The sound of their feet did not hold upon the porch. They leaped down the steps, and Tom beckoned the girls eagerly to join him at the window. The two men were racing down the lane toward the muddy highroad, paying little attention to their steps or to the last of the rainstorm.
"Panic-stricken, sure enough! Smart girl, Ruthie," was Master Tom's comment. "Now tell a fellow all about it."
The girls did so, while Ruth lit the alcohol lamp and made the tea. Tom was ravenous—nothing could spoil that boy's appetite.
"Gyps., sure enough," was his comment. "But what you heard them say wasn't much."
"They'd been robbing somebody—or were going to rob," said Helen, shaking her head. "What frightful men they are!"
"Pooh! they've gone now, and the old machine is fixed. We'll plow on through the mud as soon as you like."
"I shall be glad, when we get to civilization again," said his sister.
"And I'd like very much to understand what those men were talking about," Ruth observed. "Do you suppose Roberto knows about it? Pearls—beautiful pearls, that fellow spoke of."
"I tell you they are thieves!" declared Helen.
"We'll probably never know," Tom said, confidently. "So let's not worry!"