rd for Katherine to
wield the mallet with unerring strokes, hard to force the sharpened
point into the well-packed bed of the lake. Katherine's right arm became
very tired before she had driven the stake deep enough to insure a
reasonable degree of firmness. While this task was being performed, the
girls were still protected against the danger of being swept into deeper
water by the ropes looped around their waists and held at the other ends
by some of the girls on the sandy beach.

After this stake had been set firmly into the river bed, the girls
returned to the shore and got another. This they took to another
position about the same distance from the beach as the first one and
drove it into the hardened loam under the water. The same process was
continued until six such stakes had been driven.

Then they took up the work of extending rope from stake to stake and
completing the inclosure. The sags were supported by buoys of light wood
tied to the rope, the two extreme ends of which were attached to stakes
driven into the shore close to the water.

"There, that is what I call a pretty good job," declared Miss Ladd
gazing with proud satisfaction upon the result of more than three hours'
steady work. "Whenever you girls come out here to go bathing, you will
be well warranted in assuming that you have earned your plunge."

All the girls by this time had their bathing suits on, but most of them
were too tired to remain in the water any longer; so, by common consent,
all adjourned to the camp to rest until suppertime.

"Well, it appears that our activities have not yet aroused any special
interest in the Graham household," Hazel Edwards observed as they began
their march back toward the sheltered group of tents.

"I'm not so certain of that," Miss Ladd replied.

"Why not?" Katherine inquired, while several of the girls who were near
looked curiously at the Guardian.

"Because I believe I have seen evidences of interest."

"You have!" exclaimed two or three unguardedly.

"Now, girls, you are forgetting yourselves," said Miss Ladd warningly.
"Remember that the first requisite of skill in your work here is
caution. The reason I didn't say anything to you about what I saw is
that I was afraid some of you might betray your interest in the fact
that we were being watched. I saw two girls half hidden in a clump of
bushes up near the top of the hill. I am sure they were watching us.
They were there at least half an hour.