[Illustration: The Sea Lay Sparkling in the Sunlight. _Frontispiece_. ]

 The Meadow-Brook Girls by the Sea

 OR

 The Loss of The Lonesome Bar

 By

 JANET ALDRIDGE

 Author of the Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas, The Meadow-Brook Girls Across Country, The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat, The Meadow-Brook Girls in The Hills, The Meadow-Brook Girls on The Tennis Courts

 THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY

 Akron, Ohio New York

 Made in U. S. A. 

 Copyright MCMXIV

 _By_ THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY

CONTENTS

I. A DELIGHTFUL MYSTERY

II. WHAT CAME OF A COLD PLUNGE

III. HARRIET HAS A NARROW ESCAPE

IV. A QUESTION OF POLITICS

V. THE ROCKY ROAD TO WAU-WAU

VI. AT HOME BY THE SEA

VII. A SUDDEN STORM

VIII. A NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN NIGHT

IX. A SURPRISE THAT PROVED A SHOCK

X. SUMMONED TO THE COUNCIL

XI. A REWARD WELL EARNED

XII. MYSTERY ON A SAND BAR

XIII. A STRANGE PROCEEDING

XIV. A VISITOR WHO WAS WELCOME

XV. TOMMY MAKES A DISCOVERY

XVI. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

XVII. WHEN THEIR SHIP CAME IN

XVIII. FIREWORKS FROM THE MASTHEAD

XIX. SAILING THE BLUE WATER

XX. OUT OF SIGHT OF LAND

XXI. AN ANXIOUS OUTLOOK

XXII. IN THE GRIP OF MIGHTY SEAS

XXIII. WAGING A DESPERATE BATTLE

XXIV. CONCLUSION

CHAPTER I

A DELIGHTFUL MYSTERY

"I think we are ready to start, girls. " Miss Elting folded the roadmap that she had been studying and placed it in a pocket of her longdust coat. There was a half-smile on her face, a merry twinkle in hereyes. 

"Which way do I drive?" questioned Jane McCarthy. 

"Straight ahead out of the village, " answered Miss Elting, theguardian of the party of young girls who were embarking on theirsummer's vacation under somewhat unusual circumstances. 

"It's the first time I ever started for a place without knowing whatthe place was, or where I was going, " declared Jane McCarthy, otherwise known as "Crazy Jane. "

"Won't you pleathe tell uth where we are going?" lisped GraceThompson. 

Miss Elting shook her head, with decision. 

"Do my father and mother know where we are going?" persisted Grace. 

"Of course they know, Tommy. The parents of each of you know, and Iknow, and so shall you after you reach your destination. Have youeverything in the car, Jane?"

"Everything but myself, " nodded Jane. The latter's automobile, wellloaded with camping equipment, stood awaiting its passengers. Thelatter were Miss Elting, Jane McCarthy, Harriet Burrell, GraceThompson, Hazel Holland and Margery Brown, the party being otherwiseknown as "The Meadow-Brook Girls. " "Get in, girls. We'll shake thedust of Meadow-Brook from our tires before you can count twenty, "continued Jane. "If Crazy Jane were to drive through the town slowlyfolks surely would think something startling had happened to her. Isthere anything you wish to do before we leave, Miss Elting?"

"Not that I think of at the moment, Jane. "

"Oh, let's say good-bye to our folks, " suggested Margery Brown. 

"I have thaid good-bye, " answered Grace with finality. 

"We'll give them a farewell blast, " chuckled Jane. With that sheclimbed into the car, and, with a honk of the horn, drove down thatstreet and into the next, keeping the horn going almost continually. As they passed the home of each girl the young women gave the yell ofthe Meadow-Brook Girls:

 "Rah, rah, rah, Rah, rah, rah! Meadow-Brook, Meadow-Brook, Sis, boom, ah!"

It was shouted in chorus at their homes, and as the car passed thehomes of their friends as well. Hands were waved from windows, hatswere swung in the air by boy friends, while the older people smiledindulgently and nodded to them as the rapidly moving motor car passedthrough the village. 

"I think the town knows all about it now. Suppose we make a start?"suggested Miss Elting. 

"We haven't therenaded the pothtmathter yet, " Tommy reminded her. 

"Nor the butcher, the baker and the candle-stick maker, " answeredHarriet Burrell laughingly. "How long a drive have we, Miss Elting?"

"Four or five hours, ordinarily. Jane undoubtedly will make it in muchless time, if she drives at her usual rate of speed. Straight south, Jane. I will tell you when to change. "

The faces of the girls wore a puzzled expression. They could notimagine where they were going. Miss Elting had made a mystery of thissummer vacation, and not a word had the girls been able to obtain fromher as to where they were to go: whether to tour the country in CrazyJane's automobile, or to go into camp. Tommy declared that it was aperfectly delightful mythtery, and that she didn't care where theywere going, while Margery on the contrary, grumbled incessantly. 

The start had been made late in the afternoon. The day had beencloudy. There were even indications of rain, but the girls did notcare. They were too well inured to the weather to be disturbed bylowering skies and threatening clouds. In the meantime Jane McCarthywas bowling along to the southward, throwing up a cloud of dust, having many narrow escapes from collisions with farmers' wagons andwandering stock. They had been traveling about two hours when theguardian directed their daring driver to turn to the left. The latterdid so, thus heading the car to the eastward. 

"I think I begin to understand, " thought Harriet Burrell aloud. 

"What ith it that you underthtand?" demanded Tommy, pricking up herears. "You know where we are going, don't you?"

"I can make a close guess, " replied Harriet, nodding brightly. 

"Oh, tell uth, tell uth, " begged Tommy. 

Harriet shook her head. 

"I couldn't think of it. Miss Elting wishes it to be a surprise toyou. "

"Well, won't it be jutht ath much of a thurprithe now ath it will bethome other time?" argued Grace Thompson. 

"Perhaps Harriet just imagines she knows. I do not believe she knowsany more about our destination than do the rest of our party, " saidthe guardian. "But why worry about it? You will know when you getthere. "

Jane stopped the car, and, getting out, proceeded to put the curtainsup on one side, Harriet and Hazel doing the same on the opposite side. The storm curtain, with its square of transparent isinglass, was nextset in place to protect the driver from the front, the wind shieldfirst having been turned down out of the way. 

"Now let the rain come, " chuckled Jane, after having taken a quicksurvey of their work. 

"Yes; it is nice and cosy in here, " answered Miss Elting. "I almostbelieve I should like to sleep in here during a rainstorm. "

"Excuthe me, " objected Tommy. "I'd be thure to get crampth in myneck. "

"She would that, " answered Jane laughingly, starting the car and amoment later throwing in the high-speed clutch. 

The party was not more than fairly started on the way again when theraindrops began pattering on the leather top of the car. 

"There it comes, " cried Jane McCarthy. "Sounds like rain on a tinroof, doesn't it?"

The downpour rapidly grew heavier, accompanied by lightning andthunder. The flashes were blinding, dazzling Jane's eyes so that shehad difficulty in keeping her car in the road. It was now nearlyevening, and an early darkness had already settled over the landscape. There was little hope of more light, for night would be upon them bythe time the storm had passed. True, there would be a moon behind theclouds, but the latter bade fair to be wholly obscured during theevening. 

Despite the blinding storm that masked the road, and the sharp flashesof lightning that dazzled the eyes of the driver, Crazy Jane McCarthywent on driving ahead at the same rate of speed until Miss Eltingbegged her to go more slowly. Jane reduced the speed of the car, though so slightly as to be scarcely noticeable. 

The guardian smiled but made no further comment. Being shut in as theywere, they would have difficulty in getting out were an accident tobefall them. All at once, however, Jane slowed down with a jolt. Shethen sent the car cautiously ahead, this time driving out on a levelgrass plot at the side of the road. There she shut down, turned offthe power, and, leaning back, yawned audibly. 

"Whoa!" she said wearily. 

"Why, Jane, what is the matter?" cried Miss Elting. 

"Like a sailboat, we can't make much headway without wind. As ithappens, we have no wind on the quarter, as the sailors would say. "

"I don't understand. "

"She means the tires are down, " explained Harriet Burrell. 

"Yes. I told Dad those rear tires were leaking, but he declared theywere good for five hundred miles yet. "

"Can't we patch them?" queried Harriet. 

"We can, " replied Jane, "but we aren't going to until this rain letsup a little. Please don't ask me to get out and paddle about in thewet, for I'm not going to do anything of the sort. " Jane began to huma tune. Her companions settled back comfortably. It was dry and cosyin the car and the travellers felt drowsy. Jane was the only reallywide-awake one. Margery finally uttered a single, loud snore thatawakened the others. The girls uttered a shout and began shakingMargery, who pulled herself sharply together, protesting that shehadn't been asleep for even one little minute. 

"That ith the way thhe alwayth doeth, " observed Tommy. "Then thhedenieth it. I'm glad I don't thnore. Ithn't it awful to thnore, MithElting?"

"Having too much to say is worse, " answered Jane pointedly. "The stormhas passed. Let's get out and fix things up. Harriet, will you helpme? Miss Elting, if you will be good enough to engineer thetaking-down of the side curtains and the lowering of the top I shallbe obliged. We shan't need the top. We aren't going to have any morerain to-night, and I want all the light I can get, especially as weare going over strange roads. Have you been this way before?"

"No, Jane, but I have the road map. "

"Road map!" scoffed the Irish girl. "I followed one once and landed ina ditch!"

"That ith nothing for Crathy Jane to do, " lisped Grace. 

"Right you are, Tommy, " answered Jane with a hearty laugh. "Just as Ithought, the tires, the inner tubes, are leaking around the valves. Weshan't be able to do much with them, but I think we can make them holduntil we get in. I'll have some new inner tubes sent out to us. Bythe way, are we going to be where we can send for supplies and havethem delivered?" questioned Jane shrewdly. 

"Oh, I think so, " was Miss Elting's evasive answer. 

"Aren't you glad you found out?" chuckled Harriet. 

Jane grinned, but said nothing. The work of patching the two innertubes occupied nearly an hour before the tires were back in place andthe car ready to start. Harriet, in the meantime, had lighted the bigheadlights and the rear light. 

"All aboard for Nowhere!" shouted Jane. The girls again took theirplaces in the car, which started with a jolt. "Is it straight ahead, Miss Elting?"

"Yes. "

"I hope you know where you're going. I'm sure I don't, " remarked Janeunder her breath. 

They had gone but a short distance before the driver discovered thatwhich displeased her very much. The lights on the front of the carwere growing dim. Her companions noticed this at about the same time. 

"The gas is giving out, " exclaimed Jane. "Isn't that provoking? Withus it is one continuous round of surprises. "

"What are we going to do?" questioned Margery apprehensively. 

"Just the same as before: keep on going, " replied the Irish girl. "I've driven without lights before this. I guess I can do it again. Ican see the road and so can you. "

"Please reduce your speed a little, " urged Miss Elting. The driver didso, for Jane was not quite so confident of her ability to keep to theroad as she would have had them believe. "There comes some one. Pleasestop; I want to ask him a question. "

A farmer on a horse had ridden out to one side of the road, where hewas holding his mount, the horse being afraid of the car. Miss Eltingasked him how they might reach the Lonesome Cove. The girls were verydeeply interested in this question as well as in the answer to it. They had never heard of Lonesome Cove. So that was to be theirdestination? They nudged each other knowingly. The farmer informedMiss Elting that the Cove was about eight miles farther on. 

"Take your third right hand turn and it'll lead you right down intothe Cove, " he said. "It's a pretty lonesome place now, " he added. 

"Yes, I understand, " replied the guardian hurriedly, "but we know allabout that. Thank you very much. You may drive ahead now, Jane. " Janesmiled and started on. "I keep watch of the turns of the road. You payattention to your driving exclusively, " added Miss Elting. "And, girls, you keep a sharp lookout, too. "

"Where ith thith Lonethome Cove?" questioned Tommy. "I don't like thethound of the name. "

"You will like it when you get there, " answered the guardian. "But Isaid I would not tell you anything about it. Time enough when we reachthere. You shall then see for yourselves. You are going too fast, Jane. "

"I'd like to reach there some time before morning. The road is clearand level. I'm going only twenty miles an hour, as it is. That's justa creeping pace, you know, " reassured Jane. 

"Yes, I know, " answered the guardian, with a shake of her head. Theycontinued on, but without much conversation, for Jane was busywatching the road, her companions keeping a sharp lookout for theturns. They had already passed two roads that led off to the right. The next, according to their informant, would be the one for them totake to reach the Lonesome Cove. 

"Here is the third turn, " announced Jane finally, bringing her car toa stop. The highway on which they had been riding was shaded withsecond-growth trees, as was the intersecting road. The latter wasnarrow; but, from Jane's investigations, she having stepped down toexamine it, it was hard though not well-traveled. "Have you been herebefore, Miss Elting?"

"No, Jane; I have not. Go ahead and drive carefully, for I hardlythink it a main road. "

"It's a good one, whether it is a main road or not. "

They moved on down the side road, and, gaining confidence as theyprogressed, Jane McCarthy let out a notch at a time until she wastraveling at a fairly high rate of speed. Their way wound in and outamong the small trees and bushes that bordered the road, the latternarrowing little by little until there was barely room for turning outin case they were to meet another vehicle. However, there seemedlittle chance of that. The motor car appeared to be the only vehicleabroad that night. 

The road now was so dark that it was only by glancing up at the topsof the bordering trees, outlined against the sky, that the driver ofthe car was able to keep well in the middle of it. She was strainingher eyes, peering into the darkness ahead. 

"How far?" demanded Jane shortly, never removing her gaze from thetrees and the roadway. 

"We must be near the place. Surely it cannot be far now, " answered theguardian. "I thought we should have seen a light before this. "

"We're coming into the open, " broke in Jane. "I'm glad of that. Now weneedn't be afraid of running into the trees or the fences, if thereare any along the track. I can't make out the sides of the road atall. I--"

A sudden and new sound cut short her words. The girls, realizing thatsomething unusual was occurring, fell suddenly silent. The roadwaybeneath them gave off a hollow sound, as if they were going over abridge. The fringe of trees had fallen away, while all about them waswhat appeared to be a darkened plain or field. Yet strain their eyesas they would, the travelers were unable to distinguish the characterof their surroundings, though Harriet Burrell, with chin elevated, hadbeen sniffing the air suspiciously. 

"I smell water, " she cried. 

"Tho do I, " lisped Tommy. "But I don't want a drink. "

Jane began to slow down as soon as the new sound had been heard. Thecar was rolling along slowly. For some unaccountable reason the driverput on a little more speed. Then came Jane McCarthy's voice, in aquick, warning shout:

"Here's trouble. Jump, girls! Jump! We're going in!"

They did not know what it was that they were going into, but not agirl of them obeyed Jane's command. Margery half-arose from the seat. Hazel pulled her back. 

"Sit still, girls!" commanded Miss Elting. "Stop the car, Jane!"

The driver shut off and applied the brake. But she was too late. Theautomobile kept on going. The roadway underneath it seemed to bedropping away from them; for a few seconds they experienced thesensation of riding on thin air; then the car lurched heavily forward, and, with a mighty splash, plunged into water. A great sheet of solidwater leaped up and enveloped them. 

"Everyone for herself!" cried Harriet Burrell. "Jump, girls!"

This time they _did_ essay to jump. Before they could do so, however, they were struggling to free themselves from the sinking car, thewater already over their heads. 

CHAPTER II

WHAT CAME OF A COLD PLUNGE

Five girls and their guardian struggled free from the sinking motorcar and began paddling for the surface. All knowing how to swim, theyinstinctively held their breath when they felt the water closing overthem. Fortunately for the Meadow-Brook Girls, the top had been removedfrom the car, else all would have been drowned before they could haveextricated themselves. Jane had the most difficulty in getting out. She was held to her seat by the steering wheel for a few seconds, butnot so much as a thought of fear entered her mind. Crazy Jane went towork methodically to free herself, which she succeeded in doing a fewseconds after her companions had reached the surface. 

"Thave me, oh, thave me!" wailed Tommy Thompson chokingly. 

There followed a great splashing, accompanied by shouts and chokingcoughs. About this time Jane McCarthy's head appeared above the water. She took a long, gasping breath, then called out:

"Here we are, darlin's! Is anybody wet?"

"Girls, are you all here?" cried Miss Elting anxiously. "Call yournames. "

They did so, and there was relief in every heart when it was foundthat not a girl was missing. But they had yet to learn how theyhappened to be in the water. The latter was cold as ice, it seemed tothem, and their desire now was to get to shore as quickly as possible. Which way the shore lay they did not know, but from the looks of thesky-line it was apparent that they would not be obliged to go far ineither direction to find a landing place. 

"Follow me, girls, " directed the guardian. "We will get out of hereand talk about our disaster afterward. Harriet, please bring up therear. Be sure that no one is left behind. "

The splashing ceased, each girl starting forward with her ownparticular stroke: Tommy swimming frog-fashion, Margery blowing, puffing, and groaning, paddling like a four-footed animal. 

"Oh, help!" she moaned. 

"I'm glad I'm not tho fat ath you are, " observed Tommy to the puffingMargery. 

"That will do, Tommy! Buster is quite as well able to take care ofherself as are you. I've touched bottom! Here we are, girls. Oh, I amso glad!"

"Where ith it? I can't thee the bottom. "

"Stop swimming, and you'll feel it, " suggested Jane, who, havingreached the shore, waded out of the water and ran, laughing, up thebank. "My stars, what a mess!"

One by one the others emerged from the cold water and stood shiveringon the beach. 

"Wring out your clothes, " directed Miss Elting. This, some of themwere already doing. Margery sat down helplessly. Harriet assisted herto her feet. 

"You mustn't do that. You surely will catch cold. Keep moving, dear, "ordered Harriet. 

"I can't. My clothes weigh a ton, " protested Margery. 

"Buthter thinkth it ith her clotheth that are heavy, " jeered Tommy. "It ithn't your clotheth, Buthter; it'th you. "

"Make her stop, Miss Elting. Don't you think I am suffering enough, without Tommy making me feel any worse?"

"Yes, I do. Tommy, will you please stop annoying Margery?"

"Yeth, Mith Elting, I'll thtop until Buthter getth dry again. But I'mjutht ath wet at thhe ith, and I'm not croth. "

"Girls, we have had a very narrow escape. I dread to think what wouldhave happened had that automobile top been up. We should give thanksfor our deliverance. But I don't understand how we came to get inthere, or what it is that we did get into, " said the guardian. 

"I know. It wath water, " Tommy informed her. "It wath wet water, too, and cold water, and--"

A shivering chorus of laughs greeted her words. Some of the girlsbegan whipping their arms and jumping up and down, for all were verycold. 

"Can't we run?" asked Harriet. 

"Yes, if we can decide where the water is, and where it isn't, "replied Miss Elting. "Suppose we find the road? We can run up and downthat without danger of falling in. "

"It is just to the left of us; I can see the opening between thetrees, " answered Harriet. She moved in the direction she hadindicated, "Here it is. Come on, girls. "

The others picked their way cautiously to her. Harriet started up theroad at a run, followed by the others and accompanied by the "plush, plush, plush!" of shoes nearly full of water. Tommy sat down. 

"What are you doing on the ground?" shrieked Margery, as she stumbledand fell over her little companion. "Why don't you tell me when youare going to sit down, so that I won't fall over you?"

"You wouldn't, if you weren't tho fat. "

"Tommy!" broke in Miss Elting. The whole party had come to a halt, following Margery's mishap. 

"I beg your pardon, Mith Elting. I forgot. Buthter ithn't dry yet. What am I doing? Yeth, I'm bailing out my thhoeth. Ugh! How they dothtick to my feet. Oh, I can't get them on again!" wailed Tommy. 

"What a helpless creature you are, " answered Harriet laughingly. "Here, let me help you. There. You see how easy it is when once youmake up your mind that you really can. "

"No, I don't thee. It ith too dark. Help me up!"

"Take hold of my hand. Here, Margery, you get on the other side. Wethree will run together. Everyone else keep out of our way. "

"Yeth, becauthe Buthter ith--" Tommy, remembering her promise, checkedherself. The three started up the road at a brisk trot. Reaching themain road, Harriet led them about, then began running back toward thewater. 

"Look out for the water, " warned Jane shrilly, after they had beengoing for a few minutes. But her warning came too late. Harriet, Tommyand Margery had turned to the right after reaching the open. The threefell in with a splash and a chorus of screams. The water was shallowand there was no difficulty in getting out, but the girls now were aswet as before, and shivering more than ever. At this juncture theguardian took a hand. She directed them to walk up and down the roadin orderly fashion, which they did, shivering, their teeth chatteringand the water dripping from their clothing. Reaching the main highwaythe guardian turned out on this, walking her charges a full mile inthe direction they had been following before turning off into thebyway. 

"This part of the country appears to be deserted, " she said. "I thinkwe had better return. In the morning we will try to find some one. "

"Thave me!" moaned Tommy. "Mutht we thtay here in our wet clotheth allnight?"

"I fear so. What else is there for us to do?"

"But let uth get our dry clotheth and put them on, " urged Tommy. Thegirls laughed at her. 

"Our clothes are down under the water in the car, darlin', " Janeinformed her. 

"Of course, they are soaked, " reflected Miss Elting. 

"I do not think so. The chest on the back of the car is water-proof aswell as dust-proof, " said Jane. "If it weren't water-proof the thingsin it would get soaked every time there was a driving rainstorm. No;our other clothing is as dry as toast. You'll see that it is when weget it. "

"Yes, when we do, " groaned Margery--"_when_ we do!"

"It might as well be wet, " observed the guardian. "We shan't be ableto get it out. Do you think the car is ruined, Jane?"

"It's wet, like ourselves, Miss Elting. I reckon it will take a wholesummer to dry it out thoroughly. I've got to get word to Dad to comeafter it. "

"What will he say when he learns of the accident, Jane?" questionedHarriet. 

"Say? He will say it served the old car right for being such a fool. My dad has common sense. He will have another car up here for us justas soon as he can get one here. By the way, Miss Elting, how muchfarther do we have to go?"

"I don't know, Jane. I hope it isn't much farther. How far do youthink we traveled after meeting the man?"

"Five miles, I should say. "

"And he told us that the third turn-off would lead us to LonesomeCove, did he not?"

"He did, but he made a mistake. This is Wet Cove. "

"And a lonesome one, too, even if it isn't _the_ Lonesome one, "chuckled Harriet. 

"Then we cannot be so very far from our destination. I am sure thisisn't the place. We haven't come far enough. Why didn't we think ofthat before we turned into this road?"

"If I knew where you wanted to go, I might be better able to answerthat question, " reminded Jane. But the guardian was not to be caughtin Crazy Jane's trap, though it was too dark to reveal the quizzicalsmile that wrinkled Miss Elting's face. 

"I am not sure that I know myself, Jane, " was her reply. 

"You fully expected to find some one here, did you not?" teasedHarriet. "I might say that you looked to find a number of personshere?"

"We won't discuss that now. Do you wish to spoil the little surprisethat I have been planning for you?"

"If this is your surprise, I don't think much of it, " declared Janebluntly. 

"Nor can I blame you, " agreed Miss Elting. "But this is not thesurprise. "

"Maybe if we wait we will fall into thome more pondth, " suggestedGrace. "Ith your thurprithe ath wet at thith one wath?"

"I admit your right to tease me, Tommy, " laughed the guardian. 

"Come on, everybody!" urged Harriet. "We must walk briskly and keep itup. That will be the only way to keep us from catching cold as aresult of our wetting. " Having paused for a moment to discuss theirsituation the girls began tramping once more. As the hours draggedalong all became weary and drowsy. Their joints were growing stiff, too, which condition was not improved by the chill of the night air. Most active of all the party was little Tommy Thompson, who skippedalong, talking incessantly. Margery was scarcely able to keep up withthe party. Twice she leaned against a tree, closing her eyes, only tofall to the ground in a heap. Harriet, though nearly as tired andfootsore as her companions, summoned all her will power and trudgedbravely along. 

Had the Meadow-Brook Girls not been so well seasoned to hardship, serious results might have followed their unexpected bath in the chillwaters, followed by their exposure to the searching night wind. Butthey were healthy, outdoor girls, as all our readers know. The firstvolume of this series, "THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS, "told the story of their first vacation spent in the open, when, asmembers of Camp Wau-Wau in the Pocono Woods, they served theirnovitiate as Camp Girls, winning many honors and becoming firmlywedded to life in the woods. 

When that camping period came to an end Harriet and her companions, asrelated in "THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY, " set outon the long walk home, meeting with plenty of adventures and manylaughable happenings. It was during this hike that they becameacquainted with the Tramp Club Boys and entered into a walking contestagainst them, which the Meadow-Brook Girls won. 

Our readers next met the girls in "THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLSAFLOAT, " a volume which contained the account of their houseboatlife on Lake Winnepesaukee. It was there that they again outwitted theTramp Club, who took their defeat good-naturedly and by way ofretaliation aided the girls in running down a mysterious enemy whosemalicious mischief had caused them repeated annoyance. 

Then, as their summer was not yet ended, the Meadow-Brook Girlsaccepted an invitation from Jane McCarthy to accompany her on a tripthrough the White Mountains, all of which is fully set forth in"THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS. "

It was there that they met with a series of mishaps which they laid atthe door of an ill-favored man who had vainly tried to become theirguide. The disappearance of Janus Grubb, the guide who had beenengaged by Miss Elting during their mountain hike, and the surprisingevents that followed made the story of their mountain trip well worthreading. 

And now, once more, we find the Meadow-Brook Girls ready to take thetrail again wherever that trail might lead. At the present moment, however, it did not look as though Harriet Burrell and her friendswould reach their destination in the immediate future unless it werenearer at hand than they thought. 

Not once during the night did the moon show her face, though about twoo'clock in the morning the clouds thinned, the landscape showing withmore distinctness. The girls, when they walked down to the shore, sawa sheet of water covering several acres. Leading down to the water wasa pier that extended far out into the little lake or pond, whatever itmight be. Harriet, Jane and Miss Elting walked out to the far end ofthe pier. 

Harriet pointed to the end of the pier as she stood above it. "It hasbroken down, " she said. 

"No; I think not, " answered the guardian. "I think, too, that Iunderstand what this is. It is an ice pier. Ice is harvested from thispond and carried up over that sloping platform and so on to the shoreor to conveyances waiting here. But how narrow it is. How ever did youmanage to keep on the pier until you reached the end, Jane, dear?"

"I really don't know, Miss Elting, " replied Jane, evidently impressedwith the feat she had accomplished. She leaned over and peered intothe water to see if she could find her car. It was not to be seen. Dark objects, floating here and there about the surface, showed thegirls where part of their equipment had gone. Harriet was regardingthe dark objects with inquiring eyes. 

"I wish we had a boat, " said Miss Elting. "We could gather up ourstuff. We can't afford to lose it. "

"We don't need a boat. Jane and I will get it out. What do you say, Jane?" answered Harriet. 

"I don't know what you have in mind, darlin', but I'm with you, whatever it is. "

"You and I will go in after the things. "

"You don't mean it!" exclaimed Jane. "And in this cold water. Br-rr-r!"

"No; you must not do that, " objected the guardian. "At least not now. "

"What is it you folks are planning?" questioned Hazel, who, with Tommyand Buster, had joined the party at the end of the pier. Janeexplained what Harriet had proposed. Margery's teeth began to chatteragain. 

"My--my weak heart won't stand any more, " she groaned. "Don't ask meto go into that horrid, cold water again. _Please_ don't!"

"You won't feel the cold once you are in, " urged Harriet. 

"No. I didn't feel it the other time, did I?"

"What? Go in thwimming, " demanded Tommy. "I wouldn't go in that wateragain for a dollar and fifty thentth; no, not for a dollar andtheventy-five thentth. " Tommy began backing away, as though fearingthe others might insist and assist her in. Suddenly she uttered ascream. 

"Thave me!" yelled Tommy. 

They saw her lurch backward; her feet left the pier; then came asplash. Tommy Thompson had gone over backward and taken to the waterhead first. 

CHAPTER III

HARRIET HAS A NARROW ESCAPE

"Thave me! Oh, thave me!"

Tommy had turned over and righted herself before rising to thesurface. When she did appear she was within a foot or so of the pier. Her little blonde head popped up from under the water all of a sudden, and in that instant she opened her mouth in a wail for help. Tommy'scompanions were fairly hysterical with merriment. Tommy yelled again, begging them to "thave" her. 

"I'll save ye, darlin', " cried Jane, throwing herself down andfastening a hand lightly in Tommy's hair, whereat the little girlscreamed more lustily than before. "Lend a hand here, my hearties. Thedarlin' wants to be saved. We'll save her, won't we?" Jane shouted ingreat glee. 

"Of course we will, " answered Harriet. She leaned over the edge of thepier, Jane raising the little girl until the latter's shoulders wereabove water; Harriet got hold of her dress and worked her hand alonguntil she had grasped Tommy by the ankles. 

"Let go!" yelled Tommy. 

She meant for Harriet to release her feet, but instead Jane McCarthyreleased her hold on Tommy's shoulders. The next second Tommy Thompsonwas standing on her head in the pond with Harriet Burrell jouncing herup and down, trying to get her out of the water, but taking more timeabout it, so it seemed, than was really necessary. Every time Tommy'shead was drawn free of the water she uttered a choking yell. There wasno telling how long the nonsense might have continued, had not MissElting thrust Harriet aside, resulting in Tommy's falling into thewater and having to be rescued again. Tommy was weeping when finallythey dragged her to the pier and wrung the water out of her clothing. 

"Now, don't you wish you were _fat_?" jeered Margery. "If you hadbeen, they couldn't have lifted you and you wouldn't have fallen inagain. "

"Fat like you? Never! I'd die firtht, " replied Tommy. "But I may athit ith. I'm freething, Mith Elting. "

"Get up and go ashore. Hazel, will you please see that Grace doesn'tsit down on the cold ground?"

Hazel Holland led the protesting Tommy along the pier to the shore, where she walked the little girl up and down as fast as she could beinduced to move, which, after all, was not much faster than anordinarily slow walk. The others of the party remained out at the end, walking back and forth and waiting until the coming of the dawn, sothat they might see to that for which they had planned by daylight. 

At the first suggestion of dawn, Harriet plunged into the pond withouta word of warning to her companions and began gathering up and pushingbundles of equipment toward the shore. Jane and Hazel were not farbehind her. Then Miss Elting, not to be outdone by her charges, plunged in after them. Margery, shivering, turned her back on them andwalked shoreward. 

"'Fraid cat! 'fraid cat!" taunted Tommy, when she saw Margery coming. 

"I'm no more afraid than you are. You're afraid to go into the water. The only way you can go in is to fall in or be pushed!"

