“I don’t know anything about the men—that’s the trouble,” voiced Ruth. “But I would like to have them caught to find out about them. This is the third time they have been sneaking around where I was. Once they were in our cellar!”
“Say no more! A detective shall have nothing on me!” cried Hal, and he, too, dashed from the house while the three girls followed more slowly, though none the less eagerly.
Dot and Tess, who had been given their breakfast earlier, in charge of Mrs. MacCall, came out in time to see the start of the pursuit.
“Oh, it’s a game they’re playing!” cried Dot, hugging her Alice-doll, who always shared breakfast with her. “May we play, Ruth?” she begged.
“We want to have some fun!” added Tess.
“It isn’t a game,” said Agnes. “Don’t ask questions, my dears. There may be trouble.”
“Is it some of the men from Plam Island?” Dot inquired.
“No,” Ruth replied. “You had better take them back into the house,” she added, in a low voice to Mrs. MacCall, and then she raised her voice to say to Hal, who was running toward the rear of the house:
“They didn’t go that way!”
“I know it, Ruth,” he answered. “But I was going to get out the car. Those men had a good start, from what little I saw, and we can get after them better in the car.”