As Pompton had surmised, the men had run away to the woods, and hidden themselves, for no trace of them could be seen. The old basket-maker, too, had disappeared, and there was nothing to prevent their departure.
"Miss Marjorie, you"re a wonder!" Pompton exclaimed, as they crossed the little bridge and made for the road. "Now, how did you think to shout the very lungs out of you like that?"
"It was the only thing to do, Pompton; they wouldn"t let us run away, so there was nothing to do but holler. My! but I"m glad you came!"
"Me, too!" cried King. "I felt awful to sit there and not do anything to rescue Mops, but I couldn"t think of a thing to do. I never thought of yelling to beat the band!"
"Of course you didn"t, King," said Marjorie. "A boy wouldn"t do that.
And, anyway, you can"t screech like I can."
"I didn"t suppose anybody could, Miss Marjorie; I"m sure such screams were never heard before, outside of Bedlam!"
"Well, we"re safe now, anyway," cried Marjorie, skipping along gaily by Pompton"s side; "and here"s our dear, blessed car! Oh, King, I"m so glad we"re safe!"
In a reaction of joy, Marjorie threw her arms around her brother"s neck, and the tears came to her eyes.
"There, there, Mops," and King patted her shoulders, while there was a suggestion of emotion in his own voice; "it"s all right now! Hop in, old girl!"
"Yes, hop in, both of you," said Pompton, "and I"ll get you back to Pelton pretty quick, and then I"ll set somebody on the track of those villains. They"ll not get away!"
The trip to Pelton took but a short time, for Pompton drove as fast as the law allowed. But even so, they found a very much alarmed group waiting for them on the veranda of the little inn.
"Where have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Maynard, as Marjorie flung her arms around her mother"s neck, and burst into violent sobs. The realization that she was safe brought a nervous reaction, and though she had been plucky and brave in the hour of danger, she now collapsed with emotion.
"I"ll tell you all about it," said King, grasping his father"s hands.
"Midget was the bravest, pluckiest girl, and she saved both our lives."
"What!" cried Mr. Maynard, "have you been in danger?"
Marjorie stopped her sobs a moment, and lifted her head from her mother"s shoulder.
"It was P-Pompton saved us! I didn"t do any saving,--I only s-screeched!"
"And you screeched good and plenty, Miss Marjorie," said the chauffeur, "which was what saved the day; and, Mr. Maynard, by your leave, I"ll take the car a minute, to see if there"s anybody in authority in this village.
I"ve a matter to put in their hands."
Without waiting for further explanation, Pompton whizzed away in the big car to find the public officials, and set them on trail of the gypsies.
For though unsuccessful, their base attempt at kidnapping ought not to go unpunished.
Kingdon told a straightforward story of all that had happened. Unlike Marjorie, he was not overcome by emotion, and though somewhat excited after the experience they had had, he gave a clear and direct account of it all.
Mrs. Maynard held Marjorie closer as she heard of the danger they had been in, and Mr. Maynard laid his hand on the shoulder of his tall son, and heartily exonerated him from all blame in the matter.
"I suppose," King said, a little dubiously, "we ought not to have gone on to the camp; but Mops,--I mean, we were both thirsty,--and we thought it was a farmhouse."
"Of course you did," said Mrs. Maynard; "you did nothing wrong whatever."
"I did," said Midget, penitently; "after we pa.s.sed the horrid basket-man, King sort of thought he was a gypsy, and he thought we"d better turn back, but I insisted on going on."
"Nothing of the sort!" exclaimed King. "Mops isn"t a bit to blame! I did think maybe the man was a gypsy,--and I ought to have insisted on going back."
"Well, well," said Mr. Maynard, "don"t strive so hard for the honor of being to blame. It"s all over now, and for the present let"s forget it, while we eat our luncheon, because it might interfere with our digestion.
We"re truly thankful to have you back, and we"re going to show our thankfulness by not worrying or lamenting over what might have been."
Mr. Maynard"s gaiety, though it was really a little forced, had a good effect on the others. For, had he taken a melancholy att.i.tude, they were quite ready to follow suit.
As it was, they all cheered up, and with bright faces followed Mr.
Maynard to the dining-room. Kitty slipped her hand in Marjorie"s as they went along. She had said little while the story was being told, but as Marjorie well knew, silence with Kitty was always indicative of deep emotion.
The inn, though modern, was copied after a quaint old plan, and the low-ceiled, raftered dining-room greatly pleased the children. There were seats along the wall--something like church pews,--with long tables in front of them. Mr. Maynard had ordered a dainty and satisfying luncheon, and Marjorie and King soon found that thrilling experiences improve the appet.i.te.
Led by Mr. Maynard, the table talk was gay, light, and entertaining; and though Mrs. Maynard could not quite play up to this key, yet she did her best, and carefully hid the tremors that shook her as she looked at her two older children.
"What became of Minnie Meyer?" asked Marjorie, suddenly, for in the stress of circ.u.mstances she had almost forgotten the lame girl.
"I tried my best to persuade her to lunch with us," said Mrs. Maynard, "but she would not do so. She was very shy and timid, and though very glad to have the ride, she was unwilling to let us do more for her. She had many errands to attend to, and she was sure of a ride home, so she said we need not worry about her."
"I"m glad she had the ride," said Marjorie, thoughtfully; "and of course it wasn"t her fault that the morning turned out as it did."
"No, it wasn"t," said King, "and it wasn"t our fault either! It wasn"t anybody"s fault; it just happened."
"And now it happens that it"s all over," said his father, still insistently cheerful, "and the incident is closed, and it"s past history, and we"ve all forgotten it. Have some more chicken, King?"
"Yes," said King, "these forgotten experiences make a fellow terribly hungry!"
The subject of the morning"s disaster was not again referred to, and Mr.
Maynard triumphantly succeeded in his determination to eliminate all thought of it.
By two o"clock Pompton was at the door with the car, and they started gaily off to continue their journey.
Mr. Maynard sat in front with the chauffeur, and if they indulged in some whispered conversation it was not audible to those in the tonneau.
Midget and King themselves had quite recovered their good spirits, and were ready to enjoy the ride through the country.
They went rather fast, as they had started a bit later than they intended, but not too fast to enjoy the scenery or the interesting scenes on either side.
On they went, through towns and villages, past woods and meadows, and up and down moderately high hills. As they neared Morristown, where Grandma Sherwood lived, the hills were higher and the views more picturesque.
It was not yet dusk when they reached Grandma Sherwood"s house, and they found the wide gate hospitably open for them. They swung into the driveway, and in another moment they saw Grandma and Uncle Steve on the veranda, waiting to welcome them.
The impetuous Maynard children tumbled out of the car all at once, and fairly swarmed upon their relatives.
"Which is which?" cried Uncle Steve. "Kitty has grown as big as Marjorie was,--and Marjorie has grown as big as King was,--and King has grown as big as,--as a house!"
"And me growed!" cried Rosamond, not wanting to be left out of the comparison.
"You"re the biggest of all!" exclaimed Uncle Steve, catching the baby up and seating her on his shoulder, so she could look down on all the others.