"Am I? Ith that tho? Well, I'll thhow you whether I am afraid of thewater. I dare you to follow me. " Tommy fairly flew down the pier;then, leaping up into the air, jumped far out, taking a cleanfeet-first dive into the pond, uttering a shrill little yell justbefore disappearing under the surface. But all at once she stood up, and, by raising her chin a little, was able to keep her head abovewater. 

"Hello there, Tommy, what are you standing on?" called Harriet, puffing and blowing as she pushed a canvas-bound pack along ahead ofher. 

"I don't know. I gueth it mutht be the automobile top. It ith nitheand thpringy. "

"Please stay there until I get back. I wish to look it over. If youcan, I wish you would find the rear end of the car, so I may locate itexactly. "

"What have you in mind, darlin'?" asked Jane, with a quick glance atHarriet. 

"I'm going to try to get our clothes. The trunk is strapped andbuckled to the rear end, is it not?"

"Yes. "

"Tell me just how those buckles are placed; whether there is also aloop through which the strap has been run, and all about it. "

"How should I know?"

"You put the trunk on, didn't you?"

"Surely, but I can't remember all those things, even if I ever knewthem. "

"Jane, you should learn to observe more closely. Most persons arecareless about that. " Harriet began swimming toward the shore withJane. 

"Thay! How long mutht I thtand here in the wet up to my prethiouthneck?" demanded Grace Thompson. Her feet seemed to be very light. Theypersisted in either rising or drifting away from the submergedautomobile top. Tommy kept her hands moving slowly to assist inmaintaining her equilibrium. 

"Wait until I return, if you will, please, " answered Harriet. 

"Thave me! I can't wait. Here I go _now_!" She slipped off and wentunder, but came up sputtering and protesting. Instead of remaining tomark the sunken car, Tommy swam rapidly to shore. She found Harriet, Hazel and Jane sitting with feet hanging over the pier talking toMiss Elting. The four were dripping, but none of them seemed to mindthis. The sun soon would be up, and its rays would dry their clothingand bring them warmth for the first time since their disaster of thenight before. 

"Do be careful, " Miss Elting was saying when Tommy swam up, and, clinging to the pier with one hand, floated listlessly while listeningto what was being said. 

"What's the matter, Tommy? Couldn't you stand it any longer?" askedHarriet. 

"My feet got tho light that I couldn't hang on. "

"She means her head instead of her feet, " corrected Margery. 

"I think I had better go after the trunk now, " decided Harriet. 

"I wish you would let me go with you, " urged Jane. 

"No; two of us would be in each other's way. You folks had better stayhere and wait. There will be plenty to do after I get the trunkashore, provided I do. We must have all our outfit together bysunrise, for we have a day's work ahead of us. Want to get up, Tommy?"

"Yeth. "

Harriet reached down and assisted Grace, dripping, to the pier. Thenshe slipped in and swam in a leisurely way to the sunken automobile, which she located after swimming about for a few moments. The nextthing to do was to find the rear end of the car. This was quicklyaccomplished. Harriet took a long breath, then dived swiftly. Itseemed to her companions that she had been gone a long time, when, finally, the girl's dark head rose dripping from the pond. She shookher head, took several long breaths, then dived again. 

Three times Harriet Burrell repeated this. At last, after a briefdive, they saw the black trunk leap free to the surface of the pond. The Meadow-Brook Girls uttered a yell. Harriet had accomplished a taskthat would have proved to be too much for the average man. Down there, underneath the water, crouching under the backward tilting automobileon the bottom of the pond, she had unbuckled three stubborn straps, rising to the surface after unbuckling each strap, taking in a newsupply of delicious fresh air, then returning to her task. 

Before the Meadow-Brook Girls had finished with their shouting, cheering and gleeful dancing, the black luggage had drifted somedistance from the spot where it had first appeared. So delighted werethey with the result of Harriet Burrell's efforts that, for themoment, the others entirely forgot the girl herself. But all at onceMiss Elting came to a realization of the truth. Something was wrong. 

"Harriet!" she cried excitedly. It was unusual for the guardian toshow alarm, even though she might feel it. "Where is Harriet?"

The shouting and the cheering ceased instantly. 

"Oh, she's just playing a trick on us, " scoffed Margery Brown. 

Suddenly the keen eyes of Jane McCarthy caught sight of something thatsent her heart leaping. That something was a series of bubbles thatrose to the surface. Jane gazed wide-eyed, neither moving norspeaking, then suddenly hurled herself into the pond. Two loudsplashes followed her own dive into the water. Tommy and Miss Eltingwere plunging ahead with all speed. Jane was the first to reach thescene. She dived, came up empty-handed, then dived again. Tommyessayed to make a dive, but did not get in deep enough to fully coverher back. Miss Elting made an error in her calculations, as Jane haddone on the first dive, missing the sunken automobile by several feet. 

Now Hazel sprang into the water and swam to them as fast as she knewhow to propel herself. Jane shot out of the water and waved both armsfrantically above her head. 

"Spread out!" she cried in a strained, frightened voice. 

"Did--didn't you find her?" gasped Miss Elting. 

"No. "

Jane was gone again, leaving a wake that reached all the way to thebeach, so violent had been her floundering dive. 

Tommy, who had raised her head from the water a short distance fromwhere the guardian was paddling, uttered a scream. 

"There thhe ith!" she cried; "there she ith! Right down there. Come ina hurry. She ith under the car. I could thee her plainly. Oh, I'm thothcared!" Tommy began paddling for the shore with all speed. 

Miss Elting did not answer. Instead, she took a long dive. About thistime Jane came up. Hazel, who was making for the spot where theguardian had disappeared, pointed to it. Jane understood. It took herbut a few seconds to reach the center of the rippling circle left bythe guardian; then Crazy Jane's feet kicked the air a couple of times. She had taken an almost perpendicular dive. But it seemed that she hadnot been under water more than a second or two when she lunged to thesurface. A few feet from her Miss Elting appeared, threw herself overon her back and lay gasping for breath. 

"She'th got her!" screamed Tommy. "Harriet ith dead!"

Gazing out over the pond she saw Jane swimming swiftly toward shore, dragging the apparently lifeless body of Harriet Burrell. Miss Eltingand Hazel were closing up on Jane rapidly. Reaching her side a momentlater, the guardian took one of Harriet's arms and assisted in towingher in. 

Tommy remembered afterward having been fascinated by the expressionsin their faces. She stared and stared. The faces of the two women werewhite and haggard. Still farther back she saw only Hazel's eyes. Theywere so large that Tommy was scarcely able to credit their belongingto Hazel. Had Tommy known it, her own face was more pale and haggardat that moment than those of her companions. 

Jane dragged Harriet ashore; then Miss Elting grasped the unconsciousgirl almost roughly, flung her over on her stomach and began applying"first aid to the drowned. "

"Ith--ith she dead?" gasped Tommy. 

"She's drowned, darlin', " answered Crazy Jane McCarthy abruptly. 

CHAPTER IV

A QUESTION OF POLITICS

"Lay her over on her back!"

Jane obeyed Miss Elting's command promptly. The guardian, using herwet handkerchief, cleared Harriet's mouth by keeping the tongue downto admit the air. 

"Work her arms back and forth. We must set up artificial respiration, "she directed. 

Jane, without any apparent excitement, began a steady movement of thepatient's arms, bringing them together above the head, then down tothe sides. She continued this as steadily as if she were not face toface with a great tragedy. She did not yet know whether or not it werea tragedy; but, if appearances went for anything, it was. In themeantime the guardian had glanced over her shoulder at the pond. Shesaw the trunk slowly drifting in. 

"Get it and open it, Hazel, " she commanded. 

"I haven't a key. "

"Break it open with a stone. Never mind a key. "

Hazel ran out into the water until she was up to her neck, then sheswam out. Reaching the floating trunk, she got behind it and beganpushing it shoreward. Margery and Tommy stood watching theproceedings in speechless horror. Hazel got the trunk ashore, when, following the guardian's directions, she broke the lock open with astone. 

"It's open, " she cried. 

"Are the things inside very wet?"

"No; they are just as dry as they can be. "

"Good. Are Harriet's clothes there?"

"I think so. Shall I take them out?"

"Not just yet. I will tell you if they are needed. "

Hazel understood what was in the mind of the guardian. Were HarrietBurrell not to recover, the dry clothing would not be needed. Nevertheless, Hazel piled the contents of the trunk on the ground, then replaced it, leaving Harriet's belongings at the top of the pile, so that they would be ready at hand in case of need. In the meantimeCrazy Jane and Miss Elting persisted in their efforts to resuscitatethe unconscious girl. Though no sign of returning life rewarded theirlabor, they continued without a second's halting. Half an hour hadpassed. That was lengthened to an hour, then suddenly Jane stopped, leaned over and peered into the pale face of Harriet. 

"I see a little color returning!" she cried in a shrill voice. "Hurrah! Harriet's alive!"

"You don't thay?" exclaimed Tommy. 

"Keep her arms going! Don't stop for a single second, " commanded MissElting. "Hazel, take off Harriet's shoes. Beat the bottoms of herfeet. Oh, if we had something warm to put her in. Margery, you get outHarriet's clothing from the trunk. "

"I--I can't, " answered Buster in a weak voice. 

"Buthter ith too nervouth. I'll get them, " offered Tommy. She did, too. Now that she had something to do, she went about it as calmly asthough she had had no previous fear. "Are thethe what you want, MithElting?" she asked. 

"Yes; bring them here. She is breathing. Faster, Jane, faster!"

"Don't pull her armth out by the roootth, " warned Tommy. The guardianmade no reply. It was a critical moment and Harriet Burrell's lifehung on a very slender thread. Return to consciousness was so slow asto seem like no recovery at all. The spot of red that had appeared ineither cheek faded and disappeared. Miss Elting's heart sank when shenoted the change in the face of the unconscious girl. Jane saw it, too, but made no comment. 

Tommy, having taken the clothes from the trunk, now very methodicallypiled them up near at hand, so that the guardian might reach themwithout shifting her position materially. Then the little girl stoodwith hands clasped before her, her eyes squinting, her face twistedinto what Jane afterward said was a really hard knot. 

Two tiny spots of red once more appeared in each cheek of Harriet'swhite face. 

"Shall I move her arms faster?" asked Jane. 

Miss Elting shook her head. "Keep on as you are. I don't quiteunderstand, but she is alive. Of that I am positive. "

For fully fifteen minutes after that the two young women worked insilence. They noted joyfully that the tiny spots of color in Harriet'scheeks were growing. The spots were now as large as a twenty-five-centpiece. Miss Elting motioned for Jane to cease the arm movements, thenshe laid an ear over Harriet's heart. 

"Keep it up, " she cried, straightening suddenly. "We are going to saveher. " Margery, who had drawn slowly near, turned abruptly, walked awayand sat down heavily. Jane's under lip trembled ever so little, butshe showed no other sign of emotion, and methodically continued at herwork. 

"Now, as soon as we can get the breath of life into her body, we muststrip off those wet clothes and bundle her into something dry. Weshall be taking a great chance in undressing her in the open air, butthe fact that Harriet is in such splendid condition should go a longway toward pulling her through. I wish we had a blanket to wrap herin. However, we shall have to do with what we have. "

Jane kept steadily at her work, her eyes fixed on the face of thepatient. She made no reply to Miss Elting's words. Tommy, however, tilted her head to one side reflectively. Then she turned it ever solittle, regarding the broken trunk as if trying to make up her mindwhether or not she should hold it responsible for the disaster. Aftera few moments of staring at the trunk she sidled over to it, and, stooping down, began rummaging through its contents. From the trunkshe finally drew forth a long flannel nightgown. This she carried overand gravely spread out on the pile of clothing that she had previouslyplaced near Miss Elting. The guardian's eyes lighted appreciatively. 

"Thank you, dear. That is splendid, " she said, flashing a smile atTommy. "You are very resourceful. I am proud of you. "

"You're welcome, " answered Grace with a grimace. "Ith there anythingelthe that I can do?"

Miss Elting shook her head. The smile had left her face; all herfaculties were again centered on the work in hand. Shortly after thatthe two workers were gratified to note a quiver of the eyelids of thepatient. This was followed by a slight rising and falling of thechest, and a few moments later Harriet Burrell opened her eyes, closedthem wearily and turned over on her face. Crazy Jane promptly turnedher on her back, and none too gently at that. 

"Plea--se let me alone. I'm all right, " murmured Harriet. 

"Help me carry her out yonder under the trees, " ordered the guardian. "There will be less breeze there. "

"I'll carry her, Miss Elting. " Jane picked Harriet up, and, throwingthe girl over her shoulder, staggered off into the bushes with herburden. Harriet was heavy, but Jane McCarthy's fine strength was equalto her task. Miss Elting had gathered up the clothing and followed. Tommy started to accompany her, but the guardian motioned her back. 

"Jane and I will attend to her, " she said. Tommy pouted and strolledover to Margery. 

"Is--is Harriet going to die?" wailed Margery. 

"No, Buthter, she ithn't. "

Margery turned anxiously away. By the time the guardian reached thespot where Jane had put Harriet down, the latter had fully recoveredconsciousness; but she was shivering, her lips were blue and her facegray and haggard except for the two faint spots of color that hadfirst indicated her return to consciousness. 

"Hold her up while I strip off her waist, " commanded Miss Elting. Harriet protested that she was able to stand alone, but just the sameJane supported her. It was the work of but a few moments to strip offthe cold, wet garments and put on dry ones, including the flannelnightgown. 

"Let me lie down a little while, " begged Harriet weakly. 

"No; you must walk. Jane, will you keep her going?"

"That I will. Come to me, darlin'. "

Harriet got to her feet with the assistance of her companion. Janethen began walking her slowly about. The color gradually returned tothe face of the Meadow-Brook Girl, the gray pallor giving place to amore healthy glow. She wanted to talk, but Miss Elting said she wasnot to do so for the present. Now, Tommy and Margery followed herabout, though without speaking. This walking was continued for thebetter part of an hour. In the meantime Miss Elting was consideringwhat might best be done. She decided to go in search of some one whowould take them to their destination. After a talk with Harriet, andleaving directions as to what was to be done during her absence, theguardian set out, walking fast. She realized the necessity of warmdrinks and something to assist in stirring Harriet's circulation. TheMeadow-Brook Girl's escape from drowning had been a narrow one, but noone realized the necessity for further treatment more than Miss Eltingdid. 

After a time Harriet insisted on walking without the support of Jane'sarm, but it was a difficult undertaking. Harriet had to bring all theresolution she possessed to the task of supporting her weakened limbs;but she managed it, with now and then a rest, leaning against a treeor a rock. Tommy had found her tongue again, to keep up a running fireof inconsequential chatter that served its purpose well, assistingHarriet in keeping her mind from her own troubles. 

The guardian returned, after having been absent half an hour. She camerunning down the byway, shouting before she appeared in sight of theparty to know if all were well. 

"Oh, Harriet, I'm so glad to see you looking better! I have a boy anda democrat wagon to take us to the real cove. This isn't the place atall. Lonesome Cove is nearly five miles from here. But look! I'vesomething that will please you!" exclaimed the guardian. 

"What ith it?" demanded Tommy, edging near. 

"Coffee!" exclaimed Miss Elting triumphantly. 

"But how are we going to cook it?" cried Jane. 

"Get the coffee pot. It is in one of the packs that we saved. We haveneither milk nor sugar, but we shan't care about that. I met a boy, asI have told you. He had been to mill with a grist, and was also takingsome groceries home with him. I secured the coffee by paying doubleprice for it, but consider it cheap at that. Hazel, you and Margerywill gather some dry wood and make a fire. " Jane already had gone tolook for the coffee pot. She found it, after opening one of the wetpacks. 

"The fire is laid, " announced Hazel, "but we haven't any matches. Whatshall we do?"

"Mith Elting hath thome matcheth, " answered Tommy. 

"How do you know, my dear?" The guardian laughed merrily. 

"I thee a box in your pocket. "

"You see too much, " declared Margery. 

"Yes, I bought matches, too. " Miss Elting herself applied a match tothe sticks that had been laid for the cook fire. "Harriet, come righthere by the fire and warm yourself. "

"Where is the boy?" asked Harriet. 

"He will be along in a few minutes. I ran all the way back. He willdrive in and wait until we are ready. I promised him two dollars if hewould take us to our destination. "

"Does he know where it is?" questioned Jane. 

"He says he does, but--" The guardian flushed and checked herselfabruptly. "I nearly gave my surprise away. "

Jane had the water boiling in a few minutes, then quickly made thecoffee. A cup was handed to Harriet. She drank it steaming hot. 

"Oh, that tastes good!" she breathed. 

"You can feel it all the way down, can't you?" questioned Tommysolemnly. 

"Yes, I can. "

"Drink another one, dear, " urged the guardian; "it won't keep youawake. Perhaps, now that you feel better, you will tell us how youcame so near drowning?"

"I did nearly drown, didn't I?"

"You did, as thoroughly as one could and yet live to tell of it, "replied Miss Elting, her voice husky. 

"I had unfastened all the straps save the third one, " began Harriet. "By that time the trunk was standing on end. It was very buoyant. Theidea never occurred to me that there was any danger from the trunk. Iwas too much concerned wondering if I shouldn't have to open my mouth, for my lungs were nearly bursting. Well, I gave the last strap a jerkand I think the buckle must have pulled off, for the end of the trunkflew up and hit me on the head. "

"But how did you get wedged under the car springs?" interrupted theguardian. "I found you there. "

"I don't know. I don't remember anything that occurred after I was hitby the trunk until I began to realize that some one was working overme, and that I wished to be let alone. I was so comfortable that I didnot wish to be disturbed. "

"Thave me!" exclaimed Tommy. 

"How long did you work over me?"

"More than an hour, " replied Miss Elting. 

"Then I really was just about drowned, was I not?" questioned Harriet, her eyes growing large. 

"You were. "

Harriet Burrell pondered a moment, then lifted a pair of serious browneyes to her companions. 

"I am glad I had the experience, " she said, "but I am sorry I made somuch trouble. I feel all right now, and strong enough for almostanything. When do we start for the Cove?"

"At once. I hear the boy coming. Do you think you are really ready?"

"I know I am. But I believe I will have another cup of coffee beforewe start. Did we rescue all of our equipment?"

"Some of it has been lost, but that doesn't matter so long as we haveyou safe and sound, yes, there is the boy. Hoo-e-e-e!" called theguardian. 

"Ye-o-o-w!" answered the boy promptly. They saw him turn into thebyway. The horse he was driving was so thin that every rib stood outplainly. The democrat wagon was all squeaks and groans, its wheelsbeing so crooked that the girls thought they were going to come off. 

"You must help us to get our things aboard, " said Miss Elting. "Willyour wagon hold them all?"

"If it doesn't break down, " was the reply. 

"Well, some of us can walk. "

The boy backed his rickety wagon down near where the belongings of theMeadow-Brook Girls lay in a tumbled heap. Jane assisted him in loadingthe equipment, amazing the country boy by her strength and quickness. 

"You going to camp, eh?" he questioned. 

"We don't know what we are going to do, " replied Jane. "We're likelyto do almost anything that happens to enter our minds as well as somethings that don't enter our minds. Stow that package under the seatforward; yes, that way. There. Do you think of anything else, MissElting!"

"Nothing except the automobile. I hardly think we shall be able totake that with us. "

"Indeed, no, " answered Jane with a broad grin. "We'll let Dad do that. Who is going to ride?"

"Let's see. Harriet, of course--"

"I can walk, " protested Harriet. 

"No; you will ride. Margery and Tommy also may ride. Hazel, Jane and Iwill walk. It will do us good, for we need exercise this morning, though I must say that a little breakfast would not come amiss. "

"You thay that ith a Democrat wagon?" questioned Tommy. 

"Yes, dear. Why do you ask?" answered Miss Elting smilingly. 

"I jutht wanted to know. I'll walk, thank you, Mith Elting. You thayit ith a Democrat wagon?"

"Yes, yes. What of it?"

"I wouldn't ride in a Democrat wagon. My father would dithown me if Idid! If it wath a Republican wagon, now, it would be all right--but aDemocrat wagon--thave me!"

CHAPTER V

THE ROCKY ROAD TO WAU-WAU

"You surely are a loyal little Republican, Tommy. Whether we agreewith you in politics or not, we must respect your loyalty. However, Ithink you had better get up and ride, " urged Miss Elting. 

Tommy shook her head, regarding the democrat wagon with a disapprovingsquint. Jane assisted Harriet up over the front wheel, Margery climbedin on the other side, the boy "pushed on the reins, " and theprocession moved slowly toward the main road, with Miss Elting, Jane, Hazel and Tommy trudging on ahead. Harriet rode only a short distancebefore she grew weary of it, and, dropping to the ground, ran on andjoined her companions. 

"I shall have nervous prostration if I ride in that wagon, " she said. "Every minute expecting it to collapse isn't any too good for one whohas just been drowned, and whose nerves are on edge. "

"Promise me that you will not overtax your strength; that if you feelyourself getting weary you _will_ get in and ride, " answered theguardian, looking anxiously at Harriet. 

"I promise, " was Harriet's laughing rejoinder. 

The sun by this time was high in the heavens and was blazing down onthem hotly. The warmth felt good, especially to those who still worethe clothes in which they had spent so much time in the cold water ofthe pond. To Harriet it was a grateful relief from the chill that hadfollowed her accident. Tommy permitted herself to lag behind, and themoment she was out of ear-shot of her companions she began to quiz thecountry boy to learn where he was taking them. 

"Lonesome Cove, " he replied. 

"Where ith that?"

"On the shore. "

"On what thhore?"

"The sea shore. "

"Oh! Tho we are going to the thea thhore? I thee, " reflected Tommywisely. "Are there lotth of people there?"

"Isn't nobody there. It's just sea shore, that's all. "

Tommy chuckled and nodded to herself as she increased her pace andjoined her party. 

"When we get to camp I'm going to take a bath in the thea, " sheannounced carelessly. Miss Elting regarded her sharply. 

"Camp? Sea?" questioned the guardian. 

"Yeth. I thaid 'camp' and 'thea. '"

"Where do you think you are going, Grace?"

"Why, to the thea thhore of courthe. But there ithn't anybody there. "

"Tommy, you've been spying. I am amazed at you. "

"No, I haven't been doing anything of the thort. It ith true, ithn'tit?"

"I shall not tell you a single thing. You are trying to quiz me. Thatisn't fair, my dear. "

Tommy chuckled and joined Harriet, linking an arm with her andstarting a lively conversation. Harriet, instead of growing weary, appeared to be getting stronger with the moments. Her step was moreand more springy, and her face had resumed its usual healthy color, but this was the longest five miles she remembered to have traveled. The others felt much the same. It must be remembered that they had hadneither supper nor breakfast, except for the cup of coffee that theyhad taken before starting out on their tramp. The guardian had hopedto reach her destination in time for luncheon, when she knew the girlswould have a satisfying meal. However, the hour was near to oneo'clock when finally the boy shouted to them. 

They halted and waited for him. 

"Lonesome Cove down there, 'bout a quarter of a mile, " he informedthem, jerking the butt of his whip in the direction of a thin forestof spindling pines to the right of the highway. "Ocean right overthere. "

"I hear it, " cried Harriet. "Doesn't it sound glorious?"

"We thank you. You may unload our equipment and pile it by the side ofthe road. We will carry it down to the beach, and again I thank youvery much. "

Jane and Hazel assisted in the unloading. They would permit neitherHarriet nor Miss Elting to help. The boy was paid and drove awaywhistling. He had made a good deal, and knew very well that the folksat home would find no fault over his delay when they learned that hehad earned two dollars. 

"Now, girls, do you know where you are?" asked the guardian, turningto her charges. 

"Lost in the wilds of New Hampshire, " answered Jane dramatically. 

"No, not lost. We shall soon be among friends. I promise you a greatsurprise when we get down so near the sea that you hear the poundingof the breakers on the beach. "

"I gueth you will be thurprithed, too, " ventured Tommy. 

"What do you mean, Grace?" demanded Miss Elting. 

"I would suggest that we get started, " urged Harriet. "I'm hungry. Iwant my supper, breakfast and luncheon all in one. You forget that Iam a drowned person. "

"We are not likely to forget it, " answered the guardian, smilingfaintly. "Yes, we will carry our equipment in. Jane, suppose we breakit into smaller packs, so it can be the more easily carried. I thinkwe are all ready for a good meal, and that is what we are going tohave very shortly now. You know you always get good meals at Wau-Wau. "

"Wau-Wau!" exclaimed the Meadow-Brook Girls in chorus. 

"Why, Wau-Wau is in the Pocono Woods, " said Harriet. "We are a longway from there, aren't we?"

"Oh, yes, yes!" The guardian flushed guiltily. "I spoke withoutthinking. "

No one except Harriet and Tommy gave any special heed to the finalwords of the guardian. The others were busy getting ready to move. They were in something of a hurry for their luncheon. Packs weredivided up among them. Harriet insisted upon carrying one end of thetrunk with Jane, in addition to the pack she had slung over hershoulder. They finally started down a narrow path that led on down tothe shore, leaving some of their equipment behind to be brought lateron in the afternoon. As they neared the shore the boom of the surfgrew louder and louder. 

The girls uttered shouts of delight when finally they staggered outinto the open with their burdens, on a high bluff overlooking the sea. The sea lay sparkling in the sunlight, while almost at their feetgreat white-crested combers were rolling in and breaking against thesandy bluff. The salt spray dashed up into their faces and the odor ofthe salt sea was strong in their nostrils. 

"Isn't this glorious?" cried Harriet, with enthusiasm. 

"I shouldn't think you'd ever want to see water again after whatoccurred this morning, " replied Margery Brown. 

"Oh, that! I had forgotten all about it. This is different, Buster. This is the real sea, and it's perfectly wonderful. Isn't it, MissElting?"

The guardian, thus far, had not spoken a word. There was a look ofpuzzled surprise on her face. 

"What is it, Miss Elting?" questioned Harriet, instantly discoveringthat something was wrong. 

"I--I thought we should find some others here, " replied the guardianhesitatingly. 

"I told you there wath no one here, " answered Tommy. 

"Whom did you hope to find?" asked Harriet Burrell. 

"Some friends of mine. It has been a rocky road to Wau-Wau, and wehaven't reached it yet, " muttered the guardian under her breath. 

"I don't understand this, girls, " she continued. "I fear we have madea mistake. This isn't the place I thought we were seeking. I mustconfess that I am lost. But the real place can not be far away. Weshall have to walk from this on. Are you equal to it?"

"Not till I get thome food, " answered Tommy with emphasis. "I'mfamithhed. I want thomething to eat. "

"So do I, darlin', " added Crazy Jane. "But I don't see anythinghereabout that looks like food. Do you?"

Margery sat down helplessly. Harriet was smiling. She understoodsomething of the plans of the guardian now; yet, like her companions, she was disappointed that the promised meal was not at hand. MissElting recovered her composure quickly. 

"We shall have to cook our own dinner, dears, " she said. "Harriet, yousit down in the sun and rest; we will take care of the meal-getting. "

"You treat me as though I were an invalid. I am able to do my share ofthe work, and to eat my share of the food, as you will see when we getsomething cooked. "

Jane already had run back toward the road to bring some dry sticksthat she had discovered when coming in. Miss Elting began opening thepacks. 

"Oh, this is too bad!" she cried. "We must have left that coffee potwith the other things out by the road. "

"I'll get it. " Tommy bounded away. Hazel assisted the guardian ingetting the cooking utensils ready, Margery walked about, getting inthe way, but not accomplishing much of anything else. There were coldroast beef, butter and plenty of canned goods. The bread that they hadbrought with them had been dissolved in the water of the ice pond, ashad the sugar and considerable other food stuff. 

Jane came in with an armful of wood and quickly started a fire. Tommyarrived some moments later with the coffee pot and other utensils. While all this was going on Harriet was spreading out their belongingsso these might dry out in the sunlight. But the water for the coffee, secured some distance back, was brackish and poor. They made it do, however, and as quickly as possible had boiled their coffee andwarmed over the beef and canned beans as well. As for drinking water, there was none at hand fit for this purpose. Dishes were somewhatlimited, many of theirs having been lost when the automobile went intothe pond. But they were glad enough to do with what they had, and whenJane sounded the meal call, "Come and get it!" there was not aninstant's hesitation on the part of any member of that little party ofadventurous spirits. 

"Now take your time, girls, " warned Miss Elting. "We will not gulp ourfood down, even if we have a walk before us this afternoon. And we mayhave to sleep out-of-doors, but it will not have been the first timefor the Meadow-Brook Girls. "

"Ith thith the thurprithe that you were going to give us?" asked Tommyinnocently. 

"It is a surprise to me, dear. This isn't the place I thought it wasat all. The joke is that I don't know where the right place is. "

"Perhaps, if you would tell us where you wish to go, we might be ofsome assistance to you, " suggested Jane McCarthy. 

"You can't get the secret from me, Jane, " answered the guardiansmilingly. "I am going to keep that little secret to myself at allcosts. Don't tease me, for I shall not tell you. "

"It hath cotht a good deal already, " piped Tommy. "Let me thee. Ithath cotht one automobile, theveral thkirtth, and a girl drowned. Thome cotht that, eh? Pleathe path the beanth. "

"Tommy has a keen appetite for beans this afternoon. Will you pleaseopen another can, Jane?" asked the guardian. 

"Certainly. Will you have them cold this time, Tommy?"

"I will not, thank you. My father thayth there ith more realnourithhment in beanth than there ith in beeftheak. I gueth he knowth. He wath brought up on a bean farm. "

"Then I'll take the beefsteak and never mind the nourishment, "declared Jane, who was not particularly fond of beans. 

"I'd rather have both, " said Margery hungrily. 

"Of courth you would, " teased Tommy. "That ith why you--"

"Oh, say something new, " groaned Buster. 

Miss Elting permitted them to jest to their hearts' content. The morethey talked the better was she pleased, because it kept them fromeating too rapidly. Their meal finished and the dishes cleaned in saltwater and sand, the guardian gave thought to their next move. But shewas in no haste. The girls were allowed plenty of time to rest anddigest their hearty meal, which they did by sitting in the sand withthe sun beating down on them. After the lapse of an hour she told thegirls to get ready. 

"I will say to you frankly that I do not know where I am, though I ampositive we are on the right road. Our destination can not be so veryfar from here, and I believe we have ample time to reach it beforedark. However, each of you will put a can of beans in her pocket. Wewill take the coffee, our cups and the coffee pot. Thus equipped, weshall not go hungry in case we are caught out over night. Then, again, there must be houses somewhere along this road. The first one we see Ishall stop and make inquiries. "

"What shall we do with the rest of our things?" questioned Hazel. 

