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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17865-h.zip b/17865-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c69e6a5 --- /dev/null +++ b/17865-h.zip diff --git a/17865-h/17865-h.htm b/17865-h/17865-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a3a1e0e --- /dev/null +++ b/17865-h/17865-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10429 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills, by Janet Aldridge</title> +<style type="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: medium; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; margin-left: 10%; font-size: small } + +P.letter {font-size: small } + + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link { color:blue; + text-decoration:none; } + link { color:blue; + text-decoration:none; } + a:visited { color:blue; + text-decoration:none; } + a:hover { color:red; + text-decoration: underline; } + pre { font-size: 65%; } +</style> +</head> +<body> +<h1 align="center">The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills, by Janet +Aldridge</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills</p> +<p> The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains</p> +<p>Author: Janet Aldridge</p> +<p>Release Date: February 26, 2006 [eBook #17865]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Al Haines</h3></center><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT=""I'm the guide, Janus Grubb."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="391" HEIGHT="591"> +<H4> +[Frontispiece: "I'm the guide, Janus Grubb."] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills +</H1> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OR +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +By +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +JANET ALDRIDGE +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Author of the Meadow-Brook Girls Under Canvas, The Meadow-Brook Girls +Across Country, The Meadow-Brook Girls Afloat, The Meadow-Brook Girls +by the Sea, etc. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> +<br> +<br> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY +<BR><BR> +Akron, Ohio ————— New York +<BR><BR> +Made in U. S. A. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Copyright MCMXIV +<BR><BR> +By THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Table of Contents +</H2> + +<BR> + +<CENTER> + +<TABLE WIDTH="80%"> +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAPTER</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">The Man with the Green Goggles</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">Miss Elting's Mysterious Caller</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">The Start that Came to Grief</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">An Exciting Night</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">On the Burning Bridge</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">Their Troubles Multiply</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">Horses Give the Alarm</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">Crazy Jane's "Find"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">Scaling the High Cliffs</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">A Slippery Climb</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">The Tragedy of Chocorua</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">Tommy Falls Out of Bed</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">Placing the Blame</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">Giving a Toboggan Points</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">Leaving the Trail in a Hurry</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">"Such a Lovely Slide"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">What Came of Shooting the Chute</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">Face by a Fresh Mystery</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">The Story the Light Told</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">Seeking a Desperate Revenge</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">The Ascent of Mt. Washington</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">A Rout and a Capture</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">A Mysterious Disappearance</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">Conclusion</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Illustrations +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +"I'm the guide, Janus Grubb." . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-098"> +"Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-156"> +Up and up wound the trail. +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MAN WITH GREEN GOGGLES +</H3> + +<P> +"I hear that Janus Grubb is going to take a passel of gals on a tramp +over the hills," observed the postmaster, helping himself to a cracker +from the grocer's barrel. +</P> + +<P> +"Gals?" questioned the storekeeper. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. There's a lot of mail here for the parties, mostly postals. +Can't make much out of the postals, but some of the letters I can read +through the envelopes by holding them against the window." +</P> + +<P> +"Lemme have a look," urged the grocer eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not by a hatful. I'm an officer of the government. The secrets of +the government must be guarded, I tell ye. There's six of them——" +</P> + +<P> +"You don't say! Six letters?" interrupted the grocer. +</P> + +<P> +"No, gals. One's name is Elting. She's what they call a chaperon. +Another is Jane McCarthy—I reckon some relation of the party who wrote +me a letter asking what I knew about Jan. I reckon Jan got the job on +my recommendation." +</P> + +<P> +"Who are these girls, and what do they think they're goin' to do up +here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Call themselves 'The Meadow-Brook Gals.' Funny name, eh?" grinned the +postmaster, balancing a soda cracker on the tip of his forefinger, then +deftly tossing it edgewise into his open mouth. "They pay Janus ten +dollars a week for toting them around," he chuckled. "Read it in the +McCarthy party's letter to Jan." +</P> + +<P> +"What are they going to do up in the hills?" +</P> + +<P> +"Climb over the rocks for their health," grinned the postmaster. +</P> + +<P> +"Huh! When they coming to town?" +</P> + +<P> +"On the evening mail train to-day. Hello! There's Jan now on his way +to meet them. Say! Will you look at him! Jan's had his whiskers +pruned. And, I swum, if he hasn't got on a new pair of boots. Git +them of you?" +</P> + +<P> +The storekeeper nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"How much?" demanded the postmaster. +</P> + +<P> +"Four seventy-three. Knocked down from five dollars. Wish I'd known +he was going to draw down ten dollars a week for this job. I'd have +got four seventy-five at least for the boots." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind, you can let Jan make it up on something else," comforted +the postmaster. "Reckon I'll go down to the station to see the folks +come in." +</P> + +<P> +"I was going to ask you to look after the store while I went down," +returned the grocer. +</P> + +<P> +The postmaster decided that he wouldn't go. The other man hurried out, +while the government employe helped himself not only to another handful +of crackers, but to a liberal slice of cheese as well. He stood +munching his crackers and cheese and gazing out reflectively into the +gathering twilight, when he suddenly started and peered more keenly. +That which had attracted his attention was a stoop-shouldered man. The +fellow wore a soft hat, the brim of which was slightly turned up in +front, but his face was well masked by a huge pair of green automobile +goggles. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" ejaculated the postmaster. "If I didn't know the +feller was in jail up at Concord, I'd say that was Big Charlie. +Hm-m-m. No. This one is too stooped for Charlie. Charlie's six foot +two in his socks. I wonder who this fellow is?" +</P> + +<P> +Even then the mail train was whistling, and the postmaster began +bustling about preparing to receive the evening mail, always an event +for him as well as for the villagers, who ordinarily flocked into the +office, hoping to catch sight of a familiar handwriting or hear a name +mentioned that would give them foundation for a bit of gossip. +</P> + +<P> +It was while he was thus engaged that five young girls and a young +woman some years their senior got down from a coach to the railway +platform, where they stood gazing expectantly about them. The young +women were dressed in tasteful blue serge suits, with hats of the same +material, a sort of uniform, the villagers decided, and, had not the +station platform been too dark, the eager spectators would have seen +that the faces of the visitors were tanned almost to swarthiness. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I ask some one if Mr. Janus Grubb is here?" questioned one of +the girls. +</P> + +<P> +"No, wait a moment, Harriet," answered the young woman in charge of the +party, "I will ask. Surely the guide should be here to meet us, since +Miss McCarthy's father had arranged for it." +</P> + +<P> +"You are looking for a guide, Miss?" questioned a voice at her side. +Miss Elting, the guardian of the party, glanced up inquiringly. She +looked into a face of which she could see but little. The most marked +feature of the face was a pair of huge green automobile goggles. These +gave to the face, which she observed wore a peculiar pallor, a sinister +effect, caused no doubt by the goggles. +</P> + +<P> +"We are looking for Mr. Janus Grubb. Are you he?" she asked sharply. +</P> + +<P> +The man nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"This way," he said in a hurried voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, girls," urged the guardian; "I thought Mr. Grubb would not fail +us." +</P> + +<P> +"And a funny looking person he is," scoffed Jane McCarthy. Her +companions, Hazel Holland, Margery Brown and Grace Thompson, giggled. +Harriet Burrell plucked the sleeve of the guardian's light coat. +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't go with him, Miss Elting," she urged. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not, dear?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like his looks. Make him take off his glasses. There is +something peculiar about him." +</P> + +<P> +"This way, please!" the guide's voice took on a tone of command. They +had nearly reached the upper end of the platform when he issued his +peremptory order. Just then a shout was heard to the rear of them. A +man came running toward them. +</P> + +<P> +"Hey, there!" he called. The girls halted. "Are you the Meadow-Brook +Gals?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir," answered Miss Elting, brightly. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I'm mighty glad to know about it. 'Pears as if you didn't know +where you was going." +</P> + +<P> +"And who are you, sir?" demanded the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm the guide, Janus Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you listen to the man!" chuckled Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet nodded with satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"Janus Grubb? Why, sir, I don't understand. We have already met Mr. +Grubb," cried Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Somebody is crazy," muttered Jane, "I think the man with the green +goggles is the lunatic." +</P> + +<P> +"Show me the man who said he was myself," roared the newcomer. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting turned to point out the man who had been piloting them +along the platform. She uttered a little exclamation. The man with +the goggles was nowhere in sight. "Why, where did Mr. Grubb go?" she +exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm Janus Grubb and I'd like to see the man who says I'm not," shouted +the guide indignantly, forgetting that he was addressing a woman. +</P> + +<P> +"Please come to the station agent with me. If he identifies you, I am +satisfied," declared Miss Elting with dignity, looking disapprovingly +at the excited man. She moved back toward the station, followed by her +charges, and a moment later the railroad agent had identified Janus to +her entire satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +The girls giggled. There was something funny about their having been +deceived so easily, but Miss Elting did not regard matters in that +light. "Can you tell me who the man with the goggles is"? she +demanded, turning to the real guide after the identification had been +made. +</P> + +<P> +"If I knew him there'd be trouble," threatened Janus. "What kind of a +looking feller was he?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet answered, giving a very excellent description of the man with +the goggles. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't know him," said Janus, stroking his whiskers reflectively. +"Lucky for him that I don't. What do you want to do now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Go to the post-office," cried the girls. +</P> + +<P> +"There must be mail for as there," added Hazel. "I'm so anxious to +hear from home." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, tho am I," lisped little Grace Thompson. +</P> + +<P> +"You have arranged for us at the hotel for to-night, haven't you?" +demanded Jane McCarthy. "Father said you would look after these +matters for me." +</P> + +<P> +"It's all right, Miss. We'll go to the postoffice now. I'll look +after your baggage when we get you settled for the night. We won't +take it away from the station till we talk over what you want to do. +Are you ready?" +</P> + +<P> +They walked down the street, laughing and chatting, a happy lot of +girls, followed by a group of curious villagers, who even accompanied +them into the post-office. It was unusual to see so many pretty girls +in Compton, for summer visitors seldom came to the place. Furthermore, +these were different from any visitors ever seen there, so far as dress +was concerned. While waiting for the mail to be distributed, the girls +laughed and talked, apparently utterly oblivious of the presence of the +staring villagers. Miss Elting inquired for mail for the party as soon +as the wicket was opened. +</P> + +<P> +"Here, Tommy, is a letter for you," she smiled. Grace took the letter +eagerly. "And here are letters for Harriet, Hazel, and Margery. There +is one for me, too. It is from your father, Jane." +</P> + +<P> +"I have a letter here from Dad. I—will you look at that?" Jane stood +staring at the window. For a brief instant she had caught sight of a +man wearing a huge pair of goggles. He was peering through the +post-office window at them. But as she looked, the man disappeared. +"It was our friend with the green goggles again as sure as I'm alive!" +she exclaimed. "He was staring in here for all he was worth, but the +minute he saw me looking at him he vanished." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid we are going to have trouble with this mysterious +individual," declared Harriet. "He seems to have developed a peculiar +interest in our affairs that is far from flattering." +</P> + +<P> +"We are not going to be annoyed as we were last year," said Miss Elting +firmly. "Mr. Grubb, there is something very strange in all this. If +for any reason you know this man or have even the slightest idea of his +identity I must ask you to be perfectly frank with me." +</P> + +<P> +Janus Grubb declared solemnly that he had not the least idea who the +man could have been. Nor had he been able to find any person who had +seen the fellow approach them. Miss Elting and the guide stepped out +to the porch, followed by the girls, still chatting over the news from +home contained in their letters. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, where do you want to go first?" asked the guide after they had +reached the porch. +</P> + +<P> +"We will trust to your judgment," answered Miss Elting. "You know +best. We wish to try a little mountain climbing and we wish to see the +larger of the White Mountains. We would like to see everything of +interest in the White Mountain country." +</P> + +<P> +"That's a pretty big contract," chuckled Janus; "but I reckon we can +show you what you want to see. For instance, there's Mt. Chocorua, +Moosilauke, Mt. Washington, Mt. Lafayette and as many more as you like, +all the real thing and offering all the climbing you will care to do, +unless you want to follow the trails that all the visitors take." +</P> + +<P> +"No, we do not. We prefer to blaze our own trails, or, rather, to have +you do so, and the rougher they prove the better, as long as it is +safe. My girls are equal to any sort of rough-and-tumble climbing. +How do we get to the mountains?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've engaged a carry-all to take us out to the foothills. From there +you can walk or ride. If we take the rough trails, of course we'll +have to climb." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall ask you to lay out your route, then arrange to have some of +our baggage shipped on to meet us, say a week from now. Our necessary +equipment we can carry. The girls are used to shouldering heavy packs. +You will provide climbing equipment. I understand from Miss McCarthy +that you are a climber." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm everything and anything in the White Mountain Range," answered the +guide boldly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then, what do you say if we make Mount Chocorua first?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you had better decide for us." +</P> + +<P> +"This mountain is three thousand five hundred feet high. The way we +shall take you will, I think, find rugged enough to please the young +ladies," added Janus, with a grin behind his whiskers. "What time will +you be ready to start?" +</P> + +<P> +"As soon after daylight as we shall be able to get our breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"He had better bring our baggage from the station to-night. Then we +can have our packs in readiness," suggested Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, please do that, Mr. Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +"Anything else, Miss?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not that I think of for the moment. We have our tent in sections. We +also shall pack our blankets and such other things as will be needed. +The rest of the equipment can be sent on ahead to meet us wherever you +say. I don't know what the most convenient point would be. Where +would you suggest?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can send it to the Tip-Top station on Moosilauke. Will that do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'll be going," said the guide. "I'll take you over to the +Compton House, and if you want to see me again this evening, you can +call me on the telephone." +</P> + +<P> +Janus had started to move toward the steps preparatory to going about +his duties, when an exclamation from Harriet Burrell caused them to +turn sharply to her. +</P> + +<P> +"There he is! There is the man with the goggles!" she whispered, +pointing toward the store. They saw a stoop-shouldered man standing +with his back against the large window. He was facing them, but, his +face being in the shadow, they were unable to distinguish the features. +The light in the store being at his back, and his head slightly turned +to the steps, toward which Janus was moving, Harriet Burrell was +enabled to look directly through one of the lenses. She saw that the +glass was green and that it masked effectually the eyes of the strange +man. +</P> + +<P> +"Quick, Mr. Grubb!" cried the girl. "The man again! Find out who he +is!" +</P> + +<P> +Janus, who had moved down to the second step, now started back, and was +on the porch with one bound, thrusting the Meadow-Brook Girls aside in +his eagerness to reach the man who had impersonated him. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is he?" shouted Janus, in a voice that brought most of the +villagers from the store on the run. "I see him!" Grubb made a leap, +when, as though he had vanished into thin air, the stranger disappeared +from sight. +</P> + +<P> +The Meadow-Brook Girls gasped in amazement. But Harriet Burrell, +quicker in thought and action than even the guide himself, leaped from +the end of the porch and sped swiftly around the side of the store +toward the rear yard. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MISS ELTING'S MYSTERIOUS CALLER +</H3> + + +<P> +"Come back here!" shouted the guide. Harriet halted. She hesitated at +sight of the black shadows there rather than at the command. She +distinctly heard some one floundering over a high board fence that shut +in the rear yard of the store and post-office. Janus's hand was on her +arm. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" he exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that's too bad. He got away," cried Harriet ruefully. "I was too +slow. I could have caught him just as well as not, had I not been so +stupid as to wait." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet and the guide walked to where her companions were standing, not +certain what they ought to do, not quite sure what had occurred. +</P> + +<P> +"This one's all right," chuckled Janus. "She's got the spunk, but she +needs watching. She'll get the whole outfit in trouble. Tell me about +it," he concluded, turning to Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"You saw it, sir?" asked Harriet quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't see anything," returned the guide. "The man was standing on +the spot where you are standing at this moment. He was listening to +what we were saying, but for what reason I can't imagine. I made the +mistake of calling to you. I shouldn't have done that. When you +started for him he disappeared." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we saw him; then we did not," added Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"You didn't stop to think. You were too excited, and, besides, I was +nearer to the man than were the rest of you girls. He simply dropped +down on all fours and ran off the porch like a dog or a cat." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" muttered the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Grubb, I don't like this," declared the guardian severely. +</P> + +<P> +"Neither do I, Miss," he replied in a tone that made the girls laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"I am not certain what I ought to do, Mr. Grubb," continued Miss +Elting. "If it means that my girls are to be annoyed and disturbed, we +shall be obliged to look for another guide. You know I have a personal +responsibility in this matter. I shall have to think it over. Unless +you can give me reasonable assurance that these incidents will not be +repeated, then I shall have to make some different arrangements. You +will please send the luggage to the hotel as suggested. I will see you +early in the morning, at any rate. Come, girls." +</P> + +<P> +Janus, somewhat downcast and very thoughtful, led the way to the +Compton House, a short distance down the street from the post-office +and grocery store. The girls began talking almost as soon as they had +left the store porch. +</P> + +<P> +"Please, please don't discharge him," begged Hazel. "He is such a nice +man." +</P> + +<P> +"And thuch nithe whithkerth," added Grace Thompson. "He lookth jutht +like an uncle of mine, who——" +</P> + +<P> +"I agree with the girls, Miss Elting," interjected Harriet. "We are +able to take care of ourselves. Perhaps this is simply another crazy +man, of whom we shall be rid as soon as we leave the village for the +mountains in the morning. Please don't dismiss Mr. Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall have to think this matter over," was the guardian's grave +reply. "We do not care to repeat last summer's experience. You +remember what came of relying on the assurance of a stranger." Miss +Elting referred to the manner in which they had been tricked by the man +who had charge of her brother's houseboat the previous summer, and +whose treachery had caused them so much annoyance. +</P> + +<P> +None of the Meadow-Brook Girls made reply. They were as fully puzzled +in this respect as was their guardian. Miss Elting, however, pondered +over the mystery all the way to the hotel. They found the Compton +House a very comfortable country hotel, rather more so than some others +of which they had had experience during their previous journeys. +Arriving at the hotel, they hurriedly prepared for supper, for they +were late and the other guests of the house had eaten and left the +dining room before the Meadow-Brook Girls had even entered the hotel. +</P> + +<P> +By the time supper was finished, their luggage had come over from the +station. Janus Grubb, went home, not a little troubled as well as +mystified by the occurrences of the evening. Who the man could +possibly be he had not the remotest idea. He tried to recall who of +his acquaintances might be guilty of playing such a joke on him. To +the mind of Janus the incident could have been only a prank, though he +questioned the good taste of any such interference between himself and +his customers. +</P> + +<P> +On the contrary, Miss Elting and her young charges attached more +serious meaning to the performances of the man who had regarded them +through green goggles. They regarded the incident with suspicion and +agreed to proceed only with the utmost caution. +</P> + +<P> +None of the readers of this series need an introduction to Harriet +Burrell and her three friends, who figured so prominently in "THE +MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS." It was in this narrative that the +four chums made their first expedition into the Pocono woods and for +several happy weeks were members of Camp Wau-Wau, a campfire +association of which the girls became loyal members. At the end of +their stay in camp they decided to walk to their home town, sending +their camping outfit on ahead. +</P> + +<P> +The story of their journey home on foot was told in the second volume, +"THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY," in which an Italian and his +dancing bear, a campful of gipsies and a band of marauding tramps +furnished much of the excitement. Then, too, the friendly aid and +rivalries of a camp of boys known as the Tramp Club furnished many +enjoyable situations. +</P> + +<P> +It was in the third volume, "THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT," that +Harriet Burrell and her friends were shown as encountering a +considerable amount of adventure. The girls led an eventful life on +the old houseboat on one of the New Hampshire lakes, and also +encountered a mystery which, with the help of the Tramp Club, was run +to earth, but the solving of it entailed the loss of the "Red Rover," +their houseboat. +</P> + +<P> +And now the Meadow-Brook Girls were about to spend a few weeks among +the "Marvelous Crystal Hills," as the White Mountains in New Hampshire +have been aptly termed. +</P> + +<P> +Much time and thought had been spent in preparing properly for this +long vacation jaunt. Camp equipage had all been overhauled, and much +that would serve excellently where there was transport service had been +discarded for this journey into the hills. +</P> + +<P> +Resting for a while after finishing supper, the girls began to make up +neat packs containing such bare equipment and food supplies as they +believed to be indispensable. Then there were the tent, blankets and +cooking utensils to be looked after. Of course, the guide would carry +much of this dunnage, yet our girls were no weaklings, and no one of +them expected to shirk carrying her fair share of the load. +</P> + +<P> +It was after nine o'clock when Harriet and her chums finished the +making-up of the packs. Soon after a clerk knocked on the door of Miss +Elting's room. +</P> + +<P> +"There's a man below who wishes to speak with you," the clerk informed +her. +</P> + +<P> +"It must be Mr. Grubb," guessed the guardian, and left her packing to +go downstairs. She glanced into the lobby of the hotel; then, not +seeing Janus there, stepped into the parlor. A man, a stranger, was +sitting near a door that led out to the hotel veranda. In the light of +the kerosene lamp that hung suspended from the ceiling she was not able +to make out his features at first. She saw that he wore a heavy black +beard, that he was rather roughly dressed, but that his hands were +white. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you the man who wished to speak with Miss Elting?" she asked, +confessing to herself that she did not wholly like the appearance of +the man. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," he answered, rising. Now that the light fell on his face she +noted that he had a low, receding forehead. His beard covered the +greater part of his face. +</P> + +<P> +"About what do you wish to speak with me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, it's rather a delicate matter, Miss," the man made reply, gazing +down at the carpet, twisting his soft felt hat awkwardly. "I—I wanted +to ask if you needed any assistance." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are going into the mountains?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"You will need to have some one to show you the way and look after you +and your party." +</P> + +<P> +"We already have engaged some one to do that. You mean a guide, I +suppose?" +</P> + +<P> +He nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"May I ask your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"John Collins." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you live here?" she asked, curious to know more about the man, whom +she began to distrust. +</P> + +<P> +"Not now. I live over in the next village. I was in town and heard +that you folks wanted a guide. I know more about the White Mountains +than any other man in the State of New Hampshire. I can show you more, +and take better care of your party, than anybody else you could find." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know Janus Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ye—yes," Collins twisted uneasily, "I know him." +</P> + +<P> +"He is to be our guide. The arrangements were made some time ago by +the father of one of our young women. Mr. Grubb starts with us +tomorrow morning, unless there should be some change in the +arrangements." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sorry, Miss." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sorry, too, since you have been so kind as to offer your +services," replied the guardian politely. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't just mean it that way, Miss. I meant about Janus." +</P> + +<P> +"How so?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't just like to say. Yes, I will, too. Do you know anything +about Jan Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," admitted Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you'd better ask. I am afraid you are putting too much +confidence in him." +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Collins, please be more explicit. What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"You'll find out after you've got out into the hills. He doesn't know +any more about the hills than a little yellow dog that's spent all its +life in town. He'll get you into all kinds of trouble, and then he'll +leave you to get out of it as best you can. You remember what I tell +you." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course, I thank you for telling me," answered the guardian rather +stiffly. "However, we are quite satisfied with Mr. Grubb. As I +understand it, he is a highly respected citizen of Compton and an +efficient mountain guide. That will be quite sufficient for us." +</P> + +<P> +"I need this job. I—I need the money, Miss," whined the stranger. +</P> + +<P> +"I am satisfied with the arrangements I have already made." Miss Elting +turned to leave the room. +</P> + +<P> +"My family needs it. I've been out of work a long time, and——" +</P> + +<P> +"I am very sorry. I wish it were in my power to assist you, but I have +very little voice in the matter. Another person—the one who is paying +the expenses of this trip—attended to all that. You will see that it +is quite useless to plead, deep as my sympathy is for you." +</P> + +<P> +The man rose and eyed her with an expression that was particularly +unpleasant to behold. Miss Elting returned her strange visitor's gaze. +Something other than his looks repelled her, yet there was nothing in +either manner or words to account for this feeling of repulsion on the +part of the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"In case anything should occur to make it necessary for us to look +further for a guide I shall remember you," she said slowly. "I suppose +I can reach you here at Compton?" +</P> + +<P> +"N—n—no," was the hesitating answer. "But if you need me, I'll he +about. Mark what I tell you, Jan Grubb is going to get you into a fine +mess! You will be sorry you ever engaged him; that's all I've got to +say about it. Good night, lady." +</P> + +<P> +"Good night, Mr. Collins," replied the woman coldly. His final words, +so full of rancor, had destroyed what little sympathy he had aroused in +her. Miss Elting stood aside while the man stepped toward the door. +</P> + +<P> +At this juncture Harriet Burrell appeared in the doorway leading to the +hall. She had missed Miss Elting, and, not finding the guardian in her +room, had come downstairs in search of her. Harriet had not known that +the guardian was engaged. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss Elting. I did not know—I thought you +were alone." +</P> + +<P> +"It is all right. Come in, Harriet. What did you wish?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet did not reply. Instead, she gazed perplexedly at the +retreating form of Miss Elting's late caller. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll be sorry you ever took up with that hound," flung back the +fellow, turning as he was about to step out on the veranda. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting made no reply. Her lips tightened a little, then she +turned with a half-smile, regarding Harriet's frowning face quizzically. +</P> + +<P> +"What does it mean, Miss Elting?" questioned the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, my dear. The man wanted to act as our guide. I am glad +he isn't the one who is to lead us over the mountains. I don't like +him at all. You heard what he just said?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"He was referring to Mr. Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what to make of it. What reason do you suppose he could +have for coming to me in this manner? It is all very strange." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, Miss Elting. I am wondering." +</P> + +<P> +"Wondering what?" +</P> + +<P> +There was something in the set of the shoulders, in the swing of them +as the man walked away, in the poise of the head, that had impressed +Harriet Burrell as being vaguely familiar. Something of this must have +been reflected in the Meadow-Brook Girl's face, judging from the +guardian's next question. +</P> + +<P> +"Of what are you thinking, dear?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have seen that man before, Miss Elting." +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. My memory connects him with something unpleasant. I +wish I knew what it is, for I am positive there is something wrong with +him. Wait! I know! I know of whom the man reminds me. Can't you see +it? Don't you know?" cried Harriet eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +The guardian shook her head. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE START THAT CAME TO GRIEF +</H3> + + +<P> +"Who do you think it is, Harriet?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet Burrell whispered something in the ear of the guardian. Again +Miss Elting shook her head, this time with decision. +</P> + +<P> +"Wrong, this time. There isn't the slightest resemblance that I could +observe. I thought of that, too. But let's not bother our heads about +it any further. We have things of greater importance to consider this +evening, and, besides, we must go to bed soon; we are to make an early +start in the morning, you know." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet shook her brown head slowly. She was positive that she was +right in her identification of the visitor, Collins. She determined to +ask some questions at the first opportunity. This she did on the +following morning, inquiring of the hotel clerk about the man who had +so strangely called on Miss Elting. The clerk said he had never heard +of the man. In the preparations that followed Harriet forgot about the +caller. Grubb had a carry-all at the hotel before they had finished +their breakfast. The equipment for the party occupied little room. +Janus had consulted with Miss Elting about the food supplies, and these +were packed in the smallest possible space, with the exception of a few +packages for their use before they got into the mountains. +</P> + +<P> +The drive to the point where they would leave the wagon would occupy +the greater part of the day. The girls looked forward to that day's +journey with keen anticipation. They started out decorously and +quietly, for the inhabitants of the village were early risers and the +girls did not wish to attract unpleasant attention to themselves. Once +they were well out of the village, however, the Meadow-Brook Girls' +spirits bubbled forth in song, shout and merry laughter. The air was +crisp and cool until the sun came up, then it grew warm. +</P> + +<P> +Janus, sitting up by the driver, was almost sternly silent. Miss +Elting, in the light of the previous evening's interview, regarded him +from time to time with inquiring eyes. She could not believe what her +caller had told her of their guide. Janus was plainly an honest, +well-intentioned man. Of this she had been reassured that morning in +an interview with the proprietor of the Compton House. +</P> + +<P> +At noon, their appetites sharpened by the bracing air and the fact that +they had eaten an early breakfast, the party made a halt. The horses +were unhitched and allowed to graze beside the road. The guide built a +fire, Harriet and Jane in the meantime getting out something for their +luncheon, which was to be a cooked one instead of a "cold bite." +Hazel, Jane and Margery spread a blanket on the ground, while Tommy sat +on a rail fence, offering expert advice but declining to assist in the +preparations. +</P> + +<P> +It was a merry meal. Even Janus was forced to smile now and then, the +driver making no effort to conceal his amusement over the bright +sallies of the Meadow-Brook Girls. +</P> + +<P> +"Come! We must be going, unless you want to camp beside the road +to-night," urged the guide. The girls had finished their luncheon and +were strolling about the field. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, we haven't thettled our dinner yet," complained Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll have it well settled in less than an hour. The road from here +on is rough," returned Janus. "You'll be wanting another meal before +the sun is three hours from the hills." +</P> + +<P> +"We want to pick some wild flowers," called Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Girls, don't delay us! The driver wishes to get back home to-night +and we must reach the camping place in which Mr. Grubb has planned for +us to spend the night," warned the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we've got to hike right along," agreed Janus. "Hook up those +nags and be on the way, Jim," he added, speaking to the driver. +</P> + +<P> +It was only a short time until they were on the way again. The country +was becoming more sparsely settled, the hills more rugged and the +forests more numerous. Here and there slabs of granite might be seen +cropping up through the soil; in the distance, now and then, they were +able to catch glimpses of the bare ridges of the mountains toward which +they were journeying. +</P> + +<P> +"Those mountains," explained the guide, "are called 'The Roof of New +England.' There's not much of any timber on top, but on the sides you +will find some spruce, yellow pine and hemlock. It's all granite a +little way under the subsoil; and over the subsoil grows moss. Among +these mosses and the roots of the trees almost every important stream +in New England takes its rise, and some of them grow to be quite decent +rivers. You ladies live in this state, don't you?" +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid we never realized what a beautiful state New Hampshire is +until we began looking about a little," answered Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +"There are too many thtoneth," objected Tommy. "I thhall be afraid of +thtubbing my toeth all the time." +</P> + +<P> +"Lift your feet and you won't," suggested Margaret, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Buthter, I didn't athk for your advithe," retorted Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"There are the foothills," interrupted the guide, "and there is +Chocorua. Isn't she a beauty?" +</P> + +<P> +This was the girls' first real glimpse of the White Mountains. +Chocorua loomed high in the air, reminding them of pictures they had +seen of ancient temples, except that this was higher than any temple +they had ever seen pictured. Its gray domes, flanked by the other tops +of the neighboring range, stood out clearly defined. +</P> + +<P> +"Three thousand five hundred feet above sea level," the guide informed +them, waving a hand toward Chocorua. "Doesn't look that high, does it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Have we got to climb up there?" questioned Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"We are going to. We do not have to if we don't want to," replied +Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, dear, I'm too tired to go on," whined Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"I knew Buthter could never climb a mountain," observed Tommy, with a +hopeless shake of her little tow-head. "But never mind, Buthter, you +can thtay here and wait until we come back. It will only be a few +weekth and you won't be tho very lonely. Of courthe, you will mith me +a great deal." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry yourself over me," snapped, Buster. "I can climb as well +as you. But if I did stay behind, you can make up your mind I wouldn't +miss you." +</P> + +<P> +"Stop squabbling, girls," laughed Harriet. "Neither one of you could +get along without the other." +</P> + +<P> +The granite domes soon faded in the waning light. The driver urged on +his horses. The carry-all bumped over the uneven road, swaying giddily +from side to side, the girls clinging tightly to the sides of the +wagon, fearing that they might be thrown out. Darkness shut out pretty +much everything at an early hour. Janus decided that they had better +wait for supper till they reached the "Shelter," a cabin part way up +the side of the mountain, where tourists halted for a rest or to stay +over night when intending to climb the mountain. It was not expected +that there would be any save themselves there on this occasion. +</P> + +<P> +The road grew so uneven that the driver became a little uneasy. He +finally declared that he did not dare to try following the trail up to +the Shelter that night; that either he would put them down at the foot +of the mountain or make camp there until the following morning, when he +would continue the journey up the mountain to the shelter. +</P> + +<P> +Janus consulted with Miss Elting. He said they could walk to the +Shelter in a couple of hours, provided the girls were hard enough to +stand the climb. The guardian assured him that they were equal to +anything in the walking line. It was, therefore, settled that the +driver should take them to the foot of the mountain, whence they would +make their way on foot to the stopping place for the night, thus +beginning their tramp at the base of the mountain. +</P> + +<P> +"How much farther have we to go?" questioned Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"A mile farther on we pass over a long, covered bridge. The road takes +a sharp bend beyond that. The foot of the mountain lies less than a +mile from the end of the bridge. We shall soon be there," answered +Janus. The girls burst forth into song. Janus had to shout to make +himself heard when he spoke to the driver. The horses were traveling +at a lively pace. They did not enjoy the disturbance behind them, and +their driver, having wrapped the reins about his arms to give him +greater purchase, was pulling sturdily, his feet braced against the +dashboard of the carry-all. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's the bridge," cried the guide. +</P> + +<P> +A lantern had been lighted and hung from the rear axle of the +carry-all. But this did little more than cast weird, flickering +shadows ahead. It certainly did not light up the road ahead of there. +In the dense darkness the bridge was not visible to the eyes of the +Meadow-Brook Girls. +</P> + +<P> +"The bridge ith coming. Low bridge!" piped Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Be quiet; I fear we are making the driver's work difficult," warned +Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, but isn't this the fine ride?" cried Crazy Jane. "It's almost +like being in my own darlin' automobile with the landscape slipping +past on a greased track. Now, what if one of the horses should fall +down? Wouldn't we be tumbled into a goose pile!" chuckled Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, thave me!" cried Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't suggest anything so awful," begged Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! What's that!" exclaimed Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +The others did not know to what she referred, but they felt a sudden +jolt as the vehicle lurched to the side of the road, then back again. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" demanded Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"The horses have taken fright," answered the guardian calmly. "Be +careful that you do not excite them further." +</P> + +<P> +"Are—are the hortheth running away?" stammered Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," reassured Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be frightened," called back the guide encouragingly. "Jim can +hold any hosses that ever chewed a bit. We'll be on the bridge in a +minute; then they can thrash all they want to. Look out!" +</P> + +<P> +There followed a crash, a breaking, splintering sound as the right rear +wheel of the carry-all swerved into the side of the covered bridge a +few inches from the outer end. The wheel put a hole through the siding +of the bridge. It was fortunate for the carry-all that the wheel had +not swerved a second earlier. Had it done so, the carry-all must have +been wrecked on the stout post at the outer end of the long bridge. +</P> + +<P> +What had so startled the horses none of the occupants of the carry-all +knew. The driver knew that they had had a narrow escape from being +hurled down an embankment. It was a bad place for horses to take +fright. He had managed, however, to pick the team up by the reins and +set them down in the middle of the road, where they remained but a few +seconds before they were swerving to one side again, then they began +leaping and galloping through the long, covered bridge. +</P> + +<P> +Once more a rear wheel raked the boards. The girls cried out, fearing +that they would be hurled through the siding and down into the river. +They were clinging to the sides of the vehicle, gripping them firmly +with their hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't lose your presence of mind, girls," cried Miss Elting. "I think +the driver has the animals under control now." She was obliged to +shout in order to make herself heard. +</P> + +<P> +The roar of the carry-all on the floor of the bridge was terrifying. +As the vehicle rolled over the loose planks of the bridge floor the +sound was almost as if a Gatling gun were being fired, accompanied by a +crash, now and then, as the wagon was hurled against the side of the +bridge. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, what a mess!" shouted Jane McCarthy. "Are we near the other end, +or has the miserable old bridge turned around since we started? The +horses are now going faster than ever, and we'll be going at the same +rapid gait a few moments from now, or maybe seconds——" +</P> + +<P> +Crash! +</P> + +<P> +The carry-all once more struck the side. Then something else occurred. +There was a sudden stoppage of the horses, accompanied by the sound of +breaking woodwork. It was as if the bridge were collapsing. The +Meadow-Brook Girls were piled in a heap at the forward end of the +vehicle, then hurled straight over the dashboard and on over the +horses, amid shouts and screams. There seemed to be no end to the +crashing and screaming for some moments; then a sudden silence settled +over the darkened structure, broken only by the frightened neigh of a +horse. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN EXCITING NIGHT +</H3> + + +<P> +"Girls!" It was Miss Elting who called. "Oh, girls, are you hurt?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm killed. Thave me!" moaned Grace. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I'm alive, but I'm not sure," cried Jane. "I've scraped the +skin from my nose entirely. What a mess! what a mess!" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait!" The guardian's voice was commanding. "Margery, Hazel!" +</P> + +<P> +"Ye—es," answered two voices in chorus. They sounded far away. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet!" There was no reply. She repeated the call, but there was +still no answer. Miss Elting became alarmed now. She was still +sitting in the broken carry-all, to which she had clung desperately at +the sudden stoppage, thus preventing herself from being hurled out, as +had occurred to her charges. Thus far not a word had been heard from +the two men. Now, a groan somewhere ahead attracted the teacher's +attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Girls, don't move! We do not know what has occurred. Does any of you +know where Mr. Grubb is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. He ith right here. I jutht touched hith whithkerth," answered +Tommy in a weak, plaintive little voice. "I gueth he ith dead." +</P> + +<P> +The guardian clambered from the rear of the carry-all. The lantern had +been extinguished by the shock. She got down, carefully groping about +in the blackness for the lantern. She uttered a little exclamation of +thanksgiving when her fingers came in contact with it. But the chimney +had been shattered by the shock. Only the lower part of it remained, +just enough to shield the flame when once this should have been +restored. It was but the work of a few seconds to relight the lantern. +Miss Elting ran around to the front of the vehicle. She beheld a +strange scene. +</P> + +<P> +Both horses were down. At first they appeared to be lying on the floor +of the bridge. A closer look showed the guardian that the forelegs of +each animal had gone right through the floor. Then the further +discovery was made that there was little flooring at this point. The +planks that had once formed the floor at this particular spot lay piled +on each side of the driveway. Only the beams held the horses from +falling through to the water, a few feet below. +</P> + +<P> +A short distance beyond lay Janus Grubb, sprawled on his back; while +close beside him, lay the form of the driver. Margery and Hazel were +sitting to the right, huddled in each other's arms. Tommy, +white-faced, with her feet curled under her, sat close beside Janus, +gazing down into his bewhiskered face. Jane McCarthy was leaning +against one side of the bridge. Her own face had lost much of its +usual color. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet!" gasped Miss Elting, "what has happened to her?" +</P> + +<P> +Jane shook her head and pointed to the opening in the floor. The +guardian understood. Harriet must have been hurled right through and +down into the river. +</P> + +<P> +"Girls! Look after the two men. Hurry!" She ran to the opening, then +lying down, peered into the darkness. "Ha-r-r-r-i-et!" +</P> + +<P> +"Hoo-e-e-e-e-e!" +</P> + +<P> +The guardian sprang to her feet. It was unmistakably Harriet Burrell +who had answered her, but the voice of the Meadow-Brook Girl had +sounded far away. Miss Elting believed that the girl had succeeded in +reaching the bank of the river. Jane had thrown herself down beside +the unconscious guide and was at work making heroic efforts to bring +him back to consciousness. The driver already was struggling to get to +his feet. Tommy hopped up, and, hurrying to him, gave such assistance +as her strength would permit. +</P> + +<P> +The driver staggered; after walking a few steps he leaned against the +side of the bridge with both hands pressed to his forehead. Tommy +regarded him wonderingly. His head was still dizzy; he had no clear +conception of what had occurred. +</P> + +<P> +By this time the guardian had gone to Jane's assistance and was +pressing a bottle of smelling salts to the nostrils of Janus Grubb. +Janus twisted his head uneasily, as though to get away from the pungent +odor of the salts. +</P> + +<P> +"He will be all right in a few moments, I think. I wish we had some +water," murmured Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +Jane ran to the wagon. She returned with a rope and a pail. Tying the +rope to the pail, she lowered the latter through the opening in the +floor. A few moments later she presented a pail of water to Miss +Elting, which the guardian sprinkled little by little over the face of +their guide. Janus gasped, struggled and rolled over. Jane turned him +on his back again. This time a solid volume of water was dashed into +his face. He turned over and made a feeble attempt to rise. Another +volume of water smote him in the back of the neck, hurling him to the +bridge floor. This time Janus got to his feet, brushing his eyes, for +they were so full of water that he could not see. +</P> + +<P> +"I can let him down at the end of the rope and souse him in the +stream," suggested Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no, no!" protested the guardian. She took Janus firmly by the +arm. "Where do you feel bad?" +</P> + +<P> +"I swum! I swum!" mumbled the guide. "I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"You'd have had to swim if you had gone through the hole in the floor," +retorted Crazy Jane. "Harriet went down there, and——" +</P> + +<P> +"Eh? What—wha—at?" gasped the guide, blinking rapidly. +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down a moment," urged Miss Elting. "None of us is seriously hurt. +How about you?" gazing at the driver. "No bones broken, I trust?" +</P> + +<P> +The driver shook his head. Janus was gazing at the opening in the +floor with a puzzled expression on his face. He stared at the planks +banked on each side, nodding understandingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Been fixing the bridge. Forgot to put the planks back in place," he +muttered. +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't it rather strange that so important a thing should have been +forgotten, Mr. Grubb?" questioned the guardian significantly. +</P> + +<P> +"I swum! I swum!" repeated Janus, running reflective fingers through +his beard. +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't thwum yet, but if you thtep into that hole you will have +the pleathure of thwimming," warned Tommy, for the guide had been +edging closer and closer to the opening in the bridge floor. He drew +back a step. +</P> + +<P> +The driver had recovered sufficiently to note the distressing condition +of his horses. Now he limped toward them. "They're goners!" he +groaned. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe it," answered Jane shortly. "They will be, if you +don't do something. Why don't you get them out?" +</P> + +<P> +"How can I?" moaned the poor fellow. +</P> + +<P> +Jane started to speak, but a loud "Hoo-e-e-e" from the far end of the +bridge caused her to pause. The call was repeated. Then they heard +Harriet running toward them. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out for holes in the floor!" yelled Crazy Jane. "You can't tell +anything about this perforated old bridge. Come back here, Tommy +Thompson!" Tommy had started to run to meet Harriet. Margery grabbed +and pulled her back. Tommy jerked away angrily, but this time it was +Jane McCarthy who laid a firm grip on the little girl's arm. "You stay +right here." Jane lifted her voice in a prolonged call. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet Burrell answered in kind. A moment later Harriet came running +up to them, dripping from her unexpected plunge into the river. +</P> + +<P> +"Was any one hurt? Oh, I'm so glad!" as a quick glance told her that +all of her companions were there. "Oh, those poor horses!" +</P> + +<P> +"Buthter thought thhe wath killed, but after I told her thhe wath all +right, thhe felt better," observed Tommy, with a sidelong glance at +Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Just as though I'd pay any attention to what you say," retorted +Margery, her chin in the air. "You talk entirely too much." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm so glad you weren't hurt, Harriet," said Hazel, "but I'm sorry you +are so wet." +</P> + +<P> +The water was running in little rivulets from Harriet's clothing. But +her interest was centered not on herself but on the two men who were +standing by the groaning horses, trying to decide what could be done to +get the animals out. Miss Elting slipped an arm about Harriet's waist. +</P> + +<P> +"How thankful I am that you are safe," whispered the guardian, kissing +Harriet impulsively. +</P> + +<P> +"The water was very cold," shivered Harriet. "I really didn't know +what had happened until I went in all over." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you thrown directly through the opening?" questioned the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"No. I think I fell on a horse first. I rolled off before I could get +hold of anything to stop myself. Then——" +</P> + +<P> +"Then you fell in," finished Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I did, and with unpleasant force. Fortunately, the water was +deep and the current not very swift. But it was so dark that I +couldn't see which way to swim. I found the direction of the shore by +swimming across the current; otherwise I might have gone up or down +stream, for I could distinguish nothing. I touched bottom just a +little way from where I fell in. Had I struck just a little way to the +right I think I should have been killed. You girls are fortunate that +you didn't fall through the bridge. Was any of you hurt?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, Jane lotht thome thkin from her nothe, but she can grow thome +more, and it will thoon be better again." Tommy's reply drew a smile +from her companions, but they were all too much disturbed to feel like +indulging in merriment. Besides, there were the suffering horses. +</P> + +<P> +"May I make a suggestion?" asked Harriet, releasing herself from Miss +Elting's embrace. +</P> + +<P> +"Somebody will have to make one pretty soon," declared Janus, brushing +a sleeve across his forehead. "What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should think that if you were to place the ends of planks under the +horses, we might pry them up a little, so that, one by one, you could +shove other planks under them. In that way we might get enough planks +down to enable the horses to get a foothold." +</P> + +<P> +"Can't be done," answered the driver. +</P> + +<P> +"There will be no harm in trying," urged Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a good idea," nodded Janus, after having stroked his whiskers +reflectively. Janus always consulted his whiskers when in doubt, and +among the graying hairs usually found that for which he sought. He was +the first to go after a plank. The near horse was the one to feel the +support of the plank as the guide worked it under one side of the +animal. Janus turned the end of the plank over to Harriet Burrell +while he ran for another plank. This was repeated, the driver, after a +time, taking part in the operation, until four planks had been worked +in under the horse. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, all work together," urged Harriet. "Mr. Grubb, see if you and +the driver can't get a couple of planks clear under the horse. If you +can get the end of a plank on one of the beams you will have done +something really worthwhile." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting, Jane, Hazel and Harriet each were assigned to "man" the +end of a plank. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, all together! Hee—o—hee!" shouted Janus. A plank slid easily +underneath the stomach of the near horse and came to rest on a beam. +</P> + +<P> +"Hooray!" cheered the guide. "That's what comes of having a head on +one's shoulders. Young woman, you've got one. Let him down a little. +Here, Jim, you get some planks around under that other horse. We'll +have them up, but we may break their legs in the final effort. I don't +know. Somebody will have to settle for the damage done here to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"The wagon is broken," Margery informed them. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind the wagon. It's the horses we must save," answered Miss +Elting. "We can't leave them to suffer." +</P> + +<P> +Fifteen minutes of hard labor sufficed to raise the horses a little and +to place them in greater comfort. The sharp edges of the beams no +longer cut into the flesh, and their breathing was less labored. The +party paused to rest from their efforts. +</P> + +<P> +"If we had some rope and pulleys we could get the animals out without +much difficulty," reflected Janus. "But how to do it now I don't know. +I swum! I'm dead-beat." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you lift?" questioned Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Tolerable." +</P> + +<P> +"Then why not pick up first one fore-foot, then another, and place them +on the planks. You'll see what the horses will do then." +</P> + +<P> +Janus scratched his head and fingered his beard. +</P> + +<P> +"I swum, Jim!" he grinned, "let's try it." +</P> + +<P> +Each man took hold of a fore-foot of each horse, and, without much +difficulty, raised it to the planks before each animal. They were +about to go after the other fore-foot when Tommy, who had been standing +back at a safe distance, attracted their attention by uttering a little +cry. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, look! it ith growing light," she exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Daylight? Why, it is getting light," cried Margery. +</P> + +<P> +A faint glow was flickering at the end of the bridge, casting rays +through the farther portion of the covered structure. The light was of +a reddish tinge. At first, not realizing that the night was still +young, the Meadow-Brook Girls welcomed that light with shouts of +approval. But there was something strange about the glow that caused +Miss Elting, Harriet and the men to gaze in open-mouthed wonder. +</P> + +<P> +As they gazed the glow seemed to grow stronger. Then it flamed into a +great glare of red. +</P> + +<P> +"Fire! Fire!" yelled Jane McCarthy. +</P> + +<P> +"The bridge is on fire! Run for your lives!" shouted the guide. +"Never mind the horses. Run!" +</P> + +<P> +With one common impulse the girls and their guardian started toward the +other end of the bridge, which was not more than twenty feet from them. +Margery uttered a scream of terror. Jane grabbed her by one shoulder, +giving her a violent shake. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't make things any worse than they are. Tell when you begin to +burn, but don't make us think we are burning till the fire gets to us." +</P> + +<P> +"Go on, girls," cried Harriet. "I'm going back to the other end. We +must think about saving our packs and our horses." Unheeding their +warning shouts, the girl ran back toward where Janus and the driver +were still engaged in trying to lift the horses. Miss Elting had +followed Harriet, and the two women now implored Janus to hurry with +the rescue of the animals. +</P> + +<P> +"It's no use!" he exclaimed angrily. "We can't do it before the fire +gets to us. We are likely to lose our packs, too, unless we let these +horses go and attend to them." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind the packs," said Harriet stubbornly, as she laid a firm +hand on one of the guide's arms. "We are going to save these poor +animals. Let us keep on trying, and I feel sure we can not fail. Now, +think hard. What is the quickest and best thing to be done?" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ON THE BURNING BRIDGE +</H3> + + +<P> +"We'll have to do our own thinking," then said Jane McCarthy, who had +come upon the scene at that moment. She glared at the guide and the +driver, who stood staring dumbly at Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"We must save those helpless horses," repeated Harriet, her eyes +turning anxiously toward the two patient animals. +</P> + +<P> +"But you girls must not stay here too long," cautioned Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Crazy Jane burst forth into a loud hurrah, and, running to the +wagon, returned to the driver with a hand-saw. By this time Margery, +Tommy and Hazel had come cautiously back to where the horses were. +</P> + +<P> +"Saw the timbers out from under the horses," advised Jane. "It may +hurt them to drop into the river, but it's better for them to drown +than to be burned alive! Move quickly, now!" +</P> + +<P> +"Janus," muttered the driver, "we're a pair of mutton-heads!" +</P> + +<P> +"We are," agreed the guide, as he ran to get the other saw. +</P> + +<P> +The rasping of the saws began instantly, the Meadow-Brook Girls moving +closer to observe the work, casting frequent apprehensive glances over +their shoulders at the thick cloud of smoke which issued from the +farther end of the bridge. The fire did not appear to be making much +headway, still it did not seem to be abating. Already the framework of +that end of the bridge was outlined like the figure in a set piece of +fireworks. They could hear the crackling of the flames, and the wooden +tunnel was becoming filled with smoke. Tommy was coughing, to remind +her companions that they were in need of other quarters. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think I would cut the ends off," suggested Harriet. "Saw them +nearly through, then cut the opposite ends. Otherwise you may leave +the animals dangling in the air with no means of helping them out." +</P> + +<P> +Janus nodded approvingly at Harriet's suggestion. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon you're right," he agreed. "Jim, tackle the other end. We'll +let this near horse down first and see how he makes out. If it works, +we'll drop the other fellow in the same way." +</P> + +<P> +A warning snapping sound was heard. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand clear!" bellowed Janus. +</P> + +<P> +The girls sprang back, and just in time. Pieces of plank shot up into +the air, one striking the bridge roof with a crash. Then the near +horse, with a neigh of fear, disappeared into the black water below +them. They heard a loud splash. Harriet, leaning over, peered into +the river. +</P> + +<P> +"He's swimming. I can hear him," she cried joyously. "Isn't that fine +that you thought of that, Mr. Grubb?" she exclaimed, turning a flushed +face to the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"Huh! Thought of it? I'd never thought of it if I'd kept my thinking +machine going for a hundred years. Now the other horse, Jim. We'll +have to step lively. Them flames is getting too nigh for comfort. Now +you folks had better get out of here!" he commanded. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," smiled Harriet, "we still have work to do. We must get the +things out of the wagon. If we lose them, we shall be in a fix." +</P> + +<P> +"Mercy! I hadn't thought of that," cried the guardian. "But shall we +have time to carry them across?" +</P> + +<P> +"The men will have to carry the heavier articles. I think we shall be +able to manage it. Come, help me get the things out of the carry-all." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet ran to the wagon, followed closely by Miss Elting and Margery. +Tommy alone held back. Hazel and Jane also hurried forward to assist. +</P> + +<P> +"All those who wish their suppers will have to work," cried Harriet +Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +"We need a fire company more than thupper jutht now," retorted Tommy +Thompson. "If we had a fire engine we could make thith fire look +thick." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet was in the carry-all passing out bundles and packs. She +dropped a sack of cooking utensils to the floor of the bridge with a +great clatter. +</P> + +<P> +"Carry them to land," she directed Tommy and Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"There goes the other horse," cried Miss Elting, as a crash and a great +splash for the moment cut short their conversation. Janus uttered a +yell of triumph. +</P> + +<P> +"We got 'em both free!" he shouted. +</P> + +<P> +"That's what," agreed Jim. "We'll pull the carry-all ashore next." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid we won't have time. The fire is almost too near for +comfort now," said Harriet. Then she darted back to the carry-all to +secure a blanket that she recalled had been laid over the back of the +front seat of the vehicle, and which had been forgotten when removing +the other things. Reaching the wagon, she decided to take the cushions +also. Then Harriet made a final search of the wagon to be sure that +nothing of value had been left. The carry-all had been well stripped. +</P> + +<P> +The girl sprang out, casting a quick glance overhead, when she +discovered, to her dismay, that the flames were already at work, they +having rapidly eaten their way along the ridge of the bridge. +</P> + +<P> +"Gracious! I must get out of here and without a moment's loss of +time," she cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Hurry!" bellowed the voice of the guide. "We haven't time to save the +carry-all. Get out from under. The bridge is going to fall." +</P> + +<P> +As Harriet made a dash toward safety the burned end of the bridge fell. +There was a rending noise as the weakened girders gave way under the +weight of the bridge. A shower of sparks and flame shot into the air. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting, Jane and the two men stood on shore, shouting with all +their might to Harriet Burrell. But Harriet did not hear their warning +shouts, nor had she need of warning. She knew only too well what was +occurring. Suddenly the long bridge caved in and went down well past +the middle with a tremendous crashing and snapping and roaring, sparks +and flames shooting still higher than before, the burning timbers +hissing and sending up a great cloud of steam as they fell into the +river. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting, grown dizzy at thought of Harriet, had stumbled and +fallen. Jane McCarthy quickly raised and dragged the guardian away. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet!" shouted Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +The frightened girls took up the cry, but there was no answer. Harriet +had gone down with the burning bridge. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THEIR TROUBLES MULTIPLY +</H3> + + +<P> +Miss Elting and Jane McCarthy had climbed down the embankment, and, +standing at the river's edge, scanned the water with pale faces and +anxious eyes. Dark shapes drifted past them, shapes that caused them +to start apprehensively as they caught sight of them. +</P> + +<P> +Nearly all of the bridge that had been on fire was now in the water. +The structure had broken off short, taking most of the fire with it +into the river. The broken end, still in the air, glowed here and +there, the glowing spots fading and dying out one by one. Of this the +two women saw nothing. They were heavy with anxiety. It did not seem +to them possible that Harriet Burrell could have escaped alive. Janus +and Jim, who had run to the river bank, were now plunging here and +there, stumbling, groping, wading or swimming about in the river to +have a look at some bit of wreckage that resembled a human form. They +believed that Harriet had been swept down to her death with the burning +bridge. +</P> + +<P> +All at once Jane raised her voice in the cry of the Meadow-Brook Girls. +"Hoo-e-e-e!" she called shrilly. But no answering cry from the missing +girl relieved their suspense. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid we can do no more," said Miss Elting with a catch in her +voice. "Oh, why did I leave her? Why did I not insist on Harriet's +leaving that awful place with me?" +</P> + +<P> +"You couldn't help it," soothed Jane. "But you mark me, Miss Elting, +Harriet is alive and sound, just like the rest of us. You leave it to +Harriet Burrell to take care of herself. I tell you it's all right. +Hoo-e-e-e-e!" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't! Oh, don't!" begged the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not? She'll hear me and she'll know which way to go when she +comes up from the water," answered Crazy Jane breezily. She was +putting on a brave show of cheerfulness, and somehow this cheerfulness +began to take hold of Miss Elting. Her shattered hopes began to rise; +she began to take courage even against her better judgment, which told +her that Harriet could not possibly have escaped. Even granting that +she had, they would have seen or heard from her before this. +</P> + +<P> +Janus stood dripping beside them. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, you ladies go back. I'll do all the looking that's necessary. +Candidly, I don't think Miss Harriet escaped. She was caught when the +old bridge fell down, but I'll keep on looking for her. I'll keep +right on looking all the rest of the night." +</P> + +<P> +Jane led Miss Elting up the bank despite the protests of the guardian +that she did not wish to go, but preferred to remain where she was. +</P> + +<P> +"We can do nothing here," urged Jane, more gently now. It was all that +she could do to keep from breaking down and crying, but she knew she +must keep up her courage. Besides, she was still hoping, at times +almost believing, that they would find Harriet Burrell awaiting them on +shore. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't you find her?" cried Hazel. They had climbed the steep bank +and returned to the girls. +</P> + +<P> +Neither woman answered. +</P> + +<P> +Margery burst forth into a loud wail. Tommy and Hazel stood in blank, +rigid silence. They could not believe that Harriet was gone. Miss +Elting sank down on a pack, while Jane stood gazing moodily off over +the sluggish river. +</P> + +<P> +Janus came in a few moments behind the guardian and Jane, his arms +hanging limply at his sides, his chin lowered almost to his chest. