“I don’t want you to kill yourself and not to have any of the fun, fishing and all.” Beth had a sympathetic voice that always carried more meaning than her words themselves.
“I have already had a great time with that, and I shall again, later. But you know how I like this sort of thing. I’d like to be a big contractor some day. The first tree comes down to-morrow morning!”
Dalton had another reason for working steadily at their camp. The experience with the man who had tried to set fire to their lumber had made quite an impression. Dalton had talked it over with Leslie, who thought that it might be the Eyrie which could be especially objectionable, since it had the view of the bay and any operations there.
“You don’t suppose, Dal, that they could think us spying?”
“They might think that we would report them if we saw anything unusual; but if they think that we are here on purpose it will reassure them when we build a larger and more permanent home,—unless all this comes from Mr. Ives, and he is really determined to get us away, for some reason.”
“We girls are going to try to find out.”
“Don’t use Peggy unless she wants to be in it, whether her father is concerned or not.”
“What do you think of me, Dal Secrest! Peggy shall know everything that we know, if she lends herself to our investigating. She was thunderstruck when she found out about our having an abstract of title, and Mr. Ives’ name not even mentioned.”
Dalton nodded. “Peggy is an unusually nice girl, but she is considerably younger and hasn’t much judgment. Don’t let her get into trouble at home, if you can help it. As for me, I’m going to be right on the job most of the time, and while we are putting up the log house, I’ll keep a man to sleep right here in camp. I would sleep in the Eyrie now, to watch it, if it were not for being farther away from you girls.”
“How about our sleeping there, then? With the padlock off, they will know that someone is inside, and there will be enough air with that one window open on the side of the ocean.”