The party broke up about ten o'clock. The boys went home singing "Good night ladies" to the accompaniment of Larry's banjo. The girls stood on the upper deck watching the lads until a shout from the shore told the watchers that their guests had arrived at the camp.

"Now, what are your plans for to-morrow, girls?" asked Miss Elting when they had gone below. "Do you wish to go into retirement?"

"No. The boys have invited us for a ride in the launch to-morrow," answered Harriet. "What troubles me is the matter of leaving the 'Red Rover' alone so long. I think perhaps it would be better for me to remain here to look after the boat while the rest of you go on the motor boat trip."

The girls declared they would not go at all unless Harriet went with them.

"That matter already has been settled," replied Miss Elting. "I am the one who will remain aboard the 'Red Rover.' Harriet, you will chaperon the girls on the motor boat ride. That will settle the objections, and you will be every bit as good a chaperon as myself."

The arrangement did not wholly satisfy the Meadow-Brook Girls. All were very fond of their guardian, and they wished her to have a part in all their enjoyments. They had not fully decided upon going when they retired.

"I wonder if those boys are planning anything for to-night?" mused Miss Elting, a moment after turning out the lights.

"Yes," answered Harriet confidently, as if she had been consulted.

"What?" demanded a chorus of voices.

"They are planning to go to bed. I saw them fixing the fire, just before I got into bed."

"Oh, fudge!" groaned Margery.

"Thave me!" wailed Tommy.

Jane suggested that Harriet ought to have a ducking, then one by one the girls dropped off to sleep.

The clock that Harriet consulted showed the hour to be ten minutes after midnight. She had awakened suddenly, and with a feeling that something were not as it should be. The girl rose softly, peering through the window. The "Red Rover" was lying very quietly, there being little movement of the water. No one was about, nor was there a boat in sight. She stepped out on the deck, glancing about in all directions, her eyes finally fixing themselves on the camp of the Tramp Club.

"Those boys are up and moving about," she mused. "They have stirred up the fire." Just then the girl heard the rattle of an oar in a rowboat. The sound seemed to come from the camp. Harriet watched a few minutes. Then turning quickly she went inside.

"What is it?" demanded Miss Elting sharply. "Who is it?"

"Harriet. Those boys are awake, and, I think, getting ready to come out on the lake. I believe they are up to something."

"What do you suspect?"

"I don't know. Would it not be wise to awaken the girls and all get dressed? We don't want to be caught napping, you know."

"I should say not," agreed the guardian. She got up and went to the window. Their conversation had been carried on in so low a tone that none of the others had been awakened. Miss Elting gazed keenly; then, bringing her glasses, peered through them at the camp of the tramps. "Yes, they are up to mischief of some sort," she decided, lowering the glasses and laying them aside. "Girls!"

"Wha—wha-at?" cried Jane, her feet landing on the floor almost ere the words were out of her mouth.

Tommy hopped out of bed a few seconds behind Crazy Jane, but instead of landing on her feet, the little girl went sprawling on the floor on her face.

"Thave me! Are we thinking?" she cried.

"No, you foolish girl. We aren't sinking," answered Harriet laughing.

Margery stood shivering in the middle of the cabin. Hazel had begun to dress.

"Dress yourselves at once," ordered Miss Elting. "Be quick about it. They may not be coming here, but if they are, they will be here in a very few minutes."

"Who will be here?" demanded Crazy Jane. "Why don't you tell us what all the uproar is about?"

"Yes. You might better tell us than to frighten us half to death in this way," complained Margery.

"It is the boys. We think they are coming here to play a trick on us, and if so, we wish to be ready for them," explained Harriet, who was hurriedly dressing. The girls lost no time in putting on their clothes, each dressing herself completely. Their hair, braided down their backs for the night, was left as it was. There was no time to do anything with that.

"The boys are putting off in the rowboat, or at least getting ready to do so," Miss Elting informed the girls, after another look at the camp through the glasses. "What shall we do?"

"I will fix it," answered Harriet. She rummaged about at the rear of the cabin, then ran out to the after deck. They heard her on the upper deck shortly after that. She soon bustled back into the cabin.

"They have started. All of you get up on the deck overhead. Listen! I will tell you briefly what we will do. We will give the boys a scare that they won't soon forget."

There were hurried preparations within the cabin of the "Red Rover," following Harriet Burrell's quick orders, which were approved of by Miss Elting. The girls then crept to the upper deck, where they crouched down, peering across the water that lay between the houseboat and the island.

"There they come! Not a word from now on, girls," warned Miss Elting.



CHAPTER XV

THE ROUT OF THE PIRATE CREW

"Take your positions, and don't miss when I give the order to let go," commanded Captain Harriet. "Oh, we won't do a thing to those boys!"

Margery giggled.

"Silence!" The captain's voice was stern.

"If you cannot keep quiet you will have to go below," rebuked Miss Elting. "You will spoil it all. Now, not another word."

The silence of sleep settled over the "Red Rover." A gentle ripple at the bows gave off a soothing, musical sound, but that was all. The girls were now able to see a boat approaching them from the island, though unable to make out the forms of the occupants of the craft. Miss Elting, with glasses in hand, was studying the approaching boat. Fortunately the night was dark, though the stars were shining brilliantly.

"All lie down!" came the quiet command from the captain of the "Red Rover." All except Harriet flattened themselves on the deck. The rowboat drew slowly up toward the scow, then was permitted to drift in the rest of the way. When almost alongside, the boys in the rowboat decided to go around to the other side. This nearly upset the plans of Harriet Burrell, but she quickly moved her force to the opposite side of the deck near the stern end. Had the boys been sufficiently alert they might have caught a faint rattle and a scuffle of feet. They were too intent on their mission, however, to realize that anything out of the ordinary was going on aboard the houseboat.

A whispered conversation ensued in the rowboat, then two boys got cautiously to the deck of the cockpit. There followed a period of silence and a low-spoken command from below.

A mighty yell suddenly broke from the midnight visitors. Howls and shrieks, Indian war-whoops and beating on the cabin with sticks, accompanied the shouts.

"Pirates! Surrender!" howled a voice that was easily recognizable as belonging to the red-headed Larry Goheen. "Whoop! Hi-yi-yip yah!"

"We will settle the pirates," muttered Harriet.

"Just listen to those lads," chuckled Crazy Jane.

"Let go!" The command came sharp and incisive. A rattle of tin dishes followed. Pails and pans were raised to the rail as five figures stood up suddenly. "Stand by to repel boarders!" was the second command. Five pans and pails of water were tilted, sending a flood of water down on the heads of the surprised "pirates." From a tub of water on deck the pails were quickly refilled and the water dumped over the rail. Not many drops were wasted. Nearly every drop reached a pirate.

Crazy Jane uttered a shrill war-whoop, then the girls grabbed and shook her. The amazed pirates were in a panic. Three of them had been left on the lower deck of the "Red Rover." The rowboat had been quickly pushed off as soon as the occupants recovered from their first surprise. The three Tramps made a leap for the rowboat. They landed in the lake with a splash and went floundering toward the small boat.

Tommy climbed to the rail and hurled a pan at the beaten pirates. But in hurling the pan she lost her balance.

"Thave me!" she screamed. Tommy plunged sideways from the rail, making a complete turn in the air, landing in the lake with a mighty splash.

Harriet dived off after her, fearing that her little companion might have been stunned by striking the water on her back. But Tommy came up before Harriet rose from her dive.

"Oh, thave me!" wailed Tommy in a choking voice.

All this had happened without the boys understanding what was going on. They had taken aboard their three companions and were pulling into the shadow of the island with all speed. Miss Elting and Jane had run down to the lower deck. The guardian cast a rope. Harriet and Tommy brushed the rope aside and swam easily to the end of the boat, where Harriet assisted Tommy up, afterwards being herself assisted aboard by Crazy Jane. The two thoroughly soaked girls staggered into the cabin, where Harriet sat down on the floor, laughing hysterically.

Miss Elting pulled down the shades and lighted the lamp. She stood regarding her charges with a quizzical twinkle in her eyes.

"What a mess! What a mess," laughed Crazy Jane. "But we repelled the boarders, didn't we, darlin'?"

"They won't try to play any tricks on us after this, I am sure," agreed the guardian. "I'll warrant they are still wondering what happened to them. But it was too bad. What a wetting they did get!"

"Too bad!" exploded Harriet.

"No. It served them right," interjected Hazel. "Why, they might have frightened us to death."

"They will be at our feet to-morrow," giggled Jane. "Tommy, did you ever have any one fall at your feet!"

"Yeth. You know Jake Thpooner? Well, he had a conniption fit, one day, in the thtreet, and fell down right at my feet."

"You mean an epileptic fit. But you shouldn't joke about a serious matter like that," rebuked Miss Elting.

"I wathn't joking. He did. It wath Buthter who laughed. I didn't. But Buthter ith fat, you know. Fat folkth alwayth laugh when they thhouldn't. They thhake all over when they laugh. I'm glad I'm not fat like Buthter."

Margery's face was flushed and indignant. Her companions were laughing merrily at her expense. Harriet had gotten up and was removing her wet clothing. Miss Elting lifted Tommy, who also had sat down, and gave her a gentle push toward the dressing room.

"Take off your wet clothes and get on your kimono. Girls, you may as well prepare for bed, too. I don't believe we shall be troubled by pirates again this night," said the guardian, with a merry twinkle in her eyes. "You will not want to get up in the morning when you are called. I fear we are losing too much sleep these nights."

While they were preparing for bed Miss Elting took a final look at the camp of the Tramp Club. There was activity there, but not nearly so much of it as the last time she had examined the camp through her glasses. The guardian smiled grimly at thought of the surprise they had given those fun-loving boys. They had thought to make good their boast to get the better of the Meadow-Brook Girls, but had met an ignominious defeat.

