Janet Aldridge

“ During their absence, and while they were frightening the Tramp Club with sheets draped over sticks and carried high above their heads, Tommy and Margery had been having an exciting experience. They had been anxiously peering out of the cabin, when after an hour or so they discovered a canoe approaching the scow. At first they thought it one of their own party who was paddling the canoe. They soon discovered that it was a man. The girls were too frightened to do more than watch him in almost breathless silence. ”

“ They recognized the voice as Tommy's and began to shout, and to row with all their might. A moment later, just as they were about to turn into the opening with their boat, a canoe shot out and darted across their bows, disappearing in the darkness.
"A man, a man!" yelled Tommy as Harriet shouted to know if the two girls were all right. Tommy threw open the door and in her excitement walked off the after deck of the "Red Rover" and fell forward into the stream.
"Jane, do you recognize that man?" cried Harriet excitedly. ”

“ Tommy and Margery first, then Miss Elting and Hazel. In the cockpit the water was not as deep, but Jane drove them all to the upper deck.
"The captain must go last, you know," laughed Harriet, as she climbed up to join them.
By this time the girls were shivering with cold. The kimonos of washable crepe in which they had elected to sleep during the cruise afforded them little warmth.
"Get close together and keep each other warm," called Miss Elting.
"What! Sit down and shiver here all night long?" shouted Harriet. "No, indeed. We must do something or we shall lose our boat." ”

“ I want to see what is at the other end of this rope, Harriet, dear. There's nothing like beginning at the right end. This is the right end; after we get the rope in we will move on to the other end. We may have to dive, but you and I know how to do that, don't we darlin'?"
Harriet nodded. The long rope came in dripping, so cold to the touch as to make Jane's fingers numb.
"There!" exclaimed Jane, slamming the rope down on the wharf. "There's the old thing. Didn't I tell you there was no 'Red Rover' on the end of it." ”

“ Harriet told her, whispering part of what she had to say, in the ear of Miss Elting.
"That will be fine," glowed the guardian, instantly entering into the spirit of the plan. "We shall at least have a good time there."
"And we'll be hidden from the world so no one will know we are on this island at all," interjected Jane.
"I am with you, girls. But we must not let people get the idea that anything has happened to us. ”

“ Moving by easy stages we should be able to make the complete circuit of the lake before the vacation is ended."
"How long is the lake?" questioned Harriet.
"About thirty miles in a straight line, I believe."
"Thirty miles," groaned Crazy Jane.
"Oh, help!" moaned Margery.
"Thave uth!" lisped Grace.
"I thought you girls wanted recreation and exercise," laughed the guardian.
"Why, of course we do, Miss Elting," declared Harriet.
"Of course," agreed Jane, nodding. "But dragging a house all around a thirty-mile lake is neither exercise nor recreation. It's hard labor. ”

“ The painters were paid off by Jane and dismissed. Jane stepped out on the pier to survey the work.
"Girls, we've forgotten something," she cried. "We must have the name on the side of the boat. The 'Red Rover' you know? I forgot that when the men were here. Can any of you print?"
"I think perhaps I might do it," answered Miss Elting. "But we shall have to wait until the red paint dries. Suppose we sit down and rest for an hour or so?"
"Rest!" shouted Crazy Jane. "There's no rest for the Meadow-Brook Girls. It's work and trouble and trouble and work all day and all night. ”

“ Then you don't think you would like to run the boat ashore at the camp, so as to be where we can look after you?"
"I should not mind. But the girls think they are able to take care of themselves, and I must say that I agree with them, George. Don't you think they are?" asked the guardian.
"They beat any boys I've ever seen. But then, you see, there are a lot of us fellows, and then again, your enemies won't be so bold when they know there are men around the premises," declared George pompously.
Harriet turned her head away that they might not see her laughter. ”

