It was not till after Mollie and Betty had prepared something for the famished boys to eat—and they had eaten it—that they settled down to a serious discussion of plans for the future.
“We’ve brought back a regular, waterproof tent with us,” explained the Little Captain. “Also four perfectly delightful air mattresses. But the boys think we oughtn’t to stay.”
“Humph,” said Mollie, valiantly, “I’d like to see ’em get us away.”
Strange that with the coming of the boys and Betty and Amy, the adventure of the night before had lost most of its terrifying aspect. It seemed almost something to laugh at.
However, when some time later Grace mentioned the affair to the boys, they did not seem inclined to laugh at it—not one bit.
“It’s a pretty serious thing, I think,” said Frank Haley. “I have a strange prejudice against anything that prowls at night.”
“Same here,” said Will, looking worried. “Of course, if you girls are sure you saw some one——”
“Oh, there’s no doubt about that,” said Mollie, positively. “We both saw it—or him—it was hard to tell whether it was really a man or not in the dark. But anyway,” she added, trying to make light of it, “I don’t think there’s anything to be excited about. Somebody was probably just—curious.”
But they hooted this idea as Grace had done some hours earlier. People did not go prowling about a camp in the middle of the night just out of harmless curiosity.
“However, we’re going to spend to-night here, anyway,” said Will, rising and looking about him. “And to-morrow will be time enough to decide whether you want to stay here or not.”