"I should not be surprised to see that camp deserted to-morrow morning," mused Miss Elting. "I hope not. They are nice boys."

"Are they coming out again?" asked a voice at the guardian's side.

"No, Harriet. I think not. I am just taking a final look their way before retiring. Did we leave the pails and pans upstairs?"

"Yes. Shall I bring them down?"

"Oh, no. It is not necessary. Morning will be time enough. Now go to bed. We shall not be disturbed again to-night. Good night, girls. Sweet dreams."

"And pleathant nightmareth," mumbled Tommy from under the blanket. She was found curled up in a ball when the guardian went over to see that the little girl was comfortable for the night. The light was blown out just as Harriet sought her cot. Miss Elting was in bed a moment afterwards, and peace and quiet again settled over the clumsy "Red Rover." This peace, however, was not destined to last long. It was to be rudely broken ere the morning dawned. From down the lake a canoe was coming, propelled swiftly and silently by a pair of muscular arms. The canoe, if it continued on its present course, would hit the "Red Rover" fairly on its nose. But just before reaching the houseboat, the canoe veered to one side a little and the paddle trailed the water behind. The canoe glided along to one side of the "Red Rover," then stopped.



CHAPTER XVI

A MIDNIGHT VISITOR

The same dark canoe that Harriet Burrell had seen shoot out into the lake before her the night she was reconnoitering near the camp of the Tramp Club was now hovering about the houseboat. It would have appeared almost uncanny to one not experienced in canoeing to observe the absolute noiselessness with which the frail little craft was propelled about the larger boat. When it was turned, it was as though the boat were swinging on a pivot. When the half of its length was let down to the water after such a swing, there followed not the slightest suggestion of a splash.

Lulled by the gentle lapping of the water against the side of the boat, the Meadow-Brook Girls slept soundly. On shore the boys of the Tramp Club also were sleeping. The girls on board the "Red Rover," as already mentioned, had no fear of a second attack that night, nor had the youthful pirates the slightest intention of repeating the experiment that had turned out so badly for them and so triumphantly for the Meadow-Brook Girls. It was quite evident that the newcomer did not belong to the Tramp Club. His face looked dark and swarthy in the moonlight. He had straight black hair and high cheek bones and there was a revengeful light in his sharp black eyes as he scanned the silent houseboat.

Once more the canoe shifted its position and slid to a point directly under one of the little windows. The window was open, the curtains were streaming out through the opening. The intruder stood up in his canoe without disturbing its balance in the least.

Just about this time Tommy Thompson awoke with a little gasp. She had been dreaming that Buster, in the guise of a pirate, was trying to smother her with a sofa pillow. Tommy had been skirting the edge of one of the "pleathant nightmareth" she had prophesied for the girls on retiring. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Suddenly she uttered a terrified scream.

For the second time that night the Meadow-Brook Girls scrambled from their beds in alarm.

"Tommy, Tommy, what is the matter?" cried Harriet, springing to the little girl's side.

"I thaw the motht terrible fathe," moaned Tommy. "Oh, thave me."

"Nonsense, Tommy," laughed Harriet.

"You've just had one of those nightmares you were talking about when you bade us good night."

"No, thir," reiterated Tommy. "I thaw thomething. It wath a man and he thtood right in front of the window. You thee I wath dreaming that Buthter wath a pirate, and wath trying to thmother me with a thofa pillow and all of a thudden I that up in bed and thaw thith fathe looking in the window at me. That ith why I thcreamed," concluded Tommy, with dignity. "I didn't have the nightmare. I tell you I thaw a fathe."

"How ridiculous," sniffed Buster. "How could she see a face when we are away out here on the lake. Why look!" she continued, stepping to the window. "It's bright moonlight, and there isn't a boat to be seen on the water."

"Buthter doethn't know what I thaw," retorted Tommy angrily. "Thhe hathn't my eyeth hath thhe? Buthter maketh me tired."

"There, there, girls," reproved Miss Elting. "That will do. Harriet, I think you and I had better dress, then get into the rowboat and do a little investigating. Perhaps some prowler has visited the boat while we were asleep. Light the lamp, Jane, and we'll see if all our belongings are safe."

Jane and Hazel made a rapid search about the boat while Harriet and Miss Elting were dressing. Meanwhile Tommy and Margery sat on the edges of their cots and conducted a spirited argument as to whether Tommy really had seen a "fathe" at the window.

"All ready," called Harriet as she ran to where the rowboat was fastened. Then she gave a little cry of alarm that brought Miss Elting and the others to her side on the run.

"What is it, Harriet?" cried the guardian.

Harriet stood looking out over the water, a piece of rope in her hand. "Some one has stolen our rowboat," she gasped. "See, the rope has been cut."

"Then the Tramp Club must have come over here again in the night and stolen it," decided Miss Elting. "Still that would hardly account for the face Tommy saw at the window, and she is positive that she really saw some one. I am inclined to think, however, that she had the nightmare, and simply dreamed about that frightful face."

"I can't see that there is anything particularly clever or original about stealing a rowboat in the dead of night," said Harriet slowly, "and I don't believe that the boys would think so either. There is something peculiar about this affair and I believe that the Tramp Club have had nothing to do with this latest puzzle."

"That ith what I think," agreed Tommy. "It wathn't thothe boyth that thcared me tho."

"Nothing has been stolen from the boat," declared Hazel, "so it looks as though our midnight prowler vanished when he heard Tommy's first scream."

"I'm going to mount guard for the rest of the night," announced Jane. "It's half past two now, and by five o'clock it will be light. The rest of you can go back to bed, and if any one else comes sneaking around this boat, he'll have to come forward and state his business to Jane McCarthy."



CHAPTER XVII

A STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE

It seemed to the tired girls as though they had hardly closed their eyes when they heard Jane call out: "Seven o'clock. All hands on deck."

"I'm tho thleepy," murmured Tommy as she struggled into her clothes.

"I'm pretty near dead," growled Hazel. "I think I'll never get rested."

"Do let's hurry and have breakfast," pleaded Margery, "I'm so hungry."

"Chronic thtate," murmured Tommy.

"I don't have nightmares and wake every one up in the middle of the night," retorted Margery, "even if I do get hungry sometimes."

"My nightmare wath utheful, Buthter," returned Tommy calmly. "It helped uth to dithcover that our boat wath gone. But your appetite ithn't the leatht bit utheful, not even to yourthelf."

"I'll never speak to you again, Tommy Thompson," declared Buster wrathfully.

"That maketh me feel very thad, Buthter," replied Tommy sarcastically.

Breakfast was prepared and eaten in record time that morning. Then the dishes were speedily washed and put away. The Tramp Club's camp showed no activity until after eight o'clock, when the smoke from their cook fire was observed curling up through the foliage on the shore of the Island of Delight. A long-drawn "Hoo-oo-oo" from the camp told the girls that they had been observed by some of the boys.

Before nine o'clock the launch put out and sailed rapidly over to the "Red Rover."

"We didn't come to call. We just ran over to see what time you wished to go for a sail?" asked Billy Gordon.

"Come right on board, boys. We finished our work shortly after daylight this morning. You see we are early risers," replied Miss Elting.

The lads needed no urging. They hopped to the after deck of the houseboat. But no sooner had they come aboard than they perceived that something was amiss. George glanced at Harriet inquiringly.

"What's the matter with you girls, this morning?" he asked lamely.

"We had considerable excitement here last night. We were visited by pirates," said the guardian.

The boys flushed guiltily.

"But that is not all," added Jane McCarthy. "We were visited later in the night by a real thief."

"Wha—at!" gasped George, somehow feeling that they were involved.

"We will tell you all about it. Come upstairs, where we can sit down in comfort and talk. Perhaps we may ask you to assist us in finding the thief," said Miss Elting.

The boys followed the girls to the upper deck, and after they had seated themselves Miss Elting related what had happened. "Now, boys," she concluded, "have you the remotest idea as to who could have taken the boat?"

For a moment George stared at the guardian in silence, then he said gravely, "Perhaps you think, Miss Elting, that one of us sneaked over here last night. I'll admit that we did play pirates, and got the worst of it, but none of our fellows left camp after we got back from that pirate trip. There is something strange about this, and it looks to me as though you had a really malicious enemy."

"That is what I think," replied Harriet. "You know, of course, of our previous experiences. Some one is seeking to drive us away. To me it is the work of a man who for some reason is our enemy. I thought we had given him the slip, but he has found us again."

"I will tell you what to do, ladies," spoke up George after pondering the subject briefly. "You had better run your boat right up on the shore at one end of our camp, where we can keep our eyes on you. When you wish to move we will move with you. In that way you will have no further trouble."

"You boys wouldn't be of any help to us," interrupted Jane.

"Why not?" demanded Larry Goheen, bristling.

"Because you sleep too well."

"I don't believe I should dare to spend a night on that island," said Harriet Burrell, regarding the shores of the Island of Delight with troubled eyes.

"Why not?" repeated Larry.

"There are strange things there," said Harriet, pointing. "Haven't you seen them?"

"Good gracious, no," answered Billy. "What do you mean, Miss Burrell?"

"Ghosts!" answered Harriet, leaning toward their guests. The boys fairly jumped at the words, then laughed heartily.

"There aren't any such things," scoffed George. "Besides, if there were, do you think we men would be afraid of them? I guess not. I'd like to see the ghost that I would be afraid of. You bring out your ghosts! We'll show you how quickly we will lay them."

"Oh, I can't bring them out," murmured Harriet. "I thought perhaps you had seen them."

"Have you?" demanded Sam, turning on her sharply.

"Oh, don't ask me," begged Harriet, in such apparent distress that Sam did not question her further.

"What's this that Harriet is telling you?" asked Miss Elting.

