea  service  and  some  other 
things.  .  .  .  What's  that  ?  .  .  .  Yes,  stolen.  .  .  . 
Gone!  .  .  .  Are  you  sure?  .  .  .  Oh,  now  they 
will  never  get  their  things!  .  .  .  Yes,  come  over 
to-morrow  and  we  can  talk  things  over.  .  .  . 
Don't  be  silly!  .  .  .  Yes,  come  early.  .  .  .  Good- 
bye." 

As  she  hung  up  the  receiver  mechanically, 
Betty's  gaze  traveled  out  of  the  window  and  over 
the  smooth,  green  lawn  to  the  far-distant 
horizon. 

"Gone!"  she  murmured.  "The  gypsies  are 
gone !  Oh,  I  wonder  where  they  went  to  ?" 


CHAPTER    VI 

A  WONDERFUL  OUTING 

"HELLO,  Betty,  that  you  ?  Yes,  this  is  Mollie, 
of  course.  It  seems  to  me  that  I'm  always  at 
the  'phone  these  days.  But,  oh,  Betty,  I  just 
simply  couldn't  wait  a  minute  to  tell  you!  .  .  . 
Yes,  I've  just  received  a  letter.  .  .  .  What's  that? 
.  .  .  No,  mother  hasn't  been  able  to  trace  her  sil- 
ver at  all  yet.  Isn't  it  terrible  ?  .  .  .  Oh,  well,  she 
is  becoming  resigned  to  the  worst.  .  .  .  But, 
Betty,  aren't  you  a  bit  interested?  .  .  .  Yes,  I 
know  you  are,  dear,  and  it's  very  sweet  of  you. 
.  .  .  Well,  it's  from  Aunt  Elvira.  Remember  I 
told  you  the  other  day  that  she  intended  to  go  to 
Europe?  Well,  it's  about  that.  .  .  .  Yes,  there 
has  been  so  much  excitement  about  these  old 
gypsies  that  I  had  almost  forgotten  I  had  such 
an  aunt.  .  .  .  No,  I  won't  tell  you  one  thing 
more  about  it,  except  that  everything  is  O.  K. 
Will  you  come  over  to-night?  .  .  .  What's  that 
— you  can't?  Oh,  Betty,  you  just  have  to.  Oh, 
well,  if  that's  all  why  don't  you  bring  him  along? 
.  .  .  Yes,  all  the  boys  are  coming  anyway.  Will 

41 


42     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

says  he  has  something  to  talk  over  with  us.  ... 
Then  I  may  count  on  you,  to-night,  honey?  .  .  . 
All  right — good-bye  till  then." 

This  conversation  took  place  in  the  morning. 
Promptly  at  eight  that  evening  the  door  bell  rang 
and  Betty,  after  a  last  peep  in  the  mirror  and  a 
finishing  pat  to  her  dress,  flew  down  to  answer 
the  summons. 

:<Right  on  the  dot,  Allen,"  she  laughed,  fling 
ing  the  door  wide  open.    "The  clock  is  just  strik-x 
ing  the  hour — listen,"  and  obediently  he  listened, 
his  eyes  on  Betty's  face,  while  the  sweet  chimes 
filled  the  hall  with  melody. 

"No  wonder  I  am  on  the  minute,"  he  said, 
smiling  whimsically.  "I  have  been  wandering 
around  for  the  past  half  hour  trying  to  kill  time. 
You  see  I  didn't  quite  dare  to  come  at  half -past 


seven.' 


She  laughed  gaily.  "You  would  have  had  to 
spend  your  time  in  the  library  if  you  had  come 
early,"  she  said.  "Because  I  have  been  ready  for 
only  half  a  minute.  Here's  your  hat,  Allen," 
she  added,  taking  it  down  from  the  peg  where  he 
had  just  deposited  it  for  the  evening.  Her  man- 
ner was  grave  but  mischief  sparkled  in  her  eyes. 

"What's  the  big  idea?"  he  inquired,  regard- 
ing the  hat  held  out  to  him  with  a  puzzled  ex- 
pression. "I  am  very  well  acquainted  with  the 


A  WONDERFUL  OUTING  43 

article  in  your  hand.  Too  well  acquainted,  in 
fact,  for  this  is  tl*e  second  season  we  have  been 
chums;  and  I  set  prospect  of  a  third,  if  the  law 
business  doesn't  pick  up.  But,  seriously,  what 
is  the  idea,  Betty  ?  Do  you  want  me  to  go  home 
and  spend  a  dismal  evening  all  by  myself — is 
that  it  ?" 

"Far  from  it,  Allen.  Oh,  please  don't  look  so 
glum,"  she  added,  and  the  mischief  bubbled  over 
from  her  eyes  and  she  laughed  happily. 

Opening  Allen's  hand,  she  placed  the  unwel- 
come hat  therein  and  closed  his  fingers  over  it. 
"The  explanation  for  all  this/'  she  went  on,  mak- 
ing him  a  curtsy,  "is  very  simple.  We  have  been 
invited  to  spend  the  evening  at  Mollie's." 

"Oh,  bother  M "  he  began,  then  added,  de- 
cidedly :  "I  came  to  see  you  to-night  and  I  am 
not  going  to  the  Billettes'  or  anywhere  else! 
Here,  hat,  get  back  where  you  belong,"  and  he 
flung  the  offending  article  back  on  the  hook  with 
an  air  of  finality  that  matched  his  words. 

"Please  don't  be  an  old  bear,"  coaxed  Betty, 
and  Betty  knew  how  to  coax  to  perfection. 
"Mollie  has  some  perfectly  wonderful  news  to 
tell  us  and  all  our  girls  and  boys  are  going  to  be 
there  to  hear  it.  You  wouldn't  want  me  to  be 
terribly  disappointed — now  you  know  you 
wouldn't,"  and  she  looked  at  him  appealingly. 


44     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

Mollie  opened  the  door  to  them  herself,  radi- 
antly eager  to  tell  her  news. 

"Oh,  hurry,  you  two!"  she  cried.  "I  thought 
you  would  never  get  here.  We  have  been  wait- 
ing for — oh,  ever  so  long." 

"Well,  if  we  are  the  last,  everybody  must  have 
turned  over  a  new  leaf  just  for  to-night,"  re- 
marked Betty,  as  she  started  for  the  library  fron» 
which  came  a  confused  murmur  of  many  voices, 
speaking  all  at  once,  with  now  and  then  a  burst 
of  merry  laughter. 

"Leave  your  hat  here,  Allen,"  said  Mollie,  and 
Betty  threw  him  a  merry  glance  over  her 
shoulder. 

"Hello,  everybody,"  she  called  a  moment  later, 
as  she  flung  aside  the  portieres  and  stood  framed 
in  the  doorway.  "Mollie  tells  us  we  are  the  last 
and " 

"Well,  so  you  are.  We  thought  you  and  Allen 
had  mistaken  the  date,"  said  Frank.  "Accident- 
ally on  purpose,"  he  added  slyly. 

"Not  a  chance  in  the  world,  Frank,"  said 
Allen,  who  had  come  into  the  room  in  time  to 
hear  the  last  remark.  "I  might  be  afflicted  with 
loss  of  memory;  but,  Betty — never!"  They  all 
laughed  with  enjoyment — all  but  Betty  who 
threw  him  a  reproachful  glance  which  he  refused 
to  catch. 


A  WONDERFUL  OUTING  45 

"Well,  now  we  are  here,  let's  have  the  news," 
said  Roy,  who  was  always  impatient  to  get  to  the 
heart  of  things.  "Come  on,  Mollie — out  with 


it." 


Nothing  loath,  Mollie  settled  herself  with  an 
important  air  and  began  her  tale. 

"Well,  you  see "  she  began,  when  Will  in- 
terrupted. 

"No,  we  don't.     What?"  he  asked  innocently. 

"Now  I  won't  try  to  tell  it  at  all  if  you  are 
going  to  begin  that,"  said  Mollie  with  asperity. 
And  Grace  added: 

"Do  let  Mollie  tell  it  her  own  way,  Will,  and 
if  you  interrupt  again,  we  will  get  the  boys  to 
throw  you  out.  You  will  do  it,  won't  you, 
boys?" 

"Sure!"  they  shouted  with  one  accord,  and 
Will  retired  meekly  into  a  corner. 

"I'll  begin  all  over  again,"  said  Mollie.  "You 
all  know,  with  the  exception  of  Amy  and  Allen, 
and  they  soon  win,  that  I  have  been  expecting  to 
hear  from  my  aunt  and  uncle  every  day.  They 
took  rather  a  long  time  to  make  up  their  minds, 
but  now  everything  is  settled.  They  are  really 
going  to  Europe,  and  we  girls  are  going  to  have 
the  use  of  their  bungalow,  The  Shadows,'  for 
the  summer.  Or  at  least  for  the  month  and  a 
half  that  is  left." 


46     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Splendid,  Mollie!  Where  is  the  bungalow?" 
inquired  Betty,  leaning  forward  eagerly.  'We 
ought  to  have  a  wonderful  time." 

"Well,    I    hope   we    shall,"    Mollie   continued. 

"The  bungalow  is  on  an  island  called  Pine  Island 

in  Lake  Tarracusio.     They  say  it  is  a  beautiful 

place,  and  it  is  only  about  a  day's  journey  in  an 

i  auto.     We  could  make  it  easily." 

"All  this  is  very  fine,  but  where  do  we  come 
in?"  Allen  inquired.  "There  isn't  room  in  this 
wonderful  bungalow  for  us,  is  there?" 

"Of  course  not!"  said  Mollie  scornfully. 
"And  if  there  were,  do  you  think  we  would  have 
you  boys  fussing  around?" 

"Well,  I  was  just  in  search  of  information," 
Allen  answered  defensively.  "And  all  I  get  is 
scorn  and  ridicule." 

"Hard  luck,  old  man,"  said  Will,  feelingly. 
"I  am  in  the  same  boat.  But  you  girls  had  better 
look  out,"  he  added  threateningly.  "Don't  for- 
get that  I  had  something  to  suggest  to-night  and 
if  you  don't  treat  me  better,  I'll " 

"Will  this  do,"  interrupted  Mollie,  and,  with 
hands  clasped  in  prayerful  attitude,  she  besought 
Will,  with  tears  in  her  voice,  to  have  pity.  "Oh, 
kind  and  noble  sir,"  she  said,  "be  kind — be  gra- 
cious to  us,  your  humble  slaves,  and  deign  to 
honor " 


A  WONDERFUL  OUTING  47 

"Now  that's  something  like,"  broke  in  Will, 
beaming  around  on  the  assembled  company.  "If 
you  had  done  that  from  the  first,  Mollie ' 

"Oh,  Will,  please  hurry,"  Betty  urged  impa- 
tiently. "I  know  you  have  something  good  to  tell 
us,  and  I  wish  you  wouldn't  keep  us  in  such 
terrible  suspense." 

'Well,  since  you  appreciate  how  great  is 
the " 

"Yes,  yes,  go  on,"  Grace  interrupted. 

"News  I  am  about  to  impart,"  he  continued 
without  a  glance  in  her  direction. 

"You  will  impart  it,"  Allen  finished  for  him. 

'Thank  you,"  said  Will,  bowing  gravely  in 
Allen's  direction.  "As  our  friend  says,  I  will 
proceed.  Well,  to  come  down  to  brass  tacks," 
he  continued,  dropping  the  air  of  dignity,  which, 
considering  his  youthful  appearance,  was  always 
very  comical,  "I  thought  maybe  you  fellows 
would  like  to  put  up  a  tent  on  the  same  island 
and  camp  there  near  the  girls  for  the  rest  of  the 
summer.  We  could  have  no  end  of  fun." 

There  was  a  yell  of  joy  from  the  boys,  and 
the  excited  exclamations,  questions  and  answers 
that  followed  showed  that  they  agreed  heartily 
with  Will  in  his  last  prophecy  that  "they  would 
have  no  end  of  fun." 

"Oh,  won't  it  be  great !"  cried  Betty,  her  cheeks 


48     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

flushed  with  excitement.  "I  do  believe  this  is  the 
very  best  of  all,"  then  her  face  clouded  as  she 
turned  to  Allen,  who  had  not  been  taking  a  very 
active  part  in  the  conversation. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  make  it,  Allen?"  she 
asked,  trying  to  keep  the  eagerness  out  of  her 
voice.  "You  said  something  about  a  change  in 

the  management  of  the  firm her  voice  was 

questioning. 

"Why,  I  was  just  wondering  if  I  couldn't 
fix  things  up  some  way/'  he  answered  seriously. 
"It  looks  as  if  some  of  our  work  might  have 
to  lay  over  for  a  time  anyway,  and  if  it  does " 

"Of  course  you  will  have  to  manage  it  some- 
how, Allen,"  Frank  broke  in.  "Why,  having  you 
there  would  be  half  the  fun !" 

"Oh,  I  guess  I  can,"  Allen  began  uncertainly, 
Then  he  continued:  "But  you  can  just  better 
believe  if  there  is  a  chance  in  the  world,  I'll  be 
there." 

"That's  the  way  to  talk,"  cried  Mollie.  "Now 
there  is  just  one  important  thing  we  haven't  de- 
cided yet,  girls,  and  that  is,  whom  are  we  going 
to  have  for  a  chaperon." 

"I  have  been  thinking  of  that,  and  I  am  sure 
I  know  just  the  one,"  said  Amy  quietly ;  and  they 
turned  to  her  in  amazement.  Amy  was  like  that, 
she  didn't  talk  much,  but  when  she  did,  what  she. 


A  WONDERFUL  OUTING 


said  was  usually  to  the  point.  "You  all  know 
young  Mrs.  Irving  whose  husband  travels?" 

"And  she  seems  sort  of  lonely  sometimes," 
Grace  added,  taking  a  chocolate  nut  from  a  dish 
of  candy  that  Mollie  had  placed,  for  Grace's  spe- 
cial delectation,  on  the  table. 

"Amy,  you  are  a  wonder,"  said  Mollie,  regard- 
ing her  chum  with  awe.  "I  would  never  have 
thought  of  her  in  a  thousand  years,  and  of  course 
she's  just  the  one." 

"Well,  now  that  the  all-important  question  of 
chaperon  is  happily  settled,"  said  Roy,  veering 
back  to  the  point  like  a  compass,  "suppose  we 
decide  when  to  start." 

After  much  discussion  it  was  finally  decided 
they  were  to  start  a  week  from  that  day,  which 
was  Tuesday. 

It  was  late  when  Mollie's  guests  started  for 
home,  and  even  then  they  were  all  reluctant  to 
go.  As  Allen  stood  on  the  porch  of  the  Nelson 
home  a  few  minutes  later,  Betty  turned  to  him 
impulsively. 

"Oh,  I  do  hope  you  will  be  able  to  go,  Allen," 
she  said. 

"Would  you  be  sorry  if  I  didn't?"  he  asked 
her,  eagerly. 

"Why,  of  course." 

"Then,  I'll  be  there,"  he  said,  with  a  smile. 


CHAPTER    VII 

CLOSED    FOR   REPAIRS 

"GRACE,  Grace,  do  wake  up !"  Betty  looked  at 
her  sleeping  chum  in  absolute  amazement.  How 
could  anybody  sleep  so  soundly  on  this,  the  day 
of  days,  when  one  should  have  been  awake  at  six 
o'clock  thinking  over  the  delights  in  store! 

Grace  had  come  over  the  night  before  to  talk 
over  some  minor  details  of  the  outing,  bringing 
with  her  a  new  and,  she  declared,  a  specially  deli- 
cious brand  of  chocolates.  It  had  been  so  late 
when  she  had  started  to  leave  that  she  had  been 
prevailed  upon  to  spend  the  night  with  Betty. 
And  so  it  was  that  on  that  eventful  morning 
she  lay  slumbering  peacefully  in  the  Little  Cap- 
tain's bed,  defying  all  that  impatient  young 
person's  efforts  to  rouse  her. 

"Grace!  Grace!"  Betty  cried  again.  "Won't 
you  please  wake  up?  Why,  it's  seven  o'clock 
this  minute!  We  have  to  be  out  of  the  house 
in  an  hour." 

Grace  groaned  dismally.  "Oh,  Betty,  I  will 

50 


CLOSED  FOR  REPAIRS  51 

have  to  have  some  more  sleep/'  she  wailed,  piti- 
fully. "If  I  don't  I  won't  be  fit  for  a  thing  the 
rest  of  the  day.  Don't  you  suppose  we  could 
make  it  if  we  started  by  nine?"  she  added  hope- 
fully. 

Betty  paused  in  the  act  of  putting  on  a  shoe 
and  held  it  poised  in  the  air  while  she  gazed 
at  her  friend  incredulously. 

"Grace  Ford,  of  all  the "  she  almost  stut- 
tered. Then,  as  a  thought  flashed  before  her 
mind  she  laughed  delightedly.  "Can't  you  see 
them,  Grace,"  she  chuckled,  putting  on  one  shoe 
and  picking  up  the  other.  "Can't  you  see  the 
boys  when  I  tell  them  they  will  have  to  walk 
around  the  block  while  Grace  gets  her  beauty 
sleep.  Oh !  oh !"  and  even  Grace  had  to  laugh 
at  the  picture. 

"They  probably  wouldn't  wait  anyway,"  Betty 
continued,  with  the  tact  of  a  diplomat,  "They 
would  go  on  to  The  Shadows  and  let  you  follow 
later  at  your  leisure.  It  will  be  a  nice,  dusty,  hot 
ride  in  the  train,  too,"  she  added,  examining  the 
lace  on  her  handkerchief  with  the  air  of  a  con- 
noisseur. 

Grace  sat  up  on  the  edge  of  the  bed  and  re- 
garded her  chum  reproachfully.  "Nobody  has 
any  heart  at  all,  and  you  least  of  all,  Betty  Nel- 
son," she  complained.  "Oh,  where  did  I  put 


52     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

my  slippers?  I  was  so  excited  last  night  I  don't 
remember  what  I  did  with  them,"  and  she  began 
a  listless  search  under  the  bed. 

"They  are  over  by  that  chair,"  said  Betty 
patiently.  Then  went  on :  "Oh,  Grace,  dear, 
please  wake  up.  You  will  give  me  the  blues  if 
you  don't  shake  off  that  dead  and  alive  air. 
Imagine  Betty  Nelson  with  the  blues  to-day." 

"It  is  rather  impossible,"  remarked  Grace,  re- 
garding Betty's  flushed  cheeks  and  dancing  eyes 
with  admiration.  "I  wish  I  didn't  need  any  more 
sleep  than  you,  Betty.  Oh,  well,  the  worst  part 
of  getting  up  is  over  now  and  I'll  feel  fine  when 
I  get  some  breakfast.  You  just  watch  me." 

"That's  something  like,"  Betty  said  approv- 
ingly. "Oh,  Grace,  we  are  going  to  have  one 
of  the  most  glorious  times  we  ever  had  in  our 
lives  to-day." 

"Shouldn't  wonder,"  Grace  agreed.  "What 
does  that  clock  say,  half-past  seven?  Oh,  Betty, 
now  I  will  have  to  hurry !" 

"If  you  glare  at  the  clock  like  that  it  is  apt 
to  develop  palpitation  of  the  heart  and  stop  alto- 
gether," laughed  Betty.  "It  can't  help  the  time, 
you  know." 

"Well,  that  is  the  very  first  time  I  have  ever 
been  accused  of  stopping  a  clock,"  said  Grace 
with  dignity.  Then  added  plaintively :  "And  by 


CLOSED  FOR  REPAIRS  53 

my  best  friend,  too!  Oh,  well,  I  suppose  you 
can  get  used  to  anything  if  you  try  hard  enough." 

"Oh,  Grace,  you're  a  dear  when  you  look  re- 
signed like  that,"  said  Betty,  dancing  over  to  her 
friend  and  hugging  her  ecstatically.  "If  you 
Weren't  so  pretty,  I  wouldn't  dare  talk  about 
stopping  clocks,"  she  added,  and  peace  was  re- 
stored, and  soon  both  hurried  down  to  break- 
fast. 

"Oh,  there  they  are  now/'  cried  Betty,  hastily 
swallowing  the  last  of  her  cocoa.  :'I  knew  they 
would  be  here  before  we  were  half  ready.  Oh, 
Gracie,  dear,  hurry,  will  you!" 

"I  am  all  ready,  Grace  answered.  "Suppose 
you  go  out  and  speak  to  them  while  I  get  the 
luggage.  I'll  bring  down  your  hat  and  coat,  too, 
if  you  want  me  to." 

"You  are  a  dear,"  said  Betty,  for  the  second 
time  this  morning.  "Goodness,  they  are  mak- 
ing enough  noise  with  their  old  horns.  Anybody 
would  think  there  were  ten  automobiles  instead 
of  two,"  and  while  she  ran  out  to  greet  the  new- 
comers, Grace  hurried — yes,  actually  hurried — 
up  the  stairs  to  get  the  small  bags  they  were  to 
take  with  them  for  immediate  use,  in  case  the 
trunks,  which  had  been  sent  on  before,  did  not 
arrive  in  time. 

Betty  found  the  others  all  radiant.     Roy  was 


54     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

at  the  wheel  in  Mollie's  car — she  had  invited  him 
to  act  as  chauffeur  and  he  had  gleefully  accepted 
— with  Mollie  herself  beside  him  and  Will  and 
Amy  in  the  tonneau. 

The  others — Mrs.  Irving,  their  young  and 
jolly  chaperon,  and  the  four  girls  and  boys — • 
were  to  make  the  journey  in  Frank's  big  car, 
with  Frank,  of  course,  at  the  wheel. 

"Hello,  Betty !"  Will  shouted.  "You  are  look- 
ing as  sweet  and  fresh  as  a  daisy!  Jump  in! 
Where's  that  runaway  sister  of  mine?  I  hope 
you  succeeded  in  getting  her  up  in  time." 

"I  did — after  considerable  persuasion," 
laughed  Betty.  "I  came  out  to  tell  you  we  just 
have  to  get  our  outside  things  on  and  we  shall 
be  ready.  I  can  see  Grace  beckoning  now — just 
a  minute,"  and  she  ran  toward  the  house. 

"Can't  we  carry  the  luggage — and  the  choco- 
lates?" said  Frank  and  Allen  together. 

"If  you  insist,"  Betty  flung  the  answer  over 
her  shoulder  as  she  joined  Grace. 

The  boys  had  tumbled  out  of  the  automobile 
and  were  racing  up  the  drive  as  if  their  lives 
depended  on  their  reaching  the  porch  at  the  same 
second.  The  girls  adjusted  their  pretty  panamas 
before  the  wide  mirror  while  the  boys  picked  up 
the  bags  and  waited. 

"Is  my  hat  on  right,  Allen,  or  should  it  be 


CLOSED  FOR  REPAIRS  55 

tilted  a  little  more  over  the  left  eye?"  mimicked 
Frank,  as  they  watched  the  girls.  "Or,  perhaps 
it  should  be  made  to  cover  my  face  entirely?" 

"I  think  the  latter — with  places  for  the  eyes 
and  nose,"  said  Allen  in  the  same  tone  of 
voice. 

"Anybody  who  invented  such  a  hat  would  be 
a  benefactor  to  the  world  at  large,  Frank,"  said 
Betty,  as  she  swept  past  him — her  nose  in  the 
air. 

"Oof!  That  was  an  awful  one,"  returned 
Frank,  while  Grace  chuckled  at  his  discomfiture. 
"A  few  more  of  those,  Betty,  and  I  am  afraid  I 
shall  have  to  stay  at  home!" 

"That  sounds  just  like  Percy,"  Betty  re- 
marked, as  the  boys  deposited  the  luggage  in  the 
car  and  opened  the  door  for  the  girls.  "For 
goodness'  sake,  don't  take  him  for  a  model, 
Frank." 

"I  wonder  where  the  dear  old  chappie  is,  any- 
way," remarked  Allen  as  he  took  his  seat  be- 
tween Betty  and  Mrs.  Irving  in  the  tonneau. 
Grace  was  to  sit  with  Frank.  "I  haven't  seen 
him  about  town  lately.  I  wonder  if  mother  has 
taken  her  darling  boy  to  the  seashore,"  he  added, 
as  the  car  moved  off. 

"I  hope  so.  If  she  would  only  take  him  to 
Kalamazoo  it  would  suit  me  better,"  said  Betty. 


56     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"It's  a  wonder  he  didn't  invite  himself  to  come 
along." 

"Nothing  doing!"  laughed  Frank.  "I  can  just 
imagine  darling  Percy  sleeping  in  a  tent  and 
cooking  his  own  meals.  Can't  you,  Allen?  Oh, 
\vhat  a  circus !" 

"It  is  rather  hard  to  imagine  the  immaculate 
Percy  in  those  surroundings,"  drawled  Grace. 
"He  would  be  running  down  to  the  river  to  wash 
his  hands  every  two  minutes.  How  do  we  get 
over  to  the  island  from  the  mainland,  Betty,  do 
you  remember?"  she  added.  "I  know  Mollie 
said  something  about  a  steamer,  but  I  didn't  get 
a  very  good  idea  of  it." 

"Oh,  we  will  have  lots  of  fun  on  it,"  'Betty 
answered,  enjoying  the  prospect  immensely, 
"Mollie  says  it  is  an  old,  rickety  thing  that  looks 
as  if  it  were  going  to  pieces  any  minute.  She 
thinks  it  must  be  at  least  two  hundred  years  old, 
if  what  her  aunt  says  is  true.  It  will  be  awfully 
interesting." 

"Yes,  especially  if  it'  fulfills  its  promise  and 
goes  to  pieces  in  the  middle  of  the  lake,"  Grace 
remarked  dryly.  "I  wouldn't  mind  the  dip  in 
weather  like  this,  but  I  would  rather  choose  the 
time  and  place." 

"Well,  perhaps  it  would  be  better  if  we  put 
on  our  bathing  suits  first,"  Betty  admitted. 


CLOSED  FOR  REPAIRS 


Then  we  would  at  least  be  prepared  for  the 
worst." 

"I  wouldn't  call  that  the  worst  thing  that  could 
happen  to  us,"  said  Allen;  and  when  the  girls 
looked  to  him  for  an  explanation  he  added :  "It 
would  be  no  end  of  fun  to  be  dumped  in  the 
river  with  a  boatful  of  pretty  girls.  Think  of 
the  good  time  we  could  have  rescuing  you." 

"Well,  maybe  you  call  that  fun,  but  I  should 
say  it  was  pretty  hard  work,"  said  Frank,  un- 
gallantly.  "Especially  if  the  girls  should  lose 
their  heads  and  begin  to  choke  you.  All  hail,  for 
Davy  Jones'  locker!" 

"You  needn't  worry,"  said  Betty,  with  dig- 
nity. "In  the  first  place  we  wouldn't  have  to  be 
rescued.  We  can  swim  just  as  well  as  you  boys 


can " 


"Now,  now,  Betty,"  Frank  protested  laugh-5 
ingly,  "don't  exaggerate." 

"I'm  not,"  she  denied  indignantly.  "We 
haven't  lived  in  the  outdoors  for  nothing,  you 
know." 

"Well,  we  shall  have  a  chance  to  settle  all  dis- 
putes when  we  get  to  Pine  Island,"  said  Allen. 
'To  change  the  subject — has  anybody  noticed 
that  the  sun  has  gone  under  a  cloud  and  that 
there  is  a  stiff  little  breeze  coming  up?  I 
shouldn't  wonder  if  we  were  in  for  a  storm." 


58     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Yes,  we  may  need  our  bathing  suits  even  be- 
fore we  get  to  the  island,"  said  Betty,  ruefully. 
"I  hope  you  didn't  forget  to  bring  your  suit,  Mrs. 
Irving,"  she  added,  turning  to  the  chaperon,  who 
had  been  singularly  silent  during  the  ride.  Per- 
haps she  was  realizing  for  the  first  time  the  great 
responsibility  she  had  taken  upon  herself.  How- 
ever, she  spoke  now,  accompanying  her  words 
with  a  bright  smile. 

"Indeed  I  did,"  she  said.  "There  is  nothing  I 
enjoy  quite  so  much  as  a  good  swim.  From  what 
you  girls  say  of  the  island  we  ought  to  have  as 
many  as  we  want." 

"I  am  Ai  ery  much  afraid  we  won't  have  to  wait 
till  we  get  there,"  said  Frank,  regarding  the  sky 
anxiously.  "Unless  I  am  a  pretty  poor  prophet 
we  are  in  for  a  considerable  spell  of  bad  weather. 
What  do  you  say,  Allen?" 

"I  say  you  are  right  and  then  some,"  Allen 
answered  emphatically.  "I  think  it  would  be  a 
pretty  good  stunt  to  get  the  top  up,  Frank,  before 
the  girls  are  deluged." 

Accordingly  Frank  slowed  down  and  waited 
for  Mollie's  trim  little  machine  to  catch  up  with 
them. 

"What  do  you  make  of  the  weather?"  asked 
Will,  as  they  came  up  alongside.  "Looks  pretty 
threatening,  don't  you  think?" 


CLOSED  FOR  REPAIRS  59 

"If  you  don't  want  to  get  wet,  you  had  better 
do  what  we  are  going  to,"  Frank  advised  them. 
"Put  your  top  up." 

"Oh,  hurry,  Frank,  I  felt  a  drop  then!"  ex- 
claimed Grace.  "And  there's  another!  Oh,  do 
hurry !" 

The  boys  worked  quickly  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments had  raised  the  tops  and  were  ready  to  let 
down  the  waterproof  sides  that  would  make  them 
comfortable  in  almost  any  weather. 

"We  are  going  to  speed  up  some,"  Frank 
shouted  to  those  in  the  other  car.  "When  the 
roads  get  muddy  it's  going  to  be  pretty  hard 
going,  so  we  want  to  make  good  time  now." 

"Aye,  aye,  Captain!"  Roy  answered.  "Lead, 
and  we  follow." 

For  a  short  distance  all  went  well.  In  fact,  the 
girls  rather  liked  riding  in  the  rain.  Then  sud- 
denly, without  any  warning,  Frank  stopped  the 
car. 

"What  is  it,  Frank?"  cried  Grace  in  alarm. 
"Did  you  run  over  somebody?" 

"No,  it's  worse  than  that,"  he  answered  gloom- 
ily. "Look,  the  road's  closed  for  repairs!" 


CHAPTER  VIZI 

THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS 

THE  girls  and  boys  stared  at  each  other,  dis- 
may written  on  their  faces.  The  road  closed  and 
the  rain  pouring  down  in  torrents — a  nice  pre- 
dicament !  It  was  Mrs.  Irving's  calm  voice  which 
first  broke  the  silence. 

"There  must  be  some  way  around,"  she  said. 
"It  will  take  us  a  little  longer,  that's  all." 

"Oh,  of  course  we  shall  be  able  to  strike  the 
main  part  of  the  road  again  if  we  go  a  couple 
of  miles  out  of  our  way,"  Frank  agreed,  a  wor- 
ried frown  on  his  forehead.  "The  only  question 
is,  how  are  we  going  to  find  our  way?  I  didn't 
bring  a  chart  with  me — worse  luck." 

"Perhaps  Roy  has  one,"  Betty  suggested.  "He 
usually  carries  a  lot  of  junk  like  that  around  with 
him." 

"Well,  if  he  has  this  particular  species  of  jrnk 
it  will  come  in  mighty  h:.ndy  just  now,"  said 
Frank,  hopefully.  "I'll  stick  my  head  out  and 
yell  at  him.  Gee,  it  sure  is  raining  some!"  and 

60 


THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS     6l 

he  craned  his  neck  toward  the  other  car,  squint- 
ing his  eyes  to  keep  out  the  stinging  drops.  "Hey, 
Roy!"  he  shouted.  "Do  you  happen  to  have  any- 
thing like  a  map  of  the  surrounding  country  in 
your  inside  vest  pocket?  If  you  have,  throw  it 
over.  We  are  stuck  good  and  plenty." 

"I  don't  get  you,  old  man,"  Roy  shouted  back. 
"Say  the  first  part  of  that  speech  over  again,  will 
you  ?" 

Frank  drew  in  his  head  and  mopped  his  face 
and  hair  with  a  huge  silk  handkerchief.  "Two 
minutes  before  the  next  plunge,"  he  announced 
to  the  amused  occupants  of  his  car.  "Allen,  if 
he  doesn't  get  me  this  time  you  will  have  to 
change  places  with  me.  I'll  be  almost  drowned," 
then  he  thrust  his  head  out  once  more  and 
shouted  in  the  direction  of  MolhVs  car. 

"I  said,  have  you  a  map  of  this  here  country- 
side?" he  repeated.  "Betty  says  you  usually 
carry  such  things  with  you." 

"Sorry  I  can't  oblige,"  came  his  disappointing 
answer.  "I  left  that  home  in  my  old  coat  this 
morning." 

"Of  course,  just  when  you  knew  we  would 
probably  need  it!"  Frank  retorted  scathingly. 
"Now  we'll  have  to  hike  along  and  trust  to  luck. 
Nobody  knows  where  we  will  end  up." 

"Well,   you  needn't  blame  it  on  me,"   Roy 


62     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

shouted  wrath  fully.  "I  couldn't  be  expected  to 
see  twenty  miles  down  the  road  from  Deepdale." 

"Nobody  accused  you  of  it,"  Frank  answered, 
in  the  same  belligerent  voice.  "But  as  long  as 
you  had  the  chart  you  might  have  thought  far 
enough " 

Grace  seized  Frank's  arm  and  pulled  him  back 
into  the  machine.  "For  goodness'  sake,  what  is 
the  use  of  making  such  a  fuss  about  that  old 
map  ?"  she  said.  "And  in  the  rain,  too !" 

"Yes,  if  that  were  you  and  I,  Grace,"  said 
Betty,  "the  boys  would  say  something  about  'isn't 
that  just  like  a  woman/  or,  'aren't  girls  the  limit 
— always  arguing  about  nothing?' 

"Votes  for  women!"  Allen  shouted.  "Since 
when  have  you  taken  to  stump  oratory,  Betty?" 

"Oh,  she  is  just  naturally  eloquent,"  said  Grace 
languidly  and  they  all  laughed,  even  Frank — al- 
though his  brow  clouded  anxiously  a  minute 
later. 

"However,  all  this  isn't  getting  us  anywhere," 
he  said.  "We  can't  stay  out  here  in  the  rain  all 
night,  you  know." 

"I  don't  believe  any  of  us  expect  to,"  said 
Allen,  dryly.  "What  do  you  say  we  take  that 
side  road  we  passed  a  little  way  back,  Frank5 
We  can  at  least  see  where  it  leads  and  we  can 
inquire  our  way  as  we  go  along." 


THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS     63 

"I  don't  know  whom  we  shall  find  to  inquire 
of,"  said  Frank,  who,  contrary  to  his  usual  cus- 
tom, persisted  in  looking  at  the  gloomy  side  of 
everything.  "We  didn't  pass  a  soul  on  the  way 
down." 

Please  cheer  up,  Frank,"  laughed  Betty. 
You  ask  us  to  make  a  suggestion  and  then 
when  we  do  you  scout  it.  Suppose  you  tell  us 
what  you  would  like  to  do." 

"I  know  what  I  should  like  to  do,"  he  added, 
readily.  "I  should  like  to  break  down  that  board 
that  is  in  our  way  and  go  ahead  whether  they  like 
it  or  not.  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleas- 


n 

II 


ure.' 


"However?"  suggested  Allen. 

"However,  I  know  we'd  get  pinched — pardon, 
ladies — I  mean,  pulled  in.  That  doesn't  sound 
just  right,  either,  does  it?"  and  he  regarded  them 
with  laughing  eyes. 

"I  imagine  'arrested'  is  the  word  you  want/' 
said  Betty,  demurely. 

'That's  it,  thank  you,"  he  said,  all  irritability 
gone  as  suddenly  as  it  had  come.  "So,  as  long 
as  that  is  understood,  perhaps  we  might  do  worse 
than  follow  Allen's  suggestion,  after  all." 

"Genius  always  triumphs  in  the  end,"  said  Al- 
len, with  a  gravity  that  set  them  laughing. 

"Perhaps  it  would  be  better  if  we  hurried  a 


64     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

little,"  Mrs.  Irving  suggested,  when  they  had  had 
their  laugh  out.  "With  no  delay  it  would  take  us 
almost  till  sundown  to  reach  The  Shadows  and  I 
don't  want  to  be  too  late." 

"All  right,  here  goes  to  try  to  back  the  old  bus 
out  of  this  mud-hole  and  turn  her  around,"  Frank 
agreed.  "I  don't  know  how  long  it  will  take  us, 
though." 

"You  had  better  tell  Roy  what  you  are  going 
to  do,"  Grace  suggested.  "We  don't  want  any 
collisions." 

Frank  obediently  thrust  out  his  head,  only  to 
jerk  it  back  quickly  the  next  instant  with  a  star- 
tled exclamation.  "They  are  gone!"  he  said. 

"Gone!"  the  others  cried  together. 

"But  they  couldn't  have  gone  far,"  Mrs.  Irving 
added. 

"Probably  they  have  motored  back  to  the  cross- 
roads to  wait  for  us,"  Allen  suggested.  'When 
they  saw  the  blockade  they  knew  there  was  just 
one  thing  to  do  and  they  did  it." 

"Well,  they  might  at  least  have  told  us  where 
(they  were  going,"  Frank  grumbled.  They 
should  have  known  Mrs.  Irving  would  be  wor- 
ried." 

"They  probably  thought  they'd  decamp  before 
the  mud  got  so  bad,"  said  Betty.  "Just  the  same, 
they  should  have  told  us." 


THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS     65" 

"You  are  right,"  Mrs.  Irving  agreed.  "How- 
ever, the  only  thing  to  do  now  is  to  follow  them 
as  quickly  as  possible." 

