r to our place
in the evenings a good deal, and he and my father used to talk together.
But I never knew what they talked about."

"Did they seem friendly?"

"They were at first."

"Then I should think he would have tried to help your father when there
was trouble."

"No, no! They had an awful quarrel one night, and my father said he was
as bad as some of the people who hated him in Europe, and that he'd
have to look out for him. He said he was so rich that people would do
what he wanted, and after that he was afraid, and whenever he did any
work, he used to get me to stay around outside the house and tell him if
anyone came. And he always used to say that it was Farmer Weeks he
wanted me to look out for most."

"Well, there's not much use in our thinking about it, Zara. The more we
puzzle our brains over it, the less we'll know about it, I'm afraid."

"That's so, too, Bessie. I'm awfully sleepy. I can hardly keep my eyes
open."

"Don't try. You've had a hard time to-day. Get to sleep if you can. I'll
wake you up if there's any need for it. I'm tired, but I'm not sleepy at
all, and this ride will rest me splendidly."

Bessie peeped out now and then, and she kept her eyes open on the
lookout for the spring where Farmer Weeks had surprised Zara. But when
they passed it, although she looked out and listened hard, she couldn't
tell whether the Camp Fire Girls were on the bluff above the roadside or
not, and she was afraid to ask Paw Hoover to stop and let her find out
for certain, since there was the chance that Farmer Weeks might have
returned with the idea that Zara, having escaped his clutches, would
naturally have come back to the place of her capture.

Bessie understood very well that, while Paw Hoover was proving himself a
true friend, and was evidently willing to do all he could for them, it
would never do for Silas Weeks or anyone else from Hedgeville to know
that he was befriending the two fugitives. She could guess what Maw
Hoover would say to him if she learned that he had helped her, and if
there was the chance that Farmer Weeks might get Miss Mercer into
trouble through her friendship for them, Paw Hoover was running the same
risk.

Until after they reached the crossroads where Bessie had so fortunately
been led to take the right turn in her pursuit of Zara earlier in the
day, they did not pass or meet a single vehicle of any sort, nor even
anyone on foot. Zara slept soundly, and Bessie, soothed by