“Indeed it does,” agreed Mabel. “But what can we do?”
“If the Gypsies are really to blame,” went on Mrs. Bonnell, “then they should be warned to keep away from here. Why can’t we send word to that constable who so nearly arrested Nat?”
“We can,” said Alice. “But he couldn’t seem to find the Gypsies himself, and neither the boys nor ourselves have had any better luck.”
“I was going to say we might make another try at Bear Pond,” resumed the Guardian. “We know the road now, and we won’t get lost. Suppose we have a second try. We don’t need to tell the boys, except that we are going off for a row and walk. I would like to know that our camp was safe when we leave it.”
“What about leaving it to look for the Gypsies?” asked Marie.
“Well, we would have to take one chance of course.”
They talked it over, and ere the boys had come back with their dry clothing the Camp Fire Girls had decided that they would make another try to locate the suspected Gypsies.
“We might take Reuben for an escort,” suggested Natalie.
“Oh-o-o-o!” came in a long-drawn-out chorus. “Oh-o-o-o Nat!”
“No, let’s see if we can’t do this all ourselves,” suggested Marie. “Remember that we are—Camp Fire Girls!”
“Have we everything we need?” asked Natalie.
“No, and we wouldn’t even if we had brought the whole camp outfit with us,” replied Marie. “We’d still find that we wanted something we didn’t have.”
“But we have enough!” declared Mrs. Bonnell, looking at what she carried, and then at the burdens borne by the girls. It was two days after the episode of the hornets, and the members of Dogwood Camp had sallied forth to make another effort to locate the Gypsies. And, to prevent a repetition of their unfortunate experience the previous time, they were well equipped, as will presently be set forth.
They had managed to conceal from the boys their real destination, by a harmless little subterfuge that it is needless to recite. Sufficient to say that it was rendered all the more easy because the boys had a ball game in prospect—two nines made up of cottagers and campers—and they were to play at a certain distant and fashionable hotel.
“Which means that they will be away late enough so that they won’t have to come to rescue us,” said Mabel.