"She's been seeing things, and thinks it queer that we have not, too," answered George. "I wish we might. Then you don't think you would like to run the boat ashore at the camp, so as to be where we can look after you?"

"I should not mind. But the girls think they are able to take care of themselves, and I must say that I agree with them, George. Don't you think they are?" asked the guardian.

"They beat any boys I've ever seen. But then, you see, there are a lot of us fellows, and then again, your enemies won't be so bold when they know there are men around the premises," declared George pompously.

Harriet turned her head away that they might not see her laughter.

"Any way, let us tow you in closer to shore," urged George.

Harriet shook her head.

"Thank you, but we will fight our own battles. If we find we are getting the worst of it we will scream for you. That is, if you are able to see us. You gentlemen are short-sighted at times. The very idea of your hunting all over the lake for us when we were here fairly before your eyes! Look out that you're not so careless as to lose us again. Remember it will be the winning stroke for us."

Harriet's manner was so superbly disdainful, yet there was so much pity in her tone, that the boys flushed painfully.

"You won't lose us again the same way—don't worry about that," George Baker retorted, with some heat. "But when are you going for a ride in the launch with us?"

"Why, I think we are ready now," smiled Miss Elting. "For one, I would like very much to go to Wantagh, if you will be kind enough to take me there. Harriet, I have changed my mind about remaining with the 'Red Rover' and I shall accept your suggestion to leave you as watchman on the 'Red Rover.'"

"By all means, Miss Elting," replied Harriet.

"I don't like to see you remaining alone," protested Hazel, as she stepped, half-reluctantly, into the launch. "I know you'll be dreadfully lonesome."

Harriet, however, was far from lonesome. It was really pleasant to be all by herself for a little while.

When the launch reached Wantagh the girls promptly went shopping, with the exception of Jane, who went to engage a rowboat, and Miss Elting, to hunt up Dee Dickinson. It was an uncomfortable half hour for Dee, for Miss Elting reported the loss of the rowboat and said very plainly to him that she believed he understood the cause of the persecutions the girls were undergoing. Still, Dee could not be made to talk freely. Miss Elting left him, dissatisfied.

"That man knows the cause of our troubles, and he simply won't tell me," said the guardian indignantly to herself, as she walked away. "And just a hint or two might enable us to save ourselves a good deal of annoyance, and even protect us from real dangers. I wonder what it all means."

She said nothing to the girls about having seen Dickinson, when finally she joined them at the pier. The girls had filled every available space in the boat with their purchases and the new dingy was fastened to the stern. The run back in the late afternoon was a delightful one. When they came in sight of the "Red Rover" they uttered cries of delight. The "Red Rover" looked like a huge flame in the sunlight.

"It doesn't seem possible that such a boat could be lost sight of anywhere, does it?" questioned Jane brightly, turning to Captain Baker.

"No," he answered gloomily. "And it won't be again."

"You can't tell, you know. It may disappear from the face of the waters this very night."

George looked at Billy. Jane had given them a hint that they were not slow to catch. They did not know that she was teasing them for the very purpose of making their surprise greater when it did come.

The boys left their passengers at the "Red Rover" and then sailed over to their own camp. The girls were glad to be back. The houseboat had come to be a real home to them, one that they would be sorry to leave when their vacation came to an end.

Jane had purchased a dozen colored lanterns in town. As soon as darkness fell, these were lighted and strung above the upper deck. The interior was brightly lighted, so that the "Red Rover," that evening, stood out more prominently than anything else on that part of the lake. Later in the evening, after having disposed of their work, the girls took out the new rowboat and rowed slowly round and round the "Red Rover" singing. The boys came out at that and joined them. Together, the two boats drifted about until the hour grew late and Miss Elting called to the girls that it was time to come in. They responded promptly. The boys rowed up alongside and holding to the gunwale of the "Red Rover," chatted for a few moments.

"So long! We will see you in the morning," called George as they pushed the rowboat off.

"Yes. In the morning—maybe," answered Harriet laughingly.

"It's my opinion that those girls are going to try to play more tricks to-night," declared Billy, after they had gotten a short distance from the "Red Rover." He was speaking in a tone louder than he imagined. Harriet heard every word he said.

"Yes," agreed George. "I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll put a boy on watch to-night. Then, if they try to run away from us, we will just follow and give them a surprise. We can't let those girls get the better of us this time."

That was the last that Harriet heard. They had rowed so far away that their words were inaudible. But what she had heard was quite sufficient.

"And about those ghosts?" questioned Larry.

"A bluff," scoffed George. "You don't believe in ghosts, do you?"

"Well, I don't know. I have heard of such things," admitted Larry solemnly.

"Nonsense. I guess we will elect you to watch the houseboat to-night. How about it?" demanded George.

"I don't care."

"But don't you dare go to sleep."

"What if I do?"

"You will get a ducking," interjected Sam. "You will get your distinguished head held under water until you're wide awake."

The plan, however, was put into operation soon after their arrival at the camp. They watched the "Red Rover" together until all the lights except the anchor light, had been put out. They knew, by this sign, that the Meadow-Brook Girls had retired for the night. The Tramp Club then went to bed, leaving Larry on guard. All he could see of the "Red Rover" was the anchor light, the night being very dark and a little hazy. But he never lost sight of this anchor light for more than a few moments at a time. Were the girls to get away without his discovering it he knew what to expect at the hands of his companions. Then again, Larry Goheen prided himself on his keenness. It would be very humiliating to be outwitted by the girls. He, with the rest of the boys fully believed that the girls were planning some trick for that night.

Larry watched that anchor light until just before the break of day, when he called Sam to come out and take the watch until breakfast time. The daylight had not yet become pronounced enough to make out objects distinctly, but shortly after Sam took the watch the day broke bright and clear. The anchor light seemed to fade away and merge into thin air before his very eyes. He did not stop to reason that this was because the morning light had become stronger than that of the lantern.

Sam blinked and rubbed his eyes. He could hardly believe what they told him. He uttered a yell that brought his companions out on the run.

"What's up?" shouted Billy.

"Everything. They've tricked us! They've gone!" cried Sam.

"They have, I do declare," added George in a hushed tone. "When did they go?"

"Just now. I saw them."

"You were asleep," rebuked Billy.

"I wasn't! They disappeared! They went up in thin air."

Just then they were interrupted by a long, piercing wail that seemed to come from the air above and around them. The boys gazed into each others faces.

"It's a banshee's wail," whispered Larry. "Somebody's going to die."



CHAPTER XVIII

A FRUITLESS SEARCH

"Don't be an idiot, Larry," rebuked If Billy Gordon. "Don't you know what that was?"

"Yes. I told you," whispered the red-headed boy.

"Pshaw! It was only a cat bird," scoffed George Baker. "Who's afraid of spooks, anyway? The fact is that those girls have outwitted us three times. We have lost the wager. Now the question is, when did they get away?"

Larry declared that he had never removed his gaze from the anchor light during his whole watch, except when he went to get wood for the campfire.

"There's only one way out of it," decided Billy. "Duck the two of them. We will be certain to get the right party then."

"'Nuff said," nodded George. The boys grabbed the two lads, and, despite their struggles, managed to throw them into the lake, but in doing so, George and Billy found themselves in the water, also.

This little experience put them in a better frame of mind. The lads quickly divested themselves of their wet pajamas and put on their clothes. Breakfast was a hurried meal that morning. After breakfast they sat down to take counsel among themselves while Sam scraped the dishes then threw them in the lake to be washed by the lake itself. They decided that either Larry or Sam must have fallen asleep, and that at a time when the girls had moved from their anchorage.

Both lads protested that nothing of the kind had happened. Sam stuck to his story that the anchor light had faded away and that the "Red Rover" had disappeared all in the same moment.

"What are we going to do about it?" questioned Larry Goheen.

"We are going to take up a collection for that camera, and then we are going to find them," answered Billy.

"We are going to try, you mean," answered George with a mirthless smile. "We have tried before—and failed, and now we are obliged to confess that we are beaten for good and all. However let us reason this thing out. The 'Red Rover' couldn't have disappeared, it could have gone only by being towed away. If a launch had towed it, the noise would have awakened us, even though Larry or Sam had been asleep. If the houseboat was towed by the girls, which it undoubtedly was, it can't be far away. That makes our work easier."

"There is only one flaw in your argument, George," interrupted Billy Gordon. "Granting that they did row away from here, how do you know that at daylight they did not pick up a launch and hike half the length of the lake?"

George shook his head slowly.

"There wouldn't be any fun for them in that. They would want to be on hand, to make faces at us behind our backs."

"You may be right at that." Billy gazed reflectively over the lake. As he gazed his eyes took on an expression of new interest. "What's that out there, fellows?" he demanded.

It was some seconds before they discovered that which had attracted his attention. Then when they did so, they were unable to decide what it was. They were certain that the object had not been there the night before.

"That's right where the 'Red Rover' lay," cried Larry Goheen. "Maybe they have sunk."

The boys with one accord ran for the rowboat. They shoved it off, leaped in and began rowing at top speed toward the object that had attracted their attention. Larry began to grin long before they reached the spot. They finally pulled up alongside the object and stopped.

The boys regarded it solemnly, then looked into each other's eyes. There followed a shout of laughter.

The object that had been discovered by them was a stick, which had been thrust down into the soft bottom in shallow water. A lantern had been tied to the top of the stick. It was this lantern, at the end of a stick, that Larry Goheen had been watching all night, believing it to be the anchor light of the "Red Rover." It was plain that the girls had known that they were to be watched, and that they had taken the easiest possible way to outwit their friends, by placing the anchor light on a stick and leaving it at the anchorage while the "Red Rover" slipped away unobserved under cover of the darkness.

"Stung!" groaned Sam.

