THE ISLAND OF DELIGHT
"It is the most mysterious thing I ever encountered," declared Miss
Elting at breakfast, after she had stepped to the window again to gaze
off over the lake to the cove--in the distance--where the "Red Rover"
had lain when they retired the night before.
None of the girls except Harriet and Jane had much appetite for
breakfast. They were too excited over the mysterious changing of their
position.
"What I cannot understand," continued the guardian, "is how we, who
pride ourselves on being woodsmen, trailers and scouts and all the other
things, could possibly be carried across a lake, dragged over several
miles of water and not know anything about it. Can you explain why we
didn't wake up, Harriet Burrell?"
Harriet shook her head.
"And we are anchored just the same as we were last night," remarked
Jane. "It's spirits, girls. No mistake about that."
"Now, Jane," laughed Harriet. "You know very well that the mere fact
that our anchor was pulled up before we left the other side of the lake,
then let down on this side, makes your spirit theory impossible."
"It _wath_ thpookth," declared Tommy. "I thaw one thtanding on the
handle of the mop pail latht night after I went to bed. I heard the
water thplathh when he jumped in the pail."
"What a marvelous imagination you have," jeered Jane.
"All this talk doesn't help us to solve the mystery," averred Hazel.
"How did we get here?"
"We do not know, but we are going to find out," replied Harriet.
"How?"
"I can't tell you. Something will turn up to give us a clue to this and
the other mysteries. I have my suspicions of the Tramp Club in this
matter. I am very glad that the rope was not cut, this time, or thrown
overboard after being removed from the boat. If the boys are responsible
for this, rest assured they'll be the first to tell us. You know the
island that we admired so much from a distance, Miss Elting?
"We are within a mile of it now. After breakfast, with your permission
I'll row over," continued Harriet. "I want to see that island at close
range. Jane, will you come with me?" Jane was prompt to accept Harriet's
invitation. Miss Elting also was invited, but concluded to remain with
the other girls on the houseboat.
Harriet and her companion rowed rapidly to the island shortly after
breakfast. It was a good sized island, as they discovered by rowing down
one side of it, the side nearest to the shore of the mainland near which
the houseboat was anchored. The girls rowed in so close that they were
able to reach up and touch the foliage overhead and in places it trailed
in the water. The island was rocky, still it was heavily wooded. One
side of it was popular with picnic parties, but on the side where the
girls were few boats ever landed. As they were rowing slowly along the
edge, Harriet's eyes were constantly searching the shore.
"This is about what I thought we should find, Jane."
"What are you looking for, dear?"
"I am trying to find a place where we can run the 'Red Rover' in under
the trees, and where the boat cannot be seen from the lake on either
side of the island."
"You will have to change its color then. Why, in the sunlight you could
see that tub fifty miles away."
Harriet did not answer. She had rested on the oars, and was peering over
her right shoulder towards the thicket at the shore of the island.
"No, my dear, not where I am going to put the boat provided there is
room for it. Do you see that current swirling right into the island
there? I saw that from the deck of the 'Red Rover,' this morning, when
looking through the glasses. At least I thought it was a current. The
water everywhere else was very still, but a slight discoloration there,
as you see it, led me to believe there was a creek running into the
island."
"You have sharp eyes, Harriet. But where's your creek? I don't see it,"
laughed Jane.
"Neither do I. There may be no creek there, but if there is, it's going
to be a splendid place to hide."
"Hide?" wondered Jane.
"Yes."
"But why should we hide, darlin'?"
"In that way we may be able to get some clue to our unknown enemy,"
nodded Harriet. "If the boys did tow us over here, of course they'll
wonder what became of us."
"Do you think our enemy will try to find us?" asked Jane.
"Yes."
"I don't. We'll be wasting our time. The boys won't look for us, here,
either."
"Well, here is the creek, at any rate," exclaimed Harriet, swinging the
bow of the boat in as she spoke. "And oh, Jane! Look!"
A smooth sheet of dark water was revealed to the eyes of the girls. It
was shimmering in the deep shadow of the foliage under which it flowed
until it became lost in the shadows of foliage and rocks. Harriet drove
her boat in without the least hesitancy. She saw by glancing above her
head that there were no heavy limbs of trees hanging over the little
waterway. A sounding with the oar developed the fact that there was only
about three feet of water in the stream.
"Do you know where you are going, Harriet?" questioned Jane anxiously.
"No. But I don't care. Do you?"
"Not I. I can go where you go. Oh, look at that hole. It's a cave,
Harriet, and the stream goes right into it."
"I think you are mistaken, Jane. That looks to me more as if the water
had worn an opening in the rocks. The water must have been very high to
make such a large opening. Yes. See! The water swirls in at one side of
the opening and comes out on the other side, making a sort of horseshoe
shape of the cut-out place. Isn't this a place in which to hide, Jane
McCarthy?" cried Harriet triumphantly.
