Although Harold Mason had told the girls and Mrs. Higgins that he was going to Besley to telephone to Marjorie’s father, he naturally did no such thing. He spent the time, however, in the woods, near enough so that he might keep the farm-house in view and yet be concealed from its inmates. At night he crept back to the barn to sleep.

He therefore witnessed the return of Miss Phillips and Ethel in search of their missing companions, and approached close enough to catch most of the conversation. He was secretly pleased with the ingenuity of Mrs. Higgins, and smiled at old Michael’s report that she was not “all there.” He found her an admirable accomplice.

The only drawback to his situation was the lack of food. He was forced to go and buy his meals or else to live on cold canned things all the time. These two methods he alternated, going over to Besley each night for his evening meal, and buying enough there for his breakfast and lunch.

It so happened that he was still at Besley when the girls made their escape. Returning that night145 about nine o’clock, all seemed as quiet as usual to him, and he made his way up to the barn loft to sleep.

About seven o’clock the next morning he was awakened by the shrill cries of Mrs. Higgins.

“The girls is gone!” she shrieked, although Harold had no idea who she expected would hear her. However, he hastened to the house, unlocked the door, and found her wringing her hands and walking wildly about the kitchen.

“Are you sure?” he asked, unable to believe the news.

“Come and see fer yourself,” she answered, leading the way to their room.

The door was standing open and the bed clothes were thrown back over the bed. The netting which had covered the window was hanging in shreds, and fluttering to and fro in the light breeze; already the room was filled with flies.

“How in the world——?” began Harold.

“It must be by the lattice here on the wall!” She led the way across the room, and directed her guest to follow her. Then she told him to lean out of the window. “You’ve got to admit it was plucky of ’em!” she added.

“Darn it all!” cried Harold, in the utmost dismay. “And here I thought maybe I’d get news from the girl’s father today! But where could they have gone? I removed their canoe.”

146 Harold was so excited that he forgot the disguised tones and accents he had adopted, and his voice sounded particularly young and boyish. Mrs. Higgins looked at him critically, but she did not detect the deceit. She simply thought the man was beside himself at the idea of losing so much money when it was just about to be within his grasp. And yet she felt glad, in a way, that the girls had escaped.

“They’s no path to speak of on this here side o’ the creek. They must ’ave swam acrost!”

“Is there a path on the opposite bank?” asked Harold.

“Yes—a good one.”

“But their clothing would be all wet. And they have no money, and nothing to eat!”

“Sure enough,” said Mrs. Higgins. She was silent then for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “Poor critters!” she sighed. “I only hope that they don’t ketch their death of cold.”

“Isn’t there any place they could stop?” asked Harold, carelessly. In reality, he knew that an affirmative answer would be the only hope for the success of his plan.

But Mrs. Higgins did not perceive any ulterior motive. She seemed only to be thinking of the girls’ safety.

“Yes,” she answered slowly. “There’s the widder Brown and her brother. But they’re that tight I can’t believe they’d ever take anybody in.”

147 “And how far away do they live?”

“About four mile—the gals’d be sure to stop by then, with their wet clothin’ an............