“That is so. He may not be there now. But—”
“But me no buts, unless you mean to go on,” said Helen, as Ruth hesitated again.
“It does seem queer,” said Ruth thoughtfully. “Other people go there besides the King of the Pipes.”
“Indeed! We all went there when that allegory was staged.”
“And since then,” said Ruth, and proceeded to tell the two girls what she and Chess Copley had seen early one morning.
“Men landing boxes on the island?” cried Helen, while Wonota merely looked puzzled. “There is a camp there, like enough. And those men—and the woman—in the launch might have come from there, of course. When Willie comes back for us, let’s sail around the island and see if we can spy where their tent is set up. For of course there is no house there?”
“Tom and I found no habitation when we went to search for the old man,” admitted Ruth.
“All right. It must be a tent, then,” said her chum with conviction. “We’ll see.”
But as it turned out, they made no such search that day. Indeed, Willie and the Gem did not return for them. The camp launch was not the first craft that appeared. Ruth was again coaching Wonota after lunch when Helen spied something on the water that caused her to cry out, drawing the other girls’ attention.
“Who under the sun is this coming in the canoe?” Helen demanded. “Why! he is making it fairly fly. I never!”