"Make them into packages and hide the lot. You might blaze a tree nearthe road, in case we forget. All parts of the road hereabouts lookvery much alike to me. There is a good place for a _cache_ about halfway between here and the highway. I should go in a few rods, but anyfood that is not in cans we had better throw away. "

"I don't thee why we can't camp right here, " said Grace. 

"This is not the place to which we are going, " Harriet informed her. "I don't know where it is, but, sooner or later, we'll arrive there. "

"If we are lucky, " added Tommy under her breath. 

[Illustration: Jane and Harriet Hid the Trunk. ]

Jane had already started for the road. She was called back byHarriet to take hold of one end of the trunk. Together the two girlslugged this to the place on the path that had been indicated by MissElting. By going straight in among the trees a short distance theyfound rocks, under one of which was a hole hollowed out in formertimes by water, and which made an excellent place in which to stowtheir equipment until such time as they might be able to return forit. 

Hazel, Margery and Tommy brought the rest of their belongings from thehighway, Miss Elting and Hazel what had been left at their campingplace, all being neatly packed away in the hollow in the rock. Thisdone, and a mound of small stones built over it, the girls were readyto proceed on their journey. 

The afternoon was now well along, so they started off at a brisk pace, led by the guardian. Harriet appeared to have fully recovered from heraccident. About an hour later they came in sight of a farmhouse. Theguardian directed the girls to sit down and rest while she went up tothe house to make some inquiries. When she returned her face was allsmiles. 

"I know where I am now, " she called. 

"How far have we to go?" asked Harriet. 

"About five miles, they say, but one has to make allowances fordistances in the country. It is difficult to find two persons who willagree on the distance to any certain point. "

"Five mileth, did you say?" questioned Tommy. 

"Yes, dear. "

"Thave me!"

"We shall easily make it in two hours. I don't think we can go astray. So long as we keep within sound of the sea we shall be right. If youare ready, we will move on. "

Once more they set out. They had gone on less than an hour whenMargery began to cry. Tommy regarded her with disapproving eyes. Margery declared that she couldn't walk another step. Inquiry by MissElting developed the fact that Buster had a blister on her right foot. This meant another delay. Miss Elting removed the girl's shoe fromthat foot and treated the blister. Half an hour was lost by thisdelay, but no one except Tommy Thompson complained. Tommy complainedfor the sake of saying something. She teased Margery so unmercifullythat Miss Elting was obliged to rebuke her, after which Tommy went offby herself and sat pensively down by the roadside until the order tomarch was given. 

The afternoon was waning when once more they came in sight of the sea. The setting sun had turned the expanse of ocean into a vast plain ofshimmering, quivering gold. The Meadow-Brook Girls utteredexclamations of delight when they set eyes on the scene. For a fewmoments they stood still, gazing and gazing as if it were not possibleto get enough of the, to most of them, unusual spectacle. 

A full quarter of a mile ahead they observed that the shores a littleback were quite heavily wooded, though the trees were small andslender. This particular spot seemed to have attracted Miss Elting'sattention to the exclusion of all else. As she looked, a smileoverspread her countenance. The girls did not observe it. 

"We are nearly there, " she called. 

"Near the camp?" asked Tommy. 

"Yes, the camp, you little tantalizer, " chuckled the guardian. "Butyou will not know what camp until you reach it. "

"Oh, yeth I thall. It ith our camp, the Meadow-Brook camp. "

"I hear shouts. I do believe they are girls', " cried Crazy Jane. Sheglanced inquiringly at Miss Elting, but the latter's face now gave nohint as to what was in her mind. "Come on; let's run, girls. "

With one accord they started forward at a brisk trot. This brought awail from the limping Margery. 

"Wait for me, " she cried. "I--I can't run. "

To their surprise Tommy halted, waited for Buster, then, linking anarm within hers, assisted Margery to trot along and keep up with hercompanions. Miss Elting gave Grace an appreciative nod and smile, which amply repaid the little girl for her kindly act. They coveredthe distance to the miniature forest in quick time, impelled by theircuriosity, now realizing that they were to meet with the surprise thattheir guardian had prepared for them. Harriet had a fairly welldefined idea as to what was awaiting them, but even she was to behappily surprised. 

They reached a point opposite the little forest, when, as they lookedtoward the sea, visible in spots between the trees, they discovered arow of tents, and in the center of an open space a flag flutteringfrom a sapling from which the limbs and foliage had been trimmed. 

"It's Camp Wau-Wau!" shouted Crazy Jane. "Come along, darlin's. Let'ssee what else there is to surprise us. "

The girls rushed in among the trees, shouting and laughing. Theybrought up in the middle of the encampment and halted. A middle-aged, pleasant-faced woman stepped from a tent, gazed at them a moment, then opened her arms, into which the Meadow-Brook Girls rushed, fairlysmothering the woman with their affectionate embraces. 

CHAPTER VI

AT HOME BY THE SEA

"Oh, my dear Meadow-Brook Girls!" cried the woman. "And I did not knowyou were coming. Why did you not let me know?" Mrs. Livingston, theChief Guardian of the Camp Girls, held her young friends off thebetter to look at them. 

"We did, " replied Miss Elting. "When you wrote that you would be gladto have us join the camp, I made the arrangements and wrote you thatwe would be here yesterday. "

"I never received the letter. "

"But why do you call thith plathe Camp Wau-Wau?" demanded Grace. "CampWau-Wau ith in the Pocono Woodth, Mrs. Livingthton. "

"Yes, my dear; but a camp may move, may it not? This is the same oldCamp Wau-Wau, but in a different location. This year we concluded tomake our camp by the sea shore, and chose Lonesome Bar for our campingplace. "

"Lonesome Bar!" exclaimed Miss Elting. 

"That explains it. We Were looking for Lonesome Cove. "

"Which we found, " chuckled Harriet. 

"We've had the most awful time, and Harriet got drowned, " put inMargery Brown. 

"Drowned?"

"Yeth, thhe did, " nodded Tommy eagerly. "And we had thuch a timeundrowning her! Thhe thwallowed a whole ithe pond of water. "

Miss Elting here explained to the Chief Guardian what had happened. Mrs. Livingston was amazed. She gazed curiously at the smilingHarriet. 

"I suppose I should not be surprised at anything Harriet does, butthat you all should have fallen into a pond with your car isincredible. What became of the car?"

"It's there!" chuckled Jane. "They'll be cutting it out in sectionswhen they take ice from the pond next winter, I reckon. Where can Isend a letter? I must have another car, and that quickly! It'ssomething like hard labor to get in and out of this place! But let'sbe introduced to these nice girls that I see in camp here. "

"You are the same old Jane, aren't you?" answered the Chief Guardian, with an indulgent smile. "I trust your father is well?"

"He is, thank you, but he'll be wanting to have nervous prostrationwhen he hears about my driving into an old pond. Hello, little girl!Have I seen you before!" questioned Crazy Jane, catching a littlegolden-haired girl by the arm and gazing down into the latter's blueeyes. 

"This is Miss Skinner, from Concord, young ladies, " introduced Mrs. Livingston. 

"How do you do, Mith Thkinner, " greeted Tommy. "Like mythelf, youaren't fat, are you?"

"I am not, " replied Miss Skinner. 

"Where do we stow our belongings?" asked Miss Elting. 

Mrs. Livingston looked puzzled. 

"Every tent in the camp is full, " she replied. "Really, I do not knowwhat I am going to do with you, girls. "

"That is easily answered. We will sleep out-of-doors, " proposed Jane. "We were out all last night, and in our wet clothing at that. "

"How soon will you have vacancies?" asked Miss Elting. 

"Four girls will be leaving the last of next week, Miss Elting. Others, I don't recall how many, are to go about the middle of theweek following. Until then I fear you will have to shift foryourselves. "

"We can have something to eat, can't we?" interjected Margery, in ahopeful tone. 

"Yeth, Buthter mutht have thomething to eat all the time, " averredTommy. 

"There is plenty for all. Now, come and meet our girls. We have a veryfine lot of young women at Camp Wau-Wau this summer, and we think wehave an ideal camp, too. I am so sorry that I did not know you werecoming. I might make room for two of you on the floor in my tent. There isn't a bit of floor space left in any of the other tents. "

"I think we all should prefer sleeping out-of-doors, so long as theweather remains fine, " answered Miss Elting. 

"That is just the point. What will you do when it rains?" smiled Mrs. Livingston. 

"I know, " spoke up Tommy. "I'll jutht run and jump into the othean andget wet all over, all at onthe; then I won't mind it at all. Do youthee?"

"I do, " replied the Chief Guardian gravely. 

Mrs. Livingston already had begun introducing the Meadow-Brook Girlsto the Camp Girls, most of whom had not been in Camp Wau-Wau when theMeadow-Brook Girls had visited it in the Pocono Woods two seasonsbefore. By the time the introductions had been finished and the campinspected, supper time had arrived. The girls sat down at long tablesin brightly lighted tents and enjoyed a delicious supper. It was thefirst real meal the newcomers had enjoyed in more than a day, and theydid full justice to this one, especially did Margery, though openlyteased by Tommy because of her appetite. 

Mrs. Livingston had been kept thoroughly informed of the progress ofthe Meadow-Brook Girls through her correspondence with Miss Elting, sothat she was fully prepared to bestow the rewards that the girls hadearned. A council fire was called for that evening, at which theachievements of Harriet Burrell and her companions were related to thecamp, and the beads that each, of the five girls had earned werebestowed. Harriet now had quite a string of colored beads, the envy ofevery Camp Girl. Each of the other girls of the Meadow-Brook party hadperformed either heroic or meritorious acts, for which they wererewarded by the gift of beads according to the regulations of theorder. Unfortunately, the now badly damaged trunk that had beencarried at the rear of Jane McCarthy's car contained their ceremonialdresses, so that the Meadow-Brook Girls were unable to appear in theregulation costume; and they also lacked other important equipment, namely, blankets in which to wrap themselves for outdoor sleeping. 

"There is not an extra blanket in camp, " said Mrs. Livingston, whenthe situation was explained to the Chief Guardian. "I don't know whatwe shall do. I fear you girls will have to go into town and stay at ahotel. "

"Oh, no. We have slept out-of-doors under worse conditions, " declaredHarriet. "Please do not concern yourself over us. We shall get alongvery nicely. Do you happen to have an extra piece of canvas in camp?"

"There is a side wall that we use for covering our vegetables, such aspotatoes. You may use that if you wish, but I warn you it is not veryclean. "

"We will give it a good dusting. It will answer very nicely to lie onand we'll sleep close together to keep warm. I am not sure but Ishould prefer sleeping out in that way. The Indians many times sleptin the open without covering. I don't see why we shouldn't do thesame. "

"Are there any thnaketh here?" inquired Tommy anxiously. 

"Oh, no, " the Chief Guardian replied smilingly. 

"Any bugth?"

"Naturally, there are some insects; fleas, perhaps, but you don't mindthose. "

"No. My father thayth I hop around like a thand flea at a clam bakemythelf, but if I wath fat I couldn't do that, could I?" asked Tommywith a sidelong glance at Buster. 

Margery, who had been an interested listener to the conversation, nowturned her back, elevating her nose disdainfully. She made no reply toTommy's fling at her. Harriet already had gone to bring the canvas, which was to be their bed for the night. She determined on the morrowto make bough beds for herself and companions, provided any suitableboughs were to be had. The canvas was dragged to a level spot. Janeand Hazel scraped the ground clean and smooth while Harriet wasbeating the canvas to get the dust out of it. This done, the canvaswas spread out on the ground and folded over twice, leaving sufficientof it to cover them after they had taken their positions for thenight. 

Tommy regarded the preparations with mild interest. 

"Who ith going to thleep next to the wall?" she asked. 

"We thought we should place you next to the fold, " replied MissElting. "You can't kick the cover off there. "

"And where ith Buthter going to thleep?"

"In the middle. "

"That ith all right. I don't withh to be too clothe to her. We mightthquabble all night. "

"Now, Tommy, you first, " nodded Harriet. 

Tommy took her place on the canvas with great care, gathering herskirts about her, turning around and around as if in search of thesoftest possible place on which to lie. 

"You are thure Buthter ithn't going to thleep near me?" persisted MissTommy. 

"Yes, yes. Please get in, " urged Miss Elting. 

"I jutht wanted to know, that ith all. " She lay down, then one by oneher companions took their places on the canvas. Harriet was the lastto turn in. Before doing so she drew the unoccupied half of the canvasover the girls, leaving Tommy at the fold, as had been promised. Therewere no pillows. It was a case of lying stretched out flat or usingone's arm for a pillow. The latter plan was adopted by most of thegirls, though Harriet lay flat on her back after tucking herself in, gazing up at the stars and listening to the surf beating on the shoreas the tide came rolling in. Now and then a roller showed a whiteridge at its top, the white plainly visible even in the darkness, forthe moon had not yet risen. 

The campfire burned low, the camp itself being as silent as ifdeserted. Now and then twitterings in the tree tops might have beenheard; were heard, in fact, by Harriet Burrell, but not heeded, forher gaze was fixed, as it had been for some moments, on two tinyspecks of light far out on the dark sea. One of the specks was green, the other red. They rose and fell in unison, now and then disappearingfor a few seconds, then rising, high in the air, as it appeared. Thetwo lights were the side lights of a boat, red on the port and greenon the starboard, and above them was a single white light at themasthead. 

"According to those lights the boat is heading directly toward thebeach, " mused Harriet reflectively. "I wonder if I ought to show alight? No. They know where they are going. Besides, they can see thelight of the campfire. The wind is increasing, too. "

Harriet dozed. She awakened half an hour later and gazed sleepily outto sea. The same lights were there, though they now appeared to bemuch nearer. All of a sudden they blinked out and were seen no more. 

The girl sat up, rubbing her eyes wonderingly. 

"Could they have sunk? No, of course not. How silly of me! The boathas turned about, and the lights are not visible from behind. " But shedid not lie down at once. Instead, she rested her chin in the palms ofher hands and gazed dreamily out over the water. A fresh, salty breezewas now blowing in. She could hear the flap, flap of the canvas ofthe tents off in the camp, a thin veil of mist was obscuring thestars, the pound of the surf was growing louder and the swish of thewater on the beach more surly. 

All at once what looked to her to be a huge cloud suddenly loomedclose at hand, then began moving along the beach. 

"Mercy! what is it?" exclaimed the girl under her breath. She creptfrom beneath the canvas and ran down to the beach. "It's a ship! Howclose to the shore they are running, and they have no lights out. "

Harriet watched the vessel for some moments. She saw it swing around along, narrow point of land a short distance to the south of the campand boldly enter a bay. She was unable to make out with anydistinctness what was being done there, but she heard the creak of theboom as it swung over and the rattle of the tackle as the sails camedown, though unable to interpret these sounds. Soon there came a sharpwhistle from human lips, answered by a similar whistle from the shore, then all was quiet. 

Harriet Burrell crept back under the canvas, wondering vaguely whatcould be the meaning of this. She was too sleepy to think much aboutit and soon dropped into a sound sleep, from which she was destined tobe rudely awakened. 

CHAPTER VII

A SUDDEN STORM

The canvas that covered the sleeping Meadow-Brook Girls was suddenlylifted from them, then whipped back with a force that nearly knockedthe breath out of some of them. 

A chorus of yells greeted the giant slap of the canvas, and a bevy ofgirls rolled and scrambled out of the way. 

"Hold it down, or we shall lose it, " cried Harriet, her voice barelyheard in the roar of the wind. But no one of the party seemed inclinedto act as an anchor for the canvas, which was rolled, then whisked outof sight. 

"There, now you have done it!" shouted Crazy Jane McCarthy. "We sleepon the ground for the rest of the night!" A gust of wind had thrownJane off her balance and knocked her down. 

"Take hold of a tree, " advised Harriet. 

"I can't get to one, " wailed Margery. "I can't walk. "

"Creep, " suggested Tommy shrilly. 

"Yes, we must seek cover. I fear there will be rain soon, " added MissElting. "This is an awful blow. I can feel the spray from the ocean. "

"Will the ocean come up here?" questioned Margery apprehensively. 

"No. Don't be foolish, " answered Harriet. "But we shall get wet, allthe same. "

Half walking, half crawling, the Meadow-Brook Girls crept farther backamong the small trees, through which the wind was shrieking andhowling. They saw the campfire lifted from the ground and sent flyingthrough the air, leaving a trail of starry sparks in its wake. 

"There go the tents!" cried Miss Elting. 

A medley of shouts and cries of alarm followed hard upon theguardian's words. A gust more severe than any that had preceded it, and of longer duration, had rooted up the weakened tent stakes orbroken the guy ropes. A whole street of tents tipped over backward, leaving their occupants scrambling from their cots, now in the openair. 

"Girls, see if you can lend the Wau-Wau girls assistance, " commandedMiss Elting. "Hurry!"

About all that was necessary to get to the distressed campers was tolet go of the trees to which the Meadow-Brook Girls had been clinging. The wind did the rest, and they brought up in confused heaps near andbeyond the uncovered tents. Cots had been overturned by the suddenheavy squall, blankets and equipment blown away. The cook tent wasdown and the contents apparently a wreck. 

"Cling to the trees! Never mind saving anything now!" cried Mrs. Livingston, whose tent had shared the same fate as those of hercharges. "Take care of yourselves first. The squall is blowing itselfout. It will soon pass. "

Almost before the words were uttered, the gale subsided. A sudden hushfell over the camp. "There!" called Mrs. Livingston. "What did I tellyou? Now, hurry and get the things together. Never mind sorting outyour belongings. We must get some cover over us as soon as possible, for we are going to have rain. "

The rain began in a spattering of heavy drops. The thunder of the surfwas becoming louder and louder, for the sea had been lashed into foamybillows by the brief, though heavy, blow. The waves were now mountingthe bluff back of the beach, leaving a white coating of creamy foamover a considerable part of the ground below the camp. 

"Do you think it ith going to rain?" questioned Tommy. 

"It is, my dear, " answered Mrs. Livingston. "You had better prepareyourself for it. "

"Yeth, I think tho, too. I think I will. I told the girlth what Iwould do. Here goeth. " Tommy turned and ran toward the beach at fullspeed. 

"Come back, Tommy! Where are you going!" called Miss Elting. 

"I'm going to fool the rain. I'm going to get wet before the raincometh. "

"Maybe she is going to do as she said--jump into the ocean, " suggestedMargery Brown. 

Harriet suddenly dropped the piece of canvas at which she had beentugging, and started after Tommy, who had already headed for thebluff, and was running with all her might, apparently to get into thewater before the rain came down hard enough to soak her. The littlelisping girl had no intention of getting into the water, knowing fullwell that by standing on the edge of the bluff a moment she could geta drenching that would be perfectly satisfactory so far as a thoroughwetting was concerned. But even in this Harriet Burrell saw danger. 

"Don't go near the edge, Tommy!" she shouted. 

Tommy Thompson merely waved her hand and continued on. Nor did shehalt until she had reached the edge of the bluff, having waded throughthe white foam with which the ground had been covered. She stoodthere, faintly outlined in the night, and with both hands thrownabove her head as if she were about to dive, uttered a shrill littleyell. 

"Stop! Come back!" begged Harriet. 

"I'm going to take a thwim, " replied Tommy. 

A great, dark roller came thundering in. It leaped up into the air, hovered an instant, then descended in an overwhelming flood right overthe shivering figure of the little Meadow-Brook Girl standing on theedge of the bluff. Harriet had reached the scene just in time to getthe full force of the downpour. Neither girl could speak, both werechoking, when suddenly the ground gave way beneath their feet and theyfelt themselves slipping down and down until it seemed to Harriet asif they were going to the very bottom of the sea. 

Now they were lifted from their feet. They were no longer slippingdownward. Instead, they were being carried up and up until they werefree from the choking pressure of the water, and once more werebreathing the free, though misty, salt air of the sea. 

"Oh, thave me!" wailed Tommy. 

"I'll try. I don't know. We have been carried out to sea by a recedingwave. The bank gave way. Oh, what a foolish girl you are! Swim! Swimwith all your might! We shall have to fight hard. We may not be ableto save ourselves as it is. Swim toward the shore!"

"Whi--ch way ith the thhore?" wailed Tommy. 

"I don't know. I can't see. I think it must be that way. " She placed afirm grip on Tommy's shoulder, turning the smaller girl about, headingher toward what Harriet Burrell believed to be the shore. She wonderedwhy she could see no light over there, having forgotten that thecampfire had been blown away in the squall. 

The two girls now began to swim with all their might. It seemed tothem, in their anxiety, as if they had been swimming for hours. Harriet finally ceased swimming and lay floating with a slightmovement of her arms. 

"What ith it?" questioned Grace. 

"I don't know. "

"But you thee thomething, don't you?"

"That is the worst of it. I do not. Look sharp. Can you make outanything that looks like the shore?"

"I thee a light! I thee a light!" cried Tommy delightedly. 

"Yes; I see it now. That must be on the shore. We have been going inthe wrong direction. Swim with all your might!"

For a few moments they did swim, strongly and with long overhandstrokes, Tommy and Harriet keeping close together, Harriet everwatchful that a swell did not carry her little companion from her. They had made considerable progress, but still the shore seemed tohave disappeared from view. The light that Tommy had discovered hadgone out. At least, it was no longer to be seen. Harriet stoppedswimming, and, raising herself as high as possible out of the water, again and again took quick surveys of their surroundings. The seaswere heavier and less broken where they now were. Slowly it dawnedupon Harriet Burrell that they were in deep water. She raised hervoice in a long-drawn shout. Both listened. No sound save the swish ofthe water about them was to be heard. The wind had not come up again, but a fresh, salty breeze was blowing over them, chilling the girls, sending shivers through their slender bodies. 

"Oh, what thhall we do?" sobbed Grace. "What can we do to thaveourthelveth?"

"I don't know, Tommy. About all we can do is to keep up our courageand wait for daylight. We must keep moving as well as we can, or weshall get so cold that we shall perish. "

"Wait until daylight? Oh, thave me! I thall die--I thurely thall. Thave me, Harriet!"

"Keep up your courage, darling. We are far from being goners yet, butwe have before us a night that will call for all the courage wepossess. Now pull yourself together and be a brave little girl. "

"I don't want to be brave; I want to go home, " wailed Grace. 

"So do I, and we shall go as soon as we are able to see where homeis, " answered Harriet, forcing a laugh. 

"Then why don't you go?"

"I can't. "

"I'm going. " Tommy began to swim. Harriet propelled herself up to hercompanion and grasped her by an arm. 

"Tommy, you _must_ obey me! You don't know where you are going. Youmay be swimming out to sea for all you know. Be a good girl and saveyour strength. The night may become lighter later on, then we shallmanage to reach the shore somehow. "

"But why don't you go now?"

"Because I don't know where the shore is, dearie. We are lost, just asmuch lost as if we were in the middle of the Atlantic, " answeredHarriet solemnly. 

CHAPTER VIII

A NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN NIGHT

"Be brave! Remember that you are a Meadow-Brook Girl, Tommy, "encouraged Harriet. "We are swimmers. We can't drown unless we getinto a panic. There is a boat somewhere hereabouts. I saw one sailinto the cove, or the bay, whichever it is, before I went to sleepthis evening. The men surely will be coming out in the morning; then, if we are too far from shore to get in, we ought to be able to attracttheir attention. They will pick us up. "

"Do--do you think we are far from thhore?"

"I fear so. Still, I can't be certain about that. I am dreadfullyconfused and don't know one direction from another. I wish the moonwould come up. That would give us our points of compass. Perhaps theclouds may blow away after a little. We shall at least be able to seemore clearly after that. "

"Oh, I'm tho cold! I'm freething, Har-r-r-i-e-t. "

"I will fix that. Come, swim with me. We will ride the waves, " criedHarriet. The swells were long and high. Now they would ride to thetop of one, then go slipping down the other side on a plane of almostoily smoothness. At such times Tommy would cry out. Even Harriet'sheart would sink as she glanced up at the towering mountains of wateron either side of them. It seemed as if nothing could save them frombeing engulfed, buried under tons of dark water. At the second whenall hope appeared to be gone they would find themselves being slowlylifted up and up and up until once more they topped anothermountainous swell. 

Fortunately for the two girls, the tops of the swells were in mostinstances solid, dark water. The strong wind having gone down, thecrests generally showed no white, broken foam. When such an one wasmet with it meant a rough few moments for the Meadow-Brook Girls and asevere shaking up. Tommy had been in the surf on many occasions, whenat the sea shore with her parents, and understood it fairly well. Harriet had never been in the salt water, but was guided wholly by theinstincts of the swimmer, of one who loved the water, and for whom itseemed almost her natural element, and in the excitement of the hourshe at times forgot the peril of their position. So far as she knewthey might already be far out to sea, with a mile or more of saltwater underneath them. 

In the meantime there was intense excitement in the camp. Miss Eltinghad been a witness to the sudden disappearance of Grace and Harriet. She had seen both girls enveloped in the cloud of spray and darkwater. Jane McCarthy had gone bounding toward the beach, followed bytheir guardian and several of the Camp Girls, who, though not havingseen Harriet and Grace disappear, surmised something of the truth. 

Reaching the edge of the bluff, they saw at once what had occurred. Alarge portion of the sandy bluff had sloughed off and slipped into thesea, having been loosened and undermined by the persistent smash ofthe waves against the bluff. Jane started to leap down, but MissElting caught her in time. 

"No, no, no, " protested the guardian; "you must not!"

"But they are down there drowning!" screamed Crazy Jane. 

"There is nothing we can do to save them. They aren't there. You cansee they are not. "

"But if not, where are they?" cried Jane. 

"My dears, if they went in there they undoubtedly have been carriedout. The undertow is very strong in a storm such as this, " said Mrs. Livingston sadly. She had hurried down to the beach upon seeing theothers running in that direction, to ascertain the cause. 

"Some one get a boat!" screamed Margery. 

The Chief Guardian shook her head sadly. 

"There is no boat here. Even if there were, we could not launch itagainst that sea, nor would it live a moment did we succeed in gettingit launched. We can do no more than trust in God and wait. You see thewind is blowing on shore and--"

"No, it is blowing off toward the cove. The wind has shifted, "answered Jane McCarthy. "But that doesn't help us a bit. "

"Gather wood and build a fire, " commanded Mrs. Livingston. 

The Camp Girls hurriedly set about gathering fuel for a fire, buthaving brought wood, the fuel refused to burn. The rain had thoroughlysoaked everything. The merest flicker of flame was all they were ableto get. They tried again and again, but with no better results, finally giving up the attempt altogether. 

"I am afraid we shall have to let it go, " decided the Chief Guardian. "A light would help so much, and, if the two girls are alive, wouldserve as a guide for them. "

Jane interrupted by uttering a shrill cry. She listened, but there wasno response. She cried out again and again, then finally gave up theeffort. 

"I'm afraid they are gone, " she moaned. 

"Unless they were hurt when the wave struck them I do not believe theyare lost, " said Miss Elting, with a calmness and hopefulness that shereally did not feel, though she dared not permit herself to admit thatHarriet and Grace really had been lost. "Both are excellent swimmers, and Harriet never would give up so long as there was a breath of lifeleft in her body. "

"But can't we do something?" pleaded Margery. 

The Chief Guardian shook her head sadly. 

"I fear we can not. You have but to look out there to know that anyefforts on our part would be futile. "

Miss Elting suddenly cried out. 

"Girls, what can we be thinking of? We must patrol the beach. The seais going down a little. Divide up into pairs; keep as close to theshore as possible without being caught by a wave; then search everyfoot of the beach all along. I will go up the beach. Hazel, you comewith me. Mrs. Livingston, will you have the other girls assist us?"

The Chief Guardian gave the orders promptly. Fifty girls began runningalong the shore. Mrs. Livingston quickly called them back, dividingthe party into groups of two. She was very business-like and calm, which, in a measure, served to calm the girls themselves. 

"Look carefully, " she cautioned. "The missing girls may have beenwashed ashore; they may be found nearly drowned, and it may not be toolate to revive them. Make all haste!"

There was no delay. The Camp Girls took up their work systematically. A thorough search was made of the beach in both directions, thepatrols eventually returning to the Chief Guardian to report that theyhad found no trace of the missing girls. 

"Keep moving. They may drift in, " commanded Mrs. Livingston. 

The search was again taken up, pairs of girls going over the groundthoroughly, investigating every shadow, every sticky mass of sea weedthat caught their anxious glances, but not a sign of either of the twogirls did they find. 

An hour had passed; then Mrs. Livingston called them in. She directedcertain groups to return to camp and begin getting the tents laid out, and to put up such as were in condition to be raised. The ChiefGuardian herself remained on the beach with Miss Elting and theMeadow-Brook Girls. There was little conversation. The women walkedslowly back and forth, scanning the sea, of which they could see butlittle, for the night was still very dark. At first they tried callingout at intervals, ceasing only when their voices had grown hoarse. Tonone of their calls was there any reply. Harriet and Tommy were toofar out, and the noise about them was too great to permit of theirhearing a human voice, even had it been closer at hand. 

Meantime the two girls were now swimming quite steadily. Harriet knewthat, were they to remain quiet too long, they would grow stiff andgradually get chilled through. That would mark the end, as she wellunderstood. Then again it was necessary to give Tommy enough to do tokeep her mind from her troubles, which were many that night. 

All the time Harriet was straining eyes and ears to locate the land. She had not the remotest idea in which direction it lay, and dared notswim straight ahead in any direction for fear of going farther away. The wind died out and rose again. Had it continued to freshen from thestart, she would have permitted herself to drift with it, but Harrietfeared that the wind had veered, and that it was now blowing out tosea, what little there was of it, so she tried to swim about in acircle in so far as was possible. Tommy, of course, knew nothing ofwhat was in the mind of her companion, nor did Harriet think best toconfide in her. 

"I'm getting tired. I can't keep up much longer, " wailed Grace. 

"Rest a moment on your back. I will keep a hand under your shouldersso you won't sink. If only one knew it, it isn't really possible tosink, provided the lungs are kept well filled with air and no waterswallowed. "

"I could think like a thtone if I let mythelf go. "

"Don't let yourself go. There is every reason why you should not, andnot one why you should. "

"Yeth. " Tommy turned over on her back. "Did you ever thwallow thaltwater?"

"I never did. "

"Then don't. It ith awful. Oh, I'm tho tired and I'm getting thleepy. "

Harriet roused herself instantly. She gave Tommy a brisk slap on onecheek. Tommy cried out and began fighting back, with the result thatshe was the one to swallow salt water. Tommy choked, strangled andfloundered, still screaming for Harriet to save her. Instead Harrietlet her companion struggle, keeping close to her, but making no effortto help. 

"Thave me!"

