"I'm glad you enjoyed it," her guardian remarked. "It would have been little pleasure to me--this trip--if you young folks had not enjoyed it."

"I just love it! And the best part is yet to come!" cried Agnes, with sparkling eyes. "I want to see the islands in the lake."

"And I want to get to Trumbull and see if my father is there," added Neale. "I think I'll send him a letter. I'll mail it here. It won't take but a moment."

"You don't know his address," said Agnes.

"I'll send it just to Trumbull," said the boy. "Post-office people are sharks at finding people."

He wrote the note while the final preparations were being made for leaving on the trip up the river. Mrs. MacCall had attended to the buying of food, which was all that was needed.

And then, after Neale had sent his letter to the post-office, he went down in the engine room of the _Bluebird_.

"Are we all ready!" he called up to Mr. Howbridge, who was going to steer until Neale could come up on deck after the motor had been started.

"All ready!" answered Ruth.

Neale turned the flywheel over, there was a cough and a splutter, and then a steady chug-chugging.

"Oh, we're going! We're going!" gayly cried Tess and Dot. Almost anything satisfied them as long as they were in motion.

"Yes, we're on our way," said Mr. Howbridge, giving the wheel a turn and sending the houseboat out into the stream.

The trip up the Gentory River was no less delightful than the voyage on the ca.n.a.l had been, if one may call journeying on such a quiet stream a voyage. It was faster travel, of course, with the motor sending the _Bluebird_ along.

"The only thing is, though," said Hank, who sat near the wheel with Neale, "I haven't anything to do. I miss the mules."

"Oh, I guess there'll be enough to do. Especially when we get up on the lake. You'll have to help manage the boat," remarked Neale. "I hear they have pretty good storms on Macopic."

"They do," confirmed Hank.

They motored along until dusk that evening, and then, as their way led for a time through a part of the stream where many craft navigate, it was decided to tie up for the night. It pa.s.sed without incident, and they were on their way again the next morning.

It was calculated that the trip on the river would take three days, but an accident to the motor the second day delayed them, and they were more likely to be five than three days. However, they did not mind the wait.

The break occurred on a lonely part of the stream, and after stopping the craft and tying up, Neale announced, after an examination, that he and Hank could make the needful repairs.

"We'll start in the morning," said the boy.

"Then we'll just go ash.o.r.e and walk about a little," suggested Ruth, and soon she and her sisters and Mr. Howbridge were on the bank of the beautiful stream.

The twilight lingered long that night, and it was light enough to see some distance ahead as Ruth and the others strolled on. The river bank turned and, following it beneath the trees, the party suddenly heard voices seemingly coming from a secluded cove where the stream formed an eddy.

"Must be fishermen in there," said Mr. Howbridge. "We had better not disturb them."

As they were turning away the voices became louder, and then on the still night air there came an exclamation.

"I don't care what you think!" a man's voice shouted. "Just because you've been in the Klondike doesn't give you the right to boss me!

You'll give me an even half of the swag or--"

And then it sounded as though a hand had been clapped suddenly over the speaker's mouth.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE NIGHT ALARM

Mr. Howbridge and Ruth quickly looked at one another. The same thought and suspicion came in each of their minds at the same time.

"Who's that?" Dot asked, she and Tess having lingered behind the others to pick some flowers from the bank of the stream.

"Hush, children," cautioned Ruth in a whisper. "We must not disturb the--fishermen."

She added the last word after a look at her guardian. No further sound came from the cove where the voice had been uttering a protest and had been so suddenly hushed.

"Oh, look at those big red flowers! I'm going to get some of those!"

cried Dot, darting off to one side. "My Alice-doll loves red flowers,"

she added.

"I'll get some, too," said Agnes. "Mrs. MacCall also loves red flowers, though she says there's nothing prettier than 'Heeland hither' as she calls it."

"Oh, yes, we'll get her some, and she'll have a bouquet for the table,"

a.s.sented Dot. "And then maybe she'll let us have a little play party for Alice-doll to-morrow, and we can have things to eat."

"Oh, you're always thinking of your old Alice-doll!" complained Tess.

"You'd think all the play parties and all this trip were just for her, and the things to eat, too."

"We can eat the things Mrs. MacCall gives us--if she gives us any,"

corrected Dot. "Come on, help me get the flowers."

"Oh, all right, I will," said Tess. "But you know, Dot Kenway, that Ruthie will give us anything we want for a party."

As the two little girls darted toward the clump of gay blossoms Ruth called:

"Be careful. It may he swampy around here."

"I'll look after them," offered Agnes, "and you and Mr. Howbridge can go see if those men--"

She did not finish her sentence, which she had begun in a whisper, but nodded in the direction of the clump of trees, around the eddy of the river. It was from there the stifled exclamation had come.

"Yes, I think it would be a good plan to take a look there," said Mr.

Howbridge to Ruth in a low voice. "Especially if the children are out of the way. I don't suppose it could by any chance be the same men, but--"

"Look!" suddenly exclaimed Ruth, pointing to something moving behind a screen of bushes that hung over the river near the eddy. As she spoke the bushes parted and a motor boat shoved her bow out into the stream.

In another instant the boat came fully into view, and there was revealed as occupants two roughly dressed men. They gave one quick glance along the bank toward Ruth and Mr. Howbridge, and then while one attended to the wheel the other sprang to the engine to increase the speed.