“ Harriet did not go until after supper, which proved to be one of the most enjoyable meals to which the girls had ever sat down. Their surroundings were so romantic that the situation appealed strongly to each of them. The Meadow-Brook Girls were in high good humor. Later in the evening, Harriet, accompanied by Jane and Hazel, paddled the rowboat out from the island and rowed almost straight across to the shore of the mainland. Hiding their boat in some bushes they made their way to a farmhouse, and there arranged for milk. ”

“ In the morning—maybe," answered Harriet laughingly.
"It's my opinion that those girls are going to try to play more tricks to-night," declared Billy, after they had gotten a short distance from the "Red Rover." He was speaking in a tone louder than he imagined. Harriet heard every word he said.
"Yes," agreed George. "I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll put a boy on watch to-night. Then, if they try to run away from us, we will just follow and give them a surprise. We can't let those girls get the better of us this time." ”

“ At each end of the house there was a cockpit some three feet long. In other words the house did not extend the full length of the boat. At the rear there was a long-handed tiller. The boat was flat as a floor.
"If the inside is as handsome as the outside, we shall have the nightmare all the time," declared Margery.
"We had better look at the inside," reflected Miss Elting.
There were doors at each end. The girls entered by the rear door.
"Mercy!" exclaimed the guardian. "How warm it is in here. Mr. Dickinson, is there any glass in those windows?" ”

“ Hazel dipped up a pail of water from the lake and sprinkled it through her fingers over the floor of the boat. All the others save Harriet had fled, driven out by the choking dust. The sweeping was now attended with more comfort. Dustpan after dustpan full of dirt was gathered up and tossed into the lake. Tommy surveyed her work with a frowning face.
"It lookth worthe than it did before," she declared. "Thee the greathe thpotth. What fine houthekeeping."
"Men are lazy housekeepers," laughed Miss Elting. "I shall have to write to Bert and tell him what we think of his housekeeping." ”

“ Tommy, I'll take you, Hazel and Margery this time if you wish to go. You haven't been out with me at all."
The four got into the small boat and rowed across the water to the same landing where less than half an hour before the boys' boat had been tied up. What Harriet learned at the farmhouse, filled her with delight.
"The boys know we are all right now. They are coming back again this afternoon. They are going to get another surprise, girls. Oh, we'll win that camera, won't we? Won't Miss Elting be amused when she hears what we have to tell her?" said Harriet. ”

“ The 'Red Rover' couldn't have disappeared, it could have gone only by being towed away. If a launch had towed it, the noise would have awakened us, even though Larry or Sam had been asleep. If the houseboat was towed by the girls, which it undoubtedly was, it can't be far away. That makes our work easier."
"There is only one flaw in your argument, George," interrupted Billy Gordon. "Granting that they did row away from here, how do you know that at daylight they did not pick up a launch and hike half the length of the lake?" ”

“ We got you into trouble by stealing the melons and giving them to you, but honestly, we didn't mean to have the farmer hold you responsible."
"We owe you something for telling George's fortune," laughed Sam.
"Then pay your debts," retorted Harriet.
"Don't you do anything of the sort, boys," warned Jane. "You know what will happen to you, if you do."
"What will happen?" demanded Baker, turning to Crazy Jane.
"Oh, that would be telling. We should be even with you before we had finished, you know. Girls are always more resourceful than boys." ”

“ Two caws in quick succession mean 'hurry.'"
"We shan't be far apart, shall we?" questioned Hazel, somewhat apprehensively.
"No. Within speaking distance," replied Miss Elting. "Leave it to Harriet and Jane to make the first advance. We will follow when the time is right. It is fortunate that we left Tommy and Margery at home. Are you ready, Harriet?"
It was a silent party of four shadowy figures that made its way cautiously along the shore of the island for some little distance. The party then turned sharply to the right and disappeared among the bushes that marked a slight rise of ground. ”

