Anne kept her secret about the “haunted hut.” The more she thought about the ominous stranger’s threatening words, the less she felt inclined to risk his revenge. How ugly he had looked! And how wickedly he had hissed that word “Scalawag!” Sometimes Anne wished she had told everything to Tante or the Captain in the first place. But now she was ashamed to confess how much she had been afraid.
One day, about a week after Tante’s party, Reddy came to Anne with an important air. “Come out on the rocks!” he whispered. “I’ve got a secret to tell you. Hurry up with these dishes.” And seizing a clean dish-towel he began to rub the plates at a great rate.
“Goodness, Dick!” cried Anne with a laugh. “You’ll rub holes in the granite ware if you go at it like that.”
“Well, hurry,” said Dick. “I can’t wait. But you must promise not to tell.” Anne promised, and presently they stole away to the rocks. With much mystery Dick went about telling her his secret.
“Well, I’ve discovered something,” he began. “And because you were partly in it already, I thought we ought to have it a secret together.”
Anne was pleased. “What is it all about?” she asked eagerly.
“Well; you still insist that your cave was south of here, do you?”
“Of course it is,” she answered, looking bored. “Is that all it’s about?”
“No, listen. Suppose that old Geezicks took you home in a circle? Then your cave might be north of here, mightn’t it? He might have gone all around Robin Hood’s barn, as well as Round Robin, mightn’t he?”
“I suppose so!” said Anne. “And it mightn’t be so far, either. I didn’t see how we went. He wouldn’t let me look. He wanted to confuse me. Oh, Dick! You are clever!”