ible."

"We owe you something for telling George's fortune," laughed Sam.

"Then pay your debts," retorted Harriet.

"Don't you do anything of the sort, boys," warned Jane. "You know what
will happen to you, if you do."

"What will happen?" demanded Baker, turning to Crazy Jane.

"Oh, that would be telling. We should be even with you before we had
finished, you know. Girls are always more resourceful than boys."

"I don't agree with you," retorted George Baker.

"Do you wish us to prove it to you?" asked Harriet laughingly.

"I'll give you a chance to fail," returned George. "As long as we're
going to spend our vacations on this lake we'll give you girls a chance
to prove your superiority as strategists. I'll wager you a No. 2 Brownie
Camera, to be the joint property of whichever side wins it, that the
Tramp Club can completely outwit the Meadow-Brook Girls three times
inside of three weeks. What do you say?"

"Shall we accept the challenge, Miss Elting?" asked Harriet. "What do
you say, girls?"

"Done!" chorused the girls and their guardian.

"Very well," smiled Harriet. "The contest begins now, and of course all
unfair tricks are to be barred out by both sides."

"Of course," agreed George. "But come along and have a look at the
rope."

Harriet stepped briskly ashore, followed by Jane and the two boys. She
went directly to where the rope and the anchor lay. Picking up the
former she ran it through her hands until she came to the loop that had
been drawn about the cleat on the deck when the boat had been anchored
on the previous afternoon. The Meadow-Brook Girl held the loop on the
palm of her left hand, gazing at the rope reflectively. She frowned
slightly as she looked at it.

"Well, what do you find?" questioned the captain briskly.

Harriet glanced up at him quickly.

"I understand," she said.

"What is it, Harriet, dear?" asked Miss Elting.

"Oh, what a mess!" muttered Jane, who had been looking over Harriet's
shoulder. "Here's more trouble for the Meadow-Brook Girls, and trouble
for somebody besides them, too."

"You can see for yourself," replied Harriet, handing the end of the rope
to the guardian.

"The loop has been cut!" exclaimed Miss Elting.

Harriet nodded.

"It has, indeed," agreed Jane.

Miss Elting and Harriet Burrell exchanged significant glances. George
Baker observed the looks. He nodded to Billy. Larry Goheen winked
wisely.

"There is something behind this business t