The Camp Fire Girls at the Seashore

Trenwith properly yet, Eleanor,

already, Charlie. He was splendid this morning. If he hadn't understood so qui

mild and pleasant enough now, had been as cold as steel when Bessie had seen him on the yacht. "But I could understand readily enough that you were in trouble,

," said Charlie, gravely. "You're in politics, aren't you? A

ld manage to keep alive if I never got another political office. I had a bit of a

for you to know the sort of game you're running into. I don't want to feel that

siness, Charlie. Suppose you loosen up and tell me about it.

King and Zara, the mysterious. If we knew more about Zara and her affairs this wouldn't be such a C

me ones that you can see there so busy about getting breakfast, over the state line

Trenwith. "Never been the

two-Bessie and Zara. And they'd had a str

mmented Trenwith. "But I supp

old farmer called Hoover and his wife. They had a son, too, a worthless you

to them in any

as a boarder, and they were supposed to send money to pay for her keep until the

pt her on, j

anage, and she didn't have a very good time. Zara, here, has a fath

e-we had to run away, Mr. Jamieson. They

e, being unable to understand them, that there must be something wrong about Zara's dad. No real re

ith l

"I see a lot of t

ne shindy at the Hoovers. Zara went over to see Bessie, and Jake Hoover locked her in a tool shed. Then he mana

ng pup, h

rd, no matter what she and Zara said. So, being scared, she just ran. I don't blame her; I'd have done the same thing

hink a man's guilty because he's scared and confused. It's an old theory that

ther was arrested. Apparently with an old miser and money lender called Weeks as the moving spirit

in anoth

his, and when they crept up to Zara's house to find out if it was true, they overheard enough to show them that it

was his

she went with him. He's the meanest old codger you ever saw. But he had a big pull in that

un away," said Trenwith, "legally and morally. They didn't o

ooked into the story they told me, and I found out it was per

aid Jamieson. "And then the old rip got a court order making him Zara's guardian, but he tried to serve it

you mean that he ke

ins. Miss Mercer took the two girls home with her, and almost at once, in the middle of the night, Zara was spirited away

to sound pretty e

trust me much, and I had a dickens of a time persuading him to talk. And then, just as I was about

shyster? Go

. We couldn't get any trace of her at all, until Bessie here dug up

a laugh. "How in the world did she ever get such a wild

m, Holmes came along, tricked her into getting in his car with another girl, and ran them over the state line. He met Weeks and this Jake Hoover-but Bessie was too smart

, blankly. "So Holmes had

d in glove with old Weeks, and for some reason he was mighty anxious to get both the girls across

y, Char

t question, Billy. It's kept me awake nights, and I'm no nearer to it now than I

n they weren't co

y were there, a gypsy tried to carry them off. He mixed them up a bit, and, partly by good luck, and partly

s mixed up

letter smashed his case, and the gypsy went to jail. They were afraid of Holmes, though, at Hamilton and we couldn't touch him. He's got a

ith, his eyes snapping. "Have you any reason to think he was mix

to back up what I think. There's the rub. Still-well, we'l

me to take a hand in this." He shot a look at Eleanor that Bessie did not

t Canton, which, though they had none of them thought of it, is in Weeks's state. And Bessie happened to discover that Jake Hoover was

er!" exclai

ra was able to elude the people who searched the train for her at Canton. Bessie

th, frowning. "He knew they were coming here and he

r chum Dolly Ransom happened to overhear two men who were put at the top of that bluff to watch the camp. They talked about

vict them of starting it. Then if these fellows think they're in danger of going to prison,

a good barg

an who was using him. They and the yacht are held safely at Bay City, in an

he thinks that every man has his price, and he probably has an idea tha

, angrily. "What a hound he must be! We've got to get to the

?" suggested Eleanor. "He told B

ning, Nell. Then of course I had to come down here when I got this news from

just what they want is that he's afraid of them-that they know of some wrong th

thing for us to do is to scare him worse than the

ot only handle him better, but we can keep an eye on him

you're not afraid of Holmes? H

saw the smile she gave him, and her look

said. "No, I'm not afraid of him, ol