"Those things are probably up in Chicago in some p.a.w.n shop long before this, Katy. It's only in stories that burglars hide things in caves."

"Well, they might," insisted Katy.

"Yes, the moon might be made of green cheese--but it isn't," returned Alice.

"Well, anyway, we can play we find the things," said Chicken Little.

Gertie surprised them all by saying: "I'd like to find a weenty teenty bear cub."

"Gertie Halford, whatever would you do with a bear cub? You'd be scared to death of it." Katy looked at her sister in scornful amazement.

"I'd like to find those stock certificates Father lost," said Alice.

"Perhaps we'll find them tied round your bear's neck, Gertie."

This absurdity made the children laugh as they toiled through the underbrush, which was getting dense, planning merrily. They wandered and explored for about half an hour up and down the bank, finding nothing but a few haw-berries, some sumach leaves, and a pocket full of acorns which Gertie was taking back to Carol to carve into dishes, for her.

Carol was an expert with his knife.

Chicken Little had a big scratch on her arm from a thorn bush, and Katy a long tear in her blue gingham dress, which greatly annoyed her.

"Let's go back to Carol--this isn't any fun," she complained.

But Alice had just spied something that interested her.

"I bet I know what we can find that you'll all like," she said. "Wild grapes! I see a big vine over on that tree by the rocks. It's in a perfect thicket and there may be some left."

It was difficult forcing their way through the bushes. They were almost tempted to give up but Alice was sure she smelled grapes and Chicken Little and Katy were eager to carry back some booty to make the boys curious.

So they plodded on getting so many scratches and slaps from overhanging branches and interlacing bushes that they made a joke of them.

"Mr. Bush, if you catch my hair again, I'll break a piece out of you,"

and Chicken Little gave the offending bush such a shove that it promptly rebounded, grazing her cheek.

"Never mind," said Alice. "I've got my thirteenth scratch and my hair's almost down. I won't have a hair-pin left by the time we get out of this."

"I guess Mother will feel bad about my dress, but maybe she won't mind so much if we take her some wild grapes. She hasn't had any this year.

Oh, bother these burrs!" and Katy stooped down to pick a bunch from her shoe strings and several scattered ones from her white stockings already profusely streaked with green and brown stains.

Gertie bringing up the rear of the little procession was too busy defending her head and face against briars and brush to say anything.

Alice crashed through a particularly matted growth of bushes and gave a shout of triumph. "Here we are, children, and there are grapes--scads of them!"

They found themselves under a low spreading oak that was fairly canopied with huge wild grape vines that hung almost to the ground on three sides, forming a big tent. The grapes were plentiful and the fragrance delicious. But, alas, these were like the grapes the fox found sour, most of them hung high above their reach.

"What a shame--if only the boys were here they might climb!" said Alice disgusted.

"I can climb if you'll boost me, Alice," Chicken Little volunteered quickly.

Alice was surveying the tempting fruit thoughtfully.

"I don't believe you could reach them if you did, Chicken Little. See, you'd have to go clear out on the ends of the branches. Perhaps if we'd go up on the hill above--it's pretty steep here--we could reach some. It will be hard to get through--there's a perfect rat's nest of vines and bushes."

Chicken Little was already crawling under the overhanging vines. She soon shouted a discovery.

"Say, somebody's cut a little path here through the bushes. Come on--it's easy after you get through a little ways."

The others followed and sure enough there was a faintly worn path leading off up the hill side. Some of the densest undergrowth had been trimmed a little to permit a fairly easy pa.s.sage.

"How queer!" Alice exclaimed. "Somebody's been here right lately. Funny they didn't take the grapes--they're dead ripe."

"Whoever came here last crawled right in under those vines." Katy's sharp eyes had noticed how the weeds had been crushed down by some heavy body and that some of the vines were broken.

"You're right--they have--dear me, I hope it isn't a tramp!" Alice replied, a little anxious. "Anyway he wasn't here today because--see those leaves he broke off are dead."

"What do you suppose he went in there for?" demanded Katy.

"I'm sure I can't imagine--to hide maybe," Alice looked puzzled.

"Oh, maybe he was the burglar--maybe he hid the things under there--I'm going to find out," and before Alice could stop her, Chicken Little was disappearing under the vines again.

"O-h--Oh! I'm 'fraid! Oh, Alice, don't let her!" Gertie flew to the protection of Alice's skirts in terror and Katy edged nearer to her side.

"Don't Chicken Little--don't--come back--there might be snakes under there." Alice was worried herself.

The mention of snakes brought Katy with a scream to cling to her arm, but Jane was not to be daunted. They could hear her puffing and breaking off twigs as she progressed. Suddenly there was a complete silence and Alice's heart jumped with fear lest something had happened to the child.

"Jane," she called anxiously.

"I'm here, Alice, but there's something funny--there's a great big hole in between some rocks--only I can't see much, 'cause there's so many vines and it's dark."

"Oh, do you s'pose it's a bear den? Oh, I want my mother!" Gertie began to whimper.

"Shut up, silly, there aren't any bears 'round here!" said Katy unfeelingly. "It's a woodchuck hole most likely."

"I wonder if it could be that cave," said Alice. "You wait here, girls, I'm going in there too."

Alice fought her way in to Chicken Little's side. Sure enough there was a dark hole about two feet high.

Jane encouraged by Alice's presence was for exploring at once, but Alice caught her dress determinedly.

"Don't you dare, Jane Morton, it wouldn't be safe--there might be snakes--you can't tell what's in there. I believe whoever came in here went into that hole--see, here's two foot prints. I think we'd better get out of this."

Alice made Chicken Little precede her back to the spot where Katy and Gertie were waiting.

The Halford girls were thoroughly frightened and clamored to go home.

Alice hesitated.

"I hate not to get some of those grapes after all our trouble. I don't believe there's anybody round here now and there hasn't been a wild animal seen on Duck Creek for years."