Cora. "We can only surmise.
They must have been after something that was neither money nor table
silver." She laughed a little at the idea of anyone trying to rob the
humble cabin of a fisherman. "The little terrier is never tied up and
never troubles anybody, but it seems he did object to the intrusion,
for he has a cut on one leg, made, possibly, by a heavy shoe, and when
Denny found him he was tied tight to a hook in the woodshed. Denny
will never forgive whoever tied Brian."

"But did the thieves take anything?" Bess wanted to know.

"Not a thing. Of course there was nothing an ordinary thief would have
any use for; but it looks as if they were searching for something in
particular, for everything was turned inside out. Every strip of
carpet was pulled up and loose boards in the floor pried away. It
really is too bad for Denny. He will have a lot of trouble getting
things in order again, and you know he is neat, for a lone fisherman."

"Isn't that outrageous!" exclaimed Belle. "I think, Cora, we should
have told the boys and had them make a charge against whoever may be
guilty. They will be ransacking here next."

"Oh, goodness! I hope not," cried Marita. "I think we should have
police protection."

"And have officers ringing our door bell all hours of the night
because someone forgot to turn out the dining room light, or the side
window was found unlocked," said Cora. "They have very few officers
here, I should imagine, and if we really gave them something to do
they might insist on doing it."

"Tell us more about it," begged Marita, who was naturally fascinated
with the "scary" part.

"I only know that his shack was entered and all but torn down," said
Cora. "As to who did it, or why it was done, we can only surmise. But
don't talk too much about it. We want to keep it quiet."

"Why?" demanded Marita.

"Because by letting other people talk about it we may be able to trace
the perpetrators. We could easily find out who knew it had happened,
in that way."

"Oh, I see," Marita answered vaguely, although her tone did not
indicate comprehension. "Freda and Mrs. Lewis are going out; aren't
they?" This question implied "why" also.

"Yes," Cora answered again. "They have some business to attend to. I
told them not to hurry back for lunch--we would attend to it. We
really need the exercise."

"But I am going canoeing directly after lunch," Lottie objected.

"After lunch?" repeated Belle. "This will be bef