“Would you like to have me find him?” he asked gently.
The girls looked at their little Old Maid of the Mountains and found that their own eyes were filled with tears. The old lady was blushing like any girl and for the moment her sweet old face was almost beautiful.
“Oh, yes!” she answered eagerly.
“Then,” said Allen, covering her thin little hand with his own strong brown one, “James Barton shall be found!”
CHAPTER XXV
YOUNG HEARTS
Never before in all their rather adventurous lives had the Outdoor Girls been so thrilled. It seemed incredible to them that their Old Maid of the Mountains whom they had befriended out of pity should turn out to be the heroine of such a genuine romance.
As for the little old lady herself, she professed an eager desire to get back to the city, and although she gave as her reason a natural wish to have legal matters in regard to her dead brother’s will settled, the girls knew that in reality she was hoping to meet James Barton, the wronged lover, of her younger days.
As soon as it was settled that Isabella Weeks was to return to the city, there to occupy a small apartment until she should secure a more suitable home, the girls lost all interest in their camp. They had about decided to return to Deepdale with the old lady when the latter herself settled the question for them.
Allen had returned to town, intent upon carrying out his promise to find James Barton, if such a thing were possible. But the other boys had remained with the girls at the camp, thinking that since the latter were planning to return to Deepdale so soon anyway, they, the boys, might wait so all could go together.