d reason to remember
this holiday."

"How?" queried Marita. "We don't understand anything about land, and
deeds, and lawyers."

At this everyone but Marita laughed. She was not acquainted with the
daring deeds of the motor girls, as that was what they had undertaken
and accomplished in the past.

"You see, Marita dear," Cora explained, "because we seem such harmless
babies we are able to get information that others, considered more
dangerous, might not have access to. Now, let me continue. There are
men around here, members of some sort of a land company, who are
trying to get hold of certain papers. We don't know whether they exist
or not, but in our own quiet, girlish way----"

Here she was interrupted with a burst of mocking laughter. "Your quiet
girlish way," repeated Belle. "Why, Cora, I do believe if you thought
you could get the better of that land company you would take the
_Chelton_, and go--pirating! Wouldn't it be great to go out on a dark
night, steam up the bay, watch for other boats, listen to the
smugglers----"

"Oh, Belle," put in Lottie, "that's not the way in books. We would
have to go out and get kidnapped, and then, when in the cave, we would
hear the plot of the men who were going to steal the old homestead."

"Hurrah!" cried her hearers.

"Lottie for captain of the kidnapped," suggested Cora. "Now, Lottie,
when it gets good and dark you are to go out under the biggest tree on
the place and await your captors."

"Hello there! Anybody home?"

"The boys!" gasped Belle. "Now what about having wasted our time? Come
in!"

"Nice of you to ask us," groaned Jack. "Say, we are dead and buried,
and the will is now being read. Somebody broke into our larder and
stole the grub. Have you any to put out at interest?"

"Stole your eatables!" exclaimed Marita.

"Well, you could scarcely call it that," replied Jack, espying an
undamaged orange on the window sill, and making a lunge for it. "We
did intend to eat the stuff, but it was just plain grub--not
eatables."

"Jack, haven't you boys had your supper?" asked Cora.

"We are on a diet," explained Jack. "Wallie had the crackers, Ed
nabbed the dried beef--he's the biggest and needs the most, you
know--and I got the pickles. Then we followed directions, and each
drank three sips of pure spring water. But the trouble arose when Dray
came in. He said he was to have milk--doctor's orders. We didn't have
any but 'pretense' milk, so Dray is now out loo