"Worse than that," answered George. "There aren't any words in the language to express what we'd like to say. Wait till I get the lantern." The lantern was still burning and the chimney was considerably smoked. George took it aboard and blew out the light. "You didn't see it go out after all, Sam."

"I—I thought I did."

"I wonder when they left?" mused Billy.

"Larry, what have you to say about that?" demanded George Baker.

"Absolutely nothing."

"They went away during your watch."

"You can't blame him," answered Sam. "Anybody would have been fooled under the circumstances."

"Don't try to make lame excuses," jeered Billy. "Be a man and own up. They outwitted you, and that's all there is about it. Now, what are we going to do?"

"Get out the launch and go on a hunt for them," declared George. "Any one got a better plan?"

No one had. They had no plans at all, but were too dazed by this last trick that had been played on them to be able to think at all clearly. They reached the shore and George stepped out. His foot had no more than touched the ground before that same wailing cry rang in their ears again.

"I tell you it's a banshee," cried Larry, his shock of red hair fairly standing on end.

"We will attend to the ghosts after we have found the 'Red Rover'," answered George. His face had paled slightly at the sound, and he admitted to himself that he felt creepy. He was glad that they were going away from their camp for a time. It was evident that whatever the noise might be, it was intended to express disapproval of their presence on the island. George remembered what Harriet Burrell had said about ghosts on the previous evening. He had laughed at it at the time. He did not laugh now. He was thinking and thinking seriously.

No further cries were heard that morning. The boys put out their campfire and set the camp to rights, Billy in the meantime being engaged in cleaning and oiling his motor preparatory to the morning run around the island and along the shore of the mainland.

It was not exactly a joyous party that set out in the launch half an hour later. They were chagrined at losing the contest and disgusted that they should have fallen such easy victims to the ingenious schemes of the girls.

"Do you know, I have been thinking," spoke up Larry after they had started.

"That's something new," jeered Sam.

"I have been wondering if all the strange things that have occurred to the girls haven't been part of a plan to keep us stirred up."

"Larry, I'm ashamed of you," exclaimed George indignantly. "Those girls may be full of mischief, but they don't tell lies. They told us the truth, about their mysterious enemy, and I don't want to hear any boy intimate that they haven't. He and I will have a falling out right on the spot, if he does."

"I apologize. I—I guess I didn't mean it that way," stammered Larry.

"They are too clever for us, that's all there is to it," added George. "Run into that cove, please, Billy. There is something that looks like a red boat in there."

The something proved to be a small boathouse painted red. It did resemble the "Red Rover" somewhat. They headed out of the cove, saying little, but keeping up a lively thinking. The launch was run up the shore of the mainland for several miles.

"Shall I turn back?" asked Billy.

"You might as well," nodded George. "I would suggest that we circle the island once more. Shut down as low as you can. We must keep a sharp lookout. There may be some way of getting a boat out of sight. I am positive that they are about here somewhere."

The encircling of the island was attended with no better results. Not a trace of either Meadow-Brook Girls or "Red Rover" was discovered. Disgusted and disappointed the boys headed the launch toward home.

"I'll tell you what we will do," declared George as they were landing. "We will spread out and search the island. I can't get the idea out of my mind that they are not far away."

"But what would they do with their boat? It isn't anywhere in the lake about here, and surely they couldn't drag it ashore," objected Billy.

"I don't know. I am beginning to think those girls can do almost anything they set out to do. They are a clever lot. I never knew them to start anything yet that they didn't go through with, usually ending up by giving us the worst of it."

Sam hopped ashore first and ran up to the tent. He peered in, then uttered a yell.

"Somebody's been here," he cried. "Wow!"

The boys hurried up to the tent. The interior was in confusion. The contents of the tent had been piled in a great heap in the middle of the floor. A suit of khaki had been draped over sticks and leaned against the side of the tent, looking like a live man at first glance. Outside an oven had been constructed of rocks, and a fire put under it. On a flat stone the coffee pot stood ready. The table had been set, the potatoes pared and sliced ready for frying, in fact everything was ready for the noon meal with the exception of the cooking.

The boys looked at each other then burst out laughing.

"We've had company," grinned George.

"I wish they would come every day," added Larry. "They have sense whoever they are, even if they turn our tent topsy-turvy. But wait. We've got those girls now. We know they are somewhere about, and we'll find them if it takes all day and all night to do it."



CHAPTER XIX

THE TRAMP CLUB FINDS A CLUE

"Hello! What's this?"

Larry, stooping over, picked up a piece of filmy linen.

"A handkerchief, isn't it?" asked Sam.

"Let me see that, please," demanded George Baker. Larry handed it to him. "It's a girl's handkerchief, boys. And here are two initials in one corner. Hello! 'H.B.' What does that stand for?"

"It stands for 'Have Been'," declared Larry. "Meaning that they have been here. But they needn't have told us. We know that."

"Yes; they've been here," replied George promptly. "Those initials stand for 'Harriet Burrell.' They mean that the Meadow-Brook Girls have been here and turned our tent upside down. But they made amends by getting our noon meal started. I suppose we had better forgive them. What do you say, fellows?"

"Of course," nodded Billy. The others agreed.

"Miss Burrell, having no card, left her handkerchief. But fellows, while we are fussing around here, they may be getting away again. This may be another of their tricks," declared George. "I would suggest, Billy, that you eat your luncheon at once, then run out the launch and keep sailing around to head them off in case they are running away."

To this proposition, Billy demurred. He did not fancy going away by himself.

"I'll tell you what I'll do," he proposed. "I'll eat luncheon with you first. They can't get far away before I get out, and even if they did I should overhaul them. You know that old scow can be seen for miles."

"I notice we weren't able to see it a few rods from us," observed George dryly. "All right. Start the potatoes to frying. Did they hide the ham?"

"They didn't find it. It's in the spring back there," answered Sam. "I looked."

The luncheon was prepared in a hurry and the boys ate ravenously. The excitement of the morning had not interfered with their appetites.

"Now, Billy, if you see anything, blow your motor horn and keep it going until we hear it. Some of us will hear you. I propose that we spread out so as to cover the island, but still keeping within yelling distance of each other. We know now that the girls are on this island."

"Well find them." Billy walked slowly down to his launch, got in, and reversing the engine, backed out, waving an indolent hand at his companions.

Suddenly a weird scream rang out on the still air.

"Run for it, boys. That way," cried George, pointing excitedly.

"No! It's the other way," shouted Sam.

"You're both wrong. It's toward the other side of the island," declared Larry.

"Now look here, fellows. We are all of us wrong. If we are going to accomplish anything we must stop fooling and go at this business scientifically. I will take this side of the island. Sam, you and two of the fellows take the middle, and Larry the other side, keeping within sight of the shore. We will search every inch of it, though I don't believe we can finish the job before night."

"We had better take our lanterns with us, or we shall break our precious necks," suggested Sam.

"Yes. We will do that. Larry, when you catch sight of Billy on the other side, beckon him in and tell him we may not be back until late this evening, and for him to keep circling the island until he finds us back in camp again. Better take some grub along. We can stand it to eat a cold supper for once. We will have a warm one when we get back."

After having made their preparations the boys started out, all the others waiting until Larry got a good start, Sam's party starting next, George Baker leaving the camp last. In that way they planned to keep pretty nearly abreast.

* * * * *

About this time Crazy Jane McCarthy, face flushed, hair down, her skirt torn in several places, might have been seen fleeing along the shore of the island, running away from the Tramp Club's camp and toward their own secret nook, where the "Red Rover" was lying calmly at anchor in the half cave that had furnished a hiding place for the girls before.

She came tearing through the bushes nearly falling into the lower end of the stream.

"They're coming!" she shouted. "Get to cover!"

"Sh-h-h!" warned Hazel, who sat awaiting Jane, in the rowboat. "I hear a motor boat outside. I think it is the boys' boat."

"I tell you they are on their way to search the island," answered Jane.

"All of them?"

"All but Billy Gordon. He has gone off in the launch to keep an eye on the shore."

"Then that is his boat out there. Get in here. I am worried that Harriet is still out."

Just then a soft "hoo-e-e-e" from the bushes on the opposite side of the stream, told them that Harriet Burrell had returned. She had been out on a scouting expedition. Hazel rowed over to the other side of the creek. Harriet jumped aboard. Jane, in excited whispers, told her that the boys were coming and that Billy was out in the launch.

"I know. I saw him just a few moments ago. What are their plans?"

Crazy Jane explained what she had been able to hear when she was observing the Tramp Club's camp. She had seen Larry pick up Harriet's handkerchief, though she was not aware that it was Harriet's.

"That is where I lost it, is it?" laughed Harriet. "It is all right. That will encourage them. If they go on beyond here they will find other evidences that will lead them still further on. You see I wanted to get them as far away from home as possible so as to keep them out after dark."

Hazel manipulated the rowboat until they were in the deep shadows of the rocks, after which they climbed aboard the "Red Rover." Harriet explained her plans to her companions and directed them to keep as quiet as possible in case any of the searchers should come that way. The girls had pulled the houseboat into the secret retreat on the previous night. They had kept a watchful eye on the boys all the morning, to see what they were planning to do, and Jane had given the lads the creeps by uttering wild, weird cries in the depths of the forest.

Harriet and Jane cooked themselves something to eat. They had been out for a long time and were hungry. Their companions and guardian were sitting about chatting with them. Miss Elting was of the opinion that they were much better off in their hiding place than at an anchorage out in the lake, always provided that their enemy did not find them out. Harriet agreed with her, but thought they would be in a serious situation if their unknown enemy were to find them. He had shown evidences of keenness that made the finding of the "Red Rover" appear to be a simple task for him. That he would annoy them further, the girls were positive; that he already had located them was more than possible.

Splash!