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid it isn't any use to look further," he said. The little +party scarcely heard the guide. Jim had gone on up the bank. They +could hear him whistling and chirping to the missing horses to call +them to him. Then they caught the sound of a whinny and a moment later +another. The animals had heard and recognized their master. Jim +captured and haltered them with the ropes that he had brought from the +carry-all for the purpose. He then led the animals off to one side, +where he secured them to trees. The driver then walked slowly along +the bank to join the others of the party. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Jane McCarthy cried out sharply, "Who's that?" +</P> + +<P> +A series of little splashes had been heard out in the river; then, out +of the gloom, grew the dim outlines of a moving figure. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is it?" cried Miss Elting, scarcely daring to trust her voice. +</P> + +<P> +"It is I. What is all the excitement about?" called a familiar voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet!" +</P> + +<P> +A chorus of screams greeted Miss Elting's cry. Four girls and their +guardian, regardless of the wetting they were receiving, rushed +helter-skelter into the river, throwing themselves upon the staggering +Harriet. They snatched her up, carrying her ashore despite her +struggles and protests. They laid her down on the packs, each trying +to do something for their companion whom they had believed to be lost. +</P> + +<P> +"For goodness' sake! what is the matter?" demanded Harriet, sitting up. +</P> + +<P> +"Lie still, dear," urged Miss Elting. "You will be all right in a few +moments." +</P> + +<P> +"All right? There is nothing the matter with me, except that I'm wet +and cold." Harriet got up and shook herself, gazing anxiously at her +companions. "What is it, girls? Tell me!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Harriet, don't you know?" breathed Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't. You are all here, aren't you?" she demanded, with a +quick glance about her. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, now we are," nodded the guardian. "Don't you understand? We +thought you had gone down with the bridge." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I did go down, but not with the bridge. What of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"We thought you were dead," continued Miss Elting, her voice shaking. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet looked from one to the other of her friends. "Why, you poor +dears, no wonder you looked so woe-begone. Now that it is all over, I +don't blame you for thinking so." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus, combing out his whiskers with the +spread fingers of his right hand. +</P> + +<P> +"So did I," laughed Harriet. "That's why I'm here." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell us how you escaped. Can't you see, we are hardly able to believe +that it is really you?" was Miss Elting's excited reply. +</P> + +<P> +"It's myself, and no other, as Jane would say. After you had left me I +ran back to the wagon to get the blanket and cushions we had left +there. I knew the fire was near me, but I thought I had time enough to +get away from it. Suddenly I felt the bridge giving way. I was close +to the opening into which the horses fell when things began to happen, +and I made a long, desperate dive into the river, hoping to get out +from under the bridge before it fell on me. I remember seeing a great +shower of sparks falling around me as I shot through the air. I +wondered if it were the bridge that was falling with me. Then I struck +the water. I swam under the water with the current as fast as I could, +then when I thought I had gone far enough, to make it safe to rise, I +did so. I don't recall what happened after that. I must have been hit +by something, or else bumped into a timber when I rose to the surface. +It is a wonder I wasn't drowned. When I came to my senses I was slowly +drifting down stream, clinging to a piece of charred plank. I know it +was charred because I could smell it. You know how wet, burnt wood +smells? This piece of plank smelled that way." +</P> + +<P> +"Nithe, appetizing odor," nodded Tommy. "Yeth? Go on." +</P> + +<P> +"I did not know where I was, but I knew I was drifting downstream. I +kicked until I had headed the plank at right angles to the shore, and +remained on the plank until my feet touched bottom; then I got up and +began plodding along upstream, knowing that, sooner or later, I should +find some of you folks. I heard someone call. Was it you, Jane?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was myself and no other," replied Jane +</P> + +<P> +"I thought it was you. I was out of breath, so I didn't try to make +you hear me." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" ejaculated Grubb under his breath. "I never expected +to see her again." +</P> + +<P> +"What of the horses?" +</P> + +<P> +"Got 'em," answered the driver tersely, "Carry-all gone to the +everlasting bow-wows. What now?" +</P> + +<P> +"If the ladies want to go on, we will load the stuff onto the horses +and tote them that way to the place I had already picked out for a +camp." +</P> + +<P> +"How far is it?" questioned Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, a mile farther on, I should say." +</P> + +<P> +"I fear it would not be wise to go on just now. I think it would be +better for us to make temporary camp somewhere hereabouts. We are +completely exhausted. Harriet must have a change of clothing and we +all need something warm to drink and eat. Do you know of a good place +to make camp for a little while?" +</P> + +<P> +"Back about a quarter of a mile is a grove. There's a creek running +through it. That will be a good camping place." +</P> + +<P> +"Please have the driver assist you in getting the equipment there. +Don't lose any time. Harriet, are you cold?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet shook her head. "I'm going to help carry the stuff to our +camp. Then I shall be sure of keeping warm. Come on, girls. Where +are the bedding packs?" +</P> + +<P> +"Down there by the tree, Miss," replied Jim. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet ran to the tree. "I don't find them," she called a moment +later. +</P> + +<P> +Jim harried to her. He was mystified to discover that the packs were +not where he had left them. +</P> + +<P> +"You didn't throw them in the river, did you, Jim?" questioned Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +He declared vehemently that he had not; that he had placed them well +back from the water, and that they could not possibly have rolled into +the river. Jim announced that he was going down the shore to look for +them, just the same. This he did, starting away at a trot. +Wonderingly, and somewhat disturbed, for the bedding and the clothing +packs contained articles that could not be done without, the girls +instituted a search of their own, but found nothing. The loss of the +packs meant their return to town to purchase more supplies. No one +wished to do that, in the first place; and, in the second place, they +needed warm, dry bedding and dry clothing for use that night. +</P> + +<P> +While Jim was in search of the missing equipment the girls went to work +and collected the scattered contents of some of the packs. Suddenly +there came a long-drawn shout from down shore. +</P> + +<P> +"I've got 'em!" +</P> + +<P> +"I thought so," nodded Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +Jim came back lugging a pack soon thereafter. The water was running +from the pack, under whose weight the driver was staggering. +</P> + +<P> +"Found them in the river," he explained. "Had drifted into a cove. So +heavy I couldn't carry more than one at a time. The other packs are +open and the stuff spread all over the cove. I gathered it up as well +as I could. You'll have to give me a rope to tie the things up, or +else bring them back in wads." +</P> + +<P> +"In the river?" cried the girls in chorus. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus, pausing from his labors long enough to +consult his whiskers. "Things are moving kind of fast." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, this is nothing, nothing at all," laughed Crazy Jane. "You will +think things are moving after you have been out with the Meadow-Brook +Girls for a time. Things always do move when we are around. Look out +that they don't move so fast as to sweep you with them. My! but this +is a heavy pack." +</P> + +<P> +The girls had taken the wet pack from Jim and were dragging it up the +bluff. Janus tied this and two other packs on the back of one horse, +then began making ready for doing the game with the other animal. By +the time he was ready, Jim had returned with still another wet bundle +of equipment. +</P> + +<P> +"Our clotheth are in that pack!" wailed Tommy, as she surveyed the +bedraggled outfit. "What thhall we do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Keep quiet and go on up to camp," said Margery severely. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, come, girls!" urged Miss Elting, a little irritated. She had +not yet quite recovered from the shock of Harriet's disaster. How +great a shock this had been her charges had not fully realized. +</P> + +<P> +The heaviest packs were soon loaded on the horses, after which Janus, +leading one animal, went ahead to pilot them to the spot chosen for a +temporary camp. Nearly half an hour was consumed in finding their way +there. The night was dark and many obstacles in the shape of rocks and +fallen trees and stumps were found in their path, and the guide's call +that they had arrived was the most welcome information the girls had +received in all that eventful day's journey. +</P> + +<P> +"Here, Jim, unload these packs while I gather the wood for a fire, so +that we can see what we are doing." +</P> + +<P> +"Fire!" scoffed Jim. "Little fire you will see to-night, unless you +have some matches. I haven't any. It was a bad job when I took this +contract." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind expressing opinions. I'm responsible for making a fire, +and nobody is responsible for what's happened to us on the way out +here. It is just one of those unforeseen disturbances that come to the +best regulated families," said Janus testily. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I can find some wood for the fire," suggested Harriet. "I +just stumbled over a dry stick. Here it is. Is there any birch bark +here, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, but I'll fire some leaves. I've got plenty of matches," he +confided to Harriet. "I didn't tell Jim. It isn't necessary for these +fellows to know too much, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Just between ourselves," chuckled Harriet under her breath. +</P> + +<P> +"Sure. I've got a daughter just your age, and she's almost as good a +campaigner as you are, though I reckon this night's doings would have +been too much for her. You don't find many such as you and your +outfit." Having expressed his opinion, Janus proceeded to his work, +and a moment later had a quantity of dry leaves ablaze. +</P> + +<P> +"Now fetch on your wood. Who says Jan Grubb can't build a fire when +there isn't anything to build with?" he boasted. "Easy. Not so much +at a time. You'll press it down to the ground so the draft can't get +under it, and then your nice little fire will go out. We'll build a +roarer, then we can start a smaller one for cooking." +</P> + +<P> +"I won't be sorry to eat a square meal," chuckled Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Nor I," agreed Margery, "I haven't eaten a square meal for ages." +</P> + +<P> +"Be careful, girls. Don't stand so close to the fire. You will burn +your skirts," warned Miss Elting. "You will have holes in them almost +before you realize it." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet had left that fire and was laying another. She called to Jane +to get the supper things ready for cooking. +</P> + +<P> +"Margery, you and Hazel set the table. If you can't find a dry +blanket, simply clear away a place on the ground. We shan't be so +particular about our table this evening." +</P> + +<P> +"What about it? Do we stay here all night, or are we to go on?" asked +the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"I think we had better make camp for the night," decided Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon it would be a good idea. I'll make a line and dry out the +stuff. It's pretty wet," decided the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Janus drove some stakes that he had cut down. Then, stringing a rope +between them, the two proceeded to hang up the wet bedding, which +consisted solely of soft, gray army blankets. He took the wet clothing +of the girls from the packs, hanging this on the line also, and a few +moments later the blankets and the garments were steaming. So was the +coffee pot. Bacon was the only other food put over for cooking. The +travelers were too hungry to care to wait long for their supper. +</P> + +<P> +It was not long after Harriet and Jane had begun cooking the bacon +before they sounded the supper call. No one was late for supper that +night, and each sat down tired and travel-stained, but there was not a +word of complaint from either men or girls. They made merry over the +meal, made light of their misfortunes, and altogether enjoyed +themselves fully as well as if their circumstances had been different. +</P> + +<P> +"What I should like to know is how those things got in the river?" +demanded Janus as the meal neared a close. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment no one spoke. The guide's question was one which no +member of the little party was prepared to answer. So many unpleasant +events had occurred in such rapid succession that it was difficult to +place the cause of this latest disaster. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HORSES GIVE THE ALARM +</H3> + + +<P> +"Will you tell me where you placed the first packs when you came ashore +with them?" asked Harriet, turning to the driver. +</P> + +<P> +"Right against the rocks." +</P> + +<P> +"And behind that large boulder?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. How did you know?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I saw where you threw the first pack down. It left the mark of +the rope in the soft dirt," explained the girl. "I am not gifted with +second sight, but I did see that. What I started to say was that I +know how the packs got in the river." +</P> + +<P> +"You know?" asked Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. They were thrown in." +</P> + +<P> +For a few impressive seconds no one spoke. Janus combed his whiskers +with the fingers of one hand. Jim, the driver, sprang to his feet, his +face crimson with anger. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't stand for that. Why should I throw the old stuff in the +river?" he demanded indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"I beg your pardon. I did not accuse you of it," said Harriet. "I +know you did not. It was some other person who threw the packs into +the river." +</P> + +<P> +They gazed at her in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet, what <I>do</I> you mean?" cried the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"If she had lived up here two hundred years ago or so the people would +have tied her to a stake and set fire to her," declared Janus, +punctuating his declaration with a series of quick, emphatic nods. +</P> + +<P> +"The driver placed the pack behind the boulder and against the rocks," +said Harriet. "Surely, he knew where he left the things. What is +more, I looked while he had gone in search of them, and, as I've +already said, saw where he had left the pack. The rest was easy to +understand. The packs could not possibly have got into the river +unless they had been thrown there." +</P> + +<P> +"But who——" began Jim. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. That it was none of our party goes without saying. +Perhaps Mr. Grubb can tell us. Who do you think it could have been, +sir?" she asked, turning to the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"I swum! I swum!" muttered the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't possible!" exploded Jim. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon Miss—Miss Burrell is right, Jim," agreed the guide. "Either +you threw the stuff in, or somebody else did, and we know you didn't, +so what's the answer? The young lady has given us the answer, and +there you are." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sorry," pondered Miss Elting. "I was in hopes this journey would +be free from unpleasantness, but here we are meeting with difficulties +at the very start of it. Have you any enemies who would wish to do you +harm, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, no, no! Nothing like that, Miss." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know a man named Collins?" +</P> + +<P> +"Collins? Never heard of him. Who is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. I will tell you something that you do not know, either. +The night we arrived at Compton a man called on me at the hotel to ask +me to discharge you and let him act as our guide instead. He said he +needed the money. He also said we would be sorry for having taken you +as our guide; that we would get into no end of trouble were we to go +with you. He intimated a great deal more than he put into words. It +was plain that he disliked you very much. He made a distinctly +unfavorable impression upon me. Harriet saw him, too, just as he was +taking his leave." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" Janus was tugging nervously at his whiskers. There +were beads of perspiration on his forehead. His lips moved rapidly, +but he uttered no further words for some moments. +</P> + +<P> +"You may go out in the woodth and thay it, if you want to," suggested +Tommy, who had been regarding the guide shrewdly. +</P> + +<P> +Every one laughed. It was so plain that Janus <I>did</I> want to say +things, yet restrained himself because of his position and the party he +was conducting. +</P> + +<P> +"Forget it!" he exploded. "I haven't any enemies. Nobody but a crazy +man would try to interfere with Janus Grubb. They know me. Why, there +isn't a man in the state who wouldn't swear by me. If you think I'm +not dependable, that——" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Mr. Grubb," hastily interposed Miss Elting. "Please do not +misunderstand me. We are quite satisfied with you, but I hope you will +be cautious. It is plain that you <I>have</I> an enemy, and, what is more, +I am positive that I have talked with that man, and that we had better +proceed with caution." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take care of the rascal, once I set eyes on him," growled the +guide. "What-for-looking man was he?" +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting described her caller, Harriet adding a few words with +reference to the peculiar hitch of Collins's shoulders as he walked. +Janus eyed the guardian with a worried look. His fingers opened and +closed nervously. He gulped, then turned to her. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I'd better not go on with you. I'll get some one else to take +you through the mountains. I——" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Mr. Grubb. You will go on with us," insisted Miss Elting. "We +are not afraid. We are quite used to taking care of ourselves, but I +wished to impress upon you the advisability of being on your guard. If +you have an enemy who intends to do you harm, naturally we shall be +likely to suffer with you. For that reason I urge caution. Another +thing about which I should like to speak is the burning of the bridge +this evening." +</P> + +<P> +Janus braced himself. It was as if he looked for an inquiry on this +subject, but had been hoping to avoid it. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes?" +</P> + +<P> +"I wish some one would explain how the bridge happened to catch fire," +urged the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"So do I," he admitted, still consulting his abundant whiskers. "What +do you think?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think some one set it on fire," declared Jane explosively. "I'd +like to meet the villain on the broad highway, some time when I have my +car!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it was set on fire," agreed Hazel, nodding reflectively. "I +thought so at the time. Since thinking over the matter further I am +more positive of it than ever. It was an awful thing to do." +</P> + +<P> +"The person must have known that we could get away," suggested Harriet. +"I believe it was done to spite Mr. Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +"To spite me!" shouted Janus. "What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"I believe the planks were taken up so that you couldn't get across the +bridge with your horses and wagon. I think whoever did it wished to +make you lose your horses and carry-all as well as our stuff. If it +was our mysterious enemy, then he knew that we could escape. But how +can you get back with your horses?" +</P> + +<P> +"There's another bridge five miles above here. I'll go that way in the +morning. I'll ride one of the horses and lead the other one." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet rose and piled more wood on the campfire. She then began +laying out the sections of their tent, which she laced together. Janus +stepped over to her. +</P> + +<P> +"You sit down, Miss. We will do that," he insisted. Jim was sent out +to cut some poles for the tent, Janus in the meantime smoothing off a +space on the ground on which to pitch the tent. The canvas was still +quite wet. Examination of the blankets showed that these had not yet +dried out sufficiently to make them fit for use. "I guess you'll have +to sit up and wait for the things to dry out," declared the guide. He +was troubled over what had happened as well as what had been said that +evening. Janus, too, was still thinking of the description given him +of Miss Elting's caller. He thought he knew whom that description +fitted, all except the beard. It was the beard that spoiled the +picture he had in mind. He pondered over this all during the time he +was working on the tent, pausing now and then to stroke his own beard. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry about it. We are not afraid," said a soothing voice at +his side. He glanced around to find Harriet Burrell's brown eyes +smiling up at him. +</P> + +<P> +"Eh? What?" +</P> + +<P> +"I said don't worry. We aren't afraid." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Miss. You are the right sort. Yes, we'll take care of the +gentleman, if it should prove to be some one trying to do us harm." +</P> + +<P> +"You know who it is?" +</P> + +<P> +Janus shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"You think you know?" +</P> + +<P> +Again the guide shook his head dubiously. +</P> + +<P> +"I might, but I don't," he replied somewhat ambiguously. "It isn't the +party I had in mind. He isn't around these parts now. Jim is going to +see the sheriff when he gets back to Compton and have the officer look +into this bridge affair. I was a deputy sheriff in the county once. +The present sheriff will do anything for me. Besides, this is a matter +he's bound to look into, anyway. Here, Jim, get hold of that +end-pole." Harriet sprang to the other end and raised the pole, +setting the lower end firmly on the ground, motioning to Jane to make +fast the side wall on one side. Hazel also ran around to the other +side, Margery to an end, then, for a few moments, the Meadow-Brook +Girls gave an exhibition of their skill in pitching a tent, while Janus +and Jim stood back in open-mouthed wonder. +</P> + +<P> +"There!" exclaimed Harriet, flushed of face, eyes sparkling, "that is +the way we make camp." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus. "It beats all." +</P> + +<P> +Jane turned the blankets on the line. By this time the clothing in the +packs was fairly well dried, but it looked wrinkled and old. Harriet +now began digging a trench around the sides of the tent, so they should +not be flooded in case of rain. Janus took the pick from her, +completing the job. The Meadow-Brook Girls moved rather rapidly for +the slow-going Janus. He was unused to such activity, especially in +women. +</P> + +<P> +Margery and Tommy were busy clearing away the supper things. Jim went +out to bring the horses in nearer to camp, where he tied them up for +the night. At Janus's direction the driver also made a bed for the two +men out among the trees some distance from the tent that was to be +occupied by Miss Elting and her charges. The preparations for the +night went on with rather more confusion than usual, the party having +been more or less upset by the occurrences of the evening; beside +which, they had not yet become familiar with the routine that marked +the well-ordered camp. +</P> + +<P> +"There isn't a dry piece of cloth in the place," complained Margery, +after examining the line of blankets and clothing. "What are we going +to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sit up until the blankets, at least, have dried out," answered Jane. +"They are nearly dry now. See! Harriet is doing something to them. +What are you trying to do, darlin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"Spread out some blankets on the ground and I'll show you," answered +Harriet laughingly. "It is an Indian trick I learned a long time ago." +</P> + +<P> +The girl had placed some large, round stones in the fire, heating them +to a point that caused them to sizzle when a drop of water came in +contact with them. Poking three of these heated stones from the fire +Harriet rolled them in one of the gray army blankets. She did the same +with other blankets; then, passing from one to another, watched closely +for the odor of burning cloth. Only one blanket had to be opened to +permit the stones to cool off a little. For a full half hour these +heated stones were permitted to remain in the blankets. Then, upon +unrolling, the blankets were found to be dry and warm and ready for use +for the night. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" observed the guide, "you've taught me something. Say, +what do you young women need of a guide? You know more about camping +than any guide in the state." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, we have plenty to learn," answered Harriet brightly, busying +herself in placing the blankets in the tent, Jane, in the meantime, +being engaged in fitting the flap to the opening. The other girls were +standing about, sleepily rubbing their eyes, for it was now midnight, +and they were weary both from the physical exertions of the day and +night, as well as because of the many hours that had elapsed since they +left their beds shortly after daylight. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there anything more we can do for you?" risked Janus, with added +respect. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing more, thank you," returned Miss Elting. "You two had better +turn in now. Good-night." +</P> + +<P> +Janus fixed the fire, then walked briskly away. In their tent the +girls had begun undressing before this. Fortunately their kimonos had +not been soaked, and after being warmed at the fire by Harriet the +loose gowns felt decidedly comfortable. No time was lost in rolling in +their blankets, which had been spread on the ground. For pillows +inflated rubber bags were used. No one complained of the hardness of +their beds, the little company was too sleepy. Silence soon settled +over the camp, and the Meadow-Brook Girls slept peacefully. +</P> + +<P> +Two hours had elapsed when they were awakened by a commotion somewhere +outside. The shrill neighs of the horses sounded the first alarm, +followed by what seemed to be a fall, a whinny, then the rapid beating +of hoofs. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet struggled to get out of her blanket, in which she had wound +herself tightly. The tent was in darkness. She decided that the +campfire had gone out. For a moment she had to think hard to recall +where she was. Before she had untangled herself, the others of the +party were struggling to free themselves from their blankets. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" cried Margery in terror. +</P> + +<P> +"Stay where you are! I don't know. Something is wrong out there," +answered Harriet, hurriedly pulling on her skirt. "Dress yourselves. +We don't know what—oh, look out!" +</P> + +<P> +Something struck the tent a terrific blow, followed by a series of +snorts and squeals. The tent began to waver. +</P> + +<P> +"It's falling!" cried Miss Elting warningly. +</P> + +<P> +"Get to the other side," shouted Harriet Burrell, herself leaping to +the right-hand side of the tent in a single bound. Her companions +fell, rather than sprang, aside. They were none too soon as it was, +for the tent swayed, then lurched to the right, collapsing over the +heads of the Meadow-Brook Girls amid the continued snorts of horses +near at hand, accompanied by the sound of beating hoofs and the shouts +of the two men at the other side of the camp. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CRAZY JANE'S "FIND" +</H3> + + +<P> +Tommy, having been unable to free herself from her blanket, had rolled +over and over until she reached the opposite side of the tent. Margery +Brown, not having got out of the way, had been hit on the head by a +tent-pole, which knocked her down and so dazed her for the moment that +she lay whimpering where she had fallen. +</P> + +<P> +Of this Harriet and Miss Elting were unaware. Their efforts were +directed toward getting out of the tent to learn what had occurred. +They could hear the canvas ripping; and the noise of the floundering +hordes just outside was still going on. Together the two women fought +their way out from under the canvas. +</P> + +<P> +"Catch 'em! Catch 'em!" Jim was yelling at the top of his voice. "The +horses are getting away!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and they have taken a good part of the tent with them," called +Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +The men had halted, not knowing whether they should proceed or not. +</P> + +<P> +"Come on! come on!" cried Miss Elting. She could not see the horses, +but she could hear them crashing through the bushes whinnying in +terror. There was something sinister in this sudden outbreak, +something that neither Miss Elting nor Harriet Burrell understood. +Jane, having crawled from beneath the overturned tent, came running to +them. +</P> + +<P> +"What a mess!" she cried in dismay. "I feel as though I had been in a +railroad wreck. What was it?" +</P> + +<P> +"The horses," answered Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that all? Didn't anything fall on us?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think we had a narrow escape from being trampled by the horses." +</P> + +<P> +The guide came running to them. +</P> + +<P> +"Was any one hurt? What, the tent down?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. The animals ran into it and tore it down," replied the guardian. +"I don't understand it at all. Do you, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"I swum, I don't!" he exploded. "Run into the tent? Why should they +do that?" +</P> + +<P> +"They must have been terribly frightened," averred Jane McCarthy. +"Now, what could have frightened a pair of horses enough to make them +so blind they couldn't see a tent? Will you tell me that?" +</P> + +<P> +The guide kicked the embers of the campfire, and piled on some light +wood. At this juncture Hazel came out, leading Margery, who had both +hands pressed to her head. +</P> + +<P> +"Something fell on her head," explained Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting took Margery to the fire and made her sit down. Margery +had no need to be urged. She sat down, all in a heap, and would have +toppled over had not the guardian held her up. A lump as large as a +horse chestnut had risen on the stout girl's head. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my dear! You did get a bump, didn't you?" cried the guardian. +"Sit right where you are. I will bring some liniment. Fortunately, +the skin is not broken. Mr. Grubb, won't you please see what you can +do with the tent? I fear it is seriously damaged." +</P> + +<P> +"I want to look at those halters, first, if you can wait a minute." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting nodded, then hurried to the collapsed tent, under which she +burrowed and groped about in the dark in search of her medicine kit, +which she finally found and brought to the fireside. Margery's swollen +head was treated until the soreness had become eased a little. Harriet +and Jane supported her to a blanket that they had brought from the +tent, and, after tucking her in, left the unfortunate Margery to doze +and rest. Tommy crept over and kissed her on the forehead. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm tho thorry, Buthter," she whispered sympathetically. "I withh it +might have been me who got the bump on the head. But never mind; you +will be better pretty thoon. Don't you think tho?" +</P> + +<P> +Margery's answer was a moan. Tommy crept away with a troubled look in +her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"The horses broke their halters," Janus was saying as Tommy joined her +companions. "Can't understand what skeered them into doing that. Jim +must be having a chase, or he'd have been back before this. Want to +quit?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly not," answered Miss Elting with emphasis. "But we should +like to know what it means." +</P> + +<P> +"Might have been a bird or something. Doesn't take much to startle a +horse when he's asleep. I've known a partridge to fly up before a +sleeping horse and cause the animal to break away and rip things up +generally. You'll find, if you find at all, that it was something like +this skeered Jim's nags." +</P> + +<P> +"I gueth it wath a two-legged bird," observe Tommy wisely. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be strange, indeed," answered Miss Elting. "How many legs +do birds ordinarily have?" +</P> + +<P> +Tommy flushed. +</P> + +<P> +"That ith tho. I wath thinking a bird had four legs, jutht like a +table." +</P> + +<P> +Margery groaned. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! Are you feeling badly again, dear?" called Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it? Does your head pain you?" questioned the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"No, it's Tommy. She gives me a pain." +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy, come help us put up the tent," urged Harriet. "Maybe it will +fall on your head next. That will make Margery feel well again, won't +it, dearie?" +</P> + +<P> +Margery, in a weak voice, agreed that it would. Tommy retorted that +she didn't care if it did. +</P> + +<P> +The tent was found to have been quite badly torn. The hoofs of the +horses had left great rents in it. After examining the canvas it was +decided not to try to repair it that night, but to leave it as it was +until morning, when the girls would be better able to see what they +were doing. +</P> + +<P> +They had once more raised the tent, having been obliged to cut one new +pole, when Jim returned leading the horses. They were very nervous and +kept tossing their heads, rearing and plunging at the slightest unusual +sound. +</P> + +<P> +"Something wrong with them. I don't know what it is," he said, in +answer to the guide's glance of inquiry. +</P> + +<P> +"Lead 'em up here. Well, I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"Wha—at is it?" demanded Margery, sitting up. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at that, will ye?" +</P> + +<P> +The girls got as close to the animals as was prudent. Janus parted the +hair on the hip of one horse and pointed to a small wound. The other +horse bore a similar wound. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, they have hurt themselves. Isn't it too bad?" sympathized Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"Hurt themselves!" exploded the guide. "Those wounds were made with +some sharp instrument, maybe a knife. I don't know. Now, can you +blame them for running away and taking the tent down? This business is +moving too fast! What are we going to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are the guide, sir. You are the responsible head of the party," +replied Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I was, too. But, I swum! I don't know which from t'other +any more. Jim, what do you think about that?" pointing a finger at the +horses and indicating their wounded hips. "Did they get them +themselves, or did somebody do it to them? I can't make up my mind." +</P> + +<P> +"Some one did it, Jan. The hosses never did that themselves." +</P> + +<P> +"But how could they?" +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe tied a knife to a long stick. Didn't mean to do any serious +work or would have cut deeper. Just went through the skin, that's all, +but enough to set the critters crazy. See any one about these parts?" +questioned the driver, turning to the girls. +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir. We were under the tent. We saw nothing," answered Harriet. +"I think it must have been the squealing of the horses that awakened +us. The next we knew we were being trampled on and the tent was down +about our ears. Have you looked about here carefully, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"For what?" returned Janus quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"For thpookth," Tommy replied pertly. +</P> + +<P> +"Pshaw!" +</P> + +<P> +"I mean have you looked where the horses were tied," explained Harriet. +"You did examine the halters. You say they were broken, not cut. I +think we should look further." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. I agree with Harriet that we ought to make a careful search of +the ground about the camp," said Miss Elting. "We cannot afford to +miss opportunities that might solve this mystery. I wish you and the +driver would make a start," she urged. +</P> + +<P> +"All right. Where's the lantern?" demanded Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"It went down with the bridge," Harriet informed him. "We have +another, a smaller one, but I hardly think it will be of much use for +our purpose. I'll tell you what. Why not use some of the dry pitch +pine roots that you gathered?" suggested Harriet. "They are ready to +burn and will make excellent torches. We have plenty of kindling wood +without them." +</P> + +<P> +"An excellent idea," approved the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +Janus glanced at Jim and nodded. "I told you so," chuckled the guide. +"I knew she could suggest something." +</P> + +<P> +Janus gathered up some roots, whittling one end of each stick into a +sunflower-like bunch of shavings. These ends he lighted, whereat the +torches flared up into flickering, smoking flames. The guide led the +way, followed by the entire Meadow-Brook party, Margery Brown having +become so interested as to forget her troubles for the moment, though +the lump on her head was still large and painful. +</P> + +<P> +Just before reaching the trees where the horses had been tied, Miss +Elting suggested that all save the guide and Harriet stop where they +were. +</P> + +<P> +"If so many of us go forward we shall not only be likely to miss any +clues there are, but perhaps destroy them altogether. I have an idea +that we are going to find something that will enlighten us," she added. +</P> + +<P> +"That's good, common sense," agreed the guide, nodding his approval. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there anything you wish us to do, Mr. Grubb?" asked Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Little Brownie is the pilot," replied Janus jocularly, waving a hand +in Harriet Burrell's direction. "Whatever she suggests, we will do. +We can't do any better than to follow her lead." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet's cheeks flushed. She had taken a torch and began slowly to +circle the trees to which the horses had been tied upon arriving at the +camp site. At first her circle was a wide one, Janus following her +example by beginning well out beyond the trees. Harriet's smoking +torch was held close to the ground, sweeping from side to side, the +torch bearer assuming a crouching position with head well lowered, body +bent almost double. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out!" shouted Tommy, as Harriet came abreast of her party. +</P> + +<P> +"Wha—at?" Harriet straightened up sharply. "What is it!" +</P> + +<P> +"You will burn your nothe, if you don't look out." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Tommy!" Harriet laughed merrily. "Is that all?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was thinking the same thing," chuckled the guide. "Wish I could +bend over like that. But don't bother us, little one. This is our +busy night, and right serious business it is, too." The laughter +disappeared from his face and Janus bent low to his task. +</P> + +<P> +The others of the party had either seated themselves on the ground or +leaned against trees. They chatted while the guide and Harriet Burrell +sought for the true trail, but it was not very encouraging work. +</P> + +<P> +The two torches flickered and smoked weirdly, now and then becoming +mere glows like distant lamps in a fog, as the bearer slipped behind a +tree or was masked by an intervening growth of bushes whose foliage was +very thick and dense. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Mr. Grubb, who of our party has brass-headed tacks in his boot +heels?" called Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"I have. Why?" +</P> + +<P> +"I found a heel mark that gave me that impression," answered Harriet +laughingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"It was a guess about their being brass-headed, though," she admitted. +</P> + +<P> +"You would have made a prize sheriff, Little Brownie," declared the +guide, gazing at her admiringly. "If I'd had you to nose the trail +when I was after Red Tacy and Charlie Valdes it wouldn't have taken me +a matter of two months to get them." +</P> + +<P> +"Who are they?" +</P> + +<P> +"A couple of outlaws who turned things upside down in these hills some +years ago. But I got them both. They are serving terms up at Concord +now. Find anything?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +The circles were steadily narrowing, though the man and the girl were +working slowly and deliberately, really covering the ground by inches, +so thorough was their search for clues of the supposed night visitors. +No spot of the size of a hand escaped the keen scrutiny of one or the +other of them. They could not have answered had they been asked what +particular thing they had hoped to find, but in some vague way each +felt that a clue to the mystery would be turned up as a result of their +search. If a person had stolen into camp under cover of the night, +wounding and stampeding the horses, it was probable that footprints or +other evidences of his presence had been left behind, a tell-tale clue +to the recent visitor. As yet, not a single trace had been found by +the searchers. They continued with their work until they finally +brought up facing each other in front of the trees to which the broken +ends of the halters were still tied. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet glanced up into the perplexed face of the guide and laughed. +Janus gave back a glum look and muttered, "I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"Have you two sleuths finished your work?" called Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"It certainly looks as though we had," replied Harriet. "What do you +think, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon we're beaten." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. We haven't found a clue of any consequence. Perhaps we have +imagined too much, but I do not think so." +</P> + +<P> +"Give me a torch; it's my turn now. Let's see what Crazy Jane can +find," said Jane McCarthy. "My grandfather was the champion shamrock +hunter of the Emerald Isle, and my Dad says I'm a pocket edition of my +grandfather. Just watch me while I show you a few things." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet handed her torch to Jane, and, walking over, sat down by Miss +Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you really fail for once, Harriet?" questioned the guardian in a +teasing voice. She understood Harriet's peculiarities, knowing that +the girl was not given to talking when there was real or fancied reason +why she should not. +</P> + +<P> +"I should say I did; that is, I did not discover anything that I could +feel certain about. But some one has been here. There was just one +footprint in a bit of soft dirt, but some one had most provokingly +stepped on it, nearly obliterating it. From what I could make out of +the original footprint it wasn't made by any of our party. That is all +I found, but enough to verify our suspicions. Where is Jane going?" +</P> + +<P> +Jane McCarthy was moving away from camp, apparently following the trail +made by the party when they came up from the river to make camp among +the trees. +</P> + +<P> +"That's a good idea, too," she added approvingly, instantly catching +the significance of Jane's action. "I never thought of trying it." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know just what you mean, but anything not thought of by you I +shouldn't consider worth bothering about." Miss Elting laughed softly, +patting the brown head beside her. "There! She is returning, and +empty-handed like yourself, I'll warrant." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not be too certain of that. On the contrary, Jane has discovered +something." +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you think that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can tell by the swing of her shoulders. Miss Elting, Crazy Jane has +beaten us all; you see if she hasn't. Hoo-e-e-e!" +</P> + +<P> +"Jane! Oh, Jane! Did you find something?" cried Tommy, in a shrill, +high-pitched voice that Margery declared might have been heard a mile +away. "What did you find?" +</P> + +<P> +"Did I find thomething?" mimicked Jane. "Does Crazy Jane McCarthy ever +fail to get what she goes after? Yes, I did find something; something, +too, that will make you girls open your eyes. And you too, Mr. Grubb! +Sh-h-! Not a word," she warned dramatically. "Come over by the +campfire, where we can see, and I'll show you all——" +</P> + +<P> +"Thomething," finished Tommy Thompson. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, 'thomething,'" answered Jane with a nod, then hurried toward the +camp. Her companions raced after her, Janus Grubb bringing up the rear +in long strides, the fingers of one hand clutched in his abundant +whiskers. Jim stood gazing after them, his underjaw drooping. Jim +hadn't yet quite come to an understanding of this most unusual company. +He stood there wondering until the girls had passed out of his sight, +after which the driver, with hands thrust deep in his pockets, walked +slowly campward, trying to make up his mind what had happened. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SCALING THE HIGH CLIFFS +</H3> + + +<P> +"Sit down, darlin's," commanded Jane, after the eager girls had reached +their campfire. "Sit down and make yourselves comfortable." +</P> + +<P> +"For goodness' sake, tell us!" exclaimed Margery. "Can't you see we +are all just perishing with curiosity?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. I'm motht thuffocated from holding my breath," declared Tommy. +"But Buthter ith thuffocated hecauthe she ith tho fat. Don't you think +it ith awful to be tho fat, Mr. Januth?" She gazed, in apparent +unblinking innocence, at the solemn-faced guide, who answered with +twinkling eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I dunno, Miss. I never was fat. Never had time to eat enough to make +me fat." +</P> + +<P> +"That ith too bad," answered Tommy sympathetically. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, come, Jane, don't keep us in suspense. What did you find, or +didn't you find anything at all?" urged Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry. I made a find, but you never could guess, if you lived a +thousand years, what I found. I couldn't have guessed it either. Nor +could Harriet, as sharp as she is. Now, listen, darlin's. I found—I +found—oh, if you knew how funny you all look! I found an old pair of +specs—spectacles. I fooled you that time, didn't I?" she chuckled, +hugging herself delightedly. "You thought it was something wonderful." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, fudge!" said Margery disgustedly. "I might have known you weren't +in earnest." +</P> + +<P> +"I call that real mean of you, Jane," pouted Hazel Holland. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting laughed tolerantly, nodding at Harriet as though to say, "I +told you so." But Harriet's gaze was fixed on Crazy Jane's face. +Harriet knew very well that there was something more to be said; that +Jane really had made an important discovery, and that, after having +teased her companions to her satisfaction, she would tell them the rest +of the story. +</P> + +<P> +"Spectacles were made to assist people in seeing. Suppose you let us +see, Jane," suggested Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, now, Bright Eyes, don't be hasty," chided Jane. "Do you really +wish to see?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet yawned as though completely indifferent. +</P> + +<P> +"I am not so curious over your discovery that I cannot wait until +morning to hear about it. I'm sleepy and I am going to bed, provided I +can find one," she replied, rising and stretching herself indolently. +"Good night, Jane." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait!" Jane knew that Harriet meant exactly what she said. She knew +that it was time to stop trifling and to explain. "If you must see +them, here they are." She drew the "specs" from a pocket in her skirt, +holding them at arm's-length suspended from a string that the wearer +had fastened to them to keep the glasses over his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet and Miss Elting uttered an "Oh!" +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you would say something when you saw them," chuckled Jane. +Her face was flushed; her eyes sparkled triumphantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Huh! Goggles!" grunted Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"You have guessed it the first time," cried Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Green goggles! Do you see that, girls?" cried Harriet excitedly. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-098"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-098.jpg" ALT=""Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly." BORDER="2" WIDTH="351" HEIGHT="584"> +<H4> +[Illustration: "Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"They are, indeed," breathed the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum! Where'd you find them?" questioned the guide, +interested, but failing to catch the real significance of Jane +McCarthy's discovery. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh-h-h-h!" chorused the Meadow-Brook Girls. +</P> + +<P> +"And I believe they are the very same," declared Harriet, nodding +thoughtfully over the goggles, which she had taken from Jane's hand. +"You certainly have made a find. I think we are beginning to +understand, Miss Elting." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Mr. Grubb does not, though." +</P> + +<P> +"Some one dropped them; I understand that well enough. But the +spectacles themselves don't tell us who the fellow is by a long shot. +I know you ladies have discovered something about the 'specs' and I'd +like pretty well to hear what it is." +</P> + +<P> +"You are wrong in one way, Mr. Grubb. These goggles do tell us who +dropped them, if our surmises are correct." +</P> + +<P> +"You don't say?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Do you recall the little experience we had on the station +platform at Compton on the evening of our arrival?" +</P> + +<P> +"You mean about the fellow who tried to make you believe he was I?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. But perhaps you have forgotten our telling you that the man wore +goggles?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" Janus stroked his whiskers nervously. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. Tho did Harriet. And thhe got wet," observed Tommy flippantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Later on that same evening," continued Miss Elting, "we saw the man +again on the porch at the post-office. You remember how you and +Harriet hurried down the steps after him. As he stood with his back to +the window she had discovered that the goggles were green. These may +or may not be the identical goggles, but I believe they are." +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't the least doubt of it," interjected Harriet. "These have a +white cord on them, as you can see. So did those worn by the man that +night." +</P> + +<P> +"I saw the fellow you mean," interposed Jim. "I wondered who he was. +I was at the station to see if your party had come in. This fellow was +keeping out of sight a good deal, but I plainly saw the specs on him. +Then I didn't see him any more. He must have hit the trail up the +mountain." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" repeated Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"I think you ought to compel the authorities to do something when you +get back to Compton," said the guardian. "I believe this man of the +goggles is determined to wreak vengeance on us, and for some reason +that we know nothing about." +</P> + +<P> +"I have it!" cried Harriet excitedly. "Now I know who that man who +called on you reminded me of. Collins was the man of the green +goggles. Oh, why didn't I think of it before?" +</P> + +<P> +"But Mr. Collins wore a beard; the other man did not," objected Miss +Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't help it. They were one and the same. Does that help you any, +Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +The guide shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell them all about it when you get back, Jim. The sheriff'll run the +fellow down. I shouldn't be surprised if the sheriff came out here. +You tell him where we are going. You better get started now. No need +to wait till morning. You young ladies turn in. I shall keep watch +during the rest of the night. I take no more chances. It is time for +something to be done, rather than to wait till it's too late." +</P> + +<P> +"I agree with you," answered the guardian, emphasizing her conclusion +with an emphatic nod. "Now, girls, go to bed, as Mr. Grubb suggests. +I shall be with you in a few moments We must get as early a start as +possible." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the trouble begins in the morning," agreed Janus. "But I reckon +the young ladies are good for it. They are pretty well seasoned, but +they will find themselves thoroughly fagged before to-morrow night." +</P> + +<P> +It was not long afterward that the girls were sound asleep, not to be +awakened until an hour after daylight. When they emerged from their +torn tent they were greeted by the welcome odors of breakfast, which +the guide now had ready to serve. After breakfast began the hard climb +up the mountain, but the Meadow-Brook Girls approached it joyously. It +was worth while because they were accomplishing something. Packs were +made ready immediately after breakfast. Fairly staggering under their +burdens, the party set out up a very fair pack trail, a short cut to +the Shelter, part way up the side of Mount Chocorua. +</P> + +<P> +The Shelter was reached about the middle of the forenoon. The girls +dropped their burdens and threw themselves down, breathing hard, with +flushed faces and bright eyes. Even Margery seemed to be taking a real +interest in life, though she had complained a little of the bump on her +head, which was even more tender than it had been the previous night +after she had been hit by the tent pole. +</P> + +<P> +"No time to waste. You young ladies get the luncheon ready while I am +fixing the packs," called the guide. "We must reach the Sokoki Leap +before night, or we shan't have a good place to sleep. I am going to +leave a good part of the equipment here. We will pick it up on our way +down to-morrow afternoon." +</P> + +<P> +The girls dragged themselves to their feet and began preparing the +light luncheon that they had decided upon. It would not be wise to eat +a heavy meal now, with the work of the afternoon before them. In the +meantime Mr. Grubb assorted their belongings into neat packs. They +were bacon, rice and flour, coffee and a little corn meal, together +with seasonings and butter, with a small bag of sugar and a can of +condensed milk. One tin plate apiece and "one to grow on," a spoon, a +knife and a fork for each member of the party, one frying-pan, a coffee +pot and a tin cup apiece, made up the bulk of their equipment. In +addition to this a belt-hatchet was worn by each member of the party, +the guide carrying long, slender but strong ropes that would be needed +if difficult climbs were attempted. Janus ceased his labors long +enough to drink a cup of coffee and eat some biscuit. He told the +girls to leave out enough bacon for the entire party for two meals, +figuring for three thin slices apiece to the meal. Margery demurred at +being limited to three thin slices of bacon. She declared she should +perish of hunger. +</P> + +<P> +After luncheon the girls repaired to the hut to make ready for their +climb. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, girls," began Miss Elting, "before starting I wish to caution you +that you must obey the guide. He understands mountain-climbing. I +have done a little climbing but not enough to qualify as an expert. +And, remember, no pranks while we are climbing; a single slip might +result seriously for all of us. Which way do we go, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"Around back of the Shelter. There is an easy trail leading up to the +top, but that isn't the way you want to go. You want to climb. You +shall. Have you your belts on?" He glanced over the girls critically. +"All right," he added, "follow me." +</P> + +<P> +Janus led the way around a rear corner of the Shelter, after having +labeled and stowed their packs in the hut. He said they would be +perfectly safe there, that no one would disturb them. But the girls +were rather amazed when, instead of beginning to climb up, the guide +started down a sharp incline, calling to his charges to follow. +</P> + +<P> +"Thith ithn't up," cried Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"We have to go through this gully first of all, then we begin going +up," he explained. +</P> + +<P> +The couloir proved to be something of a hard proposition right at the +beginning. Jagged rocks, sudden narrow miniature gullies, bushes with +sharp thorns, slippery, treacherous shale, made the descent a trying +one. Once Margery lost her footing on one of these shale shelfs. She +fell flat on her back and slid screaming a full twenty yards, shooting +out on a grassy slope little the worse for her slide, except that she +had been badly frightened. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy was delighted. +</P> + +<P> +"Wouldn't Buthter make a fine toboggan?" she laughed. +</P> + +<P> +Reaching the bottom of the gully, a long, narrow crevasse in the +mountain, they began the real ascent. Up and up they went, now and +then lying against a rock, to which they clung, out of breath from +their exertions, their faces flushed and warm. Far above them Janus +pointed out a little projection of rock that seemed no larger than a +human hand. +</P> + +<P> +"That," said the guide, "is where we camp to-night," +</P> + +<P> +"Thave me!" wailed Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep going. We <I>must</I> reach the Sokoki Leap before dark," urged +Janus. And far up there on the mountainside the Meadow-Brook Girls +fixed their gaze on the bit of rock that was to be their sleeping +place, and where they were to spend a night more full of interest than +they dreamed. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A SLIPPERY CLIMB +</H3> + + +<P> +For a few moments after the guide's ultimatum they plodded patiently +along. No one noticed that the sky was cloudy until a shower of cold +raindrops smote them in the face. Tommy and Margery cried out in alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"Climb!" shouted the guide. "You've got to keep going. It isn't going +to rain much. Just that one little cloud overhead." +</P> + +<P> +But the cloud, though small, held a deluge of water which was poured +directly down into the faces and over the heads of the Meadow-Brook +Girls, drenching them. Furthermore, the water made the rocks so +slippery that it became difficult for one to take a safe hold with +either hands or feet. Progress became more slow, the ascent more +difficult. +</P> + +<P> +Janus proved himself a master in the art of climbing. The girls met +with only one really dangerous situation during that afternoon's climb. +That was when they came to a place where there were steep slabs of +granite with no hand-holds. Over them the girls were obliged to pass +with scarcely a foothold, what there were of these being almost too far +apart for them to reach. The life line here came into use for the +first time. The guide crawled over the rocks, taking one end of the +line with him; then the girls, one by one, crept after him, clinging to +the line, every step being made with extreme caution, for a slip would +have meant a drop of about thirty feet and a landing on sharp, jagged +rocks. It would not have been a long fall, but the landing was another +matter. +</P> + +<P> +Then, at the end, there was another difficulty. Here they had to work +their way around a corner. Only one could move at a time, the others +holding on tightly until she had reached a place where she, in turn, +could brace herself while the next one moved up; and so on until all +had passed the bulging rock that had seemed to bar their passage +absolutely. +</P> + +<P> +"Fine!" approved the guide. "You did it like veteran climbers." +</P> + +<P> +"Where ith the camp?" wailed Tommy. "I can't go another thtep. I'm +finithed." +</P> + +<P> +"Rest a few moments," directed the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"The shower is ended," announced Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Let it rain some more," declared Jane McCarthy sturdily. "We can't +get any wetter and the rain will help to cool us off. It doesn't seem +to be far to the camping place." +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't far in a straight line. We have to take a zig-zag course, +you see," said the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Janus waved his hand as a signal for them to start. Once more they +took up the weary climb, crawling from rock to rock, slowly getting +higher and higher, but at no time in danger of a long fall. The +experience of a really perilous climb lay ahead of them for another day. +</P> + +<P> +Twilight was just settling over the upper reaches of the mountain when +they halted for the final climb to their night's camping place. In the +ravines darkness already had fallen. +</P> + +<P> +"You will all wait here while I crawl around and get to the shelf. I +think some of you may have to be hauled up," decided the guide. The +girls gazed up a sharply sloping slab of granite, fully twenty feet +long. It followed a diagonal course, the top of it being some rods +from the shelf where they were to make camp. But, reaching the top, +they would be able to crawl along until they made the shelf, the only +level spot between themselves and the very top of Mount Chocorua. +</P> + +<P> +Janus disappeared from view to the left, appearing twenty minutes later +at the top of the long, smooth slab. He held a coil of rope in his +hands. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out below," he called, sending the coil shooting down the slab of +granite. "By taking hold of the rope, and bracing the body at the +proper angle, you mountain climbers ought to be able to walk right up. +Who is coming first?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let Mith Elting go, tho we can laugh at her," suggested Tommy +teasingly. "Thhe won't care if we laugh." +</P> + +<P> +"Do!" giggled Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be delighted if doing so will furnish you any amusement," +answered the guardian calmly; "that is, provided you send Margery next, +then Grace, and so on." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet promised to see that the order was followed out as suggested. +Miss Elting glanced up the sloping rock, took the line firmly in her +hand, then waved a good-bye to the girls. She stepped cautiously to +the rock, braced first one foot then the other, and leaned back until +her weight was directed in the right way. She then began walking up +the rock, hand over hand, with an ease that amazed the Meadow-Brook +Girls. Janus reached over and took firm hold of the guardian's arm for +the last step to insure her safety. +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't heard any one laugh down there, girls," called the guardian, +presenting a smiling face to them. "You next, Margery. I hope you can +climb up as easily." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, I didn't think it would be so easy. Of course I can do it. +Tommy, you watch me carefully so you'll know how to walk up. It will +be your turn next." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth," observed Tommy, winking solemnly as she caught Crazy Jane's +laughing eyes fixed upon her. +</P> + +<P> +Margery took hold of the rope, meanwhile gazing up the slippery slope. +Her courage failed her for the moment; then, as the memory of the +guardian's easy ascent came to her, she nodded confidently and began +the upward climb. +</P> + +<P> +"Lean well back," called Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold fatht, girlth," cried Tommy. "If Buthter fallth there will be an +earthquake. I thouldn't be thurprithed if the whole mountain fell in." +</P> + +<P> +"Keep still, you make me nervous," rebuked Margery irritably. "Isn't +it hard enough to climb this skating rink without being bothered by +you?" +</P> + +<P> +In her irritation Margery forgot to lean back. She began to lean +forward to assist herself, believing perhaps she could make more rapid +headway in the latter position, at the same time finding fault with the +girls for making fun of her. +</P> + +<P> +"Lean back!" came the warning shout from above and below. But the +warning was not heeded in time. Margery Brown's feet slipped. She +threw out her hands, though not soon enough to prevent striking her +nose against the hard rock with such force that it seemed to the girls +that it must have been driven into her face. +</P> + +<P> +"Lean back, Buthter!" shouted Tommy, this time in all seriousness. +</P> + +<P> +Instead of leaning back, Buster slipped back, landing at the foot of +the incline a sobbing, screaming heap. Harriet and Jane sprang +forward, gathering up the unfortunate girl in their arms. Margery's +face was covered with blood. The blood was still streaming from her +injured nose. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, get some water," cried Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"There is none to be had here," answered Harriet. "Does your nose hurt +you much, Margery?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, ye—ye—yes," sobbed the girl. "My nose is broken. Oh, what +shall I do? What shall I do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait!" Harriet tied the end of the rope to the back of Buster's belt. +"We will let them pull you up. I think Mr. Grubb will know where to +find water up there." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want to go up," protested Margery. +</P> + +<P> +Jane was now mopping the blood from Margery's swollen face. +</P> + +<P> +"Ithn't it too bad that Buthter ith tho awkward," said Tommy in a +sympathetic tone. "I don't think thhe will ever reach the top of the +mountain." +</P> + +<P> +"Take her away! Take her away!" screamed Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Be off with you," ordered Jane. "You have about as much +sympathy as these rocks." +</P> + +<P> +"Is Margery seriously hurt?" called the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. Thhe thkinned her nothe," Tommy informed her. "I gueth thhe +will be all right, after thhe hath grown thome new thkin." +</P> + +<P> +"Pull up, please," called Harriet. "Margery, lean forward this time +and keep your hands at your sides. That is the way. Mr. Grubb will +have you up there in no time. Tommy, I am ashamed of you for making +fun of Margery when you knew she was suffering." +</P> + +<P> +"I wathn't. I'm thorry that Buthter thuffered. I know what it ith to +thuffer. Lotth of painful thingth have happened to me." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed they have, and we've all heard about them, too," said Jane +sarcastically. +</P> + +<P> +"See how nicely Margery is going up. That is the way we shall send you +up, Jane dear," said Harriet, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"You will not!" retorted Crazy Jane indignantly. "I'll stay down +first, and you know I will. But you're only joking and you know it." +</P> + +<P> +"Hath Buthter broken her nothe?" questioned Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"I think not," replied Miss Elting. "Come, get started, Tommy. Mr. +Grubb will assist you. I shall have to look after Margery's bruised +face." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't need any athithtanthe. I gueth I know how to get up there by +mythelf. Bethideth, I don't want to thkin my nothe." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait!" commanded Jane threateningly. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I'm going. Look out! I'm coming. Get Buthter out of the way, +pleathe." +</P> + +<P> +"She doesn't know whether she is going or coming," was Margery's +withering comment. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, thith ith eathy," declared Tommy. "All you have to do ith to take +hold of the rope with both handth, lean back ath if you were looking at +a bird flying over your head and—Thave me! oh, thave me!" +</P> + +<P> +Had not Tommy quickly raised her head she might have sustained a +fractured skull. Her feet left the rock and beat a positive tattoo in +the air. A moment more and she had managed to entangle them in the +rope and, powerless to help herself, shrieked and struggled frantically. +</P> + +<P> +"Thave me, thave me! I can't move!" she screamed. +</P> + +<P> +"You can use your voice, so don't worry," jeered Margery, who had +forgotten her own misfortune sufficiently to laugh heartily at Tommy's +predicament—in fact, they were all laughing. It was not often that +anyone got the better of Tommy, and now that she had come to grief, the +entire party, not excepting Miss Elting, could not resist teasing her a +little. +</P> + +<P> +"Thave me!" Tommy's screams had now become despairing wails. +</P> + +<P> +"Just make believe you're watching a bird fly through the air," was +Jane's sarcastic advice. "Lean back and take it easy." +</P> + +<P> +"We will save you, Tommy. Pull her up, Mr. Grubb," urged Harriet, her +sympathy overcoming her laughter. +</P> + +<P> +"What, that way?" inquired Janus doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, certainly." +</P> + +<P> +Janus grinned, then began hauling in on the rope with both hands. He +did it rapidly. Tommy began to move up the slope, her feet still +entangled with the rope. Janus pulled stolidly, paying no attention to +the torrent of expostulations that Tommy shrieked at him. Her +companions were shouting, cheering and offering aggravating suggestions +to the little girl, Margery Brown's voice being heard above the rest. +It was the happiest moment she had known since the Meadow-Brook Girls +had started out to spend their vacations in the open. Janus was +grinning almost from ear to ear. Tommy lay on her back, gazing +scowlingly up into the grinning face of the guide. Suddenly her +expression changed. A look of cunning appeared in her eyes. Then +Tommy Thompson turned the tables on her tantalizers in a way that set +the party in a greater uproar. Janus Grubb, too, learned a lesson that +he did not soon forget. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TRAGEDY OF CHOCORUA +</H3> + + +<P> +"Pull harder!" screamed Tommy. "I'm getting a ruthh of blood to my +head. Pull fatht, Mr. Januth." +</P> + +<P> +This sally was greeted with another shout from the girls. Tommy, +having turned her head to one side to glance up the slope, had +discovered something. That something was a little nub or projection +that protruded from the rock directly in her path. Unless they changed +her course she would be scraped over the projection, which the girl +well knew would cause her some pain as well as tear her skirt. But it +was not of this latter that she was thinking when she called to the +guide to hurry. The little, lisping girl had evolved a plan; but, that +they might not suspect her of any trickery, she screamed the louder. +</P> + +<P> +In her quick survey of the situation above her she also discovered that +the upper end of the rope was tied to a rock, so that the rope could +not get away. +</P> + +<P> +"Fathter, fathter!" urged Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"The little one is planning mischief," declared Jane, gazing narrowly +up the slope. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I know. Get to one side," replied Harriet laughingly. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, honey?" whispered Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait! You'll see some fun in a moment. You may trust Tommy to get +even every time. There he comes!" +</P> + +<P> +Janus, under Tommy's urging, had leaned well forward. He was grinning +even more broadly than before, pulling on the line with all his might, +the perspiration dripping from his forehead. All at once Tommy swung +in the foot that was free and thrust it straight up the slope. The +little projection caught her foot. Tommy stiffened one leg and stopped +short with a jolt which shook her slender body. But she didn't care. +</P> + +<P> +"Thave me!" howled the little, lisping girl. +</P> + +<P> +Janus, caught off his balance, did exactly what Harriet Burrell had +foreseen he would do. The guide was jerked from his feet, and, +throwing out both hands before him to protect himself, went shooting +down the incline headfirst. +</P> + +<P> +"Grab the rope!" he shouted, as he pitched over. +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime something was happening to Grace Thompson. No one +having grabbed the line, she, too, shot backward head first. