urately, enough so that Mr. Belton said he would
know him if he saw or heard of him.

"And now are you young ladies ready to go back?" asked Mr. Hammond, as
he smiled at Betty and her chums.

"Quite," she answered. "We have had a good view of the interior of
Florida."

"Oh, shucks!" exclaimed the labor contractor. "Begging your pardon,
Miss, for that kind of talk. But you haven't seen anything of the
interior yet. There's parts I wouldn't want to trust myself to, not with
all of my men behind me, and I'm not a scary sort of an individual,
either. There's parts no one has ever been in, I reckon. Don't you say
so, Hammond?"

"That's what I do!" was the emphatic answer. "Well, are you ready,
girls?"

They left, bidding Mr. and Mrs. Belton good-bye, and Grace received
renewed promises that all possible would be done to locate her brother.

Mr. Belton promised to bring a boat-load of laborers to the orange grove
in the morning, and as the visitors left they heard the soft strains of
one of the negro songs following them through the deep woods. The
effect was weird in the extreme, especially when they reached the denser
parts of the forest.

Good time was made back to "Orangeade," as the girls had christened the
bungalow in the grove, the boat running well. Mr. Hammond complimented
the girls on the manner in which they ran the craft, each taking a turn
at steering, while the overseer imparted instructions as to various sand
bars and shallow places along the course.

Mr. Stonington was much interested in the report brought back by the
girls regarding the lawlessness of the interior camps, and he agreed
with Mr. Hammond that if any attempt at a rescue should be made a number
of reliable men must be taken along.

"And I must write to father!" exclaimed Grace, "and ask if he has any
clues. He may be able to give us some aid in locating the neighborhood
of the camp. Oh, if Will could only know we are here, and would send us
a letter! Just think, girls! He doesn't even know we are in Florida!"

"It does seem strange," remarked Mollie. "Usually wherever we go we see
the boys once in a while."

"It is lonesome without them," said Betty impulsively. "I wonder if
there is any chance of them coming down this summer?"

"It's winter--up where they are," remarked Amy.

"Oh, every place is summer to Betty when she thinks of a certain young
man; summer and orange blossoms," drawled Grace.

"Don't be silly!" snapped Betty, w