“And Tommy. Did you see Tommy and her torch, girls? Oh, wasn’t it a sight?”
“Yes. And Hazel and Harriet with their pails of water,” chuckled the guardian.
“Tommy, dear,” exclaimed Miss Elting, as the little girl sat down beside her, flushed and triumphant. “You have earned a bead this evening. I think each one of you is entitled to a bright red bead. Now pile on the wood, girls, so we shall have plenty of light. I don’t apprehend further trouble, but it is well to be prepared.”
“I will see to that,” spoke up Harriet. “I have a plan that will make it unnecessary for any one to sit up and keep watch.”
Harriet explained her plan, which met with the approval of the others. That plan was destined to fulfill its purpose later in the night, for their excitement was not yet ended, and before the dawning of another day, the Meadow-Brook Girls were once more to distinguish themselves.
CHAPTER VII—DISCOVERING MIDNIGHT PROWLERS
“Have you a ball of strong twine in your kit, Jane?” asked Harriet. “You told me to ask for anything I wanted but did not see.”
“Sure, I have. In the tool box. Wait. I’ll get it for you.”
While Jane went for the twine, Harriet hurried out, returning a few moments later with two sticks, each stick being about five feet long. Next she got a tin pail and stood the pail bottom-side-up on the sticks. Her companions watched her wonderingly.
“What are you trying to do?” demanded Miss Elting.