Their conversation was suddenly checked. A stone had dropped but a few feet from the rear end of the "Red Rover," falling into the creek. Harriet laid a finger on her lips. Tommy had started to speak, but checked herself in time. Harriet and Jane crept to the door of the houseboat and peered out. As they did so a second splash startled them. This time they saw the stone. It was a good-sized rock. It fell some feet below the rear end of the "Red Rover." Some one was sounding the thick growth there. Who it was, they discovered a moment later.

"There's water down there, but it's shallow. I can tell by the splash," announced a voice above them.

"It's George," whispered Jane.

"I'll take a look along the shore on my way back. There may be an inlet that we haven't seen," continued George Baker, talking to himself.

Jane gripped an arm of her companion.

"If he does, we shall be discovered," she whispered.

"Never mind. We will have scared them off long before then. He will strike the trail I left for them, before long, if he keeps straight on. That will mean that he will go right on and that he will call to the others to join him when it begins to get dark. You know the island begins to narrow a short distance beyond here. Won't it be funny to see them following that trail? And what a surprise they will get before they have finished with this day's work." Harriet chuckled. She had been whispering. She paused suddenly as a pebble rattled down within a foot of the stern of the "Red Rover."

"They're getting rather close," whispered Jane.

"Captain Baker kicked that pebble down. He is going away. Do you hear him?" George was whistling to himself as he tramped away toward the other end of the island. They heard him call to his companions shortly after that and shout some directions to them. Then nothing more was heard from the boys for the rest of the afternoon.

The girls discussed the situation with Miss Elting. The guardian decided that all the girls save one should remain on board the scow. One, she agreed, might go out to reconnoitre. If the boys returned before dark it would be well to know about it. Their further plans depended upon the immediate actions of the Tramp Club. Harriet was the one who was chosen to keep watch of their rivals.

She began at once to make her preparations, tying her hair in a tight knot on top of her head and drawing a waterproof bathing cap over all.

"I am going to protect my hair," she smiled in answer to the unspoken question in the eyes of her companion. "Those bushes pull out a few strands every time I go scouting among them. I'll imitate the sound that a crow makes if I see them coming back," she added. "No one must go out in the meantime. All we can do is to keep quiet and wait. We've already won the camera. We will have our fun when night comes, however, and if we don't give those boys the fright of their lives I shall be keenly disappointed."

"Which way shall you come back?" asked Jane.

"The way we came in. Don't have the boat wait for me down there. If I have to come back in a hurry I will wade. Meadow-Brook Girls aren't afraid of the water, you know."

"We know," answered Miss Elting, smiling, "but be careful that you don't fall and hurt yourself. Good-bye. I will have the sheets and other things ready by the time you return. We have the poles here. I do hope we get an opportunity to use the stuff now that we have been at so much pains to get it ready. You see, I am just as anxious to play this trick as the rest of you girls."

Harriet laughed merrily at the prospect of the coming fun, then stepped out into the rowboat that Hazel had pulled close to the stern of the houseboat. A few moments later Hazel left her companion on the west bank at the lower end of the little stream. Harriet slipped away through the bushes almost noiselessly. If everything worked smoothly the Tramp Club were to receive an overwhelming surprise.



CHAPTER XX

JANE PLAYS EAVESDROPPER

Two hours later the Meadow-Brook Girls were startled to hear a voice directly over their heads call:

"Girls, girls."

"Who is it?" asked Miss Elting cautiously.

"It's I. I'm up here, right where we heard George Baker talking this morning."

"You nearly thcared me to death!" gasped Tommy.

"Speak more quietly, please," warned Harriet. "Jane, I wish you would come up here. No; I'm not going to take you far. I want you within reach of the boat."

"Do you see anything of the boys, Harriet?" asked Miss Elting.

"No, but I hear them occasionally. They are quite a distance ahead, traveling fast, and ought to be back long before dark."

Jane lost no time in hurrying to the lower end of the creek in order to join her friend. Harriet lay on the rocks, at a point where she could not see the water, and there Jane joined her.

"What I want you to do," Harriet explained in whispers, at the same time on the alert for sound or sign of the boys, "is to stay here, or not far from here, so that you can warn the girls in case I signal by making a cawing noise like a crow. I don't want the girls to make too much noise, for it would spoil our fun if the boys should discover our hiding place."

"But how am I going to get back if I have to do so in a hurry?"

"Can you go down a rope?"

"Show me the rope that I can't go down," boasted Jane.

"How about this one?" smiled Harriet, producing a coil of quarter inch manila rope.

"Well, it's small, but I'll try it. Where do you wish me to climb?"

"I'll show you. Take hold of my feet and don't you dare let go. I surely shall break my neck if you do." Harriet crawled over the edge, Jane grasping her by the ankles to prevent her from falling. Then Harriet tied one end of the rope to a root of a tree that stood on the brink. "Look out below!" she warned, at the same time dropping the coil through the foliage and shaking the rope until the coil finally dropped into the stream. "Please draw the rope up to the boat," she called. "That's it. Now pull me back, Jane."

Jane McCarthy did so with some assistance from Harriet, who clawed at the roots of the tree and pushed with her hands until she finally got to the top once more. Reaching there she got up and surveyed the work with approval.

"Can you see the rope, Jane?"

Miss McCarthy shook her head.

"If you have to go down it be careful that you don't fall before you get to the rope. Now do you understand?"

"Do I? This is going to be great fun. Won't the boys be surprised when we play our great trick on them?"

"Provided they do not surprise us first," answered Harriet.

"Where are you going?"

"To follow George Baker's trail for a time. I can't tell beyond that what I shall do. It will depend upon circumstances. Remember the signal. I'm off now."

Jane watched Harriet slip away. There was undisguised admiration in the eyes of Jane McCarthy. Not a sound could she hear from her companion, so silently did the latter move away. After Harriet had gone, Jane called down to her friends that she was going to move from the spot and that they should keep quiet.

The hours passed slowly for Jane. She was too active to care to sit down calmly and wait when there were things to be done, so Jane decided that she too would explore a little on her own account. She started slowly, edging down nearer to the shore, thus taking a different course from that followed by her companion, toward the upper end of the island.

Jane had been gone about an hour when she heard voices directly ahead of her. She glanced about in quest of a safe hiding place. Not knowing exactly the direction that was being followed by those whose voices she had heard, she decided to run toward home. A shout from behind her at that juncture told her that at least one of the party had gotten between her and the hiding place of the "Red Rover."

Without an instant's hesitation Crazy Jane ran to a low, bushy tree and climbed up in its foliage with almost the quickness of a cat. Her clothes suffered, but she did not care. Her sole desire now was to get out of sight as quickly as possible. She would never forgive herself if she were to be the means of their being discovered. As yet she had heard no warning cry from Harriet Burrell.

Jane had hardly secreted herself in the foliage of the tree when another hail sounded between her tree and home.

"Is that you, boys?" It was the voice of George Baker.

"Yes," answered Sam. "What's up?"

George made his way toward them. Jane could hear him forcing his way through the bushes.

The two parties met in an open space a short distance from the tree that held Jane. She was straining every muscle to get a glimpse of them.

"Some one has been along here since I passed," declared George. "I found a footprint in the moss over there, and it was a woman's."

"So did we find the same thing," answered Larry. "There's something queer about this whole island. I feel spooky all the time. Did you hear any one?"

"No."

"Well, I did. Some one threw a stone at me. It dropped right at my feet."

Jane giggled softly. Harriet had been playing tricks on them. She wondered where Harriet was. Jane would have given the signal, but dared not do so. In the first place she was not sure that she could imitate a crow so as to deceive a person, and in the second place the boys were too close to her to run any chances.

"They are here, all right, boys," cried George. "I was certain of it all the time."

"It may be spooks," answered Larry Goheen.

"Well, just let them come out. I guess we can take care of any spooks that we shall find on this island. But we must get busy again. It will soon be dark. Spread out, fellows. I'll tell you what we'll do. Taking that tree there for a centre"—waving toward the tree occupied by Crazy Jane McCarthy—"we will circle about, making the circle larger each time we start out."

"Wait. I'll climb the tree and take a look around," interjected Sam. He started for the tree. His hands had grasped it ere Jane realized that hers was the tree meant. For once in her life Crazy Jane McCarthy was at a loss to proceed. She did not know what to do. But George unknowingly came to her rescue.

"Never mind the tree. It's too low. You can't get high enough to look over the tops of the bushes. You come along as I suggested."

"How ever am I going to get out of this?" muttered Jane. "Won't Harriet be cross when she finds I've quit my post and gone out on my own responsibility?" Her further reflections were interrupted by a loud "caw, caw, caw!"

"What's that?" cried Larry in alarm.

"It's a crow, you tenderfoot," jeered George. "Didn't you ever hear one before?"

"Harriet!" exclaimed Jane under her breath. "She has discovered where the boys are. She's giving me warning and I dare not answer her. What shall I do?"

"Yes, I have heard crows, but I never heard a crow with a voice like that," answered Larry. "I'll bet it's no more crow than I am."

Once more the crow cawed. This time the bird's voice sounded much farther away. Jane reasoned it out when she said to herself that Harriet had probably turned her head away or else had cawed in a lower tone to deceive the boys, who were now moving rapidly away, making as many circles as there were boys in the party.

Jane dared not get down from the tree, but she began moving about, seeking a better position from which she might look the ground over. If the boys got far enough away she might try to run, but then there was the probability of meeting their rivals, no matter which way she sought to escape.



The crow cawed again.

"I tell you that isn't a crow," shouted Larry.

"Go on, go on!" called George.

Jane listening intently, concentrating her attention on what was being said, rather than what she was doing, lost her footing. She grasped frantically for a limb and caught one. But the limb did not hold. It snapped and came away in her hand.

Crash! She landed on a bunch of small limbs and branches. She went right on through them, tearing off leaves with frantic hands in her efforts to get hold of something that would stop her progress. The foliage checked her fall a little, but not sufficiently to prevent her falling the rest of the way.

