“Work?” Florence stared.
“Oh, yes,” Edith explained. “These days there are many who have no work. If there is a very terrible fire men will be hired to fight it. Thousands of men.”
“Oh! but these wouldn’t do that!”
“It has been done many times.” There was a ring of truth in Edith’s voice. She was of the North. She knew.
Florence thought of the hundreds of men being brought to the island to fight this fire. One thing was certain. If there was a firebug on this island he must be caught. She would ask questions of people here and there about the mysterious youth in the crimson sweater. She would search far and wide for him. If he seemed to avoid her she would hunt him down. He should not escape. So, fired by a new resolution, she rowed back to the Wanderer.
CHAPTER IX
THE DEFENSE OF CHIPPEWA
She had barely reached the Wanderer when a messenger, having raced over the two-mile trail from Rock Harbor Lodge, appeared on the shore. Quite out of breath, and greatly excited, he shouted across the narrow stretch of water,
“Hey, there! Chippewa Harbor is burning!”
“What?” Florence was startled. “How do you know?”
“Got a short wave message from Ve and Vi, whoever they are.”