“Now, I’ll show you a short cut,” said Denny. “Take that path there—don’t be afraid of the sign that the owner put up—he has no right to the beach front; then when you get to the Lonely Willow—do you know where that is?”
Not one of them knew, but they were anxious to find out.
“You can’t miss the Lonely Willow, for it stands all alone and looks as forlorn as the mast of a sunken steamer,” said Denny. “It’s in the deep hollow by the watercress patch. Turn around that tree to your left and you’ll see another path. But wait a minute,” he broke off, “maybe it’s a bit lonely.”
“Oh, there are enough of us to shout if we see bears,” Cora laughed. “We have to hurry, and we will be glad to explore.”
“Well, good-bye then, and good luck. I’ll be at the dock ahead of you.”
“Isn’t he the quaintest old man?” asked Belle as the little party hurried along. Then she added: “You and Freda made quite a visit. We began to think you were kidnapped.”
“We did make a stay,” agreed Cora, “but Denny is a very old friend of Freda’s family, and, to tell you the truth, we could hardly break away when he started in to tell sea-yarns. Ouch! The mud is deep. I guess we must be near the Lonely Willow.”
“There it is!” exclaimed Belle, who was somewhat in advance of the others. “Indeed, it does stand all alone.”
“Isn’t it scary here!” whispered Bess. “See those two men under the Willow.”
All eyes were turned to the big tree. Two men were seated on a branch that made a comfortable seat. As the girls approached one of the men wrapped some papers up and thrust them into his pocket. But the movement was not lost on the girls.