"Girls!" It was Miss Elting who called. "Oh, girls, are you hurt?"
"I'm killed. Thave me!" moaned Grace.
"I think I'm alive, but I'm not sure," cried Jane. "I've scraped the skin from my nose entirely. What a mess! what a mess!"
"Wait!" The guardian's voice was commanding. "Margery, Hazel!"
"Ye—es," answered two voices in chorus. They sounded far away.
"Harriet!" There was no reply. She repeated the call, but there was still no answer. Miss Elting became alarmed now. She was still sitting in the broken carry-all, to which she had clung desperately at the sudden stoppage, thus preventing herself from being hurled out, as had occurred to her charges. Thus far not a word had been heard from the two men. Now, a groan somewhere ahead attracted the teacher's attention.
"Girls, don't move! We do not know what has occurred. Does any of you know where Mr. Grubb is?"
"Yeth. He ith right here. I jutht touched hith whithkerth," answered Tommy in a weak, plaintive little voice. "I gueth he ith dead."
The guardian clambered from the rear of the carry-all. The lantern had been extinguished by the shock. She got down, carefully groping about in the blackness for the lantern. She uttered a little exclamation of thanksgiving when her fingers came in contact with it. But the chimney had been shattered by the shock. Only the lower part of it remained, just enough to shield the flame when once this should have been restored. It was but the work of a few seconds to relight the lantern. Miss Elting ran around to the front of the vehicle. She beheld a strange scene.
Both horses were down. At first they appeared to be lying on the floor of the bridge. A closer look showed the guardian that the forelegs of each animal had gone right through the floor. Then the further discovery was made that there was little flooring at this point. The planks that had once formed the floor at this particular spot lay piled on each side of the driveway. Only the beams held the horses from falling through to the water, a few feet below.
A short distance beyond lay Janus Grubb, sprawled on his back; while close beside him, lay the form of the driver. Margery and Hazel were sitting to the right, huddled in each other's arms. Tommy, white-faced, with her feet curled under her, sat close beside Janus, gazing down into his bewhiskered face. Jane McCarthy was leaning against one side of the bridge. Her own face had lost much of its usual color.
"Harriet!" gasped Miss Elting, "what has happened to her?"
Jane shook her head and pointed to the opening in the floor. The guardian understood. Harriet must have been hurled right through and down into the river.
"Girls! Look after the two men. Hurry!" She ran to the opening, then lying down, peered into the darkness. "Ha-r-r-r-i-et!"
"Hoo-e-e-e-e-e!"
The guardian sprang to her feet. It was unmistakably Harriet Burrell who had answered her, but the voice of the Meadow-Brook Girl had sounded far away. Miss Elting believed that the girl had succeeded in reaching the bank of the river. Jane had thrown herself down beside the unconscious guide and was at work making heroic efforts to bring him back to consciousness. The driver already was struggling to get to his feet. Tommy hopped up, and, hurrying to him, gave such assistance as her strength would permit.
The driver staggered; after walking a few steps he leaned against the side of the bridge with both hands pressed to his forehead. Tommy regarded him wonderingly. His head was still dizzy; he had no clear conception of what had occurred.
By this time the guardian had gone to Jane's assistance and was pressing a bottle of smelling salts to the nostrils of Janus Grubb. Janus twisted his head uneasily, as though to get away from the pungent odor of the salts.
"He will be all right in a few moments, I think. I wish we had some water," murmured Miss Elting.
Jane ran to the wagon. She returned with a rope and a pail. Tying the rope to the pail, she lowered the latter through the opening in the floor. A few moments later she presented a pail of water to Miss Elting, which the guardian sprinkled little by little over the face of their guide. Janus gasped, struggled and rolled over. Jane turned him on his back again. This time a solid volume of water was dashed into his face. He turned over and made a feeble attempt to rise. Another volume of water smote him in the back of the neck, hurling him to the bridge floor. This time Janus got to his feet, brushing his eyes, for they were so full of water that he could not see.
"I can let him down at the end of the rope and souse him in the stream," suggested Crazy Jane.
"No, no, no!" protested the guardian. She took Janus firmly by the arm. "Where do you feel bad?"
"I swum! I swum!" mumbled the guide. "I swum!"
"You'd have had to swim if you had gone through the hole in the floor," retorted Crazy Jane. "Harriet went down there, and——"
"Eh? What—wha—at?" gasped the guide, blinking rapidly.
"Sit down a moment," urged Miss Elting. "None of us is seriously hurt. How about you?" gazing at the driver. "No bones broken, I trust?"
The driver shook his head. Janus was gazing at the opening in the floor with a puzzled expression on his face. He stared at the planks banked on each side, nodding understandingly.
"Been fixing the bridge. Forgot to put the planks back in place," he muttered.
"Isn't it rather strange that so important a thing should have been forgotten, Mr. Grubb?" questioned the guardian significantly.
"I swum! I swum!" repeated Janus, running reflective fingers through his beard.
"You haven't thwum yet, but if you thtep into that hole you will have the pleathure of thwimming," warned Tommy, for the guide had been edging closer and closer to the opening in the bridge floor. He drew back a step.