A yell from Larry Goheen, an answering shout from George, and another from Sam, told that the boys had heard the fall. They began running toward the tree, with shouts of triumph.

"We've got somebody," yelled George. "Look sharp, fellows."

"I'm on the job," howled Sam.

"Get clubs. It may be a spook," howled Larry.

The Tramp Club surrounded the tree, keeping their formation as well as possible, not forgetting that their prey might slip away from them did they not guard all sides. As yet they did not now who or what that prey was. A moment later they halted with exclamations of surprise.

Directly beneath the tree in which Jane McCarthy had been hiding stood a man. He was dark and swarthy, with high cheek bones and jet black hair. He was an Indian half-breed. The fellow stood scowling, regarding the boys with angry eyes. Broken limbs and scattered leaves showed where Jane McCarthy had fallen from the tree, and broken bushes also showed where she had floundered after reaching the ground.

The Tramp Club gazed at the scowling face of the half-breed in speechless amazement.



CHAPTER XXI

A DOUBLE SURPRISE

"Who you?" growled the strange man.

"We—we—" began Larry.

"I beg your pardon, sir. You aren't the person we were seeking," apologized George Baker.

"Who you look for?"

"Oh, a friend of ours. I am sorry if I disturbed you. Were you up in that tree?" demanded George, a sudden thought occurring to him. He wondered if this questionable-looking half-breed had been up there while they were holding their conference a short time before that.

The fellow made no reply. He stood regarding them with inquiring, suspicious eyes until the boys grew restless under his scrutiny.

"Well, you needn't look at us that way," declared George, flushing under the steady, disconcerting gaze of the stranger. "We don't know you and you don't know us, and I guess you don't own the island. Come on, fellows."

The boys started away, trudging thoughtfully towards home. As for Jane McCarthy, the instant she reached the ground, she had scrambled to her feet and darted into the bushes, where she threw herself on the ground, breathing heavily, waiting for what might come. What did come amazed her. She saw the man dash up and glance hurriedly about him. It was evident that her fall had attracted his attention, and that he had run to the tree, hoping to catch some one. Gazing at him through the bushes, the girl decided that he must be an Indian. She gazed at him long and earnestly, forgetting for the moment her own precarious position.

Then the boys came. The half-breed stood scowling after them as they hurried away. At this juncture the "caw" of a crow was heard again. He started slightly, bent his head and listened, but there was no repetition of the signal, for which Crazy Jane McCarthy was devoutly thankful. It was plain that he knew it was not a crow, that he understood it to be a signal of some sort.

The half-breed suddenly turned, starting toward the shore of the lake at a brisk pace, worming his way through the bushes with almost no disturbance at all, even at the swift pace he was keeping up.

Jane had lost her fear now. The boys had gone on out of sight and sound and the intruder was hurrying toward the lake. The girl, however, did not dare to run. She feared to meet the Indian, so she crept along cautiously. It was but a short distance to the shore of the lake. She reached there after having followed the Indian's trail. Jane was just in time to see the fellow launching a canoe. It was a dark green boat, showing long and hard usage.

The fellow leaped in and sent the boat well out into the lake with a single stroke of the paddle, after which he glided up the lake, keeping close in shore under the partial protection of the foliage. Fortunately Jane had thrown herself down again immediately on seeing him, else he might have caught sight of her. That he was a man experienced in the woods, as well as on the water, was plain to be seen. She watched him out of sight, then hurried back to the spot where she had met with disaster and gave the crow signal. It was not much of a success. She repeated it and did better. Jane called several times. Then she jumped clear off the ground at the sound of a voice behind her.

"Jane McCarthy! What are you doing here?"

"Harriet!"

"Yes, it's I. But what on earth have you been doing?"

"Di—did you see the man?" gasped Jane.

"Wait a moment. I don't understand you. What is it about a man?"

"I—I was in the tree there when the boys came back. I heard them coming and climbed the tree to hide."

"I was doing the same thing."

"I—I fell out of the tree—"

"Gracious! They didn't discover you, did they? I heard them shouting and running, and wondered what they had discovered."

"No. I dived into those bushes and lay down. Just then a man appeared. He looked to me like an Indian. He is a dangerous man, Harriet. When the boys came up and found him standing here you ought to have seen the expressions on their faces. Oh, it was funny."

"Which way did he go?" questioned Harriet eagerly. She was not laughing now. Another idea had occurred to her.

"Down to the lake. I followed him and saw him get into his canoe and paddle away."

"A canoe, did you say?"

"Yes. It was an old thing, but, my goodness, how it could go! And the man paddled without making a sound. I never saw any one handle a canoe like that."

Harriet gazed at her companion, the lines of her face contracting.

"Jane," she said, "I saw that man myself. It was the night I rowed out to see who was making camp near us. He shot out ahead of me in his canoe and disappeared. I must have disturbed him."

"But who—what?" gasped Jane.

"I believe he is the man who has been following us and trying to drive us away. I can't think of any other reason for his acting as he has. He undoubtedly knows that we are somewhere about, and has been looking for us just as the boys themselves have been doing."

"Good gracious," muttered Crazy Jane. "I'm sorry I didn't stay on the boat."

"And I am glad you did not. You surely have discovered something. Would you know the man if you were to see him again?"

"Yes."

"Then we will see if we can't discover him again. I believe we are getting near to a solution of the enemy that has been following us. Either we must settle him or he will do us some injury. I am glad the boys saw him, too. I am going to suggest to Miss Elting that we go back to our old anchorage to-morrow. To-day we have other plans on hand. And that reminds me. It is getting dark and it is time we were getting back to the boat. We will go down the rope when we reach there. Come."

The two girls hurried along, keeping a sharp lookout, not knowing but that the boys might be lying in wait for them. They reached the rocks above the houseboat. All was quiet below. Jane went down the rope first, landing in the creek. Harriet did the same, and none of their companions discovered either of them until Jane had climbed aboard the boat and appeared dripping before them.

"Here we are, girls," laughed Jane.

"Did you discover anything?" asked Miss Elting eagerly.

"We did."

"Tell us what happened," urged the guardian.

"The boys found the false trail we made, as well as the one we did not wish them to find. They nearly discovered Jane, too. She sat in a tree while they made their plans nearby. Then Jane fell out of the tree."

The girls shouted.

"And what do you think?" continued Harriet. "The boys were only a short distance away. They hurried to the scene, and when they got there they found—"

"Jane," finished Tommy.

"No. A man. A half-breed from what Jane says. He went away in a canoe. He did not see her."

Miss Elting regarded Harriet reflectively.

"Yes, I think it was the same one," said Harriet in answer to the guardian's unspoken question. "It is evident that our presence here is suspected by others than the Tramps. I would suggest that we carry out our plans to-night, then move away from here to-morrow."



CHAPTER XXII

SPOOKS OF THE LONESOME ISLE

"Yes, I know the way. I could go there blindfolded," answered Harriet, in reply to a question from Miss Elting.

The hour was nine o'clock in the evening. The night was very dark, though the stars were shining. It had been decided that Margery and Tommy should remain on board the "Red Rover," putting out all lights and locking the doors, though no anxiety was felt about them, as there was scarcely a chance that their presence would be discovered, provided the girls remained quiet.

The paraphernalia for the evening's enterprise was carefully loaded into the rowboat; then, with final admonitions to Tommy and Margery to keep silent and not be afraid, the party set out in the rowboat for the entrance of the creek. They paused there long enough to make certain that no one was about, after which they rowed along the shore a short distance and made a landing at a point where the ground was fairly level.

"Now be very quiet," whispered Harriet. "Remember the signal to return to the boat is one long caw. Two caws in quick succession mean 'hurry.'"

"We shan't be far apart, shall we?" questioned Hazel, somewhat apprehensively.

"No. Within speaking distance," replied Miss Elting. "Leave it to Harriet and Jane to make the first advance. We will follow when the time is right. It is fortunate that we left Tommy and Margery at home. Are you ready, Harriet?"

It was a silent party of four shadowy figures that made its way cautiously along the shore of the island for some little distance. The party then turned sharply to the right and disappeared among the bushes that marked a slight rise of ground. Reaching this rise they turned to the left and once more proceeded straight ahead.

The lights of a campfire were soon distinguishable between the trees. The party was nearing the camp of the Tramp Club. The time to prepare for their final triumph was at hand.

"Now, Harriet," urged Miss Elting in a half whisper.

"Yes. I will go around to the other side of the camp. That will be the most difficult position to get away from, so I am choosing it for myself. Jane, you will remain here, while Miss Elting and Hazel will take a position halfway between us. You see that will enable us practically to surround the camp. After you hear me, wait a moment, then give them a thriller."

Harriet, accompanied by the guardian and Hazel, stepped promptly away. After going on for some distance, the girl directed Miss Elting and Hazel to stop and remain where they were, except that they were to separate, yet keep within easy call of each other. This detail arranged, Harriet went on.

According to previous arrangement, Jane, Miss Elting and Hazel gradually crept nearer to the camp, continuing until they could make out the figures of the boys quite plainly. The latter were sitting about the campfire. Their attitude was one of dejection. They had been outwitted and they knew it.

"If we don't find those girls to-night, then to-morrow morning we'll get out of here," announced George. "They know that they have won and we'll let them come and tell us so rather than hunt all summer for them."

"What about that half-breed?" asked Sam. "I think we'd better find out who he is. I didn't like the looks of that fellow a little bit."

"Neither did I," agreed George. "Queer we never saw him around here before."

"You must remember this is a large lake," Billy informed them. "He probably is a fisherman who hangs out on the island, and who resented our encroaching upon his preserves. I think I saw the same fellow once in a canoe, but he was so far away that I don't think I would know him were we to meet face to face."

