"How do you do?" asked Kittie sweetly—too sweetly, the other girls mentally decided as the three rivals approached the boundary line. "We hear you are camping up in these woods."
"Yes," remarked Betty a bit coldly. Really they had no quarrel with Kittie, though she was the chum of Alice, and always siding with her. Kittie had never said anything actually mean. "Yes, we are here. Are you camping too?"
"We are," said Mrs. Jallow, taking up the conversation. Evidently she did not propose to do as her daughter did, and not speak, for Alice, with a supercilious air, had not so much as addressed a word to the outdoor girls and their boy friends. "We are in one of Mr. Jallow's cabins. We like it very much."
"Yes, it is nice," agreed Grace. Amy had taken no part in the talk, and Will, sensing her feelings, took her arm and led her along the path, pretending to show her some curious moss formation on the trees.
"Where are you staying?" went on Mrs. Jallow. She must have known of the feeling between her daughter and the other girls, but she was credited with being a very curious person, and she may have been willing, for the sake of acquiring information, to sink her personal feelings. Naturally she would side with Alice.
"Oh, we are in one of the cabins my father owns," said Grace.
"Going to stay long?"
"We don't know."
"That is the way with us," went on Mrs. Jallow. "Jim—that's Mr. Jallow, you know—has quite a lot of timber to get out of that new tract, and he wants to finish before Spring. So as I was sort of run down I thought I'd take a rest and come up with him and the girls and boys. Your folks all well?"
"Yes," went on Grace, who seemed to have had the office of spokesman thrust upon her.
"I'm sorry about the trouble you had with Hank Smither," went on Alice's mother.
"Hank Smither?" questioned Mollie.
"Yes. He's one of Mr. Jallow's men, you know. He ordered you off, the other day. But you must excuse him. He was only carrying out our orders, and I've no doubt Mr. Jallow will be glad to let you come over and see us."
"Oh, Mr. Smither didn't annoy us," said Grace easily. "We realized that the poor man was only carrying out his orders. Thank you for the invitation, but I don't know as we will have much time for calling. We are up here to get as much fresh air as we can."
"Humph!" sneered Alice audibly.
"Well, we mustn't let business quarrels interfere with we women folks being friendly," said Mrs. Jallow in what she probably meant for a conciliatory tone, but which she only succeeded in making patronizing.
"No, indeed, we don't intend to," said Betty, calmly. "We hope you will enjoy it here."
"Well, the young folks do, if I don't," said Mrs. Jallow. "I like more conveniences than you have in a log cabin. But then it may do my nerves good to get a rest."
There was a little pause—rather an awkward one—and then Grace said:
"Well, girls, we had better be getting on. It's late."
"Yes, and I must see about supper," said Mrs. Jallow. "I wish you'd come over." She did not heed the eye-telegraphic signals her daughter was flashing at her. But the other girls understood.
"Thank you," said Grace again, non-committally.
"Well—good-bye!" said Mrs. Jallow, a farewell in which Kittie joined faintly, but Alice, without a word, turned her back and marched toward the cabin, where the two boys still were.
"She tried to find out all she could," said Mollie when the outdoor girls had gotten out of sight in the woods. "That's all she talked for."
"Yes, and I believe they just came up here camping because they heard we were here," went on Betty. "Oh, I do hope we don't get into any trouble with them."
"It will have to be of their making," said Grace firmly. "I'll never set foot on that land Mr. Jallow claims if I can help it. It might complicate legal matters."
"That is a wise decision," said Allen, viewing it from a lawyer's standpoint. "Let the trespass come from them, if there is to be any."
They talked over the unexpected meeting with their rivals, and speculated as to when they had come, and the motive that brought them, also, to a winter camp.
"I believe it's just to spy on us!" declared Mollie. "We have evidently frightened them, Grace."
"Then they must have something to be frightened about," said Will. "I do wish we could get on the track of something, or somebody, whocould let us know how to prove that the boundary is wrong; for wrong father surely thinks it is."
"We'll do the best we can," suggested Allen. "I am going to send for copies of the deeds, and then we'll look along the present boundary marks. I may be able to see if they have been changed. I once studied surveying."
"I want you boys to promise something," said Grace, as they neared their cabin.
"What is it?" asked Frank.
"Not to have any quarrels with those girls—Alice and Kittie."
"We never quarrel with girls," said Will.
"Well, then, with those boys, either."
"We won't do anything to provoke a quarrel if they don't, Sis," Will promised. "But we're not going to let them walk over us; eh, fellows?"
"Of course not!" cried Frank.
"Oh, but please don't get into a—a fight!" begged Grace, and she meant it.
"All right, little one; here is a chocolate for thou!" laughed Will, as he crowded one into her mouth.
For a few days our friends saw nothing of Alice and the rival campers. They did not go toward the part of the wood where the Jallow cabin was located, and Mrs. Jallow did not bringher charges toward the place where our boys and girls held forth.
There was little for Ted Franklin, Mr. Ford's man, to do, save to keep a watch over the camp, visiting the distant points on different days. In his trips he was often accompanied by some of the young people, who much enjoyed his company, for Mr. Franklin was an old woodsman, and many an interesting bit of information, or lore, he gave out, to the profit of the boys and girls.
"Hurray!" exclaimed Will one day, when a belated mail had come in. "Here's a letter from Mr. Blackford. He says he's coming up to pay us a visit soon."
"That will be nice," spoke Mollie. She had taken quite a liking to the young business man, and he seemed fond of her.
"We'll have some fun," said Frank. "We'll show him the woods, all right."
"Oh, he is no tenderfoot," declared Allen.
It was several days after this that Will proposed an ice boat trip. The river was in fine condition, and the wind was just right.
"The only thing is that it looks like a storm," said Betty. "We don't want to go too far."
"We won't," promised Will.
They got an early start, and took some foodwith them, intending to stay until afternoon. Though they did not plan to sail far, it was so glorious, once they started to glide along, that there was a temptation to continue, and when, by consulting her watch, Mollie discovered it to be some minutes after noon, they were many miles from camp.
