ped away,
leaving him, and not only refusing to pay what they had promised for his
services, but stealing all the money he had with him. For the past two
days the young man had been scouring the country for the thieves, but he
now believed they had gotten to some town and were safely out of his
reach.

"I should be awfully grateful to you, Miss Drew, if you would tell me
the way to the nearest village," Ralph Merrit said at the end of his
story. "I am green about this part of the country and don't know in what
direction to move on."

Ruth shook her head. "I am afraid I don't know either," she confessed,
"but if you will spend the day here with us until our guide, Mr. Colter,
comes back, he will tell you anything you wish to know."

Ralph accepted the invitation gratefully, although he hardly guessed
what a concession it represented. A year before, when Ruth Drew left
Vermont, she had never spoken to a man in her life without a formal
introduction, and now she was inviting a stranger to spend the day with
her and the three girls in the woods. But Ruth never doubted the story
Ralph Merrit had told her for a moment, although it was an unusual one.
No one who was a judge of character ever doubted Ralph. He was a
straightforward, manly, determined fellow, with a strong will and a
sense of humor--one of the most delightful combinations in the
world--and from the first hour of their acquaintance he was a special
favorite with Ruth and later with Jim Colter.

For several hours, Ralph made himself a useful visitor, insisting on
bringing in fresh stores of wood, as he assured his hostesses their
stock would never last over night, and they would desire to keep up a
particularly brilliant fire as a beacon light to the wanderers from
camp.

About four o'clock in the afternoon Ruth suggested that the five of them
take a walk to find out the source of the little stream, which made such
a wonderful oasis in the stretch of sandy desert. After a few miles,
Ruth, Olive and Frieda sat down to rest, while Jean and Ralph carried on
their explorations. They had caught a splendid lot of fish, but Ralph
had his gun with him and hoped to get some game for their supper. The
young man and girl had talked to each other for the past few hours, but
now they seemed to feel well enough acquainted to keep silent and enjoy
the exquisite beauty of the scenery. They had wandered to the source of
the brook. Trickling down from the base of a low hill,