drawn into the circle chiefly through his admiration for Grace.

During that eventful summer on Pine Island the young people had
accidentally discovered a gypsy cave, concealed by underbrush, and had
succeeded not only in rounding up the band of gypsies but in recovering
several valuable articles that had been stolen from the girls.

Their last adventure, related in the volume directly preceding this one,
and entitled "Outdoor Girls in Army Service," found the girls and boys
again at Pine Island, but under very much altered conditions. America had
entered the great World War and all the boys but Will Ford had
volunteered. Later, the boys were called to Camp Liberty, some distance
from Deepdale, and the girls conceived the plan of opening a Hostess House
for the benefit of the relatives and friends of the boys. The plan worked
out very satisfactorily.

While still at Pine Island the girls and boys had come upon a suspicious
looking man in the woods. Upon finding himself discovered the man had made
his escape, but in his hurry had dropped a letter which the girls found to
their disgust was written in code. They decided that the man must have
been a German spy.

At Camp Liberty the girls succeeded in rounding up the spy, and found, to
their surprise, that Will Ford, who was in the Secret Service, had been
engaged all that time in tracking him to earth. Will, having accomplished
his mission, immediately enlisted.

Now, at the time this story opens, the girls were still at the Hostess
House and looking forward apprehensively to the time, now imminent, when
the boys would be ordered across the sea to fight for the country they