“I’ll write home and ask Will to come,” said Grace.  “He might like to spend a few days here, and Uncle Harry said he could take a tent if he liked.”

“Ask Frank Haley, too,” suggested Amy.

“And Percy Falconer!” added Mollie, with a sly glance at Betty.

“Don’t you dare!” came the protest.

“I meant Allen Washburn,” corrected Mollie.

“He can’t come—­he has to take the bar examinations!” cried Betty, quickly.

“How do you know?” she was challenged.

“He wrote—­” and then Betty blushed and stopped.  Her companions laughed and teased her unmercifully.

There was some mail for the girls awaiting them at Mr. Smith’s house, having been forwarded from Deepdale.  And Betty’s letter contained a surprise.  Among other things, her mother wrote: 

“There have been some inquiries made here about the five hundred dollar bill.  Down at the post-office the other day a man came in and posted a notice, saying he had lost such a sum of money somewhere in this part of the country.  His name is Henry Blackford, and the address is somewhere in New York State.  It was on the notice, but some mischievous boys got to skylarking and tore it off.  Your father is going to look into the matter.”

“Oh, maybe he’ll find the owner of the money, after all!” cried Mollie.

“Maybe,” returned Betty.

CHAPTER XXII

A PERILOUS LEAK

The boys came to the camp at Cameron—­Will, Frank—­and, as a surprise—­Allen Washburn.  Betty could hardly believe it when she saw him, but he explained that he had successfully passed his bar examinations, and felt entitled to a vacation.  Will had invited him on the receipt of his sister’s letter.

“And we’ll have some dandy times!” exclaimed Will.

“What about the man looking for his five hundred dollars?” asked Grace, for her brother and the other boys knew of the find, and also of the notice put up in the post-office.

“No one seems to know much about him,” said Will, when he had been told of Mrs. Nelson’s letter.  “He hurried in, stuck up that notice, and hurried out again.  Then some kids tore off the address.”

“He’s crazy,” affirmed Frank.

“It does seem so,” admitted Will.  “He asked the postmaster if anyone had found a big sum of money, and of course Mr. Rock—­slow as he always is—­didn’t think about the advertisement in the Banner.  He said he didn’t know of anyone picking up a fortune, and the man hurried off.”

“I must write to him, if I can learn that address,” said Betty.

The weather continued exceptionally fine, and life in the woods, in the tent for the boys and the bungalow for the girls, was well-nigh ideal.  They stayed there a week, enjoying the camping novelty to the utmost.  At night they would gather around a campfire and sing.  Sometimes they went out on the lake in a small launch Mr. Smith owned.