be possible that Nellie had
also run across the old gypsy woman and the man who had held Madge a
prisoner until Phil and David had rescued her? But then, Eleanor had
been found several miles from the spot where the two old people were in
hiding when Madge ran across them.

The little captain made up her mind to one thing; she would not trouble
Eleanor with questions. But she would ask David if he thought his
mysterious acquaintances were still in the neighborhood. Neither she nor
Phil had ever spoken of them, though they had never ceased to wonder at
David's knowing such peculiar people.

"Is David Brewster going for a walk with Jack and Harry?" inquired Madge
casually.

Lillian shook her head. "Of course not," she replied. "David is going
off on his usual secret mission. He goes on one every single
afternoon!"

"It doesn't concern any one but him, does it?"

Lillian shrugged her shoulders. "I am certainly not in the least
interested," she answered disdainfully. "I think he is the rudest person
I ever met."

Unfortunately, there were other members of the boat party who were much
concerned with David's peculiar behavior. Harry Sears and Jack Bolling
were rather bored with their stay on the Preston farm since Eleanor's
accident. The girls devoted all their time to nursing Eleanor; they
could rarely be persuaded to take a walk or a drive, or to stir up a
lark of any kind. Neither Harry nor Jack, who were from the city, felt
the least interest in the farm work. David spent every morning in the
fields with Mr. Preston. So Harry and Jack, having nothing else to think
about, began to worry and pry into David's actions. It was strange that
the boy went away every afternoon and never told any one where he was
going, nor spoke afterward of what he had done or where he had been!

Jack Bolling did not really care a great deal about Brewster's affairs,
but Harry Sears was a regular "Paul Pry." He had made up his mind to
find out what Brewster was "after" on these afternoons when he
"sneaked" off and hid himself.

Just before Jack and Harry started on their walk David Brewster came out
on the side porch of the Preston house with his coat pockets bulging
with flat, hard packages. He had his hat pulled down over his eyes, and
was hurrying off without looking either to the right or left, when Harry
Sears called out: "Where are you off to, Brewster? If you are going for
a walk, Bolling and I would like to go with you. We are lo