For  answer,  Prank  threw  in  the  clutch,  and 
the  big  machine  very  slowly  and  painfully  plowed 
its  way  through  the  clinging  mud  of  the  road 
and  turned  its  face  toward  the  crossroads  and,  in 
all  probability,  Mollie's  runaway  car. 

"No  wonder  they  want  to  repair  the  road,"  said 
Frank  when  they  were  well  under  way.  "If  the 
rest  of  it  is  any  worse  than  this  I  should  think 
they  would  need  a  new  one." 

"There's  Mollie's  car,  straight  ahead,"  said 
Grace  a  moment  later.  "I  wager  they  are  just 
sitting  there  as  large  as  life,  laughing  at  us." 

"Let  them  laugh,"  said  Frank  savagely.  "It's 
good  to  see  somebody  happy." 

"Well,  if  that's  all  you  want,"  sang  Betty, 
cheerily,  "just  look  at  Grace  and  Mrs.  Irving  and 
Allen  and  me.  I,  for  my  part,  am  having  the 
time  of  my  life.  And  look,  everybody,"  she 
added,  "it  isn't  raining  nearly  so  hard  as  it  was. 
We  will  be  seeing  the  sun  next !" 

"There  is  just  one  thing  that  is  better  to  have 
along  than  the  sun,"  said  Allen,  softly.  Mrs. 
Irving,  hearing,  smiled  knowingly  to  herself. 

When  they  overtook  the  car  ahead,  Roy  ex- 
plained that  they  had  gotten  out  of  the  way  to 


66     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

make  room  for  Frank's  big  car  to  turn  around. 
'You  surely  gave  us  plenty  of  it,"  Frank  re- 
marked dryly,  upon  hearing  the  explanation. 
"But  we  will  have  to  hurry  now  if  we  expect  to 
get  anywhere  before  dark." 

As  they  all  heartily  agreed  to  this,  especially 
Mrs.  Irving,  there  was  no  further  discussion  and 
the  cars  swung  down  the  narrow  side  road  at  a 
very  good  pace — good,  that  is,  considering  the 
going. 

They  had  been  riding  for  half  an  hour  when 
suddenly  Betty's  prediction  came  true.  The  rain 
stopped  entirely  and  the  sun  peeped  out  from 
behind  the  clouds,  touching  the  leaden  sky  with 
gold. 

"I  knew  it,  I  knew  it!"  cried  Betty  in  delight. 
"Now  we  can  take  down  the  top,  can't  we,  Frank  ? 
Oh,  let's  do  it!" 

"Mighty  good  suggestion,  Betty,"  Frank 
agreed,  bringing  the  car  to  a  stop  once  more. 
"The  good  old  sun  sure  does  change  everything, 
doesn't  it?" 

Five  minutes  later  the  cars  started  on  again, 
*vith  the  breeze  fanning  the  faces  of  the  occu- 
pants and  the  sun  pouring  down  goldenly  upon 
them.  As  Frank  had  said,  "The  world  was  a  dif- 
ferent place  to  live  in." 

A  moment  later  those  in  Frank's  car  were  SUP- 


THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS  6? 

prised  to  see  Roy  stop  his  automobile  and  signal 
them  to  draw  up  alongside. 

"Did  you  see  that  gypsy  girl  who  just  passed 
in  front  of  us?"  Mollie  whispered  when  they 
had  done  as  they  were  desired.  Then,  as  the 
girls  nodded  assent,  she  continued  excitedly: 
"Well,  I  am  almost  sure  she  had  on  that  jet 
necklace  that  disappeared  with  mother's  silver! 
Oh,  if  we  could  only  follow  the  girl  we  might 
find  that  too!  Oh,  can't  we — can't  we?"  she 
added,  fairly  dancing  with  excitement. 

"Sure,  come  ahead,  fellows !"  cried  Allen,  who 
was  always  ready  for  adventure.  "Did  you  see 
which  way  she  went,  Roy?" 

"Over  this  way,  I  think,"  Roy  answered.  "We 
may  be  able  to  trace  her  to  the  gypsy  camp. 
There  must  be  one  near  here,  and  it  is  probably 
the  same." 

"We'll  be  back  in  a  minute,"  called  Will,  and 
then  the  boys  disappeared  in  the  underbrush. 

"Oh,  I'm  afraid  to  have  them  go,"  whispered 
Betty  fearfully.  "Suppose  one  of  those  murder- 
ous-looking gypsies  should  stab  them  in  the 
back !" 

"One  gypsy  couldn't  do  it  all,"  said  Grace  with 
a  little  nervous  laugh.  "I  guess  they  can  take 
care  of  themselves,  Betty.  We  needn't  worry." 

"What   do   you   think*  Mrs.    Irving?"   Amy 


68     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

asked  quietly.  'The  boys  went  off  in  such  a 
hurry  they  didn't  give  you  a  chance  to  say  any- 
thing if  you  had  wanted  to." 

"I  imagine  talking  wouldn't  have  done  much 
good  anyway,"  answered  Mrs.  Irving  with  a 
smile.  ''Besides,  there  should  not  be  any  danger 
if  they  only  keep  their  wits  about  them." 

"Oh,  mother  will  be  the  happiest  woman  in 
the  world  if  they  can  only  find  her  silver  for  her." 
Mollie  was  so  agitated  she  was  actually  trem- 
bling. "Girls,  do  you  think  they  will?" 

There,  there,  don't  get  so  excited  about  it, 
Mollie,    dear,"    cautioned    the    Little    Captain. 
'You  may  be  sure  the  boys  will  do  the  very 
best  they  can." 

At  the  end  of  the  hardest  hour  they  had  ever 
spent,  for  inaction  was  not  easy  for  Outdoor 
Girls,  they  heard  the  welcome  sound  of  mascu- 
line voices  and  the  regular  tramp-tramp  of  the 
boys'  feet. 

"Oh,  oh,"  they  cried  together  in  whole-souled 
relief,  while  Mollie  added  eagerly :  "Did  you  get 
it— did  you?" 

Allen,  who  was  in  the  lead,  shook  his  head  re- 
gretfully. "We  couldn't  find  a  sign  of  anything," 
he  said.  "Not  even  the  camp." 

"But  if  you  didn't  find  anything,  what  ever  in 
the  world  kept  you  so  long?"  Betty  demanded., 


THE  JET  NECKLACE  REAPPEARS     69 


'We  imagined  all  sorts  of  horrible  things  hap- 
pening to  you." 

"Oh,  you  couldn't  get  rid  of  us,"  said  Will, 
cheerily.  "We  hated  to  come  back  empty  handed 
—that's  all." 

"Well,  we  are  mighty  glad  to  get  you  back," 
said  Mollie,  who,  after  the  first  disappointment, 
had  become  resigned  to  the  inevitable. 

"That's  the  way  to  make  them  appreciate  us; 
eh,  fellows?"  said  Frank,  as  he  flung  himself 
into  the  car.  "They  don't  realize  how  good  we 
really  are  till  they  think  we  are  gone." 

"Right  you  are,  Frank,"  said  Roy.  "What 
do  you  say  to  full  speed  ahead?" 

"Full  speed  ahead  it  is,"  Frank  agreed,  and 
they  were  off  like  a  shot  down  the  road. 


CHAPTER    IX 

PINE  ISLAND  AT  LAST 

THE  Outdoor  Girls  and  their  boy  friends  made 
good  time  for  the  rest  of  the  journey  and  it  was 
not  quite  sundown  when  they  came  in  sight  of 
the  beautiful  shores  of  Lake  Tarracusio. 

''We  will  have  to  leave  the  automobiles  some- 
where in  town,  won't  we?"  asked  Amy,  as  the 
two  machines  drew  up  side  by  side  for  a  final 
consultation. 

"Of  course,"  said  Grace.  "According  to 
Mollie's  description  of  the  rickety  old  steamer 
I  should  think  it  would  have  all  it  could  do  to 
carry  us — let  alone  the  machines." 

"There  ought  to  be  at  least  one  big  garage  in 
town,  Frank,"  Betty  suggested.  "Let's  move 
along  the  main  street  until  we  find  it." 

"Nobody  asks  me  for  my  advice,"  complained 
Mollie,  in  an  injured  tone.  "And  I  am  the  most 
likely  one  to  know  about  it." 

Mollie  gave  the  directions  for  finding  the  ga^ 
rage  which  her  aunt  had  written.  A  minute  later 

70 


PINE  ISLAND  AT  LAST  ?! 

they  drew  up  before  the  place  and  tumbled  out, 
bag  and  baggage,  in  obedience  to  Frank's  in- 
structions. 

While  the  boys  were  in  the  garage  talking  to 
the  proprietor,  the  girls  had  a  chance  to  look 
about  them. 

"Isn't  it  lovely  ?"  cried  Mollie  delightedly.  "It 
looks  just  like  the  little  colored  pictures  of  towns 
they  have  in  the  magazines  sometimes.  The 
same  quaint  little  frame  houses  with  green  shut- 
ters and  well-kept  lawns  in  front " 

"And  flower  beds  with  borders  of  white 
snells,"  Amy  finished  for  her.  "I  know  just  what 
you  mean,  Mollie ;  I've  seen  them  myself." 

"Girls,"  said  Betty,  jumping  up  from  the 
overturned  suitcase  she  was  using  for  a  seat,  and 

speaking  impressively,   "I   have  a   feeling " 

here  she  paused  for  effect.  "I  have  a  feeling," 
she  continued,  "that  we  are  going  to  have  a 
good  time." 

"Humph,"  snorted  Mollie.  "Why  don't  you 
tell  us  something  we  don't  know?" 

"Get  off  the  luggage,  you  girls!"  Will  com- 
manded, good-naturedly.  "The  man  in  there 
says  we  have  just  exactly  five  minutes  to  catch 
that  joke  steamer  for  the  island,  and  if  he  is 
right,  we've  got  to  hustle.  Sling  over  that  bag, 
Sis,  will  you?" 


72     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"With  the  greatest  of  pleasure,"  said  Grace. 
"But  will  somebody  kindly  tell  me  how  we  are 
going  to  make  that  boat  in  five  minutes?" 

"By  running  like  the  very  wind,"  Frank  de- 
clared, and,  picking  up  two  suitcases  in  one  hand, 
he  propelled  Grace  down  the  street  with  the 
other.  "Please  hurry,"  he  urged.  "Never  mind 
about  your  hats,  girls.  It  will  soon  be  so  dark  no- 
body will  be  able  to  see  them." 

"Shall  we  give  them  a  race?"  asked  Allen  of 
Betty,  as  they  prepared  to  follow  Roy,  who  had 
taken  both  Mollie  and  their  gay  little  chaperon 
in  tow. 

"Let's,"  said  Betty  with  dancing  eyes.  "No- 
body knows  us  here  and  I  wouldn't  care  if  they 
did — better  people  than  you  and  I  have  run  for 
boats  before,  Allen." 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  he  said,  argumentatively. 
"Just  as  good,  possibly,  but  never  better." 

"All  right,  have  it  your  own  way,"  she  laughed. 
"Now  do  we  begin?  One — two — three — come 
on.  We'll  beat  them  even  with  the  head 
start." 

Off  they  raced,  light  and  graceful  and  buoy- 
antly alive.  It  was  no  task  at  all  to  overtake 
Roy,  who  was  hampered  by  gasping  little  Mrs. 
Irving — who,  although  young,  was  not — so 
young.  Next  came  Amy  and  Will,  running  eas- 


PINE  ISLAND  AT  LAST  73 

ily,  but  Allen  and  Betty  passed  them  as  if  they 
had  been  standing  still. 

"Oh,  you  will,  will  you?"  Will  shouted  as  they 
went  by.  "We'll  see  about  that.  What  do  you 
say,  Amy,  more  speed?" 

"Sure,"  said  game  little  Amy.  "I  can  go  lots 
faster  than  this."  So  the  two  quickened  their 
pace,  but  Betty  and  Allen  were  on  wings,  and, 
try  as  they  might,  they  could  not  lessen  the  space 
between. 

"Oh,  well,  we  don't  want  to  beat  them  any- 
way, do  we?"  said  Will,  when  they  had  to 
give  up. 

"No,  we  wouldn't  think  of  taking  the  fun 
from  them,"  she  panted,  and  they  both  laughed 
merrily. 

Meanwhile  the  two  champion  runners  had 
overtaken  Grace  and  Frank  and  had  started  on 
the  last  lap  to  the  wharf. 

"There's  the  little  steamer  now,  Allen !"  gasped 
Betty.  "Oh,  do  you  think  it  will  go  without  us  ?" 
As  if  for  answer  the  whistle  on  the  curious  old 
ferry  shrieked  a  warning  to  all  would-be  voy- 
agers to  Pine  Island. 

Allen's  hand  tightened  its  grasp  of  Betty's 
arm.  "Are  you  game  for  one  last  spurt?"  he 
asked  her.  "We  may  be  able  to  make  it." 

Betty  nodded  her  head,  for  just  then  breath 


74     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

was  precious  and  not  to  be  wasted  in  idle  words. 
Silently,  the  two  called  on  their  splendid  reserve 
strength,  while  arm  in  arm  they  sped  along  the 
shore  to  the  dock.  They  reached  it  just  in  the 
nick  of  time. 

"Hold  on  there,  will  you?"  shouted  Allen, 
with  what  he  had  left  of  his  breath.  'The  rest 
of  the  party  will  be  up  in  a  minute." 

True  to  his  prophecy,  in  a  moment's  time  the 
entire  company  was  assembled  on  the  ancient 
dock,  tired  and  out  of  breath,  but  happy  to  be 
there  nevertheless. 

"You  two  are  some  classy  little  speed  mer- 
chants," remarked  Frank,  slangily,  while  he  re- 
garded the  pair  thus  designated  with  profound 
admiration.  "I  never  knew  two  people  could 
run  so  fast  before." 

"So  this  is  the  steamer!"  said  Grace,  as  soon 
as  she  could  find  breath  enough  to  speak  at  all. 
"It  does  justify  your  aunt's  description,  Mollie, 
although  it  doesn't  look  quite  so  rickety  as  I 
expected." 

"Probably  she  will  look  lots  worse  in  the  day- 
light," Will  prophesied  cheerfully.  "Say,  folks, 
what  do  you  say  to  our  making  ourselves  com- 
fortable? We  have  quite  some  ride  before  us; 
eh,  Mollie?" 

"About  half  an  hour's  sail/'  corrected  Mollie. 


PINE  ISLAND  AT  LAST  75 

"You  ride  in  an  automobile,  but  you  sail  in  a 
boat." 

"I  don't  see  why  ride  isn't  just  as  appropriate 
as  sail  in  this  case,"  said  Will,  sitting  on  a  suit- 
case beside  Amy,  with  his  back  against  the  rail, 
prepared  to  argue  the  point.  "Especially  since 
this  old  tub  has  never  known  a  sail." 

"Betty,"  Frank  said,  turning  to  that  young 
person  who  was  gazing  dreamily  out  over  the 
water,  "what  did  they  put  in  that  basket  when 
we  stopped  at  the  hotel  this  afternoon?" 

"What?"  she  said,  bringing  her  mind  down  to 
every-day  things  with  an  effort.  "Oh,  the  basket ! 
I  wouldn't  dare  tell  you  that,"  she  added,  with 
sudden  animation.  "Boys,  boys,  if  you  could 
only  see  inside — if  you  only  could — oh,  how  your 
mouths  would  water!" 

"Just  think,"  said  Grace,  tragically.  "Here 
we  have  everything  that  goes  to  make  up  a 
romantic  sail " 

"What,  for  instance?"  Roy  demanded.  "If 
you  call  a  leaky  old  ferryboat  with  the  weather 
so  damp  that  you  can't  touch  the  rail  without 
feeling  as  if  you  have  had  a  dip  in  the  briny — ! 
if  that's  what  you  call  romantic,  then  give  me  a 
good  open  fire  and  plenty  of  chicken  bones  to 
gnaw." 

"Oh,"  said  Betty  in  sorrow,  shaking  her  head 


76     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

at  the  depths  to  which  the  boys  had  fallen. 
''Frank,  I  would  never  have  thought  it  of  you. 
Just  the  same,"  she  added,  in  a  stage  whisper, 
"I  wouldn't  mind  having  a  couple  of  them  my- 
self." 

"Betty,  Betty,"  Allen  reproved  her.  "I 
thought " 

"Oh,  Mollie,  look  there,"  cried  Betty,  pulling 
her  friend  towards  her  and  indicating  an  indis- 
tinct shadowy  bulk  looming  eerily  before  them. 
"Mollie,  dear,  that's  the  island,  isn't  it?  I  can't 
wait  until  I  put  my  two  feet  on  it." 

"Oh,  I  wish  we  could  see  an  inch  before  our 
noses!"  said  Grace  impatiently.  "I  can't  make 
out  a  single  blessed  thing." 

"Probably  going  to  rain  some  more,"  said 
Frank  consolingly.  "Never  mind,  Grace,  when- 
ever your  heart  begins  to  fail  you,  just  think  of 
— what,  fellows?" 

"Chicken!"  they  shouted,  with  one  voice. 

"You  don't  know  you  are  going  to  get  any, 
yet,"  Betty  declared.  "If  I  remember  rightly, 
Frank  is  the  only  one  who  said  anything  about 
it,  and  he  doesn't  know  what  he  is  talking 
about." 

"Betty,  don't  be  heartless,"  Allen  implored. 
"Is  there  or  is  there  not  a  fowl  in  that  basket?" 

"There  is !"  she  answered  in  solemn  tones. 


PINE  ISLAND  AT  LAST  77 

"Hoorah!"  shouted  Will.  "Three  cheers  for 
the  good  old  bird !" 

As  he  spoke  the  little  steamer  scraped  against 
the  dock  that  was  almost  invisible  to  those  on 
deck,  then  came  to  a  full  stop.  The  shrill  whistle 
which  Roy  contemptuously  characterized  as  a 
joke,  broke  the  misty  stillness  with  a  shriek,  that 
echoed  and  re-echoed,  thrown  back  upon  itself 
by  some  distant  cave  or  hillside  on  the  island. 

"Goodness!  I  wouldn't  mind  a  nice  fire  my- 
self," said  Mollie,  shivering  with  something  a 
little  more  than  cold.  There  was  something 
mysterious  about  this  island,  shrouded  as  it  was 
in  the  clinging  mist — something  that  made  the 
girls  draw  close  together  for  companionship.  "I 
hope  it  will  be  more  cheerful  in  the  daytime — 
the  island,  I  mean,  not  the  fire,"  she  added. 

"Girls,"  cried  Betty,  "this  looks  like  a  regular 
adventure  island.  Maybe  we'll  find  the  gypsies 
here." 

"Oh,  don't,"  shivered  Amy.  "Don't  talk  about 
gypsies — until  daylight,  at  least." 

"Here  comes  the  rain!"  Roy  shouted.  "We'll 
have  to  hurry  some,  if  we  want  to  beat  it  to 
the  house.  Here,  Will,  take  hold  of  this  bag. 
Quick,  I  can't  carry  more  than  three  at  a 
time." 

"Give    it   to   Allen,"    Will   advised,    as   they 


78     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

tumbled  out  on  the  tiny  wharf.     "I  have  more 
than  my  share  already." 

"Oh,  all  right,"  said  Allen,  "I'll  be  the  goat. 
How  about  it,  Betty — shall  we  give  them  another 
race?  It  looks  as  if  a  little  speed  would  come 
in  handy." 

"No,  let  Mollie  lead  this  time.  I  hope  she 
knows  the  way." 

"Of  course  I  do,"  said  Mollie,  coming  up  be- 
hind them.  "There  isn't  any  way  to  find.  The 
house  is  at  the  end  of  the  wharf.  Follow  us 
and " 

"You'll  get  something  to  eat,"  Roy  finished 
for  her.  "We  have  the  basket." 

"Then  you  needn't  worry  about  our  following 
you,"  said  Allen.  "Only  if  you  don't  look  out 
we  will  get  there  before  you  after  all.  Come 
on,  Betty,"  and  for  the  second  time  that  day  the 
young  folks  had  a  chance  to  test  their  skill  in 
running.  The  main  thing  was  that  they  got 
before  the  rain. 


CHAPTER  X 

BRIGHT    AND    EARLY 

THE  morning  dawned  clear  and  bright.  Mollie 
woke  first  in  the  large,  sunshiny  room  which  the 
girls  had  chosen  to  occupy  together  during  their 
stay  on  Pine  Island. 

It  contained  two  large  double  beds — each  in  a 
little  alcove  of  its  own.  The  spotless  grass 
mats,  the  flowers  that  bloomed  on  the  wide-silled, 
latticed  windows  gave  the  room  an  air  of  cheer- 
ful hominess  and  comfort  that  was  very 
pleasant. 

All  this  Mollie  took  in  subconsciously  as  her 
sleepy  gaze  wandered  about  the  room.  Then 
slowly  full  wakefulness  banished  the  last  vestige 
of  sleep  from  her  eyes  and  she  sat  up  in  bed. 

"The  sun!'*  she  cried  joyfully.  "And  I  was 
sure  it  was  going  to  be  rainy  this  morning!  Oh, 
now  we  shall  see  the  island  as  it  really  is.  Wake 
up,  Amy,  do!  Oh,  goodness,  how  the  child 
sleeps!"  and  she  shook  her  slumbering  friend 
with  no  uncertain  hand. 

79 


80     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

'There  is  no  use,  Mollie,"  said  Betty's  voice 
from  the  other  end  of  the  room.  'You  couldn't 
wake  Amy  or  Grace  without  a  good  shaking." 

"What's  that?"  cried  Mollie,  startled,  as  a  loud 
knock  sounded  on  the  door.  "I  wonder  who  is 
coming  to  visit  us  so  early  ?': 

"Probably  one  of  the  boys,"  Betty  suggested, 
"come  to  tell  us  it  is  nine  o'clock  and  high  time 
we  were  up  and  dressed." 

"Nine  o'clock!"  Grace  fairly  stuttered,  but 
just  then  Mollie  called  out  an  impatient: 

'Who's  there?"  in  response  to  a  second  and 
harder  knock  at  the  door. 

"It's  I,  Will.  Mrs.  Irving  sent  me  up  to  ask 
when  in  the  name  of  common  sense  you  girls  are 
coming  down  to  breakfast." 

"What  time  is  it?"  Betty  countered.  "If  you 
tell  us  that,  we'll  tell  you  what  time  we  are  com- 
ing down." 

"It  is  half-past  eight,"  Will  answered.  "We 
fellows  have  been  up  since  six  o'clock  getting 
our  summer  quarters  fixed  up!" 

"I  won't  believe  it  until  I  see  it,"  said  Mollie 
darkly.  "Six  o'clock,  indeed!"  and  she  sniffed 
disdainfully. 

"Well,  if  you  don't  believe  it,"  said  Will, 
through  the  keyhole,  "all  you  have  to  do  rs  to 
come  down  and  see  for  yourself.  We've  got 


BRIGHT  AND  EARLY  8 1 

everything  fixed  up  O.  K.  all  right.  But  say! 
when  are  you  fellows — I  mean  girls — going  to 
get  up?" 

"Right  away,  Will,"  Betty  promised,  popping 
out  of  bed  and  into  her  slippers  all  at  once.  'We 
will  be  down  in  a  jiffy." 

It  required  a  great  deal  of  tact  to  coax  Amy 
and  Grace  out  of  bed,  but  it  took  a  still  greater 
amount  of  merciless  driving  to  get  them  down- 
stairs and  into  the  big  airy  dining  room, 
where  Mrs.  Irving  was  impatiently  awaiting 
them. 

"Here  you  are,"  she  said,  laying  down  her 
book  as  the  four  girls  tumbled  into  the  room. 
"I  thought  you  would  be  tired  after  last  night's 
fun,  so  I  let  you  sleep  it  out." 

"Well,  we  surely  did  sleep,"  said  the  Little 
Captain  brightly.  "I  for  one  feel  as  if  I'll  never 
sleep  again." 

"And  I  feel  as  if  I  could  sleep  forever,"  said 
Grace.  "You  never  saw  anything  like  Betty, 
Mrs.  Irving,"  she  complained.  "Why,  I  do  be- 
lieve she  could  have  made  a  fortune  in  the  old 
days  as  an  overseer  down  South." 

Mrs.  Irving  laughed.  "You  don't  look  espe- 
cially brow-beaten,"  she  said.  "And  anyway,  I 
should  think  you  would  be  glad  to  get  up — you 
must  be  nearly  starved  to  death." 


82     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"I  thought  after  last  night,  and  the  chicken, 
I  could  never  eat  again,"  said  Mollie,  her  eyes 
sparkling  at  the  memory.  "But  I  find  that  I  can, 
very  easily.  Oh,  Mrs.  Irving,  what  is  there?" 

"Well,"  their  chaperon  began,  "there  are  the 
eggs  we  had  put  up  with  the  other  things  yester- 
day and  some  fruit  and  honey  and  we  can  make 
some  flurry  white  biscuits  in  no  time " 

"Oh,  oh,  say  no  more!"  said  Betty,  clapping 
her  hands  joyfully  and  executing  a  little  dance 
about  the  room.  "Honey  and  biscuits — I  could 
make  a  meal  of  them  alone.  Mrs.  Irving,  show 
me  the  stove — lead  me  to  it — and  I'll  make  the 
biscuits,"  she  finished  importantly. 

"Mrs.  Irving,"  Grace  pleaded,  turning  to  the 
chaperon,  "you  are  the  only  one  here  who  could 
possibly  make  Betty  do  anything  that  she  didn't 
want  to  do  or  stop  her  doing  anything  she  had 
set  her  heart  on.  Won't  you  please  interfere 
for  the  sake  of  the  community?  It  might  really 
be  dangerous,"  she  added  plaintively. 

"Don't  worry,"  Mollie  put  in.  "I  have  eaten 
Betty's  biscuits  of  old,  and,  believe  me,  they  are 
good.  All  I  ask  is  that  you  hustle,  Betty — 

shoo "  And  she  hurried  the  willing  Little 

Captain  before  her  into  the  kitchen. 

Mrs.  Irving  followed  more  slowly  with  Amy 
and  Grace,  and  they  were  just  in  time  to  hear 


BRIGHT  AND  EARLY  83 

Mollie's  last  sentence:  "Where  have  the  boys 
disappeared  to?" 

"They're  out  yonder  in  the  woods,"  Mrs. 
Irving  replied,  indicating  a  spot  beyond  the  cot- 
tage. "They  were  up  very  early  this  morning 
— couldn't  wait  to  get  the  tents  up.  Allen  left 
word  that  they  would  stop  around  in  a  couple 
of  hours  to  say  good-afternoon  to  you  girls — if 
you  happened  to  be  up  by  that  time,"  and  the 
little  chaperon's  eyes  twinkled  as  she  saw  the 
look  of  rising  indignation  in  the  girls'  faces. 

"If  we  happen  to  be  up,  indeed,"  sniffed  Betty, 
bustling  around  the  kitchen  in  a  business-like 
fashion,  sorting  out  pans  and  getting  out  the 
flour,  which  Mollie's  aunt  had  very  thoughtfully 
left  in  the  larder.  "If  they  talk  like  that  much 
more,  they  won't  get  any  of  my  biscuits.  Just 
wait  till  they  smell  them,  girls — they  will  go 
down  on  their  knees." 

"Yes,  the  only  way  to  manage  boys  is  to  feed 
them  well,"  sighed  Amy,  with  a  funny  air  of 
knowing  all  there  was  to  be  known  about  men. 

"Oh,  Amy!  Amy!"  gasped  Mollie,  "you  will 
be  the  death  of  me  yet.  Anybody  would  actually 
think,  to  hear  you  talk,  that  you  had  really  had 
some  experience.  Say,  Betty,"  she  added,  re- 
garding the  doughy  mixture — the  result  of 
'Betty's  skillful  manipulation,  "that  looks  mighty 


84     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

interesting — I  shouldn't  mind  learning  how  to 
make  them  myself." 

"Oh,  it's  lots  of  fun,"  Betty  affirmed,  cutting 
out  the  biscuits  with  an  improvised  cutter — this 
last  being  the  top  of  a  baking  powder  can.  "Only 
take  my  advice,"  she  went  on,  standing  with  the 
covu*  poised  in  the  air  and  speaking  earnestly. 
"Don't  try  it  on  your  family  first — they  never 
appreciate  you.  Why,  the  first  time  I  made  bis- 
cuits, do  you  know  what  dad  said?' 

"No,  but  I  can  imagine,"  said  Grace,  who 
had  also  been  regarding  the  operation,  'judging 
from  what  dad  and  Will  would  have  remarked." 

"Well,  he  said,"  Betty  continued,  patting  the 
last  biscuit  into  its  appointed  place  and  regard- 
ing her  work  with  satisfaction,  "he  said  the 
best  thing  I  could  do  with  them  would  be  to 
pack  them  and  send  them  to  the  old  country  to 
use  in  some  of  the  new  howitzers  or  something 
like  that  they  are  getting  out.  How  is  that  for 
a  slam?" 

"Well,  I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said  Grace  wick- 
edly, "if  he  were  justified." 

Betty  turned  and  shot  a  reproachful  glance  at 
her  friend.  "Just  for  that,  Grace,"  she  said, 
"I  ought  to  say  you  can't  have  any  of  these — 
works  of  art,"  indicating  the  pan  she  was  putting 
into  the  oven.  "Why  do  you  girls  stand  around 


BRIGHT  AND  EARLY  85 

staring  at  me  anyway  ?"  she  added,  a  sudden  note 
of  impatience  in  her  voice.  'Why  don't  you  do 
something  to  earn  your  living?  Set  the  table 
or  get  the  water  boiling  for  the  eggs.  I  can't 
do  everything — now  scatter!  If  you  were  all 
as  hungry  as  I  am  you  wouldn't  wait  to  ba 
told." 

Laughingly  the  girls  did  as  the  Little  Captain 
bid — somehow  it  was  impossible  to  do  anything 
else. 

"Where  is  the  table  cloth,  Mollie?"  called 
Amy  from  the  other  room.  "We  used  paper 
napkins  and  doilies  last  night."  Then  she  added, 
as  Mollie  came  to  help  her,  "Did  you  ever  see 
anybody  eat  like  those  boys  last  night?'3 

"It  was  a  wonderful  and  awesome  sight," 
Mollie  agreed,  as  she  and  Amy  spread  the  cloth. 
"I  wonder,"  she  added  as  a  sudden  thought 
struck  her,  "if  the  boys  have  had  their  break- 
fast." 

"What  a  question!"  said  Grace,  appearing  at 
the  door  carrying  a  plateful  of  the  most  deli- 
ciously  golden  honey  the  girh  had  ever  seen — 
or  so  at  least  it  seemed  to  them.  "Do  you  imag- 
ine they  could  exist  from  six  o'clock  to  ten  with- 
out eating?  Mollie,  I  gave  you  credit  for  more 


sense.' 


"Is  that  so?"   retorted  Mollie,  cross  because! 


86     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

she  was  hungry.  "Well,  I  have  a  good  deal 
more  sense  than  some  people  I  know.  I  men- 
tion  no  names,  but  see  where  I  am  looking," 
and  she  stared  steadfastly  at  her  unruffled 
chum,  who  was  calmly  setting  the  honey  on  the 
table. 

"Here  I  am  again,"  said  Betty,  "acting  the 
part  of  peacemaker.  Oh,  girls,  it  is  too  won- 
derful a  day  for  outdoor  girls  to  quarrel.  I  am 
simply  crazy  to  get  out  in  the  woods  and  just 
revel  in  the  grass  and  the  trees  and  the  sun- 
shine." And  she  glanced  longingly  out  of  the 
open  door  that  led  to  the  porch.  "Oh,  I  wish," 
she  said,  "I  wish  the  biscuits  could  be  done  and 
eaten  all  in  five  minutes.  Amy,  did  you  put  the 
eggs  in?"  she  demanded,  and  Amy,  who  had 
been  gazing  out  of  the  window,  scuttled  out  to 
the  kitchen  obediently. 

The  girls  had  nearly  finished  breakfast,  when 
there  was  a  sound  of  voices  outside  the  door, 
and  a  moment  later  the  boys  burst  in  upon  them. 

"Hello!"  said  Allen,  evidently  surprised.  "I 
didn't  expect  to  see  you  for  another  hour." 

"Say,  those  biscuits  look  good,"  said  Roy.  "I 
should  say  biscuit,"  he  corrected  himself.  "Say, 
Betty,  do  you  happen  to  have  any  more  of  those 
around?" 

"No,  and  you  don't  get  this  one,  either.     It 


BRIGHT  AND  EARLY  8? 

belongs  to  Amy,"  said  Betty  decidedly.  "She 
has  had  only  three  and  I  made  four  apiece." 

Frank  was  just  about  to  protest  when  she 
added  compromisingly :  "I'll  make  some  more  for 
lunch." 

"When  is  lunch?"  inquired  Will  practically. 
"Twelve  o'clock?" 

"No,  about  one,"  Mollie  answered.  "We 
couldn't  possibly  eat  before  then." 

Allen  had  been  talking  to  Betty  in  an  under- 
tone, and  now  he  broke  into  the  conversation 
with:  "Betty  says  she  wants  to  see  our  camp. 
Who  cares  to  go  along?" 

There  was  a  clamorous  assent  followed  by  a 
faint  little  protest  from  Grace.  "Don't  you  think 
T?e  had  better  wash  the  dishes  first?"  she  asked. 

"Oh,  hang  the  dishes !"  said  Frank,  inelegantly. 
"'Remember  we  are  camping." 

"We'll  wash  them  up  with  the  lunch  dishes/' 
Betty  compromised,  then  added,  with  a  sly  little 
glance  in  Allen's  direction :  "We'll  make  the  Jx>ys 
wipe  them  for  us," 


CHAPTER   XI 

A   JOLLY  TRIP 

THE  girls  and  the  boys,  laughingly  driving 
Mrs.  Irving  before  them,  fairly  tumbled  down 
the  shallow  steps  in  their  eagerness  to  feel  the 
soft  grass  under  their  feet.  As  Betty  said,  it 
was  a  glorious  day,  a  typical  day  in  early  August, 
when  a  soft  breeze  tempers  the  heat  of  the  scorch- 
ing sun,  and  sets  the  trees  to  murmuring. 

The  spicy  air,  sweet  with  the  intoxicating  scent 
of  damp,  moist  earth  and  blossoming  flowers, 
went  to  their  heads  like  wine  and  they  danced 
down  the  path  that  led  through  the  woods  on 
feet  that  scarcely  touched  the  ground. 

Soon  they  emerged  from  the  dense  shadows 
of  the  wood  into  the  small  clearing  which  was 
thick  and  mossy  under  foot,  and  there,  nestling 
among  the  trees,  were  the  two  tents  the  boys 
had  so  laboriously  constructed. 

"Oh,  it  is  ideal!"  cried  Mollie,  delightedly,  as 
they  stopped  for  a  moment  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  clearing  to  survey  the  scene. 

88 


THEY  ROAMED  ABOUT  THE   CLEARING  INSPECTING  THE  TENT 

CRITICALLY.  Page  89 

Outdoor  Girls  on  Pine  Island. 


A  JOLLY  TRIP  89 

"Glad  you  like  it,"  said  Frank,  then  advanc- 
ing toward  the  nearer  of  the  two  tents,  he  paused, 
turned,  and  made  a  low  bow.  "Enter,  fair 
damsels,"  he  said. 

"He  thinks  he  is  reading  'A  Connecticut 
Yankee  in  King  Arthur's  Court,'  drawled 
Grace.  "However,  we  will  deign  to  honor  you 
with  our  presence '  And  she  swept  past  him 
with  a  queenly  air  that  elicited  amused  laughter 
from  the  others. 

For  more  than  an  hour  the  Outdoor  Girls  and 
their  friends  roamed  about  the  clearing  inspect- 
ing the  tent  critically,  inside  and  out,  and  picking 
flowers  in  between  times.  It  was  Will  who  first 
suggested  a  change. 

"Why  not  take  a  walk  about  the  country?"  he 
asked.  "I  guess  we  have  seen  all  there  is  to  be 
seen  here.  Come  on,  everybody.  I  want  to  get 
a  bigger  appetite  for  lunch." 

"All  right;  where  shall  we  go?"  Betty  agreed 
readily.  "Your  aunt  must  have  told  you  about 
this  part  of  the  world,  Mollie.  Where  can  we 
find  excitement?" 

"Well,  there  is  the  summer  colony  at  the  other 
end  of  the  island,"  Mollie  began  doubtfully. 
"But  it  is  rather  a  long  way  off.  The  steamer 
touches  there  from  here." 

"Too  far  to  go  before  lunch,"  Mrs.  Irving  said. 


90     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

The  party  spent  the  rest  of  the  time  until  one 
o'clock  visiting  the  wharf  and  roaming  the  coun- 
try in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  pretty 
bungalow. 

True  to  her  promise,  Betty  turned  out  at  the 
appointed  time  a  panful  of  the  most  appetizing 
biscuits,  and  let  it  be  said  here  that  the  boys 
did  them  full  justice — to  say  nothing  of  the 
girls. 

It  was  well  on  toward  three  o'clock  before  the 
girls  had  changed  their  morning  middies  and 
skirts  for  dainty  afternoon  dresses,  and  had 
made  all  other  necessary  preparations  for  a 
trip  to  town.  Mrs.  Irving  declined  to  go,  saying 
she  wished  to  write  letters. 

It  was  in  the  best  of  spirits  that  the  party  of 
young  people  stood  on  the  end  of  the  dock,  wait- 
ing to  hail  the  little  steamer  as  it  chug-chugged 
its  way  from  the  summer  colony  at  the  far  end 
of  Pine  Island  to  the  mainland. 