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet, fearing that the girl's head would be crushed when she reached +the bottom of the slope, sprang forward, and, bracing herself, stooped +over with her hands close to the ground. It all happened in a few +seconds. Jane had barely time to collect her thoughts when Tommy was +caught in Harriet's net. Harriet had caught her by the shoulders and +stopped the force of the slide, but in doing so she herself toppled +over backward. +</P> + +<P> +Jane uttered a war whoop. Her joyous shout died a sudden death when +the oncoming Janus collided with her, bowling Crazy Jane over. She +quickly rolled out of the way while the guide continued on over the +edge, tumbling down a second incline to the surface of a flat rock +about eight feet below. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy got up, gazing about her in mild amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"Did thomebody fall down, Harriet?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No, somebody fell up," jeered Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Look after Mr. Grubb," cried the guardian; "I fear he is hurt." +</P> + +<P> +Janus pulled himself slowly to a sitting position, and took an +inventory to make sure that he was all there and still fastened +together. For the moment he was not quite clear as to what really had +occurred. When he saw the blue eyes of Tommy Thompson peering over at +him, he remembered. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, that ith too bad, Mr. Januth," she said with a voice full of +sympathy. "You thouldn't have let go. I might have broken my +prethiouth neck." +</P> + +<P> +"Let go?" roared the guide. "Consarn it, I didn't let go! The rope +pulled me over." +</P> + +<P> +"Ithn't that too bad? Did you hurt yourself?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +Jane was sitting on the rocks, rocking her body back and forth, +laughing, trying to keep her voice within reasonable limits. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you all right, Tommy?" called Miss Elting anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I'm all pulled to pietheth. Tho ith Januth, I'm afraid." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, girls, what am I going to do with you? Please hurry. It is +getting dark, and we must reach the shelf," implored Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +The guide scrambled to his feet and began clambering up to Miss Elting +and Margery. This time Tommy was directed to sit down, as had Margery. +She did so, chuckling to herself, and was quickly hauled to the top. +Hazel followed, sitting. Harriet and Jane ran up with the support of +the rope, and in a few moments the entire party was together. +</P> + +<P> +"You must follow me in single file," directed the guide. "It's a +narrow trail to the shelf, so no nonsense. Here, pass the rope along +and keep a tight hold on it, every one of you." +</P> + +<P> +They did as directed. None had any desire to play pranks, now that +they could barely see where they were placing their feet. The guide +led them safely to the shelf rock, a huge slab of granite as level as a +house floor, about thirty feet long and ten feet deep. At the back +towered a solid sheet of granite for a hundred feet or more, while in +front the rocks dropped sheer for almost twice that distance. +</P> + +<P> +The girls shivered a little as they peered over the edge of the slab. +The guide unslung a bundle of sticks that he had gathered somewhere in +the vicinity and threw them down. +</P> + +<P> +"Unload and get ready for grub," he directed. "Here's enough wood for +the supper fire; I'll get some more later on; I know where to look for +it. Better keep away from the edge. There won't be any coming back, +if one of you falls over there." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, girls. Keep well back. We have had quite enough excitement for +one afternoon's climbing. How do you feel?" inquired Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Buthter hath a thore nothe," answered Tommy, speaking for her +companion in distress. "I have thkinned thoulderth and theveral +bruitheth. I don't know how Jane and Harriet feel." +</P> + +<P> +"I feel as if I'd been run over by my own motor car," decided Jane +McCarthy. +</P> + +<P> +"My arms and my feet are tired," admitted Harriet. "And, now that we +have discussed our miseries, let's think about supper. We shall all +feel better after a good meal and a rest. Here Margery." Harriet +spread a blanket, which Buster welcomed by promptly crawling over to it +and lying down. "The rock is awfully hard," she complained. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind, dearie; we'll pour some water on it and soften it for +you," comforted Jane McCarthy. +</P> + +<P> +"Speaking of water, that reminds me: Where are we to get our water for +the coffee?" questioned Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"There's a spring on the other side of these rocks. There isn't much +water in it, but I reckon there will be enough for us. Never mind. +Don't you get it. Don't you go puttering around where you can't see," +Janus warned. +</P> + +<P> +A little blaze sprang up from the pile of sticks he had heaped and +fired with a match. The light from the fire soon threw the outer world +into black darkness. They could not make it seem possible that there, +almost within reach of their hands, was a precipice dropping down +nearly two hundred feet. But the thought caused them to keep well to +the rear of the shelf. +</P> + +<P> +The guide gathered the cups, and, with these and the coffee pot, went +to the spring, a mere trickle in the rocks, where he first filled the +coffee pot, then the cups, carrying them back and placing them in a row +against the wall. Harriet put the water over the fire to boil. Miss +Elting sliced the bacon, while Jane prepared some rice for boiling. +The latter occupied considerable time in cooking and was not +particularly palatable. Janus said that in the morning they would cook +enough of it to last for a day or two. +</P> + +<P> +Hazel put the bacon in the frying pan. Each one, except Margery, found +something to do and found joy in the doing despite their aches and +pains, from which not a member of the Meadow-Brook party was free that +evening. The climbing had brought into activity little used muscles, +as the girls had by this time discovered. +</P> + +<P> +The supper was late that evening. Janus had brought the small lantern. +This he secured above their heads by thrusting a stick into a crevice +and suspending the lantern from it, thus shedding a little light +besides that given off by the campfire. The party sat down with their +feet curled under them and thoroughly enjoyed the somewhat slender meal. +</P> + +<P> +"How good everything does taste!" remarked Margery. +</P> + +<P> +Jane averred that Margery's accident had done her good. +</P> + +<P> +"I've been thinking about the accident to our guide," said Miss Elting. +"I don't know yet how it occurred." +</P> + +<P> +"I caught my foot on a nub," Tommy informed her. "That pulled Mr. +Januth down on hith fathe." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh! I see." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Grubb regarded Tommy suspiciously. Her face wore an innocent +expression, but when Tommy winked solemnly at Harriet, Janus was +enlightened. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum! I swum!" he repeated, "I believe you did that on +purpose." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Mr. Januth!" protested Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Do ye deny it?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Mr. Januth, I don't deny it. Athk me and I'll tell you the truth." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, I ask ye. Did ye pull me down?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, thir. You fell down, didn't you? But I let my foot catthh on a +nub. I knew it would pull you over. You made fatheth at me tho I +helped you to fall down. Oh, it wath funny!" Tommy laughed merrily. +</P> + +<P> +"Grace Thompson! I am amazed!" exclaimed Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Tho wath Mr. Januth. But I'm thorry, now. I won't do it again, if +you won't make fatheth at me." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum! Shake, little pardner! You got the best of Janus Grubb +that time, but his time will come." +</P> + +<P> +"You've got to promithe," insisted Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"All right. I promise." +</P> + +<P> +"Tho do I." +</P> + +<P> +Peace had been declared, greatly to the relief of the rest of the +party, who did not know to what lengths Tommy Thompson might go to pay +the score she thought she had against the guide who had grinned at her +on seeing her in an unpleasant predicament that afternoon. +</P> + +<P> +The meal finished, Janus went away to secure fresh fuel for the fire, +the girls in the meantime setting the camp to rights, which meant +spreading the blankets for the night and clearing away the dishes. +</P> + +<P> +"There is one advantage about this kind of living," observed Hazel; "we +do not have any glassware to polish." +</P> + +<P> +"Nor silver," added Margery. +</P> + +<P> +Janus returned with an armful of wood. The fire was built up, flaring +into the air just as Tommy uttered a scream. The scream was followed +by a distant clatter. +</P> + +<P> +The girls jumped. For a second they thought Grace had fallen over, but +great was their relief to see her standing a few feet from the edge of +the precipice trying to peer over. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, dear?" called the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I lotht the frying pan," wailed Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"What!" shouted the girls. +</P> + +<P> +"I lotht it. I did. I wath emptying it when it fell down. But never +mind, Mr. Januth will go down for it." +</P> + +<P> +The girls groaned. +</P> + +<P> +"Now you have done it," exclaimed Jane. "Whatever are we going to do +without a frying-pan?" +</P> + +<P> +"I told you Mr. Januth ith going down after it," insisted Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"No, Janus is not," answered the guide. "There isn't enough of that +frying-pan left to make grit for chickens. Two hundred feet and then +the rocks. Well, I swum! You'll go without eating to-morrow, so far +as the frying-pan is concerned." +</P> + +<P> +"We ought to do something to Tommy for that," declared Harriet. "What +shall it be, girls?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, let her alone. Tommy will punish herself if you give her time," +averred Margery. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy nodded. "Yeth, leave it to me," she urged. "I can take care of +mythelf. Buthter ith right, for once in her life. Leave it to me." +</P> + +<P> +They agreed to do so. Harriet turned to Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"You promised to tell us the legend that belongs to this shelf of rock +on which we are encamped. If not too long a story, will you relate it +now?" +</P> + +<P> +The girls crept to the fire, about which they sat in a circle with +their feet tucked under them in true council-fire style. +</P> + +<P> +"You probably have read," began Miss Elting, "that the Sokokis, a +powerful Indian tribe, once held possession of these hills. Chocorua, +for whom this mountain is named, was chief of a mighty tribe. The +chief, in revenge for the loss of his son, who had been slain by the +whites in battle, killed a white settler's wife and child. This white +man swore to have the life of the powerful Chocorua. Shouldering his +gun, he followed the mountain trails for many days and nights. The +chief knew that an avenger was on his trail; his braves knew it. They +made every effort to catch the avenging white man, but he was too +clever for them. Yet not an Indian was molested. The white man wanted +only Chocorua, and Chocorua knew it. The chief fled from place to +place, ever pursued by the persistent avenger. Then, at last, the +white man found the trail when it was hot. He followed the trail, and +one day, when the morning was young, came face to face with the savage +chief." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know where they met, young ladies?" interrupted Janus, who was +familiar with the legend. +</P> + +<P> +The girls shook their heads. +</P> + +<P> +"Right here where we are sitting now." +</P> + +<P> +"Grathiouth!" muttered Tommy, glancing about her apprehensively. +</P> + +<P> +"They aren't here now, my dear Tommy," observed Miss Elting smilingly. +"The white man pointed his gun at the Indian," she continued, "but the +old chieftain never flinched. He sent back a look so full of hatred +that the white man almost feared him. The chief, with upraised hands, +called down the curses of the Great Spirit on the head of the white man +and all his kind. Then Chocorua turned and sped swiftly to the far end +of the shelf, near where we got the water for our supper, and, without +an instant's hesitation, leaped far out into space." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh!" exclaimed the girls shudderingly. +</P> + +<P> +"The body of the chief dashed from rock to rock, finally dropping into +the lake which you saw as we came up. Then a strange thing occurred. +The white settlers finally conquered the Indians; then they brought in +their stock and began to graze them. But after that every animal that +drank from the lake died. It came to be known as the 'Lake of the +Poisoned Waters.' The Indians declared this to be the revenge of the +Great Spirit." +</P> + +<P> +"How strange!" pondered Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"A number of scientific men, passing through this section years +afterward, unraveled the mystery. They say that the lime formation of +the rocks, through which the water seeps into the lake, has poisoned +the water. But you cannot make an Indian believe that." +</P> + +<P> +"Ith thith a fairy thtory, or a really-truly thtory?" demanded Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"It is only a legend, Tommy," was Miss Elting's smiling reply. +</P> + +<P> +"It has been a most interesting story," nodded Harriet. "I love Indian +folklore." +</P> + +<P> +"Girls, it is time for you to turn in," reminded Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like such stories before going to bed," objected Margery. "I +know I shall have the nightmare. Oh!" +</P> + +<P> +"We will roll you over if you do," answered Jane. "There's nobody but +ourselves to hear you, either, so you may yell all you please, and——" +</P> + +<P> +"No!" protested Tommy. "If Buthter yellth I'll yell, too, and wake up +all the retht of you." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you'll be attended to then and there," Jane warned her. +</P> + +<P> +"You let me alone. I will let you know when I get ready for your +thervithes. You needn't go on talking about me, either. You make me +nervouth, ath Buthter sayth." +</P> + +<P> +Janus began his preparations for the night. These consisted +principally in taking each girl's rope and securing it to his own belt, +which he had taken off for the purpose of making the ropes fast to it. +They watched him with keen interest. +</P> + +<P> +"Just a precaution," he explained. "If any one of you moves in the +night I shall know it." +</P> + +<P> +"My grathiouth!" shuddered Tommy, "ithn't it exthiting?" She made a +ridiculous face at the guide's broad back. +</P> + +<P> +The girls tried hard not to laugh, but Margery giggled audibly, +bringing a frown from the guardian. Tommy, however, declared that she +would not roll up in her blanket, that she would fold it over her, so +she could get up without disturbing the camp. +</P> + +<P> +"Roll up when you are ready," directed the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Each girl, except Tommy, lay down on her blanket, and, tucking in one +edge, proceeded to roll herself up in it Indian-fashion, leaving only +her head and face exposed to the air. Tommy sat up, observing them +solemnly. +</P> + +<P> +"You look like a lot of mummieth," she declared. +</P> + +<P> +"And we feel like them, darlin'," answered Jane. +</P> + +<P> +The guide now proceeded to wrap the free end of rope about each girl's +waist over the blanket, except in Tommy's case. She preferred to have +the rope about her waist before rolling up in her blanket, determining +in her own mind to slip the loop off after the others had gone to +sleep. Fortunately, however, Tommy Thompson's eyes grew heavy and she +dropped to sleep ahead of her companions. The guide lay down with his +blanket half folded over him without a single worry on his mind, +knowing that his charges could not get far away without a pulling on +the lines that would awaken him. +</P> + +<P> +But when the pulling on the lines did come, Janus Grubb was not +prepared for it, and the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls was thrown into +wild excitement by what followed. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TOMMY FALLS OUT OF BED +</H3> + + +<P> +The night was far spent, and the air at their altitude was crisp and +chill. Below them a fog had settled over the canyons and gullies, +blotting the landscape entirely from the sight of any one above the +mist line. But, though there was no moon, objects could be made out +with reasonable distinctness on Sokoki Leap, where the girls, their +guardian and the guide were sleeping more or less soundly. Toward +morning, however, Tommy awoke with a start. She twitched and jerked, +rolled herself into a ball, straightened out again and twisted and +turned, wide awake and nervous. Her rope being long, the guide was not +disturbed—at least, not then. +</P> + +<P> +An owl hooted high in a ledge above their camping place. It hooted +three times. Tommy rose, throwing off her blanket. She stood +shivering in her kimono, for the air had grown chilly, undecided +whether to awaken the camp or lie down again. Finally she sank down +and rolled over and over in her blanket, this time determined to wrap +up so snugly that the cold could not reach her. +</P> + +<P> +Then came the interruption, starting with a scream so terrifying as to +awaken every member of the party and to frighten the owl into sudden +silence. Shouts were heard from all sides. The girls began struggling +to free themselves from their blankets. To do this some of them rolled +toward the guide, others from him, according to the way they had rolled +themselves in their blankets before going to sleep. Harriet was the +first to free herself from the folds of the gray blanket that enveloped +her. She leaped to her feet, crying out, "What is the matter now?" +</P> + +<P> +A strange sight met her gaze. Janus was sliding over the shelf, half +rolling, half slipping, in a mysterious fashion. At the same time the +others of the party were performing strangely, getting up, falling +down, as, entangled in their blankets, they staggered dangerously near +the edge of the rocky shelf, apparently unmindful of their peril. +</P> + +<P> +"Catch me! Jump on the rope!" yelled the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet's quick eyes, now wide open, caught the significance of the +scene. Without an instant's hesitation she sprang toward Janus, fairly +hurling herself upon him. One hand grabbed a taut rope that was +straining with some heavy weight pulling on it at the other end. +</P> + +<P> +Janus sat up as the girl threw her own weight on the line to assist in +holding it until the guide should have recovered himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, what has happened?" cried the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Some one is over the edge," answered Harriet almost breathlessly. +"Quick! Find out who it is." +</P> + +<P> +"It's Tommy!" screamed Margery Brown. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting sprang toward the edge of the shelf. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop!" thundered the guide. "Careful! Don't rush. Take it easy. +All the rest of you stay back. You go cautiously to the edge, Miss +Elting, and find out just what shape she's in." +</P> + +<P> +Grubb gave his commands in a quick, business-like tone; at the same +time he removed his belt and unfastened the girls' ropes. +</P> + +<P> +Margery began to scream again. Jane grasped and shook her. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop that! Tommy's doing enough howling for the whole party," she +exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy's cries were all-sufficient—heart-rending, in fact. Harriet +motioned to Jane to come and assist in holding the rope. Jane +responded promptly. +</P> + +<P> +"May I go and help?" questioned Harriet eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. It's a good idea. Keep her quiet if you can," urged Miss +Elting. "She is likely to saw the rope in two at the rate she is +floundering about. I hope her belt is strong enough to hold." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh my stars, what a mess!" groaned Jane McCarthy. +</P> + +<P> +"It's worse than that," answered Janus, but he did not explain just +what danger threatened the screaming little girl. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet turned the rope over to her companion and hurried to the edge +of the shelf, where she stretched herself on the rock with her head +protruding over. What she saw was an object that resembled a great +spider suspended from a silken thread. The spider was dangling in the +air, with arms and legs working frantically. The poor little spider, +in this instance Tommy Thompson, was slowly turning from side to side, +clawing frantically at the smooth side of the mountain when her hands +got into position where she could touch it. Miss Elting was trying to +soothe her. Harriet adopted a different policy. +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy!" she cried sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, thave me! Thave me!" wailed the little tow-headed girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want to drop clear to the bottom?" demanded Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"No, oh, no! Thave me! I'll be good. I'll—" +</P> + +<P> +"You'll be down there in a heap if you don't stop struggling. Listen +to me! Are you going to stop that screaming and do something for +yourself, or are we to let you hang there until to-morrow morning?" +continued Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, oh, yeth! I'll be good. I'll do whatever you tell me. But +thave me. Pleathe thave me!" sobbed the unhappy little Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop clawing. Let your body hang limp. Don't make a move, and keep +quiet. You confuse us. Remember, if you struggle you are likely to +pull us over with you. I am going to get something; then I shall try +to pull you up. Hazel and Margery, stay close to Miss Elting. Miss +Elting, will you look after them while I go to hunt a stick?"' +</P> + +<P> +"Come over here by me, girls," commanded the guardian in response to +the request. "Now, stand perfectly still. Tommy's life may depend +upon your doing only what you are told. A Meadow-Brook Girl is a sort +of soldier, and a soldier is not a good soldier unless he can take and +obey orders." +</P> + +<P> +Hazel was trembling a little, Margery a great deal, but the words of +the guardian served to quiet and steady both girls. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet came running toward them, carrying a round stick, a piece from +a small sapling that the guide had picked up for firewood. This she +cautiously slipped under the rope at the edge of the shelf, prying the +rope up a little in order to do so, thus sending Tommy into a fresh +outburst of terror when she felt the added movement of the rope. +</P> + +<P> +"Miss Elting, I think you had better manage the stick. You are not +likely to lose your presence of mind. Hazel and Margery may help me +pull Tommy up. Be sure not to let the rope drag over the sharp edge of +the stone, or we may lose her." +</P> + +<P> +Margery indulged in a fresh attack of shivering. Hazel gripped her +arm, whispering, "Brace up, dear!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I can—n't," sobbed Margery. "My knees won't hold me up." +</P> + +<P> +"Now, girls," called Harriet cheerily, "take hold of the rope, but be +gentle about it. Remember, a sharp jolt might be a serious thing for +Tommy. It might jerk Miss Elting over, too, so be very careful. Now, +Tommy, we are going to pull you up. Don't reach for the rock. It +won't help you any to do so. Just hang limp. Try to imagine that you +are a bag of meal and we are pulling you up for the muffins to-morrow +morning." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I can't laugh," wailed Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Then cry, if you wish, but don't make a noise doing it. Shed all the +tears you wish to, but let them be silent tears. Now then!" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet stepped back, taking firm hold of the rope. She was near the +edge of the shelf, Hazel directly behind her, with Margery still +farther back. +</P> + +<P> +"When you are ready, Miss Elting! Let us know when you wish a fresh +hold." Harriet was perfectly calm outwardly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ready!" +</P> + +<P> +"All together! One, two, three—pull! Steady; not so violently. This +is a small rope, and——" +</P> + +<P> +"Whoa!" interjected the guardian sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"We are taking up the slack back here. Good work for you girls," +encouraged the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it? Oh, what is it?" screamed Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop that noise!" commanded Harriet. "Everything is all right!" +</P> + +<P> +"Ready again," commanded Miss Elting. "One, two, three—pull!" +</P> + +<P> +Tommy came up about a foot this time. Her progress was slow, but it +was, at least, sure. +</P> + +<P> +Jane and the guide were acting as anchors, at the same time assisting +in pulling on the line, holding down when the pauses came. +</P> + +<P> +After every pull Miss Elting would call a halt while she worked the +round stick down over the edge of the rock to keep the rope from being +unduly worn. In this way Tommy came up little by little, now and then +uttering a sharp scream at some unexpected jolt. Once, when the rope +slipped from the round stick, Tommy felt herself slipping into +unconsciousness, but pluckily recovered herself. She clenched her +fists until the nails almost cut into the flesh of her hands, and all +the time she was wondering if the belt that seemed to be cutting her in +two would hold or break. Those on the ledge above were wondering much +the same thing. They were operating with extreme caution for that very +reason. +</P> + +<P> +"You are almost up to us, Tommy," encouraged the guardian. "Be very +careful. Make no sudden moves. Don't try to take hold of the edge +when we get you level with it. We shall have to pull you over the last +two or three feet by taking hold of you. Then we will have something +to be thankful for, won't we?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth," wailed a weak voice from over the side. +</P> + +<P> +"Ready!" +</P> + +<P> +This time Tommy came up so close that the guardian was able to touch +her. Miss Elting leaned over and patted Tommy on the shoulder +reassuringly. +</P> + +<P> +"One more long, strong pull and we shall have you within a little way +of safety. Girls, are you ready for the last pull?" +</P> + +<P> +Margery was breathing heavily, Hazel, too, was taking short, excited +breaths. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, when you are ready," answered Hazel. "Get ready back there, +ready to hold fast after the last pull. Don't give way the fraction of +an inch," called Harriet. "This is like things I have read about +Alpine climbing, except that I guess they don't pull them up dangling +in this fashion." +</P> + +<P> +"Pull!" called the guardian. "Steadily and slowly this time." +</P> + +<P> +The girls were breathing heavily now. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, am I up?" wailed the little, lisping girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Now be perfectly quiet. Harriet, can you help me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. All hold fast. I am going to let go. Step back a little +farther, girls. There!" +</P> + +<P> +"We have it," shouted Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"We have," cried Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet stepped forward. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold up your arm, Tommy," directed the guardian. "You take that arm, +Harriet. Now one foot, Tommy. I'll take that. Don't move about any +more than you can help. Wait! Her arm first. Have you got it, +Harriet?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +Snap! Tommy uttered a wild scream of terror. Miss Elting was reaching +for the upraised foot. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy's belt gave way when her foot was almost within the guardian's +grasp, and her slender body shot downward. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PLACING THE BLAME +</H3> + + +<P> +Such screams as rose from over the ledge none of that party ever had +heard. Harriet, it will be remembered, had hold of the little girl's +hands, or rather one hand, when Tommy's belt broke. The jolt was so +great that it seemed to the two girls as if their arms would be pulled +from their sockets. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy thought, too, that she was being hurled to her death when she +felt herself falling. But Harriet, with unusual presence of mind, had +clutched the little girl's hand with a desperate grip. +</P> + +<P> +"Give me the other hand," she panted. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I can't," sobbed Tommy, who immediately began to wriggle in an +attempt to reach the shelf. +</P> + +<P> +"Then keep quiet. Don't stir." Instead of keeping quiet, the girl, +now fairly beside herself with fear, began a series of lunges for the +ridge above her. The result was what Harriet had feared. She felt +herself slipping forward toward the edge. In those few seconds Harriet +Burrell came nearer to realizing what fear was than ever before. To +let go would be to save herself at the cost of Tommy's life. Harriet +not only held on; but reached over her free hand which she clasped over +that of her companion. Now she slipped more than ever. Her companions +did not seem to realize what had occurred. It had all come about so +quickly that they did not quite comprehend. +</P> + +<P> +"Grab me!" cried Harriet. "I've got her! Why don't you do something? +I'm slipping over. Quick! For mercy's sake, move!" +</P> + +<P> +Jane McCarthy, who, with Janus, was still clinging to the rope, now +dropped it and sprang forward. Jane went down on her knees, grasping +Harriet by the ankles. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold me! Are you all asleep?" shouted Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Janus awakened suddenly. But Miss Elting was a little ahead of him. +The guardian sprang behind Jane and slipped both arms around the +latter's waist. +</P> + +<P> +"Help Harriet!" she cried. +</P> + +<P> +Janus ran forward with a rope, making a noose in it as he ran. The +guide went down on his knees beside Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you swing her a little without dropping her?" he shouted. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but she'll be dreadfully frightened." +</P> + +<P> +"We can't help that. Swing her," commanded Janus. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet did so, bringing from Tommy Thompson a series of terrified +screams. If any one else heard he must have believed that some one was +being killed. But her shouts and screams did no harm. The guide took +quick advantage of the opportunity offered by Harriet to slip the loop +in the rope over one of Tommy's feet, then draw it taut. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm caught. Mercy, I'm caught!" screamed Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Hang on to her! Don't let go! Stop that yelling until I tell you +what to do!" commanded the guide. "We're going to pull you up the best +way we can git you up. If you don't like it, don't fight; just yell. +Hold her as she is, Miss Harriet, while I give her foot a yank." +</P> + +<P> +He really did jerk on the rope, but more for the purpose of tightening +the loop than for any other reason. Of course, the proceeding was +followed by an ear-piercing scream. Janus promptly began to pull up on +the line. Tommy's foot came up with it, leaving the other foot and one +arm dangling in the air nearly two hundred feet from the bottom of the +cliff. +</P> + +<P> +"Pull when we get her level. No; the rest of you folks keep back, or +we'll all be over, first thing we know. There! Over she comes!" With +a final effort they had landed Tommy on the shelf. She was sobbing +pitifully. Her ordeal had been sufficient to upset the strongest +nerved person. +</P> + +<P> +"You poor darling," cried Miss Elting, gathering the terror-stricken +Tommy in her arms and staggering to the rear of the shelf, where she +placed the terrified girl on a blanket. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet sat back where she was. She was breathing heavily from her +exertions, and further than this she admitted to herself that she was a +little faint. But not for worlds would she have her companions know +this. +</P> + +<P> +"Better get back," advised the guide. "One is enough." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't trouble about me. I will as soon as I get my breath. That was +a hard position in which to do any lifting." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon. I take off my hat to you, Miss Burrell. This outfit isn't +in such great need of a pilot. You could get along without me and +never miss me for a minute except when it comes to toting a pack, and +even then I guess you could do without me, especially if that young +lady threw a dish or so overboard after every meal," he added jocularly. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any wood?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. There you are again. I never think of anything. I get lost +wondering what's going to happen next. You sit down. I'll attend to +the fire. It is cold. You are shivering, aren't you"? +</P> + +<P> +"I—I believe I am." Harriet got up and walked over to her companions. +She walked rather unsteadily, but they were too much upset themselves +to observe it. Tommy lay on a blanket with face buried in her arms, +sobbing, every fourth sob being a hysterical moan. Harriet sat down +beside the unhappy little girl, slipping an arm about her waist. +</P> + +<P> +"It's all over now, honey. Don't cry." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm thick! Pleathe give me thome—thome water." +</P> + +<P> +"Water," called Harriet. "Is there any? If not, let Mr. Janus get +it, if he will." +</P> + +<P> +"If she can wait a few moments we'll all have some hot coffee," +answered the guide. But Tommy could not wait. She insisted on having +a drink of water, so the guide brought it to her. This seemed to take +the girl's mind from her recent fright, and lying on her back Tommy +Thompson gradually became quiet and surveyed the guide's coffee-making +through half-closed eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think you can go to sleep?" asked Miss Elting, stooping over +the recumbent Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Not until I get thome coffee," answered Tommy, gazing up soulfully +into the anxious face of the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +Margery laughed almost hysterically. It was the first laugh that had +been heard in camp for some time, so it was welcome, helping to relieve +the tension as it did. Tommy turned her eyes on her stout friend in a +droll way which set Margery to giggling afresh. +</P> + +<P> +The fire was crackling by this time. Harriet dragged Tommy's blanket +up closer to it, that she might get some of its warmth. Janus, looking +unusually solemn, was boiling water for the coffee. +</P> + +<P> +"She had a pretty narrow escape," he nodded, observing Harriet's eyes +upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed she did," agreed Harriet, with a slight shudder. +</P> + +<P> +"No more sleep for me this night," cried Crazy Jane. "It's my opinion +that that wild Indian chief put a hoodoo on this rock, as well as on +the lake below. I shouldn't be surprised at most anything happening +here." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Suppose the wall should fall in?" suggested Margery, gazing +apprehensively up the side of the granite wall, on which the light from +the fire was reflected in arrow-like shafts. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you stop that?" demanded Jane. "Haven't we had trouble enough +for one night without your suggesting anything else?" +</P> + +<P> +"You started the subject yourself," reminded Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Who would like a bite to eat with her coffee?" interrupted the +guardian. "Tommy, would you like to have a biscuit?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, thank you." +</P> + +<P> +"I would," declared Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. Buthter ith never thatithfied. Thhe is always hungry," taunted +Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"And you've got over your scare," added Jane significantly. +</P> + +<P> +The guardian set out some biscuits and lumps of sugar on a piece of +paper. The condensed milk was not brought. Everyone with the +exception of Harriet and Tommy was possessed of keen appetites after +their trying experiences. Janus, too, ate three biscuits and drank +three cups of strong coffee. +</P> + +<P> +"Better have some," he urged, glancing at Harriet, who had refused the +coffee. +</P> + +<P> +"I guess Harriet is ill, too," suggested Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish to sleep to-night. I shouldn't sleep a wink were I to drink +that black stuff, nor will you." +</P> + +<P> +"You watch us and see," chuckled Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy, how did you come to get over the edge?" questioned the +guardian, now that the little girl had begun to feel better. +</P> + +<P> +"You certainly cannot blame our enemy for this accident," declared Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if he did push Tommy over?" Margery's eyes were large as she +voiced the question. +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense!" retorted Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. That's what I say," agreed Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose she will lay it to me," chuckled the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, I ought to," nodded Tommy. "But we agreed not to fight any +more, didn't we?" +</P> + +<P> +"We did," he replied very gravely, "and we are not going to, are we?" +</P> + +<P> +Tommy shook her head. +</P> + +<P> +"Not before to-morrow, I gueth. I'm too tired to fight. Did I +furnithh you with exthitement enough for one night?" +</P> + +<P> +"Will you listen to her?" laughed Crazy Jane. "Little Tommy Thompson +fell off the mountain to furnish us with excitement. Of course we are +satisfied. We forgive you for all your tricks, and we don't care how +much excitement you furnish if you will only keep your feet on +something solid. We came within a little of all going over with you in +our fright." +</P> + +<P> +"Ithn't that nithe?" glowed Tommy. She was recovering her spirits. "I +thhould have had company." +</P> + +<P> +"That is a very ill-timed remark, Tommy," answered Miss Elting in a +severe tone. "I am surprised at your flippancy. I really believe you +enjoyed our fright." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. Didn't you hear me laugh when I wath down there?" +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't say such things if I had made as much trouble as Tommy +has," declared Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Of courthe you wouldn't," agreed Tommy. "You haven't a thenthe of +humor." +</P> + +<P> +"Some people have no sense at all," flung back Buster. +</P> + +<P> +"We have forgotten something," interrupted Harriet. "Tommy's blanket +is down there somewhere. We ought to have it before going on in the +morning. You may keep mine for to-night, if you wish. You are going +to sit up the rest of the night, are you not, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. I'll take no more chances with this party on Sokoki Leap. I'll +keep the fire going the rest of the night, too. Fix your blankets so +your feet will be toward the fire. The Indians would say, 'Indian keep +him head cool, feet warm.'" +</P> + +<P> +"We have done better than that this evening," answered Jane laughingly. +"We managed to keep our head and feet warm at the same time." +</P> + +<P> +"I should say we have," mused Harriet. "But what about the blanket? +We do not wish to lose it." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go down and get it in the morning," said Janus. "You needn't +wait breakfast for me; I'll have something to eat before leaving. But +do be careful. I don't want to have the little one falling down the +rocks and landing on my head when I get there. Better turn in as soon +as possible, young ladies. We have a mighty hard trail ahead of us in +the morning, and some more slippery granite to climb. Another thing, +you'd better put another belt on Miss Thompson. You'll find some +leather and a buckle in my kit. There's sewing material there also." +</P> + +<P> +"How far shall we have to climb?" asked Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"'Bout a thousand feet, as a bird flies," Janus answered, with a +careless gesture. +</P> + +<P> +"Ob, thave me!" wailed Tommy desperately. "I can't thtand any more." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Tommy, we've hardly begun yet," Harriet retorted smilingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe <I>you</I> haven't, but thome of uth have about finithed," asserted +the little, lisping girl. +</P> + +<P> +"For once, Tommy and I agree," groaned Margery. +</P> + +<P> +Not long after the girls turned in for the second time that night. +Daybreak would soon send its gray light into their camp on Sokoki Leap. +But the day ahead of them was not fated to be, in all respects, a time +of calm. Tommy Thompson and even her better-poised companions were to +have further opportunities for distinguishing themselves. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +GIVING A TOBOGGAN POINTS +</H3> + + +<P> +A brilliant sun, gilding the peaks of Chocorua and shining in her eyes, +awoke Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +A panorama of sunlit hills, still darkened caverns and gorges, +precipitous cliffs and sombre ravines caused the Meadow-Brook Girls to +exclaim joyously. Thin, silvery ribbons in the landscape showed where +foaming brooks ran. There were short waterfalls, long cascades, bright +little lakes and countless valleys of green. +</P> + +<P> +"It's too beautiful to be real!" throbbed Harriet Burrell as she +unwound herself from her blanket and started to replenish the fire. +</P> + +<P> +The coffee pot was already on the fire, supported by two stones. It +was steaming and sputtering. Then, for the first time, she observed +that Janus Grubb was nowhere in sight. Harriet got up and tip-toed +softly to the edge of the cliff, where she lay down flat, peering over. +At first she saw nothing of interest; then all at once she caught sight +of a moving speck at the foot of the cliff. +</P> + +<P> +"It's Janus!" she exclaimed. "Why, he doesn't look any larger than a +chessman. I wonder how much would have been left of Tommy had she +fallen down there?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet shuddered at the thought of her companion's narrow escape—the +narrow escape of the entire party, for that matter. Crawling +cautiously back, she lay gazing off over the valley. "The poisoned +lake" lay in plain view. The girl pondered over the tragedy of which +the guide had told them. Such tragedies, such deeds of violence as he +had named, should have no place in a peaceful scene such as this, +thought Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet!" She turned her head to find Miss Elting sitting up with a +worried expression on her face. +</P> + +<P> +"For pity's sake, come away from there! My nerves will not stand many +more such shocks as we had last night." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, I am not afraid," answered Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you doing there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Watching Janus. He is down below. You ought to take a peep at him. +He looks so small and so funny." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. I am well satisfied to take your word for it. Will you +please come away from there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly, if you wish it." Harriet got up promptly and walked back, +stepping over her companions, then sitting down beside the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a brave little girl, Harriet, dear," said Miss Elting softly, +patting the brown head affectionately. "But don't you think you are +just a little bit foolhardy?" +</P> + +<P> +"I—I hadn't thought about it," answered the girl, flushing. "I do not +mean to be." +</P> + +<P> +"I know. You are thoughtless of your own peril. You know we must not +let anything happen to any of our party. We want to have other happy +summers in the open together; and, were anything serious to occur to +any member of our party, that would end it. Neither your parents nor +those of the other girls would permit them to go out again in this way. +Will you promise to be more careful in future?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like to do that; I am afraid I might not keep my promise," +admitted Harriet, hanging her head. "But I will promise to do the best +I can and not to take any more chances than I have to." +</P> + +<P> +Jane awakened at this juncture and lay blinking at them for a moment, +after which she sat up, rubbing her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Good morning, Misses Owls. Have you two been croaking there all +night?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Jane, dear, we have not. We have been conversing for the past ten +or fifteen minutes. Previous to that time I was peeping over the edge +at Mr. Grubb, who is down there looking for Tommy's blanket. Still +farther back than that I was sound asleep. Miss Elting has been +reading me a lecture. It is your turn now." +</P> + +<P> +Margery sat up at this juncture. She unrolled her blanket, flung it +aside, and, going to the wall, sank down against it, resting her still +heavy head in her hands. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter with you, Margery?" questioned Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Matter?" complained Buster. "One might as well try to sleep in that +boiler factory at Meadow-Brook as in this camp." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so, Little Sunshine; I agree with you. This is a dynamite as +well as a boiler factory, with an explosion twice, every day and at +least once in the night." +</P> + +<P> +"Dynamite?" piped Tommy. "Where ith it?" +</P> + +<P> +"There, you see! You have awakened every one of us except Hazel," +complained Jane. "Now, go on talking and you'll waken her, too; then +we'll all be awake, and can think about cooking breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"Jane McCarthy, you can talk more and say less than any person I ever +knew," exclaimed Margery petulantly. +</P> + +<P> +"I agree with you, Little Sunshine. I agree with every word you have +said this morning, and I'm going to come right over there and kiss you +for your sweetness. Isn't she good-natured, and so early in the +morning, too?" laughed Jane, her eyes sparkling with mischief. +</P> + +<P> +A shout of laughter greeted Crazy Jane's naive words. The shout +awakened Hazel. Margery dropped her hands from her face. Her petulant +mouth relaxed into an unwilling smile; then she burst out laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I'd chase away that sour face," teased Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll look crosser than ever if you don't stop," threatened the stout +girl. +</P> + +<P> +One by one the girls went over to the rivulet and washed. There was +not much water to be had, but it made up in coldness what it lacked in +quantity and freshened them greatly. Harriet started to prepare the +breakfast as soon as she had washed and dried her face and hands. The +dishes were set out on the granite shelf, and there, more than two +thousand feet in the air, the Meadow-Brook Girls sat down to their +morning meal. Janus had not returned by the time they finished, but +came in about half an hour later. He had the blanket and the handle of +the frying-pan that Tommy had dropped. He said that was all there was +left of the frying-pan. He thought the handle might be useful +somewhere, so had brought it back with him. +</P> + +<P> +"I suggest that we take the handle home and frame it. We might give it +to Tommy as a souvenir," suggested Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind. I've thouvenirth enough as it ith. I've got thouvenirth +all over my perthon," declared Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"You may have more before the day is done," chuckled Jane, pointing to +the heights that they were to climb that day. Tommy eyed them askance. +She did not fancy what was before her, but with a sigh of resignation +went about getting her pack ready for starting. The other girls were +now doing the same, Janus passing on the packs after they had been made +ready. To have a pack come open while climbing a steep mountain would +mean the loss of almost everything in that pack. But the danger of +this was not so great now as though the luggage were being carried on +pack horses. +</P> + +<P> +The start was made in a leisurely manner. Janus halted every little +while to point out some interesting feature of the landscape, or to +relate some legend of the past associated with this or that particular +bit of mountain scenery. An hour had been occupied in this easy +jogging before they came to the sheer climb that lay before them. This +latter was more than a thousand feet, but the guide proposed to take +the greater part of the day for it. There was no need for haste, as +the journey could be made easily before night. +</P> + +<P> +As one gazed up the jagged side it did not seem possible that anything +other than a bird could make the ascent. It looked a sheer wall from +where the girls stood, the projections and jutting crags appearing +perfectly flat to them. Even Harriet Burrell and Miss Elting were a +little dubious. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think it safe?" questioned the guardian apprehensively. +</P> + +<P> +"No. Mountain climbing is never safe," replied Janus. "It can be +done, and easily at that, if that's what you mean. Shall we go ahead +or go back, Miss?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ahead, of course," the guardian nodded. +</P> + +<P> +Janus got his line ready, a small but strong and pliant rope. He +nodded to his party, glanced up for the most favorable starting point, +then began to go up. The Meadow Brook Girls followed in single file. +Miss Elting bringing up the rear. Now the guide passed the rope to +them as the ascent became more precipitous. Up and up wound the trail. +The climbers kept a firm grip on the life line, for a misstep here +would mean a bad tumble, and might take others down also. At times the +girls were out of sight of each other, like the ends of a train +rounding a sharp curve. The advice of the guide to "look up, never +down," was followed by each one. In fact, none dared to look down, +fearing to lose her head and grow dizzy. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-156"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-156.jpg" ALT="Up and up wound the trail." BORDER="2" WIDTH="381" HEIGHT="584"> +<H4> +[Illustration: Up and up wound the trail.] +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"We rest here," announced Janus, after they had been climbing for an +hour without once stopping during that time. It was not a particularly +desirable place in which to rest, being located on a steep slope, but +the spot was surrounded by bushes, so that, when all came together and +sat down, they could see nothing of the rugged mountain scenery about +them. +</P> + +<P> +"Better get out some biscuit or something to munch on, for we shan't +find a place where we can cook a meal until we get nearly to the top. +We'll have to rest hanging on by our eyelids after this," declared +Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"No more mountain climbing for me," declared Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"This is nothing," chuckled the guide. "Wait until you climb Mt. +Washington." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait until I do!" nodded Margery with emphasis. +</P> + +<P> +"That is to be our next," Miss Elting informed them. "By the time we +have finished that I think we shall be seasoned mountain climbers." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. And we'll have the habit so badly that we'll be climbing +telephone poleth every day when we get home," averred Tommy. "I withh +my father could thee me now. He wouldn't thay hith little girl wath +lathy, would he?" +</P> + +<P> +Janus got up and walked out where he could look about him. He stood +stroking his whiskers reflectively, glancing critically at the rocks +above; then along a narrow, barely indicated trail around the side of +the mountain. He turned on his heel and returned to where his party +lay stretched out on the rocks. There were rents in their clothing, +their boots were scratched and cut from contact with sharp points of +rocks, and the faces of the Meadow-Brook Girls were red and perspiring. +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon we'll go around another way," decided Janus. "It's too steep +here. You'll ruin your clothes. No need of it at all. You will get +just as much fun out of the roundabout way as by climbing straight up." +</P> + +<P> +At first the girls protested that they did not wish to take the easier +way, but when he assured them it was just as hazardous, they were +satisfied. +</P> + +<P> +"This new way we will see some scenery that is scenery, and you'll have +a chance to look at it, which you wouldn't have in the straight-up +climb. You see, you'd be too busy hanging on. I wanted to show you +the 'Slide' anyway," he added. +</P> + +<P> +"What ith the 'Thlide'?" questioned Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"You will see when you get to it; one of the curiosities of Chocorua, +and a lively one. They say the Indians used it when in a hurry to get +down the mountain or to escape from their enemies. But, mind you, I +don't expect any of you young ladies to follow the example of the +Indians. Now, shall we move along?" +</P> + +<P> +Interested in this new proposal, the girls sprang up, eagerly +announcing their readiness to push on. Janus led the way to the right, +instead of following the perpendicular trail. The former trail led +them around a jutting point of rock, then over boulders, irregular +slabs and crags, obliging them to pick their way with caution and cling +to the life line. +</P> + +<P> +They were now following a sort of spiral; for, though the party seemed +to be encircling the mountain, they were rising gradually toward the +blue dome of the summit. Here and there a mountain bird, dislodged +from its perch, would hurl itself out into space, giving the girls a +start, and threatening, for the moment, their equilibrium. But they +did much better than the guide had hoped for. Greatly to his relief, +he was not obliged to go to the rescue of a Meadow-Brook Girl that day. +</P> + +<P> +About noon, however, Margery Brown got a blister on her right heel, and +Hazel turned one of her ankles. This put an end to the mountain +climbing for the time being, but not to the hanging-on. The girls +perched themselves behind rocks for support while the guardian was +dressing the sprain and the blister. Janus went on to look over the +trail and pick out the easy places. While they were waiting for Miss +Elting to attend to Margery and Hazel, the guide returned with an +armful of dry sticks. +</P> + +<P> +"We aren't going to starve even if we can't move on," he cried +cheerily. "I promised you that you shouldn't have a warm meal until we +reached the summit this evening. I'm going to give you a surprise, +though. Now, what will you have?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think I'll have a thirloin thteak," answered Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"A cup of coffee will help me, I am sure," declared Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"I would eat the frying-pan handle if I couldn't get anything better," +added Jane. "Mountain climbing is something like work, eh?" +</P> + +<P> +Janus bolstered up his dry wood in a crotch formed by a jutting rock, +and built a fire where one would scarcely have believed it were +possible to do so. He got water from a little spring just above them, +and by the time Miss Elting had disposed of her patients for the moment +the water for coffee was boiling. But there was no setting of a table. +To have put a dish down on that slope would have meant to lose it, and +they had too few dishes to be able to afford to lose even one. +</P> + +<P> +The coffee was drunk without milk, though lumps of sugar were produced +from each girl's blouse pocket and dropped into her cup with much +laughter. They made the best of their circumstances; but when, about +the middle of the afternoon, Miss Elting informed the guide that she +did not think Hazel's ankle would permit of her going any further that +day, there was a flurry in the mountainside camp. +</P> + +<P> +The guide declared that they must go on until a suitable camping place +were reached, but how he did not say until he had consulted his +whiskers and studied the valleys below. He then gravely announced that +he would carry Hazel on his back. She promptly declared that she would +not permit it, and Miss Elting agreed with her. Then Janus rose to the +occasion by telling them that he would make a litter if one of the +young ladies thought she could bear up one end of it. Both Harriet and +Jane settled the matter by declaring they could carry the litter with +Hazel in it. +</P> + +<P> +Janus made the litter by first laying two ropes on the ground about +eighteen inches apart. On these at right angles he tied sticks until +the affair resembled a carrier belt on a piece of machinery. A loop +with a stick rove into it was arranged at each end and a blanket was +thrown over the litter, which was then pronounced ready. None of them +ever had seen anything like it. The girls feared the litter would sag +so that no one could ride on it without being dragged along the ground. +Janus said the advantage in a rope litter was that they could go around +a bend with it and not break the side pieces, and, furthermore, that it +was soft and had plenty of give. Jane winked at Harriet, Hazel looked +troubled, while Tommy's face assumed a wise expression. +</P> + +<P> +"Now for the start," called the guide, taking the front end of the +litter, after all was in readiness. "The one who takes the other end +had better not carry her pack, but lay it on the litter." +</P> + +<P> +"I prefer to have my pack on my back. I know where it is then," +remarked Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, hadn't we better strap Hazel to the litter?" proposed Jane +thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not necessary. There's no danger," declared the guide promptly. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, then," nodded Harriet. "But, Hazel, if you wish my advice, +you'll take pains to hold fast." +</P> + +<P> +The leader of the Meadow-Brook Girls lifted the loop over one shoulder, +passing it under one arm with the end stick resting slantingly across +her back. Janus took up the other end after Miss Elting had carefully +helped Hazel upon the litter, which tilted dangerously. +</P> + +<P> +"Be careful not to drop me," begged Hazel. "It's a shame I'm so +helpless that I have to be carried, though Mr. Grubb says it isn't far +to the camping spot." +</P> + +<P> +"Pick your way carefully, bearers," urged Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait! Let me get ahead of you," begged Tommy, scrambling forward. "I +don't like the lookth of that thing." Miss Elting and Jane followed +behind the litter, with which Harriet and Janus made good progress, +though Hazel had to do some clever balancing in order to keep the +affair right side up. +</P> + +<P> +For nearly half an hour the two bearers bore their burden without +halting. It proved easier work than Harriet had expected, and perhaps +that fact gave her too great assurance. The way was growing steeper +and narrower, with sharp fragments of rock on the trail, and below +them, alongside, the tops of dwarfed mountain trees. +</P> + +<P> +All at once Harriet stubbed her toe, plunging forward and tilting the +litter so that it turned turtle, like a cranky hammock. With a little +scream of alarm Hazel Holland pitched out headfirst and took a +graceful, curving dive into the top of a tree just below them. The +others saw her feet disappear in the foliage, heard a muffled cry for +assistance, then silence. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LEAVING THE TRAIL IN A HURRY +</H3> + + +<P> +Janus was pulled from his feet. He pitched sideways, saving himself by +grasping a projection with one hand; then, in his struggles to get up, +both feet became entangled in the rope litter, and there he lay kicking +and shouting to the girls to go after the unfortunate Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +Jane McCarthy already had got into action. Without an instant's +hesitation she clambered down the rocks and made her way to the base of +the mountain tree. +</P> + +<P> +"She isn't here," shouted Crazy Jane. "What do you suppose has +happened to her?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait! I'll be right with you," answered Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"She must be in the tree still," cried Miss Elting. "I hope she isn't +hurt." +</P> + +<P> +"If she were not we should hear her." Harriet was down the rocks, +reaching the bottom not more than a minute behind Jane McCarthy who was +just climbing the tree. It was not possible to see far up into the +tree on account of the dense foliage. Harriet waited at the foot while +her companion climbed it rapidly. +</P> + +<P> +"I've got her," Jane called down. "She has fainted. What shall I do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Get her down," urged Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't. She is fast." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait! I will be with you at once," called Harriet. "Will some one +bring a rope, please?" Tommy, Margery and the guardian were scrambling +down the rocks. Janus, having extricated himself from the litter, had +picked it up and was on his way down to where Hazel had fallen by +another path. +</P> + +<P> +"Consarn the luck!" he grumbled. "Can't go a mile without something +breaking loose. Never saw anything like it in all my born days. +Anything wrong there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, seriously wrong," answered Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Please send the guide up here. We can't get her out without +assistance," called down Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Janus!" The guide stepped briskly at Miss Elting's incisive command. +He shinned up the tree without loss of time. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" he muttered. +</P> + +<P> +Hazel's injured ankle had caught in a crotch of the tree. She was +lying across one of the thick lower limbs of the tree, unconscious and +with blood trickling from her face. Harriet was trying to get under +her shoulders in order to lift her up somewhat and relieve the strain. +Janus crawled up to Jane, who sat beside the unconscious girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" he exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Do something!" exploded Jane. "Do you want us to tell you what to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Miss; I know." +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me. I didn't mean to be rude. Only get Hazel out of the tree. +She must have help at once. Go down and help Harriet lift her. I'll +try to get her foot out of the crotch of the tree when you lift her off +the limb. But be careful and don't lose your hold on her." +</P> + +<P> +"If you will come here and support Hazel's shoulders I think I shall be +able to do better by lifting her at the waist," suggested Harriet. "I +am afraid you had better remain down there, Miss Elting," she called as +the guardian made ready to climb the tree; "there isn't room for all of +us. Besides, the tree might break. I don't know how strong these +limbs really are. You might have one of the girls bring a blanket. +There is one on top of the tree, but we can't get it." +</P> + +<P> +Tommy climbed back to the trail, throwing a blanket down. In the +meantime, Jane had got down and was supporting Hazel's head and +shoulders. Harriet braced herself, back and feet, against the limbs of +the tree, both arms about the waist of the imprisoned, unconscious +girl. Janus was working cautiously at the captive foot. +</P> + +<P> +"Raise her a little. Whoa! Hold her there." +</P> + +<P> +It was not an easy task for the two girls to follow orders in that +instance, but they did, their faces growing red under the strain. +Hazel was moaning. +</P> + +<P> +"Miss Elting; the smelling salts!" called Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +The guardian passed them up, Jane grasping the bottle and placing it +under Hazel's nostrils. +</P> + +<P> +"Lift a little more. That's enough." Janus was working the ankle up a +little at a time. "Can you hold her?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Tell us when you have freed the foot, please. You will have to +steady her. Hold her feet together, if possible. That will make it +easier for us. We mustn't drop her." +</P> + +<P> +"One more lift and—whoa! It's free!" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet knew that without his saying so. A sudden weight was thrown on +her arms, nearly tipping her over. Harriet's face grew red under the +strain. Glancing up, she saw that the injured foot was indeed free. +</P> + +<P> +"Let go, Jane, but watch her head to see that it doesn't get bumped." +</P> + +<P> +"You can't handle her alone, darlin'. Better let me help you," +counseled Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes I can. But be ready to catch her in case anything goes wrong. +Please don't try to help her down to me, Mr. Grubb, you'll surely throw +me over if you do," warned Harriet. "Miss Elting, you and the girls +hold a blanket to catch her if we should let her fall." +</P> + +<P> +Space was so limited in the tree that everyone up there was laboring +under great difficulties. +</P> + +<P> +"Better let me get down there," suggested Janus. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet shook her head. She was slowly righting the now half +unconscious girl, every muscle trembling under the strain she was +putting upon it. +</P> + +<P> +"Hooray!" cried Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"I swum, but she is strong," muttered Janus admiringly. "I reckon——" +He did not complete what he had started to say. A warning snap told +him that something was giving way. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet had heard and understood. She shifted her weight to one foot, +but the combined weight of the two was too much for the limb. It broke +from under her with amazing suddenness. +</P> + +<P> +"Catch us!" screamed Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +Jane grabbed frantically for Harriet and her burden as they came +crashing down. But, instead of lending assistance, Jane pulled Harriet +toward her just as the latter was reaching out one hand for a limb by +which to break the fall. She missed the limb of the tree by an inch or +so. Jane's effort threw her off her balance also. The three girls +went crashing down. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold the blanket hard!" shouted Harriet. Then, with rare presence of +mind, she let go of her burden. The object in doing this was that +Hazel might land on the upraised blanket and thus break her fall. +Harriet reasoned that she and Jane were better able to take care of +themselves than was Hazel in her half unconscious condition. Hazel +reached the blanket first, but her fall was of such force that the +blanket was jerked from the hands of Miss Elting and her two charges. +However, the blanket had served to break the fall of the unfortunate +mountain climber. +</P> + +<P> +The next instant the other two girls came tumbling down, but they fell +feet first. +</P> + +<P> +"Out of the way!" cried Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet threw herself to one side in order not to fall directly on +Hazel, whom those below had had no time to get out of the path of the +others. The result of Harriet's throwing herself sideways was that she +fell heavily on her side. She lay still. Jane came straight down, +reaching the rocks on all fours right over Hazel. The shock was a +severe one, and, for the moment, Jane feared she had broken both +wrists. Miss Elting dragged her aside, then drew Hazel from beneath +the tree. This move was made just in time, for at that juncture +something else occurred: Janus Grubb lost his footing and came crashing +down. +</P> + +<P> +Janus landed in a heap on the gray blanket. The fall stunned him +briefly. But no one gave any heed to Janus. Miss Elting, Tommy and +Margery were working over Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"Look after Harriet," directed the guardian sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my dear, are you hurt?" begged Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I don't know. My side hurts. Let me lie still a little. I—I +guess I shall be all right soon." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" grunted the guide, getting unsteadily to his feet. "I +swum!" +</P> + +<P> +Jane was sitting on the ground, a little dazed from her fall. She +stood up and leaned against the tree; then, observing that Harriet's +face was pale, she staggered over and sat down heavily beside her +friend. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, what a mess!" she groaned. "Are you hurt, darlin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"No!" Harriet sat up determinedly, but the effort gave her pain. She +winced a little, but made no sound. +</P> + +<P> +"My kingdom for a motor car!" cried Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me help you, Harriet." Harriet attempted to rise, but had to sit +down again. Jane slipped an arm about her waist and lifted the girl to +her feet. "Hadn't you better not sit down, darlin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"I feel better standing up. Hazel isn't much injured, is she, Miss +Elting?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't find that there is anything very serious. I think she must +have bumped her head in falling through the tree. She certainly has +not added to the beauty of her face." +</P> + +<P> +Hazel shook her head and essayed a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Did I fall gracefully?" she asked plaintively. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you listen to her?" laughed Jane. "You did it as gracefully as +the lady who dived from the top of a house into a tank full of water at +the county fair last year." +</P> + +<P> +"What I can't understand is why Tommy should have missed such an +opportunity to distinguish herself," smiled the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"I thtood athide tho Januth could dithtinguith himthelf," lisped Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum! I did it, too, didn't I? I'm not fit to guide a plow, +but I never found it out till I tried to pilot this outfit over the +hills." +</P> + +<P> +"Are thethe the hillth?" questioned Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Miss." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, excuthe me from the mountainth." +</P> + +<P> +"I believe my tumble has cured my sprained ankle," declared Hazel. "I +can't feel any pain at all there, except the smart where the skin is +broken. Let me put on my boot." Miss Elting slipped it on for her, +and assisted Hazel to her feet. "It is all right," cried the girl. +"Isn't that strange?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. Thome thingth make thome folkth forget thome other thingth," +observed Tommy sagely. "Have you forgotten your troubleth, Harriet?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think so, Tommy. I will race you up to the trail." +</P> + +<P> +"No; I can't rathe you up a hill, though I can fall down the hill +fathter than you can, but I will help you up." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll do all the helping," Janus informed them. "Shall I carry Miss +Holland?" +</P> + +<P> +Hazel declared that she could walk and she did, with some assistance +from Miss Elting. The others were able to take care of themselves, +though Harriet's side pained her frightfully with every step. She +uttered no complaint, pluckily keeping her distress to herself, but the +guardian knew by the expression on the girl's face that she was in pain. +</P> + +<P> +Returning to the party a brief conference was held, at which they +decided to proceed and make the "Slide" if possible before dark. There +was no possibility of getting beyond that, but on the following day it +would be necessary to make all haste, for the provisions would not hold +out for more than another day, and even then they would have to go on +short rations for the last two meals. It was a used-up party that +started for the "Slide" that afternoon. Had they but known it, they +were destined to be still more weary before they retired that night. +The excitement of the day was not by any means ended. Dusk was upon +them before they came out on more level ground and headed for the site +chosen for their camp. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +"SUCH A LOVELY SLIDE" +</H3> + + +<P> +"I believe I am tired out," declared Harriet laughingly. She sat down, +then straightened and lay at full length on the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank goodness for a level spot on which to lay one's weary bones!" +sighed Margery, stretching herself beside Harriet. There was moss over +the rocks and it felt soft and restful to their aching bodies. Hazel +was not far behind the other two girls in lying down. The little +company were quite ready to rest. +</P> + +<P> +"Girls, you mustn't lie there without blankets under you," warned the +guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"We are not going to lie here, Miss Elting," replied Harriet. "We are +going to get up at once and prepare supper for our hungry selves. Oh, +but my feet are tired!" +</P> + +<P> +"Mine weigh a ton," declared Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, I imagine they do," said Tommy with a knowing nod. +</P> + +<P> +"You can go on resting if you like, Harriet. Jane, Tommy and I can get +the supper." +</P> + +<P> +"And Janus," added the guide. "You've done finely, young ladies. I'd +like to see any young men go through a hard day as well as you have. +Why, they would have been laid out along the trail from here to Sokoki +Leap. We'd have had to send a couple of men with a stretcher to pick +some of them up. Let me tell you something. You are trotting Janus +Grubb a lively race, and he isn't ashamed to say so. Any one who says +girls haven't as much pluck and endurance as boys may have an argument +with Janus Grubb at any time." +</P> + +<P> +"Thome girlth," corrected Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, some girls. That's what I meant—you girls in particular. It's +a pity all girls don't slant in the same direction. Miss Thompson, if +you will pick out some stones for the stove I will rustle the wood. +No, not that way. I swum! You'll be down the Slide if I don't watch +you." +</P> + +<P> +"The Slide!" exclaimed the girls, turning eagerly to the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. We're at it now. Where'd you think we were?" +</P> + +<P> +"O, where is it?" questioned Harriet eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Come here, I'll show you. Everybody that's able to walk come here, so +you'll know where it is, then there won't be any excuse for your +walking into it in the dark. There!" +</P> + +<P> +All they could see was a slight depression in the rocks. It was +several feet wide, very steep and so smooth that its polished surface +reflected the light from the match that the guide lighted. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet tossed a stone over on the smooth surface. They heard it +sliding and rattling down, terminating in a faint splash. +</P> + +<P> +"My goodness! Is there water down there?" exclaimed Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a pond or a pool, whatever you wish to call it. I was telling +you about the Indians who used to take the Slide here. I know two +young fellows who took it just to be smart. One was unhurt but the +other had to be fished out of the pool. He was taken with a cramp and +almost died before they got him. But this Slide isn't a circumstance +to the one over on Moosilauke. That one is nigh to a thousand feet +long. That ends in a lake, too. I'd like to see any fresh young +gentleman take <I>that</I> slide." +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet could do it," declared Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet is not going to try it, my dear young friend," retorted +Harriet laughingly. "She has had quite enough falls to satisfy her. +Besides, she values her life, liberty and happiness." +</P> + +<P> +"How long is this slide, Mr. Grubb?" asked the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Over a hundred feet," replied the guide, measuring the distance with +his eye. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, what a lovely thlide!" bubbled Tommy. "How funny it would be to +thee Buthter toboggan down that thlide! Wouldn't that be funny, Mith +Elting?" +</P> + +<P> +"All of you keep away from here," ordered the guide. "I'll lose my +reputation if what we have already experienced gets out. Nobody will +want a guide who can't take care of his party better than I've done." +</P> + +<P> +"You aren't to blame," replied Harriet. "It has been just Meadow-Brook +luck, that is all. We always have plenty of excitement. Why, it is +tripping right along ahead of us all the time, though we do not always +catch sight of it until too late to stop. We will keep away from the +Slide until morning. I want to see it before we leave, and so do the +other girls. Maybe we might have some fun bowling stones down it. Are +there any big ones that we may roll down, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"There's a whole mountain of them." +</P> + +<P> +"Hooray!" cried Crazy Jane. "We will have a rolling bee in the +morning, and Margery and Tommy shall bring the stones for us." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. Buthter will fetch the thtoneth, too. It will be good +exerthithe for her." +</P> + +<P> +"Grace Thompson, if you don't stop making remarks about me I'll never +speak to you again as long as I live," threatened Margery. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy did not reply to this awful threat. She appeared to ponder +deeply over it, then, edging up closer to her companion, gazed up into +the latter's face with twinkling eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean that, really and truly?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I do." +</P> + +<P> +Tommy shook her head. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm tho thorry I teathed you, Buthter, but you know that you do need +exerthithe," repeated Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy!" expostulated Margery hopelessly. +</P> + +<P> +"There! You did thpeak to me! you did thpeak to me!" cried Tommy, +dancing about and clapping her hands. "You didn't mean it at all. You +thee, I knew you didn't really and truly mean it. Oh, I'm tho glad!" +She danced about until Janus laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you see where you're getting to? In a second more you'd have been +taking the Slide on your head." Janus led her away from the dangerous +spot. Miss Elting walked over to Tommy and placed a firm hand on the +shoulder of the heedless little girl. +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy, why will you be so careless? You distress me very much," +rebuked the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm thorry, Mith Elting. I'll try to be good after thith. But I +didn't fall into the tree thith afternoon, nor out of it either, did I?" +</P> + +<P> +"Her point is well taken," answered Harriet. "Nearly every one of us, +except Tommy, distinguished herself this afternoon. How about our +supper?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh-h-h-h!" chorused the girls. "We forgot all about it." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, Mr. Januth. I'll fetch the thtoneth for the thtove. You get +the wood, and we will have a nithe, warm thupper and have a nithe +vithit, and then a nithe thleep and pleathant dreamth. Won't we, +Buthter?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you give us the opportunity," answered Margery sourly. +</P> + +<P> +"Thee! Buthter thpoke to me again," chuckled the little, lisping girl. +Harriet took her by the arm and led her gently back to the campsite, +which was now so enshrouded in darkness that they were barely able to +locate their packs. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet assisted Tommy in getting stones of the proper size for their +stove, after which these stones were piled and made ready for the fire +that the guide was to start when he returned with the wood. Little +more could be done without light. Hazel got the lantern from a pack, +only to find that the globe had been broken. Very soon, however, the +cook-fire was snapping and crackling, the girls sitting near it with +elbows on their knees. Then came supper. It was wonderful what a +difference there was in their appetites, now that they were out in the +open, compared to them at home. But there was not as much to eat here +as there would have been at home in Meadow-Brook. What there was +seemed the best ever served to a company of hungry girls. +</P> + +<P> +Supper over, it was not many minutes before the girls sought their +beds. They were more tired than at any time on their journey, for this +had been a day long to be remembered, the fifteenth. They would post +it up in their rooms to look at every day through the winter and think +of the excitement, the peril and the joys that marked that day of their +vacation. +</P> + +<P> +The girls rolled themselves in their blankets, Indian fashion, as +before mentioned. They were beginning to enjoy this way of sleeping, +wrapped up like mummies, feeling warm and comfortable in the soft +blankets. No one who has not tried this method of sleeping in the open +in cool weather can have the slightest idea of the blissfulness of it. +Of course, if there are insects they will find one. There were insects +on Chocorua and they found the Meadow-Brook Girls, creeping over their +faces, getting into their hair, but failing to find their way under the +tightly rolled blankets. The girls were as wholly oblivious to the +insects as to the chattering squirrels that leaped from one rolled +figure to another, then off up the rocks, only to return again and take +up their game of "leap" over the sleeping Meadow-Brook Girls. +</P> + +<P> +The day had no more than dawned when Tommy was awake, unrolling +herself, but taking the precaution to see where the unrolling would +land her. She had not forgotten her experience at Sokoki Leap, or the +fall from the shelf into space. This ground was fairly level and there +were no jumping-off places, except the Slide. She was not rolling in +that direction. Freeing herself, Tommy shook Margery awake, then began +calling her companions. Janus sat up, took account of the time and lay +back for another nap. +</P> + +<P> +"Januth ith taking hith beauty thleep," observed Tommy wisely. +</P> + +<P> +Margery complained at being called so early; but when Tommy told her +they were going to skip stones down the Slide, Buster was all eagerness +to be up and at it. The girls did not even take the time to wash their +faces, but ran to the Slide and gazed timidly down its slippery way. +</P> + +<P> +"Come on. Let'th get thome thtoneth," urged Grace. She uttered a +merry shout as the first round stone rolled down the Slide, bumping +from side to side, finally landing with a splash in the pond, sending +up a little white geyser of spray. Buster also began to take a more +active interest in life. She, too, shouted as she sent a fair-sized +boulder spinning down the incline. +</P> + +<P> +"My, what a racket!" cried Jane. "Harriet, shall we go join the game?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am getting ready as fast as I can. You had better remain quiet for +a time yet, Hazel." +</P> + +<P> +Hazel said she would. Miss Elting also lay gazing up at the sky, +following with her eyes the flight of the birds, many of which, high in +the air, were soaring toward the east to meet the coming of the day. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet picked up a boulder on her way to the Slide, and, reaching +there, sent it spinning with the wrist movement peculiar to bowlers. +The boulder skipped some rods out into the pond far below them before +it sank under the water and disappeared, leaving a white trail in its +wake. +</P> + +<P> +"I can do that," declared Tommy Thompson. +</P> + +<P> +Janus unwound himself from his blanket and stood with his hands in +pockets, observing the jolly party. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't lean over too far forward when you throw," warned Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"You jutht watch me. I'm going to make thith one thkip clear acroth +the pond. Here it goeth. Oh, what a lovely Thlide!" +</P> + +<P> +In her excitement, Tommy leaped to the end of the slippery course, +jumping up and down. In her left hand she held another round stone +ready to send it after the previous throw before the latter should have +reached the pond. Margery was standing at hand ready to send hers down. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out!" warned Harriet, who saw the danger of Grace's position. +"Get back instantly!" Both she and Jane started on a run, fearing the +result of Tommy's imprudence. But they were too late. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy Thompson's feet slipped from under her. With a scream she +plunged head first to the Slide, starting down it on her stomach. +</P> + +<P> +"Catch her!" screamed Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Margery made a frantic effort to do so. Then her feet, too, went out +from under her, but in making a desperate attempt to recover her +balance, Margery turned completely around, landing on her back on the +slippery Slide. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold your breath," screamed Harriet, starting to run again, for she +had halted instinctively as she saw the two girls lose their footing. +Jane followed. Janus stood fairly paralyzed with amazement. It had +all come about with such suddenness that he had had no time in which to +collect his thoughts. When he did, he uttered a yell. +</P> + +<P> +"Come back!" he roared. +</P> + +<P> +But the two girls were past coming back for the time being. The third +girl, Harriet Burrell, was running toward the upper end of the Slide, +having made a short detour to enable her to get exactly in line with +it. Now she raised herself on her tiptoes, at the same time bending +over and taking a low, shooting leap, dived headfirst to the Slide, +down which she shot at a dizzy rate of speed. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, she'll be killed!" Crazy Jane halted at the top, gazed down the +long, slippery rock, then plumped herself down on the Slide in a +sitting posture. She was on her way before she found time to change +her mind. When she did change her mind it did her no good, so far as +changing the situation was concerned. A procession of Meadow-Brook +Girls was well started on a perilous journey, the result of which could +not be foreseen by the three members of the party left in the camp. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WHAT CAME OF SHOOTING THE CHUTE +</H3> + + +<P> +Miss Elting had begun to unwind herself the instant her attention had +been called to Grace Thompson's perilous position at the head of the +chute. Hazel Holland also had rolled over to free herself of the +blankets. But before either of them had succeeded in getting to her +feet, Tommy had taken the long dive, followed, as the reader already +knows, by Margery, and later by Harriet Burrell and Jane McCarthy. +</P> + +<P> +"They'll be killed! Oh, those girls!" wailed the guardian. "Go after +them, Janus." +</P> + +<P> +"They are quite likely to be," observed the guide huskily. "I can go +after them, but I can't stop them. There they are." +</P> + +<P> +They heard the splash—in fact, several distinct splashes—faint, it is +true, but sufficient to tell those in the camp that the girls had +reached their destination, the pond at the foot of the Slide. Janus +already was racing down the mountain, jumping, stumbling, falling now +and then, but making his way down as rapidly as possible. +</P> + +<P> +"Remain here, Hazel," commanded Miss Elting. Then she, too, hurried +down, making even better time than did the guide, for the guardian was +more agile and much lighter on her feet. +</P> + +<P> +Fortunately for Tommy, she had been headed straight along the center of +the Slide from the beginning. The chute sloped somewhat toward the +middle. Tommy had instinctively kept her head up, arms thrust straight +ahead of her. She began gasping for breath, and, either obeying +Harriet's direction or the instinct of the swimmer, she closed her lips +tightly and held her breath. Her little body flashed through a thick +growth of bushes that hung over the chute at one point. She had seen +the bushes coming at her like a projectile and instinctively lowered +her head before reaching them. But she quickly raised her head again, +uttering an exclamation, as the skin was neatly peeled from the bridge +of her nose. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, thave me!" groaned Tommy, as the pond rose up to meet her. She +caught and held her breath. When she struck the water a sheet of it +rose up on each side of her just as the water does at the launching of +a steamship, only there was much less displacement in Tommy's case. To +her amazement she skimmed along the surface a few feet before she began +to settle. Unfortunately, at about that time Tommy opened her mouth +for a breath of fresh air. Instead she got a mouthful of water. She +began to kick and struggle. +</P> + +<P> +Down went Tommy, still struggling and kicking and striking out blindly, +for the girl had not yet recovered from the shock. It was while she +was down that another girlish figure shot straight into the lake. +Instead of skimming the surface this second figure came down on her +back with a mighty splash, turned a half-somersault, landing on her +feet, where she stood treading water and screaming. +</P> + +<P> +Now a third figure shot down the chute. It took the water in a clean +dive, going clear under, passing close by where Margery was treading +water and screaming for help. When Harriet finally did come up, +shaking the water from eyes and head, she was seen to be only a few +feet from Grace, who now was making a great splashing on her way to the +opposite shore. Tommy could not speak as yet, but she could swim, and +swim she did. +</P> + +<P> +Observing that Tommy was not in immediate need of assistance, Harriet +turned back toward Margery, who plainly was expending her strength +without accomplishing very much. Harriet was just in time to see Jane +McCarthy sit down in the pond. She made a great disturbance, added to +which was a wild yell as she felt the water rising about her. Jane +went into the water over her head. Margery, seized by a panic, forgot +to tread water and went clear to the bottom. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet, still gasping for breath from her long slide and the dive +under water following, plunged ahead and dived again. She came up with +the struggling, choking Buster firmly gripped in one hand. Margery was +trying to grasp Harriet, and the latter was experiencing some +difficulty in keeping out of her clutches. Tommy, in the meantime, had +reached the other side of the pond and crawled up on the shore, where +she lay complaining to herself, watching the struggle in the water with +wide-open eyes. Now and then she shouted a suggestion. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my stars!" cried Jane. Coming up, she splashed about in the pond +trying to get her bearings. Then, seeing Harriet's struggle with +Margery, Jane headed for them in a series of porpoise-like lunges. The +last reach brought a hand in contact with one of Margery's feet. Jane +gave it a mighty tug. "Put her under, put her under! That'll stop +her!" shouted Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Let go, Jane," called Harriet. "She is all right now. She has her +bearings now. Let us see if she has forgotten how to swim." Harriet +threw Margery off. The latter splashed and floundered in the cold +water, then all at once struck off for the shore. She reached it and +scrambled to the bank, up which she staggered and sank whimpering to +the earth. +</P> + +<P> +Jane and Harriet swam shoreward. Jane was laughing almost +hysterically. Though she felt chilled and exhausted, Harriet's eyes +twinkled. The two struggled to the bank, there to sit down laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you safe?" shouted Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Hoo-e-e-e!" answered the two girls. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you all right, Tommy?" Harriet next called across the pond. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, but I'm <I>almotht</I> wet and cold. My clothes are thoaked, and +there are ithicleth hanging from my eyebrowth. Thomebody better thave +me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come over here," proposed Harriet, teasingly, "and we will." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't," Tommy replied, with a shake of her head. "Too many +thraight, high rockth in the way." +</P> + +<P> +"Swim across, darlin'," urged Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Can't do that either, the water ith too cold." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you'll have to stay where you are," laughed Jane. "If you get +hungry, come over and I'll give you a biscuit to take back there with +you." +</P> + +<P> +"Girls, I feel so relieved," cried Miss Elting, running down to join +them. "But why did you do such a foolish thing?" +</P> + +<P> +"We came after Tommy," replied Miss McCarthy. "If that were foolish, +we apologize." +</P> + +<P> +"Tommy," ordered Miss Elting, "come here!" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't," complained the little one. +</P> + +<P> +"We'll have to go after her," sighed Harriet, "or the little goose will +stay there. Miss Elting, how would you like to take a nice, cool +morning swim?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, thank you," replied the guardian, with a little shiver. "Here is +Janus. You see that my girls are all valiant, Mr. Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +There was a note of pride in the guardian's voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" was the guide's greeting. "Ye did do it!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir; and I shouldn't mind doing it again. Oh, it was such sport, +Miss Elting. Please, may we go up and have another slide?" begged +Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, goodness, yes. Please let us," urged Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"By no means. I am amazed that you should ask such a thing. I forbid +it. Please get Tommy, if you are going to. She will stay there as +long as we will wait here. I really don't know what I am going to do +with Tommy." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish you would do something, Miss Elting. She surely will be the +death of me. Think of me, with my weak heart, having to submit to such +terribly exciting adventures," complained Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Just listen to Buster," chuckled Crazy Jane. "We must be so very +careful of her." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I suppose we might as well get in if we are going to," decided +Harriet. "We can't be any wetter than we are, Jane." +</P> + +<P> +"But we can be colder. All right. I'm with you." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet dived in to get the shock over, coming up blowing. A splash +followed hers and Jane came up beside her, shaking the water from her +head and ears. +</P> + +<P> +"My, but it's cold, isn't it, darlin'," she gasped. +</P> + +<P> +"Cold as a snowbank," answered Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll race you to the other side." +</P> + +<P> +"Go you! Now!" +</P> + +<P> +How the water did fly as they struck out in overhand strokes, shouting +and laughing, cheered on by Miss Elting and Margery, on the other side +by the irrepressible Tommy, who was dancing up and down on the shore, +shouting and clapping her hands in great glee! The swimmers landed, +laughing merrily as they made for shore. But they did not wait to +argue with Tommy. Instead they picked her up bodily and tossed her +into the pond. Tommy screamed and tried to fight, but she had little +opportunity for resistance before she went in with a splash. +</P> + +<P> +They sprang in after her, pulling the girl down, she having got to her +feet in the meantime. +</P> + +<P> +"Swim! swim, or we will hold your head under!" threatened Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy refused to swim. +</P> + +<P> +"Grab her foot. We'll tow her," commanded Harriet. Suiting the action +to the word, she grasped one of Tommy's ankles, and throwing herself on +her back began to swim with feet and free arm for the opposite side of +the pond. +</P> + +<P> +"Hooray!" cried Jane, making a couple of leaps forward, and getting a +firm hold of the other ankle of the now loudly screaming Tommy. "Toot, +toot! The tug is going ahead. How do you like being towed, darlin'?" +</P> + +<P> +Tommy's yells indicated that she did not fancy it, especially being +towed feet first. Her head went under water almost instantly. Tommy +was obliged to help herself or drown. She began working her arms, +trying to keep her head above water, but found it awkward swimming that +way. She never had tried the feet first style of swimming. No one of +the party ever had, except Harriet, who could make very good progress +that way. +</P> + +<P> +"Hold your breath, dear," suggested Harriet sweetly. "You will not +swallow so much water that way." +</P> + +<P> +"How—how long must I hold it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not more than five minutes," comforted Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Thave——" She did not complete the sentence, because a volume of +water rolled into her open mouth. +</P> + +<P> +They had nearly reached the middle of the pond, when Harriet stopped +swimming. +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid we shall have to turn her around. Tommy will persist in +opening her mouth. We mustn't drown her," said Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +Jane righted their tow with a jerk. +</P> + +<P> +"Those girls, those girls!" muttered Miss Elting, turning a laughing +face to Janus Grubb. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" he answered, nodding. "Never saw such a bunch of +girls. Are they always like they have been this time?" +</P> + +<P> +"Always," chuckled the guardian. "Usually more so." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"Will you swim, or will you drown?" demanded Jane of Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll thwim, I'll thwim," answered Tommy chokingly. "I think you are +horrid to treat me tho. I'll be even with you." +</P> + +<P> +Jane started for her. Tommy got into instant action, and how she did +swim! Harriet and Jane were much faster swimmers than was Tommy, but +they pretended to have difficulty in keeping up with her and lagged +behind until their shoulders were even with the kicking feet of the +little, lisping girl. Then they began grabbing at her ankles, drawing +fresh shouts and protests from Tommy. They teased her all the way to +the shore, up which Tommy staggered and ran to Miss Elting for +protection. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't make me all wet," objected the guardian, leaping back out of the +way. +</P> + +<P> +Tommy sat down and whimpered. Jane and Harriet picked her up, placing +her on a seat made of their four hands, and started up the mountainside +with their burden. +</P> + +<P> +"We aren't afraid of getting wet, are we, Jane?" laughed Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Not this morning, we are not, darlin'," chuckled Jane. But they did +not carry Tommy far. She decided that she would walk, fearing they +were planning some trick on her. She had no desire to be dumped off on +a steep place as Hazel had been. The girls clambered up the +mountainside laughing over their mishaps of the morning, and ran +bounding into camp far ahead of Miss Elting and the guide. They found +Hazel very much excited over something that had occurred in the camp +during their absence. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FACED BY A FRESH MYSTERY +</H3> + + +<P> +There were serious expressions on the faces of the Meadow-Brook Girls +when Miss Elting and the guide came in. Miss Elting saw at once that +something was amiss. She demanded to know what it was. +</P> + +<P> +"Hazel saw something that frightened her," answered Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Saw something?" repeated the guardian, looking from one girl to the +other. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell it," urged Harriet, nodding to Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"I was watching for you and the girls when I thought I heard something +behind me. I looked around but saw nothing unusual. But I had a +feeling that some one was about. I walked to the other end of the camp +and back. I saw no one—nothing, I hadn't thought to look up. +Something made me do so just then and I saw it." +</P> + +<P> +"Saw what?" demanded the guardian and the guide in chorus. +</P> + +<P> +"A man." +</P> + +<P> +"You did?" exclaimed Janus. "Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"He was behind those green bushes that you see up there—Oh, he has +gone. No need to go up there now, Mr. Grubb." Janus had begun to +climb the rocks. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Please wait and hear the rest of the story," ordered Miss +Elting, who was deeply interested, but apparently undisturbed. "What +sort of looking man was he, Hazel?" +</P> + +<P> +"He wore a long, black beard, and—" +</P> + +<P> +"You are positive of this?" interrupted Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. I saw him plainly. That is, I saw his head and shoulders. The +rest of his body was hidden behind the bushes. I was going to cry out, +but I knew you couldn't hear me. There was too much noise down there, +so I just stood still." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he speak to you?" asked Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"No. I spoke to him. I asked him what he wanted. He did not reply. +Instead, he dodged behind the bushes and ran. I could see, from the +movement of the bushes to the right there, that he was getting away +very rapidly." +</P> + +<P> +"Did the man wear green goggles?" asked the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir. He wore no glasses." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not. We've got the green goggles," broke in Jane. "But the +whiskers! Our enemy wore whiskers, didn't he?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you make of this, Mr. Grubb?" questioned Miss Elting, eyeing +Janus sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Can't make anything of it. Might be most anybody. A good many +persons up in these parts wear whiskers." Janus stroked his own +reflectively. "And then again, a good many more do not, so I don't see +that his whiskers prove much. Wish I might have seen him. If you +don't mind I'll go up there now and see what I can find." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet said she would accompany him and assist in the search. +</P> + +<P> +"You couldn't recognize in him the man we saw on the station platform +at Compton the night of our arrival, could you, Hazel?" asked the +guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no. I don't believe it was the same person at all." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we are no wiser than before, except that it behooves us to keep +our eyes open. If that man has followed us into the mountains we shall +hear more of him. Do you find anything up there, Harriet?" +</P> + +<P> +"We find where he has broken down some bushes, but that is all. No +footprints. I might possibly pick up his trail, but over the rocks +there would be slight chance of running it down." +</P> + +<P> +"I couldn't permit it," was Miss Elting's decisive reply. "Come down. +Jane, will you please start the fire? We will have breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yeth, we haven't had breakfatht yet," piped Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"Nor have you dried your clothes. Every one of you except Hazel is wet +to the skin." +</P> + +<P> +Jane had brought some dry sticks by the time the guide and Harriet +returned. Janus got more, realizing the condition of his party, and +wishing to build up a fire that would dry their wet clothing. The +girls had no changes of clothing with them. They would be obliged to +continue to wear their wet dresses until these had dried. +</P> + +<P> +A hot fire proved a welcome relief. The girls gathered about it, +turning frequently in order to give their clothing an opportunity to +dry. It was not long before the steam rose from their rapidly drying +garments. They laughed and joked over their condition. Miss Elting +was more serious. She held a low-voiced conversation with Janus while +he was getting the breakfast. Janus insisted that he had not the +faintest idea that he had an enemy. At least he knew of no one who +would commit the acts that had been committed since the party started +out from Compton on their journey through the White Mountains. +</P> + +<P> +The girls' wet clothing was almost dry when they were called to +breakfast. This meal was late on this particular morning, for good and +sufficient reason, but the girls did not complain about this. What +they did complain of was their bedraggled condition. They laid their +trouble on this occasion directly at the door of Tommy Thompson. Tommy +was undisturbed. She expressed her pleasure, however, that her +companions had also received a wetting, and uncharitably hoped they +would fall in every time she did. +</P> + +<P> +During breakfast they discussed their situation, finally deciding to +push on as soon after the meal as possible. The guide said they would +feel dry and warm soon after starting on their way. He thought they +would be better off on the move than sitting about the fire. Hazel had +now fully recovered from the effects of her fall. Harriet's side still +gave her pain, but she, too, felt that the best thing for her would be +plenty of exercise. +</P> + +<P> +That forenoon she insisted on carrying Hazel's pack, and did more real +work on the trail than any other girl of the party. They were above +the timber line, though there was little timber below it, the side of +the mountain having been fire-swept long before that. The only green +to be seen immediately about them were the blue-berry bushes and +similar mountain vegetation that flourished in the crevices of the +rocks. +</P> + +<P> +It was early in the afternoon when they emerged on the summit of the +mountain and gazed off over its gray top, that, flanked by other domes +of the Sandwich range, reminded one of the past ages and the +fascinating legends of the Sokokis. The summit was rough and rugged, +though devoid of big boulders such as are usually to be found in +similar locations. +</P> + +<P> +"You are now three thousand five hundred feet in the air," announced +the guide, rather proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"Ith that what maketh Buthter tho uppithh thith afternoon?" questioned +Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"It may be what makes you so light-headed," retorted Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"There! Now, will you be good?" jeered Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth. That wath a good one. Too bad you don't thay thomething bright +every day. Think what a lot more fun we would have, Buthter." +</P> + +<P> +An hour was spent strolling about the summit, looking off at the +magnificent scenery which stretched on all sides of them. +</P> + +<P> +A cup of coffee apiece was made and drunk, but fire-making material was +so scarce that no attempt was made to cook a meal. About mid-afternoon +the party was called to attention and directed to shoulder their packs +preparatory to their long tramp down the mountain side to the Shelter, +where fresh clothing and food awaited them. They left the summit with +regret. Harriet said she would give a great deal to see a sunrise from +there. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait for Mt. Washington," answered Janus. "I shan't tell you anything +about it, but, once you are there, you will be glad you decided to +climb it." +</P> + +<P> +Instead of climbing down over the rocks the party took what is known +among mountaineers as a "tote trail," a narrow pathway generally used +for packing stuff into the mountains on the backs of human beings. +This "tote trail" was a winding trail full of twists and turns and +surprises, now appearing to end at some high precipice, then creeping +around the corner of a huge jutting rock, but ever dropping and +dropping farther and farther away from the summit and nearer to the +"Shelter," which was their destination on this occasion. +</P> + +<P> +Twilight was upon them again before they reached the main tourist +trail. It was now late in the season. Not a human being had they seen +since starting out to climb Mt. Chocorua except for Hazel's discovery +of the strange man whom she had caught spying on their camp at the +"Slide." The memory of that face still lingered in mind, nor had the +incident been forgotten by any member of the party. They wondered what +the next surprise would be. They were destined to know within a very +short time. +</P> + +<P> +Walking was good by this time and the remaining distance to the +"Shelter" was covered at a greater rate of speed. Janus swung to the +right, then to the left, and behold, the little hut stood darkly before +them! +</P> + +<P> +"Here we are," called the guide cheerily, striding over and throwing +open the door. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE STORY THE LIGHT TOLD +</H3> + + +<P> +"Strike a light, if you please," requested the guardian, as Janus stood +holding the door of the hut open for his charges to enter. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll have a light directly," returned the guide, applying a lighted +match to the hanging lamp with its smoke-dimmed chimney. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, isn't it nice and cosy in here?" sighed Margery contentedly, +dropping down on a bench. Unslinging her heavy pack, she let it fall +to the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"What about supper?" was Janus's first question. +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, that ith what I thay," approved Tommy. "Buthter would thay tho, +too, only thhe is afraid I'll teathe her about eating." +</P> + +<P> +"Afraid of you!" exclaimed Margery disgustedly. "Well, I guess not." +</P> + +<P> +During this passage at arms Janus was making an industrious hunt for a +frying-pan. He opened one of the packs that had been left behind, +thrust one hand inside, then paused, a look of astonishment on his +honest face, underneath the frown that wrinkled his weather-beaten +forehead. For a few seconds the bewildered guide stared stupidly at +the object he had taken from the pack. The girls were busy undoing +their tote-packs, so they failed to heed what he was doing until his +peculiar attitude finally attracted their attention. +</P> + +<P> +Janus thrust his hand in again, but the result was no less discouraging. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" he grumbled. "I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"So you've said before," smiled Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"Anything wrong?" asked the guardian, glancing up from her own pack, +the contents of which were spread out on the floor before her. +</P> + +<P> +The guide "swum" again. Miss Elting paused in her work, turning to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Januth ith troubled," observed Tommy wisely. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" demanded the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it? It's a rock, Miss." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +For answer he held out on the palm of one hand a chunk of granite, the +while surveying it ruefully. Miss Elting took and examined the rock, +then directed a look of inquiry at Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't understand," she said, with a rising inflection on the last +word. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum! no more do I!" he exploded. "Will you look into that +pack and see what you find? Maybe I can't see straight this evening. +Maybe I can't." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet ran to the pack he had indicated and peered into it. She +uttered an exclamation, loosened the rest of the binding ropes and +turned the contents out on the floor of the Shelter. Exclamations of +amazement fell from the lips of the Meadow-Brook Girls. Instead of the +supplies that had originally been stowed in the pack, a choice +assortment of stones, chunks of granite, small hardheads and pebbles +rolled out on the floor. They were speechless for the moment. Janus +tugged nervously at his beard, too thoroughly astonished for speech. +</P> + +<P> +"I gueth thomebody hath been throwing thtoneth at uth," observed Tommy +Thompson. "I wonder who liketh uth tho much that he wanth to knock our +headth off?" +</P> + +<P> +"Open the other packs," directed Miss Elting calmly. +</P> + +<P> +They did so, but with the same results. Each pack was filled with +stones, and, in some instances, pieces of wood, parts of limbs of +trees, dirt, shale and the like. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my stars, what a mess!" cried Crazy Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you not say that our equipment was perfectly safe here?" demanded +Miss Elting, turning sharply on the guide. +</P> + +<P> +"I—I thought it was, Miss." +</P> + +<P> +"Then how do you explain this?" she asked with a comprehensive wave of +the hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't explain it. I swum! I don't know what to think about it. I +wish I could get my hands on the scoundrel." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting sat down to think. "It is plain that we have been followed +into the mountains. The man whom Hazel saw at the 'Slide' undoubtedly +is the one who has been causing us all the trouble. He may have been +hovering about us all the time, we knowing nothing about it. I am +afraid we aren't very clever, girls. We have allowed our enemy to +outwit us." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe he has, Miss Elting," replied Harriet. "If so, he has +been watching us from a distance. We surely should have discovered if +the man had come close to our camp." +</P> + +<P> +"It must have been the man that Hazel saw, and I believe he was the one +who dropped the green goggles," was Harriet's emphatic declaration. "I +wonder what his grievance is?" +</P> + +<P> +"All our stuff gone; we'll have to go back, won't we?" mourned Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"We have our luggage, but that is some distance from here," replied the +guardian. "How long will it take us to get to our supplies, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"A day, or a day and a half, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we had better go for them to-morrow morning. We can do nothing +more this evening. But—what are we to do for food?" +</P> + +<P> +"We have a little. We have some coffee and a spoonful of rice. That's +enough. We can live another twenty-four hours or so on that. I'll fix +up something now. Maybe there's something in a cache back of the hut. +I'll see." To their delight, Janus returned, not long after that, with +a small sack of flour and one of corn meal. It did not take the girls +long to start a fire in the small cook stove. They threw open the +windows, the "Shelter" warming up very quickly. +</P> + +<P> +The girls began work at once, Janus showing them how to make the kind +of corn cakes that are popular with the mountain guides in the White +Mountain range. All the time Harriet Burrell was thinking intently +over their situation and the loss of the supplies. She was considering +the perplexing problems from different viewpoints, with a view toward +solving them. +</P> + +<P> +"What did the thief do with our supplies?" she demanded, turning to the +guide. +</P> + +<P> +"Probably took them away with him. That's the way thieves usually do. +Otherwise, what's the use in stealing?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think so, sir. I do not believe this thief took the stuff +because he wanted it, but rather to make you trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe, maybe. It's all the same thing." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, sir; it isn't, not if he did not carry the stuff away with +him. If he did not carry it away with him, what could he have done +with it?" She regarded Mr. Grubb inquiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"I swum! I don't know," declared Janus, looking deeply puzzled. +</P> + +<P> +"Nor do I, but I propose to find out. Is there such a thing as a +lantern here, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +He shook his head. "Better leave off everything else till we get some +food. There's the coffee pot on the steps outside, where I put it, but +the cream is all gone. We'll have to drink our coffee black." +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, and thtay awake all night," averred Tommy. "But we don't care. +We are used to thtaying awake all night, aren't we, Jane?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, darlin', we are," agreed Jane brightly. "But I'm wishing I might +lay violent hands on the rogue who took our belongings. Where is that +Mr. Sheriff for whom you sent to come and catch our friend of the green +goggles and the black whiskers, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +"He'll be along in good time," replied the guide, stroking his own +whiskers while regarding with squinting eyes the progress of the supper +under the deft fingers of the Meadow-Brook Girls. "Here! Let me do +that. I reckon I can be finishing the supper while you young ladies +get ready. There's a barrel of rain water just back of the hut where +you can wash. You look as though you needed it—no offense intended." +</P> + +<P> +A merry laugh greeted the words of Janus Grubb. The girls agreed that +they <I>did</I> need it. Their clothing was not in very good condition, +either, but nothing could be done with the garments until they reached +a spot where they could change them for fresh apparel. The girls ran +out laughing, and a moment later were heard splashing in the rain +barrel. They came in with dripping faces to get their towels, then, +running out again, rubbed their faces until their cheeks glowed +underneath their tan. Tommy's freckles were now more pronounced than +ever, but her usually pale face wore a healthy look and her eyes were +bright and sparkling. +</P> + +<P> +Supper was late that evening, nor was it a heavy supper when at last +they sat down on the benches in the "Shelter" with their cups and their +corn cakes beside them, but they were as happy a party of girls as if +sitting at a table laden with good things and sparkling with cut glass +and silver. There were health and good-fellowship here; and there also +was the pride of achievement, for these young girls had accomplished a +great deal during the time they had been living their out-of-door life. +They made merry over their scanty supper and finished with satisfied +appetites. +</P> + +<P> +After supper Harriet asked the guide to prepare some torches, saying +she wished to look about to see if she could find anything. Janus said +there was no wood at hand fit for torches. No wood, no +lantern—nothing save the smoky old lamp in the "Shelter," and very +little oil in that. Janus said there had been a can of oil there a +week before that, but that some one must have carried it off, can and +all. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll hold the light for you if you want to dig," he offered. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, please do that," urged Harriet. "I know where I wish to look. +If you will hold the light out there on the edge of that bank of rocks +I will go below. It is such a convenient place to throw things. +Tommy, look out that you don't throw your dishes over when you go out. +I think I will just wash that chimney before we go any further." +</P> + +<P> +"Whatever you do don't drop it!" exclaimed Miss Elting. "We cannot get +along without the lamp." +</P> + +<P> +"We can build up a fire outside, if necessary. I rather think that +would be a better idea still. What do you say, Mr. Grubb?" +</P> + +<P> +Janus consulted his whiskers, then decided that the idea was an +excellent one. He said he would go out and get some fuel for the fire, +and did so. While he was thus engaged, Harriet cleaned the lamp +chimney, Miss Elting hung canvas over the glassless windows and the +other girls washed and put away the few dishes that had been used. A +fine, large fire was started on the ledge of rock that extended out +from the "Shelter" to a drop-off of some twenty feet. Harriet was very +much interested in the fire that night. Then, after it was well +started, she walked to the edge, and, with her back to the flames, +peered down. +</P> + +<P> +All at once she started to run down the path to the left. She called +to Jane to come with her. They had to clamber over some rough ground +in order to reach a point below the hut. The light from the fire made +the shadows dance down there. +</P> + +<P> +"I saw something glisten down here," explained Miss Burrell. "I am +certain it was a tin can. Wouldn't it be fine were we to find our +canned supplies down here, Jane?" +</P> + +<P> +"Then it is fine, for here's the very thing you were looking for." The +Irish girl stooped, then held up a tin can. Harriet uttered a little +exclamation and reached for it. "But it's empty," chuckled Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, fudge! Some one has thrown it over. Other picnic parties have +been up here. Besides, this is not one of our cans. But that doesn't +mean we shan't find any of our own. Look hard, Jane." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm looking hard, so hard that my eyes ache," replied Jane dryly. An +instant later she cried out, "Will you look at that?" +</P> + +<P> +Harriet was at her side in a couple of seconds from the uttering of +that cry. Then she, too, raised her voice in a shout that called her +companions from the hut. Miss Elting came out carrying the lamp. +Janus took it from her, and, standing on the very edge in the full +light of the campfire, held the lamp above his head and peered down. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" cried the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"We have found our canned stuff and a whole lot of our equipment," +answered Harriet triumphantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Hooee-e-e-e!" shouted the Meadow-Brook Girls in great glee. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait! I'll be down there to help you gather it up," Janus called down +to them. +</P> + +<P> +"Get the packs, girls," ordered Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +Then there came an interruption that startled the girls into silence. +Something sped through the air over their heads, uttering a strange, +weird woo-woo-woo! It passed, followed by a distant report, the crack +of a rifle. Then, all at once, the lamp that Janus Grubb was holding +above his head crumbled into nothingness, the oil in the well of the +lamp streaming down over the guide's head and face. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SEEKING A DESPERATE REVENGE +</H3> + + +<P> +"Lie down!" bellowed Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"Down!" commanded Miss Elting, in the same moment. +</P> + +<P> +Janus moved more quickly than they ever had seen him do before. They +did not think him capable of such rapid action. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out below!" he roared, as, with a series of rapid kicks, he sent +the burning sticks of the campfire tumbling over the edge into the +little ravine below the "Shelter." +</P> + +<P> +"Get out of the light! Come up here as fast as ye can! Into the hut +with ye, every one!" Janus sprang from the rock and ran down the path +toward Harriet and Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter now?" demanded Jane, who did not understand. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," answered Harriet, herself a little startled. "I heard +a gun fired twice. Can it be that some one is shooting at us? Oh, I +hope not. But we must get out of here! Mr. Grubb, is that you?" she +called, hearing some one floundering toward them. +</P> + +<P> +"It's Grubb. Get out of that." +</P> + +<P> +"What has happened?" begged Harriet, hurrying to meet the guide, who +came on a run to where they stood. +</P> + +<P> +"Enough! Did you hear the shots?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, one of them snipped the lamp. I'm greased from head to foot. +The scoundrel!" +</P> + +<P> +"But—but perhaps they were not intended for you, Mr. Grubb," suggested +Jane breathlessly. +</P> + +<P> +"They were intended for me, all right. No mistake about that, young +ladies. Now, I want you to get into that shack on the double quick. I +haven't a rifle, but I have a revolver that's good enough to take care +of anything that gets close enough. Don't make too much noise; there +might be another shot." +</P> + +<P> +"I think not, if we do not start any more fires. I have an idea that +the shots were intended for you, Mr. Grubb, not for us. If so, the man +will not shoot again in the dark, fearing to hit one of us." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" grunted the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet's guess seemed very plausible. He led them quickly up the +path, and, reaching the top, hurried them into the cabin. Janus got +his revolver, and, after loading it, slipped some extra cartridges into +a pocket. "I don't want anybody to come out again to-night," he +ordered. "You go to sleep, when you get ready, and I'll sit outside to +watch for the rascal in case he comes prowling around later." +</P> + +<P> +"Spread your blankets on the floor and sit down," directed Miss Elting. +"I don't think we are quite ready for bed yet. We do not know but +there may be more shots, though we aren't going to be afraid, are we, +girls?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, we are not, Miss Elting. Why should we be? Being afraid doesn't +help us one little bit." +</P> + +<P> +So the girls seated themselves on their blankets, and in low tones +talked over the series of mysterious occurrences that had marred an +otherwise happy journey to the mountains. They wondered what wrong +their enemy might feel had been done him to make him thus vengeful. +The girls did quite believe that the man of the green goggles, Miss +Elting's caller, was either directly or indirectly concerned in the +various mysteries, but that was as far as they could go toward a +solution. +</P> + +<P> +One by one the campers rolled up in their blankets and went to sleep. +Janus held his position in front of the "Shelter" throughout the night, +but nothing occurred to disturb the camp until nearly three o'clock in +the morning. Then two quick shots, fired seemingly right over their +heads, brought the Meadow-Brook Girls out of their sound sleep, +uttering little exclamations of alarm. Harriet sprang out through the +open door without an instant's hesitation. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is he? What did you shoot at?" she questioned apprehensively, +fixing searching eyes upon the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting repeated the questions a few seconds later, she having +joined Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +The guide stood with revolver still pointed toward the tote-trail, +ready to shoot at the slightest movement. In the faint light the two +women could see a shadowy something that appeared to be standing beside +the trail. +</P> + +<P> +"There! See him? I swum, I don't understand it," muttered the guide. +"I fired in the air to scare him." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is it? What do you mean?" questioned the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Him! I looked and he wasn't there, then I looked again and there he +stood, right where you see him now. Then I shot into the air twice." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet Burrell burst into a merry shout. She laughed and laughed +until her companions, taking fresh courage, ran out, demanding to know +what was so funny. Tommy declared that she would give almost anything +to be able to laugh that way at that particular moment. Neither did +Miss Elting understand the meaning of this sudden merriment, but she +knew that Harriet had discovered something. +</P> + +<P> +Janus regarded the girl frowningly, all the time keeping one eye on the +faintly outlined figure out by the tote-trail. +</P> + +<P> +"Laugh, consarn it!" Mr. Grubb growled, beginning to feel that, in some +way, he had made a shining mark of himself, rather than appearing in +the role of a hero who had valiantly defended his party of young women. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, dear?" asked the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you know what that is?" queried Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"No. It looks to me like a man leaning against something," answered +Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, yes," interposed the guide. "When I first shot at it it was +standing straight up, then it tilted over against the rocks, and there +it is. You get back. I'll go over. If he shoots, you won't be in any +danger." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, nonsense!" exploded Harriet. "Put your pistol down. Don't you +dare to point it toward me. I'll lay your intruder." +</P> + +<P> +The girl ran forward, unheeding the warning cries of her companions. +She ran straight to the object that, in the uncertain light, so closely +resembled a human figure. The girls were begging Harriet to come back. +Instead she boldly grasped the object with both hands, and threw it +across the trail. A chorus of "Ohs!" greeted this performance. Janus +lowered his weapon, his under jaw dropped. He followed Miss Elting, +while the girls followed them both at a safe distance, Tommy and +Margery ready to take flight at the slightest indication of danger. +</P> + +<P> +"Here he is, Mr. Grubb," cried Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet, what is it?" demanded Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Just a plain, rotting old tree trunk," returned the girl. +</P> + +<P> +"But—but it wasn't there before," stammered the guide. +</P> + +<P> +Again Harriet laughed. Her companions gazed at her admiringly. None, +unless it were Jane McCarthy, would have had the courage to go out +there as Harriet Burrell had done. They told her so, too, at which +Harriet laughed again. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me tell you something," said Harriet. "I'm not a bit braver than +you are. As it happened, I knew what that was the instant I saw it. +The tree trunk was not standing there when we came into camp last +night. Had it been, Mr. Grubb would have seen it. The trunk had +fallen across the trail. When I started to go down below to look for +our supplies I stumbled over the stick, and to prevent some one else +tripping over it, I threw it out of the trail. The stick ended over +and stood upright against the rock where you saw it. I presume Mr. +Grubb did see it tip to one side. I know, however, that the stick has +been there ever since I tossed it out of the trail last night." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus sheepishly, "I'm so easy it's a wonder I +haven't lost myself." +</P> + +<P> +"No, you were doing your best to protect us," replied Miss Elting. +"But I would rather you did not shoot again except in real defence. In +other words, don't shoot unless some one shoots at you." +</P> + +<P> +"What am I going to do?" demanded the guide rather crossly. "Sit down +and allow some outlaw to rob us at every turn?" +</P> + +<P> +"We know you are ready to defend us," pacified Miss Elting. "What +would you advise us to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Make no further move until morning. When daylight comes we will get +up the stuff that has been thrown over there, make up our packs and +start for Mt. Washington," returned Janus promptly. "I'll reach a +telephone before long and send word to the sheriff about what has +occurred. He may be out already on the bridge matter, but he ought to +know about this last affair. It will give him a clue as to where the +man is." +</P> + +<P> +"But the unknown wretch may follow us," protested the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"He won't. He's gone into hiding after what has happened. You won't +see any more of him. You see, he knows we shall be on the lookout for +him, and he won't be taking any chances on it until a day has +passed—perhaps about to-morrow night—then he may come back here to +see what he can find. I am banking on that, after having thought the +matter over. We won't be here, but the sheriff will, if I can get hold +of him." +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting agreed that the guide's plan was as good as could be +devised, and promptly directed the girls to return to the hut and, if +possible, sleep for the few remaining hours of the night. That morning +the girls overslept. By the time they awakened, Janus had gathered +together all the supplies and equipment to be found below the hut. +Some of the provisions were missing. Nothing that would be likely to +be recognized by the owners had been taken by the man who had thrown +their stores overboard, so to speak, so they found themselves better +off than they had hoped. A real breakfast was eaten that morning, +after which packs were lashed and the party lost no time in starting to +leave the mountain that had furnished them with so much excitement. +</P> + +<P> +The journey down the trail was not a long one. After reaching the foot +of the mountain they were obliged to travel nearly ten miles before +reaching a village from whence they would go on by wagon until reaching +the point whence they were to be conveyed to Mt. Washington. +</P> + +<P> +That night found them weary and sleepy, but to stay at a hotel which +boasted of all modern conveniences was a welcome change to the mountain +climbers, who were both footsore and weary. It seemed but a few +moments after retiring before they were called to get ready for +breakfast and the long ride to the foot of the mountain, up which they +were to climb. Their experience on Mt. Washington was to be both novel +and exciting. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ASCENT OF MT. WASHINGTON +</H3> + + +<P> +The supper smoke rose lazily in the still air. Below them lay a vast +panorama of valley and now flattened hills. The Meadow-Brook Girls, +after a day of hard climbing, were about half way to the summit of Mt. +Washington. They had chosen the most difficult climbing to be found in +the White Mountain Range. Janus had promised them some real mountain +climbing when they reached Mt. Washington, and he had made good his word. +They admitted that laughingly upon reaching the spot he had chosen for +their night's camping, and willingly permitted the guide to start the +fire while they rested preparatory to getting the supper. +</P> + +<P> +"At least we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have left our +friend of the green goggles behind," said Miss Elting, with a sigh of +relief. "I hope we have seen the last of him. He certainly tried to +spoil our trip." +</P> + +<P> +"Sheriff's out on the trail," answered Janus. "There's trouble of some +sort down there. Sheriff's office said things were popping, but wouldn't +talk much because he—the fellow I got on the telephone—didn't know me. +Funny not to know me, wasn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth," answered Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"What did you conclude from what was said?" asked Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"That they were after some one and knew who it was. I hope they get him. +I hope that, when they do, they give Janus Grubb a chance to tell the +fellow what he thinks of him." +</P> + +<P> +"It may not be the man we think at all," suggested the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"No-o-o-o," drawled the guide reflectively. +</P> + +<P> +"If not, what do you propose to do?" questioned Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, keep on, of course," answered the guide, in a tone of mild +surprise. "To-morrow we reach the top of Mount Washington; then we go +down the other side, and so on till we get through." +</P> + +<P> +"All of which isn't getting our supper," Harriet reminded him laughingly. +"Jane, will you please shave some of the smoked beef? And don't spoil +your appetite by nibbling, please." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, darlin', I never did such a thing. It was the beef that flew right +into my mouth. Now, what could poor Jane do under such circumstances, +except to swallow hard?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing but thubmit grathefully and thwallow the beef," commented Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"And I did just that," grinned Jane. +</P> + +<P> +Their table was a rocky shelf elevated about ten inches above the ground +and standing on a sort of standard, so that the girls were able, by +sitting down beside it, to tuck their feet under the rock, which made an +excellent board for the purpose. The night had not yet fallen, but +shadows hung over the valleys and the distant mountains, the purple tinge +creeping slowly up the side of the mountain which they were climbing, +enveloping the campers before they had finished eating their supper. +</P> + +<P> +The evening, on the side of the mountain in their comfortable camp, was a +delightful one. They sat on their blankets beside a blazing campfire +amid the great silence, broken only by the voices of the campers and the +occasional cry of a night bird. Janus, after having made a thorough +patrol of the ground surrounding the camp, returned to the campfire and +entertained the girls by telling of the early Indian days, stories that +had been handed down by generations, and that had grown and grown until +they had assumed startling proportions. +</P> + +<P> +All at once Harriet, in the midst of one of these remarkable tales, +tilted her head back, her eyes apparently studying the stars that hung +over the mountain range to the south of them. She gazed thoughtfully. +After a few seconds of this, she shifted the position of her head, +supporting the latter with her clasped hands. After remaining in this +position for several minutes the girl got up, yawned and began walking +slowly back and forth, the while listening to the guide's story. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet, are you nervous or tired?" questioned the guardian, eyeing her +shrewdly. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe it must be nerves," answered Harriet laughingly. She strolled +off into the shadows, there to sit down on a rock within easy sound of +the voices of her companions, who soon forgot that she was not among +them. After making sure that she was safe in doing so, she slid slowly +from the rock, and walking on all fours ran away into the bushes and out +of sight. It was a most unusual thing to do. Had Crazy Jane been guilty +of such an act, nothing would have been thought of it, but had Harriet +Burrell's companions observed her they would have opened their eyes in +amazement. Fortunately, they were too fully occupied with Janus Grubb's +story. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet sat down on the ground, after having moved away some two hundred +yards from the camp. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope they don't miss me," she thought. "I hope, too, that I haven't +been seen. Now I will try to see something for myself." The girl sat +perfectly still, with ears more than eyes on the alert. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet had not been in her position very long before her ears caught a +faint sound directly ahead of her. Still she did not move, except to +raise her head a little. A bird hopped into a bush close at hand without +discovering her presence. The faint noise ahead grew more pronounced, +the whip of a bush as it was released by the hand that had pushed it away +was heard and understood. Harriet Burrell was woodsman enough to +recognize all such sounds instantly upon hearing them. +</P> + +<P> +She crouched low, fearing that the intruder might approach close enough +to discover her. Every faculty was on the alert. Who or what the unseen +intruder might be, of course, Harriet did not know. It might be a +mountaineer who, seeking camp for the night, was first doing a little +investigating to satisfy himself that he would be welcome. Then, again, +it might be a different sort of visitor. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet's attention was distracted by a burst of laughter from the camp +of the Meadow-Brook Girls. Then there followed a long-drawn "Hoo-e-e-e!" +that she knew was meant for her. +</P> + +<P> +"Harri—et!" It was Margery who was calling. Harriet groaned under her +breath. Were her companions to persist, were they to get an idea that +she had strayed from the camp, her quest would come to a sudden end, for +the guide and his charges would soon be piling over the rocks, searching +and shouting for her. +</P> + +<P> +It was Miss Elting, however, who, quick to understand, quieted Margery +Brown. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet will return presently," said the guardian. "Please go on with +your story, Mr. Grubb." +</P> + +<P> +Janus continued. The next moment Harriet Burrell was forgotten by her +companions once more, for which forgetfulness the girl out there in the +bushes was duly thankful. The movement in the bushes, which had abruptly +ceased, following the call, had not been resumed. This worried her +somewhat. If the person out there were in the least a woodsman, he would +know that some one of the party was out of the camp and would be on his +guard. This might defeat the plan she had in mind. But there was only +one thing to do, that was to remain in her present hiding place, keeping +prudent silence and awaiting results. This was what Harriet did. +</P> + +<P> +She crouched there fully fifteen minutes after the interruption from the +camp before the presence of another person was again revealed. A sound +so close that Harriet barely repressed an exclamation of surprise caught +her ears. The girl for a few seconds held her breath. She could hear +the beating of her heart so plainly that she feared that the other person +might hear it as well. +</P> + +<P> +There followed another period of silence, but much more brief than the +previous one. It was then that Harriet Burrell was able to distinguish +the figure of a man—that is, his head and shoulders. The night was too +dark to enable her to do more than decide upon what it was. +</P> + +<P> +Now he began creeping cautiously toward the camp, going only a few paces +at a time, then halting to listen. Harriet moved with him, though not so +fast. She was stepping directly toward the camp, which lay directly +ahead of her, whereas the man was following a different course with the +same destination in view. When he moved, Harriet moved; when he halted, +she did so. Halting a second too late would undoubtedly reveal her +presence, hence the girl exercised unusual caution, making little more +disturbance than a cat stalking its prey. Once she sank down noiselessly +when, by a movement of the head and shoulders, she discovered that the +man was turning to look behind him. +</P> + +<P> +"If he gets within sight of the camp he will see that one of the party is +missing, if he knows how many of us there are," reasoned the young woman +shrewdly. "I must be on my guard when he discovers that, or something +may happen." Harriet might have called out to warn her companions, but +that was not a part of her plan as yet. +</P> + +<P> +About seventy-five yards had been traversed in this manner when a sudden +change came over the scene, for, between Harriet Burrell and the intruder +whom she was stalking, the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls was soon to be +thrown into wild turmoil and the young woman's utmost expectations were +to be more than realized. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A ROUT AND A CAPTURE +</H3> + + +<P> +The intruder had halted. Harriet knew that from his position he could +see the camp. From her position it was not visible. She saw the man +halt, peer, then suddenly straighten up and glance about him +apprehensively. Being now between her and the light shed by the +campfire, the girl was able to observe his movements quite clearly. +</P> + +<P> +"He suspects something," quivered Harriet. But being at a loss as to +what to do next the girl dropped swiftly to the ground, rising almost +the next second. She was leaning well forward, peering at the figure +with all the concentration she could bring to bear. The intruder had +by this time again directed his attention to the camp. There was now +in the man's hands something that he seemed to be leveling over the +tops of the bushes amid which he was standing. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet Burrell drew her right hand cautiously above her shoulder. +That hand held a stone. Suddenly the stone cut through the bushes +about a foot to the right of the intruder's shoulder. He jumped, but +before he could decide upon what his next move should be a second and +larger stone smote him between the shoulders. Then followed a perfect +rain of stones. Some hit him, others did not. +</P> + +<P> +There was but one way by which the man could get away without turning +back and facing this unseen peril. That way was almost straight toward +the camp. He hesitated. A large stone grazed his cheek. The fellow +leaped through the bushes. Something was swept from his hands by the +bushes and fell to the rocks with a clatter. The girls in camp heard +the sound. +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet, what are you doing?" called Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Look out!" shouted Harriet. She started in pursuit of the fleeing +man, sending a shower of missiles after him. Some of the stones +dropped to the rocks back of the camp, rolling into the camp itself. +</P> + +<P> +Then, to the amazement of the Meadow-Brook party, a man darted across a +corner of the lighted space, which he cleared in half a dozen leaps and +bounds, Harriet still hurling stones after him and shouting her +warnings to her companions. +</P> + +<P> +The girls fled from the campfire, crying out in alarm. Janus, for the +instant, was overcome with surprise, but he pulled himself together +sharply, running to his pack and snatching up his revolver. +</P> + +<P> +"It's our man!" cried Harriet. "I made him run." +</P> + +<P> +"Thave me!" wailed Tommy, throwing herself flat on her face behind a +rock. +</P> + +<P> +Janus had clattered down the rocks after the intruder. The guide's +revolver began to speak. He was firing wildly, not being able to see +the man, who either had got safely away, or else was in hiding behind +one of the many rocks and projections. It did not seem as if he could +have run down the mountainside at the rate he was going without falling +and breaking his neck. The guide fired his revolver into every dark +recess that he thought might afford a hiding place for the fugitive. +Then he loaded up and emptied his revolver a second time. +</P> + +<P> +By this time the camp was almost in a state of panic. Miss Elting +spoke sharply to the girls, commanding them to stop their shouting and +to come back. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Grubb, if you keep on shooting you will have no ammunition left," +the guardian warned him. "Besides, I would rather you wouldn't shoot +any more. We don't know that this man is the one we suspect." +</P> + +<P> +Janus broke his smoking revolver and ejected the exploded shells, after +which he recharged the cylinder and put the weapon back in his pocket. +He returned to the campfire, holding his hat in one hand, with the +other hand brushing the perspiration from his forehead. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I swum!" he muttered. "I swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"Harriet, we will hear your explanation. Why didn't you tell Mr. Grubb +in time, so he could look after this fellow?" demanded Miss Elting. +"You knew there was some one about some time before you got up and +walked away, didn't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I heard some one. That was the reason I strolled off by +myself." +</P> + +<P> +"So I supposed," commented the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"Had I said anything the person would have cried out and given the +alarm. I wanted to satisfy myself that I was right, and I was." +</P> + +<P> +"I should say you were!