"Oh, we must stop!" she exclaimed. "The wind may die out and we can't get back!"
"All right—let's have the eats then," proposed Will. A halt was made, and on the bank, under the shelter of some big trees, they built a fire, made chocolate and partook of the sandwiches they had brought.
"This is all right!" exclaimed Frank, munching on some bread and chicken, a sentiment with which they all agreed.
Betty was nervously glancing at the sky now and then.
"Do hurry!" she urged her chums.
"Oh, don't fuss so," advised Mollie. "You won't enjoy your food if you do."
"But I'm sure it's going to storm."
"Let it!" said Will recklessly.
Five minutes later the first flakes began falling. This brought even Will to a sense of possible danger. The things were hurriedly collected, the young people got into theSpiderandthe sail was hoisted. Off they glided down the river toward their camp.
"We'll beat the storm there!" boasted Will.
"I don't know about that," said Allen slowly, as he cast a glance aloft. "It looks to me as though it was going to come down hard soon. And the wind is freshening."
The white flakes did increase in volume a little later and the wind sighed mournfully through the pine trees on shore, and through the rigging of the ice boat.
Then, with a suddenness that was almost terrifying, the storm broke over them in a fury so often witnessed in wintry outbursts. The snow was blinding, and was whipped into their faces by an ever-increasing wind.
"Why—why, we can't see ten feet ahead!" cried Frank.
"Oh, slow down—don't run into anything!" begged Betty.
"I guess I had better lay to a while, until we see what it's going to do," decided Allen, as he lowered the sail. "It's too much of a risk. There may be open water, or an air hole, or another boat on the river."
And then, as the craft came slowly to a stop, they gazed out at the big storm which enveloped them, hiding the shores from sight.
"Say, this is no fun!" exclaimed Will, when ten minutes had passed, with no cessation of the fury of the wind and whirling white flakes.
"It is keeping up," spoke Mollie in a low tone. "Can we ever get back to camp?"
"Of course!" cried Betty quickly. It was no time now to have anyone's nerves go to pieces. "Certainly we can get back, if we have to walk; can't we, boys?" and she gave Allen a look that made his eyes sparkle as he answered:
"Certainly. It will be more fun walking, anyhow."
"Spoken like a true hero," said Will in his ear.
"The boat can't go if the snow gets very deep," observed Frank.
"And it is getting heavier every minute," declared Amy, looking over the side of the cockpit of the ice boat, and brushing some of the white crystals from the frozen surface of the river."There's nearly half an inch now," and she shivered slightly.
"Are you cold, dear?" asked Betty, passing over a spare blanket, for they had brought along plenty of coverings and wraps.
"No, not exactly cold, Betty, but——"
"Don't say you're worried, my dear," whispered Betty, as she tucked some stray strands of hair under her Tam-o'-Shanter. "Grace is so nervous lately," went on Betty, under pretense of wrapping the robe around Amy. "I don't know what is the matter with her, but she seems to fly to pieces if you look at her."
"Perhaps it's worry about this lumber camp business."
"It may be. Anyhow we don't want to get her alarmed. We may have hard enough time as it is."
"Oh, Betty! Do you think—anything will—happen?"
"Of course—lots of things will happen!" laughed Betty, Grace and Mollie having gotten out of the boat to stroll about a bit. "We'll have a nice walk home, and a good hot supper, and then we'll sit about the fireplace and roast apples and marshmallows, and talk about this."
"That listens good," observed Will rather sarcastically, "but it may be a long while beforeyou're sitting before your own fireside, or we in front of ours."
"Well, you don't need to make the announcement of that fact; do you?" asked Allen, as he straightened out some of the running tackle of the sail.
"So that's the way the wind lies; eh?" asked Will in a queer tone. "What's the answer, old man?"
"Just this," replied Allen. "We may not be able to go on in the boat. I thought this was only a snow squall, but it seems to be turning into a regular blizzard. You know we can't glide over the ice when it's covered with snow. We may have to walk back to camp, and it's no small stretch. What I mean is that we've got to keep up the courage of the girls. That's all."
He and Will and Frank were out of the boat now, fixing one of the ropes that had gotten out of place, so Betty and Amy, who remained cuddled up in the soft and warm robes, did not hear the talk.
"So that's the game—bluff?" asked Will.
"Somewhat—yes. I'm going to try to start off again, but I don't know how far we'll get. Where's Grace and Mollie?"
"Hey—Grace!" cried Will, raising his voice. "We're going to start!"
"All right!" floated back the answer through the storm.
Soon the girls came running up to the ice boat. They had been racing about, they said, to get warm, and Betty and Amy, sitting amid the furs and blankets, rather wished they had done the same, for they were quite chilly in spite of their coverings.
"I'm going to make a try for it," explained Allen. "We may not be able to go far, for the snow is rather wet and heavy, and it may clog the runners. But we'd better make a start, anyhow. It seems to be slackening up a bit."
They piled into the ice boat, and the sail was hoisted. TheSpiderdarted off, after a moment's hesitation.
"Hurray!" cried Will. "We're moving."
"And that's about all," said Allen in a low voice. "Don't crow until you're out of the woods. This snow is worse than I thought it was."
For a time the ice boat went along well, halting occasionally as masses of snow clogged the runners. Then there came a jolt, and a puff of wind nearly upset it, as the craft did not properly answer the helm.
"Oh, my!" screamed Grace, as she clutched Betty. "We are going to upset."
"No, we're not!" declared Allen, as he loosed the halyards, letting the sail come down on the run. "I guess we'll have to abandon theSpider,"he went on, "and tramp it. The snow is too heavy. We may upset."
"Well, the girls are good walkers," observed Frank.
"Which is a blessing," spoke Will. "Out of theSpiderinto the—frying-pan. Don't you ask me to carry you, Sis," and he looked at his sister.
"No danger!" she retorted, haughtily.
The storm, though continuing steadily, had so far lessened in severity that the shores of the river could be made out, standing grim and dark with their fringes of trees.
"We'll just run theSpiderover to shore," said Allen, "and leave it there. We can come for it to-morrow, or whenever the storm lets up."