The driver had recovered sufficiently to note the distressing condition of his horses. Now he limped toward them. "They're goners!" he groaned.
"I don't believe it," answered Jane shortly. "They will be, if you don't do something. Why don't you get them out?"
"How can I?" moaned the poor fellow.
Jane started to speak, but a loud "Hoo-e-e-e" from the far end of the bridge caused her to pause. The call was repeated. Then they heard Harriet running toward them.
"Look out for holes in the floor!" yelled Crazy Jane. "You can't tell anything about this perforated old bridge. Come back here, Tommy Thompson!" Tommy had started to run to meet Harriet. Margery grabbed and pulled her back. Tommy jerked away angrily, but this time it was Jane McCarthy who laid a firm grip on the little girl's arm. "You stay right here." Jane lifted her voice in a prolonged call.
Harriet Burrell answered in kind. A moment later Harriet came running up to them, dripping from her unexpected plunge into the river.
"Was any one hurt? Oh, I'm so glad!" as a quick glance told her that all of her companions were there. "Oh, those poor horses!"
"Buthter thought thhe wath killed, but after I told her thhe wath all right, thhe felt better," observed Tommy, with a sidelong glance at Margery.
"Just as though I'd pay any attention to what you say," retorted Margery, her chin in the air. "You talk entirely too much."
"I'm so glad you weren't hurt, Harriet," said Hazel, "but I'm sorry you are so wet."
The water was running in little rivulets from Harriet's clothing. But her interest was centered not on herself but on the two men who were standing by the groaning horses, trying to decide what could be done to get the animals out. Miss Elting slipped an arm about Harriet's waist.
"How thankful I am that you are safe," whispered the guardian, kissing Harriet impulsively.
"The water was very cold," shivered Harriet. "I really didn't know what had happened until I went in all over."
"Were you thrown directly through the opening?" questioned the guardian.
"No. I think I fell on a horse first. I rolled off before I could get hold of anything to stop myself. Then——"
"Then you fell in," finished Tommy.
"Yes, I did, and with unpleasant force. Fortunately, the water was deep and the current not very swift. But it was so dark that I couldn't see which way to swim. I found the direction of the shore by swimming across the current; otherwise I might have gone up or down stream, for I could distinguish nothing. I touched bottom just a little way from where I fell in. Had I struck just a little way to the right I think I should have been killed. You girls are fortunate that you didn't fall through the bridge. Was any of you hurt?"
"Yeth, Jane lotht thome thkin from her nothe, but she can grow thome more, and it will thoon be better again." Tommy's reply drew a smile from her companions, but they were all too much disturbed to feel like indulging in merriment. Besides, there were the suffering horses.
"May I make a suggestion?" asked Harriet, releasing herself from Miss Elting's embrace.
"Somebody will have to make one pretty soon," declared Janus, brushing a sleeve across his forehead. "What is it?"
"I should think that if you were to place the ends of planks under the horses, we might pry them up a little, so that, one by one, you could shove other planks under them. In that way we might get enough planks down to enable the horses to get a foothold."
"Can't be done," answered the driver.
"There will be no harm in trying," urged Harriet.
"It's a good idea," nodded Janus, after having stroked his whiskers reflectively. Janus always consulted his whiskers when in doubt, and among the graying hairs usually found that for which he sought. He was the first to go after a plank. The near horse was the one to feel the support of the plank as the guide worked it under one side of the animal. Janus turned the end of the plank over to Harriet Burrell while he ran for another plank. This was repeated, the driver, after a time, taking part in the operation, until four planks had been worked in under the horse.
"Now, all work together," urged Harriet. "Mr. Grubb, see if you and the driver can't get a couple of planks clear under the horse. If you can get the end of a plank on one of the beams you will have done something really worthwhile."
Miss Elting, Jane, Hazel and Harriet each were assigned to "man" the end of a plank.
"Now, all together! Hee—o—hee!" shouted Janus. A plank slid easily underneath the stomach of the near horse and came to rest on a beam.
"Hooray!" cheered the guide. "That's what comes of having a head on one's shoulders. Young woman, you've got one. Let him down a little. Here, Jim, you get some planks around under that other horse. We'll have them up, but we may break their legs in the final effort. I don't know. Somebody will have to settle for the damage done here to-night."
"The wagon is broken," Margery informed them.
"Never mind the wagon. It's the horses we must save," answered Miss Elting. "We can't leave them to suffer."
Fifteen minutes of hard labor sufficed to raise the horses a little and to place them in greater comfort. The sharp edges of the beams no longer cut into the flesh, and their breathing was less labored. The party paused to rest from their efforts.
"If we had some rope and pulleys we could get the animals out without much difficulty," reflected Janus. "But how to do it now I don't know. I swum! I'm dead-beat."
"Can you lift?" questioned Jane.
"Tolerable."
"Then why not pick up first one fore-foot, then another, and place them on the planks. You'll see what the horses will do then."
Janus scratched his head and fingered his beard.
"I swum, Jim!" he grinned, "let's try it."
Each man took hold of a fore-foot of each horse, and, without much difficulty, raised it to the planks before each animal. They were about to go after the other fore-foot when Tommy, who had been standing back at a safe distance, attracted their attention by uttering a little cry.
