The Camp Fire Girls on the Farm | Page 4

start looking for them, even if they'd been
particularly anxious to do it."
"And I don't believe they were," said Eleanor Mercer, indignantly.
"They treated her shamefully, Charlie--made her work like a hired girl,
and never paid her for it, at all. Instead, they acted, or the woman did,
anyhow, just as if they were giving her charity in letting her stay there.
Wasn't that an outrage?"
"Lots of people act as if they were being charitable when they get a
good deal more than they give," said the lawyer dryly.
"Maw Hoover was always calling me lazy, and saying she'd send me to
the poor-farm," said Bessie. "But it was she and Jake that made things
so hard. Paw Hoover was always good to me, and he helped me to get
away, too."
"That's what I'm driving at," said Jamieson. "You had a right to go
whenever you liked, if they hadn't adopted you, or anything like that.
Really, all you were in their place was a servant who wasn't getting
paid."
"I knew she had a right to go," said Eleanor. "That's why I helped her,
of course."
"Then we're all right. If she'd really run away from someone who had a
right to keep her, it would be harder. I might be able to prove that they

weren't fit guardians, but that's always hard, and it's a good thing we
don't need to do it. Hullo, what's the matter now?"
"Look!" said Zara, who had risen, and was looking keenly at a figure
across the street. "See, Bessie, don't you know who that is, even in
those clothes?"
Bessie followed her eyes, and started to her feet.
"It's Jake Hoover!" she cried. "What can he want here?"
CHAPTER II
AN OLD ENEMY TURNS UP
Startled and frightened by Bessie's cry, Eleanor jumped up and
followed her to the window.
"Well," said Eleanor, "I never saw him before, but I can't say I'm sorry
for that. He looks mean enough to do all the things you've told us about
him, Bessie."
"Who is this Hoover? One of the people Bessie lived with, in
Hedgeville?" asked Jamieson.
"Yes; he's the son of the old farmer and his wife."
"H'm!" said the lawyer. "Then evidently he knows where she has come.
That looks bad."
"Yes. You see, he was always his mother's pet," said Eleanor, "and I
suppose he'll tell her all about the girls."
"Let him! I guess it can't do any harm. I don't see how it can now,
anyhow, unless he's in with this Weeks or someone we don't know
anything about, who has some interest in this affair. That's one of the
things that's going to give me trouble, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean, Charlie?"

"Just that there's so much I don't know. You see, there's something
mighty queer loose here. I can see that. There's a mystery and we
haven't the key. The chances are that the people we've got to fight know
everything there is to be known, while we don't even know who they
are, except this Weeks. And I'm not a bit sure about him."
"I am, Charlie. If you'd seen him, and heard all about the way he acted,
you'd know he was an enemy all right."
"That's not just what I mean, Eleanor. I'm thinking that perhaps he isn't
just making this fight on his own account; that maybe he's working for
someone else."
"I hadn't thought of that at all--"
"No reason why you should! But it's my business to think of every little
thing that may happen to have an influence on any case that I'm mixed
up in, you see. And, as I understand it, this Weeks is pretty
close--pretty fond of money, isn't he?"
"He's a regular old miser, that's what he is!" said Zara, her eyes
flashing.
"There's a motive for him, you see. Someone might have a reason for
wanting to keep Zara where they could get her easily, and if they
offered Weeks a little money to get hold of her, I judge he'd do it fast
enough."
"But why shouldn't they try to get hold of her themselves, if that's what
they want?"
"There might be lots of reasons for that. They might want to keep out
of it, so that no one would know they were doing it, you see. That
would be one reason. And then this Weeks is a bit of a politician. He's
got a good, strong pull in that county, I guess. Lots of men who have a
little money saved up can get a pull. They lend money, and then they
can make the men to whom they lend it do about as they like, by
threatening to take their land away from them if they don't