“Clayton is perfectly willing to help me, and he says Pop Welsh, who knows more about fishing than anybody else on the ranch, will be glad to give me some instructions. So you see, Mr. Smith, I shall hardly need your services!” The rest of the party arrived, and soon everyone was busy with their preparations for lunch. The boys made a fire, while Mrs. Hilton, assisted by the girls, unpacked the food and spread it out on the ground. It was not until they were seated, and the meal in progress, that the young people began to question Marjorie about her disappearance. Clayton laughed, and Marjorie dismissed the matter with a shrug of the shoulders. She had decided that in the presence of both Kirk and Irene she would be absolutely non-committal. “And are you going back the same way?” asked Lily. “If Mr. Hilton will give us the permission,” replied Marjorie. “But suppose I don’t agree!” put in Kirk. Irene cast Marjorie an imploring look; surely she would not say anything compromising. “I’ll do whatever the most people want,” she answered, sweetly. “Then I demand my rights!” said Kirk, and Marjorie nodded in silence. That afternoon the whole party went fishing, and returned not only with enough for supper, but with a supply to take home for breakfast as well. Mrs. Hilton was more than pleased with the results. As they gathered around the fire again for supper, Alice suddenly noticed that Marjorie was missing. “And so is Clayton!” cried Kirk, jumping to his feet. “If they’ve made another escape--” “Which they have!” announced Bob, from the bank of the stream. “One canoe is gone!” “Then I’m going to follow them!” said Kirk, starting for the boats. “Without your supper?” demanded Mrs. Hilton. “Yes--may I have a piece of bread? But come, somebody must go with me, on account of the number of places in the boats. Daisy, would you--” “Yes, indeed!” cried the girl, jumping up immediately. “Something might have happened to them, and we really ought to trace them before it gets dark.” Mrs. Hilton thrust some bread and dried fruit into their hands, and they were gone. The others turned their attention to supper. “I do believe Kirk is crazy about Marjorie!” remarked Bob Hilton, when the canoe was out of sight. “No, I think it’s Daisy,” said his mother. “Marjorie has just got the best of him, and he wants to conquer her.” “Well, anyway,” concluded Tom Melville, “he takes more interest in those two girls than in anything or anybody since he’s been out here. And, by George, I’m glad to see it!” Irene said nothing; she was too disappointed to think of anyone but herself. But she no longer blamed Marjorie, or felt any resentment against her; she only wished that she might adopt the same attitude toward men that the other girl maintained. It seemed to be so entirely successful. When the party finally reached the ranch in the late dusk of the evening, they found Kirk and Clayton on the porch. But the girls, they said, had gone to bed.