“Let her ‘prop’!” cried Belle.
“Well, you know our little friend, Freda, has lost some property; that is, her mother and herself have lost a certain claim to it. This little colony around here is fairly bristling with the prosperity implanted in it by such thrifty men as was Freda’s grandfather, but in spite of that, strangers come in, make a big fuss about riparian rights, and government laws, and property claims and, in so doing, pretend to discover a flaw in a title that for years has been considered perfectly clear.” She paused, for Bess had opened her mouth twice, and this time Cora wanted to hear what she had to say.
“We heard some women talking about that to-day,” said Bess, “and they said it was a shame to take a homestead from Mrs. Lewis. They were not whispering their opinions, either.”
“So it is a shame,” Cora said, “and if we can, in any way, help to get the truth established, we will surely have a good reason to remember this holiday.”
“How?” queried Marita. “We don’t understand anything about land, and deeds, and lawyers.”
At this everyone but Marita laughed. She was not acquainted with the daring deeds of the motor girls, as that was what they had undertaken and accomplished in the past.
“You see, Marita dear,” Cora explained, “because we seem such harmless babies we are able to get information that others, considered more dangerous, might not have access to. Now, let me continue. There are men around here, members of some sort of a land company, who are trying to get hold of certain papers. We don’t know whether they exist or not, but in our own quiet, girlish way——”
Here she was interrupted with a burst of mocking laughter. “Your quiet girlish way,” repeated Belle. “Why, Cora, I do believe if you thought you could get the better of that land company you would take the Chelton, and go—pirating! Wouldn’t it be great to go out on a dark night, steam up the bay, watch for other boats, listen to the smugglers——”
“Oh, Belle,” put in Lottie, “that’s not the way in books. We would have to go out and get kidnapped, and then, when in the cave, we would hear the plot of the men who were going to steal the old homestead.”
“Hurrah!” cried her hearers.