“There was, Andrew, I’m afraid; a man who ought to know better, and whom you wouldn’t suspect of allowing such a dreadful thing to be done.”

Andrew shook his head wisely.

“It’s hard to know what to wish,” she said.  “Sometimes a man is much worse when he comes out of prison than he was when he went in.  It seems just to harden them, and make it impossible for them to get started on the right road again.”

“It’s their fault for going wrong in the fust place,” said the old guide, sternly.  “That’s what I say.  I don’t take any stock in these new fangled notions of makin’ the jail pleasant for them as does wrong.  Make ’em know they’re goin’ to have a hard time, an’ they’ll be lest willin’ to take chances of goin’ wrong and bein’ caught with the goods, like this feller here today.  I bet you when he gets out of jail he’ll be so scared of gettin’ back that he’ll be pretty nearly as good as a white man.”

“Of course, the main thing is to frighten any of the others from acting the same way,” said Eleanor.  “I think the hotel will be sorry it let those gypsies stay around there.  Because it’s very sure that mothers who have children there will be nervous, and they’ll go away to some place where they can feel their children are safe.

“Well, good-bye, Andrew.  I’m glad you think it’s safe now.  I really would like to feel that we can get along by ourselves here, but, of course, I wouldn’t let any pride stand in the way of safety, and if you thought it was better I’d ask you to leave one of the men here.”

“No call for that, ma’am.  You’ve shown you can get along all right.  We didn’t have nothin’ to do with gettin’ Miss Dolly away from that scamp today.  It was her chum done that.  Goodbye.”

CHAPTER XV

A FRIENDLY CONTEST

Morning found both Dolly and Bessie refreshed, and, though the other girls asked them anxiously about themselves, neither seemed to feel any ill effects after the excitement of the previous day, with its series of surprising events.  Dolly, at first, was a little chastened, and seemed wholly ready to stay quietly in camp.  And, indeed, all the girls decided that it would be better, for the time at least, not to venture far into the woods.

“I think it’s as safe as ever now, along the well-known trails that are used all the time,” said Miss Eleanor, “but, after all, we don’t know much about the gypsies.  Some of them may be hanging around still, even if the main party of them has moved on, and we do know that they are a revengeful race; that when one of them is hurt, or injured in any way, they are very likely not to rest until the injury is avenged.  They don’t care much whether they hurt the person who is guilty or not; his relatives or his friends will satisfy them equally well”

“I’m perfectly willing to stay right here by the lake,” said Margery Burton, “for one.  It’s as nice here as it can possibly be anywhere else.  I’d like someone to go in swimming with me.”