y. But I think the best thing for us to do is
to organize a regular patrol. We'll beat up the mountain quickly, and
pretty well together, in a long line, so that there won't be more than
a hundred feet between any two of us. Then when we get to the ridge
about half way up we'll start back, and cover the ground more
carefully, if we haven't found them."

"Why won't we go beyond the ridge?" asked Dolly.

"We'll leave that part to the men. I think myself that it's most
unlikely they would go beyond that. I've had our guides here make up a
whole lot of resinous torches. They'll burn very brightly, and for a
long time, and each of us will take as many as she can carry, about
fifteen or twenty.

"And I've made up a lot of little first-aid packages, in case one of
the girls is hurt, or has twisted her ankle. That may be the reason
they're out so late. When we start to come back we'll break up in
twos, and each pair will go back and forth, instead of coming straight
down, so that we'll cover the whole side of the mountain."

"How shall we know if we find them?" asked Bessie. "I mean how will
the others know?"

"I've got one horn for every two of us," said Eleanor. "One toot won't
mean anything, just that we're keeping in touch. But whoever finds
them is to blow five or six times, very close together. It's very
still in the woods, and a signal like that can be heard even when
you're a long way from it."

"Can't some of us go and help, Miss Mercer?" asked one of the Halsted
girls, the one, incidentally, who had been the ruling spirit in the
trick to spoil the pleasures of swimming for the Camp Fire Girls.

"I think you better stay at home, and get a lot of good hot coffee or
broth or something ready for them when they get back," said Eleanor.
"They'll need something of the sort, I can promise you. And really,
I'm afraid you'd be rather useless in the woods. Our girls, you see,
have to be able to find their way pretty well. You'll be more useful
at home."

"I don't expect to find them on the way up," said Eleanor, as they
started. "We might, of course, but we'll look better coming back, and
it's then that I think we'll have the best chance. Come on, now!
Shout every little while."

The night was pitch black now. A fine mist of rain was falling and
threatening to become a steady downpour. It was a bad night for
anyone, even those who were hardened, to be out in the woods without
shelter or special cov