"What about the blankets and robes?" asked Will.
"Take them with us. We—oh, well, take them along. They may blow away," and Allen corrected himself.
The girls and boys climbed out of the boat, loaded themselves with the wraps after the craft had been tied close to shore, and started off down the river.
"What were you going to say about the blankets and robes?" asked Will, when he got a chance to speak to Allen alone. "Was it that we might need them—in case we didn't get back to camp?"
"It was."
"Don't you think we have a very good chance?"
"Not extra good—to-night. Of course we'll get there to-morrow, but it will be too bad if the girls have to stay out all night. Perhaps they won't, but if they do we can make a shelter of the robes and blankets."
"That's so," agreed Will.
On they tramped through the storm. It was hard work, for the snow clogged their steps and the wind made the carrying of the heavy blankets an additional burden. But no one murmured.
They kept to the river, and thus were assured of a straight road to camp. It was not like being lost in the wood. The only danger was that they were quite a distance from their cabins, and that night was coming on, and that a big storm was raging. Long since it had passed from the class of a mere squall, in which it seemed to be at one time.
"Did anyone bring the sandwiches we left?"asked Grace, when they had gone on for perhaps a mile.
"I did, and your chocolates, too," said Allen. "Will you have them now?"
"Divide the candy up," said Grace. "They say that persons lost in the snowy Alps eat chocolate."
"You eat it—lost or not," laughed Will. "But pass it around, Allen."
There was a sandwich each, and also a few pieces of candy for each one, as Allen divided them, and the eating of the bread, meat and sweets did really put new energy into them. They trudged on in better heart now.
"But we're still a good way from camp," said Allen, as he peered as best he could at the landmarks on the shore. "It will take us another hour."
"And it will be dark then," said Amy in a low voice.
"Never mind," advised Betty. "The snow on the ground will make it light, and we can't miss the river. We'll be all right."
Darkness did not bring them in sight of their camp, and they were beginning to lose heart, when Will cried:
"I see a light! It's Franklin's cabin. We're at camp! We're all right now!"
"Are you sure?" asked Grace.
"Certainly. I knew we were near it some time ago."
He gave a hail, which was answered, and soon the young people heard the welcome call of Mr. Franklin, who demanded to know where they had been, and what had happened.
"There's a light in our cabin!" exclaimed Will, as he saw the gleam in the window. "Who's there, Mr. Franklin?"
"A friend of yours—he says."
"A friend of ours!" exclaimed Allen. "Is it Mr. Jallow, masquerading under that name, and trying to get possession of this land as well as the other valuable strip?"
"No, it isn't Jallow," replied Mr. Franklin. "I know him. This is a young fellow you've been expecting, he says. He come up in a hired rig from the village. Blackstone—Blackrock—some such name as that he give."
"Oh, Mr. Blackford, yes. We were expecting him. So he has arrived? I hope he made himself at home."
"I told him to," said Mr. Franklin, "and I guess he did. He had quite a time of it in the storm, and I reckon you folks did, too."
"We did!" exclaimed Will. "But we're allright now. Come on, girls, get in and make yourselves comfortable, and we'll bring Blackford over as soon as we feed him."
The girls went to their cabin, the boys to theirs. The latter found Mr. Blackford making himself perfectly at home.
"Well, what brings you up here?" asked Allen, when greetings had been exchanged.
"Boys, I've got good news!" cried the young business man. "I've found the missing piece of paper that tells me what sort of a birth mark my sister has—the sister I have been searching for so long. I could hardly wait to tell you!"
"The girls will want to know this!" cried Will, when he had grasped the import of the news.
"Yes, and I want to tell them," said Mr. Blackford. "Somehow or other I have an idea that they can help me to find my sister. I don't know why I feel so, but I have—all along. They have always been so lucky."
"They surely have," agreed Allen. "From the time they first set out——"
"And found my five hundred dollar bill," interrupted Mr. Blackford. "And then——"
"Un-haunting the mansion of Shadow Valley," added Will.
"How did you come to find the missing piece of paper?" asked Frank.
"It was simple enough," replied the young man. "It appears that the corner of the document, describing the birth mark on my sister, was torn off when the firm I have engaged to helpsearch for her, forwarded it to me. One of the stenographers found it in her desk the other day, and they sent it on.
"I had some business in this section, so, remembering your kind invitation to spend some time in your camp, I decided to avail myself of it, and stop over."
"Glad you did," said Will hospitably. "Did the storm bother you?"
"Not much. You were caught in it though."
"Yes. Had to leave the ice boat and tramp back. But we're all right now. We'll hustle around and get some grub," announced Allen. "Then we'll go over and see the girls. They'll be anxious to hear the story. You haven't succeeded in locating your sister yet; have you?"
"No, I've been on a number of false trails, but I somehow feel that luck is going to turn now."
Mr. Blackford, who said he had been invited by Mr. Franklin to make himself at home in the cabin of the boys, turned in and helped them get ready a simple meal. It was now night, and the boys were tired out from buffeting the storm. But they were in good spirits, and glad to see their friend.
After the meal, at which all present displayed good appetites, they went over to the girls' cabin,where they found Betty and her chums in dry clothes sitting before a roaring fire.
"My, this looks like all the comforts of home!" exclaimed Mr. Blackford approaching the blaze and rubbing his hands. "You certainly have it fine here!"
"So you have good news?" queried Grace, for Will had slipped over for a moment to give a hint of what was to come.
"Yes, I have a description of my sister's birth mark now. So if you see her—or if I do—we can identify her."
"I hope we do find her," spoke Betty sympathetically. "What sort of a mark is it?"
"It is the letter 'V' on her left arm, just above the elbow," returned Mr. Blackford.
"That ought to be easy to see—especially in summer time when the girls wear short sleeves," said Will. "But in winter it would be rather awkward going about asking a girl if she had the letter 'V' tattooed on her elbow. She might think you were trying to jolly her."