"Oh, look! it ith growing light," she exclaimed.
"Daylight? Why, it is getting light," cried Margery.
A faint glow was flickering at the end of the bridge, casting rays through the farther portion of the covered structure. The light was of a reddish tinge. At first, not realizing that the night was still young, the Meadow-Brook Girls welcomed that light with shouts of approval. But there was something strange about the glow that caused Miss Elting, Harriet and the men to gaze in open-mouthed wonder.
As they gazed the glow seemed to grow stronger. Then it flamed into a great glare of red.
"Fire! Fire!" yelled Jane McCarthy.
"The bridge is on fire! Run for your lives!" shouted the guide. "Never mind the horses. Run!"
With one common impulse the girls and their guardian started toward the other end of the bridge, which was not more than twenty feet from them. Margery uttered a scream of terror. Jane grabbed her by one shoulder, giving her a violent shake.
"Don't make things any worse than they are. Tell when you begin to burn, but don't make us think we are burning till the fire gets to us."
"Go on, girls," cried Harriet. "I'm going back to the other end. We must think about saving our packs and our horses." Unheeding their warning shouts, the girl ran back toward where Janus and the driver were still engaged in trying to lift the horses. Miss Elting had followed Harriet, and the two women now implored Janus to hurry with the rescue of the animals.
"It's no use!" he exclaimed angrily. "We can't do it before the fire gets to us. We are likely to lose our packs, too, unless we let these horses go and attend to them."
"Never mind the packs," said Harriet stubbornly, as she laid a firm hand on one of the guide's arms. "We are going to save these poor animals. Let us keep on trying, and I feel sure we can not fail. Now, think hard. What is the quickest and best thing to be done?"
"We'll have to do our own thinking," then said Jane McCarthy, who had come upon the scene at that moment. She glared at the guide and the driver, who stood staring dumbly at Harriet.
"We must save those helpless horses," repeated Harriet, her eyes turning anxiously toward the two patient animals.
"But you girls must not stay here too long," cautioned Miss Elting.
Suddenly Crazy Jane burst forth into a loud hurrah, and, running to the wagon, returned to the driver with a hand-saw. By this time Margery, Tommy and Hazel had come cautiously back to where the horses were.
"Saw the timbers out from under the horses," advised Jane. "It may hurt them to drop into the river, but it's better for them to drown than to be burned alive! Move quickly, now!"
"Janus," muttered the driver, "we're a pair of mutton-heads!"
"We are," agreed the guide, as he ran to get the other saw.
The rasping of the saws began instantly, the Meadow-Brook Girls moving closer to observe the work, casting frequent apprehensive glances over their shoulders at the thick cloud of smoke which issued from the farther end of the bridge. The fire did not appear to be making much headway, still it did not seem to be abating. Already the framework of that end of the bridge was outlined like the figure in a set piece of fireworks. They could hear the crackling of the flames, and the wooden tunnel was becoming filled with smoke. Tommy was coughing, to remind her companions that they were in need of other quarters.
"I don't think I would cut the ends off," suggested Harriet. "Saw them nearly through, then cut the opposite ends. Otherwise you may leave the animals dangling in the air with no means of helping them out."
Janus nodded approvingly at Harriet's suggestion.
"I reckon you're right," he agreed. "Jim, tackle the other end. We'll let this near horse down first and see how he makes out. If it works, we'll drop the other fellow in the same way."
A warning snapping sound was heard.
"Stand clear!" bellowed Janus.
The girls sprang back, and just in time. Pieces of plank shot up into the air, one striking the bridge roof with a crash. Then the near horse, with a neigh of fear, disappeared into the black water below them. They heard a loud splash. Harriet, leaning over, peered into the river.
"He's swimming. I can hear him," she cried joyously. "Isn't that fine that you thought of that, Mr. Grubb?" she exclaimed, turning a flushed face to the guide.
"Huh! Thought of it? I'd never thought of it if I'd kept my thinking machine going for a hundred years. Now the other horse, Jim. We'll have to step lively. Them flames is getting too nigh for comfort. Now you folks had better get out of here!" he commanded.
"Not yet," smiled Harriet, "we still have work to do. We must get the things out of the wagon. If we lose them, we shall be in a fix."
"Mercy! I hadn't thought of that," cried the guardian. "But shall we have time to carry them across?"
"The men will have to carry the heavier articles. I think we shall be able to manage it. Come, help me get the things out of the carry-all."
Harriet ran to the wagon, followed closely by Miss Elting and Margery. Tommy alone held back. Hazel and Jane also hurried forward to assist.
"All those who wish their suppers will have to work," cried Harriet Burrell.
"We need a fire company more than thupper jutht now," retorted Tommy Thompson. "If we had a fire engine we could make thith fire look thick."
Harriet was in the carry-all passing out bundles and packs. She dropped a sack of cooking utensils to the floor of the bridge with a great clatter.
"Carry them to land," she directed Tommy and Hazel.
"There goes the other horse," cried Miss Elting, as a crash and a great splash for the moment cut short their conversation. Janus uttered a yell of triumph.
"We got 'em both free!" he shouted.
"That's what," agreed Jim. "We'll pull the carry-all ashore next."
