A DOUBLE SURPRISE
"Who you?" growled the strange man.
"We--we--" began Larry.
"I beg your pardon, sir. You aren't the person we were seeking,"
apologized George Baker.
"Who you look for?"
"Oh, a friend of ours. I am sorry if I disturbed you. Were you up in
that tree?" demanded George, a sudden thought occurring to him. He
wondered if this questionable-looking half-breed had been up there while
they were holding their conference a short time before that.
The fellow made no reply. He stood regarding them with inquiring,
suspicious eyes until the boys grew restless under his scrutiny.
"Well, you needn't look at us that way," declared George, flushing under
the steady, disconcerting gaze of the stranger. "We don't know you and
you don't know us, and I guess you don't own the island. Come on,
fellows."
The boys started away, trudging thoughtfully towards home. As for Jane
McCarthy, the instant she reached the ground, she had scrambled to her
feet and darted into the bushes, where she threw herself on the ground,
breathing heavily, waiting for what might come. What did come amazed
her. She saw the man dash up and glance hurriedly about him. It was
evident that her fall had attracted his attention, and that he had run
to the tree, hoping to catch some one. Gazing at him through the bushes,
the girl decided that he must be an Indian. She gazed at him long and
earnestly, forgetting for the moment her own precarious position.
Then the boys came. The half-breed stood scowling after them as they
hurried away. At this juncture the "caw" of a crow was heard again. He
started slightly, bent his head and listened, but there was no
repetition of the signal, for which Crazy Jane McCarthy was devoutly
thankful. It was plain that he knew it was not a crow, that he
understood it to be a signal of some sort.
The half-breed suddenly turned, starting toward the shore of the lake at
a brisk pace, worming his way through the bushes with almost no
disturbance at all, even at the swift pace he was keeping up.
Jane had lost her fear now. The boys had gone on out of sight and sound
and the intruder was hurrying toward the lake. The girl, however, did
not dare to run. She feared to meet the Indian, so she crept along
cautiously. It was but a short distance to the shore of the lake. She
reached there after having followed the Indian's trail. Jane was just in
time to see the fellow launching a canoe. It was a dark green boat,
showing long and hard usage.
The fellow leaped in and sent the boat well out into the lake with a
single stroke of the paddle, after which he glided up the lake, keeping
close in shore under the partial protection of the foliage. Fortunately
Jane had thrown herself down again immediately on seeing him, else he
might have caught sight of her. That he was a man experienced in the
woods, as well as on the water, was plain to be seen. She watched him
out of sight, then hurried back to the spot where she had met with
disaster and gave the crow signal. It was not much of a success. She
repeated it and did better. Jane called several times. Then she jumped
clear off the ground at the sound of a voice behind her.
"Jane McCarthy! What are you doing here?"
"Harriet!"
"Yes, it's I. But what on earth have you been doing?"
"Di--did you see the man?" gasped Jane.
"Wait a moment. I don't understand you. What is it about a man?"
"I--I was in the tree there when the boys came back. I heard them coming
and climbed the tree to hide."
"I was doing the same thing."
"I--I fell out of the tree--"
"Gracious! They didn't discover you, did they? I heard them shouting and
running, and wondered what they had discovered."
"No. I dived into those bushes and lay down. Just then a man appeared.
He looked to me like an Indian. He is a dangerous man, Harriet. When the
boys came up and found him standing here you ought to have seen the
expressions on their faces. Oh, it was funny."
"Which way did he go?" questioned Harriet eagerly. She was not laughing
now. Another idea had occurred to her.
"Down to the lake. I followed him and saw him get into his canoe and
paddle away."
"A canoe, did you say?"
"Yes. It was an old thing, but, my goodness, how it could go! And the
man paddled without making a sound. I never saw any one handle a canoe
like that."
Harriet gazed at her companion, the lines of her face contracting.
"Jane," she said, "I saw that man myself. It was the night I rowed out
to see who was making camp near us. He shot out ahead of me in his canoe
and disappeared. I must have disturbed him."
"But who--what?" gasped Jane.
"I believe he is the man who has been following us and trying to drive
us away. I can't think of any other reason for his acting as he has. He
undoubtedly knows that we are somewhere about, and has been looking for
us just as the boys themselves have been doing."
"Good gracious," muttered Crazy Jane. "I'm sorry I didn't stay on the
boat."
"And I am glad you did not. You surely have discovered something. Would
you know the man if you were to see him again?"
"Yes."
"Then we will see if we can't discover him again. I believe we are
getting near to a solution of the enemy that has been following us.
Either we must settle him or he will do us some injury. I am glad the
boys saw him, too. I am going to suggest to Miss Elting that we go back
to our old anchorage to-morrow. To-day we have other plans on hand. And
that reminds me. It is getting dark and it is time we were getting back
to the boat. We will go down the rope when we reach there. Come."
The two girls hurried along, keeping a sharp lookout, not knowing but
that the boys might be lying in wait for them. They reached the rocks
above the houseboat. All was quiet below. Jane went down the rope first,
landing in the creek. Harriet did the same, and none of their companions
discovered either of them until Jane had climbed aboard the boat and
appeared dripping before them.
"Here we are, girls," laughed Jane.
"Did you discover anything?" asked Miss Elting eagerly.
"We did."
"Tell us what happened," urged the guardian.
"The boys found the false trail we made, as well as the one we did not
wish them to find. They nearly discovered Jane, too. She sat in a tree
while they made their plans nearby. Then Jane fell out of the tree."
The girls shouted.
"And what do you think?" continued Harriet. "The boys were only a short
distance away. They hurried to the scene, and when they got there they
found--"
"Jane," finished Tommy.
"No. A man. A half-breed from what Jane says. He went away in a canoe.
He did not see her."
Miss Elting regarded Harriet reflectively.
"Yes, I think it was the same one," said Harriet in answer to the
guardian's unspoken question. "It is evident that our presence here is
suspected by others than the Tramps. I would suggest that we carry out
our plans to-night, then move away from here to-morrow."