For a few seconds it was like a tableau, the strange young man, more ragged than before (if that were possible) standing in the midst of the clearing, and gazing as though spellbound at the girls in the motor boat.

On their part, Betty and her chums, following the half-whispered announcement made by Betty, stared at The Loon almost as if he might be a ghost of the Florida forest.

For perhaps a quarter of a minute they all remained thus, scarcely moving—hardly breathing—and then the young man made a slow turn. He seemed about to plunge back into the tangle whence he had come.

"Don\'t do that!" said Mollie, hardly above a whisper. "He mustn\'t do that!" and she seemed appealing to her chums. "We must keep him here—speak to him—perhaps he knows where Tom went."

"Or, if he doesn\'t, perhaps he can tell us which way to go to get home," breathed Grace. "He\'s some company, anyhow."

The Loon, to give him the title bestowed on[170] him by the men in the boat, hesitated as he caught the sound of whispering. He shifted from one foot to the other, much after the manner of some animal seeking to escape unnoticed.

He took a step backward. By this time Betty had brought her boat close to the extending tree branch, where she had made fast before. The power had been shut off and the Gem had drifted to the former mooring place. Now Betty was ready for action.

"I beg your pardon," she said in a low voice, and with an intonation calculated to disperse the fears of even the most timid youth, "but will you be so good as to help us again? We are the girls, you know, whose boat you got when the manatee was towing it away."

"Wha—what?" gasped the other, and he seemed much afraid.

"We\'re the same girls," went on Betty. "You know, we saw you poling down the river that day. If you come closer you can see us and make sure. We need help again. We are lost and a friend of ours is missing. Wait, I\'ll light the lamps," and with a turn of the switch Betty set aglow the electric lights, operated by a storage battery.

The youth started again. Clearly he was a most timid creature.[171]

"We saw the men who were after you," put in Mollie, thinking to add to his confidence. "And we didn\'t tell; did we, girls."

"No!" came in a chorus. In spite of the rather unprepossessing appearance of the youth the girls were glad to see him.

"Now will you help us again?" asked Mollie. "We\'ve had a dreadful time, and we need help. You won\'t go away; will you?"

"N—no!" was the hesitating answer. "I came to look for you, but I wasn\'t sure—you see I have to be so careful."

"Gracious, I wonder if he thinks we wanted to capture him?" thought Grace, feeling about amid the cushions for some chocolates. That was a sure sign Grace had recovered her equanimity.

"You came to look for us?" echoed Betty, wonderingly.

"Yes, miss," was the answer. "He sent me to find you."

"He? Who do you mean?" Betty questioned anxiously.

"Tom—Tom Osborne. He told me to come here and tell you he couldn\'t come."

"Couldn\'t come—why?" Betty\'s voice had a note of fear in it now.

"\'Cause they\'ve caught him. He\'s cotched, Miss."[172]

"Caught? By whom?" It was Mollie who questioned now.

Before answering The Loon, which name seemed to fit the poor creature well, glided forward, glancing back nervously over his shoulder now and then, as though he feared pursuit.

"Oh dear!" murmured Grace. "I don\'t like this. It\'s worse than the ghost of the island."

"Be quiet," urged Betty. "It may be all right yet. I\'m going to light more lamps."

Thus far she had only set aglow one in the after cockpit, and the red and green side lights, together with the one on the small signal mast. Now she flooded the cabin with radiance, for it was getting more and more gloomy in the forest clearing.

"Won\'t you come aboard?" urged Betty kindly. "We will do all we can for Tom Osborne if he is in trouble. We c............