The Girl Scouts at Sea Crest Part 9

"He has something tied to his leg," said Grace, keeping her voice down to almost a murmur. "I believe he is a carrier pigeon."

"Surely," agreed Louise, for the tiny speck on the bird's leg was plainly an aluminum strip such as marks the carrier bird.

The same thought flashed through the mind of each--who would be sending private messages through that grove!

"I suppose we wouldn't dare look at the note," said Grace. "They are always in a piece of gelatine under the wing."

"My, no," replied Cleo, "that would be equivalent to robbing the mails."

"But this mail seems to want robbing," said Louise quietly, "just see how he waits? Maybe this is his station."

So intent were they on watching the dove they did not hear an approaching step. It came so stealthfully, creeping along the soft marshy ground, scarcely a sound broke the woodland stillness; only the voices of children down at the landing, giving evidence of other life than that of the Girl Scouts on the island.

"Oh see!" said Grace. "This leg is hurt. Perhaps that is why he doesn't fly off," and noticing for the first time that the bird hopped on one slender leg, Grace stepped up nearer to examine the injury. As she did a voice sounded just back of the group, and a very sharp voice it was.

"Hey there! You leave that bird alone!" came the shrill order.

Turning, they confronted the girl they had privately named Letty.

"Oh, is he your bird?" asked Louise confidently. "He seems to be injured, and we thought we might help fix the injury."

"Oh, yes, you did," sneered the girl. "A whole lot you thought that.

Guess you had an eye on Lovey's mail bag. Here Lovey!" she sort of cooed to the bird. The change in her voice was remarkable. It softened to a caress as she stooped to pick up the little carrier pigeon.

First she looked at the leg, which, it appeared, had been hurt, but was mending. a.s.suring herself this was all right the child perched the bird on her shoulder and stood there a picture for the eye of an artist.

Standing at a little distance the girls regarded her cautiously. There she stood in her bare feet, with a tattered dress, her hair cropped out as if cut with a single snip of a powerful scissors, and that pretty bird perched contentedly on her shoulder!

After satisfying her inclination for this unconscious pose, she cuddled the bird in the crook of her arm, and again confronted the girls.

"You don't ever want to interfere with anything around here," she warned, a.s.suming again the high pitched voice. "And if you don't run away you might miss your boat."

"Oh, we wouldn't mind," Grace had courage to say. "We are not afraid of the woods, and it's early yet. There seem to be other people here who have to get back to Sea Crest."

"Snoopin' eh?" sneered the girl again. "Well, you want to watch out.

You're the smarties that tried to drown Bentley, ain't you?"

"Who said we ever tried to drown any one?" demanded Cleo, stepping up to the girl, whose bare feet looked almost black, and whose short hair stood around her face with the wildest effect--almost Fiji, the girls thought.

"Well, I ain't saying Bentley did," she answered, "but some one did, and you better be gettin'."

"Seems to me you are not very polite," said Louise. "Here we offer to help you fix up your bird, and you try to chase us," she declared.

"Well, we are in no hurry, and don't you go saying anything about us drowning folks, do you hear?" and Louise surprised herself with her courage. "We saved a boy from drowning the other day, and were glad to do it, but we had nothing to do with the accident, and it won't be well for any one to spread malicious reports about us either!"

Had the other scouts dared they would have applauded, but the occasion demanded different tactics.

"Oh, ain't you smart! I suppose you're scouts too, in them rigs. Maybe you'll go tattlin' on me and try to have me 'pinched.' Well, there ain't n.o.body 'round here dasts to touch me, so you needn't bother."

"We had no idea of tattling on you, but it seems you have taken a lot of trouble to bother us, since we came," retorted Cleo.

"And you was down on the beach when the barrel went off and burned some of the guards things, wasn't you?" she went on, ignoring the charge Cleo had made. "You know they're after the firebug, an' you better watch out!"

This seemed too much. The girls fairly fumed with indignation.

"Yes, we were down there, and nearly got burned with the way that barrel went up," fired back Grace as quickly as she could get her breath, "but we don't know anything about the firebug _yet_. But we are going to. Do you know who the Weasle is?" she asked indignantly.

"The Weasle!" and the girl burst into a choppy laugh. "Me, know who the Weasle is?" she repeated again. "That's a good 'un. Why don't you ask Bentley?" and before they realized her intention she stooped for the empty lunch box, and with her free hand threw it full force at Louise's head. Dodging it Louise was ready to start after the creature, but before she could do so they saw her reach the water's edge, jump into a skiff and row swiftly away.

"Talk about cyclones," began Cleo, when she had recovered from her surprise. "Whatever do you call that human tornado?"

"We don't call her," replied Grace. "I just think we ought to make a complaint about her. Think of her saying we tried to drown a boy!"

"I'll tell you," said Louise soberly. "She isn't right in her mind."

"But right enough to make a lot of trouble for folks," retorted Cleo.

"There she goes now for Looney Point. Maybe that's what Captain Dave warned us to keep clear of."

"Let's get down among the other people," suggested Grace. "It's a little too lonely up here."

"And I guess we had better take the next boat back," added Louise.

"Something might just happen that we would be left."

When they reached the dock the launch was about ready to start, and piling in they soon found themselves again facing Sea Crest Pier.

So the afternoon had been one of surprise and disappointment.

CHAPTER IX

THE FIRE AT THE PIER

"WE must have a regular scout meeting," announced Cleo. "We may get into trouble if we are not careful. Grace, have you rounded up all the True Treds?"

"I have," replied Grace, raising her finger in salute to the emergency captain. "They'll all be here at Rosabell, by eleven. And having Mary and Helen will give us a small troop."

"That's splendid. Mary and Helen are Tenderfoots, of course, but they know the duties. I can scarcely believe that girl would actually say the things we heard her say, and then to throw that box at Louise!"

"Just the same as pulling faces at us the first day we met her," said Grace. "I don't feel we ought to take her seriously. But you know there was another fire out Koto way last night, and it spoiled some lovely trees. Father says every one is so indignant about it, but never a person is found around to give a clue to the culprit."

"And she insinuated that we made the beach fire," said Cleo indignantly.

"Oh, that's pure nonsense, of course. But did you see how she acted when we asked her about the Weasle?"

"Yes, she knows about that note, I'm sure," said Cleo. "But then she thinks she knows a lot of things. She certainly lives over on the Island, and so she couldn't very well start fires at night?"

"But she rows like an Indian. Here come the girls. Now we will have a chance to talk it all over."