When  finally  it  did  come  in  sight,  the  girls 
and  the  boys  found  themselves  convulsed  with 
laughter.  If  the  shabby  little  craft  had  appeared 
grotesque  in  the  mist  of  the  night  before,  how 
much  more  forlorn  did  it  look  in  the  full,  daz- 
zling glare  of  the  sun!  As  it  came  nearer  they 
saw  that  the  decks  were  crowded  with  people, 
the  gay  dresses  of  the  girls  mingling  with  the 


A  JOLLY  TRIP  91 

white  flannel  trousers  and  dark  coats  of  the 
men. 

"It's  a  wonder,"  said  Frank,  "that  with  all 
that  crowd  of  people  paying  good  money  to  be 
towed  ashore,  they  couldn't  get  something  a  little 
more  modern.  My !  it  looks  as  if  it  had  come  out 
of  the  ark.5' 

"Oh,  well,  as  long  as  it  is  seaworthy,  I  suppose 
they  think  it  will  do  as  well  as  any  other,"  said 
Roy.  'The  more  some  people  make  the  less 
they  like  to  spend." 

By  this  time  the  clumsy  ferry  had  plowed  its 
way  to  the  wharf,  and  had  come  to  a  stop,  while 
the  people  on  board  eyed  the  waiting  young  folks 
curiously. 

"Guess  they  will  know  us  the  next  time  they 
see  us,"  whispered  Allen.  "We  ought  to  hang 
out  a  placard :  Don't  stare.  We  don't  look  it,  but 
we  are  human/' 

Betty  laughed  gaily.  "They  do  need  a  few 
lessons  in  manners." 

The  bungalow  party  thoroughly  enjoyed  the 
trip  to  the  mainland.  The  scenery  was  as  beau- 
tiful as  it  had  been  pictured,  and  when  they  got 
tired  of  looking  at  the  sky,  the  water,  and  the 
mainland,  they  had  plenty  to  occupy  their  atten- 
tion in  the  people  about  them.  Everybody 
seemed  ready  for  a  good  time,  and  the  old 


92     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISL/iND 

ferry-boat  was  filled  with  shouts  and  laughter. 

"I  shouldn't  mind  knowing  some  of  those 
people,"  Roy  confided  to  Allen,  as  they  leaned 
against  the  shaky,  old  rail.  There's  certainly 
nothing  slow  about  them." 

'Well,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  shouldn't 
know  them,"  said  Allen.  "From  what  Mollie 
says,  they  are  pretty  close  neighbors.  In  fact, 
the  girls  said  something  about  going  over  there 
this  afternoon." 

'Well,"  returned  Roy,  "we  can't  go  too  soon 
to  suit  me." 

"If  you  are  thinking  of  girls,"  said  Allen,  as 
Mollie  and  Grace  came  up  to  them,  "it  is  my 
opinion  that  they  have  nothing  half  so  good  to 
offer  us  as  we  have  already." 

"I  guess  you  are  right,"  Roy  admitted,  as 
they  joined  the  rest  of  the  party.  "Just  look 
at  all  those  dudes,  staring  at  Betty  and  Grace! 
Say !  I'd  like  to  teach  them  manners !"  and  he 
glowered  at  the  unconscious  boys  from  the  sum- 
mer  colony  with  a  ferocity  that  should  have  ter- 
rified the  most  hardy. 

"Come  away,"  said  Allen.  "You  can't  blame 
them  for  doing  just  what  we  have  done  for  the 
last  two  years,"  he  added,  dryly. 

"Here  we  are,  almost  ashore,"  cried  Amy,  a 
little  later.  "Have  you  got  the  list  of  the  things 


A  JOLLY  TRIP  93 

we  need,  Allen  ?  Let's  see — butter  and  sugar  and 
baking  powder  and  eggs  and — oh,  we  mustn't  for- 
get the  meat." 

"Chocolates,"  murmured  Grace. 

"Don't  worry  so  soon,  Amy,"  laughed  Will. 
"There  will  be  plenty  of  time  for  that  when  we 
get  back  to  the  island  and  find  that  we  have  for- 
gotten half  the  things." 

"Well,  if  we  think  of  them  now,"  said  usually 
quiet  Amy,  "there  won't  be  any  excuse  for  our 
forgetting  them  later." 

"Well,  but  perhaps  we  shall  need  an  excuse," 
reasoned  Will.  "You  would  never  make  a  good 
diplomat,  Amy." 

Betty  put  her  arm  protect ingly  around  the 
younger  girl.  "There  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  want  to  be  that,  is  there?"  she  questioned. 
"Amy  thinks  that  as  long  as  she  feeds  you  boys 
well  there  is  no  need  of " 

"Oh,  Betty,  do  stop,"  begged  Amy,  her  face 
flushing  scarlet.  "It  isn't  fair." 

"I  know  it,"  said  Betty  soothingly,  while  the 
boys  looked  on,  curious  to  know  the  meaning  of 
this  mystery.  "I  won't  do  it  again,  dear,  I 
promise." 

"I  wish  you  would  tell  us — • — "  Allen  began, 
but  once  more  Mollie  interrupted. 

"We  had  better  get  down  near  the  front,"  she 


94     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

said,  "or  we'll  not  be  able  to  get  ashore  in  half 
an  hour.    Did  you  ever  see  such  a  mob?" 

"It  is  considerable  of  a  crowd,"  Frank  ad- 
mitted. "I  think  Mollie's  suggestion  is  a  good 
one,  fellows.  Let's  try  to  make  an  opening  while 


we  can.' 


The  boys  managed  so  well  that  when  the  lit- 
tle boat  scraped  against  the  wall,  their  party  was 
almost  the  first  to  set  foot  upon  the  land. 

'That  was  pretty  good  work,"  said  Will,  with 
an  air  of  satisfaction  as  they  made  their  way 
to  the  shore,  followed  by  a  stream  of  la«ughing 
humanity.  "I  hope  the  girls  didn't  mind  getting 
their  dresses  mussed.  Say,  fellows,  if  any  one 
should  ask  me,  I'd  tell  them  it  was  one  peach  of 
a  day !" 

There  being  no  disputing  this  fact,  no  one 
tried.  The  eight  young  people  swung  down  the 
shaded  street,  feeling  in  tune  with  the  whole 
world. 

They  succeeded  in  finding  the  general  store. 

"Now  get  out  that  list,  Allen,"  said  Betty,  as 
they  entered  the  wide  doorway.  "It  would  really 
be  a  shame  to  forget  anything/5 

Allen  began  to  search  through  his  pockets, 
calmly  at  first,  then  in  frantic  haste.  Seven 
pairs  of  eyes  followed  his  panicky  movements 
anxiously. 


A  JOLLY  TRIP  95 

"You  have  never  gone  and  forgotten  it?"  cried 
Mollie,  in  the  awed  tones  of  one  announcing  the 
end  of  the  world.  "Oh,  Allen !  you  haven't?" 

"Guess  I  have,"  he  returned  grimly,  and,  hav- 
ing searched  through  every  pocket,  began  all  over 
again.  "It's  strange — I  could  have  sworn " 

"You're  a  nice  one "  Grace  began,  but  Roy 

interrupted  her  with  a  shout  that  made  their 
nearest  neighbors  turn  and  look  at  them  curi- 
ously. 

"I  have  it!"  he  cried.  "Don't  you  remember, 
Allen,  that  you  gave  it  to  me  just  before  we 
left,  while  you  ran  back  to  get  something  for 
Betty?  Behold,"  and  he  dangled  the  precious 
list  before  their  eyes. 

"Oh,"  sighed  Mollie  in  relief,  "now  if  we  girls 
had  done  anything  like  that " 

"Hands  up,  don't  shoot!"  cried  Roy.  "We 
admit  everything." 


CHAPTER    XII 


"WHERE  THERE  is  SMOKE " 


THE  Outdoor  Girls  must  have  a  fire.  That 
they  had  decided  at  the  supper  table.  What  was 
the  use  of  having  a  big  fire-place  if  they  never 
used  it?  Betty's  theory  was,  that  it  was  wicked 
to  let  anything  go  to  waste.  All  this  being  true, 
it  stood  to  reason  that  a  fire  they  must  have. 

"I  wonder  if  the  boys  wouldn't  come  in  and 
help  us  build  it/'  Grace  suggested,  seized  with  a 
brilliant  idea.  "There  are  already  some  logs  in 
the  fire-place,  but  I  feel  that  I  would  like  to  have 
somebody  else  work  for  me  to-night." 

"Why,  of  course,"  said  Mollie.  "That's  what 
we  brought  them  with  us  for — to  help  out  when 
they  were  needed." 

'They  would  be  flattered  if  they  could  hear 
you,"  said  Amy. 

"I  don't  see  why  they  insist  on  staying  out  in 
the  woods  and  cooking  their  own  meals.  Just 
think  what  fun  we  could  have  with  them,  if  they 
were  here  now,"  put  in  Mollie  once  again. 

96 


"WHERE  THERE  IS  SMOKE "  97 

"Yes,  but  then  think  of  all  the  trouble  they 
would  be  making  us,"  said  Betty.  "Besides,"  she 
added,  "your  aunt  didn't  say  anything  about  a 
troop  of  noisy  boys,  Mollie,  when  she  lent  us  her 
bungalow  for  the  summer." 

"That's  right,  too,"  Mollie  reluctantly  con- 
ceded. 'Just  the  same  I  hope  they  haven't  for- 
gotten they  are  due  here  at  six-thirty  to  wipe  the 
dishes.  There  is  such  a  pile  of  them!" 

"Methinks,"  Grace  announced  solemnly,  "that 
even  at  this  moment  I  hear  the  sound  of  ap- 
proaching footsteps." 

"How  can  you  hear  footsteps  on  the  grass?" 
Mollie  demanded  rudely.  "You  must  have  better 
ears  than  I  have." 

"Of  course  I  have,"  Grace  retorted  calmly. 
"I  knew  that  long  ago." 

Before  Mollie  could  answer  a  head  was  poked 
in  at  the  door  and  an  accompanying  voice  asked 
cheerily :  "May  we  come  in  ?  Are  we  on  time  ?" 

"You're  as  welcome  as  a  day  in  June,  Frank," 
called  Betty,  as  she  arose  and  started  to  take  the 
dishes  into  the  kitchen.  "We  want  you  to  wipe 
these  for  us,  and  make  a  fire." 

"Anything  else  ?"  Frank  inquired  mildly,  while 
the  rest  of  him  followed  his  head  into  the  room. 
"The  fellows  told  me  to  come  on  ahead,  and 
say  to  you  ladies  that  they  would  be  here  as  soon 


98     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

as  they  got  through  scouring  their  frying  pan." 

"Poor  boys,"  said  Amy  impulsively.  "Why 
don't  they  bring  the  things  here?" 

But  Mollie's  thoughts  took  another  direction. 
"I  hope  they  bring  back  the  sapolio,"  she  said 
practically.  :<It  was  the  only  cake  we  had." 

Betty  paused  half  way  to  the  kitchen  and  bal- 
anced her  pile  of  dishes  on  one  hand.  "Mollie," 
she  cried  in  dismay,  "they  will  never  think  of  it ! 
Don't  you  think  you  had  better  go  back  and  tell 
them,  Frank?"  she  said. 

"Sure !"  he  answered  obligingly,  while  he  sunk 
into  an  easy  chair  with  a  sigh  of  content.  Evi- 
dently he  was  settled  for  the  evening. 

'Then  why  don't  you  go?"  Mollie  demand- 
ed impatiently.  "If  boys  aren't  the  most  ag- 
gravating things,  when  they  want  to  be!"  she 
added. 

"There's  plenty  of  time,"  Frank  assured  her 
calmly.  "I  left  the  fellows  in  the  first  throes  of 
cleaning  up — they  won't  be  through  for  half  an 
hour  at  least." 

"Well,  I  don't  care,"  said  Betty,  continuing 
her  journey  ings  into  the  kitchen.  "If  we  haven't 
anything  to  scour  the  pans  with,  then  they'll  not 
get  scoured — that's  all." 

"That's  the  spirit  I  like  to  see,"  said  Frank, 
and  Betty  could  have  thrown  something  at  him, 


'WHERE  THERE  IS  SMOKE "  99 

with  the  greatest  of  pleasure.  "It's  fine  to  see 
anybody  resigned  to  the  inevitable." 

''Well,  I  know  one  thing,"  Mollie  threatened, 
"if  you  don't  go  back  in  five  minutes,  I  will," 
and  for  emphasis  she  banged  the  salt  cellar  forci- 
bly upon  the  table. 

"What's  the  matter  with  our  going  together?" 
Frank  inquired,  moving  his  head  slightly  to  bring 
Mollie  within  his  range  of  vision.  'The  distance 
won't  seem  half  as  far  if  I  have  such  pleasant 
company,"  he  added  gallantly. 

"Don't  do  it,"  Betty,  coming  in  from  the 
kitchen,  advised.  "Make  him  work  a  little." 

"Oh,  you're  only  jealous  because  I  didn't  ask 
you,"  Frank  teased.  "I  always  knew  you 
thought  a  good  deal  of  me,  Betty." 

She  made  a  little  face  at  him,  but  did  not  deign 
to  reply.  Indeed,  why  should  she — the  accusa- 
tion was  so  plainly  absurd? 

Long  before  they  had  expected,  voices  were 
heard  in  the  distance  and  the  most  unearthly 
noises  broke  the  woodland  stillness.  There  was 
a  banging  of  wood  upon  tin  and  the  clatter  of 
utensils  mingling  with  the  outrageous  uproar 
from  three  pairs  of  sound  and  healthy  lungs. 
There  were  shouts  and  war  cries  and  yells,  com- 
bining in  a  weird  clamor  that  could  be  heard 
for  miles  around — or  so  it  seemed  to  the  girls. 


100     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

The  girls  looked  at  each  other  inquiringly — 
then  made  a  concerted  rush  for  the  door. 

"Oh,  what  a  noise!"  cried  Betty.  "It's  just  as 
well  there  isn't  anybody  else  in  this  part  of  the 
wood." 

A  moment  later  the  boys  rushed  upon  them, 
vigorously  pounding  utensils,  and  shouting  at  the 
top  of  their  voices.  The  girls  gave  way  before 
them,  and  the  roisterers  tumbled  in  and  took  pos- 
session as  though  they  were  really  the  Redskins, 
whose  cries  they  were  successfully  imitating. 
They  raced  about  the  house  like  madmen,  while 
the  girls  watched  their  antics  in  a  peculiar  frame 
of  mind.  If  the  truth  must  be  told,  they  were 
undecided  whether  to  be  displeased  or  amused. 
Amusement  conquered  in  the  end,  however,  for 
the  boys  were  irresistibly  funny,  and  the  girls 
laughed  till  they  ached  and  the  tears  rolled  down 
their  cheeks. 

After  considerable  time  they  all  managed  to 
quiet  down  enough  to  talk  sense. 

"The  girls  want  us  to  make  a  fire,  fellows," 
said  Frank.  "The  idea  looks  good  to  me." 

"It  is  good,"  Allen  agreed.  "Give  us  the  wood 
and  matches,  and  we  will  have  a  fire  going  in  no 
time." 

The  wood  is  in  the  fire-place,"  Betty  an- 
swered, "and  Mollie  has  the  matches,  I  think." 


"WHERE  THERE  IS  SMOKE— :>  IOI 

With  this  the  boys  set  to  wrork  energetically, 
while  the  girls  and  Mrs.  Irving  stood  about  them 
in  a  semi-circle. 

"It's  so  different  from  building  a  fire  in  the 
open,"  Amy  commented.  "I  always  love  them. 
Can't  we  toast  marshmallows  ?  That's  the  most 
fun  of  all." 

"We  could  if  we  had  any,"  Grace  replied  dryly. 
"I  have  some  chocolates  but  you  can't  roast  them, 
and  nobody  had  the  sense  to  think  to  buy  marsh- 
mallows  to-day." 

At  this  last  remark,  Frank  sat  back  upon  his 
heels  and  favored  Mollie  with  a  sly  wink — while 
that  young  lady  smiled  mysteriously. 

"Thereby  hangs  a  tale  of  which  you  shall  hear 
later,"  he  said,  and,  in  spite  of  all  their  urging,  he 
could  not  be  made  to  say  another  word. 

However,  their  curiosity  was  forgotten  a  mo- 
ment later — forgotten  in  the  excitement  caused 
by  a  strange  and  curious  happening. 

Suddenly  the  smoke  which  had  been  rolling 
in  clouds  up  the  chimney,  refused  to  roll  farther. 
There  being  no  other  exit  except  into  the  room, 
the  girls  and  boys  suddenly  found  themselves 
suffocating.  They  choked,  and  the  boys  stumbled 
to  their  feet  and  followed  the  fleeing  girls  into 
the  dining  room. 

There  was  a  chorus  of  sneezes  and  smothered 


102     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

cries  of  :Tm  choking!  Open  the  window,  some 
one,  quick!" 

'The  windows  are  open  and  the  doors,  too," 
gasped  Frank,  in  answer  to  this  last  request. 

"Don't  be  alarmed,  any  one,"  Allen  com- 
manded. "It's  nothing  but  a  clogged-up  chim- 
ney, and  that  won't  hurt  anybody." 

"But  the  smoke!"  gasped  Mollie.  "Why,  the 
house  will  be  ruined.  What  will  Aunt  Elvira 
say?" 

"Oh,  it  won't  hurt  anything,"  said  Betty,  mak- 
ing a  brave  attempt  to  push  her  way  through 
the  smoke  into  the  living  room.  "But  it  is  ter- 
rible. Can't  we  do  something  to  stop  it,  boys?" 

"I  don't  know  how  we  can — unless-  Roy 

turned  quickly  to  Mollie.  "Did  your  aunt 
say  anything  about  a  blower?"  he  asked  ea- 
gerly. 

"I  don't  remember — I — I  don't  remember," 
stammered  poor  Mollie,  whose  memory  was  be- 
ing taxed  to  the  utmost.  "You  might  look 
though,  and  see  what  you  can  find." 

"Oh,  do  hurry,  somebody!"  begged  Grace. 
"I'll  take  to  the  woods  in  another  minute." 

"Oh,  have  a  little  patience,  Sis,  can't  you?" 
cried  Will,  losing  his  temper.  "We  are  all  doing 
the  best  we  can." 

"But  look,"  said  Mollie,  suddenly  pointing  to 


"WHERE  THERE  IS  SMOKE "  103 

the  other  room.  'The  smoke  is  beginning  to 
clear  and  the  wood  isn't  half  burned  out  yet." 

"Let's  investigate,"  Frank  suggested.  "Maybe 
we  can  find  out  what  is  wrong  with  the  thing. 
Come  on,"  and  in  they  all  trooped,  coughing  and 
choking,  but  dauntless. 

"Get  me  a  stick,  will  you,  girls,"  Roy  entreated, 
as  he  went  nearer  to  inspect  the  fire-place.  "A 
broom  will  do.  Or  anything  else  you  happen  to 
have  around." 

Mollie  disappeared  into  the  kitchen  and  re- 
turned a  moment  later,  bringing  back  with  her 
an  old  stick  that  looked  as  though  it  might  have 
been  a  clothespole  in  its  better  days. 

"Will  this  do?"  she  asked,  holding  it  out  to 
Roy.  "It  was  the  only  thing  I  could  find." 

"Just  what  I  wanted,"  Roy  answered.  "Now, 
fellows,  let's  see  what  we  can  do  with  the 
thing." 

The  four  boys  crowded  around,  peering  up 
into  the  opening  as  if  they  hoped  to  find  the 
solution  of  the  mystery  there,  while  the  girls 
watched  them  with  breathless  interest. 

It  was  then  that  it  happened.  Roy  poked  up- 
ward inquiringly  with  his  stick,  and  for  answer 
a  cloud  of  soot  and  ashes  discharged  itself  from 
the  chimney,  showering  the  boys'  faces  with 
grimy  dust. 


104     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

They  drew  back  with  cries  of  disgust  and  be- 
gan rubbing  their  eyes  and  faces  furiously. 
Then  the  four  blackened  adventurers  turned  to 
the  girls  appealingly.  They  looked  so  funny, 
standing  there  with  their  faces  black  and  their 
clothes  bespattered  with  grime  and  a  look  of 
sheepish  chagrin  on  their  faces,  that  the  girls 
burst  into  gales  of  uncontrolled  laughter. 

'You  look  just  like  candidates  for  a  minstrel 
show,"  gasped  Mollie,  while  the  boys  stood  re- 
garding her  reproachfully.  "Oh,  boys,  if  you 
only  had  a  mirror!  If  you  only  had!" 


CHAPTER    XIII 

THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  CLANS 

you  got  us  some  soap  and  water,"  Will 
suggested  after  they  had  indulged  in  some  sheep- 
ish grins  at  their  own  expense,  "you  might  be 
doing  a  little  good  in  the  world." 

"Well,  you  ought  to  know  how  to  find  it  your- 
selves," Grace  retorted.  "Suppose  you  go  and 
wash,  and  make  yourselves  look  like  respectable 
citizens  again — even  though  you  aren't,"  she 
added  sweetly. 

"Look  out,  Grace,  some  time  we  will  get  even 
for  all  the  knocks  you  have  been  handing  out," 
Frank  threatened,  shaking  a  girmy  fist  in  her 
direction. 

"Now  I  don't  suppose  we  can  have  a  fire  at 
all,"  sighed  Mollie,  as  the  boys  made  a  rush  for 
the  stairs.  "And  I  did  so  want  one." 

"If  we  can  find  a  blower,"  Allen  shouted  from 
the  landing,  "we'll  have  a  good  fire  yet." 

"Yes,  look  around,  girls,  will  you?"  Roy 
added,  "It  will  save  no  end  of  time." 

105 


106     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Do  you  know  what  a  blower  looks  like?" 
Mollie  inquired,  a  puzzled  frown  on  her  fore- 
head. "How  can  I  find  anything  when  I  don't 
know  what  it  looks  like  ?" 

"Oh,  I  know,"  said  Betty.  "We  used  to  have 
one  at  home  before  dad  put  the  hood  on  the 
fire-place.  Let's  go  on  a  still  hunt." 

This  they  did,  and  when  the  boys  came  down 
a  few  minutes  later  they  proudly  announced  their 
discovery. 

This  is  it,  isn't  it?"  asked  Betty,  indicating  a 
big  square  of  tin  with  a  handle  at  the  top.  "It 
looks  like  the  one  we  used  to  use." 

"It's  exactly  the  thing,"  cried  Frank,  pouncing 
on  it  eagerly.  "Now  if  this  doesn't  make  the 
wood  burn,  nothing  will." 

In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  the  boys  had 
succeeded  in  igniting  the  green  wood,  and  had 
applied  the  blower  before  the  smoke  had  had  a 
chance  to  get  out  into  the  room. 

The  fire  danced  and  glowed,  while  its  leaping 
flames  sent  fantastic  shadows  playing  hide  and 
seek  around  the  room. 

"How  is  this  for  a  fire,  eh?"  said  Will,  holding 
out  his  hand  to  the  welcome  warmth  of  the  blaze, 
for  although  the  days  were  hot,  the  nights  were 
apt  to  be  damp  and  cool  on  this  island,  surrounded 
as  it  was  by  the  waters  of  the  lake.  "Some  time 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  CLANS         107 

the  girls  will  find  out  that  we  know  our  business 
pretty  well.  Oh,  that  feels  good !" 

"You  are  right/'  said  Frank,  as  they  instinc- 
tively drew  their  chairs  nearer  to  the  fire.  "Now 
all  we  need  is  something  to  roast  or  toast,  it 
doesn't  much  matter  which." 

'That  reminds  me,"  said  Betty,  turning  accus- 
ing eyes  upon  Roy  and  Mollie,  whose  faces  were 
clearly  outlined  in  the  dancing  fire-light.  "You 
two  people  over  there  seem  to  have  a  secret  that 
you  don't  want  to  share  with  us.  I  think  Mrs. 
Irving  knows,"  she  went  on,  turning  an  accusing 
eye  on  the  chaperon  where  she  sat  in  the  midst 
of  the  circle,  "but  she  won't  let  on.  Suppose  you 
tell  the  rest  of  us  what  it  is." 

'Well,  Mollie  said  something  about  a  fire,'J 
Roy  admitted,  "and  I  thought  a  couple  of  boxes 
of  marshmallows  wouldn't  be  unwelcome;  so, 
when  the  rest  of  you  were  all  busy  buying  other 
things,  Mollie  and  I  slipped  off  and  got  them. 
Where  are  they,  Mollie?" 

"I'll  get  them,"  she  answered,  rising  reluc- 
tantly from  her  comfortable  chair.  "I  hid  them. 
I  knew  that  if  Grace  once  had  an  inkling  they 
were  in  the  house  she  would  never  rest  till  she 
found  them.  In  that  case "  she  paused  im- 
pressively, and  looked  about  her,  "there  wouldn't 
have  been  one  left  by  to-night." 


108     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

They  laughed,  well  knowing  the  truth  of  this 
remark,  while  Grace  gave  a  sigh  at  being  so 
misunderstood. 

A  few  moments  later,  Mollie  had  returned 
with  the  cherished  sweetmeats  and  the  boys  were 
busily  engaged  in  the  process  of  toasting  them  on 
the  ends  of  long  wire  forks  made  especially  for 
that  purpose. 

"Um — um,  this  is  good,"  said  Betty,  biting  off 
the  end  of  a  delicious  morsel.  "Why  didn't  you 
buy  three  boxes  while  you  were  about  it, 
Roy?" 

'That's  all  you  get "  Roy  was  beginning, 

when  Mollie  interrupted  him,  speaking  dreamily, 

"Wasn't  he  a  funny  old  man,  Roy?"  she  said — 
"the  one  who  sold  us  the  candies,  I  mean." 

"Yes,  I  guess  he  must  have  been  in  his  dotage," 
Roy  agreed.  "In  five  minutes  he  told  us  all  his 
life's  history  and  then  some." 

"That's  pretty  good,"  said  Allen  with  interest, 
while  he  dangled  his  marshmallow  perilously 
near  the  leaping  flames.  "I  bet  you  couldn't  do 
as  well." 

"I  know  I  couldn't,"  Roy  answered  modestly. 
"That  old  chap  was  a  past  master  all  right. 
Some  of  the  things  he  said  were  interesting, 
though.  Weren't  they,  Mollie  ?" 

"Very,"  said  Mollie,  while  she  stared  fixedly 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  CLANS         1 09 

at  the  fire.     "Interesting  and — a  little  creepy," 
she  added. 

The  girls  started  and  leaned  forward  eagerly, 
Mrs.  Irving  and  the  boys  evincing  equal  interest. 

"Creepy !"  Amy  repeated,  in  awed  tones.  "Oh,' 
Mollie,  what  do  you  mean?" 

'Just  that,"  said  Mollie,  enjoying  the  sensation 
she  was  making.  "He  was  an  awfully  wizened 
old  man,  and  when  he  heard  we  were  from  Pine 
Island — well,  he  told  us  some  mighty  queer 
things." 

"Pine  Island?"  cried  Mrs.  Irving,  the  color 
flaming  into  her  cheeks,  whether  from  excite- 
ment or  the  warmth  of  the  fire,  no  one  could 
tell. 

"What  can  be  strange  about  Pine  Island?"  de- 
manded Betty.  "Mollie,  I  could  shake  you;  why 
don't  you  tell  us  and  have  it  over  with?" 

Mollie  glanced  at  Roy.  "Shall  I?"  she  asked, 
just  as  if  she  had  not  been  longing  for  the  last 
half  hour  for  the  time  to  come  when  she  could 
create  a  sensation  by  telling. 

"You  might  as  well,"  he  answered  condescend- 
ingly. "As  long  as  we  have  to  have  them  around 
for  the  rest  of  the  summer,  we  might  as  well  let 
them  in  on  it." 

"Well  of  all  the "  Grace  was  beginning, 

kwhen  Betty  nudged  her  sharply. 


1 10     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Don't  interrupt,  Grace,  whatever  you  do,"  she 
whispered.  'They  take  long  enough  getting  to 
the  point  anyway." 

Grace  saw  the  wisdom  in  this,  and  stopped 
short. 

"Well,"  began  Mollie,  speaking  slowly  and 
\vith  aggravating  distinctness,  "you  see,  in  the  old 
days,  this  island  used  to  be  a  rendezvous  for  all 
the  wandering  gypsies  for  miles  around." 

"What?"  Frank  cried. 

"Well,  I  am  only  telling  you  what  the  old  man 
said,"  asserted  Mollie  defensively  and  with 
warmth.  "I  don't  say  he  may  not  be  mis- 
taken  " 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,  Mollie,"  Betty  broke  in 
quickly.  "We  understand  that  you  are  not 
vouching  for  the  old  man's  honesty.  All  we  want 
is  his  story.  Please  go  on — I  am  awfully  inter- 
ested." 

"Just  think,  gypsies  on  this  island!"  mur- 
mured Amy,  shuddering. 

"He  says,"  Mollie  continued,  "in  the  old  days 
there  used  to  be  as  many  as  two  or  three  hun- 
dred of  the  gypsies  gathered  around  here — on 
this  part  of  the  island,  too."  She  paused  to  see 
the  effect  of  her  words. 

"But  didn't  your  aunt  say  anything  about  that, 
Mollie?"  Grace  queried.  "Why,  it  seems  impos- 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  CLANS         lit 

sible.  I  don't  wonder  you  felt  creepy,  especially 
if  there  are  many  like  that  old  crone  we  saw  in 
Deepdale,"  and  she  glanced  over  her  shoulder  in 
the  direction  of  the  open  window. 

"Don't  you  think  we  had  better  lock  the  door?" 
suggested  Amy.  "Some  of  those  men  in  the 
gypsy  camp  looked  actually  murderous." 

Of  course  the  boys  laughed  at  her  fears,  and 
Roy  remarked  casually:  "The  old  chap  told  us 
something  else,  fellows,  that  may  be  of  interest 
later  on." 

"What's  that?"  Will  demanded. 

"He  said  that  when  the  tide  was  on  the  ebb, 
you  could  actually  ford  the  lake  to  the  islands 
farther  south.  It  might  be  worth  while  trying 
some  time." 

"You  bet  it  will !"  said  Allen,  and  his  eagerness 
was  not  feigned. 

"We'll  try  it  the  first  chance  we  get,"  Prank 
added. 

"We're  going,  too,"  said  Betty.  "You  needn't 
think  you  can  leave  us  behind  when  there  is  any- 
thing like  that  afoot." 

"We  wouldn't  try,"  said  Allen,  ruefully.  "Es- 
pecially as  you  girls  say  you  can  swim." 

"However,  they  will  have  to  prove  that  point," 
Roy  put  in. 

"That's  easy,"  said  Grace  fearlessly.     "As  we 


112     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

have  remarked  before,  we  haven't  been  outdoor 
girls  all  our  lives  for  nothing." 

"If  you  boys  hadn't  been  so  set  on  our  looking 
at  your  old  camp  to-day,"  said  Amy  with  unusual 
spirit,  "we  would  have  proved  it  to  you  before 
this.  But  do  you  really  think  there  are  gypsies 
on  the  island?"  she  added.  "Because,  if  there 
are,  we  might  be  able  to  find  some  of  their  loot." 
She  voiced  this  last  desire  in  hushed  tones. 

The  girls  laughed  even  while  they  drew  their 
chairs  still  closer  to  the  fire. 

"Such  a  chance !"  gibed  Will,  but  Betty's  eyes 
were  shining  in  the  glow  of  the  fire-light. 

"Oh,  if  we  only  could!"  she  whispered  softly. 
"If  we  could  only  get  the  stuff  stolen  from  Deep- 
dale!" 


CHAPTER   XIV 

A  VICTORY  FOR  BETTY 

BREAKFAST  was  cleaned  away  and  Betty,  with 
Mollie  at  her  heels,  made  a  rush  for  the  bed- 
room. 

"I'm  willing  to  wager  anything,"  called  the 
former,  gaily,  "that  I'll  be  in  my  bathing  suit 
before  any  of  the  rest  of  you  have  started." 

"I  hope  the  water  isn't  too  cold,'f  Grace  shiv- 
ered, as  she  took  out  her  bathing  suit.  "If  there 
is  anything  I  hate,  it's  trying  to  swim  in  icy 
water.  It  almost  makes  my  heart  stop  beating.'* 

"All  right,  we'll  have  the  weather  man  heat  it 
for  you,"  said  Betty,  slipping  into  her  neat  little 
suit.  "I  don't  know  how  the  water  can  be  cold, 
though,"  she  added,  "the  air  is  suffocating  to- 
day." 

"Now — one,  two,  three — go!"  and  they  were 
off  like  four  little  black  sprites,  down  the  broad 
stairway  and  into  the  living  room  where  the  boys 
were  already  assembled,  talking  to  the  chaperon. 

The  boys  wore  raincoats  over  their  bathing 

113 


1 14     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

suits ;  and,  as  the  girls  entered  the  room,  they 
shouted  a  merry  greeting. 

"So  soon?"  called  Frank  in  surprise.  "Why, 
we  didn't  expect  to  see  you  for  an  hour  at  least." 

"An  hour?'  said  Betty,  with  feigned  indigna- 
tion— for  she  was  a  good  little  actress,  was  Betty. 
'Why,  we  thought  you  were  never  coming!" 

'You  mean  to  say  you  were  waiting  for  us?" 
said  Allen,  incredulously.  "Betty,  are  you  telling 
the  truth?  Mrs.  Irving,  is  she?" 

:'I  assure  you  I  was  too  busy  finding  my  bath- 
ing suit  and  getting  into  it  to  know  just  when  the 
girls  were  ready,"  responded  the  chaperon. 

At  one  part  of  the  island  the  ground  dipped 
gradually  so  that  one  might  have  any  depth  of 
water  desired,  and  it  was  to  this  part  that  the 
young  folks  made  their  way. 

"Remember "  said  Frank,  referring  to  the 

conversation  of  the  night  before,  "remember,  you 
girls  will  have  to  prove  your  claims  to  champion- 
ship swimming  this  morning.  If  you  were  just 
faking,  now  is  the  time  we'll  find  you  out." 

"We're  not  faking,"  Mollie  denied  stoutly.  "I 
learned  to  swim  when  I  was  nine  years  old,  and 
I've  been  swimming  ever  since." 

"Really?"  Roy  inquired  with  interest.  "Then 
you  must  be  Mollie's  ghost,  while  the  real  Mollie 
is  swimming  around  out  there  somewhere,"  wav- 


A  VICTORY  FOR  BETTY  115 

ing  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  water,  "chum- 
ming with  some  of  the  beautiful  water  nymphs. 
Just  think,  nothing  to  do  but  swim  for — how 
manv  years  is  it,  Mollie?"  he  asked. 

"Goose!"  was  all  she  answered,  but  that  one 
little  word  managed  somehow  to  contain  a  world 
of  scorn. 

"You   try   it   first,    Will,"    begged   his   sister. 
'Then  you  can  tell  us  whether  it  is  cold  or  not." 

"Say,  what  kind  of  sport  are  you,  anyway?" 
Will  demanded.  "That's  the  way  with  girls — 
they  all  make  a  big  bluff  about  being  able  to  do 
what  we  can,  and  then  when  it  actually  comes 
down  to  business  they  want  to  try  it  on  us  first. 
I'd  like  to  see  one  of  you  go  in  first !" 

Betty  made  a  dash  for  the  water.  "Wouldn't 
it  be  nice,"  she  flung  back  at  him  over  her  shoul- 
der, "if  all  wishes  could  be  granted  so  easily. 
Come  on,  girls — we'll  show  them  a  thing  or  two," 
and  she  \vaded  in  till  the  water  was  above  her 
waist,  then  plunged  in  over  her  head. 

Mollie  followed  close  upon  her  heels  and  it 
was  a  moment  before  the  boys  realized  what  had 
happened,  and  could  rouse  themselves  to  action. 

"Come  on,  fellows!"  Allen  shouted.  "We 
can't  let  two  girls  get  the  best  of  us  like  that." 

Mrs.  Irving,  who  was  at  home  in  the  water, 
entered  and  swam  out  boldly. 


Il6     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Are  you  going  to  stay  there?"  Frank  shouted 
to  Amy  and  Grace,  who  stood  uncertainly  on 
the  bank,  undecided  whether  to  advance  or  re- 
treat. "Come  on  in — the  water's  fine." 

Thus  encouraged,  the  two  girls  threw  caution 
to  the  winds,  and  waded  in  till  the  warm  water 
was  up  to  their  shoulders. 

"Oh,  it  is  wonderful!"  cried  Amy.  "Look 
how  far  we  are  behind.  Let's  see  if  we  can't 
catch  up  with  them."  And  they  started  off  with 
a  will  after  their  deserting  comrades. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  powerful  strokes  of 
the  boys  brought  them  up  beside  Mollie  and 
Betty  who  were  swimming  easily. 

"Hello,  runaways,"  was  Frank's  greeting,  turn- 
ing over  on  his  back  and  propelling  himself 
by  a  whirlpool  motion  of  his  arms.  "Thought 
you'd  give  us  the  slip,  did  you?  Well,  we  shall 


see.' 


Betty  followed  Frank's  example,  floating  lazily 
on  the  still  surface  of  the  water. 

'We  weren't  running  away,"  she  said;  "we 
just  wanted  to  show  you  we  weren't  afraid, 
that's  all." 

"I'll  give  you  a  race  to  that  floating  log  out 
there,  Betty." 

Betty  turned   over  and  regarded  the   log  in 
question  with  thoughtful  eyes.     "All  right,"  she 


A  VICTORY  FOR  BETTY 


agreed,  after  a  moment's  hesitation.  "I  guess  I 
can  make  that  easily  enough.  Will  you  call  the 
start?" 

"Just  as  you  say,"  he  answered.  "We  are  al- 
most even  now,  and  when  I  say  go,  we're  off. 
Agreed  ?" 

