never could get used to luncheon in the middle of the day when Nature
intended that a girl should have a full meal of the real food. Where is
the old hotel?"

"I don't know, Jane. There is something strange about this affair. I am
sure that Bert must have known what he was about, or he wouldn't have
sent me the message he did. However, we shall see. There is no need to
borrow trouble. We shall know how to deal with it when we meet it face
to face. Let's go and look for this hotel that our friend, Mr. Dee, has
recommended."

Getting into the automobile Jane started her car, and they drove through
the town in search of the hotel, which they found after a few inquiries.
The prosperous village of Wantagh was located on the shore of Lake
Winnipesaukee. It was there that Miss Elting's brother had begun to
practice law, but after one year's practice in the little village had
listened to the call of the West. He had left in Wantagh the old scow,
dignified by the name of "houseboat" to which was attached the further
title of "Red Rover." It was in this lumbering craft that Miss Elting
and her young friends, the Meadow-Brook Girls, had planned to spend part
of their summer vacation. Their meeting with Dickinson, in whose care
the boat had been left, was quite discouraging. Dee was not a
prepossessing fellow; what impressed them most unfavorably about him was
his shifty eyes. He seldom permitted himself to meet the gaze of the
person with whom he was talking.

Some inquiry, after reaching the hotel, developed the fact that Dee
Dickinson was a notary, did a little real estate business, and drew a
few papers for his neighbors, thus managing to eke out a precarious
living. So far as the girls were able to find out, Dickinson's character