“We don’t want anything p’ticular,” said Marjorie, who did not wish to be intrusive; “we did want a drink of water out of the brook, but we had nothing to drink from, and then we saw you building a basket, and we just came over to look at you.  You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, I don’t mind,” and the man’s voice was a little less gruff as he looked at Marjorie’s pretty smiling face.  Then he gave her another look, somewhat more scrutinizing, and then he looked again at King.  “You want a drink of water, do you?” and the look of interest in his round black eyes seemed to become intensified.  “Well, I’ll tell you what to do; you go right straight along that little path through the grass, and after a few steps, you’ll find some people, and they’ll give you a drink of water with pleasure, and a nice cup to drink it out of.”

“Is it far?” asked Marjorie, for she couldn’t see any signs of habitation, and did not wish to delay too long.

“No; ’tain’t a dozen steps.  Just behind that clump of trees yonder; you can’t miss it.”

“A farmhouse, I suppose,” said King.

“Well, not just exactly a farmhouse,” said the man, “but you go on, you youngsters, and whoever you see when you get there, tell ’em Jim sent you.”

“We will; and thank you, Jim,” said Marjorie, suddenly remembering her manners.

“You’re welcome,” said the man, and again his voice was gruff as at first.

“Somehow I don’t like it, Mops,” said King, who had a troubled look on his face as they walked swiftly along the path indicated.

“Don’t like what?”

“His sending us over here.  And I don’t like him; he didn’t look right.”

“I thought he was very kind to tell us about the farmhouse, and if his voice is sort of gruff, I s’pose he can’t help that.”

“It isn’t that exactly; but I think he’s a,—­a—­”

“A what?”

“Never mind; here we are at the place.  Why, Mops, it isn’t a house at all!  It’s a tent,—­a lot of tents.”

“So it is!  It must be an encampment.  Do you think there are soldiers here?”

“Soldiers?  No!  I only wish they were soldiers.”

As King was speaking, a young woman came walking toward them, smiling in an ingratiating way.  Like the man, Jim, she was dark-haired and dark-skinned.  Her black eyes flashed, and her smiling red lips showed very white teeth as she spoke kindly to the children.

“Come in,” she said, in a wheedling voice; “come in; I love little boys and girls.  What do you want?”

Marjorie began to say, “We want a drink of water,” when King pinched her elbow as a sign to be quiet, and he spoke to the woman himself.  “We don’t want anything,” he said, “we’re just passing by on our way to Pelton.  Good-morning.”

Grasping Marjorie’s arm he turned to go away, but the woman stopped him, saying, “Oh, don’t go so quickly; come in and rest a moment, and I will give you a drink of milk, and then you can go on to Pelton.”