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yeth, and he had black whithkerth, too," interjected Tommy. +</P> + +<P> +"He wore a soft hat pulled down over his face," added Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe it is the same man," said the guardian reflectively. +</P> + +<P> +"Get back out of the light, ladies, please," urged the guide. "We will +let the fire burn, but we had better keep out of the light. The man +may have a gun." +</P> + +<P> +"No, he has not," spoke up Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"What was he doing out there?" questioned Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Spying on the camp, then getting ready to shoot. I think he was going +to shoot Mr. Grubb," was the startling declaration. Janus gripped his +whiskers with all the fingers of the right hand. He gave the whiskers +a tug that threatened to thin them out. +</P> + +<P> +"Shoot me?" he roared. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet nodded and smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"But I thought you said he had no gun," objected Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"He hasn't now. I have his gun," answered Harriet with a twinkle in +her eyes. "Yes, it is a rifle. I am glad we have it, for, from the +present outlook, we shall need it." She stepped away and from a rock +picked up a repeating rifle. This the intruder had dropped. Harriet +had picked up the weapon and taken it to camp, laying it down to +continue her stone-throwing. She had forgotten all about the gun until +the excitement had subsided somewhat, and Miss Elting and the guide had +begun questioning her. Janus took the rifle, turning it over in his +hands, examining it with critical eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Modern gun, thirty-eight calibre, repeating," he muttered. "Well, I +swum!" +</P> + +<P> +"Do you recognize it?" asked the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +Janus shook his head. "Of course, you will keep it for the present." +</P> + +<P> +"Until the owner calls for it, Miss," replied Janus grimly, whereat +there was a giggle from Margery. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell us how you discovered the man. Let us have the whole story," +urged Miss Elting. Harriet related briefly how she had discovered the +stranger and all that followed until she had driven him into the camp, +as she had hoped to be able to do, believing that Janus would be able +to capture the man. Had Janus been a more active man and quicker of +wit, he undoubtedly would have been able to catch the fellow; however, +by the time the guide had collected himself, the intruder had +disappeared. +</P> + +<P> +Miss Elting was vexed at Janus's inactivity, but it would do no good to +say so. Janus had done the best he could and had wasted more than a +dozen bullets among the rocks of Mt. Washington. They had the +stranger's gun, therefore she was reasonably certain that their enemy +could do them no further harm that night. Still, it was thought best +to have Mr. Grubb remain on watch for the rest of the night. Harriet +offered to do this, but the guide would not listen to such a +proposition, nor would Miss Elting. While they were discussing the +incident he kept his eyes on Harriet almost continuously. Wonder and +admiration were plainly to be seen in their expression. +</P> + +<P> +Some time elapsed before the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls settled +down. They felt even more secure, knowing that Harriet had captured +the intruder's rifle. It was not believed that the man possessed +another, so there was little danger of further shooting that night. At +the suggestion of the guide, and the further orders of their guardian, +the girls rolled in their blankets and soon were asleep. They were +awakened, shortly after twelve, by a shout from the guide. Then +followed a volley of quick shots and a warning cry from Janus Grubb. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE +</H3> + + +<P> +"Quick, girls!" shouted Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +"Thave me!" screamed Tommy Thompson. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet opened her eyes in time to see Janus running rapidly from the +camp, firing his revolver at every jump. After his second shout of +warning he was not heard to speak again. For a moment or so they could +hear him crashing through the hushes, now and then firing his revolver, +probably when he caught sight of the man he was pursuing, the intruder +having no doubt returned, perhaps hoping to be able to catch the camp +asleep, thus giving him an opportunity to recover his rifle. +</P> + +<P> +The girls unrolled themselves from their blankets as quickly as +possible. Harriet started to follow Janus. +</P> + +<P> +"Come back!" commanded Miss Elting. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet halted abruptly. "Please let me go," she pleaded. +</P> + +<P> +"By no means! How could you ask such a thing? Let Janus attend to +matters of this sort. We must look after ourselves here. The man may +return." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet Burrell still stood where she had halted. Her head was bent +slightly forward. She was listening. Not a sound could be heard now +from the pursuing guide. +</P> + +<P> +"Hoo-e-e-e-e!" called Harriet. But no answering call came back to her. +She still kept her position until the guardian called to her. Harriet +then walked slowly back to her trembling companions. Jane and Miss +Elting were no more frightened than Harriet. They did not know, +however, what had occurred to disturb Janus, and could only surmise. +Harriet stirred the fire, throwing on more dry boughs and brush until a +crackling blaze had sprung up. She was more disturbed than her +expression indicated. In the meantime Miss Elting had satisfied +herself that nothing had been taken from the camp, which knowledge +served in a way to relieve her. +</P> + +<P> +However, as the moments passed, and nothing further was heard from the +guide, the others of the Meadow-Brook party began to feel a vague +alarm. They could not believe that anything had happened to Janus, nor +could they understand why he should remain away from the camp so long. +Jane and Harriet "Hoo-e-e-ed!" until they were hoarse, but no reply +followed their calls. Half an hour passed; then an hour, during which +time everybody walked nervously about the camp. +</P> + +<P> +"Miss Elting, something serious must have occurred to Mr. Grubb," +declared Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, goodness, more mystery!" exclaimed Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"Please, let Jane and myself go out to look for him. He may have been +shot, he may be suffering, or——" +</P> + +<P> +"No! Not a girl may leave this camp," replied the guardian firmly. +</P> + +<P> +"But what if Mr. Grubb is in trouble?" protested Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Would it better the situation were any of you girls to get into the +same difficulty? No, I could not think of it. Besides, I believe Mr. +Grubb will return in good time. We do not know but he may be hiding, +hoping to catch the one he went out after. If so, you would be +interfering with, perhaps defeating, the very plan he has in mind. No, +girls; you will stay here." +</P> + +<P> +There was no more to be said. Miss Elting's word was law with her +charges. Harriet and Jane submitted without further protest, but this +did not lessen their concern over the continued absence of the guide. +Of course, there was no more sleep in the camp that night. The party +sat down, always keeping out of the firelight, Harriet and Jane doing +guard duty, walking about the camp some little distance back. Harriet +had the rifle. The possession of this gave them a feeling of greater +security than otherwise would have been the case. She kept the rifle +in her hands during all the rest of the night. +</P> + +<P> +Dawn found the girls pale after their long vigil following the exciting +incidents of the evening. But daylight served to bring back their +failing courage. Harriet put down the rifle at the first suggestion of +morning light. Jane gathered fresh fuel for the fire and a roaring +blaze warmed them up, for the morning on the mountain was very chill. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, girls, get breakfast," directed Miss Elting. "We must eat. +Afterward we shall consider what is to be done. The situation demands +careful thought, then action. We cannot go far without our guide." +</P> + +<P> +They knew that. Breakfast was prepared in some haste that morning. +While eating they discussed their predicament, finally coming to a +decision. It was decided that they should try to follow the guide's +trail, spreading out so as to cover the ground thoroughly. In this +formation they would continue until they either found him or failed. +There seemed no other course to take. The guide's pack was distributed +among the girls. It made quite a load for them, but Harriet and Jane +carried more than the others, in addition to which Harriet carried the +captured rifle. An examination of the magazine showed that there were +ten cartridges in it, quite sufficient for any likely needs of theirs. +</P> + +<P> +Before starting out Harriet raised the rifle with the muzzle pointing +skyward. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be frightened, I'm going to fire a signal," she announced. +Margery screamed, despite the warning, when a crash woke the echoes. +After an interval of a few seconds Harriet fired two more shots in +quick succession. This was a signal. All listened, but no answering +shot was heard, nor any shout to indicate that the signal had been +heard. +</P> + +<P> +"We will move on," announced the guardian. "Keep within calling +distance. Harriet will take the trail from the camp; the others will +spread out on either side." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet Burrell started a little in advance of the others, beginning at +the point where she had seen Janus disappear. For a time it was +somewhat difficult to follow the trail, because of the trampling the +bushes had had on the evening before. However, after a short time the +trail stretched away, clear to the eyes of an experienced woodsman. +There were broken bushes here and there; that was all, though enough +for one who knew how to use her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I have found the trail," called Harriet; "it is turning to the east." +This she knew was to enable the pursued to make better time in getting +away. After a short distance the trail turned upward, then led to the +east again. Bushes were getting more scarce. Only occasional clumps +of them were to be found, making the work of following the trail much +more difficult. +</P> + +<P> +Two hours of climbing, with frequent periods of hunting for the trail +that had lost itself, brought them to the end of their resources. The +trail, at first so plainly marked, had, as a famous woodsman has said, +"petered out into a squirrel track, run up a tree and disappeared into +a knothole." On every side were almost barren rocks, though below and +further to the east the mountain vegetation showed thick and green, +dropping away into ravines here and there, the surface being more +uneven than anything they had yet encountered on this particular +mountain. Still further below, the mountainside appeared to be quite +heavily wooded. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe we should look into that," said Harriet, indicating the +lower part that was covered with green. "We may find some clue to the +whereabouts of our guide." +</P> + +<P> +"We might get lost there," answered the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"But—we have only to go down. We can't possibly get lost if we do +that. Going down will lead us to the foot of the mountain, and out +into the open once more," urged Harriet. The guardian smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"How silly of me not to have thought of that. I am beginning to think +that my pupil knows more about outdoor life and woodcraft than I ever +dreamed. If you think best, Harriet, we will look down there. In the +meantime I would suggest that one of us remain in this vicinity to make +a more thorough search." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet offered to do this, so it was agreed that the rest of the party +should head obliquely down the mountain while she worked back and +forth, like a switchback railway, until she, too, had reached the +objective point where the others would be waiting for her. This +programme was carried out, beginning immediately. Not a trace, +however, did she find of the lost trail. While awaiting her arrival +the others of the party walked back and forth along the edge of the +thick growth, but with no better results than had attended the search +made by Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +At noon they stopped for luncheon, then followed the same method as had +Harriet, moving east and west, ever enlarging their field as the growth +increased in area. Night found them far up on the mountainside still +facing the mystery of the disappearance of the guide, whom the girls +earlier had named "The Pilot of the White Mountains." +</P> + +<P> +He was no longer a pilot, but in need of one. +</P> + +<P> +It was not a particularly cheerful party of girls that sat down to a +supper of rice, corn cakes and coffee that evening. It was arranged +that Harriet should take the early part of the night watch, Jane +McCarthy the last half, for they dared not leave their camp unguarded. +A huge fire was built that sent a glow high above the foliage of bushes +and second-growth trees, visible for a long distance. This was done +with a purpose. The girls hoped that, were Janus within sight, he +might see the light and be guided to them. The blaze did serve to +attract the attention of others whom the girls were to see before the +night was ended. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet's vigil was not a lonely one to her. She always found comfort +in Nature, no matter how dark or silent Dame Nature's mood might be. +She drew back a short distance from camp so that her moving about might +not disturb her companions, remaining quiet until they had finally gone +to sleep, after which she began strolling back and forth. +</P> + +<P> +She had been on guard for something more than two hours when she was +startled by three shots from somewhere lower down the mountain. +Harriet pointed her rifle into the air and promptly pulled the trigger +twice. Two heavy reports from her rifle caused an instant commotion in +the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls. The girls untangled themselves +from their blankets and sprang up very much frightened. Their nerves +were on edge after all they had experienced, and these shots, fired so +near at hand, had sent at least three of them to the verge of panic. +</P> + +<P> +"Are we attacked?" cried Jane. +</P> + +<P> +"We may be," answered Harriet. "Hurry and get yourselves together. +Some one besides ourselves is in the mountains and we must be ready for +whatever comes. I don't know what it is. Hurry, please! We may have +to leave here very suddenly." +</P> + +<P> +No time was lost in "getting themselves together," as Harriet had +expressed it. Fortunately, having gone to bed with their clothing on, +there was little preparation to make. This completed, at Miss Elting's +direction the girls moved off in a body, secreting themselves in the +shadows some distance from the light of the campfire, but within sight +of it. Up to this time Harriet had made no explanation. Miss Elting, +after having placed the girls to her satisfaction, eagerly demanded to +know the meaning of Harriet's signals, the guardian not having heard +the other shots fired farther, down the mountainside. +</P> + +<P> +"I answered a signal," replied Miss Burrell. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, then it is the guide? It's Janus!" cried Miss Elting joyously. +</P> + +<P> +"No, it was not Janus. The signal was fired from a rifle," answered +Harriet Burrell. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONCLUSION +</H3> + + +<P> +"There goes another shot!" exclaimed Harriet. +</P> + +<P> +"Answer it, dear." +</P> + +<P> +"There are only five more shells in the gun. Shall I use them all?" +</P> + +<P> +"Shoot once." +</P> + +<P> +Harriet did so, getting two signal shots in return. +</P> + +<P> +"That means the strangers have heard and understood, does it not?" +questioned the guardian. +</P> + +<P> +"I think so. Now, I would suggest that we keep very quiet until we see +who it is. We don't know but it may be our old enemy, who is taking +this method of locating us. I have four more cartridges in the +magazine. I think we should be able to hold the strangers off with +those if we have to." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not fire a shot unless I tell you to!" commanded Miss Elting firmly. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet agreed with a nod, while the guardian stepped back to warn the +other girls to be absolutely silent, no matter what might happen. +</P> + +<P> +Harriet, acting upon a sudden thought ran over to the fire and +scattered it with a stick so that it would not blaze up so high. Then +she returned to her post. Some time had elapsed before she was +startled, all at once, by the sound of a stick snapping. +</P> + +<P> +The girl crept to a more favorable position, where she could obtain a +better view of the camp. Then her heart fairly leaped into her throat. +Standing plainly outlined in the flickering light of the campfire was a +man. Harriet studied the man, then slowly slid the barrel of the rifle +into position. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand still! Don't move!" she cried. "I have you covered. If you +move I'll shoot! Hands up!" +</P> + +<P> +The man started, opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, then +quickly raised his hands above his head. There was a half grin of +amusement on the face of the visitor, but Harriet, as she crouched +squinting over the barrel of the captured rifle, failed to notice it. +The light was faint and the man's hat shaded his face. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you and what do you want here?" she demanded, a trace of +excitement in her tone. +</P> + +<P> +"It's all right, Miss," the man smiled, tilting back his hat and +revealing an open countenance. "I'm the sheriff of the county. I've +been sent to look you up. We have your guide down at the foot of the +White Trail. He's been hurt. We've got another fellow in whom you'll +be interested too. Janus Grubb sent us to find you." +</P> + +<P> +"Is Mr. Grubb badly hurt?" queried Harriet, as all the girls came +slowly out from their hiding places. +</P> + +<P> +"Sprained an ankle, not much, but it will lay him up for a few days. +The other man we have is Charlie Valdes, known as Big Charlie. The +story of Valdes dates back to the time when Jan was a deputy sheriff. +He ran down Charlie and another bad character, Henry Tracy. Both +fellows were poachers, preying on the preserves of rich men in these +mountains. Jan got his hands on the pair and gathered the evidence +that put them in prison. Charlie's time was up first, and he came back +on purpose to even the score with Jan. The instant I had a description +of the fellow who bothered you in Compton I felt sure it was Big +Charlie. He's the man who has been following you, and we'll prove the +burning of the bridge against him, too." +</P> + +<P> +"Did Mr. Grubb catch the man again this time, too?" asked Hazel. +</P> + +<P> +"Jan overhauled Valdes, and in the fight that followed put a bullet in +his leg," replied the sheriff. "It was in the tussle that Jan got his +ankle sprained, but your guide landed his man. Sometimes Jan may seem +slow, but in a rumpus he's a terror for speed, decision, and grit. We +were heading up the White Trail, hoping to head you off, when we ran +into Jan and Valdes." +</P> + +<P> +Later, at the county seat the Meadow-Brook Girls were permitted to put +their evidence against Big Charlie, whom they recognized and +identified. Charlie was held for trial, and afterward sent back to +prison for a much longer term than his first one. +</P> + +<P> +The Meadow-Brook Girls regretted parting with Janus Grubb, whom they +held in the highest esteem. But Janus was not able to guide any one +for the next fortnight or longer, so he recommended a new guide, who +led the Meadow-Brook Girls on a long mountain "hike" over beaten +trails. Then, at last, Harriet Burrell and her friends reluctantly +turned homeward. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 17865-h.txt or 17865-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/8/6/17865">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/8/6/17865</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills + The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains + + +Author: Janet Aldridge + + + +Release Date: February 26, 2006 [eBook #17865] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE +HILLS*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 17865-h.htm or 17865-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/8/6/17865/17865-h/17865-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/8/6/17865/17865-h.zip) + + + + + +THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS + +or + +The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains + +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 +by the Sea, etc. + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: "I'm the guide, Janus Grubb."] + + + + + +The Saalfield Publishing Company +Akron, Ohio ---------- New York +Made in U. S. A. +Copyright MCMXIV +By the Saalfield Publishing Company + + + + + +Table of Contents + + +CHAPTER + + I The Man with the Green Goggles + II Miss Elting's Mysterious Caller + III The Start that Came to Grief + IV An Exciting Night + V On the Burning Bridge + VI Their Troubles Multiply + VII Horses Give the Alarm + VIII Crazy Jane's "Find" + IX Scaling the High Cliffs + X A Slippery Climb + XI The Tragedy of Chocorua + XII Tommy Falls Out of Bed + XIII Placing the Blame + XIV Giving a Toboggan Points + XV Leaving the Trail in a Hurry + XVI "Such a Lovely Slide" + XVII What Came of Shooting the Chute + XVIII Face by a Fresh Mystery + XIX The Story the Light Told + XX Seeking a Desperate Revenge + XXI The Ascent of Mt. Washington + XXII A Rout and a Capture + XXIII A Mysterious Disappearance + XXIV Conclusion + + + + +Illustrations + + + "I'm the guide, Janus Grubb." . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + + "Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly. + + Up and up wound the trail. + + + + +The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills + + +CHAPTER I + +THE MAN WITH GREEN GOGGLES + +"I hear that Janus Grubb is going to take a passel of gals on a tramp +over the hills," observed the postmaster, helping himself to a cracker +from the grocer's barrel. + +"Gals?" questioned the storekeeper. + +"Yes. There's a lot of mail here for the parties, mostly postals. +Can't make much out of the postals, but some of the letters I can read +through the envelopes by holding them against the window." + +"Lemme have a look," urged the grocer eagerly. + +"Not by a hatful. I'm an officer of the government. The secrets of +the government must be guarded, I tell ye. There's six of them----" + +"You don't say! Six letters?" interrupted the grocer. + +"No, gals. One's name is Elting. She's what they call a chaperon. +Another is Jane McCarthy--I reckon some relation of the party who wrote +me a letter asking what I knew about Jan. I reckon Jan got the job on +my recommendation." + +"Who are these girls, and what do they think they're goin' to do up +here?" + +"Call themselves 'The Meadow-Brook Gals.' Funny name, eh?" grinned the +postmaster, balancing a soda cracker on the tip of his forefinger, then +deftly tossing it edgewise into his open mouth. "They pay Janus ten +dollars a week for toting them around," he chuckled. "Read it in the +McCarthy party's letter to Jan." + +"What are they going to do up in the hills?" + +"Climb over the rocks for their health," grinned the postmaster. + +"Huh! When they coming to town?" + +"On the evening mail train to-day. Hello! There's Jan now on his way +to meet them. Say! Will you look at him! Jan's had his whiskers +pruned. And, I swum, if he hasn't got on a new pair of boots. Git +them of you?" + +The storekeeper nodded. + +"How much?" demanded the postmaster. + +"Four seventy-three. Knocked down from five dollars. Wish I'd known +he was going to draw down ten dollars a week for this job. I'd have +got four seventy-five at least for the boots." + +"Never mind, you can let Jan make it up on something else," comforted +the postmaster. "Reckon I'll go down to the station to see the folks +come in." + +"I was going to ask you to look after the store while I went down," +returned the grocer. + +The postmaster decided that he wouldn't go. The other man hurried out, +while the government employe helped himself not only to another handful +of crackers, but to a liberal slice of cheese as well. He stood +munching his crackers and cheese and gazing out reflectively into the +gathering twilight, when he suddenly started and peered more keenly. +That which had attracted his attention was a stoop-shouldered man. The +fellow wore a soft hat, the brim of which was slightly turned up in +front, but his face was well masked by a huge pair of green automobile +goggles. + +"Well, I swum!" ejaculated the postmaster. "If I didn't know the +feller was in jail up at Concord, I'd say that was Big Charlie. +Hm-m-m. No. This one is too stooped for Charlie. Charlie's six foot +two in his socks. I wonder who this fellow is?" + +Even then the mail train was whistling, and the postmaster began +bustling about preparing to receive the evening mail, always an event +for him as well as for the villagers, who ordinarily flocked into the +office, hoping to catch sight of a familiar handwriting or hear a name +mentioned that would give them foundation for a bit of gossip. + +It was while he was thus engaged that five young girls and a young +woman some years their senior got down from a coach to the railway +platform, where they stood gazing expectantly about them. The young +women were dressed in tasteful blue serge suits, with hats of the same +material, a sort of uniform, the villagers decided, and, had not the +station platform been too dark, the eager spectators would have seen +that the faces of the visitors were tanned almost to swarthiness. + +"Shall I ask some one if Mr. Janus Grubb is here?" questioned one of +the girls. + +"No, wait a moment, Harriet," answered the young woman in charge of the +party, "I will ask. Surely the guide should be here to meet us, since +Miss McCarthy's father had arranged for it." + +"You are looking for a guide, Miss?" questioned a voice at her side. +Miss Elting, the guardian of the party, glanced up inquiringly. She +looked into a face of which she could see but little. The most marked +feature of the face was a pair of huge green automobile goggles. These +gave to the face, which she observed wore a peculiar pallor, a sinister +effect, caused no doubt by the goggles. + +"We are looking for Mr. Janus Grubb. Are you he?" she asked sharply. + +The man nodded. + +"This way," he said in a hurried voice. + +"Come, girls," urged the guardian; "I thought Mr. Grubb would not fail +us." + +"And a funny looking person he is," scoffed Jane McCarthy. Her +companions, Hazel Holland, Margery Brown and Grace Thompson, giggled. +Harriet Burrell plucked the sleeve of the guardian's light coat. + +"I wouldn't go with him, Miss Elting," she urged. + +"Why not, dear?" + +"I don't like his looks. Make him take off his glasses. There is +something peculiar about him." + +"This way, please!" the guide's voice took on a tone of command. They +had nearly reached the upper end of the platform when he issued his +peremptory order. Just then a shout was heard to the rear of them. A +man came running toward them. + +"Hey, there!" he called. The girls halted. "Are you the Meadow-Brook +Gals?" + +"Yes, sir," answered Miss Elting, brightly. + +"Well, I'm mighty glad to know about it. 'Pears as if you didn't know +where you was going." + +"And who are you, sir?" demanded the guardian. + +"I'm the guide, Janus Grubb." + +"Will you listen to the man!" chuckled Jane. + +Harriet nodded with satisfaction. + +"Janus Grubb? Why, sir, I don't understand. We have already met Mr. +Grubb," cried Miss Elting. + +"Somebody is crazy," muttered Jane, "I think the man with the green +goggles is the lunatic." + +"Show me the man who said he was myself," roared the newcomer. + +Miss Elting turned to point out the man who had been piloting them +along the platform. She uttered a little exclamation. The man with +the goggles was nowhere in sight. "Why, where did Mr. Grubb go?" she +exclaimed. + +"I'm Janus Grubb and I'd like to see the man who says I'm not," shouted +the guide indignantly, forgetting that he was addressing a woman. + +"Please come to the station agent with me. If he identifies you, I am +satisfied," declared Miss Elting with dignity, looking disapprovingly +at the excited man. She moved back toward the station, followed by her +charges, and a moment later the railroad agent had identified Janus to +her entire satisfaction. + +The girls giggled. There was something funny about their having been +deceived so easily, but Miss Elting did not regard matters in that +light. "Can you tell me who the man with the goggles is"? she +demanded, turning to the real guide after the identification had been +made. + +"If I knew him there'd be trouble," threatened Janus. "What kind of a +looking feller was he?" + +Harriet answered, giving a very excellent description of the man with +the goggles. + +"Don't know him," said Janus, stroking his whiskers reflectively. +"Lucky for him that I don't. What do you want to do now?" + +"Go to the post-office," cried the girls. + +"There must be mail for as there," added Hazel. "I'm so anxious to +hear from home." + +"Yeth, tho am I," lisped little Grace Thompson. + +"You have arranged for us at the hotel for to-night, haven't you?" +demanded Jane McCarthy. "Father said you would look after these +matters for me." + +"It's all right, Miss. We'll go to the postoffice now. I'll look +after your baggage when we get you settled for the night. We won't +take it away from the station till we talk over what you want to do. +Are you ready?" + +They walked down the street, laughing and chatting, a happy lot of +girls, followed by a group of curious villagers, who even accompanied +them into the post-office. It was unusual to see so many pretty girls +in Compton, for summer visitors seldom came to the place. Furthermore, +these were different from any visitors ever seen there, so far as dress +was concerned. While waiting for the mail to be distributed, the girls +laughed and talked, apparently utterly oblivious of the presence of the +staring villagers. Miss Elting inquired for mail for the party as soon +as the wicket was opened. + +"Here, Tommy, is a letter for you," she smiled. Grace took the letter +eagerly. "And here are letters for Harriet, Hazel, and Margery. There +is one for me, too. It is from your father, Jane." + +"I have a letter here from Dad. I--will you look at that?" Jane stood +staring at the window. For a brief instant she had caught sight of a +man wearing a huge pair of goggles. He was peering through the +post-office window at them. But as she looked, the man disappeared. +"It was our friend with the green goggles again as sure as I'm alive!" +she exclaimed. "He was staring in here for all he was worth, but the +minute he saw me looking at him he vanished." + +"I am afraid we are going to have trouble with this mysterious +individual," declared Harriet. "He seems to have developed a peculiar +interest in our affairs that is far from flattering." + +"We are not going to be annoyed as we were last year," said Miss Elting +firmly. "Mr. Grubb, there is something very strange in all this. If +for any reason you know this man or have even the slightest idea of his +identity I must ask you to be perfectly frank with me." + +Janus Grubb declared solemnly that he had not the least idea who the +man could have been. Nor had he been able to find any person who had +seen the fellow approach them. Miss Elting and the guide stepped out +to the porch, followed by the girls, still chatting over the news from +home contained in their letters. + +"Now, where do you want to go first?" asked the guide after they had +reached the porch. + +"We will trust to your judgment," answered Miss Elting. "You know +best. We wish to try a little mountain climbing and we wish to see the +larger of the White Mountains. We would like to see everything of +interest in the White Mountain country." + +"That's a pretty big contract," chuckled Janus; "but I reckon we can +show you what you want to see. For instance, there's Mt. Chocorua, +Moosilauke, Mt. Washington, Mt. Lafayette and as many more as you like, +all the real thing and offering all the climbing you will care to do, +unless you want to follow the trails that all the visitors take." + +"No, we do not. We prefer to blaze our own trails, or, rather, to have +you do so, and the rougher they prove the better, as long as it is +safe. My girls are equal to any sort of rough-and-tumble climbing. +How do we get to the mountains?" + +"I've engaged a carry-all to take us out to the foothills. From there +you can walk or ride. If we take the rough trails, of course we'll +have to climb." + +"I shall ask you to lay out your route, then arrange to have some of +our baggage shipped on to meet us, say a week from now. Our necessary +equipment we can carry. The girls are used to shouldering heavy packs. +You will provide climbing equipment. I understand from Miss McCarthy +that you are a climber." + +"I'm everything and anything in the White Mountain Range," answered the +guide boldly. + +"Then, what do you say if we make Mount Chocorua first?" + +"Perhaps you had better decide for us." + +"This mountain is three thousand five hundred feet high. The way we +shall take you will, I think, find rugged enough to please the young +ladies," added Janus, with a grin behind his whiskers. "What time will +you be ready to start?" + +"As soon after daylight as we shall be able to get our breakfast." + +"He had better bring our baggage from the station to-night. Then we +can have our packs in readiness," suggested Harriet Burrell. + +"Yes, please do that, Mr. Grubb." + +"Anything else, Miss?" + +"Not that I think of for the moment. We have our tent in sections. We +also shall pack our blankets and such other things as will be needed. +The rest of the equipment can be sent on ahead to meet us wherever you +say. I don't know what the most convenient point would be. Where +would you suggest?" + +"I can send it to the Tip-Top station on Moosilauke. Will that do?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I'll be going," said the guide. "I'll take you over to the +Compton House, and if you want to see me again this evening, you can +call me on the telephone." + +Janus had started to move toward the steps preparatory to going about +his duties, when an exclamation from Harriet Burrell caused them to +turn sharply to her. + +"There he is! There is the man with the goggles!" she whispered, +pointing toward the store. They saw a stoop-shouldered man standing +with his back against the large window. He was facing them, but, his +face being in the shadow, they were unable to distinguish the features. +The light in the store being at his back, and his head slightly turned +to the steps, toward which Janus was moving, Harriet Burrell was +enabled to look directly through one of the lenses. She saw that the +glass was green and that it masked effectually the eyes of the strange +man. + +"Quick, Mr. Grubb!" cried the girl. "The man again! Find out who he +is!" + +Janus, who had moved down to the second step, now started back, and was +on the porch with one bound, thrusting the Meadow-Brook Girls aside in +his eagerness to reach the man who had impersonated him. + +"Where is he?" shouted Janus, in a voice that brought most of the +villagers from the store on the run. "I see him!" Grubb made a leap, +when, as though he had vanished into thin air, the stranger disappeared +from sight. + +The Meadow-Brook Girls gasped in amazement. But Harriet Burrell, +quicker in thought and action than even the guide himself, leaped from +the end of the porch and sped swiftly around the side of the store +toward the rear yard. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MISS ELTING'S MYSTERIOUS CALLER + +"Come back here!" shouted the guide. Harriet halted. She hesitated at +sight of the black shadows there rather than at the command. She +distinctly heard some one floundering over a high board fence that shut +in the rear yard of the store and post-office. Janus's hand was on her +arm. + +"Well, I swum!" he exclaimed. + +"Oh, that's too bad. He got away," cried Harriet ruefully. "I was too +slow. I could have caught him just as well as not, had I not been so +stupid as to wait." + +Harriet and the guide walked to where her companions were standing, not +certain what they ought to do, not quite sure what had occurred. + +"This one's all right," chuckled Janus. "She's got the spunk, but she +needs watching. She'll get the whole outfit in trouble. Tell me about +it," he concluded, turning to Harriet. + +"You saw it, sir?" asked Harriet quickly. + +"I didn't see anything," returned the guide. "The man was standing on +the spot where you are standing at this moment. He was listening to +what we were saying, but for what reason I can't imagine. I made the +mistake of calling to you. I shouldn't have done that. When you +started for him he disappeared." + +"Yes, we saw him; then we did not," added Miss Elting. + +"You didn't stop to think. You were too excited, and, besides, I was +nearer to the man than were the rest of you girls. He simply dropped +down on all fours and ran off the porch like a dog or a cat." + +"Well, I swum!" muttered the guide. + +"Mr. Grubb, I don't like this," declared the guardian severely. + +"Neither do I, Miss," he replied in a tone that made the girls laugh. + +"I am not certain what I ought to do, Mr. Grubb," continued Miss +Elting. "If it means that my girls are to be annoyed and disturbed, we +shall be obliged to look for another guide. You know I have a personal +responsibility in this matter. I shall have to think it over. Unless +you can give me reasonable assurance that these incidents will not be +repeated, then I shall have to make some different arrangements. You +will please send the luggage to the hotel as suggested. I will see you +early in the morning, at any rate. Come, girls." + +Janus, somewhat downcast and very thoughtful, led the way to the +Compton House, a short distance down the street from the post-office +and grocery store. The girls began talking almost as soon as they had +left the store porch. + +"Please, please don't discharge him," begged Hazel. "He is such a nice +man." + +"And thuch nithe whithkerth," added Grace Thompson. "He lookth jutht +like an uncle of mine, who----" + +"I agree with the girls, Miss Elting," interjected Harriet. "We are +able to take care of ourselves. Perhaps this is simply another crazy +man, of whom we shall be rid as soon as we leave the village for the +mountains in the morning. Please don't dismiss Mr. Grubb." + +"I shall have to think this matter over," was the guardian's grave +reply. "We do not care to repeat last summer's experience. You +remember what came of relying on the assurance of a stranger." Miss +Elting referred to the manner in which they had been tricked by the man +who had charge of her brother's houseboat the previous summer, and +whose treachery had caused them so much annoyance. + +None of the Meadow-Brook Girls made reply. They were as fully puzzled +in this respect as was their guardian. Miss Elting, however, pondered +over the mystery all the way to the hotel. They found the Compton +House a very comfortable country hotel, rather more so than some others +of which they had had experience during their previous journeys. +Arriving at the hotel, they hurriedly prepared for supper, for they +were late and the other guests of the house had eaten and left the +dining room before the Meadow-Brook Girls had even entered the hotel. + +By the time supper was finished, their luggage had come over from the +station. Janus Grubb, went home, not a little troubled as well as +mystified by the occurrences of the evening. Who the man could +possibly be he had not the remotest idea. He tried to recall who of +his acquaintances might be guilty of playing such a joke on him. To +the mind of Janus the incident could have been only a prank, though he +questioned the good taste of any such interference between himself and +his customers. + +On the contrary, Miss Elting and her young charges attached more +serious meaning to the performances of the man who had regarded them +through green goggles. They regarded the incident with suspicion and +agreed to proceed only with the utmost caution. + +None of the readers of this series need an introduction to Harriet +Burrell and her three friends, who figured so prominently in "THE +MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER CANVAS." It was in this narrative that the +four chums made their first expedition into the Pocono woods and for +several happy weeks were members of Camp Wau-Wau, a campfire +association of which the girls became loyal members. At the end of +their stay in camp they decided to walk to their home town, sending +their camping outfit on ahead. + +The story of their journey home on foot was told in the second volume, +"THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS COUNTRY," in which an Italian and his +dancing bear, a campful of gipsies and a band of marauding tramps +furnished much of the excitement. Then, too, the friendly aid and +rivalries of a camp of boys known as the Tramp Club furnished many +enjoyable situations. + +It was in the third volume, "THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT," that +Harriet Burrell and her friends were shown as encountering a +considerable amount of adventure. The girls led an eventful life on +the old houseboat on one of the New Hampshire lakes, and also +encountered a mystery which, with the help of the Tramp Club, was run +to earth, but the solving of it entailed the loss of the "Red Rover," +their houseboat. + +And now the Meadow-Brook Girls were about to spend a few weeks among +the "Marvelous Crystal Hills," as the White Mountains in New Hampshire +have been aptly termed. + +Much time and thought had been spent in preparing properly for this +long vacation jaunt. Camp equipage had all been overhauled, and much +that would serve excellently where there was transport service had been +discarded for this journey into the hills. + +Resting for a while after finishing supper, the girls began to make up +neat packs containing such bare equipment and food supplies as they +believed to be indispensable. Then there were the tent, blankets and +cooking utensils to be looked after. Of course, the guide would carry +much of this dunnage, yet our girls were no weaklings, and no one of +them expected to shirk carrying her fair share of the load. + +It was after nine o'clock when Harriet and her chums finished the +making-up of the packs. Soon after a clerk knocked on the door of Miss +Elting's room. + +"There's a man below who wishes to speak with you," the clerk informed +her. + +"It must be Mr. Grubb," guessed the guardian, and left her packing to +go downstairs. She glanced into the lobby of the hotel; then, not +seeing Janus there, stepped into the parlor. A man, a stranger, was +sitting near a door that led out to the hotel veranda. In the light of +the kerosene lamp that hung suspended from the ceiling she was not able +to make out his features at first. She saw that he wore a heavy black +beard, that he was rather roughly dressed, but that his hands were +white. + +"Are you the man who wished to speak with Miss Elting?" she asked, +confessing to herself that she did not wholly like the appearance of +the man. + +"Yes," he answered, rising. Now that the light fell on his face she +noted that he had a low, receding forehead. His beard covered the +greater part of his face. + +"About what do you wish to speak with me?" + +"Well, it's rather a delicate matter, Miss," the man made reply, gazing +down at the carpet, twisting his soft felt hat awkwardly. "I--I wanted +to ask if you needed any assistance." + +"What do you mean?" + +"You are going into the mountains?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"You will need to have some one to show you the way and look after you +and your party." + +"We already have engaged some one to do that. You mean a guide, I +suppose?" + +He nodded. + +"May I ask your name?" + +"John Collins." + +"Do you live here?" she asked, curious to know more about the man, whom +she began to distrust. + +"Not now. I live over in the next village. I was in town and heard +that you folks wanted a guide. I know more about the White Mountains +than any other man in the State of New Hampshire. I can show you more, +and take better care of your party, than anybody else you could find." + +"Do you know Janus Grubb?" + +"Ye--yes," Collins twisted uneasily, "I know him." + +"He is to be our guide. The arrangements were made some time ago by +the father of one of our young women. Mr. Grubb starts with us +tomorrow morning, unless there should be some change in the +arrangements." + +"I'm sorry, Miss." + +"I'm sorry, too, since you have been so kind as to offer your +services," replied the guardian politely. + +"I didn't just mean it that way, Miss. I meant about Janus." + +"How so?" + +"I don't just like to say. Yes, I will, too. Do you know anything +about Jan Grubb?" + +"No," admitted Miss Elting. + +"Then you'd better ask. I am afraid you are putting too much +confidence in him." + +"Mr. Collins, please be more explicit. What do you mean?" + +"You'll find out after you've got out into the hills. He doesn't know +any more about the hills than a little yellow dog that's spent all its +life in town. He'll get you into all kinds of trouble, and then he'll +leave you to get out of it as best you can. You remember what I tell +you." + +"Of course, I thank you for telling me," answered the guardian rather +stiffly. "However, we are quite satisfied with Mr. Grubb. As I +understand it, he is a highly respected citizen of Compton and an +efficient mountain guide. That will be quite sufficient for us." + +"I need this job. I--I need the money, Miss," whined the stranger. + +"I am satisfied with the arrangements I have already made." Miss Elting +turned to leave the room. + +"My family needs it. I've been out of work a long time, and----" + +"I am very sorry. I wish it were in my power to assist you, but I have +very little voice in the matter. Another person--the one who is paying +the expenses of this trip--attended to all that. You will see that it +is quite useless to plead, deep as my sympathy is for you." + +The man rose and eyed her with an expression that was particularly +unpleasant to behold. Miss Elting returned her strange visitor's gaze. +Something other than his looks repelled her, yet there was nothing in +either manner or words to account for this feeling of repulsion on the +part of the guardian. + +"In case anything should occur to make it necessary for us to look +further for a guide I shall remember you," she said slowly. "I suppose +I can reach you here at Compton?" + +"N--n--no," was the hesitating answer. "But if you need me, I'll he +about. Mark what I tell you, Jan Grubb is going to get you into a fine +mess! You will be sorry you ever engaged him; that's all I've got to +say about it. Good night, lady." + +"Good night, Mr. Collins," replied the woman coldly. His final words, +so full of rancor, had destroyed what little sympathy he had aroused in +her. Miss Elting stood aside while the man stepped toward the door. + +At this juncture Harriet Burrell appeared in the doorway leading to the +hall. She had missed Miss Elting, and, not finding the guardian in her +room, had come downstairs in search of her. Harriet had not known that +the guardian was engaged. + +"Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss Elting. I did not know--I thought you +were alone." + +"It is all right. Come in, Harriet. What did you wish?" + +Harriet did not reply. Instead, she gazed perplexedly at the +retreating form of Miss Elting's late caller. + +"You'll be sorry you ever took up with that hound," flung back the +fellow, turning as he was about to step out on the veranda. + +Miss Elting made no reply. Her lips tightened a little, then she +turned with a half-smile, regarding Harriet's frowning face quizzically. + +"What does it mean, Miss Elting?" questioned the girl. + +"I don't know, my dear. The man wanted to act as our guide. I am glad +he isn't the one who is to lead us over the mountains. I don't like +him at all. You heard what he just said?" + +Harriet nodded. + +"He was referring to Mr. Grubb." + +"Oh!" + +"I don't know what to make of it. What reason do you suppose he could +have for coming to me in this manner? It is all very strange." + +"I don't know, Miss Elting. I am wondering." + +"Wondering what?" + +There was something in the set of the shoulders, in the swing of them +as the man walked away, in the poise of the head, that had impressed +Harriet Burrell as being vaguely familiar. Something of this must have +been reflected in the Meadow-Brook Girl's face, judging from the +guardian's next question. + +"Of what are you thinking, dear?" + +"I have seen that man before, Miss Elting." + +"Where?" + +"I don't know. My memory connects him with something unpleasant. I +wish I knew what it is, for I am positive there is something wrong with +him. Wait! I know! I know of whom the man reminds me. Can't you see +it? Don't you know?" cried Harriet eagerly. + +The guardian shook her head. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE START THAT CAME TO GRIEF + +"Who do you think it is, Harriet?" + +Harriet Burrell whispered something in the ear of the guardian. Again +Miss Elting shook her head, this time with decision. + +"Wrong, this time. There isn't the slightest resemblance that I could +observe. I thought of that, too. But let's not bother our heads about +it any further. We have things of greater importance to consider this +evening, and, besides, we must go to bed soon; we are to make an early +start in the morning, you know." + +Harriet shook her brown head slowly. She was positive that she was +right in her identification of the visitor, Collins. She determined to +ask some questions at the first opportunity. This she did on the +following morning, inquiring of the hotel clerk about the man who had +so strangely called on Miss Elting. The clerk said he had never heard +of the man. In the preparations that followed Harriet forgot about the +caller. Grubb had a carry-all at the hotel before they had finished +their breakfast. The equipment for the party occupied little room. +Janus had consulted with Miss Elting about the food supplies, and these +were packed in the smallest possible space, with the exception of a few +packages for their use before they got into the mountains. + +The drive to the point where they would leave the wagon would occupy +the greater part of the day. The girls looked forward to that day's +journey with keen anticipation. They started out decorously and +quietly, for the inhabitants of the village were early risers and the +girls did not wish to attract unpleasant attention to themselves. Once +they were well out of the village, however, the Meadow-Brook Girls' +spirits bubbled forth in song, shout and merry laughter. The air was +crisp and cool until the sun came up, then it grew warm. + +Janus, sitting up by the driver, was almost sternly silent. Miss +Elting, in the light of the previous evening's interview, regarded him +from time to time with inquiring eyes. She could not believe what her +caller had told her of their guide. Janus was plainly an honest, +well-intentioned man. Of this she had been reassured that morning in +an interview with the proprietor of the Compton House. + +At noon, their appetites sharpened by the bracing air and the fact that +they had eaten an early breakfast, the party made a halt. The horses +were unhitched and allowed to graze beside the road. The guide built a +fire, Harriet and Jane in the meantime getting out something for their +luncheon, which was to be a cooked one instead of a "cold bite." +Hazel, Jane and Margery spread a blanket on the ground, while Tommy sat +on a rail fence, offering expert advice but declining to assist in the +preparations. + +It was a merry meal. Even Janus was forced to smile now and then, the +driver making no effort to conceal his amusement over the bright +sallies of the Meadow-Brook Girls. + +"Come! We must be going, unless you want to camp beside the road +to-night," urged the guide. The girls had finished their luncheon and +were strolling about the field. + +"Why, we haven't thettled our dinner yet," complained Tommy. + +"You'll have it well settled in less than an hour. The road from here +on is rough," returned Janus. "You'll be wanting another meal before +the sun is three hours from the hills." + +"We want to pick some wild flowers," called Margery. + +"Girls, don't delay us! The driver wishes to get back home to-night +and we must reach the camping place in which Mr. Grubb has planned for +us to spend the night," warned the guardian. + +"Yes, we've got to hike right along," agreed Janus. "Hook up those +nags and be on the way, Jim," he added, speaking to the driver. + +It was only a short time until they were on the way again. The country +was becoming more sparsely settled, the hills more rugged and the +forests more numerous. Here and there slabs of granite might be seen +cropping up through the soil; in the distance, now and then, they were +able to catch glimpses of the bare ridges of the mountains toward which +they were journeying. + +"Those mountains," explained the guide, "are called 'The Roof of New +England.' There's not much of any timber on top, but on the sides you +will find some spruce, yellow pine and hemlock. It's all granite a +little way under the subsoil; and over the subsoil grows moss. Among +these mosses and the roots of the trees almost every important stream +in New England takes its rise, and some of them grow to be quite decent +rivers. You ladies live in this state, don't you?" + +Miss Elting nodded. + +"I am afraid we never realized what a beautiful state New Hampshire is +until we began looking about a little," answered Harriet Burrell. + +"There are too many thtoneth," objected Tommy. "I thhall be afraid of +thtubbing my toeth all the time." + +"Lift your feet and you won't," suggested Margaret, with a smile. + +"Buthter, I didn't athk for your advithe," retorted Tommy. + +"There are the foothills," interrupted the guide, "and there is +Chocorua. Isn't she a beauty?" + +This was the girls' first real glimpse of the White Mountains. +Chocorua loomed high in the air, reminding them of pictures they had +seen of ancient temples, except that this was higher than any temple +they had ever seen pictured. Its gray domes, flanked by the other tops +of the neighboring range, stood out clearly defined. + +"Three thousand five hundred feet above sea level," the guide informed +them, waving a hand toward Chocorua. "Doesn't look that high, does it?" + +"Have we got to climb up there?" questioned Margery. + +"We are going to. We do not have to if we don't want to," replied +Hazel. + +"Oh, dear, I'm too tired to go on," whined Margery. + +"I knew Buthter could never climb a mountain," observed Tommy, with a +hopeless shake of her little tow-head. "But never mind, Buthter, you +can thtay here and wait until we come back. It will only be a few +weekth and you won't be tho very lonely. Of courthe, you will mith me +a great deal." + +"Don't worry yourself over me," snapped, Buster. "I can climb as well +as you. But if I did stay behind, you can make up your mind I wouldn't +miss you." + +"Stop squabbling, girls," laughed Harriet. "Neither one of you could +get along without the other." + +The granite domes soon faded in the waning light. The driver urged on +his horses. The carry-all bumped over the uneven road, swaying giddily +from side to side, the girls clinging tightly to the sides of the +wagon, fearing that they might be thrown out. Darkness shut out pretty +much everything at an early hour. Janus decided that they had better +wait for supper till they reached the "Shelter," a cabin part way up +the side of the mountain, where tourists halted for a rest or to stay +over night when intending to climb the mountain. It was not expected +that there would be any save themselves there on this occasion. + +The road grew so uneven that the driver became a little uneasy. He +finally declared that he did not dare to try following the trail up to +the Shelter that night; that either he would put them down at the foot +of the mountain or make camp there until the following morning, when he +would continue the journey up the mountain to the shelter. + +Janus consulted with Miss Elting. He said they could walk to the +Shelter in a couple of hours, provided the girls were hard enough to +stand the climb. The guardian assured him that they were equal to +anything in the walking line. It was, therefore, settled that the +driver should take them to the foot of the mountain, whence they would +make their way on foot to the stopping place for the night, thus +beginning their tramp at the base of the mountain. + +"How much farther have we to go?" questioned Harriet. + +"A mile farther on we pass over a long, covered bridge. The road takes +a sharp bend beyond that. The foot of the mountain lies less than a +mile from the end of the bridge. We shall soon be there," answered +Janus. The girls burst forth into song. Janus had to shout to make +himself heard when he spoke to the driver. The horses were traveling +at a lively pace. They did not enjoy the disturbance behind them, and +their driver, having wrapped the reins about his arms to give him +greater purchase, was pulling sturdily, his feet braced against the +dashboard of the carry-all. + +"Here's the bridge," cried the guide. + +A lantern had been lighted and hung from the rear axle of the +carry-all. But this did little more than cast weird, flickering +shadows ahead. It certainly did not light up the road ahead of there. +In the dense darkness the bridge was not visible to the eyes of the +Meadow-Brook Girls. + +"The bridge ith coming. Low bridge!" piped Tommy. + +"Be quiet; I fear we are making the driver's work difficult," warned +Miss Elting. + +"Oh, but isn't this the fine ride?" cried Crazy Jane. "It's almost +like being in my own darlin' automobile with the landscape slipping +past on a greased track. Now, what if one of the horses should fall +down? Wouldn't we be tumbled into a goose pile!" chuckled Jane. + +"Oh, thave me!" cried Tommy. + +"Don't suggest anything so awful," begged Margery. + +"Oh! What's that!" exclaimed Harriet. + +The others did not know to what she referred, but they felt a sudden +jolt as the vehicle lurched to the side of the road, then back again. + +"What is it?" demanded Hazel. + +"The horses have taken fright," answered the guardian calmly. "Be +careful that you do not excite them further." + +"Are--are the hortheth running away?" stammered Tommy. + +"Not yet," reassured Harriet. + +"Don't be frightened," called back the guide encouragingly. "Jim can +hold any hosses that ever chewed a bit. We'll be on the bridge in a +minute; then they can thrash all they want to. Look out!" + +There followed a crash, a breaking, splintering sound as the right rear +wheel of the carry-all swerved into the side of the covered bridge a +few inches from the outer end. The wheel put a hole through the siding +of the bridge. It was fortunate for the carry-all that the wheel had +not swerved a second earlier. Had it done so, the carry-all must have +been wrecked on the stout post at the outer end of the long bridge. + +What had so startled the horses none of the occupants of the carry-all +knew. The driver knew that they had had a narrow escape from being +hurled down an embankment. It was a bad place for horses to take +fright. He had managed, however, to pick the team up by the reins and +set them down in the middle of the road, where they remained but a few +seconds before they were swerving to one side again, then they began +leaping and galloping through the long, covered bridge. + +Once more a rear wheel raked the boards. The girls cried out, fearing +that they would be hurled through the siding and down into the river. +They were clinging to the sides of the vehicle, gripping them firmly +with their hands. + +"Don't lose your presence of mind, girls," cried Miss Elting. "I think +the driver has the animals under control now." She was obliged to +shout in order to make herself heard. + +The roar of the carry-all on the floor of the bridge was terrifying. +As the vehicle rolled over the loose planks of the bridge floor the +sound was almost as if a Gatling gun were being fired, accompanied by a +crash, now and then, as the wagon was hurled against the side of the +bridge. + +"Oh, what a mess!" shouted Jane McCarthy. "Are we near the other end, +or has the miserable old bridge turned around since we started? The +horses are now going faster than ever, and we'll be going at the same +rapid gait a few moments from now, or maybe seconds----" + +Crash! + +The carry-all once more struck the side. Then something else occurred. +There was a sudden stoppage of the horses, accompanied by the sound of +breaking woodwork. It was as if the bridge were collapsing. The +Meadow-Brook Girls were piled in a heap at the forward end of the +vehicle, then hurled straight over the dashboard and on over the +horses, amid shouts and screams. There seemed to be no end to the +crashing and screaming for some moments; then a sudden silence settled +over the darkened structure, broken only by the frightened neigh of a +horse. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +AN EXCITING NIGHT + +"Girls!" It was Miss Elting who called. "Oh, girls, are you hurt?" + +"I'm killed. Thave me!" moaned Grace. + +"I think I'm alive, but I'm not sure," cried Jane. "I've scraped the +skin from my nose entirely. What a mess! what a mess!" + +"Wait!" The guardian's voice was commanding. "Margery, Hazel!" + +"Ye--es," answered two voices in chorus. They sounded far away. + +"Harriet!" There was no reply. She repeated the call, but there was +still no answer. Miss Elting became alarmed now. She was still +sitting in the broken carry-all, to which she had clung desperately at +the sudden stoppage, thus preventing herself from being hurled out, as +had occurred to her charges. Thus far not a word had been heard from +the two men. Now, a groan somewhere ahead attracted the teacher's +attention. + +"Girls, don't move! We do not know what has occurred. Does any of you +know where Mr. Grubb is?" + +"Yeth. He ith right here. I jutht touched hith whithkerth," answered +Tommy in a weak, plaintive little voice. "I gueth he ith dead." + +The guardian clambered from the rear of the carry-all. The lantern had +been extinguished by the shock. She got down, carefully groping about +in the blackness for the lantern. She uttered a little exclamation of +thanksgiving when her fingers came in contact with it. But the chimney +had been shattered by the shock. Only the lower part of it remained, +just enough to shield the flame when once this should have been +restored. It was but the work of a few seconds to relight the lantern. +Miss Elting ran around to the front of the vehicle. She beheld a +strange scene. + +Both horses were down. At first they appeared to be lying on the floor +of the bridge. A closer look showed the guardian that the forelegs of +each animal had gone right through the floor. Then the further +discovery was made that there was little flooring at this point. The +planks that had once formed the floor at this particular spot lay piled +on each side of the driveway. Only the beams held the horses from +falling through to the water, a few feet below. + +A short distance beyond lay Janus Grubb, sprawled on his back; while +close beside him, lay the form of the driver. Margery and Hazel were +sitting to the right, huddled in each other's arms. Tommy, +white-faced, with her feet curled under her, sat close beside Janus, +gazing down into his bewhiskered face. Jane McCarthy was leaning +against one side of the bridge. Her own face had lost much of its +usual color. + +"Harriet!" gasped Miss Elting, "what has happened to her?" + +Jane shook her head and pointed to the opening in the floor. The +guardian understood. Harriet must have been hurled right through and +down into the river. + +"Girls! Look after the two men. Hurry!" She ran to the opening, then +lying down, peered into the darkness. "Ha-r-r-r-i-et!" + +"Hoo-e-e-e-e-e!" + +The guardian sprang to her feet. It was unmistakably Harriet Burrell +who had answered her, but the voice of the Meadow-Brook Girl had +sounded far away. Miss Elting believed that the girl had succeeded in +reaching the bank of the river. Jane had thrown herself down beside +the unconscious guide and was at work making heroic efforts to bring +him back to consciousness. The driver already was struggling to get to +his feet. Tommy hopped up, and, hurrying to him, gave such assistance +as her strength would permit. + +The driver staggered; after walking a few steps he leaned against the +side of the bridge with both hands pressed to his forehead. Tommy +regarded him wonderingly. His head was still dizzy; he had no clear +conception of what had occurred. + +By this time the guardian had gone to Jane's assistance and was +pressing a bottle of smelling salts to the nostrils of Janus Grubb. +Janus twisted his head uneasily, as though to get away from the pungent +odor of the salts. + +"He will be all right in a few moments, I think. I wish we had some +water," murmured Miss Elting. + +Jane ran to the wagon. She returned with a rope and a pail. Tying the +rope to the pail, she lowered the latter through the opening in the +floor. A few moments later she presented a pail of water to Miss +Elting, which the guardian sprinkled little by little over the face of +their guide. Janus gasped, struggled and rolled over. Jane turned him +on his back again. This time a solid volume of water was dashed into +his face. He turned over and made a feeble attempt to rise. Another +volume of water smote him in the back of the neck, hurling him to the +bridge floor. This time Janus got to his feet, brushing his eyes, for +they were so full of water that he could not see. + +"I can let him down at the end of the rope and souse him in the +stream," suggested Crazy Jane. + +"No, no, no!" protested the guardian. She took Janus firmly by the +arm. "Where do you feel bad?" + +"I swum! I swum!" mumbled the guide. "I swum!" + +"You'd have had to swim if you had gone through the hole in the floor," +retorted Crazy Jane. "Harriet went down there, and----" + +"Eh? What--wha--at?" gasped the guide, blinking rapidly. + +"Sit down a moment," urged Miss Elting. "None of us is seriously hurt. +How about you?" gazing at the driver. "No bones broken, I trust?" + +The driver shook his head. Janus was gazing at the opening in the +floor with a puzzled expression on his face. He stared at the planks +banked on each side, nodding understandingly. + +"Been fixing the bridge. Forgot to put the planks back in place," he +muttered. + +"Isn't it rather strange that so important a thing should have been +forgotten, Mr. Grubb?" questioned the guardian significantly. + +"I swum! I swum!" repeated Janus, running reflective fingers through +his beard. + +"You haven't thwum yet, but if you thtep into that hole you will have +the pleathure of thwimming," warned Tommy, for the guide had been +edging closer and closer to the opening in the bridge floor. He drew +back a step. + +The driver had recovered sufficiently to note the distressing condition +of his horses. Now he limped toward them. "They're goners!" he +groaned. + +"I don't believe it," answered Jane shortly. "They will be, if you +don't do something. Why don't you get them out?" + +"How can I?" moaned the poor fellow. + +Jane started to speak, but a loud "Hoo-e-e-e" from the far end of the +bridge caused her to pause. The call was repeated. Then they heard +Harriet running toward them. + +"Look out for holes in the floor!" yelled Crazy Jane. "You can't tell +anything about this perforated old bridge. Come back here, Tommy +Thompson!" Tommy had started to run to meet Harriet. Margery grabbed +and pulled her back. Tommy jerked away angrily, but this time it was +Jane McCarthy who laid a firm grip on the little girl's arm. "You stay +right here." Jane lifted her voice in a prolonged call. + +Harriet Burrell answered in kind. A moment later Harriet came running +up to them, dripping from her unexpected plunge into the river. + +"Was any one hurt? Oh, I'm so glad!" as a quick glance told her that +all of her companions were there. "Oh, those poor horses!" + +"Buthter thought thhe wath killed, but after I told her thhe wath all +right, thhe felt better," observed Tommy, with a sidelong glance at +Margery. + +"Just as though I'd pay any attention to what you say," retorted +Margery, her chin in the air. "You talk entirely too much." + +"I'm so glad you weren't hurt, Harriet," said Hazel, "but I'm sorry you +are so wet." + +The water was running in little rivulets from Harriet's clothing. But +her interest was centered not on herself but on the two men who were +standing by the groaning horses, trying to decide what could be done to +get the animals out. Miss Elting slipped an arm about Harriet's waist. + +"How thankful I am that you are safe," whispered the guardian, kissing +Harriet impulsively. + +"The water was very cold," shivered Harriet. "I really didn't know +what had happened until I went in all over." + +"Were you thrown directly through the opening?" questioned the guardian. + +"No. I think I fell on a horse first. I rolled off before I could get +hold of anything to stop myself. Then----" + +"Then you fell in," finished Tommy. + +"Yes, I did, and with unpleasant force. Fortunately, the water was +deep and the current not very swift. But it was so dark that I +couldn't see which way to swim. I found the direction of the shore by +swimming across the current; otherwise I might have gone up or down +stream, for I could distinguish nothing. I touched bottom just a +little way from where I fell in. Had I struck just a little way to the +right I think I should have been killed. You girls are fortunate that +you didn't fall through the bridge. Was any of you hurt?" + +"Yeth, Jane lotht thome thkin from her nothe, but she can grow thome +more, and it will thoon be better again." Tommy's reply drew a smile +from her companions, but they were all too much disturbed to feel like +indulging in merriment. Besides, there were the suffering horses. + +"May I make a suggestion?" asked Harriet, releasing herself from Miss +Elting's embrace. + +"Somebody will have to make one pretty soon," declared Janus, brushing +a sleeve across his forehead. "What is it?" + +"I should think that if you were to place the ends of planks under the +horses, we might pry them up a little, so that, one by one, you could +shove other planks under them. In that way we might get enough planks +down to enable the horses to get a foothold." + +"Can't be done," answered the driver. + +"There will be no harm in trying," urged Harriet. + +"It's a good idea," nodded Janus, after having stroked his whiskers +reflectively. Janus always consulted his whiskers when in doubt, and +among the graying hairs usually found that for which he sought. He was +the first to go after a plank. The near horse was the one to feel the +support of the plank as the guide worked it under one side of the +animal. Janus turned the end of the plank over to Harriet Burrell +while he ran for another plank. This was repeated, the driver, after a +time, taking part in the operation, until four planks had been worked +in under the horse. + +"Now, all work together," urged Harriet. "Mr. Grubb, see if you and +the driver can't get a couple of planks clear under the horse. If you +can get the end of a plank on one of the beams you will have done +something really worthwhile." + +Miss Elting, Jane, Hazel and Harriet each were assigned to "man" the +end of a plank. + +"Now, all together! Hee--o--hee!" shouted Janus. A plank slid easily +underneath the stomach of the near horse and came to rest on a beam. + +"Hooray!" cheered the guide. "That's what comes of having a head on +one's shoulders. Young woman, you've got one. Let him down a little. +Here, Jim, you get some planks around under that other horse. We'll +have them up, but we may break their legs in the final effort. I don't +know. Somebody will have to settle for the damage done here to-night." + +"The wagon is broken," Margery informed them. + +"Never mind the wagon. It's the horses we must save," answered Miss +Elting. "We can't leave them to suffer." + +Fifteen minutes of hard labor sufficed to raise the horses a little and +to place them in greater comfort. The sharp edges of the beams no +longer cut into the flesh, and their breathing was less labored. The +party paused to rest from their efforts. + +"If we had some rope and pulleys we could get the animals out without +much difficulty," reflected Janus. "But how to do it now I don't know. +I swum! I'm dead-beat." + +"Can you lift?" questioned Jane. + +"Tolerable." + +"Then why not pick up first one fore-foot, then another, and place them +on the planks. You'll see what the horses will do then." + +Janus scratched his head and fingered his beard. + +"I swum, Jim!" he grinned, "let's try it." + +Each man took hold of a fore-foot of each horse, and, without much +difficulty, raised it to the planks before each animal. They were +about to go after the other fore-foot when Tommy, who had been standing +back at a safe distance, attracted their attention by uttering a little +cry. + +"Oh, look! it ith growing light," she exclaimed. + +"Daylight? Why, it is getting light," cried Margery. + +A faint glow was flickering at the end of the bridge, casting rays +through the farther portion of the covered structure. The light was of +a reddish tinge. At first, not realizing that the night was still +young, the Meadow-Brook Girls welcomed that light with shouts of +approval. But there was something strange about the glow that caused +Miss Elting, Harriet and the men to gaze in open-mouthed wonder. + +As they gazed the glow seemed to grow stronger. Then it flamed into a +great glare of red. + +"Fire! Fire!" yelled Jane McCarthy. + +"The bridge is on fire! Run for your lives!" shouted the guide. +"Never mind the horses. Run!" + +With one common impulse the girls and their guardian started toward the +other end of the bridge, which was not more than twenty feet from them. +Margery uttered a scream of terror. Jane grabbed her by one shoulder, +giving her a violent shake. + +"Don't make things any worse than they are. Tell when you begin to +burn, but don't make us think we are burning till the fire gets to us." + +"Go on, girls," cried Harriet. "I'm going back to the other end. We +must think about saving our packs and our horses." Unheeding their +warning shouts, the girl ran back toward where Janus and the driver +were still engaged in trying to lift the horses. Miss Elting had +followed Harriet, and the two women now implored Janus to hurry with +the rescue of the animals. + +"It's no use!" he exclaimed angrily. "We can't do it before the fire +gets to us. We are likely to lose our packs, too, unless we let these +horses go and attend to them." + +"Never mind the packs," said Harriet stubbornly, as she laid a firm +hand on one of the guide's arms. "We are going to save these poor +animals. Let us keep on trying, and I feel sure we can not fail. Now, +think hard. What is the quickest and best thing to be done?" + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ON THE BURNING BRIDGE + +"We'll have to do our own thinking," then said Jane McCarthy, who had +come upon the scene at that moment. She glared at the guide and the +driver, who stood staring dumbly at Harriet. + +"We must save those helpless horses," repeated Harriet, her eyes +turning anxiously toward the two patient animals. + +"But you girls must not stay here too long," cautioned Miss Elting. + +Suddenly Crazy Jane burst forth into a loud hurrah, and, running to the +wagon, returned to the driver with a hand-saw. By this time Margery, +Tommy and Hazel had come cautiously back to where the horses were. + +"Saw the timbers out from under the horses," advised Jane. "It may +hurt them to drop into the river, but it's better for them to drown +than to be burned alive! Move quickly, now!" + +"Janus," muttered the driver, "we're a pair of mutton-heads!" + +"We are," agreed the guide, as he ran to get the other saw. + +The rasping of the saws began instantly, the Meadow-Brook Girls moving +closer to observe the work, casting frequent apprehensive glances over +their shoulders at the thick cloud of smoke which issued from the +farther end of the bridge. The fire did not appear to be making much +headway, still it did not seem to be abating. Already the framework of +that end of the bridge was outlined like the figure in a set piece of +fireworks. They could hear the crackling of the flames, and the wooden +tunnel was becoming filled with smoke. Tommy was coughing, to remind +her companions that they were in need of other quarters. + +"I don't think I would cut the ends off," suggested Harriet. "Saw them +nearly through, then cut the opposite ends. Otherwise you may leave +the animals dangling in the air with no means of helping them out." + +Janus nodded approvingly at Harriet's suggestion. + +"I reckon you're right," he agreed. "Jim, tackle the other end. We'll +let this near horse down first and see how he makes out. If it works, +we'll drop the other fellow in the same way." + +A warning snapping sound was heard. + +"Stand clear!" bellowed Janus. + +The girls sprang back, and just in time. Pieces of plank shot up into +the air, one striking the bridge roof with a crash. Then the near +horse, with a neigh of fear, disappeared into the black water below +them. They heard a loud splash. Harriet, leaning over, peered into +the river. + +"He's swimming. I can hear him," she cried joyously. "Isn't that fine +that you thought of that, Mr. Grubb?" she exclaimed, turning a flushed +face to the guide. + +"Huh! Thought of it? I'd never thought of it if I'd kept my thinking +machine going for a hundred years. Now the other horse, Jim. We'll +have to step lively. Them flames is getting too nigh for comfort. Now +you folks had better get out of here!" he commanded. + +"Not yet," smiled Harriet, "we still have work to do. We must get the +things out of the wagon. If we lose them, we shall be in a fix." + +"Mercy! I hadn't thought of that," cried the guardian. "But shall we +have time to carry them across?" + +"The men will have to carry the heavier articles. I think we shall be +able to manage it. Come, help me get the things out of the carry-all." + +Harriet ran to the wagon, followed closely by Miss Elting and Margery. +Tommy alone held back. Hazel and Jane also hurried forward to assist. + +"All those who wish their suppers will have to work," cried Harriet +Burrell. + +"We need a fire company more than thupper jutht now," retorted Tommy +Thompson. "If we had a fire engine we could make thith fire look +thick." + +Harriet was in the carry-all passing out bundles and packs. She +dropped a sack of cooking utensils to the floor of the bridge with a +great clatter. + +"Carry them to land," she directed Tommy and Hazel. + +"There goes the other horse," cried Miss Elting, as a crash and a great +splash for the moment cut short their conversation. Janus uttered a +yell of triumph. + +"We got 'em both free!" he shouted. + +"That's what," agreed Jim. "We'll pull the carry-all ashore next." + +"I am afraid we won't have time. The fire is almost too near for +comfort now," said Harriet. Then she darted back to the carry-all to +secure a blanket that she recalled had been laid over the back of the +front seat of the vehicle, and which had been forgotten when removing +the other things. Reaching the wagon, she decided to take the cushions +also. Then Harriet made a final search of the wagon to be sure that +nothing of value had been left. The carry-all had been well stripped. + +The girl sprang out, casting a quick glance overhead, when she +discovered, to her dismay, that the flames were already at work, they +having rapidly eaten their way along the ridge of the bridge. + +"Gracious! I must get out of here and without a moment's loss of +time," she cried. + +"Hurry!" bellowed the voice of the guide. "We haven't time to save the +carry-all. Get out from under. The bridge is going to fall." + +As Harriet made a dash toward safety the burned end of the bridge fell. +There was a rending noise as the weakened girders gave way under the +weight of the bridge. A shower of sparks and flame shot into the air. + +Miss Elting, Jane and the two men stood on shore, shouting with all +their might to Harriet Burrell. But Harriet did not hear their warning +shouts, nor had she need of warning. She knew only too well what was +occurring. Suddenly the long bridge caved in and went down well past +the middle with a tremendous crashing and snapping and roaring, sparks +and flames shooting still higher than before, the burning timbers +hissing and sending up a great cloud of steam as they fell into the +river. + +Miss Elting, grown dizzy at thought of Harriet, had stumbled and +fallen. Jane McCarthy quickly raised and dragged the guardian away. + +"Harriet!" shouted Miss Elting. + +The frightened girls took up the cry, but there was no answer. Harriet +had gone down with the burning bridge. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THEIR TROUBLES MULTIPLY + +Miss Elting and Jane McCarthy had climbed down the embankment, and, +standing at the river's edge, scanned the water with pale faces and +anxious eyes. Dark shapes drifted past them, shapes that caused them +to start apprehensively as they caught sight of them. + +Nearly all of the bridge that had been on fire was now in the water. +The structure had broken off short, taking most of the fire with it +into the river. The broken end, still in the air, glowed here and +there, the glowing spots fading and dying out one by one. Of this the +two women saw nothing. They were heavy with anxiety. It did not seem +to them possible that Harriet Burrell could have escaped alive. Janus +and Jim, who had run to the river bank, were now plunging here and +there, stumbling, groping, wading or swimming about in the river to +have a look at some bit of wreckage that resembled a human form. They +believed that Harriet had been swept down to her death with the burning +bridge. + +All at once Jane raised her voice in the cry of the Meadow-Brook Girls. +"Hoo-e-e-e!" she called shrilly. But no answering cry from the missing +girl relieved their suspense. + +"I'm afraid we can do no more," said Miss Elting with a catch in her +voice. "Oh, why did I leave her? Why did I not insist on Harriet's +leaving that awful place with me?" + +"You couldn't help it," soothed Jane. "But you mark me, Miss Elting, +Harriet is alive and sound, just like the rest of us. You leave it to +Harriet Burrell to take care of herself. I tell you it's all right. +Hoo-e-e-e-e!" + +"Don't! Oh, don't!" begged the guardian. + +"Why not? She'll hear me and she'll know which way to go when she +comes up from the water," answered Crazy Jane breezily. She was +putting on a brave show of cheerfulness, and somehow this cheerfulness +began to take hold of Miss Elting. Her shattered hopes began to rise; +she began to take courage even against her better judgment, which told +her that Harriet could not possibly have escaped. Even granting that +she had, they would have seen or heard from her before this. + +Janus stood dripping beside them. + +"Now, you ladies go back. I'll do all the looking that's necessary. +Candidly, I don't think Miss Harriet escaped. She was caught when the +old bridge fell down, but I'll keep on looking for her. I'll keep +right on looking all the rest of the night." + +Jane led Miss Elting up the bank despite the protests of the guardian +that she did not wish to go, but preferred to remain where she was. + +"We can do nothing here," urged Jane, more gently now. It was all that +she could do to keep from breaking down and crying, but she knew she +must keep up her courage. Besides, she was still hoping, at times +almost believing, that they would find Harriet Burrell awaiting them on +shore. + +"Didn't you find her?" cried Hazel. They had climbed the steep bank +and returned to the girls. + +Neither woman answered. + +Margery burst forth into a loud wail. Tommy and Hazel stood in blank, +rigid silence. They could not believe that Harriet was gone. Miss +Elting sank down on a pack, while Jane stood gazing moodily off over +the sluggish river. + +Janus came in a few moments behind the guardian and Jane, his arms +hanging limply at his sides, his chin lowered almost to his chest. + +"I'm afraid it isn't any use to look further," he said. The little +party scarcely heard the guide. Jim had gone on up the bank. They +could hear him whistling and chirping to the missing horses to call +them to him. Then they caught the sound of a whinny and a moment later +another. The animals had heard and recognized their master. Jim +captured and haltered them with the ropes that he had brought from the +carry-all for the purpose. He then led the animals off to one side, +where he secured them to trees. The driver then walked slowly along +the bank to join the others of the party. + +Suddenly Jane McCarthy cried out sharply, "Who's that?" + +A series of little splashes had been heard out in the river; then, out +of the gloom, grew the dim outlines of a moving figure. + +"Who is it?" cried Miss Elting, scarcely daring to trust her voice. + +"It is I. What is all the excitement about?" called a familiar voice. + +"Harriet!" + +A chorus of screams greeted Miss Elting's cry. Four girls and their +guardian, regardless of the wetting they were receiving, rushed +helter-skelter into the river, throwing themselves upon the staggering +Harriet. They snatched her up, carrying her ashore despite her +struggles and protests. They laid her down on the packs, each trying +to do something for their companion whom they had believed to be lost. + +"For goodness' sake! what is the matter?" demanded Harriet, sitting up. + +"Lie still, dear," urged Miss Elting. "You will be all right in a few +moments." + +"All right? There is nothing the matter with me, except that I'm wet +and cold." Harriet got up and shook herself, gazing anxiously at her +companions. "What is it, girls? Tell me!" + +"Oh, Harriet, don't you know?" breathed Hazel. + +"No, I don't. You are all here, aren't you?" she demanded, with a +quick glance about her. + +"Yes, now we are," nodded the guardian. "Don't you understand? We +thought you had gone down with the bridge." + +"Well, I did go down, but not with the bridge. What of it?" + +"We thought you were dead," continued Miss Elting, her voice shaking. + +Harriet looked from one to the other of her friends. "Why, you poor +dears, no wonder you looked so woe-begone. Now that it is all over, I +don't blame you for thinking so." + +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus, combing out his whiskers with the +spread fingers of his right hand. + +"So did I," laughed Harriet. "That's why I'm here." + +"Tell us how you escaped. Can't you see, we are hardly able to believe +that it is really you?" was Miss Elting's excited reply. + +"It's myself, and no other, as Jane would say. After you had left me I +ran back to the wagon to get the blanket and cushions we had left +there. I knew the fire was near me, but I thought I had time enough to +get away from it. Suddenly I felt the bridge giving way. I was close +to the opening into which the horses fell when things began to happen, +and I made a long, desperate dive into the river, hoping to get out +from under the bridge before it fell on me. I remember seeing a great +shower of sparks falling around me as I shot through the air. I +wondered if it were the bridge that was falling with me. Then I struck +the water. I swam under the water with the current as fast as I could, +then when I thought I had gone far enough, to make it safe to rise, I +did so. I don't recall what happened after that. I must have been hit +by something, or else bumped into a timber when I rose to the surface. +It is a wonder I wasn't drowned. When I came to my senses I was slowly +drifting down stream, clinging to a piece of charred plank. I know it +was charred because I could smell it. You know how wet, burnt wood +smells? This piece of plank smelled that way." + +"Nithe, appetizing odor," nodded Tommy. "Yeth? Go on." + +"I did not know where I was, but I knew I was drifting downstream. I +kicked until I had headed the plank at right angles to the shore, and +remained on the plank until my feet touched bottom; then I got up and +began plodding along upstream, knowing that, sooner or later, I should +find some of you folks. I heard someone call. Was it you, Jane?" + +"It was myself and no other," replied Jane + +"I thought it was you. I was out of breath, so I didn't try to make +you hear me." + +"Well, I swum!" ejaculated Grubb under his breath. "I never expected +to see her again." + +"What of the horses?" + +"Got 'em," answered the driver tersely, "Carry-all gone to the +everlasting bow-wows. What now?" + +"If the ladies want to go on, we will load the stuff onto the horses +and tote them that way to the place I had already picked out for a +camp." + +"How far is it?" questioned Miss Elting. + +"Oh, a mile farther on, I should say." + +"I fear it would not be wise to go on just now. I think it would be +better for us to make temporary camp somewhere hereabouts. We are +completely exhausted. Harriet must have a change of clothing and we +all need something warm to drink and eat. Do you know of a good place +to make camp for a little while?" + +"Back about a quarter of a mile is a grove. There's a creek running +through it. That will be a good camping place." + +"Please have the driver assist you in getting the equipment there. +Don't lose any time. Harriet, are you cold?" + +Harriet shook her head. "I'm going to help carry the stuff to our +camp. Then I shall be sure of keeping warm. Come on, girls. Where +are the bedding packs?" + +"Down there by the tree, Miss," replied Jim. + +Harriet ran to the tree. "I don't find them," she called a moment +later. + +Jim harried to her. He was mystified to discover that the packs were +not where he had left them. + +"You didn't throw them in the river, did you, Jim?" questioned Harriet. + +He declared vehemently that he had not; that he had placed them well +back from the water, and that they could not possibly have rolled into +the river. Jim announced that he was going down the shore to look for +them, just the same. This he did, starting away at a trot. +Wonderingly, and somewhat disturbed, for the bedding and the clothing +packs contained articles that could not be done without, the girls +instituted a search of their own, but found nothing. The loss of the +packs meant their return to town to purchase more supplies. No one +wished to do that, in the first place; and, in the second place, they +needed warm, dry bedding and dry clothing for use that night. + +While Jim was in search of the missing equipment the girls went to work +and collected the scattered contents of some of the packs. Suddenly +there came a long-drawn shout from down shore. + +"I've got 'em!" + +"I thought so," nodded Miss Elting. + +Jim came back lugging a pack soon thereafter. The water was running +from the pack, under whose weight the driver was staggering. + +"Found them in the river," he explained. "Had drifted into a cove. So +heavy I couldn't carry more than one at a time. The other packs are +open and the stuff spread all over the cove. I gathered it up as well +as I could. You'll have to give me a rope to tie the things up, or +else bring them back in wads." + +"In the river?" cried the girls in chorus. + +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus, pausing from his labors long enough to +consult his whiskers. "Things are moving kind of fast." + +"Oh, this is nothing, nothing at all," laughed Crazy Jane. "You will +think things are moving after you have been out with the Meadow-Brook +Girls for a time. Things always do move when we are around. Look out +that they don't move so fast as to sweep you with them. My! but this +is a heavy pack." + +The girls had taken the wet pack from Jim and were dragging it up the +bluff. Janus tied this and two other packs on the back of one horse, +then began making ready for doing the game with the other animal. By +the time he was ready, Jim had returned with still another wet bundle +of equipment. + +"Our clotheth are in that pack!" wailed Tommy, as she surveyed the +bedraggled outfit. "What thhall we do?" + +"Keep quiet and go on up to camp," said Margery severely. + +"Come, come, girls!" urged Miss Elting, a little irritated. She had +not yet quite recovered from the shock of Harriet's disaster. How +great a shock this had been her charges had not fully realized. + +The heaviest packs were soon loaded on the horses, after which Janus, +leading one animal, went ahead to pilot them to the spot chosen for a +temporary camp. Nearly half an hour was consumed in finding their way +there. The night was dark and many obstacles in the shape of rocks and +fallen trees and stumps were found in their path, and the guide's call +that they had arrived was the most welcome information the girls had +received in all that eventful day's journey. + +"Here, Jim, unload these packs while I gather the wood for a fire, so +that we can see what we are doing." + +"Fire!" scoffed Jim. "Little fire you will see to-night, unless you +have some matches. I haven't any. It was a bad job when I took this +contract." + +"Never mind expressing opinions. I'm responsible for making a fire, +and nobody is responsible for what's happened to us on the way out +here. It is just one of those unforeseen disturbances that come to the +best regulated families," said Janus testily. + +"I think I can find some wood for the fire," suggested Harriet. "I +just stumbled over a dry stick. Here it is. Is there any birch bark +here, Mr. Grubb?" + +"No, but I'll fire some leaves. I've got plenty of matches," he +confided to Harriet. "I didn't tell Jim. It isn't necessary for these +fellows to know too much, you know." + +"Just between ourselves," chuckled Harriet under her breath. + +"Sure. I've got a daughter just your age, and she's almost as good a +campaigner as you are, though I reckon this night's doings would have +been too much for her. You don't find many such as you and your +outfit." Having expressed his opinion, Janus proceeded to his work, +and a moment later had a quantity of dry leaves ablaze. + +"Now fetch on your wood. Who says Jan Grubb can't build a fire when +there isn't anything to build with?" he boasted. "Easy. Not so much +at a time. You'll press it down to the ground so the draft can't get +under it, and then your nice little fire will go out. We'll build a +roarer, then we can start a smaller one for cooking." + +"I won't be sorry to eat a square meal," chuckled Jane. + +"Nor I," agreed Margery, "I haven't eaten a square meal for ages." + +"Be careful, girls. Don't stand so close to the fire. You will burn +your skirts," warned Miss Elting. "You will have holes in them almost +before you realize it." + +Harriet had left that fire and was laying another. She called to Jane +to get the supper things ready for cooking. + +"Margery, you and Hazel set the table. If you can't find a dry +blanket, simply clear away a place on the ground. We shan't be so +particular about our table this evening." + +"What about it? Do we stay here all night, or are we to go on?" asked +the guide. + +"I think we had better make camp for the night," decided Miss Elting. + +"I reckon it would be a good idea. I'll make a line and dry out the +stuff. It's pretty wet," decided the guide. + +Janus drove some stakes that he had cut down. Then, stringing a rope +between them, the two proceeded to hang up the wet bedding, which +consisted solely of soft, gray army blankets. He took the wet clothing +of the girls from the packs, hanging this on the line also, and a few +moments later the blankets and the garments were steaming. So was the +coffee pot. Bacon was the only other food put over for cooking. The +travelers were too hungry to care to wait long for their supper. + +It was not long after Harriet and Jane had begun cooking the bacon +before they sounded the supper call. No one was late for supper that +night, and each sat down tired and travel-stained, but there was not a +word of complaint from either men or girls. They made merry over the +meal, made light of their misfortunes, and altogether enjoyed +themselves fully as well as if their circumstances had been different. + +"What I should like to know is how those things got in the river?" +demanded Janus as the meal neared a close. + +For a moment no one spoke. The guide's question was one which no +member of the little party was prepared to answer. So many unpleasant +events had occurred in such rapid succession that it was difficult to +place the cause of this latest disaster. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +HORSES GIVE THE ALARM + +"Will you tell me where you placed the first packs when you came ashore +with them?" asked Harriet, turning to the driver. + +"Right against the rocks." + +"And behind that large boulder?" + +"Yes. How did you know?" + +"Oh, I saw where you threw the first pack down. It left the mark of +the rope in the soft dirt," explained the girl. "I am not gifted with +second sight, but I did see that. What I started to say was that I +know how the packs got in the river." + +"You know?" asked Miss Elting. + +"Yes. They were thrown in." + +For a few impressive seconds no one spoke. Janus combed his whiskers +with the fingers of one hand. Jim, the driver, sprang to his feet, his +face crimson with anger. + +"I won't stand for that. Why should I throw the old stuff in the +river?" he demanded indignantly. + +"I beg your pardon. I did not accuse you of it," said Harriet. "I +know you did not. It was some other person who threw the packs into +the river." + +They gazed at her in amazement. + +"Harriet, what _do_ you mean?" cried the guardian. + +"If she had lived up here two hundred years ago or so the people would +have tied her to a stake and set fire to her," declared Janus, +punctuating his declaration with a series of quick, emphatic nods. + +"The driver placed the pack behind the boulder and against the rocks," +said Harriet. "Surely, he knew where he left the things. What is +more, I looked while he had gone in search of them, and, as I've +already said, saw where he had left the pack. The rest was easy to +understand. The packs could not possibly have got into the river +unless they had been thrown there." + +"But who----" began Jim. + +"I don't know. That it was none of our party goes without saying. +Perhaps Mr. Grubb can tell us. Who do you think it could have been, +sir?" she asked, turning to the guide. + +"I swum! I swum!" muttered the guide. + +"It isn't possible!" exploded Jim. + +"I reckon Miss--Miss Burrell is right, Jim," agreed the guide. "Either +you threw the stuff in, or somebody else did, and we know you didn't, +so what's the answer? The young lady has given us the answer, and +there you are." + +"I'm sorry," pondered Miss Elting. "I was in hopes this journey would +be free from unpleasantness, but here we are meeting with difficulties +at the very start of it. Have you any enemies who would wish to do you +harm, Mr. Grubb?" + +"No, no, no! Nothing like that, Miss." + +"Do you know a man named Collins?" + +"Collins? Never heard of him. Who is he?" + +"I don't know. I will tell you something that you do not know, either. +The night we arrived at Compton a man called on me at the hotel to ask +me to discharge you and let him act as our guide instead. He said he +needed the money. He also said we would be sorry for having taken you +as our guide; that we would get into no end of trouble were we to go +with you. He intimated a great deal more than he put into words. It +was plain that he disliked you very much. He made a distinctly +unfavorable impression upon me. Harriet saw him, too, just as he was +taking his leave." + +"Well, I swum!" Janus was tugging nervously at his whiskers. There +were beads of perspiration on his forehead. His lips moved rapidly, +but he uttered no further words for some moments. + +"You may go out in the woodth and thay it, if you want to," suggested +Tommy, who had been regarding the guide shrewdly. + +Every one laughed. It was so plain that Janus _did_ want to say +things, yet restrained himself because of his position and the party he +was conducting. + +"Forget it!" he exploded. "I haven't any enemies. Nobody but a crazy +man would try to interfere with Janus Grubb. They know me. Why, there +isn't a man in the state who wouldn't swear by me. If you think I'm +not dependable, that----" + +"No, Mr. Grubb," hastily interposed Miss Elting. "Please do not +misunderstand me. We are quite satisfied with you, but I hope you will +be cautious. It is plain that you _have_ an enemy, and, what is more, +I am positive that I have talked with that man, and that we had better +proceed with caution." + +"I'll take care of the rascal, once I set eyes on him," growled the +guide. "What-for-looking man was he?" + +Miss Elting described her caller, Harriet adding a few words with +reference to the peculiar hitch of Collins's shoulders as he walked. +Janus eyed the guardian with a worried look. His fingers opened and +closed nervously. He gulped, then turned to her. + +"Perhaps I'd better not go on with you. I'll get some one else to take +you through the mountains. I----" + +"No, Mr. Grubb. You will go on with us," insisted Miss Elting. "We +are not afraid. We are quite used to taking care of ourselves, but I +wished to impress upon you the advisability of being on your guard. If +you have an enemy who intends to do you harm, naturally we shall be +likely to suffer with you. For that reason I urge caution. Another +thing about which I should like to speak is the burning of the bridge +this evening." + +Janus braced himself. It was as if he looked for an inquiry on this +subject, but had been hoping to avoid it. + +"Yes?" + +"I wish some one would explain how the bridge happened to catch fire," +urged the guardian. + +"So do I," he admitted, still consulting his abundant whiskers. "What +do you think?" + +"I think some one set it on fire," declared Jane explosively. "I'd +like to meet the villain on the broad highway, some time when I have my +car!" + +"Yes, it was set on fire," agreed Hazel, nodding reflectively. "I +thought so at the time. Since thinking over the matter further I am +more positive of it than ever. It was an awful thing to do." + +"The person must have known that we could get away," suggested Harriet. +"I believe it was done to spite Mr. Grubb." + +"To spite me!" shouted Janus. "What do you mean?" + +"I believe the planks were taken up so that you couldn't get across the +bridge with your horses and wagon. I think whoever did it wished to +make you lose your horses and carry-all as well as our stuff. If it +was our mysterious enemy, then he knew that we could escape. But how +can you get back with your horses?" + +"There's another bridge five miles above here. I'll go that way in the +morning. I'll ride one of the horses and lead the other one." + +Harriet rose and piled more wood on the campfire. She then began +laying out the sections of their tent, which she laced together. Janus +stepped over to her. + +"You sit down, Miss. We will do that," he insisted. Jim was sent out +to cut some poles for the tent, Janus in the meantime smoothing off a +space on the ground on which to pitch the tent. The canvas was still +quite wet. Examination of the blankets showed that these had not yet +dried out sufficiently to make them fit for use. "I guess you'll have +to sit up and wait for the things to dry out," declared the guide. He +was troubled over what had happened as well as what had been said that +evening. Janus, too, was still thinking of the description given him +of Miss Elting's caller. He thought he knew whom that description +fitted, all except the beard. It was the beard that spoiled the +picture he had in mind. He pondered over this all during the time he +was working on the tent, pausing now and then to stroke his own beard. + +"Don't worry about it. We are not afraid," said a soothing voice at +his side. He glanced around to find Harriet Burrell's brown eyes +smiling up at him. + +"Eh? What?" + +"I said don't worry. We aren't afraid." + +"Thank you, Miss. You are the right sort. Yes, we'll take care of the +gentleman, if it should prove to be some one trying to do us harm." + +"You know who it is?" + +Janus shook his head. + +"You think you know?" + +Again the guide shook his head dubiously. + +"I might, but I don't," he replied somewhat ambiguously. "It isn't the +party I had in mind. He isn't around these parts now. Jim is going to +see the sheriff when he gets back to Compton and have the officer look +into this bridge affair. I was a deputy sheriff in the county once. +The present sheriff will do anything for me. Besides, this is a matter +he's bound to look into, anyway. Here, Jim, get hold of that +end-pole." Harriet sprang to the other end and raised the pole, +setting the lower end firmly on the ground, motioning to Jane to make +fast the side wall on one side. Hazel also ran around to the other +side, Margery to an end, then, for a few moments, the Meadow-Brook +Girls gave an exhibition of their skill in pitching a tent, while Janus +and Jim stood back in open-mouthed wonder. + +"There!" exclaimed Harriet, flushed of face, eyes sparkling, "that is +the way we make camp." + +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus. "It beats all." + +Jane turned the blankets on the line. By this time the clothing in the +packs was fairly well dried, but it looked wrinkled and old. Harriet +now began digging a trench around the sides of the tent, so they should +not be flooded in case of rain. Janus took the pick from her, +completing the job. The Meadow-Brook Girls moved rather rapidly for +the slow-going Janus. He was unused to such activity, especially in +women. + +Margery and Tommy were busy clearing away the supper things. Jim went +out to bring the horses in nearer to camp, where he tied them up for +the night. At Janus's direction the driver also made a bed for the two +men out among the trees some distance from the tent that was to be +occupied by Miss Elting and her charges. The preparations for the +night went on with rather more confusion than usual, the party having +been more or less upset by the occurrences of the evening; beside +which, they had not yet become familiar with the routine that marked +the well-ordered camp. + +"There isn't a dry piece of cloth in the place," complained Margery, +after examining the line of blankets and clothing. "What are we going +to do?" + +"Sit up until the blankets, at least, have dried out," answered Jane. +"They are nearly dry now. See! Harriet is doing something to them. +What are you trying to do, darlin'?" + +"Spread out some blankets on the ground and I'll show you," answered +Harriet laughingly. "It is an Indian trick I learned a long time ago." + +The girl had placed some large, round stones in the fire, heating them +to a point that caused them to sizzle when a drop of water came in +contact with them. Poking three of these heated stones from the fire +Harriet rolled them in one of the gray army blankets. She did the same +with other blankets; then, passing from one to another, watched closely +for the odor of burning cloth. Only one blanket had to be opened to +permit the stones to cool off a little. For a full half hour these +heated stones were permitted to remain in the blankets. Then, upon +unrolling, the blankets were found to be dry and warm and ready for use +for the night. + +"Well, I swum!" observed the guide, "you've taught me something. Say, +what do you young women need of a guide? You know more about camping +than any guide in the state." + +"Oh, we have plenty to learn," answered Harriet brightly, busying +herself in placing the blankets in the tent, Jane, in the meantime, +being engaged in fitting the flap to the opening. The other girls were +standing about, sleepily rubbing their eyes, for it was now midnight, +and they were weary both from the physical exertions of the day and +night, as well as because of the many hours that had elapsed since they +left their beds shortly after daylight. + +"Is there anything more we can do for you?" risked Janus, with added +respect. + +"Nothing more, thank you," returned Miss Elting. "You two had better +turn in now. Good-night." + +Janus fixed the fire, then walked briskly away. In their tent the +girls had begun undressing before this. Fortunately their kimonos had +not been soaked, and after being warmed at the fire by Harriet the +loose gowns felt decidedly comfortable. No time was lost in rolling in +their blankets, which had been spread on the ground. For pillows +inflated rubber bags were used. No one complained of the hardness of +their beds, the little company was too sleepy. Silence soon settled +over the camp, and the Meadow-Brook Girls slept peacefully. + +Two hours had elapsed when they were awakened by a commotion somewhere +outside. The shrill neighs of the horses sounded the first alarm, +followed by what seemed to be a fall, a whinny, then the rapid beating +of hoofs. + +Harriet struggled to get out of her blanket, in which she had wound +herself tightly. The tent was in darkness. She decided that the +campfire had gone out. For a moment she had to think hard to recall +where she was. Before she had untangled herself, the others of the +party were struggling to free themselves from their blankets. + +"What is it?" cried Margery in terror. + +"Stay where you are! I don't know. Something is wrong out there," +answered Harriet, hurriedly pulling on her skirt. "Dress yourselves. +We don't know what--oh, look out!" + +Something struck the tent a terrific blow, followed by a series of +snorts and squeals. The tent began to waver. + +"It's falling!" cried Miss Elting warningly. + +"Get to the other side," shouted Harriet Burrell, herself leaping to +the right-hand side of the tent in a single bound. Her companions +fell, rather than sprang, aside. They were none too soon as it was, +for the tent swayed, then lurched to the right, collapsing over the +heads of the Meadow-Brook Girls amid the continued snorts of horses +near at hand, accompanied by the sound of beating hoofs and the shouts +of the two men at the other side of the camp. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CRAZY JANE'S "FIND" + +Tommy, having been unable to free herself from her blanket, had rolled +over and over until she reached the opposite side of the tent. Margery +Brown, not having got out of the way, had been hit on the head by a +tent-pole, which knocked her down and so dazed her for the moment that +she lay whimpering where she had fallen. + +Of this Harriet and Miss Elting were unaware. Their efforts were +directed toward getting out of the tent to learn what had occurred. +They could hear the canvas ripping; and the noise of the floundering +hordes just outside was still going on. Together the two women fought +their way out from under the canvas. + +"Catch 'em! Catch 'em!" Jim was yelling at the top of his voice. "The +horses are getting away!" + +"Yes, and they have taken a good part of the tent with them," called +Harriet. + +The men had halted, not knowing whether they should proceed or not. + +"Come on! come on!" cried Miss Elting. She could not see the horses, +but she could hear them crashing through the bushes whinnying in +terror. There was something sinister in this sudden outbreak, +something that neither Miss Elting nor Harriet Burrell understood. +Jane, having crawled from beneath the overturned tent, came running to +them. + +"What a mess!" she cried in dismay. "I feel as though I had been in a +railroad wreck. What was it?" + +"The horses," answered Harriet. + +"Is that all? Didn't anything fall on us?" + +"I think we had a narrow escape from being trampled by the horses." + +The guide came running to them. + +"Was any one hurt? What, the tent down?" + +"Yes. The animals ran into it and tore it down," replied the guardian. +"I don't understand it at all. Do you, Mr. Grubb?" + +"I swum, I don't!" he exploded. "Run into the tent? Why should they +do that?" + +"They must have been terribly frightened," averred Jane McCarthy. +"Now, what could have frightened a pair of horses enough to make them +so blind they couldn't see a tent? Will you tell me that?" + +The guide kicked the embers of the campfire, and piled on some light +wood. At this juncture Hazel came out, leading Margery, who had both +hands pressed to her head. + +"Something fell on her head," explained Hazel. + +Miss Elting took Margery to the fire and made her sit down. Margery +had no need to be urged. She sat down, all in a heap, and would have +toppled over had not the guardian held her up. A lump as large as a +horse chestnut had risen on the stout girl's head. + +"Oh, my dear! You did get a bump, didn't you?" cried the guardian. +"Sit right where you are. I will bring some liniment. Fortunately, +the skin is not broken. Mr. Grubb, won't you please see what you can +do with the tent? I fear it is seriously damaged." + +"I want to look at those halters, first, if you can wait a minute." + +Miss Elting nodded, then hurried to the collapsed tent, under which she +burrowed and groped about in the dark in search of her medicine kit, +which she finally found and brought to the fireside. Margery's swollen +head was treated until the soreness had become eased a little. Harriet +and Jane supported her to a blanket that they had brought from the +tent, and, after tucking her in, left the unfortunate Margery to doze +and rest. Tommy crept over and kissed her on the forehead. + +"I'm tho thorry, Buthter," she whispered sympathetically. "I withh it +might have been me who got the bump on the head. But never mind; you +will be better pretty thoon. Don't you think tho?" + +Margery's answer was a moan. Tommy crept away with a troubled look in +her eyes. + +"The horses broke their halters," Janus was saying as Tommy joined her +companions. "Can't understand what skeered them into doing that. Jim +must be having a chase, or he'd have been back before this. Want to +quit?" + +"Certainly not," answered Miss Elting with emphasis. "But we should +like to know what it means." + +"Might have been a bird or something. Doesn't take much to startle a +horse when he's asleep. I've known a partridge to fly up before a +sleeping horse and cause the animal to break away and rip things up +generally. You'll find, if you find at all, that it was something like +this skeered Jim's nags." + +"I gueth it wath a two-legged bird," observe Tommy wisely. + +"That would be strange, indeed," answered Miss Elting. "How many legs +do birds ordinarily have?" + +Tommy flushed. + +"That ith tho. I wath thinking a bird had four legs, jutht like a +table." + +Margery groaned. + +"Oh! Are you feeling badly again, dear?" called Miss Elting. + +"Yes." + +"What is it? Does your head pain you?" questioned the guardian. + +"No, it's Tommy. She gives me a pain." + +"Tommy, come help us put up the tent," urged Harriet. "Maybe it will +fall on your head next. That will make Margery feel well again, won't +it, dearie?" + +Margery, in a weak voice, agreed that it would. Tommy retorted that +she didn't care if it did. + +The tent was found to have been quite badly torn. The hoofs of the +horses had left great rents in it. After examining the canvas it was +decided not to try to repair it that night, but to leave it as it was +until morning, when the girls would be better able to see what they +were doing. + +They had once more raised the tent, having been obliged to cut one new +pole, when Jim returned leading the horses. They were very nervous and +kept tossing their heads, rearing and plunging at the slightest unusual +sound. + +"Something wrong with them. I don't know what it is," he said, in +answer to the guide's glance of inquiry. + +"Lead 'em up here. Well, I swum!" + +"Wha--at is it?" demanded Margery, sitting up. + +"Look at that, will ye?" + +The girls got as close to the animals as was prudent. Janus parted the +hair on the hip of one horse and pointed to a small wound. The other +horse bore a similar wound. + +"Oh, they have hurt themselves. Isn't it too bad?" sympathized Hazel. + +"Hurt themselves!" exploded the guide. "Those wounds were made with +some sharp instrument, maybe a knife. I don't know. Now, can you +blame them for running away and taking the tent down? This business is +moving too fast! What are we going to do?" + +"You are the guide, sir. You are the responsible head of the party," +replied Miss Elting. + +"I thought I was, too. But, I swum! I don't know which from t'other +any more. Jim, what do you think about that?" pointing a finger at the +horses and indicating their wounded hips. "Did they get them +themselves, or did somebody do it to them? I can't make up my mind." + +"Some one did it, Jan. The hosses never did that themselves." + +"But how could they?" + +"Maybe tied a knife to a long stick. Didn't mean to do any serious +work or would have cut deeper. Just went through the skin, that's all, +but enough to set the critters crazy. See any one about these parts?" +questioned the driver, turning to the girls. + +"No, sir. We were under the tent. We saw nothing," answered Harriet. +"I think it must have been the squealing of the horses that awakened +us. The next we knew we were being trampled on and the tent was down +about our ears. Have you looked about here carefully, Mr. Grubb?" + +"For what?" returned Janus quickly. + +"For thpookth," Tommy replied pertly. + +"Pshaw!" + +"I mean have you looked where the horses were tied," explained Harriet. +"You did examine the halters. You say they were broken, not cut. I +think we should look further." + +"Yes. I agree with Harriet that we ought to make a careful search of +the ground about the camp," said Miss Elting. "We cannot afford to +miss opportunities that might solve this mystery. I wish you and the +driver would make a start," she urged. + +"All right. Where's the lantern?" demanded Janus. + +"It went down with the bridge," Harriet informed him. "We have +another, a smaller one, but I hardly think it will be of much use for +our purpose. I'll tell you what. Why not use some of the dry pitch +pine roots that you gathered?" suggested Harriet. "They are ready to +burn and will make excellent torches. We have plenty of kindling wood +without them." + +"An excellent idea," approved the guardian. + +Janus glanced at Jim and nodded. "I told you so," chuckled the guide. +"I knew she could suggest something." + +Janus gathered up some roots, whittling one end of each stick into a +sunflower-like bunch of shavings. These ends he lighted, whereat the +torches flared up into flickering, smoking flames. The guide led the +way, followed by the entire Meadow-Brook party, Margery Brown having +become so interested as to forget her troubles for the moment, though +the lump on her head was still large and painful. + +Just before reaching the trees where the horses had been tied, Miss +Elting suggested that all save the guide and Harriet stop where they +were. + +"If so many of us go forward we shall not only be likely to miss any +clues there are, but perhaps destroy them altogether. I have an idea +that we are going to find something that will enlighten us," she added. + +"That's good, common sense," agreed the guide, nodding his approval. + +"Is there anything you wish us to do, Mr. Grubb?" asked Miss Elting. + +"Little Brownie is the pilot," replied Janus jocularly, waving a hand +in Harriet Burrell's direction. "Whatever she suggests, we will do. +We can't do any better than to follow her lead." + +Harriet's cheeks flushed. She had taken a torch and began slowly to +circle the trees to which the horses had been tied upon arriving at the +camp site. At first her circle was a wide one, Janus following her +example by beginning well out beyond the trees. Harriet's smoking +torch was held close to the ground, sweeping from side to side, the +torch bearer assuming a crouching position with head well lowered, body +bent almost double. + +"Look out!" shouted Tommy, as Harriet came abreast of her party. + +"Wha--at?" Harriet straightened up sharply. "What is it!" + +"You will burn your nothe, if you don't look out." + +"Oh, Tommy!" Harriet laughed merrily. "Is that all?" + +"I was thinking the same thing," chuckled the guide. "Wish I could +bend over like that. But don't bother us, little one. This is our +busy night, and right serious business it is, too." The laughter +disappeared from his face and Janus bent low to his task. + +The others of the party had either seated themselves on the ground or +leaned against trees. They chatted while the guide and Harriet Burrell +sought for the true trail, but it was not very encouraging work. + +The two torches flickered and smoked weirdly, now and then becoming +mere glows like distant lamps in a fog, as the bearer slipped behind a +tree or was masked by an intervening growth of bushes whose foliage was +very thick and dense. + +"Oh, Mr. Grubb, who of our party has brass-headed tacks in his boot +heels?" called Harriet. + +"I have. Why?" + +"I found a heel mark that gave me that impression," answered Harriet +laughingly. + +"Well, I swum!" + +"It was a guess about their being brass-headed, though," she admitted. + +"You would have made a prize sheriff, Little Brownie," declared the +guide, gazing at her admiringly. "If I'd had you to nose the trail +when I was after Red Tacy and Charlie Valdes it wouldn't have taken me +a matter of two months to get them." + +"Who are they?" + +"A couple of outlaws who turned things upside down in these hills some +years ago. But I got them both. They are serving terms up at Concord +now. Find anything?" + +"No, sir." + +The circles were steadily narrowing, though the man and the girl were +working slowly and deliberately, really covering the ground by inches, +so thorough was their search for clues of the supposed night visitors. +No spot of the size of a hand escaped the keen scrutiny of one or the +other of them. They could not have answered had they been asked what +particular thing they had hoped to find, but in some vague way each +felt that a clue to the mystery would be turned up as a result of their +search. If a person had stolen into camp under cover of the night, +wounding and stampeding the horses, it was probable that footprints or +other evidences of his presence had been left behind, a tell-tale clue +to the recent visitor. As yet, not a single trace had been found by +the searchers. They continued with their work until they finally +brought up facing each other in front of the trees to which the broken +ends of the halters were still tied. + +Harriet glanced up into the perplexed face of the guide and laughed. +Janus gave back a glum look and muttered, "I swum!" + +"Have you two sleuths finished your work?" called Crazy Jane. + +"It certainly looks as though we had," replied Harriet. "What do you +think, Mr. Grubb?" + +"I reckon we're beaten." + +"Yes. We haven't found a clue of any consequence. Perhaps we have +imagined too much, but I do not think so." + +"Give me a torch; it's my turn now. Let's see what Crazy Jane can +find," said Jane McCarthy. "My grandfather was the champion shamrock +hunter of the Emerald Isle, and my Dad says I'm a pocket edition of my +grandfather. Just watch me while I show you a few things." + +Harriet handed her torch to Jane, and, walking over, sat down by Miss +Elting. + +"Did you really fail for once, Harriet?" questioned the guardian in a +teasing voice. She understood Harriet's peculiarities, knowing that +the girl was not given to talking when there was real or fancied reason +why she should not. + +"I should say I did; that is, I did not discover anything that I could +feel certain about. But some one has been here. There was just one +footprint in a bit of soft dirt, but some one had most provokingly +stepped on it, nearly obliterating it. From what I could make out of +the original footprint it wasn't made by any of our party. That is all +I found, but enough to verify our suspicions. Where is Jane going?" + +Jane McCarthy was moving away from camp, apparently following the trail +made by the party when they came up from the river to make camp among +the trees. + +"That's a good idea, too," she added approvingly, instantly catching +the significance of Jane's action. "I never thought of trying it." + +"I don't know just what you mean, but anything not thought of by you I +shouldn't consider worth bothering about." Miss Elting laughed softly, +patting the brown head beside her. "There! She is returning, and +empty-handed like yourself, I'll warrant." + +"Do not be too certain of that. On the contrary, Jane has discovered +something." + +"Why do you think that?" + +"I can tell by the swing of her shoulders. Miss Elting, Crazy Jane has +beaten us all; you see if she hasn't. Hoo-e-e-e!" + +"Jane! Oh, Jane! Did you find something?" cried Tommy, in a shrill, +high-pitched voice that Margery declared might have been heard a mile +away. "What did you find?" + +"Did I find thomething?" mimicked Jane. "Does Crazy Jane McCarthy ever +fail to get what she goes after? Yes, I did find something; something, +too, that will make you girls open your eyes. And you too, Mr. Grubb! +Sh-h-! Not a word," she warned dramatically. "Come over by the +campfire, where we can see, and I'll show you all----" + +"Thomething," finished Tommy Thompson. + +"Yes, 'thomething,'" answered Jane with a nod, then hurried toward the +camp. Her companions raced after her, Janus Grubb bringing up the rear +in long strides, the fingers of one hand clutched in his abundant +whiskers. Jim stood gazing after them, his underjaw drooping. Jim +hadn't yet quite come to an understanding of this most unusual company. +He stood there wondering until the girls had passed out of his sight, +after which the driver, with hands thrust deep in his pockets, walked +slowly campward, trying to make up his mind what had happened. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +SCALING THE HIGH CLIFFS + +"Sit down, darlin's," commanded Jane, after the eager girls had reached +their campfire. "Sit down and make yourselves comfortable." + +"For goodness' sake, tell us!" exclaimed Margery. "Can't you see we +are all just perishing with curiosity?" + +"Yeth. I'm motht thuffocated from holding my breath," declared Tommy. +"But Buthter ith thuffocated hecauthe she ith tho fat. Don't you think +it ith awful to be tho fat, Mr. Januth?" She gazed, in apparent +unblinking innocence, at the solemn-faced guide, who answered with +twinkling eyes. + +"I dunno, Miss. I never was fat. Never had time to eat enough to make +me fat." + +"That ith too bad," answered Tommy sympathetically. + +"Come, come, Jane, don't keep us in suspense. What did you find, or +didn't you find anything at all?" urged Miss Elting. + +"Don't worry. I made a find, but you never could guess, if you lived a +thousand years, what I found. I couldn't have guessed it either. Nor +could Harriet, as sharp as she is. Now, listen, darlin's. I found--I +found--oh, if you knew how funny you all look! I found an old pair of +specs--spectacles. I fooled you that time, didn't I?" she chuckled, +hugging herself delightedly. "You thought it was something wonderful." + +"Oh, fudge!" said Margery disgustedly. "I might have known you weren't +in earnest." + +"I call that real mean of you, Jane," pouted Hazel Holland. + +Miss Elting laughed tolerantly, nodding at Harriet as though to say, "I +told you so." But Harriet's gaze was fixed on Crazy Jane's face. +Harriet knew very well that there was something more to be said; that +Jane really had made an important discovery, and that, after having +teased her companions to her satisfaction, she would tell them the rest +of the story. + +"Spectacles were made to assist people in seeing. Suppose you let us +see, Jane," suggested Harriet. + +"Now, now, Bright Eyes, don't be hasty," chided Jane. "Do you really +wish to see?" + +Harriet yawned as though completely indifferent. + +"I am not so curious over your discovery that I cannot wait until +morning to hear about it. I'm sleepy and I am going to bed, provided I +can find one," she replied, rising and stretching herself indolently. +"Good night, Jane." + +"Wait!" Jane knew that Harriet meant exactly what she said. She knew +that it was time to stop trifling and to explain. "If you must see +them, here they are." She drew the "specs" from a pocket in her skirt, +holding them at arm's-length suspended from a string that the wearer +had fastened to them to keep the glasses over his eyes. + +Harriet and Miss Elting uttered an "Oh!" + +"I thought you would say something when you saw them," chuckled Jane. +Her face was flushed; her eyes sparkled triumphantly. + +"Huh! Goggles!" grunted Janus. + +"You have guessed it the first time," cried Jane. + +"Green goggles! Do you see that, girls?" cried Harriet excitedly. + +[Illustration: "Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly.] + +"They are, indeed," breathed the guardian. + +"Well, I swum! Where'd you find them?" questioned the guide, +interested, but failing to catch the real significance of Jane +McCarthy's discovery. + +"Oh-h-h-h!" chorused the Meadow-Brook Girls. + +"And I believe they are the very same," declared Harriet, nodding +thoughtfully over the goggles, which she had taken from Jane's hand. +"You certainly have made a find. I think we are beginning to +understand, Miss Elting." + +"Yes. Mr. Grubb does not, though." + +"Some one dropped them; I understand that well enough. But the +spectacles themselves don't tell us who the fellow is by a long shot. +I know you ladies have discovered something about the 'specs' and I'd +like pretty well to hear what it is." + +"You are wrong in one way, Mr. Grubb. These goggles do tell us who +dropped them, if our surmises are correct." + +"You don't say?" + +"Yes. Do you recall the little experience we had on the station +platform at Compton on the evening of our arrival?" + +"You mean about the fellow who tried to make you believe he was I?" + +"Yes. But perhaps you have forgotten our telling you that the man wore +goggles?" + +"Well, I swum!" Janus stroked his whiskers nervously. + +"Yeth. Tho did Harriet. And thhe got wet," observed Tommy flippantly. + +"Later on that same evening," continued Miss Elting, "we saw the man +again on the porch at the post-office. You remember how you and +Harriet hurried down the steps after him. As he stood with his back to +the window she had discovered that the goggles were green. These may +or may not be the identical goggles, but I believe they are." + +"I haven't the least doubt of it," interjected Harriet. "These have a +white cord on them, as you can see. So did those worn by the man that +night." + +"I saw the fellow you mean," interposed Jim. "I wondered who he was. +I was at the station to see if your party had come in. This fellow was +keeping out of sight a good deal, but I plainly saw the specs on him. +Then I didn't see him any more. He must have hit the trail up the +mountain." + +"Well, I swum!" repeated Janus. + +"I think you ought to compel the authorities to do something when you +get back to Compton," said the guardian. "I believe this man of the +goggles is determined to wreak vengeance on us, and for some reason +that we know nothing about." + +"I have it!" cried Harriet excitedly. "Now I know who that man who +called on you reminded me of. Collins was the man of the green +goggles. Oh, why didn't I think of it before?" + +"But Mr. Collins wore a beard; the other man did not," objected Miss +Elting. + +"I can't help it. They were one and the same. Does that help you any, +Mr. Grubb?" + +The guide shook his head. + +"Tell them all about it when you get back, Jim. The sheriff'll run the +fellow down. I shouldn't be surprised if the sheriff came out here. +You tell him where we are going. You better get started now. No need +to wait till morning. You young ladies turn in. I shall keep watch +during the rest of the night. I take no more chances. It is time for +something to be done, rather than to wait till it's too late." + +"I agree with you," answered the guardian, emphasizing her conclusion +with an emphatic nod. "Now, girls, go to bed, as Mr. Grubb suggests. +I shall be with you in a few moments We must get as early a start as +possible." + +"Yes, the trouble begins in the morning," agreed Janus. "But I reckon +the young ladies are good for it. They are pretty well seasoned, but +they will find themselves thoroughly fagged before to-morrow night." + +It was not long afterward that the girls were sound asleep, not to be +awakened until an hour after daylight. When they emerged from their +torn tent they were greeted by the welcome odors of breakfast, which +the guide now had ready to serve. After breakfast began the hard climb +up the mountain, but the Meadow-Brook Girls approached it joyously. It +was worth while because they were accomplishing something. Packs were +made ready immediately after breakfast. Fairly staggering under their +burdens, the party set out up a very fair pack trail, a short cut to +the Shelter, part way up the side of Mount Chocorua. + +The Shelter was reached about the middle of the forenoon. The girls +dropped their burdens and threw themselves down, breathing hard, with +flushed faces and bright eyes. Even Margery seemed to be taking a real +interest in life, though she had complained a little of the bump on her +head, which was even more tender than it had been the previous night +after she had been hit by the tent pole. + +"No time to waste. You young ladies get the luncheon ready while I am +fixing the packs," called the guide. "We must reach the Sokoki Leap +before night, or we shan't have a good place to sleep. I am going to +leave a good part of the equipment here. We will pick it up on our way +down to-morrow afternoon." + +The girls dragged themselves to their feet and began preparing the +light luncheon that they had decided upon. It would not be wise to eat +a heavy meal now, with the work of the afternoon before them. In the +meantime Mr. Grubb assorted their belongings into neat packs. They +were bacon, rice and flour, coffee and a little corn meal, together +with seasonings and butter, with a small bag of sugar and a can of +condensed milk. One tin plate apiece and "one to grow on," a spoon, a +knife and a fork for each member of the party, one frying-pan, a coffee +pot and a tin cup apiece, made up the bulk of their equipment. In +addition to this a belt-hatchet was worn by each member of the party, +the guide carrying long, slender but strong ropes that would be needed +if difficult climbs were attempted. Janus ceased his labors long +enough to drink a cup of coffee and eat some biscuit. He told the +girls to leave out enough bacon for the entire party for two meals, +figuring for three thin slices apiece to the meal. Margery demurred at +being limited to three thin slices of bacon. She declared she should +perish of hunger. + +After luncheon the girls repaired to the hut to make ready for their +climb. + +"Now, girls," began Miss Elting, "before starting I wish to caution you +that you must obey the guide. He understands mountain-climbing. I +have done a little climbing but not enough to qualify as an expert. +And, remember, no pranks while we are climbing; a single slip might +result seriously for all of us. Which way do we go, Mr. Grubb?" + +"Around back of the Shelter. There is an easy trail leading up to the +top, but that isn't the way you want to go. You want to climb. You +shall. Have you your belts on?" He glanced over the girls critically. +"All right," he added, "follow me." + +Janus led the way around a rear corner of the Shelter, after having +labeled and stowed their packs in the hut. He said they would be +perfectly safe there, that no one would disturb them. But the girls +were rather amazed when, instead of beginning to climb up, the guide +started down a sharp incline, calling to his charges to follow. + +"Thith ithn't up," cried Tommy. + +"We have to go through this gully first of all, then we begin going +up," he explained. + +The couloir proved to be something of a hard proposition right at the +beginning. Jagged rocks, sudden narrow miniature gullies, bushes with +sharp thorns, slippery, treacherous shale, made the descent a trying +one. Once Margery lost her footing on one of these shale shelfs. She +fell flat on her back and slid screaming a full twenty yards, shooting +out on a grassy slope little the worse for her slide, except that she +had been badly frightened. + +Tommy was delighted. + +"Wouldn't Buthter make a fine toboggan?" she laughed. + +Reaching the bottom of the gully, a long, narrow crevasse in the +mountain, they began the real ascent. Up and up they went, now and +then lying against a rock, to which they clung, out of breath from +their exertions, their faces flushed and warm. Far above them Janus +pointed out a little projection of rock that seemed no larger than a +human hand. + +"That," said the guide, "is where we camp to-night," + +"Thave me!" wailed Tommy. + +"Keep going. We _must_ reach the Sokoki Leap before dark," urged +Janus. And far up there on the mountainside the Meadow-Brook Girls +fixed their gaze on the bit of rock that was to be their sleeping +place, and where they were to spend a night more full of interest than +they dreamed. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A SLIPPERY CLIMB + +For a few moments after the guide's ultimatum they plodded patiently +along. No one noticed that the sky was cloudy until a shower of cold +raindrops smote them in the face. Tommy and Margery cried out in alarm. + +"Climb!" shouted the guide. "You've got to keep going. It isn't going +to rain much. Just that one little cloud overhead." + +But the cloud, though small, held a deluge of water which was poured +directly down into the faces and over the heads of the Meadow-Brook +Girls, drenching them. Furthermore, the water made the rocks so +slippery that it became difficult for one to take a safe hold with +either hands or feet. Progress became more slow, the ascent more +difficult. + +Janus proved himself a master in the art of climbing. The girls met +with only one really dangerous situation during that afternoon's climb. +That was when they came to a place where there were steep slabs of +granite with no hand-holds. Over them the girls were obliged to pass +with scarcely a foothold, what there were of these being almost too far +apart for them to reach. The life line here came into use for the +first time. The guide crawled over the rocks, taking one end of the +line with him; then the girls, one by one, crept after him, clinging to +the line, every step being made with extreme caution, for a slip would +have meant a drop of about thirty feet and a landing on sharp, jagged +rocks. It would not have been a long fall, but the landing was another +matter. + +Then, at the end, there was another difficulty. Here they had to work +their way around a corner. Only one could move at a time, the others +holding on tightly until she had reached a place where she, in turn, +could brace herself while the next one moved up; and so on until all +had passed the bulging rock that had seemed to bar their passage +absolutely. + +"Fine!" approved the guide. "You did it like veteran climbers." + +"Where ith the camp?" wailed Tommy. "I can't go another thtep. I'm +finithed." + +"Rest a few moments," directed the guide. + +"The shower is ended," announced Miss Elting. + +"Let it rain some more," declared Jane McCarthy sturdily. "We can't +get any wetter and the rain will help to cool us off. It doesn't seem +to be far to the camping place." + +"It isn't far in a straight line. We have to take a zig-zag course, +you see," said the guide. + +Janus waved his hand as a signal for them to start. Once more they +took up the weary climb, crawling from rock to rock, slowly getting +higher and higher, but at no time in danger of a long fall. The +experience of a really perilous climb lay ahead of them for another day. + +Twilight was just settling over the upper reaches of the mountain when +they halted for the final climb to their night's camping place. In the +ravines darkness already had fallen. + +"You will all wait here while I crawl around and get to the shelf. I +think some of you may have to be hauled up," decided the guide. The +girls gazed up a sharply sloping slab of granite, fully twenty feet +long. It followed a diagonal course, the top of it being some rods +from the shelf where they were to make camp. But, reaching the top, +they would be able to crawl along until they made the shelf, the only +level spot between themselves and the very top of Mount Chocorua. + +Janus disappeared from view to the left, appearing twenty minutes later +at the top of the long, smooth slab. He held a coil of rope in his +hands. + +"Look out below," he called, sending the coil shooting down the slab of +granite. "By taking hold of the rope, and bracing the body at the +proper angle, you mountain climbers ought to be able to walk right up. +Who is coming first?" + +"Let Mith Elting go, tho we can laugh at her," suggested Tommy +teasingly. "Thhe won't care if we laugh." + +"Do!" giggled Margery. + +"I shall be delighted if doing so will furnish you any amusement," +answered the guardian calmly; "that is, provided you send Margery next, +then Grace, and so on." + +Harriet promised to see that the order was followed out as suggested. +Miss Elting glanced up the sloping rock, took the line firmly in her +hand, then waved a good-bye to the girls. She stepped cautiously to +the rock, braced first one foot then the other, and leaned back until +her weight was directed in the right way. She then began walking up +the rock, hand over hand, with an ease that amazed the Meadow-Brook +Girls. Janus reached over and took firm hold of the guardian's arm for +the last step to insure her safety. + +"I haven't heard any one laugh down there, girls," called the guardian, +presenting a smiling face to them. "You next, Margery. I hope you can +climb up as easily." + +"Why, I didn't think it would be so easy. Of course I can do it. +Tommy, you watch me carefully so you'll know how to walk up. It will +be your turn next." + +"Yeth," observed Tommy, winking solemnly as she caught Crazy Jane's +laughing eyes fixed upon her. + +Margery took hold of the rope, meanwhile gazing up the slippery slope. +Her courage failed her for the moment; then, as the memory of the +guardian's easy ascent came to her, she nodded confidently and began +the upward climb. + +"Lean well back," called Harriet. + +"Hold fatht, girlth," cried Tommy. "If Buthter fallth there will be an +earthquake. I thouldn't be thurprithed if the whole mountain fell in." + +"Keep still, you make me nervous," rebuked Margery irritably. "Isn't +it hard enough to climb this skating rink without being bothered by +you?" + +In her irritation Margery forgot to lean back. She began to lean +forward to assist herself, believing perhaps she could make more rapid +headway in the latter position, at the same time finding fault with the +girls for making fun of her. + +"Lean back!" came the warning shout from above and below. But the +warning was not heeded in time. Margery Brown's feet slipped. She +threw out her hands, though not soon enough to prevent striking her +nose against the hard rock with such force that it seemed to the girls +that it must have been driven into her face. + +"Lean back, Buthter!" shouted Tommy, this time in all seriousness. + +Instead of leaning back, Buster slipped back, landing at the foot of +the incline a sobbing, screaming heap. Harriet and Jane sprang +forward, gathering up the unfortunate girl in their arms. Margery's +face was covered with blood. The blood was still streaming from her +injured nose. + +"Oh, get some water," cried Hazel. + +"There is none to be had here," answered Harriet. "Does your nose hurt +you much, Margery?" + +"Oh, ye--ye--yes," sobbed the girl. "My nose is broken. Oh, what +shall I do? What shall I do?" + +"Wait!" Harriet tied the end of the rope to the back of Buster's belt. +"We will let them pull you up. I think Mr. Grubb will know where to +find water up there." + +"I don't want to go up," protested Margery. + +Jane was now mopping the blood from Margery's swollen face. + +"Ithn't it too bad that Buthter ith tho awkward," said Tommy in a +sympathetic tone. "I don't think thhe will ever reach the top of the +mountain." + +"Take her away! Take her away!" screamed Margery. + +"Yes. Be off with you," ordered Jane. "You have about as much +sympathy as these rocks." + +"Is Margery seriously hurt?" called the guardian. + +"Yeth. Thhe thkinned her nothe," Tommy informed her. "I gueth thhe +will be all right, after thhe hath grown thome new thkin." + +"Pull up, please," called Harriet. "Margery, lean forward this time +and keep your hands at your sides. That is the way. Mr. Grubb will +have you up there in no time. Tommy, I am ashamed of you for making +fun of Margery when you knew she was suffering." + +"I wathn't. I'm thorry that Buthter thuffered. I know what it ith to +thuffer. Lotth of painful thingth have happened to me." + +"Indeed they have, and we've all heard about them, too," said Jane +sarcastically. + +"See how nicely Margery is going up. That is the way we shall send you +up, Jane dear," said Harriet, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. + +"You will not!" retorted Crazy Jane indignantly. "I'll stay down +first, and you know I will. But you're only joking and you know it." + +"Hath Buthter broken her nothe?" questioned Tommy. + +"I think not," replied Miss Elting. "Come, get started, Tommy. Mr. +Grubb will assist you. I shall have to look after Margery's bruised +face." + +"I don't need any athithtanthe. I gueth I know how to get up there by +mythelf. Bethideth, I don't want to thkin my nothe." + +"Wait!" commanded Jane threateningly. + +"No, I'm going. Look out! I'm coming. Get Buthter out of the way, +pleathe." + +"She doesn't know whether she is going or coming," was Margery's +withering comment. + +"Oh, thith ith eathy," declared Tommy. "All you have to do ith to take +hold of the rope with both handth, lean back ath if you were looking at +a bird flying over your head and--Thave me! oh, thave me!" + +Had not Tommy quickly raised her head she might have sustained a +fractured skull. Her feet left the rock and beat a positive tattoo in +the air. A moment more and she had managed to entangle them in the +rope and, powerless to help herself, shrieked and struggled frantically. + +"Thave me, thave me! I can't move!" she screamed. + +"You can use your voice, so don't worry," jeered Margery, who had +forgotten her own misfortune sufficiently to laugh heartily at Tommy's +predicament--in fact, they were all laughing. It was not often that +anyone got the better of Tommy, and now that she had come to grief, the +entire party, not excepting Miss Elting, could not resist teasing her a +little. + +"Thave me!" Tommy's screams had now become despairing wails. + +"Just make believe you're watching a bird fly through the air," was +Jane's sarcastic advice. "Lean back and take it easy." + +"We will save you, Tommy. Pull her up, Mr. Grubb," urged Harriet, her +sympathy overcoming her laughter. + +"What, that way?" inquired Janus doubtfully. + +"Yes, certainly." + +Janus grinned, then began hauling in on the rope with both hands. He +did it rapidly. Tommy began to move up the slope, her feet still +entangled with the rope. Janus pulled stolidly, paying no attention to +the torrent of expostulations that Tommy shrieked at him. Her +companions were shouting, cheering and offering aggravating suggestions +to the little girl, Margery Brown's voice being heard above the rest. +It was the happiest moment she had known since the Meadow-Brook Girls +had started out to spend their vacations in the open. Janus was +grinning almost from ear to ear. Tommy lay on her back, gazing +scowlingly up into the grinning face of the guide. Suddenly her +expression changed. A look of cunning appeared in her eyes. Then +Tommy Thompson turned the tables on her tantalizers in a way that set +the party in a greater uproar. Janus Grubb, too, learned a lesson that +he did not soon forget. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE TRAGEDY OF CHOCORUA + +"Pull harder!" screamed Tommy. "I'm getting a ruthh of blood to my +head. Pull fatht, Mr. Januth." + +This sally was greeted with another shout from the girls. Tommy, +having turned her head to one side to glance up the slope, had +discovered something. That something was a little nub or projection +that protruded from the rock directly in her path. Unless they changed +her course she would be scraped over the projection, which the girl +well knew would cause her some pain as well as tear her skirt. But it +was not of this latter that she was thinking when she called to the +guide to hurry. The little, lisping girl had evolved a plan; but, that +they might not suspect her of any trickery, she screamed the louder. + +In her quick survey of the situation above her she also discovered that +the upper end of the rope was tied to a rock, so that the rope could +not get away. + +"Fathter, fathter!" urged Tommy. + +"The little one is planning mischief," declared Jane, gazing narrowly +up the slope. + +"Yes, I know. Get to one side," replied Harriet laughingly. + +"What is it, honey?" whispered Jane. + +"Wait! You'll see some fun in a moment. You may trust Tommy to get +even every time. There he comes!" + +Janus, under Tommy's urging, had leaned well forward. He was grinning +even more broadly than before, pulling on the line with all his might, +the perspiration dripping from his forehead. All at once Tommy swung +in the foot that was free and thrust it straight up the slope. The +little projection caught her foot. Tommy stiffened one leg and stopped +short with a jolt which shook her slender body. But she didn't care. + +"Thave me!" howled the little, lisping girl. + +Janus, caught off his balance, did exactly what Harriet Burrell had +foreseen he would do. The guide was jerked from his feet, and, +throwing out both hands before him to protect himself, went shooting +down the incline headfirst. + +"Grab the rope!" he shouted, as he pitched over. + +In the meantime something was happening to Grace Thompson. No one +having grabbed the line, she, too, shot backward head first. + +Harriet, fearing that the girl's head would be crushed when she reached +the bottom of the slope, sprang forward, and, bracing herself, stooped +over with her hands close to the ground. It all happened in a few +seconds. Jane had barely time to collect her thoughts when Tommy was +caught in Harriet's net. Harriet had caught her by the shoulders and +stopped the force of the slide, but in doing so she herself toppled +over backward. + +Jane uttered a war whoop. Her joyous shout died a sudden death when +the oncoming Janus collided with her, bowling Crazy Jane over. She +quickly rolled out of the way while the guide continued on over the +edge, tumbling down a second incline to the surface of a flat rock +about eight feet below. + +Tommy got up, gazing about her in mild amazement. + +"Did thomebody fall down, Harriet?" she asked. + +"No, somebody fell up," jeered Jane. + +"Look after Mr. Grubb," cried the guardian; "I fear he is hurt." + +Janus pulled himself slowly to a sitting position, and took an +inventory to make sure that he was all there and still fastened +together. For the moment he was not quite clear as to what really had +occurred. When he saw the blue eyes of Tommy Thompson peering over at +him, he remembered. + +"Oh, that ith too bad, Mr. Januth," she said with a voice full of +sympathy. "You thouldn't have let go. I might have broken my +prethiouth neck." + +"Let go?" roared the guide. "Consarn it, I didn't let go! The rope +pulled me over." + +"Ithn't that too bad? Did you hurt yourself?" + +"No." + +Jane was sitting on the rocks, rocking her body back and forth, +laughing, trying to keep her voice within reasonable limits. + +"Are you all right, Tommy?" called Miss Elting anxiously. + +"No, I'm all pulled to pietheth. Tho ith Januth, I'm afraid." + +"Oh, girls, what am I going to do with you? Please hurry. It is +getting dark, and we must reach the shelf," implored Miss Elting. + +The guide scrambled to his feet and began clambering up to Miss Elting +and Margery. This time Tommy was directed to sit down, as had Margery. +She did so, chuckling to herself, and was quickly hauled to the top. +Hazel followed, sitting. Harriet and Jane ran up with the support of +the rope, and in a few moments the entire party was together. + +"You must follow me in single file," directed the guide. "It's a +narrow trail to the shelf, so no nonsense. Here, pass the rope along +and keep a tight hold on it, every one of you." + +They did as directed. None had any desire to play pranks, now that +they could barely see where they were placing their feet. The guide +led them safely to the shelf rock, a huge slab of granite as level as a +house floor, about thirty feet long and ten feet deep. At the back +towered a solid sheet of granite for a hundred feet or more, while in +front the rocks dropped sheer for almost twice that distance. + +The girls shivered a little as they peered over the edge of the slab. +The guide unslung a bundle of sticks that he had gathered somewhere in +the vicinity and threw them down. + +"Unload and get ready for grub," he directed. "Here's enough wood for +the supper fire; I'll get some more later on; I know where to look for +it. Better keep away from the edge. There won't be any coming back, +if one of you falls over there." + +"Yes, girls. Keep well back. We have had quite enough excitement for +one afternoon's climbing. How do you feel?" inquired Miss Elting. + +"Well, Buthter hath a thore nothe," answered Tommy, speaking for her +companion in distress. "I have thkinned thoulderth and theveral +bruitheth. I don't know how Jane and Harriet feel." + +"I feel as if I'd been run over by my own motor car," decided Jane +McCarthy. + +"My arms and my feet are tired," admitted Harriet. "And, now that we +have discussed our miseries, let's think about supper. We shall all +feel better after a good meal and a rest. Here Margery." Harriet +spread a blanket, which Buster welcomed by promptly crawling over to it +and lying down. "The rock is awfully hard," she complained. + +"Never mind, dearie; we'll pour some water on it and soften it for +you," comforted Jane McCarthy. + +"Speaking of water, that reminds me: Where are we to get our water for +the coffee?" questioned Harriet. + +"There's a spring on the other side of these rocks. There isn't much +water in it, but I reckon there will be enough for us. Never mind. +Don't you get it. Don't you go puttering around where you can't see," +Janus warned. + +A little blaze sprang up from the pile of sticks he had heaped and +fired with a match. The light from the fire soon threw the outer world +into black darkness. They could not make it seem possible that there, +almost within reach of their hands, was a precipice dropping down +nearly two hundred feet. But the thought caused them to keep well to +the rear of the shelf. + +The guide gathered the cups, and, with these and the coffee pot, went +to the spring, a mere trickle in the rocks, where he first filled the +coffee pot, then the cups, carrying them back and placing them in a row +against the wall. Harriet put the water over the fire to boil. Miss +Elting sliced the bacon, while Jane prepared some rice for boiling. +The latter occupied considerable time in cooking and was not +particularly palatable. Janus said that in the morning they would cook +enough of it to last for a day or two. + +Hazel put the bacon in the frying pan. Each one, except Margery, found +something to do and found joy in the doing despite their aches and +pains, from which not a member of the Meadow-Brook party was free that +evening. The climbing had brought into activity little used muscles, +as the girls had by this time discovered. + +The supper was late that evening. Janus had brought the small lantern. +This he secured above their heads by thrusting a stick into a crevice +and suspending the lantern from it, thus shedding a little light +besides that given off by the campfire. The party sat down with their +feet curled under them and thoroughly enjoyed the somewhat slender meal. + +"How good everything does taste!" remarked Margery. + +Jane averred that Margery's accident had done her good. + +"I've been thinking about the accident to our guide," said Miss Elting. +"I don't know yet how it occurred." + +"I caught my foot on a nub," Tommy informed her. "That pulled Mr. +Januth down on hith fathe." + +"Oh! I see." + +Mr. Grubb regarded Tommy suspiciously. Her face wore an innocent +expression, but when Tommy winked solemnly at Harriet, Janus was +enlightened. + +"Well, I swum! I swum!" he repeated, "I believe you did that on +purpose." + +"Why, Mr. Januth!" protested Tommy. + +"Do ye deny it?" + +"No, Mr. Januth, I don't deny it. Athk me and I'll tell you the truth." + +"All right, I ask ye. Did ye pull me down?" + +"No, thir. You fell down, didn't you? But I let my foot catthh on a +nub. I knew it would pull you over. You made fatheth at me tho I +helped you to fall down. Oh, it wath funny!" Tommy laughed merrily. + +"Grace Thompson! I am amazed!" exclaimed Miss Elting. + +"Tho wath Mr. Januth. But I'm thorry, now. I won't do it again, if +you won't make fatheth at me." + +"Well, I swum! Shake, little pardner! You got the best of Janus Grubb +that time, but his time will come." + +"You've got to promithe," insisted Tommy. + +"All right. I promise." + +"Tho do I." + +Peace had been declared, greatly to the relief of the rest of the +party, who did not know to what lengths Tommy Thompson might go to pay +the score she thought she had against the guide who had grinned at her +on seeing her in an unpleasant predicament that afternoon. + +The meal finished, Janus went away to secure fresh fuel for the fire, +the girls in the meantime setting the camp to rights, which meant +spreading the blankets for the night and clearing away the dishes. + +"There is one advantage about this kind of living," observed Hazel; "we +do not have any glassware to polish." + +"Nor silver," added Margery. + +Janus returned with an armful of wood. The fire was built up, flaring +into the air just as Tommy uttered a scream. The scream was followed +by a distant clatter. + +The girls jumped. For a second they thought Grace had fallen over, but +great was their relief to see her standing a few feet from the edge of +the precipice trying to peer over. + +"What is it, dear?" called the guardian. + +"Oh, I lotht the frying pan," wailed Tommy. + +"What!" shouted the girls. + +"I lotht it. I did. I wath emptying it when it fell down. But never +mind, Mr. Januth will go down for it." + +The girls groaned. + +"Now you have done it," exclaimed Jane. "Whatever are we going to do +without a frying-pan?" + +"I told you Mr. Januth ith going down after it," insisted Tommy. + +"No, Janus is not," answered the guide. "There isn't enough of that +frying-pan left to make grit for chickens. Two hundred feet and then +the rocks. Well, I swum! You'll go without eating to-morrow, so far +as the frying-pan is concerned." + +"We ought to do something to Tommy for that," declared Harriet. "What +shall it be, girls?" + +"Oh, let her alone. Tommy will punish herself if you give her time," +averred Margery. + +Tommy nodded. "Yeth, leave it to me," she urged. "I can take care of +mythelf. Buthter ith right, for once in her life. Leave it to me." + +They agreed to do so. Harriet turned to Miss Elting. + +"You promised to tell us the legend that belongs to this shelf of rock +on which we are encamped. If not too long a story, will you relate it +now?" + +The girls crept to the fire, about which they sat in a circle with +their feet tucked under them in true council-fire style. + +"You probably have read," began Miss Elting, "that the Sokokis, a +powerful Indian tribe, once held possession of these hills. Chocorua, +for whom this mountain is named, was chief of a mighty tribe. The +chief, in revenge for the loss of his son, who had been slain by the +whites in battle, killed a white settler's wife and child. This white +man swore to have the life of the powerful Chocorua. Shouldering his +gun, he followed the mountain trails for many days and nights. The +chief knew that an avenger was on his trail; his braves knew it. They +made every effort to catch the avenging white man, but he was too +clever for them. Yet not an Indian was molested. The white man wanted +only Chocorua, and Chocorua knew it. The chief fled from place to +place, ever pursued by the persistent avenger. Then, at last, the +white man found the trail when it was hot. He followed the trail, and +one day, when the morning was young, came face to face with the savage +chief." + +"Do you know where they met, young ladies?" interrupted Janus, who was +familiar with the legend. + +The girls shook their heads. + +"Right here where we are sitting now." + +"Grathiouth!" muttered Tommy, glancing about her apprehensively. + +"They aren't here now, my dear Tommy," observed Miss Elting smilingly. +"The white man pointed his gun at the Indian," she continued, "but the +old chieftain never flinched. He sent back a look so full of hatred +that the white man almost feared him. The chief, with upraised hands, +called down the curses of the Great Spirit on the head of the white man +and all his kind. Then Chocorua turned and sped swiftly to the far end +of the shelf, near where we got the water for our supper, and, without +an instant's hesitation, leaped far out into space." + +"Oh!" exclaimed the girls shudderingly. + +"The body of the chief dashed from rock to rock, finally dropping into +the lake which you saw as we came up. Then a strange thing occurred. +The white settlers finally conquered the Indians; then they brought in +their stock and began to graze them. But after that every animal that +drank from the lake died. It came to be known as the 'Lake of the +Poisoned Waters.' The Indians declared this to be the revenge of the +Great Spirit." + +"How strange!" pondered Harriet. + +"A number of scientific men, passing through this section years +afterward, unraveled the mystery. They say that the lime formation of +the rocks, through which the water seeps into the lake, has poisoned +the water. But you cannot make an Indian believe that." + +"Ith thith a fairy thtory, or a really-truly thtory?" demanded Tommy. + +"It is only a legend, Tommy," was Miss Elting's smiling reply. + +"It has been a most interesting story," nodded Harriet. "I love Indian +folklore." + +"Girls, it is time for you to turn in," reminded Miss Elting. + +"I don't like such stories before going to bed," objected Margery. "I +know I shall have the nightmare. Oh!" + +"We will roll you over if you do," answered Jane. "There's nobody but +ourselves to hear you, either, so you may yell all you please, and----" + +"No!" protested Tommy. "If Buthter yellth I'll yell, too, and wake up +all the retht of you." + +"Then you'll be attended to then and there," Jane warned her. + +"You let me alone. I will let you know when I get ready for your +thervithes. You needn't go on talking about me, either. You make me +nervouth, ath Buthter sayth." + +Janus began his preparations for the night. These consisted +principally in taking each girl's rope and securing it to his own belt, +which he had taken off for the purpose of making the ropes fast to it. +They watched him with keen interest. + +"Just a precaution," he explained. "If any one of you moves in the +night I shall know it." + +"My grathiouth!" shuddered Tommy, "ithn't it exthiting?" She made a +ridiculous face at the guide's broad back. + +The girls tried hard not to laugh, but Margery giggled audibly, +bringing a frown from the guardian. Tommy, however, declared that she +would not roll up in her blanket, that she would fold it over her, so +she could get up without disturbing the camp. + +"Roll up when you are ready," directed the guide. + +Each girl, except Tommy, lay down on her blanket, and, tucking in one +edge, proceeded to roll herself up in it Indian-fashion, leaving only +her head and face exposed to the air. Tommy sat up, observing them +solemnly. + +"You look like a lot of mummieth," she declared. + +"And we feel like them, darlin'," answered Jane. + +The guide now proceeded to wrap the free end of rope about each girl's +waist over the blanket, except in Tommy's case. She preferred to have +the rope about her waist before rolling up in her blanket, determining +in her own mind to slip the loop off after the others had gone to +sleep. Fortunately, however, Tommy Thompson's eyes grew heavy and she +dropped to sleep ahead of her companions. The guide lay down with his +blanket half folded over him without a single worry on his mind, +knowing that his charges could not get far away without a pulling on +the lines that would awaken him. + +But when the pulling on the lines did come, Janus Grubb was not +prepared for it, and the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls was thrown into +wild excitement by what followed. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +TOMMY FALLS OUT OF BED + +The night was far spent, and the air at their altitude was crisp and +chill. Below them a fog had settled over the canyons and gullies, +blotting the landscape entirely from the sight of any one above the +mist line. But, though there was no moon, objects could be made out +with reasonable distinctness on Sokoki Leap, where the girls, their +guardian and the guide were sleeping more or less soundly. Toward +morning, however, Tommy awoke with a start. She twitched and jerked, +rolled herself into a ball, straightened out again and twisted and +turned, wide awake and nervous. Her rope being long, the guide was not +disturbed--at least, not then. + +An owl hooted high in a ledge above their camping place. It hooted +three times. Tommy rose, throwing off her blanket. She stood +shivering in her kimono, for the air had grown chilly, undecided +whether to awaken the camp or lie down again. Finally she sank down +and rolled over and over in her blanket, this time determined to wrap +up so snugly that the cold could not reach her. + +Then came the interruption, starting with a scream so terrifying as to +awaken every member of the party and to frighten the owl into sudden +silence. Shouts were heard from all sides. The girls began struggling +to free themselves from their blankets. To do this some of them rolled +toward the guide, others from him, according to the way they had rolled +themselves in their blankets before going to sleep. Harriet was the +first to free herself from the folds of the gray blanket that enveloped +her. She leaped to her feet, crying out, "What is the matter now?" + +A strange sight met her gaze. Janus was sliding over the shelf, half +rolling, half slipping, in a mysterious fashion. At the same time the +others of the party were performing strangely, getting up, falling +down, as, entangled in their blankets, they staggered dangerously near +the edge of the rocky shelf, apparently unmindful of their peril. + +"Catch me! Jump on the rope!" yelled the guide. + +Harriet's quick eyes, now wide open, caught the significance of the +scene. Without an instant's hesitation she sprang toward Janus, fairly +hurling herself upon him. One hand grabbed a taut rope that was +straining with some heavy weight pulling on it at the other end. + +Janus sat up as the girl threw her own weight on the line to assist in +holding it until the guide should have recovered himself. + +"Oh, what has happened?" cried the guardian. + +"Some one is over the edge," answered Harriet almost breathlessly. +"Quick! Find out who it is." + +"It's Tommy!" screamed Margery Brown. + +Miss Elting sprang toward the edge of the shelf. + +"Stop!" thundered the guide. "Careful! Don't rush. Take it easy. +All the rest of you stay back. You go cautiously to the edge, Miss +Elting, and find out just what shape she's in." + +Grubb gave his commands in a quick, business-like tone; at the same +time he removed his belt and unfastened the girls' ropes. + +Margery began to scream again. Jane grasped and shook her. + +"Stop that! Tommy's doing enough howling for the whole party," she +exclaimed. + +Tommy's cries were all-sufficient--heart-rending, in fact. Harriet +motioned to Jane to come and assist in holding the rope. Jane +responded promptly. + +"May I go and help?" questioned Harriet eagerly. + +"Yes. It's a good idea. Keep her quiet if you can," urged Miss +Elting. "She is likely to saw the rope in two at the rate she is +floundering about. I hope her belt is strong enough to hold." + +"Oh my stars, what a mess!" groaned Jane McCarthy. + +"It's worse than that," answered Janus, but he did not explain just +what danger threatened the screaming little girl. + +Harriet turned the rope over to her companion and hurried to the edge +of the shelf, where she stretched herself on the rock with her head +protruding over. What she saw was an object that resembled a great +spider suspended from a silken thread. The spider was dangling in the +air, with arms and legs working frantically. The poor little spider, +in this instance Tommy Thompson, was slowly turning from side to side, +clawing frantically at the smooth side of the mountain when her hands +got into position where she could touch it. Miss Elting was trying to +soothe her. Harriet adopted a different policy. + +"Tommy!" she cried sharply. + +"Oh, thave me! Thave me!" wailed the little tow-headed girl. + +"Do you want to drop clear to the bottom?" demanded Harriet. + +"No, oh, no! Thave me! I'll be good. I'll--" + +"You'll be down there in a heap if you don't stop struggling. Listen +to me! Are you going to stop that screaming and do something for +yourself, or are we to let you hang there until to-morrow morning?" +continued Harriet. + +"Yeth, oh, yeth! I'll be good. I'll do whatever you tell me. But +thave me. Pleathe thave me!" sobbed the unhappy little Tommy. + +"Stop clawing. Let your body hang limp. Don't make a move, and keep +quiet. You confuse us. Remember, if you struggle you are likely to +pull us over with you. I am going to get something; then I shall try +to pull you up. Hazel and Margery, stay close to Miss Elting. Miss +Elting, will you look after them while I go to hunt a stick?"' + +"Come over here by me, girls," commanded the guardian in response to +the request. "Now, stand perfectly still. Tommy's life may depend +upon your doing only what you are told. A Meadow-Brook Girl is a sort +of soldier, and a soldier is not a good soldier unless he can take and +obey orders." + +Hazel was trembling a little, Margery a great deal, but the words of +the guardian served to quiet and steady both girls. + +Harriet came running toward them, carrying a round stick, a piece from +a small sapling that the guide had picked up for firewood. This she +cautiously slipped under the rope at the edge of the shelf, prying the +rope up a little in order to do so, thus sending Tommy into a fresh +outburst of terror when she felt the added movement of the rope. + +"Miss Elting, I think you had better manage the stick. You are not +likely to lose your presence of mind. Hazel and Margery may help me +pull Tommy up. Be sure not to let the rope drag over the sharp edge of +the stone, or we may lose her." + +Margery indulged in a fresh attack of shivering. Hazel gripped her +arm, whispering, "Brace up, dear!" + +"Oh, I can--n't," sobbed Margery. "My knees won't hold me up." + +"Now, girls," called Harriet cheerily, "take hold of the rope, but be +gentle about it. Remember, a sharp jolt might be a serious thing for +Tommy. It might jerk Miss Elting over, too, so be very careful. Now, +Tommy, we are going to pull you up. Don't reach for the rock. It +won't help you any to do so. Just hang limp. Try to imagine that you +are a bag of meal and we are pulling you up for the muffins to-morrow +morning." + +"Oh, I can't laugh," wailed Tommy. + +"Then cry, if you wish, but don't make a noise doing it. Shed all the +tears you wish to, but let them be silent tears. Now then!" + +Harriet stepped back, taking firm hold of the rope. She was near the +edge of the shelf, Hazel directly behind her, with Margery still +farther back. + +"When you are ready, Miss Elting! Let us know when you wish a fresh +hold." Harriet was perfectly calm outwardly. + +"Ready!" + +"All together! One, two, three--pull! Steady; not so violently. This +is a small rope, and----" + +"Whoa!" interjected the guardian sharply. + +"We are taking up the slack back here. Good work for you girls," +encouraged the guide. + +"What is it? Oh, what is it?" screamed Tommy. + +"Stop that noise!" commanded Harriet. "Everything is all right!" + +"Ready again," commanded Miss Elting. "One, two, three--pull!" + +Tommy came up about a foot this time. Her progress was slow, but it +was, at least, sure. + +Jane and the guide were acting as anchors, at the same time assisting +in pulling on the line, holding down when the pauses came. + +After every pull Miss Elting would call a halt while she worked the +round stick down over the edge of the rock to keep the rope from being +unduly worn. In this way Tommy came up little by little, now and then +uttering a sharp scream at some unexpected jolt. Once, when the rope +slipped from the round stick, Tommy felt herself slipping into +unconsciousness, but pluckily recovered herself. She clenched her +fists until the nails almost cut into the flesh of her hands, and all +the time she was wondering if the belt that seemed to be cutting her in +two would hold or break. Those on the ledge above were wondering much +the same thing. They were operating with extreme caution for that very +reason. + +"You are almost up to us, Tommy," encouraged the guardian. "Be very +careful. Make no sudden moves. Don't try to take hold of the edge +when we get you level with it. We shall have to pull you over the last +two or three feet by taking hold of you. Then we will have something +to be thankful for, won't we?" + +"Yeth," wailed a weak voice from over the side. + +"Ready!" + +This time Tommy came up so close that the guardian was able to touch +her. Miss Elting leaned over and patted Tommy on the shoulder +reassuringly. + +"One more long, strong pull and we shall have you within a little way +of safety. Girls, are you ready for the last pull?" + +Margery was breathing heavily, Hazel, too, was taking short, excited +breaths. + +"Yes, when you are ready," answered Hazel. "Get ready back there, +ready to hold fast after the last pull. Don't give way the fraction of +an inch," called Harriet. "This is like things I have read about +Alpine climbing, except that I guess they don't pull them up dangling +in this fashion." + +"Pull!" called the guardian. "Steadily and slowly this time." + +The girls were breathing heavily now. + +"Stop!" + +"Oh, am I up?" wailed the little, lisping girl. + +"Yes. Now be perfectly quiet. Harriet, can you help me?" + +"Yes. All hold fast. I am going to let go. Step back a little +farther, girls. There!" + +"We have it," shouted Janus. + +"We have," cried Crazy Jane. + +Harriet stepped forward. + +"Hold up your arm, Tommy," directed the guardian. "You take that arm, +Harriet. Now one foot, Tommy. I'll take that. Don't move about any +more than you can help. Wait! Her arm first. Have you got it, +Harriet?" + +"Yes." + +Snap! Tommy uttered a wild scream of terror. Miss Elting was reaching +for the upraised foot. + +Tommy's belt gave way when her foot was almost within the guardian's +grasp, and her slender body shot downward. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +PLACING THE BLAME + +Such screams as rose from over the ledge none of that party ever had +heard. Harriet, it will be remembered, had hold of the little girl's +hands, or rather one hand, when Tommy's belt broke. The jolt was so +great that it seemed to the two girls as if their arms would be pulled +from their sockets. + +Tommy thought, too, that she was being hurled to her death when she +felt herself falling. But Harriet, with unusual presence of mind, had +clutched the little girl's hand with a desperate grip. + +"Give me the other hand," she panted. + +"I--I can't," sobbed Tommy, who immediately began to wriggle in an +attempt to reach the shelf. + +"Then keep quiet. Don't stir." Instead of keeping quiet, the girl, +now fairly beside herself with fear, began a series of lunges for the +ridge above her. The result was what Harriet had feared. She felt +herself slipping forward toward the edge. In those few seconds Harriet +Burrell came nearer to realizing what fear was than ever before. To +let go would be to save herself at the cost of Tommy's life. Harriet +not only held on; but reached over her free hand which she clasped over +that of her companion. Now she slipped more than ever. Her companions +did not seem to realize what had occurred. It had all come about so +quickly that they did not quite comprehend. + +"Grab me!" cried Harriet. "I've got her! Why don't you do something? +I'm slipping over. Quick! For mercy's sake, move!" + +Jane McCarthy, who, with Janus, was still clinging to the rope, now +dropped it and sprang forward. Jane went down on her knees, grasping +Harriet by the ankles. + +"Hold me! Are you all asleep?" shouted Jane. + +Janus awakened suddenly. But Miss Elting was a little ahead of him. +The guardian sprang behind Jane and slipped both arms around the +latter's waist. + +"Help Harriet!" she cried. + +Janus ran forward with a rope, making a noose in it as he ran. The +guide went down on his knees beside Harriet Burrell. + +"Can you swing her a little without dropping her?" he shouted. + +"Yes, but she'll be dreadfully frightened." + +"We can't help that. Swing her," commanded Janus. + +Harriet did so, bringing from Tommy Thompson a series of terrified +screams. If any one else heard he must have believed that some one was +being killed. But her shouts and screams did no harm. The guide took +quick advantage of the opportunity offered by Harriet to slip the loop +in the rope over one of Tommy's feet, then draw it taut. + +"I'm caught. Mercy, I'm caught!" screamed Tommy. + +"Hang on to her! Don't let go! Stop that yelling until I tell you +what to do!" commanded the guide. "We're going to pull you up the best +way we can git you up. If you don't like it, don't fight; just yell. +Hold her as she is, Miss Harriet, while I give her foot a yank." + +He really did jerk on the rope, but more for the purpose of tightening +the loop than for any other reason. Of course, the proceeding was +followed by an ear-piercing scream. Janus promptly began to pull up on +the line. Tommy's foot came up with it, leaving the other foot and one +arm dangling in the air nearly two hundred feet from the bottom of the +cliff. + +"Pull when we get her level. No; the rest of you folks keep back, or +we'll all be over, first thing we know. There! Over she comes!" With +a final effort they had landed Tommy on the shelf. She was sobbing +pitifully. Her ordeal had been sufficient to upset the strongest +nerved person. + +"You poor darling," cried Miss Elting, gathering the terror-stricken +Tommy in her arms and staggering to the rear of the shelf, where she +placed the terrified girl on a blanket. + +Harriet sat back where she was. She was breathing heavily from her +exertions, and further than this she admitted to herself that she was a +little faint. But not for worlds would she have her companions know +this. + +"Better get back," advised the guide. "One is enough." + +"Don't trouble about me. I will as soon as I get my breath. That was +a hard position in which to do any lifting." + +"I reckon. I take off my hat to you, Miss Burrell. This outfit isn't +in such great need of a pilot. You could get along without me and +never miss me for a minute except when it comes to toting a pack, and +even then I guess you could do without me, especially if that young +lady threw a dish or so overboard after every meal," he added jocularly. + +"Is there any wood?" + +"Yes. There you are again. I never think of anything. I get lost +wondering what's going to happen next. You sit down. I'll attend to +the fire. It is cold. You are shivering, aren't you"? + +"I--I believe I am." Harriet got up and walked over to her companions. +She walked rather unsteadily, but they were too much upset themselves +to observe it. Tommy lay on a blanket with face buried in her arms, +sobbing, every fourth sob being a hysterical moan. Harriet sat down +beside the unhappy little girl, slipping an arm about her waist. + +"It's all over now, honey. Don't cry." + +"I'm thick! Pleathe give me thome--thome water." + +"Water," called Harriet. "Is there any? If not, let Mr. Janus get +it, if he will." + +"If she can wait a few moments we'll all have some hot coffee," +answered the guide. But Tommy could not wait. She insisted on having +a drink of water, so the guide brought it to her. This seemed to take +the girl's mind from her recent fright, and lying on her back Tommy +Thompson gradually became quiet and surveyed the guide's coffee-making +through half-closed eyes. + +"Do you think you can go to sleep?" asked Miss Elting, stooping over +the recumbent Tommy. + +"Not until I get thome coffee," answered Tommy, gazing up soulfully +into the anxious face of the guardian. + +Margery laughed almost hysterically. It was the first laugh that had +been heard in camp for some time, so it was welcome, helping to relieve +the tension as it did. Tommy turned her eyes on her stout friend in a +droll way which set Margery to giggling afresh. + +The fire was crackling by this time. Harriet dragged Tommy's blanket +up closer to it, that she might get some of its warmth. Janus, looking +unusually solemn, was boiling water for the coffee. + +"She had a pretty narrow escape," he nodded, observing Harriet's eyes +upon him. + +"Indeed she did," agreed Harriet, with a slight shudder. + +"No more sleep for me this night," cried Crazy Jane. "It's my opinion +that that wild Indian chief put a hoodoo on this rock, as well as on +the lake below. I shouldn't be surprised at most anything happening +here." + +"Yes. Suppose the wall should fall in?" suggested Margery, gazing +apprehensively up the side of the granite wall, on which the light from +the fire was reflected in arrow-like shafts. + +"Will you stop that?" demanded Jane. "Haven't we had trouble enough +for one night without your suggesting anything else?" + +"You started the subject yourself," reminded Harriet. + +"Who would like a bite to eat with her coffee?" interrupted the +guardian. "Tommy, would you like to have a biscuit?" + +"Oh, no, thank you." + +"I would," declared Margery. + +"Yeth. Buthter ith never thatithfied. Thhe is always hungry," taunted +Tommy. + +"And you've got over your scare," added Jane significantly. + +The guardian set out some biscuits and lumps of sugar on a piece of +paper. The condensed milk was not brought. Everyone with the +exception of Harriet and Tommy was possessed of keen appetites after +their trying experiences. Janus, too, ate three biscuits and drank +three cups of strong coffee. + +"Better have some," he urged, glancing at Harriet, who had refused the +coffee. + +"I guess Harriet is ill, too," suggested Margery. + +"I wish to sleep to-night. I shouldn't sleep a wink were I to drink +that black stuff, nor will you." + +"You watch us and see," chuckled Margery. + +"Tommy, how did you come to get over the edge?" questioned the +guardian, now that the little girl had begun to feel better. + +"You certainly cannot blame our enemy for this accident," declared Jane. + +"I wonder if he did push Tommy over?" Margery's eyes were large as she +voiced the question. + +"Nonsense!" retorted Harriet Burrell. + +"Yes. That's what I say," agreed Miss Elting. + +"I suppose she will lay it to me," chuckled the guide. + +"Yeth, I ought to," nodded Tommy. "But we agreed not to fight any +more, didn't we?" + +"We did," he replied very gravely, "and we are not going to, are we?" + +Tommy shook her head. + +"Not before to-morrow, I gueth. I'm too tired to fight. Did I +furnithh you with exthitement enough for one night?" + +"Will you listen to her?" laughed Crazy Jane. "Little Tommy Thompson +fell off the mountain to furnish us with excitement. Of course we are +satisfied. We forgive you for all your tricks, and we don't care how +much excitement you furnish if you will only keep your feet on +something solid. We came within a little of all going over with you in +our fright." + +"Ithn't that nithe?" glowed Tommy. She was recovering her spirits. "I +thhould have had company." + +"That is a very ill-timed remark, Tommy," answered Miss Elting in a +severe tone. "I am surprised at your flippancy. I really believe you +enjoyed our fright." + +"Yeth. Didn't you hear me laugh when I wath down there?" + +"I wouldn't say such things if I had made as much trouble as Tommy +has," declared Margery. + +"Of courthe you wouldn't," agreed Tommy. "You haven't a thenthe of +humor." + +"Some people have no sense at all," flung back Buster. + +"We have forgotten something," interrupted Harriet. "Tommy's blanket +is down there somewhere. We ought to have it before going on in the +morning. You may keep mine for to-night, if you wish. You are going +to sit up the rest of the night, are you not, Mr. Grubb?" + +"Yes. I'll take no more chances with this party on Sokoki Leap. I'll +keep the fire going the rest of the night, too. Fix your blankets so +your feet will be toward the fire. The Indians would say, 'Indian keep +him head cool, feet warm.'" + +"We have done better than that this evening," answered Jane laughingly. +"We managed to keep our head and feet warm at the same time." + +"I should say we have," mused Harriet. "But what about the blanket? +We do not wish to lose it." + +"I'll go down and get it in the morning," said Janus. "You needn't +wait breakfast for me; I'll have something to eat before leaving. But +do be careful. I don't want to have the little one falling down the +rocks and landing on my head when I get there. Better turn in as soon +as possible, young ladies. We have a mighty hard trail ahead of us in +the morning, and some more slippery granite to climb. Another thing, +you'd better put another belt on Miss Thompson. You'll find some +leather and a buckle in my kit. There's sewing material there also." + +"How far shall we have to climb?" asked Hazel. + +"'Bout a thousand feet, as a bird flies," Janus answered, with a +careless gesture. + +"Ob, thave me!" wailed Tommy desperately. "I can't thtand any more." + +"Why, Tommy, we've hardly begun yet," Harriet retorted smilingly. + +"Maybe _you_ haven't, but thome of uth have about finithed," asserted +the little, lisping girl. + +"For once, Tommy and I agree," groaned Margery. + +Not long after the girls turned in for the second time that night. +Daybreak would soon send its gray light into their camp on Sokoki Leap. +But the day ahead of them was not fated to be, in all respects, a time +of calm. Tommy Thompson and even her better-poised companions were to +have further opportunities for distinguishing themselves. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +GIVING A TOBOGGAN POINTS + +A brilliant sun, gilding the peaks of Chocorua and shining in her eyes, +awoke Harriet Burrell. + +A panorama of sunlit hills, still darkened caverns and gorges, +precipitous cliffs and sombre ravines caused the Meadow-Brook Girls to +exclaim joyously. Thin, silvery ribbons in the landscape showed where +foaming brooks ran. There were short waterfalls, long cascades, bright +little lakes and countless valleys of green. + +"It's too beautiful to be real!" throbbed Harriet Burrell as she +unwound herself from her blanket and started to replenish the fire. + +The coffee pot was already on the fire, supported by two stones. It +was steaming and sputtering. Then, for the first time, she observed +that Janus Grubb was nowhere in sight. Harriet got up and tip-toed +softly to the edge of the cliff, where she lay down flat, peering over. +At first she saw nothing of interest; then all at once she caught sight +of a moving speck at the foot of the cliff. + +"It's Janus!" she exclaimed. "Why, he doesn't look any larger than a +chessman. I wonder how much would have been left of Tommy had she +fallen down there?" + +Harriet shuddered at the thought of her companion's narrow escape--the +narrow escape of the entire party, for that matter. Crawling +cautiously back, she lay gazing off over the valley. "The poisoned +lake" lay in plain view. The girl pondered over the tragedy of which +the guide had told them. Such tragedies, such deeds of violence as he +had named, should have no place in a peaceful scene such as this, +thought Harriet. + +"Harriet!" She turned her head to find Miss Elting sitting up with a +worried expression on her face. + +"For pity's sake, come away from there! My nerves will not stand many +more such shocks as we had last night." + +"Why, I am not afraid," answered Harriet. + +"What are you doing there?" + +"Watching Janus. He is down below. You ought to take a peep at him. +He looks so small and so funny." + +"Thank you. I am well satisfied to take your word for it. Will you +please come away from there?" + +"Certainly, if you wish it." Harriet got up promptly and walked back, +stepping over her companions, then sitting down beside the guardian. + +"You are a brave little girl, Harriet, dear," said Miss Elting softly, +patting the brown head affectionately. "But don't you think you are +just a little bit foolhardy?" + +"I--I hadn't thought about it," answered the girl, flushing. "I do not +mean to be." + +"I know. You are thoughtless of your own peril. You know we must not +let anything happen to any of our party. We want to have other happy +summers in the open together; and, were anything serious to occur to +any member of our party, that would end it. Neither your parents nor +those of the other girls would permit them to go out again in this way. +Will you promise to be more careful in future?" + +"I don't like to do that; I am afraid I might not keep my promise," +admitted Harriet, hanging her head. "But I will promise to do the best +I can and not to take any more chances than I have to." + +Jane awakened at this juncture and lay blinking at them for a moment, +after which she sat up, rubbing her eyes. + +"Good morning, Misses Owls. Have you two been croaking there all +night?" + +"No, Jane, dear, we have not. We have been conversing for the past ten +or fifteen minutes. Previous to that time I was peeping over the edge +at Mr. Grubb, who is down there looking for Tommy's blanket. Still +farther back than that I was sound asleep. Miss Elting has been +reading me a lecture. It is your turn now." + +Margery sat up at this juncture. She unrolled her blanket, flung it +aside, and, going to the wall, sank down against it, resting her still +heavy head in her hands. + +"What's the matter with you, Margery?" questioned Jane. + +"Matter?" complained Buster. "One might as well try to sleep in that +boiler factory at Meadow-Brook as in this camp." + +"That's so, Little Sunshine; I agree with you. This is a dynamite as +well as a boiler factory, with an explosion twice, every day and at +least once in the night." + +"Dynamite?" piped Tommy. "Where ith it?" + +"There, you see! You have awakened every one of us except Hazel," +complained Jane. "Now, go on talking and you'll waken her, too; then +we'll all be awake, and can think about cooking breakfast." + +"Jane McCarthy, you can talk more and say less than any person I ever +knew," exclaimed Margery petulantly. + +"I agree with you, Little Sunshine. I agree with every word you have +said this morning, and I'm going to come right over there and kiss you +for your sweetness. Isn't she good-natured, and so early in the +morning, too?" laughed Jane, her eyes sparkling with mischief. + +A shout of laughter greeted Crazy Jane's naive words. The shout +awakened Hazel. Margery dropped her hands from her face. Her petulant +mouth relaxed into an unwilling smile; then she burst out laughing. + +"I thought I'd chase away that sour face," teased Jane. + +"I'll look crosser than ever if you don't stop," threatened the stout +girl. + +One by one the girls went over to the rivulet and washed. There was +not much water to be had, but it made up in coldness what it lacked in +quantity and freshened them greatly. Harriet started to prepare the +breakfast as soon as she had washed and dried her face and hands. The +dishes were set out on the granite shelf, and there, more than two +thousand feet in the air, the Meadow-Brook Girls sat down to their +morning meal. Janus had not returned by the time they finished, but +came in about half an hour later. He had the blanket and the handle of +the frying-pan that Tommy had dropped. He said that was all there was +left of the frying-pan. He thought the handle might be useful +somewhere, so had brought it back with him. + +"I suggest that we take the handle home and frame it. We might give it +to Tommy as a souvenir," suggested Harriet. + +"Never mind. I've thouvenirth enough as it ith. I've got thouvenirth +all over my perthon," declared Tommy. + +"You may have more before the day is done," chuckled Jane, pointing to +the heights that they were to climb that day. Tommy eyed them askance. +She did not fancy what was before her, but with a sigh of resignation +went about getting her pack ready for starting. The other girls were +now doing the same, Janus passing on the packs after they had been made +ready. To have a pack come open while climbing a steep mountain would +mean the loss of almost everything in that pack. But the danger of +this was not so great now as though the luggage were being carried on +pack horses. + +The start was made in a leisurely manner. Janus halted every little +while to point out some interesting feature of the landscape, or to +relate some legend of the past associated with this or that particular +bit of mountain scenery. An hour had been occupied in this easy +jogging before they came to the sheer climb that lay before them. This +latter was more than a thousand feet, but the guide proposed to take +the greater part of the day for it. There was no need for haste, as +the journey could be made easily before night. + +As one gazed up the jagged side it did not seem possible that anything +other than a bird could make the ascent. It looked a sheer wall from +where the girls stood, the projections and jutting crags appearing +perfectly flat to them. Even Harriet Burrell and Miss Elting were a +little dubious. + +"Do you think it safe?" questioned the guardian apprehensively. + +"No. Mountain climbing is never safe," replied Janus. "It can be +done, and easily at that, if that's what you mean. Shall we go ahead +or go back, Miss?" + +"Ahead, of course," the guardian nodded. + +Janus got his line ready, a small but strong and pliant rope. He +nodded to his party, glanced up for the most favorable starting point, +then began to go up. The Meadow Brook Girls followed in single file. +Miss Elting bringing up the rear. Now the guide passed the rope to +them as the ascent became more precipitous. Up and up wound the trail. +The climbers kept a firm grip on the life line, for a misstep here +would mean a bad tumble, and might take others down also. At times the +girls were out of sight of each other, like the ends of a train +rounding a sharp curve. The advice of the guide to "look up, never +down," was followed by each one. In fact, none dared to look down, +fearing to lose her head and grow dizzy. + +[Illustration: Up and up wound the trail.] + +"We rest here," announced Janus, after they had been climbing for an +hour without once stopping during that time. It was not a particularly +desirable place in which to rest, being located on a steep slope, but +the spot was surrounded by bushes, so that, when all came together and +sat down, they could see nothing of the rugged mountain scenery about +them. + +"Better get out some biscuit or something to munch on, for we shan't +find a place where we can cook a meal until we get nearly to the top. +We'll have to rest hanging on by our eyelids after this," declared +Janus. + +"No more mountain climbing for me," declared Margery. + +"This is nothing," chuckled the guide. "Wait until you climb Mt. +Washington." + +"Wait until I do!" nodded Margery with emphasis. + +"That is to be our next," Miss Elting informed them. "By the time we +have finished that I think we shall be seasoned mountain climbers." + +"Yeth. And we'll have the habit so badly that we'll be climbing +telephone poleth every day when we get home," averred Tommy. "I withh +my father could thee me now. He wouldn't thay hith little girl wath +lathy, would he?" + +Janus got up and walked out where he could look about him. He stood +stroking his whiskers reflectively, glancing critically at the rocks +above; then along a narrow, barely indicated trail around the side of +the mountain. He turned on his heel and returned to where his party +lay stretched out on the rocks. There were rents in their clothing, +their boots were scratched and cut from contact with sharp points of +rocks, and the faces of the Meadow-Brook Girls were red and perspiring. + +"I reckon we'll go around another way," decided Janus. "It's too steep +here. You'll ruin your clothes. No need of it at all. You will get +just as much fun out of the roundabout way as by climbing straight up." + +At first the girls protested that they did not wish to take the easier +way, but when he assured them it was just as hazardous, they were +satisfied. + +"This new way we will see some scenery that is scenery, and you'll have +a chance to look at it, which you wouldn't have in the straight-up +climb. You see, you'd be too busy hanging on. I wanted to show you +the 'Slide' anyway," he added. + +"What ith the 'Thlide'?" questioned Tommy. + +"You will see when you get to it; one of the curiosities of Chocorua, +and a lively one. They say the Indians used it when in a hurry to get +down the mountain or to escape from their enemies. But, mind you, I +don't expect any of you young ladies to follow the example of the +Indians. Now, shall we move along?" + +Interested in this new proposal, the girls sprang up, eagerly +announcing their readiness to push on. Janus led the way to the right, +instead of following the perpendicular trail. The former trail led +them around a jutting point of rock, then over boulders, irregular +slabs and crags, obliging them to pick their way with caution and cling +to the life line. + +They were now following a sort of spiral; for, though the party seemed +to be encircling the mountain, they were rising gradually toward the +blue dome of the summit. Here and there a mountain bird, dislodged +from its perch, would hurl itself out into space, giving the girls a +start, and threatening, for the moment, their equilibrium. But they +did much better than the guide had hoped for. Greatly to his relief, +he was not obliged to go to the rescue of a Meadow-Brook Girl that day. + +About noon, however, Margery Brown got a blister on her right heel, and +Hazel turned one of her ankles. This put an end to the mountain +climbing for the time being, but not to the hanging-on. The girls +perched themselves behind rocks for support while the guardian was +dressing the sprain and the blister. Janus went on to look over the +trail and pick out the easy places. While they were waiting for Miss +Elting to attend to Margery and Hazel, the guide returned with an +armful of dry sticks. + +"We aren't going to starve even if we can't move on," he cried +cheerily. "I promised you that you shouldn't have a warm meal until we +reached the summit this evening. I'm going to give you a surprise, +though. Now, what will you have?" + +"I think I'll have a thirloin thteak," answered Tommy. + +"A cup of coffee will help me, I am sure," declared Harriet. + +"I would eat the frying-pan handle if I couldn't get anything better," +added Jane. "Mountain climbing is something like work, eh?" + +Janus bolstered up his dry wood in a crotch formed by a jutting rock, +and built a fire where one would scarcely have believed it were +possible to do so. He got water from a little spring just above them, +and by the time Miss Elting had disposed of her patients for the moment +the water for coffee was boiling. But there was no setting of a table. +To have put a dish down on that slope would have meant to lose it, and +they had too few dishes to be able to afford to lose even one. + +The coffee was drunk without milk, though lumps of sugar were produced +from each girl's blouse pocket and dropped into her cup with much +laughter. They made the best of their circumstances; but when, about +the middle of the afternoon, Miss Elting informed the guide that she +did not think Hazel's ankle would permit of her going any further that +day, there was a flurry in the mountainside camp. + +The guide declared that they must go on until a suitable camping place +were reached, but how he did not say until he had consulted his +whiskers and studied the valleys below. He then gravely announced that +he would carry Hazel on his back. She promptly declared that she would +not permit it, and Miss Elting agreed with her. Then Janus rose to the +occasion by telling them that he would make a litter if one of the +young ladies thought she could bear up one end of it. Both Harriet and +Jane settled the matter by declaring they could carry the litter with +Hazel in it. + +Janus made the litter by first laying two ropes on the ground about +eighteen inches apart. On these at right angles he tied sticks until +the affair resembled a carrier belt on a piece of machinery. A loop +with a stick rove into it was arranged at each end and a blanket was +thrown over the litter, which was then pronounced ready. None of them +ever had seen anything like it. The girls feared the litter would sag +so that no one could ride on it without being dragged along the ground. +Janus said the advantage in a rope litter was that they could go around +a bend with it and not break the side pieces, and, furthermore, that it +was soft and had plenty of give. Jane winked at Harriet, Hazel looked +troubled, while Tommy's face assumed a wise expression. + +"Now for the start," called the guide, taking the front end of the +litter, after all was in readiness. "The one who takes the other end +had better not carry her pack, but lay it on the litter." + +"I prefer to have my pack on my back. I know where it is then," +remarked Harriet. + +"Now, hadn't we better strap Hazel to the litter?" proposed Jane +thoughtfully. + +"It is not necessary. There's no danger," declared the guide promptly. + +"All right, then," nodded Harriet. "But, Hazel, if you wish my advice, +you'll take pains to hold fast." + +The leader of the Meadow-Brook Girls lifted the loop over one shoulder, +passing it under one arm with the end stick resting slantingly across +her back. Janus took up the other end after Miss Elting had carefully +helped Hazel upon the litter, which tilted dangerously. + +"Be careful not to drop me," begged Hazel. "It's a shame I'm so +helpless that I have to be carried, though Mr. Grubb says it isn't far +to the camping spot." + +"Pick your way carefully, bearers," urged Miss Elting. + +"Wait! Let me get ahead of you," begged Tommy, scrambling forward. "I +don't like the lookth of that thing." Miss Elting and Jane followed +behind the litter, with which Harriet and Janus made good progress, +though Hazel had to do some clever balancing in order to keep the +affair right side up. + +For nearly half an hour the two bearers bore their burden without +halting. It proved easier work than Harriet had expected, and perhaps +that fact gave her too great assurance. The way was growing steeper +and narrower, with sharp fragments of rock on the trail, and below +them, alongside, the tops of dwarfed mountain trees. + +All at once Harriet stubbed her toe, plunging forward and tilting the +litter so that it turned turtle, like a cranky hammock. With a little +scream of alarm Hazel Holland pitched out headfirst and took a +graceful, curving dive into the top of a tree just below them. The +others saw her feet disappear in the foliage, heard a muffled cry for +assistance, then silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +LEAVING THE TRAIL IN A HURRY + +Janus was pulled from his feet. He pitched sideways, saving himself by +grasping a projection with one hand; then, in his struggles to get up, +both feet became entangled in the rope litter, and there he lay kicking +and shouting to the girls to go after the unfortunate Hazel. + +Jane McCarthy already had got into action. Without an instant's +hesitation she clambered down the rocks and made her way to the base of +the mountain tree. + +"She isn't here," shouted Crazy Jane. "What do you suppose has +happened to her?" + +"Wait! I'll be right with you," answered Harriet. + +"She must be in the tree still," cried Miss Elting. "I hope she isn't +hurt." + +"If she were not we should hear her." Harriet was down the rocks, +reaching the bottom not more than a minute behind Jane McCarthy who was +just climbing the tree. It was not possible to see far up into the +tree on account of the dense foliage. Harriet waited at the foot while +her companion climbed it rapidly. + +"I've got her," Jane called down. "She has fainted. What shall I do?" + +"Get her down," urged Miss Elting. + +"I can't. She is fast." + +"Wait! I will be with you at once," called Harriet. "Will some one +bring a rope, please?" Tommy, Margery and the guardian were scrambling +down the rocks. Janus, having extricated himself from the litter, had +picked it up and was on his way down to where Hazel had fallen by +another path. + +"Consarn the luck!" he grumbled. "Can't go a mile without something +breaking loose. Never saw anything like it in all my born days. +Anything wrong there?" + +"Yes, seriously wrong," answered Miss Elting. + +"Please send the guide up here. We can't get her out without +assistance," called down Harriet. + +"Janus!" The guide stepped briskly at Miss Elting's incisive command. +He shinned up the tree without loss of time. + +"Well, I swum!" he muttered. + +Hazel's injured ankle had caught in a crotch of the tree. She was +lying across one of the thick lower limbs of the tree, unconscious and +with blood trickling from her face. Harriet was trying to get under +her shoulders in order to lift her up somewhat and relieve the strain. +Janus crawled up to Jane, who sat beside the unconscious girl. + +"Well, I swum!" he exclaimed. + +"Do something!" exploded Jane. "Do you want us to tell you what to do?" + +"No, Miss; I know." + +"Pardon me. I didn't mean to be rude. Only get Hazel out of the tree. +She must have help at once. Go down and help Harriet lift her. I'll +try to get her foot out of the crotch of the tree when you lift her off +the limb. But be careful and don't lose your hold on her." + +"If you will come here and support Hazel's shoulders I think I shall be +able to do better by lifting her at the waist," suggested Harriet. "I +am afraid you had better remain down there, Miss Elting," she called as +the guardian made ready to climb the tree; "there isn't room for all of +us. Besides, the tree might break. I don't know how strong these +limbs really are. You might have one of the girls bring a blanket. +There is one on top of the tree, but we can't get it." + +Tommy climbed back to the trail, throwing a blanket down. In the +meantime, Jane had got down and was supporting Hazel's head and +shoulders. Harriet braced herself, back and feet, against the limbs of +the tree, both arms about the waist of the imprisoned, unconscious +girl. Janus was working cautiously at the captive foot. + +"Raise her a little. Whoa! Hold her there." + +It was not an easy task for the two girls to follow orders in that +instance, but they did, their faces growing red under the strain. +Hazel was moaning. + +"Miss Elting; the smelling salts!" called Harriet. + +The guardian passed them up, Jane grasping the bottle and placing it +under Hazel's nostrils. + +"Lift a little more. That's enough." Janus was working the ankle up a +little at a time. "Can you hold her?" + +"Yes. Tell us when you have freed the foot, please. You will have to +steady her. Hold her feet together, if possible. That will make it +easier for us. We mustn't drop her." + +"One more lift and--whoa! It's free!" + +Harriet knew that without his saying so. A sudden weight was thrown on +her arms, nearly tipping her over. Harriet's face grew red under the +strain. Glancing up, she saw that the injured foot was indeed free. + +"Let go, Jane, but watch her head to see that it doesn't get bumped." + +"You can't handle her alone, darlin'. Better let me help you," +counseled Jane. + +"Yes I can. But be ready to catch her in case anything goes wrong. +Please don't try to help her down to me, Mr. Grubb, you'll surely throw +me over if you do," warned Harriet. "Miss Elting, you and the girls +hold a blanket to catch her if we should let her fall." + +Space was so limited in the tree that everyone up there was laboring +under great difficulties. + +"Better let me get down there," suggested Janus. + +Harriet shook her head. She was slowly righting the now half +unconscious girl, every muscle trembling under the strain she was +putting upon it. + +"Hooray!" cried Crazy Jane. + +"I swum, but she is strong," muttered Janus admiringly. "I reckon----" +He did not complete what he had started to say. A warning snap told +him that something was giving way. + +Harriet had heard and understood. She shifted her weight to one foot, +but the combined weight of the two was too much for the limb. It broke +from under her with amazing suddenness. + +"Catch us!" screamed Harriet. + +Jane grabbed frantically for Harriet and her burden as they came +crashing down. But, instead of lending assistance, Jane pulled Harriet +toward her just as the latter was reaching out one hand for a limb by +which to break the fall. She missed the limb of the tree by an inch or +so. Jane's effort threw her off her balance also. The three girls +went crashing down. + +"Hold the blanket hard!" shouted Harriet. Then, with rare presence of +mind, she let go of her burden. The object in doing this was that +Hazel might land on the upraised blanket and thus break her fall. +Harriet reasoned that she and Jane were better able to take care of +themselves than was Hazel in her half unconscious condition. Hazel +reached the blanket first, but her fall was of such force that the +blanket was jerked from the hands of Miss Elting and her two charges. +However, the blanket had served to break the fall of the unfortunate +mountain climber. + +The next instant the other two girls came tumbling down, but they fell +feet first. + +"Out of the way!" cried Jane. + +Harriet threw herself to one side in order not to fall directly on +Hazel, whom those below had had no time to get out of the path of the +others. The result of Harriet's throwing herself sideways was that she +fell heavily on her side. She lay still. Jane came straight down, +reaching the rocks on all fours right over Hazel. The shock was a +severe one, and, for the moment, Jane feared she had broken both +wrists. Miss Elting dragged her aside, then drew Hazel from beneath +the tree. This move was made just in time, for at that juncture +something else occurred: Janus Grubb lost his footing and came crashing +down. + +Janus landed in a heap on the gray blanket. The fall stunned him +briefly. But no one gave any heed to Janus. Miss Elting, Tommy and +Margery were working over Hazel. + +"Look after Harriet," directed the guardian sharply. + +"Oh, my dear, are you hurt?" begged Margery. + +"I--I don't know. My side hurts. Let me lie still a little. I--I +guess I shall be all right soon." + +"Well, I swum!" grunted the guide, getting unsteadily to his feet. "I +swum!" + +Jane was sitting on the ground, a little dazed from her fall. She +stood up and leaned against the tree; then, observing that Harriet's +face was pale, she staggered over and sat down heavily beside her +friend. + +"Oh, what a mess!" she groaned. "Are you hurt, darlin'?" + +"No!" Harriet sat up determinedly, but the effort gave her pain. She +winced a little, but made no sound. + +"My kingdom for a motor car!" cried Jane. + +"Let me help you, Harriet." Harriet attempted to rise, but had to sit +down again. Jane slipped an arm about her waist and lifted the girl to +her feet. "Hadn't you better not sit down, darlin'?" + +"I feel better standing up. Hazel isn't much injured, is she, Miss +Elting?" + +"I can't find that there is anything very serious. I think she must +have bumped her head in falling through the tree. She certainly has +not added to the beauty of her face." + +Hazel shook her head and essayed a smile. + +"Did I fall gracefully?" she asked plaintively. + +"Will you listen to her?" laughed Jane. "You did it as gracefully as +the lady who dived from the top of a house into a tank full of water at +the county fair last year." + +"What I can't understand is why Tommy should have missed such an +opportunity to distinguish herself," smiled the guardian. + +"I thtood athide tho Januth could dithtinguith himthelf," lisped Tommy. + +"Well, I swum! I did it, too, didn't I? I'm not fit to guide a plow, +but I never found it out till I tried to pilot this outfit over the +hills." + +"Are thethe the hillth?" questioned Tommy. + +"Yes, Miss." + +"Then, excuthe me from the mountainth." + +"I believe my tumble has cured my sprained ankle," declared Hazel. "I +can't feel any pain at all there, except the smart where the skin is +broken. Let me put on my boot." Miss Elting slipped it on for her, +and assisted Hazel to her feet. "It is all right," cried the girl. +"Isn't that strange?" + +"Yeth. Thome thingth make thome folkth forget thome other thingth," +observed Tommy sagely. "Have you forgotten your troubleth, Harriet?" + +"I think so, Tommy. I will race you up to the trail." + +"No; I can't rathe you up a hill, though I can fall down the hill +fathter than you can, but I will help you up." + +"I'll do all the helping," Janus informed them. "Shall I carry Miss +Holland?" + +Hazel declared that she could walk and she did, with some assistance +from Miss Elting. The others were able to take care of themselves, +though Harriet's side pained her frightfully with every step. She +uttered no complaint, pluckily keeping her distress to herself, but the +guardian knew by the expression on the girl's face that she was in pain. + +Returning to the party a brief conference was held, at which they +decided to proceed and make the "Slide" if possible before dark. There +was no possibility of getting beyond that, but on the following day it +would be necessary to make all haste, for the provisions would not hold +out for more than another day, and even then they would have to go on +short rations for the last two meals. It was a used-up party that +started for the "Slide" that afternoon. Had they but known it, they +were destined to be still more weary before they retired that night. +The excitement of the day was not by any means ended. Dusk was upon +them before they came out on more level ground and headed for the site +chosen for their camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +"SUCH A LOVELY SLIDE" + +"I believe I am tired out," declared Harriet laughingly. She sat down, +then straightened and lay at full length on the ground. + +"Thank goodness for a level spot on which to lay one's weary bones!" +sighed Margery, stretching herself beside Harriet. There was moss over +the rocks and it felt soft and restful to their aching bodies. Hazel +was not far behind the other two girls in lying down. The little +company were quite ready to rest. + +"Girls, you mustn't lie there without blankets under you," warned the +guardian. + +"We are not going to lie here, Miss Elting," replied Harriet. "We are +going to get up at once and prepare supper for our hungry selves. Oh, +but my feet are tired!" + +"Mine weigh a ton," declared Margery. + +"Yeth, I imagine they do," said Tommy with a knowing nod. + +"You can go on resting if you like, Harriet. Jane, Tommy and I can get +the supper." + +"And Janus," added the guide. "You've done finely, young ladies. I'd +like to see any young men go through a hard day as well as you have. +Why, they would have been laid out along the trail from here to Sokoki +Leap. We'd have had to send a couple of men with a stretcher to pick +some of them up. Let me tell you something. You are trotting Janus +Grubb a lively race, and he isn't ashamed to say so. Any one who says +girls haven't as much pluck and endurance as boys may have an argument +with Janus Grubb at any time." + +"Thome girlth," corrected Tommy. + +"Yes, some girls. That's what I meant--you girls in particular. It's +a pity all girls don't slant in the same direction. Miss Thompson, if +you will pick out some stones for the stove I will rustle the wood. +No, not that way. I swum! You'll be down the Slide if I don't watch +you." + +"The Slide!" exclaimed the girls, turning eagerly to the guide. + +"Yes. We're at it now. Where'd you think we were?" + +"O, where is it?" questioned Harriet eagerly. + +"Come here, I'll show you. Everybody that's able to walk come here, so +you'll know where it is, then there won't be any excuse for your +walking into it in the dark. There!" + +All they could see was a slight depression in the rocks. It was +several feet wide, very steep and so smooth that its polished surface +reflected the light from the match that the guide lighted. + +Harriet tossed a stone over on the smooth surface. They heard it +sliding and rattling down, terminating in a faint splash. + +"My goodness! Is there water down there?" exclaimed Crazy Jane. + +"Yes, a pond or a pool, whatever you wish to call it. I was telling +you about the Indians who used to take the Slide here. I know two +young fellows who took it just to be smart. One was unhurt but the +other had to be fished out of the pool. He was taken with a cramp and +almost died before they got him. But this Slide isn't a circumstance +to the one over on Moosilauke. That one is nigh to a thousand feet +long. That ends in a lake, too. I'd like to see any fresh young +gentleman take _that_ slide." + +"Harriet could do it," declared Tommy. + +"Harriet is not going to try it, my dear young friend," retorted +Harriet laughingly. "She has had quite enough falls to satisfy her. +Besides, she values her life, liberty and happiness." + +"How long is this slide, Mr. Grubb?" asked the guardian. + +"Over a hundred feet," replied the guide, measuring the distance with +his eye. + +"Oh, what a lovely thlide!" bubbled Tommy. "How funny it would be to +thee Buthter toboggan down that thlide! Wouldn't that be funny, Mith +Elting?" + +"All of you keep away from here," ordered the guide. "I'll lose my +reputation if what we have already experienced gets out. Nobody will +want a guide who can't take care of his party better than I've done." + +"You aren't to blame," replied Harriet. "It has been just Meadow-Brook +luck, that is all. We always have plenty of excitement. Why, it is +tripping right along ahead of us all the time, though we do not always +catch sight of it until too late to stop. We will keep away from the +Slide until morning. I want to see it before we leave, and so do the +other girls. Maybe we might have some fun bowling stones down it. Are +there any big ones that we may roll down, Mr. Grubb?" + +"There's a whole mountain of them." + +"Hooray!" cried Crazy Jane. "We will have a rolling bee in the +morning, and Margery and Tommy shall bring the stones for us." + +"Yeth. Buthter will fetch the thtoneth, too. It will be good +exerthithe for her." + +"Grace Thompson, if you don't stop making remarks about me I'll never +speak to you again as long as I live," threatened Margery. + +Tommy did not reply to this awful threat. She appeared to ponder +deeply over it, then, edging up closer to her companion, gazed up into +the latter's face with twinkling eyes. + +"Do you mean that, really and truly?" + +"Yes, I do." + +Tommy shook her head. + +"I'm tho thorry I teathed you, Buthter, but you know that you do need +exerthithe," repeated Tommy. + +"Tommy!" expostulated Margery hopelessly. + +"There! You did thpeak to me! you did thpeak to me!" cried Tommy, +dancing about and clapping her hands. "You didn't mean it at all. You +thee, I knew you didn't really and truly mean it. Oh, I'm tho glad!" +She danced about until Janus laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. + +"Do you see where you're getting to? In a second more you'd have been +taking the Slide on your head." Janus led her away from the dangerous +spot. Miss Elting walked over to Tommy and placed a firm hand on the +shoulder of the heedless little girl. + +"Tommy, why will you be so careless? You distress me very much," +rebuked the guardian. + +"I'm thorry, Mith Elting. I'll try to be good after thith. But I +didn't fall into the tree thith afternoon, nor out of it either, did I?" + +"Her point is well taken," answered Harriet. "Nearly every one of us, +except Tommy, distinguished herself this afternoon. How about our +supper?" + +"Oh-h-h-h!" chorused the girls. "We forgot all about it." + +"Yeth, Mr. Januth. I'll fetch the thtoneth for the thtove. You get +the wood, and we will have a nithe, warm thupper and have a nithe +vithit, and then a nithe thleep and pleathant dreamth. Won't we, +Buthter?" + +"If you give us the opportunity," answered Margery sourly. + +"Thee! Buthter thpoke to me again," chuckled the little, lisping girl. +Harriet took her by the arm and led her gently back to the campsite, +which was now so enshrouded in darkness that they were barely able to +locate their packs. + +Harriet assisted Tommy in getting stones of the proper size for their +stove, after which these stones were piled and made ready for the fire +that the guide was to start when he returned with the wood. Little +more could be done without light. Hazel got the lantern from a pack, +only to find that the globe had been broken. Very soon, however, the +cook-fire was snapping and crackling, the girls sitting near it with +elbows on their knees. Then came supper. It was wonderful what a +difference there was in their appetites, now that they were out in the +open, compared to them at home. But there was not as much to eat here +as there would have been at home in Meadow-Brook. What there was +seemed the best ever served to a company of hungry girls. + +Supper over, it was not many minutes before the girls sought their +beds. They were more tired than at any time on their journey, for this +had been a day long to be remembered, the fifteenth. They would post +it up in their rooms to look at every day through the winter and think +of the excitement, the peril and the joys that marked that day of their +vacation. + +The girls rolled themselves in their blankets, Indian fashion, as +before mentioned. They were beginning to enjoy this way of sleeping, +wrapped up like mummies, feeling warm and comfortable in the soft +blankets. No one who has not tried this method of sleeping in the open +in cool weather can have the slightest idea of the blissfulness of it. +Of course, if there are insects they will find one. There were insects +on Chocorua and they found the Meadow-Brook Girls, creeping over their +faces, getting into their hair, but failing to find their way under the +tightly rolled blankets. The girls were as wholly oblivious to the +insects as to the chattering squirrels that leaped from one rolled +figure to another, then off up the rocks, only to return again and take +up their game of "leap" over the sleeping Meadow-Brook Girls. + +The day had no more than dawned when Tommy was awake, unrolling +herself, but taking the precaution to see where the unrolling would +land her. She had not forgotten her experience at Sokoki Leap, or the +fall from the shelf into space. This ground was fairly level and there +were no jumping-off places, except the Slide. She was not rolling in +that direction. Freeing herself, Tommy shook Margery awake, then began +calling her companions. Janus sat up, took account of the time and lay +back for another nap. + +"Januth ith taking hith beauty thleep," observed Tommy wisely. + +Margery complained at being called so early; but when Tommy told her +they were going to skip stones down the Slide, Buster was all eagerness +to be up and at it. The girls did not even take the time to wash their +faces, but ran to the Slide and gazed timidly down its slippery way. + +"Come on. Let'th get thome thtoneth," urged Grace. She uttered a +merry shout as the first round stone rolled down the Slide, bumping +from side to side, finally landing with a splash in the pond, sending +up a little white geyser of spray. Buster also began to take a more +active interest in life. She, too, shouted as she sent a fair-sized +boulder spinning down the incline. + +"My, what a racket!" cried Jane. "Harriet, shall we go join the game?" + +"I am getting ready as fast as I can. You had better remain quiet for +a time yet, Hazel." + +Hazel said she would. Miss Elting also lay gazing up at the sky, +following with her eyes the flight of the birds, many of which, high in +the air, were soaring toward the east to meet the coming of the day. + +Harriet picked up a boulder on her way to the Slide, and, reaching +there, sent it spinning with the wrist movement peculiar to bowlers. +The boulder skipped some rods out into the pond far below them before +it sank under the water and disappeared, leaving a white trail in its +wake. + +"I can do that," declared Tommy Thompson. + +Janus unwound himself from his blanket and stood with his hands in +pockets, observing the jolly party. + +"Don't lean over too far forward when you throw," warned Harriet. + +"You jutht watch me. I'm going to make thith one thkip clear acroth +the pond. Here it goeth. Oh, what a lovely Thlide!" + +In her excitement, Tommy leaped to the end of the slippery course, +jumping up and down. In her left hand she held another round stone +ready to send it after the previous throw before the latter should have +reached the pond. Margery was standing at hand ready to send hers down. + +"Look out!" warned Harriet, who saw the danger of Grace's position. +"Get back instantly!" Both she and Jane started on a run, fearing the +result of Tommy's imprudence. But they were too late. + +Tommy Thompson's feet slipped from under her. With a scream she +plunged head first to the Slide, starting down it on her stomach. + +"Catch her!" screamed Jane. + +Margery made a frantic effort to do so. Then her feet, too, went out +from under her, but in making a desperate