"I am afraid we won't have time. The fire is almost too near for comfort now," said Harriet. Then she darted back to the carry-all to secure a blanket that she recalled had been laid over the back of the front seat of the vehicle, and which had been forgotten when removing the other things. Reaching the wagon, she decided to take the cushions also. Then Harriet made a final search of the wagon to be sure that nothing of value had been left. The carry-all had been well stripped.
The girl sprang out, casting a quick glance overhead, when she discovered, to her dismay, that the flames were already at work, they having rapidly eaten their way along the ridge of the bridge.
"Gracious! I must get out of here and without a moment's loss of time," she cried.
"Hurry!" bellowed the voice of the guide. "We haven't time to save the carry-all. Get out from under. The bridge is going to fall."
As Harriet made a dash toward safety the burned end of the bridge fell. There was a rending noise as the weakened girders gave way under the weight of the bridge. A shower of sparks and flame shot into the air.
Miss Elting, Jane and the two men stood on shore, shouting with all their might to Harriet Burrell. But Harriet did not hear their warning shouts, nor had she need of warning. She knew only too well what was occurring. Suddenly the long bridge caved in and went down well past the middle with a tremendous crashing and snapping and roaring, sparks and flames shooting still higher than before, the burning timbers hissing and sending up a great cloud of steam as they fell into the river.
Miss Elting, grown dizzy at thought of Harriet, had stumbled and fallen. Jane McCarthy quickly raised and dragged the guardian away.
"Harriet!" shouted Miss Elting.
The frightened girls took up the cry, but there was no answer. Harriet had gone down with the burning bridge.
Miss Elting and Jane McCarthy had climbed down the embankment, and, standing at the river's edge, scanned the water with pale faces and anxious eyes. Dark shapes drifted past them, shapes that caused them to start apprehensively as they caught sight of them.
Nearly all of the bridge that had been on fire was now in the water. The structure had broken off short, taking most of the fire with it into the river. The broken end, still in the air, glowed here and there, the glowing spots fading and dying out one by one. Of this the two women saw nothing. They were heavy with anxiety. It did not seem to them possible that Harriet Burrell could have escaped alive. Janus and Jim, who had run to the river bank, were now plunging here and there, stumbling, groping, wading or swimming about in the river to have a look at some bit of wreckage that resembled a human form. They believed that Harriet had been swept down to her death with the burning bridge.
All at once Jane raised her voice in the cry of the Meadow-Brook Girls. "Hoo-e-e-e!" she called shrilly. But no answering cry from the missing girl relieved their suspense.
"I'm afraid we can do no more," said Miss Elting with a catch in her voice. "Oh, why did I leave her? Why did I not insist on Harriet's leaving that awful place with me?"
"You couldn't help it," soothed Jane. "But you mark me, Miss Elting, Harriet is alive and sound, just like the rest of us. You leave it to Harriet Burrell to take care of herself. I tell you it's all right. Hoo-e-e-e-e!"
"Don't! Oh, don't!" begged the guardian.
"Why not? She'll hear me and she'll know which way to go when she comes up from the water," answered Crazy Jane breezily. She was putting on a brave show of cheerfulness, and somehow this cheerfulness began to take hold of Miss Elting. Her shattered hopes began to rise; she began to take courage even against her better judgment, which told her that Harriet could not possibly have escaped. Even granting that she had, they would have seen or heard from her before this.
Janus stood dripping beside them.
"Now, you ladies go back. I'll do all the looking that's necessary. Candidly, I don't think Miss Harriet escaped. She was caught when the old bridge fell down, but I'll keep on looking for her. I'll keep right on looking all the rest of the night."
Jane led Miss Elting up the bank despite the protests of the guardian that she did not wish to go, but preferred to remain where she was.
"We can do nothing here," urged Jane, more gently now. It was all that she could do to keep from breaking down and crying, but she knew she must keep up her courage. Besides, she was still hoping, at times almost believing, that they would find Harriet Burrell awaiting them on shore.
"Didn't you find her?" cried Hazel. They had climbed the steep bank and returned to the girls.
Neither woman answered.
Margery burst forth into a loud wail. Tommy and Hazel stood in blank, rigid silence. They could not believe that Harriet was gone. Miss Elting sank down on a pack, while Jane stood gazing moodily off over the sluggish river.
Janus came in a few moments behind the guardian and Jane, his arms hanging limply at his sides, his chin lowered almost to his chest.
"I'm afraid it isn't any use to look further," he said. The little party scarcely heard the guide. Jim had gone on up the bank. They could hear him whistling and chirping to the missing horses to call them to him. Then they caught the sound of a whinny and a moment later another. The animals had heard and recognized their master. Jim captured and haltered them with the ropes that he had brought from the carry-all for the purpose. He then led the animals off to one side, where he secured them to trees. The driver then walked slowly along the bank to join the others of the party.
Suddenly Jane McCarthy cried out sharply, "Who's that?"
A series of little splashes had been heard out in the river; then, out of the gloom, grew the dim outlines of a moving figure.
"Who is it?" cried Miss Elting, scarcely daring to trust her voice.
"It is I. What is all the excitement about?" called a familiar voice.
"Harriet!"