"It isn't a tattoo mark," said Mr. Blackford, as he consulted the description, the torn-off piece having been pasted on to make it complete. "It's a red birth-mark, this paper says, and is in the shape of a 'V'. I do hope it will lead to something. If you girls——"
"Why—why!" cried Betty springing to her feet. "Amy, you have a mark like that—at least it looks like a mark on your arm. I have often seen it!" Betty was much excited, and Amy turned pale.
"Is this—is this so?" faltered Mr. Blackford eagerly. "Have you such a mark?"
"Not such as you describe," replied Amy with a blush. When the young man had first spoken of a birth mark a rush of hope had flooded her heart. Now it had receded, leaving her disappointed.
"See," she said, rolling up her sleeve just above her elbow. "It is a mere scar. I have had it ever since I was a child. I don't know how I came by the thing, and neither—neither do—any of my friends." She hesitated at the word.
"No, I'm afraid the mark I am looking for isn't that kind," said Mr. Blackford slowly. "The one spoken of in the missing part of the letter is very definite. I am sorry."
Amy was too, but she did not speak.
"Oh, isn't this too bad!" exclaimed Betty contritely. "I am sorry I spoke, and raised false hopes. But I remembered that mark on Amy's arm——"
"Well, better luck next time," said Mr. Blackford, as cheerfully as he could. "If you girls will continue to be on the lookout——"
"We'll do all we can for you," said Mollie, Amy did not speak again. It might be that she was wishing she had some such clue so that she could locate her missing parents or relatives, whoever they might be.
Mr. Blackford, who had been in Deepdale a few days before setting out for the camp, told the news and gossip of the village.
"Did you hear anything as to why Mr. Jallow brought his folks up here?" asked Grace.
"Nothing definite—no. There was talk that they had come here, and folks were speculating as to why. I wondered if it had anything to do with the dispute over the land."
"We think so, but we can't be sure," said Will. "I have written to father about it, and he has asked us to be on our guard. Jallow may be planning some trick to get more land away from dad."
"Oh, I wish this unpleasant dispute was all over!" sighed Grace. "It makes it so uncertain!"
"Well, don't worry," advised Allen. "We're having a good time up here."
"And we'll have more fun when I get what I've sent for," said Will mysteriously.
"What is it?" asked Grace. "Another box of chocolates?"
"Nonsense! Always chocolates!" cried her brother. "No, this is better. Did you inquire about it when you were in town, Mr. Blackford?" for Will had been corresponding with the young man.
"Yes, and they said it would be shipped this week."
"Good! Then I'll get it next, and we'll astonish the girls."
"Mean thing—not to tell!" pouted Grace. But Will was obdurate.
The storm kept up all night, and part of the next day. The snow was so deep that skating andice boatingwere out of the question. But the young people could go on sledding excursions, which they did, Mr. Franklin furnishing the horses and sleigh.
This was a new kind of fun, and was enjoyed to the utmost. They went to near-by towns, and had oyster suppers, going to informal dances afterward. Mr. Blackford stayed, and as he could do little business while thus snow-bound he made arrangements to remain in camp a week or two. The boys and girls were glad to have him, as he was good company, and knew no end of games for an evening entertainment.
Meanwhile, though the young folks often went off in the woods, they had no further clashes with the Jallows. They did not call on their rivals, though Mrs. Jallow, meeting the girls once or twice, pressed them to come.
"But she just wants to ask us questions about father's business," decided Grace. "We'll not go."
And they did not, for it would have been embarrassing for poor Amy.
Once or twice the girls had a sight of Hank Smither patroling the dividing line between the two properties, but he said nothing, and his dog growled. The girls were careful to keep on Mr. Ford's land.
Then came a miserable week, when it rained and rained and rained again. Much of the snow was washed away, and the boys and girls had to stay in their cabins most of the time. Then it was that Mr. Blackford proved his worth, for he was a royal entertainer, and when he ran out of tricks and games he invented new things to interest them.
"His sister will be a lucky girl—whoever she is, if he takes her to live with him," said Betty one night after an evening of enjoyment.
"That's right," agreed Mollie. "He's almost as nice as—Allen—isn't he?"
"I'm glad you think so," replied blushing Betty.
There came a freeze, and the river was just right for glorious skating and ice boating. TheSpiderhad been brought to her dock again, and one pleasant afternoon, when there was a good, but not too cold or stiff a breeze, the party set off for another run. It was cool and clear, with no hint of storm.
They had not gone very far in the ice boat before they heard the approach of another behind them, and soon, to their surprise, they saw in the craft that was rapidly overcoming them Alice Jallow, and her three young friends. As they came up Jake Rossmore called patronizingly:
"Want a race?"
"Sure," answered Allen, nothing loath, for he had faith in his craft.
Soon the two gliders were on even terms, but it was soon seen that the rival boat carried more sail, and was better built for racing. It began to forge ahead of theSpider.
"I'll tell them you're coming!" jeered Sam Batty as he waved his hand to those he was leaving behind.
"Oh, can't you beat him?" exclaimed Mollie impulsively. "Do try, Allen!"
"I will, but they have the better boat."
He manœuvered as best he could, but it was of no use. The other boat shot ahead.
"Wait!" murmured Will. "I'll show them a trick next week."
"Well, they beat us," said Frank mournfully, as Allen came up into the wind, and let theSpiderglide easily over the ice, while the rival craft, its occupants visibly rejoicing, shot out of sight around a bend of the river. "They beat us good and proper."
"Yes," agreed Will. "But I don't believe they can do it again."
"Oh, yes they can," insisted Allen. "They've got a faster boat, there's no denying that. But of course we had a much bigger load than they did. They're lighter. However, I'm not backing water. Those fellows handled her well, too."
"I wish we could have won," sighed Mollie.
"Yes, we'll never hear the last of it from Kittie and Alice," declared Betty. "They'll crow over us every chance they get."
"Let them," said Grace, speaking rather indistinctly on account of a chocolate in her mouth."Some day you can come out, Allen—just you boys—and have another race with them—a regular race."
"We might win then," agreed the young lawyer, "but I doubt it. Theirs is a racer all right, and ours is built more for pleasure. It's a safer boat too, theSpideris. Once or twice they came near having a spill in wind that didn't faze us a bit. I'm glad we didn't have any accidents like the last time we met Alice."