"Uh'huh,"  answered  Betty. 

"All  right.    One  —  two—  three—  go  !" 

They  shot  forward  together,  side  by  side  and 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  each  determined  to  save 
his  strength  for  the  final  spurt. 

By  this  time  the  others  had  come  up  and  were 
watching  the  race  with  interest. 

On,  on  the  two  racers  went,  with  no  apparent 
effort,  until  half  the  distance  to  the  log  had  been 
covered.  It  was  then  that  the  watchers  noticed 
the  change.  Betty  lengthened  her  stroke  a  trifle 
and  forged  ahead,  while  Frank  still  kept  the 
same  steady  stroke. 

Then,  when  more  than  half  of  the  remaining 
distance  had  been  covered,  Frank  evidently  made 
up  his  mind  that  it  was  time  to  show  those  people 
some  real  speed.  Suddenly  he  dropped  the  lazy 
stroke,  and  it  seemed  as  though  he  were  imbued 
with  new  life.  His  arms  and  legs  worked  to- 
gether with  the  precision  of  a  machine  and  he 
shot  through  the  water  like  a  catapult. 

Betty  was  not  prepared  for  so  sudden  a  trans* 


IlS     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

formation,  but  her  surprise  lasted  only  a  minute. 
Gallantly  she  gathered  all  her  strength  and  made 
a  dash  for  the  goal. 

"I  see  Betty's  finish,"  Will  was  saying,  when 
Mollie  cried  excitedly: 

"You  just  watch  Betty.  Did  you  ever  see  a 
girl  like  her?" 

As  Allen  came  up  beside  the  pair  he  thought 
that  at  last  he  and  Mollie  had  found  something 
to  agree  upon. 

They  watched  Betty  with  straining  eyes. 

"She'll  do  it !"  cried  Allen.  "I  never  thought 
it  was  possible  for  a  girl  to  swim  like  that.  Look, 
she  has  caught  up  to  him." 

It  was  so.  Betty  had  used  the  last  ounce  of 
strength  in  her  strong,  young  arms  and  the  result 
was  a  tie. 

She  and  Frank  laid  hands  upon  the  log  at 
one  and  the  same  instant. 

Frank  shook  the  water  from  his  eyes,  and  re- 
garded his  rival  in  amazement.  "How  did  you 
ever  do  it?"  he  questioned.  "I  thought  I  had  you 
beat  a  mile." 

"Well,  that's  where  you  had  another  think 
coming."  Betty  would  not  have  been  human  had 
she  not  gloried  in  this  victory — for  even  a  tie 
with  one  of  Frank's  strength  and  muscle  was  a 
triumph.  "I  told  you  I  could  swim." 


A  VICTORY  FOR  BETTY 

"Hoorah  for  the  champeens!"  shouted  Will  as 
the  others  reached  the  goal  a  few  moments  later. 
"That's  pretty  good  work,  Betty.  I  have  to  hand 
it  to  you." 

"Don't  you  think  we  had  better  get  to  the 
shore  and  rest  a  while?"  Roy  suggested.  "Amy 
and  Grace  seem  to  have  gotten  there  before  us, 
and  Mrs.  Irving  has  gone  back  to  the  bungalow." 

The  others  agreed  and  they  all  swam  lazily 
toward  the  mossy  bank.  Betty  drew  herself  up 
and  sank  upon  the  grassy  knoll  with  a  sigh  of 
utter  relaxation. 

"I'd  like  to  give  you  a  longer  race,"  said  Frank, 
whose  near  defeat  at  the  hands  of  a  girl  was 
hard  to  bear.  "I  bet  I  could  beat  you  easily  on  a 
long  stretch." 

Betty  sat  up  suddenly  and  stared  at  him. 
"Frank  Haley!"  she  cried,  "I've  a  good  mind 
to  take  you  up." 

"A  race!  a  race!"  cried  Mollie,  clapping  her 
hands  in  delight.  "Oh,  I'd  love  to  see  it." 

"Go  on,  Frank,  set  the  day,"  Allen  urged. 
"After  what  you  said  you  are  in  honor  bound  to 
give  Betty  a  chance." 

"I  am  perfectly  willing,"  said  Frank,  glancing 
toward  Betty.  "What  do  you  say  about  it?" 

"You  can't  arrange  it  too  soon  to  suit  me," 
Betty  answered,  undaunted. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  SPLENDID  CATCH 

"CAN'T  anybody  think  of  anything  to  do?" 
Mollie  queried  impatiently.  "I'll  go  crazy  if  I 
have  to  sit  around  here  for  another  half  hour," 
and  she  dug  the  toe  of  her  shoe  into  the  soft 
sward  viciously. 

"You  are  not  very  flattering  to  our  company," 
said  Roy,  leaning  on  one  elbow  and  smiling  up 
lazily  at  the  straight  little  figure  beside  him. 

Mrs.  Irving  was  lying  down  and  the  rest  of 
the  party  was  gathering  about  the  camping  place 
of  the  boys,  some  roaming  about  restlessly  and 
others  sitting  upon  the  grass.  It  was  a  sultry, 
scorching  day,  when  not  a  breeze  came  to  temper 
the  heat — a  day  when  the  slightest  movement 
produces  the  effect,  as  Mollie  had  said,  "of  a  fire 
lighted  right  under  your  nose."  The  young 
people  were  restlessly  on  edge,  undecided  what 
to  do. 

It  was  too  hot  to  make  the  long-looked- for 
walk  to  the  summer  colony  a  possibility.  Of 

12* 


A  SPLENDID  CATCH  121 

course  they  could  swim,  but  this  they  had  done 
all  morning  long  and  one  couldn't  swim  forever! 
This  was  the  state  of  affairs  then,  when  Mollie 
made  her  petulant  remark. 

"That's  nonsense,"  she  retorted,  in  reply  to 
Roy.  "It  isn't  the  company  I  find  fault  with, 
it's  the  atmosphere." 

Allen  and  Betty,  who  had  come  back  from  a 
little  ramble  in  the  woods,  surveyed  the  scene 
thoughtfully. 

"I  tell  you  what  we  can  do,"  said  Allen,  and 
the  two  on  the  grass  regarded  him  hopefully. 
"We  fellows  have  brought  some  fishing  tackle — 
suppose  we  go  out  and  try  to  get  some  fish  for 
supper?  That  doesn't  require  much  energy,"  he 
added. 

"Allen,  you  have  saved  my  life !"  cried  Mollie, 
springing  up  from  the  mossy  rock,  which  had 
been  her  seat.  "Can't  we  go  right  away?  Oh, 
do  call  the  others  and  ask  them  to  hurry!" 

"Take  it  easy,"  Roy  cautioned,  still  stretched 
out  on  the  grass.  "You'll  get  all  heated  up  again. 
Besides  there's  no  such  awful  rush — we  have  all 
the  time  there  is  before  us." 

But  Mollie  was  all  action,  now  that  there  was 
some  definite  point  in  view. 

She  called  the  others  to  her,  speaking  quickly. 

"We  are  going  to  catch  some  fish,"  she  an- 


122     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

nounced  eagerly.     "Or  at  least  we  are  going  to 
try  to." 

Try  is  good,"  murmured  Frank,  but  Mollie 
continued,  unheeding. 

"It  is  strange  that  I  didn't  remember  be- 
fore," she  went  on,  "what  Aunt  Elvira  said 
about  the  wronderful  fishing  pool  about  a  mile 
away." 

"A  mile!"  groaned  Grace.  "Do  you  mean  to 
say  that  we  have  to  walk  a  mile  in  this  blazing 
heat?" 

"Nobody  lias  to,"  Mollie  retorted.  "It's  only 
a  question  of  wanting  to.  I'm  going  if  I  have 
to  go  alone." 

"Oh,  come  on,  Grace,  be  a  sport,"  Frank 
coaxed.  'Just  think  how  nice  and  shady  and 
cool  it  will  be  when  we  get  there.  It  will  be 
nice  and  shady  and  cool,  won't  it,  Mollie?"  he 
added,  turning  to  her  for  confirmation. 

"Nice  rocks  with  great,  big  trees  shading  them 
and  clear,  cold  water  with  lots  of  fish  in  it  and — 
and — oh,  everything!"  she  agreed  in  a  burst  of 
enthusiasm. 

That  sounds  mighty  good  to  me,"  said  Roy. 
"Now  for  the  fishing  tackle — where  is  it,  fel- 
lows ?" 

"Oh,  wait  a  minute,"  called  Mollie,  as  they 
made  a  rush  for  the  tents.  "There  are  some  rods 


A  SPLENDID  CATCH  123 

up  at  the  house,  too.  We  might  as  well  take  all 
we  can  get." 

"Good!"  said  Will.  "I'll  go  with  the  girls, 
fellows,  and  help  them  while  you  are  getting 
things  ready." 

Their  present  elation  was  very  different  from 
the  apathy  which  had  possessed  them  so  short  a 
time  before.  Indeed,  Mollie's  description  of  the 
fishing  pool  was  very  alluring. 

"Whereabouts  did  you  see  the  tackle,  Mollie?" 
Will  asked,  as  they  entered  the  house. 

"Oh,  I  can  find  it,"  said  Mollie  with  conviction. 
"I  think  there  were  four  rods.  I  hope  I  wasn't 
mistaken." 

"If  you  were,"  said  Amy,  "one  of  us  will 
have  to  sit  still  and  watch !" 

"And  I  think  I  know  who  that  will  be,"  said 
Will  with  a  sly  glance  at  his  sister. 

"Just  for  that,"  Grace  retorted,  "I'll  show  you 
the  best  catch  of  the  day." 

"We  shall  see,"  said  Mollie,  opening  the  door 
of  a  small  closet  under  the  stairs.  "Look,"  she 
added,  "there  they  are.  You're  a  judge  of  rods, 
Will— how  do  these  look?" 

Will  took  them  in  his  hands  and  examined 
them  minutely.  "They're  pippins !"  he  exclaimed 
joyfully.  "I  don't  know  when  I've  seen  a  better 
oufit.  You  ought  to  be  able  to  catch  all  the  fish 


124     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

in  the  lake  with  these,  girls,"  and  he  regarded 
them  admiringly. 

"We'd  better  watch  out  for  the  boys,"  said 
Amy,  wisely,  as  they  left  the  house.  'They  will 
be  exchanging  their  rods  for  ours,  if  we  aren't 
careful." 

They  all  laughed,  including  Mrs.  Irving,  who 
had  come  downstairs.  She  had  not  been  feeling 
well  of  late — the  heat  had  been  too  much  for  her 
—but  she  had  announced  a  strong  desire  to  ac- 
company the  young  folks,  if  they  went  very  far 
from  home. 

They  found  the  three  boys  industriously  dig- 
ging worms,  and  so  intent  were  they  in  this  ab- 
sorbing occupation  that  they  did  not  look  up 
when  the  party  approached. 

"What  are  you  doing?"  Grace  asked,  and  then, 
as  Allen  held  up  a  wriggling  candidate  for 
the  hook,  she  shivered  and  drew  back  in  dis- 
gust. 

"Ugh,"  she  said,  "how  I  hate  the  nasty  things  1 
Somebody  will  have  to  bait  my  hook  for  me.  I 
couldn't  do  it  in  a  million  years." 

"All  right,  nobody  asked  you  to.  How's  that 
for  a  good  fat  one,  eh?"  asked  Roy,  as  he  held 
up  an  unusually  fine  one  for  her  inspection. 

"Why  is  it  boys  always  have  to  tease?"  Betty 
asked  of  the  world  in  general.  "We  know  you 


A  SPLENDID  CATCH  12$ 

have  to  have  worms  for  bait,  but  that  doesn't 
make  us  like  to  look  at  them." 

"Well,  I  guess  that's  enough,"  said  Allen,  clap- 
ping the  top  on  the  big  tin  box,  and  getting  to 
his  feet.  "Now  if  the  fish  don't  like  the  bait  any 
better  than  you  girls,  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  we 
got  done  out  of  our  supper." 

"My  aunt  says  they  are  wonderfully  agree- 
able," said  Mollie  as  they  started  down  the  path, 
"especially  in  that  pool.  She  says  they  just  fall 
over  one  another  in  their  hurry  to  get  caught." 

"And  you  waited  all  this  time  to  tell  us  about 
it,"  said  Allen  reproachfully.  "And  even  then  I 
had  to  suggest  it." 

"Yes,  if  it  were  just  an  ordinary  pool  you 
could  understand  it,"  Frank  added.  "But  a  mar- 
vel like  this !  Gee,  those  fish  must  be  hungry !" 

The  Outdoor  Girls  and  their  companions 
tramped  for  what  seemed  to  them  a  very  long 
time,  but  at  last  they  were  rewarded  by  a  vision 
of  a  beautiful  glade — all  trees  and  rocks  and 
crystal-clear  water. 

"Well,  this  looks  like  something,"  said  Will, 
drawing  a  deep  breath.  "I  wouldn't  mind  camp- 
ing here  for  the  rest  of  the  season." 

Betty  laughed.  "You  would  either  have  to 
saw  down  about  a  hundred  trees,"  she  said,  "or 
camp  in  the  pool  with  the  little  fishes." 


126     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Well,  it  might  not  be  so  bad  at  that/'  said 
Will,  cheerfully,  while  he  helped  Amy  over  the 
uneven  places.  "I  could  have  fish  dinners  if  I 
wanted  them  anyway." 

"Well,  there  is  nothing  like  looking  on  the 
bright  side  of  things,"  laughed  Allen.  "Look, 
Betty,  here  is  a  place  that  was  just  made  for  you. 
Seat  and  back  and  everything  complete.  Isn't  it 
a  dandy?" 

"Do  I  dangle  my  feet  over  it?"  asked  Betty 
doubtfully,  surveying  the  water  beneath.  "Sup- 
pose one  of  my  slippers  dropped  off?" 

"I  suppose  I'd  go  down  and  get  it,"  he  said, 
brushing  the  difficulty  aside  with  a  wave  of  his 
hand. 

"But  it  would  be  ruined,"  wailed  Betty.  "They 
don't  feel  very  tight,  you  know." 

Allen  ran  his  hand  through  his  hair  in  evi- 
dent perplexity.  Then  his  brow  cleared  before 
the  light  of  a  sudden  inspiration. 

"Can't  you  take  them  off?"  he  asked  eagerly. 

"Allen!"  she  cried.  "What  an  idea!  Of 
course  I  can't." 

"Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  then?"  he 
demanded  despairingly.  "I've  suggested  every- 
thing I  could  think  of  and  you  certainly  can't 
stand  up  all  afternoon." 

"What  are  you  two  talking  about?"   Grace 


A  SPLENDID  CATCH 


demanded.  "Don't  you  know  you  are  blocking 
the  way?" 

"I  don't  want  to  put  my  feet  over  the  edge," 
Betty  explained.  "And  I  don't  know  what  else 
to  do." 

"Follow  my  example,"  Mollie  suggested. 
"Sit  on  'em." 

"Good  idea,"  Betty  agreed.  And  she  imme- 
diately plumped  down  on  her  two  slim  ankles, 
looking  up  at  Allen  invitingly.  "You  look  so  far 
away,"  she  said.  "When  you  sit  down  you  are 
not  nearly  so  impressive.  There's  plenty  of  room 
for  two,"  and  she  patted  the  rock  beside  her. 

Allen  obediently  stretched  his  long  length  on 
the  turf  at  her  side,  letting  his  legs  hang  over. 

"You  see  I'm  not  afraid  to  risk  a  dip  in  the 
aqua  pura,"  he  said.  "It  wouldn't  ruin  my  dainty 
little  gunboats." 

"It  looks  as  if  nothing  would  hurt  them  but 
an  axe,"  Frank  remarked.  He  had  seated  him- 
self next  to  Allen  and  Betty,  after  having  made 
Grace  comfortable,  and  was  busily  engaged  in 
baiting  his  hook.  "You'd  better  hurry  up,  Allen 
—  we'll  have  all  the  fish  in  the  place  hooked  before 
you  get  started." 

"Oh,  no  you  won't,"  said  Allen.  "Hand  us 
some  of  those  worms,  Will,  will  you?" 

"Don't  let  them  come  too  near  me,  will  you, 


128     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

Allen?"  begged  Betty.  "I  don't  like  them  much 
more  than  Grace  does." 

"Anybody  would  think  you  were  talking  about 
some  lion  or  tiger  from  the  jungle,"  laughed 
Allen,  as  Will  handed  him  the  bait,  "instead  of 
three  little,  harmless,  unoffending  worms- 

"Who  seem  to  be  running  in  a  streak  of  hard 
luck,"  Frank  finished,  as  he  cast  his  line  into 
the  water. 

"It  does  seem  foolish,*  Betty  admitted,  taking 
her  rod  from  Allen's  hand,  "but  I  can't  help  it. 
Come,  little  fishes,"  she  called,  casting  her  line 
far  out  into  the  pool.  "Right  this  way!  You 
have  got  to  live  up  to  the  reputation  Mollie  has 
given  you." 

Allen  had  just  succeeded  in  landing  a  magnifi- 
cent, big  fish,  and  was  holding  it  down  to  keep 
it  from  sliding  into  the  water,  when  a  terrified 
cry  broke  the  stillness. 

"Help !  help !    I  am  drowning." 

For  one  stupefied  instant,  the  fishers  gazed 
dumbly  at  one  another.  Then  Allen  released  his 
Jiold  on  the  big  fish,  letting  it  slide  unheeded  into 
'the  water,  and  led  the  dash  through  the  woods. 

"Help!  help!"  called  the  voice  again,  fainter 
this  time. 

"Keep  up  your  courage!"  Allen  shouted.  'We 
are  coming!" 


CHAPTER    XVI 

NOT   A    MOMENT   TOO   SOON 

"On,  OH  !"  Betty  almost  sobbed,  as  they  stunv 
bled  on  over  stumps  and  fallen  logs.  "If  the 
boys  can  only  get  there  in  time — if  they  only 
can !" 

As  Allen  was  the  first  to  start,  so  he  was  also 
the  first  to  reach  the  water's  edge.  He  was  just 
in  time  to  see  two  hands  above  the  surface  of  the 
water — two  hands  clutching  in  anguish. 

As  he  rid  himself  of  his  shoes  in  frantic  haste, 
there  was  one  thought  and  one  only  in  his  mind 
— to  reach  the  helpless  owner  of  those  hands  and 
bring  her  back  to  life  and  hope.  He  was  sure 
it  was  a  girl — those  little  appealing  hands  could 
belong  to  no  other. 

The  next  moment  he  was  in  the  water,  swim- 
ming desperately  toward  the  point  where  he  had 
seen  the  hands  disappear. 

Oh,  he  would  never  reach  it!  The  water 
seemed  to  be  some  living  thing,  pushing  him; 
driving  him  back  to  the  shore  in  spite  of  himself ! 

129 


130     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

His  muscles  seemed  weighted  with  lead,  his  sod- 
den clothing  dragged  upon  him  mercilessly!  Oh, 
he  would  never  reach  her  in  time — he  couldn't! 

Then  a  wild,  hot  thought  flashed  through  his 
consciousness,  searing  it  like  a  flame.  Now  was 
no  time  to  say  he  could  not!  He  must!  He 
must!  A  life  depended  on  his  ability  to  reach 
that  spot  when  the  girl  came  to  the  surface  again 
-if  indeed  she  ever  did.  Ah,  perhaps  what  he 
had  seen  had  been  the  last  time.  Then  he  must 
dive,  dive,  dive  until  he  found  her,  even  though 
he  lose  his  own  life  in  the  attempt. 

But  no — there  right  before  him  so  near  that  he 
could  almost  touch  it,  a  figure  rose  to  the  surface, 
struggling  faintly. 

With  one  supreme  effort  Allen  forged  ahead 
and  grasped  the  skirt  of  the  girl's  bathing  suit  as 
she  sank  for  the  last  time  beneath  the  surface. 

"Thank  God!"  he  murmured,  as  he  raised  the 
girl's  head,  with  its  mass  of  tangled  hair,  above 
the  water.  "Oh,  thank  God!" 

As  he  turned  and  started  to  swim  slowly  back 
to  shore  with  his  burden,  he  almost  ran  into  the 
other  three  boys  who  had  followed  close  upon  his 
heels. 

"Oh,  you've  got  her,  have  you?"  said  Frank, 
unutterable  gladness  in  his  voice.  "I  was  sure 
you  would  be  too  late." 


NOT  A  MOMENT  TOO  SOON  131 

"It  may  be  yet,"  said  Roy,  "if  we  don't  get  her 
to  shore  pretty  quick.  Here,  let  me  take  her,  old 
man — you're  all  tuckered  out." 

Allen  willingly  released  his  burden,  and  they 
swam  as  quickly  as  they  could  to  the  shore. 

They  found  the  girls  waiting  for  them,  with 
white,  strained  faces. 

"Oh,  oh !"  cried  Grace,  as  they  lifted  the  poor 
little  inert  body  on  to  the  bank.  "Oh,  do  you 
suppose  she  is  dead?" 

"Well,  she  will  be  if  we  don't  hurry  pretty 
fast,"  said  Betty,  her  voice  trembling  but  deter- 
mined. "Boys,  look  about  and  see  if  you  can  find 
anything  round  and  hard  that  we  can  use  in  place 
of  a  barrel.  Oh,  do  hurry!  Mollie,  you  take  her 
other  arm  and  move  it  up  and  down — that's  the 
way — hard — hard." 

Mollie  did  as  she  was  told  and  in  less  time  than 
seemed  possible  the  boys  returned  bringing  with 
them  part  of  a  fallen  log.  This  Betty  declared 
was  the  very  thing. 

For  half  an  hour  they  worked  over  the  uncon- 
scious form  and  more  than  once  during  that  time, 
they  had  almost  given  up  hope  of  bringing  back 
the  spark  of  life.  Then,  all  at  once,  a  change 
took  place — the  ashy  look  of  her  face  gave  way 
to  a  faint  tinge  of  color — the  blue  lips  parted  in 
something  very  like  a  sigh,  and  her  hands,  which 


132     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

had   been   lying  inert   and   lifeless   at  her  side, 
twitched  almost  imperceptibly. 

"Oh,  she's  coming  back!  she's  coming!"  cried 
Amy  almost  in  tears.  "Oh,  I  was  sure  she  was 
dead !" 

"Hush,"  Betty  cautioned  her  in  a  whisper.  "I 
think  she  knows  what  we  are  talking  about,"  then 
bending  over  the  girl  she  said  very  gently :  "Do 
you  feel  better,  dear?" 

Slowly  the  eyelids  fluttered,  and  the  eyes  gazed 
vaguely  up  into  Betty's  sweet  ones.  The  lips 
moved  and  Betty  bent  down  closer  to  listen. 

"I  don't  know  you,  do  I  ?"  the  words  were  al- 
most inaudible.  "I — I — don't  seem  to  remem- 
ber  " 

"Don't  try,  my  dear,"  said  Betty  soothingly, 
while  two  tears  made  their  way  down  her  face, 
only  to  be  dashed  away  impatiently.  'You  have 
been  through  a  terrible  experience,  and  you  don't 
have  to  think  very  hard  just  now — there  is  plenty 
of  time." 

Slowly,  understanding  replaced  the  vague  won- 
der in  the  girl's  eyes,  and  she  reached  out  with 
an  unsteady  hand  to  touch  Betty's  white  dress. 

"I  wanted  to  be  sure  you  were  real,"  she  ex- 
plained, smiling  wistfully.  "I  was  afraid  you 
might  vanish.  Will  you  help  me  to  remember?" 
she  pleaded. 


NOT  A  MOMENT  TOO  SOON  133 

Betty's  warm  heart  went  out  to  the  girl,  and 
when  she  spoke  her  voice  was  full  of  pity  and 
tenderness. 

"Fll  help  you  as  far  as  I  can,"  she  promised. 
"You  were  swimming  and  something  happened 
that  made  you  cry  for  help.  Luckily  we  hap- 
pened to  be  near  and  one  of  the  boys  got  you  and 
brought  you  back  to  land.  And  here  you  are' 
getting  strong  and  well  again,"  she  finished 
brightly. 

"Well,  whoever  you  are,  you're  a  dear,"  said 
the  stranger,  the  emphasis  showing  how  quickly 
she  was  gaining  strength.  "I  remember  now  all 
about  it.  Mother  and  dad  have  told  me  over 
and  over  that  I  must  not  come  over  here  alone; 
but  the  day  was  perfect  for  a  swim  and  no  one 
else  would  come,  so  I  slipped  off  by  myself.  I 
was  swimming  all  right,  and  then  I  was  taken 
with  cramps.  Oh,  oh,  it  was  terrible!"  and  she 
covered  her  face  with  her  hands  to  shut  out  the 
memory. 

"Don't  think  of  it,"  said  Amy  compassionately, 
kneeling  down  beside  the  girl  and  taking  the  cold 
hand  in  hers.  "It's  all  over  now,  and  you  are 
safe  and  sound.  Try  just  to  remember  that." 

The  girl  looked  up  wonderingly  at  the  sweet 
girlish  faces  gathered  about  her.  "I  think  you 
must  be  a — a  company  of  angels,"  a  sharp  sob 


134     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

broke  the  attempt  at  a  laugh — for  she  was  still 
very  weak.      'You  are  all  so  good  to  me  I- 

'You  would  have  done  the  same  for  any  of 
us,"  said  Betty,  trying  hard  to  keep  her  voice 
matter-of-fact.  "So  you  needn't  thank  us  for  it. 
How  are  you  feeling — better?" 

"A  great  deal,"  answered  the  girl,  with  a  grate- 
ful glance  toward  Betty.  "I  almost  feel  as  if 
I  could  stand  up." 

"If  you  want  to  try,  one  of  the  boys  will  help 
you,"  Grace  suggested,  turning  to  the  latter,  who 
had  been  standing  several  feet  back  from  the  lit- 
tle group,  natural  delicacy  forbidding  them  to  in- 
trude. 

But  now,  being  thus  appealed  to  for  help,  they 
stepped  forward  like  one  person,  offering  assist- 
ance. They  helped  the  girl  to  her  feet  and 
steadied  her  as  she  stood,  weak  and  trembling. 

'She  looked  from  one  to  the  other  with  a  wan 
little  smile  on  her  lips.  "Which  one  of  you  have 
I  to  thank  for — for  saving  me  ?"  she  asked. 

"None  of  us,"  said  Roy,  with  an  attempt  at 
gallantry  which  was  rendered  funny  by  his  ex- 
tremely sodden  aspect.  "It  was  a  pleasure." 

Noting  the  girl's  bewilderment,  Betty  hastened 
to  explain.  "They  all  did  it,"  she  said;  "but  if 
credit  is  due  to  any  one  of  them  it  must  be  given 
to  Allen  for  reaching  you  first." 


NOT  A  MOMENT  TOO  SOON 


"Nonsense!"  said  Allen,  abashed  at  being 
brought  into  the  limelight.  "I  was  nearer  than 
the  other  fellows,  that's  all.  What's  the  use  of 
talking  about  it,  anyway?" 

"There  is  a  good  deal  of  use,  I  think,"  the  girl 
answered  softly.  "If  you  people  hadn't  been  so 

good  and  kind  to  me,  I  would  have "  she 

paused  before  the  word,  and  shivered  again  in  her 
weakness. 

"Don't  think  of  it  any  more,"  Betty  urged. 
"Now,  what  you  most  need  is  rest.  If  we  could 
get  you  back  to  our  cottage  or,  perhaps,  to  your 
own  people "  she  paused  questioningly. 

"Oh,  please,"  said  the  girl,  "if  you  could  only 
get  me  back  to  the  hotel,  you  don't  know  how 
grateful  I  would  be.  Mother  and  dad  will  be 
crazy." 

"If  we  were  only  nearer  our  bungalow,  we 
might  take  you  back  there  and  then  send  word 
to  your  mother  and  father,"  said  Mollie,  thought- 
fully. "But  I  guess  it  is  just  about  as  far  one 
way  as  the  other." 

"Yes,  the  best  thing  we  can  do,"  Mrs.  Irving 
decided,  "is  to  get  her  as  quickly  as  possible  to 
the  summer  colony.  That  is  where  you  come 
from,  isn't  it?"  she  asked. 

The  girl  nodded.  All  this  time  she  had  been 
standing,  supported  on  either  hand  by  Roy  and 


136     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

Will.     But  now  Allen  had  a  suggestion  to  make. 

"We  could  make  a  seat/"  he  said,  "and  carry 
her  the  rest  of  the  distance  to  the  colony.  The 
sooner  we  start  the  better  it  will  be." 

On  this  plan  they  agreed.  Very  naturally  the( 
girl  was  strainingly  eager  to  relieve  the  anxiety 
of  her  parents — to  let  them  know  she  was  safe 
again. 

Allen  and  Frank,  being  the  stronger  of  the 
boys,  volunteered  to  carry  the  slight  girl — she  was 
young,  scarcely  sixteen — for  the  first  half  mile. 
Then  the  other  two  boys  were  to  carry  her  the 
rest  of  the  distance. 

In  a  moment  the  little  procession  was  formed, 
and  it  started  off  for  the  woods,  toward  the  sum- 
mer colony.  Allen  and  Frank  moved  in  front 
with  their  burden,  followed  by  the  four  girls  and 
Mrs.  Irving,  while  Roy  and  Will  brought  up  the 
rear. 

The  boys  were  wret  to  the  skin,  and  even  on 
a  scorching  day  in  August  that  is  anything  but 
a  pleasant  sensation.  Then,  too,  the  way  was 
rough,  and  the  briers  and  brambles  along  the 
path  scratched  their  hands  and  tore  at  their  cloth- 
ing. Ordinarily  all  these  petty  annoyances  would 
have  tended  toward  making  them  irritable  and 
cross,  but  on  this  day  all  such  trifles  passed  over 
their  heads  unnoticed.  For  had  they  not  between 


NOT  A  MOMENT  TOO  SOON  137 

them  done  a  marvelous  thing?  To  save  one  life 
— to  have  brought  back  from  eternity  one  little 
soul — was  there  not  joy  enough  in  that  to  last 
them  all  their  days?  The  girls  thought  there 
was. 

After  a  walk  that  seemed  endless,  Will  called 
out  to  the  boys  in  the  front :  ;Tsn't  it  time  for 
relief  work,  Allen?  We  must  have  traveled  more 
than  half  a  mile." 

"We're  not  tired,"  Allen  shouted  back.  "The 
hotel  is  right  ahead — we  can  carry  her  for  the 
rest  of  the  way." 

"Just  as  you  say,"  Roy  answered.  "But  we 
are  ready  whenever  you  want  us." 

"All  right,"  called  Allen.  "We  may  be  glad 
of  your  help  yet;"  and  so  the  little  party  went 
on. 

A  few  moments  later  they  heard  voices  directly 
ahead,  and  Anita — for  that,  she  had  said,  was 
her  name — raised  her  voice  excitedly.  'They  are 
probably  coming  in  search  of  me,"  she  cried, 
cheeks  flushing  with  the  hope  of  it.  "I  knew  they 
would!  Oh,  I  knew  it!  Dad!  Conway!"  she 
called. 

"Nita!  where  are  you?"  a  voice  shouted  back, 
unutterable  relief  vibrating  in  every  syllable. 
"Call  again !" 

Anita  obeyed  with  a  will.     "Just  keep  on  tne 


138     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

way  you  are  coming.  I'm  all  right,  but  please 
hurry !" 

Then  the  two  relief  parties  came  face  to  face. 
Frank  and  Allen  set  the  girl  gently  upon  her 
feet  and  her  father  caught  her  in  his  arms. 
'You're  safe!"  he  murmured  over  and  over 
again.  "My  little  girl!"  and  the  others  turned 
away  before  the  depth  of  his  emotion. 

His  weakness  lasted  only  a  moment,  then  re- 
covering his  self-control  he  handed  Anita  over  to 
the  affectionate  bear  hugs  of  an  elder  brother,  and 
turned  to  his  daughter's  rescuers. 

"Madam,"  he  said  to  Mrs.  Irving,  "if  you 
will  tell  me  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  Anita's 
safe  return,  I  will  try  to  thank  him  or  her  or  all 
of  you  as  the  case  may  be.  Although  thanks  at 
this  time  seem  a  small  return  for  such  a  serv- 


ice." 

tr\ 


'I  am  sure  none  of  us  wish  any  thanks  for 
whatever  little  help  we  may  have  been  able  to 
render  your  daughter,"  Mrs.  Irving  answered, 
with  grave  courtesy.  "We  can  only  thank  a  kind 
fate  for  leading  us  within  hearing  distance  of 
her  appeal  for  help.  The  rest  is  simply  what 
you  and  your  son  would  have  done  for  any  of 
us  had  We  been  in  similar  danger." 

"That  doesn't  make  what  you  have  done  any 
the  less  splendid,"  Anita's  brother  broke  in  im- 


NOT  A  MOMENT  TOO  SOON  139 

pulsively,  holding  his  sister  as  though  he  would 
never  let  her  go  again.  "Anita  is  tired  now,  but 
when  we  hear  the  whole  story,  I  know  we  are 
going  to  be  even  more  grateful  to  you  than  we 
were  before — eh,  Anita?" 

"Oh,  they  were  wonderful  to  me/'  said  the  girl, 
her  eyes  shining  like  stars.  "If  it  hadn't  been 

for  them — I  don't  dare — think "  and  again 

her  hand  flew  to  her  eyes  to  shut  out  the  horror 
of  that  awful  moment. 

Suddenly  all  Mrs.  Irving's  mother  instinct  rose 
to  the  fore,  and  she  spoke  impulsively.  "Take 
the  child  home,"  she  begged;  "what  she  needs 
more  than  anything  else  is  rest.  You  can  see  she 
is  at  the  breaking  point." 

Mr.  Benton  looked  at  his  daughter,  who  in- 
deed was  trembling  like  a  leaf  in  her  brother's 
arms,  and  saw  the  truth  of  the  statement.  "You 
are  right,"  he  said  slowly.  "We  can't  get  Anita 
home  too  soon."  Then,  turning  once  more  to 
Mrs.  Irving,  he  added,  while  his  eyes  traveled 
over  the  group  of  girls  and  boys  behind  her: 
"Although  we  haven't  time  now  to  become  better 
acquainted,  we  are  going  to  stay  here  the  rest 
of  the  summer,  and  if  you  expect  to  remain  our 
neighbors " 

"Yes,  father,"  broke  in  Anita,  "they  live  at  the 
bungalow  at  the  other  end  of  the  island,  and  they 


140     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

have  already  invited  Conway  and  me  to  visit 
them.  When  shall  we  go,  Con  ?" 

"As  soon  as  you  are  able,  sister  clear,"  Con- 
way  Benton  said  fondly.  "I'll  be  glad  to  go  any 
time.  Now  we  will  have  to  get  you  home." 

So,  after  many  words  of  mutual  understand- 
ing and  friendliness,  they  parted  and  went  on 
their  separate  ways. 

"I  guess  we  shall  have  just  time  to  get  the  fish 
and  reach  the  bungalow  before  dark,"  said  Mrs. 
Irving,  as  our  party  started  to  retrace  their  steps 
with  weary  feet  and  joyful  hearts. 

It  was  not  till  they  had  nearly  reached  the  fish- 
ing pool  that  Allen  thought  of  his  big  fish. 

"It  was  wicked  to  let  that  beauty  go,"  he  said, 
gazing  ruefully  into  the  pool.  "He  was  the  king 
of  them  all." 

"Yes,  but  just  see  what  you  accomplished," 
Betty  said  at  his  elbow,  softly.  "What  yr ;',  did 
to-day  is  worth  a  million  fish." 

"Yes,  and  there  are  plenty  more  wher*  'hat 
came  from,"  he  added,  smiling  down  at  er. 
"Now  let's  hike  along  home — I  am  ge>  ng 
hungry." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

BENEATH    THE    MOON 

"I  HAVE  often  read  about  it,  but  I  never 
thought  I  would  be  fortunate  enough  to  actually 
see  it,"  said  Amy,  clasping  her  hands  behind  her 
head,  and  gazing  out  at  the  blue  of  an  azure  sky. 

The  four  girls  were  seated  on  the  steps  of  the 
veranda  talking,  talking  over  the  events  of  the 
day  before  and  speculating  as  to  the  future. 

'Well,  it  scared  me  nearly  to  death,"  said 
Grace,  who  was  curled  up  on  the  lower  step,  with 
a  cushion  brought  from  the  house  acting  as  head 
rest.  "I  declare  when  I  saw  them  drag  her  up 
on  the  bank,  Betty,  I  thought  that  she  was  dead. 
She  looked  so  drawn  and  white,  and 

'Well,  you  couldn't  expect  her  to  look  particu- 
larly rosy  and  happy,  after  all  she  had  been 
through,"  Mollie  remarked.  "If  I  had  been 
doused  under  water  as  long  as  that  poor  girl  was 
I  would  not  only  have  looked  dead,  I'd  have 
been  it." 

"Oh,   I   don't  know,"    Grace   retorted   lazily. 

141 


142     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 


"If  I'm  not  mistaken  it  would  take  a  good  deal 
to  stop  that  tongue  of  yours,  Mollie." 

"Speak  for  yourself,"  Mollie  was  beginning 
angrily,  when  Betty  entered  into  the  conversation. 
She  had  been  dreamily  studying  the  shimmering 
ripples  the  soft  wind  had  stirred  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  water. 

"Some  day,"  she  began  in  a  sing-song  voice, 
her  eyes  still  fixed  on  the  distance,  "I'm  just 
going  to  let  you  two  go  on  to  the  bitter  finish. 
I  shouldn't  wonder  if  you  will  be  like  the  two  cats 
of  Kilkenny.  You  remember  what  they  did,  don't 
you?" 

