ellar locked!' Don't you remember?"

"Yes, I heard that," Amy contributed.

"Well, if a tramp, who was not really a tramp, but some one in disguise,
heard that he might jump to some conclusion," Betty went on.

"Too much jumping," Allen said. "As a matter of fact we're all in the
dark about this."

"And it isn't a very pleasant suspense, either," declared Betty, as she
looked at the black box with the diamonds safe in the secret
compartment. "What are we going to do with that?"

"Hide it in a new place," suggested Henry.

That much was decided on, and the treasure was taken up to the attic,
though there the danger of fire was ever present.

"Oh, I wish father were home," said Betty, a worried look on her face.

But it would be several days before Mr. Nelson could return, and those
days were anxious ones indeed for the outdoor girls. The morning after
the scare in the cellar inquiries were made, but no trace of the
mysterious men was found.

"I can't stand this much longer!" declared Betty, one night. "I almost
wish we'd never found the diamonds."

"You're nervous," said Mollie. "We've been too much in the house.
To-morrow we shall try one of our old stunts--a picnic!"

"Good!" cried Grace. "That will be fun!"

CHAPTER XIX

THE PICNIC

"Did you bring plenty of olives?"

"And I do hope we didn't forget the cheese crackers!"

"Oh, everything is here--more than we'll eat, I think, by the weight of
the baskets."

"Where did I put--oh, here they are!"

This last, with a sigh of relief, as she found her package of candy,
came from Grace. Mollie, Amy and Betty had, in turn, been heard from in
the aforequoted remarks.

"It's a glorious day; isn't it?" questioned Grace as she walked on
beside Amy.

"Yes, but not so nice that you need forget you're carrying only a box of
chocolates," remarked Betty, pointedly. "Take one of these baskets."

"Oh, excuse me," apologized Grace, and she turned quickly, wincing a bit
as she did so.

"Those same ridiculous shoes!" cried Mollie.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Grace Ford."

"Why? They're the most comfortable ones I have, to go tramping about in,
and they're so stained from the salt water that they can't be damaged
any more. Just right for the picnic, I think."

"Yes, but you walk worse than a Chinese woman before the binding of feet
was forbidden. Don't let her carry anything spillable, Betty, or we
won't have all the lunch we count on," Mol