A chorus of screams greeted Miss Elting's cry. Four girls and their guardian, regardless of the wetting they were receiving, rushed helter-skelter into the river, throwing themselves upon the staggering Harriet. They snatched her up, carrying her ashore despite her struggles and protests. They laid her down on the packs, each trying to do something for their companion whom they had believed to be lost.
"For goodness' sake! what is the matter?" demanded Harriet, sitting up.
"Lie still, dear," urged Miss Elting. "You will be all right in a few moments."
"All right? There is nothing the matter with me, except that I'm wet and cold." Harriet got up and shook herself, gazing anxiously at her companions. "What is it, girls? Tell me!"
"Oh, Harriet, don't you know?" breathed Hazel.
"No, I don't. You are all here, aren't you?" she demanded, with a quick glance about her.
"Yes, now we are," nodded the guardian. "Don't you understand? We thought you had gone down with the bridge."
"Well, I did go down, but not with the bridge. What of it?"
"We thought you were dead," continued Miss Elting, her voice shaking.
Harriet looked from one to the other of her friends. "Why, you poor dears, no wonder you looked so woe-begone. Now that it is all over, I don't blame you for thinking so."
"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus, combing out his whiskers with the spread fingers of his right hand.
"So did I," laughed Harriet. "That's why I'm here."
"Tell us how you escaped. Can't you see, we are hardly able to believe that it is really you?" was Miss Elting's excited reply.
"It's myself, and no other, as Jane would say. After you had left me I ran back to the wagon to get the blanket and cushions we had left there. I knew the fire was near me, but I thought I had time enough to get away from it. Suddenly I felt the bridge giving way. I was close to the opening into which the horses fell when things began to happen, and I made a long, desperate dive into the river, hoping to get out from under the bridge before it fell on me. I remember seeing a great shower of sparks falling around me as I shot through the air. I wondered if it were the bridge that was falling with me. Then I struck the water. I swam under the water with the current as fast as I could, then when I thought I had gone far enough, to make it safe to rise, I did so. I don't recall what happened after that. I must have been hit by something, or else bumped into a timber when I rose to the surface. It is a wonder I wasn't drowned. When I came to my senses I was slowly drifting down stream, clinging to a piece of charred plank. I know it was charred because I could smell it. You know how wet, burnt wood smells? This piece of plank smelled that way."
"Nithe, appetizing odor," nodded Tommy. "Yeth? Go on."
"I did not know where I was, but I knew I was drifting downstream. I kicked until I had headed the plank at right angles to the shore, and remained on the plank until my feet touched bottom; then I got up and began plodding along upstream, knowing that, sooner or later, I should find some of you folks. I heard someone call. Was it you, Jane?"
"It was myself and no other," replied Jane
"I thought it was you. I was out of breath, so I didn't try to make you hear me."
"Well, I swum!" ejaculated Grubb under his breath. "I never expected to see her again."
"What of the horses?"
"Got 'em," answered the driver tersely, "Carry-all gone to the everlasting bow-wows. What now?"
"If the ladies want to go on, we will load the stuff onto the horses and tote them that way to the place I had already picked out for a camp."
"How far is it?" questioned Miss Elting.
"Oh, a mile farther on, I should say."
"I fear it would not be wise to go on just now. I think it would be better for us to make temporary camp somewhere hereabouts. We are completely exhausted. Harriet must have a change of clothing and we all need something warm to drink and eat. Do you know of a good place to make camp for a little while?"
"Back about a quarter of a mile is a grove. There's a creek running through it. That will be a good camping place."
"Please have the driver assist you in getting the equipment there. Don't lose any time. Harriet, are you cold?"
Harriet shook her head. "I'm going to help carry the stuff to our camp. Then I shall be sure of keeping warm. Come on, girls. Where are the bedding packs?"
"Down there by the tree, Miss," replied Jim.
Harriet ran to the tree. "I don't find them," she called a moment later.
Jim harried to her. He was mystified to discover that the packs were not where he had left them.
"You didn't throw them in the river, did you, Jim?" questioned Harriet.
He declared vehemently that he had not; that he had placed them well back from the water, and that they could not possibly have rolled into the river. Jim announced that he was going down the shore to look for them, just the same. This he did, starting away at a trot. Wonderingly, and somewhat disturbed, for the bedding and the clothing packs contained articles that could not be done without, the girls instituted a search of their own, but found nothing. The loss of the packs meant their return to town to purchase more supplies. No one wished to do that, in the first place; and, in the second place, they needed warm, dry bedding and dry clothing for use that night.
While Jim was in search of the missing equipment the girls went to work and collected the scattered contents of some of the packs. Suddenly there came a long-drawn shout from down shore.
"I've got 'em!"
"I thought so," nodded Miss Elting.
Jim came back lugging a pack soon thereafter. The water was running from the pack, under whose weight the driver was staggering.
"Found them in the river," he explained. "Had drifted into a cove. So heavy I couldn't carry more than one at a time. The other packs are open and the stuff spread all over the cove. I gathered it up as well as I could. You'll have to give me a rope to tie the things up, or else bring them back in wads."
"In the river?" cried the girls in chorus.
"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus, pausing from his labors long enough to consult his whiskers. "Things are moving kind of fast."