"No,  what?"  asked  Mollie,  and  Grace  added: 
"We  might  just  as  well  know  where  our  bad 
tempers  are  going  to  land  us.  What  did  they 
do,  Betty  ?" 

"They  fought  and  they  fit  and  they  scratched 
and  they  bit,"  chanted  Betty,  "till  instead  of  two 
cats  there  weren't  any." 

"I  guess  we  had  better  take  warning  while 
there  is  still  time,  Grace,"  said  Mollie,  with  a 
little  laugh.  And  so  for  the  time  being  at  least 
peace  was  restored. 

"But  when  do  you  suppose  Anita  and  her 
brother  will  come  to  see  us?"  asked  Amy.  "I 
do  hope  it  won't  be  very  long." 

"I  think  Amy  likes  Conway,"  said  Grace,  then 


BENEATH  THE  MOON  143 

turning  to  Betty  she  asked  meaningly :  "Do  you, 
by  any  chance,  believe  in  love  at  first  sight?" 

"Oh,  I  think  it  can  be  done,"  Betty  answered, 
her  eyes  twinkling  with  fun  as  she  looked  at 
Amy's  flushed  face.  "At  least,  I  do  believe  in 
strong  attractions  at  the  first  meeting.  Perhaps 
that  is  all  Amy  has  felt  just  yet." 

"Oh,  girls!"  implored  Amy,  in  an  agony  of 
bash  fulness,  "I  don't  like  Conway  Benton  one 
bit  more  than  any  of  the  rest  of  you,  and 
you  know  it.  I  think  it  is  mean  for  you 
to  tease." 

"Oh,  Amy,  dear,  it  is  only  fun,"  cried  Betty, 
throwing  an  arm  about  her  friend.  'We  don't 
really  think  that  you  have  been  smitten  with  a 
stranger's  charms.  Still  stranger  things  have 
happened." 

"I  don't  agree  with  you,"  said  Amy,  and  they 
wisely  forbore  to  pursue  the  subject. 

"Oh,  but  didn't  that  fish  taste  good  last  night?" 
said  Mollie,  coming  down  to  every-day  matters. 
"I  never  ate  anything  like  it  in  all  my  life." 

"That's  because  we  caught  it  ourselves,"  said 
Grace,  unconsciously  voicing  a  common  trait  in 
human  nature. 

"Let's  take  fish  out  of  the  conversation  for  a 
little  while,"  Betty  suggested,  "and  talk  about 
something  romantic." 


144     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"For  instance?"  Grace  inquired,  with  up-lifted 
eyebrows. 

'The  gypsies,"  Betty  answered.  "Ever  since 
the  other  night  I've  been  wondering  if  there  was 
anything  in  what  that  old  store-keeper  said." 

"I  hope  not,"  said  Amy,  with  a  shudder.  "I 
am  more  afraid  of  them  than  anything  else  in 
the  world,  I  think." 

"I  don't  see  why,"  Mollie  reflected.  "Probably 
they  are  a  great  deal  more  afraid  of  us." 

'Well,  all  gypsies  are  akin,  they  say ;  so  maybe 
we  could  find  out  something  about  Mr.  Ford's 
Beauty  and  about  Mrs.  Billette's  silver,"  returned 
Betty. 

"Oh,  don't  talk  about  that,"  cried  Mollie.  "It 
fairly  makes  me  sick,  for  I'm  sure  we  shall  never 
hear  of  the  things  again." 

"I  wonder  when  the  boys  are  going  to  try  to 
ford  to  the  islands?"  said  Grace.  "The  tide's 
getting  low  now." 

"Hello!  where  is  everybody?"  it  was  Will's 
voice  calling  from  the  woods.  "We  are  going 
for  a  paddle — who  wants  to  come  along?" 

"Ask  us,"  called  Betty.  "We  were  just  hoping 
you'd  come  to  life." 

"Ah,  the  voice  of  the  siren,"  called  Will,  over 
his  shoulder.  "Come  on,  fellows,  let's  break  up 
this  galaxy  of  beauty." 


BENEATH  THE  MOON  145 

The  boys  sauntered  up  to  the  group  of  girls, 
and  sprawled  upon  the  steps  wherever  there  was 
room. 

'Where  have  you  kept  yourselves  all  morn- 
ing?" Mollie  inquired,  as  Frank  drew  a  bur  from 
her  white  skirt.  "If  you  hadn't  come  pretty  soon, 
we  were  going  over  to  look  for  you." 

"Oh,  just  around  clearing  up,"  Frank  replied, 
with  a  vague  little  gesture.  "If  we  had  known 
how  much  you  wanted  to  see  us,  we  wrould  have 
left  some  things  undone." 

'You  needn't  have  hurried  on  my  account," 
Grace  drawled.  "I  don't  know  when  I  have  ever 
felt  happier  than  I  did  before  you  came.  Oh, 
Roy,  do  look  out,  you  are  sitting  on  my  dress." 

Roy  rose  with  alacrity.  "Gee!  a  fellow  cant 
do  anything  around  here  without  getting  sat  on," 
he  complained. 

"It  seems  to  me  it  was  Grace's  dress  that  was 
being  sat  on  that  time,  not  you,"  Betty  remarked, 
with  a  glint  of  mischief  in  her  eyes.  "I  wonder 
if  anybody  else  has  ever  noticed,"  she  went  on, 
"the  funny  habit  all  you  boys  have  of  blaming 
somebody  else  for  blaming  you." 

"You're  away  too  deep  for  me,  Betty,"  Roy 
protested  with  a  shake  of  his  head.  "That  must 
be  a  mighty  funny  habit." 

'To  change  the  subject,"  said  Allen,  rising  and 


146     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

stretching  his  arms  far  above  his  head,  as  if  to 
make  sure  his  muscles  were  still  in  good  condi- 
tion, "who  wants  to  share  a  nice  little  canoe  with 
me  ?  Your  aunt  sure  knew  what  she  was  doing, 
Mollie." 

"We  would  all  like  to  go,  I  know,"  said  Betty, 
with  a  doubtful  glance  at  the  fast  sinking  sun. 
"Only  I  am  afraid  it  is  pretty  near  dinner 
time." 

"Well,  I  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  said  Frank, 
with  sudden  inspiration.  "We'll  postpone  our 
canoeing  trip  till  to-night.  There  is  going  to 
be  a  fine  moon." 

"What  difference  does  that  make?"  Grace 
asked  severely.  "I  think  we  had  better  go  now, 
and  have  a  fire  this  evening." 

"Oh,  Grace,  don't  be  a  kill-joy,"  said  her 
brother.  "It  is  going  to  be  too  wonderful  a  night 
to  spend  indoors." 

"Well,  if  Mrs.  Irving  says  so,"  she  began,  and 
they  all  knew  it  was  settled. 

"Have  dinner  early,  will  you?"  Roy  urged,  tak- 
ing out  his  watch.  "It  is  a  quarter  past  five  now. 
Can  you  be  ready  to  start  by  six?" 

"Oh,  long  before,"  Mollie  assured  him,  rising 
hurriedly,  and  starting  toward  the  house,  while 
the  others  followed  her  example. 

Then  after  a  whispered  consultation  with  the 


BENEATH  THE  MOON 

girls  at  the  door,  she  turned  and  threw  the  boys 
a  merry  glance. 

"If  you  are  very  good,"  she  said,  "we  will  let 
you  eat  with  us  to-night." 

"Fine!"  cried  Allen.     "And  biscuits,  Betty?" 

"Biscuits,"  she  answered. 

They  were  hilarious  all  during  the  meal.  In 
the  first  place,  everything  was  delicious,  and  in 
the  second,  everybody  was  in  the  best  of  spirits. 

Afterward  they  cleared  away  the  dishes  in  no 
time,  and  the  four  girls,  Mrs.  Irving  having  re- 
fused to  be  of  the  party,  ran  upstairs  to  get  the 
light  wraps  that  were  always  needed  at  night. 
The  boys  met  them  outside  as  they  rushed  down 
laughing  and  breathless,  and  ready  for  a  good 
time. 

"I  hope  it  doesn't  take  the  moon  till  twelve 
o'clock  to  show  itself,"  said  Will,  as  they  made 
their  way  down  the  walk  and  on  to  the  float 
where  the  canoes  were  attached.  "Mrs.  Irving 
says  that  we  are  to  be  back  by  ten  o'clock  at  the 
latest." 

"That  will  give  us  plenty  of  time,"  Frank  an- 
swered. "Don't  you  remember  we  saw  it  a  little 
after  seven  last  night?" 

"It's  lucky  these  canoes  are  eighteen  feet  long," 
said  Allen,  as  he  unfastened  the  rope.  "Other- 
wise we  would  have  to  take  turns  paddling1." 


I2f.S     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

'\YhoTs  going  to  do  the  work  first?"  asked 
Betty.  Then  she  added  :  "I  love  to  paddle." 

"If  nobody  has  any  objection,"  said  Allen, 
"you  shall.  Grace,  you  drop  into  the  middle  with 
Frank,  until  it  conies  your  turn  to  do  the  work. 
Betty  may  like  it,  but  I  must  say  I'd  rather  watch 
you  people  slave." 

""All  right,  we'll  go  fifty-fifty  with  you,"  Frank 
agreed  cheerily.  "Here,  Grace,  step  in  the  middle 
-that's  the  way.  Now  we  are  all  settled.  Let 
her  go,  Captain." 

Allen  swung  himself  into  the  stern,  and  deftly 
pushed  the  canoe  clear  of  the  swaying  float.  "All 
right,"  he  sang  out.  "Left  hand  or  right,  Betty? 
It  makes  no  difference  to  me.  Now  for  the 
moon." 

"Look  out,  Allen,  you  are  getting  poetical," 
warned  Betty,  as  she  dipped  her  paddle  into  the 
clear  water.  "Many  a  man  has  reached  for  the 
moon,  only  to  find  that  he  had  plucked  some  green? 
cheese." 

"Are  you  sure  it  wasn't  limburger?"  asked 
Frank,  mildly  for  so  strong  a  subject. 

"Ugh,  don't!"  cried  Grace.  "How  I  hate  even 
the  name  of  the  horrid  stuff!" 

"And  on  a  night  like  this,  too,"  said  Betty. 
"Can't  we  talk  about  something  less  odorifer- 
ous?" 


BENEATH  THE  MOON  149 

"Remember  you  started  it,"  said  Frank  de- 
fensively. 

"Yes,  I  know,  but  what  I  spoke  of  is  such  a 
wee  little  cousin  to " 

"Is  that  the  dipper  up  there,  Frank?"  Grace 
asked,  in  haste  to  change  the  subject.  "Somehow 
it  doesn't  look  natural." 

Frank  squinted  aloft.  "That's  our  same  old 
friend,"  he  said.  "By  the  way,  speaking  of  dip- 
pers, I  am  getting  thirsty." 

"Well,  I  can't  give  you  a  drink,  but  I  can  feed 
you.  Have  a  chocolate?"  cried  Grace. 

"Oh,  Grace!"  protested  Betty,  "you  never 
brought  chocolates  along?' 

"To  be  sure  I  did.    Why  not?" 

"You  are  hopeless,"  laughed  Frank. 

"Look  at  that  shooting  star,"  said  Betty, 
pointing  with  her  paddle.  "Oh,  that  was  a 
beauty !" 

"Did  you  wish  on  it?"  asked  Grace  eagerly. 

"I  didn't  know  I  had  to.  Goodness,  did  I 
throw  away  an  opportunity?"  Betty's  tone  was 
dismayed. 

"Why,  of  course,"  said  Grace,  with  an  air  of 
superiority.  "It's  bad  luck  if  you  don't." 

"All  right,  I  won't  let  the  next  one  escape,1* 
Betty  promised. 

And  so  they  went  on  and  on,  enjoying  the 


150     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

t 
shadowy  stillness  of  the  night,  and  later  revelling 

in  the  silver  radiance  of  the  moonlight. 

It  was  not  until  they  started  on  their  journey 
side  by  side  with  the  other  canoe  that  Allen 
broached  a  subject  that  had  been  almost  entirely 
forgotten  in  the  excitement  of  the  last  few  days. 

"Say,  when  are  you  and  Frank  going  to  prac- 
tice for  the  big  race,  Betty?"  he  asked.  "I  am 
mighty  anxious  to  see  it." 

"To-morrow  morning,  I  guess,"  said  Betty, 
then  added  suddenly:  "I  don't  see  why  Frank 
and  I  should  furnish  all  the  fun.  Why  don't 
you  all  join  in?  It  would  be  ever  so  much  more 
exciting." 

"That's  a  good  idea,"  said  Allen.  "I'll  do  it 
if  the  rest  are  willing.  How  about  it,  Grace?" 

"I'm  willing,"  she  replied.  "Oh,  I  have  a 
bright  idea!" 

"Shoot!"  said  Frank  inelegantly. 

"Suppose  we  take  our  lunch,"  she  went  on  en- 
thusiastically, "and  have  a  regular  old-fashioned 
picnic  in  the  woods  beyond  the  camp." 

"Grace,  you  are  a  marvel,"  cried  Betty.  "I 
can't  think  of  anything  I'd  like  better.  Swim- 
ming in  the  morning  and  a  party  in  the  after- 
noon! Oh,  every  day  is  more  wonderful  than 
the  last!" 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

WATER    SPRITES 

THE  sunbeams  danced  across  the  shimmering 
water  and  into  the  room  where  the  Outdoor  Girls 
lay  sleeping.  They  made  patches  on  the  floors 
and  ceiling,  and  showered  Mollie's  face  with 
golden  darts. 

She  moved  restlessly  and  raised  her  hand  as 
though  to  ward  off  this  invader  of  her  dreams, 

muttering    softly,    "Oh — don't "     Gradually 

she  passed  from  sleeping  to  waking  and,  realizing 
the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  sat  up  in  bed  with 
a  start. 

"Oh,  the  world's  on  fire  with  sunshine !  What 
a  day  to  swim!  Now,  as  soon  as  I  can  rouse 
these  sleeping  beauties,  I'll  proceed  to  get  break- 
fast." 

"Oh,  A — my!"  she  called  aloud,  giving  the 
bed  such  a  thump  that  Amy's  eyes  sprung  wide 
open  on  the  instant — wide  and  startled.  "Are 
you  going  to  sleep  for-ever?  Oh,  I'm  hungry!" 
with  which  words  she  sprang  out  of  bed  and 
began  dressing  hastily. 

151 


152     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

For  once  Amy  seemed  to  agree  with  her  chum, 
for  the  moonlight  sail  of  the  night  before  with 
only  Grace's  candies  to  nibble  on  had  left  them 
ravenous. 

"All  right,"  she  said,  sitting  up  and  looking 
toward  the  bed  in  the  far  corner  of  the  big 
room.  "Betty  and  Grace  are  just  yawning  them- 
selves awake.  We  ought  to  beat  them  dressed 
easily." 

"We  don't  care,"  came  Betty's  sleepy  voice. 
"Whoever  gets  down  first  has  to  get  the  break-, 
fast,  you  know." 

Even  this  did  not  daunt  Mollie.  She  did  not 
mind  getting  breakfast  at  all.  In  her  own  words,, 
"she  could  smell  the  good  things  that  much 
longer."  So  now  her  only  answer  was  :  "Sleepy- 
head," uttered  in  a  severe  tone. 

"I  don't  care,"  came  the  defiant  answer,  "it's 
mighty  nice  to  feel  sleepy  sometimes,"  and  Betty 
stretched  luxuriously. 

"Oh,  dear!"  said  Grace  irritably,  "it  seems  to 
me  life  is  one  long  succession  of  getting  ups  and 
going  to  beds." 

"The  last  isn't  as  hard  as  the  first,  is  it,  Gracy  ?" 
Mollie  teased. 

"Probably  if  you  could  sleep,  you  wouldn't 
want  to,"  replied  Grace. 

"Oh,    if  any  one  would   only  give  you  the 


WATER  SPRITES  153 

chance !"  and  Betty  gave  Grace  an  affectionate  lit- 
tle shake.  "Some  time  we  won't  call  you,  Grace," 
she  laughed.  "I'd  like  to  find  out  just  how  long 
you  could  sleep,  if  you  were  left  to  yourself." 

"Goodness,  I  wouldn't  like  to  chance  it,"  said 
Mollie,  slipping  a  middy  over  her  head.  "I  am 
afraid  we  would  have  to  carry  her  home  at  the 
end  of  the  summer — a  sleeping  beauty  still." 

"Or  a  still  sleeping  beauty,"  Betty  suggested. 
'That  would  be  more  to  the  point." 

"Suits  me  exactly,"  Grace  drawled,  "as  long  as 
the  prince  is  handsome  enough." 

"Always  the  prince,"  groaned  Mollie,  giving 
Grace  up  in  despair — then  added,  as  she  opened 
the  door  preparatory  to  flight:  "Frank  is  quite 
good  looking.  Come  on,  Amy !" 

"I  don't  see  what  that  has  to  do  with  it !"  Grace 
letorted;  but  only  a  sharp  click  of  the  door  and  a 
little  derisive  laugh  in  the  hall  outside  answered 
her.  "Oh,  well,"  she  added,  sitting  up  and  re- 
garding Betty  reproachfully  as  if  that  young  per- 
son were  responsible,  "I  suppose  I  have  got  to 
get  up." 

"Of  course,  and  make  yourself  charming  for 
the  prince,"  said  Betty,  pinning  a  rose  at  ex- 
actly the  right  angle  in  her  soft  white  waist. 
'You  don't  have  to  be  a  sleeping  beauty  to  find 
him,  you  know,"  she  added  sagely. 


154     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  OAr  PINE  ISLAND 

"You  seem  to  know  a  lot  about  it,"  said  Grace, 
regarding  her  friend  soberly.  "I  shouldn't  won- 
der if  you  had  found  him,  Betty. " 

Betty  turned  sharply  to  see  if  she  were  joking, 
then  the  soft  color  flooded  her  face.  "Non- 
sense!" she  said,  but  her  tone  was  not  convincing. 

"Yes,  you  have,"  said  Grace,  not  to  be  put  off. 
"I  can  tell  by  the  way  you  look  at  him,  and  the 
way  he  looks  at  you  and  oh — and — a  hundred  lit- 
tle things."  She  waved  her  hand  vaguely. 

"Oh,  Gracy,  don't  be  foolish,"  said  Betty,  re- 
covering her  usual  composure.  "If  you  don't 
look  out  I'll  begin  to  get  personal.  Y^ou  needn't 
think  you  are  the  only  one  that  has  eyes." 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Grace,  flushing  in  her  turn. 

"If  you  are  going  to  begin  that Oh,  Betty, 

just  smell  the  bacon!    Please  hand  me  that  shoe, 
quick !" 

"Oh!"  cried  Betty,  and  drew  back  as  a  small 
stone  flung  by  some  one  below  hurtled  through 
the  open  window  and  fell  to  the  floor  at  her  feet. 
"Look!  It  has  something  tied  to  it,"  she  cried, 
and,  stooping,  picked  it  up. 

"Bring  it  here,"  called  Grace  excitedly.  "Oh, 
this  is  romantic !  Betty,  let  me  see  it,  quick !" 

"Wait  a  minute,  I  haven't  seen  it  myself  yet," 
said  Betty,  as  she  unfolded  the  tiny  slip  of  paper 
attached  to  the  stone.  "Well,  of  all  the " 


WATER  SPRITES  155 

Grace  looked  over  her  shoulder  and  this  is 
what  the  two  girls  read : 

"When  are  you  coming  out?  The  water's 
fine," 

With  one  accord  they  rushed  to  the  window 
through  which  the  message  had  come  and  leaned 
far  out.  But  look  as  they  might  in  every  direc- 
tion, there  was  no  sight  nor  sound  of  human  be- 
ings. The  grounds  about  the  house  and  even  the 
woods  seemed  deserted. 

The  girls  drew  back  in,  looked  at  each  other 
in  perplexity,  then  their  gaze  instinctively  trav- 
eled to  the  note  still  held  in  Betty's  hand. 

"Well,"  Grace  announced,  "it  seems  that  we 
have  here  a  key  to  some  mystery " 

"Mystery  nothing!"  Betty  interrupted  disre- 
spectfully. "We  know  who  wrote  this — there  is 
no  mistaking  Roy's  scrawl.  The  senders  have 
decamped — that's  all." 

"Speak  of  princes "  said  Grace,  as  they 

went  out  arm  in  arm. 

"And  they  are  sure  to  turn  up,"  Betty  finished 
merrily. 

Mollie's  breakfast  was  good.  And  the  young 
folks  ate  with  the  healthy  appetites  of  youth. 
Mrs.  Irving  left  the  table  early  to  get  herself 


156     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

ready  to  go  over  to  the  summer  colony  where 
she  had  promised  to  spend  the  day  with  friends 
who  were  summering  there.  The  girls  haa 
scarcely  finished  their  breakfast  when  the  boys 
broke  in  upon  them. 

"You  girls  eat  too  much,"  Frank  complained, 
when  the  first  greetings  were  over.  "Now,  if 
you  only  had  our  dainty  little  appetites- 

'The  best  way  to  treat  some  people,"  put  in 
Mollie  significantly,  "is  to  pay  no  attention  to 
them  or  their  remarks." 

"Is  she  speaking  to  me  or  at  me?"  Frank  in- 
quired good-humoredly. 

"Oh,  it  is  just  a  general  slam  at  the  sex," 
laughed  Allen,  who  had  not  taken  his  eyes  from 
Betty  and  the  pink  rose.  'We  ought  to  be  hard- 
ened by  this  time." 

"Yes,  you  are  terribly  ill-treated,  aren't  you?" 

Betty  sympathized  and  remarked :  "It  is  truly 
a  case  for  the  S.  P.  C.  A. — I  mean  the  S.  P. 
C.  C.,"  she  corrected  hastily,  while  the  girls 
laughed  merrily  and  the  boys  looked  injured. 

'That's  the  worst  yet,  Betty,"  Will  reproached 
jher.  'You  needn't  make  out  you  didn't  mean 
it,  either — we  know  better." 

"Oh,  all  right,"  said  Betty,  her  eyes  twinkling. 
"Have  it  your  own  way." 

"To  change  the  subject,"  Roy  broke  in,  "what 


WATER  SPRITES  I$? 

are  you  girls  all  togged  up  for  —  didn't  you  get 


my  message  ?" 


"Of  course/'  said  Grace.  "You  nearly  put 
Betty's  eyes  out  with  it." 

"Sorry,"  said  Roy,  with  a  quick  glance  at 
Betty's  nearly  injured  eyes,  which  had  never 
looked  brighter  than  at  that  instant.  "They  look 
pretty  good  to  me.  But  that  brings  me  back  to 
my  first  query  —  why  are  you  girls  all  dressed 
up?" 

'Well,  you  know  we  could  hardly  wear  our 
bathing  suits  down  to  breakfast.  Imagine  a  lot 
of  sea  nymphs  boiling  eggs  and  frying  bacon!'* 
ejaculated  Mollie. 

"Besides,"  Betty  argued,  "it's  just  as  much 
trouble  to  put  ugly  things  on  as  it  is  pretty 


ones " 


"And  they  don't  look  as  nice,"  Frank  finished. 

"Exactly!"  said  Betty.  "And  now  if  you  will 
excuse  us  we'll  put  on  our  suits,  and  show  you 
boys  how  to  swim.  Come  on,  girls!" 

"You  can't  be  too  quick  to  suit  me,"  Allen 
called  after  them. 

Mollie  made  a  little  face  at  him  from  the  door- 
way. "Anxious  to  meet  your  Water-loo?"  she 
mocked  impishly,  and  before  he  could  answer  had 
followed  the  girls  up  the  stairway. 

The  boys  raced  back  to  camp  to  prepare  them- 


158     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

selves  for  the  swim,  and  a  few  minutes  later  met 
the  girls  coming  from  the  house. 

"You  see  you  didn't  have  to  wait,"  said  Amy. 
"We  are  as  anxious  as  you  to  get  into  the  water 
this  morning.  Oh,  I  can  almost  feel  it !" 

"Let's  run,"  suggested  Mollie.  "Somehow  to- 
day I  can't  be  sedate.  I'll  race  everybody  to  the 
bank." 

She  broke  into  a  run,  and  the  others  followed 
— bringing  up  at  the  edge  of  the  water  a  moment 
later,  breathless  but  glowing.  This  time  no  one 
hesitated,  not  even  Amy.  They  ran  out  into  the 
tepid  water,  then  plunged  in,  swimming  with 
strong,  even,  steady  strokes. 

It  had  been  decided  that  all  were  to  take  part 
in  the  race — consequently  all  were  bent  on  losing 
not  one  moment  of  practice.  They  swam,  off 
and  on,  for  the  whole  morning — occasionally 
throwing  themselves  upon  the  mossy  bank,  to  rest 
and  get  their  breath,  then  going  at  it  again  with 
renewed  vigor  and  resolve. 

It  was  only  when  the  position  of  the  sun  and 
acute  pangs  of  hunger  warned  them  that  it  was 
long  past  their  luncheon  hour,  that  they  decided 
it  was  time  to  turn  their  attention  to  other 
things. 

"I  left  the  basket  back  at  the  house,"  said  Mol- 
lie, when  they  had  come  to  this  conclusion.  "I 


THEY   RAN   OUT  INTO  THE  TEPID  WATER. 
The  Outdoor-  Girls  on  Pine  Island. 


Page  15$ 


Tin-  N;-:W  YOIIK 


prniic  r.i 


ASTMIl,   LENOX   AND 


WATER  SPRITES  159 

thought  probably  we  would  like  to  get  dressed  be- 
fore we  ate." 

"Oh,  why?"  Will  protested.  "It's  a  scorching 
hot  day,  and  we'll  probably  want  to  go  in  for  a 
swim  later  on,  anyway." 

"Why  not  slip  a  skirt  and  middy  over  our  bath- 
ing suits?'3  Betty  suggested.  "By  the  time  we 
reach  the  house,  our  suits  will  be  dry.  Mine  is 
almost,  now." 

"Good!"  said  Grace.  "We'll  feel  more  re- 
spectable, and  if  we  do  want  to  go  in  for  a  swim 
later  it  won't  be  any  trouble  at  all  to  take  them 
off." 

So  it  was  decided,  and  they  all  tramped  off 
through  the  woods,  laughing,  merry,  and  friends 
with  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A   MARVELOUS   DISCOVERY 

UPON  reaching  the  house  the  Outdoor  Girls 
ran  upstairs  while  the  boys  went  back  to  camp  to 
get  some  things  they  thought  they  might  need. 
A  few  moments  later  the  girls  rejoined  them. 

"Where  shall  we  go?"  Roy,  who  was  leading 
the  van,  paused  and  looked  behind  him.  "Let's 
take  some  different  part  of  the  wood — some  place 
we  haven't  explored  yet." 

'If  there  is  any,"  Allen  agreed. 
'There  is  some  place,   for  we  have  not  yet 
found  the  gypsies  Mollie's  old  store-keeper  told 
her  about,"  put  in  Betty. 

"Very  well,  then,  trot  ahead,  Roy,  we'll  fol- 
low you." 

"All  right,  but  don't  blame  me  if  we  are  lost." 

"Oh,  if  there  is  any  danger  of  that,"  said  Amy, 
pulling  away  and  looking  back  longingly,  "per- 
haps we  better  stick  to  what  we  know." 

"Oh.  Roy  is  only  talking  to  hear  himself  talk," 
Will  assured  her.  "It  isn't  possible  to  get  lost  on 

160 


"I 

tc 


A  MARVELOUS  DISCOVERY  l6l 

this  island,  even  if  you  \vanted  to.  All  we  would 
have  to  do  would  be  to  follow  the  shore  and 
sooner  or  later  we'd  be  bound  to  come  upon  'The 
Shadows.'  " 

Amy  saw  the  reason  in  this  and  was  reassured. 
"All  right,"  she  said;  "but  it  wouldn't  be  very 
much  fun  to  get  lost." 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Will,  and  she  looked 
at  him  in  surprise. 

"Well,  would  it?"  she  asked  wonderingly. 

"It  would  be  the  greatest  little  lark  ever,"  he 
said  so  decidedly  that  Amy  blushed.  "We'd  have 
some  excitement  for  a  little  while,  anyway." 

When  they  had  walked  a  little  farther  into  the 
woods  Roy  stopped  again,  and,  pointing  before 
him,  called  out:  "We  have  found  just  the  place, 
people — it's  Arcadia  itself." 

They  crowded  about  him,  gazing  in  the  direc- 
tion he  had  pointed  out.  It  was  a  wonderful 
island,  this — where  you  were  always  stumbling 
into  some  little  glade  or  woodland  bower  made 
especially  for  you.  Surely  this  tiny  garden  spot 
of  nature  was  even  more  alluring  than  the  famous 
fishing  pool,  and  the  girls  pushed  forward  eagerly. 

"That  big  flat  stone  over  there  will  be  just  the 
very  thing  to  spread  the  eatables  out  on,"  said 
Grace,  "and  I  guess  we  can  all  manage  to  get 
around  it,  too." 


1 62     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Of  course  we  can,"  said  Mollie  enthusiasti- 
cally. "It's  exactly  the  right  height.  Oh,  every 
thing  is  perfect!" 

:<If  you  girls  will  only  stop  raving  long  enough 
to  get  us  something  to  eat,"  said  Will  plaintively, 
"you'll  be  doing  some  good  in  the  world.  Gee, 
but  I'm  hungry!" 

'Poor  boy,"  said  Betty,  with  ready  sympathy, 
"I  know  just  exactly  how  you  feel,  because 
I'm  nearly  dead  myself.  Hand  over  the  basket, 
Allen,  please,  and  I'll  spread  the  cloth." 

"You  bet  I  will !"  said  Allen  readily.  "I'll  help 
you  fix  things." 

"Look  out  for  him,  Betty,"  Roy  cautioned. 
"He's  got  his  eye  on  the  good  things." 

"What  good  does  that  do  ?"  sighed  Allen.  "I'd 
rather  have  my  teeth  on  them." 

"So  say  we  all  of  us,"  laughed  Frank.  "Can't 
I  help,  too,  Betty?" 

"Of  course — all  of  you,"  the  Little  Captain 
agreed,  magnanimously.  "Come  on,  girls — stop 
admiring  the  view  and  help  with  these  things." 

"Oh!  will  we?"  cried  Molly,  and  all  made  a 
rush  for  the  baskets.  "What's  first  ?  You've  got 
the  table  cloth  ?  Well,  then  the  napkins  next  and 
the  sandwiches — and  the  biscuits,  and — oh,  boys, 

you  never  could  guess "  Mollie  sat  back  on 

her  heels  and  regarded  them  laughingly.  "Think 


A  MARVELOUS  DISCOVERY  163 

of  the  thing  you  want  most  in  the  world,"  she 
said.    "That's  it!" 

"There  are  lots  of  things  I  want,"  Frank  be- 
gan, but  Roy  interrupted  him. 

'There  is  only  one  thing  in  the  world  that  is 
better  than  anything  else,"  he  said. 

"And  that?"  the  others  queried  breathlessly. 

"Plum  pudding!"  He  pronounced  the  two 
words  with  the  reverence  due  them. 

Grace  stared  at  him  in  amazement.  "How  did 
you  know?"  she  stammered.  "It's  almost  un- 
canny." 

"Not  at  all,"  said  Roy,  with  a  superior  air. 
"It's  perfectly  simple — I  smelled  it." 

"Oh,  so  that  was  the  blithe  and  savory  odor 
that  assailed  our  nostrils  a  short  time  ago,"  said 
Frank.  "But  my  hopes  never  soared  to  the 
heights  of  plum  pudding." 

"And  here  is  the  hard  sauce,"  said  Mollie,  pass- 
ing it  around  from  one  to  the  other  as  though 
it  had  been  a  precious  jewel.  "Amy  made  it — 
all  of  powdered  sugar — with  perhaps  a  little  egg 
and  butter  thrown  in — and  I  know  it  is  deli- 


cious." 


'You  had  better  put  that  out  of  sight  till  we 
get  through  eating  other  things,  Mollie,"  Betty 
cautioned.  "The  boys  will  be  starting  at  the 
wrong  end  of  the  meal." 


164     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Yes,  and  spoil  their  appetites,"  Amy  added, 
while  Mollie  removed  the  temptation. 

However,  from  the  way  the  good  things  dis- 
appeared, there  seemed  no  reason  for  Amy's 
fears — appetites  like  those  were  proof  even 
against  plum  pudding. 

At  last  the  picnickers  stretched  themselves,  re- 
plete and  happy,  upon  the  soft  grass,  to  discuss 
a  further  course  of  action. 

"What  shall  we  do  next?"  asked  Betty,  after 
a  somewhat  lengthy  pause.  "Are  we  going  to 
take  a  walk  or  swim  some  more  or  just  stay 
here?" 

"You've  got  the  right  idea,"  Roy  commended. 
'Which?"  she  asked,  with  uplifted  eyebrows. 
"I  suggested  three  things." 

"The  last  of  course,"  he  answered,  plucking  a 
piece  of  long  grass  and  beginning  to  chew  the 
end  of  it.  "I  don't  know  what  you  put  in  that 
plum  pudding,  but  it  has  made  me  everlastingly 
sleepy.  I'd  like  to  take  a  nice  long  nap;"  and  a 
prodigious  yawn  gave  truth  to  his  words. 

"How  interesting,"  Grace  mocked.  "Mrs.  Irv- 
ing warned  Mollie  that  it  might  have  such  an  ef- 
fect— in  fact,  she  said  it  was  too  hearty  for  hot 
weather.  Behold  we  have  the  proof  of  her 
>vords." 

"For  goodness'  sake,  Roy,  brace  up!"  cried 


A  MARVELOUS  DISCOVERY  165 

.Will,  in  a  stage  whisper.  "Can't  you  see  what 
you  are  doing?  If  you  keep  this  up  they  won't 
give  us  any  more.  Brace  up !" 

Seeing  the  wisdom  of  this,  Roy  did  his  best 
to  "brace  up,"  but  the  girls  only  laughed  at 
him. 

"We  are  sleepy,  too,"  Amy  confessed,  "so  we 
won't  tell.  Besides,  don't  you  suppose  we  like 
plum  pudding?" 

"Good!"  said  Roy,  leaning  back  against  the 
tree  with  a  relieved  sigh.  "Now  we  can  act  natu- 
rally." 

However,  the  Outdoor  Girls  and  their  boy 
chums  were  too  active  to  remain  quiet  long,  even 
after  plum  pudding.  Allen  was  the  first  to  be- 
come restless,  and  the  others  soon  caught  it  from 
him.  He  rose,  went  through  some  gymnastic  ex- 
ercises, then  looked  about  him  curiously.  "I  won- 
der if  there  are  any  more  places  like  this  here- 
about?" he  said.  "Does  anybody  want  to  take  a 
little  tramp  and  find  out?  You  look  about  as 
energetic  as  a  bunch  of  turtles.  Come  on,  let's 
do  something." 

"Why  do  something  when  we  can  get  lots  more 
fun  out  of  doing  nothing?"  asked  Roy  lazily. 
"What  wouldst  have  us  do?" 

"I  just  told  you,"  Allen's  tone  showed  dis- 
gust. "Isn't  there  one  among  you  with  any  pep 


1 66     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

at  all?  How  about  you,  Betty?  You're  usually 
the  one  to  start  things." 

Betty  looked  up  at  him  with  a  slow,  tantalizing 
little  smile.  "That's  why  I  am  letting  you  take 
the  lead  this  time,"  she  purred.  M  thought  I'd 
wait  and  see  who'd  make  the  first  move." 

"And  I  am  going  to  force  the  second  move," 
and  before  she  could  guess  what  he  was  going  to 
do,  he  leaned  over,  caught  her  two  hands  in  his 
and  pulled  her  to  her  feet.  "Now,  you  are  going 
to  take  a  little  walk  with  me,  young  lady.  If 
the  rest  of  this  lazy  crowd  don't  want  to  come 
along,  they  know  what  they  can  do !" 

The  Little  Captain  blinked  at  him  uncertainly. 
"You  might  tell  me  what  you  are  going  to  do," 
she  complained.  "Look,  Allen — you  hurt  me !" 

He  regarded  the  brown  little  hand,  held  up  for 
his  inspection,  anxiously.  "I  don't  see  anything," 
he  said.  "But  if  I  hurt  it  I  am  sorry,"  and 
he  stroked  the  place  that  should  have  been 

red. 

"If  you  are  going,  why  don't  you  go?"  Grace 
demanded,  then  added  meaningly:  :'I  guess  they 
are  glad  we  are  lazy." 

"Please  don't  make  any  insinuations,"  said 
Betty,  her  nose  in  the  air,  but  Allen  sent  a 
laughing  shot  back  at  them  before  they  disap- 
peared into  the  denser  wood. 


A  MARVELOUS  DISCOVERY  167 

"You  can  eat  another  plum  pudding  if  you 
like,"  he  said. 

Frank  chuckled  audibly.  "Wise  old  chap — 
Allen,"  he  remarked. 

"I  wish  we  could  take  his  advice,"  mourned' 
Amy.  "If  you  boys  hadn't  been  such  pigs,  we 
might  have  had  some  pudding  left." 

"Oh,  why  didn't  you  make  more?"  was  Will's 
uncivil  comment. 

For  a  long  time  Allen  and  Betty  wandered 
through  the  woods,  seeing  nothing  and  hearing 
nothing  but  the  usual  sights  and  sounds  of  the 
forest — and  seemingly  quite  content  to  go  on  in 
that  way  forever. 

It  was  Allen  who  first  broke  the  silence.  "I 
wish  you  would  tell  me  what  you  are  thinking 
about  so  hard,  Betty.  It  must  be  very  interest- 
ing, because  you  haven't  said  a  word  to  me  since 
we  left  that  lazy  crowd  back  there.  'Fess 
up!" 