It was a choking moan. Uttering it, Tommy disappeared. Harriet lungedfor her and dragged her companion up, and none too soon, for thelittle girl had swallowed so much salt water that she was really halfdrowned. Harriet shook her and pounded her on the back, all the timemanaging to float on the surface of the water, evidencing thatHarriet was something of a swimmer. Yet she was becoming weary and thesense of feeling was leaving her limbs. She realized that it was thechill of the Atlantic and that unless she succeeded in restoring hercirculation she would soon be helpless. Just now, however, all herefforts were devoted to the task of arousing Grace. The little girlbegan to whimper and to struggle anew. 

"I am amazed at you, Tommy, " gasped Harriet. "You, a swimmer, toswallow part of the ocean!"

"I didn't. The ocean thwallowed me--e. "

"You must work. Swim, Tommy!"

"I--I can't. I'm tho tired. " Grace made languid efforts to prove thatshe was weary. There could be no doubt of it. She did not have theendurance possessed by her companion, and even Harriet's strength wasleaving her, because of that terrible numbness in her lower limbs, anumbness that was creeping upward little by little. 

"I will help you. But you must do something for yourself. Turn over onyour stomach. There. You need not try to fight it, just make swimmingmotions, slowly. Not so fast. Now you have the pace. "

"I can't keep it. My limbth will not work. My kneeth are thtiff. Oh, Harriet, I think I'm going to die!"

"Nonsense! Why, you could swim all night, if necessary, and be up intime for six o'clock breakfast just the same. "

"Breakfatht. It will be fithh for breakfatht for Tommy Thompthon, Igueth. Fithh, Harriet, fithh, " mumbled Grace, then ceased swimming. "Fithh!"

"Poor girl, she is about done for!" muttered Harriet Burrell. Sheturned Tommy over on her back and, placing a hand under the littlegirl, began swimming slowly. The added burden was almost more thanHarriet, in her benumbed state, was able to handle. She knew that shecould not support Grace and herself through the rest of that long, dark night. She knew, too, that unless they were rescued, hercompanion would be past help by the end of another hour. It alreadyseemed hours since they had slipped into the sea and rode out on thecrest of a receding wave. Now her movements were becoming slower andslower. She seemed not to possess the power to move her limbs. It wasnot all weariness either; it was that dragging numbness that waspulling her down. 

Harriet fought a more desperate battle with herself than she ever hadbeen called upon to fight before. She did not now believe that theywould be rescued, but that did not prevent her keeping up the battleas long as a single vestige of strength remained. It was sheer gritthat kept Harriet Burrell afloat during that long, heart-breaking swimamong the Atlantic rollers on this never-to-be-forgotten night. 

But at last the girl ceased swimming. Her limbs simply would not movein obedience to her will; her arms seemed weighed down by sometremendous pressure; her head grew heavy and her senses dulled. 

"I believe this is the end, " muttered Harriet. One great struggle, then her weary muscles relaxed. For a few moments she floated on herback, turned over with a great effort, then settled lower and lower inthe water, all the time fighting to regain possession of herfaculties, but growing weaker with each effort. 

Then Harriet Burrell went down, dragging Tommy with her. 

CHAPTER IX

A SURPRISE THAT PROVED A SHOCK

It could not have been very long, not more than a few seconds, beforeHarriet Burrell's benumbed senses began to perform their naturalfunctions. Deep down in her inner consciousness was the feeling that, though the surf was breaking over her, underneath her was somethingsolid, immovable. In a vague sort of way she wondered at this, but forthe time being was too weary and dulled to reason out the cause of thephenomenon. 

After a time the girl began to feel little pains shooting up her arms, reaching to her shoulders and down along her spine. Again was herwonderment aroused. Little by little her heavy eyelids struggled open. But her eyes saw only black darkness and water. Harriet, by a supremeforce of will, now began to reason the cause. 

"I am still in the water, but my hands and feet are on somethingsolid. What does it mean?" she thought. 

Turning her head slightly, she saw that which increased herwonderment. Tommy Thompson was sitting beside her, the little girl'shead leaning against Harriet. It struck Harriet as peculiar thatTommy was able to sit on the water with nearly half her body out ofthe water. Harriet then discovered that she was crouching on allfours. It was a peculiar position for her, too. She wondered, if ableto maintain that position, why she might not stand up just as well. 

"I can do it!" she screamed. "I can stand on the--" She paused. Tommyhad toppled over and lay on her side, partly covered with water. "Land!" breathed Harriet. "We are on land, but there is water allabout us. I don't understand. "

Pondering over this for a moment, Harriet stooped and lifted Grace toa sitting posture. Her blood had begun to circulate and a warm glowwas suffusing her entire body. 

"Tommy, wake up! Wake up! It's land. We are on solid ground. Don't youunderstand?"

"Breakfatht for fithh, " muttered Tommy. Harriet shook her asvigorously as she could. It required no little effort to get Gracewide enough awake to understand what Harriet was saying, but after ashort time Tommy seemed to understand, understanding that finally cameto her with a shock almost equal to that that Harriet had felt. 

"We--we are on thhore?" she questioned. 

"Yes, yes. Let's get out of the water. Come, dear, I will supportyou. " This she did, though Harriet staggered and was barely able tosupport herself. She slipped a cold arm about Grace's waist. "Makeyour feet go. " The two girls stumbled forward, Tommy now having an armabout Harriet's waist, then with a scream from Tommy they stepped offinto deep water and went in all over. 

"Thave me, oh, thave me!" moaned Tommy as they came up. 

But the plunge had done them good. It had shaken both girls wide awakeand cleared their clouded minds. They once more had been awakened to arealization of their position. 

"It wathn't land at all! Let me go, let me die, " insisted Tommy, struggling to free herself from Harriet's grasp. 

"It was a sand bar, " explained Harriet. "Please behave yourself, Tommy. You must _do_ something. It is all I can do to take care ofmyself. Now, please, help me by helping yourself and we shall be ondry land in a few moments. "

Grace made several awkward attempts to swim, then gave it up. 

"I can't do it, Harriet. What ith the uthe of trying to thwim anymore?"

"Don't you understand? We were on a sand bar. It was that that savedour lives after we were overcome. We should have drowned had it notbeen for the bar. "

"Yeth, but we are in deep water again, " wailed Tommy. 

"Think, think! Don't be so stupid. We must be near the shore. I don'tbelieve there would be a shallow place like that one far out fromland. "

"Do you think tho?" Tommy's voice was weaker than before. 

"I am sure of it. Swim. That's a good girl. "

"I--I can't. "

"Then I will swim for you. "

Once more Harriet Burrell placed a hand under Grace and began swimmingwith her. The surf was behind them and was rapidly carrying them withit toward either the shore or the sea, Harriet neither knew northought which. Had she not been still half dazed she might havesmelled the vegetation on shore, not so very far from them, but ofthis she took no heed. She swam, summoning all her strength to thetask, knowing that she would not be able to keep up much longer. Thenall at once her hands touched bottom. A moment more and she lay fulllength upon the wet, sandy bottom with the waves breaking over her. Harriet groped with her hands and found that the water at arm'slength, ahead was but a few inches deep. She sprang up with, a weakcry. 

"Tommy, Tommy! We've made it. "

"Fithh, " muttered Grace. 

Harriet grasped her by the arms and began backing toward shore, dragging her companion with her. 

The ground grew more and more solid as she backed. There could be nodoubt now. They were rapidly getting to dry land. Here, unlike thebeach fronting the camp, the ground sloped gradually up away from thesea, then extended off among the trees a level stretch for somedistance. 

Tommy struggled a little when Harriet raised her to her feet. Thelatter did not know which way camp lay from where they had landed, butshe decided that it must be to the right of them. In this surmiseHarriet was correct, but the camp was farther away than she hadthought. She staggered along, half leading, half carrying, hercompanion, until, exhausted by her efforts, she sank down, Tommy withher. 

"I can't go another step; I'm tired out, " gasped Harriet. 

"Ye-t-h, " agreed Grace weakly. 

The two girls toppled over and stretched out on the wet ground, clasped in each other's arms. They were almost instantly asleep. Tirednature could endure no more, and there they continued to lie andslumber through the remaining hours of the night. 

Break of day still found patrol parties running along the shore, alternately searching the beach and gazing out to sea. An occasionalboat was sighted far out, but that was all. No signs of the missingMeadow-Brook Girls had been found. Ever since the dawn, however, CrazyJane McCarthy had been taking account of the direction of the wind, which was blowing across the bay to the right of their camp. Shedecided to investigate that part of the coast on her own account, going far beyond the farthest point that had been reached by any ofthe patrols. 

Suddenly Crazy Jane uttered a yell that should have been heard at thecamp, but was not. She had discovered the girls lying on thebeach--still locked in each other's arms. 

Jane rushed to them, and, grabbing Tommy, began shaking her. Harrietraised her heavy eyelids, sat up and rubbed her eyes. Tommy tried tobrush Jane aside. 

"Fithh for breakfatht, " she muttered. 

"Oh, Jane, is it really you?" stammered Harriet, trying to keep fromlying back and again going to sleep. 

"Oh, my stars, darlin's! And we thought all the time that you wereboth drowned. Don't tell me a thing now. I'll go right back and getsome of the girls to help me get you back to camp. "

"No, no; we can walk. There is nothing the matter with us except thatwe are tired out. Tommy, Tommy, wake up! It is morning and we are safeand dry. Think of it!"

"I--I don't want to think. I want to go to thleep. "

Jane lifted and shook the little lisping girl until Tommy begged formercy, declaring that she would rather go to sleep than return tocamp. It required no little effort to get the girl to try to walk. Harriet herself would have much preferred going back to sleep, butafter a time, with their arms about Tommy, they managed to get herstarted, upon which they took up their weary trudge to the camp, morethan a mile away, stumbling along with Tommy, half asleep nearly everyminute of the time. 

It was almost an hour later when a great shout arose from the camp asthe girls were discovered slowly approaching. There was a wild rush tomeet them. Every girl in camp, including the guardians, joined in therush to welcome the returning Meadow-Brook Girls. 

CHAPTER X

SUMMONED TO THE COUNCIL

"They're saved! They're saved!" shouted fifty voices, their ownersalmost wild with delight. With one common impulse they gathered upTommy and Harriet and started to carry them into camp. Tommy offeredno resistance. She submitted willingly. With Harriet it was different. She struggled, freed herself from the detaining arms, and sprang awayfrom her rejoicing companions, laughing softly. 

"I am perfectly able to take care of myself, thank you, " she said. 

"You certainly do not look it, " declared the Chief Guardian. Harriet'sface was pale, her eyes sunken, with dark rings underneath them, butin other ways she appeared to be her old self. "We shall both be aswell as ever after we have had something warm to eat and drink. "

"Tell us, oh, tell us about it, " cried several girls in chorus. 

"Not a word until after the girls have had something to eat and drink. They are completely exhausted. " Mrs. Livingston gazed wonderingly atHarriet Burrell, knowing full well that the latter had borne thegreater share of the burden in the battle that she must have had tofight through the long, dark night. 

The cook girls were already making coffee and warming up food leftover from their own breakfast, as being the quickest way to preparesomething for the returned Meadow-Brook Girls. That meal strengthenedand cheered them wonderfully. Tommy began to chatter after havingdrunk her first cup of coffee. Their companions sat about in asemi-circle watching them, scarcely able to restrain their curiosityas to what had happened during the night. Jane opened the recital by aquestion. 

"Did you really mean that you wished fish for breakfast, Tommy?" sheasked. 

Grace regarded her with a frowning squint. 

"I didn't want any fithh for breakfatht. It wath the fithh that wantedme for their breakfatht. "

"And there are sharks off this coast, too!" gasped one of the girls. 

"Were you in the water for long?" asked Miss Elting. 

"It seemed like a long time, it seemed like hours and hours, " admittedHarriet, accompanying the words with a bright smile that the keen-eyedChief Guardian saw was forced. 

"For hours!" cried the girls in chorus. 

"If you feel able, please tell us about it, " urged Hazel. 

Mrs. Livingston shook her head. 

"Both girls are going to bed immediately. Please fix up two cots forthem in my tent. No, no, " she added in answer to Harriet's protests, "it is my order. You are to turn in and sleep until supper time, ifyou wish; by that time we shall have the camp put to rights and youmay talk to your hearts' content. "

The Chief Guardian led the two girls to her tent, assisting them toremove their damp clothing, putting them in warm flannel night gownsand tucking them in their cots. Harriet insisted that she did not wishto be "babied, " but, the guardian was firm. After tucking them in Mrs. Livingston sat down on the edge of Tommy's cot and began asking herquestions, all of which Tommy answered volubly, Harriet now and thenoffering objections to her companion's praise. In a few moments theChief Guardian was in possession of the whole story of the night'sexperiences. 

"You are the same brave Harriet that we came to know so well at ourcamp in the Pocono Woods, " said Mrs. Livingston. "There are not manylike you; but we shall speak of your achievements later. Now I willdraw the flap, and I do not wish to see it opened until sundown. Iknow that I may depend upon you to obey orders. "

Harriet nodded. "There is something I should like to ask. Did you seeanything of a sail boat in the bay this morning?"

"No. Why?"

"I saw one come in last night before the blow. It anchored in thecove. They had put out their lights before coming in, which made mewonder. "

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I know. I wondered if they had been blown ashore?"

"We should have known of it if such had been the case. But I can'tunderstand what a boat could be doing in here. This is a remote placewhere people seldom come. That was why I chose it for our summercamping place. I will ask the girls if they saw anything of the boatyou mention, but it is doubtful. "

"Another thing. Oh, I'm not going to keep you here talking with me allday. "

"No; I want to go to thleep, " interjected Grace. 

"I saw a cabin down on that long point of land just this side of thebay. What is it?"

"A fisherman's cabin. It is not occupied, nor has it been in a verylong time. "

"Then why can't we Meadow-Brook Girls use it while we are in camp? Ishould love to be down by the water, with the sea almost at my feet. "

"I should think you would have had enough of the sea, after yourdreadful experience of last night, " laughed Mrs. Livingston. 

"I am fascinated with the sea. It is wonderful! Do you think we couldhave the cabin?"

"I will consult with Miss Elting. If she thinks it wise, I will seewhat can be done. Of course, it is a little farther from the camp thanI like. I prefer to have my girls where I can have an eye on them atall times. But the Meadow-Brook Girls can be depended upon to takecare of themselves, save that they are too venturesome. Yes, I willsee what can be done. "

"Oh, thank you ever so much, " answered Harriet with glowing eyes. "Then, if we wish, we may sleep out on the sands when the nights arewarm. "

"I shall have to think about that, my dear. Now go to sleep. Thisevening I shall have more to say. "

Tommy was already asleep. Harriet dropped into a heavy slumber withina very few moments after the Chief Guardian's departure. She did notawaken until the sun had dipped into the sea. As she forced herself toa realization of her surroundings, the merry chatter of voices wasborne to her ears and the savory odor of camp cooking to her nostrils. 

In the meantime an active day had been spent by the Camp Girls. Therewas much to be done, for the camp was in a confused condition afterthe storm of the preceding evening. A day of labor had given a keenzest to the appetites of the campers; added to this was thesatisfaction of having completed their work. The camp now was in trimcondition. Acting upon the orders of the Chief Guardian, the wood hadbeen laid for a council fire. The orders had been issued for the girlsto don ceremonial dress and report for a council at eight o'clock thatevening. 

The girls wondered what important subject was to come up forconsideration, as it was not the evening for the regular weeklycouncil fire that was always held during the summer encampment. Of allthis Harriet was unaware. When she awakened she found dry clothinglaid out for her to put on. The same had been done for Grace, who wasstill sleeping soundly. Harriet shook the little girl awake. 

"It is nearly night, dear, " she said. "How do you feel?"

Tommy blinked several times before replying. "How do I feel? Not thowet ath I did latht night. I thmell thupper!" exclaimed Tommy, sittingup suddenly. 

"I told you it was nearly night. Let's go out and see the girls. Howgood they all are to us!"

"I thuppothe they will all be looking at me and following me about aththough I wath thome thort of curiothity, " complained Grace. 

"Of course you would not like that. It would embarrass you, wouldn'tit, Tommy?"

"It would embarrath me more if they didn't, " answered Tommy honestly, puckering her face into frowns and squinting up at Harriet sowhimsically that the older girl burst into a peal of merry laughter. 

Instantly following the laugh, Jane's head was thrust through the tentopening. The head was in disorder, for Jane had found no time toattend to her hair. She had been working, which meant that she hadbeen accomplishing things, for Jane was a host in herself when it cameto work. 

"Excuse the condition of my crowning glory, darlin's, but I couldn'twait to comb it. I have been sent to tell you that the grease is onthe bacon and the potatoes are popping open in the hot ashes of thecook fire. We're going to cut off the tops of them, dig out a tunneland fill the tunnel with butter. Um, um! Now, what do you think ofthat?"

In a twinkling Tommy was out of bed and gleefully hurrying into herclothes. 

"I thought it would interest you, darlin', " chuckled Jane. 

"You dress as if you were going to a fire, " declared Harriet, with agood-natured laugh. 

"She is, " answered Crazy Jane; "the camp fire--the cook fire, I shouldsay. "

Tommy, during this dialogue, had not uttered a word. Finally, havinggot into her clothes to her satisfaction, she darted from the tent, spinning Jane half-way around as she dashed past her, the little girltwisting her hair into a hard knot as she ran. 

"I want a potato with a hole in it, " she shouted the moment she camein sight of the cook fire. Some one snatched a hot tuber from theashes and tossed it to her. Tommy caught the potato, but dropped itinstantly and began cooling her fingers. "I want one with a hole init, " she insisted. 

"Bring it here and you shall have it, " replied Miss Elting. Instead ofpicking up the potato and carrying it, Tommy propelled it along withthe toe of her boot. She did not propose to burn her fingers again. The guardian gouged out a hole to the bottom, filling the hole withbutter, Tommy's eyes growing larger and larger. Then she began to eatthe potato with great relish, after having seasoned it with salt andpepper. This was no time for words, nor were any uttered untilnothing but the blackened skin of the potato was left. 

"Thave me!" gasped Tommy. "Pleathe, may I have another?"

"Don't you think it would be well to wait for supper?" suggested MissElting. "In your greediness you have forgotten the others. "

"I beg your pardon, but I wath tho hungry! If you had been a fithhthwimming in the ocean all night you, too, would have an appetite. Howwould you like to be a fithh, Mith Livingthton?"

"I am quite content to be a mere human being, " was the ChiefGuardian's laughing reply. "Were you afraid when you found yourselfout in the ocean all alone?"

"Afraid? I--I gueth I didn't think about that. I wath too buthy tryingto keep from filling up with thalt water. Did you ever drink any ofthat water, Mith Livingthton?"

"Hardly. "

"Then take the advice of a fithh, and don't. "

All hands were called to supper, thus putting an end to theconversation, which had been heartily enjoyed by Mrs. Livingston. Tommy always was a source of amusement to her. She appreciated theactive mind and the keen, if sometimes rude, retorts and ready answersof the little lisping girl. 

After supper a short time was spent in visiting among the girlsprincipally to discuss the marvelous experience of the twoMeadow-Brook Girls; then one by one the girls left to go to theirtents to don their ceremonial dress, and in place of the regulationserge uniform of the Camp Girls figures clad in the ceremonial dress, their hair hanging in two braids over their shoulders, and beadsglistening about their necks, began to make their appearance. 

Barely had the girls put on their ceremonial costumes before amoccasined Wau-Wau girl ran at an Indian lope through the camp, cryingout the call for the council fire:

 "Gather round the council fire, The chieftain waits you there, "

chanted the runner, circling the camp after having gone straightthrough the center from her own tent. The girls began moving toward adark spot in the young forest where the wood for the fire had beenpiled, but not yet lighted. 

"What are we going to do?" questioned Tommy. 

Miss Elting said she could not say; that the Chief Guardian had calledthe council. Silent figures took their places, sitting on the ground, curling their feet underneath them, speaking no words, waiting for theflame that would open the Wau-Wau council. At last all were seated. From among the number there stepped forward a dark figure who haltedbefore the pile of dry wood, then, stooping, began rubbing two stickstogether, while the circle of Camp Girls chanted:

 "Flicker, flicker, flicker, flame; Burn, fire, burn!"

A tiny blaze sprang from the two sticks, then the chant rose higherand higher, figures rose up, swaying their bodies from side to side inunison as the blaze grew into a flame and the flame into a roaringfire, the tongues of which reached almost to the tops of the slendertrees that surrounded the camp of the Wau-Wau Girls. 

"I light the light of health for Wau-Wau, " announced the firemaker, turning her back to the flames and facing part of the circle ofexpectant faces on which the lights and shadows from the fire wereplaying weirdly. 

This completed the opening ceremony. The council fire was in order, the purpose of the meeting would soon be explained, thus relieving thecuriosity of some fifty girls who were burning to know what it was allabout. Not the least curious of these was Tommy Thompson. 

CHAPTER XI

A REWARD WELL-EARNED

"I'm just perishing to know what it's about, " confided Margery Brownto the girl next to her. "What do you suppose it is?"

"I think it has something to do with last night, " answered the CampGirl. 

"Oh! you mean about Harriet and Tommy?"

"Yes. Be quiet, the C. G. Is going to say something. "

The Chief Guardian had already risen. Passing about the circle, sheextended a hand to each of the girls there assembled. There were noother greetings than the warm clasp of friendship and good-fellowship, but it meant much to these brown-faced, strong-limbed young women whohad been members of the organization for a year or more. 

The Chief Guardian took her place by the fire. 

"My daughters, " she said, "we have gathered this evening about thecouncil fire, that ancient institution, to speak of matters that arenear to the heart of each of us. Last night two of your number gave amarked demonstration of what a Camp Girl may do, of what pluck willdo, an exhibition of sheer moral courage, one of the greatest assetsof a Camp Girl. "

"That ith uth, " whispered Tommy to Harriet Burrell, who sat besideher. Harriet's face was flushed. She feared the guardian was about tospeak of her achievements, which Harriet was not at all eager to hear. 

"I refer to the thrilling experiences of Miss Burrell and MissThompson in battling with the big seas far out there in the darkness, and with every reason to believe that their efforts would prove of noavail. It is not the battle of despair to which I refer. There was nosuch. Rather, it was that dogged courage that never even permits asuggestion of give-up to enter the mind of the fighter. It was acourage such as this, combined with rare judgment and physicalability, that makes it possible for Miss Burrell and Miss Thompson tobe present with us at the council fire this evening. 

"They have not told the story willingly. I had to draw it from thembit by bit, which I venture to say is more than any of my girls havesucceeded in doing. " The guardian smiled as she glanced about at theeager, flushed faces of the Camp Girls. 

"Yes, yes!" they cried. 

"As you all know, Miss Burrell, seeing the danger of her companion, hurried to her rescue, with the result that both girls went into thesea. They were quickly carried out to sea by the undertow, which theyfought away from and propelled themselves to the surface. Then theybegan swimming, but in the darkness were unable to see the shore. After a time, Miss Thompson, less strong than her companion, gave out. Then began the real battle, and though Miss Burrell was benumbed withcold, exhausted by her efforts, she managed by a great effort to keepherself and her companion afloat. Fortunately for them, the wind hadshifted and they swam and drifted into the bay and eventually to theshore. We have no means of telling how long our two plucky Wau-WauGirls were in the water, because they themselves cannot tell when theyreached the shore--but, think of it! cast away on a dark and stormyocean in a black night such as that was. That is a triumph, an act ofcourage and heroism that should be held up as an example to every CampGirl in America. However, I should not advise any of you to attempt toemulate the example set by our two young friends, " added the ChiefGuardian warningly. 

A ripple of laughter ran around the circle, then the ensuing silencewas broken by a remark from Tommy which sent the girls nearest to herinto a shout of laughter. 

"Well, I thhould thay not!" exploded Tommy. 

"You might tell the girls how you felt when you believed that all waslost, " suggested the Chief Guardian smilingly, nodding at Tommy. "Doyou recall how you felt in that trying moment?"

"I motht thertainly do. "

"How did you feel?"

"I felt cold. I had what Harriet callth 'cold feet. ' Then I gueth Ididn't feel much of anything till I felt mythelf thitting in the thandwith thome of me dry and thome of me wet, and Harriet trying to dragme out of the thudth. "

"Out of what?" exclaimed the Chief Guardian. 

"Thudth. "

"Suds, " interpreted Miss Elting. "Grace refers to the froth left onthe shore by the beating waves. "

"Yeth, thudth, " repeated Tommy. 

"Harriet, your companions would like to hear from your own lips aboutyour experiences in the water. "

"Oh, please, Mrs. Livingston, won't you excuse me?"

"If you wish, but--"

"My own part was nothing more than an instinct to save myself, whicheveryone possesses. I do want to say, though, that Tommy Thompson wasthe bravest girl I ever saw. She was not afraid, nor can she be blamedfor getting numb and sleepy. I did myself. No one can ever tell methat Tommy isn't as brave a girl as lives. She has proved that. "

"Yeth, I'm a real hero, " piped Tommy with great satisfaction. 

"A heroine, you mean, Tommy, " corrected Harriet. 

"Yeth, I gueth tho, " agreed the little lisping girl amid generallaughter, in which, the Chief Guardian joined. 

"There is nothing else that I can think of to say, Mrs. Livingston. Wewere fortunate; we have much for which to be thankful, for it wasthrough no heroism on my part that we got ashore and were saved. "

Harriet sat down, inwardly glad that her part of the story was told. 

"We have our own views as to that, " answered the Chief Guardian. "Andnow that we have cleared the way, I would say that the camp guardianshave unanimously agreed on giving each of you two young ladies a fullset of beads for your achievements of last night, for suchachievements touch upon nearly all the crafts of our order. They havebeen worthily won and will prove a splendid addition to the alreadyheavy necklace of beads you have earned. "

"I gueth we'll need a chain bearer inthtead of a torch bearer if wekeep on earning beadth, " suggested Grace. 

The two girls were requested to step out. They did so, posing demurelybefore the blazing campfire. 

Mrs. Livingston placed a string of beads about the neck of each of thetwo girls. There were beads of red, orange, sky blue, wood brown, green, black and gold, and red, white and blue, representative of thedifferent crafts of the organization. 

Linking hands and raising them above their heads, thus forming a chainabout the blazing campfire, the Wau-Wau Girls began swaying the humanchain, chanting in low voices:

 "Beads of red and beads of blue, Beads that keep us ever true; Beads of gold and beads of brown, Make for health and great renown. "

Tommy, chancing to catch the eyes of Margery Brown on the oppositeside of the circle, winked wisely at her. Tommy was in her element, but quite the opposite was the case with Harriet. She wasuncomfortable and embarrassed, and though proud of the beads that hadbeen awarded to her, she felt that she scarcely had earned them. Shewas suddenly aroused by the voice of the Chief Guardian. 

"Miss Thompson will be seated, " she was saying. "Miss Burrell willkindly remain standing. "

"Now you are going to catch it, " whispered Grace, as she beganstepping backward toward her place, which she did not quite reach. Shesat down on Hazel instead, raising a titter among the girls near bywho had witnessed the mishap. But the interruption was brief. Thegirls were too much interested in what was taking place there by thecampfire. They had not the remotest idea what the Chief Guardian wasgoing to do, though they felt positive that some further honor was tobe paid to Harriet Burrell. 

"I think I but voice the feelings of the guardians and the girls ofCamp Wau-Wau, both those who are with us here for the first time and, those who were members of this camp when the Meadow-Brook Girlsjoined, when I say that Harriet Burrell is deserving of furtherpromotion at our hands. In the two years that she has been a member ofour great organization she has worn the crossed logs upon her sleeve, the emblem of the 'Wood Gatherer'; she has borne with honor thecrossed logs, the flame and smoke, the emblem of the 'Fire-Maker. ' Shehas, too, more than fulfilled the requirements of these ranks, filled them with honor to herself, her friends and the organization;and instead of earning sixteen honors from the list of electivehonors, she has won more than forty, a record in the Camp Girls'organization. She has fulfilled other requirements that pertain to aneven higher rank. She has proved herself a leader, trustworthy, happy, unselfish, has led her own group through many trying situations andemergencies, winning the love and enthusiasm of those whom she hasled. "

[Illustration: Harriet and Tommy Received Their Reward. ]

"My dear, what is the greatest desire of a Torch Bearer?"

"To pass on to others the light that has been given to her; to makeothers happy and to light their pathway through life, " was Harriet'sready response. 

There were those in the circle who quickly caught the significance ofthe Chief Guardian's question. Many were now aware what reward was tobe bestowed upon the Meadow-Brook Girl. 

"Who bring to the hearth the wood and kindling?" questioned the ChiefGuardian. 

"The Wood Gatherers. "

"Who place the sticks for lighting?"

"The Fire Makers. " Harriet's replies were prompt, but given with someembarrassment. 

"Who rubs together the tinder sticks and imparts the spark thatproduces the flame?"

"The Torch Bearer, " answered Harriet in a low voice. Her face nowseemed to be burning almost as hotly as was the council fire beforeher. 

"What are the further duties of a Torch Bearer?"

"To act as a leader of her fellows in their sports and in their moreserious occupations, to assist them in learning that work, thataccomplishment, bring the greater joys of life; to assist the guardianin any and all ways, " was the low-spoken reply. 

"Correct. And having more than fulfilled the requirements, I nowappoint you to be a Torch Bearer, a real leader in the Camp Girls'organization, thus entitling you to wear that much-coveted emblem, thecrossed logs, flame and smoke. Workers, arise and salute your TorchBearer with the grand hailing sign of the tribe!"

CHAPTER XII

MYSTERY ON A SAND BAR

"I--I thank you. "

Harriet, placing the right hand over the heart, bowed low, and theceremony was complete. The voices of the Wau-Wau Girls were raised insinging, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee. " Then they ran forward, fairlysmothering Harriet with their embraces and congratulations. 

"You forget that I am the real hero, " Tommy reminded them; whereatthey picked up the little girl and tried to toss her back and forth, with the result that she was dropped on the ground. 

The guardians added their congratulations as soon as they succeeded ingetting close enough to Harriet to do so. Grace also came in for hershare of congratulation and praise, with which she was well content. 

"Come, girls, " urged Miss Elting, "you know we have to make our beds, and the hour is getting late. "

"I'm not thleepy, " protested Grace, "I could thtay awake for ageth. "

"You will be by the time we find our sleeping place. It is somelittle distance from here. " Harriet glanced at the guardianinquiringly. 

"Yes, it is the cabin, " answered Miss Elting. "Mrs. Livingston lost notime in arranging for us to occupy it, though I am not at all certainthat it is the wise thing to do under the circumstances. "

"Under what circumstances?" asked Harriet. 