attempt to recover her +balance, Margery turned completely around, landing on her back on the +slippery Slide. + +"Hold your breath," screamed Harriet, starting to run again, for she +had halted instinctively as she saw the two girls lose their footing. +Jane followed. Janus stood fairly paralyzed with amazement. It had +all come about with such suddenness that he had had no time in which to +collect his thoughts. When he did, he uttered a yell. + +"Come back!" he roared. + +But the two girls were past coming back for the time being. The third +girl, Harriet Burrell, was running toward the upper end of the Slide, +having made a short detour to enable her to get exactly in line with +it. Now she raised herself on her tiptoes, at the same time bending +over and taking a low, shooting leap, dived headfirst to the Slide, +down which she shot at a dizzy rate of speed. + +"Oh, she'll be killed!" Crazy Jane halted at the top, gazed down the +long, slippery rock, then plumped herself down on the Slide in a +sitting posture. She was on her way before she found time to change +her mind. When she did change her mind it did her no good, so far as +changing the situation was concerned. A procession of Meadow-Brook +Girls was well started on a perilous journey, the result of which could +not be foreseen by the three members of the party left in the camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +WHAT CAME OF SHOOTING THE CHUTE + +Miss Elting had begun to unwind herself the instant her attention had +been called to Grace Thompson's perilous position at the head of the +chute. Hazel Holland also had rolled over to free herself of the +blankets. But before either of them had succeeded in getting to her +feet, Tommy had taken the long dive, followed, as the reader already +knows, by Margery, and later by Harriet Burrell and Jane McCarthy. + +"They'll be killed! Oh, those girls!" wailed the guardian. "Go after +them, Janus." + +"They are quite likely to be," observed the guide huskily. "I can go +after them, but I can't stop them. There they are." + +They heard the splash--in fact, several distinct splashes--faint, it is +true, but sufficient to tell those in the camp that the girls had +reached their destination, the pond at the foot of the Slide. Janus +already was racing down the mountain, jumping, stumbling, falling now +and then, but making his way down as rapidly as possible. + +"Remain here, Hazel," commanded Miss Elting. Then she, too, hurried +down, making even better time than did the guide, for the guardian was +more agile and much lighter on her feet. + +Fortunately for Tommy, she had been headed straight along the center of +the Slide from the beginning. The chute sloped somewhat toward the +middle. Tommy had instinctively kept her head up, arms thrust straight +ahead of her. She began gasping for breath, and, either obeying +Harriet's direction or the instinct of the swimmer, she closed her lips +tightly and held her breath. Her little body flashed through a thick +growth of bushes that hung over the chute at one point. She had seen +the bushes coming at her like a projectile and instinctively lowered +her head before reaching them. But she quickly raised her head again, +uttering an exclamation, as the skin was neatly peeled from the bridge +of her nose. + +"Oh, thave me!" groaned Tommy, as the pond rose up to meet her. She +caught and held her breath. When she struck the water a sheet of it +rose up on each side of her just as the water does at the launching of +a steamship, only there was much less displacement in Tommy's case. To +her amazement she skimmed along the surface a few feet before she began +to settle. Unfortunately, at about that time Tommy opened her mouth +for a breath of fresh air. Instead she got a mouthful of water. She +began to kick and struggle. + +Down went Tommy, still struggling and kicking and striking out blindly, +for the girl had not yet recovered from the shock. It was while she +was down that another girlish figure shot straight into the lake. +Instead of skimming the surface this second figure came down on her +back with a mighty splash, turned a half-somersault, landing on her +feet, where she stood treading water and screaming. + +Now a third figure shot down the chute. It took the water in a clean +dive, going clear under, passing close by where Margery was treading +water and screaming for help. When Harriet finally did come up, +shaking the water from eyes and head, she was seen to be only a few +feet from Grace, who now was making a great splashing on her way to the +opposite shore. Tommy could not speak as yet, but she could swim, and +swim she did. + +Observing that Tommy was not in immediate need of assistance, Harriet +turned back toward Margery, who plainly was expending her strength +without accomplishing very much. Harriet was just in time to see Jane +McCarthy sit down in the pond. She made a great disturbance, added to +which was a wild yell as she felt the water rising about her. Jane +went into the water over her head. Margery, seized by a panic, forgot +to tread water and went clear to the bottom. + +Harriet, still gasping for breath from her long slide and the dive +under water following, plunged ahead and dived again. She came up with +the struggling, choking Buster firmly gripped in one hand. Margery was +trying to grasp Harriet, and the latter was experiencing some +difficulty in keeping out of her clutches. Tommy, in the meantime, had +reached the other side of the pond and crawled up on the shore, where +she lay complaining to herself, watching the struggle in the water with +wide-open eyes. Now and then she shouted a suggestion. + +"Oh, my stars!" cried Jane. Coming up, she splashed about in the pond +trying to get her bearings. Then, seeing Harriet's struggle with +Margery, Jane headed for them in a series of porpoise-like lunges. The +last reach brought a hand in contact with one of Margery's feet. Jane +gave it a mighty tug. "Put her under, put her under! That'll stop +her!" shouted Jane. + +"Let go, Jane," called Harriet. "She is all right now. She has her +bearings now. Let us see if she has forgotten how to swim." Harriet +threw Margery off. The latter splashed and floundered in the cold +water, then all at once struck off for the shore. She reached it and +scrambled to the bank, up which she staggered and sank whimpering to +the earth. + +Jane and Harriet swam shoreward. Jane was laughing almost +hysterically. Though she felt chilled and exhausted, Harriet's eyes +twinkled. The two struggled to the bank, there to sit down laughing. + +"Are you safe?" shouted Miss Elting. + +"Hoo-e-e-e!" answered the two girls. + +"Are you all right, Tommy?" Harriet next called across the pond. + +"Yeth, but I'm _almotht_ wet and cold. My clothes are thoaked, and +there are ithicleth hanging from my eyebrowth. Thomebody better thave +me?" + +"Come over here," proposed Harriet, teasingly, "and we will." + +"I can't," Tommy replied, with a shake of her head. "Too many +thraight, high rockth in the way." + +"Swim across, darlin'," urged Jane. + +"Can't do that either, the water ith too cold." + +"Then you'll have to stay where you are," laughed Jane. "If you get +hungry, come over and I'll give you a biscuit to take back there with +you." + +"Girls, I feel so relieved," cried Miss Elting, running down to join +them. "But why did you do such a foolish thing?" + +"We came after Tommy," replied Miss McCarthy. "If that were foolish, +we apologize." + +"Tommy," ordered Miss Elting, "come here!" + +"I can't," complained the little one. + +"We'll have to go after her," sighed Harriet, "or the little goose will +stay there. Miss Elting, how would you like to take a nice, cool +morning swim?" + +"No, thank you," replied the guardian, with a little shiver. "Here is +Janus. You see that my girls are all valiant, Mr. Grubb." + +There was a note of pride in the guardian's voice. + +"Well, I swum!" was the guide's greeting. "Ye did do it!" + +"Yes, sir; and I shouldn't mind doing it again. Oh, it was such sport, +Miss Elting. Please, may we go up and have another slide?" begged +Harriet. + +"Oh, goodness, yes. Please let us," urged Jane. + +"By no means. I am amazed that you should ask such a thing. I forbid +it. Please get Tommy, if you are going to. She will stay there as +long as we will wait here. I really don't know what I am going to do +with Tommy." + +"I wish you would do something, Miss Elting. She surely will be the +death of me. Think of me, with my weak heart, having to submit to such +terribly exciting adventures," complained Margery. + +"Just listen to Buster," chuckled Crazy Jane. "We must be so very +careful of her." + +"Well, I suppose we might as well get in if we are going to," decided +Harriet. "We can't be any wetter than we are, Jane." + +"But we can be colder. All right. I'm with you." + +Harriet dived in to get the shock over, coming up blowing. A splash +followed hers and Jane came up beside her, shaking the water from her +head and ears. + +"My, but it's cold, isn't it, darlin'," she gasped. + +"Cold as a snowbank," answered Harriet. + +"I'll race you to the other side." + +"Go you! Now!" + +How the water did fly as they struck out in overhand strokes, shouting +and laughing, cheered on by Miss Elting and Margery, on the other side +by the irrepressible Tommy, who was dancing up and down on the shore, +shouting and clapping her hands in great glee! The swimmers landed, +laughing merrily as they made for shore. But they did not wait to +argue with Tommy. Instead they picked her up bodily and tossed her +into the pond. Tommy screamed and tried to fight, but she had little +opportunity for resistance before she went in with a splash. + +They sprang in after her, pulling the girl down, she having got to her +feet in the meantime. + +"Swim! swim, or we will hold your head under!" threatened Jane. + +Tommy refused to swim. + +"Grab her foot. We'll tow her," commanded Harriet. Suiting the action +to the word, she grasped one of Tommy's ankles, and throwing herself on +her back began to swim with feet and free arm for the opposite side of +the pond. + +"Hooray!" cried Jane, making a couple of leaps forward, and getting a +firm hold of the other ankle of the now loudly screaming Tommy. "Toot, +toot! The tug is going ahead. How do you like being towed, darlin'?" + +Tommy's yells indicated that she did not fancy it, especially being +towed feet first. Her head went under water almost instantly. Tommy +was obliged to help herself or drown. She began working her arms, +trying to keep her head above water, but found it awkward swimming that +way. She never had tried the feet first style of swimming. No one of +the party ever had, except Harriet, who could make very good progress +that way. + +"Hold your breath, dear," suggested Harriet sweetly. "You will not +swallow so much water that way." + +"How--how long must I hold it?" + +"Not more than five minutes," comforted Crazy Jane. + +"Thave----" She did not complete the sentence, because a volume of +water rolled into her open mouth. + +They had nearly reached the middle of the pond, when Harriet stopped +swimming. + +"I am afraid we shall have to turn her around. Tommy will persist in +opening her mouth. We mustn't drown her," said Harriet. + +Jane righted their tow with a jerk. + +"Those girls, those girls!" muttered Miss Elting, turning a laughing +face to Janus Grubb. + +"Well, I swum!" he answered, nodding. "Never saw such a bunch of +girls. Are they always like they have been this time?" + +"Always," chuckled the guardian. "Usually more so." + +"Well, I swum!" + +"Will you swim, or will you drown?" demanded Jane of Tommy. + +"I'll thwim, I'll thwim," answered Tommy chokingly. "I think you are +horrid to treat me tho. I'll be even with you." + +Jane started for her. Tommy got into instant action, and how she did +swim! Harriet and Jane were much faster swimmers than was Tommy, but +they pretended to have difficulty in keeping up with her and lagged +behind until their shoulders were even with the kicking feet of the +little, lisping girl. Then they began grabbing at her ankles, drawing +fresh shouts and protests from Tommy. They teased her all the way to +the shore, up which Tommy staggered and ran to Miss Elting for +protection. + +"Don't make me all wet," objected the guardian, leaping back out of the +way. + +Tommy sat down and whimpered. Jane and Harriet picked her up, placing +her on a seat made of their four hands, and started up the mountainside +with their burden. + +"We aren't afraid of getting wet, are we, Jane?" laughed Harriet. + +"Not this morning, we are not, darlin'," chuckled Jane. But they did +not carry Tommy far. She decided that she would walk, fearing they +were planning some trick on her. She had no desire to be dumped off on +a steep place as Hazel had been. The girls clambered up the +mountainside laughing over their mishaps of the morning, and ran +bounding into camp far ahead of Miss Elting and the guide. They found +Hazel very much excited over something that had occurred in the camp +during their absence. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +FACED BY A FRESH MYSTERY + +There were serious expressions on the faces of the Meadow-Brook Girls +when Miss Elting and the guide came in. Miss Elting saw at once that +something was amiss. She demanded to know what it was. + +"Hazel saw something that frightened her," answered Harriet. + +"Saw something?" repeated the guardian, looking from one girl to the +other. + +"Tell it," urged Harriet, nodding to Hazel. + +"I was watching for you and the girls when I thought I heard something +behind me. I looked around but saw nothing unusual. But I had a +feeling that some one was about. I walked to the other end of the camp +and back. I saw no one--nothing, I hadn't thought to look up. +Something made me do so just then and I saw it." + +"Saw what?" demanded the guardian and the guide in chorus. + +"A man." + +"You did?" exclaimed Janus. "Where?" + +"He was behind those green bushes that you see up there--Oh, he has +gone. No need to go up there now, Mr. Grubb." Janus had begun to +climb the rocks. + +"Yes. Please wait and hear the rest of the story," ordered Miss +Elting, who was deeply interested, but apparently undisturbed. "What +sort of looking man was he, Hazel?" + +"He wore a long, black beard, and--" + +"You are positive of this?" interrupted Miss Elting. + +"Yes. I saw him plainly. That is, I saw his head and shoulders. The +rest of his body was hidden behind the bushes. I was going to cry out, +but I knew you couldn't hear me. There was too much noise down there, +so I just stood still." + +"Did he speak to you?" asked Janus. + +"No. I spoke to him. I asked him what he wanted. He did not reply. +Instead, he dodged behind the bushes and ran. I could see, from the +movement of the bushes to the right there, that he was getting away +very rapidly." + +"Did the man wear green goggles?" asked the guide. + +"No, sir. He wore no glasses." + +"Of course not. We've got the green goggles," broke in Jane. "But the +whiskers! Our enemy wore whiskers, didn't he?" + +"What do you make of this, Mr. Grubb?" questioned Miss Elting, eyeing +Janus sharply. + +"Can't make anything of it. Might be most anybody. A good many +persons up in these parts wear whiskers." Janus stroked his own +reflectively. "And then again, a good many more do not, so I don't see +that his whiskers prove much. Wish I might have seen him. If you +don't mind I'll go up there now and see what I can find." + +Harriet said she would accompany him and assist in the search. + +"You couldn't recognize in him the man we saw on the station platform +at Compton the night of our arrival, could you, Hazel?" asked the +guardian. + +"Oh, no. I don't believe it was the same person at all." + +"Then we are no wiser than before, except that it behooves us to keep +our eyes open. If that man has followed us into the mountains we shall +hear more of him. Do you find anything up there, Harriet?" + +"We find where he has broken down some bushes, but that is all. No +footprints. I might possibly pick up his trail, but over the rocks +there would be slight chance of running it down." + +"I couldn't permit it," was Miss Elting's decisive reply. "Come down. +Jane, will you please start the fire? We will have breakfast." + +"Oh, yeth, we haven't had breakfatht yet," piped Tommy. + +"Nor have you dried your clothes. Every one of you except Hazel is wet +to the skin." + +Jane had brought some dry sticks by the time the guide and Harriet +returned. Janus got more, realizing the condition of his party, and +wishing to build up a fire that would dry their wet clothing. The +girls had no changes of clothing with them. They would be obliged to +continue to wear their wet dresses until these had dried. + +A hot fire proved a welcome relief. The girls gathered about it, +turning frequently in order to give their clothing an opportunity to +dry. It was not long before the steam rose from their rapidly drying +garments. They laughed and joked over their condition. Miss Elting +was more serious. She held a low-voiced conversation with Janus while +he was getting the breakfast. Janus insisted that he had not the +faintest idea that he had an enemy. At least he knew of no one who +would commit the acts that had been committed since the party started +out from Compton on their journey through the White Mountains. + +The girls' wet clothing was almost dry when they were called to +breakfast. This meal was late on this particular morning, for good and +sufficient reason, but the girls did not complain about this. What +they did complain of was their bedraggled condition. They laid their +trouble on this occasion directly at the door of Tommy Thompson. Tommy +was undisturbed. She expressed her pleasure, however, that her +companions had also received a wetting, and uncharitably hoped they +would fall in every time she did. + +During breakfast they discussed their situation, finally deciding to +push on as soon after the meal as possible. The guide said they would +feel dry and warm soon after starting on their way. He thought they +would be better off on the move than sitting about the fire. Hazel had +now fully recovered from the effects of her fall. Harriet's side still +gave her pain, but she, too, felt that the best thing for her would be +plenty of exercise. + +That forenoon she insisted on carrying Hazel's pack, and did more real +work on the trail than any other girl of the party. They were above +the timber line, though there was little timber below it, the side of +the mountain having been fire-swept long before that. The only green +to be seen immediately about them were the blue-berry bushes and +similar mountain vegetation that flourished in the crevices of the +rocks. + +It was early in the afternoon when they emerged on the summit of the +mountain and gazed off over its gray top, that, flanked by other domes +of the Sandwich range, reminded one of the past ages and the +fascinating legends of the Sokokis. The summit was rough and rugged, +though devoid of big boulders such as are usually to be found in +similar locations. + +"You are now three thousand five hundred feet in the air," announced +the guide, rather proudly. + +"Ith that what maketh Buthter tho uppithh thith afternoon?" questioned +Tommy. + +"It may be what makes you so light-headed," retorted Margery. + +"There! Now, will you be good?" jeered Jane. + +"Yeth. That wath a good one. Too bad you don't thay thomething bright +every day. Think what a lot more fun we would have, Buthter." + +An hour was spent strolling about the summit, looking off at the +magnificent scenery which stretched on all sides of them. + +A cup of coffee apiece was made and drunk, but fire-making material was +so scarce that no attempt was made to cook a meal. About mid-afternoon +the party was called to attention and directed to shoulder their packs +preparatory to their long tramp down the mountain side to the Shelter, +where fresh clothing and food awaited them. They left the summit with +regret. Harriet said she would give a great deal to see a sunrise from +there. + +"Wait for Mt. Washington," answered Janus. "I shan't tell you anything +about it, but, once you are there, you will be glad you decided to +climb it." + +Instead of climbing down over the rocks the party took what is known +among mountaineers as a "tote trail," a narrow pathway generally used +for packing stuff into the mountains on the backs of human beings. +This "tote trail" was a winding trail full of twists and turns and +surprises, now appearing to end at some high precipice, then creeping +around the corner of a huge jutting rock, but ever dropping and +dropping farther and farther away from the summit and nearer to the +"Shelter," which was their destination on this occasion. + +Twilight was upon them again before they reached the main tourist +trail. It was now late in the season. Not a human being had they seen +since starting out to climb Mt. Chocorua except for Hazel's discovery +of the strange man whom she had caught spying on their camp at the +"Slide." The memory of that face still lingered in mind, nor had the +incident been forgotten by any member of the party. They wondered what +the next surprise would be. They were destined to know within a very +short time. + +Walking was good by this time and the remaining distance to the +"Shelter" was covered at a greater rate of speed. Janus swung to the +right, then to the left, and behold, the little hut stood darkly before +them! + +"Here we are," called the guide cheerily, striding over and throwing +open the door. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE STORY THE LIGHT TOLD + +"Strike a light, if you please," requested the guardian, as Janus stood +holding the door of the hut open for his charges to enter. + +"You'll have a light directly," returned the guide, applying a lighted +match to the hanging lamp with its smoke-dimmed chimney. + +"Oh, isn't it nice and cosy in here?" sighed Margery contentedly, +dropping down on a bench. Unslinging her heavy pack, she let it fall +to the floor. + +"What about supper?" was Janus's first question. + +"Yeth, that ith what I thay," approved Tommy. "Buthter would thay tho, +too, only thhe is afraid I'll teathe her about eating." + +"Afraid of you!" exclaimed Margery disgustedly. "Well, I guess not." + +During this passage at arms Janus was making an industrious hunt for a +frying-pan. He opened one of the packs that had been left behind, +thrust one hand inside, then paused, a look of astonishment on his +honest face, underneath the frown that wrinkled his weather-beaten +forehead. For a few seconds the bewildered guide stared stupidly at +the object he had taken from the pack. The girls were busy undoing +their tote-packs, so they failed to heed what he was doing until his +peculiar attitude finally attracted their attention. + +Janus thrust his hand in again, but the result was no less discouraging. + +"Well, I swum!" he grumbled. "I swum!" + +"So you've said before," smiled Hazel. + +"Anything wrong?" asked the guardian, glancing up from her own pack, +the contents of which were spread out on the floor before her. + +The guide "swum" again. Miss Elting paused in her work, turning to him. + +"Mr. Januth ith troubled," observed Tommy wisely. + +"What is it?" demanded the guardian. + +"What is it? It's a rock, Miss." + +"What do you mean?" + +For answer he held out on the palm of one hand a chunk of granite, the +while surveying it ruefully. Miss Elting took and examined the rock, +then directed a look of inquiry at Janus. + +"I don't understand," she said, with a rising inflection on the last +word. + +"Well, I swum! no more do I!" he exploded. "Will you look into that +pack and see what you find? Maybe I can't see straight this evening. +Maybe I can't." + +Harriet ran to the pack he had indicated and peered into it. She +uttered an exclamation, loosened the rest of the binding ropes and +turned the contents out on the floor of the Shelter. Exclamations of +amazement fell from the lips of the Meadow-Brook Girls. Instead of the +supplies that had originally been stowed in the pack, a choice +assortment of stones, chunks of granite, small hardheads and pebbles +rolled out on the floor. They were speechless for the moment. Janus +tugged nervously at his beard, too thoroughly astonished for speech. + +"I gueth thomebody hath been throwing thtoneth at uth," observed Tommy +Thompson. "I wonder who liketh uth tho much that he wanth to knock our +headth off?" + +"Open the other packs," directed Miss Elting calmly. + +They did so, but with the same results. Each pack was filled with +stones, and, in some instances, pieces of wood, parts of limbs of +trees, dirt, shale and the like. + +"Oh, my stars, what a mess!" cried Crazy Jane. + +"Did you not say that our equipment was perfectly safe here?" demanded +Miss Elting, turning sharply on the guide. + +"I--I thought it was, Miss." + +"Then how do you explain this?" she asked with a comprehensive wave of +the hand. + +"I don't explain it. I swum! I don't know what to think about it. I +wish I could get my hands on the scoundrel." + +Miss Elting sat down to think. "It is plain that we have been followed +into the mountains. The man whom Hazel saw at the 'Slide' undoubtedly +is the one who has been causing us all the trouble. He may have been +hovering about us all the time, we knowing nothing about it. I am +afraid we aren't very clever, girls. We have allowed our enemy to +outwit us." + +"I don't believe he has, Miss Elting," replied Harriet. "If so, he has +been watching us from a distance. We surely should have discovered if +the man had come close to our camp." + +"It must have been the man that Hazel saw, and I believe he was the one +who dropped the green goggles," was Harriet's emphatic declaration. "I +wonder what his grievance is?" + +"All our stuff gone; we'll have to go back, won't we?" mourned Margery. + +"We have our luggage, but that is some distance from here," replied the +guardian. "How long will it take us to get to our supplies, Mr. Grubb?" + +"A day, or a day and a half, I reckon." + +"Then we had better go for them to-morrow morning. We can do nothing +more this evening. But--what are we to do for food?" + +"We have a little. We have some coffee and a spoonful of rice. That's +enough. We can live another twenty-four hours or so on that. I'll fix +up something now. Maybe there's something in a cache back of the hut. +I'll see." To their delight, Janus returned, not long after that, with +a small sack of flour and one of corn meal. It did not take the girls +long to start a fire in the small cook stove. They threw open the +windows, the "Shelter" warming up very quickly. + +The girls began work at once, Janus showing them how to make the kind +of corn cakes that are popular with the mountain guides in the White +Mountain range. All the time Harriet Burrell was thinking intently +over their situation and the loss of the supplies. She was considering +the perplexing problems from different viewpoints, with a view toward +solving them. + +"What did the thief do with our supplies?" she demanded, turning to the +guide. + +"Probably took them away with him. That's the way thieves usually do. +Otherwise, what's the use in stealing?" + +"I don't think so, sir. I do not believe this thief took the stuff +because he wanted it, but rather to make you trouble." + +"Maybe, maybe. It's all the same thing." + +"Oh, no, sir; it isn't, not if he did not carry the stuff away with +him. If he did not carry it away with him, what could he have done +with it?" She regarded Mr. Grubb inquiringly. + +"I swum! I don't know," declared Janus, looking deeply puzzled. + +"Nor do I, but I propose to find out. Is there such a thing as a +lantern here, Mr. Grubb?" + +He shook his head. "Better leave off everything else till we get some +food. There's the coffee pot on the steps outside, where I put it, but +the cream is all gone. We'll have to drink our coffee black." + +"Yeth, and thtay awake all night," averred Tommy. "But we don't care. +We are used to thtaying awake all night, aren't we, Jane?" + +"Yes, darlin', we are," agreed Jane brightly. "But I'm wishing I might +lay violent hands on the rogue who took our belongings. Where is that +Mr. Sheriff for whom you sent to come and catch our friend of the green +goggles and the black whiskers, Mr. Grubb?" + +"He'll be along in good time," replied the guide, stroking his own +whiskers while regarding with squinting eyes the progress of the supper +under the deft fingers of the Meadow-Brook Girls. "Here! Let me do +that. I reckon I can be finishing the supper while you young ladies +get ready. There's a barrel of rain water just back of the hut where +you can wash. You look as though you needed it--no offense intended." + +A merry laugh greeted the words of Janus Grubb. The girls agreed that +they _did_ need it. Their clothing was not in very good condition, +either, but nothing could be done with the garments until they reached +a spot where they could change them for fresh apparel. The girls ran +out laughing, and a moment later were heard splashing in the rain +barrel. They came in with dripping faces to get their towels, then, +running out again, rubbed their faces until their cheeks glowed +underneath their tan. Tommy's freckles were now more pronounced than +ever, but her usually pale face wore a healthy look and her eyes were +bright and sparkling. + +Supper was late that evening, nor was it a heavy supper when at last +they sat down on the benches in the "Shelter" with their cups and their +corn cakes beside them, but they were as happy a party of girls as if +sitting at a table laden with good things and sparkling with cut glass +and silver. There were health and good-fellowship here; and there also +was the pride of achievement, for these young girls had accomplished a +great deal during the time they had been living their out-of-door life. +They made merry over their scanty supper and finished with satisfied +appetites. + +After supper Harriet asked the guide to prepare some torches, saying +she wished to look about to see if she could find anything. Janus said +there was no wood at hand fit for torches. No wood, no +lantern--nothing save the smoky old lamp in the "Shelter," and very +little oil in that. Janus said there had been a can of oil there a +week before that, but that some one must have carried it off, can and +all. + +"I'll hold the light for you if you want to dig," he offered. + +"Yes, please do that," urged Harriet. "I know where I wish to look. +If you will hold the light out there on the edge of that bank of rocks +I will go below. It is such a convenient place to throw things. +Tommy, look out that you don't throw your dishes over when you go out. +I think I will just wash that chimney before we go any further." + +"Whatever you do don't drop it!" exclaimed Miss Elting. "We cannot get +along without the lamp." + +"We can build up a fire outside, if necessary. I rather think that +would be a better idea still. What do you say, Mr. Grubb?" + +Janus consulted his whiskers, then decided that the idea was an +excellent one. He said he would go out and get some fuel for the fire, +and did so. While he was thus engaged, Harriet cleaned the lamp +chimney, Miss Elting hung canvas over the glassless windows and the +other girls washed and put away the few dishes that had been used. A +fine, large fire was started on the ledge of rock that extended out +from the "Shelter" to a drop-off of some twenty feet. Harriet was very +much interested in the fire that night. Then, after it was well +started, she walked to the edge, and, with her back to the flames, +peered down. + +All at once she started to run down the path to the left. She called +to Jane to come with her. They had to clamber over some rough ground +in order to reach a point below the hut. The light from the fire made +the shadows dance down there. + +"I saw something glisten down here," explained Miss Burrell. "I am +certain it was a tin can. Wouldn't it be fine were we to find our +canned supplies down here, Jane?" + +"Then it is fine, for here's the very thing you were looking for." The +Irish girl stooped, then held up a tin can. Harriet uttered a little +exclamation and reached for it. "But it's empty," chuckled Jane. + +"Oh, fudge! Some one has thrown it over. Other picnic parties have +been up here. Besides, this is not one of our cans. But that doesn't +mean we shan't find any of our own. Look hard, Jane." + +"I'm looking hard, so hard that my eyes ache," replied Jane dryly. An +instant later she cried out, "Will you look at that?" + +Harriet was at her side in a couple of seconds from the uttering of +that cry. Then she, too, raised her voice in a shout that called her +companions from the hut. Miss Elting came out carrying the lamp. +Janus took it from her, and, standing on the very edge in the full +light of the campfire, held the lamp above his head and peered down. + +"What is it?" cried the guardian. + +"We have found our canned stuff and a whole lot of our equipment," +answered Harriet triumphantly. + +"Hooee-e-e-e!" shouted the Meadow-Brook Girls in great glee. + +"Wait! I'll be down there to help you gather it up," Janus called down +to them. + +"Get the packs, girls," ordered Miss Elting. + +Then there came an interruption that startled the girls into silence. +Something sped through the air over their heads, uttering a strange, +weird woo-woo-woo! It passed, followed by a distant report, the crack +of a rifle. Then, all at once, the lamp that Janus Grubb was holding +above his head crumbled into nothingness, the oil in the well of the +lamp streaming down over the guide's head and face. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +SEEKING A DESPERATE REVENGE + +"Lie down!" bellowed Janus. + +"Down!" commanded Miss Elting, in the same moment. + +Janus moved more quickly than they ever had seen him do before. They +did not think him capable of such rapid action. + +"Look out below!" he roared, as, with a series of rapid kicks, he sent +the burning sticks of the campfire tumbling over the edge into the +little ravine below the "Shelter." + +"Get out of the light! Come up here as fast as ye can! Into the hut +with ye, every one!" Janus sprang from the rock and ran down the path +toward Harriet and Jane. + +"What's the matter now?" demanded Jane, who did not understand. + +"I don't know," answered Harriet, herself a little startled. "I heard +a gun fired twice. Can it be that some one is shooting at us? Oh, I +hope not. But we must get out of here! Mr. Grubb, is that you?" she +called, hearing some one floundering toward them. + +"It's Grubb. Get out of that." + +"What has happened?" begged Harriet, hurrying to meet the guide, who +came on a run to where they stood. + +"Enough! Did you hear the shots?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, one of them snipped the lamp. I'm greased from head to foot. +The scoundrel!" + +"But--but perhaps they were not intended for you, Mr. Grubb," suggested +Jane breathlessly. + +"They were intended for me, all right. No mistake about that, young +ladies. Now, I want you to get into that shack on the double quick. I +haven't a rifle, but I have a revolver that's good enough to take care +of anything that gets close enough. Don't make too much noise; there +might be another shot." + +"I think not, if we do not start any more fires. I have an idea that +the shots were intended for you, Mr. Grubb, not for us. If so, the man +will not shoot again in the dark, fearing to hit one of us." + +"Well, I swum!" grunted the guide. + +Harriet's guess seemed very plausible. He led them quickly up the +path, and, reaching the top, hurried them into the cabin. Janus got +his revolver, and, after loading it, slipped some extra cartridges into +a pocket. "I don't want anybody to come out again to-night," he +ordered. "You go to sleep, when you get ready, and I'll sit outside to +watch for the rascal in case he comes prowling around later." + +"Spread your blankets on the floor and sit down," directed Miss Elting. +"I don't think we are quite ready for bed yet. We do not know but +there may be more shots, though we aren't going to be afraid, are we, +girls?" + +"No, we are not, Miss Elting. Why should we be? Being afraid doesn't +help us one little bit." + +So the girls seated themselves on their blankets, and in low tones +talked over the series of mysterious occurrences that had marred an +otherwise happy journey to the mountains. They wondered what wrong +their enemy might feel had been done him to make him thus vengeful. +The girls did quite believe that the man of the green goggles, Miss +Elting's caller, was either directly or indirectly concerned in the +various mysteries, but that was as far as they could go toward a +solution. + +One by one the campers rolled up in their blankets and went to sleep. +Janus held his position in front of the "Shelter" throughout the night, +but nothing occurred to disturb the camp until nearly three o'clock in +the morning. Then two quick shots, fired seemingly right over their +heads, brought the Meadow-Brook Girls out of their sound sleep, +uttering little exclamations of alarm. Harriet sprang out through the +open door without an instant's hesitation. + +"Where is he? What did you shoot at?" she questioned apprehensively, +fixing searching eyes upon the guide. + +Miss Elting repeated the questions a few seconds later, she having +joined Harriet. + +The guide stood with revolver still pointed toward the tote-trail, +ready to shoot at the slightest movement. In the faint light the two +women could see a shadowy something that appeared to be standing beside +the trail. + +"There! See him? I swum, I don't understand it," muttered the guide. +"I fired in the air to scare him." + +"Where is it? What do you mean?" questioned the guardian. + +"Him! I looked and he wasn't there, then I looked again and there he +stood, right where you see him now. Then I shot into the air twice." + +Harriet Burrell burst into a merry shout. She laughed and laughed +until her companions, taking fresh courage, ran out, demanding to know +what was so funny. Tommy declared that she would give almost anything +to be able to laugh that way at that particular moment. Neither did +Miss Elting understand the meaning of this sudden merriment, but she +knew that Harriet had discovered something. + +Janus regarded the girl frowningly, all the time keeping one eye on the +faintly outlined figure out by the tote-trail. + +"Laugh, consarn it!" Mr. Grubb growled, beginning to feel that, in some +way, he had made a shining mark of himself, rather than appearing in +the role of a hero who had valiantly defended his party of young women. + +"What is it, dear?" asked the guardian. + +"Don't you know what that is?" queried Harriet. + +"No. It looks to me like a man leaning against something," answered +Miss Elting. + +"Yes, yes," interposed the guide. "When I first shot at it it was +standing straight up, then it tilted over against the rocks, and there +it is. You get back. I'll go over. If he shoots, you won't be in any +danger." + +"Oh, nonsense!" exploded Harriet. "Put your pistol down. Don't you +dare to point it toward me. I'll lay your intruder." + +The girl ran forward, unheeding the warning cries of her companions. +She ran straight to the object that, in the uncertain light, so closely +resembled a human figure. The girls were begging Harriet to come back. +Instead she boldly grasped the object with both hands, and threw it +across the trail. A chorus of "Ohs!" greeted this performance. Janus +lowered his weapon, his under jaw dropped. He followed Miss Elting, +while the girls followed them both at a safe distance, Tommy and +Margery ready to take flight at the slightest indication of danger. + +"Here he is, Mr. Grubb," cried Harriet. + +"Harriet, what is it?" demanded Miss Elting. + +"Just a plain, rotting old tree trunk," returned the girl. + +"But--but it wasn't there before," stammered the guide. + +Again Harriet laughed. Her companions gazed at her admiringly. None, +unless it were Jane McCarthy, would have had the courage to go out +there as Harriet Burrell had done. They told her so, too, at which +Harriet laughed again. + +"Let me tell you something," said Harriet. "I'm not a bit braver than +you are. As it happened, I knew what that was the instant I saw it. +The tree trunk was not standing there when we came into camp last +night. Had it been, Mr. Grubb would have seen it. The trunk had +fallen across the trail. When I started to go down below to look for +our supplies I stumbled over the stick, and to prevent some one else +tripping over it, I threw it out of the trail. The stick ended over +and stood upright against the rock where you saw it. I presume Mr. +Grubb did see it tip to one side. I know, however, that the stick has +been there ever since I tossed it out of the trail last night." + +"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus sheepishly, "I'm so easy it's a wonder I +haven't lost myself." + +"No, you were doing your best to protect us," replied Miss Elting. +"But I would rather you did not shoot again except in real defence. In +other words, don't shoot unless some one shoots at you." + +"What am I going to do?" demanded the guide rather crossly. "Sit down +and allow some outlaw to rob us at every turn?" + +"We know you are ready to defend us," pacified Miss Elting. "What +would you advise us to do?" + +"Make no further move until morning. When daylight comes we will get +up the stuff that has been thrown over there, make up our packs and +start for Mt. Washington," returned Janus promptly. "I'll reach a +telephone before long and send word to the sheriff about what has +occurred. He may be out already on the bridge matter, but he ought to +know about this last affair. It will give him a clue as to where the +man is." + +"But the unknown wretch may follow us," protested the guardian. + +"He won't. He's gone into hiding after what has happened. You won't +see any more of him. You see, he knows we shall be on the lookout for +him, and he won't be taking any chances on it until a day has +passed--perhaps about to-morrow night--then he may come back here to +see what he can find. I am banking on that, after having thought the +matter over. We won't be here, but the sheriff will, if I can get hold +of him." + +Miss Elting agreed that the guide's plan was as good as could be +devised, and promptly directed the girls to return to the hut and, if +possible, sleep for the few remaining hours of the night. That morning +the girls overslept. By the time they awakened, Janus had gathered +together all the supplies and equipment to be found below the hut. +Some of the provisions were missing. Nothing that would be likely to +be recognized by the owners had been taken by the man who had thrown +their stores overboard, so to speak, so they found themselves better +off than they had hoped. A real breakfast was eaten that morning, +after which packs were lashed and the party lost no time in starting to +leave the mountain that had furnished them with so much excitement. + +The journey down the trail was not a long one. After reaching the foot +of the mountain they were obliged to travel nearly ten miles before +reaching a village from whence they would go on by wagon until reaching +the point whence they were to be conveyed to Mt. Washington. + +That night found them weary and sleepy, but to stay at a hotel which +boasted of all modern conveniences was a welcome change to the mountain +climbers, who were both footsore and weary. It seemed but a few +moments after retiring before they were called to get ready for +breakfast and the long ride to the foot of the mountain, up which they +were to climb. Their experience on Mt. Washington was to be both novel +and exciting. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE ASCENT OF MT. WASHINGTON + +The supper smoke rose lazily in the still air. Below them lay a vast +panorama of valley and now flattened hills. The Meadow-Brook Girls, +after a day of hard climbing, were about half way to the summit of Mt. +Washington. They had chosen the most difficult climbing to be found in +the White Mountain Range. Janus had promised them some real mountain +climbing when they reached Mt. Washington, and he had made good his word. +They admitted that laughingly upon reaching the spot he had chosen for +their night's camping, and willingly permitted the guide to start the +fire while they rested preparatory to getting the supper. + +"At least we have the satisfaction of knowing that we have left our +friend of the green goggles behind," said Miss Elting, with a sigh of +relief. "I hope we have seen the last of him. He certainly tried to +spoil our trip." + +"Sheriff's out on the trail," answered Janus. "There's trouble of some +sort down there. Sheriff's office said things were popping, but wouldn't +talk much because he--the fellow I got on the telephone--didn't know me. +Funny not to know me, wasn't it?" + +"Yeth," answered Tommy. + +"What did you conclude from what was said?" asked Miss Elting. + +"That they were after some one and knew who it was. I hope they get him. +I hope that, when they do, they give Janus Grubb a chance to tell the +fellow what he thinks of him." + +"It may not be the man we think at all," suggested the guardian. + +"No-o-o-o," drawled the guide reflectively. + +"If not, what do you propose to do?" questioned Harriet. + +"Why, keep on, of course," answered the guide, in a tone of mild +surprise. "To-morrow we reach the top of Mount Washington; then we go +down the other side, and so on till we get through." + +"All of which isn't getting our supper," Harriet reminded him laughingly. +"Jane, will you please shave some of the smoked beef? And don't spoil +your appetite by nibbling, please." + +"Why, darlin', I never did such a thing. It was the beef that flew right +into my mouth. Now, what could poor Jane do under such circumstances, +except to swallow hard?" + +"Nothing but thubmit grathefully and thwallow the beef," commented Tommy. + +"And I did just that," grinned Jane. + +Their table was a rocky shelf elevated about ten inches above the ground +and standing on a sort of standard, so that the girls were able, by +sitting down beside it, to tuck their feet under the rock, which made an +excellent board for the purpose. The night had not yet fallen, but +shadows hung over the valleys and the distant mountains, the purple tinge +creeping slowly up the side of the mountain which they were climbing, +enveloping the campers before they had finished eating their supper. + +The evening, on the side of the mountain in their comfortable camp, was a +delightful one. They sat on their blankets beside a blazing campfire +amid the great silence, broken only by the voices of the campers and the +occasional cry of a night bird. Janus, after having made a thorough +patrol of the ground surrounding the camp, returned to the campfire and +entertained the girls by telling of the early Indian days, stories that +had been handed down by generations, and that had grown and grown until +they had assumed startling proportions. + +All at once Harriet, in the midst of one of these remarkable tales, +tilted her head back, her eyes apparently studying the stars that hung +over the mountain range to the south of them. She gazed thoughtfully. +After a few seconds of this, she shifted the position of her head, +supporting the latter with her clasped hands. After remaining in this +position for several minutes the girl got up, yawned and began walking +slowly back and forth, the while listening to the guide's story. + +"Harriet, are you nervous or tired?" questioned the guardian, eyeing her +shrewdly. + +"I believe it must be nerves," answered Harriet laughingly. She strolled +off into the shadows, there to sit down on a rock within easy sound of +the voices of her companions, who soon forgot that she was not among +them. After making sure that she was safe in doing so, she slid slowly +from the rock, and walking on all fours ran away into the bushes and out +of sight. It was a most unusual thing to do. Had Crazy Jane been guilty +of such an act, nothing would have been thought of it, but had Harriet +Burrell's companions observed her they would have opened their eyes in +amazement. Fortunately, they were too fully occupied with Janus Grubb's +story. + +Harriet sat down on the ground, after having moved away some two hundred +yards from the camp. + +"I hope they don't miss me," she thought. "I hope, too, that I haven't +been seen. Now I will try to see something for myself." The girl sat +perfectly still, with ears more than eyes on the alert. + +Harriet had not been in her position very long before her ears caught a +faint sound directly ahead of her. Still she did not move, except to +raise her head a little. A bird hopped into a bush close at hand without +discovering her presence. The faint noise ahead grew more pronounced, +the whip of a bush as it was released by the hand that had pushed it away +was heard and understood. Harriet Burrell was woodsman enough to +recognize all such sounds instantly upon hearing them. + +She crouched low, fearing that the intruder might approach close enough +to discover her. Every faculty was on the alert. Who or what the unseen +intruder might be, of course, Harriet did not know. It might be a +mountaineer who, seeking camp for the night, was first doing a little +investigating to satisfy himself that he would be welcome. Then, again, +it might be a different sort of visitor. + +Harriet's attention was distracted by a burst of laughter from the camp +of the Meadow-Brook Girls. Then there followed a long-drawn "Hoo-e-e-e!" +that she knew was meant for her. + +"Harri--et!" It was Margery who was calling. Harriet groaned under her +breath. Were her companions to persist, were they to get an idea that +she had strayed from the camp, her quest would come to a sudden end, for +the guide and his charges would soon be piling over the rocks, searching +and shouting for her. + +It was Miss Elting, however, who, quick to understand, quieted Margery +Brown. + +"Harriet will return presently," said the guardian. "Please go on with +your story, Mr. Grubb." + +Janus continued. The next moment Harriet Burrell was forgotten by her +companions once more, for which forgetfulness the girl out there in the +bushes was duly thankful. The movement in the bushes, which had abruptly +ceased, following the call, had not been resumed. This worried her +somewhat. If the person out there were in the least a woodsman, he would +know that some one of the party was out of the camp and would be on his +guard. This might defeat the plan she had in mind. But there was only +one thing to do, that was to remain in her present hiding place, keeping +prudent silence and awaiting results. This was what Harriet did. + +She crouched there fully fifteen minutes after the interruption from the +camp before the presence of another person was again revealed. A sound +so close that Harriet barely repressed an exclamation of surprise caught +her ears. The girl for a few seconds held her breath. She could hear +the beating of her heart so plainly that she feared that the other person +might hear it as well. + +There followed another period of silence, but much more brief than the +previous one. It was then that Harriet Burrell was able to distinguish +the figure of a man--that is, his head and shoulders. The night was too +dark to enable her to do more than decide upon what it was. + +Now he began creeping cautiously toward the camp, going only a few paces +at a time, then halting to listen. Harriet moved with him, though not so +fast. She was stepping directly toward the camp, which lay directly +ahead of her, whereas the man was following a different course with the +same destination in view. When he moved, Harriet moved; when he halted, +she did so. Halting a second too late would undoubtedly reveal her +presence, hence the girl exercised unusual caution, making little more +disturbance than a cat stalking its prey. Once she sank down noiselessly +when, by a movement of the head and shoulders, she discovered that the +man was turning to look behind him. + +"If he gets within sight of the camp he will see that one of the party is +missing, if he knows how many of us there are," reasoned the young woman +shrewdly. "I must be on my guard when he discovers that, or something +may happen." Harriet might have called out to warn her companions, but +that was not a part of her plan as yet. + +About seventy-five yards had been traversed in this manner when a sudden +change came over the scene, for, between Harriet Burrell and the intruder +whom she was stalking, the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls was soon to be +thrown into wild turmoil and the young woman's utmost expectations were +to be more than realized. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +A ROUT AND A CAPTURE + +The intruder had halted. Harriet knew that from his position he could +see the camp. From her position it was not visible. She saw the man +halt, peer, then suddenly straighten up and glance about him +apprehensively. Being now between her and the light shed by the +campfire, the girl was able to observe his movements quite clearly. + +"He suspects something," quivered Harriet. But being at a loss as to +what to do next the girl dropped swiftly to the ground, rising almost +the next second. She was leaning well forward, peering at the figure +with all the concentration she could bring to bear. The intruder had +by this time again directed his attention to the camp. There was now +in the man's hands something that he seemed to be leveling over the +tops of the bushes amid which he was standing. + +Harriet Burrell drew her right hand cautiously above her shoulder. +That hand held a stone. Suddenly the stone cut through the bushes +about a foot to the right of the intruder's shoulder. He jumped, but +before he could decide upon what his next move should be a second and +larger stone smote him between the shoulders. Then followed a perfect +rain of stones. Some hit him, others did not. + +There was but one way by which the man could get away without turning +back and facing this unseen peril. That way was almost straight toward +the camp. He hesitated. A large stone grazed his cheek. The fellow +leaped through the bushes. Something was swept from his hands by the +bushes and fell to the rocks with a clatter. The girls in camp heard +the sound. + +"Harriet, what are you doing?" called Jane. + +"Look out!" shouted Harriet. She started in pursuit of the fleeing +man, sending a shower of missiles after him. Some of the stones +dropped to the rocks back of the camp, rolling into the camp itself. + +Then, to the amazement of the Meadow-Brook party, a man darted across a +corner of the lighted space, which he cleared in half a dozen leaps and +bounds, Harriet still hurling stones after him and shouting her +warnings to her companions. + +The girls fled from the campfire, crying out in alarm. Janus, for the +instant, was overcome with surprise, but he pulled himself together +sharply, running to his pack and snatching up his revolver. + +"It's our man!" cried Harriet. "I made him run." + +"Thave me!" wailed Tommy, throwing herself flat on her face behind a +rock. + +Janus had clattered down the rocks after the intruder. The guide's +revolver began to speak. He was firing wildly, not being able to see +the man, who either had got safely away, or else was in hiding behind +one of the many rocks and projections. It did not seem as if he could +have run down the mountainside at the rate he was going without falling +and breaking his neck. The guide fired his revolver into every dark +recess that he thought might afford a hiding place for the fugitive. +Then he loaded up and emptied his revolver a second time. + +By this time the camp was almost in a state of panic. Miss Elting +spoke sharply to the girls, commanding them to stop their shouting and +to come back. + +"Mr. Grubb, if you keep on shooting you will have no ammunition left," +the guardian warned him. "Besides, I would rather you wouldn't shoot +any more. We don't know that this man is the one we suspect." + +Janus broke his smoking revolver and ejected the exploded shells, after +which he recharged the cylinder and put the weapon back in his pocket. +He returned to the campfire, holding his hat in one hand, with the +other hand brushing the perspiration from his forehead. + +"Well, I swum!" he muttered. "I swum!" + +"Harriet, we will hear your explanation. Why didn't you tell Mr. Grubb +in time, so he could look after this fellow?" demanded Miss Elting. +"You knew there was some one about some time before you got up and +walked away, didn't you?" + +"I thought I heard some one. That was the reason I strolled off by +myself." + +"So I supposed," commented the guardian. + +"Had I said anything the person would have cried out and given the +alarm. I wanted to satisfy myself that I was right, and I was." + +"I should say you were!" + +"Yeth, and he had black whithkerth, too," interjected Tommy. + +"He wore a soft hat pulled down over his face," added Margery. + +"I believe it is the same man," said the guardian reflectively. + +"Get back out of the light, ladies, please," urged the guide. "We will +let the fire burn, but we had better keep out of the light. The man +may have a gun." + +"No, he has not," spoke up Harriet. + +"What was he doing out there?" questioned Miss Elting. + +"Spying on the camp, then getting ready to shoot. I think he was going +to shoot Mr. Grubb," was the startling declaration. Janus gripped his +whiskers with all the fingers of the right hand. He gave the whiskers +a tug that threatened to thin them out. + +"Shoot me?" he roared. + +Harriet nodded and smiled. + +"But I thought you said he had no gun," objected Miss Elting. + +"He hasn't now. I have his gun," answered Harriet with a twinkle in +her eyes. "Yes, it is a rifle. I am glad we have it, for, from the +present outlook, we shall need it." She stepped away and from a rock +picked up a repeating rifle. This the intruder had dropped. Harriet +had picked up the weapon and taken it to camp, laying it down to +continue her stone-throwing. She had forgotten all about the gun until +the excitement had subsided somewhat, and Miss Elting and the guide had +begun questioning her. Janus took the rifle, turning it over in his +hands, examining it with critical eyes. + +"Modern gun, thirty-eight calibre, repeating," he muttered. "Well, I +swum!" + +"Do you recognize it?" asked the guardian. + +Janus shook his head. "Of course, you will keep it for the present." + +"Until the owner calls for it, Miss," replied Janus grimly, whereat +there was a giggle from Margery. + +"Tell us how you discovered the man. Let us have the whole story," +urged Miss Elting. Harriet related briefly how she had discovered the +stranger and all that followed until she had driven him into the camp, +as she had hoped to be able to do, believing that Janus would be able +to capture the man. Had Janus been a more active man and quicker of +wit, he undoubtedly would have been able to catch the fellow; however, +by the time the guide had collected himself, the intruder had +disappeared. + +Miss Elting was vexed at Janus's inactivity, but it would do no good to +say so. Janus had done the best he could and had wasted more than a +dozen bullets among the rocks of Mt. Washington. They had the +stranger's gun, therefore she was reasonably certain that their enemy +could do them no further harm that night. Still, it was thought best +to have Mr. Grubb remain on watch for the rest of the night. Harriet +offered to do this, but the guide would not listen to such a +proposition, nor would Miss Elting. While they were discussing the +incident he kept his eyes on Harriet almost continuously. Wonder and +admiration were plainly to be seen in their expression. + +Some time elapsed before the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls settled +down. They felt even more secure, knowing that Harriet had captured +the intruder's rifle. It was not believed that the man possessed +another, so there was little danger of further shooting that night. At +the suggestion of the guide, and the further orders of their guardian, +the girls rolled in their blankets and soon were asleep. They were +awakened, shortly after twelve, by a shout from the guide. Then +followed a volley of quick shots and a warning cry from Janus Grubb. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE + +"Quick, girls!" shouted Miss Elting. + +"Thave me!" screamed Tommy Thompson. + +Harriet opened her eyes in time to see Janus running rapidly from the +camp, firing his revolver at every jump. After his second shout of +warning he was not heard to speak again. For a moment or so they could +hear him crashing through the hushes, now and then firing his revolver, +probably when he caught sight of the man he was pursuing, the intruder +having no doubt returned, perhaps hoping to be able to catch the camp +asleep, thus giving him an opportunity to recover his rifle. + +The girls unrolled themselves from their blankets as quickly as +possible. Harriet started to follow Janus. + +"Come back!" commanded Miss Elting. + +Harriet halted abruptly. "Please let me go," she pleaded. + +"By no means! How could you ask such a thing? Let Janus attend to +matters of this sort. We must look after ourselves here. The man may +return." + +Harriet Burrell still stood where she had halted. Her head was bent +slightly forward. She was listening. Not a sound could be heard now +from the pursuing guide. + +"Hoo-e-e-e-e!" called Harriet. But no answering call came back to her. +She still kept her position until the guardian called to her. Harriet +then walked slowly back to her trembling companions. Jane and Miss +Elting were no more frightened than Harriet. They did not know, +however, what had occurred to disturb Janus, and could only surmise. +Harriet stirred the fire, throwing on more dry boughs and brush until a +crackling blaze had sprung up. She was more disturbed than her +expression indicated. In the meantime Miss Elting had satisfied +herself that nothing had been taken from the camp, which knowledge +served in a way to relieve her. + +However, as the moments passed, and nothing further was heard from the +guide, the others of the Meadow-Brook party began to feel a vague +alarm. They could not believe that anything had happened to Janus, nor +could they understand why he should remain away from the camp so long. +Jane and Harriet "Hoo-e-e-ed!" until they were hoarse, but no reply +followed their calls. Half an hour passed; then an hour, during which +time everybody walked nervously about the camp. + +"Miss Elting, something serious must have occurred to Mr. Grubb," +declared Harriet. + +"Oh, goodness, more mystery!" exclaimed Jane. + +"Please, let Jane and myself go out to look for him. He may have been +shot, he may be suffering, or----" + +"No! Not a girl may leave this camp," replied the guardian firmly. + +"But what if Mr. Grubb is in trouble?" protested Harriet. + +"Would it better the situation were any of you girls to get into the +same difficulty? No, I could not think of it. Besides, I believe Mr. +Grubb will return in good time. We do not know but he may be hiding, +hoping to catch the one he went out after. If so, you would be +interfering with, perhaps defeating, the very plan he has in mind. No, +girls; you will stay here." + +There was no more to be said. Miss Elting's word was law with her +charges. Harriet and Jane submitted without further protest, but this +did not lessen their concern over the continued absence of the guide. +Of course, there was no more sleep in the camp that night. The party +sat down, always keeping out of the firelight, Harriet and Jane doing +guard duty, walking about the camp some little distance back. Harriet +had the rifle. The possession of this gave them a feeling of greater +security than otherwise would have been the case. She kept the rifle +in her hands during all the rest of the night. + +Dawn found the girls pale after their long vigil following the exciting +incidents of the evening. But daylight served to bring back their +failing courage. Harriet put down the rifle at the first suggestion of +morning light. Jane gathered fresh fuel for the fire and a roaring +blaze warmed them up, for the morning on the mountain was very chill. + +"Come, girls, get breakfast," directed Miss Elting. "We must eat. +Afterward we shall consider what is to be done. The situation demands +careful thought, then action. We cannot go far without our guide." + +They knew that. Breakfast was prepared in some haste that morning. +While eating they discussed their predicament, finally coming to a +decision. It was decided that they should try to follow the guide's +trail, spreading out so as to cover the ground thoroughly. In this +formation they would continue until they either found him or failed. +There seemed no other course to take. The guide's pack was distributed +among the girls. It made quite a load for them, but Harriet and Jane +carried more than the others, in addition to which Harriet carried the +captured rifle. An examination of the magazine showed that there were +ten cartridges in it, quite sufficient for any likely needs of theirs. + +Before starting out Harriet raised the rifle with the muzzle pointing +skyward. + +"Don't be frightened, I'm going to fire a signal," she announced. +Margery screamed, despite the warning, when a crash woke the echoes. +After an interval of a few seconds Harriet fired two more shots in +quick succession. This was a signal. All listened, but no answering +shot was heard, nor any shout to indicate that the signal had been +heard. + +"We will move on," announced the guardian. "Keep within calling +distance. Harriet will take the trail from the camp; the others will +spread out on either side." + +Harriet Burrell started a little in advance of the others, beginning at +the point where she had seen Janus disappear. For a time it was +somewhat difficult to follow the trail, because of the trampling the +bushes had had on the evening before. However, after a short time the +trail stretched away, clear to the eyes of an experienced woodsman. +There were broken bushes here and there; that was all, though enough +for one who knew how to use her eyes. + +"I have found the trail," called Harriet; "it is turning to the east." +This she knew was to enable the pursued to make better time in getting +away. After a short distance the trail turned upward, then led to the +east again. Bushes were getting more scarce. Only occasional clumps +of them were to be found, making the work of following the trail much +more difficult. + +Two hours of climbing, with frequent periods of hunting for the trail +that had lost itself, brought them to the end of their resources. The +trail, at first so plainly marked, had, as a famous woodsman has said, +"petered out into a squirrel track, run up a tree and disappeared into +a knothole." On every side were almost barren rocks, though below and +further to the east the mountain vegetation showed thick and green, +dropping away into ravines here and there, the surface being more +uneven than anything they had yet encountered on this particular +mountain. Still further below, the mountainside appeared to be quite +heavily wooded. + +"I believe we should look into that," said Harriet, indicating the +lower part that was covered with green. "We may find some clue to the +whereabouts of our guide." + +"We might get lost there," answered the guardian. + +"But--we have only to go down. We can't possibly get lost if we do +that. Going down will lead us to the foot of the mountain, and out +into the open once more," urged Harriet. The guardian smiled. + +"How silly of me not to have thought of that. I am beginning to think +that my pupil knows more about outdoor life and woodcraft than I ever +dreamed. If you think best, Harriet, we will look down there. In the +meantime I would suggest that one of us remain in this vicinity to make +a more thorough search." + +Harriet offered to do this, so it was agreed that the rest of the party +should head obliquely down the mountain while she worked back and +forth, like a switchback railway, until she, too, had reached the +objective point where the others would be waiting for her. This +programme was carried out, beginning immediately. Not a trace, +however, did she find of the lost trail. While awaiting her arrival +the others of the party walked back and forth along the edge of the +thick growth, but with no better results than had attended the search +made by Harriet Burrell. + +At noon they stopped for luncheon, then followed the same method as had +Harriet, moving east and west, ever enlarging their field as the growth +increased in area. Night found them far up on the mountainside still +facing the mystery of the disappearance of the guide, whom the girls +earlier had named "The Pilot of the White Mountains." + +He was no longer a pilot, but in need of one. + +It was not a particularly cheerful party of girls that sat down to a +supper of rice, corn cakes and coffee that evening. It was arranged +that Harriet should take the early part of the night watch, Jane +McCarthy the last half, for they dared not leave their camp unguarded. +A huge fire was built that sent a glow high above the foliage of bushes +and second-growth trees, visible for a long distance. This was done +with a purpose. The girls hoped that, were Janus within sight, he +might see the light and be guided to them. The blaze did serve to +attract the attention of others whom the girls were to see before the +night was ended. + +Harriet's vigil was not a lonely one to her. She always found comfort +in Nature, no matter how dark or silent Dame Nature's mood might be. +She drew back a short distance from camp so that her moving about might +not disturb her companions, remaining quiet until they had finally gone +to sleep, after which she began strolling back and forth. + +She had been on guard for something more than two hours when she was +startled by three shots from somewhere lower down the mountain. +Harriet pointed her rifle into the air and promptly pulled the trigger +twice. Two heavy reports from her rifle caused an instant commotion in +the camp of the Meadow-Brook Girls. The girls untangled themselves +from their blankets and sprang up very much frightened. Their nerves +were on edge after all they had experienced, and these shots, fired so +near at hand, had sent at least three of them to the verge of panic. + +"Are we attacked?" cried Jane. + +"We may be," answered Harriet. "Hurry and get yourselves together. +Some one besides ourselves is in the mountains and we must be ready for +whatever comes. I don't know what it is. Hurry, please! We may have +to leave here very suddenly." + +No time was lost in "getting themselves together," as Harriet had +expressed it. Fortunately, having gone to bed with their clothing on, +there was little preparation to make. This completed, at Miss Elting's +direction the girls moved off in a body, secreting themselves in the +shadows some distance from the light of the campfire, but within sight +of it. Up to this time Harriet had made no explanation. Miss Elting, +after having placed the girls to her satisfaction, eagerly demanded to +know the meaning of Harriet's signals, the guardian not having heard +the other shots fired farther, down the mountainside. + +"I answered a signal," replied Miss Burrell. + +"Oh, then it is the guide? It's Janus!" cried Miss Elting joyously. + +"No, it was not Janus. The signal was fired from a rifle," answered +Harriet Burrell. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +CONCLUSION + +"There goes another shot!" exclaimed Harriet. + +"Answer it, dear." + +"There are only five more shells in the gun. Shall I use them all?" + +"Shoot once." + +Harriet did so, getting two signal shots in return. + +"That means the strangers have heard and understood, does it not?" +questioned the guardian. + +"I think so. Now, I would suggest that we keep very quiet until we see +who it is. We don't know but it may be our old enemy, who is taking +this method of locating us. I have four more cartridges in the +magazine. I think we should be able to hold the strangers off with +those if we have to." + +"Do not fire a shot unless I tell you to!" commanded Miss Elting firmly. + +Harriet agreed with a nod, while the guardian stepped back to warn the +other girls to be absolutely silent, no matter what might happen. + +Harriet, acting upon a sudden thought ran over to the fire and +scattered it with a stick so that it would not blaze up so high. Then +she returned to her post. Some time had elapsed before she was +startled, all at once, by the sound of a stick snapping. + +The girl crept to a more favorable position, where she could obtain a +better view of the camp. Then her heart fairly leaped into her throat. +Standing plainly outlined in the flickering light of the campfire was a +man. Harriet studied the man, then slowly slid the barrel of the rifle +into position. + +"Stand still! Don't move!" she cried. "I have you covered. If you +move I'll shoot! Hands up!" + +The man started, opened his mouth as if he were about to speak, then +quickly raised his hands above his head. There was a half grin of +amusement on the face of the visitor, but Harriet, as she crouched +squinting over the barrel of the captured rifle, failed to notice it. +The light was faint and the man's hat shaded his face. + +"Who are you and what do you want here?" she demanded, a trace of +excitement in her tone. + +"It's all right, Miss," the man smiled, tilting back his hat and +revealing an open countenance. "I'm the sheriff of the county. I've +been sent to look you up. We have your guide down at the foot of the +White Trail. He's been hurt. We've got another fellow in whom you'll +be interested too. Janus Grubb sent us to find you." + +"Is Mr. Grubb badly hurt?" queried Harriet, as all the girls came +slowly out from their hiding places. + +"Sprained an ankle, not much, but it will lay him up for a few days. +The other man we have is Charlie Valdes, known as Big Charlie. The +story of Valdes dates back to the time when Jan was a deputy sheriff. +He ran down Charlie and another bad character, Henry Tracy. Both +fellows were poachers, preying on the preserves of rich men in these +mountains. Jan got his hands on the pair and gathered the evidence +that put them in prison. Charlie's time was up first, and he came back +on purpose to even the score with Jan. The instant I had a description +of the fellow who bothered you in Compton I felt sure it was Big +Charlie. He's the man who has been following you, and we'll prove the +burning of the bridge against him, too." + +"Did Mr. Grubb catch the man again this time, too?" asked Hazel. + +"Jan overhauled Valdes, and in the fight that followed put a bullet in +his leg," replied the sheriff. "It was in the tussle that Jan got his +ankle sprained, but your guide landed his man. Sometimes Jan may seem +slow, but in a rumpus he's a terror for speed, decision, and grit. We +were heading up the White Trail, hoping to head you off, when we ran +into Jan and Valdes." + +Later, at the county seat the Meadow-Brook Girls were permitted to put +their evidence against Big Charlie, whom they recognized and +identified. Charlie was held for trial, and afterward sent back to +prison for a much longer term than his first one. + +The Meadow-Brook Girls regretted parting with Janus Grubb, whom they +held in the highest esteem. But Janus was not able to guide any one +for the next fortnight or longer, so he recommended a new guide, who +led the Meadow-Brook Girls on a long mountain "hike" over beaten +trails. Then, at last, Harriet Burrell and her friends reluctantly +turned homeward. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE +HILLS*** + + +******* This file should be named 17865.txt or 17865.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/8/6/17865 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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