ry to stop him," said Laura, slowly, "won't he suspect
that we don't want him to search the island?"

"Say!" exclaimed Lil, angrily. "What do _we_ care?"

"We don't want him to find that poor fellow," said Bobby.

"Why not?" repeated Lil, sharply.

"After he saved Short and Long's life?"

"Humph! should we pass a vote of thanks to him for _that_?" demanded
Lil, with, sarcasm.

"Not for that, perhaps," Laura said, gently. "But think of the old
professor."

"Old Dimple!"

"The old Prof?"

"What about him?"

The chorus rose loud and general. Laura flushed, but held her ground.

"Our loyalty to Central High ought to be enough to prompt us to help
one of our teachers. In some way the old professor is connected with
this young man who is in danger of arrest. I don't mean that we should
actually thwart the officer of the law. But I, for one, certainly will
not help the officer."

"You are right, Mother Wit!" cried Bobby. "I'll go a step farther.
I'll try to keep that man from landing here with his dogs."

"I know nothing about the right or wrong of the case," said Mrs.
Morse; "but I am afraid of those awful beasts. There are five of
them!"

"And Barnacle will only get into a fight with them if they land,"
declared Jess, rather amused. "Let's go down to the lake in a body and
refuse to allow the dogs to come ashore."

Liz Bean had listened from the cook-tent, but said nothing. Her plain
face was as expressionless as ever.

Now, when Mrs. Morse and the girls of Central High started down the
slope on the northern side of the knoll, Liz slipped into the woods to
the west, and quickly disappeared in the thick underbrush.

The big mainsail of the barge had been dropped and the men with the
sheriff were paddling the craft in to the shore. Now and then a hound
would lift its head and utter a mournful bay. Then Barnacle would
strive to bark his own head off!

Laura recognized one of the paddlers with a start of surprise. It was
the vicious farmer who had set his dog on Short and Long, on Bang-up
Creek!

If she had had any doubts about the right and wrong of an attempt to
thwart the sheriff before, Laura had none _now_. Perhaps her course
was indefensible; but intuitively she believed that farmer to be a bad
man. And she was sure that he was the one who had set the sheriff on
this trail.

He had doubtless followed the young man with the gun and seen him join
Professor Dimp. The two had paddled for Acorn Islan