"Storms. "

"But they can do us no harm. "

"We shall have to take for granted that they will not. Mrs. Livingstonsent to town to ask permission of the owner, who readily granted it. He had forgotten that he owned the cabin. It seems that no one hasoccupied it in several years. Mrs. Livingston also obtained some newblankets for us, but for to-night we shall have to put up with somehardships. To-morrow you girls can fix us bough-beds; then we shall bequite comfortable. But we shall have to cook out-of-doors, there beingno stove in the cabin. "

"We shan't be able to cook on the bar. The breeze from the sea is sostrong there that it would blow the fire away. "

"We must come to camp for our meals, then. Perhaps that would bebetter after all. We don't wish to run away by ourselves; and besidesthis, you are now a Torch Bearer and must take a more active part inthe affairs of the Camp, even if you are of the Meadow-Brook group, "reminded the guardian. 

Harriet nodded thoughtfully. 

"How good and kind Mrs. Livingston is! And think of what she has donefor me. It is too good to be true. "

"What is too good to be true?" questioned the Chief Guardian herself. 

"Everything--all that you have done for me. "

"We are still in your debt. Now you had better be getting along. Willyou need a light?"

"No, thank you. Harriet ith an owl. She can thee in the dark jutht athwell ath in the light, " answered Tommy, speaking for Harriet. 

The Meadow-Brook party, after calling their good nights, startedtoward the cabin, Harriet with the thought strong in her mind thatonly one rank lay between her and the highest gift in the power of theorganization to bestow. She determined that one day she would be aGuardian of the Fire, but she dared not even dream of ever rising tothe high office of Chief Guardian. Harriet's life would be too full ofother things, she felt. 

They trooped, laughing and chatting, along the beach, and, reachingthe Lonesome Bar, followed it out. The bar was a narrow, sandy stripthat extended nearly a quarter of a mile out into the bay. About halfway out the cabin had been built and for some time occupied by aPortsmouth man, who occasionally ran down there for a week-end fishingtrip. The cabin, as a camping place, possessed the double advantage ofbeing out of the mosquito zone and of being swept by ocean breezesalmost continuously. A fresh breeze was now blowing in from the sea, and the white-crested rollers could be seen slipping past them oneither side. It was almost as though they were walking down an oceanlane without even wetting their boots. The water was shallow on eitherside, so that even though they stepped off they were in no danger ofgoing into deep water. 

"We have forgotten all about a lamp!" exclaimed Harriet as they nearedthe cabin. 

"That has been attended to, " replied Miss Elting. 

"You know we have been thleeping, Harriet, " reminded Tommy--"thleepingour young headth off. Ithn't it nithe to be able to thleep while otherfolkth do your work for you?"

They had hurried on and Tommy was obliged to run to catch up withthem. Miss Elting was lighting a swinging lamp when they entered thecottage, which consisted of one room, above which was an attic, butwith no entrance so far as they were able to observe. Six rolls ofblankets lay on the floor against a side wall ready to be opened andspread when the girls should be ready for bed. One solitary windowcommanded a view of the sea. Tommy surveyed the place with a squintand a scowl. There was not another article in the place besides theblankets. 

"There ithn't much danger of falling over the furniture in the dark, ith there?" she asked. 

"Not when we have a Torch Bearer with us, " answered Buster, from theshadow just outside the door. 

"Thave me!" murmured Tommy. 

"Oh, my stars! We'll laugh to-morrow, darlin'. It's too dark to laughnow. Come in and sit down, Buster. It isn't safe to leave you outthere. No telling what you might not do after having given out such aflimsy 'joke. '"

"Where shall I sit?" asked Margery, stepping in and glancing about theroom. 

"Take the easy chair over there in the corner, " suggested Harrietsmilingly. 

"But there isn't any chair there. "

"That ith all right. You jutht thit where the chair would be if therewere one, " suggested Tommy. 

"No sitting this evening, " declared the guardian. "You will allprepare for bed. At least two of you need rest--I mean Harriet andTommy. "

"Yeth, we alwayth need that. I never thhall get enough of it untilafter I have been dead ever and ever tho long. "

"I am not sleepy, but, of course, being a leader now, I have to set agood example, " said Harriet lightly. 

Tommy squinted at her inquiringly, as if trying to decide whether ornot it were prudent to take advantage of her now that Harriet was aleader officially. She decided to test the matter out at the firstopportunity, but just now there was a matter of several hours' sleepahead, so Tommy quickly prepared for sleep, after which, straighteningout her blanket, she twisted herself up in it in a mummy roll withonly the top of her tow-head and a pair of very bright little eyesobservable over the top of the blanket. 

Harriet waited until her companions had rolled up in their blankets;then she opened the door wide so that the ocean breeze blew in andswirled about the interior of the cabin in a miniature gale. The girlsdid not mind it at all. They thought it delicious. This was gettingthe real benefit of being at the sea shore. Harriet rolled in herblanket directly in front of the door with her head pillowed on thesill. To enter the cabin one would have to step over her. She went tosleep after lying gazing out over the sea for some time. 

"What's that?" Harriet started up with a half-smothered exclamation. Areport that sounded like the discharge of a gun had aroused her, orelse she had been dreaming. She was not certain which it had been. Theother girls were asleep, as was indicated by their regular breathing. Harriet listened intently. She had not changed her position, but hereyes were wide open, looking straight out to sea. Nothing unusual wasfound there. She was about to close her eyes again when a peculiarcreaking sound greeted her ears. Harriet knew instantly the meaning ofthe sound. It came from the straining of ropes on a sailboat. 

Unrolling from the blanket and hastily dressing, the Meadow-Brook Girlcrawled out to the bar, wishing to make her observations unseen by anyone else. Now she saw it again, that same filmy cloud in the darkness, towering up in the air, moving almost phantom-like into the bay to thesouth of the cabin on Lonesome Bar. 

"It's a boat. I believe it is the same one I saw in there before. ButI can't be sure of that. I don't know boats well enough; then, again, the night is too dark to make certain. I don't know that it would beanything of importance if a boat were to run in here to anchor for thenight. That evidently is what they propose doing, " she thought. 

That Harriet's surmise was correct was evidenced a few moments laterwhen the boat's anchor splashed into the waters of the bay and theanchor chain rattled through the hawse hole. Harriet tried to get aclear idea of what the boat itself looked like, but was unable to doso on account of the darkness. Now the creak of oars was borne faintlyto her ears; the sound ceased abruptly, then was taken up again. 

"They are putting a boat ashore!" muttered Harriet, who was nowsitting on the sand, her hair streaming over her shoulder in thefresh, salty breeze. "I hope to goodness none of them comes out here. The girls would be terribly frightened if they knew about this. Idon't believe I shall tell them, unless--"

Harriet paused suddenly as the sound of men's voices was heardsomewhere toward the land end of the bar. She walked around to therear of the cabin, peering shoreward. She made out faintly the figuresof two men coming down the bar. They were carrying something betweenthem--something that seemed to be heavy and burdensome, for the menwere staggering under its weight. 

The Meadow-Brook Girl realized that she was face to face with amystery, but what that mystery was she could not even surmise, norwould she for some time to come. She determined to act, however, andthat, if possible, without alarming her companions. Hesitating but amoment, Harriet stepped out boldly and started up the bar to meet themysterious strangers with their heavy burden. 

CHAPTER XIII

A STRANGE PROCEEDING

They did not appear to see her until Harriet was within a few yards ofthem. 

Then they halted sharply, dropped their burden and straightened up. The right hand of one of them slipped to his hip pocket, then a fewseconds later was slowly withdrawn with a handkerchief in it. 

"It's a girl, " exclaimed one of the pair in a low voice. 

"Well, what do you think about that?"

"Hello, there, Miss! What is it? Who are ye?" demanded one of the men. 

"I was about to ask the same question of you. What are you doinghere?"

"This here is free coast, young woman. We've as good a right to behere as yourself, and maybe more right, " returned the stranger. 

"That depends, sir. I wish you wouldn't speak so loudly, either. Youwill awaken my companions. I would just as soon they did not see you, for I don't like the looks of you in the dark. "

"Companions!" exploded one of the men under his breath. "Whew! Whereare they?"

"In the cabin. We are occupying it now. Where were you going with thatbox? You know there is nothing but the sea beyond here. This is a bar. The mainland is the other way. Perhaps you thought you were headed upthe beach?"

"Sure we did, Miss. Thank you. We'll be going. Sorry to have disturbedyou. Got some provisions for a friend of ours who is down this part ofthe coast on a fishing trip. Thank you. "

They gathered up their burden and started back toward the beach asfast as they could stagger, Harriet in the meantime standing wherethey had left her, gazing after them with forehead wrinkled intoridges of perplexity. Harriet watched the men all the way back to thebeach. She saw them put down the box they had been carrying and standlooking back at her. Harriet quickly retraced her steps to the cabin, in the shadow of which she halted and continued her watching. 

The men stood for some time, evidently engaged in a discussion, though no sound of voices reached the listening girl. They then pickedup their box and walked down the beach with it. 

"That is odd. They said they were going up the beach with provisionsfor a friend. I don't understand this proceeding at all, but it looksquestionable to me. I know what I'll do; I'll follow them. "

The Meadow-Brook Girl did not stop to consider that she had decidedupon a possibly dangerous adventure. Stooping over as low as possibleand yet remain on her feet, Harriet ran full speed toward the beach. She saw the men halt and put down the box, whereat the girl flattenedherself on the sandy bar and lay motionless until, finally, theypicked up their burden and went on. She was able to make out thesailboat anchored some little distance out in the bay. 

"They must have brought the box off from the boat, " she mused. "Iwonder what is in it? I am positive that there is some mystery here. It isn't my affair, but my woman's curiosity makes me wonder what itis all about. There they go again. " She was up and off, this timereaching the beach before they put down the box again. Now Harriet wasreasonably safe from discovery. She crouched close to the sandy bluffand lay watching. She saw one of the men put off in a rowboat, whichhe propelled rapidly over to the sailboat. He did not remain therelong, and she saw him pulling back to shore as if in more haste thanwhen he went out. 

"Now they are going to do something, " decided the watching girl. "Yes, they are going to take the box. "

The men did. Picking it up, they carried it back in among the trees, Harriet following at a safe distance, picking her way cautiously, notmaking the slightest sound in moving about among the spindling pines. 

Finally, realizing that the men had stopped, the girl crouched downwith eyes and ears on the alert. She could hear them at work. Theywere not going ahead, but they were engaged in some occupation thenature of which for the moment puzzled Harriet Burrell. Then all atonce the truth flashed into her mind. 

"They are hiding the box!" exclaimed the girl under her breath. "Butwhy are they doing that? What secret could be so dark that it needshiding in the woods? I shall make it my business to find out. There, they are coming out. "

She threw herself on the ground. She could hear the men approaching. They seemed, from the sound of their voices, to be coming directlytoward her. Harriet gathered herself ready for a spring in case ofdiscovery, which now seemed imminent, then again flattened herself onthe ground. 

"I won't run until I have to, " she decided. Courage was required for agirl to remain in Harriet's position under the circumstances, butHarriet Burrell had plenty of this and to spare. In the meantime themen were rapidly drawing near. They were conversing in low tones, butthe girl in hiding on the ground was unable to make out what they weresaying. Rather was her attention centered on what they were going todo, which was the all-important question at that moment. But Harrietwas not left long in suspense. The men were coming straight towardher. She could see them quite plainly now, and wondered why they didnot see her. It was evident that they had not yet done so, perhapsbecause they were so fully occupied with their own affairs. 

Harriet Burrell braced herself. To rise would mean instant discovery;to remain as she was, possible avoidance of it. She decided upon thelatter course and lay still. Within a minute the expected occurred. The men had swerved to their right slightly, raising the hope in themind of Harriet that they were going to pass her without discoveringher. Instead a heavy boot came in contact with her own feet. Therefollowed a muttered exclamation, the man pitched headlong, the girlhaving stiffened her limbs to meet the shock the instant she felt thetouch of the boot against her feet. 

The man's companion laughed uproariously and was called sharply toaccount by the one who had fallen. 

Now came the supreme test for Harriet. She could scarcely restrainherself from crying out, springing up and running away. Instead, shelay perfectly quiet, breathing as lightly as possible. The man got upgrowling. 

"Confound these dark holes, " he snarled. 

"Hurt yourself?" questioned his companion. 

"No, only skinned my wrist. Let's get back to the boat. Why doesn'tthe Cap'n do it himself instead of asking us to take all the risks andall the knocks to boot?"

"Because he is paying us for doing it. I reckon you'd better do asyou're told if you want to come in for the clean-up. We'd better behustling, too, for Cap'n wants to get under way. We've lost too muchtime already and we'll be in bad first thing we know. "

The man who had fallen answered with an unintelligible growl. He hadnot looked behind him to see what he had fallen over. Instead, hewrapped a handkerchief about his wrist and started on. The two mentrudged on down toward where they had left their boat. They werenearly at the beach before Harriet Burrell finally sat up. 

"Wasn't that a narrow escape?" she breathed. "He fell over me andnever saw me. I wonder if my ankle is broken? It feels as though itwere. How it did hurt when he kicked me! It is a wonder I did notscream. I wonder what they are going to do now?"

She got up and limped toward the beach, using a little less cautionthan she had done when coming out. She paused just at the edge of thetrees, where she stood in the shadow observing the men. They shovedthe boat off and followed it out a little way, splashing in the waterwith their heavy boots, for the beach was too shallow to permit theirgetting into the rowboat and rowing directly away from the shore. Theyfirst had to shove it off into deeper water. This was quicklyaccomplished, and piling in, one of the pair began rowing out towardthe sailboat. 

The Meadow-Brook girl sat down and began to rub her injured ankle. Therowboat was now merely a dark blotch out on the bay. The blotch nearedthe sailboat and was lost in the shadow that surrounded the largercraft. A few moments later Harriet heard the anchor being hauled in, then the creak of the rings on the mast as the sail was being raised. The boat got under way quickly and with very little disturbance, swungto the breeze, the boom lurching to the leeward side of the boat witha "clank. " Then the sailboat began moving slowly from the bay. Therewere no lights to be seen either within or without. The boat was indarkness. Harriet gazed with straining eyes until the boat had finallymerged with the sea and was lost to view. A few moments later shecaught the twinkle of a masthead light. She watched the light and sawthat it was moving slowly up the coast. 

"That's the last of them for to-night, " she reflected. "I wonder wherethey put that box and what is in it? However, I can't look for itto-night. I will see if I can find out anything about it in themorning. I hope Miss Elting hasn't awakened and missed me. "

Harriet stepped quickly down to the beach. She gained the bar and ranuntil she reached the cabin. Listening outside the door, she foundthat her companions were still asleep. She crept cautiously into thecabin, undressed, rolled in her blanket and lay staring up at theceiling until her heavy eyelids closed and she was sound asleep. Hercompanions apparently had slept through the entire adventure, forwhich Harriet Burrell was thankful. 

CHAPTER XIV

A VISITOR WHO WAS WELCOME

"Wake up, girls. Put on your bathing suits and jump in. " Miss Eltingalready was dressed in her blue bathing costume, her hair tucked underher red rubber bathing cap. "We have just time for a swim beforebreakfast. I see the smoke curling up from the campfire already. "

"I don't want to thwim; I want to thleep, " protested Tommy. 

"Get a move, darlin', unless you want to be thrown in, " interjectedJane, who was hurrying into her bathing suit. "Margery, don't tempt ustoo far, or we will throw you in, too. "

"I am sleepy, too, " declared Harriet, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "I can't imagine what makes me feel so stupid this morning. " Then, remembering, she became silent. 

"If you would go to bed with the children and get your regular night'srest, you wouldn't be so sleepy in the morning, " Jane answered withapparent indifference. Harriet regarded Jane with inquiring eyes. "Iwonder if Jane really suspects that I was out of the cabin in thenight, or whether it was one of her incidental remarks?" shereflected. "I'll find out before the day is ended. "

"Am I right, darlin'?" persisted Jane, with a tantalizing smile. 

"Right about what?"

"Being up late?"

"I agree with you, " replied Harriet frankly, looking her questionerstraight in the eyes. "I am losing altogether too much sleep of late. "

"We didn't lothe any thleep latht night, " added Tommy. 

"You certainly did not, my dear; nor did Margery nor any of the othersunless it were Crazy Jane, " declared Harriet with a mischievous glanceat Jane McCarthy, who refused to be disturbed by it or to be trappedinto any sort of an admission. 

"Girls, girls, aren't you coming in?" Miss Elting rose dripping fromthe bay and peered into the cabin. "Come in or you'll be too late. "

"At once, Miss Elting, " called Harriet. "It has taken me some littletime to get awake. I am awake now. Here I come. " She ran out of thecabin and sprang into the water with a shout and a splash, strikingout for the opposite side, nearly a quarter of a mile away. She hadreached the middle of the bay before the guardian caught sight of herand called to her to return. The Meadow-Brook girl did so, though ithad been her intention to swim all the way across the bay and back. 

In the meantime the other girls had begun their swim. Jane wassplashing about in deep water, Hazel doing likewise, while Margery wasswimming in water barely up to her neck. Tommy, on the other hand, appeared to be afraid to venture out. Every time a ripple would breakabout her knees she would scream and run back out of the way. 

"'Fraid cat!" jeered Margery. "'Fraid to come in where the water isdeep. "

"Yeth, I am, " admitted Tommy. 

"I told you so, I told you so, " shouted Buster. "I always said she wasa 'fraid cat, and now she has shown you that I am right. "

"Who is a 'fraid cat?" demanded Miss Elting, pulling herself up on thebeach with her hands. 

"I am, " answered Tommy, speaking for herself. 

"Who says you are?"

"Buthter. "

"Margery, I am ashamed of you. You have evidently forgotten that Graceshowed how little she was afraid when she was lost at sea the othernight, " chided the guardian. 

"Yeth, I'm a 'fraid cat. But I'd rather be a 'fraid cat than a fatcat!" declared the little, lisping girl with an earnestness that madethem all smile. Harriet came swinging in with long, steady strokes, the last one landing her on the sand with the greater part of her bodyout of the shallow water. 

"Why wouldn't you let me go across, Miss Elting?" she asked. 

"You would be late for breakfast. "

"Oh! I thought you feared I might drown, " answered Harrietwhimsically. 

"Once is enough, " answered Jane. "There goes the fish horn. Hurry, girls! We are going to be late. "

"The fithh horn? Are we going to have fithh for breakfatht?"questioned Tommy. 

"Never mind what, girls. Tuck up your blankets and get busy. Remember, you must braid your hair before going to breakfast. I don't like tosee you at meals with your hair down; you girls are too old for that. "

"Yes, Miss Elting, " answered Harriet. 

"I gueth I'll cut my hair off. It ith too much trouble to fix it everymorning, " decided Grace. "But, Mith Elting, couldn't I fix it thenight before and thleep in it?"

"Certainly not! How can you suggest such a thing?"

Tommy twisted her face out of shape and blinked solemnly at Margery, whose chin was in the air. They were all hurrying now, for theirmorning bath had given them keen appetites. Miss Elting was first tobe ready, then Harriet, but they waited until their companions weredressed and ready to go. 

"The Indian lope to the breakfast tent, " announced Miss Elting. "Forward, go!"

The girls started off at an easy though not particularly gracefullope, the guardian and the Torch Bearer setting the pace for the rest. They arrived at the cook tent with faces flushed and eyes sparkling, with a few moments to spare before the moment for marching in arrived. The Chief Guardian smiled approvingly. 

"Sleeping out on the bay appears to agree with you girls, " she said. "I have no need to ask if you slept well. "

"Harriet is the restless one, " answered Jane. 

Harriet flushed in spite of her self-control; but no specialsignificance was attached to Jane's remark, for it was seldom that shewas taken seriously. 

Harriet, after recovering from her momentary confusion, chuckled andlaughed, very much amused over what had made no impression at all onher companions. 

"I shall ask some of our craftswomen here to build beds for thecabin, " announced the Chief Guardian, as they were sitting down. 

"It is not necessary, " replied Miss Elting. "Our girls prefer thebough beds, which they will build during the day. "

"And what will our new Torch Bearer do to amuse herself after theregular duties of the day are done?" questioned Mrs. Livingston. "Willshe take her group for a swim in the Atlantic?"

"Yeth, Harriet and mythelf are going to try to thwim acroth thithafternoon, " Grace informed them. 

"Swim across the Atlantic? Mercy me!" answered Mrs. Livingstonlaughingly. "That would indeed be an achievement. "

"I beg your pardon, but I didn't thay 'acroth the othean'; I meant tothwim acroth the pond down in the cove yonder. Harriet could thwimacroth the othean if she withhed to, though, " added Tommy. 

"You surely have a loyal champion, Miss Burrell, " called one of theguardians from the far end of the table. "Still, we have not heardwhat you are going to do to-day. I am quite sure it will be somethingworth while?"

"I have about made up my mind to go out in search of buried treasure, "answered Harriet, with mock gravity. They laughed heartily at this. Jane regarded her narrowly. 

"I wonder what Harriet has in her little head now?" she said under herbreath. 

"Why, what do you mean?" asked the Chief Guardian. "Buried treasurealong this little strip of coast? Perhaps, however, you may mean outon the Shoal Islands. "

"No, Mrs. Livingston. Right here in Camp Wau-Wau there is buriedtreasure. I don't know whether it is worth anything or not, but thereis a buried treasure here. "

The girls uttered exclamations of amazement, for they saw that theirnew Torch Bearer was in earnest, that she meant every word she haduttered about the treasure. 

"Now, isn't that perfectly remarkable?" breathed Margery. 

"Oh, do tell us about it?" cried the girls. 

"Not a word more, " answered Harriet. "I give you leave to find it, though, if you can. Some of you clever trailers see if you can pick upthe trail and follow it to its end. At the end you will find theburied treasure, unless it has been taken away within a few hours, which I very much doubt. Now, that is all I am going to tell you aboutit. "

"Do you really mean that, Harriet?" questioned Grace. 

Harriet nodded. 

"Why don't you get it yourthelf, then?"

"I may one of these days if the girls fail to find it. I wish to seeif they are good trailers. But we are forgetting to eat breakfast. Just now I am more in need of breakfast than of buried treasure. "

"Yes, girls, please eat your breakfast. We must put the camp to rightsas soon as we finish, for I have an idea that we may have visitorsbefore the day is done, " urged Mrs. Livingston. 

The Wau-Wau girls were too much excited over Harriet's words to beparticularly interested in the subject of visitors just then, so theyhurried their breakfast, discussing the new Torch Bearer's veiledsuggestions, eager to have done with the morning meal and the morningwork that they might try to solve this delightful mystery. Harriet waswell satisfied with the excitement she had stirred, though having doneso would rather bar her from carrying out certain plans that she hadhad in mind ever since the previous night. 

Later in the morning, however, under pretext of wishing to get pineboughs for her bed, she, with Tommy, strolled off into the woods, butbeyond locating the spot where she had lain when the man stumbled overher in the darkness she made no progress toward solving the mystery. Not the slightest trace of the box did she discover. Of course, Harriet did not hope to find the mysterious box standing in plainsight, but she could not imagine what they had done with it in sobrief a time. She did not dare make much of a point of searchingabout, observing that Tommy was regarding her keenly during themorning stroll. 

With her belt hatchet Harriet selected and cut such boughs as shedesired and placed them in a pile, afterward to be carried out to thecabin on the Lonesome Bar. Later on they were assisted by the otherMeadow-Brook Girls. They covered the floor of the cabin with thefragrant green boughs until Tommy declared that it made her "thleepy"just to smell it. In the meantime, those of their companions who werenot engaged with camp duties were strolling about along the beach nearthe camp, discussing what Harriet had told them at breakfast thatmorning. It was all right to tell them to pick up the trail, but whattrail was it, and how were they to find it? Even the guardians werenot beyond curiosity in the matter, and they, too, when they thoughtthemselves unobserved, might have been seen looking eagerly about forthe "trail. " All this amused Harriet Burrell very much. 

With her group, Harriet was at the cabin arranging the boughs, whenthey were summoned to camp by three blasts of the fish horn used forthe various signals employed by Camp Wau-Wau. Something had happenedin camp. 

"Thomebody hath found it!" cried Tommy, shooting a quick glance ofinquiry at Harriet Burrell. The latter flushed, then burst outlaughing after a look toward the miniature forest of spindling pines. 

"I hope they have. But I may tell you, my dear Tommy, that theyhaven't found either the trail or my buried treasure. "

"You must know pretty well where it is, " said Miss Elting, eyeingHarriet steadily for a few seconds. "Come, we must not delay answeringthat summons. "

They did not delay. The Meadow-Brook Girls responded promptly, makinga run for it in good order. 

"There's a motor car, " shouted Jane, when they came in sight of thecamp. "O darlin's, maybe it is a new car Daddy has sent down for me totake the place of the one that is drowned. "

Jane leaped on ahead of her companions, intent upon reaching the camp. Harriet sprinted up beside her, almost as much excited as was CrazyJane herself. 

The two girls easily outdistanced their companions in a very fewmoments. It was a race between them to see who should first reach thecamp. Harriet fell behind slightly as her quick eyes made out a figuresitting in front of the Chief Guardian's tent. The figure was that ofa man and he was conversing with Mrs. Livingston. 

Jane uttered a sudden shrill cry. She, too, had discovered the visitorand recognized him. 

"It's Daddy. It's my dear old Daddy!" she screamed, and, forgetful ofthe lectures she had received on comporting herself with dignity andrestraint, Crazy Jane threw herself--hurled herself, in fact--into thearms of Contractor McCarthy. Now, a camp chair is never any toosubstantial. The one on which Mr. McCarthy was sitting was noexception to the rule. It collapsed under the force of Crazy Jane'sprojectile-like force. Mr. McCarthy, in attempting to save himselffrom going down with it, lurched sideways. In doing so he bumpedheavily against the Chief Guardian, and with a sharp little cry fromthe latter, the three went down in a confused heap. 

CHAPTER XV

TOMMY MAKES A DISCOVERY

A dozen girls sprang forward to the assistance of the unfortunatetrio, but Harriet was ahead of them. She grasped the Chief Guardianunder the arms and lifted her to her feet, then taking a hand of Mr. McCarthy pulled him up with disconcerting suddenness. He looked dazedand a little sheepish. 

"It's that mad girl Jane of mine, " he explained. 

Mrs. Livingston's face was flushed, her eyes snapped; then her angryexpression softened and she burst out laughing. 

"O Jane, Jane! You will be the undoing of all of us before you havedone. "

Jane, with her hair disheveled, stood ruefully surveying the scene. 

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Livingston, that you went over. I didn't want to makeyou fall down, but I just had to show Daddy how glad I was to seehim. "

"You showed me all right, young lady. Lucky, for us all that we hadsoft ground under us. Mrs. Livingston, I suppose you'll be telling meto take this mad-cap daughter of mine home with me. I shouldn't blameyou if you did, and I don't think I'd cry over it, for I want her. No, I don't mean that--"

"Daddy!" rebuked Jane. 

"I mean that she is better off here, and you are doing her a heap ofgood, Mrs. Livingston, even if she did give way to one of her old fitsof violence just now. "

"Certainly not, Mr. McCarthy, " answered the Chief Guardian promptly. "We all love Jane. She is a splendid girl and we should miss her. Icertainly did miss her last summer, and now I should miss her morethan ever. I hope we shall have her with us for many summers; then oneof these days, when she is older, she, too, will have a camp of girlsto look after. "

"I feel very thorry for the camp, " broke in Tommy. 

"You will have to buy a new camp stool, Daddy, " reminded Jane. "I'mglad I'm not so stout that I break up the furniture every time I siton it. "

"Yeth, Buthter doeth that, " said Tommy, nodding solemnly. 

"And you, young lady, you've got some strength in those arms, " hesaid, turning to Harriet. "The way you bounced me to my feet was awonder. Tommy, you haven't shaken hands with your old friend. Comehere, my dear, and shake hands with me. "

"You were tho mixed up that I couldn't tell which wath the hand tothhake, " replied Grace promptly. "That wath what Jane callth a meth, wathn't it?"

"It was. Why, how do you do, Hazel--and Margery, too? Well, well! thisis a delightful surprise. How fine you all look. And I hear you had aswim the other night, Harriet, and you, too, Tommy. Well, well! Andyou like the water, eh?"

"It is glorious, " breathed Harriet, instinctively glancing out to sea, where a flock of gulls were circling and swooping down in search offood. 

"You won't have to swim any more unless you wish to. I've madedifferent arrangements about that. "

"You mean you have bought me a new car, Daddy?" interrupted Jane. 

"I haven't said. I reckon you don't need a car here. You must havelearned, from your recent experience, that an automobile doesn'ttravel on water half as well as it does on land. "

"Ourth did. It traveled fine until it got to the bottom, " Tommyinformed him. 

"No, I haven't bought another car yet. I have some men who are goingto get the old one up to-morrow. We shall see what shape she's in. Ofcourse, if she isn't workable any more, I will have another for you bythe time you get home. Tell me how it happened. I couldn't make muchout of your telegram. By the way, when you send a telegram, don'tforget that you aren't writing a letter. That telegram you sent costme nine dollars and thirty-seven cents. "

"Isn't it worth that much to hear from your daughter?" Jane's eyeswere dancing. 

Mr. McCarthy took off his hat and wiped the perspiration from hisforehead. 

"What would you do with her, Mrs. Livingston?" he laughed. 

"I should love her, Mr. McCarthy; she is worth it, " was the ChiefGuardian's prompt reply. 

"She is, " he agreed solemnly, "and I do. But you haven't told me, Jane, darling. "

"Oh, let Harriet do it. I never was strong on telling things so anyone could understand what I was talking about. "

"There isn't much to tell about the accident, except that we turnedoff on a side road according to directions. Jane wheeled down it at aslow rate of speed--for her, " added Harriet under her breath. "We ranout on an ice pier and plumped right into the pond. "

"You went down with the car, then?" stammered Mr. McCarthy. 

"Right down to the bottom, " Tommy informed him. 

"That did not amount to much, " continued Harriet. "The top was not up. We had little difficulty in getting out--"

"But Harriet was drowned in getting the trunk free from the rear end, "declared Jane earnestly. 

"Drowned?" exclaimed the contractor. 

"Yes, nearly drowned, " corrected Miss Elting. "We had a pretty hardtime resuscitating her. I am beginning to think that the Meadow-BrookGirls bear charmed lives, Mr. McCarthy. "

"So am I. But you don't mean to tell me that Harriet really was allbut drowned?"

