THE GIRLS WILL GO
“Where in the world were you boys?”
“We’ve been worried to death about you!”
“Why didn’t you tell us you were going to be out all night?”
“My! They look as though they’d slept in a barn!”
Thus the girls greeted the return of—shall I say our three heroes—a
little later that morning. They certainly did not feel like heroes,
however, as they rowed up to the little dock, and saw the Camp Fire
Girls waiting for them on shore.
“Oh, we’ve been off on a little trip,” said Blake.
“You don’t look as though you enjoyed it much, or as if it did you any
good,” said Mrs. Bonnell dryly. “Come on now, ’fess up and we’ll forgive
you. But we were worried.”
“Why so?” asked Jack, thinking to postpone the explanation.
“Why, Alice had a letter from home on the last mail, and there was some
news in it she wanted to tell Blake. We walked over to your camp, and
found it deserted. Then some of the boys whom you got to help us search
for Natalie, that time, came along and invited us out in their launch.”
“Did you go?” asked Phil.
“Certainly,” said his sister. “And we had a fine dance at the Point. All
but poor Natalie—she couldn’t on account of her ankle, and I just know
that Harry Morton got up the whole thing on her account.”
“He did not!” protested the blushing Natalie, while Blake looked at her
sharply.
“Then, on our way back, we stopped at your camp again,” went on the
Guardian, “and you weren’t there. Naturally we were worried. Now—where
were you?”
“Oh, just off on a sleuthing expedition,” said Jack airily. “Say, don’t
you want to invite us to breakfast?”
“We will if you tell us where you were,” challenged Mabel.
“I think I can guess,” said Natalie.
“Where?”
“In the old mill.”
“How did you—er—_guess_?” asked Blake.
“He was going to say _know_—he was going to ask how you knew!” laughed
Marie. “Oh, Nat, you hit it!”
“Supposing we were there?” challenged Phil.
“Did you find the ghost?” asked Mrs. Bonnell.
“Phil fell asleep and didn’t keep watch,” said Jack accusingly.
“I didn’t sleep any more than you fellows did. We were all in the same
boat,” came from the aggrieved one.
The girls were laughing.
“Better make a clean breast of it,” suggested Marie. “We won’t tell any
one else.”
“Do you promise?” asked Blake.
“Sure!” came in a chorus.
“Then, I’ll tell, to get square with Phil for sleeping while that ghost
came down, took what remained of our sandwiches, our best lantern, and
my knife and match-box.”
“Did it do that?” cried Mabel.
“It sure did!” cried Jack.
“What—what did _it_ look like?” whispered Natalie. “That face I saw——”
“We didn’t see a thing,” declared Blake, “nor hear a thing. I tell you
we slept through it all like innocent little babes. The ghost might have
carried us off to its den—that is if ghosts have dens—anyhow it could
have carried us all off for all of Phil.”
“Say, you quit!” begged the badgered one. “I’m no worse than either of
you two. I’ll tell you something, girls.”
And he proceeded to relate how, taking the first watch, he had slumbered
through it, but how his chums were equally responsible.
“It’s too bad,” said Marie. “All your work gone for nothing!”
“Oh, we had a good time,” said Blake. “But we’re dead tired now. It was
harder work than going fishing.”
“Come on in and we’ll give you some coffee,” invited Natalie and the
boys eagerly availed themselves of the chance.
At breakfast they talked over again their experiences of the night. The
girls were very nice about it, and didn’t laugh any more than they
really felt obliged to.
“But it is certainly killing!” cried Alice, “to think of you three big
fellows going after one poor, innocent little ghost and then letting
yourselves be robbed in that fashion.”
“That’s right,” said Blake, grinning sheepishly. “And it was my best
knife, too. Talk about taking candy from a baby!”
“What was the matter with you, Phil?” asked his sister. “Why didn’t you
carry an alarm clock? I’ll lend you my little square one if you want to
make another try.”
“Say, look here!” burst out Phil. “If you girls think it so easy to stay
up all night, why don’t you try a watch meeting in the old mill? Why
don’t you try to solve this mystery if you’re so smart?” and he fairly
glared at his sister.
“Maybe we will,” she said coolly. “Have some more coffee, Philly; and
don’t let your temper get the best of you.”
“Well,” he grumbled. “I guess anybody would.”
“Well, it was a joke on us all right,” assented Blake. “We might as well
take our medicine, fellows.”
The boys were in better humor after breakfast, and left for their camp,
promising to try and get their launch in running order and take the
girls out for a ride that afternoon.
“And we want to have another try for our canoe,” said Jack. “It won’t do
to let that get away from us.”
“Girls! Will you do it?” cried Natalie with eager, shining eyes when the
boys had gone.
“Do what?” asked Mabel.
“Try to find the ghost of the old mill—or whoever is hiding there.”
“Do you think some one is hiding there?” inquired Marie.
“There must be—to take the boys’ things. And they said they made a good
search all over the mill this morning, after they discovered their loss.
They couldn’t find a trace, though.”
“Then how can _we_?” asked Alice.
“_We_ have better luck,” went on Natalie. “Look how we found the Gypsy
camp. Besides, I have a theory.”
“What about?” Mrs. Bonnell wanted to know.
“About the hiding-place of the ghost. I think there must be a secret
room in the old mill. There almost always was, in old colonial houses,
you know.”
“And what makes you think some one is hiding there?” asked Mabel.
“Because of the way the boys’ things disappeared. Why, listen! Maybe
some criminal is hiding in the old mill, and only dares come out at
night.”
“A criminal-ghost or a ghost-criminal?” asked Marie with a laugh.
“Either or both.”
“And you want us to spend a night there? Ugh! Excuse me—never!” declared
Alice.
“I don’t mean stay there all night,” explained Natalie. “We could get
the other camping boys—the ones who took us over to the Point last
night—to run us to the mill in their launch. Then they could go off and
leave us—or stay within call, maybe, and we could search all over the
place for the secret room. I’m almost sure we can find it—I’m always
lucky that way.”
“I wish you’d find mother’s diamond ring then,” said Mabel with a sigh.
“Will you come, girls?” persisted Natalie.
“We’ll come home before dark; won’t we?” asked Alice.
“If you like; but it’s going to be a lovely moonlight night, and it will
be grand on the water.”
“Why not ask our own boys to take us over?” suggested Mrs. Bonnell.
“They wouldn’t,” said Mabel. “I think Nat’s plan is good—but I won’t
stay in that spooky place after dark.”
“Then we’ll go!” cried Natalie.
“Yes,” came in rather indifferent and hesitating accents from the
others.