at all.

In the two days' ride, which they made without incident, meeting very
few persons, and not being annoyed by any one, they had come to hope
that they had left the troubled area of the mountains behind them and
that only peaceful scenes lay before them. Hippy, however, still
insisted that he was a marked man.

It was some time after the evening meal of the second day when they
heard a horse galloping along the wagon trail that they had followed
ever since leaving the Thompson place.

Hippy held up a hand for silence, and the Overlanders sat listening
intently.

"Some one is in an awful hurry," observed Emma.

"Going for a doctor, perhaps," suggested Hippy. "That's the way I rode
when I went after old Doc Weatherby."

"Only one rider," announced Grace. "Otherwise we might have reason to
feel disturbed."

The horse suddenly slowed down, its rider probably attracted by the
light of the campfire.

"Hulloa the camp!" shouted a voice.

"A woman!" exclaimed Nora.

"Hulloa! Come on in so we can see who you are," called Emma.

"Howdy," answered the rider, picking her way towards them from the
trail.

"Julie!" cried the Overlanders, as Julie Thompson rode into the
flickering light of the campfire.

"What is the matter? Has something gone wrong, Julie?" begged Grace,
running forward, her companions following close at her heels.

"Ah reckons somethin' is goin' t' right smart," answered the girl,
slowly dismounting.

Washington was summoned to take her horse, with directions to water and
groom it, for the animal was wet with sweat.

"See here! Where did you come from to-day?" demanded Hippy.

"Ah come from home, an' Ah been er ridin' ever since sunup, Ah have.
Ah'm sore an' Ah'm hungry, folks!"

Nora and Anne ran to prepare food and coffee for their guest, while
Grace and Elfreda led her to the fire and made Julie sit down.

"Is anything seriously wrong at home?" begged Miss Briggs.

Julie shook her head.

"Not yit. Thar may be. Liz an' Sue is feelin' fine. Paw ain't home, but
he tole me t' find a hoss an' git to you-all as fast as Ah could. Ah
didn't have no horse so Ah helped mahself t' one o' Lum Bangs' an' rid
him right here."

They did not press Julie for the reason for her long hard ride until she
had gulped down a cup of coffee, then Lieutenant Wingate suggested that
she tell them what it was all about.

"Ah come t' warn you-all," she said. "Paw said as ye oughter know 'bout
it right sma