ard--and
yet, the way he goes after you, he takes a lot of chances, doesn't he?
It does look as if, no matter how much it may frighten him to do what he
does, he's still more afraid not to do it."

"Look out--get behind this tree! I don't want him to see us here if we
can help it. It would be better if he thought he hadn't been noticed at
all, don't you think?"

"Yes. And it's a very good thing we saw him, Bessie. Now we know that we
must look out for squalls at Plum Beach, and they don't know we're
warned at all. So maybe it will be easier to beat them."

"Look here, Dolly, isn't there another train to Plum Beach? A later one,
that would get us there an hour or so after the other girls, if they go
on this one?"

"There certainly is, Bessie; but how can we wait for it? Miss Eleanor
would be worried."

"Oh, we'll have to let her know what we're going to do, of course. How
soon does that train go?"

"Not for half an hour yet. Miss Mercer wanted to be at the station very
early so that all the baggage would surely be checked in time to go on
the same train with us."

"Well, that makes it easy, Dolly. I tell you what. I'll stay here, and
follow very slowly, when Jake gets out of sight, so that he won't see
me. And if you go right across the street, and cut across the lots
there, you can get to the railroad station from the other side."

"I know the way--I saw that last night, though not because I expected to
do it."

"All right, then. You take that way, and get hold of Miss Eleanor
quietly. Better not let the others hear what you're saying, and keep
your eyes open for Jake, too. But I don't believe he'll show himself in
the station."

"Do you think she'll let us do it?"

"I don't see why not. We'll be perfectly safe. I'm sure Jake is here
alone, and he wouldn't dare try to do anything to stop us here. He knows
that he'd get into trouble if he did, and I don't think he's very brave,
even in this new fashion of his unless some of the people he's afraid of
are right around to spur him on. You remember how Will Burns thrashed
him? He didn't look very brave then, did he?"

"I should say not! All right, I'll tell her and see what she says. Then
I'll get back to the boarding-house. You'll go there, won't you?"

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea at all. The best thing for
you to do is to wait for me right there in the station. The ticket agent
is a woman, and I'm sure she'll let you stay with her until I