"There are too many mysterious things on this island," averred Larry Goheen, with emphasis. "I, for one, shall be glad to get away from it. I know there are spooks here."

"Spooks!" jeered George. "Who's afraid of spooks? Who—" George's voice trailed off almost into a whisper. "I heard something," he exclaimed.

"So did I," added Larry, nodding.

A laugh, a distinctly human laugh, shrill and mocking, was wafted to them. The boys gazed questioningly at each other. Larry glanced about apprehensively. Then out of the night came the most weird, most demoniacal laugh any member of the Tramp Club ever had heard.

The boys sprang to their feet.

Other laughs, accompanied by shrieks, followed each other in quick succession. The laughs seemed to come from all quarters. It was difficult to say from just what particular point any one of them did come.

"Spooks!" yelled Larry Goheen, bolting toward the lake. Billy caught and jerked him back.

"No, you don't," growled Billy. "We stand together."

"I don't want to stay here," chattered Larry. "I never try to fool people with fake courage when I know that running is my one best course to pursue."

"Is there a lunatic asylum in this part of the country?" asked Baker. "Can it be possible that any of the inmates have escaped."

Billy Gordon shook his head. "Nothing as easy as that," he sighed.

"Great Scott! There it goes again!" breathed Larry. "It's down that way, too," pointing in the direction taken by Harriet Burrell.

It was a long, weird wail, well calculated to freeze the marrow in one's bones.

"Come on, fellows!" cried George, with a fine showing of resolution. "We'll lay that ghost!"

George was the only one of the boys who thought to snatch up a club as he ran. But now the unearthly sounds came from the rear, instead of ahead of them. The boys wheeled abruptly, only to hear right in front of them a dismaying chorus of ghostly noises.

"Let's go!" urged Larry. "It's surely a lot of banshees!"

"Great Scott! Look!" quivered Sam, pointing with trembling finger.

In the faint light the boys made out a white figure that might have been anywhere from seven to ten feet in height. The boys were too scared to judge of length. The awful thing raised its draped arms, a frightful scream sounding on the air.

At that Billy lost his grip on Larry's arm. Goheen made no apologies, but made a straight, swift dash for camp.

The other boys hesitated for a few brief seconds; then they, too, headed for camp. They were not exactly running. They were leaping like as many frightened rabbits, fleeing from a rabbit hound. In their haste they lost their way and were proceeding directly toward the spot where Jane McCarthy was standing.

Jane finally heard them coming. She was filled with glee. She had feared that she was not to have an opportunity to play an important part in this ghost party. Making a noise like a ghost did not wholly satisfy Crazy Jane McCarthy. What she wanted was something more exciting. Her opportunity came very quickly. The boys were nearly up to her, ere she realized that they were so close.

A wild wail halted them.

"Come on, you fellows!" yelled George to his faltering companions.

"There it is!" howled Sam.

He had espied another figure that looked exactly like the first ghost. George discovered it at about the same time. George made a brave rush toward the figure, yelling to frighten it. But Crazy Jane was not easily frightened. She advanced slowly, waving the long, draped arms, and moaning. All at once something came down on the head of George Baker, just as he had raised his club to hurl it at the ghost. The something was a long tough stick in the hand of Jane McCarthy.

George uttered a howl and sprang back. The ghost advanced on him. Billy got a light tap, then Sam yelled as something damp brushed his cheek. He did not know that it was the leaf of a bush. He thought it the cold, clammy hand of the ghost.

The boys having gotten more than they had looked for, began to retreat. Sam was the first after Larry to run. He did so with all speed, followed closely by George and Billy. They were confused. They did not know just where the camp was located. Glancing over their shoulders they saw that the ghost was pursuing them. The boys began to shout anew, and to run even at greater speed.

"There's some more of them," howled Sam.

"Yeow!" yelled George. He sprang to the left, in which direction he believed the camp lay, then he halted. Another ghost was confronting him. George hesitated. The ghost uttered a moan. The brave George Baker, captain of the Tramp Club, took to his heels. The others did the same, except that each took a different direction. Wherever they ran they were followed by moans and screams, principally from the lips of Crazy Jane McCarthy.

It seemed to their excited imaginations that the woods were full of ghosts of giant stature, with voices capable of making one's hair stand on end. The worst of it was that the ghosts persisted in pursuing them. They chased the brave Tramp Club right into camp, where the lads arrived one by one. Instead of stopping the boys bolted for the launch, in which the frightened Larry Goheen already had sought safety.

"Cast off," yelled George, the last to leap into the boat.

The launch was shoved from the shore and allowed to drift while the boys sat shivering, listening to the wails from the forest.

"Good-bye," answered Sam.

"Fellows, we are all cowards," declared George, beginning to get control of himself. "We should have staid and knocked them out."

"I'll go back, if you say so," answered Billy promptly.

"No. I've got enough of this place. To-morrow morning we break camp and go back to the other camping place. No more ghost parties for mine."

"As long as we have decided to move why not go now," suggested Larry.

The boys discussed the matter briefly, then decided that they would. Sam was put on guard to watch for the return of the ghosts while the others hurriedly broke camp. But there were no more ghostly moans nor ghostly intruders that night.

The ghosts in the persons of the Meadow-Brook Girls were on their way to their rowboat. Beaching it they sat down and laughed until their eyes were wet with tears.

"It was a mean trick to play on them," gasped Miss Elting. "But I think we have more than won our wager. It is a wonder that they didn't suspect us."

"There goes a boat!" cried Jane. "It's a launch."

"It is the boys. We have frightened them off," answered Miss Elting.

The girls rowed quickly home, but ere they had reached the entrance to the secret creek they were startled by the sound of a shrill scream. They recognized the voice as Tommy's and began to shout, and to row with all their might. A moment later, just as they were about to turn into the opening with their boat, a canoe shot out and darted across their bows, disappearing in the darkness.

"A man, a man!" yelled Tommy as Harriet shouted to know if the two girls were all right. Tommy threw open the door and in her excitement walked off the after deck of the "Red Rover" and fell forward into the stream.

"Jane, do you recognize that man?" cried Harriet excitedly.

"Yes," exclaimed Jane, "he's the man I saw this afternoon, and he's our mysterious enemy too, or my name's not Jane McCarthy."



CHAPTER XXIII

ON A STORMY CRUISE

It was late on the following forenoon when the Meadow-Brook Girls might have been observed towing the "Red Rover" out from the creek in which it had been anchored. They decided that it was high time to leave.

During their absence, and while they were frightening the Tramp Club with sheets draped over sticks and carried high above their heads, Tommy and Margery had been having an exciting experience. They had been anxiously peering out of the cabin, when after an hour or so they discovered a canoe approaching the scow. At first they thought it one of their own party who was paddling the canoe. They soon discovered that it was a man. The girls were too frightened to do more than watch him in almost breathless silence. But when the man climbed aboard the after deck, after satisfying himself that the boat was deserted, they decided that it was time to move.

Tommy uttered a scream. Margery followed suit and their cries had been heard by the returning ghost party. The man did not tarry to see who had screamed. He sprang into the creek, where, pushing his canoe ahead of him, he ran down the stream. He had then leaped in and had given the paddle the first swift sweep when discovered by Harriet and her party.

Miss Elting was really alarmed when she heard their story. She decided to sit up all night and watch. Jane and Harriet kept watch with her. They did not retire until daylight, after which they got a few hours of sleep. Then came a late breakfast and the preparations for departure. They were going back to the other side of the lake, where they intended to tie up at their old anchorage near the main camp of the Tramp Club.

After dragging the houseboat out and finding a suitable anchorage, Harriet rowed over to the mainland. Running up to the farmhouse she telephoned to the nearest town for a launch to come down and give them a tow. Billy Gordon and his motor boat were not on hand for the purpose this morning.

When about eleven o'clock a launch came down the coast in search of them the wind had risen and the lake was rough. It was an old boat and did not look as though it could stand much weather. The man running the boat said there was rather a stiff sea on the other side of the island, but he thought he could make it. Miss Elting said she would give him five dollars if he would take them across. He made fast to the "Red Rover" and started.

Once they had rounded the island they did not think the waves would be very high. Being protected by a point of land they did not get the full force of the wind. Nor did they realize what a chance they had taken until they had gotten well out into the lake. There the gale struck them with full force. Harriet grew really alarmed. She feared the "Red Rover" was not strong enough to stand up under it. Margery was seasick and the others also felt the effects of the gale.

The "Red Rover" was now pitching more violently than ever. Jane was gazing at the launch wide-eyed, expecting every moment to see it take a dive, not to come up again. Everything movable in the "Red Rover's" cabin was being hurled about. The oil stove long since had tipped over, glass was being smashed, dishes broken, pieces of each of these were rattling over the floor. Miss Elting decided that they would be better off outside.

Harriet protested against their going on the upper deck, saying that they might be blown off into the lake. Jane was protecting herself by clinging to a rope. The awning suddenly ballooned and went up into the air, taking some of the awning posts with it. Miss Elting had no further desire to go up on deck after that. With her charges she kept close to the deck house, where they shielded themselves from the wind as much as possible.

"He's turning round," shouted Jane, with hands to lips.

"Don't let him. He will upset us."

Jane yelled at the man in the launch, who—not daring to brave the seas any longer, was slowly turning his launch about. He shook his head, evidently thinking she was ordering him to continue. Seeing that her words were of no avail, Crazy Jane leaped down to the forward deck and casting the tow line from the cleat, flung it out on the water.

"Hook on the other end and tow us back if you want to. Don't you know better than to turn us around in all this storm?" she yelled.

