Wyn, again, as her first question
was not answered.

"Up beyond Meade's Forge," said the strange girl.

"Oh, my! On Lake Honotonka?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please don't _ma'am_ me!" cried the captain of the Go-Ahead Club.
"My name is Wynifred Mallory. My friends all call me Wyn. Now, I want
you to be my friend, so you must commence calling me Wyn right away."

"But--but you don't know me," said the other girl, hesitatingly.

"I am going to; am I not?" demanded Wyn, with her frank smile. "Surely,
now that I have confided in you, you will confide in me to the same
extent? Or, don't you like me?"

"Of course I like you!" exclaimed the still sobbing girl. "But--but I do
not know that I have any right to allow you to be my friend."

"Goodness me! why not?" exclaimed Wyn.

"Why--why, we have a bad name in this town, it seems," said the other.

"Who have?" snapped Wyn, hating Mr. Erad harder than ever now.

"My father and I."

"What have you done that makes you a pariah?" exclaimed Wyn, fairly
laughing now. "Aren't you foolish?"

"No. People say my father was not honest I am Polly Jarley," said the
girl, desperately.

"Polly Jolly?" cried Wyn. "Not much you are! You are anything but jolly.
You are Polly Miserrimus."

"I don't know what that means, ma'am----"

"Wyn!" exclaimed the other girl, quickly.

"M--Miss Wyn."

"Not right. Just Wyn. Plain Wyn----"

"Oh, I couldn't call you plain," cried the poorly dressed girl, with
some spontaneity now. "For you are very pretty. But I don't really know
what Mis--Mis----"

"'Miserrimus'?'"

"That is it."

"It's Latin, and it means miserable, all right," laughed Wyn. "And you
act more to fit the name of 'Polly Miserrimus' than that of 'Polly
Jolly.'"

"It's Jarley, Miss Wyn."

"But now tell me all about it, Polly," urged Wyn, having by this means
stopped the flow of Polly's tears. "Surely it will help you just to free
your mind. And don't be foolish enough to think that I wouldn't want to
know you and be your friend if your poor father was the biggest criminal
on earth."

"He isn't! He is unfortunate. He has been accused wrongfully, and
everybody is against him," exclaimed Polly, with some heat.

"All right. Then let's hear about it," urged Wyn, capturing both of the
other girl's hands in her own, and smiling into her tear-drenched gray
eyes.

CHAPTER IV

THE SILVER IMAGES

"Didn't you ever hear of us Jarleys?" Polly first of all demanded.

"O