“No. He got in his innings first. When he handed me the bill and told me where it came from I was so surprised I couldn’t speak. When I had recovered Darry had disappeared.”
“I think we had better not say anything about following him, then,” suggested Jessie, as they neared the lodge. “It would only make him angry.”
“I couldn’t get him to tell me anything about the girl, not even her name,” said Amy, regretfully. “I never saw such an annoying person! He is as close-mouthed as a clam!”
They found Aunt Emma, who hated to cook, in the lodge struggling with supper, and immediately set about helping her. It was fun to get the fire started and brown the ham to a golden crispness and fry the eggs till they looked like little white islands with a mound of gold in the center. In this pleasant occupation the girls forgot to miss Phrosy and forgot, for the moment, even to think of Phrosy’s ghosts.
Burd and Fol, coming in a few moments later, cheerful and ravenous and triumphantly displaying a nice catch of fish, declared that they had never tasted so fine a dinner.
Afterward they listened in to a splendid radio concert and about nine o’clock realized with relief that the “ghosts” had not chosen to make themselves manifest on that night at least.
On the afternoon of the second day after the girls had trailed Darry to Gibbonsville, they were tuning in to the wave length of the forest ranger station when there came suddenly to them, ringing along the airways, the words: “More men on the northeast section, sir. The fire is sweeping in a semicircle toward the north.”
“A fire!” cried Jessie. “Oh, I wonder if it is anywhere near us.”
“Listen, did you hear that?” cried Fol, excitedly. “The fire is a long way off——”
“Down at the other end of Lake Towako probably,” agreed Darry. “They will have it in hand in no time, I bet. Watch and see.”