CHAPTER VI
FOUND--ONE ALBUM
"I'm sorry Connie couldn't come along," said Laura, drinking in deepbreaths of the fragrant air.
"Yes," said Billie, her eyes twinkling. "She said she wished she hadn'tbeen born with a conscience."
"A conscience," said Vi innocently. "Why?"
"Because," said Billie, her cheeks aglow with the heat and exercise, herbrown hair clinging in little damp ringlets to her forehead, and her eyesbright with health and the love of life, "then she could have had a goodtime to-day instead of staying at home in a stuffy room and writing acartload of letters. She says if she doesn't write them, she'll neverdare face her friends when she gets home."
"She's a darling," said Laura, executing a little skip in the road thatsent the dust flying all about them. "Just think--if we hadn't met her wewouldn't be looking forward to Lighthouse Island and a dear old uncle whoowns the light----"
"Anybody would think he was your uncle," said Vi.
"Well, he might just as well be," Laura retorted. "Connie says that headopts all the boys and girls about the place."
"And that they adopt him," Billie added, with a nod. "He must be adarling. I'm just crazy to see him."
Connie Danver's Uncle Tom attended the lighthouse, and, living there allthe year around, had become as much of a fixture as the island itself.Connie loved this uncle of hers, and had told the girls enough about himto rouse their curiosity and make them very eager to meet him.
The girls walked on in silence for a little way and then, as they came toa path that led into the woods, Laura stopped suddenly and said in adramatic voice:
"Do you realize where we are, my friends? Do you, by any chance, remembera tall, thin, wild-eyed man?"
Did they remember? In a flash they were back again in a queer little hutin the woods, where a tall man stood and stared at them with strangeeyes.
Laura and Vi started to go on, but Billie stood staring at the path withfascinated eyes.
"I wonder why," she said, as she turned slowly away in response to theurging of the girls, "nothing ever seems the same in the sunlight. Theother night when we were running along that path we were scared to death,and now----"
"You sound as if you'd like to stay scared to death," said Lauraimpatiently, for Laura had not Billie's imagination.
"I guess I don't like to be scared any more than any one else," Billieretorted. "But I _would_ like to see that man again. I wonder----" shepaused and Vi prompted her.
"Wonder what?" she asked.
"Why," said Billie, a thoughtful little crease on her forehead, "I wasjust wondering if we could find the little hut again if we tried."
"Of course we couldn't!" Laura was very decided about it. "We were lost,weren't we? And when the man showed us the way back it was dark----"
"The only way I can see," said Vi, who often had rather funny ideas,"would be to have one of us stand in the road and hold on to strings tiedto the other two so that if they got lost----"
"The one in the road could haul 'em back," said Laura sarcastically."That's a wonderful idea, Vi."
"Well, I _would_ like to see that man again," sighed Billie. "He seemedso sad. I'm sure he was in trouble, and I'd so like to help him."
"Yes and when you offered you nearly got your head bit off," observedLaura.
Billie's eyes twinkled.
"That's what Daddy says always happens to people who try to help," shesaid. "I feel awfully sorry for him, just the same," she finisheddecidedly.
Then Laura did a surprising thing. She put an arm about Billie'sshoulders and hugged her fondly.
"Billie Bradley," she said sadly, "I do believe you would feel sorry fora snake that bit you, just because it was only a snake."
"Perhaps that's why she loves _you_," said Vi innocently, and scored apoint. Laura looked as if she wanted to be mad for a minute, but she wasnot. She only laughed with the girls.
They had as good a time as they had expected to have in town thatafternoon--and that is saying something.
First they went shopping. Laura had need of a ribbon girdle. Althoughthey all knew that a blue one would be bought in the end, as blue was thecolor that would go best with the dress with which the girdle was to beworn, the merits and beauties of a green one and a lavender one werediscussed and comparisons made with the blue one over and over, all fromvery love of the indecision and, more truly, the joy that looking at thedainty, pretty colors gave them.
