d to the river, and the saw mill, now deserted, where some of
the big trees were made into beams, were inspected by the curious ones.

One afternoon, following a long tramp, while the boys and girls were on
their way to camp they made a curious discovery. Since the encounter
with the man (the story of it having been sent to Mr. Ford) no further
trouble had been experienced. But Grace and her chums were careful to
keep on their side of the boundary.

On this occasion, however, they approached it closely, and looking off
through the trees of the land Mr. Jallow claimed, Mollie espied smoke
coming from a log cabin.

"Why, someone's living over there!" she exclaimed. "I never noticed that
before."

"Neither did I," agreed Betty. "I'm sure no one was in it when we passed
here two days ago!"

As they paused to look several persons came from the cabin, which had
evidently been built for camping purposes.

"Look!" exclaimed Grace in a low voice.

"It's Alice Jallow!" exclaimed Mollie.

"And Kittie Rossmore!" added Betty.

"Who are the two fellows with them?" Grace wanted to know.

"One is Jake Rossmore--Kittie's brother," spoke Will, "and the other
is----"

"Sam Batty!" interrupted Frank. "Two cronies if ever there were any. I
wonder what this means?"

"It looks as though they were camping out--just as we are," said Mollie.
"And, look, there is Mrs. Jallow. Oh, they've seen us!"

It was indeed so. Mrs. Jallow, her daughter and Kittie looked up and saw
our friends--their rivals. Then the three newcomers started for the
boundary line, the two boys remaining at the cabin.

"Shall we--shall we wait?" asked Betty in a low voice.

"We're on my father's land--I don't see why we should run," said Grace
calmly. "Especially from--them!"

CHAPTER XII

IN A BIG STORM

"How do you do?" asked Kittie sweetly--too sweetly, the other girls
mentally decided as the three rivals approached the boundary line. "We
hear you are camping up in these woods."

"Yes," remarked Betty a bit coldly. Really they had no quarrel with
Kittie, though she was the chum of Alice, and always siding with her.
Kittie had never said anything actually mean. "Yes, we are here. Are you
camping too?"

"We are," said Mrs. Jallow, taking up the conversation. Evidently she
did not propose to do as her daughter did, and not speak, for Alice,
with a supercilious air, had not so much as addressed a word to the
outdoor girls and their boy friends