"Yes. "

"It does beat all, it does, " reflected Mr. McCarthy, mopping hisforehead again and regarding Harriet with wondering eyes. "It is aguess as to whether she or Jane can get into the most trouble. Theyare a pair hard to beat. "

"We do not try to find excitement, Mr. McCarthy, " expostulatedHarriet. "We cannot always help it if trouble overtakes us the way itdid when the car went into the ice pond. "

"Certainly not. I know you, at least, are wholly to be depended upon, but Jane isn't always the most prudent girl in the world. Now, willyou dears run along and enjoy yourselves. I have several things todiscuss with Mrs. Livingston, then we will have an afternoon together. I wish Jane and Harriet to drive down with me and show me the placewhere they lost the car later on in the afternoon. You remember youinterrupted our conversation here a short time ago, Jane, " remindedthe visitor. 

"May I try the car, Dad?" questioned Jane. 

"Yes. But look sharp that you don't wreck the thing. I have no fancyto walk all the way back to Portsmouth this evening, " he chuckled. 

"Come along, Meadow-Brooks. I can't take any more this trip, but ifDad's buggy goes all right, I'll take the rest of you out on theinstalment plan. "

"I don't want to go, " decided Tommy. "I want to thtay here and retht. I never get any retht at all. "

The others were eager to go. Jane already was cranking up the car. Hercompanions, with the exception of Grace Thompson, piled in, and a fewmoments later the car rolled from the camp, headed for the highwaysome little distance from the camp. There was no road leading to thecamp, but the way was reasonably smooth, provided one dodged thetrees, both standing and fallen. 

In the meantime the other girls went about their duties andrecreations. Mr. McCarthy and Mrs. Livingston again sat down andcontinued their conversation. Tommy, now being without a guardian, Miss Elting having gone with Jane and her party, started down towardthe beach, her eyes very bright, her movements quick and alert. Someof the girls whom she met asked where she was going. Tommy repliedthat she might go fishing, but that she couldn't say for sure untilshe found out whether she could catch anything. The little girl keptedging farther and farther away from her companions, until finally, finding herself beyond sight of them, began running with all hermight. They saw no more of Tommy Thompson for several hours. 

While all this was going on, Jane McCarthy was racing her father's carup and down the road at an ever-increasing rate of speed. Those in thecamp could hear the purr of the motors, and now and then a flash ofred showed between the trees as the car sped past the camp. 

"Must be doing close to fifty miles an hour, " observed Mr. McCarthy, grinning. 

"Aren't you afraid she will kill herself, or some one else?"questioned the guardian anxiously. 

"She never has. I don't reckon it would bother any of the Meadow-BrookGirls to go into the ditch. They are pretty well used to getting intomix-ups. "

"They certainly have every reason to be used to it, " nodded Mrs. Livingston reflectively. "But, were they my daughters, I must confessI should not know an easy moment. I do not, as it is, when they areout of my sight. That was the reason I hesitated to accede to yourrequest. However, they will have nothing to do with the operation ofit. All they will have to do will be to sit still and enjoythemselves. Then, again, it is the one thing needful to make a summerat the sea shore thoroughly enjoyable. I know that all of my girlswill take the keenest possible delight in it, and I thank you, ontheir behalf, for your thoughtfulness and kindness. You have done agreat deal for our camp, as well as for our organization, and I wishyou would permit me to make it known to the general officers in--"

"By no means, Mrs. Livingston, " hastily interposed the visitor. "It isnothing at all, and it's just a little pride in that mad-cap daughterof mine that has led me to do what little I have. But in reference tothe new plan, you will tell the girls to-day, eh?"

"No; you tell them. "

"Oh, leave me out of it, please. "

"I could not do that. You will take dinner with us to-day, of course, and then you may announce it to the girls. I can imagine how pleasedthey will be. Why, there come the girls now!" exclaimed the ChiefGuardian. 

"The girls?"

"Yes, yes. Jane--"

"Eh? Alone?"

"No, no. There is Miss Elting and Harriet. Yes, they are all there. What can it mean?"

"It means that they have smashed the car, " groaned Mr. McCarthy. "Itold you. " He did not look around, but sat fumbling with his hat, hisface very red. Jane stepped up before him, and with chin on her breastsurveyed him from under her eyelashes, "Well?" he demanded. 

"Well, we're here, " answered Jane. 

"What is the trouble, girls?" cried Mrs. Livingston. "Thank goodness, you are all here. Why doesn't some one speak up?"

"How much damage did you do to her, Jane?" questioned the visitorcalmly, referring to the car. 

"Enough. "

"Tell me about it!"

"She's in the ditch about a mile up the road. "

"Think we can pull her out between us?"

Jane shook her head. 

"Not without the wrecking crew. She's bottom side up, two wheels offand part of her machinery on the other side of the road, " was CrazyJane's calm reply. However, before they had an opportunity to saymore, Tommy Thompson came running toward them, her face flushed withexcitement. 

"I've found it! I've found it!" she shouted. 

"Found what?" demanded the Chief Guardian. 

"I've found the treathure trail. I've got it, I know I have!"

CHAPTER XVI

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

"She's found the buried treasure!" screamed Buster. 

The girls uttered a cheer. Harriet regarded Tommy's excited faceinquiringly. 

"You really have found it?"

"Yeth, yeth. "

"Where is the treasure?"

"I don't know. How thhould I know?"

"But you said you had found it, " interposed the Chief Guardian. 

"No, I thaid I had found the trail. Of courthe, I haven't found thetreathure. But I've found thomething, and--"

"What did you find? Come, tell us, " urged Harriet. 

Controlling herself somewhat, Tommy glanced triumphantly at theexpectant faces about her. 

"There wath a man at thith camp latht night. "

"What?" The girls asked the question at the top of their voices. 

"There were two men here latht night, " persisted Grace. 

"Please explain what you mean, Grace, " commanded the Chief Guardian. "You say there were two men here last night. How do you know?"

"I found the markth of their feet--in the thand. But that wathn't allI found. There wath a boat here, too--a boat. Now, what do you thinkof that?"

"Try to be more explicit, Grace, " urged Miss Elting. "Tell us what youhave discovered, without beating about the bush so long. "

"There wathn't any buthh to beat about. It wath right on the thand. Don't you underthtand?"

Miss Elting sat down. "Tell it your own way, then. We are simplywasting time in trying to hurry you, " she said. 

"Yeth. Well, it wath thith way. I wath looking for the treathure trailthat Harriet told uth about at breakfatht thith morning, though Idon't thee how thhe thhould know anything about it. My footthepth ledme--led me, you understand? No, it wath my feet, not my footthtepth, that led me--right along the thhore of the ocean. And what do youthuppose I found?"

"An oyster shell, " suggested Margery. 

"No, not that. I found where a boat had been drawn up on the thhoreand then thhoved out again. It had been drawn up on the thand. Thenthere were trackth about the place, trackth of heavy bootth, and amark in the thand where thomething heavy had been put down. It lookedlike a box. I gueth it wath. The men had taken the box between themand carried it up and down the thhore ath far ath I could thee. Youknow, the tide wathhed the marks out near down to the thea. "

"What did they do with the box, dearie?" interrupted Harriet. 

"That I have not yet dethided. I thhall find out about that later. Well, after a time, it theemth, they took the box up the thandy beachand into the woodth, but by that time it wath tho dark that I couldn'tthee any more footprintth and couldn't tell what they did with thebox. "

"Marvelous, " muttered Buster. "Excruciatingly marvelous!"

"Is this a fairy story?" demanded Mrs. Livingston. 

"Ask Harriet, " suggested Crazy Jane. "I think she knows more about itthan Tommy does. Don't you, Harriet?"

"What makes you think that, Jane?" questioned Harriet mischievously. 

"Ask me, darlin'. "

"I have, dear. "

Jane stepped over and whispered in Harriet's ear, the others regardingthe proceeding with puzzled expressions on their faces. Harriet'sface broke out into a ripple of smiles. 

"I am caught red-handed, " she said. "It seems that I am not the onlylight sleeper in the Meadow-Brook camp. Jane chanced to observesomething that I did last night. She has known it all along. Shehinted at it this morning, and I suspected that she knew more than shehad told us. "

"But, my dear, we are all in the dark, " reminded the Chief Guardian. "Won't you be good enough to explain this mystery? Surely you can doso in a way that will make it clear to us. Two men, a box and a boatand goodness knows what else, here on this lonely part of the coast. "

"I was suddenly awakened last night, " began Harriet withoutpreliminary remarks. "A boat sailed into the bay close to shore andcame to anchor. Then a small boat put off. Two men were in it. Theycame ashore with a heavy box, started down the bar, then back to thebeach after I had met and stopped them. Tommy has told you the truthabout their further movements. "

"Wait a moment. You stopped them, you say?" questioned Mrs. Livingston. 

"Yes. I didn't want them to get near the cabin and disturb our party. According to their story they had made a mistake. They had somesupplies for a friend of theirs who was on a fishing trip somewhereup the coast. "

"You believed that to be the case, then?"

"No, Mrs. Livingston, I did not, because, instead of going up thebeach after I had turned them back, they went the other way, eventually turning in among the trees, where they remained for sometime. I did not see them again until they fell over me later--"

"What!" The guardian was more amazed than before. 

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that I followed them to see what they weregoing to do. I didn't find out, but they found me, though they werenot aware of it. " Harriet explained how she had lain down on theground and how one of the two men had stumbled over her feet withoutdiscovering her presence. Exclamations of amazement greeted this partof the story. 

"What became of them after that?" asked Miss Elting. 

"They shoved off their rowboat, rowed out to the sailboat, whichquickly weighed anchor and put out to sea. That is all I know aboutit. You see, Tommy was right. "

Mrs. Livingston turned to Tommy. 

"My dear, you did splendidly. Of all this camp of girls you were theonly one who found the trail and read it aright. That is trailing foryou, Mr. McCarthy. But what could the men have been doing here? I donot like the looks of it at all. "

"They have gone, so we needn't worry, " replied Harriet. "I forgot tosay that there was a boat in here--I think it was the same one--theother night just before the storm. It is my idea that they came in onthat occasion to put something ashore, but were obliged to get out tosea before the storm broke. They came back on the following night tofinish what they had failed to do the first time. "

Mr. McCarthy nodded. So did Mrs. Livingston. 

"Remarkable girls, these Meadow-Brook Girls, Mr. McCarthy. However, there is nothing to be done. We shall not be bothered any more, in allprobability. Besides, they were not here on our account, so we have nocause to worry. "

"And I've got to walk back to Portsmouth, " groaned Mr. McCarthy. "Itold you, Mrs. Livingston. "

"Perhaps we may catch some farmer who is going in that direction, andwho will be willing to give you a lift, " she suggested. 

"No; you will have to let me sleep under a tree and hang aboutto-night. The men are coming down in the morning to get the car out ofthe pond. They might as well have two jobs as one. How did it happen, Jane?"

For the first time the party of Camp Girls who had gathered about thelittle group gave their attention to the Meadow-Brook Girls. Thelatter were now discovered to be much the worse for wear. Their hairwas down over their shoulders and their clothes were soiled and torn. 

"Got it hard, didn't you?" chuckled Mr. McCarthy. 

"Oh, not so much, " replied Jane, repressing a smile. 

"You are a thight. You look ath though you had been digging for buriedtreathure, " declared Tommy. 

"How'd it happen?" rumbled Mr. McCarthy. 

"It was like this, Daddy, dear. We were running along nicely andeasily--just at a comfortable jog, when--"

"How fast?"

"How much time were we making, Harriet?"

"Nearly sixty miles an hour. "

"Yes, I knew it wasn't very fast. Just jogging, Daddy. "

The visitor grunted. 

"Something went wrong with the steering gear. I don't know what itwas, but the wheel had no effect on the car. You should have seen us. It was funny, wasn't it, girls, the way that car darted from one sideof the road to the other, and we hanging on for dear life? You see, that was all we could do--hang on. Well, the car jumped the ditch, went up the bank on that side of the road, smashed into the iron postof a wire fence, then stood up on end and turned over backward. Didyou ever see such a contrary automobile? Where did you buy it, Dad?"

"Didn't buy it. Borrowed it of a man I know up at Portsmouth. It'llcost me only a few thousand to make it right with him, but then Dad'srich; don't you care. "

"I never do, " chuckled Jane. "Do you?"

"No, I don't, so long as no one gets hurt. How'd you get out? What didyou do when the car was stopped by the fence?"

"We just went on over, Dad. You know nothing can stop a Meadow-BrookGirl when she is once well started on a course. We landed on plowedground on the other side of the fence. "

"Mercy!" exclaimed the Chief Guardian. 

"Can anything hurt you, girls?"

"I hope not, " answered Harriet. "This was a little sudden, but wedidn't mind it so very much, did we, Miss Elting?"

"I don't know who you mean by 'we, ' but please do not include me inthis particular 'we. ' I am not over the shock of that plunge yet, nordo I expect to be for some hours to come. I fear the car is ruined, Mr. McCarthy. I hope you will not send another one down here for Jane, if you will pardon my saying so. " This from Miss Elting. 

"That's all right, Miss Elting. I am not going to send another car atpresent. Perhaps when you young folks are ready to go home I may senda car for you, but I may give you a driver. For the present I've gotsomething else in my mind. I had to wait until I asked Mrs. Livingstonabout it before I put it through. She thinks it will be fine. She willtell you all about it at dinner to-day. "

"There goes the dinner horn now, " announced the guardian of theMeadow-Brook Girls. "Girls, you are not presentable. Hurry and getready for dinner. We mustn't be late to-day, of all days. "

It was really marvelous that the girls were able to work such atransformation in themselves in so short a time. In the few momentsthat had been left to them they had rearranged their hair, brushed thedirt of the plowed field from their clothing and washed their facesand hands. It was really a jolly dinner, too, for the good-naturedguest kept them all laughing with his humorous stories and oddremarks. He was so much like his daughter Jane that they had no needto be reminded of the relationship. 

"This has been a day of excitement, hasn't it?" remarked one of theguardians to Miss Elting. "Buried treasure, automobile wrecks, visitors, mysterious strangers. Gracious me! what are the Camp Girlscoming to?"

"I don't know. Did Mr. McCarthy say what the surprise is that he hasin store for the girls? I thought perhaps he might have said somethingabout it during our absence on that automobile ride. "

"Not that I heard. He undoubtedly told Mrs. Livingston. There, she isspeaking now, " added the guardian. 

Mrs. Livingston had risen and rapped on the table with a knife forattention. 

"Our guest and good friend, Mr. McCarthy, wishes to make anannouncement, " she said, then sat down. 

Jane's father got up, his face very red, his forehead glistening withbeads of perspiration. 

"Your guest and good friend most emphatically _does not_ wish to makean announcement, " declared the visitor. "But it is up to him to do sobecause he wishes to please that fine woman, your Chief Guardian--isthat what you call yourself, Mrs. Livingston? I get all mixed up withvarious names and titles. It's as bad as attending a reception of theroyal family, judging from what I've heard. "

Mrs. Livingston nodded, smiling good-naturedly. 

"Well, girls, you know I've got to do something to furnish that mad-capdaughter of mine with a variety of means of ending her life and thoseof her friends. She has exhausted everything thus far. However, thisis a perfectly safe proposition, this one that I have planned for youand her, and I don't think any of you can get into serious difficultythrough it. "

"Don't keep us in suspense, Dad! Tommy will suffocate if you don'ttell us now. She has been holding her breath ever since you beganspeaking, " cried Jane. 

A ripple of laughter ran along both sides of the table, but quicklysubsided when Mr. McCarthy again began speaking. 

"Very good, if you must know. But--I say, Mrs. Livingston, I think wewon't tell them until to-morrow. As I think it over, I guess I won'ttell them after all. They'll know all about it when it gets here. That's all. " Mr. McCarthy sat down, wiping his forehead and lookingvastly relieved. 

A chorus of "Ohs!" greeted the announcement. "Please, please tell us, oh, do, " they begged, but the visitor shook his head. 

"I think, Mr. McCarthy, that I had better tell them if you do not wishto. They will be too much upset otherwise, " said the Chief Guardian. "Have I your permission?"

He nodded. 

"As you wish. They've got me so flustered that I couldn't say anotherword to them. "

"Very good. Listen, girls, and I will tell you, " said the ChiefGuardian. 

CHAPTER XVII

WHEN THEIR SHIP CAME IN

There was no need to further impose silence on the Camp Girls. Eager-eyed, they leaned forward, gazing straight at the smiling womanat the head of the table. 

"I wanted Mr. McCarthy to tell you. However, as he refuses, I shall doso. You are to have a boat for the rest of the summer. The boat is thegift of Mr. McCarthy to the Meadow-Brook Girls directly, and to therest of you indirectly. "

"What kind of a boat ith it?" piped Tommy. 

"A sailboat, " answered the visitor. "I have appointed Miss Burrell asthe commodore, though she doesn't know it. I understand she did verywell as the captain of the 'Red Rover' last summer. Now we'll give hera trial on salt water. You will look to her for your orders andpermission to go out, and I imagine you won't have any cause tocomplain of her treatment of you, eh, Harriet?"

"O Mr. McCarthy! you embarrass me. But tell us about the boat, "answered Harriet laughingly. 

"It's just a little old sailboat, that's all--one I picked up atPortsmouth; but even though she's a tub, she is perfectly safe and youmay go as far as you wish with her, always first consulting with thecaptain and the commodore. "

"Oh, is there to be a captain? Am I to be the captain?" questionedJane mischievously. 

"My grathiouth, I hope not, " exclaimed Grace. 

"No. The captain owns this particular boat, and he will be wholly incharge of the actual operation of it, acting upon the orders of thecommodore as to who is to go and when and where. Now it's all out andI'm glad of it. I--"

Mr. McCarthy's further words were unheard because of the cheer givenby the Camp Girls, in which Mrs. Livingston and the guardians joinedenthusiastically, much to the discomfiture of the guest, who half roseas though to run away. Evidently thinking better of it, he settledback in his seat and wiped his forehead. 

Jane got up, and, running to her father, threw a pair of impulsivearms about his neck. 

"Isn't he the darling Dad, though, girls?"

"He is, " agreed the Chief Guardian. 

"You won't think tho after we have all gone and drowned ourthelvethfrom thith--from the--what ith the name of the thhip on which we aregoing to thail the thalt water?"

"Her name is 'The Sister Sue, '" replied Mr. McCarthy. 

"Thave me!" wailed Tommy. "The boat may be all right, but think ofbeing drowned in a name like that! Now, if it wath 'The Queen of theTheath, ' or thome thuch name ath that, I thouldn't so much mind beingdrowned in her, but 'The Thithter Thue'--thave uth!"

"You are not going to drown at all, " laughed Miss Elting, "so don'tbegin to lay any plans in that direction. "

"When is the boat coming here, Daddy?" questioned Jane. 

"To-morrow morning early, if they have her ready in time. I told theowner to slap some new clothes on her, and make her presentable byto-morrow, sure. How do you like the idea, girls?"

"Oh, it's just too glorious for anything, " cried Margery, now awakenedto the possibilities of having a sailboat of their very own. Tommyregarded her quizzically, opened her mouth to speak, then closed herlips. 

"What is it, dear?" questioned Miss Elting. 

"It ith nothing now. Maybe I'll thay it when we get to thea, providedButhter doeth not thay it for me. "

"See here! We have forgotten all about that buried treasure, "exclaimed Mr. McCarthy, at his ease once more after having escapedfrom the table. "Will you show me, Tommy?"

"No, thir. That ith a dark thecret. "

"What, girls keep a secret?" scoffed the visitor. 

"Don't you think they can?" demanded Tommy, squinting at him with oneeye tightly closed. 

"Never saw one that could. "

"Then pleathe look at me. "

"By the way, Mr. McCarthy, " called Mrs. Livingston, "did you mentionthe name of our new captain, the one who owns and sails the boat?"

"That's so. I reckon I forgot that. He is known as Captain Bill. Hisreal name, I believe, is Cummings. "

"You are quite sure that he is all right, are you, Mr. McCarthy?"

"Has a reputation second to none among the Portsmouth skippers. I tookcare of that, knowing you were a lot of lone women and girls downhere. I didn't see him personally. Took my friend Lawyer Roberts'sword for it, and what else I could pick up about the docks, " added Mr. McCarthy. "But I must be thinking about getting back. "

"Surely, Daddy, you are never going to think of walking back, areyou?"

"Not I. I hear an automobile coming. I'm just going to get out to theroad and beg a ride. They'll be keeping along on this road for atleast ten miles and I can walk the rest of the way in, if I have to. In case I do not see you again, Mrs. Livingston, here's good-bye andgood luck. I hope you all have a fine time with the boat. If thatskipper doesn't obey orders, day or night, get a telegram to meinstantly, and I'll bounce him right off. But don't let Jane send anytelegrams. She'll break me, she's so long-winded--"

"Which I inherited, " finished Crazy Jane. "Come on, girls; let's goout to the highway and see Dad off. We may have to watch him start offon foot. "

They met the men who were coming to pull the automobile out of the icepond. Mr. McCarthy gave them the additional job of towing the wreckedcar to the nearest garage. 

Mr. McCarthy was in luck. The automobile that they had heardapproaching was a big power moving-van that had been down the coastwith a load of furniture for a city family who were moving into theirsummer home. The driver was willing to give Mr. McCarthy a lift, and afew moments later the contractor was bowling along the highway on hisway to Portsmouth, thence on to his home at Meadow-Brook. The girlsstood waving to him as long as the big car was in sight, heoccasionally leaning out to wave back at them. They then retracedtheir steps to the camp, talking animatedly about the great treat instore for them--the sailboat with the homely name. They could scarcelycontain themselves until the morrow, when the boat was to arrive. Inthe meantime everybody went over to examine the trail that TommyThompson had found. As she had said, it led into the woods and wasthere lost. Harriet showed them as nearly as possible where she hadlain when the man stumbled over her, but search as they might theywere unable to find a single trace of the box that had so mysteriouslydisappeared. 

At supper that evening Mrs. Livingston advised the girls to saynothing to any one outside of their own companions regarding thestrange proceeding. She explained that, by remaining silent on thesubject, they might be able to learn more about it, and that perhapssome violation of the law might be at the bottom of it. 

Early on the following morning all the girls were up scanning the seafor a sail. A coasting schooner in the far distance, making up thecoast, was the only boat in sight. The day was brilliant withsunshine, the sea blue and sparkling. The lookouts could see a longdistance. The day passed and the night passed, but still no trace oftheir boat. Nor had the other mysterious craft paid another visit tothe bay. At least, if it had, none of the campers had been awake atthe time. 

It was late that afternoon when some one raised a shout and pointed upthe coast. There, about five miles away, was a tiny speck of whitethat they knew to be a sail. There seemed to be but a single sail, which told them that a small boat was carrying it. Then, again, thesail looked so white that they decided it must either be their boat ora private yacht cruising down the coast. 

"It does look more like a yacht than the 'tub' that Mr. McCarthydescribed, " said the Chief Guardian. "If this is the 'Sister Sue' sheis a very trim little craft. "

The beach was lined with Camp Girls eagerly watching the approachingsailboat, which was coming on at what seemed to them to be anaggravatingly slow rate of speed. 

"What he needs is an engine, " declared Jane. "Now, if he had thatmotor that's doubled up under the car we ran into the ditch, he couldmake some time. "

"That boat is sailing much faster than you think, " answered Harriet. "You will see when it gets opposite us how fast it is moving. It ismoving so fast that I can't make myself believe it is our boat. "

"I gueth we'll wait till it getth here, " decided Tommy, which voicedthe feelings of all. As the sailboat drew down into plain view, exclamations of admiration were heard on all sides. For asingle-masted boat she carried a great spread of white canvas and twojibs, each of which was full of wind, pulling powerfully. The windbeing off shore, the sloop was heeling the other way, showing quite aportion of her black hull, which was in strong contrast with herglistening white sides and snowy sails. The water was spurting awayfrom her bows, showing white along the black side below her waterline--all in all, an inspiring sight to the lover of boats and the bigwater. 

"Hurrah, see her go! She's skimming along like a scared cat. No, thatisn't our tub, darlin's. I know Dad. She will be safe, but she willcome limping and groaning down the line at a mile an hour, thenprobably go aground in the bay because there won't be room enough forher to turn about. You see if I'm not right. "

"You are all wrong, " answered Harriet. "How do I know? Never mind. Youwill find that you are. " She had seen a man hauling in on the mainsheets--the ropes that led from the mainsail back toward the cockpit. From that she knew the boat was preparing to change its course. Thisit did a few moments later, heading in toward the shore, but pointedat a spot a full half mile below the camp, as nearly as the girlscould observe. 

"Oh, that is too bad! See, they are going somewhere else, " cried MissElting. "Why--why, what are they trying to do? Are those peoplecrazy?"

"They are tacking in, " answered Harriet. 

"Of course. How stupid of me. "

"It ith the 'Thilly Thue, '" shouted Tommy. 

"The 'Silly Sue'! hurrah!" yelled the girls, instantly adoptingTommy's nickname for the boat. 

"Oh, darlin's, isn't she the beauty?" cried Jane. She began dancingabout, several others doing likewise. 

"I thought you knew it was going to be an old tub, " reminded Harrietteasingly. 

"I take it all back. When I see Dad I shall get down on my knees andbeg his pardon. " Jane began running toward the bay, turning out to thebar as the most likely place to get a good view of their present. Shewas followed by the entire camp, Chief Guardian and guardians, who ranshouting and waving their hats. 

As the boat swept majestically into the bay the jibs came in and themainsail was lowered slightly, the boom being permitted to swing farout. The girls then saw that there were two men on board, one handlingthe sails, the other was stationed at the wheel. The craft crossed andcriss-crossed the bay, sawing back and forth several times beforereaching a position for which the skipper evidently had been heading. Then, all at once, he swung the bow of the boat squarely into thewind. 

"Let go!" he called. 

The big sail came down with a clatter and rattle of rings, and theanchor went overboard with a loud splash. The "Sister Sue" was atanchor in the bay. The skipper lighted his pipe and sat down allhunched together, puffing away with most aggravating deliberateness. 

"Aren't you coming ashore so we may get aboard and see the boat?"called Harriet. 

"Bymeby, " was the laconic answer. 

"I am the commodore. I wish--"

"The what?"

"The commodore, " answered Harriet, laughing so that she barely madeherself heard. 

"Commodore's quarters aren't ready, " called back Captain Billy. "Letyou know when we're ready for you. We aren't going out again to-day. "

"I shall have to talk to the captain, I fear, " said Mrs. Livingston, smiling faintly. 

Soon after coming to anchor the second man on the boat was observed tobe busy furling the sail, which he took his time in doing. Thisfinished, he hauled up pails of water with a pail tied to the end of arope and started swabbing down the decks. This completed, he wentabout other duties, which, to the row of girls sitting on the LonesomeBar, seemed trivial and for the sake of killing time. 

"Isn't it perfectly aggravating?" grumbled Margery Brown. 

The supper horn blew while they still sat there waiting. The CampGirls reluctantly turned back toward camp. They were disappointed, andso expressed themselves with emphasis while eating their supper. ButHarriet, who had been excused before the others had finished, hurriedout to take an observation. She was back almost at once. 

"Their rowboat is coming ashore, " she cried, pointing toward the bay. 

Instantly every girl in the cook tent, without the formality of askingto be excused, pushed back her chair and dashed out. Mrs. Livingstonso far overlooked their breach of etiquette as to rush out with therest of them. 

"Come on, darlin's. They've come ashore for us at last. First there, first to go out. Go!"

It was a race for the landing place, with Harriet and Jane runningside by side, Tommy Thompson following and gradually lessening thedistance between them in a series of flying leaps. Tommy could runlike a frightened fawn. Harriet heard her coming and increased herspeed. Tommy gained no more on Harriet, though she arrived at theirobjective point by the side of Crazy Jane McCarthy. 

"Ready to go out, " announced the man. "But I can't take more than fiveat a time. Who goes first?"

Harriet halted sharply at sound of his voice, and gazed at the manperplexedly. His voice was strangely familiar, but, try as she would, she could not think where she had seen him. 

CHAPTER XVIII

FIREWORKS FROM THE MASTHEAD

"Wait for Mrs. Livingston, " replied Harriet in answer to the man'squestion. "You are not the captain, are you?"

He shook his head. Mrs. Livingston came upon the scene. Harrietassisted her into the rowboat. The Chief Guardian directed the otherMeadow-Brook girls to get in, telling the girls who were left on shorethat they would be taken out to the "Sister Sue" as fast as possible, until there was no more room. The others would have their turn soonafterward. 

If the girls had been pleased with the "Sister Sue" from a shore view, they were enthusiastic at what they saw when they got on board. Thedecks were white from scouring, the binnacle that held the compassshone with mirror-like brightness, ropes were neatly coiled andeverywhere was the smell of fresh paint and the faint, salty odor ofthe deep sea. 

The "Sue" was some forty feet in length over all, broad of beam, covered over about half her length amidships by a raised deck cabin, acabin that rises above the deck a few inches with narrow windows onthe two sides. Two doors from the cockpit led into the cabin. Intothis the Meadow-Brook Girls hurried, after one quick look over thetrim craft. They cried out for Mrs. Livingston to join them. Theinterior of the cabin was in white with plush seats on each side, theseats being broad and comfortable, affording lounging space forseveral persons at one time. A tank holding drinking water, at theforward end of the cabin, was the only other furnishing. 

The "Sue" was far from palatial, but the Camp Girls thought they hadnever seen a neater or prettier boat, and as for its ability to sail, they had seen something of that as the sloop came into the bay. 

Mrs. Livingston had remained outside to speak with the skipper. Harriet soon joined them. Captain Billy was a type. His grizzled, redbeard was so near the color of his face that it was not easy todetermine where the beard left off and the face began. Billy had ahabit of avoiding one's eyes when speaking. Either he would beconsulting the deck of the "Sue" or gazing at the sky. He was lookingup at the clouds now. 

"The captain says he can safely carry ten persons without crowding, Harriet, " the Chief Guardian informed her. Then turning to thecaptain, "This young lady has been placed in charge of the boat byMr. McCarthy; of course, your judgment as to what is best for allconcerned must prevail. "

Captain Billy's whiskers bristled. He swept the Meadow-Brook Girl witha quick, measuring glance, then permitted his eyes to gaze upwardagain. 

"I was going to suggest, Mrs. Livingston, that we first take you andthe other guardians out for a sail, say to-morrow morning. I don'tthink the captain will wish to go out in the evening, " said Harriet. 

He shook his head. 

"Certainly not, " declared Mrs. Livingston. "And now, sir, what aboutyour meals--the board for yourself and your man?"

"Get my own. He goes away early in the morning. Sleep on board, too. You needn't worry about me. Got any gear you want to get aboard?"

"Gear?" questioned the Chief Guardian blankly. 

"Dunnage?" nodded the skipper. "Anything you want to bring aboard?" heshouted. 