The boatman ran up to the stern where Harriet was doing her best to keep the boat's head to the wind, but was slowly losing ground. She motioned to him to keep off and beckoned to him to cast the tow line to her so she could make it fast at that end. Harriet had forgotten that there was no rudder at the other end. But the boatman persisted in getting up close to the houseboat. All at once what Harriet had feared did happen. The launch was picked up on a heavy swell and hurled against the houseboat. There followed the sound of crunching woodwork. The launch began to fill with water.

"Jump!" shouted Captain Harriet. "You're sinking."

The boatman clung to his craft a moment longer, then leaped into the lake. He was not a good swimmer, but fortunately the waves were rolling toward the houseboat, carrying him in that direction. Harriet had dropped the tiller and was watching him narrowly. There was no rope ready, the one that usually lay at hand having been lost with the launch, which slowly settled in the water, then disappeared.

The girl saw that the man was likely to be hurled against the side of the houseboat. She snatched up a boathook and when he came within reach thrust it out to him.

"Hold steady until that wave passes, then I'll pull you in," she called. The blow from the waves took nearly all the breath out of the man, but as soon as it had passed, Harriet hauled him quickly aboard.

Miss Elting reported that the "Red Rover" was leaking, that the launch had crushed in a plank on the side.

"Stuff clothing in the hole," ordered Jane. "Here you, Mr. Man, please go in there and see if you can't nail up the broken place. You've got to do something or you'll never set foot on land again."

Off in the camp of the Tramp Club there was great excitement. The boys had discovered the craft laboring in the heavy sea, and as it drew nearer to their side of the lake, they discovered that it was none other than the "Red Rover."

"They're in trouble, boys. Billy, will your boat stand it?" asked George.

"As long as we can keep the water out of her."

"Then let's get aboard. No, you fellows stay here. There's a load of them out there to fetch back if we ever get close enough to take them off."

The motors were working, but no sooner had the two boys gotten clear of the little pier at their camp than the engines suddenly stopped and the boat drifted back.

"There's a short circuit somewhere," called Billy. "Hold her. I'll find it and we'll be going very shortly."

"Hurry, Billy! They're in an awful mess over there," urged George.

It seemed as though the "Red Rover" must be torn to pieces. The boat was now drifting broadside to the waves. Every large wave would break against the side, then leap clear over the boat. Every wave seemed powerful enough to crush in the sides. But they came out dripping, glistening red after each onslaught. The boatman had succeeded in patching the rent caused by the collision, but the upper deck was leaking in many places. The "Red Rover" had been strained almost to the breaking-up point. It was now fairly wallowing in the foaming sea dashing against its weather side. Harriet had given up trying to do anything with the rudder. She could not keep the bow of the boat around to the seas. It persisted in lying broadside on, where it took the full force of the waves.

"There comes a boat," cried Jane, who had been on the upper deck, waving a sheet as a signal that they were in distress. All hands peered toward the mainland. They saw a launch making slow progress toward them. The little boat seemed to be standing with her bow in the air most of the time. First it would rear then plunge. As it neared them they saw that it was Billy Gordon's boat, bearing himself and George Baker.

"Cast a line! I don't dare get near," shouted Billy when close enough to make his voice heard.

"We haven't any. Cast your own," answered Harriet.

George did the casting. He failed three times but on the fourth cast Harriet caught the line and quickly made it fast to a cleat at the forward end being nearly swept overboard in the effort. The "Red Rover" straightened out on her course. For a moment the launch seemed to be losing ground rather than gaining, then slowly it began to pick up and shortly after that was making slow progress toward shore.

There were many spectators to that battle, none of whom believed that either launch or houseboat, ever would reach the land. Other boats refused to venture out in such a gale. Even the big boats remained tied up. So much water was taken aboard by the launch that George was fully occupied in bailing. A piece of oilcloth had been thrown over the engines and battery coils to keep these from getting soaked and thus causing a stoppage of the engine.

For two hours did launch and houseboat labor through the seas, fighting every inch of the way. Harriet's arms ached from handling the tiller. She was wet to the skin but clung steadily to her work. The boatman was kept inside to watch for and stop leaks, of which there were many before the voyage came to an end. At last the "Red Rover" slipped into comparatively calm water, amid a chorus of yells from the boys on shore. George got up and waved his cap to the girls. They answered the salute with three cheers, then Billy pulled the scow up to her former anchorage, and in a few moments she lay rolling easily in a moderate swell, safe, though considerably strained from her wild voyage across a lake that many larger and more seaworthy boats would have hesitated to brave.



CHAPTER XXIV

CONCLUSION

It was late in the evening when some sort of order had been restored in the cabin of the "Red Rover." The boys had turned to and worked like Trojans, helping to get the water out of the boat, to mend broken places and throw the broken dishes overboard.

When all was done Miss Elting served a luncheon to them, mostly canned stuff, all the other food having been ruined in the voyage across the lake. It was during the luncheon that she made a confession for herself and companions. She told the Tramp Club how they had dressed up in white sheets and chased the boys from the island; how they had hidden in the cave with their boat; how Jane had discovered the half-breed and narrowly missed a double discovery herself.

"And now," concluded Miss Elting, "that is the way we played our tricks. Perhaps we won the contest but after your bravery to-day we feel that far greater honors are due to you boys."

The boys, whose faces had flushed during the recital, now broke into a hearty laugh.

"That's the best joke ever played on a bunch of fellows," cried Billy. "And you've won the wager fairly enough. You don't need to apologize for the ghosts. The trouble is we tried to play worse jokes on you, but you turned them on us every time. If we got you out of the lake it was by good luck, not because we were so awfully brave. I'll never brag about bravery after last night. And now good night. You folks are tired and want to go to bed. We'll see that you aren't disturbed this evening. You don't think of working your disappearing act to-night, do you?"

"No. We have had sufficient excitement for one day," answered Miss Elting laughingly. "We are going to invite you over to dinner soon, then we will have a happy good-bye party before we leave. By the way, boys, we are going ashore in the morning on a shopping trip. As all of us wish to go I am going to ask you if you will keep an eye on the 'Red Rover.' There is very little possibility that our enemy will visit it in broad daylight, still it is best to take proper precautions against further attacks."

"We'll be very glad to look out for the 'Red Rover' while you're away," responded George heartily. "That is if you can assure us that you won't try any new vanishing tricks."

"We give you our solemn promise," laughed Harriet. "The 'Red Rover' has played her last trick."

Harriet's laughing assurance, however, was destined to prove truer than she had dreamed. The next morning the girls rose early, and after a hasty breakfast went ashore to do their shopping, secure in the thought that the Tramp Club would keep an eye on the "Red Rover."

In the meantime the boys had posted a watch on the shore, in the person of Billy Gordon, who seated comfortably on the ground, his back against a big tree, glanced frequently out over the lake to where the "Red Rover" lay at anchor, her red sides glistening in the sun.

It was well towards noon when Billy rose from the ground and strolled lazily down to the beach. Suddenly his good-natured face took on a startled look as he stared anxiously toward the houseboat. A moment later he was running toward the tent at full speed.

"Fellows, come out here!" he shouted. "Hurry up!"

"What's the matter?" asked George Baker, hurrying out of the tent, the other members of the Tramp Club at his heels.

"Look!" gasped Billy, pointing toward the "Red Rover." "What do you make of that?"

"Why—why—" stammered George Baker. Then he uttered a sudden cry of alarm. "By George, she's on fire. That scamp has sneaked in and set fire to the boat under our very noses. I'm positive that he did it. Pile into the launch with all the pails you can find and let's get out there. That villain must have swum over, climbed aboard, and set fire to the side of the boat away from the shore. That's why we didn't notice the smoke when she first began to burn."

By the time they were on their way toward the doomed houseboat the fire had made tremendous headway. Being an old boat, the "Red Rover" burned like kindling. It seemed to be fairly wrapped in flames.

"It's no use," groaned George. "She'll be gone inside of the next five minutes. We can't save the boat or anything on board. I'm thankful the girls were all on shore. That villain must have watched them go, and then swam out here. If he'd paddled out in his canoe this morning we'd have seen him. Don't go too near her, fellows. She's likely to collapse any minute."

"Look out! She's going!" exclaimed Larry Goheen. A moment later the whole top of the unwieldy boat fell in, while the flames attacked the hull with renewed fury.

* * * * *

When the Meadow-Brook Girls returned to the shore of the lake, that afternoon, well laden with the fruits of their shopping, they were met by the members of the Tramp Club, who looked unduly solemn. One glance at their grave faces and Harriet cried out apprehensively, "What on earth has happened to you, boys?"

"We're all right," stammered George, "but the 'Red Rover'—well, it is—"

The Meadow-Brook Girls all looked involuntarily in the direction of where the "Red Rover" had lain that morning.

"Why—why—where is our boat?" faltered Miss Elting.

Then George poured forth the story of the morning's disaster, while the girls listened in consternation to the recital of the way in which the houseboat had been set fire to and sunk.

"Of course that half-breed did it," concluded George, "and now that we've told you all about it, we are going to start out after him. I'll wager he's somewhere around this lake yet."

"I shall go back to the village at once and put the matter in the hands of the constable," declared Miss Elting. "I shall also see Dee Dickinson. I hold him indirectly responsible for all the disagreeable things that have happened to us, and for this, too."

"Wait until to-night before you do anything about it," begged George. "Give the Tramp Club a chance to distinguish themselves. If we don't get our man by six o'clock to-night, then put the matter in the hands of the authorities. In the meantime, won't you accept our hospitality for the day? We offer you the use of our camp while we go out on a man hunt."

After some further conversation Miss Elting reluctantly agreed to the boys' plan, and after considerable mourning over the lost "Red Rover," the girls settled themselves in the camp of the tramps to await the return of the boys.

"It looks as though we would have to go back to Meadow-Brook a little sooner than we expected, girls," declared Miss Elting.

"I'd rather go home than thtay around where there are crathy Indianth," retorted Tommy. "Thuppothe we had been on that boat when it thank."