"Oh, this is nothing, nothing at all," laughed Crazy Jane. "You will think things are moving after you have been out with the Meadow-Brook Girls for a time. Things always do move when we are around. Look out that they don't move so fast as to sweep you with them. My! but this is a heavy pack."
The girls had taken the wet pack from Jim and were dragging it up the bluff. Janus tied this and two other packs on the back of one horse, then began making ready for doing the game with the other animal. By the time he was ready, Jim had returned with still another wet bundle of equipment.
"Our clotheth are in that pack!" wailed Tommy, as she surveyed the bedraggled outfit. "What thhall we do?"
"Keep quiet and go on up to camp," said Margery severely.
"Come, come, girls!" urged Miss Elting, a little irritated. She had not yet quite recovered from the shock of Harriet's disaster. How great a shock this had been her charges had not fully realized.
The heaviest packs were soon loaded on the horses, after which Janus, leading one animal, went ahead to pilot them to the spot chosen for a temporary camp. Nearly half an hour was consumed in finding their way there. The night was dark and many obstacles in the shape of rocks and fallen trees and stumps were found in their path, and the guide's call that they had arrived was the most welcome information the girls had received in all that eventful day's journey.
"Here, Jim, unload these packs while I gather the wood for a fire, so that we can see what we are doing."
"Fire!" scoffed Jim. "Little fire you will see to-night, unless you have some matches. I haven't any. It was a bad job when I took this contract."
"Never mind expressing opinions. I'm responsible for making a fire, and nobody is responsible for what's happened to us on the way out here. It is just one of those unforeseen disturbances that come to the best regulated families," said Janus testily.
"I think I can find some wood for the fire," suggested Harriet. "I just stumbled over a dry stick. Here it is. Is there any birch bark here, Mr. Grubb?"
"No, but I'll fire some leaves. I've got plenty of matches," he confided to Harriet. "I didn't tell Jim. It isn't necessary for these fellows to know too much, you know."
"Just between ourselves," chuckled Harriet under her breath.
"Sure. I've got a daughter just your age, and she's almost as good a campaigner as you are, though I reckon this night's doings would have been too much for her. You don't find many such as you and your outfit." Having expressed his opinion, Janus proceeded to his work, and a moment later had a quantity of dry leaves ablaze.
"Now fetch on your wood. Who says Jan Grubb can't build a fire when there isn't anything to build with?" he boasted. "Easy. Not so much at a time. You'll press it down to the ground so the draft can't get under it, and then your nice little fire will go out. We'll build a roarer, then we can start a smaller one for cooking."
"I won't be sorry to eat a square meal," chuckled Jane.
"Nor I," agreed Margery, "I haven't eaten a square meal for ages."
"Be careful, girls. Don't stand so close to the fire. You will burn your skirts," warned Miss Elting. "You will have holes in them almost before you realize it."
Harriet had left that fire and was laying another. She called to Jane to get the supper things ready for cooking.
"Margery, you and Hazel set the table. If you can't find a dry blanket, simply clear away a place on the ground. We shan't be so particular about our table this evening."
"What about it? Do we stay here all night, or are we to go on?" asked the guide.
"I think we had better make camp for the night," decided Miss Elting.
"I reckon it would be a good idea. I'll make a line and dry out the stuff. It's pretty wet," decided the guide.
Janus drove some stakes that he had cut down. Then, stringing a rope between them, the two proceeded to hang up the wet bedding, which consisted solely of soft, gray army blankets. He took the wet clothing of the girls from the packs, hanging this on the line also, and a few moments later the blankets and the garments were steaming. So was the coffee pot. Bacon was the only other food put over for cooking. The travelers were too hungry to care to wait long for their supper.
It was not long after Harriet and Jane had begun cooking the bacon before they sounded the supper call. No one was late for supper that night, and each sat down tired and travel-stained, but there was not a word of complaint from either men or girls. They made merry over the meal, made light of their misfortunes, and altogether enjoyed themselves fully as well as if their circumstances had been different.
"What I should like to know is how those things got in the river?" demanded Janus as the meal neared a close.
For a moment no one spoke. The guide's question was one which no member of the little party was prepared to answer. So many unpleasant events had occurred in such rapid succession that it was difficult to place the cause of this latest disaster.
"Will you tell me where you placed the first packs when you came ashore with them?" asked Harriet, turning to the driver.
"Right against the rocks."
"And behind that large boulder?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"Oh, I saw where you threw the first pack down. It left the mark of the rope in the soft dirt," explained the girl. "I am not gifted with second sight, but I did see that. What I started to say was that I know how the packs got in the river."
"You know?" asked Miss Elting.
"Yes. They were thrown in."
For a few impressive seconds no one spoke. Janus combed his whiskers with the fingers of one hand. Jim, the driver, sprang to his feet, his face crimson with anger.
"I won't stand for that. Why should I throw the old stuff in the river?" he demanded indignantly.
"I beg your pardon. I did not accuse you of it," said Harriet. "I know you did not. It was some other person who threw the packs into the river."
They gazed at her in amazement.
"Harriet, whatdoyou mean?" cried the guardian.