"No, thank you, nothing at present, " answered Harriet. 

"Man will fetch it off before he goes away if there is. Don't ask meto do any packing. "

"Our young women are perfectly able to help themselves, " replied Mrs. Livingston with dignity. "I suppose, however, that having only onerowboat you will come ashore for us whenever we wish to go out?" sheadded. 

The captain shook his head. He was the most ungracious person theyever had known. But when Harriet said they had better get word to Mr. McCarthy at once, the captain changed his mind quickly. He said hewould come for them whenever they gave him the word. He told them, further, that they would have to bring their own provisions when theywent out for a sail, but that he could show them how to catch somefish if they desired to do so. 

"We shall be ready to go out about ten o'clock to-morrow morning, "Mrs. Livingston told him. "If there is anything you wish us to do, youmight call to the young women who occupy the cabin there on theLonesome Bar. I am very glad you are going to remain aboard your boat, for we are not equipped for putting up strangers. But if there isanything you wish in the way of supplies, do not hesitate to send wordto me. We have quite a quantity. We are obliged to go beyond thehighway for our drinking water, and it is a trifle brackish. "

"Hadn't we better go ashore and give the others a chance to come out?"asked Harriet. 

"You and I will remain here. The others may go, " returned Mrs. Livingston. 

Several boatloads of excited girls were put aboard the "Sister Sue. "The girls were enthusiastic; they chattered and sang and made merry, Captain Billy growing more taciturn and sour as the moments passed. Finally, Mrs. Livingston said they must put off further visiting ofthe boat until morning; that night was now upon them. They bade goodnight to Captain Billy, and his man put them ashore, Mrs. Livingstonleaving the sloop last. 

"He is a queer character, " she declared after joining Harriet on thebeach later on. "What do you make of him?"

"I suppose he is like many of his calling, gruff and of few words. Butthere is something beyond that which I can't quite make out. "

"What do you mean? Do you think that he is untrustworthy?"

"I don't know, Mrs. Livingston. I do know that I dislike him. Isn'tthat silly in me?" asked the girl laughingly. "I have no confidence inhim. "

"I think you are in error. Mr. McCarthy would not send us a man whowas not trustworthy in every way. He is supposed to be a skillfulskipper, and from my observation I know he will behave himself, so wedon't care what he is beyond that. Shall you go back to the camp withus, or direct to the cabin?"

"To camp. "

The girls sat about the campfire, singing the songs of the Camp Girlsuntil ten o'clock that evening, after which the Meadow-Brook partybade good night to their companions and strolled down to the bar, thence out to the cabin. All were keenly alive to the pleasures thatawaited them on the following day, when they were to have their firstsail in the "Sister Sue. "

Harriet made ready for bed with her companions, but she was notsleepy. She lay on her bough bed near the door, where she remainedwide awake, thinking over the occurrences of the past few days. Asound out on the bay, as if something had dropped to the deck of thesloop, attracted her attention. The girl crawled from her bed and outto the front of the cabin on all fours. She then sat up, leaning herback against the cabin; shading her eyes, she gazed off at the boatriding easily in the bay. 

The "Sue" was faintly outlined in the dim light of the night, but thenight was too dark to enable the girl to make out anything in detail, nor was there a sound on board to indicate that any one was awake. 

"It may be that the captain is putting his man ashore, or else hasjust returned from doing so. Still, this seems to me a pretty latehour to be sending any one ashore. " Harriet thought she could now makeout the small boat floating astern of the "Sue, " where it wasordinarily kept, though she could not be certain of this. "Ah! Thereis something going on over there. "

The faint creak of block and tackle reached her listening ears, whichshe strained and strained, even closing her eyes that she mightconcentrate wholly on the sense of hearing. The creaking continued fora couple of minutes, then ceased altogether. 

"I wonder if the captain can be making sail to go out?" Harriet askedherself, opening wide her eyes and gazing toward the sloop. But thelatter was riding lazily on the gentle swell as before, the girl beingunable to make out anything that looked like the sail. She thought shesurely would be able to see the sail, had it been hoisted. 

Something was dropped on the deck, making a great clatter, then forseveral minutes all was silent on board the "Sister Sue. " Harrietcould not imagine what was going on there. After a time there werefurther evidences of activity on board; noises, faint, it is true, which indicated that something out of the ordinary was taking place onthe boat. Harriet wondered if she had not better call Miss Elting andhave her listen, too. Upon second thought, however, she decided notto do so. In the first place she could see and hear fully as much ascould the guardian, besides which, were she to awaken the guardian, the other girls undoubtedly would be disturbed. They might make anoise that would prevent her learning what was being done on board thesloop. 

Harriet shivered, for she was in her kimono, while the breeze blowingin from the sea was fresh and penetrating. She felt a sneeze coming. The girl made heroic efforts to repress the sneeze, then, finding shecould not, stuffed an end of her kimono into her mouth and covered hernose with both hands. 

It was a long, shuddering sneeze that Harriet Burrell uttered. Shefeared it had not only attracted the attention of the man or men onboard the sloop, but awakened her companions as well. The faint noiseson deck continued as before. No sound came from the cabin. 

"Thank goodness, no one heard me, " she muttered. "Why is it that onehas to sneeze when she doesn't want to, I wonder? I--" She started atsound of a low voice close at hand speaking her name. 

"Harriet, ith that you?"

"Tommy, what a start you gave me! When did you wake up? What are youdoing here?" questioned Harriet in a whisper. 

"That ith what I wath going to athk you. What ith it?"

"Sh-h-h! You will waken the others. "

"If you didn't wake them up with that thneeze nothing but a club willwake them. " Tommy crept close to her companion. "You thee thomething, don't you?"

"Not much. The night is too dark. I can see the outlines of the 'Sue'over there, but that is about all. "

"Ith anything the matter with her?"

"I think not. "

"Then why are you watching her tho clothely?"

"You are altogether too observant, Tommy. But don't speak so loudly, please. There is nothing of any importance over there. Please go backto bed. You will complain about having to get up for breakfast in themorning. "

"Did you ever hear me complain about having to eat?"

"I can't say that I ever did, " smiled Harriet. "But you will catchcold out here. "

"Tho will you. You will catch cold firtht becauthe you have been outhere longer than I have. Anything elthe?"

"No, except that I am not going to waste my breath giving you advice. When you become cold enough I presume you will go back to bed. "

"Yeth, when I find out what ith going on out here. I won't catch cold, but maybe if I thtay out here long enough I'll catch a fithh. There! Iknow what you are watching. You are watching that 'Thilly Thue. '"

"Sh-h-h!"

The creaking on board had begun again. It continued at intervals forseveral moments, both girls listening almost breathlessly. 

"Wha--at are they doing?" whispered Tommy. 

"I don't know. That is what I am trying to find out. "

"My grathiouth! Maybe the captain is going to run away with the'Thilly Thue'. "

"No. Come to think of it, I believe he must be getting the boat readyfor our sail to-morrow. "

"Not without a light. There ith thomething else going on. Oh, look!"

Following a period of silence, blue sparks began sputtering from themasthead of the "Sister Sue. " The girls could hear the sparks crackleand snap spitefully. 

"Oh, look at the fireworkth!" cried Tommy out loud. "The thhip ith onfire!"

Harriet laid a firm hand on her arm. "Keep still!"

A faint squealing sound was now distinguishable, while the sparkingat the masthead continued with almost rhythmic regularity. 

"I know! I know what it is!" gasped Harriet excitedly. "Listen, Tommy, listen. Don't you know?"

CHAPTER XIX

SAILING THE BLUE WATER

"No, I don't know what it ith. If I did, I thhouldn't be athking you, "answered Grace. "It ith either lightning, fireworkth or a real fire. "

"It is wireless, Tommy. Don't you know now?"

Grace shook her head. 

"Didn't you ever hear a wireless machine work?"

"No; but there ithn't any wireleth on the 'Thilly Thue, ' ith there?"

"I--I don't know. I mean, I did not see any when we were out thereto-day. I don't understand it. What can he be doing with wireless solate at night?"

"Maybe he ith telegraphing home to find out if the folkth are allright, " suggested Tommy. 

Harriet did not smile. Her face was very grave, her forehead wrinkledin thought. For the greater part of an hour, with brief intervalsbetween, the wireless on the sloop continued, the sparks at themasthead sputtering and snapping with marked regularity. Had HarrietBurrell understood a little more of telegraphy she would have known, though unable to read the dots and dashes, that the operator wascalling some one who did not answer. After a long time he apparentlygave it up, for the sparking at the masthead ceased suddenly, followedby a brief period of silence on board, then the creaking of block andtackle was renewed. This was followed by a subdued thumping andrattling about on deck, this lasting only a few moments. The "ridinglight"--a light hung from the stern of the boat--was hung out, a dimlight appeared in the cabin, which after a time was extinguished, thensilence settled over the sloop for the night. 

"That is all for to-night, I think, " said Harriet aloud, but in a lowvoice. "I do not know what it is all about, Tommy, but I do know thatsomething queer is going on here. Do you think you and I will be ableto solve the mystery?"

"I think tho. Don't you?"

"I do. This makes two mysteries for us to solve, one the finding ofthat mysterious box and the other the mystery of the wireless on the'Sister Sue. ' I would suggest that you don't say a word about it toany one to-morrow. Don't ask any questions, either--leave that tome--but keep your eyes open while you are on board. Perhaps we maydiscover something that we overlooked there to-day. Wireless on the'Sister Sue'! I don't understand it at all. Be very careful that youdo not wake up the others when you go in. Make sure that you don'tfall over a cot and startle the girls. "

"Yeth, I'll be careful. "

Harriet remained outside while Grace was getting herself back to bed, but the former darted in quickly upon hearing a crash in the cabin, followed by a scream from Margery. Tommy had stumbled against Buster'sbed and fallen across it and on the sleeping stout girl. But Harriet, knowing it would not do for the girls to know that two of their numberhad been mooning out-of-doors, darted into her own cot, and beforethey realized that she had just got in, was sitting up in beddemanding to know what all the disturbance was about. 

"Tommy, have you been walking in your sleep?" demanded Miss Elting. 

"Yeth, I've been walking, I gueth. Excuthe me, Buthter. If you hadn'tbeen in my way I wouldn't have fallen over you. Good night, friendth. "Tommy tumbled into bed, muttering to herself. Harriet did not go tosleep at once. She lay for some little time thinking over the strangeoccurrences of the night, and wondering what it could mean. Then, hercompanions having gone to sleep, she too settled down for the fewhours that remained before the rising horn blew. 

Her first thought, upon awakening in the morning, was for the sloop. Quickly scrambling out of bed, she stepped to the door and gazed outon the bay. The "Sister Sue" lay at her anchorage motionless, glistening in the bright rays of the morning sunlight, handsomer, Harriet thought, as she stood admiring the pretty craft, than she hadappeared on the previous day. 

The Camp Girls were filled with expectations of what was before them. They were to sail shortly after ten o'clock, and for many of them itwas to be the first sail they had ever enjoyed. Breakfast was eatenand the camp put in order in record time that morning. Promptly at teno'clock Captain Billy rowed the small boat ashore. He dragged downsome trees which he cut, thus making a crude pier for the girls towalk out on, thus enabling him to leave the small boat in deeperwater. However, he could take out no more than five passengers at atime. Mrs. Livingston told him that they did not care to sail far thatmorning. It was her purpose to give each of the girls in the camp asail that day. Several trips, therefore, would be necessary. 

"If that's the case, we can take a bigger load on the sloop, " repliedthe captain. "Pile 'em in. "

"Will it be perfectly safe?" questioned the Chief Guardian. 

"You can't sink her. The reason I didn't want a big crowd was that Ithought you would be going out a long way. We're likely to meet heavyweather several miles outside. In that case a skipper wants plenty ofroom to move about. Sometimes quick work is necessary, and--"

"I don't suppose that being a commodore will prevent my assisting insailing the boat, will it?" asked Harriet smilingly. 

The skipper looked her over critically. 

"I reckon we can make a sailor of you. Know anything about sailing?"

"No, sir. "

"Yeth, she doeth, " interjected Grace. "She wath the captain of the'Red Rover' latht year. "

"And sunk it, " chuckled Crazy Jane. 

"If you will tell me what to do, I shall be glad to start, Captain. "

"All right. Get hold of that halyard and see if you can haul the sailup, " he answered, grinning mischievously. Captain Billy had not theleast idea that she possessed the strength to raise the sail. ButHarriet surprised him. She grasped the rope, and, though so light thatthe weight of the sail nearly pulled her off her feet, she hauled itslowly but steadily to the peak, then, throwing all her weight intoone hand and arm, made the halyard fast to a cleat on the deck. 

"Is that right, sir?" she asked, her face slightly flushed from theexertion. 

"Great boomers, but you have muscle in your arms!" wondered theskipper. "Now, please hold this wheel just where it is; I'll take inthe anchor. The man went back home last night. Don't need him with allthese strong-arm ladies on board. We'll be under way in a few minutesnow. I--Look out there!"

A sudden though slight puff of wind struck the mainsail, sending thesloop ahead directly toward the shore. But without waiting for ordersHarriet sprang to the wheel, pointing the bow of the sloop, that hadheeled dangerously, right toward the wind that was blowing in from thesea. 

"Fine!" shouted the captain, shipping the anchor and scrambling backto the cockpit as the sloop settled down on an even keel again, thesquall drumming on the ropes and stays. "You've sailed a boat before, young lady. "

"Nothing more than a canoe and a house boat. "

"You've got the instinct, just the same. I'll have you sailing this'Sister Sue' before you're a week older, and sailing it as well as Icould sail it myself. Where do you wish to go!" turning inquiringly toMrs. Livingston. 

"Up and down the coast, not far out. "

The skipper tacked back and forth a couple of times to clear the bay, then laid his course diagonally away from the coast. The day was anideal one, the sloop lay well over and steadily gained headway as sheforged ahead with white water spurting away from her bows. 

"Gul-lor-ious!" cried Margery. 

"Love-a-ly!" mocked Crazy Jane. 

Tommy eyed Buster quizzically. 

"Yeth, but thith ithn't the real thea. You will be singing inthideinthtead of outthide when we get out on the real othean. It won't bethe gul-lor-iouth then. "

"All we need now to make us a real ship is a wireless machine, " saidHarriet, with apparent innocence. 

The skipper shot a quick look at her from under his heavy redeyebrows, but Harriet's face was guileless. 

"Would it not be possible to put a wireless outfit on a boat of thiskind, Captain?"

"Yes, if you wanted to. But what good would it do you?"

"I don't know, except that we might talk with ships far out atsea--ships that we could not see at all. Why don't you put a wirelessmachine on your little ship? I think that would be fine, " persistedthe Meadow-Brook girl, with feigned enthusiasm. The skipper growled anunintelligible reply and devoted himself to sailing his boat. ThenTommy took up the subject, discussing wireless telegraphy with greatconfidence, but in an unscientific manner that would have broughtgroans of anguish from one familiar with the subject. 

Harriet Burrell through all of this conversation had been watching theskipper without appearing to do so. That he was ill at ease she saw bythe scowl that wrinkled his forehead, but otherwise there was no signto indicate that their talk had disturbed him. 

They sailed for two hours, then the sloop returned to the bay, wheremost of the girls were put ashore and another lot taken aboard. TheMeadow-Brook Girls and Mrs. Livingston remained on board. Harriet, during the time the captain was engaged in assisting his passengersover the side, where they were rowed ashore by Jane and Hazel, lookedover the "Sister Sue" with more care than she had done before. Therewas nothing that she could discover that looked like a wirelessapparatus. However, at the forward end of the cabin she discovered asmall door let into the paneling. This door was locked. She asked thecaptain to what it opened. 

"That's the chain locker, where we stow things, " he answered gruffly. 

The girl then began calculating on how much space there was under thefloor of the cabin. She decided that there must be at least three feetof hull under there, but the flooring was covered with carpet thatextended under the lockers and seats at the side, so that she wasunable to determine whether or not the floor could be readily takenup. Altogether, her discoveries did not amount to very much. She wasobliged to confess as much to herself. As for Tommy, that young womanhad conducted herself admirably during the sail, proving that she wasdiscreet and fully as keen as was Harriet Burrell; and, though Tommysaid very little on the subject uppermost in the minds of the twogirls, the little girl was constantly on the alert. 

In the joy of sailing they forgot their noon meal. Nor were theyreminded of it when Captain Bill, giving Harriet the wheel, madehimself a cup of black coffee over an oil stove and drank it, eatingseveral slices of dry bread. Having finished his luncheon, hepointed to the compass, asking Harriet if she knew anything about it. She said she did not. 

[Illustration: Harriet Took the Wheel. ]

"If you are going to be a sailor, you must learn to read the compass, "he said. "In the first place, you must learn to 'box the compass. 'I'll show you. "

"Are you looking for the boxth?" questioned Tommy, observing theskipper searching for something in a locker under the stern seat. 

"Box? No, " he grunted. "We don't use that kind of a box in boxing thecompass. By boxing the compass we mean reading the points of it. " Heproduced a long, stiff wire, with which he pointed to the compasscard. "A mariner's compass is divided into thirty-two points, " heinformed Harriet. "In the first place, there are four cardinal points, North, East, South and West. As you will see, by looking at thecompass card, it is divided into smaller points which are not named onthe card. I'll draw you a card to-night with all the points named, then you can learn them. Until you do, you are not a sailor. Forinstance, to read the compass, we begin with North and go on until wehave completed the circle of the card, naming each point andsub-division as we go along. Then you should learn to read it backwardas well. After you have learned to do that I will show you how to laya course by a chart. "

"I don't thee anything to read, " said Tommy, squinting down at thecard. 

"You are not taking the lesson, darlin', " Jane reminded her. 

"This is the way to begin, " Captain Billy told them. "First is North. Then you say north one-quarter, one-half, three-quarters, then thenext sub-division is North by East with the same fractions of degrees. We go on as you will see by following the card, as follows, NorthNortheast; Northeast by North; Northeast; Northeast by East; EastNortheast; East by North; East. You proceed in exactly the same mannerwith the other cardinal points, East, South and West, and that is whatis called 'boxing the compass. ' Do you think you understand, MissBurrell?"

"I have at least a start, " replied Harriet smilingly. 

"I haven't, " declared Tommy with emphasis. "I couldn't thpeak at allif I repeated that awful thtuff. "

In the meantime Harriet was gazing steadily at the card, fixing thepoints in mind, really photographing the points of the compass andtheir sub-divisions on her memory, the skipper observing her with adry smile. He thought he had given the young sailor a problem thatwould keep her busy for some days to come. What was his surprise, therefore, when just after they had come to anchor, Harriet asked himto hear her lesson. She began boxing the compass and only once did shepause until she had gone all the way around the card. 

"How near right was I, Captain?" she asked. 

"Right as a plumb line. Girl, you're a wonder. Took me four months tolearn to read the card; then I didn't have it down as fine as youhave. Will you forget it before to-morrow morning?"

"Oh, dear me, no, " she laughed. "I hope I shall not, " added the girl, sobering a little. "I shall write the points down as soon as possibleafter I get back to camp. "

"If you have it down fine in the morning, I'll take you for a longsail to-morrow, " promised the captain, as he assisted the girls overthe side into the waiting small boat. 

The Wau-Wau girls voted it the most delightful day they ever hadspent. When they had reached camp, however, Harriet heard somethingthat caused her to think even more seriously of what already hadhappened at Camp Wau-Wau. Before the night was over she was to witnessthat which would add still further to her perplexity. 

CHAPTER XX

OUT OF SIGHT OF LAND

"The man wished to know to whom the boat out in the bay belonged, "Miss Elting was saying to the Chief Guardian. "He did not give hisname, but asked many questions--who the captain is, where we got himand how, and all about it. The questioner was very mysterious. What doyou suppose he could have been trying to find out?"

"Perhaps he was a police officer looking for a stolen boat. Iunderstand a great many boats are stolen along this coast. But we donot have to worry in the present instance. Miss McCarthy's fatherwould not have given us a man who was not right in every way. "

"Oh, no, " answered Miss Elting. "He seemed perfectly satisfied withwhat I told him, but he did spend quite a time strolling up and downthe beach, out beyond the bar. "

Harriet had overheard the conversation between Miss Elting and Mrs. Livingston. She smiled at the thought of the light she might possiblyshed on the inquiry made by the visitor that afternoon. 

The girls were sleepy that night and retired early, all save HarrietBurrell and Tommy, who asked permission to sit out on the bar in frontof the cabin, which permission Miss Elting readily granted. But Tommysoon grew weary and stumbled into the cabin, where she flounderedabout sleepily until she had awakened everyone of her companions. 

Soon after the camp had settled down Harriet was conscious of arenewal of the previous night's activity on board the sloop, and indue time the wireless sparks began sputtering from the aerials at themasthead. 

They had hardly begun when they abruptly ceased. Her ears caught thesound of the anchor chain scraping through the hawse-hole. The anchorcame aboard with a clatter, the mainsail was sent to the peak in shortorder, the boom swung over and the big sail caught the faint breezethat drifted in from the sea. The sloop, to her amazement, moved outfrom the bay. No sooner had it cleared the land than a fresh oceanbreeze heeled the boat down, sending it rapidly out to sea, where itsoon disappeared, sailing without any lights whatever, even the ridinglight having been taken in before the captain had started out. 

"What can it mean?" wondered Harriet Burrell. "I know somethingquestionable is going on here, but what is it?"

There was no answer to the question. The tide was now booming on thebeach and a fresher breeze was springing up, the wind outside havingveered until it blew directly into the cove. The girl waited for thereturn of the "Sister Sue" until long after midnight, then went tobed. The sky had become overcast and a spattering of raindrops smoteher in the face. The prospect was for a drizzly night. 

When the camp awakened next morning the sloop was at her anchorage. What time she had come in Harriet had not the slightest idea, but itmust have been early in the morning, because the skipper was justfurling the mainsail as the girl emerged from the cabin. The sail wasso soaked that he had difficulty in bending it to the boom to which hewas trying to house it. But Harriet Burrell said nothing of herdiscovery at breakfast that morning. Later in the day she confided thesecret to Tommy. The latter twisted her face, grimaced and winkedwisely. The two girls understood each other. 

Captain Bill did not mention having been out with the boat, thoughHarriet gave him an excellent opportunity to do so that same day. Adrenching drizzle fell all day long. Of course, this did not interferewith the camp work. The Camp Girls never ceased their labors for rainor storm of any kind. Later on in the day the Meadow-Brook Girls wentaboard the sloop with their guardian, principally for the reason thatHarriet wished to take further lessons in seamanship. She had learnedher compass card well and earned the praise of the grizzled oldskipper, but she was ambitious to accomplish greater things. 

Several days passed, during which the drizzle scarcely ceased for amoment. But during all this time the young woman was not idle, so faras her new interests were concerned. She had asked questions, inquiring the names of things and their uses until she knew themintimately. The ropes and stays, from a mass of complex, meaninglesscordage, had resolved themselves into individual units, each of whichhad its use and its purpose; the compass was no longer a mystery, and, during a lull in the drizzle, when the sun had come out on the fifthday, Harriet was permitted to take an observation with the sextant, the instrument with which mariners take sights to determine theirpositions at sea. 

Harriet was instructed to catch the sun at its zenith, which she did, noting the figures on the scale of the sextant and from which, underthe instruction of the captain, she figured out the latitude of thesloop. He allowed her to do all the figuring herself. The result wasstartling. The skipper took her calculations, studied them, frowned, then permitted his face to expand into a wrinkled grin. 

"Young lady, did you think this was Noah's Ark!" he demanded. 

"No, sir. Wh--y?"

"Because according to your figures the 'Sister Sue' is at this minutelocated on a line with Mt. Washington, off yonder in the White Range. "

Harriet flushed to the roots of her hair as her companions shoutedgleefully. At last Harriet Burrell had found something that she couldnot do. But the captain quickly informed them that to be able to takeobservations accurately, and then figure them out, required long andclose application. Some mariners never were really good at theoreticalnavigation. Nor had Harriet, as yet, mastered the principles oftrigonometry, which branch of mathematics underlies navigation. 

On the following morning the sun came out, and by the time the campwas awake the mainsails and jibs had been put out to dry. They werepermitted to swing free all day long and by nightfall were dry andwhite, ready for the next sail. Captain Billy had promised them a longsail, though not having told them where. That evening he consultedwith the Chief Guardian in her tent, with the result that theMeadow-Brook Girls, Miss Elting and five of their companions weretold to prepare themselves for an early departure on the followingmorning, provided the day were fair. 

The girls were delighted, especially Harriet, who looked forward toputting into actual practice the theories that she had learned. A fullday's provisions were put aboard, for these long sails could not bemade on schedule time in every instance. An early breakfast was eatenby those who were to go on the sail, after which, bidding good-bye totheir companions who remained behind, the sailing party set out forthe beach, where Captain Billy was awaiting them with the small boat. The passengers were put aboard in two loads, Harriet and Crazy Jane inthe first boat. The two girls set the jibs, which they had in place bythe time the skipper returned with the others of the sailing party. They then hoisted the mainsail, and were under way a very few minutesafter the party was snugly aboard. The "Sister Sue" sailed out of thebay to the accompaniment of fluttering handkerchiefs from the shoreand shrill cries of good-bye. 

"I'll thend you a pothtal card from Europe, " shouted Tommy. 

The "Sue" dipped and heeled under the fresh breeze, and, with a "bonein her teeth"--a white bar of foam at her bows--reached for the opensea. 

"Take the wheel, " ordered the skipper, nodding at Harriet. "Don't moveit much except to fill your sails. See that the sails are full andpulling strongly at all times, and watch the weather for squalls. Whenthe sails are pulling too strong, point the nose closer into the wind, but the 'Sue' will stand up under more than an ordinary squall. That'sit. "

"She is a splendid boat!" cried Harriet. 

"She is at least a well-balanced boat, " answered Captain Billy. "Having the wind on the quarter, we do not have to tack any on thiscourse. You see, we are headed Northeast by East three-quarters. Keepher there. "

"Were I to keep straight on as I am, where would we land?" askedHarriet. 

"England. "

"Oh, let uth keep right on until we get to England, " piped Tommy. "Howfar ith it?"

"Three thousand miles, more or less, " replied the skipper. 

"Thave me!"

She had followed the skipper forward, where he had gone to change theset of one of the jibs, Tommy watching him with questioning eyes. 

"There wath a man at the camp the other day, " began the little lispinggirl. 

"A man? What did he want in your camp?"

"He wath athking quethtionth about you and the boat, " replied Tommyinnocently. 

"Eh?" The skipper's filmy blue eyes took on a steely glint. "Askingabout me?"

"Yeth. "

"What did he want to know?"

"All about you. "

"Did he say what for?" Captain Billy showed more excitement in hismanner than Tommy ever before had seen him exhibit. 

"No, not that I know of. He athked the guardianth about you, tho Iheard, where we got you and who got you. Why do you thuppothe hewanted to know all of thothe thingth?" questioned the little girl, hereyes wide, questioning and innocent. 

"I don't know, Miss. Forget it. "

"Do you thuppothe it hath anything to do with the 'Thilly Thue' goingout in the night?"

Captain Billy gripped the sheet that he was wrapping about a cleat, his red face took on a deeper shade, his eyes grew menacing. But Tommyrefused to see anything threatening in either attitude or gaze. Shechuckled gleefully. 

"Oh, I can keep a thecret. I haven't told anything, have I?" laughedTommy as she ran back to her companions, her eyes bright andsparkling. "I made him thit up and notithe thingth, " she chuckled inHarriet's ear. "You watch him, and thee how mad he lookth when hecometh back here. "

The expression on the face of the skipper bore out all that Tommy hadsaid of him. Harriet rebuked her, and demanded to know what she hadsaid, but Tommy laughed merrily and ran into the cabin. 

The "Sue" was getting well out to sea now. The shore line was sinkinggradually into the sea. The land had become a faint, purplish blur inthe distance, a strong, salty breeze was blowing across the sloop andthe Atlantic rollers were becoming longer. The "Sue" was beginning toroll heavily, rising and falling to the accompaniment of creakingboom, rattling mast rings and flapping jibs. Keeping on one's feet wasbecoming more and more difficult with the passing of the moments. 

"Oh, help!" moaned Margery, in an anguished voice. 

"What ith the matter!" demanded Tommy, squinting quizzically at hercompanion, whose face was deathly pale. 

"Oh, I'm so ill, " moaned Buster. Then she toppled over into thecockpit, where she lay moaning. Miss Elting and Hazel picked her up, carried her into the cabin and placed her on one of the cushionedlocker seats. Margery promptly rolled off with the next lurch of thesloop. "I wish I were dead!" she moaned. 

"Cheer up! The wortht ith yet to come, " cooed Tommy. 

"Do you think this is perfectly safe?" questioned Miss Elting, afterhaving staggered outside. "The sea is very rough and we are a long wayfrom shore. "

"Not at all, Miss, " replied the captain. "This is a very fine sea. Why, this boat could go through a hurricane and never leak a drop. Yousee, we are taking no water aboard at all. Where will you find a boatas dry as this, I'd like to know?"

Thus reassured, the guardian felt better about their situation, thoughshe began to feel dizzy and a few moments later was forced to joinMargery in the cabin. Buster was still on the cabin floor, unable tokeep on the locker seat. She was tossing from side to side with everyroll of the sloop. Four other girls from the camp by this time hadsought what comfort was to be had in the cabin. Outside, Jane, Harriet, Tommy, Hazel and the skipper were taking their full measureof the enjoyment of the hour. Harriet got out a basket of food, and, bracing herself against the combing, proceeded to eat. Her companionson deck joined her. Tommy carried a roast beef sandwich into thecabin. 

"Have a nithe, fat thandwitch with me?" she asked. 

Dismal groans greeted her invitation. Harriet called her back. 

"You shouldn't have done that, Tommy, " she rebuked. "It was mostunkind of you. How would you like to be aggravated if you wereseasick?"

"If I got theathick I'd detherve to be teathed. Oh, thee the gullth. "

A flock of white gulls was circling over the "Sister Sue. " Harrietflung overboard a handful of crumbs, whereat the birds swooped down, rode the swells and greedily picked up the crumbs. They started up andsoon overtook the sloop. For an hour the girls fed them; then, thecrumbs being exhausted, the gulls soared out to sea in search of othercraft and food. 

For some time the sailing party had been so fully engaged with theirown affairs that they had given little thought to their surroundings. They now began to look about them. 

"The land has disappeared!" cried Harriet. "We are out of sight ofland. Isn't this splendid? How far are we out from home, Captain?"

"Nearly forty miles, " he answered, after consulting the log. "Want togo back?"

