"But you have done nothing wrong! Why shouldn't you go or come as you want to?" asked Cora.
"I can't tell you, miss, but them men seem to have some power and I want to get away from it. Where might I find a train or a boat?"
"If you have to go, I'll take you to the landing in my motor boat," replied Cora. "It has a canopy and you will not be seen on the water."
"If you could. I'd be very thankful. You see I'm not much used to the water, and rowing over from the shack nearly did me up."
"But I want to give you something for getting me my ring," insisted
Cora. "It is quite valuable, you know."
"I heard them say so, and now that the other girl is gone I'll tell you this much. Never you go over to that shack again," and the woman raised a warning finger. "It was a good thing you met me instead of Jim Peters the day you did go over. They'll be like tigers when they find I've got the ring. It was last night that gave me the chance. They had been out very late, and Tony didn't have any letters to copy so he fell asleep and—and I slipped away with it. I slept a bit under a tree, but indeed I was glad to see daylight."
"And you have been out all night? You must not think of taking a journey without first having something to eat. If you are afraid to come up to camp I'll have something put in the boat for you," declared Cora. "But let me ask you, did you overhear anything about a girl named Miss Blake? I saw Jones leave a hall where she was singing last night, and I suspect he met her as she went out. My brother followed, but I have not seen him since. He stops at the boys' camp," Cora explained.
"Blake? So that was the pretty girl who sang. Well, she had better be careful that she doesn't join the ghosts at Fern Island," said the woman, mysteriously.
"I know the girl. She's from my home place. And that is why my brother went to see that nothing happened to her," Cora said.
"Well, you are good people, one can see that," declared Kate. "But wait. I can't read much, but I picked this up to wrap the ring in."