cille, a jolly little girl
who looked like a Japanese doll, with her glossy hair all drawn back in
the ultra fashioned style, quite novel to the girls from Pennsylvania.
"And there's no end of bunnies, if you like them," she went on,
"although I must confess a rabbit or a rat is apt to make me jump at
any time. Some of the boys from the academy are in the cross-country
run, and they're due over the Ridge this morning. We may get a chance
to cheer them if we hurry along," she finished.

No need to urge the girl scouts toward that prospective goal, and a few
minutes later the mountain paths registered the first steps in the
vacation days of the True Tred Girls.

And the path trodden pointed the way to strange adventures--strange
even for such experienced hikers as were the visiting girl scouts.

CHAPTER III

THE BROKEN MARATHON

"Cheers! Joy! Also thrills!" called Lalia, from her lookout on top of
a big green rock. "There come the boys! See their red shirts!"

"Oh, yes," agreed her sister, almost pushing her off the big bowlder in
an attempt to get the desired view. "Sure enough. Come on, girls.
Slide down the rocks on that side and we'll just about meet their line!
Oh! there's Bob Bennet, I know his red head; and Andy MacMurry, I know
his biplane arms. See them swing!" and Lucille all but lost her
balance on the steep down grade, in her attempt to imitate the
dauntless Andy, who was just then making famous strides toward the golf
links, in the last lap of the Academic Cross Country run.

Along the line of contestants for honors were five boys in all,
representing the survival of the fittest in the Spring Sporting Event.
Two red shirts were easily distinguishable, as representing the home
team, and as these were none other than Bob Bennet and Andy MacMurry
mentioned by Lucille, the girls' interest immediately centered in the
flying red specks, moving along the great, green golf links like some
animated brightly painted automatons. Heads back, chests out, feet
scarcely seeming to move, the two red figures were keeping well up with
those in gray, and the others in yellow.

"Andy's winning!" shouted Grace, who had quickly made distant
acquaintance with the lightsome runner.

"No, it's Bob!" insisted Lucille. "See his red head like a torch
bearer?"

"I think Grace is right," corrected Lalia. "That's Andy--see the arms
swing!"

"If we could only get over to the club house to see the finish,"
su