"That's right," said Betty, recalling the two upsets.
"Let them wait," remarked Will mysteriously. "I'll soon have a boat that will beat anything on the river."
"Oh, is papa going to let you get an ice boat?" cried Grace. "I don't care! I don't think it's fair! You get anything you want. You had a new horse and——"
"And wasn't it on your account that dad let you girls come to this camp?" demanded Will. "Talk about me getting all the favors——"
"Children! Children!" admonished Betty with a smile.
"And besides, this has nothing to do with dad," went on Will. "This is something I'm getting up on my own account."
"Oh, tell us!" begged Mollie.
"Nope. It's a secret. You'll see it as soon as it comes."
"Give you a chocolate if you tell," bribed Grace.
"Nope."
"Two."
"Nope!"
"Oh, let him alone," advised Betty. "What are we going to do next?"
"Oh, just sail on—sail on," answered Allen with a laugh. "We won't try any more races though."
They proceeded up the river another mile or so, and had a distant glimpse of their rivals scudding about. Then something else claimed their attention. This was a sight of some men fishing through the ice for pickerel, and the girls at once evinced an appetite for fresh fish.
"Why, we can do that ourselves," declared Will. "We'll try it when we get back."
"Oh, see if you can't get them to sell you some," begged Grace. "They will be fine for supper."
The men were very willing to dispose of some of their catch. They were lumbermen from a distant camp, which fact becoming known, Grace insisted on her brother inquiring if they knew anything of Paddy Malone.
"I used to know him," said one burly fisherman, "but he hasn't been around for a year or so."
"Guess he don't dast come," put in another.
"Why?" asked Will curiously.
"He got into trouble, I hear, and the authorities want him."
"Nothing of the sort," the first man declared. "Paddy is as straight as a fish pole. More likely it's the other way round and he's staying away so as not to make trouble for some one else."
"Maybe," agreed the second man. "Anyhow he isn't around."
"That's true enough."
With their fish the young people started back in the ice boat, Will finding out, by talking with the other lumbermen, that Paddy Malone had not been seen in some time.
The fresh fish were indeed a welcome addition to the table that night, the boys having their share. "We'll have to try this sport to-morrow," decided Will, when he had cleaned off his plate the second time. "They're great!"
Accordingly the next day the boys chopped holes in the ice, and with baited hooks attached to springy branches, set in the ice, with a piece of cloth, that, by its bobbing gave indication of abite, planned for a big catch. The visual signals enabled each lad to set several hooks.
But either they were not in the right place, or they did not use the right bait, for two small fish were all they caught.
"Those lumbermen have them hypnotized," complained Will. "I'm going up to their fishing grounds to-morrow."
The other boys said they would accompany him. This left the girls to their own devices, since they did not care to go with the boys.
"Who's for a walk in the woods?" asked Mollie, and they all were eager to come along. In their short skirts and leggings they found it easy going, even in comparatively deep snow.
"Oh, it's great to be an outdoor girl!" exulted Betty, as she trudged along beside Grace.
"Yes. I wonder if Carrie Norton, the girl who fell out of the tree, would like this?" ventured Amy.
"She was a real outdoor girl, too," observed Mollie, reflectively.
Carrie, however, who figured largely in the third book of this series, had gone, as has been said, to live with a distant relative. Occasionally she wrote to her young friends.
The girls had gone about a mile, or perhaps two, from their camp, and were nearing the debatable ground where Mr. Jallow claimed a valuable strip of timber. Grace was just about to warn her companions not to trespass, when Amy called attention to something in the woods a short distance off.
"See the cute little log cabin!" she cried. "Let's see if any one lives there."
"If they do they must be frozen!" declared Mollie. "It is full of chinks and cracks."
They approached closer to it. It was not like any log cabin they had ever seen, consisting, as they could see through the open door, of but one room.
"It's probably only a hunter's lean-to," said Betty. "Don't go too close, Amy."
But Betty spoke too late. Curious to see the whole interior of the cabin, Amy stepped across the threshold. A moment later she heard something move behind her. She turned, but not in time.
An instant later a raised, sliding door of heavy logs slid down in grooves, and Amy was a prisoner.
"Oh—Oh!" she cried out. "What has happened?" and she beat on the heavy logs with her little hands. "Oh dear!"
"It's a trap! You're in a bear trap!" cried Betty. "We must go for help!"
The girls were stunned for a moment. After Amy's first frantic cry, and Betty's realization of the danger, and the way out, there came, as there often does following a shock, a period of lethargy.
Mollie and Grace, who had clung to each other spasmodically, now separated. Grace, even in this moment sought her sweater pocket, where, as might be supposed, she carried some of her seemingly never-failing chocolates.
"What—what must we do?" asked Mollie, who looked to Betty to answer this question. It was curious how even Mollie, used as she was to thinking for herself, turned to the Little Captain now.
"Get her out, of course. If we can't do it, we must go for help. But we must get her out!" Thus spoke Betty promptly.
"Is—is she really in there?" asked Grace, as though she hardly believed it. Grace had ahabit of saying surprising things when least expected.
"Yes, I am in here! Oh, don't go away and leave me!" begged the imprisoned one, sobbing hysterically. "I shall die if you do!"
"That's all right, Amy dear," answered Betty soothingly. "We won't leave you. Or, at least some one will stay with you. But perhaps you can find a way out yourself. Look and see, dear."
But it was only too evident that the bear trap was made to hold whatever unfortunate animal or human being got into it. The affair was like a small log cabin, the whole front consisting of a heavy planked sliding door, dropping down from above in grooves.
The back of the trap was against a great slab of rock, and the sides and roofs were made of heavy logs, notched together at the ends, and spiked. While there were chinks and crevices between the logs they were not large enough for even a cat to get through. The girls, as far as they could see, could find no way for Amy to get out unless the heavy door was raised, and this they did not believe they could accomplish.
"Can you see a way out, Amy?" asked Betty. "Look carefully, my dear."
They could hear Amy moving about in thetrap, and presently her voice came falteringly out through the chinks:
"No, there's no way out that I see. Can't you raise the door?"
