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Page 25
The stranger laughed. "See here," he protested, "not an hour ago, when
I left the hotel, where my mother and I are spending the summer, I ate
three eggs, much bacon, four Maryland biscuit and drank two cups of
coffee. Fragile creature that I am, I believe I can exist on that
amount of refreshment for another hour or so. But whenever I go out on
a few hours' hunting trip, my mother insists that the steward at the
hotel put me up a luncheon. She is forever imagining that I am likely
to get lost and starve, a modern 'Babe in the Woods,' you know. By the
way, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Curtis, Thomas Stevenson
Curtis, if you please, but I am more used to plain, everyday Tom."
The girls acknowledged the introduction, then by common consent they
began walking away from the cabin.
A short distance was traversed in silence, then Madge said abruptly,
"Who do you suppose locked us in, Mr. Curtis?"
"I don't know," answered Tom Curtis darkly, clenching his fist. "But
wouldn't I like to find out! Have you an enemy about here?"
Madge shook her head. "No; as I said, we came to the neighborhood only
yesterday. We have met only the farmer and his wife, who allowed us to
land."
"I'll make it my business to find out who served you such a dastardly
trick, Miss Morton," Tom returned. "I expect to be in this
neighborhood all summer. My mother isn't very well, and we like this
quiet place. Our home is in New York. I was a freshman last year at
Columbia."
Only the day before Tom Curtis had informed his mother that he found
the neighborhood too slow, and that if she didn't object he would be
glad to move on. But a great deal can happen in a short time to make a
young man of twenty change his mind.
"Thank you," replied Madge sedately. "I'll be on the lookout for the
wretch, too. Now we must hurry back to our chaperon, Miss Jones. I
won't ask you to come with us this morning, but we shall be very glad
to have you come aboard our boat to-morrow. We haven't named her yet,
but she is so white and clean and new looking that you can't possibly
mistake her. She is lying on an arm of the bay just south of these
woods."
"I'll surely avail myself of the invitation," smiled Tom Curtis as they
paused for a moment at the edge of the woods. Below them the blue
waters of the bay gleamed in the sunshine. And yes, there was their
beloved "Ship of Dreams."
"Oh, you can see her from here!" exclaimed Madge, her eyes dancing with
the pride of possession. "See, Mr. Curtis, it is our very own 'Ship of
Dreams' until we give her a real name."
"She's a beauty," said Tom Curtis warmly, "and I really must have a
closer look at her."
"Then come to see us soon," invited Phil audaciously.
"I will, you may be certain of it. Good-bye. I hope you won't suffer
any bad effects from your strenuous night." The young man raised his
cap and, whistling to his dog, strode off down the hill.
"What a nice boy," commented Lillian.
Madge, however, was not thinking of Tom Curtis; her mind dwelt upon
their chaperon, and the long, anxious night she had spent alone on the
houseboat.
Poor Miss Jones! Her vigil had indeed been a patient one. From the
time the hands of the little cabin clock had pointed to the hour of six
she had anxiously awaited the girls. She had cooked the dinner, then
set it in the oven to warm. At seven o'clock she trudged up the hill
to the farmhouse to make inquiries. No one had seen the young women
since they passed through the fields early that afternoon. At nine
o'clock a party of farmers scoured the country side, but the extreme
darkness of the night had caused the young men to discontinue their
search until daylight.
At dawn Miss Jones flung herself down on her berth, utterly exhausted.
She would rest until the search party started out again, then she would
hurry to the nearest town and inform the authorities of the strange
disappearance of the girls. As she lay with half-closed eyes trying to
imagine just what could possibly have happened to her charges, a
familiar call broke upon her ears that caused her to spring up from her
berth in wonder.
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