Betty  flushed  faintly.  "You  should  never  ask 
what  a  person  thinks  about  on  a  beautiful  summer, 
day  when  she  is  wandering  through  the  wood- 
land with — with " 

"Whom?"  Allen  prompted  softly.  "Go  on, 
Betty,  finish  the  story." 

"Can't,"  she  smiled  up  at  him  roguishly.  "It's 
one  of  those  'to  be  continued.'  " 


168     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

He  caught  her  hand,  but  she  drew  it  away 
quickly.  "Allen,  what's  this?"  she  cried. 

She  had  accidentally  brushed  aside  some  bram- 
bles that  had  caught  on  her  dress,  and  there  close 
beside  them,  so  near  that  she  could  thrust  her 
hand  into  the  opening,  yawned  the  cavernous 
black  mouth  of  a  cave. 

Allen  drew  her  aside  quickly.  "Don't  go  near 
it,"  he  commanded,  in  a  tone  that  made  Betty 
look  at  him  in  surprise.  "I'm  suspicious  of  these 
caves  until  I  have  investigated  them  myself.  I 
am  going  to  have  a  look,  Betty.  You  stay  where 
you  are." 

But  the  Little  Captain  had  not  been  so  named 
for  nothing.  She  seized  Allen's  arm,  and  drew 
him  back  from  the  opening. 

"Allen,  if  you  go  in  there,  I'm  going,  too/1 
she  cried,  her  eyes  blazing.  "Do  you  suppose  I'm 
going  to  stand  here,  and  see  you  get  eaten  up  by 


a— a " 

it 


what?"  said  Allen,  putting  his  hands  on  her 
shoulders  and  laughing  down  at  her. 

"Well,  whatever  there  is  in  the  cave,"  she  fin- 
ished lamely.  "Anyway,  I'm  going  in  with  you." 

"Betty,  do  be  reasonable,"  he  pleaded,  but  she 
flared  up  at  that. 

"Do  you  know,  Allen,  there  is  nothing  a  girl 
hates  more  than  to  have  a  boy  ask  her  to  be  rea- 


~A  MARVELOUS  DISCOVERY  169 

sonable,  when  she  knows  she  is?  Anyway/'  her 
voice  lowered  and  she  pleaded  her  turn.  " Any- 
way, it's  lots  worse  to  see  anybody  get  hurt,  any- 
body that  you  like,  that  is,  than  it  is  to  get  hurt 
yourself." 

"You  little  soldier/'  Allen  murmured.  "But 
can't  you  see,  Betty,  that  I  am  here  to  protect  you 
from  danger  if  there  is  any — not  let  you  run 
right  into  it?" 

"Then  there  is  no  reason  why  you  should, 
either,"  she  said  obstinately. 

"Will  it  make  you  feel  any  better  if  we  get 
the  others?"  Allen  asked,  just  a  little  exasperated, 
for  he  liked  mysteries  and  hated  to  leave  them 
unsolved.  "We  can  get  to  them  in  five  minutes 
if  we  run." 

"Yes,  that  will  be  better,"  Betty  agreed,  seiz- 
ing the  suggestion  eagerly.  "But  do  you  think 
we  can  find  the  cave  again?" 

"Easily,"  said  Allen.  "You  see,  we  are  pretty 
near  the  water  right  here  and  that  bent  old  tree 
at  the  edge  of  the  lake — see  what  I  mean? — well, 
that's  right  on  the  line  with  the  mouth  of  the 
cave.  I  guess  it  will  be  easy  enough  to  find." 

So  it  was  settled,  and  they  raced  back  hand  in 
hand  to  the  spot  where  they  had  left  their  friends, 
ea<rer  to  tell  the  news. 

"So  here  you  are,"  cried  Mollie,  at  sight  of  the 


170     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

runaways.  "We  thought  you  were  never  coming 
back." 

Allen  wasted  no  time,  but  told  his  story  in  the 
fewest  words  possible.  They  were  all  tremen- 
dously excited,  and  followed  the  two  adventurers 
eagerly  as  they  led  the  way  along  the  shores  of 
the  lake. 

"Are  you  sure  you  can  find  it  again?"  Grace 
was  asking  when  Amy  seized  her  arm  and  pointed 
out  over  the  water. 

"Look !"  she  cried.    "Gypsies !" 


CHAPTER  XX 

DANGEROUS   VISITORS 

"GYPSIES?"  Betty  echoed.    "Where?" 

"Can't  you  see?"  returned  Amy.  'They  are 
fording  just  as  that  old  man  said  they  could.  Oh, 
what  are  we  going  to  do?" 

The  boys  had  been  gazing  with  interest  toward 
the  little  group  of  wanderers,  but  at  Amy's  cry 
they  were  aroused  to  sudden  action. 

"Get  to  a  place  where  we  can  see,  and  not  be 
seen,"  said  Frank.  "I'd  like  to  watch  this  thing 
through." 

"They  are  coming  right  this  way,  too,"  said 
Grace,  delightfully  afraid.  "Oh,  what  have  they 
got  on  their  backs?" 

"Looks  like  loot  of  some  sort,"  Will  volun- 
teered, peering  forth  from  his  tree  trunk.  "Say, 
this  promises  to  be  a  lark,  fellows." 

"We'd  better  get  back  a  little  farther,  if  we 
don't  want  them  to  run  right  into  us,"  Roy  sug- 
gested. 'They  are  headed  this  way." 

The  watchers  retreated  still  farther  into  the 

171 


172     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

woods  until  they  came  to  a  dense  overgrowth  of 
foliage  which  effectually  screened  them  from  pry- 
ing eyes. 

"This  is  just  the  thing,"  Roy  exulted.  "I  tell 
you  we  are  running  in  luck  to-day." 

"I  am  glad  you  think  so,"  said  Amy.  "If  one 
of  those  gypsies  discovered  us,  I  am  afraid  we 
wouldn't  live  long." 

"Well,  they  are  not  going  to,"  said  Roy,  over- 
hearing the  last  remark.  "Don't  be  a  wet  blan- 
ket, Amy.  Anyway,  just  because  they  are  gypsies 
they  needn't  be  murderers." 

"I'm  not  a "  Amy  was  beginning,  when 

Allen  hissed  a  sharp  warning.  "Keep  still,  every- 
body," he  said.  "They  are  not  a  hundred  yards 
away !" 

After  that  silence  reigned,  broken  only  occa- 
sionally by  a  nervous  whisper  from  one  of  the 
girls  as  they  watched  the  approach  of  the  enemy 
— or  so  they  regarded  them — with  breathless  in- 
terest. 

There  were  about  twenty  in  the  group,  of 
which  the  majority  were  men.  As  they  came 
nearer,  the  girls  and  boys  could  see  how  greatly 
their  ages  varied.  Some  were  old  men  with  white 
hair  and  flowing  beards,  while  others  were  young 
striplings  scarcely  out  of  boyhood.  Their  clothes 
were  many  hued  and  picturesque,  while  each  one 


DANGEROUS  VISITORS  173 

carried  on  his  back  a  huge  bundle.  They  trav- 
eled along  the  bank,  speaking  in  a  low  mellow 
tone,  a  language  which  the  Outdoor  Girls  and  the 
boys  had  never  heard  before. 

Grace  crowded  close  to  Betty,  and  the  Little 
Captain  squeezed  her  arm  reassuringly.  "I  kind 
of  like  them,"  she  whispered.  They  look  so  in- 
teresting. They  look  like  bandits  or " 

Frank's  hand  closed  abruptly  over  her  mouth 
— for  low  as  her  tone  had  been  the  gypsies  were 
near  enough  now  to  hear  the  slightest  whis- 
per. 

On,  on  came  the  little  procession  so  near  that 
the  girls,  by  stretching  out  their  hands,  could  al- 
most have  touched  them.  They  scarcely  dared  to 
breathe. 

The  gypsies  moved  on  for  a  short  distance, 
then  gathered  about  something  the  nature  of 
which  the  girls  and  boys  could  not  discern.  In 
his  curiosity,  Allen  forgot  caution  and  rising 
from  the  protection  of  the  bushes  he  tip-toed 
over  to  a  more  advantageous  lookout.  In  a  mo- 
ment he  was  back  again  on  his  knees  beside  the 
crouching  group  crying  in  an  excited  manner; 
"It's  our  cave — the  cave  Betty  and  I  discovered — 
they  are  going  into  it.  Say,  I  wish  we  had  gone 
in  when  we  had  the  chance!'' 

"I  don't,"  said  Mollie,  "they  might  have  found 


174     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 
you  there  and  knifed  you  in  the  back  or  some- 


thing. 


5 


"Especially  something,"  mocked  Roy.  But 
Mollie  was  too  excited  to  hear  him. 

"Look!"  Grace  cried.  :'Now  that  they  are  all 
inside,  you  wouldn't  know  that  there  was  any 
opening  there  at  all." 

"It  is  tough  to  have  to  sit  outside  and  look  at 
nothing,"  Roy  began. 

"Don't  look  at  me  when  you  say  that,"  com- 
plained Mollie,  with  a  little  grimace. 

"When  we  ought  to  be  in  there  capturing  the 
thieves — if  that  is  what  they  are,"  he  finished. 

"I'd  bet  on  it,"  said  Frank.  "All  gypsies  are 
born  robbers.  Just  the  same,  I  wouldn't  mind 
having  some  of  their  loot." 

"Frank!"  Grace  exclaimed,  in  a  shocked  voice. 
"You  know  you  wouldn't  like  anything  of  the 
sort." 

"Why  not?"  he  said,  his  eyes  twinkling,  for 
teasing  Grace  was  one  of  his  greatest  delights. 
"I  wouldn't  go  in  anybody's  house  and  deliber- 
ately steal  anything,  but  if  somebody  is  kind 
enough  to  do  it  for  me " 

"It  will  do  you  as  much  good  as  it  will  them, 
eh,  Frank  ?"  finished  Will,  companion  in  crime. 

"I  think  you  are  just  talking  to  hear  yourselves 
talk,"  Grace  commented,  and  Betty  heartily  ap- 


DANGEROUS  VISITORS  175 

proved.  "That's  the  most  sensible  thing  I  ever 
heard  you  say,  Grace." 

"I'm  getting  stiff  sitting  on  my  heels,"  Mollie 
complained.  "I  wish  those  old  gypsies  would  go 
home  where  they  belong,  and  let  us  get  up." 

"Seventh  inning,"  said  Frank.  "All  get  up  and 
stretch." 

Willingly  they  followed  his  example,  but  no 
sooner  had  they  risen  to  their  feet  than  they 
were  sent  scuttling  back  again  like  rabbits  into  a 
burrow.  The  bushes  were  pushed  aside  and  an 
aged  gypsy  stepped  forth  from  the  opening. 
With  a  little  gasp  of  excitement  the  girls  realized 
that  he  was  without  his  heavy  pack.  Whatever 
it  was  they  had  brought  evidently  had  been  left 
behind  in  the  cave.  One  by  one  they  emerged 
until  their  number  was  complete.  The  last  of  the 
little  band,  a  lad  apparently  no  more  than  sixteen 
years  old,  replaced  the  screening  bushes  very 
carefully  across  the  mouth  of  their  hiding  place. 
Then  they  turned,  and  retraced  their  steps,  still 
speaking  that  strange  melodious  tongue  of  theirs, 
until  they  had  reached  the  shore  and  departed  the 
way  they  had  come.  It  was  not  till  then  that  the 
watchers  ventured  to  speak  above  a  whisper. 

"Now  for  the  cave  and  what  it  contains!"  cried 
Will,  and  started  for  the  spot  the  gypsies  had  so 
lately  occupied. 


176     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

The  girls  and  boys  followed  him,  the  former 
excited  yet  half  fearful. 

"Do  you  think  we  had  better?"  asked  Amy,  as 
Will  pushed  aside  the  curtain  of  foliage  and 
peered  inside.  "It's  getting  dark,  and  besides 
the  gypsies  might  come  back.  Please  don't, 
Will." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  girls  want  us  to 
go  home  without  seeing  what  is  in  there?"  asked 
Frank  incredulously.  "It  can't  be  done,  Amy." 

Nevertheless,  the  boys  hesitated  before  the  en- 
trance to  this  mysterious  hole.  After  all,  it  was 
getting  dark  and  the  very  blackness  of  the  place 
was  forbidding. 

"If  we  only  had  some  matches,"  said  Roy  un- 
certainly. "It  wouldn't  do  us  much  good  to  go 
stumbling  around  in  the  dark." 

"And  I  presume  Mrs.  Irving  is  back  and  will  be 
terribly  worried,"  Mollie  added,  seizing  upon  the 
most  effective  argument  she  could  think  of.  "She 
told  us  to  be  home  before  dark." 

"Yes,  and  we  can  come  here  to-morrow,  any- 
way," Amy  added.  "What  do  you  think  about  it, 

Betty?" 

"Well,  I  am  just  crazy  to  see  what  the  gypsies 
left  there,"  the  Little  Captain  answered,  "but  I 
do  think  it's  a  little  late  now  to  begin  exploring. 
It  isn't  as  if  this  were  gur  last  day  on  the  island." 


DANGEROUS  VISITORS  177 

"I  think  Betty  is  right,  fellows."  It  was  Roy 
who  spoke.  "Mrs  Irving  left  the  girls  in  our 
care  and  she  won't  do  it  again  in  a  hurry  if  we 
don't  get  them  home  pretty  soon." 

"That's  so,  of  course,"  Allen  admitted  reluc- 
tantly. "Just  the  same,  it's  a  crime  to  leave  a  dis- 
covery like  this  without  getting  to  the  bottom 
of  it." 

"But  we  can  come  to-morrow,"  Betty  pleaded. 
"It  isn't  as  if " 

"Oh,  I  know  all  about  that,"  he  interrupted. 
"But  we  probably  can't  find  the  place  to-morrow." 

"Well,  we  will  have  to  take  our  chances  on 
that,"  cried  Mollie,  tapping  her  foot  impatiently. 
"The  rest  of  you  may  stay  here  all  night  if  you 
want  to,  but  I'm  going  back  to  'The  Shadows/ 

"Hold  on  a  minute,  Mollie,  can't  you?"  said 
Will.  "I  wish  it  weren't  so  late,  but  since  it  is, 
I  suppose  we  shall  have  to  act  accordingly.  Who's 
got  the  lunch  basket  ?" 

"Frank  had,  the  last  time  I  saw  it,"  said  Amy, 
looking  about  her  at  the  gathering  shadows  un- 
easily. "Oh,  please  let's  hurry." 

"I  forgot  all  about  the  basket,"  Frank  con- 
fessed. "I  think  I  left  it  over  there  behind  the 
bushes." 

Allen  went  with  him  to  find  it,  while  the  girls 
stood  huddled  together,  wishing  themselves  back 


178     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 


at  the  bungalow.  Mystery  is  wonderful  in 
the  glaring  sun  of  noon-day,  but  in  the  chill  dusk 
of  evening,  with  a  damp  mist  rising  and  touching 
all  the  land  with  clammy  fingers — at  such  a  time 
it  is  not  so  alluring.  All  they  wanted  was  home 
and  a  fire  and  a  chance  to  talk  things  over. 

Alhn  and  Frank,  carrying  the  basket  between 
them,  soon  rejoined  those  who  were  waiting  at 
the  cave,  and  they  started  along  the  shores  of 
the  lake,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  anything 
that  looked  like  a  gypsy. 

However,  they  reached  home  at  last  without 
encountering  anything  more  formidable  than  their 
own  shadows. 

"But  I  would  like  to  know  what  they  had  in 
those  bags,"  sighed  Betty,  as  the  boys  took  leave 
of  them.  "Can  we  go  back  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning,  Allen?" 

"We  can't  go  too  soon  to  suit  me,"  Allen 
agreed.  "But  aren't  you  going  to  let  us  fellows 
come  over  to-night  to  talk  things  over?" 

"Of  course,"  said  Mollie,  "and  we'll  have  a 
fire." 

"That  sounds  good,"  said  Roy.  "We  won't 
keep  you  waiting." 

Then  the  girls  went  in  to  relieve  Mrs.  Irving's 
anxiety  and  to  tell  her  the  wonders  they  had  wit- 
nessed that  afternoon. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE    LOST    TRAIL 

BEFORE  the  cheerful  glow  of  the  fire,  the  young 
people  talked  long  that  night,  while  Mrs.  Irving 
listened  with  interest.  Her  eyes  sparkled  at  the 
description  of  the  cave  and  the  gypsy  troupe  and 
once  she  broke  in  with : 

"You  needn't  think  you  are  going  to  leave  me 
behind  when  such  exciting  things  are  happening. 
After  this,  I  am  going  to  be  on  the  spot  with  the 
rest  of  you." 

"I  wish  you  would,"  Mollie  answered.  "We 
thought  you  didn't  care  to  go  along." 

"Ask  me  in  the  morning,"  she  said. 

And  now  the  morning  had  come  at  last.  Betty 
had  lain  awake  most  of  the  night,  too  excited  to 
sleep  and  impatiently  awaiting  the  first  streak 
of  dawn. 

Now  it  had  come  after  a  wait  that  had  seemed 
interminable  and  she  slipped  silently  out  of  bed, 
determined  not  to  awaken  the  sleeping  girls.  But 
before  she  had  time  to  move  half  way  across  the 
room,  Grace  hailed  her. 

179 


l8o     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Hello,  Betty!"  she  called,  "I'm  glad  you  are 
up — I  haven't  been  able  to  sleep  for  the  longest 
while.  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

"Get  dressed,  I  suppose,"  Betty  answered.  "I 
simply  couldn't  lie  in  bed  any  longer." 

"Guess  I  will,  too,"  said  Grace ;  and  that  being 
the  first  time  she  had  ever  agreed  with  Betty  on 
that  subject,  the  latter  looked  at  her  in  surprise. 

'You  must  be  all  worked  up,  Gracy,"  she  com- 
mented, "to  be  willing  to  get  up  at  this  time  in 
the  morning.  I  don't  think  it  can  be  six  o'clock, 
at  the  very  latest." 

"Well,  anything  is  better  than  lying  in  bed 
awake,"  yawned  Grace,  sitting  up  in  bed  and 
curving  her  arms  behind  her  head  with  that  slow, 
instinctive  grace  that  was  part  of  her.  "Look 
at  Mollie  staring  at  us  for  all  the  world  like  a 
little  night-owl,"  she  added. 

"Thanks,"  said  Mollie  dryly.  "I  feel  highly 
complimented,  I'm  sure.  I'd  hate  to  tell  you  what 
you  look  like." 

"Don't,"  said  Grace.  "What  I  don't  know 
won't  hurt  me." 

"Let's  all  agree  that  you  both  look  as  bad  as 
you  can,"  said  Betty  crossly,  for  the  strain  of  a 
sleepless  night  was  beginning  to  tell.  "It  would 
be  a  relief  to  know  the  worst,  anyway." 

"Oh,    for   goodness'   sake,    Betty,    don't   you 


THE  LOST  TRAIL  l8l 

begin  to  disturb  the  peace,  too/'  Amy  broke  in 
sleepily.  "It  was  bad  enough  before  with  Grace 
and  Mollie  always  at  swords'  points,  but  if  you 
begin  it,  I  don't  know  what  I  shall  do." 

Amy's  despair  was  so  comical  that  the  girls 
had  to  laugh  in  spite  of  themselves.  As  if  at  a 
signal,  the  sun  broke  through  the  heavy  mist  that 
had  risen  over  night  and  flooded  the  room  with 
golden  beams.  Somehow  the  world  suddenly 
seemed  a  better  and  a  happier  place  to  live  in,  and 
the  girls'  spirits  rose  like  mercury. 

"Do  you  suppose  Mrs.  Irving  will  really  want 
to  go?"  Amy  asked,  as  they  finished  dressing. 
"She  seemed  eager  enough  last  night,  but  she 
may  have  changed  her  mind  by  this  time." 

"I  don't  think  so,"  said  Betty.  "She  is  as  game 
as  we  are  for  things  like  that." 

"Yes,  and  she  is  feeling  better  now,"  said  gen- 
tle little  Amy. 

The  boys  called  for  them  bright  and  early.  It 
seemed  that  they,  also,  had  spent  a  rather  restless 
night,  and  were  glad  of  the  sunshine  and  warmth 
o.f  the  morning. 

The  party  started  off  in  high  spirits  to  find  the 
cave  and  solve  its  mysteries.  Mrs.  Irving  was 
with  them,  for,  as  Betty  had  said,  she  was  a  game 
little  person  and  in  for  a  good  time  whenever  one 
could  be  found. 


l82!     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Suppose  we  can't  find  the  place?"  it  was  Grace 
who  voiced  the  thought  that  had  been  secretly 
troubling  them  all.  "Betty  just  found  it  by  acci- 
dent yesterday." 

"Don't  cross  bridges  till  you  come  to  them, 
Grace,"  Frank  admonished  her.  "We'll  find  it, 
all  right,  if  we  have  to  cover  every  square  inch  of 
the  island." 

"I  vote  that  we  let  Allen  and  Betty  take  the 
lead,"  Roy  suggested.  "They  know  more  about 
it  than  we  do — or  at  least  they  ought  to." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Betty,  who  had  been  deep 
in  a  conversation  with  Amy.  "Who's  talking 
about  me  now?" 

"They  are  shifting  the  responsibility  to  our 
shoulders,  that's  all,"  Allen  explained.  "Roy  says 
because  we  found  the  cave  in  the  first  place,  it's 
sort  of  up  to  us  not  to  disappoint  them  now." 

'You  may  be  sure  we'll  do  our  best,"  said  the 
Little  Captain,  with  her  whimsical  smile,  "since 
we'd  be  disappointing  ourselves  at  the  same  time." 

'Wasn't  it  somewhere  about  here,  Allen?" 
asked  Mollie,  pointing  into  the  woods.  "The 
place  looks  familiar." 

"I  don't  think  so,"  said  Allen,  puzzled.  "Betty 
and  I  noticed  a  big  tree  that  was  almost  directly 
on  a  line  with  the  cave,  but  I  don't  see  it  to-day, 
I  wonder " 


THE  LOST  TRAIL  183 

"It's  a  little  farther  ahead,  I  think,  Allen," 
Betty  volunteered,  trying  to  force  conviction  into 
her  tone.  "I'm  sure  we  haven't  passed  it." 

"Well,  I'm  not,"  said  Mollie,  abruptly.  "I'm 
positive  I  saw  the  bushes  where  we  hid  yesterday 
quite  a  distance  down  the  road." 

"Well,  why  on  earth  didn't  you  say  so,"  Grace 
demanded,  "instead  of  letting  us  wander  on 
ahead?" 

"Well,  I  wasn't  sure,"  Mollie  retorted.  "And 
besides,  I  thought  Betty  and  Allen  knew  what 
they  were  doing " 

"Sh-h !"  warned  Mrs.  Irving.  "There's  noth- 
ing to  get  excited  about.  We  all  want  to  find  the 
cave,  and  we  are  all  going  to  do  our  best  to  find  it. 
Remember,  we  are  equally  interested." 

"Well,  but  it's  very  strange  that  we  can't  lo- 
cate that  tree,"  said  the  Little  Captain,  a  trou- 
bled frown  on  her  forehead.  "Allen  and  I  were 
so  particular  about  it  yesterday." 

"Well,  we  surely  won't  accomplish  anything 
by  standing  here,"  said  Will,  a  shade  impatiently. 
"Let's  travel  ahead  a  little — it  seems  to  me  it  was 
farther  on." 

So  they  started  again,  troubled  and  perplexed 
and  scanning  every  step  of  the  way.  Half  an 
hour  later  they  halted  for  another  conference. 
The  tree  was  nowhere  to  be  found — neither  was 


184    THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

the  cave.  It  seemed  as  if  their  adventure  of  the 
day  before  had  been  a  dream  which  had  faded 
and  vanished  into  thin  air  with  the  advent  of  the 
morning. 

"Every  place  we  look  at  ceems  to  be  it,  ci  d 
then  it  isn't,"  wailed  Amy. 

"That's  fine  English,  I  must  say,"  Will  teased. 
"Where  did  you  go  to  school?" 

"Oh,  for  goodness'  sake,  let  her  English  alone, 
Will!"  Grace  admonished.  "It  isn't  that  we're 
interested  in  just  at  present.  Oh,  where  has  the 
old  thing  gone  to?" 

"I  guess  it  never  was,"  Roy  replied  gloomily. 
"We  just  imagined  it." 

"Imagined  it!"  sniffed  Betty.  "If  I  thought 
I  had  an  imagination  like  that  I'd  write  books 
or  something." 

"I  wish  I  knew  \vhat  the  something  stood  for," 
said  Frank,  laughing  at  her.  "It  must  be  good." 

"I  imagine  it  would  be,"  said  Betty,  laughing 
back  at  him,  "if  I  only  knew  myself." 

"Stop  fooling,  you  two,  and  help  us  think  of 
something,"  Mollie  demanded.  "We  can't  stand 
here  and  admire  the  view  all  day.:' 

"What  would  you  suggest?"  Frank  asked  po- 
litely. "We  are  willing  to  give  weighty  consider- 
ation to  anything  you  say." 

Mollie  looked  weakly  about  ner  for  support. 


THE  LOST  TRAIL  185 

"Grace,  can't  you  do  anything  with  him?"  she 
pleaded.  "He  does  nothing  but  talk  nonsense  all 
day  long." 

"And  just  after  he's  paid  you  a  compliment," 
Grace  drawled.     "I  wonder  you  call  that  non- 


sense.' 


Mollie  had  opened  her  mouth  for  a  stinging 
rejoinder,  but  before  she  could  voice  it  there  came 
a  disturbance  from  a  new  and  unexpected  quar- 
ter. The  bushes  parted  and  two  figures  emerged 
— a  young  man  and  a  girl. 

Astonishment  held  the  little  group  motionless, 
but  the  strangers,  or  so  they  appeared,  stepped 
forward  impulsively. 

"It's  no  wonder  you  don't  remember  me,"  said 
the  girl  impulsively,  "since  I  was  dressed  very 
differently  when  you  last  saw  me.  I  am  Anita 
Benton — the  girl  you  rescued  the  other  day." 

As  usual,  Betty  was  the  first  to  find  her  voice. 

"Oh,  we  are  glad  to  see  you!"  she  said  warmly. 

'We    were    wondering    when    you    and    your 

brother  were  coming  to  pay  us  that  promised 


visit.' 


"Oh,  we  would  have  been  here  long  ago,  but, 
you  see,  I  was  rather,  well — shaken  up,"  Anita 
explained,  with  a  merry  little  laugh  that  made 
the  girls  warm  to  her  at  once.  "Conway  could 
hardly  wait  to  come  to  tell  you  all  how  grateful 


186     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

he  was — and  is,"  she  added,  with  a  quaint  little 
sideways  glance  in  the  direction  of  her  tall 
brother. 

"Anita's  right.  I  almost  came  alone  when  I 
found  she  was  inconsiderate  enough  to  get  sick," 
said  Conway,  who  had  been  regarding  the  scene 
with  lively  interest.  "You  see,  I  never  knew  be- 
fore what  it  was  to  almost  lose  a  small  sister." 

"He  speaks  as  if  he  had  any  number  of  them," 
cried  Anita,  gaily;  and  one  could  see  at  a  glance 
the  perfect  understanding  and  union  between  the. 
two.  "But,  really,  this  is  the  very  first  day  I 
have  been  able  to  walk  any  distance  at  all,  so 
Con  and  I  thought  we'd  take  advantage  of  it." 

"Well,  we  are  mighty  glad  you  did,"  said  Roy 
heartily,  and  Mollie  glanced  at  him  sideways. 
"I  wonder  if  you  two  could  help  us  solve  a  rid- 
dle," he  added.  "We  had  just  about  given  it  up 
for  a  bad  job  when  you  came  along." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  girl  eagerly.  "I  love 
riddles." 

"Don't  let  him  get  your  hopes  raised,"  Betty 
warned.  "It  isn't  a  riddle  at  all.  The  thing  is, 
we  found  a  cave  yesterday,  and  to-day  it  has  sim- 
ply vanished,  disappeared,  gone  up  in  smoke." 

"A  cave  ?"  said  Conway,  interestedly.  "A  cave 
around  here?  Why,  I  never  heard  of  any." 

"Well,   we   are  beginning  to  think   that  we 


THE  LOST  TRAIL  ,187 

dreamed  it,"  said  Allen,  pessimistically.  'The 
only  strange  thing  about  it  is  that  we  all  should 
dream  the  same  thing." 

"But  please  tell  me  what  you  mean,"  begged 
Anita.  "Caves  are  even  better  than  riddles.  Why 
did  you  say  you  dreamed  it?" 

There  could  be  no  escaping  this  emphatic 
young  person — that  they  realized — so  Allen 
started  to  explain.  When  he  had  finished  the  two 
visitors  were  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  excited 
as  the  Outdoor  Girls  and  their  boy  chums  had 
been. 

"You  think  it  was  somewhere  about  here,  don't 
you  ?"  Anita  asked.  "It  ought  to  be  easy  enough 
to  find." 

"That's  what  we  thought  before  we  started," 
said  Grace,  "but  after  you  have  been  hunting  for 
an  hour  or  two  you  begin  to  realize  your  mistake. 
I  vote  we  do  something  else." 

"Grace!  And  leave  the  cave?"  Amy  cried, 
amazed  at  her  friend's  lack  of  romantic  fervor. 

"Why  not?"  said  Grace.  "It  won't  run  away. 
Besides,  I  guess  everybody's  forgotten  this  is 
the  day  we  set  for  the  race." 

They  stared  at  one  another  dumbfounded.  It 
was  as  Grace  had  said— this  was  the  day  they 
had  decided  on  for  the  race  and  they  had  forgot- 
ten all  about  it.  Had  ever  such  a  thing  happened 


188     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

before  in  the  annals  of  history?    If  so,  they  could 
not  remember  it. 

"A  race?"  demanded  Anita.     "What  race?" 

Betty  looked  at  her  dazedly.  "What  race?" 
she  repeated.  "Why,  the  race,  of  course.  Oh,  I 
beg  your  pardon — I  forgot  you  didn't  know.  The 
fact  is,  we  have  been  planning  a  swimming  race 
for — oh,  ever  so  long — and  now  this  gypsy-cave 
business  put  it  clear  out  of  our  heads.  Oh !  how 
could  we  have  forgotten  it?" 

"Well,  it  isn't  too  late  yet,"  said  Will,  practi- 
cally. That  is,  if  you  aren't  too  set  on  finding 
this  elusive  cave  to  do  anything  else." 

"Oh,  that's  safe  enough  where  it  is,"  said  Al- 
len. "If  we  can't  find  it,  it's  a  pretty  safe  bet 
that  nobody  else  can." 

"I  vote  we  get  into  our  bathing  suits  just  as 
fast  as  we  can,"  said  Frank.  "That  is,  if  our 
visitors  don't  mind  seeing  a  crazy  race,"  he  added, 
half -apologetically;  for  he  remembered  his  man- 
ners just  in  the  nick  of  time. 

There's  nothing  we  would  like  better,"  Con- 
way  assured  him  heartily.  "And  I  don't  think  it 
will  be  crazy,  either,  from  the  way  you  fellows 
demonstrated  your  swimming  ability  the  other 
day." 

"Oh,  it  would  be  all  right  if  we  fellows  could 
be  in  it  alone/'  said  Roy,  wickedly.  "But,  you 


THE  LOST  TRAIL  189 

see,  the  girls  have  a  mistaken  idea  they  can  swim, 
too,  and  so,  just  to  encourage  them,  we  have  let 
them  in  on  it." 

"Let  them  in  on  it,  indeed !"  sniffed  Betty.  "If 
I  remember  correctly,  we  were  the  first  to  pro- 
pose the  race.  That  doesn't  look  as  if  we  were 
particularly  afraid  of  getting  beaten." 

"Sheer  nerve,  that's  all,"  said  Frank,  snapping 
his  fingers  with  an  air  of  superiority. 

"We  don't  need  to  talk,"  said  Mollie;  "we  will 
show  you  what  we  can  do." 

"All  right,  we're  from  Missouri,"  Will  an- 
nounced, cheerily.  "All  we  want  is  to  be 
shown." 

By  this  time  they  were  well  on  their  way  ta 
the  bungalow,  and  now  the^subject  of  the  cave 
was  overshadowed  by  the  excitement  of  the  ap- 
proaching race. 

As  the  young  people  neared  "The  Shadows" 
their  excitement  grew,  and  when  at  last  they 
reached  the  house  the  girls  fairly  flew  up  the 
stairs,  dragging  Anita  with  them,  Conway  going 
with  the  boys,  of  course. 

"Don't  you  want  a  suit?"  Betty  inquired  of  her 
visitor,  pausing  in  the  act  of  slipping  her  skirt 
over  her  head.  "I  brought  an  old  one  in  case  of 
emergency  that  I  think  would  fit  you." 

Anita   shook    her   head.      "Thanks    just   the 


190     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

same/'  she  said.  "But  the  doctor  says  I  mustn't 
think  of  swimming  for  some  time." 

"It's  pretty  hard  luck,"  said  Mollie,  sympatheti- 
cally, "to  have  to  stay  out  of  the  water  on  days 
like  this.  Say,  girls,  do  you  think  we  have  a 
chance  in  the  world  of  even  keeping  up  with  the 
boys?"  she  asked,  anxious,  now  that  the  mo- 
ment of  the  test  had  come. 

"Why,  of  course  we  can,"  said  Betty,  pretend- 
ing a  confidence  she  did  not  feel.  "Especially 
if  the  boys  give  us  the  heavy  handicap  we  agreed 
on.  I  didn't  want  them  to,  but  I  guess  it  may 
come  in  handy." 

"Well,  are  you  ready?"  cried  Mollie,  jumping 
up.  "I  am.  Come  on,  girls,  let's  show  them 
something !"  and  she  was  off  down  the  stairs  with 
the  others  close  behind. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

MOLLIE   WINS 

THE  Outdoor  Girls  found  the  boys  waiting 
for  them,  and  evidently  as  eager  as  the  girls  to 
begin  the  race. 

'Well,  it  didn't  take  you  very  long/'  Frank 
remarked ;  for  the  boys  had  never  ceased  to  mar- 
vel that  girls  could  be  on  time. 

"What  point  do  you  start  from?"  asked  Con- 
way,  as  they  started  off  together.  "How  long 
is  the  race,  anyway?"  he  added. 

"Well,"  said  Allen,  electing  himself  spokes- 
man, "we  decided  on  a  starting  point  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  here.  You  see,  from  a 
sharp  turn  there,  there  is,  for  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile,  a  course  almost  straight.  So,  you  see, 
that  makes  a  fairly  good  course." 

"I  should  say  so,"  Conway  commented.  "Why 
didn't  you  say  something  about  it  to  the  folks 
over  at  the  hotel — you'd  have  had  considerable 
of  a  crowd  for  an  audience." 

"Oh,  we  didn't  want  it,"  cried  Amy,  shrinking 

191 


192     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

from  the  very  mention  of  such  a  thing.  "I 
couldn't  swim  at  all  if  I  thought  anybody  was 
looking  at  me." 

"Don't  you  make  any  exceptions?"  asked  An- 
ita, twinkling.  "Con  and  I  don't  feel  like  going 
home  just  yet,  and  Mrs.  Irving  has  elected  to  be 
audience  instead  of  actor." 

"Oh,  of  course  I  didn't  mean  you!"  Amy  ex- 
claimed, embarrassed  at  the  slip.  "I  don't  mean 
one  or  two " 

"Of  course  you  don't,"  said  Anita  remorse- 
fully. "I  only  wish  I  could  go  in  with  you." 

They  soon  reached  the  bend  of  the  river  which 
Allen  had  indicated,  the  girls  growing  more  nerv- 
ous with  every  step. 

"I  tell  you  what  you  can  do,"  said  Allen,  struck 
by  a  sudden  thought.  "You  and  your  sister  can 
be  the  judges.  In  case  there  are  any  ties — al- 
though, of  course  such  a  thing  is  improbable" — 
the  girls  refused  to  become  indignant  at  this  shot 
— "we'll  need  somebody  to  settle  our  dispute,  and 
Mrs.  Irving  has  flatly  refused  to  interfere  before 
this." 

"All  right,  that  will  be  fine — provided  every- 
body agrees  to  abide  by  our  decision.  You  see, 
we  are  absolutely  neutral." 

"Oh,  we  won't  kick  at  anything  you  say," 
Frank  promised.  "There  is  not  much  I  can  say 


MOLLIE  WINS  193 

for  this  crowd.  But  one  thing — we  are  good 
sports.  All  in  favor  of  Allen's  proposition  say 
'Aye.'  " 

The  vote  was  carried  unanimously,  and  the 
newly  made  judges  were  instructed  by  Will  to 
"trot  along  to  the  finishing  point"  and  wait  till 
they  saw  him  leading  the  van.  Then  they  would 
know  who  had  won  the  race.  There  was  an 
ironic  shout  at  this  assertion  and  Conway's  laugh 
came  back  to  them  as  he  and  his  sister  started 
to  obey  orders. 

"Well,  now,  is  everybody  ready?"  Roy  asked, 
surveying  the  group  critically.  "Suppose  you 
girls  get  started.  We  won't  jump  in  until  one  of 
you  gets  well  past  that  jut  in  the  shore — then 
it's  our  time  to  show  a  little  speed." 

"All  right,  we  are  ready,"  said  Mollie.  "Frank, 
when  you  say  the  word  we'll  start." 

The  girls  lined  up  with  beating  hearts,  waiting 
for  the  word  that  would  relieve  their  taut  mus- 
cles. 

"One — two — three — go!"  Frank  counted,  and 
the  Outdoor  Girls  made  a  running  dive  into  the 
water,  which  was  deep  at  this  point,  and  struck 
out  strongly  for  the  goal. 