"If she had lived up here two hundred years ago or so the people would have tied her to a stake and set fire to her," declared Janus, punctuating his declaration with a series of quick, emphatic nods.
"The driver placed the pack behind the boulder and against the rocks," said Harriet. "Surely, he knew where he left the things. What is more, I looked while he had gone in search of them, and, as I've already said, saw where he had left the pack. The rest was easy to understand. The packs could not possibly have got into the river unless they had been thrown there."
"But who——" began Jim.
"I don't know. That it was none of our party goes without saying. Perhaps Mr. Grubb can tell us. Who do you think it could have been, sir?" she asked, turning to the guide.
"I swum! I swum!" muttered the guide.
"It isn't possible!" exploded Jim.
"I reckon Miss—Miss Burrell is right, Jim," agreed the guide. "Either you threw the stuff in, or somebody else did, and we know you didn't, so what's the answer? The young lady has given us the answer, and there you are."
"I'm sorry," pondered Miss Elting. "I was in hopes this journey would be free from unpleasantness, but here we are meeting with difficulties at the very start of it. Have you any enemies who would wish to do you harm, Mr. Grubb?"
"No, no, no! Nothing like that, Miss."
"Do you know a man named Collins?"
"Collins? Never heard of him. Who is he?"
"I don't know. I will tell you something that you do not know, either. The night we arrived at Compton a man called on me at the hotel to ask me to discharge you and let him act as our guide instead. He said he needed the money. He also said we would be sorry for having taken you as our guide; that we would get into no end of trouble were we to go with you. He intimated a great deal more than he put into words. It was plain that he disliked you very much. He made a distinctly unfavorable impression upon me. Harriet saw him, too, just as he was taking his leave."
"Well, I swum!" Janus was tugging nervously at his whiskers. There were beads of perspiration on his forehead. His lips moved rapidly, but he uttered no further words for some moments.
"You may go out in the woodth and thay it, if you want to," suggested Tommy, who had been regarding the guide shrewdly.
Every one laughed. It was so plain that Janusdidwant to say things, yet restrained himself because of his position and the party he was conducting.
"Forget it!" he exploded. "I haven't any enemies. Nobody but a crazy man would try to interfere with Janus Grubb. They know me. Why, there isn't a man in the state who wouldn't swear by me. If you think I'm not dependable, that——"
"No, Mr. Grubb," hastily interposed Miss Elting. "Please do not misunderstand me. We are quite satisfied with you, but I hope you will be cautious. It is plain that youhavean enemy, and, what is more, I am positive that I have talked with that man, and that we had better proceed with caution."
"I'll take care of the rascal, once I set eyes on him," growled the guide. "What-for-looking man was he?"
Miss Elting described her caller, Harriet adding a few words with reference to the peculiar hitch of Collins's shoulders as he walked. Janus eyed the guardian with a worried look. His fingers opened and closed nervously. He gulped, then turned to her.
"Perhaps I'd better not go on with you. I'll get some one else to take you through the mountains. I——"
"No, Mr. Grubb. You will go on with us," insisted Miss Elting. "We are not afraid. We are quite used to taking care of ourselves, but I wished to impress upon you the advisability of being on your guard. If you have an enemy who intends to do you harm, naturally we shall be likely to suffer with you. For that reason I urge caution. Another thing about which I should like to speak is the burning of the bridge this evening."
Janus braced himself. It was as if he looked for an inquiry on this subject, but had been hoping to avoid it.
"Yes?"
"I wish some one would explain how the bridge happened to catch fire," urged the guardian.
"So do I," he admitted, still consulting his abundant whiskers. "What do you think?"
"I think some one set it on fire," declared Jane explosively. "I'd like to meet the villain on the broad highway, some time when I have my car!"
"Yes, it was set on fire," agreed Hazel, nodding reflectively. "I thought so at the time. Since thinking over the matter further I am more positive of it than ever. It was an awful thing to do."
"The person must have known that we could get away," suggested Harriet. "I believe it was done to spite Mr. Grubb."
"To spite me!" shouted Janus. "What do you mean?"
"I believe the planks were taken up so that you couldn't get across the bridge with your horses and wagon. I think whoever did it wished to make you lose your horses and carry-all as well as our stuff. If it was our mysterious enemy, then he knew that we could escape. But how can you get back with your horses?"
"There's another bridge five miles above here. I'll go that way in the morning. I'll ride one of the horses and lead the other one."
Harriet rose and piled more wood on the campfire. She then began laying out the sections of their tent, which she laced together. Janus stepped over to her.
"You sit down, Miss. We will do that," he insisted. Jim was sent out to cut some poles for the tent, Janus in the meantime smoothing off a space on the ground on which to pitch the tent. The canvas was still quite wet. Examination of the blankets showed that these had not yet dried out sufficiently to make them fit for use. "I guess you'll have to sit up and wait for the things to dry out," declared the guide. He was troubled over what had happened as well as what had been said that evening. Janus, too, was still thinking of the description given him of Miss Elting's caller. He thought he knew whom that description fitted, all except the beard. It was the beard that spoiled the picture he had in mind. He pondered over this all during the time he was working on the tent, pausing now and then to stroke his own beard.
