The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills Part 13

"A couple of outlaws who turned things upside down in these hills some years ago. But I got them both. They are serving terms up at Concord now. Find anything?"

"No, sir."

The circles were steadily narrowing, though the man and the girl were working slowly and deliberately, really covering the ground by inches, so thorough was their search for clues of the supposed night visitors.

No spot of the size of a hand escaped the keen scrutiny of one or the other of them. They could not have answered had they been asked what particular thing they had hoped to find, but in some vague way each felt that a clue to the mystery would be turned up as a result of their search. If a person had stolen into camp under cover of the night, wounding and stampeding the horses, it was probable that footprints or other evidences of his presence had been left behind, a tell-tale clue to the recent visitor. As yet, not a single trace had been found by the searchers. They continued with their work until they finally brought up facing each other in front of the trees to which the broken ends of the halters were still tied.

Harriet glanced up into the perplexed face of the guide and laughed.

Ja.n.u.s gave back a glum look and muttered, "I swum!"

"Have you two sleuths finished your work?" called Crazy Jane.

"It certainly looks as though we had," replied Harriet. "What do you think, Mr. Grubb?"

"I reckon we're beaten."

"Yes. We haven't found a clue of any consequence. Perhaps we have imagined too much, but I do not think so."

"Give me a torch; it's my turn now. Let's see what Crazy Jane can find," said Jane McCarthy. "My grandfather was the champion shamrock hunter of the Emerald Isle, and my Dad says I'm a pocket edition of my grandfather. Just watch me while I show you a few things."

Harriet handed her torch to Jane, and, walking over, sat down by Miss Elting.

"Did you really fail for once, Harriet?" questioned the guardian in a teasing voice. She understood Harriet's peculiarities, knowing that the girl was not given to talking when there was real or fancied reason why she should not.

"I should say I did; that is, I did not discover anything that I could feel certain about. But some one has been here. There was just one footprint in a bit of soft dirt, but some one had most provokingly stepped on it, nearly obliterating it. From what I could make out of the original footprint it wasn't made by any of our party. That is all I found, but enough to verify our suspicions. Where is Jane going?"

Jane McCarthy was moving away from camp, apparently following the trail made by the party when they came up from the river to make camp among the trees.

"That's a good idea, too," she added approvingly, instantly catching the significance of Jane's action. "I never thought of trying it."

"I don't know just what you mean, but anything not thought of by you I shouldn't consider worth bothering about." Miss Elting laughed softly, patting the brown head beside her. "There! She is returning, and empty-handed like yourself, I'll warrant."

"Do not be too certain of that. On the contrary, Jane has discovered something."

"Why do you think that?"

"I can tell by the swing of her shoulders. Miss Elting, Crazy Jane has beaten us all; you see if she hasn't. Hoo-e-e-e!"

"Jane! Oh, Jane! Did you find something?" cried Tommy, in a shrill, high-pitched voice that Margery declared might have been heard a mile away. "What did you find?"

"Did I find thomething?" mimicked Jane. "Does Crazy Jane McCarthy ever fail to get what she goes after? Yes, I did find something; something, too, that will make you girls open your eyes. And you too, Mr. Grubb!

Sh-h-! Not a word," she warned dramatically. "Come over by the campfire, where we can see, and I'll show you all----"

"Thomething," finished Tommy Thompson.

"Yes, 'thomething,'" answered Jane with a nod, then hurried toward the camp. Her companions raced after her, Ja.n.u.s Grubb bringing up the rear in long strides, the fingers of one hand clutched in his abundant whiskers. Jim stood gazing after them, his underjaw drooping. Jim hadn't yet quite come to an understanding of this most unusual company.

He stood there wondering until the girls had pa.s.sed out of his sight, after which the driver, with hands thrust deep in his pockets, walked slowly campward, trying to make up his mind what had happened.

CHAPTER IX

SCALING THE HIGH CLIFFS

"Sit down, darlin's," commanded Jane, after the eager girls had reached their campfire. "Sit down and make yourselves comfortable."

"For goodness' sake, tell us!" exclaimed Margery. "Can't you see we are all just perishing with curiosity?"

"Yeth. I'm motht thuffocated from holding my breath," declared Tommy.

"But Buthter ith thuffocated hecauthe she ith tho fat. Don't you think it ith awful to be tho fat, Mr. Januth?" She gazed, in apparent unblinking innocence, at the solemn-faced guide, who answered with twinkling eyes.

"I dunno, Miss. I never was fat. Never had time to eat enough to make me fat."

"That ith too bad," answered Tommy sympathetically.

"Come, come, Jane, don't keep us in suspense. What did you find, or didn't you find anything at all?" urged Miss Elting.

"Don't worry. I made a find, but you never could guess, if you lived a thousand years, what I found. I couldn't have guessed it either. Nor could Harriet, as sharp as she is. Now, listen, darlin's. I found--I found--oh, if you knew how funny you all look! I found an old pair of specs--spectacles. I fooled you that time, didn't I?" she chuckled, hugging herself delightedly. "You thought it was something wonderful."

"Oh, fudge!" said Margery disgustedly. "I might have known you weren't in earnest."

"I call that real mean of you, Jane," pouted Hazel Holland.

Miss Elting laughed tolerantly, nodding at Harriet as though to say, "I told you so." But Harriet's gaze was fixed on Crazy Jane's face.

Harriet knew very well that there was something more to be said; that Jane really had made an important discovery, and that, after having teased her companions to her satisfaction, she would tell them the rest of the story.

"Spectacles were made to a.s.sist people in seeing. Suppose you let us see, Jane," suggested Harriet.

"Now, now, Bright Eyes, don't be hasty," chided Jane. "Do you really wish to see?"

Harriet yawned as though completely indifferent.

"I am not so curious over your discovery that I cannot wait until morning to hear about it. I'm sleepy and I am going to bed, provided I can find one," she replied, rising and stretching herself indolently.

"Good night, Jane."

"Wait!" Jane knew that Harriet meant exactly what she said. She knew that it was time to stop trifling and to explain. "If you must see them, here they are." She drew the "specs" from a pocket in her skirt, holding them at arm's-length suspended from a string that the wearer had fastened to them to keep the gla.s.ses over his eyes.

Harriet and Miss Elting uttered an "Oh!"

"I thought you would say something when you saw them," chuckled Jane.

Her face was flushed; her eyes sparkled triumphantly.

"Huh! Goggles!" grunted Ja.n.u.s.

"You have guessed it the first time," cried Jane.

"Green goggles! Do you see that, girls?" cried Harriet excitedly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Green goggles!" cried Harriet excitedly.]