"What shall we do?" whispered Grace, glancing at Betty, who stood at the wheel, seemingly as calm and unperturbed as though she had the Gem out for a little run on Rainbow Lake. "Oh, what shall we do?"

"Do?" echoed Mollie. "Wait until there\'s something to be done, of course."

"But those men—they are heading right for us, and we don\'t know them!"

"And we didn\'t know Mr. Belton when he came to our rescue," replied Mollie. "So that doesn\'t count."

"But neither of these men is Mr. Belton," went on Grace. "Oh, I don\'t like Florida as much as I thought I would!"

"I\'m sorry," spoke Amy gently.

"I—I didn\'t mean just that, my dear," answered Grace impulsively. "But they are heading for us, Betty."

"Of course they are," said the Little Captain.[133]

"But that doesn\'t mean I am going to stop for them."

"Betty Nelson! Do you mean that you aren\'t going to stop?" gasped Grace.

"That\'s what I do mean. I don\'t see why we should halt our boat just because two strange men signal us. Indeed I\'m not going to!" and Betty turned on more power. She gazed straight ahead as though she did not see the men in the approaching craft, who were now wildly waving their hands, and turning their rather disreputable-looking craft in the direction of the Gem.

"Betty Nelson! You\'re just splendid!" cried Grace impulsively as she moved forward and threw her arms about her chum. "I wish I had your courage!"

"Don\'t hug me too tightly," begged Betty with a laugh. "I may have to steer out of their way."

Indeed it did seem so, for the other craft was coming about so as to almost cross the bows of the boat of the outdoor girls. Then one of the men called:

"I say, young ladies, will you stop a minute? We want to speak to you."

Betty never turned her head, but gazed on down the river as though intent on not grounding on a sand bar, or running into an alligator.[134] Her chums followed her example, but Grace could not forbear giving the men one glance.

"They\'re talking together," she reported in a low voice.

"Let \'em talk—as long as they don\'t talk to us," answered Mollie.

The men seemed to have decided on something after a conference, for the one who had first hailed the girls now called again:

"I say, young ladies, we don\'t mean to be impolite or to bother you, but we\'re looking for a boat, and——"

"This boat isn\'t for sale," said Betty in non-committal tones. "We have no time to stop."

"But you don\'t understand," cried the man, seemingly growing desperate. "One of our boats was taken last night by a young fellow, and he came down the river. We followed him, but we must have passed him in the night. Now we\'re on our way back. He may have hid in some bayou, and be on his way down farther up stream. All we wanted to know was if you had seen a tall young fellow, with blue eyes, in a small skiff?"

Betty returned no answer. It was not a question, strictly speaking. The men had merely said they wanted to know, and Betty saw no reason for gratifying their "want."[135]

"Hey, can\'t you stop and answer a civil question?" cried the second man, and his voice was angry. "If you don\'t we may——"

Betty\'s cheeks flushed. Without turning her head she answered:

"You\'d better be careful how you make threats. We are from Mr. Stonington\'s orange grove, and Mr. Hammond——"

"There, I knew you\'d make a mess of it, Bill!" said the other man—the one who had first spoken—and he turned accusingly to his companion.

"Well, I don\'t care—why don\'t they answer? I\'ll wager they\'ve seen that fellow and won\'t tell."

"Why shouldn\'t they tell?" asked the first man in a low voice, but he forgot how well even low tones carry ............