Luncheon was eaten by the roadside and the journey resumed immediately afterwards. An hour later they came upon a clearing of about an acre, with a small space occupied by a garden in which stood a log cabin of comfortable dimensions.
"Grace, is this the place?" called Tom Gray as they slowed down.
"I don't know, but it seems to answer the description."
"Anybody living up here would need to be a guide or he never would be able to find his way home," declared Lieutenant Wingate.
"Hoo—oo!" hailed Emma.
After a few moments of waiting the Overlanders were gratified to see the cabin door open and a woman step out, shading her eyes with a hand. She was tall, thin and angular, the thinness of her face accentuated by a pair of big horn-rimmed spectacles through which she glared at the newcomers.
"Who be ye?" demanded the woman in a rasping voice.
"We are the Overland Riders, and we are looking for Joe Shafto's place," answered Grace pleasantly.
"I reckon ye ain't lookin' very hard," snapped back the woman.
"Is this Joe's place?" interjected Tom Gray.