"We'll try!" called Mollie. But the trouble was that there was no way of getting a hold on the smooth planks.
"We must go for help!" decided Betty after a few ineffectual attempts. "There is no use wasting time here."
"Oh, don't leave me!" cried Amy. "I can't stand it to beherealone!"
"Listen," said Betty. "Grace and I will go for help. It needs a man's strength to raise this door. Mollie will stay and keep you company, Amy. Grace and I will go to where the lumbermen are fishing. That is the nearest place, and the boys may be there also. We'll be as quick as we can."
"Please do!" urged Amy. "Oh, how silly of me to get caught like this!"
"You couldn't help it," said Betty. "Come on, Grace."
They started off over the snow, heading in as straight a line as possible for the river. They knew they were near the place where they had seen the fishing lumbermen, and they hoped to meet some of them there now. The boys hadsaid they were going there to learn the trick of getting pickerel through the ice.
"Are you hurt, Amy?" asked Mollie, when she was left alone outside the trap.
"No, not a bit; only a little scared," replied Amy.
"Well, you'll get over that. How did it happen? Was the trap baited?"
As Mollie asked this she thought of the possibility of the bear, for which the trap evidently had been set, coming along. In that case her position would be worse than that of Amy's who was effectually protected.
"I'd be glad to be in the trap then myself," thought Mollie.
"No, I don't see any signs of bait," said Amy, looking about.
"Then what made the door fall down?"
"It seems to have been propped up with a stick," went on Amy. "When I walked in, so foolishly, I must have knocked the stick down, and the door fell. The prop is here. Oh, I'll never be so curious again!"
The two girls talked to each other to keep up their spirits, and wondered how long Betty and Grace would be.
Meanwhile the two latter were having no easy time. They got into deep drifts, and stumbledout again, tiring themselves greatly in the process. Then they got off the trail, and wandered into the back country. It was not until they got on a high bluff, and saw the river below them, that they realized their mistake.
Then came a hard scramble down a snowy hill, but at length they were on the frozen river, and headed for the place where the fishing was going on.
"We are surely living up to our reputation as outdoor girls," panted Betty as she walked along beside Grace.
"Yes—all but Amy. She is strictly in-doors now."
"Poor child! She does seem to have the most trouble!"
"Well, maybe it will soon be happily over."
"I hope so!"
Neither of them realized how soon the fates were to be kind to Amy in a most peculiar manner.
"There are the fishermen!" exclaimed Betty a little later, as they made a turn in the river, and saw several men on the ice.
"Yes, and the boys are with them. Oh, let's hurry!"
"I can't go a bit faster," said Betty. "You're a better walker than I, Grace."
"Oh, no, only I'm not quite so stout—that's all."
"Stout is very kind of you to say. I'm afraid I'm getting positively—fleshy, Grace."
"Nonsense! You're fine!"
"What's the trouble?" cried Will, running forward as he saw his sister and Betty approaching. "Has anything happened?"
"Yes—yes," faltered Grace. "Poor Amy——"
"Is—is she——" began Allen, as he joined his chum.
"It's nothing at all!" said Betty, quickly, seeing that Grace, in her nervousness, might give them a scare. "She is caught in a bear trap, that's all, and we want you to help get her out."
"A bear trap!" cried Will. "One of those spring ones—with heavy jaws?"
"No, a sort of box trap," explained Betty. "We can't raise the door."
"By hemlock!" exclaimed one of the lumbermen who overheard the talk. "It must be the trap I set for that young fellow over at the Jallow cabin."
"Did you set one for him?" asked Will, quickly.
"Yes, and I told him at the time it was a piece of foolishness. There's no bears around now, anyhow, and I said some one might get init by mistake and be caught. I only rigged it up temporary. The two young fellows wanted to see how it worked. They sprung it after I set it, but they must have set it again, after I left, to see how it worked."
"Well, it's worked all right—now," said Will, grimly. "Come on, we must get Amy out."
"That's what!" cried the lumberman. "Come on, Bill and Tom. Bring your axes."
The little party was soon under way, led by the lumberman who recalled the location of the old bear trap.
Betty and Grace, with the three boys, brought up in the rear.
"To think of poor Amy being in that trap!" mused Frank.
"Yes, and it was set by Jake Rossmore and Sam Batty," added Will. "I'll give 'em a piece of my mind when I see 'em!"
"Oh, please don't have trouble!" begged his sister.
"Trouble! The trouble will all be on their side," announced Will, grimly.
It was the matter of but a few moments for the lumbermen, expert as they were with the axes, to release Amy, and she fell sobbing into the arms of her friends.
"Oh, take me home! Take me home!" she begged.
"There, there!" soothed Betty, with her arms about the shrinking figure, "you'll be all right soon."
"I told those fellows it was foolish to set that bear trap," asserted the lumberman, "but they would have it."
"Well, there's one satisfaction," grimly spoke one of his companions, "it will need a lot of repairin' before it's fit for use again," for they had chopped the front away to more quickly release Amy.
Will was peering about, and, as the party made ready to start for the cabins, the lumbermen going back to their fishing, Grace's brother said:
"Unless I'm mistaken this trap is on dad's land, which means that that Jallow crowd must have trespassed here to set it. Take a look, Allen, and see if the boundary line doesn't bring the trap on this side."
"It certainly does," declared the young lawyer. "They were trespassers, all right."
"And I'll let 'em know it, too," said Will.
"Oh, please don't quarrel!" begged Grace.
Amy was fast recovering her composure, and she and her girl chums went on ahead, the boys coming more leisurely. Soon the girls were out of sight in a little valley.
The boys were talking about the recent happening, when, as they came from a little clump of trees, they saw Alice and Kittie, with the two boys who, according to the lumberman, had set the trap.
"Here's where I tackle 'em," said Will.
"Go easy, old man," advised Allen.
"Say, what do you fellows mean by setting that bear trap on our land?" cried Will, hotly, as he advanced toward the two lads. Alice and Kittie shrank back.
"What do you mean?" challenged Jake. "We had a right to set that trap!"