"Hurrah! The greatest hiding place in the world."
"And won't the Tramp Club be amazed when they find we are missing?
They'll think their chance of winning the camera is doubtful."
"Perhaps they'll think we're drowned," answered Jane, her eyes sparkling
mischievously.
"A little scare will do them good," returned Harriet, the mischievous
sparkle appearing in the depths of her brown eyes. "What do you think of
it, dear?"
"Fine! It's glorious. We'll have a picnic here. What fun, what fun! And
it's such a beautiful place too. What shall we call it?"
"I think we might call it the Island of Delight," answered Harriet,
after brief reflection.
"That's the name! Now, let's explore the place."
"Oh, no, not now, Jane. We must go and lay our plan before Miss Elting
first. I do not think she will object, but we must ask her, of course,
before we make any further arrangements."
"When do you plan to move in here?"
"Just as soon as we are able to get the 'Red Rover' in here. I am in a
hurry. The boys are likely to be sailing over here almost any time now.
We must get out of sight before they come near here."
"Hurrah!" shouted Crazy Jane.
"Save your breath. You will need it before we have gotten our big boat
in. It is going to be a hard pull to get it through all this foliage and
then it is going to be another difficult job to get it out again. When
we get those boys on the Island of Delight we are going to give them
something to think about," chuckled Harriet. "This time, the
Meadow-Brook Girls will score."
"I should like to know how you are going to get them here?" wondered
Jane.
"Oh, that is easy. One doesn't even need to think to know how to do
that," laughed Harriet Burrell.
Jane regarded her admiringly.
"You sure are a wonderful girl. My daddy says he'd give a million if you
were his daughter."
"I'm worth much less than that," smiled Harriet. "Now let's go back. We
haven't any time to spare. When we get out into the lake both of us will
row, but let's be certain that there is no one in sight. We don't want
to be seen coming from this place or our plans will be spoiled before we
have had a chance to carry them out."
They shoved the rowboat back through the foliage by placing the oars on
the bottom and pushing. They made better progress this way than they
could have made by rowing, for the low hanging branches of the trees
fouled the oars, making rowing a difficult method of travel, as they had
learned when they entered the narrow little waterway.
No person was in sight when they emerged. The two girls bent to their
oars with a will and made rapid progress on their way back toward the
"Red Rover."
Those on the houseboat saw the girls coming.
"Harriet ith in a hurry about thomething," observed Tommy, wrinkling her
forehead into sharp little ridges of perplexity. She did not understand
how any one could be in a hurry on such a hot day as this.
The rowers reached the "Red Rover," and jumping aboard, their faces
flushed and eyes sparkling, proceeded to tell their companions of their
great find.
"And what is your plan?" asked the guardian, smiling good-naturedly.
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. That would not be right, you know."
"No one about here knows, or at least cares, what happens to us, unless
it is the Tramp Club," replied Harriet, "Besides, I shall find a way to
let them know we are above water, rather than underneath it."
"All right. I suppose you wish to move into this retreat to-day, Captain
Harriet?"
"Yes. At once."
"Then get under way, Captain, as soon as you wish. Able seaman Tommy
Thompson will heave the anchor for you," averred the guardian merrily.
"Able theaman Tommy will do nothing of the thort," retorted Tommy. "Able
theaman Tommy will heave herthelf overboard if thhe trieth to do any
heaving at all."
"Miss Elting, I think you can steer the boat. I am needed in the rowboat
with Jane," interrupted Harriet.
"Girls, I am afraid it is going to be a pretty hard pull in this heat.
Hadn't we better wait until the evening?" suggested the guardian.
Harriet and Jane protested that they didn't mind the heat at all, and
that they could pull the big boat over to the island without the least
difficulty. Miss Elting offered no further objections. The "Red Rover"
was a scene of activity from that moment on. All hands except Tommy
assisted in getting the anchor aboard. Harriet and Jane, without loss of
time, jumped into the rowboat and began pulling away. It was hard work
to get the houseboat started, but once under way it followed along
fairly well.
Miss Elting handled the tiller, while Hazel, Margery and Tommy acted as
lookouts to inform the rowers if any motor boats were sighted. The
lookouts watched the lake through their glasses. The sun glaring down on
the red sides of the "Red Rover" made the boat visible as far as eyes
could reach. It was even discovered by one of the Tramp Club boys, but
so slowly did it move that he was not aware that it was moving at all.
From the other side of the lake the houseboat appeared to be standing
still, until finally it disappeared altogether. He wondered a little
over this at the time, then forgot all about the circumstance until
later.
[Illustration: Miss Elting Handled the Tiller.]
In the meantime Harriet and Crazy Jane were heading toward the Island of
Delight, pulling at the oars with backs bent to their task. They were
destined to have a most delightful time on this their Island of Delight
and to experience some thrills as well, and Harriet's plans were to work
out better than she knew.