"I was doing the same thing."
"I—I fell out of the tree—"
"Gracious! They didn't discover you, did they? I heard them shouting and running, and wondered what they had discovered."
"No. I dived into those bushes and lay down. Just then a man appeared. He looked to me like an Indian. He is a dangerous man, Harriet. When the boys came up and found him standing here you ought to have seen the expressions on their faces. Oh, it was funny."
"Which way did he go?" questioned Harriet eagerly. She was not laughing now. Another idea had occurred to her.
"Down to the lake. I followed him and saw him get into his canoe and paddle away."
"A canoe, did you say?"
"Yes. It was an old thing, but, my goodness, how it could go! And the man paddled without making a sound. I never saw any one handle a canoe like that."
Harriet gazed at her companion, the lines of her face contracting.
"Jane," she said, "I saw that man myself. It was the night I rowed out to see who was making camp near us. He shot out ahead of me in his canoe and disappeared. I must have disturbed him."