"What do you mean?" demanded Mr. Black.
"Come wit' me," repeated Dave, with the most complacent of smiles. "Ah'm show you som' deer in a trap—Ah'm snare heem just now."
Of course Mr. Black and the girls wanted to see so unusual a sight as a trapped deer; but when they discovered that the deer was a dear, their own beloved Marjory, their astonishment was great. And of course they were no less surprised to see Rosa Marie and Mahjigeezigoqua, her almost unspellable mother.
"Marjory!" gasped Jean. "We thought you were on the boat!"
"Marjory," panted Mabel. "All your clothes are on that boat."
"These aren't," returned Marjory, indicating what she had on. "And my skin isn't—I can wear that, if I have to."
"Granny brought me loads of things," assured Henrietta. "I guess you won't need to come down to skin."
"Marjory," demanded Mr. Black, rather severely for so mild a man, "do you mean to say that you were naughty enough to deliberately hide from Aunty Jane?"
Marjory colored, but remained silent. It occurred to her suddenly that telling the truth would seem a good deal like disloyalty to Dave—Dave, who had been her friend. As Marjory was not in the habit of fibbing, she didn't know what to say.
"Eef dose gal won't ron away on herself," explained Dave, promptly exonerating Marjory from all blame, "me, Ah'm mus' ron away wit' heem. Ah'm pull heem into de bush and ron, ron lak' de dev' (devil). Hey, li'le gal; Ah'm good frien' to you, hey? An' now dose aunt, w'at smell too strong wit' hees nose, ees gone two-t'ree mile, Ah'm t'ink."