"Don't worry about it. We are not afraid," said a soothing voice at his side. He glanced around to find Harriet Burrell's brown eyes smiling up at him.
"Eh? What?"
"I said don't worry. We aren't afraid."
"Thank you, Miss. You are the right sort. Yes, we'll take care of the gentleman, if it should prove to be some one trying to do us harm."
"You know who it is?"
Janus shook his head.
"You think you know?"
Again the guide shook his head dubiously.
"I might, but I don't," he replied somewhat ambiguously. "It isn't the party I had in mind. He isn't around these parts now. Jim is going to see the sheriff when he gets back to Compton and have the officer look into this bridge affair. I was a deputy sheriff in the county once. The present sheriff will do anything for me. Besides, this is a matter he's bound to look into, anyway. Here, Jim, get hold of that end-pole." Harriet sprang to the other end and raised the pole, setting the lower end firmly on the ground, motioning to Jane to make fast the side wall on one side. Hazel also ran around to the other side, Margery to an end, then, for a few moments, the Meadow-Brook Girls gave an exhibition of their skill in pitching a tent, while Janus and Jim stood back in open-mouthed wonder.
"There!" exclaimed Harriet, flushed of face, eyes sparkling, "that is the way we make camp."
"Well, I swum!" muttered Janus. "It beats all."
Jane turned the blankets on the line. By this time the clothing in the packs was fairly well dried, but it looked wrinkled and old. Harriet now began digging a trench around the sides of the tent, so they should not be flooded in case of rain. Janus took the pick from her, completing the job. The Meadow-Brook Girls moved rather rapidly for the slow-going Janus. He was unused to such activity, especially in women.
Margery and Tommy were busy clearing away the supper things. Jim went out to bring the horses in nearer to camp, where he tied them up for the night. At Janus's direction the driver also made a bed for the two men out among the trees some distance from the tent that was to be occupied by Miss Elting and her charges. The preparations for the night went on with rather more confusion than usual, the party having been more or less upset by the occurrences of the evening; beside which, they had not yet become familiar with the routine that marked the well-ordered camp.
"There isn't a dry piece of cloth in the place," complained Margery, after examining the line of blankets and clothing. "What are we going to do?"
"Sit up until the blankets, at least, have dried out," answered Jane. "They are nearly dry now. See! Harriet is doing something to them. What are you trying to do, darlin'?"
"Spread out some blankets on the ground and I'll show you," answered Harriet laughingly. "It is an Indian trick I learned a long time ago."
The girl had placed some large, round stones in the fire, heating them to a point that caused them to sizzle when a drop of water came in contact with them. Poking three of these heated stones from the fire Harriet rolled them in one of the gray army blankets. She did the same with other blankets; then, passing from one to another, watched closely for the odor of burning cloth. Only one blanket had to be opened to permit the stones to cool off a little. For a full half hour these heated stones were permitted to remain in the blankets. Then, upon unrolling, the blankets were found to be dry and warm and ready for use for the night.
"Well, I swum!" observed the guide, "you've taught me something. Say, what do you young women need of a guide? You know more about camping than any guide in the state."
"Oh, we have plenty to learn," answered Harriet brightly, busying herself in placing the blankets in the tent, Jane, in the meantime, being engaged in fitting the flap to the opening. The other girls were standing about, sleepily rubbing their eyes, for it was now midnight, and they were weary both from the physical exertions of the day and night, as well as because of the many hours that had elapsed since they left their beds shortly after daylight.
"Is there anything more we can do for you?" risked Janus, with added respect.
"Nothing more, thank you," returned Miss Elting. "You two had better turn in now. Good-night."
Janus fixed the fire, then walked briskly away. In their tent the girls had begun undressing before this. Fortunately their kimonos had not been soaked, and after being warmed at the fire by Harriet the loose gowns felt decidedly comfortable. No time was lost in rolling in their blankets, which had been spread on the ground. For pillows inflated rubber bags were used. No one complained of the hardness of their beds, the little company was too sleepy. Silence soon settled over the camp, and the Meadow-Brook Girls slept peacefully.
Two hours had elapsed when they were awakened by a commotion somewhere outside. The shrill neighs of the horses sounded the first alarm, followed by what seemed to be a fall, a whinny, then the rapid beating of hoofs.
Harriet struggled to get out of her blanket, in which she had wound herself tightly. The tent was in darkness. She decided that the campfire had gone out. For a moment she had to think hard to recall where she was. Before she had untangled herself, the others of the party were struggling to free themselves from their blankets.
"What is it?" cried Margery in terror.
"Stay where you are! I don't know. Something is wrong out there," answered Harriet, hurriedly pulling on her skirt. "Dress yourselves. We don't know what—oh, look out!"
Something struck the tent a terrific blow, followed by a series of snorts and squeals. The tent began to waver.
"It's falling!" cried Miss Elting warningly.
"Get to the other side," shouted Harriet Burrell, herself leaping to the right-hand side of the tent in a single bound. Her companions fell, rather than sprang, aside. They were none too soon as it was, for the tent swayed, then lurched to the right, collapsing over the heads of the Meadow-Brook Girls amid the continued snorts of horses near at hand, accompanied by the sound of beating hoofs and the shouts of the two men at the other side of the camp.