“Somebody set it on fire—on purpose, you mean, David?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

The young man leaned over and whispered in her ear:

“Clifford Hunter himself!”

Mary Louise gasped in amazement. “But why?” she demanded.

“To collect the insurance!” was the surprising reply.

And, turning about, David McCall went back into the boarding house.

CHAPTER II
Clifford’s Story

“What did he say?” demanded both Jane and Freckles the moment David McCall was out of hearing distance.