believe Dolly had the worst time, when you think about it. She
had to watch Bessie climbing down that waterspout."

"That was dreadful," said Dolly, shuddering at the memory. "But I
think it was much worse for Mr. Jamieson and Bessie than for me."

"Bessie was so busy getting down that I don't believe she had much time
to think about the danger," said Eleanor. "And Mr. Jamieson didn't
know her door was locked, so he had the relief of thinking that she'd
been able to get help in just an ordinary fashion. Of course, if he or
I had known what a risk she was running we'd have been half wild with
anxiety about her. So you see it really was hard for you not to scream
or do anything to startle that man."

"That was what I was afraid of most," said Bessie. "I don't know what
I'd have done if Dolly had screamed."

"You needn't have been afraid! I was too frightened even to open my
mouth," said Dolly, honestly. "I couldn't have uttered a sound, no
matter what depended on it, until I saw you were all right. And then I
just slumped down and laughed--as if there was something funny."

"Well, we can all laugh at it now," said Eleanor. "Are you going back
to the city to-night, Charlie?"

"No, I guess I'll be held up here until about noon to-morrow," he
answered. "I've got to appear against that poor chap, and there are
one or two other matters I want to attend to while I'm here. I'll see
you on your train in the morning, and I'll try to look out for myself
when you're gone."

It was an enthusiastic and eagerly curious crowd of girls that welcomed
them back to Long Lake the next day when, in the middle of the morning,
the well-remembered camp appeared. Miss Drew, who had taken Eleanor's
place as Guardian, laughed as she greeted her friend.

"I don't know how you do it, Nell," she said. "I never saw anything
like these girls of yours. They did their best not to let me know, but
I managed to find out, without their knowing it, that you did about
everything in a different way from mine--and a much better way."

"Nonsense!" said Eleanor. "I've made a few changes in the theoretical
rules of the Camp Fire. All Guardians are allowed to do that, you
know. But it's only because they seemed to suit us a little better--my
ideas, I mean."

"You know," said Anna Drew, thoughtfully, "I think that's the very best
thing about the Camp Fire. It doesn't hold you down to hard and fast
rules that have got to be followed just