"Oh, do you?" thought Cora. "Perhaps you don"t."
"I have to laugh when I think how I took those girls in," went on Bruce. "I pretending that I was a stranger in these waters, and they kindly offering to pilot me. I guess they took me for some society swell of Bayhead."
"The mean thing!" hissed Lottie.
"Well, you can do the society act when you have to," said Kelly. "Only I guess we won"t need that now. Shane doesn"t move in society circles.
How"d the game with the widow"s daughter work out?"
"It didn"t work at all. "Confidence Kate" didn"t gain her confidence.
That"s why I"m switching to Shane," answered Bruce. "But we"d better be going. There"s lots to be done."
Cora and the motor girls listened in silence as the men crunched their way down the beach to their boat.
A little later they were chugging away in the speedy _Pickerel_.
"Isn"t that just awful!" gasped Belle.
"It"s a villainous plot!" exclaimed Bess. "Oh, I"m so nervous! I know I"m going to cry--or laugh--or do both."
"Bess Robinson, if you do anything foolish, or faint, you shan"t do a thing toward helping to save Denny Shane!" exclaimed Cora, vigorously.
"And I know you do want to help him."
"I certainly do. I"ll behave. Oh, let me have a cup of tea."
"I think we"ll all be better for it," a.s.sented Cora. "Come, girls, let"s eat and then we"ll get back. We, too, have a great deal to do."
"Do you mean that you girls are going to try to----to outwit those desperate men?" asked Marita, her eyes opened wide.
"We certainly do mean to!" insisted Cora. "Who else would do it?"
"Why, the police."
"There are only constables in a place like this. We can do better than they--especially with the boys to help."
"Oh, of course, the boys!" agreed Marita, and she seemed relieved.
"I must say it was most providential that we heard what they said,"
spoke Lottie, looking to see if there were any gra.s.s stains on her dress.
"Indeed it was," a.s.sented Cora.
It was rather an excited little luncheon, but the hot tea did them all good, and then, rapidly talking over what they had just gone through, and making all sorts of plans to outwit the schemers, the girls got into their boat again, and headed for the bungalow.
"Of course we must warn Denny at once," said Cora, and to this the girls agreed. "Then we"ll tell the boys, and see what they suggest.
But I almost know what Jack will say!"
"What?" asked Lottie. She was very much interested in Jack.
"Oh, he"ll want to hide and capture the villains "red-handed," as he calls it."
"And I don"t know but what that"s as good a plan as any," remarked Belle. "I"d like to see them do it!"
Cora and her chums found Mrs. Lewis rather worried over their absence from the bungalow. She had returned, unsuccessful, from seeing her friends. Freda was recovering from the shock and fright of the day before.
"Where have you been?" Mrs. Lewis asked Cora.
"Oh, just off on a little picnic," was the answer, and Cora motioned to her chums to say nothing of what they had heard. They had agreed that it would be better for the widow not to know, at least for the present.
"Dinner will be ready soon," suggested Mrs. Lewis.
"We"ll have it a little late to-day," replied Cora. "We have had some tea, and I want to go over and see Jack. They haven"t been around here since we left; have they?"
"Oh, yes," answered Freda. "They were all here, wanting to know where you"d gone; but of course I couldn"t say. Then they went out in your brother"s boat, but they didn"t get far before they had a breakdown."
"It"s the _La.s.sie_"s day off again," laughed Belle.
"Why didn"t they take the _Dixie_?" asked Bess.
"Something is the matter with her, too," replied Freda.
Cora and her chums exchanged meaning glances. The talk of the men was confirmed. Evidently they had their own way of getting information.
"Well, we"ll go over to Camp Couldn"t," suggested Cora, after a pause.
"They"re probably there now."
They found the boys grouped about, in and out of the tent.
"Here they come!"
"Where have you been, girls?"
"We"ve been lonesome for you!"
"How bright the day seems now, to what it was before!"
Thus chanted Jack, Walter, Ed and Dray Ward, as they saw the advancing girls.
"Oh, stop that nonsense, Jack!" exclaimed Cora, as her brother waltzed forward to do a two-step on the moss with timid Marita.
"Why, what is wrong?"
"Lots!" she exclaimed, and her manner must have impressed Jack, for he grew grave at once.
"Has anything more happened since last night?" he asked.
"There has. We"ve discovered the meanest plot to harm Denny Shane.
Listen."
"We list!" recited Walter, but Cora quieted him with a look.