he envelope and was devouring the message whole while
the girls looked at her anxiously.

The red-headed orator, seeing that his presence was no longer in demand,
clucked to his team and jogged off reluctantly. A telegram is rather a
rarity in Bluff Point and they might have taken pity on a fellow and
given him at least a hint of its contents. But there, he didn't want to
know anyway--wouldn't if he could! Still, these out-landers were mighty
mean, close-mouthed folks!

"Nothing," said Mollie, in response to the unspoken question of the
girls. "They haven't found a trace of either of them yet, but the police
are confident that it is a case of kidnapping and that they will be able
to round up the criminals in a short time. Poor little Dodo! Poor little
Paul! If nothing worse happens to them they will be scared to death. Oh,
if I could only get hold of those kidnappers I'd--I'd kill 'em!" She
clenched her hands passionately and her lips shut in a straight, grim
little line.

"I guess we'd all be glad to," said mild little Amy, with a look in her
eyes that showed she meant it.

As they started back down the road Betty suddenly remembered the packet
of letters in her hands. The excitement about the telegram had put them
completely out of her mind.

"To think I could forget letters!" she marveled, as she distributed them
to their rightful owners. "Here's one for you, Amy, and two for you,
Grace. One for Mrs. Ford and one for Mollie and--and--two for me--"

She looked so surprised that they paused in the act of opening their own
letters to look at her.

"What's the matter?" Grace asked.

"Why here's one addressed to me in a perfectly strange hand," she
answered, turning the letter over and over in her hand. "I can't
imagine--"

"What's the postmark?" asked Amy.

Betty looked and then colored prettily as she realized who her unknown
correspondent was.

"Why--why," she stammered, amazed at her own confusion, "it's sent from
Bensington, but--"

"Bensington!" Grace echoed, then her eyes twinkled as the truth came to
her. "So it's as bad as that, is it?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Betty, trying to look dignified and
failing utterly, while Mollie and Amy continued to stare their
amazement. They had forgotten completely that night spent under the
hospitable roof of Mrs. Barnes, and even her son's engaging personality
had faded from their minds. There had been so many things to think about
and worry about.