Penny unhooked the water bucket from the pipe, and the girls started down the trail, carrying it between them. Emerging from among the trees, they glimpsed a figure below them. A woman in a dark cloak who carried a picnic hamper, was walking rapidly up the winding trail.
Penny stopped so suddenly that she spilled water on her sandals.
“Lou, that’s Mrs. Deline!” she whispered.
“What of it, pet? She’s evidently going on a picnic.”
“At this time of day? And alone?”
“Well, that part of it does seem a bit odd.”
Penny pulled her chum into the bushes beside the path. Crouching low beside their water bucket, they allowed the woman to pass. Looking neither to the right nor left, she hastened on up the trail.
“She seems to be in a big hurry,” Penny commented, coming out of hiding. “Now where do you suppose she’s going?”
“Probably to the cabin. One of your ranger friends told me about a rustic place farther up the trail. It was built especially for the enjoyment of the public.”
“But why would Mrs. Deline go there alone?”