hance that Jeff, the
other man, might have come back to see if his sentinels were faithful,
they slipped across the path and made their way down. And at the bottom,
as they reached the beach, Eleanor Mercer spied them, with a glad cry.

"Oh, whatever kept you so long?" she exclaimed. "How glad I am to see
you back safely! We couldn't imagine what on earth was keeping you."

"You shouldn't have stayed so long," said Margery Burton. "We were just
going to start out to look for you."

"You wouldn't have had very far to go. We've been right at the top of
the path for three-quarters of an hour," said Dolly, excitedly.

"It wasn't our fault, really! We couldn't get here any sooner," said
Bessie. "You see--"

And, quietly, being less excited and hysterical than Dolly, she
explained what they had discovered, and the trap in which they had
allowed themselves to be caught.

"We thought it was better to wait there than to let them know we had
heard them," she ended. "You see, they think now that we haven't any
suspicions at all, and that we'll be off our guard. Don't you suppose
Mr. Holmes must be coming on board that yacht, Miss Eleanor?"

"I certainly do," said Eleanor, her lips firmly set, and an angry gleam
in her eyes. "You did exactly the right thing. It was better for us to
be worried for a few minutes than to take any chance of spoiling all
you'd found out."

"What do you suppose they'll try to do now?" wondered Margery. "Oh, I'd
like to find some way to beat them, so that they'd have to stop this
altogether."

"They'll go too far, some time," said Eleanor, indignantly. "Mr. Holmes
seems to forget there is such a thing as the law, but if he doesn't look
out he'll find that all his money won't save him from it. And I think
the time is coming very soon. My father has some money, too, and I'm
pretty sure he'll spend as much as he needs to to beat these criminals."

"Can't we go away from here to-night, Miss Eleanor?" asked Dolly. "They
said we'd never do that, and it might fool them."

Everyone looked at Dolly in astonishment. It was a strange proposition
to come from her, since she usually was the one who wanted to fight if
there seemed to be any possibility of success. Now, however, she looked
nervous.

"I don't see how we can, Dolly," said Eleanor. "And, really, I don't
believe there's any danger here. Mr. Holmes isn't on the yacht, and
these men won't do anything until he is there to direct them. I shall
te