“ The "Red Rover" was lying very quietly, there being little movement of the water. No one was about, nor was there a boat in sight. She stepped out on the deck, glancing about in all directions, her eyes finally fixing themselves on the camp of the Tramp Club.
"Those boys are up and moving about," she mused. "They have stirred up the fire." Just then the girl heard the rattle of an oar in a rowboat. The sound seemed to come from the camp. Harriet watched a few minutes. Then turning quickly she went inside.
"What is it?" demanded Miss Elting sharply. "Who is it?" ”

“ The anchor went over with a splash, after which the rope was tied to a heavy hard wood cleat that the carpenter had secured to the forward lower deck. The "Red Rover" drifted to the end of its anchor rope, then swung to the gentle breeze that was blowing.
"Thank goodness we aren't at the bottom of the lake," exclaimed Crazy Jane.
"It's the other folks who have reason to be thankful," answered Harriet smilingly. "Now let's get supper. We have a lot to do, and even more to discuss."
"Had we not better work in closer to shore?" questioned the guardian, regarding the wooded cove critically. ”

“ The girls looked at each other and laughed.
"Well, if Dee Dickinson is a friend of your brother, I must say I don't admire your brother's friends," declared Harriet.
"That ith what I thay," agreed Grace Thompson.
"Tommy, you shouldn't have said that," reproved Hazel Holland.
"She didn't. Harriet said it," retorted Margery.
"Buster is right," laughed Jane McCarthy. "Come on, girls! Let's go to dinner, as the shifty-eyed gentleman advised. I hope it is dinner. I never could get used to luncheon in the middle of the day when Nature intended that a girl should have a full meal of the real food. ”

“ Being protected by a point of land they did not get the full force of the wind. Nor did they realize what a chance they had taken until they had gotten well out into the lake. There the gale struck them with full force. Harriet grew really alarmed. She feared the "Red Rover" was not strong enough to stand up under it. Margery was seasick and the others also felt the effects of the gale.
The "Red Rover" was now pitching more violently than ever. Jane was gazing at the launch wide-eyed, expecting every moment to see it take a dive, not to come up again. ”

“ No, thank you. We will keep to the shore. Remember, we are on the water, Harriet."
"Yes. And it isn't so long ago since we were in it," nodded Jane. "Tommy was the last to be in it. Please pass the potatoes. This life at sea does sharpen one's appetite. It wouldn't do for me to go to sea really. I'd get so hungry between meals that I'd gnaw the masts off short."
"I really can't eat another mouthful!" exclaimed Tommy. "I gueth I'll go up on deck and walk thome."
"And I guess you will stay right here and wash the dishes with me," commanded Margery Brown. ”

“ I want to go down there and get thome dry clotheth," wailed Tommy.
"You'll look a long time on this boat before you'll find anything dry," laughed Crazy Jane. "Get up and run. Sprint back and forth along this slippery deck, and, if you don't fall down and break your precious necks, you'll start your circulation and get warm. Run for it!"
"Jane's advice is excellent, girls. Join hands and run back and forth, while Jane and Harriet see what can be done for us," answered Miss Elting.
Jane and Harriet climbed down the aft ladder and made their way into the cabin. ”

“ The two plucky girls set to work bailing. They did not wish to call in their companions to help them, as they believed they could accomplish more by themselves. Bailing out the boat was back-breaking work, and there was so much water in the hold of the "Red Rover," that at first their bailing seemed to have no effect whatever. Now and then they would go ashore and throw themselves down for a brief rest. Miss Elting begged them to do no more, but both Jane and Harriet were deaf to her entreaties. ”

“ I'll imitate the sound that a crow makes if I see them coming back," she added. "No one must go out in the meantime. All we can do is to keep quiet and wait. We've already won the camera. We will have our fun when night comes, however, and if we don't give those boys the fright of their lives I shall be keenly disappointed."
"Which way shall you come back?" asked Jane.
"The way we came in. Don't have the boat wait for me down there. If I have to come back in a hurry I will wade. Meadow-Brook Girls aren't afraid of the water, you know." ”