The Meadow Brook Girls Across Country Part 10

"Shall I get something for them, Miss Elting?" questioned Harriet.

The guardian nodded. Harriet ran into the tent, where she quickly prepared some roast beef sandwiches. These she carried out and handed to the leader of the bear. He divided with his companion. The two men sat down by the fire and began eating voraciously.

"You gotta coffee?" asked the leader, his mouth so full of the sandwich he was eating that he was barely understandable.

"No. We have no coffee made," replied Miss Elting. "You will have to get along with what you have."

"You maka coffee. You maka now!"

"What?" cried Crazy Jane belligerently. "You order us to make coffee for you, you lazy good-for-nothings? Get out of here before I lose my temper with you."

"Easy, Jane!" warned Miss Elting.

"You no giva coffee, I letta out da bear," threatened the leader, scrambling up and running to the tree where the cinnamon bear was secured. The second Italian also had risen to his feet. He was edging toward the rear of the tent, evidently thinking that he was not observed. But Harriet, though not appearing to notice, was watching him narrowly. Tommy and Margery were trembling with fear. Harriet and Jane were unafraid. They were getting a little angry, however. Miss Elting slipped into the tent and getting her revolver, secreted it in a fold of her skirt. Just as she emerged the second Italian ducked in under the edge of the tent. The tent had been staked down firmly and as the man was somewhat stout he stuck when half way under the side wall.

"Come out of that," commanded Harriet.

Instead of obeying her the man tried to wriggle in.

"I see I've got to attack him from inside the tent," decided the girl.

Wheeling about she ran into the tent where, in the light from the campfire, she could see the tousled head and rolling black eyes of the man underneath the side wall. Without speaking she seized a pail of water that stood near the entrance of the tent and dashed it full into the man's face.

"Hurrah for Harriet!" cried Crazy Jane from the tent door, where she stood waving her arms now and hopping about gleefully.

Choking and sputtering the man wriggled out from under the tent uttering a perfect torrent of abuse in his native tongue. It was about this time that Miss Elting discovered that she had forgotten to load the revolver before taking it from the tent. Meanwhile the leader had untied the chain of the bear and was urging it forward, evidently intending to frighten the women.

"You giva me mon. I then-a go way with da bear. You giva me mon," he demanded angrily.

Tommy Thompson, at this juncture, found her courage. s.n.a.t.c.hing up a burning fire brand she charged the man leading the bear. He leaped back to avoid the thrust of the fiery club. The bear swung a giant paw at her. Tommy hit him over the nose with the firebrand. In the meantime Hazel Holland, following Harriet's example, appeared on the scene with another pail of water, which she dashed over the leader and the bear.

Fire and water were a little more than the man or the bear had bargained for, so they made haste to get out of the danger zone. Crazy Jane, in the meantime pursued them shouting and brandishing a stout stick that she had picked up in the field. Jane chased the men all the way to the road, with Tommy and her fiery club in close pursuit.

"Oh, those rascals!" cried the guardian, when the girls returned. "And that miserable bear! I'll warrant the three of them got the fright of their lives. They won't bother the Meadow-Brook Girls soon again."

"I am not so certain of that," answered Harriet, smiling. "We did give them a scare, though. But I'm sorry I had almost to drown that one man.

He was determined to get into the tent. What do you suppose he wanted?"

"To steal something, of course," answered Miss Elting.

"And Tommy. Did you see Tommy and her torch, girls? Oh, wasn't it a sight?"

"Yes. And Hazel and Harriet with their pails of water," chuckled the guardian.

"Tommy, dear," exclaimed Miss Elting, as the little girl sat down beside her, flushed and triumphant. "You have earned a bead this evening. I think each one of you is ent.i.tled to a bright red bead. Now pile on the wood, girls, so we shall have plenty of light. I don't apprehend further trouble, but it is well to be prepared."

"I will see to that," spoke up Harriet. "I have a plan that will make it unnecessary for any one to sit up and keep watch."

Harriet explained her plan, which met with the approval of the others.

That plan was destined to fulfill its purpose later in the night, for their excitement was not yet ended, and before the dawning of another day, the Meadow-Brook Girls were once more to distinguish themselves.

CHAPTER VII-DISCOVERING MIDNIGHT PROWLERS

"Have you a ball of strong twine in your kit, Jane?" asked Harriet. "You told me to ask for anything I wanted but did not see."

"Sure, I have. In the tool box. Wait. I'll get it for you."

While Jane went for the twine, Harriet hurried out, returning a few moments later with two sticks, each stick being about five feet long.

Next she got a tin pail and stood the pail bottom-side-up on the sticks.

Her companions watched her wonderingly.

"What _are_ you trying to do?" demanded Miss Elting.

"Fixing a burglar alarm. You'll agree that it is all right after I have it finished. Now, I want to run this twine all the way around the camp.

I shall need some round sticks. Help me find some, Tommy. You have sharp eyes."

All hands set out to hunt for the desired sticks. Harriet began thrusting them into the soft ground at more or less regular intervals.

When the stakes had been placed loops of string were tied near the tops of them, and through these loops was threaded the long twine until the camp was entirely surrounded by it. It formed a thread-like barrier that seemed too slender a thing to be of much use. One end of the string was secured to the two sticks on which the pail had been placed. The slack in the string was taken up until the sticks and the pail tilted from the wall of the tent at a sharp angle.

"Hurrah!" cried the guardian. "That is a most ingenious contrivance. How did you come to think of it?"

"Nethethity ith the mother of invention, tho my father thayth," spoke up Grace.

Harriet nodded approvingly. The others laughed.

"Tommy is becoming quite a philosopher," averred the guardian. "Aren't you going to give us a demonstration of your invention, Harriet?"

"Very well," laughed Harriet. "Hazel, will you go out and stumble against the string? Don't you dare to break it for-Oh!"

The two sticks had come down with a crash, the tin pail rattling as it rolled over the floor. Tommy screamed and so did Margery.

"There's your demonstration," announced Harriet. "Some one is coming. I hope it isn't those Italians again."

Miss Elting with her loaded revolver, Jane with her club, Harriet armed this time with a stout stick, sauntered forth to meet the newcomer. Jane had run to the dark side of the tent, thrusting her club across the corner ready to use it at the first indication of trouble. To her disgust, the farmer from whom she had obtained permission to make camp, now appeared on the scene.

"It's all right, girls. This is the gentleman who let us make camp here," called Jane.

"I just came over to tell you to take care of your fire. If it runs it'll burn off the meadow, it being all fresh seeding there. I wouldn't want to lose it," hailed their visitor.

"Thank you for calling our attention to it. We are always careful of fire," Miss Elting made reply.

"What was it I fell over when I came in here?" he asked, glancing about him. "You certainly look mighty comfortable here."

The girls looked at each other and giggled.