"Where did you find her?" asked the foreman.
"We didn"t find her at all," grinned Paul. "She found us."
"Came back by the sky route," chuckled Walter.
Then, as they saw the mystified looks, they hastened to explain.
"That aeroplane!" exclaimed Baxter. "We were watching it fly over here a little while ago."
"It was too far up for us to see that there were two in it," remarked the foreman. "Well, I guess Miss Kimball can claim that she"s the only person that has ever been brought out of the woods in any such way as that."
"And by a woman aviator, too," observed Baxter. "I"ve never had much faith in women taking up flying, but I"m glad now they have. It beats the Dutch what the women are doing these days."
"They"ll make us men take to cover if we don"t watch out," laughed Walter. "But now we"ve got to hustle and call off the men who are beating the woods. We can"t thank you folks enough for all you have done for us."
"We"d like to leave some money with you to pay the men for their trouble and time," added Paul.
"Not a cent," said the foreman decidedly. "Their wages go on just the same, and they"d only feel hurt if you offered it. It"s just a case of common humanity, and they"ve all been glad to volunteer."
"Well, anyway," said Paul, "we"ll have a big open air spread on the lawn at Kill Kare to celebrate Miss Kimball"s safe return, and we want all the sawmill crew up there to the last man."
"That"s different," grinned the foreman. "They"ll all come to that. But you"re taking a pretty big contract if you undertake to give a spread to my lumberjacks."
"You can"t frighten us," laughed Walter. "We"ll fill them up to the chin."
Baxter undertook to telephone the news to all those whom he had previously called upon for help, and the boys, leaving their car at the mill, hastened to the rendezvous in the forest.
Joel was in charge, and a number of weary searchers who had dragged themselves in were sitting about, munching sandwiches and drinking coffee.
The boys whooped out a yodel as soon as they came in sight, and waved their hats.
The men jumped to their feet, and Joel came running out to meet the bearers of good news.
"Thank the good Lord!" he exclaimed, as he saw their jubilant faces. "I don"t need to ask what"s happened. You"ve found "er."
"We"ve got her," beamed Paul.
"An" wuzn"t she hurt none?" asked Joel.
"Nothing but a few scratches."
The men crowded round with eager questions, and their delight was unbounded, for none knew better than they what risks Cora had run in those trackless woods.
One of the men volunteered to stay behind and notify the other searchers as they should come in, and then, with hearts light as thistledown, the boys and Joel retraced their steps to the mill, jumped into the car and "burned up" the road on the way to Kill Kare.
They had gone perhaps half the distance when they saw a figure on the side of the road that somehow seemed familiar.
They slowed up a little as the man approached, and then Paul gave a low whistle.
"It"s that old pirate that took the gypsy girl away from us the other morning!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed.
"So it is," replied Walter, as he took a closer look. "I wonder what the old rascal is doing around here."
"Up to no good, I"ll be bound," remarked Joel, his old antipathy toward the vagrant people a.s.serting itself.
"I"ve a good mind to speak to him," said Paul, who was driving, as he slowed up a little.
"What"s the use?" replied Walter. "You won"t get anything out of him that he doesn"t want to tell you. And that"ll be mighty little, or I miss my guess."
The gypsy had looked up as the car approached, and it was apparent that he had recognized the boys, for the same scowl came over his face that they had seen on the first occasion of meeting.
"h.e.l.lo, friend," said Paul, as the car stopped close beside the gypsy.
The man looked at him sullenly, but did not respond.
"Is your camp anywhere around here?" asked Walter.
The man shrugged his shoulders.
"No understand," he said blankly.
They tried again with the same result, and as there was evidently no chance of getting an answer, they drove on.
"If we"d promised to give him a five dollar bill, he"d have understood all right," laughed Walter.
"I"ll bet he"s prospecting around to find a good location for the camp,"
observed Paul.
"It"s time then to put double locks on houses and barns," growled Joel.
"I"d hoped thet I"d never see hide nur hair uv them light-fingered varmints ag"in."
CHAPTER XIX AN UNINVITED GUEST
Cora was not visible when the party drove up to the bungalow, for Aunt Betty and the girls had put her to bed, with strict injunctions that she should stay there for the rest of the day. She had objected at first, but at last had yielded. And to tell the truth, she was not sorry to yield to their gentle compulsion, for although she was little the worse physically from her adventure, she had been under a terrific nervous strain that had taxed her heavily.
But she appeared at supper time, fresh and radiant, her eyes sparkling and her spirits high.
"I declare it"s almost worth being lost for the sake of being made so much of when one gets back," she declared, with a loving look round at the circle of friends, who could scarcely take their eyes off her.
"Why shouldn"t we make much of one who comes to us straight from the skies?" said Walter.
"There"s one less angel up there now," added Paul.
"But don"t let me catch you running away again, sis," said Jack, with mock severity. "We"ll forgive you this time, but once is plenty. I don"t know but what I ought to put a ball and chain on you as it is."