"Oh, no! Let's keep on going. How I wish we could keep on forever inthis way. "

"We will go on until we meet a ship that is due here. "

"A ship! Oh, where?" cried the girls. 

The captain pointed a gnarled finger at a faint smudge on the distanthorizon. 

"Yonder she is, " he answered. "Shall we go out and meet her?"

"Yes, oh, yes!" shouted the Meadow-Brook Girls gleefully. He changedthe course of the "Sister Sue" ever so little, and they went bowlingalong over the Atlantic rollers headed for the big liner that wasapproaching them at nearly thirty miles an hour. 

CHAPTER XXI

AN ANXIOUS OUTLOOK

"Come out, girlth, and thee the thhip, " shouted Tommy, poking her headinto the cabin. 

"Go away and don't bother me, " groaned Margery. "Can't you see howsick I am?"

"Ithn't that too bad?" deplored Tommy, withdrawing her face with amost unsympathetic grin. All those on deck were watching the blacksmudge on the horizon, and as they gazed it grew into a great, darkcloud. Out of the cloud, after a time, they saw white foam flashingin the sunlight, caused by the displacement of the great ship as sheforged through the summer seas. 

"Shall we pass near her?" questioned Miss Elting. 

"We're right on her course, " replied the skipper. "We'll turn outsoon, for she won't shift her position an inch unless she thinks we'regoing to run into her. Let your boat off a point to starboard, MissBurrell. "

"Aye, aye, " answered Harriet promptly, shifting the wheel slightly, eyes fixed on the trembling compass card. The shift of position threwthe wind directly abeam. It was now blowing squarely against thequarter, causing the sloop to heel down at a sharp angle. The boatfairly leaped forward, her lee rail almost buried in a smother offoam. The eyes of the girl at the wheel sparkled with pleasure. It wasglorious. Harriet Burrell could not remember to have enjoyed a happiermoment. 

"They are watching us, " announced the captain, who had been examiningthe oncoming ship through his glass. "They think we may be coming outto speak to them, " he added with a chuckle. 

"We don't thpeak thhipth in the daylight, " answered Tommy, drawing aquick glance from the captain. Harriet gave her a warning look, thendevoted her attention to steering the course, glancing at the oncomingship every now and then. 

"Swing out, " directed Captain Billy. "She throws a heavy swell. Wewill cut across it at right angles passing under her stern. I'll tellyou when to swing in so we'll just make it. Now, can you see thepeople?"

"Yes, yes!" cried the girls. 

The huge red and black funnels belching clouds of dense black smokewere now plainly visible, as were the towering upperworks of the ship, and the bridge high in the air. 

"Swing in, " commanded the "Sue's" skipper. 

Harriet put the helm hard over. The sloop responded quickly. Now thespray dashed over the boat in a drenching shower, bringing shouts ofglee from the Meadow-Brook Girls. The move in a few minutes broughtthem so close to the big ship that the girls could look into the freshsea-blown faces of the passengers who crowded the rails on that sideof the liner. It seemed as if the sloop must crash into the side ofthe larger boat. Harriet glanced inquiringly at Captain Billy, whonodded encouragingly, from which she understood that there was nocause for alarm. 

The girls were now waving their handkerchiefs and shouting to theamazed passengers, who could not understand why a party in so frail acraft should be met with far out to sea, how far few of those on theship knew. They did know that they were out of sight of land, whichmade the marvel all the greater. 

"Point in closer, " commanded Captain Billy. 

Harriet swung in still more. The "Sister Sue" buried her nose in thefoamy, eddying wake of the liner close under the counter, so close, infact, that the girls could see the water boiling over the twinpropellers and hear their beat. The next moment they had passed herand were on the open, rolling sea again, with the big ship threshingher way toward New York, rapidly widening the gap between herself andthe venturesome little craft. For the moment that they had beenblanketed by the steamer their sails had flattened and they had lostheadway, but now the wind picked them up, the sails bellied and thelittle sloop continued on her way. 

"We must turn now, " said the skipper, consulting the skies, which heswept with a comprehensive glance. He gave Harriet the return course. "I fear we are going to lose the wind. It will pick up later, however. No need to be anxious. " He stepped inside the cabin and, leaningforward, consulted the barometer. Harriet noted that his face wore alook of anxiety for the moment. But it had entirely disappeared whenhe returned to the deck. Once more he swept the horizon. 

"How is the glass?" she asked, but in a voice too low for hercompanions to hear. Harriet referred to the barometer. 

"It has fallen over an inch in two hours, " answered Captain Billy. 

"That is a big drop, isn't it?"

"I should say so. But don't say anything to the others, " he added, with a quick glance at the girls to see if any had overheard eitherhis or Harriet Burrell's remarks. 

"It means a blow, does it not?"

"Yes. But it may be a long way off, possibly a hundred miles or more. "

"Then, again, we may be right in the center of it?" she questioned. 

The skipper nodded again. 

"Is there anything to be done?"

"Nothing except to make all the time we can and keep a weather eyealoft and abroad. Watch your sails and trim them for every breath ofair. Jockey her. Now is your time to see what can be done when thereis little wind to be had. "

Harriet was getting practical experience in sailing a boat such asfalls to few novices, but she took to the work like one who had longbeen used to the sea and its varying moods. Under her skilfulmanipulation the "Sister Sue" was making fairly good headway, thoughnothing like what she had done on the outward voyage, for the wind wasdying out, becoming more fitful, shifting from one point of thecompass to another. 

"When the wind moves opposite to the direction of the hands of aclock--what seamen call 'against the clock'--look out for foulweather, " the captain informed her. 

"That is the way it is going now, isn't it?"

"Yes. "

"I hope we shall have enough to take us home. "

"We may have too much. " Once more the skipper studied the horizon tothe northeast. That he was not pleased with his observation Harrietwas confident. Again he took a long look at the barometer, glanced atthe compass to see that she was on her course, then, thrusting hishands into his pockets, studied the rigging overhead. 

"We aren't making much headway, are we?" questioned Miss Elting. 

"None at all, " was the, to her, surprising reply; "we're in a deadcalm now. "

The waves had taken on an oily appearance and there were no longerwhite crests on the rollers. The "Sister Sue" rolled and plunged in asickening way, the boom swinging from side to side. All hands were inthe cockpit or cabin, however, so that there was no danger of theirbeing hit by the swinging boom. In the cabin was heard a series ofgroans more agonized than before. The guardian had recovered in ameasure, though they observed that she was very pale. The fresh airoutside revived her somewhat. 

"I wish you to tell me frankly if there is any danger?" she demanded. 

"Not yet, " was the skipper's evasive answer. 

"Meaning that there may be later?"

"We may be late getting home, " he replied. "I can't say any more thanthat now. Ugh!"

Harriet Burrell saw him gazing off to the northeast. She followed thedirection of his glance, and saw a purplish haze hanging heavily onthe horizon. As she gazed the purple haze seemed to grow darker and toincrease in size. The sight disturbed her, though she did not knowwhy. The sea now made little noise. A flock of seagulls could beplainly heard honking high overhead, and a chattering flock of stormypetrels soared down, coming to rest on the water in the wake of thesloop. 

"I'll take in the jibs. Mind your wheel. We are in for a blow, "announced the skipper. 

CHAPTER XXII

IN THE GRIP OF MIGHTY SEAS

The captain quickly furled the jibs, then took a reef in the mainsail. Consulting the skies again, he decided to leave one of the jibs up, soset it once more and took another reef in the mainsail, thusshortening the latter considerably. 

The "Sister Sue" was now making no headway at all, but was rollingdizzily from wave to wave, now and then a swell striking the side ofthe little boat and tumbling torrents of green water over into thecockpit. The girls were set to work bailing. They already were soakedto the skin, though, instead of being disturbed, they were laughingjoyously, thinking it great fun. Their attention was called to aschool of porpoises that came leaping toward them, appearing at firstlike miniature geysers springing out of the oily green seas. Theporpoises divided, passing on either side of the sloop and closeaboard, racing on toward the land that lay off yonder somewhere in thegreen distance. 

It was now impossible to stand without holding fast to something thatwould not give. Harriet had never seen a boat roll so fast. From sideto side it lurched, plunging at the same time, both with almostincredible speed. Her own head was beginning to spin. Tommy's face waspale. 

"You're getting seasick, " smiled Harriet, eyeing her friend sharply. 

"No, I'm not, " protested the little girl "You're getting thickyourthelf. "

"I confess to being dizzy, " admitted Harriet, "but I am not so illthat I must go to bed. Keep outside. You will be much better off thanin the cabin, where the air is close and the others are suffering. "

"I'm going to, thank you. " Tommy stood braced against the cabin, herkeen little eyes observing the now serious face of the skipper. "Igueth thomething ith going to happen, " she observed. 

"Don't tell the others, " cautioned Harriet, with a warning shake ofthe head. 

"I don't intend to. What ith it, a thtorm?"

Harriet nodded. 

"I knew it. I jutht knew thomething wath going to break loothe. "

The purple haze was nearing at a rapid rate of speed, and HarrietBurrell saw that with it the sea was piling up, its white crests angryand menacing. 

"Try to keep the wind dead astern, " ordered the skipper. "I willhandle the sheets. Do you think you can manage it?"

"Yes, sir. I will be on the lookout for orders. You may depend uponme, sir. "

"Then we'll weather it, but we shall get pretty wet, and night iscoming on, too. We're going to have a merry night of it! All hands whodo not wish to get a ducking go below, " shouted the skipper. 

Miss Elting, Jane, Harriet and Tommy remained outside. The captaintossed a rope to each, directing them to tie the ropes about theirwaists, making the lines fast to a cleat on the after end of theraised deck cabin. 

"Just for safety's sake, " he nodded. 

The wind was beginning to whistle through the rigging, the water tofoam under the bows of the "Sister Sue, " showing that she was gettingunder good headway. 

"Port one point, " bellowed the skipper. Harriet instantly obeyed thecommand. Then the gale was upon them with a screech and a roar. Avolume of water that threatened to swamp them rolled toward the stern, but before it had done so Harriet, acting upon a sharply utteredcommand, had swung the sloop about until its nose met the oncomingrush of wind and water. She gasped for breath as the flood of saltwater enveloped her; yet, bracing her feet, clung firmly to thewheel, holding the craft on the new course. Afterward Harriet had afaint recollection of having seen her companions swimming on the greensea in the little cockpit, Tommy's pale face standing out moreprominently than all the rest. 

"We made it, " roared the skipper. "Now hold her steady, and she willride it out like a duck. " He grabbed up a pail and began bailing withall his might. Jane did likewise, then Miss Elting lent herassistance. Tommy was clinging to the cabin roof with all her might. 

Before the storm struck them they had not thought to light theirmasthead and side lights. Now it was next to impossible to do so. Thesloop was rushing through the seas without a light to mark herpresence on the sea that was growing more wild with the moments. Butthe binnacle light was burning steadily over the compass, so that thehelmswoman was able to see in which direction they were heading. Thecompass told her that, instead of making headway toward land, theywere rushing along at a frightful rate of speed toward Europe. Still, she realized that this was the only safe course to follow. 

All at once Harriet Burrell uttered a sharp cry of alarm. She threwthe wheel over so suddenly that a wave smashing against the side ofthe sloop nearly turned them turtle. Captain Billy, with quickinstinct, let go the mainsail, which swung out far to leeward, thussaving the little craft from being upset. Up to this moment he did notknow what the sudden shifting meant, but just as he was about tobellow to the helmswoman he caught sight of a towering mass of lightsthat for the moment seemed to hang over them, then flashed on, missingthe "Sue" by a few scant rods of water. They had had a narrow escapefrom being run down by a steamer. But for Harriet's quickness, nothingcould have saved them. It was plain that those on the bridge of thesteamer had not discovered the small boat in the sea under their bows, for they did not even hail. 

"Good work, " bellowed the skipper. 

"I thought we'd got to Europe, " shouted Tommy. 

"Lay her to. I've got to close reef that sail, " commanded the captain. 

Harriet pointed the bow right into the teeth of the wind. Oh, how thatlittle craft did plunge! At times it seemed as if the greater part ofher length were wholly out of water, that she had taken a long, quivering leap from the crest of one great wave to another. So hardwas she pitching that she had little time left in which to roll. Saltspray rained down over the decks until the cabin itself was almostwholly hidden from the view of the girl at the wheel. In the meantimethe captain had reefed the mainsail down to the last row. 

"Now let her off a few points, " he directed. 

Boom!

"Oh, what was that?" cried Miss Elting, her voice barely heard in theshriek of the gale. "What happened?"

"Jib gone by the board, " shouted the captain. "Lucky if we don't losethe mainsail the same way. "

Harriet had not uttered a sound when the startling report had boomedout above the roar of the storm, but her heart had seemed to leap intoher throat. Her arms had grown numb under the strain of holding thewheel, for the sea was hurling its tremendous force against the craft, requiring great effort on the part of the helmswoman to keep the boaton its course. But she clung doggedly to her chosen task, seeking topierce the darkness ahead with her gaze. The salt water made her eyessmart so that she could scarcely see at all. Yet she could feel thewind on her face, and by that guide alone she was enabled to keep the"Sue" headed into the storm. She long since had ceased trying to keepthe boat on a compass course, for the greater part of the time thecompass card was invisible either through the spray or solid water, as the case might be. 

It was marvelous how the little boat stood up under the bombardment ofthe Atlantic rollers and the mountains of water that hurled themselvesupon her. Harriet was standing in water up to her knees, but, fortunately, every time the boat rolled or plunged, a volume of saltwater was hurled out into the sea itself. 

In the cabin everything movable was afloat. The passengers in therewere nearly drowned at times, but in their fright most of them hadforgotten their seasickness. They were clinging to the seats in mostinstances, screaming with fear. Miss Elting, deciding that herpresence was needed in the cabin rather than outside, plunged into thedark hole head-first. Quickly gathering herself together, she did herbest to calm and comfort the girls, though every plunge of the boatshe expected would be its last. It did not seem possible that thelittle craft could weather the gale. 

Suddenly there came a mighty crash above their heads, followed by aripping, tearing sound, and above it all sounded the screams of thegirls who were fighting their great battle out there in the cockpit ofthe "Sister Sue. "

The girls in the cabin threw themselves into one another's arms, screaming wildly. 

"Stop it!" shouted Miss Elting. "Be brave, girls. Remember, you areCamp Girls!"

The cabin doors burst in and a great green wave hurled them the lengthof the cabin, crushing them against the bulkhead at the far end, theguardian clinging, gasping, nearly drowned, to a rail above thedoorway. 

CHAPTER XXIII

WAGING A DESPERATE BATTLE

"We're lost!" exclaimed Miss Elting, turning back into the cabin. Butshe was suddenly attracted by a shout from without. 

"Cut away!" screamed Harriet. "Jane, are you there? Tommy!"

"He's gone!" It was Jane's voice that answered in a long, wailing cry. 

The water was rapidly receding from the cabin. Miss Elting quicklystraightened the girls out. She did not know how seriously they hadbeen hurt, if at all, but after making sure that all within the cabinwere alive, the guardian groped her way to the cockpit. Harriet stoodbraced against the wheel, shouting out her commands, screaming at thetop of her voice to make herself heard and understood above the gale. 

The guardian staggered over to her. 

"Oh, what has happened?" she cried. 

"The mast has gone overboard--part of it at least, and--"

"Captain Billy's gone, too! The boom struck and carried him over!"yelled Jane when she had crept near enough to be heard. 

"Cut away, I tell you. Here is a hatchet. " Harriet had groped in thelocker, from which she drew a keen-edged hatchet and handed it toCrazy Jane McCarthy. "You'll have to be quick. We're being swamped. See, we are taking water over the side. Oh, _do_ hurry, Jane!"

"The captain gone!" moaned Miss Elting. "Can nothing be done?"

"No. " Harriet's voice was firm. "Unless we work fast we shall all goto the bottom. We must save those on the boat, Miss Elting. But youlisten for his voice. Oh, this is terrible!"

The steady whack--whack of the hatchet in the hands of Jane McCarthycame faintly to their ears. Once Jane slipped over the side into thewater; but, grasping the life-line to which she was tied, the girlpulled herself back on the deck and set pluckily to work again. It wasthe wonder of Harriet Burrell that the "Sue" kept afloat at all, forshe was more under water than above it, and the seas were breakingover her. 

"Please get back and look after the girls. Where is your life-line?"asked Harriet of Miss Elting. 

"I threw it off when I went into the cabin. "

"Get back! Stay there until I call you, or--"

Harriet did not finish the sentence, but the guardian understood andturned back into the cabin, where she did her best to comfort thepanic-stricken Camp Girls. 

"Whoop!" shrieked Jane. 

The "Sue" righted with a violent jolt. Jane had freed the side of theboat of the rigging which, attached to the broken mast and sail, washolding the craft down and threatening every second to swamp her. Janecrept down into the cockpit, and was about to cut away the stays thatheld the wreckage, which was now floating astern of the sloop. 

"Stop!" commanded Harriet. "Wait till we see what effect it has on us, but stand by to cut away if we see there is peril. Oh, I hope we shallbe able to ride it out. That poor captain! He must have been stunnedby a blow of the boom. It seems cruel to stand here without lifting ahand to save him. But what can we do? Jane, is there anything you canthink of that we can do?"

Crazy Jane shook her head slowly. 

"Nothing but to tell his family, if we ever get back to land, " washer solemn reply. "But, darlin', we aren't on land ourselves yet, andI doubt me very much if we ever shall be. See the waves breaking overthis old tub. How long do you think she will stand it?"

Harriet did not answer at once. She was peering forward into thedarkness. Holding up her hand, she noted the direction of the wind. 

"Do you see, Jane, the 'Sue' is behaving better! She isn't takingnearly so much water. Do you know what has happened?"

"What is it, darlin'?"

"The wreckage that you cut away is holding the stern and acting as asea anchor, and it has pulled the bow of the boat around until we areheaded right into the gale. I am glad I didn't let you cut loose thewreckage. It may be the very thing that will save us, but I don'tknow. I wish you would get some one to help you bail out the pit. Thewater is getting deep in here again, and the cabin is all afloat. "

"But more will come in, " objected Jane. 

"And more will swamp us, first thing we know. You take the wheel. Iwill bail. "

"I'll do it myself, darlin'. "

Jane asked Hazel to assist her, and together they slaved until itseemed as if their backs surely would break. 

The storm, while not abating any, did not appear to increase in fury. It was severe enough as it was. The seas loomed above the broken craftlike huge, black mountains, yet somehow they seemed to break just afew seconds before engulfing her and to divide, passing on eitherside, but the "Sister Sue" wallowed in a smother of foam, creaking andgroaning, giving in every joint, and threatening to fall to pieceswith each new twist and turn forced upon her by the writhing seas. 

Miss Elting, after having in a measure quieted the girls in the cabin, came out clinging to a rope. She and Harriet held a shoutedconversation, after which the guardian returned to the cabin, wherethere was less danger of being beaten down by huge seas, although onecould get fully as wet inside the cabin as on deck. 

The hours of the night wore slowly away. The intense impenetrableblackness, the roar and thunder of the sea, the terrible jerking, jolting and hurling beneath them, shook the nerves of the girls, keeping them constantly in a half-dazed condition that perhapslessened the keenness of their suffering. Harriet and Jane, however, never for a single second relaxed their vigilance, or left a singlething undone that would tend to ease the boat or to contribute to itssafety. The binnacle light long since had been extinguished by thewater, making it impossible to see the compass to tell which way theywere headed. Little good it would have done them to know, either, theybeing powerless to change their course, or to make any headway at all, save as they drifted with the seas. Harriet hoped they might bedrifting toward shore. Instead, they were being slowly carried downthe coast and parallel with it. 

At last the gray of the early dawn appeared in the east, but it was a"high dawn, " with the light first appearing high in the sky, meaningto sailors wind or storm. Harriet did not know the meaning of it, however, though she thought it a most peculiar looking sky. And now, as the light came slowly, they were able to get an idea what the seain which they had been wallowing all night looked like. It was afearsome sight. As they gazed their hearts sank within them. Mountainsof leaden water rose into the air, then sank out of sight again, andwhen the "Sue" went into one of those troughs of the sea it was likesinking into a great black pit from which there was no escape. Yet thebuoyant hull of the sloop rose every time, shaking the water from herglistening white sides and bending to the oncoming seas preparatory totaking another dizzy dive. 

The lower half of the mast was still standing, a ragged stump, thedeck itself swept clean of every vestige of wreckage and movableequipment. What troubled Harriet most was the loss of the water cask. The small water tank in the cabin had been hurled to the floor by thepitching of the sloop and its contents spilled. The Meadow-Brook Girlsaw that they were going to be without water to drink, a most seriousthing, provided they were not drowned before needing something todrink. As she studied the boat, an idea was gradually formed in hermind, a plan outlined that she determined to try to adopt were thewind to go down sufficiently to make the attempt prudent. Harrietcalled the others to her, and the girls talked it over in all itsdetails for the better part of an hour. 

There was nothing to eat on board now, nor did many of the party feellike eating. Tommy, however, found her appetite shortly after daybreakand raised quite a disturbance because there was nothing to be had. She suggested breaking open the doors that led to the chain locker, but of this Harriet would not hear. She did not wish water to get inthere, for that appeared to be the one part of the boat that was nowfree from it, and that really had saved them from going to the bottom. In the meantime the wind did not appear to be abating in theslightest. All that wretched forenoon the majority of the girls, half-dead from fright and exposure, clung desperately to the cushionsof the locker seats, wild-eyed and despairing. All that forenoonHarriet Burrell, Jane McCarthy, Tommy, Hazel and Miss Elting stuck totheir posts and worked without once pausing to rest. About noon thewind suddenly died out, then began veering in puffs from variousquarters of the compass. 

"Now, Jane, is our chance, " cried Harriet. "The storm is broken, butthe seas will be high all the rest of the day. If we can fix up somesort of a sail, we may be able to reach land before long. "

CHAPTER XXIV

CONCLUSION

When the "Sister Sue" failed to return the previous afternoon, and thestorm came on, Mrs. Livingston, greatly alarmed, sent a party of girlswith a guardian to the nearest telephone to send word to Portsmouththat the sloop and its passengers were missing. A revenue cutter wassent out to look for them, first, however, having been incommunication with the ocean liner the girls had passed by wireless, learning from the captain of the ship of their having sighted the"Sister Sue" and giving the latter's position at the time. Thisserved as a guide for the revenue boat, which steamed through thegreat seas until daylight. 

There were no signs of the missing sloop; but, reasoning that, if theboat was still afloat, it must have been blown down the coast, therevenue boat headed in that direction. It was not until three o'clockin the afternoon, however, that the lookout reported seeing somethingfloating in the far distance, off the starboard bow. A study of thisobject through the glasses led the captain to turn his cutter in thatdirection. An hour later he was close enough to see that it was adismantled boat, and that there were people aboard it. 

Full speed ahead was ordered and the revenue boat rapidly drew up. Astrange spectacle was revealed to the officers and men of the revenuecutter as she approached close enough to make out details. Thedismantled sloop was lying very low in the water, showing that she wasin a bad way. To the top of the stump of the mast a staple had beendriven and through this a rope run. This rope held a jib, the greaterpart of which was on the deck because there was not height enough tospread it all. But what there was of the jib was pulling well in thefresh breeze and the sloop was wallowing through the seas, makingfair headway toward land, which now was not more than fifteen milesaway. 

Harriet Burrell, still at the wheel, was giving her full attention tohandling the boat, leaving to her companions the task of attractingthe attention of the cutter, which, however, had seen the sloop longbefore the passengers on her had discovered the revenue boat. 

The captain of the cutter lay to as close to the sloop as he dared go, then held a megaphone conversation with the survivors. Harriet repliedthat she thought she would be able to get the boat to shore, butsuggested that they take off the other girls. The captain would notlisten to Harriet's first proposition. After a perilous passage hefinally succeeded in getting a boat's crew aboard the sloop, theskipper himself accompanying the rescue party. 

"And you brought this tub through the gale?" he questioned, turning toHarriet after hearing a brief account of the loss of Captain Billy andthe consequent experiences of the "Sister Sue's" passengers. 

"It was purely good luck, sir, " answered Harriet modestly. 

"It was something a great deal stronger than luck, " answered thecaptain. "The sea is going down. As soon as it is down enough to besafe I will put you all aboard the cutter. "

"Are you going to leave the sloop?" asked Miss Elting. 

"No. We want that boat for reasons of our own. We wish to look it overat our leisure. Your sea anchor saved you, that and good seamanship. Miss Burrell, it is a pity you are not a man. You would be commandinga ship in a few years. I think we had better transfer you now. I'mafraid of the sloop. "

The transfer was a thrilling experience for the Camp Girls. Severaltimes they narrowly missed being upset and thrown into the sea, butafter more than two hours' work everyone had been safely landed onthe deck of the revenue boat. Three men were put aboard the sloop, alifeboat being left with them in case the "Sue" foundered. The revenuecutter then started towing her toward home. It was late in the eveningwhen finally they came to anchor off Camp Wau-Wau. The surf wasrunning so high that it was decided not to put the girls ashore untilthe following morning, though the "Sue" was cast off from her tow andallowed to drift into the bay. From here her crew rowed ashore andinformed the anxious Camp Girls that everyone of their companions wassafe. 

But the morning brought with it a further surprise. The cabin in whichthe Meadow-Brook Girls had made their home had wholly disappeared. With it had gone the bar, swept out by the storm, the cabin lying ahopeless, tangled wreck on the shore of the bay. With it, too, hadgone ashore a variety of stuff which the officers of the revenue boatexamined early that morning. They pronounced the ruined stuffammunition. 

Harriet told of the mysterious box that she had seen carried into thewoods. Later in the day this was located and dug up. It was found tobe a zinc-lined case, packed with military rifles of old pattern. 

On board the "Sister Sue, " in the chain locker, was found a completewireless equipment, together with quite a cargo of rifles andammunition. 

"These guns were meant for _business_!" remarked the captain of therevenue cutter, as he and another officer stood by superintending thework of four sailors. 

"Why, I thought the days of piracy had gone by, " remarked Harriet. 

"_Pi_--" gasped Tommy, and turned pale. 

"Pirates!" echoed Margery Brown in consternation. "Why, we might havebeen killed and no one would have known what became of us!"

"Who said anything about pirates!" retorted the revenue captain, smiling. 

"Why, you thaid--" began Tommy wonderingly. 

"I spoke of 'business, '" came the answer of the man in uniform, "andthat was what I meant to say. In these days, in Latin-Americancountries, revolution appears to be one of the leading forms ofbusiness. "

"_Revolution?_" echoed Margery, quickly reviving, while Tommy listenedin amazement. "Why, revolutions are romantic; there's nothing awfulabout 'em. "

"Nothing awful, " laughed Captain Rupert. "In the countries to thesouth of us most of the revolutions are very tame affairs, so far asactual fighting goes. The crowd that makes the most noise, whethergovernment or insurgent, usually wins the day. For that matter, Inever could understand why blank cartridges wouldn't do as well as thereal ammunition in these Latin-American revolutions. "

"Yet if these rifles and cartridges were intended for use in arevolution, " Harriet broke in, "doesn't it seem odd to land them onthis short strip of New Hampshire coast?"

"Not at all odd when you understand the reason, " Captain Rupert wenton. "These rifles are intended to be used in another projecteduprising of the blacks in Cuba. The blacks there are always ready tofight, provided some selfseeking white man offers them the weapons, and a prosperous time, without work, in the event of victory. Suchanother uprising of the blacks in Cuba has been planned. The secretservice men of the Cuban government got wind of the affair and trailedsome of the plotters to this country. 

"Now, the United States is the place where nearly all of the suppliesfor these revolutions are bought. So our government, watching, discovered that the arms were being slyly shipped to Portsmouth, instead of being directly shipped from New York to Cuba. It was, ofcourse, quite plain that Portsmouth was the port from which the armsand ammunition were to be shipped. So the cutter that I command wasordered to Portsmouth. As soon as the plotters there found the'Terrapin' cruising off that port they knew they must find some otherway of getting the goods out of the country, for it is against the lawto ship arms from this country for use against any other establishedgovernment. 

"So the plotters hit upon a new plan. They engaged the skipper of aregular fishing smack to carry small lots of arms out to sea, there totransfer them to a sloop. Captain Billy was the man selected toreceive the arms and ammunition at sea. He brought them in here, hiding them, with the intention of putting out some dark night, makingseveral short trips, and transferring all the rifles andcartridges--eight thousand rifles and three million cartridges, to asmall steamer that would be waiting in the offing. The steam vesselwould then carry the cargo to Cuba, landing the goods at some secret, appointed place. Captain Billy, as our government learned, was toreceive one thousand dollars for his share in the work. It was a bitrisky, as he faced prison if caught--as he surely would have beenimprisoned had he lived. "

"Poor man!" sighed Harriet sympathetically. 

"I agree with you, " nodded Captain Rupert gravely. "Captain Billy wasa good fellow, as men go; but he had passed his fiftieth year withfortune as far away as ever, and he caught at the bait of a thousanddollars, though he knew he was breaking the laws of his country. Buthe's dead, " added the revenue officer, uncovering his head for amoment; "therefore we won't discuss his fault further. "

When the "hidden treasure" in the woods was unearthed it proved to bea large consignment of rifles and cartridges. These had been hidden ina cleverly concealed artificial, sod-covered cave in the woods. Itsexistence had been so well hidden that Camp Wau-Wau girls had scoresof times passed over the cave without suspecting its existence. 

Before the revenue cutter sailed away the six officers aboard cameashore one evening, taking dinner with the girls, in company with anumber of young men, invited from the neighborhood. Afterward untilhalf-past ten o'clock there was a pleasant dance. 

All too soon Harriet Burrell and her friends found this vacation tripat an end. Proud of the honors they had won, delighted beyond wordswith the good times they had had, they left for home the day beforethe hulk of the "Sister Sue" was taken away, at Mr. McCarthy's order, and sold. 

"We are leaving behind us the best time we have ever had, " sighedHazel on the morning of their departure. 

"I am sure there are plenty of good times ahead of all of us yet, "declared Harriet brightly. 

"What I'm going to say, girls, " broke in Miss Elting, "is notoriginal, but practical. The driver we've engaged to take ourbelongings to the station will be due here in ten minutes. If we'renot ready for him, he'll charge us extra for waiting. "

So the packing was finished, the driver departed with the luggage, andthe Meadow-Brook Girls, somewhat wet-eyed, took leave of all at CampWau-Wau. Then, Torch Bearer Harriet Burrell leading the way, the fourgirls and their guardian took the trail. 

Yet there was another good time coming, as all our readers willspeedily discover when they open the next volume, which is publishedunder the title: "THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON THE TENNIS COURTS; Or, Winning Out in the Big Tournament. "

THE END.