“I will see if I can arrange for accommodations for us here,” said Grace, turning to the young women of her party. “Perhaps it will be as well for you to wait on the veranda.”
“Ask the proprietor if he has any old hats for sale,” suggested Hippy Wingate as Grace was entering the Lodge, at which there was an audible titter from several of the women guests of the place.
“Have you room, sir, for a party of six not very presentable persons?” questioned Grace, smiling at the clerk.
“For you, yes. I believe you are Mrs. Grace Harlowe Gray, are you not?”
The Overton girl looked her amazement.
“May I ask how you know my name, sir?”
“The deputy sheriff told me that you and your party were on the way here. How many rooms do you require?”
“Three with baths. I do not know how long we shall remain, but probably not longer than some time to-morrow. We shall go into camp when what is left of our equipment arrives.”
“Yes, I understand that you ladies have had a mishap,” volunteered the clerk.
“Is there anything that this man doesn’t know about us?” she wondered. To the clerk she said: “We shall need a reliable man to watch our horses to-night. Will you be so kind as to send some one to us, some person who is to be depended upon?”