ing and then stuck it carefully into the neck of
her blouse. As if conscious she was being watched she shuffled
awkwardly, then made her way to the end of the counter, where the
one-time penny candies were sold.

"There!" exclaimed Cleo, when the girl was well out of hearing. "She is
surely a queer character and worth watching. How do you suppose she ever
came by that famous collection of modern coins."

"Why, she earned them, I should say," guessed Louise. "That's the sort
of girl always available for a mind-the-baby job."

As the girl waited to make her purchase she kept turning, very boldly,
to stare at the scouts, who were vainly trying to hide their interest
in the queer character. Evidently _she_ had no misgivings concerning her
interest in them.

First she would shrug her shoulders, then tilt up her broken straw hat,
kick the heel of one "sneak" against the other, until finally the clerk
spoke sharply to bring her attention to the point of buying candy.

It took her some time longer to make her selection and again in counting
out her money she made quite an unnecessary display. A spill of the
coins brought an ill-concealed titter from Cleo and Grace, and this the
girl so sharply resented that Louise edged her chums to the other side
of the room for safety.

"Fierce!" commented Grace. "Think she bites?"

"Might," replied Cleo under her breath.

Louise was ordering stamps, and her friends pretended to examine the
alluring display of new post-cards.

"Oh, my!" whispered Grace. "What is this we have come upon? Please look
over in that far corner!"

They followed the direction indicated and saw there a very tall, awkward
boy, pouring over a badly worn book, and making notes on a slip of
yellow paper. He wore glasses, and possessed that queerly undefinable
personality, usually ascribed to the gawky boy, or he who is different
from others.

"Look!" begged Louise grasping the arms of Grace and Cleo. "He has the
same kind of paper we found in the bottle!"

"Our fire-bug!" breathed Cleo, edging away in mock alarm. "Behold his
avenger!" and she held aloft a pretty yellow lolly-pop lately chosen
from the candy case.

The boy never noticed those about him, but literally poured over his
book and dug notes out with a stubby pencil.

Meanwhile the girl with the bag of coins had procured her confections,
and was now counting her change. As she passed the girls she looked
boldly at them and actually stuck out her