“By Jove!” said Jimmie, “nothing but a tricky foreigner, after all, and I was just beginning to like him too.”
“He’s more than a trickster,” Bab whispered. “He’s wearing a green velveteen suit.”
“Well, what of it?” asked Stephen.
“It’s the same suit the highwayman wore who slashed the tires of the automobile.”
“Whew-w-w!” cried the boys.
“Be careful,” whispered Ruth. “Don’t let him hear us. Do you think he saw us?”
“No,” replied Alfred, “or he would never have yodeled.”
Barbara began to consider. Should she tell about the knife, or should she wait? She believed that if she told it would only complicate matters and bring Zerlina, the Gypsy girl, into the muddle. Suppose she told, and then, when they reached home, they found that José had been away that morning? It would immediately call down upon him the suspicions of the whole party, suspicions perhaps undeserved. Bab had never had cause to regret her ability to keep a secret, and she concluded to test it again by holding her peace a little longer.
“José or no José, let’s go on and have our good time,” exclaimed Stephen. “Everything depends on whether José was at home or not this morning. If he wasn’t, why, then he’ll have to give an account of himself. And if he was, we shall have to consult uncle about what to do. We will hunt the man out of these woods, anyway. He has no business lurking around here.”
Once more they started off, and were not troubled again by the yodler.