"Those  girls  sure  can  swim  some,"  was  Will's 
admiring  comment 

"For  girls,"  grunted  Roy. 


194     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"Get  ready  now,  fellows,"  commanded  Allen. 
"They've  almost  reached  the  point." 

"I  think  we  gave  them  too  big  a  handicap," 
said  Frank  doubtfully.  "They  swim  like  fish." 

"You  old  croaker!"  Will  exclaimed.  "Why, 
we  ought  to  be  able  to  beat  them  with  twice  that 
handicap." 

"Look  out,  Mollie  has  reached  the  point,  fel- 
lows!" Allen  shouted.  "Now's  the  time!" 

Without  more  ado,  the  boys  struck  out  bravely, 
determined  to  overtake  the  girls  in  the  shortest 
time  possible.  They  found  it  was  not  so  easy, 
however,  as  might  have  been  anticipated.  The 
girls  had  had  a  big  advantage  and  were  still  swim- 
ming strongly.  Will  and  Roy  began  to  agree 
with  Frank  that  they  had  given  them  too  long  a 
handicap. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  girls  were  not  so  confi- 
dent. The  strain  was  beginning  to  tell  even  upon 
their  tried  young  muscles.  Their  breath  was  be- 
coming labored  and  the  goal  seemed  terribly  far 
away. 

Mollie  and  Betty  had  fallen  a  short  distance 
behind  the  other  two.  They  had  felt  the  tax  the 
speed  was  making  on  their  strength,  and  had  de> 
cided  wisely  to  save  the  rest  of  it  until  it  was 
more  needed  then  at  the  present. 

Naturally  Amy  and  Grace  thought  their  friends 


MOLLIE  WINS  195 

were  giving  up  and  marveled  at  it.  How  on 
earth  could  they  have  lost  out  so  soon?  Had 
they  been  more  versed  in  races  they  could  have 
answered  that  question  themselves. 

Meanwhile  the  boys,  pulling  hard,  had  man- 
aged to  make  up  half  the  distance  between  them 
and  the  girls,  and  in  sight  of  Betty's  and  Mol- 
lie's  evident  weariness  their  hopes  soared  high. 
Why,  with  these  last  two  out  of  the  running  the 
race  was  as  good  as  won. 

On,  on  they  came,  hand  over  hand,  stroke  fol- 
lowing stroke,  rhythmic  and  strong  and  confident. 

Betty  looked  at  Mollie  and  Mollie  looked  at 
Betty,  and  each  knew  she  had  discovered  the 
other's  secret  and  at  the  same  time  recognized  a 
rival. 

Amy  had  come  to  the  limit  of  her  strength  with 
the  goal  an  eighth  of  a  mile  away.  She  knew 
that  for  her  the  race  was  over.  The  waters 
pushed  her  back,  forced  her  back,  seeming  like 
some  pitiless  enemy  bent  upon  her  downfall. 

And  what  of  Grace?  She  would  not  acknowl- 
edge to  herself  that  her  strength  was  leaving  her 
— why,  she  had  swum  as  far  as  that  many  a  time 
before — it  was  absurd  that  she  should  give  up 
now.  Besides,  she  was  leading  them  all.  With 
this  thought  she  put  the  remainder  of  her  waning 
strength  into  a  few  last  desperate  strokes. 


196     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

Meanwhile,  the  boys  had  caught  up  with  Mol- 
lie,  arid  seeing  this  she  quickened  her  stroke, 
forging  ahead  again.  But  Betty  kept  the  same 
calm,  steady  stroke  which  had  so  deceived  the 
boys — and  the  girls,  too,  for  that  matter,  with  the 
exception  of  Mollie. 

On,  on  they  came — almost  abreast  now.  The 
boys,  tired  from  the  long  chase,  were  resting, 
gathering  strength  for  the  last  spurt. 

The  finish  line  had  been  very  conveniently 
marked  by  a  slender  tree  which  had  evidently 
been  torn  down  in  some  terrific  storm  and  now 
lay  half  on  the  shore  and  half  upon  the  water. 
This,  then,  was  their  goal. 

Conway  was  the  first  to  see  them  coming. 
"Look,  Nita!"  he  cried,  seizing  his  sister's  arm 
and  drawing  her  to  the  edge  of  the  water.  "From 
the  way  they  are  all  lined  up  I  should  judge  this  is 
nobody's  race  yet.  That's  the  kind  of  a  thing  I 
enjoy — where  there  is  occupation  at  the  end. 
And  look " 

"Look  at  Betty,"  cried  Anita,  interrupting  him. 
"She  can  swim  better  than  I  can,  and  I  thought 
I  was  pretty  good."  There  was  no  conceit  in 
this  remark — it  was  simply  a  statement  of  fact. 

Out  on  the  water  the  girls  and  boys  knew  the 
time  had  come  when  they  must  show  what  was 
in  them.  Grace  and  Amy,  with  the  discomfited 


MOLLIE  WINS  197 

Will,  had  fallen  to  the  rear,  and  the  race  lay 
between  the  other  five.  Allen  was  leading,  and 
the  two  young  judges  on  the  bank  had  just  de- 
cided that  either  he  or  Frank  would  be  the  winner. 
Then  it  happened!  The  two  girls  gathered  all 
their  energy,  that  splended  reserve  strength  they 
had  kept  so  well  in  check — summoned  every 
ounce  of  vitality  they  had  and  gave  it  full  rein. 

Their  muscles,  trained  to  outdoor  life,  gallantly 
responded  to  the  call.  They  passed  first  Frank, 
then  Allen,  who  stared  after  them  stupidly.  You 
see,  the  boys  were  not  believers  in  miracles. 
However,  they  rallied  their  reserved  strength 
and  shot  ahead  until  they  were  even  with  the 
girls  again. 

The  goal  was  close  before  them.  Now,  if  ever, 
must  come  the  last  desperate  spurt.  Could  they 
make  it?  They  must!  they  must!  The  thought 
kept  hammering  itself  over  and  over  in  the  girls' 
consciousness.  They  were  so  near  now — they 
couldn't  lose — oh,  they  couldn't? 

And  the  girls  were  right.  Anita  almost  fell 
into  the  water  in  her  excitement  as  the  four 
swept  on,  swimming  as  though  they  had  just 
touched  the  water. 

"Mollie!  Betty!"  she  cried.  "Go  it— for  the 
cause !" 

Whether  this  encouragement  reached  the  ears 


198     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

it  was  intended  for  is  doubtful.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
the  girls  followed  her  instructions  to  the  letter. 

Conway  stretched  forward  eagerly  as  the 
swimmers  rushed  on  toward  the  mark.  Four 
hands  closed  over  the  fallen  tree  trunk  almost 
at  the  same  instant — but  not  quite.  Mollie 
reached  the  goal  a  fraction  of  a  second  ahead — - 
the  race  was  hers. 

As  the  dripping  contestants  drew  themselves 
up  upon  the  bank,  Anita  and  Conway  rushed  for- 
ward eagerly.  "Mollie  had  it!"  they  cried  to- 
gether, and  Nita  added : 

"I  don't  see  how  you  ever  did  it — it  was  the 
closest  thing  I  ever  saw." 

For  a  few  seconds  the  swimmers  were  too 
spent  even  to  congratulate  the  winner.  But  when 
they  did  recover  sufficient  breath,  they  fairly 
ovenvhelmed  her  with  praises.  As  Roy  had  said, 
"they  were  nothing  if  not  sports." 

"It  was  lucky  you  did  have  a  judge,  or,  I 
should  say  judges."  Conway  glanced  apologet- 
ically toward  his  sister.  "Otherwise  I  don't  be- 
lieve anybody  would  have  known  which  of  you 
got  there  first.  It  was  as  near  a  tie  as  anything 
I  have  ever  seen." 

As  the  four  lagging  participants  in  the  race 
came  up  to  them,  rather  sore  and  disgruntled, 
the  young  folks  delicately  forbore  to  look  in  their 


MOLLIE  WINS  199 

direction  and  Frank  covered  their  coming  with  a 
remark.  "I  don't  know  how  you  girls  ever  ac- 
complished it — I  thought  you  were  done  almost 
at  the  beginning.  Tell  us  the  secret." 

Mollie  and  Betty  looked  at  each  other  signifi- 
cantly. "That's  our  secret,"  said  Betty.  Then, 
springing  to  her  feet,  she  cried :  "Let's  give 
three  cheers  for  the  winner  of  the  race,  Miss 
Mollie  -Billette !" 

The  cheers  were  given  with  a  will  that  awoke 
the  answering  echoes  on  the  island. 

Mollie  flushed  gratefully.  "Thank  you,"  she 
said.  "It  was  only  luck  anyway  that  I  happened 
to  touch  the  tree  a  second  before  the  rest  of 
you." 

"Don't  be  modest,  Mollie,"  Roy  entreated. 
"You  beat  us  all  fairly — especially  me,"  he  added 
ruefully.  They  laughed  and  Betty  added  whim- 
sically: "I  thought  I  had  you  up  to  the  last, 
Mollie.  It  wasn't  fair  to  lead  me  on  like  that." 

"Well,  you  sure  know  how  to  swim — all  of 
you,"  Conway  commented  admiringly.  'You 
must  do  a  lot  of  it." 

"Oh,  we  are  at  it  a  good  deal  of  the  time," 
Frank  agreed  carelessly.  "And  the  girls — well, 
they  have  formed  a  club  for  all  sorts  of  outdoor 
stunts.  You  see  the  results." 

"Oh,  isn't  that  great!"  exclaimed  Anita  with 


200     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

genuine  enthusiasm.  "I  love  all  those  things,  too. 
I  wish  I  could  belong  to  such  a  club." 

"If  you  lived  anywhere  near  Deepdale,"  said 
Betty  warmly,  "we  should  be  very  glad  to  have 
you  join  us." 

Only  too  soon — for  Anita  and  the  Outdoor 
Girls  had  taken  a  great  liking  to  one  another — the 
former  declared  that  it  was  time  she  and  her  big 
brother  must  be  starting  for  home.  "Dad  and 
mother  worry  whenever  I  am  out  of  their  sight 
nowadays — even  though  Con  is  with  me,"  she 
explained. 

"Come  again  soon,"  Betty  called  after  them. 

"Will  you  have  another  race?"  asked  Anita. 

"Yes,  especially  for  your  entertainment," 
laughed  the  Little  Captain.  "And  we  won't  let 
Mollie  win  it  either." 

"All  right,  then,  I'll  come,"  Anita  promised. 

"Humph,  we'll  see  about  that,"  said  Mollie,  re- 
ferring to  Betty's  last  remark.  "History  often 
repeats  itself,  you  know." 

Allen  sighed  as  they  started  homeward.  "We 
won't  be  able  to  come  anywhere  near  them  now, 
fellows,"  he  said.  "They'll  have  suffrage  ban- 
ners hung  all  over  the  house." 

The  girls  laughed,  for  after  all  they  had  won 
through  Mollie,  and  the  taste  of  triumph  was 
very  sweet. 


MOLLIE  WINS  201 

"Wasn't  it  grand!"  cried  Betty. 

"The  best  ever !"  returned  Grace,  as  she  popped 
a  chocolate  candy  in  her  mouth. 

"I'd  like  another  such  race,"  said  Mollie,  wist- 
fully. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

HIDDEN    TREASURE 

THE  week  that  followed  the  Outdoor  Girls  re- 
membered as  just  one  endless  round  of  fun. 
With  the  exception  of  two  days,  the  weather 
was  perfect.  They  traveled  over  to  town  on  the 
rickety  ferryboat  several  times.  They  took  the 
cars  out  of  the  garage  for  short  spins  about  the 
country,  and  otherwise  amused  themselves. 

Then,  too,  the  fish  in  the  unrivaled  fishing 
pool  proved  just  as  agreeable  as  they  had  on  that 
first  day,  and  provided  many  delicious  suppers 
for  the  young  people.  The  only  thing  that 
served  to  mar  their  pleasure  was  the  continued 
reluctance  of  the  mysterious  cave  to  come  to 
light — it  was  as  though  the  earth  had  opened  and 
swallowed  it  up. 

"I'm  beginning  to  think  it  just  never  was," 
Grace  remarked,  as  she  contentedly  munched 
some  chocolates  that  Frank  had  laid  on  her  altar. 
"Will  is  terribly  worried  about  it.  He  thinks 
since  he  is  in  the  secret  service  that  he  ought 
to  investigate  it." 

202 


HIDDEN  TREASURE  2O$ 

"How  can  he  if  there  isn't  anything  to  inves* 
tigate?"  asked  Betty.  And  in  truth  there  seemed 
some  reason  in  her  query.  "It  makes  me  angry 
every  time  I  think  of  it." 

'Yes,  the  fellows  say  Will  even  talks  in  hisj 
sleep  about  the  cave/'  Amy  volunteered.  "Prob- 
ably they  exaggerate,  but  I  don't  wonder  he  is  all 
on  edge  about  it." 

"And  we  have  to  leave  so  soon,  too,"  Mollie 
commented.  "We  haven't  much  more  time  to 
look  for  it." 

"It  doesn't  seem  possible  we  have  to  go  back 
home  in  less  than  a  week,"  sighed  Amy.  "I  just 
hate  to  leave  this  place." 

"To  change  the  subject,"  said  Betty,  "I  won- 
der what's  keeping  the  boys.  Let's  get  the  lunch 
and  go  to  meet  them." 

The  girls  agreed,  and  Betty  ran  in  to  get  the 
luncheon  and  tell  Mrs.  Irving  where  they  were 
going. 

Before  they  had  gone  more  than  a  hundred 
feet  from  the  house  they  were  met  by  the  boys, 
who  seemed  in  a  great  hurry. 

"Oh,  did  we  keep  you  waiting?"  Roy  inquired 
anxiously,  evidently  relieved  to  see  them.  "Old 
Will  here  disappeared  and  we  had  to  go  on  a  still 
hunt  to  find  him." 

"Yes,  he  still  has  that  confounded  cave  in  his 


204     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

head.  I'd  given  the  thing  up.  Why  worry  about 
a  thing  you  can't  find?"  Frank  demanded. 

"But  we  saw  it,"  Will  argued,  relieving  the 
girls  of  the  basket.  "And  as  long  as  we  saw  it, 
it's  got  to  be  on  this  island  somewhere — that's  a 
sure  thing — and  I'm  going  to  find  it." 

'Well,  I  wish  you  luck,"  said  Allen  gloomily. 
"Blow  a  horn  when  you  find  it — we  all  want  to 
be  in  at  the  death." 

"If  you  are  going  to  be  so  lazy  I'll  keep  it  all 
to  myself,"  Will  retorted.  "That  cave  is  some- 
where on  this  island,  and  I  intend  to  find  where 
if  I  have  to  stay  for  another  six  months." 

"Hear!  hear!"  cheered  Roy.  "That's  the  way 
I  like  to  hear  a  fellow  talk." 

'Yes,  you  do,"  Will  was  beginning  when  Betty 
interrupted  him. 

"I'm  on  your  side,  Will/'  she  said  staunchly. 
"I'm  not  going  to  stop  looking  for  the  cave  until 
we  have  to  go  home.  Why,  just  think  of  the 
things  we  might  find.  There  is  probably  loot 
in  that  place  that  is  worth  a  great  big  lot  of 
money,  and  in  some  cases  they  might  be  things 
that  money  couldn't  replace.  It's  not  a  question 
of  mere  curiosity,  it's  a  duty  we  owe  to  society." 

"Speech!  speech!"  Roy  cried  again.  "We 
have  some  little  orator  in  our  midst !  But  may  I 
ask,"  he  added,  with  exaggerated  politeness,  "how 


HIDDEN  TREASURE  205 

we  are  to  go  about  accomplishing  this  service  to 
society?" 

Betty's  patience  was  at  an  end.  "Ask  some- 
thing  you  can  answer  yourself !"  she  said  shortly, 
and  Roy  was  silenced. 

They  deposited  the  basket  at  what  seemed  to 
them  an  ideal  spot  and  were  about  to  examine  the 
contents  when  a  sharp  cry  from  Mollie  arrested 
their  attention. 

"Look!  look!"  she  cried.  "I've  found  it! 
Girls — boys,  come  here!  Quick." 

There  was  no  need  of  urging,  for  they  fairly 
flew  in  the  direction  of  her  voice.  There  she  was 
down  on  her  knees  before  an  opening  much  lower 
and  narrower  than  the  one  they  had  discovered 
before,  but  nevertheless  unmistakably  another 
entrance  to  the  cave. 

"I  caught  my  foot  in  a  twig,"  she  explained, 
as  they  crowded  around  her,  wild  with  excite- 
ment, "and  I  almost  fell  into  the  cave."  So,  as 
in  the  first  place,  the  discovery  had  been  made 
through  an  accident. 

The  cave  seemed  to  have  been  formed  in  a 
rise  of  the  ground — it  could  hardly  be  termed  a 
hill — and  as  the  young  people  looked  inside,  its 
black  interior  stretched  as  far  as  they  could  see. 

"Who  wants  to  go  in  first?"  asked  Amy,  her 
tone  low  and  awed  in  the  presence  of  the  un- 


206     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 


known.      'The  boys  will  have  to  stoop  to  get  in." 

"I'll  go,"  said  Will,  pushing  his  way  past  them, 
and  in  his  tone  was  a  ring  of  command.  "Come 
on,  anybody  that  wants  to.  I'm  going  to  find 
what's  in  this  place  before  it  disappears 
again." 

The  place  had  a  damp  and  earthy  smell,  and 
Amy  drew  back  uncertainly.  'The  rest  of  you 
go  first,"  she  said.  "I'll  come — later." 

Nothing  loath,  Mollie,  Betty  and  even  Grace 
pressed  into  the  opening  after  Will,  the  boys 
standing  aside — this  last  bit  of  self-control  prov- 
ing that  chivalry  was  not  all  dead  yet.  The  first 
temptation  had  been  to  run  pell-mell  after  Will, 
regardless  of  girls  or  any  other  disturbing  ele- 
ment that  might  be  about. 

However,  as  has  been  said,  they  allowed  the 
girls  to  go  in  first  and  followed  them  as  closely 
as  they  dared,  Amy,  however,  going  last  of  all. 

After  several  feet  of  back-breaking  progress 
the  girls  came  out  into  another  portion  of  the 
cave,  where  the  roof  was  high  enough  to  admit 
of  an  upright  position.  As  they  stood  up,  nerves 
aquiver  with  suppressed  excitement,  Will  rushed 
back  to  them. 

"There  is  another  entrance  at  the  other  end," 
he  cried.  "That  must  be  the  one  you  and  Allen 
found,  Betty.  Come  over  here  where  you  can 


HIDDEN  TREASURE  2O? 

get  more  light,"  he  added.  "It  filters  through 
the  leaves  and  twigs  at  the  opening." 

All  this  time  he  was  leading  the  way  to  the 
spot  that  he  was  describing,  the  others  following 
breathlessly.  Once  there,  he  grasped  Allen's 
arm  excitedly,  crying  in  a  tense  voice :  "Look 
here,  old  man,  here  is  one  of  those  bags  they 
carried  the  other  day — the  place  is  full  of  them. 
Now  I  am  going  to  open  this  one.  You  keep  a 
good  lookout." 

"Hush!"  cried  Allen,  and  they  listened, 
scarcely  daring  to  breathe.  From  the  mouth  of 
the  cave,  soft  but  unmistakable,  came  the  sound 
of  voices — voices  speaking  in  a  tongue  the 
boys  had  heard  before.  There  could  be  no  mis- 
take— the  gypsies  were  visiting  their  hiding 
place ! 

"Get  back,"  breathed  Will.  "Back  into  the 
other  mouth  of  the  cave."  He  pushed  the  others 
before  him  with  all  his  force  and  they  obeyed 
without  question. 

They  shrank  back  in  the  darkness  and  waited 
for  what  was  to  come.  They  might  have  fled, 
but  curiosity  held  them  chained  to  the  spot. 

Once  Amy  uttered  a  weak  protest,  saying: 
"Don't  you  think  we  had  better  go  back?"  when 
Will  silenced  her,  none  too  gently.  The  moment 
was  a  critical  one. 


208     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

The  little  group  of  young  people  held  their 
breath  while  the  gypsies  entered,  silent  now.  In 
the  dim  light  of  the  cave  their  features  could 
not  be  seen,  but  there  was  something  about  the 
bent  old  figure  of  the  foremost  gypsy  that  pro- 
claimed the  leader  of  that  other  day.  They  were 
as  velvet-footed  as  cats,  and  as  the  girls'  eyes 
became  more  accustomed  to  the  gloom  they  dis- 
covered that  the  gypsies  were  not  hunch-backed, 
as  had  first  appeared,  but  merely  carried  upon 
their  backs  packs  like  those  others  scattered  about 
the  cave.  These  they  deposited  on  the  floor  with- 
out much  ceremony  and  were  gone  before  the 
girls  and  boys  had  fairly  realized  it. 

The  watchers  stood  motionless  even  after  the 
footsteps  had  died  away  in  the  distance.  It 
seemed  as  though  a  mystic  spell  had  been  woven 
about  them,  which,  for  the  time,  they  were  pow- 
erless to  break. 

It  was  Roy  who  first  "came  to  life,"  as  Mollie 
expressed  it.  "I  say,  what's  the  use  of  standing 
here?"  he  inquired.  "Let's  have  a  look." 

"Oh,  hush,  please!"  begged  Grace,  alarmed  at 
the  unrestraint  of  his  tone.  "They  might  come 
back."  ' 

"No,  they  won't,"  Will  asserted,  for  he  had 
suddenly  acquired  great  dignity.  'They  have 
probably  gone  for  another  haul.  In  the  mean- 


HIDDEN  TREASURE 

time  it  is  up  to  us  to  inform  the  authorities,  and 
mighty  quick,  too/' 

''But  we  don't  even  know  that  it  is  loot,  Will," 
Betty  protested.  "We  ought  to  make  sure  first." 

'That's  easy  enough,"  Allen  commented. 
"Besides  I've  been  anxious  to  examine  the  con- 
tents of  that  bag  for  a  long  time.  Now,  I'd  like 
to  see  anybody  keep  me  from  it!"  and  he  rushed 
over  to  the  other  side  of  the  cave  and  was  open- 
ing one  of  the  bags  even  as  he  spoke. 

The  others  crowded  close  beside  him  as  he 
knelt  on  the  ground,  taking  advantage  of  the 
meager  light  from  the  cave  mouth  to  examine 
its  contents.  What  they  did  see  literally  made 
them  gasp.  Gold  and  silver  and  strings  upon 
strings  of  beads — some  very  valuable,  others 
less  so— and  trinkets  of  all  sorts  and  descriptions. 

"Say,  those  gypsies  are  experts!"  Frank  ex- 
claimed, awe  in  his  tone.  "I  think  I'll  go  into  the 
business." 

The  girls  didn't  even  pretend  to  be  shocked  at 
this — they  were  too  taken  up  with  their  own  emo- 
tions— too  excited  to  notice  such  trivial  re- 
marks. 

"Oh,  aren't-  they  wonderful?"  cried  Amy, 
down  on  her  knees  before  the  bag,  and  running 
her  fingers  through  the  brilliant  mass  delightedly. 
"How  do  they  ever  get  such  things?" 


210     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 


'That's  a  funny  question  to  ask,"  Grace  re- 
marked. "They  steal  them,  of  course." 

:'But  what  are  we  going  to  do?"  asked  Betty 
practically.  :Tf  all  the  bags  contain  things  like 
these,  this  cave  is  a  mighty  valuable  place.  Oh, 
and  to  think  that  we  were  the  ones  to  discover 
it!" 

'Well,  you  people  can  stay  here  and  guard  the 
loot  if  you  want  to,"  said  Will.  "But  I'm  going 
over  to  the  mainland  to  hunt  up  a  couple  of 
ancient  sheriffs — I  suppose  they  are  ancient,"  he 
added  whimsically.  "In  stories,  you  wouldn't 
recognize  a  sheriff  without  his  whiskers." 

"Never  mind  the  whiskers,"  said  Mollie  impa- 
tiently. "The  thing  is,  somebody  has  to  stay 
and  guard  the  cave  or  it  will  disappear  the  way 
it  did  the  other  time,  and  you  will  bring  the 
authorities  over  here  for  nothing." 

'Well,  of  course  you  will  have  to  stay  until  I 
get  back,"  Will  decided.  "In  the  meantime,  you 
can  eat  lunch.  Good-bye,  I'm  off."  And  he  led 
the  way  into  the  sunlight,  which  dazzled  their 
eyes  after  the  semi-gloom  of  the  cave. 

"But  you  will  have  to  wait  for  the  ferry," 
Allen  called  after  him,  "and  it  may  not  be  along 
for  some  time." 

'Til  take  a  chance,"  Will  flung  back.  "I'll 
get  there  if  I  have  to  swim!" 


HIDDEN  TREASURE  211 


"Maybe  if  you  swim  you  can  beat  the  ferry," 
suggested  Allen,  with  a  laugh. 

"Say,  that's  a  scheme !  I  guess  I  had  better  try 
It." 

"Nonsense !    You  take  the  boat,  old  as  it  is." 

"All  right,  Allen." 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

LYING  IN  WAIT 

SOMEHOW  the  lunch  did  not  taste  as  good  that 
day.  Excitement  had  robbed  the  Outdoor  Girls 
and  their  boy  friends  of  appetite.  They  ate  in 
a  preoccupied  way,  eyes  now  on  the  cave  so  close 
at  hand,  now  wandering  in  the  direction  from 
which  the  gypsies  had  come.  If  these  latter 
should  return  before  Will — well,  then  it  would  be 
time  for  a  hurried  exit  on  their  part.  They 
had  no  intention  of  being  caught  in  the  wolf's 
lair. 

It  was  Will,  however,  who  reached  the  place 
first,  and  those  waiting  for  him  could  have  danced 
with  relief  when  they  heard  his  voice.  A  mo- 
ment later  they  caught  sight  of  him,  accompa- 
nied by  two  men  from  the  town.  Judging  from 
their  gesticulations,  the  latter  were  more  than 
ordinarily  excited.  Incidentally,  let  it  be  re- 
corded that  neither  of  them,  the  sheriff  nor  his 
deputy,  had  a  beard. 

"Here  they  are !"  Will  cried,  as  he  caught  sight 

212 


'LYING  IN  WAIT  213 

of  his  friends.  "I  thought  I  was  on  the  right 
track.  Any  news  since  I  left?" 

"Not  a  thing,"  Frank  answered.  'The  place 
has  been  absolutely  deserted." 

"Good,"  said  Will,  then,  turning  to  the  men 
beside  him,  added:  "This  is  the  entrance  we 
found  to-day — you  see  the  bushes  hide  it  com- 
pletely. But  there  is  another  and  a  larger  open- 
ing at  the  other  end — that's  the  one  we  stumbled 
into  in  the  first  place." 

The  two  men  listened  to  his  words  attentively, 
and  when  he  had  finished  set  about  little  explora- 
tions of  their  own. 

"You  say  there  is  another  opening  at  the  far- 
ther side?"  one  of  them  inquired,  pausing  in  the 
act  of  pushing  aside  the  bushes.  That  probably 
is  the  main  one." 

"I  think  so,"  Will  agreed,  "but  they  both 
lead  to  the  same  place." 

Satisfied  on  this  point,  the  two  continued  their 
investigations.  They  disappeared  within  the  cave 
and  the  young  folks  waited  impatiently  for  their 
reappearance. 

"Do  you  suppose  they  will  bring  the  bags  out 
here?"  asked  Mollie  eagerly.  "If  they  do,  then 
we  can  really  see  what  the  things  are  like." 

"I  hope  so,"  Amy  stated.  But  Betty  started  to 
speak  dreamily,  saying: 


214     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

"What  will  those  poor  old  gypsies  do  when 
they  come  back  and  find  the  place  cleared  out?" 

"They'll  probably  all  go  to  the  penitentiary," 
said  Frank  calmly.  "The  authorities  will  be  on 
the  lookout  for  them  and  they'll  get  caught  all 
right  when  they  do  come  back." 

"Oh!"  said  Grace,  horror  in  her  tone;  for  so 
far  that  side  of  the  question  had  not  occurred 
to  her.  "It's  terrible  to  think  of  sending  those 
poor  things  to  jail." 

"Well,  but  they  have  earned  it,"  Allen  argued. 
'They  must  have  been  getting  away  with  this 
thing  for  years." 

"It's  a  wonder  Aunt  Elvira  never  suspected 
anything,"  said  Mollie,  frankly  puzzled.  "Why, 
she  didn't  even  mention  the  gypsies." 

"Probably  thought  the  story  too  old  to  tell/' 
Roy  suggested.  "Wre  wouldn't  have  believed 
there  was  such  a  place  on  Pine  Island  ourselves  if 
we  hadn't  seen  it  with  our  own  eyes." 

"I  suppose  not,"  Mollie  admitted,  and  then  the 
sheriff  and  his  deputy  emerged  into  the  daylight 
once  more  and  each  brought  with  him  a  bag. 

"Now  we  will  find  out  how  far  their  rascality 
has  gone,"  one  of  the  men,  the  elder  of  the  two, 
asserted.  "Perhaps  you  don't  know  it,"  he 
added,  untying  the  fastenings  of  the  first  bag, 
"but  you  young  people  have  done  the  community 


LYING  IN  WAIT  21$ 

a  great  service.  People  all  over  are  complain- 
ing of  stolen  property,  and,  although  we  have 
suspected  the  gypsies  for  some  time,  so  far  we 
haven't  been  able  to  prove  anything.  However, 
this  discovery  of  yours  changes  things  consid- 
erably. Ah,  what  have  we  here?" 

The  sun  struck  full  upon  the  brilliant  mass, 
making  it  glow  and  sparkle  like  a  jewel.  There 
were  other  and  real  jewels,  too,  in  the  collection, 
which  they  were  soon  to  discover. 

"Oh,"  murmured  Mollie,  "if  I  could  only  find 
some  trace  of  mother's  silver  service  among  those 
things !" 

The  detective  looked  up  sharply.  "Have  you 
folks  lost  anything?"  he  asked. 

"Oh,  yes!"  Mollie  explained.  "Mother  lost 
her  silver  tea  service  that  has  been  in  the  family 
for  ever  so  many  years,  besides  an  expensive  jet 
necklace.  And,  besides  that,  Miss  Ford's  father 
had  his  pet  thoroughbred  horse  stolen." 

"And  one  of  the  big  stores  in  Deepdale  was 
looted,"  Betty  added.  "Oh,  there  was  tremen- 
dous excitement  there  for  a  time." 

"Hum,"  said  the  spokesman,  stroking  his 
beardless  chin  thoughtfully.  "It  looks  as  it  we 
might  be  able  to  trace  a  good  many  things."  And 
he  continued  to  explore  the  contents  of  the  bag 
to  the  very  bottom. 


2l6     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

The  other  one  was  treated  in  like  manner  but 
nothing  familiar  met  the  watching  eyes.  Of 
course,  all  were  disappointed,  but  Mr.  Mendall, 
for  such  was  the  sheriff's  name,  warned  the 
young  people  that  it  was  not  yet  time  to  give  up 
hope — there  were  plenty  more  bags  where  these 
had  come  from. 

"But  we  haven't  time  to  go  through  all  of 
them  now,"  he  stated.  "I  simply  wanted  to  as- 
sure myself  that  the  things  were  valuable.  Now 
that  I  am  satisfied  on  that  score,  the  best  thing 
to  do  is  to  get  the  loot  away  as  soon  as  possible 
and  then  set  somebody  to  watch  for  those  gyp- 
sies. I  never  saw  anything  like  them  when  it 
comes  to  nerve,"  he  added,  waxing  enthusiastic 
on  the  subject.  "Why,  I  believe  if  you  were 
crossing  a  chasm  with  only  a  board  between  you 
and  eternity,  and  they  happened  to  need  that 
board  for  kindling  wood  they  would  pull  it  out 
from  under  you  without  the  slightest  compunc- 
tion." 

The  girls  laughed,  but  they  could  not  help 
thinking  that  the  statement  was  somewhat  exag- 
gerated. 

"But  you  are  not  going  to  leave  the  cave  un- 
protected until  you  get  the  loot  away?"  Mollie 
cried.  "Suppose  they  should  come  back  in  the 
meantime  ?" 


LYING  IN  WAIT  2 

''Then  they  would  fall  into  a  very  prettily 
laid  trap,"  was  the  grim  answer.  "No,  my  dear 
young  lady,  we  are  not  going  to  leave  the  cave 
unguarded.  I'll  have  men  watching  day  and 
night  until  we  catch  them  red-handed.  It  is  sure 
to  come  sooner  or  later." 

The  girls  drew  a  relieved  sigh.  They  had  not 
liked  the  idea  of  being  alone  on  this  end  of  the 
island  when  the  gypsies  returned  to  find  the  cave 
empty. 

Mr.  Mendall  rose  to  his  feet,  gripping  a  bag 
in  each  hand,  but  together  they  were  all  that  he 
could  carry.  "Here,  Trent,  you  take  one  of 
these,"  he  ordered.  "I'll  take  the  other  and, 
armed  with  proof  like  this,  we  ought  to  be  able 
to  convince  even  those  skeptical  people  on  shore." 
Then  he  added,  turning  to  Will:  "If  you  will 
keep  watch  for  another  hour  we  will  be  back 
with  more  men  to  relieve  you." 

Will  readily  promised,  and  once  more  the 
young  folks  were  left  alone. 

"You  people  don't  have  to  stay  just  because 
I  do,"  said  Will,  meaning  to  be  generous.  "You 
can  go  home,  or  go  in  swimming,  or  anything 
else  to  amuse  yourselves  you  wish,  while  I  do  the 
sentry  act." 

"Go  home !"  Mollie  cried  indignantly.  "Why, 
how  can  you  think  of  such  a  thing,  Will,  when 


2l8     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

you  know  how  interested  we  all  are  ?  I,  for  one, 
can't  do  anything  but  wait." 

''Nor  I,"  said  Grace.  "They  may  be  able  to 
find  your  mother's  silver,  Mollie,  but  I'm  afraid 
our  poor  dear  Beauty  is  gone  forever." 

"Oh,  I  wouldn't  say  that,"  Betty  argued  cheer- 
fully. 'Just  because  they  didn't  sew  him  up  in 
a  bag  and  stick  him  in  a  gloomy  old  cave  is  no 
reason  why  we  can't  find  him.  We  may  come 
across  him  any  time." 

"Well,  maybe,"  sighed  Grace,  and  her  tone  was 
anything  but  optimistic. 

The  friendly  sheriff  had  set  an  hour  for  the 
time  of  his  absence,  but  long  before  the  hour 
had  sped  he  returned,  bringing  with  him  six  other 
men  and  a  small  hand-cart. 

"I  don't  see  how  you  managed  to  get  it  through 
the  woods,"  said  Allen,  referring  to  the  hand- 
cart. 

"Oh,  we  stuck  to  the  shore  most  of  the  time," 
said  Mr.  Mendall,  cheerily,  "and  the  rest  of  the 
way  there  are  pretty  broad  paths.  Now  for  the 
clearing  up,"  and  he  led  his  half  dozen  followers 
'after  him  into  the  cave. 

They  made  several  trips  until  the  crazy  cart 
was  heaped  high  with  veritable  treasure  bags. 

"Oh,  aren't  you  going  to  let  us  see  what  is  in 
them  now?"  Betty  entreated,  intense  disappoint- 


LYING  IN  WAIT 


ment  in  her  voice.  "We  are  so  anxious  to 
know." 

"Sorry,"  said  the  big  man  kindly,  "but  I'll  feel 
safer  when  this  loot  is  safely  locked  up  on 
shore.  We'll  let  you  know  exactly  what's  in 
them  as  soon  as  we  know  ourselves,"  he  prom- 
ised. 

"Nothing  could  be  fairer  than  that,"  said 
Allen  cheerfully.  "I  guess  since  we've  waited  so 
long,  we  can  afford  to  wait  a  little  longer." 

"It  won't  be  much  longer,"  Mr.  Mendall  re- 
sponded. "We  want  you  all  to  know  how  grate- 
ful we  are  for  this  assistance.  Without  it  we 
would  probably  have  been  a  long  time  getting 
to  the  bottom  of  things.  As  I  said  before,  you 
have  rendered  a  great  service  to  the  community." 

And  with  this  graceful  little  speech,  Mr.  Men- 
dall and  two  of  the  men  he  had  brought  with  him 
took  their  leave,  carrying  with  them  the  precious 
bags,  one  of  which  Mollie  so  hoped  would  con- 
tain some,  at  least,  if  not  the  whole,  of  her 
mother's  silver.  The  other  four  men  were  left 
behind  to  watch  for  the  return  of  the  gypsies. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  how  I  can  wait  till  to-mor- 
row," wailed  Mollie,  as  they  started  homeward. 
"I'm  simply  dying  to  know.  I  think  they  might 
have  opened  the  things  while  we  were  there. 
Horrid  old  things!  The  gypsies  probably 


220     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

wouldn't  be  back  for  another  two  weeks,  anyway, 
and  there  really  wasn't  any  danger." 

"But  to  think  we  had  the  luck  to  find  it!"  cried 
Betty,  her  eyes  still  glowing.  "And  after  we  had 
given  it  up,  too.  Goodness,  I'm  glad  you  had 
that  tumble,  Mollie." 

"Thank  you,"  sniffed  Mollie.  "Just  the  same," 
she  added  with  a  gleeful  little  laugh,  "Td  give  a 
great  deal  to  see  Aunt  Elvira's  face  when  she 
hears  the  story." 


CHAPTER    XXV 

GLORIOUS  NEWS 

"I  GUESS  they  will  never  come,"  said  Mollie, 
gazing  despairingly  out  over  the  water.  'They 
must  have  been  gone  at  least  an  hour." 

