"but your daddy is an awfully brave man, you know, and he can't tell
his daughter any of his blood-curdling experiences unless she can
listen to the roaring of cannons and the yelling of Indians without
flinching."

"Now, papa, you're making fun of me," Marion protested. "Didn't
anything really serious happen? The police thought you must have been
waylaid."

"I see there's no way out of it, and I shall have to tell you girls a
story that will make you all scream and dream nightmares filled with
revolvers and skulking figures and masked faces and lonely highways."

All of the thirteen members and the Guardian of Flamingo Camp Fire,
Marion's mother, sister, and brother were present at this scene in the
big living room of the Stanlock home. Mr. Stanlock covertly watched
the faces of his auditors and was pleased to note that his bandying
words were rapidly bringing the tension back to normal. Young Master
Harold at this point helped his father's purpose along remarkably by
piping forth:

"It's mighty funny if a man can't be out after dark without a lot o'
women jumpin' on 'im."

Nobody with a grain of humor in his soul, if that is where the sense
of fun is located, could have restrained a laugh at that remark. In a
moment it would have been difficult for any one of those present to
realize how tragically serious they had all been a few minutes before.

After the chorus of laughter had subsided, Mr. Stanlock sat down in a