make haste to get away.

CHAPTER XX

THE MASCOT'S RESCUE

"Oh, the poor little thing! See how he cuddles up! Wasn't he
frightened to death!" and Mary hugged the chattering little animal
under her arm, like a short haired terrier, or even an abused and
exhausted little kitten. To the other girls it seemed quite impossible
to realize this was really a monkey, and the domestic puppy or kitten
naturally furnished a comparison.

"Oh, do let's hurry!" begged Madaline. "How do we know someone will
not burst in upon us?"

"We don't," replied Cleo, without the hope of reassurance. "But we
have to depend on Shep. I think he is behaving beautifully with a real
monkey on the premises; no jealousy in good old Shep." She was making
all possible haste with picking up the most important articles they had
gathered to bring back with them to Cragsnook. "I have your treasures,
Mary," she said, making a final hard knot in the shawl that held the
jewelry. "The other girls are all ready. Come on, don't let us wait a
moment longer," she cautioned.

"Can you carry the cane, and these pictures?" Mary asked. "I guess I
can manage them if you cannot."

"Oh, no, you must take care of Chatterbox. He is lively enough to keep
you busy. Here, Grace, you shoot the bolts on the doors as we pass
out. Come on, Shep. Keep near the ladies, but let them pass out
first," finished Cleo, determined to make the exit something of an
imitation fire drill, if not in point of the numbers in line, at least
in point of the caution applied.

The fright experienced when something "alive" had actually been
discovered upstairs supplied enough excitement to make the whole
situation extremely alarming. What could have brought a monkey there
but humans, and what purpose had anyone in such an exploit? Between
the finding of the monkey and the discovery of the jewels, the girls
felt their day had thus far been one of unusual thrills, but a sense of
actual danger seemed threatening to explode at their very heels now,
and, making tracks over the mountain, away from the uncanny studio,
they put into execution the Girl Scouts' danger drill, if not the
school girls' fire drill. Once away from the house, Mary "collapsed
into a dead silence," as Madaline expressed it in a whisper to Grace.
Even the monkey's chattering was not answered.

Indeed, Mary was silent, almost to the point of a threatening "mood,"
since seeing the collection of empty boxes,