"Well, I think this is the very best of all, Laura," said Billie finally,picking up the pretty blue girdle with its indistinct pattern of lighterblue and white.
"Yes, it is a beauty," replied Laura. "I'll take that one," she went onto the clerk.
After that came numerous smaller purchases until, as Vi said dolefully,all their money was gone except enough to buy several plates of ice creamapiece.
They were standing just outside the store where their last purchases hadbeen made when Billie, looking down the street, gave a cry of delight.
"Look who's coming!" she exclaimed.
"It's the boys!" cried Vi. "Mercy, girls, we might just as well havespent the rest of our money, the boys will treat us to the ice cream."
"Goodness, Vi! do you want to spend your money whether you get anythingyou really need or wish for or not?" inquired Billie, with a little gasp.
"What in the world is money for if not to spend?" asked Vi, making bigand innocent eyes at Billie.
Just then the boys came within speaking distance.
"Well, this is what I call luck!" exclaimed Ferd Stowing.
"Yes," added Teddy, putting his hand in his pocket, "just hear the moneyjingle. A nice big check from Dad in just appreciation of his absent son!What do you girls say to an ice-cream spree? No less than three apiece,with all this unwonted wealth."
"Ice cream? I should say!" was Billie's somewhat slangy acceptance.
"Teddy," suddenly asked Laura, "how does it come that you have any moneyleft from Dad's check?"
"Check came just as we left the Academy, Captain Shelling cashed it forme, and we have just reached town."
"Oh! Well, maybe I'll find one, too, when we reach Three Towers."
"So that's it, is it, sister mine? Envy!"
After that they ate ice cream to repletion, and at last the girls decidedthat there was nothing much left to do but to go back to the school.
It was just as well that they had made this decision, for the sun wasbeginning to sink in the west and the supper hour at Three Towers Hallwas rather early. As they started toward home, having said good-bye tothe boys, the girls quickened their pace.
It was not till they were nearing the path which, to Billie at least, hadbeen surrounded by a mysterious halo since the adventure of the othernight that the girls slowed up. Then it was Billie who did the slowingup.
"Girls," she said in a hushed voice, "I suppose you'll laugh at me, butI'd just love to follow that path into the woods a little way. You don'tneed to come if you don't want to. You can wait for me here in the road."
"Oh, no," said Laura, with a little sigh of resignation. "If you aregoing to be crazy we might as well be crazy with you. Come on, Vi, if wedidn't go along, she would probably get lost all over again--just for thefun of it."
Billie made a little face at them and plunged into the woods. Laurafollowed, and after a minute's hesitation Vi trailed at Laura's heels.
They were so used to Billie's sudden impulses that they had stoppedprotesting and merely went along with her, which, as Billie herself hadoften pointed out, saved a great deal of argument.
They might have saved themselves all worry on Billie's account this time,though, for she had not the slightest intention of getting lostagain--once was enough.
She went only as far as the end of the path, and when the other girlsreached her she was peering off into the forest as if she hoped to seethe mysterious hut--although she knew as well as Laura and Vi that theyhad walked s
ome distance through the woods the other night before theyhad finally reached the path.
"Well, are you satisfied?" Laura asked, with a patient sigh. "If youdon't mind my saying it, I'm getting hungry."
"Goodness! after all that ice cream?" cried Billie, adding with a littlechuckle: "You're luckier than I am, Laura. I feel as if I shouldn't wantanything to eat for a thousand years."
She was just turning reluctantly to follow her chums back along the pathwhen a dark, bulky-looking object lying in a clump of bushes near bycaught her eye and she went over to examine it.
"Now what in the world----" Laura was beginning despairingly whensuddenly Billie gave a queer little cry.
"Come here quick, girls!" she cried, reaching down to pick up the bulkyobject which had caught her attention. "I do believe--yes, it is--it mustbe----"
"Well, say it!" the others cried, peering impatiently over her shoulder.
"Miss Arbuckle's album," finished Billie.