"Goodness,  Mollie! — an  hour,"  echoed  Betty, 
in  imitation  of  Mollie's  tragic  tones.  "Don't  you 
know  that  it  would  take  at  least  three  hours  for 
the  boys  to  go  over,  find  out  what  Mr.  Mendall 
has  to  say  to  them  and  get  back  here  ?  Remember 
they  have  to  wait  for  the  ferry,"  she  added 
significantly. 

"Well,  I  know,  but  if  it  is  going  to  take  that 
long,  we  won't  get  home  to-day,"  Mollie  grum- 
bled. "Besides,  I've  got  to  hear  the  news." 

It  was  early  in  the  morning  of  the  day  on 
which  the  Outdoor  Girls  and  the  boys  had  de- 
cided to  start  for  home.  For  days  they  had  ex- 
pected word  from  Mr.  Mendall.  The  boys  had 
haunted  the  town  hoping  to  hear  from  him — but 
no  word  had  come.  Then  suddenly  Will  had 
burst  in  upon  the  others  with  the  great  news  that 

221 


222     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

he  had  almost  run  into  Mr.  Mendall  turning  a 
corner,  and  that  genial  man  had  expressed  great 
pleasure  at  sight  of  him. 

"Why,  he  said-  Will  had  reported  excit- 

edly, "he  said  that  if  he  hadn't  met  me,  he  fully 
intended  coming  over  to  camp — that  he  had 
something  to  tell  me  that  might  be  of  great  in- 
terest. And  he  wants  us  fellows  to  come  over 
first  thing  in  the  morning,"  he  had  finished  exult- 
antly. 

So  it  was  that  the  girls  were  waiting  impa- 
tiently for  confirmation  of  their  hopes. 

"We  don't  really  hav£  to  go  home  to-day," 
Amy  was  saying  doubtfully.  "I  don't  see  why 
we  couldn't  have  waited  until  to-morrow." 

"It  does  seem  a  shame  to  leave  this  wonder- 
ful place,"  sighed  Grace  looking  about  her.  "It 
seems  to  me  it  is  more  beautiful  now  than  it 
ever  was.  September  is  the  best  time  in  the 
year,  anyway." 

"Why  can't  we  stay  over  anyway — to-morrow 
is  Saturday.  I  think  we  might  as  Well  finish  out 
the  week,"  cried  Grace,  seized  with  a  bright  idea. 
"Maybe  Mrs.  Irving  will  consent,  since  it  is 
bound  to  be  late  when  we  do  get  home."  She 
popped  a  chocolate  in  her  mouth  as  she  finished. 

Betty  regarded  her  chum  pityingly. 

"That  is  clever,"  she  said.     "Especially  since 


GLORIOUS  NEWS  223 

the  boys  have  taken  down  their  tents,  and  we 
have  everything  packed  up." 

Grace  looked  rather  crestfallen. 

"Well,  I  suppose  we  couldn't,"  she  admitted. 
"Just  the  same  I  would  be  glad  of  any  excuse  that 
would  keep  us  on  the  island  a  few  days  longer. 
Oh,  dear "  and  she  gazed  about  her  long- 
ingly. 

"Haven't  we  had  a  good  time?"  asked  Betty, 
as  she  settled  herself  on  the  steps.  "This  last 
week  has  been  great,  too — even  though  we  were 
so  anxious  to  hear  about  Mollie's  silver." 

"Oh,  and  do  you  know  what  Anita  said  the 
other  day?"  Amy  broke  in  suddenly.  "She  said 
she  had  some  distant  relatives  in  Deepdale,  and 
that  if  she  could  fish  around  and  get  an  invitation, 
she  might  see  us  there." 

"Oh,  wouldn't  that  be  great !"  said  Mollie,  with 
genuine  enthusiasm. 

"Yes,  she's  a  fine  girl,"  Betty  echoed.  "I  only 
wish  she  lived  in  Deepdale,  so  we  might  invite 
"her  to  join  our  happy  little  party." 

"Yes,  and  the  boys  like  her  brother,  too,"  said 
Grace.  "Will  says  he  is  a  fine  fellow;  and  Will 
never  says  a  thing  like  that  unless  he  means  it." 

"Do  my  eyes  deceive  me?"  cried  Betty,  spring- 
ing up  and  pointing  toward  the  mainland,  "or  is 
that  the  good  old  Pine  Island  dreadnaught  steam- 


224     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

ing  majestically  from  the  harbor?    Tell  me  some 
one — am  I  right?" 

'You  are!"  cried  Grace,  dramatically.     "That 
noble  ship  could  be  no  other." 

"Oh,  do  stop  your  nonsense,"  cried  Mollie 
impatiently.  "Are  you  sure  that's  the  ferry?" 

"Since  it  is  the  only  apology  for  a  boat  that 
ever  comes  this  way,"  Grace  remarked  lazily, 
:'I  guess  it  must  be." 

"Oh,  Grace,  don't  tease,"  warned  the  Little 
Captain,  in  an  aside.  "Can't  you  see  how  worked 
up  Mollie  is?  No  wonder  she  is  excited — the 
news  may  mean  a  lot  to  her." 

Grace  glanced  at  her  chum  and  saw  that  Betty 
had  spoken  the  truth.  Mollie's  hands  were 
clenched  tight  to  her  side,  crimson  flamed  in  her 
face,  and  her  foot  tapped  nervously  on  the 
ground. 

"Oh,  they'll  never  get  here,"  she  was  saying 
over  and  over  again.  "Can't  the  old  ferryboat 
get  up  any  steam  at  all?" 

"Perhaps  we  might  help  tow  it  in?"  Betty  sug- 
gested, striving  to  break  the  tension.  "I  think 
we  could  paddle  lots  faster  in  the  canoes." 

"Goodness,  I  would  almost  like  to  try  it!" 
Mollie  exclaimed.  "I  think  they  might  get  some- 
thing modern  on  the  lake — something  real  mod- 
ern— around  the  eighteenth  century." 


GLORIOUS  NEWS  22$ 

"Oh,  isn't  she  sarcastic,"  said  Amy,  putting  an 
arm  about  her  friend  and  patting  her  hand  gen- 
tly. "Never  mind,  Mollie,  all  things  come  in  time." 

Of  course  she  was  right,  even  Mollie  had  to 
admit  it. 

At  the  end  of  one  of  the  longest  half  hours 
the  girls  had  ever  spent,  the  rickety  little  ferry- 
boat scraped  against  the  dock,  and  they  ran  down 
to  meet  the  boys.  The  latter  almost  fell  out  of 
the  boat,  careless  of  what  any  one  might  think. 
At  the  first  sight  of  them  the  girls  were  convinced 
their  news  was  of  the  best. 

"Oh,  oh,  hurry!"  cried  Mollie.  "I  thought 
you  would  never  get  here.  Oh,  you  have  some- 
thing wonderful  to  tell  us — I  know  it !" 

"You  bet  we  have!"  cried  Allen,  "We  have 
the  very  finest  news  you  ever  heard." 

"Oh,  what  is  it?"  the  girls  cried  in  unison, 
and  Mollie  added  pleadingly:  "Don't  keep  us 
waiting  any  longer,  boys,  please." 

"All  right,"  Will  agreed;  for  he  was  as  anx- 
ious to  tell  as  the  girls  were  to  hear.  "Come  to 
the  house  and  we  will  tell  you  the  whole  story." 

"But  did  you  get  them?"  Mollie  demanded. 
"I  don't  see  why  you  have  to  wait  till  you  get  to 
the  house  to  tell  me  that." 

'You  can  see  by  their  faces  they  have,  Mollie," 
Betty  assured  her.  "You  had  better  i2ot  inter- 


226     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

fere — they  will   tell   the   story   their   own   way. 
whatever  you  say." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  house  and 
called  to  Mrs.  Irving  to  come  and  hear  the  news. 

She  joined  them  in  a  moment,  and  Will  began. 

'Well,  you  see,"  he  said,  "in  the  first  place, 

Mr.  Mendall  didn't  want  to  raise  our  hopes  until 

he  found  out  definitely  whether  anything  there 

belonged  to  us." 

'Yes,"  broke  in  Mollie  quickly. 

"Don't  interrupt,"  Will  warned  her.  "You 
might  sidetrack  me  or  something." 

"Oh,  Will,  don't  be  a  goose!"  cried  his  sister. 
"Go  on." 

"I'm  not  a  goose,"  he  declared  with  dignity, 
"and  I  expect  to  go  on  if  I  am  given  half  a 
chance." 

He  paused  for  a  reply,  but  as  none  was  forth- 
coming and  as  only  threatening  looks  met  him  on 
every  side,  he  continued  hurriedly. 

"Well,  as  I  was  saying,"  he  went  on,  "Mr. 
Mendall  did  finally  succeed  in  getting  the  infor- 
mation he  wanted.  Then  yesterday  afternoon  I 
happened  to  meet  him " 

"Yes,  we  know  all^  about  that,"  said  Betty, 
dancing  with  mingled  excitement  and  exaspera- 
tion. "Please  get  to  the  point." 

"Since   you   insist,"    Will   answered   gravely. 


GLORIOUS  NEWS  22J 

'1The  fact  is,  Mollie,  that  all  your  mother's  silver 
is  there — even  down  to  the  little  sugar  bowl." 

"Oh!"  gasped  Mollie,  and  for  a  moment  she 
could  say  no  more. 

Then  the  flood  gates  of  speech  opened,  and  her 
questions  poured  forth. 

"Oh,  Will!  isn't  that  wonderful?"  she  cried. 
"I  didn't  dare  really  to  believe  till  this  very 
moment.  Are  you  sure  everything  is  there — not 
a  thing  missing?  The  creamer  and  teapot?  And 
oh,  Will!"  she  grasped  his  arm  beseechingly, 
"did  you  find  the  necklace?" 

Will  looked  evasive. 

"Why,  you  see "  he  was  beginning,  when 

Frank  interrupted  him. 

"The  necklace  is  probably  gracing  the  swarthy 
neck  of  some  fair  gypsy  damsel,"  remarked  the 
latter,  rather  flippantly.  "Here  we  offer  you 
a  whole  silver  service,  and  you're  not  satis- 
fied." 

Mollie  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of  her 
two  tormentors  in  pathetic  bewilderment. 

"Please,  please!"  she  begged.  "Mother'll  be 
wild  when  she  hears  about  the  silver.  But  oh,  I 
do  want  that  jet  necklace  almost  more  than  any- 
thing in  the  world!  Don't  tease  me  any  more, 
please." 

At  this  appeal,  Will's  heart  softened,  and,  with 


228     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

a  quick  movement,  he  drew  his  hand  from  be- 
hind him,  disclosing  to  four  pairs  of  incredulous 
eyes  the  precious  jet  necklace. 

:'Here  it  is,"  he  announced  triumphantly. 

Mollie  grasped  the  heirloom  with  a  little  cry 
of  joy.  Then  she  threw  her  arms  about  Betty's 
neck,  and  began  to  laugh  hysterically. 

"Don't  mind  me,"  she  gasped,  as  the  boys 
looked  on  mystified.  "I — I  can't  help  it!  I'm 
just  so — so  happy!" 

Betty  patted  her  chum's  shoulder,  soothingly, 

"Now,  see  what  you've  gone  and  done,"  she 
accused  poor  Will. 

"I — I  didn't  know "  he  was  beginning,  but 

he  seemed  destined  not  to  finish  his  sentences  that 
day. 

Mollie,  a  creature  of  moods,  withdrew  herself 
from  Betty's  arms  and  favored  the  promising 
young  detective  with  an  ecstatic  little  hug  that 
amazed  and  delighted  that  young  gentleman 
immensely. 

"I  say,  Mollie,  do  it  again,"  he  pleaded,  while 
the  other  three  boys  hastened  to  demand  their 
share  of  the  reward. 

But  Mollie  had  caught  Grace  about  the  waist 
and  they  were  engaged  in  what  might  be  called 
a  cross  between  a  Virginia  reel  and  an  Indian 
war  dance. 


GLORIOUS  NEWS  229 

When  they  were  forced  to  stop  from  sheer 
lack  of  breath,  the  volcanic  Mollie  flung  herself 
upon  the  steps,  and  beamed  upon  them. 

"And  that's  not  all,"  Will  said,  and  glanced 
instinctively  toward  his  sister. 

Grace  started,  and  leaned  forward  beseech- 
ingly. 

"Will  ?"  she  breathed. 

'Yes,"  he  continued,  answering  her  unspoken 
question,  "we  found  Beauty." 

The  girl's  eyes  opened  wide  at  this  new  dis- 
closure, and  Grace  grasped  her  brother's  arm 
imploringly. 

"Oh,  Will,  where?" 

"He  was  found  by  one  of  the  farmers  near  the 
town.  Looked  as  though  he'd  broken  away  from 
whoever'd  had  him.  The  farmer  saw  he  was  a 
thoroughbred,  and  guessed  at  once  that  he  had 
been  stolen.  Luckily  for  us  he  was  an  honest 


man." 


"Darling  old  Beauty,"  murmured  Grace,  tear- 
fully. "Oh,  wait  till  dad  hears !" 

"I  guess  he'll  get  a  welcome,  all  right,"  Will 
agreed  gleefully.  "Poor  old  Beauty !  I  saw  him 
myself  this  morning." 

"Mr.  Mendall  says,"  Allen  volunteered,  "there 
are  traces  of  a  good  many  other  things  from 
Deepdale.  We'll  probably  have  a 


230     THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND 

home  coming.    And  they  have  captured  the  gyp- 
sies and  put  them  in  jail." 

"Oh,  oh,  and  to  think  we  did  it!"  sighed  Amy, 
contentedly. 

So  joyful  were  they  at  the  outcome  of  their; 
detective  work,  that  the  long  journey  to  Deepdale 
was  almost  forgotten.  It  was  Mrs.  Irving  who 
brought  them  to  their  senses. 

"I'm  afraid,"  she  said,  "that  if  we  don't  start 
pretty  soon,  Deepdale  won't  see  us  until  to-mor- 
row morning,  and  that  will  never  do.  Come, 
girls,  get  ready." 

"Qh,  I  don't  want  to  go  home,"  wailed  Amy{ 
as  they  rose  to  follow  instructions. 

"But  just  think  what  wre  will  have  to  tell  them 
when  we  get  there !"  said  Betty,  and  the  thought 
lent  wings  to  their  feet. 

Once  more  the  Outdoor  Girls  and  their  com- 
rades assembled  on  the  wharf,  waiting  for  the 
ridiculous  little  ferryboat  that  had  been  the  butt 
of  their  jokes  during  the  summer.  Now  that 
they  were  going  away,  however,  the  sound  of  the 
shrill  little  whistle,  as  it  panted  up  to  them, 
seemed  somehow  strangely  typical  of  their  life 
on  the  island,  and  they  felt  an  unexpected  throb 
of  home-sickness. 

"We'll  have  to  come  back  to  it  some  time," 
Betty  said.  "I  love  the  place." 


GLORIOUS  NEWS  231 

"I  wonder  if  there  are  any  more  mysteries 
floating  around  loose,"  said  Roy,  pausing  for  one 
last  backward  glance  over  his  shoulder.  "If 
there  are,  I'm  going  back." 

But  Allen  seized  him  and  drew  him  aboard. 

"Come  on,"  he  cried,  "we're  off!" 

The  four  girls  linked  arms,  as  they  gazed  back 
at  the  familiar  bungalow. 

Suddenly  Mollie  chuckled  irrepressibly. 

"Oh,  girls,"  she  murmured  softly,  "I  must  be 
on  the  spot  when  Aunt  Elvira  hears  the  news." 

The  little  ferryboat  steamed  away  from  the 
dock,  carrying  with  it  our  happy  Outdoor  Girls, 
to  whom  we  must  once  more  wave  a  reluctant 
farewell. 


THE  END 


F 


Would  you  like  to  know  what 
became  of  the  good  friends  you 
have  made  in  this  book? 
Would  you  like  to  read  other 
stories  continuing  their  adventures 
and  experiences,  or  other  books 
quite  as  entertaining  by  the  same 
author? 

On  the  reverse  side  of  the  wrap- 
per which  comes  with  this  book, 
you  will  find  a  wonderful  list  of 
stories  which  you  can  buy  at  the 
same  store  where  you  got  this  book. 

Don't  throw  away  the  Wrapper 

Use  it  as  a  handy  catalog  of  the  books 
you  -want  some  day  to  have.  But  in 
case  you  do  -mislay  it,  write  to  the 
Publishers  for  a  complete  catalog. 


THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 
Author  of  the  "Bobbsey  Twins,"  "Bunny  Brown"  Series,  Etc. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.      Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

These  are  the  tales  of  the  various  adventures  participated  in  by  a 
group  of  bright,  fun-loving,  up-to-date  girls  who  have  a  common 
bond  in  their  fondness  for  outdoor  life,  camping,  travel  and  adven- 
ture. They  are  clean  and  wholesome  and  free  from  sensationalism. 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  OF  DEEPDALE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  RAINBOW  LAKE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  A  MOTOR  CAR 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  A  WINTER  CAMP 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  FLORIDA 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  OCEAN  VIEW 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  ARMY  SERVICE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  PINE  ISLAND1 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  THE  HOSTESS  HOUSE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  BLUFF  POINT 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  WILD  ROSE  LODGE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  IN  THE  SADDLE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AROUND  THE  CAMPFIRE 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  CAPE  COD 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  FOAMING  FALLS 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ALONG  THE  COAST 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  SPRING  HILL  FARM 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  AT  NEW  MOON  RANCH 

THE  OUTDOOR  GIRLS  ON  A  HIKE 

» 

GRCSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  BOOKS 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Text  Illustrations  by 

THELMA  GOOCH 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself 

The  Blythe  girls,  three  in  number,  were  left  alone  in  New  York 
City.  Helen,  who  went  in  for  art  and  music,  kept  the  little  flat 
uptown,  while  Margy,  just  out  of  a  business  school,  obtained  a 
position  as  a  private  secretary  and  Rose,  plain-spoken  and  busi- 
nesslike, took  what  she  called  a  "job  "  in  a  department  store, 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  HELEN,  MARGY  AND  ROSE 

A  fascinating  tale  of  real  happenings  in  the  great  metropolis 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  MARGY'S  QUEER  INHERITANCE 

The  Girls  had  a  peculiar  old  aunt  and  when  she  died  she  left  an  unusual 
inheritance, 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  ROSE'S  GREAT  PROBLEM 

Rose,  still  at  work  in  the  big  department  store,  is  one  day  faced  with  the 
greatest  problem  of  her  life. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  HELEN'S  STRANGE  BOARDER 

Helen  goes  to  the  assistance  of  a  strange  girl,  whose  real  identity  is  a 
puzzle.    Who  the  girl  really  was  comes  as  a  tremendous  surprise 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  THREE  ON  A  VACATION 

The  girls  go  to  the  country  for  two  weeks — and  fall  in  with  all  sorts  of 
curious  and  exciting  happenings. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  MARGY'S  SECRET  MISSION 

Of  course  we  cannot  divulge  the  big  secret,  but  nevertheless  the  girls  as 
usual  have  many  exciting  experiences. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  ROSE'S  ODD  DISCOVERY 

A  very  interesting  story,  telling  how  Rose   aided  an  old  man  in  the 
almost  hopeless  search  for  his  daughter. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  THE  DISAPPEARANCE  OF  HELEN 

Helen  calls  on  the  art  dealer  on  business  and  finds  the  old  fellow  has 
made  a  wonderful  discovery. 

THE  BLYTHE  GIRLS  :  SNOWBOUND  IN  CAMP 

An  absorbing  tale  of  winter  happenings,  full  of  excitement. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


AMY  BELL  MARLOWE'S  BOOKS 
FOR  GIRLS 

Charming,  Fresh  and  Original  Stories 
Illustrated.   Wrappers  Printed  in  Colors  with  individual  design  for  each  story 

Miss  Marlowe's  books  for  girls  are  somewhat  of  the 
type  of  Miss  Alcott  and  also  Mrs.  Meade ;  but  all  are 
thoroughly  up-to-date  and  wholly  American  in  scene 
and  action.  Good,  clean  absorbing  tales  that  all  girls 
thoroughly  enjoy. 

THE  OLDEST  OF  FOUR  ;  Or,  Natalie's  Way  Out. 

A  sweet  story  of  the  struggles  of  a  live  girl  to  keep  a  family  from  want. 

THE  GIRLS  AT  HILLCREST  FARM  ;  Or,  The  Secret  of  the  Rocks. 

Relating  the  trials  of  two  girls  who  take  boarders  on  an  old  farm. 

A  LITTLE  MISS  NOBODY  ;  Or,  With  the  Girls  of  Pinewood  Hall. 

Tells  of  a  school  girl  who  was  literally  a  nobody  until  she  solved  the 
mystery  of  her  identity. 

THE  GIRL  FROM  SUNSET  RANCH  ;  Or,  Alone  in  a  Great  City. 

A  ranch  girl  comes  to  New  York  to  meet  relatives  she  has  never  seen, 
Her  adventures  make  unusually  good  reading. 

WYN'S  CAMPING  DAYS  ;  Or,  The  Outing  of  the  GO-AHEAD  CLUB. 

A  tale  of  happy  days  on  the  water  and  under  canvas,  with  a  touch  of 
mystery  and  considerable  excitement. 

FRANCES  OF  THE  RANGES  ;  Or,  The  Old  Ranchman's  Treasure. 

A  vivid  picture  of  life  on  the  great  cattle  ranges  of  the  West. 

THE  GIRLS  OF  RIVERCLIFF  SCHOOL ;  Or,  Beth  Baldwin's  Resolve. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  entertaining  stories  centering  about  a  girl's 
school  that  has  ever  been  written. 

WHEN  ORIOLE  CAME  TO  HARBOR  LIGHT. 

The  story  of  a  young  girl,  cast  up  by  the  sea,  and  rescued  by  an  old 
lighthouse  keeper. 

WHEN  ORIOLE  TRAVELED  WESTWARD. 

Oriole  visits  the  family  of  a  rich  ranchman  and  enjoys  herself  immensely. 

WHEN  ORIOLE  WENT  TO  BOARDING  SCHOOL 

How  this  brave  girl  bears  up  under  the  most  trying  experiences,  makes 
a  very  interesting  story. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE    FLYAWAYS    STORIES 

By  ALICE  DALE  HARDY 
Author  of  The  Riddle  Club  Books 

Individual  Colored  Jackets  and  Colored  Illustrations  by 
WALTER  S.  ROGERS 

A  splendid  new  line  of  interesting  tales  for  the  little 
ones,  introducing  many  of  the  well  known  characters  of 
fairyland  in  a  series  of  novel  adventures.  The  Flyaways 
are  a  happy  family  and  every  little  girl  and  boy  will  want 
to  know  all  about  them. 

THE  FLYAWAYS  AND  CINDERELLA 

How  the  Flyaways  went  to  visit  Cinderella  only  to  find  that  Cinderella's 
Prince  had  been  carried  off  by  the  Three  Robbers,  Rumbo,  Hibo  and  Jobo. 
"  I'll  rescue  him  !  "  cried  Pa  Flyaway  and  then  set  out  for  the  stronghold  of 
the  robbers.  A  splendid  continuation  of  the  original  story  of  Cinderella. 

THE  FLYAWAYS  AND  LITTLE  RED  RIDING 

HOOD 

On  their  way  to  visit  Little  Red  Riding  Hood  the  Flyaways  fell  in  with 
Tommy  Tucker  and  The  Old  Woman  Who  Lived  in  a  Shoe.  They  told 
Tommy  about  the  Magic  Button  on  Red  Riding  Hood's  cloak.  How  the 
wicked  Wolf  stole  the  Magic  Button  and  how  the  wolves  plotted  to  eat  up 
Little  Red  Riding  Hood  and  all  her  family,  and  how  the  Flyaways  and 
King  Cole  sent  the  wolves  flying,  makes  a  story  no  children  will  want  to  miss. 

THE  FLYAWAYS  AND  GOLDILOCKS 

The  Flyaways  wanted  to  see  not  only  Goldilocks  but  also  the  Three 
Bears  and  they  took  a  remarkable  journey  through  the  air  to  do  so.  Tommy 
even  rode  on  a  Rocket  and  met  the  monstrous  Blue  Frog.  When  they 
arrived  at  Goldilock's  house  they  found  that  the  Three  Bears  had  been  there 
before  them  and  mussed  everything  up,  much  to  Goldilock's  despair.  '  We 
must  drive  those  bears  out  of  the  country !  "  said  Pa  Flyaway,  Then  they 
journeyed  underground  to  the  Yellow  Palace,  and  oh !  so  many  things  hap- 
pened after  that ! 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


THE  POLLY  BREWSTER  SERIES 

By  LILLIAN  ELIZABETH  ROY 

Durably  Bound.     Illustrated.    Colored  Wrapper*. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

A  delightful  series  for  girls  in  which  they  will  fol- 
low Polly  and  Eleanor  through  many  interesting 
adventures  and  enjoyable  trips  to  various  places  in 
the  United  States,  Europe  and  South  America. 

POLLY  OF  PEBBLY  PIT 
POLLY  AND  ELEANOR 
POLLY  IN  NEW  YORK 
POLLY  AND  HER  FRIENDS  ABROAD 
POLLY'S  BUSINESS  VENTURE 
POLLY'S  SOUTHERN  CRUISE 
POLLY  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 
POLLY  IN  THE  SOUTHWEST 
POLLY  IN  ALASKA 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,   NEW  YORK 


GIRL   SCOUTS   SERIES 

By  LILLIAN  ELIZABETH  ROY 

Author  of  the    *  Polly  Brewster  Books" 


Handsomely  Bound.     Colored  Wrappers.     Illustrated 
Each  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Here  is  a  series  that  holds  the  same  position  for  girls  that 
the  Tom  Slade  and  Roy  Blakeley  books  hold  for  boys. 
They  are  delightful  stories  of  Girl  Scout  camp  life  amid  beau- 
tiful surroundings  and  are  filled  with  stirring  adventures. 

GIRL  SCOUTS  AT  DANDELION  CAMP 

This  is  a  story  which  centers  around  the  making  and 
the  enjoying  of  a  mountain  camp,  spiced  with  the  fun  of  a 
lively  troop  of  Girl  Scouts.  The  charm  of  living  in  the 
woods,  of  learning  woodcraft  of  all  sorts,  of  adventuring 
into  the  unknown,  combine  to  make  a  busy  and  an  exciting 
summer  for  the  girls. 

GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  THE  ADIRONDACK^ 

New  scenery,  new  problems  of  camping,  association  with 
a  neighboring  camp  of  Boy  Scouts,  and  a  long  canoe  trip 
with  them  through  the  Fulton  Chain,  all  in  the  setting  of 
the  marvelous  Adirondacks,  bring  to  the  girls  enlargement 
of  horizon,  new  development,  and  new  joys. 

GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  THE  ROCKIES 

On  horseback  from  Denver  through  Estes  Park  as  far  as 
the  Continental  Divide,  climbing  peaks,  riding  wild  trails, 
canoeing  through  canyons,  shooting  rapids,  encountering  a 
landslide,  a  summer  blizzard,  a  sand  storm,  wild  animals, 
and  forest  fires,  the  girls  pack  the  days  full  with  unforget- 
able  experiences. 

GIRL  SCOUTS  IN  ARIZONA  AND  NEW 

MEXICO 

The  Girl  Scouts  visit  the  mountains  and  deserts  of  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico.  They  travel  over  the  old  Sante  Fe 
trail,  cross  the  Painted  Desert,  and  visit  the  Grand  Canyon. 
Their  exciting  adventures  form  a  most  interesting  story. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,   NEW  YORK 


CAROLYN    WELLS    BOOKS 

Attractively  Bound.     Illustrated.     Colored  Wrappers. 

'  THE  MARJORIE  BOOKS 

Marjorie  is  a  happy  little  girl  of  twelve,  up  to 
mischief,  but  full  of  goodness  and  sincerity.  In  her 
and  her  friends  every  girl  reader  will  see  much  of 
her  own  love  of  fun,  play  and  adventure. 

MARJORIE'S  VACATION 
MARJORIE'S  BUSY  DAYS 
MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 
MARJORIE  IN  COMMAND 
MARJORIE'S  MAYTIME 
MARJORIE  AT  SEACOTE 

THE  TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN  SERIES 

Introducing  Dorinda  Fayre — a  pretty  blonde, 
sweet,  serious,  timid  and  a  little  slow,  and  Dorothy 
Rose — a  sparkling  brunette,  quick,  elf^like,  high 
tempered,  full  of  mischief  and  always  getting  into 
scrapes. 

TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN 

TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN  AND  TREASURE 

HOUSE 
TWO  LITTLE  WOMEN  ON  A  HOLIDAY 

THE  DICK  AND  DOLLY  BOOKS 

Dick  and  Dolly  are  brother  and  sister,  and  their 
games,  their  pranks,  their  joys  and  sorrows,  are  told 
in  a  manner  which  makes  the  stories  ''really  true'7 
to  young  readers. 

DICK  AND  DOLLY 

DICK  AND  DOLLY'S  ADVENTURES 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,     PUBLISHERS,     NEW  YORK 


THE    BOBBSEY  TWINS  BOOKS 

For  Little  Men  and  Women 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 
Author  of   'The  Bunny  Brown  Series,"  Etc. 

Durably  Bound.    Illustrated.      Uniform  Style  of  Binding. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

These  books  for  boys  and  girls  between  the  ages  of  three  and 
ten  stand  among  children  and  their  parents  of  this  generation 
Where  the  books  of  Louisa  May  Alcott  stood  in  former  days.  The 
haps  and  mishaps  of  this  inimitable  pair  of  twins,  their  many  ad- 
ventures and  experiences  are  a  source  of  keen  delight  to  imagina- 
tive children. 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  THE  COUNTRY 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  THE  SEASHORE 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  SCHOOL 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  SNOW  LODGE 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  A  HOUSEBOAT 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  MEADOW  BROOK 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  HOME 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  A  GREAT  CITY 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  BLUEBERRY  ISLAND 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  THE  DEEP  BLUE  SEA 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  CEDAR  CAMP 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  THE  COUNTY  FAIR 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  CAMPING  OUT 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AND  BABY  MAY 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  KEEPING  HOUSE 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  CLOVERBANK 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  CHERRY  CORNERS 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AND  THEIR  SCHOOL- 
MATES 
THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  TREASURE  HUNTING 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


THE    BUNNY    BROWN    SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 
Author   of  the    Popular     'Bobbsey  Twins'     Books,  Etc. 

Durably  Bound.     Illustrated.      Uniform  Style  of  Binding. 
Each  Volume  Complete  in   Itself. 

These  stones  are  eagerly  welcomed  by  the  little  folks  from  about 
five  to  ten  years  of  age.  Their  eyes  fairly  dance  with  delight  at  the 
lively  doings  of  inquisitive  little  Bunny  Brown  and  his  cunning, 
trustful  sister  Sue. 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  GRANDPA'S 
FARM 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  PLAYING  CIRCUS 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  CAMP-REST-A- 
WHILE 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  AUNT  LU'S 
CITY  HOME 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  IN  THE  BIG  WOODS 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  AN  AUT  3  TOUR 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AND  THEIR  SHET- 
LAND PONY 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  GIVING  A  SHOW 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  CHRISTMAS 
TREE  COVE 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  IN  THE  SUNNY 
SOUTH 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  KEEPING  STORE 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AND  THEIR  TRICK 
DOG 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  A  SUGAR  CAMP 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  THE  ROLLING 
OCEAN 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  JACK  FROST 
ISLAND 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  SHORE  ACRES 
BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  BERRY  HILL 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,   NEW  YORK 


SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS   SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Author  of  The  Bobbsey  Twins  Books,  The  Bunny 
Brown  Series,  The  Blythe  Girls  Books,  Etc. 

Durably     Bound.        Illustrated.      Uniform    Style    of   Binding. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself, 

Delightful  stories  for  little  boys  and  girls  which  sprung  into 
immediate  popularity.  To  know  the  six  little  Bunkers  is  to  take 
them  at  once  to  your  heart,  they  are  so  intensely  human,  so  full  of 
fun  and  cute  sayings.  Each  story  has  a  little  plot  of  its  own — one 
that  can  be  easily  followed — and  all  are  written  in  Miss  Hope's 
most  entertaining  manner.  Clean,  wholesome  volumes  which  ought 
to  be  on  the  bookshelf  of  every  child  in  the  land. 

SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  GRANDMA  BELL'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  AUNT  JO'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  COUSIN  TOM'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  GRANDPA  FORD'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  UNCLE  FRED'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  CAPTAIN  BEN'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  COWBOY  JACK'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  MAMMY  JUNE'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  FARMER  JOEL'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  MILLER  NED'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  ^NDIAN  JOHN'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  HAPPY  JIM'S 
SIX  LITTLE  BUNKERS  AT  SKIPPER  BOB'S 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 

t.  "••" — - — — ^— — — — 


THE  HONEY  BUNCH  BOOKS 

By  HELEN  LOUISE  THORNDYKE 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Text  Illustrations  Drawn  by 
WALTER  S.  ROGERS 

Honey  Bunch  is  a  dainty,  thoughtful  little 
girl,  and  to  know  her  is  to  take  her  to  your 
heart  at  once. 

Little  girls  everywhere  will  want  to  dis- 
cover what  interesting  experiences  she  is 
having  wherever  she  goes. 

HONEY  BUNCH:  JUST  A  LITTLE  GIRL 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  VISIT  TO 
THE  CITY 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  DAYS  ON 
THE  FARM 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  VISIT  TO 
THE  SEASHOR17 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  LITTLE 
GARDEN 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  DAYS 
IN  CAMP 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  AUTO  TOUR 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  TRIP  ON 
THE  OCEAN 

HONEY  BUNCH :  HER  FIRST  TRIP  WEST 

HONEY  BUNCH:  HER  FIRST  SUMMER 
ON  AN  ISLAND 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,  Publishers,  NEW  YORK 


Jerry  Todd  and   Poppy  Ott  Series 

By  LEO  EDWARDS 

Durably  Bound.      Illustrated.     Individual  Colored   Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  boys  who  laughed  until  their  sides 
ached  over  the  weird  and  wonderful  adventures  of  Jerry  Todd  and 
his  gang  demanded  that  Leo  Edwards,  the  author,  give  them  more 
books  like  the  Jerry  Todd  stories  with  their  belt-bursting  laughs 
and  creepy  shivers.  So  he  took  Poppy  Ott,  Jerry  Todd's  bosom 
chum  and  created  the  Poppy  Ott  Series,  and  if  such  a  thing  could 
be  possible — they  are  even  more  full  of  fun  and  excitement  than 
the  Jerry  Todds. 

THE  POPPY  OTT  SERIES 

POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  STUTTERING  PARROT 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  SEVEN  LEAGUE  STILTS 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  GALLOPING  SNAIL 
POPPY  OTT'S  PEDIGREED  PICKLES 
POPPY  OTT'S  FRECKLED  GOLDFISH 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  TITTERING  TOTEM 

THE  JERRY  TODD  BOOKS 

JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  WHISPERING  MUMMY 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  ROSE-COLORED  CAT 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  OAK  ISLAND  TREASURE 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  WALTZING  HEN 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  TALKING  FROG 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  PURRING  EGG 
JERRY  TODD  IN  THE  WHISPERING  CAVE 
JERRY  TODD  IN  THE  PIRATE 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  BOB-TAILED  ELEPHANT 

ANDY  BLAKE  SERIES 

ANDY  BLAKE 

ANDY  BLAKE'S  COMET  COASTER 

ANDY  BLAKE'S  SECRET  SERVICE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


HAPPY  HOME  SERIES 

By  HOWARD  R.  GARIS 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Colored  Illustrations  by 
.'     LANG  CAMPBELL 

Mr.  Garis  has  written  many  stories  for  boys  and 
girls,  among  them  his  Uncle  Wiggly  volumes,  but 
these  books  are  something  distinctly  new,  surprising 
and  entertaining. 

ADVENTURES  OF  THE  GALLOPING  GAS  STOVE 

A  tale  of  how  Gassy  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  how  he 
came  riding  home  on  the  back  of  an  elephant.  It  is  also  related 
how  he  broke  his  leg,  and  fed  a  hungry  family  in  a  cottage  near 
a  lake. 

ADVENTURES  of  the  RUNAWAY  ROCKING  CHAIR 

Racky  creaked  and  groaned  when  fat  Grandma  sat  on  him  too 
hard.  He  felt  himself  ill-treated,  so  he  vanished.  He  did  not  in« 
tend  to  take  Grandma's  glasses  with  him,  but  he  did*  And  he 
rocked  a  bunny  to  sleep. 

ADVENTURES  OF  THE  TRAVELING  TABLE 

Tippy,  the  table,  always  wanted  to  travel  and  see  the  world, 
but  he  did  not  know  how  to  start.  Until,  all  of  a  sudden,  a  dia- 
mond ring  was  hidden  in  his  leg  and  a  balloon  carried  him  off 
through  the  air. 

ADVENTURES  OF  THE  SLIDING  FOOT  STOOL 

Just  because  he  did  not  want  to  be  used  as  a  milking  stool  by 
the  Maiden  All  Forlorn,  Skiddy  slid  away  Christmas  eve,  With 
him  went  Jack  the  Jumper,  and  they  had  a  wonderful  time  in  the 
top  shop. 

ADVENTURES  OF  THE  SAILING  SOFA 

Sklppy  always  wanted  to  be  a  sailor.  When  the  high  water 
came  in  the  spring,  the  sofa  went  sailing.  He  had  a  Rooster  for 
a  crew,  while  Tatter,  the  r^g  doll  with  one  shoe  button  eye,  was 
Captain. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 

fc  ii  i  •  n       i          _       .          i  .  ii.!.'        .    j      •(