"Oh, that's all right, Mollie," Betty broke in quickly. "We understand that you are not vouching for the old man's honesty. All we want is his story. Please go on—I am awfully interested."
"Just think, gypsies on this island!" murmured Amy, shuddering.
"He says," Mollie continued, "in the old days there used to be as many as two or three hundred of the gypsies gathered around here—on this part of the island, too." She paused to see the effect of her words.
"But didn't your aunt say anything about that, Mollie?" Grace queried. "Why, it seems impossible. I don't wonder you felt creepy, especially if there are many like that old crone we saw in Deepdale," and she glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the open window.
"Don't you think we had better lock the door?" suggested Amy. "Some of those men in the gypsy camp looked actually murderous."
Of course the boys laughed at her fears, and Roy remarked casually: "The old chap told us something else, fellows, that may be of interest later on."
"What's that?" Will demanded.
"He said that when the tide was on the ebb, you could actually ford the lake to the islands farther south. It might be worth while trying some time."
"You bet it will!" said Allen, and his eagerness was not feigned.
"We'll try it the first chance we get," Frank added.