“Eh, what?” exclaimed Jane. “Then what did happen to it?”
“The rope didn’t break off, at least not wholly so. It has been cut nearly in two with a sharp knife. I presume we shall find the other ropes in a similar condition. Whoever did it must have known that a storm was coming and thought that the first good puff of wind would leave us without a roof over our heads. Now, what do you think of that, Jane McCarthy?”
“The miserable cowards!” raged Jane. “Miss Elting!”
The others of the party were quickly made acquainted with what Harriet had discovered. Then there followed an immediate examination of the other guy-ropes, all being found partly severed by a knife. The uneven, stringy ends showed where the break had come when the wind blew hard enough to part them.
This was a new element of discomfort and mystery.
“I can’t understand who would do such a thing,” pondered Harriet Burrell.
“The boys wouldn’t play that trick on us, would they?” questioned Margery.
“Indeed they would not. This is not fun; this is malice, nothing less,” declared Harriet. “I am afraid we have enemies here, girls, but whoever they are we are going to triumph over them to-morrow, even if we have to go to the courts soaked to the skin and out of condition as the result of our night’s experiences.”
The light was now strong enough to enable them to make out objects about them quite clearly. They examined the ground. They found the imprint of boots in the soft turf all around where the tent had stood, but whether these had been made by one of the boys or by their midnight visitor they were unable to say. They were strongly inclined to the opinion that it was the enemy who had put them in such a plight.
“I don’t think we shall put up the tent now,” said Miss Elting, after reflection. “It is now nearly daylight. The boys will be along soon. They will set the camp to rights. There go two of them now to put up the dressing tent. Whoo-e-e-e!”