"You did not, and one of our friends was just caught in it. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. And you were on our property, too, not that we care so much about that, though."
"Who was caught?" asked Kittie, and she could not keep the sympathy out of her voice.
"Amy," replied Will.
Alice Jallow laughed.
"We didn't think we'd get game so soon; did we, Jake?" asked Sam, with a grin.
"I'll teach you to make game of us!" cried Will as he strode forward.
Probably the snowball was not meant for him, but one thrown at that moment by Jake struck Will full in the face.
Alice Jallow screamed, and in this was joined by Kittie Rossmore. Then both girls turned and fled. Possibly they anticipated what was coming, for after the white flakes of the snowball had fallen from Will's face, and the red, caused by the impact, had died out, he became white with anger.
"What did you do that for, Jake Rossmore?" Will cried.
"I didn't mean to. You walked right into it!"
"A likely story. I'll fix you for that," and Will sprang forward.
To the credit of Jake and Sam, though this is not to be taken in any sense as upholding fighting, the two boys did not turn back, though out-numbered.
"You fellows are altogether too fresh!" declared Frank. "You go and set a bear trap where you have no business to, and then you pelt us with snowballs. We won't stand it!"
"Better go easy," advised Allen Washburn, though, truth, to tell, his blood was also up. "Better go easy."
By this time Will had reached Jake, and aimed a blow at him. It fell short, and was a mere tap, but Jake retaliated. He swung too wide, and the next moment Will had pushed him into a snowbank. Jake was up again in an instant, however, and there might have been a serious fistic encounter had not Allen cried out:
"Here, fellows! This won't do!"
"But he pushed me!" cried Jake, with doubled fists, while Frank and Sam were regarding each other with none too friendly eyes.
"Yes, and you hit me with a snowball first!" retorted Will. It was very much like two children, but the boys did not realize it at the time. Possibly Allen did.
"You'd better arbitrate," he suggested with a smile.
"I will not!" declared Will.
"Me either," added Jake.
"Then have a snowball fight—two on a side—I'll see fair play," suggested the young lawyer. "That will be a good way out of it. It will relieve your feelings, and no one will be much hurt. Come, here's the line," and he drew one in the snow. "Get your ammunition ready,and I'll give the word. The side that first cries 'enough,' loses, and honor is satisfied."
"I'm willing, if they are," said Frank.
"Yes," agreed Will.
"Go ahead," spoke Jake, and Sam nodded his assent.
"If we only had Mr. Blackford here we could have three on a side," remarked Will to Frank, as they made a pile of snowballs, which example was being followed by their rivals. But the young business man had gone into town to see about some of his affairs, promising to come back by evening.
"All ready?" asked Allen, as he noted that the white ammunition was accumulating. He would have been glad to take a hand himself, but he thought it hardly dignified.
"All ready!" replied Will, and his rivals nodded their willingness to start. "Everybody in the game!"
Then the snowball fight began, and it was sufficiently fierce to allow the rather angry feelings on both sides to be worked off, in perhaps the least harmful manner.
All four of the boys were fairly good shots, and for the first five minutes a number of hits were recorded. Each was struck in the face several times, though most of the shots wereon the body. Will received one in his eye that pained him very much.
"That's sure to swell, and be black and blue," he thought. "Well, we'll see what this will do," and he aimed one at Jake. It took young Rossmore full in the ear, and a little later he begged for a truce to rid it of snow.
Meanwhile Kittie and Alice, rather terrified at the impending clash, had hurried on.
"We ought to get a policeman and make that Ford fellow and his chums stop," said Alice, vindictively.
"I guess it isn't all on their side," spoke Kittie, who could be fair. "Besides, there's no policeman here."
"Then I'm going to tell father. I don't believe that bear trap is on the Ford land. They are trying to claim everything. I'm just going to tell father, or Hank Smither. He'll make 'em let Jake and Sam alone."
"Oh, I guess Jake and Sam can look after themselves," said Kittie, calmly. "Only I don't like to see a clash. It makes me nervous. I don't believe it will amount to so very much, though."
The two tramped on, and, as luck would have it, they overtook Betty and her chums, hurrying on to the cabin with Amy. Our friends turning,saw their rivals, and then became aware that their boys were not in sight.
"I wonder where they can be?" asked Mollie. "Did you see Frank, Will and Allen?" she asked of Kittie, ignoring Alice.
"They're back there—fighting," replied Kittie, breathlessly.
"Fighting!" cried Grace. "And Will promised he wouldn't! Oh! girls, I must stop him at once!"
She was about to run back in the direction she had come, when a man, driving a sled containing a bulky object, called to the girls:
"Say, where can I find a Mr. Will Ford around here?"
"Why—why, that's my brother!" exclaimed Grace in surprise. "What is it, please?"
"It's some machinery for him. It's an express piece. Where shall I deliver it?"
"That's his cabin over there," and Grace pointed to where it could just be seen. "Are there any charges on it?"
"Yep. Three dollars."
"I'll pay them. Oh, girls, I wonder what it can be?"
"Will's secret, probably," answered Betty. "I wish he would come;" and she looked anxiously over the trail.
"Don't you wish Allen would come, too?" asked Mollie, slily.
"Hush!" exclaimed Betty, with a glance at Alice and Kittie.
"Well, I'm going back, anyhow!" decided Grace, as she paid the expressman. "I'll tell Will there is a big box for him, and that will be a good excuse for him coming back. They must not fight. Papa would not like it."
"Well, perhaps that is a good plan," agreed Betty. "I'll keep on with Amy, and you and Mollie can go back to the boys."
"I'll go tell papa, and have him stop Jake and Sam," said Alice, moving off with her chum.
Grace strode ahead so rapidly through the snow that Mollie was forced to ask her to moderate her pace.
"This isn't a race!" was the objection.
"But I want to stop them fighting!" insisted Grace. "Will gets so angry, sometimes, that he doesn't know what he is doing. Papa often said he'd do something desperate in his fits of temper some day. I'm really afraid."
"He's like me," laughed Mollie, frankly. "Only I just flare up for a second, and then I'm sorry for it."
