A flash of inspiration came to Doris.
“Camp!” she cried exultingly. “That’s just what we can do. We’ll all go out to Mr. Baker’s grounds and live in the cabins!”
“And eat Mrs. Mallow’s home cooking,” Kitty added. “It will taste a lot better than this hotel food, too!”
“I never thought I’d care for camping,” Mrs. Mallow said doubtfully, “but it seems we have no choice. As soon as Marshall and Dave come, we’ll move our things out there.”
Since they could not stand on the street, the three took their bags and went to a nearby restaurant, where they ordered breakfast.
“Wonder what became of Ollie Weiser?” Kitty asked, as they lingered over their toast and cocoa. “Have you seen him since the fire, Doris?”
“No, I haven’t. I hope nothing happened to him. He was sleeping in a room over the kitchen, and that seemed to be w}iere the fire started.”
“I heard the firemen say no one was trapped inside, so he must have escaped,” Mrs. Mallow declared. “What caused the fire, anyway?”
“No one seems to know,” Kitty told her. “There’s to be an investigation.”
The discussion was brought to a sudden end as Doris sprang up from her chair, pointing excitedly out of the window at a dilapidated car which had stopped at the curb near the hotel.
“Marsh and Dave!” she cried.
The three hurried from the restaurant, joyfully greeting the two travelers.
“So this is The Mayfair!” Marshmallow drawled, as he surveyed the ruins.
“We heard about the fire and were terribly worried,” Dave told Doris with a relieved smile. “Thought you folks might have been hurt.”
“I’m about starved,” Marshmallow broke in upon them. “Let’s get something to eat at this restaurant. We can talk things over inside while we are eating.”
They all went into the eating place, but Mrs. Mallow and the girls did not order again. While the two young men ate breakfast, the girls gave a graphic account of the fire. In turn, Dave told of their own experiences since leaving Chilton. They had been forced to change four flat tires, and in addition they had had trouble with the clutch, necessitating a half day’s wait at a small-town garage.
“Where to now?” Marshmallow asked, after he had finished his second plate of pancakes.
Doris told him of the plan to stay at Mr. Baker’s summer camp. As she had anticipated, both Marshmallow and Dave were enthusiastic over the idea and announced their eagerness to start for the cove at once.
“I’ll be glad to go some place where I can clean up and properly dress myself,” Mrs. Mallow sighed, as she climbed into the old car. “I feel like a scarecrow.”
In a few minutes the party arrived at the camp, and even Mrs. Mallow became enthusiastic as she examined the cottages, declaring that she liked the place better than the hotel.
“It was really a lucky break for us that the hotel burned,” Doris laughed. “We’ll have a regular lark here!”
“It’s certainly nice,” Dave commented.
The party found Mr. Baker at one of the cabins, as he had chanced to drive out from Cloudy Cove early that morning. He was delighted to have Mrs. Mallow and the girls join his little colony and promised them a cabin next door to that already assigned to the boys. As soon as the bags were unpacked, Mrs. Mallow stretched herself out on the bed, announcing that she intended to get a little rest before luncheon. Doris and Kitty were jolly, notwithstanding all that they had gone through. Leaving Mrs. Mallow, they escorted Marshmallow and Dave about the camp.
“Gee, this is great,” said Marshmallow enthusiastically. “Who wants hotel life, anyway?”
Kitty giggled. “Ask Doris if she doesn’t prefer it, though. Dancing, you know—”
Doris shot her a dark look. Dave glanced up inquiringly at the two girls, but neither of them offered an explanation. As a matter of fact, Doris was eager to change the subject, so she said: “Come on down to the water. It’s lovely, and we were told there were lots of fish just waiting to be caught.”
“Hurrah!” exulted Marshmallow, who loved this sport.
“The people here seem to be pleasant,” Doris went on, “although there is one odd-looking man.”
They pointed out the cabin occupied by Mr. Jay and repeated all that they had learned concerning the miser.
“We’ll have to get acquainted with him,” Dave declared.
When the young people returned from the beach, Mrs. Mallow insisted that she was sufficiently rested to consider the matter of stocking up the kitchen shelves.
“We must go to town and purchase supplies,” she declared. “It will seem good to have a home-cooked meal again.”
Marshmallow and Dave volunteered to buy the groceries, but Mrs. Mallow, not entirely trusting their judgment on such matters, decided to go with them. Since the car did not carry five passengers comfortably, Doris and Kitty remained at the cabin.
After the others had left, they busied themselves rearranging furniture and unpacking their, bags. Many of their frocks had been badly mussed, but they consoled themselves with the thought that camp life would not require preciseness of dress.
“They should be getting back pretty soon,”
Doris remarked, going to the window to look out. “Fm beginning to get hungry—”
The words trailed off.
“Kitty!” she cried. “Now we are in for it! Look who’s here!”
Kitty moved over to the window and glanced out. Ollie Weiser was walking rapidly toward their cabin!
CHAPTER XII
Ollie Weiser Again
As the girls beheld the magician coming from the direction of the woods, they turned quickly away, but not before he had caught sight of them at the window. His face lighted up and he quickened his step.
“Now we are in for it!” Doris repeated in disgust. “Just our luck!”
“Let’s not open the door,” Kitty suggested.
“He saw us,” Doris returned with a sigh, “so I’m afraid we’ll have to.”
Reluctantly she went to the door as the magician knocked, but did not look overjoyed at seeing him.
“Didn’t expect to find you girls here,” he declared, boldly walking in without waiting for an invitation. “Cosy little place you have.”
“We like it,” Kitty replied shortly.
“Came out here to see Mr. Baker about taking a cottage myself.”
“He rented one to you?” Doris questioned almost fearfully.
Ollie Weiser shook his head gloomily.
“The old cod didn’t seem to take much of a fancy to me. Neither did that seedy fellow who lives over there in the woods.”
“You mean Mr. Jay?” Doris inquired with interest.
“Don’t know his name, but I do know he has a mighty vicious dog. The hound tried to take a chunk out of my leg, when I went to the spring for a drink of water! I complained to Mr. Baker and he had the nerve to tell me the dog was trained to run off undesirables!”
“Perhaps Mr. Baker doesn’t want your snakes around the place,” Doris suggested, smiling. “They might frighten the guests.”
“It wasn’t on account of the snakes that he wouldn’t rent me a cabin,”