“Aren’t the melonth delithiouth?” breathed Tommy. She was now eating her second melon. The other girls were enjoying theirs equally well.

“Yes,” agreed Miss Elting. “The finest I ever ate. They must have cost the boys quite a sum of money, even though melons are cheap in the country. I——”

“Thomebody ith coming,” warned Tommy.

“The boys are returning, I presume,” smiled Miss Elting. But instead of the boys they were surprised to see a strange man striding into camp. He was plainly a farmer. He wore his whiskers long and his trousers were tucked in the tops of his boots. His face did not bear a pleasant expression.

“So I’ve caught you at it, eh?” he said sarcastically.

“What do you mean?” demanded the guardian rising hastily.

“You know well enough what I mean. In the first place, you are trespassing on my premises.”

“We have permission to camp here,” interjected Jane.

“Who gave it?”

“The farmer who owns this land.”