"Oh, well, Will is too," admitted his sister, "but I don't want to give him a chance to be sorry. Come on!"
"If I come any faster you'll have to carry me," panted Mollie. "Remember that I am not a Gibson girl like you."
"Oh, do come!" begged Grace. "They may be rolling and tumbling about in the snow, biting each other——"
"Boys don't fight that way, and you ought to know it," said Mollie. "I detest fighting myself, but I know that when it is done right—if ever there is such a time—there is no biting and scratching."
"Well, I've seen some football games," spoke Grace, and she wondered why Mollie laughed.
The girls were rather surprised, on coming to a point where they could look down on the boys, to see merely a snow battle in progress. The air seemed filled with the flying white missiles, and the four rivals were running back and forth, looking for vantage points. Allen hovered about, seeing that no unfair tactics were used.
Finally, as the girls started forward again, Grace much relieved in mind, Sam Batty pulled out his handkerchief and waved it.
"What's that for?" asked Grace.
"Flag of truce, probably. Very likely he's had enough."
"Oh, Will is down!" cried Grace a moment later, as her brother slipped and fell. Jake rushed forward to deliver a ball at close range, but Allen held up his hand.
"No hitting when one is down!" he decided, and Jake drew back. Then, as Will scrambled to his feet again, the battle was renewed, only two being engaged, however.
As Will vainly dodged a ball aimed at him, which struck him in the face, Grace screamed. Her brother turned quickly.
"What is it?" cried Will, in some alarm.
"Stop that right away!" demanded Grace, "or I'll tell papa, and make him take you home."
"One more shot!" Will exclaimed, and he delivered a large snowball with such good aim that it nearly covered the whole of Jake's face. Kittie's brother staggered about, and when he could get his breath he cried:
"I'm through—I've had enough!"
"Battle's over—cease firing!" laughed Allen. "Well, girls, what's the trouble?" he asked as he and his two friends advanced to meet Grace and Mollie, while Jake and Sam moved off in the direction of their cabin.
"Oh, Will, there's a big express package for you at the cabin!" Grace exclaimed. "You owe me three dollars on it."
"Good!" cried the lad. "I'll give you the money out of my next allowance. It's the motor boat, fellows," he added.
"A motor boat!" cried Betty. "What good is a motor boat up here, with the river frozen?"
"Oh, it's something new—a little idea of my own," said Will. "It's a converted motor-cycle gasoline engine, that can be attached to our iceboat. We're tired of having to depend on the wind. Now fellows, we'll have some fun. Hurry home, and we'll see if we can get it working to-day."
"First you ought to do something to that eye," said Grace. "It will be black and blue; and you'll look disgraceful."
"No one will see it up here," said Will calmly. "It doesn't matter."
"Don't we girls matter?" demanded Mollie.
"Oh, well, I'll put some raw beefsteak on it when I get to the cabin. I've heard that's good. Jake caught me a hard one in the eye."
"Fighting! Disgraceful!" murmured Will's sister.
"It was the best way out—snowballs," said Allen in a low voice, while Will and Frank were comparing notes. "It might have been more serious only for that. It was because they set the trap that Amy was caught in."
"Oh, well then, I'm glad they did fight—with snowballs," returned Grace in a different tone.
The big box had been unloaded in front of the cabin when the boys arrived, and while Grace and Mollie went in to talk to Betty and Amy, the boys proceeded to get out the motor.
As Will had said this was one taken from a motorcycle. It was of two cylinders, and powerful. The boys planned to set it in the after part of the cockpit of the ice boat, and take off the sail. The motor would revolve a wheel at the stern, the wheel having spikes all around the rim. These spikes would dig into the ice and thus send the boat ahead. A lever was provided so that the spiked wheel could be pushed down lightly or hard on the ice, thus regulating the speed of the queer looking craft. TheSpidercould be steered as before, by moving the rear runner.
"Now we'll show you some sport!" cried Will, when he had seen that all the parts of the motor were there. "We'll go some, now!"
But if the boys had hoped to try their new craft that day they were disappointed, for there was more work about installing the motor than they had calculated on. The girls grew tired of waiting, and strolled over to the village, the day being pleasant. They met Mr. Blackford coming from the depot, he having returned to complete his visit with the boys.
He looked rather tired and discouraged, which prompted Betty to ask in a low voice:
"Have you had any trace of your sister?"
"None at all," he said despondently. "I seem to be up against a stone wall, and so do the lawyers and searchers I have engaged. We get toa certain point, and there we stick. After that, all traces of her are lost."
"Poor little sister! I wonder what she will look like, and what she will be like?"
"Then you never saw her?"
"Only when she was a baby, and I a small chap. I do not remember her. But I have not given up hope yet. Now, how are you all, and what has happened since I went away?"
Betty told him, including the news about the new auto ice boat.
"That sounds interesting," declared Mr. Blackford. "I want a ride in that."
"That's more than I do," spoke Mollie. "I'd rather go in an airship."
"So would I," agreed Grace.
But when the next day, after several false starts, and a breakdown, the motor was finally set in motion on theSpider, the girls were interested enough to come down to look at it.
"All aboard!" cried Will, who was quite proud of his apparatus. "Come on, girls!"
"Wait until we see you try it," suggested Betty.
"Well, then, get in, fellows!"
Allen, Frank and Mr. Blackford took their places, Allen to steer while Will looked after the motor. Looking to see that all was runningsmoothly, the big notched wheel at the stern revolving swiftly, Will cautiously lowered it. There was a shower of icy particles as the teeth chipped into the frozen surface of the river, and then theSpiderslowly forged ahead, under the influence of the motor instead of a sail.
"Oh, they're actually moving!" cried Grace.
"And how fast!" agreed Mollie.
"That's fine!" declared Betty.
"I—I'm going to ask them to give me a ride!" exclaimed Amy. "Oh, it must be glorious!"
"Well, if she's brave enough to risk it, I am!" said Grace positively. "Shall we go, girls?"
"Wait a bit and see what happens," suggested Mollie. But nothing seemed to be going to happen. On up the river went the auto ice boat at ever-increasing speed.